by Drew Wagar
She spoke no words, standing before him trembling. For a moment the captain thought she was going to attack him.
‘It had to be done,’ he said. ‘We cannot take the risk.’
Her eyes narrowed, but then she sank to her knees, her hands going out to the body lying on the ground, stroking the hair of her companion, sobbing as she did so.
The captain gestured for the guard to take her away again. She still struggled, but less so this time.
The captain picked up the body of the dead girl and carried it across to the nearest pyre, flinging it upon the flames and then turning back.
‘Get these others into the cart,’ he instructed.
Beyond the buildings was a wagon, drawn by two hergs. Other children were already sitting in it, huddled together for warmth; the weather had been unusually cool of late. The guards pushed the new children towards it and ushered them aboard. The black-haired girl was last, still glowering at anyone who made eye contact with her.
The guards and the captain climbed aboard, whips were cracked and the hergs snorted, dragging the cart forwards.
They travelled for several stretches to the shaderight, leaving the land of Scallia behind them. The land of Drayden lay ahead, home to the priestesses. The captain smiled, these children would fetch a bit of coin there; the priestesses always had need of drudges. He had few qualms about what he was doing. He was giving these children a chance to stay alive, had they been left back in Scallia they would have surely starved.
He had a total of twenty three now, all clean and free from the plague. That would make a tidy sum.
‘I pity the poor soul who gets that last one,’ the guard next to him said, nursing his hand. The captain could see blood and a small bite mark.
‘Plenty of spirit,’ the captain said, with a chuckle. ‘She’ll need that to survive the rounds ahead. Going to be tough times for a while.’
Daine was close now, the spires of the city visible before them, the great temple of the priestesses rising in the midst of it. The captain repressed a shudder. He had little desire to spend any time close to those strange women. They were otherworldly, possessed of strange powers of the mind and fearsome warriors. It was said they could read your mind and force your thoughts. Wilder stories suggested that their strange rituals involved taking men and cutting out their hearts whilst still alive, then eating them. None had ever seen such things to his knowledge, but he would not have trouble believing it. If they could see into your mind, read your thoughts, maybe they could even turn your body against your will. That sort of power would scare anyone.
They drew close to the gates of the city. The children were all looking around with curiosity, understanding that they were reaching a destination.
They stopped at the threshold, the city guards barring their progress.
‘What you have here?’
‘Twenty three young recruits for the pleasure of the priestesses,’ the captain replied. ‘All clean and checked.’
The city guards nodded.
‘Twenty three?’
‘Aye, twenty three.’
The city guard chuckled.
‘What about that one?’
The captain turned to see a small form running down the gravel track away from the city walls.
‘Scorch it! Stop her!’
He and his guards had no chance. The girl had too much of a head start and was agile and fleet of foot. She reached the threshold of the shadewood that bordered the road and spun back for a moment to see where her pursuers were.
The captain saw her hair fan out around her and caught her gaze for a brief moment.
‘You …’
Blue eyes and dark black hair.
The girl plunged into the woods.
When the captain and the guards reached the boundary of the woods there was no sign of her.
‘She won’t last a stretch in the depths of the forest,’ one of the guards said. ‘Snare or a mulch’ll get her in a couple of chimes.’
The captain rubbed his chin.
Somehow I don’t think we’ve seen the last of that one.
But he turned back to the children that remained, ensuring no others escaped. He did not think of the young girl again.
CHAPTER ONE
Viresia, Capital of Scallia
Round 2307, First Pass
Blue eyes, dark black hair.
Kiri was sitting on the wall overlooking the city, her expression pensive. It was an early chime, most folk were still asleep. Lacaille was bright and warm above, comforting and serene once more, so unlike the fury it had unleashed just a few short stretches ago.
Shanza, my beloved dach, slain in that tempest.
An image of the great reptilian beast came to her mind. Her loyal steed, killed by the fire that had risen from Lacaille’s wrath and which burned across the lands of Drayden, Scallia and Drem.
We were too slow, we failed in our duty. Shanza saved me, yet paid the price …
A tear trickled down her cheek at the memory.
Her hair drifted in the breeze that was blowing up from the sun drenched valley below. In the manner of the warriors of Drayden it was long on the right side, but shaved down to the scalp over her left ear.
The damaged city still bore testament to the fierce battle that had raged here only a few passes before. The leaders of Viresia had defied the will of Lacaille, the goddess of the Priestesses of Drayden, and she had swept them aside.
Kiri had faced the King of Scallia himself, besting him in combat before the walls of the city, before a cowardly attack from within the city had almost killed her. That had been the signal for the battle to begin. The priestesses assaulted the city and it had fallen before them.
Her kai, a long metal staff favoured by the priestesses as a weapon, was propped against the wall. It was with this she had despatched the hated prince Torin in the battle. Torin had slain her much-loved mentor, Charis. Kiri had shown no mercy when she caught him, bludgeoning the man to death despite his cries for mercy.
And Drayden had been victorious over Scallia, but the vengeance and the victory had not been without cost.
Tasha …
Kiri had lost a friend that stretch. Tall and athletic, Tasha had been the only one of all the acolytes to show her any companionship in her early time at the temple. She had died at the hands of the Scallians, cut down by bowmen. She had surrendered her own powers to Kiri so she could continue the fight. Kiri had felt her slip away in that moment.
She trembled at the memory. Despite her powers she hadn’t been able to stop it.
Rihanna had accompanied her in the attack. That girl had been her nemesis for many rounds. All through her training at the temple Rihanna had taunted her, bullied her. Kiri had given back as good as she had been given. Their antagonism had grown to a dangerous fervour. It had all culminated in a fight where they had nearly killed each other.
But since then, Rihanna and Kiri had been forced to work together. They weren’t friends, but no longer the mortal enemies they had been.
Tasha gone, Rihanna no longer an enemy, but who can I really trust? Too many secrets, too many choices ahead …
She got to her feet and walked into the throne room itself. It took her eyes a few moments to adjust from the brightness outside. She stepped forward, her feet echoing on the furler wood flooring.
The house of Tiamoi … this is my secret … this is my house! This could have been my home.
At the far end was a dais, and atop that, a throne. It was here that Nerina had sat giving her proclamations to the conquered people of Scallia, but it would have been King Ioric’s throne and King Marek’s before him.
Myana would have stood here too, rounds ago. My mother …
It was the murals and tapestries on the walls that drew her attention. Many were pictorial stories of the history of Scallia, some running back into the times of the Voren Empire hundreds of rounds before.
But there was one in particular she was interested i
n.
On the left side was a mural featuring portraits of the royal Scallian line. She found Ioric, and Torin. Liana was there too, her blonde beauty easy to spot.
What might Liana know about all this? She’s my cousin! I must find a way to speak to her …
But alongside was another face.
An image of a woman looked out from the painting, unlike most of the others who looked aside from the painter’s perspective. Rich locks of curly dark hair cascaded about a thin, but pretty face with high cheekbones and a determined expression. But it was the eyes that the painter had worked hard to capture.
Blue eyes … blue eyes, dark hair!
She read the inscription below
2258 – 2287. Myana Tiamoi, daughter of Marek Tiamoi, Wife of …
The text had been obscured, erased.
I looked like my mother! So who was my father? Why has his name been struck? If that was the round she died then I must have been born in 2287, that truly makes me twenty rounds old!
There was something strange but reassuring to know when she was born and how old she was. A sense of belonging, having some roots.
Guerrun smuggled me out of Scallia to keep me from the priestesses so it seems, but what happened afterwards?
Her earliest memories were of fire and death. She recalled a pyre and the death of a girl she had once played with, at the hands of soldiers. A word, repeated over and over.
Plague.
She had escaped the soldiers and fled into a forest, coming to the attention of the onlies of Drayden. They had cared for her, and she managed to survive by theft and cunning in their midst until she grew old enough to look after them in turn. Then Choso and his brothers had led her into the midst of the priestesses and Charis’ tender care.
But before all that …
She had a vague recall of an old woman and an old man. She could remember little other than their outlines.
They must have raised me from a babe, but died in the plague.
There were no other answers in the throne room. She heard voices not far away. Priestesses were heading her way. Her heart pounding, she slipped outside and fled.
Nerina, high priestess of Drayden, looked out from the courtyards of Viresia, gazing sunward down the valley, enjoying the warmth of Lacaille for herself. Far below a river sparkled. Scallia was greener than Drayden by some margin, the climate milder. The shadewood forests here were thicker and more abundant, the landscape better suited for farming and husbandry.
And it is mine now. Scallia and Drem! Soon all the lands that formed the Voren Empire will be mine too. I shall surpass even what Elena achieved and bring unity to this place, under the priestesses, under women, under me!
The power of the priestesses had overwhelmed the might of the Scallian defenders. Their pathetic Lords had bowed the knee to her, after one had been made an example of. Conquering Scallia had taken less than a pass; the kingdom had fallen with the death of both the king and the prince at the hands of the priestesses.
And the queen …
Nerina turned and walked into the Viresian throne room. Two of the lesser priestesses were already there, having brought the queen up from the rooms in which she had been held. Nerina watched as the Queen was led forward. She walked of her own accord, but when she was released she did nothing, just stood there, unmoving and unaware.
The two priestesses lowered the Queen into a chair. She was dressed in a rich flowing gown of the type favoured by the Scallians, her hair was blonde, her face beautiful.
But her expression was vacant, her eyes blank and staring at something far beyond the walls of the throne room. Nerina watched her for a moment.
Queen Liana of Scallia.
Nerina walked across to her, stepping around her in a circle. Liana did not react. Nerina completed the move, a frown growing on her features.
This is the woman who defied us in the battle, slew many of my sisters, struck Kiri down outside the gates. Her power was greater than ours, yet now …
Nerina probed with an outstretched hand.
Nothing! Even her mind has retreated into the abyss of thought. Is her power gone, or was it taken by another? There are only two who could have done this, and I have tested them both …
Nerina had sent Kiri and Rihanna to pursue the queen when she had been rescued by the youth from Amar. They had followed their orders. Kiri had chased them all the way to Drem and captured her as instructed.
And neither Kiri or Rihanna claim to know anything.
Nerina had issued her instructions for the conduct of Scallia and Drem, sending priestesses to the major towns and cities throughout her new realm. Chief amongst the instructions was the renewed tithe. All the lands would be searched for young women with the gift. If they were found they were to be sent to Daine.
Nerina smiled. More young women meant more power, once she had torn their abilities and absorbed their gift.
Now she had to focus on what came next.
A bell tolled. Kiri jumped even though she had been waiting for it.
I’ve been summoned. Rihanna and I both. It’s Nerina, she wants to speak to us …
Kiri grabbed her kai, her hand clenched tight around it. She took a deep breath and composed herself. She began walking back to the summit of Viresia.
I must concentrate! My mind must be clear and ready.
Kiri didn’t know what Nerina wanted, but she had a pretty shrewd guess. She wasn’t looking forward to facing the enigmatic high priestess.
She spied Rihanna waiting outside the throne room. Kiri nodded to her, but neither spoke.
The bell tolled again.
The doors to the throne room opened. Nerina could see the tall form of Rihanna and the shorter figure of Kiri silhouetted in the entrance.
‘Come hither,’ Nerina said.
She watched them as they walked, their shoes echoing on the polished wooden floor of the throne room. Much Scallian history was portrayed there, described in carvings and frescoes embedded in the floor. The craftsmanship was impressive, but it held no-one’s attention at this moment.
‘High priestess,’ both of them said, bowing before her.
Nerina said nothing, but walked around them as was her habit.
‘We return to Daine,’ she said. ‘With Drem and Scallia under our control. We have done well.’
‘Yes, high priestess.’
‘Much of that success can be put at your feet,’ Nerina said. ‘You fought well against this city, secured it for us. You killed the prince, pursued and captured the queen.’
Nerina gestured to Liana, who had remained unmoved in the chair to the side of the throne room, her expression still blank and unseeing.
‘So where …’ Nerina’s voice filled with an angry edge and turned to a yell. ‘Is the power she wielded against us?’
She saw Kiri and Rihanna both flinch.
‘There is nothing but a husk of a woman!’ Nerina continued. ‘The barest flicker of what she was. This woman …’ She gestured at Liana. ‘She struck you down Kiri, do you remember?’
Kiri nodded. ‘I remember! I thought I would die …’
‘And she struck Tasha from the sky before you, Rihanna! Do you not recall?’
‘I do,’ Rihanna said, looking straight ahead. ‘She had a power beyond any …’
‘So where is that power? Where is it?’
Nerina spun around, her hand thrust out. Both Kiri and Rihanna gasped in pain and collapsed to their knees.
‘One of you knows!’
She heard their screams of torment as she forced her will upon them, but it mattered little to her.
Someone is lying to me, I will find out which one of you it is!
She pushed harder, both Kiri and Rihanna crying out with the force of her assault.
Nerina pushed her way into Kiri’s mind. She felt the girl’s resistance; that had been expected, she knew her powers to be strong, but they weren’t strong enough. Nerina grasped at the memories before her and p
ulled them close.
Astride her dach, a blast of metallic shock. Tasha tumbling into the courtyard … arrows and crossbow bolts. Landing beside Tasha. Shock and horror, already dying! There … the Scallian Queen advancing. Words …
You can’t resist me, little priestess. I am Liana of house Tiamoi, princess of Scallia. I am she who hurt you before. Surrender now and I will spare your life. Or you will suffer pain before I let these men despatch you …
Yes, she has the power. Trying to attack her, but she is too strong. Astonishment at her strength! Tasha gives her gift … Liana attacks, trying to steal … then Torin. Revenge, Hatred! Blood, death and retribution!
The memory ended.
Nerina shifted further on. Kiri cried out as her mind was probed, but it was to no avail.
A cobbled street, poorly lit in the gloom of the far shadeward. Nireus! I have caught them at last. The queen, there she is! And a warrior with a sword … Fool! You can’t stand against me. Dead! See, foolish man? Your strength is as nothing, your life is mine. Nerina will want the Queen …
Before her Kiri cried out in relief as Nerina let her go. The memory was clear, Kiri hadn’t stolen anything. Nerina turned her focus to Rihanna.
The queen is in our custody. The priestesses assembling on the dock-side. Arrows shoot out at the fugitives. A boy, a girl and a young man running for the ship. Why have the arrows missed? They’ve jumped in the water, they’ve made it to the ship, they’ve escaped! The young man from Amar has escaped!
Nerina released Rihanna. She collapsed alongside Kiri, panting for breath.
‘It seems neither of you know what happened to the queen’s gift …’
Kiri had managed to get back to her knees.
‘High priestess, I caught her, imprisoned her, brought her back as you directed … she is there.’ Kiri pointed to Liana.
‘And yet her gift is gone,’ Nerina replied. ‘She is useless to me.’
‘We did not take it,’ Rihanna said, her voice trembling. ‘We wouldn’t dare.’
Nerina paced about them both once again.
‘Then all is well,’ Nerina said, her voice smooth and unruffled again. ‘Rise.’