Dimwater's Demons (12 page)

“Who are you?” the woman demanded in a raspy voice.

“My name is Baird, and we have been caught out in the rain and now it is dark. Could we impose upon you for the evening? We have money to pay for your hospitality” Master Baird pulled out a small coin purse and opened it toward the woman.

“I suppose I can offer some soup. I only have one bed though, so you will have to sleep upon the floor.” The woman nodded as she opened the cabin door wide enough to reveal herself and a good view into the cabin. Master Baird and Lady Stirling eyed the woman carefully.

From her vantage point behind the wall, Kyra watched too. The woman appeared to be well into her sixties, stooped over with age, and carried a sizeable hump on her back. Her face was lined with wrinkles and her hair had long ago turned gray. Her body was thin, frail looking, and barely occupied more than half the doorway’s width as she stood. Not an imposing foe by any measure, and certainly not the vampire Master Baird and Lady Stirling were searching for.

“Come in,” the woman said. The two travelers followed her in through the doorway.

“The soup is here,” the woman announced as she moved to a pot hanging over a fire. Just then, the door slammed shut behind them and the bolts slid back into the locked position.

Master Baird and Lady Stirling turned, but no one was near the door. They wheeled back around to see the woman sneering at them. Instead of the hunched, old woman, she was now tall and beautiful, with a perfect spine and youthful looking skin. She smiled wickedly and a pair of fangs shone out from her mouth.

Kyra gasped as the strange woman attacked, but Master Baird struck out with Stormfang and Lady Stirling sent a column of fire into the woman’s face. The woman shrieked and screamed, then fell to the ground. She writhed and twitched as the flames continued to consume her head. Master Baird stepped in and severed her head with Stormfang, then he plunged the weapon into the woman’s heart.

Kathair leaned in close to Kyra and whispered, “Stormfang is an enchanted blade. It is able to kill vampires and their ilk.”

Kyra looked at him with wide eyes. “Can it kill a shade?” she asked.

Kathair shrugged. “Not sure. Maybe we can look into that possibility when Master Baird and Lady Stirling return.”

Kyra turned her eyes back to the orb. Master Baird and Lady Stirling were now sprinkling some sort of powder on the body, and great, blue flames jumped up and turned the corpse to ash. Stirling collected a vial of the ash and then the two of them began searching the cabin.

After several minutes, they moved to the hearth and pulled the pot out from the fireplace. Lady Stirling waved her hand and said the words of a spell Kyra didn’t know. Suddenly the back wall of the fireplace glowed green.

“I’ll dispel the trap,” Stirling said.

Baird nodded and stepped back.

Lady Stirling bent down and wove her hands in the air for several moments. Line by line, the glowing design faded away until the chimney wall looked normal. Then she extinguished the fire and pressed the wall inward, opening it to a secret passage that led downward.

Slowly they maneuvered themselves into the small tunnel and carefully descended the slope inside. There was an eerie glow in the tunnel, but there were no fires or torches. Soon they came to a cliff. They carefully lowered themselves over the side and searched for footholds. They ended up needing to go down a single ladder that was apparently cut into the stone with footholds carved from the rock. Kyra watched with baited breath until the two reached the cave floor.

In the eerie light, Kyra could see bats hanging from the cave ceiling. Large spiders crawled along the walls and water dripped from a few of the stalactites. Master Baird and Lady Stirling walked forward, mindful of the sheer drop to their right that descended into a crevice that appeared to go on forever until it was swallowed by darkness. To their left were a couple of smaller caves branching out into the belly of the mountain.

“Let’s follow the main tunnel,” Lady Stirling said.

“We should have sent more people with them,” Master Fenn commented from his chair as everyone watched the scene unfold in the orb.

Suddenly, the tunnel opened to a large chamber filled with bones, as if a great beast had discarded its meals for hundreds of years. The two crept into the opening and searched the area. There was no sign of any movement.

To the right, the floor inclined up to a small landing of stone, upon which stood a man with silver hair that hung down to the middle of his back. He wore a leather vest over a silk shirt tucked into wool trousers that were in turn tucked into mid-length leather boots. The man seemed to be standing in front of a desk or pedestal of some sort and reading something.

Lady Stirling lifted her hand and looked to Master Baird. The man held Stormfang at the ready and nodded to her.

The sorceress sent a blast of blue flame at the vampire’s back. The fire struck its target and then the man faded away.

“It was an illusion, you fools!” Master Fenn shouted as he rose in his chair. “He’ll come from the side while you aren’t looking!”

To Kyra’s horror, that is exactly what happened. A mass of darkness leapt at Master Baird. The man spun around with Stormfang, but was struck down before he could wield the weapon effectively.

Lady Stirling shouted some sort of curse and sent a crimson shockwave out from her. The vampire was knocked backward through the air enough for her to get to Master Baird.

She helped the man to his feet, but he was only barely conscious. His left arm had been severed just above the elbow, and he was losing a lot of blood.

“I love the scent of blood,” the vampire said in a surprisingly low voice.

Lady Stirling summoned an orb of light to pierce the darkness. The silver-haired vampire was standing near the far wall, smiling at her. He snapped his fingers and the darkness closed in on her. The magical orb winked out of existence and the ambient light in the cave dimmed so that the vampire was hidden once more.

“You are not the first to come for me,” the vampire said.

Lady Stirling fired a bolt of fire through the air at the voice, but it hit nothing.

The vampire laughed at her. “You shall die as all the rest,” he hissed.

Master Baird handed Lady Stirling the magical sword and then fell to the ground.

Lady Stirling summoned another orb of light. She saw the vampire walking toward her confidently. She fired another column of fire, but the vampire dashed to the side with the speed of a lightning bolt. He then opened his mouth and a flood of bats flew out to assault Lady Stirling. She erected a wall of fire to ward them off. The bats collided with the flames, bouncing out and shrieking shrilly as they died.

Kyra held a hand over her mouth and gasped. No one inside the secret chamber heard her, for they were all shouting as well.

The vampire appeared behind Lady Stirling. He stabbed her with a short sword and lifted her writhing body into the air. The sorceress flailed about, trying hopelessly to cast spells at the vampire. The creature reached up with wickedly long claws on his left hand and gripped Lady Stirling’s neck.

“I think I will take that sword from you,” he said.

Kyra only barely heard the beginning of a scream and then the orb went dark and shrank to its original size. Everyone in the room was silent after that. The sconces erupted with light once more. Headmaster Herion held his head bent toward the table. Master Fenn slammed his fist on the table and wheeled on the old man as if to say something. Instead, he shook his finger and then stormed out of the room.

“Come, we should go,” Kathair whispered.

He nudged Kyra through the tunnel and they didn’t stop until they reached the chairs down in the small chamber and he closed the secret passage behind the bookshelf.

“That was terrible,” Kyra said.

Kathair nodded. “I didn’t think it was going to be like that,” he replied. “I heard them say they needed to talk about a clue they had about the strange beasts. I thought maybe they might have had a lead on the shade, or a garunda or something.”

“It’s all right,” Kyra said. “But, I think I am going to go back to my room now.”

“Sure,” Kathair said.

Kyra turned to leave, but then noticed a book on the small table and paused. “Is this how you were able to find the headmaster’s journal?” she asked.

Kathair shrugged and offered his impish grin. “Well, you heard them right, this academy was built on the ruins of a shadowfiend fortress. There are lots of little nooks and crannies.”

She smiled and nodded. “Thanks,” she said.

Kathair shrugged. “Of course,” he said. “I do what I can to help.”

Kathair remained in the secret room while the young sorceress left. Kyra made the long journey back to the laundry room, then stopped by her classroom to apologize to Cyrus for keeping him waiting, but the wizard was nowhere to be seen. She then went directly to her room.

Kyra opened the door to her room and walked in. In the wake of what she had just seen, she had almost forgotten that she now had a roommate. Her hand went up and she almost opened the portal to the aspen wood, but stopped short when she saw Linny on her bed, curled up and facing the wall.

“Are you all right?” Kyra asked.

Linny looked over her shoulder with puffy eyes. She nodded and then put her head back down on her pillow.

Kyra noticed that Linny hadn’t unpacked anything at all. She was just lying on the bed. She moved over to Linny and sat on the edge of the girl’s bed. She reached out and put a hand on Linny’s shoulder.

“Is there something I can do for you?” Kyra asked.

Linny shook her head. “No, I just miss my mum,” Linny said.

Kyra nodded empathetically. If anyone knew what it was to miss their mother, Kyra was that someone. The young sorceress patted Linny’s shoulder. “Come on, it’ll be all right. You’ll see. We’ll have so much fun, and you will have enough homework that Winter Festival will be here before you know it. Then you can go home for a couple of weeks and see your family. Don’t worry, it’ll be all right.”

Linny shook her head. She scooted away from Kyra and sat up, back against the wall, and leaned into the corner. “No,” she said quietly. “My mum is dead. I won’t ever see her again.”

Kyra blinked and her mouth parted slightly. Had Linny’s mother been killed by creatures of dark magic as well? A part of Kyra wanted to interrogate the young girl, but fortunately, the part of her that was like her mother took over and instead of grilling the fragile girl in her grief, Kyra reached out and enveloped her in a hug. Linny gave in and bent her head down upon Kyra’s shoulder, crying softly and wetting Kyra’s dress with her tears.

They held each other for several minutes until Linny sniffled her last sob and pulled away to wipe her face. She looked at Kyra and tried to smile, though in reality it was hardly more than a small pull of the left corner of her mouth.

“Come to class with me today,” Kyra suggested.

“But, I was told that all the sorcery masters were on assignment for the summer. The headmaster told me to stay out of trouble until he could find someone to take me on,” Linny replied.

Kyra nodded. “I have a private instructor who gives me a few sessions a week. Maybe you can get a jump on things by coming with me. In any case, it will help take your mind off of things.”

Linny nodded. Her eyes shifted to a point on the bed and her focus turned distant. “She died of consumption,” Linny said. “I tried to help her, but…”

Kyra reached out and took Linny’s hands. “It isn’t your fault,” she said emphatically. “Come on, let’s get dressed.”

Linny looked down and realized that her top had been soaked in tears. She nodded dully and the two moved to change into fresh clothes.

“Where did you go?” Linny asked, pulling a large bit of cobweb off of Kyra’s back.

Kyra turned and regarded Linny carefully. The younger girl looked up to Kyra and there was something there that formed between them, a bond of some sort that made Kyra feel responsible for Linny. She decided that it was appropriate to tell Linny a bit about her own mother. Not everything, of course, but enough so Linny would know she could trust her. Kyra would have given anything to have someone to talk to that she fully trusted back when she first heard about her mother. Now, seeing someone else going through the same type of loss, Kyra knew she had to help.

“Linny,” Kyra began softly, “I know how you feel. You see, my mother died last year, during my first term here at Kuldiga Academy.”

Linny’s eyes went wide.

“I’m not saying I am a great font of wisdom for how to recover, but I can be there for you anytime you want to talk. Okay?”

Linny nodded. “Was your mother sick?” Linny asked.

Kyra shook her head. “My mother was murdered,” Kyra said. “Kathair, the boy you saw come for me in the dining hall, he was taking me to a meeting where someone had a clue about my mother’s murder.”

“They never solved it?” Linny asked.

Kyra shook her head. “No, but it’s important that you never tell anyone I am looking into it, all right? The headmaster can be kind at times, but he is concerned first and foremost with the school. If he were to find out a student was trying to find a murderer, he would likely expel that student.”

Linny nodded. “I understand,” she said. “If I were you, I would want to do the same thing.” Linny held out her hand and extended only her pinky finger. “I hereby swear that your secret is safe with me.”

Kyra smiled and wrapped her pinky around Linny’s. “Thank you,” she said.

The two changed clothes and then Linny followed Kyra through the halls and into the classroom where Cyrus was waiting, standing near a window and staring out.

“I heard there was a pair of wylkins killed last night,” Cyrus said as he slowly turned around.

Kyra blushed and dipped her head until Cyrus realized that she was not alone. Thankfully, the old wizard recovered gracefully.

“I thought I might explain what a wylkin beast is, that way you can see how terrible a monster they are,” he said as he gestured to the desks. “I see you have brought a guest. Might I ask her name?”

Kyra nodded and smiled. “This is Linny Ravia. She is my new roommate. I thought I might bring her to classes over the summer if that is all right with you.”

Cyrus smiled and walked to his desk. “The more the merrier, I suppose.” He looked to Linny and nodded warmly as he gestured to a seat once more. Kyra and Linny took seats next to each other. “Linny, in this class I teach how to defend against dark creatures. We have already covered imps and a host of others. Now, I want to discuss wylkins, seeing as how two of them have been terrorizing shepherds to the south for a few days now.”

“What’s a wylkin?” Linny asked.

Cyrus smiled. He turned to Kyra. “Have you explained to her that I deal in live demonstrations?”

Kyra froze with fear. Would Cyrus actually bring a wylkin into the classroom? She had been so quick to jump to the conclusion that Linny needed a distraction that she had forgotten to think about whether it was appropriate to bring a girl who could barely conjure a spark to any of Cyrus’ lectures. She slowly shook her head.

Cyrus waved the notion off. “No matter, in this case, I cannot perform a live demonstration. A wylkin is a dark creature. A servant of the halls of Hammenfein, in fact. They are despicable creatures that can be quite troublesome.”

“But you said they are dead,” Linny interjected. “How did they die?”

Kyra felt her stomach churn. Fortunately, Cyrus played into the question well, both answering it directly, and concealing Kyra’s involvement.

Cyrus smiled wide. “An accomplished sorceress was able to defeat them.”

Linny nodded. Kyra bit her tongue, hoping that Linny wouldn’t press for the sorceress’ name. To Kyra’s great relief, Linny seemed to be satisfied with the answer given.

“Now then,” Cyrus began, “I will conjure up the image of a wylkin. This will not be real, therefore it cannot harm either of you. Please try and refrain from screaming, if you can.”

Cyrus waved his hand and his desk slid back against the wall. Then, he whispered a few words and pointed his index finger to the space on the floor where the desk had been sitting.

A white light appeared, and then it grew. As it developed, the light took shape and became green. Two feet appeared upon the floor, green and tipped with talons on the long toes. The scaly shins then formed, growing upward to the round, strong knees and then to the massive thighs. The pelvic area and waist developed next, and then sprouted three tails out the back. The tails swayed gently back and forth, with barbed points on the ends. The torso was lean, but extremely muscular. From the waist up, the torso widened to the chest and shoulders. The light then expanded out from the shoulders to show strange, thin upper arms. At the point where the elbow joints formed, there grew long, sabre-like hooks.

Linny gasped and held a hand to her mouth.

Kyra squirmed in her seat. Seeing the wylkin in full detail, she couldn’t help but realize how foolish her attack might have been. Surely, had Leatherback not been around, she would have died.

Out from the shoulders, sets of spikes emerged from the skin. Some were short, others taller and thinner. All of them looked absolutely horrid. The neck formed next, and then the jaw, filled with sharp fangs. The rest of the face appeared nearly humanoid, except for the fact that there was no nose, per se. It was little more than a pair of gaping holes divided by a line of bone, as if she were looking at an uncovered skull. The eyes were narrowly set, shaped like almonds. The brow had a series of bony bumps and protrusions growing out from under the green skin, and a ridge of spikes grew along the middle of the skull.

Cyrus waved his hand and turned the projection of the beast to the side. From this viewpoint, Kyra could see that the spikes grew in a line from the top of the head down to the tails. Smaller, wider spikes that looked like miniature pyramids flanked the row of longer spikes along the spine.

“That’s disgusting,” Linny said.

Kyra was surprised by how calm Linny was upon seeing the beast.

“Disgusting? Perhaps,” Cyrus said. “However, there are creatures yet that would make this one appear as friendly as a kitten.”

Kyra scoffed and Cyrus turned to her.

“I have faced wylkins before,” Cyrus said. “So I know what it takes to kill one. In general, they need to be pierced through the heart or decapitated. Some have an uncanny ability to regenerate limbs or heal minor wounds. Other wylkins have a natural defense against magic, and can seemingly shrug off what would be a fatal spell for a human. Their long hooks can cut a horse’s head clean off; they are that sharp and powerful. Their fangs are obvious weapons, of course, but their tails are just as deadly. The barbs on the ends have been known to rip hunks of meat off of their prey. Worse yet, some wylkins have the ability to wield magical spells of their own.”

“Where do they come from?” Linny asked.

Cyrus grinned and shrugged. “Some say they were originally a beast that plagued the night and were hunted nearly to extinction many thousands of years ago. Others claim they are the literal spawn of Hammenfein, the embodiment of wandering spirits that escape from the plane of the dead.”

“No one can escape the plane of the dead,” Kyra said.

Cyrus held up a finger and shook his head. “No, there are creatures that can traverse the plane of the dead. There are also rumors of men who have gone into Hammenfein and escaped. I won’t bore you with the details, but it is possible. Believe me, I have researched it well.”

“So you believe that is where wylkins come from?” Kyra pressed.

“No,” said Cyrus with a shake of his head. “I believe they are creatures summoned by powerful masters. However, I also believe that they are crafty devils in their own right. Perhaps these particular wylkins that were killed last night came from the underdark. There are creatures down there the likes of which would wreak such havoc and chaos upon the Middle Kingdom so as to burn it to stubble in a matter of seconds.”

“The underdark?” Linny asked.

Cyrus nodded. “Tunnels that burrow deep into the core of Terramyr herself,” he replied. “It is known by other names as well, of course. Some call it sub-Terra, and others more familiar with its intricacies name it Iverglendar, the land of the shadow.”

“If there are such terrible monsters down there, then why don’t they come up?” Linny inquired.

Cyrus nodded and smiled. “Some try to, like the wylkins, from time to time. Others cannot, for they cannot abide the light of the sun. Still, most of them are kept in check by other forces. Some of those forces are friendly to those of us that dwell upon the surface, and so they spend their lives in an effort to guard our homes in an ever raging war against the demons of Iverglendar. Another major factor is the reality that the monsters themselves are highly territorial, and fight amongst themselves.”

“Will they ever emerge in force?” Kyra asked.

Cyrus shrugged. “I have studied the material on this matter as much as any other wizard I am aware of. All I can say is that they have not yet been able to do that. However, should that day come, it will be a very red day indeed, and many will suffer and die.” The old wizard let his words hang in the air for a few moments and then he dismissed the image of the wylkin with a wave of his hand.

“Kyra, I had been intending to help you recognize the presence of dark magic, but this is an advanced lesson, and not one I can give to neophytes who have not been properly prepared.”

Kyra glanced to Linny. The younger girl blushed and prepared to leave.

Cyrus cleared his throat and regained the girls’ attention. “Therefore,” he began, “I thought it might be more appropriate if you could practice lower level wards with Linny. Let’s see if we can’t catch her up a bit, and perhaps give her a jump on her upcoming classes. Once Linny has an instructor assigned, I will continue with the lessons we had scheduled,” Cyrus looked to Kyra and nodded, “does that sound fair?”

Kyra nodded back and smiled. “Thank you,” she offered. An idea came to her then and she got up and approached Cyrus. “May I take her to practice in the kitchen?”