“What is taking that idiot so long?” she growled into the empty air. Five days had passed. Five days spent squatting in a stinking cave like a scavenger waiting for her useless brother to return. It was a wonder he could even feed himself, yet somehow she felt safe in trusting him with what might be the most important assignment she would ever…

“Get ahold of yourself.” She rubbed her temples, hoping to relieve the headache that had been building over the past few days.

As much as she hated to admit it, Cali was…nervous at being around so many of a lower caste. Especially miles away from Sheol in a cavern that couldn’t be found without a guide. Even with her guards (Specters alone were nothing to laugh at, never mind if they had both a Harbinger and a Bearer to back them up) there were a distressing number of palecoats living here. If they all got it in their heads to rush her…

“As if any of them would be so brave,” she laughed to herself. The rule of the Clergy was absolute. They wouldn’t dare challenge her. The backlash would destroy them. Still…her best interests would be served in finding the girl quickly and leaving the vermin to their hole.

With that decision reaffirmed in her mind, the priestess stood from the cloth mat that had the audacity to think of itself as a bed. She’d been more comfortable scrubbing the floors of the chapel when she was a girl. Perhaps she could have it incinerated before she left…

She stretched her back until there was a loud crack. Thankfully she was alone. It wouldn’t due for anyone to know about her bad habits. Commandeering the cave had been a rather simple matter considering the owners were dead. And it had the bare minimum of being dry.

The Harbinger was waiting for her at the entrance, like he always was. Cali had performed the process herself and she still found it hard to believe it was once sentient. It was more like a pet than anything. A giant, seven hundred pound pet with the strength to bend steel and a bloodlust that had to be constantly watched or it would slaughter everything in sight. The hulk scrambled to its feet the second it laid eyes on her, ready to perform for its master. She put on a false smile and patted it on the head, letting it know it was doing a good job.

It disturbed her that the only one she could really count on was dumber than a pile of rocks.

“Mistress, it is good to see you awake. I trust you slept well?” Cali turned to the falsely cheery voice. The Spector was busy playing a game of Scrap with the Bearer over in one corner. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of them wasting time on games when…who was she kidding. There was nothing else to do here!

“Report.” Cali sat at the edge of the drawn out board, eyeing it curiously. She remembered seeing this set earlier. Two groups of rocks, one painted red and the other blue, each with a small white symbol to signify type. Rather expertly done too. She could honestly see these on a real board instead of boundaries sprawled in the dirt.

The game itself was deceptively simple and took real dedication to master. Much like chess. Actually, it wouldn’t be wrong to call it a variant on the game, just with more piece types, terrain, different actions for the pieces, and multiple win conditions. Essentially, what happens when a hyper-competitive group of fanatics decide they needed a more complicated game to train themselves in tactics and show just how great their strategic skills are.

Complete nonsense in her opinion and no substitute for real experience, but it was popular enough that NOT to play it would be considered outlandish. As a priestess, she had more important things to do so she’d never spent any time on the ‘sport’ but had learned enough to hold her own.

This pair, however, seemed to both enjoy the game immensely. There was no way of knowing how long they’d been playing, but they’d moved their pieces into a complex series of formations and skirmishes and it was difficult to tell who was in the lead.

“Not much to say,” the Bearer commented before tapping on of her red arches and the blue Harbinger of her opponent, signaling that they were firing on it. Locked in place, the hulk couldn’t move forward to assist which would weaken the defense of the blue army. “The Rotter left a while ago.”

“What!” Cali stared at her, feeling a small stone of rage forming. “How could you let that…thing out of your sight?” Leaving those who worship plague to their own devices had proved…problematic in the past. A short leash was necessary to keep them in line. And upwind.

“He said he wanted to go for a walk.” The Spector shrugged before moving a similarly named piece into a flanking position for an opposing Templar. “He left this…village entirely so he isn’t going to poison anyone here. Besides, stopping him implies touching him and…well, the issues with that should be obvious.”

“Probably just caught the scent of some wild animal and wanted to hunt it for sport.” The Bearer moved a soldier unit to guard her Templar, voiding the flanking maneuver and ensuring the stalemate would last. “He should be back any time now.”

“I am sorry for our lapse in judgment mistress.” The Spector did a short bow. “Would you like me to go fetch him for you?” What little Cali saw of her eyes made it very clear how much she hated this prospect. Still, the fact that she would offer was fitting for a Priestess of her station.

“Sycophant,” the Bearer muttered, earning a sharp glare from her opponent.

“No,” she said after a few moments of thought. “If he wants to go traipsing around and abandon his duty than I will not waste my time and resources on him. I will think of a suitable punishment for when he returns, but until then I will enjoy breathing easily.”

“Very well.” The Spector sighed in relief, moving a Priestess forward. Presumably to draw out the Templar. “The rest of the soldiers are performing their duties as asked. Two have been stationed at the entrance to the alcove at all times, though they haven’t encountered anything besides residents asking when they will receive use of their homes again.”

“When our task is done,” the Priestess decreed.

“Which should be any time now if your brother is even half competent.” The Bearer sent a Rotter towards the Priestess. It seemed the battle was finally starting to pick up. “How hard can it be to deal with a pair of children?”

“Exactly.” Cali’s teeth ground together at the thought of spending another minute among this filth. Even without that strange magic he had, Kylar was trained in both tracking and combat. He should have easily caught those brats by now. It was possible he had already taken her head and was on his way back, but five days was far too long for what was only expected to be an hours long hunt. He should have finished ages ago.

No matter. They were only children. How far could they have possible gotten?

“How much farther?”

“Not much,” Raden lied. In truth he had no idea where they were headed. Or even if they were going anywhere. It was very possible they would have to spend the rest of their lives living out in these wild areas, always running, always hiding. But he wasn’t going to tell his little sister that.

Not yet anyway…

Maybe he should have waited longer. Two days was hardly enough time to draw them off. There was a chance their parents were at the meeting place looking for them. Maybe he should turn back…they did say not to go too far into the wilds…

He mentally slapped himself. Pretending wasn’t going to do either of them any good. His parents were gone…they wouldn’t be left alive no matter what the Clergy found…

He heard Skeir let out a loud yawn. He gripped her hand a little tighter and kept walking, very aware that he was practically pulling her along at this point. They’d have to stop and rest soon.

It didn’t surprise him she was tired. Hell, he was exhausted. They’d been walking almost nonstop since leaving home. He’d taken her up cliffs and down ravines, through canyons and small passages, he’d even had to carry her across a river at one point. A single slip up and they both would have drowned…

Raden would have liked nothing more than to lie down and rest his eyes, but the chances were next to nothing those zealots would give up after only three days. Still, it would spell disaster if Skeir collapsed. And it would mean death if he did.

“Hey, why don’t we stop for something to eat?” He smiled down at her. She hesitated a moment before nodding slowly. He was actually a bit relieved. Their last meal was almost ten hours ago. At least he thought so. It was hard to tell time without Calenth announcing it in time with her water clock.

He mentally kicked himself before he started thinking of home.

“Great. Now let’s see…ah!” A small rock field showed itself just up ahead on a hill. It reinforced his suspicion that the cave they were in was the sight of a great battle, long enough ago that any metal or bodies left over had either been scavenged or turned to dust.

He led her up the small slope without another word. Neither of them had been talking that much. There wasn’t anything to say.

The boulder he picked to serve as shelter was easily twice the size of their cave back home. Admittedly, hiding behind a big rock wasn’t the best method to keep themselves hidden, but it was better than nothing. At the very least it was dry, unlike the last camp. How so many leeches could possibly survive in such a barren area would always be a mystery to him.

“So which do you feel like today? Mushrooms or meat?” he asked, reaching into the supply pack. Calling their diet limited was a gross understatement. There wasn’t much that would grow in these sunless areas besides fungus. There really wasn’t anything else besides whatever they could hunt.

“Either’s fine,” Skeir said quietly. Actually, she had been nothing but quiet recently, save for the occasional question. It wasn’t that he minded this, not making a sound was probably a good thing since they were on the run, it was that she normally never shut up. His parents weren’t even sure where some of the words she used came from.

“Alright…we’ll have a little of both.” He pulled out a few chunks of fungus and two strips of dried meat. He divided them up and handed her one of the strips and a bit over half the mushrooms. Keeping his fingers crossed that she wouldn’t notice the difference in portions, he took up watch, looking back the way they came. There wasn’t much of a chance he’d see them coming, but it paid to keep up appearances.

He was going to have to start scavenging soon. The food their parents had packed was enough for four people for three days. If he had been smart with it, he might have been able to stretch it to eight, but…numbers weren’t his thing. As it was, they could eat breakfast tomorrow. After that, it was scavenge until…

Until what? Where were they going? Where could they possibly go?

Another city? There were several that didn’t use a caste system…or at least didn’t go as far with it. They’d probably be happy to get a horned one among them. Elated even. A couple would worship Skeir as a demi-god! And…and turn her into a tool…or make her a priestess. She was better off dead.

Stay here, wandering the Wilds forever? Could they do that? Sure the first few years would be hard…actually, hard was an understatement, but if they survived, they’d be set. No one messed with the people who lived out here. They were tough, fearless, a step up from the rest, and…insane…cruel…sadists who’d do anything for their next meal…

Go back? Try to find someone to hide them? At least for a little while. At least…until they were found again. And now that the Clergy was actively hunting them, there was no way it would be more than a few months. And that was being generous.

Maybe…could they? Was that even an option? He’d heard stories about it being done, but…

“Raden?” He felt a tug at his side and looked down. Skeir stared up at him, red eyes questioning. “Do you think our parents will find us soon?”

“I don’t know.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. The chances of them being alive were small, but that was still a chance right? Maybe they were headed this way now? Maybe they were wondering where their children were? Maybe they assumed their children were dead and went home? Maybe he should have stayed at the meeting place…“It might be a while. Priestesses are very persistent. There’s a good chance she hasn’t left yet and-”

“They’re dead, aren’t they?”

He couldn’t help but choke on his words. How did she know? How did she always know these things? He supposed it was obvious. Death followed the Clergy like a plague followed a Rotter, but it was still too much intuition for a little girl! Or at least he thought so…he always underestimated her…

There was no choice in the matter. It was better he came clean now than kept leading her on when she already knew the truth. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak.

“I believe I can answer that.”

…That wasn’t him speaking.

Both children turned to see a figure standing on the rock. It glared down at the two of them, eyes filled practically glowing with malice. A long, thin shape stretched out from one of its arms, ending in a sharp point. He had a strong feeling he knew where that point was headed.

Before he could even tell Skeir to run, the figure pounced.

Author's Notes:

...I need to update more.

Also these chapters are getting harder to title...it's strange...