by Dante King
Ben sat forward. “Thousands? Then that means they could be an army…” He shook his head, realizing he was getting off track. “Go on, Melody.”
“The monsterkin brought us into town. The orcs and goblins under the other ruler’s command couldn’t tell us apart from the other monsterkin, so we managed not to be noticed. We saw the extent of the cruelty of his soldiers. They work the monsterkin to the bone, whipping them—or worse—when they stepped out of line. It was awful.” Sadness took hold of her features, but she only let the expression linger for a moment before determination returned.
“There, we met the leaders of the town. We told them about you, Ben, and how you wished to take control of the region and free the slaves. At first, they didn’t believe me, but when I told them of your exploits, how you never failed to go out of your way to protect the weak… they were convinced.”
Ben nodded, pleased to hear the news.
“Then what happened?” he asked. “How did you avoid the slavers?”
“We didn’t,” Lexi said. “That’s why we took so long to get back. In order to not arouse suspicion, we needed to pretend to be slaves. It was… difficult to endure the conditions.”
“The way they treat the monsterkin… it’s horrible.” Vinata shuddered. “They made us sleep jammed into this tiny building where it got blistering hot at night, and we ate the same disgusting gruel for every meal.”
Ben shifted in his seat, anger filling him at the idea of his allies, his friends, being subjected to that kind of maltreatment.
“I’m sorry,” he said, doing his best to hold back the rage that ran through him. “I shouldn’t have sent you on such a dangerous mission.”
Melody, Lexi, and Vinata shook their heads.
“No,” Melody said. “It needed to be done. We needed to visit the river towns and see what was happening there.”
“I could’ve flown over,” Ben suggested.
“Wrong,” Lexi said. “I took note of the defenses there and trying to do aerial scouting would’ve been a suicide mission. The slavers were all armed with bows and arrows, and they liked to pass the time by shooting at whatever poor bird happened to fly within range.”
“And more than that,” Vinata said. “What we learned there we had to see up close and personal. Flying over from a distance wouldn’t have made you understand the conditions on the ground.”
Ben nodded and gestured for Melody to go on.
“This is part of our work,” Melody said. “If we’re going to fight The One Who Rules All, we’re going to have to get our hands dirty and put ourselves in danger. And look—we all got out of it in one piece.”
Lexi leaned forward. “But we escaped at a cost.”
“What kind of cost?” Ben asked.
The group looked at one another, their expressions suggesting they all had the same thing on their minds.
“Our guest should take it from here,” Melody said. “We wanted to give her time to rest, but—”
Before Melody could say another word, one of the aurochkin entered the room, a wide-eyed expression on her face.
“My liege,” she said. “The guest wishes to come into the dining room. We currently have her in one of the guest chambers until you give further commands.”
“Bring her in here now,” Ben said. “I want to know all about our new guest.”
His interest in the mission was greater than his hunger, but Ben knew he needed to eat something. He reached forward and ripped a chunk of steaming bread from one of the fresh-baked loaves and smeared it with rich, golden butter. Ben took a bite, and it tasted amazing, delicious enough to momentarily put out of his head the situation at hand. By the time he was done with the bread, the elevator doors opened. From inside stepped a being like he’d never seen before.
The monsterkin had skin that wasn’t skin, but instead was red and orange, roiling like water. It took Ben a moment to realize what it was—magma. Instead of skin, her body was composed of red-hot lava. Her eyes were as bright as little stars, and her body was tall and solidly shaped with slim hips, thick thighs, and defined shoulders, her shape reminding Ben of the girl volleyball players at college.
There was intensity to her face, from what he could tell. Only her eyes were visible—no other features.
She approached Ben fearlessly, looking him up and down when she was near.
“Easy, fire girl,” Zito said as he rose, his hand hovering near the handle of his training sword. “You’re a guest, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to give our fearless leader his space.”
“This is him?” She spoke in a powerful, but sensual voice, husky and deep. “This is the Forgotten Ruler? The man who controls the tower?”
Ben rose, getting the sense that this fire monsterkin might be the challenging type.
“You were expecting something different?” he asked.
She looked him up and down once more with those fiery eyes. Ben kept his body tense in the event that the encounter might take a different turn. And Zito was near, ready to fight to defend his leader if need be.
“This is Ben.” Melody rose from her seat and calmly stepped over.
“He’s the one who rescued the slaves,” Vinata said.
Their words seemed to put the magma monsterkin at ease. Ben sensed that there was trust between the members of the group and this new guest.
But her eyes stayed narrowed, her magma flowing faster over her body. It seemed that the way the magma moved depended on her emotional state.
“How about some introductions?” Zito asked. “Better way to break the ice than just standing around glaring at each other.”
“My name is Shrike, from the village of Moonbright.”
“And I’m Ben, the ruler of this tower.”
She nodded. “Allow me to give you a better look at me. My magma shape can be… difficult for non-monsterkin to process.”
She closed her eyes, and the magma moving over her slowed and slowed until it came to a total stop. When it was still, it began to change color, darkening.
It’s like regular magma, Ben thought. It’s a liquid while it’s hot and a solid when it’s cool.
It took a few moments, but the magma solidified into the color of carbon. With her form no longer moving, Ben got a better sense of her body and her face, which now had features. She had full lips, a small nose, her eyes were now diamond-colored and narrow, her hair ash gray and styled in a boyishly short manner.
She stuck out her hand toward Ben, her posture strong and confident. Ben took her hand and shook it. Her grip was strong, and he was surprised to find that while her skin was the color of hardened magma, it was as soft as normal flesh. Though he had greater matters on his mind, Ben couldn’t help but wonder what sort of monsterkin he could make with Shrike, if she were so inclined.
“Have a seat,” Ben said. “I’m eager to hear what you have to say about your town.”
She nodded and slid into one of the open chairs.
“We need to move, and we need to move fast. We need to march on Moonbright and kill every last one of the slavers there.”
“Hold on.” Ben lifted his palms, guiding her to slow down. “I’m going to need a little more information before I just march down there and start decapitating people. Tell me what you know of the area, and the leader in the other tower.”
She sighed, as if she didn’t want to bother with any of that but knew it was necessary.
“We don’t know much about him—if it’s even a him. The leader is in the other tower, a place just like this. Months ago, an army of humans and orcs and goblins came down from the woods along the base of the mountain and took our villages over, one by one. There was hope that Waterbend, the capital city of the region, might be able to hold out. That’s where our leaders live, after all. Or, lived.”
Her features turned grim.
“You don’t need to recount all the gruesome details,” Ben said, “but if I’m going to help you and your people, I need to know as
much as I can.” He nodded to one of the aurochkin, who brought Shrike a glass of water. The moment it was placed in front of her, he realized he’d just given water to a being of fire.
“It’s fine,” she said with a slight smile, the first smile he’d seen on her face since she’d arrived. “I’m an elemental monsterkin, which means I can shift into the form of the element I’ve been blessed with. When I’m not in that form, I’m a being with thirst and hunger just like the rest of you.”
Ben nodded. “Take your time, and go on when you’re ready.”
“Thank you. It’s… it’s still difficult to process that I’m somewhere safe.” She took a long, deep drink of her water, the aurochkin filling the glass back up as soon as Shrike set it down.
She went on, “When the army took Waterbend, that was it for the river region. I happened to be in the city at the time during my monthly trip to gather supplies. I was there to see what happened. The generals of the army brought the council to the town center and—”
“I’m sorry,” Ben said, “the council?”
“Forgive me,” Shrike said. “We have so few outsiders around these parts that it’s hard to imagine anyone not knowing our ways. The river region is a loose confederation. We’re not a formal nation, but the towns and villages work together to provide the area with an informal government. The towns are self-sufficient, but we’re all monsterkin, and monsterkin look out for one another.”
Melody nodded.
“The council is made up of the leaders from each village in the region—twenty-four in total,” Shrike continued. “Every month they meet in Waterbend to discuss matters. The army from the other tower must’ve known this, because that’s when they struck. We called them the Black Army, because their armor and weapons are made from the black ore of the mountains. The generals of the Black Army brought the leaders out, one-by-one, and told them that they had a choice—they could work with them and live, or die on the spot.”
She took in a slow breath, and Ben sensed she was getting to the difficult part.
“The first monsterkin they approached was Erost, the icekin leader of White Glacier, the northernmost village. They gave him the choice, and when they did, he must’ve thought the same thing as the rest of us—that they were bluffing. He refused to work with them, and they didn’t even give him a chance to change his mind before one of the orcs cut off his head.
“They went down the line like that, offering the choice. Most made the decision to die rather than betray their people, but some decided to work with the Black Army. Emelle, the leader of our town, chose to die. But his son, Hullbeck, the next in line for leadership, was there, and he wasted no time in offering his loyalty to the Black Army.”
“Hullbeck.” Melody narrowed her eyes and practically spit out the name. “I hate that little freak.”
“The Black Army appointed him the leader of Moonbright on the spot, giving him power over the town and the chance to live out all of his sadistic ambitions. He took charge of me and the rest of us who’d come to the city and led us all back to Moonbright with a contingent of soldiers. Once back, he wasted no time in ruling us with an iron fist.”
She slumped slightly in her seat, as if the story had taken much out of her to tell.
“And that’s how it happened. Hullbeck, a kin who has always been thirsty for power, hadn’t waited until his father’s body was cold before taking control of Moonbright. He works his own people to the bone, doing all he can to contribute to the Black Army war effort. I suppose he thinks he can use us to make him look good and, if he plays his cards right, become a part of them as more than just a figurehead of some small river town. But I don’t want to get too far off track. The important matter is that he is brutally hard on us, especially on runaways.”
“Runaways like you all,” Ben said.
“He would be if he were to capture us,” Shrike said. “But he has a rule. The people of Moonbright are divided up into groups of twenty-five for easier management, each one has a townsperson in charge, one of us who’s chosen to work with Hullbeck.”
Ben thought for a brief moment about delegation, structures of command, but he pushed that out of his head and focused on the matter at hand.
“The rule with runaway slaves is that they’re punished in front of everyone, whipped and then handed over to the Black Army to be taken to the tower.” She looked down. “No one who has ever been subject to this fate has been seen or heard from again.” She glanced aside, a faraway look on her face. Ben could sense that people close to Shrike had suffered this fate.
“But that’s not all. If someone from a group runs away, Hullbeck waits five days. If the slave hasn’t been caught or doesn’t return, then someone from the group is punished in their place. They are whipped and given to the Black Army, sent to work at the tower. Hullbeck is cruel, putting family and friends in the same group so that anyone who considers running knows they would be dooming someone close to them by leaving.”
Ben was beginning to put it all together.
“And that’s what you’ve done by coming here,” he said. “You’re putting the people in your group at risk.”
“Shrike didn’t want to leave,” Melody said. “She didn’t want to risk anyone suffering because of her, but when I told her that we would be coming here to meet you, Ben, and when I told her what you could do for her people, only then did she assent.”
“I took a risk,” Shrike said. “I knew I’d be safe with Melody, that I could handle myself on my own. That wasn’t the concern. By running away from Moonbright, I was taking a risk with the people close to me. Granted, there aren’t many left after the time we’ve spent under Hullbeck’s reign, but if I don’t go back, someone close to me will be sentenced to what will almost certainly be their death. I know it will be my brother; Hullbeck has had it out for him since he took over the town.”
“And how much time do we have before the five days are up?” Ben asked.
“Tomorrow at sundown,” Shrike said. “That’s the limit.”
Lexi spoke up. “We would’ve gotten here sooner, but a party of Black Army soldiers began to track us. It took our group a full day before we were able to outmaneuver and take care of them.”
“You should see Shrike in combat!” Melody exclaimed, her eyes flashing. “She’s incredible! She commands the power of fire, and it’s really something else.”
Shrike wasn’t in the mood to brag about her abilities. “We took too much time getting here. And if we don’t return to Moonbright soon, more monsterkin will suffer because of me.”
“What are you suggesting? Ben asked.
She crinkled her brow as if she didn’t understand the question.
“You… you’re the owner of this tower. Surely, you have the power to simply go into Moonbright and just kill the Black Army soldiers there.”
All eyes were on Ben.
“You’re not quite right about that,” Ben replied.
“This tower isn’t yours?” Shrike asked.
“No, it is. And all the people and monsterkin here are my allies, but I’m at the very beginning of a journey to gain more and more power. I have magic at my disposal, and friends who I would do anything for. What I don’t have is manpower. Sure, we might be able to go to Moonbright and kill the soldiers there. Hell, I bet we’d put up a pretty damn good fight, too. But once word got back to the leader of the Black Army—”
“The One Who Rules All,” Shrike said.
“Right. Once he learns what happens, he won’t waste any time in moving in and taking back the town. I bet you anything that he’d just burn the place to the ground so he didn’t have to worry about it again. Then he’d kill me and all my friends. An assault isn’t an option.”
“But,” Melody said, “we need to help them.”
“We could always just send Shrike back to Moonbright,” Sir Gallant the Younger said. “Just go back there and say, ‘Hey! Sorry about the running off thing. We all even?’”
Sir
Gallant the Elder reached over and gave him a swat. “That’s not an option. She came to us asking for help, and we’re going to give it to her. One way or another, we’re going to help her and her people.”
Ben sat back, considering the matter. “Melody, how long is the journey to Moonbright?”
“Twelve hours by foot,” she replied. “But if the trip here taught me anything, it’s that we need to budget time for possible setbacks. So, if we wanted to go back to Moonbright, my suggestion is that we leave no later than sunset tonight.”
“It’s almost afternoon,” Sybil said. “We’ve only got a few hours to plan.”
“Then we need some time to think,” Ben said. “We can’t just decide now.”
“An excellent idea,” Zito said. “It’s always good to give the mind a little time to marinate when it comes to big plans.”
Ben nodded before addressing the fire elemental. “Firstly, Shrike, I want to thank you for your help. I, and the rest of my allies, are going to do everything we can to ensure the safety and freedom of not only your people in Moonbright, but all the monsterkin of the river region. As for the plans, we’ll do dinner in the council room. There I’ll tell you all of what I decided. Until then, you’re dismissed.”
Ben reached forward and took some more of the bread, smearing it with butter and taking a bite before heading off with it.
“Hey, wait for me, Ben!” Zito’s voice called out from behind him as he hurried into the elevator.
“And me, too!” Melody said.
Ben glanced over his shoulder to see Melody getting up from her seat and coming over to join them.
Seconds later, the three of them were in the elevator going up to the top floor.
“Ben, you’re going to need more than a bite of bread if you’re planning on coming up with a strategy.” Melody glanced down at the chunk of food in his hand. “I’ll have one of the aurochkin bring something more substantial for you to eat.”