Gate of Heaven: Blood and Sand, #3

By Jon Kiln

Together with the demon Ikrit that possesses him, Vekal has arrived at the Lockless Gate, the only entryway into the Heavens. But following close on his heels, are a tide of devils intent on destruction. 

 

But the heart is a strange, heavy thing, and Vekal Morson has to battle not only his infernal enemies but also the devil inside his own mind.

 

Vekal must find out what is worth dying for, and what is worth living for.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jon Kiln
• Release date: Nov 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223397663

Book preview

Gate of Heaven

Blood and Sand: Book Three

––––––––

by Jon Kiln

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2018.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in book reviews.

Table of Contents

Prologue

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

Epilogue

Prologue

Vekal and Ikrit

Having escaped ahead of the Menaali Horde that sacked his home, the desert city of Tir’an’fal – or the City of Gods – Vekal, the Sin Eater, and the devil, Ikrit, who lives inside of him, found only one possible remedy for their condition:

The Lockless Gate.

An ancient hope nurtured by the condemned souls of hell – that there is a back door into heaven, and a way to gain salvation from their sins.

Ikrit, the Greater Abomination, has been searching years for clues of the Lockless Gate; the legend; the devilish faerie-tale; and now that he has human form again, he knows how to find it.

Vekal Morson the priest, last of his Order and escaping refugee of all that he knew, realized that the devil he harbours has been planning this for a long time, as Ikrit revealed to Vekal a network of other demons infiltrating the world, seeking for this escape route to Heaven.

But Vekal realized that the demon itself has even stranger secrets to his name. As they pass through the ruins of Telset, Vekal discovered Ikrit’s true name, and the reason why he became accursed in the first place.

And Vekal learned that the Menaali Horde’s assault on his home was the result of Ikrit’s millennia-long plan to steal into the kingdom of heaven.

Now, on the Isle of Gaunt, Vekal the priest has finally found the Lockless Gate, and would have fought Ikrit’s foul will to carry out his blasphemous plan – were it not for Koulash, another devil from the deeps who has followed Vekal and Ikrit all this way, and has jumped through the celestial gate ahead of them.

What damage has the Sin Eater done to the very fabric of the world?

***

Suriyen

The mercenary and fighter Suriyen has risen far in her short time. From having been captured by Dal Grehb’s Menaali Horde when she was just a young teen, serving ten years as a slave to the most devastating raiders in the southlands, before escaping – and committing herself to a life of martial excellence.

Suriyen swore vengeance on her captors, and the killers of her family. She trained hard as a fighter, a soldier, a captain, and as a Guide – a small cult of rangers who seek to protect the world from the dangers that surround it.

Suriyen saved the boy, Talon, and brought the possessed Sin Eater to the head of her order, the Mother Aldameda in the trading city of Fuldoon – only for Vekal the Sin Eater to escape, and for the Menaali Horde to do something never done before: to cross the Burning Sands and attack Fuldoon itself.

Now, in a desperate fight for its life, Suriyen has been elevated to wall-captain, and defender of the city, as the Counsellors of Fuldoon send out urgent messages across the Inner Sea, both north and east, to call for aid.

But even the deadly warrior Suriyen cannot hold back ten thousand barbarians, and as the gates fall, she is captured by her most hated enemy...

***

Aldameda and Talon

Mother Aldameda, the matriarch of the ancient cult known as the Guides, has watched over the southern city of Fuldoon for many years. She knows that this is the gate to the north and east, and she knows too, that somewhere beyond it lies the secret entrance to heaven itself: the Lockless Gate.

But as Vekal and Ikrit escape through her clutches, and the Menaali Horde – disturbed and manipulated by Ikrit itself – threatens Fuldoon’s walls, she knows that she must stop them from gaining entrance to heaven. She flees the city, taking the boy Talon with her, in the tracks of the devil.

In the wildlands of the Shattering Coast, this unlikely pair fall in with even more unlikely comrades: the Pirate Lord Oberra and his Red Hand pirates. Mother Aldameda has to convince them of an even greater treasure, one held on the little-known saint’s islet called the Isle of Gaunt.

***

Meghan and Kariss

The herbalist Meghan thought that she and her strange, young daughter Kariss might be safe now, at last. After a lifetime of fleeing from one village to another, and finally fleeing the village of Fisheye in the lawless wilds of the Shattering Coast, she has managed to carve out for them both a little bit of peace. A cottage. A herbalist’s garden. Quiet, far from the suspicious whispers and glares of the other folk.

They call her witchling, and her child worse.

But one day, a chance act of kindness brings to their door the near-dying Sin Eater Vekal Morson, on his (un)holy quest through the wilds to the ruins of Telset, and beyond. His arrival sparks the end of Meghan’s peace, as the thugs and fanatics burn them out of her home for harbouring such a devil as the Sin Eater. What Meghan witnesses that night, when Vekal Morson finally does give into the demon inside of him, makes her realize that maybe not all evil things are also unwanted.

But Vekal and Meghan’s sliver of happiness is futile, as Vekal knows he cannot stay with Ikrit inside of him, however much he might want to...

1

Light. That was the first thought in Vekal’s mind when he opened his eyes. Not that he could tell if his eyes were open or not, the Sin Eater realized. He was surrounded by a white glow, but it did not glare or dazzle. And it was quiet, no sound of wind or sea or...

Ikrit? Vekal said, his voice sounding strange in his ears. Younger, fuller. Not the croaking wheeze or the snarl that he had grown used to from his years in the hot desert winds, without even noticing.

The devil that had been living inside of him did not answer, and Vekal felt – strangely – at peace.

Quiet, the man repeated internally. There was no distant hum or buzz of the creature that had been with him since Dal Grehb’s armies overran the City of the Gods, his home. It reminded him of his many long hours that he had spent training or studying in the Tower of Records, practicing his martial strikes against the wooden dollies, or reading the scrolls that had been kept carefully preserved for hundreds and thousands of years.

I had forgotten what this feels like, Vekal murmured to himself, trying once again to tell the difference between wakefulness and dreams. He rubbed his tired face, and then realized that he had hands. At least I am not some disembodied spirit, I guess... he even smiled to himself – before he realized that his hands were smooth.

Unscarred.

Wait a minute... he turned his palms over, saw that he had lost all of the white lines that had been the mark of his profession. And he wore a robe. A white robe with a golden edged trim.

This was like the robes that the High Priests of my Order wore, Vekal remembered. The ones who had run the City of Gods itself.

Vekal Morsan, a voice thrummed in the light, and with it came clarity, and definition. The light started to fade a little, and it was replaced by the gleam of clean marble, smooth as the sky underfoot.

Vekal was in a room – no, a hall – as there were round pillars, each larger than some towers in the mortal realms. When he looked up he could see nothing but clouds of faintly glowing silvery light.

This really is heaven... he said in awe to himself.

"Vekal Morson, of the Morshanti..." the voice repeated, and the Sin Eater found his steps moving down the hall, and a shape appearing out of the gentle glow. A vast cauldron set into the ground: bronze, and as wide as a pool, with its lip rising to his waist. There was a figure on the other side, who appeared to be wearing a similar white and gold robe, and was stirring the cauldron with a pole.

The Sin Easter walked around the curving lip towards the figure who had spoken to him. It was a voice that he recognized, although he could not say who, or why.

Do you know who I am? The woman did not look up from her task, but stared intently into the dark waters as she stirred. Her hood fell to obscure most of her face, but Vekal could see an edge of a brightly shining cheek, a fine nose, the suggestion of long lashes. Dark hair spilled out from the hood as she moved, and it looked as soft as the water that she was tending.

No, Vekal admitted.

No matter. I am not like my consort. I do not require my subjects to know my name, she said, her voice sounding merry and bright.

It wasn’t the only sound that Vekal could hear, however. He was also starting to hear the strains of other voices, raised in laughter or riot, he could not tell.

What is that? Vekal asked, feeling oddly unafraid in front of this strange woman.

That? He thought that she must be smirking, from the sound of her voice. Those are the hosts of heaven, Vekal. She half-turned, nodding back behind her, where the Sin Eater thought that he could – just – see shapes in the glowing light. Bodies, figures, even solid shapes of buildings, trees...

Then it is true. I really have passed the Lockless Gate? That this is heaven...? Vekal could have wept, although he did not. His heart did not break for the vast injustices and cruelties that he had gone through. Instead, he felt oddly removed from his old life, like his time in the material, living world was a fast-vanishing dream.

"It will be a dream, if you let it, Vekal," the lady said kindly. You may pass on, if you want to.

Pass on... to heaven? Now the Sin Eater really did shiver with strong emotion. It was the quest that his kind were trained for, were schooled in. To eat the sins of the world until they could purify it all. Until such a time as they would die, and the gods would accept them into their abode for their part in healing the garden of the world.

You mean... I have... I am... Vekal tried to search for the words. Worthy? he finished lamely.

Your soul is not heavy, if that is what you are asking. The lady sounded like a bemused tutor, and Vekal was her backward student.

But that cannot be. I have done so much. I lived with a devil inside of me for so long... Vekal felt humbled by this honor. He started to turn to the land of the glorious, the place that his soul had been directed to ever since he had been taken into the Tower of Records, as if it were an arrow held taut on a bow, and finally...

Of course, young Vekal – you have served us well. Even if you leave much sadness behind you, the strange woman said casually, making Vekal pause, as shame and doubt ran through him.

Sadness? the Sin Eater murmured. Of course, it was true – he had run at the head of the Menaali horde all the way to the trading city of Fuldoon, and ran through it as the armies had come to its very gates. He had sent a ship to its watery grave, thanks to the devil inside of him, and he had driven Meghan and her daughter – the two witchlings living in the wildlands of the Shattering Coast – from their home as thugs had come to persecute her.

Meghan is here, look... the woman stirred the great cauldron once more, and Vekal found himself turning, looking, as the disturbed waters started to boil and undulate, giving way to shadowy, different forms.

A woman, standing behind a bar in a dark and crowded inn. Large and rough figures swayed and swaggered this way and that, scars prominent across their faces, and cutlasses at their belts.

Mother? said a voice behind the robed woman, and she turned, revealing the chestnut hair and features of the widow Meghan that he had met, looking tense and worried as she regarded her daughter.

Kariss, Vekal gasped. She could walk, and see now, thanks to the healing that he had put upon her, but she did not look happy for all of her new gifts. She wore a canvas apron over her ragged clothes, and she clenched and worried her small, still-pudgy hands in her own.

Kariss, get back inside, Meghan hissed quickly, before her tone softened as she examined her daughter. A sigh. Did it happen again? While you were awake?

Kariss nodded, looking upset.

Meghan spared a glance back over the bar and the crowded room, but the assembled men and women seemed more concerned with loudly chanting songs and stamping their feet – at least for a moment. Tell me. What did you see?

The child frowned, looking upset, before she swallowed nervously. I saw a door open in the sky. A door that spilled fire and blood.

Meghan nodded seriously, throwing a wary glance above her as if her child’s vision would come true this very moment. I will not let them hurt you, child. Not my little child... she murmured, as there was a sudden loud knock on the table behind her. Quickly girl, go back inside, Meghan said, turning to the figure at the table.

Vekal’s breath caught in his throat when he saw who it was.

2

Sitting at the table was the crone, Aldameda. The woman seer who called herself a Guide, as Suriyen the warrior had called herself – one of the last of an ancient order who had hunted people like Vekal. Abominations. The accursed.

But what is she doing there? Vekal gasped. The last that he had seen of that old woman was when he had overheard her and Suriyen discussing whether or not to kill him, because he harbored Ikrit the devil inside of him. He had fled their supposed sanctuary in Fuldoon, but now she had somehow managed to find Meghan.

She’ll kill her! Vekal said in alarm as the watery vision, disturbed by his angry outbursts, rippled and disintegrated.

She may. She may not. That is the way of the world, Vekal Morson, the strange priestess said sadly, but with infinite patience. It is not your concern now. Your soul has become light. You have a place here, in the halls of the ever-living. The ways of the Garden should not concern you...

"But they do concern me! Vekal burst out. Meghan, Kariss, they are my friends."

If I was to ever be happy, the young man thought, then it would have been with them. If my life had taken a different course. If I did not have a devil inside of me... And worse still, Vekal knew that the Guides had a holy mission to eradicate evil from the world. To protect the Garden from the devils and demons and accursed beings that sought to infiltrate the world.

Vekal wondered if Meghan and her child, as witchlings – those gifted with a touch of the Sight, or some other strange power, might just fall into that category for the old woman.

I have to go back, Vekal murmured, turning away from the indistinct shapes of heaven’s hosts.

And why would you want to do that, little Vekal? the priestess said, her constant stirring of the waters slowing, and finally, stopping. Is it out of love? Or need to not have failed?

Vekal did not understand the question.

Is it for their sake that you would want to go back, or for your own? the woman continued, speaking into the dark waters. It seemed to the Sin Eater as though this was a very important question to her.

For them, he said impulsively, and knew it to be true. I know what danger they face. I can stop it.

Can you? The woman looked up at him, full-faced, and Vekal suddenly realized who it was that he was talking to.

Lady Iliya the Merciful, the bride of Lord Annwn, the Judge. Vekal found himself looking at a woman’s face with dark hair, but, at the same time he was also looking at a silver mask of a hawk, with a diamond tear trapped running from one eye.

My lady... Vekal dropped to his knees. I did not know.

"Did you not?" the goddesses voice was amused, but not unkind.

Please, my Lady Iliya – let me go back... somehow. Let me save them. They are good souls, they are good people, Vekal babbled and bargained for their lives.

It is not up to me whether they die or not. Come now, Vekal – you know that, she said regretfully, before a more serious tone crept into her voice. You had been the last of our servants in the Garden, Vekal Morson. The last Sin Eater trained in the City of Gods, in the ways of cleansing the sins from mortals. As such, I am inclined to be generous. Did we not need you here, in Heaven...

You need me? Here? Vekal was dumbfounded. What could a god need with a poor and crooked soul like him?

Arise, Sin Eater, and look! At her words, Vekal did as he was commanded instinctively, to turn and look back into the dark waters that she stirred once more. The reflected light shattered and rippled,