“Now that is strange,” the soldier said considering Scarlett as she wobbled towards him. “I have no control over you what-so-ever. Actually, I have no sense of you at all, as if you are not even here.” He looked to the others, clearly disturbed by the vixen approaching him.
His tone changed as he continued looking at the state of the foxes before him, sarcasm giving over to concern. “Look, why don't you sit down before you faint. I just want to know what is going on. Ware,” he said to the soldier fox hovering by his side, “run to get Nurse Havlock. That vixen is not moving,” he said flicking his head towards Mercia, “and neither is that pup by the hound.”
“Yes, sir.” the one called Ware responded disappearing towards the palace.
“Ara, we'll release them to a half paralytic state,” Deman continued to the vixen beside him, her leather armour stamped with the crimson mark of the Inari.
“Yes, Deman, I'll try. My skill with the brush is not as refined as yours.”
The ghostly grip restraining Roe lifted slightly and he managed to rise off the ground and come to a sitting position. His head felt extremely heavy but he could now speak. “You mustn't help that pup. He is nothing but evil. It is Rinan. The son of Gremian chairman of the council. It would be best if you killed him first before he awakes. I assume the punishment for trespassing is death and we are all doomed anyway.”
Deman began to laugh and Ara smiled at his side. “Where do you foxes come from? What do you think we are the Hantsa? This is the Great Burrow, the font of enlightenment and justice. No we are not going to kill you, are you mad, and we are not going to do anything to that pup. I am not a murderer. I thought you were all drunk from last nights festival, and needed a bit of telling off. I was going to let you go. But clearly there is something else going on here and you are in no state to be left on your own. Once nurse Havlock arrives along with her staff we will take you to the infirmary so you can mend then we will have a civilized chat when you are feeling up to it. Now, we are going to release you. Do we have your word that there will be no funny business? My name is Deman and I am a sergeant in the Inari Guard. We are not here to hurt you we are here to help.”
Roe and Scarlett looked at each other somehow knowing this was the same soldier who had spoken to them only yesterday through the pages of a torn and ancient manuscript, then they looked to the gathering dawn and the glory of the world around them. With a nervous nod they silently agreed not to attempt to fight unsure weather they would be much of a challenge anyway given their weakened state.
“You have our word, Sergeant Deman.” Deagal said giving an order to the others as much as reassuring the soldier. “That is you have my word, the word of one Inari to another.”
“Is that right? You are an Inari guard? Well, I confess I've never seen one quite as large or as ample as you before.”
Deman gave another chuckle and just as he was about to order the release of their captives, Ara fell to the floor with a thump unconscious. Deman himself lowered his head and appeared to be on the verge of following her when he began to shake, as if having a fit, and to growl baring his teeth.
The hold on Roe was suddenly lifted and he looked up toward the Inari guard whose eyes glowed with rage and gazed into the distance.
Roe painfully turned his head to follow the look and what he saw stunned him.
Rinan floated limp a tail-length above the floor, his eyes glowing a murky red, and a black drool dripping from between his jaws. The body, although alive and breathing, seemed to be unconscious and the horrible vacant stare directed towards Deman appeared to have a life of its own.
The small pup's gaze shifted with a flick of the head and Roe felt a nauseous energy pass into him as the glowing eyes made contact with his own. Whatever remaining energy he had left he could feel was being pulled out of him. His surprise left him vulnerable but it was brief and with a slight intake of breath he could hear the voice of Samson whispering for him to find the void.
With the faintest cock of the head a rage tore through Roe and he pushed the energy invading him back. Unable to control himself, perhaps due to his exhaustion, he released a bark of such ferocity that the obsidian floor cracked where he was standing, the break zigzagging towards Rinan, before hitting the small pup like a hurricane sending the fox's body flying across the entire length of the rotunda before hitting the far wall and falling into the river Tate at its base.
His claws scratching lines across the floor, Roe could not stop the powerful flow until he felt the slightest bite against the back of his neck. Deman's jaws gently clamped down on Roe and as they did the manifestation of the Art coming from Roe was stopped.
Roe tipped forward, breathing heavily, but did not fall to the floor.
Deman released his grip, looked for a moment at Roe, then to Daegal and growled a command, “Look to my soldiers, Inari!,” before running in the direction Rinan had been thrown.
Roe did not linger and quickly bound after the sergeant the Beast close at his paws.
Deman glanced at Roe as he approached from behind then focused his attention on the swift clear current of the river.
“He's gone.” Deman said heavily with a critical glance at Roe. “There is a chance is a he could survive the course of the river, but it is most likely that he will drown.”
“I know where the spring lets out on the surface of the Thames. I will follow him there.” Roe said turning towards the entrance to the rotunda.
“No.” Deman responded. “There isn't any use. The Tate Spring follows many paths below ground only one of which goes to the surface. Even in the unlikely even he makes it to the Thames that exit is guarded. I will inform the Hantsa security at the Tavern to send a messenger to the exit. You must come with me as well as your companions for medical treatment and to answer some questions.”
Roe looked to Deman and considered leaving anyway, then stared across at his friends scattered on the ground in the distance. He sighed and gazed back at the spring. Dozens of fish flashed in and out of the shadows.
“That fox we just lost is incredibly dangerous and I suggest you look to find him or his body.” Roe said coughing and clearing his throat, before distrustfully looking at the glorious state of the world around him. “I will come with you as we have some questions of our own.”
By the time they had returned to the fountain a rather gaunt and very tall vixen was already there tending to Mercia. She wore a garment of white linen which hugged her torso and was tied with a neat knot at each ankle. A white cowl ridged in black with a symbol of three lines in the centre covered her nose and flowed over head between her ears before splitting and falling on either side of her shoulders. Both of these pieces of hanging fabric had the same three black lines embroidered in their centre.
“Deman is it?” the vixen said looking to the Inari sargeant over Roe's shoulder. Roe was surprised how soft and youthful the vixen's voice was coming from such a severe looking face.
“Yes, Nurse Havlock.” Deman responded looking slightly ashamed at the state of things in the centre of the rotunda.
Nurse Havlock looked at the cracked floor and the dishevelled assortment of injured foxes and Hantsa on the floor, then raised her brow and said with some urgency, “Well it is a mess so we best clean things up. Deman, how good is your art of levitation? I am short staffed at this early hour and it would require at least two each of my attendants to move those Hantsa. So, now that your soldiers appear to be recovered from whatever was ailing them perhaps they could assist with the transport of the patients.” She indicated towards a number of wood chiselled frames sat stacked near to the her. A heavy canvas fabric was stretched within each frame creating a handless type of stretcher. They looked like a pile of unbrushed paintings.
Ara looked unsteady on her paws but she nodded her head towards Deman and approached as confidently as possible.
Roe was exhausted but felt stronger now then he had when he awoke in the fountain. He couldn't say as much for the othe
rs. Daegal had collapsed on his side and was struggling to breath. Alodia crouched by him awake but looked dazed and sickly. Spencer had been struck first by whatever power it was that had emanated from Rinan and lay unconscious away from the rest. Edward and Gwen had fallen back asleep and Scarlett sat next to the nurse watching her place the bottom of her jaw on Mercia who was the most injured of all.
“Will she be all right?” Roe asked as he approached Havlock.
“Well,” she sighed looking at him only momentarily, “I have never seen injuries like these before. Not only was she burnt by some unusual craft of the Art she has sustained some sort of injury internally...”
The nurse stopped speaking suddenly and closed her eyes with the bottom of her jaw gently placed on Mercia's weakly moving side. A slight hissing could be heard and gradually built in volume until it sounded like a soft rain falling in the forest.
Roe looked around him for a moment before realizing the sound was coming from nurse Havlock. Just as abruptly as she had started she stopped. Mercia's breathing was now much stronger and she even shifted slightly on the ground.
“Yes, she is badly injured but she will be fine. Do not worry, tod.”
She whipped passed Roe and the rest lying on the ground without another glance.
“Gather them up. I can sense the state of heath of the others and although they have these odd burn marks they mostly suffer from simple exhaustion. Bring them to the infirmary. Let them have some rest. I have alerted my staff and they should have gathered by now.”
Roe watched her leave then watched as a pair of foxes shifted Mercia on to a stretcher then stood on either side of it. As if invisible strings had descended from the ceiling and connected themselves to the simple frame the stretcher rose off the ground and moved towards the palace as the foxes moved. The others were collected in the same way except for Scarlett who managed stand to trot next to Roe.
They both watched as Deman helped to shift Edward and Gwen onto a flat wooden cart which was then pulled by a pair of large bull mastiffs towards the palace.
“Where are we Scarlett?” Roe asked finding himself alone with her in the vast opulence of the rotunda.
“It is the Burrow of London Roe. It is not a different place so it is not a question of where. It is a question of when.”
She gave him a final look then smiled and followed the others. Roe followed her the claws of the Beast clicking on the stone floor beside him.
Chapter Two
He hoped the muddy black water would kill him or at the very least a creature that called it home would have him for a meal. Only half conscious he had been floating for days. Weeds, lichen even the very worms of the earth had borrowed into his fur to try and make a home but even they were repelled by the repugnant nature of his soul. The scars of the cleansing had festered and cascading swirls of green pus now danced across his body and face. Warm and thick the water was brimming with the type of life which shunned the light. As he breathed fat oily bubbles grew and broke around his half submerged jaws while his trailing legs cut a meandering line into the soft sick silt on the shallow bed of the river.
Was it a river? He was almost gone but he could hear himself thinking the voice in his head loud and strong as if an animal on the banks was barking in his ear. He cracked his eyelid above the water and through the crusty vision could see the natural arch of the rivers subterranean cavern. He tried to lift his head, to put himself upright, but his small puppish body felt heavier than stone. Something slid into the water downstream of him, splashed tentatively by his belly then took several impatient tugs at his flesh trying to pull free a dinner. Another splash followed, then another and another until the still water was boiling with the mass of fierce appetite.
The pain was dull and distant and he could feel the chunks of himself coming loose. He felt paralysed and embraced a laziness that was happy to let him die. But then the voice came again and it was an angry wheeze.
You will not die here. You will not die in the wild in a forgotten corner of the Burrow. You will not pass away with only the indifferent rats to bear witness. You are the son of Gremian and you will have my revenge.
A low growl crept from the pups throat and as it did he pulled his decaying flesh from the muddy shore he had become embedded in. The rats fed more frantically sensing their prey would try to make them scatter.
Rinan's mind shifted suddenly and where he had been moments earlier looking through the eyes of his father he was now seeing through the eyes of the rat trying to consume him. He toyed with the simple mind and could feel the heart rate of the animal increase as its instinctual brain fought against the foreign occupant. Then with a resolute hatred he took control of the rodent completely and turned on its feasting companions, tearing the eyes out of the one nearest with a screech. Swallowing the soft pulp he could feel the rat convulse and become rabid, ripping into the leg of one rat and then into the throat of the next until the other rats stumbled and screamed to get away.
By now Rinan had managed to come to standing the energy of the animal he had possessed having crossed into him. He could feel the bond breaking between himself and the other life and as it did the rat rose out of the mossy water shaking and shivering as it floated before him. He cocked his head at the dying thing and as he did it began to emit a shallow light. The more he focused the brighter the light became until with a crack it burst into flames and splashed back into the water.
Rinan awoke to himself stunned and staggered up the bank away from the water. He breathed heavily getting little sustenance from the stagnant air and was on the verge collapsing once again when a rhythmic squeak caused him to catch his breath and turn his head.
A pulsating light grew from behind an earthen mound and as it did Rinan could see the shape of a brick arch cut into the wall of the stone cavern. The light flickered and as it became brighter a soft melodic whistle joined it. Like an explosion the pair of candles entered the cavern and the form framed within the tunnels exodus stood still looking from beneath a wrapped rope and hood at Rinan swaying near the rivers edge. The vixen slowly set the curving metal bridal which the candles hung from down on the clay with a final squeak, then she stretched open her jaw as wide as possible to ease the soreness from so many hours of cradling the light source. She then returned her focus to Rinan.
“Can you wallk?” she asked, her deep voice indicating no surprise or alarm at stumbling upon the dying fox. “It is a short journey to cleaner waters. One you must make on your own, however slowly, for I do not wish to carry you in such a state.”
Rinan tried but was unable to answer her. Instead he focused on her soft eyes and allowed them to help him climb to the top of the shoreline and into the tunnel. Old bricks invaded and cracked by water paved the way ahead. He stumbled along and as he passed her the vixen stopped him with a grunt before looking further upstream into the tunnel he had floated down.
“Is there anyone else?” she asked stooping her head and grasping the candle holders between her jaws.
“No.” Rinan managed to say with a cough. “Just me and the rats.”
She looked at him once more with a curious expression then indicated ever so slightly into the tunnel she had emerged from with her head. Rinan turned his head away and as he limped in front of the weak candle light he could feel the energy finally drift and die between himself and the dark animals along the riverbank.
Progress was excruciatingly slow for Rinan but the vixen never lost her patience and remained silent during the course of their journey. Having turned several corners and having fallen down several short lengths of granite stairs Rinan began to hear fast running water coming from within the walls around him. Finally the way ended at a solid stone wall with a clean pool at its base.
“There is a tunnel just under the water line at the base of the wall. Clean yourself as best as you can and I will help you to swim through the tunnel. We will be submerged for only a very short distance and the encampment you have been seeking i
s on the other side.” She sat near the waters edge pulled back her hood then dipped her face into the water to take a drink. Once she was satisfied she replaced her hood and looked back towards Rinan who still wavered by the water only half aware of who he was and completely unaware of where he was.
“You must hurry. We do not have much time. The gate on the other side will only remain open until sunrise and then will be shut until tomorrow. I do not desire to sleep outside the door when I have a soft bed and warm fire awaiting me at home.”
Rinan gradually returned her look and finding the last remaining energy he had began to peel away the slimy leather armour he had been wearing. It fell in clumps which slapped onto the stone edge of the lake. Once his garments were completely removed he fell into the clean clear water and slowly scrubbed away the days of grim caked into his fur and festering flesh. As he did so he couldn't help but notice that the pool he was floating in had been fox-made and with an impressively high level of skill. Cut granite bricks lined the bottom and the walls while larger curving stones created the pools edge.
“It was made by us.” the vixen said in answer to his unspoken question. “The palace does not realize that many of the most talented have already joined our cause and escaped their decadence and corruption. We do not have the resources to waste upon making things beautiful but that does not mean we do not have the skill to do so.”
Rinan pulled himself out of the water his body significantly cleaner and rejuvenated by the swim.
“What is your name?” he finally asked.
She didn't answer him at first instead rising from her position and giving him a sniff.
“You are clean enough now. Do not worry if you have not the strength to swim. I will pull you through. My Art of Levitation is stronger than in most. I can sense your Art but I do not recognize it.”
Placing her candles and their silver holder in a sleek rucksack on her back she dove into the water nearly colliding with the bottom before kicking to the surface and flipping in and out with a seamless splash.
The Progeny of Able (The Burrow of London Series Book 1) Page 37