Red Fang Chapter 7

Black smoke filled the dome, obscuring the brightly painted gods, but Liandra’s skeletal hand reached down to the altar, where a fire raged. The king’s soldiers smashed the pews and tossed them into the flames, laughing as sparks shot up to smoulder in the heavens. Priests from the king’s army stood at each corner of the altar, with their hands raised and chanting in a language that few recognised. Each of them had a red handprint over the white heart embroidered upon their robes.

“Now if that isn’t a bloody omen,” Samuel muttered as he caught sight of the desecration. “Davey would have a fit if he saw this.” “I’m close to having one for him,” Toli said as he watched the king’s followers gather on the steps and jostle each other for a better position. Some were still drunk from the night before, while others stared at the desecration with fevered eyes. The great doors remained open, allowing a stiff wind to blow the length of the temple, feeding the fire. Smoke swirled and drifted on the beams of light pouring in through the tall windows. Toli could feel the air growing heavier the further in he went, and he soon detected a familiar cloying smell coming from the rear of the temple. “You smell it too?” Samuel whispered, as he searched the crowd, half expecting to find a dead body in the aisle. “A blood sacrifice maybe?” Toli said as his eyes drifted to the steps leading down to the crypt. He gritted his teeth and raised a hand to cover his mouth. “Sam, it’s the high priest. He’s still down there.”

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