God's Game

CHAPTER 6: Skeleton in the Closet

CHAPTER 6

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After dinner, Nicolous and I initiated our plan to rescue Hibiscus. All he has to do is distract mother and father who are still by the altar praying and I'll sneak into their room to get the keys and Hibiscus is with us again.

If we get caught, I'm so gonna kill Kanna for this.

Nicolous and I snuck out of the room and went to our designated assignments. He casually walked down the long winding steps of the temple while I tip-toed my way over to mother and father's room. I had to duck through the aisle past the altar room to get to my parent's room. It was a long hallway; the pillars that supported the aisle and allow a view to the altar was illuminated by the light in the altar room and casted shadows on the white walls of the temple. I had to bend down to remain inconspicuous and use the railings to hide me from being seen.

"Mother, father." I heard Nicolous greet down in the altar room. The upper floors of the temple have a clear view of the altar room so I can hear Nicolous diverting the topic to chickens.

When I finally took a left to a corridor away from the altar room, I finally got to take a much needed breath. I was almost to their room when I heard guards coming to my direction. I panicked and quickly hid in the pantry; I was lucky my body could fit in this cramped space.

Once I hear the guards passed, I continued on with the plan and thread into the lamp-lit corridors of the temple. After a few more steps, I finally made it to their rooms. I carefully opened the door. The wooden door made a creaking sound that echoed through the halls and made me flinch.

If I get caught, I'm so gonna kill Kanna for this.

I enter the room and closed the door behind me. With deep breaths, I scanned the white and gold-accented room for the key to the dungeons below. 

Alright, Ahry. Time to find that key and rescue Hibiscus. I thought to myself.

First, I checked the night stand beside the white with black stripes king sized bed. In the drawer, I only saw a few pills, a pen, and a paper, no keys. I checked under the bed to see if there's a box or a chest but there is nothing. I also checked the table by the window, the bookshelf that was on the corner of the room and beneath the pillows of the study chair to no avail.

Finally, I checked their wooden closet. The doors were heavy and the cabinet towers nearly to the ceiling. Leather coats, heavy looking clothes and a few of moms dresses greeted me when I opened the cabinet. I frantically searched inside and my hands landed on small irons.

Perfect. Found it. Hibiscus here I come.

With a huge smile on my face, I was ready to leave but I panicked when I heard footsteps approaching the room. Nicolous did not do a good job of stalling mother and father.

In a haste, I ran inside the cabinet and closed it shut just before mother and father entered the room.

"What was he talking about? A chicken flied to their room?" I heard mother say as they both enter the room.

"They're probably bored in there. They're playing a game or something." Father replied.

I giggle in my head to the thought that that was Nicolous' lame excuse to stall mother and father. Nicolous may be book-smart but he is clearly not a great staller.

"I suppose so." I peeked into the c***k of the cabinet's door and saw mother undo the braids of her hair that gave her a stern and formal look. She sat beside father on the bed. Her hair draped down just above her waist.

I never understood why she had to do that braid everyday. Maybe it just made her look respectable being the priestess and all but she really didn't have to because she's respectable either way. She is a noble woman and governs the empire with honor.

"Aegon, is it true?" they were sitting with their backs facing me but I know I heard distress in mother's voice.

"We do not know yet, Aurelia. General Forbisher said that the information came from the city in the East. We have to prepare." They look at each other and their eyes were full of worry.

"The guild of the blind has been long gone. But if they're back.."

"They're not back."

"If they're back," mother emphasized on the if. "Hustasia will never be prepared for them."

The guild of the blind? Magister Ammut said in our history lesson that they were wiped out of existence when their Lord, The Unseen, and the guild resist against the hand of god. How are they back?

"We are not even sure if this is true." Father stood up. He leaned by the window and stared into the empire. The height of the temple surely gives them a good view of the empire.

"The guild of the blind is the most powerful army and followers the world has ever known." Mother stood up and looked into father's deep and calculating steel gray eyes.

"Was the most powerful. If they are back, the guild is probably crippled now. Without their Lord." Their eyes locked with one another.

"That's what I'm afraid of. We have vulnerable cities out there. A few attacks and the guild will be back on track. Soon enough, they'll be unstoppable." Mother emphasizes her point.

Mother is right, the guild will grow again like it did before. Magister Ammut said that the guild grew into the thousands, blinding humans and forcing them to become the assassins that they are.

"We must stop them, before they devour us all. Cut off the weed before they can even grow." Mother made father look into her eyes. "Please, Aegon. We must do something about this. I can't just sit here and be the priestess who knows about the imminent threat that is about to leave her empire in ruins."

With a calculating look on his face, father sat on the bed while rubbing his chin. Mother sat beside him.

"Hustasia is a force in the battle field. But with an army like the guild, we don't stand a chance." Father nods in agreement.

This is crazy. The guild of the blind is the powerful army who once put the world on its knees and now they're back. One doesn't have to be a magister to know that this is crazy.

"If we have concrete proof that the guild is back, then we'll strike. Right now, we can't punch in the air not knowing where our enemy is." Mother looks away but father made her look back.

"If they are here, then it will be easier to stop them now that they are smaller." He held mother's hand and tightens his grip. "Don't worry, I'll ask for alliance with the other empires and cities outside ours. I'll travel to Thanatos or sail to Atlantoss if I must. I'll contact the priest of Eastlanta. I'll do everything, we'll do everything to protect Hustasia." Father takes mother's hand and kisses it.

Mother smiles and stares at father's eyes. "We'll bring that up tomorrow on the council meeting." Father chuckles at the thought.

They stare at each other, adoration were evident in their smiles. My father leans forward and kisses mother. Soon enough, their kisses were deep and father's hands roamed mother's body.

Ugh, I can't watch this part.

I looked away and tried to distract myself from the s*x noises I hear outside.

If the guild is back then the unseen is probably back too. The Unseen is the most mysterious among all gods, most history books have little to no details about him. Some say he is the god of darkness, the complete opposite to the hand of god.

"Ahh Aegon." Mother's moaning pulled me out of my thoughts. "Ahh oh yes ahh" I covered my ears to block out my mother's moaning.

Mother's right though, the only way to stop the guild is to act now. To stop them from growing, they must capture or kill the guild that resurfaced.

If we don't, history will repeat itself.