Scavenge
After a day of training and Lumi’s failed attempts to hunt in the forest, Augustus and Khimi set out into the city. The cloud cover is heavy above the city and though the sun still pokes through the gloom, there are few travelers about the street. The area which appears to serve as a market is empty and the stalls are all vacant. A single cart sits in the center before an empty shrine of the Faith, loaded with a variety of greens. The shrine itself stands alone, abandoned by its keepers.
No one approaches them and the residents cower behind the walls of their houses fearfully. Khimi groans as he looks up at the residents staring at him and rifles through the cart of greens. Augustus stands behind him and watches Khimi with an amused expression. One of the most powerful men in the Desert Cities eating greens. Laughing, he begins to look through the bundles for suitable fare. Khimi gives him a hint of a smile and shakes his head in confusion, cursing under his breath at the rotten bunches of greens.
“We should go to the harbor,” Khimi suggests without taking his eyes off his work. “I don’t think that we’re going to be staying here long.”
“Gods, I hope not!” Augustus laughs, “This place gives me the creeps and the people here don’t seem to want any help.”
Khimi itches the scar on his cheek, “Can’t help them if they won’t open the damn door anyway.”
“Right? They don’t seem to want us around at all. These country fools don’t know a gift horse if it kicked ‘em in the mouth – well, gift bull in your case,” Augustus says, laughing at himself.
Khimi rolls his eyes and loads the greens beneath his arm. “Funny,” He mutters. “I’m surprised you’re even up and about after training with Ennui.”
Augustus feels his upper arm. The soreness from swinging the blade repeatedly against Ennui had worn on him. His shoulder burns as he stretches the muscle. “Ennui doesn’t play around at least I can stand today. I don’t think Mido will want to get up for a few days. He was saying his thighs felt broken.”
“Mido will be fine, Ennui is just trying to teach you both how to defend yourselves it’ll do you both some good,” Khimi offers. A dark green slime sticks to the tunic from the greens and he tosses them back into the cart with an annoyed sigh. “Fuck.”
“We can find something else. Maybe there will be a tavern or something down by the docks. Maybe there is a harbormaster? Then we can check the ship logs and see if anything is coming in or leaving?” Augustus asks, pushing his handful of soggy greens back into the cart.
Khimi closes his eyes and wipes his tunic furiously as he begins to walk across the stony marketplace. “This place isn’t worth the effort the gods want to put into it,” he mumbles almost inaudibly.
Augustus skirts from behind the cart and rushes to catch up with Khimi, “Nah, just imagine it!” He says cheerfully as pushes his arm under Khimi’s. “A quaint provincial city, wanted by the northern provinces and guarded by the empire. The residents are all country folks who live simple lives, the Faith dictates the actions of its simple-minded people. All the while, the Lorian Consul sits back and does nothing, growing fat on his pretend power.”
Khimi raises an eyebrow, “And where would we find the consul here?”
“Oh, probably the big house if I had to guess, the one with a gatehouse back near the front of the city… but there were no guards. The gatehouse was empty and it was chained shut.”
Khimi clicks his tongue and surveys the area. “No one would even speak to us in the taverns… they even ignored Lumi. Who can ignore Lumi?”
“People who don’t want to get into trouble with outsiders.”
“What are you saying?” Khimi whispers.
With a laugh, Augustus spins around and taps the rapier on his side. “That the people here are scared to talk to us because there is someone or something who is keeping them from talking to us.”
“I figured as much,” Khimi replies as he turns down an alleyway towards the docks. “But other than a pair of eyes we haven’t seen any vampires.”
“What does a vampire look like?”
Khimi chokes back a laugh. “You’re right. I have no clue, I only know they are undead creatures that come out at night,” he begins in a whisper, cautiously glancing around them as they take another alley down to the docks. “A sailor once told me they were beautiful figures.”
“One thing’s for certain. They are monsters,” Augustus says bravely, pulling the rapier from its impromptu sheath, and snagging it along the way.
“Monster or not,” Khimi says as he takes the stairs two at a time down until it levels out onto stone cobbles. “I’m not fond of being somewhere that no one wants us.”
Augustus’ expression becomes dour and swings the rapier from side to side. “Well maybe if we slay a couple of these monsters they will look at us in a different light, yeah?”
“Sure,” Khimi says, trying to sound confident as he looks up at the furled sails of the vessels. “But judging from their silence I have a feeling the problems here are much deeper than we know.”
They walk along the docks, the cobbles make their way to the wide wooden planks of the docks. The few sailors among the vessels are bundled up in thick furs or woolen jackets. Augustus calls out to them, hoping to gain some sort of response. The quiet figures only stare in reply, their hands and bodies moving in an almost methodical way. The building they had used on their first night in Cochon is open, the door wide as snowdrifts had piled in the entryway.
“Tell me something,” Augustus says suddenly as they walk past the building. “What do you think Lumi can do in a place like this… ? Do you think that something like that is even possible? That he could free this city of whatever these monsters are?”
Khimi stops mid-stride and looks up to the rays of sun peeking through the gloom. His breath forms before him in the cold. “If there is anyone in this realm who is capable of doing anything like that. Someone who can change the minds of the masses… it’s Lumi.”
“Do you truly think so? He’s just… young an–”
“Some of the greatest saints throughout the history of Talmus were young when the gods chose them,” Khimi interrupts quickly. “I won’t ask you for much, Augustus. I think fondly of you but don’t bring Lumi into question.”
“I-I didn’t mean t-to,” Augustus stammers as he steps away from Khimi, feeling the intensity in his words. “I just mean he has a lot to learn and he doesn’t even really see–”
Khimi’s jaw clenches, “It’s best if we change the subject,” he suggests under his breath, his gaze returning to Augustus.
“You and Ennui both, huh?” Augustus snips under his breath.
“What?”
“It’s nothing it’s just both of you are so fiercely protective of him,” Augustus whispers as he begins to walk ahead of Khimi. “I want to know why.”
Khimi sighs and brushes his fingers through his hair. “You’ll see… in time I am sure. Everyone warms up to Lumi.”
Augustus glances back at Khimi and flashes a brief smile, “I mean… I understand you. You’re sleeping with him. But Ennui? How much are you paying her to defend him like that?”
Khimi chuckles under his breath, “Nothing,” he shrugs. “Initially I paid her and offered her a place to stay in the estate. But I haven’t had to pay her since, nor has she asked. Certainly, she can grow wealthy just by association.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Augustus admits as he steps onto the end of the pier.
The building at the opposite end stands several stories tall, the wooden structure remains unlit. A veil of snow clings to the wooden roof. The wooden walls are broken in parts and the windows are shattered. A sign along the dock written in Talman designates the building as the harbormaster’s quarters. The water beneath the pier is still like a reflective mirror. The sailors along the vessels stop and look up at them with cold expressions. Khimi eyes him curiously as he steps ahead and pushes against the door.
“It’s true,’ Khimi mutters under his breath. “I promised I would employ her, but she hasn’t asked for a single payment.”
“Ennui?” Augustus questions and places his hand on the hilt of the rapier. He takes a final look at the harbor, cold and gray as he pushes his way into the room behind Khimi. “She’s too mean to work for fre–”
The stench of rot hits him, faint at first and then stronger. The room is small and the walls are covered with netting and ropes. A table beside the window is covered with fisherman’s hooks and an assortment of baubles. A hatch in the center of the floor opens to the water below. A small bed beneath the nets hosts a bundle of sheets and blankets. Fish carcasses surround the hatch, their faint smell wafts toward them as they step in.
“Wow,” Augustus chirps in his playful lilt, “The harbormaster is a slob,” he says under his breath as he walks about the room.
Khimi manages to chuckle under his breath and walks through the room, picking through the hooks and assorted items on the desk. “How can this city even function…”
“Maybe all the normal people have already left,” Augustus whispers, withdrawing the rapier and tapping it over the mattress. “Do you think all of the cities up here are like this?”
“I doubt it,” Khimi whispers in response. “I think we would have heard if the north was like this…”
“Yeah, but how many people do you know from the north?”
“I’ve met quite a few,” Khimi says, ascending the stairs. “Mamir is from the north. As is– well many mercenaries hailed from the north as well. Most of them seemed fairly normal, at least to me.”
Augustus scoffs and follows behind Khimi, the wooden stairs creaking along the way. At the foot of the second floor, the light bursts through from a rectangular window that looks over the harbor. On the floor, beside a small built-in bed, is a desiccated corpse. The man’s attire is unique, a gray woolen jacket, thick and with matching trousers. His gray hair looks thin against the skin pulled tight across his skull, and a small cudgel rests in his hands. Poor man couldn’t even defend himself.
Khimi squats beside the harbormaster and begins to look him over. “He’s been dead for a while. Unless this is something magickal, he’s been dead for a very long while.”
“Magick?” Augustus asks and kneels beside the Khimi. “His jacket looks rather fetching though…”
“Going to take a dead man’s coat?”
Augustus purses his lips and laughs as he begins to pull the man’s arms through the sleeves. “Why not? Doubt he’ll be using it anymore.”
Khimi breathes a lengthy sigh and nods, “Suppose you’re not wrong.”
Pulling and tugging at the jacket, Augustus manages to free the jacket from the harbormaster and throws it over his arm. He pushes himself to his feet and takes a look out the window as Khimi continues to scour the dead man’s body and belongings. The sailors on the vessels stare up at him and his body trembles. The hells are they staring at us for?
“Is there a ship log or anything?”
Khimi looks up as he turns out the dead man’s pockets, “How about you take a look?” He asks, raising his brow at Augustus, “What’re you even doing?”
“Looking at all the weirdos staring up here from the docks,” Augustus mumbles and places his hand on the hilt of his rapier. “I’m getting an uncomfortable feeling.”
Khimi stands and looks out the window, “Yeah, it’s certainly not normal,” he whispers. “But I have felt uncomfortable since we knocked on that building that day. I knew this place would be messed up when we heard about it in Hermon’s Well and saw people fleeing.”
Augustus shrugs, “No one has come after us yet. None of them hav– Oh, the ship logs,” he announces as he steps over to the desk. He fingers through the book, pausing suddenly. “Khimi,” he whispers.
“Hmm?” Khimi sounds as he glances up from counting out a small handful of coins. “What is it?”
“The logs stopped nearly two months ago. There is no record of any new ship coming into the harbor,” Augustus whispers as he pours through the pages for answers. “Can you see the names on those ships?”
Khimi peers out of the rectangular window and glances down at the vessels. “Flora and Vesta are the only two names that I see. Along the bow of those two, the closest two.”
Augustus tears through the pages and finds the names. Their entry into the harbor had been one of the last few entries written in the harbormaster’s log. “They haven’t even left the harbor.”
A cold smile crosses Khimi’s lips as he looks down at the sailors glaring up at them, a sudden understanding in his eyes. “They’re all with them then?”
“What do you mean?!” Augustus asks and rushes to the window.
“Servants. Thralls,” Khimi mutters, “they are working for the vampires. At least that is the only thing that makes sense to me. Why would they not leave this port?”
“Why would anyone stay in this place?!” Augustus questions as he stares back at the sailors looking up at him.
Khimi places his hand on Augustus’ shoulder, “We should return to the manor.”
“Not everyone in this place can be servants? Surely, there must be some people who have their freedom here.”
“We’ll have to see. We can check that tavern and then return to the manor. Guess we’ll eat some of the rotting greens from that cart if we must,” Khimi replies as he fidgets with the cudgel in his hand.
The deckhands and sailors slowly begin to move and sway about the deck of the ships. Khimi holds his gaze over them and scowls as they look up at him once again. There is anger in Khimi’s eye and Augustus struggles to find the words to ease his nerves.
Augustus grimaces and turns to the stairs, taking them two at a time, as Khimi follows behind. “You’re right. Let’s check the tavern and then return to the manor, we can be sure aboutbe about it quickly. Ennui said to be back before sundown.”
Khimi slams the door to the building shut behind them and shudders at the frigid air as he carefully surveys around them. What were we thinking… Ennui and them can see in the dark. Augustus follows Khimi’s guidance and begins to look around at the area surrounding them. The tavern they had seen from the other night has a thin plume of smoke rising from its chimney and the light shines through the single visible window.
“We can check to see if they have anything for trade, meat or otherwise, and then we can get out,” Augustus suggests as he points to the building.
Khimi’s attention is set on the vessels beside them and he does not move as he nods his head. “Right,” he says quietly. “Let’s be quick about it.”
Augustus pulls his arms through the gray woolen jacket as they approach the tavern. The tavern itself is small and unremarkable, built on top of the docks. The planks creak as they step foot into the tavern, their boots knocking loose pebbles and dirt into the water below. A wall of nondescript bottles made of clay and glass are situated on dozens of shelves.
The few patrons in the tavern immediately turn away from them and pause their conversation. The barkeep shakes her head at the two of them and sighs at their approach. She pulls her auburn hair back into a kerchief and glowers.
“Outsiders aren’t supposed to be here,” She mumbles in a gravelly tone. “Ya should go back from where ya came.”
Khimi saunters forward and places his palms over the counter, tucking the cudgel beneath his arm. “We’re wanting to trade. Coinor work for food. Anything.”
The barkeep snickers and leans forward, her light eyes looking right into Khimi’s. “There are some greens in the town center. Courtesy of the Consul.”
Augustus pips up and scoots beside Khimi. With his hand placed beneath his chin, he looks into the woman’s eyes and smiles. “Have you seen the Consul anywhere lately?” He asks warmly. “I wanted to request an audience, I’m from the capital.”
“Sorry,” She replies quickly. “The Consul won’t be seeing anyone for the foreseeable future.”
Khimi takes out his handful of coins. “You have to have something to eat here, something to trade?”
The woman breathes through her mouth and motions to the shelf behind her. “We’ve got drinks…”
Augustus pushes himself back from the bar and looks at the two other patrons in the bar. “Do either of you know how I could get an audience with the Consul?”
The two men turn away from them and continue to sip on their chalices. In their bundled woolen jackets and fur-lined caps they give Augustus a look of pity and hatred.
“Listen,” Khimi begins with another audible sigh. “We need something of substance. Pork or fowl? Anything, even dried meat would suffice.”
“I’m sorry,” the woman replies. “There hasn’t been meat in weeks and neither of you are wanted here.”
The woman’s eyes flick to the door and back towards them. Her tongue runs along the bow of her lips before she tilts her head up to the loft overhead. Creaking emanates from above and begins to descend the stairs. Without a solid source of light other than a few dripping candles and a wood-burning stove, Augustus can not see the figure approaching. Khimi instinctively turns to the sound and squeezes the hilt of his shamshir. The drumming of his fingers is melodious and filled with tension.
“The Consul has abandoned his post,” a silvery voice says, her words clear and pointed.
The figure descending the stairs wears a woolen jacket much like the one Augustus had just donned. Her dark wave locks fall beautifully across her cheeks, almost with an intentional disheveled manner. Her pristine white blouse is tucked into the high-waisted black trousers. Every bit of her screams danger to Augustus and yet he feels drawn to her. As her black boot lands on the wooden planks of the tavern, she turns and smiles at them. Her emerald eyes glisten against her pale skin. Despite her perfect figure and form, there’s a look about her as if she had been suffering from sickness. The paleness of her lips is almost unnatural and no color touches her cheeks.
“What do you mean?” Augustus questions, trying to remain confident as his fingers suddenly find their way to the hilt of the rapier.
“Boy,” She smiles as she tilts her head, “Don’t even think about it.”
Khimi’s chest rises and falls and Augustus can see the unease on his face. He wants to call out and ask him what to do, but the words that come from Khimi are unexpected.
“Run,” Khimi breathes. The shamshir scrapes from the sheath in an explosion of sparks.
Mido shields his eyes as fire leaps in front of them in a thin sheet of flames. The barkeep pulls a dagger from the bar and stabs at Khimi from behind. Augustus calls out to Khimi as he pulls the rapier from its sheath.
Augustus grabs Khimi’s arm and pulls him away from the barkeep climbing on top of the bar. The two men at the table evacuate their seats and brandish daggers, rushing at them with a flourish of their blades. In the heat of combat, Augustus is lost. The hours spent with Ennui, the years of practicing with his father in Loria, none of it had prepared him for a moment such as this. His actions feel heavy and his swings do nothing to stave off the attacks. The pale-skinned woman stands at the base of the stairs, her hand resting on the railing as she watches with an amused twinkle in her eyes.
Khimi backs away from the bar and urges Augustus behind him. “I’ll be right behind you.”
“I can’t leave you.”
The barkeep jabs at Khimi and he grabs hold of her wrist, a smoldering red heat forms around the lines of his hand as she lets out a horrifying scream. He does not let go as she drops the dagger, instead he grips tighter, his face pinching as the scent of sizzling flesh fills the air.
“S-should I stab her?” Augustus questions uncomfortably from behind as he comes forward with the rapier.
Khimi ignores the question and tosses her against the wall with a crack. The woman does not stir from the wall but Khimi lunges forward at the other two assailants. H-he just killed that woman…
The shamshir roars with flames and Khimi hurries to them, unconcerned about his assailants’ reach. The embers fly above their heads as Khimi swings. Augustus moves about the room and readies himself but can not take his eyes from the woman’s corpse. Her tongue lolls from her mouth and her head appears to be twisted in an almost unnatural way. Fucking hells. The swishing flames of Khimi’s burning shamshir bring him back to their struggles. The two men attempt to pincer Khimi and Augustus finally finds an opening. He pushes past Khimi and lunges with the rapier in his hand, the tip of the pointed blade crests just over the man’s chest and cuts through the woolen garb. He staggers backward and readies himself.
Augustus’ heart pounds in his ears as he notices the second assailant coming at him out of the corner of his eyes. Too far to disengage from his position and knowing he is too slow to prevent the man’s dagger he turns his body, preparing for the blade. He closes his eyes, a warm hot mist blows across his skin. The blade never comes. A loud thump on the planks and Augustus opens his eyes to an armless assailant grabbing at the stump where his arm had just been. Khimi’s flaming blade courses with a bloody glow and he turns his attention to the pale woman.
“Khimi… we should go.”
Khmi’s eyes do not move from the pale figure, “Augustus, burn this place. Ennui can see it from the manor.”
“K-Khimi,” Augustus breathes. Not wanting to admit how tired and sore he feels, he nods and scurries behind the bar. Bottle after bottle hits the ground as Khimi holds the flaming blade at the ready. “We should go,” he grumbles as more glass shatters across the bar floor.
The man remaining forces his way along the edge of the tavern and begins to make his way towards the door.
“Where do you think you’re going?” The woman asks. Her words are thick, warm honey.
The man stops in the doorframe, his body goes rigid as he straightens his posture. “I-I… I don’t wan–” his words are cut short as Khimi’s shamshir cuts through the sable fur.
Khimi… he was fleeing.
The woman steps forward and begins to chuckle, her fingers brush against the line of his lips. “It’s interesting… how such a willing thrall can just turn on you like that.”
“He was still under your curse wasn’t he? Geas? Compulsion? What is it?” Khimi asks his harsh voice edges on a tremble.
She shrugs, “If he was under a spell, why did you kill him? Is your first course of action to kill that which you don’t understand? Or are you such a simple-minded creature that it is your only course of action?” Her question is biting and seems to press at Khimi.
Khimi’s brow pinches before his expression calms and a smug smile forms, “That’s right. I’m just a simple-minded creature,” he whispers, the embers from his blade lick at the ceiling.
Augustus grabs the candle and begins to lower to the broken bottles at the back of the bar. Several of the spirits he had broken reeked of the highly distilled dwarven swill. Before the flame even touches the liquid it erupts and runs along the bar and over the broken jars and bottles. Augustus staggers backward and turns back to Khimi. The conversation between Khimi and the woman had become lost to him under the intense roar of the flames.
“Khimi!” Augustus calls, “We should flee!”
Khimi does not move, both he and the woman glare at one another through a veil of embers. “Augustus, go back to the manor.”
Augustus tries to sound hopeful, laughing anxiously. “If I leave you, Lumi is gonna gut me.”
“It’s better for Lumi like this,” Khimi says with a glance out of the corner of his eye.
Something about the way in which Khimi looks at him makes him feel nervous, almost as if Khimi has already resigned in defeat. Augustus’ hand trembles over his rapier and he steels himself. He had seen bandits and marauders with Eustes, he had seen travelers who had suffered from the cruelty of others.
“No!” Augustus shouts and steps forward, the trembling of his hand stopping as he faces the woman before Khimi.
“You’re out of your depth,” Khimi mutters out of the corner of his mouth.
Augustus sighs and takes a step forward, “So what is it… you get to control the whole town?” He asks, pointing the rapier at the woman before him.
“Well,” she begins, “Not just me. My brethren all see to it that the populace stays in check. Had the Lorian Consul not been such a pushover,” she says with a click of her tongue, “This would have been so much harder.”
“Brethren? How many of you are there?” Augustus questions and clenches his jaw anxiously.
She chuckles as she takes a step forward, her black boots creaking over the planks ominously. “I don’t really care to talk to my food,” she says coldly.
“Then tell me,” Khimi whispers, lowering his weapon gently.
Her lips curl into a cruel smile, “What makes you think you’re not food?”
“You would have already killed me,” Khimi responds sharply, “Why even keep talking when you could have ended this already?”
“Because you are unique,” she says, giving Khimi a wink. “I can smell it on you. You’re a man who knows what he wants, aren’t you?”
Khimi chuckles under his breath, “Oh, it only took me a while to know what I want.”
“I’ve always wanted someone tall, dark, and handsome to be my paramour.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Augustus barks, “She’s… she’s doing what she did to the others.”
Khimi shakes his head as he continues to chuckle, “I’ve already got a paramour, and I’d rather not be anyone else’s.”
“Pity. A pet then,” she laughs as she takes a step forward.
Augustus rushes forward, swinging his blade overhead. A swirling mist surrounds the woman and she vanishes in a blink as Augustus’ sword passes through where she had just stood. The blade smashes into the wood and lodges between the planks. Augustus swings back around to Khimi as the mist appears behind him, the fire from the bar rages on, billowing smoke across the ceiling. Her appearance is as sudden as her disappearance had been and within that brief moment, her fangs press into the flesh above Khimi’s collar. Khimi’s elbows ram against her side as he fights against her with a pained expression. A red stream gushes from his neck, her teeth delving deeper into his flesh.
Augustus swings at the woman, her back catching the sharp edge as she clings onto Khimi, her nails ripping through the fabric of his jacket. Augustus shouts as the rapier slashes through her blouse and draws blood through the pristine white cloth. Khimi takes hold of her lengthy hair and pulls with all of his might, hauling her over his shoulder and onto the floor in front of him. The burning shamshir plunges into her abdomen and she cackles with a furious smile. This… is a vampire. Augustus’ hand shakes and he forces himself to hold the blade with both hands.
The shamshir glows like heated metal, flames course over the woman as Khimi glares down at her with intense focus. The flames consume the woman, engulfing her before they fade.
Augustus pulls at Khimi’s arm, pulling him from over the charred woman. They stagger backward near the front of the tavern as flames collect along the ceiling, scarring the wood with a black char. The wood hisses as the heat pushes any moisture from it.
“Khimi!” Augustus shouts, grabbing his arm and pulling him from the building. “We’ve got to go!”
Khimi slowly steps back, staring down at the charred woman. “Alright,” he mutters under his breath. “Sh—”
The woman sits up, her brilliant bloody smile shows from beneath her charred features. Gods help us. Khimi pulls against him and readies himself as he holds onto his bleeding neck.
The woman’s charred lips move slowly before her tongue runs over the cracked bits. “You can run along now,” her voice a biting taunt. “I’ve already got what I wanted, a taste.”
“What did you do?!” Khimi shouts the flames along his shamshir burn with heated fury.
Her laughter touches Augustus and causes him to look away. “Live and find out,” she says calmly. “I always wanted my own pet.”
“Pet?”
“A beautiful pet,” she chuckles, her fingers peeling away a strip of black flesh, revealing the red meat beneath. “Unique… tasteful. I’ve never had anything quite like you.”
Khimi tightens the grip on his neck, the crimson blood pours from beneath his fingers. He grits his teeth, “Shame. I have no interest in being your pet,” he growls.
“Run along, pet. You’ll come and find me soon enough. Maybe after you slaughter your friends,” she clicks her tongue, “they always come back after they’re wracked with guilt.”
“Fuc—”
Augustus pulls at Khimi’s sleeve, “We don’t have time!” He shouts as he looks across the pier. Dozens of eyes reflect the light of the growing bonfire in the tavern. The sun’s final evening moments begin to glimmer and vanish behind the distant horizon. “You’re hurt. We need to get back!”
“I’m fin—”
“Stop!” Augustus calls, pulling Khimi by the arm through the doorway. “Think about Lumi!” He shouts as he begins to pull harder.
Khimi glances out the door, noticing the encroaching eyes. “Tch, you’re right,” he whispers and turns, rushing behind Augustus.
“Do you have a death wish?” Augustus pants as they begin to take the stairs. “What’s wrong with you?!”
Khimi’s shamshir blazes before them, his eyes set ahead in the distance, his hand still pressed to his neck. “No,” he breathes as he reaches the top of the stairs. “I don’t intend to let someone like that-,” he pauses, looking down the stairs.
Endless pairs of eyes reflect light up to them from unseen bodies. Augustus nearly drops his rapier while dread washes through him like a wave. This place.
“I can’t let someone like that near Lumi,” Khimi finishes, staring down at the monstrous eyes glaring back at them.
Augustus steps backwards, the color drains from his already pale features. “I don’t know i-if we have a choice.”
Khimi grabs Augustus’ arm and pulls him along, running as fast as he can. “Hold on,” he calls out before he begins to whisper something under his breath.
An explosive light blinds Augustus’ vision, he can not tell how far forward they have moved, but the distance from where they were and where they are feels great. His feet struggle to carry him as another burst of light blinds him and an explosive boom echoes around them. He stumbles and forces himself back up while Khimi pushes him forward. The light from the shamshir begins to fade, as the color and heat in Khimi’s cheeks do as well.
“Khimi!”
The final embers spark from the shamshir and Khimi releases a labored breath. Augustus suddenly begins to hold up Khimi as they awkwardly push up the snowy cobbles toward the forest pathway. I can’t look back. Don’t look back. The weight of the world seems to press down on Augustus with each step, the blade is heavy in his hand as he feels the warm wet blood dripping along Khimi’s back and over his arm. Ennui had to have heard that noise. The darkness encroaches around them while the light fades along the edge of the forest.
“Augustus,” Khimi breathes, his head hanging forward as his breathing becomes more labored. “Go get Ennui,” he says, clapping him on the back.
The shadows press in on him, the hundreds of eyes glaring with a starving hunger. Augustus’ arms are sore, and his body screams out in anguish. The hours of ruthless training with Ennui had taken their toll. Khimi is heavy against him, and his weight continues to grow with the rampant loss of blood. He’s fading fast. Augustus had never learned to use healing magick, rather he could not. The magick he had been able to draw from Mido was weak and at this moment, he requires so much more than Mido can offer.
“No,” Augustus grunts as he forces himself forward through the snow. Khimi’s knees begin to buckle beneath him. “We’re not far now,” he says, tasting his own lie.
“A-Augustus,” Khimi grunts as his speech begins to fade. “Protect Lu—” the words leave his lips in a whisper.
The giant of a man falls forward in the snow and Augustus falls forward beside him. Scrambling through the snow, Augustus lifts Khimi’s head and looks into his eyes.
“Y-you can’t die, Khimi,” Augustus mutters. The darkness around them is unrelenting. “I’m scared.”
The rapier falls to his side. A hundred eyes and a hundred more stare at them through the trees and though he can not see them, he knows they are there. Llike needles pressing against his skin. Be brave, Augustus. He forces himself to his feet and picks up the rapier. Through the darkness, Augustus swings again and again. He ignores the pain in his arms and shoulders. At the top of his lungs, he releases a scream, a cry for help.