The Holtur Curse (The Holtur Trilogy Book 2)

by Cameron Wayne Smith

Behind her, Sonja heard Knoch roar as Ellard and Hechond groaned, the sound was followed by a heavy grinding that vibrated through the floor. They had redecorated the room to place a thick, grey, stone bookshelf in the doorway.

  “That should keep ‘em out!” Knoch dusted his hands.

  “Brace it,” Zeilgen said. “We’ve got a lot of their dead in here; if they can get in, they will.”

  “Ansgren’s prepubescent aspiration was to become an intramural embellisher!” Ansgren joked.

  A chorus of laughter alleviated the tension of their predicament. The slayers piled chairs and tables against the door. A few moments later, the clawing and scratching began.

  “Windows?” Sonja asked, glaring at Bevan

  “None on the bottom floor,” Bevan answered. “Another reason I suggested the Pinksohn residence!”

  Sonja braced herself against the thuds against the barricade. “Good one Junior!”

  “Top floor?” Rak asked.

  Bevan tilted his head. “One window, why?”

  “The shroud can climb!” Knoch yelled, charging towards the stairs.

  “Rak, with me,” Sonja yelled, chasing after Knoch. “The rest of you, hold the barricade!”

  “Bedroom!” Bevan yelled.

  Sonja raced up the stairs towards the bedroom. It was odd that Junior knew that minor detail, but she wasn’t going to question his intimate understanding of the residence right now. Knoch was already looking at the bedroom window. It wasn’t all that large, but it also lacked much of a covering. The shroud could break through with ease.

  “Bed!” Sonja yelled.

  “Now?” Knoch tilted his head.

  Knoch wasn’t the brightest of slayers, but at least he could lift—or smash—heavy things. “Smash off the bed legs,” Sonja said, unsheathing her claymore. “Then we’ll place the bed up against the window.”

  “The legs are made of stone,” Rak said.

  Sonja glanced at the topside; the head and foot boards would be easy enough to remove, but the shroud would have no issues tearing through the mattress and possibly cracking through the stone frame. Taking out the legs would give a barrier of stone, and even if the shroud cracked it, there would be a cushion of mattress on their side instead. “Smash them anyway!” It was the best chance they had.

  Knoch’s club found itself repeatedly pounding a front leg, while the side of Sonja’s blade and butt of Rak’s crossbow began to strike at the rear ones. Knoch’s corner collapsed to the ground with a thud, and he scrambled over the bed to the other side.

  “Break, damn you!” Sonja cursed. It turned out that swords weren’t so great at shattering stone.

  Knoch’s next corner fell. He ran to the leg Sonja had been working on, striking it with his large, heavy club. After a few hard whacks it shattered, sending the third corner down.

  “Good thing we’ve got Knoch here,” Rak said, stepping back from the leg he had failed to crush. Knoch finished it off with relative ease.

  Sonja glanced out the window. “The fog is rising!” Wisps of fog flickered into view.

  Blankets and pillows fell as the three of them lifted the bed onto its side and maneuvered it towards the window. The stone underside found itself up against the glass a moment before it shattered. Sonja and Rak braced themselves up against the mattress as Knoch began hauling a stone drawer across the room.

  The shroud pushed, shoved, and scratched at the stone bed frame. It became apparent the horrors weren’t natural climbers, their strength and force was considerably weaker than when they were well grounded. The floor squealed as Knoch slid the drawer between Rak and Sonja.

  Sonja released a deep sigh. “We should be safe.”

  “For now,” Knoch mumbled. “They got to Kaarm, Lauf, Rahlman, and… what was that south gate slayer’s name?”

  “Lambert Gluvum,” Sonja said horsely, her eyes focused on the floor.

  “Lambert…” Knoch exhaled deeply, then drew a heavy breath through an open mouth. “We could have died these moons too.”

  “No,” Rak disagreed. “No one should have died.”

  Sonja cleared her throat. “Caede, Crispin, and any surviving Brothers of Eternity will pay for this.” She gently placed a hand on each of the slayers’ shoulder. “But these moons, we must wait. Next sun, the hunt is on for those fuckers.”

  Chapter 17: Father's Tavern

  Sonja shuddered, propping herself back up after almost falling asleep again. The shroud had lashed out at the Pinksohn residence—without any success—for what must have been an entire moon. After barricading up the house they had retreated into, Sonja found herself overwhelmed with a wave of drowsiness. She wouldn’t let herself sleep though, not yet. The shroud could return at any moment. Even once the sun rises, she would need to organise for the shroud corpses to be moved to the Bristrunstium. Then there’d be the matter of dealing with the recent deaths.

  It was never easy dealing with a slayer’s death, especially when Sonja had been nearby, able to stop it if she had acted quicker. The lives lost from the betrayal of Caede in the Hacknebel ate away at her, but it was the death of Commander Maver that truly worried her. Without a commander, Holtur had no one to manage its defences. Sure, Sonja was captain of the north gate, and Clovis captain of the south, but they were nothing compared to Commander Maver.

  “Captain, wake up.” Rak gently shook her by the shoulders. She must have nodded off again. She really didn’t want to be doing that. “Sun’s up.” He pointed to the window, the bed frame had been moved and streaks of early sunlight pierced through the high clouds.

  Sonja climbed to her feet, her tired body argued against the decision with aches all over and a throbbing head. A sound like a bear being strangled in the corner confirmed Knoch had also fallen into slumber. How had she drifted off with that in the background?

  “Shit…” Sonja stretched her neck to the side, cracking it with a sigh. She blinked a few times, then opened her eyes wide. “We’ve got a lot of shit to fix this sun…”

  Rak lit up a cigarette, then nodded to Knoch. “Want me to wake him?”

  Sonja breathed in deeply. “Not yet, let’s see if these Pinksohn’s drink coffee first. I think we could all use some.”

  Holding his cigarette between his lips, Rak nodded, then followed Sonja down the stairs.

  In the living room—the room which housed the heavily barricaded front door—slayers were sprawled out all over the floor. If it wasn’t for the roaring of a snoring concerto, Sonja would have been worried. After noticing Bevan with one arm wrapped around Ansgren—like he was a soft-toy—and his thumb in his mouth, she realised that maybe she should be a little worried.

  “Shit!” Sonja’s jaw dropped as she walked into the kitchen. Above the bench was a long, thin window facing out of Holtur directly towards the nearby mountains. The window wasn’t big, but easily offering enough space for a shroud to clamber through.

  Rak spat his cigarette across the room as he burst out with laughter. “Guess we got lucky!”

  “Yeah…” Sonja muttered. If the shroud had been on the other side of this building, she probably wouldn’t be wishing for coffee right now. “Volk said the fog’s main body was south of town. I guess what came back for us didn’t want to venture too far from it.”

  After some rummaging through the kitchen cupboards, Rak managed to find a container of what passed as coffee. The hearth was stone cold and the water had been sitting for a while. The beverage Sonja concocted tasted bitterly rancid and gritty, but it had a caffeine kick and that was the most important thing.

  “Not half bad!” After downing his cup, Rak twisted his face like he had bitten into a lemon.

  Sonja then brought a bucket of the stuff into the living room, some of the slayers had shifted their position, slightly, but most hadn’t budged. “Congratulations, you survived a set of completely fucked up moons!” The sound of her voice made slayers began to stir. “I’m glad you all got some rest, but the sun is rising, and we have a lot
to do.”

  Ansgren stuck his elbow into Bevan’s ribs as he woke, forcing the junior’s eyes wide open with a gasp. Ellard almost did a backflip upon opening his eyes to the dead gaze of the shroud corpse beside him. Hechond began gathering his collection of weapons, concealing them back beneath his coat after he’d put it on. Zeilgen stood up, confidently, as though the previous moons hadn’t drained him as much as the others.

  “Coffee with wake up?” Zeilgen dipped a cup into the brew. “Thanks, Captain.” He knocked his head back, taking in the gritty, cold beverage.

  “It’s been a long and difficult watch,” Sonja said. “Rak, you can wake Knoch up now.”

  Rak nodded and started up the stairs.

  “You remember what happened to the Commander?” Sonja quietly asked Zeilgen. The words gained a wide eyed Hechond’s attention too.

  “Yes…”

  “We need a new commander…” Sonja whispered, still, it seemed that everyone had heard. The slayers froze in position, all eyes upon her.

  Sonja wasn’t sure what to say next, but the room was quiet and awaiting her words. Heavy footsteps stomped down the stairs, followed by a monstrous yawn from Knoch.

  “What’d I miss?” Rak asked upon seeing the still group.

  “Commander Maver…” Zeilgen said horsely. “He didn’t make it.

  “You don’t know that!” Bevan exclaimed.

  “I saw it,” Sonja said. “At the very beginning of that battle. Crispin summoned some kind of force… you all witnessed his control of fire. I couldn’t stop it.”

  “Predicaments aren’t fortuitous at this juncture,” Ansgren said. “Without a commander, that bequeaths Captain Sonja as Ansgren’s sovereign slayer.”

  “You’re our commander now,” Rak said.

  “No…” Sonja closed her eyes, placing her hands out before her. “I am no good at the role. My recent time in the position with Commander Maver’s illness proved that.”

  “I believe in you, Captain,” Zeilgen said. “Holtur didn’t fall during that time. You’re more than up for the task at hand.”

  “Not as good as you would be, Zeilgen,” Sonja said. The other slayers all went quiet, watching and listening intently. “Commander Maver had his eye on you beforehand, to take my role if I was to fall. Over the last moons I challenged his belief by putting you in charge of some men in the Hacknebel. You did an exceptional job, better than I could have done on my first shift in a leadership role.”

  “Three men on my team perished!” Zeilgen argued. “Because of me!”

  “Bullshit!” Ellard called out. “Hechond and I survived because of you. We held against Caede and twenty-three of his men.”

  “He’s right,” Hechond confessed. “You read that bastard well. If you hadn’t readied us for that standoff, we all would have died, possibly some of the upper team too.”

  “Would anyone have an issue following Commander Zeilgen Sturicht’s orders?” Sonja asked the slayers. No one responded. “Does everyone think he would make a good leader?”

  The room erupted with positive cheers, something Sonja didn’t expect to hear after moons so grim.

  “I don’t know…” Zeilgen shook his head. “I’m no Fin Maver…”

  “Don’t compare yourself, you’re a completely different person.” Sonja placed a firm grip on Zeilgen’s shoulder. “There’s a lot of shit that needs to get done this sun. I understand what I’m suggesting might seem overwhelming, but the slayers here support the idea, and we need a leader.”

  Zeilgen took a deep breath then looked over the slayers around him. They were nodding their heads enthusiastically. Smiles breaking through the dreaded emotions left from horrendous events.

  “I’ll help carry your burden until you settle into it,” Sonja said.

  “As will I, Commander Sturicht!” Hechond stood up and nodded.

  One by one, the slayers all stood, repeating Hechond’s words. Even Ansgren didn’t try to sound fancy on this occasion, simply replacing the ‘I’ for his name.

  “Alright… Well, slayers, we have a busy sun ahead of us.” Zeilgen looked around the men before him. “Ansgren, Junior, I want you two to organise the moving of the shroud to the Bristrunstium, then the cleaning and repair of the street. Knoch and Rak, move through the town and search for any surviving Brothers of Eternity. We need to find the last of those bastards and make them pay! While you are on the lookout, ensure the townsfolk that they are safe from the shroud, and that the slayers will do all we can to stop any future attacks.”

  The four slayers nodded, then began dragging the large bookcase from the door. Sonja nodded to the new commander, impressed with how easily he filled the role.

  “Ellard, I want you back with the south gate as soon as possible. No one leaves through that gate unless you know exactly who they are. Unknown persons are to be detained until their identity can be proven as not one of the Brothers of Eternity. Only to be released by myself, Sonja, or after we capture Caede and Crispin.”

  Ellard nodded. “Yes, Commander Sturicht!” The door was now free of obstruction and he jogged out into the open.

  “Captain Bluwahlt,” Zeilgen said, his eyes narrowing on Sonja. “Find out where those bastards went! If they have escaped Holtur, you are to lead a team after them. You’re also in charge of tracking down Professor Formidor. I don’t know why the Brothers of Eternity took him, but the sooner we can find out why the better.”

  Sonja bowed slightly. “Yes, Commander. You’re a natural, you know that, right?”

  “We’ll see…” Zeilgen smirked then released a sigh. “I’ll keep Hechond with me. Report in at the bartisan by mid-sun.”

  “I’ll see you at mid-sun,” Sonja said, then trod off into the early sunlight.

  ***

  Sonja was surprised to discover that Holtur hadn’t been hit as hard as she had expected. Well, apart from the north wall and a few streets connected to it. It seemed the Brothers of Eternity were too busy fleeing from the fog to partake in looting or taking advantage of the town’s women.

  The theft of goods had sort of gone backwards; littering the streets were weapons and armour, all the stuff too heavy for the shroud to consume. All traces of bodies and everything held within—apart from the odd smear of blood caught between stone cobbles—had been swept away by the fog. Sonja doubted the town would ever have appreciated the presence of the shroud, but it had been a very unique set of moons.

  After failing to find any trace of Caede, Crispin, Wilbart, or any surviving Brothers of Eternity within the town, Sonja decided to check in on her father. The presence of Raithia coiled up outside the residence took away her worry. Heat emanated from the impressive wyvern, and the girth of her slender neck bulged with each breath.

  “Happy sun, Raithia,” Sonja said to the sleeping wyvern. She wasn’t sure why she said that, it wasn’t a happy sun. It could have been worse, but it wasn’t happy.

  Raithia offered a throaty grunt as she uncoiled her neck and focused her yellow eyes on Sonja. Raithia nodded towards the door, released a huff, then snaked her head back underneath her wings.

  “Get some sleep, you’ve earnt it.” Sonja placed a hand on the wyvern’s red, scaly tail. It twitched, then released a deep purring gargle. She then ran her hand down the tail towards the tip as she approached the front door. Raithia seemed to appreciate the affection, a bit like a domesticated dog. Sonja was really warming up to the creature, perhaps she’d even take one in for herself one sun.

  The door wasn’t locked, not surprising given the creature guarding it! Sonja entered, quietly closing the door, and walking down to the kitchen. Her father was there, resting his head on the bench table where he sat.

  “Father?” Sonja asked.

  Kaine jerked his head up. Strands of messy, grey hair fell about his face, but that didn’t stop Sonja seeing his eyes and smile grow wide upon seeing her. “You’re alright!”

  “You really didn’t think a few smart-mouthed men or fog-bound horrors w
ould get me, did you?”

  “No, of course not,” Kaine chuckled. “Tequidi said she left you in a dire situation. If she hadn’t brought Kallum back with her, I would have asked why she left you.”

  “She helped us, a lot! If it wasn’t for her, I would have lost more slayers.” Sonja omitted the fact she would have been shroud food; it was never worth worrying her father more than required. “How is she? How is Kallum?”

  “They’re fine, resting. How about you?”

  “I’m fine. A little tired, but fine.”

  “Be sure and get some rest, daughter,” Kaine stood up from the bench and made his way to the hearth. “I can’t imagine what you have witnessed over the last moons.”

  “Definitely saw more than I had expected.” Sonja wanted to say she saw Rigst, but even now she wasn’t sure what to make of that. She wished she understood what he was.

  “Tequidi said that you wiped out those Brothers of Eternity!”

  “Most of them.”

  “Shit!” Kaine almost dropped the iron he was using to stoke the fire. “She said there was quite a lot of them, more than the population of Holtur.”

  “There was.”

  “Shit!”

  “I need to keep moving, lots to do,” Sonja said. “I just wanted to make sure you and Kallum were alright first.”

  “Of course, back to your slayer duties.”

  “Thanks,” Sonja turned back towards the front door.

  “Oh, Sonja, if it’s not too much hassle, come have dinner with us when you’re off duty.”

  Sonja was pretty tired, wanting nothing more than to get a good moon or two of rest, but she never let her family down. “I’ll see you later then.” A good meal wouldn’t go astray either!

  ***

  Reporting back to the north gate, Sonja found the wall repairs well underway. Slayers where busily scampering to and fro, operating well above what she expected given the circumstances. In a corner—presumably untouched by the damage—Reizexus was coiled up. Around him were the juvies, asleep and exhausted from their output during the moons.