Stars of Ice and Shadow

by C S Vass

  “What was that?” Yaura pressed. “I don’t want to misunderstand you and take an inappropriate course of action.”

  “Nothing,” he half-shouted, trembling with anger.

  “Oh good,” she grinned. “I’m glad that’s settled.”

  They left Snowpit together. Yaura beamed and smiled at every guard they passed. Godwin’s head hung shamefully as he trudged through the prison.

  “I don’t know why you’re acting like that,” Yaura said. “It’s a beautiful day. We’re off on a new adventure.”

  “Sometimes, Yaura, I have the slightest suspicion that you don’t treat these tasks with the solemnity they deserve.”

  “Nonsense. You’re just getting old.”

  “Am I? Well I happen to know that you’re at least seven or eight—”

  “Godwin. I seriously considered killing the Warden in that prison for trying to assert some of his legitimate authority in a matter of state. Tell me, what do you think I would do to a man who spoke of my age openly?”

  Outside Godwin smelled the salty air coming from the Eternal Sea to the west. There was a deep chill that they would be relieved of as soon as they reached the top of the cliffs that Snowpit was built into. Once they climbed the hot, white sun was waiting to shine on their faces.

  “Now I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me where we’re going?” Yaura asked.

  “Back towards Hart and up the Chillway. There’s an inn several miles ahead. The Screaming Crane. Our man is there. Or at least he was heading there. We’ll have to move quickly, but we can get there before sundown if we make good time.”

  “Then why do we not have horses?”

  “Horses are expensive.”

  Yaura tsked. “You know what else is expensive? Failing to fulfill a contract from the king and losing out on that sweet coin. Come on. There’s a stable on the outskirts of Hart that we can buy a pair of geldings.”

  “A pair of geldings?” Godwin raised his eyebrow. “I suppose that gives you some sort of perverse pleasure? A power trip, perhaps?”

  She laughed and sent her long, black hair splashing back over her shoulders. “No, Godwin. There’s no power trip in it for me. I simply find that it’s better to have a calm beast when a rocky road is expected ahead.”

  “I don’t know what Chillway you’re used to traveling, but I certainly wouldn’t call it rocky.”

  “You forget yourself, Godwin. We’re Shigata. The roads we travel are always filled with stones.”

  * * *

  They stopped at the stables near the entrance to Hart. Yaura spent the better part of an hour haggling with a rigid old man who was more than ready to waste the day going back and forth with her.

  “Forty silver is highway robbery,” Yaura hissed.

  The old man adjusted his sun hat and spat into the dirt. “Forty silver is more than fair,” he responded. Godwin was seething. They were wasting valuable time talking to an old horse trader when they should have been on the road.

  “These two geldings are in their prime. Strong, reliable, sure-footed. You couldn’t ask for more in a horse.”

  “Well, how much to rent them?”

  The old man laughed. “I don’t rent horses, lady. That’s a bad business. Unless you’re willing to pay a deposit.”

  “How much?”

  “Sixty silver.”

  They started all over again.

  “Yaura,” Godwin interrupted when they were in their seventh round of haggling without the horse trader altering his price a single silver. “Let’s just pay the man and be on our way.”

  Yaura didn’t so much as glance in Godwin’s direction. “Ignore my assistant,” she said. “He’s ignorant to the finer points of business.”

  The trader shrugged. “Ignorant or not. Man or woman. It makes no difference. If you want two geldings, the price is forty silver.”

  “What else do you have?”

  The old man scratched at the salt-and-pepper stubble on his chin. “Not much, I’m afraid. Most of the beasts are already sold. Got a pony, if you want that.”

  “A pony?” Godwin raised his eyebrow. “Sir, we’re Shigata. We have no use—”

  “How much?” Yaura interrupted.

  “I can give you a gelding for twenty silver and a pony for ten.”

  “Make it eight.”

  “Deal.”

  Ten minutes and twenty-eight silver lighter they set off down the Chillway. Yaura, proud and regal on a fine gelding, and Godwin, squat and fuming on his fat pony.

  “I don’t see how it’s fair that I paid for the horses and still have to ride the pony,” he grumbled as they trotted along the path.

  “Keep mulling it over,” Yaura said cheerfully. “I’m sure you’ll work it out before long.”

  He cursed, but there was no arguing with Yaura of the Shigata once she set her mind to something.

  “Tell me, Godwin,” she said as they moved past thick pine trees frosted with snow. “Are you still playing with your potions these days?”

  “I find your phrasing incredibly condescending.”

  When Yaura held her silence he sighed. “Yes, as a matter of fact. I still feel the Shigata are severely underestimating the usefulness of the intersection of chemistry and magic.”

  “You must forgive us,” Yaura said. “Chemistry is said to be a fool’s art. Are you like the others who spend their days trying to convert metal into gold?”

  “You mistake me for an alchemist, not a potion maker. And even if doing so were possible, why would any fool rather have gold than steel?”

  “Gold buys steel,” Yaura said. “And much more, as you well know.”

  “Gold also buys jealousy. Unwanted attention. Angry masses lying in wait to take it.”

  “That must be why all the nobles are so quick to give it away and live in huts in the woods.”

  He rolled his eyes. “What of you? Where have you been for, what is it, thirteen and a half months? You’d have me think I left you to die in terror, but you’re looking rather well. I find it hard to believe you struggled to get out of Jagjaw.”

  “You also believe in invisible particles that nobody can see, so what you believe is of little concern to me. However, I have done exceptionally well since last we saw each other. That is, if you discount the horrors in Tjeri.”

  “Horrors in Tjeri?”

  “Did a purchase a parrot along with the pony? Yes, that’s what I said.”

  “My apologies for being interested. I simply find it surprising that you’ve traveled across the Dark Sea. Will you tell me what happened?”

  “I will. And don’t pout. The pony will sense your negative energy and grow discontent.”

  Godwin’s frown deepened, but he kept his silence.

  “After we last parted I found I had grown rather bored with what this half of the world had to offer. I decided to travel to Eastern Gaellos and see what would await me. I made my way to Saebyl where I was able to secure passage across the Dark Sea with a group of elves headed to Redwellen.”

  Godwin nodded. If Yaura wasn’t pulling some sort of prank on him, then she had travelled thousands of miles over the course of the last year. Passage into the Tarsurian Empire in Eastern Gaellos was not impossible, but it was certainly no easy feat. There was little to guarantee the safety or security of a westerner in those strange lands.

  “I stayed in Redwellen for a time and learned of the state of affairs of the elves that dwelled above the Dredjko Mountains. They are none too happy with the Tarsurian lords.”

  “The same could be said of their western counterparts,” Godwin pointed out.

  “Could, but isn’t,” Yaura said. “And with good reason. The elves in the east are far stronger and far bolder than the ones here. Their cities are tucked away, and the moon elves in the northern forests are completely independent.”

  “And you were welcomed there?”

  “No,” Yaura said, serious for once. “They are much more hostile to humans than I ima
gined. I didn’t try to speak to the northern moon elves. Even their three major cities are unwelcoming. The only humans there have an exceptional talent and are studying at one of the guilds. I must admit, it was a starker contrast to the elven cities in the West than I imagined possible. I was only considered acceptable because I’m Shigata. There was a sort of curiosity about me, and I had to keep moving so as not to offend by overstaying my welcome anywhere.”

  “It was a brave endeavor you’ve been on,” Godwin said. “So are you going to tell me about Tjeri Province, or am I to be kept in indefinite suspense?”

  Yaura’s face grew deathly still. “I encountered evil, Godwin. I don’t know how else to put it. I believe the Temple of Ashanimara lies at the root of it.”

  “The Temple? The one in Fjorwelleker?”

  Yaura huffed loudly. “I swear, your geography is worse than your manners. Fjorwelleker is the home of the guardians. You confuse Ashanimara’s Temple with the Library. The Wolf Goddess’s followers dwell in Andreji.”

  “Pardon me,” Godwin said. “I haven’t brushed up on my knowledge of the East in quite some time. I also find that with no plans to cross the Dark Sea in this lifetime, I don’t particularly care about the slight differences in the cities ruled by the Tarsurian Empire.”

  “Your pride in your ignorance never ceases to impress me.”

  “Just tell me about what you saw in Tjeri Province.”

  For the first time, perhaps ever, Godwin saw a look of fear on Yaura’s face. It worried him to the core.

  “The Temple of Ashanimara…their followers. I don’t know what to say. They’re evil, Godwin. I thought the fools in Iryllium liked wolves. These people, they terrorize the countryside. The perform dark rituals in the woods and wear the skins of beasts. They kill and rape farmers without a thought as to which comes first, consume their flesh, and use the bodies in blood rituals.”

  “Slow down,” Godwin said. “You’ve seen this? Or it’s rumor?”

  She looked at him angrily. “I suppose I shouldn’t be cross with you for doubting me. So many rumors across such a large area are bound to have a common cause. Peasants don’t just tell tales for no reason.”

  “But there was something else,” Godwin said. “Something that made you think this was more than the stuff of fairy tales.”

  A dark look crossed Yaura’s face. A cold whistle of wind sent Godwin shivering as he shifted in his saddle.

  “A farmhouse, not far from the coast. Hell within…I’m getting ahead of myself. Allow me to start from the beginning. I met a friend of the local landowner who had heard of a Shigata wandering in the province. He hired me to deal with mysterious killings that had been taking place in the countryside. I knew there was some supernatural element to it. I thought perhaps the locals had pissed off a leshy, maybe even a vodyanoy. Either way I anticipated easy money.”

  “You were wrong.”

  Yaura’s eyes grew glossy. The beginnings of a thick wall of cloud crept over the sun and dimmed the world around them.

  “It certainly was no simple demon. I went hunting for the creature near the coast of Tjeri where it was said to be. As the evening wore on, I found a farmhouse and thought to stay the night. When I went inside…”

  Yaura convulsed. Looking mildly ashamed, she continued with her story. “A bloodbath. Some foul thing had torn the bodies apart. Husband, wife, and children. That family had so many children, Godwin. The youngest were mere swaddling babes. The stench of it was beyond anything I have ever experienced.”

  Godwin grimaced. “You’re no stranger to brutality.”

  “I’m certainly not,” Yaura agreed. “But that’s not the half of it. There was something more. The bodies were in a large sitting room in the middle of the house. Something had eaten the organs, but carefully dissected the corpses and arranged them in some kind of strange geometric shape.

  “What kind of horror is so beastly yet so meticulous? Godwin, I don’t know what happened in that farmhouse, but it was a powerful form of blood magic that I have never experienced. When I looked at that hell, I had a vision. A terrible vision. No, don’t ask. I won’t repeat it. I’m not ashamed, Godwin. It frightened me to my very core. I have never experienced a fear like that. I left Tjeri the next day.”

  Godwin swallowed. The tale was far more troubling than he had anticipated. “You believe it was this cult. This Temple of Ashanimara. The followers of the Wolf Goddess.”

  “I don’t know.”

  They continued on in silence. Godwin was deeply troubled by what he had just heard. He knew Yaura’s worth as a warrior. He knew she was not one to be deceived by the superstitions of peasants. She had truly encountered something dark. Something that he prayed would stay across the sea.

  After a time Yaura’s mood returned to normal, and she began talking and joking again. “Once we deal with Kanjo, we should travel together for a time,” she told him. “We could go to Valencia. There’s good fortune to be made in the Southlands.”

  “I don’t think so,” Godwin replied. “The Southlands are of little interest to me.”

  “Is that so?” Yaura frowned. “Let me guess. There’s someone you have to see first. A Star-blessed, beautiful with long blonde hair who eagerly awaits you. Am I close to the mark?”

  “No,” Godwin said flatly. “And I’ll appreciate you leaving such musings to yourself.”

  “I apologize. I seem to have touched a sore spot. Has your Star-blessed lover broken your heart, Godwin?”

  He didn’t deign to reply. There was no winning this childish game, Godwin knew.

  “Oh, very well. Keep your secrets if you must, Godwin. But just know you’re not half as clever as you think. Do whatever you must. We’ll travel together another time. But first we handle business.”

  They arrived at the top of a hill that brought the Screaming Crane Inn into view.

  “First we handle business,” Godwin agreed.

  Chapter Five

  The crane’s wings spanned at least thirty feet.

  Shrieking, the great wooden bird was perched above the inn that bore its name. It was frozen in perpetual squall, as if to warn off any who would come near.

  The building itself was a two-story longhouse supported by thick cedar pillars. A young boy walked the length of a wrap-around porch lighting huge iron braziers with a torch as he went.

  “A comfortable spot,” Yaura said. “One can imagine why our convict might want to rest here for a bit. But are you sure he wouldn’t be spurred on by fear? We’re still awfully close to Snowpit.”

  Godwin took in the scene, searching for anywhere in the landscape that might provide a quick escape should Kanjo manage to flee. There was nothing but heavy, rolling hills covered in snow. They would be able to track him in any direction with ease.

  “Are you listening to me?” Yaura asked.

  “Hm? Sorry. He’ll be here. I know he was here. What could he gain by leaving? This inn is large enough that he could hope to disappear inside it. The rest of the Chillway is nothing but barren landscape for miles.”

  “And we are certain he was here?” Yaura asked.

  “We are. I saw him myself. Now, whether there’s an innkeeper friendly to his cause or some other allies of his inside, well that I don’t know. So we should be prepared.”

  “I don’t like this.”

  Godwin looked over and to his surprise Yaura’s face appeared deeply troubled.

  “What do you mean?”

  “When was the last time you were assigned to kill a demon? I knew it, don’t even bother answering, your face says it all. What are the Shigata coming to, Godwin? This is not our purpose. Are we the slayers of men, or of demons?”

  “Sometimes men are—”

  “Oh, don’t give me those platitudes. They’re not deep and you’re not the first one to think of them.”

  “Yaura, this was an assignment directly from the King. We are Shigata. We serve the Sages, who serve the King.”

  “Never m
ind!” she snapped rather abruptly. “I wasn’t seeking your counsel. I was merely expressing an opinion and now I have. Let’s just get this over with.”

  “Wait,” Godwin said as she started to spur on her horse. “We’re not ready.”

  “Not ready?”

  Godwin dismounted.

  “Are we supposed to sit here while I freeze my tits off and you play in the snow?”

  “We don’t know who he is,” Godwin said. “I have nothing but a generic description of him. I never got a good look at his face. We could easily take the wrong person by accident.”

  Yaura was about to continue complaining but stopped abruptly when she saw Godwin taking out his vials. “I see. You’re going to play with your chemicals and make this nice and simple. You know, my father told me that men who played with potions were nothing but charlatans. Was he right, Godwin?”

  He ignored her. Godwin had travelled with Yaura enough to know that any time they weren’t moving towards their goal she would be moving her mouth. He took out three different vials carefully strapped to a leather strip on his sword belt and inspected them closely.

  “Rat tonic…virgin monk’s teeth, no, ah here we are.”

  Grimacing, Yaura approached him. “Well, we might as well make this educational. What exactly are you doing?”

  “Listen then if you want to take some piece of knowledge with you.” Godwin held up the smallest of the vials he had removed. There was a dull grey liquid inside. He then took out a small piece of torn clothing.

  “This,” he said gesturing towards the vial, “is an essence extracted from the olfactory bulb of a bear.”

  “The olfactory bulb of a bear?”

  “Yes,” Godwin said. “I was hoping to save it for something more important. As you can imagine, they’re not exactly easy to come by. Even if I were in the business of bear-hunting, a guardian had to spend days in his laboratory tampering with this in ways I can’t even begin to understand.”

  “And why are you planning on drinking bits of bear brains?”

  “Because bears have the most sensitive noses in all of nature. Or more precisely, because bears have an olfactory bulb that contains a rather unique property. The magic is in the mitrial cells, you see.”