Bricrui (The Forgotten: Book 2) Page 7

  They stepped around the bloodied ground and followed to where the path disappeared underneath a door. They fanned out and positioned themselves around the door, before slowly pushing it open. The stench that wafted out threatened to overwhelm her, and Natalya was relieved to see that the Knights did not seem any more immune to the smell than she was.

  She looked inside to find the source of the odor with trepidation. It appeared to be some sort of storage room, with barrels and sacks piled high, though several of these were broken open. The path of blood led to the center of the room, behind a wall of boxes. The sound of buzzing flies filled the air. Their tight group moved forward in sync.

  At the sight, Natalya drew in a deep breath, inadvertently filling her mouth with the taste of death. The man had been almost completely devoured; his mangled remains were slathered on the barrels around him and the floor. Many of the bones appeared to have been gnawed on, and some were crushed underfoot. His head was a good five feet away from the rest of him, his empty eye sockets staring upwards, and his jawbone, no longer covered by flesh, hanging open in an ghastly expression of horrified surprise.

  “By the Gods,” one of the Knights whispered under his breath, raising three fingers to his heart in a gesture of calling upon the Three. Though Natalya was of the opinion that Queen Layna’s assessment of their worshiping the Three as gods now that they had revealed themselves to be only another being in the universe was correct, it was difficult not to want to appeal to some higher power in a moment such as this. Several other Knights mirrored the motion.

  They quickly swept over the area, making sure that whatever had done this was not still lurking in the corners before backing out. One of the Knights hung behind, and picked up something from the body. Natalya gave him a confused, and slightly disgusted, look.

  “It’s an identification necklace,” he explained, holding it up for her to see. “A lot of the guards and mercenaries wear one so that their family can be notified in case of their death.” He glanced back uneasily at the remains. “We won’t be sending this one’s body to the family for burial, but at least they’ll know what happened to him.”

  She nodded. Hopefully they wouldn’t be given the gruesome details. Natalya had insisted that she knew everything that had happened in Hardonia, and the Queen and Hunter had reluctantly told her. Now, she sometimes wished she could take that back.

  Back out in the hallway, they moved down the corridor for some ways before a sound prompted all of them to immediately freeze. It was that of footsteps coming closer. They tensed, their weapons drawn, and their eyes glued in the direction of the noise. Shapes emerged from the darkened recess, slowly taking form. Natalya sighed in relief as several other Knights saluted them as they came into view.

  Everyone relaxed.

  “Anything?” Sir Jeremy asked their group.

  “We found a corpse, completely decimated. You?”

  “Blood everywhere back that way,” he jerked his head in the direction they had come, “but nothing like that…yet. It’s giving me the creeps.”

  He nodded and the enlarged group turned to the right, where the two hallways converged and continued. Together they made a solemn procession towards what Natalya assumed was the bedchambers. Upon entering, they were relieved to find that it was devoid of carnage. There was, however, evidence that the occupants had left in a hurry. The closet doors had been left ajar and clothing that had not made it into bags had been abandoned on the floor. The table appeared to have had its contents brushed into a bag carelessly; several bottles hadn’t made it, and had rolled away or had smashed below.

  “This is looking more and more like they didn’t want something to get out after them,” one of the Knights murmured. Several others nodded their agreement, Natalya included. But if they had succeeded in trapping it inside…she didn’t bother finishing the thought.

  Shutting the doors again behind them, they met back up with the rest of the Knights in the main hall. Similar stories were exchanged on the state of the castle. Only three bodies total were reported, indicating that the majority of them had escaped before the monsters, whatever they were, had really begun their rampage. There was only one section left: The dungeons. Why did monsters always have to be in dark scary places? Natalya wondered.

  The lot of them headed to the stairs below with Sir Ruawn in the lead. He did not expect his Knights to do more than he was willing to do himself. He took a torch from the wall and lit it with magic. Natalya had been delighted to learn of his abilities and had tried to get him to show her what else he could do, but other than when it was necessary, he refrained from using it. Natalya half-thought he was still unable to shake the feeling from before Queen Layna’s reign that use of magic, except when permitted by the priests, could result in the punishment of death. Natalya would love to know if Sir Ruawn had been employed by the priests or if he had been able to pay the training fee. Or, perhaps he had been rogue like the Queen herself, refusing to give in to either unfair restriction. He refused to tell her, however, so it remained a mystery.

  The darkness closed in around them and Natalya paused with the rest to let their eyes adjust before venturing farther. They cautiously moved forward in silence, aside from the metallic clunking of the Knights armor, and prepared for the worst. The guard room was empty; a few empty mugs still lay on the table, and a deck of cards was spread out over its surface. Sir Ruawn liberated the keys from the hook on the wall and unlocked the door. Natalya held her breath as he inserted it into the lock and swung the large wooden door open.

  Nothing.

  They crept forward, inching their way through the corridor, peering into cell after cell. All were empty. They searched the entire dungeon, but came up with nothing - not even prisoners. Natalya let out the breath she had been holding.

  Suddenly a shout sounded from above where sentries had been left at the top of the stairs, and the Knights burst into action. They raced towards the commotion, and found the two sentries engaged in battle with three of the monsters in various stages of the affliction.

  Natalya joined in the Knights around her in roaring their battle-cries, both to distract the enemy away from their comrades and to let their brothers-in-arms know that help was there. The monsters turned in surprise, and one of the sentries landed a blow to the one nearest him. He let out a triumphant cry which was cut short as the thing turned back towards him and raked his claw-like hands across the man’s throat. The gurgled moan that escaped as he fell to his knees was a sound that Natalya would never forget. She watched in horror as the monster immediately sprang onto the dying man, and ripped at his flesh with its teeth. The gash in its back where the sentry had torn it open closed magically, and never slowed it.

  The other two monsters stopped their attack, distracted by the fresh blood, and pounced upon the dead man as well. One of them had long hair, matted to its face and stuck into the pustules there, and as Natalya looked closer she could tell it was once a girl. She sucked in her breath and searched the face, hoping beyond hope that it was not Alina. It turned to her, its bright blood-red eyes boring into her, and she let out the air she had been holding in. It wasn’t her sister. This girl had a dark birthmark extending down the side of her face.

  Their fallen comrade had enraged the Knights, who were busily hacking away at the three monsters where they were feeding on the dead man and ignoring their blows. Natalya had to separate her mind from the situation in order to keep from going crazy with fear. The Knights’ thrashing seemed to bounce harmlessly off the monsters, and she saw Sir Ruawn back away from the tussle.

  He put away his sword, and Natalya, sensing that he was about to perform a spell, got the attention of two of the Knights nearest her and they closed in protectively around him. He sent her a grateful look before concentrating on his spell. Sweat beaded at his forehead and tiny wisps of smokes started forming about an inch away from the monster’s body, as though fog was forming on an invisible shield around them.

  Several o
ther Knights realized what he was doing and either joined in the protection while waiting for their opportunity to strike, or added their strength to his if they possessed some talent.

  The monsters seemed to sense the magical attack and they twitched, but still remained intent upon the fallen Knight, seemingly unable to follow any other directive than that of their grotesque appetites.

  A flare of fire appeared at their feet and quickly formed a flickering ring traveling up their bodies, eating away at the magical protection like a hair dangled over a flame. The three tore their attention from their feast, aware of their lost shields, and snarled at their opponents.

  Natalya forced herself not to look at the remains. The Knights charged, and with the barrier removed, landed blow after blow on the misshapen monsters. Many of these healed themselves too quickly for comprehension and Natalya could only assume that perhaps they had used some sort of blood-magic to gain strength from their victim. But the Knights rained down blows on them, hacking away at flesh and bone, and there was little even magic could do to reattach limbs that had been severed and kicked across the room. Soon, the battle was over, the hacked up pieces of the monsters all over the place and the Knights stood panting, staring at the place where their brother-in-arms had fallen.

  After a moment of silence, Sir Ruawn gave orders to collect the monster parts into a pile far from the fallen Knight and he lit these on fire with his magic, burning it until there was nothing but ash. That unsavory task completed, they gathered around to pay their respects to the Knight. Sir Ruawn ignited his remains as well, though not in the same savage conflagration that he used to consume the monster’s remains, but rather a more dignified fire of funeral. The Knights all stood stoically. A few words were said for him and Natalya did not bother to try and stop the tear that escaped.

  They searched the rest of the castle and surrounding courtyards, and found the remains of several other people and monsters. Whether the latter had been cut down by people or other monsters was hard to tell, as all had obviously been fed upon by the monsters in the aftermath. Every inch was explored to ensure that none of the creatures could escape. One other live one was discovered hiding in the kitchen, wallowing in rotten meat that had been abandoned as the castle occupants fled. They were able to dispatch this one uneventfully.

  When Sir Ruawn was convinced that there were no straggling monsters, he ordered a more thorough search; this time for clues as to what had transpired here. It was a question that Natalya was eager to find the answer to. Natalya and Sir Ruawn took the offices, where no doubt Lord Farthen had spent the majority of his time. In the likely event that he was the mastermind behind this operation, this would be the most logical place to find some answers.

  They searched the entire wing thoroughly, but found no evidence of foul play. As they searched the last room on the hall, Natalya dropped the piles of papers she had been looking through onto the table in disgust. How could he have monsters taking over his castle and leave nothing to indicate that they ever existed?

  “Wait a moment…” Sir Ruawn mumbled almost to himself. He picked up the documents she had just abandoned. He stared at them intently with the faraway look that Natalya had come to associate with those touching the power. She waited patiently until he spoke again. “These are spelled to look like ordinary papers, but in reality are not.”

  “He didn’t even trust his staff?” Natalya queried.

  “Apparently not.”

  “Well, what do they really say?” she asked excitedly.

  “I don’t know,” he told her regretfully. “They are enchanted past my ability to break the spell. I can only recognize that there is one.” He gathered together these and took another look around the room, again with the faraway look, and added a few more to a satchel. “We’ll have to wait until we can ask the King and Queen to take a look at them.”

  Natalya sighed. More waiting.

  CHAPTER 5

  Katya’s journey across the Barren Lands to the region that the Dena’ina occupied was largely uneventful. She would even have enjoyed spending time in some of the areas – had Hunter’s life not been at stake. Beyond the reach of the volcano the land became alive again, with lush vegetation and fields and forests teeming with wildlife. Of course, not all of that was friendly, but those were just details. She was more than capable of taking care of herself, and Marak’s unique ability to repel unfriendly creatures made the need for her to do so arise infrequently.

  She had begun making up names for some of the beasts she came across. There were the Stalkers, which were little lizard-like creatures that followed after her, darting in and out of the plant life. At one point one of them had made a mad dash towards her and took a bite at her boot. Other than the smart pinch she got from it, she wasn’t harmed and the rap she gave to its head made it much more cautious. Despite his rather unsociable attempt at eating her, she enjoyed his company.

  The Feeders were the deer-like creatures similar to the one she had come across in the forest when she had been searching for Nuko. The ones out here were slightly larger and these had one large twisting horn protruding from their foreheads. They never let her get too close, which was unfortunate as they looked like they would make a very good meal. Luckily for them, she had not brought a bow with her and refused to use magic to kill them, so they were safe for now.

  There were others she only caught glimpses of now and again. Something benign watched her movements with curiosity, flitting in and out amongst the trees, but never into her view. Something else watched her hungrily from the shadows, but did not venture out into the light and she made sure to be well-protected at night.

  The forest once again yielded to the grasslands, this time revealing large mesas spread along its vast expanse. In the distance, the grasses petered out, leaving only small patches of it here and there in the dusty flatlands. She would never have imagined that the world stretched out this far while living back with Karl in Gelendan as an assassin.

  The mesas were supposedly the home of the Dena’ina, carving their homes into their cliff faces to create their cave dwellings. As she ventured farther into this new landscape, she soon spotted the area where the Dena’ina were located. She stealthily approached a small group of them on the outskirts of the settlement, sneaking within their midst behind piles of rocks and darting between bunches of vegetation.

  Katya squatted in some bushes, close enough to hear their conversations, but not so close as to risk detection. There was a small group sitting outside around a campfire, telling stories under the stars.

  Most of their homes appeared to be either the caves in the cliff faces of the mesas or rounded buildings made out of clay and stone that resembled caves. There were several groups of the tribe, spread out among mesas, with each particular group of people apparently given a specific task for the good of the tribe as a whole. Those she was currently watching appeared to be the ones who took care of the animals. That must be why they were camped out on the bottom of the mesa. Mostly, it seemed, the people lived on the top portion or within the caves on the cliff face. Though it was windier above, it did give the advantage of higher ground if they needed to protect themselves, and these people seemed even more paranoid than the Myaamia tribe in that respect.

  An older woman dressed in flamboyant garb came to stand in front of the fire, stepping into the light purposefully so that it cast an unearthly glow on her features.

  “Many moons ago,” she began with the typical story telling line, “there was a mighty and powerful dragon named Zuzka.”

  A few of the older children made ill-concealed faces of disappointment – obviously having heard the story already – but the younger children made an initial cacophony of excited noises before falling silent in anticipation.

  The old woman continued her tale, “But Zuzka was also very proud. She didn’t listen to her elders when they told her that she must be kind and have humility. She would say, ‘I am the most beautiful and most powerful creature aliv
e, why do I have to be kind to a mouse?’ One day, the oldest and the wisest of elders decided to teach young Zuzka a lesson.”

  She touched her finger to her nose before pointing around the circle of youngsters, though speaking directly to each of them.

  “He disguised himself as a deer that had gotten its horns stuck into a tree branch. When Zuzka strolled by, posing in front of her reflection in the pond surface, he called out to her, ‘Please, kind dragon, won’t you help a poor deer get unstuck?’”

  The woman did the voices differently for each of the characters very convincingly, and a few of the children snickered at the woe-is-me tone that she used when she said this.

  “But Zuzka wanted no part of helping the deer, and was angry with it for having ruined her self-admiration by his presence. But she also wanted it to be gone so that she may go back to what she was doing. So, she struck out at the deer with a razor-sharp claw and hacked the stuck horn right off his head.”

  The woman raked her hand across the air, and the children gasped.

  “The elder was quite taken by surprise and he asked, ‘Do you not know that the deer rely on their horns? They are used to defend us against dominance attacks and in attracting a mate, can help clear areas of brush to forage, and can even increase hearing. And you so callously have removed mine rather than bother yourself to untangle me?’”

  The old woman’s astonished face was so overdone that it received another flurry of titters from her avid listeners.

  She went on, “Zuzka was not moved. She simply waved the creature away. The elder transformed back to his true state and towered above the younger dragon. ‘Zuzka,’ he told her, ‘you cannot be so unkind to your fellow creatures. We are all part of the universe and all worthy of each other’s caring. To remind you of your callousness, I shall remove your horns until I feel you have learned your lesson.’ With that, he magically severed her horns. She was mortified, and didn’t come out of her cave for a week, ashamed of how she looked without them.”