The Warden's Sword

by Paul Summerhayes

  Her chair squeaked.

  Two large black heads rose out of the kitchen’s sea of darkness and four red eyes fixed their demonic gaze on their prey—Anna. The two massive black beasts walked in unison toward her slowly. The fire’s glow highlighted their muscular bodies as they moved. They bared their long fangs and low growls rumbled from deep within their throats—a terrifying sound that vibrated through her body. In a mad panic she struggled against her bonds. “No, no, no,” she said softly as she tried in vain to get free, but the rope was too strong.

  One of the dogs leapt at her and it would have sunk its teeth into her had she not withdrawn her legs at the last minute. Its powerful jaw snapped closed on empty air. Saliva dripped from their long white teeth as they moved in for the kill.

  “Stop!” she screamed in sheer terror and closed her eyes—not wanting to see her own death. In her wildest nightmares she never imaged being eaten by creatures from hell.

  All was silent.

  Her death had proven painless.

  She opened her eyes. Both dogs’ massive forms still loomed above her but they were motionless—their mouths were open and ready to tear her apart in the blink of an eye. But they looked like statues except for the saliva dripping off their murderous fangs. Their unblinking red eyes—full of hate and blood lust—stared down at her. Their breaths were rank and smelt of death and decay. She edged back in her chair and they didn’t react.

  How am I still alive?

  Being this close to the dogs was unnerving but Anna struggled with her ropes, wishing to get away from this hell as soon as possible. But the ropes were too strongly tied for her to wriggle her hands out of. She knew it was only a matter of time before they came to their senses and leapt on her and tore her throat out.

  “Get back, demons!” she cried in frustration.

  Both dogs backed up a few yards but continued to stare.

  Just then the front door burst open and the twisted imp walked inside. “Well, isn’t this cosy? It looks like Hunter and Titan like you,” he said. “I gave them some of your blood for breakfast. And maybe they want more.” The imp laughed but stopped suddenly when Anna spoke.

  “What do you want from me?” she said.

  “You already know. I want your blood for my potions. It adds a real zing to their potency.” Darius moved and stood between his two dogs. “Lads, are you still hungry?”

  “Release me, imp!” commanded Anna.

  Darius was amused. “I didn’t take that much blood, but you seem…delirious.”

  Anna could feel her anger rising. “I said—”

  “I don’t care what you said!” Instantly he was beside her and grabbed the front of her dirty dress, leaning into her face. She felt the pressure of cold steel against her throat. “I should just kill you now...”

  “No,” Anna muttered feebly. “…someone please help me.”

  Deep growls came from behind the imp and the hair on Anna’s neck stood up. She couldn’t see the beasts as Darius blocked her view but they were growling at something.

  “Sit!” he commanded with a glance over his shoulder, but the dogs still growled. “I said sit—” He turned and looked at the dogs. “What’s wrong with you two?”

  Both dogs stared at the imp. The colours in their eyes flicked as though lit by an internal fire as their lips drew back into terrifying snarls.

  “Sit! I command you!” he demanded angrily. The dogs didn’t obey. “What’s going on?”

  “Release me if you want to live,” Anna said softly. “Now.”

  “Why you little b—” Darius grabbed her throat and raised his knife for a killing blow. She was paralysed with fear and watched silently as the knife descended toward her heart. But the blow didn’t land as one of the dogs lunged forward and bit deep into Darius’s forearm. He dropped the weapon and screamed in pain. “Arrrgh!”

  The big dog moved back a few paces, dragging Darius with him. The second dog moved between her and the imp and watched the little man squirming in its companion’s grip. After a few moments, Darius closed his eyes and clenched his jaw from the pain that must have been coursing through his arm.

  “That’s better,” said Anna, her voice calm—no, emotionless. “Are you going to behave, imp?”

  Darius nodded.

  “Release him,” she said. The dog obeyed and Darius dropped to the floor. “If he moves, eat him.”

  Darius held his arm and tried to stop the blood flowing out of his wounds. “How?” he asked. “Of course…they ate your blood.”

  “Hunter, come here,” she commanded. She was surprised but she could tell the two identical dogs apart. “Chew this rope.” The dog opened its mouth and bit down on the rope at her wrist. Anna was tense but the dog’s teeth were as sharp as knives and cut easily through the rope. She quickly untied her own feet and moved to Maria’s side.

  Anna removed the filthy blanket covering the princess and gently shook her shoulder. There was no response. The princess’s arms were bruised but otherwise she appeared unharmed.

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  “Go to hell! I’m not telling you anything.”

  It was Anna’s turn to laugh. “Hunter, Titan, looks like it’s dinner time—”

  “All right, all right.” The little man cringed way from his guard. “She is under the influence of one of my potions. It’ll wear off in a few hours.”

  Anna stroked Maria’s check. “Can you wake her up?”

  “No. It must take its course—that’s the truth.”

  I don’t trust him. “Sit over there against the wall,” Anna pointed to a section of open wall. “Hunter, Titan, make sure he doesn’t move.” Darius sat against the wall still holding arm. Two yards from him, the two massive dogs stood watching. The imp shot her a hateful look but remained silent.

  The morning wore on and Maria didn’t come out of her stupor. Anna was becoming concerned. She didn’t want to spend a moment more here than necessary.

  The imp hadn’t move from the wall—not that he had a choice as the two hell dogs stood like guardian statues over him.

  At midday, Maria opened her eyes and looked around at her surroundings. “What’s going on? I can’t see!” There was panic in her voice.

  “I’m here, princess,” said Anna, holding her hand. “Your vision will clear.”

  “Where are we?”

  “In a place we don’t want to be.” Anna glanced at Darius who watched the women and mumbled to himself. “Do you think you can walk? We must be far away from here before nightfall.”

  “Yes, I think I can.” Maria tried to sit up. “I am starving. Is there any food?”

  Darius smiled.

  “No. We can’t eat anything here.”

  “I feel like I haven’t eaten in forever.”

  “Try and stand, Maria.” Anna helped the princess stand and wrapped the dirty blanket around her shoulders. “Wear this. It will be cold in the forest at night.” She grabbed another dirty blanket for herself and then guided Maria to the front door.

  “Hunter, Titan, guard that imp until nightfall…then you are free.” Anna moved to go but turned and faced Darius. “I hope our paths never cross again.” Without looking back, the two women walked out of the cottage and crossed the clearing into the forest.

  Chapter 35

  Nothing moved in the clearing containing the small cottage. The front door was open and smoke no longer came from the stone chimney. The place looked deserted.

  Finn had hobbled the horses amongst the trees and now watched the cottage crouched in the undergrowth of ferns. Something felt strange about this cottage but Finn couldn’t put his finger on it. The clearing was covered in short green grass which many would consider a lawn. The cottage looked sturdy, quaint and homely—almost like something from a fancy fairy-tale book. It was so prefect that it put the young eldon on edge. It was almost too good to be true.

  He watched for a long time without moving—a valuable skill all decent hunters develo
ped at an early age. The afternoon light started to fade but that wasn’t a concern as Finn’s eyesight would give him an advantage over any human’s vision. He watched and he waited.

  A few moments after sun down, two brown hunting hounds trotted out of the cottage’s front door and bounded into the trees. Finn caught passing glimpses of their heads bobbing above the undergrowth before they vanished from sight. Nothing else moved in cottage’s doorway or clearing.

  As Finn stood, a light flared in the cottage’s dark interior spilling yellow light out the doorway. A few moments later, a tall, powerfully-built man was silhouetted in the doorway. He looked around quickly before shutting the door. The small cottage and the surrounding forest fell back into growing darkness.

  Time for a closer look. Finn rose from his hiding spot and soundlessly padded across the lawn, stopping at the closed shutters beside the front door. He peered through a gap in the window’s timber slats but couldn’t see much of the cottage’s interior, but he could hear a muffled voice.

  Finn crept to the door and reached for its handle. He stopped. What was he doing? Going to break in? What if Anna wasn’t here? No, he had to check. He reached for door handle but it opened, quickly flooding light outside. Surprised, Finn stepped back.

  “I thought I heard something…hello, my name is Darius,” said the tall man, smiling. He extended his hand as a greeting.

  “Sorry to disturb you.”

  “Come in out of the cold. Are you hungry? I’m cooking a rabbit and you’re more than welcome to join me.” The man stepped back inside the cottage, holding the door open and indicated for Finn to enter.

  “I don’t want to be trouble.”

  “It’s no trouble. I haven’t spoken to anyone for a while and I’m happy for the company.” Finn nodded his thanks and entered the small cottage.

  The cottage was as cosy inside as it looked outside. Sitting at the small kitchen table, Finn mused that the place had a woman’s touch. Everything was clean, neat and tidy and everything was in its rightful place.

  “Do you live here alone?” asked Finn.

  “Yes. My wife died a year ago...”

  “I’m sorry for your loss.” Finn felt awkward.

  “What brings you into the forest?”

  “I’m looking for two friends. Have you seen anyone?”

  For a brief moment Darius paused in his food preparation. “No. I haven’t seen anyone for weeks.”

  “Their tracks led into your clearing.”

  “I have been out hunting all day. Maybe they came when I was out.” Finn didn’t notice Darius dropping a few purple leaves into the rabbit stew. The big man smiled and started humming to himself.

  Darius placed two steaming bowls of food on the small table and moved to a cupboard to retrieve spoons. “Make yourself at home and take off your sword and cloak.”

  Finn moved to comply but as he touched his sword, the scene before his eyes changed. The cottage went from being clean and well organised to dark and dirty and in disrepair. Centipedes and bugs crawled through the filth on the benches and cobwebs hung from every corner of the room. He was startled because before his eyes, Darius changed from a tall, handsome man to a small, twisted creature with a hunched back and lumpy skin. He wasn’t human, he was an imp! And if the legends were correct, they were evil tricksters and ate their victims.

  The hideous imp, Darius, turned back to the table holding two spoons. Blood dripped from a crudely bandaged arm as he sat opposite Finn. “Dig in before it gets cool.”

  Finn looked into his bowl. Chunks of unidentifiable meat, roots and odd purple leaves floated in an oily water broth. He released his grip on his sword and everything reverted back to the way it was before. The man opposite him looked human again, the bowl appeared to contain a thick rabbit stew that smelt divine and the cottage was clean and orderly. None of it was real.

  “Dig in,” said Darius.

  “It looks great,” said Finn. “But I need to find my friends.” The eldon stood and stepped back from the table.

  “Is something wrong?” Darius also stood.

  “I must leave.” Finn moved to the front door. “Thanks for your hospitality.” Faster than Finn thought possible, Darius blocked Finn’s exit to the front door.

  “I insist,” said Darius.

  Finn drew the black sword and the dirty imp was revealed again. The sword’s hilt was warm. “Move, imp, or you’ll regret it!”

  “I haven’t eaten eldon for such a long time.” The imp licked its thick lips. “You’re not going anywhere except my pot!”

  Sword. Aid me! Finn retreated, keeping the sword out in front.

  The imp produced two long rusty daggers from his belt and grinned like a mad man. “I’m going to eat your heart first!” The creature moved fast and leapt at Finn with both daggers slashing the air. Only by sheer luck Finn dodged out the daggers’ deadly arcs. He was bewildered by the imp’s speed as his twisted body didn’t look capable of such speed.

  “Heehee. You’ve got spirit, eldon—almost as much as your friends.”

  “Where are they?”

  “I ate them and made a special sauce from the pretty one’s blood.”

  “Arrrgh!” Finn stepped forward, slashing down with the black sword but instead of hitting the imp, it only cut the air. Before he knew it, the imp was beside him and had sliced his shoulder with a dagger. Finn winced with pain and backed toward the fireplace. Clearly, he was outmatched by the imp’s speed. He needed to change the odds.

  “Your friends put up a fight,” the imp taunted. “More than you.”

  With his boot, Finn flicked out a burning log from the fire and it rolled across the floor and stopped in a pile of rubbish, which quickly ignited.

  The imp leapt at Finn but jumped back before the black sword’s whirling arcs. The fire spread quickly and the flames intensified as more and more things caught on fire. The imp’s grin started fade.

  “You stupid eldon!” The imp lunged forward under Finn’s guard and slashed the eldon’s thigh, rebounding before Finn could react. Unbeknownst to the imp, the edge of his ragged clothes caught on fire as it dragged along the ground. “You burn my house but I’ll eat your flesh this night!”

  The imp circled Finn, looking for any gap in the eldon’s defence, but the black sword’s razor edge kept him at bay. Burn, you devil!

  The flames travelled up the imp’s leg and within moments his lower half was covered in fire. “Arrgh!” cried the imp as he tried to pat down the flames. That was the moment Finn was waiting for. He leapt forward and thrust his sword through the imp’s chest and out of his crooked back. The imp stared at Finn in disbelief before…

  “No…” the imp muttered. Finn withdrew his sword and the imp slumped to the floor, dead.

  The cottage was well ablaze and more than half the interior was engulfed in flames. Finn ran out into the night and coughing, he stopped at the forest’s edge. He looked back at the cottage—now that the imp was dead it resembled little more than a burning shack.

  Glancing down at his sword revealed that the imp’s dark blood still stained the black steel. The sword didn’t drink the tainted blood, unlike other lives it had taken. “That blood too evil for you?” Finn asked the sword as he wiped the blade on the grass. “I don’t believe that imp ate Anna…so where are they now?”

  Chapter 36

  Two ragged shapes huddled together for warmth under an overhanging rock. It had rained during the night but the morning promised to be a sunny. Wet vegetation glistened in the early light as Anna stood and stretched the kinks out of her back. She looked at her companion who was still sound asleep beneath her soiled blanket.

  Her eyes searched the undergrowth and every bush she could see—looking for anything to fill her stomach. Strangely-shaped fruit hung from a few trees but was it edible? Nearby a small bush was covered in tiny red berries which looked more inviting.

  The princess stirred under the blanket. “Bac
on and eggs, please.”

  Anna smiled. “Only if we can catch a wild boar and find quail eggs.”

  Maria sat up and looked around. “So it’s not a dream. We are still lost.”

  “Yes, we’re lost. But we’re alive. Where there is life, there is hope…”

  “Hope? We’ll die amongst these stupid trees!” Maria looked miserable. “And no one will find our bodies…”

  “You’re a princess…I bet there are hundreds of your loyal subjects looking for you right now. We will be found.”

  “I pray that you are right. If we ever get out of here, I will make Lord Tollis and his lackey Wolfgang pay! He will hang for this.”

  “Come on,” said Anna, helping Maria to her feet. “Let’s find something to eat.”

  Against their better judgment, the two young women relieved their hunger by eating a handful of berries. After which they filled up with clear water from a stream that wound its way through the rocky land they now travelled. Anna guessed they were somewhere east of the road so they decided to walk west, travelling with the sun on their backs. They walked in silence, both deep in her own thoughts.

  Anna thought about her stepparents, Mayor Ernst Bohmer and his wife, Joanna, and wondered if they knew what had happened. No, she decided, as far as they knew she was still in Parma. The thought of Finn coming to Parma filled her with hope. People would tell him that she was a guest of Princess Maria and that they were headed for the capital. He would find her as no doubt the princess would be the talk of every settlement they passed on their way south. Find me soon, Finn...

  It had been a close call with Darius and the hell dogs. I should have kept those dogs close.

  Between the imp, Mordan and the master, Anna had met some pretty scary individuals—powerful people that she hoped never to meet again. So far, being a descendant of the First Born had been a curse. Who would want to be hunted for their blood? No matter what happened in this forest, her future looked hazardous. Her blood was a commodity for every evil being to try and take. It’s strange but Mordan, an alp, hadn’t tried to drink her blood…maybe he’s not so bad. No, he was evil just like the rest but at least he was helping her tap into her magical potential—for his own purposes, granted, but one day that knowledge would make her stronger.