by Jeff Gunzel
“What if the reports are wrong?” Thatra said, observing the movements of the soldiers up on the wall. She wanted to be sure she knew the moment they saw something. “What if the messages are a fake, a diversion to draw Shadowfen’s attention away from some other threat?”
“Possible,” Liam admitted, tapping the end of his staff against the sandy soil. He wasn’t sure he actually believed that, but it just might be preferable to what they were expecting. “But that would bring a lot of recent events into question. I highly doubt that a—”
His attention drawn away, he looked up at one of the soldiers on the wall. The man was standing on his feet just like the others, but his body leaned at an unnatural angle. His vacant eyes appeared slightly crossed, and his arms swung forward like a wooden puppet suspended by strings. Liam’s blood went cold. “They’re here!” he warned, causing those around him to look about wildly.
The flesh blade holding up the dead soldier retracted back through his gut, sending the corpse tumbling down to the sand below. An instant later, nearly all the soldiers along the top of the wall twitched, their bodies jolting as spear-like objects erupted through their bodies. Like a wave of midnight, black funnels came whirling up onto the wall. Ten…no, twenty. No... They just kept coming, their red eyes clashing against their pale faces as impish grins peered down on the humans.
They were not rumors...
They were not stories...
The lerwicks were here in Shadowfen seeking revenge against the humans, and there was nowhere to run.
“Rank one, take aim!” Liam called out. Loaded crossbows leveled, each soldier aiming more at a specific location than at any particular target. Liam had already drilled them tirelessly on this tactic. Trying to hit such fast-moving targets would be like trying to kill flies with arrows. Blanketing as much area as possible with each wave of projectiles was the only logical approach to deal with such an elusive enemy. “Loose!”
A flurry of hissing bolts ripped the air. Lerwicks on the wall scattered, zipping about to avoid the volley. Shrieking screams rang out like whistles, several grabbing their chests as they fell from the wall. But the vast majority managed to evade the volley, with even more funnels blurring up behind them. Jumping down off the wall, they landed on all fours and hissed like snakes.
“Rank two!” Liam called, raising his hand. A second line of soldiers stepped forward, stepping up past the first wave of men who were reloading as fast as they could. They leveled their crossbows, aiming at the pack gathering near the base of the wall. They were inside the city now, and the margin for error was growing slim. “Loose!”
The sound of snapping wires rang out as the second wave of bolts was released. Whistling towards their intended targets, the grinning creatures seemed to explode from within. Their bodies seemingly ripping apart like shreds of paper, a cascade of black birds burst outward, spiraling in place. Most of the bolts zipped right through the black funnels, thumping harmlessly against the stone wall. But a few snapped right through a bird or two, causing them to burst in a puff of black feathers. When the creatures’ bodies reassembled, some suddenly had unexplainable injuries like a gashed knee or bleeding shoulder.
“Form up!” Liam ordered, knowing that hand-to-hand engagement was now inevitable. He had hoped to thin their numbers more significantly with distanced attacks, but the enemy proved to be too elusive. Soldiers on the front line dropped to one knee, their shields brought down and locked together to form an iron wall. Those behind them stepped forward, dropping down their own shields to protect the heads of the kneeling men.
Liam raised his staff, mumbling a few guttural words before slamming it down into the dirt. The ground seemed to open up at his feet as cracks of bluish white energy radiated outward in a weaving pattern. Twisting in and out, the crackling energy bolts thickened and rose up from the ground. Like live snakes made of pure energy, they spidered their way along the sand.
When the first unlucky lerwick got struck in the chest, he burst into flame before he could scream. Others took direct hits as the living lightning bolts seemed to never miss, seeking out targets and frying them where they stood. Smoking charred bodies dropped dead before they hit the ground, the burned-away flesh on their faces revealing skeletal grins with empty eye sockets. But many more still stood untouched while even more lerwicks were drifting up over the wall. Angered, infuriated by the effectiveness of this inferior enemy’s surprisingly effective attack, the lerwicks charged, rushing towards them with impossible speed.
The wave crashed into the wall of steel, but the soldiers managed to hold their ground. If the line broke, they were all dead. One didn’t need much more motivation than that. Flesh blades lashed out, scraping across steel with an earsplitting screech as sparks and hot chips of metal flared about. With a single command from the back line, all the second-level shields lifted as one. Steel flashed, swords and spears lashing out with animalistic fury. It was little more than a brief flurry of violence before the protective shields dropped back down.
The timed strike was perfect. Nearly the entire front line of lerwicks dropped, necks and chests wide open with mortal wounds. Although they were physically superior in almost every way, they had no real battle experience. Their anger renewed, the next line of lerwicks rushed in with their flesh blades flashing. They saw what the humans did. When those shields rose again, they would be ready this time. They could adapt on the battlefield as necessary. After all, the humans couldn’t hold them off forever.
* * *
“Farewell, my friend,” Xavier said, smoothing his hand down the neck of his horse. “I would not have gotten this far without you. You have served me well.” With that, he smacked it on the rear and sent it galloping back down the mountain trail. With the path becoming too steep and dangerous, the large animal had only become a liability. Xavier could move faster on his own. He sighed as he watched it gallop away. Not only was he thankful for the strong beast’s ability to get him this far, he had also been grateful for the company. In truth, he may very well have confided in that horse more than any other human.
Determined, he kept moving up the path while trying to keep a moderately brisk pace. Even now he still didn’t know exactly where he was going, but this path had to lead somewhere. Once he found out where, he could figure out his next move. With a shiver, he tugged at his cloak, pulling it tight around his neck. It really was much cooler up here.
Having a traveling companion, even if it was just a horse, had helped ease his loneliness on this journey. But now that he was alone without any company to distract him, his thoughts drifted back to the horrible image of those marching lerwicks. He had been so desperate to reach the mountains that he had pushed down the memory. The thought of all those whirling funnels zipping about now gave him the chills. A part of him felt guilty for not pursuing them. It was his sworn duty to defend the realm from any possible danger, but this time his personal agenda had taken priority.
Up ahead, a flicker of movement caught his eye. Darting off the path, Xavier slammed his back against the cliff. It could have been a deer, goat, or nothing at all. But he was not one to take chances. Sliding down his back to settle on one knee, he peeked back around to see if he was just imagining things. Stretching a bit farther to see from a better angle, he winced at the sound of gravel grinding under the ball of his foot. This was not exactly the best terrain for one who was trying to be stealthy.
A second flicker of movement caught his eye, followed by yet another. A pack of mountain deer leaping across the trail, perhaps? But no, they couldn’t be moving that fast. Breathing steadily, he tried to focus on a single spot. Two more blurs flashed across his vision in rapid succession. Whatever they were, they were stealthy as well as fast. Like himself, it was as if they were trying not to be seen.
When a third streaked into his line of sight, it came to a sudden stop and began looking around. This time Xavier got a good look. That pale skin and white hair—even from this distance, Xavier knew ex
actly what he was looking at. With a jerking movement it turned his way, glaring down from up on the mountain trail. And for a fleeting moment their eyes met.
Xavier stood and threw himself back against the cliff. Did it see him? Had he just imagined it was looking right at him? It was possible it could have just been looking anywhere in his general direction. One thing was certain, though. There were more lerwicks than he ever imagined.
Pressed against the cliff, his breaths came in panting shallow bursts. His heart thumped in his ears as he waited, listened. Nothing. After a time he blew out a deep breath he seemed to be holding for an hour. He was safe for now, but this wasn’t the end of it. He knew he needed to track them. Not just because of his sworn duty, but because there was a fairly good chance they might lead him straight to Viola. They were up here for a reason, and the only thing that made any sense to him was—
As pure warrior’s instinct took over, he ducked as a flesh blade flashed from around the corner. Like an axe hitting mud, it sunk deep into the stone just over his head. Dipping his shoulder, he rolled to his left as a second blade crunched down into the trail, missing his back foot by a matter of inches. Blades in hand before he completed the roll, he spun back and flicked his wrist, letting one fly. Light on his feet, the lerwick sidestepped the spinning blade. Watching it tumble past with a whistling hiss, the lerwick ripped his arm free of the stone and growled.
“I don’t want to fight you,” Xavier reasoned, holding his remaining blade up defensively. “We don’t have to be enemies. I know others like you.”
“Not enemies, you say?” the Lerwick mocked in a hissing voice, tilting his head to the side like a curious dog. “But you hate us all. The humans want us dead. Orm’rak says so!”
“Orm’rak?” Xavier repeated. “But he is wrong. You don’t have to—” The lerwick’s arm fired out like a spear. Xavier raised his sword at the last second, deflecting the strike with a shrill clang. The index finger on Xavier’s unarmed hand twitched ever so subtly, and the lerwick’s body jerked, eyes bulging before he toppled forward. Hopping up, Xavier went to retrieve his lost blade from his opponent’s back, then looked around to make sure no others were coming. It was likely the lerwick had simply broken off from his group to pursue him without telling the others. At least, that was what he hoped.
As soon as Xavier was convinced that no more were coming, he wiped his blade on the lerwick’s clothing and slipped it back into his sheath. Looking back up the trail, he could see a few small buildings off in the distance. An outpost? A small village perhaps? Whatever it was, that was likely where the lerwicks were headed. He looked down at the still body and sighed. He didn’t like the idea of killing anyone whose only crime was being confused or misinformed, but he would kill a hundred more if it meant keeping Viola safe. He looked back to the buildings, still seeing flickers of movement flash across the trail. He knew he needed to hurry.
* * *
“...eighteen, nineteen, twenty.” The girl uncovered her eyes and spun away from the wall. The worn dirt roads looked barren and quiet, save for a man hammering a sheet of leather outside his shop. She looked about, hoping to catch some hint of where the other children might be hiding. A fresh footprint, a glimpse of someone’s hair waving from around a corner, anything. But she knew the other kids were too good at this game to make such careless mistakes. With a sigh, she skipped away to begin her search.
“I know your favorite hiding places,” she called out, whipping around the side of a tree. Nothing. But it was true enough. After playing the game for as long as they had, most of the hiding places had become common knowledge to all the children. In a town as small as Haran, there weren’t really all that many options. Still, she was determined to once again exhaust all the options. Perhaps one of the children would surprise her today.
Skipping around the corner of a row of joined homes, she tipped back a wooden barrel to peek inside. Smelling of mildew and full of spider webs, it had been there as long as she could remember. But who knows, maybe one of the kids was hiding in it today. As she suspected, no such luck.
Already growing frustrated, she pushed it back and continued her search. “I know you’re close. I’ll find—” A small rock went skipping past her feet. She watched it hop by, then directed her attention towards the direction it came from. She couldn’t see anyone, but there had to be someone there. “Hello?” she called out, not quite sure why she was feeling anxious.
Moving stiffly, she tiptoed near the back of the last house. Scratching her head, she looked around the familiar space she had seen so many times before. There was really no place to hide over here. Getting a wild idea, she stepped back from the wall and looked up to the roof. Had one of the kids actually climbed up there? If anyone saw that, they could all be in a lot of trouble.
Another stone skipped past her foot, knocking against the side of the house. She whirled back, staring at the border of small white stones. That was where it came from, but there was nothing on the other side of those stones but a steep drop.
Unable to find her voice to call out, she slowly inched her way towards the edge. Horrible thoughts raced through her mind, yet she couldn’t muster the will to move any faster. Had one of her friends fallen over the edge? She pictured one of them hanging on to a root or stone by his fingernails, clawing at the rocks to try and climb back up.
Suddenly, she saw a mop of reddish brown hair rise up over the edge. “Bortoe!” she shrieked, recognizing that thick, unruly bird’s nest anywhere. She broke into a run, determined to help pull her friend back up. Apparently pulling himself up just fine, his head rose up all the way before spilling over and onto the ground. Skidding to a halt, she watched in shocked horror as Bortoe’s head came rolling right up to her toes. With a layer of flaky dry dirt coating his wide-open eyes, his mouth hung open in a silent scream.
Warm urine trickled down her leg. Too terrified to scream, to think, she couldn’t even feel her body from the waist down. “H–Help,” she gasped, an airy whisper she could barely hear herself. Held up by their hair, more heads rose up over the side. She recognized each one, yet they still looked like complete strangers. Expressionless, mouths open, their skin looked waxy and pale. A second splash of warmth dribbled down her legs. When she found the strength to somehow tear her eyes away from the heads of her friends, she got a good look at the creatures holding them. White hair, red eyes, and the grins of demons found only in stories.
With her paralyzing terror turning into a rush of adrenaline, she screamed at the top of her lungs before turning to run. Unable to move a moment ago, she was now unable to stop moving. Shrieking like a whistle as she ran through the town, folks came bursting from their homes to see what was going on.
Creeping up like shifting crabs, the lerwicks climbed up and over the side of the cliff. A single funnel blurred up over the top of them and set down on the gravelly path. Orm’rak melted back into form, his eyes shifting back and forth. The humans were now aware of their presence, and soon the spiritists would be as well. He rubbed his hands together, eager to draw their attention as quickly as possible. Sweeping a finger across the area, he uttered a single word to make his men spring into action. “Feed...” Cackling like imps, driven on by the promise of fresh blood, the crazed beings charged through the sleepy town.
* * *
Spiritists lined the stone platforms just outside the tower. Standing guard, eyes blanketed by a hovering white mist, they remained in constant contact with the spirits that wandered these mountains. Even though the spirits seemed confused as of late, lost, even, they were still the best tool the spiritists had.
One spiritist jumped back, the misty vapor around his eyes disappearing in an instant. Another, then another, did the same as the urgent message came filtering through the bond. The spirits no longer seemed confused. In fact, their warning was coming through crystal clear. The messages were not words so much as they were a series of flashing images and sounds, but there was no mistake. Haran was
under attack.
Half of the spiritists went running inside to warn the others, the other half leapt up onto their raven mounts and took flight. There was no time for delay. Human lives were at stake, lives they’d sworn to protect.
* * *
“Stop that,” Rishima said, pushing back on Bella’s hands with a half-hearted effort. But the brief resistance was short-lived as Bella rolled back on top of her, her lips probing up and down the side of her neck.
“Oh, you want me to stop?” Bella mocked, mumbling into her lover with their open mouths pressed together. She gave Rishima’s tongue a playful bite before pulling back. “Is there something else we should be doing instead?”
“Oh, probably,” Rishima whispered, giving in as she let Bella fall back into her. Fingers tangled in the back of Bella’s hair, she smashed her lips into hers. Eager to devour this girl she loved so much, one of her hands slid down, fingernails raking Bella’s back. With a gasp, Bella flinched briefly, then dove back into her lover with even more passion.
Suddenly, Rishima gasped and her body went stiff. Bella sat up, immediately sensing that something was wrong. “What is it?” Bella asked, concerned as she gently shook Rishima by the shoulders. Rishima’s eyes frosted over, a white, foggy haze that instantly faded away just as fast as it came. In an instant, the sounds of urgent calls and running steps filled the hallway outside the room. The tower had come alive with alarm. “What’s going on?”
Rishima’s eyes snapped back into focus as a look of horror washed over her face. Her face paled, chest heaving. With an obvious effort, she rolled from the bed. “Haran,” she said breathlessly, scrambling to find her clothes. “They are all in danger.”