Second Month of the Awoken Age

  His feet trudged through ankle height water that covered the paved streets of this once beautiful city, each step being met with a ripple of water that would rush into pool around his booted feet. The aged brickwork and cobblestone streets a hint at this place’s past of decadence and wealth that had been swooped away in mere moments, even the meagre people who meandered the streets had this same cultivated but forlorn shadow to their visage.

  Overhead a whistle rising high brought attention to the midday sky, the accompanying bang announcing everything The Bloodied needed to know. Pursuing the center of the ruckus more and more fireworks being let off in the middle of daylight.

  His path leading him to a ruined bridge that had once toppled the canals, now a defunct gapping maw that he had to jump over, around him buildings of limestone and decayed marble with iron workings of intricate designs that stole his attention until he came into a plaza instantly recognizable as the Piazza Suk Du Noire, the historical landmark he’d never realized how would see in his lifetime where so much history had been made from the witches who had been burnt at the center of this plaza to the declarations of war and even the ascension of a False Herald during the Great Wars.

  And in this place of reverence a group of kids stirred lighting fireworks or causing other mayhem. He watched as one of the twenty aimed a pyrotechnic at the surrounding structures causing destruction that racketed everything around, the pain of witnessing such desecration hitting at the core of his being. This was a place of hurt for his Occultism but for many other Enlightenment Paths this was a place of reverence and worship and for those beliefs alone he was wrathful.

  ‘Who dat!’ One of the child soldiers shouted at him in that heavy floral accent. A submachinegun hanging around his waist as the man approached wearing a look of violence, the others lazy attention upon the interaction.

  The tune started, silently at first and only inside of The Bloodied as he felt his larynx vibrate with the rhythm of combat.

  Easily The Bloodied waited until his opponent was within range before producing a kunai whose razor-sharp edge took out the soldier’s throat. In a burst of movement, faster than any of them could react those ancient daggers started sailing through the space always finding their mark as their fine coating of poison would cripple anyone strong enough to survive with the final kunai leaving his hand leaving many enemies untouched but ready to riddle him with bullets.

  In a flourish of agile passage he dodged to the side as a hail of bullets would have torn him apart, following it up with a roll that took him back to his original attacker. Taking the submachinegun and firing back, his aim terrible but doing exactly what he needed to once the clip was finished as one of the bullets shot through the fireworks igniting the gunpower, the subsequent explosion a rumbling tempest that rippled the plaza. The entire time he rhythm taking on volcanic frequences that pitched the ear as if he knew he was going to blow the explosives before his brain understood it.

  The shockwave hitting like a wave, sending him off his feet. The clinking-plop of rubble landing greeting his senses reorientation as he felt the murky heat of the water, he was now lying in.

  Standing up and removing the useless hobo-coat he revealed the brown buttoned mock-neck shirt with the harness firm against his lanky body, the front holsters empty from the knives he’d dispersed amongst the group whilst his right arm produced the knife that became a spear and his other hand produced a buckler shield he’d stolen from a museum here as his previous one had been obliterated.

  A scene of laggard slow movement greeted him as the few who endured took a moment longer to get their stream of consciousness back to reality, their bodies undergoing a state of hyper-focus having shaved down all outside concerns into the single willpower towards survival.

  Throwing himself in this with a deep tune, The Bloodied came upon one of the disorientated child soldiers ending her with a series of viper-strikes. He was at another in no time, using the edge of his buckler to beat the man’s head-in until brains were leaking out of the wound. Coming upon two helping each other his spear came up through the persons jawline and into their brain whilst he bashed away the person gun launching his fist into them before dislodging his spear, folding it back into a knife and using it on the other.

  ‘HEY!’ An unknown shouted at the far edge, someone hidden from his original onslaught.

  Bringing up his rifle bullets started to fly prompting The Bloodied into dexterous action, moving as much as he could in the vain hope to dodge bullets and confuse his attacker as his inhuman speed was already to his advantage, yet a lucky bullet was a lucky bullet. His buckler raised to protect his head in between feints and dodges and rolls, a thunderous kinetic force punching the metallic shield leaving a mangled depression that threatened to break through, as closer another bullet hit the shield this one causing visible breaks in the metal. Yet within range the dagger became a spear and stuck through the soldier, taking his heart with a look of terrified shock as his body took a moment to realize what was happening before collapsing.

  ‘May your spirits find rest in the Cosmic Soul.’ The prayer came out, his vocal cords coming to end of their tune. These weren’t some of the worst types of people he had dealt with, that minor distinction alone deserved them appreciation.

  Leaving the scene, he made sure to be far from any promise of retaliation before ascending a vacant building. Inside finding a backroom to shore up in as he place defenses upon the door further retreating into the bathroom where he laid out in the bath closing the curtain with his holy weapon at the ready. This all may have been unnecessary he was sure, but he preferred taking the extra time rather than risking the odd chance that he was taken by surprise.

  With everything set The Bloodied produced a vial, its blue-twinkling substance a mesmerizing feat known as “Limerence” whose acuity within the Occult had been relied upon for a thousand years. Readying a glass-pipe he loaded three droplets of silica, pouring the substance into the glass-pipe he watched as applying heat the two materials crystalized in intricate fractals, the removal of the heat causing a disassembly of the two distilling out the last of the impurities allowing for consumption.

  With a heavy breath as prepared himself for the required trip, he knew the Limerence had been prepared beforehand, but it still required this process every time as there was no true purification unless it was right from the lab. The thought of death due to chemical-mishap rather than in the thick of battle a petrifying notion as his mouth closed around the pipe and he breathed in the heavy substance.

  Instantly the internal skin was being stripped away as if he’d just swallowed bleach, his tastebuds a riot against the poisonous substance that tore through his mouth and nostril cavities and like a desperate rider raced through his throat and into the core of his personhood. Contacting the heart those Limerence particulates binding to red-blood-cells and being pumped out at extreme speeds to all corners of his figure as his grip of reality faded entirely.

  The Bloodied was in a blank void for an eternity, sensation ceased, even his mind was empty.

  Extrasensory Awareness trickled back to him. The persisted but now he felt solidity below feet that weren’t truly his, a canvas of earthen colors wove around him giving him a sense of place now, a stagnant heat touching the outlines of his being. A depression in the earth folded down as a dais erupted into form, blankets and cushions as if this was a pitched tent in the depths of a mine whilst fire light gave a primal nature to the world that was forming into place.

  ‘My respects be upon you, Man of the Blood.’ A voice announced in honorifics. At the center of the dais surround by comforts sat cross-legged The Matriarch revealed herself, the lithe Polar-Kin woman with her squinted-almond eyes of coffee stared through him with waves of dyed-red hair in various tones giving an even greater appearance as a stone embedded into her forehead produced the pale illumination of antlers that crowned her head.

  ‘My Matriarch!’ The Bloodied responded with a deep bow. Not a requirement for the average Occultist but he wasn’t the average Occultist anymore, his duties put him as a man apart with deep understanding that he needed to act that way as well. ‘I have done as asked and brought the various ruling powers of Canalise low. Your agents in the city can now feel free to start operations with impunity.’

  ‘That is very good news Bloodied. You’ve out done yourself beyond compare, and I am sorry that you had to fight armies with machine weaponry. Even with your exceptional skill I understand how that must have pushed you to the limit.’ The Matriarch empathized.

  ‘I used much of the potions you sent me out with. I fear that whatever still runs through my system might be at its limit.’ He admitted, ashamed as the cost of such alchemy was beyond the wealth of nations.

  He heard nothing from the blessed woman before him, the beauty incarnates who had been chosen to lead her people as a shepherd leads a flock. The woman he’d once known as Suasory Weimar. Lifting his head to see no sort of contempt on her face, but instead a half smile.

  ‘Feel no sorrow about such trifles My Bloodied.’ Was her response leaving him on edge. ‘This Arrhenius. This apocalyptic maelstrom has given us a gift beyond comprehension. It has brought back the wide growth of Mutagen, our people the world over have reported seeing the flora growing out of the dead eagerly.’

  ‘What? How?’ His confusion putting him at a loss for words. ‘Mutagen has always been a hard to cultivate plant. She takes in the rarest millionth of a death and requires such fertile ground that it needs to be tended to for generations, and even then, it grows in such little spurts to only give rare abilities?’

  ‘I know my friend. I know that we guarded the substance jealously for thousands of years for fear of what eventually happened anyway in the Great Wars. But now we have been gifted from the Cosmic Soul. It grows where people are buried readily, that once triflingly small number of possible potentials for growth has expanded beyond a doubt. We still aren’t wholly educated on what is happening but, we now are experiencing a time when you will not have to worry about such things as rationing.’ Those proud words seeped into his consciousness.

  ‘By the Triune Goddess! The Cosmic Soul itself.’ He relished.

  ‘Our ancestors in the Occult safeguarded secrets thousands of years in the making. We know the science behind Mutagen. And now we are in an age of abundance we will lead 9th Earth towards a golden age, reclaiming the losses of our earliest histories!’ The Matriarch promised, and with that he felt the correctness of everything he done.

  ‘What do you need of me my Matriarch?’ He devoted.

  ‘My Bloodied. We need you to cut of swarth through to the heart of Anglesea, all the way towards the old-world metropolis of Elysian where the old-world government once vainly decided the outcomes for the future.’ The Matriarch decreed. ‘I do not want anyone claiming any past glory that might sway people from the path we need of them. We need to kill the old-world entirely.’

  -It should have been me that died that night. I see that now. To have died and everything about you desecrated like this, that is not right. Especially for you Adrian, you weren’t in the wrong, I was and yet I’m standing here, and you aren’t-

  He saw it, that sickly feeling that had rooted itself at the pit of his stomach gurling up forcing out bile that sprayed along the rocky tree line, the dip sharply inclined towards the unstable ground that was the Old Quarry, the shadow of a radio tower cast across the pit and when he was trying not to look downwind he could swear he could make out the aged old destroyed castle another day ahead of hard walking.

  Further behind him with the dawn light he could see the fence that had long since been rusted and defunct, a mangled piece of pipes and wires which was how Ayer knew he could get in. It had taken him the entire day to get here, and it would take him another day to get back as he simply planned to break into a house a rest on some random bedding.

  -Ah the one memory I have were dad said he wanted to go somewhere, and he wanted to go here so he could lower me as close to the sinkhole as possible to get rid of evidence. What a standup guy- He reminisced, causing another spirt of throw up to exit his stomach at the idea of a bloody hammer his father had almost killed someone with sitting just below the rancid corpse of someone he had killed. -What is wrong with my family-

  Forcing himself to look again, he saw exactly what was described yesterday by those attackers. He saw vines reaching up from the gullet of the sinkhole, vines of red that distorted light around them, the only way he could see that was by those morning rays and how they played off such odd flora.

  So that means the body is dissolved to one degree or another. That didn’t rest his stomach or his spirit -If he believed in such things-, instead everything just felt worse, and he couldn’t even describe why.

  The rustling of leaves close by stole his attention, spinning around with a flinch much against whatever manliness he had. Ayer wasn’t even ready for an attack, one hand in a splinter and a kitchen knife through his belt he hadn’t even fumbled for it. Turning however, he saw something just as surprising.

  Behind him five people approached cautiously, all of them appearing Native whilst the lead-predator coming clear as that bile in his stomach turned to a cold-simmering hatred.

  ‘What are you doing here halfie!’ Rowtag jeered. The Native who’d made many women around the region swoon had the opposite effect on Ayer who felt a beast stirring inside of him every time he saw the smug asshole. To many nights had he been ready to tease the Bradshaw’s and every time it was Ayer who bore the brunt of such attacks.

  ‘Last I heard you Natives told everyone to get out of the Treaty, kind of hypocritical if they have to leave but you can come and go as you please. Isn’t it!’ Ayer threw back. The moment of pleasure he got out of it overshadowed by sinister movements of the others who nocked arrows or unsheathed their kukris.

  ‘You know nothing of hypocrisy hell-spawn. I asked first, and seeing as your dominant hand is injured and you have an oh so scary kitchen knife when compared to my weaponry, you go first and answer my question!’ Rowtag hissed, freeing his kukri revealing just how properly outmatched Ayer really was.

  ‘Out for a walk. This place has sentimental reasonings to me.’ He jabbed back, after yesterday evidently, he was willing to die on this hill and somehow against the Natives seemed almost poetic.

  ‘Ha, sentimental reasonings he says.’ Rowtag repeated, moving past Ayer to the edge of the tree line looking down into that mouth of hells. ‘Nothing good, I’m sure. No goodness follows you does its Ayer. Your sentimentalities are fucked up I am sure.’

  ‘If I knew what psychobabble you were getting at, I would have something to say to that.’ Seemed to be the only thing he could say back after a barb he didn’t really understand. Yet it hurt for some unknown reason.

  All that did was make the band of Natives laugh. Not his intention.

  ‘Do you come out this way often?’ Rowtag inquired.

  ‘Sometimes.’ Was all Ayer gave.

  ‘When did that start growing?’ Rowtag pointed, bringing Ayer’s attention to those crimson floral vines that climbed up the quarry.

  ‘I don’t know.’ He continued as if it was a game. For his part Rowtag didn’t seem to really care about Ayer’s childish demeanour, which made his demeanor even worse.

  ‘Hmm… Bad Sign… A very bad sign. Do you know what that is!’ Rowtag pointedly asked, Ayer for his part feeling the seriousness behind the terror shook his head. Speaking in the Native tongue, Rowtag translated himself as well saying. ‘Deathroot! Accursed stuff. Stay away from it, anything that grows out of death is a carrion thing and does not hold a place in, the Nature of Things.’

  With a whistle that rang and frightened Ayer into a flinch Rowtag left, no more words or explanations nor any more teasing as he loved to do whenever a Bradshaw was around. Leaving Ayer there to watch the thing, now having a name to put to the thing. A Native name.

  She had been unsure about spending the fuel to come all this way but now they were here she knew that it was a bad idea, nothing about the scene gave her any satisfaction. Unable to hold it in Kailey peeled away from the group, not wanting them to see as she threw up behind the police SUV, they’d taken to come out here sat as a stark reminder of everything they’d lost as Braden, Viking and Indra peered around the scene all of them throwing up the moment they left the vehicle.

  Going back this time, she had steeled every part of her mentality and physicality as the area was drenched in blood and guts, “bodies” were strewn about barely recognizable other than as clumps of beings with vague mammalian shapes by the broken ribcages and bones that had been threw away carelessly.

  Whenever she needed a relieve from the scene Kailey looked up at the mountain face to see the Crags, that cave opening that linked tunnels so far underneath ground the apparently spread to the basin mountains in the north.

  ‘Anything even vaguely like their story?’ Kailey asked, her attention moving between everyone there only to see Indra throw up for a second time and Viking shakily light up a cigarette.

  ‘Divet’s over here.’ Braden said, the initial shock wearing off as now he was down to business. ‘Matches up with the opened roller door so this must be where they parked. And by those back tire marks in the ground, they were trying to get out of here quickly.’

  Pointing to the multiple extra depressions in the ground where the tires had spun to pick up speed. Already this was better police work than Kailey was rightfully expecting, originally figuring Braden and his crew would be muscle rather than any type of investigative force, yet she was thoroughly taken with how serious he was taking this and the conclusions he was drawing.

  ‘So that means he would have roughly been here. At the cab door. And it was here that he said one of the kid-rat things jumped at him, which he put down.’ Braden speaking his thoughts aloud came to a seemingly random spot next to those depressions, his hands sizing up the world around him and with squinted eyes scrolled over the landscape.

  Yesterday they had Ayer and Boulder come in and explain everything to all of them with Nerissa, Indra, Dahl and Vicaera all vouching that the story remained the same. Braden even seemed to consider the amount of bullets Ayer shot as just before he acted out shooting twice, leading him to right now as he lifted his hands with a pretend shotgun -Why wasn’t that gun impounded ages ago. It is totally illegal and so dangerous-.

  ‘That one!’ Braden exclaimed pointing to one of the mushes of guts that littered the area.

  The group rushed over to the splotch, Kailey herself sizing it up before saying. ‘Holy shit Braden you might be right. Look how little this one is compared to the others!’

  ‘I was thinking that from over there but didn’t want to say anything until we took a better look.’ He responded, kneeling over the corpse peaking at it as if there was something in there that could break the case wide open.

  Unfortunately, nothing here would tell them anything more. Taking out a pair of powdered gloves and a vial Kailey was quick to put as much DNA as possible to use, this was the only thing she could think of to prove that something was off.

  ‘Why are we doing that?’ Braden asked, studying the specimen.

  ‘Nerissa was studying hematology and genomics. Hopefully she will be able to breakdown what is happening here, if anything is. Can you guys collect specimens from the others?’ Kailey asked marking her vial as the possible “Child-Rodent”, passing gloves and other vials out all because she was worried if she done a second, she would throw up again.

  *

  It didn’t take them long to find the market seeing the gunfight their people had endured here as one of the walls was littered with bullets and chipped to breaking point and a foul odor that was beyond nature. Four deaths all for a small market that would have barely feed Durrahan for a day, but for these people, they were willing to die for it.

  -The prospecting crew will come by later today and take everything from this place. At least this way they didn’t die for nothing-

  ‘There is someone down here!’ Braden called causing the others to meander over to the ditch.

  Looking down all Kailey saw was an overgrown sink of land as the thirsty plant reached up out of there. The rustling of leaves being pushed aside revealed Braden wearing another set of gloves and extending a hand which she took, following the man down a few steps and using him to balance herself.

  That was until they came to a body, the rancid sight made her welch at sight and if she had any more food or drink in her system she would have thrown up. Now she was at the epicenter of that odor which made breathing unbearable up there, down here it became clear being oddly fragrant like sweet spicy resin coming from ancient trees but underneath it as if secondarily layered was the damp scent of decay that soured the very air as much as it was sweetened. And there she was met with the green-bloated corpse had an odd flora growing directly from its chest, those lesions soaking up the foam that should be leaking out of the body.

  ‘By all the bloody Angelyn. Oh my fuck.’ Kailey protested, the sight, the smell, everything here was just wrong.

  ‘I know, this is beyond fucked!’ Braden’s words were reinforcing, knowing that she wasn’t the only one seeing this and could see the wrongness in all of this made everything a little easier.

  ‘Okay I’ll go in and grab a sample. Did you identify who it is?’ Kailey asked, moving in as the face had a vague familiarity but none she could place as this seemed to be hitting her more and more as of lately.

  Moving in she saw those vines in great description, how their crimson hues had black-undertones and even more concerned was how light was distorted around the plant unlike anything she’d ever seen. Not even the Radiant-Tree in Durrahan had this same affect. Breaking off parts of the plant done nothing visibly dangerous, she was slow and cautious expecting it to be somehow alive and moving yet it done nothing and as she broke off pieces no deterrents were released.

  ‘Yeah. It was hard to figure out from the bloating, but I know that it Torrand Domal, Nerissa’s cousin.’ Braden solemnly informed. The news hitting harder than she could have ever expected it too for someone she barely knew.

  *

  The New Hospice was still being organized as the group wandered in but with the numbers this place would be running in a matter of hours, the thought a pleasing sentiment to Kailey who was exhausted with everything the world was throwing at them.

  ‘Hey, I’m going to go and speak with Dahl.’ Braden said, leaving no time for her to query or object, walking off at a pace that would be hard to match.

  -Okay… Weird… Whatever-

  In the crowd of everything Kailey found Nerissa in a side office setting everything up by herself. This allowed Kailey to announce herself before closing the door realizing this was going to be a devastating conversation.

  ‘So, you got the specimens, that is good. I will get right onto studying them, but it might take a moment if that is okay… Just… Just-’ Nerissa prattled, obviously fearing the worst. Obviously knowing what words were about to come out of Kailey’s mouth and trying her hardest to avoid them all together.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  -How womanly. To know what is about to happen but deny it anyway-

  ‘-Rissa. We found him.’ Kailey croaked out, her throat closing against those very words as tears took to her eyes. ‘I am so sorry!’

  Falling to the floor Nerissa released the flood of tears that had been building up since last night. Kailey shooting in, scooping up her friend and holding her for as long as she needed as time no longer mattered and anything beyond this room was a luxury.

  She couldn’t say how much time passed, nor did Kailey care. What mattered was Nerissa whose powerful wails had caused Kailey to cry herself, as for the next period they simply were just with each other, in each other’s emotions. Eventually ending when there were no more tears left, both raw cheeked and rosy features as the course of their time crying into each other had brought in many of their friends as Indra and Maya Wainwright came in quickly adding to the emotions of the room, followed by Sarika Mews-Gimbutas and Karesha Don Lee trailed by Ifrit Kallos, at one point even Daven Millard was in there in the cacophony of things.

  Taking their lunch in there the room of women was solemn, but all knew to keep this going, to embrace the emotions rather than deny them. They weren’t guys after all.

  After the worst of this the first male dared to brave the room as Dahl tentatively came in. The tall-slender Sun-Kin man coming in and giving the curt condolences only a doctor could give even if he wasn’t truly a doctor yet, but he was sincere and that is what mattered even as he came in with a purpose saying after the fact. ‘I have some extra samples for you to look over when you have time of course. Don’t rush to do them or anything.’

  ‘Oh, okay Doctor Dahl. The moment I’m able to I will get onto them.’ Nerissa said through a cracked voice, a dry smile from Dahl who rejected the title still.

  ‘I just dropped off all the samples, where did these ones come from?’ Kailey inquiring.

  ‘It’s from Braden… He’s chasing up a crime.’ Was all Dahl explained, surprised as she may have been it made sense for Braden to use Nerissa’s skills, yet she was sure that he only just learnt about them today, so the crime must have happened recently or just in the intervening time.

  -Stop it. Focus on Nerissa, she needs you right now- So Kailey let the notion drop from her mind.

  Tracing the familiar path through a greenspace that boarded between main street and one of its side streets, the dull ack of his hand and ever-present reminder of what happened.

  Passing the trucks of the crew seeing the familiar faces a desperate heat came over Ayer, slight discomfort as if they caught him doing something wrong even though they had no idea what he was doing, but also revilement as he saw them slugging away under the summer sun while he was now on reduced duties and unable to work until his hand healed.

  Unsurprised three of the crew were by the vehicles with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths, and all of them glared daggers at him. Their usual apathy turned to hostility, with Leyland mocking. ‘Oh guys, watch out for slayer there.’

  The derision getting a chorus of laughter. Ignoring them was all he could do as that comment cut extremely deeper than it should have, their mockery of what he had endured but also how close to the truth they were hitting as he was in fact a murderer. Shouldering the slipping backpack Ayer moved on, the weight a reminder of his intention for moving about Durrahan.

  Farther to the north heading towards the School Complex he came upon the modernistic Civic Centre where its connections opened into the public library as this double story building had only finished construction months before the Arrhenius changed everything. With all that change however this place was still lightly populated, that unnatural-natural quiet to be found in libraries prevalent as he walked in through those swinging double-doors to find two women behind the counter.

  ‘Hey, I’ve brought back the books.’ Ayer remarked pulling up to the counter and opening his bag revealing what had been entertaining his time for the past week and a half. Producing three books each as unique as the last “Wisdoms of the Tyrsea Natives” followed by “Mystic Teachings of Prehistoric Man” and “Native Alchemy and How to Heal” which had turned out to be more of a self-help book and practically useless.

  ‘You actually brought your books back!’ Sarika Mews-Gimbutas pondered with confusion as her pale Sun-Kin features scrunched at his words.

  ‘This is a library isn’t it!’ He pushed back as if she was the dumb one, realizing that he took her confusion as an insult rather than as simple confusion. A part of him realizing why she would sleep with Viking if she was this stupid, going against nearly everything that everyone else spoke about her.

  Once she’d had a moment to process Ayer’s retaliation Sarika moved through the motions shrugging it off. ‘You would think so but since this started the people who get books more than often keep them.’

  ‘That sounds like a pain in the ass to keep track of.’ Ayer offered as reconciliation realizing his overaction. ‘Good for you for keeping this place working even with people being shitty.’

  The compliment didn’t seem to land with her as Sarika rushed about doing a list of invisible jobs only known to her, leaving him standing there for a long moment waiting for either her or the woman behind the counter who lounged with her full attention on the piece of fabric in her hands that she altered to her own whims. With a few spiteful glares Ayer traced Sarika’s hatred towards the epicurean woman next to her who seemed indifferent to the work that needed to be done.

  She was a stunning Middle-Kin figure with a perfectly round face framed by darkened golden locks with a terrible uneven dye of ravenous gothic black watching through tired but sharp coca brown eyes that read the room with a simple look, a glint of the metallic bullring nose piercing and choker at her throat to draw attention. Further down she wore a baggy aged large shirt with an aged rock band logo printed on it, rips and tears that perfectly gave a window to her top-heavy chest compared to the rest of her wiry-underfed frame. Some sort of odd contradiction as the top was basically an entire outfit for her with only the hint of a leather skirt underneath

  With neither giving him the time of day a realization crept over Ayer as the conversation with Viking came to mind randomly, his eyes focusing on this beauty which he could easily see making blind men dumb and knew this was the infamous Alicent Tres Hood and thankfully he found someone living up to the hype around them.

  ‘Um. I’m looking for anything about Native Hermetics or anything?’ Ayer punctuated, annoyed that the two had written him off so quickly.

  The girls for their part both looked puzzled by the very notion requiring further explanation from Ayer until Alicent was the one who interjected. ‘So, you want to learn about Native Magic?’

  ‘When you say it that way it sounds stupid… But ultimately correct.’ The two women took a moment.

  Sarika took the lead going over a library reference book letting Alicent sit and do nothing going back into her book. Once she was put on the right track she sent Ayer off to the far corner of the second floor. The aisle labelled as “esoterica” where several books jumped out to him taking another three before returning to the counter where Sarika took note of the books and who was taking them. Leaving Ayer waiting impatiently feeling a fool for no reasoning, yet a snarking disbelieving look from Alicent adding to his demeanour.

  ‘Ayer Bradshaw. I thought that was you.’ A familiar voice alluded bringing his attention to see the pastel-green skin of Lysander Don Dean with her hair now shaved to the nub further entrenching the notion that she’d become a devotee of the Enlightenment.

  -Now which one is she, that is the question. It’d be best for me to know so I don’t say anything to piss her off-

  ‘Lys it’s good to see you.’ He replied, the awkwardness of seeing someone after a period and witnessing two starkly different versions of them. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Studying of course. The church has a great selection of books but there are ones here that have been a great help for me to understand the greater mysteries of the Cosmic Soul. And every so often I see someone who would never step inside of the church, so it is a good place to engage with them.’ That seemed particularly levelled his way as he felt the tension of the women behind the counter simply because they were speaking.

  ‘It’s preferrable this way believes me. Otherwise, we’d be risking either me or the church spontaneously combusting. Can you imagine someone like me stepping inside’ Ayer tried as a joke and pointed to his skin, only now realising how that could be seen as blasphemy towards a religious mind.

  ‘As someone who has actually seen and fought a demon, you know you are the furthest from one.’ The comment spoke everything, maybe even why she had approached. Sarika and Alicent confused at the statement, their minds a visible blaze trying to figure out what Lysander meant.

  ‘It wasn’t a demon. I don’t know what it was, but it was not something… aethereal… As my hand proves’ Ayer determined, raising his splinted arm, causing the two to realize what was happening.

  ‘Wait. You’re that guy who claims he was attacked by mutants or some shit!’ Alicent postulated now stirring in her chair, but not out of attraction but simple interest.

  ‘I was attacked by something!’ Cold iron smithing the words into spear strikes. And before Lysander could taking it out of context. ‘And it wasn’t a goddam demon. It wasn’t a sworn enemy of the Angelyn or a fucking rogue spirit. These were people who had been changed. We might not be able to fully understand why right now but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an explanation.’

  ‘Why say anything to begin with. Now people are even more scared than they already were.’ Alicent challenged, a reinforced vigour that can only come from someone who had the self-confidence of being attractive to relay upon when all else failed. ‘People are scared to walk the streets even during the daylight now and people who live around the city in their family homes are scared that one night these creatures might attack. My younger cousins are having nightmares about it!’

  ‘People should be afraid of demons at all times.’ Lysander retorted, a piousness that Ayer had never noticed lurking inside her yet by the conviction in her voice and strength of her stance she truly meant.

  ‘They weren’t demons, they were kids that were fucked over by what is happening. And I didn’t intend for people to be scared, all I did was tell the Councilors what happened, nothing else. Fuck this shit!’ Stuffing the books into his bag Ayer rushed off.

  *

  Once again lounging on the steps of the pagoda life seemed a menagerie beyond him now with the Juana Root trip reaching its end. His attention fixed on the gently floating streamers of the Radiant-Tree with its willow-like features stood stalwart and unmoving, as it had since it was first planted there over a hundred years ago, that kind of think giving Ayer a real sense of place here.

  ‘You getting high as fuck?’ A voice came bring his attention over to see Boulder meandering up to him.

  ‘Hells yeah brother. Scored a last little bit. Have what’s left.’ Ayer said, unable to move his body much but gesturing with a lazy head towards his bong. Boulder for his part, with the muck and dead limbs of a hard day in the fields readily accepted, plumping down next to Ayer before taking one of his exceptionally deep drags that outpaced anything Ayer could do.

  Before the tip of the substance could alter Boulder, Ayer asked. ‘So have people asked you about what happened?’

  ‘Yep. And none of the fuckers believe.’ The Polar-Kin scathed. ‘Cutter being his usual fuck-tart of a self even tried to start some shit. I swear, the moment I get the chance I’m going to kick that fucker’s ass black and blue to the point that he won’t talk to me ever again!’

  ‘This will sound bad but I’m happy that I’m not alone in this. It’s fucking painful they aren’t listening, but what else can we do. The Council said they were going to go and check out the site and everyone said they went the day afterwards, but I haven’t heard jack-shit.’ Ayer admitted.

  ‘You said you wanted to nerd out a read about it. Have you learnt anything?’ Boulder joked, getting a healthy mirth from Ayer.

  ‘I’ve found out the Natives have a name for such a thing… Deathroot.’ He started, avoiding explaining that he was told that rather than read about it. ‘I have got some stuff but not enough to draw any specific conclusions yet. Just a lot of fluff, but I got some new books today which might be more in line with what we need.’

  ‘Ha… Well, keep nerding on my man. Meanwhile I’ll be over here killing braincells.’ Boulder deprecated leading the two down an hour-long conversation of the effects of being high doing different extreme sports for absolutely no reason at all.

  ‘You’re sure that this should be easy?’ Kailey asked, white knuckling the steering wheel leading two trucks behind her with the stench of her cousin putting her on alert that he was next still there.

  Behind her she felt the presence of Indra and Maya in the backseat, neither conversing at all as if they felt the tension of this very moment as well.

  ‘It should be Kae. I don’t really know; this isn’t my field, but you needed it checked out, so I did. This menial stuff is the kind of things you should have kept Reyes around for.’ Archie monotonously responded, his leg on a constant shake causing a vibration throughout the Cadillac Ciel.

  -He’s just annoyed that I took him off radio-tower project of his- At least that was his latest one, he was also dicking around with the schematics Reyes worked up altering them in one degree or another as he wanted to start making wind turbines. Specifically, his intention was to mount one on every building. -Whether it looks good or what-

  Rounding the only corner for miles of this farmland the small procession of vehicles soon came to the brickwork gates, the lax military grounds only protected by a simple arm and empty booth, caught the sun was “Thirty-Third Tyrsea Military Base” proudly shrined in metal across the brick wall. Further in they finally came to the electric fence.

  ‘You’re sure that this shouldn’t be active anymore?’ Kailey inquired, her eyes lingering on the ominous signage.

  ‘YES!’ Archibald whined as if he was a child.

  The whine of trucks pulled behind her, the idling engines a ruckus within her own vehicle as they waited eagerly her move. She looked towards her cousin, she trusted him, she had sent him and others to this place, and they’d all brought back the information. Yet she just couldn’t completely trust them, grabbing hold of a ball she’d put in the car before leaving Kailey left her car before throwing the ball at the fence.

  The fence rang out, the bouncing ball slumped on the frizzy lawn. A long moment went by without reaction, Kailey waiting with rigid intensity as nothing happened. The trill of a Larken somewhere beyond calling to other avians cutting through the landscape, in return a bovine meowed as a herd moved on past.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Archie queried now that over five minutes had passed.

  ‘Being sure.’ Kailey replied, waving to the others getting help to open the gates before driving through, following the directions further afield passing dominant structures that could survive bombings as series of militaristic trucks and off-roaders as they came to stacks of silos. ‘Holy crap. We were right!’

  ‘When you came to me. Saying to look at army bases this was the first place that came to mind. This base is… was devoted to engineering, so vehicles come here to be fixed up and shipped out etc, but of course they need fuel to make what they fix works still.’

  The two trucks pulled up next to those silos going to work to extract as much petroleum as they could with Archie lording over them with Indra there to level him out. Over to her side Kailey watched as Maya wandered off across the spaces that had once teamed with military personnel, having faith they would fill up those tankers, and if there was a problem they would come to her Kailey followed the youth.

  ‘Hey Maya, where are you off too?’ Kailey asked catching up to the extremely spry pale woman.

  ‘Just having a look around. At this point I’ve been wondering if Adrian might be closer than we originally thought and maybe he’s just living out here in the back country. He wanted to join the army once school was done with, so when Indra told me about this at little part of me thought that he could be living out here.’ Maya admitted, a stark pang of annoyance racing through Kailey was almost sick of hearing about this love-pining.

  ‘Maya. I don’t want to sound insensitive.’ She did. ‘But you need to get over him. Adrian left you and everyone else for no good reasoning and sent you and Braden running all over the Basin with no sight or sound of him. He obviously doesn’t care.’

  ‘But what if he did have a good reason?’ Maya pushed back, a fire in the distraught woman that Kailey had rarely ever seen as those large doe eyes had an intensity behind them that was unfamiliar. At this point Kailey was so used to seeing Maya with puffy eyes and chapped face that seeing her with a flash of anger was something new at least.

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘I… I… I don’t know.’ The words frail as the collided with the stone wall. Those red-glared eyes losing that lustre of aggression as her body sagged and she shied away further complicating if she knew something or didn’t.

  -This woman should not be this fucking hard to read. Either she knows something and is trying hard not to hide it, or she doesn’t know anything and is trying to pretend that she knows something-

  ‘Okay. Let’s be generous. You say that he wanted to join the army. Maybe all of this happened, maybe the day of the Arrhenius he learnt everything that we spoke about and realized that this was happening everywhere so maybe he went to join whatever was left of the Army. That means he either went down to Rhaetia or he would have gone north to the capital.’ In this scenario she was being very generous. ‘No matter the case does it excuse him leaving in the middle of the night without telling anyone.’

  With the words coming out Kailey had a moment realizing they were far harsher than she meant them to be. Yet if it brought this lovesick puppy out of whatever this was, she justified that it was necessary.

  ‘So, it wouldn’t be worth it if he came back with an army and brought about law and order?’ Maya eventually retaliated, an interesting tactic of getting Kailey to look over at her righthand whilst ignoring her lefthand.

  ‘We should all be worried if any army comes to bring about “Law and Order”. Two things that we already have.’ Kailey snapped.

  ‘Inside of Durrahan maybe. But outside of our borders we barely know what’s happening and what people are willing to do. According to what happened in Kirigunya of the Crags they were robbed by Everdeen and then were ready to kill anyone who went there, and that only gets worse if there is something weird happening with that plant if it can mutate people. None of that doesn’t sound very law and orderly to me!’ Maya disrupted.

  ‘We were told that by two stoners who probably saw dingos!’ Kailey snarked. ‘Military control is never the road to stable governance, we haven’t even need militaries for the past hundred years and they’ve proven to be more destructive than useful with their countless coups and insurgencies in countries who didn’t support the Anglesea Unions so called “Peace”.’

  ‘You think we don’t need militaries… People to protect us?’ That heat penetrating her words again, either she believed in the opposite, or she was confused by the statement.

  ‘How many times did our military, or the Angles operated in Issea without oversight, overthrowing elected governments for their own gains. And then we had the gull to blame them for attacking us when from their perspective we are invaders who wreaked havoc.’ Kailey erupted, her times on the minor islands of her forebearers an informative time where she’d come to see the exploitation as disastrous.

  ‘You mean like ending the Great Wars when Anglesea dropped atomics on Kushka and Tyan to stop the Issea islands from continuing the war? Or the seizure of Kiriba and Uju so our ships and planes would have a safe pathway through the islands without being attacked by rockets, that we could have trade with Anglesea which was the only economy to survive the Great Wars?’ Maya’s understanding of that said history was surprising which she seemed to sense continuing. ‘I took Advanced World History, and that “Pothead” who you can’t trust was the one who taught me about all that.’

  Those words seemed dripping with venom, a flaring heat that died just as quickly and brought about another bout of melancholia for Maya who seemed to shrink back after the blow. A suspicion blooming in Kailey wondering if there was something more between Maya and Ayer, or maybe there was just complex feelings, but no one had said that there was familiarity between the two. Either way her mind was ablaze with curiosity about everything that was Maya.

  -She makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. And the more that is revealed the more none of it fits-

  ‘Come on. Lift it up!’ Was called out to him shaking Ayer back to reality as he went back to work.

  Both of his fully healed hand grappled the awkward solar panel, following the lead at the other end as the two placed it onto the brackets holding into place before Ayer was charged with securing it in place, systematically tightening the screws as he’d come to learn from an age now out here cooking in the sun and learning under Juries. He was still incredibly new and useless with all of this, but an aspect of he’d oddly come to enjoy.

  Under one panel as he worked through tightening the bolts the thunk of booted feet caught his attention stumping past, then a usual slight called from Leyland. ‘Fucking, Slayers at it again fellas.’

  As expected, there was a chorus of laughter to accompany the insult, the loudest cackle of course being Sadia Marshes whose witches hoot had come to haunt Ayer’s dreams as much as Adrian had been. He only thanked the Angelyn that he rarely dreamed, that was a state of subconscious being that he never wanted to indulge in.

  ‘Leyland. Shut the fuck up and move on… NOW!’ Juries clapped back, near instantly Leyland faltering with a quickening to his step. ‘Ayer, hurry up. We were meant to be done this place today!’

  *

  Sprawling out across the soft packed earth, his body limp under the trees protective shadow against the waning suns glare. The book in hand halfway finished and very little of use added to his knowledge. This entire exercise of finding out what Deathroot was turning out to be useless, four books in on subjects that were far from his usual interests, and he still hadn’t gotten farther than knowing a name but nothing more.

  For some reason he also wanted to be holding the kukri hidden under his bed, as he’d found it brought him an odd comfort. Having it so close to him encase something happened again. But even right now as all he did was read, having the blade by his side just to toy with sounded enticing.

  ‘Fuck I miss the internet!’ He cried, pained from having to sort through information himself. ‘How did people get anything done for fucks sake!’

  Time passed as did more pages, the falling of bright pushing him into his room whereby lamplight a hundred pages had passed, and midnight had come. And finally, something had his attention. In the book talking about ancient Native medical practices and their relevance in the modern world, and there in a short chapter as a side note he saw a reference to the substance that had stolen his attention.

  -Or Dearthroot as it is known in the Common Vernacular, is the rarest substance sprouting from the complex interaction between necrosis and germination yet only occurs with the decomposition of the human corpse in fertile soil. So rare of an occurrence is such a thing but all the Treaties knew that it was an omen of evil-

  ‘Ha… So, it’s a plant that only grows out of a dead body.’ Ayer pondered, seeing that this narrowed the search.

  Led into the side office by Vicraera with its wide-open windows peering in Kailey was reminded of the last time she was here with Nerissa and a litany of others in their emotions. A little embarrassed by the notion realizing how many people would have been able to look in and see but holding no regrets about being there for Nerissa in her time of need.

  Already there Nerissa and Dahl stood over a screen, a mumbling conversation revolving around the topic giving a moment of strife to Kailey. Trailed in by Indra, Archie and Braden, and of whom became extremely questioning about what happened between Maya and Kailey and why she wanted to be dropped off at the School Complex before anything else with no further word on the subject.

  ‘Hey guys.’ Nerissa started, getting this conversation underway. ‘Thank you for coming here. But by the Spirits we need to get that radio tower fixed, we were trying to get a hold of you guys for hours before it finally got through.’

  ‘We know Rissa, we’re currently working on plans on what we can do there. Depending upon what you give us will decide if we can leave one person up at the radio-tower to fix the issues or if we need multiple people up there.’ Kailey prompted the eagerness to know a hunger in her stomach.

  -Speaking of, I haven’t had food today have I. Okay depending on what this news is I’ll have a light meal and make up the calories tomorrow-

  ‘Having reviewed the data, Nerissa cross-reference it with what little I know on the subject and well. We are left with a lot of questions that is for sure.’ Dahl continued. ‘First we will talk about that DNA of the supposed-rodent-boy.’

  With a gesture Dahl handed it off to Nerissa who clad in a lab-coat looked oddly alluring to Kailey. ‘Put simply it was fucked! A lot of the structure does resemble the average human but there are random snippets that were outside the genetic medium. So, we got a rat and taking a genetic sample, we were able to construct it then reference it against those points where there was usual drift, and we found that there were similarities… But not enough conclusive proof that we can be sure on it.’

  ‘What does that mean?’ Braden snarled, as if he was extremely concerned about such creatures when originally, he didn’t seem to care.

  ‘Well, the material you brought us had spent time out in the elements, so it was corrupted, and we don’t know if it’s a deformation or just some other substance that found its way into the sample.’ Nerissa responded, shying back from Braden at his original bite.

  ‘So, what does that mean?’ Indra asked, saving her older sister from having to ask the question.

  ‘It means that we are unsure about this rat-child. There is something strange at play here but not enough to say anything for sure.’ Dahl informed.

  ‘Which leaves us in limbo if we should be doing something about such creatures or not.’ Kailey leaked, the pain of the acknowledgement hitting everyone as now they all knew the fear of the darkened hours more than ever. ‘Okay… Move on, what about that red plant that may have done this to the kids?’

  ‘Oh, that gets even weirder Kae’s… The molecular structure is beyond anything catalogued as far as either of us can tell, but neither of us are chemists.’ Nerissa excitedly announced.

  ‘And it’s weird why?’ Kailey prompted.

  ‘Under a microscope it looked like a dyad symmetry which looked thus.’ Bent over the computer he pulled up the photograph leaving it there for everyone to inspect then leaving them all further stumped as they crowded around, and shock erupted.

  ‘FUCKING HELLS!’ Braden raged, somewhere between bemusement and his usual chip-on-the-shoulder attitude.

  ‘No way!’ Indra repeated at nauseum.

  ‘Ha… interesting.’ Was all Vic could respond, seemingly unaffected by the world-shattering nature she was just witnessing before her.

  ‘Out of all the things I was expecting to him here and find. A sermon was not one of them.’ Kailey snarked, a deep dent put into that armor of self-confidence she surrounded herself in. ‘Why is the goddam Enlightenment symbol in this?’

  ‘We don’t know Kae’s but… what if-’ Nerissa started before Kailey cut her off entirely.

  ‘-Don’t say that Lysander Don Dean was right. This is not some prophetic days of reckoning or some bullshit like one of the Paths all believe in. We live in the real world here and that requires real answers, not some bullshit about a Cosmic Soul getting retribution. There is a answer to this that isn’t mystical but is science!’ Kailey’s rage seemed to be something legendary, and she was only happy that nobody was outside to see any of this. ‘What else do you know!’

  ‘Nothing at the moment but we will keep doing tests whenever we get the chance.’ Nerissa and Dahl promised.

  A quiet dispossession hitting everyone as a litany of thoughts and fears entered the room, although not before Dahl peeked up looking at Braden. ‘Ah and about that evidence you brought us. They are the same DNA most definitely, enough that courts before would have considered them to be one-hundred percent proof.’

  Peering at Braden shocked her, she saw the way his body retched for a moment with his eyes bulging and a twitching racing through his body as if he’d been hit by lightning. She was unsure if this was good news or bad news, but it looked like it made an impact upon Braden either way as all he could eke out was. ‘…Good…’

  He remained sitting in the car, parked out the front of his home as his muscles quivered with intensity, he’d never knew they could hold. Braden doing everything within his power to hold the maelstrom of emotions inside, the anger, the pain, the bloodlust, all of it made him shake as his mind was forcibly blank otherwise would risk something dangerous.

  Steady repetitive breaths as multiple coaches had drilled into him settling his breaking heart as his mind came to terms with what happened to his best friend.

  Leaving the vehicle, not entirely ready but closer than he had been he walked into the police station, seeing the array of beds and living quarters they’d created when moving in. On the second floor a ruckus of laughter greeted his ears seeing a group encircling a table, all of them having Duellist cards in hand playing the game none of them had thought about since being children as they rumbled it out.

  A chorus of greetings meet him which he responded to with a grunt. Going up to the kitchen where he prepared a ready meal putting it in the microwave without thought to overloading the system, the lights flickering at its engagement but nothing more happening as he wallowed. And then the conversation the group was having processed.

  ‘Oh, fucker is way too much of a little bitch to have killed something. Ain’t no way that story is real at all.’ The thickened creature Tucker disputed.

  ‘He’s weird as fuck. I could see it. As for being cool enough get smacked down and still being able to fight and even shoot something hell no.’ The shorter-sporty of Karlsten added with a vague Angelsea accent long contorted to become a Tyrsea accent. ‘Or is this conversation about Ayer pissing you off Viking! You guys having your lover spat and everything.’

  ‘Ayer is my fucking lapdog. He’s being a little bitch right now but we will come crawling back around and we’ll see how I’m feeling on that day.’ Viking boasted as if he was trying to be a badass when Braden knew him for what he really was, a coward but always seemed able to claim some sort of victory made worse since the girls loved him.

  -Ayer… Ayer… FUCKING AYER BRADSHAW… HE KILLED ADRIAN-

  The group seemed to sense the building tension erupting out of every pore, the seven looked at him wide eyed and scared as other around the loungeroom had clued in as well. There were thirty people of this police force and all of them would do as he told them.

  ‘Get ready! Everyone. Tonight, we’re lynching a killer!’