Chapter 4 - Loath advocates

The bodies were scattered and mutilated all over the place. The evening came down on them, as the two of them made camp. He lifted a great fire out of nothing. He looked and searched for something in his backpack and in the end, he revealed a piece of cloth. ‘Now grow!’ In a few seconds, the tent took shape, once again.

‘Looks like this time you had to take cover’ he observed, with a nod, indicating the trail of dead bodies. ‘Assassin warriors.’

She watched the ones lying on the ground, with hideous expressions on their faces. «How can this be? » She felt something that she denied at first.

‘It’s called compassion. Don’t deny it.’

‘Why don’t you stop telling me what to feel? Now you know more than ever that I will fight to death, just to get away from you. You believe that I am your slave. I’m telling you this: rather to die for my freedom, than to live bounded by you or anyone else.’

‘How can one comfort you, then?’

‘I don’t need to be comforted, curse you! I do not need your kisses, your caresses or anything from you. In fact, I do not need you, anymore. Thanks for your veil and your help’ she said, starting to run from him and his camp.

He smiled. ‘We’ll meet soon enough’ he said to himself. ‘You’re more important to me than you think…’

A few whispers in the wind, the powder thrown into the fire, eyes half closed and five bodies in his vicinity rose from the clayed, bloody dust.

‘Look here, boys! I don’t want to be disturbed until morning, is that clear?’ The hunks of meat nodded in approval and placed themselves in a circle, around his tent.

‘No wonder you’re an army so easy to kill. Without your leaders you’re absolutely brainless!’ he shouted at them. ‘Why the hell are you standing there? Patrol! Have you ever heard this term before?’

‘A-huh!’ one of them said, in an idiotic tone.

‘Good God! Brainless meat and nothing more…’ he said, cursing and talking to himself, while going inside the tent.

***

‘Compassion, comfort me… Damn you and your whole kind!’ She started to cry, as she ran furiously. She had absolutely no idea where she was heading. North, always north was the destination. She had made her calculations and now she was able to determine where she could find the first Assassin garrison. Years spent in training and becoming a skilled warrior… for what? Those dead things were butchering anything that stood in their path. ‘Nobility?! Sons of bitches, you proud yourselves for being rational and kind?! We’ll see who’s to prevail!’ The tears ran furiously down her cheeks. The last events rained down on her with unimaginable speed. ‘This cannot be, this cannot be…’ she repeated dozens of times, since she became the “pet” of that wretched being. ‘I’ll show you what kind of pet I am.’

After a while she collapsed, tired of her emotions, things she’d never witnessed, things she’d never wanted to feel; always denying them to come out, these emotions were coming like a flood against her mind, against her body, against her very soul. She crawled up, in the dust, trying to gain composure, like a child wanting to be gone from a state of guilt… or fear; wanting to disappear from this landscape and to find, once more, the stench of the barracks, the hot showers and those countless hours of training. Above all, she wanted her Druid back. She felt something for him… and now it was too late to grieve for him. He left their camp, soon after he recovered.

‘I thank you for your hospitality and for your caring for me, but now I must return to my people. You are not the only ones who battle against the Undead, you know!’ She knew… and now she met one of their leaders. She regretted for acting so recklessly and out of instinct, in the first place. What would have happened if she pushed her loath a little further? She could have snatched some valuable information from the Necromancer, something of vital importance for her clan. Or could she? ‘Why was I so dumb?’ The worst thing for a living woman had happened, anyway. ‘But not a rape, however!’ she observed. A filthy thing, bedding him, she pondered, but in the same time, such bliss. ‘He knows every organ and every part of the human body, you twit. It’s natural for him to satisfy a woman in that way.’ No, no, no… It’s not the right thing to think about that at the moment. Better to figure a way out of here, into an allied home, if possible, where she can get new armor and some effective weapons. ‘You’ll have to make do with anything that could turn into a deadly weapon, even though it’s not a wrist blade.’

How much did it pass? One, maybe two hours? ‘Time to get up…’ The sun will rise in a few hours. What if she would find someone on the way? Impossible not to meet some Assassin, judging by the fresh blood, spilled on the dust, back to his camp.

‘Impossible!’ she whispered, as she came to a halt. Two bodies, once again. This time one of them was moving. The lush bushes did not manage to hide their bodies completely. She inspected these two and suddenly she felt a stabbing pain in her chest. She recognized her baby sister and fell to her knees. She took hold of the dagger that had plunged the woman’s stomach.

‘Danuska… Say something!’ The woman only grabbed her forearm and dragged her sister to herself.

‘We found out what’s happening! It’s not the Undead…’

‘What do you mean?’

‘It’s not them… not… them…’ and she sighed deeply, forever lost to the living world.

‘Danuska!!! Damn you for leaving me! Damn everyone! Why?’ the elder sister started to cry. She looked at the other Assassin and nothing familiar came to her. She did not know this one.

‘Dead! All of you dead! Dead, dead, dead!’

‘Perhaps we will be of some assistance… UN-dead, chérie! Does it fit more to your liking?’ She raised her head and saw two well-dressed humans.

‘Not exactly humans, if you put it like that. Rather Necromancers!’ the shorter one said, answering her thought.

‘Hey, Lolek… let me tell you something’ she spoke, under her breath, with utter hatred. ‘You’ve picked the wrong day, wrong moment and most of all, the wrong Assassin to taunt!’ as she reached for her sister’s wrist blade. She jumped and severed the right arm of the shorter Necromancer. The amazement did not last long, as she stabbed his neck and then threw his head off his body, with one sharp cut.

‘Nice!’ the other one offered. ‘My turn!’ He summoned the wraith of her fallen sister and the other one, in zombie-state. «Wraiths? » She remembered the warning her ‘lover’ gave her the other day.

‘How in the world will I defeat these two?’

‘Well… you can’t! Sucker!’ her sister’s wraith taunted, as she waited patiently for the other one to do his job. She saw her sister coming dangerously quick towards her. She ducked, falling into the dust.

‘Don’t you remember who I am?’

The wraith began to laugh. ‘Spare it, sister!’

«What did she mean by “it’s not the Undead”? » The other one was coming behind her. She understood the scheme: the wraith distracted her attention while the other one attacked from behind.

She turned at once towards the zombie. He grabbed the flesh from his forearm and tore it. The bones of his hands were claw-like. «Tearing your own flesh apart, looking at your own digits, like a dumb monkey… now that’s dumb.» Another leap of faith, only that this time the hulk parried her strike.

‘What the Hell are you made of? Steel versus bone, not inflicting the smallest damage?’

‘He-he’ was his only remark, on a pork-like voice.

‘Too bad, then’ She pushed him with her shoulder and assumed another firm stand. ‘Come to momma!’ He darted sluggishly, with his hand raised to strike. ‘Too easy, bitch!’ she sneered, while crouching and stabbing him in his balls. ‘Does this hurt?’

The wraith was looking rather dumb at these two. ‘Come on, I want to eat her soul!’

‘You know…’ while the Assassin grabbed the zombie’s bony arm, dragging him to herself ‘… you have…’ steadying her blade against his throat and jumping upwards, severing the thing’s head ‘… a remarkable sense of humor!’

‘Thank you! Hey, you have killed him! Now I can’t eat your soul!’

‘Well… you’re right!’ cleaning her blade from the sticky blood. ‘But consider this. While I was fighting, this son of a bitch was watching’ referring to the other Necromancer. ‘Therefore, he must have no interesting powers. Am I right, Necro?’

‘W-well… Not really…’ confused and horrified that the Undead were defeated in this battle.

‘Wait, why are you trying to run away? Come on, join us! Let’s talk! Enjoy your wonderful companions.’

He tried to raise the zombie, once again. This time all he could cause was a fake erection.

‘I never knew he cared! Now…’ she ran towards him and grabbed him by his throat. ‘You’ve had enough time to realize I’m very fond of severing heads. Considering the fact that you know no curses – otherwise you would’ve made good use of them by now– , the animation of the dead ones being the only thing you have in store for me… is it possible for you to have some sort of weapon available?’

‘N-no…’

‘Oh, c’mon!’ she spitted, pronouncing the word ‘You know… just in case?’ He eyed the dagger that she found in her sister’s womb. ‘I get it, now. So… to save myself from any useless begging you could mumble, I’ll give you one shot. Do you know anything about this thing “It’s not the Undead”?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Stop asking stupid things!’ hitting his face with her fist. ‘A bond between the summoner and the thing is created in the moment a wraith is being raised from a body!’

‘How do you know that? I swear I have no idea of what you’re talking about!’

‘Danuska!’ The wraith came close to her former sister. ‘Is he telling the truth?’

‘A-huh! I guess so!’

‘What do you mean you guess so? Is he telling the truth or not?’

‘Yes, he’s telling the truth!’

‘Then, I guess I have no further use for you! Night-night’ and she snapped his throat. ‘Now, what am I going to do with you?’

‘May I devour his soul? Please!’

She saw Danuska, years before, when she was begging to be allowed to play with the wrist blades. It was the same ‘Please Nali! May I? All right, I won’t play with them; I just want to touch them, to feel the steel! Please!’ Now it was the same.

‘You may, Danuska!’

The wraith started to fly happy. ‘Ok, here goes nothing!’ It darted towards the dead Necromancer and went into his corpse. In an instant, it came back, happier than before.

‘DE-LE-CIOUS!’

The Assassin watched this sad remembrance of her sister. ‘Tell me, Danuska… Do you remember me?’

‘ ’Course I do, Nali!’

‘Why did we have to come to this?’ she asked rhetorically.

‘Cheer up, Nali! We’re both together, again! That Necro had me under control for a brief time. Now I’m free.’

‘Are you sure about that, Danuska?’

‘Yup!’

‘Tell me, then, what did you mean by “It’s not the Undead”?’

‘I don’t know. I can’t remember!’ the wraith confessed with a happy tone.

‘How can you be so cheerful? You are Undead, in the name of God! Do you realize that? You have become the very thing you have trained so hard to defeat! I don’t understand!’

‘Well, I cannot tell you either.’

‘Can’t or won’t?’

‘Can’t! I just feel happy, free from all of this horror.’

‘Well, I guess you’re right in your own way… Do you know how we can get back to our garrison?’

‘I’m not sure I know that, either!’

‘Then, WHAT DO YOU KNOW?’

‘Nali, don’t shout at me! Please don’t shout at me!’ and it started to weep.

‘I’m sorry, Danuska. I cannot understand… I am a total mess right now. Where do you suggest we should head? There are only two hours until the dawn catches us unprepared.’

‘Catches you unprepared; I’m immune, from now on. I’m no longer alive, remember?’ and it winked at her former sister. ‘I suggest we take this path.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘As sure as a wraith can be!’ sticking its tongue out.