The Fallen

by R. L. Drummond

  “Glad you made it in time, Jenko.” Tellan called gratefully as he strode forward, “I was concerned we would have to leave without you.”

  “Then your journey would have been terribly long, boring and bland, Tellan.” Jenko quipped and as he reached over with a boisterous ruffle of Reya’s hair, he grinned widely and added, “I couldn’t possibly subject little Reya to that now, could I?”

  Tellan chuckled good naturedly with his hand held out in welcome, taken with the delighted giggle Jenko’s good humour had elicited from his melancholy niece. “Heaven forbid.” He responded fondly and grinned when Jenko heartily slapped a hand into his.

  “Anyway,” Jenko continued with a more serious tone of voice as Tellan sat down opposite him, “there’s a reason for my tardiness: I found a courier to send our message.”

  “Good, then we should leave as soon as we are able.” Tellan said as he eyed the patrons nearby. The pair of them were seasoned enough to know that discussing the nature of Jenko’s message was dangerous within such a closely packed environment. Tellan leaned closer to Jenko and as his face became dark with grave portent, he murmured, “I’m not entirely convinced that this brief reprieve is not without eyes.”

  Jenko’s eyes searched Tellan’s face ominously, concerned at how nervously his commander’s gaze darted among the sooty faces of the villagers. “If there are, then it comes from another avenue. I made sure there were no survivors from the ambush.” He replied with factual confidence.

  Tellan nodded slowly as he thought on Jenko’s words. “Perhaps it’s nothing.” He said and his mouth skewed bitterly as he finally voiced a concern that had been corroding his mind since the ambush, “But that contingent knew where we would be…”

  “Do you feel Belial is close?”

  Tellan glanced at Jenko fully then and with a slight downwards drift of his eyes came his answer. “Well then,” Jenko said as he leaned back, brought his arms from the table and slapped his hands purposefully on his thighs, “let’s go.”

  Tellan held his hand out meaningfully, such an abruptness of action that Jenko halted his boost from the bench. “We won’t get far on foot, at least at a speed that could grant us enough distance from whomever is nearby.” Tellan murmured low enough that his voice wouldn’t carry to unexpected ears.

  “Horses?” Jenko asked as he sat back down thoughtfully.

  Tellan’s head tilted slightly. “In an ideal world, yes.”

  Jenko then flashed a grin as sharp as his sabres. “Leave it to me then; be outside in five minutes.” He then stood up and bowed enough to murmur roguishly into Tellan’s ear, “But be ready to make a run for it.”

  With a last pat upon Tellan’s chest, Jenko strolled away with a casual swagger that opposed the regretful groan that rumbled disapprovingly from his commander. Reya watched Jenko leave with a bemused frown and when she turned back to Tellan’s drawn expression, she asked anxiously, “What is he doing?”

  Tellan sighed wearily and replied despondently, “Not making friends.”

  Her eyes goggled in shock, “Surely he’s not about to–”

  “Yes, he is.” Tellan began gloomily and he stood up with a face that drooped with reluctance, “Make sure you have everything you need, my love. We won’t be able to show our faces in here for quite some time.”

  Reya followed her uncle in stunned silence, her eyes darting furtively among the patrons of the Coal Bucket with the fear that Jenko’s intention was written clearly across her face. If she hadn’t been so nervous she would have laughed when Tellan paid their bill at the bar, for he was determined that he would remain as lawful as he could before Jenko dealt his own damage. And as they left the sooty gloom of the inn, Reya squinted at the thin morning light that barely seeped through cool grey clouds. Even the sky seems dirty here. She thought with a rub of her arms and as she looked up at Tellan, she saw the grim set of his jaw that spoke of his distaste of what was about to occur.

  “Be ready, Reya.” Tellan murmured so deeply and quietly that she barely heard him, his narrowed eyes scanning the steady trickle of pedestrians that doggedly slogged down the village road, “Things are about to become very fast paced indeed.”

  They stood there in wait, Reya’s feet dancing in electric nervousness and as her glance pulled upward out of some unconscious instinct, she caught the gaze of a man on the other side of the street. He didn’t stand out in the open like the other villagers did, but he stood so still that it became clear to Reya within a single breath that he was not one of them. Her forehead twinged in shock at how unblinkingly he stared at her and with a squeezing of her heart, she tugged insistently on Tellan’s sleeve.

  “Uncle! Uncle!” She cried urgently.

  Tellan glanced down at her, “What?”

  Reya’s mouth opened as she looked towards the unusual man again, but she gasped when she saw he was no longer there. She pointed uselessly at where she had seen him and whispered in fright, “There was a man there. He was staring at me.”

  Tellan’s heart leapt into his throat as he grasped Reya’s shoulder and looked deeply into her eyes. “Where?” He commanded.

  “On the other side of the street,” she said numbly and dropped her arm with a shake of her honey curls, “but he’s gone now.”

  Tellan’s eyes flashed threateningly up at where she had pointed to, but upon seeing no interlopers for himself, he asked, “What did he look like?”

  Reya bit her lip as she thought of the man’s unusual appearance, “I only saw him for a moment…but he had white hair.”

  Tellan’s eyes skewed in bemusement, “White hair? Was he an old man?”

  “No, not old…” Reya responded, but she had seen him so fleetingly that she was suddenly uncertain that she had seen him at all, “I’m sorry, Uncle, I only saw him for a second.”

  Tellan released his niece reluctantly and stared forebodingly at the ramshackle house that stood in eerie disrepair, its shadows deep and dark enough that he couldn’t tell if someone lurked within unseen. The soldier within him said he should investigate, that such observance – especially on Reya’s part – shouldn’t be taken lightly. But the protector that ordered him to stay by his niece’s side overruled him and so he glared apprehensively at the house as he pushed her behind him.

  At that moment his eyes were dragged away by the commotion in the distance, a cacophonic riot of shocked shrieking, whinnies and unseen collision that spoke of Jenko’s misdeeds. From around the corner in the road a horse bolted at speed, heralded by the shouts and yells of villagers that were in its thundering path. And upon the beast’s back was the Asgardian rogue, his face a scowl of concentration as he powered through the crowd.

  “Oh my God! What the f–”

  “Bastard!”

  “What do you thin–”

  “Somebody stop–”

  “Tellan!” Jenko yelled amid the frenzied yells of villagers as he galloped madly down the street, parting the people that walked before him in a wave of belligerent threats and leaping dives.

  Another horse clattered beside him, its reins clasped tightly in Jenko’s hand and as he hauled the beast forward with a sharp tug, he seized Tellan’s gaze with calculating eyes. As soon as Jenko let go of the extra horse’s reins, he slapped the beast’s rump sharply and it galloped onward with a high whinny. With a slight bob, Tellan grasped the flailing reins of the rushing horse as it passed him at speed and, when he swept upwards seamlessly onto the saddle, Reya gaped mutely at the acrobatic display. But her admiration was cut short when Jenko barked her name and as she swung her gaze back, she saw he had dipped in his saddle with an arm held out for her. On instinct she reached out for him and as Jenko swung her effortlessly onto the saddle in front of him, she squealed reflexively at the unexpected manoeuvre.

  Jenko immediately kicked his heels into the horse’s flanks, whipping the reins with a deafening roar of command that rattled Reya’s ears, and the beast shot forward in a renewed burst of speed. Buildings and peopl
e whirled by in a flash of motion as Jenko and Tellan negotiated the bustling main road precariously, through the diving forms of villagers and workers alike, each mouth screaming and yelling incoherent oaths that were lost in the whipping wind. Tellan’s horse vaulted over a parked wagon, its tired wheels heavy with its cargo of coal and as the driver rounded the boom to shake a swearing fist at his retreating back, Jenko yelled a warning of his imminent arrival. The driver spun with a cry of fright, inches away from the barrelling hooves of Jenko’s horse and as they sped through the street, Reya wondered how many times her guardians had done this.

  “Somebody stop those thieving bastards!” Came a cry from behind and as Reya glanced up at Jenko in questioning concern, his smile flashed wickedly in his face.

  “This is very exciting, isn’t it?” He joked as he sped towards the village border and with a flick of the reins that encouraged a little more speed, Reya held on tightly until her thighs ached.

  But their getaway was in danger of being thwarted, for in the immediate distance, five men scrambled onto the road and as they raised their pickaxes in warning for the thieves to stop, Reya gasped in fright.

  “Get off the horses or die!”

  “Stop! Now!”

  “They’ll catch us!” Reya cried.

  But Jenko was entirely unconcerned and huffed a laugh, “Not if Tellan has something to say about it.”

  Even as the words left Jenko’s mouth, Tellan reached into his coat pocket and produced a curious ceramic bottle that sent an apprehensive flare of recognition within Reya. She gasped and covered her ears as soon as he whipped his arm back and with the high arc of the bottle’s flight, came a roguish chuckle of approval from Jenko.

  The bottle shattered to the side of the five men, far away enough that there were no injuries, but close enough that the vigilantes were shocked by the boom of the fiery explosion that erupted from the ceramic shards. As he passed an open window, Tellan scooped down in his saddle for any weapon that wouldn’t be as fatal as his bastard sword and when he glanced at the frying pan his hand had instinctually seized, his lips skewed against the absurdity of it. But still he hefted its weight in his grip and with a final kick of his heels into the horse’s flanks, he sped on through the last distance towards freedom.

  Distracted by the explosion as they were, the village men had lowered their pickaxes uncertainly and stared at the flames of the unexpected fireball that had claimed a mercifully unoccupied outhouse. But the man on the immediate right of Tellan’s rapidly approaching horse whipped around with a cry of fearful shock at how close the horse thieves had come, and all he saw was the round face of a frying pan, looming into his vision like the fist of a giant.

  “Oh shit–” The man yelled reflexively.

  A single bell toll of metallic impact rang with the shouting uppercut Tellan had swung and the unfortunate villager was lifted completely off his feet, sent soaring backwards into painful unconsciousness. The other villagers clustered around their fallen brother with cries of disbelief and as the two stolen horses were spirited away at breathless speed, all that was left behind was Jenko’s uproarious laughter.

  As they sped on, the shouts and oaths from The Cauldron gradually died down and with its silence came a disquieting guilt upon Tellan’s heart. He had tried to throw his fire bottle as far from the men as he could, but the outhouse had been precariously close to a goat pen nearby and he hoped fervently that the fire wouldn’t have spread too far. Eventually he held a fist up in a silent order that it was safe enough for them to slow down and, as he pulled gently upon his horse’s reins to bring the beast into a gentle trot, Jenko cantered level with him.

  Tellan brooded gloomily that he didn’t even have to turn his head to see the width of Jenko’s gleeful grin plastered across his face and as the pair trotted along, Jenko’s bellowing laughter wracked his lungs.

  “A frying pan, Tellan?!” Jenko laughed uproariously, clutching his sides as he leaned in his saddle helplessly.

  “It was the first thing to come to hand.” Tellan replied sullenly as he reined his horse in.

  “Oh my God, that was hysterical!” Jenko cried happily through a wave of laughter and he almost choked with a hoot of hilarity, “He’ll be feeling that one in the morning!”

  “There wasn’t much time for finesse.” Tellan said broodily.

  “It was a belter of a swing too, right in the kisser!”

  “I think that has to be the first escape in history saved by a frying pan.” Reya interjected with scolding disapproval.

  With that soft admonishment came the realisation that the escape truly was ludicrous and Tellan couldn’t help but be brought into Jenko’s laughter. Reya however, simply shook her head in silent displeasure at the men’s merriment, but all her thin lipped reprimand did was fuel Jenko’s laughter until helpless tears spilled down his cheeks.

  “Fuck me,” Jenko finally wavered breathlessly as he wiped a tear from his eye with a thumb, “I haven’t seen anything that hilarious in ages!”

  “Are you done?” Reya asked him coldly.

  “Oh, lighten up, nobody died.” Jenko retorted with a dismissive wave.

  Now that the brief moment of laughter had ended, Tellan hitched his head at Reya with a fond smile and asked her caringly, “Are you alright, my love?”

  “I’m fine.” Reya replied reluctantly, for she was still bitter about the larceny of their escape, “But my bum’s gone numb.”

  Tellan sketched his glance across the horizon and, satisfied that there was no sign of pursuit for now, he brought his horse closer to her and held out a hand, “Take a moment then.”

  Reya gratefully accepted his hand and slid from the saddle of Jenko’s horse with a wince, staggering slightly at the pins and needles that prickled her backside after the haste of their escape. She hadn’t been much of a horse rider back home and, as she rubbed her rump with a grimace, she wished she had paid a little more attention to her father’s lessons.

  As she walked around in a circle in an effort of relieving her numbness, Jenko turned slightly in his saddle and said to Tellan, “Anyway, now we’re out of earshot, I can tell you I’ve arranged a rendezvous to take place at the Herald’s Square.”

  Tellan nodded his approval, “Good. At least Dahlia offers us more options than we’ve previously had.”

  “Who’s Dahlia?” Reya asked, looking up at her guardians as she soothed her rump with a grimace of discomfort.

  “It’s a place, not a person; a port city in the south.” Jenko supplied, “If you liked the beach, Reya, you’ll love Dahlia. Its harbours are full of trading ships and there’s people of all walks of life in every street. There’s some good people there, if you know where to look.”

  “Ah…” Reya replied ominously as she read between the lines, “So it’s your kind of place.”

  Jenko smirked at her tone but brushed it off with years of practise from other disapproving mouths, “It’s everyone’s kind of place, sweetheart; merchants, thieves, whores and royalty. Just be sure that when you’re gawping at all the pretty things on offer that you keep a firm hold of your purse.”

  “Don’t you know anywhere that isn’t filled with brigands and rogues?”

  “On Midgard?” Jenko retorted and he barked a laugh, “Not likely. Where there’s gold, there’s crime, my love; I’m afraid that’s what they call human nature. You won’t find another people quite like it in any of the planes.”

  “Dahlia is a wonderful city with a rich history, Reya.” Tellan interjected softly, keen that his beloved niece should know of the lighter side of the world outside her secluded home town, “Its architecture is truly beautiful; spires and domes cluster the sky, and the museums and art halls are just as grand as their churches.”

  Jenko turned his head towards Reya suddenly and added enthusiastically, “They’ve also got this amazing sweet called Rahkva: it’s a boiled chocolate bun filled with honey caramel and covered in a glaze of sugar sherbet.”

  Reya
perked up at Jenko’s delicious description and with the moan of approving reminiscence from him that followed, her mouth watered in anticipation. “It sounds delicious.” She admitted reluctantly.

  Jenko’s breath hissed approvingly in a pursed mouth, “Oh yes, and it’s one of the first things I’m looking for when we get there.” He then looked at Tellan once more and asked happily, “So, the route is yours for the choosing, my Lord. Where shall we disgrace ourselves next?”

  Tellan couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips, taken with how easily Jenko had curbed Reya’s near ill–temper with his infectious good mood. He could protest it as much as he liked, Tellan observed, but Jenko definitely had a certain way with Reya that spoke of a dormant paternal instinct.

  “The innkeeper told me there was a trail that goes around the back of the coal mines. It’s longer than the trade road, but it offers a better quality of cover.” Tellan said.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Tellan then glanced at his niece with an adoring grin and asked, “Are you ready?”

  Reya rubbed her backside one last time with an indulgent wince, “I guess.”

  Tellan chuckled fondly as he held a hand out for her. “That’s the spirit.” He said ironically and swung her onto his saddle before him. He then nodded at his lieutenant and commanded, “Jenko, you’ve got point.”

  What…what happened? The boy thought in confusion. One moment he was running through the coal valleys and the next, there was such a sharp pain in his chest that his knees had buckled from under him. The impact against him had felt like he had been kicked by an angry horse, sudden and jarring, and with it came a sickening sensation that something was drastically wrong. The sky whirled around him so dizzyingly and when he landed, the pain in his chest burned with such heat that it felt as though a hot poker had been speared through his heart.