Blood Rain

by Nancy Gray

  Pyron seemed to notice and whispered, “As I said, not all of the beast men are monsters.”

  Carmine nodded. “Thanks for that. Anyway, your brother saw me crouched over Wind Runner and assumed I had killed him. I flew away before he could arm his bow and got back to Twirl. I could hear him talking to Green Arrow. He said he was going to find the entrance to our colony, go in, kidnap one of our guards, and kill another. Then, he was going to use our guard as a bargaining chip to get Twirl back.”

  Mercy gasped. “But that’s insane.”

  Carmine chuckled. “His plan was ambitious to say the least.”

  “So he was just assuming that the place wouldn’t be heavily guarded?”

  Twirl spoke up, “I think his pride and outrage wouldn’t let him give up. Besides, it was too late to go back by then. It was just him and Green Arrow. The vitulae were still wounded. They were also still lost. The bat folk would have no trouble catching just the two of them.”

  Mercy felt her hands balling into fists again. “I see. He wanted to die fighting, without thinking about all of the people he would hurt by throwing his life away.”

  Twirl nodded. “That’s Pack Leader for you.”

  Carmine continued the story. “The sun was coming up, so they buried Wind Runner’s body. They figured that we wouldn’t attack during the daylight. We don’t have as much of an aversion to sunlight as most of the forest people think, but we do have very sensitive eyes. Typically, we do sleep during the day. While they were busy, I flew ahead with Twirl and warned my people about their plan.”

  Mercy said, “I guess this is the part where my brother dies.”

  “Actually, we’re still not sure what became of your brother. They eventually found one of the entrances to our home; a large cave. My group was outside, watching them. Pack Leader told Green Arrow that he would scout it out first. If Green Arrow heard a fight or if Pack Leader called his name, he was to come in and help. There were four guards watching from the trees instead of two. We had doubled the watch at every entrance and exit and there were several guards waiting on the inside. Your brother called out for Green Arrow, but the bastard was already gone.”

  Twirl nodded. “I never saw it happen, but I heard that one of the vitula was gone as well. I assume that he somehow managed to repair the damage to its wings long enough for him to get out of sight. He probably rode the poor thing to death looking for the village.”

  Mercy asked, “But what about my brother? What happened to him?”

  Carmine shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t know. The guards took him alive and threw him in a prison cell to wear him down a bit. He was quite a fighter and very brave. They give every prisoner a choice. It used to be that all prisoners were killed as ‘blood sacrifices,’ but things have changed.”

  Twirl said, “The choice is to live as slaves, or be drained of all blood. I chose to live as a slave. Your brother doesn’t strike me as the type to surrender his freedom, but then, I don’t know. I never heard about him dying so there’s a chance that he’s still alive.”

  “My brother might be living as a slave, alive in your colony!”

  Carmine cocked his head. “It’s possible. Or, he might still be living in a prison cell.”

  Mercy stood up. “Why didn’t you find out, Twirl? You were there, you could’ve…”

  “Well, for one thing, there are more beast men than you think. Also, I was assigned to Carmine. Carmine didn’t work in the prison and after he tried to bandage one of his race’s enemies, it would’ve seemed suspicious for him to obviously ask around about the fate of the other prisoner.”

  Carmine nodded. “I did offer to buy him if he chose to become a slave, but your brother’s spirit wasn’t exactly broken. The others didn’t think it would be safe since he knew Wind Dancer. They thought that they might work together to try to escape from me. I couldn’t do any more without rousing their suspicions.”

  “He kept me there for six months, and we started having feelings for each other. We fell in love, but slaves aren’t considered human in the bat colony.”

  “We’re encouraged to breed with humans, but not to marry them. They think of most humans as a lesser species, sort of like the way your people think of ours.”

  “Wait, breed? You mean you actually can produce children with humans?”

  He nodded.

  “And the children, are they like you or like us? Are they healthy?”

  “They’re a little bit of both, and yes, they’re healthy.”

  Mercy turned to Twirl. “Is Erebus yours?”

  Twirl shook her head. “No. He’s about your age. Carmine was originally married to one of his own people. She was lost during a raid. Erebus’ mother thought that humans were no better than cattle, and that opinion rubbed off on him. But, I think that deep down he’s more like his father than he wants to believe.”

  Carmine nodded. “One day, he’ll come around. Once he figures out that the humans are just as intelligent as the beast races, he’ll realize we shouldn’t kill or enslave them.”

  The thought of her people as slaves made her blood boil, but Mercy asked, “And what about the half-human children? How are they treated?”

  Carmine took another sip of blood, “Well, currently they’re treated better than their human parent. I tried to use the influence that I had to change our leaders’ opinions of slaves and to give them more rights, but I was making a lot of enemies who took it out on Twirl. So, we decided to run away together. We’ve been here ever since.”

  Beryl asked, “Don’t the others of your colony come after you?”

  “Yes. As you know, you can’t exactly just leave your people when you’re one of our kind, but so far they haven’t found me. They didn’t expect me to open a bar in Concord and live like any other human. Sometimes we even spread rumors about our location to throw off any potential assassins. Currently, they think that I’m living in a cave somewhere.”

  Twirl shuttered. “I would’ve never chosen a cave for us to live in. Too many echoes and too many bad memories…”

  “I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell anyone about this bar, including my son should you meet him. If they find me, they’ll kill us. That includes you too, Pyron.”

  “You should know that I value our business relationship too much to endanger your life, Carmine.”

  Carmine frowned, “Well, let’s hope that I continue to be useful to you then.”

  Pyron flashed a cynical smile at Carmine but didn’t say anything.

  “There’s only one of my people that I trust entirely and that’s Cruor, because we saw eye to eye on the slave issue. He’s the only one that knows where to find me. Erebus is clever enough and knows me well enough that he’s probably figured out where I am.”

  Mercy rubbed her temples and said, “This is so much to take in.”

  Twirl shrugged. “I’m sorry. I knew that the truth would hurt you, but now you know.”

  “Now I know,” Mercy said in an overwhelmed whisper.

  Carmine stood up and stretched. Twirl did as well and walked over to him taking his hand. She whispered something in his ear that made him grin. A feeling of seductive excitement rippled down Mercy’s back from their direction. Mercy felt a little sick, thinking of what Carmine looked like under his disguise.

  Carmine bowed slightly. “Well, it’s been a pleasure meeting you, Mercy and Beryl. I hope we can do business again. Pyron, it was profitable as always, and it’s always a pleasure helping the Ashen capital. However, I have some…”

  Twirl was practically wrapped around Carmine’s body. She bit down on her lip and Mercy saw a little droplet of blood forming.

  Carmine groaned with pleasure. “Some pressing business to attend to, if you’ll excuse me.”

  9

  Everyone was silent as they walked back in the direction of the lighthouse. The city of Concord was mostly quiet and was lit up with oil burning lamps that reminded Mercy slightly of the paper lanterns from her villag
e. Many of the shops and restaurants were closed, but the bars and street+ venders were still open.

  Mercy halfway wanted to visit one of the bars, even though she was still feeling the effects of the wine. After all she had learned about the storm and the beast races, she felt as though everything that she learned from her tribe was a lie. Some of the very foundations of the war between their people and the Blood Wings were completely untrue.

  Beryl occasionally glanced in her direction. She could tell that the silence was killing him. He wanted to talk to her, but she didn’t want to talk to anyone. Pyron seemed lost in his own thoughts. He was walking just a little bit too fast, like a horse that had felt the whip of his master biting at his flank. In a way, Mercy felt that was a perfect analogy. Even though he didn’t say it directly, Carmine had practically told her that Pyron was a spy for the Ashen capital, and not just any spy but one that reported to the dictator himself. Even though Pyron never pretended to tell her everything, somehow she felt betrayed.

  He jogged ahead even further and began going from shop to shop, talking to merchants and buying objects that she couldn’t see.

  Mercy thought, bitterly, “Probably buying things for his journey back to the Ashen capital…”

  Pyron began talking to a man in a nice suit, motioning in the direction of a large black mare. He pulled another bulging pouch from around his neck. The man looked inside, nodded with a wide grin and motioned toward the animal.

  Mercy thought, “What should I do? Should I kill him? I could do it, but he saved my life. If I let him live, he’ll tell the dictator about my tribe and they’ll enslave anyone who’s left.”

  Pyron turned and looked at her. She held her breath. He had a cold, calculating expression on his face. His eyes wandered to her hand, which was on her belt near where she kept her lost dagger, and his breath caught in his throat. He was angry and hurt, but there was something in his eyes that told her he anticipated nothing less. Something about his demeanor said that he expected everyone in the world to eventually stab him in the back, and she was no exception. He also was feeling something akin to self-loathing and even pain. Even though she had never heard of a gift that allowed someone to read minds, the look on his face and his complex array of emotions told her that he could sense her thoughts.

  “Not my thoughts,” Mercy realized, “But my body language. He’s reading me like he read Carmine’s lips. I was reaching for my dagger without even realizing it, and I must’ve had a horrible expression on my face.”

  Pyron walked towards them, leading the black horse.

  Mercy looked down at the ground. “I wasn’t going to do it, but I would have very good reasons to.”

  Beryl looked between the two of them. “I’m going to go relieve Bruton at the lighthouse. See you there.”

  Pyron said with a cold laugh, “I was wrong about you, Beryl. Your people aren’t as naive as I thought. You know when you need to stay out of the way.”

  “Thanks, I think. Please, don’t hurt each other. All of us have to stick together now. Things are changing.”

  With that, he jogged away from them.

  Pyron said under his breath, “The beast men are always cryptic, no matter what type they are.”

  “I don’t think that was cryptic at all. My entire world has changed in a very short amount of time.”

  “Mercy, I’m sorry about what happened to your tribe. I’m also sorry that I dragged you into this. I never should’ve taken you with me to meet Carmine.”

  Mercy didn’t say anything. She felt her body shaking with rage. Despite Pyron’s sincerity, the guilt he was feeling confirmed her suspicions. He was going to tell the dictator everything.

  Pyron frowned. “So, now you aren’t even going to speak to me? What have I done that made you hate me enough to want to kill me? That’s a pretty cold way to think of someone that saved your life.”

  “It’s not something you’ve done, but something that you’re going to do. If you report everything you’ve learned to the dictator, including the state of my people, it could mean the death of my entire tribe.”

  “So, you think that I’m just going to betray you?”

  “You’re a spy for the Ashen capital. In fact, from what Carmine implied, you’re the personal spy of Dictator Crevane, himself.”

  “And what if I am? You think that you should just kill me and do the world a favor?”

  “I told you. I wouldn’t have done it, not after you saved me. But, if I’m right, you’re going to tell your superiors what Carmine said about my tribe being scattered.”

  Pyron ran his hands through his hair in frustration and then paced back and forth for a moment. “I have to tell the dictator everything. It could cost me more than just my position if I don’t.”

  Mercy snapped, “Well, that feels like betrayal to me.”

  Pyron stopped pacing and faced her. “Well, since we’re being so honest with one another, I think I’ve guessed who you are, as well Stealer of Secrets.”

  Mercy raised her eyebrows, trying to pretend that she was amused. “And who do you think I am?”

  “Well you aren’t just some girl on her honor quest. I knew that from the moment you spoke my language. You’re the chieftain’s daughter.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “I didn’t recognize your name, but I’ve heard the name Pack Leader before. He was the chieftain’s son. I know how it works in your tribe. You can’t call yourself the chieftain’s daughter, not until you’re acknowledged. My guess is that you were sent to find the source of the rain, and in exchange he was going to announce you as his heir.”

  Mercy was silent.

  “Mercy, I have to tell the dictator everything, but that doesn’t mean I have to tell him everything right now.”

  “What?”

  Pyron grinned. “I’d say that the most important piece of information I learned this evening was that the storm was magical and was caused by someone, probably someone trying to incite a war. I think that I need to find out who started that storm before I report back.”

  “So, you mean you and Beryl will go find the source of the storm first? How long will that give me?”

  “It takes nearly seven days to sail to the Ashen capital from Concord, but I’m guessing it’ll take lots of time to locate the source of the storm, possibly even weeks. I’m thinking I can at least buy you seven extra days, hopefully more.”

  “It’ll take me five days just to reach the remains of my village, but I guess it would take over seven days for someone from the Ashen capital to reach it, in addition to the time that you’re buying for me before you even travel to the capital.”

  “Exactly. Mercy, even if you haven’t been acknowledged yet, you’re the chieftain’s daughter. Catches the Eye is rumored to be very clever, despite what he pretends to be. From what I’ve observed he passed that cleverness to you. You’re more than capable of warning them.”

  “What should I expect from your people?”

  “After I tell the dictator, he’ll more than likely send a team of spies disguised as aid workers to assess the situation. You have to make your people appear strong. If they seem to have recovered from the attack, the dictator isn’t going to want to spare any soldiers to fight them. There’s quite a difference between rounding up people in a state of disarray and actually fighting, especially in a jungle terrain.”

  Mercy nodded. “It might also be for the best that my people have to focus on another threat. It might be the only thing that can convince them not to fight the Blood Wings.”

  “I know that you can convince them, but you need to go right away. The less that people see you in my company, the better. I’m going to tell the dictator that you left as soon as you found out the rain was magical in nature. Don’t let on that you know my occupation.”

  Pyron handed the horse’s reigns to her. The pouches of supplies that he bought from the various venders were attached to the saddle along with a large feed bag.

  She
gasped, “You’ve been buying supplies for me this entire time?”

  He nodded. “There’s enough dried rations and clean water in there for five days of riding, along with feed for the horse. I also bought you a set of daggers. I thought you might need two in case you lost another, as well as twenty arrows. You’ll need to stop by the lighthouse and get your new clothes and the supplies that you brought with you. There’s also a small bag of silver bits for currency.”

  “Pyron, I’m so sorry. I misjudged you, greatly.”

  “I’m not a good man, Mercy. If I was a good man, I wouldn’t be telling your secret at all. I don’t like the concept of slavery, but I have to handle things regarding the decisions of the Ashen capital with a certain professional patriotism despite my personal feelings. I want you to succeed. Go take care of your people and I’ll go take care of mine.”

  Mercy rushed up to Pyron and hugged him. She felt his muscles tense at her sudden movement. She felt a surge of pleasure and desire, the feeling of someone starved for human contact. He was like a child growing up as an orphan with no one to hold him. Mercy knew that feeling all too well. Pyron suddenly returned the hug more fervently and then quickly pulled away, brushing the wrinkles from his military uniform.

  “You’d better get going, but be careful. Remember, Carmine’s son might still be out there somewhere. Don’t let your guard down.”

  “I won’t. Thank you, Pyron, and good luck.”

  “Thanks, because I think I might need it. Good luck, Mercy.”

  Mercy got on the horse and rode the rest of the way to the lighthouse. Even though it wasn’t a vitula, Mercy could feel a wider array of emotions from the animal, making her easier to control. She had never ridden a horse before, but she always thought they were beautiful animals. They were the favored mount of the Ashen capital, and she could see why. Every horse she had seen since she reached Concord was either black or a shade of gray. It was as though they naturally blended in with the black sand beaches at night, and the color of their fur matched the varying shades of gray that were the skin tones of the Ashen People.