Takeo's Chronicles, page 34
“You’re so full of it,” Gavin finally said, breaking the silence. “What a hypocrite. You say you can’t imagine being a slave, and then you ask us to imagine you as Jabbar’s slave? I’m sure what you said was true, but there’s more to the story you’re not telling us. I forgive you because that’s what the angels would have me do, but I don’t think you deserve it. As to your question—how I knew Emily—I was her first love.”
“Emily was Krunk’s friend,” Krunk jutted in.
The ogre stood up swiftly, pulling the shield away and letting the sunlight bare down on his hideous features. At his height, he leered over Aiguo, making the man balk and take a step away. This put him a pace closer to Nicholas, and he looked at the viking, who appeared no more welcoming than anyone else.
“And you?” Aiguo asked, stuttering.
“She was my sister,” Nicholas replied, and then gave a malignant grin. “And I disagree with you wholeheartedly. You look exactly like a slave to me.”
Aiguo pulled his hands in and looked from one hateful face to the next. Fear was slowly rising in his eyes, the color draining from his face to leave a pale form that would have caused pity if Takeo could feel such an emotion. His opinion hadn’t changed, though, and he didn’t question why.
“Don’t worry, Aiguo,” Takeo said. “We won’t kill you yet. As Hyun said, you’re still useful.”
* * *
By the time they reached the village, it was a graveyard. Smoldering ruins, a sea of bodies, and trashed and discarded furniture and other debris littered the streets. The normally yellow ground had been mired in blood and ash, and not even the animals had been spared, as karkadann lay gutted about the place. No slave army was camped within or nearby, leaving the wasteland inhabited only by the dead. All this was visible at a distance from the top of one particularly tall sand dune.
With no one in sight, Hyun declared the village safe enough to explore. They entered the graveyard, stepping over corpses and covering their faces when the winds swept through, scattering ash and lingering smoke. They found the usual horrific scenes of war: here a father and daughter lain bloody in the streets, their mannerisms detailing how he’d try to save her; there a young woman choked to death, her clothing torn and her legs spread with bruising on her inner thighs; over there a pile of stripped corpses, thoroughly searched without care. Charred bodies, broken family heirlooms, shattered hopes and dreams all slayed in a way that only war is capable of.
Takeo didn’t flinch as he waded through the carnage. He’d seen this all before—been a part of it, to be exact—and he expected to be a part of it again one day soon. He saw it less as a tragedy and more as an inevitable reality, but he didn’t voice such thoughts to Gavin and the others. Nicholas seemed to be doing fine, but Gavin and Krunk were clearly shaken.
Good, Takeo thought. This will serve as a reminder of the very thing we’re trying to stop. A deal with a jinni is a small price to pay to stop this madness.
No waiting sphinx pride was found, but other carrion eaters had already arrived. A flock of phoenixes had descended upon the place, ripping up the fresh meat and swallowing whole chunks. Gavin, Nicholas, and Krunk paused at the first sight of these magnificent creatures.
“Pretty birds,” Krunk muttered.
“Yeah,” Nicholas said, huffing. “I’ve only seen a few from a distance. Never this close before. I didn’t know they were so big.”
A phoenix was only about as large as a small child, but Takeo understood what Nicholas was getting at. Covered in purple, red, and yellow feathers, a phoenix was a beautiful creature, especially when young like the ones before them now. Their colors were brilliant and reflected the sunlight, giving them a shine that seemed almost divine. Even Takeo couldn’t deny their radiance, despite the fact that they were feasting on the corpses of villagers.
One of the birds managed to rip a child’s arm free and began gobbling it down whole. That shook the three gawkers free of their trance.
“I just realized their red feathers match the color of blood,” Gavin said, crinkling his nose. “So much for beauty. They’re nothing but scavengers.”
“Everything is a scavenger in Savara,” Takeo replied. “Even the people.”
“It’s not the phoenix that’s bothering me,” Gavin said. “It’s the corpses themselves. What slaves would do this? Women and children? Old men? It doesn’t look like anyone was spared, and they left the bodies to rot.”
“Hardship doesn’t make a person noble,” Nicholas answered, jumping in. “Slaves are people, too, and thus are capable of both good and evil. I’ve met plenty as a viking, and trust me, some slaves very much deserve to be trodden on.”
“That’s enough,” Takeo said before Gavin could respond. “This carnage is the kind of thing we’re fighting to stop. Remember that and speak no more. The smoke and corpses will mask our scent, but a sphinx pride will hear us if we keep talking.”
Despite finding only phoenixes, Hyun was convinced it was only a matter of time until a sphinx or two came along. Takeo agreed, despite no one asking his opinion, and the group dispersed to seek shelter in whatever buildings were still stable enough to hold them, all centered around the golem.
The toughest part was actually hiding the golem in the first place. They couldn’t find any building left standing that was big enough to house the thing, and for one crazy moment, Hyun considered burying it in the sands, but then Qjang offered a better solution. Rather than bury the golem in the ground, why not instead bury it in debris? To the relief of all those who would have had to do the digging, Hyun readily accepted this alternative. Hyun commanded the golem to forcefully enter a half collapsed structure and, in doing so, caused the rest of the building to tumble down onto the clay statue, covering it well enough.
Gavin found a building large and intact enough to hold all four of them, just on the outer fringes south of the golem. One of Hyun’s group was actually there first, but a grin from Krunk and some expert flexing on Nicholas’ part sent that samurai searching elsewhere.
Aiguo joined them, too, apologizing and repeating that he was under orders to accompany them.
“I assume this has to do with our hushed conversations this morning?” Gavin muttered.
“Why are we putting up with this?” Nicholas asked. “Didn’t that Xuan woman say we didn’t have to follow Hyun’s orders?”
“I could send him away, yes,” Takeo answered, “but that would offend Hyun, and we still need to work with him. Also, I like having this one in sight. He’s difficult to watch at times.”
Aiguo ignored the comments and slumped away into the shadows of the half burned building. The other four followed, and took shelter from the sun’s afternoon gaze.
And so they hid, quiet and motionless for what seemed like hours. Krunk fell asleep once or twice, and Takeo tried to nudge him awake, but only a solid punch from Nicholas seemed to do the trick. Gavin dozed off once, too, but as he didn’t snore like the ogre, Takeo let the knight rest. He awoke on his own soon after.
Takeo passed the time idly thinking about his plans, or more specifically, his sword. He drew the blade from its sheath and looked over the black, simple design once more, trying to gather what sort of enchantment he should bargain for. How much power was too much? He only needed to tip the scale just enough to reign triumphant, but not so much as to cripple his chances. What would do it? A vast intellect perhaps? That would ensure victory, but no, such a thing was too risky. Takeo was instantly reminded of something from Emily’s past. She’d met an elf in the Forest of Angor once who’d asked to read people’s minds, but that elf had lost his sight in response. Takeo couldn’t afford to be blind.
Confidence, then? Or perhaps the ability to influence people? He could enchant his sword so that whoever held it could change the mind of anyone else with words alone.
Too much. Takeo sighed. That’s far too much power. Whatever the jinni takes in response would leave me crippled, unable to wield it effectively.
There was also the looming problem of Hyun to consider. Takeo had to figure out how to do three conflicting things simultaneously: lead Hyun to a jinni, make his bargain with said jinni, and bring two rakshasas to Juatwa. He couldn’t say for certain, but Takeo had a strong feeling Hyun wasn’t just going to stand by idly and let him become a potential threat to Lady Xuan. If Hyun decided to crush Takeo, he could do so all too easily. Five to one odds, plus a golem, made certain of that.
Needless to say, there was much to think on, but Takeo hadn’t made any headway by the time he heard the flapping of heavy wings.
The flock of phoenixes feasting on corpses scattered, and Takeo was momentarily gripped with terror that the heavy whoosh sound he heard was a roc. The sound came again, clearly too light to be one of those gargantuan creatures, and Takeo shuddered with relief. He didn’t want to die just yet.
The beating of feathered wings grew louder and louder, and Takeo suppressed the urge to peak around the corner of his shelter. To his complete surprise, the sound died in the street right outside, and a heartbeat later, the light thud of something large yet graceful dropping into the sands echoed into his ears and throughout his body.
Of all the corpses in this village, they had to choose the ones right next to me, didn’t they?
Across the building’s entrance, Gavin tensed and gave Takeo a meaningful stare, which Takeo returned with a faint nod. The knight gulped and gripped his sword and shield, then glanced at the others to see how they were holding up. Nicholas was grinning, his body poised to charge, while Krunk’s face was twitching. It reminded Takeo of someone who had just woken up in an unfamiliar place after a long night of drinking.
Takeo’s gaze nearly missed Aiguo, and he faltered for a moment, apparently forgetting the man was with them at all. Aiguo’s face was placid, though, so Takeo drew his attention back to the sphinxes outside.
He listened carefully, counting the paces of their light-footed paws. Despite their size, sphinxes were deft in a way that was uncanny, so Takeo only caught wisps of movement among the gusts of wind that swept through the streets. Takeo figured he was hearing somewhere between three to five of the animals and began to place their locations based off sound alone.
He could picture them easily enough. They’d be roughly the size of a komainu with a uniform coat of yellow-brown, short-haired fur. They would be walking on four legs with massive paws, their retractable claws coming out to paw at the dead meat all around. They all would have a long, thin tail that would end in a puffy ball of the same color, perhaps slightly more yellow than the rest of their body. Their heads, though, Takeo had trouble picturing their heads.
Sphinxes, despite their beastly bodies, had human heads, distinctly female human heads. He’d only seen a few in his lifetime, and it was always unnerving to him to see such a weird body attached to a human head, speaking human words. He was convinced the first sphinx ever made was the work of the jinn. No other explanation seemed possible.
As if to compound his thoughts, the sphinxes began to converse.
“Sands turned red, flesh baked to desire, yet where are the cooks?” one of them said, voice light and echoing all its own. Takeo thought he heard a low purr at the same time.
“Fled from the sun, chasing the darkness,” another replied, this one’s tone a pitch higher. “Their appetite is yet unslaked.”
“Worry not the ways of the damned,” a third one commanded, speaking loudly. “Focus thine efforts on the present scene. Beyond the scent of humans and phoenixes lies a misfit that should not exist. Am I not the only one that smells a creature yet unknown?”
The sphinxes paused, and Takeo heard three loud yet distinct sniffing sounds.
“Tis odd,” the first one said. “A thing of which nothing compares. Clouded in the stench of death, a quirk seeks refuge.”
“What is it, this maverick, that reeks of shame and rage?” the second murmured. “A thing so rare it hides in a cave, only to slip out when order is discarded?”
“Drool, sister. The answer is a unique drool,” the third said, growling. “And tis a liquid we’ve smelled like no other.”
Takeo and Gavin’s eyes met, and each dropped their jaws in dread. They turned their heads to the back of the building, where they saw the still confused-looking Krunk wiping spittle from his tusks. Nicholas and Aiguo were looking at the ogre, too, both wide-eyed and a shade paler. Takeo imagined his own skin had lost a touch of color, too.
“The scent approaches us from over yonder, sister,” one of the sphinxes said, the second one, judging by its tone.
“Let us uncover this enigma,” the third replied.
Chapter 8
Takeo assessed the situation in a flash. Firstly, the four of them—five, he almost forgot about Aiguo—wouldn’t survive against three sphinxes on their own. Secondly, once Hyun, his golem, and his samurai revealed their presence, the sphinxes would run. Thirdly, the sphinxes would escape because they hadn’t eaten a drop of flesh yet. Fourthly, Takeo knew just how far away they were and that he couldn’t let them escape.
From this, only one path remained.
“Hyun!” Takeo yelled. “They’re here!”
He ripped his katana free and bolted out of the building, shedding the cover of darkness to embrace the radiance of the sun. Gavin followed like a shadow, raising his shield and readying his sword, throwing out a shout for good measure. The two burst into view to find the three sphinxes just a short charge away, stepping over corpses enroute to the pathetic hideout.
The sphinxes startled at first, shocked to see something screaming and charging at them, but then relaxed and smiled cruelly when they saw only two humans. The lead one reacted swiftly, roaring a bestial challenge and then darting forward to sweep Takeo down with a paw the size of his head. Takeo halted mid-dash, sandaled feat digging into soft sand, and then dove sideways, narrowly avoiding the dagger-length claws. Gavin, still just a pace behind, never faltered. He barreled forward with shield raised and threw his entire weight, fury, and speed into the sphinx, slamming so hard Takeo heard the sound of bone crack on metal, and the sphinx was forced back an entire step.
She stumbled, shaking her head from side to side, and Takeo and Gavin would have pressed their advantage had the other two sphinxes not regained their senses and leapt forward. One went for Takeo and made a sweep he avoided yet again, and the other went for Gavin, attempting an overhead rake that slammed against the knight’s shield.
And then there were roars all around. Nicholas and Krunk emerged from the shelter, both yelling at the top of their lungs and wielding devastating two-handed weapons, and Hyun and his samurai burst from their holes, as well. Takeo heard Hyun call out a command, and the ground trembled as something massive lumbered to a stand just down the street. The sphinxes, a moment ago drooling with eager anticipation, were now backpedaling and snarling, whirling around to see a flood of humans pouring in from all directions.
Then the golem reared its faceless clay head, popping up over a ruin of blackened buildings like the merciless monstrosity it was designed to be. The sphinxes took one look at it, hissed, and then beat their wings to take flight.
Takeo, the closest, moved first. He lashed out with his katana in a lightning quick strike against the nearest sphinx wing, causing the creature to falter and stay grounded. She screamed, then roared, took a swipe at Takeo that forced him back, and then leapt up on her hind legs. It was much too late, though, as Nicholas and Krunk had now closed the gap, and both heavy figures pounced on the sphinx in a brutal tackle.
“Sisters!” she screamed.
The two sphinxes who had taken flight paused to hover in the air, their faces passing quickly between regret and fear. They watched their sister struggle beneath the combined weight of an ogre and a brute of a human, and for a moment, they seemed determined to intervene. Takeo readied his sword, and Gavin hoisted up his shield, but the ground trembled again as the golem took another massive step forward.
“That sphinx there,” Hyun commanded, pointing. “Golem, hold her down but don’t crush her.”
Its forehead glowed blue, and the flying sphinxes promptly turned tail and bolted into the skies, beating their wings with all their might.
The one on the ground roared her anger and terror and then brought both emotions to bear upon her captors. In a move that made Takeo’s heart skip, the sphinx used her wings to roll onto her back, got her hind legs under Krunk, and then kicked the massive ogre and all his weight into the air, sending him spiraling away to crash heavily into the sands.
She tried the same thing on Nicholas, but he was much more adept, shifting his body side to side so she could never quite get under him. That failing, she swiped at him with her claws, digging into his armor but failing to reach the skin. She would have knocked him aside with her wings next had others not intervened.
Takeo plunged his sword into the creature’s right wing, nailing it to the ground. The creature screamed and made a kick for him, but Gavin quickly dove onto the other wing, pinning that one down, too, and forcing the sphinx to its back. A moment later, the street was clogged with samurai and drawn katanas, each blade pointing at the still struggling sphinx. Rather than close in further, they backed away as the golem strode forth and extended one clay hand the size of a man’s ribcage.
Nicholas barely got out of the way in time, and Takeo ducked as well. The sphinx made one desperate attempt to flee, but the golem’s hand rammed down on her like the final nail in a coffin. She shrieked but then went utterly silent as the air was forced from her lungs; the only sounds were of heavy breathing from those around her and Krunk’s low moans from down the street.
“We got her!” Hyun called out as he appeared within the crowd, sword drawn alongside his loyal men and women. “We got her. Well done. Well done, everyone.”
He sheathed his blade and touched the two closest samurai on the shoulders. Takeo knew Hyun well enough to know that physical contact like that spoke volumes to the man’s satisfaction. Hyun’s samurai accepted the reward in respectful samurai fashion, by sheathing their swords and bowing deeply to their commander.
