Chapter 6 #3
Kinnek, not even slightly cowed after having been kidnapped, jerked his hand for the hangu-na protector to climb inside the building.
Lueris and the other two got there and climbed in too.
Charles cursed under his breath. Lissir sheathed his curved sword and took the hand of the bagu Kinnek had sent out, then walked them back to our group as quickly as they were able to move.
The Koa Esher out front were greeting each other now; the group that had been walking to the house and the two who’d been shooting the shit out front.
Remember, on bare feet, you can run fast, and you can run for hours, the presence said. Clearly, it liked being an ominous little drama queen who lived rent-free in my mind. Your mind is a nice place, it added.
I wasn’t too sure I agreed, not since the apocalypse, but then, I wasn’t the disembodied voice of the land. Apparently, not only did I have a humorous mate, I also had a humorous magical presence in my head. Lucky me.
The Koa Esher were chatting, but the larger group that was approaching from the courtyard wanted to go into the building where they kept their prisoners.
Oh, those absolute fuckers. They wanted to go into the fucking building, did they? Wanted to make themselves feel good by inflicting untold pain on others, did they?
About that thunderstorm…
It felt as if the presence were quirking an eyebrow. You are not joking.
Can you do that? I don’t actually need the thunderstorm. Lightning. I need lightning.
I got the impression that it rolled its shoulders, which told me that yes, it could do that.
You are right, it’s possible. It will take much of your strength, but it is possible.
It examined the scene. I suggest you wait until the vile ones go into the building.
Your knight’s father, he wants a blood price.
Your kind have always granted it in situations similar to this.
It would be rude, I think, to deny it now.
Blood price? I don’t even—fine. Whatever. It’ll be a good distraction for when a commotion breaks out in there.
The land seemed to smile. I agree. Your knight’s father appears to be skilled at distractions.
Ominous, but okay. The four Koa Esher who—fuck them—wanted a good time, opened the door and went into the building one by one.
Meanwhile, two more bagua climbed out the window.
One, wide-eyed and trembling all over, helped the other, whose feet where bandaged.
The bandages… I wanted to gag. They were not clean, and they needed to be changed.
The wide-eyed one had had his wrists bound to the point where the skin had broken.
The wounds were glistening and still wet, his forearms painted with dried blood that looked gray on his dark teal skin.
Inkiri must’ve seen. He drew me closer, wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me against his chest as if he wanted to shield me from that sight. Yup, my mate got me all too well.
One of the yellow beasts howled, not a howl any creature of Earth could make. It was loud. I could hear it both in my floaty state and where I stood in Inkiri’s arms. The oddness of the double sensation was difficult to stomach, so I focused on Inkiri. He was my anchor.
Vergis looked around. “What was that?”
“Beast,” I said.
“Fuck. Where are they coming from, Princess?”
I didn’t know directions, but the yellow creatures’ approach was very clear in my mind.
“Other side of the castle. Headed toward the front.”
Inkiri spoke to Tador, who said something I assumed was a curse.
Kinnek hadn’t taught me swearing, but maybe Vergis would if I asked nicely.
Gran wouldn’t have anything against me cursing in another language, I was sure.
It was all about getting a feel for that language, after all, and learning the right timing for cussing was going to help with that for sure.
Another bagu was being lowered out the window by a protector, and I waited for the noise, any noise, that would finally tip off the cola ash dudes, but none came.
That bagu looked reasonably well, physically, and he didn’t seem as out of it as the first one Kinnek had saved.
Still, there was that swelling of his abdomen that made me cringe inwardly.
He made his way toward our group by himself, where Lissir was keeping all the survivors together and keeping them quiet, although none of them were noisy.
They stood where they were, keeping close to one another, and more than anything else, they looked afraid.
“So much for herding hostages,” Vergis said.
Charles only huffed. “Stay focused, son.”
The yellow beasts howled again. It was as if they were excited about the prospect of killing, of tasting the blood of their prey. Some gnashed their teeth, eager to have something to tear apart.
The two Koa Esher outside the house stopped their conversation to look that way.
They didn’t appear very concerned, which made sense if they didn’t know what sounds were normal for Earth.
Also, if the human mages had given them a way to control the beasts, maybe they really had nothing at all to worry about.
“We have to hurry,” I said. The beasts were so close. There were a few houses, a road, and an overgrown field between them and the front of the castle now, and the picket fences and neglected gardens wouldn’t do much at all to slow them down.
“Vergis, can you take Rory and the hostages?” Inkiri asked.
Vergis glanced at Inkiri. “No. We’re too close to the Koa Esher. If one of them is good enough to pick up on us hopping off, they’ll sound the alarm.” His lips pressed tight. “We wait for Dad. We slip through the veils together.”
I was with him on that. I didn’t want to leave anyone behind.
I had another idea though. Can the beasts hunt in fog?
The land cocked its imaginary head. Yes. They don’t need much to find prey.
Hide them in fog now, I told it, and the land obeyed without hesitation. Fog shrouded the beasts as their long strides crossed the road and hit the field. We had a handful of minutes, maybe less.
My relief when there was movement at the window again—one of the protectors leaping out and hitting the ground silently—had me letting out a long breath in Inkiri’s arms.
The protector immediately sheathed his short sword and turned back to the window to help people out. More survivors. I counted five, all in similar states to the ones with Lissir. Then Kinnek came out the window finally, followed by the remaining two protectors.
Vergis relaxed. Charles’s eyes darted to the incoming group. Lissir spoke to the waiting survivors, getting them ready to move and telling them it was going to be done through ko.
“Tell them. About the beasts, Lissir,” I said.
The beasts had sensed the two Koa Esher outside the building now.
Those Koa Esher had stopped talking and were looking at the fog, clearly weirded out enough to find it suspicious.
One put his hands to his mouth, preparing to shout a warning or alarm.
Vergis had been right about fog being poor cover for what we were doing.
But oh my effing gosh, the Koa Esher wasn’t fast enough to shout a warning. One of the yellow things jumped out of the fog bank. I wondered whether the land had done that intentionally, and the land gave me the impression of someone looking a bit too innocent.
There was a yelp from that cola asshat, and unfortunately, I wasn’t able to pull away fast enough. I saw. I made a tiny noise, high and much too loud, I knew.
Inkiri moved fast and clamped his hand over my mouth before bending toward me.
In front of the house, the second Koa Esher managed a half scream before he had the left side of his face torn off, screamed some more, then went silent apart from wet noises he wasn’t really contributing to all that much.
There was movement in the courtyard, but then Kinnek got back to us. I missed what he was saying, and he only stopped long enough to squeeze Charles’s arm and Vergis’s shoulder, both of whom held their guard positions rather than rejoicing at having him back.
The next thing I knew, Kinnek was reaching for my hand.
“Rory,” he said. “Help me.”
That sort of messed with what I was doing and had planned on doing. I still wanted to throw lightning at the Koa Esher as if I were Zeus in a Hollywood blockbuster.
But Kinnek needed me to dispense. Doing that while also watching my environment in that disembodied way was hard, and there was the fog to keep an eye on too.
I focused on keeping that up, although the beasts were gathering around the two Koa Esher now.
What was left of them, anyway. The beasts ate, all snarling while attempting to keep the best pieces for themselves.
I let Kinnek pull magic through me. It wasn’t much, but it still made me dizzy. I was no longer spread out, but back right there, Inkiri steadying me, one of the survivors whispering in near silence. I sensed where Kinnek was directing the magic—the building.
“What was that?” I asked him, blinking to make the world stop spinning.
He looked at a survivor—the one he’d sent through the window first—and the two of them locked eyes.
That bagu, the one with the holes drilled into his light blue horns, also had a scar on his throat.
It looked to have come from a deep cut that had healed to form rope-like scar tissue.
A shiver ran down my spine just imagining what this bagu had endured.
Kinnek’s jaw tensed. “I’m turning that place to ash.”
Charles let out a low hiss. “Baby, we need to leave, now.”
“Yes. I’m done.” Kinnek let go of my hand, and Inkiri took my wrist once more.
Our group started moving, finally. There was a howl, and Inkiri pulled me closer. I heard the sound of several blades being drawn. There were shouts from the Koa Esher.
Some are lost to the blood frenzy, but some have sensed you, the land said, forcefully pulling my attention to three yellow things that were running around the castle—cutting off the route we’d taken when we’d come here.