Dusk Falling (Book 1) (21 page)

The GateKeeper screamed her rage as her elemental howled in blinding pain. It went berserk, flailing about. Its head twisted to the side, unable to keep it straight.

The team of Aya and Serrtin knew a prime opening when they saw it. Aya concentrated, pulling her powers into her hand as she held it to her chest. She put all she could into the spell- all the control she could in a matter of moments, shaping the spell in her mind even before her fingers began to ache with the cold. Low to the ground, she released the spell and commanded five ice spikes to streak from her outstretched palm. Serrtin was racing right behind them.

The witch had no time to shout or give warning as the ice missiles made impact. In a splash of green ichor, the ernryche lost three of its six eyes, its roar deafening.

That roar was suddenly silenced and the elemental no longer worried for its sight. The mask that was its face, spotted with blood and ice, split in half and tumbled to the ground. Its body slumped and followed after.

Serrtin straightened, half of her blade embeddened in the ooze-slicked street.

The cold night wind blew, serving to emphasize the complete silence. All over, the armed cutthroats began to back off. They’d witnessed the fall of a monster they had thought was well-nigh invincible, a sure bet to win. The group of mismatched Demarians the cutthroats had been hired to kill were outnumbered many to one, yet now, none dared be the next to step up and fall. It was too risky and the coin too cheap for their blood. It took the retreat of only one man to send the rest scurrying to the shadows like scalded dogs, tails between their legs.

Then the streets were empty but for the carcass of an elemental beast, three determined fighters and a shocked little girl who was no little girl at all.

The witch’s white eyes were wide, focused on the body of her pet ernryche. Her tiny fingers twitched at her sides. “That… that is impossible” She said to herself in disbelief. “Golumnump. Impossible.”

Serrtin’s fingers tingled from her last attack, the impact had nearly shaken the weapon from her hand. Even though it was covered in slick ichor, she shouldered the flamberge. With Aya and Agemeer at her back, the saurian stepped past the cooling corpse to stand before its master. Inserting her towering figure into the witch’s line of vision, Serrtin forced her to acknowledge the situation. “They’re all gone, GateKeeper.”

“Wh-what are you going to do?”

Serrtin glanced down at her companions, unsure of the answer. Sure, she sicked her henchmen on them but now she was weaponless. She looked like nothing but a frightened child.

“They told me to do this!” She pleaded. “I wouldn’t have attacked you otherwise! I… I am just the steward of Tharsen’s Rest, nothing more.”

“How long have you been the steward?” Aya asked.

“Years. Many.”

“So you’ve not left this city for years?” Agemeer asked, coming to stand to the right of Serrtin.

That the Wulf spoke seemed not to surprise the witch, who nodded in answer. “Yes, in a way, I am a prisoner here…” She sighed heavily, shoulders bowing.

After several moments, Serrtin spoke up. “Mag’har is not Indelsis.” She did not give anyone time to question what she meant. “We will leave you to your fate here.” The Yarcka gestured with her head and moved to head out of the bleak town as the victors to an unwarranted battle.

Agemeer padded after, stopping after a few steps to regard Aya. The mage was looking intently at the small girl, who refused to meet her gaze. With a slight bow of her head, Aya backed away. Pivoting on a heel, she caught up with the scholar.

“There is one more thing,” The GateKeeper said mysteriously.

“What?” Serrtin growled, halting but not turning. She wanted to put this place behind her.

“Two things actually. The first is that someone will be waiting for you to the east. I’ll inform him of your coming- that’s how he’ll know.” She suddenly grinned wickedly, looking up at them with her large eerie eyes. “The second thing is not all of you will be making that appointment!”

From behind her back, tucked in the bow, she pulled a slim-bladed knife. With a howl reminiscent of her beloved pet, she threw it. The knife whistled as it sailed through the air.

Dropping the point of her blade from its position on her shoulder, Serrtin blocked the knife without even turning around. The metal clinked on metal then dropped innocuously to the ground.

The witch gargled, back stepping and tumbling over the hem of her dress.

Picking up the knife, Serrtin made good the threat she had once made to Genlo and buried the dagger in the wall of the building behind the witch. “He… will … be told…”

A red welling of crimson bloomed in the center of her chest. With nary a sound, the witch fell, looking so much like a lovely little girl Aya almost choked. Closing her eyes, she turned away.

Away from the city, the team walked.

Chapter 18

Outside Zelenest, the full realization of where they were hit them. In a span of heartbeats, they were hundreds of miles away from Wizards Roost; when they stepped through the Gateway, they were no longer in the peaceful lands of Indelsis. The trees, the ground, the very air was different.

The darkness of late night did not help make the province of Mag’har appear more inviting nor did it dispel all the ill-fated thoughts that crept into their minds as the team strode toward the lands to the east. Serrtin kept the pace, her quick land-devouring walk inciting a jog in her smaller companions just to keep up.

Of all of them, Agemeer had the easiest of times. His Wulf host seemed to know these lands- its running paws matching what the scholar knew of the area. He could see far ahead of them but chose to keep his sight behind them instead in case the witch’s henchmen decided to give chase out of a convoluted sense of vengeance, however unlikely that may be.

Serrtin looked at the situation in an impersonal sterile light. She did not have time to ponder anything, especially her own feelings, nor did she particularly want to. The saurian knew that if she gave in to contemplating the reality of what they were doing the brunt of it would knock her flat like the cudgel of a mountain troll. With that firmly in mind, Serrtin began to think ahead to their next move because no matter how unpleasant reality was, it was better than contemplating the exacting altercations the Circuit would be now formulating on their behalf.

The mage trailed at a slight pace. She was tired and mind-weary. It was late and she could not see well. On top of that, after the fight with the ernryche, her energy levels were bottoming out. Keeping the large figure of Serrtin in her sight, the mage kept up as best she could, allowing her feet to move separate of her mind.

Once they were well away from Zelenest, Serrtin called for rest.

“We could be close. There’s no way of telling.” Serrtin said, hands on hips as she stared off into the darkness with a frown. “We’ll have to bed down here tonight and hope they do the same. Stumbling into them blindly isn’t a good idea.” She resisted the urge to add ‘right now’ as she eyed her team’s bedraggled appearance.

Aya slumped to the ground. Agemeer joined her, pawing Kcrie’s flask over his head to rest between his paws. Loosening the cork, he laid down. For the second time in two nights, the Asrai Kcrienalpralopar did not stir from her chamber. Aya had drifted off huddled into a dark dreamless sleep not knowing of their absentee guardian.
The girl was plainly exhausted, as she tended to be after using her magic for more than a few spells, having even failed to remove the hard silver armor of her breastplate or shoulderguards. Serrtin and Agemeer separately decided to not trouble her with the portentous news of Kcrie’s lack of appearance.

“Perhaps our Asrai friend is weary from our journey through the Gateway. We did not ask her opinion before embarking.” Agemeer said, voice low. “I do hope she is not displeased at our rash decision.”

“Knowing her, she probably is.” Serrtin replied, stretching her hands over her head to loosen the muscles of her back. She knew she would be stiff in the morning. “We’ll just have to pull the night the old fashioned way- in shifts.”

“Mmm,” Agemeer nodded in agreement. “Though I would like to allow Aya to sleep. She has been strained these last few days.”

Looking down at the small bundle that was their mage, it was the Yarcka’s turn to nod. “Poor kid. I wish I knew how to help but whatever it is that’s going on in her head is not my field of expertise.”

“She follows her heart in most matters and that is simply how she is.” The Wulf said fondly. “Much has changed yet still she is still the same in that extent. Unlike you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He gave a small chuckle. “You have changed much.”

“Quiet you.” Serrtin softened her words with a smile. “Better get some sleep. We gotta be up before the sun. I’ll wake you for your watch.”

Tired herself but always willing to sacrifice her own comfort for her companions due to the fact she felt she could deal with it better, Serrtin took her standard position back to an old tree. She remained standing, knowing full-well if she sat she might be tempted to fall asleep. Hooking her thumbs into her belt she leaned her head back. Agemeer had been right when he said she’d changed much. Serrtin accepted the frailties of her friends without negative judgment. They were simply themselves; she would take up the slack. That was her role.

Agemeer yawned widely and closed his eyes, falling asleep within a couple of minutes. The scholar felt as if he’d just fallen asleep when a hand on his shoulder woke him. Again, he yawned. Blinking, Agemeer fought back the want of more sleep and rose to his four feet. Shaking like a dog would to shed water from his coat, he moved to allow the tired warrior to take his warm spot on the ground.

Scratching behind an ear, he sat. His mind was awakening reluctantly. Thoughts of his old broken-in goose-down bed in the house he had had back when he was but an old scholar came to mind. Always so soft and comfortable, surrounded by his books and the items he loved the most.

His friends asleep, Agemeer knew in his heart if he had the chance to go back and change what had happened to him he would still choose to forgo it.

Ears twitching attentively to the sounds of the nightlife, the Wulf took in the forms of his friends and his eyes came to rest on the crystal flask that housed the Asrai. Hours past. Agemeer took to his feet to ware off sleepiness. He followed a brightly colored beetle as it scurried under a frawn and was drawn by a glitter that reflected the moonlight. At first, the old Wulf thought the glitter must be more of the lovely insects and with a wag of his tail, stood perfectly still to await the beetle’s next move.

The cloud that had partially hidden Eleuin shuffled off in its trail across the night sky and the pale light revealed the shine was no insect. A thin line of silver connected the two trees he stood by low around their trunks. Agemeer cocked his canine head this way and that trying to puzzle out what the silver lines were. It was a highly reflective substance- perhaps a spider silk web? No, it was much too thick for that. Agemeer stepped closer. More like the wire used to string instruments.

Four feet from his nose, a single glowing eye disclosed itself in the shadows. It focused on him, pupil shrinking in size as if it had expected him and burned with a vicious malevolence.

A shadow arose and Agemeer found he could not move. He was frozen in place, no part of his body would respond to his urgent commands.

The single yellow-green eye was accompanied by two more below it, these two red as blood. Agemeer could see the being was bi-pedal but did not get a good look until he- it was a male being- stepped out of hiding and into the moonlight.

Agemeer’s first thought was ‘Youkai’, it had to be. Tall, lanky and long of limb, the Youkai had wide muscular shoulders and a bare chest. He wore a layered belt of dark Prussian blue that hung in strips just past the top of dark boots. A single band adorned his left bicep and simple bracers his wrists. Weaving around his bare hands was more of the silver wire.

The Youkai’s hair was pulled back tight from his face. Two lined horns bent from above his brow bone to twist down to just below feathery ears. His crimson eyes looked temporarily amused, different from the anger that
raged in the larger third eye. The Youkai glanced at the sleeping women before looking back to the entrapped Agemeer but the large central eye did not move from the Wulf.

Standing close, Agemeer got a good look at the demonic’s mouth of sharp razors when he grinned to display them. “The little witch told me I would soon have company,” He sent in mindspeech. “but I did not think I would come across them napping.”

“Who- who are you?” Agemeer squeaked, finding it hard to breathe. He could not look away from the glaring unblinking eye. His mindspeech felt restricted.

“I am Xiethes, learn the name well. Ah-!” He paused as if just remembering something. “But then again, you’ll be dead all too soon so I suppose learning it won’t do you any good. Unless you wish to tell it to the Goddess of Death when she greets you. Now, be a good doggie and die. The Verca should not have to trouble themselves with the likes of you.” The Youkai brought up his hands and the moonlight reflected off the thin silvery wires that now came into view as it stretched all around the clearing. The wire looped through Agemeer’s legs, the trees, and even his oblivious comrades.

The Wulf wrestled his confines to no avail. He tried talking. “Why? Why do you do this?”

“Why?” Xiethes drew up. “I should be the one asking you that same question. I’ve been tracking those fools from Niredes Votalo for some time. Why you’d be following them is beyond me. Still, I cannot have you accidentally aiding them or interfering with the Verca’s plans.” The Youkai’s third eye suddenly squinted and he jumped back just as a small knife went whizzing by inches from his nose. He snarled as he turned his head to see those he thought were deep in slumber were sleeping no longer. “It is already too late for you.”

Xiethes hauled his fists in and the wires he had so carefully layered became fraught with tension.