‘You fear for my well-being, perhaps,’ it gurgled, ‘and that is good. But your fear is in vain. No wolf’s teeth can harm the Shepherd. Purple longfaces, they tried. They came out of nowhere with their iron,’ it scratched at a green wound, ‘their venom. But they could not stop us.’
Longfaces, venom, the words flashed through her mind. The tracks became clear, the other characters revealed. Absently, the shict wished that the creatures that had tormented this demon had decided to linger.
‘There is nothing to fear.’ The Abysmyth spoke with a poor facade of reassurance. ‘There are simply questions, questions that you must answer for yourself.’
Its head jerked away at the sound of ice cracking and Kataria seized her chance. Her feet were quiet as she slid out from behind the frogman, her pale flesh indiscernible from the gloom - she hoped - as she slipped behind another.
‘Who will remember you when you die, mortal?’ It continued to stalk towards her prior position. ‘Will your Gods take you to their elusive heaven,’ it levelled its gaze upon a frogman, ‘when nothing is left to bury?’
Its roar split the smoke as it charged, smashing frogmen underfoot, sending chunks of ice and sinew flying. With one great sweep of its hand, it crushed the frogman that had hidden Kataria. The creature’s eyes seemed to go wider, were that even possible, at the sight of empty blue earth, and it collapsed to its knees.
‘Why,’ its voices were long, loud and keening, ‘are You making this so hard on me?’
Whether or not the demon was actually capable of sobbing was a matter Kataria would settle later, for at that moment, she saw her opportunity.
As it hunched over, the gaping wound in the Abysmyth’s back split a little further open, the green ichor lining it pulsing slightly. Within the wound, through blackened ribs, she saw it: barely visible in the darkness, but round and swollen like an overripe melon.
The heart.
She drew back her bowstring, took aim. She could feel her pupils dilating as the creature’s heart pounded, growing larger in her vision with each pump of tainted blood until it was as large as a black boulder. The fletching of her arrow tickled at her lips, which twisted into a grin.
‘One,’ the whisper of her voice and her bowstring were united.
The missile shrieked, cutting through the smoke and finding its target with a moist, squishing sound. Kataria bit her tongue to keep from giggling madly at her victory.
Her heart went from pounding to still in the time it took the creature to rise, turn and level two empty eyes upon her. She could see the arrowhead jutting from its ribcage, just as she could see it take an unfettered lurch forwards.
‘Blessed is Mother Deep,’ it gurgled, ‘the path is revealed.’
Why she didn’t move when it came charging towards her, she knew not. Why she remained standing, slack-jawed, as it reached a hand out for her, she didn’t know. Perhaps, she thought through the fog of awe, she was simply terrified. More likely, she was struck into immobility by the vision of the creature’s heart, pounding bloodlessly with an arrow stuck through it.
She took two awkward steps backwards before its arm swept out soundlessly, hand closing about her throat and hoisting her high into the air. It did not tremble as her senses returned to her and she hammered at its hand with leather-bound fists, kicking at its ribcage as it drew her closer.
It merely regarded her, tightened its grip and gurgled, ‘Sleep.’
Commanded, the ooze began to slide from the creature’s palm. Kataria felt it choke her immediately, tightening about her throat as it crept like slugs up her jawline. Instinct demanded that she scream, but survival demanded that she clench her teeth tightly together, denying the ooze a door into her.
The image of Mossud was wrought in her eyes as she stared down at the glistening mucus. In its cloudy reflection, she could see herself in his stead: mouth agape, eyes unblinking with a skin of the viscous slime over her face, still and breathless on the earth like a fish torn from water.
If the Abysmyth saw her fear, it showed nothing in its empty eyes.
‘I can hear your thoughts,’ it uttered. ‘You think the Shepherd mad for slaughtering the flock and calling it mercy.’ It tightened its grip; Kataria felt something creak inside her throat. ‘Your ears are deafened by so much inane screeching that you call the voice of your God.’
The ooze crept up her jawline, thick, viscous tendrils tugging at the corners of her mouth.
‘The truth is not always happy,’ it continued, ‘but always necessary, and this truth is insistent upon you.’ Its fingers twitched, the ooze crawled further upwards. ‘This is mercy, for you will be spared the tragedies that are to come.’
Her nostrils quivered, pumping air desperately as the ooze covered her pursed lips and sought the next nearest orifice. She hammered at the Abysmyth’s arm, her fists bouncing off its skeletal limb.
‘This world will drown,’ it spoke, heedless of her strife, ‘but only your weak Gods believe in tragedy without purpose. Mother Deep’s wisdom is as vast and sprawling as the sea. She shall see this blighted earth reborn into the endless blue it was intended to be. The Shepherd’s sole lament is that this sheep will not see such a paradise.’
Instinct and the desperation to wrench free from the beast’s grip slowly quieted within her as the ooze slid up her face. Her body seemed to betray her, mouth beginning to loosen, heart slowing, lungs shrinking and wracking her with pain. And as her organs began to surrender, so, too, could she feel her mind fester with a similar disease.
It won’t be so bad, she thought, quick, not much pain, and then it’s over. There are worse ways to die . . . aren’t there? With none coming to mind, she felt her heart beginning to sink, turning to lead in her chest. Whatever happens to me won’t be half as bad as . . .
Kataria’s eyes burst wide open as the ooze crept into the corners of her vision.
Lenk.
She could not surrender, she knew, could not leave Lenk buried in his grave, waiting for the Abysmyth to visit far worse torments upon him. She could not go peacefully into death knowing that he still lay helpless nearby.
With renewed fervour, she hammered at the creature, but even that fury died a swift, ugly death as soon as she had summoned it. Her lungs drew in less and less breath as the slime crept up into her nose, the screams caught inside her threatened to cause her throat to explode. What could she do against the demon? It could not be harmed by mortal weaponry; she had put an arrow through its heart and it hadn’t so much as flinched. No, she realised, there was nothing left to be done.
Nothing left, except to apologise.
Lenk, she thought, craning her neck to survey his hole, I’m—
Her gaze lingered upon the empty grave for a moment before a new thought struck her.
Where?
The question was answered in an instant as he came, silent as a shadow, silver as the sword he held high, cutting through the smoke. Fast, far too fast for the demon to notice, far too fast for her to flinch, the blade came down in a rainbow of steel.
She felt herself falling, felt fingers loosening around her throat, felt herself collapsed to the ground. She blinked, heedless of the ooze crawling into her eyes, and surveyed the black limb lying limp on the ground beside her, severed neatly at its thin biceps.
If the demon were capable of blinking, it would have, too, as it glanced down at the stump of its arm. It wiggled the remains of the appendage momentarily, shifted its vacant stare about: first to its arm upon the ground, then to the man standing before him, blade bloodless. It tilted its head to the side.
Then, the demon screamed.
The wail was so violent as to pierce even the wall of slime filling her ears, so terrifying as to make her forget the rest of the sludge as she strained to cover her ears. She had heard it laugh, pray, preach and chuckle before. She had heard such things and remained silent.
Only now, when she heard it in pain, did she feel the need to scream.
Lenk, however, was unmoved. His sword lashed out immediately, carving a deep gouge in the creature’s wispy torso. Black skin was rent like paper, globs of thick ebon spilling from the wound to plop in quivering jellies upon the earth. The creature shrieked at the wound again, its voice arcing into a high-pitched wail as it grabbed at the cut, straining to keep further parts of itself from slipping out.
‘Stop!’ it wailed. ‘Stop! Stop! You’re not supposed to do that!’
Lenk did not stop.
He lunged at the creature as it retreated backwards, thrusting his weapon into its leg so that the tip burst out of the other side in a fan of black. The creature collapsed to its knees and its shriek terrified the gloom, chasing the smoke further from the beach. Its hand quivered, darting between wounds, seeking to contain the thick liquids pouring from it at an alarming rate.
‘Not fair!’ it screamed. ‘Not fair! Get away from me! GO AWAY!’
Lenk did not go away.
His stride was soundless, his blade held loosely at his side as he advanced casually upon the creature. The victory was already decided, but rather than end it quickly, Lenk chose to take his time, walking so slowly as to suggest he wasn’t even aware that Kataria was nearby, covered with slime, still and breathless upon the ground.
‘Mother!’ the Abysmyth howled. ‘Mother! Help me! HELP ME!’
Lenk did not hear.
The demon made a lunge at him, feeble and sloppy, hurling its arm out to claw empty air as he stepped backwards. When the thing landed hard on its hand, he was quick to act, sidewinding about it like a serpent. His boots scraped against leathery flesh as he leapt and raced up the creature’s back, seizing it by its great black crest. His sword flashed, a steel fang sinking into the creature’s collarbone.
It was in that moment that Kataria realised the Abysmyth was making a sound she had never heard it make, never even thought it was capable of making before that moment: the demon was sobbing.
‘It hurts! It hurts!’ the thing cried out as Lenk wrenched the blade deeper, its mouth gaping wide. ‘MOMMY! MOMMY! IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP!’ It batted at the weapon, digits suddenly becoming pudgy and helpless. ‘MOMMY, I DON’T LIKE IT! MAKE IT STOP!’
Lenk listened.
His foot came up and came down in one quick movement, heel upon the sword’s crossguard and burying it to the hilt. The silver blade burst out through the creature’s ribcage, sunlight through stormclouds, and shone defiantly.