A Bitter Brew

by Greg Curtis

  “Sana won't talk to anyone else.”

  “Sana?!” Marnie raised her voice in shock before she managed to control her emotions. “Then I suggest you tell her what you've done and hope she changes her mind. But whatever you do, don't bring the woman back here. We don't want her!”

  Maybe that was foolish of her. Maybe Sana could tell them something useful. But Marnie didn't trust her. Neither that she'd tell the truth, nor that she wouldn't attack them. In any case she doubted the woman knew much. She was only the behemoth's tool – one of many. And a poorly used one at that. No one planned to have a creature like that placed in them. Anything she thought she knew was probably a lie. Besides, whatever he wanted Sana to tell them, it likely related specifically to the Mythagan and not something she or the rest of Styrion cared about.

  Indle didn't seem impressed by her suggestion. In fact he looked somewhat sour. “She is better now. Mostly recovered.”

  “Tarius' blessings be on her then. But I still don't want her anywhere near our people. She is deadly and a threat to all of us. If and when I see Hendrick I'll tell him what you've said. But I don't expect that to be soon, or that he will agree to see you.”

  The Mythagan stared at her, his eyes seeming to bore holes in her as he studied her intently. Was he looking for a sign that she was deceiving him? Or an indication that she might change her mind? Eventually though he seemed to accept what she had said.

  “I thank you Miss Holdwright. And please also inform Prince Hendrick when you can that I will begin an immediate investigation to find out who destroyed his home. That is an unacceptable act to us and whoever did it will be punished. I will also make contact with Lady Peri, to see if she can help us.” He nodded politely.

  “I will.”

  With that and another nod he left her. Turning and walking back to his winged horse, and then taking to the skies. And that left Marnie standing there, staring at his rapidly diminishing form, wondering if that had really just happened.

  Still she decided as Indle became a small dot in the sky and then finally vanished, she should return to her day. She would do what she had said, and she would make sure that Tyrollan did the same. But first she thought, some perfume. If she was going to have to share quarters with three hundred other people for the foreseeable future, she should at least be comfortable.

  Chapter Forty Six

  Hendrick loved unicorns. He had come to that conclusion over the long weeks he had spent running with them on their world. They were beautiful beyond understanding. And when they ran, with their long manes and tails streaming in the wind, and their horns glinting in the sunshine he thought them magnificent. It seemed only right to him that they should have a world of their own. A world of long grass filled plains where they could run freely day and night. And where no one would try to catch them or ride them.

  They were good for a man's soul too. Because just when it seemed that the world had grown too dark and troubled, they were there, shining a light through the blackness.

  He wasn't sure that they felt the same way about him. Certainly they had never approached his camp site. But that was fine by him. They grazed on the fertile green grass below the small hill he had pitched his tent on. Sometimes he even ran with them, using his magic to keep up with them. He could of course have left them in his wake, but what would be the joy in that? It wasn't a race. It was simply a chance to feel the wind in his face and put the pain of the past behind him. And maybe to finally silence the voice of a long dead wizard. Because the unicorns weren't interested power. To him they represented beauty and freedom. Purity and joy. Even love. Things that had seemed to be in short supply in his life.

  Unfortunately that world of darkness was once again calling and he knew he had to go back. Tyrollan had left a note for him in his tent a week before. So had Indle, but he had scarcely bothered to read it. The man was a liar, as were his people. They hid so much. And even what they revealed was carefully contrived to show something other than the truth. It also seemed to him that the thing they were most desperate to hide was what they had done to the behemoth. Because he knew they must have done something. So too had his own ancestors, when they had been a part of this ancient Empire of Worlds – the Vordan Empire as it had been named by the Mythagan. But his ancestors had been punished for that. He suspected the Mythagan had yet to feel the behemoth’s wrath.

  Over the previous weeks he’d spent some time running from world to world. Discovering all the ancient temples he could, and using his magic to uncover their past. And in each case he had found the same thing. Complete destruction. Whether it was a plague or a war, or even a freak disaster, the destruction was complete and the survivors had had to flee through the ancient temples. He was certain that it had been the behemoth's doing. Just as he was certain that he, she or it, wasn't doing it for fun. These were acts of rage. Revenge maybe. Even hatred. And you didn't just wake up one morning with an overwhelming sense of hatred for someone. Something had to have happened. The Mythagan – or the other people of the ancient Vordan Empire they had been a part of – had done something.

  And they were never going to reveal that secret.

  But maybe Sana would? Hendrick pondered that as he packed. She had been in their world for some time now. She had also had some contact with the beast. Maybe she had learned what he needed to know? Given she wanted to speak to him, perhaps she wanted to tell him what she knew? Then again, maybe she just wanted another chance to kill him. Some days he thought she really was a disciple of the Goat Footed God.

  Hendrick finished packing and then long stepped back to his departure point. It was amazing how quick he was at that. One thing running with the unicorns had taught him, was how to cast his spell of long stepping to greatest effect. How to make one leap immediately after another. It was all about timing. Now when he long stepped he was almost running. His gait wasn't smooth and he lost his balance sometimes, but he was fast.

  Just before he took the final step back to his home, he peaked ahead to see who was waiting for him – and sighed. It wasn't just Sana and Indle as he'd hoped. Instead it seemed he had a full delegation at his home. A dozen or more of the Mythagan. Marnie and Tyrollan. His mother for some reason. And Sana and Indle. None of them was smiling. He sighed again. Why did it always have to be something serious when people came to see him? Why couldn't it just be a friend calling?

  Still Hendrick stepped across, dropped his pack on the ground and greeted them. Or rather he greeted Sana. He ignored the others. They were quiet in turn. At least until Indle decided to interrupt.

  “I've done an investigation, and now know who destroyed your home.”

  “It doesn't matter anymore,” Hendrick told him tiredly. “I'll rebuild it or not in time. I haven't yet decided. I may just move instead. And I have no care for vengeance. Just tell whoever it was to stay away from me.”

  “But we could help rebuild –.”

  “No.” Hendrick told him bluntly. “I'd sooner deal with a dragon. At least I'd know it would be a bad deal from the start. Besides, I haven't decided whether I want to rebuild. It might be better to just leave.”

  “Leave?” His mother spoke up suddenly, her voice seemingly filled with worry.

  “I'll make sure to bring you plenty of nuggets before I go.” That was what she was really worried about he knew. “For the moment though, I came to see Sana.” And with that he turned his attention back to her.

  She had changed a lot. There was colour in her face, which he assumed meant that her blood was once more properly red. And her injuries were less than they had been. She now had an elbow and a knee, which fairly much told him what her gift was. She could heal herself. Given enough time she would become whole again. He was glad of that. The creature inside her had fought that gift of hers as it had grown, probably because it was a parasite and she would have healed it to death. Now that it was gone, she was once more returning to how she had been. How she'd managed to make its flesh a part of her, he still di
dn't know.

  Her manner of dress surprised him. She was not wearing the loose hanging garb of the Mythagan despite living among them. And neither was she in her royal finery. Instead she was wearing what looked like a common dress such as a farmer's wife might wear – save that it was made of dark red velvet and festooned with copper chains. And she was carrying a staff with her, a necessity when she was without a leg. But why did the top of it glow with an orange fire? That troubled him.

  Still, she looked calm as she sat on a wooden chair that had been rescued from the remains of his oast house. Relaxed. The rage seemed to have gone.

  “You're looking better,” he told Sana as he sat down on a pile of timbers opposite her. They had survived the attack ironically enough, simply because they hadn't yet been assembled into the structure of the house. “I'm glad of that.”

  “And you're looking … different.” She'd noticed his markings. “There's more Mithril isn't there? And less too.”

  “When your master attacked the Hold, I had to absorb a lot of spells to get the people out. Ever since then I've been burning magic night and day. Some of the markings are starting to fade.”

  “How many do you have?”

  “I don't know. A hundred and fifty? Two hundred? More? I haven't counted.”

  “Tarius be praised!” She let the prayer out under her breath. “You should be dead!”

  “Maybe. It was close. But it had to be done.” And that was something he was sure of – now. But there had been a time when he hadn't been nearly so certain. A time when an ancient wizard's voice had been whispering into his soul about power. He was very glad that time was gone.

  “Sana, I want to apologise to you. For causing you so much suffering. I didn't know what else to do and I was frightened and desperate, but I knew it was wrong.”

  “And the same, for me.” She lowered her gaze to the ground and her voice became a hoarse whisper. “I just could not think. The rage, the pain and fear. It was too much. It overwhelms. And I could only think of hurting you for what you had done.”

  “I understand. But it is a small matter only. What your master intends to do is of much greater importance. I fear it will be terrible. The beast has been angry for a very, very long time. More than angry. This death and destruction did not begin with you. It began many thousands of years ago, and a great many worlds have paid the price for that rage. A terrible price. The Mythagan know why but refuse to speak of it.” He was still annoyed about that. But there was no point in arguing with them about it. It would just lead to more acrimony.

  “And it is that which I came to speak with you about.” She raised her head to face him, determination burning in her eyes. “Some of it anyway. As much as I can.”

  “You know?”

  “Some of it. What I know is confused. It is only pieces, not the whole. And Vitanna's mist drowns it all. But still I know some.” Her voice grew stronger as she spoke. As she forced the words out.

  “First, the beast came to me because he felt my anger. He is drawn to it. I became afflicted when I was ten. When it happened I was immediately locked away. Imprisoned in a chamber by myself for many years with only a single servant allowed to see me. They called me a witch because my markings could not be seen. No one could know of my affliction. My parents hired sages and priests and healers to free me from my affliction. They could do nothing of course but they hurt me very badly in trying. And though I begged them to stop they would not.”

  “It was during that time that he came. And he welcomed me. He said I was perfect as I was. That I should be free. That the world was wrong. Not me. And those words were sweetness itself.”

  “I believed him. I believed him because I desperately wanted to believe him. And I let him put his child in me. I did not expect that. He said nothing of a child. He spoke of making me free. Powerful. But in time it began to grow and I understood.”

  “You know that that was not his child.” Hendrick contradicted her. He had to say it. He was worried that she was still under the residue influence of the behemoth.

  “In sooth it was his child. They all are. The whole race. But not of his flesh. They are children of his hatred. His fury. Of his vengeance. I felt it, in me. I knew its thoughts, and they were my thoughts. But they are still his children. And there are a great many more of them than you know. An army.”

  “An army?” Hendrick's mother suddenly interrupted them.

  “A terrible army. I was one of the last to be taken by him. He came to a great many others before me. Thousands across many worlds. Women like me. Angry women. Those who have been hurt. Wronged. And his offer is simple. Cede to his will and he will grant you great power. He promised to make me a Queen. And I thought as a Queen I would never have to suffer the fate that my parents had forced upon me. I thought I would rule.” Sana's face fell and she started staring at the ground. “I was a child.”

  “From the moment I took his hand, my fate was his. The other women are gone now. I did not understand that as a child. That his offer was only for a few short years. The others did not either. And once the offer is accepted it does not matter. It becomes hard to think of anything but his will.”

  “So they are gone and his children are maturing quickly now that they have been born. Tens of thousands of them. It will not be long before they are ready.”

  “Ten's of thousands?” The Lady's control slipped a little and her voice became a squeak. “Tarius save us! We cannot withstand that.”

  “But you will not need to.” Sana turned to face her. “That is what I came to tell you all. This realm is not his target. Why would it be? This world was already destroyed hundreds or thousands of years ago. And those of it who survived, did not commit the crimes against him that he rages over.”

  “Then what …?” The Lady's voice trailed off.

  “All of this; the capture of Styrion Might, of Styrion Hold, the servants of his flying in the skies, has been a deceit. A ruse. You see all this and assume Styrion is about to fall. It is not. It fell long ago. But while eyes look here, they do not look elsewhere.”

  “Then you say he comes for us?! For the Empire?! We can defend ourselves against his servants.” It was Indle's turn to interrupt. “Even should they come in their millions, we can protect ourselves.”

  “No. You cannot.” Sana twisted around in her seat to face him. And then she turned away suddenly, her face a mask of confused emotions. Instead she locked her gaze directly on Hendrick. “Again it is a deceit. It is what you are meant to think. That these wards of yours can stop his servants. They cannot. His servants stay away from them because they are told to. You have been tricked.”

  Her words drew a number of gasps from the Mythagan as they all wondered whether she was right. Could they be about to lose another world in their Empire? As for Hendrick it raised a question. But before he could ask it, Sana continued with her story.

  “When I came here before, it was as part of the trick. I was here to attack the smaller towns and sew terror. To make people think that the cities are protected by the wards. But that he still intends the destruction of Styrion.”

  “But I was filled with rage for the pain you had caused me. Before it died the creature inside me felt immense rage and hatred for you. That is a part of me too. And my master had a plan that brought me close to your town. You were so close! I could not help but act.” She lowered her gaze as she said it, as if shamed by her actions.

  “It's fine.” He told her. But was it even his place to tell her that? Burbage had been attacked. People he knew had been hurt or killed. Though he believed her when she said she hadn't been in control. He couldn't speak for those who were gone.

  “No. It is not. Because I cannot say I had no control. I was tricked, lied to and used. But some of that was me. Now all I can do is try to atone. And this is the only way I know.”

  She took a deep breath and turned away to face the Mythagan once more. “You are deceived. And this time the punishment will be more terrib
le than you can imagine. I do not know the target. But I know that he seeks to hurt you more terribly than you can bear. As you have hurt him.”

  “What have they done to him? Why is he so angry?” Finally Hendrick was able to ask the question that he'd been holding. Maybe Sana knew.

  “I don't fully understand it.” Sana turned back to him. “The anger is so overwhelming that it makes everything else unclear. But I know a part of it. I know it is of the heart. That a crime was committed against him that he can never forgive. That the crime continues. I know that what happened occurred thousands of years ago. He once sent an emissary to explain what they had done wrong and to return what had been taken. A woman called Erohilm. Except that she was not a woman, nor an emissary. She was him. But also not him. Or maybe she was a tiny piece of him.” Sana sounded confused. “The behemoth is very much not as us.”