Banebringer

by Carol A Park

  A flare went up from the courtyard, another fireblood attempting to burn the spiders off a man who had just gone down under a dozen of them, screaming.

  The spiders went up in flames, but so did the man.

  Yasril ran to the man’s aid, directing a stream of water from the well to douse him. It worked, but the man lay convulsing, bleeding from a dozen wounds. Bindbloods raced in to drag him out of the fray, back into the shed, which had, at present, escaped the monsters attention.

  Thud.

  The bloodhawks were leaving him alone now, and all the other creatures were waiting, out of sight. He couldn’t shoot at bloodcrabs from up here, and there were too many spiders to waste arrows on, especially if the firebloods had them under control.

  So he waited, arrow nocked. The moment that wall was down, he knew more bloodbane would come streaming out of the woods.

  With a crack, the stone finally split, and after another smash from the giant, the wall caved in.

  The giant roared and charged.

  The forest exploded with monsters.

  When the alarm bells rang this time, Ivana groaned and pulled her pillow over her head. Was she ever going to get sleep?

  They kept ringing. She heard shouting. She lifted her head, listening. More shouting than ever before. She got up and went to the door, opening it far enough to stick her head out. People were rushing past her, paying her no mind.

  It almost seemed the entire compound was being emptied.

  This couldn’t be good. She shut the door, turned around, and put her back to it. Or was it?

  She threw on her clothes and snatched up the knife Vaughn had given her, along with the pouch of aether. She plucked a piece out, burned the aether, and slipped out her door.

  She knew it wasn’t perfect. It was only the third time she had tried using it, after all. But either it was good enough, or people were too busy heading toward the exit to pay any attention. So she headed the opposite way, toward the stairway Vaughn had shown her. The guard was gone, and she made it to the balcony without issue. From there, she could see the entire fight.

  Hundreds of bloodbane were engaged in a concerted attack on the manor. The first attempt at breaching the wall failed, but winged monsters flew right over to deposit their deadly burdens, and the spiders climbed unhindered.

  She considered her options. Now would be the perfect time to escape. No one would even notice in the chaos. But she hadn’t obtained the information she needed yet, and if the Ichtaca fell like this, she would never gain that information. Now would also be a perfect time to prove herself, gain some trust. If indeed Yaotel would ever trust her. But what could she do?

  Vaughn was in the midst of the chaos, standing on the wall. He almost got swarmed by spiders, but a fireblood caused the whole pack to go up in flames before they could reach him.

  In fact, Banebringers were now using their abilities with abandon. Ice, fire, water, flashes of light, tiny windstorms…and those were only the most obvious uses. Whatever training they had done had clearly helped.

  An idea formed in her head. She looked down at the pouch in her hand. She knew exactly where she could obtain more than moonblood aether. And if she had a full range of aether at her disposal, mixed with her own blood… Had they even considered the many ways their own abilities could be used? From what Vaughn had said, Yaotel had just recently started allowing them to think about it.

  Ideas pumping through her brain, she headed back down to the compound and toward the research wing.

  To Vaughn’s horror, not a handful, but dozens of bloodwolves streamed from the woods, accompanied by more crabs and more grotesque creatures he had no name for, all heading for the breach.

  Arrows flew from his bow and the others’, but it was a paltry amount compared to the number of bloodbane coming, and Vaughn was running out of arrows.

  He saw a flash in the woods, and for a moment, the corpse-thing reappeared, looking grimly satisfied, and then disappeared back into the woods.

  That thing. It was what was controlling the horde of bloodbane. It was one thing to summon a few bloodwolves and bloodhawks and have them carry a few bloodcrabs. It was another to get the monsters to work together, to have strategy and thought.

  If he took that thing down…

  He scanned the woods frantically, but even his eyesight couldn’t pierce the dense foliage.

  The sky suddenly brightened, and Vaughn glanced down.

  Danton had summoned light. A lot of it.

  The monsters recoiled momentarily, giving a large group of men a chance to attack en masse. Shells shattered. Spiders burned. Bloodwolves yelped. A group of bloodbats began swirling around in a small tornado.

  An iceblood paved the ground in front of three charging bloodwolves with ice, and they slipped and slid, giving half a dozen others the chance to skewer them on pikes.

  Yaotel had even entered the fray. As a beastblood, it was difficult for him to use his magic up close to monsters without chancing being killed, but with the monsters distracted, Yaotel jumped on the back of a bloodcrab, pushed his hands onto the shell, and roared.

  The crab almost threw him off, but a moment later…

  The shell exploded, leaving a very gory but satisfied Yaotel in the middle of the mess.

  Vaughn blinked, duly impressed.

  The maneuver hadn’t been without cost, however.

  The beasts quickly regained their composure, and now a dozen Banebringers found themselves in the middle of a very dangerous situation.

  Vaughn felt in his quiver. Three aether-arrows. Damn.

  He scanned the chaos, trying to be rational, trying to look over the many people in immediate danger and decide, in the long-term, what would be best to spend his arrows on.

  The blood giant was brushing off attacks—and people—like gnats. It had finally noticed that they were dragging injured Banebringers into the shed, turned, and headed directly toward it.

  Vaughn drew his bow, sighting the giant’s head. He loosed the arrow.

  The giant turned at the last moment, distracted by Perth, who had stepped in to engage the bloodgiant up close, and Vaughn’s arrow went wild.

  Vaughn cursed.

  As much as Vaughn hated the man, he had to admit he had balls.

  Still, Vaughn was tempted to put an arrow through him for causing him to waste an arrow as well as miss a perfect shot.

  The bloodgiant laughed at Perth, who was hurling icicles at its legs. A deep, resonating laugh that vibrated the clothes on Vaughn’s back.

  He raised a hand to smash at Perth, and Perth darted out of the way, narrowly missing being obliterated.

  Vaughn raised his bow again, but the giant kept moving, in unexpected ways, trying to follow Perth.

  He was so focused on the battle in front of him, he failed to see the bloodhawk diving at him from behind.

  The bow flew from his hands as the beast barreled into his back, and Vaughn toppled off the wall.

  He braced himself for collision with hard stone, but landed on something remarkably soft instead: a bloodwolf that had happened to be running by. The wolf snarled, flailing to get out from under the sudden weight that had crushed it, and Vaughn rolled to the ground.

  Of course, now he had a bloodwolf breathing on his face.

  He turned invisible and rolled.

  The wolf howled and turned in circles, sniffing, and Vaughn dove after his bow.

  He had almost reached it when a nameless creature with two heads, six hooves, and lots and lots of teeth stomped on it.

  A crack sounded, and when the creature moved on, not seeing Vaughn, Vaughn crawled over to his bow. It had been shattered in three places. Useless.

  He clenched the broken pieces of the bow, infuriated. That bow had been with him since before he had fled home. It had been a gift from Teryn.

  He spun around, reaching for the nearest source of water, intending to drown the fanged horse-thing by shoving the water down its double-throats. He didn’t e
ven know if it would work. He had never tried it before. He’d probably kill himself.

  But he didn’t get the chance to try. Someone stumbled into him, not aware he was even there, and he lost his concentration, as well as a line of sight on the horse-thing.

  Being invisible had its advantages, but not in the middle of a crowded battle. He reappeared, startling the man who had walked into him, and went in search of another bow.

  A shout went up from the direction of Perth and the bloodgiant, and he spun to look.

  Perth was down, bleeding from one side of his head, arm hanging crookedly at his side.

  The bloodgiant advanced on him, bloodlust on its warped face. It ripped a piece of wood off the roof of the shed and raised it, obviously intending to skewer Perth on its jagged edge.

  Suddenly, it went rigid, and blood started to spurt from its throat. It roared, smashed into the side of the stable, caving in the wall, and then fell with a thud, narrowly missing crushing Perth, who lay barely conscious on the ground.

  Everyone, including the monsters, stopped fighting to turn and see what had happened.

  Ivana appeared on the bloodbane’s back, holding a kitchen cleaver dripping with blood.

  Everyone else shook off their surprise and went back to the battle. Not Vaughn. He stared at her, shocked to see her there, shocked at what she had done. How had she managed to slice through that giant’s neck, when her dagger hadn’t worked on the behemoth? Sure, the giant was smaller, but it usually took aether-enhanced weapons to get through bloodbane hide that easily.

  He shook himself, realizing that standing stupidly in the middle of the battle wasn’t a good idea, and when he looked back, she was gone.

  Also, he was still weaponless. He turned invisible again, darting for the nearest open space from which he could take stock.

  The shed had been crushed, sadly. Fortunately, no one had been inside. The bindbloods had been dragging the injured back into the manor itself.

  Unfortunately, the hidden entrance had now been exposed. Another nameless creature, this time a horse-sized lump with about a dozen arms started prying at the door.

  He started. They could not get inside the manor!

  Anyone nearby realized it as well.

  But they were losing Banebringers fast. Dozens had already been removed for injuries, or had fatigued beyond immediate recovery from over-use of aether, leaving behind a smaller and smaller fighting force, forcing those who would normally not fight to join the fray.

  Xavin, the researcher, swung a hammer at the lump’s back at the same time a fireblood wrapped it in flames.

  The wooden shed went up, but so did the lump.

  Moonbloods worked to douse the shed. Incredibly, when the fire was out, the lump was still standing and still prying at the door, despite a giant dent in its back from the hammer. The metal door had a dozen divots in it, and Vaughn could see it bowing at the sides.

  Maybe now was a good time to try the water trick. The well was nearby.

  He slunk as close to the lump as he dared, and then—

  Huh. He didn’t see a mouth. Did it have a mouth? Did it have lungs? Did it even breathe? This was a problem.

  Xavin tried again with the hammer, and the creature turned, quicker than seemed possible, wrapped him in its dozen arms, and squeezed.

  They watched, horrified.

  Xavin simply…popped.

  A spray of bloody mist and gore filled the air, followed by an almost elegant shimmer, as the same spray turned to aether mid-flight.

  The air nearby split. No, no, no!

  Vaughn held his breath. He had never prayed before, unless he counted ritual visits to the shrines before he had changed, which he didn’t. He prayed now.

  Thaxchatichan, if you give a damn about any of us…

  It was short, but Vaughn hoped a god would get the point.

  A bloodrat scurried out of the tear. Followed by two dozen more bloodrats. And then the rip disappeared.

  Vaughn sank back in relief.

  Sure, bloodrats could be annoying, and if you let a dozen of them cover you, their especially sharp teeth could bring a man down, but considering all the alternatives…

  The swarm went up in flames almost instantly, and the fighting resumed.

  The lump…smiled…licked a few patches of skin off itself, and turned back to the door.

  So it did have a mouth!

  Vaughn crept even closer, trying to see it. It was nothing more than a slit in the lump’s hide, and it was vertical. No wonder Vaughn hadn’t seen it. He had been looking for a mouth under the thing’s eyes.

  He summoned the water, heart pounding. He hoped he didn’t kill himself with the effort of using his powers in a new and unpracticed way.

  He should have practiced more. He should have joined the training; what could it have hurt to hone his skills a little?

  The water reached him, and he shoved.

  At first, it merely splashed onto the lump, since its mouth was closed. But the lump turned, surprised, and its mouth opened.

  Vaughn pushed even harder, willing the water down, down, down…

  The lump lurched backward, many arms flailing in the air. It fell onto the ground, gurgling, retching, and still Vaughn kept at it.

  Finally, the lump fell still, and a cheer went up among those around him.

  Vaughn let go, and the excess water ran out of its slit-mouth onto the ground

  He swayed, feeling dizzy. Too much, too intense, not enough control.

  Inspired, Banebringers who worked with elements started afresh all over the courtyard. He saw a monster explode in flames from the inside-out. Another froze—literally—and then shattered when someone else hit it with a sledge hammer.

  Vaughn used his solidified aether to turn invisible again—so he could find a good spot to rest until his blood regenerated. At present, he was only a liability.

  Unfortunately, despite the work of those left, they were losing. As much as the death of the lump inspired them, the first Banebringer death seemed to inspire the bloodbane.

  They had been lucky up until now. Three more Banebringers died when a handful of bloodcrabs initiated a coordinated attack on them. A half-dozen harmless bloodsprites flitted out of the first hole, but the second two holes spit out a bloodwolf each. The bloodwolves overwhelmed those standing closest to the tears, causing even more deaths.

  Before long, the ground was covered in a fine silvery powder, aether crushed by the trampling of many feet.

  He scanned the area, looking for Danton. He found the youth fighting another grotesque creature. It had a body like a worm, except it was covered in carapace like a beetle, and had the many legs of a millipede. Vaughn shuddered. Bug-haters’ nightmare.

  Danton was holding his own, however. The creature was as dumb as a worm, and though it sported the razor-sharp teeth of many bloodbane, it was confused by Danton’s illusions, constantly slithering toward and snapping at the wrong thing.

  Finally, someone came to help, and while the beast was chasing a butterfly, of all things, another Banebringer clove the stupid creature in half with an axe.

  Ivana appeared a few more times. She was using his aether extensively, disappearing and reappearing at convenient points in the battle, somehow using whatever weapons happened to be dropped. Most of the time, she cut and chopped her way through monsters as though she were using the aether-enhanced weapons herself, which continued to confuse him. It shouldn’t work, unless she had managed to make a beastblood aether mix with her own blood and apply it to the weapons.

  Suddenly, when Banebringer deaths were summoning bloodbane as fast as they could take them down, the tide changed.

  Vaughn stood, confused. There were no fliers left and now more Banebringers than monsters left alive. He saw another bow on the ground and picked it up—but it was over. And they had…won?

  The remaining monsters left in the courtyard retreated, as if called back by a singular mind.

  Vaughn’s s
tomach dropped out of him, certain that the corpse-thing had signaled the retreat, and that they were in store for some new horror.

  But then the corpse-thing itself made an appearance, stepping regally through the breach in the wall as if it had been created for its use.

  It went up in flames. Vaughn felt a wash of relief.

  Well. That settles that.

  Except…the flames grew, brighter, larger, until a whirlwind of fire and ash forced everyone nearby back, and then it disappeared as suddenly as it had started.

  Out of the smoke and silence a melodic laugh sounded. The corpse-thing—he really needed a better name for it—stepped forward, and its white-orbed eyes were now wreathed in flame. It held out its hand, and a tiny flame floated above it. It turned its hand experimentally, as if curious about the flame, and then hurled it at the nearest man.

  This time, the man went up in flames.

  A moonblood quenched him, pulling him back as he screamed.

  The courtyard stood in shocked silence.

  Magic. The bloodbane had just used magic. Impossible. They were tough, but not magical.

  The corpse chortled with glee.

  A moonblood shot a jet of water toward it, and an iceblood refined the water into a dagger of ice right before it struck the corpse’s stomach. It impaled it, and it looked curiously down at the ice sticking through it, touching it.

  When it looked back up, its eyes had taken on a shimmery cast. It grinned, and a moment later, was hurling tiny icicles through the air toward anyone and everyone, until the giant icicle was gone.

  “Anyone else want to try?” it asked, stepping forward again.

  This was no ordinary bloodbane.

  Vaughn turned invisible, stepped closer to the corpse-thing, and held an arrow loosely to the string of his new bow. His last one. Would it even matter if he shot it through the heart?

  To his surprise, the creature looked right at him. Not through him. At him. It could see him.

  “Go on then, moonblood.” The word sounded almost like an insult. A mockery.