Chapter 7

The Kyrithon song was unending. They sang though the night and the rain. The sounds weaving together to form an unsettling melody. Sleep was elusive. Arios found himself atop the river-wall. Below the Kallidra foamed as it surged through the city. Its banks still exposed; the waters yet to rise. An azure glow revealed that the Glintclaw continued to march. Their movement, which had seemed so mysterious, was now revealed as a dance in perfect rhythm with the echoing chorus. Music that only they could hear, until now.

He thought of the burning men. Their screams echoed in his mind. The rains had seemed to wait for them. Had they come just moments before the men might have been spared such a gruesome death. Perhaps the cold waters had brought comfort to them in their last moments. But had they deserved their fate? Archiereus Hesperion had spoke with such conviction. They had not been good men. They had betrayed the faith of those they had been charged with defending. Yet he could not escape their screams. The Kyrithon spoke of a better world but their actions betrayed a darker purpose. They could not be trusted.

The rains fell, the Glintclaw danced on and Arios thought of his father. He remembered the fear in his eyes as they stood on the wall. But there was more to it. A deeper sadness lay behind the terror, a quiet resignation. Arios had seen that look only once before in his father’s eyes. When they had taken his mother.

They had looked for Mother all day but when the sun set Father had sent him home. Ilaria could not be out so late and the rains were always stronger at night. She was just a babe. He sat by her cradle as she cried. She was still suckling but there was no one to feed her, they could afford a wetnurse. He had been alone with her for hours. A boy, a crying babe and the dull pounding of the rain. It was not until dawn that Father returned.

He staggered in drenched and exhausted. His skin burned and he raved in hushed unintelligible whispers. Arios had stripped him and led him to his bed. He slept until the sun rose again. When he woke, he had composed himself but his eyes were changed. Eyes that had once sparkled with joy were now dull and lifeless. He had informed Arios that his mother would not be coming home. Arios had been too young to fully understand his father’s words but he saw the pain. They had not spoken of it since. It was a memory best left in the past.

He thought of Ilaria. She had not known her mother. There had been no one to teach her as Father had taught him. Of course, Father had done his best but there are some things that only a mother can teach. But Ilaria was as resilient as she was determined. She had learned to cook and sew, to build and repair and now to fight and heal. She took care of them. They needed her more than she needed them. Perhaps Father had been right. They needed to stay together. They would protect each other. Arios would not let any harm fall to either of them. Not like what happened to his mother. And that’s when he saw her.

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She was just as he remembered her. Her pale skin shown in the glow of the crabs all around her. The Glintclaw had stopped their movement and were gathered at her feet. She stood in the rain, dark curls sodden, large strands clinging to her face. Blood streamed like tears from her gray eyes as she starred up at him. He called out to her but she would not respond. He wanted to run to her but the gates had been sealed. She was so close but he could not reach her.

He needed to find Father. He would know what to do. He had designed the gates; he would be able to open them. But what if she disappeared again? What if this was his only chance? He would have to climb down the wall.

The rains were heavier now but the song still rose above it. The stone was slick as Arios carefully pulled himself over the parapet and hung off the side of the wall. It was slow work. Small imperfections in the mortar provided the path for his hands and feet. Each step was a prayer and each prayer needed an answer. The wall was ten meters high. Even one mistake could be fatal.

It was halfway down that his luck ran out. The rain fell like thunder drowning out his senses. The singing had reached a frantic pace. He lowered himself but could find no footing. Panicked he clung to the wall desperately sliding his foot along its width searching for a foothold. There was none. His strength was waning and his fingers began to slip from the mortar. He fell.

He felt his legs snap as he hit the ground. His scream was lost in the rain. He lay there in agony searching for his mother. She was right there, in the same spot as before. But she made no move towards him. Did she not recognize her own son?

One of the crabs made its way towards him. He was having trouble focusing his vision, the pain was so intense. When it arrived, it reached out its claws and began tearing into Arios’s skin. He screamed again and crushed the little beast in his fist. When he looked back there were more making their way towards him.

Suddenly all the Glintclaw were moving his way. Hundreds, maybe thousands of them. The glowing blue grew brighter and brighter until he was blinded by it. He could no longer see anything by the time he started to feel them. They crawled over his body blanketing him. They ripped and tore at him.

“Mother!” he screamed. “Mother don’t let them take me!”

All he heard was the song, and the rain, and the scuttling of a thousand crabs.

“Mother!” One crab crawled into his mouth choking the words from it. He bit down and spat it out on the riverbank. More took its place cutting their way back in. His body shut down. He could resist them no longer. He felt the crawling inside of him. As he faded out of consciousness, he felt a wave wash over him. It lifted him up and bore him away.

When woke he heard no singing. All was silent but the soft patter of rain on the roof above.