“I’ll eat YOU!” the remnant screamed, the imagery becoming too much for it. It kicked and bucked, desperate to escape.
“No,” Julianne said. “You’ll hang here and starve. Not a fast death, and not a quiet one. Not unless you tell me what I need to know.”
“Then you’ll feed me?” the remnant asked, eyes lighting up.
Danil snorted. “Sure. We’ll set you free to ravage our countryside and kill our friends.”
The remnant nodded eagerly, ready to make the deal.
Julianne groaned while Danil laughed. “You’re even dumber than the usual meatheads we get around here, aren’t you?” he asked. “No, moron. We’re not going to set you free.”
The remnant howled, then bared its teeth. “I ain’t telling you nothing. Eat me!”
“I’d rather eat this,” Danil said, pulling out a small bread roll and biting into it. “Mmm. Delicious!” He tore off another chunk with his teeth.
Behind the remnant, Julianne screwed up her face and shook her head. Where did you get that? she sent.
Danil shrugged. I was saving it for later!
“Look, you big ugly monster,” Julianne said, tweaking the rope so the remnant swung around to face her. “If you answer a few easy questions, I’ll feed you. I’ll kill you straight after, but I’ll try to make it as painless as possible.”
“And if I don’t, you’ll torture me?” It sneered.
Julianne shook her head. “I’ll put a plate of freshly skinned rabbit on the floor, just out of reach. Then, we’ll go. All of us. And we’ll let you gnash your teeth and stare at that juicy rabbit until it goes rancid, and you die of hunger.” She rested a hand on her hip. “Understand?”
The remnant let out a howling roar and writhed, swinging back and forth hard enough that Julianne had to jump out of its way.
She waited patiently for the beast to vent its rage and frustration. Finally, the remnant quieted.
“I want to know why the remnant are on the move,” she asked.
The remnant growled, slowly turning in circles as the rope twisted.
“Are you running towards something, or away from it,” Julianne asked.
The remnant stayed silent. It glared at her, rheumy, yellowed eyes moving from one side to the other as it turned. Once its back was to her again, Julianne called out. “Annie!”
A door slammed inside the house, and footsteps approached. Annie walked into the barn, holding a plate of dripping meat. Her hands were still bloodied from chopping it into rough portions
“Set it down there,” Julianne told her, gesturing to a low shelf.
The coppery scent of blood filled the barn, souring the smell of fresh hay and old horse dung.
The remnant growled again, this time in a higher, more desperate pitch.
“I’ll ask again,” Julianne said patiently. “Why are the remnant traveling so far from their homes?”
It spat at her.
“You’re fighting a lost cause, girl,” Annie said. “You can’t bargain with a rock.”
Stifling a growl of her own, Julianne stood. “You’re right. I should have known the stupid beast wouldn’t cooperate. Shall we go?”
Danil joined her, and they headed for the door.
“I’ll break free!” the remnant screamed. “I’ll come for you, bitch! Kill me now, or I come for you!”
Julianne ignored it and pulled the door closed behind her.
“WAIT!” The screaming inside the barn rose to a shrill shriek. “WAIT! I TALK!”
Grinning at Danil, Julianne shoved the door back open.
“You get one chance,” she said, lifting a finger. “One! Why are the remnant—”
“We’re getting killed!” the remnant screamed. “The sky opened, and monsters poured out. They cut off our heads and trampled our bodies! We ran, and we still run, and we kill those we see, but then we run!”
It fell silent, breath heaving. Julianne slowly walked over to the plate of bloody meat and picked a slice up between her fingers. She flicked it at the remnant, who had to twist to one side to catch it between its teeth.
“You’re lying,” Danil said. “Monsters pouring through the rift? Our people have only seen tiny little things, and only a few at that. Nothing that could take on a horde of remnant.”
Julianne dangled a second piece of meat just out of the remnant’s reach. It shrieked, the hoarse wail quickly fading to a groan.
“I told you what I saw. The cracks are bad! More bad than human scourge!”
“Cracks?” Julianne snapped. “There’s more than one?”
The remnant froze. Then, a wicked smile spread across its face. “Food first.”
Julianne considered, then flicked it a second bite. “Not another morsel until you tell me—how many rifts have you seen?”
It swallowed the scrap without chewing. “We ran from one. Thought we were safe, just human rabble to fight. Then we saw the other. Tiny, but it will grow. It will flood your land and all you be eaten by blood monsters.” The remnant opened its mouth wide, waiting expectantly.
Julianne tossed another bit of meat, then another.
“You think he’s telling the truth?” Danil asked, watching blood run from the remnant’s mouth while it forced the meat down its throat, choked, then tried again. The food seemed to be having trouble fighting the forces of gravity.
“No reason for it to lie,” Julianne said, her face worried. “And it matches what Hannah showed me.”
“Well, then,” Danil said. “What is it they say about a creek full of shit and no paddle?”
The remnant caught another toss of meat, this one a little bigger than the others. It snorted and chomped, then swallowed. The meat got stuck—the remnant’s eyes bulged, and its mouth opened, gasping for air.
“Uhh, Jules?” Danil pointed to the suffocating beast. “Should we do something about that?”
“Oh, damn.” Julianne walked over to the remnant. It struggled, trying to dislodge the food that obstructed its airway.
She reached into her pocket and with a swift strike, plunged a blade into its eye. The remnant bucked one more time, then fell still. “Come on,” she said. “We’ll need to bury this before we go. I don’t want Annie to come back to a rotting bag of meat in her barn.”
“Going?” Annie said. “Who said I’m going anywhere?”
Danil raised his eyes to the barn ceiling in frustration. Just because he couldn’t see, didn’t mean he couldn’t eye-roll with the best of them.
“Annie, you’re coming,” Julianne said. There was an edge to her voice—not angry or frustrated, but the pure confidence of someone who has authority and respect. “The remnant are coming too close, and we can’t spare the men to watch this far out.”
Annie opened her mouth to protest, but Julianne added, “And you know the guard would refuse to leave you unprotected, even at the expense of the town.”
Annie heaved a sigh. “Fine. I hate it when you talk sense, girl, but I’ll come. Just let me pack some things.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Just get it done!” Jessop barked at the men tidying up the destroyed worksite. “We’re not out here to make it pretty!”
Bastian dropped the log he had dragged over to the pile and stretched his aching back. When Julianne had returned from Annie’s the previous day, he’d wanted to head out to secure the building site immediately, but she’d convinced him to wait until morning.
Now, a blanket of unease had settled over the workers. They were pushing hard, lifting beams and posts that days before had taken twice the number of men to heave into place.
Jessop saw Bastian stop work and hurried over.
“We nearly done, Jessop?” Bastian asked.
Jessop nodded. “I just want to reinforce what’s left of that wall over there. Don’t want it coming down on someone’s head when we return.”
Bastian’s eyes dropped to the ground. “You think we ever will?”
Jessop snorted. “You thin
k you could stay away? I’ve seen the passion you have for this place, boy. You’d take out a beast the size of a mountain to get this school built and running.”
A grin touched Bastian’s lips. “Yeah. Yeah, I would. Let’s hurry, though—as much as I want to come back and fix it all up, right now, this place is giving me the creeps.”
Jessop let out a cry of encouragement to the men. “Hurry your asses, boys, and we’ll be back in time for Mary’s lunch special. She’s got the ragu on today!”
A rumble of excitement went through the worksite and Bastian’s own stomach grumbled appreciatively.
“Catch!” Mack called out.
Bastian swung around just in time to catch the broken post-end Mack tossed to him.
“How you holding up, brains?” Mack asked.
“Honestly?” Bastian grinned. “Sore as shit. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you guys coming to help out. This would have taken days otherwise!”
Mack laughed. “Thank Mary. She heard you boys were coming out this morning and promised anyone who joined you would get a free feed.”
“I’d marry Mary if I wasn’t taken,” Bastian chuckled.
Something slapped the back of his head, sending him stumbling forwards.
“The only reason that wasn’t followed by a kick to the balls is because it’s Mary,” Tansy snapped. Then, she stood back, arms folded. “Mind you, I’d marry her too. Have you tasted her ragu?”
Bastian rubbed his skull. “Yeah, I have. It’s good enough to make up for a whack to the back of the head.”
Tansy laughed, then took the lump of wood from Bastian’s hands. She tossed it over her shoulder and, without looking, managed to land it right in the middle of the pile of smaller debris.
“Was that the first bit of rubbish you picked up?” Mack asked her.
Bastian winced. Tansy had busted her ass like the rest of them, and she wouldn’t take the slight lightly.
Tansy walked up to Mack and stared up into his eyes.
“Or did you see other guys before Bastian?” Mack finished. Then, he burst into laughter.
“Fuck you,” Bastian grumbled.
Tansy didn’t respond. She was too busy giggling.
“HALT!” Jessop yelled.
Everyone froze, looking about warily. Those standing near the remaining upright structures glanced up, and some began shuffling away with worried looks.
Jessop grinned. “We’re done. It’s lunch time!” When people started ambling towards him, he barked again. “What, you think this is a trash can? Pick up your tools, you lazy bastards!”
“I’ll go get our horses ready,” Tansy said. She leaned in to give Bastian a peck on the cheek but stopped and drew away. “Oh, Bitch’s ass. You’re going for a bath before you eat, you smelly bastard.”
She pranced away, Bastian watching in awe as she trotted happily toward the horses.
“You’re so screwed,” Mack said.
Bastian nodded. “That I am, friend. That I am.”
Tansy smirked, overhearing his words, but didn’t turn back. When she reached the horses, she finally let herself slump over and rub her eyes.
“Bitch’s oath, that was a long day,” she groaned. She leaned down to touch her toes, then rolled herself back up to a standing position and yawned wide enough to crack her jaw.
“Now, where did I hide that water?” She dug through her saddlebag and pulled out the leather waterskin with a grin.
She took a long pull, then splashed some carefully on her hands. She rubbed the dirt off her face, eyes closed.
A twig snapped.
“Took you long enough,” Tansy said, using her shirt to wipe the muddied water from her face.
An uneasy feeling prickled along her spine, and she swung around. “Bast—”
Before her stood a man. Or, perhaps, not a man—but shaped like one, clad head to toe in heavy armor that shone red in the morning light.
“Oh… shit.”
One hand reached out to her horse and grabbed the pommel of the saddle. The horse’s flesh twitched and shivered as it stood, frozen in terror. She risked a quick glance back.
“Shiiiit!” she whimpered. Behind her stood a lumbering beast, red-skinned and covered in the same carapace the vark’s wore. Only this was no vark…
Two long, spindly legs with jagged spikes held up a round, scaly body. Its head was squat, and the long vark-like snout stretched almost to the ground. Folds at the top opened and then flapped shut as the beast breathed heavily.
The man-monster said something unintelligible, and Tansy jerked her gaze back to him. She couldn’t see his expression, hidden behind the closed visor.
She did see his raised hand and the quick gesture that ended in a thick finger jabbed towards her.
The beast behind her rustled. Tansy let her body move before her mind could process what she’d seen. She jumped, flinging herself up to a low branch just as the beast charged the spot she had stood in a moment before.
She swung, jumped to another branch, and then somersaulted into the ground. The monstrous man turned, his movements slowed by the heavy armor. He uttered a guttural call.
Tansy fled. She ran towards the worksite, unsure if she’d made a terrible decision and was leading the monsters to her friends—but she had to warn them.
The guard was there, or some of them, at least. They’d help.
“MACK!” she screamed as she burst into the clearing. “Monsters!” she gasped. “A big man, and he had a beast in the trees!”
Without taking a breath, the entire worksite sprang into action.
“Find weapons!” Jessop yelled as his workers scrambled for shovels, picks, crowbars—anything that would give them a fighting chance.
“Move back!” Mack barked. He moved towards the trail with Carey and Josh. “Gerard! You, too!” he snapped.
Gerard appeared from amongst the workers, face scared but posture resolute.
“You know how to fight this thing?” Mack snapped.
Gerard shook his head.
“Well, then I guess we’re in this shit together.” Mack grinned and tossed him a spear.
Gerard caught it. “Thank you. You can count on me, Mack.”
Tansy stumbled over to Bastian.
“You ok?” he said.
She nodded and grinned. Then, she froze.
“Mack?” she squeaked. “Mack?”
Bastian turned to where Tansy was looking. “Oh, hell. MACK!”
Tansy’s eyes locked on the beast she’d seen near the horses. How could it have gotten back there so fast?
More cries went up from another section of the clearing.
Bastian, eyes white, choked out a curse. “We’re surrounded.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“They’re just ahead.” Julianne’s eyes cleared, and she stood high in her stirrups to see over the hump in the road.
In the far distance, a cloud of dust rose from the road. She knew it was Annie’s trader friend. Cavill had, thankfully, heard of the mental magicians living in Tahn and hadn’t been too terrified when Julianne had reached out to speak into his mind.
His initial shock had turned to relief at the approaching escort. He’d heard stories of the increasing remnant attacks and the strange little monsters that had arrived through a magical doorway in the forest.
Cavill’s reaction was enough to let Julianne know any attempt at keeping a secret in the small, regional towns was futile.
“I can’t wait to meet the lad!” Bette squealed. “To think, Annie with a man on her arm!”
Marcus rolled his eyes but stayed out of the conversation.
“He’s more than a lad, lass,” Garrett muttered. “If he’s caught Annie's eye, he’ll be older than the hills themselves!”
“A man in love is a lad at heart,” Bette shot back.
“I’m all man, thank ye.” Garrett stretched himself as tall as he could in his saddle and gave Bette a baleful glare when she laughed at him.
“You know, you didn’t both have to come,” Julianne said. “It’s just a trade escort.”
“He’s no trader—he’s Annie’s man!” Garrett said in surprise. “What do ye think she’d do to us if he came to grief on the road?”
“And what about Annie herself?” Bette snapped. “Always thinkin’ about yerself, aren’t ye?”
“It’s me balls I’m thinkin’ of,” Garrett grumbled.
“They do seem to be on your mind a lot,” Marcus said, finally joining the discussion.
“If Cavill is half as tough as Annie, he probably doesn’t even need an escort,” Julianne pointed out. “You’re not here just to stickybeak, are you?”
Bette snorted, then coughed. “Who, me? Never.”
Julianne just shook her head. “Well, don’t say anything awful to him.” Her eyes settled on Garrett as she said that.
He opened his eyes wide in feigned innocence. “Who, me? Never!”
Marcus laughed, then pointed ahead. “I can make them out. Not traveling very fast, are they?”
“Bloody Muirians think all the remnant strife is on our side of the road,” Bette said. “When we’ve sent guards out to meet travelers, they take their sweet assed time gettin’ to the halfway point, then run hell for leather to Tahn like a pack of wolves is on their back.”
“Well,” Julianne said. “They’re right, aren’t they?”
“Aye.” Bette grinned. “But Tahn has us, so it’s still a hundred times safer than anywhere else!”
She reached a hand out, palm facing Garrett. He slapped it in a proud high five.
Julianne’s eyes flicked to the side of the road. The witchpost slid by, a stark and twisted reminder of how close danger really was.
“AHOY!” A cry from one of the trader’s company reached her ears.
“Ho there!” Bette yelled back. “All well on the road?”
“Well enough.” A grizzled guard trotted ahead of his group, making his way over to Bette.
When his horse reached hers, he stretched out a hand.
Bette grasped it in her own, giving it a solid shake. “Hello, Barnes.” She’d met the hired escort before and had confidence in his ability to protect the traders he worked for.
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