Empyreal

by Helsel, Spencer

  “The bridge column where I found you.” He rubbed his hands

  together. “It’s the only place we can see them in the open. Their patrols are usually deep in the woods. They’ll be too far away if we attack them by surprise.”

  Dani folded her arms. “There are six of them.” “Yeah, well, maybe we wait to see if some leave. Usually they go running off when they hear something. They’re just dogs, after all.”

  “That kind of genius logic got us into this mess.” She pointed out.

  He shrugged, folding his own arms. “Got a better plan? I’ve seen those things run. They’re fast, they’re vicious and they hide really well. We never saw them coming.”

  “So your plan is to run out in the open?” she asked.

  “Well, you all got weapons. If you lend me your knife, I can—.”

  “No freaking way.” She spat. “You aren’t touching my knife.”

  “I have more experience with weapons.”

  “And I have the knife.”

  “Guys!” Bouden cut in, stopping their argument. “It doesn’t matter. Andreas, what’s the actual plan? Even if there are less of them, we still have to fight.”

  “Well, yeah, that’s a given, but it would allow some of us to get through.”

  “Some?” Nathaniel asked. “As in, some of us make it and some of us don’t?”

  “It’s better than none of us making it.”

  Dani shook her head. It didn’t surprise her that his plan sucked.

  “I take it you want to be one of those?” She asked.

  “You mean like you don’t?”

  “I don’t want any of us to get left behind. Well,” she looked him up and down, “mostly.”

  “Then you come up with a better idea.”

  “Guys.” Bouden warned.

  “You know what? Maybe I will.” She got up in his face. “Maybe I could.”

  “Guys.”

  Andreas rolled his eyes. “Typical.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Guys!”

  “It means you giving people hell and telling them what to do shouldn’t surprise anyone.”

  “GUYS!”

  Dani wheeled on him. “What Bouden?”

  He didn’t look at her. He looked past her. “I think we were talking too loud.”

  Dani turned. Standing at the edge of the clearing was a cynocephali. The dogman growled. All around them, the beasts melted out of the forest, their clothing helping to conceal them. Claws and teeth dangled dangerously from them. At least a dozen surrounded the clearing.

  Dink drew an arrow and aimed, but it did little good.

  In a very deep voice, one of the wolves commanded, “Drop your weapons or we will tear you to pieces.”

  ______________________

  They didn’t need shackles. There were two creatures for each of them; one holding each arm. The wolves smelled like dirt and wet musk. They carried Dani along. Up front, Andreas was silent. Dink, Bouden and Nathaniel did their best to do the same, though wetting themselves seemed a likelier reaction. Even Dani felt a little pee-worthy between the large animal-men.

  They walked them down to the riverbank. News of new meat traveled fast. More of them gathered. They dropped Dani, her friends and Andreas on their knees.

  The leader was much taller than the rest. His fur was coal-colored and his lips drooled as he spoke.

  “I am Remus.” He snarled with a voice like gravel and teeth like steel. “I am the Alpha of this pack. We’ve been expecting a few more of you.”

  “Are you one of the Hellions?” Bouden asked, shaking. “You work for Empyrean, right?”

  The creature called Remus tilted back and howled laughing. Others joined in.

  “Do we look like we work for the Numen?” he demanded. “Do we look like servants to you?”

  “Then who are you?” Dani demanded.

  “Who are we?” the snout turned towards her. “We’re the ones who weed out the weak. Elder Heman hires us to ensure that only the strong survive. He allows us to take the scraps of his table.”

  “What are you going to do with us?” Andreas asked.

  “Kill you, of course. We’re hungry. The last one of you,” he glanced at the bloody pile of brown clothes, “tasted a little funny. But I’m sure one of you will be filling.” He glanced at Dink and Bouden. “Well, maybe it’ll be a twocourse meal. Small portions being what they are.”

  More laughter from the wolfmen.

  Remus’s eyes returned to Dani. “I heard there was a female Numen. I’ve never had female. I bet you taste delicious.”

  She glared. The wolf at her back had a knife to her throat. Her knife. They were going to kill her with her own weapon and then eat her. This was not how she planned to go.

  “Well, I’ll tell you what,” Remus told them happily, grinning, “I’ll let you choose. You pick the one we eat first. If they’re filling enough, then maybe you’ll live because we’re too full!”

  The wolves cackled. Some snapped their jaws viciously.

  “Of course, that just means leftovers for later, but who knows? Maybe we’ll become compassionate before that happens.”

  Again, more laughter and howling.

  “We won’t choose.” Nathaniel told him defiantly.

  “Brave words, lunchmeat.” Remus sneered. “Should you be first?”

  Andreas glanced around at the other four. “You promise that who we choose is who you eat?”

  “Andreas!” Bouden kicked him.

  “What? What’s the point in all of us dying?”

  Dani shook her head. “You don’t have any shame, do you?”

  “What? Like you weren’t about to throw me to the wolves?”

  That got a lot of them laughing, and not in the good way.

  Dani tried to think. How could they get out of this? Was there a way? There were too many to fight. Even if they could fight, they didn’t have weapons anymore.

  “So choose.” Remus told them. “First come, first serve, so to speak.”

  Dani’s hands felt hot, like they were boiling. Her whole body did. She wanted to fight. She’d rather die that way. But she couldn’t get up.

  “Choose.” Remus commanded again. “Now.”

  “Don’t.” Nathaniel warned.

  “Quiet!” the lead wolf barked. “Choose!”

  The other wolves howled. Many of them crowded around. It was mealtime.

  “Choose now!”

  “I choose Dani!”

  The wolves went silent. So did Dani. It didn’t come from Andreas. Instead, it came from Dink. He knelt on the other side of her, his eyes wide, staring up at Remus. The moment he said it, the clearing went quiet. Then, shamefully, he looked at her. His face fell. He knew what he’d done.

  Remus looked from him to Dani. His jowls curled into a smile. “Very well.”

  Dani couldn’t stop glaring at Dink. He chose her? She helped save his life just an hour ago!

  Both wolves behind her hauled her to her feet. Remus rubbed his manpaws together, licking his lips. “Thank you, Novice Ailbe. You made this quite easy for us.” He chuckled thickly, sizing her up. “Not much on you. I’ll bet you’re lean meat. I need that in my diet.”

  “Bite me.” She scowled.

  “I plan to. Got any last requests?”

  Did she? It amazed her that she never thought about dying until now. Did she have a request? Tell Mom I love her? Even that didn’t fit. Her mother didn’t care about her. The only other person who did was kneeling next to her. And Nathaniel was going to watch her die.

  Remus snapped his jaws, making her jump. The other wolves laughed. “No? Too bad.”

  Strangely, she thought about Ethan. She thought about her walk with him the night before. He was kind to her. He was one of the few who called her Dani. He—

  “How do you know my name?”

  Remus stopped, his smile faltering. “What?”

  “How do you know my name?” she asked him again. �
��Dink called me Dani.”

  “You are the only female.” Remus said. “It wasn’t difficult.”

  “Dani sounds like a boy’s name. I should know. People pick on me for it. And you knew Dink’s real name, too. Ailbe. You even called him Novice Ailbe.” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re pretending, aren’t you?”

  Remus snarled, snapping inches from her face. She didn’t shrink back. The other creatures shifted uncomfortably behind her. They didn’t laugh or play the part of cannibalistic monsters. Now they looked like she ruined their fun.

  “You are Hellions.” She said, not a question anymore. “You’re like the centaurs upriver.”

  “We’re nothing like those horsemongers!”

  “Aww, did I ruin your fun?” She smiled at her own joke.

  Remus back-handed her hard enough to see stars. She tasted dirt and blood in her mouth. The wolf-leader pressed his claws against her throat.

  “Do not mock me, Novice. I may swear my allegiance to Empyrean, but I do not let live those who question my dominance. I lead this pack. You are lucky I do not slay you where you stand and feed your bones to my young for marrow.”

  Her jaw felt slightly out of place. She stared the wolfman down. She didn’t question whether he would kill her. She knew he would.

  “Remus!” a voice reverberated through the valley. “Stay your weapon!”

  Seven figures descended from above. Elder Heman floated in the middle, flanked by six Powers Numen. They levitated down around the Novices, weapons in hand. Remus snarled but bowed back.

  Heman held a single-handed broadsword. He pointed it at him. “Stand back, Alpha. You are in our domain. Our word is law.”

  Remus’s jaws snapped ferally, but he bowed back. So did the wolves. The Novices slowly stood.

  “You have done your duty. These are the last. Be gone.”

  “You should speak with more respect, Elder.” Remus warned. “We may owe our allegiance to On High, but that will not always keep my wolves to their oath.”

  “Then this blade will.” Heman snarled back, almost equally animalistic. “It will run red with your blood if you speak to me in such a way again.”

  Remus bowed, his eyes flicking to Dani. Then, he smiled very cruelly. “I will always wonder what your flesh tastes like, girl. Until we meet again.”

  With a howl, Remus called his wolves away. They dashed into the woods, leaving Dani with Heman and his soldiers.

  ______________________

  Heman and his soldiers flew out of the Vale with them in tow. He took them to the Citadel. A set of switchbacks, similar to the ones that brought them into the Vale, appeared at the edge of the Vale’s cliff where the other aeries assembled. Everyone looked more or less disheveled, but alive. Even Lester was breathing, though he had a bruise where Nessus clonked him on the noggin.

  Dani stood with Nathaniel and Bouden. Dink was there, head down, tears stinging his eyes. He couldn’t look at her. Heman floated down to the front of the formation. “You are failures! I told you that you would survive only by working together! You did not! At the first sign of trouble, you ran. And you ran together! I have never seen such a poorly-disciplined, idleheaded display of stupidity!”

  “Elder,” one spoke up from the front, “we aren’t trained—.” “Exactly! That is the true point of this exercise: you will not— cannot—survive without training. You are useless. Many of you are unworthy to even say you are Earthborn. You couldn’t hold a candle to a single, sarding one of the men who serve within our ranks. You are pathetic!”

  Even Dani felt ashamed.

  “Any skill you have, any achievement you make, comes from those who train you. Listen to them well. Only from them will you ever learn. Only from I and the rest of the Elders will you become what you are meant to be: truly Earthborn!”

  Dani couldn’t help it. She had to speak. “Elder Heman,” she said from the back, “not all of us were failures.”

  She could feel every eye on her. She could almost feel several praying for her to shut up, but she’d come this far already.

  “Novice Daniella,” Heman spat, “care to explain how you were not an utter disappointment?”

  “Did you not see us take down a centaur?” she demanded. Others shied away from her. “Did you see us avoid a two-ton lion on our own?”

  Heman scowled. He looked as if he regretted taking her from Remus. “What I saw, Novice,” he growled, “was you spare an enemy in the midst of combat. You hesitated to take a life. You want to know what that is in a real battle? Death. Death to you and anyone who follows you.”

  “He’s a Hellion.” She pointed out. “He’s on our side. His name is Nessus and he didn’t try to kill us.”

  “And you believe that demons will have compassion? You think they won’t twist your emotions and make you doubt yourself? Feign friendship? Pretend to be on your side?” Heman yelled. “Your compassion will be the death of you. The enemy will know that. They’ll use it to turn you traitor, or worse, kill you. This,” he pointed to her for the rest of the Novices, “is what weakness is, men.”

  “How dare you!” She screamed so suddenly that Heman took a step back. “I did everything right!”

  “Really?” he scowled again. “Then tell me why one of your companions offered you up to be killed first?”

  Dink turned red with shame.

  “They sent you to the wolves.” Heman said, so close to her face she could smell his breath. “I never saw you plan or lead anything, but I saw one of your number use a bow with moderate skill. I saw one use his knowledge of creatures to save you. I saw one try to defend you.” He glanced at Andreas. “And I saw one of you attempt to come up with a plan to get past the cynocephali, but all you did was argue with him until they discovered you. That is what I and the other Elders saw, Novice Daniella. I see no merit in you.”

  Her hand came up to hit him, but the air between them thickened into something like a shield, blasting her hand away. A blow to her stomach sent her to her knees.

  “Do not speak that way to me, maggot.” He strode back to the front of the columns. “You have forgotten where you are. You believe this city makes you safe. It does not. The centaurs and cynocephali are under our control. The great beast Tigris is ours to command. But do not suppose that this place is without danger.”

  A groan of pain turned everyone’s head. Two Powers hauled a half- drowned Novice forward, his arm in a sling.

  “You saw an illusion in the cynocephali camp. No Novice perished there. But one,” Heman said bitterly, “nearly drowned crossing the river. He was alone. He was foolish. Had it not been for his Guardian, he would have perished. As it stands, that Guardian will be punished for allowing his charge to almost die. One day soon, even they will not be able to protect you.”

  “So let this be a lesson to you,” he warned, “death awaits us all. You are dismissed. Tomorrow you report to the Training Grounds for your first day. Come back tomorrow better, or suffer a fate worse than your comrade.”

  Part III Trials

  Chapter Eighteen The walk back was a lonely one. Nathaniel tried to talk to her, but Dani pushed him away. After what Heman did in front of everyone, all she wanted was something to hit. Bouden looked sympathetic, but he knew better than to try to talk to her. Dink was the one that looked anguished. He chose to sacrifice her to save himself. If he was sorry, she didn’t care. He was at the top of her short list and that list was getting lengthy.

  The sun dipped behind the rim as she trudged into the Arn. The Vale was a mixture of blue and black shadows. Lights ignited across the forest. She knew what they were now: centaur and cynocephali villages. The Vale was as much a home as Empyrean itself.

  Exhausted, bruised, and cut up from the forest, she wanted to collapse in her crappy, makeshift bed.

  Except it was gone, as was the pavilion.

  “What the…?”

  The pavilion had grown four walls. Or, at least, that’s what it looked like. Someone created a shack out of
the ramshackle building; a housegarden combo with new siding overgrown with flowering plants, fruits and vegetables. It was a house alive. Built into the side facing the fountain was a sliding panel door, which also had an extended porch roof to keep rain and sun off. The fountain and square were picked clean of weeds to look brand new. Someone erected torch-lanterns, which illuminated the square in soft, orange glow. And facing the cliffside was an extended covered-pavilion for training, complete with holds for weapons on the supports, weights and ropes, and an entrance into her home.

  “Apparently, you have admirers.” Mastema appeared on the other side of the square.

  Dani jumped a little. “Seriously? Are you trying to imitate every horror film in history?”

  “I do not understand.”

  “Of course you don’t.” She peeked inside the house. There was a bed against one wall, a large hot-tub like basin, and shelving for full sets of raiments. “Did you do this?”

  “I did not.”

  “Maybe Shea and Roxelana?”

  He extended a thick piece of yellowed paper, or whatever passed for paper up here. “I found this within your canteen.”

  She took it. “Canteen?”

  “Your dining area.”

  “Someone built me a dining room?” She grinned. “Aww! Is there fine china?”

  “Is that sarcasm?”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “With this dwelling, they have also given you a whole storeroom of food; enough to last you many weeks.”

  She unfolded the paper, scrawled with large, messy handwriting. “It’s a note.”

  Danny,

  I do not know if this is your true name. Danny is a very peculiar name for a female; however, your heart is the purest I have ever known and no name could change my sentiments of you. You spared me when you could have killed me and you sent my brethren to my aid when it would not benefit you. I am forever indebted. I bid you thanks for your kindness. As a way to show my gratitude, my people have delivered food and repaired your domicile. It was quite small and did not have walls. Do humans not live in homes with walls? I pray it is to your liking. This is a small gesture, but it conveys all the gratitude that I am able to give.

  In your debt, Nessus