by Reilyn Hardy
Dusk had come quickly, and night soon followed as Tobo’s band of bandits wheeled Rhiannon in her iron cage right to the edge of the forest.
Miko insisted to Tobo that she tagged along. No one was going to talk her out of it anyway if she really wanted to come. He told her not to expect him to bring her body back if she died in there. I swallowed hard. I didn’t want to die in there either, but if this was the only way to the iron realm, well I didn’t have a choice. I had evaded death so far, maybe I was luckier than I thought.
Among the bandits — as Jace had named them — were of Tobo’s closest allies and people he trusted most. There was approximately eight of them total, four set with the responsibility of moving Rhiannon through the woods. Brothers, Rohin and Ealdingol, were at the front of her cage. They both had dark brown hair cut short, with small dark eyes. Rohin often wore a blank expression, which alone made him seem friendlier, while Ealdingol was always scowling. His nose was constantly crinkling like he was surrounded by a foul odor — maybe one that was coming from his own body.
The two in the back, were Gylley and his scrawny son, Gylex, who I think was even skinnier than me. Gylley was nearly as large as Tobo, and was lion-like in appearance with a large red mane that draped over his shoulders and merged in with his thick beard that covered his whole neck. Gylex had his long red hair gathered in a ponytail behind him, and had just as many freckles as me, if not more. He was just as tall as his dad, except about only one fourth as wide.
Primra often took Gylex’s place when he struggled with the cage. Her black hair was buzzed in the back and long bangs fell in her face. His cheeks always turned as red as his hair, whenever she’d take over and push the cage with ease, while he struggled with it. I’d be embarrassed too. Not because Primra was a girl, but because he couldn’t do the job he was tasked to do.
I only kept my attention on them, because I was trying to keep my thoughts clear and focus away from Rhiannon, who hadn’t taken her eyes off of me since we started into the woods. Not once. She wasn’t even blinking and it was making me uncomfortable.
“Wouldn’t it be easier if we let her walk?” Sabel asked, pushing her stringy brown hair from her face. I think she was Tobo’s wife or girlfriend. She had a thick figure, far too much on her frame, but she managed to keep up with us just fine. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure why she came in the first place. She was clumsy, and often tripped over visible roots. Though it was cool out, and even we were keeping our hands in our pockets, her face was dripping with sweat. I think a part of me sympathized, or at least pitied her.
I thought about when I hadn’t made it onto the train. I wasn’t fast enough, or strong enough to jump. But I didn’t want to be left behind.
“No, Sabel. I already told you this.” Tobo brought her to the side while the group continued forward. “She’ll try to escape, and we don’t have time for that. Not if we need the Harvest Moon.” His voice was gentler with her, it was strange to listen to. Jace and I couldn’t help but exchange glances.
“She isn’t even touching the cage, what’s it to her?” He asked me, and I shrugged. We both looked back at them and Jace instantly started making a gagging noise. I quickly turned to face forward again, trying to forget what I saw. But Tobo and Sabel sucking faces was burned into my memory now.
Mercy was the last. Her black hair was mostly hidden beneath a cap and her features actually reminded me of Coin. Only Mercy’s face was narrower and her complexion was darker. Her eyes were darting, and she remained observant of her surroundings, keeping out her bow and arrow. Both her and Primra were really out of place almost the rest of the bandits, and it soon became clear to me that it was because they were the daughters of some of Tobo’s closest friends who were unable to join us. They both referred to him as uncle, but it was obvious they weren’t actually related.
Gylley dropped his end of Rhiannon’s cage, which yanked the bar from Primra’s arms and she snarled at him for nearly ripping her arm from the socket, but he ignored her.
“We should set up camp here,” he suggested. The brothers in the front let go of their bars as well and nodded in agreement as they wiped the sweat from their brows.
The woods were dark and chilling. Even without wind, canarywarts were sent crawling across my arms while the hair on the back of my neck stood straight up.
“We should keep moving,” Rhiannon said, her voice was soft and gentle. She spoke with music in her tone. “If you think I’m dangerous, what do you think lurks in these woods?”
Primra kicked the iron bars, rattling the cage against the wagon.
“Shut up, bloodsucker!” She screamed at her, and Rhiannon just shifted her gaze back onto me. “She’s just trying to scare us,” Primra insisted. I figured she would probably keep telling herself that till it made her feel better.
Tobo ignored Rhiannon’s words too, they all did, which I thought was stupid but I was in no position to argue. We were tagalongs.
They set up a fire, which was easy to do, being surrounded by dry, dead foliage. The band of bandits unpacked and began roasting food they had brought along with them. Mercy tried to offer Jace some of her food — but he shook his head and declined her offer.
She probably liked him a bit.
We went for a walk, Jace and I. From behind us, I heard Miko yell to Tobo she’d follow us to make sure we weren’t planning anything and when I looked back, he dismissed her.
I tossed an apple to Jace just as Miko approached and she offered me her canteen full of fresh water from the well in town. But I shook my head. It was hers.
Jace looked behind him suddenly, and when I turned around, Gylley and Ealdingol set fire to sticks, and kept trying to poke Rhiannon with them. Her pale skin would darken when the fire got too close. Jace tensed where he stood, but he didn’t move.
I nudged his arm with my elbow. He didn’t take his eyes off of the pair of men that were harassing the vampire.
“I’m fine,” he said curtly under his breath, his voice was thick.
Liar.
He relaxed a little when the two of them returned to their seats around the blazing fire and left her alone, getting bored when she didn’t react to them.
We kept walking.
“Tobo and Sabel aren’t with them. Do you think they’re —” Jace began, and started to push out his fist into the air, back and forth. He smirked and I knew exactly what he was hinting at. I thought I was going to throw up. I shoved him in the shoulder and he nearly fell over laughing, cupping his face to stop himself from making too much noise. I was glad he found that amusing, because now I was being scarred with mental images I could have lived without.
* * * * *
The three of us made it a good distance away. They were still within eyesight but we were free of the noise and attention the group drew to themselves. Though the woods made me uneasy, I felt safer without Tobo and his gang.
Jace and Miko both fell asleep near the base of a large gray tree, but I couldn’t. Not with Rhiannon’s warning plaguing my mind. I’d be sorry, but what would I be sorry about?
‘Mae? Can you hear me?’
Now her voice really was in my mind. It was as clear as if she were sitting right next to me. I even turned to look, but she wasn’t there.
Yes.
I looked around again to make sure no one was watching me.
‘Empusae just attacked Tobo and his gang. Be aware.’
I gulped.
I knew what an Empusa was. My dad told us once that the Grim Reaper had created vampire hybrids called Empusae. Women who would seduce the living while they slept, before drinking their blood and devouring their flesh.
I froze at the sound I heard coming from beside me. My breathing halted, it was caught in my throat. I slowly swept my eyes over to Jace without turning my head and there it was, straddling him. Her flaming red hair covered everything I didn’t want to see — but I knew she had bitten him. I could hear her, slurping away at his neck. I glanced down, her donkey l
eg was only inches away from where I sat.
One donkey leg, one brass leg.
I reached for my dagger.
Rhiannon? What do I do?
But there was no answer. I gripped the handle of my dagger tightly and closed my eyes, trying to remember how to ward them off. Surely my dad had told us. Stake to the heart, no, that was vampires. Beheading — no — revenants and creatures that were similar.
‘Do not harm her! If you harm her, they will all come after you. Insults, Mae. Insult her.’
Insults? I was terrible with insults, I could hardly stick up for myself. I wasn’t the type to offend people purposely.
‘Now isn’t the time for weighing your qualities, Artemis. Insult her!’
I scrambled to my feet, my hand still on my dagger. The empusa didn’t move. I looked around and Miko was nowhere to be found. I could see the camp from where I stood, the once crackling fire was nothing but black smoke, and bodies lay in ruin. Red and bloodied, I was sure I could see bones. My eyes land on Rhiannon’s cage. It was empty. So where was she?
I noticed an arm, with chunks of flesh missing, hanging off of the wooden wagon. I forced myself to look away.
That was not happening to Jace.
“Why are you always so easily seduced?” I grumbled in annoyance and then froze. I couldn’t believe I said that out loud. I didn’t mean to, but the slurping sound stopped and the woman turned to me. Her flaming hair coveted her face, her eyes struck me like daggers and she didn’t bother to wipe the blood dripping from her lips and down her chin.
I took a step back.
“What did you say?” She hissed at me as she got up. Her eyes flared.
I insulted her.
Though blood was dripping from her mouth, I had trouble looking away from the donkey leg. I’ve seen centaur and satyrs, and various other halflings, but this was just something else.
“Jace has very low standards with his preference for women. They just have to look at him a certain way, so I guess the gorgons would have trouble...” I forced myself to look at her face, but I wasn’t prepared for what happened next. She screamed at me, high-pitched and ringing in my ears. She continued to scream as she ran through the woods. Another soon joined her from nearby, then another. They reminded me of the blaring alarms in Nevressea.
I dropped down to my knees beside Jace and tried to shake him awake.
“What?” He groaned weakly. He lost color in his skin.
The salty, bitter smell of blood lingered in the air and it was mixed with the smell of the wet earth. His shirt was soaked from the bite in his neck. I didn’t bother to ask if he was okay, I knew he wasn’t and he would have lied to me anyway.
“I have to find Rhiannon.”
“Marco —” Jace mumbled. I ignored him and stood up.
Taking a slow walk around, I kept my steps close together in case they came back. Empusae weren’t exactly common, but it seemed smart that they stayed in the Whispering Woods, where they could easily prey on tired travelers if all it took was insults to scare them off.
The dead foliage crunched beneath my feet and twigs snapped, echoing throughout the woods. There didn’t seem to be an empusa in sight. Everything laid still, lifeless. Not even the branches moved from the wind. There was no wind. No howling of a breeze. Just the whispers of the woods.
Then I heard something running in the distance and suddenly, the branches over head began to ruffle. Reluctantly, I looked up.
Rhiannon?
“Miko ran off,” she said as she dropped down to the ground in front of me. Her fingertips brushed against the ground before she stood up. She was different now, like the way she had when we first met. Not the same mess she had become in the cage. Her hair was neater, draping in loose curls over her shoulders. Her pale face was nearly translucent, and her eyes sparkled. They were no longer bloodshot, and her clothes were no longer dirty. She was beautiful again, the way I knew vampires were supposed to look.
I might have even been caught in a daze but then I noticed the wetness on her face, the way it glistened under the soft light of the moon that struggled to shine on us through the thick trees. There was blood on her lips.
I managed to shake it and her words registered in my brain.
I frowned.
“What do you mean she ran off?” I asked.
“I got the empusa off of her and she was so scared, she left.”
I watched her lips as she spoke. She quickly licked her lips before looking down at Jace, who continued to mutter, “Marco.”
“Polo,” she said as she dropped down to her knees. I saw her chest expand; she was smelling his blood. She leaned toward him and kissed the bite on his neck. Even I could feel the heat his body began emitting from where I stood. Her presence was healing him.
“You’re saying Miko got attacked too?”
“Nearly everyone did. I had never seen a male empusa before, but there he was, perched on Sabel. Everyone except you and me.” Her eyebrows came together as she gave me a curious look. “But I’m a vampire. So why not you?”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
She shook her head, not taking her eyes off of mine. “They cause sleep paralysis. Whether you were awake or not wouldn’t have made a difference. I think you know that.”
“I don’t experience sexual attraction?”
“You sound unsure,” she commented.
“I’m sure,” I insisted. “I just, I never know how other people are going to react. They always expect you to be attracted to someone, you know? Anyone, as long as it’s someone. It’s just not there — for me.” I looked down at Jace as his neck began to heal. The bleeding stopped, and his skin began to repair itself. “The closest relationships I’ve ever had — ever wanted — were with family.” I averted my eyes and I turned my body away from her, but she kept hers on me. I could feel them.
I leaned my back against the trunk of the tree and I inhaled deeply.
“Jace says I’m lucky,” I continued. “I’m all I need. But I’ve only ever felt broken and empty. Like there was this part of me that was missing. People all around me, experiencing something so natural and mutual, and I just… don’t.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
I turned my head to look at her. “For what?”
“The things I said about Jace.”
I started to shake my head. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
She sighed. “Many consider relationships more important than friendships. More important than the love of family and friends. It’s not, especially for you, and I should have known that.”
“But you don’t know me. You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I was in your mind, Mae. I should have known.” She stepped toward me and took my hand. “You think your broken because you won’t experience love and loss? Well, you’re wrong.” She looked down at Jace then. “Because you do, if not more strongly than the rest of us. Friends can break your heart too, and it stings just as much. Sometimes more.”
Her eyes were beginning to water just as Jace inhaled sharply. Rhiannon pulled her hand away from mine and quickly wiped her eyes as she turned away.
I frowned a little at her sudden actions, but I focused on Jace instead.
“Are you okay?” I asked, sticking out my hand to him.
“I’m indestructible, remember?” He told me again as he reached for my hand. But then he quickly retracted, groaning as he rubbed at his neck. “What happened?”
“You were attacked by an empusa.”
“An em-pus-what?”
Rhiannon spun around on the soles of her shoes and she was at the end of an eye roll.
“An empusa,” she snapped. “Don’t be immature.”
Her eyes weren’t glistening at all now. Maybe I had imagined it.
I helped him to his feet and we walked back to camp. I held my hand to my face, trying to keep the smell of the dead bodies from entering and lingering in my nose.
I tried not t
o look, but once I did, I couldn’t look away. My stomach was doing backflips. Eyes were missing, clothes ripped. Skin torn open. Chunks of flesh, gone.
“Are they —” Jace didn’t even finish his sentence as he came up beside me. He didn’t have to. I focused on him while I tried to forget about what lay all around us. He was trying to rub out the back of his own neck.
“Do you think you can find Miko?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“She’s an elf — but even if she wasn’t… This place, it’s — it’s throwing me off. All of my senses, they’re off. I should have woken up when that thing was near, and I didn’t.”
Jace looked at Rhiannon, his gaze dropping to her lips.
“Who did you feed on?” He asked.
Rhiannon turned to him and I took a step back. I didn’t know what was going to happen, she was initially furious with him for getting her locked in there and now that she was out — now that he was okay again — I took another step back.
“Why?” She tilted her head to the side. “Do you think I did this? Do you think this is my fault?”
I was positive that wasn’t what he meant.
“Rhiannon —”
Suddenly he was holding her wrist, with her hand only inches from his face. Jace had faster reflexes than I thought. I didn’t even see her raise her arm to hit him. He moved her hand down and pulled her closer to him. Her gaze fell to his hand momentarily before lifting to meet his again. “You kept my ring.”
He let go of her wrist as he waved his right hand in front of her.
“I have a lot of rings.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“This way,” she said, and turned away from him. She didn’t wait for either of us and started through the woods, not seeming to care whether we followed her or not.
She walked gracefully, gliding with each stride.
I looked at Jace and he was looking at her.