An Argument of Fairies

by Cory Huff

  “Liam, perhaps you should stay back? Just give us directions and we can find the bodies,” said Sophronia.

  Liam stared at her for several seconds, not appearing to comprehend what she said. Then he turned around and kept walking.

  After about 30 minutes of walking in the woods, Thomas realized it smelled like a butcher shop. He also realized he could hear a faint, low buzzing noise. Liam slowed down, and stopped next to a stream, looking down. He drew a sharp breath and shuddered. “It's right around this bend in the path,” said Liam.

  Thomas loosed his sword in its scabbard and walked around the bend. What he saw made him stop and gasp. There was carnage everywhere. Dead bodies, hacked to pieces, limbs lopped off. Stomachs and chests with gaping wounds that spilled viscera. The blood was dry and crusted. The buzzing sound was flies. Thousands of flies were hovering over the bodies and crawling over them, seeking food and places to lay their eggs. Thomas became suddenly, violently ill, emptying his stomach.

  “Oh, Creator,” whispered Sophronia. Her stomach heaved and her vision spun. What could cause this kind of damage? Who was this cruel? This savage? She had been training, learning how to fight, to defend herself. Was this what she had been training for? Other than that woman who attacked her at the house, she had never seriously injured anyone. She had never drawn more blood than a few punches.

  What was this?

  Her training was a lie. Everything she had been telling herself about how to survive was a lie. The grizzly, horrific scene in front of her put the truth directly in front of her: violence was a horror that she wasn’t prepared to deal with, let alone stop.

  Liam walked forward. He wasn’t stunned by the shock of the violence. He was already numb. He had woken up in the middle of it. He had crawled through it.

  “That.” He pointed to the burned, mangled body of one of the creatures that killed them, “That is one of them.”

  Sophronia looked over. Liam was pointing at a hacked apart body. Thomas stood up, wiping his mouth, and walked over to where Liam was pointing. It looked like a … like a hacked apart body. It was impossible to tell anything about the body, it was so damaged. “I’m sorry Liam,” said Thomas, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  Liam walked over. “That thing. Look at its face. It’s not human!”

  Sophronia walked over, the three of them standing over the body as flies spun up in a cloud. Sophronia hesitated, “Liam, I’m not sure I understand you. This body is horribly mutilated. Is that what you mean?” She looked back and forth between Liam and Thomas. Thomas peered down at the body. He was holding the back of his hand over his nose and breathing through his mouth in short gasps, trying to keep the scent of decay out of his nose.

  “What do you mean? It’s got huge eyes, and sharp teeth!” Liam said, forcefully.

  Sophronia looked back at the body. At Thomas. Thomas let out a long, slow breath. There was silence.

  Thomas spoke quietly. “Liam, I don’t see what you see. I see a mutilated body with barely discernible face. The eyes are … maybe they’re wide, but I don’t see…”

  Liam kneeled down next to the body. It was plain as day to him. Green skin. Big, round eyes. The creature’s mouth was fixed in a death scream. The sharp teeth were disturbing, even in death. “Look at this you two.” He put his hand under the back of the creature’s head and tilted it up slightly, the bulging dead eyes prominent. “Look at these eyes and tell me that this is normal!”

  Thomas looked and sighed. He couldn’t see it. Sophronia looked, and something seemed to … ripple? Her vision swam, and for a moment, she saw a death rictus not of a human, but of some kind of greenish-skinned creature with sharp teeth. It’s eyes were indeed unusually large - and then it went away immediately. The human face was there. But that was enough for Sophronia to realize that this was some sort of glamour. It was almost like she could see both images at once. Her vision swam a bit.

  “Liam, the important thing here is that we need to see if anyone survived.” Said Thomas.

  Sophronia collapsed, falling to the ground.

  Thomas grabbed her. “Sophronia, are you ok? What’s wrong?” He turned her over on her back. She twitched, twice, three times, and then was still. She appeared to not be breathing. Thomas shook her. “Sophronia! Sophronia?! Wake up!”

  Liam helped straighten out her legs. As he turned, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Looking again, his stomach sank. He trembled and then managed to speak out loud, in a flat monotone, “They’re back.”

  Thomas heard the dread in Liam’s voice. He looked up. A group of people were creeping down a high embankment of earth. Tree roots and grasses decorated the hill. The people all had weapons of some kind. Daggers. Shortswords. Axes. There were more than a dozen of them. They were all short, like children. He was confused. They were not children. His training kicked in. If someone has a weapon drawn, they mean you harm. He stood up, clearing his feet of the tangle of bodies and Sophronia’s twitching form. He drew his sword and the sound rang out through the eerily quiet woods.

  “Stand and declare yourself friend or foe!” He challenged.

  A woman crested the embankment and the figures seemed to pause. The woman stared at Thomas. When she spoke, her voice was hard, but musical. The effect was discordant. “You’ve seen something that you shouldn’t have. Unfortunate for you. The Cuhmneantach has declared you must come with us, away from here. Put down your weapons, we won’t harm you, and we will bring you to a wonderful place far, far away from here.”

  Caile had walked from her safe house into the woods to find Sand, the leader of the forest patrol charged with keeping the people of Atania out of the woods. He was just over three and a half feet tall. He had sinewy muscles, a head seemingly too large for his body with bulging, round eyes and sharpened teeth. His skin, like all of the goblins, was a dark green. Since the discovery of Sophronia, Caile regularly checked in with the fierce, diminutive creature to see if they had seen anyone else in the woods. She needed some time to think about her next move with Sophronia. She would be on her guard against future attacks.

  Her leg healed by the Ogham, Caile had found Sand and the others in their usual spot in the woods. They were well hidden, but if you knew the right signs, you could navigate right to them.

  Ugh. That thought came from Devyn, who was repulsed by the state of disarray and filthiness of Sand’s camp. The latrine ditch isn’t covered. These tents are set up haphazardly, leaning every direction but straight up. Ropes strung in every direction. Clothes hanging from the tent lines, in various states of cleanliness. What is the point of hanging them to dry if they’re not clean at all? Do they have to live like animals?

  This is why they were chosen to do this responded Caile. She focused her attention on Sand. Sand had a cunning look in his eye, like he was trying to size up Caile to determine if he was going to scam her - or worse. She realized that his cap, a round leather hat with brass fasteners for the band around the edge, was a brighter red than usual. That meant a recent kill.

  “Who did you kill Sand?” Mindee had taken over. Killing was her business.

  Sand grinned. Devyn mentally shuddered at his filed teeth. Why do they always have to kill? He croaked out, “‘buncha yumans walked inna woods. Wanna fine’appenin’.” His accent was always thick, nearly indecipherable.

  “You mean there were humans here in the woods specifically looking for the source of the Happenings?” asked Mindee. “Show me.”

  Sand yipped at the other goblins and they slowly got up, grumbling, and walked through the woods with Mindee.

  “What do you mean? It’s got huge eyes, and sharp teeth!” a loud voice spoke forcefully from over the hill. The goblins all tensed and started whispering to each other.

  I have to stop this thought Caile. She turned to Sand, touching his shoulder. “Capture.” She said, “Cumhneantach says.”

  Sand looked at her for a long moment and finally shook his head. He yipped several quiet orders
and the other goblins looked unhappy, but they all looked at her, waiting for her to take the lead.

  “Who are you?” Asked Thomas cautiously, “And why are you threatening us? Did you kill these men?”

  The woman crooked an eyebrow. Thomas realized that she was pretty, in a disturbing, alien way. She had a slight smile, as if she were speaking to a child. “My name is Mindee. I am a servant of the Cuhmneantach. You will learn what that means if you come with us.”

  Thomas turned and looked at Liam and Sophronia. She was awake. Liam was helping her sit up. When she saw Mindee, a look of shock flashed across her disoriented face. “Your name is Mindee? You killed my brother!”

  Mindee stared for just a moment. Internally, Caile insisted we can still catch the others. There doesn’t have to be so much killing. Mindee shut her down immediately. Our duty is clear, and you agreed to let me be in charge of the Cumhneantach’s duties. She is a blasphemer and must die. Caile wept internally and fled into the background.

  Mindee brought her left leg up as if she were stretching and testing it. “Blasmaigh” she said. It didn’t mean anything to Thomas, but the other people on the embankment seemed to tense, gripping their weapons tighter. “Unfortunate indeed for you that we meet again. You got lucky blasphemer. It won’t happen again. The Cumheananteach has decreed your death.” She looked at Thomas, “Stand down. If you interfere, you will die.” She smiled a cruel smile that sent chills down Thomas’ spine. “Kill her.”

  “Stop!” Thomas shouted desperately, hoping to dissuade them from their murderous course. He stepped in front of the group, putting himself between Sophronia and them. “In the name of the Creator, I demand to know the reason you think you can just murder someone!”

  Hesitating for just a moment, everyone looked at Mindee. Her cruel smile on her face, she slowly walked toward Thomas, threading her way through the warriors on the embankment toward Thomas. “As I said, you will learn soon enough, but you must obey. If you interfere with my duties, you too will die.” She was standing just a couple of feet away, right at the edge of Thomas’ sword range. He made no sign of moving. A peace came over Thomas. “I am a Knight of the Creator. He won’t let you do this. He will help me stop you.”

  The smile abruptly went away. “The Creator has nothing to do with this. Kill her and this Knight!”

  Faster than he expected, Mindee quick-stepped forward and launched a punch at Thomas’ throat. His training kicked in just in time for him to get his off-hand up to partially deflect the blow. She hit his chin and his head snapped back with the force of it. He immediately went on the defensive, back pedaling and swiping across with his sword. Mindee ducked under the sword and launched forward, kicking him in the stomach. He blocked that kick by getting a knee up and she immediately landed a jab on his right cheek. He tried to swing back across with his sword, but her hand was there, checking his swing at the wrist. He felt her other arm wrap around his body as her weight pushed forward into him while she hooked the back of his ankle with her foot. He went down, with her on top.

  Thomas had received hand to hand combat training. He was much bigger than Mindee. He let go of his sword as he fell, and when they hit the ground, he used the momentum to throw both of them into a roll, flinging her away from him and coming back to his feet.

  On the practice field, they had occasionally trained for a many to one situation. Thomas knew that the one usually went down quickly, and brutally. The only chance was to take out the most dangerous person, hopefully demoralizing the rest of them. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if they were a disciplined fighting force. Morale wouldn’t matter.

  Mindee immediately, smoothly, rolled across the ground and onto her feet. He saw the others moving around her, towards Sophronia and Liam. His sword was on the ground and he knew she expected him to go for it. He faked towards it and she charged in. Thomas immediately sprang back the other way, grabbing one of the short warriors’ by the wrist and twisting its arm around. It cried out in surprise which instantly became a cry of pain as Thomas wrenched his arm out of its socket, prying its short sword free and kicking the warrior to the ground.

  Thomas hesitated for just a second as the world seemed to…flicker. The warrior he had just thrown to the ground appeared to become…green?

  A heavy blow landed on the side of Thomas’ head and he fell to the ground. The world was white light and pain. His training saved his life as he kept moving, rolling and scrambling while covering his head. He was scared, he realized.

  Just a few steps away, Sophronia stood up on shaky legs. She thought she knew what had happened to her, because something similar, if far less severe, had happened several times before, sometimes resulting in mild nausea or severe headaches. The worst time had been when she had used what she was learning to misdirect an over-enthusiastic fan into a ditch. He had been a large man, drunk, and practically slobbering as he chased after her for a kiss.

  He had broken his ankle, and she nearly ended up in the ditch next to him. She’d been nauseous and woozy for an entire day, having to cancel a pub night. When she looked at the body that Liam had pointed at, she used a glamour-piercing trick she knew, and something had popped. She saw the creature for what it was: a green-skinned, short, fang-toothed monster. And then the magic sickness had crashed down on her, harder than the time with the drunk, harder than ever.

  She had been aware of what was happening to her while she was thrashing and twitching. It was awful. It had taken every ounce of willpower she had to stop the twitching and force herself to stand up. She had heard Mindee say her name, and she was full of fury now that she knew the name of her brother’s murderer.

  Now these creatures were closing in on her, and Liam looked horrified and scared. He was frozen. She growled in frustration and used the extra adrenaline of the moment to draw a knife, take aim, and throw it, catching one of the little creatures in the chest. She had the satisfaction of seeing its very surprised face when it stopped, looked down, and then fell to its knees. She drew another knife right away and stepped in front of one that charged Liam. It took a swipe at her with a shortsword, but its pathetically short reach allowed her to step back out of range, and then kick it in the face. As it stumbled backward, she stepped in and dispatched it with a straight stab to the neck. Retracting her knife, she parried another shortsword from yet another creature, and landed a smart left cross to its little face. It went down in a heap.

  With three of their number down, the monsters slowed down and spread out. They started yipping.

  “I think that’s their language,” said Liam.

  “Stay close to me,” said Sophronia. She wasn’t sure how they were going to get out of this. She saw Thomas trading blows with Mindee. He didn’t seem to be doing well. Sophronia was sure it was going to be over quickly. He was scrambling and all but running away.

  Sophronia suddenly smiled. Liam wondered what was happening as she charged forward at the monsters. They pulled back in surprise, raising their weapons. Sophronia suddenly stopped short of the monsters, pivoted and hurled a dagger at Mindee.

  Mindee sprinted toward Thomas. She would finish him quickly while the others pinned down the blasphemer. He was already dead as far as she was concerned. She was a little surprised that her kick hadn’t killed him. He hadn’t been looking, and she had connected solidly. He had a hard head. But it didn’t matter. He was an inept fighter. A joke of a knight. She smiled at how she would pay back the blasphemer.

  Suddenly her leg exploded in pain. She looked down, and, impossibly, there was a knife sticking out of it. Mindee screamed in pain, rage, and frustration.

  “Ruuuun!” Yelled Sophronia, who then grabbed Liam by the arm and pulled him as she took off while the monsters were distracted. She kicked one as it turned to stop her and sent it sprawling. “Thomas, get out!”

  Thomas knew he was beaten. He could see, but just barely. Everything was limned in a white halo. His balance was off. His ears were ringing. He stood up and
tried to run. His limbs wouldn’t follow his directions. He stumbled and fell, hard. He grunted, but knew he needed to get out. Something had happened to Mindee. She had yelled in pain, and he had somehow gotten out of her reach. He scrambled to his feet. His vision a little bit better, he used the vines and weeds to climb the embankment. He could see Sophronia and Liam running.

  The dagger in Mindee’s leg hurt, but not as much as the embarrassment of having this blasphemer twice beat her in a fight. She would not catch her, but she would have her pound of flesh with this knight. The hurt turned to rage and she stoked it, using it to quickly hobble after him as he scrambled and fell up the embankment, her minions chasing after the other two.

  She caught up to him and grabbed the back of his collar. He yelled something, but she was too angry to hear what it was. Mindee twisted on her good leg and attempting to throw him to the ground. He was bigger than her though, and her angle wasn’t right. He leaned forward and used his weight to stop her, and then surprised her by snapping a backhanded left at her face. She took a blow to the cheek, accepted it and pushed, knocking him forward down to his knees. Now his head was just slightly lower than hers.

  She pulled the dagger from her leg and rammed it into his throat. Bright red blood sprayed like she was slaughtering a sheep. He gurgled, grabbing her hand and his ruined throat. He tried to suck air. Tried to scramble away. She took a handful of his hair, holding him in place as he bled to death. She looked up and out, searching for the blasphemer.

  There she was, beyond the embankment, near the thick trees. The man that was with her was yelling, making as if to head back in Mindee’s direction, but the blasphemer grabbed him by the arm, making eye contact with Mindee.

  The knight in front of her kept gurgling something, flailing his arms, nearly getting away. Tiresome. She reached her other arm around, grabbed his chin, yanking sharply. She barely registered the crack that broke his neck as she readied herself for what came next.