Horse Thief (4)
"No, you can't. This is holy water blessed by the Archbishop himself—"
"Then you gonna pick up a weapon and fight that monster bastard yourself?"
"Well, no, but still—"
"Hey. If it's about responsibility, I'll just say later that I stole it."
"..."
Once his own ass was off the hook, the deacon finally shut up and stopped interfering. I shoved the kid—who already showed signs of being a total prick—aside, and Selene and I filled the leather pouches to the brim with holy water. Finally, we dipped our weapons in the font and stepped out of the cathedral.
Ding-dong-dang-dong-ding!
"Kyaaah!"
"Gods, Lady Iliana..."
The church bells rang out across the whole village, mingled with screams. Beyond them, I could see Orobas's abomination thundering toward us, shaking the ground with each step. Bones, flesh, entrails—all laid bare. Limbs from the knights and squires it'd absorbed in the forest earlier dangled and flopped as it charged.
"Hey, deacon."
"Y-yes?"
"We'll handle that monster. You just watch Kell."
"K-Kell?"
"Our dog."
The deacon was lost in the horror of the thing—bipedal gait making it even more grotesque. Faith or no, we didn't have time, so I dumped Kell on him. Then Selene and I bolted straight for the southeast palisade.
"Plan?"
"Hold it off with the guards as best we can, test if the holy water works, then link up with the lord's knights however we can."
"And if we fail?"
"Grab Kell and run far as we can so the bastard can't follow. Got a better idea?"
"No."
Situation being what it was, my wife and I dropped the formalities. Ironic that our first casual chat was thanks to Orobas's abomination. Far off, the guards scrambling at the palisade came into view.
"Bring the pikes here, quick!"
"Archers, fall back further!"
"Everyone remember: the lord's coming soon. We just gotta hold till then!"
The guards hustled amid the sudden crisis. Could twenty guys really hold out? Just then, the thumping stopped, leaving an uneasy silence.
But only for a moment.
BOOM!
The three-meter palisade shook like it might collapse any second. Finally, the abomination loomed, casting its black shadow over the top.
Starting with the rotten horse head acting as its skull. Neck and torso a mash of human and horse flesh and organs. Front limbs—paws? Hands?—made of bones and tendons jammed together.
"Urk—"
A few guards dry-heaved at the horrifying, nauseating sight. The rest gaped in shock, invoking their goddess.
"Lady Iliana, have mercy..."
That's when the abomination's slow-turning head locked eyes with mine.
"GRRAAAAAHHH!!"
CRASH!
It bellowed and swung its raised forelimb. The sturdy-looking palisade crumpled like paper. With the barrier gone, it barreled straight into the village—right at me.
Squish!
It ignored the guards thrusting pikes, trampling them flat.
"Archers, what the hell? Fire!"
Thwack-thwack!
Arrows from behind? It didn't give a shit, eyes only on me as Orobas's abomination charged.
'The fuck? Shouldn't it aggro on other humans too, not just me?'
Chicken skin crawling from that fixation, I heard a welcome sound from behind.
Toot-toooot!
Sharp trumpet blasts and the growing thunder of hooves. It sharpened until it hammered my heart—then a squad of cavalry flashed past Selene and me at the roadside.
Thud!
They barely dodged the abomination's downward smash, accelerating into a lance charge that pierced its left ankle.
SPLAT!
"GRRAAAAHHH!"
Flesh exploded from the impact, the thing reeling with a roar. The human... remnants embedded in its body twisted in agony, unleashing a shriek beyond chilling.
"KIIIIIEEEEEEK!!"
The sound defied words; cheers for the knights died, silence gripping the area.
"Hyah!"
The riders wheeled, charging the intact right ankle. The lead knight's lance charge, followed by blades expertly slicing bone and meat.
The result? It couldn't support itself and toppled backward.
...
With Orobas's abomination down thanks to Baron Noden and his knights—
Stab-stab!
Smash!
"Die! Die! Die!"
—the guards, fresh off losing comrades, swarmed and hacked it to bits. The baron's infantry, arriving late, joined in. Watching from nearby, I was dumbfounded.
An abomination born from thirteen demon-summoning altars... Fell way too easy despite the ugly mug. And now it just took the butchering without a fight.
'Pathetic. Guess I gotta return this holy water. How do I sweet-talk that deacon without him snitching...'
Pondering the pouches on my shoulder—full of holy water—as I mulled returning them, the guard I'd first warned and a mounted knight approached.
"You Eugene? The one who tracked horse thieves with Sir William?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"Come with us. Gotta explain to the baron why Sir William and the others are embedded in that thing's body."
"Got it."
Following him to a tavern near the disassembly frenzy—
Gulp-gulp... Ahh!
—the rider who'd led the charge was downing a pint. A squire cleaned gore from his armor beside him. The sharp-eyed middle-aged man was my employer, Baron Noden of Iron Valley.
Thud!
He slammed the empty mug down, eyes shifting to me. So piercing, he almost felt like a veteran merc captain, not a noble.
"I sent knights to catch horse thieves, and you bring back that monster? Explain. In detail."
His gruff demand jogged a forgotten fact.
'Right, this guy's an ex-merc captain who earned his barony with war feats ten years back.'
...
"We couldn't find me or the others at the scene, but..."
I skipped the lightweight magic/ritual traces Selene spotted, leading us to the refugee camp. Skipped my solo forest return too on William's orders. Said I fled back to the village after spotting an ominous red pillar and the abomination.
"Hmmm..."
The baron groaned low, tapping the table with his index finger, sifting truth from bullshit. Tension rose—then he slapped the table, grabbing a fresh pint from the squire.
One more pint downed, and his face relaxed.
"Matches what Thorin's surviving squire said, mostly. What's with the leather pouch on your shoulder?"
"Holy... just water."
No way I'd admit holy water and complicate shit. Just water, I lied. His eyes narrowed again—
BOOM!
"Gaaahhh!"
"Everyone back!"
—when a heavy thud shook from outside, followed by screams and shouts.
****
Robert, a member of the Iron Valley guard, was an orphan who'd lost his parents to war. In Rondia, orphans were a dime a dozen, and crime was inevitable for them—victim or perp.
But Robert had barely escaped that fate, thanks to his three-years-older brother Thomas.
"Remember what our dead parents said, Robert? Always be honest and just."
"Yeah, bro..."
"So no more hanging with Yann's crew. Got it?"
Thomas worked himself to the bone day and night to raise Robert right. Their brotherly bond was famous in Iron Valley. When Robert hit twenty, the guard captain recommended them both—turning it into a village heartwarmer.
But today, Thomas died blocking the demon abomination that hit the village. One of three spearmen trampled flat.
"Die! Die, you monster fuck!"
Fueled by rage, Robert hacked the downed thing harder than anyone—from its waist, slicing up to the chest.
Then, at some point...
Tssss...
The gash from his swings narrowed. The split flesh swallowed him whole.