Burial of hearts the black widow's malice

by Parnham, N

  “Lies, I shall never forgive you for this, you foolish old man”.

  She paced closer to him, her eyes locked without blinking, tears of hatred fell, her body tense and her lips stiff, bleeding from where she had bitten.

  “For your small gesture, I feel I must return one back, do you recognise this, my loving… father”.

  She said as she walked over to the side of the room. Turning around, she had the golden vessel that Camerine had shown me, but it had the gem rested within it.

  “What are you doing Hecate? Do not be stupid”.

  “Stupid, so now I am stupid?”. She laughed in a manner that seemed fitting to a tale of the horrors of war.

  She placed her hands firmly upon the gem, wrapping her fingers one by one around it, then pulled it from the vessel, raising it into the air above her.

  “So you wished to exchange my destiny with yours; well father… let us exchange your spirit with that of the ancients”.

  “Hecate, no, you do not know what you are doing”.

  “But I do… ”. She smiled.

  Gazing at the radiant jewel, she recited words that should have never been spoken of; reserved for an age where evil crept through every place upon the land. Dark embers surrounded them both, encircling into smoke; a funnel of light was released in a rampage aimed towards Tartarus. All around Hecate, creatures of the blackest realms spewed forth, their bodies joining onto hers; her head shook wildly, faster than any man could comprehend, madness in the truest form. Tartarus cried out as his spirit was taken from within, his eyes upon Hecate, he looked distressed as her new form was exposed.

  “So… father, what do you think of us now?”.

  He lowered his head, not wishing to look at what his daughter had become.

  “Disapproval from my father?”.

  She grabbed his hair tightly, as he had done to her before.

  “How does this feel, to be reigned over, to feel powerless?”.

  “I did not mean to upset you. You are my daughter, please…”.

  “We are not yours, I demand that you stand up before us”.

  He stood up exhausted, his face an image of delay. Hecate swung towards him, knocking him off his feet.

  “You see, we are powerful now, you are weak. You could have been by our side, but now… now we will tread on you”. Hecate looked directly at me, her eyes intense and loathsome.

  “And anyone, who stands in our way”.

  Chapter 10

  My face was upon the floor; I leant myself up, I was in the tomb of Tartarus and had the parchment on the edge of my fingertips. Lifting my head, I could see up the stairs. The doorway was open. Racing up the stairs the fog had lifted from around the fields and now I could see clearly. I was stood in confusion wondering what had just ensued, was that a dream, or was it real?

  I looked all around the outside of the city walls for the small cottages that I had seen twice now, but there were none. There was a lake, but if there had been any buildings they were now long destroyed.

  Walking back, I thought about what it said on the parchment. Camerine is the one whom showed me the vessel, but now he is locked away.

  “Pass please?”. Said the guard; a somehow welcome confirmation that I still existed.

  I needed desperately to go see a member of the panotti. Knocking on Camerine’s door, I was greeted by his wife, who was not too pleased to have whom she saw as the reason behind his departure stood at the door.

  “What is it you want? Do you not think you have caused enough mess for me and my family already?”.

  “I am sorry, I did not mean for any of this to happen, if I could take it back I would, but you know it is impossible”.

  “You are sorry? You should be more than sorry, you should be a mess, broken inside like me, that is what you have made me”.

  “In a way I know how you… ”.

  “Do not dare say you know how I feel, no one knows how I feel, no one, just go away”.

  “No wait, please, I need your help”.

  “You need my help? And you expect me to help you? Have you truly lost your mind, or are you trying to ruin the rest of my family. So really, if you need my help, what exactly do you need my help with?”.

  I passed her the piece of parchment I had found in the tomb, her face plummeted as she read the words upon it.

  “Where did you get this Avis?”.

  “In his tomb… ”.

  “You disturbed his tomb? So not only do you have people put to death, but you also continue to torment them after you have taken their lives away”.

  “No, I did not have her killed, it was the guards”.

  “Really… and would she of been near them guards if you had not of shown up?”.

  I sank my head.

  She looked at me for a moment, thinking to herself and asked for me to wait. A short moment passed by, I looked around the room; it had not been cleared for some time, bread and meat were left sat to go stale, though Monty did not mind, eating the meat with no interest to what state it was in.

  A man accompanied her back up; he was clearly aged, with a stern look upon his face he spoke:

  “Avis, I am upmost repulsed that you would think it a necessity to enter into a tomb, it is not only a bypass upon the deceased, it is also unlawful within the city, punishable by ten years spent in prison. So you come to us now, after all that has occurred and why would you expect us not to hand you over to the authorities? What is it that you have for us that would oppress this trespass? Please do not say it is this parchment; what use does it have to us, it just shows the possibility that the folklores are true; it does not change anything”.

  “I will rid the city of Hecate. I just need your help with it; I need the vessel you have”.

  He burst out in a sarcastic laugh.

  “So you are one of those; the people who believe it holds powers to destroy, do you not know how powerful she is? She would crush you without even trying”.

  “Yes I do believe them; I had a dream…”.

  “You had a dream… such a factual basis to judge everything upon; a dream, surely not even you are that backwards that you would act upon it”.

  “You do not understand, what I saw, it did not feel like a dream, it was as if I was there, I saw Tartarus”.

  “Avis, you are quite amusing, he has been dead for quite some time and you think that you saw him? I have had enough of this, please leave and do not trouble my people any more, you have caused enough disorder, I do not wish for anything else to occur at your hands”.

  “Please, I will not lie; I want rid of Hecate for myself as well; but would it not also help you and the panotti if she were to be overcome?”.

  “It would, but you talk on a basis of dreams and tales of old, how could I even begin to think about allowing you to take the vessel when there is not but a single shred of factual proof?”.

  “But there was no proof in magick, but you still believed in it and that belief makes it true and you developed and now you are able to appreciate it”.

  “Quite true; I do understand your statement, but I still struggle with this”.

  Sitting down, he relaxed into the chair, looking up to the ceiling deep in thought, all the while tapping his fingers in an irritating way.

  “Perhaps I could consider this, but only if you are able to prove yourself”.

  “Ok, anything you want; I just want to help”.

  “Very well, Camerine is held within the city prison, I do not know if he has told you at all, but the guards, or should I more rightly say Hecate, enjoys taking away items which we hold sacred. There is a book locked away there ‘The Grimoire of Pansel’ it was taken away by Hecate, it holds the guiding principles from one of our greatest individuals. Long had it been used to teach the younger members of our society on the works of magick, but now, because of her, it has become much harder to truly teach the children our ways. If you were to somehow manage to retrieve this, then perhaps I could consider offering y
ou the vessel in exchange”.

  I thought about the offer for a moment, agreeing upon it. Even if it was high risk I knew that it was the only option that I had and that was the route I was going to have to follow.

  Leaving their home, I went back to my own room, relaxing upon my bed until evening came.

  The city prison was close by to where Camerine’s mother was executed. Walking up Henson Road, a slight glee took over me; Jane and her family were no longer there, they must have been able to find a room for their family and possibly even a job; at least I did some good that day.

  At the prison, I watched from a distance as all the carts left outdoors were being brought in. A prisoner was being held within a small cage, dark as the horses that drew it. He looked strikingly similar to the rogue sorcerer whose image had been placed upon the city noticeboard. All about him were persons clothed in hooded robes, hiding their identity.

  There were a few carts left to be pulled in past the large grilled gates. I snuck behind one filled with barley. Carefully hiding myself, avoiding any quick movements which may have attracted the attention of the nearby guards.

  “Come on, there are only a few carts left, let us get these in then we can have a rest”. Said one of the guards.

  I held onto my nerve as they began to pull the cart I was within. A small rat was chewing upon the barley below me; spotting me it began to run around my legs, inspecting me for any signs of more desirable food, thankfully I had none.

  “Put the barley over there in the corner”.

  Dropping the cart, I smacked my head upon the solid wood below; I had to bite my lip so I did not screech in pain.

  “Right men, I fancy a drink, I think we deserve one after hauling all that lot”.

  I could hear the crunching of stones beneath their feet as they walked away. Sitting up, I peered out of the cart to see all that was around me. There were still guards watching the prison; they were stood shivering in watchtowers, waiting for anything unruly to take place.

  Behind me I could see a door ajar. Making a final check, I slid myself backwards out of the cart, coming face to face for a moment with my new peckish acquaintance. Crawling upon the floor, I hid from the guards above, slithering my way through the doorway.

  Standing up, I was at the foot of a large hallway, lit by the light of the flames. The ceiling seemed to reach up forever, the walls strong and thoroughly thickened to prevent any prisoners from escaping. I peered into the first room; though bars broke up the view, the sights I saw were grotesque to the eye.

  A single man held onto a clawed metal shaft, which was meant to encourage the prisoner to talk. Ripping at his flesh slowly, as his body was stretched upon the chair he was sitting. His cries of pain shot through me with every slice of his skin. To the side of them were several others who were hung upon the walls, able to watch in every detail, what was also to happen to them if they would not speak.

  “Where is the money you stole?”. Said the torturer, as he was threatening the prisoner with more punishment.

  He did not respond, merely breathing in, holding onto his words.

  “Very well, you do not wish to talk”.

  He turned towards a large table, covered in a varying degree of painful instruments of torture. He came back. In his hands was a clamp, heated by hot coals, he closed it around the leg of the prisoner; the shrieks of pain now intensified, I could smell the putrid fragrance of his burning flesh. I walked on, no longer wishing to watch, hoping for the prisoner’s sake that at the least he would have a quick death.

  I could hear that the guards were heading my way; I quickly hid in one of the rooms, behind a desk. I thought they may pass by, but they did not; by my usual luck they also entered into the exact room I was in. I could hear the rustling of keys as he replaced them back onto the hook that they belonged.

  “What a tiresome day, can you smell that? Smells like cooked beef”.

  “I think I shall put my feet up for a moment, then we can go home”.

  My heart began to race, if he sat down he would see me and then I would be the one in prison getting tortured by that brute. I could see his legs in front of me beginning to bend, the boots he was wearing were smudged, from the now dry mud.

  “How about we go for a drink?”.

  “Let me think, the other half wants us to go for a banquet tonight… very well, let us go for a drink, anything must be better than seeing these so-called relations”.

  He stood up, they both exited the room, closing the door firmly behind them. I stood, looking around the room this must have been the guard’s place to rest when on their breaks. There were several places to be seated, a large selection of books were on offer to read, if so they wished, as well as a range of delicacies left to snack upon.

  I noticed the set of keys that were not there before. I picked them up, surveying what was written upon each. Most were for doors, of no importance; there was a key to open the cells of the prisoners, one for the gates at the front, but predominantly they were for storage rooms, where they most likely kept possessions stolen from their captives.

  They were all labelled but I could not find any that would relate to a room where the book would be kept. Placing them in my pocket, I started to search around the room. Looking in every drawer I found nothing but the occasional vulgar sketch of women’s breasts. I continued to search the room. There was a place for all the uniforms of the guards to be hung; perhaps one of them had forgotten to put the key back after finishing his duty. I searched in vain, as fast as I could in case anyone would come, but the key was not to be found anywhere in this room.

  I opened the door slowly, making sure no one was about, then walking back into the hallway.

  “Stop there. Who are you?”. Said one of the guards, pointing his spear up to my neck.

  “Avis”. I said as my body began to quiver from fear.

  “I do not know how you got out of your cell Avis, if Hecate hears about this we would be slaughtered like dogs. Get here you are going back”.

  Grabbing me by the arm, he pulled me, squeezing tightly so that I could not escape from his grasp.

  “Now this time, do not think about trying to get out”.

  He flung me head first into one of the cells, my head smashing against the brick wall, causing me to bleed.

  A man in the cell came over to me.

  “Are you ok?”.

  “I will be fine. I have had worse”. I said as I looked up at him, the blood now trickling down past my eyes.

  “You, I have seen you before, you are a poet, are you not?”.

  “If by a poet you mean I take words and give them their truest meaning, then yes I am”. He said whilst I observed all the dragonflies that were hovering around him; a beauty not even the mightiest of guards could take away.

  “What are you doing in here?”.

  “I chose to speak words that they could not appreciate. They took me here to try to silence me, but words spoken cannot be locked away, for they live in the minds of all that hear them”.

  He paused for a moment, giving thought to his words.

  “The aromas you bring to me, are as sweet as your hair is soft. Your eyes are lost within utopia, holding onto the touch of your lover’s lips. Why is it then you come to this place? What means do you place upon it?”.

  “I am trying to retrieve a book that is locked away here, but I do not know where the key is ‘The Grimoire of Pansel’ have you heard of it?”.

  “No, of that I have heard none, but there are many about me who will know where it lies”.

  “What do you mean?”.

  “I shall tell you, but tell me first what you feel of these words”.

  “The time untold, but my heart does fall for each moment we have lost. My reach would go as far as I could to find you, but that distance never was far away, locked in my heart you will stay forever, even now you have departed, my journey would be our destinies united”.

  “That was beautiful, who did you wri
te it for?”.

  “The one who I chose my life for, but now she is with the gods”.

  “I am sorry to hear of your loss, it is always painful to lose someone you care for deeply”.

  He sat there beaming a smile for a moment. The dragonflies spun into one; the light they gave off was spellbinding as they fluttered from the cell.

  “Where have they gone?”. I said.

  “You shall see, wait”.

  I sat upon the hard straw bed, looking at the metal hooks that were scattered around the room, ready to shackle us if our deeds were contrary to their expectations.

  Returning the dragonflies were somehow supporting a book; they flew beneath it and beside it and placed the book down before me.

  “This is the book you wanted is it not?”. He said pointing down at the title.

  “Yes, but… how? Thank you”.

  “Even the smallest of creatures have great power within them, respect their power and they will respect you”.

  “Thank you”. I said again, as I flicked through the pages of the book, being careful not to rip any of the delicate work.

  Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the keys that I had placed there before the guards slung me in this most unpleasant cell.

  “Fancy escaping?”.

  Playfully shaking the keys in front of him, you could not hide the pleasure on his face.

  “That sounds like a very good idea to me”.

  “I need to find my friend Camerine in here, I do not know where he is, but I have got to find him”.

  We both stood up, unlocking the door, we walked out. We were in one of many hundreds of cells that made up the city prison.

  “How exactly are we going to get out of here alive now? The guards easily out number us and even if we get to the entrance gate, more guards would be alerted”.

  “Strength in numbers, we need to create some turmoil”.

  We ran quickly to each cell, letting every prisoner out on the first floor and then making our way up to the second floor. In the first cell we went to, we were greeted by a scrawny tall man, his facial hair as messed up as the words he spoke, constantly beating his fist against his head; he did not seem to notice us.