by Travis Bughi
“He was right behind us practically.” Adelpha nodded. “And he knew just where to attack us: in an enclosed space with nowhere to run. But I guess we shouldn’t be that surprised. This is their land, right? The centaurs are the same way in Angor, and don’t even get me started on the elves.”
Emily nodded and said, “I hear you on that one.”
They crested another hill, and the wind blew violently again. Abe put a second quick hand onto his gunslinger hat and then moved to the right of the trio where his coattails wouldn’t be flung into anyone. They descended down into another valley, and Abe sighed heavily.
“I really don’t enjoy making this trip so often,” he said. “Traveling twice to Lucifan in the same month, let alone without a mount either time, is not how I like to spend my time.”
“You can go back if you can’t handle it,” Emily suggested.
“Never said I couldn’t.”
They went silent again as the wind whipped around them. It was fierce today to be sure. Not the worst Emily had ever experienced, but certainly unpleasant. The good news was that it at least kept the sun’s heat off her skin. Ever since she’d traded farmer’s pants for an amazon skirt, she’d had to deal with exposure to light rays in a whole new way. Her skin, almost completely covered before, was now much more exposed. There were many benefits to this: increased mobility in combat, easier to shoot a bow, less noise while trying to remain undetected, and just the right amount of exposure for the warm jungle heat.
However, the change had been painful at first for Emily as the sun beat into areas of her skin that it had never touched before. Under the sun on the shade-less plains, Emily had learned a new kind of torture that came with tender, reddened skin. She’d toughed through it well enough, though, and after a time of agony, that problem had passed. By the time she’d reached Angor, her farmer’s tan had completely disappeared, and she no longer burned so easily under the light of day.
“So, what’s our plan?” Adelpha asked. “Any ideas?”
“I’ve been mulling over a few.” Emily said. “First thing we have to consider is that we’re heading into a kobold nest, in my opinion.”
“Fairly accurate description.” Adelpha nodded in agreement. “Only the kobolds are actually bugbears.”
“Can you two stop using references I don’t understand, please?” Abe cut in. “You two make it really hard to follow sometimes. Centaurs and elves I’ve heard of, sure, but kobolds? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Okay, sorry,” Emily chuckled, remembering a time not long ago when she was in her brother’s shoes. “How about a behemoth stampede? We’ve robbed from Borgan, shot Count Drowin in the face, and killed the minotaur sent to crush us. Our enemy will be out in force trying to find us, and my guess is that Heliena is not patient enough to let others do her dirty work any longer.”
“You’re right,” Adelpha said. “It’s a shock she hasn’t been charging through the streets already. Someone must have requested she stayed hidden, perhaps her husband, because I can’t see her taking orders from anyone else, except Drowin maybe.”
“I’m still surprised she married at all,” Emily added. “She doesn’t seem like the type to do such a thing.”
“She didn’t do it for love, Emily.” Adelpha gave her a sidelong glance. “She did it for power. Shoguns are rulers, right? That’s why she married Ichiro Katsu. Shoguns must rule differently than amazons, more absolutely, because otherwise she would have just murdered me and become the next in line to the amazon throne. There must be more to gain from being a shogun’s wife. And I think his reasons for marrying her are rather obvious.”
“Not to me, they aren’t,” Abe said. “I can’t believe, in all of Juatwa, Katsu couldn’t find a better and less dangerous woman to marry. I mean, you’ve mentioned her beauty before, but surely there’re other attractive women overseas? They’d probably be more obedient, too. Why would he pick such a rebellious, evil woman?”
“Maybe that’s exactly what he likes,” Adelpha countered. “Maybe there are some men in this world, even powerful ones, who like a strong woman. And I’ll admit there are few women in this world more confident than my sister.”
Adelpha cocked an eyebrow at Abe, giving him a meaningful stare. Emily caught the tone in Adelpha’s voice immediately, but it took a moment for Abe to catch on to the obvious. Finally it dawned on him, and he let the subject go.
“Well, if we’re going to find her,” Abe said, “we’ll need more eyes.”
Adelpha looked sidelong at Emily, but Emily didn’t return the gaze.
“Gavin?” Adelpha asked meekly.
“Gavin,” Emily confirmed.
“Damn.”
Chapter 16
They debated over whether to enter Lucifan during the day or at night. It took one full day’s travel to reach Lucifan, so after a terrible night’s sleep out on the plains, they arrived outside the city in the late morning. Now they had to decide whether to try and mingle with the crowds or wait for the cover of darkness. As expected, Adelpha was all for traversing the dark, and Emily leaned with her, but Abe was hesitant because he lacked trust in his stealth ability.
“My spurs will give us away,” he insisted. “Why don’t we just walk in now while the streets are packed?”
“Because two amazons and a gunslinger don’t blend in,” Emily explained.
“Why do you wear those things anyway?” Adelpha pestered. “In what sane world would you ever want your enemy to hear you approaching?”
“Heh.” Abe smirked. “Gunslingers don’t normally have enemies to be afraid of. Normally, the sound sends the thieves running, and sends out a subtle calling card to anyone looking to hire me. Not to mention they’re great for controlling a unicorn. I can use the metal to help me turn—”
“Yeah, that’s great,” Adelpha said, cutting him off with sarcasm. “Can you take them off?”
Abe froze with his jaw still hanging open, shocked to have his first ever love treat him this way. Emily grinned. She already knew Adelpha wasn’t very romantic, and it seemed Abe was just coming to terms with that.
“The spurs,” Adelpha clarified, thinking Abe was confused by the question. “Can you remove the spurs?”
“Well, yes,” he answered, closing his mouth.
“Good,” Adelpha said. “Then it’s settled. We enter at night.”
They waited outside Lucifan at the top of the basin’s edge overlooking the city. The wind blew and the sun beat down on them, but at least the view was great.
Tiny dots moved between the massive columns of buildings like shifting specs of dirt. Most were human, but there were more than a few larger minotaur and ogre dots, as well as some tiny leprechaun dots. They could only see the outer edges of the city, really, as the buildings hid the inner part quite well. Beyond that, in the harbor, Emily watched the ships come and go from the docks, absolutely fascinated.
They seemed so large. She’d always known ships were large and had seen them before on her first trip to Lucifan, but she only just now took the time to fully comprehend the magnitude of what she was seeing. These vessels weren’t like houses. They were built and manned by many hands, and they traveled vast distances that seemed almost unimaginable to Emily’s mind. They were gateways to other worlds, places only these ships could take her to, and she wanted desperately to be aboard one. She didn’t much care where it was going, just so long as it would take her there.
She watched the ships for another hour, just marveling at the idea of all the treasures they brought in, until finally she tore her eyes from them to look back at the city, and then to the kneeling colossi in front of the city. They were still there, still unmoving, bent on one knee in a solemn prayer. Emily began to ponder their situation. All three knelt in a neat row facing west with their fists still plowed into the dirt. To their left, the main path into Lucifan ran by them, and onlookers either stood in awe as if they’d never seen this before or ignored it entirely because the
scene was old. Some people went to Lucifan every day, some only came once a year, and there was at least one person for everything in between. Even while kneeling, the colossi were almost as tall as a treant, or twice the full height of a minotaur. Emily wondered what would become of the angel-created statues. Would they stay like that forever? Ephron had said Quartus had controlled them, and he was gone. It could mean that they would never move again, and as Emily pondered their future, she thought of the worst possible outcome.
What if they were scavenged?
For now, people were too afraid of them to do anything like that, but in time, thieves or even leprechauns might begin to harvest the statues for their material. Emily shuddered at the thought and hoped to be proven wrong. However, just as that thought shivered away from her mind, she saw the figure of a human branch off from the main path.
The human walked toward the colossi, and many others on the road stopped to watch. As Emily took a closer look, she swore it was a young woman but could not be sure. The woman, if it truly was one, continued to take slow steps toward the colossi. She approached them with determination and caution, and Emily tapped her brother and Adelpha to point out the oddity.
“What is she doing?” Abe asked.
“I don’t know,” Emily said. “I haven’t figured it out yet.”
As the woman approached the stone beings, faint voices from the folk on the road reached Emily’s ears. They were shouting for the woman to come back, get away, or run if she must, but she ignored them and continued forward slowly yet constantly. Those left behind on the path began waving frantically. Perhaps they were her friends or family, but they were not nearly as brave as her for they remained on the road. Other onlookers paused in their travels, as well, to gaze in wonder at the woman who was now nearing the first colossus.
She paused for a moment, seeming to take a deep breath, before walking calmly in front of it. The people on the road went silent, and a crowd began to form, choking the path. Everyone seemed poised to run, and Emily noticed her heart was racing. Had anyone been that close to a colossus before, even while they still functioned?
She passed the first one, and Emily sighed. The crowd stood silently and stared. The woman continued to ignore them and walked in front of the middle colossus. She walked right underneath it, right up to its clenched fist, and it seemed the entire world had gone silent. Even the wind was just barely above a whisper.
The woman stayed there for a few moments, not moving, and Emily hardly blinked.
“What is she doing?” Adelpha asked, not really expecting an answer.
“I don’t know,” Emily answered, not really hearing the question.
Suddenly, the woman finished whatever she was doing and hurriedly sprinted back to the path. Her pace was brisk, as if fearful, and the moment she reached the path she was swarmed by those who had been waving at her. As the group started walking back towards the city, the woman hung her head low as if in shame. She was easy to follow because the crowd gave her a wide berth and looked at her strangely, and Emily couldn’t help but do the same.
“Let’s check it out when it’s dark,” Emily replied, her breathing still slightly elevated. “I want to know if she did or left anything.”
“You’re going alone,” Adelpha said. “I don’t like how those people looked at her. There’s something wrong with those colossi. You can tell.”
“Abe?” Emily asked.
“Eh.” He hesitated. “I think I better watch out for Adelpha. You’re on your own little sister.”
Great, she thought, just great.
* * *
In all honesty, Emily couldn’t think of one logical reason why she or anyone else should be afraid of approaching the colossi. They hadn’t moved since Quartus died, they’d never hurt anyone of innocence before that, and they weren’t much bigger than her house when kneeling. Surely nothing so predictable should be so ominous.
Yet her legs were shaking, and she hadn’t even crossed the path towards them.
“Well, go on,” Adelpha encouraged.
It had to be the angels, Emily decided. These moving statues of stone men were obviously mourning their creators, and the fact that they existed at all spoke of power beyond mortal imagination. No one wanted to tamper with such unknowns.
“What are you waiting for?” Abe whispered.
But Emily had to know. These were Quartus’ creations, his children. These beings were ancient. They’d been created when the angels first arrived, and still they remained after their makers had perished. She couldn’t help but feel drawn to them as if she and they were connected somehow. Quartus had given his life to her, his immortal life, and if there was anything left on this earth that could tie her to him, it was these massive stone giants.
Emily breathed deeply. She had to know.
“If you don’t go now,” Adelpha started.
“Alright.” Emily cut off her nagging. “I’m going.”
Emily stood up and immediately suppressed the urge to sit back down. Come on, she urged herself. With a steady breath, she regained control of her body and started walking.
She crossed the wide path just fine. Not a single blade of grass grew in this section of the Great Plains—so heavy was the traffic that it crushed any such attempts. The ground was like rock covered with a thin layer of dust kicked up each day by Lucifan’s many visitors. It had long since settled, only now disturbed by Emily’s cautious steps.
Emily noticed none of this, of course. Her eyes were glued to the colossi, and as she approached closer and closer towards them, she began to take notice of their features.
The angels had chosen an interesting design. The colossi resembled shirtless, human men—and well-built human men, at that. Each had chiseled abs, a robust chest, and delicately carved arms and legs. Such attention to physical detail seemed more closely associated with an infatuated mortal than a modest angel. Emily guessed that all three colossi were made by someone else and given life by the angels. Their attire was interesting as well. The artist had chosen a studded leather skirt, similar to that of an amazon, as one of the three articles of clothing worn by each. The other two clothing items were sandals and a helmet. The sandals were nothing spectacular. Although everything on the colossi was stone, the sandals resembled the old-fashioned leather ones Emily had seen once or twice on travelers. The helmet, though, was another story altogether.
Emily had only seen two types of armored helmets in her life. The first was the bulky, full-face helmet of the knights with a mechanical front piece that could be lifted up to reveal the face. The second was the round bowl worn by vikings, which had metal straps hanging down to protect the sides of the face. She imagined the angels would have wanted the colossi helmets to resemble those of the knights, but in truth, their helmets more closely resembled those of the vikings.
But these were different, somehow more terrifying. They weren’t bowl shaped, and the side pieces, rather than just coming straight down with most of the face open for viewing, instead jutted forward to leave only a narrow slit for the nose and mouth. For the eyes, crude square holes were carved out, lessening the colossi’s human appearance and making them more menacing. In the center of the forehead, the rounded metal came to a sort of crest that Emily assumed would help deflect a direct blow. Altogether, it was a bit intimidating.
As Emily approached the first one, she peered up at its head, curious about its eyes and hoping they weren’t like a treant’s, which were human in appearance. The first time she’d seen that, it had made her skin crawl.
Just before she reached the first colossus, Emily felt odd. Her heart’s pace, rather than speeding up, began to slow down. Her gasping breaths, bulging eyes, and dry throat contradicted the slow steady beat inside her chest. By all accounts, she reckoned her heart should be racing right now, but it was calm.
Emily tried to shake the odd feeling of her body sending two different signals, but all of it was forgotten as she finally walked beneath the first col
ossus.
She looked up and sighed in relief. Its eyes were blank, solid stone.
The artist, whomever he or she was, had invested exquisite detail into everything except the eyes. Dull stone, rolled over into an oval ball, they took away yet more humanity from the colossi’s appearance. Emily, having seen the disturbing opposite, was relieved by this.
“Hurry up!” Adelpha called out in a not-too-hushed voice.
Emily waved her off and kept walking. She passed the first colossus and moved on to the middle one.
“What were you up to, lady?” Emily whispered into the wind.
She reached the middle colossus and its enclosed fist thrust into the earth. She saw nothing amiss, so she took another step forward, and then another, and then another and another until she was within reach of the colossus. Her breaths came fast while her heart beat at a resting pace. There was nothing to see on the colossus’ fist, and Emily sighed in relief; it had not been vandalized.
Then she looked down, and resting on the ground was a single, beautiful rose.
Emily gasped. A memorial, she thought. But of course! What a wonderful idea! Her spirit soared at the kind gesture. Emily had been afraid for nothing. The woman had only come to honor the angels and leave a token of her appreciation for what they had done.
It was fantastic, and Emily warmed to the concept.
“Yes!” she shouted up into the colossus’ helmeted face. “This is great! You three will be fine. Oh! I know! I should say something, too. Excuse me.”
She tried to wipe the grin from her face and assumed a solemn look. She clasped her hands in front of her, looked down at the rose and then back up at the colossus.
“I suppose I’ll just talk to you?” she said. “I mean, there’s no one else around. I hope you don’t mind. This feels silly, actually, if I can be honest, but part of me hopes that through you, Quartus can hear me. So, here goes nothing.”
Emily cleared her throat.
“Quartus,” she started, “if you’re there, know that I am very thankful for what you did and very sorry that I couldn’t stop it. I don’t know why you decided to invest in me. Maybe Ephron was right; perhaps you were out of options. I certainly don’t feel worthy, that’s for sure, but I suppose it’s a bit too late for regrets. Chara, Iezabel, you, the other angels, even Belen. She’s not dead, but I helped ruin her life. Now she’s stuck in exile thinking the man she loves will come for her, when in reality he couldn’t care less about her.
