All That Is Evil Is Not Dark/Chapter 62

The sudden explosion of force and light threw Darin back about ten feet, causing him to land on his backside. He rubbed himself and let out a string of expletives even as he stood to see the cause of the explosion. The door of the temple of Light was wide open and a large bright light streamed from its interior, making it impossible to see inside.

"Lord Darin," a melodic voice spoke from the interior of the temple. "Please enter...."

Darin covered his eyes with his hand, but even his hand did not dim the brightness of the temple, so he resorted to looking down and away even as he approached the temple and passed over the threshold. He started, for even as he crossed, the door behind him swung shut and the bright light seemed to dim to a tolerable level.

A robed woman stood off to the side and Darin realized that she must have been the one who had spoken. "Your coming was anticipated, Lord Darin, please come with us into the temple."

"Sorry, anticipated...?"

"Yes... please follow me..."

The woman turned and began leading him into the depths of the temple of Light. The entirety of the place seemed to be lit from within. The effect was that it imparted an eerie glow to the entire temple. Inside, however, the effect was far less blinding than at the doorway. The woman led him through a series of corridors and through a sanctuary into what clearly served as the residence for the priesthood. She continued onward and out into what appeared to be an open courtyard. This baffled Darin, for he knew that there was no courtyard in this temple. If there was, anyone might access the temple from above. No, something magic was responsible for the effect, which Darin found quite dizzying. While the sky outside was overcast, the sky in the courtyard was wispy with only a few high whippy clouds. The temperature inside spoke of a late spring day and the meticulous blue-green grass was unlike any Darin had ever seen. Darin realized with a start that this must be the communicant's chamber and was taken aback at being brought inside the holies of another temple. He knew that the penalty for violating such a space was death.

The woman turned and smiled at Darin. "Lord Darin, please wait here."

Darin watched her move off and wondered if the woman had falsely believed that he was to be the communicant that was coming to the temple. Darin was at a loss for what to do, but he discarded this conclusion. The woman had known his name. She could not have known it unless told it, and if told it, she could not be under the false belief that Darin was to be the new communicant.

"Darin!" Giliara exclaimed, descending into the room. Darin was mildly startled by this; he had assumed the illusion of sky was closer, not vast enough to allow the Brilhado the ability of flight. Darin considered Giliara then and noted that he seemed to be aglow from within and that his injuries were abated. His beauty had been very real before, but now the angelic figure was suffused with the same surreal light that flowed throughout the temple. "How did you get in?"

"A woman let me in and told me to wait here, I assume for you."

"A woman? Darin, the temple is empty..."