Chapter 12 - Seraphim


As it had been for the last two days, the first thought that Azee had as she awoke was simply: ‘By the tyrant it’s hot...’

With a low moan, Azee crawled out from under her makeshift tent and pushed herself to her feet.  Her mouth felt as if she had just tried to eat a handful of sand, all she wanted in the world was a drink.  Her tongue hung limply out the side of her mouth as she panted. Normally she would be embarrassed at such a display, but in the sweltering heat of stepstone pass, she cared little. Her tail dragging limply along behind her, Azee stumbled over towards the stream that bubbled along the bottom of the canyon through which she and her compatriots had been travelling for the last three days.

Even though the trio had pitched their camp in the shadow of one of the great step stones, the air was still fiendishly hot. The eastern horizon shone a deep burnt orange, while the rocks on the rim of the canyon glowed like white hot metal. Even this early in the morning, waves of heat radiated up from the rocks the sunlight touched.

Azee was no stranger to heat. The southern Halcyon summers were long, and swamps of Flinton valley were often stifling. There was little to no shade in the fields, and with the sun beating down and the air thick with humidity, not to mention the back breaking labour, heat was as constant a nuisance as the flies. But the air in the canyon was something different entirely.

A soft breeze ruffled Azee’s fur, like the burst of hot air that would roll over her when she opened the oven in the ranch’s kitchen. As the breeze passed, a strange smell assaulted Azee’s sensitive nose. For a moment, she was unsure of where the odour was coming from, until she paused and sniffed herself. Her nose curled at the scent of sweaty, unwashed fur. 

‘I need a drink… now…’

Eloise was already knelt beside the stream, brushing her teeth with a young bit of twig as Azee approached.

“Welcome back to the frying pan,” Eloise muttered.

Azee didn’t answer and instead dropped to her knees and bent over the water.

“Wait, hold on!” Eloise called out, just a moment too late to stop Azee sticking her head under the water. 

An instant later Azee reared back, sputtering and coughing. The water of the stream was almost as warm as bathwater, and the shock of it stung Azee’s eyes and ears. As she shook her head, she noticed thin wisps of steam rising up from the surface of the stream.

“Nooo…” Azee moaned, flopping onto her back. “I just want a cool drink…”

“Yeah,” Luke muttered, stepping out of his tent and joining Azee and Eloise.

Despite having just woken up, Luke was utterly exhausted. Even when sleep had come, the heat had invaded his dreams, leaving him parched and drained. His shirt was drenched in sweat and clung to his body. Droplets fell like rain as he wiped his forehead. His hat looked as if he had just come in from a rainstorm.

Kneeling down next to the stream, he dipped a metal cup into the water. 

Luke grimaced as he took a drink of the warm stream water, swishing it around in his mouth before spitting it out on the ground. With a heavy sigh he pulled at his shirt, the fabric sticking to his skin in a vile manner as he pulled the garment over his head.

“Don’t take your shirt off.” Azee moaned, covering her muzzle with her arm.

Luke raised an eyebrow as he dunked the garment in the stream. “Are you kidding? Azee, we’ve slept together more times than I can count, and having my shirt off is bothering you?”

“It’s not that!” Azee barked. “It’s the smell! You smell awful!”

“Huh, if only I had clothes that were equipped with a cooling rune. Oh right! I did have those! Now where are they again?” Luke made an exaggerated show of scratching his head as he glared at Azee. “Oh, that’s right, at the bottom of the bloody Lily river! Thanks again for that!”

“Will you two stop,” Eloise muttered, tossing her twig away. “It is far too hot, and I am in no mood for the bickering of two children.” 

“Yeah yeah, I get it.” Luke sighed again. “But can’t you just, I don’t know, make some cooling runes?”

“Certainly I could. Tell me, do you have any spare catalyst crystal lying about?”

“No…”

“Well neither do I.”

“Wait, what?” Azee sat up. “I thought you had lots of crystal.”

“I have plenty of charged crystal, but no blank material.”

Luke pulled his shirt out of the creek and started to wring it out. “Oh wonderful planning witch, that is just wonderful.”

“Do you have any idea how tightly controlled blank catalyst crystal is?” Eloise snapped back. “Every scrap of blank crystal  I owned had to be smuggled into Halcyon under the Order’s nose, which I am sure I don’t tell you is expensive. And unfortunately, I had to use what I had to hand in order to save the life of one idiot, and reanimate another.” 

“So no cooling runes, but you can bring people back from the dead. Handy.”

“I cannot bring people back from the dead.”

“What the- I saw you bring Bill back to life not a week ago!” Luke scoffed. He grimaced as he pulled the wet shirt over his head. 

Eloise sighed, getting to her feet and making her way back to her tent. “I brought Bill’s body back to life, not Bill himself.”

“What’s the bloody difference?”

“The body is an empty shell for the most part. Most of Bill’s memories, his attachments, his disgusting attitude, everything that made Bill Graves the craven, ugly, nasty little man he was, is gone. Some small parts of his personality remain, but for the most part it is just broad strokes. He’s more… sleepwalking, than anything else.”

Luke paused, raising an eyebrow. “So you pulled out his soul?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. There is no such thing as a soul.”

“Well that’s reassuring,” Luke muttered.

“All I know is I’m not going to miss him,” Azee grumbled, staring up at the rapidly brightening sky.

Luke scowled as he forced himself to take another drink. “And it’s that…. flesh golem that you sent towards the Angelica border in my personal carriage.”

“Indeed.”

“Great, wonderful, so you put someone who is, for all intents and purposes, asleep, in the driver’s seat of my carriage. Wonderful, just bloody wonderful.”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, how long are you planning to moan about that Windhill?” Whether it was the heat or Luke's attitude, Eloise’s tone was increasingly sharp.

“Well let’s see, considering it was built for my great great grandfather, was given to me by my father, and is worth more than half of Lillyvale itself… probably for at least a few more days.”

“Yeah, but you hated your father,” Azee grumbled. “Then again, so did most of the other people at the ranch.”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t hate him!”

Azee raised an eyebrow. “Luke… you talked about how much you hated him all the time.”

Luke fell silent as Azee set about taking down her makeshift tent, pausing to bat away the small army of flies buzzing about her head. “For the tyrant's sake, you used to think he hated you; at least until he took you on that trip after your brother died. Not to mention he made you head of the family over your sisters.”

“I liked that carriage, alright!” There was a tinge of genuine anger in Luke’s voice that made Azee jump a little. “So drop it, alright! Just drop it!” With an angry snarl Luke stomped over to his tent and began taking it down.

Azee took a breath, preparing to let loose a torrent of abuse, but a sharp glance from Eloise stopped her.

“How much longer are we gonna be stuck in this oven?” Azee asked, hastily stuffing her tent into her bag.

“We should reach the Tiragar river by nightfall,” Eloise replied, pulling her hair behind her head and tying it into a high bun. “There is a trail that runs along the river that should allow us to rejoin the main road after another day or two.”

Still grumbling to himself, Luke hoisted his pack onto his shoulders. “After that, Red Stone Station, where we can board a train and stop walking like savages.”

“Great,” Azee mumbled to herself, “More travelling in chains…”

As she set about shifting her bag onto her back, Eloise paused. Old instincts flared to life as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Her hand hovered over the hilt of her knife as she glanced around, her eyes sweeping the canyon.

“What’s wrong?” Azee asked, striding up beside Eloise.

“I’m not certain… Can you smell anything?”

“You mean aside from unwashed humans? No.”

“Hmmmm.” Eloise’s gaze turned upwards to the lip of the canyon. A subtle flash between two rocks immediately drew her gaze.

Azee’s ears pressed against her head as she ducked behind Eloise, sensing the sudden tension in the air. “Is there someone there?”

“No,” Eloise said at last. She turned around and put a hand on Azee’s head, scratching her between the ears with a fond smile. “There’s nothing out there. Now come on, let’s go, we have a long way to cover today.”


===


High above the canyon floor, atop a rocky cliff, Sinda let out a heavy sigh of relief as the trio started on their way.  Once he was certain they were out of sight, he quickly shifted to get out from under the dust covered blanket he had been using to camouflage himself. Free of his woollen prison, Sinda rolled onto his back and covered his eyes with his arm. His huge fennec ears twitched as tried to catch his breath, the air underneath his blanket had been suffocating.

“Damn… that was close, ” he groaned, breathing another long sigh of relief. “I thought for sure she saw us.”

“She did see us.”

Sinda raised his arm and blinked in surprise as he stared up at his human companion. “Wait… are you sure?”

The human, lying on the rock beside Sinda raised his head away from the scope of his rifle. The weapon rested between two boulders, wrapped in dirty strips of linen and all but invisible.

“Yep.”

“How do you know?”

“Released the clip holding the dagger on her belt.”

“Okay… and?”

“She’s not the type to walk around like that for no reason. She saw us.”

“Not the type?”

“She’s a soldier.”

Sinda raised his eyebrows, studying the stoney faced man beside him. Rayes Kine was tall for a human, with a lanky frame and a mop of curly brown hair that stuck out from beneath the dark red beret he always wore. His eyes were dark brown, with a sharpness to them that seemed almost unnatural, more like a hawk’s than a man’s. As he shifted back from the canyon’s, his metallic left leg ground against the rock

“A soldier? And just how can you tell that?” Sinda handed Rayes a long metal cane laying on the ground at his side.

“The way she walks and carries herself, the way she holds her hands, and the way she looks around.”

“So what do we do?”

“Sneaking up on them will just get us killed.”

“Okay… so… what? Come on mate, use your words.”

Straightening himself, Rayes slung his rifle on his back. “We approach from the front.”

“So we catch up to them and what, just call down? Maybe say ‘hey, hope you don’t mind, but we’ve been tracking you since yesterday’ and hope they don’t kill us?”

“Exactly. Now you’re catching on.” Gripping his cane, Rayes began making his way along the edge of the canyon.

“Oh good, well so long as it’s that simple.” 

“Mhmm. Besides, catching up to them isn’t going to be difficult.”

Shaking the dust from his short, vulpine fur, Sinda raised his eyebrows again. “Oh? You got wheels for that peg-leg of yours?”

“Nope. I just know exactly what she will do.”

===


It had been less than half an hour from the time they had broken camp when, out of nowhere, Eloise called out sharply: “Both of you, get down!”

Azee, who had been watching a pair of circling vultures overhead, turned around in confusion. “What? What’s wrong?”

Without another word, Eloise grabbed Azee’s hair and pulled hard, forcing her head down. Azee yelped in pain as Eloise started dragging her towards the canyon wall. “Ow!”

Luke spun around, his face immediately twisting in anger. “Hey! What in damnation are you doing? Let her go!”

“I said get down!” Eloise hissed, pulling Azee behind a cluster of large boulders. “You too Windhill!”

Luke stepped back as Eloise tried to grab his shirt, his hand leaping to the gun at his hip. “What’s gotten into you, witch?!”

“We’re being hunted. Now get down!”

Whether it was Eloise’s tone, her words, or some effect of the rune in his chest, Luke didn’t know; but the moment Eloise finished speaking he too ducked behind the same boulder.

The boulder, one of many, sat at the bottom of a shallow cave cut into the rock. Though only a dozen or so metres wide, the cave was shielded by an impossibly thick roof of solid rock. The ground in front of the cave entrance was relatively flat, the only cover being the boulders behind which Luke, Azee and Eloise were now crouched.

Luke drew his pistol and glanced at Eloise. “Bandits?” 

“Maybe.”

“I thought you said no one was following us,” Azee whispered, trying hard not to shake in fear.

“They had a scoped rifle trained on us. One wrong move, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” 

“And we are stopping… why?” Luke demanded. “Shouldn’t we just pick up the pace?”

“Out there are hundreds of potential sniper holes, and they have the high ground.” Eloise’s face darkened as her pistols slid out of her sleeve and into her hands. “But if they want us now…”

“We’re sitting ducks?” Luke growled through gritted teeth.

“Perhaps. But they’ll have to come from the front.” 

Luke paused, before nodding as he activated the spark rune of his gun. “Fair enough.”

“If it’s bandits, chances are they’ll just move on. Difficult targets are a waste of time.”

“What if it’s the order?” Azee whimpered.

“Then we are two ranch hands tansporting a slave. The problem is, this far out from the road, there are things far worse than the Order or bandits.”

Though she was fairly certain she didn’t want to know the answer, Azee looked up at Eloise. “W-What could b-be worse?”

“Military deserters, religious extremists, runaway slaves, outlaw gangs-”

“In other words, anyone desperate enough to not simply give up and move on.” Luke took a deep breath.

The fur Azee’s back stood up as she watched Luke repeatedly wrapping his fingers around the hilt of his gun. She’d seen him duel many times, watched him in the moments before a fight, and he had always been cool and calm. Now, his fear was obvious.

‘This time… this time it’s for real…’ Azee’s eyes widened at the realisation.

Noting Azee staring at him, Luke did his best to smile reassuringly. “It’s alright, everything will be fine, I’ll look after you.” He turned his gaze to Eloise. “So, what’s the plan?”

“We wait. Hopefully they just move on or-”

As Eloise spoke, an ear piercing whistle echoed through the canyon. The pitch started low, then went high, then low again, before petering out.

Azee shifted to peek over the rock. “What was that?”

Instead of answering, Eloise put her fingers in her mouth and blew. Two sharp whistles, followed by a long note. Almost immediately four sharp blasts echoed back in response. Moments later, two figures emerged from behind a bend in the canyon just ahead.

“Stay here,” Eloise hissed, before climbing slowly to her feet and stepping out from behind the boulders.

Staying close to cover, Eloise cupped her hands and called out to the strangers. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“Friends hopefully, but certainly not your enemies,” Rayes called back, raising his hands. “May we approach?”

“Keep your hands where we can see them. And leave your pet where he stands.”

“I am no one’s pet!” Sindal’s voice reverberated across the canyon like the crack of a whip.

Azee’s eyes widened as she peered out from behind the rock. “He has no collar…”

“Pet or no, he stays where he is,” Eloise shouted back. “You may approach as far as the edge of the stream. You try and cross, or put your hands lower than your belly, and you’re dead.”

“Understood.” Rayes looked back at Sindal. “If they shoot, run, don’t try and help me.”

“But-”

“No buts.” Rayes pulled his rifle from his back and handed it to Sindal. “Run, and don’t look back.”

With great hesitation, Sindal nodded.

“I’ll keep my right hand raised, but I’m afraid my left will be rather busy.” The sound of metal on metal echoed across the rocks, Rayes tapped his metal leg with his cane. 

“Just stay where you are,” Eloise commanded. “Do not approach until I tell you to.”

Rayes shrugged and shifted to lean against a nearby rock, keeping his hands raised.

“What are you doing?” Luke hissed, peering around the rock at Eloise 

“They’ve been following us since camp this morning. Running into them here is no accident. I would very much like to see what they want.”

“Or, better thought, we tell them to move on so we can get out of this infernal place!” 

“Is that what you want?”

“Of course! This-”

“I was not talking to you,” Eloise looked over her shoulder. “I was talking to Azee.”

Azee blinked in genuine surprise. “M-me?”

“Indeed, this is your choice now.”

“Hold on, what in damnation do you think you are doing, witch?” Luke’s face flushed red as he glared at Eloise. “This isn’t the time or place for this!”

“On the contrary, Windhill, it is exactly the time and place for this. Azee, should I give the man permission to approach, or send him on his way.”

“I… I don’t…. W-what do you think?”

“That doesn’t matter. This is your decision to make for yourself.”

“B-but I d-don’t know.” Azee trembled a little as her ears pressed flat against her head. “I don’t know… I d-don’t know a-anything!” 

“Think,” Eloise urged. “Look at this situation, analyse. You can do it.”

“Dammit witch, can’t you see she is scared!”

“She’s scared because she’s never been allowed to make a decision like this before in her life. That changes, right now.” 

Azee wanted to look away, to shrink back as Eloise met her gaze, the woman’s eyes boring into her soul. But just as she was preparing to turn away, to duck back behind the rock and hide, something stirred deep within her. It was the same feeling that had rung in her chest as she had stood atop the edge of Flinton valley, or as the trio had begun their trek along Hopes Pike. But the moment where she had felt this feeling the most, this surge of energy, like her soul was taking flight, had been in the kitchen when Luke had come close and she had grabbed the heaviest pan she could find.

“Azee, you don’t have to do this,” Luke whispered, taking another rapid glance at Rayes. “You don’t have to play the witches game and-”

“He can approach.” The moment she said the words, Azee’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest. 

“Very well.” Eloise turned back to Rayes and gestured. “Alright, you may approach, but do so slowly.”

As Rayes began stepping forward, Azee had to remind herself to breathe. ‘I… I made a decision…’ Azee mind spun, the world rocked under her feet as the realisation swept over her. ‘I… I chose!’

It took only a few moments for Rayes to reach the edge of the stream.

“So, what now?” Rayes’ voice was much quieter as he kept his eyes firmly on Eloise.

“Now you tell me who you are, how many of you are out there, and why you were following us.” Eloise crossed her arms. “And do it quickly if you would.”

“Very well, my name is Rayes Kine, and that back there is my friend, Sindal Para. As for how many of us are out there, well as far as I know we are the only two for miles.”

“A human and a pelt, travelling alone all the way out here?” Eloise raised an eyebrow. “Forgive me if that-”

“Don’t you call me that!” Sindal shouted, raising Rayes rifle. “Don’t you say that word!”

In an instant Eloise had both of her guns in hand and aimed at Rayes.

“Forgive him, he is sensitive about that word.” Rayes spoke slowly, not a trace of nervousness in his voice as he kept his gaze locked on Eloise. “I am sure you can understand.”

“What makes you think that?”

“You don’t treat your Shiyan like a slave. Makes me think you are either abolitionists, or equal companions. Either way, that makes you more friend than foe.”

“Strange words to hear coming out of the mouth of a Seraphim.”

Listening in on the conversation from behind the boulder, Luke’s face went pale at Eloise’s final word. “Shit of course, his beret…”

“W-what’s a Seraphim?” Azee asked, Luke’s sudden nervousness immediately sucking away all of the excitement she had felt mere moments before.

“The Lord’s Holy Archers, the Order of the Seraphim. They’re zealots, killers, the kind of people who get sent in when even the Order gets in over its head.” Luke swallowed hard, instinctively shifting to put himself between Azee and the cave entrance. “Bout eight years ago, there was a major slave uprising in Genshaw province. Four ranches, all their slaves rose at once, got their hands on weapons, armour, hounds. They tried to leave, but got cut off, so they hunkered down and took an entire village hostage. The Order didn’t want to risk a defeat, so they sent the Seraphim in.”

“And?”

“And they killed everyone.”

Azee’s eyes widened. “All the slaves?”

“Slaves, hostages, even the bloody farm animals. They scoured the entire place clean and burned it all. When they were done not, a single building was left standing in the entire area..”

Azee whimpered a little as she pressed herself against the rock, trying to squeeze herself into one of the tiny cracks.

“My apologies.” Rayes reached up and removed his beret, a tangled mop of hair falling down the sides of his face. “I forget I am wearing it.”

“I doubt that.” Eloise’s eyes narrowed. “It’s a good way of making certain no one challenges you. No one wants to risk the wrath of the Seraphim.”

“True.”

“So you found it then, took it off a corpse?”

“No.”

“Are you actually trying to tell me you are Seraphim?”

“Yes,” Rayes replied with a nod.

“But you aren’t attacking us.”

“No. I was a Seraphim, no longer.”

“You do know that is impossible, yes? There is no such thing as an ex-Seraphim, only dead Seraphim.”

“Our mate freed me.”

“Mate?”

“Indeed. She sent us to find you.”

“And what does your ‘mate’ want with us?”

“To talk.”

Slowly, Eloise lowered her guns. “And if we decline? What then?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Yes, nothing. We will leave and you may continue on your way.”

“Hmmm… fine.” With a loud click, Eloise’s guns slid back up into her sleeves. 

“It’s alright,” she called out over her shoulder. “You can come out.”

“She’s insane!” Luke’s voice was very nearly frantic as he glanced over the rock again. “If that’s a Seraphim, we’re dead the second we go out there.”

Azee’s muscles didn’t want to obey her instructions as she stayed pressed against the rock. Never in her life had she seen Luke so terrified, not even when facing down his own father’s wrath. And yet…
With a deep breath, Azee pulled away from the boulder.

 As she stepped out from behind the rock, into view of both Eloise and Rayes, an oddly familiar sensation filled her. It was the same feeling she had experienced many times as she played with Luke in the river, in the moment after she had let go of the rope swing, or in midair after leaping off of the dock. It was an intense sense of relief and exhilaration, mixed with fear and concern at the unknown that was inevitably rushing up to meet her. But unlike those brief moments in the air as she wondered whether the water would be too cold, this time the feeling threatened to sweep her off her feet.

“Azee, no!” Luke’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm as he hissed at her. “Stay here! I can protect you!”

“I trust Eloise,” Azee replied, trying her best not to show the fear that was gripping her chest. “If sh-she says it’s fine, I t-trust her!”

“You’ll be killed!”

“That’s m-my choice,” Azee’s voice quivered slightly as Luke’s grip tightened. “N-now let go!”

The moment the order left Azee’s lips, Luke released his grip. Azee stumbled a little and took a few steps backward. As his free will returned, Luke tried again to grab Azee, but she was already out of reach and walking towards Eloise.

“Azee!” Luke tried to follow, but his legs shook so hard he nearly lost his footing.

‘Dammit! Dammit dammit dammit,’ he screamed internally at himself. Pressing himself against the boulder he took a series of fast breaths.

‘Okay… Okay… Here we go!’

Keeping his gun raised, Luke forced himself to step out from behind the boulder.

===


Kash ran as fast as his exhausted legs would carry him, splashing through the ankle deep water that filled the tunnel in which he ran. Behind him, terrifyingly close, he could hear angry shouts and wild cries from the mob hot on his tail. The tunnel air was thick with horrific smells, the only light provided by a small glowing rune attached to the collar he wore.

In years past, when Lillyvale had been expected to be a major settlement, many great projects had been undertaken in anticipation of those that would soon arrive. A great mill, a ludicrously large town hall, a lumber works, a coal refinery, and much more. Of course, many of these things now sat abandoned or disused, falling into disrepair as the dream of Lillyvale as some great city turned to rust and ruin. One such project was the almost entirely unused sewer system in the southern quarter of the town.

Kash nearly fell face first into the filth as he stumbled over a small pile of bricks that had fallen from the ceiling. As he tried to catch himself, his right arm, torn and bleeding from a bullet, brushed against the side of the tunnel. Kash’s yelp of agony excited the mod pursuing him, the glow from their lamps swiftly growing brighter in the darkness behind him.

Forcing himself back to his feet, Kash continued to run.

‘Don’t get tangled up in Raid’s foolishness! It’ll only get you and the rest of us killed!’

Why, why hadn’t he listened to his brother Kash wondered as he forced himself to keep running. Why had he gotten involved, why had he tried to fight?

The sound of rapidly approaching paws and the howl of hunting cats snapped him out of his thoughts. Even in the darkness of the tunnel, Kash’s vulpine eyes could see two large hunting cats rapidly closing on him. Their fangs were bared, their eyes gleaming like ice in the dark.

“Dammit!” Kash howeled, drawing the pistol he had stuffed into the makeshift belt of twine he wore around his waist. For a moment he gripped with doubt, Raid had ordered Kash not to use his gun unless it was do or die. If he pulled the trigger, things could quickly get a whole lot worse. But as the cats bore down on him, as the pain in his arm made his head spin, terror replaced any security concerns.

Nearly dropping his pistol, Kash triggered the spark rune and fired over his shoulder. The roar of the gun deafened him for a few moments. The cats, their ears also ringing and not having expected their prey to fight, slowed for a moment.

Sensing his chance, Kash skidded to a stop, spun round, and aimed his weapon. Aside from the shot he had just fired over his shoulder, Kash had only ever fired a revolver three times in his life, and all three times he had missed. Even when training deep in the swamps, Raid had been nervous about allowing any of his rebels to actually fire their weapons. 

Forcing himself to take a deep breath, Kash closed one eye and took aim as the hunting cats once again charged at him at full speed. Seven shots, seven shots was all that stood between him and a mauling death.

His first shot went wide, tearing down the tunnel before hitting a wall somewhere in the darkness. Kash’s second and third shots missed as well, one hitting the water and kicking up a spray, the other ricocheting off the wall in a spray of brick dust and filth.

The cats, no longer shaken by uncertainty, were once more running at full speed. Every instinct told Kash to turn and run, but he refused. Despite his body shaking like a leaf, he dug in his heels and took aim.

His fourth, fifth and sixth shots rang out, followed by a loud yowling as one of the hunting cats was struck in the shoulder mid-stride. The cat fell and tumbled end over end in a chaotic spray of water and flailing limbs. The second cat, seemingly unperturbed at the fate of its partner, leapt into the air at Kash with a screech. Teeth and strands of saliva glinted in the dark as the hunter aimed its fangs for Kash’s throat.

Kash’s nerve broke and he stumbled, firing wildly as he tried to flee. The cat crashed into him, easily knocking him off his feet and into the filthy water. 

The world was a hurricane of bubbles and pain, he was certain he could feel the cat’s fangs tearing into him. This was it, in a moment he’d be dead. Images flashed in his mind, the sight of his mother as he was taken from her, his first glimpse of the plantation where he was forced to work, His nose stung with the vile smell of sugar cane burning all around him. He recalled the first time he was taken to the breeding pens to stud, the first moment he saw Shee, the look of fear in her eyes that would eventually turn to real, genuine caring. His mind reeled, trying desperately to cling to the moments he had stolen to see his newborn son, only for that brief bliss to be replaced by the gut wrenching cry of his son as he was taken from his mother, just as Kash had been. And then, clear as day, Kash remembered it, the moment he had decided he would fight, the moment he would make them pay, the moment he had seen 

Shee’s body hanging from a tree after she had tried to escape, tried to go after their son.

That final memory flooded Kash with a powerful rage. With the last of his breath and strength he pushed hard, struggling to free himself from beneath the hunting cat as he sank his teeth into his attacker again and again.

Kash exploded out of the water, coughing and sputtering, gasping for air as he fought, the pain in his arm forgotten. He lashed out with his claws and teeth, not caring what he was hitting. So frantic was his assault, that it took 
Kash almost a full a minute before he noticed that his attacker wasn’t fighting back. Still gasping for breath, Kash paused.

The cat was utterly still, its eyes partially rolled back in its head and a growing red pool around its ruined skull. By some miracle, Kash’s final desperate shot had gone through the bottom of the cat’s jaw and up into its brain. 

The ceiling of the tunnel was covered in dark red blood and bits of pink viscera.

Shakily, Kash pulled himself to his feet. A short ways away the wounded hunting cat was growling low and long, occasionally throwing Kash an almost offended look  as it licked its wound. The hunter seemed either unable, or uninterested in pursuing Kash further. 

Whatever sense of relief Kash had was short-lived as the sounds of men shouting once again invaded his mind.

“F-fuck you,” He grumbled, giving the dead cat one final kick before taking off down the tunnel once more.

After what felt like an eternity of running, Kash finally reached his destination. Near the end of the sewer system, the wall of the tunnel had been torn down, and a short passageway dug through the rock. The passage led to a natural cave who’s mouth opened up into the thick mangrove swamps on the southern edge of Lillyvale. The cave was  just barely large enough to stand up in,  but at least it was well hidden and protected from the elements.  A wide and shallow stream ran through the cave, on the bank of which had been built a few ramshackle huts.

Kash’s lungs burned and his head spun as he stumbled into the cave and dropped to his knees.

“They found us!”

The words echoed through the cave like a cannon shot. A dozen other Shiyan stopped what they were doing and turned to stare wide-eyed at their wounded, gasping comrade.

From one of the huts emerged a white lapine with shaggy black hair, half of his left ear missing, and a right arm that ended in a stump just below his elbow. He was short, even by Lapine standards, and hunger had drawn his flesh tight across his bones. But despite his haggard and diminutive appearance, there was an aura of savage determination that surrounded the man like a cloak.

Rushing forward, the lapine caught Kash as he pitched forward.

“R-Raid… they’re coming…” Kash gasped. “Th-they know… They killed Daysha…”

“How many?” Raide demanded, gently slapping Kash’s cheek to try and keep him awake.

“I-I don’t know… many.” Fighting to keep his eyes open, Kash tried to reach up and grab Raid’s shoulder. “I-I’m s-sorry… m-my gun… I h-had to…”

“It’s alright,” Raid said quietly, running his hand over Kash’s head and smiling down at him. He leaned down, pressing his forehead against Kash’s. “You did well, now just leave it to us.”

Handing Kash off to another rebel that had come to help, Raid got to his feet and spun around. “Everyone! We are discovered! Get the children out! Everyone else, grab a weapon and take your place!”

Turning to a large canine to his right, Raid growled, “Thade, crack open the cases and hand them out, now.”

“N-now? But those are-”

“If not now, when?! We are found.” Raid’s eyes narrowed to furious slits. “And though we will die, we will make them pay for it.”

Despite his fear, the canine nodded. “Right!” He turned and began running towards a small stack of crates at the back of the cave, gesturing at the other Shiyan to join him. “Get them open, now!”

The sound of splintering wood filled the cave as the boxes were torn open. Within lay rifles, wrapped in linen and packed in straw. Their barrels gleamed, the wood freshly sanded and polished.

“Everyone, grab a rifle! Get the guns out!”

As he watched his comrades rush to arm themselves, Raid’s ears twitched at a sound behind him. Two more hunting cats emerged from the tunnel entrance like bolts of lightning. In an instant they fell upon the first Shiyan they reached. The unfortunate young feline died before she even knew what had hit her, her neck snapped by the jaws of the larger of the two cats.

As the smaller cat charged at another Shiyan, Raid drew his own weapon from a holster on his back. Raid’s rifle was short and stubby, but covered in glowing green runes and intricate silver filigree.

Barely pausing to take aim, Raid pulled the trigger. A loud, keening shriek echoed through the cave as a beam of bright red light shot out of the barrel and lanced through the air. The hunting cat was sliced cleanly in two in mid jump, its smoking remains crashing to the ground on either side of its intended victim.

The larger cat, its jaws still dripping red, recognized the new threat and attacked, lunging at Raid. Raid simply dropped, falling to the floor with his hands over his ears. He had faith.

With a thunderous roar,  a flurry of rifle shots rang out from behind Raid and slammed into the hunting cat as it lunged. Raid felt the tip of the cat’s tail brush across the top of his head as it flew over him and tumbled to the ground.

“You alright?” the canine called out, pulling back the bolt of his rifle. A half a dozen Shiyan formed a crude battle line on either side of him, thin wisps of smoke curling up from the muzzles of their rifles. Most seemed frozen, as if they couldn’t quite believe what they had just done.

“Fine,” Raid called back, pushing himself back to his feet with a low groan. As he stood, he glanced down at the rune powered rifle in his hand. The runes were dim, they were already beginning to glow again as the weapon recharged.

A low mewling growl drew Raid’s attention. The hunting cat was still alive, its paw pedalling the air, its breathing shaky and laboured.

As he looked around, Raid could easily see the fear on the faces of those the surrounded him. Some of his rebels were crying, others just barely holding back tears. Still more clung to their weapons as a sailor would cling to a piece of debris in a storm. Even Raid noticed that his hand was shaking, his heart pounding as his ears picked up the sound of the approaching mob.

‘So… that’s it then.’ Raid took a deep breath as he put his runic rifle away and drew a revolver from his waist. ‘Well… let’s give this a go.’

Standing over the body of the hunting cat, Raid drew himself up, puffed out his chest, and cried out in the most powerful voice he could manage. “Alright, listen up! Today is the day that we all die!”

A terrified silence fell over the cave as Raid’s words echoed off the rocks.

“There’s no escape, and no hope of mercy. When that mob gets here, they are going to kill everyone here. Anyone foolish enough to surrender, they’ll take their time killing. This is the day we die!”

Thumping his foot against the ground, Raid raised his revolver over his head. “But to die, we need to have lived! Each one of you, all of you, knew this would happen! This was inevitable! But remember, you chose this, you all chose this path!” He pointed his stump arm at a nearby canine, “Pell, would you want to live if it meant going back to the pleasure house?”

“N-no,” The canine replied, shaking his head as he hugged his rifle against his chest.

“Then don’t surrender!” Raid pointed at a pair of felines standing nearby as they held one another. “Shen, Kudal, would you want to live if it meant never being able to see one another again.”

Swallowing hard, Shen shook her head, gently stroking the cheek of her weeping mate. “No… no I wouldn’t.”

“Kudal, would you want Shen to live her life, being forced to bear children that are not even yours, and being forced to give them up? To live the life you’ve lived?”

Speaking through his tears Kudal shook his head. “No, never… never again.” With a loud sniff he rubbed his tears from his eyes, gritting his teeth as he held Shen close. “I would rather die.”

“Alright then! Let’s die! And let's do it taking as many of those smooth skin bastards with us as we can! They are slaves, the same as we were, but they are too stupid to see it! They serve their Tyrant, do her bidding, die for her.” Placing his foot on the head of the gasping hunting cat, Raid lowered his arm and took aim. “So let's give them what they want! Let’s send them off to meet their precious ‘Lord’.”

Raid fired six times in quick succession. As the cat slumped, he shoved it with his foot and spread his arms wide. “Who's ready to die with me?”

A powerful roar rose up in the cave. Raid closed his eyes, basking in the fear turning to rage around him, the righteous anger that had been burning in his chest since the day he’d been born. He pounded his feet on the stone like a drum, the reverberations filling his soul.

“Now get to your positions!” He called out, his voice barely audible over the din. “The worst they can do is kill us, and they are going to do that anyway! So let’s show the smooth-skins how free people die!”

As his rebels rushed off to do his bidding, Raid reached up to a small golden locket around his neck. ‘Just a while longer Elizabeth… I’ll be there soon.’


