Broken Prophecy

by K J Taylor

  There were plenty of people around, of course. Here in cold country, the locals wore coats lined with fur, mostly dyed in shades of pale blue, pink and purple. Some of them had already wandered over to take a look at the newcomers, and Ambit noticed that the colours in their hair were paler than in the lowlands – plenty of them had white hair, which he had never seen before, and others had delicate shades of very pale green or ice blue.

  Rigby watched them through his metallic dark green eyes. ‘Hello,’ he said cautiously.

  ‘Let me do the talking,’ said Ambit. He cleared his throat, and spoke to the nearest person – a young man with a missing arm. ‘Hi, I’m Ambit and this is Rigby. We’re travellers.’ He waited, making sure his spear was clearly visible.

  The one-armed man looked him up and down, then focused on the spear. ‘Where did you get that?’

  ‘From my granddad,’ said Ambit. ‘Why d’you ask?’

  ‘I’ve seen something like it before,’ said the man.

  ‘Oh,’ Ambit said hopefully, ‘where?’

  ‘My sister has a weapon made out of the same metal,’ said the man.

  ‘Is that so?’ said Ambit. ‘Maybe I should meet her, then. Do you know where she is?’

  ‘Here,’ a voice interrupted.

  Ambit turned, and saw a young woman striding over to him. She was a little older than him, short and stocky, with white-streaked hair and silvery white eyes. As promised, there was a weapon hanging from her belt: a morningstar made from the same unbreakable, unmeltable metal as the rest, from the short handle to the spiked ball hanging from its chain.

  Gotcha, Ambit thought. He put on a smile, and waved to the woman. ‘Hello,’ he said.

  The woman looked at the spear with interest. ‘Who are you?’

  ‘I’m Ambit, and I came here to find you,’ he said, and then looked around at the curious crowd. ‘Maybe we should go somewhere private and talk.’

  The woman paused, and then nodded. ‘Come with me. We’ll go for a walk.’

  She led them off into the orchards, where Ambit told her the same story he’d told Rigby. She listened in silence. Once he had finished, she held out her hand and showed him the silver bellflower. Rigby showed off his.

  Ambit held up his right hand. ‘I know you can’t see it anymore, but it used to be there,’ he said. ‘A demon burned it off.’ He watched the woman, hoping she would decide to take his word for it.

  To his relief, she smiled. ‘I believe you,’ she said. ‘After all, you have the spear. My name is Elyne, and I’ve been waiting for you, Ambit.’

  ‘So, Elyne,’ said Ambit, hiding his relief. ‘Are you ready to go and fight demons with us?’

  ‘Yes, I am,’ she said. ‘I’ll follow you wherever you choose to lead us, Chosen One.’

  ‘Great,’ said Ambit. ‘So, we only have two more companions to find now. Let’s get on with it.’

  ‘Once we’ve found the others, we can go to the Nine Mountains and kill the demon lords,’ Rigby put in.

  ‘Exactly,’ said Ambit, ‘but since four of the companions are in the dungeons at the Third Mountain, we have to find the other two and go there first to rescue them.’

  Elyne frowned. ‘Are you sure? It could be a trap.’

  ‘Maybe, but what else can we do?’ said Ambit. ‘We can’t just leave them there.’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Rigby, ‘we’ve got to get them out of there. Anyway, I’m not scared.’

  ‘Well, if you think it’s what we should do, then we will,’ said Elyne. ‘Where are we going next, Chosen One?’

  ‘To Sandfire,’ said Ambit.

  The three of them joined up with Snarl at Leafdown, and after the standard explanation for her presence they travelled on toward the east coast, and Sandfire, which was the largest seaside town in the Land of Flowers. Ambit had only ever visited the west coast before, so it gave him something to look forward to, which helped him put up with his two new companions. They never seemed to want to talk about anything except their upcoming heroic exploits fighting demons. He knew it was painful for Snarl to listen to as well, but they’d agreed to this and there was nothing to do for now but endure it.

  They kept up with their former practice of visiting every town and village along the way, and asking questions about special weapons. Here and there they picked up rumours – a lot of them were nonsense – but before long Ambit started to notice he was hearing stories the same story from a number of places. Tales about a traveller with a special weapon, who was going from place to place the same way they were.

  ‘I met him,’ one man claimed. ‘Big, powerful man he was, with pink-striped hair. Saw his weapon, too – a spiked club. Nasty looking thing. He said he could cave a demon’s skull in with it.’

  ‘What was his name?’ Rigby asked.

  ‘Tannock, and before you ask, no, I don’t know where he was going except that it was eastward.’

  ‘We’ll find him,’ Elyne said confidently.

  In the meantime, they kept moving toward Sandfire, and Ambit started to tune out, escaping from their constant blather. He watched the landscape changing and patiently said the heroic leader-y things they wanted him to say, hoping like mad they’d find the last two companions just as easily as he’d found the first two. The sooner this was over with, the better. Unfortunately, being with the other two meant he had no chance to talk to Snarl in private, and the demon kept her distance; Elyne and Rigby both treated her with contempt, and more than once Elyne had suggested getting rid of her.

  ‘We can’t,’ said Ambit, forcing himself not to roll his eyes. ‘She’s our spy among the other demons, remember? She’s brought me all sorts of information since we started working together.’

  ‘Assuming it was true,’ said Elyne. ‘Never trust a demon, Ambit.’

  Snarl gave her a filthy look, but said nothing. She didn’t talk much these days.

  ‘You’re right,’ said Ambit. ‘I’d love to get rid of her, and if she ever betrays me I will. Don’t forget that, demon.’ He sneered at Snarl. ‘Just remember who you’re working for.’

  Snarl’s claws curled into the ground with a faint hissing sound. ‘I am your loyal servant, Chosen One,’ she said in a flat voice.

  ‘That’s right,’ said Ambit, mimicking Northrop’s arrogant voice. He caught Snarl’s hurt look, but pretended not to. She only had herself to blame, after all.

  By now they were only a day away from Sandfire, and the land around them had changed. They’d left the mountains behind and crossed the plains beyond them, which gradually lowered toward the coast. The land was flat, and forests had given way to huge grassy fields and low valleys full of ferns and ground-covering vines. It was a less colourful place; there were flowers dotting the grass, but they were smaller than those that grew inland. The view along here showed waving, greyish grass, and endless skies streaked with white cloud. In the distance, they could see the dark line of the ocean, and the surrounding soil had become sandy and the plants tougher and drier. But they could all see another one of the Nine Mountains here as well – ahead of them and off to the left of the travellers, it revealed itself as a black peak squatting on the horizon. According to the map, it was very close to Sandfire – almost on top of it, in fact.

  A perfect place to find another one of the companions, in other words.

  That night they made camp as usual, and it was Rigby’s turn to cook. Along the way he’d taken every opportunity to go fishing, and he had built up a good supply of dried fish. He boiled some of it down in a handy pot and threw in some vegetables and an herb or two which Elyne picked, and the three travellers ate together and discussed what they would do when they got to Sandfire.

  ‘It shouldn’t be hard,’ Ambit said confidently. ‘Once we’re in town, if there’s a companion around he’ll come looking for us.’

  ‘Or her,’ said Elyne.

  ‘Yeah, or her,’ said Ambit. He paused to chew on a tough piece of fish. ‘You know what?’ he added. ‘I’ve got a theory
.’

  ‘What’s that?’ said Rigby.

  ‘Finding you was easy,’ said Ambit. ‘I mean piss-easy. All I had to do was stroll around asking questions, and, bam – you showed up. That’s why I’m betting it’ll be just as easy to find the other two. And I think it’s for a reason.’

  ‘Because you’re the Chosen One,’ said Elyne.

  ‘Yeah, exactly,’ said Ambit. ‘It’s like I’ve got the power to attract the others, or something like that. Not much of a theory, I know,’ he added with a grin. ‘Everyone can see I’m attractive.’

  Elyne laughed. ‘You scoundrel.’

  Ambit cringed internally. ‘Anyway, getting the other four out of there shouldn’t be too hard either. That’s my bet.’

  ‘I think you’re right,’ said Elyne. ‘As long as you follow the prophecy, you can’t fail. Nothing can stop it from coming true. It’s destiny.’

  Ambit wanted to scream. ‘That’s right,’ he said, trying to sound as smug as possible.

  After that he couldn’t bring himself to say anything else about it, so he went into what he hoped looked like a deep, solemn contemplation of the mighty deeds ahead, and let the others do the talking. There was no sign of Snarl; she’d gone off by herself the way she usually did at night. Ambit would have given anything to have her back, but for now he was going to have to manage without her.

  Several painful hours passed, and Elyne and Rigby finally settled down to sleep. Ambit pretended to do the same, but the moment he was sure they were both dead to the world he shoved the blanket off himself, grabbed his spear and practically ran out of the camp.

  Night had well and truly come by now, and here on the plains the sky looked vast. Stars cast their grey light, and did absolutely nothing to stop Ambit tripping over every grass clump in his way. He waded through the mass of plant life, swearing under his breath.

  ‘Snarl?’ he called, once he felt safe enough. ‘Snarl, where are you?’

  The small demon was easy to spot once she had emerged from her burrow. He saw her faint glow off to his right, and hurried toward it. ‘There you are.’

  Snarl sat on a clump of dead grass and glared up at him. ‘Ambit.’

  Ambit sat down. ‘Don’t worry, they’re asleep. How are you?’

  ‘Fine,’ said Snarl, way too sharply.

  ‘In other words, not fine,’ said Ambit. ‘Translation: you’re hating every moment of this.’

  ‘How did you ever work that out?’ Snarl asked sourly.

  ‘Look, I know they’re jerks to you,’ said Ambit, ‘and I have to keep playing along. But this whole thing was your idea.’

  ‘So that makes it all right for you to treat me like dirt?’ said Snarl, standing up suddenly.

  ‘I told you,’ said Ambit. ‘I have to –’

  ‘Play along?’ said Snarl. ‘It’s not just that. Ambit, can you even hear yourself these days? You’re not yourself. You sound like one of them, and . . .’

  Ambit could hear the fear in her voice. ‘Look, Snarl –’

  ‘No, you listen to me,’ she interrupted. ‘We have to get out of this, now. This whole idea was a mistake. You’re changing, Ambit. All this talk about fighting demons, the heroism, the questing . . . you’re acting like you really are the Chosen One.’

  ‘Uh, that’s because I am?’ said Ambit.

  ‘But you never wanted to be,’ said Snarl. She had started to sound panicky, and looked that way too, her tail raising and lashing and her claws kneading at the ground. ‘I should never have come up with this idea. You’re not the Ambit I remember. You’re . . .’

  ‘Snarl,’ Ambit finally cut her off. ‘Stop it, will you? I know you’re having a miserable time, but d’you have any idea what I’ve been going through?’

  Snarl stopped. ‘You mean, you’re not . . .?’

  ‘Are you insane?’ said Ambit. ‘I’ve been going out of my mind since we started this. For fuck’s sake! Blathering about saving the day, acting all noble and shit . . . I’ve been sober for weeks, my balls are shrivelling from lack of use, I can’t even fucking swear when I want to. And every fucking day I have to put up with those two. Do you have any idea how boring they are? I swear, Snarl, I’d give anything to pack up and leave right now. I’d have given anything to do it last week or the week before. I can’t do any of the things I want to. And I can’t spend any time with you, and I have to watch them spit at you and just let them do it. What else am I going to do? But you’re right, Snarl.’

  Snarl came a little closer. ‘What am I right about?’

  ‘You’re afraid I’m turning into the Chosen One,’ said Ambit. ‘For real, I mean. Well, maybe you’re right about that. Doing all this Chosen One shit is too easy. I mean, way too easy. I practically tripped over those two, and now this Sandfire thing . . . I dunno, I just feel like I already know there’s another companion there. Like I can sense it or something. And there’s something else too. Look.’

  He held out his hand, and Snarl leaned over to look. It was too dark for him to see, but the demon’s eyes could make it out easily enough. There, on the scarred patch of skin on her friend’s palm, the unmistakeable shape of the silver bellflower had slowly begun to show through.

  Snarl hissed a demonic swear word.

  ‘My thoughts exactly,’ said Ambit. ‘Listen, Snarl. When this is over, I want you to do something for me.’

  ‘What?’ asked Snarl.

  Ambit glanced over his shoulder to make sure they were alone. ‘Once we’ve found the other two and sent them on their way, and you and me are free to go off and do what we want again, I want you to burn this thing off me. And this time, it’s going to be done properly.’

  Ten

  They went into Sandfire the next day, and the map was correct: it wasn’t just close to demon country, but right next to it. The mountain, which according to the map was the Fifth Mountain, sat on the coast beside the human city, and it was clear from the shape of Sandfire itself that when the mountain first erupted and created demon country it had taken out a chunk of the town. Sandfire had been rebuilt around the edge of demon territory, giving the town’s borders an odd, curving shape. Unlike the other towns and villages they’d seen, Sandfire had walls around it which were made from stone mined from the shore. It was still attractive, though. The town had taken its name from the colour of the coast it had been built on.

  Close to the sea the ground became rocky, and Sandfire township sat on a peninsula overlooking the beach. Both sand and rock were a deep shade of fiery orange. It meant that Sandfire’s walls were orange, as well, and the tops had been carved in the shape of flames, so it looked as if Sandfire was surrounded by walls of fire.

  ‘You’d never keep demons out with that,’ Snarl said scornfully. ‘I could eat those walls for breakfast.’

  ‘Don’t give me your cheek, demon,’ Ambit sneered. ‘Go off to your own country and bring me information.’

  ‘Of course, master,’ said Snarl, but she gave Ambit a knowing glance this time before she went off toward the Fifth Mountain. As usual, the demon country around it was black. Sitting next to Sandfire’s orange walls, it looked as if the ‘fire’ around the human town had already passed over demon country, leaving it burned black.

  ‘Nice effect,’ Ambit remarked. ‘Let’s get on and see if we can find anyone in town. I wouldn’t mind a place to stay, anyway.’

  Rigby, though, was busy looking past the town. ‘Is that really the sea?’

  No, it’s a puddle of piss, Ambit thought. ‘Yes, that’s it,’ he said. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘It’s so big,’ said the boy. ‘What’s on the other side of it?’

  ‘Haven’t got a clue,’ said Ambit. ‘Why don’t we ask someone in town?’

  ‘Can I go boating?’ asked Rigby. ‘Please? Can we just find out if there’s a boat I can borrow, or something?’

  ‘We’re not here to enjoy ourselves, Rigby!’ Elyne mercifully put in. ‘Unless you’ve forgotten, our country is infested with demons
and our purpose is to save our people from them.’

  Rigby hung his head. ‘All right, I’m sorry.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Ambit. ‘Once this is over you can go boating all you like. Now let’s get on already.’

  They trekked to the town’s main gate, which was an impressive arched affair carved with fireflowers and covered by actual fireflowers, which had grown in the gaps between the stonework. There were a couple of guards there too, but they let the travellers in without asking any questions.

  Inside, the town turned out to be less barren than Ambit had expected. It may have been built on a stone foundation, but the stone wasn’t exactly even or smooth, so the occupants had filled gaps with sandy soil and that soil had provided a foothold for rough seaside plants. Consequently, fireflowers grew everywhere, lining the streets and draping over the houses, most of which were made from wood or the same flame-coloured stone as the walls.

  ‘It’s amazing!’ Rigby exclaimed. ‘I never saw anywhere so beautiful.’

  ‘Not bad,’ said Ambit.

  ‘It’s lovely,’ said Elyne. ‘So different from my hometown.’

  ‘And mine,’ said Rigby. ‘I like it better than home.’

  As for the people, they matched their home quite well. Many of them had red or orange in their hair, and those who didn’t have flame-coloured eyes often had metallic sea-blue. Most of them looked like fishermen. Ambit saw a good few pushing little carts full of the day’s smelly catch, and most of the houses had a few fish hanging up outside to dry. Rigby stopped at one point to examine a huge still-twitching octopus someone had impaled on a hook. ‘What is that?’

  ‘Horrifying,’ said Ambit. ‘Let’s find a tavern or something; I need to get wast – er, some information.’

  As it happened the town had at least three pubs in it, all grouped around the edges of the main square, where a fountain carved in the shape of a whale was surrounded by a lush garden of succulent flowering plants. Ambit chose the largest pub, a place called the Silver Wave, and went straight to the bar.