Robert Newcomb - A March into Darkness

She looked at Wigg. “I’m sorry,” she said,” but I agree with Faegan.” After putting the letter on the table she closed her eyes.

Following Tristan’s instructions, Shailiha imagined the gold medallion hanging around her neck. Then she imagined Tristan’s medallion hanging alongside hers. To her surprise they combined to form one disc. Shailiha heard people around the table gasp. Worried that Wigg had been right, she opened her eyes.

At first she thought nothing had happened. Then she saw everyone looking at her chest. When she looked down her mouth fell open. A soft, nearly undetectable glow was seeping out from beneath her medallion. She picked it up and turned it toward her face.

The medallion’s underside had changed amazingly. On its surface she saw Tristan sitting in his palace quarters. Abbey and Aeolus were there with him. All three seemed to be waiting for something. The Paragon lay around Tristan’s neck, but his medallion did not.

Suddenly Shailiha saw her brother’s face light up. He just noticed that we’re watching, she realized. He has placed his medallion across from him, so that we can see him and the others. Our medallions can reach across space and time! How marvelous! But how, why…?

She saw Tristan stand. Entranced, Shailiha watched as he came closer to his medallion. Then he held something up for her to see. It was small, made of gold, and twinkled brightly. He smiled at her and nodded. Understanding, Shailiha smiled back. Having seen all she needed, she ended the spell the way the letter’s instructions suggested.

“Amazing,” she breathed. She dropped the gold disc back to her chest.

“Indeed,” Wigg said. “The medallions you and your brother wear have been enchanted in some way. But what did you see when you turned yours up to your face? At that point, the rest of us could no longer view the scene.”

Shailiha smiled again. “I think he was counting on that,” she said. “I also have no doubt that it was truly him.”

“Why?” Faegan asked.

“He showed me a gift that I gave him when he graduated from his Royal Guard training,” she answered. “Since then it has been our little secret. Even our parents never knew about it.”

“What is it?” Wigg asked.

“A small, golden image of Pilgrim, the stallion mother and father gave to him on the same occasion,” Shailiha answered. “I would recognize it anywhere.” Smiling, the princess looked around the table.

“As soon as Duvessa’s scout patrol returns,” she said, “we’re going home.”

AMID THE PLAINTIVE SCREAMS OF THE DYING, SERENAturned to look at Actinius. She smiled.

“I want all the remaining lepers brought here from the Ghetto,” she said. “If we’re forced to continue feeding all of our servants in one place like this, we will need them. We might even be forced to gather up citizens from the countryside. But that doesn’t matter. Parthalon holds enough souls to satisfy our needs.”

Night had fallen several hours ago. Serena and Actinius stood on the guard path atop one of the walls surrounding the Recluse. The Eutracian moons shone brightly down on the lake and the land surrounding the huge castle. As more screams filtered up to their ears, the two mystics looked down at the grisly spectacle.

Shrews and envelopers by the thousands were voraciously feeding on lepers brought from the Ghetto. It was vitally important to keep the beasts alive, even if the Conclave fleet had been destroyed. Once Serena’s mission was fulfilled, the shrews and envelopers would serve as her taskmasters, just as the Minions had done for the sorceresses of the Coven. She wanted them to know who was in control, and that it was she who satisfied their needs.

Like Failee, she worshipped the Vagaries and ruled the Recluse with an iron fist. But there would be vital differences between her and Wigg’s late wife. Serena would directly serve thePon Q’tar. And her power would dominate two nations, rather than just one.

Only minutes ago, several hundred lepers had been herded through the castle’s entryway, across the bridge spanning the lake, and onto the surrounding land. Naked and terrified, at first they had huddled together like they could somehow find safety in numbers. Little had they known that this was the worst thing that they could have done, for it only simplified the beasts’ feeding frenzy.

Sensing prey, shrew herds had surfaced from their hiding places in the lake surrounding the castle, and from the nearby bodies of water that had sprung into being after the sudden deaths of the Coven sorceresses. Not to be outdone, envelopers by the thousands abandoned their camouflage and left their hiding places in the air and against the castle walls to join in the frenzy.

In moments the gorging had reached an insane crescendo. Serena knew full well that there weren’t enough victims for all her creatures to feed on at once. In fact, she had planned things this way.

After launching the vast tidal wave, Serena had every confidence that the Conclave fleet had been destroyed. But if by some miracle it had not, she wanted her servants hungry, and eager to act at a moment’s notice. She had also given instructions that the victims be proffered naked, so as to minimize evidence of the atrocity. The shrews and envelopers left clothing, bones, and footwear behind. After each feeding Serena’s consuls were ordered to leave the castle and cause the abandoned bones to vanish. Should Conclave forces approach, she wanted everything to look as normal as possible.

She watched with curiosity as two shrews fought over a screaming, naked man. One had its jaws closed around the man’s head, while the other had sunk its teeth deep into his feet. Snarling and struggling, they pulled in opposite directions so mightily that the fellow’s head was torn from his shoulders, leaving one shrew to claim the bulk of the prize. The snuffling monster quickly dragged the headless carcass off into the darkness to keep the meal for itself.

A quieter, more muffled type of screaming also filled the air. These sounds were coming from the victims taken by envelopers. As the creatures wrapped their velvety bodies around victim after victim, they absorbed them.

When the feeding session ended, not one human remained. The beasts that hadn’t secured someone to feed on snarled and hissed at the others as they all reluctantly returned to their hiding places. The massive shrews submerged; the envelopers again blended in perfectly with their various surroundings. Soon all went quiet.

Serena turned to Actinius. “Send out the consuls,” she ordered.

Actinius turned around to look down into the palace courtyard. Several dozen consuls stood there, waiting for his command. After seeing Actinius give them a hand sign, they walked across the bridge and onto the killing field. The place was a sickening maze of regurgitated bones. Blood seemed to lie everywhere, its slick freshness shiny with moonlight against the surrounding grass. The stink rose so high as to reach Serena and the consul by her side.

Serena watched as azure beams streaked from the consuls’ hands and into the night. Little by little, all evidence of the recent atrocity vanished and the scene returned to normal. Just then Serena and Actinius heard footsteps. They turned to see a consul approaching.

“Begging your pardon, mistress,” he said. “Einar and Reznik request your presence. They wish to give you a report.”

Serena nodded. “Very well,” she answered. “I will meet them in my quarters.”

After giving his mistress a bow, the consul hurried away.

Actinius gave Serena an encouraging look. “I think they are near success,” he said.

“Good,” she answered. “But with the Conclave fleet resting on the bottom of the sea, their sense of urgency might not be what it once was. I must ensure that is not the case. Come with me. I want you in attendance.”