by Joe Jackson
A flash of yellow caught Kari’s eye as she scanned the marketplace, and she saw the slit-pupiled golden eyes of a syrinthian through the throng. It was the one thing she was absolutely dreading seeing here in the town, and she tried to peer through or around the crowd to gauge if the syrinthian was looking her way. She almost growled in agitation: the people kept walking into her line of sight, and the syrinthian – if they were even watching Kari – was wisely standing on the far side of the road, using the cover as best they could. And then Kari’s eyes went wide and her ears angled back when she got her first good glimpse of the snake-person.
It was Turillia again.
Only sheer willpower kept Kari’s hands from the hilts of her swords, but she straightened out and tried to get a better view of the half-syrinthian, half-succubus assassin. The eyes, the hair, the wings, even the armor were an exact match of the woman Kari had killed just a couple of months before in Barcon. How the half-demon woman was still alive – even her mother thought she was dead, it seemed – or had tracked Kari to this place, she wasn’t sure. What she was sure of, however, was that Turillia’s presence meant nothing good, and whether they stayed in town or took back to the woods, she and her companions were in great danger.
“What alarms you?” Shefter asked.
Kari turned her head only briefly, but that was all it took for the assassin to disappear, even among the somewhat meager gathering of people in the marketplace. Kari started to reply, but then she cast a glance over her shoulder at the elestram merchant. She wasn’t sure he could understand her language, but she didn’t want to take the chance and say something that might be repeated in the market square. Ultimately, she shook her head and gestured to the inn. With a nod, Shefter finished up their purchases and walked with Kari toward the building.
The inside was dim and quiet, only a few beshathans seated here and there throughout the tiny common room. Kari looked from face to face, but the people here were all elestram. Sonja appeared at the top of a rickety wooden staircase and gestured for Kari and Shefter to come up. If Turillia had come into the inn, she’d done so quietly and found a spot to hide. Kari gestured for Shefter to go up the stairs first, and she followed behind with her hands low near the hilts of her swords. She wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of fighting a half-demon in an inn in the underworld, but she reminded herself that she had beaten Turillia once, and would do so again if the situation demanded it, their location be damned.
Sonja led them to a large room on the upper floor with a bathtub in it. Danilynn was in the tub naked, and Shefter balked when he saw the priestess splashing around in the water. The elf immediately took a seat facing away from the bathtub, next to Se’sasha, who was doing the same. Kari closed and latched the door behind her. She immediately went to the large, wide windows on the far side of the room. They didn’t open, but that didn’t ease Kari’s spirits at all: they could always be smashed. If they opened, they would likely at least have shutters. Kari stood at the window and tried to get a glimpse of the market square and any sign of Turillia, but it was no use from here.
“Everything all right?” Sonja asked.
“Yes, something alarmed you when we were in the marketplace; what was it, my friend?” Shefter added.
“I saw Turillia again, down in the marketplace,” Kari said.
“But didn’t her mother come after you because she thought Turillia was dead?” Danilynn asked. She hung her arms over the edge of the tub and stretched her back in the steamy water, but she kept her curious blue-eyed gaze upon Kari.
“Yes, but…I don’t know how she’s still alive, but unless she has a twin, it’s her. Right down to the eyes, the hair, the armor, the swords…I swear, it’s her,” Kari said, looking back down toward the market again. “She looked right at me across the marketplace, and when I looked away for a second, she was gone.”
“You were looking at her across a street full of people, in the waning afternoon, with no clear line of sight,” Shefter said. “It is possible you simply saw a syrinthian; they are not all that uncommon this close to the border. Perhaps you are looking for trouble where it does not exist. We will remain vigilant, but come, take off your clothes and get in the tub with your friend. A hot bath will likely help relieve some of the stress you are under.”
Kari chuckled that he was telling her to get naked and in the tub when he wouldn’t even look in their direction, but she couldn’t argue with the last of his words. She stripped down quickly and piled her armor and padded clothes near the wardrobe. Her undergarments came off last and were added to the pile, and she resolved to wash everything once her companions were bathed. Kari climbed into the tub with Danilynn and found there was plenty of room for both of them: the tub was large enough for erestram to use if necessary. Sonja took a brush and began washing Kari’s wings from outside the tub, and Kari in turn washed Danilynn’s back and hair.
“You know, we have to do this some time when we’re not in mortal danger,” Sonja said, the first trace of humor Kari had heard from her since Uldriana’s death.
Kari started laughing, as did Danilynn. It did seem weird to the demonhunter to be sharing a bath with her sister-in-law and a female friend in the underworld. Kari looked to see what Shefter thought of the situation, but he still kept his back turned to them, busying himself with taking in the pictures on the wall and the pattern of the wooden planks. Kari tried not to waste too much time having fun in the tub with others waiting. Once she’d done a good enough job lathering Danilynn’s hair with soap and giving the fures-rir woman’s back a good scrubbing, Kari set to washing herself. She got cleaned up in a few minutes’ time, and lathered up her own hair and let it settle on her scalp. With her hair soaped up, Kari rose and sat on the edge to make room for Sonja, who wasted little time getting in the steamy tub.
Sonja began washing with help from her two companions. Kari washed her sister-in-law’s wings and back in return, and their priestess friend washed Sonja’s long red hair. Once Sonja’s back and wings were done, Kari plunged her own head underwater and rinsed the soap from her hair. She stepped from the tub and Shefter handed her a towel without looking, and Kari began to dry herself off. She smelled good again, and could hardly wait to wash her undergarments and padded clothes so she’d stay that way for a little while, at least.
Kari sat on the edge of the bed to let the air finish drying her off. Danilynn soon joined her, and then Sonja not long after that. Shefter, unsurprisingly, declined the offer to take a bath in front of a room full of women. Se’sasha seemed hesitant, but at last she took off her robe and stepped into the tub. Kari was surprised to get her first glimpse of a nude syrinthian, and based on Se’sasha’s hesitation, Kari assumed nudity was taboo among the snake-folk, as it was among the humans. She tried not to stare too long, but her curiosity did get the better of her at first, as she took in the sight of the reptilian girl’s nippled breasts and pubic hair. It seemed the syrinthians were a lot closer in form to humans than Kari had thought, despite their serpentine nature. It was a pleasant surprise, all things considered.
When Se’sasha emerged and wrapped herself in a long, thick towel, Kari and her friends did their best to give her some privacy. The girl’s body looked horrible, and it was clear she had been fed just enough to keep her alive. That brought something to mind, and Kari turned and asked Danilynn, “How did Sekassus expect her to have a baby when she looks like she’s barely eaten enough to stay alive?”
“Couldn’t tell you,” Danilynn answered with a shrug. “Remember that everything we think we know about King Sekassus’ plans was gained secondhand.”
“Good point,” Kari agreed.
Kari spent a little while cleaning her clothes and her armor, and her companions did the same. They shared a chicken and garlic stew from the common room once they were all washed and dressed, and found the food savory and quite thick. The stay at the inn proved a welcome and much-needed break from the rigors of the road, and the women enjoyed it as much as they could witho
ut letting their guard down. Sonja and Danilynn retired to their room before the night got too old, Shefter went to his, and Se’sasha and Kari went to theirs in turn.
Se’sasha stared at Kari for a long while before they drifted off to sleep, and once again Kari wished she could speak with the syrinthian girl. All in due time, she reminded herself. For the time being, she was simply happy that the girl was willing to trust them, and hadn’t either run off or tried to get them captured or killed. Kari was growing more and more confident that the girl would talk to them when they got her safely to Citaria. For the most part, it seemed a simple matter of having the right person speak to her in her own language.
Kari had a nightmare of Turillia staring at her through the windows of her room, but she rose and checked through the shutters, and found only a lifeless, moonlit town down below. In the morning, the group left town without any trouble or sightings of Turillia, stopping only to get Se’sasha a more proper travel garment while they could. Their travels continued uninterrupted for a couple more days. And then, Shefter informed them, before they had even left the confines of the pine forest, that they had successfully crossed the border into Tess’Vorg.
Home was that much closer, and Kari nearly felt like kissing the ground.
Chapter XVIII – Full Circle
Tess’Vorg offered no more trouble for the companions on the way back than it had when they crossed it the first time. They declined to go to Rulaj again and risk being delayed, either by King Emanitar or by Turillia, or whoever it was. Their nights were long and restful, devoid of the relentless pursuit that had dogged them for nearly two weeks. Shefter kept their pace steady and straight, and they reached the border of Pataria and crossed it after less than a week. Moskarre was close to the border between Pataria and the Overking’s realm near a stream, so it was pretty easy for Kari to find again.
The companions ascended the hill, Kari as steadily as she could, given she was getting more and more sore every day. When they reached the top of the hill, she drew the attention of some of the mallasti people down below rather than just walking into their village uninvited. There was alarm at first, but when the mallasti saw that it was three rir women again, a couple of the warrior-guards came and escorted them into the village. Shefter and Se’sasha were given a fairly thorough once-over by the mallasti guards, but Shefter gave them assurances in the infernal tongue, and though they didn’t appreciate the language, they nodded to his words.
The mood in the village was somber, and Kari didn’t have any trouble understanding why: they clearly knew they would never see Uldriana again, and had probably hoped they’d never see Kari again, either. Despite the attempt of the guards to lead her and her friends to the elder’s tent, Kari instead made her way to the one belonging to Uldriana’s family. With the commotion spreading throughout the camp, it wasn’t long before some of Uldriana’s family came out to see what the fuss was about, and the girl’s mother balked when she beheld Kari.
Kari took the urn from Sonja and held it out to the mallasti woman, who took it after some hesitation. She opened it and looked within, then quickly closed it and handed it off to her mate while she put her clawed hand to her chest. After a few moments, she looked back up at Kari with fury in her eyes, but before she could spit on Kari again, the demonhunter reacted faster and slapped the mallasti woman hard across the snout. Kari held her ground as growls sounded all around her and Uldriana’s father got between his mate and the demonhunter.
“Kari, what are you doing?” Sonja asked incredulously.
“Tell her I’d like to kick her ass for letting us lead her daughter to her death,” Kari growled.
Sonja balked, but Danilynn stepped between Kari and the mallasti family, thinking to herself for a few moments before she began to speak. Kari was pretty sure the priestess wasn’t going to translate exactly what she said, but at her words, the mallasti’s expressions turned from anger and hostility to confusion, and they spoke rapidly back and forth with the fures-rir woman. Danilynn continued speaking with them, and she pointed at Kari a couple of times, then Sonja, and then to Se’sasha. Kari wasn’t sure exactly what Danilynn was saying, but based on the tears in Sonja’s eyes and the shock on the faces of the mallasti, Kari guessed the priestess was saying the right things.
Kari’s heart was pounding, and a light blue glow began to emanate from her chest. The mallasti backed away from her a couple of steps as Zalkar’s symbol appeared through Kari’s breastplate; they apparently knew what it was and what it meant. Kari had no idea what was making the symbol appear, but she touched her hand to it and sighed. “Love justice, but do mercy,” she said. “That’s what I live by. There’s no justice or mercy in leading a young girl to her death, not for any reason. If you’d told me that it was your daughter that was the price being paid, I would’ve told King Morduri to forget it, and found another way. Uldriana’s death is not my fault, but you’ve made me a party to it, and now I have to live with that.”
Danilynn’s mouth tightened into a line, but she started speaking rapidly in infernal after the briefest hesitation. Kari’s words seemed to confuse and surprise the mallasti even more, and they offered no words in return. “Tell her I’m sorry,” Kari said, her emotions finally getting the best of her and spilling down her cheeks. She had to make an effort not to double over as her stomach wrenched itself into a knot. “I never wanted this…I never would’ve let Uldriana come if I thought she was going to die. I’m a mother, too, and I’d never ask anyone to make that sacrifice.”
Kari waited while Danilynn translated, but she turned her head as she saw that the elder of the village was standing just a few paces away. He nodded respectfully, she assumed to her words, and Kari returned the gesture. Sonja turned away in tears, and Shefter put his hand to the larger woman’s shoulder. Se’sasha stood by, anxiously watching the proceedings. Kari wanted to be sure the mallasti knew she was sincere in what she said, and she turned back to Uldriana’s mother and saw the woman had hung her head, crying. Her mate comforted her as best he could.
“You returned to fulfill your promise?” the elder asked, and Kari nodded solemnly. The elder said something to Uldriana’s mother, and the hyena woman’s eyes opened and fixed, wide with surprise, on the demonhunter. Kari stepped forward and touched the side of the woman’s face tenderly. There was a connection when their eyes met, mother to mother, and to the surprise of every person standing there – Kari not the least of them – the two embraced.
Kari held Uldriana’s mother tightly, extending with the courtesy the heartfelt condolences she’d expressed to every mate, parent, sibling, and child of every demonhunter who’d ever been killed in the line of duty. Kari understood she walked a dangerous road surrounded by death, and that she would be losing friends and acquaintances for as long as she did so, but now she also understood that comforting the survivors was a sacred duty that came with it. Uldriana and her people may have been her enemies – although that was something Kari was really wondering about now – but if Kari ever wanted to bring them over to the cause of the pantheons, then even a small gesture like this would help.
The mallasti woman drew away at last and spoke quietly and respectfully to Kari, though still in her own language. The village elder nodded to the woman’s words and then translated, “She thanks you for honoring your promise and her daughter’s remains. She only hopes that the sacrifice was worth it to our king.”
Kari turned and looked into Se’sasha’s eyes. “That’s going to depend on you,” she said, though neither the mallasti nor the syrinthian girl understood. Kari turned back to the elder then, and added, “Your king demanded a service from me, and he said it’ll be something that benefits you, not just him. I’m going to hold him to that, and I promise you, when he tells me how I can repay you for this, I’ll do so – willingly, and gladly.”
The village elder bowed his head, but said nothing. The demonhunter said, “Farewell to you and your people. We won’t impose on you by staying here; yo
u’re going to need time to heal, and we need to get home before anyone else comes looking for us. I know this was an awful sacrifice for your people to make, and that you only did it because the king ordered you to, but thank you all the same.”
The elder nodded solemnly. “We must put our trust that the king did this for a good reason, whether we can see that now or not,” he said. “You have acted with honor and integrity, and we are appreciative of that, despite our inability to show it at this time. Go quickly now, hunter, and return to the safety of your own home, before any misfortune befalls you as well.”
Kari started to lead her friends toward Anthraxis, but Sonja approached Uldriana’s mother. Kari expected her sister-in-law to hug the girl’s mother as well, but instead, Sonja made a casual gesture and an image appeared, shimmering in the air. It was a perfect likeness of Uldriana, her white coat shining under the sun. She smiled, and her parents held tight to each other as they shared one last ethereal moment with their daughter. Sonja sniffled and walked away without a word.
Kari hugged her sister-in-law, and despite the slight satisfaction they had gotten from bringing Uldriana home, the companions walked toward Anthraxis in silence. They passed through the Overking’s lands easily over the course of a day and a half. Finally they approached the wall that ringed the city, stymieing any attempts by its residents to expand and reclaim the burned-out land around it. Kari glanced at Se’sasha now and then, but the syrinthian priestess didn’t seem to have any trepidation where entering the city was concerned. She didn’t look eager to enter its confines, but at the same time, she didn’t act as though she was afraid of what might happen within its walls. Kari wondered if that was confidence or ignorance: the girl had grown up in a dungeon for most of her life, after all. It was possible she didn’t know better.
“So I had meant to ask, the name Anthraxis…is it the obvious reference it seems to be?” Kari asked, breaking the silence among the companions. “I mean, is it named after anthrax?”
