Soul Weaver, page 25
part #1 of The Seeded Realms Series
Her eyes began to glow as she activated her Charm skill, and within a few seconds, both Kim’s and Alexander’s eyes clouded over and their bodies grew still. Only the slight movement of their chests gave any indication they were still alive.
Celia sidestepped to dodge a sloppy stab from Griff, who had pushed his entire body toward her, only to fall over when he missed.
“You know, this is kind of sad,” she said, with a grim smile.
“Damn you!” he grunted. “Whatever it is you’re doing, it won’t work!”
“Oh? And why’s that?” she asked.
“The guild won’t allow it!”
“Right… the guild is going to investigate the disappearance of a bronze party, one of probably many lost during this particular call to arms? I don’t think so. While I do regret things having to come to this, by the end of the day, you’ll all be no more than a statistic in some report,” she said, matter-of-factly.
Griff screamed, his anger boiling over. He finally managed to pull himself upright and swing his sword at Celia—only to stare dumbfounded as it was cut clean in half when it struck her red-hot dagger.
Celia grinned wickedly, twirling the dagger a few times in the air before catching its grip again. “I mean, I have to say this thing is truly remarkable,” she commented, just before she kicked Griff in the stomach hard enough to land him flat on his back again.
During this time, the surrounding Grauda had recovered, but remained silent and wisely kept their distance as they watched the scene unfold in front of them. It was a little creepy having so many just staring at her, but it was better than them trying to poke her with their sticks or slash her with their scythes, so she wasn’t going to complain.
Seeing Griff once again having trouble getting his balance in order, she dragged both Charmed weavers across the clearing and placed them side by side.
“I really didn’t think this through, did I?” she sighed. “I guess I can just drag these two all the way back…”
She paced back and forth as she tried to work out a solution to her dilemma, before a loud snap brought her out of her thoughts. Glancing toward its source, her eyes widened slightly at the sight of a familiar female Grauda taking a few tentative steps toward her.
“Why, hello there! Took you long enough to show yourself,” Celia said brightly, sheathing her dagger in an attempt to show that she meant no harm. “You wouldn’t happen to know how to speak, would you?” she added, hopefully. Fighting this many of them at such close quarters would be difficult, even for her improved self.
The female glanced around the remains of the battle, taking a few long seconds to stare at Griff and Melody, before focusing back on Celia.
“Who…?” she rasped in a strange, high-pitched voice, catching Celia by surprise.
“Oh,” Celia mumbled, before quickly regaining her composure. “Right. Well, who I am isn’t as important as what I…” her words trailed off, as an idea came to her. Grinning, she took a step closer to the female, causing the male Grauda around them to start hissing, but a snap from the female’s mandibles silenced them. “I have a proposition for you. My name is Celia, and I am an Ascended’s champion. It’s his will that I meet your leader.”
The female Grauda glared at her, which was followed by the return of the awful hissing her males seemed to like so much. “Queen… Protect… Kill!” she hissed.
Raising her hands, Celia quickly replied, “I won’t harm your queen. You have my word and that of my Ascended.”
The hissing stopped as the female seemed to consider this; her antennae twitched several times before she asked, “Ascended?”
“Yes, an Ascended, but I will only speak to your queen about him.” Celia smiled even wider.
The insectoid blinked once before looking over at Griff. The large man was still glaring at Celia with absolute rage and hatred in his eyes.
The female stared for a few seconds, then snapped her mandibles, causing the surrounding males to shuffle forward to grab Melody’s limp body and carry her off to one side. Celia’s eyes tracked them as her emotions roiled within. Should she stop them? Remembering what had happened to the real Miley, the Grauda could want the beastkin for only one reason.
Keeping herself from intervening was proving difficult, especially since she had come to know and like the cheerful beastkin. But she had known from the start that bringing these people out here could only end with their deaths. Antagonizing the Grauda right now would not be a good idea.
While Melody peacefully slept through the whole moving process, Griff actively resisted the Grauda advances, swiping his half-broken blade frantically in their faces.
“Are you even trying?” Celia scoffed loudly. If she was willing to let things get to this point, then perhaps taking the role of the monster he thought she was would be easier, even if just for her own state of mind.
“Shut up!” he yelled, as he continued to struggle.
The momentary distraction allowed the Grauda to stab their spears into both his legs, eliciting a long scream of pain from him. Griff twisted and stabbed his broken blade into the thigh of the closest Grauda. The male hissed as the others twisted their spears to widen the wounds, causing Griff to gasp, drop his blade and beg them to stop.
Of course, they did no such thing.
Celia winced as she watched them coldly begin inflicting stab wounds all across his body, before his screams finally fell silent.
This grisly task completed, the female approached Celia, who was still looking at Griff as the males carried his unmoving body over to place him beside Melody.
“Killed four Grauda… suffer,” she squeaked.
Celia didn’t react and kept her reservations to herself, but the female pointed behind her. Celia glanced at what she was pointing to, which turned out to be the two weavers she had collected.
“No, they belong to me,” Celia said shortly. “But I wouldn’t mind some help carrying them.”
The female’s antennae twitched slightly, then she snapped her mandibles again. Immediately, a few other males lifted the two unconscious weavers, before forming themselves into neat ranks in front of their leader. Celia also noticed them pick up their dead and whatever pieces of human flesh they could get their hands on, leaving as little evidence behind as possible.
“You… follow,” the female Grauda commanded in her high-pitched voice, before turning and walking off to the west. The remaining males fell into marching step behind her.
Celia followed the convoy of insects deeper into the forest, wondering what she was about to get herself into.
Chapter 16
It took just over four hours of heavy marching to reach their destination. Unlike Griff, Melody had been kept alive for now. During their march, she even briefly regained consciousness, only to lose it again when her Grauda minder ruthlessly struck the back of her head. Celia didn’t know why, but she was certain it wasn’t for some merciful reason.
The location the convoy led them to was what could only be described as a large hole in the ground. The female Grauda pointed toward it, indicating that Celia follow her in. Reluctantly, she did.
The ground the tunnel had been carved from seemed to be mostly loose soil. The whole colony, Celia discovered, was just a maze of tunnels which opened into larger open spaces from time to time. She did notice some interesting things as they descended, however.
The first was how much smaller the males within the colony were than those she had fought against on the surface.
The second was the sheer number of male Grauda who worked on the inside. Whether digging or tending to white slimy eggs or a strange-looking fungus, it was the males who did all the work with a few females supervising. There was even a section dedicated to Alchemy. Celia watched as a Grauda male gathered several herbs and what looked to be some animal’s dried out innards before tossing them into a large pot. Celia gagged as a whiff of whatever he was making reached her nose.
Her explorations were abruptly interrupted when the female she had been following stopped in front of a set of rather ordinary-looking wooden double doors. It was the first door Celia had seen in this whole colony.
The female turned and looked her straight in the eye. “Queen,” she said, before knocking on the door.
The double doors swung open to reveal a large chamber containing more than a dozen female Grauda, some of whom looked pregnant. They were milling about, carrying clay plates and other assorted items. But as soon as Celia made her presence known by stepping inside, they all spun to look at her.
There was a moment of tense silence before the females rushed toward the walls, where they stood in a row like statues. Their eyes followed Celia’s movements as she slowly made her way toward a throne made of hardened clay at the far end of the chamber.
The throne had two females standing to attention on either side, each were very similar in appearance to the one who had guided Celia here, but these two actually wore armor made of an assortment of hides, and wielded metal-tipped spears and a small shield.
It was the queen herself that was the biggest surprise. Celia had imagined her to be a huge egg layer, just like their Critter-ranked ant equivalents. But the creature before her looked remarkably human—a Greater Enlightened, she figured.
Curly black hair tumbled all the way down her chest and back, falling over golden brown skin that sparkled in the light of the braziers, like armor.
It took a few moments, but as she got closer and got a better look, the reason finally dawned on her. The queen’s skin was actually a type of soft chitin that mimicked normal skin in appearance.
The queen also had her own pair of black antennae sprouting from her head, which twitched from time to time, as well as a pair of the boney, scythe-like arms which were a hallmark of her race.
She sat on her throne with one leg crossed over the other, wearing nothing but few loose pieces of cloth. The first was a long strip of material, half-white and half-brown, which crisscrossed over her chest, before wrapping around her shoulders for support. The others—an assortment of red, white, and brown fabrics—hung loosely from two belts around her waist, one of which was no more than a string.
Finally, she wore an assortment of bronze and gold jewelry around her neck and arms. The whole outfit left her arms, legs, and midriff exposed, bringing further attention to her well-muscled and toned body.
The queen studied Celia without expression as she approached. But once Celia arrived at the slightly raised dirt dais of the throne, the queen’s nose twitched, and a small frown formed on her exotically beautiful face. This change in mood was instantly reflected by the rest of the females around her, causing them to hiss softly. The guards on either side of her visibly tensed, their clawed hands tightening around their weapons
“You hide your true self,” she said, glaring at Celia. Her voice was surprisingly pleasant, but her tone was decidedly not.
“Oh?” Celia replied with interest. “What makes you say that?”
“Do not play games with me,” the queen retorted. “Do away with your tricks or leave us in peace.”
Smiling, Celia maintained eye contact with the queen as she raised her hands above her head. As she lowered them again, her appearance and her dress gradually reverted to their original form.
The queen narrowed her eyes, her distaste growing with every passing second.
“Demon,” she spat, her brow and nose furrowed. Celia could practically feel the tension rise in the room.
“Yes, I am a succubus,” Celia said, before politely bowing slightly forward from the waist, one hand on her heart.
“Your kind is not welcome here, demon, and neither are your lies!” the queen yelled.
“We haven’t even spoken yet.” Confused, Celia glanced at the agitated Grauda around her.
“I have already been informed of your supposed Ascended,” the queen said. “You are no different from the rest of your kind, playing with the hopes of others to reach whatever end suits you.”
Celia shook her head. “I didn’t lie to you. I am an Ascended’s champion, and I am here to talk to you about him.”
The queen glared at her, her piercing honey-colored eyes attempting to burn holes into Celia. Finally, her features relaxed, though she remained cautious.
“Say your piece, then. Who is this Ascended you speak of, and what does he want?” Celia noticed a flicker of need in her eyes as the queen spoke.
“Before we get to that, I would like to know how you saw through my Shapeshift,” Celia asked curiously. She knew very little of her new abilities, and if they had any weaknesses, it would be immensely helpful to find out.
Sighing, the queen leaned back on her thrones and re-crossed her legs before sniffing the air.
“Your smell,” she stated flatly. “Or more specifically, your lack of one. I have experience with humans, and their smell is quite distinct. I couldn’t tell what you were, whatever you did masked your scent quite well. Too well, perhaps.”
This was interesting. Celia had never considered whether her Shapeshifting extended to the sense of smell. She wondered if Melody had noticed her lack of scent—as a beastkin, she more than likely also had an enhanced sense of smell.
“Your Ascended?” the queen prompted impatiently, forcing Celia out of her thoughts.
“He is an Ascended in the Central Wilds. He is looking for followers,” Celia answered quickly.
Her plan was as simple as it was brilliant. Why not recruit the Grauda as followers for her master? They were intelligent enough to speak and to work together. More importantly, however, from what she had seen, she was fairly confident they were open on the Ascended front.
“So, he is a new Ascended,” the queen sighed, a hint of disappointment in her voice. Celia chuckled at this, causing the queen to frown. “Do you find something humorous, demon?”
“I’m sorry, it’s just that you are both right and wrong about Lord Aziel…” she replied with a grin.
The queen leaned forward, uncrossing her legs, her eyes boring into hers. “Explain,” she demanded, her sudden intensity startling Celia.
Celia hesitated. “My Ascended is new… but, saying he is also old is an understatement. He doesn’t talk about it much.”
“For an Ascended to live a long time and not have any followers is impossible,” the queen replied shortly. “He would have wasted away long ago.”
“That’s why I am here,” Celia smiled. “I think my master will be willing to take you as his followers.”
The queen stared at her for a few long seconds, her antennae twitching. “Is that right?” she asked sardonically, as a single clawed finger tapped her exposed thigh. “Quite gracious of him… or is it perhaps that he is the one in need?”
Celia grinned. This queen was a sharp one. “That’s something you should talk to him about. If I’m being honest, I’m just here for the muscle, but then I saw an opportunity we both might benefit from.”
The queen’s antennae twitched again. “Muscle?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’m not going to carry those two weavers if I don’t have to, so when I saw your people carry them—it hit me.” Celia smiled. “You can help carry them to my master and meet him at the same time! It’s perfect!”
The queen’s rage flared again. She scowled ferociously, her bony scythe arms rising. “You seek to treat the Grauda as pack mules?” she spat, causing Celia to flinch slightly.
“No, that’s not what I meant! I just meant that we could both benefit from this.” She probably could have handled this better, Celia reflected.
“And how would we benefit from gaining the favor of failing Ascended?” the queen roared.
“You’ve got some nerve saying that in front of his champion,” Celia roared back, anger consuming her. They both glared at each other and the rest of the Grauda in the room took a step back, as if afraid of what might erupt.
The queen stood and strode toward Celia, stopping less than an arm’s length from her. “We Grauda might not be what we once were,” she growled, “but we still have our pride. We will not follow an Ascended that will not last long enough to fulfill his duty to his followers.”
“That’s one way of looking at it,” Celia replied as calmly as she could. “From where I’m standing, you’re living on borrowed time, and the only thing that might save you is if my master decides to protect you. I give you three—maybe four—weeks before Whiteridge’s adventurers and garrison start walking all over your little hole in the ground.”
At this, the queen took a step back and her eyes opened wide. The other females in the room expressed different reactions to the news, ranging from shock to rage. The hissing returned in force shortly after, but Celia’s attention remained fully on the queen.
Like the rest of her colony, the Grauda queen’s expression showed hate… but also fear. Her lips quivered as she ground her teeth, but Celia could tell that she was fighting back something. Could it be tears? This was the complete opposite of what she’d expected from the arrogant queen.
“So, they return to finish the job,” the queen whispered solemnly. Sensing her mood, the rest of the females stopped hissing and lowered their heads. The queen turned around and walked back to her throne, where she sank down on it. “I suppose it was always just a matter of time.”
Celia looked around awkwardly as she tried to take in the sudden shift from high tension to this sense of depression. She glanced back at the queen’s gloomy form and sighed. “You must have known they would react if you started attacking them,” she said.
The queen looked up at her, as if just remembering Celia’s presence. “We did no such thing; we went out of our way to avoid the vile creatures. We only protected our own. Those humans strayed from the paths they usually take and caught my sister’s hunting party off guard. And what was their first instinct? To play and laugh as they gave her and the males they captured a slow and painful death. They kill everything around them—and what they don’t, they drive away. We need to hunt for food, our fungal crops are too young to support even the few of us that are left.” She began chewing on her claws morosely. “I knew this day would come, but it being a reality is proving… hard to swallow.”
