by K T Munson
“Where do we start?” Nanette asked.
“Leave that to me,” Elisabeth said, reaching into a small pocket sewn into the bottom of her corset. She took out the small talisman that she had used all those months ago to find Nanette. Instead of strings of hair wrapped around it, there was a piece of a cloth.
Twisting it in a circle until it glowed, Elisabeth pointed once, and it flickered to life.
“This way,” she said, and they started off in the direction she indicated, hand in hand, to face the unknown.
Chapter 28: Hystera
It was like a thousand whispers rode the storm, each crashing over her in a gentle plea. Kerrigan wanted to cover her ears, but it didn’t work. She wasn’t mortal anymore. She didn’t have real ears to cover because she was a spirit trapped on a plane in which she shouldn’t even exist. Jinq was stumbled around blindly. She tried to reach out to him, but it took all of her concentration to not scream from the pain. The noise wouldn’t stop, and she couldn’t block it out. She wished she could make the old man stop stumbling through the halls. The voices wanted her to go, to come to whoever called.
Stop, she whispered desperately.
He struggled down the steps and slid down the wall next to the stairs as the howling wind reached them. It clawed at Jinq’s long hair, the voices growing stronger. Standing on the threshold with his hands over his ears, he looked to the growing storm before he walked out toward the wooden bridge.
Suddenly, a light shot out and an image descended. Jinq turned away from the blinding light. Kerrigan, on the other hand, recognized a single voice as the rest receded. It was a strong and sure whisper of sanctuary that promised serenity for a good soul. When they turned back, a woman with great wings stood on the bridge. She wore armor that seemed to be illuminated in a humming silvery white. She wore a pointed crown and carried a long spear. She wasn’t a Soul Collector; she was something far more powerful. Kerrigan could feel her inner glow.
“It is time, Jinq Rekus, Keeper of Hystera,” the otherworldly woman called.
She extended a hand, which seemed too perfect, to Jinq’s shoulder, and the old man suddenly relaxed. It was as though he was already feeling that serenity that her voice promised. She could feel it as he took a sure step forward, and suddenly all of Kerrigan’s fears became real. Jinq was leaving her.
Stop! This time she screamed it.
Jinq staggered forward, and she tried to hold him in place—straining against a natural course of things. She had known for some time that Jinq was no longer for this world. Yet she needed him, just as Troy needed him. They all needed him during these dark times, and she would fight to keep him there.
“Do not worry, daughter of Aryan,” the woman said. “I have found a solution for you.”
Jinq took another step forward, struggling against Kerrigan. She imagined gritting her teeth and was determined to keep him in place. Sweat broke out on Jinq’s brow as he strained against her. She felt like crying but instead stayed strong.
What are you? Kerrigan demanded.
“I am one of three Erinyes who serve The Fates. I am known as Tisiphone,” she replied, seeming to glow with an inner light. “The Fates do not abide duplicitous murderers, particularly when souls are taken before The Fates sever the threads themselves.”
Jinq managed a step as Kerrigan tried to understand what Tisiphone was offering and what it meant. Despite her mistrust, Kerrigan had the distinct feeling that she was telling the truth. Kerrigan had learned enough to know of The Fates and little else.
Where will you take him? she said, careful to keep the quiver out of her voice.
“To the gates of judgment, where he will pass on to what is next,” Tisiphone told her without blinking. “But not you, Kerrigan Diamus. The Fates shall see to you.”
She blinked at that, utterly confused. That is not my name, she managed around the lump in her throat.
“You bear your father’s name, just as you bear a part of him,” Tisiphone replied as though she were commenting on the weather. If Kerrigan could still grimace, she would have. Instead, she felt Jinq take another step forward. Kerrigan knew she was losing this battle.
Kerrigan frowned and asked, Where are The Fates?
“In Morhaven,” she replied before observing the sky. “Choose quickly, daughter of Aryan Diamus. The Wild Hunt shall move to the Netherworld without you.”
Kerrigan started at that. Her mind began working through one important fact: Elisabeth was in the Netherworld, and if she went to Morhaven, Elisabeth should still be there. Jinq mindlessly tried to push forward as Kerrigan fought against his movement long enough to make a decision.
Just as she was about to let him go, let them go to Tisiphone, someone called, “Stop!”
She turned back to feel more than see A.J., who was running toward them. He reached out in his strange suit and took hold of Jinq’s shoulders. “Jinq! Kerrigan! Snap out of it!” A.J. called, shaking him. He tried to shake him out of his trance-like state, but Kerrigan knew better. She knew that she couldn’t be selfish anymore. It was time to let him go.
A.J., she whispered as emotion overwhelmed her, I have to go.
“Don’t listen to the voices!” he yelled over the sound of the wind.
A.J., Kerrigan told him calmly, Jinq can’t survive without me. He has been dead a long time, but I wouldn’t let him go before. It isn’t fair to him. He deserves peace.
Tisiphone reached out a hand. “It is time to go.”
“I don’t understand,” A.J. said, looking toward the bridge, and Kerrigan realized he didn’t see the Erinyes.
You don’t have to understand, she said, pulling away from him. You just have to trust me.
He let them go, the metal and cloth of his hand no longer holding on like an iron vise. She knew he was confused and out of his depth. The wind tore at Jinq’s clothes as he strode mindlessly forward. Kerrigan refused to look back, knowing that if she did she might change her mind.
Jinq reached out toward Tisiphone’s open hand. When his hand touched the Erinyes’s, Kerrigan felt Jinq’s body fall away. Tisiphone lifted her spear, and Kerrigan felt herself rush away from the ground. When she looked back down, she saw Jinq’s crumpled body lying in the middle of the bridge. A.J. rushed toward it, as did Troy. Kerrigan instinctually reached for him as they entered the clouds.
When she finally looked to her right, she saw a very tired, translucent Jinq. His eyes were confused and sleepy. Creatures made of soot with eyes that burned like fire filled the clouds. They played with mortals they had captured, the clouds filling with screams as they joined the cavalcade. Despite their devilish appearance and the stolen souls, Kerrigan was not afraid for herself or Jinq. Tisiphone, with her beautiful wings and fine armor, would protect them.
“You are not the only souls I must collect,” Tisiphone said, seeming to tether them to her, “and time is running out.”
Chapter 29: Lyreane
Troy staggered through the halls as the wind screamed by him, almost bringing him to his knees. The words crashed over him, but he could not hear them. He’d foolishly fallen asleep in the study again and couldn’t understand what was occurring, though he could sense it was nothing good. His entire focus was on Jinq. The Keeper, after all, would know.
Then he heard it, a mortal voice over the roar of the wind. Troy tried not to trip as he rushed toward the sound. He found the strange contraption he had let through his gate the day before standing on a bridge. The housed spirit, A.J., was holding onto Jinq’s arm. It seemed to be a one sided conversation, but Troy knew it was Kerrigan to whom A.J. was talking but Jinq was turned away.
As Troy went to call to them, A.J.’s hold slipped and Jinq turned. He walked a few steps and reached up before crumpling into a heap. It took Troy a moment to understand what was happening. A.J. rushed toward Jinq, blindly striding against the wind. Wordlessly, he knelt by the Keeper’s limp form.
“He is gone,” A.J. whispered.
Troy touch
ed Jinq’s shoulder hesitantly. An unexpected light shone off the body, and Troy stumbled back. A.J. gave a startled cry as the light started to swirl around Troy’s body, looking like long snakes. Their heads were like different animal, and they had small wings. The first sank into his chest. Troy cried out from the sharp pain.
Images like dreams danced before his eyes—a man in a tree with a noose around his neck, a woman running beside a panther in the early dawn, and a herd of elephants as they made their way across the plains. As these faded, another stretch of light penetrated his back. Another scene formed, with a group of men calling forth the light and forcing the dark man back through a gate. A girl with a red smudge on her face was attacked by shadowy birds. Troy gasped for breath as his arms wrapped around his body, fighting against the visions.
One after another the lights penetrated his body, pouring out of Jinq and into Troy. He could feel them and knew what was happening. Jinq was dead, and his abilities as a Keeper were being transferred to the closest worthy recipient. Fighting against the pain, Troy tried to see reason. One thought won out over the fear that he wouldn’t survive: it was well known that a Keeper was never transferred into the body of a child. It did not matter that Troy was brilliant; he was still a boy on the outside.
“I can’t stop it!” A.J. desperately swatted at the lights.
Troy gritted his teeth as another set of images blocked his vision. A beautiful woman put her hand into her king’s, a circlet upon her brow. The sight of the men and women jumping from trees with smiles on their faces drove him to his knees. More images, of spirit animals and of his people, all melded together as he dug his fingers into his arms. He hunched over as the last of the light emptied out of Jinq and into him.
Just as suddenly as it had begun, it all came to an end. Sweat covered his brow, and the heat that filled him was slapped by a sudden gust. A.J. stumbled back, a blur striking his suit. A maniacal laugh filled the air. Troy’s jaw ached from how hard his teeth were clenched against the pain as he fought to stand but failed.
The creature resembled a monkey with wings and a long tail. The horns and red glowing eyes gave away what it was. The demon must have come with the storm. There were a group of them, sweeping down and attacking the spirit’s suit with short spears. One of them punctured the suit. As it began to deflate, A.J.’s spirit spilled out of it.
“Help!” A.J. cried.
The monkey monsters swept down and grabbed at A.J.’s spirit as Troy stood on shaky legs. The effort left him panting. His stomach roiled and his vision blurred, but he stayed upright. The monsters didn’t notice him as they focused on their prey, tearing the fabric and bindings away. A.J.’s spirit was held in place as it tried to shift into the floor.
“Stop,” Troy said. His body wavered, and for a moment he thought he would lose consciousness.
“Help,” A.J. said, his voice mostly lost to the wind as the demonic monkeys kept him from fleeing.
“Go back to where you came from,” Troy said, taking a few jerky steps forward. “I send you back!”
Light poured off Troy and slammed against the creatures. Instead of being hurled away, they simply vanished. Men’s and women’s bodies fell to the ground below. The ground rushed up to greet Troy; the stone was cold against his cheek. He didn’t know what became of A.J. but hoped he had made it away safely. Troy slowly rolled over. The cloud above him churned as creatures poured out from its angry gray mass and struggling people were dragged into it.
The edge of Troy’s vision was fading; a flood of darkness was trying to swallow him up. He couldn’t hold on. He had a distinct feeling that he was dying. He struggled to keep his eyes open. Just as the last of the light started to fade, a strange shape appeared over him. It reached down and picked him up. His body slumped against the cloth and metal of the figure’s body. He didn’t have the energy to fight, so instead he surrendered and let himself be taken away.
Chapter 30: Hystera
Tisiphone flew them over all of Hystera with Jinq and Kerrigan tethered to her, heading north. Kerrigan was privileged to view parts of her planet that she had never seen before. The bare plains were dotted with the occasional lake, but it remained mostly rolling yellow grass. Kerrigan knew that water ran beneath the surface of their world, but from this view the splashes of green were still few and far between. Perhaps it would be different further north.
Her eyes shifted over to the sleepy-eyed Jinq. He hadn’t moved or said anything since Tisiphone had taken them from his body. Kerrigan’s eyebrows furrowed as she tried to think of something to say or do. When she reached out to touch him, her hand passed through him.
Startled, Kerrigan pulled back. “What is wrong with him?” Kerrigan heard her voice out loud for the first time since she had become a passenger in Jinq’s body.
“This is how most of my passengers are,” Tisiphone replied before glancing over her shoulder. “You are the unique one.”
Kerrigan studied Jinq in surprise. “Why?” she asked. After all, a Keeper was far more special than she was.
“Your lineage,” Tisiphone told her before she turned down toward a larger city in the north.
Kerrigan recognized the strange stone dome instantly. Unlike the south, which had an abundance of bamboo and wood, the people of the north, beyond the plains, took rocks and metal from their many mountains. Their trees were short and the places colder, but their buildings were beautiful.
She tried to swallow her emotions but knew that they were welling to the surface. She had not dwelled on what her father was. Her hate and betrayal had all been for Hipasha, not for the person who had fathered her. Kerrigan had never met him, so in a way his use of her had been less of a betrayal. Her father had never lied to her or deceived her; he’d simply used her body as a way to get out of his prison. It was disgusting and awful, but she felt nothing for him—except perhaps a measure of abhorrence at what his plans had been. Hipasha had been kind to her and had been the only family that she’d known and had cared for. Kerrigan had blindly trusted after her mother’s death because her aunt had been one of the few people who had shown her kindness. When others had shunned her, Hipasha had embraced her.
Tisiphone’s great wings extended as she landed. People ran in the streets, screaming, as creatures from nightmares cascaded from the clouds. A massive bull stampeded down the main street, destroying a fancy fountain. The shadow from the clouds swept over the city. It took Kerrigan a moment to realize that it never reversed course; it always pushed forward. Tisiphone began to walk. Though many people were around, no one seemed to notice her as she made her way to a large metal and stone building.
When Tisiphone reached the exterior, she slowly passed through the wall. Before Kerrigan could do more than gasp, it was over. Nothing more than a thin resistance passed over her as they crossed over to the other side. It took Kerrigan a moment to get her bearings, and a moment longer to notice the crying woman.
The woman’s arms were tied over her head, a hook suspending her by the ropes that bound her wrists. The hook was connected to a long row of links that snaked up to the rafters. Beside the crying woman was another woman who was covered in innumerable cuts. They oozed crimson as though they were only deep enough to draw the barest of blood. The crying woman only had one cut on her leg.
“Cry louder,” a man’s voice commanded.
The man was tall and surprisingly handsome. His hair was perfectly cropped, and he wore fine clothing. There was no stubble on his jaw line. He held a long knife in his hand that winked in the light. Blood coated the edge of the blade. Kerrigan didn’t have to ask how it had gotten there. She had heard of people like this before, men and women who preyed on the weak and enjoyed it. People like that were worse than monsters; these killers hid in plain sight.
Tisiphone moved forward, and Kerrigan watched as the light from her wings slowly darkened and they changed from beautiful white wings to those of a bat with dark, stretched skin. Her clothes changed from shining armor to str
ips of bright red clothing that were charred at the tips. Her beautiful brown locks twisted into horns atop her head that seemed alive like snakes.
A raven called, and Kerrigan’s attention was drawn to a third woman she hadn’t noticed before because she was tied to a chair. Unlike the others, she had no cuts on her body and seemed more concerned for the other women than herself. Tear tracks stained her cheeks.
“Eriotes, please,” the third woman whispered. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because it pleases me, sister,” Eriotes replied.
“Did you kill her?” she asked, tears streaming down her face. “Did you kill our mother?”
“With a cleaver,” Eriotes replied coldly, which caused his sister to start sobbing anew.
Eriotes tilted his head back and seemed to be genuinely pleased about her tears, savoring them as she wept. It terrified Kerrigan to watch the way he held the knife like it was a lover when he moved back toward the other woman hanging from the rafters. He lifted the knife, and all of the women protested.
As he was about to cut the woman, Tisiphone sauntered up to Eriotes and lay a hand on his broad shoulder. As her strange serpentine fingers with long talon-like nails curled one at a time, the woman in the chair stopped crying and focused her eyes entirely on Tisiphone. Her expression was aghast. Eriotes froze, seemingly immobilized.
“Kin-killers don’t deserve second chances,” Tisiphone whispered in his ear. The ends of his hair on his neck curled from the fire of her breath.
It wasn’t her form that frightened Kerrigan. It was her voice. Tisiphone seemed to purr the words, as though she was relishing the moment. As though the idea of frightening and terrorizing him was enjoyable to her. She seemed to drink his terror like sweet wine. The raven on the back of the chair squawked in fright before taking flight.