by J. Thorn
Zona’s face turned red, his eyes half closed and focusing on the ground. “I have fought for my life.”
The Serpent King nodded, pleased with such a concise and honest response. He saw other lord majors nod in approval. “You kept it,” he replied.
Zona exhaled. The wind of the great plains grabbed the smoke and whisked it away to the heavens.
“Many are about to go beyond the Region of the Dead, possibly your sons.”
“Yes, I am aware of the consequence of war. My family has been dying for generations. We have the opportunity to die as warriors, with honor and dignity.”
The Serpent King nodded his head and looked at the other lord majors, who were pretending not to eavesdrop. He placed a firm hand on Zona’s shoulder. “What do you know of Lord Major Machek and his elite force of Jaguar Knights?”
“I know they are some of the fiercest warriors in the One World. Lord Major Acatel and his regiments of the Dog People found out the hard way. A true warrior would take a fatal wound from such godlike soldiers.” Zona’s response seemed to please all within earshot. A sniveling contingent of lord majors gathered near the Serpent King in hopes of falling into his favor.
“You may do that soon, Lord Major Zona.”
The Serpent King gazed at the enormous force seething to tear into the heart of the Empire. Over the leagues traveled, every tribe and competent warrior had joined the coalition. In took little to unite men in hate. During the march, soldiers forgot about the proclamation of the chief elder or ridiculed it. Raw feet and meager rations added to the anger of men of the One World. All laid blame at the feet of the Empire and their ruthless subjugation of so many for so long. Men sat around campfires telling stories of the evil of the Empire, fabricating tales of excess, orgy, and evil dwelling within the stone wall of the capital. Seeing the citadel on the horizon brought the soldiers to a pitched frenzy of emotion and bloodlust. The march to the gate would be swift and powerful.
The Serpent King dismissed Zona from his side so that he could meet with Shane. The two had not exchanged many words since Lellan’s impalement. The Serpent King flushed with pride over the fact that Shane had held true to him, but Shane brooded in shame, fearing that he had let Lellan flap his treasonous tongue for too long. Shane followed the supreme commander of the coalition to a covered cart.
“Shane, you are like a son to me.”
“And you are my father.”
“I am proud that you dealt with that pig the way you did. You needed to taste the dishonesty and treason in men’s blood.”
“I thought Lellan was a fierce warrior and that he would spill much blood.”
“He was and he is. However, the spilt blood is his own. Someday you will lead men, too.” The Serpent King knew this would never come to be, but he continued with the fabrication. “Learn from this. Make sure you have a trusted and steady right hand. Sometimes the greatest threat comes from the left.”
Shane pulled a few leaves off a fallen branch and looked towards the capital. “Do you think they will meet us on the battlefield, or will we have to break down the gate to enter that filthy place?”
“I am not sure. Lord Major Machek hides his strategies. He has powerful advisors, but they will not save him in the end. His soul will burn.”
Shane shivered. His shoulders shook as if he stood in the frigid lands to the north. With a shuffling of his feet, a question dribbled from Shane’s mouth. “What is Zona’s rank?”
The Serpent King smiled and placed his hand on Shane’s helmet. “Below yours, always.”
Shane straightened his back and pushed his chin up. He saluted the Serpent King in the manner of the Eastern Kingdoms before taking up the next order of business. “Sir, some scouts came through the ranks. They brought news of great concern to the lord majors who heard it.”
The Serpent King lost his fatherly disposition. “What did the scouts share?” he asked.
“They told tales of the destruction of Risenachen. Not by an invading force, but from a curse within. They rode with stories of utter devastation. Did they reach you?”
“Yes, they did.”
Shane waited, afraid to probe any deeper with his questions.
“You have nothing to fear. The curse, or the affliction, as you say, moves through the people of the One World. It cannot harm those of the Eastern Kingdoms.”
“Did you release it?”
The Serpent King exhaled. He turned around, trying to determine which lord majors remained within earshot. “Yes.”
Shane’s face lit with excitement. He spoke with greater volume and frenetic enunciation. “My lord, why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped.”
“You did.”
Shane’s forehead wrinkled. He rubbed it with one hand.
“Those of us on the vessel brought the affliction with us. We have immunity from its ravages, but the people of the One World have no such protection.” The Serpent King scanned for his nosy lord majors and lowered his voice under the sighing wind. “We came here to annihilate the people and claim the riches for ourselves. Our mission is almost over.”
Shane leaned back and let an evil grin sweep across his face. Zona was not going to be a concern of his for much longer.
“I need you to interview those messengers and lord majors,” said the Serpent King. “I need you to do it now.”
The two men walked towards the front of the advancing force. The lord majors smoked a second and third pipe under a restless sky. They spotted the capital on the horizon, and would not settle until they breached its gate. Shane and the Serpent King exchanged a few more words before walking away from each other.
The Serpent King knew he could count on Shane to follow the orders. The man had thrown Lellan into the fires of hell out of loyalty to his master. The Serpent King’s right-hand man would fight for him to the death.
Zona walked towards the Serpent King and reported on the status of the outpost. The men found nothing of value, no food, and no weapons. Machek had abandoned his last strongholds on the edge of the plain in preparation for battle. The Serpent King instructed Zona on menial tasks and set him about to complete them.
***
Dark blood puddled at his feet and covered his boots. Three heads lay severed from their bodies. The fourth made a vain attempt at self-defense, and Shane blocked the strike with his sword. He spun and sliced open the man’s abdomen. Blood, fluids, and entrails fell to the dusty ground. The man’s eyes bulged as he grabbed his own intestines and attempted to push them back inside his body. He fell face first onto the ground. Shane wiped his blade on the back of one of the men, kicked his last foe over, and stabbed him through the heart. He could not ascertain which lord majors these scouts had visited, but they would not be telling their tales of the affliction to another soul.
Chapter 65
The woman pitted her soul against his. She struggled and fought for control, right to the very end. Her youthful, robust form was no match for the powers of darkness. During the fight, she had almost survived. Almost. A part of the woman remained inside, but the captor bound her within. Her power diminished while his essence took over.
***
It had not been easy, but he knew this was his last chance. If he did not impress the Dark One, his spirit would linger on this plane for eternity, destined to wander the wastes of the One World. He had failed with Machek the first time, but he would not fail again. The daughter of the whore had gotten in his way and cost him control. The Dark One had made him pay for that mistake, but he would get his revenge. The nosy bitch would suffer before he released her beyond the Region of the Dead.
The time in Risenachen had prepared him for the ordeal ahead. The affliction had ravaged her body, but his spirit kept it from returning to the Earth Goddess. He grew accustomed to the city near the Great Sea. Her body allowed him to seize and manipulate men of all kinds, making it easy to spill their blood once most of it rushed to their groins.
He swooned over the effec
tiveness of the affliction. It left hundreds of thousands of people rotting in the streets of Risenachen and in the villages scattered across the One World. As soon as the Serpent King breached the gates of the capital, the devastation would spread and bring down the Empire from the inside out. It was not a time for grim satisfaction just yet. He had managed to get inside the wall of the city, but he still had work to do. He would find him and make him pay. Make him suffer. Kill him.
***
Machek made his final preparations, waiting for the time to fight. He delivered orders to his lord majors. Lookouts and spyglasses reported that the infidels desecrated the horizon and would be at the foot of the capital soon. The regiments ordered to remain did so by fortifying the wall, a third of one reinforcing the main gate. A messenger stood before Machek while he tied a sheath to his thigh.
“Lord Major Machek, I have word from my commander.”
Machek waved his hand for the man to continue.
“The chief elder took his own life.”
Machek stopped and shook his head. The elder had condemned his soul to wander the One World until it found redemption, which could take eons. Machek thought how easy it would have been to have him killed in battle. Nothing could be done for the elder now. “Was he guarded?”
“Yes, sir. We stationed two men outside his room and they removed all possible weapons. They heard a noise and entered. He strangled himself with his own hands. I have never seen anything like it.”
“Handle his body in the most respectful manner. Anyone who disregards the order will answer to me.”
“Yes, sir.” The messenger turned and left Machek.
***
He enjoyed riding men, but it felt odd at the same time. Pleasure radiated from the same area, but his eyes betrayed the feelings. He had no experience with men and would release her for moments during the intercourse. Her essence would shine through and guide his actions, and then be snapped back into submission. The Dark One would be pleased. He had found the path to redemption.
His head turned at the name “Sasha,” but it still felt odd. He would never get used to the physical container, and he struggled to inhabit her mind. Sasha’s spirit fought him day and night. He battered and abused her, but she refused to surrender. Sasha cursed him and threatened to throw herself into a fire, but he knew she was no longer in control of her own body. The idle threats faded after she made them, pulling her deeper into despair.
The Soothsayer followed the instructions laid out to him by the Dark One. When the Serpent King breached the walls, he would join up with the Angels of Darkness and live out another lifetime in Sasha’s body. However, something more than her life force gnawed at him inside. He had time to spare. With some sexual persuasion, the Soothsayer thought he might be able to get his revenge on Machek, the ungrateful son of a whore who had turned on him. Killing Machek would help the forces of the Dark One. He decided to seek him out before welcoming the Serpent King’s forces. The Soothsayer had a score to settle. Sasha winced and cried inside her dark fortress of pain.
***
“It comes to this,” said Desi.
“Yes, my old friend, it does,” replied Machek.
“When do we meet the Serpent King?”
Machek felt a twinge of insecurity and doubt, but shook it off as best he could. “As we speak, regiments are filing into their ranks. It is time for us to go through the final war rituals.”
Desi did not have battlefield experience like his good friend, so he nodded and followed Machek’s lead. “Something else troubles you. I know you well.”
“Have you heard of ‘the affliction’?”
“No.”
“I have had visions. I cannot remember the finer details, but I know the enemy we face pales in comparison to a curse set loose on the One World. It threatens to decimate the One World, ripping through the infidels and the capital alike.”
“Machek, you are privy to messages and spirits far beyond this plane. I do not doubt what you say, but you cannot expect me to channel them like you.”
“You speak the truth. Do you believe me?”
“Why wouldn’t I? If the curse runs rampant, spend no energy on it. Let us fight for our sons and daughters. Let’s put down the rebellion or go beyond the Region of the Dead from the battlefield, with the honor bestowed on a warrior.”
Machek smiled at Desi. “Maybe you should be addressing the troops,” he said.
Another messenger arrived. As war approached, the communications to Machek had increased at a fevered pace. Desi stepped aside to let the man through.
“Sir, a lady requests your audience.”
Machek, still laughing from his exchange with Desi, said to the messenger, “I don’t have time to please a woman right now.”
The determined woman shoved her way past the messenger and glared at Desi.
Desi looked at Machek. He shrugged and moved past Sasha. “I will see you at the gate, my lord,” he said as he left the room.
Machek dismissed the messenger.
“Have you documented any cases entering the city?”
“Do you want to hear what I have to say or do you want to waste time questioning me about procedure?”
Machek stopped and looked at her. Her demeanor had changed since their first encounter.
Sasha thrust a hip at Machek and slammed her fist on top of it. She tapped her fingers in rapid succession, never taking her eyes from his. He found her sensual, confused, and at the same time, repulsive.
“Speak.”
“I have seen the coalition forces from my post at the gate. They surround the capital on all sides, but they have only shown the regiments facing east.”
“The ones at the gate.”
“Yes. The others hide under the horizon. They wait there. If you march out of this citadel and onto the battlefield, the Serpent King will unleash the hounds of hell on your men. Regiments of the coalition will swarm and annihilate us.”
“Any signs of the affliction?”
“No.”
Machek’s biceps tensed. He squinted at Sasha when he spoke. “What are you suggesting I do?”
“Do not meet the enemy on the battlefield. Wait here and defend the people of the capital.”
Machek grabbed her by the throat and pinned Sasha to the floor. His red face leered into hers. “I can smell your foul breath on her lips. I know it is you, Soothsayer. I don’t know where you have been, but I know it is you.”
Sasha’s mouth twisted. Her face turned red from anger and loss of air. Machek did not lessen his grip on her throat.
“Immature girls have always tempted you, Machek. Did the whore call you ‘Redeemer’ while she took you in her mouth?”
The voice reaching Machek’s ears belonged to Sasha, but the words belonged to the Soothsayer. Machek slapped Sasha’s face with one hand. As soon as he did, she brought her knee upward into his groin, connecting with his most sensitive parts. Machek pulled both hands to his abdomen and rolled on the floor. The Soothsayer stood Sasha’s body above him.
“So much for your honorable death. I’ll be sure to spit on the dead souls of your wife and children.”
Sasha removed a knife from her cloak and moved towards Machek. Before she could strike, Desi burst through the door. He lunged at Sasha and knocked her to the floor. The knife went sprawling into a corner as Desi brought his fists down into Sasha’s delicate face, breaking bones and cartilage with every strike. The Soothsayer spit blood from Sasha’s mouth into Desi’s eyes, blinding him for a second and giving him the opening he needed. The Soothsayer took Sasha’s body from the room in a full sprint while both Desi and Machek caught their breath. They looked at each other and through the open door, catching a glimpse of Sasha’s body fleeing into the capital.
***
Sianta and Falton stood before Desi and Machek. He had summoned them both as soon as the Soothsayer left his quarters in Sasha’s body. Machek had sent command to all of his sentries to detain her on sight. H
owever, in a city the size of the capital, she could go undetected for many seasons.
“Falton, I need to speak to Sianta in private,” said Machek.
Sianta turned to Falton. “Can you wait for me on the street?”
The teenage boy followed her instructions and left Sianta with Desi and Machek.
“I want Desi here. He is my most trusted friend.”
“I have no objection to that.”
Machek motioned for them to sit down. “He has returned.”
“Who?”
“The Soothsayer. He stole the form of a woman. She visited and spoke to us. I have no doubt he corrupted her flesh and now commands it.”
“He is very powerful.”
“Yes, he is. I need your help. I cannot fight the forces of the infidels while my rule rots from the inside out. Can you find him?”
“Maybe, but I may not be able to rid the woman’s body of his taint. My mother and the Spirit might be able to assist me, but I am not sure.”
“Doing something about him is better than doing nothing.”
“Sit here while I have Falton fetch me some herb. We will contact the Spirit through my mother and see what can be done about the Soothsayer.”
Chapter 66
“They will speak no more,” said Shane.
“You found all of the scouts?”
“Yes, my lord. They bled out.”
The Serpent King sent battle commands to his lord majors. Regiments dug trenches north and south of the capital. If Lord Major Machek remained inside the citadel, they would surround it and starve them out. If he decided to open the gate and face them on the battlefield, the Serpent King’s forces would meet him on the edge of the great plain.
***
Zona walked amongst the soldiers, awed by the sights. Thousands of warriors brandished thousands of weapons. Men sparred and fought, toughening minds and bodies for the conflict. Metal scraped metal amidst the hoarse cries of anxious warriors. The camps spread far beyond Zona’s sight, running to the horizon on all sides. He found his eldest son wiping the blade of a sword.
“Father,” he said, as Zona approached.
