The Lost Runes Saga [Epic Fantasy]

Lumbering footfalls sounded even through the closed windows. Vidar called out to the others, who all turned to him. The humans who'd been turned into the monster's pets reached the windows and the light from inside illuminated their faces. With eyes empty of will and agency, they banged their fists on the windows, coming up against barrier runes set up for protection.

At the front of the buildings, the oxen let out startled cries of pain. Vidar peered out through the window, trying to make out the enormous beast behind the thralled humans, not finding it.

"It's gone around!" he shouted, hurrying across the room.

"Should we charge outside?" a panicked soldier shouted, whirling around to find Tor peering out the window.

Their group leader turned to Jarl, who shook his head, sword drawn. "That thing would destroy us all."

Freja skipped up to Vidar and curtsied with a flourish. "Share logiz with me."

"No," Vidar said, looking out through the window. The oxen were dead. Little of their carcasses remained, but enough to know it'd been a violent affair.

Fighting back the urge to vomit, he turned away from the mess. There was no sign of the monster that'd torn them to shreds, either, so he ran to another window, trying to catch sight of it.

Freja followed, leaning forward so her face was right next to his. "What if you die?"

"Then I die," he grunted, just as Fredrik came barreling down the stairs, pointing upward at the ceiling.

"Something looked through my window! Huge!"

The dark night outside flashed with a blueish sheen as an algiz rune flared to life. Another flash of light followed and then broke as the barrier lost its last stores of essence. Vidar braced himself as the third blow made the entire building shudder. The sound of breaking glass from a window sounded from up above.

"It's not coming in, is it?" Fredrik asked, ducking behind the bar.

A crooning sound reached into the building, soft and melodious, almost yearning. Vidar found the tightness in his gut softening somewhat, and he breathed a little easier. There was nothing here to be afraid of, nothing that wanted to hurt him. They were all in this together and worrying about dragons and his friends back in Halmstadt was no use, not when they were so far away, so insignificant. A throb from his heartwell made Vidar blink.

"Aaah!" he shouted, slamming his palms against his ears. Pain wracked his head, going all the way down his neck as well, but the high-pitched whine drowned out the horrible song from the creature. With all his anxiousness and fear back where it belonged, Vidar grabbed a soldier and pulled him down to the floor, rushing up to the next person to do the same. They were all heading for the stairs, trying to reach the monster calling for them. The thralled humans outside just stood there, swaying with the melody.

He alone couldn't keep everyone from going up there. The group was just too large. Instead, he rushed forward, shouldering Freja to the side before climbing the stairs ahead of everyone. Before Tor, who was closest, reached the steps, Vidar pointed his palm to them and unleashed a stakra thrust, demolishing the stairs. Now, no one could follow. It wouldn't be enough to stop this, of course, but it bought him some time.

Vidar rushed up the last couple of steps, forcing himself to move before fear got too solid a grip on him. The second story was much like all the other inns he'd visited. A long, unadorned corridor with rooms on both sides. At the end of this one, a shattered window revealed the creature. It was tall enough that its face reached all the way up. The first glimpse made Vidar think of an illustration of a lion he'd seen in one of his father's books, with a thick mane around its head and deep, yellow eyes set in a cat-like face. Where the lion had been colored in with yellow, orange, and gold, this wore those of the wolf. Gray, black, and a little white, and showing discolored, long teeth from under bloodied, pulled back lips as it sang. This close, it was like Vidar's chest vibrated with the bass-filled sound, and he had to force his focus and push away the waves of calm emanating from it.

It noticed Vidar right away. It's empty, yellow eyes, regarded him with a sort of inviting curiosity, like how you'd watch an interesting bug. Below, on the ground floor, he heard the sound of someone dismantling the barricade holding the door closed. Within seconds, they'd all be out there with this thing. Vidar was determined to not let that happen. The charge began with a single step, but Vidar was soon running full tilt toward the monster as he rejuvenated the stakra rune with dragon's essence.

His charge didn't even make the crooning creature flinch, but Vidar shouting at the top of his lungs to drown out the noise, made it twist its face into an expression that might've been annoyance, but it was difficult to tell with its animal features. Vidar ran right up to it, near enough to touch its snout if he wanted. Instead, he first triggered the kenaz rune on his forehead to blind the monster to what would come next. It worked, making it flinch just as Vidar triggered the stakra rune in the palm of his hand, together with the one at his elbow for counter thrust. The attack took the monster right in the face and it fell back with a roar of anger, swatting at the empty air with hands big enough to crush Vidar with a single attack. While the monster sustained serious injury from the stakra rune, it hadn't blown its head apart, like Vidar hoped. Some of its jaw was missing as it writhed on the ground, and one of its eye sockets gaped empty, with much of the rest a mess of blood, but it wasn't dead.

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"Bastard!" Vidar shouted, leaping out of the window to stand on the ice-slick roof. Not the best idea perhaps, but if he didn't finish this now, before it regained control of itself, that thing would tear the entire building apart, killing everything within. The monster's thralls were lumbering toward it, as if drawn by its shrieks. If at all possible, he wanted to spare them. Perhaps the death of their master would give them their minds back.

Vidar triggered the logiz rune, unleashing a torrent of flames upon the monster. Its fur caught fire and the shrieks of fury turned into yips and whimpers as it struggled to right itself. The monster got to its feet and even took a few steps, but then fell forward without another sound. It was dead.

The reflected light in its thralls' eyes winked out and they all stood there, swaying for a moment. Vidar drew in a sharp breath as they all collapsed. Taking a step forward, he turned and heaved himself down to hang from the roof. He let go right away and fell into a mound of snow. Pain shot up Vidar's legs, but he ignored it as he hurried to the nearest fallen. Kneeling down, he found no signs of life. Same thing with the next one over, and the next. Rather than having regained their freedom when the monster perished, they were all dead.

Vidar's head whipped around to face the window. Peering through it, he saw the others rising from the floor, and he breathed a sigh of relief. For a second there, he thought they, too, would be dead. They hadn't been under the influence for long enough, meaning they hadn't turned into thralls.

"It's dead!" Vidar shouted. "Let me in."

Freja appeared in the window, her face pale, eyes haunted, and her mouth a thin line. "Are you certain?"

Vidar moved to the side and gestured to the still smoldering beast. "I am."

The soldiers finished removing the barricade and opened the door, allowing Vidar inside. As he stepped out of the night and into the warmth, he noticed Lem on the ground, dead.

"Did you kill all the others as well?" Fredrik asked. "I blacked out for a moment."

"As did I," Jarl said. "But please tell me you didn't kill those poor villagers."

Vidar sat on the nearest chair with a thud and explained what'd happened.

"Why weren't you affected?" Fredrik asked.

"I'm not sure," Vidar said. "I noticed something was wrong and held my hands over my ears."

"Clever thinking," Tor said, a note of something akin to pride in his voice. It made Vidar more than a little uncomfortable.

"Sorry about Lem," Vidar said.

Tor shook his head. "Shouldn't have ordered him out into those damn woods."

They shared a long silence. Then Fredrik let out a groan.

"What?" Vidar asked.

"The animals. They're dead. It'll take longer with only the cartmen hauling us through the forest."

"We will do no such thing!" the caravan guide said, his voice a shrill screech. "My men and I are returning to Halmstadt at first light! I'd rather hide from dragons than take another step deeper into this monster-filled forest!"

"You are under contract," Fredrik said, his voice low, calm, and ominous. "No one shirks a contract signed by the rune scribes' guild."

The caravan guide just barked a laugh and went back to sit with his men around the same table they'd occupied before the attack.

"Are you going to let that stand?" Fredrik asked Jarl.

Jarl looked from Fredrik to the cartmen and back. "What would you have me do? Keep spears pointed at their backs?"

"Yes!" Fredrik shouted.

"No," Jarl said. "This is a dispute between citizens. The soldiers are tasked with your protection, not carrying out your orders."

"And how protected do you think we'll be walking on foot through this cursed place?"

"We will keep you safe," Tor interjected.

Fredrik shook his head in disgust. "The soldiers will take their place then."

"Good luck with that," Vidar said, chuckling.

Freja, who'd gone outside to look at the dead monsters, entered the inn and ignored the tense air around the rune scribe from Stalheim. "We should celebrate!"

"Celebrate what?" Fredrik snarled. His face was turning red.

Vidar didn't look forward to the prospect of walking, but he had to admit it was a little entertaining watching Fredrik fall to pieces.

"Our survival, of course!" Freja said, raising her pale, thin arms toward the ceiling. "And Vidar, of course, for saving us all!" She stepped up to him. "I would have wanted to test my mettle against the beast, but this outcome was fun too!" With those words, she leaned forward, as if wanting to plant a kiss on Vidar's forehead.

He swayed back a little and raised his hands to stave her off. Quick as a snake and without warning, Freja reached and grabbed for his wrist, catching it.

Vidar triggered the stakra rune in the palm of his hand. His arm shot back, hurting his shoulder, and the thrust sent Freja sprawling to the floor, her face crashing against a chair on the way down. Blood spurted from her nose as every soldier in the room hefted their weapons.

"What in the fallen angels just happened?" Jarl shouted.

Freja got up on her elbows, giggling even as she held an arm against her side. That giggle turned into full-blown laughter. Jarl, bewildered, turned to Vidar.

"Freja tried to gain knowledge of a rune I'm keeping from the rune scribes' guild," Vidar said. "She failed and was lucky I restrained myself, or she'd be a puddle of blood and guts on the floor." He pointed to the madwoman. "You stay away from me. Or next time, it'll be worse!"

Freja cleared her throat, then spat a wad of blood on the floor beside her, grinning like a maniac. "We'll see!"