Abbalar Tales ~ 34

 Abbalar Tales ~ 34 The Hunt

By Len Morgan

"You never married Asba, that is regrettable, you should be passing on all the good qualities you possess to future generations, but there is still time." She added.

Even in a dream, he found himself intoxicated by the scent of her skin, he was conscious of her closeness, even with his eyes closed, that was why he had always tried to keep his distance from her lest he swallow her up in his own ego and never let her develop as she should and obviously had.   In dream time, they were both teacher, and pupil, in the art of love.    Unencumbered by physical limitations of the flesh they lived a lifetime in each other's arms, making up for lost time, a matter of moments in real-time.

When finally they materialized beside Skaa, just beyond the portal, the future of Corvalen was assured.

 .-...-.

Even if it were possible, Aldor would not be happy Controlling Genna as a puppet.   That was the tactic employed by Jazim and Bedelacq.   If he did the same he would be no better than they.   He was aware of warm tracks of moisture tickling his cheeks, and a slight blurring of his vision.   He wiped his eyes angrily on the backs of his hands.   He could tell, from scanning her feelings for Asba, she had never really been his.   At best he'd had her on loan but, she was still a valued and trusted friend through fair and foul times.   She was a good companion and he would do nothing to jeopardize that.   It was all academic; he'd changed so much she wouldn't recognize him as the Aldor she knew.

 

   She had however demonstrated an ability to control her mind to a startling degree.   Such that it was suggested, with training, she could become a 'Revisionist' of exceptional talent.   He smiled, when he received grudging confirmation, from the machines, that humanity still retained the potential to communicate with them, lacking only the know-how and the practice.   He knew also there had to be many more who would be capable of learning the ancient knowledge and spreading it throughout Abbalar.    He knew Asba and Genna would build on that, commencing with Paveil and Lillefane.    So, essentially his work in Corvalen was done.   He was left with a little housekeeping, and general tidying up to do before he moved on.   There were plenty of people out there to be converted but, that was a job for the 'Revisionists' and they needed no encouragement from him.   What he needed to do first, for his own peace of mind, was to discover who killed Eldoriel and why.   Then of course there was still unfinished business with Bedelacq, Jazim, and others of their brood.   Skaa had also expressed a keen desire to be involved on both counts.   Both were grimly determined.   Both had experienced a unique bond with Eldoriel and, through their loss, with each other.

 Paveil put the trusted protectors - the Regents Guard - to the task of exploring the tunnels beneath the city.   A troop was sent to escort Aldor and Skaa to the palace, through those same secret tunnels.  As the guards entered the tunnels heading for the final showdown with Jazim and her supporters, Aldor and Skaa headed for the house of Baal.   They were even prepared to deal with Bedelacq if he chose to appear.   They threw themselves manfully against the double oak doors and were a little surprised they could not even bend them.

   They waited outside, for more than an hour, until the Regent's guard fought their way through the house and finally removed the three massive metal bars holding it firmly in place.   Just three of Skaa's old band were captured alive, amongst them Frek.  They begged continually for an unknown drug, an elixir Jazim had plied them with, highly addictive, it bound them to her.   Without a daily dose, their lives were unbearable.   She had returned to the house of Baal with them, after Fazeils death, and ordered it turned into a fortress.   She commanded them to fight to the death, then went into tunnels and, according to one of her aids, opened up a black hole in the solid wall.   She entered it and was gone in an instant.   Aldor quizzed the machines and received confirmation that she had entered the sanctuary and been sent on to a place where Bedelacq would not find her.   Without him, she would live out a normal, but somewhat accelerated life.

'She is a criminal, she has destroyed and ruined countless lives, how can you protect her?'  Aldor asked.

'She is more than 350 years old, and will live another ten, twenty if she is lucky.   Most of her life has been lived as a puppet a slave to Bedelacq doing his work.   She never did so by choice.   She was taken as an infant and was molded into the person you saw.   Only one in ten of those taken from their families survived his indoctrination.   The survivors considered themselves the unlucky ones.   She deserves to live a few years in peace and freedom.   She has always hated what she became, but he is always in their minds pushing them, like macabre living marionettes, denying them the luxury of choice and free will.   We have decided to grant her peace, and a time of contrition, to reflect and in some way make amends.   We know all that she knows about the enemy; we gleaned it from her mind as we did from you.   We know Bedelacq…'

'Did she know who killed Eldoriel?'  He asked.

Knowing the speed at which the machines could think the delay in replying was interminable, in reality, just a few seconds.

'Yes' was their reply.

Aldor waited, then realized no further information would be forthcoming.   He'd noticed that machines could at times be very informative, while at others give only the bare minimum information without elaborating.

'Can you tell me who carried out the act?'  He asked.

'His name is Frek.'

'Is that all?'  He asked.

'He was one of Skaa's men.'

Aldor called to Skaa with his mind.   'It was Frek.   Do you know where to find him?'

'Frek?'   His surprise was obvious.   'He was the least affected by the drug Jazim administered.   He went into the cellars with Genna…' said Skaa.

"No!"   Asba transmitted his alarm.

.-…-. 

Genna sensed something different about Frek.   The fact he had not succumbed to Jazim's addictive potion as the others had.   There was something very chilling about him, a driving obsession, more powerful than any drug.

"What are we searching for," he asked.

"We need to discover where Jazim has gone to ground.   Any indication of her recent presence would be helpful in tracking her down." Genna replied, "You seem quite close to Skaa?"

"Known him a lot of years, he's like the big brother I never had as a child.   He keeps me out of trouble." Said Frek.

"Then why did you go off with Jazim." She asked.

"The others said it was a good idea and that Skaa would be joining us.   But when he arrived, he refused and they put him in the cells before I had a chance to speak up for him." Said Frek.

"Did you like her?   Jazim?" she asked.

"Nah!   She was too busy giving orders to everybody.   I wanted to get closer to her but her heavies were always around.   I knew she wanted me though, I could see that hungry look in her eyes when she looked at me."

"If that were so why did she not simply order the heavies away and tell you how she felt.   That is what I would have done," she said.

"No!"  he said with disdain, "that is not the way they do things."

"I don't understand that.   If I wanted a man I would simply tell him." She replied. 

"I know but you are a woman from the streets.   You most of all should know that it's just a test.   They are testing me and I have to prove that I want them enough.   Oh, they protest and say it isn't a good idea.   They try to humour me acting as if they don’t really want it.    That only makes me angry because I know they do.   They make me force them and punish them, then they go; depart and leave me alone," he said in a dead voice.

The hackles on her neck rose, her instincts were roused.

"When I met Asba, as a young girl, I knew exactly how I felt about him.   He was the only man for me but, when I told him he backed away and made excuses to avoid me.   Now, look at him." She said with a smile.

"That is because the man is the hunter.   Game doesn't chase the hunter, that would be wrong, that would cause him to lose his hunger." Said Frek.

"Why are you looking at me in that strange way?" she asked.

"I know why you came down here with me," he said, "You’re just like all the others."

"Others?   Am I?"  She said.

'Get away from him as fast as you can!' said a voice in her mind, 'He is dangerous, he was the one who killed Eldoriel, and many others.   It all fits.   Whenever Skaa's band was in an area young women were found dead.'   'Don't think about it, just get away from him.'   ‘That was Aldor's voice,’ she thought, ‘in my mind?'

"No Frek, you're wrong.   I'm not like the others.   I really want you to come to me," she said.   "Come here!"

The strange look on his face changed to uncertainty, he no longer felt he was in charge.

"Man may be the hunter but women can also hunt when they know what they are after, and when they want it enough!   Come to me." She repeated reaching out towards him with her arms, licking her lips lasciviously, she took a step towards him.

"N-no I-I" he stammered and took two backward steps, a look of fear in his eyes.   He turned and ran.

 

'The Regents guard is on their way to hunt him down, leave him to them, they will make him pay for what he has done,' said Aldor.

'But, how did he get away with it for so long?' she thought.

'It is not so difficult if everybody thinks your stupid and you do nothing to make them think otherwise.   But, he is not as dumb as he would have us believe' Aldor replied.  

'Aldor?   That is you isn't it' she asked.

He did not reply.

She started back towards the cellars of Baal house, just as the guardsmen were coming out of the cell that she and Wizomi had occupied just five days earlier.  

'I wonder what happened to Wiz,” she thought as she slid through the grate to the cell that had housed both Skaa and Aldor.

Genna stood up inside the cell, her eyes adjusting slowly to the gloom.   There was a rustling sound, a shadow moved just outside of her vision.   She turned and instinctively threw herself sideways.   He had been there waiting for her, his eyes already in tune with the low light level.

'Aldor, he's here!' she yelled inside her mind, already fearful for her life.

'Humour him, keep him occupied, we are on our way.'

"Frek is that you?   You can't get away from me that easily.   I waited for you but you failed to return, then the militia started to arrive outside."

"Do you know what they are looking for?" he asked, continuing before she could reply, "don't play games with me; I'm not the fool I choose to present to the world."

She started to roll back towards the broken grating, but he had anticipated that and got there before her.   She felt a heavy blow to her shoulder, and a sharp pain, "aaahh," she cried out, it killed her momentum.

"One more move like that and I will kill you where you lay," he said in a matter-of-fact tone.   About now those tunnels will be full to overflowing with the Regents guards, and militia, all looking for me," he said.

"Why should they be looking for you?" she asked.   His response was to kick her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

"You talk when I say, otherwise keep silence" he warned.

"Genna?" it was Asba's voice.

"In here!" She yelled, taking another kick.

He grabbed her hair dragging her roughly to her feet.

"I said q-u-i-e-t!"  He hissed.

There was a rattling at the door, a key turned in the lock, and it opened.

He stood defiantly facing them, using Genna as a shield, as they entered.

One arm pinned both her arms to her sides, the other held a heavy knife to her throat.

"That's far enough," he warned them, tightening his grip.   "This is a Huren hunting knife.   I could decapitate her in an instant with very little pressure.   Tell them Skaa!"

"He's right; I've seen him cut a man’s legs off with a single stroke of that blade.   At this moment, Genna is in very real danger,” he whispered so that Frek would not hear.

"What happens to her depends entirely on what you do.   It would be best if you put down your arms as a gesture of goodwill," sensing hesitation he added, "that was not a request."   They all complied.   "It would really be better for all if you simply let me slip away; as soon as we are clear of the city I will release Genna…"

Skaa began to clap his hands slowly, "Same old Frek" he said, "still not thinking.   You will never be in the clear because wherever you go I will be hunting you, just one step behind.   I could never forgive what you did to Eldoriel.   I loved her and I don't know how long I can live without her.   You killed her out of jealousy,” Skaa accused, taking a step forward.

"Be still!" Frek warned.   "She was a whore, a doxy; she joined with any man who wanted her.   Everyone but me,” he said angrily, “she drove me crazy taunting and spurning.   I wanted, I hungered for her so badly it hurt but when I told her she laughed in my face.   Just one slash and the laughter stuck in her throat, the deed was done, my blade was decorated with her blood but I cannot remember killing her.   I wished it hadn't happened but, it could not be undone, so I arranged her on the bed and dowsed the lights.   Looking at her, you would never know…"   There were tears in his eyes now.

"The boy climbing in the window was a gift from the gods!" Skaa finished the sentence taking half a step more.

"Stay!   Where you are," his grip tightened on Genna and his eyes became hard and unyielding.

 "I intend to kill you Frek, and so long as there's breath in my body I will hunt you like the dog you are" he said in that intimidating gravely voice.   "You have one chance to get away free, and that is by killing me.   If you're man enough for it I challenge you; a duel to the death.   You have my word, if you win, no man will stop you."

"If I kill you they let me walk free?   I don't think so," he sneered.

"You know I stand by my word, these are honorable men, if you win the duel you will be judged blameless."

"Do you swear to honor this?"   Frek questioned them.  

One by one they recited the formal words - "I swear it."

He released his grip on Genna, turning his knife towards Skaa.

"You were always so sure you were better than the rest of us," Frek gloated, "It’s a pity so many of our former comrades are dead and unable to witness your demise.   It will be no pushover; I may even break sweat before you find yourself back on the wheel of life.     But, I will have the consolation of unearthing all the caches of coin you have hidden outside the city.   I will take your head back home with me and claim that reward as well," he grinned, "they will treat me like a hero then I will buy my fill of real women.   Not these bony black-haired rat-faced sluts, I shall buy me, real women, with meat on their bones.   Come on old man, defend yourself."

"You can choose the weapons, but I get to choose where we fight" Skaa replied.

"Sword and dagger,"   Frek answered at once.

"At dawn, on the palace plaza, where Aldor killed Fazeil's champion," said Skaa, his face a mask.

“So be it!” said Frek “I’ll miss you when your dead, old man...”   He slipped out of the door and was gone in an instant.

(to be Continued)

Copyright Len Morgan