Chapter 36

At times I needed to recharge my inner strength and to clear my mind; that required alone time. With so many men and women vying for my attention all day and night, a sullen feeling with a tinge of irritation eventually leaked into my conversations. Palus and Laudus sensed my inner needs, sending me sometimes on a walk through the forest at night or again on a stroll to the sea during the day. Just like my nightly rest refreshes my body, the time alone recharged my sense of being, my spirit.

Tonight, the fragrance of pine trees, flowers and fauna mingled, riding the salt breeze as I walked along the dark forest path. The atmosphere was clear above the forest canopy and I could see bright stars in the clearing opening up before me. The night air was crisp and my senses conveyed the impression of a hushed forest, rather than the normal sounds of owls hooting and the distant scuffle of bushes brushed aside as creatures darted away from my disruptive approach. My paranoia drove my feelings of unease to the front of my mind, a sinking feeling that something was lurking at the edge of my senses.

"Has something melted into the foliage, hunting me, or is the night stillness really due to my passage?" I wondered.

"I have to admit the peaceful beauty of the night has dulled my thoughts to my surroundings. Come out and talk with me," I said out loud, focusing my keen ears for any usual sounds. I was giving any villagers a chance to reveal their position. "Is there really someone there? Why am I so spooked tonight?" I thought. No one answered my call; in this small clearing only the twinkling stars responded.

The forest remained unnaturally quiet. I had walked some distance north from the village, far from the normal patrol routine of the night watch, certainly beyond the range of anyone in their safehold. I squeezed my walking stick pressing it firmly into the ground.

A strange flash of a memory of me in class wearing a uniform with my cadet commander cap hit me. I could recall the professor talking about anthropology and cultural adaptation to fear of the unknown. The unsummoned thought was overridden by a dancing light at the bottom of the hill. The foliage was thick on the other side of the hillside clearing, so the light was diffused, requiring me to cross the clearing to gain further understanding. I strode across the meadow of hemp determined to investigate the strange light. The illumination was much brighter than a lantern and it clearly was not a fire. I neither smelled smoke nor saw flickering flames.

This particular spot was the closest point to the Great Marsh from our settlement. From the air, I am sure the location would look like the end of a long canal. Short cliff facings bounded either side of the low wetland, with rolling hills spreading out for miles boxing in this finger of water. I'd imagine in a dry season this part of the swamp dried out. However, this area was currently, particularly smelly like rotten eggs, so everyone avoided it. My mind rambled through possibilities as I parted two heavy ferns to look at the phenomenon.

The distressing sight floated as it weaved among trees, far above my head in the finger of the marsh. I could see a ball of light that had substance and form. I stood, lost in thought despite my feeling of danger, unable to explain the floating ball of light. The ball was three or four feet in diameter and cast a light bright enough to fill a bedroom. I leaned on one of the ferns too hard and it snapped. Two more balls lighted up and floated into the air, illuminating the body of a woman face-down on the ground wearing a crude leather backpack. I felt like two spotlights had been turned on me from ten feet away, destroying what night vision I had left.

When my blurred vision cleared, I saw that the two new lights had joined the original apparition in the swamp, perhaps another dozen feet beyond the woman's body. I pushed the tall weeds aside and ran to the woman, keeping one eye on the floating lights lest they mean to harm me. The entire area around her was flooded with light and I could see clearly she was dead. The woman's dress was hiked up above her waist with two large bite marks catching my attention. Similar circular rings of small incisions were on both her left leg and buttock. The flesh was intact unlike a wolf attack or some other carnivore but two pools of blood leaked from the bites. "Vampire bat like," I thought.

Two of the floating lights seemed to join as one light on a tree limb, while the last floating creature weaved among the tree tops. Keeping my eyes on these creatures I began dragging the dead body back towards the clearing, my off world strength pulled her dead weight with ease.

I'd almost made it to the broken fern when the creature above the trees dove at me with incredible speed; the bright light blasting my night vision. I instinctively rolled, with both of my hands on my staff, into the clearing. I closed my eyes and swung my wooden staff like a bat, but struck nothing. I rolled again and opened my eyes. The creature floated at about head height, above the woman I'd abandoned.

"Staking a claim on her, eh?" I mumbled.

The two other creatures seemed more interested in each other than me, the original floating light forgotten by his companions. I could barely see a long tail with thin, wispy membranes that just wiggled as the creature floated. I stepped towards it and the tail became a blur, the floating creature propelled forward towards me. I looked sideways into the darkness letting my peripheral vision guide my next staff swing and with all the energy and emotion I could muster, I struck from overhead and powered my blow down.

"Take that you piece of shit," I shouted.

The oak staff smashed the creature and a discharge of electric current rooted me in place as the creature's light went out. It dropped to the ground in front of me, and I dropped too. My legs tingled and jerked to a stop. I was stunned but the floating creature was crushed by the blow, not moving. Without the bright illumination I could see eight thin tentacles. A large eye was located in the center of the body, above a mouth of razor-sharp teeth. The teeth were like rows of long needles.

The other floating creatures remained oblivious of the fate of their companion. I now suspected the animals were mating. Their lights seemed to pulse in a rhythm together on the tree limb. My fingers still sent tingling sensations to my fuzzy head as I slowly got to my knees then to my feet. It wasn't often I wore my backpack anymore but I liked to wear the smaller fanny pack most days. I unzipped my fanny pack and pulled out a plastic garbage bag I carried around with me. After poking the creature with my staff, to make sure it was dead, I swept it into the bag. The thing seemed deflated like the air had gone out of a balloon, it felt rubbery and slimy.

I put the dead woman over my shoulder and climbed the hill towards home.

The ebony woman on my back had a mouth full of mud when I picked her up. It pained me to picture our last intimate moments together, of playful kissing in the harem. I remembered our first playful encounter on the beach after a swimming lesson, my erection standing proud after getting onto dry land. Tieson had followed me and when I settled on my blanket and she settled on me. Up until that day Tieson was reserved and obviously hurting from her harsh captivity, but we'd found a new lease of freedom together, joined in mutual passion. A torrent of tears washed my cheeks as I shouldered her dead weight up the hills towards home. It took every bit of my self-control to not break down and sob right here, in the middle of the dark pine forest. The lively sounds of crickets and the inquiring owl calls didn't provide the normal thread of peace they usually did. My grief weighed down my soul and the stiff burden on my back bestowed a reminder of my loss with each step.

Lost in thought, I almost missed the sounds of mules as they moved to bar my progress, up the last hill before reaching our homestead. The forest canopy cast dark shadows and only my familiar knowledge of the trail assured me of our location.

I called out, "It is Von. A creature of the night has slain our sister."

The two night watchmen quickly moved a side, turning their mules around. I knew a hidden blind was just off the path where they normally stood guard in the evening.

"Lord Solon, what happened?" A man said. I could not see his face in the black darkness.

"Go call out a few more men to stand watch on this path. I want to see the Lord of the Hunt immediately at the Wolf Pavilion. One of you must stay here to guard the path, if you see any strange lights fall back to the next guard station," I urged them. "I do not suspect any trouble here but this monster is unknown to me. Perhaps our esteemed hunter will know." I tried to sound calm.

One of them implored their mule to move and I heard a stick to the animal's rump, the reluctant mount's hooves bit into the rocky ground and he was gone.

The last guard asked, "Who was she?"

I could only say, "A beautiful concubine." Any further words would spill my pain and sorrow. I pushed on to the village.

Another two night guards called to me as I entered the edge of the village, "Lord Solon. We heard you were coming. Additional men have been summoned per your orders."

Both guards held spears and a hissing torch lit my entry between the observation post's sandbagged positions. The small guard post had a simple flat roof supported by four stout poles, the sandbags protecting them from the weather to some extent. The plain walls were only chest high so their crossbows could easily rest on them for support. Both major northern facing paths had these types of positions, a rather weak defense, but we weren't a military base. Isolated in the wilderness a stray animal was the most likely trouble for this post.

The unusual calling out of the guard had the village buzzing with activity. Men and women looked out from their safeholds as I passed with the body. A few people started to follow me carrying small lanterns, the beams of light casting long shadows on the buildings as we passed. They had to rush to keep up with my determined pace. I saw a couple of men struggling to tie their leather armor on, their women chastising them and doing up the armor for them.

When I reached the pavilion all four of its large lanterns were lit. The mule guard was helping the old archer dismount from the back of the animal. He had double mounted the Lord of the Hunt to get him here in a hurry. Sparrow sprinted into the clearing running toward me. "That is unexpected. I didn't want children seeing her," I thought. The boy was fleet of foot even toting his official staff.

I dropped the garbage bag with the creature on the ground and gently placed my former lover on the long table.

I shouted, "Get me a blanket to cover Tieson up!" A woman darted to the woman's center on the errand.

A crowd of villagers formed around the table and the body, the few concubines in the crowd crying and comforting each other. I rolled the dead woman over and showed Sparrow's father the bite marks, then dropped her dress again to accommodate her dignity. The experienced hunter kept his thoughts to himself as I opened the black bag containing the remains. I carefully lifted the crushed creature up by a couple of limbs so he could see it clearly and he took a step back with a gasp.

"A Soul Reaper," the old hunter said, his eyes showing fear. "Sarva the Shaman is a legend well known to the people of the Great Marsh."

"Tassim, what are you talking about?" I responded.

Sparrow stood next to me, wide-eyed as the woman returned, removing the muddy backpack, and then covered the dead concubine's body with a wool blanket. "Finally, I don't have to look at her distant dead stare anymore," I thought.

The old hunter had collected his composure, "Long ago Sarva's daughter went missing from her village at dusk. Her father, mother and two warriors went looking for her. They found her on the ground surrounded by three bright lights. Sarva ran to his daughter with his torch. A Soul Reaper attacked him but he hit it and the creature burst into flame. Sarva crumbled to the ground, the torch exhausted. The Soul Reaper floated briefly as it burned, finally crashing to the ground." The hunter wiped sweat from his brow, continuing his tale, "The two warriors grabbed Sarva's wife as she ran to him. The other Soul Reapers descended and killed Sarva by drinking his blood. The shaman's wife implored the warriors to save him from the monsters, but they would not draw closer, claiming him dead. Sarva cried out for help before dying. The creatures disappearing into a pool of muck."

"Well I experienced the falling down. The creature hits you with a paralyzing charge when it touches you. Your entire body tingles and you thrash in pain, Sarva was likely not dead just stunned. There were three of these creatures at the Marsh Finger, just north of the village, hovering over her body. They were drinking her blood when I stumbled upon them. They floated up into the sky before one of the creatures dived on me looking for another meal," I answered.

The crowd audibly groaned at my tale, Sparrow gripping my arm with saddened eyes. I hugged the young man and kept my arm around him.

The old hunter finished his tale, "Sarva's wife cursed the two warriors and called them bloodless brothers － cowards. So if you call an Amarian man a bloodless brother it is the gravest insult possible. It ranks just above gelded fool. No man in my lifetime has seen a Soul Reaper and lived to tell the tale."