Relics and Runes Anthology

by Heather Marie Adkins

  “Come with me.”

  They run until they see the trainers talking to the guards outside the castle.

  “Traitors?” she asks.

  “No. The fool doesn’t realize that one of the relics was in your pants.”

  “All I have to do is get to my room and take my clothes.”

  “You’re an assassin now. Any clothes you wore before are burned. To the cauldrons.”

  Linus takes off. Andrea is right behind him.

  They go down a tunnel on the side of the castle. At the end is a large room with giant cauldrons. “All of the assassin’s prior attire is taken here at the end of the month. We are lucky that we have time to sort through the cauldrons before the fires are lit. Let’s get to it.”

  “Okay. Since my clothes will look the most unfamiliar, just look for blue jeans and a white T-shirt. Also a tan bra.”

  “I know what to look for. I am wearing the clothing that you are describing and I don’t like them.”

  Linus goes to one side. Andrea goes to the other. They climb up and look inside each cauldron. They race around the room. Andrea finds a lot of cauldrons empty. Then she comes upon one that is stuffed with clothes.

  “Linus, help me look through this one.”

  They both fall into the cauldron.

  “How far down do they go?”

  “They are about ten feet.”

  “Oh, great.” She digs through the clothes and holds her nose. “Some people need to bathe more.”

  Linus tosses clothes out of the cauldron. Andrea reaches the bottom. Clothes cave in on her. Clothes move as she comes out of them. “I found my jeans.” She searches the pockets. “The quill is gone.”

  “Anything personal is also removed. If he found the quill he might have put it in a storage chest. We are all assigned one when we finish our trials. You have until then to decide if you want to become a full assassin.”

  “So this was a waste. You could have told me about the chest before.”

  “I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

  “You’re worried about Emily?”

  “Yes.”

  “If I don’t have one assigned to me yet, where else can personal items go?”

  “There’s only one other chest that it could be in, but it’s locked. Only the trainers have access to it. Lucky you that I am a master at picking locks.”

  Linus takes out his daggers and digs them into the cast iron walls. He puts one dagger in front of another and pulls himself up the wall until he reaches the rim. He climbs over and hangs onto the side. “Just do what I did.”

  “Okay.” She takes out her daggers. She finds the holes Linus made. She puts the daggers in and starts climbing.

  Linus looks over to the side. Panic. “Andrea, hurry up. They are coming to light the cauldrons.”

  Andrea does as Linus did. She gets close to the top. Then her foot slides and she loses her grip on her daggers. One dagger falls and lands inside her boot. She cringes from the pain. She hangs on by one dagger. She tries to reach the dagger in her boot. “I can’t pull myself up.”

  Linus throws a leg over and dangles it in front of her. “Grab on.”

  She grabs onto his leg with one arm. She pulls her dagger out of the wall and sheaths it. Linus holds onto the rim and pulls his leg up. “Good thing you don’t weigh that much.”

  She reaches the top. She lets go of his leg. He brings her over. He pulls the dagger from her boot. He hands her the dagger and jumps down. He opens his arms to catch her. She jumps down and they start running. She stops.

  He takes off her boot to inspect her wound. “It isn’t too bad. It didn’t go all the way through. Our leather is made from the toughest of buffalo hide.”

  “Our buffalo isn’t that tough. The ones from the other land.”

  “For all the similarities that we share, I think our differences are what makes us connected.” He throws her over his shoulder and runs out of the room.

  Melanie and Michael look through the vault. Their general sends the guards away. “One of the assassin trainers found it.” He hands the gold quill to the queen.

  “Andrea is here.”

  “Or it’s a trap.”

  The bell rings three times.

  “An intruder. My king, queen, stay here.”

  Emily cuts down one guard after another. The general comes out next. He pulls his mighty battle axe and charges forward. Emily flips over him. Her talons are long and stained with blood. She shreds the general’s throat to pieces. Her eyes are burning red. She licks the blood. She sniffs the air. She growls and snarls, then takes off for the castle.

  Linus and Andrea return to the training area. He takes off his clothes right away. She can’t help but stare, but when he catches her looking, she looks away. He grins. “It’s okay to look. I know I am very good-looking and women have a hard time not staring at me.”

  “I am practically betrothed.”

  “Says who?” He comes over to her. He has on pants but no shirt. “I know that you’re a princess, but you’re also an assassin now. And a woman. I am a man.”

  She puts her hands on his smooth chest. He feels incredibly good under her fingers. She can’t help feeling around his chest.

  He lifts her chin and plants a kiss on her lips. At first she doesn’t respond, but he becomes forceful and passionate, and she lets herself enjoy it.

  A chill comes over her. “Linus? Something is here.”

  “I feel it too.” The wind catches under his nostrils. “Emily is here.”

  “She is?” Andrea is excited. She leaves the training area.

  The elation on Linus’s face ends. “Andrea! Wait!” He runs after her.

  Linus stops in his tracks. Andrea is heartbroken. Emily stands there with human entrails hanging from her mouth.

  “Emily?” Andrea says.

  “She’s been tainted by dark forces.”

  Linus draws his daggers.

  “No. You can’t cut down another assassin.”

  “When they are no longer one of us, we have to.”

  “But she can be cured.”

  Linus stands in front of Andrea. “Come, Emily, let’s see who is better.”

  Emily snarls at him, then lunges for him. They roll down the small hill. Her talons swiping and missing him. He cuts up and down her arms. Purposely avoiding the vital areas. She cuts him across the face. He pins her down. She lunges her head forward to bite him.

  “Emily, are you still in there?”

  She laughs as she spits blood into his face. He falls back. She runs off.

  Linus wipes the blood away. He spits and spits. “Please tell me that none got in.” His spit is clear.

  Andrea runs through the castle. She goes down to the vault room. She bangs on the door. “Mother! Father!”

  Melanie bangs on the door. “Andrea!”

  “Let me in!”

  “Michael, open it.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Who thought of this idea? Locked into a vault that we can’t get out of. What if everyone is dead on the other side?”

  Andrea bangs away at the door. Screams throughout the castle tell her that Emily has killed Linus and is on the hunt for her. She sits against the door.

  A guard’s body is flung across the corridor. It rolls down next to Andrea.

  Emily appears. She walks slowly towards Andrea.

  Andrea brings her daggers out. She’ll go down with a fight.

  Emily taps her talons together. She crouches. Andrea keeps her eyes open. Doesn’t take them off Emily’s talons. As both sides move to attack, Emily’s body lurches upwards. A long sword through her stomach.

  Andrea takes a breath.

  Krill comes around Emily. Andrea gets up. Krill pulls the sword from Emily’s body. “I thought you’d be in trouble. I heard you came back. And since I know what Jegorgon is up to, I knew he’d use all sorts of nasty things against you.”

  Andrea hugs Krill. He taps her back.

  “She
can’t die though.”

  “She’s infected with the poison from the Raggle flower. It’s a rare flower. And only the witches from the Scarlet Vale infuse their body with it.”

  “That’s what Linus had in the bottle.”

  “Yes, assassins use it often.”

  “There must be an antidote.”

  Krill looks Emily over. “She won’t last for us to brew it.”

  “Then we have to keep her alive until we can.”

  Krill doesn’t see the point. He shows no interest.

  “Help me move her.”

  Linus stumbles in. “Emily.” He runs down to her. He looks at Krill. “That filthy goblin killed her.”

  “She is poisoned. With the Raggle flower. Now, we can make an antidote, but we have to keep her alive long enough to administer it.”

  “Don’t believe him. There is no antidote.”

  “Not here. There’s one fairy’s family who is the only one that has been successful in healing through the poison.”

  “Who?” Andrea asks.

  “The Brittlewaters.”

  “Noah.”

  “We can’t trust the fairies.”

  “We can ride to the fairy city straight away.”

  Krill clears his throat. “It’s better to go undetected.”

  “We are assassins. We can avoid being seen.”

  “She knows what I’m talking about. It’ll be faster too.”

  Linus looks at Andrea.

  Drevil keeps his body inside the hole. “No. I am not having assassins in my tunnels.”

  “Brother, she is the princess.”

  “I’ve done business with her before. She went looking for the core of the Vale. It’s her fault we are in this mess.”

  “And I am going to make it right.”

  “By becoming an assassin?”

  “Drevil, please. This is Emily. She is the one who saved Krill.”

  Drevil looks at Krill.

  “It’s true, brother.”

  “I am done after this. I am closing my tunnels to everyone.”

  Linus carries Emily down. Krill takes Andrea’s hand. He escorts her down. “I want to tell you that I am going to fight at your side. Princess. Assassin.”

  “Jegorgon is too powerful to trifle with. If you’ve got any tricks up your sleeve, take care using them.”

  “You should be worried about the force that fuels his powers.”

  Andrea hangs back with Krill. Linus continues carrying Emily as Drevil leads the way. “You know what he is. You know how to stop him.”

  Krill looks away.

  “If you can’t tell me now, that’s okay. But don’t wait until it’s too late.” She catches up to her friends.

  Krill looks up. “It’s already too late.” He runs to catch up.

  Drevil feels around the walls of dirt. Linus keeps a close watch on Emily. Andrea moves behind Krill to keep the rear safe. Krill tries to keep up with the pace. He feels around under his clothes. Green blood is on his finger.

  19

  Wesley looks at his reflection in the shards of glass. He catches sight of Cornelius. He turns away.

  “What next?” Jack asks.

  “I am forced to do something that I swore I’d never do again.”

  “I’m afraid to ask what.”

  “I have to release a part of me that I destroyed.”

  Jack lights a cigarette. Wesley looks at him strangely. “You thought I just carried around a lighter for the hell of it? I smoke only when I am nervous. Or just for the hell of it.”

  “I created an alter ego of myself. His name was Cornelius. He was everything that Andrea found amazing. Her fantasy dream man. But it got complicated. I thought by creating him that I could sort of be in there without actually being in there.”

  “Not following.”

  “Our lands are similar because there is a duplicate version of your world in our land. It’s full of humans and the only difference is that they know all about us. But in this land, the humans from my land are living here as well. They just don’t remember my land, the Vale. After me and Andrea split ourselves, the Vale split them as well. It was a mistake.”

  “Dude, I was lost when you said that you created an alter ego.”

  “Try having two versions of your life that are technically the same all happening at once.”

  “Whatever herb you smoke in your land, bring me back some. I am quitting cigarettes today.” He puts out the cigarette.

  “I have to send Cornelius in there with you.”

  “What is that place exactly?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to make assumptions.”

  Wesley notices the shards of glass moving to form something. He goes to pull Jack away but Jack is pulled in by a glass hand. Wesley tries to enter but is smacked by a glass hand. He goes down to one knee. He rams his fist into his chest. He screams out in ungodly pain. One hand on the cave floor and the other digs through his chest. Sweat pours down his entire body. He digs deeper. “Come on.” A crunching sound makes him stop. He collapses.

  Tiny white lights come out from his body. They float around the cave floor, then come together. They swirl around like a cyclone.

  Darkness comes.

  Light comes.

  The tiny white lights drop down onto Wesley’s body. They encase him in a protective shield. A hand comes down on the shield. It knocks on it a few times.

  “I knew you couldn’t resist it,” Cornelius says. He climbs into the glassy opening. It closes and darkness fills the cave. Wesley’s protective shield remains lit.

  Drevil takes his party down a tunnel to the left. “I think I should tell you that Noah is in the fairy dungeon.”

  “We’ll break him out,” Andrea says.

  “We don’t need to. We just need his family,” Linus says.

  Krill falls behind. Andrea goes to him. “I’ll catch up.”

  “You shouldn’t fall behind,” Drevil says.

  Krill tries not to hold the spot on him that hurts.

  “What is it? Did you hurt yourself?”

  “No. I am fine. I am old.”

  “I don’t know how old goblins can get, but I don’t think it’s old age that ails you.”

  He can’t hide the pain. He grabs his side. She moves away his clothing and looks. He pushes her away before she gets a good look.

  “Can I trust Linus?”

  “Why are you asking me that?”

  “Goblins observe things better than humans do.”

  He starts walking. She joins him. “I can see you becoming a great assassin. Are you doing this to impress a man?”

  “I have no men in my life to impress. Answer my question.”

  He points towards Linus.

  “Why would I want to impress Linus?”

  “As you say, we goblins observe things better than you humans do.”

  She bends down to him. “He likes Emily.”

  “Ah, so you are attracted to him.”

  “What?”

  “Everything okay back there?” Linus hollers.

  Andrea smiles and waves. “I am not attracted to him.”

  He coughs up blood.

  “Linus has been part of the assassins’ guild for a while now. He takes it very seriously. They live by their own rules. Their number one rule is anyone that betrays the guild must die.”

  “He will not betray you. And whether or not he likes Emily, I can tell that you and he like each other. Don’t rest only on the option of Wesley. Don’t be afraid to expand on your prospects of a good husband.”

  “I never liked the company of goblins before, but I like yours.”

  “Likewise.”

  “Goblin, how many tunnels do you have?” Linus asks Drevil.

  “I don’t know.”

  “How many vales are there? I know of only three.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What do you know?”

  “You think we goblins are full of information. We are
n’t that intellectual and we don’t study the maps.”

  “No, you dig. And in digging you find places.”

  “We don’t dig that much anymore. Only Drevil keeps it up. He is the best digger,” Krill says.” Krill and Andrea have managed to catch up to everyone else.

  Linus smiles at Andrea. She looks away.

  “Please stay together,” Drevil says as he takes a right turn.

  Andrea lets Krill lean against her as they attempt the turn. He collapses around the corner.

  “Okay, I am not going to tolerate it anymore. Tell me what is wrong.”

  Krill removes his top. The flesh is gone from his side and part of his stomach. She can see bone. She backs into the dirt wall. He puts back on the top. He tries to walk. She doesn’t know what to say. He finds a root sticking out of the dirt. He grabs one of her daggers and cuts the root. Hands her back the dagger and uses the root as a crutch.

  “I will go ahead and tell them to go on without me. I’ll stay here with you.”

  “Until the end? That won’t be long. Jegorgon cast a curse on me. The poison is slowly killing me, eating away at my flesh. It’ll reach my heart in a few hours.”

  “I am so sorry for this.”

  “I’m going to rest here a bit. Go on. I’ll be here when you get back.”

  “No. You have to come with us. If we manage to cure Emily she will want to see you. You’re coming with us. We will cure you too.”

  He touches her hand gently. “There is no cure for Emily or me.”

  “What?”

  “There is no cure. It’s why the flower is so rare. It’s too dangerous to harvest. She’s going to die.”

  “We are going to the fairy city for nothing?”

  “You are going there to rescue Noah.”

  “Why?”

  “To give you hope.”

  She sits down next to him. “He’s going to win, isn’t he?”

  “He’s already won. We are just playing catch up.”

  Drevil takes Linus and Emily down the last tunnel. Linus looks behind them. “Drevil? Stop a minute. Andrea and Krill aren’t with us.”

  “I warned them.”