Abigail smiled at the little boy. She gently waved back at him. His mother smiled and nodded her head in thanks. Tears rolled down her eyes and her mouth held back too many emotions to truly speak.
Then the driver closed the door, and just as quickly as the carriage appeared on the lawn in front of the tavern and inn it was gone.
Darden and Grifith escorted Abigail back toward the inn. The line was still there. They called out for Farrah in the hopes they would pick them next.
But Abigail had to rest. She kept her head down. Regret filled her heart as she walked past the infected people unable to help them that day. But she promised herself she would help them all tomorrow. She would help everybody that needed it.
Chapter 14
The palace grounds were beginning to look just like the streets in the Talons. The filth and the poor that the Eluan Capitol tried to tuck away in its outskirts was front and center outside the building housing many of the most powerful people in the empire.
Nikali’s newest initiative was to rebuild the palace and the rest of Eluan, and he was doing that with the hands of citizens of the Capitol. Many burrows of the city especially the Talons were full of people looking for work. Nikali did not turn any of them away. Anybody that wanted to come to the palace to begin the restoration process was welcomed. Nikali would pay them all.
What few soldiers Quaet could round up were put on guard at the entrances to the palace. The entire city was near defenseless, but as long as the palace and those inside it were secure he was content.
It was becoming a nuisance every day the vagabonds and gypsies remained in their newest location. The nights were loud with people rarely sleeping. Fires lit up the night as the migrants lived it up in their new shanty town in the palace courtyard.
Many new merchants put up shop in the area. They merely followed the money. The new arrivals caused friction between several of the shops in the immediate area.
At dawn every day selling wars started between the usual establishments and the new wandering vendors from the Talons. Prices of goods started bouncing around throughout the days as owners tried to find the perfect price to continue with their living. They had to take into account more volume for their customers, and watch out for theft from those who could not afford their new prices.
At the dawn of a new day, the crowds meandered around like usual. Many people were passed out on the palace steps and around the streets. A handful of merchants were still open from the previous night. Those opening at dawn made sure they were loud enough to be heard when they declared their sales.
But there was one slight difference.
The ear piercing scream was the first sign of a disturbance. The young woman was caught off guard by an alarming sight, and her only reaction was to scream for help. She was the aid of a senator from Cella. They were a growing city after the war, and she thought she had seen it all, but never had she seen anything like this.
Near the top of the palace steps, just out of sight of the guards at the top, was a heap of skin and bones. Arms and legs looked like they were frozen from crawling up the steps to the palace.
Half the surrounding crowd walked on like they hadn’t noticed. Their time in the Talons grew them accustomed to such sights. The other half was horrified. The screaming and panic grew as more people caught sight of the display along the steps.
The guards were quick to react. They rushed down the steps from their posts to check on the situation. The guards swarmed the area. As soon as they saw the dismembered limbs they drew their swords at the ready.
Murmurs of another attack from Tcher soldiers were starting to spread through the crowd. Many soldiers remembered the story about the findings at New Salid. The entire town was cut into pieces and stitched back together in a horrible display of honor for Aldrin the Ageless.
“Everybody, keep back,” ordered one of the soldiers. He was urging the crowd to stay clear of the steps. “Get inside if you can.”
His orders drew more confusion from many of the bystanders in the area. The senators and palace workers that were making their way to the palace that day tried to rush inside the building to be protected from any outside threats.
They had to force their way through the crowd of vagabonds that were living outside the palace. None of them were in any hurry to flee the area.
“Let them through!” the guards yelled as struggling palace workers pushed their way through the hundreds of people in the crowd.
The crowd was not listening. Their attention was focused on the limbs on the palace steps.
“Do not disturb the bodies! Leave them alone!” people in the crowd yelled out.
The lead guard turned to his men behind him. “I want this stuff cleaned up. Now!”
The guards did as they were told. Many of them turned toward the steps and began grabbing limbs to collect them for retrieval.
“Don’t touch them!” the crowd screamed. “They don’t belong to you!”
“Back up!” The lead guard yelled. “Back up, everybody!”
The guards that maintained a secure perimeter at the front of the steps moved forward.
The crowd inched backward away from the steps and the guards. One man was caught in the back step. He was dressed in official palace robes. The bright colors stood out against the dirty rags worn by those surrounding him. His hands went up to regain his balance, but eventually he fell back toward the ground.
“Keep off of him!” the guards yelled at the crowd.
“Get him!” the guards yelled louder when they saw the old man fall. Two of the guards raced out into the crowd to rescue the man from being trampled.
The presence of the guards’ swords kept the crowd at bay. They backed away from the two men charging into the group. Once they arrived at the fallen palace worker one of the guards put away his sword and helped the man to his feet. The other kept his watch with his sword at the ready.
Many of the people in the crowd surrounding the guards snickered at the three men.
“Get him inside, now!” the guard with his sword ordered.
As the old man was escorted through the crowd, the group started to close in on them.
“What about us?” was yelled out.
“Where are we to go?”
“There is no place you can hide!”
The guard turned back to the unruly crowd.
“Who did this?! Tell us now, or the consequences will be greater!”
“It was the Blood Beauties!”
“The Blood Beauties!”
“They are coming for you!”
The names echoed through the palace grounds. The guard began to panic. He started to swing his sword to keep away the crowd.
The guards on the steps continued to collect the limbs into a pile. There were almost a dozen pieces all up and down the grand stairway.
“We’ll take care of it,” said the guard down in the crowd. “Just get back!”
“You’re going to kill us all!”
The crowd rushed forward. They trampled over the guard nearest them. Then they ran over the guard escorting the palace worker. Fear and power was fueling the crowd now.
The perimeter line braced themselves for an attack. People threw their own bodies into the guard’s shields. The line held at first, but a strong force came over them. Their shields grew heavy. The air was getting thick. They could barely breathe as their armor was crushing in on itself.
Finally, the perimeter line broke. A flood of citizens rushed the steps toward the guards collecting pieces of dried up body parts. The vagabonds fought limbs out of the guards’ hands and started throwing them back on to the palace steps.
Then the guards began to fight back. The mysterious arcan pressure was relieved and they were free to attack. They struck out against the crowd with their swords and shields. The weaponless crowd fell easily to their opponents.
Blood started to drip down the palace steps as people were slain by the guards’ swords. Panic consumed eve
n more of the crowd and the guards. Some tried to run away, some tried to run into the fight to avenge their fallen friends, whether guard or citizen.
A second wave of arcan washed over the guards. They could feel beats of pressure press against their bodies. Swords were lost as their hands were forced open and their shield arms were tossed to the side.
Many of the guards were left defenseless and members of the crowd picked up the swords to continue on with the fight. Guards started to fall just as easily as the citizens.
“ENOUGH!”
The voice of Nikali Caning II carried through the palace grounds. It echoed in everybody’s thoughts.
The battle froze. Every participant could feel a new cold grip of arcan swirl down their spine. Nikali had a hold of all of them.
Just as quickly as the fight started, it was over. The citizens kneeled to their Emperor. Nikali was quiet for a second as he waited for the guards to acknowledge him. Then he spoke out again.
“Kneel before your Emperor!” he yelled out to the guards.
The guards did as they were told.
“Good,” said Nikali. “Now, tell me what is going on?”
“The Blood Beauties are claiming their territory, sir,” said a young woman down at the bottom of the steps. She was quick to drop her head. Nikali could feel the fear consuming her.
“I will have you know that this is my home,” said Nikali. “I may have thrived in the Talons, but I was born here. Right in this palace. I grew up here. And now it is my home once again. The Blood Beauties have no claim to it.
“Do not run in fear. You will only give in to your enemy that way. There are stories in Louson of gods that ran away in fear. They were afraid of what they had created. Now, their people are left to fend for themselves against a great evil across the canyon.
“We do not run away in fear. We confront our enemy, no matter how strong. Louson prays for the gods to return to help them. I say pray for the gods to return so we can show them how great we have become. We are Eluan. Our power is great. The Blood Beauties rule your lives through fear and death. Show them you are not afraid. We will become the gods.”
Then the limbs left by the Blood Beauties and the bodies of the fallen in the battle erupted in flames. Pillars of smoke and ash floated into the air.
The crowd cheered for Nikali’s words. They were captivated by his speech that the battle was near forgotten. The people were clapping and cheering. Euphoria was filling their senses. Even the guards felt a twinge of joy in Nikali’s speech.
Nikali turned away from the crowd and returned back into the palace. He was followed by the remaining guards. They returned to their post outside the main entrance to the palace.
The crowd began to disperse. For the first time in days the grounds outside the palace steps were clear.
Far beyond the protection of the Eluan Capitol, the Eluan army marched with their orders to hunt down the remaining Tcher soldiers that were believed to be hiding throughout the empire.
Every day was the same grueling routine. Aul woke them up at the break of dawn and the legions were given little time to prepare. Then they began walking. Aul led the men through the open terrain of Eluan, rarely ever coming to any of the main roads.
Little by little soldiers began to drop off. They couldn’t keep up with Aul’s pace. He never allowed for breaks. He just kept marching.
But no man questioned their orders. They kept going. They pulled along a trolley that was locked and covered. Only Aul had the key. They were told it was a part of the mission.
They were promised the marching would end. Aul told them the enemy was on the run. All they had to do was catch up to them.
Chapter 15
Word about Farrah spread farther than Darden had ever imagined. People surrounded the inn and tavern. There was little they could do to keep order. There was a mixture of people waiting to be healed and those that were healed but stayed to show their affection and love for Abigail.
Darden talked to the people that gathered outside the inn. They were coming as far north as Cann and as far west as Flowa. It was getting to the point where the illnesses were no longer hives from the Tcher Touch. People were showing up with broken bones, strokes, seizures, and much more. Abigail did not turn any of them away. She welcomed all with open arms.
“Thank you,” said Darden as he was passed a tray of fresh pork legs. “Farrah sincerely appreciates your donation.”
The tray was heavy in his arms so Darden decided to lighten the load a bit by gripping one leg with his teeth. Then he started to shove his way through the crowd to get back into the inn. Darden had made a deal with the innkeeper to split the food and money they got with him. The logistics of their continually developing partnership kept them on their toes. The innkeeper had never seen such business before and allowed Abigail and the others to stay for as long as they liked, but he wanted a piece of the action. He considered it payment for security more than room and board. Eluan soldiers from nearby posts were starting to make their rounds and with the recent activity in the area more soldiers were sticking their noses in the inn’s business. The innkeeper found it was easier to simply pay off the local soldiers in order for them to look the other way. But soon, he knew, there was going to be a problem. Soldiers from farther away, especially the Capitol, were going to grow suspicious and come around. He only hoped he had enough money then. Or if the rumors about Emperor Nikali II were true, enough Tamor Blood to satisfy his desires.
Along with the added people looking to be healed there came the additional help of doctors and healers to the area. When word about what Abigail was capable of reached across the Eluan Empire many of the doctors wants to see what she was doing. Some just wanted to further help the sick and needy.
More rooms at the inn were used for housing of the sick. Abigail started rotations into every room to keep up with the new patients she was getting.
“How are you holding up?” Grifith asked Abigail. “Do you need anything right now?”
“No,” said Abigail. “I’m fine. Thank you. Who’s next?”
“The room at the end of the hall,” said Grifith.
“What’s wrong with them?” Abigail asked.
“I think they’re mute,” said Grifith. “Maybe catatonic. It was strange.”
“Is somebody with them?”
“No,” said Grifith.
“Then how did they get here?”
Grifith just shrugged. He didn’t have the answers.
Abigail took in a deep breath and headed for the last door down the hall. Before she opened the door she could feel a dark presence on the other side. It was something she had felt before, a couple of years ago. Nothing detailed was coming to mind though. Her memory was still hazy.
“Hello,” said Abigail as she opened the door to greet her patient. He sat on a chair in the front corner of the room behind the door. Abigail had to turn around in a circle to find him. The stranger’s clothes looked nice once. It looked like the man had lived a life of luxury but terrible days had fallen on him. He didn’t move or even flinch at Abigail’s greeting.
“My name is Farrah,” she said kneeling down to get level with the poor looking man. Then she reached out and grabbed his hands.
As soon as Abigail made physical contact the man looked up at her with a bold red smile. His teeth were stained with Tamor Blood. His tongue was bright red.
“Hello,” he said.
“What is wrong?” Abigail asked.
“Nothing,” said the man. “I’ve never felt better. I came to see you.”
Concern was growing in Abigail’s thoughts. Normally, she could feel into everybody she was around. She could feel their emotions, their pain. But this man was closed off to her. He was shrouded in a shadow that she couldn’t penetrate.
The challenge made her refocus her abilities. She drew upon her power to try to look into the man’s desires. He was speaking the truth. Only one thing ran through his mind. He wanted to see Abigail.<
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“Why do you want to see me?” Abigail asked. She couldn’t help her own curiosity. Deep down she knew it had to do with her missing memories. It would help her learn more about herself.
“We wanted to know,” said the man through his red teeth.
“Know what?” Abigail asked.
“If you were sweeter than the others,” said the man. Then he bent down and ran his tongue down Abigail’s arm. She retracted it, but that only helped the man leave a long trail of red saliva down to her fingers.
Abigail rushed for the door. The man didn’t bother to get up and give chase. He only laughed as Abigail hurriedly made her exit. “Yes, you are!” he proudly exclaimed.
The door slammed behind her. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. More memories started to flood to the surface. Soldiers were barging in to her room. She was a young girl, because the soldiers grabbed her and carried her away. She remembered being carried away by different soldiers. They threw her into a box. She remembered darkness and pain for months. There was that feeling again. Something sinister was floating in the air. She started to remember battles. So many battles. Demons were floating in the air fighting bird dressed men. People were eating the hearts of their enemies. Abigail was in a cage. Then there was fire. Fire surrounded her, and a door. A door that was calling to her.
“Farrah!” Grifith called out. “Farrah, are you all right?”
Abigail collapsed to the ground. She dropped along the wall leaving a trail of perspiration from her hair. Her heart raced. Her breath was rapid. She was having a panic attack.
Grifith came in close to put his arms around her. He wanted to comfort her and tell her it was going to be okay. Abigail tried to push him off. She wanted to warn him about the man in the room, but she could not find the words. All she could say sounded like gibberish to Grifith.
“You’re pushing yourself too hard,” Grifith said. “You need to rest. The others can wait for tomorrow.”
Grifith got Abigail to her feet and together they walked back to her room. He laid her down and let her rest for the rest of the day, never once suspecting the man in the other room as anything more than just another traveler looking for a cure.
Eluan Falls: A Whisper of Fate Page 8
