by Gia Tsiknas
The girl clapped at the ending. The bard smiled and performed an elaborate bow, his head touching his knees in the foolery of his gesture.
“It’s just a story.” Machi shook her head.
“You would know best.” The bard’s voice was soft, unruffled from Machi’s bitterness.
Machi twitched and fell silent. In the quiet the bard turned to the girl traveler.
“As promised, wise one, a story of your choosing. Would you bless me with your wisdom?”
Machi looked up sharply. Her skin prickled with unease.
The girl laughed, her voice ringing through the air, captivating them.
“Such flattery, truth-seeker. As promised and more. Two shall be spoken for two travelers.”
Machi tensed once again, but indecision weighed on her legs.
“Truth-seeker, fly west to the sea. As wings take flight, so too the heart of knowledge.”
“As you say, wise one, I leave on the morrow.” The bard nodded and began packing his meager belongings.
Machi stared.
“And you,” The girl turned to Machi, her delicate mouth turned into a knowing smile. Machi shivered, that smile didn’t belong on a girl less than a decade old. “Blood-stained wanderer, you’ve done well to arrive.”
“You—”
The girl from the alley, the one she had chased to Eri’s house. Machi tensed to leap at the girl, to force her to talk; to take her to Brizna. But her body wasn’t listening to her. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe as the small girl took her attention.
“I give you this advice and warning. Turn the tide, mount up on wings, and free the chained one. Shadows whisper sweet words, but only forgiveness will save the boy.”
The girl bowed and Machi could breathe. She gasped for air, her mind reeling. She tried to summon her anger, but the emotion slipped through her fingers like sand.
“Go.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
CROSSROADS
Machi bolted, running out into the rain. She nearly knocked into a traveler coming to shelter, a tall raven-haired woman. The woman frowned as Machi ran headlong into the darkness of the storm.
With a sigh, the woman continued into the temple, toward the bard and girl.
“I see you have come, Saiya, but too late, it seems. She left just as you arrived.” The bard was polishing his harp with gentle fingers.
“I know. She almost toppled me. What made her upset?”
“She listened to the history quietly enough, but perhaps the prophecy was a bit much?” He raised an eyebrow to the giggling child.
Saiya pulled a small wyvern out of her pack. The animal yawned, turning from a dull blue to a brilliant yellow as he blinked and stretched. He scrambled onto Saiya’s shoulder and snorted at her with an undignified expression.
“What did you find?” The child settled next to the fire, pulling back her soft hood to reveal ears tapered to a point. Her delicate features were round with youth and alight with mischief.
Saiya smiled.
For the decades she had known the little girl, Ayaka, she hardly aged a day.
“She’s one of the last remnants of Drakians by birth. When she was young Poachers raided her village. Her parents died in the raid. They carted Machi off with other survivors to the Gamekeeper but before the caravan arrived she escaped.”
“Did anyone escape with her?” The bard asked.
“A colleague of hers, he was a Tracker. A few weeks back he disappeared and Machi was last seen demanding answers from the Guild. Then she disappeared and a bounty from the North popped up.”
The bard fell silent for a moment. “You need to keep an eye on her. She can’t confront anything sent by her at her current level.”
“As sure as Raboni’s heart.” She promised, and left the temple to tail Machi, the wyvern thrummed.
***
Machi sprinted away from the temple.
Tears streamed down her eyes. The image of her parents lying on the ground, covered in blood filled her mind. A high-pitched laugh crowded her ears.
“Huntress!” Hanaq’s voice was distant, the words of the bard and the girl drowned it out, mixing with childhood stories and her mother’s warnings. Lua’s scared, betrayed eyes.
The wind whipped at her face as she ran. Her destination was of no importance, only speed. Darkness swallowed the road, but she kept up her pace, face hardened, building more mental walls around herself. Exhaustion faded her surroundings, but she didn’t stop, fighting the numbing feeling of her legs.
She stumbled over a root and cried out. She toppled forward onto the hard ground. Pain, air, her world revolved around these two sensations as she fought against her memories.
She curled into a ball as her tears spilled onto the soaked earth and merged with the mud underneath her.
A gentle hand rested on her shoulder. “Huntress, please, tell me what is wrong.”
With grim determination she pushed herself to her feet. She couldn’t face Hanaq. What would he think of her? What did she want Hanaq to think?
Gentle fingers swept bangs from her eyes and tilted her chin. The rain had paused, and the night’s chill was setting into her bones.
“I am here, huntress. No one will harm you again.” Machi closed her eyes, letting the heat of his gaze warm her. It rekindled her anger, and thoughts of her Hunt beat back the sorrow threatening to drown her. She let Hanaq draw her to her feet, but stumbled. He caught her.
She tried to pull away, but her tired body, drained of energy, could no longer keep moving.
So warm…
Numbing unconsciousness overtook her, and she slumped into Hanaq’s arms. A slow smile crept over his face as he gathered her in his arms and stepped from the road.
CHAPTER NINE
DEMON
Children’s laughter, free and innocent, filled the summer air. Machi hid in a bush, watching the children with envy. Her mother said to stay away. To never look them in the eye or the demons would come.
But she had.
Raiders on horseback chased her. A net tangled her feet, and she fell hard. The dust stung her eyes, and she screamed. A boy spoke to her in a cage, dreaming of the city, of a family, of revenge.
Brizna…
They ran until their feet bled, but it wasn’t enough. Her parents were still dead. A man loomed over her.
It’s not my fault.
The man’s blank eyes stared into her, Machi couldn’t turn away. The man was laughing. He lifted his sword and —
***
A twig snapped and Machi leapt to her feet. Reality swamped Machi’s senses. It was a few hours till sunset. The rain had stopped, but the ground still kept plenty of moisture. She was in a ruined building, burned to ashes and overgrown with weeds. Charred wood littered the small clearing ringed with trees. Half of a stone wall stood to her left, no doubt part of a foundation that had survived. Machi saw that she was in a depression outlined by the burned foundation of a house.
“Hanaq?” Machi whispered.
A glimpse of silver shone to her far right, half buried in mud and debris. Machi walked over to it and picked up a small pendant half melted by the fire. Still visible through the tarnish was a curled, ornate dragon circling a moon. It was a family crest. Her family crest.
Machi dropped the pendant and stared at the burned site around her. She was standing in her house. How had she gotten here? She didn’t want to believe it, but this was her mother’s necklace, which was once held within a safe box deep in her parent’s room. Digging further into the debris uncovered a set of silverware and several damaged family portraits containing herself and her two parents.
“Why?” Violence overtook her, and she threw the portraits into the charcoal and mud.
Anger rippled across her skin.
The harsh cough of a dog broke her brooding. Machi’s head whipped up in time to see a man materialize from the shadows. The dog had short blood-red spikes along the ridge of its back. It looked thin and sickly.
The man wore a long, wispy gray cloak that trailed behind him as if it were living smoke. His hair was gray. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties and sported no facial hair. His eyes were a striking contrast to the rest of his appearance. They were coated in a milky sheen as if he was blind.
“Good work, Ulokhu.” His voice was husky and had a familiar edge to it.
The beast answered with a series of barks that sounded like laughter.
“Who are you?” Machi took inventory of her condition as she questioned the unusual pair. Should she call Hanaq? Where had he gone? Was he even nearby to help?
"Let’s get this over with.” The man drew a strange sword. It was straight with no hand guard. The pummel was an iron ring threaded with a scarf.
Machi slid two knives from their sheaths. She flinched as the man spun, turning his back to address the dog.
“Do I have to? It’ll be done before she’ll know it.”
The dog growled.
“Fine, fine. No need to be so forceful.” The man saluted with his sword. “I am Aidrian. Her royal majesty simply insists that I retrieve you for her collection. If you have any questions, I will be sure to ignore them, because I have a job to do. I must get it done, and I don’t have time to chit-chat. Good? Good!”
As the man, Aidrian, settled into his fighting stance the dog growled.
“Oh, fine! Don’t give me that! You know what happens when I get a job. I have to get it done. Sooner better than later. Sorry, I’ll introduce you, too.” Aidrian motioned to the dog. “This is Ulokhu, Demonic General of Envy and Obsession.”
He turned back to the dog.
“Why must you obsess over such an immeasurably small detail? Yeah, I know you’re the beast of obsession but still, pick something else to obsess over. Oh. Really? Well why didn’t you say so? You did? Well speak louder; you know how I get when I have a job that needs doing. YOU there! Drakian brat!”
Machi stiffened.
“What’s your beast’s name? Ulokhu just has to know.”
“What?”
“Your beast, what is its name? I don’t like dawdling, so hurry up about it.”
Machi’s anger flared to life, roaring through her veins.
“Ah, I see. General of Wrath you say? Feeds on anger you say? Wow, and it seems it hasn’t fully manifested yet. Too bad. That means I can go about my business. No? You want to force manifestation, Ulokhu? Oh, fine. One try, then I get to finish my job.”
Machi tensed and relaxed her muscles as the man rambled on. She was stiff from the night in the rain, but nothing to do about that now. While he stood with his arms crossed pondering she struck. Quick as a snake, she slashed at both his stomach and throat. Aidrian caught the blade heading for his throat with his sword and flicked his pummel, using the scarf as a whip to trap the knife aimed for his midsection.
“Tsk, tsk. You mustn’t interrupt my pondering. If I don’t pay attention, I might kill you. And while I wouldn’t mind, my queen would not like that one bit.”
Here, huntress. Strength filled her limbs. Machi crouched, tearing away from him and charged again. At the last second, she spun to the right under his blade, slashing the tendons in his knee. Aidrian stumbled and Machi went for his heart. Before she could draw blood Ulokhu grabbed her arm in his teeth. Machi screamed as its teeth tore her flesh.
Machi couldn’t think through her throbs of pain. Laughing, raving madmen filled her ears. Ulokhu still gripped her arm. With human-like intent Ulokhu maneuvered himself so as that Machi lay facedown in the mud, her arm twisted behind her. Muttering a few incoherent words Aidrian addressed the dog again.
“Let her go, she won’t be moving anytime soon.”
Machi felt the demon release her arm but as she tried to move, she found herself limp.
“Nice little spell, don’t you think?” Aidrian maneuvered Machi’s body, so it lay face up on the ground. He kicked Machi’s injured arm. “The best part is that you can still scream.”
Machi tried to bite down on her pain, refusing to be the man’s entertainment. Aidrian held his sword aloft. What looked like black ooze grew to cover it. Aidrian laughed as he stabbed Machi in the shoulder. Machi lost control and her scream echoed the deserted wreckage. Aidrian removed his sword, and Machi saw, with incredulity, that it was clean.
“Oh. You won’t die by this sword, at the moment. Why shorten our time together? My sword won’t cut flesh, but it sure feels like it, right?”
The dog growled, a strange glow surrounding it.
“Don’t distract me, Ulokhu, I’m busy.” Aidrian raised his sword again, laughing like a child at his favorite game.
“You!”
Machi’s poured anger into her limbs, using it to shatter the spell that held her in place. The man didn’t have time to dodge before Machi threw herself at the Gray Demon. She grasped the arm that held his sword, twisting until she felt his bones shatter in her grip. Ulokhu lunged at her exposed back, but a wave of red mist lashed out at the demonic dog, sending it into a nearby tree.
Aidrian cackled with glee. Black liquid seeped from his injuries and he melted in her grip. She smashed the head of the shadow-man, and spun to face the real Aidrian, letting out a snarl. Her image flickered with the red mist.
Call me. Hanaq’s voice whispered. Machi’s head swam, unable to control her raging anger. Call my name, huntress, and I will be yours. I will give you your enemies’ heads as a gift. I will let no one stand in the heat of your rage. Call my name, and I shall give you immeasurable power.
Machi opened her mouth, but no sound came, foreign strength surged through her, helping to battle the rage back. Aidrian’s eyes were wide.
“You were right, Ulokhu, this is so much more fun having her manifest.”
The dog trotted to his side, unhurt. It barked in what sounded like a laugh. Aidrian giggled as he shifted back and forth on both feet, his eyes darting between her and the shadowed mist that grew to cover her. His own visage flickered, and the dog faded. Aidrian’s head elongated, dark fur sprouting from his exposed skin. The rip of tearing cloth rang as red spines grew from his back.
A growl shattered the air. Aidrian was too consumed to notice. The beast-man sank its teeth into his own hand. Recognition flooded Aidrian’s eyes as he watched the blood flow from his fingertips to the forest floor.
Machi stood still, frozen with indecision. Hanaq lapped up her rage, growing stronger and choking out her resistance.
“You’re so right, Ulokhu.” Aidrian talked to himself. “I was getting ahead of myself. I simply can’t resist this feeling. I want it, I want her beast, I want her life.”
Aidrian’s figure flickered and jumped like fire. This time he tore flesh from his own arm, the growl surrounding him.
“Right, right.” Aidrian smirked as he gained control of himself. “Job done first, first done job. Too long, too long, and Zafirah gets angry.”
Aidrian’s image flickered and returned to normal as he separated from Ulokhu. The dog stood at his side. Machi blinked at the unfamiliar name.
A future enemy. Hanaq promised. One worthy to match our strength.
Her rage shoved aside her will, filling her with wrathful vengeance. Aidrian lifted his hand, pointing the palm in Machi’s direction. Shadow grew and flattened, forming a disk, then a shield, until a doorway stood before her. Machi felt her beast lean forward to charge, and she let him. The memory of another doorway of shadow. Of another dragged away.
Brizna… A thrill washed through her as the door finished forming. She could see him again.
Hanaq screamed, his grip on her slackening as her mind drew back from her anger, her vengeance. A shrill cry filled the air as something small and hard tackled into her, knocking her off her trajectory and away from the door of shadow.
“Aidrian!”
Aidrian growled a curse and turned to face a raven-haired woman, panting from running through the woods.
“Leave us alone, this is none of your concern.”
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“Leave her be.”
Aidrian faltered, a new gleam filling his eyes. Ulokhu growled and snapped at the woman, and the gleam vanished. He lashed out with black fire. The woman dodged and sent back an array of lightning. Aidrian laughed as the lightning struck him. “You’re losing your touch.”
Back in control of her own body, Machi took advantage of the distraction and attacked the Gray Demon. The woman, noticing Machi’s intent, jumped between them, sending a blast of blue energy at them both. Machi slammed against a tree, growling as sparks danced over her. It was not enough to hurt her, only to immobilize. Aidrian screamed and Ulokhu lunged at the woman, teeth bared, but something small and fast tackled him from his right. Ulokhu yelped in pain. All Machi could see of the speedy creature was a red and black streak.
Aidrian made a large crescent sweep with his sword at the woman. She dodged. At once he went into a reverse crescent and sliced open the woman’s forearm. She cried in pain and leapt toward Aidrian kicking with both feet. Aidrian sailed back, and the woman tumbled to Machi’s position. Machi glared up at the woman as she landed next to her.
“Moody!” She gasped. The black and red creature zipped to them and landed on her outstretched arm. The woman gripped Machi’s shoulder and muttered a string of unintelligable words. Colors swirled around them, so fast that Machi couldn’t concentrate. Her body’s defense mechanism took over, and she dropped into unconsciousness.
CHAPTER TEN
TRUTHS
The guards left Brizna in a narrow hovel with barely enough room to lay flat.
Days passed, counted out by the meals he received, and Brizna planned. He always had a deft mind, and the lack of distraction had left plenty of time to plan. It was a week before he felt confident enough to scale the walls, taking the first steps to escape.