by Clayton Wood
“You’re going to freak out,” Kayla stated, her tone soothing. She leaned in, kissing Sukri again. “Everyone does.”
“You did?”
“I did,” Kayla confirmed. “It’s part of the process.”
“Of turning into a cat?”
“Of saying goodbye,” Kayla corrected. Sukri frowned. “To become something else, we have to say goodbye to what we were,” Kayla explained.
“But I like who I am,” Sukri insisted. Kayla arched an eyebrow.
“Do you?”
Sukri hesitated. She’d spent her whole life not liking who she was. Wanting to be something more. That’s why she’d been so dead-set on becoming a Seeker. And she’d dragged Gammon into it with her.
And that’d turned out just great.
Now she was under the Lady’s thumb…and she had no choice in that matter either. This – doing what she’d done – was the first choice she’d made in a long time that’d been hers. Maybe not the best choice, but she’d made it.
“No,” she confessed.
“This is your chance to reinvent yourself,” Kayla said, smiling at her. “I was scared too, but I would never go back now. Being me,” she added, gesturing at her herself, “…is wonderful.”
“You are pretty wonderful,” Sukri admitted.
“So are you,” Kayla replied.
“You don’t really know me.”
“I can tell you’re a good person,” Kayla countered. “Cats are very good at reading people.”
“I’ve done some bad things,” Sukri confessed. An image of Udeln came to her…her fellow Seeker candidate. The innocent man she’d been forced to slaughter, slicing his throat open and watching him die. And the young boy High Seeker Zeno had forced her to kill.
Things she could never tell another soul. No one would love her if they found out what she’d done.
“That doesn’t make you a bad person,” Kayla retorted. “It makes you human.”
“You don’t understand what they made me do,” Sukri muttered, tears dripping down her cheeks, she tried to turn her head away from Kayla, but the woman turned Sukri’s head gently back to face her.
“This is a new beginning,” she insisted.
“No it’s not,” Sukri retorted. “Dio’s just going to turn me into a killer like he is. I can’t…I don’t have a choice.”
“Dio is your trainer?”
“Yeah,” Sukri confirmed. “You know him?”
“Yes,” Kayla answered. “Everyone knows of him. He’s a formidable warrior…a Seeker of the Shrine of the Reptiles.”
“He’s a snake all right,” Sukri grumbled. “He murdered my friend.”
“I’m sorry,” Kayla murmured, stroking the side of Sukri’s mask. “But you don’t have to stay with him. The Kingdom may take you in.”
“What?”
“Apply for citizenship here,” Kayla urged. “The Kingdom of the Deep can protect you. Dio wouldn’t dare go against us.”
Sukri hesitated, daring to hope.
“I can do that?”
“You can,” Kayla confirmed. “Just register with the Shrine of Mammals and ask for citizenship. You’ll need a citizen to vouch for you, so I’ll come with you.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Of course,” Kayla answered, smiling at her. She leaned in and kissed her again, and this time Sukri kissed her back. “Cats hate snakes.”
Sukri smiled at that.
“Guess I’ll fit in,” she ventured. “So that’s it? I just apply?”
“Yes,” Kayla confirmed. “If you pass the initial screening, the Elders will read your memories to confirm your character.”
Sukri froze.
“What?”
“They’ll read your memories,” Kayla repeated.
“They can do that?” Sukri asked.
“Yes.”
Sukri swallowed in a dry throat.
“Maybe I shouldn’t do this,” she confessed. Kayla gave her a reassuring smile, putting a soft, warm paw on her arm.
“It will be okay,” she insisted.
“I don’t know,” Sukri muttered. “It’s all happening so fast. I…I need to think about it.”
“Of course,” Kayla agreed.
“And about…this,” Sukri added, gesturing at her wrappings. “I mean, I love the way you are,” she added, “…and I’m sure I’d love being like you too, it’s just…”
“It’s okay,” Kayla interjected. “You’re allowed to be unsure.”
“Were you?”
“I was,” Kayla confirmed. “I almost changed my mind. But I didn’t. I faced my fear. I faced the unknown. And now my body is different…I can do things I could never do before. But my mind is still the same…mostly.”
“Mostly?”
“Chartreux are affectionate and loyal,” she explained. “And playful, like I said before. We’re pleasers, and love attention. You end up absorbing that. It really isn’t a bad thing.”
“I enjoyed it last night,” Sukri admitted with a rueful grin.
“Would it help you relax if I…pleased you?” Kayla inquired. Sukri hesitated, glancing down at her wrappings. Her groin was covered.
“I’m kind of wrapped up.”
“Those are easy to get off,” Kayla said, leaning in and kissing her, then pushing her gently down onto her back. She crawled backward, kissing Sukri’s wrapped belly. “People do have to pee, after all.”
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take my mind off of things,” Sukri reasoned. Kayla didn’t reply, focusing on removing the wrappings around her groin. “So that’s how you do it,” Sukri murmured.
Kayla finished taking off the wrappings, proving that they were easy to get off. And moments later, that Sukri was too.
Chapter 16
Dominus walked down the crushed stone path to the gate protecting Lady Camilla’s mansion, the footsteps of two of the Lady’s Seekers following behind him crunching with each step. He reached the gate, the guard standing by it opening it for him. He continued onward, the Seekers trailing behind him.
Dominus knew full well their real purpose: reconnaissance. And potentially to ensure that Dominus kept his end of the bargain. Of course, she could also be planning to have them kill him after he retrieved the head…or even before, if she felt he was too dangerous to keep alive.
Not that he was worried. Every contingency was accounted for, with a strategy for dealing with each of them.
Camilla would expect no less from Dominus, of course. It was the never-ending game they’d been playing their entire lives, plans within plans, attacks and counterattacks, a shadow war between members of the aristocracy…and former members. A game they played as much for the thrill of it as for any marginal advantage they might gain over each other. A game Camilla was very good at.
But Dominus was better.
He continued onward toward three horses tied to stakes ahead, feeling the weight of his pack on his back. A few large meals had filled him out considerably, his regenerative powers quickly converting the flesh he’d consumed to flesh of his own. He was even stronger now than before he’d been impaled and burned, able to carry his pack and sword – while wearing leather armor – without losing his breath.
It was remarkable.
They reached the horses, mounting them and turning to where the forest met the shore of the River Ormr. The Seekers led the way, both having acted as scouts around the Crypt of Zagamar in the past. They reached the shore, riding parallel to the river for a kilometer, then turning right down a wide dirt path through the forest. Though winter was still months away, many of the lower branches of the trees were bare, the underbrush gone. The forest was unusually quiet, the clop, clop of the horses’ hooves the only sound. It gave Dominus time to think…and to plan.
If this mission was successful, then the Ironclad head would be destroyed…at the expense of a much more powerful Lady Camilla. Assuming he kept his promise and delivered the head to her. Doing so would strengthen
their partnership, one that could be valuable to him. But he also needed to think in much larger timeframes now; with a life potentially extending into infinity, did he really need to try to consolidate power at the risk of creating an equally eternal enemy?
So many options, each with consequences that would ripple through the centuries ahead.
He sighed, eyeing the two Seekers riding side-by-side a few meters ahead of him.
A dark shape leapt out from the trees to the right, slamming into the rightmost Seeker and throwing him off his horse.
The Seekers’ horses squealed, rearing up on their hind legs, nearly throwing the second Seeker off. Dominus’s horse balked, backing away from the shadowy figure grappling with the first Seeker. A small black beast with long arms and legs.
It tore into the Seeker’s face, ripping off his mask and plunging its thumbs into his eye-sockets, twisting the orbs free from the man’s face with a muted pop…and eating them.
The Seeker screamed.
The second Seeker dismounted, drawing twin scimitars and rushing up to the beast, slashing at it. It dodged, leaping off the first Seeker and throwing itself at the second.
The Seeker side-stepped, whipping his scimitars in a vicious angle downward, slicing off the beast’s arm at the elbow.
The creature spun, clawing the Seeker’s face with its remaining hand, knocking the black and red mask off the man. Then it grabbed its own severed arm, whipping it around like a club and smashing the Seeker in the temple.
Dominus leapt off his horse and sprinted at the creature, his sword already in his hands. The monster whirled to face him…and Dominus’s breath caught in his throat.
Its face was human…or rather, humanoid. It had black skin interspersed with patches of what appeared to be bark, and a face that was slightly too long, its eyes sunken. And had long fingers and toes ending in vicious-looking black claws.
It snarled at him, leaping right at him!
Dominus let his body go loose, allowing his reflexes to manifest themselves. His sword was a blur, slashing at the creature’s throat…but the thing moved even faster than him, dodging out of the way, then lunging at him again. Dominus side-stepped, thrusting his sword right into the thing’s flank, burying it in the thing’s flesh.
The creature ignored the wound, grabbing the blade with its remaining hand and yanking it out of Dominus’s grasp, tossing the blade into the forest.
Dominus cursed, backpedaling as the creature growled at him, blood pouring from its wounded flank.
Then it attacked, raking at Dominus’s face with its claws.
Dominus blocked the blow with one forearm, kicking the thing in the chest. But the creature was too fast, dodging out of the way…and throwing Dominus off-balance. He stumbled, and the beast raked at Dominus’s ear.
He felt a sharp pain there, followed by hot wetness pouring down the side of his neck.
Dominus grunted, blocking another swipe at his face, then feigning another kick. The creature dodged…and Dominus elbowed it right in the temple.
It stumbled to the side, dazed.
Dominus leapt on the thing, shoving it onto its belly and pinning its remaining arm behind its shoulder blade. He reached around its neck with his other arm, getting it in a chokehold.
He squeezed.
The creature struggled, thrashing wildly, nearly throwing Dominus off of its back. But Dominus held on, tightening his chokehold and pulling backward so hard the creature’s back arched.
Its windpipe cracked.
There was a gurgling shriek, and the thing flailed wildly for a few more moments. Then it slowed, and stopped, slumping to the ground.
Dominus held the chokehold for a full minute longer, then let go, stumbling backward. He stared at the dead creature, then reached up to his right ear. There was nothing there…just a bloody flap of tissue. The thing had torn his ear off.
He stood there for a moment longer, his heart thumping in his chest, then turned, seeing the two Seekers lying on the ground. One with no eyes, the other groaning and trying to stand, a large gash on his temple.
Dominus went into the forest, retrieving his sword. Then he stopped before the eyeless Seeker. The man was no use to the Lady now…or to him.
He plunged his sword into the man’s heart.
The other Seeker got to his feet, turning to stare at Dominus…and his fellow Seeker. The man’s jaw dropped open.
“What did you…” he began.
“He was good as dead,” Dominus interjected coldly. “Get your horse.”
Dominus went to retrieve his own steed, taking a few minutes to find it standing on the dirt path. He mounted it, riding back to the Seeker, who’d managed to retrieve his.
“What was that thing?” the Seeker asked.
“I don’t know,” Dominus admitted.
“It moved so fast…I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Me neither,” Dominus confessed. “We need to be cautious.”
He started his horse forward, continuing the trek down the wide path. The Seeker hesitated, then followed after him.
“What are you doing?” he demanded. “We have to go back!”
“Do we?”
“Your ear is ripped off,” the Seeker reminded him.
“I’ll be fine.”
“What if there are more of them?” the Seeker pressed. “We…”
And then they both froze.
For there, not a half-kilometer away, was another one of the black creatures. It crouched on all fours in the middle of the path, turning its grotesque head to face them. It was slightly different than the last one they’d seen, with thicker, shorter limbs and a short tail. But it too had inky-black skin, with sunken eyes and sharp claws.
It stared at them.
Dominus heard rustling to his right, and spotted another black shape emerging from between the trees there. Another one of the creatures…but much larger. As big as a bear…and covered in black, patchy fur.
More of them appeared, coming out from behind the trees, all of them staring at Dominus. Over a dozen of them.
Dominus yanked on his reins, pulling his steed back the way they’d come and kicking his heels into the horse’s flanks. Hard. He broke out into a gallop, leaving the Seeker behind.
“Hey!” he heard the man shout.
Dominus steered down the wide path back toward the Lady’s mansion, glancing back to see the Seeker galloping after him…and the black creatures swarming onto the wide path after them. Some ran while others galloped, but they all moved with frightening speed.
Damn!
He leaned down, kicking his horse to go faster. It gladly obeyed, its hooves thundering on the ground below. The creatures bolted down the path after them; some of them fell behind, but a few managed to keep pace with Dominus and the Seeker…and were steadily closing the gap between them.
The Seeker pushed his horse to the limit, managing to catch up to Dominus, riding alongside him.
And behind them, a few of the larger creatures closed in, now only a few meters away.
They’re going to catch up, Dominus realized. And if they ate him, even he wouldn’t be able to come back from it.
He glanced at the Seeker beside him, then leaned to the side, shoving the man off his horse.
The Seeker screamed, striking the ground and tumbling a few meters. Before he could even get to his feet, the creatures were upon him.
There was a blood-curdling shriek, and then silence.
But only a few of the monsters stopped to consume the man. Most continued the chase…now only a meter away from his horse’s rear hooves. Dominus swerved to the side, slowing for a split-second. The creature reached his horse’s flank, and Dominus leaned over, unsheathing his sword and slashing at the beast in one smooth movement.
His blade struck true, and the creature shrieked, falling and tumbling on the path. Dominus sped up, leaving the thing behind. The plan had worked, but two more of the things were closing in fast…and the o
ther ten or so were following far behind.
Dominus turned forward, kicking his horse again, spotting the River Ormr in the distance.
Only a little farther…
He heard the rhythmic grunting of the beasts behind him, growing louder by the second. His horse’s breath came in short gasps, foam leaking from the sides of its mouth. It wouldn’t be able to hold this pace for long.
Reaching the shore of the river, Dominus turned left, galloping toward the mansion in the distance. The black beasts followed, slipping and sliding in the sand, creating some distance between them.
Yes!
But they recovered quickly, running along the edge of the forest where the footing was firmer, to Dominus’s left.
He felt his horse starting to slow, and slammed his heels into its flanks. It sped up…but eventually began to slow again. Dominus screamed at it, slamming his heels into the horse again and again, watching as the creatures closed in, now directly flanking him. But they didn’t veer in.
Yet.
They’re waiting to get ahead, he realized. They’re compensating for the poor footing near me.
A chill ran through him, and he recalled their grotesque humanoid faces.
They’re intelligent.
The mansion was less than a quarter-kilometer away now, the gated fence and the statue of the horned serpent visible…as was the single guard at the gate.
“Hey!” Dominus shouted, waving his arms. “Hey!”
And then one of the creatures veered in, leaping at Dominus!
Dominus’s sword came out in a flash, slicing at the creature’s face without so much as a thought. It howled, slamming into the horse’s left flank, then tumbling away. Dominus’s horse stumbled to the right…toward the rapidly-flowing water of the river.
Dominus yanked on the reins, steering the horse to the left, but it was too late.
He leapt from the horse, sheathing his sword in mid-air, then landing on his feet, sprinting toward the mansion even as his horse stumbled into the water. A few of the black monsters leapt on it, pulling it from the water and tearing it apart.
The rest came for him.
Dominus swore, pumping his legs as fast as he could, aiming for the gate ahead. He waved his arms again.