The Lost Princess

by Nisa Ryan

  It was huge, standing nearly two stories tall with thick red and orange hair all over its body. It looked like a giant cat but walked upright like a man, and from the top of its feline head, a thick mane of blue hair circled around three antelope-like horns that protruded from its head. Its eyes were glowing red with specks of orange, gold, and green except for the third eye in the center of its forehead, beneath its middle horn, that burned a baleful blue. Flames flickered from between massive saber-toothed jaws.

  I stared at it, my mouth gaped open in horror as Lucian ran towards the beast, his blade glinting in the firelight. The creature seemed unsure as to my father, madman that he was, leaped towards it. The monster took a step back in momentary confusion before its glowing blue eye honed in on me, and it turned its head to stare.

  I blinked as our eyes met. A strange sense of recognition passed between us, but I couldn’t place where or when or even why. I’d never seen anything like this before, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t here to hurt me despite the carnage.

  My heartfelt like it would burst with terror that welled up from the primal part of my brain and threatened to overtake my senses. My legs screamed to run as my heart beat faster, pounding against my ribs.

  Soot black lips drew back into a toothy grin as talons dragged across stone and tiles as it began to climb over the roof towards me, crashing through wood and stone. I could only stand there and gape at it. My body was rooted in place. It was here, looking for me. I knew it was. I knew it deep in my core that this thing would tear the world apart looking for me, and I had no idea why.

  Julian tugged me around roughly and pressed my head against his shoulder, but I could feel that his fear echoed my own as his voice rumbled through his chest, “Don’t look.”

  “But I – what is that thing? Why is it in the city, how did it get here?” I ran the questions together, but Julian only shook his head and squeezed me tighter. I wriggled from his grasp, I couldn’t look away, not now. Catching my fathers gaze, he looked from Julian to myself and back, before growling for us to run,

  “That is an order, Julian, get Raina out of here and as far away from this city as you can. Wisteria is lost, there is nothing here for you anymore. Now go!”

  Julian set his jaw and turned to run, pulling me behind him.

  ♦♦♦

  Lucian stared the creature down, his sword at the ready. How did an Ifreet get into the city? He narrowed his eyes and set his jaw with grim determination. He hadn’t fought one of these vile flame demons in over a decade, and though he was confident in his abilities, he was getting old, and his reflexes weren’t a sharp as they used to be, but still, he knew a few tricks. It would not get past him. He would not allow it to destroy any more of the city. Not this time, not again.

  The Ifreet opened its jaws and let out another deafening roar as flames blew over Lucian’s head. With a growl, he brandished his broad sword and dashed forwards, feet pounding against the ground in measured steps before leaping into the air. Twisting at the waist, he arced his body downwards, slashing his blade across the demon cats’ thigh and dragging it down and over its calf as he fell to the ground. Thick, syrupy blood sizzled as it bubbled out the wounds and hit the stone street. Smoke, smelling of burnt blood and sulfur rose up in clouds where the blood had been spilled.

  The demon growled and swiped at Lucian with a clawed, four-fingered hand. He leaped away but didn’t quite make it out of range as the Ifreet’s clawed thumb landed a blow on his chest that sent Lucian skidding backward, sheering the skin off his elbows against the stones as he fell. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he kneeled down and braced himself as the beast’s other hand arced down over him. Squinting his eyes in concentration, Lucian reached deep inside, willing his body to remember his suppressed abilities. Energy welled up from inside as his consciousness tapped into his unconscious powers, summoning all the strength within his aging body, he raised his sword and cried out, “Iifa varous!”

  The sword glowed with protective energy, bursting outwards as the Ifreet swiped its palm across the upraised sword, splitting it open. Burning blood spattered against the skin of Lucian’s face, neck, and hands as it began to close its fingers around him although it’s wound wept, attempting to crush him within sharp talons. A pale-yellow glow surrounded Lucian, preventing the demon from crushing him, but the spell wouldn’t hold forever, and he was weak and unpracticed. Lucian had not called upon his magic in nearly a decade. Not since Raina had come into his life.

  Twisting with all his might, Lucian cleaved the blade through the thick skin of its hand, ignoring the burning pain as its venomous blood splashed down his arms and dripped off his elbows. Grunting with the effort, he felt the tendons that held its claws tight begin to loosen and finally open to flap uselessly to the ground. Quickly he rolled away as the Ifreet bellowed in rage, lowering it’s horned head and dropping to all fours it shook out its mane of fire and growled. The vibrations echoing out of its chest caused the very ground to quake beneath Lucian’s feet. He ran and the beast charged after him, horns and eyes alight with its blaze, it’s third eye glowed all the brighter as a beam of light shot towards him. He knew he couldn’t defeat the demon on his own, but he only needed to give Julian some time to get Raina out. He prayed silently as he ran, leading the monster further into the city and away from the walls, “Raina, be safe, my child.”

  Chapter 7

  Julian continued to pull me along, never once looking back after my father had given the order to leave. I couldn’t find a reason to justify abandoning our home. I looked up at the brown leaves of Wisteria and shuddered as I watched great clumps of them falling through the air, their lights dead. The great tree was dying, it’s lifeblood would no longer flow through the living city. It was eerily dark despite the fires. Things would never be the same again. Without the protection of the great tree, the monsters would come, and so would other threats. Our walls were built for protection, but they weren’t the fortified monstrosities the other cities had built up around themselves. Other cities didn’t have the relative peace we did because they didn’t have the protection of the Wisteria. Instead they made do with larger military forces, taller and thicker walls, and stricter entry requirements. I couldn’t imagine that so many refugees would be taken in by the other cities.

  I let the angry tears slide down my face as he pulled me towards the main gate that led out to the docks spread out over the river. Over our heads, Pylons lifted into the air to escape the brush of flames, and the voluminous balloons that held them aloft glowed softly as the aircrews set about dropping as much weight as they could to make a faster escape. Boxes of goods and long coils of heavy ship rope fell to the ground or splashed into the river, nearly toppling the smaller vessels that scooted slowly across the water beneath them. I shuddered at the thought of one of the massive airborne ships crashing into the ships below, hundreds would be injured or killed.

  Julian stopped, his head turning quickly as he considered where to go and what to do next, the Pylons would be of no use to us now. They had clearly decided to flee the moment they heard the alarms and were not willing to take on more passengers than they had room for. The only other way to go out in relative safety would be by ship or to risk swimming across the rive and seeking shelter within the dark forests on the other side.

  Thousands of people gathered at the gates and docks, they pushed and shoved, crying, yelling, even screaming at each other and waving money in the air as they bartered for a place on the remainder of the ships. Wisteria ran a small trade port and did not keep a large fleet of vessels for itself and a majority of the boats that were here, like the Pylons, were cargo vessels used to transport goods to and from Wisteria and the many other city-states, they would most likely be willing to allow only a few additional passengers or risk sinking into the waters from the extra burden.

  I managed to cast a glance back as we joined the crowds pressing towards the gate. In the smoke and shadows behind us, I c
ould see fierce red eyes glowing from between the buildings. A roar echoed from somewhere further into the city to my right, and I shook my head in disbelief as I realized that there were more than one of those monsters in the city. Perhaps it was the shock of the attack, but I had the distinct feeling that all of those dangerous red eyes were on me.

  “Raina!”

  I turned my head thinking, at first, that my father had found us. But it was Niam. He pushed through the crowds towards us and smiled bitterly. His crimson hair was darkened with soot that also ran in smudges on his face and hands. Breathless he knelt down next to us, taking a moment to recoup as he panted,

  “We have to leave now. I know a ship that will take us away from the city. It’s hidden, just a few blocks from here. We won’t need to scale the wall…I know where a hidden exit is.”

  I frowned, Why would the ship be hidden? And why the secrecy? It should be out here the rest of the boats trying to help as many people as they could. Several smaller boats were already unloading people across the river and were heading back to gather more people.

  Julian nodded and moved to follow, but I tugged back on the wrist he held.

  “Julian, wait. We can’t just leave all these people! We have to help them. Niam, if you know of another ship, one that could take even a handful of people, then we have to take them with us, as many as we can.”

  Niam frowned and crossed his arms, “You're telling me that you won’t leave unless we drag a bunch of these whining selfish asses with us? Look around you, Raina, they don’t care. And neither should you!”

  I looked at the men and women surrounding us. As the flames grew closer and the ship's crewman grew tired with their efforts, people were taking to fighting. Already many were bickering with each other; some began to draw both fists and blades against one another even as their children were pushed out of the way or looked on with tears in their eyes and soot on their faces. In their desperation to escape, people were losing their ability to reason. Men in military uniforms quickly dispersed themselves through the crowd, preparing to act against the growing mob if necessary. I let out a sigh,

  “Niam, you’re not from here originally, but this is my home. I can’t just leave without doing anything.”

  Niam snorted at me and narrowing his eyes he leaned down and whispered coldly, his eyes flicking up to Julian as he watched our exchange with interest,

  “These are the very same people that hire us to sneak in through windows and slit throats in the night. They could care less about you, or Julian, and least of all myself. Or did our dear murdering little princess forget this little fact of our lives?”

  I gritted my teeth together, clenching my fists in anger. Of course, I knew. I could never forget the feeling of creeping into the home of one of our childhood friends to kill his father. I didn’t do it, and my father hadn’t been hired to do it. We didn’t kill people. But this was a friend who was unable to get free of his fathers’ abuse; the authorities always managed to look the other way. My father never knew, or at least he had his suspicions, but he never brought it up once the news broke out.

  I didn’t do it, but I bore witness to Niam’s quick hand as he slid the silver blade across the drunkards’ neck and left him to bleed out on the floor beside the bed he was too clumsy to climb into. He had made it look so easy, so casual. I remembered wondering how many others he had killed. Niam continued as he watched the shadow grow across my face,

  “Or maybe perhaps you were living in denial? If any of these people knew who you really were...what you really do? What do you think would happen? You’re no innocent shop keeps daughter. So get your shit together and haul out of here!”

  Julian was strangely silent, and I ground my teeth together, refusing to let the angry tears overwhelm me. I knew the hard truth in his words, but I would not let him see me cry. I was about to twist away from Julian’s grasp when I heard a frightened shout ring out from somewhere in the throngs of people.

  A bellowing roar erupted behind us, and the crowds began to scream and press forward even harder as one of the Ifreet caught wind of the multitudes and started crashing towards us on all fours. The soldiers who had raised their swords, on seeing the creatures long claws digging groves into the cobblestoned street, dropped their swords and fled while yelling for their men to retreat.

  Niam drew his sword, spinning it in his hand, growling, “Dammit. I guess we’ll have to take care of this one on our own!”

  Julian frowned and tossed me the shorter of his twin swords, “Let’s just try to keep together. This isn’t our fight, we should just go.”

  Niam hissed between his teeth, “What's wrong, scared?” he taunted as the beast grew closer. Julian narrowed his eyes at Niam, “Not at all. But I’ve no idea what that is or how to fight it,” he said.

  Niam chuckled, “Just follow my lead. Aim for the joints, and it’ll fall. It’s called an Ifreet, I’ve fought them before.”

  Both Julian and I stared at Niam, “What? When?” I asked. Niam grinned, “In another life,” he said.

  “Your memories, they’ve returned then?” Julian asked, readying himself by lowering into a crouch as the beast grew closer, the heat radiating from its body was already making me sweat. I could feel beads of moisture on my skin as it pooled in the small of my back and dampened my tunic.

  Niam glanced at us, his smile dropped, “They were never lost.”

  I looked at him, incredulous. I always knew Niam had been hiding things. We all did. But had chosen to respect his privacy. “Alright then, we’ll follow your lead.”

  I leaped to the left while Julian and Niam moved to the right. We scrambled our way onto the roofs above and hid behind the chimneys for all the good it did.

  Bricks and thick clouds of ash went flying through the air and into the running crowds of people as the monster stood and sent its clawed hands sweeping across the rooftops lining the alley on either side of it, tearing apart the buildings but stopping just short of my hiding place.

  I risked a glance from around the corner and let out a surprised cry. The Ifreet stood there with its shoulders heaving and flames whispering out of either side of its saber-toothed mouth. Its eyes rested on mine, and I watched as its pupils bloomed till they were black pools outlined with glowing amber. The blue eye on its forehead seemed to shine brighter as a beam of light made me squint my eyes. Its face was so close I could see my reflection captured in its dark orbs as every detail was reflected back at me. My hair was disheveled, and my clothes were sooty, but most of all, I looked like a terrified little girl. Where was the confident fighter I thought I had become?

  A low rumble emanated from its furred chest. Glancing to my left and right, I looked for my comrades, but neither Julian nor Niam could be seen anywhere though I instinctively knew that they were somewhere, watching and waiting. I held my sword out before me and charged at the monster causing it to take a surprised step backward. Big mistake, its foot caught in some of the rubble it had created, and the beast’s eyes dilated till they were tiny black slits as clawed hands cut through the air.

  The Ifreet fell back into the roof behind it, sending a cloud of debris showering over my head. I wasted no time, mustering all of my courage and strength I turned and ran, attempting to put some distance between us and leaped from roof to roof without even thinking about it until broken brick and tile crunched beneath my feet and shot around my ankles painfully. I muffled a cry, and the beast immediately turned its attention on me, jerking a broad muzzle in my direction as long cat-like ears perked upright, listening intently to my every move.

  I held my breath and turned as I dug my heels down to propel me forward and ran at full speed, one foot in front of the other. Once I had enough momentum, I leap up into the air, sword ready, only to be yanked back down to the roof with such force that my fingers loosen and the blade skittered across the terracotta tiles and over the side.

  “Don’t be stupid!” Julian growled as he wrapped an arm around my waist and
pressed me up against his chest as he leaped to the street and took off with me, slung over his shoulder. From behind us, the monster let out an angry roar, and I could hear the sound of stone being crushed as it thrashed its limbs to get back onto its feet.

  Above us, I could see a shadow running across the roofs, and after a moment, Niam joined us, leaping across the gap to Julian’s side without missing a step. Julian squeezed me again as we approached the eastern gate. He began to slow his pace and setting me down on the ground he finally said,

  “I know it seems harsh, but your father charged me with getting you out of here. And I will do just that. We can’t afford to waste any more time, and I can’t lose you, not today.”

  Niam cut him off, “Enough! Happy birthday, congratulations, and all that shit let’s move already!” he said with a snarl as he slipped his way back through the alleys in the direction we needed to move. Keeping low with one hand on the hilt of his sword, Niam guided us, and we followed suit only I didn’t have my sword and was weaponless if we ended up having to fight again.

  After dodging through a few crowds, Niam quickly led us back up onto the rooftops of the homes closest to the wall to check our location.

  “This way,” he mumbled as we continued our journey by rooftop. We clambered past broken chimneys and fallen branches alike until we alighted near one of the smaller gates customarily used to transport out waste products and refuse.

  We were all hot and thirsty, our throats sore from the thick layer of smoke that now blanketed most of the city, my makeshift mask hadn’t really worked at all. Sweat was dripping down our faces, making our eyes sting, and soaking into the fabric that clung at our backs. We were scaling our way back down to the streets in front of the small gate when an echoing roar greeted us. Startled, I felt my fingers slip. A short scream escaped my lips as I fell to the ground, scraping my knees and twisting an ankle.