The Wrath Of the Forgotten (8 page)

Over a dozen heavy feet tromped up the hallway.

A whiny voice broke the uneasy silence. “The boss will be here soon. Is that bastard ready?”

A female voice answered him. “Yeah, we beat him up pretty good when we brought him in. He should still be chained down stairs.”

The whiny man chuckled. “I’m going up stairs to fetch the boss’s favorite sword. He told me he wants to cut that bastard’s head off and send it back to his bitch of a wife before sundown. You guys go down there and beat him some more. Make his last moments of life painful.”

Nori looked back at the others. Flara’s eyes had widened and Rayko wrapped an arm around her. Her snide contempt had retreated back behind a mask of concern. Apisa probably shared Nori’s own expression. Rage poured from her like a river. Nori’s heart banged like an Onistan festival drum. With each pound, the blood in his veins grew hotter. He stood up and gazed down into Flara’s eyes. After a brief second, Nori stepped out into the hallway. One of the girls gasped softly.

A group of four men and two women stood in the intersection.

One of the women scrunched up her face as she centered her attention on Nori. She started to draw the sword at her side. “Who the hell are you?”

Nori raised the tetsubo and brought it down on one of the men’s faces as the others shifted in their stances to see him. When the tetsubo struck, the bones in the man’s skull shattered. The head deflated like a rotten melon.

All at once, the men and women yelped out and tried to draw their weapons. Nori crushed the life out of another thug as his war club smashed the tissue that made up a woman’s neck.

A particularly gangly fellow with a thinning out hair line stumbled back. His weasel like face contorted in disbelief. “Raise the alarm! We’ve got intruders.” He took another nervous step before turning around and fleeing the group.

The thugs tried to stab and slash at him, but Nori drove them back with a series of wide and powerful swings. They retreated slightly, and Nori positioned himself in the middle of the intersection. One of the thugs got a little bolder and lunged. Nori thrust his tetsubo into the man’s chest. The man’s face blanched and he fell to a knee.

Apisa landed beside Nori, but she appeared different. Where once she possessed slightly rough, but soothing hands, Apisa now had vicious tiger like claws at the end of her fingertips. Thick dark green scales covered her hands and forearms. A brilliant pink glow emitted from her leg tattoo.

“Are you ready to lose? Cause I’m itchin’ to whoop your butt.” Apisa gave Nori a wink.

A woman swung her axe at Apisa, but Apisa slammed her scaled forearm against the axe blade. A loud
ting
resounded, but Apisa didn’t appear the least bit hurt. While the woman stared in open confusion, Apisa reached forward and gripped the woman’s throat. Quickly, Apisa pulled her hand back and then tossed a bloody mess against the wooden floor.

Nori dodged out of the way of a man’s sword, and then smacked him in the side of the head. Apisa pounced on another person. Screams echoed out. The brief fight ended when Nori crushed the spine of a thug trying to get away.

Nori rested his tetsubo on his shoulder and turned to survey the scene. The thug who Apisa had leaped upon had deep lines carved into his cheeks and nose. Compared to the woman who had her throat torn out, the man must have died with much more anguish before he passed. For a low lander, Apisa was quite… savage.

Nori turned around to check on the other girls, but then jumped in fright. The most grotesque figure that Nori had ever seen stood right behind him, eye to eye. Nori swung with all of his strength. His tetsubo sailed through the man’s body and splintered the corner of the intersection.

“Ah! You could have hit one of us, you incompetent buffoon!” Rayko said. “This is another one of my masterpieces. Flara and I are BEHIND it.”

Rayko got up from a crouching position behind the illusion and gave Nori a stern glare. Flara had been well out of Nori’s range, but she eyed the damage Nori had created in the wall with apprehension none the less.

Nori winced. “I’m sorry, but this…
thing
surprised me. What is this horrid creature anyway?”

The figure possessed a pair of oversized giant lower teeth, pimple marked cheeks, and crazy eyes that hinted at murder and bloodlust. The longer he studied the figure, the more ire that Nori collected in his cheeks.

Rayko flashed him a smile of pure amusement. “It’s an Onistan. You of all people should be able to identify one of your own kind when you see one.”

Apisa pointed a clawed finger at Rayko. “Now isn’t the time for jokes or petty insults. Let’s get on with what we’re here to do!” Blood dripped down her hands and claws.

“S-she’s right,” Flara said. “We h-have to find the downstairs steps.”

Nori’s hands tingled with red hot vibrancy. He breathed in and out several times and even whirled around to avoid looking at either Rayko or her horrible expression of his people. The image of popping her skull blinked within the blackness of his mind, but Nori batted it away like smoke from a fire.

He moved in the same direction as the man who fled, and came to a set of stairs going up to the second floor. Nori grunted softly before turning toward the girls. “Damn, no good. We have to keep looking.”

Several armed thugs rounded a corner with weapons drawn, on the other side of Apisa and Rayko. At the same time, another pair of thugs moved to the top of the stairs.

Nori planted a foot on the bottom stair. “I’ve got two coming down.” He clobbered the stairs with his war club. Splinters of wood sprayed in the air, and the stairs crumbled into piles of debris. The thugs halted their advance, but they lowered their stances.

Flara stepped up beside Nori. Though she still shook a little, a unique glimmer sparkled in her eyes. “I got th-them.”

She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, as if praying. Her lips parted ever so slightly, though she didn’t say any words. A strange purple and pink hue flashed up from the back of her collar, and moments later, an eerie hot pink mist floated up from her lips.

Nori’s stomach twirled about. The thugs crouched down a little more, but they held their weapons at the ready. Nori stepped in front of Flara, blocking her from the adversaries. Just as the thugs were about to lunge, a small brown ball of energy floated out from one of the wooden beams that made up the ceiling. Within seconds, the ball began to take a distinct shape. The top half of the ball became a small torso, complete with arms, a neck and an other-worldly face. The bottom of the sphere tapered off to a point, like that of a ghostie tail.

Flara stepped around Nori and gazed up at the entity with compassionate, excited eyes. “Can you please help us fight these guys? I d-don’t want to kill them. I just want to restrain them.”

The little brown energy figure nodded and then zipped back into one of the wooden beams.

The thugs looked around nervously.

Thick wooden arms stretched out from the walls and ceilings and extended toward the pair of thugs. The thugs’ weapons clattered against the solidness of the arms, but nothing could stop them from being grappled. Large wooden fingers grabbed their arms and throats. Both of the guards were lifted into the air and suspended above the ground.

Nori swallowed to moisten his dry mouth. “Was that a kami?”

Several panicked screamed echoed out behind them. Nori led the way while Flara followed closely behind. Five bodies littered the corridor, and each one of them wore grievous claw marks like badges of honor. A red liquid carpet covered the wooden floors. Apisa, Rayko, and the illusionary Onistan stood huddled beside one another.

“Other people decided to crash our little party,” Apisa said.

Rayko moved to the far end of the corridor. “Let us venture this way! Perhaps the stairs to the basement are in this direction.”

The illusionary Onistan ran just in front of Rayko. Nori took up the rear. A foreboding silence befell the house. Nori licked his dry lips as he walked behind Flara. In the absence of noise, Nori’s spirit clenched and unclenched like a fist.

When the group came to another intersection, a thug hopped out of a room and slashed at the illusion. The fake Onistan ducked under the blow and swung its crude club at the man. The club barely whisked past the thug’s face, but the thug screamed none the less.

Apisa sprinted through the illusion and tackled the man to the ground. The back of his head smacked hard against the floor. He tried to push himself up, but Apisa carved open the man’s chest.

After a few rapid swipes, Apisa hopped to her feet. She beamed over her shoulder. “I think it’s safe to say I’m winning.”

“Whatever,” Nori said. “Let’s just find those stairs.”

Apisa stepped over the bleeding corpse and moved down the right corridor. Rayko sneered at the body and jumped over it as if she were a bunny. Flara winced as she moved past it too. At the end of the hallway, the group came to a set of stairs going downward.

“Who wants the honor of going first?” Rayko asked.

Nori eased his way past the women and moved down stairs with caution. He descended into a lower level with several metal lanterns hanging on the walls every five feet or so. Soft candle light flickered within each of the lanterns. Shadows danced on the walls. The hallway came to a cross intersection, and then continued forth until it formed to a t-intersection at the far end of the basement.

Nori asked, “We have to find this guy fast. Should we split up?”

Apisa suddenly grinned, and then grabbed Flara’s arm. “We’ll go to the right. You two take left.”

An icy spasm exploded within Nori’s stomach. He glanced at Apisa and Flara as they disappeared around the corner, but then slowly maneuvered around to regard Rayko. The brunette illusionist cast a terrible glare at Apisa as she disappeared from view. Within moments, Rayko turned that hateful stare upon him.

She let out a sigh. “Well let’s get this begrudging ordeal over with then.” She gestured to the left corridor. “By all means, proceed. You are the brawny mountain savage, not I.”

Nori’s jaw tightened again and he stormed down the left corridor with rage-filled intention. His heavy feet slapped against the wood purposely, and Nori darted his attention all around.

“Please let someone jump out,” Nori thought to himself.

When Nori came to a room, he stepped in the doorway. His shoulders were squared and his tetsubo remained poised. Pillows and small tables filled the room. Little dirty plates and utensils sat on the table tops. Stains covered the floor mats. The next room also contained similar furniture. Nori peeked behind him. The fake Onistan traipsed behind Rayko. Its eyes were crossed at unusual angles, and the illusion’s tongue hung out of its mouth like that of a sick animal. Rayko slowly moved in his wake. Her arms were crossed over her chest, but she peered into the rooms with interest.

“Not there either,” Rayko said, perhaps to herself. “I do hope that he is alright. I would hate to see anything happen to that wonderful fellow.”

Nori scoffed. “I find it peculiar to hear anything nice coming out from your mouth.”

Rayko scowled up at him. “To those who deserve such grace and reverence, they receive it in plenty. Do not attempt to define me, you foul cretin. You know nothing of me.”

“And you know nothing of me,” Nori said. “You’ve been absolutely intolerable since I met you.”

“I know enough about you, you damned Onistan. You ogres are all the same.” Rayko brushed past him. “Let’s do what we came here to do. This pointless chatter with you is infecting me with stupid.”

Nori moved faster than Rayko and took the lead again. The hallway turned to the right and stretched down a little ways. They came upon a small storage room filled with barrels and sacks. Aside from food stuffs, there weren’t signs of any hostages. Nori let out a small groan and then ran down the hallway to the next doorway. Stealth be damned, they needed to find this man and be gone before things got really dangerous.

The doorway opened to a large room that contained several small wooden cells and various tables. Another door existed on the far side of the room. Torture tools rested on the table tops. Manacles hung from the walls. A single person occupied the room, and he hung from his arms from one set of the manacles. The man’s body was covered in blueish blackish bruises. Blood seeped from several little cuts along his ribs and limbs. His head hung down lifelessly.

Rayko gasped. “There he is. By all that is holy, please be alive.” She ran to the man and placed her hands on his neck.

“I’ll get the others,” Nori said.

Rayko didn’t acknowledge him, but she kept touching the captive in various places. Nori exited through the other door and moved down a hallway with haste. Within moments, he found Apisa and Flara inside one of the rooms. Flara crouched behind Apisa and had her hands interlaced together. Apisa stood up and had her clawed hands held up.

“Oh, it’s only you.” Apisa shook her head and allowed her hands to turn back to normal. “You can’t sneak up on us like that. I could have killed you.”

Nori said, “You couldn’t kill me. Come on, we found the doctor’s husband.”

One of the girls grumbled to herself, but Nori didn’t quite make out what was said. He stormed back down the corridor like a rampaging bull. Rayko stood before the man, and she applied some kind of liquid to his wounds.

“What are you doing?” Nori asked.

Rayko didn’t take her eyes off of the doctor’s husband. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m cleaning his wounds so they won’t get infected. Must I explain all of my actions to you?”

“You just happened to have antiseptic on you?” Nori asked. “I mean that’s great news for us, but I’m just surprised.”

Rayko let out an exasperated sigh and gave him a scornful sideways glance. “My mother is a doctor and my father makes medicine. I know the value of having these kinds of luxuries on hand.” She glanced past Nori. “Oh good, you’re here. Help me get this man free.”

Flara clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. Just as before, a mysterious light emitted from the back of Flara’s collar. When she parted her lips, a stream of pink mist floated out and filtered into the air. This time, a grey blackish sphere of energy slithered out of the metal chains that held up the man. The sphere took on a shape of a half person, just like the kami from before.