Voidhawk: The Elder Race

by Jason Halstead

  Dexter turned away from it and looked at the others. He opened his mouth to see if they could come up with something quickly, but Rosh beat him to it. “I’ll fight,” he said, stepping forward.

  “Such a waste,” Tasha said, eyeing him with a look in her eye that indicated she had a place for him in her bed as well as in her company. “Never have I seen a white skinned man so powerful.”

  “Don’t worry,” Rosh said with a mocking grin, “you’ll see plenty of me.”

  “Rosh! What are you doing?” He demanded. As soon as he let slip the man’s name he realized he’d just complicated their lives considerably.

  Tasha laughed. “To take our Lord’s name in vain you’ve earned a death mark twice over now!”

  “He ain’t taking my name in vain, Goldentits,” Rosh taunted her.

  Her nostrils flared and her eyes widened at the insult. Then what he said hit her in full force. She stared at him, suspicious at first and then, with every passing moment, more and more passive looking. The crowd around them was murmuring in their own disbelief. Arguments broke out and even one scuffle that was quickly put down.

  “If you are an imposter, you are thrice damned for your sacrilege and the High God Rosh, ruler of the heavens, will demand your tribute in blood,” she stated, her tone more officious and less personal. “If what you say is true, then this is the teachings you have left us with, and as you would have it done.”

  Rosh spit to clear the dust from his mouth. “You got that last part right, at least,” he growled. “Get that messed up cat in here, I’m hungry.”

  “He’s not really going to eat that thing, is he?” Xander asked from where he stood next to Dexter.

  Dexter turned to glance at him. “Where in the void you been?” He demanded.

  “I went after the thief,” Xander protested. “Caught him too, but not quick enough.”

  Dexter frowned, but then turned as the crowd got louder. The Golden Lady had dismounted and guided her wersal into the makeshift arena. She whispered into its ear then stepped away to stand at the edge of the crowd.

  “This’ll only take a minute,” Rosh said, glancing at Dexter, Jenna, Keshira, and Xander.

  “All the same, we’ll give you some room,” Dexter said, motioning the others to back away with him.”

  “That thing weighs at least three times what he does!”

  “Don’t tell Rosh that,” Jenna muttered, shaking her head at what he was attempting.

  “Maybe you should,” Dexter countered, “it might make him mad.”

  Tasha spoke a command and the wersal pounced, driving itself off the ground with four of its legs and clearing over a dozen feet in mid air. The front two paws reached out for Rosh, claws nearly gleaming. Rosh backpedaled in time to stay out of its way, but that made it roar angrily. It rose up on its hind legs and reached again.

  Rosh reversed course and drove himself into it. He ducked inside the slashing claws and drove his shoulder into the chest of the beast, stopping it short. The middle claws batted at him, catching his shirt and breeches and tearing into them and the flesh beneath. Rosh growled and used his own arms he had wrapped around it to shake it back and forth.

  The mass of the wersal was more than Rosh had estimated, his attempt to shake it did little. He stood his ground, his thighs acting like tree trunks against the onslaught of the beast. He squeezed, compressing the massive creature’s ribcage even though he could not lock his arms around it. The wersal’s mouth snapped at him, trying to bite his head, but Rosh had buried himself in its grasp so that it couldn’t get the angle on him.

  They stood that way for a long minute, shocking the crowd into silence from the frenzied yelling and cheering they had begun. Finding themselves at a stalemate, both combatants sought an advantage. The wersal tried to toppled Rosh to the side, where it could roll him over and gain an advantage. Rosh pushed back, trying to bury his own mouth into the thick fur so he could bite at the deadly mount’s throat. He tore out a chunk of fur, which caused the wersal to roar angrily, then used the beast’s distraction to throw it off to the side.

  “Did he…” Xander trailed off, shock evident in his voice.

  Before the wizard could finish his question the two were back at it. The wersal turned and pounced even as Rosh was leaping upon it. It wrapped its legs around Rosh and they crashed to the ground with the warrior beneath the beast. Their momentum caused them to roll; however, and that allowed Rosh his chance to break free. He slipped around on the wersal and climbed onto the saddle on its back, though he faced the beast’s tail rather than its head. Rosh grabbed a handful of fur with one hand and raised his fist high. The wersal scrambled to get its feet under it and prepared to leap again when Rosh’s fist descended onto its back.

  The resounding crack was audible throughout the crowd. A bone had snapped in the wersal’s body. Its rear feet went slack, dropping it onto its haunches and then rolling onto its side. The middle and front legs arrested the roll, but it could do nothing more than drag its lifeless hindquarters behind it.

  Rosh spun about in the saddle to face its head. It tried to twist around to snap at him but it still couldn’t reach him. It tried to roll but without control of its hind legs the beast was anchored to the ground. Rosh stared at it and pulled out his pistol. It hissed and snapped at him, four inch canines closing on empty air angrily. The thundering boom of Rosh’s pistol caused it to jerk and then collapse beneath him.

  Rosh stood up and twisted his back in a stretch, then he walked to the head of the wersal’s corpse. He pulled open the fearsome mouth and wrapped his hand around one of the tusk-like teeth. With a grunt, he tore it free and held it up, then nodded. “Keeping this,” he said to himself, then tucked it into a pouch.

  The crowd was stunned into silence, even Dexter and his crew. Rosh turned to Tasha. “That’s what I do,” he spat at her. “I fight, and I win. Ain’t nobody better at it, not anymore.”

  At first only a couple of people fell to a knee, but within seconds it spread like wildfire. Soon everybody save Dexter, Jenna, Xander, and Keshira was kneeling before Rosh. Even Tasha knelt and stared up at him with amazement in her eyes.

  “Get up!” Rosh bellowed. “You’re fools, all of you!”

  Dexter hurried out to Rosh and clapped him on the back to distract him from his intended speech. “Good fight,” Dexter offered.

  “Yeah, it was,” Rosh said, turning to admire the dead wersal.

  “Let these people think what they want, we just need to get out of here. What harm is there in that?” Dexter advised quietly while the people of Krestin looked about and tried to figure out what they should do.

  Rosh scowled. “We ain’t no stinking Gods,” he hissed back, quiet but angry. “Don’t make us any better than some snake-bit priest that says he can heal the sick.”

  “Fine, we tell them that, but just their leaders and let them figure out how to spread it. You want a riot that’ll stop us from ever getting off this rock?” Jenna said when she came up.

  Xander nodded and opened his mouth to add some sagely wisdom. Dexter turned away quickly and looked at Tasha. “You the one in charge around here?” He asked her.

  She rose up and nodded, then hesitated and shook her head. “I am royalty by my blood and people do as I bid them, but this city is ruled by council. A Wyndamere, my father, sits on it.”

  “Tell them to make ready to receive us then,” Dexter told her. When she didn’t move he made a dismissing gesture with his hand, “Get to it, daylight’s a wasting!”

  She bit her lip then nodded and turned away, disappearing into the crowd on foot and heading off. Dexter turned to the others, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes, and said, “Well that’s that. Let’s head for the lake and see if we can’t find the elven fleet.”

  “Just like that?” Jenna asked, surprised. “What about these people and their council?”

  “Like Rosh says, we don’t owe them nothing.”

  Rosh looked around, caching eyes
of those who stood and stared and, without exception, making them all bow their heads reverently. He scowled and clenched his fists. “Sooner we leave these damn fool dirthuggers behind the better!” He said.

  “How do you plan on sneaking out?” Xander asked, nodding towards the surrounding throng of people that were slowly pressing closer.

  Rosh glanced at them and scowled. He drew his pistol and reloaded it quickly.

  “Don’t go shooting nobody,” Dexter said, alarmed. “Nobody done us any wrong… well, not since the last time at least.”

  “Just staying ready,” Rosh said.

  “See to it you stay ready then,” Dexter warned. Rosh gave him a smug smile.

  “You, boy, what’s your name?” Jenna asked, seeing the thief that Tasha had tried to toss in to share the fate of Xander and the rest of them.

  He squeaked at being directly addressed at first, then slowly looked up at her. “Tarin, My Lady,” he gushed.

  “Tarin, can you show us a secret way out of here, something that no one else will know about?” Jenna asked him.

  He nodded, looking terrified and horribly serious all at once.

  She smiled. “How old are you, Tarin?” She asked.

  “Fifteen,” he answered, standing proudly for the first time. He looked at the others, who stared at him without much warmth, and shrunk into his submissive stance again.

  “Take us there,” Dexter ordered, loosening his own sword in its scabbard.

  Tarin led them through the crowd, which parted before them and closed behind them. They were followed quickly, and word was spreading throughout the city about them. Tarin led them through the market portion of the town towards the smellier area belonging to tanners, smiths, and stables. People were growing bolder, reaching out to touch the crew of the Voidhawk from the sidelines. Twice Dexter had to warn Rosh not to rebuke, though he could understand the large man’s desire.

  Finally Tarin brought them to a boarding house that looked barely fit for a beggar. They entered and, it turned out, beggars and worse were the inhabitants. The smell inside made them gasp; Jenna gagged and barely fought back the bile that threatened to escape.

  “This way,” Tarin said, taking them into the back and then down a rickety flight of stairs that groaned dangerously when Rosh stepped on them.

  Dexter glanced up at him, a twinkle in his eye, but Rosh’s scowl turned him back with no more than a chuckle in his throat. In the cellar Tarin moved some moldy sacks of grain aside to reveal a tunnel that promised little in the way of comfort. Even worse was the smell that came out of it.

  “You store bodies down there?” Xander wondered, holding his hand over his mouth as though it would stop the stench. Jenna was breathing shallowly from the side and looking as green as whatever it was that was emitting the foul odor.

  “City drains,” Tarin said.

  “Drains?” Dexter asked, surprised. “They have come a long way.”

  One by one, they followed the boy into the sewer system. Rosh had to struggled to fit through the entrance. When they were done they stood in total darkness while Tarin arranged the bags behind them to cover the entrance. A few moments later they heard him scuffling in the darkness, then the sewer tunnel was lit up by an old and battered lantern the boy held in his hands.

  “This way is out,” he said, pointing ahead and leading the way.

  They walked through the filth of the sewers following the boy for what seemed like forever. Dexter kept checking on Jenna by the dim and flickering light of the lantern Tarin held and wondered if she would ever be able to breathe easily again. He offered her a smile and she only shook her head and trudged on through the muck.

  “Here,” Tarin said, pointing ahead. “It’s barred, but there’s a lock if you have a key?”

  Dexter grunted and Tarin nodded as though he expected as much. He doused his lantern and led them down the final passage. Halfway down he stopped to tuck the lantern into a hidden niche in the ceiling of the tunnel, then he led them the rest of the way to the grate.

  “Watch out,” Rosh said gruffly, moving up to the grate and staring at it. It wasn’t mere vertical bars that prevented their escape; the grate was made of crossbars as well. Rosh spared no energy on cursing, for once, and instead looked at the lock that held it shut. He glanced around, including up at the ceiling, and then reached up to brace himself against it. He drew a foot up and kicked, driving his heel into the grate and leaving the solid iron bent from the impact.

  “That’s solid iron, there’s no way…” Xander said, staring at it.

  “You got your money back, you want to place a bet?” Dexter asked him.

  Xander chose not to reply.

  Rosh kicked twice more, bending it until there was an audible snap that came from the metal. He moved closer and braced one foot against the solid portion of the grate, then grabbed the bars in both hands and heaved against it. The muscles in his neck corded and bulged. Eyes closed and lips parted, they could see his gums turn white as he strained against it. Finally there was a loud squeal as the iron yielded and swung inward a few inches.

  Rosh staggered away, breathing heavily. He reached up to rub his neck then stretched it, causing it to pop. “Let’s go,” he said in a still breathless voice.

  “Wuss,” Dexter said to Xander with a grin.

  Xander shook his head in disbelief. Rosh pulled it the rest of the way open and they filtered out through it one at a time to stand on a ledge above a dimly lit pool of water and sludge. The aroma hadn’t noticeably improved. Above them a small round grate let the fading light from the afternoon filter down.

  “Now what?” Dexter asked their guide.

  “The drains all join here, then they flow out to an underground river,” Tarin explained.

  “How’s that help us get away, boy?” Rosh growled, turning to glare at him.

  Tarin cowered for a moment, then bravely raised his head. “You wanted out of the city, this is out. There’s a tunnel along the right hand bank of the river, the waters do not flow so quick we cannot reach it.”

  Rosh stared at him then grunted. Jenna moaned softly, drawing Dexter’s worried eyes to her. “That’s not water,” she whispered, “that’s slime.”

  Dexter would not dare to argue the definition. “Is there a boat?” He asked Tarin, turning back to him.

  The boy shook his head, which only made Jenna groan again. “I can’t… Dex… it’s… it’s filth! I…”

  “You don’t have to swim; it’s shallow on the edges. There’s a ledge you can walk on,” Tarin offered.

  “See, there’s a ledge,” Dexter said, trying to mollify her.

  Her glare was the only answer he would get.

  “Show us,” Dexter said with a sigh.

  Tarin took them around the ledge to a rusted ladder set into the rock. He climbed down it first, then showed them the ledge, which was wide enough for at least two sewer rats to walk abreast on. “It’s slippery sometimes,” he warned, shrugging apologetically.

  “I hate you,” Jenna hissed at Dexter.

  The sludge was nearly up to Tarin’s chest. Jenna, being shorter than the others but still taller than Tarin, held her shirt above where the water stained her belly. Dexter came next, Xander and Keshira, then finally Rosh at his usual rear guard position. The tunnel was less than a hundred feet down the passage, as Tarin had promised, and it quickly led them upwards to dry ground.

  The light had faded in the underground river tunnel, but now it began to brighten again. The boy led them up until they came to a bush. He parted it carefully with his hands and stuck his head out. Satisfied no one was about, he slipped through it and waited while the others joined him.

  “We are away from Krestin,” he said, pointing at a road off in the distance that led to the city.

  “The lake, where is it?” Dexter asked, trying to orient himself now that they could see again. More importantly, they could breathe freely once more.

  He pointed towards the same direction th
at the path led from Krestin. Dexter frowned. “The road go there?”

  “Yes, it’s nearly a day’s walk. Large city, lots of boats. I traveled there many times with the Golden Lady,” he answered.

  “She called you something… a tornin? What’s that?” Xander asked the boy.

  He looked at Xander sulkily at first, then rose his head. “I run errands when I’m needed for the Golden Lady. When I’m not needed, I help the others in her company. The cook, most often.”

  “A cook’s monkey?” Dexter asked, chuckling. Upon seeing the hurt expression on Tarin’s face he stifled his laughter. “You’re starting out better than most of us did. You’ve done all right by us as well, Tarin, I thank you for your services.”

  Dexter turned to the others, considering the boy dismissed. “Let’s find the bottom of that lake,” he said, and started off towards it. He glanced back after a few moments and realized that not only was his crew coming, but so was Tarin. Dexter pulled up short and looked at him. “We’re done with you, Tarin, you can go back to your people.”

  He glanced at Krestin then shrugged. “The Golden Lady won’t have me back,” he said. “If any of the Claws find me in Krestin, they’ll have me beaten and run off, or just killed.”

  “Some friends you’ve got there,” Rosh observed.

  He shrugged. “If you hadn’t caught me, no one would have been the wiser.”

  Dexter stared at him, surprised at the boy’s audacity, then he laughed. “I like you, Tarin. You remind me of a kid I once knew.”

  Tarin bristled a little at being called a kid, but he said nothing. “You don’t care much for being treated like a child, do you?”

  He shook his head.

  “You can come with us to the lake, maybe find a new life for yourself in that city, what’s it called?” Dexter asked.

  “Hewl,” he answered.

  “Hewl, right,” Dexter said. “You come with us to Hewl, then we part ways or mayhaps we can find another use for you.”