Of Gods and Dragons

by Sherri Beth Mitchell

  So why wasn’t her magic working? She took a pinch of the black sand from the bag around her neck and sprinkled it on the dead woman. The body vanished and Natosha was grateful that she was at least able to return the body back to the mountain.

  It was then that she became aware of drums beating—dozens of them. She rose, transforming into a large black hawk and took off into the air. Briefly she wondered how she could still shape-change, yet not be able to raise the dead. She soared above the tree tops and circled to the side of the mountain, where her heart faltered as she gazed upon the massive army accumulated on the ground. They didn’t look so numerous when she had last seen King Keelan from their midst. If the Dead Queen gathered many more followers for her cause then there was a chance that they would be a very formidable enemy to fight once they reached her own army in the Realm of Rohedon. Hope took on an angry desperation in the pit of her stomach: they had to find a way to cut this army’s size so they could be defeated!

  Suddenly, shouts rang through the air to her sensitive ears. But she realized what was happening too late, and the arrow pierced her wing near the shoulder as she tried to turn.

  She fell.

  “Did you see that?” Prince Dalton said, pointing to a spot through the tree tops above the mountain.

  “Another spy?” said the Queen. “But I thought you killed them all!”

  “As did I,” he growled. Rage boiled within him for failing in his duties. He vowed it would not happen again.

  “Well, let’s go have a look,” Silvia said. A trickle of unease traced a cold path down her spine. “I do not take too much for granted anymore.” She glanced at Keelan pointedly. “Things are not always as they appear.”

  He grimaced and she saw the hurt in his eyes. He probably was wondering why she would embarrass him in front of others. Three other people had listened to him cheat on her, so wasn’t this fair? Yes, but her heart told her that she was also being cruel.

  They rode in an apprehensive silence to the clearing, where they spread out quietly. Silvia, Dalton, and Keelan dismounted and picked their way through the underbrush. Moments later the prince waved for their attention, pointing at the ground. He was crouched beside a large patch of coarse grass that had been stained red. The body which had bled its life out there, the one who had led the frantic chase up the mountain with a sick Quentin in tow, was now gone.

  The clearing was thoroughly searched, though no signs of a dead or injured bird (or human) were found.

  “I don’t like this at all,” Keelan grunted. “Dead soldiers litter the area, but the body of the leader has disappeared. What mischief is this?”

  “I agree completely,” said Dalton. “There is something off here. The wretch was most certainly dead when we departed from the clearing yesterday.”

  Exasperated and more than a little worried, they left, continuing over the mountain with wariness.

  Above them a pair of dark, sparkling eyes watched them leave. The eyes were nestled in the upper branches of a large yellow maple tree, obscured by the lush leaves. They followed the Queen and her King, a malevolent twinkle in their depths.

  When it was safe to descend from the tree, Natosha did so, her arm torn and bleeding from the arrow she had ripped out. She had no medicines with her to treat such a wound, so she tore a strip of clothe from her dress and wrapped it tightly instead.

  “Possibly wondering why life did not return to your sister-wife’s corpse?”

  Natosha looked up to see Eerich, God of the Dead and the Underworld, perched on top of a tree stump nearby, one boot propped up on a dead soldier. Her heart lurched and she fell to her knees before him. “I apologize, my Lord Eerich. Yes, I seem to have a problem with bringing her back. I’ve said the enchantment properly and with enough magic, yet she wouldn’t even move!” Frustration showed heavily on her delicate features as she stood up. “I do not understand.”

  “I believe I might know someone who will,” Eerich said.

  Between them arose a gust of wind, and out of the air chunks of putrid, rotting flesh began to appear. As she watched in disgust and horror, piece by ragged piece came together in front of her, taking the form of her late husband. Her gorge rose, but she dared not release it in front of an immortal god. She swallowed what she could as she closed her eyes. When she next opened them, Rohedon stared at her solemnly, his torn flesh crawling with maggots and the like.

  Eerich chuckled gleefully from behind Rohedon, his long red, braided hair swinging as he slapped his thighs with meaty hands. “Why don’t you tell her why her magic won’t work on Zela? Bloody coward, are ya? Can’t even tell your wives the source of their powers…or the price to pay for them.”

  Natosha’s jaw dropped open. “Husband, what do you know of this?” Her eyes watered as Rohedon looked down and away. “Tell me what you know!”

  “It was a long time ago,” Rohedon said in a gravelly voice. “I don’t even know if I remember everything.”

  “Well by the Dark Moon, you need to try,” his wife spat. “I’m waiting.”

  He sighed and shook his head. “Before I met you, I didn’t exactly have the same social status, or money.”

  “What he’s trying to say is that he was homeless,” Eerich said with a smile.

  “Is that true?” Natosha asked.

  Rohedon shot the God of the Dead a mean look. “Yes, it is true. My parents died when I was but twelve years of age and I couldn’t find enough work to eat, much less pay the taxes on the little house they owned. I sold the house for a fraction of what it was worth so that I could eat and buy a coat for that upcoming winter. The money did not last long, though I stole what food I could to try and make it stretch. I was homeless until the age of twenty-two, literally scrounging around for everything I had and sometimes traveling from city to city to scam and rob from different people.”

  “You weren’t raised in the house of a prince, as you told me?” she said, hurt and angered by his confession.

  “No, I was not. I lived day to day, hour to hour, in the streets. Every year I would pray to the Goddess Chin that I would not freeze when winter came and that I would have enough food to keep me breathing.”

  “If you were so bad off, how did your change in fortune come about?”

  Rohedon began to fidget, sneaking glances at the now stoic Eerich. “One warm night I was trying to hunt for food or ale, whichever I could get my hands on. I was in the shadows of a little shack, getting ready to sneak in through the window to steal some scraps, when I heard a queer grunting sound. I crouched down and held my breath, knowing that whatever had made the noise was very large and like as not was as hungry as I. I was looking in one direction, but the thing came up from the street next to me, and I didn’t see him until he was only feet away. The moon was hidden behind the clouds of the night, and I could not tell what sort of beast it was, though the general size alone frightened me as it was twice my size with long thorns protruding from its spine. It appeared to be able to walk on all fours as well as on two legs, though when it walked on two legs it remained hunched over. As it was naked, I immediately saw that its skin was strange, seeming to move and writhe upon its massive frame. What a weird sight it was! The creature went past me, not even turning his head in my direction. (I realized later that because I had not bathed in so long I smelled of earth and filth. Perhaps he thought I was part of the shack I sheltered under. Or perhaps he knew I was there but cared not.) It went down the dark street, making sniffling noises as it went. Curiosity pulled me to my feet and got the better of me. I followed it, making no noise as my bare feet walked the dirt road. We moved through the streets of Lordale, the city in which I was then making my way, like ghosts in the darkness. Instinct led the beast, and blind stupidity practically pushing my feet forward. I stayed close to the buildings to hide in their shadows.

  “The moon burst forth from its hiding place in the sky and all of a sudden the beast’s head whipped around and my soul be damned if he didn’t have extra eyes
all around his head! I knew then that he had seen me start to follow him from the very beginning. I edged closer despite my fear and watched the hideous creature watching me. Again, its head turned sharply, this time looking to its left. Then it took off on all fours, and I after it. Down side streets and alleyways I ran, my breath like fire in my lungs. Where was this beast off to? Near the outskirts of the city he slowed almost to a stop. I ducked behind a broken down wagon to catch my breath.

  “The beast sniffed the air from the shadows, and then began to move forward stealthily. It was obvious that he was tracking something, hunting the scent in the warm night air. It crept around the corner of a shabby hut and disappeared from sight. I trotted after the thing, smelling a fire burning nearby. I got on my hands and knees to peer around the edge of the shack, sincerely hoping the person tending the fire had gone inside, but no such luck was to be had.” Rohedon quieted, not meeting Natosha’s eyes.

  “And then what happened?” Natosha asked. When he was silent, she went on. “If you don’t tell me, I will make you miserable when I join you in my afterlife.”

  Eerich laughed heartily. “I’m almost tempted to take you now so that I may see the show! Why do you hesitate, Rohedon? Are you frightened to speak of what happened?” Again, Rohedon didn’t respond. The God of the Underworld snickered. “Forget telling about it, you fool. I’ll just show her myself.”

  Natosha blinked, taking a step back. The scene around her had changed entirely. She was now standing to the side of a large fire built with half-rotted logs and broken furniture, Eerich at her side. Sitting on the ground facing away from her was an old woman wrapped in a thick blanket. Though the night was warm she appeared to be shivering involuntarily.

  And the beast sat directly across from the woman, just on the other side of the fire.

  Chapter Fourteen: A Lord is Born

  The creature looked at Rohedon, who was crouched at the edge of a building nearby, and lifted its upper lip in a silent snarl. Its face was shaped similar to a human’s, though with different pigmentation and the outrageous number of eyes about its head. Oh, and who could miss the two horns which grew from its forehead? No hair grew from its naked body either. The beast turned its eyes back to the woman, who had started to chant in a strange language. Why the beast chose to ignore Natosha’s husband she did not know.

  The old woman stood up, shucking off the blanket and the fire seemed to glow brighter. The beast moved forward into the light of the fire, where it looked as though its skin were crawling and moving. All of its black eyes on the front of its head were focused on the woman, and yet she paid no heed to the beast. Instead she hobbled to the other side of the fire, only feet away from the monster, and picked up a thicker blanket to wrap about her.

  “This old body gets the worst chills,” she said, “even on these warm nights.” She looked up and Natosha saw the blue-gray clouds of blindness in her eyes. It was no wonder she had not seen the beast!

  Rohedon stood up as well and tried to move closer. His foot stepped on a dry leaf.

  The woman looked right at him when she heard the sound. “Show yourself, stranger.”

  “I already have, but you cannot see,” Rohedon told her, stepping up to the fire. “What is the point of showing myself to someone who will never see me?”

  “I am blind, not deaf,” she hissed.

  Rohedon’s nostrils flared. “Yes, you are too blind to see what is in front of you, which is my helping hand. But you are deaf not to hear the danger which lurks in the shadows.”

  “Ha! So say you, boy? You are the only danger here…Rohedon,” she said.

  Shock was evident on his face. “How do you know my name?”

  The old lady pointed her finger at him. “Blind I am, deaf I may be one day soon, but I can see your aura and hear the flutter of your heart as I speak of your destiny. A cruel man you will become, full of hate and violence. Your death will be terrifying…and celebrated.”

  “Hush, witch!” Rohedon growled. “I’ve come to help you, not to listen to your mindless chatter.” Although the truth of it was that he looked as though he wanted to leave right then and there. Even to Natosha it seemed as though the horrible beast was there for the woman, and not for her husband.

  “I need no help from a murderer.”

  His jaw dropped in surprise. “Murderer? I’ve never murdered anyone!”

  “Oh, but you will,” said the woman. “You will kill many.” She said something else in that odd language and the fire blazed even higher.

  This agitated the monster. It began to stalk around the fire, going behind her to as it crept.

  “Madam you should really come around to this side of the fire.”

  She laughed, her blind eyes closed to slits. “Why? So that I can be your first victim?”

  “I tell you, woman, that I am no murderer and never will be!”

  She finally stepped around the fire—for a blind woman she moved well—and grabbed at the air in front of him. He took her hands, no doubt hoping that touching another person would calm her. It didn’t.

  “Ah, there you are,” she said. “I have something for you, Rohedon.” She reached under the blanket and smiled as she withdrew a sharp dagger. She plunged it at his heart and it sunk a little into his skin before he could stop the blade from going further. He yelled and shoved her backwards.

  Instantly the beast was on top of her, mauling her as her screams echoed the night. Rohedon looked terribly frightened, and unsure as to what to do. He seemed to make up his mind, stooping down to pick up the knife she had dropped. The beast was on top of the old woman, swiping at her face and roaring with relish. Its wild eyes with the white centers were looking everywhere, not focusing on anything in particular. Rohedon lunged forward and stabbed at one of the eyes. Amazingly, he hit his target and the eyeball popped out. The beast howled in rage as Rohedon scooped up the eye and darted backwards. The creature left the body of the woman and advanced on him, snarling as blood dripped down the side of its head from the empty socket. Rohedon backed away until he hit the wall of the shack. He was horrified when he felt the eyeball moving in his hand. Looking down at it, he saw it rotating as it searched for the rest of its body. Not knowing what else to do he raised the knife and placed its tip close to the eyeball in his palm.

  “Keep coming closer, you foul thing, and I will stick your precious eye all the way through.”

  The beast stopped where it stood, obviously understanding his words. Natosha took a step closer to the two, peering around the flames at the creature’s skin as it moved.

  Eerich leaned over and whispered, “The souls of countless men constantly roam his body, seeking a way off of it. To them, his flesh burns and scalds their souls, causing them tremendous pain.” He seemed very pleased with himself for thinking of such a thing.

  Just then the monster howled, a bone-chilling sound which rent the night silent for several long minutes.

  Then the fire flared up and a figure stepped forth from it. Natosha was not surprised to see that it was Eerich, come to visit her future husband.

  “What have you done to my Hound of Death? You have taken something away from him,” the other Eerich said. “I can feel his loss.”

  “Your…hound killed an old woman,” Rohedon stated in a trembling voice. It was apparent he knew that he was talking to the God of the Dead.

  “Yes, a woman who attacked you with a knife. I have her now in the Underworld. Why do you care for her? Are you always so fond of those who would kill you?”

  “No, but she didn’t deserve to die so dreadfully.”

  Eerich laughed. “She had it coming, you know. I had to do something.”

  “So you sent your Hound after her?” Rohedon said, looking around the god at the bleeding creature writhing in pain about his feet.

  Eerich’s smile vanished quickly. “As I said, I had to do something about her.” He reached down and patted the moaning beast, acknowledging his whimper with an affectionate word. Th
en he looked at Rohedon, and one could see that the flames in his eyes were not reflections of the fire behind him but rather they were the fires which he kept burning inside. “Now I want you to give me his eye.”

  Rohedon began to lift his arm, but then stopped. “No.”

  “No?” Eerich said incredulously. “And just why not, human? Do you not know who I am?”

  Natosha watched her husband smile a little at the corner of his mouth. “Yes, I do know who you are, my Lord, but I want to see how valuable it is to you.”