Dawn of Darkness: Book 1 - Full (Where The Shadows Stalk)

by Adam Watson

  “How are we going to clear out the rubble?” asked Calista, with a tone in her voice that said sweeping the cities perimeter was starting to sound good.

  “We don’t,” answered Volantia. “We get General Vlad to use his ‘twisted’ to clear it for us, we just need a way down. We don’t need the entire Temple excavated.” Solitaire winced, and Calista looked around - they all knew that this option would also take a long time, perhaps even weeks.

  “Is there anything else we can do, Sister?” asked Solitaire. Volantia was the oldest of them and had proven herself to be the wisest over the years, she could also be the most bad tempered out of the three of them as well, but that was Volantia’s nature.

  “There is a third option. If you were the Oracle and you managed to escape past the walls, where would go?”

  “Amalicia City,” answered Solitaire. “It’s the closest major city and the biggest in the country. If you wanted to hide somewhere, that would be the place to go.”

  “And there is a Temple of Tempus there,” added Calista. Volantia nodded and smiled that Calista had finally contributed something useful to the conversation. “We could travel to Amalicia City and try to pick up the trail there.”

  In a way, it made sense. Where would the Oracle of Tempus go, but to one of her own temples? It was logical and reasonable to assume, but it was a long way to travel if they were wrong. Volantia closed her eyes again, something about it didn’t gel with her. It wasn’t the only option the Oracle could have taken, and that disturbed her greatly.

  Firstly, Amalicia City wasn’t the only city with a temple dedicated to the Ice God; there were many more, all around the world, and some quite bigger and more well-known than the one in Amalicia City. The Oracle could have just as easily made her way to the harbour and caught a ship to almost anywhere in the world, certainly to a place far away from here. Should they scout the harbour for tracks before the temple or the other way around?

  Even if they didn’t find any, the time wasted checking would be considerable and worse - if they did find tracks in the harbour, tracks that led to the docks, tracks that ended at the docks; that really could be the end of the line. There would be only one way left to find the tracks if that happened and she shuddered thinking about it - calling on help from Solace was an absolute last resort.

  Solitaire could see Volantia was trying to think of another option, one that was considerably less time-consuming. Volantia was the eldest and most experienced of the three and the first maiden of their pack. Only the Sisters of Solace knew that the Coven of Solace operated in packs and every pack was a group of three identical sisters. Only the Sisters of Solace themselves even knew that a Coven of Solace existed.

  As far as the outside world was concerned, the Sisters of Solace existed, but no-one knew how many. Some said there was only one - The Sister of Solace, and she was supposed to be Solace’s worldly assassin who did favours for those who could pay the 'price,’ others said there had to be more – there were written records from all over the world, reporting encounters with the Sisters that dated back centuries. Nevertheless, no-one had ever reported seeing more than one Sister at any given time. It was a mystery that few ever found the answer to – those that did also found swift death.

  Volantia had never let them down before, and she had always been there for them when they needed her. Solitaire had faith in her first maiden, if anyone could think of another alternative, if anyone could think outside the box, it would be her. Solitaire prayed to Solace for an answer.

  Suddenly a presence could be felt by all three, they quickly turned in the direction of it with weapons at the ready; awaiting what would either be a peaceful parley or a violent confrontation.

  They knew it was another pack. They knew that another three Sisters were approaching them. This knowledge troubled them, as it was highly unusual to have more than one pack of Sisters in the same area at the same time.

  Sometimes another pack would be sent to help the first one if they found themselves in dire straits, but surely Solace didn't think they needed help - not yet. Yes, they had encountered a difficult obstacle, one that some would say would be insurmountable, but they hadn’t even had a chance to prove themselves yet - they would surely lose her favour if they didn’t.

  However, there was another possibility, sometimes a particularly ambitious pack of Sisters would seek to gain favour with Solace by fighting and beating another pack of higher standing - Solace was known to favour the bold, but that tactic could be considered a two-edged sword, as in it could cut both ways. If they challenged and lost, they would lose favour and the pack that they challenged would gain more favour than they had before, because of this fact such challenges were rare, but they did happen.

  Volantia, Calista and Solitaire stood ready, if this were to be a challenge then they needed to be ready and alert - this was not a time to let their guard down.

  The other Sisters approached, they seemed at ease, non-threatening and casual. All three of them walked with the same cat-like grace that all Sisters walked with; none of them making a sound, none of them leaving a print.

  With them was a fourth - she left definitive prints with every step, and her steps were quite loud in contrast to the quietness of an abandoned city. She was not one of them, and that could only mean one thing - she was a prisoner.

  “Hail Sisters. Be at ease, we have not come to challenge you.” Volantia knew this Sister, not very well, but she had seen her around the coven. She was known as Mireeta and her second was known as Clara. She had never seen the newling before, but that didn’t matter, they were not here to be friends, they were here for business, and only the first maidens would parley for business.

  “Hail Mireeta, what brings the great Solar Twelve pack to us this day?” Even though the lower part of Mireeta’s face was covered by her veil, Volantia could see that she was smiling - they all were. The fact that she had recognised both their first maiden and their pack brought them honour, especially because Volantia’s Luna One pack had a far greater standing with Solace than their own.

  Volantia eyed the prisoner. She was young, her face was marred, she looked like she had been tortured at some stage; her eyes were cast to the ground like all defiance had been drained from her. Her hands were cuffed in front of her, her wrists red and bloody from chaffing; around her neck was a steel collar. Leading from the collar to a steel cuff around Clara’s wrist was a four-foot chain. Intriguing.

  “You honour us with your greeting, Volantia.” Mireeta turned her gaze and motioned to the prisoner with a slight nod. “We were sent here to deliver ‘this one’ to you.” Volantia grimaced, if this was help from Solace - they would lose their standing in the coven.

  “Who sent you here!” she spat, unable to hide her hostility.

  “Breathe easy, Volantia. General Vuko Vlad of the Drakhar sent this one to us with a message that I now give to you.” Volantia breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t Solace. She nodded to herself, finding some comfort in it. This is good. “The General says that this one is a witch from the Order of Tempus. Volantia smiled, yes that did sound like the General.

  “Her name is Justina, she can show you the way, only you know to what, it’s no concern of mine. All I know is that I have to deliver her to you.” Volantia liked that, a Sister who could just follow orders without worrying about everybody else’s business.

  “You have done you duty well Sister, but if she can indeed find the quarry, what use does the General have for us?” Mireeta shrugged, but she did offer an answer.

  “Perhaps he doesn’t trust his mages like he trusts Solace. The restraint is magical; they called it a ‘Leash of Binding’, very rare from what I hear. The user’s body has to be able to conduct the forces of the plane, so not just anyone can use it.” This one will go far.

  “He wants to keep the hunt a secret,” commented Volantia, and Mireeta nodded her agreement.

  “It makes sense,” she replied. Volantia walked over to Clara an
d her prisoner, examining the leash with her gaze.

  “How does it work?” she asked.

  “I’m not entirely sure,” answered Clara. “But if I do this …” Clara closed her eyes and concentrated, the prisoner, Justina, immediately began to scream and writhe in pain. Clara then opened her eyes again and just as quickly as it had started the screaming stopped. Justina was crying and trying to get her breath back at the same time. “… she’ll do anything you want.” Volantia smiled, she was really starting to like this pack.

  “Once again you have done well my Sisters. Solace will surely favour you all.” The three Sisters of Solar Twelve looked at each other in turn, quite pleased with themselves and their praise - there was no greater honour than gaining favour from Solace. Clara unshackled the cuff from her wrist and placed it on Solitaire’s.

  “You control her now, Sister,” she rasped. There was a malevolent look in Clara’s eye.

  “Good fortune to you all,” answered Solitaire. The three bowed back ever so slightly, acknowledging the good will.

  “Good fortune to you all,” replied Mireeta. “I hope we can sip tea in the coven together one day.” Volantia smiled, that was a code the Sisters used when showing great admiration. To sip tea together was so out of character for a Sister of Solace that they would only even contemplate it with their closest of friends.

  “I would like that, Mireeta.” Mireeta bowed again, this time much more formally.

  “May no-one escape you.”

  “And may no-one escape you,” answered Volantia, and with that, the three members of Solar Twelve walked away, heading back in the same direction from which they had come. When they were well away, and their presences could no longer be felt, Volantia turned to the others.

  “It looks like we have found our answer.” All three of them slowly turned to cast their gaze upon the prisoner. She trembled as if cold, but was it the cold or the fear that had her in its grip. She was undoubtedly wondering if her new masters would be kinder than her old.

  “Solace favours us,” whispered Calista. Volantia eyed the one called Justina from head to toe. Her hair was dishevelled, her face was a mess and what she wore looked like the rags of a leper.

  “You fear us, little one?” she asked, and youngling nodded, too afraid to even speak. “And so you should. We have a mission to complete and if you interfere with that youngling … I will skin you alive. Do you understand me?” The young, short-haired blonde nodded quickly, and Volantia turned to Solitaire.

  “Zap her!” Solitaire looked at Volantia hesitantly. Zap her? She hadn’t even done anything wrong yet. “ZAP HER!” The sting in Volantia’s voice said that if Solitaire didn’t comply right now, she would be the one wearing the leash. Solitaire closed her eyes and concentrated on Justina’s pain; the screams that followed rung loudly in the Sister’s ears.

  “Stop.” Solitaire opened her eyes. The girl was bent over and on her knees like she had just received a good beating. Volantia walked over and grabbed the girl’s hair; pulling it up she made the girl look into her eyes. “We don’t have time to waste. If you waste our time, you get the pain. If you slow us down, you get the pain. If you don’t do what I say, when I say it … you get the pain.” The girl could do nothing but nod her assent.

  “Y-Yes M-Mistress,” she stammered. Volantia placed one hand under the girl’s chin and the other on the top of her forehead; locking Justina’s head in place, she leant down very dramatically and whispered.

  “Now tell me where the Oracle of Tempus is.” The colour seemed to drain out of the girls face right before Volantia’s eyes. The girl trembled in her hands, shaking violently, but not only with fear of Volantia’s wrath, but with the knowledge that she would be the great betrayer.

  Why couldn’t she be strong like Ingrid, why couldn’t she just die without telling them anything? She was not strong like that, very few were, even Sarna, one of the great teachers at the Temple and a woman admired by all, had broke in the end. She had told them everything, tears flowed down Justina’s face, who could blame her? They were torturing her daughter right in front of her. Those monsters, those fiends.

  She could feel the collar around her neck, rubbing her skin raw. She knew the power of it, she had felt the pain enough with her old master to know that much. That leash could make her do anything they wanted, and there wouldn’t be a thing she could do about it. These ‘Sisters’ or whatever they were; they didn’t know how to use it properly, they only knew the pain - if they knew its true power, they would already be at the Oracle’s heels.

  There was no use resisting, she knew she would tell them everything sooner or later - the leash would make her. She had two options: she could tell them with the pain or she could tell them without the pain. The leash also made it impossible for her to harm either herself or the user at the other end. Even death would be better than this, she thought, but death wasn’t an option.

  “WHERE IS SHE?!!” screamed Volantia, and even Calista who was used to Volantia’s rage stepped back in fear. Solitaire had been with Volantia most of her life, she knew when Volantia was like this the best course of action was just to obey; obey her, whatever her command. She stood ready, she would execute this girl on the spot and without any hesitation if that’s what was commanded.

  Justina looked into Volantia’s eyes. They were beautiful, so beautiful, more beautiful than any other eyes she had ever seen, but they were full of anger and hate, two pools of fire and ice raging against one another. She … must … obey.

  Justina’s eyes rolled back into head as she invoked the incantation of the location spell. Volantia smiled, her eyes full of malice, she knew the girl was obeying, she knew that she was searching in her mind for the answer. She knew that she would give it, that she would tell Volantia everything she wanted to know.

  “HOW FAR AWAY IS SHE?” Volantia could feel the heat burning in her face. If the Oracle had escaped to a distant land, she would not be happy, and this Tempurian Witch would be the one to feel her wrath. “HOW … FAR … AWAY … IS SHE?”

  Justina searched her mind, the incantation was showing her the way. What it told her could be a curse or a blessing, she was near, so very near. Perhaps this can all end soon. She just wanted it to be over.

  “She’s … She’s …” Volantia leant in so close the veil touched Justina’s cheek.

  “Yes?”

  “She’s … here!” Even though the words came out of her own mouth, it was still a shock - the Oracle was here. “I can feel her here. She must be in the city!” Volantia closed her eyes, the words that came from the girl’s mouth were so sweet that she wanted to savour them.

  “Tell me again sweetness.” It was as if all the rage, all the anger had instantly drained from Volantia’s body; now she was calm, almost motherly.

  “She’s so close, she must still be in the city.” Taking Justina’s head into her arms, Volantia gave her a comforting embrace. The girl was still sobbing, she trembled, but she closed her eyes and rested against Volantia’s bosom. “Be still child, be quiet, everything’s going to be all right.” The news was better than Volantia could ever have hoped for. The girl cried, but for now, Volantia did not mind.

  “Come … Justina … show me where she is.” Justina stood up, she felt terrible, she felt guilty, she felt like she had betrayed the Oracle, but part of her was happy, a part of her felt relief. The new master wasn’t angry at her anymore. The new master wasn’t going to give her the pain. She had pleased the new master, and now she was being nice to her. I will keep this one happy, and maybe there will be no pain.

  And so, Justina led them through the city, and now that the burden of hiding the Oracle's whereabouts had been lifted from her, she did so with a fervour. It was far to travel by foot, the city was large and covered a vast area. It took a long time, longer than normal - Justina just didn't have the endurance of a Sister of Solace.

  Solitaire was right behind her of course, being attached to the other end of the leash.
As time passed, she didn't know how, but she was getting a feel for how the leashed worked. She could feel her prisoner’s feelings and could feel that she wanted to please them. There would be no need to punish her - for the time being.

  Volantia was right behind them, and she found herself in a surprisingly good mood - that in itself was unusual. Normally Volantia was intensely focused on the mission, allowing no distraction; missions weren't supposed to be fun they were supposed to be completed and as far as she was concerned, to be completed at any cost. She was determined to get her pack to the highest standing with Solace; that was her dream, and with Solitaire and Calista she really thought that it was possible.

  As she walked down the avenue, she felt lighter. She felt like a great weight had been lifted off of her. Only a few hours ago, she was facing total failure and weeks, if not months of searching. Now she knew the Oracle was in the city and even if she did leave, even if she did hide, no matter where in the world, she knew that she still had the means to find her. As it stood now they were getting ever closer, like a wolf stalking its prey - they were almost close enough to reach out and strike.

  She walked like a queen, taking in the sights, actually admiring the architecture of the old buildings and appreciating the effort that had gone into maintaining those well-kempt gardens ... well, maybe they weren't looking so well-kempt anymore, now that their owners had been slaughtered in the streets, but she did appreciate the sentiment. Normally when on a hunt, she would run through the city without giving its beauty a second thought.

  Yes, life was good. Volantia and her pack were on the verge of capturing and bringing in the Oracle of Tempus. She smiled to herself, she couldn't help it, she just kept imagining how much favour they were going to gain by this. This wasn’t the kind of mission you would entrust to a pack of novices. This was a mission for seasoned veterans, and it made her happy that both she and her pack were seen as such - even if Calista was still green compared to her and Solitaire, the three of them had never failed.