Chapter 4

4

A

lthough he’d long mastered the art of ignoring the sound of Milpheus’s scuttling steps beside him, Elizander Dain found that the sliding and scraping penetrated his troubled thoughts. He glanced sidelong at his attendant, who shuffled his burden of rolled up parchments just enough to adjust the spectacles at the tip of his nose.

Dain glanced at the scrolls and was reminded of his education about the Age of Technology when people used flat materials called paper, created from trees. They were apparently more easily stacked and much lighter, but also more fragile. How he wished they had the use of such materials now. How much easier would it have been to manage?

He turned his attention back to the impending meeting with the minister of the Church of Jemanah, and he repressed a snarl. Just the thought of meeting with the opportunistic Brother Dinman dampened Elizander’s day. Where something monumental occurred, good or ill, Brother Dinman would be there to proclaim that it was the will of the Jemanahian Gods. The True Gods. Elizander had to step carefully with that one, for he carried in his sleeves the peoples’ fears of angering the Gods. No king could stand beside the anger of a God.

Dain was not a man of the cloth, and he didn’t pretend to know the will of the Gods, but he did know manipulation when he saw it. The church held power to rival the state, and if it came to blows, the people, his blessed, beloved people would suffer for it. Sure, some would see things for what they were, but homes and families would be divided, and beliefs held against one another. It had happened throughout human history, and Elizander Dain would not see it happen again in his lands.

“My lord? Do you not agree?”

Elizander blinked at the sound of Milpheus’s nasal voice. “Hm?”

“The courier, my lord,” the attendant said, glancing at him. “Should she be given leave to depart for Mairland?”

“Mmph. If we must,” Elizander agreed.

“You’ve detained the courier as your personal guest for as long as possible before arousing suspicion, my lord,” Milpheus said. “I understand your reluctance to let her leave before you understand everything, but if too much time elapses, the situation could become … strained.”

“I know, Milpheus. I …” he snapped his fingers. “You are indeed right, of course.”

Milpheus eyed him. “Of course.”

“How terrible my manners have been,” Elizander declared. “I will meet with her at once. Send word to Brother Dinman that, to my regret, I will be late in meeting with him. Some urgent matters have arisen that I must attend to directly.”

Milpheus’s conspiratorial smirk flashed so quickly it might have never been. “Of course, my lord. You are only one man, and matters of state

must

be attended to. I’m sure our good Brother Dinman would understand. After all, his very church sits on the land of New Dainland, does it not?”

Elizander spared the man a brief smirk of his own. That nasal voice might be a bit annoying, but Milpheus was a capable and loyal attendant who handled matters with efficiency and effectiveness. “I’m sure if our good monk does not understand, you will find a creative way to remind him.”

“Of course, my lord.” The attendant hurried down a side corridor to a—no doubt—impatiently waiting Brother Dinman. Now accompanied only by his personal guard, Elizander Dain swept through the corridors to the upper levels of the guest quarters. Along the way, he stopped to address a boy trying to look as though he was not loitering near the maid quarters. “You, young man,” he called to the boy. “The boy snapped to attention so rigidly Elizander thought his spine might crack. “Easy, son. Don’t go so hard on your back or you will end learning the way of a walking cane instead of a sword.” The boy relaxed, but only a bit, fear dancing in his eyes. Elizander could practically see his guards’ amusement behind him.

“How may I be of service, my lord?” the boy said, dropping to one knee.

“I’m afraid I must interrupt your wait for whatever love interest lurks behind that door,” he said, ignoring the boy’s flushing cheeks, “and send you to Captain Davros. Have him meet me in the guest quarters, he will know which one.”

“It is my honor, my lord!” The boy stood at attention, right fist over his heart, then hurried away.

Dain continued on, taking the steps two at a time until he found the quarters of the Mairland courier. He gave a polite knock and waited.

“Yes?” came the hesitant response. “Come in.”

With a boyish smile, Elizander instructed his personal guard to remain outside the door, and entered. Upon seeing the King of Winsor in her room, the courier immediately dropped to one knee, staring at the floor in front of her foot. “My most humble apologies, my lord!” she said. “I’d thought it was a servant, or messenger. Surely the King need not knock in his own kingdom!”

Elizander closed the door behind him. “I find every man and woman, whether farmer, courier, or king, to be deserving of their own privacy. You’ve traveled quite a distance to my home and are my guest. I fear I have held you here far too long and thought to personally come and see you on your way with well wishes.”

“My lord! You do me a great honor! Far more than I deserve, as a simple courier.”

“And without a simple courier, how would good Lord Mairson’s message have reached me? And how would my message reach him? May I?” Dain indicated a chair, and the courier, nearly horrified at the king having to ask to sit, hurriedly agreed. “And please, rise. Surely that right knee of yours must be getting stiff.” Elizander indicated the chair across from him. “Sit with me a moment.”

“If it pleases my lord.”

“It does,” Dain replied. Even standing, she barely stood eye level with Elizander. Short and slight of build; the perfect size for a courier. Her young round face looked to have passed no more than fifteen to seventeen summers. He sat for a time, studying the bright blue eyes that would not meet his. A knock came at the door, and shortly after, Davros entered.

“I don’t believe you have had the pleasure of meeting my good Captain Davros Naishere,” Elizander said.

She stood and bowed to Davros. “It is an honor, Captain.”

Davros responded with a polite nod, then arched an eyebrow at Elizander.

“Please, take your seat,” Elizander said to the young lady.

She sat stiffly in her chair, hands gripping either side.

“You’re going to break your fingers if you grip that chair any tighter, girl,” Davros said.

The courier made a great effort to appear more relaxed. “Have I made some transgression, my lord?”

Elizander figured he’d better get to this quickly before the girl’s nerves got the better of her. “Not at all Miss … I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of your name?”

“Deana, my lord. Deana Willes, daughter to Morland and Milly Willes.”

“And a fine daughter Morland and Milly Willes have raised,” Elizander replied. “Send them my regards.” The girl beamed, and Davros arched his eyebrow even higher. “I wanted to speak with you personally about the events in Mairland. I understand your home has been suffering grisly attacks that have gone unsolved. The murderer or murderers have not been captured.”

“Yes, my lord,” the girl replied. “Many are afraid to leave their homes at night, and some even fear that their homes are not even safe. Some say that people are being lured out and then killed. No one has seen a thing, and people are afraid.” Elizander nodded through the familiar story. “Murders are not uncommon in any city, my lord, but the nature of these killings suggest something very disturbing, and my Lord Mairson thought to send word and warning.”

And a set of eyes and ears, no doubt,

Elizander thought. “I see. And Lord Mairson sent you with news of these happenings and to inquire about the welfare of Winsor?”

“It is not my place to know my Lord Mairson’s reasons for dispatching me here, but that would be my guess, my lord.”

Davros looked pointedly at Elizander, who nodded.

“Tell me, young lady,” the big man said. Elizander repressed a grin at hearing his friend’s baritone voice attempt to soothe. “Have there been many attacks? The report you delivered lacked some detail, and we would share information that can benefit us all. If the city guard is activated, that may drive the murderer from one place to another.”

“From Mairland to New Dainland,” Deana said, catching on. “No, my lord. The city guard has been increased, but not fully activated. My Lord Mairson wishes to make the murderer wary, but not chase him away. He believes that a more present guard may force the killer or killers to hesitate and eventually make a mistake.”

Elizander didn’t know if this girl was relaying information Mairson himself had planted, or if she was willingly speaking of the happenings in her homeland. Either way, Mairson thought Dain a fool, or the man himself had lost his senses.

He reached into a pocket and produced a letter bearing the seal of House Dain. “This is my reply, Deana Willes. If Mairland comes to need our aid, Winsor will stand with him.”

“My lord is most generous.”

Dain stood, the girl rising with him. “We must all be united in this most serious situation. These kinds of attacks have no precedence. Entire civilizations have crumbled under the weight of a fire that grew from just a kindling.

“Take care on your travels, Deana, daughter of Morland and Milly Willes. I’ll not have you meeting some ill fate traveling from my kingdom to your home.” He made for the door. “I will see that you are well provisioned. Your horse has been well cared for and awaits your return.”

That brought a smile to the girl’s face. Couriers seemed to love their horses more than people. He supposed it was understandable, given the job both human and animal shared.

“My lord is kind.” Deana hesitated. “My … my lord…” she stammered, just as Davros was reaching for the door.

With his back to her, Elizander stopped and smiled. He turned, planting a polite but curious look on his face. “Yes?”

“Please, my lord,” she glanced from one man to the other. “I would speak more, but I fear I shouldn’t.”

“I assure you, Deana Willes, what you speak here will only be between you, myself, and my most trusted captain, here. What have you?”

“Thank you, my lord.” She sat down heavily in her chair, Elizander and Davros reclaiming their own. “There have been many attacks. The city guard has not been fully mobilized, but they are near enough to it. The attacks on the citizens have been vicious but senseless. My Lord Mairson becomes anxious, and looks to the neighboring lands with a suspicious eye.” Elizander raised his eyebrows in feigned surprise.

“Has there been any evidence that would suggest any of these neighboring lands to have orchestrated such strange and random killings?”

“None that any of the common people know of, my lord.” The girl responded. She wrung her hands and looked at her feet. “Many people do not know what our lord does, or what he suspects. Mostly, they wait and hope he will find the killers, or find a way to stop them.”

“But since you, being a courier, are closer to the information in House Mairson, you fear his actions are rash?”

“I’m a simple courier, my lord,” Deana replied nervously.

Elizander reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. “You needn’t worry about speaking in confidence with us,” Deana. “You have acted wisely.”

“Thank you, my lord. I would never,

ever

question my lord Mairson’s judgement or his wisdom. It’s just that I have family in Windsor, and sometimes my lord Mairson can act … quickly, about things. I fear there is something more going on. The murders are all happening to common folk. I, I think …” She hesitated, still looking at her feet.

“What is it, Deana,” Davros said. “You may speak candidly.”

“You would think me a foolish common girl for what I will say, but I must.” She clasped her hands in her lap. “I … saw something.”

Elizander sat a little straighter in his chair. “You saw, something? What something did you see, Deana. This is very important, and why did you not tell Lord Mairson?”

“He would have surely been angered by my wasting his time with this, but my Lord Dain seems so willing to listen and help. No offense to my Lord Mairson.”

“Of course,” Dain replied, nodding politely. “What did you see?” Next to him, Davros had leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, staring intently at the girl. She shrank a bit from that gaze, but continued.

“I … I saw something squatting over a dead person. It was…” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “It was the worst kind of horror I’ve ever seen. It was eating someone! And it was big, at least eight feet tall. It had spikes on its back and arms as long as a man’s body.”

“Are you sure you didn’t see a large animal after it had attacked a person, girl?” Davros asked.

The girl shook her head emphatically. “I cannot say I have seen every animal in the world, my lord Captain, but whatever that thing was, it stood on two legs and ate with clawed hands. The sounds …” she gulped, the blood draining from her face. “The tearing and chewing sounds! I couldn’t sleep for days, and when I did, the nightmares!” She hugged her knees up to her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks. “My mother and father always taught me to be levelheaded, to see things for what they are and not give in to superstitions and gossip.”

She looked up into Elizander’s eyes, and her gaze was steady and focused. “My lord, what I saw looked like it came from hell itself. I swear to you now, with Holy Jemanah and all of the Gods as my witnesses, that what I saw was no beast, no monster that roams the wild lands. This thing did not belong here. It smelled wrong. It felt wrong, like the air, the

space

around it was perverted by its presence.” Her gaze dropped to the floor in embarrassment. “My lord must think I’m a foolish, superstitious farm girl.”

Elizander didn’t realize he’d been staring. He glanced at Davros. The captain was composed, but he had known the man long enough to see that he, too, had been caught off guard by the strange account. “I must admit, Deana, that this tale of yours is difficult to accept. But I also will not discredit it out of hand. The murders have been disturbingly gruesome. Perhaps it is some species of monster that we have not previously encountered.” He stood, the others rising with him once again.

“As I have said,” he told the nervous courier, “this conversation stays within these walls, you have my word. “Rest as long as you need, Deana. Your needs will be met, and when you are ready to return home, your horse will be saddled and ready.”

“My lord is most kind. Thank you.”

Elizander smiled, Davros nodded, and they left.

“What in the name of the Gods do you make of that?” Davros whispered as they descended the spiraling steps.

“I wish I knew, old friend,” Elizander replied.

“Surely you don’t believe such a wild tale of a hell beast silently terrorizing the streets?”

“It sounds absurd,” Elizander replied. They walked in silence for a time, the personal guard following at a discrete distance. “Tell me this, Davros. Did you see any lie in her eyes? Any hint that she may have been speaking anything but the truth?”

“In her eyes I saw the truth as she knew it,” Davros replied. “That, and the terror the memory produced. Whatever she saw, she truly thought it was some sort of spawn of the hells.”

Elizander nodded.

Davos shrugged. “Sometimes, when a person sees something frightening, their mind embellishes the event and contaminates the memory. “Could be that she saw a large and unfamiliar animal of some kind, and later her mind conjured images of some demonic creature.”

“Yes, but there is one thing that I do find interesting.”

“Which is?”

Elizander frowned. “She said that the thing felt wrong. Like the space around it was tainted. What do you make of that?”

The captain shrugged again. “To that, I am at a loss.”

“A series of savage, gruesome murders happen here and in Mairland. No killer has been found despite the best efforts of you and your command, and that of Mairland. No witnesses to any of the murders until finally, a courier confesses to seeing what she thinks was a demon, devouring its latest kill. We have no leads, no evidence at all but the extraordinary account from this girl, who is smart enough not to have gone to Lord Mairson with such a tale.”

Davros snorted. “That fact alone gives her at least a shred of credibility with me. She would have been lucky not to have been publicly disciplined for wasting his time.”

Elizander nodded. “There is an explanation for this, old friend. We simply must find it.”

“And unfortunately,” Davros replied, “what is simple is rarely easy.”

Again, Elizander Dain nodded.