Chapter Fifty Nine

The Temple of Hoffensol

MELODY

"No, no, no, no. NO!" Moana screamed furiously as tears began to stream down her face. "How did this happen? How could you let this happen?"

Stuttering wordlessly, Melody stood opposite the tribal chief, with Maui's lifeless body between them. She looked down at the silent demigod, a knife stuck in his stomach and blood dribbling onto the sand. Above them, the sun began to duck behind dark clouds and the summer heat vanished, replaced by cold, bitter winds.

Moana crumbled to her knees in front of her best friend's corpse. "He was supposed to be immortal," Her voice cracked. "He was always supposed to be here on Motunui." She whirled and glared at Melody. "But you took him away from me."

"I…" A lump wedged itself in Melody's throat and she swallowed. Still she couldn't find the words to apologise to the sobbing girl before her. "I..I…"

"No. No more excuses!" Moana snarled through her chokes of agony. "I don't want to hear it. You steal my best friend from where he was meant to be, then led him to his death. And still you come back here to gloat?"

"Moana! I'm not here to gloat!" Melody managed to answer in spite of her tight throat. Tears clouded her vision even as she saw the tribal chief rise to her feet. "I needed to see you. To tell you-"

"Shut up!" Moana's grip tightened on spear in her hand as she stepped round Maui's body and advanced towards Melody. "No more lies. You will answer for your sins and pay with your own blood."

"Moana! Listen to me!" Melody backpedaled furiously, the sand beneath her feet slowly turning stark white. Another chilly wind stung her eyes and she raised both fists instinctively. "It doesn't have to be this way!" She tripped over a rock and sprawled backwards heavily. Before she knew it, Moana pounced on her, eyes flashing with rage.

"No! Moana! Please, wait!" Melody yelled as Moana plunged the spear into her belly.

Sitting up abruptly with a scream, Melody's head met the maddeningly low rock ceiling and her head snapped back. Lying back down, she groaned and nursed her forehead. If she hadn't had a headache before waking up, she certainly had one now.

"You alright?" Deirdre laid a cautious hand on her arm. "Another nightmare?"

"Yeah." Eyebrows furrowed from the stinging pain, Melody shut her eyes with another long groan. Again?

"Let me look at that," Deirdre slowly pried Melody's hand away from her forehead and took a good look. "Shit."

Melody opened one eye. "Is it bad?"

"Just a cut, is all." Deirdre lied.

Melody looked at the blood dripping from her hand. "I don't think that's just a cut."

"Okay, you probably need stitches," Deirdre admitted. "Look, I'm no Holli but I can probably bandage your head. Stop the bleeding at least."

"Alright," Melody sat up as Deirdre fished into her pack and removed some layers of white cloth. Eyes narrowed and slanted, she continued to frown hard, and it wasn't from the pain - she'd sustained a lot worse. That wasn't just any normal nightmare that she'd been having as of late.

"Want to tell me about it?" Deirdre asked as she began bandaging Melody's forehead. "Can't promise I'll be a very good listener, but better than the alternative." Eleanor continued snoring three feet away from the two girls.

"My dream. Nightmare." Melody grimaced as the cloth wound tightly around the bloody gash. "I saw Moana."

"Who?"

"Oh. Right. You weren't with us yet at the time. She was one of the founding members of our little Warriors team," Melody explained. "She and Maui were best friends and they helped us stop Kane the very first time back when he was still an eco-terrorist."

"Okay…" Deirdre dragged the word out. "So you saw this Moana in your dream?"

"Yeah. I don't remember how I got him there, but I brought Maui's body back to Motunui - that's the island she's from. I thought that it was only right that I delivered the news myself. But-"

"But she didn't take it very well."

"No, she didn't," Melody tensed as Deirdre tied the excess of the bandage into a simple knot. "She killed me."

"Shit," Deirdre muttered. "No offence, but I think you're really going to need to see Holli when we get back to the Coalition."

"Why?" Melody touched the bandage. It was dry.

"I didn't mean just your physical wound. I meant…ummn…" Deirdre looked like she was having a hard time finding the right words.

"You mean my trauma."

Deirdre averted her eyes. "Yes."

"Well I'll be damned if the witch doctor can fix this too." Melody leaned her head back against the wall of the crevice they'd hunkered down in for the night. Today was Day Six of the climb. They'd been at this for almost a week, but today was the day that they would reach the top. At least, by her estimation.

Melody was beginning to wonder whether beneath all their dogged determination was the unspoken fact that they wouldn't make it out of this alive. After all, the owner of the Multayvak had warned them of the dangers that waited for them up on the Temple of Hoffensol.

"Alright, get your ass up," Deirdre stretched her leg and prodded her sister with her foot.

Mumbling something vulgar in Exonite, Eleanor rolled over and continued snoozing.

"I said get up," Deirdre shook her violently till she stirred lethargically of her own accord. "That is, if you want to get to the temple today."

"Fine, fine, keep your shirt on." Eleanor rubbed her eyes with a rudely loud yawn. "No one wants my powers back more than me but a girl needs her sleep."

"You'll get plenty of sleep when we're back with the Coalition." Melody said as the trio made their way out of the crevice and back into daylight. The sun was up in the sky - thankfully - and there was no trace of a impending snow storm in sight apart from a light morning wind that felt brisk.

"Hah. You really think they'll let me be free?" Eleanor snorted as she debouched last from the crevice after Deirdre. "Not everyone's as forgiving as you think they are."

"Eleanor. We had an agreement," Deirdre shot her sister a warning look.

Melody rounded on her. "You promised you'd take us back."

"I know what I said," Eleanor said sharply. "That doesn't mean I have to come with you."

"So you get your powers. Then what?" Melody demanded. "You go back to the capital and fight Hans, the Crimson Order and the Imperial Blitzguard all by yourself? Is that it? That's your plan?"

"A hell of a lot better than sticking around with the Coalition, right? At least if I'm on my own I might actually survive," Eleanor steely levelled her gaze. "What do you really think's going to happen when I show up in the middle of your camp?"

"The majority of the world doesn't even know what you look like."

"And what about your Warrior buddies? We going to be best friends?"

"Let us worry about them." Deirdre said.

"And what about the Confederation? You think they're going to just let things slide? Shake my hand and pretend nothing ever happened?" Eleanor hissed. "In case you don't remember, I started a war. They'll have me executed!"

"We won't let that happen," Melody insisted.

Eleanor barked a sarcastic laugh. "You really do think the world of yourself, don't you? You think it'll be up to you to decide?"

Melody bit her lip. She hated to admit it, but Eleanor was right.

"Look, I know what you're trying to do and I'll never admit I said it, but I suppose I do appreciate it. But I'll take my chances," Eleanor said definitively. "I'll keep my word and send you back, but that's it. If I'm going to die facing Hans, then so be it. At least I'll go out on my own terms and not at the end of a firing squad."

"And what about crossing that road together?" Deirdre confronted her sister head on. "Or was everything we talked about in the last two days all a lie?"

"I never lied about any of it," Eleanor scowled and dropped her eyes. A short pause. "Maybe I wasn't thinking straight."

"You don't mean that," Deirdre's eyes were watering as she clutched Eleanor's shoulders. "Please don't do this. After all the years we wasted being enemies, you're going to throw away this chance too?"

Eleanor shook her off. "Don't get too comfortable. Just forget it alright? We're never going to be a perfect sister duo, not like those damn Arendellian girls. It was never meant to be," She lowered her voice just as Melody detected a hint of wavering. "You'll go your way and I'll go mine, just like it's always been."

Blinking back hot, angry tears, Deirdre glared at Eleanor for a long minute before finally shaking her head and walking away with a stifled sniffle. Eleanor folded her arms and rolled her eyes.

"And here I thought you were changing," Melody said quietly. "I was ready to actually vouch for you."

"Save it. Don't waste your time," Eleanor avoided her gaze and pushed past Melody. "The sooner we're rid of each other the better. Can't disagree, can you?" Another pause. "Didn't think so. Let's just finish this quick and we can go our separate ways."

Conflicted, Melody watched as Eleanor began to trudge up the steep slope after Deirdre. She sighed. Who am I kidding? Eleanor was never going to become one of the good guys. If she wants to go on her own suicide mission after getting her demon back, it's not like I have the power to stop her anyway. Inhaling deeply, Melody set off after the two girls.

"So, Moana huh?" Maui quipped as he hiked alongside her. "We both haven't seen her in a long time."

"For someone who's lived for a thousand years, a couple of years shouldn't feel that long." Melody said.

"True, but not for you. So why dream of her now?"

"You tell me," Melody felt mildly exasperated.

Maui shrugged. "Maybe your conscience is telling you to take a break after all this and go find her? After all, someone should tell her that I'm gone. She's probably hoping that one day I'll come back to the island."

Brushing away newly formed tears, Melody narrowed her eyes and trudged on. "And you're sure she won't kill me?"

"Try to, you mean?" Maui chortled. "Naw, you know as well as I do that she won't. You're her friend."

"Well you've never died before. Surely that changes things."

"Even if that's true, deep down you know what's right," Maui had grown serious, but still kind. "Why else would you dream about Moana? You know that after all this is over, you have to tell her about what happened."

"Assuming I live till it's over, that is." Melody muttered.

###

The trio finally reached the highest peak of the mountain range slightly after midday. The sun still shone bright in the clear sky, casting a warm hue over the snow coating the summit. Looking down from the top of the mountain, Melody felt like she was on an entirely different plane of existence. The clouds below her obscured the village of Mon Solrak and the rest of the world, and the air all the way up on the summit felt thin but fresh.

"Finally," Eleanor said. "The Temple of Hoffensol."

Melody turned and surveyed the construct before them. It was just as she'd pictured it; unmistakably foreboding and mysterious. The Temple of Hoffensol stood tall and as wide as a longhouse with two even taller towers at its side. The towers' walls were rounded and topping the towers were snow tipped domes. Near the very top of the towers were a few embrasures, almost like a fortress. All three buildings were fashioned out of brick and stone, and Melody was inclined to think that perhaps this place had been used as a military installation centuries ago and had been abandoned. At this time of day, the sun was behind the temple and the lofty structures cast inhospitable looking shadows across the surface of the summit.

Well, it's too late to turn back now. Walking closer towards the temple with the others, she realised that the entrance couldn't have been more conspicuous. A tall pair of grey iron doors stood in front of them, though they didn't look like they'd been opened in decades.

"You sure there's anyone in there?" Deirdre asked. She'd become more distant towards her sister ever since this morning.

"Pretty damn sure. This splinter cult doesn't leave the mountains for fear of being found by the Crimson Order," Eleanor said emotionlessly. "Time to make our entrance."

"Wait." Melody tried to stop the girl but it was too late. She banged on the door thrice, her rude knocking no doubt reverberating and echoing through the longhouse and quite possibly the towers too.

"I've waited long enough," Eleanor growled. "Today I'll get back what's mine."

Then, they waited. There was no response.

Eleanor banged on the door again, this time a little more desperately. "Open the doors!" She yelled.

"I'm not sure that's the best way to gain the favour of a murderous cult." Melody said dryly, unslinging the bow from her back and holding it in her hand. Her hands began to shake again.

This time, the doors did open but slowly, swinging inwards to reveal a pitch black interior of the longhouse. But there was no one inside to greet them. In fact, no one had opened the doors, as they discovered when they stepped into the temple.

"Okay, so doors that open by themselves?" Melody felt the hairs on the back of her neck rising. It felt like she was in a haunted house more than a temple, what with the eerie vibe she was getting coupled with the darkness and the musty smell of the place. Behind them, the doors creaked and shut with an echoing thud, invisible locks turning and sliding into place.

"If you want to stay alive, stay close," Eleanor led the way into the dark longhouse.

"Deirdre, a little light?" Melody said quietly to the Elemental Sorceress who was bringing up the rear.

A ball of flame ignited to life in Deirdre's palm and she held it up to illuminate their surroundings. But before any of them could get a good look, the flame fizzled out almost as quickly as it'd sparked into existence, and again they were thrown into darkness.

"Deirdre?" Melody glanced over her shoulder, but she still saw nothing. "You alright?"

"Something's wrong," Deirdre warned. "I can't summon my magic. There's an energy in the air that's blocking it."

"Don't forget they used to be part of the Crimson Order," Eleanor reminded them. "They hate sorcery as much as the High Priest does. They'd have put up counter-wards against magic."

"Well, that figures," Melody's grip tightened on her bow, though she didn't know what good her weapon would do. She couldn't shoot, and she had no idea whether the cultists would engage them in a melee - if she could even see them.

"Hello?" Eleanor cupped her hands over her mouth like a funnel and yelled. "Hello? We need your help! Anyone there?"

Melody was about to suggest that yelling at their hosts wasn't such a good idea but something collided with the back of her head with such force that she stumbled forward and fell to the ground. Before she could turn round, someone strong pinned her arms behind her and another pair of hands put a blindfold over her eyes before choking her into unconsciousness. As she faded away, she could hear her allies getting the same treatment.

###

A slap to the face was enough to rudely jolt her awake. Gasping, Melody opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness courtesy of the blindfold. Her first instinct was to tackle whoever had slapped her to the ground in self defence but she couldn't move her arms. Her wrists were chained behind her, attached to a steel ring of some sort.

She tried to stand but found that she couldn't do that too. Her ankles were also chained behind her, linked up to the same ring that held her wrists. Struggling further, she deduced that the steel ring had been attached around her waist, effectively using her own body as a means to prevent her from breaking free. As she continued to try to worm her way free, she lost her balance and toppled over onto her side, her cheek meeting the cold stone floor.

Someone raised her back to a kneeling position, and she wrestled against her chains indignantly. "Who's there?" she demanded. "Show yourself!"

The blindfold was lifted off her eyes and she blinked, obviously not having expected compliance. Looking round, she saw both Deirdre and Eleanor kneeling in similar restraints, with Eleanor in the centre of the three of them. Their winter jackets had been removed, leaving them in their thick shirts and pants. As for weapons, Melody's bow and pack were nowhere to be seen.

The room they were in was dim, save for the daylight filtering in through the slim embrasures on the walls. Melody deduced that they were in one of the tall, round towers she'd seen on the way to the temple.

Men and women lined the rounded walls of the large chamber, dressed in dark blue linen robes. Unlike the priests of the Crimson Order, they didn't wear hoods over their heads, though they were cleanly shaven and completely bald, both men and women alike. Their long, loose robes pooled around their wrists and ankles, revealing their feet clad in leather sandals. They were made up of young and old alike, and most didn't look like the cultists Melody had envisioned them to be.

"Unchain us," Melody called out in a loud voice, and she felt something sharp pressing against her shoulder. She let out an involuntary gasp as it sank a little deeper into her flesh, drawing a trickle of blood.

"Silence," A man's gravelly voice answered in heavily accented English. "You will speak only when spoken to."

"Get that thing away from me," She tried to twist away from whatever was piercing her skin but a large hand grabbed her arm and the sharp weapon was driven a little deeper. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't give her captor the satisfaction of hearing her let out a whimper. Gritting her teeth, she endured the lancing pain as the weapon was ripped out of her shoulder.

"Speak again and I'll cut deeper," The man warned. "Perhaps somewhere else a little…softer."

"Stop." A woman's severe voice rung throughout the tower and everyone straightened except for the three girls.

Melody strained to look over her shoulder but found it rather difficult to do with her shoulder still burning. She settled for letting the one who spoke sweep past her and the others, trailing a strangely sweet and foreign scent in her wake.

Appearing to be in her early thirties - not more than a decade older than the girls themselves, the woman was dark-skinned and wore linens in the same fashion as the rest of the cultists in the chamber, but she had a full head of hair - red and tied back into a simple braid. A green pendant hung from her neck and brushed pronounced collarbones. She cut a slim figure underneath her robes, and had a rather impartial and stern disposition about her. "Now," she said, her eyes languidly flicking between the three girls before finally resting on Melody. "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

"We're…we're here for your help," Eleanor cut in. "We're not here for a fight."

"I believe I know who you are," The woman switched to Exonite, pointing a long, thin finger at her with sharp nails. "The horrors of the Exonian Empire do not go unnoticed, not even up here in the mountains."

Melody grimaced. This was going to be harder than she'd hoped.

"Please, let us explain why-" Deirdre began in Exonite but stopped abruptly when one of the men grazed the point of a long knife along her shoulder.

"Silence. You will speak only when spoken to." The cultist hissed.

"Darlak." The woman waved him away.

"Mistress, this one-"

"Bears the life force of a witch," The woman met Deirdre's eyes. "A powerful one too."

The rest of the cultists lining the walls gasped quietly and murmured among themselves.

"A witch? Here?"

"Is she here to destroy the temple?"

"Has the day of judgement come at last?"

"Quiet," The woman held up a hand, the excess of her linen sleeve falling away to reveal a thin arm. The chamber lapsed back into silence. She nodded at the three cultists guarding the captives, and they melted back into the ranks of their companions. Satisfied, the woman turned to Deirdre with a calm expression. "Why would a witch come to this place?"

"I am not a witch," Deirdre answered. "We come in peace. Like she said, we are not here to fight."

"Then why did you bring the Empress of Exon here?" The woman's tone went from neutral to quizzical, supplemented by a curious look.

"She's not the Empress, not anymore. And I can promise you, we aren't here to sow chaos. We need your help. We know what this place is." Melody said, half expecting a blade to be driven into her spine.

"And what is this place, do you think?"

Melody took a deep breath. What she was about to say was either going to buy them a few extra minutes, or end their lives in the next. "A sanctuary to remain hidden from the Crimson Order."