When Drakanes finally reached Old Haven village, a small boy came to greet her. Everyone else was busy with autumn’s harvest; men and women gathering the bounty of earth and trees. The boy had plump cheeks, blue eyes like sapphires, and had straw coming out of his golden hair. When he grows up, all the girls will flock to him.
“Sir,” the lad said warily, “are you the visitor expected by our priest?”
The hood concealed half her face, and her black armor and cloak gave the boy the impression that she was a true knight. “Yes. I am that,” she replied, trying to sound manly in tone. “I am the inquisitor.”
“The priest told me that you would bear some sort of sign about you – ”
“A seal,” Drakanes cut him off, and showed it to him. “Good now; take me to your village temple.”
The lad nodded and showed her the path.
As they walked through the soaked ground of mud and hay, the boy looked over his shoulder – measuring her with those blue eyes of his. “You’re kind of skinny for a knight.”
“Well, so are you,” Drakanes replied sharpish.
“If you’re a knight, where is your squire?”
“You’ve never seen a knight without a squire?”
“All knights need a squire. I can be your squire if you like.”
Drakanes shrugged. “What does a village boy know of it?”
“I’m not a boy! I’m five and ten, a man grown. And I know how to be a squire.”
“Do you now?” Drakanes asked with a smile. “Do you know how to make a fire? How to use a whetstone upon a blade? How to tend to horses? How to scour mail and polish plate?” She knew all those things. She had been a squire herself once, and she understood all too well the boy’s desire to be one. A squire always dreams of becoming a knight one day; so did I. Huh, a mere girl.
“I know how to handle horses, cattle, sheep, dogs, pigs… But I don’t know about the other things. I could learn, though. What is your name, good sir?”
“It’s Drakanes. And what is yours, boy?”
He frowned again. “It’s Pop, sir. And I’ve told you, I’m not a boy, but a man grown.”
“Well then, Pop... I will think on your wish of becoming my squire.”
“Will you truly, sir knight?”
“No,” she chuckled beneath her cowl.
When they reached the village temple, Pop took her mare to the stable overlooking the yard; there to brush, water, and feed the animal. Leaving the boy to his business, Drakanes shouldered through the entrance door. Although both laymen and members of the cloth were forbidden to carry weapons inside a temple house, Drakanes was neither of those things, not anymore. She was an inquisitor. More than that, I am legate to the holiest of women.
Drakanes found the temple empty, save for two cleric boys. One of them was tending to the candles, while the other, perched up on a ladder at the altar of the Three, was dusting the long rays of the sun’s golden halo. When they noticed her, the one tending to the candles went behind the altar doors. No doubt to inform the priest of my arrival. The other cleric remained where he was, and resumed his work with quiet indifference.
Drakanes jerked her head right and left, to feel the crackle of bones and rid herself of the stiffness in her neck. She then seated herself on one of the side chairs; waiting for the priest to come and share his knowledge on the queer savaged corpses. Compared to the saddle, the chair’s flatness felt like a blessing for her ass. But the feeling was ended short, when the priest came through the altar doors and beckoned her to follow. She did. Behind those doors, on a long table covered in a grey and bloody cloth, a corpse was lying... it was a woman, her flesh savaged.
Her belly was sliced open and her insides were torn. Only then did Drakanes pull back the hood to reveal herself. She saw that the priest arched an eyebrow when he saw her face. But other than that, he paid her no frown. The man’s distress was clear on his features, and his hands trembled. Fiendish eyes of pale grey and brown aren’t so disturbing compared to such mutilation, now are they?
“Well met, inquisitor.” The priest addressed her with a humble bow. “Your exploits at the trial in Bernn have reached us here. We are fortunate that the Matriarch has sent someone like you to inquire about our troubles. I am Simon Josef, Old Haven’s priest for nearly twenty years now. And I’ve never seen anything like this. We’ve found two such bodies. The first one we’ve buried. This one, lying before you now, we found only three days ago. It wasn’t easy to convince the family, most notably the husband, to let me keep his wife here to be properly inspected by an official legate of the Matriarch. But nonetheless, reluctantly, they agreed.”
“Where did you find the bodies?”
“The peasants found them at the edge of the fields to the north, near the forest trail. The first corpse… well, they just assumed that some animal attacked her. Though, none could say what a woman heavy with child was doing there alone – so far from her house. But in the case of the second woman, some claimed to have heard screams during the night, but heard no animal noises.” The priest’s finger trembled as he pointed out the savage marks left upon the cadaver’s insides. “Here. You see? The belly has been torn open as much as it was cut… by something sharp as a knife.”
Or a claw, she mused; but kept the grim thought to herself.
Drakanes pulled off her black gauntlets, and with her hands she turned away the pieces of cut flesh, opening the belly to have a better look at the strange marks. The sight and smell was wretched, and she turned her nose away. “The inside of the womb seems to have been ruined by something akin to sharp talons. No entrance from the outward skin. What could have caused it? Surely a babe isn’t born with knives or claws, huh… or fangs.” A faint chuckle escaped her lips.
Priest Josef, on the other hand, grimaced and appeared dizzy. He managed to seat himself on a chair next to the table, and looked the other way. “I do not have any answers, and neither does a girl like yourself,” he said not unkindly. “I’ve heard of your exploits in Bernn, good sister… though, it’s inquisitor now. You may be good a swordsman… or a… swordswoman, but here we are confronted with the province of the unnatural; I am certain of it.”
Drakanes shivered at the man’s chosen word; though, it wasn’t out of fear – but out of a strange sentiment of wonderment at the notion of the preternatural. It was then that she remembered what the Matriarch had said about wicked men and women being the perfect vessels for wandering demons. But what wickedness is there to be found in an unborn child? A soul is not born in sin; yet the soul chooses not the womb.
“I sense that the answer lies in the forest,” the priest said in a wary voice. “After all, near the forest trail were the two bodies found.” He sighed. “These days, young inquisitor, I’ve paused to think on many things… dark things. And I fear that in one of those thoughts of mine lies the truth. Mayhaps these women have been cursed by a witch, or worse… they may have slept with devils.”
Drakanes arched a corner of the mouth, and frowned at that. Then she found herself a chair also. She sat and dwelled on the priest’s notion, as she wiped the blood from her hands with a water-soaked rag she had picked up from a bowl at the table. Any creature of flesh and blood could be slain by sharp wood, and metal, and fire. So the Faith claims. But wouldn’t a horror from hell be impervious to matter and the elements?
Then Drakanes remembered once more the words of her holiness, and it came to her. Vessels. Vessels inhabited by demonic spirits. The only way they can enter our world is by assuming our forms, and thus, our weaknesses. Bones break, skin gets flayed, flesh bleeds, and hair burns quicker than parchment. To further her spirits, she recalled the events of Bernn… the corrupt priest Harlam, the unjust grand burgher, and the cold-hearted hedge knight, who had almost killed her, sir Godefroy. “Those are the true devils,” she whispered to herself.
“I beg your pardon? Did you say something?”
Drakanes ignored the question. “I wish to see the place in which
the women turned up dead. Would you care to show me, good priest Josef?”
The man hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “My old bones keep me from riding, I’m afraid. But I will send the stable boy, Pop, to show you the way. He knows where it’s at. If you need more helping hands in your search, I could send my clerics as well.”
“One soul will suffice. I’ll take the stable boy. We’ll be off in an hour. Meanwhile, I’ll be outside... The long travel has left me hungry.”
“You are more than welcome to our temple’s bread and stew, inquisitor.”
“No,” she said, putting on her gauntlets. “That fare is for your needy, and I’m not one of them. I will be borrowing one of your horses, though. Mine is still spent from the long journey to your village from the High Temple.”
The priest nodded in accord; and with that, she left him. Outside, the clouds had scattered, and the sun was lowering in the west. Drakanes went to the stable, and there saw Pop. The boy was brushing her grey mare, while the animal ate out from a hay net. She was getting hungry too, so she went to the saddle bag and scooped up a roll of cheese, a few strings of bacon, and a loaf of brown bread. She turned and saw that the boy was staring at her with drooling eyes. Drakanes didn’t need to ask if the boy was hungry. It was clear that he was. Thus, she shared her meal.
“Thank you, good sir,” the boy said kindly. And they began to eat in silence.
After they finished, Drakanes asked him the favor. “Pop, how would you like to show me that place at the edge of the fields, where the villagers discovered the corpses?”
“Oh, I know where that is, sir knight.”
“Good. I’ve told priest Josef that I would be borrowing a mount from his stable. Mine own could further use the respite.” Not waiting to hear more of it, Pop arranged the saddle on one of the more able looking dray horses, and brought the animal outside. Drakanes seated the boy in front of her, then put her heels into the horse’s flanks. With the recent food in their bellies, however, she kept the animal’s pace slow.
When they reached the field’s end, the boy pointed to the place in question. “It’s there, sir knight. That’s where the villagers found the first dead woman. The second one they found a couple of feet away from this spot – right on the forest’s trail.”
Drakanes went to the more recent death site, hoping against hope that whoever or whatever was responsible for these terrible crimes might have been on the second victim more reckless in leaving a trace or lead. At the beginning of the forest’s trail they dismounted. Pop showed her the exact spot. The rain had buried the blood well into the earth by now. Squatting over the ground and placing her nose closer to the dirt, however, Drakanes smelled iron, just barely.
Though the sun was fading into the west, they were not left without a proper medium for their eyes to discern things. With the sky cleared of clouds, the twin crescent moons brought about their pale light to help them on their business.
“What is it you are searching for, sir Drakanes?” Asked Pop with honest curiosity. “The animal which attacked those women is likely far away by now. Though the priest talks about witches and evil spirits, I don’t believe him. It’s an animal for certain. The villagers always form night watches when the beasts of the forest wander too close to our parts. Sometimes wild things will attack humans. Too bad the night watches ended at the start of the harvest, before the killings. The people could have stopped these stupid women from venturing so far away from their homes, while all alone and big of belly.” Pop frowned to himself. “Nobody knows what was in their heads.”
Before the killings? Drakanes interpreted the boy’s knowledge with suspicion. It seemed an opportunity for men to profit, not animals. Could it be only a coincidence? A convenience for the time in which these two killings occurred? If it isn’t, it’s something much worse – treachery. “Pop, you have my gratitude. Now, I think it’s time we head back. The night isn’t going to help us learn anything new.”
The boy nodded, and as they were about to saddle up… sounds of footsteps encircled them, and the horse became uneasy. Several shapes appeared from out of the brushwood – shapes that started walking towards them. Walking from one direction to the other, with the aim to surround them. In response, Drakanes handed the reins to Pop, and unsheathed her longsword. Her heartbeat quickened and her muscles tensed with the obvious threat.
“Halt. Come no closer. Who are you?”
The moonslight rendered the dark figures as nothing more than poor travelers with rags and hooded cloaks; but the light showed something else – swords hanging from their hips, and unusual daggers, thin, long, and curbed. Odd looking blades, Drakanes thought. These men are not what they appear to be; and it’s not by chance that we’ve encountered them. They were waiting for us.
“What do we have here, boys?” Said one of the hoods. “A knight of sorts and his squire? Oh, that’s mighty fine plate you’re wearing. Can I have a closer look?”
“No,” Drakanes said sharpish. “I’ve asked you men a question. Who are you? And what is your business here of all places?”
The hoods from the rear made a few more paces towards them, and Pop clenched her cloak with one hand, while keeping the horse’s reins in the other.
“I’ve warned you to hold your ground! If you people are robbers and cutthroats, then you’ve picked poorly your targets. I’m an inquisitor of the Holy Temple, working on a mission bestowed upon me by her holiness, the Matriarch. I’ve been sent to investigate the gruesome crimes which took place in this village. Do you know anything about the murdered women with their bellies left slashed open, and their wombs empty of babe?”
“No,” the same hood replied in a sly tone. “No, I don’t. But I think I know someone who does. Scraps-face, I wager you know something about these awful killings. Hmm?”
“Quit your jabbering, you lazy eyed bastard,” said a man from the three at their rear. “You know my damned tooth aches like hell. She’s the one he told us about. Remember? Let’s get it over with.”
“Oh, yes. I forgot. With my eyes fixed at the inquisitor’s fancy armor, I forgot what the old priest told us. But I didn’t expect this. Behind cloak and plate lies the body of a woman; a good and pious sister of the Temple...”
“You fool!” The one at their rear exclaimed. “Now she knows about him.”
Her suspicions had been aroused all too late by Pop. Simon Josef, Old Haven’s priest, had set them up to be cornered by these cutthroats. It was a hideous treachery; one committed against an inquisitor, no less. And now Drakanes found herself in a desperate situation. She might cut down one or two of them, if she was lucky. But the boy would be killed for certain, and so would she – after they’d rape her bloody.
“Yes. Since we’ll kill you anyway, might as well tell you of our business, my lady inquisitor,” the lazy eyed bastard said with a wicked grin. The man pulled back his hood, and the pale light of the moons revealed clearly his features. His right eye was lower than his left one, and it was indeed lazy. He had a hooked nose, a scarred and unevenly shaved beard, and unclean black hair, greasy with sweat. When he grinned, the sight of those rotten teeth of his sent a shiver down her spine.
“We’ve been hired by some of the more prominent Patriarchal clergymen to carry out certain deeds that… well… go against the proper teachings of the Faith – ”
“Like murdering women?” Drakanes cut him off; fear and anger warring inside her breast for dominance. “Murdering women heavy with child, and then using your queer knives to make it look like – ”
“Like some hell spawned babe opened up his mother’s belly, and scratched it from the inside with sharp claws, aye. You catch on quickly, good lady.” He laughed. “Though of course, my companions and I can’t take the merit for this idea; for we were not the ones who thought of it.
No, I’m certain you weren’t its authors; just the plan-master’s executioners.
“However,” the lazy eyed bastard continued in the same wicked tone, �
��before we slit your throats, we will have something of you, sweet lady... the holes between your legs, both of them.” They all laughed and started to make obscene jests with those long and curved knives of theirs.
Drakanes jerked her head right and left to rid the stiffness in her neck, and bit her lip as she squeezed the sword hilt – desperately trying to hold back her fear. Trying to think of some way out of this nightmare… But this time, there were no townsfolk cheering for her, no one man foe, no jape that would save her life. And all of the little and mysterious things, which the gods left to reveal their favor of her cause – all those symbols were nowhere to be found in this place, in this bright night. But somehow from somewhere, Drakanes managed to utter a few words of challenge and hopefully… mercy. “The boy is innocent; let him go unharmed and you can cross swords with me all you want. I won’t leave this world without taking at least one of you wretched animals with me.”
The ones at their rear chuckled at that, and the lazy eyed bastard grinned that awful grin of his. “Oh, the little lady inquisitor is feisty. I love that in a wench. Do you truly know how to use that sword of yours? I think you could use some practice; you could try with the sword I keep in my breeches. It’s not as long or hard as steel without a woman’s lips around it, but I’m sure you could work wonders with that pretty little mouth of yours.”
With that said, he lunged at her – making a freakish face and sound. Drakanes took a step back, letting the man’s slash cut air. But when the swords met themselves, Pop screamed. And the horse got up on its hindquarters, fearful of what was happening about it. As she parried one, a second landed his blade against her gardbrace; while the third managed to scrape her gorget. The enemy was cutting both high and low.
Drakanes retreated a pace, two paces, and a few more – when someone grabbed her from behind. A dirty hand covered her mouth, while the lazy eyed bastard aimed to slash. Conqueror’s blood... She parried with vambrace, buying her enough time to unsheathe the short blade at her hip. Letting her longsword fall to the ground, Drakanes stabbed the one at her back straight in the eye socket. Hearing the man’s shout of pain, she smiled beneath a clenched jaw. Another dead, gods help me.
An Empire Of Traitors (Of Hate And Laughter Book 1) Page 34