MALACHI II

I was woken up far sooner than I would have liked. Elisif came in and helped Iara start dressing like usual but I didn’t have the option to take my morning slow. As soon as I was decent I rushed out of my chambers and headed down to the festival grounds. Most of the major events took place in the upper district of the city. In this part of the city, there was a large town square and plenty of space for the various stages. Throughout the night there would be plays, mock battles, contests. Already there were countless stalls lining the side alleys. Various merchants sold food and masks for the whole week like this. People were already coming from their homes to start celebrating.

My entire evening was making sure everything was being set up correctly. I tried not to mind how much fun everyone else was already having. I knew thoughts like that were childish. Mother always said that once I was old enough, this would be what I did every year. It just came far too soon. I frowned at myself and kept my eyes forward. There was still so much work to be done.

Once the first plays were ready, Iara joined me. We sat behind the general seating for everyone else, our thrones raised on stone. The festival always started with the classic tale of the first vampire and human to blood bond. Vampire Queen Elspeth Bloodtide, and human Bellamy of Oxspine. The kingdom of Oxspine didn’t exist anymore, but we were still taught where it was. It was still so vital to my people. Some even made pilgrimages there. Mother had taken me once, right after Jer was born. A crumbling castle was all that remained. But we remembered it regardless. Blood Bonding was one of the only reasons we were still as strong of a kingdom as we are today.

I glanced over at Iara to see how she was enjoying the play. She absently watched the stage, only clapping after she heard the crowd do so.

“How is it?” I asked her.

She looked up to me, then back at the stage. Her face reddened ever so slightly. “Ah, I can’t hear anything the actors are saying.”

I looked back to the stage. I guess I couldn’t hear what they were saying either. I never considered hearing them. I had seen the play so many times I could recite the lines myself. I leaned in close and started to quote the actors as they spoke. She watched me in amazement.

“Is that what they’re actually saying?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” I replied quickly. “Do you want to know what’s going on or not?”

She laughed. “Continue.”

The rest of the play, I said the lines in different voices as the actors played out their scenes. I wanted Iara to enjoy as much of the festival as she could. I wanted her to know our history and experience what my home had to offer. Life here wasn’t just sitting in a palace all the time. The Blood Festival was the perfect place to show her everything I hadn’t gotten to so far. Pieces of the city and her people.

As we went through the night, hosting different events, I tried to include her in as much as I could. It wasn’t perfect as we had to sit before everyone else, but I think she still had fun. At least I hoped so. When the events would end, I would get our masks I had bought on the first night, and I’d sneak away with her for a while. We would eat food from the vendors that had been boiled in oil, and play games at different stalls. We would stay out late into the day. Even though this was my first year as the host, it was the year I had the most fun. Iara’s wonderment at everything made the festival seem all the more magical.

We even ran into Jeremiah on the third night. He and Kenneth blazed through the cobbled street like two bats out of hell. He ran right into Iara and I. Iara dropped the fried dough she had. Jer stumbled and turned back to us. “I’m so sorry!”

I slipped my mask up and onto my head. “You idiot,” I scolded.

When he saw it was me, his jaw dropped to the ground. “Aren’t you supposed to be filing papers?”

Iara laughed. Kenneth looked like a fish out of water. They were shocked to see us out here at this hour.

“No,” I frowned at him.

Iara lifted her mask as well. “You owe me a cake,” she said to Jer, pointing to her grounded pastry.

Jer sighed. “I know.” He turned to start running again. “I’ll get you another tomorrow.” He took off and Kenneth followed behind him.

I let the mask fall over my face again, unable to stifle a laugh. I hoped Jer and Kenneth could keep being as carefree as they were. “Do you want another cake now?” I turned to my wife.

She shook her head then placed her own mask carefully back over her face. We headed back in the direction we had been going before my little brother interrupted. We were going to a large tent set up off one of the side alleys. This particular tent was for playing cards. Iara had expressed interest in trying to gamble. I had never played cards before, let alone tried to win money from it, but Iara had insisted. I didn’t think she looked much like a gambler. I suppose she has surprised me before.

And surprised me she did. She won round after round, coins piling up around her. I couldn’t see her face but I could picture the evil grin I heard in her voice. Men left the table, huffing that she cheated. They would ask her for her name, who she was to be so blessed by the luck goddess. Loire did favor her, I thought. The lady of the water blessed a lot of people with luck or beauty. Iara had a lot of both.

My rambling thoughts were cut off by a scream. Loud sounds weren’t strange to a fair but this sounded sharp. It cut right through the other yells and hollars. No one else took notice and I tried not to jump when I heard it again. When the chatter outside of the tent was quieted though, I stood. There was something going on and I had to see what.

“What’s wrong?” Iara turned to me, making sure her cards stayed facing down.

“Nothing. I’ll be right back,” I replied. I ducked out the door and scanned the main street. Stepping towards the town square, I could see the people scrambling away from something. In an alley across the way, I saw a few guards gathered.

I rushed over to the scene, the sun casting long morning shadows over the people. I grabbed one guard by the shoulder. “What’s going on?” I demanded.

“You need to get back,” the guard ordered. He pushed me back with a firm hand. “It’s dangerous.”

I pulled off my mask and pushed past him. He looked as though he would be sick. People ran towards the way I came, screaming and shaking. I could hear someone begging for help. The atmosphere seemed to physically thicken. None of the happy chatters reached here. My feet quickened until I saw what everyone ran from. A creature with a distended belly, grey and rotting skin stretched over yellowed bones. I felt my stomach turn at the sight of it. There was a woman trying to grab her child. The small girl was in the husk’s grasp. The girl was screaming, blood running down her head. The husk had already bit into her skin, a tuft of hair stuck between its decaying teeth.

“My daughter, please,” the woman cried. The guards standing by did nothing but make sure no one else got too close. They were just as scared as everyone else. No one dared get close or they could be bitten too.

I pushed through the barrier of people and lunged at the beast. I moved without thinking, my only thoughts on the little girl. I reared a fist back and struck the beast right in the head. It barely stumbled, not reacting to any pain, but the grip on the child loosened. I yanked the little girl away and took her in my arms. Her hands trembled as she clung to me. Blood smeared on my coat front.

I handed her over to her mother. “Thank you,” the woman breathed. Tears streaked her cheeks, her eyes red.

“Take her to a healer! One of you, send word to the palace, get the knights!” I barked at the guards. One of the scared looking men ran off, another grabbed the woman and her daughter to take them away. I doubted there was much a healer could do, but they had to try. I turned back to the husk just in time to see it lurch forward.

I felt my own hands shake. I had never seen such a monster. I heard plenty of stories about them. I needed to capture it to find out how it got inside the city walls. No man could breach them by force, and I’d be damned if a mindless beast got in unaided. I wasn’t sure how to even subdue it though. If it bit me, I would be done for.

Suddenly it jumped forward, faster than I thought it could. I jumped back but it managed to grab the chain hanging on my coat front. It yanked down, breaking the chain from my button. Its blackened flesh coated the silver ringlets and smelled of rotting flesh wafted up. My face twisted in disgust. It jumped forward again, but I shoved it back. I kicked its legs out from under it and it made a horrible groaning noise as it connected with the ground.

“Prince Malachi!” someone called.

I turned to where the voice had called. A man pointed behind me. I didn’t turn in time though. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. I yelled out and fell as another husk threw itself onto me. Its ugly teeth ripped right through my coat and sank into my skin. I felt my flesh rip off in a chunk in its mouth. A guard ran over, pulling it off. I scrambled up, my knees weak.

Then I saw Iara push herself through the barrier as I had. She threw her mask down, reaching a palm up. Her lips moved, her words barely audible. Her eyes were focused on the beast rearing back up to bite me once again. It had already pulled itself off the ground and was reaching for me once again. It froze though, its arm scratched out towards me. The thing turned entirely to stone in front of my eyes. Iara made quick work of the other, petrifying it as well. I fell to my knees, relief washing over me. Iara ran over to me, pulling me up. I couldn’t find the strength to stand though.

“The knights are on their way,” a guard called to us.

“There’s another husk spotted to the south,” another person yelled out.

Iara looked around us in horror. “How many are there?” she breathed.

“You should go,” I huffed. The pain from my bite felt as though it would make my chest collapse in on itself. Agony spread like thorned tendrils down my arm and torso. “Go stop the other one,” I forced myself to finish.

“But Malachi,” she cried. She turned back to me. She was supporting all my weight. If not for her I would have been flat on the ground.

“H-have them,” I wheezed. I weakly grabbed one of the guards. My vision swam. I couldn’t focus on any one thing anymore. The sun seemed to beat down relentlessly. Everything was too bright.

I felt my body being jostled. I could hardly keep my eyes open. I couldn’t tell where I was or who was with me anymore. My fingers were too weak to even form a fist to grab anything. When I did manage to open my eyes, every time I was somewhere different. First I could see the light blue sky, the sun hanging high like a dagger. Then, familiar high ceilings, then a darkened room. Figures swarmed around me, but I couldn’t place any one person. I could hear muffled and urgent voices, but I wasn’t able to decipher any words. My mind was consumed with the pain from my shoulder. It radiated out like fire. It gripped my chest, making it impossible to breathe. My lungs couldn’t expand enough to get the air I needed. My mouth felt so very dry. I was thirsty.

Was this how I died? Barely twenty five, barely married. I gripped weakly at my chest at the thought. I had always considered what life after death would be, if it would be better. But now, there was so much I still wanted to do in this world. Iara didn’t deserve to die with me. Somehow the thought of her life ending because of me made my chest hurt more. We both had so much to accomplish yet.