The Spook 9 - Slither's tale (11 page)

I positioned it so that it deflected the five deadly talons. I did not immediately strike a blow of my own but, guiding my mount with my knees, drew my sabre and followed up my advantage, catching the creature before it had fully come about.

I struck it full upon the head with the hilt of my sabre so that the metal of the helmet rang. Then, with my dagger, I tried to pierce its neck at the point of relative weakness where the helmet joined the body armour.

I failed, and we broke contact, both galloping some distance apart.

Quickly, the hyb turned and charged for the second time. This time, however, despite its agility and speed, I was even better prepared and, while deflecting the talons with my shield for a second time, struck a blow of my own.

I did not have the space to put all my strength into the scything horizontal sweep of my blade, but luck was with me.

The moment I struck, a jet of steam erupted from the ground almost immediately under my enemy. The horse screamed with pain and the upper part leaned towards me to avoid being scalded. Thus the hyb was distracted, and my sabre made contact high on the shoulder; deflected by the ribbed armour there, it found the narrow gap between the helmet and the shoulder piece, biting into the neck so that the hyb rocked sideways as it passed.

As the creature swayed and the mace dropped from its nerveless fingers, I drove my magical shield towards it like a hammer; the blow was terrible and it fell sideways, its four legs buckling beneath it. It hit the ground with a heavy thud, rolled over in the snow and lay still.

I dismounted and approached my enemy with caution. I had expected the hyb assassin to be more difficult to defeat and half expected some trick. I glanced at its lower body and saw the assortment of blades and weapons in sheaths on its flanks.

It was now at my mercy, so I pulled off its helmet and held a blade at its throat.

The hyb was unconscious, its eyes tight shut. I had no time to waste, so I sent a magical barb straight into its brain so that it awoke with a scream. The eyes suddenly opened wide and gleamed a malevolent red. For a moment I felt giddy, and the world seemed to spin; my grip loosened upon my blade.
What was wrong with me?
I wondered.

Just in time I became aware of the danger from the creature’s
eyes
. I could barely look away, the compulsion to stare into them was so strong; they had an hypnotic quality, and had the power to suck away the will so that time ceased to matter.

I regained my focus and stared instead at its mouth, which was full of big teeth. I spoke slowly in case the creature was still befuddled from that last terrible blow I had struck. ‘Listen very carefully to me,’ I warned it, pressing the knife into its throat so that I drew forth just a little blood. ‘I have been wronged and I go to make my plea before the Triumvirate in Valkarky. It is my right.’

‘You have no rights, mage!’ the hyb roared, spitting the words up into my face, its big horse-teeth gnashing together. ‘You have murdered one of the High Mages and are to be killed on sight!’

‘He attempted to obstruct me when I was in the lawful process of repossessing my property. It was a criminal act and he attacked me further. In self-defence I was forced to kill him. But I have no personal quarrel, either with you or with any other High Mages. Give me your word that you will not oppose me further and I will set you free. Then you may bear witness to my plea in Valkarky and oppose it if you wish.’

‘You are dead, mage, whether by my hand or another’s. The moment you set me free I will cut your flesh and drink your blood.’

‘Your fighting days are over,’ I said, looking down at the creature. ‘It is I who will wield a blade. It is for me to cut and for you to bleed. Soon I will drink
your
blood. It is as simple as that. There is only pain left for you now.’

There were screams as I killed it. Not one came from the hyb; the creature died bravely, as I had expected. It could do no less. The screams came from Nessa and her sisters, who had brought their mounts under control and returned when they saw that the danger had passed. It was almost an hour before Bryony stopped sobbing.

After telling the girls to control themselves, I led them on in silence. I thought over my fight with the hyb. What had gone wrong for the creature? Perhaps it had underestimated my capabilities – or maybe luck had played a part?

I realized that was certainly true. The jet of steam had surprised it and given me an advantage. This detracted from the feelings of pride I should have felt with the defeat of such a powerful adversary. I was not safe from skaiium yet. I must strive even harder to avoid its clutches and maintain my strength as a warrior mage.

The three purrai avoided my gaze and wore expressions of revulsion on their faces. Could they not understand that it had been necessary to kill, and that by doing so I had preserved all our lives?

That night I found us a cave to shelter in. There was no wood to use for fuel so we could only chew on the remaining strips of meat that I had cut from the wolf the day before.

‘This is no life at all!’ Susan complained. ‘Oh, I wish Father still lived, and this was just a nightmare, and I could wake up safe and warm in my own bed!’

‘We cannot change what’s been done,’ Nessa told her. ‘Try to
be
brave, Susan. Hopefully, in a few weeks you’ll start a new life. Then all this will seem just like a bad dream.’

Nessa spoke confidently as she put her arm round Susan to comfort her, but I noted the sadness in her own eyes.
Her
new life would be one of slavery.

After a while, I left the sisters alone to console each other and went to sit in front of the cave, gazing up at the stars. It was a very bright, clear night, and all five thousand of them were visible – amongst them the red, bloodshot eye of Cougis, the Dog Star, which was always my favourite.

Suddenly there was a streak of light in the northern sky, passing quickly from east to west. I estimated that it was somewhere over Valkarky. There was a superstition that such a falling star presaged a death or overthrow of some mage. Others in a position of danger would have taken that as a portent of their own demise, but I do not subscribe to such foolishness, so I thrust the thought from my mind and began to focus my will.

I was meditating, attempting to strengthen my mind against the possible onset of skaiium, when Nessa emerged from the cave and sat down beside me. She was wrapped in a blanket but was shivering violently.

‘You should stay in the cave, little Nessa. It is too cold out here for a poor weak human.’

‘It is cold,’ she agreed, her voice hardly more than a whisper, ‘but it’s not just that making me shiver. How could you? How could you do that in front of me and my sisters?’

‘Do what?’ I asked. I wondered if I had been chewing the
wolf-meat
too noisily. Maybe I had inadvertently burped or passed wind.

‘The way you killed that creature and drank its blood – it was horrible. Even worse than what you did in the tower. And you delighted in it!’

‘I must be honest with you, little Nessa, and tell you that, yes, it was most enjoyable to triumph over a deadly hyb warrior. I have killed a High Mage, a Shaiksa assassin and a hyb warrior over the past days – few of my people are able to boast of such an achievement!

‘I offered him his freedom, but he refused, and would have continued his attempt against my life – and then yours and your sisters’. So what was I supposed to do? I must confess that his blood did taste sweet and I must apologize if I slurped it too greedily. But otherwise I behaved quite properly.’

‘Properly?!’ cried Nessa. ‘It was monstrous! And now you are taking us to a city populated by many thousands of beings such as yourself!’

‘No, you are wrong,’ I told her. ‘I am a haizda mage. There are probably no more than a dozen of us in existence at this time. We are not city people – we live on the extreme fringes of Kobalos territory. We farm humans and see that they are happy and content.’

‘Farm! What do you mean you
farm
humans?’

‘It is nothing to worry about, Nessa. Why do you find it so alarming? You, your father and your sisters were all part of my farm, which is called a haizda – thus I am termed a haizda mage. We harvest blood to sustain us – along with other
materials
that may be of use. Your dead father knew the true situation, but he did not wish to upset you. He made a trade with me so that I would keep my distance. You believed I was just a dangerous creature that lived nearby, but in truth I owned you.’

‘What?!’ Nessa raised a hand to her face in shock. ‘You took the blood of my father and my sisters? My blood too?’

‘I did so at first, but later chose not to continue. I respected your father and decided to trade rather than take. He supplied me with red wine and bullock blood, both of which I am quite partial to. We had an agreement that suited us both. But, yes, other humans in the haizda give me blood. But most do not know it is happening – I usually take it in the night when they are sleeping.

‘I make myself very small and slither into their house through a tiny hole in a roof or wall. Then I blow myself up to a comfortable size and crawl onto their beds. I sit on the human’s chest, lean forward and make a small puncture in the neck. Then I drain a little blood – never enough to affect their health too adversely. Just as a human farmer concerns himself with the health and welfare of his cattle, so I husband my resources. The worst they ever experience is a little night-terror – like a nightmare in which a demon has sat on their chest, making it difficult to breathe. Very rarely they feel slightly dizzy on first rising – mostly the ones who leap out of bed too quickly. The puncture marks on the neck heal very quickly and, by first light, are easily mistaken for insect bites. Most humans on a farm are quite unaware of what is going on.’

Nessa had fallen silent, and when I glanced at her, I saw that she was staring at me, eyes wide. It was a long time before she spoke.

‘You said “other materials”. What else do you take?’

‘Souls, little Nessa. Sometimes I use the souls of your people.’

She looked back to the cave, presumably to check that her sisters were still sleeping, before she spoke. ‘How can you “use” a soul?’ she managed eventually. ‘That sounds horrible!’

‘The owners don’t mind because they are always dead before it happens. And dead souls are usually confused for quite a while before they find their way home. I just use up a little of their energy until they manage that. So really, I just borrow them.’

‘Their “home” – where is that?’

‘That depends. Some are an “Up” and others are a “Down”. The first spin away into the sky silently; the others plunge into the ground, giving a sort of groan or sometimes a shriek or a howl – I don’t know where
their
home is, but none of them seem very happy to be going there.’

‘Were you present when my father died?’

‘Yes, Nessa, I was. He took a long time to die and was in a lot of pain. It wasn’t a pleasant death, and because you were so inconsiderate and ran off, he could have died all alone. But I was patient and stayed with him to the end.’

‘Did you borrow his soul?’

‘No, I wasn’t given the chance. Some souls aren’t confused at all. They don’t linger but go home straight away.’

‘Which way did my father go?’

‘He was an “Up”, little Nessa. So be happy for him. His soul sprang up into the sky without even the slightest of groans.’

‘Thank you.’ Nessa spoke quietly, and then she got to her feet and went back into the cave without another word.

Of course I’d lied about ‘borrowing’ souls. After you’ve taken their power there isn’t really much of them left. Once released, they spin slowly for a few moments, then give a little whimper and fade away. So they never get to go home – that’s the end of them. That might not be a bad thing with those who go down, but the others – the ‘Ups’ – might have lost a lot. It was a good thing for Old Rowler that he hadn’t lingered.

NESSA