Q'La edged along the flat roof of the hut. Under normal circumstances, Shanang was a quiet village, devoted to hunting for pelts and making clothes. But for the past week the fiercest flying creatures the enemies of the Tiger Clan could muster have attempted to lay it to waste.
War with the minions of Chai'Huon Ju—the Defiler—had been in full force for more than four Cycles now. After the first battle, fifteen Cycles ago, there had been occasional skirmishes with Maugs and the extremist tribes of the Worm Clan for nearly a decade to follow, while the Defiler bided his time and gathered more power.
Q'La ground her teeth then, as she remembered the Maugs and their Bone Wizard that had taken her brother Jun and cursed her before her Rite of Passage. Then they had attacked her village to start the war.
The Maugs were foul creatures who emerged from the mountains only when Chai'Huon Ju had need of his allies.
Now Q'La knew what Bone Wizards did with their captives and she did not want to think about what might have happened to Jun.
A civil war began within the Worm Clan about four Cycles ago, as followers loyal to the legacy of power promised by their evil god rose against the current High Hand. Chai'Huon Ju's otherworldly allies increased their assaults on the Tiger Clan and the Dove Clan at that time, to prevent them from assisting the legitimate leaders of Chai'Huon Na.
Tiger and Dove Clans were the Defiler's most powerful adversaries, which did not explain why the enemy had marked this particular village for destruction. But Q'La had faced demons on this roof for three nights now.
It seemed fitting that they only came out at night.
Q'La felt perspiration trickle down her neck to dampen the vest of her Gi—the Jutsu ceremonial uniform.
Hunjan People wore lightweight animal-hide trousers that fit snugly and soft leather shoes. The trousers had straps around the waist. Because they lived in a semi-tropical climate, the People did not usually cover their upper bodies, except with decorative capes that were used for traveling or adverse conditions. Tiger Clan clothes were white, black, or tiger-striped.
The Gi, however, was more elaborate. Jutsu members wore close-fitting vests with low, wide V-necks. On the bare part of their chests, all the members painted a white, five-pointed star—one point up—enclosed in a circle. They also wore long headbands.
Several Covens, along with Q'La's, had arrived three days ago to find Shanang in turmoil, many of its people injured, dying, or dead, and bereft of its children.
By now Q'La's bitterness had grown more because of the enemy's penchant for taking the young than the curse. Every child harmed in this war reminded her of Jun and rekindled her rage.
The curse had taken its toll, however. Xuma was more estranged from his daughter than ever and Q'La could not guess how to breach the growing chasm. There have also been mishaps from time to time, during her training as a War Witch, on exercises and in combat with her Coven.
Q'La tried not to remember.
The moon was low, nearly set, and she knew they would come soon. It would begin another long night of combat, with every second diminishing her chances to survive. Q'La's numerous wounds, acquired from imp claws and muozi fangs, seemed to fester in anticipation of more.
The muozi were the worst. They had once been human Witches of Chai'Muon Na who worshiped the Goddess of Female Domination, but now they were demonic apes with massive, leathery wings.
For a long time, the Monkey Clan had resisted the Defiler's plans. Q'La believed that many continued to fight and that only a few had fallen to Chai'Huon Ju. Their Goddess could not be completely subdued until Heavy Insanity began.
With the civil war in the Worm Clan, Q'La thought, they are not likely to release Pure Intensity anytime soon—let alone the physical manifestation of the God of Blood and Lust.
Q'La felt the magic surrounding the village. Each spell and its caster were distinct to her Witch sight, which reminded her of the sacrifices made here. At least nine people among the assembled Covens were dead and Q'La suspected that more would die tonight.
Her partner, D'Gazi, stood on the opposite end of the roof—as far away from Q'La as possible. It made no sense to her. In the Jutsu, they were both subjects of the Hell Priest. Gazi had a dark nature but remained anxious of the curse.
Q'La sighed. They will always be afraid.
Some Spirit Talkers saw her differently than most people did—especially Heaven Priests. But Q'La could not suppress the feeling that they cried inside when they looked at her.
That was exactly what she did, on a daily basis, whenever she thought about her peers and her loss. When she thought about the enemy, her heart screamed with violence.
She knew that others had created a magical shield around the village to prevent the imps from getting through. It would not stop the muozi, however.
The mind-voice of Cheun, the Hell Priest of her Coven, shattered the silence then and made the chill air seem more unnatural.
-Shadow on the southern horizon! Stay alert!-
Q'La glanced toward the roof to her left and saw the team leader pointing toward the mountains. A black stain began to crawl up from the ridge into the night sky, covering the stars and diminishing visibility. It expanded swiftly toward the village until shadow encompassed all three Covens within. Then the sky burst into hundreds of tiny black shards that rained down on Shanang.
Goddess, let the shield hold, Q'La prayed.
Although the muozi were stronger, they had directly engaged the Jutsue rarely and preferred to remain behind to observe. The imps, on the other hand, were numerous and had inflicted more damage so far.
As the shadows neared the village, Q'La unsheathed her sword and assumed a fighting stance. She waited for the enemy's approach and sought comfort in the long hilt of the weapon in her hands.
Dark Huntress has saved my life many times over. Serve me well again, my trusted battle companion.
The first wave of imps appeared above the village then. Dozens of little black demons with large bat wings, ranging from three to fifteen hand spans in height, became visible in Shanang's torchlight. One of the biggest howled and swooped toward Q'La. She braced herself for contact.
The creature's red eyes cast their hateful gaze upon her, and its long, black talons stretched toward the prey. Q'La prepared to recite a spell when the imp came within twenty hand spans, but then it stopped in mid-flight.
A glowing red fire surrounded the monster as the magic of the shield took effect. It opened its mouth to scream and then exploded into a cloud of sparks. Seconds later, more imps fried as they struck the shield, and Q'La breathed a sigh of relief.
But she realized there were still the muozi Coven and their shadow monkey familiars to consider. Together, the muozi were at least as powerful as two Covens—probably three—and each one had three familiars.
Three Jutsue against five or six, Q'La wondered. The odds are not good—
The familiars descended upon the village before she could finish her thought. Shadow monkeys did not have wings, but Q'La suspected that the muozi held them aloft with magic. The first three fell toward the inner huts. Then three more monkeys engaged the Earth Priest of K'Hena Jutsu and her partner on the outermost hut of the spiral.
But Q'La could not spare the time to watch, because the next set of familiars attacked Cheun at that moment. Two of them fell upon the Hell Priest as the other darted across the roof toward the gap between huts. When it neared the edge, it sprang over the expanse and reached for Q'La with long, gray arms and claws.
"Dark Huntress rise!" hissed the Tiger Clan War Witch. "Ju'Xai Ju!"
Q'La waved the long, curved blade in a wide horizontal arc as the monster approached. A dark shadow erupted from the sword and doubled its lethal length. The shadow blade carved the monkey in half. Q'La ended her strike with Dark Huntress pointed behind her and facing her opponent as it disintegrated.
To kill a magical creature was to destroy it, which she knew well.
She had once dreamed of becoming a Huntress of the Circle, but because of the Bone Wizard's curse she could not. Instead, Q'La had trained as a Jutsu War Witch and swore to hunt down her enemies and eradicate them all—especially the Maugs.
Her desire for revenge mingled with the curse and often worked to the enemy's disadvantage, but the combination also made her dark magic unpredictable. Cheun and D'She, Yagove Coven's High Priest, had cautioned her on several occasions to use her power judiciously.
Q'La checked the other roof to be sure the shadow blade had not grown that far, as it had once in the past, and was glad to see nothing amiss—besides her comrades in combat with muozi familiars. A shadow monkey had its four limbs wrapped around Cheun's shoulders and waist and had bared its fangs. The second beast had Den, Cheun's partner, pinned to the roof with claws poised to slash his face.
Taking four steps backward, Q'La chanted a spell of minor levitation and prepared to jump. A rancid odor tickled her nose then, and a dark, hairy mass slammed into her left side.
She hit the roof with what should have been enough force to drive her through, but the magic that protected it held. Her head lay near the edge and she saw Dark Huntress on the ground below from the corner of her eye.
I must have dropped it, she thought, annoyed. Just what I need.
Q'La twisted around beneath the monster and drool splattered on her face. The shadow monkey howled in surprise when Q'La freed her arms and grabbed its shoulders. She rolled to the left and pinned the monkey with her knees. Then she reached for the dagger strapped to her right leg.
Something cackled behind her just before claws dug into her back and tore the vest of her Gi.
Q'La's body tensed and she screamed.
Grinding her teeth, she willed her hand to move and wrapped her fingers around the hilt of the dagger. She pulled it loose and swung around to drive the blade into the second attacker's throat. The monster fell backward, clutching at the dagger in vain.
But now the monkey under her had a free shoulder. Q'La felt the motion in the air before the claws lanced her cheek. She rolled backward, then stood up to face the creature.
As she reached for a vudoqen—throwing star—on her left arm, another shadow landed less than ten hand spans to her left on the roof. She cast a spell and tossed the star at the first attacker, then regarded the newest.
The monster sneered and took a step toward her.
Q'La could see the Hell Priest fighting with three familiars on the other roof. Den had fallen and Cheun would not live long. She probed with her Witch sense for Gazi and found him alive but engaged.
The monkey did not move as if it waited for something.
What is wrong here? she wondered.
Then another monster climbed onto the roof and stood beside the other.
More? How many of them wish to attack me? The monkeys had the ability to hide their magic. Q'La would need to turn her head to see but she dared not. Before her adversaries could move again, Q'La shouted, "Dark Huntress return! Ju'Xai Ju!" The sword reappeared in her hands as the fourth shadow monkey to attack her tonight lunged.Q'La gauged the distance between herself and the next hut. She knew that she stood in the middle of the roof, which meant that Cheun should be safe. If she did not turn all the way around, she need not fear killing Gazi either.
"Dark Huntress rise! Ju'Xai Ju!" She had cast the spell and swung the blade in time to catch the creature in the air, just before it collided with her. The shadow sword also grew long enough to kill the other beast. Q'La ended the motion facing the left, toward the inner spiral of huts. As the blade moved between the huts, two more shadow monkeys that were headed for Q'La fell in its wake. She watched them drop to the ground and then noticed two more coming toward her across the rooftops. Chin, from Sana Jutsu, beheaded one as it tried to pass. Then he tossed a vudoqen that struck the second in the eye. Nine? Q'La thought. Nine familiars came for me? She stiffened when she realized that she could not sense Gazi's presence. Slowly, she turned her head to the left. Gazi and his assailant lay dead on the roof. Anger and fear seized her heart as she turned to look for Cheun. Somehow, he had survived and continued to fight two familiars alone. "There is power in the Hunt," she whispered. The levitation spell she had cast earlier remained active, she noticed. Q'La sheathed her sword and did not hesitate this time. She ran toward the edge of the hut and leapt across, then landed on all fours without crashing through the roof. A strong shield that kept the monsters at bay surrounded Cheun. But they were relentless and the Hell Priest looked strained. Cheun could not hold the shield for long. Q'La reached for a vudoqen, which she kept in a leather band on her left forearm, and cast a spell on it. Then she flung it toward the nearest shadow monkey. The star lodged in the creature's back and it disintegrated. Cheun then blasted the other with an arrow of acid. His shield faded away and he fell to his knees. Q'La took only one step closer to the Hell Priest, mindful of the curse. "Cheun—" she said. He looked up and tried to smile. "I am fine, Q'La, but the familiars are all dead. The muozi will come now." Q'La turned around and saw that Cheun was correct. The Priests now attempted to fortify Coven protections to prepare for the next wave. The muozi will not be so easy to kill, she thought. "Why did so many of them concentrate on me?" Q'La wondered aloud. Cheun shook his head. "How many?" "Nine." "I do not know, Q'La. Perhaps they fear your curse." Their allies laid this curse on me. Why would they do so if it will only hurt them? An inhuman screech from above startled Q'La back to the present. The muozi descended upon the village. Like the familiars, they seemed to mark the Priests as their primary targets. The Hun Lo Me—High Priest—was darkest to Q'La's Witch sight. It landed on the hut with D'She and his partner, Ji. Ji barred the way to his High Priest but the Witch cast her aside with a thought. Ji flew off the hut and into a tree outside the village. Q'La knew she was dead. The muozi Witch turned her shadowy face toward Q'La as she strode with unnatural resolve toward D'She. At first, Q'La saw a hairy, ape-like body—until it transformed. A pale human face regarded her with a wicked grin, then returned its attention to the High Priest. "Q'La! Help!" Q'La had forgotten about Cheun. She turned to see the muozi crouched on the edge of the roof as it pointed a tugido toward the Hell Priest. This one also changed into a woman, except that her skin, hair and eyes were solid gray. The tugido was a monkey's paw attached to a branch. The gray Witch chanted something that Q'La could not hear and the paw began to glow. Q'La was angry. Enough of her comrades had died this night already. She removed the blade from the sheath on her back and charged the muozi. Then she sliced downward to remove the Witch's hand. The hand and the tugido fell on the roof and Q'La kicked them away. The Witch howled in pain and tried to reinforce her shields. Q'La did not plan to give her the chance. She drew Dark Huntress back and then plunged it into the muozi's belly. When she slid the blade out, the Witch fell over the edge and did not return. "Q'La," said Cheun behind her, "we must help D'She." She replaced her sword in the sheath, turned around and said, "Yes." Q'La recited the levitation spell again and jumped over the spiral path between the huts. She landed gently on the nearest dwelling, two steps away from Chin. Chin rolled away to avoid contact and cursed under his breath. Q'La ignored him and turned to the right, then darted for the next hut, where D'She engaged the muozi High Priest. D'She held his shields but his spells—as powerful as they were—seemed useless, and the muozi's magic continued to fray the protections. Before Q'La reached the hut, one spell breached the shields and wounded D'She's left shoulder. A Heaven War Witch of Yagove, Deu, landed on the hut a second before Q'La and rolled toward the enemy. As he rose to his feet, he rammed a knife into the Witch's lower back and she screamed. As Q'La knew, magical shields had little effect against a well-placed blade attack. But the muozi began to heal immediately. Q'La saw the deathblow coming and knew that Deu could not. The Witch's spell was clear to her senses. It was dark magic that was meant to kill instantly. She might be able to absorb it without harm, if she reached Deu before it struck. D'She might have countered the muozi spell if he were not busy healing the wound on his shoulder, which had begun to spread down his arm like a demonic infection. Q'La moved then with uncanny speed and tackled Deu. She pushed him aside and the death spell struck her in the chest. The claw marks on her back and other numerous scratches began to burn and she screamed. Darkness flooded her vision. Then the cold fire of the curse ignited within her and consumed the spell before it completed the work. It also left an emptiness inside that she suspected could never be filled. When her vision returned, Q'La saw the angry Witch aim her tugido and felt more magic stir in the air. "Ghostly Fire," said Q'La. "Ju'Xai Ju!" She spread her arms wide. Spiritual flames erupted around her and absorbed the bolt of disease that surged from the tugido. Q'La thought the Witch would be angry that she had thwarted another spell. Instead, when the fire cleared, the pale woman smiled as if she knew something that Q'La did not. The muozi raised the wand again. Q'La stepped back and drew her sword. Black shadows stretched from the Witch's head and formed hands that reached for Q'La. The Tiger Clan War Witch moved to block the attack with Dark Huntress. The shadow hands wrapped around the blade and snapped it in two, then consumed what remained. Q'La dropped the useless hilt and rolled backward. A War Witch without a weapon was not very effective, but Q'La had a few more. She reached for the throwing knife in the leather band around her right arm as the muozi prepared to cast another spell. Q'La tossed the knife and said, "Queen of Ice. Ju'Xai Ju!" The knife left a trail of frost as it sliced through the air. The pale woman tried to strengthen her shields for the impact but was too late. Dema Q'La's aim was true. The knife shattered the Witch's shields and then pierced her throat. As the muozi reached for the instrument of her demise, ice formed around the wound and quickly spread throughout her body. Q'La did not wait for her to find a way to thaw or stop to wonder how she had frozen a muozi High Priest in the first place. She snatched three vudoqen and tossed them in succession, adding spells to each to increase damage when they struck. The statue of ice shattered into fragments when the last star found its mark. The muozi High Priest was no more. Q'La exhaled in relief and then saw D'She. He stood motionless and silent, and stared in awe at Q'La. "What?" she said to him. "Are you hurt?" She looked closer and was grateful that his shoulder had healed. But this magnified her confusion. "Dema Q'La," he said, "you have done what none of us could." She did not answer. D'She said, "It seems the battle is over." Q'La confirmed this with her Witch sense. Active spells began to fade and no other magic was apparent. All the muozi must be dead. Then she remembered Deu. She could not sense his presence on the roof. Q'La dashed toward the edge, in the direction she had pushed Deu. When she looked down, she saw the War Witch sprawled on the ground with one leg twisted under his body. Deu must have seen her there, because he shouted then. "Your curse will undo us all!" "What is wrong?" said D'She from behind Q'La. He knelt beside her and looked. "D'She!" said Deu. "My leg is broken because of her! The Maugs sent her destroy us. We must not suffer her curse anymore!" D'She said, "You are wounded in battle and blame it on the one who has saved your life?" "She pushed me off the roof when I tried to save you from the muozi." "If she had not, you would be dead. I saw the Witch prepare a spell for you that only Q'La had a chance to survive." "But the curse—" "Deu! Q'La has saved us all tonight. She has killed a muozi High Priest when the combined efforts of an entire Coven could not. I will not hear more of this!"Deu said, "Yes, High Priest D'She."
Then he became silent.Q'La crawled away from the edge and sat in the middle of the roof. She squeezed her eyes shut as if to block the pain.
Her actions had won the battle, as D'She had said, but she knew that it meant nothing. Whether they mourned or praised the Goddess for victory, the others would not want to include her unless the Priests made them.
This was the life the Bone Wizard had given her with the curse. She hated it but she could not change it.
I will find you one day, Bone Wizard, thought Q'La. When I do, you will wish that you had never laid eyes on Q'La of the Tiger Clan.
Last: The Meeting by Daniel C. Henderson and Michael Southard
About the Author
Michael Southard is 40 years old and lives in Baltimore County, Maryland. He has an Associates degree in English Literature from the Community College of Baltimore County, where he completed the honors program and graduated summa cum laude. He has completed one book, Pure Intensity, and a second that is a collaboration with his friend Daniel Henderson, T-Bird.
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