by H. D. Gordon
The way the Lamia was looking behind us made me glance behind me despite the fact that my training was screaming at me to never turn my back to the enemy. The sight there was somehow much worse than that of the field filled with Accursed in front of me. The enormity of what was happening locked into place in my head, and it was all I could do not to cringe visibly when I saw that the entirety of the Outlands occupants had shown up for this show, and that they had all just heard the Lamia call my sister Queen.
No wonder she hasn’t been forthcoming with her dealings over these past few days, Warrior. Our little sister has dug up more trouble than we anticipated. Look at how they are watching her, as if she were their…leader.
“No,” I thought. “As if she were their Queen.”
A chuckle. Well, this just got interesting, now didn’t it?
“No, this just got dangerous.”
The Lamia spoke once more. “Seems there is a lot you haven’t told us, my Queen.” The Lamia’s onyx eyes flicked to me. “If I had known you were an acquaintance of the Sun Warrior, I would have insisted on an introduction.”
At last I found my voice–or rather, my Monster found its voice. “Alexa,” I said, and a crooked grin spread across my face. “Pleased to meet you.”
At this, the Lamia threw her head back and laughed, her lips pulling back to reveal the rows of shark’s teeth still stained scarlet with a recent kill. Seeing this, I experienced a strange flashback to the first time I had encountered these creatures, when they had broken into my house and flipped my world upside down. A hatred so intense that I felt it thrum in my veins filled me, a welcome feeling. I would take hatred over grief any day. And, I was going to cut the smile right off of this bitch’s face. My smile stretched wider still.
Easy now, Warrior. As much as I would like to let you rush out there so that we can have a little fun, Nelly is right. We are too far outnumbered. It would be suicide. So stop acting like a crazy beast and play this smart. Start by telling our sister to command this Lamia to stop calling her Queen. Enough damage is done already. We may be no safer on this side of the barrier than on that side if these supernaturals think Nelly is a Lamia Queen.
God, how I hated it when my Monster was right. But it was, and I did as it suggested.
What I got from Nelly in response was just the barest inclination of her head. The movement was so small that I doubted anyone else had noticed, but I got Nelly’s message through it clear enough. She was telling me that she had this, and that I needed to keep my mouth shut and trust her. Knowing Nelly, I added a “please” at the end of this message.
And then Nelly did something I never knew she could do, but in hindsight I should have known she could do. In hindsight, I should have known that the possibilities of my sister’s power was endless, but it was so hard for me to erase my image of her as someone who needed to be guarded. protected.
She let me into the silent conversation that was happening between her and the Lamia, and the addition of the voices in my head made for three too many.
Nelly: Carianna, why have you come here?
Carianna: To find you, my Queen, why else? Have you forgotten that your soul calls out to us? I had only to look to the skies for your beacon. I’d feared your capture. I see that I need not have worried. Seems you are in good company.
Nelly: You have to go.
Carianna: What a hurtful thing to say, my Queen.
Nelly: I am not your Queen. Please, you have to go.
Carianna: If you are not our Master then I have to do nothing. If this is the side you choose then you are the enemy. I would advise you to make your choice wisely.
Now it was Kayden who caught hold of me before I could leap across the invisible barrier and relieve this monster of her head. Nelly shot me another look. Another growl ripped up my throat, but I stayed put.
Nelly: I would advise you not to make threats. Or perhaps you need a reminder of why you named me Master in the first place.
Carianna: I think it is you who needs to be reminded, my dear Queen, reminded of what blood flows through your veins, of the beast that lurks in the depths of your soul. You are not one of them. All you need do is take a look behind you to see that. You know it, and now, they know it too. They will never accept you. Come with us.
Nelly didn’t take her eyes off the Lamia, but I did. I turned my head and looked over my shoulder to see that the scene had changed. The Fae were no longer staring slack-jawed and immobile, but instead had taken to their wings and held swords and bows and arrows at the ready. The Trolls had returned with small hammers and axes in their stubby hands. Magic users, the names of their races unknown to me, were sending sparks out of their fingertips that looked like they could erupt into deadly shards given command. The Wolves had shifted in their animal forms, ears flattened against their enormous heads and the fur on their huge backs standing at attention. Searchers stood behind Brocken Vampires, who held Warrior’s swords deceptively still at their sides.
And the worst part of it all, I didn’t know who they were arming up against; the Lamia, or my sister.
If Nelly doesn’t end this soon, Warrior, our blade will get to sing its song plenty. It may be too late already.
I threw a thought out to my sister that I hoped she would catch: Nelly, send them away. Now!
Carianna continued on: How selfish of you to keep all of this fine wine to yourself. Send a few of them out as a show of good will, and we will leave you for now, my Queen. One of each race will do. Maybe two of the Fae. It has been so long since I’ve had their exquisite blood. And the Sun Warrior, of course. I’ve never had the pleasure of that delicacy.
The next thing that was said was spoken aloud, just one word, but the tone in which it was spoken was one I had never heard my sister use before; one that I hadn’t even known she was capable of using. That one word was so full of anger and rage that it made the ramblings of my own Monster sound like the whimper of a piddling puppy.
Nelly said simply, “Fine.”
Then her arms flew out at her sides with such swiftness that I could not even detect their movement from her sides to the air. Her head tilted back and her throat issued a shriek that was so much like that of the Accursed standing before us, but so much more powerful still. It was the cry not of the Beast, but of the Mother of Beasts, and I didn’t have to glance behind me this time to know that the entire Outlands had fallen fearfully frozen under its force. My hands twitched at my sides as I resisted the urge to reach up and cover my ears. So loud it was, deafening, and it seemed to drown out every other sound in the universe. I could only watch in helpless horror as next bridge on this crazy path burned behind me and Nelly’s feet.
If they hadn’t figured it out already, they knew it now. Nelly’s secret was a secret no more. Everyone here knew that she was one of the Accursed.
No matter what happens now, Warrior, this won’t end well.
“Does it ever?”
A humorless chuckle. Sure…in fairytales.
When my sister finally ceased shrieking, a preternatural silence seemed to fall over the world around me, and for a moment, it was as if I was standing smack in the middle of a void. In that silent moment I was able to watch the unthinkable happen before me. As I look back now, I can only recall the event in a series of images. And this is what I saw:
Nelly’s hands, as white as fresh snow–raised high above her honey head–clenched into fists so tight that no blood could enter them. The field beyond, with its pack of huntresses, fangs bared and eyes black and heads cocked in a way that reminded me of ravens. Grinning ravens. From my vantage point some of them were no more than figures out in a field, so white and deviously immobile. All of the world seeming immobile, save for my little sister.
And when the Lamia’s cries of anguish cut through the silence, this time I did cover my ears. They were the cries of burning demons. Then some of the Lamia started to disappear, quite literally. Because Nelly was still holding me in the circle of her mind,
I knew what was really happening. I knew what she was doing.
Nelly was ripping the Lamia’s souls clean out of their bodies.
It was a dreadfully beautiful thing. So much so that I wanted to weep and laugh simultaneously. All I could do was stand there, mouth agape, as I counted them off in my head, as Lamia after Lamia was abruptly cut off from their tether to this world, as they became simply…undone before my eyes, at the hands of my sister.
Six…nine…thirteen…
At thirteen the remaining Lamia wised up and took their departure, exiting the field and slipping away into the night as silent as demons in the shadows. But the one my sister had referred to as Carianna sent a parting thought out to Nelly. Her voice was soft and unwelcome in my head, like a whisper from some faraway spoiled land.
Eventually, you will seek us out. For now, my Queen.
And then the Lamia were gone.
It was pure reflex that I was able to catch my sister before she collapsed to the ground. At first, I thought that she had passed out, but as I clutched her arms Nelly stared up at me with hazel eyes as wide as a terrified kitten’s, and I saw that it was only her knees that had given way, the energy it had taken her to de-soul the Lamia having wiped out her physical strength. She found her feet quicker than I would have thought possible, though, and as I wheeled around to check out the scene behind me, it was not hard to see why.
My left arm wrapped around my sister to support some of her weight. My right hand held my Gladius deadly tight.
I took a deep breath and faced the mob of very pissed-off supernaturals all around me.
Alexa
One step forward. Two. Three.
No one seemed to be breathing. The only sound was that of my heart pounding like war drums in my chest. None of their weapons were held up at direct aim, but I knew by the way they held them that they were ready to shoot an arrow or launch an axe in half of a heartbeat. My eyes ran over them slowly, accessing the danger each posed. If they should choose to attack as a unit, I would not only be unable to protect Nelly, but I would most certainly be unable to protect myself.
Maybe we should have taken our chances with the Lamia.
I paid my Monster no mind. I had to treat this situation carefully. Such a delicate thing this was, this peace that these races agreed to live by. The tension in the air was so thick that my feet seemed to be dragging through it, making each step forward without occurrence a victory. I could see the murder in some of their eyes, especially those that were Vampire or Wolf, and I couldn’t really say that I blamed them. But that didn’t mean that I would let them hurt Nelly.
More steps. Slow. Too slow.
I sent out a thought to Nell, hoping she had enough mental strength left to hear me. We have to move quicker, Nell. We’re standing on a cliff that’s set to crumble any second now.
What I got back was weak but firm: Don’t…worry…Lex.
For some reason this made anger well in me, and I was kind of surprised to realize that my anger was with my sister. Don’t worry? Could she even be serious? If not for the setting, I may have screamed these questions in her face, but that could only serve to worsen this bad situation, so I kept my mouth shut and my guard up. Way up.
A look over my shoulder told me that Kayden was walking behind me, his golden eyes scanning the crowd like a lion stalking antelope. I breathed a small sigh of relief, knowing that I was protected from behind. Tommy, crazy smitten fool that he was, had taken up stride behind Nelly, and he watched the scene the same way that Kayden did. At least we weren’t alone, but we were still pretty damn near.
Then someone in the crowd shouted, and the fragile peace shattered like thin glass on a hard floor. A faceless voice yelled, “Accursed!” and without me having given permission, my Monster stepped forward and seized the reins, and saved Nelly’s life.
The world slowed, as it always did when I looked through the eyes of my beast, and the arrow that came whizzing through the air aimed for my sister’s heart was cut down just inches from home plate by my Gladius, the silver blade snapping through the wood with an audible crack! More people shouted now, and I felt my left eye twitch and a crooked grin spread over my face as my body took up battle stance.
I’m going to kill them all for that, Warrior. I’m going to kill them all.
And they began to move in. Fae, Trolls, Magic Users, Vampires, Wolves. I watched and waited. And then something silver landed right in front of me. I was barely able to stop my sword from sliding into his midsection as I realized who it was.
Arrol.
“Wait!” he shouted, and his usually soft and silky voice was loud and commanding. His dragonfly wings twitched at his back, the only sign of that he could feel the tension as surely as I could. His glorious face was set, though, and when his silver eyes flashed to me for the briefest of moments, I saw that there was something gentle there. So, despite the blood boiling inside of me, I waited to see if whatever Arrol had in mind could play out.
He spoke quickly. “We can’t kill them, you fools. Think about what you are doing.”
A Brocken Vampire as big as a house, with a long burly beard and tree trunks for arms yelled back. “Like hell we can’t! You saw what happened fairy! The girl is one of them! The Accursed called her Queen!”
Arrol’s shoulders tensed a fraction, and his fingers tightened around the bow and arrow that he held at his side, and I knew by the way the Brocken had said it that “fairy” must be a derogatory name for a Fae. But Arrol’s face remained impassive, and his voice was calm and steady when he spoke. “The Law here forbids harm. If the girl was any danger to you, she would not have been allowed to enter.” He glanced around now, addressing the crowd. “You all know what will happen if we let this become a battle. The magic that keeps the danger out of the Outlands will dissipate, and this territory will become as open and unprotected as a buffet line. Do you want the Accursed to come back when that happens?”
My heart was still racing in my chest, but a little hope was spiraling in there now, too. Looking around I saw that the people were thinking about what he was saying. They still looked like they meant business, but some of them were thinking, and that had to be a good thing, right?
Another voice, this one lost in the crowd. “Then throw her out!”
More shouts. Agreements. My hope fading. Arrol’s words had been news to me. I hadn’t known that the peace not only depended on the magic of this land, but that the magic depended on the peace. Maybe they couldn’t harm us, but they could sure as hell make us leave. And we had nowhere else to go that was safe.
The burly Brocken again. Looking at Nelly. “Yes! Leave, demon! Leave this land and take your black soul with you!”
Before anyone could shout their concurrence, I stepped forward and pointed the tip of my Gladius at the Brocken Vampire who had spoken. My smile was as cold as the blade in my hand. “Just try and make us, big man.”
The Brocken spat at the ground by his feet and sneered. “Awfully little girl you are to say such big words.”
I laughed now, the cackle of my Monster, and beckoned him forward with a tip of my blade. “Come and see that I mean them.”
Arrol stepped in between us, and I had to resist the strong urge to shove him out of the way. He held up his hands. “Is this what we have become?” he asked, addressing the crowd once more. “A people who will condemn someone based on race alone? Is that not why we all came here, to escape persecution based on just such prejudice? Are we such beasts and monsters that we would not even allow the girl to speak on her own behalf? To explain? If so, we are no better than the humans who kill each other over such petty differences. We are the monsters they say us to be.”
Silence. Arrol glanced over his shoulder at me, his silver eyes telling me that now would be the time to plead my case, because I might not get another chance. I took a deep breath, unsure of what was going to come out.
With effort, I lowered my sword to my side as I spoke. “We mean no harm to a
ny of you,” I said, then laughed a little humorlessly because I couldn’t help it. “Hell, we don’t want to be here anymore than you want us here. We didn’t ask for any of this.” I gestured to Nelly. “My sister didn’t ask to be what she is.”
I paused. Something in me screamed not to tell these people that Nelly was the true Savior. They would no doubt throw her into the battlefield if they knew that. And that was a best-case scenario. I swallowed, started again.
“We came here because there are people suffering under the hand of King William. I came here because my people asked me to help liberate them from this King. I have lost my mother to this cause…and my best friend. I have agreed to fight against this dictator, and I think that most of you know how the story will end when I do. I have been told that I will die in my efforts to bring about a greater peace, and I’ve accepted this role. But, I will not let you hurt my sister. I will give everything, but I won’t give you that.”
I looked over at Nelly, took her hand into mine. “She sent them away,” I said. “Whatever you may be thinking, she sent the Accursed away. She chose her side. I know there are those of you here that have an investment in this war that lies ahead of us, and soon you will have to choose a side. You too have come here because you believe that the races can live together in harmony, that we can accept each other in our differences. I will fight with you in this battle for the greater good, but it must start here. It must start with acceptance and…trust.”
God, I hoped that didn’t sound as cheesy out loud as it did in my head. At least no one had fired another arrow.
A woman with soft green skin that shimmered slightly stepped forward then, and her emerald eyes settled on Nelly. Her face was young, but her voice and those striking eyes spoke of years unregistered in appearance. She approached Nelly slowly, and I tensed. When she reached my sister, her green hand came up and lifted Nelly’s chin gently, searching her face. “What are you, child?” she asked.