In this excerpt from The Heretics, Deirdre Milonia and her daughter Eva live on the border of the ominous Facinitus Forest. When Deirdre brings news of a terrifying revelation, Eva reflects on the moment her life in the shadow of the Mettalium Empire changed forever.

Deirdre Milonia entered the wooden door of her cabin. She quickly ran to the window, closing the curtain. She lived on the border of Mukta Pneuma and the Facinitus Forest. The citizens, taking no pride in their city, often shortened its name to Mukta. The deep green trees served as a barrier between Mukta and the great Mettalium temple, which sat on the other side of the forest. 

It was only open to citizens five days out of the week. During this time, The Prophet, with great exertion, would use his divine power to render the creature infested forest safe for passage. As it was the sixth day of the week, the protection would be lowered, giving The Prophet time to recover. 

Nobody could safely enter the forest today. Deirdre watched from her window. The trees were eerily still and looked more black than green. She could hear the rustling of the leaves as the wind whispered through the pines. Small beads of sweat formed on her brow.

“Mother?” Deirdre whipped around to see a young eighteen-year-old woman standing by the table sitting in the middle of the baren kitchen. She was reading a book, titled Baking: A Homemaker’s Guide to Perfect Bread. “Mother, is something wrong?”

“Eva.” Deirdre reached for her daughter and pulled her close. “I just came from your betrothed’s house.” Eva tensed at the mention of her betrothed, but said nothing. “Eva.” Deirdre held her daughter’s face in her hands. “They are coming! The monsters are marching through the forest as we speak!”

“The monsters?” Eva pulled away and crept toward the dirty, brown curtain covering the window. She gingerly peeled back the corner and peered toward the forest. It was peaceful and still. “What do you mean?”

Deirdre quickly slapped Eva on the back of the head. “Stupid girl! Close that at once!” Eva staggered backwards, gripping her head. She huffed back to the wooden table, and sat on the bench. 

“He told me that The Prophet has learned of our plot to overthrow him!” She paced back and forth. “He is sending his hordes of servants, armed with divine swords, to slaughter us all! There is nowhere to run.”

Eva’s heart paused for a moment before it continued to beat. The Electrum followers had been plotting to overthrow The Prophet for a very long time. Longer than she and her mother had been in the fellowship. They had always claimed that they would one day rise up and defeat the Mettalium empire.

 Eva always doubted that this was plausible. Their numbers and power seemed far too insignificant to be a match for the great religious empire. Much to her relief the Mettalium seemed unaware of, or disinterested in, the activities of the Electrum heretics as they were known. Had that changed? She had her doubts. “How does he know that?” She rubbed the back of her aching head. 

“Eva.” Deirdre walked slowly toward Eva and placed her hands firmly on the table. A small cloud of dust dispersed on the impact. “He is the messenger of god. It is foolish to ask how he knows these things. The Electrum deity itself has revealed all.” She raised her hands to the sky before slumping down onto the bench massaging her temples. “These Mettalium scum aim to snuff us out.” She spat on the dirty floor . . . Eva wrinkled her nose. Indoors, she thought, great. Deirdre finished her diatribe with a final declaration. “They can never be victorious!” 

Eva’s face turned red and hot. The mountain of scars on her chest began to itch. She reached underneath her gray frock and scratched furiously at them. They crossed over her chest like rat tails, tangled and tight. Somewhere beneath the scars was once a branded Mark of Mettalium. It had long been scratched away. She shuddered at the memory.

“Eva,” said Dierdre, looking at her daughter. “Eva, stop scratching.” She quickly took Eva’s hands and held them on the table. “Do you understand what I’m saying to you?” She stroked her daughter’s cheek, tears falling from her blue eyes. “Today might be the day that we lay down our lives for Electrum.”

Icy blood shot through Eva’s veins. Her mother had left the Mettalium religion two years ago when she was taken in by the words of the Electrum followers. Eva had too. Though things had been difficult for them back then, somehow, two years later, Eva  was not sure that she preferred things as they were now. Deirdre was so different.

Eva remembered the day things changed, two years ago. Deirdre opened her cupboards to make more bread. To her dismay, she found them nearly empty, which only meant one thing: it was time again to go to the market. Deirdre sighed, pinching her eyes shut. She preferred to avoid the market whenever possible.

 It was a busy, bustling street with a dirt road. Various individuals roamed freely including pickpockets at best, and dead-eyed sadists at worst. These were the people who caused harm to others not out of desperate necessity, which Deirdre could forgive, but for fun. Deirdre was always torn between taking her daughter to such a place, or leaving her defenseless in an unlocked cabin. Today, she opted to keep Eva at her side.

Once they reached the market, Eva and Deirdre cautiously wandered into the dust-filled streets. Sellers yelled from their stands, beckoning them to purchase vibrantly colored clothes, fresh, succulent food, and glittering, ornate jewelry.

 Eva inhaled deeply. She could smell cooking meat on the fire along with floral hot teas and freshly baked bread. All pleasant smells that mingled with the earthy stench of the dirt and hordes of tightly packed humans. 

They squeezed through crowds of men and women, some urgently trying to make their living, others with treacherous eyes. Deirdre held firmly to Eva’s hand. Her purse was hidden in the pockets of her gray frock. 

“Stay with me, Eva,” she warned, squeezing her daughter’s hand firmer still. Eva obeyed. She held her breath as hundreds of footsteps kicked up massive dust clouds. The yellow clouds stung her squinted eyes. With little success, she tried to block the dirt by cupping her hand over her mouth and nose. They’d barely arrived and Eva already wished to leave. market was always such a disorienting excursion.

She could hardly tell which way they were going when a man with piercing blue eyes, much more electric than Eva’s, came forward from where he stood, leaning on the edge of a stone building.

 “Excuse me, lady,” he murmured. Eva, who was already on guard, perked up immediately, ready to fend off any danger that may be lurking. She did not respond, but leaned in closer to her mother. Deirdre glanced over her shoulder.

 She had thought they’d get deeper into the market before attracting unwanted attention. That was usually her experience when she was alone, but her young, beautiful daughter stood out in the crowd.

“I’m talking to you.” The man loomed closer to the women and placed his hand on Eva’s shoulder.

Deirdre jolted. “Leave her alone!” she cried, as she quickened her stride. Onlookers began turning their heads with a mix of casual curiosity and indifference. 

“Who, me?” He raised his eyebrows innocently. “I just wanted to say ‘hello’.” He pulled on Eva, separating her from her mother. Deirdre, no longer aware of her surroundings, turned and pried the man’s hands off of her daughter.  

“I said, leave her alone!” She lifted her hand to smack the blue eyed man on the head. 

When she did, he released Eva, but glared at her with eyes that looked lit up from within. “You’ll regret that.” 

“Stay away!” Deirdre pushed Eva behind herself as the man crept slowly forward. She held her hands up as a painfully insufficient first line of defense. Eva looked around to see if anyone would help them.

 To her dismay, it seemed most people were just grateful that they were not the ones being attacked. She turned her attention back to the blue-eyed man. As she did, another man approached from behind and quickly reached into Deirdre’s pocket. Before she could react, the second man ran off into the crowd with Deirdre’s coin purse tucked into his chest. 

“As you wish!” replied the blue eyed man. Before following after his companion, he lifted his hand and struck Deirdre across the face. She fell to the ground clutching her cheek. The market spun several times as she attempted to reorient herself.

“Mother!” Eva crouched down to help Deirdre to her feet. Deirdre ignored the stinging in her cheek and was quickly alert again. 

She sprang to her feet asking, “Where did he go?” 

Eva pointed. “He ran off in that direction! Mother, I think the second man stole your purse!” Eva was on the brink of hot, angry tears.

“My purse?” Her stomach dropped when she realized her pocket was empty. “No! Damn it!” Deirdre slammed her fists against her thighs. She had to get that money back. Otherwise, she and Eva would go hungry tonight. Even worse, she would have to go out again and get more money. 

The work she did made her sick as it was. The thought of having done all of it for nothing was more than she could bear. She moved forward conflicted as to whether she should leave her daughter for a moment, or let their money go. She could be fast. Faster than she would be with Eva trailing behind her. She glanced at her daughter. Eva would be okay for a moment. Just for a moment. 

“Eva,” she said urgently, “I have to go after them!” Eva’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “Please, just wait here for one moment! Just one moment, all right?” Deirdre hesitated before pulling her hand from her daughter’s grasp.

“Mother please! We can go one night without food.” Fear of being left alone in this place by far outweighed a night without food in Eva’s mind. 

Deirdre thought her heart would split in two. “I’ll be fast.” She held Eva’s cheek. “Just don’t move!” 

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The Heretics © Taleah Graves, 2024. All rights reserved.
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