The Exodus Sagas: Book III - Of Ghosts And Mountains (74 page)

The girl stood, eyes fluttering open, glowing red like lava now. Rohne, Harron, and Andora stood back as the girl bowed and waved her hands out wide, eyes unblinking. The voice that came out was not hers, it was dark, deep, and hoarse.

“My niece the queen, her young prince, and the man that bred my niece to make said prince, since old king Ian had not the seed. Always a pleasure to visit family.” Her mouth clacked as her teeth met hard on every word that was forced through her corpse from far away.

“Rise, dark brother of my father. The moon is full this night, and we are in the middle of our ritual to the Nochtilians. This had better be of value, uncle.” Andora stood proud, naked, tapping her bare toes in the pool of blood beneath the standing host for Lord Trehad all the way in eastern Harlaheim.

The body shambled, awkward steps back and forth, the muscles were hard to move in death. Even standing was wobbly, yet the eyes saw, the ears heard, and the mouth spoke. Ushi the imp stared with his eyes at the corpse of the girl, letting the dark magicks flow through him from afar.

“I was privy to some rather interesting guests, here in Devonmir. Much has interrupted our peace with the spiders, but something curious has come my way, and now comes yours.” The girl began caressing herself, touching and squeezing, looking at her naked blood soaked form that grew more stiff and pale by the moment.

“Then speak it, I have much to do here.” Queen Andora did not care to watch her uncle play with a possessed corpse to amuse himself in his old age and condition.

“Your lands to the south, the curselands, do you know what they hold?” The deep voice came out, a bit of accidental tongue bit off, and a trail of blood dripped from the dead girls’ lip.

“What they are rumored to hold, yes. But it is impossible to pass even a mile inside the border. Armies of dwarves and of men have tried over the millennia, all to their deaths. Is this your information, an old myth of lost cities and ancient treasures? You are wasting my time, uncle.”

“You will have to do none of that, if what I have heard and seen is correct. The heir to those mountains was here, he has the dust of his ancestors to make entrance where none others could.” The body teetered, the other girls played on the stone table, not paying the least attention to what transpired or was spoken in the other room.

“My forces here in Vin Armon are not ready to take an army headed to the ruins, it will take weeks to assemble them here. How would you know of this in any regard?”

“A few corpses of spiders I read, the Sassari family had one that knew much as well, and a bit of mind invasion during their short visit here showed me much of those that seek it out.”

“Fine, you have your resources. But I would need to know who I am facing, which kingdom they hail from, and how many men they have.”

“There is no army, niece, none at all. A dwarven priest and but four companions are all that seek out the ruins of fabled Mooncrest and Kakisteele to your near south.”

“A minotaur,
a gray minotaur
named Saberrak. An elven woman,
highborne
, a knight of Chazzrynn, and a woman from the academy in Vallakazz.
Damn it!”
Lord Harron laughed and cursed at the same time, looking to the ceiling and smiling.

“
Yesss!
How do you know them, breeder of queens?”

“Yes, how
do
you know of this indeed?” Andora turned to her Lord Amirak and lover.

“Because, they were
at Evermont
, just two days past. They were honored guests there after braving the Misathi pass and saving a group of little travelling musicians. I was
right there
, I even spoke to the savage minotaur in person.
Damn it!”

“Father, those five are travelling to Freemoore though, I had spies listening in to their conversations in the great hall.” Rohne spoke to Harron, his father, sure of what his servants in guise had shared.

“He is
Lord Harron
still, son, at least until King Ian is dead.” Andora waved her finger.

“Yes
mother
.”

“They likely made up a story to throw others off their trail. After the troubles they had in Harlaheim, and the price that the White Spider has on them, anyone would keep quiet and divert. I believe, those lands are deeded as part of Armondeen, are they not?” Trehad spoke, through the now fidgeting corpse of the girl.

“They are, yes they are.” Andora smiled.

The corpse fell to the ground, the magicks infernal wearing thin, the voice of Lord Trehad was fading.

“Beware the daughter of Lazlette, her powers are beyond her years. The minotaur…has…something about him…protects…him…be cautious. Niece…take what is there..all..of it…and ask…in your ritual…for my forgiveness…from…Forcas…in the lake…for my…”

The corpse stopped speaking and the eyes glazed over black. The skin darkened, the hair fell out quietly, and the body shriveled to a husk. Ushi smiled, spread his wings, and flew out the window, burning a small hole in the curtain to mark his passing.

“With one tenth of what is said to be there, our kingdom would have all of Agara kneeling before us.” Andora looked to Harron.

“They
are
trespassers, indeed what they find belongs to us, it is
our
land.” Lord Vir Magaste looked to the girls, two of them passed out on the sacrificial table, the other drinking and fondling her nipples as she laughed on the bed.

“They keep secret from Evermont, they avoided the rest of Shanador, that is why they took the pass through the Misathi. No one will even know when we take it from them, will they mother?” Prince Rohne smiled, his future kingdom about to become larger and more wealthy by leaps and bounds. He had heard that the treasures and forges held golden weapons of untold strength and value, mounds of platinum, and relics that could buy kingdoms from the estimations of myth.

“No, no one will know. It will be easy. Send spies to watch for them. Organize more men from the other cities, we have nearly one thousand here. I will have the Nataloni Nochti ready, but out of sight. Just in case. Let me work up a nice summoning as well. Shall we proceed?” Queen Andora of Armondeen smiled, walked to the table before the altar, and knelt.

Harron took the girl that was still conscious by the hair, touching and teasing with the knife as he pushed her against the stone table. He turned her around, pushing his bare body up to her naked form. She smiled as she hoped he would take her again this day from behind, this time standing over the table with the bare bodies of the twins watching. Instead, she felt cold steel across her neck.

Slice

Slice

Slice

The blood ran across the table, pouring from three slit throats, dripping onto the floor. Harron let his young woman down slow, placing her head at the foot of the altar to the Nochtilians, and her blood fell against gravity as it painted the demonic figures of stone above. Rohne put his bloody edge on the altar, as did his mother. All three knelt in the stormy night. They lit the table, the bodies burning, blood pouring up, and strange light cascaded from everywhere.

“Great exiled children of an unloving God and a banished mother, we call the eleven this night to tell you of the green moon you were cast from. We offer blood to you, great Nochtilians, the rulers of the lands beyond, and life has been extinguished for thee so thine fires may guide us.” Andora whispered, followed in unison by her son and his father. The torches grew red, the blood pulled up the altar and into the dark stone figures carved.

“Bless us this night, this harvest, this full moon. Watch our dead, Mowg, guardian of Mictalan. Count our deeds, great Vasariah, and forgive our family misdeeds mighty Forcas. Cancuru, hold our wills true in worship and keep our souls while we sleep the black dreams.” The queen of Armondeen saw the red eyes flare from the three unmoving girls afire, yet she kept her prayers steady.

“Great Zafiel, punish those that deserve. Lord Typhon, let us murder those that need death. Dark Duke Theronus mark our words in blood, and whisper us thine demands unholy Sarrael. Do not tempt us without reward Yomyae, and make our men as giants of hell in battle great Ussiel. We give to thee for the fires of the underworld you walk, and the forgotten children you lead, Shukuru, Lord of flame and judgment, ruler the hells and firstborn son of God. Send us thy words and wishes so we may serve.”

“
What do you ask, Andora? Three offerings as to three replies, praise our father Shukuru, son of God
.” The body of one of the twins spoke in whispers, a demon had been sent from the infernal realms.

“I ask your guidance, dark one. Are the exiled rulers of the netherworld pleased with us, our worship, and the kingdom that still offers them tribute?” Andora stared into the glowing eyes that gazed back.

“
They are.
”

“Will Lord Forcas forgive my uncle, Trehad, for his transgressions?” She waited in the silence. Minutes passed.

“
He will not. The powers given are consummate with his price and punishment. Do not ask this again
.”

“Would it please the rulers of hell should we take the lost ruins to the south from those that seek to open them, sacrificing the transgressors and building a secret temple there to honor the Nochtilians of hell we revere?” Andora knew if it were kept quiet, no one but they would know of the forsaken lands being cleared, she could do anything there, open worship, anything at all. She waited for the demon inhabiting the corpse to respond. The minutes seemed like hours.

“
Yes, this will please the firstborn children of God
.
This would please them very much.”
The hellfire glow from the eyes faded and the burning sacrificed bodies shriveled to husks on the stormy night of the full green moon in Armondeen.