Maa missed the good old days, when she could burst into any room and announce her decision, causing a chain of events where an army of sycophants scurried off to blindly do her bidding. Those were the good old days.
At the moment, she didn’t even have a room to burst into. The last time she’d been taken to Draco, she was unconscious. The trio of marked thugs collected her limp body from the gutter and carried to ancestors only knew where.
Leaving the hidden encampment didn’t help. Her head had been covered by a bag that smelled of dead cat, in the most undignified fashion. The whole experience left her with only a fleeting memory of where Draco’s hideout might be. Her decision to retrace her steps might have been a colossal waste of her precious time, but now that she was committed to this course, the thought of abandoning the search willed her with the angst of failure.
Finding, let alone returning to the scene of her abduction turned out to be a bust. This looked like the same street, but after the encounter with the guards, her brain was fuzzy. No men waited to collect her like before. Trying anything to help, she shed the patch covering her right eye, but it did no good. She could barely see past the swelling. No one walked up to her, asking if they could help. More like anyone they came near moved to let them pass. Maa still parted the peasants when she walked. It must be the way she carried herself.
To make things worse, the two shadows grew fidgety the longer they strayed from the objective. Instinctively, she knew her time ran short. Either the approaching dead or the Dregs would end this search shortly. Something needed to change.
Thinking of failure only served to enrage her more. She didn’t care so much about the impending loss of life as she did about not finding the idiot teamster and relieving him of his testicles. Besides, she wanted her bow and armor back. These rough cloth robes might be fine for the commoners, but her delicate skin needed the softer touch of fine leather or silk.
“We need to end this foolishness. Time grows short,” one of the Dregs murmured behind her.
She felt the touch of his hand tug on her sleeve.
Instantly she jerked her arm away. She hissed, “Touch me again, and I will scream bloody murder. Let’s see how long you last against the mob.”
Maa didn’t know if the people around her would rise to the defense of a woman assaulted by the two so menacingly dressed. In her heart she doubted any of these peasants would lift a finger to help a stranger.
How can I expect more? While empress, she would not have done anything to lighten their burden in life. In many ways, she knew her existence made their lives more tenuous. Even if they didn’t know who she was, chance had turned against her. A lifetime of hostile actions had come back to haunt her.
“Look,” one of the shadows said. His arm pointed down the narrow lane they traveled.
Maa slapped the arm down. “You’re not very good at this being discreet thing, are you?” Her reaction was too slow. A cloaked young man with a scared face turned and took flight.
Stupid man… Not the best way to react when singled out of a crowd.
“Get him.” Maa looked behind her, but the two shades had disappeared. “I really hate that…”
She took off after the skinny young man. Unfortunately, with his head covered, he blended in with the dozens of other skinny bodies bundled against the abnormal chill in the air.
Her prey darted down a narrowing side alley. Maa grit her teeth and she tried to catch the fleeing rabbit.
Her feet slipped on the foul mud that made up this path. A pole holding up the slatted covering saved her from the indignity of falling into the muck.
She did consider herself lucky. Her faltering step kept her from running into the back of a shadow guard. The creature reached the corner before Maa.
The pair had pinned the runner between them. Each had a hand on a shoulder, turning him in her direction. All right, perhaps these two aren’t completely useless. They did catch the target.
Maa gripped the teen’s cheeks and let her nails dig into the hairless face. “Take me to Draco or die where you stand.” Maa didn’t have anything to cut this idiot with save her nails, so she kept squeezing until blood trickled from under her thumb and fingers. “By the ancestors, you’re a scrawny lot, no more meat on you than a starving rabbit.”
His efforts to fight free of her grip only served to dig the nails in deeper. “If I blab, he will kill me.” This lad was barely old enough to grow a beard. Tears ran down the acid burn etched over his right cheek. If this was a sample of Draco’s forces, this search had been a waste of time. This part of the city was already doomed.
“Funny. You should be more worried about what I will do if you don’t talk. Let me put it into perspective. I’m standing before you, Draco isn’t here. I think it would be wise to tell me. I know too many ways to flay your tender hide from this body you hold so dear.”
The boy’s eyes bulged at the thoughts that must have raced through his mind. Rather, than fight her will longer, he nodded and pointed to the lane they had just traveled.
Her shadow guards kept the teen in check. Maa didn’t worry about which path they took. When the dead attack came, she assumed the shadows tasked with protecting her would whisk her to safety and conveniently next to Wurn and the accursed book. As long as the two Dregs lived, she had time to forge ahead with this insane plan.
Now that it looked like they might find the bastard Draco, she needed some form of plan to convince him she wasn’t some twisted insane shell of her former self. If the survivors returned, they surely told all manner of stories to cover the loss of life and quick retreat. None of which had anything to do with the dead standing up and killing any living creature they stumbled upon.
She needed to leave out the cause. If Draco learned he might control the dead with a single book, the temptation to gain control of an unkillable army would be too great.
She knew the temptation the book held. Maa considered double-crossing the shadow master and gaining control with the book, however, the desiccated guard provided a compelling reason to not touch the damned thing.
Maa was not ready to die for power. If anything, she was ready to divest herself of the influence she once held so she might pursue other hobbies—namely skinning her enemies alive.
Her thoughts of the coming mayhem were cut short when the reluctant guide stopped. “He is in the building ahead.”
“Bullshit.” Maa slapped the young man with all the strength remaining. She waited for his ears to stop ringing from the blow before saying, “Last time I saw him, he was in a tent outside of town.”
The rabbit shook his head. “He is a wanted man. Do you think he remains in one place waiting for the guards to scoop him up?”
The scamp’s reasoning was sound, but his words only served to cause Maa to pause. She second-guessed her actions up to this point. How easy would it be for a leader to set up an ambush? A building specifically designed to trap anyone who came looking for him. This dilapidated two-story home might be a death trap waiting to be sprung.
This structure was different. Instead of the normal thatch roof covered with cloth to hold it in place, this abode had a more expensive red-tile roof. Long ago, this was an estate of great value. The lime-washed coating had fallen off in places, revealing the stone wall underneath. The outer gates were barely attached on sprung hinges. In the courtyard, most of the pavers had been removed. More than likely, they served as walls for one of the nearby hovels.
This place seemed abandoned while still livable. It was unlikely squatters bypassed this shelter for something else. Someone kept the curious away.
All thoughts of letting the rabbit go were crushed by the concern of her impending death. If he led them into a trap, he would be the first to die. “Lead the way.”
“But… I thought you could just let me go now that I’ve given you what you wanted…” he whined.
“Yeah, you thought wrong.” Maa motioned for the shadows to take the lead. If the arrows started flying, she could always run for safety.
The young man leading the way, they crossed the garbage-littered courtyard and walked right up to the intact door. If this was an ambush, the attackers just missed the best opportunity to take them out. At least now they had some protection offered by the building and the narrow porch.
“Go on.” Maa motivated the captive with a swift kick.
The door opened into a huge entrance hall. The two guards flanking the door must have been surprised by their unannounced entrance because the shadows had them dead on the floor before she could stop them. Great, two more bodies to add to the army.
The captive boy had tripped into the room and lay halfway between her and the chair that served as Draco’s throne. Upon which sat the crazed leader himself.
“Fancy meeting you here… I was told you died in Haven.” Draco seemed relaxed despite the death and intrusion. The hair tickled on the back of Maa’s neck. This wasn’t right.
“I wish I had a hekel for every time someone thought I was dead…” Maa was learning the use of false bravado. She thought she sounded threatening enough. “Listen, I know you are worried for your safety, but more than the city’s guards are on the way to capture you. I need you to warn your followers, get the word out to those outside the wall to flee this place.”
“Why should I believe you?” Two doors either side of the room opened, revealing guards poised to rush the attackers.
The two shadows took up positions ready to defend Maa.
This is about to get bloody. Maa shook her head. “Why would I return if I had no good reason? I want to talk to you without worrying about your lackeys running in here and disrupting us with their deaths.”
Draco raised his hand to hold off the men who entered from the sides. “Warn me about what?”
Maa’s sigh of relief proved brief. “Life is about to become deadly outside the walls. We need to get people out of the way.”
“Out of the way of what?” Draco steepled his fingers before his face.
“An army of insane cannibals followed your wagon back from Haven. I’m certain they will be here soon.”
Draco smiled what could only be called arrogantly. “I can assure you they have little chance of breaching my defenses.”
Maa refrained from slapping the grin off his face. “Tell me, are these the same defenses we just strolled through? Even if you had five hundred men ready to die for you, it will make no difference.”
“I let you in. I was curious why two Dregs followed you. Besides, given their reputation, any attackers would be dead long before we scratched your guards.” He took a long drink from a silver goblet before continuing, “I’m sorry, I have no reason to believe you. If there is so much danger, why risk your life?”
Maa understood now why others feared the shadow’s reputation. The Dregs were the experts of intimidation and fear. Word of mouth became the most powerful weapon they carried.
Maa looked to either side of the room. The men who watched the proceeding grew more tense with each passing word. “Maybe I want to become something better. The problem is you and yours think you are safe from attack. The problem is most people don’t believe the worst can happen until it bites them in the ass.”
“This coming from a slight wisp of a woman is not proving the most convincing argument.”
Maa took the moment and addressed the men who waited. “You see the look on my face? I know how bad it can get. It is about to get much worse.” Anything to sway the minds of those who watched.
The right-hand shadow whispered, “They grow closer.”
Maa tired of the verbal duel. It was time to cut and run. “Look, I have done what I can. If you refuse to listen, then I’m finished. Return my gear, and I’ll leave you to your fate.”
“Not so fast.” Draco held up his index finger. “You are not finished yet.”
Maa held her ground. After previously watching the shadows die, given the numbers that stood ready to fight, chances were good if the mob attacked, her guards would fall. She would be trapped when the dead finally showed up.
Draco kept blathering on while Maa thought. “…I was tested by the black dragon and survived. From that encounter on, I knew my life was meant for something greater. I have a higher purpose.”
Maa motioned to the men who watched. “Maybe that purpose is to save your people.”
Draco shook his head. “I’m not concerned with this life, but the next. My followers believe I will show them the promise land.”
Maa pleaded, “All we have is this life… The only thing that waits for the dead is eternity in Infernum for the end of times.”
“That is one belief… One I don’t hold. What if, after we die, we travel to the dragon’s side, to serve her in all the glory she deserves.”
“Sure, and maybe we all fart rainbows while whistling a merry tune to the uncaring universe. Anyone can make up bullshit to make life easier.” Maa wanted to rip the idiot’s throat from his neck. “Look, the dead will be here any moment. Then you will have a firsthand look at the afterlife that awaits you.”
“The dead?” Draco raised his right eyebrow.
Shit, that slipped out in the heat of the moment. “Your man, the teamster, lied. Some diabolical magic has caused the dead to rise. They are killing anything they come across. What do you think is going to happen when they reach these crowded slums?”
“But I was told…” Draco searched the room for support.
“Damn it all, the man lied! Listen, I know the teamster lied to you. Are you too stupid to see that?” Maa couldn’t waste a second more with this insipid fool. Now near a frenzy, she shouted, “I demand trial by combat! Let’s see how quickly the fool changes his story.”
Draco shook his head. “I’m not ignorant of your traveling companions. We both know Jac stands no chance to beat a Dreg in single combat.”
Maa stepped from between the shadows. “No, I intend to kill him with my bare hands.”
“Interesting.” Draco cocked his head before smiling.
“And after I prove your idiot a liar, I want my armor and bow back. This rag you gave me itches to all Infernum.”
“Or?” Draco asked.
“Or I might give you a few more scars to call your own.”
“Very well, if you lose, you will become the property of the man who beats you.”
Maa thought, If I lose, I’ll be dead. “Hurry up, you’re wasting time.”
“Call in Jac. Let’s see how long it takes for him to finish this wench.”
The lumbering mass of flesh must have been close. It seemed only a few heartbeats before he entered the room. “It is her… she is cursed.” The teamster’s face blanched from lack of blood.
Maa guessed she surprised him more than Draco. Maa stepped up and stood shoulder to shoulder next to the fidgeting man.
On the journey to Haven, Maa never took much notice of the blob she intended to kill. He was huge compared to her slender frame. Twice her weight, for sure—it didn’t matter.
Draco kept speaking while Maa sized up the man. “The lady questions the veracity of your story. She has challenged you to trial by combat. Do you accept?”
She expected the brute to argue his innocence or feign some other ailment. Instead, he didn’t complain.
Despite his size, Maa spotted several areas open for attack. This man was no fighter, he was a simple worker, out of his depth.
They turned to face one another. Perhaps ten paces separated them now.
Draco stepped down and laid a single knife between them. “First blood wins.”
Jac lumbered to the center of the floor, his mouth gulping air like a fish out of water.
Maa didn’t care about half measures, she wanted this coward’s life. And she knew how to take it. Growing up amongst a bevy of brothers, Maa learned early how to take care of herself. There were many reasons why her father Ed picked her to wed the emperor and lead the Genke clan.
She knew how to fight dirty.
The mass of flesh bent for the blade. Maa ignored the weapon. Instead, she rushed the man. His bent frame was an opportunity she couldn’t pass by.
Before he could react, she closed the distance and scrambled up his back like a beast of burden.
He moved to slash her with the blade, but Maa was quicker. She slapped both of her hands into the beefy ears of the teamster.
The man let out a scream and dropped the knife.
He reached over his shoulders for Maa, but she had already slipped off his back. Before he turned, she planted her foot between his legs from behind.
Out of reflex the man moved to protect his genitals but was too slow. He dropped to his knees, gasping for breath. The blade, forgotten, fell to the floor. If he’d been smaller, Maa could have snapped his neck where he hit his knees. Instead, she went for the blade.
Her assailant lifted his arms to surrender. “Mercy,” he croaked out, his face covered.
Maa was in no mood for mercy. She buried the dagger to the hilt in the tender space where the neck met the barrel chest. The dead man tried to breathe, but only blood gurgled from around the blade’s crossbar. He was dead, only too stupid to know it.
“You didn’t have to kill him,” Draco coughed.
“Yes, I did. Besides, you set the rule of first blood. I only made sure there was no question over who won.”
Maa knew she probably shouldn’t have killed the man. She provided the dead with another fresh body waiting to be possessed, but she couldn’t help herself. Too much of her life, she’d been forced to submit to the slovenly men in her life. Brothers, father, husband, this man who kneeled dying at her feet one more in a long line of weak males who thought they could rule her. She’d had enough, and if that bastard shadow master got in her way, he would be next.
Draco descended the steps.
To make sure this poor excuse of a man did not return, she pulled the blade from his body and plunged it deep into his swollen abdomen. She pushed the body with her foot, the corpse bent backward, the knees cracking under the weight.
Maa ignored the blood that now decorated the front of her coarse robes. Instead, she turned to face Draco. The bloody dagger made an effective pointer. “Now bring me my damned gear before I kill you and the rest of your worthless followers.” She dropped the blade on the floor.
He never had a chance to answer. A shout of troops came from the courtyard.
“They are here,” one of the shadows said.
“I guess we waited too long.” Maa turned to leave the meeting. “Take me to the book.” She wanted to be well clear of this building before the bodies started to pile up.
The twin warriors looked at one another. If a shadow could look distressed, it would have been these two. “Something is wrong,” the one on the right said.
“No shit.” Maa looked around. The man on the floor didn’t move—yet.
The other took out a flask, drank from it, before handing it to the other who followed suit. “It’s not working.”
Maa growled, “Men,” before she ran for the door.
Only Draco’s scream from behind slowed her escape.
The dead teamster stood and faced the religious leader. A trail of innards trailed behind him. So much for damaging the bodies before they turned.
The fool priest might still have some use left, as a guide if nothing else. “Save him.” Maa motioned with the back of her hand.
The first shadow stepped on the tail of guts. The second reached around, slipped the red glowing blade into the swollen stomach lower than the first cut, and with a swift slash emptied more of the creature’s entrails onto Draco’s feet. The beast dropped to his knees. A brilliant flash left the wound. A wisp of light hovered over their heads. The body fell dead with a sickening slop sound when he hit the floor.
When Maa looked back, the energy had disappeared. She assumed to haunt another body.
The fighters who so far had stood watching slack jawed, found motivation to move. Rather than guard their high priest, they scattered for an escape.
The pair of dead guards near the front door started to move.
“Give me my gear or die where you stand!” Maa stood on the dead’s back, now face to face with Draco.
The bow and leather showed up in an instant. One of Draco’s followers seemed to have a brain after all. Maa readied her bow and slung armor and quiver over one shoulder each. She knew there was no longer time to dress for battle. Another thing to blame Draco for.
The first shadow headed for the outside door. With swift efficient slices the two dead guards were stopped before they completed reanimation.
The sounds of dying drifted back in. The second motioned for Maa to follow, ensuring to not touch her. At least these creatures were trainable.
The scene outside was worse than Maa expected. Night had fallen, and only a few torches provided light, but what she saw made her blood run cold. The courtyard glistened with gore. So many dead, already.
One of the women who cared for her ran from an outbuilding with a legless monster riding her back. Blood poured from the woman’s shoulder while the undead gnawed on her. The woman tripped over her robes and fell, only to be swarmed by two more creatures.
Maa didn’t like what she saw. These dead moved more like normal humans than the shuffling mass she previously ran across. “They used to move slower.”
The shadow at her right nodded. “Not anymore.”
The religious leader ran without slowing to help the fallen. He made for the outer gate.
She grunted, “Coward.” Maa and her shadows followed suit. Those fighting the dead in the square would need to fend for themselves. This was no time for misplaced heroics. They needed to reach the main gate before the guards shut them out.
Maa shouted, “We need inside the walls.”
Draco didn’t pause to answer, rather he ran down a narrow lane they had not followed to reach his stronghold.
The young man who led them to this deathtrap ran up to Draco. “Please, lord, protect me!”
Without a word, Draco took out a blade and plunged it into the young man’s thigh. “Your death will not be in vain.” The priest said as he sprinted away from the wounded man.
A look of shock and horror swept over the teen's face. He dropped to the ground, hands trying in vain to stop the bleeding.
“Goodbye, rabbit…” Maa said as they passed the screaming youth. She chose not to look at him. She knew what a condemned man looked like.
No matter how distasteful the tactic, it helped slow the chasing monsters. The young man’s screams of pain could be heard for several minutes while she focused on the breakneck pace.
This section of the slum had not been hit so hard. A few peasants slammed shut doors and windows in defense.
Overhead ran the poles to block the sun and where cloth could be strung during the heat of the day or rain. Now they served to keep the dead away. Enraged hands stretched for the living as they scrambled for safety.
The monsters not only followed the chase from behind, but from above as well. If they found a way to drop before Draco, the chances of death would grow exponentially.
One of Draco’s guards was grabbed and pulled from the ground. The poles were too close together for the teeth to reach him, but the jagged nails of the creatures tore at the man’s flesh.
Blood rained down while they ran past, deserting the unfortunate.
Being blocked from reaching the fleeing humans would not stop the creatures, only slow them. Maa knew it was only a matter of time before they found an opening to slip through.
One dropped next to Maa, and the right-hand shadow plunged its blade into the lower stomach. The creature dropped dead.
“Ahead…” Draco gasped, running short of breath.
Ahead lay the gate.
“By the ancestors…” The gates were closed. From the wall, guards fired arrows into anyone who approached.
Now commoners battled the dead in grisly hand-to-hand combat. Improvised weapons did little to fend off the unstoppable gnashing teeth and tearing claws.
The lead shadow took off down another alley past the gate.
Maa had no choice but to follow the man.
She ran past Draco and never looked back at the fool. He was of no use to her now.
What followed was a blur of running and fighting off the attackers.
Not satisfied with shooting arrows at the fleeing population, the guards resorted to flaming arrows.
Dry thatched roofs caught in an instant. With no one left to fight the fires, the ghetto outside the walls would soon be reduced to ash. If the sparks drifted over the wall, the part of Ra on this side of the river would soon follow.
If the dead didn’t kill this city, man probably would.
“This way.” The lead shadow took a hard left turn.
Maa would never have come this way. The wall and archers lay directly before the path they followed. The thickening smoke would only grant them cover for so long.
The alley they followed twisted to the right before opening to the river.
At first Maa thought they were saved, but then she noticed all the boats had disappeared. They were stuck on the wrong side of the river—a burning city filled with the undead at their backs.
Downriver, the bridge that spanned the river Sin was in sight. That span offered no reprieve. She spotted a mob attacking the bridge gate. It didn’t matter if the bodies below the besieged gate were living or dead. The defenders poured boiling oil and rained flaming arrows onto the stone bridge. Only death waited that direction.
Maa’s only choice seemed to be which manner of death she might expect.
Her two guards led her to the end of a dock where they took up position ready to kill anything that came their way.
Maa drew her bow, ready to lend support where she could. She never thought this was how she would die. In the long run, it didn’t matter.