by Rob Bayliss
“Destroy it!” screamed Govchen.
A huscarl came forward, lifting his bardiche for a decapitating stroke at Tuan. There was tongueless, guttural roar as Bronic stormed forward. Blissa sang, ringing as he swung her through the air. The Turanesci seemed even taller than before; his arms bulged, his eyes wide. Spittle flew from his mouth as the Red Rage threatened to take him. Blissa smashed against the huscarl’s weapon in a shower of sparks, tearing it from the man’s grasp. With an oath the huscarl’s numbed hand reached for the hilt of his sword. Bronic released his grip on Blissa and swung his right arm, his clenched backhand smashing into the huscarl’s face, bending the man’s nose guard on his helmet. The nose behind it exploded in a welter of blood. The warrior sank to his knees, clutching his face.
Two other huscarls rushed forward to attack Bronic. Klesh levelled his boar spear at one, its point mere inches from disembowelling the man. The Flint Father leant forward ready to thrust, nodding to the man to drop his weapon. He complied. There was the clatter of falling swords as the other attacker stopped dead in his tracks. Tamzine had her falcatas drawn and crossed, poised like scissors at the man’s neck.
“Lord Khan!” she cried. “Call off your men, if you want to see Karla again, Tuan is your only hope; give him time, I beg you. Stand them down or we will send your men into the next world!”
The Khan hesitated. Was there hope? Could Karla truly be saved?
Govchen would not wait; he had witnessed the horror of the plague within the walls. He screamed at the harquebusiers on the battlements. “Shoot them! Shoot them all dead!”
There was a hiss, but it was not the sound of lit matches setting off black powder. There was a massive explosion of light, dazzling all those that faced it. They were left blinking as the clouds above were torn and shredded asunder, revealing the blue sky and the early spring sun striking the mountains around them. Colours exploded around Tuan and Karla, shrivelling tendrils and exposing flesh.
***
Blood … Shadow ….
His heartbeat began to slow as the rushing sound receded. The waves had surged through his mind and lifted him from the world he had known, to leave him stranded between realms. He was adrift amidst the stars; constellations and nebulae were alive with colour, punctuating the darkness like glittering diamonds set in broad sweeps of a painter’s brush. He felt at peace. He had shed his clumsy vessel of flesh and bone. He was a soul, a being of light with a universe to explore. Yet all the time his heartbeat became slower. He was … blood … shadow. The words echoed his slowing pulse.
He felt a sensation, a vibration at his throat. He looked down to see the Sun Shard bleeding a rainbow of light into his being, nourishing him, reminding him of who he was. Bloodshadow. His heart beat stronger.
He had not passed beyond the veil of grey rain; his time had not come, not yet, not yet. He had a destiny to fulfil. He would shape the world and dispel shadows. Why was he here? Bloodshadow. His heart beat stronger still.
The plague. It had consumed Karla. Where was she? With the remembering came the vision. He hurtled from the comfort of the cosmos, back down to the world, to a pocket in time from eons past.
Bloodshadow. Bloodshadow. Bloodshadow. The words faded as his heartbeat became regular and true. He opened his eyes. He was lying on a carpet of thick, spongy moss.
Everywhere was a rich green. The air was warm, thick and humid. He breathed deeply through his nose; it smelled musty and rich. His muscles felt strong with each intake of the thick air. Wisps of steam curled around the trunks of trees. Except, when he looked properly, these were no trees; they were monstrous toadstools, ferns and mosses. He sat up. He was naked. He felt around his neck and his fingers felt the shape of the Sun Shard resting against his chest. It vibrated slightly as if to reassure him. He hauled himself to his feet and quickly ducked.
An enormous dragonfly the size of an eagle flew over him, its wings making a loud, low drone. It alighted on the trunk of a towering tree of moss. Its body was a vivid blue that shone and reflected like polished metal, its wings like gossamer. Its head turned as its compound eyes took in Tuan. The eyes reflected and shimmered a kaleidoscope of colours that once again left echoes in Tuan’s vision. He felt light-headed and laughed. The monstrous dragonfly looked at him again. Tuan’s mind moulded it into a face, frightening yet comical, which made him laugh all the more. Here he was, transported to a strange alien land and yet he was relaxed and euphoric. He rubbed his eyes and looked around.
Above the weird canopy he could see the stones of the rocky cliff face, wet with moisture. He was in a steep-sided valley, in a forest like none that now stood on earth. He felt vibrant and alive. He wanted to run, to swim, to make love, to … Karla, where was she? He had held her hand and the plague had consumed his body, too. He was here for a reason. The memory of his heartbeat reminded him. He was Tuan Blackstone of the Gewichas. He was the Bloodshadow, the one chosen to wield the Sun Shard of Kress Startooth.
Is this a dream?
He cupped his hands to make a trumpet and shouted. “Karla!” His shout sounded strange as it was absorbed by the weird forest and rebounded by the high rock walls. He strained to listen for a reply. He thought he heard something to the east but it was unclear amid the strange sounds of insect clicks and the constant drip of water. He was unsure whether the noises he heard emanated from the environment, or from his addled mind. A small stream bubbled from under the pillows of moss in an eastward direction. He resolved to follow it and scrambled down the slippery rocks. He came to a sudden halt as fear cut through his elation.
The creature was crossing the stream just ahead of him. At least as long as he was tall, its head was dominated by huge crushing jaws that swayed slowly from side to side. It was a monstrous centipede, low to the ground and armour plated under a dark red shiny carapace. Tuan hardly dared to breathe as the beast slowly hauled its bulk over the rocks, its claws scrambling on the treacherous surfaces. Its locomotion was haphazard and clumsy as if its legs were somehow uncoordinated.
Is this a dream?
Tuan watched it, rapt in fascination. Satisfied that the creature wasn’t hunting him, he resolved to follow it and take a closer look. The creature ignored him as it stumbled onto a large flat rock that jutted out over the bubbling stream. The creature made an effort to rear up on its hindmost legs and then crashed back down on the stone, its shell clattering. Tuan inched closer. The beast seemed to collapse in on itself. Its compound eyes began to dim; its legs sagged and splayed out. It shook momentarily and then was still. Just as Tuan was wondering what could have killed such an impressive creature, he heard a strange cracking sound, and its legs strengthened and bore its weight once again. Its eyes were still lifeless, yet it began to move in a much more coordinated fashion than before. It reached the base of a thick moss trunk and, rearing up, hauled itself upwards into what passed for the canopy in this alien forest. Its claws gripped the trunk tightly and it became still.
As Tuan watched the creature, its red shell seemed to lose its gloss, taking on a greenish hue. The once smooth shell became furry as tiny green filaments grew from between the segments in its armour and its leg joints. There was a wet splitting sound as its carapace tore from within and its flesh inside transformed. Tuan realised he had heard such a sound before, when the infected horse had mutated and changed its form before his eyes. This strange beast had obviously suffered a similar infection. Thick tendrils emerged from behind its head, forcing the split in its carapace to widen. The tendrils reached upwards, becoming fungal fruits. Their ends ripened and swelled, blackening with spores.
Tuan had seen enough. He returned to the stream and jumped from rock to rock. He was struck by the strange beauty of the place, but knew he could not stay here. He tried to concentrate, but his senses were awry and confused, yet he felt strangely at peace. But he could not relax, not until he had found Karla. It was then he saw her.
Is this a dream?
She was in a glade of weird f
ungal shapes clustered around a small pool that the stream trickled into. Her naked form was leant against a trunk, as if she had fallen asleep and the strange fungus had grown around her. Filaments twisted around her thighs and left arm, but her right arm hung free. Her head was almost consumed by the plant around her. Only her face emerged, her mouth open and her eyes closed. Her breasts rose and fell slowly as her life as a creature of flesh and blood faded.
Is this a dream?
Tuan approached her. He listened as her breathing rasped. “Karla? Can you hear me? You need to remember who you are.”
She did not answer. A tendril around one of her thighs tightened as it claimed her, unwilling to release the beauty of the Khanate. Her mind was lost in the plague’s dreams and visions. He had to call her back!
He clasped the Sun Shard and concentrated. It pulsed, breaking the light into seven rays. There was a creaking sound as the tendrils relaxed their grip on her slightly. Tuan stroked her soft cheek gently, the Sun Shard’s colours lighting her face. Karla gasped and her eyes fluttered open. She smiled at Tuan from under heavy eyelids. Her pupils were dilated as the borders between dream and drugged reality merged in her mind.
“Tuan …” she purred, “I was dreaming of you and you are here.” Her eyes began to roll again.
Tuan stroked her face again. “Stay awake, Karla. You must stay awake now, or you will sleep forever.”
She lifted her eyelids with effort. “I was to seduce you, did you know that? My father wished it. He said you wielded an ancient power … a power he wished for the Khanate. It is a pretty thing,” she slurred, looking at the Sun Shard sparkling with its rainbow of colours, their light reflected in her eyes.
“I know that was your intent Karla, but it will be a power for all the Summerlands. Not that I could resist you; you are beautiful beyond compare,” He replied, caressing her cheek.
She sighed and tried to move her face towards his hand but the fibres and tendrils gripped her fast. A look of panic entered her eyes as she came to her senses and realised she was being absorbed by the strange plant.
“Tuan, cut me free, we must get away from here,” she said, her voice rising in panic. One of the tendrils tightened its grip on her leg with an oozing, sucking sound.
“Karla, I have no knife to cut you free. I’m not even sure where here is, or even whether it is real. We are between worlds.” He shrugged his shoulders. “The Sun Shard seems to have brought us here,” he said, clasping the pulsing crystal. “In reality we are infected by the plague in your father’s stronghold in the Skycrags.”
“Then I am lost,” she said as her eyes welled with tears. “I will become the plague and fade into the dark. Leave me, Tuan, save yourself. I will dream forever.”
“No, sweet Karla,” he said, moving closer to her. Tuan’s head swam. Her body was perfection and he felt an uncontrollable lust for her stirring inside him. “You need to remember that you are flesh, let me help you.” His voice sounded hoarse as his hand moved from her cheek, down her neck and cupped her breast. His other hand reached down to her thighs and stroking gently, found its way between them.
Her eyes widened in shock, yet her body thrilled to his touch. Only then did she see that they were both naked, and Tuan’s rising excitement was obvious. What did she have to lose? She ran her hand down his chest, her fingertips lightly brushing him, down his belly and found him, her hand clasping him to gently encourage him to smooth hardness. “I am a daughter of the Khanate. One last fuck before death,” she said, “to take the memory with me to oblivion, to remember I was once flesh.” Her mouth opened to accept Tuan’s in a long, lingering kiss.
The Sun Shard pulsed and burned, mirroring their rising excitement, urging them on towards their coupling, for flesh they were, with animal needs.
Her head began to emerge from the matt of tendrils that had engulfed her with an oozing sound, as the plague’s grip on her weakened. Her free hand reached behind to his back, drawing him to her. She felt him hot and eager against her belly. His left hand traced her side pushing against strange plant flesh that yielded before him. He moved his hand down, drawing her out from her captor. Finding her buttocks, he stroked and squeezed them. She gently took him and guided him into her. They both gasped as he tenderly drew back to push in once again. Her other arm drew free of the inhuman gaoler and she put both arms around Tuan’s shoulders. Her head was now free, her red hair falling free to tumble over her shoulders. He held her ever closer, both hands on her smooth, firm buttocks, supporting her. She rocked up and down upon him. The air was rich; he felt strong, virile and enchanted, and all the time the Sun Shard shone brighter as it hung between them. Their breath grew shorter as they panted and moaned in their yearning, as they chased the moment.
All was one.
Tendrils and filaments shrivelled and withered as they loved, the light from the Sun Shard burning ever brighter until it lit the whole glade. The swirling green mists hissed as the lovers were bathed in the radiance. They shuddered and gasped as they urgently reached their peak together. All was one, and the air was coloured golden as the lovers burnt as bright as twin suns orbiting each other, merging into one.
Bloodshadow. Bloodshadow. Bloodshadow.
He could hear his heartbeat, still beating hard and fast, his spent ardour a sweet, pulsing memory in his groin. Tuan opened his eyes. The sun was shining bright, glaring off the wet sides of the Skycrags. All around the Khan’s men stood blinking, trying to recover their sight from the explosion of light. He looked down and there was Karla, smiling up at him. He hauled her to her feet. Her green eyes sparkled into his, her lips parted as if to speak, but a huge bear-like figure ran towards her.
“Karla! My daughter!” Khan Chenkish swept her up into his strong arms, weeping and laughing at the same time.
Tamzine sheathed her falcatas and Klesh lowered his boar spear, letting their hostages go free. Bronic span around from his standoff with the huscarls, dropped his bardiche and grabbed Tuan in a bear hug of his own, pounding his back. As well as his relief at Tuan’s return, Bronic had known he and his companions would have succumbed to the Khanate’s blades eventually.
The Khan released his daughter and faced Tuan. “You are indeed worthy to carry that Sun Shard. I am forever in your debt, Tuan of the Gewichas. You have returned my daughter to me. Anything you ask, if it is in my power to give, I will grant to you. You have the friendship of Khan Chenkish until the world ends. However, I would ask you to accompany me into the passes to find my son. If he cannot be saved I would still bring his body home to be beside those of his ancestors.”
Tuan bowed. “Of course, my Lord Khan. Our quest lies through the passes. We will help you retrieve your son and those who followed him.”
See, my warriors!” The Khan turned to address his troops. “No one has ever survived an infection of the plague before. We now have the means to defeat this foul weed. Thegns and captains, prepare your men. At first light we leave to find my son in the passes.” He turned back to Tuan. “You and your companions dine with me tonight.” It was more command than question.
“It will be an honour, Lord Khan,” Tuan replied.
“Good. Come with me, daughter,” the Khan said. In his fist he held the Aethling ring. He kissed it and set off across the ward to the fortress.
Karla sidled up to Tuan. She leaned into him and purred quietly in her silken voice. “I have no idea how real all of that was, Tuan of the Gewichas, but I know I owe you my life. I will see you at dinner tonight, but rest assured I will reward you amply ….” Her hand reached down his back, lingering on his backside and squeezing it. Blowing him a kiss, she followed her father and the castellan.
Tamzine chuckled as she approached Tuan. His eyes were fixed on Karla as she walked away. “Hey, Tuan, snap out of it. What was all that about? Seriously though, it was all we could do to defend you from the castle guard. Please warn us before you jump in like that with both feet.”
“If I can, I will,” Tuan
said, nodding. “But do not doubt me; I wield the Sun Shard. The Cheamanites have every reason to be fearful of the plague, but not me, not any more. Thank you, my friends, for defending us. Now then, shall we go and prepare for dinner?” He set off across the ward.
“He’s keen; he must have worked up an appetite,” Klesh said.
“I think we can guess who has whetted it, and it is not food he‘s after. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was on a promise,” Tamzine replied, setting off with Klesh to follow Tuan. “You coming, Turanesci?” she said, looking over her shoulder.
Bronic laughed as he shouldered Blissa and his musket. Tuan on a promise? Good for him. And dinner with the Khan tonight; that meant there would be good food, lots of strong wine … and hopefully a pretty serving wench or two! He set off after his companions.
***
The two lovers caressed each other, their mouths joined. They were set away from the remains of the feast in a shadowed alcove. His hands reached between her legs, his fingers gently stroking her thighs, reaching higher and finding her. She moaned in pleasure but reluctantly her hand reached down and stopped his, as she pulled away from the kiss.
“Karla, what’s wrong?” Tuan asked breathlessly.
The daughter of the Khanate looked fully into his eyes. They sparkled intoxicatingly as she smiled. “Tuan, I love you, but we must be careful … I must be careful. I would like nothing better than for us to love like we did when you rescued me from the plague, but this is the real world Tuan, and I am the Khan’s daughter. I cannot risk ….” Her eyes looked down at the floor. How often had she played the tease to further her family’s ambitions, and now when she really wanted to….
Tuan forced himself to smile, despite himself, his arousal all too obvious in his breeches. “I understand. You are nobility and I am but a Ceorl’s son….”
Karla’s finger touched his lips, silencing him. “No, Tuan, you must never think you are lesser than anyone. I yearn to love you, to recreate what we did in that strange world. I want you, Tuan. I was to seduce you, to keep you and your Sun Shard here, but we have separate courses to travel before we can ever hope to be together. I realise that now. You have a destiny to fulfil, but will you come back to me?”
