Secrets of Arkana Fortress (31 page)

              Rolden folded his arms across his chest. ‘How long have you been with us, Leskin?’

              ‘Nearly three years now, sir.’

              ‘I have recorded almost 35 years of service. I have a broader view of how things are in Traseken. I know the state of our forces and where the city lies in terms of us and
them
.’

              ‘That’s a hell of a divide.’

              Leskin was right, of course. There was a divide between the Traseken forces and the criminals… and it was highly in favour of the criminals. What was left of the army, police, government, and loyal civilians lay behind the inner walls of the city. The inner part of Traseken was one giant circle housing the government buildings, palace, royal library, and the underground Templar headquarters. The start of the downfall had seen a giant stone wall go up around these vital structures as the officials attempted to raise funds by selling off parts of the city to private land owners, reducing its size and subsequently its expenditures. Such a rash act had been the final spark in the funeral pyre – the sheer number of civilians turning to crime or leaving Traseken had reduced land values. Not much money came in, and what did come in was quickly spent on refurbishing the buildings to stop them collapsing into utter rack and ruin.

              ‘I lost my home to these maniacal criminals.’ Rolden rubbed his chin and walked back a few paces. ‘I fought off a fair few of them, but had to retreat pretty quickly back here.’ His eyes moved back to the fireplace. ‘A bunch of Psyloss madmen set the fucking place on fire. They had no idea what the heck they were doing.’

              Leskin leaned forward. ‘Do you blame them?’

              Rolden sighed. ‘I do and I don’t… I don’t know.’ He pinched the top of his nose and closed his eyes. ‘They weren’t sane, they were riddled with Psyloss.’

              ‘What do you reckon goes through their minds?’

              He ignored the question and stared at the fireplace again. ‘It feels like no matter what we do, we are just looking through the glass helplessly.’

Chapter 22

A short burst of rain swept into the market town at an ungodly speed. Hocknis hadn’t seen so much rain in such a short space of time and it was growing weary of the assault. A spirit passed through the square, fingers stroking the faces of many a living soul, praying for guidance. It whipped against the walls with a ferocious resolve, blowing empty bottles left outside the local tavern onto their sides, some smashing into a hundred shards of despair. A scruffy dog sniffed at a drenched piece of discarded meat in a corner, eventually scooping it up with its whip-like tongue, starvation getting the better of it.

              A pair of dark figures lurked in a nearby alleyway next to the tavern, grey hoods covering their heads from the watery onslaught above. One of them turned to the other and spoke deeply, sceptically.

              ‘And you reckon this would work? Convince people that there’s magic at play here? What if all the people are tapped in the head already?’

              The other figure folded his arms slowly. ‘This will show somebody that something is going on… at least one person would be a start.’

              ‘Maybe that start would be a bit too small.’

              ‘Have faith in this, Mikos.’ Byde squinted through the rain into the square. ‘Faith is one of the only things we have left at this juncture.’

              Mikos hummed and wiped his brow free from the raindrops. ‘Well, first problem – we don’t have a Psyloss victim.’

              ‘There are many… we just cannot see them. They tend to hide in small, dark spots away from other people… hence this alleyway.’

              Mikos whipped his head around to check behind them. ‘No one here yet.’ He looked back toward the square, taking note of how many people were gathering at the daily market stalls despite the heavy rain. ‘Plenty of people,’ he mused. ‘How do you intend on getting a Psyloss sufferer into this? Tea and biscuits?’ He raised a hidden eyebrow.

              Byde let out a throaty laugh and unfolded his arms. He bent down and picked up an old, half ruined brick from the floor and tossed it gently into the air a couple of times. He turned around and whistled a short little tune, something Mikos had never heard before.

              Mikos watched as the chunk of stone flew through the air and into the darkness of the alley, clanking against something metal.

              They waited, the rain tipping down harder, water bouncing off the floor with a childlike playfulness.

                            Something stirred.

              They waited some more.

              Byde whistled again.

              Suddenly the stony piece of brick came hurtling back at them, narrowly missing Mikos’s head. Byde remained unfazed. There was a whisper.

             
‘Again,’
a female voice said.

              Byde picked up the brick and handed it to Mikos. ‘Here, hold this.’ He turned his head to the alley’s dark gullet. ‘How about you come get it, sweetheart?’ He quickly turned and patted Mikos on the shoulder before sliding his way out of the alley’s mouth and round the corner.

              Just as Mikos was about to protest he glanced at the brick in his hand and screwed up his eyebrows. A movement caught his eye and he followed it inquisitively. A brown-faced woman peered at him. Her clothing, stained with something he didn’t care to imagine, was a lot more regal in style than he’d expected of a plague victim. He shuffled his feet back and gripped the brick.

              ‘That’s mine,’ said the woman leeringly.

              Mikos had no time to assess her as she was upon him like a feral cat pouncing on a rodent. He batted her mangled nails away from his face and shoved her back, swivelling around dramatically and churning his legs into a run. He could almost feel her raging, heavy breath on the back of his neck as he emerged from the mouth of the alley into the drenched square.

              The rain continued to pound around him, gradually slowing him down as he ran through the covered market stalls. Eyes watched, mostly in horror, as he barrelled his way past them. A few screams echoed through the din of the falling water, people recoiling in fear of a plague victim being so close to them. Customers scattered to the sides, some of them dropping their wares, while prospective clients retreated from discussions to save their own hides. Mikos heard a couple of earthy bellows from either side of him followed by a howling scream from the crazed woman behind him. He skidded to a halt and turned on his heels to see her recoiling on the floor, a bolas wrapped around her ankles.

              A guard trotted her way through a small crowd and slowly drew a sword from her belt. Mikos blinked for a moment, the rain letting up slightly.

              ‘Wait, wait,’ he pleaded to the guard, edging forward to her, arms outstretched. ‘She needs help.’

              The guard, a slender black-haired human woman, shot him a look that would have killed a demon. ‘I am helping her,’ she said authoritatively in a high-pitched, glass shattering voice. ‘Any plague victim is executed on the spot.’

              ‘But nobody is willing to help these people; to treat them.’ He started to twitch as he smelled the victim on the floor – a mixture of odours he didn’t care think about.

              ‘We have standing orders, citizen,’ she barked, rain dripping from her lightly coloured steel and fabric armour. ‘These plague victims are dangerous.’

              ‘They can be helped. Please don’t kill her.’ He lowered his hands.

              The guard blinked slowly and sighed softly. ‘If you get in the way of my duties then you will be arrested and detained.’

              Mikos clenched his hands, moisture building up in his palms. ‘She isn’t a criminal.’

              There was a ripple in the small crowd behind the guard, slowly parting as Byde carved his way through, arms gently guiding people out of his way. He said nothing as he glided over to the grounded woman who was starting to struggle even harder against the restraints around her legs. His mysterious form made the guard freeze for a moment as if her soul had been gripped with unimaginable fear and dread.

              ‘Step away from her please, citizen. She’s a danger to you,’ the guard stated with a sudden sound of hesitation – something had certainly shaken her judgement.

              Byde adjusted his gloves and cleared his throat. His very presence seemed to calm the victim down… and that sent a ripple through the crowd – heads turned, nudges were given, and concerned looks crept onto the faces of humans, reptilians, and felines alike.

              ‘Sir! Step away…’

              He lifted the woman’s head up by her chin, looking deeply at her crazed and twisted  dark eyes.

              There was stillness in the air.

              Her hand swiftly batted at Byde’s neck, claw-like nails outstretched.

              His free hand grabbed her wrist and held it for a moment before it grew limp and lowered slowly to the floor.

              The onlookers held their breaths as the guard decided that she had had enough. She went to slap her metallic palm on Byde’s shoulder, but was sharply pushed away by a firm-faced Mikos who then stood in her path, resilient.

              ‘Move… now.’ She hooked her fist around and smacked Mikos’s cheek, sending him flopping to one side, startled. Looking at the back of Byde’s head, her follow-up move was halted by what was happening in front of her.

              Head in Byde’s hands, the woman’s eyes had rolled up back into her skull, and there was a soft glow in her mucky face. Byde squeezed tighter with one of his gloved hands and slowly moved the other over her hair as if he was stroking a pet lovingly.

              The gloves glowed dimly.

              Faces dropped in awe, tongues rolling out like red carpets.

              The woman leaned to one side, her eyes closed, breathing normally.

              The guard stood rigid, sword half drawn, her mouth opening and closing like a startled Bullwark – a sight that was very rare.

              The rain had all but died off.

              ‘Anyone know this woman?’ Byde enquired with a shout. This move had certainly been a risk, especially with the guard drawing her sword out gradually.

              He heard the blade zing out of its sheath behind him. ‘Out of the way, citizen. The Hocknis military thank you for your efforts in subduing this threat – it makes our jobs easier to have them not struggle.’

              ‘Excuse me?’ asked Byde as he stood and turned to face the uncertain-faced woman. ‘She is no longer a threat, I assure you, dear lady.’

              The guard clucked her tongue doubtfully, a frown edging on her face. ‘I cannot take a stranger’s word for it. There is no cure for Psyloss plague so there is only one option.’

              Mikos stepped in, his face still aching from the blow to his jaw. ‘Enjoy your job, do you? Huh?’ His expression had become more stormy than overhead. ‘Killing innocent people and hiding it behind some standing order given to you by the superiors who’re too afraid to face a problem themselves?’ He squinted with unnerving steel and watched the guard shuffle backwards. ‘Byde? Show this woman please.’

              Show her what? Byde ruffled his robes with his hands as he wondered. Oh.

              ‘It might not work, Mikos,’ he whispered from the corner of his mouth.

              ‘It has to work. We need to show them we mean business.’

              ‘I cannot promise anything, my friend.’ Byde swallowed hard and closed his eyes before returning to the slumbering form on the cold, hard floor. He pulled his gloves tighter onto his fingers and waited for a few seconds before placing both hands on the woman’s head, almost covering her face with his giant palms.
‘I hear you,’
he hushed.

              Nothing.

              The guard sighed impatiently.

              ‘I hear you,’ said Byde, this time more coherent.

              ‘OK, you two are just taking the piss. Out of my…’

              The gloves glowed again, brighter than before.

             
‘This is like something out of a fantasy,’
thought Mikos, who then noticed the guard stepping back, sword dropping.

              The crowd had gone completely mute, which was no surprise in the slightest, and their faces had gone wide with shock – a hell of a feat for the reptilians among them.

              Byde fell back on his ass as the victim sat up like she was on fire. She looked around wildly, pupils dilated, chest heaving.

              The guard once again pushed past and raised her sword. ‘I told you – they cannot be saved by anything.’

              The woman screamed and held her arms up in front of her face, pure fright making her body shake. ‘Please! What are you doing?’ she cried.