It was late in the day and the air was starting to cool. She felt the need to stretch her legs a bit and decided to explore the outpost once again with Ash following close behind as her protector. She walked to the edge of the hilltop where she saw a vast valley below. The charred remains of a large stone bridge spanned halfway across a roaring river; the rest destroyed in a desperate attempt to stop the Daemon hordes from crossing. She could just make out the village of Rivercross and wondered if it survived the war.
The sun slowly slipped behind the mountains and the merchants packed up their wares for the day. Her stomach rumbled at the smells from the various cooking pots. It felt good to be among people again. She hadn't been here long, but it already felt like home. Inside the Sanctum, she found Jurdon holding a small bouquet of wildflowers.
"I hired the woodcarver make this for you. It's not as big as I would have liked, but I couldn't afford anything more," he said, gesturing to a small altar of the goddess Eyr."
Nallah went to the altar, fighting back the tears. "It's lovely. Thank you so much. No one's done anything this nice for me in a long time."
"You deserve it," Jurdon said, wrapping his arms around her.
She returned his hug and looked up into his deep green eyes. He bent his head down, pressing his warm sweet lips against hers.
5
U'ka strolled into the Citadel’s Grand Archive. Massive grey and white columns supported a rotunda high above where graceful painted figures gazed down at her. Rays of rainbow light shone down through a colorful stained glass rose window onto rows and rows of bookcases towering above her. Arms out, her fingertips slid along the leather-bound book spines as she strode down a long row towards a large wooden table stacked with even more books. Bahlmet, in his fine silken robes, stood behind the table, arms wide, beckoning her forward.
"All the answers you seek are here, my darling," he said with a devious grin.
U’ka looked down at her intricately detailed red and black dress of the Blood Witch Order. She put her hands to her head, finding her hair styled into an elaborate updo. Standing before the table, she looked down at the books in wonder. All the ancient leather-bound texts containing spells to close the Gateway Between Worlds were laid out before her. U’ka reached down and flipped a book open, seeing the runes from the hidden Sanctum chambers. She kept turning each page, eager to find their meaning. The runes faded into blank pages. Still turning, page after page, all of them empty. U’ka looked up at Bahlmet, puzzled.
"All you have to do is give me control and all the answers will be yours. Do we have a deal, love?"
She slammed the book shut and stepped away from the table. The room faded to darkness, then disappeared. She pushed Bahlmet back into the deep recesses of her consciousness. He wouldn't stay locked away long.
U’ka shook herself awake and stretched her back to relieve the stiffness from sitting on the drivers bench for the past five hours. The dense forest let in very little light, the darkness matched her suddenly foul mood.
Teek gestured towards a small copse of ancient trees. She pulled the caravan to a stop and jumped to the ground to stretch her legs. Time for a much-needed break, she couldn't stand sitting on the hard bench anymore. U’ka massaged her lower back while she walked around, looking up at the wide canopy far overhead. Teek stood silent among the ancient giants, roots from his feet dug into the ground. She wondered what they might be talking about. What wisdom did these ancient beings hold?
Teek's eyes flashed open. He grunted at her to ready herself to fight. U’ka groaned and ran to stand in front of Daisy to protect him, hands over her dirks, prepared to draw them. Bud could take care of himself, but Daisy couldn’t do much still harnessed to the caravan.
She stood silent, muscles tense, listening for the sound of men on horseback coming down the path.
Ten riders and a wagon carrying a large wooden box came around the bend. These were the same group of ragged men they saw several days ago. They came to a stop when they saw her and Teek. She looked over at Teek, with his gaze locked on the men. There must be a reason he hadn't used the forest to hide them but she trusted he knew what he was doing. The men dismounted and quickly surrounded them.
"Well, well, well. This be our lucky day," said a tall, dark, bearded man who had to be their leader. The men laughed in anticipation. She didn't like the way they were eyeing her.
"You'll have a better day if you just move along. I did not plan on killing anyone today, so let's keep it that way," said U'ka, standing her ground.
The men laughed again, a little too hard.
"Are we supposed to be afraid of a little girl with pig stickers and her plant boy? Your so-called weapons are no match for us," he said, gesturing to his men.
U’ka sighed heavily. It was going to be a fight then. She should have known better than to expect them to retreat. Why were men always so eager to throw their lives away?
'We could wipe them out with a single wave of your hand. No need to get your hands dirty, let the Blood Magic flow,' came Bahlmet's seductive voice in her head. NO! She thought at him, pushing him back into the darkness.
"Plant boy doesn't need any weapons to tear your heads off. I am a soldier, I know how to use a sword. If you don't want to die today, I urge you again to move along."
Her answer came as four men rushing at her. Teek roared and the screaming started. Reaching over her shoulder to the sheath on her back, her fingers wrapped around the familiar leather-bound grip of her semi-sentient Daemon sword, Blood Drinker. It did not always stay with her, but it always appeared when she needed it. Quickly drawing the great sword, she felt it vibrate with excitement, its blood lust about to be sated.
The men looked at her in anticipation of having their way with her. U’ka pushed her attack forward swinging her sword at the men in front of her. They weren't experienced fighters and were going to be easy to dispatch. She slashed at the first man's arm, drawing first blood; she could almost hear the sword cry out in glee as it quickly drained the man of all his precious life blood. He fell to the ground, a dried husk all that remained.
The other men's eyes grew wide as they backed away, fear replacing their anticipation. The sword drew U'ka forward, its hunger for blood not yet satisfied. They spread out, trying to surround her, she blocked their desperate strikes as they moved in for their attacks. She skilfully took them out one by one. The last man fell, pale white, empty of blood. U’ka held up the blood-covered sword, seeing an ugly, distorted reflection in the red-stained blade looking back at her. The sword absorbed all the red liquid into its being, not wanting to waste one single drop of the precious fluid.
A pile of bloody bodies lay at Teek's feet. Their blood stained his bark, visions of him during the war filled her mind. He was a brutal killer in battle.
He held the leader by his neck, feet dangling several feet off the ground. Before she could say anything, he snapped the man's neck. Teek dropped the lifeless body on top of the others.
"We needed one of them alive to ask questions, Teek," U’ka said, reaching back to sheath her sword. She could feel it hungered for more blood, but there was no more to be taken.
Teek shrugged and pointed at the wooden box.
"I hope whatever's in here was worth it," said U'ka, climbing up on the wagon. The marauders would now be alerted to their presence. More hired swords would be after them. Their mission just got a bit harder.
"It's locked."
Before she could ready a lock pick spell, Teek grabbed it and twisted until it snapped. U’ka pushed back the lid, surprised by what she found inside. A young man with dark spiky hair, bushy eyebrows and patchy stubble covering his light brown skin lay there peacefully. He was no more than eighteen years of age. She felt the Daemon within him and lifted his eyelid with her thumb, seeing his red iris, confirming her suspicion.
"I think he's under some sort of sleep spell," U’ka said. "Get him out of here and put him on the ground."
She knelt next
to the young man and drew a Spell Breaker charm on his forehead. The sleep spell fell away, but he did not wake. U’ka reached out and shook his shoulder.
"Hey, wake up."
His eyes popped open. He sat bolt upright, gasping for air.
"Where am I?" he asked, looking around at the strange scene. “Did you kill all those men?”
"Yes. They were your abductors. We’re in the southern part of the Venar Woodlands," U’ka answered.
He slowly rubbed his forehead. "The last thing I remember I was in Cairn."
"That's a long way from here. I thought Cairn was destroyed."
"It was," he said. "I hid out in some caves. I've been scavenging since the war ended. I met up with a strange man several days ago and the next thing I know I'm waking up here."
"How long have you been Daemon held?"
"What are you talking about?" he said with a confused look, grabbing his forehead again. "Why do I hear a strange voice in my head?"
"My Daemon, Bahlmet, is trying to talk to your Daemon. Luckily yours is unconscious right now."
'It's not nice to eavesdrop,' Bahlmet said in her mind.
You get out of my head, she thought back at him before pushing him into the deep recesses of her mind and pulling up a mental wall.
The young man looked at her with wide, scared eyes. "How? Why?" he said, voice quavering.
"The man you met was probably Daemon held. He may have been injured or sick and the Daemon instinctively transferred itself in you in a last-ditch effort to stay in this world. When they were all purged back to the dark realm, he must have used up all his power to remain here. That's why he's unconscious." Just like Bahlmet used to be.
He started to shake. U'ka placed her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. We're going to help you any way we can. Now let's start with your name."
Looking up at her he whispered, "R.K.” He then cleared his throat and asked, "Who are you? How did you become Daemon held?"
Now was the time to reveal the secret she kept for so long. In order to help him, she needed to gain his trust. No more lies. She sighed heavily, looking down at the ground, unable to meet his eyes.
"I am U'ka, but during the war, I was known as Battibahla, Hand of Blood and Destruction to the Daemon Queen Baht' ma."
He scooted quickly away from her. Absolute terror filled his eyes. He held up trembling hands, wanting nothing more than to get away. Teek stepped behind R.K. to keep him from escaping.
U’ka held her hands up in front of her. "It's okay. I'm in control now. I give you my word I will not harm you. As I said, I will help you get rid of your Daemon."
"How?" R.K. said, still not trusting her.
"I can try to purge the Daemon from you."
"If it works, am I free to go?"
"Yes. If that's what you want."
"Okay. Just get it out of me."
"Lie down and close your eyes. I'm going to draw a symbol on your forehead. Then, I'll invoke it to drive the Daemon out of you. This might hurt a bit."
"Wait . . . how much?" R.K. said with fear in his voice.
"It'll depend on how much of a fight your Daemon puts up."
R.K. opened his eyes and sat up. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea."
U’ka gently pushed him back down. "We need to get it out of you. Those men abducted you for a reason. Someone wants you and your Daemon. Once you're no longer Daemon held, they won't have a reason to come after you again."
R.K. sighed and closed his eyes. "Okay, let's do this."
U’ka took out her charcoal stylus, and drew the Unbinding symbol on his forehead. Her track record on freeing people from their Daemons hadn’t been great so far. Each of them ended up dead, she didn’t want the same fate for R.K.
"Alright. Here it goes." She pressed her finger on the glowing symbol, pushing magic throughout his body.
He started to shake violently. Back arched and stiff, he started screaming. "It hurts! Make it stop!"
'You’ll kill him if you keep going. Bhaal has himself intertwined with the boy's soul too tightly. He's not going to let go. It’s better for him to stay here than return to the dark realm,' Bahlmet told U'ka.
U’ka pulled her magic back and sent calming energy through R.K. 's body to relax him.
He was covered in a thick sweat and breathing hard. "Did . . . it . . . work?"
"No. I'm sorry. Bhaal, your Daemon, has himself wound too tightly into your soul. He’s fighting to stay here and won't let go."
R.K. blinked back tears. "Now what?" he said in a shaky voice.
"For now, you're going to have to stick with us until I can figure out a way to get rid of our Daemons."
'Good luck with that,' snorted Bahlmet. Once again, she pushed his back into the dark reaches of her mind.
"How? Just how's that gonna happen?" R.K. said, throwing his hands up in frustration.
"We'll figure it out together," said U'ka, trying her best to be reassuring.
"What now then?"
"It's best you come with us so we can keep an eye on you and your Daemon. If there are people after you, we need to find out why. They want you for something and it's probably not good. It may not seem like it, but you'll be much safer with us than on your own."
R.K. crossed his arms, trying to be defiant.
"I'll go with you, 'IF' you'll help me find this place." He held out his arm and rolled up his sleeve. A tattoo of odd shapes and four towers covered his upper arm. U’ka grabbed his arm, pulling it towards her for a better look. The images moved and wavered around on his skin.
"It's a spelled tattoo," said U'ka. "How long have you had this?
"It’s always been there."
'Very, VERY interesting. Let's go there,' Bahlmet thought at her.
"I don't know. My Daemon wants to go there," said U'ka. "Anything he wants can't be good."
'I'm insulted you don't think I have our best interests at heart. Trust me. We need to go there. It has the answers you're looking for.’
Once again, she threw up a thick mental wall between them, reinforcing it with her will. She did not want to hear from him for a while.
"I need to go there," R.K. stressed. "Please."
"Why is this place so important?" she asked.
"I feel drawn there, wherever it is. I feel it deep down in my soul. I need to find this place. I have to get there."
U'ka exhaled. One more task to add to the list.
"We're on a mission to take out the remaining Daemon Lords still in this reality. But I’ll see if I can figure out where this place is while we're on our journey."
"They're MORE Daemons?!" R.K. said, eyes widening.
"Yes. A few, like the ones inside us, were able to escape being pulled back into the dark realm when I opened the Gateway Between Worlds."
"So they're like us, Daemon held?"
"Yes, but their intentions aren't good. They are still hurting people here. I've taken out a few of them already."
"Okay. How come you and I aren't evil?"
"As I said, your Daemon is dormant right now. Mine is under control as long as I don't use Blood Magic. I have sworn an unbreakable vow to Teek that he can kill me if I use Blood Magic."
"He's not your friend?" said R.K., glancing at Teek.
"No. We have never been friends. He is my keeper who will kill me if I lose control of Bahlmet."
R.K. glanced over at Teek again. "I didn't think the Green Folk held that kind of power."
"Teek is unique among the Green Folk. He's the only being left strong enough to take me out."
"Whoa," R.K. said, wide-eyed; nervous about his situation again.
U’ka knew she needed to calm him and gain his trust. "Don't worry. Teek won't hurt you. In fact, you couldn't ask for a better protector. No one gets by him in a fight."
"So where to now?" R.K. said, feeling exasperated.
"Well, the images on your arm is no place I know of in Eleanthra," she said, getting to her feet. "We're going to have to figure
it out along the way."
She held out a hand to help R.K. to his feet. "You can drive a caravan, right?"
"Of course," he said a little indignantly.
"Good. Stretch your legs for a few minutes while I saddle up Bud and we'll be on our way."
"Uh . . . isn't that kind of an odd name for a great warhorse?"
"Long story," said U'ka, cinching the saddle tight around the horse. "He doesn't like his grand name, prefers Bud."
"Okay," said R.K., rolling his eyes as he climbed into the caravan.
"Oh. One last thing. If anyone sees your red eyes, they'll know you're Daemon held. I can put a disguise spell on you. What color are your eyes?"
"Grey."
U'ka stepped onto the caravan and covered his eyes with her hands. When she pulled them away, light grey eyes stared back at her.
"Alright, Teek. Lead the way."
6
The Citadel
(Two months before the Blood War)
U'ka stood on the grand balcony looking down at the flurry of activity going on below her. Student apprentices and teachers hurried back and forth from one classroom to the next. Having finished all her council meetings and lectures for the day, she was terribly bored with everything.
She’d been groomed since her fifth year at the Citadel to one day take over as head of the Order of the Blood, so it was her duty to sit in on all the various activities in the Citadel. The current head was older but still in good health; it would be a long time until she assumed the title. The council chose her due to the immense power she held from a very young age which allowed her to finish her studies long before any of the other apprentices in her class. They said the kind of power she wielded hadn’t been seen in many generations.
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