The Inner Circle: The Gates of Hae'Evun

  'Please,' Seeol moaned wearily. 'Letting me go. I'm having to do important activities.'

  'I prepared for you all right.' Phil laughed as he made his way over to a large black horse. Hanging from the saddle was an object Seeol had never encountered, but it didn't take long to realise its purpose. 'There you go.' Phil slid a small door open and forced Seeol into a circular bird cage. 'You're a greater prize than the stone itself. The king will be most pleased.'

  Seeol missed the perch and fell to the cold metal floor. The door slid down and was locked. Without anything solid to grip onto, Seeol slid along on his feathers and attacked the bars. His head then lowered involuntarily and his eyes closed. He felt his tongue clicking softly within his beak and tried to breathe through the phantom pain of an absent foot.

 

  CHAPTER Eighteen

  perspective

  'I know.' The portly woman shook her head and dumped a ladle of green mush into a small bowl. 'I'm just saying, we have young boys in this town and everybody knows the sinful desires rattling about in a boy's head. It's just not right,' she stressed. 'She can't just go floating off in the sky like that. What if one of them had seen up her dress?'

  'Mother!' Cindi dropped the spoon. 'I'm certain that was the last thing on anyone's mind.'

  'Don't be so sure,' Cindi's mother, Mel, frowned and peered out the window to watch her fourteen-year-old son kicking a ball in the yard. 'Idle hands are the devil's playground.'

  'I'm going for a walk,' Cindi excused herself and stood up.

  'I'm sorry, dear.' Mel's voice softened. 'I know you cared about her very much.'

  'I should go over there,' Cindi mused aloud. 'Apologise.'

  'What?' Mel gasped. Cindi spun around at the sound of clattering cutlery. 'You cannot possibly mean that.'

  'Seteal won't hurt me,' Cindi said slowly.

  'Are you blind?'

  'What do you mean?'

  'I'm simply asking if you're blind, dear.' Mel shrugged. 'I'm doing so because I cannot arrive at any other conclusion than you having somehow missed seeing what that Eltari woman did the other day.'

  'We did try to chase her out of town.' Cindi focused on the floor at her toes. 'She's always been rather short-tempered. You know that.'

  'Now you listen to me,' Mel snapped, her patience having run out. She stomped across the room and took Cindi by the ear. 'You're not to go near her, do you hear me? If you want to behave like a child, I will not hesitate in bending you over and spanking you with the cooking ladle.'

  'Yes, Mother.' Cindi cringed, her ear throbbing.

  'There are demons over there,' Mel said in a hushed voice. 'For Maker's sake, child, don't be such a fool.'

  'Yes, Mother,' Cindi repeated demurely.

  'If I hear mention of this again, I'll have no choice but tell your father. He'll backhand some sense into you.'

  Cindi turned silently and made her way to the window. She stared out across the square and was able to make out the roof of Seteal's house. She dared not disobey her mother, but Cindi couldn't imagine Seteal ever hurting her, no matter what she'd become. She had always been rather quick to anger, but above all else she had also been fair.

  The sky had been divided in two and it unsettled Cindi as much as anyone else living in Elmsville. The northern half of the sky was perfectly normal, whilst Narvon Wood had come to be bathed in eternal darkness below the strange black clouds that steadily moved north. It didn't take any great stretch of wisdom to realise that soon enough Elmsville, too, would lie in the shadows. Cindi felt certain that if answers were to be found, they would be at the Eltari residence.

  'What is that?' Mel enquired when a strange sound floated in from outside. Craning her neck, Cindi squinted at the eastern sky. 'Thunder?'

  A black line appeared on the horizon that moved and flexed like a snake. Cindi tilted her head in an attempt to make sense of what she was seeing, but as the line got closer the anomaly became less of a mystery. The line thickened and the buzz became a rumble. It was replaced by an obvious mass. Cindi stumbled back in terror. There were so many. How could there be so many?

  'Cindi?' Mel hurried over and clamped a hand on either side of Cindi's face to stare into her eyes. 'What is it?' Without waiting for an answer, she peered out the window and her face became as white as her daughter's. 'Benje,' she cried, hurrying across the room. She tore open the back door and continued shouting at her son. 'Inside,' she shrieked. 'Get inside now!'

  *

  El-i-miir stood before the mirror clasping Seteal's hair brush and moving it in long strokes. It'd become free of knots at least half an hour ago, which disappointed El-i-miir. She'd enjoyed the knots; they'd given her something to fight against. She gazed at the bristles and raised her eyebrows at the volume of black hair packed in among them.

  Putting the brush aside, El-i-miir raised her eyes to stare at her reflection. The war had taken a toll on all of them and the woman staring back had tired eyes. She blew on her black-painted fingernails to make sure the polish would dry. She also wore a black dress. It seemed appropriate after discovering the truth about Ilgrin and Teah.

  Turning away from the mirror, El-i-miir caught sight of a glistening golden strand drifting past the window. She squinted through the grime, but was unable to interpret the Way's meaning until she'd opened the glass pane and snatched it into her aura. 'Oh, torrid.' She hurried out of the room. 'Seteal,' El-i-miir called out, taking the stairs two at a time. She gasped when she found her friend standing beside Teah on the landing. 'They're coming,' she panted, grabbing the woman's arm in the hope of shaking her into action. 'A legion of demons are on their way.'

  'I know,' Seteal muttered nonchalantly.

  'You don't understand,' El-i-miir said, feeling the panic rise in her chest. 'They're innumerable.'

  'No, they're not,' Seteal replied, without making eye contact. She pushed back her hair as though she didn't have a care in the world. 'The legion is precisely one thousand strong.'

  'We have to do something,' El-i-miir squealed, becoming increasingly distressed by Seteal's behaviour. 'We have to warn people.'

  'As much as I hate to say this, she's right,' Teah added begrudgingly.

  'Why?' Seteal rested her head in her hands.

  'Have you lost your mind!?' El-i-miir shouted when a distant buzzing filled the air. 'Oh, to torrid with you.' She hurried inside in search of Ilgrin. She shouted his name repeatedly, but there was no response. 'Okay, breathe,' El-i-miir told herself. She looked back and forth across the room until she found Ilgrin's past intentions. He'd left through the back door. El-i-miir called out to him until she found him in Mister Eltari's workshop.

  'We have to hurry,' Ilgrin said. His eyes were fearful. Each hand carried a pistol.

  'You know?' El-i-miir followed him around the side of the house.

  'It sounds like they're coming from the east. We'll make a stand in the town square. Seteal.' He turned to rattle the kitchen window. 'Come on.'

  The woman's face hovered behind the glass, but her eyes stared passed them, seeming not to recognise their presence. 'It's just us this time.' El-i-miir took Ilgrin's hand and made her way around the corner.

  'Hey!' Teah pounced. 'I'm with you,' she said with a pointed look at Ilgrin.

  El-i-miir ignored the angel and raced out to the town square. The townsfolk scattered and disappeared when Ilgrin and Teah joined her. 'You should hide yourself,' El-i-miir warned Ilgrin as the first silts landed. 'Your strength is useless against your own kind.'

  'I'm not leaving you,' Ilgrin said forcefully.

  'Yes, you are,' El-i-miir murmured. She felt the inhuman strength of Ilgrin's muscles as she affiliated him across the square and made him hide behind one of the houses.

  A number of silts landed with weapons--scythes or swords--raised. Teah leapt in their direction and a moment later they were screaming in the dirt. Seteal stood silhouetted in the doorway to her house, just visible beside the one in front of it. Her face was expressionl
ess, cold and distant.

  'All right,' El-i-miir whispered. 'It's up to me.'

  The Ways churned and danced about El-i-miir's vision. Blinding light told vague stories of what was yet to come. There would be so much death. El-i-miir took a deep breath and flexed her fingers in preparation as increasing numbers of silts entered the town. She looked into the sky to see pale figures flashing about against the black clouds, knowing that she stood no chance against so many.

  A gunshot cracked across the square causing El-i-miir to leap in surprise as a demon she hadn't even noticed who'd breen creeping up behind her fell to the dirt. 'What're you waiting for?' Ilgrin shouted from his hiding place, the smoking gun clutched in his hand. 'Do something!' he cried, shooting a second demon.

  El-i-miir spun around in time to find a third attacker swooping down from above, but instead of using the Ways against him she fell on her face and cringed as she felt the flurry of wings swish above her.

  'Please don't kill me!' She screamed, Mark's face filling her mind. 'Please!' She was overcome by fear.

  Rapid gunfire filled the air. Beating wings blotted out all other sound. A demon hand trapped El-i-miir's calf in an unbreakable hold. The world spun as she was snatched from the roadside and sent spiralling into the air, where sinister faces danced and mocked her.

  *

  Holding the lantern out in front of him, Ilgrin negotiated a path through the spider webs filling Mister Eltari's workshop. It didn't take him long to find the old chest Seteal had told him about. It was toward the back of the shop, secured by a rusty old lock that'd proven little obstacle. He flipped open the lid and discovered two pistols.

  The eerie sound of silts approaching in flight told him that he was running out of time. A moment later, this was confirmed by El-i-miir's fearful cries inside the house. Ilgrin headed for the exit, but before he could reach it El-i-miir had already opened the door. 'We have to hurry,' Ilgrin said.

  'Then you know?' El-i-miir asked, seeming somewhat surprised.

  'It sounds like they're coming from the east.' He frowned at her assumption of his ignorance. 'We'll make a stand in the town square,' he stated, before becoming distracted by a shadowy figure in the kitchen window. 'Seteal,' he called, rapping on the glass. 'Come on.'

  'It's just us this time.' El-i-miir took Ilgrin's hand and led the way around the side of the house.

  'Hey!' Teah pounced around the corner. 'I'm with you,' she said, staring into Ilgrin's eyes. He didn't reply, but couldn't help blushing.

  With a disapproving shake of her head, El-i-miir raced off without them toward the town square.

  'Ilgrin?' Teah took his hand and stared up into his eyes.

  'Not now, Teah.' He chased after El-i-miir.

  'You should hide yourself,' she warned when Ilgrin caught up. 'Your strength useless against your own kind.' By her tone, she'd clearly picked up on Teah's not-so-subtle nuances.

  'I'm not leaving you,' Ilgrin said with all the determination he could muster.

  'Yes, you are,' El-i-miir replied. He agreed instantaneously and crossed the square to hide behind one of the houses.

  Silts landed throughout Elmsville, with their focus on the town square. Ilgrin watched on in a semi-dazed state. Several raised weapons, but Teah leapt at them and a moment later they screamed and writhed in the dirt. Ilgrin felt feel guilty. Perhaps he should help out. He frowned. But he was supposed to stay there. He was supposed to. But wait, Ilgrin had Mister Eltari's pistols.

  El-i-miir flexed her fingers, but her expression was one of fear. Her face was paler than usual and she was muttering something to herself repeatedly. There was a silt creeping up behind her and she was completely unaware of it.

  'Come on,' Ilgrin hissed. 'Sense him.' The silt got closer and Ilgrin refused to wait any longer. He aimed, all the while praying he wouldn't hit El-i-miir, and pulled the trigger.

  The gunshot echoed across the square and the demon fell to the dirt. 'What're you waiting for? Do something!' he shouted and then shot a second victim.

  When a third attacker swooped down from above, El-i-miir spun around in time to confront him, but instead of doing so, she hit the ground and hid her face. 'Please don't kill me!' she cried. 'Please!'

  'What are you doing?' Ilgrin whispered to nobody, his wings quivering nervously.

  Someone put their hand on Ilgrin's shoulder. 'What're you doing back here?'

  Spinning around in surprise, he came face to face with a silt he'd never met, but of course, that didn't mean the stranger wouldn't recognise him. 'You!' The man's eyes widened as he reached for his scythe.

  Ilgrin reacted without thinking and pulled the trigger on Mister Eltari's pistol. The gunshot tore through the air and the stranger hit the earth. When Ilgrin turned around he saw El-i-miir becoming increasingly overwhelmed by a flurry of wings. The silts knew what she was capable of and were closing in with caution.

  Throwing himself toward the town square, Ilgrin raised both hands in front of him and fired repeatedly into the milling crowd. A legion soldier cried out in fury, snatched El-i-miir up by her leg and tossed her into the air. Ilgrin threw open his wings and thrust himself forward, but something caught him and spun him around. A scythe swung toward his throat.

  *

  The flowers were red and yellow. They smelled nice but they were wrapped up in an old cloth. It was all Seteal had been able to find. She put the bunch down on the gravestone and then blew her nose in a handkerchief. 'I told Ilgrin where your guns are,' she said quietly. 'I know you didn't want me going near them so I didn't, I promise. I just told him where to find them.' She laughed bitterly. 'If you could've gotten past the wings, I think you might have liked him. He's a good man. I'm sure he'll treat them with respect.'

  The graveyard had been emptied of mourners since Seteal's arrival. There'd been another two or three before she'd come, but she was alone now. She rested a hand beside the flowers. 'Red is your favourite colour, but I thought you might like the yellow ones, too. You always did like my yellow dress. It's just that . . .' She trailed off, supressing a sob. 'I'm not sure how much will be left after today. They're coming, you know? The demons, I mean. I wanted to say goodbye.'

  Seteal peered up at the southern sky where the whisp cloud moved at a sluggish pace. Purple lightning occasionally lit up the atmosphere and rumbles deeper than ordinary thunder followed the spectacle. 'Dad,' she whispered. 'Do you think mom would've been proud of me? Do you think . . . would you have been proud of me?' Seteal covered her mouth. 'I'm going to have to do terrible things today . . . inexcusable things. Oh, Daddy, you'd have done the same, wouldn't you?' She crouched down and grasped the gravestone in both hands. 'You'd have fought for Elmsville no matter what, right? This is our home.'

  The gravestone had nothing back to say. Seteal got to her feet and continued to stare at the stone.

  'I'm glad you're dead,' She said bitterly. 'At least you'll never know what I've become. Goodbye, Father,' she murmured, abandoning the graveyard.

  When Seteal got home, she couldn't bring herself to enter. It was Gifn's house, not hers. She stood on the top step, her hand resting on the railing. It'd been two days since Teah had created the sieift and Seteal was only just beginning to feel her strength returning. She glanced up at the sky for what seemed like the thousandth time that day.

  'It's getting close,' Teah said softly. Seteal hadn't even heard her approach. 'The entire world will be covered in darkness before the end,' she finished wistfully.

  'Here she comes.' Seteal hung her head in exhaustion.

  'Who?'

  'Seteal!' El-i-miir's fearful cry drifted outside.

  'Oh, her,' Teah said distastefully.

  'Seteal.' El-i-miir took her arm. 'They're coming. A legion of demons are on their way.'

  'I know,' Seteal said softly.

  'No, you don't understand.' El-i-miir's voice became panicked. 'They're innumerable.'

  'No, they're not. The legion is precisely one thousand strong.'
>
  'We have to do something. We have to warn people.'

  'As much as I hate to say this, she's right,' Teah agreed hesitantly.

  'Why?' Seteal rubbed her forehead.

  'Have you lost your mind!?' El-i-miir shouted as a distant buzz filled the air. 'Oh, to torrid with you,' she fumed, rushing back into the house and called out for Ilgrin.

  'We cannot defeat a thousand on our own,' Teah advised Seteal.

  'I know that.' The distant buzz became a rumble.

  'Well, I hope you've got some sort of plan.' She frowned. 'I'm going to go and find Ilgrin.'

  Seteal padded through the house in time to see El-i-miir burst out the back door. She made her way to the kitchen window and stared across the yard at the tree beneath which Parrowun was buried. She hung her head as the rumbling came closer.

  'Seteal,' Ilgrin called, slapping his hand against the glass. 'Come on.' She ignored him and soon enough he left her alone. When the shouting started, Seteal tightened her hold on the kitchen sink until her knuckles turned white.

  She strode through the house, pausing in the doorway to gaze out onto the square. Silt numbers continued to increase. El-i-miir had been right. Compared to the number of humans in Elmsville, the legion may as well have been innumerable.

  For the barest moment, Seteal glanced over her shoulder in search of someone to confide in. And it wasn't Ilgrin or El-i-miir, Teah or her father. It lasted only a second, but in that moment it'd been Seeol whose company she sought. After all, wasn't he the only one who truly understood the weight of her sorrow? No, of course not; Seteal shook her head disparagingly. He was only an elf owl, after all.

  Seteal navigated the steps and made her way around the squat little house in front of hers. The square was in chaos. Demons swooped and dipped. A group had completely surrounded El-i-miir, who'd somehow ended up with her face pushed against the ground. Seteal spun around at the sound of gunfire. Ilgrin was shooting into the crowd with her father's pistols. She followed him as he passed. When a silt grabbed El-i-miir's leg and threw her into the air, Ilgrin flared his wings and leapt after her. A legion soldier hefted his scythe toward Ilgrin's throat.