by K T Munson
“Hmm,” Malthael said, pulling the door open. “Charmed you, didn’t she?”
“Impressed me,” he replied, “more than anything, and I do not think the Sin Eater will be able to take her soul in this lifetime.”
“You’re leaving then?” Malthael asked, clearly sensing Ki’s decision.
“Yes,” Ki answered honestly, “to find another way.”
The reformed demon nodded. “She’ll miss you. Even if she won’t admit it, I know she will.”
“It has been an honor meeting someone who is more determined than me,” Ki admitted.
He had been outdone by her persistence, and in the end he had not allowed her to undo herself. Ki would accept this failure because it felt right. Before it would have never occurred to him to go against the wishes of the Council, but this he could not do. The Black Council would have to find another way to accomplish their mission—this woman did not need to be saved.
“Use the gate,” Malthael gestured with a nod of his head. “It’s faster.”
When he emerged on the other side of the gate, Emera was waiting. She was a beautiful young woman with hair that was silvery blond. Her willowy frame was dressed in a fine robe of white with silver embroidery. She was the picture of elegance and beauty, despite her single milky eye.
“Friend of the Gate Guardians,” she said, gesturing behind her, “welcome home.”
When the gate had been taken, stolen from the Shadow Clan, it had been moved to the opposite side of the continent. They had moved it along the spiritual lines that connected directly with the Netherworld, but it could not leave the continent of Artium. It was bound within a finite space. Why was a mystery even to Ki, but that was the way it was.
He stepped down the steps into a room of pure white. A meandering steam of water ran through the room as though it had cut its way through. There were worn decorative tiles on the floor. The dark, green marble of Ashlad was more haunting, while this place was elegance and nature.
“Thank you,” he managed as she led him through the labyrinth of tunnels.
They said nothing as she guided him, each footfall landing as though she knew exactly where to step, though everything around him looked the same—tall walls and a dark grey ceiling embedded with little lights that twinkled like stars. He followed closely, worried he would be lost in this great place. It wasn’t long before they stepped out into an antechamber.
Great white pillars rose up to the ceiling, imparting a refined opulence. She stepped down a flight of steps, her gown sweeping behind her as Ki descended as well. The floor was interwoven with metal vines that swept along the floor in their own intricate fashion. They walked down another set of stairs through a narrow passageway into a smaller chamber.
“This is where we part,” she said, her hands still tucked within the sleeves of her robes.
Ki nodded before turning and stepping toward the doors. He reached out to push them open, but the great stone doors, as thick as the length of daggers, parted on their own. He glanced back at Emera, who stood with a straight face, making no effort to explain.
“Thank you,” he muttered. With a bold step, he crossed the threshold, emerging on the other side. Suddenly, the barrier behind him started to hum, and he heard the stony-faced Emera gasp. The doors started to close, rushing toward him, and he had to roll down the entrance steps to get out of the way.
He glanced over his shoulder. Emera was coming toward him, pointing at him as she yelled, “Enemy of The Gate!”
The doors slammed closed violently. Ki quickly oriented himself. They were at the base of a mountain; he had been inside a great mountain. He pushed himself up from the snowy ground and into a run. He was not willing to find out exactly what Emera meant or what she intended to do about it. Instead, he scurried away as fast as he could and kept at a jogging pace until night fell. He climbed into a tree, finally, and slept soundly until the first light of dawn.
Jumping down from the tree, he heard horses and men in the distance. He had managed to go far and fast, but they had horses. Instead of continuing on foot, he reached into his pack and summoned the Kemshi. He smiled as he remembered his name was Ashley. All these years, and the woman he intended to kill had given him the name of his only friend. And in the end, she had given him even more than that.
When he finished the markings on the ground, they glowed softly. The sound of horses grew louder, and now he could hear their riders calling. His eyes opened in Ashley’s as the tiger hurried to a water source. Ki had retrieved many things from Malthael’s house. The last had been the keys, but he had also recovered the disk along with his clothes. Pulling the necklace out from his clothing, he held the disk. Standing, he kicked at the dirt in haste to remove the markings. He took off in the direction the glowing designs on the disk pointed—likely in the direction of the closest water. The horses had quieted and were replaced momentarily with the voices of men and barking. They had found where he had rested for the night and were almost upon him. As he broke the tree line, Ashley heaved his bulk from the water.
The tiger shook his body and wore a look of annoyance on his face. He knew the Kemshi would forgive him, though, once he heard the dogs. Sure enough, it did not take but a moment for the tiger’s ears to twitch and his head to look first in Ki’s direction and then towards his pursuers. Still looking annoyed, he turned and sat down, waiting for Ki to get to him.
“Let’s go!” he yelled as he grasped the tiger, and the tiger nearly snapped off his arm as he plunged them into the water.
He came out of the water sputtering as the tiger swam away from him. Apparently, he had no intention of helping Ki get out of the lake. With a sigh, Ki started swimming and the tiger pulled himself onto the shore, shaking water from its fur. They were back under the waterfall in southern Lyreane on the largest continent of Artium. It was an easy walk to the hidden home of the Black Council.
When Ki went to pull himself from the water next to the Kemshi, the tiger put a paw on his head.
“Hey now,” Ki protested.
The tiger—Ki had to remind himself again that his name was Ashley—made a disgruntled sound but didn’t let up on the pressure of his paw. Ki slipped back into the water and glared at the tiger. It was bloody freezing; he could see his breath in the air. He glared at the tiger, who licked his paw as though nothing was happening.
When Ki tried to pull himself up once more, the tiger put a paw back down and stopped him.
“I’m sorry I summoned you,” Ki yelled.
Ashley moved his paw and walked toward their home. With an exasperated sigh, Ki pulled himself onto the shore. As he started toward the door, he started to shiver. Soon his teeth were chattering and his entire body was shivering violently. His feet crunched on the cold ground, and he knew there would be snow soon. There were clear disadvantages to traveling via Kemshi in the middle of winter. He started running, his stiff arms and legs protesting until they got into a rhythm. When he passed the tiger, it made no move to pass him back.
When he reached the entrance to his home, his hands were shaking so badly that it took him both hands and three tries to get the key in. Ashley half ran him over trying to get inside first before Ki removed the key and slipped inside. The cold of their mountain home did nothing to warm him, and the trembling continued. The Kemshi had likely abandoned him for food or warmth, and Ki followed, seeking both.
Even though he had been gone such a short while, it felt as though everything was different. It took him a moment to realize, as he shivered up the stairs, that it wasn’t the place that had changed but him. Had this place always been so gloomy?
He scratched his face and felt the barest hint of facial hair forming. He stepped into their main temple area, the sun blinking at him through the hole carved in the ceiling of the room but giving off little heat. The normally warmed hearths and blazers were cold, which made him gather it had been some time since the elders had been there. It felt abandoned.
He started a fire
and he began to feel his fingers again. He pulled out some worn blankets and sat cross-legged by the fire, planning his next steps. He needed to speak with the council. After he was warm, he intended to tell them exactly what he had done. Elisabeth had saved his life, and he had saved hers. Their bond went beyond a mission, and there had to be another way. And if that were so, maybe the little boy hidden in the Nether would also have an alternative to death.
Despite the rightness of it, he didn’t like going against his family. They had been his everything, shaping him into the man he became. If the elders ordered him, he didn’t think he could kill her. It was creating a conflict within him, turning his insides into knots. He didn’t know what would be worse—going against his family or being unable to help Elisabeth.
Chapter 49: Hystera
Kerrigan wiped the bile from her mouth as she turned back toward the clearing. Elisabeth had written the name that had haunted her dreams. Before now, Kerrigan had been able to delude herself into believing the visions of her mother had all been a dream, that it had no bearing on the real world.
She panted as the taste of vomit sat heavy on her lips. She hadn’t told Jinq about the word, afraid that saying it aloud would give it life. So she had buried it deep, ignoring and denying its very existence. She was about to turn back and call out when she saw a movement out of the corner of her eye. Her head snapped around, and she scanned the trees.
Kerrigan searched the woods with her eyes and then turned frantically back toward the Seer and Jinq. The Seer was still on her knees, and Elder Rekis was staring at the tree in the middle of the clearing. Her fingers reached out for Cav instinctively, but they seemed to almost be frozen.
As Kerrigan opened her mouth to call out to the Seer and Jinq, she heard movement behind her. She could hear the woods whispering, but not what they were whispering. She narrowed her gaze as she saw a shadow in the tree line. Black water dripped on the ground around the figure like thick tar, and her dress was doused with water. The dress hugged every inch of her. Her head was tipped forward, and her hair covered her face.
The whispers grew, and now Kerrigan could make out the words being chanted over and over again at a speed that made them almost unrecognizable: He is coming. Unwilling to find out who exactly “he” was, Kerrigan turned to leave. Standing directly in front of her was her mother.
“Run,” she whispered.
Kerrigan screamed as she fell back hard onto the ground. Cav finally awoke—it had seemed as though he and everything else had been frozen until now except for her—taking flight as he screeched. Kerrigan scanned her surroundings for her mother, but she was gone.
“Kerrigan?” Jinq called as Kerrigan scrambled to her feet and fled toward their campsite. All this time she’d thought her mother had been haunting her. Her insane ramblings hadn’t made sense half of the time in the dreams, and Kerrigan hadn’t wanted to believe that they had been anything but dreams. But when Elisabeth had written “Croatoan” in the dirt, Kerrigan had realized that all of the dreams, including her mother, had been real.
“Kerrigan!” Jinq yelled, his voice bouncing around the trees behind her, but she was not stopping now.
The brush slapped against her arms and legs as she ran. She pushed the branches aside, speed her entire focus. She jumped over a log and dashed around a particularly thick patch of trees. She wanted to leave this place for good.
Her arm went up and she heard Cav’s wings behind her. The baby owl, her faithful friend, would follow her. His wing span cast shadows on the ground as he flew just a little ahead of her, his form moving in and out of the trees. She could see the light getting brighter as she neared the edge of the tree line.
Hope filled her as she imagined gathering her things and returning to her aunt. Hipasha would understand what these dreams were. Kerrigan would be able to go back to her training and forget this awful nightmare.
As she was about to step out onto the plains, a black figure blocked her path. He was fully robed in black, and Kerrigan worried he was a Soul Collector. The aura around him was sinister. She stopped short and struggled to keep her balance. She heard Cav give a cry and looked to her left, where he was caught in a small net. She reached out to him as she fell on the ground.
“Cav!” she screamed, her own voice filling the eerie void of silence in the forest.
Scrambling to her feet, she moved toward him, but a hand clamped over her shoulder. She reacted without thought as she twisted his hand around and her foot connected with his stomach. The man stumbled back. These were men, not monsters. They could be defeated. Kerrigan immediately went into a defensive pose as she fought to get to Cav. She had to save him!
When the next man came at her, she blocked his attempt to grab her by forcing his hand away, and the palm of her hand struck his shoulder. The two men that held the net containing Cav struggled to pull the screeching bird out. Something grabbed her foot. The hand belonged to the first man that she had kicked in the stomach. Swinging around, she brought her other foot down across his face, knocking him out. As she ran towards the two men, the thinner one came to meet her. She ducked under his arms, her right hand wrapped around his arm as she kicked her left leg up to the front of his neck. Her right leg came up behind his head before locking his neck between her knees as she propelled her arms and twisted them both to the ground. She reached back and delivered a powerful punch to the side of his head causing his eyes to roll back in his head.
Kerrigan pulled her legs free as looked up at the last man, who held Cav firmly in his hand. Kerrigan charged towards him, giving a war cry with the intent to attack. Instead, she watched in horror as the man broke Cav’s little neck. All fight went out of her as she stared at the owl’s broken body.
“No!” she screamed and waited for death.
Instead, a rough hand covered her face, silencing her. There was something in his hand, and the chemical burned her nostrils. She looked up at the hard eyes of her attacker, her vision became blurry, and then she knew no more.
Chapter 50: Hystera
“There are so many souls,” Elisabeth whispered as she tried to keep herself from crying.
Never had she seen this many souls wandering so aimlessly. It was as though they didn’t realize where they were, so all they knew to do was drift. Scanning the ground, she quickly deduced that they were trapped within the confines of the clearing. These poor souls probably didn’t even realize they were deceased. Narrowing her eyes, she prepared to get to her feet.
She heard a scream and turned toward the sound, as did Jinq. Kerrigan, who Elisabeth thought was just behind them, had completely vanished from sight. Elisabeth could feel her heart beating hard.
“Kerrigan?” Jinq called.
Abruptly, Kerrigan appeared again and immediately started running from them. After a moment, she was lost to the thicket.
Jinq kept yelling her name. Elisabeth turned her abilities up and expanded them out. Her eyes searched for any sign as she let every sense go. A darkness—like when she had discovered the word—spread in and through her. Whatever it was, it was close. It was disturbing, and yet a strange calm overtook her. It was somehow familiar.
“Something’s here,” Elisabeth whispered and put an arm in his path before he could move. Just because it was familiar didn’t make it any less dangerous.
“What?” Jinq demanded, and Elisabeth took a measured step forward, gazing deep into the bowels of the forest.
Straightening her spine as Jinq took two steps away from her, she summoned Duke and Nathan to her side. They arrived with pointed tails and low set heads. Clearly, they had come prepared for a fight—furthering Elisabeth’s belief that danger was close by. Elisabeth had sent them back into the spirit stream to keep from scaring the villagers, but now she didn’t think that was a problem.
“Nothing good,” Elisabeth said in response to Jinq’s question. It was giving her goose bumps in the sweltering heat of summer, despite even her having her abilities to comfort her.
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She took a step back as the animals stopped meandering. They moved around her with purpose towards the tree. The border of the clearing had nothing as she slowly picked her way across the open space. Jinq followed her but kept his distance from the demon hounds.
Elisabeth touched the tree, and she gasped as she saw a burning planet. A dark figure turned to her. She knew him as well as she knew herself. He whispered one word, and she stepped back from the tree. On the ground, burned letters appeared along with old markings. Markings she had seen in one of Malthael’s books. A chill went up her spine.
“It is the word again,” Jinq whispered, clearly feeling the menace in the air. “What does it mean?”
“Not a what,” Elisabeth answered as she felt Elsariel rise within her. “A where.”
They heard another scream, a word that they couldn’t make out. “Kerrigan,” Jinq whispered.
A shadow appeared at the edge of the woods. Living villagers stepped from the shadows to line the edge of the clearing. Elisabeth studied them as they created a barrier, closing off any escape. Duke and Nathan grew restless but waited for Elisabeth’s command. Reaching deep within herself, Elisabeth tried to see the villagers for what they were. After a moment, she realized they were puppets. They reminded her of the patrons at the inn with the demon—trapped souls.
A man in a long thick cloak stepped from the edge of the trees to her right. Elisabeth turned to face him, as did Jinq. She couldn’t see his face, and he had his hands tucked into his sleeves. As she had done with the villagers, she opened herself, but when she tried to see him for what he was, she found only a void. Whatever he was, he was hidden from her. All she could see was his hatred.
“Come willingly, or we kill the girl and old man.” His voice made her skin crawl—not because it was dark or deep or evil, but because it was so normal.
Elisabeth narrowed her eyes as she considered what to do. Her fingers strummed against her arm, and Nathan and Duke growled. As far as she knew, she was the last of her kind and likely the only one keeping whoever these people were from completing their plan. A part of her realized that Ki was somehow wrapped up in all this, and she was glad she had left without speaking to him.