Guards Vestige

by Alexander Adams

  This couldn’t be real. There was no way he’d stumbled onto a gathering of Disciples. Right under the Dragon Guard’s nose. But there it was. It couldn’t be any clearer. The woman was obviously in great danger, but as much as he wanted to get her out of there, he knew there was no way to do it with so many cultists in the room. That alone might have been one of the most shocking things to him, the sheer number of them. He knew there were Disciples in Edaren, that there were hundreds, if not more, of them across the nation. But he never thought he would see this many in one place, especially in Vigil.

  The man behind the altar started to speak in a language Daniel didn’t understand. He strained his ears and caught a few words he recognized, such as Cadent, Verhova, and several other old-tongue words he’d heard before from Claudia but didn’t know the meaning of. The figure then withdrew a jagged, wicked-looking sword from beneath his robe and raised it above his head. He spoke a few more words before pointing the tip at the woman’s stomach. The figure paused for what seemed like a lifetime before he released the blade.

  But it didn’t fall. It seemed to hover motionless above her as the man lifted his arms and spoke several more words in a rising tone and pace. Suddenly the man stopped, allowing both silence and the sword to hang in the air. Daniel watched with a sick fascination. It was magic. The man let the silence persist for a moment longer before with a swift motion he dropped his arms. The blade followed suit with unholy speed and buried itself into the woman’s chest. Daniel turned away and had to take a moment to compose himself before he was able to turn back. The man had removed the blade and was letting the blood drip off the tip and onto her forehead.

  Beneath him, Daniel heard a door open. The crowd parted as two more hooded figures approached the altar, each holding a long, iron rod attached to a collar worn by a large, grey wolf. The animal had clearly been beaten and abused to the point of being mindlessly rabid. It snapped and snarled at everything around it and foamed at the mouth as they led it to the altar. It was quite strong, as the two cultists struggled to keep a grip on the bars that held it in check. What purpose did the wolf serve? Only when it was closer to the light did Daniel see that painted along the animal’s sides were more runes and symbols similar to the one on the woman’s forehead.

  Several more Disciples stepped up and gripped the iron bars along with the other the two. Now with two people on each of the rods they were able to reach the altar and lift the wolf by the neck so that it hung there, kicking, growling, and howling, from the iron collar. Then they slowly lifted it over the woman. The apparent leader lifted his sword again. Daniel turned away before he saw the end result and glanced from one side of the balcony to the other. There were two paths out of the room, the way he had come and another open doorway to his right. He made his way to the doorway, keeping low and away from the light and edge of the balcony.

  He went through. Once he was away from the ritual room, he stood and quickened his pace. He had only gone a few steps before he heard the woman scream along with the wolf. The two sounds didn’t seem right. They didn’t seem separate. The screams continued for several moments. Underneath the sound he barely heard the man chanting again. He had to find the little girl. That was what he had to focus on right now. He had to ignore what was happening to her mother behind him. He couldn’t do anything for her. But he had no idea how he was going to find the daughter or if something had already happened to her. He was suddenly overcome with a feeling of uselessness. What if she had been the first one to be used in a ritual or something worse? He would be down here for nothing, and at the moment he didn’t even have an escape plan.

  Daniel pushed that thought out of his mind and focused on the task before him. One thing at a time. He thought as he moved deeper into the poorly lit tunnel. Every door he tried was locked. When he put his ear to them, he heard no sound within. He would have picked the locks but he didn’t have his tools. Even if he had, he didn’t have the time to open every door. He was on the verge of giving up until he placed his ear to one door. The sound within was so quiet that he almost missed it. He had to hold his breath to ensure it wasn’t just his imagination as he pressed harder against the wood. Someone was crying.

  It had to be the girl. He tried the handle even though he knew it was locked. He needed a key and he had no idea where it would be or if he had time to find it. Daniel gritted his teeth. Even though his mind screamed at him not to, he turned and kept going down the passage. If he couldn’t find the key, maybe he could find something else that would help him open the lock. He tried door after door. Some were unlocked, but when he did a quick search of the rooms behind them he came up empty. The whole time he heard high-pitched screams and wailing echoing behind him.

  None of it sounded like the woman or the wolf. It sounded like something else. He knew he’d heard it before but his fear fogged his mind and he couldn’t place it. Every scream sent chills down his spine. It made him sick to know what was happening behind him and that he couldn’t stop it. He found another door unlocked and stepped inside. It appeared to be an apothecary shop, much like the one in the keep. There were tables against the wall and plants he recognized that grew only in the dark, like shadow bloom and tomb root. A quick scan failed to reveal any key or something he could pick the lock with.

  But what Daniel did see intrigued him. On the table closest to the door was a small pile of dark red powder atop a cloth square. He grabbed a pinch with his fingers and smelled it. Flash powder. The trainees had been shown a sample after Robin and the rest had left to ensure if they ever saw any outside of Dragon Guard hands they would know it right away. To find it here meant the Disciples were making it. There was only a small amount here, but who knew how much they had made and where else they might be keeping it. As he looked at the substance, an idea started to form. It was a foolish idea, but it was the best he had at the moment, and he had no time to come up with a better one.

  Daniel wrapped the powder in the square of cloth and ran back to the door where he’d heard the girl. He knelt and carefully poured powder into the lock until about half of it was gone. Then he tightly wrapped the rest in the cloth and jammed it in as well, leaving a corner sticking out. He went further down the tunnel again into one of the unlocked rooms he’d investigated earlier. Like several of the others, this one had been lined with beds. He cut a strip from one of the blankets with his sword, then lit the cloth in a nearby brazier and ran back to the rigged door before it burned away.

  He spoke into wood: “Get away from the door!”

  Daniel then took a deep breath and lit the small corner poking out of the lock. As soon as the cloth caught and held its flame, he sprinted away. He didn’t know how long it would take for it to reach the flash powder or how fast the reaction would be, but he knew he wanted to be out of the way when it did. He only hoped the girl had heard and heeded his warning. The biggest problem with his plan was the noise. If the Disciples heard it—and there was no way they wouldn’t—they would come in full force. Without knowing if the tunnel led to a way out, he could be trapped. He should have scouted the end of the tunnel first. Now it was too late.

  Daniel dove into another room. Immediately after he was through the doorway, a bright flash lit the area and a loud explosion echoed off the empty tunnel walls. He rushed back and found that the door now sat ajar, its lock warped and the wood splintered and broken. He threw it open and found the girl with her hands tied behind her back and her face streaked with tears. Her green eyes were etched in fear as he approached her.

  He knelt to cut her bonds. “It’s okay,” he said. “I’m going to get you out of here. Just stay close to me.”

  She nodded hesitantly and he helped her to her feet. They ran out the door and started sprinting down the tunnel as fast as they could. If there wasn’t a way out at the end, they weren’t going to escape. Behind him he heard shouting and the echo of dozens of footsteps coming toward them. They were moving too sl
owly, so he picked up the girl and carried her. Their pace improved, but they were still going to be caught if he didn’t find a way out.

  Ahead of Daniel, the tunnel split in two directions. Without time to consider, he chose the right side. He sprinted through the dim tunnel, passing countless closed passages. Behind him, he heard a long, drawn-out howl. It sounded familiar yet foreign. He was sure he had heard it before. He glanced behind him and saw Disciples were following close behind. When he turned back, he felt his gut twist. The tunnel opened into an annex of several branch-offs, all blocked by iron gates. He skidded to a stop in the open space and turned to try the nearest gate. It was locked, as was the next and the next.

  They were trapped. They were in a dead end below the city with no way to make it back to the surface. He’d never felt this much pure fear in his life, not when he’d been face to face with a satlis, not even when he’d been threatened by the valgret with his brother at the Arrow. Daniel didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t skilled enough to fend off that many Disciples. He wasn’t sure he could take even one. He had the girl to protect but no way to do so. The bars were too close together for her to slip through. Even if she could, it would only delay her fate. He wasn’t even questioning what would happen now.

  Daniel turned back to the tunnel and saw the Disciples lining along the entry with swords drawn, the lower half of their faces were hidden by a white mask while their eyes were shadowed by the drawn hoods. At the center of their line was the man that had been behind the altar.

  “Shade take you, ranger. Always sticking your noses in places they don’t belong.” The man spoke with calmness that unnerved Daniel. He said nothing in response as he reached behind his back and with a trembling hand gripped his sword.

  The man noticed the unease Daniel showed. “You’re not a ranger . . . you’re just a trainee.” He started to laugh. “Of course a novice would find us through mere happenstance and sloppy work while the veterans remain none the wiser!” He turned to face the Disciples behind him. “Search the rest of the tunnels. Ensure he’s the only one down here.”

  Several of them ran back the way they’d come as the man stepped forward. Then he stopped. He looked from Daniel to the girl, then back again before sheathing his sword.

  “I think,” the man said, “that this is a prime chance to give the new blood a chance to prove itself.”

  He stepped back and motioned for the Disciples to stand aside as he made his way through them. He disappeared behind them all and continued down the tunnel until he was out of sight. The new blood . . . did he mean a new cultist? No, he said to prove itself. That was an unusual word and Daniel didn’t think it was unintentional. He watched every one of the robed men in front of him but none made a move to step forward. Behind them, he saw movement down the tunnel, coming closer. The man returned with something following him. It was hunched over, low to the ground, walking on all fours. It stumbled as it went. After each trip, the man yanked on an iron bar he held in his hand. They came into focus as they stepped into better light. Daniel didn’t understand. How was that here? Why was it here?

  The valgret was covered in grey fur that seemed to be falling off in patches as it walked. Its eyes looked confused, darting everywhere to take in its surroundings. Its sides were covered in runes and markings that matched the one etched into its skin on its forehead. Every step seemed unsure. It tripped over its own feet and fell to the ground with a whimper. The man kicked it in the side of the head. It didn’t react to the blow the way Daniel expected it would. It didn’t snarl or growl. Instead, it cowered, like a dog scolded by its master.

  The man motioned to one of the other Disciples. The cultist stepped over and undid the collar around the neck of the valgret before taking the bar and backing out of the way. The valgret seemed unsure at its new freedom. It took a step forward before looking to the man as if asking permission to continue. The man made no motion to it and instead watched Daniel and the girl.

  “You don’t understand, do you?” He said it more as a fact than a question. He read Daniel’s face before proceeding. “You saw us at the altar. You saw the woman, you saw the wolf. You saw the runes and you heard the screams.”

  Daniel felt himself getting weaker, his fear plaguing his body as he tried to say something, do something, anything. The man was right. He saw and heard it all. He knew they connected to the beast in front of him but he didn’t understand how.

  The man kicked the valgret toward Daniel. “Kill him.”

  The valgret looked at Daniel and then at the man before taking another step into the annex. Daniel managed to draw his sword out of pure adrenaline and terror as the animal, the monster, looked at him.

  “Kill him!” the man shouted at the valgret.

  The valgret leapt through the air at an awkward angle. Daniel instinctively grabbed the girl behind him and threw her out of the way as the valgret collided with him, sending them both to the ground. The valgret rolled over and past Daniel. It quickly regained its footing and started after Daniel again.

  Daniel rolled to the side as it leapt to where he’d been a moment earlier. He scrambled to his feet and took a practiced stance as his encoded training took over. When the valgret lunged for him again, he ducked low and darted under its arm, dragging his sword along its side as he did so. The creature howled in pain. It skidded to a stop on the ground, gripped the sides of its head, and screamed. It began writhing and rocking back and forth. The Disciples made no move to intervene and simply watched. Daniel chose to strike while it was distracted and went to drive his sword into its back, but when he got closer it lashed out with an arm, making him backpedal. He wasn’t sure what to do. It was unpredictable. If he tried to get close it would simply strike out again and it had no pattern, no method to it that he could exploit. It was purely irrational at the moment.

  But then it stopped. Its hands fell to the floor and it seemed to stare at the ground absentmindedly. It then lifted its head and looked at Daniel. His eyes widened at what he saw. Its eyes were different. They weren’t the eyes of a valgret. They were an emerald green. They were human. They matched the eyes of the little girl. Its mouth opened and a croak escaped. Tears started pouring from its eyes as its lower jaw quivered.

  Then words came, stuttering and strained. “H-help m-me.”

  Suddenly it screamed again and slammed closed fists against its own head. It leaned forward and howled at the ground until it started bashing its forehead into the stones beneath it. Daniel was frozen. He had no idea how to respond to what he was seeing. But it stopped just as quickly as it began. The valgret stopped assaulting itself and sat in place without moving. The hulking monster then rose and stood on all fours again. It looked at Daniel again. Its eyes were still emerald green, still human. It took several slow and careful steps toward Daniel. He wanted to move. He didn’t know what was about to happen. But he couldn’t make himself move. His body wouldn’t listen to him.

  It came face to face with him and reached for his sword. He couldn’t keep his grip on it as the valgret gripped it by the blade, then turned it around to hold it by the hilt. It took several unsteady steps back and turned its eyes towards the ceiling as it lifted the blade to its own throat, just below its jawbone. Then it ran the edge deep and long across it. It fell to the ground in a heap and sat unmoving. Thick, nearly black blood ran out of its neck and pooled on the ground around it. Daniel couldn’t look away. He watched as the pool grew ever larger, wetting the fur that still fell from its body, reminding Daniel of the patches of fur he’d seen on the valgret at the river.

  The Disciple leader stepped over to the corpse and kicked the blade away from it. “A shame, it showed promise.”

  Daniel still couldn’t look away from the valgret’s eyes as the blood finally started to slow.

  The man strode over to Daniel. He was far taller. Somehow Daniel managed to peel his eyes away from the corpse and up to the man�
�s eyes.

  “You know nothing of the forces at work here and beyond, you are merely dust to be wiped away by the Left Hand,” the Disciple said.

  With that last word, Daniel felt something tighten in his chest. It was a pressing weight that made breathing difficult, nearly impossible. He hunched over. He felt light headed and his vision started to blur at the edges. He also felt cold, as if there was ice in his lungs. Every breath he managed to take was accompanied by the worst and most intense, stinging pain he’d ever felt. He fell to his knees while clutching his chest and managed to crane his neck upwards to see the man’s face. His eyes were black. There was no reflection in them. They were completely devoid of color and humanity. Daniel felt his heart getting weaker as his vision went nearly black.

  “Avus Dalton!” A voice shouted from the tunnel.

  Suddenly, the feeling in Daniel’s chest subsided and the blackness of the man’s eyes retreated outward from his iris revealing them to be a light lime color. Daniel took deep, wonderful, warm breaths as his vision cleared.

  The man looked to the voice in the crowd of watching Disciples. “What?”

  One of them ran forward and knelt before him. His robes were spattered with blood and there was a large gash across his shoulder. “Lord Avus,” the kneeling man said. “There are a number of Dragon Guards sweeping the tunnels. They are nearly upon us.”

  Dalton sighed and withdrew a ring of keys from beneath his robe. He strode over to one of the gates and calmly unlocked it. “We’re leaving,” he said. Every Disciple still in the room started for the door and disappeared on the other side. Dalton strode over to Daniel and knelt down to look him in the eye. “Enjoy your days in the light, novice,” he said. “There won’t be many left.”

  Dalton made his way to the gate. With one last look at Daniel and a glance at the little girl who sat in the corner, her knees up to her face, he stepped through and closed it behind him with a resounding clang.