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Noodles and Vikie watched, hardly daring to breathe, but there was no change in Princess Carnif’x. She remained locked inside her own mind, eyes as blank as before. Vikie looked up at Noodles, and slowly shook her head. “It didn’t work,” she said sadly. “Do it again,” Noodles said. “What?” Vikie hissed, “With tongues this time, I suppose?” He had the grace to look embarrassed, and looked away. They were silent for a moment, listening to the echoes of their voices, and Vikie was just about to lean down and try again, when they heard a noise from down the corridor. Looking up, she saw a group of people approaching. At the front was the clearly distinguishable figure of Bishop Kathaarian.
“Blasphemy!” he snarled, and ordered the Inquisitors with him to grab Vikie. He turned to Noodles. “I’ve been waiting for this!” he grinned, and punched him in the face, sending blood flying. Noodles lifted himself slowly to his feet, and swung at the Bishop, who easily dodged it and kicked him hard between the legs. Kathaarian stood over the cringing wretch, and laughed evilly. Noodles struggled to get up, but the Bishop placed a foot on his neck and pressed down hard, choking him. “What of revolution now, traitor?” he spat. “What of your revolt? Even now my warriors are entering your ‘secret’ hideout and massacring all. You see the penalty that is served to those who stand against the Metal gods? Do you?” He lifted his foot and stepped backwards. Noodles gasped for breath, sitting up slowly. “The penalty,” Kathaarian gloated, “is death!”
Noodles didn’t even see it coming. Vikie could only scream helplessly as the Bishop’s blade swung down and decapitated the revolutionary. His head bounced across the floor, coming to rest by the Princess. Kathaarian stepped up to Vikie, and slid the wet blade down her cheek, leaving a smear of blood. “You made a mistake in coming here, my Queen,” he said quietly, watching the blood drip from her face. “You really should have stayed where you were wanted.” He turned to go. “Lock her in a cell with the corpse,” he said over his shoulder. “Let her see what it is to be one with the dead!”
The Inquisitor holding Vikie was suddenly wrenched backwards. As Vikie watched, open-mouthed, a knife blade abruptly grew from his chest, and he collapsed. Princess Carnif’x stood there, pale but most definitely alive. Kathaarian, sensing rather than hearing that something was wrong, turned and his jaw dropped. “Impossible!” he gasped. “I am awoken from the curse, Bishop,” said Carnif’x, grasping the bar that Noodles had used to break into her cell. “The True Gods themselves propelled me back to this world, that I might be their tool, their weapon in the cleansing of the kingdom. I am become the sword of the Gods, the wolf of the cohesive, the centre ring of the cosmos that will expand and suffocate all that stand in my way. No longer shall order and chaos be allowed to run rampant over the land. Now they shall be lifted and welded in my hands, to rule the earth as it deserves.”
Kathaarian looked at her, and a slow smile broke out over his face. “Come now, Princess,” he said. “We had better get you back to The Tower, now that you are cured.” He waved his hand and two Inquisitors stepped forwards. Carnif’x swung the bar, and embedded it in the first’s head. She swung him around and into the other, knocking him over. Before he could arise, she had taken his blade and stabbed him in the face.
There were now just four Inquisitors standing by the Bishop, and he started to look nervous. “Kill the madwoman,” he hissed, and turning, walked away. The Inquisitors started forwards, and the Princess attacked. Parrying a strike from the first, she kicked another in the knee, breaking his leg. He howled and fell onto a thrust that she dodged, burying her sword in another.
Freeing her sword, she stood back, allowing the remaining two to come to her. They approached cautiously, abreast of one another, and she retreated slowly, until she was backed up against some bars. They raised their swords to attack, but never landed the blows, as Vikie stabbed one from behind with a knife she had taken from one of the fallen, and Carnif’x decapitated the other.
Carnif’x moved immediately after the Bishop, but turned when she saw that Vikie was not following. She had dropped the knife and was busy throwing up, the reality of the blood on her hands proving too much for her. Feeling the Princess’ hand on her shoulder she twisted away in revulsion. “What happened to you?” she said shakily. “What have you become?”
The Princess smiled. “You believed that mystical rubbish?” she said. “I’ve been in training since I was five years old. That was just to put Kathaarian off the tracks.” She looked at Noodles. “A good thing he died, really,” she said softly. “Latt’m does not need a revolution any more than it needs the Inquisition.” She held a hand out to Vikie. “Come on, we have work to do,” she said, and hesitantly she took it. They followed the Bishop, stepping carefully over the corpses.
*
They had been travelling in the forest for three days now, and the trees were thickly crowded around them. The going hard been hard for Dead Machine, who often had to blast a path for himself through dense foliage, risking forest fires. Radagast was quietly concerned for the robot, his feet seemed to be rusting after their damp journey in the swamp, and strange clunking noises could be heard from deep inside. He glanced at Rio, who had not uttered a word for two days, except some strange hissing noises directed at the head on his arm. All of a sudden, Rio stopped walking, and turned to look at him. He gasped to see that his friend’s face was growing pale, like the one on his arm, and his eyes were going translucent. “Must have water!” Rio croaked, speaking simultaneously from both heads. Radagast gave him a gourd, and quickly he poured the precious liquid down the creature’s throat. It dribbled a little out down its chin, which Rio quickly licked off.
Radagast turned away in disgust, and walked over to the robot. He was about to say something, but then was silent when he saw Rio watching them suspiciously. “Shall we move on?” asked Dead Machine, and Radagast nodded. Just then, Rio sprang forwards, and the head on his arm seemed to stretch out towards him. He shouted in shock and batted it down, but his arm passed through air, and the creature’s face touched his.
Radagast was plunged into darkness. He looked wildly about for a way out, but saw nothing. Quietly, he heard Rio’s voice laughing, and he swung blindly with his arms, again feeling nothing. There was a muffled noise, and he was back in the forest. Rio was on the floor, unconscious, Dead Machine standing over him. Focusing, Radagast looked at the robot. “He attacked you,” said Dead Machine apologetically.
Feeling his face, Radagast’s fingers discovered a bloody hole where his nose once was. He felt no pain at all, not even strangeness from breathing through the hole. “I think it has evolved some kind of numbing venom,” the robot continued, kicking at Rio’s arm. “It bit my nose off?” Radagast said, still not believing it, and the robot nodded.
Rio coughed suddenly, making him jump, and he raised his head slowly. “What happened?” he asked slowly, and then gasped when he saw Radagast’s face. The creature on his arm came to, and swinging around, grinned evilly when it saw Radagast. Rio’s face twisted slightly, and then was blank, staring up at his friend with a faintly amused glint in his eyes. “I think you dropped something,” he said, and lifting his arm up, the head spat out Radagast’s nose into his hand.
Rio got up, ignoring Radagast, and started walking again. Dead Machine moved to block his way. “That serpent is twisting your mind,” he boomed. From the end of his arm a blade swung out, and he advanced on Rio, intending to cut it off. Suddenly there was a shout, and the three of them were surrounded by figures with strange black and white facepaint, dressed in spiky leather. The largest stepped forwards. “Hails!” he said. “You are trespassing in the Forest ov the Impaled! The penalty is death!”
To be continued…
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