SWNOVELS Chapter 4: Tracked
Back in the Throne room of the Black Fortress, the Emperor sat on the throne with General Gulez standing at his side as a hooded figure approached the throne and bowed. Gulez had a cold, intense stare on the hooded figure. “Ahriaman, my faithful servant; rise and approach,” the Emperor ordered coolly.
The hooded figure rose and mounted the stairs to stand before them. Pulling his hood off, he looked at Gulez and said venomously, “The outlander stands in Kronos’ place? Why, my Lord Emperor?”
The Emperor’s countenance darkened as he hissed, “It’s not you place to know why I do things, snake. What have you found out, wizard? Where are they?”
Ahriaman chuckled hideously at Gulez as he said, “You should’ve let me take care of Beowulf myself, my Lord Emperor. As it is, I had barely enough time to expose him to the shebats after the mutation. They have done what you could not. The mutated Beowulf is dead, my Lord Emperor.”
Gulez’s hope faded and he hid it with anger, hissing venomously, “Where is her body, snake? I will not believe it until I at least see her bloated, stinking corpse! How can you be so sure she’s dead?”
Ahriaman glared at Gulez for his arrogance. He reached in the folds of his cloak, pulled out a shebat the size of a golf ball, and showed it to him. “Foolish outlander,” Ahriaman hissed, “You see this? This is a shebat. They consume flesh and blood, killing when they reach this size. Aurok shehei.”
The shebat suddenly sprouted wings and attacked Gulez before he could respond. The Emperor’s hand shot out like lightning and grabbed the shebat just as it was about to tear Gulez a new orifice. “Now Ahriaman; is that any way to treat my new vizier?” the Emperor growled with mild annoyance as he crushed the cyber-parasite in his hand. Then addressing Gulez, he said sternly, “You should show some respect for Ahriaman. He’s my top wizard and leader of the Cadre. He has direct control over the shebats. Tell him how the shebats work, Ahriaman.”
“Shebats are a genetically engineered cyber-parasite that is part organic and part machine.” Ahriaman explained coldly to Gulez. “When they are first engineered, they are microscopic in size, capable of being disseminated by any means we deem necessary. What they do when introduced into a host, they will search the body until they find the weakest point, and then at that point, they’ll begin to feed and grow. As they grow, they consume the flesh around them, causing great pain and fevers. Sometimes it takes them weeks or months to grow to the point where they can kill. Once they reach killing size, they move to a vital area and consume it until the host is dead. Once they kill and consume the host, they explode, rupturing the corpse and spreading more microscopic shebats around the carcass. They are designed to last for two weeks outside a host. The microscopic shebats will then search for a new host. It’s the perfect killing machine. When they’re at the microscopic stage, they’re practically undetectable and they’re one hundred percent lethal once they acquire a host. And what makes them so useful is that we can control them and even track them if we want; however, their tracking ability is limited only to when they are bigger than a grain of sand. Once they get to the size of a grain of sand, we can use them to track the host down. Once they explode, we lose the tracking potential, which brings me to the point. We infected him the night before you took him to the Arena, your highness. We have been tracking him for the last week and his signal has not moved for that week. We lost the signal just forty minutes ago, which means that the shebat has done its job and exploded.”
“Where are they?” the Emperor demanded.
Ahriaman looked the Emperor dead in the face and said with a wicked sneer, “Acheron, my Lord Emperor. The signal was in Acheron.”
The Emperor’s eyes blazed with wrath. “Acheron?” he bellowed as he jumped up from the throne. “She’s in Acheron? How in the hell did she get to Acheron?”
Ahriaman shook his head and said, “I know not, my Lord Emperor, but by some feat, the mutated Beowulf has managed to get to Acheron. Logic dictates that if she went there, then that’s most likely where the people of Arionath went. However, know this, your highness, if they are truly there, they will wish they weren’t. The city is a necropolis and the citadel is the tomb of the damned. There are things much older and fouler than the Old Ones haunting those ruins that will destroy anything that comes into their territory.”
“Damnation!” the Emperor roared. “Don’t tell me what haunts those ruins because I know what’s there. Acheron was my stronghold before the Kragonar. There are things there that could very well do me great harm if they find them. Go back to Kartoom Ahriaman, and triple the production of the Xenians and Zarukars. I want an army to end all armies! Unleash the Rakshasar. Have them search all of the North Country for the rebels, starting at Acheron. Regardless of whether she is dead or alive, bring me that mutated bitch’s head along with that prophet who has defied me for so long. We end this now.”
Ahriaman bowed and covered his head after giving Gulez the evil eye. “As you command, my Lord Emperor,” Ahriaman replied evenly. He then turned and walked away, leaving Gulez and the Emperor standing there on the dais.
As Ahriaman walked away, the Emperor called out, “The cat is in your charge. Make her a fit queen for me.”
Ahriaman paused and turned to the Emperor, saying with a hideously wicked tone, “I have already begun dealing with her, my Lord Emperor. She has a strong mind and loyalties. She will be a challenge, but she will succumb.”
The Emperor’s burning gaze fell upon Ahriaman as he said severely, “I will have her as my queen. If you fail me on this, I will personally eat your soul and feed your rotting corpse to the god-worms!”
Ahriaman shuddered at the threat and said, “Yes, my Lord Emperor. Shall we take her back to Kartoom?”
“No, you fool!” the Emperor hissed. “She is not to leave this fortress, but you may take her to the northeast tower if you need to.”
Ahriaman bowed again and said, “As you command, my Lord Emperor.” At that, Ahriaman floated away like a ghost.
The Emperor then turned to Gulez and ordered sternly, “Gather the armies of Amacia at Cydonia on the Plains of Blood. I want every engine of war at my disposal there. Once you have done that, report back to me. These fleas have escaped for the last time. Once we wipe this rabble from the land, the world will be mine for the taking. What are you still doing here? Go, General. You have much work to do.”
“Yes, sir,” Gulez replied, moving deliberately toward the stairs and the doors to the throne room.
As he walked across the floor, the Emperor called out, “DO NOT disappoint me, General.” Gulez briefly looked back at the Emperor as he opened the door.
“No, sir,” Gulez answered, fleeing the throne room. With a great sigh of relief, he went in search of the Captain of the Guards, and to get the armies moving.