by Renee Travis
“Thanks anyway.” Sniffing, I realized I smelled bad and probably needed to bathe before I met Nergal’s parents.
Yeah…I was gonna say….
“Shut up Puabi,” I growled and was happy my room had a connected bathroom. I took my time getting ready, relishing in the hot water and all my favorite body pampering essentials.
When I was finished I came out wrapped in a thick black towel smelling of lilacs. I jumped, screaming as I saw Nam sitting on my bed, scratching Lahar.
“Dark Goddess, Nam! What are you doing here?” I squeaked, hand to my chest.
“Helping you get ready. Sarlu told me you haven’t picked a lady’s maid yet,” struggling to keep the hilarity of the situation from his voice.
I took a good look at him. His hair was back in a braid and he was wearing dark blue slacks with a black sleeveless tunic, he looked good. I was relieved the poison left no side effects.
“Oh. Well, close your eyes while I get dressed; I only need your help with my hair.” I glared. He closed his eyes and I riffled through my closet. Finally deciding on a pair of dark purple leggings and v-neck tunic in black that came to mid-thigh and finishing the outfit with a waist cincher that matched the leggings, I got dressed. I looked pretty hot and was showing a decent amount of cleavage I thought Nergal would appreciate.
“Can I open them now? I can smell your perfume which means you’re done,” Nam spoke just as I finished applying said perfume.
“Yes, fine,” I sat at the vanity. Nam began to brush my hair; he put it back in a black scarf so that it was down but out of my face. We never put make up on me unless it was lip gloss. My eyes don’t really look that great with anything but black eye makeup and I’m not fond of it.
“Are you ready for this?” Nam was worried, I could tell, he got these little frown lines when he was troubled.
“As ready as I can be.”
Nergal and Ekur were waiting down stairs. I had no idea if they’d spent the night or not, which made me a bad hostess, I guess. They both seemed refreshed, so at least they had rested.
“Do we have time to eat?” I went to the window and looked out, the moon was just rising, and I’d lost count of how many days it had been since I’d left home.
“You are not wearing the circlet.” Ekur’s voice sounded disapproving.
“I have no idea what I will be doing at Bet Pagri, so I’m not comfortable wearing it,” I said, defending my choice.
“I had breakfast served in the conservatory.” Sarlu was suddenly just standing there, dressed like she had been the day before, but today there was a flush to her cheeks.
“I better not find a body on this property,” I raised an eyebrow.
“As I said yesterday, Princess, you will not.” She never sounded anything but pleasant and I wondered what was really under the façade.
The boys, except Nam, looked perplexed as we went into the conservatory. It was just a room that had three glass walls facing the moon lit garden. The table was filled with food I enjoyed, crepes, juice, eggs and meat.
We sat and began to eat. Nam and I shoveled food back like we were starving, which we were, as I thought about it I could not remember the last time we’d eaten.
“Why were you asking about a body?” Nergal cut his crepe like a steak, which I found cute.
“Oh, we’re pretty sure she’s a serial killer,” Nam said nonchalantly.
I think Ekur almost choked on his eggs.
“Kassaptu are strange.” Ekur managed to spit out, dabbing his eyes with the napkin.
“We’re strange? You guys have wings,” I pointed out.
“I think he means we do not tolerate murder, unless it is a challenge of some sort.” I could hear amusement in Nergal’s words.
“That depends on where you are. Nannarus do not usually commit murder, so they just try to rehabilitate. People from Biri are jailed and sentenced if they do, and well… Adurans take a different view point. If you do not get caught then most will ignore it. However, if you are foolish enough to kill someone with loved ones or are too flashy, we will hunt you down and do worse.” I wondered if Nergal found it distasteful that I could talk about murder while eating sausage.
“I love you, bloodthirsty and all,” he answered my thoughts and it freaked me out.
“Can you read my mind?”
“No, just your expressions.”
Ekur chose to interrupt us, “are we done? There is much to be handled at home.”
“Sure,” I pushed back from the table. We decided since we were not taking anything with us Shadow Walking would be best. I didn’t really want to since I was worried the Shades might be a tiny bit pissed I had come and gone unscathed so often.
However it was faster. We had a brief issue because Puabi and Lahar wanted to come with us and couldn’t. Animals cannot come into the Shadow Lands.
The gates were open, as if they expected us, at Bet Pagri, and I guessed in a way they were. This time when I went through it was very different. There were Alus walking around going about their business; working, talking, children playing. The air smelled of laundry soap and food preparation. Some of them stopped to stare, others bowed low to the ground as their Prince came through.
I could tell Nergal wanted to stop and speak to many of them, but I had a suspicion his father had demanded we be brought to the throne room as soon as possible. The problem was, I wanted to stop too. There was something…wrong… and my magic was attracted to it.
Certain Alus were giving off a very specific aura and I could feel that same atmosphere leaking through the castle and the grounds.
Something fishy is going on here Eshie. Nam’s voice penetrated my mind.
I know, I feel….The stirrings of death.
And sickness, the stench of sickness fills my soul, but I do not see any signs of it. His head was practically spinning, he was looking around so much.
“Thank the Dark Goddess you are here Princess.” There was an Alu female in front of me, she had abased herself, and our group stumbled to a halt.
“Uh… thanks, please get up,” I needed to send out a memo or something. She didn’t look right; I noticed that much right away.
“My parents are very anxious.” Nergal tried to get me to move past her, but I couldn’t. Death filled my nostrils, my being, black magic began to leak from my eyes and I could feel her lingering pain and how tired she was.
I could not tell you what she looked like, that’s not how she appeared to me, not normally. All I focused on was this Alu should be dead, should be months dead. I reached out my hand and touched her. I saw through her eyes her death.
Alus are like Kassaptu, hard to kill, very long life spans. But accidents, old age and illness could bring death. This one fell from the top of a long flight of stairs and broke her neck. Had she landed differently or had there been fewer stairs she would have been fine.
I watched as after searing pain and tears she managed to stand up, others came to help her, they all had pity in their eyes. I broke the contact, keeping my hand on her. I was disgusted, this poor girl, she should have long been buried and either at peace or reincarnated.
She is not a Reanimated Corpse or the Living Dead, daughter, she has been cursed to this world, unable to truly die as she should have. Zalm’s influence seared me.
I breathed out, letting all the oxygen leave my body, reaching out, I cupped her face; her eyes looked at me without fear but with hope. I brought her closer to my body.
“What are you doing?” Nergal asked.
“Shut up.” I couldn’t believe Nam said that.
None of them mattered. Red light pooled beneath my hands, against her skin as I gave her true death. Heart soaring, I poured death into her and she sagged against me, limp, gone.
Someone cried out and the girl was pulled out of my arms. I was fearful that they would be furious with me so I braced myself for whatever punishment. But to my amazement Nergal was looking at me with pride and the Alus around us were j
oyful. There were older Alus holding the girl’s body and they were crying, but happy, looking at me with awe in their eyes.
Something dark settled against me, things were bad here and not in a fun way, “take me to your father,” the words were clipped.
The throne room was solid and huge, carved from stone with three large tapestries hanging from the walls; one of each of the Three, torches lit the room. Nergal’s father and stepmother sat in thrones made from bone, the way rulers in Adura should.
He could have been Nergal’s twin except he was older and there was grey in his hair. She was petite, with short spiky amethyst hair and eyes, her skin the palest shade of lavender.
“Ereshkigal, this is my father, Adad and my stepmother, Geshti,” Nergal introduced us.
I curtseyed quickly and then opened my mouth; I do not beat around the bush, “what the hell is going on here?”
There was quiet for several long minutes and then Adad began to laugh. It was a loud wholesome thing, rich. He came to me, towering above me.
“I like you; you have spunk, which you will need to rule this dark land.” His words implied that he, like everyone, thought a marriage between myself and his son would be profitable. I could not deny the logic, but I was hesitant to make that pledge quite yet.
“My maid scurried in here before you to tell me you had laid one of our subjects to rest,” Geshti was still in her chair, looking at me with cool eyes.
“I did, she was tired. Who did that to her? It’s wrong. Zombies are one thing, but to keep the body alive with the soul intact after the cord of life has been snapped? I mean, come on, she still had her injuries!” I hated using the word zombie, but it was just faster.
“Trust me Princess, we are as horrified as you are. For the past five years no Alu living in Bet Pagri has been able to die. We are at a loss as to why.” Adad sighed and it was full of regret.
“What do you mean cannot die? You are hard to kill; how many deaths do you have a year?” I couldn’t help but wonder.
“Several, there are many of us. Every year we lose at least one to old age, a few during births, maybe one to an accident or duel.” He responded to my question thoughtfully.
“But….”
“Two years ago we had a small outbreak of Ghost Pox and another of Sleep Walking Sickness, This year we had several that came down with Violet Plague; we lost almost twenty people from those alone.” As he replied I groaned inwardly.
Most Adurans are hardy. With magic and medicine there isn’t a whole lot that will kill us. In Salas there are maybe twenty diseases, aside from the common cold, allergies or basic infections like ear, throat etc...
Of those twenty, ten alone are Aduran based, go figure. Funny thing about diseases though, anyone can get them. Sickness doesn’t care where you’re born.
“Ghost Pox is easily treated, it only kills the elderly and very young and even then it is rare,” Nam said.
Ghost Pox was a white rash that covered you from head to toe, at the end you start to go almost invisible, except for the rash. Once contracted it spread by contact and I’ve heard every inch of your skin feels frozen and sometimes you hallucinate. If not treated, it kills within two weeks, but as Nam said it has a very simple remedy.
“Who are you?” Geshti sounded a little too snooty for me.
“This is Namtar, my companion. His magic has to do with sickness and disease. I’d listen to him.” I basically barked it at her, queen or not I wouldn’t put up with that bitchy shit.
“We know Ghost Pox cures easily, the Sleep Walking Sickness happened around the same time, we were unprepared,” Adad replied to Nam.
“Sleep Walking Sickness. I have not even heard of someone having that in years.” I really wanted to sit down.
Sleep Walking Sickness just shows up at random. It attaches to several people, no one knows how it chooses or what causes it and then you just wait it out. It doesn’t stick around long, maybe five days. But during that time those afflicted had such horrible dreams they sleep walk, and most of the times into situations that cause death. They had to be monitored at night, closely.
“We see this about once every thirty years, but with Ghost Pox affecting so many as well, we lost more than normal.” Distress tinged each of the Kings words.
“And then this year Violet Plague made a huge comeback,” Nam said.
Violet Plague sounded pretty, but it wasn’t, and this year a ton of cases of it had showed up in Adura. It was really contagious and caused boils to appear on the skin, really painful to touch; they burst smelling like decay and leaking purple fluid. It wasn’t the boils that killed you. It was the dehydration and starvation. Violet Plague sucked the fluids from your system and killed the appetite. It would go away on its own, but the issue Healers had was keeping food and water in the patient.
Even for a compound as big as Bet Pagri. I found it unnerving they had this much trouble in only two years. Even large cities like Damu didn’t see this level of illness.
“How many in total; how many walking dead do you have?” I implored.
“Thirty-five, and it is one too many. Can you help us?” Adad implored.
“Yes, but not in the way you think. I could go out there and bring death to each Alu, but it would not fix the problem. You have been cursed and until we break it, people will still be refused their final rest. Do you have any idea who could have done this?” Instantly, I could tell by their shared looks, they knew who already. With what I could see from their expressions, I knew too.
I spun to Nergal. “Lilu, your horrible sister did this and you decided not to tell me?” Facing his father, fury in every word, I let them know exactly how I felt about what they had done.
“You have let your sentimental feelings for Lilu affect your judgment and put Bet Pagri in danger; if this abomination is allowed to keep it up, it will turn your home into a Place of Taint within a century and your people the fuel for it.”
“I’m sorry Ereshkigal. My father didn’t want anyone knowing until you got here,” it was a lame excuse but I understood it better than believing he’d deliberately lied by omission.
“She should have been destroyed years ago,” Geshti declared and I agreed with her, whole heartedly.
“Take me to her. Now. We do not have a whole lot of time,” I demanded.
“Fine, you and Nergal can go. I will not allow her to be humiliated further; her mother would roll in her grave.” Adad agreed. Humiliated further? What a crock. Her mom better have been a beautiful Goddess because I got the feeling Lilu had been riding on her coattails her whole life and the ghost of them now.
Nergal took my hand, and the fact that I let him touch me just shows how much I really did like him. We didn’t speak as we took stairs down into a very traditional dungeon, musty smells and wet dripping sounds greeted us as we walked through a low stone doorway. There was straw all over the ground and moss growing on the walls.
I did enjoy the wet stone and old blood smell a good dungeon had, it made me feel peaceful. I know, I’m twisted, so sue me. It wasn’t as dark as I would have enjoyed, the light was artificial and bright. We passed a few old fashioned torture devices; I made a mental note to check them out later.
The cells were pretty well kept up; iron and magically gated they were more teeny tiny flats rather than cells, which was a disappointment, too much cruel and unusual punishment I guess. Lilu was in a large cell at the end. There were no windows, part of the whole penalty for law breaking.
“Why is there no guard?” I asked.
“Alus hate isolation. The bars will hold her because of the magic but it also keeps her alone and forgotten about,” Nergal said.
“Baby brother, I hear you!” A singsong voice called out to us. Rounding the corner there she was, sitting very ladylike on a bed in the same dress she had been in the last time I saw her, smiling. Her hair was messy and if possible, she oozed insanity. Her eyes were wide, circling and crazed, but she still emitted an air of lust that was
hard to understand.
“Lilu, I need you to tell me how you cursed this place. It is wrong.” I stepped up to the bars. “If you have any love for your family, help us.”
“Help you? You’ll steal everything from me.” She was frowning and the pout made her look years younger than she was.
“Sister, I am begging you, end this foolishness, please.” Nergal couldn’t make himself get any closer to her; I could tell he was afraid, not of her, but of what had to be done about her. I could not fault him for still loving her, but I could blame him if anything else happened to these people.
“Not until you make me your Queen. Make me Queen and all this will stop.”
She was lying, but I didn’t know why. If being Queen was her goal, why wouldn’t she stop the madness after getting what she wanted?
“You have always known I do not desire you. Do not use your sex magic against me it does not work,” Nergal sounded disgusted and I couldn’t blame him, but at least know I knew why she seeped desire into the air.
“You will never figure it out without my help. I’ve covered my tracks too well,” she gloated.
“Don’t be so sure. I’m more powerful than you; you are no match for me,” I countered. She made me want to hit her with all my magic at once, but Nergal might never forgive me.
“I will end all this if you marry me, baby brother,” she practically purred. I saw Nergal hesitate and then shake himself from whatever spell she was trying to weave.
“No, you won’t.” He turned to me.
“Don’t you dare!” she screamed, then coming to her feet in a rush, she threw herself at the bars, hands like claws, wings flapping, reaching for him.
“It does not matter if I do what she says. We are all doomed, she will never help us,” Tired eyes met mine, his sister cursing at him, “she has Hallow Syndrome.”
Chapter 14
Two nights later I was sitting in the garden with Namtar in a large swing and thinking about Nergal’s sister. After his announcement, she’d started to scream and scratch herself into a bloody mess, and they had to sedate her. I’d spent the past 48 hours trying to figure out what could be done about the situation in Bet Pagri.
