Sonja stepped out into the hallway to the sound of Kallum intently lecturing Bevan. The junior was in for a good lesson not to say anything condescending to Kallum again! Garron then led the three slayers through the winding, stone corridors of the Bristrunstium. He indicated a door to Sonja, then hurried off with Volk and Rak in tow. Garron had no intention of introducing Sonja to this woman; she was on her own.
Sonja knocked on the door and waited. No response. She knocked again, and the door slowly opened. It was dark inside, a few candles were lit, but no lanterns. She couldn’t see anyone.
“What do you want?” a voice asked.
“Hello?”
Sonja felt something strike her shin. “Down here!”
Looking down, Sonja noticed a knee-high, fat woman staring up at her. Her arms were folded, lips pursed, and the thick lens in her glasses tripled the size of her wide, judging eyes.
“What do you want?” the woman asked.
“Hello, Liasbe?”
“Yes,” Liasbe confirmed. “Now, what do you want?”
“Well, my name is Sonja Bluwahlt, I am the ca—”
“Yes, yes, captain of the north gate, brother of that annoying Kallum. What do you want?”
“An army is amassing against Holtur, one that greatly outnumbers our slayers. The men request an Eternity Grail, and they’ll leave us alone.”
“Men!” Liasbe snorted. “Can you even trust their word?”
“We don’t really have a choice. If they attack, they have the numbers over run us.”
“There’s always a choice,” Liasbe said, then waddled back into her office. “Come on in, Sonja Bluwahlt.”
The room appeared nothing like Sonja had originally expected. Yes, it was dimly lit, but other than a single wooden office table, with an unused oil lantern and a mess of papers sitting atop it, the room was luxurious! Lush couches, covered in dark red and purple pillows, lay beside ornamental tables that held nothing but candles. Liasbe plonked herself carelessly into one of the couches. She curled her finger, gesturing for Sonja to sit. Sonja chose to sit on a couch opposite the professor.
Sonja wasn’t sure what was more unusual, such a short person dressed in a white lab coat, or the fact a person in such attire sat—laid back and relaxed—like she did. Garron was right, she was an alternative one!
“So, you need to find this, Eternity Grail?” Liasbe stubby hands waved animatedly as she spoke. “And you think I can help you?”
“I have been informed that this item has been blessed by Tethaya and cursed by Necrominus.” Informed? She had nothing but what that delusional hunk of scrap metal blurted out. Heeding the thulmlet! Was Sonja losing it? “I’ve heard you are quite devoted to Tethaya, so assumed you could help.”
“Hmmmm…” Liasbe pulled a long curly brown hair from her face. “Tell my Sonja, Do you know of Tethaya’s betrayal?”
“No, professor. I am a slayer, not a scholar.”
Liasbe’s eyes widened in disapproval. “Everyone should know of this, it is so important to understanding ourselves!” Liasbe stopped, fixed some cushions, then nestled herself into an even more comfortable position. “Right then! Back when the gods ruled over our realm in the physical form, Tethaya fell in love with a mortal man, Vulitnin. This was unusual as gods don’t reproduce like us and have no need for love. But, Tethaya was the god of love.
“She destroyed a part of herself, offering immortality to this man she loved. Tethaya betrayed the pantheon to offer untold power to whom it should never belong. Vulitnin grasped that opportunity, what man wouldn’t? It meant he would live forever, and Tethaya truly believed that he would stick by her for all eternity. Sadly, their love didn’t last long. Tethaya’s sister, Necrominus, was furious that she had handed this power to a mere mortal. She also became overwhelmed with jealousy.
“Necrominus corrupted Vulitnin. Despite his immortality, he was still a man. She fueled him with lust, the desire for power, the need for more than he had. The darkness spread through him and he eventually left Tethaya’s side. He murdered, he raped, he became everything Tethaya despised. The two gods fought over him like a children’s play thing. He was blessed, he was cursed.”
Sonja yawned. “That sure is a lovely story, but how is it going to help us find the Eternity Grail?”
Liasbe sighed with annoyance. “Blessed by Tethaya? Cursed by Necrominus?”
“Yes?”
“Were you listening to the story I just told you?”
“Yeah…”
Liasbe grunted with annoyance. “When the gods departed our realm, they left things, parts of themselves. While Vulitnin was not truly a god, he most likely disappeared with the gods. This Eternity Grail may be what is left of him.”
“So how do we find it?”
“I don’t know,” Liasbe said. “If it is a part of Vulitnin, however, it might be best to remain hidden. Especially if the intention is to hand it to our enemies.”
Sonja rubbed at her face, annoyed. “Then what do you think we should do?”
“You know,” Liasbe said, sitting up and leaning towards Sonja, “you and I aren’t all that different?” The professor’s tone had suddenly changed.
“What?”
She seductively pulled one side of her lab coat down. “You know what I mean,” she said, batting her eyelids.
“WHAT?”
Liasbe removed her lab coat, fortunately beneath that she wore a black singlet and leggings.
“I should go!” Sonja leapt up and made for the entrance.
“Your loss!” Liasbe yelled, her condescending tone returning.
Sonja dashed into the hallway and began racing towards Zimmerman’s lab. Well, she thought she did. Instead, she spent about half an hour guessing incorrect directions until she saw Rak and Volk—escorted by Garron Zimmerman—returning from their meeting with Professor Formidor.
“You alright, Captain?” Volk asked.
“It’s this way?” Sonja pointed down one of the corridors and looked at Garron. “Right?”
“Almost,” Garron said, grabbing her by the shoulders and twisting her around one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. “This way.”
“You right?” Rak repeated Volk’s question.
“Yeah…” Sonja shook her head. “But I’d be happy if I never see that woman again!”
Garron coughed, attempting to hold back a chuckle.
Rak grunted. “That bad?”
Sonja shuddered. “She just told me some old religious story.”
“Ah, the story of Vulitnin no doubt,” Volk said, correct.
“Yeah, you’ve heard that one?”
“Folk who worship Tethaya love that story, especially women.” Volk paused. “Women who have been scorned. Pretty standard religious knowledge.”
“A load of nonsense, I’ll forget it soon enough,” Sonja said. She tapped her forehead. “This is full of monster slaying knowledge. No room for any of that silly science or religion.”
Volk and Garron both scoffed. Rak laughed.
“Everything has its place,” Garron said.
“How about you lot?” Sonja asked. “Any luck with Professor Formidor?”
“No,” Volk answered. “Formidor was quite angered at the fact people group Necrominus and horrors together. He had no real idea about the Eternity Grail, and thinks that the Brothers of Eternity staying outside the Holtur walls was a bit odd. He said it wouldn’t surprise him if horrors swept through them, and thin out their numbers for us!”
“That would be helpful!” Sonja laughed.
“So what do we do now?” Volk asked. “We can’t ignore this issue and we can’t defeat these men, even if horrors do run them through!”
“We need to find the Eternity Grail,” Sonja said. “Let's split up for the remainder of the sun and try to find information on the thing. It’s supposedly linked to those two gods, Necrominus and Tethaya, keep that in mind.”
“Yes, Captain,” they both said.
“We’ll meet u
p at first sun at the north wall, report to Commander Maver, then hopefully we’ll have a plan by then.”
“What about the junior?” Volk asked.
“Leave him with Kallum,” Sonja said, grinning. “The kid might learn something, especially if that thulmlet has another outburst.”
Volk laughed. “Sounds good, Captain. Until next sun.”
Chapter 11: Leech Mystery
Screams.
Sonja sat upright in bed and groaned. After a long sun searching—and finding absolutely no clues—for the Eternity Grail, she sought slumber in her own residence. It was late, and she didn’t want to disturb Kallum or her father. Second moon was already lingering in the sky by the time she had fallen asleep. It hadn’t shifted all that much before someone’s disruptive scream returned her to an awakened state. Throwing her legs out from the covers, she couldn’t help wonder how much sleep she had actually had? Any?
Another scream.
A sigh escaped her lips. Really, Holtur was fortunate. It was mostly safe from attacks once the sun had gone down. The only things that struck were Leeches, or shroud… or possibly men…
Cries.
Had the Brothers of Eternity attacked early? Sonja scrambled for her leathers and furs, strapped her claymore to her back, then prepared herself for whatever had come. She hoped it wasn’t the Brothers of Eternity, but had just as much enthusiasm towards the other possibilities. She burst out from her house.
Sobbing in the streets. It had been leeches.
More screams erupted from up the road. Sonja’s heavy breath swirled into a cloud of mist before her. Would the vile creatures reveal themselves to her? Or would they repeat their usual cowardice and retreat far before she could sink her blade into them?
Some of the townsfolk were mourning in the streets while others were carrying their deceased loved ones to the north square. Leech victims were always brought there; it was a good place for people to show their last respects while not being too far from the crematorium. People were finding their dead far earlier than a usual leech attack. There were also a whole lot more drained corpses—leech victims—than usual.
An old man, dressed far too lightly for the cool air, struggled to carry a drained corpse. It was hard to gauge the age of a leech's victims; they looked all dry, wrinkled, and withered. It was well known that the leeches tended to prefer the sick and elderly. They preferred to feed on people who couldn’t fight back.
“Would you like me to help you?” Sonja asked.
The man’s pale face was lined with wrinkles and sagging around the cheeks, he almost looked like a drained corpse himself! He shook his head in refusal, then continued to struggle. Grievance does odd things to people. She left him to his struggle, but flicked the odd gaze back to make sure the man was alright.
She gasped upon seeing the north square. There were so many leech victims. More than she had ever seen. Had the Brothers of Eternity unleashed this? A man stood in the centre of the square. He awkwardly held a large book along one arm and was furiously scribbling in it.
“What’s going on?” Sonja asked. An idiotic question, but it was more aimed at what the man was doing.
The writing-man paid her no heed. He looked up a few times, then continued his work.
Another man, one holding an inkwell turned to Sonja. “We are recording numbers.”
Sonja stared at him blankly. “What?”
“Leeches have never struck in such quantity before,” the man said. “It is as though they are attacking in waves. Multiple of them.”
“And you haven’t sent anyone to track the creatures down? Did you try to fight them?” Sonja’s face reddened. “At least when everyone is dead, we’ll know how many people we had!”
“Your sarcasm is wasted on me,” the man said. “We are not slayers, but I wish you good fortune if you wish to engage them.”
Sonja growled, turning her back to the man. She noticed people lumbering in droves—from all directions—to deliver their dead. Which way should she venture in order to bag herself a leech? She glanced from street to street, visibly arguing with herself as to which direction to take.
The ink-holding man cleared his throat. “Might I suggest turning your gaze to the sky?”
Sonja slowly tilted her head to the sky. Lit up by second moon were a collection shadowy wisps. They didn’t look like physical beings, more like the smoke from a fire, just darker and condensed to man-sized. “So that’s what a leech looks like?” she said to herself.
The shadow-things were flying back and forth from Holtur; to the direction the Brothers of Eternity had retreated. So, they command leeches? Or were they leeches themselves? Her questions could wait; first she had to find out how to destroy them.
Sonja ran further north. She had to get to the north gate, spy on the Brothers of Eternity, and figure out how they were doing this. This was not right! Caede, as vile as he was, promised three suns before he would attack!
A growl greeted her at the north gate.
“Hello Reizexus, just me!” Sonja said to the large wyvern.
Both alphas were on edge with all that was happening above them. They stood protectively, wings outstretched, with the juvies hiding beneath. Clearly they weren’t fond of leeches either!
After racing up the stairs, she could vaguely make out the Brothers of Eternity’s camp. It was huge, she hadn’t realised it had grown so large. It was probably bigger than Holtur itself! There was fire, a lot of it.
She had to inspect closer. She rummaged with urgency through the command bartisan, found a looking glass, and returned to the wall walk. After bringing it to her eye she released a gasp.
It was chaos. Fire tore through canvas tents and men alike. Archers were firing crazily into the sky. Shadow-things were falling from the sky, attacking the men. They were biting and sucking the fluid from their victim’s bodies. She could only tell as they were leaving behind drained corpses. Those were leeches… but on the ground, they looked… human. They were slaughtering the Brothers of Eternity as well as the people of Holtur.
Overhead she saw flying shadows soaring across Holtur. Whatever these leeches were, they did not discriminate on who they ate. Sonja had always assumed them to be cowardly creatures. Watching them attack the Brothers of Eternity, she realised how wrong she was. Why then, had they never faced off against her?
Leeches were dying as they fought against those men, but for each leech that fell, a dozen—or more—brothers hit the dirt.
Scanning more of the camp, she found a location that the leeches were focusing on. A pair of large command tents, the bases for Caede and Crispin. The two leaders fought with more tenacity than their brothers. The leeches weren’t having any success against them.
Crispin spun and twirled, igniting the sky with brilliant, bright light. It was more than the fire she had seen the man summon, whatever this was, it vaporised the leeches. It turned the shadows to dust! While Caede had no fancy powers, he was fending off several leeches at once. Wielding a pair of shining, silver blades, he was a more than competent warrior. Most of the creatures—despite their human-like form—fought in a primal way; taking turns lashing out at their enemy, biting and clawing. The leech attacks were useless though, it was as though Caede could foresee their strikes and countered with ease.
The leeches crowded around another man. He was walking from the shadows, towards Caede, in his hand a sword. The way he strode was remarkably familiar. He struck his blade towards Caede, which was swiftly parried away. “Rider?” Sonja questioned out loud. He fell into a defensive stance, and it seemed as though his face stared directly towards Sonja. It was Rigst.
Sonja’s heart raced as the two exchanged blows. Rigst had been missing for a month now, but here he was, fighting against Holtur’s enemy. Had he secretly joined the Brothers of Eternity, waiting for a time like this to take advantage Caede? Why didn’t he tell her of his plan? Did he not trust her? Did he think she would have stopped him?
The battle betw
een the brothers and leeches continued, but all that mattered to her was Rigst and Caede. They fought as though evenly matched. When one showed an opening, the other took it, only for the gap to be closed at the last instant. It felt like they continued forever in this evenly matched dance.
Everything slowed down until the instant time paused. The moment when Caede’s blade ran through Rigst’s belly. Sonja felt the inability to breathe. She had finally found Rigst, only to see the man die. That brutal bastard followed up with another swipe, one that would detach Rigst’s head from his body. Shadowy smoke erupted around him, and he was pulled away.
Sonja couldn’t see any blood or gore where the fatal blow took place. Had she imagined the whole thing? No, sleep deprived or not, she knew what she saw. “What is going on?” Sonja said out loud with a shake of her head. Even if Rigst had retreated, that strike would bring about his end. A tear ran down Sonja’s cheek, and she slumped to the floor. Is this what Tequidi meant when she said Holtur was cursed?
Shadow-things—those leech-people shadow-things—continued to fly overhead, back and forth between Holtur. If only these leeches were some gruesome, tentacled horror—something she could have pleasure dissecting with her blade—this would all be so much easier. They weren’t. Leeches were people, as were the Brothers of Eternity.
Sonja hauled herself back to her feet, leant against the battlements, and spied on the battle once more. It was the same as before; Caede and Crispin held their ground with ease. Both sides were taking heavy casualties. She noticed more leech-men wielding blades appearing throughout the camp. These creatures fought more proficiently than the others, then returned to a shadowy darkness when taking a mortal blow. Was that death? Or an escape technique? Hopefully the former. Perhaps the leeches and brothers would wipe each other out by sunrise? That would be mighty thoughtful of them!
She continued watching the battle unfold, searching for another sign of Rigst. He was nowhere to be seen. It seemed that both forces planned to bathe in each other's blood until one had been wiped out. However, when second moon fell low, the leeches turned their complete focus from the Brothers of Eternity to Holtur.
The Holtur Curse (The Holtur Trilogy Book 2) Page 13