Beast of Zarall

by E B Rose

  He attacked with a sound spell.

  An invasive, deafening sound rang along the hallway. The slaves and the free men covered their ears while doubling over, or dropping on their knees. Their mouths opened as if screaming. They probably were, but Tesla couldn’t hear. His ears were ringing painfully as well. He chose not to lose time with a protective spell for himself and sacrificed his ears instead. The spell wasn’t permanent anyway; his hearing would return within a few hours.

  The free men were moving their mouths. They were giving commands to their slaves, but nobody could hear anything other than the echoes of Tesla’s attack. The mage slaves looked at their masters, blinking in confusion. So, they couldn’t cast their spells without commands. That was good, though the discovery of mage slaves in Chinderia was nothing but good.

  Next, Tesla attacked their sight. But this time, he buried his face in the crook of his elbow, protecting his own eyes. A blinding light flashed in the hallway. The slaves and masters dropped on the floor, covering their eyes, kicking the floor with their heels. They were incapacitated.

  So was Tesla.

  He leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor. He was drained. Although he couldn’t hear, he could see his attackers were screaming and yelling. Their sound would attract others. He had to move, before more mage slaves arrived.

  Mage slaves... This was impossible. He still couldn’t believe it...

  He took a deep breath. Clung to the wall for support and pulled himself up on his feet. He managed to take a couple of steps. His body gave in and he collapsed.

  He thought he could never get up again.

  BEAST

  Beast stumbled along the hallways. He knew the manor well enough to find a set of less used stairs leading below. Although it felt like it was getting better, his right eye was still blurry. He mistook his step and almost tumbled down the stairs. He barely avoided breaking his neck by hooking an elbow on the rails and stopping his fall.

  You’re pathetic, Keder whispered in his head.

  “Shut up,” Beast whispered back. He regained his balance and continued on his way.

  As soon as he reached the landing below, he heard fast approaching footsteps. There was a nook under the stairs. He crawled underneath and hid in the shadows.

  You could really use a pair of demon hounds right about now.

  “Shut up,” Beast hissed.

  A group of men, dressed in heavy armour and an unfamiliar coat of arms ran past the stairs. They were led by a man wearing Vadithas’s house uniform. “This way!” the man gestured others to keep up. They hadn’t even glanced in Beast’s direction.

  I don’t understand you, the demon talked with a hint of anger. Why didn’t you kill those two?

  He was talking about the tied-up men in the watch room. Beast ignored the question. He crawled out and looked behind the armed men as they turned around a corner. He bit his lips. There was a wide balcony, overlooking the training yard and the barracks. He could try and climb down from there, but the balcony lay in the direction the men went. He had to follow them from a safe distance.

  Do I need to remind you of the state of your hands?

  “Shut up.”

  You’re in no shape to climb down some balcony.

  “I said shut up!”

  But if you had two demon hounds to clear your way, you could have walked right out of the front doors, with no one to stop you.

  Beast growled quietly. He wished there was a way to stop the demon from talking.

  He heard a shout around the corner, followed by the clash of iron against iron. He crouched down before turning the corner and peeked.

  Men and slaves, wearing Vadithas’s uniforms, were pouring out of the doors at the near and far end of the hallway. They’d trapped the other group between them and started cutting them down. Beast had no way of walking past them.

  You should have killed those two.

  “Shut up.” Beast turned back and searched for another way leading to the north wing of the manor.

  You never had a problem killing before.

  “I don’t have a problem killing.”

  You didn’t even hesitate killing your friend.

  “He’s not my...” Beast’s chest ached again. He leaned against the wall and pressed his hand over his heart.

  Why did you spare those two?

  The question brought the image of Ink’s dead body to the eye of his mind; his chest charred where the demon hound had crawled out.

  You wanted this. You opened the gate for them.

  “Stop talking.”

  And now you’re hesitating? You need to make up your fucking mind!

  “Shut up!” Beast’s voice came out louder than he wanted.

  Do you want your freedom or not?

  “I do!”

  I thought you were prepared to do whatever it takes.

  “I am!”

  Then let my demons out!

  “Hey! What are you doing here?”

  Beast flinched back. Four men dressed in Vadithas’s uniforms were approaching. Their swords were drawn and their armours had blood stains. They had already spotted him and Beast had nowhere to hide anyway.

  “That’s Prince Lygor’s beast,” one of them said.

  “Alert Master Vadithas,” the one at the front ordered. One of the younger men turned and ran in the opposite direction. “What are you doing here?” the man questioned suspiciously.

  Beast ran.

  The guards raised surprised shouts after him, then pursued. They caught up before Beast could even make it to the next hallway. His vision was significantly impaired. He was in no shape to outrun three fighters. One of them tackled him facedown to the ground. They kicked the side of his head, sat on his upper back and pressed his arms down to the ground.

  “Where do you think you’re going? Huh?”

  Yeah, where do you think you’re going? Keder repeated mockingly.

  Beast’s struggle was met with more kicks and punches. He growled in fury. He wasn’t going to let them have him. He wasn’t going back!

  But you are, the demon whispered. You’ll watch as Lygor gives your freedom to someone else. Then, Valnar will personally slaughter you like cattle. That’s unless you manage to kill one of these losers somehow and summon my hounds...

  Keder’s mockery was cut off by an explosion. A powerful wind blasted the men off Beast’s back. Beast pulled his knees underneath and pushed himself up. He turned his head on his shoulders until he could see the blurry image of a man behind him.

  The demon went silent.

  Beast didn’t recognize the man. He was tall and skinny with pale black hair. His clothes looked worn out and blotted with blood in places. Although Beast couldn’t pick out his expression, he could tell the man was looking at him.

  “Who are...”

  The man made a gesture and a harsh sound. A black sponge shot out of the man’s palm and stuck on Beast’s lower face. It covered his mouth and nose, blocking his air. Beast took his useless hands to his mouth, trying to grab the thing. All he could do was to slap his face with his bandaged stumps.

  The man made another sound. A black string pinned Beast’s arms on his chest. Beast topped over on his back, kicking the air and struggling.

  The man said another phrase and Beast floated in the air. He smashed hard against the wall. Blurry stars flashed in front of his eyes. Then, darkness...

  VALNAR

  Valnar was surprised to open his eyes.

  For a long moment, he couldn’t remember why waking up was surprising. As his mind cleared, it started to register the state of his body. His breathing sped up and became shallow. A weak moan escaped from his lips.

  He should have been dead.

  “Lygor,” he whimpered. He would have gladly laid there, until Kiejain came and gave him a ride to Farhome, but the thought of Lygor fuelled his will to live. He pushed himself up, groaning in pain. He focused on slowing his breathing back to normal.

&n
bsp; His left ear and left cheek were burning. The right side of his stomach was bleeding heavily. The demon hound had ripped a chunk of flesh from there with his claws. Valnar pulled his shirt up to examine the pale, green skin where the claws touched. The poison was already spreading. He didn’t have much time. He had to find Lygor and make sure he was okay before the poison took him.

  His two-handed sword was laying nearby. He placed the sharp end of the sword on the floor to gain leverage and pushed himself up to his feet. His room was unrecognizable. The furniture was shredded and charred. The curtains and the bed sheets had burnt to ash. The smoke tickled his throat and made his eyes water.

  When he coughed, he almost lost his balance and fell. The only place that wasn’t touched by the fire or the demon’s claws was inside the praying circle. The hound couldn’t get past the neat lines on the wooden surface. The praying circle and his dragonscale sword were the only reasons Valnar came out victor from this fight.

  The demon hound’s body had disappeared, but Valnar could see the outline of it at the far side of the room. The remains of a demon’s body appeared like wet, muddy ash. There was no trace of bones, blood, or flesh. Just that gooey, dark grey mash.

  Then, there was the smell. The whole room smelt like burnt sugar. One tenth of the intensity of this odour would have been considered appetizing. This was overwhelmingly sweet and nauseating. Valnar stumbled out of the room before the sweet scent of the dead demon made him vomit.

  The corridor outside his room was quiet. Valnar leaned against the wall and dragged himself in the direction of the feast hall, where he last saw Lygor. He left a red trail of blood on the wall behind him. The silence was disturbing. As he was chased by the demon hound, Valnar had a glimpse of men fighting. Someone had surely seen or heard the burning dog that chased him, yet, nobody had come to investigate. Another conflict, unrelated to the demon, was occurring in the manor, though the silence told him it must have been concluded already.

  His concern for Lygor consumed all his thoughts. He could neither think, nor do anything about what Beast did or where the slave was right now. He didn’t have the strength to lift his sword, so he let the tip scrape against the stone floors. The sound it made echoed along the corridor, with no other noise to challenge it. Valnar felt like he was the only one alive in the whole manor.

  He was two corridors away from the feast hall when Valnar heard the approaching footsteps from ahead. He held his sword with both hands and barely lifted it up in front of him. He still had to lean against the wall to remain standing. He doubted if he could best a maiden with a butter knife in his condition, but he was still drawing breath and he had to try.

  The first face who took the corner belonged to Master Ruzen. He was accompanied by two uniformed men, both armed and bloody. The men stepped in front of Ruzen when they noticed Valnar’s weapon. Ruzen’s eyebrows shot up.

  “Sir Valnar?” Ruzen asked, surprised. “What happened to you?”

  Valnar ignored the question. “Where’s Prince Lygor?”

  Ruzen pointed over his shoulder with a thumb. “He’s still back at the feast hall.”

  Valnar swung the tip of his sword in the direction of the feast hall. “Lead the way.”

  Ruzen’s confusion was quickly replaced by impatience. “I’ve got business to attend, Sir Valnar. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s been fighting.”

  “Yeah, I noticed,” Valnar scoffed. The poison was burning his flesh. He grimaced. “Take me to Lygor.”

  “You’re perfectly capable of finding the feast hall by yourself...”

  Valnar pushed off from the wall and managed not to sway. He pointed his sword at Ruzen. “I’m not letting you get behind me. Lead the way.”

  Ruzen’s men glanced at each other. One of them had a smirk, clearly finding this amusing. Ruzen didn’t. He glared at Valnar, debating whether he should get the knight out of his way by force. He finally shook his head and sighed. “Fine. Hurry up then.”

  Ruzen turned back the way he had come from. Valnar waited until his men lowered their weapons and followed their master. He fell in step a safe distance behind them.

  The double doors of the feast hall were protected by another pair of guards. Before Valnar said anything, Ruzen gestured the men to open the doors and step inside. Valnar spoke a silent prayer to Kiejain, and followed them in.

  He tensed at the sight of blood and dead bodies. His eyes scanned the dead first, and found Lygor’s face amongst the living.

  Lygor was talking to Master Naelar. His two purebreds were right behind him. Nothing in Lygor’s body language indicated any sign of danger. Valnar was overwhelmed with relief.

  Naelar noticed them first. “Master Ruzen?” he said, confused. “I thought you were on your way to oversee the capture of the keep?”

  “I was,” Ruzen grunted. “Until I came across Sir Paranoid here.”

  “Valnar?” Lygor said. “Where have you been? And where’s Ink?” His eyes grew large when he saw the blood on Valnar side. Concern paled his face and for a moment, made him look like a young boy. “What happened to you?” he asked as he rushed to his side.

  “Are you okay?” Valnar replied. “I saw men fighting. What happened here?” He couldn’t hold his sword up anymore. His knees gave in and he fell. Lygor grabbed him by his shoulders.

  “Hey! Hey! I’m alright. I’m safe. Get me a physician!” Lygor yelled over his shoulder.

  “Master Caerlo is tending to our hostages right now,” Naelar replied.

  “Get him here!” Lygor growled through his teeth. “Now!”

  Valnar had rarely seen his prince fierce like this. He was proud.

  “Right away, Your Highness,” Naeler said. His eyebrows twitched with surprise, but he smiled politely. He gestured at one of the servants.

  “What happened?” Valnar repeated. He let go of his sword. He was having trouble holding his head up and he anticipated losing his consciousness. But at least Lygor was safe. Although he still didn’t understand what had happened, and despite the dead bodies littering the ground, he could see Lygor was in no immediate danger.

  Lygor held Valnar’s head between his hands. “Hey,” he whispered. “Hey, it’s all gonna be okay. You’ll be okay. Valnar... Where is Ink?”

  Valnar felt like a coward, but he was glad unconsciousness took him before he had to answer that question.

  46

  VALNAR

  Valnar bit hard on the leather belt and muffled his scream.

  His fists clenched around the bedsheet. The pain was excruciating. His blood boiled in his veins, scalding his flesh.

  “Almost done,” the old man said encouragingly.

  Valnar’s mind was fully consumed in a world of fire, he could neither remember the old man’s name, nor his intention. Dark spots started flying across his sight. He clung to his consciousness, fighting to stay awake.

  “A little more,” the old man said out of Valnar’s sight.

  Sweat trickled down Valnar’s bare chest. Pain seared his right side. Valnar craned his neck and roared as the dark green poison flowed out of the bloody gash. The old man held a glass vial near Valnar’s body and gestured with his free hand. The dark green poison floated in the air and seeped into the vial.

  Valnar rested his head on the sweat-stained pillow. His eyes rolled back in his skull. The leather belt fell out of his mouth when his jaw went slack. He sank into the bed and moaned as the pain receded behind a tolerable threshold.

  “I would advise you to rest, Sir Valnar,” the old mage said as he sealed the vial with a cork.

  Valnar’s eyes flew open at the suggestion. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and glared at the old mage before answering: “Thank you for your concern, Adept Kato, but I have to be present today.”

  “As we all do,” Adept Kato said distractedly as he held the vial in front of his face and examined the contents. “But you should still refrain from straining yourself too much over the next few days. You h
ave no idea how lucky you were that I picked the right time to return to Calae.”

  “It wasn’t luck. It was Kiejain’s blessing,” Valnar grumbled. His gaze shifted to the red dragonscale sword that was stacked on the weapons rack in the corner. It wasn’t concealed under the layers of cloth anymore.

  Adept Kato tucked the vial into the folds of his white robe. He followed Valnar’s gaze. “Not many survive a one-on-one confrontation with a demon hound,” he said with a hint of admiration. “Even a dragonscale weapon on its own does not always ensure one will live to see the next day. You must be a skilled fighter.”

  Despite its sincerity, the mage’s compliment irritated Valnar. He put his feet down on the floor and sat on the edge of the bed, pausing to catch his breath. “Like I said; it was Kiejain’s blessing.”

  Adept Kato pressed his lips together. “Well,” he said, changing the subject. “I will send Master Caerlo to give you something for the pain. You will have very little appetite for a while, and I doubt if you can hold anything down even if you manage to eat, but it’s imperative that you get enough sustenance, otherwise you won’t survive another extraction.”

  Even the mention of food almost made Valnar gag, but he managed to nod.

  The demon hound’s poison gave him a devastating fever. He was shivering and sweating at the same time, and his head wouldn’t stop spinning. The constant nausea made him feel like he could throw up at any moment. Adept Kato had already extracted two small vials of poison out of his body, yet he could still feel there was more.

  “This is not an easy spell to endure,” Adept Kato continued, as he started collecting the wooden disks that he’d placed around the bed. Intricate runes and symbols were carved on each disk. “You need to ensure your body can go through at least two more extractions.”

  Valnar grimaced, but managed to keep his reluctance out of his voice. “I’ll be fine.”

  “We all hope so, Sir Valnar.”

  Although there was no hint of malice in Adept Kato’s voice, his words made Valnar shiver. The thought of dying and leaving Lygor alone in the hands of the manipulative leaders of the Union made him feel even more nauseated.