Maw of the Devourer, page 40
Those were worries for another time and Azure banished them from her mind. “Are there any weapons around? A blacksmith or a barracks?”
“W-we had some guards… and they had spears and swords… but they were all…”
“It’s okay. Do you have any idea where their weapons might be?”
The woman shook her head. “The smart ones ran for it and the brave ones, they…”
“Thank you. Stay hidden and keep nice and quiet, okay?”
The woman nodded, and her children had quieted down for now. Azure stepped away from the house and took a deep breath. The first encounter had wounded her and nearly broken her spear. She still faced two monsters capable of the surrounding destruction. Despite the severity of her situation, Azure couldn’t help but grin. Even her younger, idiot self hadn’t gotten into anything this dangerous—or at least when she had, she’d had her mercenaries to help her out. But here she was; older, haunted by regret, wounded, and about to do something incredibly stupid. The situation felt refreshing.
Azure stalked through the village and kept an eye out for any signs of the remaining monsters. She stifled more than a few pained groans when she pulled on her wounds, but it proved harder to keep herself from retching when she saw the extent of the monster’s attack. Half-eaten bodies and charred corpses spread across the village in terrifying numbers. Flames claimed dozens of homes, but only a couple remained alight. The haze of smoke and mist hid some details Azure wanted to avoid, but it also clouded her vision.
It was one thing to get used to blood and gore from battle or hunting monsters, but to see innocent villagers being eaten… that was something no one could become accustomed to.
When Azure neared the other side of the village, armoured corpses joined the rest. The simple leather did little to save its wearer’s life, as did the weapons littering the street. Azure sighed as she spotted a spear and stepped towards it. As soon as she moved, something flickered in the corner of her eye and Azure ducked behind the closest building. She ignored the bloody corpse at her feet and the smell of burnt flesh wafting to her nose.
A monster lurched toward her, stumbling almost like it was drunk. Dark red stains covered its mouth and Azure snarled silently at the monster. She watched, every muscle tense, as the creature stumbled forwards. But the monster walked onward without a hint it had noticed her. The monsters had shown a surprising level of intelligence before; it wasn’t fooling her, was it?
But if it hadn’t noticed her, she needed to act fast. Azure glanced down at the damaged spear in her hands. It had worked twice so far against the monsters, so it had better continue for a third time. Azure stepped out from behind the building and shifted her grip on her spear. Without hesitation, she threw the weapon at the monster.
The spear twisted mid-air and missed its mark.
Bloody hell! Azure thought.
The spear landed a short distance behind the monster, and Azure stifled a groan. With the monster between her and the weapon, she only had her dagger. If she faced it in close quarters, she would only tempt fate. She had to think of something, anything, to turn the situation to her advantage.
The monster leapt at Azure.
“Ah!” Azure leapt back to escape the monster’s frenzied swings. But then she froze; the monster had stopped metres away from her, swinging at nothing.
Azure shook her head and loped around the monster. It stopped its frenzy and followed her movement each time she hit the ground, but it did so slowly. The delayed reaction let Azure snatch her spear from behind the monster. As soon as she lifted the weapon, the spearhead broke free from the shaft and fell to the ground.
The guards’ weapons! Azure thought. She stared at the closest spear her circling had put the monster between her and the weapon. Why didn’t I grab one of them? Bloody idiot!
Azure rushed forward. The creature lurched to meet her and lifted its arms for another frenzy of wild swipes. But Azure was faster. She swung the remains of her spear at the monster’s head like a club and the shaft slammed into the monster’s head with a heavy thud. The force of the impact shattered the wood. Azure dropped her broken spear and leapt for a fresh one. It was hardly well made, but it would do.
A grin broke across Azure’s face as she turned back to the unsteady monster. She threw the spear at the monster and it flew true. The spear slammed into the monster’s shoulder and knocked it to the ground. Azure’s eyes flickered to the closest weapon, a short sword at her feet, and she picked it up. She rushed the fallen monster and stabbed it. Once the blade pierced the monster’s thin body, Azure yanked it out and stabbed it again for good measure.
Only one left, Azure thought.
“Hah…” Azure shook her head and grimaced as a fresh wave of death reached her nose. The wounds on her belly throbbed and Azure grimaced. “Ow!”
Azure bent down and grabbed a sheathe for her sword from a corpse. The grisly task of removing the sheathe from the woman’s belt only worsened when she noticed the bite marks on the corpse’s flesh. With a sigh, Azure attached the sheathe to her own belt, sheathed the short sword, and grabbed another spear off. That gave her more to work with. Azure shouldered her new spear and set off.
Her stomach burned with every movement, and she felt a layer of warmth as fresh blood seeped from her wounds. It took all her concentration to remain Untethered, something she had not had a problem with for years. The effort made her feel lightheaded, and Azure stopped to catch her breath. Unfortunately, the smoke did little to help that effort, and Azure forced herself onward.
Azure wandered through the rest of the village. She avoided any houses still ablaze, but found no signs of the remaining monster. During her search, she spotted a pair of smashed barrels that reeked of wine. Had the monster she fought earlier drunk from them? With a shake of her head, Azure continued until she reached the far end of the village.
“Where are you?” Azure glanced around, but the haze inhibited her search. Every moment she left the monster alive was another chance for it to ambush her. Azure felt her wounds drain her energy and leave her weaker. She needed to end the last one so the mother and her children were safe—and before she got any weaker. That sparked a horrible thought in her mind. “Oh, no…”
Azure leapt over corpses and sprinted across the village, heedless of the haze or any monster lurking within to ambush her. She rushed back to where she left the mother and her kids. As she reached the house, Azure skidded to a halt. The stretched form of the monster sniffed at the house’s door. Just beyond the blind creature, Azure spotted the mother. She held a hand over her children’s mouths and her own pulled back in a terrified expression.
No time to think! Azure shifted her grip on her spear. Please body, just hold up for a moment longer!
Azure leapt towards the creature and stabbed at it. Just before her spear met its flesh, the monster shifted and swung its sharp claws at the weapon. The spearhead dug into the monster’s flesh as its clawed hand sheared through the wooden shaft and ruined the weapon. Azure dropped the spear with a curse and drew her short sword. She lifted the blade in time to deflect a swipe from the monster’s other hand. She had never properly trained with a sword, and the weapon felt awkward in her hands. But she was Untethered and that had to make up for her lack of skill.
Azure stepped back and the monster followed her away from the house. It launched a flurry of swipes and she barely dodged the attacks; a pair of swipes tore into her arms and one cut along her neck lightly, just below her jaw. The cuts weren’t deep, but the claws dug deeper each time they rent her flesh. The onslaught caused Azure to stumble and her foot caught on a corpse.
“Ah!” The ground slipped from underneath Azure. The monster loomed over her and lunged at her. It hesitated for a moment, but the monster pulled its arms back to swipe at her. Azure caught the monster’s stretched hands before the long claws dug into her face.
They froze there, locked in a struggle as the monster leaned its weight into its arms. Azure’s arms weakened as the monster’s claws pressed closer and closer to her body. The claws dug into her shoulders and Azure fought to keep them from her neck. Slowly, the monster grew weaker, and she summoned the last of her strength to push the claws away from her body.
The monster lowered its head and bit at Azure’s face. Azure twisted her neck to keep the sharp teeth from her face and kicked the monster’s thin body as hard as she could. The monster rolled off her and something hard smacked into the cuts on Azure’s stomach. The impact knocked the air from her lungs and tears welled in her eyes, but Azure blinked them away.
Once her vision cleared, she spotted the sword sticking out of the monster’s stomach; it had impaled itself on the weapon during their initial struggle. The hilt rested on her stomach and threatened to hit her wounds again as the monster rolled to a stop.
“Hah… ha….” Azure laid on the ground, but her deep breaths couldn’t calm her lungs. The throbbing of her wound left her dazed, and she needed time to recover from everything. But she wouldn’t have a chance, not in the burning village—it was hardly the place for a nap.
Azure rolled onto her back and sat up. It took more effort than it should to do so, but she had to keep moving. With the monsters dealt with, she needed to check on the mother and her children. A hero would prioritise innocents over her own pain and she should do the same. Azure forced herself to her feet, only to stumble and fall to her knees.
Ugh… Azure thought. She placed a gentle hand on her stomach and it came back bloody. Opened up. Again. Just ignore it. She twisted and felt the movement pull on her wounds. Nope. Can’t do it. Heroes in stories get to ignore it, but I’m in bloody pain. That’s the price for being a stupid hero.
“Ugh…” Azure climbed to her feet and stumbled over to the house. “They’re all gone. It should be safe out there now.”
The mother’s face crumbled to a mixture of relief and grief. “Thank you so much.”
“You should still take your children to another village. I searched most of the village, but I didn’t see any other survivors… Some might have run…” Azure nodded at the flicker of hope that passed across the mother’s face. The lie sounded hollow to her ears, but some lies were necessary.
“Will you come with us…?”
The offer swayed Azure for a moment, but she had important things ahead of her. “Sorry, but keep to the roads and you’ll be safe enough.”
The woman nodded, but couldn’t hide the fear in her eyes. As Azure stepped away from the house, the mother poked her head out of the doorway. “Light be with you!”
Her children echoed the sentiment and, despite everything, Azure grinned as she walked away. Her short sword stuck out of the monster’s corpse and Azure fetched the weapon. She yanked it from the corpse and wiped the blood off as best she could before she sheathed it. With that done, Azure strode to the edge of the village.
“…someone’s there…” a voice whispered.
“Shh!”
Azure’s head snapped toward a house, somehow untouched by the flames and creatures. She approached the building and pushed on the door, but it did not move. Azure sighed and cleared her throat. “The monsters are dead and there is a mother and her two children in another house just back that way! It will be safer if you all flee to the next village together, okay?”
When there was no immediate reply, Azure sighed and continued on her way. She did not have the time to convince whoever else had survived; she could only hope they would believe her. As she neared the edge of the village, Azure Tethered herself. The instant she dropped her Blessing, fatigue slammed into her. It weighed each step like a mountain. Worse, though, was the burning in her lungs. It suddenly grew impossible to breathe, and Azure stumbled out of the village. She collapsed on the grass outside the settlement and heaved for air.
A frightening few seconds passed until her lungs filled and Azure felt better. She wiped her watery eyes and groaned as she climbed to her feet. It seemed her Untethered state had let her breathe despite the smoke. Azure stumbled away from the village and enjoyed the taste of fresh air once the haze cleared.
Unfortunately, her enjoyment was short-lived as the familiar cloudy form of Stratos flew down beside her and shot her his usual disapproving look—he couldn’t even give her a moment to enjoy the good she had done! “You must hurry! We do not have time for you to recover from your injuries. Time is of the essence!”
Azure wanted to ignore him—she’d already resolved herself to a long afternoon of travel anyway, despite her wounds—but the bird looked at her strangely. She couldn’t place the look and frowned as she walked ahead. Slowly, her fatigue slipped away. It wasn’t like she was suddenly full of energy—her legs still dragged as she walked—but her mind was numbed to her fatigue.
A horrible thought occurred to Azure, and she spun on Stratos. “What are you doing? You’re controlling me! Making me feel things and… and not feel tired!”
“It is necessary for you to focus,” Stratos said.
Azure fell silent. Terrible thoughts raced through her mind, and her sudden change in attitude clicked into place. “Did you make me want to save that village?”
“Unfortunately, I believe I did. I was attempting to ignite your passion to serve me and obey my orders, but the manipulation had the unintended consequence of reawakening your childish sense of justice. Unlike some of my brethren, I rarely use such manipulations and am out of practice, hence the initial failure.”
Azure’s face twisted into a dark scowl. “Never! Manipulate! Me! Again!”
Azure stomped away from Stratos, but she still followed the road towards Fort Serve. The thought of being controlled by the god sickened Azure. For a moment, she understood her homeland’s hate of the deities. Yet agreeing with the monsters from her homeland wasn’t the worst of it. Her thoughts wandered to dark places. How long had Stratos manipulated her?
And would he do so again without her realising?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Squall stumbled towards the lights of the Dracalian war camp. The overcast sky had hidden the moonlight, and the sea of campfires granted relief from the suffocating darkness. His legs felt as heavy as a mountain after a week of hard travel. It had only taken Iris a day to lead them above ground from Gullet. From there, they’d walked to the border between Dracalia and the Lithyan Empire. During that time, occasional tremors shook the earth. Iris and Edgar had claimed there was nothing to worry about because the area was prone to seismic activity, but they couldn’t hide their fear. The Maw had carved an enormous hole through Gullet; it had to be the source of the tremors.
Half of the war camp spread out in a mess, while the other half maintained strict formations. Thick woods spread out beyond the fires of the camp and beyond them awaited the Lithyan Empire. They approached from the west and walked to the messy side of the camp.
Iris cleared her throat and gestured to the camp. “Keep your heads down. The Dracalians will have no love for Chosen. Lyrria, keep your gloves on. Same goes for you, Squall. We need to reach the other Faces without causing a commotion.”
“Okay.” Squall pulled the hood of his cloak down and shared a nervous glance with Lyrria. He knew about Dracalia’s infamous hatred for Chosen and he didn’t want to draw their ire. Not in the middle of a war camp.
Families had set up tents in closely knit groups, and odd gaps separated each unit. The people sitting at each campfire wore normal clothes. They looked worn and distressed, but they weren’t an army. Despite Iris’ hope to avoid making a scene, the whispers started immediately once the Followers noticed them. Squall’s heart stopped, and he glanced furtively around. Had discovered he was a Chosen already? A squad of Dracalian soldiers patrolled the camp and eyed their passage suspiciously.
“It’s the Eyes!” a voice cut through the whisper.
The call echoed across the camp, and the Followers formed a crowd around them. Hopeful faces stared at Iris and the crowd followed them through the camp. Squall shot Edgar a look, and the man leant in conspiratorially. “Everyone respected Iris’ predecessor. To an almost irrational degree, some would say. They look at her with expectations so heavy that I wouldn’t wish them upon a friend.”
“And they don’t do the same to you?” Squall asked, but he kept his eyes on the crowd.
“I, just as those who have held my position in the past, have kept to myself where I could. Most of these people would not recognise me even if I announced myself the Ears. I prefer it that way.”
Squall nodded, and the din of the crowd grew too loud to continue the conversation. Lyrria shot him a curious look, but he shrugged. Iris led the way through the camp until the crowd parted for them to reach an expansive tent. Squall spared a glance for the crowd and felt an echo of nausea when he saw the fervent respect in the eyes of its members. Those gazes weren’t directed at him, but they reminded him of the crowds in Melta.
Sturdy poles held up a canvas roof and the open walls showed several figures gathered around a table within. A woman wearing the ornate uniform of the Dracalian army stood in the centre of the tent. She looked to be in her thirties and she stood stiffly as the others reported to her. Her statuesque face commanded respect with its grim expression. She cut her brown hair just about her shoulders and a crescent scar arced from her right eyebrow down to her cheek.
A pair of soldiers attended the Dracalian officer, standing at her side. One was a short, bookish woman, while the other was an older stocky man who looked weathered by more than time. Two figures stood opposite the Dracalians; they had to be the Faces. There was something about them. The first was a pale, bulky man in his thirties. His shoulder-length red hair flowed loosely and his blue eyes narrowed at the Dracalian officer as he spoke. Just like Iris and Edgar, the man did not appear to be anything special. But there was just something about him that made every fibre of Squall cringe.
