A monster had come for them.

That was the short of it. Ezek hadn’t finished ripping down the shelters in the towering rage Gael had left him in before a rush of white fell from the sky, talons flashing through one of Ezek’s lieutenants before she had a chance to scream.

They’d scattered into the night. No plan, no supplies, nothing. Morning came and went before the survivors trudged back into the smoking remains of their camp. Two of the potential martyrs never returned, and the body of the poor girl was gone as well. Ezek laid out his instructions in quiet, seething fury: to salvage what could be found and follow him after those he blamed for the attack.

“He blames us?” Kaya sputtered around a mouthful of fish. “Seriously?”

“He can punish us if it’s our fault.” Wynn said. “It’s about control, not truth.”

“True or not,” Fyod said, “he’s following you. Coming for you.”

“And what’s coming for you, Fyod?” Gael asked, staring pointedly at his wounds.

“Your monsters,” Fyod replied.

Fyod had been raised on the frontier of known space. As with so many colonized worlds, Theodoros has been seeded with life rescued from Earth-That-Was. Fyod’s home would have been plagued with vermin but for the cats that had joined them in the colony. Fyod had always enjoyed watching them stalk their prey, watching them play. This, exactly, was what the monsters did.

Ezek’s little band didn’t flee. They hurried, but it was to catch Gael and his friends. The few hours of rest he allowed them were only to carve spears. To kill at a distance when the time came, Ezek said. The glimpses of haunting, bestial shapes behind them, of white wings in the sky and teeth in the dark, such things had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all.

They could afford to hurry.They could push their bodies, the Recall made that clear. Gael’s band wasn’t hiding but simply following the river. It would be easy to catch them. Surprise would be on their side. But Ezek had been forced to stop when the storm broke. They were sheltered by the forest when it came, and despite their fear of him resentment had been building in his cronies. Hoping the thunder and rain might somehow buy them a night of peace, he was forced to let them rest.

The monsters struck while Fyod was on watch. He’d barely survived, escaping only by throwing himself into the swollen river and letting it carry him away.

“Tell us again.”

“What?” Fyod asked.

“Tell us again,” Gael said. “Not the whole thing. You can start where you were all running from the monsters.”

“Oh. This. My mother used to do this to me,” Wynn said with a smirk.

Fyod looked as though he wanted to protest, but a glance at Naomi’s fiercely polite smile saw those protests shriveling on his lips.

Ezek’s little band fled and the monsters came stalking after them. They didn’t have time to sleep, to eat, scarcely even to breathe. Whenever there was a moment that might bring them peace a haunting, bestial shape would appear behind them, above them, white wings in the sky or claws in the dark.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

They were Martyrs, they could do it.They could push themselves for days if needed, the Recall made that clear. They fled, following Ezek’s revenge if only because it gave them a direction. However, they had been forced to stop when the storm broke. They were sheltered by the forest when it came, and it seemed they might finally have a moment to rest.

The monsters seemed to strike the moment sleep finally came. Fyod had woken with talons sinking into him, escaping only by throwing himself into the swollen river and letting it carry him away.

“Again.”

Ezek’s little band fled and the monster came stalking after them. They didn’t have time to sleep, to eat, scarcely even to breathe. Whenever there was a moment that might bring them peace a haunting, bestial shape would appear above them, white wings and talons glittering in the sky.

They were Martyrs, they could do it.They could push themselves for days if needed, the Recall made that clear. They fled, following Gael’s party. Perhaps even to join forces, Ezek wouldn’t say. However, they had been forced to stop when the storm broke. They were sheltered by the forest when it came, and it seemed they might finally have a moment to rest.

The monster struck the moment sleep finally came. Fyod had woken with talons carving into his chest, escaping only by throwing himself into the swollen river and letting it carry him away.

“Again.”

“No,” Fyod hissed. “I’ve told you three times now. You know as much as I do.”

“I know you’re lying,” Gael said.

“What?”

“I never described the APEs in your hearing, but the flying white beast is true enough. With the fire and Ezek’s noise, it’s not surprising that the thing came. Your story after you left camp, however, starts to fall apart. First there were monsters, now there’s only one. First Ezek’s after revenge, then he’s considering alliance. Of course, the damning bit was the splinters we dug out of your ‘talon marks.’ The APEs are holograms: they don’t leave traces.”

Fyod’s face, pale at first, began to turn red.

“Someone did that to you, not something. The wounds are deep but nothing threatening, not to a Martyr. I imagine the cold and the beating the river gave you is more trouble than the wounds. Either you ran from Ezek and did that to yourself to earn some pity, or Ezek did it to you as part of some plan. Slow us down? Convince us of something?”

“I questioned him,” Fyod said, his eyes downcast. “Challenged him. You broke something in him, the five of you. Walked in and snatched the power right out of him, told him he had to chase you or lose it forever.”

“What did you do? Tell him something he didn’t want to hear?”

“Told him nothin’. I say it was a knife in t’night,” Tyver said. Everyone turned, staring at the little thief. Staring at his tone: cold, tired, almost dejected. He glanced up, almost startled at the attention, and seemed to collect himself.

“Happened in t’streets, all t’ time. A boss slips up, someone tries t’make it last.” He looked down at Fyod, his face empty of expression. “I was hopin’ t’forget.”

Fyod’s expression was just as empty as he stared back. “Fair enough. He caught me. He was going to kill me, so I suggested this instead. Cut myself before he could react. Impressed him. He said If I slowed you down, he might take me back. The fool. I knew if I found you that you’d take me in, get me away from him.” He smiled then, smiled in a way that made all of them want to scrub themselves clean in the river. “You’re good people, I see that now. I’m sorry I doubted you.”

There was a long pause before Wynn turned to Naomi. “I believe you said something about cutting throats.”

“No,” Gael said. “We’ve spent enough on this… this thing. We leave it. Ezek can have it back. Or the APEs. I don’t care.” And he stood and walked away.

Fyod’s eyes stood out from his head. “You can’t! You’re better than that! Look, I’m sorry, I just wasn’t sure! I still need help, I need-”

Naomi crouched beside him, her expression unreadable. He tried to flinch away, but only succeeded in spilling himself off the litter.

“Keep the blanket. You’ll need it. You can have this, too.” She took a knife from her side and dropped it at Fyod’s feet. “After all, you taught us that Ezek’s not just a brute. We should thank you for that, at least.” She leaned closer.

“That one’s his. When you see him again, tell him I look forward to taking it back.”

“I’m not going back to Ezek,” Fyod said.

Naomi didn’t say anything. After a moment, he looked away.