Divine and Devour, page 21
“I’m coming,” He raised his hands to show deference and followed the soul witch.
They loped across the inner circle of Aequitas and down Blood Street. At the Hide and Twine, the soul witch knocked on the door and entered the dominion of the Taxidermist. As soon as the door was shut, they were pitched into darkness. Instead of the wailing of the forgotten souls trapped by the deeds of those on Blood Street, silence permeated the air. Valen had no trouble following the sound of the soul witch’s footsteps. He navigated the gloom until they arrived at a door that had his stomach pitching into nervousness.
The soul witch entered the arena, and a clash of auras screeched. Valen clutched his head and covered his ears. It didn’t dull the sound, but the discordance faded after a minute, and he panted as he regained his composure.
Nausea slithered through his bowels as the arena came into view, and hundreds of occupants filled the stands. Valen gulped through his uncertainty and followed the soul witch and Cimmeria. His heart song was roaring with indignation and fighting her bonds and gag, but the soul witch had her trapped. Powerful though she may be, against magic such as his, Cimmeria was rendered defenseless. It didn’t stop her from projecting her discontent.
Valen didn’t know how to get them out of this mess without fighting his way to the exit. With the soul witch in the mix, Cimmeria was at risk. He had to go through with whatever the Taxidermist had planned.
The cheering from the crowd silenced the cackling of the little puppets dangling from their strings. Across the arena, the dais was occupied with the Taxidermist’s revenants and a couple more puppets. The witch himself, the nightmare of Blood Street, was nowhere in sight. Valen was sweating. His anxiety racked up from being enclosed in a space without his mask and gloves. He was afraid to grab for them in case the soul witch took it as a sign of aggression and harmed Cimmeria.
He imagined all the spit flying through the air and how each particle was filled with thousands of germs. His skin felt like ants crawled all over it. He panted as sweat gathered on his palms and in between his legs. The arena blurred as his vision wobbled from the stress of possible infection, filth, and the impending doom prepared by the Taxidermist.
Valen couldn’t fail Cimmeria. This was his fault. If he hadn’t contacted the Taxidermist for an enchanted hide, they wouldn’t have been noticed by the overseer. Fauna’s hint shouldn’t have tempted him.
Cimmeria was dragged to the throne and placed on the plush seat. She attempted to rise, to fight, but the soul witch’s magic held her captive. Valen stayed at the foot of the dais. He glanced about, searching for the Taxidermist. No further instruction was given, so he waited.
From the right corner of the pentagonal room, double doors flung open, and a multitude of auras rang through the air. Valen watched as the Taxidermist, with his circuit of colors and terrifying magic, strutted across the arena.
The Taxidermist’s face was covered in a black silk mask. His exotic eyes glowed with their florescent rainbow colors. The light of his auras caused the reflection in his sinister gaze to blend like molten gemstones. His long ebony hair was braided from the top of his fringe down to the gold clasp that hung over his shoulder. A red band was wrapped around his forehead. Embroidered in the center was a tiger pierced through the eye with a large needle.
Valen noted the Taxidermist’s attire was not his usual fanfare of silks and robes. He wore a thin shirt and pants that were not like any material Valen recognized. As the Taxidermist prowled to the center of the arena, the flames circling the ceiling illuminated the fabric. Valen squinted, attempting to ascertain the truth of what his eyes beheld. The skin-tight clothing was like the scales of a snake. With each movement, the tiny plates rippled with navy blue and violet purple, like magic armor.
Valen’s eyes widened in realization.
Like dragon armor.
It would not surprise Valen if the Taxidermist wore the hide of a magic creature. It further displayed that the Taxidermist was the most powerful being in Libra. To go against him was madness.
He sucked in a breath through his clenched teeth but didn’t dare draw more attention to his reaction. The Taxidermist paused and adjusted the leather vambraces on his wrists. He kicked the heel of his spiked boots and double-checked the retraction on the knives that shot from his toes.
Satisfied he was a nightmare unleashed, he cocked his head and regarded Valen.
The Taxidermist was not a large witch. He was lean like Valen, but his height was five-nine at best. Valen wasn’t naïve enough to believe several inches would give him an advantage over the Taxidermist. The intensity of the Blood Street overseer’s magic signified who the apex predator was in the room.
It wasn’t Valen.
A fear the likes of which caused ice to sleuth through Valen’s veins stole his senses. Valen wrenched his gaze from his foe and watched his heart song. Cimmeria was raging in her seat, thrashing as if she might tear the world apart.
Her purple, pink, and turquoise gaze had a thousand poignant emotions. The arena and all its noise faded. The clash of titanic magic pouring out of the Taxidermist had no effect. All Valen’s consciousness was fixated on Cimmeria, and he vowed not to fail in whatever scheme was chartered for them.
He failed her for years.
She fought for their heart song while he ran from it.
She embraced their relationship, but he denied it.
Her loyalty was unshakable, and it was time he returned the favor.
Valen felt the moment click like a flick of a switch inside his heart. There was no apprehension, no worry, or inadequacy. As he looked into Cimmeria’s nebula-like eyes, he felt the heart song in every way. His soul was a twining of magic fed by both their designations. His heartbeat was a proud and valiant rhythm.
A posturing monster would not break his spirit. No phobia of disease, no magic force could destroy the heart song and all that resonated between it.
Valen dropped his chin into a slight nod to Cimmeria, and her struggles relented. He conveyed all that was in his heart through the gesture and faced the Taxidermist. He might die. The end was probably near, but Valen knew where he’d end up. Right next to his heart song. They were stronger together, and maybe, in death, they would finally have invincibility. Valen might not walk out of the arena, but when he reunited with Cimmeria, he’d burn the whole place to the ground.
“Valen,” The Taxidermist enunciated the Libra language with such clarity that it was almost awkward to hear. “You are challenged and will fight until one of us is unable to rise. Do you accept?”
Valen didn’t have a choice. No one did in the kingdom of blood and corruption. Death trod the street like a warm bedfellow, a friendly neighbor. There was no escape nor reprieve when the Taxidermist cast his decrees.
“I accept,” Valen’s voice rang clear through the arena.
He didn’t pass another glance to Cimmeria. He couldn’t. His mind and heart must be immersed in victory. He had one goal, and any distraction or second-guessing would drive him to ruin.
“There are no rules in this place,” The Taxidermist crooned and circled Valen with predacious strides. “You and I will unleash our magic without restriction.”
“Vow that you will not summon Cimmeria or me, nor any we associate with or hold dear, should the victory fall to me. That you will be done with us, and the match will settle any dispute,” Valen stipulated.
The Taxidermist’s eyes glowed, and his circuit of auras sparked. “Of course. In return, you shall give me the secrets of the heart song when I am victorious.”
“Deal,” Valen yielded, and a zap of energy passed between him and the Taxidermist.
A line of blue untangled from the Taxidermist’s auras and attached to Valen’s central magic point. Right behind the solar plexus, where all magic generated within a witch’s form. The witch bargain was struck, and they were both beholden to the outcome.
“Kill him!” Shouted a riotous idiot from the audience. “We don’t care about bargains. We want blood.”
The Taxidermist pointed to the troublemaker, and a revenant launched from their place at the perimeter and jumped into the stands. The witch, his aura magenta and vibrant, let out a sound of shock right before the revenant tore his head from his shoulders. A spray of blood coated the crowd, and outrage roared through the spectators. The head thumped and rolled down the tiered benches while the body flopped onto the neighbor. The revenant spun on her heel and descended the stands, a spattering of blood painted on her peach tulle gown.
“There is blood,” The Taxidermist announced with his arms wide, and the crowd chanted their approval. He suddenly dropped his hands and glanced at his shoulder.
The small puppet chattered into his ear, and he traced a pointer finger down her tiny cheek. They whispered, and he treated her as if she were the most precious treasure. Valen caught the tail end of the Taxidermist’s words, convincing the puppet to wait beyond the combat area. She pouted and argued, but the Taxidermist switched languages, and she fled to the dais. The puppet plopped on the arm of the throne and stuck her tongue out of her mouth at Cimmeria.
“Begin,” The Taxidermist declared and unclipped the red aura strings attached to his palms.
Valen felt his mind crash from the impossible. He witnessed the Taxidermist slide his hands down the red aura strings and yank them tight like a whip. Valen comprehended that the Taxidermist wielded the fabric of the universe, but he couldn’t reconcile it with logic. No witch was able to wield their own auras. He stared with panic dewing his flesh, and crept into his bones. The Taxidermist wrapped the aura strings about his palms and fisted the ends as he waited for Valen to make his move.
Valen wasted enough time gaping at the Taxidermist. He whistled in a pattern that summoned five cards from his deck. They hovered in a circle above his head, and the surface of each card swirled with a portal of magic. The gateways opened between the spirit realm and the physical plane as five witch souls answered his call.
The spirits gripped the edges of their cards and shoved through the portals. As one, they tumbled through the air and landed on the ground, where they grew to their full size.
Three male witches and two female witches were poised for Valen’s instructions.
Edo was the spirit of war and discord. He was strapped with so many weapons it was difficult to discern his clothes beyond the plethora of metal. His earthy complexion gleamed as if he was polished like his dangerous accouterments. His black hair was twisted into small rows and gathered into a short tail on top of his head.
Duat was the spirit of darkness and silence. His flesh and his strange, smoky pants were stained black. His eyes were gold with the dot of his pupil in the center.
Vis was the last male witch to form, and he was a scorching inferno of magic.
Akhet and Strikeria were the females Valen chose as his defenders. Although petite and slight in form, Akhet’s magic was tremendous and terrifying. It would be egregious to underestimate her based on size. Strikeria glanced at Vis, and the two spirits laughed as their double axes glowed red hot from their spirit flames. One of them was intimidating, but together, they were an unbeatable force.
The Taxidermist was less than impressed by the display. He demonstrated a relaxed and disinterested demeanor. Though his features were concealed, Valen had an inkling the Taxidermist might be yawning with tedium.
The wicked witch snapped the red aura strings tight and braced his legs wide. Valen was unfamiliar with most of the fighting styles in Libra, but he at least recognized when he was on the receiving end of a blow. The Taxidermist’s combative position was foreign, and Valen feared he was monstrously out of his depth.
Valen didn’t wait to find his courage. He’d promised Cimmeria he’d fight, and he had forged a wager to end his feud with the Taxidermist. Any emotion had to be reserved so that his mind was clear to channel the five spirits prepared to defend their master.
Incanting in the language of the first witches, he infused the spirits with divination magic and strengthened their bonds to the physical plane. They glowed in a coalesced emblem of fire, metal, darkness, and gold.
Vis and Strikeria went on the offense, swinging their axes and releasing a war cry. The mortals in the audience would view Valen and the Taxidermist, but their vision couldn’t pick up on the magic or spirits. The witches were about to get a superior show.
The Taxidermist whipped the red aura lines and wrapped them around the axes. He tugged and lifted the weapons from Strikeria and Vis’ hands. Vis growled as his hand sizzled from an electrical burn caused by the magic of the Taxidermist. Valen hadn’t calculated the Taxidermist’s ability to harm his spirits. Vis and Strikeria were unfazed, and a flare of excitement exchanged between them. Their auras blazed, and the spirits conjured more weapons through their portals. The cards spit out two more axes, and the spirits re-engaged.
The crowd murmured, a portion of the audience viewing the magic of the spirit realm, and the other members had zero clue about the fight. Valen ignored it all and sent his intentions into the connection he had with his tarot spirits.
Vis swung his axes at a horizontal angle and aimed for the Taxidermist’s neck. The wicked witch bent backward, balancing on his heels, and evaded the attack. Strikeria swung her axe down to decapitate the witch, but the Taxidermist rolled, and she missed the mark. Both spirits spun inward and reengaged with their weapons. The Taxidermist pivoted and rolled to the edge of the combat area. He snapped his upright and regained his stance.
The red twine of the Taxidermist’s auras glowed as he whipped them out and wrapped the ends about Strikeria and Vis’ necks. Edo attacked from behind the Taxidermist, but the overseer jumped, attached to Vis and Strikeria, and kicked his third opponent in the face. Edo’s neck arched, but since he was dead, the effect did not bring him to his knees. The spirit of war growled and launched a counterattack.
Akhet transformed into a cat woman. Her figure was bipedal, and her hair its original beaded bob, but the rest was a fierce golden creature. She aimed her vicious claws at the Taxidermist, and the overseer of Blood Street was forced to release Vis and Strikeria. Valen incanted, and his auras swamped the atmosphere as he directed his magic into his contracted spirits.
The Taxidermist dodged the combined attacks, one witch against five powerful entities.
Valen felt his confidence elevate. He might win if his spirits maintained the upper hand.
Duat became darkness and wrapped around the Taxidermist. A torrent of multicolored light blasted into Duat, and he was thrown across the dirt floor. His image flickered as he rose to his feet to engage in another battle.
The Taxidermist removed all the strings from his body and twisted them into a seven-lined whip. The secondary auras changed, shrinking into his body, where they glowed at pulse points. Valen didn’t have time to marvel at the supreme magic radiating from the Taxidermist. He spread his fingers and aimed his magic at his spirits.
Valen shuddered as a war drum sounded from the ether. The Taxidermist stomped his foot to the beat. A trickle of apprehension filtered through Valen’s bravado, and he watched as the Taxidermist rolled his shoulders and snapped his whip of auras. The Taxidermist bent his knees and spun, releasing the lines of his auras and ensnaring each of Valen’s spirits by the neck.
The five defenders struggled against the bonds. The call from the tiered stands rose and deafened Valen’s ears. A ringing pierced his hearing, and he felt dizzy from the noise and suffocating magic pouring off the witches in the stands. The excitement of the match bled into the atmosphere, and Valen, in desperation, roared as he incanted for his spirits to battle, to win.
Akhet sliced at the aura rope with her talons. When that proved unsuccessful, she gripped the line and tugged. The Taxidermist jerked forward, but he held his ground. The action was akin to a stubborn mule that refused to budge, and Akhet was the nuisance that had no hope of coercing the beast. Vis, Strikeria, and Edo tried hacking at the lines with their weapons. Duat freed himself in a puff of darkness and attacked the Taxidermist.
One of the Taxidermist’s hands held onto the spirits, and the other blocked Duat’s advances. Akhet freed herself as she exploded into gold dust, reformed, and joined her cousin. Side-by-side, they effected a dual force to battle the witch that held their friends captive.
Duat transformed into a bipedal monster. His head was a monstrous reptile, ancient and fierce. Sharp teeth zig-zagged from his long snout. His body was a black dog, complete with a long, sleek tail. His feet were like a large chicken, and the talons dug into the dirt of the arena. Billowing darkness overtook the space surrounding Duat, and he snarled as he went on the offense.
Instead of appearing intimidated, the wicked witch limbered his form. A pulse of rainbows shielded Akhet’s gold magic as she aimed her claws at his face. Duat’s black terror surged for his middle, but the magic shield of the Taxidermist prevented the spirit from making contact.
With motions fluid and swift, The Taxidermist used his body like a weapon. A graceful, deadly sequence of movements correlated into a precise combative dance against his opponents. The Taxidermist blurred as he kicked with his foot and jabbed with his fist. All while holding onto three other spirits.
Valen had to break the auras wrapped around their throats, but he wasn’t sure how. Everything had balance.
The Taxidermist was strong, but he wasn’t omnipotent. Valen watched the other witch’s auras, sorting through solutions. Akhet and Duat each landed a blow to the Taxidermist. The Blood Street overseer was protected by his clothing, and no blood was drawn. Valen muttered for his brain to notice a weakness, anything that would save his tarot spirits.
Valen was about to give up and attempt hitting the Taxidermist with his rune stones. He whistled for Akhet and Duat to return to their cards. They were strong and holding their own against the Taxidermist, but they didn’t have the right magic to impact the overseer of Blood Street.
Valen glanced at Cimmeria, and pride radiated from her nebula-like gaze. He would not fail her. She would be the spirit to defeat the Taxidermist, but his foe had locked her down. Valen watched as his spirits’ flickered, their energy siphoning into the Taxidermist’s web of miasma.
