by R J Murray
In each room and corridor they passed, the dead lay. Their deaths had been full of agony and in many cases, not swift. An anger burned in Kristdor as he passed so many dead. A growing rage for the one who would do such a thing to her own people.
A scream sounded from nearby and without thought, the watch captain ran towards the cry. He turned a corner and skidded to a stop on the polished stone floor, eyes wide at what he beheld.
****
Amina pushed open the bronzed doors and stopped, hand flying to her mouth as the all too familiar stench of death came to her. The young priestess who had opened the door for her lay dead, her head several feet away from her body.
Someone screamed nearby, the sound echoing along the corridor and filling her heart with pain. She called on the strength of her goddess and ran towards the sound. She didn’t go far before she found the source of the cry.
“Ysnir, give me strength.”
She felt the golden power of Ysnir flow through her, down her arm and into her hand. She thrust it out before her and the golden light spilt out, striking a creature clothed in darkness.
It dropped the priest that it held in one hand and turned to stare directly at Amina. The goddesses light bubbled the darkness that covered it but did little else. Four mandibles erupted from the blank face and a chilling laughter echoed through the corridor.
The light faltered as it moved closer to her and she lifted her chin, standing firm before the monster and preparing to sell her life dearly as a daughter of Ysnir should.
I WAS CREATED TO KILL THE CHOSEN OF THE GODS. YOUR LIGHT CANNOT HARM ME.
The words echoed through her skull and she staggered, eyes moving as she searched for anything she could use as a weapon against it. Though, she would use teeth and fingernails if nothing else.
Amina raised her hands before her as it took another step closer. The darkness rippled across it and she braced herself, ready for an attack that never came. Instead, it sank down to one knee before her, bowing its head.
“Mistress,” it said aloud just as the watch captain and his constables rounded the corner.
Chapter 21
Wynn cursed and kicked at the grey root of the nearby tree as it tried to wrap itself around his ankle. A word was spoken as he flicked his hand and a small ball of fire shot from it as though fired by a bow. It struck the root which was quickly pulled back towards the nearby tree it had come from.
The mage glared at it as he reached for his satchel, his intentions plain. Jochum seized his wrist with one large hand and shook his head silently before leaning in close and speaking, his voice low so only the mage could hear him.
“Save your magics.” A distant hoot sounded, closer than before and the warrior lifted his head, tilting it to one side as he listened to a second answering hoot that was closer still. “We’ll need it soon enough.”
Wynn jerked back his hand, but he didn’t reach for his regents, instead, he pulled the hood of his robes further over his face and glowered. His small eyes glittered malevolently at the tree and everything else he laid eyes upon, seeming to take offence at everything.
Mia looked up at the darkening sky, wiping the oily rain from her face with the hem of her cloak and judged the day to be almost done. The thought of spending the night in the forest gave her the chills but after almost a full days walking, they couldn’t have gone more than three miles from where they had departed the ship.
The wilds were a place of lethal flora and fauna both and navigating them took time and skill. Since they had a total novice with them, they had opted to move a little slower, much to the fat mages displeasure.
Beneath the trees the putrid smelling air was cloying, the air tasting almost as bad as it smelt. Small creatures scurried into hiding as they passed and larger insects stubbornly refused to change their course for the sake of the human trespassers on their domain.
One such millipede that was almost as long as Jochum was tall and as thick around as his thigh, sat coiled around a deer the size of a child. Armoured segments of its carapace tightening protectively as a chittering hiss sounded from the armoured face. Its segmented eyes watched as they passed, and only then did it return to its meal.
The sticky lines that Mia had thought to be vines were indeed webs and to her horror, the spider Syn had killed had been the runt of its kind. Vicious black creatures the size of a wolfhound strung their webs across entire sections of the forest, their prey, anything that moved.
“Another,” Elva said wearily as she raised her bow and pulled back on it.
An arrow flew, striking the spider just below its head, breaking through the chitin with a loud crack. It fell to the ground, legs curling up and inwards as it shuddered then lay still. The ranger jogged over to retrieve her arrow.
She stopped, bent in a half-crouch and lifted a hand for the others to stay where they were. She reached for the arrow with her free hand, moving slowly. Then, with a jerk she pulled it free and leapt to the side, hitting the ground hard and rolling.
The sharp grass sliced the skin of her forehead and she swore loudly as she rose to her feet, thrusting the arrow up and straight at the second spider as it recovered from its failed leap and attacked once more, jumping to her.
It collided with her, legs wrapping around her torso, digging into the leathers she wore as it scrabbled for purchase. She stifled a yell, knowing to do so would alert more of the local wildlife to their position.
Jochum had his sword raised as Mia formed the image of a dart in the air and gave it weight and form with practised ease. She threw her arm forward and the dart flew out, striking the spider atop Elva with shattering force, caving in its carapace and almost splitting the body in half.
“Well done, lass,” Jochum said softly.
He used the point of his sword to pull the spider away from their friend and held out a hand to help her up. She nodded her thanks gruffly and flashed a smile at Mia.
“Quick thinking and a good aim. You have my gratitude.”
Mia licked dry lips and nodded back, unable to reply. It had been an instinctive act and she was honestly surprised that she had been able to even reach for her magic when called, let alone cast a spell to save her friend.
Syn patted her on the shoulder as he passed, and she fell into step beside him. A tremble running through her body, causing her to clasp her hands tight to her sides to stop them shaking.
“Is the rush of battle you feel,” the thief whispered to her. “It will pass, and you will feel more tired than before.”
“Was so fast!” Her heart still beat wildly in her chest and she looked back at the where the spider lay. “I killed it!”
“Aye, that you did.” Syn smiled and pulled her into a rough embrace before letting her go. A sign of camaraderie and a growing friendship.
“W-where are you from?” It was a question she had been afraid to ask for some time but right then, her thoughts running so fast through her mind, she needed something solid to cling to. “P-please?”
“Far to the south,” he said without preamble, seeming to understand her need to talk, his voice soft, almost distant. “Beyond the desert cities and jungles of the Sithis’Tor, the snake people as you know them. There is a land of great beauty. That, that is my home.”
“The mountains rise to the sky and the gods sit atop them, watching over us. While the spirits roam at night and the devils hunt, but the warriors of our great nation have much practice at war. They keep the people safe.”
“There are vast plains of grass where the herds roam and in ancient jungles are the Ikati, a race of people created by the ascendant Ezotl to fight for him in the wars. They are beautiful, graceful and deadly to outsiders.”
He smiled, eyes misting a little as he spoke of his homeland but not stopping his constant vigilance as he watched for danger.
“Near my home, there was a waterfall. It fell a thousand feet and roared so loud you could not speak nor hear anything but its voice. In the lakes were fish as l
ong as your arm that would jump and leap from waters, giving thanks to the sun as it fell below the horizon.”
“It is a place of great beauty,” he finished wistfully.
“Why did you leave?”
“My mother, she was an important woman. When she died, my sister wanted to be important too. So, she sent men into our homes with sharp knives and black hearts.”
There was a deep pain in his voice as he remembered that, and she placed a gentle hand on his arm.
“I’m sorry.”
“No. I was away with a boy from another family. We were swimming naked beneath the stars and enjoying our youth in the great Lake Ihotry. When we returned, it was too late to save my brothers and sisters, but I was able to avenge them.”
He smiled then and it chilled her heart as some memory surfaced in his mind, but it soon faded, and he returned to the same Syn she recognised.
“I fled my homeland with many warriors chasing me. They stopped when I reached the restless sands of the barren wastes, thinking I would die at the hands of the snake men or the desert heat. I did not.”
“Enough of your yammering,” Wynn snapped, cutting off their conversation. “There’s a time and a place for such womanly gossip.”
The fat mage brushed past them, grumbling all the while and Mia stuck out her tongue at his back raising a snigger from Syn. Wynn glanced back, thick brows lowering in anger, but she gave him an innocent stare and he turned away.
“The whispers he hears are becoming worse,” Syn said softly. “He was not always like this. Once he was a man I called friend.”
“It seems to be every night now,” Mia agreed. “Muttering and turning in his sleep. Must be awful for him.”
“We will free him of his pain,” the thief promised. “Soon enough.”
The words sent another chill down her spine and she merely nodded, falling silent as she followed the others. It was a grim reminder of the fate that they were marching towards and one she had not needed to hear.
“We’ll set up camp here,” Jochum said, calling a halt in the hollow beside a short rockface. There was a natural overhang and plenty of trees all around to hide them from view. “Wynn?”
Mia glanced at the mage wondering what he would do. He gestured for them all to gather together in the centre of the dip in the land and raised his hands. She touched the stone hanging around her neck and gasped.
Like the spiders in the trees, he was weaving an intricate net of light around the hollow. Made with strands of air, earth, fire and more besides that she did not recognise, he wove a criss-cross pattern that surrounded them entirely and then spoke a final word, filling his pattern with power so that it became a solid shell in which they could rest.
“What is that?”
There was a delight in her voice and it was the thief who answered her.
“It’s a protective shield that has been…” he seemed to struggle for the word.
“Camouflaged,” Elva supplied.
“Yes, camouflaged. If you were outside it, you would see naught but trees and bushes or perhaps a pile of rocks.”
“Powerful magic,” she murmured.
“Bah! Any third-year apprentice could do as much. Tis easy to do when you have mastered more than the basic four elements.”
Mia looked at the irritable mage as he answered her, and her mouth hung open. It hadn’t even occurred to her that there were more than just the four elements he had first shown her.
“What others are there?”
“Another time,” he grumped. “I’m weary and you have yet to master even those basic ones.”
He seated himself on a rock, careful to avoid the razor-like strands of purple grass that seemed to infest the area and pulled his day's rations from his pack. The others were doing the same and with a sour look for the mage, Mia joined them.
They ate in silence, the trail-bread dry and crumbly but filling. Mia drank some of the tepid water in her flask to wash the tasteless crumbs from her mouth and stopped, hand half raised as something big, brushed past the outer edge of the dome.
It rippled like the still water of a pond when hit by a stone. She could see little beyond the rough shape. A large body that rested on all fours, but still as tall as she, giving it a feeling of bulk that she couldn’t shake. Small ears and a skull the size of her torso, with a flattened face and sharp beak had her backing away.
A hand gripped her arm and she glanced back to see Jochum press a finger to his lips, demanding silence from her. She nodded quickly, fear all but sending her running. It was only the presence of her friends that kept her there.
The creature rose up on its hind legs and her eyes widened further as it towered over her, almost twice her size. A hooting growl came rumbling from the barrel like chest and one mighty paw smashed down, shattering the dome of magic.
Wynn’s hand shot out, flames billowing forth and the owlbear dropped to all fours and lumbered towards them, the flame passing over its head. An arrow hit its side and it barely broke stride, heading right at Mia.
She screamed.
Then Jochum was there, standing in front of her with shining sword raised before him. The owlbear rose up, swinging a massive paw. He ducked beneath, blade flashing, and the creature howled its pain and rage.
It swung again and once more but couldn’t land a blow as the warrior dodged beneath or around each of them and his sword sang in response. She had never seen anything like it, and watched, dumbfounded, as he danced around the monstrous owlbear.
Another arrow hit its flank, then another and that was followed by the spinning knife thrown almost effortlessly by Syn. The mage, not to be outdone, cracked the air with a bolt of lightning that illuminated the hollow and the trees surrounding it with bright light as the owlbear roared its pain, feathers and fur blackening from the heat.
But it didn’t stop.
Jochum took a wrong step, the grey root of a tree wrapping around his ankle and holding tight. When he moved to step aside from a paw the size of his head, he found himself rooted and took the full force of the blow on his chest.
He hit the ground hard, breath leaving him in one exhaled breath and the owlbear raised its paw once more. Mia screamed, wanting nothing more than for the owlbear to go away and power surged through her as instinct wove a spell.
Light flashed, and her eyes rolled up in her head as all the energy she had was drawn from her with the force of the magic she unleashed. A torrent of almost raw power hit the creature in the side and went through to the bone.
More feathers and fur burst from the owlbear as it howled and staggered to the side, blood leaking from the torn flesh. It turned and lumbered away, wounded but not quite done as it raised its muzzle to the sky and let out a hoot that was echoed on three sides.
“Well… “ Syn said as he looked from the unconscious girl to the retreating owlbear. “That was unexpected.”
“The girl has potential and raw gift aplenty,” Wynn snapped wearily. “But not the skill to use it. She’s lucky to be alive.”
“Which is more than we will be,” Jochum said pushing himself to his feet. He placed a hand against the rock face to steady himself and shook his head. “There’s more of them coming. We have to leave.”
The others quickly agreed and weariness dragging against them all, they gathered their few belongings. Syn, with more strength than expected for one so slim, lifted Mia with ease and carried her from the hollow.
It did not escape them that they had fared poorly against a powerful yet simple creature such as the owlbear. That did not bode well for when they reached the cave and faced the evil within which was a greater adversary indeed.
Chapter 22
Kristdor was only dimly aware of his sister speaking her words of magic as she moved to cast a spell, or his constables spreading out across the corridor, their fear palpable. All he could see was the flame-haired priestess and the monster that served her.
It rose to its feet, spinning smoothly on one heel a
nd spoke in a voice that chilled him. “Fear not, mistress. I shall destroy them for you.”
The ground erupted beneath its feet as Vala completed her spell. The very stone of the floor rising up like a giant hand to encase it head to foot like some obelisk. Everyone stood still, silence filling the hallway but for the laboured panting of the mage.
Then a crack sounded, echoing through the halls as Kristdor raised his short sword, fear seizing his throat and stealing his voice as memories of the last encounter flashed through his mind.
“I-I,” the high priestess began, and he glowered, anger burning away enough of the fear for him to gesture for his constables. “W-wait, you don’t understand!”
“Keep that damned thing contained!” Kristdor snapped at his sister as he moved forward. “Priestess, you are to be bound by the laws of this city. Do not resist.”
He paused as another crack sounded, the stone containing the creature shifting as it fought to free itself. “Vala!”
“I’m trying,” she muttered as she weaved her spell.
It was to no avail as the stone surrounding the creature cracked like an egg and then burst apart, the creature striding free of its prison, no expression on the blank mask of a face. With each step it picked up speed until it was running straight at them, clawed hands outstretched before it.
Then it was amongst them.
Kristdor struck first, sword rebounding from the black armoured shell and it swatted him aside as though he weighed nothing. He hit the wall, hard, as the creature’s claws tore through the throat of a heavyset constable that had been in the watch for years.
A second died, as Kristdor struggled to his feet. A foot-long spike of ice crashed against its back with enough force to embed there. The creature spun, mandibles rising from beside its jaw. It ignored the sword blows from the constables, shrugging them aside as it set its sights on Vala.
“We can’t hurt it!” one of the constables called.
“Protect Vala then! She can!”
