by A. M. Miller
“It smells like death in here,” Tyla whispered.
Tomerin stepped in beside her. “Were you expecting roses?”
Marcella turned her head. The two were silenced by the intensity of her glare. Lu kept moving paying them no attention. Her heartbeat slow in her chest. Every step they took brought them farther into the darkness. Soon they were swallowed in its shadows.
It’s too quiet.
The singing had stopped. Lu heard a soft mumbling noise. Her heartbeat quickened. She stepped closer toward the sound. He was around the corner. She could feel him. Her palms were sweaty but gripped tight to the axe. Lu took a deep breath. This was what she’d been trained for. With her axe raise high she turned the corner.
A man lay balled against the stone wall. His clothes were tattered, covered in blood and dirt. He made no movement. She now knew where the smell was coming from. Lu might have thought he was already dead were it not for the mumbling. She listened in. The words coming out of his mouth were complete gibberish.
Lu took a step forward. The moment she did the man turned to face her. His face bloodied and covered in scars. Her eyes dropped to his hands. They too were coated in blood. Bits of hair and flesh still stuck under his fingernails. The man had done this to himself.
Lu felt sick. Acid rose to the back of her throat. How afraid does a man have to be to do this? Maybe it was the guilt. Thinking of what he’d done to those poor girls drove him to this level of madness, but he wasn’t the one to blame. The queensland had failed to protect him and because of that, he’d become a prisoner in his own mind. He was a sad sight to behold.
“We have failed you, but I promise you will walk in the goddess’s light again.” Lu raised her axe up high. “By the blood of my ancestor, I grant you mercy.”
She swung.
The man’s eyes flew open. They connected in that moment, a hair of a second. Lu could see herself through his eyes. A pale skinned girl with black snakes for hair and glowing red eyes. He was terrified. His fear pumped inside her chest, but underneath that fear, anger and hate festered. Lu had never felt such strong emotions before. Worse was that all those emotions were aimed at her.
Lu thought to pull back but it was too late. The axe sliced through his neck like butter. Blood splattered against her face. Her third eye slammed shut the moment his head severed from his neck. His head rolled away from his body and hit the adjacent wall with a thunk.
Only one reality remained. That, and the last image in the man’s mind. With her eyes closed, she could still see it. She saw herself as a monster.
Lu wanted to comfort him, assure him that what she was doing was for the best, but he was gone now. It didn’t seem real but the sudden emptiness in her mind told her so.
Domicin stepped forward. “Your majesty?”
His voice was too distant for Lu to make out the words. There was blood spurting from the man’s neck. An empty space where a head should be. She couldn’t move.
I did it...I...
They’d connected, if only for a moment. Now Lu was alone. She’d done the right thing. Everything she believed in told her so. Killing him had been a mercy but it happened too fast. This wasn’t over. This couldn’t be over. There had to be more, Lu was sure of it. Where was the shining light at the end of his tunnel? The feeling of the goddess working through her? Why did she feel so empty?
Domicin’s large hands covered Lu’s. The warmth of his touch snapped her out of the trance. She could feel the magic of their connection wrapping around her. The emptiness subsided.
“It is done, your majesty. You saved him,” Domicin said.
Lu’s eyes glanced around the room. The others were watching her. She loosened her grip around the axe. Her hands were still stiff from the tension.
Lu stood, the room tilting unevenly on its axial. “We’ll need to burn the body. The risk of contamination is too- is too-”
She was back on the ground again. The smells and sights overwhelmed her. On hands and knees, she emptied herself.
23
The Heart Queensland
Lu wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She could still taste the acidy sickness on her tongue. Domicin was back by her side, one hand on her back the other against her arm.
“I’m alright,” Lu said.
Lu wasn’t all right, that much was clear. Her whole body was still shaking and she would have vomited again if there were anything left on her stomach. She couldn’t look at him, could barely stand the smell of it. The only thing she was certain of was that she had to get out.
Domicin helped Lu to stand.
“Um, guys, there’s something over here you might want to take a look at,” Tyla said.
Lu turned to see what she meant. When she came in she’d been so focused on her third eye vision she hadn’t noticed anything but the man.
“What is it?” Domicin asked.
Lu walked over to the other side of the room. She reached out to touch the wall. When she pulled her hand back her fingertips were red. Fresh blood, slick against the walls. She didn’t dare look back at the man’s severed head, but she could see it in her mind’s eye. His hands were covered in blood, but she’d assumed it only came from scratching his face.
“It’s a Lulana, right?” Tomerin squinted at the painting. “I mean it’s a crude rendition but the heart-shaped petals definitely resemble those of the Lulana flower.”
Lu stared at the petals. They were thick and curvy, the ends of each petal forming a heart shape. She knew what it was the moment she saw it. She still remembered Leo pointing to the flower in one of his books before pointing back at her.
“You see Lu, she does love you. That’s why mother chose this name for you,” Leo held up the book for her to see. The bright yellow and orange flower was one of the most beautiful things her young eyes had ever seen.
“It is,” Lu said. Everyone’s attention returned to the queen. “So rare some theorize that the flower is just a myth and doesn’t really exist, but stories say for those who find these flowers it's supposed to be a sign of hope to come.”
Lu looked at Domicin. “It shares a dead girl’s name. A name that should not exist anymore.”
Domicin’s eyes shifted between Lu and the painting. When his eyes returned to Lu she could see the alarm that lit his amber orbs. “That’s impossible.”
A tremble ran down Lu’s spine. “Burn it. Burn the whole house down.”
Lu turned to leave. It wasn’t a coincidence that this flower was here. Most people in this part of the queensland didn’t even know what a Lulana was. This was a message.
The magic used to erase a queen’s name left no room for loopholes. No one in the three queenslands was strong enough to break the spell. Lu knew of only one powerful enough to be able to obtain that information. The last time a queen had been named their world had faced their destruction. A second spell had been performed only after he was gone. Now he was more legend than man.
Lu stepped outside. She inhaled deeply but her chest seemed too tight. She took another breath and then another. Looking around, she found herself expecting.
Someone’s out there. Someone’s watching.
A hand touched Lu’s shoulder. She spun around, stopping with her axe only inches away from Domicin’s face. He stared back at her.
“My queen?”
“I’m sorry.” Lu dropped her arm back down. “I didn’t mean…”
A lump swelled in her throat.
“Come with me,” Domicin said.
He took her hand and led her behind the cabin. Once they stopped he let go of her hand. The feel of that hand touching her face surprised Lu.
“Look at me. Breathe,” Domicin said raising her chin up.
Lu focused in on his eyes, noting the flecks of red and orange. She breathed in. The memory of the smell would be forever etched into her mind but at least out here, it was better.
Lu pulled Domicin’s hand away from her. “It can’t be him.”
&nb
sp; Domicin’s expression grew grim. “Who else could have done this?”
“I don’t know, but it has to be someone else. He hasn’t been in the west for years. Not since Ogato.”
The town was never the same, no matter how many queens pushed for reconstruction. Piker’s vein grew thicker there. The blood-soaked earth acted as a perfect breeding ground.
“He left when he wanted. Who’s to say he can’t come back when he wants. First the assassination, now this?”
“No. This and that are not connected. If people start to believe that- if they even so much as think it-” Lu shook her head.
Domicin stepped closer to Lu. “I’m not trying to start a panic, but we have to discuss this. That painting was left here for you to see. If it really was him then you're in danger. He knows your name and he’s seeking you out personally. He’s not threatening the queen of hearts, he’s threatening you.”
“Than that is where this person has made a mistake. I am the Queen of Heart. The girl they wish to threaten is gone. I will not cower under the painting of a madman. We will take this information and look at it objectively. We will not jump to any conclusions, am I understood.”
“Yes, my queen.” Domicin took a step back from Lu and bowed his head.
“Good, then let us burn this house down and show whoever is responsible for this that we will not be intimidated.”
Big words for a small girl. Lu stepped past Domicin. She walked back to the front of the house and saw the rest of the ninth waiting there. Yack stood with a torch in his hand. She looked at him and nodded. He touched the torch to the base of the wooden door. It did not take long for the broken home to burn. Within minutes, the house and everything inside was engulfed in flames.
Lu stared into the flames, her heart still pounding and sweat beading against her forehead. She felt the tremble building inside of her hands and squeezed them into tight fist.
“Say nothing of the painting inside,” Lu said.
“What painting?” Marcella asked.
Lu looked toward Marcella.
Marcella turned away from the fire and stared back at her. “We see what you want us to see.”
Lu held her gaze for a moment longer and then looked at the rest of the ninth. They all seemed nice enough but she wasn’t sure if she could trust them. The others turned to look at her. Domicin’s eyes met hers and he gave a nod. Lu exhaled and nodded.
She looked down at her axe. The blood of the madman still coated the blade. She pressed it into her palm. The sharp metal broke through her soft skin. Before she’d winced at the slight sting. Now she could only wonder what the man had felt as the blade sliced through him.
No, there wasn’t enough time for that. He felt nothing, Lu thought.
Blood pooled in her hand and spilled onto the blade. Her blood mixed in with the other blood, purifying it. The axe hummed. Blood ran down to the middle of the axe, ruby eyes of the skull glowing bright as it absorbed the crimson liquid.
Lu pulled her hand back and watched as the last drops of blood disappeared. She looked down at her hand. The skin on her palm began to stitch it’s self back together. When it was done her hand looked as though the blade had never touched it. So long as the cut didn’t go too deep, nothing could hurt her. She was goddess blessed.
Lu looked up into the sky. She could see the goddess and feel the warmth of her glow against her skin, but on the inside, she felt hollow.
Goddess? Lu called out.
There was no reply. As always, the goddess remained silent and watchful. Lu looked back down at the house. After a while, the flames died and the only thing left was a pile of ash and bits of metal and wood. She turned away.
Marcella lead them toward the center of the village. Wind blew dust into Lu’s face. Marcella stopped, looking around at the broken down homes.
“You may come out now. This village has been cleansed,” Marcella announced to the quiet village.
There was a moment of hesitation and the doors began to creak open. People of the village shuffled toward Lu and the others. Once everyone was close enough Marcella took a step forward. “I present to you your savior, the Queen of Heart.” She stepped to the side and gestured toward Lu.
The villagers cheered.
A hand pressed into the small of Lu’s back. She stepped forward.
“Your generous queen rode all the way from her home to your village so that she might give you mercy. It is because of her your village is now safe from the blight,” Marcella said.
The crowd cheered again, yelling out gratitude, the sound of it overwhelming Lu’s senses. She stood not knowing what to do. The awful smell of that home returned to her. Blood and shit, death and grime. She looked at their smiling faces and felt herself growing dizzy. Domicin took a step closer to her.
A middle-aged man came forward from the crowd. Lu noticed that most of them were men. Several were marked by red rash.
Piker’s vein grew constantly around the wall. Cut and dried it made excellent rope but if not handled correctly it could leave permanent rashes. She assumed most of them had worked on the wall, a desperate man’s job. A southern man’s job.
The man who stepped forward was one of the few without a rash. His clothes, like the others, were ragged and covered in dirt. The swirling tattoo over his left eye marked him as the village priest. He bowed before the queen.
“We are grateful for your services, your majesty. Might you allow us to show you our gratitude by staying to feast with us?” The priest asked.
Lu looked around the village. Most of the villagers were underweight. She doubted they had enough to feed themselves.
Lu prepared to say as much but Marcella answered first. “We appreciate your offer. The queen welcomes a chance to feast amongst her people. We look forward to tasting the traditional dishes of Zendel and hope that you might enjoy the food of the royal court as well.”
Lu understood what Marcella was trying to do. Any food brought from the castle would greatly outweigh anything Zendel could provide on their own, but it would take days for anything to reach Zendel. Lu didn’t want to be inside of Zendal that long.
“It will take some time for the food to arrive until then do you have a place that the queen might go to freshen up?” Marcella asked.
“Yes, of course. There is a well just outside the village. Naxson can take you there.”
A young man stepped forward from the crowd. He bore a mark similar to the one the priest wore but unfinished. Instead of a full swirl, the tattoo hooked just above his brow. The boy bowed.
“If you are ready I can take you there now,” Naxson said.
“Lead the way.”
They walked together towards the outskirts of the village. The priest hadn’t lied when he said the well was close. It only took them a half an hour to make it there. The well was old, its bricks already starting to fall apart.
Yack lowered the wooden bucket into the well. When it rose again he handed it over to Domicin. Domicin brought the bucket to Lu. She stared down into the murky water. It looked more like dirty milk than water.
“Apologies, my queen, the water might not be the cleanest but it is safe to drink,” Naxson reassured them.
“Allow me, your majesty.” Domicin poured the water into his hand and took a sip.
They waited. Everyone but Lu stared at Naxson, assessing his every move. Lu kept her eyes on Domicin’s face monitoring for any signs of change, growing more anxious with every passing moment. His amber eyes rose to meet hers.
Domicin nodded. Lu exhaled a breath, the group relaxing along with her. Domicin passed the bucket back to Lu. She reached her hands into the water and started to wash the blood from her face.
“How did you find your way into the priesthood? You’re rather young for an apprentice, ” Tomerin said to Naxson.
Lu looked up. There was a hint of hostility she’d not previously heard inside of their voice. Tomerin’s eyes stared at Naxson, a hint of contempt inside of their brown ey
es.
Naxson didn’t seem bothered by this. “The honor should have been my father's, but during his tour of the queensland he tried to make his venture through the orcestral forest and was infected. He killed himself before he could receive the queen's mercy.”
“You were there,” Tomerin said, not a question but a statement. There was a look inside Naxson’s eyes. Lu could see it too. His eyes stirred something inside of her she made quick to stomp down. The image of her parents’ bodies flashed inside of her mind.
Naxson nodded.
“I’m sorry I asked,” Tomerin said. To say their voice was softer would be wrong, but there was a change in tone.
”Don’t be. I’m not the first son to lose his father to the madness. I’m actually luckier than most. Markolas, the priest from the village, was traveling with my father when it happened. Out of respect for my father, he agreed to take me on.”
“And you agreed to take his place, even though it was the priesthood that cost your father his life?” Kovin asked.
Naxson glanced over at him and shook his head. “My father was a great man but my choice wasn’t about him. I grew up in a village much like this one. People need to believe in the goddess just as much as they need food and water. I want to help them see that the goddess has not turned her back on them.”
“A noble cause. The goddess will surely shine light on your path,” Marcella said, patting Naxson on the shoulder as she passed.
The group returned to what they were doing clearly finished with the conversation. Lu was the only one left staring at Naxson.
Naxson felt Lu’s eyes on him. He looked up and his eyes met hers. With a smile, he started towards her.
There was a shift in the air. Lu turned to see Domicin with his hand on the handle of his sword. His analytical gaze locked on Naxson. When Domicin’s eyes flicked back toward Lu she shook her head.
Receiving Lu’s message, Domicin released his hold of his sword.
Lu turned back toward Naxson to see him standing only and arms length away.
“Is there something wrong, my queen?” Naxson asked in a soft voice.
“No, your story is inspiring. You speak with such confidence.”
