'So you won't stand against Malkor?' Lisa said, standing under the watchful eyes of the marble statues around her.
Julius stared into her eyes for a long time before shaking his head with a rueful smile. 'Our fighting days are over, Lisa. Too many have died already.'
'Malkor will never stop unless we stand against him. How long can you bury your heads in the sand like this?'
Julius turned, walking towards a white marble statue behind him. It depicted a woman with long white wings, standing several hands above his head.
'Isn't she beautiful?' he said.
Lisa nodded. 'Who is she?'
'This is Lord Cupris, the first sky lord.'
'Did she really look like that?'
'As near as we can tell. She was the first to feel the Lasrecon inside her.'
'What about Lord Wembern? Wasn't he the first?'
'He was a sand lord. He never experienced the quickening like us. Lord Cupris went much further. If she hadn't surrendered herself to the Lasrecon, evolving from our humble beginnings, none of this would have been possible.'
'Weren't we born sky lords?'
'No,' Julius said, shaking his head. 'Don't you see? Without Lord Cupris the quickening would never have come to us.'
'Why?'
'She changed them. The lords were not born here. The Lasrecon rejected them at first. Yes, Lord Wembern took them into himself. And there were others who experimented on themselves before him, but their understanding was limited. Only Lord Cupris understood them on a fundamental level. She opened herself fully to them, accepting them into her heart as well as her body. Her love for them was what caused the first quickening to occur. In that moment everything changed. Two species became as one. The Lasrecon will never forget that moment. What was done was done. Where once we sought the Lasrecon, now they seek us.'
Lisa watched Julius with a growing sense of unease. He was in a state of exaltation, worshipping the statue before him.
'Is it true that Malkor slit her throat in her sleep?'
Julius fell silent, his joy extinguished by her words. He gazed down at the floor in quiet contemplation.
'I'm hungry,' Lisa said.
Julius sighed, exhaling through his nostrils. 'Drink this,' he said. 'It will sustain you for a while.' Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small glass tube that glowed with a brilliant white light.
'Is that what I think it is?'
'It's an elixir of Lasrecon.'
'I don't want to eat them.'
Julius pursed his lips. 'This isn't eating them. It's just taking them inside you on dry land. They are not physical entities. They couldn't be eaten if you tried.'
Lisa felt heat rising to her face. She seemed to be rubbing Julius up the wrong way. Had she offended him by talking about Lord Cupris? He had gazed upon the statue with adoration. Perhaps he loved her in his own strange way?
Lisa accepted the elixir, slipping it into her pocket for later. She wasn't sure how she felt about pouring Lasrecon into her mouth. 'Do you love her?' she said, thinking aloud.
'She's a god!' Julius said, 'We owe her everything!'
Lisa gazed down at the floor. He hadn't answered her question.
More sky lords entered the temple, some carrying trays of warm meat that smelt strongly of sweet spices. Lisa accepted a portion when offered, savouring the succulent taste as she chewed it in her mouth. Someone passed her a glass as more food arrived and soon she found herself surrounded by sky lords.
Some stood nearby, eating and drinking while others played music by plucking strings on a small wooden frame that they held in their arms. Lisa took a sip from her glass. It wasn't water. It tasted fruity with bubbles that danced upon her tongue. It made her feel strange and warm inside.
More sky lords arrived, including a troop of three women with long and slender limbs. They danced in formation, moving their wings in tune to music before teleporting into different positions. They almost touched each other as they spun and sang a sweet melody. How could they be so graceful? How could they move in such beautiful ways? Lisa took another sip from her glass and smiled, feeling a heat rising inside her in rhythm to the dancing girls around her.
Julius watched with a passive expression, glancing once or twice in her direction. Lisa ignored him, determined to enjoy the music and dancing. When they had finished their performance, she sensed something strange, like an invisible force watching over her. She turned, looking over her shoulder but there was no-one there.
'Are you troubled, Lisa?' one of the dancers said, stepping towards her.
Lisa shook her head. 'I just thought someone was watching me.'
The dancer smiled. 'It happens sometimes, especially to dancers.'
Lisa didn't know what she meant. She thought about asking but decided to take a sip of her drink instead. 'You dance beautifully,' she said.
'Thank you.'
'What is your name?'
'Ilioron.'
Another sky lord stepped towards her, offering a tray of warm fruit that had been poached in some kind of sweet liquid. Lisa took a bite when offered. It was delicious. She had never tasted such fine food before. It was undeniably tasty but she felt bad because the people of Cinnamon City had to eat stale vegetables and synthetic paste while she enjoyed herself in a palace surrounded by splendour on every side. She was living a life of luxury but none of it seemed real to her. It was like a dream that she knew she would have to wake up from.
'Eat some more,' Ilioron said.
'No, thank you. I'm full.'
'You must eat not only for yourself but for the Lasrecon inside you.'
Lisa frowned. 'What do you mean?'
'Feed them well and they won't feed on you!' Ilioron laughed in a sweet melody that seemed to resonate with the palace walls.
Lisa took another sip from her glass, her thoughts feeling woolly in her head. Ilioron's words danced in circles all around her. She felt happy and sad all at once.
'It's not real,' she said in a quiet voice.
'What's that?' Ilioron said.
Lisa shook her head as sadness filled her thoughts.