Part 4 Chapter 6

CHAPTER 29

 

 

T

he wide dark room is silent for a moment. Olraym is staring ahead at the elder sitting on the opposite chair, who in turn is staring back.

  “Why would we do such a thing?” asks the Elder in the chair, his tone mocking Olraym.

  “Because we found you,” this time Trugaime says it.

  All but Olraym stare at her.

  “Yes you did, and I’m guessing it is you told him where our home is.” He gestures to his fellow Elders and Cultists and finally to Trugaime herself.

  “Where your home is,” she retorts, “it’s not my home anymore.”

   “It could be. I can make that happen.”

  Trugaime knows what he is doing. Give her a sense of hope, make her think she can be forgiven and come home with her family, make her think she will be accepted back into the Cult hassle free and she might turn on Olraym. Though she has never used such a tactic in pursuit of a target she has heard of others who do.

  “You could but you won’t. I cannot be a member of this Cult anymore, I accept that.”

  All are silent for a moment.

  “You’re right she did tell me,” says Olraym making all eyes turn back to him, “but she isn’t the only one in the hole of the Highlands who knows about this place.”

  The Elders and Cultists look solemn. Olraym can tell his words have gotten to them. He just needs to give a little more of a push. 

  “And who might this other person be?”

  He has been waiting for this question and knows what to say, and what not to say.

  “Oh come now, you have been like this so long and you don’t know anyone smart enough to find you?”

  He knows not to give them Morcale, in case they decide to try and get rid of him then resume hunting Olraym and Trugaime. It might take time, Morcale looks like he can handle himself, but eventually one side would win and someone else, either another Cultist or someone working for Morcale, will come for him.

  One of the Elders steps forward.

  “If this is all true and others know about this village, a fact I have doubts about, then what is it you want from us in exchange for your silence?”

  “I want you to leave.”

  They all look at him shocked, Trugaime as well. She hoped this would not lead to one side trying to kill the other but she did not expect this. She soon becomes relieved and smiles at Olraym even though it goes unseen. Those across the table just look shocked thinking about his absurd request, ‘demand is more like it’. The Starlight Cult has been in this village secretly for many generations. There has never been any talk of leaving it. None have ever thought about it, they have grown from infants to old men and women in this village and always thought they would be buried by their young who would then start the cycle over.

  “Leave?”

  Leave the Highlands and never come back.”

  They are silent again.

  “How dare you!” shouts the female Cultist suddenly and takes a step forward, only to be stopped by the three standing Elders.

  “We will never leave here.”

  “Then every soldier in the Highlands will be told about this village and will come as one ready for a fight. They will not leave until the Starlight Cult no longer exists.”

  They are running out of options, Olraym can see they know this from the looks on their collective faces.

  “How long do we have?”

  “You have one day then others will come.”

  Olraym can see he is thinking this over, going between doing as Olraym says and making the Cultists kill them both.

  “And in return, what will you do for us?”

  “In return we will leave you alone. As long as you stay out of the Highlands we will stay away from you.”

  “Very well, we will leave.”

  The three Cultists yell in shock and anger at the Elder. The Elder raises his hand to silence them. At first it doesn’t work and they continue to shout at him, criticizing him for doing this so easily. The other three Elders have come to same conclusion as the one sitting down. They know he is right and they know to follow him. A strong look from all four Elders finally does the trick.

  “Go and tell the others.” They obey and all but the Elder on the chair and the female Cultist starts to leave.

  Before they can get out a figure emerges from the darkness and runs into them at full speed, knocking most of them to the ground and the rest back a few steps.  Olraym and the Elder both stand quickly making the chairs fall back, making a resounding bang in the room. Now all who are still standing have some sharp weapon in their hands.

  The figure storms over to Olraym. The Cultists in his way swing at him. He ducks below one sword belonging to one of the male Cultists that misses him by inches; he feels the air hiss above him. The figure knocks the Cultist in the stomach with his elbow, knocking the air out of his lungs. The Cultist falls down and the figure immediately goes for the other male Cultist.  This cultist is able to deflect the figure’s first attack with his own sword and the figure’s second attack misses when he takes a back step, but the third attack, a swipe with his clenched fist, connects with his face. All are positive they can hear the crack of a bone breaking.

  The figure steps over those still on the ground and continues his purposeful stroll to Olraym. At seeing the figure clearly Olraym instantly recognises him.

  “Thorne, what are you doing?”

  Thorne doesn’t answer with words, but he raising his sword as he approaches Olraym is answer enough. Trugaime pushes Olraym out of the way and side steps out of the way as Thorne slams the sword down at an angle. When it hits the ground Trugaime kicks it out of Thorne’s hand and is about to stab him with one of her darts but his now free hand stops her mid motion. They struggle for a second then he throws her back. She hits the wall and yelps as she falls to her knees, she falls forward but uses her hands to stop from falling more.

  When they realise he is going for Olraym the three Cultists and four Elders back away, their blades raised and their stance defensive, and run out. Olraym and Trugaime hear them leave but to them it is only faint, they are too busy with Thorne.

  Olraym steps up to Thorne and takes a swing at him. Thorne ducks under and pushes him back. He hits the table and falls back, rolling back over the table and falling to the floor. Olraym and Trugaime get back on their feet seconds apart from each other as Thorne reaches for his sword. Olraym reaches him first and kicks the sword out of his hands again. He kicks him in the chest and is about to kick him a third time but Thorne takes hold of his raised leg. Olraym struggles but is able to keep his balance by hopping up and down on his other leg.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “What I need to do!”

  Trugaime suddenly comes at him from behind and jumps on his back, one arm snakes around his neck the other has hold of one of her darts. She moves the dart to be just above his head but Thorne’s free hand grabs her arm. Thorne is forced to let Olraym’s leg go and then he moves from side to side trying to throw her off him but she holds on. The dart inches closer and closer to his head, though he cannot see the dart he knows because of their struggling arms moving closer to him.

  With all his strength bends down the shoots back up, finally throwing her off him. She still has her dart clenched in her hand.  Full of anger Thorne punches Olraym in the face, fist with his left fist, then with his right, then again with his left.  By the third hit Olraym is bleeding from his nose and mouth. He tries to strike back but is hit again and falls down again. He is out of breath and the blood is flowing slowly, he is close to unconsciousness. Thorne kicks him in the chest several times then stops, out of breath as well.

  He hears a noise and turns to find Trugaime almost back on her feet. He grunts irritated and takes a long deep breath. Then becomes more irritated when he hears faint voices.

  At first the voices sound too far for him to know what is being said, but it is clear it is Cultists speaking and they are getting closer. ‘What are they doing? I don’t care for them’. Trugaime hears them too and like Thorne she is irritated and confused. She doesn’t know why they are coming back either.

  Thorne faces the entrance and Trugaime uses this as her chance to get to Olraym. He is semi-conscious and doesn’t notice her above him.

  “Come on, wake up Olraym. They might be here for us.”

   Olraym groans in response, and then coughs blood, but he doesn’t move. Trugaime shakes him by the shoulders and he groans again this time louder. He looks more conscious, more alert, but is still groggy. He looks around but he is unfocused not seeing much of anything. She raises his head and rests it on her arm. This elicits another groan, this one more of pain than the others.

  Thorne now has his sword back in hand and is facing the entrance waiting for the owners of those voices to appear. With the little light there is he can see a large shadow, it is obviously more than one person and it is moving closer. He readies himself, tightens his two-handed grip on the sword and relaxes his muscles.

  He strikes the first Cultist to enter with a horizontal slice from left to right, cutting a large hole in his stomach. The Cultist screams and falls as his blood and innards slowly escape from him through the hole. Behind him two more quickly appear. He has trouble with these two and is forced to back away.

  Trugaime uses this distraction to drag Olraym away. He is more awake but Trugaime still has to have a tight hold on him and carry him most of the way. They get out of the room and Trugaime leads them through the dark, using the torch lights and her own memory to get through. She hears the fight going on behind them: the clang of metal on metal, a shout or a grunt, sometimes a scream that is cut short. Ahead of them she sometimes she hears more voices coming closer so she flattens her and Olraym against the wall until she hears them pass then they continue, trying to be as silent as possible.

  They finally make their way to the steps leading up to the trap door. They climb one at a time and Trugaime pushes with one hand with all her might to open it. She pushes him ahead of her up the steps, when he gets to the top he falls flat on his face. She then follows and finally slams the trap door shut. 

  Given what has happened she knows the man down below, Thorne, is the one who hired the Cult to kill Olraym. Olraym knows who he is, so does everyone. It is Olraym’s older brother.

  “You still want to go do Divinwood?”

  Still partly dazed he nods. She helps him to his feet and together they leave the barn.

 

ø

 

After leaving the room the three Cultists and four Elders move through the dark dirty halls, taking some turns until they arrive at a set of other rooms. In each room there are sets of wooden bunk beds at the far wall, wardrobes facing the room’s entrance at the beds’ foot and a table with three chairs and a lit candle illuminating the room to a certain degree. Each room is occupied with several more Cultists, they all seem to be talking amongst themselves but stop at the sight of the seven. There is a confused mutter between them all, which turns to anger at the sight of one of them injured. They all crowd around the seven.

  “What are we to do?” asks the female Cultist.

  “We should leave them to it, let them fight,” says one of the Elders.

  Two other Elders nod in agreement, as does the female Cultist. But the second male Cultist and the leading Elder shake their heads ‘no’. The Elder gestures to their fallen brother with a broken bone.

  “What of him? He has been injured by that man and now you would all have him forget it? Where is the honour in that, he deserves justice.”

  There is a mumble of agreement from all the Cultists around them. Some go back into the rooms and pick up their own personal blades, one picks up her long bow and a quiver full of arrows. They know what is about to happen. The other Elders can see this.

  “Get him some care,” says the leader among the seven still gesturing to the injured Cultist. “The rest of you find the man who did this. Find him and bring him to me.”

  There is a cheer from the Cultists then they all rush to where Olraym, Thorne and Trugaime are.  In moments the rooms are empty but for the Elders and the injured Cultist.

  The first of three to reach Thorne dies quickly but the other two forces him back. Others enter and join the fight. The Cultist with the bow stays back in the darkness and readies to fire.

  Though Thorne gets hit one or twice with a well-placed kick or punch he still manages two more Cultists before the first arrow is shot. It misses and sticks into the soil wall behind him. The second shot is on target but Thorne grabs a Cultist and uses him as a shield.

  No one but the Cultist with the bow notices Olraym and Trugaime leaving, but she lets them go. Thorne is the target not them, they can be dealt with later. 

  She tries for a third shot but cannot get a good clear view of him. She waits but still nothing so she moves a step further into the room. The torches in the room illuminate her.

  Thorne notices her then notices Olraym and Trugaime are gone. He forces his way through the crowd which gives her a good shot, she fires her third arrow but he ducks down while still rushing to her. Before she can prepare a fourth shot Thorne’s sword is through her chest and sticks out her back, a layer of blood covering it.

  The other remaining Cultists run to her, he knows he cannot get his sword out quick enough so he lets go and as an afterthought he takes hold of her bow and quiver. He dodges a low stab from a Cultist’s sword, nearly losing balance, and then runs out the way he had come in, same as Olraym and Trugaime earlier. He is able to get ahead of them; the Cultists come after him together so quick they struggle through the halls. They are nearly tripping over each other. He puts the quiver’s strap on his shoulder over his head so the strap goes across his chest.

  He finds his way to the trap door and rushes out, he slams the trap door closed but instead of leaving the barn as Olraym and Trugaime had done, Thorne climbs up the first ladder then the second until he reaches the hatch to the attic. Once in the attic his lowers the hatch until it is only open a sliver and looks down.

  In seconds the trapdoor bursts open and four Cultists rush out, they fan out until they are at the exact corners of the trapdoor facing outward. They look around hurriedly then all at once turn to the barn’s entrance. It is wide open which Thorne assumes is because of Olraym and Trugaime. The four are soon joined by five more that also look to the wide open door. Thorne wonders what they are doing, then realises they are looking to each other, asking silent questions. Soon they all leave through the door.

  Thorne waits until he can no longer hear them, then he sighs and lets the hatch close. He stands and looks around the attic. Inside there are lit torches all around the room and plenty of racks full of swords and axes. Quivers filled with arrows line on wall, above them are more arrows. He traverses the racks of weapons to find a large rectangular table. It is all very clean: there is a neat stack of parchment on one side, a single one in the middle and a bottle of ink and feather pen on the other side. Everything in its place, Thorne can tell from the lack of stains on the table that it is cleaned regularly and nothing is moved to another part of the table, nothing is out of place.

  He looks through the stacks first. They are all the same talking about essence from stars and the limited time they shine. The one difference is the name of some obscure person at the bottom of each. Some of the names are women some are men. At the top of each of them is a word written small, Thorne leans down to read it. It reads ‘fulfilled’.

  ‘These are assassination contracts’.

  He looks at the single one in the table’s centre. It doesn’t say that it is fulfilled like the others and the name on it is ‘Olraym’. He stares at it for a while, sure he still wants Olraym dead so he can take the crown, but this Cult has had this contract for some time. They have sent two of its members to kill Olraym, one failed and has joined him, while the other failed and died. This Cult is useless. Thorne knows he will have to do it himself.

  He picks up his brother’s contract and walks to the nearest torch. He hesitates a moment then places the contract above the torch. At first nothing happens then slowly a black circle appears then a red burn forms in the black circle’s centre, it grows more and more until the torch can be seen underneath and the parchment falls apart and continues to disappear into ash. Once most of it is gone Thorne drops it and watches until only ash is left and the small flame is gone.

  Feeling the need to leave fast he goes back to the hatch and opens it a sliver, no one is down in the barn. He waits for anyone to appear and when no one does he opens the hatch and climbs down the ladders, then goes out the door.

  With it still being so dark outside he cannot see any of the Cultists but smiles as they cannot see him. He stays away from the torches and works his way around the small houses, stopping at the first sign of someone close, then stays still low to the ground until he is sure of his safety.

  At one point while going from the back of one house to another he stops suddenly as he hears a loud crack, like a twig breaking. He drops to the ground and cringes at the unwelcome noise he makes. He controls his breathing and listens for anything, for a while there is nothing. So much that he thinks he was mistaken. He is about to get up when he hears another noise just a few feet from him. He holds his breath and waits. He hears someone breathing heavily, a woman, moving off to Thorne’s side and he guesses she hasn’t heard him yet. She suddenly stops; Thorne stiffens hoping he has not been spotted. He waits, for what feels like an eternity and nothing happens. He can still hear her breathing but she makes no move in any direction. Then, just as he is about to take an arrow from the quiver he stole and use her bow he hears another sound. She is moving away.

  He sighs and resumes moving away from the barn, out of the village. He soon makes his way out but now is stuck on where to go now. Where did Olraym and Trugaime go, where are they going now? He thinks hard, they might be going back to Tov’ra, but Thorne thinks maybe not. ’But where else can they go?’ he decides to just walk along thinking maybe he can catch them or if not figure out where they are going.