Lady Shade

by Ymir A Lethe

  “You really must be dangerous. You survived. It’s funny, I’ve yet to see either of them. I would think, though, that the priority is Fire-Eyes.”

  “Yes, unfortunately they’re more than illusive. Where and when Fire-Eyes strikes seems to be random. No pattern, other than carnage. We know Green-Eyes is a protector, so I can predict his behavior. But Fire-Eyes, I’ll just have to hunt down the old-fashioned way.”

  “You better be well-prepared. I don’t want the townspeople getting hurt. Do it far from this town, or I’ll see to it that your nobility means nothing, Miss Shade. Do you understand?”

  “Don’t worry about that.”

  “And I don’t want you in the town, either. So do your work and leave.”

  She scoffed and frowned. “Why are you suddenly so offended?”

  He sighed. “Because you killed someone who wasn’t a danger, out of sheer dogmatism.”

  Milla was silent and guilt flashed in her eyes.

  Blossom’s heart sank.

  “Do you know what happens in the late stages?” she asked. “The beast, it fights. And it’ll push the body beyond its limit. It’ll kill the human by pushing the bones out of the flesh, creating the most agonizing death possible. And the seizures are just the start of it. The body stops being able to return to normal, and she would’ve died slowly, painfully as her body deformed.”

  He shrugged off his anger. “Fine. Was it painless?”

  “Of course.”

  “Still doesn’t excuse it.” He sighed. “I’ll pray for you, Miss Shade.”

  “Will you?” She stormed off.

  Blossom looked at the sky. “Lord, sometimes you make my task difficult. And I think you’re lying to me.”

  Avem

  Avem Advent always relished in the small-town feel of Bronzeglade, and the place reminded her of her sister, because that’s where she went to visit Eratta. She fell in love there and died there. Her father, who was lord of the next fief next door, had held a funeral for her in Bronzeglade. She was a girl of two places.

  Avem’s favorite spot was a place that very few new about—an old Celtic druid’s ground. The stones and the oaks were still scored with their markings. A magnificent place where the bronze leaves swirled in the wind.

  “This is where we would play, wasn’t it, Avem?” Eratta laughed. “It’s been too long.”

  Avem smiled. Eratta’s arm was linked with Miss Shade, a stunning woman who seemed comfortable with him. And he was just as comfortable with her. Avem smiled at them and sat on one of the stones.

  “Milla, this is Avem, Teffly’s sister. Avem, this is Milla.”

  “Heard you two are getting married,” Avem said. “As Teffly’s sister, it’s my job to rip your head off if you hurt him.”

  “I wouldn’t,” Milla said. “Though…”

  “What?” Avem asked.

  “What do you know about the happenings recently?”

  Eratta raised his hand to protest.

  Avem shrugged. “Heard you have monstrous wolves running about the place, causing all kinds of chaos.”

  “Fair enough. Just curious.”

  “This was where Teffly and I met,” Errata said to Milla. “The two sisters—identical twins, actually—would come here to play. Their father is… well, he was a carefree fellow, and lets his daughters wander the woods. No boars or anything, and there’d always be a crew of servants and guards a shout away, so they’d play here. Anyway, I was being taught to hunt by my father’s huntsman, Paul, and I decided to get lost and meet up with the sisters. Avem didn’t like me much.”

  “I didn’t like you for a long time,” she said.

  “You liked me eventually.” Eratta smiled. “Anyway, Avem said she didn’t trust me because my father was Danish. You know about that. But Teffly gave me a hug and told Avem to shut up.”

  “It’s true.” Avem beamed. “And I did eventually become fond of Eratta. He made my sister happy. I’m amazed you haven’t been married off, Milla.”

  “I was a nurse in France for a while.”

  “Not a future lady’s job.” Avem frowned.

  “I wanted to explore the world. Pretended to be a common girl, which almost got me killed.”

  “What happened?” Avem asked.

  “The camp was attacked and I killed the three soldiers that found me.”

  “Pretending to be a common girl—why?”

  “Because the gentry always bored me. Still do, mostly. I was going to be married off, which I just couldn’t stand for.”

  “It was your duty.”

  “It’s my duty to continue my family’s name, and I wasn’t going to marry some pathetic man with no strength of heart. I’m the only remaining member of the Shade family who can have children.”

  “Wha—”

  “Eratta, she’s upsetting me.” Milla turned to face him. “I don’t like her… outlook.”

  “Milla, she’s a friend.”

  She glared at Avem.

  “She’s like Teffly,” Avem said to Eratta.

  “They both speak their minds and they both love nature, that’s true.” He chuckled. “But Milla’s quite different.”

  “She’s not as—”

  “Teffly would be angry because you were mean to me. Milla’s angry because she thinks you were rude to her. But both of you are good people with very different outlooks. You’d have a lot in common, though.”

  Neither woman said anything.

  Eratta sighed. “Are you going to be spending a few days? You’ve got to know that now is a bad time, with those giant wolves are still about. I nearly died.”

  “But I’d be—”

  “I can’t tell you exactly what’s going on,” Eratta said. “But right now, being in this town is dangerous. Only last night, there was an attack at the White Hart. One man broke his—”

  “Then why is she here?” Avem glared at Milla. “Why are you here?”

  Milla didn’t say anything. Eratta also remained silent, his long white hair draping around his face, and he could see Avem out of the corner of his eye. She looked at him and them back to Milla, who was dressed in black riding leathers, with a strange gun strapped to her leg. She started back at Avem, with her deep blue eyes.

  “Is there… wait, there are actually lycanthropes? And you, Milla, you’re really a huntress?”

  “Last of a long line.” She grinned. “I plan on ending lycanthropy once and for all.”

  “Like a spartan,” Avem said.

  “I said that myself, only a month ago.” Milla laughed. “Look, I’m skilled. I have piles of lycanthrope bodies behind me. I’m armed with weaponry that you cannot get, decades ahead of its time. And even then, I nearly died.”

  “Did it attack you?”

  “Twice. The white-furred one.”

  “Huh… why?”

  “I’m a huntress, so I’m a threat.”

  “Makes sense.” Avem nodded.

  “Avem, can I ask you something?” Eratta said.

  “Yes.”

  “You asked if it attacked her, but it’s well-known that there are two lycanthropes.”

  Avem shrugged. “Sorry, I’m not staying up to date.”

  “Show us your wrists,” Milla said.

  “Why?”

  “Just do it, Avem.”

  Avem showed Milla her naked wrists.

  “Okay.” Milla sighed. “Want to join us for dinner tonight?”

  “Sure. “The Winters manor, I assume?”

  “I’ll allow it.” Eratta chortled.

  Avem peered around the druid’s circle. She could hear a faint noise, so she focused in. The trees were whispering to each other. They spoke of a power somewhere deep within the earth, and from it all things flowed. Some of the power had escaped to the surface, and this fragment tried to seal the rest underground. Eratta was speaking to Milla, but Avem could only hear the rustling trees and the silence of the stones. This piece of power took the form of a mortal man so that it could be co
nducted more efficiently. The trees spoke of a ritual that fused this world with another. The moon and how this world was now beset by it.

  Avem looked up and saw a night’s sky with no stars. Only the bright moon covering the sky and getting closer, bearing down upon the world. She could feel its power seeping through her veins, and tried to pull herself free. She fell to the ground and felt Eratta and Milla yelling at her. Now she stood in the center of the druid’s circle.

  There was something lurking in the shadow of the trees. It was in the likeness of a man, but its head was that of a skinned deer and two bloody antlers rose from his head. Avem just stared at him. His hands were like bear paws and his teeth were fanged.

  “Get out!” it yelled.

  Avem’s eyes fluttered open.

  Solace Blue

  Solace felt it. The pulse of energy rushing through the trees which spoke to each other. The ancient art of Druidry was one that came naturally to some people. Harnessed, it was a great thing. When you entered the world of the spirits and walked among them, as Solace did now, you could hear all of them communicating with each other. A level of existence that not even the God of this world could reach.

  The trees spoke of another who’d arrived in this world but didn’t know where they were. And as quick as the panicked whispers had begun, they stopped on command from a spirit of great power, and the new druid was gone.

  Solace flighted himself to the druid’s circle, where he peered into the world of mortals. Avem, with Milla and Eratta helping her to her feet.

  “What are you doing here, Solace Blue?” Wreath asked.

  “I came to see. Did you command them to leave?”

  “Yes.”

  “Foolish.”

  Wreath’s head turned red with anger. Solace glared at him and Wreath settled himself. Solace looked to the sky and saw the spirit of the moon, so close to this place where the worlds fused. He cast himself from the world of the spirits and opened his eyes. Got up and stretched, then looked back at the giant wall of glowing amber.

  “What are you?” Tubiel asked, from the edge of the cave.

  Solace beckoned him and Tubiel came to his side. Solace pointed to the amber.

  “I was wondering about that,” Tubiel said. “Are you… his soul?”

  “Close. You see, what lies in there is the most powerful of all the spirits—a being called Solace. His soul was fractured into a thousand pieces and he has scoured the world to find those pieces.”

  “What are those pieces?”

  “Orange. There’s a spirit called Makh. He’s one of humanity’s many guardians. The most human of all spirits. He saw how powerful Solace was, so he transformed some of that power into amber blue.” Solace held up the silver ring and the blue amber that gleamed within. “Solace was drawn to the amber. It was his soul, after all. So he broke open Heron’s Mound, descended into the depths and took the ring. So blinded by his victory, at long last, he hurried back and returned to his hiding place in this cave. What he didn’t realize was that I could no longer be a part of him. So I broke myself apart and made his soul burst from his chest. It came out in the form of orange amber.”

  “So you’re…”

  “I’m Solace Blue. I have no power. The only way I can access power is to steal it from him. But he can’t move.”

  “But his power is free. It has its own mind.”

  “Something else happened in this town many years ago. This world partially fused with the world of the spirits and the essence of the moon spirit fused with this amber. As a result, this town has produced nine powerful lycanthropes in sixty years. Only two, maybe three remain in Bronzeglade.” Solace slapped his hand on the amber. “And I don’t know who either of them are. Can’t trace them. Can’t… sense them. The spirit of the moon doesn’t talk and it’s too far away to be spoken to. So I just have to try and undo the stupid mistakes of what was me.”

  “I’ve seen what you can do.” Tubiel took a step closer. “Solace, was I… did you take away my lycanthropy?” He glanced over at Golden.

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you.” Tubiel smiled.

  Solace smiled back. “I live inside this ring.” He held it up. “The Solace you knew before, was the one who was looking for the pieces of his soul.”

  “Don’t you desire them?”

  “No. My hope is to get the lycanthropes down here, and if everything has gone as planned, Green-Eyes will be coming to me tonight.”

  “Can you defeat him?”

  “Possibly not, but I’ll try. Will you help me?”

  “Of course.” Tubiel nodded.

  “Good. Now, we wait.”

  Eratta

  Shortly after Avem fainted, the snow began to fall heavy. Eratta sat inside, and ordered for the fireplaces to be ignited. He sent out laborers to collect extra firewood, and waited. But as the snow began to grow thicker and thicker, the Inquisition had yet to arrive yet.

  Eratta pouted his lips and sighed. Milla was sitting by the fireplace, reading a book titled The Curiosity of Amber and its Applications in the Unnatural Arts, and taking notes in her notebook. Eratta took one last look over his lodge book and signed his letter confirming his plans for the winter. Then he heard a chirp and looked toward the window, where a bird was perched on the windowsill. It turned its head twice before taking flight into the snowy sky.

  “I’m getting worried,” Eratta said. “The Inquisition should be here by now.”

  “Perhaps they’re doing something they don’t want you to know about,” Milla said.

  “It’s possible. And the snow is falling thick and fast. They’ll have free reign, if they’re crazy enough.”

  “They are. What are you going to do about it?”

  “Call the militia. But…

  “What?”

  “I don’t trust Daniel.”

  Milla turned to Eratta, frowning. “Why?”

  “Well… the night I was taken by Solace, Nathaniel sent a servant to the militia, but Daniel was never at home. His wife was too sick to know what could’ve possibly been happening and he refuses to tell me where he was.”

  “Nathaniel told you this?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where’s Nathaniel?”

  “I don’t know. Once he was done taking care of me… I think the man needs a rest. He’s been through too much for one man.”

  “Hm. Don’t let the man hide the beast. The beast hides from the man, and a pure heart is the most blind. There are lots of pure hearts in this town, Eratta. You included.”

  “My suspicions are fair.”

  “True.” Milla nodded. “Sorry, my mind… there’s a lot of strange stuff being talked about here.” She looked down at her book. “It says there’s three kinds of amber… orange, blue, and green. Orange amber is the source of unnatural gifts.”

  “I see it in my dreams.”

  Milla narrowed her eyes at him. “Why?” She paused. “Solace. That’s how Solace healed you! And blue is for unnatural spirits. Made spirits or non-human souls.”

  “Who wrote this?”

  “I don’t know.” She flicked through the pages. “I see. They used the name Apophis. The Egyptians thought he was a god, I believe. He was probably just a practitioner of witchcraft.”

  “And Solace is a… witch? He must have a lot of that amber.”

  “I’m not a witch hunter. And I like Solace, so I won’t hunt him or even expose him. But it looks that way.” She looked up at the ceiling. “Apophis writes that there are many human witches, and there are many spirits that take a human form. And I’ve been wondering something about Solace.”

  “What?”

  “He lives out there, right? In the woods? The only things he comes in town to buy are pies and pastries. Never bread or vegetables. Like he only eats for pleasure. And he can flit around the hills faster than people can on flat ground. He never sleeps. He’s… I think he’s a spirit.”

  “Well, what can we learn from that?”

&
nbsp; “I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  “Actually, it teaches us one thing. That Solace, and I’m guessing the monastery too, isn’t going to tell us how to deal with the pair of wolves in town. We need to do this the old-fashioned way.”

  Milla thought for a moment. “Tubiel… did you notice how he suddenly turned up with a wolfhound?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I think Solace cured his lycanthropy. I think Solace can reverse it. He could heal you and that child.”

  “I wouldn’t risk Solace healing them.” Eratta shook his head.

  “I agree. But that’s probably what he’s planning to do. Which is why he tried to blind Green-Eyes rather than kill him.”

  Eratta sighed and sat back in his seat. Looked out of the window again. The guards had taken a short break to wrap up in furs, and were now back in position on the walls. Eratta looked over the gardens. The flowers would be dead by evening. The trees were already beginning to strip bare, though they’d lasted longer than most. A Northern wind had come, reminding Eratta of the bad omens his father used to always speak about.

  He got up and roamed to the back door, leaving Milla by the fireplace, and opened the doors. The frigid wind rattled his bones. He took a deep breath and stepped out into the now-trickling snow. The skies parted and the door slammed shut behind him.

  “Eratta Winters!” someone shouted

  He turned around to an inquisitor with one hand on the doorknob and the other holding a long silver blade. Eratta stepped back, but his weakened legs couldn’t handle the sudden movement and he crashed down into the snow. A second inquisitor was standing by a nearby bush. After looking through the window, into the room Milla was in, he nodded to the first, then slid from behind the shrub and began to approach. Eratta looked around and saw six hiding around the place. The guard on the wall had his rifle aimed at Eratta.

  “Milla! Help!” he shouted, then jumped up and drew his sword.

  A gunshot blasted and the guard atop the wall toppled down onto the snow. The inquisitors turned to Milla as she stepped out of the huge window of Eratta’s study and into the snow. She loaded another bullet into the revolver.