by C. B. Miller
I pressed the back of my left hand against the spider belly, and the legs grabbed me in a swift embrace. I braced for the sting of spider fangs piercing my flesh or something else to happen when there was a soft click from the door, and it popped open a half-inch. Voices chanted on the other side in a strange guttural tongue. Their words physically disturbed me, and I felt like I had suddenly showered in leftover cooking oil. Rebecca let out a soft squeal of joy and clasped her hands together.
I pulled back, and the spider released me as the door swung open. I stepped back to let the door swing clear, and Rebecca skipped into the room beyond.
“Mother!” She cried out excitedly.
Chapter Fourteen
Arcs of purplish arcane energy rippled along the walls, illuminating the massive stone chamber beyond. It was at least a hundred feet on every side and was empty except for the center of the room. Seven robed figures, their cowls drawn over their heads to hide their faces, were standing around the edge of a summoning circle. Drawn in dried blood, the sigil was twenty feet in diameter and at its center was a naked woman suspended from the ceiling by writhing strands of orange-red energy. Her long auburn hair draped over her face and matched the patchwork of healing bruises and cuts over her fair skin. One of the robbed figures held a jade egg aloft in their hands, and a blue-white nimbus of energy grew in intensity as their chant rose into a fever pitch. The thrum from the energies pushed against my chest as I stepped into the room.
Rebecca skipped around the gathering of robbed figures to the leader and gently tugged on their robe. “Mother. I brought a friend. Can I join in now?”
The figure Rebecca addressed as Mother kept chanting, undisturbed by Rebecca’s tugging. A bass rumbling filled the room as a thin beam of blue-white energy lanced out from the jade egg into the woman’s forehead in the center of the circle. Her mouth opened wide as she screamed silently in agony. The robbed figure to Mother’s left ceased chanting and pulled something out of the depths of their robes.
In their hand was a two-foot blade. The ancient weapon was made of copper with silver inlays, runes that I instantly recognized as Ekurzakir's Judgment. The blade stolen from Robert last night.
I hurried to the closest robed figure as Rebecca tugged again at Mother’s robe, this time hard enough to remove her hood, revealing Bertha underneath. Bertha’s face was a mask of concentration as she continued her chanting. I didn’t know what Bertha and her circle were planning, but as I looked up at her victim writhing in agony in the center and back to Rebecca, it couldn’t be good.
“Mother.” Rebecca pleaded.
“Hey, have you ever heard of consent?” I yelled and drove my knuckles into the back of the closest robed figure’s neck. I followed up with a jab into their side, cracking a small rib before a blast of maroon energy blew me off my feet. I crashed to the ground fifteen feet away on my ass and slid across the floor back to the doorway before I came to a rest.
“Shit,” I muttered. Adrenaline surged through me as I scrambled to my feet, and I braced for an onslaught of magical attacks. I sidestepped left, just trying to keep moving and present a harder target as I quickly scanned the room.
The naked woman still hung limply from the ceiling, and everyone else had been flung backward by the blast. I counted seven forms scattered throughout the room; Rebecca and six of the robed figures were lying on the floor. Bertha and three others were picking themselves up from the far side of the room while the other two were lying there, motionless. Their bodies and limbs were bent in wrong ways, and sickly yellow pools of liquid spread out from them. It reminded me of the Wretched I fought last night until I realized it was the green light that turned pool a sickly yellow color. Blood and small bits of gore were all that remained of the figure I stuck. The jaded egg rolled to a stop underneath the auburn haired woman in the center, and Ekurzakir’s Judgment was nowhere to be seen.
One of Bertha’s goons disappeared. A faint popping noise and a gust of air pressed against my back. I kicked out behind me, glancing behind me to see the wizard behind me, ready to plunge Ekurzakir’s Judgment into my back. My foot slammed into their gut, bending the hapless wizard in half as they flew through the air into the wall. Cracks spiderwebbed out from the impact, and the ancient blade slipped from their hand as they slumped to the floor.
I spun at the sound of rushing footsteps and a rage-filled cry. A tall blonde woman, her pale face contorted in fury, rushed towards me as she brandished a long machete. She raised the blade above her head as she charged. Near the back, the other wizard was a woman with short brown hair and a pudgy face, chanted, sparks of electricity grew into long azure strands in her hands as she looked for a clear shot at me.
These were the two women I had been looking for. The ones that killed Robert and their crew.
I couldn’t see Bertha anywhere, and I pushed away my concerns to focus on the woman charging me. I drew two throwing knives and hurled them low before diving into a roll to my right. The woman scoffed, throwing a hand up, and a shimmering field of force flared into being, protecting her from the waist on up. Both knives buried deep into her thighs, just above her knee caps, and she let out a cry of pain as she tumbled to the ground.
I rolled to my feet as the lightning bolt lanced into me. Its energy harmlessly flowed into my ring as I bolted toward Ekurzakir’s Judgment. Her ice blue eyes went wide as the brilliance of the lightning bolt faded, and she saw me running for the ancient blade with my hand held aloft in a rude gesture.
My vision narrowed into a tunnel as Bertha materialized before me and drove her fist into my face. I ran into the blow, and my nose cracked as my legs kicked out from underneath me. Air exploded from my lungs as I landed on my back. I felt a rib pop as Bertha’s foot smashed into my side, and I stared up at her dazed. Darkness surrounded her face as I fought to remain conscious.
“I don’t know who you are, but you are going to wish for death after you tell me everything I want to know,” Bertha growled.
Her eyes rolled up in the back of her head as she began to cast another spell. She chanted from the back of her throat, sounding as if she was gurgling her words rather than speaking out loud. A chill ran over my skin as Bertha’s eyes turned into solid red orbs.
I pulled out a knife and stabbed at her leg, aiming for her hamstring. The blade snapped in half a few inches from her body as an invisible shield turned the weapon aside. Bertha smiled as she and finished her chant.
Darkness spilled from Bertha’s mouth, billowing out towards me, and I released the lightning from my ring. The cloud of darkness parted as the electricity raced up and struck the ceiling with a thunderous crack. As the inky blackness drifted back to me, Bertha let out a belly laugh. “All that and you missed.”
“Did I?”
I rolled away as chunks of the ceiling gave away and came crashing down. Bertha’s yelp of surprise turned into a grunt as several large stones smashed into her and knocked her down. Blood pooled underneath her from a large gash in her head, and the cloud of darkness waivered. I stopped, watching the cloud as it let out an unholy, inhuman wail that sent shivers down my spine cloud before it dissipated.
“Oh, he knows! He knows your face now, mortal!” Screamed the blonde haired woman as she pulled the last knife from her thigh. Something moved underneath the skin of her cheek, and her legs shook as she stood up. She pointed her machete at me and grinned. “He’ll be pleased with your sacrifice.”
She was closer to Ekurzakir’s Judgment, the lightning charge in my ring was depleted, and I was down to the last of my throwing knives. I settled into a fighting stance and drew my remaining knife. These wizards all seemed to have some sort of magical shielding ability, but they all covered small areas. I don’t think she’ll fall for my knife to the knee trick again, and that was just a hunch that paid off on my part. An idea started to form in the back of my mind.
I bellowed. A full on belly laugh. “Night has fallen, and Eden herself is on her way. Surrender now. I have the authority to offer
you swift and fair justice under the Accords, despite your crimes.” I pointed at the two remaining wizards.
“I’m sorry, Rachel.”
Across the room, the other woman ran over and scooped up the jade egg before chanting an arcane phrase and fading from view.
The blonde hair woman, Rachel, screamed in rage. “Megan! What are you doing? Help me kill this fool!” She whirled around toward the center of the room and slashed wildly about as she stalked to the center of the room. “Come out, you coward!”
Rachel continued to rant as I rushed over to Ekurzakir’s Judgment and snatched it up. Slumped against the wall, the fallen wizard that tried to stab me in the back with the artifact blade stirred slightly, moaning as she gripped her head. A kick to the side of her head silenced her once more.
“You just want her power for your own! Megan, wait your turn, you selfish whore!” Rachel stood in the center of the circle yelling, her whole body shaking in rage. She turned, raising her blade to the woman hanging there, and held it against her belly. She drew a thin red line through her flesh. “Come back here, or I will kill her. It will all be for nothing!” She spat.
“Pretty sure your friend is long gone, Rachel,” I stated. I lifted Ekurzakir’s Judgment into an enguard position, the blade tip pointing towards her.
Rachel’s eyes narrowed, and her face drew taught. Even from across the room, I could see things moving just underneath her skin. Her gaze flitted over to Bertha and back to me before her lip curled into a sneer. “He could use you. I can use you. Join me, and we can complete the transference.” She held out her free hand.
I frowned in confusion, “Transference?” and took a few steps closer.
Rachel’s sneer slowly shifted into a smirk. “Yes. We can still complete the ritual with Ekurzakir’s Judgment. I can complete it with your help.”
I looked to the blade and back to Rachel, letting the blade dip to my side as I took walked slowly toward her. “What does the transference do?”
“It takes the power she is unworthy of and gives it to - us.” She held out her hand palm up. “You simply need to give me the weapon and then recite the words.”
I crossed the summoning circle’s edge and stopped five feet away from Rachel. “What words do I -”
Our blades clashed together with a clang as she chopped with her machete. She stepped forward and slashed. I parried her blade as she thrust out her free hand, and I was blown off my feet by an invisible force. Landing on my back with a heavy thud, using my momentum, I rolled over my shoulder back to my feet in time to block another series of slashes. She howled in fury as she swung with abandon. Each strike of her blade against mine sent pieces of metal flying as the edge of my magical weapon bit into hers. Rachel punched the air again, and another blast of force struck me in the leg, sweeping it out from under me. I felt pressure against my gut as she pulled her blade away, smeared crimson with my blood.
Her swordwork was clumsy, and she had no real technique, but I’d never dueled someone who had magic at their disposal. Despite my years of swordplay, the reach and weight of my weapon were still alien, and I couldn’t take advantage of the gaps in her defenses with her blasts of arcane force.
“Die!” Rachel yelled as she brought her blade down in a vicious strike.
I brought my blade up above my head as Rachel chopped with her machete, sending another shower of metal shards down to bit into my skin. I flung my last knife at her foot, and shield of force deflected it away as she gestured with her free hand. I pressed upward and away, pushing her blade aside as my instep connected with her groin and lifted her off the ground. I slid Ekurzakir’s Judgment away and sliced upward into her armpit. The ancient blade bit deep and stuck into the bone, almost severing her sword arm from her body in the process. Thick, chunky yellowish blood geysered from the wound as I pulled the blade away.
Rachel screamed in pain, her eyes wide in shock as I ran the blade between her eyes. Her skull popped, spraying more of thick, chunky, yellowish fluid everywhere. It was hot against my skin as she slid off the sword to the ground.
I wiped the gore from my face and flicked the blood off my sword before scanning the room. Rebecca was cradling Bertha’s still form in her arms as she rocked back and forth. She was muttering to herself and wiping away tears.
Looking down at Rachel’s corpse, I watched as the small chunks broke apart and dozens of small spiders emerged from the viscous yellow fluid, crawling away. A spider, the size of my hand, pulled itself free of her neck to chase down and feast on the smaller spiders. I crushed it under my foot, more of the yellowish liquid spilling out from within.
“What the fuck….”
“Mother. Mother, are you ok?” Rebecca repeated.
I turned to see Rebecca clutching Bertha to her chest, tears streaming down her face as she rocked violently back and forth. She stroked Bertha’s blood-soaked hair and looked up at me. “What did you do?”
Chapter Fifteen
I gestured to the summoning circle, “the ritual failed Rebecca. I’m not sure what all happened.”
It was a partial truth at best. I didn’t really know exactly what happened other than I disrupted whatever it was Bertha and her circle were trying to do to their captive. Whatever forces Bertha had been playing with obviously warped everyone. I wanted to feel sorry for Rebecca, but I couldn’t. What happened to her turned her into the pitiful creature in front of me, and by her own actions and choices.
“Do you know who she is?” I said as I pointed at the unconscious woman still hanging in the center of the room. The orange-red tendrils of energy loosely held her, and their presence unnerved me. I had assumed they were part of the ritual, and seeing that they remained after its disruption made my stomach uneasy.
Rebecca stood, clutching Bertha to her chest, and looked back. “She is the last. With her power, we would have completed it.”
“Completed what?”
Rebecca laid Bertha down gently and closed her eyes. Her lips quivered as she looked up at me. “He said it would fix us. That our Awakenings had been stolen. So we had to steal them back. Mother said so.” Her voice was a hoarse whisper, and she stood up slowly as she spoke.
She walked over to the circle, scanning the ground. She ignored Rachel’s body at my feet as she examined the circle. “Where is it?”
“What are you looking for?”
“The Umbral Cradle.” Moisture formed around the edges of her amber eyes as they found mine. She mouthed something with her eyebrows slightly raised and jaw slack. There was a clarity in her eyes as she quaked.
“Megan disappeared with it.” I wasn’t sure exactly what the Umbral Cradle was, but the ritual was focused around the jade egg.
Rebecca fell to her knees, and I grimaced at the popping sound her legs made when she hit the stone. “This was all for nothing then?”
I didn’t know if I should comfort or berate her. I needed to know what happened here, but every moment we stood in this chamber, it felt like borrowed time. Bertha used her magic to build this haven, and now that she was dead, I had a feeling it was growing more unstable by the minute. I didn’t want to find out what happened when her magic failed.
“We should go. Can I cut her down safely?” I pointed my blade to the center of the room.
Rebecca nodded.
The tendrils of energy recoiled from Ekurzakir’s Judgment, and the ancient blade easily cut through them. A minute later, the woman slumped to the floor. Sighing, I kept Rebecca in my peripheral vision as I went to sheath my sword and realized I didn’t have one. I walked over to the wizard slumped against the wall and paused at the sight of liquid pooling underneath them. The crimson stain was tacky and partially congealed.
What the hell is going on with these people. That blow shouldn’t have killed them.
I bent down, visually inspecting the body, and my skin crawled at the sound of something skittering inside the wizard’s robes. The man’s lifeless brown eyes stared out at me, his jaw tor
n and broken apart where something had ripped it way out. Underneath his robes, something wiggled in his chest, and I thrust my sword, piercing the thick cloth into whatever was moving. A high-pitched squeal assaulted my ears, and reflexively I brought my hands up to my ears to mute the sound, letting go Ekurzakir’s Judgment. The blade fell to the ground with a basketball-sized spider impaled along its length. It squirmed, trying to free itself, and I recoiled back a step at the sight of its head. Brown tuffs of hair covered a partially human face. The thing had a dozen red eyes, and underneath its nose was a human mouth sporting a pair of long fangs. Yellow blood seeped from its mouth.
I grabbed the hilt of the blade and plunged it deeper, silencing the thing’s cries.
I looked back at Rebecca and pointed a shaking finger at the spider-thing’s corpse. “What the fuck was that?”
She smiled as she skipped over to me, looked down at it, and shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Breathing through my mouth to mute the stench rising from the bodies and doing my best to keep any more blood from getting on me, I riffled through the fallen wizard’s body until I found the sword’s scabbard. I felt the sticky, cool dampness on my palm as I pulled it away from the corpse and swore at the blood covering my palm. Wiping my hand against his robes only smeared the foul substance into my skin. Growling softly to myself, I stood and sheathed the blade at my side. Rebecca twirled fingers through her hair, and her eyes gleamed while she watched me, smiling.
A tremor shook the room, sending small pieces of the ceiling down around us. A small rock bounced off my shoulder, and I could tell that would be a bruise later.
“Rebecca, we should go. Do you want to come with me?”
She nodded so vigorously, I worried she was going to give herself whiplash for a moment. “Good, let me get her, and you can lead us out.” I walked towards the unconscious woman at the center of the room and stopped when Rebecca blocked me, placing a hand on my chest.