The Innkeeper's Son

by Jeremy Brooks

  Prianhe heard him and regarded the half-man with disdain. “Silence, you filthy maggot!” he spat.

  Baneur glared back at him virulently.

  Prianhe motioned to the legion of soldiers waiting at the top of the rise. “As you can see you are surrounded. We have fifteen trivals with us as well. The King wants you alive, Bale. You and the boy.” Then Priahne got right in Farrus’ face and snarled, “Personally, I hope you resist.”

  Suddenly Farrus shoved Prianhe hard, sending him flying back several feet. Corsia went for his weapon, but Givara was faster. She threw a dagger that hit Corsia squarely in the throat. The officer went down in a heap of blood, clutching with his last seconds of life to the handle of the blade that killed him.

  Quinn took care of the trivals. Two hands formed of earth and rock erupted from the ground behind each of the cloaked figures and crushed them, horses and all, in a vicious grip. Their bodies were pulled back into the ground as the fists returned to the land leaving a circle of loose, torn dirt.

  Sim was suddenly thrown back. He crashed through the wooden railing that lined the porch. It knocked the wind out of him, and his back exploded in pain.

  Lying amongst the splintered shards of railing, he looked up and saw the legion of soldiers barreling down the rise. Givara and Farrus engaged Priahne, each attacking with a practiced coordination that drove him back. He saw Quinn and Roswell Gracin tossed aside through the air. As he struggled to stand, he locked eyes with Baneur Deuseau. The half-man dashed at Nehrea and grabbed her by the arm.

  “Sim!” Nehrea cried out, desperately.

  For a moment their eyes locked.

  “This whore is mine,” Baneur hissed triumphantly. Then they disappeared.

  “NEHREA!” Sim screamed, stumbling off of the porch and falling awkwardly to the ground. He crawled on hand and knee to the spot where she had stood only a moment ago.

  “NO!” he cried out to the sky. Anger turned his hands into fists. The fragile hold he kept on what remained of his rationality dissolved. He thought of his parent's murder, the trevloc handler who had sacrificed her future, and of the men he had killed needlessly. All of his pain came crashing down, turning his mind into a torrent of rage.

  He fought his way to his feet and looked upon the scene before him. The advancing soldiers were less than a minute away from overtaking them. Quinn created as many hands made of earth as he could, but at best he was only taking down two or three men at a time. Enaya was thrusting out her hands, sending blasts of wind to divert the fireballs sent from the trivals moving down the rise.

  A ball of fire that Enaya had been unable to stop struck the side of the cabin, spraying wood in a hale around them. Sim reached for his swords but stopped.

  “Not with steel,” he gritted under his breath. It would be useless. If they were going to survive the day, he needed to be true to his heritage. He needed to be a Harven.

  He gripped the gem around his neck, then closed his eyes and let his mind go. Instinct took over, guiding his hands as he reached them out to either side. A force began to grow inside of him, stoked by the fires of his fury. It built to a crescendo that made his whole body shake. Behind him the earth rumbled, a swiftly developing sound that halted the advancing assault and made everyone pause.

  The water in the lake started to rise like rain from the ground pouring into the sky. In a matter of seconds over half of the basin was empty, and the water just hovered in the air above the trees. The soldiers coming down the rise pointed and stared at the massive bubble of water suspended in the sky. Then Sim raised his arms and threw the water forward. Like a tidal wave it crashed into the ground at the feet of the dazed horde and sent nearly every man back up the hill to a watery grave.

  When he opened his eyes as last, most of the threat had been destroyed. The water had washed back over the rise, decimating the legion, leaving hundreds of puddles across the land. Perhaps fifty men remained, confused and shaken by the sudden show of force. Sim didn’t see a single black hooded figure anywhere nearby. From the corner of his eye he caught sight of Enaya staring at him in utter astonishment. Farrus and Givara had also paused their assault on Prianhe to suspend their own disbelief.

  Then high-wailed shrieks of dozens of beasts cracked the temporary calm. Over his shoulder Sim witnessed giant serpents emerging from what was left of the Water Woods. Some of the beasts slithered low to the ground on four legs, with elongated jaws and long spiked tails. Others had as many as eight legs with forearms that ended in sharp fearsome pincers or spikes. From the top of the rise, the same creatures came clamoring down the hill wildly provoked by the sudden destruction of their habitat. They looked for anything that moved, and in moments everyone was fighting for their lives.

  Two of the beasts with pincers barreled down on Sim. He pulled out one of his swords and prepared for the attack. He dodged to his right as one of the pincers just missed taking off his head. Sim rolled beneath the creature and struck at its legs with his sword. Its body was made of a hard exoskeleton, so when he landed a blow it compacted the shell like a broken egg.

  Injured, the monster flailed its pincers about wildly, retreating backward. The second beast moved to grab Sim from behind. With no time to counter the attack, Sim’s instincts came through once more. A web of air solidified around him. The claw was halted only inches from his chest, unable to break Sim’s defense.

  An earthen hand suddenly exploded from the ground towering high above the creature before reaching down and snapping the thing like a twig. Yellow slime shot out as its innards released and pasted the ground.

  Sim took a deep breath then quickly nodded his gratitude toward Quinn. The scarred old man returned the thanks, then went to work protecting the group from the onslaught of amphibious beasts.

  A sudden cry of pain drew Sim’s attention. Prianhe, who deftly wielded two swords, had caught Givara through the shoulder. The silver-haired guardian fell to her side, clutching her arm. Farrus was quick to attack Prianhe to keep him from finishing Givara off.

  Enaya ran to her side and quickly attempted to heal her as Quinn rushed over and placed himself between the women and Priahne.

  The chaos that ruled had tipped the scales in their favor. There were dozens of the lake creatures devouring soldiers at the tip of the rise. All of the Imperial force that was left was either fighting for their own lives or attempting escape. For a fleeting moment Sim started to believe that they had a chance.

  He was easily dispatching one of the four-legged monsters, peppering it with quick jabs until it backed off, when he noticed Farrus desperately fighting for his life. Prianhe's incessant attack was so overwhelming that Farrus could no longer defend himself. As Sim took a step to come to his friend's defense, Farrus fell back and Prianhe buried a sword into his chest.

  Sim cried out as Farrus clutched the blood stained blade. Prianhe sneered wickedly and twisted the sword, delighting in watching the life bleed away from Farrus.

  The scene from Sim’s vision suddenly came rushing back. A heavy downpour on a seaside cliff. Prianhe running his sword through his chest. Without thought, as though another consciousness was at work, Sim’s hand went to his gem. The image of that rainy cliff hung in him mind like a painting. He felt a power building deep inside. As it grew incrementally stronger, Sim felt a rushing of air all around. An explosion ripped across the land, and all Sim heard before everything went black was a crack of thunder that could have leveled a mountain.

  When he came to, everything had changed. He was lying in a bed of tall grass, assailed by a driving wind. The cabin was gone. Rain poured down from heavy black clouds. Flashes of lighting lit the sky, and thunder deafened his ears. The ocean swelled and crashed against the rocks hundreds of feet below a cliff that ran along the coast for as far as the eye could see.

  Sim sat up slowly and looked around. Nausea churned in his stomach. Quinn, Enaya and Givara were all on their backs slowly trying to sit up. Several of the amphibious creatures from the Water Wo
ods shrieked and clamored about even more agitated than before. There were at least a dozen Imperial soldiers trying to stand. Two were quickly taken in the grip of a clawed beast. They barely had a chance to scream before they were savagely ripped apart and eaten.

  Farrus lay still on the ground several yards away with a broad sword protruding lethally from his chest. Prianhe was on his hands and knees, vomiting harshly, before he stood and reached for the weapon he’d used to kill Farrus. Planting his boot firmly on Farrus’ chest, he pulled the sword free and crudely licked the blood off of the blade. Then his maleficent yellow eyes fell on Sim.

  Suddenly Givara attacked him from behind, but Prianhe easily caught her assault. Givara steered the attack away from Farrus, driving Prianhe toward the cliff’s edge. Enaya quickly went to Farrus, dropping to her knees and throwing her power for healing into his dying body.

  Sim was about to aid Givara in her fight with Prianhe when one of the four legged creatures attacked Enaya. He ran to her and dove at the creature, driving his sword through its open jaw. It still crashed into Enaya, throwing her back. Sim used his second sword to impale the creature through its scaly back.

  Enaya gave him a grateful look then quickly went back to Farrus. Sim pulled his swords out of the carcass. As he turned toward Givara, his eyes caught sight of someone running into the fray from the north. He blinked away the driving rain that blurred his vision, and stared in disbelief. It was Maehril.

  *******************************************************************

  The voice spoke so suddenly Maehril nearly forgot to listen. She was watching the approach of the Imperial soldiers, fearing that the end was near. Mueller was a good swordsman, and Jerron certainly fought with courage, but seven against two were grim odds.

  Sim arrives from the south. Save him.

  Maehril was startled to hear her brother’s name. She turned and looked to the south expecting to see Sim standing there.

  Then a blast of thunder so loud and powerful that it shook the land suddenly emanated from the south. Maehril was thrown to the ground. When she looked up it was as if a nightmare had suddenly come to life. Hideous creatures shrieked and flailed about in an agitated frenzy. There were at least a dozen Imperial soldiers slowly pulling themselves up off of the ground amidst the fury. Some were killed immediately, rapaciously torn apart limb from limb and consumed. Others gathered together with their swords drawn in a desperate effort to survive.

  Further down she saw Sim getting to his feet. A body lay on the ground nearby, with a sword protruding from its chest like a flag pole. A man with black skin and a face that resembled a wolf, stood and crudely pulled the sword from that body. He was quickly attacked by a tall, slender woman with short silver hair. Then Maehril saw Lady Relador run and fall beside the body on the ground. Though the driving rain made it hard to see, Maehril suddenly realized that the body lying still was Farrus.

  Maehril forgot about exhaustion. She disregarded the horrific monsters that stood in her way. She ran to Farrus. She ran as fast as she could.

  Jerron, Mueller and Cano all called her name, but she had no time for them. There was no time to explain. She had to save Farrus.

  Nightmarish creatures were all around. From the left, a massive clawed pincer reached for her. She ducked beneath as it narrowly missed, then saw Jerron’s axe cleave through its arm. Mueller sprinted up beside her, taking another one down with a few well-aimed blows to one of the creature's eight legs.

  “What in heaven’s name are ya doing, girl?” Cano yelled.

  She spared her friend a glance, but she had no time to explain and couldn’t have anyway.

  Two monsters with long squat bodies that dragged the ground faced her ahead, cutting off her path to Farrus. She held up, looking for a way around, when the earth erupted behind the beasts and formed into a towering hand. The earthen hand reached down and grabbed one of the monsters, then crushed it. The second creature was quickly set upon by Mueller and Jerron.

  “Maehril?” she heard Sim’s voice.

  He stood beside Farrus’ limp body staring at her in disbelief. It was the first time she had seen him since Dell was attacked, and she could not contain the sudden rush of joy. She ran and crashed into him, hugging him as tightly as her arms would allow. Sim overcame his surprise and wrapped her up in his arms, picking her up off the ground.

  “You’re my sister,” he said. “Why didn’t they tell me?”

  Maehril pulled back and kissed his cheek. There was so much they needed to discuss, but it would have to wait. She looked down at Farrus. The grizzled old guardsman lay on his back with his eyes closed. She could tell immediately that he was nearly dead. There was no time.

  She sank to her knees beside Farrus and grabbed Enaya’s hand.

  ******************************************************************

  Without understanding why, Sim knew that Maehril could save Farrus. There was nothing he could do, so he turned his attention to Prianhe and Givara. The outlook was grim.

  Givara was fighting with only her right arm. The left was hanging limply by her body, covered in blood. Her face was wounded and bleeding, and she was limping badly from a number of gashes on her legs.

  An earthen hand suddenly reached up from the ground to crush Prianhe, but the clever monomach spun out of the way. A few Imperial soldiers arrived and prepared to give Prianhe assistance. Two of the men that had come with Maehril charged into the fray, just as the group reached Givara. One of the men bore a close resemblance to Farrus and fought as capably. With the help of the fat young boy, who viciously swung a battle axe, they kept Givara alive.

  Quinn came to Givara’s side. Sim could see that the old man was weak. He was hunched forward at the side, holding his ribs with decidedly labored breathing. Prianhe attacked him, and all Quinn could muster in defense was to throw a small hail of earth. It barely impeded Prianhe at all.

  Sim raced with both swords in hand to save Quinn. He was too late. Prianhe tried to strike a blow at Givara, but Quinn dove in front and took the sword through his stomach. Something that looked like gratitude flashed in Quinn’s one good eye as he sank down to the ground.

  Sim aimed a strike at Prianhe’s head, but it was easily slapped aside. Then Prianhe spun to face him, and the two men circled each other defensively.

  “You can’t be serious, boy,” Prianhe laughed. “Do you even know how to use a sword?”

  Sim looked straight into his yellow eyes and grinned. Farrus had told him once that the biggest mistake you could make in a sword duel was to underestimate your opponent.

  Givara stumbled toward Prianhe, but Sim stopped her.

  “No, Givara. Enaya needs you to watch her back. Prianhe is mine.” Then Sim pointed his sword at Prianhe and growled, “You have much to answer for.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I kill some of your friends?” Prianhe seemed to be having fun. It only made Sim angrier.

  “You killed Farrus and Quinn,” Sim said, snapping a quick jab at his kidney.

  Prianhe easily slapped the strike away and smiled. “Don’t forget about your friend Hisha, back in Carleton. I ate her heart.” Sim struck again, but it was defended. “Now I’m going to kill you. You’ve caused me a lot of trouble, boy. Too much trouble. I’m going to rip out your heart and feast on it.”

  “You're welcome to try,” Sim sneered.

  Then Priahne struck. The sudden speed astounded Sim and caught him off guard. He was driven back and forced to defend. Blow after blow, Sim frantically parried. He managed to fend off the first onslaught coming away with a few small cuts on his arms.

  Prianhe took a step back and regarded Sim with some consideration. “You’ve been well trained, boy. Was it Farrushaw?”

  “He taught me everything he knows,” Sim replied with pride.

  “And there he lies dead,” Prianhe pointed the tip of his sword at Farrus’s body. Sim spared a quick look and saw Enaya throwing flames and Givara feebly swiping with her sword as o
ne of the creatures from the Water Woods attacked. The old man with gills was waving his dagger at another beast as he tried to protect Maehril. “If he was your teacher, boy, then what chance do you have?”

  Sim broke into a brutal attack. He struck at Prianhe with everything he had. Every farfetched imaginary scenario he’d ever conjured when he had practiced in the barn as a boy came rushing out. He hit Prianhe with vicious combinations, leaving no room for a counterstrike. Prianhe was retreating under Sim’s aggression, simply trying to outlast the barrage. Sim noticed the edge of the cliff only a few more feet to Priahne’s back. He increased the intensity of the assault, driving him back until Prianhe’s foot reached back and slid over the edge. He fell over the cliff with a cry of disbelief.

  Sim fell to his knees and dropped his swords. He struggled to catch his breath. Prianhe’s dead, he told himself over and over in amazement. I beat him. He thought of the vision he had that first time that he saw Navan Prianhe. He was supposed to die. His visions were never wrong.

  Taking his swords, Sim stood up and peered over the edge of the cliff. He searched the rocks at the bottom for some sign of a body, but it was too dark. One of Prianhe’s swords was there at the edge. Sim picked it up and examined the blade. It was perfect. The weight, balance, and the razor sharp edges were all perfectly crafted. He considered taking it to replace one of his own swords, but he realized with bitterness that its blade was stained with Farrus and Quinn’s blood.

  “Never,” he spat and threw the blade down in disgust.

  Things hadn’t improved for his friends. Maehril was unable to work on Farrus because they were now surrounded by creatures. The swordsman and the kid with the axe were fending them back with wild swings of their weapons. Enaya continued to throw fire as well, but her flame was feeble and getting weaker.