The Empress of Beasts, page 48
part #13 of The Wandering Inn Series
“So you remember…everything?”
“Yes.”
She waited. Trey hesitated.
“Like, everything or just…”
The Quarass sighed slightly. She stared at Trey and pointed to his side.
“You have an aura of magic about you. You are a practicing [Mage]. Do you carry a magical item?”
“I have a training wand Gazi lent me—”
“Give it to me.”
Trey did. The Quarass inspected the wand dismissively. Then she pointed at it.
“I have never cast a spell in this body. But my fifth predecessor before me was a [Mage] of some talent. In times past I have been far greater. In one, I was even considered as a possible [Archmage]. The memory of each spell rests within me. [Light].”
A shimmering orb of soft yellow light filled the carriage. Trey gasped; it was a beautiful glow, far better than the light from this phone. The Quarass nodded.
“That is a simple spell. This is a Tier 5 spell. [Pestilence’s Touch].”
She pointed the wand at him. Trey shouted in horror, but it was too late. The wand’s tip pressed into his chest.
“What are—”
He jerked backwards. The Quarass lowered the wand. There was a sound from the front.
“Quarass?”
“Silence. I am well.”
“Yes, Quarass.”
The little girl offered the wand back to Trey. He was feeling himself frantically. Was he hot? What had she—he stopped as she smiled at him.
“You are not affected. I could not cast the spell.”
“That wasn’t right!”
Trey snatched the wand back. The Quarass sat back, looking pleased with herself as he edged away from her.
“Listen to me, Trey Atwood. My knowledge is vast, but my ability to use it is limited. I know magics of old. Spells from previous lifetimes. But I have very little magic as of now. Often, Quarasses are selected for their talents. But my body is weak. I remember fighting, but I cannot lift a sword properly. Once, I slew monsters. I can remember it. But do you think I could kill even a single adult with this?”
She raised an arm, gesturing to her young body. Trey shook his head. The Quarass went on, bitterly.
“I remember men and women and even beasts Quarasses before me have taken as lovers. I know how to seduce, or kill in cold blood. I remember how to shoot an arrow a mile and strike an ant sitting upon a cactus’ spines. But that is but memory. The knowledge of my body is gone. And wisdom is only part memory.”
She tapped one cheek lightly. Trey nodded. The Quarass sighed.
“I am Quarass of Germina. My duty is to hold the Shield Kingdoms against their foe, to ensure Germina endures. But I am not invincible. Far from it. Until I level, until I grow, I am weak and I will do what must be done so I and Germina survive. That is best suited by allying with the King of Destruction, regardless of the past. So. We are allies. You will answer more of my questions now.”
Trey did, shakily. The Quarass let him ask his own questions as well. He was curious about Germina, having not visited it except when Flos’ army had invaded. She looked pleased at his curiosity. And then Trey asked a question that made her pause.
“Um, your companion. Highborn Vaitsha. Is she okay? She looked sick. She was drinking something when we met. Does she need medicine?”
The Quarass blinked at Trey and he’d wondered if he’d finally managed to offend her. But all she did was shake her head, tapping one lip and studying him.
“Interesting. You noticed that? Reimarch was correct. You may serve indeed. And you are correct. Vaitsha is sick. But she will live. She is sick, but by her own will. She is changing her class.”
“What? How?”
The girl shrugged.
“She is ingesting poison. Hence the gloves and vial.”
“Poison?”
“Just enough to live. Not enough to kill. She drinks poison and antidote each day, in greater quantities of each. If she lives—and I have taught her of poisons and ensured that she has the antidotes she needs—she will change her class. And her blood shall become poison and she will be Germina’s viper, a fitting servant.”
“But—what? That’s horrible!”
Trey looked at the Quarass, shocked. She just stared at him.
“It will change her class. She has a poor one at the moment, a mundane class. This will give her unique Skills. Power that she needs. That I need.”
“But she’s eating poison! She looked ill! Does it hurt?”
“Most certainly.”
“Then why—”
The Quarass narrowed her eyes. Trey shut up.
“I offered her a choice. For Germina, she accepted. She took the poison of her own will, knowing the agony it would cause her. That was her decision. By what right do you deny her right to choose?”
“I just—it seems wrong. Are you doing that to Khalid, too?”
Trey remembered the fierce young boy. The Quarass shook her head.
“Khalid is young. A boy. Unlike me, his classes are difficult to level at such a young age. He will take far longer, but he has begun training with the [First Warriors]. In time he will reveal to me what class he is most suited for. And he will be a champion like no other.”
“You’re shaping him into what you want him to be.”
It was an accusation. The Quarass lifted her shoulders.
“Should I not? Germina lives only through its Quarass. Without me, my country has nothing to set it apart from others, and far less than most. But Germina must endure. To survive, the rulers of Ger would lie with snakes and grasp at stalks of dust.”
Trey was silent at that. He shifted uncomfortably. The Quarass’ voice and the way she spoke reminded him of Flos. It was a ruler’s perspective. He tried to think of what Teres would say. Then he thought of something else and looked up.
“His Majesty helped make you the Quarass, didn’t he?”
“Yes. Although he did not find me. My [Councilor of State] did. He might have chosen better, but he was the least of my inner circle. Perhaps it is well that he chose me. My previous incarnation was a fool.”
She spoke so coldly. Trey looked at her.
“Couldn’t he have found someone older? It seems so…”
He paused.
“Cruel. I know it’s for the good of Germina. But was it the best for you? For Vaitsha?”
The Quarass was silent. She looked at Trey, and he saw a flicker of something. When she replied, it was more slowly. And she sat back against the seat of the carriage.
“I was chosen because I looked like the last Quarass. I would not have chosen myself. But fate gives little choices. Now I am Quarass. Perhaps it is a cruel destiny. Perhaps Vaitsha suffers at the cost of herself so Germina may gain. This is true, Trey Atwood.”
The girl paused. And for a moment she stared past him, at the floating ball of warm light. She reached for it, and cupped it in her hands. Then she tossed it and let it hover in the air between them. The Quarass looked at Trey and shook her head.
“However, I choose to be her. I chose to be Quarass of Germina and give myself for Germina. I could flee. I have fled in eighty seven lifetimes, some brief, some long and old. I will not. I am no coward.”
And that was all. Trey bowed slightly, and the Quarass nodded. They said nothing more for a while, until a fist hammered on the side of the coach. Trey jumped and the Quarass looked up. The window was jerked aside and both blinked in the sudden sunlight. Flos’ face and voice echoed through the carriage.
“Trey! Quarass! We’re nearly at the border! Open the door!”
Trey looked at the Quarass. She nodded and he opened the door, seeing the ground rush past. The Quarass ordered her driver to keep the carriage steady; Flos was riding alongside them.
He was beaming as he rode on horseback. Trey saw Flos was wearing sheets of metal—plate armor, save for his head. And his horse was similarly barded. He was riding quickly next to the carriage, but they were both moving far faster—the [King]’s Skill, [Rapid March], was moving them at nearly double the speed they’d normally be going.
“Your Majesty, shouldn’t we slow down?”
“Why? This is enjoyable! Teres, watch out for the carriage! Don’t talk—you’ll bite your tongue!”
Flos laughed, unconcerned with the very warning he was giving Teres. He rode forwards and pointed ahead.
“Before you head into Khelt, I wanted to show you Khelt’s armies! Don’t be worried; they’re undead, but we have it well in hand!”
Trey saw they were heading towards a valley of sorts—no, a dried-up river, a natural fortification that marked Reim’s borders. Flos waved ahead of them; Trey saw something in the distance.
“Gazi and Mars are holding off Khelt’s warriors! Teres and I will join them! Teres, don’t be alarmed!”
He nodded at Teres as she rode up beside him. Teres looked amused as she shouted back.
“We fought zombies before! They’re not scary; just disgusting! How dangerous can an army—”
Her teeth clapped together as she came down hard on the saddle. Trey winced. Flos sighed.
“Healing potion! You didn’t bite your tongue off; don’t worry! You have to learn not to do that. And as for zombies—there!”
He pointed ahead. Trey leaned out the carriage door slightly. His eyes widened in horror.
An army was holding their ground on one side of the dried valley. Reim’s army, led by Mars and Gazi, were locked in combat with Khelt’s soldiers. Trey saw the Serpent Hunters, slashing and whirling, their poison-coated blades hacking apart their foes. Parasol Stroll had the high ground and were literally blasting apart Khelt’s troops as their color parasols spun, aiding the [Mages] casting spells. The regular army held a line, using the height and loose soil to push back the army.
But Khelt’s [Soldiers] kept on coming. A line of them charged down the valley. Trey saw them now, as the carriage rolled to a stop. He saw dried flesh, gaping mouths with few teeth. Sunken sockets.
Zombies. Thousands of them. Twenty thousand—no, less, from all the fighting. Armed in broken and battered armor. They were emaciated, skin dried by Chandrar’s arid climate. Some were worn down to yellowed bone, but most still had dark, leathery flesh. Like mummies, in fact, minus the bandages. But that wasn’t the scary part.
A new wave of Khelt’s soldiers were charging at Reim’s defenders. Charging, not shuffling or groaning. They sprinted across the ground, ancient and rusted weapons, raised. Screaming.
“Uh.”
Trey made a squeaking sound. Teres halted, gulping down a mouthful of healing potion. The sound that Khelt’s soldiers made echoed through the air, raising goose bumps on Trey’s arms. Flos grinned as he lifted the mace he’d brought and pulled out a helmet.
“Zombies don’t run in your world, Trey? They do in this one! And Fetohep can make them sprint.”
“Are they—that’s a message?”
“The only one Khelt sends.”
The King of Destruction laughed. The wave of Khelt’s troops hit Reim’s [Soldiers]. They bounced off the walls of shields and clawed at the defenders, but Trey could see Gazi and Mars leading the [Soldiers], hacking apart the zombies with ease. But there were so many!
And yet, Flos just looked excited. He pointed as his bodyguard formed up around him. Teres was spitting blood, and her own sword was in her hands. Trey stared at Flos. The King of Destruction waved at him and the Quarass.
“We’ll deal with Fetohep’s message. Teres, stick with me! You’ll level today—try not to get bitten! Trey, follow the Quarass’ lead! I will see you tomorrow! Now, with me!”
He roared and surged forwards on his horse, catching everyone off-guard. His bodyguard and Teres pelted after him, and Trey’s sister wasn’t even able to say something after him. Ahead, Reim’s army had spotted their [King]. They roared as he raced towards their embattled lines.
“King of Destruction!”
Flos’ voice was a bellow. He charged straight for the flank of Khelt’s armies as the thousands of zombies turned towards him.
“[Royal Vanguard]! Gazi, Mars, to me!”
His unit of cavalry went through the first five ranks without even slowing. Flos swung his mace in a blur, grinning as he crushed bones and armor. His army surged forwards, and Trey saw Gazi and Mars leaving their positions, cutting towards him.
“He’s going to be surrounded!”
“Not so. Khelt’s army poses little threat to men in armor. Least of all the King of Destruction.”
The Quarass watched with detached amusement, watching the battle and Trey’s face. Flos had cut straight through his army and into his own lines. Trey saw him leap from his saddle, turn to Gazi and Mars—and then the three of them charged forwards by themselves! On foot!
“He’s off his horse!”
“A smart move. Losing a horse to a spear would be a waste against Khelt.”
“Smart? But what if—”
Mars charged left, covering Flos’ flank as Gazi ran with her [King]. Flos was hammering Khelt’s [Soldiers] down with each swing, a shield in his other hand. The undead were like toys in front of his strength, but they were everywhere, and armor or not, he was surrounded. Trey watched, on pins and needles. Then he heard a shout.
Mars, the [Vanguard], one of the King’s Seven, raised a sword. It was glowing, bright yellow, enchanted with some magic. She turned as a wall of undead charged towards her [King]. Trey heard her voice even from where the carriage sat.
“[Grand Slash]!”
The undead around her disappeared. Trey didn’t see the actual swing; it was too fast. He did see body parts, and armor raining down across Khelt’s army. He gaped. Mars pivoted, charged forwards and rammed into another group of Khelt’s soldiers ahead of her.
“[Grand Slash]!”
She did it again! Another pocket just disappeared, and Reim’s army poured into the gap. Gazi was swinging her claymore around, effortlessly slicing through everything she cut, heedless of the weapons bouncing off her armor. She only protected her face as Flos kept carving forwards. And Mars wasn’t done.
“[Grand Slash], [Grand Slash]—”
Hundreds of zombies just disappeared. She was holding off an entire wing of the army on her own. Trey gaped. He’d seen Mars sparring in the training grounds, but he’d never seen this. He turned and saw even the carriage driver was gaping. The Quarass wasn’t. She looked amused.
“Have you never seen Mars the Illusionist do battle?”
“I—no! I mean, she’s fought before, but I was always busy—”
He’d seen Mars kill a [Geomancer] in battle, but she hadn’t used that Skill. She hadn’t had to. She’d just charged through everything; her armor was impenetrable as far as Trey had seen. The Quarass shook her head, indicating Mars.
“[Six-fold Grand Slash]. She may use it six times for every time a lesser [Warrior] would. This army she could destroy herself if she had time. This army is but a nuisance in front of Reim’s might, even weakened. That is not what makes Khelt deadly.”
“Then what—”
“Watch.”
Trey turned back to see Flos and his army mopping up the last of the zombies. They kept fighting, even when it was only a handful left, Trey had to admit. But they had been crushed without a single casualty on Reim’s side, as far as Trey could tell. Some were using potions, but—Trey paused.
There was a mass of bodies coming from the horizon. Past Reim’s borders, past some invisible line, the earth was stirring. Trey saw the earth erupt, undead forms tear themselves free of the soil, rising, rising—and running straight for Reim’s border. Trey looked towards Khelt and paled.
“Is that…?”
A second army, twenty thousand strong, was sprinting straight towards Reim’s borders. Only now did Trey realize that the valley was practically strewn with bodies. How long had Reim’s soldiers been fighting? Since this morning? The Quarass nodded as Flos and his soldiers reset their formation.
“Khelt’s armies are endless and undying. They are made up of every one of Khelt’s own that has ever died. The King of Destruction could fight this battle day and night and Fetohep would not cease. It looks as though four such armies have already fallen to his vassals. We will continue on before they tire.”
She clicked her fingers and the driver uneasily moved the carriage forwards. Trey gulped, but the Quarass pointed impatiently.
“Towards the undead.”
“Quarass?”
She turned her head to look at the Germinan man. Slowly, without saying a word. He flinched and moved the carriage forwards, slowly at first. The twenty thousand Kheltian [Soldiers] were coming right at them. Trey yelped and closed the carriage door. But the Quarass just leaned out of hers. She raised her voice at the mass of screaming undead charging towards them, weapons drawn—
“Fetohep. I seek an audience on behalf of Reim.”
The undead split at the last second, streaming past the carriage as the horses reared. The Quarass sat back as Trey and the driver both froze. Then the undead were gone and Flos was laughing as he led a second charge into their ranks. The Quarass looked at Trey, smiling at his white face. And then she clicked her fingers at the driver.
“Keep moving. Khelt’s capital is yet hours away. Follow the road. It is paved.”
“Yes, Quarass.”
The carriage kept moving. It passed from Reim’s dusty land into—well, more of the same. Trey expected the earth to darken, perhaps the sky to cloud over. But Khelt looked much like Reim. At least for the moment. The border was uninhabited, but nevertheless, Trey felt a chill as their carriage rolled forwards.
The Quarass closed the carriage door. She looked at Trey and calmly sat back.
“Now we are in Khelt’s lands. The King of Destruction has sent you with me to impress King Fetohep.”
“I don’t think I can. I’m not impressive! I don’t know why Flos wanted me to come!”
Trey clutched at his stomach. It was suddenly hurting a lot. The Quarass studied him.
“I see some reason to it. But if he has not educated you as to Khelt’s nature, I will do so. Khelt is a necrocracy, one of two remaining in this world. Perhaps one, depending on your definition of the word. They are an ancient kingdom whose borders are seldom questioned.”
