by Curtis, Greg
Seeing the beast standing there came as a shock to Harl. But it was more than that. It was somehow wrong. The beast was magnificent. Beautiful and deadly but also glorious. It was also a symbol of all that the Huntress was supposed to be. All that she had been before she had turned her horrific chimera upon people. And now it seemed that he was going to have to fight and kill one before he could kill the traitorous Goddess' servant. That was wrong.
“You! Soldier! Attend to me!”
The High Priestess' voice rang out suddenly, and this time there was a sound of command in it. She was still locked in the cage. Iron chains still held her captive. But despite that she was no prisoner any longer.
Slowly, reluctantly Harl did as he was told, his hand on the hilt of his sword all the way. And as he approached from one side the unicorn approached from the other, coming to stand between him and the High Priestess. Harl understood the message. The High Priestess knew the dark dream that was on his mind. She was determined that it would not come to life.
Soon he was standing perhaps three or four paces from her, his hand still on the hilt to his blade, while the unicorn was just off to his right but positioned neatly between them. And the High Priestess was in the cage still, watching carefully. She knew his heart but did she know his gift? He wondered about that. Her cage had been covered. She had not seen the battle. All she knew was that her enemies had been slain and burnt. Did she guess how? Because if she believed he was just a soldier then there was still a chance.
“Now you have been told lies. You have seen them. But before you stands the symbol of my Lady. Of her magnificence and purity. In her creature you may see the truth. And the truth is that the Huntress did not bring the beasts you claim to Lion's Crest or anywhere else. They are not her creatures, this you know. Hers are the unicorns and the griffins. Not these twisted things.” She pointed to the remains of the manticore. “She would never use such an abomination.”
She was speaking of the past. Things that would once have been true – or that he would have once believed were true – but not any more. The chimera came from her temples. Her priests directed them in their killing.
“You may yet have doubts. But in your heart you know this for the truth. And you have seen the markings of the demoness upon the wrists of the false priests. Your doubts will pass in time.”
Of course from her position in the cage he realised, she could not see the bodies of the fallen priests. She did not know that they were char. That he understood, though not completely why she should imagine that even if they weren't and he had seen the markings she claimed upon them, why he should suddenly absolve her of blame for her crimes. Even the presence of the unicorn could not make him do that.
“Now you may bow your head to the servant of the Goddess so that she may know your truth.”
Harl didn't know whether she meant to herself or the unicorn. But he knew he was never going to do as she asked. So instead of bending his neck he stood there, straight and tall, his hand firmly upon the hilt of his blade. It seemed to annoy her.
“You will not bend your neck as is proper?” There was anger in her voice. Outrage too. As if it was an insult. And he could see that same outrage in her blue eyes. He thought he might even see it in the great dark eyes of the unicorn. And in the way its horn was glowing.
“I will not.”
There was silence for a while after that. Silence as she studied him and decided what to do. He imagined it was no easier a decision for her than it had been for him. She had a powerful ally with her, but she knew he was a powerful warrior. To fight was to gamble. For both of them. Eventually she came to a decision.
“All right soldier with no name. You have the mark upon you of one who has suffered pain. For that and because of your service this day in killing the dark gaolers who have held me for so long, I will allow your slight to pass unanswered. But know that this will not always be the case.”
“You may leave.”
She didn't raise her voice or give a command to her companion, but suddenly the unicorn was standing directly in front of him, horn at the ready, and he knew that a threat was intended. A threat he was uncertain he could face. His knives could possibly kill the beast, but not before it killed him. His armour would not stop its horn from goring him. And with sword in hand he might stand a chance of killing it quickly, but only a chance.
But it was a unicorn. To kill such a magnificent creature would be a crime.
On the other hand if he left she would be free soon. The unicorn would break the locks of the cage that held her and the chains that bound her, and the huntress' servant would be free. Free to cause more harm to innocents. He did not want to die but he did not want that either.
The moment held for what seemed like hours as he tried to decide what to do, and then unexpectedly the decision was taken out of his hands. The horses suddenly whinnied and then took off, and the wagon with the High Priestess was taken with them. He watched her be thrown against the back of her cage as the wagon raced away, while his sword was still in its scabbard and the unicorn was still standing between him and her.
What had happened? Even as he started and stared at the wagon heading off in front of him he wondered, just as he wondered what he should do about it. Push his way past the unicorn somehow and run after her brandishing his weapon?
But just as he thought to do it the wagon veered a little as the horses galloped around the burnt out wagon in front of them, forgetting in their panic that the wagon they were pulling couldn't move so easily. They were horses after all and no one was guiding them. Abruptly the High Priestess' wagon smashed into the front wagon with the sound of wood crashing and splintering, but didn't stop. The High Priestess' wagon was after all the larger one. So instead the front wagon was shunted off the track and into the trees. Then finally when it was far enough away the unicorn gave chase.
All of which left Harl standing there in the road, wondering what he should do. But even as he wondered he knew that there was nothing he could do. He couldn't run faster than the horses. And if he tried there was always a unicorn to face before he got to the High Priestess.
And so he continued to stand there, staring at the wagon as it disappeared into the distance, and wondered if he had just made things better … or even worse?
Eventually he decided there was nothing to do but burn the horns of the manticores and the bodies of the cerberi and then head home. To head home and decide whether he needed to run. And if he did run, where he should run to? Was it time to head all the way out of the five kingdoms?
He only wished he had some answers.
Chapter Six
Erislee was overjoyed when the wagon turned the corner and she unexpectedly caught site of her sister Nyma standing on the track ahead of her. She hadn't seen her since her capture five long years ago. And she hadn't known if she would ever see her again. Or if she would die alone in that cage. Her heart swelled with happiness at the sight of Nyma's smile, even as she slowed the horses to a trot. Even more happiness than when she had finally been freed from the wards that the dark priests had placed on her and she had once again been able to call upon the Goddess. It had been so long! There had been so much darkness and death that for a time she had almost given into despair. Only her bond with Artemis had kept her strong throughout her ordeal. Her faith. But even that had been tested when she could not make contact with the Goddess.
These false priests, demon bonded thralls one and all, had somehow prevented her from speaking with the Huntress. From hearing her words. From knowing her grace. For five long years Erislee had been denied.
But finally she was free! Released from her captivity by an angry warrior. One who had been hunted for a very long time. One who had previously run and hid but who had now turned around and to become the hunter himself. She had seen all of that in the warrior. Just as she had seen that he believed Artemis to be the one who had started hunting him first. All of that was clear to her as the servant of the Huntress.
But what had happened to make him believe that the Goddess herself was responsible for his suffering, that she didn't know.
But then she had not seen anything of the world in five years. She had been held in a prison for all of that time. Given food and water and sometimes clothing by her captors because they obviously feared what would happen if she died. Caged because they feared what would happen if she got loose. But told nothing. Not spoken to. Not visited. She had simply been left in an iron cage in a clearing in the wastelands, guarded by twisted creatures and demon following wizards robed as priests. And the strange thing was that those same false priests were robed as if they followed Artemis. They wore the green and black as if it was their own livery. Clearly much had happened in the world during the time she had been locked away. What, she didn't know, though she feared it was bad.
She'd wanted to find out, but that had been denied her by the Goddess. When she had finally freed herself from the cage and then hurled that evil prison from the back of the wagon, she had quickly gained control of the wagon and had thought to visit a nearby town. But the Goddess had forbade her. She had a destination to head for and little time. And as always she had obeyed. And now, only a few hours later she was here and her sister was standing on the track waiting for her. Though since she had her sword out and was standing there looking ready to fight, maybe even Nyma hadn't realised it was her coming.
Moments later the wagon had come to a halt and she was in her sister's arms, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks. Tears that mirrored those on her sisters' cheeks. It was undignified and weak. But it had been so long since she had seen her. So long since she had seen anyone other than the false priests. A few happy tears were nothing to be ashamed of.
“How are you finally free?” Nyma asked, her voice filled with disbelief.
It was a long time before Erislee could find the words to answer her. She hadn't spoken to anyone in a very long time. Not until her rescue. And now she had all these emotions choking her as well.
“A soldier freed me.”
“A soldier?” Nyma looked surprised. “I spoke to a wizard only yesterday about rescuing you. But he refused to even try and he was the only one near enough to free you. Since then I have been trying to find others. But I did not speak to a soldier.”
“Well this one was a soldier. Tall and broad of shoulder with long, wild, dark hair and a face filled with anger. He wore a garment of black leather and chain and carried a sword that was surely too large for him. But he still killed all the beasts, the soldiers and the false priests with it. I heard them scream and saw their bodies as we fled.”
“A soldier?” Nyma sounded dubious.
“A warrior with a great blade. Maybe a berserker? There was such anger in him. More than anger. Bitterness, hatred, rage and pain. All of them were buried deep inside. It was obvious that Lyssa was not far from him. And all of that was held down by fear and a feeling of helplessness. But when he saw me it very nearly exploded. The Goddess of Fury nearly owned him in that moment. I swear he wanted to kill me. Had I not finally been able to summon the unicorns I would be dead now.” That bothered her. Not that she would be dead but that he should want her so.
“How can he hate me so? He spoke of terrible things, of the temple being responsible for sending out these twisted creatures to kill people. And the hatred within him was so powerful!”
“He would be far from alone in hating you.” Nyma told her, with great sadness. “There are many who would want you dead. Many who blame Artemis for the nightmare that has befallen them. Many who call the Goddess a traitor. And there are very few left who can stand against them and speak the truth.”
“What has happened here? As the horses carried me here I sensed a little of the darkness of the world. I felt the pain and suffering. I smelled the stench of death and corruption upon the land. I felt the misery of the people. But I know nothing of it. Nothing of what has happened. The last time I witnessed the world was when the temple was taken.”
That had been a terrible day. A day such as should never have been. And it had come with no warning.
It had started like any other. A good day. All had been at peace in the Great Temple of Artemis in Lion's Crest. Erislee had been at her desk, writing her letters of the day to the leaders of the great city. The other priests and priestesses had been tending to their duties, saying their prayers, accepting the offerings of the fortunate hunters, and giving blessings to those about to leave. Everything had been normal.
Then an offering from the king had been brought in by some men she did not know. It was a massive chest as high as a man and a half and just as wide and as deep. A dozen men had been needed to carry it and when they had laid it down upon the temple floor all of them had looked tired. In fact they had leaned against the side of the offering for a heartbeat or two as they recovered their breath. She remembered that quite clearly even now. She remembered what had happened next even more clearly. It was hard to forget.
The chest had opened by itself, some dark magic at work, and from out of it had stepped the first of the twisted beasts. A huge creature, part man, part bull that had immediately attacked the worshippers. And behind it came many more. Creatures that walked as men but which had the heads of lions and the same claws. Women with the wings and the claws of bats. Hounds with two heads and lions with great stingers upon their backs. And all of them had had only one goal in mind. To kill everything that moved.
It turned out that the box had been a gate to another world. And when it had opened an army on the other side had started pouring through.
Erislee had watched helplessly as they had torn apart a dozen worshippers and as many priests in front of her. The bull headed ones charged them with their heads down and then used their horns to gore them before tossing the victims aside. They were immensely powerful and fast. The lion headed ones bit and clawed at the people like beasts despite the fact that they walked like men. And no one had been armed. Why would they be inside the Goddess' temple?
Hearing the commotion the guards had come running in. But by the time they had entered the temple they were already hugely outnumbered. They had fallen quickly.
But worst of all Erislee had discovered that she had been cut off from her source of power. She had immediately called for Artemis' aid but something had been there between them, preventing her prayer from being heard. She could not call upon the griffins or the unicorns. She could not call on the magic of the Goddess at all. Whatever magic had been at work was black magic and not any that she recognised. It was a dark divine magic that had stopped prayer being heard. It prevented the priests' and priestesses' magic as well which was why they had been helpless against the beasts. Though of course within the temple they had also been unarmed.
Within a minute there had been no one left alive in the temple save her, the porters who had carried the gate in and the beasts who continued to grow in number. With every heartbeat it seemed that more appeared and soon they filled the temple. They were everywhere and quickly started to mass as they prepared to leave the temple. While all that she had had to defend herself with was a letter opener.
Then someone – she had not seen his face but she knew he was a man rather than a beast since he had hands – had grabbed her from behind and swiftly bound her. In moments she had been left helpless, lying upon her own desk with her hands tied cruelly behind her and her feet also bound, screaming for help. But there had been no help coming. Instead she had lain there struggling helplessly, until finally someone had given an order. A single word in a language she did not know spoken by a man with a deep voice.
At that point the temple doors had been flung open and the creatures had erupted into the world beyond.
For hours the creatures had continued to pour out of the box and then rushed out of the temple into the city beyond where she could only imagine what they must be doing. From her position on the desk she could see nothing though she heard the sounds of battle raging. She could hear the screams too
. But she could do nothing. Nothing but pray to Artemis all the while knowing that her prayers were not being heard.
She had been held in the temple for perhaps another day or two before finally being forced into a cage on the back of a wagon. They had covered her head with a sack so that she could see nothing, and then started the long drive to the prison she would spend the next five years in. And for all the long weeks of that journey the dark ward that prevented her prayers from being heard, had been in place.
It had remained in place when she had arrived at her prison – a steel cage as large as a shack into which she had been thrown. She had remained there ever since, guarded by twisted beasts, and always at least one dark robed priest she could never see. She had never been spoken to. Never been allowed a visitor. Instead she was just given food and water by someone who called himself a priest and who wore the robes of the temple. He wasn't of course. None of them were. She had seen the markings of the demons on their wrists.