To Fight Against Fate

The water horse let out a chilling cry as it lunged for Illnyea, its hooves sending up sprays of water each time it slammed into the ground.

Illnyea only had a moment to realize she was being attacked but her body moved faster than her mind, unsheathing her sword in a single motion. She slashed forward with her sword and the water horse didn't even try to dodge. Her blade cut across its neck and chest, and but the beast didn't slow, in fact, her sword slowed, like the water was attempting to pull her sword in.

The horse's eyes were glowing with a pulsing purple light as it let out a high pitched whinny of triumph while it thundered forward.

This situation was bad, very bad, but Illnyea knew it would only get worse if she lost her main weapon.

Part of her instinctively reached for magic to reinforce her strength, to destabilize the ground in an attempt to knock the beast off its feet, but her mind recoiled — her throat tightened as she remembered what it was like to be drowning in her magic again, the pressure on her throat thick and cloying as she drifted in the endless abyss, with Priscilla's desperate cries echoing around her, her sister's voice cracking as Illnyea drifted further away, and — and Illnyea couldn't risk going out of control, and pushed her magic away.

The burst of fear-fueled adrenaline did give Illnyea enough strength to wrench her sword away and roll to the side, the horse's charge missing her by inches.

The horse let out a wet snort. Its head turned completely backwards without turning as its watery body shifted, rearranging itself until it was facing Illnyea once more. The beast looked completely unscathed, and its hoof pawed the ground like it was raring for more.

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, twining with the phantom echoes of Priscilla's begging, and Illnyea's hands were shaking around the hilt of her sword.

She was breathing too fast, but she couldn't slow it down, not when the horse lunged forward again and Illnyea slashed through its front leg, hoping that it might slow it down.

The water fell limply to the ground, but its amorphous form just shifted again, and now it stood easily on three legs. It bared its teeth at her, and Illnyea watched in horror as its teeth elongated into fangs that could rend through flesh as easily as a knife through butter.

It lunged forward again and Illnyea lashed out with her sword as she backed away in a vain attempt to put distance between them. The sword connected, slicing up through its neck and through its head.

But instead of hurting the creature, its face opened up, unfurling like the petals of a flower and it let out a hiss as the body shifted again, its neck elongating like a snake. Its eyes glowed a malevolent purple, staring at Illnyea in a way that reminded her of when the cannibal stared down at her, like she was just prey who wasn't long for this world.

Illnyea stumbled over a tree root, landing hard on her back as the sentient water slammed into her.

The water began to engulf her, starting with her hips and spreading fast in both directions. Her sword was ripped from her hand, swallowed up into its body. Illnyea struggled desperately, but her kicking and punching were ineffectual. She felt her body lift from the ground, like she was being dragged somewhere and she redoubled her effort, grasping for the ground.

But though Illnyea's hands wrapped around dirt and grass, she was quickly wrenched away before she could get a firm grip.

Illnyea gasped as the water began to creep across her face. Her tears mixed with her prison and Illnyea's last breath was spent crying out weakly, "Help—"

Illnyea didn't see a way to defeat this creature without magic, not without a sword or a single companion nearby, but she couldn't bring herself to call upon magic, even as she panicked. She couldn't risk losing control of her magic again, not when she didn't even know if this creature could even be affected by the physical damage she could do with her earth magic.

Gods, was she going to die? After how hard she struggled, was this all her life amounted to?

(you fool, whispered the part of her carved from broken glass, its voice biting and judgemental, you aren't unarmed.)

Jolted out of her panic by the sudden thought, Illnyea remembered the chest sheath — remembered the daggers she had bought at the festival. But her sword hadn't made a dent, what could such small blades accomplish?

(fool, hissed the broken glass so forcefully like it was trying to carve the word into her psyche, open your eyes and use your damn head.)

Despite her instincts yelling for her not to, Illnyea forced her eyes open and kept them open even though it stung. Being inside the creature was a horrible experience and it was hard to make out anything in the murky gloom. She hadn't braided her hair yet and it hung around her face, obscuring things even more.

For a heart-stopping moment, Illnyea had no idea what she was supposed to see.

But then there was a flash of light from beyond the gloom, a pulse of purple.

The eyes — those were the only thing that stayed the same when it shifted forms.

Maybe, maybe it was a weak spot? It was far from her, and she didn't know if it would even let her get close enough to attack when she was floating within it.

(stop your blabbering and stab it already!)

Illnyea pulled out two daggers, stabbing one into the ground below her as deep as she could.

The creature lurched to a halt as Illnyea's momentum was arrested, and then the purple eyes grew closer. Inside the creature, Illnyea could feel the way the magic was concentrated in those two points as the magic radiated out through the water while it shifted.

The moment they were close enough, Illnyea struck — she let go of the dagger in the ground as she stabbed the closest eye. She drew another dagger as a pained, hissing scream reverberated in her eardrums, in her bones, in her eyes, and stabbed it into the other eye while it was distracted.

Abruptly, the water surrounding Illnyea fell, and she fell with it, hitting the ground hard.

Illnyea coughed as she turned onto her side, choking out the foul water that had surrounded her. Her lungs ached from the brief period of no air when she already had been struggling to breathe, and Illnyea couldn't calm herself down. She was shaking and couldn't stop, the cold air wrapping around her as she began to cry.

Her magic roared within her, and Illnyea cringed away from how angry it felt, and pushed it away again, like she had when she saw the antelope herd and panicked at the intensity. The scars on her face ached like they did then, a reminder of what would happen if Illnyea could not control the beast inside her.

Drowning on dry land was just like drowning in magic and Illnyea's mind was back in the fens again, alone and miserable and death lurked around every corner if she didn't keep her guard up. No where was safe, there was no place to rest, she had been stupid to relax — she knew better and still she had been foolish, and the world had taken advantage of that, trying to take its pound of flesh from her hide.

A soft touch on Illnyea's arm made her flinch, but then the smooth surface nuzzled a little closer in a way that was familiar, a sensation that she hadn't experienced in the fens.

Forcing her eyes open, Illnyea saw that Perry had placed himself in between the river and her. Her little platypus stared up at her with sorrowful eyes, letting out a low sound that Illnyea knew was his way of asking if she was alright.

"I'm," Illneya gasped, reaching out with a shaking hand to cup his small head. She forced a smile. "I'm glad you're okay, Perry."

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Perry leaned into her touch, staring deeply into her eyes and Illnyea relished in the softness of his fur. She brushed a finger down his head and finally took a proper breath.

Not everything Illnyea had experienced in the fens had been horrible, not when it had let her meet Perry.

With a deep breath, she was able to distance herself from the memories of long days trapped in darkness as she focused on the way the sunlight hit her skin, and with another breath, she tucked away the fear and panic that had filled her, focusing only on the softness of Perry's fur and the fact that she had been able to keep her promise to Sulaiman to stay alive.

Illnyea was still alive, and that was enough.

She could deal with her other problems another day.

"Oh sweet Answe," someone whispered.

Illnyea looked up, pushing herself weakly off the ground.

It was the boy who had been on guard duty last night, and he stared at her with shock and to his left was the other guard, Ferina — or maybe it was Ferine? Or just Ferin? To be honest, Illnyea didn't really recall much of last night because she had been scared out of her mind by the spiders.

"Toby, go ring the bell," Ferina, maybe Ferine, maybe Ferin, said, and the boy didn't move. "Toby!"

He jumped, and then turned on his heel, sprinting somewhere as Ferina (which Illnyea thought was the nice guard's name) knelt next to Illnyea.

"Answe's thread," Ferina whispered like an oath, helping Illnyea sit up. The woman had none of her previous composure, eyes darting up and down Illnyea's body like she couldn't comprehend what she was seeing. "What happened?"

"That's my line," Illnyea said through shivering teeth. "The water rose up and attacked me out of nowhere."

Ferina went pale, swallowing hard as she looked at the river. Fear made the woman's eyes wide and she swallowed again, like her throat was dry. A bell began to ring out, the sound sweet and clear as it rolled over the settlement.

"Let's get you inside and warmed up," Ferina said instead of answering Illnyea. Illnyea thought that was a fantastic idea, so fantastic that she didn't even care she didn't get an explanation, just scooped Perry up onto her shoulder.

Illnyea trusted that her friends would raise hell to get the answer for her.

…

Priscilla had just finished eating and was polishing off her juice and chatting with Arnold about whether or not the coin of sound would have dealt with the spiders. Kavil had stepped upstairs to double check his medicine supplies, and Sulaiman had gone with him, saying that he wanted to grab the maps so they could plan out their route back to the main road. Mr. Ordan was quietly nursing a mug of tea, listening to Priscilla and Arnold yap.

She paused in the middle of insisting that the spiders would have been unaffected by the noise.

"Do you hear a bell ringing?" Priscilla asked, tilting her head as she tried to focus on the sound.

The door to the inn slammed open not even half a minute later.

Ferine had her arms wrapped around Illnyea and was half dragging her inside with a frantic look over her shoulder. Illnyea's sword was gone, there was a new bruise on her cheek, and she was soaking wet, hair plastered to the side of her face. The cup slipped through Priscilla's fingers, hitting the ground with a wooden clang as white-hot rage coursed through her at the sight.

"What did you do to her?" Priscilla hissed, glaring at Ferine, then at Perry, who was sitting upon Illnyea's shoulder.

She should have known better than let Illnyea go with only a platypus for backup, especially when Priscilla knew they had been herded here by those fucking spiders — fuck, Priscilla should have gone with Illnyea instead of stuffing her face like a glutton.

"It wasn't her fault," Illnyea said. "I was attacked."

Illnyea didn't speak loudly and the croaky tone of her voice made Priscilla want to strangle someone, but when she met Priscilla's gaze, Priscilla's anger slipped away like rushing water, leaving only fear and concern to curdle in her gut. Asha squeezed Priscilla's hand, the artifact just as angry that Illnyea had been hurt, and that was enough for Priscilla to compose herself enough to speak.

"Mr. Ordan, go get the boys," Priscilla said as she took Illnyea's weight from Ferine. "And Ferine, go get my sister some towels so she doesn't freeze to death."

"What happened kid?" Arnold asked, his arms crossed as he frowned at Illnyea. "You lose a fight with a river?"

"Something like that," Illnyea said, pulling Perry off her shoulder so she could cuddle the useless platypus to her chest. He couldn't even protect Illnyea when she was going on a walk for his sake! He didn't deserve those cuddles.

Perry seemed less petulant than normal, however, so perhaps he felt remorse as he leaned into Illnyea's touch with a soft chitter that made Illnyea relax into the chair.

Illnyea was shivering as she shared what had transpired once the boys had come downstairs. She tried to keep an upbeat attitude about what happened, but there was a shadow in her eyes as she described the creature engulfing her. Kavil immediately started giving Illnyea a check up, frowning in worry as she described what had attacked her.

"Hold still," Kavil said, leaning his head against Illnyea's ribs to listen to her lungs, wisps of healing magic sinking in deep. He sighed in relief as he pulled back. "You don't have any fluid in there, so let me patch you up."

Sulaiman's hand clenched and unclenched around the pommel of his sword, staring at the bruise on Illnyea's face as it slowly disappeared under Kavil's touch, and Priscilla knew that his thoughts probably mirrored hers, berating themselves for letting Illnyea go out alone.

At first, Priscilla thought the creature that attacked Illnyea might be a kelpie, though they were far from the water horse's natural habitat, but when Illnyea described the shape changing ability, Priscilla had to go back to the drawing board. Kelpies normally stuck to just one shape and they relied more on trickery than outright attacking their prey like Illnyea had been. Having a core of power could maybe be a slime sort of creature, but Illnyea would have damage from the slime's stomach acid if that was true.

But when everyone looked at Priscilla at the end of Illnyea's tale with the expectation that she might know what the creature was, Priscilla felt compelled to grasp at straws for some sort of explanation.

"Could be a water elemental," Priscilla said, "but I've never heard of one that's hostile to people like that — normally they only attack if their homes are threatened."

The door to the inn opened again, and this time Ferine was accompanied by a shaken Florent carrying an armful of towels, and two strangers with solemn expressions. A middle aged woman with short blonde hair was dressed in a long red dress with gold stitching outlining flowers along the hem of the dress and flowing sleeves. The man was older, nearing sixties if Priscilla guessed correctly, wearing the rough clothes of a working man.

Sulaiman snatched the towels from Florent's arms without acknowledging the man, wrapping them one by one around Illnyea's body. There was a crackle of magic against Priscilla's skin and she guessed he was warming the towels as Illnyea's shivering stopped.

Before Priscilla could tear into the strangers, Arnold stepped forward, his glare venomous and mouth pulled into a sneer, but it was Mr. Ordan who spoke.

Mr. Ordan had been sitting next to Illnyea, quietly drying her hair with a hand towel he had retrieved from his room. He hadn't moved away from that spot since coming back downstairs, and his touch remained gentle even as he addressed the villagers.

"If you do not provide me with a satisfactory explanation for what has happened," Mr. Ordan said, his voice deceptively placid like the still waters of a lake so deep no one would ever find your body, "we shall leave you to your fate and will slaughter every spider that attempts to stop us."

Startled by the threat to spiders, Priscilla glanced at Mr. Ordan, but the former butler's face hadn't changed. He stared at the villagers with a quiet but steadfast pressure that grew as the villagers paled.

Ferine suddenly bowed at the waist.

"I apologize," Ferine said without lifting her head. "I should have told you what was happening earlier so that you would have known it was safest to stay inside and we could have avoided the young miss getting injured."

"It's not your fault, Ferine," Florent said weakly, quailing when Mr. Ordan raised a single eyebrow. Florent swallowed, glancing away as he said, "It isn't. We all… we were discussing how much we should tell you."

"Which should be every single fucking detail," Arnold spat, "seeing as our lives are at risk just being in this shithole."

The woman in the red dress's lips thinned but she inclined her head in acknowledgment.

"May we sit?" she asked. "It is… complicated to explain."

Her voice was deeper than Priscilla had expected, and even with Mr. Ordan's odd threat, she carried herself with a quiet confidence.

Priscilla glanced at her party to gauge their emotions. Sulaiman was watching the villagers with the intensity of a bonfire, practically burning with the need for answers, and Kavil was still kneeling next to Illnyea with a stern expression, his copper eyes hard and unyielding. Arnold looked contemptuous of the villagers, but said nothing, and Mr. Ordan nodded his head, gesturing for Priscilla to have the final decision.

Priscilla waved a hand imperiously, gesturing to the abandoned breakfast table.

"Be my guest," Priscilla said, tilting her head as she narrowed her eyes, "but I'm a hell of lot meaner than Mr. Ordan — if I don't like your answer, I'm the sort to punch something until I feel better."

Florent swallowed nervously, but the woman just inclined her head again. They took their seats quickly, and the working man's face was twisted into a glower, glancing out the window like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"For the past three weeks," the woman in red began, "our village had been plagued by monsters made of living water like the one that had attacked the young miss. We do not know why they have been attacking us, but they've been abducting our livestock and people, dragging them into the river. We've been keeping a watch so no one else would be swept away but…" She wet her lips, glancing away. "It slipped our mind as we gathered to discuss something."

"And what were you discussing?" Mr. Ordan asked softly, in that same even tone that Priscilla was glad wasn't directed towards her.

The woman in red opened her mouth, exchanging a hesitant glance with Ferine, but the working man sighed heavily.

"Stop beating around the bush, Lossa," he growled, slamming a palm onto the table before turning to stare Priscilla's party down. Priscilla felt the odd feeling of being watched return as the man continued to speak, an itch against her mind she couldn't ignore.

"This lot believes you are the answers to our prayers because our god's messengers guided you here — so, can you deal with the threat or not?"