CITY OF BRIDGES

10

Get Out of My Head

Am I dreaming? Leonie was confused. A strange brown glow began to throb in her head, and with it, a presence. Who are you?

Surprised at her awakening, Lothas controlled his response. There, there, the voice in her head soothed. It doesn’t matter who I am, other than a friend. My master requires me to use whatever means are necessary to obtain that tome by your feet. I’m inside your mind to direct you to bring it to me, and no, you are not dreaming. This is real.

Where are you? What do you want? Leonie sensed a dim, brown light in the darkness.

Physically, I’m in Delta. Lothas, the High Priest of Death dared not let on she was at the extreme range of his abilities. We require the codex. Your body will feel no pain. The brown pulse flickered black. In fact, you’ll not be aware of any part of the journey, the voice assured her.

Who’s your master? Leonie asked. Though the voice in her head was saying kind words, there seemed to be a darker presence.

The great Lord Opsyss.

I’ve heard a little bit about him.

He is most powerful. You will soon get to know him well for your service.

What service?

I sense your unease. Rest assured, ultimately, you will be well-rewarded. He knew now he should have tried harder to kill the wench in her sleep, but at this extreme range, it was difficult. Get her closer, and her fate – and his success – would be sealed. Now she was aware, and there was that mysterious barrier in her mind, she might be troublesome. He had to try again later—

Get out, her mind screamed.

Darkness engulfed her. At first, she thought she would sleep, but then realised she was already asleep. Too late, she grasped the reality as cold darkness descended.

*

Hectr knocked on his companion’s door. There was no reply. He checked to see he had the right room; certain it was the one diagonally opposite his own. As he knocked harder, the door slipped open.

“Leonie?” he called, pushing the door open further and stepping through.

The bed had been slept in, as evident by the twisted sheets, but was now empty. He felt the sheets. They were cold. Puzzled, he went downstairs to the front of the inn. The door was ajar. He turned at a sound from the kitchen but found only the cook preparing the breakfast. The lass lifted a tray of fresh loaves from the oven. She shook her head when he asked if she’d seen Leonie. Picking up his pace up in concern, he went to the stables at the rear of the building.

Argus was there curled up in a divot in the dirt, but other than the cart and a donkey, the stable was empty. It was unusual for her to wander off. He ran around the inn to the road. There was no sign of her in either direction. At a loss, he spotted the stable-hand collecting shellfish from traps by the river.

“Ho there, lad,” he called.

Putting down the trap, the boy stood up quickly. “Will you be wanting your di’anth and cart readied?”

“I’m not sure. My young, hairy friend has wandered off. I was hoping you might have seen her.”

“No, sir.” The lad shook his head.

“Never mind, lad. I’m sure she’ll turn up.” Feiron hurried back to the inn, his mind racing. When he left her last night, she had retired with the book held in her paws. He searched her room. Her pack was still there by the bed, but there was no book.

Only now did he seriously consider her words the day before, about the feeling of being watched. Somehow, someone managed to get close enough to spirit her and the book away. He ran to the stable, wondering why they’d want her if they had the book. Another thought chilled him – what about the Jart’lekk? If Leonie was correct when they spoke back in Delta, he was certain they’d not given up, not with the loss of two of their own. If they had been this close without discovery, Leonie would be a corpse; himself along with her. Her disappearance remained a mystery – it was not their way.

No matter which way he looked at it, none of this boded well. He dragged the saddle from the cart and strapped it onto Argus’s broad back. When he grabbed the reins and swung up into the seat, the di’anth stomped several times at the awkward weight. It had been a while, Feiron recalled, since either of them had been near a saddle. As an afterthought, knowing Leonie’s abilities in accumulating injuries, he extended an arm to reach over and grabbed his satchel from the back of the cart.

He gently backed the beast out of the enclosure and turned him into the lane. At the road, he turned to the south. It was a sheer guess. All he considered at that point was Delta; Jart’lekk, the Woorin Temple and anyone who had an interest in the Seer’s Codex lay in this direction.

Argus stomped to the south, his webbed feet slapping the road as he picked up speed.

*

Leonie found herself in complete darkness and silence, making her feel claustrophobic. She didn’t think she was dead.

The ‘voice’ spoke the truth. She could feel nothing, hear nothing. Her senses registered nothing; only part of her mind seemed to be active. She could admit to herself her fear. Leonie heard that when you died, you could meet up with those who had passed away before. Death held no joy for her. The thought of the possibility of meeting those she had killed didn’t make her feel good in the slightest.
There was no one here, though. Nothing. That meant one of two things. Either what she’d heard had been lies, or she lived.

If she wasn’t dead, then she was angry. This Lothas had entered her mind and taken over her body to do with as he pleased. Regardless of how sorry he said he was, it was her body. She wanted it back. She didn’t enjoy being trapped in this dark place in her mind, and he was taking the book.

Lothas worked for Lord Opsyss, not Woorin. So, he wasn’t from the Brotherhood of the Flame. One was as bad as the other. Leonie’s thoughts raced. Where am I? How do I get out of here? She searched in vain. How can I escape from my own mind? This place reminded her of being stuck in a barrel.

Leonie panicked as forgotten childhood memories burst forth. Wandering the backstreets of Delta, a bunch of street kids had chased her. She had run off, hiding inside a barrel. They passed, but when she had lifted the lid to look one of the slower kids lagging behind his friends spotted her. Before she could get out of the awkward hiding place, they wedged the lid down tight. Trapping her in the cramped dark. She remembered them laughing; kicking and banging the sides until her head rang like a drum. Leonie struggled to find a weak point. A final kick toppled the barrel, and it started to roll. Their laughter faded with the increasing rumbling and distance.

She became dizzy. The noise as it bounced over the cobbles was worse than anything she heard before.

The noise stopped abruptly. Her stomach heaved as the barrel fell. For a second, she thought everything was getting better, but then there was a big splash. Leonie had smacked her head hard. The next thing she knew, there was water all around her. Salt water. She had rolled into the harbour—

You will have to save yourself again. With her mind’s eye, she perceived this thought as a pale, blue light pulsing faintly each time he spoke.

What?

Save yourself. Fight back. How is this any worse than your time in the barrel?

Who are you?

A friend.

The other voice said he was a friend too.

I am here to help you, not control you.

Her head throbbed again. Everyone wanted the book and to use her to get it. Confused and uncomfortable, the darkness swelled and rolled in her head. Was this another trick to get her to change her mind? All she wanted was peace and quiet. Go away.

That is it. Get angry. Do not let that priest use you like a puppet.

I said go AWAY. She didn’t know what to do. Instinct took over. I want you OUT OF MY HEAD.

Make me go. Concentrate your Will. Fight as hard as you can.

She pushed, envisioning the blueness dwindling in size, becoming fainter. She was back in the barrel, using her legs and pushing her back against the sides—

You will have to push harder. Lothas will eventually kill you, you know. It is what he does. The blue light pulsed again. You need to strengthen your mind as soon as possible.

Lothas’ brown pulse reappeared, dimmer. What’s happening here?

You’re leaving too!

You’re supposed to be dead, girl. The brown pulse flared, remaining firm for a time before fading again. Where have you been hiding?

GO AWAY. Leonie pushed at the brown light.

It’s not that easy. The brown light dimmed.

Leonie kept pushing. She could feel ‘something’ give.

Is that the best you can do? The blue light flashed.

GET OUT. Leonie pushed as hard as she could.

Better. Much better. A nucleus of white glowed within the blue aura.

Who is in here with you? The brown light now had an orange fringe, then slowly faded.

Good girl. He is weakening.

Leonie’s body stumbled, falling heavily to the stony ground, smacking her head against a rock. She lay in a muddy puddle at the edge of a path between two fields. Her body jerked the moment she touched the water. Her limbs moved woodenly, soft flesh scraped over the hard rocks, leaving small trails of blood swirling in the water until she was back on dry dirt. The book lay in the scraggy grass.

I sense pain. Her mind reeled.

Good, the blue aura said. Lothas is losing control, but it is not over yet.

Do you know how much reward my Lord Opsyss can give you? Lothas praised. Dim flashes of brown appeared with each word.

Leonie stumbled to her feet. NOT ENOUGH TO PUT UP WITH YOU. She staggered a few steps, and then stopped. Despite her resistance, she turned and went back in slow, jerky movements to retrieve the book as Lothas again regained control.

He’s too strong. Leonie sighed. I’m useless.

Nonsense, you are untrained, Blue flashed.

How do I get better? Can you teach me?

Perhaps. First, you must survive long enough.

Where are you?

Close. Rest your mind, for now, you will need to battle him again.

Blissful silence. Her mind was still a roiling cloud of foulness, but from her little haven, she sensed the blue mind’s withdrawal. Lothas was still lurking inside her head. She now knew evil. Leonie heeded the advice and sank into the depths of her mind. It wasn’t so bad now. She wondered if the bit of training helped or was it exhaustion? Perhaps she was now truly dying.

The sun rode high in the sky. On the top of the rise, Lothas, through his ‘borrowed’ feline eyes, discerned the Urmaq as a silvery ribbon in the distance. The clarity of this creature’s eyes amazed him. His mind registered the flies buzzing around the gashes in the knees, arms and head. It would be several hours before he’d have complete control. This half-rrell had apparently found a little hiding place for her mind. Once across the water boundary, he’d be stronger. He would pull her mind apart. She would have nowhere to hide.

As she stumbled over the rise, a small hut came into view. Lothas forced Leonie’s damaged legs to move faster, heading directly for the ferry, arriving at the small tributary as the sun-kissed the horizon. The girl remained passive, which was a relief. There was only a short way to go and once across the water, she would be his. Stepping onto the flat-bottomed barge, Lothas got her to untie the mooring line.

“Hey. What ya think ya doin’?” a gravelly voice called out.

Leonie / Lothas ignored it and continued with the task at hand. Footsteps approached and a firm, calloused hand grasped her shoulder, wrenching her around.

“I said wha—” The ferry-man fell back with a stricken look when the half-rrell he had ferried only a day earlier turned to face him, now covered in mud and blood. A jagged cut to her head exposed bone. Many lacerations covered her knees and arms. The vacant stare from her eyes was as dark as midnight.

Unnerved by the sight, he fled screaming into the thatched cottage. The slammed door rattled the shutters on the windows.

Leonie / Lothas resumed moving the barge. Moving the vessel would take more strength than this body possessed. Lothas had no such trouble. The pain from tearing muscle and sinew was nothing to him as he forced her body to work far beyond its capacity.

* * *