Chapter Twenty-Six (Killian)
"Who did it?"
The question flew in murmurs around the camp as they gathered outside the general's tent. Inside, Arachnae, Nico, Ana, Remi, Soterios, Xav, and I had all gotten together to help Alexius. He laid out on his cot, unable to move. I could tell he was listening, thinking, trying to speak, but he could only manage small words that didn't require lip movement, which only made understanding him harder. Whatever it was, it was strong, especially to have an effect on a demon.
"We're not sure," I spoke at last, looking up at the others, arms folded over my chest, "It could've been the enemy or it could've been locals that Marikas neglected to tell us about. Either way, we can't let this go. We'll need to set up a security system, ones that the night guards won't be able to trip, but will catch any intruders."
"Booby traps," Xav suggested, making everyone nod slowly in agreement, "We can set up trip wires at several points around the camp area, leaving enough space in between for people to fetch firewood or fruit. We also have some explosives that we can rig to be set off by touch. A type of mine bomb, if you would."
"I like the sound of that," Soterios agreed with a nod, putting his hands on his hips, "We can get several groups to go out right now and set them up." Arachnae and I shared looks, then nodded. Xav and Soterios took off out of the tent, calling out orders to the men. Meanwhile, Ana sat beside Alexius' bed, steadily pouring water into his mouth so he could drink before she looked up, narrowing her eyes at Nico, who was standing off to the side.
"I told you to protect him and you did nothing." She accused, setting the jug of water down and getting up. Nico stiffened and took a quick step back, holding his hands up in defense.
"I didn't know anyone was there! I'm no expert in this! I was just hired to lop heads off, not pick out assassins! Because, it was his dumb horse's fault for panicking over a little snake." He added, making Ana glare daggers at him.
"You're not helping your case, lad." Arachnae admitted, shifting uncomfortable as he scratched his short white hair. Nico grimaced, then jumped as Ana took a threatening step toward him, but much to our surprise, Remi got between them, facing Ana with a stern expression.
"We don't have time to play the blame game. We need to figure out what kind of poison was used and hope it doesn't last long. We're here ahead of schedule, which means the battle will begin in twelve hours or less. We need to get General Alexius safe and stable before then." Remi ordered, making Ana frown and back down. She turned her head to look at Alexius with an expression full of concern. Alexius was extremely lucky to have such a devout servant.
"Remi's correct," Arachnae agreed, "We need to go back and find the dart."
"I'll go," I offered, "I'm in charge of the assassination squad anyway. I should know these things. I'll take you and Nico with me, leave Ana with Alexius. But we need to hurry and we need to keep guards around the tent, so no one can get in." Arachnae nodded, heading out of the tent to gather a group of men. I turned to Alexius, watching his eyes flicker and lock on me as I approached his bedside. I glanced at Ana and Nico, who blinked, then quickly looked away to give us privacy. Ana took the chance to smack Nico upside the head and knee him in the butt. I chuckled, then looked down at Alexius again, his green eyes watching me intently.
"I'm sorry this happened," I said softly, crouching so I was closer to him, reaching out and brushing the hair gently back from his face, "But I'll fix it. I promise. And once it's finished... We'll need to talk about that... dream you had, all right?" Alexius blinked once in response and I smiled sadly, then rose to my feet, stooping over to kiss Alexius firmly on the forehead. I could see and smell the blood rushing to his cheeks, making me smile before I stepped back and turned to see Ana grabbing Nico's wrist, threatening to snap it before I cleared my throat. She instantly let go and stepped back as Nico shook out his wrist, glaring at Ana.
"Come on, Nico. We have work to do," I ordered, giving him a push for the exit, making him grumble, then I turned to Ana, who was glaring after him before she looked at me, "Take care of him, Ana. He really needs you now." Ana blinked, then nodded before bowing low and returning to Alexius' side. I followed Nico out of the tent and into the humid air of the camp outside. Fires were already being lit and the smell of our servants cooking a meal filling the air with a heavy, salty broth smell. Nico and I made our way over to Arachnae, who had gathered a couple more soldiers with him.
"Are we ready to head out?" I asked. Arachnae nodded, nudging his head to the soldiers he'd rounded up to take with us, and the few who now stood guard outside the tent.
"Aye, looks that way to me. Let's get a move on." He agreed. We moved on this time, giving our horses a break. We headed in the direction we'd found Alexius in, ducking under loose hanging vines and heavy wet leaves that stuck out from trees and bushes. Birds called out over head, darting back and forth between trees. The monkeys had moved out of the area to avoid us entirely, even the lemurs having abandoned us. I kept my hand on my sword anyway, however, listening to the sounds of the forest around us.
My hearing was naturally better, allowing me to listen for heartbeats from a good ways away in order to find my prey. My sense of smell was also rather peaked, so I could smell the blood running through the rodents that were fleeing through the forest floor to escape us. I could hear trees rustle as frogs and lizards moved around excitedly. I could even hear the slither of a large snake nearby, maybe even the one that scared Alexius' horse.
We continued to walk, treking through the trees and cutting down vines that simply would not move, bringing down scatters of bright green leaves. Bugs flew around eagerly, avoiding predators and seeking out prey. A spider web criss-crossed in the corner of a tree branch, the snow white eight-legged creature steadily creeping across its web and watching us with several eyes blinking cautiously.
"I hate spiders." Nico groaned, stepping closer to me as he shook his head, running a hand through his hair and shaking his hand out as if he were afraid a spider might be hiding there. I sighed, shaking my head, then pulled up short as we came to the place Alexius had fallen. His armor was still piled there, glinting in the sunlight and glazed with water vapor from the warm mist.
I walked ahead of the group, allowing them to spread out and search the trees. I approached the armor, picking it up and looking beneath for any signs of the dart that had stuck into Alexius' neck. My eyes flickered around for a while before I spotted something sparkling in the sunlight through the canopy. I crouched down, using a twig to brush the dirt aside, spotting a small silver dart. It was thin, slender, like a needle, but the very sharp tip of it had a single drop of poison left.
I carefully lifted it, studying it in the light. I sniffed at it, then pulled back as I watched the drop fall to the ground on top of an ant. I frowned, watching the ant instantly collapse beneath the weight of the liquid. It trembled and shivered before dying shortly. I grimaced, slowly rising to my feet as I studied the dart in the light.
"This doesn't look like something the enemy would use," I said at last, bringing the attention of the others, "This is an older poison. It's not an Ethos creation either. It looks foreign, maybe from an Amazon tribe."
"Amazon tribe?" Nico asked, frowning in confusion. I nodded, lowering the dart and holding it out for Arachnae to take a look at as I turned to Nico.
"They're tribes in the human world. They also had their own pantheons, their own gods. This definitely came from one of them. It looks like one of their pantheons moved in and Xionus very conveniently forgot to mention it to Marikas before allowing us to come here for battle. This isn't a good thing." I muttered, stepping back to scan the trees.
"Why? What's so scary about a bunch of natives?" Nico asked dryly.
"Lad, don't tred those waters. Those tribes are firm believers in karma." Arachnae warned, making Nico roll his eyes in dismissal. I shook my head, then scanned the trees again.
"He's right, Nico. The human Amazon tribes themselves were powerful groups of peoples. They inhabitated not only large continents, but islands as well. They sought isolation from the world and focused mainly on earth and its beauties. There were also tribes that, if disturbed by intruders, would literally devour their victims. Piece by piece."
"Cannibals?" Nico bleghed.
"Maaaybe we shouldn't be here." One of the other man named Raseed said uneasily, his dark eyes searching the trees. Nico nodded in agreement. Arachnae scowled, ruffling Nico's hair in a manner that was meant to be degrading before he approached a wall of trees that blocked the rest of the path, his eyes searching.
"So you say we're on their territory?" Arachnae asked. I nodded.
"They wouldn't have attacked otherwise, but remember, these aren't humans. These are gods. The gods that these people worshipped and sacrificed to. They're deities and we've offended them. It's best we stick to camp for the rest of the night. Keep a good portion of people on guard, give them shifts as well. And tell them to wear their helmets. Our helmets protect our necks from the darts." I explained, making Arachnae nod. Nico still looked uncomfortable, but I wasn't here to comfort him. I was here to deliver the truth.
"Well, what about the poison?" Nico asked at last.
"It causes temporary paralysis, but Alexius should be fine within a couple of hours as the effects wear off. He may be a little slow afterwards, so watch him carefully." I added, glancing at Arachnae, who nodded in agreement. Nico sighed in relief and everyone looked at him oddly before he glared at us, blushing.
"Not that I care for the jerk. I just don't want Ana to castrate me." He replied heatedly. Arachnae gave me a droll look when I frowned.
"He just can't admit that Alexius is growing on him like them toadstools over there." He said, flicking a finger toward them before he brushed past Nico, who glared after him angrily before hurrying to catch up to him.
"He is not! He's a monster!"
"Aye, he really knows how to kick ass."
"Not that kind of monster!"
"Well, I wouldn't know how he is in bed. He's not my type."
"Not like that either! Ugh! You're impossible!" Nico shouted, his voice echoing through the trees and causing birds to take off in a flurry of fear. I watched the flashes of color go by, eyes narrowed before I noticed the other soldier, Raseed, shifting uncomfortably, biting his lower lips.
"Were you serious about the cannibal part?" He asked me. I smiled reassuringly.
"I was just trying to scare Nico. I'm sure these natives are harmless. They only attacked Alexius because he was probably too close to their home. Let's get back to camp and continue setting up while we wait for the effects of the poison to wear off." I explained. He nodded slowly, but still seemed uneasy as he scanned the trees. Now that he mentioned it, I got the oddest feeling that we were being watched, but when I listened, there was no heartbeat and no sound of blood rushing through veins. At least, none that belonged to enemy. Only the sounds of the animals, their hearts throbbing nervously, fearfully, blood coursing through their veins dangerously. It was enough to make my throat dry. I cleared my throat and we headed back to the camp to see that most everything had already been set up, including the guards.
Xav and the others had yet to return, probably still out placing traps for the natives so they would know to keep away from our camp and the plains. There was no need to get them involved in our fickle war.
I returned to the tent to visit Alexius, who was able to move his fingers now. I sent Ana out to fetch some food for Alexius, who also gained the ability to move his jaw again. Although, now he seemed to have fallen asleep. He looked peaceful lying there on his cot, the thin blankets pulled up to his chest, arms draped over his torso. His brown hair fell across the green pillow, an earthy blend of colors that went well with his black horns. I smiled gently, reaching out to stroke his hair.
It was silky and smooth against my fingers. I sighed, sitting back in the chair beside his bed, watching him sleep, feeling the smile slip from my lips. This was taking too long, I knew in agony. We had to stop wasting time.
Alexius needed to be in Erini where it was safe. Today it was a native, and tomorrow it could be an enemy. He was too vulnerable here. I needed to find a way to take him to Erini without giving away my mission and without bringing harm to anyone. I needed to do this as peacefully as possible.
Perhaps I could bring Alexius to a secluded area and teleport him myself. Once his physical body was in Erini, he wouldn't be allowed to leave until the civil war within the Ethos pantheon was finished. And god wars tended to take a while to end.
But how could I convince Alexius it was a good idea? Oh sure, he said he wanted to go and he looked like he wanted to go, at first glance, but I knew he was still weary about the idea. He didn't want to be away from the only things he knew. He was afraid to test the waters, but I had to urge him somehow, someway.
I sighed heavily again, gazing at Alexius for the longest time before I caught sight of something white flashing out the corner of my eye. I jerked my head up in time to see a very pale blue eye peering through the tent. My eyes widened and I shot to my feet. The eye widened and the owner of it darted into the woods. I broke the ropes holding that part of the tent shut and threw the flap open in time to see something white dart into the woods. I glanced back at Alexius, who was still sleeping heavily for once in a long time. I looked back, but the thing that had been watching us had vanished. I narrowed my eyes, searching the trees. It had grown darker now. The sky clouded over with thick black storm clouds, preparing yet again to spill down a heavy rainfall.
I ducked back under the tent, tying the ropes tightly so that no one could get through it. I went to the front of the tent, spotting the two guards that stood on either side of the tent.
"One of you," I ordered, making them look up in alarm, "Fetch a third guard and position him at the back of the tent." They looked at me questioningly, but neither spoke as one ran off to obey the order. I came back inside the tent to see that Alexius had woken up and had tilted his head to look at me, but the rest of his body still seemed frozen. I closed the tent flap and walked over to Alexius, who watched me with tired green eyes.
"My body aches." He murmured. I nodded slowly, debating for a moment if I should tell him about the intruder from before, then decided against it. I didn't want to bother him with more information right now.
"It's because you're used to moving around a lot, and the poison stiffens your muscles. You'll probably need a good massage as soon as you're back to normal." I explained. Alexius hummed at that, tilting his head back to stare up at the ceiling.
"Has any new information come in? What about the enemy? Any sign of them?" He asked, always full of questions. I smiled, giving my head a short shake as I lifted the jug of water toward his lips and he drank heavily.
"No new news. They may be planning to sneak attack us again, but we're ready for them this time. We have guards watching the area more closely this time. What about you? Can you move any other part of your body yet?" I asked, lowering the jug and allowing him to swallow before I placed the jug on the nearby wooden stand. Alexius paused, cocking his head before he grimaced, drawing up a knee. I smiled in relief, watching him shift his legs. He slowly lifted his arms, moving like a doll that hadn't been used in a while.
"It aches still, but I think I can mostly move." He admitted, trying to sit up. I helped him swing his legs over the side of the cot so he was sitting, his hand resting on the sides. He shifted a little, cocking his head back and forth, so his neck cracked. He sighed in relief. I smiled, then looked up as the tent flap opened and Ana came in. She pulled up short, eyes widening for a second in awe at Alexius' recovery, before a soft smile spread across her delicate lips.
"Good evening, General Alexius. I'm glad that you're doing better." She said, coming forward with a tray of broth and bread. Alexius looked at her gratefully before taking the tray onto his lap carefully. He still moved stiffly, but managed to get the spoonfuls of stew to his mouth. Ana watched, relieved.
"I should hope whoever attacked does not try again." She said uneasily, glancing at me. Alexius frowned, peeking past his hair at me. I looked back at him, then at Ana.
"We have guards set up and Xav and the others have already set up our traps." I answered. Ana's smile worked into a frown now, his hands folded in her lap as she sat in the seat beside me.
"Now that you've mentioned it, they left a few hours ago. Surely they would be back by now?" She asked, concerned. I frowned at that. I hadn't kept track of the time. I was too busy watching over Alexius to bother with it, but now that I realized it, it seemed to have gotten much later than I thought. It was darker outside than just a simple rain storm coming. I looked at Alexius, who paused his eating to stare back at me.
Suddenly, there was shouting from outside the tent, making all of us look at each other in alarm. Ana shot to her feet and ran to the tent opening first. Alexius pushed his tray aside, trying to stand, but he almost collapsed. I caught him, helping him steady himself before he nodded, brushing me off as we went for the tent exit. I stayed behind Alexius in case he fell again. We came out into the camp, a large fire built at the center. A group of men had crowded near a tent before Arachnae came forward, holding a stranger by the scruff of his neck.
My eyes widened in surprise at the creature. He was much shorter than the rest of us. Most of us were between six and seven feet. This creature was almost as small as a goblin, around five two, with smooth caramel skin. His hair was white-blonde and short, cut just to the nape of his neck, his bangs falling across his forehead, over a pair of striking pale blue eyes. They resembled the blue eye I'd seen peering into our tent earlier.
Black tribal tattoos ran up and down his arms and the tattoo of a sun around his belly button weaved up into the tattoo of a wolf near his collarbone. Black and white face paint created swirls just under his eyes before flicking out at the ends, outlining them so he almost looked like the lemurs. White dots sat in the dips and curves of the black markings. He wore a twisted white rope around his waist that held loose white clothe to hide his groin and backside. Although, colorful feathers were braided into his hair and the same white ropes around his wrists and ankles. The interesting feature of him were the white ivory horns poking through his hair, curling back every so slightly.
"Found this little brat trying to steal from our weapons stash." Arachnae stated, then shoved the creature forward into the dirt in front of us. I blinked, stunned at the sight of him as he flashed a pair of white fangs at us, hissing like an animal.
"What is he?" Alexius asked, looking at me, just as surprised as I was. I frowned, studying the creature.
"I think it's an Amazon deity," I admitted, then looked at the creature that locked eyes on me suspiciously, "What is your name?" The creature frowned, clenching its fists, before flexing its fingers back out, revealing that its nails were suspiciously close to Alexius', only white as pearls. He spat at me in a language I barely recognized.
"What did he say?" Alexius asked. I shook my head.
"I don't speak that language. It's been dead for far too long. But I do know what tribe worshipped. A rarely known tribe called Metzuli. They were known for practicing magic, collecting herbs and poisons. They're sneaky little things. And their gods are no different, or whatever this creature is called." I admitted.
"Zen!" The creature barked, then clapped his hands over his mouth. Alexius glared at it.
"You speak English." He accused. The creature shook its head quickly, but it was too late. He'd already spoken and now the men around him began to chatter and shout out ways to torment the boy for trespassing into our territory.
"Burn him! Leave his hollowed corpse as a message to his savages!"
"No, hang him! Hang him from the trees!"
"Why waste a thing like that? I can't be the only one starving here."
"Just pass him around and give each man a go at him!"
"Enough," Alexius shouted suddenly, making everyone fall silent as he glared at them, then looked at the creature that shrank back slightly from him, "What did you say a moment ago? What is Zen?" The creature frowned, glancing around uneasily before looking at Alexius suspiciously, cocking its head.
"Name. Zen is my name. Yours?" He asked cautiously. His voice held an exotic lilt to it, an accent that was oddly erotic. Alexius studied the creature, this Zen, as if he were extremely intrigued by him. A little part of me was oddly jealous seeing Alexius scan the boy head to toe, pausing every so slightly at the loincloth that hid his private parts.
"Alexius," He said at last, "My name is Alexius and I am a General in this camp. The man over there is Arachnae and this is Killian. What business do you have in our camp? We haven't bothered your people." Zen wrinkled his nose, giving his head a quick shake before looking around uncomfortably at the other men, then turned to face Alexius.
"This forest is ours. We called it first. Big scary god comes in, says beware of men in black metal. Told us that you were here to destroy the forest and spill blood. Not allowed." He insisted, folding his slender arms tightly over his chest. Alexius frowned.
"You tried to spill my blood when you shot a dart into me." He answered dryly. Zen blushed, dropping his arms to his sides, balling his hands into fists as he flashed his fangs.
"Not my fault! I was hunting food and you comes along on big scary monster that panick and scare away Serpi! Serpi hate big monsters!" He snapped. Alexius scowled.
"What big monster? And what's a Serpi?"
"Big black monster! You sat on its back! That thingy! Scared Serpi, my friend! He moves like this?" He made a slithering motion with his arms, then put his hands back on his hips to glare at Alexius accusingly. Alexius paused, letting Zen's little display sink in. I cleared my throat, noticing that some of the men were growing impatient. I neared Alexius, lowering my mouth near his ear.
"We can't do this out here. Let's bring him into the tent and talk to him there." I advised. Zen's eyes widened and he took a step back, only to have Arachnae appear behind him to block off his escape. Zen squeaked, then made clawing motions with his hands, hissing at us. He yelled at us in his tribe's language, something that sounded suspiciously like an insult. Alexius scowled, reaching out and grabbing Zen roughly by the wrist. Zen hissed and went to bite down on Alexius' hand, but I reached out and grabbed a handful of his hair to stop him.
Zen let out a high-pitched scream and tried to claw at me, but Alexius caught his wrists and tied them tightly before pulling Zen toward the General's tent.
"All of you go back on duty, and keep an eye out for anymore of these creatures! Go!" Alexius ordered. I could tell he was having difficulties controlling the thrashing creature, so I went to help him as we moved into the General's tent with Arachnae behind us. Alexius sent Ana to bring something for Zen to eat, but he didn't seem very hungry. He was acting like a skittish dog now.
"What kind of creature are you?" Alexius asked after we managed to get Zen into the middle of the tent with Arachnae, Alexius, and I all blocking off the exits. Zen bared his fangs dangerously, pale blue eyes darting around amidst the black paint around his eyes.
"Not telling!" He returned. Alexius glared, starting for him out of impatience, but I caught his elbow and drew him back. He looked at me, frustrated and confused, but I just nodded before looking at Zen carefully now, watching him scan us over in the same way a prey would watch its predator.
"We don't want to hurt you," I told Zen carefully, watching him curl his lip in repungence, "We just want to know what you are, what you're doing here. We weren't told there were any locals."
"What is locals?" Zen demanded, looking offended. I sighed. Alexius rolled his eyes, shaking his head. Arachnae chuckled for a moment, though, making Zen glance at him suspiciously out the corner of his eye.
"We'll tell you what we are if you tell us what you are." He offered. Zen lifted his nose in the air, looking down it at us before shrugging, looking away with closed eyes in a gesture of dismissal that very obviously annoyed Alexius, but he looked like he was growing too tired to keep fighting, so he just glared at Zen.
"I'm a witch," Arachnae said at last, making Alexius and I look at him in surprise before he gestured to us, "Killian is a vampyre and Alexius is an incubus. Well, rather, a cambion." Zen perked up at that and looked at Alexius with renewed interest.
"Me! Me! Also what you say, cambion!" He exclaimed, trying to point at Alexius and then himself with his tied up hands. He frowned at his hands, then looked back up at Alexius, who blinked.
"You're a cambion?" He asked and Zen nodded eagerly. Alexius stared at me now. I stiffened, trying not to meet his eyes as I stared at Zen. A cambion? How was that possible? It meant he was a type of demon, but all demon species were supposed to have a representative in the council. I didn't know of any kind of Amazon demon that looked like Zen. I'd never even heard of tribes having demons. The only demons they encountered were nosy, obnoxious humans that tried to take over their homelands.
"What kind of cambion?" I asked. Zen seemed more at ease now, knowing that Alexius was like him as he cocked his head at us.
"Incubo. Like him." He said and pointed to Alexius, who stared at him in disbelief.
"The Amazon's had their own incubi?" Arachnae asked, looking at me now. I blinked, shrugging slowly as I stared at Zen. It explained why he had horns and claws and seemed extremely beautiful for a boy. He was young, though. Younger than Alexius. He appeared to be about seventeen, but something in me told me he was older than he appeared.
"I didn't know," I admitted at last, "We never bothered the Amazon tribes. We were told by the Aztec deities to stay away from that part of the pantheons. They dealt with their own problems and preferred to stick to their old ways. This is honestly my first time meeting an Amazonian demon."
"Don't like intruders," Zen answered, "Hide in other, but monsters kept finding us and eating us, so we come to this realm. Much safer and warmer. Then I saw the cambion and panicked, ran away and told my people, then they say you were more monsters trying to eat us."
"And you called them the cannibals." Arachnae told me, making me scowl. Zen made a face.
"Ew. No eat meat! Hurts teeth. Like fruits and juicy things." He responded, making Arachnae raise an eyebrow.
"Then why do you have the...?" He tapped his teeth, indicating Zen's sharp fangs. Zen scoffed, glancing in irritation at Alexius and I.
"When bad people try to attack us, we bite. Like leopards!" He added, then snapped his teeth for effect, making clicking noises as his teeth fell shut. I frowned, straightening and folding my arms over my chest.
"Then you know where our people are." I stated. Zen eyed me cautiously and took a small step back, only to realize that Arachnae was behind him, so he gave up and stood his ground, sliding his bare feet across the floor of the tent so his legs were spread, ready to give him momentum to attack.
"Depends. What peoples we talking about? We talk about other men in black metal or people who came with big scary god?" He asked. Alexius and Arachnae shared alarmed looks before looking back at Zen as I blinked, lowering my arms.
"Both of them." I answered. Zen relaxed, straightening and dragging a toe through the dirt floor, glancing at us sheepishly.
"Well, big scary god on other side of forest. He demand we give tribute for helping. Says he wants men in black metal as prisoners. So, my people captured three men and they plan to give tomorrow, once rain stops."
"Shit." I cursed aloud.