Oblivion's Queen

by M. H. Johnson

  From the nearby alley they gazed at the walled off residence, bespeaking of an influential lord indeed, the manor near the size of Duke diOnni's own.

  Jess gazed at Twilight. “Any back entrance, by chance?”

  Her cat flashed a grim smile. “I can think of one way, easily enough.”

  Jess nodded, turning to Malek. "I see several plays. One, we sneak by grappling hook over the back wall, much as we did the diOnni compound, though any war hounds will not know us here, so barking and battle may or may not come of that. If we can cross the field to the manor, however, we can investigate further what we are up against, before we strike. Twilight could also scout inside to ascertain the true nature and extent of our foes, with us just outside, ready to launch an attack the moment it is needed. Of course, should we come to our friend's aid successfully, we would then have three noncombatants to protect from enemy attack as we retreat, their lives at peril should you or I fail to counter our enemies, shieldbrother."

  Malek nodded. "Alternatively, we make for the main entrance and we just cut every man down with overwhelming force, before they even have time to react. We then head inside and butcher every armed man we encounter, showing no mercy, for war has been declared between this clan and the Onnis. The advantage to this is that we then have no enemies to strike at our captives unseen, once we free them. The disadvantage is that our very presence may alert our enemy, and our friends could be held at knife point, taken hostage, and we have to work to assure their freedom, lest a panicked knife render fruitless all our hard work and slaughter."

  Jess grimaced and nodded. "That is the risk. Alternatively, we sneak in, ascertain their situation, and strike our enemies blitzkrieg style, before they can take out our friends. We then secure the chamber they are in, and I ward the door shut." Her smile turned bleak. "Then we clean out this den of rats to the last man, and when all our foes lie dead at our feet, we lead our companions to friendly territory, and then we clean out whatever treacherous rats are to be found back at the diOnni compound.”

  Malek nodded, even as Jera and Alex paled. "It makes sense. You interrogate each of them, and any who don't measure up, we cut down."

  "Angels above, Jess, Malek; that's just bloodthirsty!" Jera's eyes were wide with horror. "Jess, why can't we just free them without bloodshed? Retreat to Alex's family compound. He is not the only Velice with a mastery of the elementalist tradition, and you know his family by and large prefers at least wintering in Krona. I know for a fact his brother and cousin are there now. We will have others at our back then, and the diOnnis will be safe, without, well, butchery!"

  Jess's eyes flashed. "I told you not to question my authority, Jera! Make no mistake, this is war. We fight for our lives, we fight for our friends. We do whatever it takes to save those we care about, and complete our mission. Whatever it takes!"

  Jera actually looked frightened, gently held in Alex's arms as he gazed solemnly at Jess. "This is what they trained for, Jera. This is our friend as she was forged to be. Not a playful girl enjoying late night stories in our friendly little circle, but a Squire of War."

  Alex kissed Jera's forehead, his beau furiously blinking away her tears.

  “You're right,” Jera whispered. “Jess? I'm sorry. I did ask you to lead us, and I will respect your decision. I know how horrible things were at the chateau. I know you will only do what you must.”

  Fiercely Jess held on to her icy sense of the moment, refusing to let warm regret color her decisions, or cause her to second-guess herself.

  Twilight's gaze was strangely solemn. “If I may suggest, my queen, I do believe there are several patio doors, the lord owning this demesne believing in every luxury with the confidence his wall brings him, so we should be able to infiltrate by said route and proceed to our objective with a minimum of interference. Unless, of course, your real objective is the absolute slaughter of every potential enemy as we slowly make our bid for the throne, in which case, carry on. We shall butcher this lord and all his people, gain the eternal gratitude of the diOnnis, and by means fair or foul, assure the loyalty or demise of every lord of note in our bid for the Golden Throne.” Twilight's grin brought a chuckle to Jess's own lips.

  “A good point, beloved Twilight. A discrete entrance is worth the risk, particularly as we don't know for sure what the state of affairs truly is. 'Twould be folly to butcher potential innocents unnecessarily, as we have not truly seen our enemy's hand.” Twilight dipped his head solemnly, and Jess had the strange sense that Twilight would not have batted an eye had she been struck with the mad impulse to actually make a bid for the Golden Throne, violent and ruthless as she would have to be.

  Jess locked gazes with her friends. “We head to the back. I will grapple up to the top, scout out our route, and we shall attempt to enter by the back patio. Discretion will be our watchword, but if battle must be joined, we shall do so in earnest! Our lives shall not be cheaply lost from hesitation. Agreed?”

  Solemn nods she received in turn, the hardwood flukes of her molded grappling hook making no sound as she secured the rope and scaled the wall.

  She was relieved to see that the house guard did not look to be on high alert, only catching sight of a few on the other side of the manor, their backs toward her own. She turned to her familiar, resting comfortably as he so often did upon her shoulder. “Twilight?”

  Her familiar nodded and slipped off, gazing all about with his piercing gaze. “Neither man nor beast is alert to our presence, Jess, and the patio doors are just over there.”

  With a nod, Jess gave a tug to the rope, her friends quickly and quietly scaling up, Malek last of all, having boosted up their friends.

  "The way is clear, and Twilight agrees. We head to the patio yonder at a fast pace. Hopefully our luck will hold, and we will continue to avoid any patrols." Her friends' silent nods were now perfectly visible, as Jess's eyes had now grown accustomed to the dark night, yet another edge they had over guards carrying lanterns or standing near sources of illumination.

  Quickly they made their descent and headed towards the manor before them, every bit as grand and extravagant as Jess imagined a man with both means and vanity would desire, the patio doors themselves priceless works of exquisitely carved wood and perfectly clear panes of glass, the garden beside it carefully manicured and well cared for. The scent of roses and wisteria wafting through the air served as odd counterpoint to the taste of copper and exhilaration in her mouth as she donned her bronze helm once more, readying herself for what was to come.

  Her blade was unsheathed and she only aware of her action after she felt the invigorating sting to her cheek as she whetted her blade in what her friends could only assume was ritual, for all that Jera tisked that Jess's pristine beauty was being marred by constant scars to her cheeks.

  Twilight, however, nodded in approval. “Good. As we are not quite sure what we are up against, and your blade is of far more use to us like that.” He then turned to gaze at the manor. “Come.”

  Solemnly, Jess shut her eyes, gently caressing the wooden patio door, conveying both her apologies and her need, and with a startling clang the door sprung free of metal bracing and lock, Jess and Malek laying it gently upon the ground in tandem.

  “A neat trick. I hope no one heard us,” Alex said, Jera gazing solemnly at the door, then at Jess.

  Jess shrugged. "I didn't know it would go quite like that. I merely asked for entrance. Come on." With that they softly proceeded down the well-appointed corridor, Jess and Malek with eyes and ears alert for the slightest sight or sound of trouble, blades drawn and ready, Alex and Jera muttering softly, as if ready to cast at a moment's notice, Jera's sword and buckler also unsheathed.

  "This way," Twilight loped at a steady pace, Jess cautiously following. "Almost there," her familiar assured, and Jess breathed a sigh of relief before a house guard stumbled into the hallway from a doorway to their left.

  Smelling strongly of mead, blinking in surprise, the man took a deep br
eath to raise hue and cry, even as he struggled to draw his sword.

  As fast as thought Jess's blade lashed out in a fierce Zwerchhau strike, cleaving through the man's neck before he could utter a sound, the guard collapsing in death instantly as his head tumbled down the corridor some feet, blood shooting from the neck stump for a few awful moments before sputtering to a trickle, a shirt of pristine mail just visible at the ragged edge of his cleaved neck.

  Jera gazed at Jess in horror, speechless, holding back a scream.

  Jess herself hitched her breath at how fast death had come, her hands moving almost without thought, trained killer that she was.

  And even as she froze, Malek darted in the room from whence the guard had come, quick as a hare, and only then did Jess note the beginnings of a ululating cry abruptly cut off almost before it began, her shieldbrother having instantly spotted the half-naked serving girl still in repose from dalliance with her lover, now dead in a pool of blood by Jess's feet.

  The look of horror Jess caught shook her to the core.

  With a fierce shake of her head, imagining Eloquin's unforgiving glare, she shoved all such thoughts aside. Time for regrets later, however bitter, when her friends were safe.

  “Good catch, Malek,” was all she said as Malek quickly bound and gagged the serving girl with practiced expertise, mouth filled with sufficient linen that no cry would emanate, yet not so enthusiastically as to cause the girl to choke on it, Malek pausing but a moment to assure himself that the girl's nose was unclogged with snot or terror, and thus could breathe even with gag in place.

  “Well played, Hound,” Twilight nodded his head in grim approval, and Malek shivered, almost as if he could sense Twilight's words. Twilight turned to Jess. “Don't just stand there like a green recruit, Squire. You know what you must do now.”

  Grimacing, Jess nodded, sharing a glance with Malek, the pair quickly grabbing the fallen guard and dragging him inside the storeroom where the guard had spent the last happy moments of his abruptly shortened life, the pair scanning for and catching sight of a mead flask, soaking one of the well used rumpled sheets, then quickly doing a cursory scrubbing of the floor outside, cleaning the pool of blood as best they could in but a handful of seconds, measuring the benefit of further cleaning with the risk of discovery and the need to proceed with all due haste.

  Alex and Jera, having hurried into the room to stay out of sight, gazed solemnly as it all played out in less than a minute's time. When the horrified shaking girl was checked on one last time, Malek gave Jess an approving nod. "Well played, sister of the blade. Had you frozen and second-guessed yourself for even a moment, he would have gotten off his cry, and there would be far more blood on the floor. You are trained to strike to kill, as am I. Fuddling about that now, second guessing your movements, would have been most horrible folly."

  Malek gently clapped Jess's shoulder. "His body was armored but he was helmetless, as most in-house guardsmen are, so none can fault your strike, bloody as it was."

  Jess smiled grimly, knowing his words were as much for Alex and Jera's benefit as her own. "Thank you, Malek. You as well, ready to spring and catch that silly git before she raised the alarm, and without bloodshed at that, free of injury save, perhaps, to her heart and soul,” Jess sighed.

  Malek shook his head. "I was furious with myself. I actually froze in the instant you had acted. I darted into the room in case any more guards lay in wait, as a way to redeem myself in my own mind. His poor lover bore no blade, and her gaze was one of horror. I could afford the second necessary to switch gears." He shuddered, Jess knowing that for all his words, the thought of harming a female was particularly repugnant to him, even in the crucible of war.

  "Very well," Jess said, gazing at a pale-faced Jera and Alex. "Are you two prepared to continue? Twilight says we need to move. Now."

  Alex shook himself but nodded, as did Jera, though unable to hide her tremble.

  "I've already seen you kill. Jess, I suppose I should be used to this by now," Jera said.

  Jess curtly shook her head. "For most people, there is no getting used to it. No more time for speculation or recrimination until our friends our safe. From this moment on, just do as I say, and feel free to hate me as much as you want later on, gods willing we survive to see the dawn." She flashed a bleak smile as Jera nodded her agreement.

  “I will not gainsay your commands or decisions, Jess, nor will I hate you in the morning.”

  With that, they proceeded on, Twilight darting ahead for a careful look down both passageways before heading to a strangely ornate doorway, several guards armed in full mail and wielding pole axes standing at casual attention on either side of it. Jess peered silently from around the corner, well hidden in shadow as Twilight, invisible to their enemies, carefully took the two guard's measure, before slipping through the doorway beyond via twisted paths that hurt Jess's head just to watch.

  Within moments Twilight popped back, something strange and fierce in his gaze. He sprung to Jess's side.

  "Jess, do not hesitate! There can be no reluctance, there is no misunderstanding! No innocents struck by cross purposes and confusion lay before us, only enemies worthy of your blade! And tell your Hound to be prepared to take off his mail and make due with bronze and hardened leather, after these two have fallen to your swords."

  “Twilight?” Jess gasped.

  Her familiar's icy blue eyes seemed to blaze like distant stars. Jess shivered. “These are infernalists, Jess. The door fronts a staircase leading to a place of foulness and horror. Your friends are there.”

  Her friends were there. At the mercy of monsters. Jess felt her heart race with a sudden black fury. She turned to her friends. "Diabolists! Our friends are down there, and these guardsmen are no innocents. We fight for blood now. There can be no hesitation. These are our enemies and must be put down, as fast and ruthlessly as possible, if we are to save our friends trapped below."

  Malek flashed a fierce smile. “Understood. Let's take down this pair of would-be knights, shall we?”

  Jess turned to Alex, whose slight tremble belied his gentle smile. "Fear not, Jess. Though a windwall would result in disaster, a whisper of silence will still the air all about that intersection of corridors. Once you are outside these shadows, charge and roar to your heart's content, for no enemy will hear the hue and cry of battle more than a handful of feet from where you fight."

  Jess smiled gratefully at Alex, already sensing the gentle web of sky blue magics gently coalescing about the area, as fragile as strands of gossamer, and she was careful to step around them, afraid they might burst from her slightest touch, before they seemed to expand to the roof and out of her periphery entirely. Alex raised a single eyebrow.

  “Are you truly so deadly to a wizard's art, Jess?”

  Jess shrugged. "Why take chances?" She turned to her brother-in-arms. "On three, Malek, for the last thing those two fools expect is two enemies charging them in a killing frenzy."

  Malek flashed a madcap smile Jess felt her own cheeks mirror, her heart racing in furious anticipation. “Halfsword, Jess?”

  She nodded. “Halfsword or thunderstrike. We have both fought sword versus poleaxe, and know its terrible strengths, and how best to counter.”

  Malek nodded. “I'll circle for leftmost, might swing for thunderstrike, and stay clear of you. I know you prefer to halfsword against poleaxe.”

  Jess nodded and gave count. “Three!” She whispered, and the pair launched themselves for the pair of quietly conversing guardsmen, hands only loosely holding their wicked looking poleaxes. Shorter hafted than halberds, their wicked axe head, spike, and hammer were thick and sturdy and designed to avoid breakage against heavy armaments, yet light enough to be used with speed and vigor throughout the course of battle. They were well able to crush bone even through armor, and thus were favored weapons of the heavily armed knight dueling his opposite number, and a weapon against which Jess had relished training against, putting aside her other t
alents to embrace the challenge of countering that weapon. Yet here in genuine battle, she would be a fool, she knew, not to make use of all her gifts.

  And the pair of armored and helmeted guardsmen couldn't help stumbling back in momentary surprise as Jess and Malek roared and charged them with berserkers' fury, Malek's opponent barely able to raise his weapon's haft in time to counter a whistling strike to his helmet as Malek launched a vicious overhand thunderstrike hilt first, holding the blade in his gauntleted hands as he pounded into his foe with the force of a war hammer, adroitly pivoting on his backfoot and spinning fully around with uncanny grace for a fully armored man, Malek's weapon whipping about a second time and smashing his stunned opponent's knee, shattering it, armor or no. His foe collapsed to the ground in agonized shrieks even as Malek whipped his terrible weapon about a final time, smashing the hilt into the open-faced helm with lethal force. The man's cries were cut off in a spray of blood, even as Malek, now gripping his blade half sword style, ruthlessly rammed it point first into the guard's throat, assuring a quick, if brutal death.

  All this Jess sensed peripherally, even as she focused on her own opponent's terrified gaze, so in tune she and Malek had become when deep in the throes of battle fury, as if they were two halves of a deadly whole. In what almost seemed slow motion her foe brought his weapon to bear. Jess, her own blade held in halfsword, hand on hilt and mid-height on the blade expertly pivoted and shifted her balance. It was a deadly version of the exercise she had practiced with none other than Johan Silverman himself, knight aspirant and deadly foe with poleaxe, whom Jess had sparred with on numerous occasions, each with their favored weapon.

  Poleaxe shaft furiously locked against her own blade, the guard she fought glared and hurled curses at her even as he fought against their bind, exactly as Jess wanted him to. When she sensed him pushing against her blade with all his force, hissing the things he would do to her when he had bested her, she abruptly gave under his pressure, twisting about him as her enemy lurched forward and stumbled, only then realizing his folly, desperate to turn around and defend himself, but it was already too late. With an exultant cry, Jess rammed the point of her blade into the back of his neck, slamming with all her terrible strength, shattering his spine even through mail links that burst under the force of her blow. The guard collapsed in death, his fully armed form crashing upon the stone tiles.