by Tiger Hebert
The tunnel was long and narrow with several twists and sudden turns that mirrored the major streets overhead. Occasionally, they would pass an intersection of tunnels where the light from above would pass through the sewer grates. At those intersections, Renlar directed their path forward, always following the signature left by Sutara’s potent magic.
In a voice barely above a whisper, Vacinne said, “You mentioned that there would be no way out once she was down here, but that’s not entirely true.”
Renlar said, “Correct. She could definitely try to escape through one of these sewer grates. The grates are all locked down though. Sure, she could melt them and make her way out, but she will have to expend a tremendous amount of energy to do so and it would take her several minutes to superheat the metal enough for gravity to do the rest.”
“You don’t think she’s already done it?”
Renlar replied, “Not yet. Sutara is a gambler, for sure, but she’s not ready to take that risk. No, her thought is probably to try to get as far north as the sewers will take her. Then she will force her escape. If it leads to a confrontation with us, then at least she’s had some time to recover at least some of her spirit.”
Vacinne raised an eyebrow. “For a guy that just looked out for her, you sure seem to be in her head a lot.”
“As much as I care about her, this isn’t the first time she’s made bad decisions.”
Vacinne said nothing more as she stepped out into a large room of intersecting tunnels. The bright light of the noonday sun shining down through the slats of the sewer grate above cast long, slotted shadows across them. Vacinne paused as Renlar came to her side. Renlar looked at the three directions and pointed north.
Renlar turned to Vacinne. He looked her square in the eyes and said, “I need you to trust me.”
Everything in her training told her not to trust him. He was a rift hunter, a sell-sword, and he was a Hellborn. Even though, as she reminded herself, that supposedly wasn’t even a thing.
Ugh!
Her head ached just from all the things she would have to think about, not to mention the wear and tear from exerting so much of her spirit. Yet, somewhere insider her, deep down, there was a knowing, and that knowing said to trust.
With sincerity etched in her blue eyes, she said, “I’m trying.”
“That’s good enough for me,” said Renlar before pointing forward. "It's time to go."
Vacinne moved ahead as they made their way into the final tunnel of the Trader's Haven sewers. If Sutara was still in the sewers they'd be on her in minutes. It concerned Vacinne as well though, because she knew that Sutara was already wild and reckless with her magic, and down here, she would respond like a cornered animal.
Anyone would, Vacinne admitted.
She jumped over the stream of refuse that separated the walkways and the tunnels. Thick dark moss had apparently grown on the stones. She had seen it, but the refuse-splattered surface was slick. Her footing slipped. She crashed into the tunnel wall. It hurt like hell as her shoulder slammed into the stone bricks, but it sure as hell beat falling into the stream of refuse that washed past her feet.
Renlar placed an outstretched hand on her back to make sure she was steady. Vacinne was good. She got her feet under her. She sighed and wiped the sweat from her brow.
She turned back to Renlar. "Too close."
He chuckled. Then they went back to running through the tunnels in pursuit of their quarry.
"Her signature is getting stronger. Be ready."
They came around a long sweeping bend in the tunnel that took them to the left. Then all of a sudden, the tunnel ended rather abruptly opening into another large room. It was significantly larger than any of the previous ones. The room only had light pouring into the center of it through the sewer grates, leaving much of the room dark. This room was different from any of the others though because this room did not have tunnels branching out off it anymore. It was just one large room, and there was no floor at its center. Instead it was a large cesspool of human waste. The room’s perimeter appeared to be lined with the same narrow walkway that they'd used to get this far, but it was still very narrow and wouldn’t offer much room for maneuvering.
A woman's voice laughed from the shadows. "You don't seriously think you can stop the wheels that have already been set in motion, do you?"
"Sutara," Renlar pleaded, "what wheels are you talking about?"
Sutara chuckled. "Oh Renny, we could have been amazing together. There's nothing that we couldn't do. No one could have stopped us. The world was ours for the taking."
Renlar replied, "The world was never ours to take, Sutara."
She snapped, "Even after all these years, and all the hell they've put you through, you would still defend them?"
Renlar stood tall, his shoulders back. "Sutara, I will always defend the mortal realm from Heaven or Hell."
Vacinne stepped in. "Listen Sparky, I'm sorry he broke your heart, but you don't need to go all crazy."
Flames roared in the darkness, revealing Sutara for the first time. Her eyes kindled with rage. "What the hell do you know about anything, Lightborn? You've had everything handed to you your entire life. You've known privilege that most have only dreamed of, and why? Because you were born to the right family? Your giftings are no better than those of anyone else. You just had a family with enough money to buy you a title and your precious schooling."
"You don't know anything about me. You know nothing about my life."
Vacinne tried to stand strong, but even she was beginning to realize that everything she thought she knew wasn't everything she believed it to be. There were many lies that she'd been told and come to believe. She didn't know what was real and what was fiction, but she realized Sutara was dangerous.
Vacinne replied, "No, you know what, you’re right Sutara. I don't know what your life was like. I have no idea what it was like having a damning label attached to me my entire life. I was fortunate enough to have a family that even though they were broken, they cared for me. Yes, my family was able to provide me opportunities that you and so many others didn't get. If the system is broken—”
Sutara cut her off, "The system is broken, you stupid bitch! Don't try to placate me with phony words of understanding and compassion. You are full of shit, and everything you say is littered with lies. This world is broken. It’s time for this world to be cleansed. Cleansed with fire."
Renlar shouted, "Sutara don't say that! Those are the words of the Nine, the Demonic Kings Hell."
"I know exactly what I said, and I'll say it one more time so you can understand. It's time to cleanse this world in fire," growled Sutara with venomous lips.
Her flames stopped dancing, and they shot forward. Two spiraling balls of flame roared at them like twin dragons. Renlar tried to use his magic, but Sutara's offensive spell got the jump on him. Vacinne called upon her magical ward. The yellow shield encased her and Renlar as the fiery orbs slammed hard upon its golden shell.
Her shield saved them from the impact and the flames, but it couldn't deny the raw heat of Sutara’s magic. As the flames lapped hungrily at her shield, the intense heat inside the bubble grew. Sutara wasn't finished. She called upon her servant of the flames. Cinder, her fire golem, a creature of immense power, returned from a hidden dimension to take form in the sewers of Trader's Haven.
Vacinne nodded to Renlar. He nodded back. She jumped in front of him with her blazing kite shield right as she dismissed her magical ward. The fires of Sutara's first magical attack faded with the ward. Sutara hissed and release a series of fiery darts. The flaming arrows twisted and spun as they each shot on their own chaotic arcs toward Vacinne.
Renlar dashed away toward the right, the same side that Cinder had started moving toward. He called upon a powerful gust of wind. The wind shot outward in a concentrated blast that knocked the flaming darts downward. They splashed harmlessly into the putrid waste at the center of the room.
Plop! Tss
!
The smell of burning feces filled the cavern. Vacinne fought her intense urge to vomit. Then she saw her opportunity to strike. Sutara was preparing her next spell. This was Vacinne's chance to end it. Then out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Cinder break into a reckless charge at Renlar. His eyes were focused elsewhere, so he wouldn’t see the coming attack. The elemental surged forward with outstretched arms of living fire. Vacinne flashed.
The phasing strike landed her right where she wanted. The golden light flared all around her as she slammed into Cinder. Her magically infused kite shield slammed into the elemental's insubstantial body, but the magic allowed the impact. Cinder wailed as holy power from the shield arced outward and lashed him.
Golden yellow light struck him again and again, causing the fire golem to falter. It gave her the time she needed. She released her power into the sword, and she swung. The elegant broad sword swept horizontally, its emblazoned runes glowing brightly as it begged to release its latent power.
Sutara screamed, "No!"
The runeblade thrummed with power. Cinder wailed. The blade bit the unseen flesh of the elemental. It ripped and tore through the golem’s otherworldly flesh as it released righteous power. Lightning tore through the elemental's dying body, somehow searing the being of pure fire. The blade swept through with ease, leaving naught but black smoke and dust in its wake.
Cinder was dead.
Sutara cried out in equal parts rage and unbelief. Orb after orb of flaming death shot toward Vacinne. Vacinne tried to phase away. Her spirit was spent. She had no choice. She leapt to her left, right into the cesspool at the room’s center just in time for a hell-storm of fire to engulf the spot where she had stood.
Renlar sent a blast of wind at Sutara, slamming her against the far wall. His voice boomed like thunder, "Yield!"
Sutara nodded.
Then she smiled and flicked her flame throwing fingers toward Vacinne. Renlar's hands were faster. His finger’s flicked outward. Twelve black daggers raced through the air and into her flesh. The impact threw Sutara against the stone wall at the cavern’s end. The blades dug into the stonework, impaling Sutara against the far well. Her arms and hands were pinned.
Sutara gasped in pain. Her conjured fire faltered as waves of pain ravaged her.
Through clenched teeth, Renlar screamed, "Why?"
Tears streamed down his face.
Blood ran freely from Sutara's many wounds. She cried out in pain.
"Why?" demanded Renlar with a roar as he drew closer to her.
Sutara's eyes met his. Hers were full of pain and fear, his of sorrow.
Through her pain, she cried, "Because he promised me something no one else could."
"Who?" demanded Vacinne as she climbed from the sewage.
Sutara's eyes never left Renlar's when she answered, "Warden Masoc, who else?"
Vacinne’s eyes grew wide and her jaw fell slack. She staggered as the weight of the revelation hit her, leaving her stunned and silent.
Renlar pressed, "Why?"
"He promised me the freedom to destroy the system that labeled me, that hated me. It was the chance to burn it all down, and start over," choked Sutara.
"What is his plan?" demanded Renlar.
Sutara's head lolled to the side as the life force drained from her body with each lost drop of blood.
Renlar snapped, "What's the plan?"
Her eyes fluttered, "To unleash Hell, starting in Drenamere.”
17
Ashes to Ashes...
Renlar held Sutara’s body in his arms. Fatal wounds riddled her body. Wounds from his daggers. Tears fell from his stubbled cheeks to her lifeless body. Her childlike eyes remained open, starring blankly back at him. Emotions ravaged him, and many things they whispered.
Why didn’t you protect me?
Why didn’t you fix me?
Why didn’t you save me?
Why didn’t you love me?
The floodgate broke. The final ounce of resolve he held was washed away in a storm of tears. His blood never flowed through Sutara’s veins, but he was the only father she ever had. He was the only one to ever take her in without treating her as a prize or possession. He was the only one who ever believed in her. Still he failed her. He wept as he stared into those sad eyes. Eyes that would never see again. Those eyes would haunt his memory for the rest of his days.
Vacinne pulled herself from the cesspool. She was thankful that despite being covered, at least it didn’t get in her face, and from what she could tell, in her hair either. She climbed up onto the stone ledge walkway that surrounded the refuse pit. She sat on her knees for a moment. She looked forward and saw Renlar, several feet away from her, also on his knees. He’d removed his daggers from Sutara’s body, freeing her from the wall. Now he knelt on the floor in that dark room, cradling the lifeless body of the young woman he cared so much for. A new understanding weighed heavily upon Vacinne. There in that foul, dark sewer, she watched a ruthless and cunning Rift Hunter with the ability to decimate an entire city, weep over the loss of one woman’s life.
Vacinne admitted it, she hated Sutara from the moment they first clashed in the tunnel at the Ruins of Esboralis. She disliked her flippant attitude and her seductive wiles. Even after hearing of the sadness of her life on the streets and the trials and tribulations that she’d faced, Vacinne still struggled to find much sympathy for the girl. At the end of the day, each person has to make the best choices they can with whatever hand they were dealt, and from her vantage point, Sutara chose poorly.
Even Renlar wouldn’t argue that, Vacinne thought.
And she was right, Renlar did not condone the self-destructive choices Sutara had made. He begged and pleaded with her, far more times than Vacinne would ever know, to pick a different path. Vacinne knew that he must have dealt with many emotions from hurt and pain to disappointment to the guilt and shame that he couldn’t help guide her to a different fate. Vacinne didn’t know these things for sure, but she presumed much. What she did know though, was that despite everything that Sutara did, Renlar was always going to be there for her. At every missed turn, at every misdeed, he would be there waiting for her to turn back and abandon that life. Even in the end, when she was willing to usher the forces of the Nine Demonic Kings into the world of Kurein, he was still willing—no—begging and pleading for her to change her mind.
As Vacinne thought through it all and as she watched the deadliest man she’d ever met weep over the corpse of a wayward child, she realized that she’d been wrong about him in so many ways. He didn’t weep over the loss of an old flame or an old friend. He wept over the loss of a child.
Vacinne felt her heart rise up into her throat. She struggled to swallow. Her eyes watered as pain welled up inside her. Pain for her friend. Silently she wept. Not for Sutara, but for Renlar.
AFTER A TIME, RENLAR lifted Sutara upon one of his shoulders. He turned to see Vacinne standing by his side. She tried to smile at him, but as he met her red eyes, he could see that she’d been crying too. Renlar forced the best smile he could. He’d thought many things of her, but perhaps there was more to her than he’d recognized.
Renlar said, “Let’s get out of here.”
Vacinne tried to say something, but she was still choked up. She simply nodded.
Renlar made a gesture with his fingers and the lock upon the sewer grate above popped open and fell away. The sewer grating was lifted up and away from the manhole.
With a tired gesture, Renlar said, “Ladies first.”
Vacinne climbed the steel rungs upon the wall as she climbed out of the sewer. Renlar sighed deeply. He made his way to the steel rungs, and with Sutara upon his left shoulder, he climbed out of the sewer.
Finding a local establishment that could offer a warm bath was a challenge, but one that was successful. After they’d been able get cleaned up, they prepared a funeral for Sutara. Renlar and Vacinne stood just outside of Trader’s Haven, on the north side of town. Re
nlar and Vacinne worked to prepare the funeral for the last twenty minutes, stacking board after board into a large rectangular pile.
Renlar squatted down and lifted Sutara’s limp body with the care a father would lift his sleeping child. He gently placed her atop the wooden planks. He placed her legs together and placed her hands together over her waist. He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. With his fingers, he drew her eyes closed for the last time.
He turned back toward Vacinne who stood off to his side. He reached back and took the torch from her outstretched hand. She nodded to him. He turned back to the mound and set the torch at its base. The fire devoured the tinder and kindling and soon the entire pyre was ablaze.
Vacinne said, “It’s how she would have wanted it.”
Renlar nodded, “I think so, Vacinne. I think so.”
She understood that he was broken inside. She also understood that in so many ways, their journey together had only just begun. They still had a lot of work to do, but for some inexplicable reason, she didn’t have any fear. Somehow, she just knew they’d figured it out. She didn’t know why, but she had faith.
They watched the thick black smoke roll off the side of the mountain road until the funeral pyre was naught but ashy remains. The day was spent and Warden Masoc and the vorthor were long gone, but there was no other choice. Vacinne understood that. No, this small funeral wouldn’t give Renlar the proper time to grieve and mourn his loss, but it was the right and honorable thing to do. Vacinne may not have found much honor in the young woman’s life, but she saw honor in the way Renlar said goodbye to her. Being patient and being there for him was the very least she could do.
Jhebal had dropped low in the sky and threatened to slip from view. Then they watched as the sun dipped below the last mountain peak, casting darkness over them. A powerful gust of wind rushed down off the mountain. As it rushed over them, it swept all the ash and dust clean from the stones of South Road. In an instant, Sutara and all her smoldering remains were swept off the mountainside. An eerie sensation swept over Vacinne. She turned to her companion.
