Hunter's Moon

by D A Godwin

  Kayala stood at the end of the pool, gazing up at the statue, wondering how it had all gone so wrong.

  A soft sound at her back told her that she was no longer alone. She steadied herself and turned to face the woman who had entered the room.

  “Blessed Sister, thank you for coming,” she said with a bow.

  Adira approached with an equally respectful bow but her gaze was sharp, and Kayala saw her own concerns reflected on her face.

  “Matters come to a head and must be attended to promptly.”

  “I welcome your wisdom,” Kayala said. “I fear I have been alone with it too long.”

  “Do not judge yourself. All saw the blood moon in the west and know what it signifies. Much is uncertain, and more lies beyond our control. For now, we must respond appropriately.”

  “Today was… Had I known, I would never have spoken to her of it. It terrified me when she took it, but I could not deny Eluria’s intent.”

  Adira stepped closer. “I felt the use of Her weapon as you did. I’m certain others could, as well.”

  Kayala’s shoulders slumped. “They will be angry with us, won’t they?”

  “We will deal with that when it comes to pass. I know you are bound to silence in this matter, but we can no longer rely on secrecy to protect us. Tell me how she came to possess it.”

  Kayala began to refuse, but Adira was correct. She took a deep breath and plunged ahead. “I was given the honor of transporting Shining Moon and the other relics to Fallhaven. The portents made clear that they were no longer safe and must be moved west. Our thanks to Eluria they were correct.”

  “‘Follow the red moon to the west, and you will be safe,’” Adira quoted.

  “Only just. We were set upon not long after landing in Tythir. Were it not for those who walk the paths of Toush all could have been lost. Our escape from the city was terrifying, and the journey through the lands of the Ceringion Reginum was even more difficult. Signs of the impending conflict were everywhere. As soon as we crossed the Small Sea, we were swept up in the fighting. There was little choice but to aid the Actondel forces in hopes of making it through to Fallhaven.”

  “There is no fault in that decision.”

  “It was at the camp that Shining Moon was inadvertently revealed to her, on the night after their first battle with a demon. They went to protect another group from its wrath, and she… It is difficult to explain. She used Eluria’s power to defend us and slay the creature. She was to tiny before it, but so strong. It frightened me.”

  “That rings of the prophecy. Did you show her the weapon then?”

  “No. I sought to instruct her and discover where she might have learned such a thing, but she was as unaware as any of us. I resolved to watch her, to gauge her abilities. Her strength knew few limits. I saw her restore dozens in a day without rest, and repair grievous wounds beyond my own ability to mend. It was only after she faced the second demon that I chose to speak to her. Shining Moon remained hidden during our conversation, but… they could see it.”

  Adira frowned. “They?”

  “Sister Shalindra and her companion.”

  “This is most irregular.”

  “There is more, Sister,” Kayala added in a rush, relieved to finally speak of it. “It is not just that he can see the weapon and hold it, he has wielded it in combat as well.”

  Adira’s eyebrows shot up. “What of the elf? Has she behaved differently around the hammer?”

  “Not that I have seen. Enna has been a deliverance from our Mistress. She arrived with three others, who were later slain by the demon. No one has given more of herself, save Shalindra. The two have become close, after a fashion. I suspect she has tried to influence Shalindra’s growth, as well.”

  “We must be careful with that pairing. When Shining Moon was revealed, did you perform the test on her?”

  “I tried,” Kayala replied, “when she first held the hammer, thought I did not tell her.”

  “You were correct to be circumspect in the attempt, given the circumstances. Tell me what you found.”

  “I could not read anything from her. I sought to ascertain her purity and validity, but to no avail. It is as if something stood between us.”

  “Or someone.”

  “‘In all ways, he shall protect her,’” Kayala recited. “I am sorry, Sister. I should not have—”

  “You are not to blame here. Her power is undeniable. But it is raw and unfocused. I think your efforts have been most appropriate, and I pray they have steered her properly. I would like to speak with them both, together.”

  “That will not be difficult. They are rarely apart except when she sleeps, and separating them even then has been a struggle at times.”

  “Let us find them now,” Adira said. “I believe she makes an evening devotion in the gardens.”

  They left the room and made their way through the temple toward the gardens. As they descended the marble steps outside they encountered Shalindra and Tormjere coming the opposite way, just as Adira had expected.

  Kayala greeted them with a smile, as if this was a chance encounter. “Shalindra, Tormjere, this is Adira, Sister Superior of the temple.”

  “I am most pleased to meet you,” Shalindra said. “I should have come to you earlier, but…”

  “It’s quite alright,” Adira responded. “The work you have done in Her name takes priority over such formalities.”

  Kayala watched Tormjere’s dark eyes shift from indifferently friendly to suspiciously guarded, almost as if he knew what was about to happen.

  Adira began asking Shalindra questions about her journey, but she was undoubtedly trying to probe her mind at the same time. It was a skill that few could accomplish without concentration and ceremony. One could tell so much about a person without ever asking, if they just knew how to look. She couldn’t even feel Adira’s attempts, though she knew it was occurring.

  From the way Tormjere’s eyes watched Adira, however, he seemed well aware of what was transpiring.

  “May I see Shining Moon?” Adira asked.

  Shalindra unhooked the holy weapon from her belt and held it before her. Adira bent close to inspect it.

  Kayala saw Tormjere tense ever so slightly. His hands didn’t move, and the blank expression never left his face, but she was certain that Adira would never be allowed to touch it, even if she had wanted to.

  “What does it feel like in your hand?” Adira asked.

  Kayala heard the emotion in Adira’s voice and reminded herself of how incredible it must be for her to behold such a relic. Kayala had been blessed to be one of those chosen to watch over it, but entire generations of followers lived out their lives never dreaming to see it.

  “It is warm, almost soft, but powerful and hard at the same time,” Shalindra answered. “There is clarity and purpose to my thoughts when I hold it.”

  Adira looked at Tormjere. “And what does it feel like to you?”

  “Like a weapon.”

  Adira straightened. She seemed to have gained some insight from that statement, though Kayala couldn’t fathom what it was. His words were probably the truth, but she somehow doubted that it was the entire truth.

  “Thank you for sharing that with me,” Adira said. “May Her light watch over you tonight.”

  They carried on through the garden, as if that was the reason they were here tonight.

  “He knew what you were doing,” Kayala said when they had passed beyond earshot.

  “Yes, and he worked against it.”

  “Does it mean…?”

  Adira paused thoughtfully. “Time will tell what it means. For now, we must see to the preservation of what we’ve built. Come. There are other things that you must know.”

  Rebirth

  Enna squeezed her way through the soldiers crowding the street. Most politely stepped aside as best they could when they noticed her, or bowed if there was room, though few had ever seen her before. She had learned that during war, the huma
n soldiers were respectful and even kind in their own way to those who might one day keep them alive. It was very different from what she had expected.

  She reached the wall and hurried up the steps, straight of course, to the top of the wall. Darkening clouds drove a cool breeze through her hair, but there was no pleasure in the sensation.

  Stretched across the fields below was what she could only assume to be the entire Ceringion army. Rank after rank of orderly rows marched slowly towards the city. It was spectacle as terrifying as it was breathtaking.

  She looked for Shalindra and Tormjere but could find no sign of them. Her eyes followed the length of the wall as it circled around the town and saw a pitched battle being fought near the western wall.

  She had come to the wrong gate.

  A horn sounded a long blast, startling her as it drew her attention back to the Ceringions in front of her.

  “My lady?”

  She turned to the man who had spoken. He was covered in mail and tabard, with a sword belted at his waist.

  “You’d best be getting below soon. There’s enough of them today that things could get dicey before long, and I’d hate to see you take an arrow.”

  Always kind. She smiled her thanks and began to do as he had suggested, but stepped aside quickly as another man, the knight commander she had seen with Shalindra, came running up the stairs.

  “Pemberfeld, report!” he commanded.

  “They look to have a go at us this time, Lord Birion. Six companies to the south, with two in reserve. I believe there are three companies and another of those creatures at the west wall.”

  “Why the gap down the middle?” Birion asked.

  “Unknown, my lord, but it’s in line with the gate.”

  “Do they have rams?”

  “We’ve seen no siege engines as yet.”

  A chill ran down Enna’s spine as she remembered the last time she had witnessed a formation like that. “Excuse me.”

  Both men turned to her.

  “They’ve used an arrangement like that before, when they had a demon that needed to pass through,” she said.

  Birion’s eyes went to the far western end of town, where Tormjere and Shalindra battled the demon, then back to the ballista atop the gatehouse.

  “Call the remaining horse here,” he instructed Pemberfeld. “Stage the reserve companies at this gate. If we see one, I want to meet it outside the wall, as before.”

  Pemberfeld turned to issue orders, and men rushed into position.

  Enna stood rooted in place beside the two men as the Ceringions broke into a run, hoping that she had been wrong. Her stomach sank when a lumbering shape appeared at the back of the enemy lines.

  “Demon!” she shouted, pointing.

  Birion squinted in the direction she indicated, then raced down the stairs to his horse. Once astride it, he lifted his lance high. “A demon approaches!” he shouted to the assembled cavalry. “It shall not pass these gates! For our homes and families, we must hold! We will know no fear, we will surrender no honor, and we will defend this city! For Tiridon!”

  It was not the most eloquent speech, but his words were delivered with such passion that Enna found even herself stirred by them. A cheer went up from the men around him, and when the gates were thrown open, they charged onto the field.

  Enna remained indecisively atop the wall, watching the demon as it stalked closer. It was formed like a giant of a man, but with a reddish, knobby hide. Sharp, piercing eyes sat in a yellowed, beak-like face, and its powerful arms ended in a single, yellowed claw the size of a sword. Its movements were sleek and fluid, almost gliding across the ground as it ran towards Birion’s cavalry, effortlessly sliding past the lances and spears aimed for it. It swung its claws like a scythe, killing man and horse alike.

  She placed a hand on her disk of Elurithlia. Tormjere and Shalindra would never make it back to the gate in time. Her eyes went to the corpses of the demons still rotting in the field. Demons could be stopped, by numbers alone if nothing else, when there was someone to protect those fighting it. Shalindra had done so, without any of the training or knowledge that Enna possessed.

  Enna had stood by helplessly and watched as those she loved were slaughtered once before. She would not stand idle again.

  She ran down the steps, towards the still open gate. Her heart beat loudly as she was swept up with the soldiers of the second reserve company. The cool darkness beneath the gatehouse exploded into light and noise as they exited. The smell of mud and death assaulted her nostrils. Metal slammed against metal. Men screamed as they were cut down driven to the ground. Rather than the sweeping conflict it had appeared from above, on the ground was hundreds of brutal contests.

  The chaos threatened to overwhelm her and she almost turned back, but she was committed now. She continued running towards the demon, trusting in those around her to somehow keep her safe. She pulled her symbol from around her neck as she drew close to the demon. It was so much larger this close.

  “Guide me, Mistress,” she whispered.

  She planted her feet and called upon her goddess for protection with words she had known for so long but feared to use. A shimmering nimbus of silvery-blue snapped into place, deflecting the demon’s claw in a cascade of sparks.

  Enna felt the impact sharply in her mind and her vision spun. She shook her head and planted her feet firmly. She saw the other claw slashing down and deflected that one as well.

  The defenders rallied, heartened by her mystic defense. The area around her was now clogged with combatants, preventing the cavalry from massing again. Spears and polearms were used to hold the demon at bay, though the creature showed little care as it slipped smoothly around the points or parried them aside. Bloody combat swirled everywhere around her. Arrows from both sides whistled over their heads and fell around them.

  Despite their valiant efforts, the Kingdom soldiers were outnumbered, and were being forced back towards the wall. Enna was becoming used to the rhythm of the demon’s attacks but could do nothing but defend. The demon’s attacks had not slowed, and she struggled to keep pace. When she was not fast enough, men died.

  Ceringion soldiers broke through the line to her left, driving a wedge into the defenders. The press of bodies tightened, jostling her back and forth and making it difficult to focus. Something sharp cut her arm, and as she turned to examine it a retreating soldier stepped with a heavy foot on her ankle. She pushed off against him and limped backwards, fighting against her rising panic even as she tried to protect them from the demon’s attacks. She just needed to hold out a little longer. Tormjere and Shalindra surely knew of this demon by now. They would finish with the other and be here soon, she was certain.

  Someone crashed into her from behind and she stumbled forward, breaking her concentration. The demon smashed aside the soldiers in front of it with one swipe and covered the distance between them in a bound. Enna brought her symbol up, deflecting the claw that came streaking towards her face.

  She never saw the other claw coming.

  Time seemed slow as it pierced her chest and lifted her high into the air. The only thing she felt was Elurithlia’s symbol slipping from her fingers.

  At the other end of the battlefield Shalindra turned her gaze east just in time to see Enna impaled on the demon’s claw and thrust high in the air.

  “NO!” Shalindra cried out as the demon slung Enna to the ground.

  I must get to her.

  Tormjere dodged the snapping mandibles of the demon before them, an insect-like creature that was small and elusively fast.

  We can’t get there in time, she’s…

  He broke off as twin swirls of black mist manifested simultaneously, one far away by the other demon and the other only a few steps from where they stood.

  It’s a tunnel…

  …to Enna.

  Tormjere grabbed Shalindra and pulled her into the portal before the insect demon could react.

  There was a disorienting shi
ft from sunlight to darkness. Soft black mists caressed their skin like fine silk, and strands of purple light floated in an empty void. A swirling, distorted image of the field before the south gate hung in the air directly in front of them. They ran towards it, reaching the gate at the same instant the yellow-clawed demon was entering from the opposite direction.

  Tormjere shoved her past the surprised creature and drove his shoulder into its stomach. Demon and Tormjere tumbled together from the portal as it snapped shut behind him.

  Shalindra’s knees hit the ground at the same time her hands landed on Enna’s body. She prayed desperately, her gaze locked onto Enna’s sightless eyes. Silvery light surged down her arm, closing the gaping hole in Enna’s chest and repairing shattered bones. Even as she worked to restore Enna’s body, she knew she was repairing an empty vessel. What made Enna alive was already missing.

  Tormjere knew exactly what that meant. He parried the demon’s claw and spun as he slashed back, letting his vision shift as his eyes swept across Enna. Little pinpricks of light floated up from her body, carrying an almost palpable sweetness about them, like spring flowers in bloom. He was gripped by an unexpectedly powerful urge to consume them, but he forced it aside and turned back on the demon with a vengeance.

  That brief moment had been enough for Shalindra. Through his eyes, she had seen those same flickers of life illuminated as firebugs in the night. She had to catch them—all of them. As fast as she could will it, blue tendrils of energy snapped upwards from Enna’s body, travelling instantly to every speck Tormjere had shown her like fractures spreading through ice.

  The tendrils snapped back into Enna’s body, slamming into her with surprising violence. A brilliant blue light enveloped her, and her back arched as her arms and legs twisted in a mighty spasm.

  Shalindra felt a growing resistance pressing sharply against her but she pushed it aside, forcing the pieces together. Pain like she had never imagined tore at her arms, as if her very skin was being peeled from her body layer by layer. The world was slipping away as reality crashed down around her like shards of broken glass. All she saw were those blue fragments rushing back where they belonged. For an eternity, nothing seemed to happen.