Mark Newton - City of Ruin

He met a couple of other men briefly, Bondi and Haal, but they soon had to go back to their training. Meanwhile, other soldiers in black jogged by, conversing in loud voices that followed them along the corridor. Jeryd couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at the sight – these men were legendary with their cultist enhancements – providing greater strength and superior skills – but they still seemed like very ordinary people.

*

Later, in the same obsidian room as before, Jeryd, Nanzi and Brynat in discussion as a massive fireplace generated a much-needed warmth. As they began to discuss the Haust case, Jeryd asked Nanzi to note down any minor details. After having talked to some of his men, Brynd confirmed that the private had disappeared during nighttime while on regular patrol. At that point, the albino reaffirmed that numerous other people in the city had similarly gone missing. Jeryd made a mental note to study all the reports back at the Inquisition headquarters.

At Jeryd's request to see Private Haust's quarters, the commander led them over to the dormitories. The rest of the regiment were on training exercises, and the place was empty: a long, narrow room that housed five soldiers, as well as Haust himself. Sparse and oppressively neat, Jeryd could tell from this one room that the life of a soldier would never have been right for him. Haust's bed had been left untouched, the sheets folded down immaculately. A few sheets of paper were rested tidily on the side table – a letter from his partner, another one from his brother, a hand-sketched portrait of an attractive young lady and, resting on it, a woman's bracelet.

'Everything's exactly as he left it, I believe,' the commander said.

Jeryd regarded Haust's meagre possessions. 'These from his lover at home?' he enquired.

'Yes, his wife, back in Villjamur. They'd been married quite a while for such a young couple, but Haust, like a few other soldiers, would go out and play with the local girls.'

'Not the most trustworthy of gentlemen then?' Nanzi sneered.

'I'd trust him covering my back with a sword, if that's what you mean.' Brynd glanced meaningfully at Jeryd then at her, and Jeryd weighed up the scenario in his mind. 'They can get up to whatever they want in the evenings, the men, so long as they're not participating in a military engagement.'

Jeryd nodded.

'But he sent most of his wages home to her, so that she lived well, in one of the upper-level apartments,' Brynd continued. 'Her letters kept him going – that's what keeps a lot of these men going, in fact.'

'Yourself included?'

A smile. 'I don't like to complicate matters too much.'

'Very wise,' Jeryd murmured. 'So he'd left his precious personal items here. I reckon we can rule out the notion that he's just run away.'

Commander Brynd Lathraea quickly followed Jeryd's logic, and nodded solemnly. 'Someone's taken a Night Guard soldier? That seems most unlikely. This unit contains the most efficient warriors in the Boreal Archipelago. You don't just take one of them against his will.'

Jeryd wasn't so sure about this military bravado right now. 'I think we can safely assume that if Haust has been abducted or murdered, our suspect is likely to be a little on the tough side himself.'

*

Jeryd and Nanzi accepted drinks in the officers' mess, while Brynas called away briefly. After he returned, the conversation turned the mysterious enemy with hard shells and claws.

'This is partially classified, of course,' Brynd said, 'although I will be shortly making some public announcements. Not even the Inquisition know the full details just yet.'

'Understood,' Jeryd said.

'Okun,' Brynd declared. 'That's what they've been called, based on the old language upon which Jamur itself was constructed. It comes from the word okunnr, meaning unknown or alien.'

'You mean you don't actually know what the hell they are,' Jeryd observed dryly.

'You might say that.' The commander's gaze settled on some deep distance. 'Tineag'l has suffered a genocide at the hands of these Okun. Mass culls were involved – whole towns and villages simply cleared out. Over a hundred thousand people have gone missing, and the rest were slaughtered. I was out there with a band of my soldiers on an investigative mission that turned into a rescue operation. It wasn't a pretty sight, finding the corpses, seeing the trails of blood all across the snow. People were just taken from the safety of their own homes.' Brynd shook his head. 'As for what did this -these new creatures? Well, I suspect they arrived by crossing the ice sheets – but where from originally, I'm afraid I cannot be more specific. One garuda scout reported getting sight of some sort of gateway up in the far north, but that claim needs re-examining. It sounds ridiculous, but they're like crustaceans, and stand taller than any normal man. From what we've witnessed, they're vicious fighters, totally ruthless, and they're massing on the southern shores of the gulf waiting to launch a raid over here. Although I hesitate to ever label an entire race as evil… I mean, we're just judging them from one perspective, seeing only the threatening aspects of an alien species armed and on a mission of conquest. They ought not to be defined simply by their appearance – although there are many in our world who would.'

'Talk to me about racism,' muttered Jeryd, contemplating this inherent understanding between an albino and a rumel.

'We've two prisoners in our possession, which I've not yet had dissected because they're still breathing though unconscious. I hope to learn more from them, perhaps detect some weakness in their structure. It's probably best you see them, too?'

'Sure.'

There followed a swift walk through security checks – Brynd waved them both on through, the guards snapping smartly back to attention. A brief nod to a couple more standing by a metal door, and it was swiftly opened.

The holding cell beyond was lined with metal sheeting, with a stone-tile floor and a barred window that seemed to suck the cold air right through it. The room was utterly vacant apart from the two creatures, and Jeryd could scarcely believe what he was seeing. Nanzi gasped and pressed herself back against the wall, putting as much distance between herself and the strange creatures as possible.

A new race. A new species. It seemed unbelievable, but here they were in all their exo-skeletal glory.

'I'm not sure how their physiognomy can be described in any clearer way than giant black crustaceans,' Brynd remarked, strolling casually around one of their resting forms. 'Seven foot tall, they're almost insectile, with a head, thorax, abdomen, and glistening textured shell. Also noteworthy is that an acidic scent lingers around them consistently.'

Right now the two Okun lay hunched up and lifeless, in some sort of dormant state. Their equivalent to ankles were bound firmly by metal chains.

'Are these… things likely to attack Villiren soon?' Jeryd enquired, staring at the Okun.

The commander's brow scrunched up as he considered Jeryd's question. 'I honestly couldn't tell you. We understand so very little about their culture, their tactics, or even their motives. Whatever they want with us, whatever they kill our people for, it's nothing that registers with my understanding.'

'You paint a pretty picture, commander,' Jeryd said.

'It's all relative I suppose,' Nanzi announced suddenly. Jeryd turned with interest for what advice his new aide might offer. 'I mean, one man's murderer is another's freedom fighter, so they say. But the thing is, we all look at it from a given point of view, don't we, and so evil really is evil – and at the same time isn't at all.'

She was certainly articulate, if the concept a little abstract. Wasn't afraid to have something to say, this one. Jeryd found himself liking her more and more. He stared down once again at the dormant killers, contemplating what rage they might soon enough produce.