Rhea Renatus sat on a circular rug in an otherwise empty room, curtains blocking out any moonlight. She wore a black robe, sweat causing it to cling to her body. Her eyes were shut tight, facial muscles often tightening in concentration. She remained in this position for hours, sunrays slanting across the room as morning dawned. The elven woman knew Siyamak to be just outside. This comforted Rhea but she did not focus her thoughts on her husband, projecting herself, her soul, to the realms of the dead, heavily cloaking herself in wards. There was much danger to the task, but necromancy was Rhea’s profession and she rarely faltered. A moan escaped her lips and her eyelids snapped open. Rhea lurched to her feet; confused by the lightness of the room, stumbled and fell to the floor.
“Siyamak!” She called hoarsely.
Siyamak must have heard the noise of her stumble if not her voice for he shouldered the door open, leaning down to take her in his arms. Rhea looked into his silvery eyes, knowing he would take care of her and ask no immediate questions. Letting herself drift towards sleep, she focused on Siyamak’s breathing, on the steady rise and fall of his muscular chest. When he gently shook her, she found herself in the dining room, a steaming bowl of soup and tea waiting.
“How did you do all this?” Rhea asked sleepily.
Siyamak smiled, depositing her in the chair carefully. “I have my ways.”
Rhea returned his smile, appreciating his effort at some form of humor. Sighing, she began to eat, not stopping until she devoured everything, then wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“What we have feared shall come to pass. I have never seen such glee in a demon before. We should hasten our departure. We should’ve left when I first suspected…but that can’t be helped now.” Rhea stated, watching as sadness then anger crossed Siyamak’s pale features.
“Let us go then. I’ll get our cloaks and packs.”
Rhea gave him a weak smile as he left the room, pushing her chair back to stand. Physically, she felt rejuvenated after eating and drinking, but her thoughts were bleak as Siyamak draped her cloak around her shoulders. Without bothering to lock the door of their cabin, the two stepped out into the rainy, blustery morning. An early-spring storm had blown in the previous night and Rhea did not look forward to traveling in it. She and Siyamak agreed it best to travel by horse instead of him transforming into some airborne animal in such bad weather. Swinging into their saddles, they departed through the trees.
“When we reach Callim, we’ll switch. The weather will hopefully be clear by then.” Rhea said as they maneuvered through the woods.
Siyamak nodded and they continued their trek from the northeast corner of Endoray Island, heading for the western port city of Callim. On foot, their journey would take weeks, but Siyamak would save time by transmogrifying at Callim. By midday, the pair could see the outlying farms and villages of the city. Impatiently they waited to be admitted inside, a line of merchants and other travelers ahead of them. Finally, they entered, going to a place where they could sell their horses for coin they didn’t need.
“He swindled me.” Siyamak complained gruffly as he and Rhea left the horse dealer. Rhea laid comforting hand on his arm and they continued toward the docks. Underneath one that provided easy access to the sea and air, Siyamak prepared to transform. He closed his eyes, clenched his fists. Rhea could feel the rhythm of his power as it flowed through his veins. Brown feathers popped from his skin with a sickening sound, his mouth puckered to form a beak, his legs shortened, his smallest toe vanished and the others elongated, including the nails which became talons. It was a grotesque transformation, but Rhea had seen it before.
Siyamak tilted his condor head in an utterly bird-like fashion. “Come,” he chirped.
Rhea understood his bird-speech, moving forward to position herself upon Siyamak’s back, locking her legs behind his ribs. Once she was situated, Siyamak’s hind legs began to propel them forward and they barreled down the beach, the dock above putting them in shadow. As it ended, Siyamak launched and Rhea could feel a huge updraft of air send them high in the air as his wings flapped powerfully.
As the blue sea passed beneath them, Rhea gripped Siyamak tightly, burying her face in his musky smelling feathers. She prayed they would arrive soon enough. As day gave way to night, she breathed a sigh of relief as the mainland appeared beneath them and she shrieked as Siyamak plummeted-landing was always the worst part. At the last chance, Siyamak brought himself upward and his talons touched earth. He chirped the obvious, that he should not fly at night. Agreeing with him and brushing herself off, Rhea began to make camp, allowing Siyamak to return to his humanoid form.
“We’re about ten miles from the Irraidian Thumb. There’s a road a couple miles to the north. Did you have a fun ride?” Siyamak reported as he sat by the fire next to Rhea.
She smiled briefly, tearing off a hunk off her herbed bread she made a few days before. The Irraidian Thumb was a peninsula that jutted out towards Endoray Island, thusly named for its shape and the country that claimed it.
“What are you thinking?” Siyamak asked quietly.
“We should have left sooner. I am afraid we are too late.” Rhea admitted, knotting her hands together in her lap.”
Siyamak reached over to tip her drooping chin upward. “Don’t worry; we’ll make it in time.”
Rhea nodded, returning Siyamak’s kiss as their lips met.
In the morning, they returned to the skies, Siyamak rocketing through clouds in condor form, Rhea holding on and screaming more than once. They passed over villages, roads, forests and rivers, a child pointing up at them as they flew low. Rhea could sense Siyamak’s exhilaration as his wings and muscles worked to keep them afloat, not sure she shared the feeling, though acknowledging the benefits of flying. At sunset, they camped in a grove of birch trees and the night was uneventful.
Once again, in the air, clouds thickening, the terrain below Rhea and Siyamak increasingly became less hospitable. The trees that dominated middle Irraidia, the country they flew over, began to thin out, forming into arid plains with barely defined roads. This far northward, Rhea imagined they would be covered with ice during deep winter and she knew they were near Danivus, their destination. Siyamak chirped and Rhea shielded her eyes from the wind to see the town below them. It was a dirty sort of place with ramshackle buildings. The condor that was her husband circled Danivus and Rhea saw people standing atop the city’s walls and a crowd approaching from the northwest. Casting her eyes in that direction the elf spied the fabled mountain Zarenth, whose peaks were said to reach heaven.
“Land on the walls, but away from the people.” Rhea yelled.
Siyamak squawked, slowing the movements of his wings, dropping altitude, smoothly landing to allow Rhea off. Dismounting, she glanced about, wondering if anyone had seen. But everyone seemed transfixed on whatever was happening outside the city walls. Siyamak’s transformation went unnoticed and he cracked his neck, looking to Rhea questioningly. She led the way towards the cluster of people also on the walls. Below the throng reached the city gates, two men seeming to lead.
“And behold, a great spirit showed himself to me with a voice like the loveliest flute!” One of the leaders shouted, throwing his hands in the air, his audience rapt with attention.
“And one appeared to me, also! It knew of Man’s sins and how we, as righteous folk may change their deplorable ways with his aid and wisdom! Behold! We need only summon them!” The other yelled.
Rhea knew she must stop them. Without looking to Siyamak, she jumped from the wall to a rooftop, shimmying down a drainpipe to reach the street level, aware of Siyamak behind her. As she passed through the city gate, he caught up, grabbing her wrist.
“What are you doing?” She snapped, spinning towards him.
“Rhea, you’ve explained this process and its dangers to me many times. Look at their eyes!” He gestured to the preaching men. “They’re lost, they’re insane! They have already cast their summoning circles. They are already beginning to summon. Going in there would be suicide.”
Rhea looked towards the men and their crowd, seeing the truth of what Siyamak said. The two men moved their hands in intricate patterns, their lips moving. She could do nothing, lest she be attacked by the protective wards of the men’s’ summoning circles. From what they had said, Rhea could guess at what had happened. Probably demons had disguised themselves as angels to fool the necromancers into invoking their aid. Such a thing was not rare; Rhea did not understand why these men had not recognized demon trickery, as it was standard necromancer training.
“We still have to do something…” Rhea protested frantically.
A cacophony interrupted her, a noise like an organist heedlessly pounding on the keys of his instrument, mixed with anguished screams. Rhea’s heart skipped a beat as two holes opened up in the ground and two demons emerged. The closest to her was shaped like a man but would dwarf one in height. Its skin was burnt and in between the char, an orange glow pulsed. Its jaw was that of an alligator, above its protruding snout terrible yellow eyes blinked claws at the ends of its fingers and toes.
The demon brought its head back to roar and Rhea cowered against Siyamak.
The second demon was of similar shape and size, its skin like a bruise. But it failed to have any snout or eyes. An opening like a mouth without lips displayed multiple rows of canines and its split tongue slithered in and out. Pointy spikes ran down its spine and its claws were hooked.
The folk that expected angels fled in every direction, shrieking. The demons, seeming to enjoy this, hissed and spat at each other. To Rhea’s horror, they broke their summoning circles, hordes of indescribably ugly demons following them through the still open holes in the earth. Rhea ran with Siyamak back into the city, hoping its cramped quarters might offer some protection. Above the rooftops, a demon dragged someone through the air. Rhea could not tear her eyes away as the demon snapped the man’s head away from the neck to eat it. Blood rained on the city and Rhea could hear the suffering of its citizens as Siyamak pulled her into a doorway.
“Wait! Did you feel that? Magic! We have to go help them.” Rhea said breathlessly, ignoring Siyamak’s agitated growl as she continued running down the street. Following the currents of magic, Rhea smelt garbage as she moved down an alleyway. In a back courtyard, six black-robed men and women stood hand-in-hand, eyes shut. Rhea instantly recognized them as necromancers. Their eyelids opened at her approach. Two were twins.
“Great. Now we have to start over.” Said a tall male with blondish-brown hair, barely out of boyhood.
“You are also…” Started one twin.
“Gifted with necromancy.” Finished the other.
Rhea gaped.
A woman with honey colored skin took charge, saying, “Great. You can help us. We cloak our heartbeats and veil our position from the demons. Ever done it before? No? Doesn’t matter. The twins will show you. Get in between them, sometimes their closeness inhibits their magic. Your husband doesn’t have necromancy, but he can stand in the middle of our circle.”
Rhea glanced to Siyamak and saw distrust in his eyes. She reached back to squeeze his hand reassuringly, then moving between the twins. Siyamak’s jaw clenched, but he too moved forward. The twins began instructing Rhea wordlessly and she directed her magic through her heart, slowing its beat to a crawl. At the same time, she helped construct a false image over everyone, making all appear as part of the courtyard’s cobbled floor. They held this position for hours and Rhea began perspire, beads of sweat dripping from the tip of her nose. All the while she could hear the screams of the dying, the stench of blood reaching her nose.
Suddenly, Rhea felt a hand on her shoulder. Frightened she let go of the twins’ hands and forcefully pushed her elbow backward, feeling it connect with cloth and flesh, spinning to face her attacker. She gasped as she saw whom it was, the other necromancers grouping around her. She had elbowed Leonius, her angelic protector, in the stomach. The angel’s wings protruded from his back, a halo hovered above his head, and he positively glowed a golden radiance.
“Leonius, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you. Let me help…” Rhea stammered, stepping forward.
But Leonius had already regained his breath, straightening, and smiling to Rhea gently. “Quite alright. Considering the circumstances, I should have announced myself.”
“Are you here to help?”
Leonius looked grave, nodding. “The demons have broken an age old agreement by bringing their battle here. My warriors and I are here to escort you and your friends away from this place. The gate of the underworld has been broken. We must retrieve the keys.” He waved in the direction of the alleyway. Other angels began moving into the courtyard, most holding halberds, spears, or long swords. Those with free hands moved to take the necromancers, Siyamak, and Rhea in their arms. Siyamak looked irritated at begin carried in a man’s arms but did not object.
“We will speak soon, Rhea.” Leonius said, extending the index finger of his right hand upward. It was a signal for flight, for in the next moment, Rhea felt her angel lift off the ground, speeding skyward. Winged demons rushed at them, teeth and claws glinting in the failing light of the day. Angels with weapons surrounded Rhea and her escort, beating back the demon. But as they flew away from Danivus, the demons increased their number, attacking in larger groups. Angels fell and Rhea turned her head away. After a few more assaults, Rhea’s angel said something.
“The demons retreat. We are safe for now.”
Yeah, for now, Rhea thought.
![[send message]](https://www.writerscafe.org/images/mail.png){kind=small}
![[befriend]](https://www.writerscafe.org/images/friend.png){kind=small}
Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Read Request
My Library
Flag Writing