Burial of hearts the black widow's malice (11 page)

“Will there be anything else you
require from me today Tenro?
”.

“No… that will be perfectly fine
thank you. I will have more work for you tomorrow though”. He said as he gorged
down a still warm apple pie.

I left the house in good spirits.
A few hours had passed and my arms were somewhat sore from the repetitive
cleansing of priceless ornaments. Creeping up the hill, like a nosey neighbour,
the houses got slowly larger, until reaching the topmost; I was presented with
a home with proportions that would put a castle to shame. Several guards were
stood affront of the gates to this home, their eyes following my every
movement.

“And
whom
may you be and
what
business do you have here?
”.
One of them said
approaching me. His eyes closed a little, revealing the starting point of a
sinister glare.

“
Sorry
, I was merely
having a look at the homes in this area; I have just finished working for Mr
Bullwort; I am his new maid”.

“Well, unless you have business
with Hecate, stay away from this area; it is
off limits,
reserved only
for official business; if we catch you here again we will not be so light
hearted,
understand
?”.

“Yes,
sorry
”. I said, my
voice croaking.

I turned around quickly and
headed back down to the centre of the city. After being in such a tasteful area
I was now even more repelled by the
shambles
that was presented before
me.

Camerine was passing by, holding
onto a crate of wine when he spotted me.

“Avis, so how did your first day
go? You are not deceased, so I am assuming it went… at least
ok
?
”.

“Well... we are now on first name
terms, so I suppose my face has some rewards. He has asked me to return
tomorrow for some more work he wants me to do for him”.

“
Brilliant
,
it now looks like we have him as a permanent client of ours;
thank you
for the hard work. Here is a wild idea; would you care to join me and my family
today? We have arranged a get-together later; we need to get prepared though,
there are
quite
a number of people coming”.

“That would be delightful, thank
you; have you got everything you need?
”.

“We have all we need back home, I
am quite organised as you will learn. Could you help me carry this crate at
all? It is a little heavy for just one person”.

Camerine lowered the crate of wine
to the floor. We each cupped our hands around the smooth-edged metal handles,
lifting it with a small pant in our breaths. Dodging between the crowds in the
centre of the city, we walked towards his home, which was placed snuggly behind
the university.

The house was small, at least for
a business owner; snug I suppose would be more suiting. There was a family
room, with several large wicker chairs covered in cushions to give comfort. In
the corner of the room was a wooden cabinet, it reached up as high as the room,
each shelve with paintings of the members of the family.

“This is my son and my wife”. I
nodded gracefully with a smile, as though bowing to a future monarch.

“Well, we better had get all the preparations
ready, it will not be long until all the guests arrive”.

“How are you going to fit
everyone in here? It is not exactly the key location for a hefty crowd;
no
offence
”.

Laughing, he ushered me to follow
him into the kitchen. I was greeted by the family pet; a small dog, the fur of
which was a golden, but greying a touch through age. His eyes lit up as if
eager for attention.  I will not be touching that thing, I thought to
myself, grasping onto my alliance with cats. If as though reading my thoughts,
Camerine lifted it up, offering me a reception of drool coated pleasures, the
remnants of dinner were
unfortunately
still present.

“This is Monty, he is harmless
unless you have some chicken that is, then he will
nibble
your arm off”.

“I see… well I do not have any
chicken, so I hope I will not get devoured today… ”. I said as I wiped off the
slushed up food he had fondly smeared across my face. Thankfully, he placed
Monty back down, no more unusually scented baths for today.

Walking over to the drawers, he
picked up a set of keys, rattling them as he placed them in his pocket.

“Right Avis, how are you with
cooking? We need to make enough food for
all
of the guests”.

He pulled out a piece of
parchment; written upon it was a list of items to cook, along with a rough set
of recipes; almond pudding, spinach tart, stewed capon, skewered beef, barley
bread, as well as a selection of cakes and biscuits.

We started with the cakes, bread
and biscuits. I carefully listened as he instructed me on his age-old ways of
baking. Luckily, he was on hand to help, I was never too keen on bread making,
always having a tendency to create a perfect looking loaf on the outside, but
within it was raw.

The biscuits we made were quite
the treat, using lemons to flavour them, which was a rarity for a middle class
family. You could see the faces of the family, eager to have a small sample of
the food, but Camerine warded them off, managing them as he did his maids.

It was not long until the first
batch of food was cooked and plated up, placed wherever a spare patch could be
found within the house; whether it was atop of a bookshelf or even within the
bathtub.

A good few hours had passed and
we were still baking; the food was piling up almost as if to the sky, and there
were no more spaces left.

“Camerine, where exactly are the
guests going to sit with this amount of food looming in every corner of your
home?
”.

He looked at me. I could see a
mystery brewing in his eyes, a secret kept away for safety, about to be revealed
to me.

“Follow me”. He said all the
while trying to pull out the keys that had become intertwined with a thread
from his trousers.

Placing down a tray of ready to
cook tarts, he kneeled upon the floor and lifted a latched opening. I suppose
we are going to store the food in a cellar? Together we walked down the small
stairway, the air was musky and I could only use the sides to guide me in the
pitch black. Coming to the bottom of the stairs Camerine turned to me, his eyes
the only noticeable feature, lit up a slight from the light above.

“I have only just met you Avis,
but I trust in that what I will show you will remain locked within your mind
and not spoken of to others?
”.

I gestured a confirmation upon
him, ushering him to show me what was so special about this cellar of his. He
turned back and unlocked the door, opening it in one rapid sweep; the air
changed from the musky smell of before to a smell like unto springtime.

Before me was another world; a
world within a world; there were hills of greenery, flowers, plants and trees
of every kind, growing beautifully throughout. The ceiling was held up by five
great trees, four upon the corners, the greatest being at the centre; their
roots stretched out, giving the much needed strength to the dirt above us.
There were a great number of homes dotted around, tall but not overpowering to
the scenery, almost as if they were grown from a seed to match all that were
around them.

“This is our secret, our place of
refuge from above, so we may escape from the cruel amusement of Hecate”.

“This is…
amazing
”.

“Thank you; over recent years
Hecate has become more hostile towards us; even a slight trespass upon what she
deems acceptable behaviour and we are thrown into the city prison, awaiting to
do battle. So we built up this place, through the work of hands and magick. If
she were to ever find out about it, we would be given an all but certain death;
I trust that you will keep this unspoken of?
”.

“Of course, in fact, I may need
your help”.

Camerine looked at me seemingly
trying to draw out words from within.

“Would this have anything to do
with your
private matter
?
”.
He said as he began
to smirk.

“Yes… ”. I said pulling a bemused
expression.

I explained all that had happened
to me, where I was from and my purpose of being here; he was very kind hearted,
even giving me a slight hug; now that was something I missed greatly.

“Perhaps we could help you, if
she is gone we all would have a much more peaceful life, but it will not be
easy; she will be at the ‘Rartonvie
Mystic Brawl’ tomorrow; we should
go”.

“Will we be able to get close to
her though?
”.

“If we sit in the corner closest
to her, we will be able to see her more clearly. If you wanted more information,
I know that the university has a great deal of books, it is like an altar to
her
greatness.
Anyhow, we need to prepare”.

We repeatedly walked up and down
the stairs, gathering the food, placing it in order of size upon the planked
tables. Each of the seats around the tables, had a name affront of it,
designated only for that person, written on folded parchment. Upon the centre
of the largest table was a spit-roasted hog, with fried apples saluting beneath
it. It took us a few more hours before the second batch of food was ready,
again placing it precisely upon the tables.

Camerine was keeping the food
warm, with a touch of fire and a pinch of magick. A large group of the Panotti
began seeping through the entrance, cheering at the sight of the myriad of food
and drink. Everyone seated themselves, taking gulps of their ales and/or wines;
the cheering became almost deafening, then Camerine stood up and all went
silent.

“This day we celebrate our
freedom from persecution; through each of our hands we built this, whether big
or small, all took their part. May all of our years be rich and let us hope for
the downfall of Hecate”.

Looking over to me for a brief
moment, he continued to talk.

“We have a new soul among us, she
may not be as us, but she is just as worthy of this feast, for all that I have
heard and seen, she will aid us well for our future and our children’s future.
Let us eat and let us celebrate”.

“Here, here”. All about me
bellowed out.

Laughter ensued for hour upon
hour; drinking did not halt, even with the tumbling down of many; musicians
played melodies that effortlessly got fixed in heads, causing a frenzy of dance
and song. I chose not to drink though, after what happened the last time,
preferring to maintain a stable mind and body.

“Avis, come with me please”.
Camerine called me over with the motion of his finger.

We walked away from all the
revelries, towards what seemed like a temple. There was a single object upon a
stone podium; centred it was a rounded vessel, golden and encrusted with moon
crescent gems; where the largest gemstone should have rested, it was bare.
Looking at Camerine quizzically, I asked him what this was.

“It is rumoured by some, that the
father of Hecate, ‘Tartarus’ gave all of his power unto this; we managed to
obtain it from Hecate, but the gem was missing”.

“What exactly is this for and
where has the gem gone?
”.

“In books it is said that it
holds the power to destroy Hecate, but most people agree it is merely worth an
unthinkable amount of coin; either way we know that it is important, else why
would she search for it as she does? The gem, well we do not know the
whereabouts, there will always be rumours, but I have learnt not to follow up
on hearsay, it can lead to more trouble than it is worth”.

“I have always personally thought
every path is worth a visit, if only to find out it is a dead end”.

“I suppose we
dither
in
some ways Avis; would you like to stay down here with us tonight?
”.

“I best not, I am trying to stay
in one place instead of being all over, but thank you for the offer”.

“Very well; remember to come to
the battle tomorrow, it starts at mid-day, you may have to rush your work for
Mr Bullwort, but do try to maintain a high standard at the same time; we do not
want to gain a reputation for providing half-finished work”.

“I will try my upmost, goodnight
Camerine”.

I walked up, back through the
house, bidding farewell to his mother, whom was sitting mixing spices into a
secret recipe of hers. The streets were empty that night, apart from the usual
patrolling guards, mumbling sexual profanities at the women they deemed
fitting; obviously I was not their
type,
as they merely blanked me as I
walked by.