Iliana looked up at the stone, feeling uncertain. ‘I thought - I thought it was from the stone.’
Zelda’s brow furrowed and she glanced up. ‘Those stones haven’t been used in centuries; none even knows what they’re even for. Are you sure?’
Iliana shook her head in bewilderment, feeling a tingling aftereffect that she couldn’t explain.
Their party crunched on through frozen mud, giving way to silence.
A cart trundled past with a huddled farmer sitting atop. He gave them an inquisitive look that was immediately killed by Zelda’s impenetrable stare.
By the time they reached Morgan’s pass, night had fallen like a black cloak and shrouded the land into inky darkness.
Several lights were summoned by Zelda and the faerie soldiers.
Iliana thought she saw leering shadows on the outskirts of the bobbing orbs, and immediately thought of the Xinger.
The pass was marked by tall Romanesque columns, and acted as parallel connoisseurs for their entrance into the pass. They were cracked and crumbling as if deflated by their own existence, but undeniably marked a spot where some structure had stood long ago.
Where the road forked was a circle of standing stones and a fractured dais in the middle. It was stained in layers from overuse and looked menacing. Iliana thought of things being sacrificed on it; a melodramatic ritual involving squeamish animals that had met their end by jewelled daggers and hooded figures.
Behind the ring of stones loomed a tremendous, imposing man of stone. His downturned mouth grimaced at the group with disdain, his eyes full of disapproval. He wore robes that hung in folds down to his feet and rested both hands on a sword pointing downwards.
‘Who is that?’ she asked Zelda.
‘Morgan, the only high wizard of the Blaise coven, and who assisted,’ she added stiffly, ‘in the establishment of the First Ruler.’ She lowered her voice. ‘The First Ruler wasn’t kind to faerie folk. He was discriminatory and cruel, not very popular with them, even today.’
Galfen’s guard fanned out, their hands gripping the pommel of their sheathed swords. Iliana couldn’t say that she felt any more comfortable here. The standing stones in the circle looked withered, but there was something suffocating in the air around them, like being close to a nuclear power plant.
Despite the decaying, ancient brick of the stones and dais, the statue seemed to stay in decent condition. Iliana wondered how old it was.
They made a quick exit by taking a turn onto a secondary road that meandered away into darkness.
Iliana’s teeth were chattering. ‘A-Are we n-nearly there yet?’
Zelda wordlessly took her hands and an adrenaline shot of heat rushed up her arms to her shoulders. It permeated down through her feet and legs with delicious alleviation.
‘I don’t know what you did there but thanks.’
‘Sorry, I probably should have done it for you a while back.’
‘It’s alright.’
The two moons commanded more of the sky now as they rose to give only a timid light on the road, dimly enlightening the snow layered path ahead. From within the snow globe of the land, a viewer would only see a tiny procession of oscillating lights, nearly drowned out by the enveloping darkness.
They continued on and came across a sign that was painted in a language she couldn’t read. The paint was faded into the splintered lines of its aged and brittle surface.
Sires leaned forward and brushed off the clump of snow on the wooden placard.
‘Ah! Only a mile left. Just as well, I need some ale - I’m freezing!’
Zelda bristled. ‘Yes Sires, thank you for the information, you’ve only been bloody well saying it for the past two hours.’
‘What would you know, woman? I’ve been dragged around by your superior to be forced to look nothing more like an idle, simplistic child to being nearly killed by a Xinger to retrieve your precious cargo there.’
Iliana narrowed her eyes at him.
‘There are more important things to be had besides a beverage that dulls the mind to the point where scientists wonder if evolution goes backwards.’ Zelda shot back.
Before Sires could respond, a whistle cut through the still night air, coming from the darkness. It was an upbeat, carefree tune, like something out of Huckleberry Finn, a melody one dreamt up whilst floating down a river. It carried on the air like it was approaching from far away, getting louder.
Iliana frowned and followed Zelda’s vigilant gaze, their argument dispelled like wisps to an oncoming menace.
‘’Ave you ever ‘eard of Grimm’s Fairy Tales? Really into it the Normies are, really into it. They’ve got a real imagination so they do, so they do,’ called out a voice beyond their sphere of light. ‘Always banging on about their ‘movies’ and ‘actors’ and I thought to meself, I wouldn’t mind visitin’ ‘ollywood.’
Iliana moved forward in alarm, her hand itching for a weapon. The faerie guard ripped their swords out from their sheaths uniformly, the ‘shing’ sound echoing out into the night.
‘To me,’ Galfen murmured to his guard. The soldiers mimicked some drill move and in unison formed an outward facing ring, their metal boots stomping into the snow.
The voice was male, echoing in the wintry silence of the night.
‘But you do know wha’ ‘appened when I got there?’
The voice came from another direction, everyone turned instinctively.
‘Notin’. Humans have inhabited Earth a lot longer than our kind and wha’ ‘ave they done with it? People pretending to be some dead Elvis singer parading the streets looking for money, obsession with these ‘diets’. Can’t believe these human folk, can’t believe them at all. What they’ve done with precious Earth. It really is a disgrace! I’ve been tempted to go back and clean it up if you get my meaning...’
‘Zelda, give me a weapon,’ Iliana whispered, her breath fogged the icy air and terror gripped her body so she felt like a mannequin, unable to move her limbs.
‘Who are you?’ Zelda called out, while she lowered herself down to retrieve a knife from her boot. Iliana could see the air around her left hand shivering, like a heat wave.
‘Oh, just a passing stranger.’ A short man in his forties appeared like a spectre.
‘That’s some fine magick you got going there,’ he looked up, ‘you mind teaching me?’
Iliana could see black shapes moving beyond her range of sight, a soft shuffle here, a brushing there.
‘Can’t teach Deadbloods,’ Zelda replied flatly, watching the movements of darker silhouettes. The man stepped further into the moonlight, and Iliana saw a scar cut diagonally across his face. He was bald, and carried himself with a secret confidence like a fox.
‘Identify yourself!’ Sires demanded, violet eyes steely from beneath the rim of his helmet.
‘What a rich find for us,’ the man proclaimed, rubbing his hands.
‘I wonder how much they’d sell for at the Black Spot?’ A dark-skinned man emerged from the other side.
Iliana swung to face him.
‘What about blondie here? Can she do magick as well? Either way, I’m sure she’d sell well just on looks,’ another man said. He stood next to the dark-skinned man, licking his lips at Iliana. She felt the pit of her stomach implode.
Iliana unconsciously stepped closer to Zelda, her heart hammering.
The shapes were moving all around now, concealment cast off, closing in.
‘Iliana, stay behind me,’ Zelda muttered.
A bright explosion sent Iliana reeling and her ears ringing, she was instantly lifted off her feet and flung backwards. Groaning, she rolled over in the snow and tried to stand, but stumbled sideways drunkenly until hands grabbed her roughly.
Iliana pulled away, blind. As she was being manhandled, she could hear Zelda grunting in struggle, and glanced to see two men wearing scarves over their faces trying to grab her.
She threw her
knife which was immediately embedded into the shoulder of the man who had licked his lips at Iliana. He let out a raging howl as he fell to his knees.
A clash of swords rang out behind her and a war cry escaped Sires’ lips. Iliana shoved against one of the men and drove her fingers into his eyes in a practised spear finger thrust. The man’s hands flew to his face and he screamed.
‘Hurry this up lads,’ called out the man, ‘it’s gettin’ too messy now.’
Pain exploded at the back of Iliana’s head and all went black.
She awoke to jerky vibrations on the side of her face, she groggily opened her eyes to see she was lying at the bottom of a bamboo cage. Zelda sat against the bars with her knees pulled up, staring sombrely ahead. Her face was a flurry of scratches, and her bottom lip was swollen, marring her beautiful features.
‘Zelda?’
‘Yes,’ she replied detachedly.
Iliana shifted slowly, trying to shake off the wisps of unconsciousness. ‘What happened?’
‘What does it look like? Pricks caught us. Who ever thought that slavers would have a wizard of all people working for them? His magick was too strong for me, and Sires and Galfen were bound by hand and foot and left on the side of the road. Waiting to be found by faerie HQ patrol no doubt.’
Fear lanced through Iliana. ‘Slavers? Are you fuckin’ serious?’
One of the men rode on horseback alongside their trundling cage, he looked at Iliana and grinned. She crawled to the bars and looked further ahead to see they were part of a long train of cages, each filled with people, their expressions desolate.
She grabbed Zelda’s arm. ‘What are they going to with us?’
‘Well,’ she sat back on her haunches, maintaining balance despite the carts bouncing, ‘they will continue south, accrue more people until we’re packed in here like sad sardines, but valuable merchandise nonetheless to be sold, to the highest bidder, in the Swamps.’
Iliana let this information sink in, she looked at Zelda resolutely. ‘We need to try and escape, I’m not interested in being a bloody slave.’
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Zelda chimed, her face softening into a faint smile, ‘you probably wouldn’t be so bad as a gladiator.’
‘And you wouldn’t be so bad as a kitchen hand!’
Zelda laughed and both girls eyed each other momentarily; a silent agreement rippled between them.
‘We’re getting out of here.’ Iliana stated.
Zelda nodded. ‘They’ll sell us if we don’t escape soon, timing is very important in a situation such as this. What they’re doing is classed as illegal, but this is the Otherworld, maintaining order and control here is a challenge.’
Iliana slumped back against the bars, ignoring the chill it swam into her back, and began to contemplate.
She couldn’t tell when, but she fell asleep despite herself, despite the cold and strange men holding her prisoner. She was awoken by a stick smacking the side of her face.
‘Wake up princess, time to rise and shine. And when I say shine, I mean it, I want you looking your best for Gunner’s square.’
Well maybe you shouldn’t hit my face, she thought acidly, but had enough sense to say nothing. She blinked and found Zelda already standing outside the cage. Her expression was even more morose than it had been earlier, the mood around her was black, as a dark colour around her head. Iliana stared, was she really seeing her aura, or was she imagining it?
‘I mean now you lazy little bitch!’ Another smack of the stick and she went down to the laughter of the other men.
She looked up to see the colour around Zelda darken more; a force threatening to snap. Her expression was frightening and terrible, yet the other men seemed not to notice. Iliana half stumbled out of the cage and caught herself before she could fall.
The first man waddled up, having a little difficulty in manoeuvring due to the large stomach that threatened to burst the belt strained around it.
The short man bowed. ‘Good afternoon, ladies. My name is Candell. I trust your accommodation is comfortable.’
‘Why do you bother with theatrics when you’re selling people?’ Zelda hissed, Iliana felt a jolt as if Zelda had shot off sparks. She side stepped away from her, confused by the sensations.
The man grinned widely. ‘I do like a bit of a joke every now and again so I do, so I do. And I don’t want us to be all grim and business-like. I like to have a little fun, helps to keep the staff incentivised. Good for me, good for them, good for business.’
Zelda spat her reply on the ground.
Candell’s expression soured. ‘I normally like my men to have a little fun with the merchandise before we sell,’ he said, looking round. A cheer of approval went up.
‘But my client is a little fussy on that, prefers goods unspoilt.’
There was audible disappointment. Iliana felt sick.
‘Next time, I suppose. However, I will overlook perhaps one or two marks. They heal in time, well, most of them.’ He gestured and the men grabbed the girls and shoved them to the ground by a nearby tree and started tying them to it.
Candell followed. ‘It must be my lucky year,’ he sang, ‘I’ve just been getting so many good souls to sell. Let us hope I continue to be prosperous.’
‘Let us hope a dissatisfied customer hangs your balls on their wall,’ Zelda snapped. Candell frowned. ‘I don’t like merchandise that bites,’ he bent down, ‘nobody likes a dog that bites. Maybe you should follow your friend’s obedient example; she’ll sell for a fine penny,’ he beamed at Iliana like a prized trophy.
‘Fuck yourself,’ Iliana muttered miserably. ‘And your stick.’
Candell’s eyes narrowed. He turned.
‘Zachery. Um, discipline time for the brunette,’ he said to Zelda, ‘I am tough in my ways, but not interested in bloodsport. So, I’ll leave you now in the care of my colleague.’
Candell, with some struggle for a fat man, wobbled back to where they had set up camp.
Zachery strode up and whiplashed Zelda where she sat, twice. She sat silently after that. They stoically watched the men sit around a fire in the centre of their circled caravans, joking and jesting. They were having a soup that smelt delicious, and Iliana was starving.
Her face was bleeding from the whip. Candell saw it and roared at Zachery.
‘Get Bolbous!’ he shouted, ‘I want that shut and perfect before we get to the swamps! And next time - not the face!’
‘Bolbous must be the wizard,’ she whispered, as she worked the ropes, blood was pouring freely now down her face. ‘He’ll be a problem.’
A man emerged from one of the more decorative tents. The striped colours reminded Iliana of a circus. His face was droopy with a constant, downturned mouth; a frown haunted his eyebrows. He smoothed down his violet robes and pulled up their ends so they didn’t get soggy from the snow. He crossed the camp like a lady holding her skirts, a snobby pride in his stride. His aged features placed him in his late sixties. His dark, thinning hair was on the verge of extinction, brittle strands brushed over his egg head in a bad effort to hide it.
Iliana felt the energy quicken in the air, disturbed by his presence, another new sensation she documented. He looked down at both girls like they were insects. Bolbous flourished his hands like a magician pulling a trick, and faced his palms in Zelda’s direction. ‘I am going to heal you now,’ he said, spoken with a well-loved, god bestowing kindness.
‘Well done,’ Zelda replied sarcastically.
He ignored her and his palms began to glow white. The bleeding gash on Zelda’s face lit up in response and like wiping off a stain, knitted itself back together. A bloody smear was the only evidence left of the gash.
He turned gracefully, picked up his robes and disappeared back into his tent.
Zelda thrusted against her ropes.
‘He’s the reason we’re here. I’ve half a mind to kill him if I wasn’t bound,’ she fumed.
&nbs
p; Pushing her panic away, Iliana looked at the slavers communing around the fire and felt hatred steepen in her chest. Felt it, and decided to use it.
‘Tonight,’ she whispered. ‘We escape.’ Recalling as she said it, how effective her spear finger thrust had been before her capture. She visualised different manoeuvres effective in combat, like the way she used to before sparring. Her heart caught at the memory of her last fight but she pushed it away, now wasn’t the time for reminiscence.
Zelda watched her appraisingly. ‘You’re adapting way too well to this place.’
The girls got cold meat to eat. Iliana was suspicious of it she but forced herself to down it, she would need a full stomach if she wanted to escape.
They were bundled back into the cart that evening and the party set off.
Candell rode at the fore of the caravan train, whistling cheerfully to himself. Iliana visualised herself cutting him into pieces and scattering his remains for wolves to feast on.
The moons were half hidden behind dark clouds, obscuring their silver forms, and Iliana, head tilted against the bars, found herself looking for constellations in the stars.
‘Zelda?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Are there constellations here?’
Zelda gave her a peculiar look. ‘We have to escape dangerous men tonight and you’re wondering about that?’
Iliana sighed. ‘Humour me. I could do with the distraction.’
Zelda shuffled to the edge of the cage, and put her face between the bars to peer up at the sky.
‘There’s not much for viewing tonight, it’s really cloudy.’
She shuffled to the other side. ‘Ah, I can see the Princess.’
Iliana wriggled forward beside her. They were passing through a part in the forest where the trees had thinned. ‘If you look almost straight up, you’ll see a small cluster of stars, that’s her head.’
Iliana strained between the bars and was just able to see a few faint stars beyond the top edge of their cage. They were huddled together under a cold, night sky where the clouds were rushing quickly overhead.
‘If you look to the left a little you’ll see another star -’
Return of the Starchild (The Divine Inheritance Series Book 1) Page 10