Dreamtime

by Slawomir Rapala

Table of Contents
Part 3 appears
in this issue.

conclusion

His bare feet made no noise at all as he slithered through the corridor, using every dark corner and every poorly lit bend to conceal his body. Many sentries passed him and he held his breath each time, closing his eyes so as to conceal the whites that burnt brightly amidst his otherwise camouflaged body. Much time had passed before he reached the doorway leading into the Hsu’s chambers. Two serpents acted as sentries indeed and they seemed keen and attentive.

Preparing himself for a lengthy wait, Aezubah climbed up and settled his slim body in a tiny niche just over one of the corridor’s high arches. Here he waited for a long time, concealed by the shadows, his body tensed and unmoved. A lifetime he waited, he thought, but finally the inevitable happened: the sentries relaxed, their attention reduced by the winding night and the prospect of being off duty soon. They turned their heads to whisper something to one another; Aezubah heard a hushed laughter.

Biting down on the blade, he pulled away from the ceiling and landed softly on the corridor floor, with barely a sound. Two quick motions followed and the serpents sunk slowly to the ground, their bodies softly resting in coils on the stones, their throats skilfully slit and Aezubah’s hands clasped over their gasping mouths.

The assassin looked around nervously, hoping that the clatter he caused did not alert anyone. No sentry appeared and he breathed a sigh of relief. He adjusted the dead guards’ limp bodies and leaned them against the wall so at first glance it would appear that they are sleeping. Placing the knife between his teeth again, Aezubah silently slid the door open, giving himself just enough space to squeeze his body through. Just as quietly he closed the doorway behind him, so that the light from the corridor would not penetrate into the chamber and alarm the sleeping Hsu.

The room was spacious but with little furnishings, for which Aezubah was thankful as he stole forward in complete darkness, almost sensing as opposed to seeing his way. The Shia showed him the room prior to leaving for his mission and Aezubah committed its scarce arrangements to memory. He knew that the frame on which his hand now rested was the foot of the Hsu’s bed. The assassin halted for a moment and waited to hear if any voices came from outside the door. He realized that with the number of sentries strolling in and around the residence, it was only a matter of time before someone stumbled upon the dead serpents and raised alarm.

All was quiet, however, and Aezubah crept forward, guiding himself by sliding his hand along the frame of the Hsu’s bed. Upon reaching the spot where his head rested, the assassin slowly rose to his feet. Quietly like a ghost he reached for the knife and gripped it tightly. He peered into the darkness and below him he could just make out the outline of the Hsu’s lean body.

One, two, he counted, and then plunged the long knife into the serpent’s exposed neck covering his mouth at the same time and smothering the cries. The Hsu jerked his body once and twice, his thin arms fluttered in the air, landing on Aezubah’s face and shoulders, long nails leaving behind deep scratches. The assassin shook his head impatiently and then twisted the knife and forced it down with great strength. He heard a distinct snap and realized that he had cut through the Hsu’s fragile spine. The serpent’s struggles ceased and he lay motionless beneath him. Aezubah slowly removed his hand from the Hsu’s face, half-expecting a cry for help. But there was nothing, only ghostly silence. The assassin leaned in and lowered his ear to the Hsu’s mouth. No breath escaped it. He felt with his hands and was surprised to realize that he had almost severed the serpent’s head.

The Shia’s spell was lifted and the fog started to rise. Aezubah wiped his hands and the blade against the sheets and was about to turn to the window, when a glitter caught his eye. In the light of the now visible moon, he noted a jewel-encrusted ring on the Hsu’s middle finger. He grasped it hungrily and only then stole along the dark wall to the open window. For a brief moment, his slim frame appeared against the bright light of the full moon that overlooked the marshland Kingdome. Swinging his legs over, Aezubah took in the Hsu’s chambers with one last look. A sour smile surfaced on his lips. Then he disappeared in the darkness below, swallowed up by the night.

* * *

The temple’s intense blue radiance was weakening as the morning approached. Sonya was a night deity and most powerful when the sun was hidden beneath the horizon. Her strength diminished when it rose again and she rested, gathering her magicks.

“Soon, my lady, soon,” the Shia whispered as he caressed the black altar. He rested his tall forehead against the cool stone, craving the venom that seeped from the cracks between them. His forked tongue gathered the black drops and he swallowed them hungrily. They soon surged through his veins, feeding the blackness of his heart. “Soon you will be powerful enough to reign in the day as well. Your armies will be unleashed and you will claim the world for yourselves and those loyal to you. Soon, my queen, soon.”

Chi-Issl’d entered the temple quietly. Seeing his master praying before the altar, he hesitated, but the priest noted his presence and motioned for him to come nearer. The cold stone caressed his paining tail as the acolyte slithered closer.

“Morning is near, master,” he said.

“Yes,” the Shia rose, wiping his lips dripping with venom with the sleeve of his robe. “Soon we will know.”

He turned to face his acolyte and peered into his face. “Your eyes are troubled, Chi,” the priest said. “A question lingers on your mind?”

“Yes, master, a troubling question.”

“What is it?”

“Tell me, master, if the human succeeds, will he go free?”

The Shia scowled. He lowered his head so that the hood completely covered his pale features. “I don’t know whether he should,” he admitted.

“He has seen Yitia and has walked over sacred ground.”

“Yes, I know. Sonya is not pleased.”

“Perhaps then we should put him back into dreamtime?”

The priest shook his head slowly. “If he succeeds, we will need the temple magicks to fend off the Hsu’s armies. They will suspect us and they will come here first. We cannot drain the magicks any more than we have already. Taking the human out of dreamtime was exhaustive in itself. Putting him back would only harm the temple further.”

“Then what shall we do, master?”

“Kill him maybe?” the Shia hesitated. “Bind him in the dungeons?”

“You gave him your word, master,” the Chi shrunk back.

“He is a human!” the priest roared in response, angered by his acolyte’s justified appal.

The Chi paled even more and drew back a few steps while his master paced the chamber for a while, reflecting. “Then again,” he hesitated again, “perhaps you are right, Chi. My word as the High Priest of Sonya should be upheld, human or not.”

As the serpents conversed, a shadow stole silently down the steps. His naked body made no sound at all as he moved easily between the many narrow turns, descending deeper into the earth and nearing the temple. He could already hear the voices of the two creatures talking and soon, he was able to distinguish the words. Aezubah, for it was him, crept silently forward until he reached the entrance into the temple. Here he pressed his soiled body against the moist wall, merging with the rugged stone. He stood motionless, waiting and listening.

“What then, master? Shall the human die?” the Chi’s voice reached him presently. It was weak and indecisive as always when the acolyte was in the presence of the Shia. The Wielder of Magicks was a powerful serpent and exuded tremendous pressure on the minds of his servants.

Aezubah peered from behind the doorway and his keen eyes quickly found the Shia. His tall figure was easily distinguishable from the much smaller frame of the acolyte, and it contrasted greatly with the blue glare of the temple walls and ceilings. The altar, the source of light, was dimming, but the chamber was still flooded with much of the mystic radiance and it illuminated the priest as he lowered his head in contemplation. Aezubah’s grip on the knife tightened as he waited for the serpent’s response. If he was to hear a death verdict he would take the Shia with him to his grave, Magicks-Wielder or not.

Shia-Smohc, in the meantime, mused over the question again, unknowing as to how close to death he presently was. Only a few steps separated him from Aezubah and it was too short of a distance for him to prepare any defensive spells if the assassin decided to lurch forward or to hurl the knife at him.

But the death verdict did not come, for either of the two, because the priest finally said: “He will go free.” Noting the Chi’s surprised gaze, the Shia added, “I have seen into his past. The Sorcerer has done a great wrong to this man, a wrong that must be punished. Let him seek his foe and take his vengeance. We will not stop him.”

A dark figure appeared in the doorway and the serpents startled at the sight of it. The man was naked and dirty, and his face was covered with ash. Only the whites of his eyes peered from beneath the darkness and they burnt intensely, like two fearsome torches.

“You’re back,” the Shia was first to regain composure. “Is it done?”

“It is done,” Aezubah approached. The Chi drew a step or two behind his master. He held his breath when the man extended his knife-wielding arm. But Aezubah meant no harm and only opened his hand to reveal the Hsu’s gold ring.

“The serpent is dead,” his voice was grim.

The Shia snatched the ring and held it high with a triumphant hiss. His eyes glared with hatred when he examined the jewel under the light. “The Hsu is dead!” the priest turned to the Chi with visible excitement. “The human succeeded and Yitia will live to see a great future!”

His joy did not last long, however. Lowering his arms, he reflected: “Many Yitians will cry tomorrow and many more will be angry. Their hate may turn towards our temple.” He motioned for his acolyte, “We must prepare.”

“And what of me?” Aezubah asked impatiently.

The Shia gave him a long look. Uncertainty crept into the man’s heart once again as he gazed into the serpent’s cunning eyes. They were colder than ice and reflected nothing more now but contempt for the human race. It suddenly occurred to Aezubah that he trusted a serpent with his life, a crazed serpent whose self-imposed purpose in life was to destroy mankind and overrun the world once more with fire-breathing dragons and their Magicks-Wielding masters.

”You are free to go, assassin,” the priest said after a long time, during which Aezubah clenched his fist tighter around the hilt of the knife. “You have done well. Go seek you enemy. I showed you where he is.”

“Help me get there, carry me back across the ocean.”

Shia-Smohc shook his head. “I cannot drain our temple’s magicks any more and especially not tonight. We will need all of it when the morning comes and when the Hsu’s army comes to our door to seek answers. You must go alone.”

“I was in Lyons when you took me!” Aezubah stared hard at the priest. “That’s only seven days travel from Arynos. It will take me months to make my way back there!”

The Shia held the man’s stare with ease. A mysterious smile lingered on his ever so hideous face when he said: “Believe me when I say this, human: you are closer to Dristan now than you were then.”

“What do you mean?” Aezubah scowled.

“Don’t seek answers, assassin. You will have none.”

The Shia turned to walk away amidst his flowing robe, but then halted and thought for a moment longer. “I will help you on your way, however,” he decided. “I have a slave who can guide you swiftly through the marshes to the lands of the Tha-ka. If you want him.”

“Of course.”

“Then you must control your fear.”

“I fear nothing,” Aezubah grumbled.

The Shia whispered a word and pointed to a dark corner of the temple. Both the Chi’s and Aezubah’s eyes followed in the direction and they watched with uneasy curiosity as darkness grew thicker in the spot to which the priest motioned. Shadows gathered from all corners of the temple, sliding silently across the floor and down from the ceilings where they were thus far hidden amidst the corners and the arches that adorned the underground chamber. Rid of shadows, the temple shone brightly once more as the intense blue light now penetrated into every one of its corners and curves.

All the darkness concentrated in one area and slowly a shape was fashioned, an awful shape that grew rapidly before the eyes of the fear-gripped Chi and the awestruck Aezubah. The assassin knew no fear, but even he shuddered when the dreadful figure was finally shaped and when his eyes met its hateful gaze. The Chi hid behind his master who watched the whole scene with indifference.

“A swamp demon?” Aezubah asked, his eyes fixed on the monster before him.

“Follow him and you will be in the Tha-kian Kingdome within six days. But remember: don’t talk to him or touch him. He will kill you and I won’t be able to stop him.”

“Splendid,” Aezubah remarked. “What of my clothes?”

The Shia smiled again. “You were born naked into this world and naked you will remain,” he replied, much to the man’s irritation. “Think nothing of it. I’m sure you will find a way to obtain clothes soon.”

The priest turned to walk away again, but stopped once more and looked at the human for the final time. His gaze was surprisingly tender, when he said:

“One more thing, human: stay near the demon, for he travels fast. If you lose him, you will die.” After another moment, he added, “Goodbye, assassin. You may not care for this, but you have saved Yitia from an age of tyranny. And you have also saved your world from an age of war. There will be peace between humans and serpents for some time still.”