Corruption of the Rose

by S. J. Sanders

  Gnaval descended from an upper floor, his ears flattened as his lip curled back in a pained grimace. “What in the name of the blessed moon is that noise?” he growled, meeting Saris at the door to the great staircase descending to the lower levels.

  “I don’t know, but I am prepared to deal with it,” he growled.

  The other male lifted an ear toward him. “Why not have your mage terminate it? Where is she, anyway? The night will arrive soon. It is imperative that she attempt to bind us to her before the moon rises and the hallowed Night of Veils descends upon us,” he rumbled with displeasure, making an obvious show of looking around.

  “I suspect she is still in our room resting where I left her,” Saris snapped. “There is no reason for her to exhaust herself too soon. It is better for her to reserve her magic for the binding ceremony. So I will attend to this matter myself, and then I will retrieve her.”

  The male shrugged nonchalantly, another grimace pulling at his expression. “However it pleases you to do, let’s just get it done already. I don’t think I will be able to endure a whole lot of that infernal noise.”

  Saris nodded and jerked back as whirling sand appeared before him. Equiim’s frazzled appearance took him by surprise, the male’s hair standing on end as if he had by pulling at it. Relief filled the goblin’s face.

  “You have returned! Thank the gods! Quick, to the springs, we must hurry. We have a problem that must be dealt with immediately!” he cried out in a panic, practically hopping in place in a fashion that was uncommon to see in full-grown goblins unless they were exceptionally disturbed.

  Before Saris could question him, the goblin burst into a sandy cloud again, disappearing from sight. Saris’s eyes narrowed on the door. There was something occurring at the springs. Had Rose attempted some sort of magic there that had born disastrous consequences?

  His heart in his throat and his passions stirring frantically, fed by the full moon not yet in the heavens, Saris threw open the door and descended with Gnaval behind him. Despite the male’s criticisms, he felt a warm rush of gratitude that the male was with him and had his back as he had for centuries, the most trusted among the lupi. Glancing back at the male, he frowned.

  “I don’t know what we will find down there…”

  “Then we will face it together as we have everything else,” Gnaval retorted with a firm nod of his head.

  Saris hesitated, not wishing to prick at his friend. “If it is something that has happened with Rose, leave it to me to deal with.”

  A smirk curled Gnaval’s mouth. “Of course. I wouldn’t dream of getting between you and your little mage. I certainly don’t wish for the responsibility of caring for any injuries or cleaning up any mess that she might have made… though it is beyond me what she could have possibly done in the lower spring-fed pools, unless she mistakenly summoned something terrible there.”

  “Well, there was that time that the one mage—what was his name…? Ah, Kerlik the Great—who summoned the whirling smoke spirit. Everything in the castle smelled like fire for weeks, and it was days before we could even breathe properly,” Jalis added as he joined them.

  Aigra nodded, growling as he was jostled by another lupi crowding close behind him. “Whatever it is, I will have your back,” he called out.

  “Thank you, Aigra. I will remember this the next time you incite me to maim you,” he rumbled as he began to descend.

  “Excellent news. I will have to save it for something good that might tempt you to be done with me permanently,” the male muttered in a voice that reached his ears despite its low pitch.

  Passing by the entrance to the workroom, they descended farther into the bowels of the castle, the heat increasing as they came closer to the hot springs. The vibrating cries rattled the stairwell, tiny grains of dust and loose particles of stone falling away. The blast of water that hit the door as he pushed it open, however, set him back with surprise.

  Saris shoved at the door with all his strength and barreled through, ducking just in time to avoid another hot stream of water. A yelp from somewhere behind him informed Saris that not every one of the lupi had reacted fast enough to dodge the spray, but it was of little importance as he looked upon the might of the hydra curling up on its rocky bed. The hot springs in front of it churned, water sloshing all around it as it opened its mouth again and shot another short geyser of water before its shrieking wails started once again.

  Just out of the hydra’s reach, Equiim danced around anxiously, his arms waving to catch Saris’s attention. He scowled at the goblin and strode over to the male’s side. Another wailing shriek burst over him, and he cringed, his ears flattening against the sound.

  “You couldn’t have just told me that the hydra was awake?” he snapped.

  The goblin wrung his hands and shook his head. “I would have if the hydra was the problem…She is merely upset…”

  Saris’s scowl deepened. “Then what is the problem?” he growled, his minimal patience diminishing rapidly.

  The goblin pointed one long, knobby finger to a far corner of the room where the spraying water of the spring burst from the cavern wall.

  “They are,” Equiim hissed.

  Amid the spray, four heavily armed nagas slipped from the water, crownlike helmets obscuring much of their features as they broke the surface and rose from the hidden depths of the pool. Thick serpentine tails twisted in the water, their long spears held stiffly as vibrant green eyes watched him with slitted pupils. One naga slid forward through the water, muscles rippling gracefully with every move of his tail.

  The naga’s gaze was cold as he stopped just in front of Saris. Equiim made a small nervous sound and stumbled back. Saris would not be so intimidated. He stood at his full height as he met the male’s gaze directly. The naga’s held tilted to the side, his eyes narrowing.

  “I am Nagathanal, First Commander among my nagas. Do you lead here?” At his nod, the naga’s lips pulled back from pronounced fangs in a show of anger. “You lie. Produce her!”

  Saris bared his teeth in turn, his fur bristling. “Produce who? I am the authority here.”

  “You are not. You are the commander of the lupi. You are not the Master that Darthar promised us,” the naga hissed.

  Saris stilled, his ears tilting toward the naga as his tail, which had stiffened in anger, dropped slowly against the back of his legs.

  “What did Darthar promise you?” he asked.

  The naga made a dismissive sound, his head turning to the side as if he were upset that he was forced to speak to a lupo. After a few moments, he cut a glance his way and sighed when it became apparent that Saris wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Darthar promised,” he hissed with an undeniable current of menace. “His heir would stand between worlds, a Mistress of water that seeps through the hidden places, that transmutes and reshapes at will and flowers between worlds. He constructed for us, with our cooperation, an entry into the castle through these springs that would open to us when the flow of her power would flood all through the deep tunnels. This has happened, and so we have come. Now we demand that you produce our Mistress.”

  A snarl of disbelief ripped from Saris, his claws flexing at his side. “Do not speak your lies to me, serpent! Darthar would have told us!”

  Nagathanal glanced at his claws with disinterest, but a loud rattle filled the room, nearly drowning out the ceaseless cries of the hydra. That sound was the only thing that betrayed the naga’s mounting agitation.

  “Darthar would not have told you, beast. He knew the temperament of your kind, that you would fall into despair and potentially even leave the mountain to seek her out if he did not leave you thinking that his heir was an unknown mage who would come to you here. It was always her—always!”

  The naga’s revelation was painful… and yet there was truth to it. That was exactly the sort of thing that Darthar would have planned. The mage had a cunning mind and would have considered such likelihoods. He had to admit that, afte
r the first few centuries, he would have grown impatient and left the mountain to hunt for her… centuries too early, leaving the mountain vulnerable to attack. Worse, if he had failed to find her—which he would have—he would have doubtlessly slipped into despair, and the mountain would have certainly fallen and the barrier between worlds torn apart.

  He grunted uncomfortably at the revelation, his ears flattening with another keening cry from the hydra. Glaring over at Equiim, he snapped, “Why is it doing that?”

  The naga’s gaze drifted over to the water serpent, frowning as he cocked his head. “It weeps,” he muttered. Eyes flashing, he turned his attention back to Saris. With an enraged hiss, his body rose higher into the air, water sluicing off his scales as his forked tongue flicked out, tasting the air—searching.

  “Where is she!? Produce our Mistress immediately!” he shrieked.

  The lupi fell away, hands over their ears. The deafening sound of the male’s voice pierced Saris’s head with shards of agony as he dropped to one knee, refusing to crumple completely against the high-pitched vibrations.

  A waterspout appeared to the left of them, a nereid leaping out from its center only to stop and stare at the naga before she turned pleading eyes to Saris.

  “Lupo, please!” she cried, salty tears leaking from her eyes to fall down her water-kissed skin. “Cease your struggle with the nagas and help me.”

  Tearing his gaze away from Nagathanal with some effort, not wanting to take his eyes off him, Saris glanced at the nymph.

  “Serina? What are you doing here? Never mind. Go get your Mistress. As soon as this matter with the nagas is cleared up, we will assist you in whatever you need.”

  The female shook her head frantically. “No. That’s just it. She’s not here. She was stolen…”

  Saris didn’t even recognize the roar that bellowed from him at those words. It was so savage that even the naga in front of him faltered, his expression turning from fury to caution. Saris no longer cared about the serpents. All that mattered was that Rose was missing!

  “Why didn’t you stop it?” he demanded savagely.

  The nymph recoiled, her expression crumpling into one of sorrow. “I went into the Water Kingdom to recharge, and when I was returning, the way was blocked. I floundered until I found her mirror, one of a few viewing portals between the Water Kingdom and this world. I was able to see her. She was unconscious, and…”

  He felt a hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention.

  “This is not the time to worry about the mage,” Gnaval bit out. “The Night of Veils approaches. We have to prepare.”

  The nereid’s eyes snapped to the lupo, and a transformation came over her. Her eyes widened, becoming hollow black pits in her colorless face, wet locks of hair whipping around her head like dozens of serpents. Her petite fangs bared, and a shrill scream erupted from her as she pointed a lengthening claw.

  “Him! He stole my Mistress!” she wailed.

  Saris froze, his ears flattening in dismay. “Gnaval…”

  Chapter 27

  “Tell me you did not,” Saris growled.

  Gnaval dropped his eyes. “I was left with no choice. I tire of this life. You and the others may enjoy the endless hunt. Even I enjoy it, but I tire of the responsibility and being confined here perpetually on this mountain. It isn’t right that we are trapped here,” he snarled resentfully, his eyes snapping up to plead with Saris. “I thought when I killed the male I discovered picking Forial Roses that that would be the end of it. There hasn’t been an apprentice in years. I didn’t suspect that you would truly be able to train the female. When it became apparent that she was growing in power beyond all past mages, it was my duty to do what needed to be done. Don’t you understand that I did this for all of us? Let the vulpi have the mountain…”

  Saris ripped his arm free, rounding on the other male aggressively. He noticed that the hydra had gone eerily silent, the entire cavern filling with a low rattle. One ear turned toward the serpent, but he refused to back away from the betrayer.

  “Lupo, deal with your male,” Nagathanal snarled. “Or we will.”

  Turning his head, Saris glared at the naga.

  “No! He is mine!” he snapped.

  Just beyond Nagathanal, his eyes fell upon the hydra, and a tremor of unease filled him, piercing the aggression filling his mind. They hydra was not like the fire wyrm. It was a true danger, one that not even Darthar seemed interested in disturbing once she settled at the spring.

  Whereas she had looked peaceful and beautiful while sleeping, the serpent was now puffed up like another monstrosity of the mountain, her numerous heads turned on them, her mouth gaping wide to reveal venom-dripping fangs as the rattling sound vibrated and pulsed in her throat in pure menace. Each of the nagas lurking near her held their spear pointed at them, their faces set in hard, unforgiving lines, prepared to kill him to get through him to Gnaval.

  Turning away from Nagathanal, Saris’s gaze was more upon the male he had called friend for centuries, anger curling through him anew like a hot brand.

  “Never would I have thought betrayal would come from you,” he rasped.

  Gnaval twitched nervously. “It is war, Saris. A war that isn’t even necessary. The vulpi don’t want us dead. They didn’t even demand her death once I and their pet human convinced them otherwise.”

  A sharp hiss exhaled from between Saris’s teeth. “So that is how you did it. The human male who Rose was hiding from—you were meeting with him. And you turned her over to him.”

  The male huffed in exasperation. “Yes, it is true. The vulpi found him and used him as an intermediary. They had some unknown hold over him. All I had to do was bring some of her essences with her, one of which he seemed particularly interested in, and he bartered with the vulpi to return with her to their kingdom. She is safe, and we can be free of this hellish existence.”

  Saris’s growl rose as he circled Gnaval, aware of the nereid hovering nearby and the other watery denizens waiting to destroy the lupo should he fail to fulfil his responsibility. He would not let them—it was his privilege alone.

  Saris’s eyes narrowed.

  “You betrayed me, Rose, and betrayed Darthar,” he snarled, circling.

  “Darthar is not here!” Gnaval shouted. “As for your female, it is better that she is gone—better for both of you. You should be thankful that I made certain to spare her life when I was charged to kill her! Perhaps I should have. She is not strong enough to be our Master, and she makes you weak and your judgment misdirected. She is a curse, and had Darthar made us aware of her existence, I would have destroyed her from the first when I held her life in my claws and dragged her from the river!”

  The bellow that followed that statement sounded distant, like it was completely outside of himself, as Saris lunged at Gnaval. All friendship was forgotten behind the red haze that filled him as he charged, his claws slashing out. The other male jerked as if surprised and scrambled away in a blind panic, but he was unable to avoid the deep, jagged cut of Saris’s claws connecting with his face and tearing through flesh and fur as they ripped deep, bloody furrows.

  Gnaval yelped in pain, blood running freely down his face as he countered, snapping his teeth as he attempted to evade Saris’s assault. His own claws ripped into Saris’s fur more than once, but the damage he dealt was minimal. He couldn’t keep up with the furious speed at which Saris attacked.

  Saris could smell the weakness and fear on his opponent, the musk filling his nose almost equal to that of the metallic tang of blood filling his senses as Gnaval tired and his movements slowed. Saris relished the flavor. It was all so sweet coming from the one male who dared to betray him. Gnaval dodged one the more threatening injuries, but he couldn’t evade them forever. Saris pressed forward, searching for his advantage as he circled, lunging forward to snap his teeth at any vulnerable spot and rake his claws over his opponent’s hide.

  Finally, he saw the opening he was searching for. With a ro
ar of triumph, he sprung, his full weight bearing down on Gnaval, knocking him to the floor. Blood sprayed as his claws gored deep with Saris’s pitiless hold. The male stared up at him with a wide-eyed helplessness even as he thrashed, his claws slashing at Saris’s side and his feet kicking up in an attempt to throw him off.

  Saris didn’t budge. He tightened his grip, claws digging deeper, sending blood gushing in thick rivers that flowed down the male’s chest. Bringing his head down, his teeth closed around the throat, the crunch and pop as his teeth tore through tissue was loud to his ears. Gnaval’s claws dug at him more frantically, but the impact grazed him more often than not as his life drained away.

  “Saris, wait… allow me,” Serina purred, catching his attention, just barely working through the fog in his mind.

  Dropping him, Saris backed away, giving room to the angered nymph who drew closer, her vengeance surrounding her like a living thing. He wanted to deny her as he would anyone else who attempted to take the pleasure of the male’s death, but her dark eyes met his with understanding, her lips curving.

  “Do not worry, lupo. I will not take your prize. I merely desire to feed on him and enjoy a taste of his pain so that I might share with my Mistress later.”

  There was a certain justice in that which pleased him.

  He wanted Rose to know the taste of her enemy’s agony in his final moments. For her to savor it and know that in the end she was victorious despite her enemy’s best efforts. He did not have the ability to share it with her as the nereid could, and he was unable to deny the vengeance that Serina thirsted for in her anger. Her assurances made him more comfortable to release his claim to his prey… temporarily.

  Stepping away, Saris was startled as the nymph rushed forward at a greater speed than he had anticipated, her dark hair flowing around her like a crown or a veil as she set upon the body. She descended like a wraith. Her teeth immediately snapped around the torn base of the male’s throat, but she moved so suddenly that Gnaval convulsed, his sex spilling out. She ignored it as she hummed against him, her mouth working over his wounds as his hips pumped uselessly into the air even as Gnaval cried out in pain and terror. Saris did not know what images and sensations the nymph was feeding the lupo through their blood bond, but it was enough that his own fur trembled at the sounds of the male’s agonized shouts that ended on a scream before silence fell.