Blood of the Hunt

Blood of the Hunt - Chapter 13

A long courtyard stretched away on the other side of the adamas wall, divided into two identical halves by a pathway of dark, interlocking stones. When Sera glanced down for a better look, she was stunned to see that the thoroughfare was actually made of carved basalt, painstakingly cut and expertly laid, then edged with glossy obsidian detailing. The effect was beautiful... but severe, not unlike the Sisters themselves. It was clear that they were making good use of their location on a volcanic plain.

The Citadel proper loomed ahead, its shining walls gleaming with pearly iridescence as the daylight faded to give way to the coming night. Columns soared upward, their faces carved with runes that had been inlaid with brilliant semi-precious stones that gleamed in a multitude of orange, red, and yellow hues. Hessonite garnet, fire opal, citrine, rubellite tourmaline, carnelian... the dazzling workmanship took Sera's breath away. She had never really thought the Adamant Citadel could be... beautiful... but it was clear that there was more to it than could be seen from outside the walls.

Cleophas pushed open one of the thick, studded doors that fronted the fortress and ushered the pair inside before closing it behind them. Great brackets were sunk deep into the walls on either side of the entryway, ready to bear the weight of the massive crossbeam that could be dropped to bar the doors in the event of a siege. It was like stepping into another era as they followed the Sister.

She guided them through a corridor that bent to the right of the main entry, its walls glowing with a dull orange colour that pulsed like a living thing as they left daylight behind and plodded forward into the darkened interior of the Citadel. Clear ringing and clanging echoed along its length from the far end, and when they cleared the long, gentle curve of the hallway, it was clear why.

A grand, circular chamber sprawled away into the shadows under a high ceiling that was lost in darkness. The fiery, gaping maws of forges yawned open at regular intervals around the room, like markers on a great clock, their hump-backed bodies sloping down to disappear into the floor. Anvils rang as hammers wielded by long, slim hands pounded away in smooth strokes that spoke of long experience. Quench tanks of water, oil, and brine hissed as varying lengths of metal were plunged in for cooling.

Cleophas took her charges around the left side of the room, staying well-clear of the showers of sparks that shivered off the work of her Sisters. Bellows pumped rhythmically in some of the forges, fanning the fires of the earth and stoking them higher as the skilled women worked with unnatural speed, their tongs flicking in and out of the heat in a blur. Burning runes glowed around the openings, none of them familiar to Sera, and she felt a headache begin to build between her eyes as she tried to look closer at their shape. They were no doubt taken from the parts of the Gray Book that were closed to Nephilim who did not bear the curling, mask-like markings of the Iron Sisters.

More than a few of the strange Nephilim looked up to mark the passing of rare visitors, their burnt-orange eyes glowing in the light of their forges. Disapproval was stamped across many of their faces as outsiders intruded upon their secret world. Those who were not of their order were only ever given the use of one of the outer antechambers, near the main entry, and were never permitted to penetrate so deeply into the fortress. Cleophas was taking a great risk in bringing them to the triarchs.

Further around the edge of the ring of forges, Sera spied several bump-outs where smaller, seemingly more private work areas had been set up. Although they were not currently in use, the shutters over their openings were still thrown wide, and a more muted red glow quietly purred within, patiently awaiting a mistress. If she thought she had been sweating before, she was absolutely drenched now. She had no idea how the Sisters could stand it in their long, white dresses bound with electrum, particularly under the heavy aprons some wore for protection.