by JD Franx
“Do you think it’s possible he did that to those women?” she asked.
“We haven’t seen anyone else out here who could have,” Nekrosa answered, “but where did the vested sisters come from and how did we miss them?”
“I couldn’t even hazard a guess, your majesty,” Luthian added. “But if Kael has lost control over his powers, then our problems have just multiplied.”
“Several times so,” Nekrosa agreed. “We have enough problems to solve. We don’t need an insane DeathWizard in the middle of it.”
“What do we do then?” Sephi asked, standing to stretch muscles that hadn’t moved in well over an hour.
Nekrosa remained silent for several minutes before he finally spoke. “We’ll have to wait and see. He seems to be fine now. If he’d lost permanent control, the young girl and the Elvehn woman would already be dead. We’re getting closer to the information we need, as well as understanding what Kael hopes to discover about the Kai’Sar up here in the mountains. There has to be something in the old ruins of Kazzador City. It won’t be long now. We keep following them all. Our answers are there, and hopefully an opportunity arises to prove to them that we can help.”
DWARVEN MOUNTAIN RANGE,
FURTHER NORTH
Kyah jerked awake in the back of an old wooden wagon. Pain ruled her entire being, but she quickly pushed it aside. Suffering was just another part of being a Dead Sister, let alone a Dead Healer. Catching a flash of red hair from someone who could only be Kael’s wife, the memories of the last few days rushed back to her. She smiled, proud of herself that she actually managed to spit out the ‘vested sister of Mylla act’. Considering her injuries, it was a serious accomplishment. Even better, it seemed that everyone believed her, and she was now firmly situated inside the ArchWizard’s group. Most importantly, she still had a way to get to Kael.
“Giddeon, Yrlissa!” Ember shouted, facing the top of the rise. “She’s awake.” Ember quickly slid to the bottom of the wagon and dropped the gate so she could help Sister Niky down out of the back.
“Thank you, Ember,” Kyah said and smiled as she gently stepped down onto the soft earth of the forest floor.
“Don’t thank me yet,” Ember replied. “We’re at the site of your camp. We needed answers, but you were out cold, so we tracked your trail through the woods back to here.”
Still smiling, Kyah asked, “You have very powerful magic with you, then?” She sat down on a fallen log, panting from the exertion.
“We do, but we also have an Elvehn tracker with us. There are few signs she can’t read.” Ember thought she saw a flash of panic cross the young woman’s features, but when the sister groaned from the pain, she quickly passed it off as such.
Giddeon and Yrlissa walked over the small hill and down to where Kyah sat. Ember did her best to make formal introductions.
“Niky, do you remember? This the ArchWizard, Giddeon Zirakus, and Yrlissa Blackmist. She’s the one who followed your trail back to here.”
Kyah nodded, offering a short bow to Giddeon. “I do, and thank you both. All of you,” she said, turning to Ember. “It is good to see you again, ArchWizard Zirakus.”
Returning the bow, he smiled. “Please, call me Giddeon. There’s no need to stand on ceremony out here. You might as well stay here, Ember, we found no more survivors. I am sorry, Niky, but no one else made it out alive. No one we could find at least.”
Tears slowly ran down Kyah’s cheeks. She took a deep breath, as if trying to hold back more grief and appear strong in front of the others.
“I suspected as much when I woke after the attack. I did not expect to,” she said, her voice wavering.
“What happened here?” Yrlissa asked. “What we saw up there makes little sense. Why would you set one of your tents against a cliff like that?”
Taking another deep breath, Kyah shook her head. “We always set the prayer tent as far to the west as we can. Our evening prayers to the goddess are spoken to the west as the sun’s final rays caress the earth mother.”
Nodding in understanding, Yrlissa continued with her enquiry. “Is that why there was nothing else in that tent but pillows and blankets, Vesta Niky?”
“Yes, mistress. The tent is often full of sisters for several hours during the evening prayers so we rest our knees on the pillows to ease the discomfort. Some sisters stay well past dark, the blankets provide warmth for those who do. We use that tent for nothing other than prayers.”
“Elloryan silk pillows and weaved velvet blankets? A bit extravagant for vested sisters, no?” Yrlissa persisted.
“We have few personal belongings, mistress. When we travel, we are allowed certain comforts.”
“I see,” Yrlissa said firmly. “What about this?” she asked, holding out the bindings she found in the so-called prayer tent.
“I am not sure,” Kyah said, looking closely at the frayed rope. “Perhaps it is the binding from one of our clay oil lamps. It must have been broken during the attack.” Yrlissa frowned, and nodded.
“What were you doing out here?” Ember asked
“We...” Kyah coughed, wincing in pain. “The writings of our goddess tell us that one of her Ancient temples could be located here in the mountains somewhere. We were asked by the high priestess to see if we could locate any evidence to support the sacred writings.”
“High Priestess Shanea has been looking for ancient Myllan temples for decades,” Giddeon said.
“Shouldn’t you have some protection with you?” Ember asked.
“I assure you that under normal circumstances, our magic and martial abilities are usually more than sufficient to defend ourselves.”
“Clearly not this time,” Yrlissa snorted. “Mylla’s vested sisters aren’t normally capable of producing the magical shit-storm that occurred over the rise.”
“When one is fighting for your life, you manage...” Kyah swallowed hard, nearly gagging. “Sorry.”
“Yeah,” Yrlissa said, clearly still suspicious. “Sister Niky, tell us what happened. Take your time and in your own words.”
Taking another deep breath, Kyah licked her dry lips, prompting Ember to hand her a water jug. She took a swallow before beginning.
“We had been camped here for about two hours and were preparing our evening meal. We’d found no evidence of any temples this far south, so we decided to make camp early and prepare a hot meal—we’d been on dry rations and light camp for days while searching. There were still two hours until the setting of the sun and our evening prayers were just about to start when two riders asked for permission to enter our camp. A young woman no older than twelve, and a man our age,” she said, pointing to herself and Ember. “He had dark hair, it was spun into braided Salzaran dreadlocks and pulled back into a ponytail. A thin beard covered his face, like he had not shaved in a week. Some of the sisters were terrified of him—he was covered in frightening black tattoos. Writhing vines with savage looking barbed thorns, so real...”
“That has to be Kael!” Ember blurted. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“It’s all right,” Kyah said, patting Ember’s hand. “You are right. They introduced themselves as Kael and... Cassie.” She paused, moaning softly as she held her ribs. “We... We never turn away travellers, so we asked that they join us in our evening meal. They accepted and we delayed our prayers so we could enjoy the meal together with them. They sat with us all as we ate... Seemed like a very nice young couple. She was quite young for a man’s mate, but we don’t judge other customs...” Kyah stopped, as if her tongue were stuck to the roof of her mouth.
“Hmph,” Ember scoffed, frowning. Kyah looked at everyone as her eyes glassed with moisture.
“I... Sorry.” She sniffed and Giddeon offered her a cloth to wipe her nose. “We thought... We didn’t know...” she stuttered, clearly not knowing what to say. Ember took Niky’s hands into her own and whispered softly, though the frown remained. A ripple of Fae magic gently trickled into the woman’s body
through her hands. The calming effect was instantaneous, and her eyes opened wide with surprise.
“How did...?” Niky asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” Ember whispered. “Please finish telling us what happened.”
Wiping her eyes again, Niky took several slow, deep breaths followed by a sip of water. She appeared a bit calmer and pressed on.
“Very well. Thank you for whatever that was you did. The meal ended and we were getting ready to begin our evening prayers. It was nearly sunset, and as is our custom when we have guests, we asked if they would like to join us in prayer. Both blatantly refused, calling it a waste of time.”
“That can’t be right,” Ember said, shocked by what she was hearing. “Kael has been extremely religious in the years following the shooting back home. He’d never be so disrespectful. Something is not right here, Giddeon.” He held up his hand and nodded for Kyah to continue.
“I apologized for offending them and told them that we asked out of respect for them being our guests and nothing more...” she stopped speaking, her body shuddered.
“Please keep going,” Yrlissa demanded gently.
“My sisters and I left them at the fire and went to begin our prayers. We had only just started when the woman, Cassie, yelled at us to stop praying. We cannot stop our evening prayer to the goddess once we have started, and the situation escalated greatly because of it. I don’t know why, but the young woman went crazy, casting bright green magic at some of the sisters who were closest to the door of the prayer tent.”
Yrlissa interrupted. “Please go on, Sister. I just thought of something.” Turning, she headed back up the hill.
Kyah stared after her for several seconds before continuing. “Most of us ran, but a couple sisters stood their ground, casting fire spells. Some hit the young man. He went insane,” she sobbed, shaking at the recollection. “He cast all kinds of dark magic. Black lightening cracked across the camp. Wind filled with slivers of ice cut my sisters down right before my eyes...” she cried. Putting her face in her hands, she pulled her knees up to her chest and said no more. Ember knelt in front of her, a blank look of horror on her face.
“I don’t believe it,” Ember whispered. “Kael would never do that,” she said, louder. “It’s not true! It can’t be true! He would never do such things. He’s my husband!” she repeated, yelling even louder. Hearing her distress, Max looked down the rise at what was going on.
Kyah regained control of herself as she looked at Ember with disgust. “Your husband?” she cried. “You’re married to him? He did that!” She stood, pointing up towards where the massacred bodies had been strewn across the plateau. “Your husband killed my sisters, beautiful women I’ve known my whole life, and when they fought back,” she screamed, her voice nearing the raged edge of insanity, “he tore open doorways to hell and turned loose savage Brethren that haven’t walked this plane in ten thousand years! I watched demons tear my sisters to pieces as they begged for mercy!” she screeched at the top of her lungs. Finally, she fell to her knees in grief and pain.
Slowly backing away and fighting the urge to scream, Ember forced herself to calm down. She stared at the Sister and searched for signs of deceit. She saw nothing but a traumatized young woman, shaking with fear more than anger.
“What’s happening here?” Ember sighed, forcing back tears that fought to surface. Refusing to surrender to despair, she added. “I don’t believe you. Something more happened in that clearing.” Max arrived at her side, wrapping his arm around her for support.
Still sobbing with soul wrenching sorrow, Kyah carried on with her detailed description of the events from two nights’ past, though Ember could see that anger was quickly taken over from the fear. It was a puzzling change.
“Your gods-damned husband is,” Niky hissed, “is a monster. A Kai’Sar. A wizard who revels in the death and misery of others. He used death magic to string me up like a prized hog and then used one of those sickening blades he carries to gut me like an animal. He is a monster. Why can’t you see that?” Kyah groaned. Putting her head back down, she sobbed even more.
“No,” Ember said. “Kael wouldn’t do that... He wouldn’t. This can’t be him. I don’t believe you,” she said. Max kept his arm around her and led her away. Giddeon looked back and forth between the two women before staring at his daughter with a lost look in his eyes.
“Gods, Saleece. What in Inara’s name is going here?” Giddeon asked.
“I don’t know,” she answered, “but we knew this could happen to Kael. We have to decide what to do.”
“Later, maybe,” Kasik added, descending the rise. “Right now, we have to get rid of those bodies and find a safe place to camp for tonight. Come, we have to burn the remains.” As Saleece headed up the small hill to the camp on the other side, Giddeon walked over to Ember and knelt beside her.
“You can stuff your god-damned ‘I told you so’ up your ass, Giddeon. Save your breath for someone who cares to hear it,” Ember snapped.
“I’m not here to gloat. I just wanted to know if you would be all right with just Max for now. Yrlissa isn’t back yet from wherever she went, and Saleece and I need to burn the bodies.” Ember turned away from the ArchWizard and looked up at Max. He wrapped his arms around her.
“It’s okay,” he said, nodding to Giddeon. “I don’t believe it either, Ember. There’s definitely something else going on here.”
On her way down the hill, Yrlissa passed Giddeon as he helped Kyah up the rise to say goodbye to her sisters. “I’ll come help in a minute,” she offered. Getting a nod, she waited until he passed over the rise before turning to Ember.
“Your instincts are very sharp, nahlla. The priestess is clearly distraught, but something else happened here. She claimed the young girl with Kael used green magic by the prayer tent, yet there are no traces of demonic magic anywhere near there. In fact, the only demonic markers I found were on the camp’s outskirts, on the north side.”
“What does that mean? Why didn’t Giddeon or Saleece notice that?” Max asked. Yrlissa glanced over shoulder to make sure Giddeon was out of earshot.
“Being able to detect trace magic is a skill long forgotten and one only the Elvehn normally had. I’m not sure what it means. There were demons on the loose in that clearing several nights ago, her memory could have been altered... Or...”
“Or what?” Ember whispered
“Or else she’s lying about what truly happened here. Neither is a welcome consideration. You two have got to learn to follow your instincts now that you’re here in Talohna, and stick by them. Ask questions and dig deeper when you have doubts. Take little at face value and remember that everyone has their own agenda. I must go help. Stay with Max. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She left, climbing the rise to join Giddeon.
Max offered Ember his water bag and softly whispered into her ear. “I want you to listen to me. I know we are new to this world, and it’s confusing at times, but we can never give up on Kael. Do you understand?” She nodded, but didn’t look up. “This world is full of magic, Ember. It’s everywhere, and things are seldom as they appear. In fact, things are never as they appear,” he stated, laughing softly.
She stared up at him. “Do you know something, Max?”
Looking around for anyone else and seeing no one, he smiled. “No more than you, but do you believe for one second that Kael would murder all these innocent women and young girls for any reason?”
“Of course not, but why would the priestess lie?” she asked.
“If things aren’t always as they seem... then?”
“Then maybe it wasn’t Kael who was here that night.”
“Or?” Max prompted.
“Or maybe the vested sisters aren’t who Niky claims they are,” she said, shaking her head.
“Believe in yourself and believe in Kael. Yrlissa and I will be beside you every step of the way, but never let anyone tell you something is true if your eyes have not seen it for yourself
. Not in this world.”
Sighing, she smiled, feeling better. “What would Kael and I ever do with out you, Max? You mean the world to us both. You know that, don’t you?” she said, hugging him.
“I will always do my best to watch over you both. I promise you that from the bottom of my heart.”
Ember let go of Max as Kyah’s scream of terror rent the air. They raced up the small hill towards the clearing. Max grabbed his bow from his back, an arrow notched in place as they crested the rise and saw what lay below.
Two humanoid creatures had somehow crept into the destroyed camp without anyone noticing. Giddeon lay semi-conscious on the ground, dazed from the initial attack. Kasik fought to reach him. Unable to focus or commit to either creature, the beasts took turns trying to drag the ArchWizard away as Kasik’s attention shifted from one to the other. The Northman was fighting a losing battle. The second he swung his greatsword at one monstrosity, the other slid in and grabbed Giddeon by a leg. At over seven feet tall and with unnaturally long arms, both creatures easily outreached Kasik’s sword arc.
Ember gasped as she got her first good look at the creatures. Long, greasy black hair, crooked bulbous noses and jet black eyes dominated the features of both. The second beast, clearly male, had two sets of horns. The first grew upwards from above its eyes and curved outwards. The horns, the width of a finger, spiralled up to a point six inches above its head. The second set were thicker, but smooth. Several inches wider, they grew outwards from the creature’s temples before turning up to a sharp point.
Completely naked, the female fought savagely, the ferocity of her attacks quickly forced Kasik to defend himself against the onslaught of razor sharp claws. He cursed as the second being dragged Giddeon closer to the forest.
The stench of rot along with the sight of oozing yellow slime and putrid drool dangling from their jagged black teeth reached Ember. Her already-queasy stomach flipped. That both the creature’s sagging pale skin were covered in warts, growths, and lesions didn’t help matters.
