“Another one?” Shea asked with dull surprise.
It was as unexpected as the sun rising in the morning. Iago didn’t even bother to answer her with a reply. The fissures in the ground had become their curse from the moment they set out. There was none the first day but since then they more often were walking around one rather than moving in their chosen direction.
“Do you think we’ll need to waste another day moving around?”
“Probably,” he answered with a look to the horizon. As far as he could see the crack in the ground was more than ten paces wide without any thinning out. It seemed they had another boring day ahead of them.
Shea sighed behind him, starting to walk by his right. “In the last week did we spend at least a day walking towards the capital?”
That was a good question. He considered it for a moment. They had set out almost two weeks ago and at first it was fine. Then from the second day, the fissures appeared one after another. They hadn’t been there when he had went through there and that was strange. The Scourge was already over. It didn’t make sense for the land to still be shifting.
Could it be an after effect? The Energy currents having gone out of control set something in motion that continues even when they have settled? It was a dangerous thought. He didn’t want to consider what it could mean for the few survivors if the land was still in motion. Especially since to his surprise, he was one of those still alive.
“We have. It’s not that far now. If it’s still in the same place, that is.”
“How did you ever manage to walk around them all the way to my home?” Shea asked with a look towards him. “I’m doing it the first time and I’m already bored to death.”
Iago chuckled to himself. “It gets easier when you’re so hungry you’re about to eat the sand under your feet.”
“Should be glad you found my home then. We still have some rations left, right?”
“It’s in your pack.”
She whirled to face him, her eyes wide as they go. “You mean the one that I thought was empty?”
“It’s been two weeks,” he said with a grimace. “We found nothing since your home but a few dried fruits.”
They had stumbled upon a couple ruins in the time but none held anything. They were heavily buried under sand and ash, most ceilings caved in. It made it close to impossible to explore the place, as much as leaving little chance for anything to have been preserved.
“Let’s continue then,” Shea said and set out once more. Her back was straight before him and it was clear she was ready to face the world, whatever it threw at her.
It amused him to no end. She was a nobody, some little village girl but maybe because of that she got used to everything with ease. No tear storms, complaints or rages. He had never expected it would be so simple to travel with her. Her only actions were to move forward, and try to be helpful as much as she could.
Well, besides all that talking. It was as if her mouth never stayed closed. From the moment she got comfortable around him, it was like she was unleashed. Streams of words battled for his attention every moment of the day, the only saving grace being that it was rare for them to require any response. A non-committal grunt once in a while was good enough.
Probably, it would have been better to listen and learn more about her, especially since he had nothing better to do but it was too much effort. He had enough of his own shadows to haunt his sleep, no need to borrow them from another.
“Hey, what’s there?”
Iago looked up, or, well, down, to see what Shea was pointing at. A golden roof was gleaming in the distance, its thin point reaching out of the fissure. Only the very top while the rest was submerged in the crack.
They quickened their steps to reach the structure and stopped before it. Iago took off his pack and went to investigate. The edge looked stable enough so he lowered himself on it and looked at the protrusion.
It was stuck out of the wall a couple paces long with window holes empty in all directions. They were too far to see what was inside but he guessed there should be a path leading inside the fallen tower. More than likely it would be filled with rubble but he will have to risk it. Their supplies were running out, two days of rations at best.
“I’ll be coming with you!” Shea told him before he could order her to stay.
She tightened the straps on her pack and started climbing down. There was enough handholds to make it an easy work so he picked his own pack and followed after. It was probably better to have her, anyway. She would use her Energy to clear the path in her wish to be useful, and that would allow him to keep his strength.
It was annoying to have weaker power than a girl younger than him but it wasn’t a choice given to him. One was either born with talent or not. He should be happy he gained any shaping ability instead of lamenting how weak it is all the time.
“Is the fire steel with you?”
“Yeah, I’ll be right there,” he answered crawling over the tower and into the window holes. Ground there was slanted so he had to catch himself on the window edge before he slid into the darkness. “How far is the ground?”
“Not far, you can jump.”
He released his hold on the window edge and let the gravity bring him down. Once he felt like the ground should be coming up, he bent his knees and landed on his feet. Standing up, he took out the tools to light a torch. When done, a wavering light revealed their surroundings.
It was some rich man’s mansion. Built from thick stone it had survived the Scourge even as its foundation failed.
Most walls had torn carpets or painting marks. On the ceiling a story was told by a brush. Iago walked up and down until he recognised the tale of a man that fell for Lady Death. It was often told as a comedy but this detailed it as a tragedy, confusions and misunderstandings that were commonly funny shown in a disastrous way.
“What’s this?” Shea asked bending down to pick something from the ground.
Iago turned to look and saw her holding a bent violin. “It’s an instrument favoured by the nobility.”
“Can you play it?” she asked turning it back and forth, probing at the couple remaining strings.
“It’s brok-” Iago started when he picked up a strange sound. It was coming from down the hall and he could have sworn it was someone moaning in pain. Could they have stumbled upon other survivors?
It was possible, however, unlikely. This was a good hiding place as long as one didn’t want to be found. But to them it meant they would find no food or other resources in this place. That could only be a cry from hunger.
But then again, if it was a normal human, maybe he couldn’t reach the cellar without shaping. There was still a possibility for them to find that much needed supplies. It was very doubtful that they could find another house in a day, and shaping food from ash would exhaust him to no end. He would become wholly dependant on Shea.
“Was that me..?” the girl asked in a soft voice, staring at the instrument with wide eyes.
He looked at her for a time until her words made any sense. “Of course, not! It’s coming from down the hall! Let’s go!”
Together they started in the only direction possible. From up ahead a groan reached their ears. It was muted but painfully clear. It tugged at Shea’s heart and she doubled her step. When she was about to pass Iago, he caught her by the hand.
“Careful,” he whispered. “We don’t know who is there.”
“But it’s in pain!” she resisted, not lowering her voice.
“Be quiet,” he hissed, overtaking her and walking first once more. This time he moved with less care, each step two of Shea’s. She had to half run to be able to keep up with him.
The torch flickered because of the quick movements, providing little light of their surroundings. It was hard to make out anything that wasn’t right before them and for a moment Iago wondered if they were making a mistake.
Then the pained groan came again and he doubled his efforts. They were both running by the time they emerged from the corridor into a low ceilinged room. It took a moment for the torchlight to calm and reveal the man lying in a corner.
He was curled into a ball, hands wrapped around his stomach as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. Once the light settled, it glistened on elongated fangs revealing themselves every couple of moments.
While Iago stared in calculation he heard sounds from behind him. He turned in time to see Shea clench her hand tight against a sharp stone. Blood trickled down from her palm but she didn’t seem to notice. Her gaze was locked onto the figure in the corner.
Never before had he seen such an expression on her. Whole face twisted in fear mixed with rage; wrinkled forehead, narrowed eyes, lips in a grimace and the paleness of death enveloping all. A droplet of sweat ran down her side.
As if not seeing him, she tightened her grip on the stone and prepared to lunge. It should have been done in a second, but she hesitated and he shifted his gaze back to the figure in the corner.
Nosferatu were enemies of humans, that was as well known as that Lady was the only goddess in the world. They needed human blood to survive and cared not for what methods they used to get it. Rumours whispered that they preferred blood from people that were killed in terror, supposedly they tasted better.
Others said that the one they truly couldn’t resist was the blood of infants. Their innocence and purity was like a drug to the so called leeches. That’s why it was often the method used when trying to lure them out and kill. The amount of children lost this way was insurmountable.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!” the girl chanted under her breath, her body shaking all over. Her muscles flexed and released as she prepared to dash forward but never dared.
He returned his eyes to the shivering creature in the corner. It was weak. Without aid, it would die on its own in a couple of days. He could help it, of course, but was it worth it considering the risks?
Then again, having an indebted nosferatu was like hitting a blind jackpot. If the creature felt anything, it would want to repay him and having someone like him watching his back would make him close to invincible. Only other non-human races could face nosferatu on equal ground, and they were rare on a good day. After what happened to the land, it would be great if a family of each one survived.
But at the same time, there was a reason why humans had pushed the rest of the races close to extinction. Shapers were a power no one could fight against. He himself could kill twenty nosferatu in half a second and not notice the effort.
So, did that make it worth risking his life to save this one? He would even have to sacrifice some of his blood, becoming weaker in turn. Either the nosferatu or Shea could try to attack him in that weakened state.
The figure before him shivered again, groaning in pain as it clutched its stomach. The fangs had elongated in full upon sensing blood but the man was too sick to be able to do anything about it. He tried moving but actions were like those of a hundred years old normal human’s; slow, broken and painful.
“Ahh, whatever. I truly hope you’re worth it!” he said as he made his way forward.
Shea had chosen that moment to gather her courage and he had to catch her mid-lunge. She struggled in his grasp and he had to forcefully throw her away. Her body hit the wall in a crash but she quickly gathered herself and went for the attack again. “Get out of my way,” she hissed at him in the middle of reaching for the figure with her stone.
He caught her once more and threw in another direction, towards the corridor. It dazed her for a second and he used that time to sit down next to the figure. Then he took out a medallion from under his shirt and channelled Energies into it. This was a tool he preferred to keep in secret but there was nothing else he could do to keep Shea away.
Something had rubbed her the wrong way and she wasn’t calming down until she saw the nosferatu dead. Talking might have been a choice, but it would waste time that could be used travelling. They can discuss this problem after they were finished with this mansion and moving towards her dream capital; just another ruined city.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Wind rose three paces in all directions from him and he watched as Shea took a step back. She wasn’t blind and saw as the wall behind him was turned into dust, similar as the ceiling and sand that rushed after. Each fragment being shredded into nothingness before being able to reach the inside of the wind cocoon.
Her mouth opened and he guessed she screamed at him but no sound reached him. The cocoon was thorough in keeping everything out. Few seconds more and it became opaque, preventing even the sight from being shared. He couldn’t see the outside and the outside couldn’t see him.
Groan from beside him returned his thoughts to the problem at hand. He was about to feed a starving nosferatu. Not the smartest decision in his life, but having a non-human bodyguard would be worth it. He would just have to make the person believe it was his own idea and not something Iago wished of him.
But that was a consideration for later. Now he had to keep himself from being drained dry.
He pushed his sleeve upwards, exposing the vein on the inner side of his wrist. “I’m so going to regret this,” he muttered to himself as he cut his skin with a pocket knife.
Movement from the nosferatu alerted him about the upcoming attack. The head snapped up and without any preamble darted towards his wrist. The neck twitched, unable to reach it and the man groaned as he tried to move forwards.
Rolling his eyes, Iago got closer and put his wrist right before the mouth. It didn’t take a second for the fangs to plunge into his skin and he winced from the pain. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling. Then it stopped. In moments his hand grew numb and he couldn’t feel anything, even as he saw the nosferatu drinking heartily.
It was so amazing and unexpected, for a moment he forgot that he needed that blood to survive too. The rest of his body started to feel light and his mind grew faint. Sight went dim before he wrenched his hand away from the nosferatu.
Blood sprinkled his clothes and the ground as more skin was torn but he couldn’t feel any pain. It was disconcerting enough he pushed himself away. Why couldn’t he feel anything in his left hand? The skin and vein was torn there and he was using that hand to hold himself against the ground, and he didn’t even notice!
Movement ahead made him look upwards. The nosferatu stood with blood smeared all over its face. His elongated fangs glistened as he licked the last droplets of blood from them.
“I knew this was a bad idea,” Iago muttered to himself as he reached for the Energy currents. His dim mind took awhile to grasp onto them and bring them lashing through his body. Their wild destruction wakened him and he renewed his look on the nosferatu.
He was still standing there, unmoving. Iago didn’t use the Energies either, though, he kept them at hand. This was the moment he had said was a problem for the later. It had come earlier than he had expected and he wasn’t prepared. What should he say to make this creature feel indebted to him?
Say? Why not show trust in him. It would be the easiest way to see if he felt any gratitude or just waited for a moment to kill him.
“I’m tired,” he said, shaping his left hand closed. Any sign of the wound was gone but the blood remained. Whatever. Shea would know what happened whether he tried to hide it or not. “Would you mind if I rest for a bit before removing the barrier? There’s someone that wants you dead outside and I don’t have the energy to face her now.”
The young man shook his head and Iago found himself a softer spot on the ground. Putting his head on the backpack he closed his eyes and evened his breathing. Sleep beckoned him but he kept his mind sharp, knowing it was now or never. If the nosferatu attacked thinking him defenceless, he would have to kill it, however disappointing that would be. One chance was all he could spare.
As he considered such things, outside the barrier a female seethed. Shea threw stones, broken off beams and anything else that came under her hands at the wind wall but it didn’t dissipate. It whooshed in a soft constant, shaping everything it came in contact with to dust.
“Iago!” she screamed but heard no answer. The barrier had quickly become muddy and it had been some time since she’d been able to see what was happening inside. For all she knew, Iago might have already died. No matter how weak, the leeches should never be underestimated. They were monsters with no equal!
Why did he close himself up with one? She couldn’t understand what Iago’s thinking had been, not unless he thought to save it. But he couldn’t be that clueless, could he? Leeches were monsters that killed people without any scruples.
Her father, he had done nothing wrong in his life. Simple farmer that loved his family and the ground he worked, dreamt about the stars in the night sky. Yet he was mercilessly killed when tying to protect her from the hungry monster.
She picked another large stone and swinging it, threw at the barrier. The wind shredded it the moment it touched and she screamed soundlessly in her place. There was nothing she could do besides screaming and crying, and she was tired of the second. Enough of the tears were shed when she had woken up weeks ago buried underground.
Hours passed until the barrier disappeared and a dark shadow darted out. It was gone before she could even make out what had happened.
Iago walked out in an unsteady pace but with a pale smile on his face. He stopped before her, and reached for the packs. “Thanks for waiting,” he told her as he took out a cheese and started chewing on it. “Shall we continue the exploration?”
She stared at him, disbelieving. “What do you think you have done?”
“Helped an unfortunate soul?”
Her mouth opened to speak but no words left. How was she to answer such a clueless and proud statement? He had saved the leech thinking he was doing the right thing. It was mind-boggling. Was she to believe he’d never heard the tales about the leeches?
Was it possible for the capital to have no leeches in its vicinity? Her mother had told her they preferred more desolate places, where there were fewer bystanders to get in their way but... It was impossible somebody hadn’t heard about them in their whole life!
“They’re monsters,” she started slowly with compassion in her voice. “You might have thought you were doing good, but they’re killers! His kind took my father’s life! You should have let me kill him!”
The calmness hadn’t lasted. Every time she remembered her father’s lifeless face it brought an uncontrollable rage along. She wanted to kill them all. Every leech needed to be destroyed for what they had done. Monsters like them didn’t deserve to live!
“So, should I kill all the humans?”
“What?”
“This whole disaster, the so-called Scourge, was brought by human hands. I lost my brothers and sisters, a family that I had protected all my life. Does that mean I should take my revenge on all the humans?” he asked with a glare, throwing the pack over his shoulder and starting to walk deeper into the mansion.
“No! It’s not the same!” she shouted back, running after him and catching him by the shoulder. When he turned to look at her, they exchanged the glares. “They’re all monsters and killers!”
He presented her with a sickly smile. It was disturbing enough for Shea to take a step back.
“And humans aren’t? You just show your naivete with such words. Out of all disasters and horrors in the world, humans are the worst of all,” he growled at her. Then turned away and without waiting for her started walking once more. “Even if your leeches kill a hundred humans a year, how many do you think died in a single day over the Scourge?”
That quieted her down and they walked in silence. She removed any obstructions in their path with shaping, and in the end they found what must have been the cellar. It had a lot of rotten food and few things they could use. They picked those and left.
On their way out, they stumbled into a walk-in wardrobe. The clothes there were from a rich, thin material, absolutely useless in the current state of the world. She was about to leave when Iago went deeper in and brought something out. It were three summer cloaks. They were quite thin but warm looking, perfect to use as blankets.
She picked them up and put in her very light pack. Even with the extra couple pieces of dried beef, they had close to nothing. Two, three days tops. And judging by the fact this was the second house they had seen in two weeks not counting her home, it was doubtful they would find anything quick. Not that finding meant there was anything edible in the place.
It had been close to a month since the Scourge started if Iago was right, and most food didn’t hold that long. On top of that, the land had been turned into the desert, spoiling the few things that should have remained.
“Don’t look so worried. If worst comes to worst, we can shape the food.”
Shea looked up in surprise for having him guessed right what occupied her mind. “How did you...” her eyes landed on the pack she was staring at, and changed her question, looking back up. “Can you really do it, shape food?”
“Can’t you?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
Instead of answering, she picked up a brush lying on the ground and focused her Energy on it. Two heartbeats and she was holding a sausage in her hand. All her senses told her it was perfectly normal but she had no hope and just pushed it towards Iago.
He picked it with interest and after turning it over a few times, tried a bite.
And spit everything out, gasping a few times. Dropping the failed sausage, he looked back up at her.
She shrugged helplessly. “That’s what always happens. I can neither make food, nor drink.”
“Have you ever cooked in your life? Seen fresh meat?”
“No,” she answered shaking her head. “Why?”
“That explains it,” he said with a nod to himself, leading them out of the wardrobe room. “You’re not familiar with the internal structure of what you’re shaping and it makes you fail. I’d suggest going hunting but...”
It was disappointing to hear his evaluation but as long as he was around, she was going to be fine. The thought of having to skin recently killed animals, worse take their lives herself made her nauseous. She wasn’t certain she could do it even if she knew it was necessary to improve her shaping.
They left the mansion the same way they had entered and walked for the rest of the day by the fissure in the ground. Sun blasted them with the heat but Shea no longer paid any attention to it. The endless hours of moving went faster if she didn’t think of every single thing that made them so.
At some point night came and they settled to rest, eating very little from the supplies. They didn’t talk about anything, both aware of the discontinued disagreement earlier in the day. Discontinued, but not forgotten by either of them.
Darkness settled and they settled to sleep.
Before morning sun woke them up, an unnatural sound went through the night. Shea was still trying to decipher reality from dream when Iago was standing with all their tools already packed. “Someone is fighting,” he told her in a whisper.
Distinct clang of metal against metal. She rolled out of the cloaks, pushed them into her pack and stood ready, waiting for Iago’s next words. Whatever their disagreements, he knew the outside world better than her.
“Let’s go and see it.”
*****
Author's Note:
Hey, I forgot to mention in previous posts that I'll be uploading new chapters every Friday like I had done when writing FoI.
Also, comments, suggestions, ideas and reviews are very welcome. I want to improve and I'm certain, you want this story to be as good as it can, so let's work together towards this goal!