Pulled to the Dark (The Siriena Series)

by Julia P. Lynde

  Vincent had basically taken over a small village three miles west of Renea's castle. Somehow he had taught Jeremy how to travel here, although he appeared to be more of a gopher than a right hand man. They were employing a few local men and a variety of mercenaries in the feud with Renea. We needed more information. Tonight we were out to collect it.

  There was just enough light to see where we were going.

  We each had a small backpack with water, food, a first aid kit, and binoculars. Nothing electrical worked in Siriena, but binoculars worked great.

  We moved as quickly as we could without making noise, but it was over an hour before we reached the village. We approached through the woods and stopped just before stepping into a farmer's field on the east side of the village. We settled in to watch.

  It took me ten minutes to get bored, and it only took that long because I found a mother bird feeding her babies in the nest. I could just see them sticking their noses in the air. What I could see was darned ugly. Birds can be pretty, but baby birds are the ugliest babies anywhere, Earth or Siriena. The interesting thing about these birds is that their beaks were fourteen inches long. The babies' beaks.

  I crawled over to Petra. "Bored now."

  "Go back to watching the birds," she said.

  "What birds?" I asked her.

  She sighed. "What do you want to do about it?"

  "Stir things up. We're here for information. Let me go collect some."

  "That is remarkably foolish," she said.

  "I know. They won't be expecting it from a general as brilliant as you. I'll catch them by complete surprise." I paused. "If I see my old boss, do I kill him?"

  "That's awfully bloodthirsty of you," she said.

  "It wouldn't be boring," I said. "Messy though. Messy is better than boring."

  "Didn't you bring anything to read?"

  "Yes," I said. "I did. It's all on my phone."

  "You are such a smart ass."

  I settled down in the grass next to Petra. Every few minutes I heaved a huge sigh.

  "That's very irritating," she said after the third or fourth sigh.

  "Maybe I should take a little walk. I could follow these woods to that little village over there, see if they have a penny arcade or something. Maybe get a cappuccino."

  "Felicia," she said. "You aren't this stupid. What is wrong with you?"

  "What is going to happen? I walk into the village. I'm noticed or I'm not. If I'm not, that tells us they aren't very observant. I look around, turn around and leave. If I'm noticed, they do something or they don't. If they don't, it tells us they don't really care. If they do, perhaps we get an idea on where in the village they're staying."

  "What if what they do is kill you?"

  "Do you think that's what they'd do? Or would they want to capture me? Or at least threaten me first?"

  "Your martial arts aren't good enough to prevent capture."

  "I wouldn't stick around. Pop goes the Felicia. I'd run to put on a little show and pop home."

  "What if they manage to hit you over the head first?"

  "You're full of what if. I'll be careful."

  She sighed.

  "Today we watch." She lowered her binoculars and looked over at me. "Do I need to find a way to enforce that?"

  I thought about it. "No. I'll behave."

  I watched the birds for a while. Then there was movement in the village, and I watched the local equivalent of a dog lope down the street and disappear from view. I kept quiet for at least thirty minutes. Well, fifteen anyway, before I laid the binoculars down and put my head in my arms. And sighed.

  Petra didn't even look at me. She just reached over with a hand and made my body go limp.

  "Hey!"

  Then she touched my throat and I couldn't talk anymore either.

  She waited ten or fifteen seconds before she said, "Ah, peace and quiet."

  She left me like that until lunchtime. I fumed for about an hour of it then gave up and took a nap.

  The next thing I knew, Petra was rolling me over. I still couldn't move, so I was a limp rag doll.

  I opened my eyes and looked at her.

  "Are you still sulking?"

  I stared at her. I didn't even try talking.

  She shook me a little. "Say something."

  "Something," I said.

  "Smart ass."

  "How was I supposed to know you let me talk again?"

  "I've been talking to you for fifteen minutes."

  "And I've been napping for several hours. What else was I supposed to do? Are you going to let me move or not?"

  She pulled my limp body into her arms. I didn't have much choice, so I kept my mouth shut about it.

  "You will listen to me," she said. "Or I will take your voice away and send you home like this." I believed her. I didn't want to think what it would do to our relationship.

  "I'm listening," I said.

  "The thought of you getting hurt scares the crap out of me. I'm already terrified. I don't have a clue what to do about this situation. I don't have a military mind. I'd rather find a diplomatic solution, but we've tried several overtures, and they aren't interested. I think Vincent gets his kick out of knowing Renea is locked in the castle, and that's all he cares about."

  I didn't have anything to say about that.

  "You were intentionally getting on my nerves when I'm already scared, and I was very afraid I'd give in, then watch you get hurt."

  I still had nothing to say.

  "If I let you move, are you going to do anything stupid?" she asked.

  "Petra, other than running my mouth off, have you ever seen me do anything stupid?"

  She stared into my eyes. "No, I haven't."

  She brushed a hand over my body, and control over my limbs returned to me.

  I pulled myself out of her arms and backed away from the field, then stood up and stretched. I turned my back on her, found my backpack, and looked through it for something to eat.

  Everyone else was a little distance away, watching Petra and I warily.

  I ate an apple then turned around and saw Petra watching me.

  "You're not going to scream at me?"

  "Don't you think screaming would be kind of stupid? Defeat the entire purpose of being quiet?" I paused. "Did we learn anything?"

  "Not really. We didn't see anyone. Not a single person."

  "So perhaps instead of putting me down, you could have told me to find a different angle to scout from."

  "I couldn't trust you."

  I sighed. "That's the most insulting thing you've ever said to me. Am I in the habit of breaking my promises or in some other way disappointing you?"

  She looked away. "You're right. I'm sorry. I am so stressed I am making bad choices. We should go and recoup."

  "Perhaps you should trust me," I told her.

  "You'll get yourself hurt."

  "Do you care if they know we were here?" I asked her.

  She thought about it. "No."

  "Good. Then I'm going to go stand fifty yards out in that field and see what happens."

  I waited while she thought about it.

  "If you see a bow, you're out of there."

  "Yes."

  "You will also leave before I have a heart attack."

  "I'll pop out and you will pull me back here."

  She nodded.

  I stepped for the field and walked out. I counted my steps and stopped at fifty.

  Nothing happened. No one noticed. Not a thing happened. I turned around and searched the woods for Petra. I pointed further into the field then held up five fingers then a closed fist. Fifty more steps." She nodded.

  I turned to the village and took another carefully counted fifty steps and stopped.

  Nothing. I stood there for ten minutes and nothing happened. I sighed, then yelled, "Hey assholes!" Nothing.

  I turned around and walked back.

  "Quiet," I said.

  "Too quiet," said Erika. I
grinned at her.

  "Petra, I want to walk to the village," I told her. "Otherwise the whole day is a bust."

  "You know," Andrea said. "Vincent could be at work. It is the middle of the day."

  "I think we should thin his ranks," I said. "I'll go lure them out. If there are too many, we all just leave. If there are only a few, we see how belligerent they are."

  I looked at Petra. "May I? You'll have to, I don't know. Trust me."

  She thought about it and nodded.

  Cool.

  I stepped back into the field and walked towards the village. When I reached rock throwing distance, I stopped. I didn't see anyone, not even the farmer who owned the field I'd just walked through.

  I looked around. The village held eight buildings. On the outskirts were more farms. There wasn't anything that resembled a church. I also didn't think there was an inn or anything like that. I did see what I thought might be a stables.

  I walked the rest of the way into the village. I didn't see a single person. "Hello!" I yelled. "Innocent, helpless female available for plundering!"

  It was a ghost town. Village. Hamlet. Whatever.

  I stood there for a while. I walked to the stables. I didn't see anyone. I let myself into the corral, then turned to the building. I saw no one. I entered the building cautiously, ready to pop out. I saw no people. There were two horses. "How did you guys get here?" I asked. I looked in their mangers. There was no hay. Or straw. Or whatever it is that horses eat.

  I looked around, then climbed into the loft. No one was there. There was a hay bale that was just out of horse range. I pulled clumps from it and fed it to the horses. They seemed to appreciate that, so I dumped some hay into each of their mangers. I thought about what my cats are like when they haven't been eating. Sick horse didn't sound like a good idea. I decided to under-feed them rather than over-feed them.

  There was a bucket hanging from a peg by the door, so I grabbed it and stepped back outside. There was a windmill next to a water trough in the corral. I took the bucket to the water trough, filled it, and brought it back and poured it into a trough next to one of the horse's mangers. I did the same for the second horse. I hung the bucket back up and stepped back outside.

  I walked to where Petra would be able to see me and waved. Then I turned back and checked out another of the main buildings. It was a smithy. I heard a noise from the back of the smithy.

  "Hello?" I said.

  The sound remained unchanged. I stepped deeper into the smithy. The noise was buzzing. "Hello?"

  I stepped around a corner, stopped, and stared.

  There were two people on the ground, clearly dead. I wasn't sure what had killed them, but the flies and animals had been at them for at least a while.

  I avoided getting sick until I made it back outside.

  I bent over for a while, one hand on the side of the building, retching. I finally straightened back up, grabbed my water bottle, and cleared my mouth several times with the water.

  I wished I had a breath mint. Or a toothbrush.

  I walked back to where Petra could see me and waved again.

  Then I started checking each of the buildings. There was no one alive in the town. I didn't find any other animals. Other than insects. I found six bodies. There were probably more, but I wasn't interested in looking more thoroughly.

  I walked back to the stables and looked around. I found the horses' tack. I knew almost nothing about horses, but I knew you put the blanket on first, then the saddle, and I knew horses tried to play tricks to keep from tightening the belly strap. I tossed a blanket over the horse and it was way too large. I took it off, folded it, and then it was just perfect. I arranged it then picked up a saddle.

  The saddle was heavy, but I managed to throw it over the horse's back. I reached underneath to find the belly strap and decided this was a girl. I thought. I tightened the strap, then waited for the horse to breath out and tightened it once more.

  I swear she gave me a dirty look. I put a bridle on her. Or halter. Or whatever it was that had the bit. The horse didn't want me to insert the bit, but finally I got it arranged in what I thought was right.

  I saddled the second one.

  I thought about bringing hay. Or grain, or whatever I could find. I left it.

  I grabbed the reins and led both horses from the stable. They were very docile and followed obediently. They were much better behaved than I tended to be.

  I walked the horses all the way back to the waiting women. "Look, Mom," I said. "They followed me home. Can I keep them?"

  Petra stared at me but Erika looked especially pleased. She walked up and examined them, adjusting the tack.

  "You stole two horses?" Petra asked.

  "I'm fairly certain their prior owner won't be using them again." I said. "I found six bodies. I didn't examine every building that thoroughly."

  "Oh hell," Petra said. "I wouldn't suppose Vincent was one of them."

  "I couldn't have told you," I replied.

  "How did they die?" Andrea asked.

  "I couldn't have told you that, either. I can tell you that I've never seen so many maggots and flies in my life."

  "Ewww," said Beth.

  "Tell me about it." I turned to Petra. "You aren't going to want to kiss me until I go brush my teeth. I got a little sick. Does anyone have like a case of breath mints?"

  "You seem pretty cavalier about it," Petra said.

  "I already did the whole sick thing and the freak out thing," I told her. "This is my dealing with it thing."

  Erika was still checking out both of the horses. "Can I have one?" she asked me.

  I was still holding the reins. I handed them to Petra. "That's not my decision," I said. "I decided it would be cruel to leave them there. They would starve to death. I don't know the first thing about horses. Now they're Petra's problem."

  "I know about horses," Erika said. "Petra, I'll take care of them."

  "All yours," Petra said. "Unless someone else knows how to take care of them. This is the closest I've ever been to one."

  "Was there any feed for them?" Erika asked.

  "Bales of something. I don't know if there was anything else."

  Erika climbed onto one of the horses. "I'll be right back." She collected the reins and turned the horse back to the village.

  Petra sighed. "We should all go." So, leading the second horse, the five of us followed after Erika.

  Erika saw us following, and she waited at the edge of town. "Were there any bodies in the stables? I forgot to ask."

  "I didn't find any," I said. "There are two in the smithy." I pointed. "I found one or two in these other buildings." I pointed. "I didn't check any of the farms. I bet they have chickens or something that need feeding, and there might be more animals. But again, I don't know the first thing about chickens except they taste nummy."

  Petra and Andrea exchanged looks. "We have to search the entire village," Petra said. "Beth you're with me. Karen and Felicia. Andrea, can you keep guard over Erika? If anyone sees anyone alive, make a lot of noise and head for the stables. Pop home if you need to for your own safety."

  Karen and I backtracked to the farm we'd been tromping through. There was a small farm house, a small stable, and something that looked like a chicken coop, but the creatures inside weren't chickens. I didn't know what they were, but I decided they looked hungry. I had no idea what to feed them.

  We checked the stables first. Inside we found two animals that looked sort of like cows. Or oxen. They were huge. I found hay and a bucket for water. I gave the bucket to Karen and asked her to see if there was a well somewhere.

  I fed the oxen. Or cows. Whatever. Karen came back in. "Hand pump," she said. She handed me the bucket. I dumped it into one trough then followed her outside and helped her fill the bucket again. She ran inside and gave the other ox some water.

  "I don't want to go inside," Karen said. "I think we both know what we're going to find."

  "I know.
I'll go. Scream if you see anything alive."

  We walked to the door of the cottage. "Hello!" I said. There was no noise. I opened the door. "Hello!"

  I heard the buzzing. I turned to Karen. "Stay out here. Do not get between me and somewhere to throw up, just in case."

  I held my hand over my mouth and nose and stepped inside. It was a one-room cottage and there were two bodies on the bed. I looked around briefly then closed the door behind me.

  "Two bodies," I told Karen.

  We returned to the stable and asked Andrea which farm we should check next.

  I entered into a total of four farm houses. There were bodies in three of them. They all had chicken coop things, but no more oxen. Maybe they shared the cow-oxen.

  When the entire village had been searched, we met back at the stables. Petra had been crying. "We knew these people," she said. "Not friends, we didn't speak the same language, but we knew them."

  "We can't leave the oxen and chicken-things locked up," I said. "I don't know what to feed the chicken-things. Some predator is probably going to catch all of them, but even that's better than letting them starve to death."

  "We should bury the bodies," Karen said.

  "You go in there and tell me you want to drag them outside to bury them," I told her. "After you have dragged one, I'll help."

  "There aren't enough bodies to account for Vincent and his men," Petra said. "These are the villagers only."

  "People died in their beds," I pointed out. "That suggests either illness or deep surprise."

  "Or they went there with their wounds to die," Andrea suggested.

  "Oh shit," said Beth. "Illness. Plague."

  "I don't think so," Petra said. "No one ever gets sick here. We've never been able to make anyone sick and I've never been sick here. I've never seen anyone sick. I don't think this world allows it."

  "Have you seen horses before?" Beth asked.

  "No."

  "Maybe it takes a different vector," Beth said. "An equine vector. Or maybe if they had horses, they had other animals."

  "We're not going to figure this out," I said. "Not without a forensics team." I turned to Petra. "Know any good cops that might be candidates?"

  "How about the one that helped you?" Petra asked. "That lady cop."

  "I liked her," I said. "She was kind to me."

  "It's taking two months to get someone able to come back and forth," Andrea said. "I think any evidence is going to be gone."