The Monstrous Citadel

by Mirah Bolender

  “You messed with the cache, didn’t you?” he said.

  “Is that really important right now?” Okane stuttered, wincing as the canir let out another low breath.

  The animal was completely unfazed by the new addition, and Grim didn’t appear very concerned either.

  “Put your hand on it,” he ordered.

  “And lose our fingers?” Laura scoffed.

  “Not you, him. Just put your hand on it and keep it there. You’ll be fine.”

  Okane gave him an incredulous look, but did as he was told. He reached out one shaky hand. The canir didn’t react. Reassured, he pressed his hand harder against its thick coat. The canir’s mouth closed, and after a short time it snorted and turned away, retreating back the way it came. Grim lowered his rifle.

  “Replace what you took,” he said, jumping down.

  “How did you know that would work?” asked Laura.

  “Things like that are rigged. They set it so canir act as guard dogs.”

  “The same way they have firedogs trained to cover their hideouts?”

  Grim gave them a long look. “You two seem determined for trouble.” He didn’t linger on it long. “You went a long way off-track. What happened?”

  “There was a man with a gun.” Laura shrugged helplessly. “What happened to you? We heard more guns, but we couldn’t see anything.”

  “Just a skirmish. Neither of us were hurt.”

  Grim shuffled under his coat and pulled out a flare gun. He loaded it, pointed at the sky, and pulled the trigger. It fired with a pop and rattling hiss, sending a green beacon arcing up over their heads.

  “That should do it,” he said to himself, putting the gun away. He clicked his tongue, and an echoing whinny came from the other side of the rocks. “I’ve got food with me. Put that back.”

  Wordlessly, they put the food back in the cache and replaced the stone stopper. Grim’s pale horse ambled up to them, and he procured food from the saddlebags.

  “Thanks,” Laura murmured, accepting some jerky and beans.

  He grunted in reply, doling out a share for Okane too. He dug through the pockets of his coat and gave them each a caramel in addition. He studied them until they began to eat, then nodded toward the cache.

  “Don’t touch anything with that symbol.”

  “We thought it meant ‘safe place.’ Were we wrong?” said Laura.

  “Safe only for them,” said Grim. “If they’re paranoid about people finding them, it goes double for their supplies. Let them sneak around, and pretend you didn’t find it.”

  “If couriers are so sneaky, how do - - - know about them?” said Okane. “They approached us first, but - - -—?”

  Grim shrugged. “I’m sneakier than they are.”

  “Grim!” came a shout.

  Grim lifted his rifle and waved it rather than call back. Within moments Cherry charged into view, the line of horses behind her. She pulled up and dismounted.

  “Where have you two been?” she demanded, grabbing Laura and Okane by the shoulders. “We’ve been looking for you all night!”

  “We got ambushed by someone with a gun, so we ran,” said Laura.

  “Why didn’t you call for help? Just shoot back?”

  “Shoot back and attract a felin? Even I know that’s an idiot idea,” said Laura.

  Cherry rubbed at her head. “Right, all you have are Sweeper supplies. God, this is exactly why I wanted ERA Sweepers. Regular guns are part of their standard supplies.”

  “Well, you’re stuck with us.”

  “I’m not complaining about your skill against infestations. I’m just concerned with keeping you safe on the way.” Cherry coughed out a laugh. “Really, though. The day after I make a speech about how qualified we are, we manage to lose you. I’m glad you came out of that okay.”

  Grim patted her awkwardly on the back.

  Laura cracked a smile. “You actually helped a lot for that. It was nice to know not to crawl into a knuckerhole.”

  “And not to disturb strange courier hideouts,” Okane added.

  “You’re both insufferable,” Cherry snickered.

  “They resemble you,” said Grim, and Cherry swatted him again.

  “In any case, you have a great sense of direction,” she said. “We’re actually not far from the infestation we called you out for. If you’re prepared to fight, we’ll head for it now.”

  14

  FELL BEAST

  The horses crossed the flatlands with long strides, in more of a cluster than a line. Laura’s and Okane’s horses had been returned to them, and the packhorses galloped in the rear, with Cherry taking the lead once more.

  “So what actually happened last night?” Laura asked as they clambered over a dry streambed. “Grim said that neither of you got hurt, but—”

  “We made enough noise for them to realize we were coming, but they thought we were scavengers. They’d killed a felin and had the proof for payment, so they thought we were coming to steal it,” said Cherry. “They hid until we came in, and as soon as they saw me, they lost it. Started yelling something about us being there to wipe out the rest of the goddamn island.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “What, you can’t tell?” Cherry turned in the saddle and pointed at her face, wearing a sneer more jaded than derisive. “My name’s actually Sakura. I’m Wasureijin, one of the Forgotten People. Uninformed people would call us ‘native,’ but the label’s so wrong it’s laughable. My people created the monster you’re supposed to deal with.”

  “Is that why that man was yelling about hito-lovers?” Okane piped up.

  “He sounded pretty stupid, didn’t he? ‘Hito’ is a word for person. He called you people-lovers. Probably didn’t realize it, though.” Cherry straightened out again. “Anyway, we got into a scuffle. Poor Grim here didn’t know what to do! He’s so used to scaring people off he doesn’t know what to do when actually confronted.”

  Grim’s nose wrinkled minutely in embarrassment.

  “I was able to take care of it myself. One of the other men might be dead. He got hit, but crawled off before we could so much as give him a bandage. The rest of them ran for it. And then we went back to find you, and all we found were the horses!”

  “Sorry,” said Okane, but she ignored him.

  “We split right afterwards to try finding you. I thought we’d cover more ground that way, and reconvene later whether or not we had any luck. Not many people can say they survived a night in the wilds without help. You’ll have some fantastic bragging rights when you get back to the city.”

  Grim lifted his head. Without any other sign his horse gained speed, galloping to the front of the group.

  “It’s close,” he whispered.

  “Is there anything special about this one?” Laura asked, grabbing the saddle horn as her own horse moved to keep up.

  “The infestation is on the move, but considering its location, it’s not that difficult to track down,” said Cherry. “Wait a few minutes and you’ll hear it too.”

  A howling rose in front of them, a low bellow that sounded nothing like the shrill sound she associated with infestations. Laura looked at Cherry, incredulous.

  “What is that?”

  “That would be your location.”

  They crested one of the hills and came to a halt. In the wide gully before them was a felin. The animal was big and thickly set, a lionlike abomination of gold and a myriad of brighter underlying colors, tossing its mightily spiked head and thrashing its long tail, burning eyes rolling in their sockets as it flailed. The deafening sound and the sight of the beast made the horses fidget, ears pressed back against their heads, and Laura had half a mind to run the other way. Strangely enough, it didn’t seem to notice their presence at all. Grim’s horse stepped in front of the others, the sole animal unaffected. Now that he had everyone’s attention, Grim nodded toward the felin and said, “Look at its head.”

  The felin charged the oppos
ite side of the gully, digging its claws into the grassy side as it collided and writhed, roaring again. With its head in plain sight, Laura spotted the problem. Wedged between the spikes there was a glint of metal. Whatever the object was, it was thin but larger than a human hand.

  “Is that the amulet?”

  “An artifact of the crusades, most likely,” Grim replied.

  “There’s a lot of old amulets in the wilds,” said Cherry. “During the high age of magic, people didn’t think twice about leaving them behind. They had no reason not to, when there weren’t monsters using them as shells. Sweeper excursions happened even before ERA started doing it officially, so a lot of those amulets have been picked up over the years, but the remaining ones are very dangerous. Some have become dormant in recent years and lose power that way, but you wake one up?” She snapped her fingers, as if this were all the explanation needed.

  “But how’d this one get stuck on a felin of all things?” said Laura. “Felin eat magic, right? An infestation’s the opposite of magic.”

  “It’s possible that it simply tracked the magical hollow, without realizing what was inside.” Grim kept his horse moving, calm as anything, and its own quietness seemed to infect the others. “Felin are magic creatures. The man who created them meant for them to combat infestations. They were built to be living rams, absorbing magic to wield against infestations in physical attacks. They didn’t turn out as expected, but they retain that aspect of their construction. Your infestation has been fighting the influence of magic for over a week.”

  “Weaker or not, it’s still stuck on another monster,” Okane pointed out.

  “True,” said Laura, eyeing the beast reproachfully; even with Grim’s steed in the way, her horse fidgeted badly. “Any tips on dealing with rampaging felin?”

  “Look no further. Grim’s one of the best headhunters in Terual,” said Cherry.

  His brow furrowed. “Felin are one thing. Infestations are another.”

  “And infestations are what we’re here to take care of. Great how that works out,” said Laura.

  “What do you think, Grim, can you take her out from here?” said Cherry.

  “I could.”

  “I don’t think - - - should. Not yet, anyway,” said Okane. “I mean, - - - said the felin is keeping pressure on the infestation with its magic, right? So long as it’s alive, it’ll keep doing that.”

  “But can you get close enough to do your job?” said Cherry.

  “It’s not like we’re hitting it with sticks. We do need some distance. It’s just … aiming.” Laura gestured uselessly.

  “That’s a small target,” said Grim.

  “We can make it bigger though, right?” Okane glanced at Laura. “If we draw it out?”

  “How do we do that? They usually come out looking for food, but this one’s occupied.”

  “Would a decoy work?” Cherry suggested.

  “If it’s this preoccupied?”

  As if to prove the point the felin rolled over completely, wheeling across the gully and hitting the wall so the ground shook beneath their feet.

  “Maybe we can get the felin to drive it out,” Laura suggested. “If they’re supposed to combat it, just fire this thing up and we can help it out.”

  “You really want to piss off a felin?”

  “Yeah?” Laura folded her arms, pressing down on her stomach to quash any nerves. “They can take each other out. If the infestation wins, we attack. If the felin wins—”

  “Then Grim might get a good head hunt in.” Cherry smirked. “So, if we want to bait it, we’ll need amulets. Got any on you, Grim?”

  He turned out his pockets, revealing only more caramels.

  “If it’s magic, I might be useful,” said Okane.

  Laura glared. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’ve been practicing.”

  “Do you have an amulet?” Cherry interrupted.

  “No, I just have more magic than most people.”

  Cherry raised her eyebrows but didn’t comment. “So we use you as the bait.”

  “As long as - - - make sure I don’t die.”

  “You can stick with me,” said Grim.

  He gestured for Okane to climb over to his horse. After some hesitation Okane did, settling awkwardly on the saddle behind him.

  “Hold on, but don’t touch my skin,” he ordered.

  “Touch his skin and he breaks out in hives,” Cherry snickered.

  The gray horse trotted along the gully. Cherry followed.

  “We ready, then?”

  “I guess,” said Okane. “Laura?”

  She pulled out an Egg. An odd feeling shot up her arm, and she looked down. This wasn’t the Egg with a painted lid, but somehow it still simmered with the angry feeling of Clae’s magic. She reached back to her bag, tapped her knuckles against all the others in her inventory. Every single one echoed Clae. The painted Egg hadn’t even been in the same section, tucked instead inside the smaller pack on her hip. How was this possible? Should she be worried? No. If Clae’s will was somehow working through the kin, she could trust it. She swallowed her unease.

  “Ready on your signal,” she said.

  Okane let out a shuddering breath and closed his eyes. Laura felt a light fluctuation in the air first, like an unsteady breeze or changing temperature, before she heard the distinct crackle of his magic. Grim jolted in the saddle. The felin’s head lifted, eyes burning from yellowish to red. It snarled, and the infestation atop it fluctuated. For a moment all was still; then the felin lunged. It couldn’t scale the side but slammed into it, high enough for its head to breach the top and snap. The horses spooked and took off. Okane clung to Grim’s back; with the new scare his magic wavered, giving off more popping, which only lent more speed to the horse’s flight. The felin followed. Its spikes ripped chunks of earth from the gully slope as it thundered away. It kept throwing itself at the wall, claws scrabbling for purchase. Every little noise from Okane’s direction drove it more insane. The infestation roiled, bubbling and sprouting tendrils, squalling a dreadful note of its own. Just as planned, the influx of power had driven more of it from the amulet; it had to grow and fight back if it didn’t want to be extinguished.

  Laura pulled out an Egg and dug her heels into the horse’s sides. The animal didn’t speed up; it kept level with Cherry and didn’t budge. Grim hauled on his horse’s reins, and it veered right. Cherry and Laura were almost upon them, and had to swerve to avoid it. The gully had grown shallow enough for the felin to barrel over the side. It charged past Laura as if she didn’t exist, close enough to touch. In its wake came fatigue. She slumped, suddenly short of breath, and her fingers loosened. The Egg fell and smashed, unarmed and useless. Cherry wavered on her own horse but kept upright. Laura gritted her teeth and hauled herself straight again.

  “I can’t do anything like this!” Laura hissed.

  “What, you want closer?”

  Closer meant more drain; that wouldn’t do. “Ahead? Out of its energy range.”

  The black horse sped up, and Laura’s charged to catch it. Ahead the gray horse wove left and right. With every swerve the felin fell further behind. The beast with its heavy spikes couldn’t master turning. Its momentum carried it several feet before its claws rent enough earth for it to change direction. On one turn it slid clean into a rock formation, and earth cascaded onto it. Cherry and Laura galloped past while it was stuck, and Laura lobbed another Egg. It burst on the felin’s head. Kin roared, gold ripping out of its glass to claw at rock and spikes. The infestation was completely overshadowed. But the light didn’t linger. The kin roar tapered, and the blast sucked itself right back in. The purple tints on the felin’s sides grew darker. It bared its teeth with a stronger snarl, and the air grew heavy. Cherry’s horse almost lost footing completely before escaping the danger zone.

  “Damn beast,” she snarled, gathering up the reins. “It’ll absorb any attack you throw at it. Should’ve had Grim take care
of it at the start.”

  But Laura was getting a nauseous, awful feeling that had nothing to do with the animal.

  “Wait for it!” she called. “An infestation doesn’t drop that easily!”

  Whatever it was, Okane felt it too. He squeaked something unintelligible and beat his hand against Grim’s shoulder. The felin took one step forward, then shuddered. Trembling, it arched its back, mouth gaping open before its torso dropped to the ground.

  Blackness glinted in the crevices of the felin’s armor, popping, shifting, sliding, seeping. The rock and dirt on top of the beast discolored and broke down from stone to dust. The infestation oozed across its back, tightening its grip, and the felin convulsed.

  “Is it trying to use the felin like an amulet?” said Laura, horrified.

  “Wasn’t expecting that,” said Cherry.

  Such a thing should be impossible; infestations didn’t inhabit corpses, let alone something still living. Then again, felin weren’t natural creatures. Maybe the infestation found a loophole, or maybe it was just desperate enough to try.

  The felin shrieked, and the infestation sprouted feelers. Some looped around the beast’s crown while others slid up as if testing the sky. Smoke rose from the mass as the sun met it, but apart from some dryness, the light had no effect. The feelers reached several feet into the air and twined together, shifting, waiting.

  Laura felt a jolt in her stomach. Instinct told her to get the hell out of there, but the pseudo-warning came too late. The tendrils separated and crashed down in every direction. Each gouged deep into the ground, rending earth and rock like butter. They halted, then heaved right, ripping up chunks of grass in a spin. One whistled overhead. Laura ducked, cursing.

  Appealing as it was to sit on a horse, she couldn’t so much as aim without the horse dancing out of control. She leapt off and stumbled before hurling the Egg. Halfway through its flight it smacked into a tendril and burst. Hissing kin spiraled up its length, reducing black ooze to barely more than grit. The infestation screeched. Tendrils coiled and writhed. The kin light snuffed out but smoke kept issuing, thicker and darker. Yellowish light glinted in the main mass.