Sword and Sorceress XXVII

by Unknown

  Gregory looked over sharply. “What?”

  “The Shroud Maiden.” The Warden crossed himself. “This means she’s coming to claim her price.”

  A murmur of fear spread through the Guardsmen. Shada remembered the rough contours of the old bedtime story.

  The Shroud Maiden Lisle, alive beyond death for centuries untold, on rare occasions wakes from her undead slumber and calls at the gates of the world’s great Kingdoms.

  “Get my sister as far from here as you can,” Sienna snapped at Dominic. “As fast as you can.”

  “Princess, I don’t understand.”

  The Shroud Maiden announces her presence by taking the life of a highborn young woman. Lisle’s Mark is a purposeful mutilation: the removal of the eyes. Shortly thereafter Lisle will appear to the Kingdom’s ruler and demand the realm’s firstborn girl child.

  “You don’t need to.” Sienna’s tone turned to ice. “Go now. Don’t let anyone stop you. Shada’s life depends on it.”

  Anxiety rippled across the Hall as Gregory interrogated the Warden. Men drew their weapons. Voices echoed in the high rafters.

  Shada’s breath came too quickly. The Shroud Maiden was just a rubbish tale made to frighten young princesses, but Sienna seemed to credit it, and her sister didn’t fear storybook ghosts and goblins.

  “As you say.” Dominic took Shada’s arm. “Now, your highness.”

  The edge of Shada’s right hand struck Dominic in the throat, sent him gasping to his knees. She had tempered the blow. He would live, but he would be silent for a matter of minutes and wouldn’t touch her again anytime soon.

  Should Lisle be refused, she will slaughter three times thirty female children of the lesser nobility, just as she killed the first.

  Shada pivoted to face her sister. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “You can’t fight her, Shada.” Sienna appeared so tense she looked like she might shatter.

  “The Shroud Maiden?” Shada snorted. “She’s a myth.”

  “That’s what they tell us when we’re young.”

  Scarlet Guardsmen swarmed about Shada, drawing weapons. The ring of blades drew tight as the First Councilor pushed through them. Tall and rail thin, the older man towered over the red-caped guardsmen.

  “This is unfair.” Sienna seethed.

  “It is,” Gregory said. “But the kingdoms that refused the Maiden now lie in ashes, torn apart by rebellion and civil war. Allaria, Karzupel, Riasch, all have ceased to be.”

  Shada vaguely recalled those names from her history studies. Real places, not fairy tales…

  “Our father may not agree.” Sienna stepped between Shada and a dozen swords, but Gregory brushed her aside. His unblinking gaze took in Shada’s torn leathers, her unruly hair, and her stunned Shield, still down on his knees. Shada steeled herself for a verbal thrashing, but Gregory threw his arms around her.

  “Even the wisest ruler cannot be expected to prize the realm above his own child. Your father is three days’ ride from here. He will not be told until the matter is concluded.” Gregory looked Shada in the eye. “The Warden and I will attempt to thwart the Maiden, but if we fail you must yield to her.”

  Shada found herself unable to breathe, unable to comprehend what was happening. If this was true her entire life, everything she ever hoped to be or do, had been taken from her in the blink of eye.

  “The Shroud Maiden is coming.” Sir Gregory raised his voice. “Prepare yourselves.”

  The air grew cooler, as if a door to the sea had been opened, great gouts of fog forming. A flood of ants swarmed over the patterned carpets. Flies darkened the air.

  “There’s no preparing for me, old man.” The girl who stepped out of the thickening mist was physically slight, clad in a tiny, threadbare black dress that had perhaps once been beautiful. Her hair, black as ink, was hacked short. Large, dark eyes dominated an elfin face. Her skin was a strange, lustrous gray, the color of a mollusk. She appeared no older than Shada and held no weapon, but the guardsmen shrank from her nonetheless.

  Shada felt the girl’s power like an oppressive humidity, but she looked so delicate that a single blow might knock her down.

  “How did you get in here?” Gregory demanded. “The Citadel is impregnable to dark magic.”

  “Such powerful wards old men have smeared into your old walls.” The girl’s voice was musical, almost sweet. “So I walked through your large front door.”

  “Our guards—”

  “Are dead.” She fanned both hands, displaying long black talons. “Care to join them?”

  “Your presence blasphemes our Citadel.” The Warden held up a thin, gleaming dagger. “I bear the named blade Angel’s Kiss, which can sear the unlife from the walking corpse you wear like a mask.”

  “I’m always game for a kiss.” A smile spread across the Maiden’s face, making her pretty.

  The Warden charged. Shada’s heartbeat double-timed. Wardens were supposedly the greatest of the Citadel’s soldiers, fearless masters of every martial art.

  The Shroud Maiden turned her gaze on him. Tiny black spiders crawled between her fingers, scuttled up her forearms. Ants and maggots coated the floor at her feet.

  The Warden stopped in his tracks. He screamed, turned, and ran past Shada into the passages. The guardsmen fell back around Gregory.

  Gregory’s face was bathed in sweat. Shada had never seen him show a hint of fear, but he now appeared terrified.

  “I can kill your guardsmen, old man. I can kill you.” Lisle’s whisper carried into every corner of the Hall. “But I’d rather have my princess.”

  Two Scarlet Guardsmen broke and ran. Gregory swallowed hard.

  “Bring the princess to the temple in Aeyple Forest by moonrise.” Lisle strode toward him. “If the moon tops the trees and she is not present, I will return to prune your children by the dozens.”

  Maybe Lisle possessed dark magic and a manicure of doom, but Shada found it hard to believe that she couldn’t kick this wisp of a girl’s teensy ass all the way back to Tartarus.

  “I’ll be there,” she blurted out.

  The Maiden’s black-eyed gaze shifted to Shada. She felt spiders and maggots crawling through her hair, down her back. The urge to run was so strong she had to stamp her feet to hold her ground. But she did. She was not frightened.

  “You?” Lisle stared her up and down. “The clothes. That hair. All the fighting. I don’t want you.” The Maiden’s glare shifted to Sienna. “I require a proper princess. The dark-haired one. Bring her before the moon rises, or bathe in the blood of your daughters.”

  “It will be done,” Gregory muttered.

  Sienna’s her lower lip trembled, and then her Court mask slipped into place.

  “Wait!” Shada shouted, but the Shroud Maiden evaporated into a cloud of buzzing flies.

  An acid mixture of anger and embarrassment churned Shada’s gut. She was first born. If someone had to be given over, it should be her. This was insane. But Gregory had made up his mind and she’d get nowhere arguing with him.

  The way to save her sister was to take the argument to the Maiden. Shada knew the way to the temple. The rough contours of a plan cascaded through her head.

  All eyes were on Sienna as Shada backed toward the entrance to the passages. Only Dominic, still down on his knees, saw her go. He tried to cry out, but hadn’t recovered from her blow.

  In silence, Shada slipped away.

  #

  From her perch in the trees beside the ruined temple, Shada watched the red-caped horsemen arrive. The first of them surveyed the collapsed walls and overgrown standing stones, undoubtedly noting the same potential avenues of attack and escape Shada had cataloged when she first arrived.

  Two more riders flanked Sienna. Her dress was black and simple, her face blank as she approached the temple. Sienna’s mastery at keeping emotion from her face usually annoyed Shada no end, but tonight she found herself grinding well-chewed fingernails into her palms, imagining th
e terror her sister must be hiding.

  A cool autumn breeze ruffled still-green leaves, whistled through the standing stones. Shadows cast by the ruins stretched long across the grassy outcropping. Night was falling, and then the moon would rise.

  Shada was ready, having arrived an hour before. She’d tied her mount deep in the forest and stripped off her sword, boots, and leathers. In her charcoal fencing tights she was able to climb quickly and quietly through the dense trees. Once the sun set she’d be virtually invisible.

  And then she’d take out the Shroud Maiden.

  Shada waited, silent and still, as the guardsmen made camp beside the ruins, as the sky darkened to thick cobalt and then a brilliant, star-specked black. Then she descended from branch to branch and leapt to the ground. She strode carefully, silently, as she had been taught, passing over leaf and twig as softly as the evening breeze, the ground cool and hard beneath her stocking feet.

  The campfire blazed through the trees. Shada was looping around it, intending to take up a position on the far side of the temple, when she heard a footfall close by. She stopped dead, barely breathing.

  “Turn around slowly, Princess.”

  She barely recognized Dominic in a black peasant’s cloak. He was stealthy for his size, clever enough to put aside the gaudy trappings of his rank. Perhaps she had underestimated him.

  “Will you face the Shroud Maiden without armor?” Shada ignored the sword directed at her heart and focused on his dark, wounded eyes.

  “I’m not here for Lisle,” Dominic said. “You’re coming back with me, Shada.”

  He said her name like a curse. Her escape from the Citadel had no doubt made him look foolish. But she couldn’t let his pride cause Sienna’s death.

  She offered what she hoped was a distractingly sultry smile. “You missed me, my Shield?”

  Shada twisted past the blade and chopped at his wrist, at the same time throwing a sidekick into his ribs. Dominic dropped the sword but managed to dodge the brunt of her blow.

  Shada half-turned into another kick. He blocked it with his forearm and nearly grabbed her ankle.

  She sprung backwards, putting a few feet between them. He’d almost taken her down. Her muscles twitched in the thrilling anticipation of a real fight. But she had to deal with him quickly. Dominic was a faster and smarter hand-to-hand fighter than she’d imagined, so maybe there was another way.

  “You’re not bad,” Shada said. “Help me save my sister.”

  “I’m returning you to the Citadel.” Dominic’s face colored. “If that requires beating you senseless, so be it.”

  He lunged forward. Shada dodged two big, fast blows, either one of which would have put her on the ground. She had apparently really annoyed her Shield.

  She spun about and threw a footsword kick at his head. He blocked it and chopped at her leg. She twisted away and dropped into a crouch. They faced each other, both breathing hard, both looking for an opening. Dominic was really good.

  Silver light glistened between the trees. The moon was rising.

  “You’ve succeeded in getting in my way. You’ve got real grit.” Shada relaxed her stance just a touch. “So you’re going to help me.”

  “Even if you free Sienna,” Dominic said, “Lisle will kill your father’s subjects.”

  Shada knew it all too well. “That’s why I have to kill her.”

  Dominic circled her tight, trying to force an opening. “It’s my understanding that the Shroud Maiden is already dead.”

  “I didn’t say it would be easy.” Shada turned with him, her eyes on his hands, ready to jump.

  “It’s impossible.”

  “Difficult.” Shada slipped the dagger from her sleeve. “Not impossible.”

  He stopped dead. “You didn’t…”

  “Steal Angel’s Kiss from a drooling and terrified Warden?” The blade glowed silver. “It would have been stupid to ride this far without a way to kill the Maiden. In case you didn’t notice before, I was only pretending to be stupid.”

  Dominic stared at the dagger. “If it’s really possible to destroy Lisle…”

  “Then your orders are wrong.” Shada was surprised at the heat with which she spat the words. “Lisle terrified Gregory. Frightened people make poor decisions.”

  Dominic relaxed his guard. He was listening.

  “Together, we can kill the Shroud Maiden.” Shada took a deep breath and swallowed her pride. “Dominic, I’m sorry. I’ve been unforgivably unserious with you but I am a serious girl.”

  “The Maiden mortifies all who look upon her.” He unclenched his fists. “The Warden ran from her. If you fail and Lisle survives…”

  “The Warden was afraid.” Shada held Dominic’s gaze. “I’m not.”

  #

  Heads turned and steel flashed as Dominic walked Shada to the fire. Her wrists appeared to be twined behind her back. He kept a hand locked around her arm, Angel’s Kiss slipped invisibly up her sleeve. The silver moon lurked just below the treetops.

  “Got her,” Dominic grunted.

  “Bravo,” Alaric slid his blade back in its scabbard. Shada knew all three of the Guardsmen. Castor stood behind Alaric, knife in hand. Beside him Theo held Sienna, her hands bound. As if Sienna would run from this.

  Sienna glared at Shada. “Whatever you’re planning, just don’t.”

  Panic shot through Shada’s body like lightning in the bloodstream. She hadn’t the art to keep it from her face.

  The guardsmen looked to Dominic, hands dropping to their weapons.

  “Shada’s bound and disarmed.” Dominic sounded bored. “What’s she going to do, bite someone?”

  At his tone the others relaxed. Shada looked away from her sister, the truth of her intent plain between them.

  Silver light rippled across the broken stone of the temple and reflected in Sienna’s dark eyes. The moon shimmered above the treetops. Shada felt a change in the air, smelled honey and jasmine. Snatches of melody, harp and lute, whispered in the breeze. Color appeared among the temple stones, pink and purple, azure and yellow.

  The splashes of color bloomed into dresses, long and sumptuous ball gowns. The girls wearing them sat at a long table visible just inside the temple entrance, sipping tea and nibbling at biscuits. Hair and ribbons and jewelry shimmered in the moonlight.

  Sienna and the soldiers gasped. Shada concentrated on Angel’s Kiss, cool against her skin. She was armed for whatever sorcery the Maiden could throw at her.

  These must be the princesses that Lisle had collected. More of them appeared behind Alaric, Castor, and Theo, as if they’d simply soaked out of the moonlight.

  The Shroud Maiden stepped from the shadows, a glittering dress of midnight coiled about her slim frame. Bone white ribbons twisted in her hair, pewter rings encircling her neck, wrists, and ankles. Shada’s skin tingled. The combination of magic and a Court tea party was almost more nightmare than she could handle.

  Theo pushed Sienna toward the Maiden.

  Lisle’s black-painted lips broke into a smile. A tiny spider, wet with spittle, climbed out of the side of her mouth.

  Shada again felt the crawling unease Lisle had conjured in Kings Hall. The silver-dappled darkness was alive with movement, spiders and serpents, worms and maggots. She fought down the urge to get as far away from the Maiden as possible.

  Theo and Castor threw down their swords and ran. Alaric and Dominic looked like they were thinking about it.

  The Shroud Maiden traced Sienna’s lips with a black nail. “You’ll do nicely.”

  Sienna’s face was blank, but the tears on her cheek glistened in the moonlight.

  “I’m firstborn,” Shada said, her voice not nearly as strong as she’d hoped. “Deal with me.”

  “The princess in motley has come to rescue her sister.” Lisle turned, clicking her talons together. “How exciting.”

  Cottony furls of cloud passed below the moon, blocking its silver light. Shadows crept across the ruins. Where they t
ouched the princesses’ dresses, colors faded and fabric frayed. In shadow, the girls’ radiant skin turned gray and corrupted, revealing pockets of white bone.

  A hard knot of fear formed in Shada’s stomach. The princesses were wights, walking corpses that were said to be nearly impossible to kill. The head had to be severed from the body or the brain destroyed. She wasn’t facing a single undead monster, but a dozen.

  She forced the thought away. If she allowed herself to feel fear she was lost.

  The dead girl standing behind Alaric lunged, her teeth fastening on his throat. He tried to draw his blade, but three more wights joined her, bearing him to the ground.

  Dominic held two princesses at swordspoint, but others flanked him. In a moment he’d be surrounded. He locked eyes with Shada and ran into the woods.

  Shada flicked her wrist and Angel’s Kiss slipped into her palm. She darted between the wights. She was nearly close enough to strike when Lisle turned, opening her black eyes wide.

  Shada nearly screamed. Ants and spiders were crawling all over her. She hesitated in her attack and a hand of bone grasped her wrist, wrenching her arm backwards. She pivoted and kicked out at a taffeta-gowned princess. Ribs snapped, but the grip only tightened.

  Bony fingers closed around her left arm. The wights pulled in opposite directions. Blunt pain halted Shada’s momentum. She tried to throw her weight left and then right, but the hands holding her were astonishingly strong.

  Shada howled in frustration. Dominic and the other Guardsmen were gone. Alaric was dead on the ground, gowned princesses hungrily stripping the flesh from his bones.

  “Filthy thing.” Lisle plucked Angel’s Kiss from Shada’s numb fingers and threw it into the weeds. “Time to die, princess in motley.”

  The dead girls holding Shada pulled her arms wide to either side. She gasped at the pain and set her feet, trying to angle her body to minimize the force on her shoulders.

  “Wait.” Shada’s mind raced. “I can help you.”

  “You will,” Lisle purred. “I’m sure your flesh will prove both delicious and nourishing.”

  “I’m heir to the throne.” The burning pain between Shada’s shoulders grew worse. She gasped in a mouthful of air. “I can get you…whatever you want.”