Even Hell Has Knights (Hellsong) (6 page)

The chamber which contained the Hungerleaf Grove was filled with the Kingsriver’s mist. Arturus loved the mists whenever they came. Galen said that they were caused by warm water, which had flowed through fires or been heated by the friction of settling stone. As far as Arturus was concerned, they meant that the water would be perfect for swimming.

The Harpsborough hunters, though, hated the mists. They liked to hunt along the Kingsriver because its chambers were so large—often miles long and hundreds of feet tall. A dyitzu was easy to spot in such a chamber and was little match for a man with a rifle at such a long range. But the haze would mean that a hunter wouldn’t see any devils until they got close—close enough that the dyitzu’s fire wouldn’t be very easy to dodge.

Several land bridges connected to the Hungerleaf Grove, which grew out of a large natural island in the midst of one of the Kingsriver’s oxbow lakes. Arturus felt very capable of protecting himself as he made his way across one of those bridges, his lightweight rifle strapped to his back, and his .38 pistol holstered at his side. The hungerleaf trees emerged from the fog as he approached, their long, spindly leaf covered branches reaching out, their scaly grey bark damp from the river’s condensation.

He breathed in the warm air.

“Alice,” he called.

He saw a shadow moving in the haze on the other side of the island.

“Declare yourself,” he said.

He heard a girl’s laugh. “You think I
’m a corpse, Turi?” It was Alice’s voice.

As she walked forward her distant grey silhouette slowly transformed into a beautiful blonde girl dressed in a blue skirt and white t-shirt. Her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail. While she tended to wear old world shoes in the village, she had on some dyitzu skin moccasins now. She had sewn them up beautifully but could stand to learn from Galen how to attach soles to them.

“You might be a corpse,” Turi answered. “How should I know?”

She held up her hands before her and shambled forward. “Brains. Brains?” She clutched at his shoulders mockingly and began to pretend to eat his face. He felt her body as it brushed against his. She gave him a little shove, laughing.

Her laughter sounded beautiful in the mists.

He noticed she was almos
t exactly the same height as he. “What do you mean, brains?”

“Everyone knows corpses eat brains.”

“No they don’t,” he said, puzzled.

She just laughed harder. “I can tell you were born here, sometimes. Did you bring the food?”

He unslung his backpack and held it up. “Yes.”

“I brought something, too. It’s not much, but it’s wrong for friends not to share with each other. Follow me, we’ll go get it.”

Her blue skirt swished back and forth as she walked through the Hungerleaf Grove. One of the branches caught on her shoulder, and he had to duck to avoid it. Galen had been wrong, he noticed; there wasn’t going to be much of a harvest. Many of the lower leaves had been taken already. It was possible that Rick had managed to get a run in recently, but it probably meant that the villagers were stealing from them.

They’re so hungry in Harpsborough, I doubt Galen will even be mad.

She knelt down by a stump where she must have been waiting for him and picked up a satchel. It was definitely old world, and had a white kitten with a pink bow as decoration.

“What’s in it?” he asked.

She opened the satchel a bit, and he leaned forward. She shut it suddenly. “You’ll see.”

“No! What is it?”

“Come on, where do you want to eat?”

He made a grab for the satchel, but she turned around and held it over her head.

“I was thinking here,” he said. “Maybe we could go swimming.”

He stopped suddenly, hearing something in the mist. Making sure to keep his body in front of Alice’s, he drew his gun and looked out over the Kingsriver. A figure was standing at the far bank, looking at them from across the water. He couldn’t make out the details of the thing, but it was almost too still to be a human.

“Declare yourself!” Arturus shouted.

No response.

“I’ll get it,” Alice said, stepping up beside him and drawing her pistol.

“Declare yourself!” Arturus tried again.

“It’s dead, Turi.”

Arturus gauged the distance. “That’s a long shot for a pistol.”

She took careful aim, and fired two rounds. Both hit, and the figure toppled back into the fog.

“Nice shooting,” he said.

She nodded in satisfaction. “Well, maybe we shouldn’t eat here. How about the Bordonelles?”

Arturus looked across the river, waiting to see if the corpse would get back up. “But the hunters won’t go there.

Isn’t it dangerous?”

“No! You’re so young.”

Arturus was crushed. “Am not.”

“Maybe. Did your parents ever tell you not to go there?”

Arturus thought about this, eyeing her satchel in hopes of getting a clue as to what it contained. “No.”

“That’s because it’s not dangerous a
t all. It’s just a superstition from after your father killed the Icanitzu there. Martin’s got them all afraid. Thinks he’s seen a banshee.”

“A banshee?”

“If Martin saw a banshee, he’d be dead.”

He nodded. That was pretty good logic, actually. And besides, she had already said he seemed young. He didn’t want to make
that
any worse. “Alright, let’s go.”

She flashed him a half-smile. “Follow me.”

The Bordonelles were series of hollow cylindrical chambers which were connected to each other by
narrow crawlways. Galen had shown him how to get to the Bordonelles, once, from the rustrock road. Alice led him in from a chamber off of the Kingsriver. He hadn’t realized how close this part of the Kingsriver got to the road until now.

The crawlway she took him to was about three and a half feet tall.

“This way,” she said, bending down and getting on her hands and knees.

Arturus did his best
not to watch the effect this motion had on her skirt and followed after. “Do we need any light?”

“No, trust me.”

She led him down a set of crawlways which he made sure to memorize. He didn’t think that they would have any problems getting out, but it helped to make sure. The right side of the passage gave way to one of the cylindrical rooms, but she kept on moving, leading them farther into the darkness. After a quick turn, Arturus could no longer see.

“Almost there.”

They entered into a room whose walls had collapsed. Light was streaming down from an opening near the ceiling. Unlike the smooth walls in the other Bordonelles chambers, these were now rugged and uneven. Much of the rock had fallen in and lay strewn about the floor.

The light streaming down from the ceiling illuminated a loose strand of Alice’s blond
e hair. “Pretty neat, huh?”

“Yeah, but why did you come here to begin with?” Arturus asked.

Alice walked over to the most damaged portion of the wall, found a handhold, and started to climb. “Well, I was thinking of the words of that famous American poet, Cynthia Lauper.”

Arturus loved poetry. “What did she say?”

“Girls just want to have fun.”

He looked at her, bemused, as she clung to the wall and laughed. Her laughter echoed in the small chamber.

He cinched his pack tightly to his shoulders while he mentally worked out a route. The climb looked like it would be pretty easy. He waited for her to get a little higher before beginning to make his way up. He caught up with her after just a moment and passed her quickly.

“Damn, Turi, where’d you learn to climb like that?”

“Galen, he teaches me everything. We headed to the light?”

“Yes, sir! I’m starving, so don’t take your time or anything.”

He made it to the top opening after another minute. The room’s collapse had created a crack which led back into the Kingsriver chamber they had left. There was a small cubbyhole which looked down onto the river. This is where Alice must have meant for them to eat their lunch.

He had to admit that the view from the landing there was beautiful. He looked back down at her. “You want me to lower a rope?”

“Funny.”

He helped her off of the wall and into the opening, again reveling in the closeness of her body. She walked into the cubbyhole and sat down. He watched her chest rise and fall. She wiped the sweat off of her brow and looked up.

“You’re not tired?” she asked.

“No. Galen makes me climb like this all the time.”

She nodded. “Sounds like something he’d do. What’s for lunch?”

He took off his pack and opened it. He had some of the leftovers from Galen’s return meal. He passed her a hungerleaf wrap and a cup of meat pie. She attacked the food. He’d never seen anyone so ravenous. All things considered, he was rather impressed that she had been able to wait so long to get here before starting to eat. He ate sparingly of his own portion, knowing that she would still be hungry when she had finished hers. It didn’t take her long. She didn’t offer any objection when he offered her his leftovers.

She drank his canteen dry after she had finished.

I should have brought more than just a snack. It was probably just enough to make her truly hungry.

“Been tough in the village,” she apologized.

“I know.”

She held up her satchel and opened the flap that had the white cat on it. “But look what I got.”

Inside was a small clay jar, fired in Kylie’s Kiln. She pulled out a knife and worked off the corking. Arturus leaned forward to see what was inside.

“Take a whiff,” she said.

The smell burned his nose. “Bloodwater?”

She smiled.

“I’ve never had that before. Isn’t it illegal for young people to drink that in the old world?”

She shook her head. “Turi, we’re not in the old world anymore. Hell, you weren’t ever in it. But Rick and Galen won’t be mad. Hell heals all wounds, you know? No way you can get drain bramage.”

“Drain bramage?”

She winked at him and took a sip. The clay jar was almost empty, but the stuff was probably worth as much as the food Arturus had shared.

She made sure to bring something that would be a fair trade. It couldn’t have been easy for her. She’s a good person.

She offered him the jar. Still somewhat dubious, he placed the jar to his lips and tilted it back. He had to tilt it farther than he expected, so that when he did get the bloodwater he got a mouthful instead of a sip. The liquid was bitter, sweet in an unpleasing way, and it burned in his mouth. He swallowed it quickly. The burning sensation went down his throat and disappeared into his stomach.

“Wow.” He coughed a couple of times, his eyes watering.

She punched him in the shoulder. “Good boy, did you like it?”

“That was probably the most disgusting thing I’ve had in my life.”

She smiled and licked her front teeth. “So you want some more then?”

“
Sure.”

The second swallow didn’t taste any better, but he found the burn of the liquid pleasant for some reason.

Alice leaned back against the wall and looked out into the Kingsriver chamber. Arturus did likewise.

“Do you ever think you’re better than us?” she asked. “Because you weren’t damned? You think you would have made it into heaven if you were on Earth?”

He thought for a moment. “You cannot judge what you do not know. I have no idea what people do to get sent here.”

She nodded, and took a long swig of bloodwater. “Me neither. I’m betting I was sent here for my tattoo.”

“You had a tattoo? Like Hidalgo?”

“Not like him!” she said, sitting up into a kneeling position. “It was right here.”

She turned around and pulled up the bottom of her shirt. Arturus’ heart picked up speed. She pointed to her lower back. “It was a tribal, except it had vines and flowers going all around it. It was my tramp stamp.”