by PJ McDermott
“Albetius fears you will take his crown.”
“Nonsense. I have no ambitions in that direction. Who would give him that idea?” Sequana frowned.
“Forclav is an ambitious naur.”
Sequana’s eyes bored into Thurle. He did not release his stare until Thurle looked down. “Perhaps. We will find out later today,” he said. “Leave me now. I have much to think on. Bring Forclav back with you this afternoon.” He signaled to the four nauris waiting by the door. “I wish to be alone for an hour. Wait outside and let no one enter.”
When the guards had gone, he walked to the table and poured two glasses of wine. “You will drink with me, old friend? I have glimpsed you from the corners of my eyes, watching.”
Barbish-sèr-Barbisha came into full view. He was dressed in a long cream robe, and his hands were joined, but his form did not seem quite substantial. “I do not drink, Sequana. Have you forgotten?”
Sequana sighed. “Still the same boring Barbish. What do you come here for? I buried you many years ago. Have you come to gloat now that I am defeated?”
“You are well aware I am but a figment of your imagination, here only because you wish it.”
“Wish it?” Sequana took a drink and considered the specter’s statement. It was true he had been thinking of the cleric in recent days. But why would he wish to raise this ghost from his past?
Barbish spoke. “The Sword has brought me here to serve you.”
Sequana smiled. “Yes, I know.” The Sword had conjured up Barbish for a reason. Other than himself, the cleric had been the most educated naur in Avanaux when he was alive. “So, you would counsel me?”
“If that is your wish.” The specter bowed.
The nightly atmospheric display was well overhead by the time Crodal came into view. The town was perched on a hill, surrounded by a wooden palisade. Smoke billowed from behind the wall. From her position, crouched in a gully, Hickory saw small figures poke their heads between the stakes. A motley assortment of armed natives milled around outside, hurling insults as well as ordinance from a flame-throwing ballista that stood outside the range of the defensive efforts.
“So that’s what an Erlachi looks like,” said Gareth. “An ugly sort.”
“No. These guys are a distant cousin of the Erlachi,” whispered Jess. “Much smaller and squatter. Their skin is similar, made up of small bumpy scales that act as insulators, but unlike the Erlachi, they have parietal eyes. Very unusual for these folks to be this far south. They’re more at home amongst the highest peaks where the temperature rarely gets above freezing. The Erlachi refer to them as Sri-Kanath, meaning little fowls.”
Hickory noticed a small ridge on the heads of the natives, running from the forehead to the base of the spine. These Sri-Kanath looked more primitive than the Avanauri she was used to. They had more notable facial features, too—sunken eyes and prominent cheekbones.
Jess continued. “The vids on the ship had limited information on these guys, but they are a wild, superstitious race, barbarians by nature. I’m surprised to see them using a ballista.”
Most of the attackers cavorted around the catapult, becoming excited every time it was ratcheted back into position. They chanted a mantra as it was being wound up, and yelled triumphantly when its load was released.
“They’re almost like kids, except for those two giving the orders,” said Jakah.
Hickory took out her spyglass and trained it on the catapult. The two bigger humanoids were clearly in charge, shouting instructions and coaxing the Sri-Kanath to greater efforts. The color drained from her face, and she felt her pulse suddenly race. “Bloody hell. Bikashi!” she swore, then turned her back to the sight and leaned against the ravine wall.
“What are they doing here?” Gareth slumped down beside her, the memories of his run-in with the Bikashi commander, Vogel, suddenly raw.
“There’s only the two of them. They look in a pretty sad way,” said Jess, scanning the area with her eyeglass.
Bikashi soldiers were native to the non-aligned planets. They had been involved with Sequana and his revolutionaries in the recent attempt to overthrow the Avanauri government. They were elite mercenaries who prided themselves on their professionalism and superior fighting skills and they had always scoffed at the naurs alongside whom they fought. These two had clearly seen better times. Their body armor, which was usually polished until it gleamed, was dull and disheveled and their leggings and boots were ragged. The only parts of their get-up still in good condition were their helmets and gloves, which hid their saurian features.
“Left behind after the revolution,” said Gareth.
Hickory had seen a few Bikashi riding away from the battle with Sequana when he had headed into exile in Erlach. The Agency had pursued them, but it was apparent some had escaped the net. Now these two were leading a gang of bandits. How the mighty have fallen.
Jakah looked anxiously at Saurab. The little man’s breathing was coming in fits and starts. “We need to get Saurab into that village. Others must have succumbed to the paramour plants. They will have a treatment for his condition.”
“Any ideas how we get in?” asked Hickory.
“If we kill the Bikashi, the others will run,” said Jakah.
“I’m not all that big on killing,” said Jess. “Unless we have to.”
“And those guys won’t be so easy, even though they’ve been through hard times,” said Gareth.
Hickory’s brow furrowed with concentration. “With a bit of luck, we could sneak up on the offenders by making our way along the crevasses and keeping our heads down. But what then? You mentioned they’re superstitious,” she said, turning to Jess. “What are they afraid of?”
Jess grinned. “They have a legend of a child-eating bird with huge fangs and sharp claws that attacks their campsites by night and carries off their young. Even being scratched by the Riv-Amok leads to agonizing death within a week.”
Hickory’s eyebrows rose. “Charakai perhaps?”
“That’s a likely origin of the legend.”
Jakah raised his eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”
Gareth explained how Hickory had used her empathic abilities to summon the reptile-birds during the battle for Ezekan.
Hickory pursed her lips and shook her head slowly. “I’m not sure I can still do it. I don’t even know if the Charakai are close enough to hear me, and even if they are, will they still obey my commands?”
“It’s either that or we go with Jakah’s plan,” said Gareth.
Jess nodded.
“Okay. The nearer I am to the target, the better the control I should have. The four of you stay here. The light show’s just about finished, so the timing is ideal.”
The glimmering aurora faded away and the only light left was from the pale moons overhead and the red glow of burning property from the village. Hickory adjusted her sword, placed two long-bladed knives into her belt, and nodded grimly at her compatriots. “Wish me luck.” She stepped down a crevasse, heading in the general direction of the ballista, but she had walked no more than a few minutes when she came to a dead end. “Damn!”
“We’ll need to find another way,” said Gareth behind her.
Hickory jumped. “What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay behind.”
“We agreed one of us should accompany you just in case you ran into trouble. I won the toss.” Gareth grinned at her.
Hickory doubted whether there had been any discussion or any coin toss either. Gareth would make up his own mind, as always, and he would do as he thought best.
“Jess was a little upset, but someone had to stay with Jakah in case Saurab came round.”
“You mean Jess has more sense.” She glared at him, then shook her head in resignation. “I suppose you’re here now. These ravines are like a maze leading up to the village. We could run around for days and not get any nearer. I’m going to go over the top and crawl till I get close enough.” She didn’t wait f
or his assent but gripped the edge of the wall face with her hands and quickly scaled the few extra feet to the top. She lay on her stomach and swiveled towards the edge. “Give me your hand.”
She hauled Gareth over the top. They lay still for a few seconds to get their bearings in the moonlight, then Hickory led and Gareth followed. Half crawling and half stooping, they moved in quick bursts and slithered in and out of gullies until Hickory was satisfied that she was in a position to control the Charakai when they arrived. The last thing she wanted was for them to attack the villagers in their frenzy.
“What now?” Gareth, leaned against the ravine wall, breathing heavily.
“Now, you wait. It’s time for me to get a headache. I have to try and gather enough energy to project my thoughts to the Charakai, wherever they are.”
She sat in the lotus position and took a deep breath, then brought to mind the mantra she had learned as a child. I am calm and peaceful like the boundless ocean. I am open-hearted and free as the wind. Hickory searched within her mind until she located the empathic receptors that had been placed there when she was sixteen. She could still sense the power within. As she concentrated, electrical impulses began to swirl around, speeding into her SIM and back to the nerve centers of her brain, faster and faster.
Her head buzzed, and she felt sick, but she delved deeper and the electrical energy crackled in her nostrils and behind her eyes. White bursts of energy increased in intensity until she felt as though her head would explode. She reached out and felt contact.
But it wasn’t the Charakai. Whatever mind she had touched, it wasn’t the small, easily manipulated thoughts of the Charakai.
What are you? The voice grated loud and commanding in her head. She shrank from the menace of it.
Gareth was alarmed at the horror revealed in her eyes. “Hickory, are you alright. What’s happened?”
She heard Gareth as though at a distance but she was unable to speak. She fought to free herself from the grip of a consciousness that was self-aware and held immense power.
Answer me! What manner of being are you? The presence probed her mind, threatening to uproot her sanity. It slipped between her thoughts, ripping apart the barriers she was erecting one after the other, and entered the recesses of her psyche.
I would know you and your purpose. You are not of the Erlach.
She felt the presence tremble with excitement as it discovered her relationship with the Charakai.
Ah, you are a master of the primitive ones. They obey your command. Stay where you are. Do not move. I come.
Hickory felt the contact snap like an overextended elastic band. She reeled onto her side, curled into a ball and held her head in her hands. She heard Gareth’s concern and partly unwound. “My bag,” she croaked. “Analgesics—please.”
Gareth tore open her bag and searched for the only medication they had been allowed to bring with them on their mission.
She gulped down the tablets and swallowed some water from her flask. Her pulse raced and her mind was in turmoil, but she knew they couldn’t stay in this spot. She held on to Gareth’s arm and struggled to her feet. “We have to get away from here,” she mumbled, then spoke more forcefully, “we have to go, now. Before it comes. Run!” She began to stagger back along the canyon.
Gareth’s face reflected Hickory’s terror “Okay, okay. We’re going.” He supported her until the strength returned to her legs. “What happened, can you tell me?”
“I don’t know. I was searching for the Charakai when I suddenly came up against a mental roadblock. I can’t describe it any better than that. It stopped me cold, and I felt as though something powerful was trying to bend my will to it. It was malevolent…but what it was I don’t know…and it’s coming for me.” Hickory shivered.
When they reached the others and explained the danger, Jess was mortified. “I should have come. I shouldn’t have let you go with only Gareth to protect you.”
“Jess, there’s no point in blaming yourself. You could have done nothing to prevent it. We need to prepare ourselves for this creature’s arrival. It will be here soon. I got the impression it isn’t far away now. The first thing we need to do is disconnect our SIMs. It might not matter for you and Gareth, but I’m pretty sure that’s how it got into my mind after it ‘heard’ me. Saurab will be safe, in the unconscious state he’s in. I don’t know what this thing is capable of, but you don’t want to be under its control.”
Barely half an hour later, they were startled by a screech in the distance and they sought cover in a ravine. Hickory covered her ears and forced her mind to concentrate only on her childhood mantra, I am calm and peaceful…She could feel the creature searching for her. It was angry and it radiated hate. I am open-hearted and free…The cry came again, nearer this time.
A black form blotted out the moon. It was an enormous creature, winged like a bat with a long neck at one end and a tail stretched out behind. It whirled about and swooped over the village, its massive head swaying from side to side. It screamed, and the sound was like crackling lightning and rolling thunder. The beast made a long sweeping turn, searching the countryside for its quarry.
“God protect us,” said Jess.
Hickory took a cloak from her pack and wrapped it around herself. “Everyone get under your cloaks.”
Gareth’s face was pale, but his voice was resolute. “Shouldn’t we prepare to fight?”
“We’ve no chance against that creature,” said Jakah, hurriedly covering Saurab. “Camouflage is our only chance.”
Buried in their cloaks, they lay motionless on the floor of the ravine. Jess held Hickory in her arms.
Traitor! I see you. I will rend and tear you.
Hickory did everything she could to block out the probing thoughts that sought to frighten her into revealing her hiding place. It was a supreme effort of will for her to remain still. The creature flew overhead and then banked and flew back to the village.
The Sri-Kanath had scattered and were running wildly in all directions. The beast screeched with rage and soared to the ground, snatching two in its gigantic claws and scooping up another with its teeth.
Hickory heard the derisive snort of the animal, Better you than none. It landed on the ground less than a hundred yards from the Bikashi, who stood their ground with drawn swords. The beast flipped the screaming Sri-Kanath into the air and swallowed it whole in one massive gulp. It tore the other two victims apart with its claws and held the remains on the ground, then picked at them with its huge beak.
Dribbling blood, it fixed its eyes on the Bikashi and cocked its head, seeming to recognize them as different from the puny people it was used to preying on. It moved swiftly across the ground towards the soldiers, who stood unmoving with swords pointed towards the threat. The creature halted six feet away and sniffed at them, then attacked. The Bikashi stood their ground bravely. The first strokes of their swords glanced off the beast’s tough hide, barely grazing it. They changed tactics and tried to skewer the beast’s chest.
The creature roared in pain as its skin was pierced, then lashed out with its tail. Both soldiers were sent tumbling head over heels and, before they could recover, the animal was upon them, raking them with its claws. The two soldiers were saved from being ripped apart only by the remnants of their body armor. They struggled to free themselves, swinging their blades ineffectually at the beast. The monster spread its wings and hurled itself at them. It seized one in each giant claw and then launched into the air.
Hickory watched the creature rise high above the battlefield then release the Bikashi, tumbling to the ground. It swooped down and landed beside the dead soldiers, swallowed them both, then licked its wounds with its long sinuous tongue. Seemingly sated, the creature heaved its bulk into the air and whirled around the area in ever-increasing circles, then flew out of sight.
Hickory could hear it as it disappeared into the distance.
I have not forgotten you, stranger. You cannot hide forever. I will f
ind you eventually, do not doubt it!
Crodal
“He has fled?” Sequana’s eyes flitted around the throne room as though he would find Albetius peeping from behind a chair.
Thurle recoiled from his anger. “So says Forclav.”
“Where is that lying sop? Why isn’t he here to answer to me? Bring him to me now!”
“I placed him under arrest. He is presently being acquainted with the rack. But he claims to know nothing more. Albetius fled the city in fear some days ago. Forclav knows not where.”
“Let him rot there, then.” Sequana almost spat in his rage. “I will not waste my sword on him.” But why would Albetius flee? Did the scoundrel give a reason?”
“The king is afraid you will take his crown. What other reason could there be? The naur is a coward. He has flown the kingdom rather than face you. But that should not dissuade you, my lord. Take the crown!”
The Pharlaxian wore a pinched expression. “I have no wish to become king.”
“It will be best for the Erlachi people if you did.”
“I care naught for the people.” Sequana inclined his head suddenly as though listening to someone else speak. “What?”
“It will be best for the cause.” Thurle persisted.
Sequana mumbled to himself, then laughed.
“My lord?” Thurle swallowed and glanced around.
Sequana seemed to remember he was there. He looked at Thurle from the corner of his eye, wearing a sly smile. “Perhaps you are right.” He pursed his lips and nodded.
Thurle looked at his master in alarm. “My lord, is something wrong?”
Sequana laughed. “No. Everything is right. I see what we must do.” He grasped Thurle by the shoulders. “Turncoat, you know of the Riv-Amok?”
Thurle nodded. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.
“He is a danger to Erlach. It would please me were you to kill him.”
Thurle swallowed. “Shall I send for the nobles, my lord? They would seem best suited to such a task.”
