Regrets of The Fallen (Victis Honor Book 1) (50 page)

After a minute they stood up and continued walking; a doorway near the throne was their goal, and they made it apparently without disturbing the spirits. Ahead of them stairs stretched upwards and, as they began climbing, the sound of singing reached them from the room they’d just left, as if the room were full of people celebrating some victory. They continued to climb until the singing faded and the air grew fresher, until the oppressive feeling was no longer present and they felt lighter. The stairs ended at a circular room with walls covered in intricate carvings, and they took a break to investigate these. Isabella walked around the room and followed the carvings, visible thanks to several red-lit torches that still burned with enough light to see. The stairs continued upwards on the other side of the room, hopefully their way out.

“It’s a story,” Bella said as she stopped and took in the image of a type of people she’d never seen but now recognized as the spirits they’d passed. The image showed them fighting twisted versions of themselves, followed by them holding shut a door as the twisted ones beat on the other side. “These were among the last dwarves,” she said, recalling Haruka’s explanation. “They fought Din’leth and tried to hold them back.”

“Some changed before others?” Haruka joined her, holding up the glow rod for a better view. “It must have been some sort of disease, then, that changed them. I’d always heard it was a curse…”

“They were pushed out of their own city.” Bella pointed to a picture of the cavernous room they had passed through after escaping the water. “They’re the ones who destroyed the bridge, to prevent the Din’leth from reaching them, which is why we haven’t found any here.”

“So the Din’leth corpses we found were… dwarves who were infected during the retreat.” Haruka frowned. “They killed themselves before they could change completely, probably to spare the others.”

“Which is why they were honored after death,” Isabella concluded. “So did the surviving dwarves die down here or did they escape up this way to the surface?”

“I think they died,” Haruka said, pointing to an image of one climbing into a coffin. “They willingly stayed here. Judging by this hopeful image,” she said as she indicated the next carving of the same dwarf climbing out to join many others, “they were unwilling to leave the home of their people, and thought that they would only join their people in the afterlife if they were laid to rest in their home. Studies say their culture was much centered on their people, ancestors and their home.”

“To embrace your own people
so
…” Isabella shook her head. “To think that they died out because of a disease that twisted their own people against them is a very sad end. Worse, I think the ghosts we came across were the dwarves that had been infected, meaning they
didn’t
get to join their people. Perhaps that is why they were so sorrowful.”

Haruka sighed. “Maybe we’ll let a Necromancer know about this so that they can help. But for now, we should just leave – who knows what else could happen down here.”

“Yes… You’re probably right.” Isabella backed away and followed Haruka as she ascended the stairs, but not before glancing back at the room one last time. She couldn’t help but feel a strange kinship with these people, who had been doomed to die by something beyond their control but had supported each other in their final hours, working together to survive as long as they could. In the end they had embraced their fate, and as the final carving showed – and the sounds of singing that returned and followed them up the final stairway – they had gone out with a celebration of their lives. They had built traps, sabotaged their own city, and retreated back to their very tombs, all to stall or stop the Din’leth, and though their efforts had ultimately failed, in the end they had chosen to die with smiles and cheers.

Isabella only hoped that she would have such courage when the inevitable time came for her.

“Are you ready to end this for good?”

“As long as I’m standing with you, I’m ready for anything.”

Haruka scanned Fort
Inith’s walls and grounds carefully, memorizing every detail the moonlight revealed. They had arrived in time, apparently; Black Sun and Areyan soldiers were visible patrolling the place or guarding its entrances, but not too tightly. Everyone seemed relaxed, as if they weren’t expecting trouble, and that would work to their advantage. “It looks like Sayuri wasn’t lying,” she said as she pulled back behind a tree. She had never been happier to see a forest surrounding a place. “And she apparently didn’t betray us, either; they aren’t expecting more than a delivery.”

“We would have been in serious trouble,” Isabella added. “If she hadn’t made the decision she did, I’d be in there in chains and you’d be out here alone, and all these guards would be on alert.”

Haruka nodded. “We have a lot of people to thank for getting us this far. But now it’s up to us; just you and me. Are you ready for this? How are you feeling?”

Bella gave her a weak smile. “I’m alright. Let’s just get this over with so we’re free for the rest of our time.”

Haruka watched her for a few seconds before nodding. She was worried about this; in the week since they’d left the Undercity, Bella had gotten worse. The exertion of their trials beneath and above the surface was taking its toll on the woman’s health and it wasn’t getting any better. Haruka would have asked her to stay behind here if she thought it would be any use, but this was Bella’s fight as much as hers. She just hoped it wouldn’t be too much for her.

Both of them discarded their packs and hid them beneath some brush, keeping on their person what they would need inside. They then began moving, quietly and staying out of sight. Haruka would be doing most of the work outside, as she was much more experienced and skilled in stealth; Bella had usually just walked into any place she wanted in the past, decimating the guards in her way. That was no option here; they were planning for Bella to use only one last transformation, and it wouldn’t be used here. Instead, Haruka directed the knight as they moved through the brush, planning attacks together. A patrol of three Areyan soldiers passed and they attacked in unison; Isabella’s sheathed sword doubled a man over with a strike to the stomach, Haruka silenced another with a strike to the neck. As the third turned Isabella rolled over the back of the doubled-over soldier and swept the man’s legs from under him, sending him to his back. She then turned back and struck the first soldier, knocking him out as Haruka knelt and knocked out the one she had felled.

Gone were the days when they were distracted and uncoordinated while fighting together. Trust and a growing familiarity had strengthened between them and they now moved as one, predicting each other’s moves and filling in weak spots. Each knew their limits and presented them readily to the other; with no secrets and an openness most could only wish for, with nothing hidden between them, they were linked more closely than any opponents they came across, and it showed. One by one each obstacle between them and their chosen entrance to the fort was removed, regardless of the size of the group. No words needed to pass between them during the fights, no complicated strategies; each group was dispatched rapidly and silently, and with little trouble.

Eventually they made it to the entrance and, without a moment’s hesitation, headed inside. The first thing they noticed was how dark it was;
more so than outside, even. They had chosen to enter at night for obvious reasons, but had expected more light inside. The complex was an old fort and thus made entirely of stone, and quite cold. Torches sparsely lined the halls and rooms, providing minimal flickering light. This would at least help them remain undetected, but Haruka knew this meant another danger was present. She placed a hand on Isabella’s shoulder to tell her to wait, and crept forward very slowly, her eyes scanning the hallway they had entered intently. Just as she had thought, there was a slight glint of something; she inspected the strand of web, finding where it connected and following it to a web up in a corner where a black spider was resting.

Haruka moved back to Bella and pointed it out. “One of Aranea’s sentries,” she explained in a whisper. “If we touch any line of the webbing it will feel the vibration and sent out a message. If we let them know we’re coming, this will be a lot harder.”

“So we should try to kill it before it can do that?” Isabella whispered back as she watched the arachnid warily. “There are going to be giant spiders here, aren’t there?”

Haruka looked at Bella, who seemed a bit paler now. “I can take care of those if there are. There are going to be… all kinds of spiders in here. Aranea loves them all, and if she’s staying here, there are guaranteed to be… a lot.”

“How many?”

“…Hundreds or thousands, depending on how long she’s been here.”

Isabella shuddered and let out a sigh. “Of
course
our enemy uses spiders. Of course they do.” She looked down the hallway. “Spiders… Why’d it have to be spiders?”

“Just try to be careful, they’re very dangerous.” Haruka caught her hand and squeezed it. “Let me go first.” She glanced at the pistol on Isabella’s belt. “And… don’t shoot if you see a spider, okay?”

“I’ll try to keep my head.”

Haruka nodded and moved forward, avoiding the webbing and guiding Bella around it. As they reached the end of the hallway she opened the next door, gesturing Bella through. “If we kill the spider she might know; there’s no way to know which ones she’s currently connected to. It’s best to leave it behind.”

“If I don’t have to get near it, that’s good enough for me,” Bella muttered as she followed.

In the next hall they pressed against the wall, listening to two Areyan guards who were approaching on patrol. “This place creeps me out more every
day"said the first guard. "That woman is crazy.”

The second guard laughed in agreement.
“It’s just a few bugs and webs. Haven’t you ever been in an old building with a bunch of cobwebs?”

“Yeah, but none of those buildings had
her
in them. She’s creepier than any of those things. She
talks
to them, and they crawl all over her – you can’t tell me she isn’t disturbing.”

“You’re right, but what are we supposed to do? We were given a job to do. Don’t worry, once her friend gets here with the Butcher, we’ll get to go home.”

“I can’t imagine anyone capturing the Butcher, so that might not even happen.”

“I dunno, I heard a rumor she was different now.”

“Different how?”

“Like, turned over a new leaf or somethin’. That was the rumor when she left, right?”

“What – you think killing all her men an’ the king was a new leaf?”

“Good point.”

“Ha! Imagine the
Butcher
changing ‘er ways. Anyone who remembers her eyes wouldn’t believe that bull.”

“I guess you’re…”

The men froze in silence as the subject of their conversation stood before them. Her arms were crossed in disapproval and her grey eyes focused on them like they were insects as her voice commanded all the authority she’d ever held. “Sigrun… Joliss.”

“Knight-Commander!”

“Your disrespect is… irritating,” Isabella said coldly as her grey eyes narrowed at them.

“I – we – it was just rumors, that’s all,” one stammered.

The other looked around in both directions, but the hallway was empty otherwise. “Where’s the woman’s ally?”

Isabella inspected her nails in boredom. “I killed her.” Her eyes moved back up to glare at the two soldiers. “Because she
irritated
me.”

“Oh God, you’re not-“

“We’re just following orders!”

“Please understand!”

Isabella seemed to lose her patience as she pointed at the door they’d entered through. “
Leave
.” She scoffed and turned her head, waving her hand dismissively. “And take whatever rats you brought with you.” The two soldiers did exactly as they were told, sprinting down the hall to find whatever other Areyan soldiers they could. These men had been present on numerous occasions where the Golden Butcher had slaughtered entire armies, and they knew that if she was here, and free, they had no chance of surviving if they fought her; better to simply leave if she was willing to let them go. They had been sent here to help capture the monk, after all; nobody had said anything about fighting the Butcher.

Haruka stepped out beside her and looked down the hallway. “They certainly listened. Aranea is definitely going to know we’re here now.”

“Yes, but the trade-off is worth it,” Bella said with a sigh. “Now we won’t have Areyan soldiers to fight. I’m glad I don’t have to kill men I served with, even if I was different at the time…” She looked at Haruka. “Don’t you feel that for the Black Sun?”

Haruka shook her head. “I never served with any of them in a war, just on jobs. And on jobs we were all just another asset to each other. I certainly didn’t care for any of them.” She met Bella’s gaze. “I didn’t really care about anything until you. I was like a machine, just going through the motions and following orders. I never made actual decisions or cared what happened to anything or anyone, including myself.”