MATIAS' POV
From the ground floor of my home and office, I gazed out of the window and silently took in how vastly different things were compared to just a week ago. At that time in the morning of such an upscale district, people would already be up and about and going on with their days. Nobles would be taking leisurely strolls along the streets and catching up with friends, families would be on their way to church and men would usually be networking and discussing business. But instead, the road stood empty and lifeless, the dried-up blood splatter on the pavement was an eerie reminder of the recent horrors that had rocked the kingdom.
Our home had been invaded by monstrous creatures whose existences we had never been able to fathom up until that moment. The nightmarish beings had taken countless lives, so most people had retreated underground to hide from the murderous fiends that sought after our blood.
Just as my cigar took its last breath, an otherworldly wail reverberated through the air and filled me with an intense feeling of fear and dread. My body trembled as I shut the window with a bang, I wrapped my hands around myself as I took deep, calming breaths. I heard a faint creak of wood as Pascal pushed open the trapdoor that led to our underground chambers, he peeked his head through the space and with a worried expression, begged me to join him down there.
"I'll be there, sweetheart" I told him as I composed myself and got rid of the cigar in my hand. His head disappeared once again below the door and shortly after, I climbed down the ladder and shut the door above me. The small room was dimly lit, a few candles being the only sources of light. Our house was built centuries ago during one of the many great wars that Bravenik had fought throughout her history, and just like a lot of houses built that time, they came with their own secret bunkers. Although not very large in size, the room could fit about fifty people if we were all tightly packed, it had one small bed and three chairs in it. Most of the similarly built houses were connected through the underground spaces, the passages were also linked to the palace. But the number of people lucky enough to live in such buildings were so little, I had no idea how the average person was getting by. Food production had completely frozen, crops had mostly been ravaged by the beasts, scholars had already predicted a famine on the way and Pascal and I were surviving on a near empty stock of fresh fruits.
I collapsed unto the small bed from exhaustion, my thoughts alone had worn me out. Pascal crawled on top of me and sat on my stomach, he tilted his head with concern.
"Are you alright?" he asked me.
I sighed before I managed a weak smile. "No, but you make it a little better" I said as I laced his fingers with mine, he looked away flustered before he gently rested his head on my chest. I traced lines up and down his back as he lay on top of me, the very fabric of reality might have been ripping to shreds but at least I still had him.
He got up suddenly and stared at me with suspicion as he sniffed the air.
"Up there, you were smoking, weren't you?" he questioned me.
I blinked back at him, "No"
"Liar"
"Just one"
He eyed me even closer.
"Four"
"FOUR?!" he screamed in disbelief as he frustratedly got off of me, I scoffed at how he could be worried about something like that at such a time.
"It's the end of the fucking world! Why does it matter?!"
He threw a pen at me, "It's not the end of the world!"
"Come on, even you don't believe that. Let's take a look outside, shall we?" I pointed up.
He froze for a few seconds, "W-we'll figure something out" he stuttered. "And you are killing yourself!" he threw another pen at me.
"Well, I would much rather vaporize my lungs than be torn apart by those blood thirsty-" I was saying before we were both interrupted by a sound. The knocking sound echoed lightly through the room, I was alarmed at first, but then I relaxed when I realized what the sound was. Another unique feature of the houses was that they had pipes on their exteriors that led down to the underground spaces; trained crows would deliver messages by dropping them in the pipes, it was our only way to communicate during those times.
I rushed to pick up the scroll tube, Pascal and I shared a glance before I opened up the intricately designed tube marked with the royal seal. We read the contents of the letter together, it was an urgent summon to the palace.
...
After a change of clothes, Pascal and I begin to travel through the tunnels with lanterns in our hands. The narrow and dark path stretched a long distance and in different directions, the air was thick and each movement or sound echoed loudly through the passage. A few other people travelled through the tunnels with different destinations in mind, there was a silent dread in each and everyone's eyes, a mutual realization of the horror that was now our new normal. After several minutes of navigating the tunnel, we reached the large wooden door also with the royal seal, it was protected by two large guards who asked for an invitation before granting us access. Pascal handed the scroll tube to one of them and after inspections, we were allowed to enter.
Almost immediately after entering, we came face to face with another person with a lantern, we shun the light on each other's faces and I was relieved but also surprised to see it was Magnus. He had on his military uniform and had gained some new scars from the last time I saw him, scars he gained when he saved my life, his face still lit up as he saw me.
I cleared my throat, "Well, have any idea why we were summoned?" I asked him as I noticed the scroll tube in his hand as well.
He sighed before he responded, "A meeting with his grace the prince, the king's advisor and our newly selected minister of war"
I raised an eyebrow, "Who?"
"That would be Otto Barrington"
"What?!" I asked baffled. Most of the kingdom did not even know this man existed until about a month ago, and yet he had managed to climb every social ladder possible and even political. Stopping a rebellion dead in its tracks had clearly pleased the king beyond words, it had pleased him so much that he had appointed his long-lost nephew a position that nobody had held for decades.
"Just one more thing before we go in there. I know you Matias, I know you like to run your mouth, but you have to be careful with Otto, it's best not to upset him" Magnus warned me ominously. For Magnus of all people to warn me about someone, it piqued my curiosity and aroused my stubbornness.
"Promise me you'll behave" Magnus pleaded.
I chuckled, "We'll see" I said as I waltzed away.
As I entered the room where the meeting would hold, all three other men were already waiting. Prince Reinhard anxiously rumpled the quilt on his laps, he was a splitting image of his father, only a couple decades younger. His blonde hair cascaded down his back; I likened him to a fragile piece of glass, because ever since his accident, he had been frail and weak. The war had not only taken his legs but it had also taken some of his confidence too. His shoulders lowered with relief as we stepped in. Otto and Stephan were already deep in conversation, a conversation the prince was clearly left out of, they both turned to us and pointed us to our seats.
The room was adequately lit by a large number of lanterns, so we could all see our faces very clearly, but it also made the room quite hot. I had seen the royal seal for the third time that day, the golden tiger head was painted on the wall behind Otto, majestically sitting in a sea of green. Pascal and I sat directly opposite Otto on the long table, Magnus sat alone to the left and Stephan and Reinhard to the right.
"Finally, you and your partner sure took your time getting here" Otto said to Pascal and I, before I could defend myself, he clapped loudly. "Let's get to the matter at hand, the reason I called this meeting. Would you mind starting my Lord?" he gestured to Stephan who adjusted his collar before beginning.
"It's a shame we have to meet under such circumstances, several feet under the ground and in hiding, but we now live in very peculiar times. This meeting was however called for a different reason, I have heard some troubling reports that need to be addressed. Rebels, disruptors like the king would call them have been meeting in secret despite the current...situation" Stephan said.
"Bravenik has never been this weakened in hundreds of years, they know this, we cannot let them hit us now, which is why we have to hit first! I invited all three of you in particular to discuss how we can defend the kingdom" Otto added as his eyes wandered around our faces.
Pascal sighed with discontent, we all turned to look at him.
"What was that?" Otto asked him, Pascal timidly shrunk back. I reached for his lap and gave it a light squeeze which encouraged him to speak his mind.
"I understand your concerns, but what much can we do with the way things are now? Communication is hard, the tunnels have been very helpful but they still limit our movements. How can we put together a solid plan-"
"Have anything else obvious to add?" Otto cut him off abruptly, Pascal stuttered as he tried to respond. "If I thought it was so easy, do you think I would have invited you all here to listen to your incompetent takes just for the fun of it?" he slowly got up from his seat. Pascal went completely quiet,
"I'll take your silence as a no, next time you'll wait till you're asked before you speak" he pointed at Pascal before he sat again. I saw all of Pascal's confidence go out like a candle, Otto's words felt like a dagger to my heart and they weren't even aimed at me. I clenched my fists with anger and with my other hand reached for Pascal's hand under the table and held it firmly while I stroked it gently with my thumb.
The room went quiet for a moment, everyone glanced uneasily at one another before Otto finally requested for comments. Magnus, Otto and Stephan went back and forth about how to defend Bravenik from the rebels, but then suddenly, the prince furiously banged his fists against the table, drawing everyone's attention. His body simmered with anger before he spat out,
"It seems like everyone at this table is deliberately leaving out one tiny detail. I ask you all, why do you think my father is absent from this meeting?" the prince asked. He looked at all of us for a response but none of us knew the answer.
"I'll tell you. It's because he has gone mad with nightmares about those, those THINGS up there! And you know what? So have I. As we speak, those monsters are up there destroying this kingdom and murdering our people! How can you speak on anything else other than how to deal with those things?!" his weak voice strained as he gasped for air, all except Otto panicked but the prince ensured us he was alright.
Otto chuckled, "You see cousin, that's the difference between you and the rest of us. With your condition, you can hardly take any responsibilities" he looked mockingly at Prince Reinhard's missing legs. "But us real and complete men, we have to deal with the real problems, such as keeping the crown safe" Otto added while Reinhard stared back at him, defeated.
Above us, heavy footsteps thundered through the ground and shook the room accompanied by unearthly cries. Otto's lips quivered as he spoke again,
"Well, now that you brought it up, we might as well talk about it. You might not have heard cousin, but our soldiers have brought down one of the beasts, a huge one, you can ask our commander here" he pointed to Magnus who corroborated his claim.
I was relieved to know that the beasts could be killed, although slim, it still gave us a fighting chance against the creatures. But Magnus had lost several men trying to bring down just one of them, if we wanted to win the war against those beasts, we needed an advantage.
"I've been up there a couple of times, and I can boldly say that those things have no intention of leaving anytime soon. They're building, nesting, growing, they are making this place their home. On my way here through the tunnels, I was attacked by a flying rat, I never thought any of those words would ever leave my mouth" Magnus confessed, slowly getting more perplexed after each word.
"If even the tunnels are unsafe now, then we're even more fucked than before!" Stephan panicked.
Otto suddenly eyed me before he asked, "You have been awfully quiet, Sheriff. Have anything to say?"
I sighed and replied his question with another question. "Permission to speak freely my Lord?"
He waved his hands dismissively, telling me to go on.
"if we are going to get anything done, we need to prioritize. What's first? The rebels or the monsters? If we don't know the answer to that yet then we are just going in circles"
"The crown is a priority, Sheriff"
"Alright then. Let me just say, you can draw and quarter as many rebels as you want, but that does not change anything. There is a reason why the people are turning their backs on us, we need to convince them to side with us" I explained. I argued my point, but Otto insisted on using force completely squash the rebellion and frighten anyone who dared to aid it.
"I hope I am wrong, but you seem to be defending the disruptors" Stephan accused me, I was taken aback by the claim.
"I hear that a large percentage of the rebels are people of your...complexion. Isn't that suspicious?" Otto further insulted me.
I stared back at the two men with frustration, they were enjoying insulting me very much, and I could tell they wanted a reaction from me. My self-control had saved me countless times from having outbursts that could land me in trouble, but my annoyance had reached a boiling point and had begun to spill. I took a sip of the tea laying in front of me on the table before I began to cut Otto down to size.
"In my line of work, I happen to hear a lot of things. Recently, I heard that a little over a decade ago, your father died under very interesting circumstances. And of course, these might just be rumors, but apparently your father attempted to steal the throne from his own brother, was assassinated by the crown and you were nowhere to be seen for the years that followed"
Otto's face instantly turned sour.
"Aha! But the plot thickens. You randomly show up on Bravenikian soil for the first time in years, stop a rebellion that you had infiltrated for months, earn the favor of the king and get promoted to minister of war, all that in just under a month mind you. Now you work very closely with the man who supposedly murdered your own father, and I just have to ask, isn't that suspicious?" I hit him below the belt. It seemed like everyone was already playing dirty, so I was going to play along too.
Otto's ego deflated and his rage ignited like a torch, he screamed loudly as he flipped over the table and sent all the objects on it flying and crashing to the ground. Magnus quickly got on his feet and held Otto back as he lunged for me, the room had erupted in chaos but I remained seated and composed.
"Perfectly good cup of tea you just wasted" I complained.
"I COULD HAVE YOU KILLED FOR THAT!" he pointed his finger at me.
"I don't doubt it. Forgive me if I have said anything to offend you my Lord, I was under the impression that I could speak freely" I wiped the corners of my mouth with my pocket square. "Given your reaction to my recent statements, I can tell that you do not like to be disrespected, and neither do I" I got more serious. "I fully intend to do my job, and you know damn well that I am good at it; hell, even the best at it" I got up and pointed back at him. "But I will not sit here and let you insult me to my face. You need me and you know it, so you need to learn to respect me or I will be of no help"
"You can't order anyone around here, you are lucky your kind is allowed to even sit at a table like!" Otto sputtered as veins formed on his temples.
"I don't need you to like me, just respect me. Now tell me what I need to do"
...
Several minutes after the intense meeting, Pascal and I left and headed back home, now with new instructions. The silence made me uncomfortable, so I asked Pascal if he was alright and he ignored me. I pressed him until he snapped.
"Do you have a death wish?! He could have killed you!" he screamed as angry tears formed in his eyes. Before I could even respond, a loud scream echoed through the tunnel, a human scream. We both whipped around and pulled out our guns, the screams multiplied and soon, scattered footsteps followed.
In a flash, a multitude of people came running from one of the tunnel paths, and right behind them was a grotesque beast, a horrid mixture of a feline and reptile. The creature slithered and bounced off the walls of the tunnel before pouncing on the unlucky man at the back of the rabble, it sunk its claws into the man's sides before ripping out a huge chunk of his chest and feasting on it. My body went completely rigid with fear,
"RUN!" Pascal cried out as he pulled me behind him. The small, cramped tunnel had erupted into a frenzy; the creature abandoned the man's half eaten body and came after us all. We hurtled through the tunnel, the sounds behind us amplified our desperation and so Pascal and I threw our lanterns to the ground so we could run better. The screams and shrieks continued as we now ran in complete darkness, I could hear the monster nearing but I dared not to look back. Eventually, a little light entered the tunnel again, an opening at the top of the structure that led outside, the only problem was that the ladder used to climb up had been broken in half. I had to think quickly, I turned to Pascal.
"Cal! I'll boost you, you pull me up"
He nodded with determination, I sprinted ahead of Pascal and knelt beneath the shattered ladder. I put my palms together, Pascal stepped into them and I propelled him upwards. He held unto the edge of the opening and climbed out while I anxiously waited for him to pull me up. In a heart-stopping moment, Pascal's hand reached for me and the creature desperately lunged for me, missing me by just an inch. I was left dangling like a loose thread, I peered down, and the monster's snapping jaws made my hairs stand on end.
Pascal finally pulled me up, and just for a second, I looked around my surroundings, I had not had the sun in my face for days.
"Let's go!" he shouted at me, urging me to keep moving. We ran as fast as we could towards our home, we ducked and hid as we encountered smaller creatures. Everything around was relatively quiet until a human voice shouted out,
"GET BACK!"
It inevitably drew the attention of Pascal and I, we turned to a street at our left and caught sight of a monster backing someone into the wall. Pascal froze and watched with concern, I yelled to him that we needed to keep going but he turned back to me with pleading eyes.
"We need to help them!" he begged me. I sharply refused,
"No way! Let's go" as I turned around and expected him to already be behind me. I continued to move, but I looked back as I noticed the absence of Pascal's footsteps; my anger spiked as I saw him running straight to the monster. I chased after him and he abruptly stopped a couple of feet away from the creature to pull out his gun.
We now had a clearer view of the person and the monster. The arachnid stood almost as tall as the individual, its skull was covered with numerous pitch-black eyes and its entire body with short hairs. The human was short and dressed in a hooded cloak that obscured most of their face, their hand trembled with fear as they gripped a long dagger in it. The peculiarly shaped dagger shone a bright red even from afar, whatever it was that caused the blade to glow, it seemed to repel the beast threatening to attack them.
"Yeah, that's right you little shit, piss off!" the faceless stranger jeered at the beast as they taunted the creature with their dagger, making it hiss with rage. Without warning, the large spider reared back and then launched itself at the stranger before sinking its teeth into their free hand. I winced at the audible crunch, blood leaked from the wound and the creature refused to let go as the person screamed in agony. Pascal and I finally stepped in and fired a few shots at the creature's back but it was completely unfazed, nothing changed until the screaming human managed to force the red dagger into the spider's skull.
Almost instantly, the creature started to convulse, it violently threw the person to the ground and their head collided with the pavement, knocking them out cold. Black smoke fizzed out of the crack in its skull where the dagger pierced, it shrieked in pain before its legs began to shrivel up and turn black. Its legs eventually gave out and crumbled to ash, and with one last hiss, it collapsed in on itself and stopped moving.
I watched what had just happened with disbelief, the strange knife had killed the monster with just one stab, Pascal rushed to check on the now unconscious individual while I cautiously picked up the dagger. The fine weapon had a sturdy wooden handle and the blade was swirled on both sides with an extremely sharp end and abstract streaks of red surrounding it. I ran my fingers over the blade with curiosity before Pascal called for me, he knelt next to the stranger's unconscious body and held unto their hand with concern.
The fall had removed the hood from over their head, and from the soft features and round lines of their face, I could tell that they were without a doubt, a child. Their chest indicated that they were female, and beneath their cloak was a brown sac that they slung over their shoulder.
"Let's get moving" I said as I pocketed the dagger.
"We need to help her"
"There's no time for that"
"She's hurt!" he raised his voice which surprised me.
"That's a shame, but we have no time to look after someone else"
The more I explained to Pascal why we couldn't help the stranger, the more stubborn he got, and so I eventually gave up, Pascal lifted her up and threw her body over his shoulder as we quietly headed home.
...
Pascal and I studied the child from afar, almost an hour had passed and she still had not regained consciousness. Her fair skin had been bruised purple in a couple of areas and her oversized shirt had several holes in it, I could not help but wonder what she might have gone through. Her fiery orange hair was unevenly cut which led me to believe that she had cut it herself, she showed signs of malnourishment which caused me to worry even more. I had dressed her wounds with cloth, and even though Pascal protested, I tied her to a chair to be on the safe side. Above all things I had questions about the mysterious knife that was capable of killing that beast with a single jab; I needed to know where she got the weapon from or if she was some magical being herself. Whatever the case was, I had hope that it could be the answer to the kingdom's problems.
She suddenly groaned and moved restlessly before her big, brown eyes flickered open. Her eyes shot around the room urgently before her gaze landed on Pascal and I, she let out an earsplitting scream almost immediately. We both tried to get her to stay quiet so that she would not draw the attention of any creatures but her screaming only got louder. She tussled in her seat until she was eventually silenced by the chair falling to the ground, Pascal rushed to pick her up.
"The fuck are you?!" she asked in a foreign accent as her chest heaved rapidly.
I rolled my eyes, "We saved your life, young lady"
"Young lady?" she scoffed, "Ignore the tits you creep, I'm a boy, name's Griffin"
I was shocked by his confidence, and the more he spoke the more I tried desperately to place his accent but it was unlike anything I had ever heard before.
"Well, boy, I am Matias. This is my partner Pascal" I gestured to Pascal who smiled warmly at the child. "We saved you and brought you here, but we also have some questions" I added.
He snickered, "Well first of all, you didn't save me, I handled that fucker myself. Secondly, I don't have to tell you shit"
My stomach twisted with anger; I was never fond of children but I despised children like him even more. I took a deep breath before I threatened to take him back to where we found him if he refused to cooperate, he bit his bottom lip as he contemplated. He finally agreed to behave, and the first thing I asked him was where he got the dagger from as I slowly pulled it from my pocket.
He jerked with surprise as he realized he no longer had his weapon or any of his belongings. He cursed at me to give it back and I reminded him what would happen if he was difficult.
"I would tell you, but your little brains wouldn't be able to handle it!" he claimed.
I cocked an eyebrow, whatever the truth was, I knew he was greatly exaggerating it.
"Fine, I'll help, but you have to promise you'll help me too"
"Help with what?" I asked.
"Just promise!" he begged.
I sighed, I knew it was unwise to agree to something I didn't know the details of, but I was desperate and so I did. He smiled and asked one of us to reach into his sac and take something out, Pascal did as he said and he pulled out a large, green fabric. Pascal examined the fabric with his fingers before handing it to me, I ran my thumb over the fine material, its soft texture brought me comfort. As I straightened it out, I was met with a familiar image embroidered at the center.
"How do you have this?" I asked Griffin.
He immediately broke into a wide smile, his uneven teeth coming into view.
"You know what it is? It means something doesn't it?" he asked eagerly.
"Of course I do, it's the royal seal. Only a noble or a member of the royal family would be able to afford to get this embroidered in gold" I eyed him, "Did you steal this?"
"What?! No! it's what I need your help with" he cleared his throat. "That's the blanket I was wrapped in when my ma and pa found me. I came here looking for my parents, my real parents, and you're going to help me!"
I raised a hand, "Slow down kid, this might narrow things down but it still doesn't mean much. You're not the first noble bastard and you sure as hell won't be the last"
Pascal punched my side and knocked the air out of me, I had not realized how harsh my words were until they were already out of my mouth. Surprisingly, Griffin ignored my harsh comments and begged me once again to help him find his parents in exchange for the truth about his dagger. I took a second to think, with everything going on I definitely would not have the time to look for his parents, but I needed answers.
"Alright Griffin, we have ourselves a deal" I agreed prematurely.
He sighed with relief before smiling, "Great, now get me out of these ropes"
I reluctantly freed Griffin from the ropes and he started to curiously explore the cramped room. He ran his small hands over the walls, opened up drawers and swept through the pages of books. He picked up an apple from our near empty pantry without asking and took a bite, he moaned dramatically with satisfaction before he kicked off his tattered boots and relaxed into our bed. Pascal and I watched him in silence, wondering what we had gotten ourselves into.
He caught us staring and laughed, "Gotta get comfortable if I'm gonna be staying here"