The Scourge of Muirwood
Page 75
- Background:
- Text Font:
- Text Size:
- Line Height:
- Line Break Height:
- Frame:
“When did the Aldermaston of Muirwood first corrupt you with the Medium?” he asked.
“He did not corrupt me,” Lia answered steadily, trying to keep the tremble from her voice.
“How old were you? Eight or so? The roots are deep inside of you. It will be difficult to pluck the weeds out. He should not have permitted you to learn. I can sense your strength, child. You are powerful. You will become an even stronger hetaera.”
Lia clenched her teeth. “I will not.”
He smiled smugly, approaching the bars. His finger grazed one, stroking the iron tenderly. “No man can enter the lair and survive. The gargouelle will destroy any man with madness. Only a girl can enter. It is the hetaera’s test. Like the maston test, there are oaths. If you do not make the oaths, you will die. You will die to be reborn. When we next speak, child, you will be one of us.”
The feelings in her heart made her tremble with dread. She had never felt so terrified, so alone, so abandoned. They were feelings, but they were not real. Yet they were real. They slithered through her defenses.
Lia stared at him. “I am already reborn. I died at Muirwood. You cannot kill me.”
There was delight in his smile. “Remember, child. To surive the ordeal you must forge a kystrel. It is the only thing that will save you when the light of the torch burns out. The light is the only thing that will keep the serpents from biting you. If they bite you, you will die. Take her to the garden.”
As the Aldermaston turned away from her to walk away, Lia glanced down at the thing Colvin had pressed into her hand. It was the cemetery ring she had given him to wear. The ring she had worn as a child since the storm. Even amidst the despair, fear, and doubt, she clung to the thread of knowledge that the ring represented.
* * *
“They brought Lia to the Leering stone at dusk tonight. We could see it from the balcony as they marched her through the hedge maze. I remember how it felt. The anticipation and dread. Colvin was upset but I soothed him. He watched as the Aldermaston handed her a torch and she was lowered into the pit. The stone was pushed to cover the opening. She will be there all night. Colvin says he will hold vigil instead of dancing. I will keep him company and soothe his fears. I will stay in his room all night. He does not understand where we are or what is happening. I whispered in his ear that I wanted to leave Dochte Abbey. I whispered that we needed to find a way to escape. He believes me. He believes everything I tell him. It will all be worth it, when he is mine.”
- Ellowyn Demont of Dochte Abbey
* * *
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN:
The Fear Oaths
As the stone lid of the Leering scraped into place, Lia experienced the sense of utter abandonment. She was in a grave, a narrow slit of a tunnel that stank of rot and decay. Long wriggling centipedes twisted in the exposed earth. There were mushrooms everywhere, spongy brown with black splotches. The air was stale and fetid. Lia wanted to cover her mouth, but the shackles on her wrists and ankles prevented her. She wore the ring beneath her bodice and felt its firm edge against her skin. The walls were pocked with holes and as Lia began to walk, she could sense the eyes staring at her from within the holes. There were hundreds of holes and she could hear the sound of slithering coming from all sides, even above her. She clenched the torch tightly, swinging it as she walked to illuminate the path ahead. The narrow crooked shaft opened to a small round room. A power from that room summoned her. It was the pull of ancient Leerings, vast in power and centuries old.
Leaving the narrow shaft, she entered the room. Immediately the feeling of blackness intensified. The room was full of Leerings, carved into the pillars. It was like the Apse Veil at Muirwood, except the images were different. There were six Leerings, all human-like faces, all women’s faces. The expressions were all savage, tortured. There were no doors or archways, only the six pillars on the walls. But there was something beyond the room, beyond the walls – a Leering she could not see with her eyes, but she could see it in her mind. It was a stone Leering with the symbol of two entwined serpents burning with fire. It was awake, eager for her presence. A deep longing filled her and made her shudder. She heard slithering noises and swung around, scattering light down the shaft. The ground was thick with snakes, sliding towards her, tongues testing the air. When she turned with the light, the black coiling serpents hesitated. Some hissed at her and it was as if she could understand them.
Learn of us, sister.
Join us, daughter of Ereshkigal.
Know us, mother of abominations.
The mewling sound of the Myriad Ones filled her senses and she shuddered with the nuzzling of them, as black as soot. Lia turned and faced the Leerings again, walking around the small circle to get a better look at them. Six faces, each with a different expression – none of the expressions were good. She realized that they were the guardians of the last. She would not be able to visit the final Leering until she had mastered these. The Medium throbbed within each of the six. They were Leerings carved by an Aldermaston, so long ago – anciently. They had been assembled to this place by the hetaera, but they were not crafted for evil. They were each unique, different. It reminded her of the maston training.
“He did not corrupt me,” Lia answered steadily, trying to keep the tremble from her voice.
“How old were you? Eight or so? The roots are deep inside of you. It will be difficult to pluck the weeds out. He should not have permitted you to learn. I can sense your strength, child. You are powerful. You will become an even stronger hetaera.”
Lia clenched her teeth. “I will not.”
He smiled smugly, approaching the bars. His finger grazed one, stroking the iron tenderly. “No man can enter the lair and survive. The gargouelle will destroy any man with madness. Only a girl can enter. It is the hetaera’s test. Like the maston test, there are oaths. If you do not make the oaths, you will die. You will die to be reborn. When we next speak, child, you will be one of us.”
The feelings in her heart made her tremble with dread. She had never felt so terrified, so alone, so abandoned. They were feelings, but they were not real. Yet they were real. They slithered through her defenses.
Lia stared at him. “I am already reborn. I died at Muirwood. You cannot kill me.”
There was delight in his smile. “Remember, child. To surive the ordeal you must forge a kystrel. It is the only thing that will save you when the light of the torch burns out. The light is the only thing that will keep the serpents from biting you. If they bite you, you will die. Take her to the garden.”
As the Aldermaston turned away from her to walk away, Lia glanced down at the thing Colvin had pressed into her hand. It was the cemetery ring she had given him to wear. The ring she had worn as a child since the storm. Even amidst the despair, fear, and doubt, she clung to the thread of knowledge that the ring represented.
* * *
“They brought Lia to the Leering stone at dusk tonight. We could see it from the balcony as they marched her through the hedge maze. I remember how it felt. The anticipation and dread. Colvin was upset but I soothed him. He watched as the Aldermaston handed her a torch and she was lowered into the pit. The stone was pushed to cover the opening. She will be there all night. Colvin says he will hold vigil instead of dancing. I will keep him company and soothe his fears. I will stay in his room all night. He does not understand where we are or what is happening. I whispered in his ear that I wanted to leave Dochte Abbey. I whispered that we needed to find a way to escape. He believes me. He believes everything I tell him. It will all be worth it, when he is mine.”
- Ellowyn Demont of Dochte Abbey
* * *
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN:
The Fear Oaths
As the stone lid of the Leering scraped into place, Lia experienced the sense of utter abandonment. She was in a grave, a narrow slit of a tunnel that stank of rot and decay. Long wriggling centipedes twisted in the exposed earth. There were mushrooms everywhere, spongy brown with black splotches. The air was stale and fetid. Lia wanted to cover her mouth, but the shackles on her wrists and ankles prevented her. She wore the ring beneath her bodice and felt its firm edge against her skin. The walls were pocked with holes and as Lia began to walk, she could sense the eyes staring at her from within the holes. There were hundreds of holes and she could hear the sound of slithering coming from all sides, even above her. She clenched the torch tightly, swinging it as she walked to illuminate the path ahead. The narrow crooked shaft opened to a small round room. A power from that room summoned her. It was the pull of ancient Leerings, vast in power and centuries old.
Leaving the narrow shaft, she entered the room. Immediately the feeling of blackness intensified. The room was full of Leerings, carved into the pillars. It was like the Apse Veil at Muirwood, except the images were different. There were six Leerings, all human-like faces, all women’s faces. The expressions were all savage, tortured. There were no doors or archways, only the six pillars on the walls. But there was something beyond the room, beyond the walls – a Leering she could not see with her eyes, but she could see it in her mind. It was a stone Leering with the symbol of two entwined serpents burning with fire. It was awake, eager for her presence. A deep longing filled her and made her shudder. She heard slithering noises and swung around, scattering light down the shaft. The ground was thick with snakes, sliding towards her, tongues testing the air. When she turned with the light, the black coiling serpents hesitated. Some hissed at her and it was as if she could understand them.
Learn of us, sister.
Join us, daughter of Ereshkigal.
Know us, mother of abominations.
The mewling sound of the Myriad Ones filled her senses and she shuddered with the nuzzling of them, as black as soot. Lia turned and faced the Leerings again, walking around the small circle to get a better look at them. Six faces, each with a different expression – none of the expressions were good. She realized that they were the guardians of the last. She would not be able to visit the final Leering until she had mastered these. The Medium throbbed within each of the six. They were Leerings carved by an Aldermaston, so long ago – anciently. They had been assembled to this place by the hetaera, but they were not crafted for evil. They were each unique, different. It reminded her of the maston training.
