Black Halo (71 page)

‘Master,’ Xhai said, stepping forward with hands outstretched. ‘It’s the crown. The Grey One That Grins slipped it to you to weaken you. You don’t need it.’ A needy whine slipped into her voice. ‘These overscum women, you don’t need them, either. They’re both making you weaker.’

‘Weaker?’ He turned to her with an expression of hurt on his face, though the fraud behind it was obvious. ‘Xhai … do you think I’m … weak?’

Obvious to almost everyone.

‘N-no, Master!’ she said, shaking her head violently. ‘I am just concerned for—’

‘Unnecessary, Carnassial,’ he hissed with sudden fury, turning back to Asper. ‘I don’t like using magic for this. It dulls everything. What can be learned when all qualities and variables are dashed?’

He growled another word, shoving his hand forward. Asper was flung against the wall of the cabin, her scream choked in pain, her struggling impotent as he strode forward. His eyes were wide, white. His lips trembled, shifting between grin and animal need.

‘Knowledge gained through
nethra
is nothing. It’s too swift, too open to doubt. True knowledge is found through observation, through experiment. Slowly.’

He waved his hand. Asper’s shriek was cut short as she was flipped about by the unseen force, her belly pressed against the cabin wall, her bound arms presented to him. He reached out and placed a hand upon her naked left shoulder.

‘And here is where it all starts … This is the source of it, the beginning.’ His hand slid down her arm, tightening here, pinching there, counting off each knuckle in her fingers. ‘Such pain in it … I can feel it in you, feel them screaming. But this … this is merely a vessel.’ His hand slid lower, rested upon her buttock. ‘Show me, little creature, where the true suffering lies.’

Kataria didn’t understand his words, didn’t even hear him. She could only hear Asper’s whimpering, the screams choked inside her, the shuddering dread in her flesh. She could only see Asper’s tears pouring from her eyes, over her red cheeks and into her clenched teeth as she tried to shut them against him, against everything.

She could only feel Asper’s fear, her rage at how little she could fight against him, how she could do nothing as his fingers slid up past her loincloth.

To his sigh of contentment, she wished she could shut her ears … and then tear out his throat.

‘Ah …’ he whispered. ‘There it is.’ He smiled, pressing his body against hers. ‘Just takes a bit of trauma, doesn’t it? Everything with your breed does. It’s the catalyst that makes you shift so constantly. Yours will emerge, I think, only after more, only after …’

He paused, looking up and away from her, staring into nothing. Xhai seemed to pick up on this instantly, stepping forward with a furrowed brow and clenched fists.

‘Master?’

‘We,’ he whispered, ‘have company.’

Before she could even form a suspicion, a chorus of screams rang out from the ship’s deck and assaulted Kataria’s ears. The sound of metal clanging, voices chanting, a thunderous roar, alien words. Through it all, barely audible through the wood, she heard a voice screaming itself hoarse with her name.

Lenk
.

A human
, the Howling answered.
Not important
.

‘We’re under attack,’ Xhai snarled. She stalked to the wall, seizing her massive metal wedge of a sword. ‘Nothing but worthless high-fingers out there. I’ll be back.’

‘No, no,’ Sheraptus said. ‘That will take a bit longer than I’d like. I’ll handle this personally. Stay here and guard them.’

‘Guard,’ she growled in indignation. ‘I’m a Carnassial. The
First
Carnassial.
Your
Carnassial. Let me do this for you; let me—’

‘Unnecessary,’ he replied. ‘Besides …’

He glanced at his fingers, disdainfully wiping them clean upon his robes.

‘I’m in a bit of a mood.’

He withdrew his other hand, his power dissipating and letting Asper slide dejectedly to the floor. He swept across the floor, beckoning robe and crown to his hand with a wave. Slowly, he affixed both and turned to the cabin’s door, pausing only to spare a smile for Xhai.

‘Come now, Xhai, if I trusted anyone else …’

‘I would kill them,’ she grunted.

‘Absolutely.’ He swept his burning eyes back to Asper. ‘I shall return shortly.’

He was gone in an instant. Only then did Kataria look at Asper, lying motionless upon the floor, not enough breath left in her to sob, not enough life in her to stir. Kataria stared at her, the woman who was rendered so still, so lifeless, because she had spoken up for the shict. Kataria stared, mouth hanging open, unable to find words to comfort she who had spoken the words that had condemned her.

The din of battle outside grew louder. Not loud enough to drown out the Howling.

She is a human. Her actions are a symptom of her disease. You owe her nothing
.

Not loud enough to convince Kataria.

I
was supposed to have given this up …

There was no doubt in his step as he darted low under a wild swing from a purple arm, shoving his blade up into purple skin, stared up into a purple face. The light leaked out of her white eyes in swift order, the last moments of her life spent spewing a blood-slurred curse from her teeth before she collapsed to the deck of the ship.

Wasn’t I?

‘
Unique circumstances
.’

He felt his hands driven of their own accord, twisting the blade inside her to extinguish the last sparks.

You’re not supposed to be so chatty, either
.

‘
You’re supposed to deny us more powerfully
.’

And yet …

‘
Clarity is a wonderful thing. Behind you
.’

‘
QAI ZHOTH!
’

He whirled and saw the pair of longfaces charging. While he might not have heard Dreadaeleon’s arcane verse over their war cry, he certainly heard the roaring crackle of fire that followed. A great red plume preceded the boy like a herald as he strode forward, arm outstretched to sweep his fiery harbinger over the pair. They writhed, shrieking as they attempted to press forward, then fall back, before they simply fell, blackened and smoking.

‘Nice work,’ Lenk remarked.

‘Well, I do it all for your approval,’ Dreadaeleon replied, panting. ‘This wasn’t a good idea. I’m strong enough to do that, but not for much longer. Not without …’ He glanced at Lenk, then grunted. ‘We should have opted for another strategy.’

‘The other strategy was to leave Kat and Asper to die.’

‘We could have tried something else. Subtlety, perhaps.’

‘We are a pubescent magic-spewing freak, a man with a disembodied screaming head and four hundred pounds of angry reptile. What about that suggests “subtlety” to you?’

A thunder of boots rumbled through the ship’s black hull; alien war cries rose through the planks of the deck. At the bow of the ship, the purple shapes of the netherlings began to emerge from the shadows of a companionway.

The shriek that met theirs was shrill and terrified.

A green shape came hurtling over Lenk’s shoulder like a scaly meteor, colliding with the lead longface with a resounding cracking sound. She collapsed into her companions as Togu, bound and squealing, rebounded from her chest and rolled along the deck.

Lenk
had
wondered why Gariath had insisted on bringing him along up until now.

Gariath followed, charged on all fours, complementing Togu’s strike with one from his own horns. He struck the longface’s purple torso, rose to his feet and continued to press her back into her fellows, choking their rush in the companionway’s darkened throat.

‘Five hundred pounds, maybe. He’s looking healthy today,’ Lenk said, cringing at the flurry of claws and teeth and noting the wisdom in keeping his distance. ‘Subtlety is where Denaos comes in.’

‘Pointless,’ Dreadaeleon muttered. ‘The moment the heretic even looks at him sideways, he’s dead and we’ll follow. Did you not see what he can do? What he
did
?’

‘I saw,’ Lenk replied. ‘If I was duly frightened of everything that makes
you
faint, however, I’d never get anything done. This is the only chance we have.’ He shoved the boy forward. ‘Now, do something useful.’

The boy’s eyes narrowed and, whether because of Lenk’s command or in spite of it, blossomed with crimson light. He swept his hands toward the companionway, the fire in his palms blooming with the murmur from his mouth. He placed them both upon the deck and, with a resounding word, sent serpentine flame racing to meet in the companionway and erect a wall of crackling orange to segregate the dragonman and the netherlings.

Gariath stared at the sudden obstacle with undue contemplation, as though wondering whether to leap through the fire and continue the assault or perhaps just break Dreadaeleon’s hands to bring it down first.

Lenk was more prepared for either of those than to see the dragonman reach down, scoop up Togu’s bound form, and drag him back with unnerving patience. At Lenk’s apparent surprise, he shrugged.

‘I’ve killed a lot so far,’ he said. ‘I can wait for a few more.’

‘The point is not to kill them,’ Lenk replied, ‘but to distract them until Denaos can do what he needs to.’ He glanced over the edge of the ship. ‘Then we leap off, reunite with Hongwe and paddle off before anyone can kill us.’ He glanced to Togu, wide-eyed and squealing behind a gag. ‘What’d you bring him for, anyway?’

‘He caused this, as you say. He should see it to the end,’ the dragonman replied. ‘The end being that you all die, of course.’

‘Not you?’

‘Not yet.’

‘You seem in good spirits. How have you been, anyway?’

‘Not dead yet.’

‘Nor us.’

‘Yet.’

‘Right, yet. It’s a bit strange to see you so enthusiastic.’

‘I could leave, if you want.’

‘Not yet.’

Gariath said nothing in reply, sweeping his gaze up and down the ship. Aside from Dreadaeleon’s murmuring chant holding the flames up and the netherlings back, the deck was quiet from companionway to the looming cabin at the ship’s stern.

‘And you’re waiting for what?’

It happened in an instant. Sound died, wary of being heard. Clouds covered the moon, terrified to be seen. Pressure settled over the deck as the sky sank low and tried to hide beneath the sea.

‘That,’ Lenk whispered.

Dreadaeleon’s voice was choked from him, his chant and the flames it conjured extinguished in an instant. The netherlings emerged from the companionway slowly, all their bloodlust and hatred still present in their white stares, but restrained behind shields and nocked arrows.

Keeping baleful stares on the companions as they defensively backed up against the ship’s great mast, the netherlings filed out silently, uttering no more than a curse or growl as they took positions, surrounding their prey, but making no move to raise blade or draw bow. The yearning to do so was frighteningly plain on their faces, but they were restrained by some unheard command, a cautious calm settling over them that Lenk found unsettling.

He had seen this before.

‘Can I help you?’ a voice, deep and rolling, bade Lenk to turn.

Against the purple pillars of muscle and iron that flanked him, the longface didn’t look too imposing at a glance. It didn’t take long for Lenk to become reacquainted with the eyes ablaze and the halo of black iron wrapped about Sheraptus’ brow, however. It took even less time for him to raise his sword cautiously and slip a hand to his belt and the burlap sack hanging from it.

‘If he’s got only one arm,’ Gariath whispered, ‘that will keep him busy, right?’

‘Yes, but—’

The dragonman didn’t wait. Hurling Togu at the long-face, he howled and fell to all fours, charging after the squealing green projectile. The females made no movement to intervene as Sheraptus lifted a hand and casually waved it.

The air quivered with force. A gale unseen and unheard spawned from nothingness and swept over the deck, striking both Togu and Gariath from sky and deck alike and sending them hurtling over the ship. Lenk stared in astonishment as his companions’ roar ended in a brief splash. Sheraptus didn’t spare nearly as much shock, glancing disinterestedly over the ship’s edge and then back to Lenk.

‘Well?’ he asked. A moment later, recognition dawned on his face. ‘Oh, it’s you. Still alive?’

Lenk nodded weakly, only just beginning to pull himself from his shock.

‘I assume my females are dead, then?’

Another nod. Sheraptus regarded them carefully before canting his head to the side.

‘And?’

Lenk recoiled, having expected nearly any other response.

‘And … what?’ he asked.

‘Did you need something else?’

‘What? We …’ He shook the confusion from his face, replaced it with as steely a resolve as he could manage. ‘We came for our friends.’