by C S Vass
* * *
So it was that the room grew quite and they gathered around. Fiona knew it would be pointless to try to get them all out now that they had assembled, so all there was to do was let this meeting get over with as quickly as possible.
Shifter stood alone in the center of the room, which seemed to darken as the godling spoke. “Before we can discuss the true business at hand, we need to discuss the state that I find you all in. To my great disappointment, each and every one of you has succumbed to your natural human weakness in more ways than one. I’m not here to argue about that, or even to fix it. All I can tell you is that your city has needed you, and all of you have failed it.”
Donyo snorted loudly. “Sounds like you’re speaking to the wrong crowd then, godling. If we’re nothing more than a pack of miscreants and failures then you would be better trying to right the wrongs of this city with a different group.”
“I’ve made no mistakes.” The godling’s voice cracked like a whip, and for a brief moment Fiona thought that she could see two burning lights shine under Shifter’s hood. “You are the ones I want to speak with. I’m simply warning you that if you continue to give into your own despair then hope is lost.”
“Hope for what?” Martin grumbled. “We’re not living in the days of the revolution. All we can do is manage as best we can and live our lives. There is no war for us to fight.”
“For now,” Shifter agreed. “But that is likely to change very quickly. You’ve all buried your heads, but at least the old man is sentient enough to know what’s going on.”
Fiona was about to ask who the godling was talking about, but Shifter continued before she could.
“In case you’ve forgotten, two years ago I shattered the barriers sealing the magic of the Moonwood under the city. Since then, the balance of nature has been thrown into chaos. Or at least it should have been. Things have not been nearly chaotic enough.”
“Not chaotic enough?” Donyo choked. “Are you trying to save this world or destroy it?”
“Not all chaos is bad,” Shifter said roughly. The hearth yawned open behind him. Fire crackled and licked at the stones. “Some chaos is necessary. The great forest fires of the southern woods leave the ground fertile and ripe to bring new life. The storms of Morrordraed obliterate the swamplands, yet the nutrients they sweep into the land are essential for the life of the ecosystem. It should have been such with the magic of the Moonwood upon its release, but it hasn’t been.”
“I don’t understand,” Sasha said. “What are you saying? That there should be even more magical chaos than there is?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Shifter said. “But the Empire, in its endless quest for order, has worked hard to capture as much of the magic as possible. Since the Awakening the Empire has unquestionably come out on top in the new balance of power. For every one sorcerer or mage that Haygarden has developed they have one-thousand. And it isn’t just the humans. Many godlings have been recruited into their plans as well.”
“It’s to be expected,” Donyo said. “Of course the Empire will seize what power it can.”
“Yes, the Empire has acted in accordance with what’s best for its own survival. My problem is that Haygarden has not. While Laquath ceded certain holdings in Tellos, they have turned their attention towards forging strong alliances with the various clans, confederacies, and kings of Morrordraed. They have protected themselves. Haygarden has not.”
“So we’re a city of morons,” Donyo said. “I’m sure you’ll be hard-pressed to find somebody here who disagrees with that assessment.”
“Why do you care?” Fiona burst out.
“I don’t,” the godling replied bluntly. “But the old man does, and I am in his debt.”
“Old man?” Sasha asked.
“Lord Hightower,” Martin said. “He’s the one instructing you, isn’t he?”
“He is,” Shifter said. “Lord Hightower has sacrificed more than any of you realize to try to preserve this city. He has asked me to help him, and it is for my own reasons that I have agreed. He and I have a certain history that goes back long before any of you were born. So I am simply paying a debt to him, but to do so I need your help. I don’t think anybody here would dispute that the lot of you owe a similar type of debt to me. Am I wrong?”
Though nobody could see the godling’s face Fiona knew that whatever eyes were under that hood were peering into each of their own hearts. A few moments of silence passed. “That’s what I thought,” Shifter said. “So what I need is for you all to stop wallowing in the personal tragedies that have plagued you for the last two years, and do right by Haygarden.”
“Perhaps that’s easy for a godling to say,” Fiona burst out. “But I have my own agenda. I’ve made it clear, to each of you, abundantly clear in fact, that I am not simply a servant of Haygarden. I left here two years ago for one reason, to find somebody who destroyed my life. Every day I spend here makes me realize that it was a mistake to come back.”
To Fiona’s surprise she realized that she was standing, and breathing heavily. Everyone was looking at her, though she couldn’t quite make out the expressions on any of their faces. That was when Shifter pointed a finger at her.
“You, Fiona Sacrosin, have made worse mistakes than any of us. I won’t condemn you for doing what you feel you have to, but when you barter with the Empire, when you barter with the Forgotten, you are bartering with the agents of death. It will not end well for you.”
“What?”
“No!”
“Fiona!”
Accusation came from all sides. She could feel it all around her, as if she were in the center of a tornado of blame.
“Fiona, what’s going on?” Donyo asked. “What’s Shifter talking about?”
Fiona felt the gazes of everyone in the room burning into her head. She knew she had to say something quickly, or else the situation would get out of hand.
“Who I deal with is nobody’s concern but my own. You needn’t worry about me. Just like I’m no puppet for Haygarden, I’m also not one to be made into a puppet by any other organization. You can count on that.” She looked around the room, scowling into the faces of those who she wasn’t sure if she could call friends. “Anybody have anything to say about that?”
Nobody met her gaze. They all seemed determined to study their feet.
“We still have much common ground to work towards,” Shifter said. “We don’t need to be fighting amongst ourselves. Especially you, Fiona. What we want is one in the same. I simply advise you, beyond your dealings with these various factions, I’m aware of your biggest struggle. I’m aware of that thing you carry inside of you. It won’t end well. You should abandon that attempt before it consumes you.”
Shifter’s words left her speechless. She felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. She didn’t think she could bear to speak to anybody about the Beast. But how did the godling know?
“We can leave such a discussion for another time,” Shifter said before anybody had a chance to ask further questions. “The biggest threat to the peace and security of this city right now is not the Empire, or the Forgotten. It’s Rodrick.”
A hush fell over the room, and Fiona felt her face redden though she could not have said why. She wasn’t responsible for her brother’s crimes. What more did she have to do to prove that?
“Sandra Redfire is barely hanging onto power, and even now she essentially rules in name only. Rodrick knows that weakness is there, and he’ll be looking to exploit it. That’s why he came back to the city.”
“WHAT?” Fiona’s heart hammered in her chest. “He’s here? How long have you known? Why wouldn’t you say that immediately?”
“Calm yourself,” Shifter said. There was a melody in his voice that took half of Fiona’s energy right out of her body. Eyelids drooping, she obeyed, despite her anger that Shifter would use magic against her.
“Perhaps it’s best now Fiona, if you tell us what you have lea
rned about your brother,” Shifter said.
Fiona nodded sleepily. That made sense to her. “He’s after something. The Forgotten know about it, they’re the ones who told me. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something he needs. A weapon, perhaps.”
“Then we best hope he doesn’t get it,” Donyo said.
“You,” Fiona turned to Donyo. The lucid state that Shifter had placed here in made her forget about any stealth or subtly. “You’re working on something too. Something big. What is it? Is Rodrick trying to steal it?”
Donyo lost himself in a fit of coughing. The room had grown very quiet. “What could I be working on?” he asked angrily. “I don’t even have a home to work in!”
“You’re hiding something,” Fiona said. She walked uneasily towards Donyo. She felt lightheaded, outside of her body even.
“You’re mad,” Donyo barked. She kept moving towards him, slowly and steadily.
“Fiona, sit down,” Sasha said. Her voice was nervous and urgent. Something was happening in Fiona’s body. Her sense of balance was thrown off, the room felt like it was spinning. She was going to throw up.
“Get away from me girl, you’re scaring me!” Donyo shouted.
He must have been scared. His face was completely drained of color. All of their faces were drained of color. The whole room was drained of color. Fiona’s head was spinning. She was going to fall. Outside a dog was barking. She needed to get out. She needed air. Quickly Fiona stumbled to the door. When she went outside the sky was red as blood.
Chapter Eleven
“Gods, not now!” Fiona’s head was swimming as she fearfully anticipated what was to come next. The moon shone above her, full and colorless, a massive dead orb in the sky.
“You’ve done very well so far, Fiona,” the Beast said. She turned and observed his terrible red eyes and wolf-like nose. “The last time just getting you here nearly killed you. You seem to be adjusting to my world quite nicely.”
“I’m in the middle of something!” Fiona said. “Can’t this wait?”
“I don’t wait for humans,” the Beast said with terrible smile. “Not now, not ever. But you needn’t worry. To them this is just the blink of an eye.” There was a curved sword in his hand, almost comically large. It was clearly meant to be a two-handed greatsword, a huge one at that meant for a giant of a man, but the Beast held it confidently in his right hand alone.
“This is the phase where most people simply give out. Their minds and bodies can’t take it and they either go insane or die. But that doesn’t seem to be the case with you. I’m surprised. Pleasantly, of course. But we still have a long way to go. You haven’t faced your fears yet.”
“What is it that you want from me?” she demanded. A blast of icy wind rushed through her bones, but it was like no wind that she had ever experienced. There was a moaning noise to it, almost like a chorus of whispers.
“Always demanding answers. You only have to look to yourself. You’re the one who summoned me. I don’t know what we’re going to have to do with you if I have to remind you of that every time we meet. Now try and calm down, okay. There’s important work to do.”
“Like what?”
“Like survive.”
He lunged at her sweeping the curved blade in a massive arc that would have cleaved her in two at the waist if Fiona hadn’t dropped to the ground. “Good!” the Beast roared, his red eyes shining like rubies.
“You’re insane!”
“You’re weak! You don’t have the strength of body to control the manjeko, or the strength of mind to understand it. But the manjeko does not operate on the convenience of your human limitations. You ask the blessing of an ancient magic, a magic that in some instances surpasses the abilities of the gods themselves. Such powers are not handed out like candy to children. You must fight for them, honor them, even die for them if necessary. But of course you don’t understand. Perhaps I can only show you.”
He launched himself at her again, only this time she had her blade out to meet him. Their swords clashed together in midair, his horizontal in a slash, hers vertical to defend. The force of the blow sent her sliding on the snowy ground in a half circle, but despite the power behind the attack Fiona maintained her footing.
She needed to find some sort of weakness. Normally an opponent with such a huge weapon would be slow and heavily encumbered by it, but the speed with which he maneuvered the blade was incredible. Wondering if the Beast could defend with it as quickly as he could attack, she decided to make him put his guard up.
Without warning she launched at him like a serpent striking at prey. She sent her blade spinning at her opponent over and over, slashing down, striking up, wheeling around, trying to find a weakness in the Beast’s defenses.
To her surprise he chose not to deflect with his own blade but rather to simply dodge the blows. He was incredibly fast and agile, once even planting his blade into the ground and using it to vault over her head, kicking her hard in the back as he landed.
“You disappoint me, Fiona. For all your bravado in the human world you’re really quite ordinary. I had expected more from you once you got your bearings here.”
“Tell me that when you’re able to strike me down,” she said with contempt.
The Beast blinked. “Perhaps you’re right.” There was an odd note in his voice that Fiona did not like in the least.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m sorry for what I’m about to do, Fiona. I had hoped to avoid it, and usually this is only necessary in the most extreme circumstances. You’re not meant to experience this, and it will likely kill you. But the manjeko must be honored.”
Fiona didn’t have the slightest clue what the Beast was thinking, but something about his expression truly scared her. He actually looked forlorn.
“This is going to be very unpleasant, but if you emerge from it perhaps you’ll be able to continue on the path.”
“Are you going to talk in riddles all day?” she asked. “Or are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“The manjeko!” the Beast said. “You have it! But you’re not using it. I see it behind your eyes. The power is there, but you’re not tapping into it. It should have been provoked by now. But you’ve not done as I have asked you. You haven’t settled the storm that rages within you, and the manjeko is too clouded by the confusion in your soul to be able to make itself known. You have nobody to blame for this but yourself.”
“I am using it!” she shouted back, angrily. “I’m using it right now. I have the same eyes as you, don’t I? I’m here in the bizarre place, whatever you call it. What more do you want from me?”
“Everything.”
Another gust of wind howled. This time Fiona was sure that she heard moaning whispers floating through it in the air. “Let’s just get on with this fight,” Fiona said. “I have to get back to the meeting you saw fit to interrupt.”
The Beast wasn’t listening. He was whispering something—no, chanting it, quickly and quietly to himself. He ran two fingers down the length of his blade and the sword began to glow ghostly blue. He gave her a look that was pure pain. “Fiona, I’m sorry.”
He vanished, or rather he moved so quickly that he appeared to vanish. In an instant he was directly in front of her, inside of her defenses swinging his massive greatsword down in an arc. She couldn’t react fast enough. He was too quick. The blade was coming straight of her skull.
She screamed as the sword crashed through her head.
* * *
Fiona was floating. How or why she couldn’t have said. Everything around her was black. She was underwater. How strange. Suddenly she remembered her limbs, her body. She had forgotten that she had them. Slowly she moved her arms. They were met with the natural resistance of water.
It was water all around her but she could breath. No, she couldn’t breath. But she didn’t need to. Air simply was not necessary. Slowly she touched her neck, as if to see if she had gills, but her huma
n form seemed to be in tact. She simply didn’t need to breath.
Slowly she opened her eyes, but it hardly made a difference. She could see a little bit. There were forms around her. Perhaps some underwater rock formations. But everything was in shadows. Her sense of patience began to fade as she started to remember. She was in a fight. A fight with an opponent she could never hope to defeat.
Memories returned. The sword, shining deadly blue like a ghost. How could it have shone blue? The only color allowed in that world was red. Nothing made sense. Then he had attacked. The sword, it came at her.
She jolted in the water, remembering the sickening feeling of her own skull caving in on itself as the Beast struck her. It was a fatal blow. There was no way she could have survived. That would have been impossible. So what happened?
She died.
She must have died. People didn’t just survive swords that smashed through their heads. So where was she now? Was this death? Some new strange wasteland she would be forced to contend with? A sense of irritation crept up her spine. This was a little bit boring for death. Total nothingness would have been expected, but this almost nothingness hardly seemed worth the trouble.
Suddenly Fiona remembered that she could swim. Well, she was in water, wasn’t she? Testing out her limbs she tried to paddle a little in the water. Her body moved forward. So maybe there was more to this. She would just have to explore.
Going up made the most sense, but it was difficult to tell which direction up was. Everything looked the same around her, and her sense of balance was deeply disturbed. Her perception seemed to have crashed in upon itself when her head caved in. How was she to know which way to go?
Feeling uncertain and annoyed she swam. There had to be a light coming from somewhere. It was all around her, but so far away. She could only make out the faintest edges of shadow. But when she swam towards the shadows those too seemed to dissipate and move around. It was as if nothing about the world she was in was stable. Everything was jumbled up.
