Roar, page 32
“You think your situation is so terrible girl?” Her voice lowered. “You're actually lucky. Your mother's injured, but at least she lives. That piece of shite murdered my entire family. The entire Carlsford family. We were the most advanced alchemists in all of the Volden Plains. But he would never have spared us as he did your mother. You see, the Eternal King makes use of wizards and fell casters. Even shamen and dreamers he can put to work. But alchemists, apothecaries and enchanters he slaughters on the spot. Probably because he is one and we would discover his secrets. So he feeds us to his damned demons. And he fed my parents and my brother and sister all to that accursed machine. I heard them scream as I hid in the crowd. And there was nothing I could do. I was only a child.”
“But I will have my vengeance! I will destroy him, even if it kills me. Even if it takes my entire life to do so! Sweet gods, I have it all planned out.” Mara closed her eyes, a small smile tickling her face as she thought about her plans. “All I need to do is place a couple of drops of devil bane on the armrests of his chair. That will lock him rigid. Maybe I’ll also add some witch bane to block his magic. Then I’ll break all his bones. Use a potion of blue ringed wart to make him scratch out his own eyes. Hell I may kill him and resurrect him just so I can kill him again. Dangle him in front of the underworld's denizens like bait on a hook. And then finally, once he can't suffer any more in this world, I'll send him on a one way trip for him through his damned Orb so his allies can start feasting on his soul for eternity. I intend to make his death the most terrible death imaginable.”
“No matter who you hurt along the way?” Potaine asked quietly.
“I've harmed no innocents!” Mara responded indignantly. “It’s true that I've been beset by accidents and ill fortune, and by dimwits like you, but I've tried my best not to harm anyone other than the guilty. I did not hurt Camille's mother. I didn't poison her either. And I did not turn Thorm into whatever he is.”
“A winged lion.”
“Wings?” Mara's tone abruptly changed to one of disbelief as she stared at Potaine. “He has wings now? Glowing green eyes, magic and wings?”
“So it would seem. And he's huge. Growing by the day. While his magic grows with him. Buildings fall down when he roars and he breathes fire. He even bathes in it.”
“He breathes fire?! By the gods, that story just gets stranger by the day! What in all the hells did your mother do to him, girl?!” She turned on Camille again. “Turn him into the actual sphinx?!”
Camille couldn't answer that. She doubted anyone could. But she was sure that her mother hadn't done it, because there simply was no such spell. You could not turn a man into a fire breathing winged lion. Or a sphinx. Or whatever he was.
But at least she thought as she listened to the others as they took over the interrogation, he was alive. Insane, but alive. And if he was alive, she told herself, then she hadn't killed him. The relief at knowing that she wasn't a murderer was indescribable. And maybe – just maybe – there was even hope that he would recover. There had to be hope.
Chapter Thirty Four
This was a strange land. Not open land. Not jungle. Not mountains. But some strange mixture of all of those things. But at least he thought as he padded across the ground between the strange rocks full of caves, it had food. Lots and lots of food. The two legs always seemed to be around it somehow.
It was irritating though that there were so many two legs around. Especially when the thunder sometimes seemed to speak when they were around. Occasionally they still approached it and he had to warn them off with a growl or a roar. Mostly though, they seemed to scatter when he came close. And if they didn't, well, a simple roar sent them flying away.
For the moment though he didn't need to roar. The two legs were keeping their distance as he explored the realm. Though obviously a bit stupid it seemed that they could learn. All that was except for the two legs who bothered him whenever he lay down to rest. The one who spent all her time making noises that sounded like “Thorm.”
Fortunately she wasn't around at the moment. That was good because he'd come to a place he didn't understand and he didn’t need any further distraction. Ahead of him was a straight sided mountain that blocked its movement. He knew there was something on the other side of it though he couldn’t see through it. Something interesting. In fact he desperately wanted to know what lay on the other side.
So he growled at it and just like everything else, the strange mountain went away in a storm of dust and stones.
Once the dust had settled he could see through to the other side of the now broken mountain and he decided to explore the rest of the land. But before he had the chance to do so thunder once again started cracking. Lots and lots of thunder! Again things started stinging him. It made him angry. He'd thought he was finished with the biting things.
He roared angrily and a moment later the stinging stopped and all the two legs who had been on the other side flew away, leaving it in peace. There was no more thunder. No more stinging. No more anything except empty land and piles of stones everywhere.
He walked through the piles of rubble, curious to find out what lay on the other side of the straight sided mountain.
But there wasn't much to see. The land was covered in flat stones. They were easy enough to walk on but not soft beneath his paws. Little seemed to be growing. There was no soft grass under his paws. And there didn't seem to be anything to hunt either. The two legs had flown away, although he had never considered then as food. He didn’t now either. There were just lots of piles of stones everywhere, and none of them looked to have flat tops which he liked to stretch out on in the sun. None of them were particularly tall either.
There was however one thing of interest. A tree of strange colours and smooth bark. It had strange rings and angles. And while he didn't understand it, he naturally didn't like it. It smelled bad. Like something too dead to eat. But something that still needed to be killed. Still, he decided to investigate and he padded up to it, looking for any threats that might be lurking in it. Anything he needed to destroy.
“You! You’re alive!”
He glanced across to where he heard the noises indicating the presence of a two leg. A strangely shiny one. The two leg's always seemed to make strange noises like that. And soon enough a two leg appeared, stepping out from behind one of the strange smooth trees. He didn’t do anything though that seemed threatening – there was no thunder and nothing stung him, so he ignored the two legs and continued on his way to sniff the strange trees.
“How can you be alive when I killed you over a thousand years ago?!” The two legs continued. “You're just a damned animal! – With wings and fire!”
There was a bad smell coming from the tree trunks. A smell of more than just blood. It was what he'd smelled before only stronger. He sniffed and caught a wisp of pain and fear. The sound of screaming. He sniffed around more carefully trying to hunt the scent and found that the same scent was all around it. It was on the strange tree trunks that rose out of the hard stone ground. On the hard stone ground too. In the strange round roots that covered it. He didn’t like it. Worse, it made him uneasy. As if he was in danger somehow.
“Still, I managed to kill you once, I’m sure I can do it again.” The two legs continued. “Or if not kill then at least send you away for another thousand years. And where I’m sending you this time will cause my friends a great deal of pleasure! In fact, I think they'll like you very much! You could say you'll quickly become the guest of honour at a great banquet!” The two legs approached a small tree sticking out of the flat stony ground and pulled on it. A moment later some of the other strange roots on the ground began turning. They spun and wriggled like snakes.
He leapt back. He didn't like snakes. And he also didn't like the two legs. There was something wrong with him. Something that warned him of danger. Even when there was no thunder and nothing was biting him. Added to that the two legs just didn't smell the way he looked. So he roared at the two legs in warning.
“You think you can threaten me, kitty? Think again!” The two legs made a strange sound like that of a dog barking.
But it wasn't a dog. He wasn't even sure if the two legs was still a two legs. It smelled wrong. How could a two legs look like a two legs but smell like something else?
Still that was enough for him. He didn't like the barking sound the two legs made. He also didn't like the snakes spinning on the ground. And he especially didn't like that the scent he'd smelled before was growing stronger. But even as he made to leave, something held him back. Something he couldn't see but could feel. He suddenly found he couldn’t move. Something was holding his legs in place. Angered he let out a deafening roar.
Instantly the spinning snakes leapt into the air and flew away at incredible speed. Even as they did the stony ground under them broke apart and turned into pebbles. And the strangely coloured, smooth tree trunks bent and twisted in the wind before they too were ripped loose from the ground and flew away.
“You can't do that!” The two legs yelled at him, his voice just beginning to fill with fear. “That's just not possible!”
He ignored the two legs. Instead he concentrated on whatever was holding him and roared again. The ground fractured even more and clouds of dust blew up everywhere as a huge hole formed where the strange trees had been. Suddenly whatever had been holding him let go. He felt relief as it could now deal with the two legs who had been bothering it. So he padded over to where the two legs was standing and roared right into his face.
It worked and this time the shiny two legs finally went away. He screamed but his cry was cut short as he took to the skies and flew off trailing fire. After that there was only silence. Things had become peaceful again. He wanted to bask in it. But he didn't like the feel of whatever was behind him, in the hole. Because as he looked down into it, he could see something grey and slimy worming its way out of the crater. Something that stank. He didn’t like the look of it and so he turned and roared one more time. But this time he roared fire.
This time his roar lit the surroundings in flames. They shot into the crater, burning everything in sight including whatever was trying to crawl out of it. The creature was caught by the flames and it shrieked and wailed, even as it fought against them. It sent out black clouds which rushed towards him as it continued to claw its way out of the hole. But he wouldn’t allow that. He didn’t know what the giant creature crawling out of the hole was, nor what the dark clouds were but he knew they were bad. So once again he roared, this time adding all of his pent up fury, and the flames turned white hot.
They burnt away the black cloud and the worst of the stench, and they turned the slimy creature into blackened rock. The flames even melted the rocks around the hole. Nothing more came out of the ground though it left a filthy black mess and a smell.
In the end it went away. He could feel the blackened husk retreating from the fire. Crawling backwards like a giant slug. Getting further and further away, until finally it was completely in the hole in the ground and gone. He didn't understand that exactly. But he understood that it was gone and not coming back. That the air was clean of its stench once more. And that was enough for him. Especially when the hole began filling with molten rock. Turning into an orange lake.
It was time to go he decided. To find somewhere comfortable to lie down and enjoy the late afternoon sun. After finding something to eat. This wasn't the place for that. Even though the stench had gone, there was something about the place that he just didn't like. He would not be comfortable here.
So he unfurled his wings and took to the sky, looking for a more suitable place to lay his head. Somewhere far away from this place.
But not too far. He didn't know why, but as he flew away he somehow knew that he should stay close to this hole. Maybe it was so he could prevent the hole from opening up once again and letting more of those strange giant slug like creatures try to crawl out of it. Because he would not allow that. Every part of him hated them. Those things had to burn.
Chapter Thirty Five
Life in her cell was getting boring. Even with Mara to talk to. A woman she was only just starting to realise that she knew nothing about. But then Camille was beginning to realise that she'd never known who or what she was herself either.
Mara was right; her abilities as a dreamer were growing. Presumably because whatever she'd been drugged with over the years was wearing off. Where once she'd slept dreamlessly, now she couldn't stop herself from dreaming whenever she closed her eyes. Sometimes she didn't even have to do that. She would simply lean back, stop thinking about things and fall into the Great Dream.
How was that possible? How could her mother – and it had to have been her mother – have drugged her? And why? What was so wrong with her being a dreamer? So wrong that her mother had felt the need to make a deal with the guards in the dungeon to continue drugging her? And how had she even done that? Every time Camille thought about it, she kept wondering – was she a dreamer? Or was she actually something worse? Something so terrible that the gift had to be blocked simply so that people would be safe? The thought terrified Camille though she couldn't imagine what she might actually be.
“So how long can they keep us here?” Mara asked the walls unexpectedly, breaking the silence. “I haven't been charged with a crime. In fact no one's even mentioned one.”
“I don't know,” Camille answered her tiredly, not wanting to go back down this road. They'd had this conversation a hundred times before. And now that Mara was no longer hiding her true self, the conversations had become worse. Camille actually missed the insufferable, conceited and self-involved strumpet! Because the true Mara was turning out to be a demon with a vile tongue and the desire to use it.
“I mean I can understand that you have to stay locked up. You’re clearly a danger to others. Powerful and with anger problems. And it seems like you have no control over yourself either. But I’m not a danger to anyone here. I only have one man I want to kill and it’s the same one the people running this shambles of a city have. Instead of locking me up they should be helping me!”
“I don't think they're going to do that,” Camille responded through clenched teeth. How dare the woman accuse her of having anger problems! Had she never looked in a mirror?! “Your plans do seem to keep come apart rather badly.”
“Thanks to you!” Mara snapped at her. “And to Thorm I suppose,” she added a moment later, her fit of pique already over. It never lasted long. But it wouldn't stay away for long either. The woman was unstable.
“Yeah, well, I can't help that. And I don't think he could either.”
And if the stories her aunt had told her when she'd visited the day before were true, he couldn't really help anyone anymore. He had now shifted completely into the beast whose form he’d assumed. And he was growing bigger and ever more powerful. As a result he was dangerous. Extremely dangerous.
Aunt Matilde had told her that he'd destroyed half the Eternal City. Smashed down the massive wall between it and the Palace of the Sun. Turned the Tri-consular Orb into a smoking crater. And smashed the Eternal King's army into oblivion. Sadly the King still lived in his palace. He was still giving orders to what remained of his army. But it seemed the Eternal King's unimaginable power was no match for that of one winged lion with green eyes and fiery breath. If only Thorm had finished the job! Then everything would be over. She could get out of this place – even if it meant being expelled from Erisen. She could go to her mother and things could start getting better. Unfortunately it seemed that the winged lion wasn't a killer.
“I know,” Mara continued. “And I keep wondering – what are the chances?”
“Chances?”
“Of two such powerful creatures getting in my way.”
“Creatures?!” Camille wasn't pleased by that word. Not when she knew that Mara was referring to her as one of those “creatures”! Then again, whether Mara was playing the part of the doting strumpet and love interest, or a warmongering alchemist, tact was not her way.
“Well, Thorm's obviously a sphinx. One of the ancient beasts. Though I don't quite understand how. And you – well, I'm not quite sure of what you are. But my thought is that your gift when it fully emerges will make you more than a match for all the Dreaming Lords put together. I just wish I had my books.”
“Books?”
“My family library. I have one of the finest facilities in the world. The laboratory has storerooms filled with the most specialised ingredients, some of which are so rare as to be nearing extinction. And a library the likes of which you've never seen, with tens of thousands of books on every subject known to man. It would make the wizard library here pale with shame. Do you know I have some of the oldest works of the hyperboreans themselves?”
