Crimson Warrior

by Amanda McLaren

  Al’re circled something, growling. He was sniffing and barking at the ground. I ignored the dog darting about, frantically barking at the earth. My companion even tugged on my clothing. Finally, about the fourth time he did it, it hit me that he wasn’t just being stupid. Approaching the dog, I moved him aside to look. But my eyes couldn’t see what he seemed so intense on.

  I pressed my mind into his.

  “Claw marks?” I gasped in horror.

  ~Bad kitties took master’s mate and kin. Al’re couldn’t stop bad kitties. Al’re couldn’t leave master alone. Al’re bad. ~

  “By Shen! Al’re, good dog. Good dog.” I patted his head, making his tail wag in circles.

  I had the dog show me more. My stomach knotted when he circled the entire camp.

  We were surrounded!

  Al’re cocked his head at me.

  “Find them.” I gave him the images and the scents via our mind-link.

  Redemption snorted, offering his back. I clumsily mounted the horned stallion, giving him the image to follow the dog. The faster we found them the fast I would find my sanity.

  We didn’t ride very long, but as I dismounted a deep chill settled into my very bones. I’d never felt so cold in my entire life. Pulling my cloak tight, I asked Redemption to return when I called for him. The Unicorn snorted, pranced a moment and then galloped away.

  I could smell rotting wood, rust and cold ash. My vision didn’t help much; the shapes around me were confusing and tangled. A strip of cold gray lined the green natural aurora of the earth. Hunks of dark brown were lumped near-by or tipped over.

  Where are we?

  I reached down to touch the strip of gray and gasped – metal. It was layered in frost. Then I touched a hunk of brown – wood!

  Carts and a rail?

  We’re at a mine shaft! There’s been no mining in this area for half a century!

  Eyes lingered on me, but nothing moved.

  Everything was too still; too silent.

  I don’t like this place.

  Al’re was waiting at a hole in a huge stone barrier – the mine’s entrance. I signaled him to stay, but he simply wagged his tail and kept walking at my side as I sidled down the shaft. With my heart feeling as if it would explode, I drew my double blades.

  I need to see down here.

  So I melded our vision again. Then I sank into his mind.

  “Find Vortix first.”

  ~Mate’s scent strong. Mate closer. ~

  I was about to enforce the command when it occurred to me that if San died, there’d be no hope to get Vortix out.

  If San dies, there’s no point in anything.

  So I let the dog follow Sanquility’s trail.

  Soft, loose soil greeted my feet as my dog guided me down. He was still following the scents. In his eyes I could see a low-laying ceiling of rock, mineral and dirt held up via wooden supports. They were faceted in place by iced over, rusting iron hinges. In fact, everything seemed to at least have a coating of frost.

  The stone and dirt that rained often from the mesh of ice and earth above my head made me less anxious than the sound of scratching claws. It wasn’t the click of Al’re’s; it was the distinct sound of a cat sharpening very long claws. I had to look very carefully to see the twisting, writhing cats in the edges of our vision. Al’re would pause and snarl fiercely at any who came to close.

  One moment the dog was trotting along following Vortix’s scent, the next he’d lunged to rip one’s throat out. With a yelp of shock, I leapt back. Al’re cocked his head at me in confusion. Getting a hold of myself, I patted his head. “Good dog,” I forced my voice to be happy. His tail wagged a mile a minute. Then my guiding war dog led me onward.

  ((Turn back, human warrior,)) A melodious but menacing voice whispered in my mind.

  I slammed up my guards. I felt a mind wrench from mine in pain, and hopped it wasn’t Anshumali’s. After double checking, I realized my lover was far in the recesses of my mind.

  She must be asleep…and very, very weak.

  My breath was coming out in clouds of frosty air; I could feel it. Hugging my cape as tightly to my body as I could get it, I followed Al’re into a large chamber and stopped dead. In a small cage surrounded by the twisted fiends lay Anshumali in her wolf form.

  By Al’re’s sight, she was a massive black wolf with tattered wings. Blood splattered all around the cage from the wounds that riddled her body – and encased in what appeared to be a lacing blanket of thin ice. A thick sheet of it enclosed her muzzle.

  In the back of the room a woman sat gorging on something almost familiar in shape, but too far gone to quite grasp. She was moaning as she ate; it was clearly doing something more than filling her stomach. Breaking my sight from Al’re’s, I peered at her with my own. The aurora of this creature was nothing human. It was a black swirling mass engraved with tendrils of ice blue. Splotches of violent red mingled with the array of brutality.

  ((Oh, how tasty. Another human feast. mmm. You even brought me a snack.))

  Disgust twisted through my stomach as it hit me exactly what she was devouring so lustfully.

  “You’re revolting.” I spat. “Give me back my wife and son.”

  ((You’re a human. Azhi don’t mate with humans. They use them. Like master will use the boy.))

  I slammed her out of my mind, trying to remain calm from her yet again finding a way in. The woman sprang to her legs, dropping her half-chewed raw flesh. Al’re lunged as the familiars charged. For a moment I tried to keep them off him – then realized the dog was handling them better than I was. He could see exact shapes, and seemed to know where to bite to kill. So I faced the bitch and left the dog to her lackeys.

  “Prey shouldn’t talk to their predators, you know.” She hissed, finally dropping her human feast as she stood. “Or kill their friends.”

  “I’m not your prey, San is my wife and your master will not be using my son for anything. So be a good crazy cannibal and hand them over. Or we could play this the hard way.”

  “Hard?” Her laugh was more like a cackle. “You amuse me, human. De-lus-ions! De-lus-ions! Such fun!” She sang.

  I think the fox was saner than this!

  I charged her with a furious snarl. “Die!”

  This fight will warm me up!

  My muscles ached with the swing of my swords. They met her skin – and ricocheted off as if the blades had struck a wall of stone.

  “That tickled.” She tittered like some demented song bird.

  “You’re starting to piss me off.”

  “My turn,” The witch hissed almost playfully. I leapt away from the icy blue spike her hand became. Slashing at my head, the witch cackled again. My feet were abruptly cast in ice. Held fast, I couldn’t avoid the spike lunging for my heart.

  I felt her mind try to break into mine; shoving down all my guards, I let her tumble in. Then I seized her link and shoved as much energy as I could spare through her body. Shrieking, the woman fell instantly to her knees, holding her head and rocking up and down in agony.

  Sinking deep into her mind, I shut down every guard I could find. Then I quickly located her weakness.

  A spell? Her weakness is fire magic?

  That would make sense, actually.

  Snatching onto it, I backed out. Adapting her magic to my own, I pulled at the heat there was in the earth, in the air – from myself. It slowly gathered around my swords, somehow not melting the steel.

  Then I lobbed off her head.

  Panting, shivering, I stumbled my way to the cage. The ice began to drip as it melted from the heat around it, no longer maintained by the witch. I stumbled forward, trying to shake away the dizziness. I fell on the broken Azhi, holding her close and letting the tears run down my cheeks. Then I doubled our link, raced through her mind and unblocked the lock on her healing.

  //Kariken? How…? //

  “Heal…”

  The wolf whimpered.

  //What happened? // />
  “Later, Anshumali; I’m so tired, all I want is sleep.”

  ~*~

  Vortix woke slowly to an aching, painful cold. His mind tried to wrap around the cold as he opened his eyes. The boy squealed in terror; he shot up to grab at the steel cage – then yelped at the pain it sent through him.

  There were glowing amber eyes and the sound of claws on ice and stone, but he couldn’t see the forms he knew were milling about.

  His cage was strung from the ceiling along with about twenty others. Vortix could see other children within them, breathing but not moving much. A nasty smell that reminded him of the place where Whitestone dumped people’s waste filled his nose, making his stomach churn.

  “Hungry,” A girl groaned as if in pain. “So very hungry.”

  Vortix tried to calm his racing heart.

  Where am I? It’s so cold – so cold.

  He found himself already shivering; especially since his clothing was forming frost and thin layers of ice already.

  How long have I been here?

  More complaints about hunger circulated the room, confusing the boy. How could anybody be hungry with that vile smell in their nose? How could they worry about food in this cold?

  Four cats like the one mom had killed – familiars, they’d called them – came in dragging carts by chains. The carts had trays of what looked like raw flesh on them. He watched in shock as each other child was given a tray of flesh – and they ate it with wild abandon.

  A tray was set down in his cage. Vortix screamed, throwing the tray onto the floor in his terror.

  They’re feeding them people! And they’re eating it! Mom, Sanquility, where are you?!

  Vortix huddled as tight against himself as he could, terror and cold keeping him awake. If they didn’t come for him, he hoped for a quick death.

  The sound of barking, hissing and flaying claws brought Vortix from his slumber. He didn’t remember falling asleep, but when he opened his eyes it was to see a sandy colored, familiar dog fighting alongside a huge black winged wolf.

  He sat up, alert as he could be in this cold. His eyes searched the room for his mother, but she was nowhere to be seen. Fire shot right for his face, making him jump back with a squeal and cover his face with his arms – only to hear it hit the cage.

  Arms wrapped around him; warm, strong arms. Then they were running, running for their lives. Vortix sighed into San’s arms and let her take him away.

  ~*~

  “Wake up, my darling.” A voice, so familiar, pried my eyes open. Sanquility’s aurora twirled above me. I could hear the crackle of fire, and saw Al’re busy chewing on something. My lover handed me something. “It’s hot herbal soup; it’ll heal your magic fever.”

  “…Magic fever?”

  “Overdoing it with magic too advanced for your body kind of does that.” She stated so dryly, it took me a moment to figure out why she was so angry.

  “I saved you.”

  “That’s my job.”

  “Screw off. Where’s Vortix?”

  “Don’t worry, love; he’s warming up.”

  I ate the soup before drifting back to sleep.

  When I woke again, I felt far better. Nothing was sore, and warmth had managed to seep its way into my bones again. Sanquility was sharpening our weapons while Vortix practiced earth magic.

  “It’s still my job.” She insisted.

  “Next time I’ll just let you die then and save Vortix instead.” I snapped, throwing off the blanket.

  Amusement trickled into me. I blinked – and abruptly realized…

  “That wasn’t funny.”

  “I thought it was. You’re so serious all the time.” Anshumali chuckled, putting down the weapons. “Relax, baby, and tell me how the fuck a human beat an ice witch all by herself.”

  “I had help.”

  Curiosity overwhelmed the other emotions.

  “Al’re.”

  The wolf laughed again. “Of course; your little miracle dog. Do tell, love. Do tell.”

  Vortix came to sit next to me. I missed him so much I pulled him into my lap. “Yeah mom, tell us.”

  I told them my story with pride. When my tale was through, the three of us rested holding one another and Al’re at our feet. Anshumali told us stories of myths the temple had forgotten until it was time to sleep.

  But all in all, that day I’d still saved my demonic knight from a witch, and she’d saved my son’s life twice.

  We were in sight of Whitestone when horror poured through me. I saw a mass of swirling dark energy. From here, the auroras of horror swarmed from the noxious cloud. I gasped.

  “Look,” The word was hardly a breath of air.

  Everybody faced it. “It’s a summoning cloud!”

  “Those are Azhi!” Sanquility screeched.

  “FAY & CALLIE!”

  Redemption gave a furious shout of terror and kicked it in high gear.

  “Tell Al’re to stay here, and stay hidden! Then fly to me!” I told my mate; she did so and joined me, carrying Al’re in her mouth.

  Chapter Seven

  The Seven Guardians

  ~*~

  “Sybel!” Callie’s voice took Fay by surprise.

  She whipped around from where she stood talking to Sybel about possible recruits for Templars, now that the temple was completed. Callie was leading in a tall, burly man in a long, flowing robe and a fourteen-year-old girl in sheepskin and hide. A scythe was on her back, but the man bore no weapons. Fay immediately knew he was a mage from the way he moved and the look in his eye.

  “These two requested to speak with the Priest or Priestess of this temple. I’ve got to head back out and continue the search.”

  “No problem.” Sybel replied, resting her hand on her blade casually as Callie saluted to her respectfully and left.

  “Can we have a word with you?” The stronger man asked quietly. He was amazingly tall, with short blond hair and weary gray-blue eyes. “We’re looking for a group of warriors we heard work here.”

  “One in particular interests us. A Templar they call Crimson Blade.” The girl said very quietly. On a closer look, Fay noticed they were covered in dust, and their clothing was sewed many times over.

  They’ve been traveling for some time.

  Fay gasped, feeling every muscle in her body tense. “I’ll be happy to oblige, with Sybel. As long as that isn’t a problem, you may accompany me to my office. Ryeger, would you mind standing outside the door so we’re not disturbed?”

  “Not at all Priestess.” Ryeger gave a tense nod.

  “Now if you two would please follow me.” Fay said quietly, leading them into her office. There was an escape door there, anyway; it was hidden by a stack of books.

  Chrono is so smart. He and Xia actually agreed over it, though they fought over whom would lead the project…if San hadn’t pulled her away I think Xia would have decked him when he said the project leader had to be able to see paper.

  The girl walked in front of the man protectively, eyeing Sybel and Ryeger’s weapons. When she came to her office, the girl’s eyes immediately darted to the bread and wine on the desk; Fay had forgotten to eat, so it would be flat.

  “Go ahead, dear.” Fay told her gently. “Just put your scythe against the door.”

  “Will your warrior remove her weapon?” She asked warily.

  “She’s just here to protect me. I can’t have her do that.”

  “I’m here to protect my father. I can’t do that.” She stood by him, ignoring the food.

  “By Alatek,” Fay huffed, fetching the food and handing it to her. “Just eat, darling. You look half starved.”

  They smiled at her gratefully and split the bread and wine.

  “Thank you so much.” She said with a mouthful.

  “Yinn, don’t talk with your mouth full.” Her father chided with his mouth full, making Fay laugh.

  Sybel cleared her throat, instantly reminding Fay this wasn’t safe. “Why are you two here?�
�� Sybel pressed.

  Finishing their mouthfuls, the two became serious again. “I’m Toc, and this is my daughter Yinn. We’re looking for a warrior who was a Templar here, and her sister, who is a Priestess.” He began.

  Yinn took up the conversation. “We need her Azhi lover too, the one that got her kicked out of the temple. They’re very important to us. Do you have any record of them? I know they’re from a larger city near here, but we’ve been looking everywhere.”

  Fay shook her head. “I don’t give information about our warriors to just anybody, you two; especially not when family is involved. Did you consider this warrior retired because she died and there are rumors?”

  “If we did, we’d be considering all hope lost.” Yinn gasped in horror. “We need them.”

  Her father continued for her. “You’re a priestess, yes? Did you train a girl who has a Templar sister?”

  Sybel took a step forward. “You need to leave.”

  “Are you kidding? You don’t trust us?” Yinn’s eyes widened. “All we want is to talk to them, miss. Doesn’t Alatek teach you to trust?”

  “Yes, but Shen teaches us that if we trust blindly we might get hurt. Alatek wouldn’t want us to ignore her brother.” Fay responded patiently. “We’ve had a lot of problems with strangers getting close to hurt us quite recently.”

  “Please, just point us in the right direction.” Toc seemed on the verge of begging. “I don’t even care if we’re watched while we do so. We just need to speak with them, and their comrades.”

  Yinn looked right at Sybel. “You said her name was Sybel and the other was Ryeger. The rumors are that you and the Crimson Blade were close. We actually needed to talk to you two as well.”

  “Excuse me, stranger, but if you would I’d appreciate it if you called her Xia.” Fay couldn’t take that knick-name anymore. “And if you’re here to hire her for some mercenary job, she’s not in that business anymore.”

  The two starred at her. Fay flushed. She’d given herself away.

  Suddenly there was screaming from the chapel as the entire temple shook. There was a rush of thick, evil dark magic and a deafening BOOM. Fay lost her balance; the skinny man caught her, swung her into his arms and charged out. The two hauled Fay upstairs before she could catch more than a glimpse of the Sybel and Ryeger charging toward a huge bear Azhi.