by Kyle Spencer
“Sister!” Celeste starts to admonish.
“Oh shush Celeste. Like you didn’t know. Now c’mon. Let’s get him up on one, two, threeeee.”
My world spins and my breath gets lodged in my throat as the wounds start their firepoker drumbeat again. I’m wobbly for a second but can stand on my own without much difficulty. Walking, however…
“W-what about his clothes?” Celeste asks while trying - and failing - to not look down at me.
“We don’t really have time to dress him. Plus I don’t think he’ll mind.” Talia rolls her eyes. I smile and wiggle a little at that. “See?”
Archy shakes the remaining drops of blood off his hammer. It’s a massive weapon - much bigger than the one I brought with me to confront the ogre - but Archy wields it in one paw like a cub playing with a stick. “So where is secret escape?”
“Turn right and (oof! You’re heavier than you look) go to the end of the hall.”
Another bat zips by the door but Zott catches it mid-flight. He slams the delicate brown body onto the floor and stomps. Celeste makes a guttural urp! as Archy checks the hallway and motions for us to follow. He leads us to the right with Susi close on his tail while my two helpers and I hobble along in the rear.
“Take a right and enter the third door on the left.” Talia instructs.
“The library?” Celeste asks, incredulous.
“You’ll see.”
Zott stands before a large oak door with the word ‘Library’ beautifully carved into it. The door is smeared with bloody pawprints and a long gash cuts a few of the letters in half. Talia nods to the professor and he opens the door and ushers us inside. The library is dark with a few table lamps illuminating shelves on shelves of books. The light barely reaches the edge of the topmost bookshelves, giving the room the illusion of having a no ceiling.
Except there is a ceiling.
And it sounds like its alive.
Before any of us can react the door behind us slams shut, sending out a ripple of squeaks overhead.
“Is my bad.” Archy whispers apologetically.
“I’ve always said that nothing good can come from a library.” I say as the half-dozen bats hanging from the ceiling spread their wings and descend upon us in a hail of shrieks.
Retreat and Revelation
Go to sleep little one
And don’t make a noise
Tomorrow you can frolic
And play with your toys
The moon is in bed now
And the night is so black
So stay under the covers
Until the sun comes back
Go to sleep little one
And don’t make a sound
For tonight is the night
The Ko’mori come ‘round.
- Children’s lullaby
“Oh shit oh shit oh shit time to move!” I yell as the Ko’mori zero in on our location and begin their attack. They flit above in patternless zigzags as they chirp and scree, searching for an opportunity to divebomb us. Archy swings his hammer wildly above his head until he connects with one of them, sending it flying like a furry missile into a wall where it drops in a heap. Before it hits the ground the others dive into the numerous corridors between the bookshelves, using them as ambush points. Their chirps and shuffles echo from everywhere at once.
“We need to get to the far back corner.” Talia whispers to me. “There’s a book there that doesn’t belong in the convent. It’s a switch for a secret passage out of here.”
I nod and relay directions to Archy via convoluted paw signals. He begins to make his way to the back of the library, hammer in paw and checking every nook and shadow as we go along. After a couple of slow, agonizing minutes Archy turns around to look at us. He shrugs and puts his back against one of the bookshelves. Grunting, he rocks the shelf back and forth until it topples over, starting a domino effect down the library. The slamming of bookshelf on bookshelf is joined twice by surprised squeaks followed by soft squishes. Archy grimly nods and holds up three fingers. Including the one he catapulted into the wall, that’s three down, three to go.
As the dust settles the library becomes eerily quiet. The five of us stand still, ears cocked upwards for any hint of noise. The noise that does come jabs icicles into my spine. The poofed-out fur on the others show that they heard it too: the faint sucking of a cub at its mother’s breast or an old drunk trying to get the last drop out of a mug, the hurried scrabbling of claws and the solid thunks of knocked-over books, and the struggled moans of someone - most likely some unfortunate sister.
Talia looks at me worriedly. She knows the folklore as well.
We turn towards a sudden whimper on our right as a petite fox limps around one of the toppled shelves. Her white habit is stained red around the shoulders and her eyes are glazed over. “Wha-where am I?” Her voice is strained and barely above a whisper. “Sister Talia? Sister Celeste? Is that you?” She stumbles against the shelf and falls to the ground. Her chest begins to rise and fall rapidly. Celeste starts to her aid but Talia and I restrain her.
“Stay back. Watch.” I instruct.
The rapid breathing is joined by jerky twitches in the legs and arms. The fox rubs her paws around her mouth and chin, wiping off the increasing flow of saliva dripping from her lips. Clear at first, it begins to bubble out in a thin white froth. Her throat tightens as if some invisible hand is choking her. Her breathing crackles and her head lolls our way. All of us jump.
The whites of her eyes have turned redder than a slit artery.
“Time to go again.” I say as Sister Fox-thrall staggers to her feet. She grinds her teeth, emitting tiny cracks and pops from her mouth. Swirls of red and white foam flow freely from the corners. She takes one shaky step towards us. Another step, less shaky. Another, then another, sturdier, faster oh shit she’s sprinting full tilt towards us! The patter of her bare feet is joined by the hushed bat wings as the assassins take to the air again in a joint assault.
“Hooray we’re dead.” I groan as Talia shifts her share of my weight onto Celeste.
“Get yourselves to the back. Take Susi with you.” The firefox orders us as she turns and runs towards the slavering fox. I reach out to her but my wounds tear slightly and the pain doubles me over. Celeste leads Susi and me away from the ensuing melee. As I hobble away the air behind me turns frigid, like a chill mountain breeze is sweeping through the library. Ice crackles and I try to look back to no avail. Archy roars and the unmistakable sound of shattering bone rings above the dismayed cries of the Ko’mori.
Those cries are drowned out by the whooshing of Archy’s hammer and Talia’s shouts as we make our way further towards the back. The books lining the wall begin to lose their pristine look; some have worn letters while others have little to no binding. A puff of breath (or a bat’s wingflap) could probably collapse these tomes into dust. The back corner is chock full of them.
“Do you know what kind of book we’re looking for?” I ask Celeste. She shakes her head. “Shit. Okay, Talia said it’s a book that doesn’t belong, that’s out of place. Let’s start looking.”
Susi takes the lower shelves while Celeste and I split the higher ones. I scan through row after row of titles, or at least the titles that can be read. A History of Aquarian, A Treatise on Ethics, Letters of Saint Bernard to the Northern Tribes, 1000 Mantras for Every Occasion, The Karma Sutra, The Testament of Genesys, An Encycli-
“The fuck…?” I go back two books and run my fingers along the deep blue spine, feeling the small rise in the gold lettering. The book is new. I can smell its binding over the must and dust of its neighbors. My finger runs up the spine and wraps around the top. “Hey you two! I think I found-”
Bye the time I hear Talia and Archy yelling its too late. Fire erupts in my stomach as something jabs in and yanks me backwards. I fall on my ass as fresh blood runs warmly down my fur. I look up to see the upside-down face of a Ko’mori smiling a thin, two-toothed smile. I try to shimmy away but two
clawed hands hold me down. It lowers its head down, down, until its nose-to-nose with me. It’s breath smells like an open vein. The smile widens as I struggle to break free from its grasp but the claws tighten like a vice. A long and pointy tongue darts out and slicks across my neck, preparing it for what comes next. Two fangs draw closer to puncture my throat and turn me into a raging beast.
The bite doesn’t happen. Instead the bat tries to scream but only gurgles like its choking on dust. The bloody breath wafting over my face takes on a decaying note and the claws loosen their grip on me. Two wine-colored teeth plink down on the floor next to me. Followed by the loud wet slap of a tongue. I let out a startled yelp and roll away from the deteriorating creature. Rising to my knees while clutching my stomach, I look up to see a small pink hump on its back. Susi clings to it with one gloved paw while other is pressed into the nape of its neck.
There is no glove.
Actually, there is no arm. Arms would need skin and muscle.
From the elbow down Susi is nothing but chalk-white bone. Fierce determination shines in her eyes and her lips move with silent incantations. The bat’s skin tightens against its fur and its wings turn brittled and cracked like the surrounding books. Fur fades to gray and its radar ears curl at the tips. The black cloth around its eyes decays as well; the coloring lightens and the fabric frays at the edges. A thin green glow wraps around the frail form and shoots out in a bright nova. Susi tumbles off into a pile of books.
The Ko’mori crumbles into a pile of bone and curls of paper-like skin.
“I did not just see that.” Talia runs up beside me, blowing frosty clouds of breath. Small crystals cling to her face. Two pert nip-no, focus. Focus.
“Yes, you did.” I reply.
“Eyes up here, monk.” She says flatly.
“Duly noted.” I turn my gaze to Susi, who is slipping on her glove and purposely staring at the floor. Anger boils inside of me. “You…I don’t even know where to start with you.”
“I do,” Archy steps up, shaking blood off his hammer, “We escape from crazy killer bat assassins.”
“That,” I snap my fingers, “Yes. Now, where did that book go? Let’s see…ancient manuscript, religious crap, religious crap, religious craaaaaaap, there! The Karma Sutra. Nice touch.” I grin as Talia curtsies. The book comes out with a thick pop and the entire shelf hinges backwards, revealing a dark dank passageway. “Here you go Sister. Browse through this when you get the chance.” I toss the book to Celeste, who curiously rifles through it. Her eyes grow wide and she blushes. But she doesn’t stop reading.
“We’re gonna have to take it slow.” I groan as a fresh glut of blood spurts between my fingers.
“Hmm…let me try something.” Archy puts down the hammer and reaches into his pouch. Pulling out a pawful of black powder he gently pries my paw of my stomach. Suddenly he jams his own paw under the bandages and into my stab wound, slathering the powder everywhere. A large white muzzle clasps over my mouth as I scream. He purses his lips as a sharp flit! and small fire alights between us. Now why would he be using his firesteel right now?
The fire fooms to life and the pain wraps around my brain like a hot blanket.
I wake up a few seconds later on the ground with everyone looking over me. “Did you,” I gasp, “Did you just use gunpowder to close a hole in my stomach?!” Zott smiles and nods.
“It can be used to cauterize wounds. I discovered it by happy accident.” He explains.
“Happy my ass.” I huff.
“What’s gunpowder?” Celeste peeks up from her new favorite book.
“Let me explain.” Archy starts in his professorly tone. “No, there is too much. Let me sum up…no, still to much.”
“You brought the gunpowder,” I grit my teeth against the pain and frustration, “but not the fucking guns?”
“What’s a gun?”
“Oh yes,” Archy rolls his eyes, “best idea: bring deadly explosive weapons into convent.” He pauses, stroking his chin. “Although in retrospect would have actually been good idea.”
“You think?”
“Do we really have to argue about this now?” Talia and Susi say together. Susi grabs a toppled lamp and begins to lead the way with the firefox close behind her. Archy and I look at each other and shrug, then follow suit. The secret tunnel gently slopes downward for twenty or so feet before coming to a T. The two of them wait for us at the intersection. Talia brushes the remaining frost off her face and points to the right. “That way is how I usually get to my game night. Now that way I don’t go down. The smell is bad and its dark.” Soft shuffling and squeaks down the game night hallway decide our path for us. “Smelly and dark it is.” Talia says grimly.
The left hall ends in a stone staircase. The stairs spiral down for a good fifty feet before leveling off in one of those long hallways you find in the old ruins scattered around the world. I would know. Green and brown mold hangs off the stones like snot and the floor is dangerously slick. The smell settles into around you and fades, as most bad smells do. We walk along forever. The walls to the left and right branch off every hundred feet or so, leading to passages that have long since collapsed. I pause at one of the crumbled shoot-offs and tug on Archy’s sleeve for the firestone. He bring it to life and I try to sneak a peak through the gaps but only see darkness on the other side. Hrm. Let’s think about this. A large - very large - system of tunnels under the city. In a grid. Connecting to the convent. Huh. Looks like Aquarian has catacombs. That would explain…a lot, actually.
“So what do we do now?” Talia asks. Her voices echoes off the stones and back away into the blackness. Silence replies.
“We regroup.” I say, “Figure out what to do - gah! - fuck that hurts! Hrnn…from here on out, no one is allowed to set fire to my insides again. But yeah, figure out what to do and where to go.”
“Where to go?” Celeste asks.
“If the stories about the Ko’mori are true, it’s going to take divine intervention to get them off our trail. Although why they’re after us is still a mystery, but I might have an idea.” Susi tenses for just a moment, but she doesn’t look back. I wait for a couple of steps before continuing, “Not gonna try to explain anything?” Silence. “Y’know, the whole Evershade episode finally makes sense now.” More silence. “Still not going to say anything? I mean, we are in a crypt. Seems as appropriate a place as any.”
“You are such a fucking asshole!” The maus whirls around. Fire and anger dance in her watery eyes. “And what the Hel do you know about it?!
“Where would you like me to start?” I throw my hands wide. “Should I start with the fucking bat assassins after us?! Or maybe that I’m cold and naked in the dark in some long-forgotten catacomb with a punctured stomach?! Or how about the fact that I’ve been traipsing about the world for Hel-knows-how-many-days with a necromancer?!” Susi is the first necromancer I’ve actually run into, but you don’t go into my line of work without doing your research.
Necromancy - like all magic - is inherited, not learned. Most of the times it is rare, skipping a generation or ten at least; however, there are special circumstances were every member of a family has it, and the general rule is that the more members of a family that possess magic, the more powerful it is in that family. Susi is just a child but she literally broke down a veteran killer in mere seconds. I’ll bet all the wine in Aquarian that she comes from a long and powerful line of necromancers. Which would also explain her arm. Magic isn’t simply waving a wand around and saying ‘abracadabra’. Magic gives you power, but it also takes. I’ve heard of pyromancers who have to always carry bars of coconut oil mixed with sesame butter and chocolate simply to replenish the calories used up by their magic. Without this Firefuel, as its commonly called, they would wither away into nothing and die of starvation within a day or two depending on how much they use their power. Some aeromancers must remain sitting high up on mountains for most of the day to prevent too much air from entering their bloodstream an
d going into their brains. Yeah, the world is littered with corpses of mancers, mostly young foolhardy ones. Those that stay alive either do so by learning to deal with their magic or simply not using it.
And based off Susi’s arm, what I suspected about necromancy appears to be true.
“Actually, I’ll tell you where I’ll start. How about lying to me?”
“When did I lie?” She folds her arms and narrows her gaze.
“Merchant family my ass! Merchants of death maybe.”
“What the Hel am I supposed to say?! ‘Oh hi there stranger! Care to help a necromancer escape her captors’?”
“Yes! Holy shit yes! Wielding power over fucking life itself is kind of a big deal!”
“…um, hello?” Archy tries to butt in.
“It was none of your business!” Susi snaps at me.
“None of my business! You think those Leopards were after me in those woods?”
“That’s not my fault!”
“…hello?”
“It doesn’t matter if its your faulmmmpphh!” Something heavy wraps over my mouth.
“Quiet!” Archy whispers. “We can hate each other later. Right now, listen.”
All of us hunker down and perk up our ears. The strange thing about the dark forgotten places of the world is how loud they actually are when you sit still and listen. Amid the drips and groans and breathing of the tunnels, a quick staccato chittering rises. High and incessant, it pings down the hallway from where we entered. Its joined by other chirps of varying pitch and speed as well as a choir of scrabbling and snarling.
Before I can say anything Zott dashes ahead and scoops Susi up in his arms. He holds her at arm’s length while she holds the lantern out ahead. The rest of us follow, racing blindly through this city-under-a-city while the cries of the Ko’mori fade behind us.
But the snarls and yips of their thralls don’t.
