by Damon Alan
But it happened, even to the best at times, and they were all under duress.
“Ride on one of the lizards for a while,” he ordered. “Pick one, relieve the handler. When you’re dry, you can rejoin me and we’ll talk.”
“One more thing. There is a mushwood stand on the left side of the river half the distance to the road. A sandy copse where we can make a camp and rest if you like, Commander. Fire would be welcome in my bones.”
“And in mine,” Irsu agreed. “We’ll camp there tonight, have some food. Did you see anything edible?”
“Rats, small lizards, some mushrooms. Make a good stew, and it’s better than dried rations. If the rations are still dry and even edible, that is.”
“They should be,” Coragg said. “The lizards are handling the river better than we are.”
Numo nodded and headed toward his prize, a dry seat.
“What do you think?” Coragg asked Irsu.
“If the oasis looks safe, we camp. Maybe a day, maybe longer depending on the condition of the men. Water doesn’t do our feet any good.”
“Wise.”
“When we’re rested, we’ll make for the road. We’ll take some mushwood with us to burn so we can dry out once again when we get there.”
“Mordain provides,” Coragg said. “And we fight for his people.”
Irsu shrugged. “Or we just got lucky. I’ve never seen proof the gods give a damn.”
Coragg scowled. “Someday, my friend, battle will make you a believer.”
“You may be right. That day hasn’t come yet.”
They arrived at the mushwood stand just as the dwarves were starting to complain about being tired. Even the royal guard had a limit. The stand was everything Irsu had hoped for and more. At some point the river had cut into the wall, creating a loaf-shaped opening five kadros long that had filled with sand as the river abandoned the undercut to take another course. Large rocks poked up through the sand, creating a very defensible terrain if the sickly dwarves were pursuing them and caught up.
The game situation was even better than Numo reported. Even as Irsu looked, a blind cave hare darted from the river water onto the shore. Probably surviving by eating moss from the river bottom, the clean vegetation fed hare would be a tasty treat. And where there was one, there were more, such was the nature of hares.
Mushwood rose from the sand in a dozen small copses, plenty of wood for burning and even building something they might need if a thought of such a thing arose.
Then such a thought came to him. A way to stay dry and reduce the maintenance of their armor.
“Coragg, do you think we could build a raft to use on this river?”
Chapter 22 - A Delicate Balance
Elianna woke next to Hagirr, and only him. Throughout their centuries together they’d often shared their bed with beautiful slaves, worthy diplomats, or an occasional fetish race. When decades dragged on into centuries, and then into millennia, it benefited sanity to refresh a relationship with the exotic.
But she’d just returned home after some time away. Therefore it was just the two of them, and they renewed the bond between them that neither shared with anyone else.
“Is it time to get out of bed already?” Hagirr complained.
“No, we need to talk,” she replied. “You’re going about Ernst the wrong way.”
He rubbed his eyes and sat up amid the cascade of pillows on the palatial bed. “Feeding him the dinner of his life was wrong?”
“When you mix it with the subtle terror you inflicted on him and his wife.” Elianna grasped Hagirr’s hand and squeezed. “You’re the human. They are impressed that it is one of their own that leads this world. In fact, in the Germany I told you about, they couldn’t imagine anything else.”
“Neither could I,” Hagirr confessed.
“What I’m saying, dearest Hagirr, is that Ernst and Herta imagine themselves every bit as superior as you do. I’ve taught them to fear what we can do, you have to show them what we can offer.” She shook her head. “I’m concerned with your comment. The one that they haven’t seen a thing yet. If you intend to show them only fear, that will not work.”
“It always works,” Hagirr protested, “and I don’t know why I should need or care about this Germany anyway.”
“Because they really are a smaller example of what you’ve built on Aerth. They will work with you if they see themselves in you. If you scare them, they will die for the ‘Fatherland’ they are so proud of.”
Hagirr laughed, and pulled her to him, resting her head on his chest. “They haven’t seen the gates to the hells yet. Once they do, the thought of death will hold more fear than the thought of living with my wishes.”
Elianna slapped his hand. Of all the creatures in existence on two worlds, only she was capable of treating Hagirr as her total equal. She did as he bade, but her counsel was the only honest advisement he got.
“Show them that magic is good. That it is a power to make their lives better, and to make the lives of Germany better. If you can do that, they will serve you until the end of their existence.”
“What do you have in mind?” he asked.
“I’ll leave that for you to decide, my love, but I can tell you what we must have.”
“What?”
“There is a device called the Ark of the Covenant. It is an artifact that will close your precious gate and Ernst was looking for it with the intention to use it. We must stop Germany from seeking that end. We must enlist them on our side to keep the Hagirr gate open.”
“What is this Ark of the Coveting?”
“Covenant. That’s a promise between a god and mortals.”
“Covenant then,” he replied. “Why should I care about this Ark?”
“It’s a barrier, designed to keep gates from opening on Earth, and created by a god left there after the fracture. It was supposed to stop you from rejoining the worlds. While its power seems to have weakened, Ernst thinks it can close gates that have managed to open.”
“Well the Earth god won’t be the first to have failed,” he said, laughing. “Where is this lost god now?”
“Just that. Lost.”
“And the Ark?”
“Hidden, but I will find and destroy it. I will put Ernst and his wife Herta in place as leaders of this Germany, and they will help you gather humans into the gate. They think they deserve to rule their world, and if all other human races are gone, they feel that Earth is the better for it.”
“Then, once Earth has only Germany left, we can sweep them up last,” Hagirr said.
“Sparing Ernst and Herta, but yes. As for those two, I’ve grown fond of them.”
“Pets?”
“Companions,” she rebutted. “I have given them my word.”
“How unlike you,” Hagirr said, laughing more. “Elianna is growing maternal after so many centuries.”
She pulled away from him and glared. “Hardly. I simply feel their service deserves some reward, better than what’s in store for the rest of humanity.”
“You will have it as you wish,” he said. “It is no loss if two humans do not feed the soul stone. We will have more than enough. If that is the case, we can release the excess back onto the plains to serve us at some point in the future.”
“Germany will help us see to that vision,” Elianna agreed. “But spare these two for me.”
“Love me, and it is done.”
Elianna smiled. It was always satisfying to get her way from the unpredictable Hagirr. But if he gave his word to her, he never broke it. She looked over at the servants. “You will all leave us until the sun is high. The humans are to be well fed, and given a chance to tour the gardens. Have them waiting for us at noon out front, with carriages ready to take us to the pyramids.”
“Your will, my lady,” an elven woman said as she bowed.
She spent a good part of the morning reminding Hagirr why he loved her, and just precisely why he would be best served to remember her wi
shes.
Chapter 23 - The Great Pyramid of Jangik
July 19, 1940
Ernst rose early, as did Herta. Neither of them slept very well. While the bed was extremely comfortable, the room at the perfect temperature, and the quiet unbroken, the world was definitely still alien to them and a twinge of danger lingered in their minds.
The air smelled wrong. Maybe it was alien flowers, maybe the composition of the air itself was different than Earth.
“Ernst, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared,” Herta said, joining him beside massive glass doors that opened onto a veranda.
He led her outside, where they sat on furniture perfect in its design and execution. White wicker, it had not a single flaw. It contoured to them perfectly as they sat across a short table of similar construction.
Apparently, their rise from sleep did not go unnoticed. A servant appeared in the doorway and waited for them to notice her. Thin, nearly translucent skin of alabaster, the female wasn’t human. She was at least as diminutive as Elianna and seemed far more vulnerable.
“Lord, lady, do you wish to have breakfast on the veranda?” the creature asked.
“What manner of being are you?” Herta blurted out.
“I am a mountain elf,” the servant asked, unphased by either Herta’s question or demeanor.
Ernst leapt in. “We’d love breakfast…” he paused, as if waiting for a name, gesturing with his hands to indicate the servant should speak.
“You may call me Mallah, Lord. I will serve you in your quarters while you are in the palace.”
“Mallah. We’d love breakfast. Surprise us with what you like most.”
“As the lord wishes,” Mallah replied, bowing. A second later she was gone.
Ernst turned to Herta. “Luxury. This is luxury, yet we are both frightened, my dear. Everything comes with a price.”
“What price are we to pay?” Herta asked, her eyes plaintive.
“I don’t know. I haven’t been disarmed,” he told her. “Either they don’t fear my Luger, or they have no idea what it is. Rest assured, if they threaten you, I will use it.”
“And we’ll die together,” his wife retorted. “Use your wits first. Use the Luger to make sure they pay a price if they intend to harm us.”
“I don’t feel Elianna was entirely happy with Hagirr last night. I saw a look of displeasure on her face with him, particularly when he pulled that trick with the living plant.”
She shuddered. “That thing deserved to die. I just didn’t want it near me.”
“But it was tasty,” Ernst said. “I just don’t know if we were eating a thinking creature or not.”
“Does it matter?” she replied. “Why does this Hagirr, if he’s all powerful, surround himself with inhuman monstrosities?”
“I don’t know,” Ernst said, gesturing toward the door. Mallah had returned.
“Lord, lady, I have brought you a breakfast served in the mountains,” the servant said. “Roast ram, potatoes, tengeski, and portlue.”
With the aid of another servant, she sat two large silver platters in front of them. A meat, shredded and fried potatoes, and what looked like a deep purple boiled egg. A bowl of something curdled was sat next to the platters.
“Tengeski?” Ernst asked, pointing at the egg.
“Yes,” Mallah replied, sitting utensils on the table. “The egg of a large bird found in the mountains I was born in.”
“Is that far?” Herta asked.
“Oh yes, many months on horse or wagon.”
“Then how do the eggs get here fresh?” Herta pressed.
Mallah laughed. “Tengeski is not fresh, lady. It is fermented under cold sand for at least a year. These eggs are from the Tengesk birds in Lord Hagirr’s zoo, so if they were to be eaten fresh, that would not be a problem.”
Herta looked at the egg on her plate, several times the size of a chicken egg, and turned a shade of green.
Mallah gave Ernst and Herta a napkin, then disappeared through the veranda doors without a sound. She was either to be seen as little as possible as a direction from her superiors, or that was how she did her job on her own directive. Ernst suspected that if he said her name, she’d appear quickly.
“This is barbaric,” Herta said to Ernst, pointing at the egg. “We’re to eat rotten food?”
“Eat the sheep, and the potatoes,” Ernst replied. “I suspect we’ll need a strong constitution today. Please, dear, show no weakness to our hosts. They need to believe Germany is their equal, not that we are any less strong than they are.”
“We’ve killed their dragons,” Herta retorted. “They should not believe us weak!”
“Ssshhh!” Ernst stood and looked over the balcony. Verdant gardens spread out below, no sign of anyone listening. But he had no idea what the limitations of magic were. Surely they were monitored. Returning to his seat, he smiled at his wife. “My dear, a diplomat you are not. Please. No weakness, but no insult either. Choose your words carefully or do not speak.”
“Germany is not weak,” Herta growled. She took a spoon from the table and dug out a large bite of the tengeski. Staring Ernst in the eye, she put the bite in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed.
The sour look on her face disappeared as she tilted her head and smiled.
“That is delicious!” she remarked.
Ernst tried it. It was. He picked up some of the other food, from the bowl. It looked like cheese, but it had what seemed to be clear-ish worms living in it. He breathed deeply then stuffed a curd into his mouth.
Also delicious.
“Try the curds but don’t look too close,” Ernst said. “Equally delightful to the egg.” As his wife smiled with joy at the taste, he sighed deeply. “What is to be said of this place, Herta? I feel a threat looming, yet it is almost paradise as we sit here.”
“We live each moment,” Herta finally replied after her third bite from her plate. Whatever they show us today, whatever intimidation or bribery they use, we stand strong for the interest of Germany. Elianna is terrifying. I feel this Hagirr’s heart is even more cruel.”
Ernst rose again and sat on his wife’s chair with her. He kissed her and then pulled her close, intending to whisper in her ear. “Whatever you do, do not mention the Ark,” Ernst said. “Elianna hasn’t mentioned it for a very long time, and it is best she remains unconcerned.”
Herta squeezed his hand, indicating she understood. “You know, at first I loved your power,” she told him. “But now I feel I love you as well. You love Germany as much as I do.”
“We both feel it, I agree,” Ernst told her. “Despite the actions of our countrymen, the intolerable fools, the selfish sycophants, we are rising above it. We, Herta, you and I, we hold Germany in our hands. More than any Führer, more than Himmler or anyone like him.”
She rose and took his hand and led him back through the glass doors. “No matter what the rest of our day holds, I will love you now.”
It was nearly noon when a servant came for them. They were provided clothes to wear, comfortable and non-restrictive, Ernst felt strange dressing outside of his normal attire. Herta, however, looked amazing. Like a princess from Scandinavian mythology.
Dressed, fed, and energized, they were led to the front steps of the palace compound, where several open top carriages waited. Unlike the night before, strange creatures were in the air as well. Men, or rather elves, rode fantastical beasts that seemed a mix of creatures. Graceful winged horses were the most normal, but there were also creatures he recognized from the superstitious past of Europe. Griffins, with the heads of eagles and the bodies of lions zoomed overhead in complex patterns, each carrying a rider with either a bow or a lance.
There was a third kind with the front of an eagle, but where the eagle’s tail would be the body of a horse, or at least the back half, resided.
Two other beasts seemed to be all bird, but their feathers smoldered with fire, leaving thin black smoke as they passed through the air. When they open
ed their mouths to screech, fire burned a bright orange deep in their throats. No rider adorned these, but Ernst noticed they closely followed two different female riders on winged horses.
“That’s a pegasus,” Mallah told him as she noticed him staring. “The creature following is imprinted on the rider. It’s a raptor from Acheron.”
“Acheron?” Ernst asked.
“A place of torment, where an evil one can wind up after death depending on the nature of the evil.”
Ernst shivered, despite the comfortable climate of Jangik. It seemed even the servants would remind him of the tortures that await in the afterlife should he fail as a human being.
“This is your carriage,” Mallah indicated. “I can ride with you as your guide, or walk behind if that is your pleasure.”
“Please, be our guide,” Herta said.
So much for any chance to speak to his wife without listening ears. But no matter, the carriage driver might be a spy as well. He’d find a way to speak to her later if they needed to discuss the events of this day in privacy.
The three of them climbed into the carriage just as Hagirr and Elianna exited the front doors of the palace. A host of guards formed a semi-circle ahead of them, all the same race of elf as Elianna.
Ernst wondered if that was the race of elf Hagirr considered Aryan. What did she call herself? A desert elf. If indeed the planet Aerth followed the same ideology as Germany, there would be racial winners and losers.
He placed little stock in such thinking. The worth of a person was determined by their intellect and actions, not the color of their eyes. But as long as it was the prevailing opinion in seats of power, he was pragmatic enough to go along.
“Mallah, I notice all the guards are the same race as Elianna. Is there a reason?”
“Lady Elianna’s tribe is favored. It’s said that when Lord Hagirr rose to power that Elianna was at his side, destroying his enemies. That her family and tribe swore allegiance, delivering his power out into a world broken into chaos.”
“I see,” he replied. “They’ve proved themselves.”