CHAPTER THIRTY
BOUND IN DARKNESS
“Stran, you and boys keep an eye on things here. Don’t let anyone in or out without my permission, understand?”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Good, I’m going to have a word with the elder.” Chert leaned back round the door. “Oh, and Stran? If that Cray shows his ugly face in here…”
“I understand, Boss.”
Chert nodded, tapping the door frame on his way out. Stran was a good man—he’d keep order here. Meanwhile, he wanted to speak to Huro. Something stank here, and it wasn’t Rush or that… whatever that thing was!
Huro was already leaving the water mill when he heard Chert call out to him. He rolled his eyes, clicking his tongue irritably. The boss seemed to have become a lot more animated recently, or was it that he was just slowing down? He was a lot younger than the last village elder had been, but still old by village standards. His bones creaked almost as much his home these days. The ancient water mill had been his family residence for many years and had often played host to village meetings even before he became elder. Huro sighed. There hadn’t been one for quite some time, and then all of a sudden, his home ended up packed full of frightened children and the ranting of a lunatic! Even his grandson looked to have been infected with this hysteria, running into his home this morning and shouting something about a ‘winged horse’ of all things!
Chert was walking along the edge of the mill race with one of his men, shouting something to him and waving his arms. He didn’t have to shout—he wasn’t deaf! Blasted youngsters, they treated you like you were senile when you were only a few years older than they were. Still, it encouraged the younger ones to bring him nice treats now and again, and young Nasta had even fixed the leak in the roof with reeds he’d bought from that fellow that lived in the hills. What was his name again? Rush?
“Chert.” The elder held up a hand in greeting.
“Hello, Huro. Are you going to have a look at our guests?”
“Guests? There’s two?” the elder asked in surprise. His grandson hadn’t mentioned two.
“Well, there’s Rush, the reed worker and… the other one.”
“Other one? Ah! This ‘winged horse’ creature, I presume.”
Chert shrugged. “I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t seen the thing with my own eyes. Cray believes it’s a shape-shifting witch of all things. It just looks like an animal to me.”
Huro sniffed. “Looks can be deceiving, Chert. A gambling man tries to deceive his opponents into believing what he wants them to believe. You know that better than anyone.”
Laughing, Chert rubbed the back of his head. “True! Very true!” He sighed. What are we going to do about this? That blacksmith has been whipping the villagers into a frenzy. They want blood, Huro, and I don’t know how long I can keep a lid on things.”
“I don’t trust Cray,” the elder said quietly. “He’s not the boy I remember, Chert. Something’s happened to change him, and not for the better.”
Chert nodded in agreement. “I know. I just don’t know what to think of all of this. I can only hope Lord Ire’s men get here soon and sort out this mess.”
Huro snorted. “Lord Ire’s men? We’ll be lucky to keep our heads after Lord Saru finds out his son died.”
“His son?”
“Didn’t you know? Deputy Nile, the one who led that foolish expedition into the forest, was one of his sons.”
“Oh gods, I didn’t know.” Chert shook his head morosely.
“In fairness,” Huro explained, “not many did. That was the idea. Saru wanted his son to get some hands-on experience in a ‘safe’ environment. Not advertising his parentage was part of the deal he struck with Lord Ire.”
“You’re surprisingly well-informed, Huro.”
The elder laughed. “Not quite senile yet, eh?”
The storehouse was one of the most secure buildings in the village. Several extensions had been constructed over the years as the rice production expanded to cover enough to sell to other villages in the province. There was little need to lock the store rooms, as the village rarely had a problem with theft except during the last drought. At that time, locks had been installed, and Chert’s men had been employed to keep order.
Now, the spare storage rooms served a new purpose: as cells.
Stran opened the outer door, bowing to the boss and the village elder as they entered.
“Any trouble Stran?”
“No, Boss.”
“What about that Cray fellow?”
“Dunno, Boss. He’s disappeared.”
Chert rounded on him. “What do you mean ‘he’s disappeared’? I thought Jinu was keeping a tail on him?”
“She was, Boss, but he gave her the slip. Half the boys are out looking for him now.”
“Oh for—!”
Huro placed a hand on Chert’s back. “At least he’s not here causing more problems, my friend. Let’s be grateful for that.”
The elder was right, of course, Chert thought to himself. There were far more pressing matters to attend to than some deranged agitator. Besides, bad coins had a habit of re-appearing sooner or later. He’d just have to be ready for when it did.
It was dark in the store room. Little light penetrated the gloomy interior, with what there was filtering through a narrow ventilation grill near the ceiling. They’d kept their two ‘guests’ apart. It seemed to be the best course of action in the circumstances, but Chert wondered if it was really necessary? The ‘witch’, as Cray had called her, hadn’t put up a fight at all, only Rush. There was something about this, about what they were doing… it just didn’t feel right.
Chert held up a lantern, the faint yellow light picking out the huddled features of the bound white mare. She was lashed down to storage anchors, a rough sack over her head and without even water or food. Huro shook his head.
“It looks like a horse to me. Someone’s painted a sun on its arse, and it’s got fancy wings and horn.”
Chert stared at him. “You don’t think that’s strange?!”
“Of course, but when you’ve lived as long as me, you cease to find the strange that unusual.”
The creature stirred, making Chert stand back hurriedly, but Huro leaned forward, peering in at her. “Can you speak?” he called to the thing calmly.
Silence.
“Of course it can’t speak, Huro, it’s a bloody horse!” Chert declared hotly. “Honestly, I think I’m the only one in this village who isn’t going round the bend!”
“Please...” The word was barely a whisper from the dark of the store room. “May I have some water?”
Huro and Chert exchanged glances, the boss stammering as he called out, “S-Stran! Get some water here, man! Hurry!”
A minute later, the tattooed gang member reappeared, a wooden bowl of fresh water in his hands. Placing it on the floor, Chert used a broom to push it toward the bound figure.
A few moments passed. “I’m sorry, this sack on my head… could you..?”
Chert looked at Huro, who nodded in response. “She’s bound. What can she do?”
“I don’t know—that’s the problem! What the hell is it?”
“It’s a she, Chert. She may be a prisoner here, but she should be left her dignity.” He shrugged. “Give me your dagger.”
“What? Huro, please, don’t—”
“Oh, shut up, Chert! Your mother didn’t raise you to be such a whiner, did she?”
The boss nearly gagged in indignation as the village elder sighed and took the reluctantly proffered dagger. Stran opened the door, which creaked ominously on its hinges, allowing Huro to enter.
“Stran, if that thing makes a move…”
“Yes, Boss.”
The lock clicked in place behind him, with Stran and Chert peering through the bars at the elder and their guest. The old man shook his head sorrowfully at the stricken mare.
“I’m going to remove the sack now. Can I have your word that you won’t attempt to escape or cause injury to any of the villagers?”
The mare nodded. “Yes, you have my word.”
Huro bobbed his head, satisfied. Reaching over, he took the sack in his hands and lifted it up and away from the mare. She shook her head in relief, taking in the air and blinking, her eyes adjusting to the somewhat minimal change in light. Huro gasped as she fixed him with her large purple eyes. He’d never seen such a creature! She must be one of the spirit folk, or… gods forgive them, one of the hill gods! He began to wonder if the wrath of the gods would descend on them for this. Their anger could be dreadful indeed. Drought, flooding—who knew what could be in store for them? He bowed before her.
“Please, forgive the intolerable rudeness of my people. They are ignorant and afraid.” He chuckled. “Afraid of most things, I fear.” Huro pushed the bowl of water towards her. “Please…”
The mare nodded and lowered her muzzle, drinking in the water until the bowl was completely empty. She closed her eyes. “Thank you.” Huro bowed again, moving the bowl out of the way. “May I ask, is my friend unharmed? Rush?”
Huro nodded. “He is. He’s in the room next to yours.”
The mare tried to move, wincing in pain as the ropes cut into her legs. The elder nodded, noticing her discomfort and quickly drawing forth the knife, cutting the ropes binding her. One by one, they fell to the floor, and the mare breathed a sigh of relief at being able to move freely again.
“My name is Huro. I’m the village elder,” the man said calmly. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“My name is Celestia,” the mare replied politely. “I am a princess of the land known as Equestria.”
Huro closed his eyes. This was bad, really bad! “Lady Celestia, I have to ask, are you a spirit or goddess of our lands?”
She shook her head. “Some think I’m a goddess, but I am who I am, Master Huro, as you are who you are.”
He sat back on his heels, rubbing his head in embarrassment. “The villagers believe you are responsible for the attack on the governor and his men, and the young girl, Blossom. Some believe you to be… forgive me, a witch.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Do you believe I did these things? That I’m a witch?”
Huro shrugged. “I don’t know, Lady Celestia. I wish I did.”
The princess stretched her legs. “In answer to your question, Huro, no. No, I did not kill any of those people. I’ve not caused harm to any human since I arrived here.” She sniffed in indignation. “And I am most certainly not a witch!”
“And what is your relationship to the reed cutter, Rush?”
Celestia’s eyes flashed dangerously. “None of your nor anypony else’s business!”
Huro bowed. “Forgive me, Princess. I meant, how do you know him? How did you come to be in his house?”
The princess let out a deep sigh. “No, Huro, it should be me apologizing. I’m sorry; I’m rather exhausted. The last few hours have been rather… taxing for me.” She gave her mane a shake. “In short, Rush saved my life when I had been attacked by my enemies. He kindly nursed me back to health, and I helped him when he was hurt from his fall in the forest. I believe you know the rest of the story, Elder.”
Chert spoke up from the door. “What enemies?”
Huro shot him a look. The man had ears like an outhouse rat!
Celestia rubbed her legs together, reinvigorating her circulation. “They’re called thestrals. One in particular, the younger one, is the beast that killed the girl, Blossom. She was Rush’s niece. That animal is probably the same one who killed the others you speak of, but I cannot say with any certainty. Most of my time has been spent with Rush.”
Chert’s inquisitive voice carried across room. “What… you and Rush, you didn’t…?”
Huro facepalmed, turning to Chert with a look of fury. “For the gods’ sake, Chert!”
The look in the princess’ eyes said all that the elder needed to know, and he bowed low. “Please, forgive him, Princess, sometimes his mouth is like a runaway cart.”
Celestia giggled at the analogy. “Of course, Elder. Your friend's question took me a little by surprise, that’s all.” She brushed a wisp of hair from her muzzle. “May I ask what you intend to do with us?”
“I don’t know, Princess. I’m afraid that it’s not just a case of letting you go. The lord will be sending his men here looking for the killer of Lord Saru’s son and—”
“—And if you let me go, they’ll assume you’ve freed the killer, yes?”
Huro nodded. “Now that everyone’s seen you, it would be hard to say otherwise.”
“You realise, Elder, that the other creature is still out there?”
“So you say, my lady.”
She shrugged. He only had her word that she was telling the truth. After all, she couldn’t assume that he’d simply accept everything she said and release them. If only her magic was working, then it would be a simple matter of teleporting the two of them out of here. Still… she’d given Huro her word, and that had to mean something, no matter what world she was on.
“I’ll send food.”
“Thank you, Huro. You’ve been very kind to me. Please, I know I’m being presumptuous, but… would you please show Rush the same kindness you showed me?”
The elder watched her for a moment, then bowed. “Of course, Lady Celestia. It would be my pleasure.”
Outside, the lock clicked back into place, and Chert shook his head slowly. “I don’t know, Huro, she’s either playing some game with us, or there really are monsters in the hills.”
Stran cleared his throat. “Boss?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you see her hooves?”
“What about them?”
“They’re not the same as the prints around the pond or the hill road.”
Chert stared at him. “Are you sure, Stran? Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yes, boss. I know horses, and they weren’t like any hoofprints I’ve ever seen.”
Huro grabbed Chert’s sleeves. “Find Cray, Chert. Find him and bring him to me. I think we’ve made a terrible mistake.”
Huro and Chert headed for the door, but just as they reached it, Huro turned round to face Stran. “Give them food and water.” He glanced at the room that held the still-bound Rush. “And get those damned ropes off him!”