Chapter Twenty-Three #2
Anxiety curled in her chest at his determined tone. “Promise me…y-you won’t do anything reckless.”
It had taken mere seconds for Riftan to get changed. He now threw on his armor as he turned to look at her.
His frown morphed into an incredulous smile. “I’m not sure if I’m the one who should be making that promise.”
Sensing the rebuke in his statement, Maxi’s face flushed. “Are you…s-still angry with me?”
“Did you think I would be placated so easily?” he snorted. “I’ve been trying to keep my anger in check, so don’t think I’ve forgiven you for coming here against my wishes. I will not be satisfied until you’re safely back in Anatol unscathed.”
“B-But last night—”
Maxi caught herself and clamped her mouth shut. Color rose in her cheeks. A strange silence descended on them, and Maxi awkwardly smoothed her dress as she snuck a glance up at him. To her disbelief, a hint of red colored Riftan’s cheekbones.
He irritably ran a hand through his wet hair. “Do you not know what I go through when you’re in front of me? I’ve been celibate for months in this wretched place! Every day, I imagine you next to me whenever I lie down to rest!”
He strode up to her until their noses were touching.
“It’s like waving a bone in front of a starving dog,” he growled. “But I didn’t want to do that with you in a place like this! I didn’t want to embrace you like I was merely satisfying my desire. But when you’re right in front of me, I just can’t…”
Seeing the shock on her face at his fervent admission, Riftan clenched his jaw. He scrubbed his expression, looking exhausted. “I’m going to end this damned war within a month, so promise me…that you’ll be careful.”
Unable to speak, Maxi bobbed her head. She blankly watched him stride toward the entrance, sword in hand, before snapping to her senses. She rushed over and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, gazing up at him with anxious eyes. Riftan stiffened.
“You mustn’t…leave while you’re so angry,” Maxi whispered. “W-We might not be able to see each other for a while…. We don’t know when the battle will end….”
Riftan’s eyes held a vulnerable sheen as he returned her gaze.
Cupping his cheek, she beseeched him, “Please promise me…that you will return unharmed. I give you my word…th-that I’ll be careful, too, so—”
Maxi was so choked with emotion that she was unable to continue. When she rested her cheek against his back, Riftan turned around and drew her into a tight embrace. His cold, armored hand pushed into her hair and longingly caressed the lines of her neck.
She felt his shaky breath on her nape as he mumbled, “Once it becomes an all-out battle, only the barest number of men will remain to guard the castle. Anything can happen, so always take Garrow and Ulyseon with you wherever you go. Ruth will also stay back, so go to him if anything happens.”
Maxi nodded without looking up.
“I’ll be back soon,” he said after a long pause.
He kissed her earlobe. She clung to him like a baby monkey clutching its mother, and he had to pry her away.
Wanting to see him off, Maxi threw on her cloak.
“The Knights of Phil Aaron will be leaving with us,” Riftan said, stopping her at the entrance. “Don’t come outside.”
“B-But I’ll only—”
“Stay inside,” he repeated firmly.
He then gave instructions to Ulyseon and Garrow, who were waiting just outside. Standing at the entrance of the tent, Maxi watched forlornly as he trudged away through the wet darkness.
Beacons blazed atop the ramparts, illuminating the procession of soldiers on warhorses making their way toward the city gates.
Soon the knights began their march out of the enclosed city.
The remaining knights stood guard near the ramparts with extra vigilance, while mages came out to inspect the magical devices installed on the walls. Eth Lene Castle was now on full alert.
The rain continued to fall with varied intensity throughout the night. Maxi lay awake in her cot, her pounding heart preventing her from sleeping even though she knew she needed to rest for the following day’s work.
Tormented by anxiety, she had been staring into space with sunken eyes for God knew how long when she heard what sounded like a chorus of women pitifully sobbing.
She sat bolt upright. At first, she wondered if she had misheard the wind.
However, the faint sound that resonated through the rain gradually grew clearer.
Throwing on her robe, Maxi rushed out of the tent.
“H-Has something happened?”
The squires had pitched a tarp over the entrance to prevent the rain from getting in. Ulyseon snapped his head up from the small brazier where he was stoking a pile of coal.
“The noise must have woken you up, my lady,” he said apologetically.
The squire stared out into the white mist that had descended on the camp with a look of apprehension. The rain had dissolved into a weak, dew-like drizzle, and the sky held the bluish hint of dawn. The bone-chilling, mournful wailing rang through the eerie landscape.
Maxi glanced around, anxiously trying to locate its source. “Who on earth is crying? Has…s-something happened to the female clerics?”
Ulyseon shook his head. “It isn’t the female clerics, my lady. There are banshees in the mountains.”
“B-Banshees?”
The squire approached the dripping edge of the tarp. He pointed to a black cliff that enveloped the ramparts like a shield.
Maxi’s eyes grew wide. On a large boulder that towered like the head of a snake about to strike, human-shaped bodies in black robes stood in the dim light. Maxi’s heart sank at their ominous presence.
“A-Are they…monsters?”
“They are spirits, to be precise. They will not cause us any direct harm, so you mustn’t worry, my lady. Those creatures merely…” Ulyseon trailed off before continuing cautiously, “…wail. They will leave once they’ve cried their hearts out.” His voice was barely audible over the hysterical wailing.
Maxi shrank back as she gazed at the dark figures standing tall in the hazy mist. Though they were too far away for her to be certain, she thought she could make out six of them in total. The sinister figures tore at their clothes as they howled.
“B-But banshees…”
Unable to finish the sentence, Maxi pressed her lips together. Banshees were spirits of death that came for those whose ends were near. People even believed that a banshee’s wailing visits always ended in mass death.
As if sensing her anxiety, Ulyseon said in an exaggeratedly upbeat voice, “I know it’s hard, but try to ignore the noise, my lady. The clerics are preparing a ritual to banish them as we speak.”
Maxi forced a feeble smile.
The wailing went on for hours. Though the clerics banished the banshees with divine magic to prevent morale from deteriorating, the relief was short-lived. The spirits quickly returned and continued their keening.
Maxi had been sick with worry even before the appearance of these creatures; now she was close to losing her mind entirely. After half a day of tending to the wounded while trying to ignore the noise, she was at the end of her tether. Distraught, she went to see Ruth.
“Ruth…c-can’t we send the spirits away with magic?” she asked desperately.
They were in the sorcerer’s small tent located next to the Remdragon Knights’ barracks. Ruth looked up from the parchment he had been scribbling on. He had clearly been working on the rune for Hebaron’s injury, as his desk was piled with reams of parchment filled with complex runes.
Ruth wearily pushed the parchment aside, rubbing his eyes.
“Are you referring to the banshees? We could, but we’d be jabbing a hornets’ nest. We would have to deal with far more dangerous things than just their wailing if we anger them.
If divine magic wasn’t enough to drive them away, then it’s best to simply leave them alone. ”
“B-But…they’re making everyone anxious,” Maxi whimpered. “Even the patients are growing restless.”
“They’ll be gone in a day at most. They’ll leave once they’ve cried their hearts out. Seeing as you’re here, my lady, would you mind helping me with this?” He handed her something that resembled a flat tray.
Maxi accepted the item before she knew what she was doing. “Wh-What’s this?”
“It’s a magical device for the ramparts. It should be easier now that you have experience making one.” Flipping the polished monster bone, Ruth pointed to the intricate engraving. “You only have to engrave this rune on this spot right here.”
Maxi hesitated. “B-But I don’t know how…. I only copied runes onto parchment last time.”
“It’s not that different from drawing on parchment. You just have to squeeze the rune into this empty spot. I would like to do it myself, but I already have my hands full trying to break Sir Hebaron’s curse.”
Ruth looked worn out as he rubbed his neck. Seeing that his exhaustion far outweighed hers, Maxi pulled out a chair and sat down without another word. She mused that having something to do might help to calm her nerves.
The white disk appeared to be made of wyvern bones. She carefully began sketching the rune on the underside.
Contrary to her hopes, her concerns for Riftan and the banshees’ wailing made it difficult to focus. After running her shaky fingers over the smooth surface of the magical device, Maxi clutched her forehead.
“I can’t do it. M-My head feels empty….”
Ruth heaved a sigh. “Worrying won’t change anything, my lady.”
“You know…it’s not something I can control.
I’m not l-levelheaded like you, Ruth. I feel sick with worry that s-something bad might happen.
I-I can’t stop thinking…that the banshees are a bad omen…
.” Maxi looked up at Ruth with teary eyes and bit her lip.
“Riftan said…he’ll start an all-out war.
What if we lose? Wh-What will happen then? ”