The Call (14 page)

“Hm.”

Serdra's neutral tone caught Katja's attention and she looked at her mentor.

“Wait, what did that mean? Shouldn't we-”

“I find the timing and location rather suspicious.”

Katja hesitated while searching for an answer and then Serdra gave her a subtle sign to keep quiet while a group passed by.

“Just what do you mean?” she then whispered.

“The attack on your village was a coincidence,” Serdra said quietly and carefully observed their surroundings. “Just a typical case of of something slipping through the divide. I don't sense that the divide is particularly weak here these days so another random attack in such a short time is rather unlikely.”

“But not impossible, I take it?”

“No. But I still have an ill feeling about this.”

“And what will happen if nothing is done about this demon?”

“Strong demons contaminate by their existence. They weaken the divide between worlds if they stay for long in man's world. And besides that the killings will continue,” Serdra said, still in that neutral tone. “The flight from the area which has no doubt begun will continue, some may try to band together and kill it but probably fail. Perhaps someone will eventually send a large enough party of warriors to destroy it, but demons don't wish to be cut down any more than men do and it will just hide. Eventually none will reside by Longwater and the demon shall either hibernate or seek out other hunting grounds.”

They walked for a bit and Katja watched her expressionless mentor. The attack which had cost Maria her life once again entered her mind.

“And, what, are you
not
going to prevent all that?”

Serdra looked at her.

“Do you remember the story I told you? Of Flat Top and all that followed the battle there?”

Katja tried to gaze steadfastly into those deep eyes. She didn't intend to drop this.

“Yes. What about it?”

Serdra looked ahead and hesitated before answering.

“Keep it in mind as we travel. Being discovered is always bad, but especially fateful around here.”

“So you are going to intervene?” Katja asked and the pit of excitement opened a bit more.

“Yes.”

Yes!

“Then let us finish shopping and get going, old hag,” Katja said through her grin.

“Yes. I just need to buy food.”

“Let's find something nice. And since you mentioned not being discovered, I thought of buying a hat or a hood or something. To make my face less visible.”

“Good thinking. And be quick. I want to know what is going on.”

Chapter
8.

Three days after the shopping trip a filthy man suddenly burst out of the thicket by the road and ran up to them. Katja tried to whip the sword from the scabbard but Serdra's back was in the way. She slid down from the horse, but by then the man was up to them and frantically waved his palms at them.

“Do not continue!” he said in a quavering voice as Serdra brought the startled horse under control.

Katja took her hand off the sword. The man was unarmed and on closer inspection she caught a glimpse of bandages beneath his shirt and blood splatters on his pants.

“Do not continue!” he said again and was clearly greatly upset. “The lake area is lost! An evil fiend has taken up residence there! It takes people in their homes, in roads and in open fields!”

Katja had seen such mad, panicked fear before, in the people present when the monsters attack Brown Slope. Serdra calmed the horse and serenely looked at the man and the direction he'd come out of.

“Are you speaking from personal experience?” Katja asked and pointed at his chest. She wasn't worried about the beast chasing him here. She had started to feel something the day before, but it was still far from as strong as when the hill beasts had attacked her and Serdra.

“It-” The man carefully stroked his chest. “It tore two men apart and took a third one's arm. I tried to help, we all did, but to no avail. It just swiped at me and strode into the darkness with two arrows in its flesh.”

“What happened?” Serdra asked.

Her voice caught the man's attention and her gaze held it. He was clearly uneasy, and Katja was reminded of what meeting her for the first time had been like.

“What happened?” she repeated with a bit more force, and the man recovered his wits.

“P-people have started to abandon Longwater,” he said with difficulty. “We tried to find some sort of lair in the forest. We tried to lay bait. But it made no difference. Farmer Jorundur gathered hardy men with axes, bows and spears in Pinehollow. People flocked to us, in hopes of protection. But...”

The man hesitated. The memories were clearly hard for him and he touched his wounded chest again.

“Keep going,” Serdra said and the man obeyed.

“It just appeared. In spite of all the guards and burning lights. Animals became uneasy and then it suddenly stood among us and struck and scratched and tore. We tried to battle it, but it is too big. Too fast.”

Katja adjusted the hood she'd bought in Rapids a bit. Serdra said it obscured her face rather well.

“We are Jormund's cousins,” Katja said and so added a bit to the story they'd agreed upon. “Just where is Pinehollow?”

The man finally looked away from Serdra and didn't seem to believe his own ears.

“It was Jormundur who lost his arm! He won't live for much longer.”

“Then give us a chance to say farewell,” Serdra said. Katja was glad when the man looked away from her, as she didn't trust in her acting abilities to react to her 'cousin's' maiming. Not that Serdra's tone had changed greatly, but the man didn't seem to be in any state to notice.

“It... I...” He shook his head over the state of himself put pointed along the road. “Th-third side road on your left. On horseback you will be there by nightfall. Just as it will be roaming.”

The man wearily staggered off as if weights hung on his clothes.

“Turn around,” he sighed. “And mourn your cousin at home. The forefathers do not listen to prayers at Longwater.”

He continued west without further comment, and the energy which had propelled him out of the bushes seemed to have utterly evaporated.

Katja watched him go for a little bit. Then she looked at Serdra and clambered back into the saddle.

“Well there we have it,” she said quietly into her mentor's hair.

“Yes. Directions and the location of the latest attack. It will save us time.”

She set Hnut going again.

“So you haven't been to Longwater before?” Katja asked.

“No. My predecessor had business there, but I didn't. And Katja, if we do need to fight on horseback reach for the axe,” Serdra said and tapped the battle axe which hung from a leather strap in the saddle.

Of course
, Katja thought and wanted to kick herself in the ass.

“Yes,” she said. “And I'll... pay more attention.”

She was glad the woman didn't answer, and tried to consider the situation without lowering her guard.

It had been months since she last saw a demon. Months which had gone into preparing her for the next time and all the times after it. But just how ready was she?

She thought back on the horror of the first demon. How strangely it had moved, how the flesh writhed and the sounds hadn't resembled anything else. Everything about it had clearly not fit into this world, and seemed to have sprung right from the dreams and nightmares which had challenged her all her life.

Yes, she could understand the terror of the injured man as well as her relatives. It had been the urge, the Call, which drove her on, but she experienced exactly the same things as the others. Or almost.

Maybe that's why the Call haunts Redcloaks before they are old enough to obey it. Mental preparation.

She kept silent about this theory of hers. She rather liked it, and didn't want to hear any refutations. Besides she liked having realized something without her mentor's guidance.

“Do you know anything about Longwater?” she asked.

“I'm told there are magnificent cliffs north of the lake. Most of the settlements are to the south and east of it. The forest is quite old. As I said, my mentor had some minor business there. He put a stop to sacrificial rites, hidden among the trees, when the area was more sparsely settled than it is now.”

“Do you think this demon has anything to do with that?”

“It's possible. You remember what I told you about the effects demons have on their surroundings. Evil can slumber for a long time and slip through when no one expects. But he considered it unlikely in this instance.”

“Who was this predecessor?”

“A brother of ours who guarded this land before I did. Gavin Bloodhand.”

“How does one acquire such colourful nicknames?” Katja asked. She smiled and forgot about demons for a little bit.

“Mentors assign them. I think I'll name you Shiver, since you were so cold the first time I saw you.”

Katja stared at the back of her head as Hnut bounced along the road.

“I'm teasing you.”

--------------------

The new sensation intensified as the day passed and got ever more urgent, especially after they passed a road sign and the sun finished its descent.

Something was very much wrong here. All of Katja's instincts agreed on that. It was as if the air carried some subtle stench one could only barely feel. As if malicious eyes stared at one from among the trees on either side of the road.

Like the slope. Where I met Serdra. Something demonic lies in wait. I best memorize this feeling.

Serdra suddenly slowed the horse and stopped by the third path on the left.

The trees were rather old in this area and Katja peered into the long, dark corridor they formed around the path.

“Are you going to talk to the people?” Katja asked after a brief silence.

“I would perhaps try to, under other circumstances and in another land. But this is Baldur's Coast, and we must use caution.” She slid down off the horse and looked into the forest. “Such events leave anger, nervousness and paranoia in their wake. 'Innocent' people can be as dangerous to you as anything. Which might be a good lesson for you, but it can wait.”

She pulled on the reins and Hnut followed her towards the trees.

“You will, after all, learn much else tonight.”

I'll bet.

Katja took a deep breath and followed.

Their way lay north and a bit to the east. As the path lay north and slightly to the west it soon vanished from their sight - just as
they
vanished from the sight of the wider world. The forest had swallowed them.

The sun's last rays shone through the trees, the birds sang their evening songs in branches almost in full foliage, and the wonderful scent of spring filled the air. She had always enjoyed such walks, especially with Maria.

If not for the constant, gnawing unease the trip would at first have been quite pleasant. But the sun vanished, the sky darkened, the birds fell silent and the feeling got ever stronger.

Hnut showed signs of unease which Katja hadn't seen in him before, and occasionally resisted. Serdra calmed him with strokes and gentle words. It worked for a while but the next attack was never far off.

The worst one came as they entered a large clearing. Katja was startled by the horse's frenzy and so didn't immediately notice the small mounds sticking out of the ground. Most had grass growing on them, but there was just enough light left to see the rock on top of each one.

This was the area's burial site.

A shiver crawled up Katja's back. Serdra had told her early on that demons and phantoms usually had little to do with graves. Risen corpses were another matter though.

They made their way between the graves. Katja noticed two new ones and one which lay empty. A pile of earth and the two shovels which stood out of it made it clear what tomorrow's task would be.

“It seems our cousin has passed,” she muttered.

“Don't get distracted.”

They reached the other side of the clearing and Serdra hesitated.

“What is it?” Katja asked.

The woman stepped back into the forest, but stopped while the burial site would still have been visible in daylight. A small brook trickled by, presumably on its way to Longwater, and Katja seized the opportunity to quench her thirst.

Serdra whispered something in the horse's ears and then tethered it to a tree. She left the saddle on, and kept heading north.

“Wait, what-”

“I have seen no signs of lions or wolves. He will be safer here for one evening than with us. Also, animals react even worse to demons than men do, and can easily make a dangerous situation more dangerous. Two donkeys almost got me killed when I was a few years older than you.”

“What about the demon? Couldn't he go for the horse?”

“Not when people are available. Let alone
us
.”

They walked on in silence for a while, and Katja caught the occasional glimmer of moonlight on water to the west. It had to be Longwater itself.

Katja tried to analyse the feeling which warned of a demonic presence, but it had stopped intensifying after they entered the forest. On the other hand it didn't weaken either. It was simply static, as if he was everywhere.

“How do we find him?” Katja finally asked, after giving up on sniffing it out by herself. “I don't sense any direction to head into!”

“That's just it,” Serdra said and stopped. She turned on her heel and looked into her student's face in the dark. “Strictly speaking it is
nowhere
. It is between worlds and only takes on solid form to attack. I also doubt there will be another assault so quickly after the last one.”

“Well, then what do we do?”

“We could make camp in the forest, listen to the future and try to be in the right place at the right time. But I want to get east as soon as possible. We could therefore try luring it out with blood and summonings, but...”

Serdra closed her eyes and slowly filled her lungs, and emptied them even slower. She stood perfectly still and silent for a few moments.

“I suspect a better way is available to us. This is not an old evil arisen from lengthy slumber. This,” the woman's voice got a bit distant, her bearing slackened and the eyes watched nothing. “This is new. Captured. Harnessed. And angry.”

She returned, glanced at Katja and turned around.

“And I sense more than a demon in this forest.”

She walked to the northwest with slow, deliberate steps as if listening for something.

Katja was about to ask what she meant, but refrained and followed.

The glimmer on the water on the left became ever more visible, and the cliffs which Serdra had mentioned towered above. Katja silently cursed every time she took a branch to the face or tripped on a root. The foliage was constantly getting more dense and troublesome. And familiar.

“We've been here before,” Katja said quietly. “We are going in circles.”

“Are we?”

“At least it feels that way.”

“And do you know why?”

Serdra stopped, hesitated, took a few steps to the east and then slowly reached down into the grass and picked something up.

“Take a look.”

She threw the little object. Katja didn't see it in the dark, but still caught it.

“A bone splinter?”

“Magic,” Serdra said. Katja felt the polished splinter a bit better, and noticed a rune of some sort which had been carved into it. “Listen to it,” the woman added. “This is minor magic, but you should still be able to detect it. Don't just sense the demon.”