by Eric Vall
“I believe this is part of the ceremony,” Morrigan stated in a bored tone as Popī and her parents appeared from the crowd behind us, their arms laden with woven baskets covered with white cloths.
“Isn’t this exciting?” Popī asked us as she jumped up and down. “This is your first Wailing! I can’t wait for you guys to see it!”
I nodded as we moved with the group, and they led us towards the path lit by red lanterns. I looked down at my minions, and their faces were glowing with excitement to see the ritual we had heard so much about. A man up ahead next to three large cloth covered wagons was shouting, and I craned my head to listen.
“If you do not have an offering prepared, please come take one from this pile! Each person should have at least one offering for the Tichádáma,” the bearded man yelled into the throng, then his eyes landed on our party for a second. “Visitor or not, everyone needs an offering!”
“I guess he means us,” my redheaded lover muttered as she trudged forward to the baskets the man was indicating with his hand. “You didn’t have to single us out, ya know. You could have just told us as we went by.”
My minions collected our offerings, and Carmedy bounded over to me with one large basket and one smaller one. “I got one for you, Master.” She giggled and offered me the smaller one, but I took the bigger one with a wide grin and held it tightly in my gloved hands.
“Thank you, my dear.” I chuckled as I bowed my head to her, and her round cheeks blushed bright red as she tucked herself by my side.
We headed up the side of the mountain with the rest of the Kanashimi citizens and soon into the trek, they started to sing in a foreign language my minions and I could not understand. From behind us, the man with the three covered carts tethered them to three massive horses and urged them upward with a crack of a whip.
Carmedy attempted to sing along with the citizens but didn’t know the words and just ended up singing gibberish that made the rest of our party laugh. The mountain was gorgeous at night, and despite the chilly wind that blew back our hair, we still enjoyed the hike up. From the path, we could see the glittering river and the bright moon reflected in its rippling surface. Beyond the horizon of the river, the ice that had slowed down our ship, in the beginning, loomed ominously like a white ghost in the darkness.
“Do you think she’s still out there?” the High Elf asked from beside me as she took looked out on the surface of the river. “She’s all alone now, she no longer has her sisters with her.”
For a second, I didn’t understand what Morrigan had said, but it quickly dawned on me she was referring to the single Rusalka we spared. I knew the fate of the spared Rusalka weighed heavily on my lover's mind. There was no easy way to tell her I didn’t know what would happen to the last spirit trapped in the Riese, so I figured actions might help and kissed her temple gently. Though the pale woman seemed hardened and cold on the outside, she was sensitive, and I knew whatever the Rusalka told her had shaken her badly.
“Morrigan,” I muttered softly into her ear, and she turned her dark eyes to mine as she waited for me to continue. “I know you may not want to say, but what did the Rusalka tell you?”
“They told me what he did to them, the man who killed them,” the pale elf told me as she stared deeply into my eyes. “The lead woman, the one who Annalise knew from before, she spoke to me directly. They all came from rich families, and he charmed their parents with promises of wealth and land, anything to get them to sell away their daughters to him. When they agreed, he would whisk the girls away to his home. Within months, he would slowly cut off the contact between the daughter’s and their parents. He was their husband, and it was his choosing who they corresponded with. They were married women, and no one questioned it.”
“Some husbands are cruel,” I murmured solemnly.
Morrigan nodded in agreement. “He would beat them within an inch of their lives, some were forced to become pregnant then have their children torn from their arms moments after birth,” she muttered in a voice thick with emotion, and I could see the pain plainly written on her stunning face. I remembered a particular one of the Rusalka, a large slice across the middle of her belly and now I knew that was where her child had been taken from her. “As sad as it is to say, their suffering didn’t last for long, and once he got what he wanted from them, he’d force them down into the bowels of his mansion to the pools. He would force them into the water, and …”
“You don’t have to tell me if it's too painful, my love,” I said to her, but she shook her head as her lips hardened into a tense line.
“No, someone must know of their suffering, I cannot bear it alone,” the elf said with feverish intensity as she grabbed onto my leather gloved hand. “He would force them into the water and cut the life out of them. He would separate their souls from their bodies and give them to the river. I saw it all, Master, saw it as if it were happening to me. Watched as he brought the silver dagger to my throat and sliced me to my belly, my insides, my intestines, my womb that had only been empty an hour spilled into the freezing water.”
“That bastard … ” I muttered in horror as I imagined it for myself. Pain beat in my heart with the knowledge that my lover had been forced to not only see what happened but experience such a thing for herself.
“They never spoke his name, but they referred to him as the Akuma of Tintagal,” Morrigan said as her voice hardened and her eyes narrowed on mine. “In the Rusalka’s language, Akuma means devil. Master, I think I know who this Akuma of Tintagal is … and I think that Annalise knows, too.”
“What do you mean Annalise knows, too?” I asked Morrigan with wide eyes as the crowd of Kanashimi people rushed past.
“She did not speak it, but her reaction while we hid in the hull of the ship with the crew was very telling. Master … I think the man she was supposed to marry is the person doing these horrible things and creating the Rusalka. I cannot be for certain unless we confront him, but the clues are all there. If I saw his face in person, I would know.”
“If it's him, Morrigan, I swear to you we will destroy him and bring peace to the spirits of the water,” I promised her in a voice filled with determination.
“Thank you, Master. I look forward to the day I watch you rid the world of him and allow Fea and Macha to feast on his soul,” the pale elf said with a smile as she squeezed my hand and turned away from the river toward the path upward.
We caught up with the rest of my minions right as we came over a ridge, and the pillars to the entrance of the dungeon were visible and glowed in the red light of the lanterns. The bearded man with the three carts pulled ahead of the mob and pulled his horses to a halt right in front of the open cave mouth. He hopped down from the driver’s seat and checked the ropes holding whatever was under the cloths. We came to stand in front of the cave mouth with the rest of the citizens, and I watched with my jaw clenched as Akuno elbowed his way through the crowd. The short man came to stand by the carts and waved his pudgy hands to silence everyone’s babbling.
As he quieted everyone down, I took this moment to lift the cloth on my basket and balked at what was inside. Greying and bloodied severed hands were piled high inside my basket, and I quickly covered them as I glanced between my minions and the similar baskets they held. From the red staining around the bottoms and rims, I assumed they carried similar spoils as mine. I nudged Annalise with my elbow, and the swordswoman lifted her face to mine.
“Whatever you do, make sure that none of your sisters look in the baskets,” I instructed her in a firm voice, and her brows furrowed as she glanced down at her own tote.
“Why, Master? What’s in them?” the swordswoman hastily asked as one of her fingers played with the edge of the white cloth covering hers.
“Annalise, I’m serious,” I warned her, and the finger stopped moving at my tone. I glanced around at the citizens and the baskets they held to their chests. “I don’t think this ritual is as innocent as we had thought.”
&n
bsp; I glanced over the High Queen’s shoulder right as a certain curious feline was about to remove the cover of her own basket. Annalise looked back too, and her mouth dropped open as she rushed to stop Carmedy’s paw.
“Carmedy! Don’t. You’re not supposed to look at the offerings!” the swordswoman told the alchemist in a hurried whisper.
The small cat’s brows knit together as she peeked between Annalise and the basket she held in her paws. “What do you mean? Haven’t they already been looked at? Do the citizens put the stuff in the baskets with blindfolds on?” the feline asked with a wrinkled nose as she imagined it.
“That’s not what I meant. You’re not supposed to look at it after it's been covered with the cloth,” the brunette assured as she swatted Carmedy’s wandering paw when it reached to pull back the cloth once more.
“Wait, we’re not supposed to look inside?” Rana interjected as she leaned out, and Annalise gave her a warning look. “I just have a bunch of bread in mine.”
“Mine did not hold bread or any sort of … food,” Morrigan stated as she took a few wary peeks at me, and I knew she understood my warning.
“It is disrespectful to look inside an offering, especially if you are not the one who prepared it,” I told them in a firm voice, and my minions nodded to me respectfully.
“Alright, alright, I won’t look.” The black cat giggled as she replaced her paws on the handles, and then she faced forward as Akuno began to speak again.
“Welcome, everyone!” Akuno said as he looked out in the crowd and made eye contact with all who attended. “Glad to see all your smiling faces here again. It has been over a thousand years since this tradition has started, and we haven’t missed it once. The blessings from our wonderful and compassionate goddess have brought this land into wealth and prosperity beyond our wildest imaginations. Those with baskets and smaller offerings, I ask you to bring them up front, and we will begin putting them on the sled to send down to the Tichádáma. Then we will move on to the larger items which, of course, are the highlight of the night!”
The citizens roared and cheered as they rushed forward and placed the baskets on the sleds. My minions and I followed the directions, and when I stood, I glared hatefully at Akuno, but he avoided my gaze as he smiled into the crowd. When we were finished, we stepped back, and men dressed in all white bent down behind the sleds and slid them down into the cave mouth. It was eerily silent as the citizens waited for something, whatever it was, but it never came. Strangely, they smiled even wider.
“The Tichádáma has accepted the first gifts!” Akuno cried out. “Now let us sing and wait until the full moon is in position for us to begin the rest of the ceremony.”
The men in white produced torches, lit them, and then held them aloft as my minions and I watched the moon slowly move across the sky. The singing of the citizens was loud in our ears as the moon shifted and came to rest directly between the two golden pillars outside of the Tichádáma’s dungeon. It was then that Akuno clapped his hands together and gestured to the bearded man.
In a flash, the man pulled out a knife and cut through each of the ropes on the three carts. With a vicious grin, he whipped off the first two cloth coverings on the two smaller carts to reveal two dead hammerhead sharks. The citizens screamed and jumped up and down as Morrigan grabbed onto me in horror. The bearded man’s smile widened even more as he moved towards the largest cart out of all three.
“What is the meaning of this?” Morrigan cried into my shoulder as she held onto me even tighter.
With a snap, the third cloth flew from the cart to reveal the humongous offering underneath. A cloud of flies buzzed and flew into the air like an omen, but the residents paid them no mind as their screams of joy rose even higher into the night. On top of the cart was the carcass of a massive whale, red blood pooled from its open mouth, and I lay eyes on it with sorrow that such a beautiful creature had to die for such an arcane ritual such as this.
Akuno’s eyes found mine in the crowd, and they burned brightly in the dim light around us. My elven lover’s mouth dropped open, and the scream that roared up her pale throat was one of grief. This was a pain I could not take from her. I had walked blindly into this thinking it was nothing but innocent, and now, my minion who loved animals was subjected to the one thing she hated the most.
Fea and Macha cawed loudly in distress, but their voices were lost amid the joyous yelling of the civilians. The pale woman didn’t turn away but gasped as the bearded man lifted the dagger and slammed it into the belly of the whale with a wet squelch. He let go of the knife long enough to roll up his sleeves and then grabbed onto it once more and forced the blade down the magnificent whale’s belly. Blood poured from the gaping wound, and as I watched with a hardened expression, the bearded man reached into the whale’s carcass, grabbed its innards, and began to pull them out.
It was silent as a second scream came from the high elf, and I caught Morrigan right as tears fell from the corners of her dark eyes. I held her tightly to my chest and shielded her face from the horrors the Kanashimi people rejoiced in.
Rana covered her mouth, and her blue eyes wavered in their sockets as the bearded man and Akuno grabbed the wet, ropey intestines and began feeding them down into the open mouth of the dungeon. Annalise held tightly to Carmedy as the little feline sobbed uncontrollably, her face turned inwards away from the horrifying sight. I watched as Akuno and the man laughed together, and the people of Kanashimi chanted feverishly. Akuno walked around the carts, toppled the two sharks first, and then came around the third and struggled to push the whale off the wagon by himself. A few bystanders from the crowd joined him and helped him push the bleeding carcass to the dirt. It lay there limply, a mockery of the glorious beast it once had been.
I was enraged, not only with the people of Kanashimi but with this so-called goddess, the Tichádáma. She not only allowed her people to do this, but she also praised them and rewarded them for doing it. I had almost thought highly of her when Haruhi had spoken of the benevolent goddess who blessed her people with good weather and plentiful crops, but now I wanted nothing more than to journey deep into the bowels of her dungeon and rip away the powers she used so evilly. I may have been a vengeful god with little mercy, but when I was worshipped, I never made my people sacrifice animals, maybe a few humans, but what could fewer humans on earth hurt?
With help from the rest of the crowd, the carcasses of the sharks and the whale were sent down into the dungeon to be received by the Tichádáma. Morrigan sobbed against me as three bound men were then brought forward.
I sensed what was coming next before my minions did.
I gave Annalise a stern look, and she nodded once as she turned fully away and shielded Carmedy from what was about to happen. The townsfolk chanted even louder as the bearded man offered Akuno the knife, which he snatched with a wicked grin. I peeked down at the elven woman, she was still crying softly, but her dark eyes were narrowed on Akuno’s slight form as he advanced on the three men.
He grabbed the middle man and threw him forward to his knees. The man pleaded for his life as he held up his tied hands in defeat, but Akuno stared down at him with a broad smile, grabbed him by the hair, and pulled the man’s head back. Underneath the loud chanting of the horde, I could hear the victim’s prayers for mercy, but none came as the knife sliced through his jugular and his soul screamed out of his body. Blood spurted outward and splashed a few of the people of Kanashimi. As much as I wanted to avert my eyes, I couldn’t seem to tear them away as Akuno moved on to the second man, and the lord of Kanashimi didn’t hesitate as he stabbed the knife directly into the man’s throat and pulled it out maliciously. Akuno’s white robes were splattered and soaked through with blood as he moved onto the third bound man, who screamed and attempted to scoot away, but the bearded man held him in place with a loud, hateful laugh.
Akuno flipped the knife through the air, pulled it back, and flung it. It pierced through the bound man’s left eye with
a wet thunk as blood streamed out the sides of the popped cornea. With a bark of a laugh, Akuno kicked the man’s body, and it slid down into the shaft of the dungeon as blood trailed after it. The two other bodies were sent in after it unceremoniously, and I stood with my teeth clenched and Morrigan held tightly to my chest.
The chanting around us reached a crescendo, the voices loud and screaming to be heard by the Tichádáma. Then the voices stopped abruptly, and there was silence aside from the soft sobbing of my two minions.
Then I heard it.
It started softly like a whisper on the wind as if the moon was speaking directly to us, but I sensed where it was coming from. Popī came up from behind us and gripped onto my shoulder. I had half a mind to throw her off but swallowed my rage as she pointed to the dungeon’s entrance.
“This is the best part. Just wait,” the teenager whispered, her eyes as big as saucers.
That’s when the sorrowful screaming and wailing echoed up from the bottom of the Tichádáma’s dungeon.
Chapter Sixteen
The scream started softly at first, like the wind howling in the distance, and then it slowly rose in pitch until it was like a woman sobbing and screaming next to me. I watched the cave mouth with narrowed eyes as the people of Kanashimi danced and sang around us joyously.
“The goddess is pleased, the Tichádáma is pleased with us!” Popī cheered as she grabbed onto me excitedly, and happy tears sprang to her eyes. I stared down into her youthful face, and almost growled at her, but before I could, she wiped the tears away and ran to embrace her mother.
“The Dáma has accepted all of our gifts and gives us one more month of prosperity and good health!” Akuno shouted for all to hear as he wiped off the bloody blade on his soiled robes. The short lord handed back the knife to the bearded man, and he slid it back in its sheath with a broad smile.
All the while, the shrieks and cries still echoed up the cave mouth and despite my anger, I felt a twinge of pity for the Tichádáma. The goddess didn’t sound happy to me. In fact, she sounded horrified. Akuno said this ceremony had been taking place for thousands of years and this was just the way the goddess showed them she was satisfied with their offerings. As Annalise and Haruhi told us, the Tichádáma had no way of speaking to the humans on the island, and maybe her screams were the one way she had learned to convey her pleasure to the people.
