Burial of hearts the black widow's malice (13 page)

“Vuntrela and Zeroni”.

A highly regarded witch and an
equally authoritative conjurer of death. Silence crept throughout the crowd; I
closed my eyes as darkness took hold of the skies; the symbols of evil
slithering through my mind, reigning over me for the lust of blood. Shaking my
head, I opened my eyes again to see hell on earth rising up before me; the
corpses of the corrupted dead, crawling from infernal depths. Their bodies
decaying, ate away by frightful creatures, leaving flesh lifelessly hanging.
Encircling Zeroni, they bore vengeance on the words of her vulgar tongue, a
pure predator of the lowest rank.

Parasites crawled from beneath
the feet of the Vuntrela; her eyes opening up to the door of madness. Their
strikes blew away the crowds; the unholy revered, as side by side they roared
for the sight of death.

Each opponent struck with
darkened desire, the mortals falling with each fail of their skill. The bones
of the dead were broken and dismantled as Vuntrela cast forth magick,
calculated to the finest degree. Zeroni, now exposed, it was not long before
she was overwhelmed by the might that was cast towards her.

The crowd leapt to their feet, their
bloodlust now resigned for the time being. One of the stadium’s workers took
the body of Zeroni away to be crudely disposed of after the event had finished.

“Congratulations are in order for
our victor, Vuntrela”. Said Hecate.

The events of the day continued,
the stadium felt soulless, sacrificing itself to hold these cruel games. I
could see that Hecate seemed pleased with the proceedings, often urging on the
contenders to be more brutal with their attacks; on the odd occasion she even
decided to intervene, where her thirst had not been satisfied.

“This is the clash everyone has
been waiting to witness”. Camerine said as he pointed over to new contenders.

The faces of the two wizards were
locked upon each other; they had both fought many times together and now at the
hands of one, the other would step down, resigning to the grave.

A vault of secrets spat forth, a
garden of tranquillity ripped from within and by the might of their staffs, a
shower of awe eroded any judgements that had been placed upon the other; now
clear in sight they showed their untold powers for all to see. Rising from the
ground that lay beneath, legions of witches were formed, their bodies able to
separate in two and re-join unto another. They sailed upon the skies with their
great coiled wings, extruding potent venom below. Dragons of fire turned down
to try to engulf the opponent, only to be quenched by the forth coming of ice
upon their gallant stance.

The battle drawn-out, it was
acted out like a play, rehearsed perfectly; a strike countered just as if it
were intended to be. Saleom gave the strike no one was expecting, one without
magick, merely a strike given to unbalance the other; his staff becoming as a
sword of steel, the death was swift, Saleom becoming the victor of the event,
crowned the principality of magick, in a simple ceremony to be met again next
year; to defend his title.

CHAPTER 8

Another day trotted in, for a moment
I just laid down thinking to myself. I have always been a strong-minded woman,
but something about those games had taken me a step back. It was as if no one
even cared that people were being slain, it was just a form of
entertainment
to them. I suppose in a way brutality is only justified by society’s views;
what may be cruel to one group of people, could be a sign of affection to
another, society rules and this is one society that I am not too keen on
partaking in the
pleasures
it gives.

After my customary routine of
washing and clothing myself, I again made my way up through the centre of the
city, where all entertainers had departed.

Knocking on the door, I received
no answer, not even an unsociable grunt. The door was securely locked, so entry
was all but impossible.

“Tenro, are you there? It is
Avis”.

There was still nothing but the
unsettling silence, as before.

“Morning Avis, sorry I thought
you knew, I will be moving away from this area, Camerine should have let you
know, you will now be working for Hecate, she has requested you personally to
work for her”.

“Hecate wants me
personally,
why
?
”.

“Well, you know, not to be big
headed as such, but I quietly informed her of what great services you give, and
she has decided she wants you in
her
service; I would be somewhat of an
idiot if I were to challenge her, especially when I am leaving; so I would
suggest you go now, you do not want to be late… ”.

Leaving, for most likely the last
time, I strolled up the path towards Hecate’s enormous home.

“Stop. We have told you before,
do not come in this area, do you
not
listen?
”.
Said the guards, as they postured themselves ready for attack.

“Today, I am here on
official
business, I have been asked for by Hecate herself,
ask her
if you like…
”.

The guards looked at each other,
then back towards me, deciding eventually that one would go in as the other
watched over me, ensuring I did not cause any trouble.

“Hecate will see you”. Said one
of the guards, as he gestured the other to open the gate for me.

I made my way towards the
entrance. Flower beds were filled with the florae of season, aconites, poppies
and ash manna swayed in the breeze. Upon the grounds were dotted almond and fig
trees, as well as the occasional row of grapevines, ripened to the eye.

“Well… will you at all enter into
this place, or are you merely going to gawp at nature’s sweets all day?
”.

I tried to speak but Hecate
interrupted.

“That was not a question young
lady, it was a formal request, that you duly enter into my residence, to
undertake the tasks I have arranged for you, good heavens, decorum dear”.

She turned around, her faces
glaring in anticipation. She wore a white dress that shimmered silver as it
rolled upon her figure. Her hair was a curled, dark brunette, shoulder length
and held back in seamless locks. It was unworldly that there were three people
in one; the only way to tell the difference was by the unique crowns that they
wore upon their heads.

“Now, as you have somewhat
witnessed, I have a grand residence and I would wish for it to be maintained at
the standard that I deem appropriately fitting. Firstly, I would like you to
undertake the cleaning of my bathing facilities, located north of here, then
once you have completed this task, I will require that you call me for review”.

I looked upon the room; it was
domed with unblemished glass, held together by strips of metal, warped into
shape. There was an imposing place for Hecate to be seated; it sat affront of a
stairway, leading to a door that was embedded with the phases of the moon. The
walls lined with pillars, breaking up the perfected artwork that displayed a
brief story of Hecate.

“
Before
you go, I will
have need of your pass; I do not wish for any unsavoury persons in
my
abode. It may seem but a little out of place, but safekeeping is a
necessity
”.

I panicked, my eyes rushing
around, becoming bloodshot from the sudden stress. I did not have a pass, I am
not a citizen of the city, what am I to do.

“Please do hurry along Avis, it is
not a task that requires intellect now is it?
”.
Hecate
said as she lowered her head, glancing towards me.

“I have left my pass at the
slaughterhouse, I did not think I would need it today”.

“You have left it at the
slaughterhouse? … I see; do you not know the rudimentary rules of the city? All
citizens are to carry their passes, at
all
times; you do disappoint me
somewhat Avis”.

Apologising, I walked through the
never-ending rooms, to her bathing facilities. I was expecting a luxurious
room, but nothing could prepare me for what I saw. It was
beautiful
. It
was like a lake, but within a building. The water swept over rock faces forming
a never-ending trail of ripples that you could become lost within; flowers
extended their touch from the stirring of the waterfall's base, they perched
themselves as loyal servants, grown to create an awe of serenity. A cloud of
butterflies flew about, as if possessed by phantoms, able to move in ways that
became picturesque, even if only for a moment.

Upon the water sat beautiful
creatures; their bodies broad and with feathers soft that were coloured the
nimblest of pinks; their eyes gave no secret away, they were glossed over with
lifeless expressions. Upon the centre was a platform, raised up with sweeps of
architectural charms; placed atop was an object which shone brightly, letting
the light ride upon the surrounding water.

Presumably Hecate, or another
servant of hers, had left a bucket and a frayed cloth for me upon the tiled
floor; what an aura of compassion they must radiate…

I dipped the cloth, along with my
hand, into the bucket; raising my hand up, a strange substance was dripping
down; a clear, solidified paste of sorts.

“How
ghastly
”. I whispered
to myself, as my lips stiffened in displeasure.

I circled my way around the
tiles, trying my upmost to clean between the gaps where dirt had become
trapped; but with the mediocre cleaning tools, it felt like
a
endless onslaught. I could hear Hecate marshalling demands to the other
servants of the household, her voice echoing from each wall. I quickly
discovered that I could use the edge of the cloth in order to better clean in
between the tiles; it was a rougher edge, so more capable of loosening dirt
that had become stuck, like a stroppy young child not wanting to give up their
toys. I began to feel my heart throb as I pushed myself to work harder; my arms
were beginning to tire, but I knew I could not leave a job half finished,
especially
this job.

“Almost done”. I repeatedly said
to myself, holding onto a thought of completion.

I looked up; in seeing that I had
almost completed, I let out a sigh of relief. Almost collapsing under my own
weight, I managed to knock over a plant, scattering soil about the floor.

“
For goodness sake
”. I
said as I let out an animal like growl.

Just as I thought, it was but
complete, I had managed to forge
more
work for myself. I scooped up as
much of the soil as I could, placing it back and cleaning up the remainder with
my cloth. Finishing, my arms collapsed and my face met the floor; hearing the
peculiar sounds of the paste slipping into my ear as I tried to regain
composure. In the centre, I could now clearly see through the light; there was
a brilliantly cut purple gem held in place firmly.

“I have completed the cleaning,
ready for your inspection”. I said to Hecate as my arms flung about, as if
jelly.

“Very good. We shall see how
fittingly
your standards match upon mine”.

We walked back to the bathing
facilities; Hecate’s eyes peered around the room, searching for a spot of
imperfection. She conjured up magick, turning the tiles where I had cleansed,
to a dim purple, revealing any place I had overlooked.

“I suppose this will have to
suffice; perhaps next time you can partake in what I pay you for, young… lady…
sorry I mean woman; lady is reserved for those with standards, nevertheless,
you are free to go. I hope you do appreciate your day; I would ask you what you
are involving yourself in today, but I as I expected, I do not care, now
disappear”.

Mid-afternoon had arrived and the
rain was lightly falling as it was whipped up by the breeze; the smell of
charcoal burning was dominant in the air. Usually I would try to find somewhere
to shelter, but today I was overheated, so I let the rains fall upon me,
cooling me down gently.

The best idea would be to see
Camerine about my issue with my pass; it was likely that he would be at home,
so that is where my feet led me.

Already at the door, Camerine
greeted me, as he was sprucing up the frame with a strong smelling black paint;
he did not seem he was well suited to be a decorator of any sorts, more paint
was upon him and on the floor, than he had managed to put onto the frame
itself.

“
Afternoon
Avis, how are
you today?
”.
Camerine said, all the time trying to
multitask between talking and painting; a task few men could achieve.

“I am ok, I see that you have
picked the perfect day to paint”.

Camerine gave me a dismissive
look, not wanting to allow his dominance as a man to be affected.