Freyas Saga Ch. 19

As they drew nearer she held up a hand and looked them in the eyes, and they stopped.

For a moment, nobody moved.

"Five," she rasped.

"Here," said Five.

"You are hurt."

"Not bad. Few bruises."

Freya looked at the two men, who in turned looked back at the bald woman with the snake tattoo on her face, who was staring at them with a look of such loathing that it made their flesh crawl.

One of them summoned up his courage and ran at the woman, and the other one watched as the woman almost boredly swatted aside his attempt to hit her, and ran her sword into his friend's guts so hard that he choked blood, before he fell over and gargled his life away on the dusty floor.

Then the woman looked at him.

"I don't want any trouble," he said.

"Can't always get what you want," said the girl behind him.

"I'm serious," he said.

"Freya," said the girl, "tell him to open the shutters."

The woman never took her eyes off him, but she nodded. He went over to the window mechanism, the woman shadowing him all the time, and he cranked it.

As the shutters opened, grey light leaked into the room and cool air, and as the thick hot inside air of the chambers thinned and cooled, and the light opened up, it was suddenly and massively revealed.

The huge, coiled, grey-brown, glistening bulk of the worm, taking up a quarter of the room. There had been no man, no desk. All an illusion.

They all lowered their weapons and stared at it, in awe.

Freya saw out of the corner of her eye the man letting go of Five, and the girl stepping away from him and standing off, panting.

But the worm was so big. It commanded the room.

Its wings were tiny, barely useful. Its stomach was bloated, and as it raised its huge head and opened its eyes, they could see how puffy and swollen the eyes were.

Freya walked up to its head and looked at it. It looked back at her, blinked slowly, its long jaw stained with old, encrusted blood. It stared back at her.

She raised a hand at it, holding up her open palm, and the worm lifted its head enough to nod at her.

***

Five stood there, her body aching, her forehead bleeding, and she glanced at the guards, who were watching Freya. She slowly moved around behind them until she could see Merion, and when she finally saw the girl huddled in a corner, she waved at her and crouched and held out her arms. Merion quickly and quietly ran around the edge of the room to Five, who grabbed her and gave her a hug.

"You all right," she murmured.

"Yes," said Merion, "but what's going on. Where was that thing before. Is it sorcery?"

"Reckon so," said Five. "You scared? I'm not scared."

Merion gave her a look.

"Oh, come on," she whispered.

Five smiled.

"Yes, fine," she said. "I'm scared."

***

"What happened," Freya said softly to the worm.

The worm lifted its head and inspected them all, one by one.

Then it opened its mouth, and to Five's astonishment, it spoke. Its voice was like that of a rich, cultured man, but hoarse, weak, flat and buzzing. It both was and wasn't the voice of the man behind the desk.

"I came," it said. "I fed. I did well here. You and your kind were my prey."

Freya nodded.

"Then," the worm said. "The boy came. He swore me an oath. He said if I fed on naught but fear, I would feed as well as the best."

Freya eyed the creature.

"And did you?"

"He lied," the worm rumbled. "He fed me till I grew sick. And still he fed me. He found me prey, but he fed me till I could feed no more. And still he fed me."

"You are sick," said Five. The worm raised its head and looked in her direction.

"Yes," it said. "He did it to get my bile. He took it and dried it and burned it. When it burns, it can bend your minds. That was his goal. To bend you to his will. And he did. And still you beat him. And now I am sick, and I will die."

"You can get out of here," said Five. "You could knock down that wall."

"I do not want to," said the worm, and laid its head on the ground again.

"But you could be free," said Five. "You could get revenge on the boy."

"It is too late for that," the worm rumbled. "He will be gone."

"Then help us," Five said. "Help us avenge what he did to you."

The worm opened one eye wide and stared at Five.

"I care not for you and your kind," it said, its voice aching with loathing. "You did this to me. One of you. I care not if you live or die."

"But you were used," Five said. "It's not right. Help us to punish him."

"What is right," the worm growled. "What is wrong. What are you to me."

It turned its face away from them and curled up.

Freya turned and looked at Five, and from the bleak look on Freya's face, Five knew what had to be done.

"You will not help us, then?" Five said.

"You are for the gibbet," said the man who'd been holding her, and he moved towards her. She stepped aside neatly, and once more, they were at odds.

"Says who?" said Five. "Says your boss? That kid? He's nothing but tricks and slithers, that one. You think you can trust him?"

"He's been good to us," said the man, and he looked to the other man, the only one left who was facing Freya.

"Kill her," he said.

"That's not gonna happen," said Five urgently. "I swear to you, mister, don't give her an excuse. She'll kill him. Look around you, for fuck's sake."

The man turned his helmeted face and viewed the fallen bodies of the other three men, and the other, the one Freya had told to go, who had fallen on the way to the door and was now clutching his bleeding leg and moaning.

"You don't understand," he said heavily. "If I disobey ..."

"Listen," said Five, "he fooled us all. He made us all think he were some great sorcerer, but he's a kid."

The man pulled his helmet off and looked at her. He was young, but she could see how the fear in his face had aged him.

"He's got tricks," Five said.

She glanced at Freya, who with each passing moment was standing up ever straighter.

"I'm not saying he's not clever," said Five. "He had me fooled for the longest time."

"Someone's got to be the Provost," said the man, looking at her.

"I agree," sad Five.

"Well," said the man, "do you know who's in charge here, or don't you?"

Five and Freya exchanged a glance. Five looked back to the man.

"Oh, I do," she said.

"Then drop your weapons," he said, putting his helmet back on, "and come with us."

Oh god, Five thought, you're brave but you're such a fucking idiot.

"Etienne," said the man marking Freya, "come on, what say we let them go."

"Enough," said the other. "I don't want to hear that talk. This is a matter of honour."

"Honour," Freya hissed, "is satisfied."

"You've fought well," said Five, and she grabbed Merion's hand and shoved the girl behind her. "What you need to do now is empty this building and bring it down, 'cos this worm's not moving."

The worm gave a low rumble of annoyance, which they felt in their feet and their heads, rather than heard.

"Honour is satisfied, boys," said Five, fixing them both with a look. "Come on. If we're gonna get out of this we need to work together."

"Honour," came a thick, muffled voice behind them, "is very fucking far from being satisfied."

Oh shit, thought Five.

They all turned around.

The guard who'd been holding Freya, the one whose face she'd stamped on, was struggling to his feet. He pulled off his leather helm.

His face was a mess, blood all down his chin, his nose and cheek broken, and he was staring at Five with undisguised hatred.

"You," he said, pointing at her. "Look what you fucking did to my face, you fuckin' slut."

"You can call me a lot of names," Five said, "but that one's wide of the mark."

"You two," said the guard to his colleagues, "I can't believe you're talking of letting these bitches go. We're gonna string their guts across the fucking courtyard. Look what she did to me."

"You dropped your guard, Luc," said the one who'd suggested letting them go. "She got the better of you. It makes sense to forget it and get out of here."

The one called Etienne was standing there, uncertain.

"We cannot wait," said Freya.

"That bloke who fooled us is getting away," said Five.

"Nobody fooled anybody," said Luc. "We serve the Provost."

"Your Provost is a boy with a mask and a packet of powder," said Five.

"Why am I even talking to you?" said Luc, drawing his sword and advancing on Five. "I've had enough of your shit. What the fuck are you? A girl or a boy?"

Five backed away from him and stepped on the sword of one of the fallen guards. She quickly bent and picked it up. It was heavier than her own.

"Oh, I'm bound to be one of 'em," she said, lifting the sword. She glanced at Freya, who quietly moved to where she could stop the other two from interfering, but who didn't come between her and Luc.

Five understood.

Luc was unfinished business, and Freya meant Five to finish it herself.

"We don't have to do this," she said, sweating as he closed on her. He was a good foot taller than her, but out of shape. He was a guard at the chamber of the elders. Not a proper soldier. Maybe his size would be enough to beat her. Maybe not.

"Shut up,'" he said, "you ..."

He swung at her and she didn't hear the last word because of the clang as she parried.

It was a good parry and he blinked, giving her time to step aside. He swung again and she saw it coming and parried once more. He lunged at her and she hit his sword out of the way. Hers was too heavy to wield easily and she decided not to to try anything she wasn't sure she could do, because she knew she'd mess up if she did. He swung again and she parried again.

She tried not to look at his face. He didn't look as though he'd ever been very handsome, but now he looked grotesque, one side of his face swollen and blood issuing from his nose and mouth. He cursed and paused for an instant, and Five swung.

It was a shitty swing and she ended up whacking him in the arm with the flat of the blade. He lunged at her and she dodged it. She heard what sounded like one of the other guards chuckling at her rubbishness.

Wanker, she thought, and she concentrated on the man before her, now getting angry and impatient. He swung once more and when she parried he used the energy of the swing to bring the sword around again, and she barely had the time to get her sword up before he made contact, striking her hand.

She felt the impact and it was a moment before the pain came; she glanced down and saw that he'd crushed the tip of her middle finger.

Then the pain hit and she gasped and had to blink the tears out of her eyes. Her hand was throbbing, and she had to stick that finger out to make sure it didn't contact the hilt of the sword because to touch anything with it was agony. But he was coming at her again, and she swung at her head. She ducked.

He swung again and she dropped onto one knee.

He raised a booted foot to shove her backwards and she dropped the sword and grabbed his foot and wrenched it.

He lost his footing and fell over. She picked up her sword in her right hand and as he struggled to sit up, she raised it and grabbed it with both hands, ignoring the pain, and pushed it downwards with all her strength.

It pierced his armour and the cloth beneath and his skin under that, and sank into his belly. He roared.

Five stood for a moment, staring at the man lying on the floor with a sword sticking out of his stomach. She was shaking. She looked at the man, who stared at her with anger and disbelief, and looked up at Freya and the other two guards.

"Right," Five said. "That's enough of that, eh?"

Freya was grim-faced. She glanced at the other two, and then looked back at Five and slowly shook her head.

"But I mean," said Five, "I've won. We can fix that, can't we? Just sew him up?"

"You have to finish him off," said Etienne quietly.

Luc, on the floor, was sweating and starting to cough blood. His hands and feet were quivering.

"Finish it, girl," he said, his voice choked.

"You can get better," Five protested.

"I can't," he gasped. "Just ... you won. You fuckin' won. Just end it. Please."

"How?" said Five, feeling helpless. Everything Freya had told her about where to strike to kill had gone from her head. She was tired and in pain and all she could think about was how to get through the next moment with this man expiring on the floor. Thanks to her.

Freya growled and strode forward, pulling her bloodstained knife from her sheath. She quickly knelt by Luc and cut his leather tunic along one seam, and tore it open. His shirt was darkening with blood. He watched her. She ripped open his shirt, exposing his torso. He had the ample belly of a beer drinker. His skin fluttered as he breathed.

Freya grabbed Luc's right hand with her left, lowered her head and muttered a quick prayer for the dying. He coughed and closed his eyes, then opened them again.

She looked him in the eye. He nodded weakly. She leaned over him and Five saw her slip the knife between two of his ribs. He gasped, shook for a moment, and then the life went out of him.

She pulled the knife out of him and wiped it on his shirt, then rose, scowled at Five and turned to the other guards.

"Honour," she grated, "is satisfied."

"It is," said Etienne. "But what do we do now."

Freya looked at Five, who was standing nursing her wounded hand and trying to stop herself from throwing up from the pain, and angrily waved a hand at the guards and walked away.

Five swallowed.

"We came here to get rid of that thing," she said. "Not to get into a fight with your men."

"I believe you," he said. "But three men lie dead, one is wounded and the worm still lives."

"The worm lives because you let the boy dupe you," said Five. "Your men are dead because they attacked us."

"Agreed," said Etienne. "Strangers, I know my limits. We have failed the city. Marc and Mathieu and I will take the consequences, and I will vouch for you. But if you think I'm the leader, you are mistaken. I have a joiner's shop in the city. I guard the chamber part-time, or I did until that boy started his sorcery. God knows what has come of my business, my family. I just want to get back to them."

"No-one's stopping you," she said.

"My point," he said, "is that we here are men of good will, but some will not yield so easily. When that boy came, he made many promises through the mouth of the Provost. Some of them, he had already begun to keep. The others have not seen you fight. You will have to get past them, or persuade them of your good faith."

"She's the fighter," said Five. "I'm rubbish."

"For god's sake, girl," he snapped, "a man is dead because you stuck a sword in his belly."

She glanced at Luc's dead body.

"Forgive me," she said quietly.

"The question is," said Etienne, "how are we going to get out of here."

Five looked around the room. The worm lay curled up against the end wall with the windows. Below the narrow windows, a dozen feet up or more, there were two huge doors in the wall. The great ceremonial doors of the chamber, through which the worm had got into the chambers in the first place.

But they were chained shut, and no sword they had could break the chain. The windows themselves were too narrow for anyone but a child to get through.

Five looked around the room and there, in a corner, was Merion, huddled with her knees up against her chest.

Freya, along with Marc, the other guard, was kneeling over the wounded guard and bandaging him. She and Marc helped the man to his feet and she looked at Five.

Five indicated the windows, and then indicated Merion.

***

Good, young one. Very good.

***

Five watched as Freya handed the limping man over to Marc, and came over to her.

"I think we can do it," she said to Freya, who gently took Five's hand and inspected the mangled tip of the finger. She glanced up sharply at Five, who knew what she meant.

"Oh. Yes. Fine," she said. "Do it before I change my mind."

Five knelt and placed her hand palm up on the floor. Freya knelt beside her and took a clean dressing and wiped her knife on her own sleeve, then placed the knifeblade at the top joint of Five's finger. She lifted her fist and offered it to Five to bite on.

"I'm all right," Five muttered, and Freya instantly whacked the blade down, cutting off the mangled fingertip at the joint. Five screamed. Freya ignored her and quickly bandaged the finger.

"All right," said Five after a moment of collecting herself. She looked up and saw Merion still sitting there, looking at her with a strange expression.

"All good there, little one," she said in an attempt at hearty good humour.

"Did you just cut off your fingertip?" said Merion.

"Yeah," said Five. "It's better this way. It could have gone bad on me. Listen, I think I know how we can get you out of here."

A while later, Etienne and Marc stood against the wall, supporting Five on their shoulders. Five leaned over and grabbed Freya's wrists, and Freya pulled herself up onto Etienne and Marc as well, then Five gave her a leg up and Freya climbed up until she was standing on Five's shoulders.

"Got it?" said Five. Freya made an affirmative grunt.

Merion stood on the floor, a rope around her waist which they had taken from Five's pack. She looked up apprehensively at the tower of people.

"Now," said Five, "I want you to climb up on these lads, then on me, and the lady will lift you up to the window. Then, once you're through, we can lower you down as far as we can, but then you'll have to jump the last bit. Think you can do that?"

"Do I have a choice?" said Merion archly.

"Yes," said Five, "you can sit here and get accidentally killed as part of the big fucking battle there's going to be in a little while."

"All right," said Merion in a small voice, and Etienne held out his hands, cupped together.

She stepped up on them, and he lifted her up, and Five took her hands and raised her, and made her own hands into another step for her feet. Merion's put her weight in Five's hands, and light as the child was, the pain made Five's eyes stream.

Freya reached down and picked up Merion and lifted her until the girl stood on her own shoulders, and the tower of two men, two women and a girl wobbled.

"I can't ..." said Merion. "I can only just reach."

"Maybe the lady can lift you," said Five.

Freya raised her hands, palms upward, and Merion gingerly stepped onto them, and Freya hissed through her teeth as she lifted Merion higher.

"I've got it," came the girl's voice, and she made a strained grunt, and then Five felt a bit of the weight come off.

"Good girl," she called. "We've got the rope. We're going to lower you. What's going on out there?"

"Nothing," said Merion. "It's a normal day. Wait, someone has seen. Hello?"

"Tell them what's going on," said Five. "Tell them to open these doors. We have to get light and air in here."

"You will not," rumbled a voice down at the floor.

Five looked down, and saw the worm finally uncurling itself, groaning and creaking as it stretched its bloated body and rose to its feet. It flicked its tail and glared at them with its bloodshot eyes.

"What's going on?" said Merion, frightened.

"Might have a bit of a problem," said Five, and Freya jumped off her, drawing her sword as she sailed through the air, and landed in a crouch on the floor, then straightened up and regarded the worm.

"It's too high to jump," said Merion. "Can you lower me?"

"We'll have to do it quickly," said Five, as Etienne and Marc lowered her to the ground. "Worm's woken up."

The worm slapped the ground with its tail, and the tiled floor cracked and a cloud of dust went up.

"No one leaves," it snarled.