x
The Purity of Sin
Thirteen
The shock and horror that rippled through the air was palpable.
The High Priest was shaking himself as he approached a returning retrieval party, solemnly bearing stretchers that contained four bodies.
Sister Munice. Brother Wicyk. Brother Tyrol. Sister Kladrel.
He traced each bloodied face with his eyes, forcing himself to look upon the grisly wounds, the lifeless stares. Behind him he heard crying, wails of despair as kin and blood kin alike came upon the scene and the names of the fallen were whispered back.
"When?" he managed to ask, unable to still hide the tremor to his voice.
"We found them this morning, High Priest," murmured one of the Mackans that had returned with the deceased party. Sister Robin, he identified. Just barely initiated. "On the Plains of Hiruit. We… we smelled the blood," and she winced.
The High Priest extended a gentle paw to rest on her shoulder and she looked at him gratefully. Strengthened, she continued on. "My team was told by Sister K-Kladrel to stay off the Plains." She swallowed. "But when the suns rose and they had not returned we followed. We picked up a blood trail not long after and…"
She bowed her head. "I am so sorry, High Priest. If we had gone sooner…"
"No, Sister," and he squeezed her shoulder again. "You too may have met the same fate. Sister Kladrel's team was picked specifically for their strength and yet…" he trailed off. But he was their High Priest. He must remain strong. He forced himself to continue. "I am glad you are safe, Sister Robin. I know this is hard to think on, but do you know where the Paladins of Voltron have gone?"
She shook her head. "I am sorry, High Priest. They… they vanished without any trail." He hid his displeasure with this news. "We have teams combing the area still. We will find them." Her own gaze narrowed. "They will pay for what they have done."
"That they will," the High Priest said. "But for now, please, have your team bring our fallen brothers and sisters to the morgue so we can begin burial rites. We shall not let them suffer any longer."
Sister Robin's eyes softened. "As you wish, High Priest."
The gathering crowd parted as the stretchers were brought forth, new cries rising into the air and sobs of grief echoing off the stone. Some followed the stretches, blood kin to the fallen, but many remained, turning to the black-furred Mackan wearing the robes of white.
They looked to him with hope, for answers. They were scared. They needed reassured.
They needed their sacrifice.
The High Priest took a deep breath. "Brothers and Sisters," he called and silence immediately reigned. He looked about the hallway, meeting every pair of matching amber eyes. "Today… today has been a tragic day indeed.
"These Paladins of Voltron are monsters." Muffled agreement. "Demons." Louder. "They have slain our fellow Brothers and Sisters without remorse. They threaten our very existence." The sorrow was giving way now to determination. Anger.
The High Priest smiled. Good. Anger gave purpose. Anger gave power. Anger would give them their sacrifice.
"We must stop these Paladins of Voltron before any more harm befalls us. The Red and Black Paladin of Voltron is a menace to us all. He is responsible for the deaths of our dear Brothers and Sisters. He is keeping the sacrifice from us. He is trying to kill us all."
Growls and roars greeted him.
"But we will not let him! We will show him the power, the strength, of Macka. This is a trial, bestowed upon us by Lady Leora to make us stronger. To unite us as we have never united before."
Cheering now. A call to arms.
"We will take back our sacrifice! We will protect our home! We will not be stopped!"
The High Priest allowed himself a smile as the crowd, formerly consumed by grief was now calling for action, calling for blood.
"We will not forget the price paid by our brothers and sisters!" he called, rousing them further. "We will honor them with the death of the Red and Black Paladin. We will see him bleed!"
It was a frenzy now, paws stamping and yowls and growls echoing.
"We will overcome this trial, Brothers and Sisters. We will not bow to fear. Lady Leora will guide our paws and our hearts so that justice may be served." He surveyed the Mackans. "Now go! To arms, my Brothers and Sisters. We will find these Paladins of Voltron and we will take what is ours!"
The assembled Mackans broke apart, scrambling to form search parties, readying weapons outside of their own magic. They may have underestimated these Paladins of Voltron before, but that time was long past. There would not be a small party of Mackans trying to apprehend them now.
No, the High Priest thought, smirk crossing his muzzle. There would be an army.
"Brother Milnew," he called over the din, and as if waiting for the cue the sandy-furred Mackan was at his side. "Summon the Council of Elders to the chapel. We will begin preparations for the Purification of the third Sin."
He would allow the Paladins of Voltron this one final afternoon to draw breath as his kin tracked them down. He would grant them that last mercy, this chance to live for a few varga more. It was more than they already deserved.
But once night fell and the Purity of Sin ritual was completed… the High Priests' grin widened.
Then there would be no escape.
xxx
Keith was beginning to worry now. Not that he hadn't been worried before, but this was ascending into levels that were beginning to border on panic.
Lance hadn't woken up.
It had been about two varga now since he'd passed out and he hadn't even so much as twitched, even when Keith awkwardly dragged him across the ground to follow the shade along the cliff walls.
He'd taken to checking Lance's pulse every few minutes, trying to reassure himself that the Cuban's chest was indeed rising and falling as he breathed. His skin wasn't cool to the touch as earlier, but now warm and unlike Keith he was not glistening with sweat.
Keith was no medical expert, but did know that sweat came from the body's attempts to cool itself. He also knew that sweat was mostly water. And the fact that Lance's body wasn't producing any meant he was still severely dehydrated.
He'd tried getting him to drink twice, but the water just spilled from slackened lips and they didn't have any to spare on watering the ground. Keith had already had to use the rest of the second canteen, after realizing his error, to dilute the blood Lance had lost on the ground.
Then he'd walked several yards away and had thrown the bloodied garments Lance had used as bandages as far as he could inward down the path. He hoped that given the fact there was no wind and now that they were baking in the heat there would be no scent left to track. He nearly kicked himself for not realizing the potential beacon they would have made to the Mackans.
He blamed it on the extreme lack of sleep he was suffering. It still wasn't an excuse.
Despite his dizziness he'd forced himself to scale up the cliff wall about an hour ago, hoping upon hope that no Mackans disturbed the horizon.
Somehow, miraculously, he had not seen any signs of the bobcats. Rather than relief though he felt only a churning fear. Because they would be coming. And he hated not knowing when.
He slumped back down next to Lance, entire body drooping with exhaustion. But he couldn't sleep. That was the one thing he did know for certain. Sleep would be death.
"You wanna wake up?" he asked the still figure hoarsely.
And as if summoned Lance's eyes moved beneath closed lids. Keith leaned forward, holding his breath. He didn't dare hope yet, but this was the closest Lance had come to moving since he'd passed out.
With an inaudible gasp Lance came to, eyes flying open and widening further as only blackness greeted them. Keith saw the bandaged chest rise rapidly and he interjected before Lance could work himself into a panic.
"Hey," he greeted, only then reaching out to place a hand gingerly on Lance's shoulder. "It's okay. It's just me. Deep breaths."
Lance sucked in a soundless breath and Keith watched as it practically shuddered its way free. Lance repeated the action a few more times, heart rate gradually calming. Keith kept one hand on Lance's shoulder and carefully moved his other to the chocolate locks, combing his fingers through gently and a real smile touching his lips as Lance leaned into it.
"How do you feel?"
At the question Lance winced and Keith couldn't miss how both of his hands, still settled where he'd put them on the brown stomach, twitched.
"I know," Keith sighed. "I'm sorry."
Blue eyes narrowed. Keith could already picture what Lance was going to say and he sighed again. "And I'm sorry for apologizing. I know it needed done. I just… I don't like doing it."
Lance nudged his head against Keith's hand, which the half-Galran realized after a tick was Lance's new version of hand squeezing given the fact both of his hands were too hurt to really be doing that.
"Are you up for some water?"
Lance seemed to think about it but then there was a minute nod and Keith shifted to help Lance sit up, this time pulling him past the half-recline and actually to full sitting against the cliff wall. The robe still tied loosely about his neck cushioned his back against the rough rock and Keith settled next to him, pressing the canteen to Lance's mouth.
"Better?" Keith asked, pulling it away after watching Lance swallow twice. A nod and blue eyes closed tiredly, still exhausted despite all the rest. Keith more than understood.
"Ready to try eating again?"
Lance's brow furrowed.
"Just a few bites?" Keith was well aware of how desperate that sounded and Lance seemed to have picked up on it, as he sent a guilty look in Keith's direction. "Two bites," Keith haggled. "You need it."
Lance mouthed 'okay' and took the piece of bar Keith offered, chewing robotically. He made sure they were large pieces.
"We've got about fourteen hours," Keith said in way of conversation. "Four hours of daylight on this end, night and then two more hours of light."
Lance managed to nudge Keith with his elbow, hands still on his lap, and tilted his head with his eyes closed.
"Your neck hurts?"
Lance silently snorted and shook his head. He lifted one shoulder and rested his head against it.
"Oh, sleep," Keith realized. It was a bit harder without Lance's hands to interpret. Lance raised an eyebrow again and nudged Keith again with the elbow. "I can't," Keith told him, even though every part of him was nodding in agreement with Lance. "It isn't safe."
Lance said something, but the only word Keith caught for sure was sleep. He blinked after a few seconds, realizing he'd zoned out and Lance was waiting for a response.
"Can't sleep," he repeated, and damn did that sound slurred.
And even though Lance's eyes were no longer the lively blue, they still burned with intensity as they focused on Keith and the swordsman had to look away.
"I'm sorry," Keith apologized, although he wasn't really sure who he was saying it to. "It's not safe."
And as if proving his point Keith heard something coming from beyond their niche. He surged to his feet so fast that Lance, who had been lightly starting to lean against him, startled back.
His hand went to his knife and he pulled it free without a sound, cocking his head to hear better.
And no, there was definitely the sound of something from further up the canyon. Adrenaline thrummed in equal measure with dread in his veins. "Stay here," he whispered, as though Lance was really going to move.
Edging forward he pressed himself against the far wall, straining to pick up what was coming.
An ambush, he'd assume, but there wasn't near enough sound for a large group, even if they were trying to be stealthy. But why send just small groups again? Hadn't they seen what had happened to them?
His stomach rolled without consent and Keith closed his eyes for a brief second. He didn't like killing them. He didn't like the way he fought; it was too violent. Too Galran. He'd rationalized the previous deaths because he knew he couldn't afford to hold back, not when they were severely outnumbered and outgunned.
He told himself the Mackans wanted to sacrifice Lance. They wanted to kill him now too. They'd hurt Lance. They'd scared him. That wasn't forgivable.
He knew what he had to do. It was the only way.
But as the sound drew closer, voices now, his skin prickled. These voices sounded… young. Younger even than the Mackan he'd coerced into letting down the barrier. He wondered if he was still alive. Part of him hoped so.
"—shouldn't go any farther. We're going to get in so much trouble."
"Quit being so scared. It's embarrassing." That voice sounded haughtier, but still much, much too young. His stomach clenched.
"You didn't see the bodies, Celia. Sister Kladrel… she…"
The claws on stone paused and Keith sucked in a silent breath. They had to be just around the curve on the trail. Twenty yards, max.
"Hey. It's okay. We're going to be okay. But we have to help and you know my nose is one of the best. I smell something here, I know it."
Keith's heart skipped.
"But—"
"We won't engage, all right? The High Priest just wanted to find them for now, remember?"
A mumble.
"Good. Come on, just a little farther. Then we'll go back."
Keith's hand felt sweaty on the grip of his sword and his pulse was pounding so loudly he couldn't believe they hadn't heard it.
What did he do? Those sounded like… like children.
He cast his gaze back to Lance, who looked strung as tight as a bow, hands pressed to the ground in case he needed to try and get up quickly. He knew what Lance would do. Or, well wouldn't do.
Killing was already bad enough. But killing children?
Keith shook his head. He couldn't. What would that make him? Not a Paladin of Voltron, surely. Not someone who the universe was counting on to save them.
And they didn't want to fight anyway. Maybe if he just scared them they'd leave?
But then what? The other Mackans would know they were there. They would come and they would not be so easily turned away.
What did he do?
"Stop," came the voice of the one named Celia. "The smell… it's stronger."
Keith cursed silently.
Ten yards away. If they fully rounded the curve they'd be spotted.
"Can we go now?" whimpered the other young Mackan. "Please? Before…"
A new wave of guilt filled the half-Galran at the palatable fear he could hear. He hadn't… he'd never wanted that. They'd come here to make allies with these aliens. It was the Mackans who had been the cause of all of this. If they'd just let them leave… none of this would have happened.
It was the Mackans fault. They were the ones to blame for this entire situation.
And yet remorse still pulsed in Keith at how scared he'd made them feel. For how he'd no doubt ruined families. His hand clenched about the knife. Family was precious. He knew that.
With that thought the remorse gave way to resolve as he glanced back at Lance again. Family was important, more than anything in the world. And he was protecting his.
And no matter what happened his family would always come first.
"Let's go," Celia said and Keith shuddered with relief. "We'll report what we found and they can track them here after the High Priest purifies the third Sin."
His brain froze, trying to process what he'd just heard.
"Hurry," urged her companion. "Please."
The sound of their claws scratching against the rock receded. Keith didn't move from his spot until he could no longer hear them.
He moved mechanically to sit next to Lance, nearly collapsing. He could feel the questioning look directed at him, but he couldn't form words yet. His legs were trembling slightly at the near miss and he was unsurprised and grateful when Lance lifted one of his bandaged hands and placed it on Keith's knee, giving it the barest of squeezes.
"I think," Keith said slowly, "we might have the rest of daylight to ourselves."
Lance cocked his head.
"There were scouts. Young ones," he licked his lips. "They smelled us."
Lance's eyes widened and Keith placed his own hand atop Lance's.
"They're just reporting in though," Keith continued. "Sounds like no one is engaging until…" He trailed off, feeling ice forming in his stomach.
'Until?' Lance repeated.
"Until they do their ritual again," Keith all but whispered, feeling Lance stiffen. "To take your hearing."
Lance's free right hand flew up to his ear, horror filling his face.
"It's going to be okay," Keith murmured, squeezing Lance's hand again. "We'll… we'll figure it out."
Lance did not look any less terrified.
"It won't be until later tonight," he said, as if that was comforting. "Last night they did it about two hours into darkness. If it's the same thing… we'll only have eight hours until rescue then."
How though, Keith wondered as despair started to filter in, were they going to last until the rescue? That was eight hours of Lance being completely cut off from the world save for touch.
It was eight hours of having to fend off what sounded like a large group of Mackans coming in for the kill. Keith wasn't surprised; after last night he doubted there'd be anything less than an army confronting him.
And he knew no matter what he did he could not fight off that many.
"I don't know if we're getting out of this," Keith said quietly.
And based on the slumping form next to him Lance had come to the same conclusion. A dark head descended on Keith's shoulder and instinctually Keith put an arm about Lance, as even in the heat he suddenly felt terribly cold.
They weren't going to make it.
For all that they'd struggled and suffered through there was no way out. Keith wondered if he should have killed the two children but no, he knew it wouldn't have made a difference. Eventually another party would have sniffed them out; there were only so many places they could be.
"I'm so sorry, Lance," Keith whispered. "I'm sorry. I don't… I don't know what to do."
Lance peered up at him then, eyes bright with unshed tears, but he looked determined. Determined and resigned.
"Hell no," Keith snarled, interpreting the expression. "I'm not leaving you behind."
He saw the word forming on Lance's lips and he cut him off, his own sadness turning to anger. "No buts, Lance. Don't even think it."
Lance though clenched Keith's hand in his own, ignoring the flare of pain the action caused. Didn't Keith get it? They were both going to die if they stayed like this. But Keith could get away. He could escape and wait for rescue. Surely he could evade the Mackans if he was on his own and not weighed down by a blind mute who was going to become deaf too in a matter of hours.
He had to run. He had to. Lance could never forgive himself if he let Keith get killed when there was something he could have done.
Even if that something was letting Keith go.
'Please,' he mouthed, trying to blink back the hot tears and failing.
A hand touched his face, catching the tear and Lance leaned into the caress. 'Please,' he tried again.
"I'm not leaving you."
Lance felt a sob jerk its way through him and he shook his head.
"I'm not leaving you," Keith repeated, voice breaking. "Don't ask me to, Lance. I won't."
But—
"I won't," and Keith's arm tightened about him. "Either we get out of this together or…" Lance felt Keith's chest hitch.
"Or we don't get out at all."
xxx
Author's Notes:
First off, guys I am so sorry but I'm not sending out review responses this week. I'm so sorry. I am so so tired and haven't had the energy. Just please know I absolutely adored all of your lovely comments and they really helped me get through the week. Sleep deprivation as I am experiencing firsthand is not fun. Poor Keith. Now I feel even worse.
On the chapter; we touched base with the Mackans! Yay! I know a lot of you were asking about that so your wish has been granted. And more angst for Keith (I can't get enough). This time its children that he's forced with the idea of having to kill and he's doing some reflecting about just how *shitty* this situation has turned into; they did arrive there to be heroes and now they (or rather, he, Keith) is the nightmare under the bed. And that hopelessness is really starting to show as you can see at the end. Poor babies. I'm cruel. I love it. I'm also tired. Don't love that.
I can still do shout outs though. Thank you so so so much to these amazing people who brightened my day (night, really) and kept me going this week: WhiteTails, Guest, yazbk2988, Jennyfish26, ASleepDeprivedPineapple, WindGemini, someonethe3rd, TheTheoryofFangirling, imaginationoverload97, Oliviadbell, LishaChan, dragoscilvio, Genni C, migrane, Pfeh, momoluvr11, wingedflower, Adrianna Agray, LeNolaNamiko, Justanangryfangirl, Belletiger BT, NeverUnderestimateWords, MandyRaccoon, ThisFalseFacade and Alexa! I will try and be better at responding this chapter. Promise! Again, I'm so sorry D:
This week all reviewers get the gift of sleep and good dreams. Yes. That sounds wonderful. Thank you again all for your comments and support. I really, really appreciate them. Please do drop a comment below with your thoughts on this chapter!