Gentleman and the Witch

Chapter 9

Typhon itched.Not the kind of itching that required him to scratch his flesh but the nagging sense of something amiss. From the moment they’d arrived in Zuzamenn, he’d been bothered.

For one, despite what he’d told the group, they should have been greeted upon arrival by the guardians. They patrolled the miles of wasteland beyond the town, moving from gateway to gateway, guiding visitors, ensuring the wrong sort—a.k.a. invaders—hadn’t accidentally found their way over.

It was almost a relief when Enyo stated they had company. Until he saw those riding toward them on the backs of the large lacerlum, which, to those who needed to visualize, resembled a tri-humped lizard with tanned, leathery skin and a long neck.

What disturbed Typhon about their arrival? It wasn’t guardians in bronze armor riding the animals but a medley of folk. He spotted a fae female with a nocked bow. A goblin. A dwarf strapped into place since his short legs couldn’t hug the lacerlum saddle. A few human types were in there, too. Seven people in all on four mounts.

The dog began yapping. The tiny furball didn’t seem to realize one misplaced paw from a lacerlum would crush it.

Deino kept her fingers laced with his, a strange thing to do. For him at least. He knew humans often enjoyed holding on to each other. He’d never had a female before who dared touch him outside of bed. He enjoyed it more than expected.

Frieda and John remained close, as did Enyo, but off to the side in a position of readiness. Only Bane was missing, but not far, Typhon would have wagered.

When the group atop the lacerlum arrived and staggered to a halt, the dog finally quieted and chose to sit on Deino’s feet. Typhon readied to greet them, only to have Frieda step forth, hands clasped, with a demure smile. “Greetings. How lovely of you all to come out here to meet us.”

The oldest in the group, a grizzled male in mismatched armor, squinted before growling, “Go away.”

Unexpected. The few times he’d visited, the guardians had first asked him to state his business.

An undaunted Frieda ignored that request. “We’ve only just arrived and have business with the oracle.”

“The oracle’s gone,” the grizzled human declared.

The news dropped Typhon’s jaw, and he blurted out, “Gone where?”

“Dunno.” This time the dwarf replied. “Ain’t no one seen her since the attack.”

“What attack? What’s happened?” Typhon barked out questions. It had been some time since he’d last visited Zuzamenn, and while things could have changed, it surprised. Zuzamenn had long been a place of neutrality.

“The deusvenati came looking for her.”

His blood chilled at hearing the name. “How long ago?”

“Couple of days,” the grizzled male replied. “They slaughtered the guardians and any folk that got in their way.”

“They killed the oracle?” he questioned.

The fae woman shook her head. “We don’t know what happened to her other than she’s disappeared.”

“Why did they go after her?” Typhon asked even as he wondered how the deusvenati managed to surprise the oracle. She should have seen them coming.

“They didn’t say why,” grumbled the dwarf. “And when they couldn’t find her, they took those with magic in their blood.”

At the news, Typhon rubbed his face. “Since when do the deusvenati leave their world to meddle in others?” They’d long eschewed trade and even simple communication with what they called the arcane-tainted.

“I’ll wager it’s that cunt’s fault,” barked the dwarf. “Coming here, making demands, and when she was told to shove off, she sent back those fuckers.”

“By cunt, are we talking about Ariadne? About yay high.” Enyo held up her hand. “Thinks she’s pretty but she’s damned cold. Likes to wear a crown. Pretends like she’s important.”

Spears rattled and pointed at the group as the grizzly leader snapped, “What do you know of her?”

Enyo showed no fear as she stepped close to say, “We’re looking for Ariadne. She has something of ours, and we’re aiming to take it back.”

“You’re too late. She’s long gone,” a disgruntled dwarf stated.

“Is she working with the deusvenati?” Typhon clarified. That would be surprising given what he knew of those people. They hated all things magic.

The dwarf shrugged. “Maybe. No one saw her with them during the attack, but given she left town and headed in the direction of the doorway to their world, seems likely.”

Not the best news. Typhon addressed the leader. “Back to the oracle, when you say disappeared, was she taken or simply smart enough to go into hiding?”

“Who the fuck knows?” growled the old fellow.

But the fae murmured, “She did give warning.”

“Warning?” exclaimed the dwarf. “She told everyone the day before the attack that it might be a good time to go on a holiday.”

“She tried to evacuate the town, but no one listened,” murmured Frieda.

“She should have told us what was coming and not played word games,” argued the dwarf.

To which Frieda replied, “She didn’t know what was coming because she couldn’t see them.”

The explanation actually made a great deal of sense, and so Typhon explained. “The deusvenati are the antithesis to magic. They abhor it and wiped it from their world. They created the collars and matching bands that Ariadne used.”

“If they hate magic so much, why create objects to control it?” Deino asked.

“Because, initially, when they revolted against the arcane, they thought to corral it. Only later did their fanaticism evolve to a point where they demanded the eradication of all things magical. However, they didn’t used to leave their world to attack the arcane in others.” They were fanatics of the worst sort. He’d assumed they’d have died off, given their civilization had begun to spiral around the time he’d gotten incarcerated.

“Who are you that you know so much about them?” the suspicious leader asked.

“Just a traveler.” Typhon downplayed his status.

“Travel elsewhere. Zuzamenn is closed for business until further notice.” The whiskery male slashed his hand.

“We’ll be gone by morning. My companions need to rest.” A lie that nobody debunked.

“You’d better leave sooner than later if you know what’s good for you. Be a shame if they came after the witches in your group,” the dwarf threatened.

With that warning, the party atop the ugly lizards turned around and trotted off. The fae pivoted in the saddle with her nocked bow and watched them. Typhon doubted they’d go far and would likely monitor them until they did indeed leave.

“Well, that fucks our plan to talk to the oracle and find Ariadne,” muttered Deino.

“She’s not dead,” Frieda remarked. “But she is hiding.”

“Where?” Typhon asked, not questioning how she knew.

“Not too far. She’s injured.” Frieda closed her eyes and lifted her chin. “We need to go that way.” She whirled and pointed to the lights of town.

“That can’t be right. That bunch of yahoos said she’d disappeared,” Deino pointed out.

“Disappeared in plain sight,” Enyo surmised. “Smart. She must have a hidey-hole no one knows about.”

“Why would she still be hiding if the threat is gone?”

It was Typhon who guessed the answer. “Because the deusvenati most likely threatened those they left alive. My guess? The townsfolk were told to hand over the oracle or those they took would die.”

“Meaning there are informants ready to rat if she pops her head out.” Enyo sounded agitated. “I hate snitches.”

A quiet John finally spoke. “I guess the real question is, do we still need to speak to the oracle? Those people seemed to imply that Ariadne went to wherever these deusvenati came from, meaning we have a location.”

“Assuming she stayed there, which doesn’t seem likely given these deusvenati don’t like magic users,” Deino pointed out.

“Maybe we got lucky and they already killed her,” John suggested.

Typhon shook his head. “She’s alive.”

“Personally, I dislike the fact there’s a whole town waiting to hand over a woman to save their own asses,” Enyo stated and then added, “I, for one, think we should still go and find her.”

“Find her how?” Deino asked. “We’re being watched, which means we can’t exactly walk into town and go poking around for the oracle. Not to mention, if we do locate her, we could end up with a fight on our hands if these people are in contact with those deusvenati and they come back to take her.”

“Ooh, fight?” Enyo grinned.

“Not everything has to be a battle,” his witch pointed out.

“The deusvenati should not be underestimated,” Typhon added. “They are like those things we encountered at the hotel, able to repel magic.”

“Bah, those were easy to take out,” Enyo scoffed.

“Those creatures weren’t trained warriors. The deusvenati are immune to magic. A fight with them might not go as expected.”

“Lovely. I finally get the power to make a difference and keep running into people who can counter it.” Deino scowled.

“What should we do?” John laid out the most important question.

“There are only two real choices. Leave or find the oracle.” Typhon eyed his champions, leaving the choice to them. He recognized entering the town posed a danger but so did leaving without further information.

“Me, I say fuck the snitches. We find the oracle and get her ass out of here,” Enyo said.

Deino glanced at Frieda. “What do you see down that path?”

The sister who could see the future pursed her lips. “It’s murky, but there is one thing that is clear. We have to go find her.”

For some reason, Typhon felt a shiver at her declaration, as if a momentous choice had been made.

He just hoped they didn’t regret it.