*****
Ushar was with the herd now. When Hela had wiped the woman's memory of their time together, she'd done so with a tear. The woman was more like Minussah than any other she'd lain with. The Akkadian empire had still been at its height when her companion died, and that was more Name Days ago than Hela could remember. A voice inside said she shouldn't have wiped the woman's memory, but Hela knew better. For whatever comfort she'd received from the woman's company, it was better Ushar lived a human life that didn't risk the drain of Garaaga's shadow. Hela had learned her lesson. No more.
Hela popped a fig in her mouth and crunched the tough fruit. The endless drought had destroyed much. Ur, the last great city-state of the Akkadian empire, had to import grain from far away lands. And the price to the average citizen had risen to ridiculous heights. But market days? The king provided the kingdom of Ur the entertainment they required to keep rebellion at bay. Hela knew it wouldn't last. As with the ever changing seasons, the predictable ebbs and flows of mother river and blessed rain, kingdoms rose and fell. Ibi-Sin would no doubt be another victim of time and inevitability.
Hela swallowed and brushed a stray droplet of juice from the edge of her lips. She looked over at the temple. Blue and purple robed figures stood atop the high structure. Hela closed her eyes and loosed the shadow's aspect. After so many years of practice, she could channel its strengths while keeping its endless hunger in check. She focused on sound. Not what she could hear, but what it could hear.
The sounds of the Market Day crowds faded. She could hear the flapping of wings high in the sky as vultures circled around a desert kill. Further? The panting of a temple dog. Further. The chanting and whispering of the Priestess and her consorts, all praying for rain.
Hela opened her eyes and the crowded Market Day clamor once again filled the world. She sighed. It was time to join the herd. She had little need to purchase from Nergur today, but it would be good to see him. To speak with another ancient one was an opportunity she rarely enjoyed. And after a night with Ushar, and so many memories of the past filling her head, she needed to clear them from her mind. Nergur was always good for that.
She climbed down into her home, put on her favorite necklace, and headed out into the street. Ibi-Sin's brewers poured beer from street carts. Hawkers cooked fish on long skewers over crackling flames. The poor were lined up for the inexpensive food, knowing their bellies would be empty come morning and there would be little relief until the following Market Day.
The rich queued at the shopping stalls to purchase finery. Their slaves, loaded with as much food as they could carry, trundled carts away from the square and to their homes near the palace. The poor looked on, hunger in their eyes and jealousy in their hearts.
Hela watched all of it and ignored the stares from both men and women as she walked through them. The necklace kept the beast in check and kept most of the herd from wanting her. But still, a few felt her power and were drawn to her. Hela did her best to warn them off with a look. It didn't always work. All too frequently, a member of the herd, male or female, would end up following her as she made her rounds. The lust always burned off, unless Hela decided to take advantage and feed. But today, there was no need. Tomorrow, however, was another day.
She searched the stalls for Nergur, but he was nowhere to be found. The shadow stirred in her mind. It didn't speak, but it was uneasy. The joy of coupling with Ushar was all but forgotten. Something was wrong with the city, but she couldn't tell what.
Hela bumped through the sweaty, stinking herd. The occasional hand reached for her. She felt fingers rummaging through her shawl looking for a money bag. Hela only shook her head. They would find nothing. Her money, her jewels, were in her home. There would be no bounty for wandering hands today.
The crowd noise faded when she entered the alley. Criminals would be too afraid to strike during the day, so there was little to worry about. When she reached Ur's main street, she looked toward the city gates. Twenty soldiers were stationed outside the city walls. Hela frowned. She walked toward them. Hela smelled fear and sweat. The soldiers, hands on the hilts of their swords, practically glowed with apprehension. Something was coming.
Hela left the street and headed back to her home. The shadow told her to climb to the roof top. This time, she listened. With each rung on the ladder, the sense of fear increased. When she reached the roof and stared out over the city walls, she finally knew what the soldiers feared. In the distance, clouds of dust rose into the sky.
"Garaaga," she whispered. "Please protect my herd."
Her shadow said nothing. Hela watched from the shade as the dust moved closer. An hour later, the dust was in the city. And so was the invading army.
6
THE battle was short. The remains of Ibi-Sin's army had been crushed. The Elamites poured into the city like a plague. The wealthy section of Ur burned. The screams of the herd's pain filled the night. Instead of a Market Day celebration, the city was dying. And there was nothing Hela could do.
She watched the Elamites cut down Ibi-Sin's palace guards, tears streaming from her eyes. Broken and cut naked corpses filled the streets. The poor hid in their homes, afraid to venture out. Those who had been in the market square when the battle began barely made it to their homes. Many didn't.
From her high roof, she watched the Elamites put the last of Ur's soldiers to the sword. They raised pikes with helmeted heads. Blood and gore covered the market square as the chop of blades slicing into necks echoed through the city.
A group of Elamites strolled through the empty streets robbing the dead. Bronze disappeared into their tunics and money bags. Piles of ornamental breast plates were stacked twenty hands high, their metal surfaces dulled with streaks of dried blood.
Inside her mind, the shadow burned with anger. It imagined torn limbs, split chests, and rivers of blood. It began to speak to her. She began to listen.
7
UR had died. It smelled of rot, blood, and offal. The naked bodies of soldiers and citizens were stacked near the palace like olive wood. The Elamites had spent the last few days decimating the remains of the palace guards until nothing was left but the dead and their leavings.
Messengers from Elam, protected by soldiers, made pronouncements at daybreak and nightfall. They told the citizens of Ur not to be afraid. That the tyranny of Ibi-Sin was over and they were now protected by the banner of Elam. The new King of Ur was just and fair and all would be cared for, provided they obeyed the laws and bowed to Elam's sigil. Trade would resume and grain shipments would be plentiful and frequent. Travel at night was forbidden until further notice. All citizens were to remain in their homes once the sun fell below the horizon.
Hela had listened to their words from her rooftop. She knew staying out of sight would be less likely to attract attention from the soldiers walking the streets, but it didn't matter. Her herd was terrified. They had been savaged and the kingdom of Ur was no more. Long after night fall, beneath Sin's glowing crescent, Hela patrolled the streets.
She had summoned the beast and leaped from roof top to roof top. Sin's light ebbed with each passing night providing her with more darkness, more shadows, to hide and observe. It was on the third night she found Ushar.
Sin was all but gone. Its last sliver before its rebirth was directly above Ur. Clouds strolled from the ocean toward Ur, but they were without the promise of rain. Hela was beginning to think it would never rain again.
Beneath the cover of darkness, she'd climbed to her rooftop. Her arms turned to stone. Talons slid from her thickening fingers. Her ears flattened against her skull and her clawed feet scratched the roof. Eyes burning with crimson light, she leaped from her home and to the house opposite. She landed in silence. If there was still a dweller inside the home, they no doubt thought a heavy bird had landed. In all her years living amongst the herd, no one had ever thought to investigate the quiet thump as she jumped between buildings.
What are you doing? a voice asked.
Hela ignored it and continued to sneak across the city rooftops. The voice was an old one and it always sounded like Darika. She wondered what her mother would do in this situation.
Growing up near the villages, her mother's worshippers, Hela had spent much of her childhood amongst the herd. She'd watched as her mother took sacrifice after sacrifice. She'd slept while Darika fed upon the men and women offered to her.
When Hela had reached womanhood, breasts growing, downy fur sprouting from her mons, Darika had taken down the curtain separating her daughter's pallet from her own.
"You must learn now," Darika had said as she stripped off her clothes. When she was naked, she'd pointed at her daughter. "Undress, little one." Darika licked her lips. "It's time."
"For what?" Hela had asked. Her fingers trembled as she pulled away her shawl and it whispered to the floor. She'd been naked around her mother as well as the villagers. But today it felt...wrong. She was suddenly embarrassed of her breasts and the heat she felt between her legs.
Darika stared at her daughter. She felt her mother's eyes slide over her naked body. A flush of color lit Hela's cheeks. "You are as beautiful as I always imagined," her mother said. "Lie down on my pallet."
Hela blinked. "Why?"
Her mother's eyes changed color; their deep brown flashed into a dull maroon. "It's time for you to learn, Hela. Now, lie down."
Another twinge of fear vibrated down her body. Her mother's face was stern, bordering on angry. Hela walked to the bed and did as she was told, her skin cold and clammy.
Darika stood over her daughter. She smiled down at Hela and dragged her fingernails across the tender flesh of her daughter's neck. Hela's skin prickled. A tremor of pleasure vibrated from the spot between her legs and she moaned. Darika's smile grew. The fingers traveled slowly down Hela's chest until they circled around a nipple. The feeling of pleasure was as great as the flush of shame that lit her face.
Her nipple was painfully erect. The muscles between her legs tightened as if coiled to strike. She closed her eyes. The darkness in her mind began to slowly brighten to a dull red. Her body shuddered as eager fingers massaged her breasts. She heard Darika say something, but the words didn't register.
Something brushed the inside of her thigh. The coils and knots of tension became painful. She moaned again, but spread her legs wider. A finger gently pressed against the hood of her mons. The darkness behind her eyes disappeared into a kaleidoscope of color. The finger pressed harder and slowly slid inside.
Hela screamed as a wave of pleasure rushed up her nerves. Her body shook and convulsed as she orgasmed, her thighs slick with sweat and juice. Hela opened her eyes. Her mother stood a few feet away with a knowing smile on her face. Hela raised her head and looked down. A naked woman, no older than Hela herself, knelt beside her on the bed.
The woman's fingers glistened in the dim light. Her smile was fragile, eyes glazed.
"Did you feel it?" Darika asked.
Hela fought to control her panting. "Yes."
"Did you see it?"
Hela nodded.
Darika looked at the girl on the bed and nodded to her. The girl unfolded herself and lay next to Hela. Their lips touched. The girl's tongue slid into Hela's mouth. Another shudder of pleasure roared up her body and she moaned into the girl's mouth. The finger stroked her thighs again.
She cried out, but the sounds were muffled by the everlasting kiss. When Hela opened her eyes again, her mother sat cross legged in the corner. The girl pulled back from Hela and slowly crept down her body until her mouth pulled at one of Hela's nipples. The girl's teeth nipped her and Hela cried out again. The mixture of pleasure and pain made her convulse once more.
Be one with it, daughter, her mother said in her mind. Embrace it. Let her pleasure you. Remember these sensations, her touch. When it is your turn, she could feel the smile in her mother's words, you should make sure she feels the same.
Hela closed her eyes as the woman's tongue carved a line from her breasts to her cleft. When the tip of her tongue licked Hela's hood, Hela screamed with pleasure. Then something moved in the ever-changing red wall of her mind. A shape struggled through it. She knew she should fear it, but the waves of pleasure and desire made fear impossible.
I give my daughter to you, her mother's voice echoed in her mind.
Mine, a voice growled in the darkness.
Hela shrieked as another orgasm rocked her. The tongue searched her, probed her. And then she felt it. Her body warmed as something stirred inside of her, growling with hunger. The shadow was inside her now. When the girl was through with her, that shadow learned to feed. By the time they were done, the lapis stones scattered on the pallet were clear and Hela slept with her arms wrapped around the girl's neck.
*****
Hela flushed the memories away and focused on Ur's square. The shop stalls had been burned and looted. Her shadow's vision helped her see the soldiers standing guard at the square's four corners. She could tell from their body language the men were bored and fighting the urge to sleep. She felt the shadow grinning inside her. The herd was under lock and key and those men, those interlopers, were the reason why.
You don't interfere with the herd, her mother's voice said in her mind. You guide them as best you can, but man must make his own decisions and suffer their consequences. Protect your herd, daughter, but never imagine for an instant you can control them.
Darika had said those words by the green river while sunning herself. Hela remembered how the sun dappled off the beads of water on her mother's brown, taught belly.
Protect the herd, Hela said to herself. The Elamites were in control now. All she could do was try and minimize the damage. But what could she do? If they kept their promise of food and fair treatment, was there any point in causing trouble or seeking revenge?
Hela sighed and headed away from the square. When she reached a chasm between rooftops, she leaped into a wide alley. Her taloned feet clicked on the hard clay. She crouched and waited to see if any soldiers had heard her. Certain she was still undetected, she peered around the alley and into the street. Her eyes caught sight of the hostel Ushar had been headed to before she convinced the singer to join her.
She wondered if the woman had made it out of the city. Or perhaps she and the others in her group were holed up in the tavern and waiting for permission to leave Ur.
Hela looked up and down the street. No guards were in sight. This late after Sin's apex, they probably didn't expect any curfew violations. She stayed close to the edge of the buildings and crept toward the hostel.
The night was quiet except for the occasional murmur from distant guards. Loosing the beast this way increased her hearing and it was easy to hear everything. If she concentrated hard enough, she could make out individual voices. But she was focused on the hostel.
Like most of the buildings on the street, its facade had been damaged by fire. Unlike the others, though, it seemed sturdy enough. When the Elamites finally felt they had control of Ur, they would have to rebuild entire portions. Hela sighed, but it came out as a low growl.
When she reached the building's entrance, she walked past and down a pitch-black alley. If she were human, she would see nothing. The beast, on the other hand, saw the world in shades of red. The seams of mortar and clay were as easy to see as they would be in daylight. And that's when she saw Ushar.
The woman lay in the filthy alley, her shawl ripped and torn. The left side of her face was swollen. Shards of teeth were scattered next to her bashed skull. A pool of dried blood was between her lifeless legs.
The beast growled. Hela stepped forward on taloned feet. She bent down and picked up the broken body, careful not to rip the flesh of her late lover. Hela stared at the adjacent rooftop. She flexed her legs and leaped atop it.
She knelt down beside the body. Her stony skin faded, talons receded, face melting back into that of a human. She pulled Ushar's body into her arms and stroked her hair. The tears finally cam
e in a torrent. Hela shook as she tried to keep her voice under control.
"You deserved better," she panted. "So much better."
A door opened in the hostel. From her perch at the side of the roof, Hela leaned her head over and stared down. A soldier walked out. His face was scratched and bloody. Hela looked down at Ushar's finger nails. They were broken and cracked, bits of flesh trapped beneath them.
The terrible void in her heart disappeared. A flood of anger made her shake. She watched the soldier turn on his heel and head up the street, her eyes glowing in the darkness.
"Ushar," she said, "they hurt my herd. They hurt you." Her teeth ground together. "And they will pay."
8
SHE spent the rest of that night chasing the soldier. She followed her quarry from rooftop to rooftop. The soldier had no idea she was there, but he kept looking back nonetheless. Part of her hoped he felt some guilt toward what he'd done. But the beast assured her he was remembering every moment of raping and killing her lover. And enjoying those memories.
The beast screamed at her to leap atop the man's back and rip him in two. Hela's monstrous maw clicked open and shut as she followed him. The shadow growled in her mind that it wanted revenge. It wanted to rape, to destroy, desecrate. But Hela knew she'd have to put that off; she first needed to find his path, his rounds, and make sure he was the only one involved.
The soldier ended up at the city gates. Hela climbed the city walls so she had a straight on view of the torch-lit guards. In the flickering light, she studied their faces.
The guard that had left the hostel was older and the way the others stood around him, she could tell he outranked them. Two younger men stood and laughed with him. One of them had a swelling cheek. The other? A split lip and scratches on his forehead.
The three men laughed together. She reached out with the beast's hearing. She listened as the three spoke of the rape, at how they'd taken the little Ur bitch and made her scream before they crushed her skull.
Daemons of Garaaga (Children of Garaaga) Page 4
