A Whisper After Midnight (9 page)

Those foolish enough to venture into the streets watched the three monstrous shapes take flight and disappear into the clouds. Whispers spread quickly. Demons had come to Fedro, claiming the damned and condemning the rest. Grown Men and Women fell to their knees while performing gestures intended to ward off evil spirits. Some cried. Others slammed their doors and bolted them. Still others went for weapons, anything they could use to defend against the monsters. Fedro became subsumed by paranoia. It didn’t take long before those with clear heads turned towards the strangers in town. Blame was only a matter of time.

“They are here,” Rekka Jel said from her post by the window.

They’d taken rooms in the back of the first floor, close enough to the rear door to make an escape if necessary. Their foul experience in Praeg set everyone on edge, heightening security and apprehensions. Sleep came lightly even after their time spent in the forge of Giants. Bahr remained filled with suspicions. Having a traitor among them kept him on edge.

Fresh screams rippled through the sleeping village, drawing the weary band to action. Ionascu cackled recklessly from the corner while the rest strapped on weapons and prepared for battle. Dorl resisted the urge to backhand him and followed Nothol out into the hallway. The bow in his hands felt good, like it belonged. He only hoped he didn’t need to use it.

“Where?” Boen asked. The easygoing attitudes he adopted for travelling were gone, replaced by decades of hardened combat experience.

Rekka gestured east. “The screams came from the far end of the village. They move this way.”

Bahr drew his sword. “Dorl, you and Rekka get up on the roof and cover high.”

“You think these are our spies?” Nothol asked.

The Sea Wolf glanced over to the oddly complacent Anienam. “Ask him.”

“More than likely,” the wizard answered slowly. “But anything is possible.”

Another scream echoed. This one closer.

“Enough talk. Blood is being shed.” Boen shouldered his way past the others and headed towards the door. Blood pumping, the Vengeance Knight was eager to apply his steel in battle.

The rest broke into groups, Anienam following Rekka and Dorl to the rooftop. Bahr stopped and turned suddenly, fixing Skuld with a wary glance. “Not you, lad. I need you to stay and keep an eye on Ionascu. He may be broken but I don’t trust him.”

“But I want to fight! I can help,” Skuld protested furiously.

Bahr shook his head. “Not this time. My word is final.”

The door swung shut behind him, leaving the dejected Skuld with murderous thoughts.

A soft hand rested on his shoulder. “Don’t fret, Skuld. You’re not the only one who’s not necessary in battle.”

His demeanor softened, slightly. “You’re a princess. They are protecting you.”

“Are they?” She glared back at him. “I call it smothering. How many more need to die because of me? Yet here I stand, helpless as a newborn babe. Life is not kind, nor does it care for our desires. We must all find a way to get along with it or be run over and lost to the cold haunts of the past. The others will return soon. Very little can stand up to my uncle and the Gaimosian.”

Skuld took little comfort in her words. His eyes never left the scratched and stained wooden door daring him to exit.

Storm clouds blocked the moon, enshrouding the village in tumultuous darkness. The air smelled of snow and bore a damp flavor. Doors and windows being shuttered rang out from dozens of homes. Fires were lit in the vain attempts of keeping whatever evil stalked Fedro away. Bahr wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of it. Nothing but cold steel was going to save them. He’d never understood the cattle mentality of humanity. Most would rather button up and hide rather than confront their fears. The weak almost always perished because of that. A handful of Men and Women came forward to combat the darkness and keep the monsters at bay. While he never considered himself a hero, Bahr had no qualms about defending those who were incapable of doing so for themselves.

Nothol snatched a torch from the nearest streetlight and pushed forward. Visibility was so reduced they needed the light in order to see. Boen made every attempt to stay ahead of the glare, not wanting the flames to affect his night vision. He contemplated telling the sell sword to get rid of it but knew the light might come in handy if they were indeed fighting the winged creatures they’d spotted coming down from the mountains.

A loud crash came from the alley just ahead and the group began to run. Boen reached the gap between homes first. Throwing caution to the wolves, he charged into the alley with sword poised in a high guard. A large, dark shape burst from the shadows and took flight the moment Boen arrived. Something large fell to the ground and rolled to a stop a few feet away. He peered down already knowing it was a freshly killed villager. Whatever plague had descended on Fedro did so to feed.

“They’re airborne!” he growled, stepping over the corpse.

Bahr hardly glanced at the body as Nothol’s torchlight fell. Warm blood streaked the broken forearm, hand curled up in mock defiance. “We need to find a way to push it towards Dorl.”

“We don’t have any weapons capable of dropping one of them,” Nothol protested. “They can escape without effort.”

The first rain drops spattered Boen’s upturned face. “No. They aren’t going to run. We fight them here, now.”

The Giant would be mighty useful right about now
. Bahr grimaced and ordered them back into the main avenue. All eyes focused on the skies, desperately seeking their enemy. Desperately and futilely. Whatever hunted them remained carefully hidden in the low clouds. Frustration threatened to take hold. Bahr needed to find a way to lure their stalkers down close enough to kill.

“Do you see anything?” he asked if for nothing else than to break the oppressive silence.

Boen grumbled under his breath. “The clouds are too thick. We will not see them unless they want to be seen.”

“I’m open to ideas,” Bahr countered.
What’s the point of having a blasted wizard if he can’t do any magic? Now I know why Mages are all but extinct. Damned fools worried more about the stars than trying to help anyone
.

Nothol threw the torch down and stamped the flames out.

“What are you doing?” Bahr asked.

“Bait. We need to draw them in. Otherwise this is just a waste of time,” the sell sword replied nervously.

“Don’t end up like this poor guy,” Bahr said and gestured towards the body.

Nothol spit. “Keep them off me so I don’t need to worry about it.”

He darted out into the middle of the street and held his arms open wide. “Here I am! Come and kill me, cowards!”

Nothol Coll ran, back towards the tavern where, hopefully, Dorl and Rekka sat ready. Otherwise… He looped around the village once before coming back to Bahr and Boen. Each clung to the shadows on opposite sides of the road, watching, waiting. Nothol looked to Bahr as they passed, but the Sea Wolf only shook his head. Nothing. Winded, Nothol continued to run. He began shouting obscenities, hoping to lure the enemy in through a sense of vanity. Unused to being in this sort of situation, he was quickly running out of ideas and options. Just when he was about to give up and head back, the night came alive and attacked.

Winds rushed past. Nothol felt something large and incredibly hard slam into his side, knocking him to the ground with a grunt. Claws raked at his exposed face and hands. Feathers shed down upon him as he struggled to get off his back before he got killed. A pungent odor assaulted him, causing him to gag and retch.

“Finish him, Sister!” a foul voice screeched from the rooftops.

A rock whistled through the night before slamming into the Harpy’s head. Her screech made Nothol’s ears bleed. Boen rushed in a moment later, tackling the Harpy in a flurry of feathers and crunching bones. He punched three quick times to the chest and face before the Harpy managed to dig out from under his massive frame and burst into the sky. Feathers and blood drifted down.

“What in the Hells was that?” Nothol asked as he rolled back to his feet.

Boen brushed a feather from his shoulder. “I don’t know. Nothing I’ve ever seen before. We should be cautious. I wounded it but there are others.”

“Nice shot,” Bahr said and pulled Boen up. He knelt and dabbed a fingertip in the small drops of blood. “We’ve got a trail. I heard the bones snap from the other side of the street. I doubt it’s going to fly away quickly, if at all.”

“What’s our next move?” Nothol asked.

“We kill it,” Boen said and stalked after the Harpy. The thrill of the kill aroused him. It was time for the Gaimosian to do what he was created for.

Nothol and Bahr hurried to catch up.

“Can’t you do anything to help?” Dorl asked angrily. He was getting fed up with having a do-nothing wizard along.

Anienam stifled a yawn. “I’ve already told you my talents don’t work like that. Magic isn’t a children’s game I can turn on and off at will. There are preparations required and we don’t have time for any of them. I don’t know why I’m trying to explain this to you. Yours is not an educated mind, my friend, and I will only confuse myself trying to enlighten you!”

Dorl flushed crimson with anger. “Mind your tongue, old man, or I might just forget you saved our asses back in Chadra.”

“Quiet, both of you,” Rekka scolded suddenly. Her focus never left the area where she’d seen Bahr and the others disappear.

Soon after, the sounds of battle drifted to them. Rekka set an arrow to string and gave her bow a few quick test pulls to loosen it. She inhaled small breaths through her nose and exhaled almost imperceptibly through her mouth. Her muscles relaxed. Her mind cleared as she subconsciously ran through old training drills instilled in her since childhood. She became the weapon.

Dorl peered over the edge, struggling to see what Rekka did. He found only darkness. “What is it?”

She waved him off, merely gesturing with a curt nod. Dorl followed her gaze and was rewarded with seeing his best friend struggling with a winged creature. He briefly considered taking a shot but the distance was too great and he feared hitting Nothol. Instead he cursed and punched the rooftop.

“Patience, Dorl. They are bringing the creature to us.”

He didn’t understand how Rekka could know that but he wasn’t in an arguing mood. His inability to help Nothol twisted him with guilt. They’d been through countless bad situations and always had each other’s backs. Sitting up here on the top of the tavern effectively removed him from being able to help. Nothol was on his own. Only he wasn’t. He had Bahr and Boen. Between the two of them he ought to be fine.

“We need to help them,” he insisted, more from the thought of being helpless than anything else.

She ignored him. Rekka’s eyes never left the engagement. Boen all but crushed the creature to death as he tackled it off of Nothol but it still managed to take flight. Two others leapt from a dark light post and helped their wounded comrade escape the Gaimosian. From their shocked attempt at fleeing they hadn’t been expecting to get involved with such a powerful group of warriors. Predators seldom did. These three had come to feed on the innocent and unsuspecting; stealing babies from their cribs and the old from their death beds.

They also forgot the three warriors waiting on the roof. Rekka slowly drew her bow and aimed. Her breathing slowed to a bare hint. Her eyes locked on the already wounded creature. She exhaled and counted to three. Rekka fired. Feathers tickled her cheek as she released. The arrow sliced through the air and plunged deep in the creature’s chest. It, she, screamed in rage and agony and would have fallen to the ground if not for the others. Rekka mechanically reached back for a second bolt and took aim as Dorl fired his first shot.

Aware of the new danger, the three Harpies pulled up and away. Dorl’s bolt crashed harmlessly into the cobblestones below. The largest of the three glared down with baleful eyes, marking their faces. A day would come when revenge demanded justice. Slowly the Harpies pulled away and were lost to the clouds.

“Save your bolts. They are already out of range,” Rekka cautioned upon noticing Dorl setting another arrow to string. “We have wounded them and that is enough.”

Dorl reluctantly did as he was told. “They’ll be back. Nothing is ever this easy.”

Rekka cocked her head, regarding him with a quizzical look he couldn’t read. They were all at the point of exhaustion. Tensions ran high and no one seemed in the mood for the usual banter that accompanied their journey. Only now did Dorl realize his muscles trembled slightly. He wanted nothing more than to collapse on a soft bed and wake days later.

He looked to Anienam and asked, “Don’t you have anything to add?”

The wizard sighed. “No. Not at this time. Bahr and the others are coming. We should go back down.”

Giving a final look to the cloudy skies, Dorl let out a deep sigh and followed the others inside. He’d had enough excitement for the night.

Debates

Fedro laid leagues behind them yet eyes perpetually turned up to the skies, fearful of another attack. Bahr tried to calm their nerves by claiming, rightfully so, that the Harpies had only attacked
after
he and the others infringed upon their hunting raid. A week had passed since that night and they hadn’t seen so much as a sign of their hunters. That did nothing to keep them from staring up.