Part Three: Leaving The Old Life
Kisla sat, as she usually did, in her rocking chair, under the close watch of the ancient Shusai. The retired adventuress closed her eyes, reliving the moment.
“Stop! Don’t hurt her! What must I do to save my son?”
“Cooperate.”
“Hey, Kis!” Daius’s voice pierced through Kisla’s memory.
“Spider-chan…” Kisla said, her voice vague and weak.
The seventeen year old hugged his mother gently, and patted Shusai on the shoulder. “So, how’s she doing?” he whispered.
“Better. I can turn my back on her now,” Shusai said with a smile.
“Well, I’ll see you women later. I have to find that woman of mine.” And with that, the extremely handsome Daius bounded out of the house to search for Equinox.
“That woman is going to hurt him, you know,” Kisla remarked sullenly, after Daius was way out of earshot. Daius viewed Equinox as his lifeboat - rescuing him from the sea of Myrak’s death.
“I know. Drive him into darkness, she will. Foreseen it, have I.”
Kisla abruptly stood up. Shusai, for the first time in an hour, looked up from her knitting. “Kisla-san?”
“I’ll be back soon, Shusai. I need to get some fresh air. Take a walk. See the forests again.”
“Do not go far, Kisla-san. You’re not in the condition--”
“Hush about my condition, Shusai. Before that night, I was an adventuress. I know how to take care of myself.”
“Nox?” Daius said, walking through the forest. He looked in his tunic pocket. A ring of intertwined gold and silver rested there. Patting his pocket, he paused by a creek, checking his appearance. His hair, as usual, was silky and white. His eye patch was lined with silver thread, and his sea green, airy tunic was tucked into his doeskin breeches neatly. And, as always, the tarantula dagger was gleaming at his side.
“Equinox!!!” he called. He was reaching the border of the Xammas forest. Then, just like so many years ago, he heard a cry. This one was strained, as if there was a struggle to emit it. Daius’s warrior skills kicked in and his honed hearing senses lead him in the direction of the diminutive cry.
His dagger drawn with a shink of metal, Daius clomped to a stop near a grove of aspens. Peering through the closely placed trees, Daius saw a man and a woman -- together. The cry had come from the girl.
Daius crept around to the side, where there was enough of a break in the trees for him to run between. Willing his battle haze, Daius burst into the clearing and tackled the rapidly undressing man. A brief fight ensued, but Daius quickly prevailed. He aimed the dagger for his throat.
“Spider, NO!”
Daius’s haze broke at the voice. “Equinox?”
“Spider, put the knife away.”
“But, Nox, this thug was--”
“Look at him, Spider.”
Daius whirled his head back to the “thug.” Brushing the white hair out of his eyes, Daius saw it was one of his closest friends, T’ridl Markham. The dagger was sheathed, and Daius helped T’ridl up. “What were you doing?” Daius asked, but as he once-overed his friends, he got his answer.
Equinox’s long hair was down from it’s usual ponytail, and completely disheveled. Her shift-like dress was half way unbuttoned. The cherry stain she usually put on her lips was smudged around her chin. T’ridl was in only his pants, which were about to come off.
Equinox looked at Daius, afraid. “Spider…”
“DON’T TRY IT!” Daius shouted. Since T’ridl was a lousy fighter, Daius wasn’t messed up at all. He laughed, and turned around nervously.
“Ya know, Nox? I never thought you could be such a tramp!!! I mean, really! After all you’ve done for me, after my father died. And I thought you told me to move on so we could be happy. HA! You were expecting me to do the exact opposite! Why?”
“Look, Spider--” Equinox began.
“SHUT UP!” Daius shouted, his eyes turning bright with angry tears.
“Daius, cool it,” T’ridl warned.
“I told you, T’ridl. I told you my plans. I told you about this!” Daius almost ripped his pocket taking out the ring that he had crafted himself.
“Spider--”
"DON’T EVER CALL ME THAT!!!”
“Daius, you don’t know what I was going through!” Equinox shrieked, tears streaming down her face. “You didn’t know how many times I waited at that old, forgotten temple. How many times Vixa or Lilan would describe their boyfriends, and I would think, ‘Daius is great, when he’s sane!’ Or how many times I needed support, when I needed you. YOU weren’t there. T’ridl was.”
“Nox, look at this.” Daius held the ring two inches from her face. “This is why I was in the forest. I made it myself. It has taken me five months, because I’m no good at metal working. I loved you, Equinox. I loved you with all my heart and soul.” Again, Daius went from wistful to enraged. “How could you talk about hardship? Have either of your parents been murdered in front of your eyes? Have you seen your mother go from the strongest person you know, to little more than a delusional husk? Have you ever lost? Have you ever trained to be the best, so you can live up to a parent’s expectations, and when you come home, happy that you’ve done your best, and that parent doesn’t even know that you’re their child?” Daius cringed. He ripped off his eye patch and forced the lid to open, revealing the only partially there, melted eye. “Have you lived with this pain? Every day, not being able to remember what it was like to see out of both eyes? Trying to compensate for only seeing half of what you should?” Daius drew the tarantula dagger. “This is the only remnant of my parents that I have. My mother… is lucky she knows my name, not to mention that I’m her son! My father - I have no memories. Just that he was gone or sick. So lay off, you don’t know the meaning of the word pain!”
T’ridl looked down at the ground, then to his crazed friend. “Daius, I’m sorry.”
Daius stared hard at T’ridl, making sure he saw the melted eye. Daius grinned as T’ridl looked away in disgust. “Daius, we can help,” T’ridl said.
Daius laughed and backed up towards the tall aspens. “You have already,” he said as he jumped to a protruding branch and climbed away.
____
Daius stayed at Narcissia’s temple most of the day. At dusk, as he prepared to leave, he held his dagger, as if in offering. “Narcissia, my lord, I have nothing to offer you except my life, my love, my soul.” Daius sheathed the dagger. He walked to the doorway.
“I decline your offer, Disciple. They are yours to keep, and to be shared.”
“Narcissia!” Daius turned around to the golden woman’s sheltering embrace. She kissed his lips, and backed away. “I smell the salt of tears. Tell me what happened.”
After Daius finished his tale, Narcissia grasped Daius’s hands. “It’s for the best, Disciple. There is another who will have you. Wait, Disciple.”
Daius smiled as the demi-goddess vanished. Another for him…
____
“Kisla! I’m home! I know Shusai’s out but…” Daius dropped off when he heard a man’s voice in the cottage.
“He is still young.”
“My master… he will not rush… but he will not wait… any longer than he must…”
“There must be another way.”
“He will live forever… and you… you will die knowing you saved him…”
“My husband didn’t have that relief! You killed him.”
“Myrak… was an unfortunate accident…”
“And what of now?”
“Now… my master… will take his part of the deal…”
A rush of wind filled the cottage. Daius watched in wonder, and disgust, as his mother turned young again -- she couldn’t have been more than twenty -- and the soldier turned into a man. The man had a mask on, but his body was only clothed in bare minimum concealment. Kisla was the same. A reptilian tongue slid from the red mask’s open mouth--
“Mom!”
The spell broke, Kisla was old and clothed again, and the man was the soldier. “What’s going on?”
“Daius, no--”
“Mom, what are you doing with a soldier of the Dark King?” Daius asked, his anger building up again.
Kisla was quick to defend. “It was the only way, Spider-chan! I am not forgetting -- I remember too much! They would’ve destroyed you!”
“You… you’re in leagues with the Dark King?”
“We had a deal--”
“SILENCE!” the soldier shouted. “You forget, adventuress, one part of the deal was not letting anyone know!” The soldier’ s voice slowed down to the usual two words a minute. “You… Kisla… are in… breach of contract. Your soul… and your son… will be ours…”
“Evil spirits!” came Shusai’s voice. Daius watched her make several motions with her hands, and the soldier vanished.
“Shusai! Thank Narcissia you came!” Daius said, hugging the elderly woman.
Shusai brushed past Daius, and walked to Kisla. “Tell me everything, you who cooperates with the King of Fear.” Shusai threw a handful of herbs, sage and thyme, Daius thought, by the smell of it, onto Kisla, who immediately started talking.
“That night… of all the nights… When the dark soldiers attacked, and I wasn’t quick enough to get my weapons, I wanted only to save Daius. So I thought, killing two birds with one stone, I would pretend to go along with the Dark King, which would in turn save Daius, and setback the King. Talpa, as he is called in his realm, wanted Daius to be a warlord in his upcoming attack on the mortal world. I acted too quickly, however. ‘What must I do?’ I asked. Cooperation with the King. He appeared before me, and only me, and explained the terms of the deal. I would slowly help him claim Daius, and provide him with whatever… outlets from his daily rulings I could, and Daius would go unharmed, unmolested, and would be favored among his warlords. I agreed, fully planning on telling Myrak, Shusai, and Daius as soon as the sentries were gone. Even so, a pair of sorcerers appeared, loyal to the King, and cast a spell of age on me. To all I would seem senile, to myself, tormented and insane, to Talpa, a loyal slave. Any reneging on the deal would spell death for me and mine, and Daius would go through extraordinary pain. What could I do? Again, I agreed, believing my resistance to magic would be enough. It wasn’t. I am Talpa’s, and always will be. But I will live until natural death, then my soul will be at the mercy of the Dark King’s Empire.
“You did this… you are Talpa’s… HE KILLED YOU TOO!” Daius’s violent emotions took over once again. He kissed Shusai’s cheek, and hugged Kisla.
“Spider-chan, where are you going?” Kisla asked, weak once again.
Daius, meanwhile, had gathered some dried beef and fruit into a bag. He threw in his silver sword, and three changes of clothes. “I won’t let him get away with this, Mother,” Daius vowed, a hand going to his tarantula dagger. He then kissed his mother’s ring finger, a gold ring appearing there, styled after the one on his own hand.
“Narcissia save you, minion,” he murmured, saying words that weren’t his own. He walked out of the cottage, out of his old life. That life held no meaning except revenge now, and that revenge spurred Daius on, making his new life hateful and deceptive. He wanted only the Dark King’s blood, and would do anything to get it. Little did he know that with each soldier he killed in cold blood, the more he became one of the Dark King’s...