Emily's Saga

by Travis Bughi

  Hippolytha’s mother had perished due to illness about the same time Mariam decided to run away. In truth, Hippolytha (and even her younger sister, Stefani) was old enough to make her own way, but she sought the leadership of an elder, and Chara was there to take her into her arms. As for Stefani, she was raised by another, which was also not uncommon. Chara wanted only one daughter to care for, and Hippolytha did not feel ready to be both a mother to her sister and a queen to her people. It also helped that Mariam had been similar in age to the young queen, making the transition easier for Emily’s grandmother.

  Their relationship blossomed, or so Chara felt. She taught Hippolytha better ways to shoot a bow, proper knife technique, and other things a young amazon should know. Chara was even there to watch Adelpha be born, and some years later, Adelpha’s sister, Heliena. Then, tragically, on Hippolytha’s first day out hunting after Heliena’s birth, Chara and the queen were out stalking a manticore when they came across a basilisk.

  Emily had to stop the story here to ask what a basilisk was, and Chara told her. A basilisk was a deadly and poisonous creature, perhaps the most dangerous of all creatures in the world. Legless, long, and scaly, it moved by slithering on its belly through the bushes. It was small, fortunately, never growing longer than an arm in length, yet its poison was so deadly that it could kill immortals, such as vampires and angels. However, according to the new amazon traitor, a treant’s wood would be resistant to this poison. Chara said that point was unproven, but she wagered it was possible.

  What was most terrifying about a basilisk, though, was that it could kill with its eyes. Just making eye contact with the creature would stop one’s heartbeat and make them drop dead. This, unfortunately, was what happened to Hippolytha.

  As she and Chara stalked the manticore, Chara saw the basilisk slither into their trail. She ducked and averted her eyes, holding up her hands and calling out for Hippolytha to do the same. She’d been too late, and Hippolytha had slumped dead to the jungle floor a moment later. Chara had to drag her back, weeping the entire way. It was a senseless death with no one to blame except the harshness of the wild.

  At that point in the story, Emily glanced at Adelpha who was still looking down, forlorn.

  “Adelpha and her sister were too young to remember their mother,” Chara said. “Heliena is actually about your age, Emily, but at that time, she was just a newborn and still needed her mother’s milk to survive. I was too old to nurse anymore, but fortunately Hippolytha’s younger sister, Stefani, was up to that task. Stefani had tried to produce children, and though she miscarried every time, she still produced milk and thus raised Heliena. I felt it was appropriate to take up Adelpha as my own.

  “The problems, though, started immediately. See, with Hippolytha dead, Stefani had to take up the ruling of our people. She immediately wanted me punished for Hippolytha’s death. Apparently dragging my adopted daughter’s cold, lifeless corpse back home was not punishment enough. Fortunately, others intervened and stood up for me, and nothing came of Stefani’s vengeful plans. Queens do not rule absolutely in amazon society. We can, and often do, argue and disagree with our leaders. Still, though, Stefani has always harbored hatred for me and even partially towards Adelpha for staying with me.”

  “So could it be her then?” Emily jumped in. “This traitor amazon, could it be her I heard yelling?”

  “No,” Adelpha said. “Stefani isn’t here. She stopped making the journey to Lucifan when she stopped trying to have children. Besides, I’m her niece. She wouldn’t try to have me killed.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Chara muttered. “Everyone who isn’t in this room right now is suspect. Let’s not forget that.”

  Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was courteous, not too sharp or loud. When Emily opened it, Sir Gavin greeted her with a smile. He stood in the doorway without armor, dressed in the tunic and pants that she had seen Sir Mark in the previous night. Emily realized this was the first time she was seeing him without shinning metal plates covering his body.

  Meanwhile, she was still in her old, dirty pants, linen shirt, and overalls with disheveled hair.

  “Good Morning, Miss Stout,” he said. “I hope you’re feeling well this morning.”

  Emily made a quick motion to straighten her hair, but her attempts to hide it were as flawed as the execution.

  “I am, thank you,” she managed to say. “Did everything go as planned last night?”

  “By the time we got back, only Jack Borgan and his ogres were there. He seemed surprised to hear we thought a vampire, a samurai, and an amazon were in his building. He claims you were trespassing on his property, and his ogres were merely teaching you a lesson. It would have been his word against yours if we hadn’t also searched near The Kraken’s Eye and found his dead ogre ambushers. Mr. Borgan is now in custody awaiting trial.

  “As for the other matter, about the samurai, it wasn’t difficult to find him. Samurai may be common in Juatwa, but they stand out as much as a colossus here in Lucifan.”

  “So what did you find out?” she asked.

  “Before I explain,” his voice lowered and he leaned forward, “tell me why exactly you wish to know.”

  Emily’s skin flashed warm as Gavin leaned close. For a moment, she lost her ability to think and blinked, wondering why she had asked. It returned a moment later, and she found herself answering his question.

  “That samurai knows who the screaming woman is,” she replied, “and I want to know what he knows.”

  Gavin said nothing at first, but then nodded slowly.

  “Well, you won’t have any luck there,” he sighed. “Okamoto Karaoshi, as he is known, is a diplomat for one of the shoguns of Juatwa. He has his own ship docked at the ports. It’s the only large vessel that gets to pull straight up to the docks and stay there. The rest of the ships that aren’t offloading cargo have to anchor offshore and use rowboats to come in.”

  “So what does that all mean? What is a shogun anyway?”

  “Shogun is a title of a special kind of daimyo. The daimyo are human leaders, or rulers, of armies and land in the East. They band together in groups, like warlords, and their head leader is called the shogun. What that means is that the angels will avoid conflict with them at all costs to keep the trade lines open, including detaining foreign diplomats. If the trade routes are shut down, hundreds will starve and crime will soar. The angels will not risk such suffering if a simpler solution can be found. Essentially, we knights are not allowed to arrest him until he has actually committed a crime. Conspiracy is, unfortunately, just one person’s word against another.”

  “I see. Well, thank you for that information, Sir Gavin,” Emily blushed as she prepared her next comment. “It seems I become more and more indebted to you every day.”

  The corners of Gavin’s mouth twisted up into a smile, and he said, “Thank you, Miss Stout, but I absolve you of all responsibility to me. Besides, that is not even the reason I am here. I was sent to fetch you.”

  “For what purpose?” Chara asked, her tone instantly hostile.

  “The angels want to speak with Emily,” Gavin said to her, “immediately.”

  Chapter 17

  After Emily picked her jaw up off the floor, Gavin also informed the trio that Chara and Adelpha were now free to leave. The suspects had been apprehended, a full night had passed, and they could no longer be detained against their will. Killing was not a crime in Lucifan if it was done in self-defense. Chara had then demanded, more than requested, that she accompany Emily, and Gavin permitted it despite admitting he lacked the authority to do so. He did warn her that she would not be allowed to enter the angels’ chamber and would have to wait outside. She had no issue with this. She would not abandon her granddaughter.

  Adelpha, though, was eager to head back to the rest of the amazons and inform them of the situation. Both Chara and Emily agreed, though only the former voiced it.

  “Be careful,” the old lady
warned. “There’s no telling who to trust now.”

  Adelpha split off from the group to leave for The Kraken’s Eye, while Chara and Emily followed the young knight to the angels’ tower. He led them through the knights’ quarters, which were directly connected to the huge structure. On the way, in response to a series of questions from Emily, Sir Gavin explained the angels and how the city of Lucifan came to be.

  “According to legend,” Gavin smiled at her while waving one hand extravagantly, “many years ago, before our parents’ parents’ parents were even born, five angels descended from the skies. They decided to make a utopia for man and creature alike, where they could meet together, work together, and be happy. It would become the first and, some argue, the only city in the world. The laws they laid down established a place of stability—a place people could call home—and their presence also brought wealth from massive amounts of trade. This helped man and creature alike to pursue talents and to achieve greater things than themselves, such as these wonderful buildings you see all around you. Although the angels levy a tax on the wealthy, mostly to repair damages or pay for our services, it is only enough for that which is needed. They take no profit for themselves.”

  “That is very admirable of them,” Chara said. “Though some would argue no tax at all would be best.”

  “If Lucifan could be trusted to guard itself,” Gavin replied, “I’m sure the angels would agree. It pains them to take from others, even when it is to help those in need.”

  They walked to the end of the knights’ building through a large doorway guarded by two fully armored knights. As he walked by, they gave a sharp nod to Gavin, who returned it in kind. They were then allowed entrance into the grand tower.

  When they entered the structure, Emily once again fell into a state of awe. The main floor was massive, large enough to store the entire bank Emily had seen in the market square. Situated in the center were five stone statues of, what appeared to be, humans with wings. They were facing towards each other, kneeling on one knee with their arms raised up to support the ceiling. As Emily followed the statues with her eyes, she saw that the ceiling had a grand painting of Lucifan on it, stretching from wall to wall.

  On the floor, there were several areas sectioned off by long wooden tables or ropes that created makeshift hallways. People and other creatures were standing in lines in these hallways, waiting to talk with those that were sitting on the opposite sides of the tables.

  “The five statues are sculptures of the angels,” Gavin explained, watching Emily’s eyes. “The actual angels reside upstairs in the second half of this building. This main area is used to handle such matters as property, income, and taxes.”

  “How could they afford all of this?” Emily asked. “I thought you said the angels only levy enough taxes to pay for the necessary?”

  “They do,” he nodded. “This building was made as tribute to the angels by the first citizens of Lucifan. To be entirely honest, I don’t think the angels like it. They just live here to be courteous. Certainly makes it difficult to be humble, no?”

  Emily could only nod.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a familiar man approaching them. When she turned and looked, she recognized Sir Mark O’Conner, the old knight from the previous evening. As he approached, Gavin lowered his head in respect and then stood rigidly at attention.

  “Good morning, Shaw,” Mark said. “I see you failed to follow orders properly again.”

  Mark was looking at Chara when he said that. Chara, a few years Mark’s senior, gave him a look so composed of acid and disdain that he looked away quickly and did not meet her gaze again. Emily felt her chest well with pride.

  “I apologize, Sir Mark,” Gavin said, chin raised high. “She insisted on coming, and I felt there would be no harm. She has already agreed to wait in this room, Sir.”

  “Very well then,” he sighed. “I guess the damage is done. Go and fetch the prisoner and then wait outside the angels’ chamber. As for you, girl, follow me.”

  He turned to leave, and Emily followed him. His pace was quick, and she had to take a few short jumps to catch up to him. When she did, he started to walk faster. He remained quiet the entire time, doing his best to completely ignore her presence all the way through the main floor and until they reached the stairs.

  The stairs were more like a massive corridor made of stone, spiraling along the edge of the building and circling up and around until it reached the second story. They followed them up until they ended at two huge, wooden doors that were guarded by knights in full armor. The doors were decorated with jewels, diamonds, and gold, and sparkled in the dim light that shone into the bottom floor and reflected up. As they neared the door, Mark barely paused in his strides to scold Emily.

  “For your sake, I really hope you were telling the truth.”

  “I was,” Emily replied.

  “We’ll all know soon enough,” Mark scoffed, quickening his pace again. “Let’s see how you feel when you’re basking in the glow of all five angels. I’ve yet to see anyone not weep who meets their aura for the first time.”

  They reached the massive doors and the knights who guarded it. Mark stopped and looked at Emily one last time.

  “I hope you brought a handkerchief,” he sneered.

  Mark nodded, and the two knights opened the heavy doors. Light poured out, and Emily raised a hand to shield her eyes. At first, she was surprised. The sun had not seemed quite so bright outside, and she hadn’t known there were so many windows at the top of the tower. She had to blink a few times until her eyes adjusted, and then she lowered her hand and saw what Mark was talking about.

  The light did not come through the windows; it radiated from within the room itself. The second story was huge, larger even than the main floor thanks to the tall, dome-shaped ceiling. In the room were five thrones made of stone and permanently attached to the floor. The thrones sat in a half circle, facing inwards toward the door. Sitting in each throne was an angel, and Emily was instantly struck with awe.

  They were human in figure—legs, skin, mouth, face, and hair—but they were so much more than that. For one, they looked taller. Not ogre or minotaur tall, but still somehow just slightly bigger than a normal human should appear. The angels were dressed in modest, white, linen gowns. Compared to their attire, Emily’s clothing actually seemed wealthy. Yet by the way the angels carried themselves, they might as well have been wearing the most exquisite silk in the entire world. The simple clothing seemed oddly out of place with the grandness of their surroundings. This was not to mention their wings.

  Each angel, like the statues on the main floor, had two wings, which were covered in white feathers, sprouting from their backs. The wings were draped over the sides of their thrones and made them appear surreal. The wings actually bore resemblance to the wings of a pegasus, and Emily wondered briefly if the angels had brought the winged unicorns with them when they came to this world. Her mind drifted away from the thought quickly, though, when she saw precisely where the light in the room was coming from.

  The angels’ eyes glowed. There were no pupils, irises, lines, or shapes within their eyes. Where an eye should be, only light glowed, and the light turned off and on like a twinkling star every time an angel blinked.

  They were, without a doubt, the most magnificent beings Emily had ever seen.

  “Enter, Emily Stout,” one of the angels said.

  The voice echoed unnaturally. It boomed and yet seemed so soft, filling every corner of the room with the sound of the angel’s voice. Emily felt her tension ease and then heighten again as a feeling of total unworthiness swept over her.

  She walked forward across the red carpet that led to the center of the room, barely noticing that it had gold thread on the edges. As she got closer, she noticed differences between the angels that she had not noticed at first. One thing she noticed was that they were not all the same gender. Two of the five were female, and they all had different colored ha
ir.

  “I am Ephron,” the angel with dark hair, one of the males, said.

  Emily knelt down and tried to open her mouth to thank him for his kindness, thank him for meeting her, and thank him for everything that had ever happened in her life, both good and bad. She was overcome by the desire to praise them and so saying ‘thank you’ just didn’t seem enough. Yet, no matter how many times different words of gratitude came to her mind, they all seemed vastly inadequate. So, in the end, she only nodded.

  “These are my brothers, Quartus and Uriah, and my sisters, Damaris and Zarah,” he said.

  Emily eyes flickered from one angel to the next. They were all so beautiful, so magnificent, that she couldn’t decide which one to address first. Their light-filled eyes washed over her, and seemed to see into the very depths of her existence. They all looked so attentive, so interested in her, so vested in her plight. Emily began to shudder from the kindness of it all. She didn’t feel worthy of it.

  One in particular caught her eye above the others. The angel farthest to her left whom Ephron had called Quartus was leaning so far off the edge of his seat that Emily wasn’t sure how he stayed on his throne. Although Emily knew the angels were timeless, immortal beings, this one had grey hair, which gave him the appearance of being older than the other four. His attention was locked on Emily like a gunslinger to a target. Above the others, she could have sworn she felt the very fabric of his being welling inside her mind.

  “Emily,” Ephron said, snapping her attention back to him. “We wish to know what happened to you last night. Please, tell us everything.”