by Cale Madison
“Caine, stop!” the baron commanded, raising his hand to prevent me from advancing any closer. The monster had his jaws locked on my companion’s shoulder, intensely tearing open the wound with his jagged teeth.
Skalige cried out and backed the monster against the railing as it viciously chewed into his arm. He twisted the sword, still buried inside of the beast’s torso until it released him with a final grunt of suffering agony. The manokai clutched his strong hand around the baron’s neck as he thrusted Gwydion’s sword through his body. I could only watch from where I lay as my friend turned to me amidst the struggle, sending me a single glance before he looked into the eyes of the monster and shouted, “I live for the battle and I die for my brothers...take me to my wife and daughter, you ugly bastard!”
After those final, condemning words, they both disappeared over the railing and plunged into the deep, dark well. I reached out towards them as I lay sprawled in the dirt, utterly paralyzed by the unfolding scene. I did not hear them land, nor did I hear anything else as I drifted in and out of consciousness.
The next sound I heard was Malachi’s voice as he hovered above me, patting my cheeks with his soft hand, shouting, “Caine! Wake up, Caine!” My eyes strained to stay open as I rose to my feet, hoping that I had just awoken from a terrible nightmare. I turned but saw no sign of Skalige. I listened but heard nothing. Sitting in the bloodstained dirt, I waited to hear him ascend from the well’s railing, but nobody came. Not a sound uttered from the well. We both just sat in the silence of the night, now quieter than ever.
“How long was I out for?” I asked, rubbing my forehead. I could feel a swelling bruise rising from the manokai’s kick.
“Couple of hours, I think. Enough time for me to dig through some cupboards and pantries to find medicine.” Malachi answered, coating a gash on my forehead with some herbs and oils, “Brave man, your friend. I had to leave after hearing them in there. Can you walk? Are your legs broken?”
It pained my heart to imagine Skalige struggling against the monster in the pitch-black darkness while I slept soundly on the surface. The prince checked my legs, poking at them with his pointer finger until they moved. For a second, I considered that we could lower some rope into the well but Malachi continued to say, “Eventually, the noises stopped. Nothing for over an hour. The well leads to underground catacombs beneath the village. They must be down there.”
I stared over the ledge of the well, almost losing myself in the black abyss...the swirling, infinite amalgamation of shadows that would lead to the baron’s tomb. I spoke to the darkness with my thoughts, praying that he would rise from it with the manokai’s severed head, clenched in his mighty fist. So much death in such little time.
“I’ve never seen a man so fearless.” Malachi said to me as he sat with his back against the well’s cobblestone, “Braver than any of father’s knights. He fought like the champions of legend, like Earndhart the Conqueror or Black-Eyed-Jon.”
“He had nothing to lose.” I replied, allowing the well’s blackness to fill my sights until I lost touch with reality, “I saved his life once so he thought this would make us even. Stupid, stupid fool.”
I could feel my eyes beginning to water as my emotions clashed together in a frenzied battle, tugging at the strings of my heart. Waves upon waves of pressure pounded against my face until I finally allowed the tears to swell. The sudden emptiness struck me like a crippling jolt to my heart. I wiped them away and rose to my feet, hating that I had even met the baron.
“Did you find her?” Malachi asked. I did not respond but instead, allowed him to follow me to the manokai’s graveyard.
We stood above the mounds of dirt and mud, saying nothing. The prince understood clearly. He refused to look into the open grave, instead choosing to turn towards the dark woods to hide his tears. I could hear his faint sniffling as I finished the manokai’s work, covering the bodies with dirt until the grave was filled.
“She’s here.” he said, “Why would Opheria allow this? A creature so evil...”
I thought hard, fighting the urge to break down in front of the young man. My fingers ran along the spade’s grip, still positioned upright in the soft dirt. The reassuring words flowed smoothly as I explained my beliefs to the traumatized boy, “Gods have nothing to do with this. They give us a playing field, tools and resources but have no say in how we use them.”
Malachi began to cry, his small face tightening with each breath, “That’s something Cassius would’ve said. I loved her...now she’s gone and I never told her...” he whispered, lowering his head in a moment of total defeat, “I’ll never love again.”
“Yes, you will.” I replied, placing a hand on his quivering shoulder, “You will love many. That’s the beauty of life, Malachi. You are as you choose to be. You don’t end today. That’s not what Krea would’ve wanted.”
“It hurts.” he said, lowering his gaze to the piles of dirt.
“It’s supposed to. Reminds us that we’re still alive.”
He wiped his nose and asked, “Do you...do you believe in the White Shores? That there’s a man dressed in white and he’s waiting beside a boat to ferry us to the next life?”
“I believe in something.” I answered, wiping my blurry eyes as well, “I’ve never wanted to believe we just see darkness for all of eternity, or that it just ends. To see my family and friends again, as I like to remember them. That’s all I want. Whether it’s a glorious city in the clouds or not, I do believe there’s something. You’ll see her again, someday, I’m sure of it.”
He nodded and exhaled deeply, staring at the mounds of dirt.
“We’re not very different, Malachi. I was like you once. When my mother passed, I was angry at everything, the world, my father, the Gods. I blamed everything under the stars for that burning pit in my stomach. I blamed everything but myself for allowing it to consume me.” I said, resting my right hand on his shoulder. He trembled for a moment.
“How did you make it go away? The burning pit?”
“You don’t.” I replied, catching a confused look from the teary-eyed prince, “Pain isn’t some wound that can be cleansed and mended in a matter of days. It takes years, maybe even lifetimes. Maybe, we’re not even meant to heal completely at all. You have to learn to live with the pain, to rebuild yourself around what’s missing. You don’t move past this. Nobody could and nobody expects you to. The burning pit is terrible, and hurts like the devil, but it only stays a burning pit as long as you let it.”
“But I want to...I can’t live with this...”
“Well, what else can you do? It’s going to hurt and you know that. Give it time and you’ll see.” I said, realizing that I had to live by my own words as well, “That burning pit will spiral out of control and eat you alive if you allow it the time of day. Trust me, Malachi. It’s better to know that there’s some things you can’t change.”
We stared at the graves and recited a few prayers before we returned to the abandoned village. The full moon broke free of the clouds, providing us with just enough light. The prince wiped his eyes, shuddering and sniffling as we walked in silence. I placed my left hand on his shoulder, unaware of what else to say. I had mostly been reassuring myself at the cemetery.
I waited, sitting by the well until the sun began to dawn over the western mountains, shining its glorious light over the countryside. Malachi slept soundly, snoring aloud until I awoke him. He wiped his eyes and peered into the well alongside me but also discovered that nothing had changed - no cries for help, sounds of an ongoing struggle or any signs of life below. I patted my pocket, feeling the mirror shard that Skalige had given me. Malachi climbed to his feet and helped me to mine, then led me away from the empty village.
***
She studied them intently through the night’s darkest hours. Tarnus, the guard who watches over the prison cells would oversee for two hours before interchanging with Wilhelm, so that he could sleep on a cot in the corner. Aketa analyzed their motives
, from what she could overhear as they talked; Wilhelm felt as if Gavin’s plan would be foiled and feared for his newborn son’s life but Tarnus dismissed this, believing in the opposite. When only Wilhelm remained awake, Aketa decided to speak to him.
“Wilhelm, is that your name?” she asked through the bars. He stood with his back to her, keeping his eyes trained on the prisoners in the cells above. When he did not reply, she tried another approach, saying, “You can talk to me. He’s not here.”
“Quiet.” he ordered, stiffly.
“Are you taking his coin or does he have your family locked away somewhere?” she asked. He continued to remain silent, so she said, “You’re taking his coin, then. A true father wouldn’t blindly follow his family’s captor.”
“Quiet, I said!”
“However much he’s paying you, I can promise that the king will pay ten fold. Twenty thousand crowns were promised once we returned the prince...and an estate, compliments of the palace.” she explained, watching as his back began to stiffen, “I heard you mention your newborn son. That’s truly beautiful, I’m happy for you. Let me go and I’ll make sure your family is protected under the king’s authority. The house will be yours, I swear it.”
He said nothing.
“Gavin will be caught, Wilhelm. You have to see that. Which side of the gallows you stand in a few days depends entirely on your actions tonight. I’ll make sure the king learns of your heroics, should you choose to help me.” she continued to whisper through the bars.
“Look, lady, you don’t understand. He’ll kill them.” Wilhelm argued, turning his head so Aketa could see his left eye. A deep scar ran from his eyebrow to his nostril.
“He’s a wicked man, we both know that, but he only has power if we let him. You can help me lock him away forever.” she pleaded, “Think about your son. Don’t let him grow up in a country ruled by a tyrant, one that you had the power to stop. What’s his name? Your son?”
“Alexander.”
“A great name, Wilhelm. A great name.”
“His mother picked it.” the guard said with a faint smile.
“You don’t want to help Gavin’s schemes any more than I want to be here. I can see the good in you, my friend.”
“Once my job is done, we’re moving far from here.” he replied.
“Do you honestly believe he’s going to let you run away with the things you know? Every man, including your friend over there, who has ever known his true nature will be killed. You are going to be in his employ for the rest of your days, hiding in the shadows, wishing you could have stopped him when you had the chance.”
Wilhelm scratched the back of his neck, becoming lost in thought. Aketa reached out and grabbed his sleeve, pleading, “I beg you, Wilhelm. Do it for your country. Do it for your son.”
The guard thought for several moments, indicating that she had pulled on the appropriate cords to his heavy heart. He glanced over at Tarnus, who lay snoring in a deep sleep on his cot. He turned to Aketa and whispered, “You be quiet as a mouse. Got it? Take my horse and I’ll say that I forgot to knot the rope. One path leads to Brunson. Veer left at the crossroads. He’s planning on poisoning the king with the cook’s wine tomorrow.”
He quietly inserted one of the keys on his belt and opened the iron-barred door which creaked and groaned as it swung. Aketa stepped into the prison’s center, pausing for a moment to consider the twenty innocent prisoners in the other cells. Tarnus stirred and awoke to spot her standing with freedom just beyond her reach.
“What the fuck is this?” he snapped and moved to retrieve his halberd from beneath the cot but did not notice Wilhelm approaching. The guard placed the tip of his steel blade against the back of Tarnus’s neck, halting him in his tracks. Aketa breathed a sigh of relief as she quietly thanked her newest ally.
“What’re you doing, Wilhelm? Freeing her won’t do a damn thing but have the both of us killed once Gavin finds out!” he exclaimed, “You let her get inside of your head, didn’t you? You fool of a man, you’ve killed us both. We’ll be sharing one of these cells soon.”
“This is wrong and you know it is,” Wilhelm argued, “but it’s not too late for us to do something right. She’s our only chance.”
“You’re a bloody fool, Wilhelm. A bloody fool.” Tarnus spat.
“These people here are his victims as well. Do the right thing, Wilhelm. Thank you.” she said with a nod, gesturing towards the other prisoners.
He shot Aketa a smile, keeping his sword pressed to Tarnus’s neck. She rushed to the horses, who were tied to a sturdy willow that leaned against the ruins. She climbed over the back of the strongest mare and gripped the reins tightly. After delivering a swift kick to its ribs, she galloped away towards the lone trail that would lead her to the palace. The sun rose into the sky as she passed farms, woodlands and hills between the prison and Brunson with a single determination in mind. She felt the rush of the breeze as it flowed through her loose hair, trailing behind her tired shoulders while listening to my voice echoing in her head.
CHAPTER NINE
BURNING OF THE SACRED CHURCH
The heat woke me. I opened my eyes to find that I was lying beside a gorge. Malachi was nowhere in sight. The fallen tree, which supported my head as I slept, was covered in black moss and spider webs. As soon as I spotted a rushing stream nearby, I dove headfirst towards it and began drinking. The cool water soothed my parched throat. The grainy sand crunched beneath my fingertips as I drank like an overheated mare. Once I had drank my fill, I called out, “Malachi!”
No answer. Only the cawing of birds called back.
“Malachi?” I tried again.
The sun was at mid-morning. I could not remember much, aside from the events of Bardford and the harsh trek into the Tuskan wilderness. I was surrounded by ravines and faults, which all led to the stream at the bottom of the gorge. Small fish darted across the rocky bottom. “If only you brought a pole, Caine.” I said to myself, kneeling down to admire them.
My elven armor had been mostly cleaned of the giant’s blood. Chunks of it were still matted to the breastplate and forearm gauntlets and reeked to high heavens. I lowered them into the water and began feverishly scrubbing to clean them. I did not know why I chose to do that. Flakes of dried blood peeled off and floated away in the gentle stream.
Dark clouds rolled overhead, cooling the grass around me. Within a handful of minutes, the blue skies became overcast. The sun’s disc quickly vanished behind a veil of grey. I rolled onto my back and called out, “Malachi! Damnit, where are you?”
The sounds of leaves and twigs crunching came from behind as the prince whispered, “Keep your voice down, Caine. Shouting does no one good this side of Dadelburg. Bandits aren’t the only ones prowling the area.”
I nodded, realizing that he was right.
“What happened?” I asked as he emerged from the treeline, carrying a handful of berries.
“You passed out some time ago. You’re much heavier than you look and I couldn’t carry you. I dragged you to this stream, tried splashing water on your face but even that wouldn’t work. You didn’t sleep much last night so I figured you were just exhausted. Here, have some of these.” he said, offering me some blackberries. I graciously accepted.
“We have elven bread. Enough to last a week.” I said before I found that my pack was nearly empty. The black box was all that remained in the bottom, “Where is it? The bread?”
“Your friend must’ve had it in his bag. That’s all that I found in yours, that strange box.” the prince answered as he sat beside me, plopping berries into his mouth, “And unfortunately, it doesn’t cook lizard eggs or I could’ve made us breakfast. Can’t start a fire because smoke draws attention. Errants hardly patrol these roads, so if we run across a band of thieves, we’re shit out of luck.”
I rested my head on the dew-covered grass, watching as buzzards circled in the sky. The overcast clouds would occasionally part as they rolled westward. The birds wo
uld pass between us and the sun, quickly basking us in brief shadows. The wind had completely died, leaving the rushing water as the only sound in the grove. Malachi wiped his nose as he hungrily devoured another three blackberries and said, “You know, I was planning on giving Krea fifty ships, filled to the mast with gold. I would have proposed to her with a firework show. The fireworks would spell out the words in the night sky.”
I smiled, hearing the pain in his innocent words and replied, “That much gold would sink a ship, Malachi. Your gold would be at the bottom of the sea. Not much good it would do there.”
“You think so?” he said, scrunching his nose as he thought it through, “I’ve seen ships carry twice their weight! Father sends scouting parties to the Black Islands twice a year and they always return with rubies as fat as a melon and enough gold to spend in three lifetimes. I think it would work. They wouldn’t sink.”
“Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out, Malachi.” I said, to which he groaned.
“I never wanted to be a prince, Caine.” he said, rolling onto one side to face me, “I wanted to travel the world. I wanted to see the dragons of the Dread Mountains, the harpies on Orion’s shores and the leviathans of East Hallobar. Sadly, kings hire explorers and adventurers. Pfft, no fun. No fun at all.”
“There would be no kings if they all journeyed into the unknown.”
A yellow butterfly fluttered between the trees above us.
“Yes, that’s true, but nobody asks the king if he wants to sit around in his castle while greater men have all the adventures! I didn’t ask to lead a kingdom. Athalos would be much better at it than me. His mind’s as sharp as your sword and he understands more about politics. A part of me wanted to never return to the palace, to live the rest of my life traveling the continent.” the prince muttered, twiddling his thumbs, “What’s waiting for me back there besides a throne I never wanted?”
“It’s your birthright, your responsibility to the country.”
