How Black the Sky

by T J Marquis

  "Do you think it's really that serious?" she asked him. "This business with Kash, after all this time?" His eyes were closed, but he was still awake. He took a long time to answer.

  "Somehow, I do," he said. "I don't know where that kid got so strong, so I didn't want to believe him at first, but your Circlet of Knowing would have told us, right?"

  "Yes," she said lowly, still unsure, and that quite against her will. She was normally sure of everything. "Unless he had some kind of counter-enchantment. But look at him. He's like some kind of lost puppy. It's almost like his dumb luck and animal cuteness conspire to keep him out of trouble."

  Axie opened his eyes and they glimmered in the dark. "Animal cuteness huh?"

  Scythia rolled her eyes. "The point is, he's too earnest to be lying. And if he is lying, then he's really good at it - the epitome of evil, and even more powerful than what we've of him seen so far."

  "Dumb luck," Axie mused. "No. It does look that way, but swimming the Murkfathom? Slaying a dogran? Lifting a forgemaster bodily off the ground? If it's all true, I haven't seen anyone like him since..."

  "Since Agrathor," Scythia finished.

  Agrathor was one of the original members of Gorgonbane, and probably the most powerful. A shame, what happened to his body.

  "Speaking of," said Scythia, turning her head toward Axie. "Do you think we should go get him?"

  "Aggie?" he said, pursing his big lips. "Hmm. I don't know if he'd be angrier if we did than if we didn't."

  "You never know till you try with him."

  "True. I guess we might as well. You think he'll get along with the kid?" Axie asked.

  "I think the kid'll get along with him." Scythia replied.

  "Seems like that type, doesn't he?" Axie smiled. "Curse him, I already like the lad."

  Axie turned to face her. She twirled a long finger in his fiery beard and he purred.

  "You ever wonder what our kids would have looked like?" he asked. He asked her this exactly once every year, and never remembered it. She hid her chuckle.

  "You ask me that every year," she said.

  "I don't think so." He closed his eyes again. "I'd remember your answer."

  "But yes. Of course I have," she said. "Stunning. Mighty. My yellow eyes, your red hair. My height."

  "My sense of humor?"

  "Yes love. But that you can teach. My darker skin, your big lips."

  "By the Blacksmith, but not my face!"

  "Oh love," said Scythia. "Why do you say that? I think you're beautiful."

  Axie laughed, low and rumbling. "You have to say that - you're my wife."

  "I've heard plenty of wives that admit to their husband's lack of... a charming facade. It doesn't mean they love them less."

  "See, you admit it," Axie said. "It's okay. I came to terms with it long ago. Scares away the trolls, even. Besides, why be pretty, when it'll all just melt away anyhow?"

  Scythia cleared her throat. Axie laughed again.

  "Well not you, of course." He reached up and caressed her cheek. "Lovely as the day we met."

  "You have to say that because you're my husband."

  "Yes, love. I do. Doesn't mean it's not true."

  Scythia's long dark hair had spilled across his chest. Axie kept curling it around his wrist like a bracelet.

  "Baby would have been the kid's age," he said softly.

  "I thought that too," she said.

  Scythia pictured the grown baby in her mind. It was hard not to see Pierce, armor and all. Had it really been that long ago?

  Axie's stomach growled mightily and his eyes got big. Scythia smirked.

  "Always the same time of night," she teased. "Want me to go get you something?"

  Axie moved to get up, but she pushed him back down.

  "I can do it, darling," he protested.

  "No," she said. "I get your snack, you rub my feet. Good?"

  "Deal," he said, and relaxed. She'd probably have to wake him up when she returned.

  Scythia wrapped herself in a plush night robe and stepped out into the hall. They'd put Pierce up in their guest room, and she peeked in the open door. The big kid sprawled on a bed too short for him, looking like he'd plopped right down on it after washing up. He looked thin out of his armor, tan skin gleaming in a bit of moonlight. Even in sleep, he seemed coiled to spring up at a moment's notice, yet he snored lightly.

  Would her child have been a warrior? Most in Overland were, at least for a time. The world was just too dangerous not to train them. She'd never told Axie that she'd meant to discourage it, though. Something else would have been nice - an artist, or a baker like Axie's sister. Even a librarian-mage in Grondell.

  Pierce's sword hand twitched and he bared his teeth soundlessly. Scythia smiled. This one was a warrior to the core.

  "Blacksmith keep him," she prayed softly. "What has he brought upon us?"

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Bone Man

  Pierce only found out the name of the town as the three of them left it, traveling on foot to the west. It was imperfectly carved on a long wooden board suspended between two lamp posts at the edge of town, and it was hard to read. He thought it said Nux.

  The road they walked cut through the land west of Nux like a novice surgeon's incision, winding slightly, taking random hitches around small outcroppings of stone. Otherwise, the land was mostly flat, and it was arid - dry and often barren. For two days of travel they saw no one on the road, nor any farms or other towns. It was as if life had forsaken this lonely stretch of country.

  The crawling red sun seemed to grow and brighten when it passed overhead each afternoon. That would explain the aridness way out here. Decrepit old aqueducts stood dry and silent on the northern horizon. They may once have run all the way to the Wedge, a dense range of mountains perched on the edge of Overland, from which the waters of Flood Day erupted each year.

  Whatever kingdom had once flourished here, it was so far gone that it was no longer mentioned in children's textbooks, or spoken of in fireside tales. Pierce didn't even think the region had a name on the map.

  Pierce had never been great at occupying himself with his own thoughts, which was why he usually ran while traveling. He wasn't sure the others were up to that though. Certainly, they were still mighty as ever, but he didn't think it polite to ask if they could move any faster.

  Pierce began to feel anxious. Not nervous, but fidgety despite being in motion. He was profoundly relieved when the road tapered out, giving way to a scrubby wilderness. They had to be getting somewhere now. Axebourne called a stop, watching the land ahead for a sign. Lightning flashed in the sky over the barren fields. A strange figure made wild gestures in time with earth-shaking booms.

  "Fury! Bore into the earth!" he cried, over and over. With each cry, a bolt of lightning ripped through the air and blasted apart a wide section of the dry ground, leaving behind dust and broken rock, some of it molten. Each time, the ground shook, and he relished the vibration in his bones. He didn't really need to yell at the lightning to make it strike, but something about the primal scream just made it all the more satisfying.

  "Rip! Shred! Blast!" he cried, letting fly arcs of electricity from the tips of his fingers. The heat of it sent a pleasant ache up the bones of his arms, and he grinned. Well, he was always grinning now, wasn't he?

  In a silent moment between blasts of lightning, he heard a familiar voice calling from a distance.

  "No," he muttered. "Go away." He said it louder, craning his neck, "Go away!"

  He called another bolt of lightning down, and the earth at his back erupted in a shower of debris.

  "Just hear us out!" came a bellow from behind. What in the Chasm was Axebourne doing out here? "There's some stuff going down, Agrathor! Just calm down and listen, for old time's sake, if nothing else!"

  Axebourne was getting closer. If Agrathor kept summoning lightning, he might hurt the man, and whoever was with him. He sighed. Well, he felt the feeling of sighing, and would ha
ve sighed, if he still had lungs. Or a mouth, or anything in between.

  Agrathor threw his spear to the ground and turned. Axebourne approached, an amiable smile on his face. Scythia was with him, naturally, and a tall, heavily armored youngster with bright eyes that flicked across everything he saw, rarely settling for long.

  The youngster noticed Agrathor and went wide-eyed. His hand went to his sword and he snapped it free of the scabbard, eyeing his potential foe. Agrathor saw a portion of the blade revealed, and staggered backward in an instant of primal fear. The kid had a bone-melter.

  No. It couldn't be. Had Axebourne come to end his misery? Had Agrathor done something that made him a threat to the retired members of Gorgonbane?

  Axebourne put a hand over the kid's arm, whispered something in his ear, and the youngster's face softened. He clicked his sword back into place.

  When he came near enough, the kid put out a hand in greeting.

  "Hello, I'm Pierce. My apologies, sir. I had no idea you were a skeleton,' he said.

  Pierce thought Agrathor looked put off, but it was hard to tell since the man had no skin on his face. He was wearing armor, though, obscuring his skeleton form in parts. That made him look a little more normal.

  "How did it happen, sir?" he asked.

  The bone-man looked incredulous, his jaw agape. His eyes might have been wide if they were more than just green flames dancing in their dark sockets.

  Axebourne grimaced. "He doesn't really like to talk about it, son."

  "No," Agrathor growled. "You don't like to talk about it. Every time I remember, I get angry, and when I'm angry, I feel something again. That doesn't mean I don't like to talk about it. Come on, ask again, I dare you."

  "Sorry, comrade," Axebourne said.

  "Agrathor," said Scythia, stepping up and pulling the skeleton man into an awkward embrace. "It's been too long. You're looking well."

  "And you are as beautiful as always, Scythia," he replied, grinning. "Keeping this old joker in check?"

  Scythia smiled back. "For the most part," she said. "Though he does misbehave from time to time."

  "So not much has changed," said Agrathor.

  "Actually, sir," Pierce cut in, "that's what we're here about. A lot of things are about to change, probably."

  "What is he talking about?" Agrathor asked. Pierce looked to Axebourne for approval.

  "Go on and tell him, son," the man said. "The uh... short version."

  "Right," Pierce nodded. "Kash the Underlord is planning to invade Overland. He's going to attack Grondell, we think because of the temple."

  "Infidel!" Agrathor howled to the sky. Pierce startled. The skeleton threw a gauntlet to the ground in a show of disgust. "Kash thinks to desecrate the Holy Temple of Everlasting Transcendence, does he? I will ruin him! I'll come up behind him in the dark of night, plunge the bones of my hand into the soft flesh of his side, and pull out his organs, one by one! I'll..."

  He made the motions with a bony hand as he growled.

  Pierce cut him off, having a thought. "Can you really sneak up on anyone, though? You creak when you move."

  Axebourne made a pained face, put a hand to his temple in concern.

  "Grahhhhh!" Agrathor roared, and he struck Pierce in frustration. His hand drove into Pierce's breastplate like a battering ram, denting it. A shockwave of dust raced out from the crater. Pierce grunted and fell back a step, adopting a defensive stance.

  "Whoa, what did I do?" he asked, bewildered.

  Axebourne's jaw dropped. "That punch once killed... a giant bloodhoof."

  Scythia looked surprised as well.

  Despite the gravity of the moment, Agrathor was still grinning. Pierce wondered if he would ever understand this man.

  "Oh," it dawned on him. "You don't like talking about it, do you?"

  Agrathor growled again, but Scythia put a hand on his shoulder. "Peace, friend. The young man is... not what we're used to working with. Try to have patience."

  The skeleton man backed off a few steps and stayed quiet.

  "That is why you came, though," he said. "Not just because you desire my might, but because you know my passion for the temple, for the way of the Glorious Paths." The green flames of his eyes dimmed a little. "You really are good friends."

  "More than friends," Axebourne said. "Comrades."

  The two men clasped arms up to the elbows and gave each other a look of solidarity.

  "So first we defend Grondell," said Agrathor. "Then what? Obviously, if Kash comes himself, we kill him. If not, do we go to the Underlands?"

  "It would be dangerous," Scythia said, "especially if Kash's forces are mobilized. It's one thing for a lone warrior to go down and fish out a tribute. Something else for an organized group to mount an attack. We cannot kill all the hordes of the Underlands on our own."

  Agrathor gave her a look that said he thought otherwise, but he did not argue.

  "No," Scythia continued. "Whatever comes after that, we will have to wait and see. For now, will you come with us? Your might is unparalleled. We cannot do this without you, Aggie." She said this earnestly, but glanced at the dent in Pierce's chestplate.

  Agrathor did not equivocate. "I will come," he said. "We will show the Underlanders what true might is!" Lightning struck in the distance, throwing up dust and blue-white glare.

  "So..." said Pierce. "I can't stand it, sir. I have to know - how did it happen?"

  Pierce considered the black eye worth it. Agrathor had socked him pretty good, but told him the story anyway. He'd had to know. It would have nagged him to the end of the adventure and beyond - assuming he lived.

  Pierce chuckled to himself, imagining the itch of mystery following him onto the Glorious Paths.

  The group had to travel a little ways back toward Nux. Partway back, a branch in the road would send them in the general direction of Grondell, and Axebourne had said they could find mounts at a town along the way called Cypha. They would have to circle to the far side of Grondell to search out Gorgonbane's fourth member and head back west toward the Temple city.

  Then the race would be on, and with a Glorious blessing, they would make it to Grondell on time.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Sugar and Deathgripz

  The town of Cypha was much cleaner and more orderly than Nux had been. Being from the far north, Pierce had never been to any of these places before, and was pleased to see that everything in central Overland wasn't all the same.

  Cypha was walled and gated, but the gates stood open on this fine day. The red sun was dim, leaving the land below cool, with a breeze coming in from the east.

  Axebourne had said Cypha was known for its quality livestock, and Pierce began to smell some of it cooking. His mouth watered. They'd had only travel food since leaving Nux - the food there hadn't been that great either - and the last really good meat Pierce had eaten was the stolen heinoushog he'd cooked in the Underlands.

  The party was allowed through the gates by an older guard who greeted Axebourne with a salute. Pierce thought how good it must be to be known, and trusted, everywhere you went.

  Naturally the party searched out Cypha's taverns first, to eat, drink and settle into current events. They could also spread the news of impending doom.

  Axebourne picked a little dive that had a homey feel to it, with a plump red-haired woman working the counter. The tavern's entire front was open, accordion-style doors pulled to the sides to let the fresh air in and the smell of spicy foods out.

  "Oh Sugarrrr..." Axebourne called as he approached the woman. She looked up and a smile lit her face.

  "Axiiieee!" she beamed and rushed around the counter to capture him in a great big hug. "What are you doing here?" She put her hands on either side of his head and inspected him thoroughly, pinching at his jowls.

  "I've been feeding him, Sugar," said Scythia, smiling. "Don't worry."

  Satisfied, Sugar relinquished Axebourne's face and stood back. "So?" she asked.

  "Well,
we're on a bit of an errand," Axebourne said. "More than that, I guess. Actually, if things don't go well, it may mean the end of Overland as we know it."

  Sugar made a concerned o-face, but she didn't really seem worried to Pierce. "Well, we better feed you then! Come, bring your friends." She moved off toward an empty stretch of the bar and gestured the party onto their stools before resuming her station.

  "Hello Aggie," she said in passing. "You're looking well."

  "Thanks, Sugar," Agrathor grinned. "A mug of your mead'll grow the glow."

  Pierce started to imagine how that would work, how the bone man could eat or drink at all, but tossed the thought aside. Agrathor seemed to operate according to peculiar rules.

  "So who's that?" Pierce whispered to Scythia as they sat. "She seems nice."

  "Hence the name," Scythia said. "That's his sister."

  "Sugar?" Pierce asked. "Why Sugar?"

  Sugar heard from across the bar and said, "'Cause I didn't mean to be a warrior, no matter what our folks thought about it. Imagine, a respected brewer, innkeeper, and master baker named Spineripper!" She shook her head comically in distaste. "No, no, never. So, brutal as he was..."

  "Our folks were brutal..." Axebourne interjected.

  "...our Pops always called our Ma 'Sugar.' So I stole the name." Sugar studied Pierce as she spoke. "Well my my, you are a cute one," she said. "Think I'll serve you first."

  "Oh, well, thanks," Pierce said. "I'll have..."

  Axebourne caught Pierce's eye. "You don't order from Sugar, son. She'll bring you the right thing. Just trust it."

  Axebourne was right. So right, in fact, that Pierce kept on about it for the rest of the day.

  Sugar's mead was aromatic and sweet, living up to the name of its creator. For the entree, she brought out four spiced meat pies as wide as Pierce's hands put together. The crust was flaky, with a light dusting of powdered sugar, but the inside was salty and heavily spiced, with a peppery heat that begged Pierce to guzzle his mead to put out the fire. After several bites and sips, it felt like he was in a sparring match with the pie. With every mouthful came a fresh spike of hot pain, a wash of flavorful pleasure, and the sweet relief of cold mead on the abused tissues of his mouth.