The Fallen

by R. L. Drummond

  Jenko shared a glance with Tellan before he answered bravely, “We need a connection.” Orchid laughed at the audacity of his blunt request, but still he persevered, “We can’t organise something ourselves and watch Reya at the same time; but we have to be away as soon as we can. Time is a luxury we don’t have.”

  Orchid looked upon Jenko’s face for some time, her own an expressionless mask as she thought on a response. As much a she was sympathetic to Reya’s predicament, she was angered that Jenko would be bold enough to ask for a favour that could potentially cost her more than mere money; especially considering he was already in her debt.

  Jenko sat back in his chair and as he watched the obvious reticence in Orchid’s face, he endeavoured winsomely with his habitual wry cheekiness, “We’ve already established I’m in your debt, Orchid. What’s a little more added to the pile?”

  Orchid’s eyes flashed in mild disapproval of Jenko’s humour, “And we’ve also already established that I run a brothel. Smuggling is your game, Jenko, not mine; what you’re asking could endanger my business.”

  “More so than black market medical supplies?” Jenko retorted smoothly.

  “Please, Orchid.” Tellan abruptly interrupted what he instinctually felt was the beginnings of an outright refusal and his low murmur bade Orchid’s eyes to meet his worried gaze, “I can’t stress how important it is that we get Reya somewhere hidden, quickly and quietly. This man won’t stop until he’s found her and we can’t run forever.”

  Jenko’s face remained carefully neutral when he realised Tellan hadn’t used their enemy’s name and astutely kept his mouth shut as he looked upon Orchid’s reluctantly thoughtful expression. And when the madam’s eyes dropped suddenly, Jenko knew Tellan’s heartfelt words had reached their mark.

  “There’s a patron that visits the Flowering Garden often; a captain of the Surian Merchant fleet by the name of Gaelan.” She began reluctantly and with a tip of her head, she continued, “Luckily for you he happens to be in port within the next week. Perhaps he and I can come to a mutually beneficial agreement.”

  “A week…” Tellan murmured disappointedly.

  “I don’t have Jenko’s contacts, or the girls to spare in finding his own.” Orchid replied directly to Tellan, but her eyes were sympathetic when she finished, “I’m sorry, Tellan. It’s the best I can offer.”

  “And it’s better than what we started with. Thank you, Orchid.” Jenko accepted with a nod of genuine gratitude, knowing that if Orchid said this was her best offer of aid, then it truly was. He knew himself that the madam held the brothel and its girls before everything else; Reya’s dimmed Light must have made quite an impression.

  Orchid nodded once in recognition of his respect for her word. “Very well.” She stated and stood with the clear indication that all business had been concluded, “The invitation to stay the night still stands, of course, however I must ask that you find alternative arrangements in the morning. I have a business to run, after all and as much as I am sympathetic to Reya’s cause, I won’t have the Flowering Garden jeopardised further than it already is.”

  Tellan and Jenko stood together slowly and with a deep bow that Jenko couldn’t help but roll his eyes at, Tellan said, “Thank you for your generosity, Orchid. This won’t be forgotten, I assure you.”

  Orchid smiled in genuine approval then, her ruby lips shining as brightly as her striking eyes. “They don’t make them like you any more, do they?” She asked in amusement of his honourable manner.

  “Not for a long time.” Jenko muttered under his breath.

  “Please,” Orchid began as she reached out for Tellan’s bicep and as she entwined her arm with his, she gently led him away from the table, “allow me to extend you my warmest welcome into the Flowering Garden. Lily has prepared a room for you and any comforts you may desire are at your fingertips, all you need do is ask.”

  “That’s very generous, Orchid.” Jenko said suggestively as he followed the two towards the door.

  Orchid then stopped before the door’s threshold and as she turned with a shrewd smile, she replied pointedly, “I was talking to Tellan. As for you, Jenko, until you pay your not inconsiderable debts, the girls are off limits to you.”

  She then opened the door and an exquisitely shaped eyebrow hiked meaningfully as she added, “Now get out of my room before I have Omus take you up on your other offer.”

  The water swirled delightfully around Reya’s outspread fingers, chasing the heady fragrance of lavender and sage through the twining clouds of steam. She sank into the loving embrace of the seductive heat, deeply breathing the calming aromas of the bath oil as the water caressed her hair. Reya closed her eyes and it felt to her then that if she wanted to, she could simply float away as free as the rose petals that hushed softly on the water’s surface. As freely as the leaves from her favourite tree back home.

  Reya sat up then, her mouth a twist of saddened remembrance; how could she have forgotten her sacred place so easily? She wondered. She splayed her hands along the water once again and watched with sightless eyes at how the suspended bubbles of oil chased between her fingers. She wondered then if her tree would still be there when she got home, if she got home, and with that wonderment came an even more torturous thought: would anything be left of Fieldhaven at all?

  There was a soft knock upon the door then and when Lily entered the bath house with a ceramic tea set in her arms, Reya smiled warmly in greeting. But Lily wasn’t to be fooled by the girl’s attempt at covering her emotions and as she set the tray down on the lip of the generously round bathtub, she perched there as well.

  “Are you alright, Reya?” Lily asked with a soft smile.

  Reya looked up at the exotic features of Lily’s face and even though her mouth formed into the shape of a weak affirmation, her voice sounded out in contrary. “No…I don’t think I’ll ever be alright.”

  Lily sat there in silence as Reya moved her eyes around the bath house. It was truly a little corner of beauteous luxury in Orchid’s private haven, as warm and gentle as her own spirit, and Reya knew it was almost blasphemous of her to not be soothed by its wonders. The entirely of a single wall was covered in a trellis and from it, beautiful flowers of so many different shades and scents bloomed with intoxicating vibrancy. Candles burned richly around the room, casting their soporific glow upon every surface and twinkling softly against the hanging brass brazier that gently puffed jasmine clouds.

  Reya glanced up briefly when Lily reached out and gently pushed away an errant strand of hair from her forehead. But when she saw the dullness of what should have been beautiful violet eyes, Lily slipped from the side of the tub and kneeled behind the girl. Heedless of the wetness of Reya’s skin, Lily wrapped her arms around the girl’s shoulders and sat there, temple against temple, offering what little comfort her embrace could bestow upon her bruised spirit. Reya tentatively placed a hand upon Lily’s clasped ones over her collarbone and accepted the woman’s affection with closed eyes, for she could sense that in spite of how little she knew her, Lily felt an affinity with her.

  When Lily brought her arms away, she picked up an ivory, wide–toothed comb from among the rows of perfumed oils and gently pulled Reya’s hair back from her shoulders. Lily sang softly as she ran the comb through the length of Reya’s hair and, rather than be uncomfortable with how intimate such a moment was with a woman she hardly knew, Reya found herself comforted. She was reminded in that moment of the times when Baldur would brush her hair, such a feminine act for such a powerful man, but only now did Reya realise the significance such a gesture held. She smiled then, happy with the invaluable gift Lily had bestowed upon her unwittingly and the tears that fell from her cheeks were not of woe, but of gratitude that at last she could remember her father in happier times.

  She closed her eyes and with her acceptance of Lily’s attentions came a welcome peace, such a strange sensation within her that Reya felt a little guilty. But Lily swept the guilt away with the cal
ming tones of her lullaby and gentle hands, and the more Reya gave herself to this selfless care, the more she remembered her father. Invaluable memories of gentle embraces by the fire and laughter in the games they used to play resurfaced in her mind; Reya found it astonishing that such loving adoration had been all but replaced by the horrific nature of Baldur’s death. She couldn’t remember the last time she had remembered him as the wonderful father he had been, so entrenched in the anguish of everything that had happened since that day…these new memories broke through the dark clouds of her sadness like rays of sunshine and infused her with blessed peace.

  Gradually the water lost its heat and Reya was so relaxed that she didn’t even register when Lily stood from her place behind her. She gently touched Reya’s shoulder and upon the smiling glance of her violet eyes, Lily held out a soft, white robe to wrap her in. Water cascaded softly as Reya stood, surprised at how unashamed she was in revealing her naked body to a stranger. But the way Lily had sung to her and cared for her made her feel safe and within this striking woman’s eyes, Reya had seen something compelling; a wounded empathy, perhaps. Lily wrapped the robe around Reya’s frame and helped her from the tub, happy in herself that Reya’s face now held a soft serenity that Lily instinctually knew had been absent from her beautiful youth for too long.

  When she opened the door and saw the turning of Tellan, Reya’s eternal guardian, Lily smiled with unbidden surprise at the man’s tireless vigilance. Lily’s heart swelled at the sight of sweet adoration in his face as he reached out silently for his niece and with a soft smile from Reya that spoke so many volumes of her love for him, he brought her close against his chest. Lily escorted the huddled pair towards their room – Omus already stood silently his commanded vigil outside – and when Jenko answered the knock upon the door, Lily almost gasped at the softness in his eyes as he looked lovingly upon the sleepy girl. She gaped when Jenko silently scooped Reya into his arms, taken with how strongly his adoration for her resounded from his face; a characteristic Lily hadn’t thought him capable of before now. He laid Reya gently upon the bed and as soon as he pulled the covers over her, she buried happily into the puffy pillows.

  “Thank you, Lily.” Tellan said in sombre gratitude with his hand upon the door handle and within his tone, Lily realised he meant more than her mistress’s offering of sanctuary.

  “My pleasure, Tellan. She is a wonderful girl.” Lily replied honestly.

  “More than you know.” Tellan murmured seriously and with a last grateful nod, he added, “Goodnight, Lily.”

  “Goodnight.”

  The door clicked softly shut and as she smiled a farewell to Omus still stood by the door, Lily became struck with the instinctual knowledge that in spite of Orchid’s orders, any protection Omus could offer would be entirely superfluous.

  Belial’s champion cast his emotionless, mirror eyes along the sea of faces that churned past him inexorably, his vision sightless from all but his quarry. The people around him swarmed past like thick clouds of insects as he walked through the masses like the herald of death itself, tall and cold in his stance as he passed wonder after wonder unheedingly. Vendors shouted their offers as he walked by, but every word fell on deaf ears as the soldier stalked onward through the bustle of bodies.

  He couldn’t navigate in this mess, his instinct rather than his mind said and as he walked down the nearest alleyway, he cast his dead eyes along the walls of the buildings that clustered the alley tightly. With a power and efficiency that any onlooker would have found disturbingly graceful, Belial’s champion leapt for the ledge of a large paned window and scaled the building’s not inconsiderable height tirelessly. He pulled himself onto his feet atop the tiles that gleamed golden in the dusk light and as he walked towards the absolute edge of the roof, he stood tall and statuesque over the milling crowds of Dahlia like an ominous gargoyle. Mirror eyes gleamed silver in the light as he roamed his gaze among the people and buildings, searching ever tirelessly for his elusive target. The sounds of shouting and fighting came to his ears then and as he swept his predator eyes in its direction, he saw a frenetic cluster of men and women further along the alley.

  Belial’s champion walked further along the rooftop, staring down at the scene below and as he watched on, the cluster of people broke up to reveal a man on his knees, bleeding and begging for his life. But his words fell upon heartless ears, for a rough looking man in filthy and ill–fitting leathers kicked him unforgivingly in the face and he was sent sprawling.

  The men and women surrounding the two jeered and spat upon the fallen man, and upon the seizing of his arms by two of the aggressive thugs, the antagonising man approached again. Belial’s soldier watched impassively from above as the thug forced heavy fists into his prey’s stomach and within the smog of his own disconnected mind, the soldier realised he had found great potential in this gang of thugs.

  The man on his knees was now swaying drunkenly from the damage his attackers had forced upon him and as he looked up through swollen eyes at the figure that had dropped impossibly from the sky, he gasped in relief. The thugs turned as one at the sound the interloper’s sudden arrival caused and as Belial’s champion stood among them with ominous gravity, his shoulders spread powerfully beneath his rusted armour.

  The thugs began to hoot and jeer at this new prey, and like hyenas on the hunt they circled the soldier with aggressive swagger, each of them sketching their eyes across his weaponry and posture threateningly.

  “Look at this flash cunt!” The leader of the thugs drawled through a mouthful of browned and broken teeth to the laughter of his dogs. He then spat upon the ground before Belial’s champion and jeered, “That’s some nice gear you’ve got. Shame about the armour.”

  “Please! Please, help me!” The hurt man cried imploringly, until one of the women promptly kneed him in the face and sent him to the dusty ground once more.

  “Shut it!” She barked and glared daringly at Belial’s champion.

  “Here, look at his eyes.” One of the other thugs remarked as he stared curiously at the soldier.

  “What’s up with him? Is he blind or something?”

  But still Belial’s soldier said nothing, his silver gaze forever burning upon the eyes of the leader and heedless of the prowling thugs.

  “Nah, he’s not blind, he’s touched in the head! Look at him!” Another howling hyena laughed as he pointed at how unflinching Belial’s champion stood. He then swaggered before him and taunted, “Are you a fucking retard, mate? Have you lost your marbles?”

  The others hooted in laughter, but the leader took the soldier’s unwavering, silent attention upon him as a threat and aggressively strode up to him, glaring inches from his face with fruitless intimidation.

  “What the fuck are you staring at?” The thug spat venomously as he barbarically bumped his chest into Belial’s champion.

  “Ooo! Go on, Cutter, beat the shit out of ‘im!” One of the women shouted in dark glee.

  “You think you’re hard as fuck, is that it?” Cutter maintained at a low growl.

  “Yeah! Do ‘im in, Cutter!”

  In a flash of motion that would have been unseen to human eyes, the thug Cutter pulled a wickedly hewn shiv from his waistband and brought it underhand, seeking the small gap between the rusted plates of the soldier’s armour. But the motion emblazoned with such clarity across the eyes of Belial’s champion and with the speed of a striking serpent, he grabbed the offending wrist with a single, powerful hand.

  Before the other thugs could come to Cutter’s aid, Belial’s champion had twisted the thug’s wrist sharply and with the harshness of his angle came the crunching of bones. Cutter’s barked protest became a gurgle of pain around the seizing hand that cruelly gripped his throat and as Belial’s champion brought his face closer into the hideously scarred thug’s, his eyes flashed brightly with a blazing silver light.

  Cutter gasped in fear of those truly inhuman eyes, for within them came a sensation of primal terr
or he had never experienced before, not even when he had been orphaned and left for dead on the streets. In those eyes there was something deeper than the fear of murderers, rapists or slavers…he could see an endless storm of nightmares, born of the terrors of hell itself and he fearfully realised too late that this man was no human. Within that moment screeching horrors began ravaging his mind, raking his sanity with claws formed by murderous torture and his body became assailed with the sensation of endless agony. Tears scalded from the thug’s eyes then, his mouth aquiver in primitive fear and as Belial’s champion cruelly forced the man onto his knees, ever staring into his eyes, Cutter’s followers stood rooted in terror.

  Belial’s champion released the full force of Abyssal Dark that writhed within him and as the absolute horror of Belial’s taint crashed devastatingly upon Cutter’s fragile human soul, the others collapsed onto their knees, or wept in blind terror. The Dark clouded thickly around Belial’s champion in an aura of swallowing blackness, calling forth the foul, screaming horrors of the Abyss. Every mind within the alleyway became flooded with nightmarish images of needle teeth, rending flesh and oceans of blood, unspeakable tortures that pulled at their own maddened souls like feral dogs, and screams howled from every demented mouth.

  Ever drowning in the silver stare of those unblinking eyes, Cutter’s bladder emptied around him as the clawing Dark raped his being, destroying what little humanity his disgustingly tainted soul harboured. The other thugs clutched their heads and keened like wild animals and as Belial’s champion dismissively threw Cutter’s twitching body upon the ground, he turned the full force of his attention upon them. Screams tore the sky as Belial’s Dark cascaded over them with the power of an inescapable avalanche, forcing each of them onto the ground as helplessly as their leader.

  Belial’s champion grunted at the exhausting exertion forcing his Dark into these souls tolled upon him, but when the screams and whimpers finally stopped, he staggered back and gathered himself once more. Silently and without contention, Belial’s newest followers stood as one and watched their new leader with unblinking eyes; the gleam of dull silver beneath the darkness of their pupils a pale imitation of the control the demon prince held over his champion.