Aurora Wolf

To Summon the Shadows

by

John Grover

Moonlight danced atop the cascading trees. Carra kept her blade sheathed while making her way across Black River. A cool breeze tussled her crimson hair and rippled the water beneath her feet. Night sounds made melancholy to the grim thoughts that preoccupied her. I wish there was another way.

Jirgo, her aide, kept pace behind her, his eyes ever watchful, trained to be sure nothing dare touch his mistress, the Custodian of the village. His serrated dagger was ready to strike, his bolo strapped to his belt, should anything stalk towards them.

Carra stopped after reaching the other side of the river and sniffed the air. A faint burning scent hung there. She locked her eyes on the ancient trees ahead, her gaze piercing the darkness. In the distance firelight flickered.

“Jirgo,” Carra called with alarm. “Hasten. We may be too late.”

They rushed along twisting trails strewn with thick roots and jagged rock. Splashes of moonlight reflected off of emerald-hued moss and mineral-encrusted stones. Ultimately a clearing revealed itself in the thick forest, an enormous bonfire raged within the center of it.

Carra’s heart quickened, her blood ran cold when she spotted the woman standing before the fire–the person she’d searched for all night.

The statuesque woman gestured to the sky, her ebony tresses dancing on a hot wind, a serpent coiling around her neck and shoulders. She rattled a necklace of bones before taking note of the two intruders in her midst. “Welcome!” She spat. “You are just in time, sister.”

 “Bethane,” Carra drew her sword. “I will not let you continue your wicked deeds. You have tormented our people enough.”

“Not nearly enough, dear one,” Bethane slid her hands around the serpent. “Not until your son dies.”

Carra let out a battle cry and lunged at her sister, sword swinging madly but Bethane held up her right hand—a wall of shadow, blacker than the night itself, rose up between them.

Jirgo rushed to stop her, but Carra crashed into the wall head on and crumpled to the ground. Her resolve was unflinching and she jumped back to her feet almost instantly. She swung her sword hard against the wall but it held.

“Curse you!” Carra screamed.

“It is you who are cursed,” Bethane said as she lifted the serpent above her head and gutted it with a dagger. She let the blood flow into the bonfire and chanted.

Horror filled Carra. She glowered at Jirgo and took his hand. “Brace yourself.”

A baneful moan swept through the air and the fire crackled. A moment later a shadow rose out of the flames, followed by another. The two twisted figures approached their mistress and bowed to her before stretching and shaping into charred-skin beasts, their eyes burning yellow, spittle escaping their lipless mouths and clawed hands clicking in the night air.

“Your son will not ascend to Custodian,” Bethane sneered. “No male ever shall. I may not be able to touch my own kin but the spawn of Hell surely can!”

Bethane cackled and vanished in a pillar of fire. One creature dashed into the forest in the opposite direction as the other charged right toward Carra.

She brandished her sword as the beast crashed through the wall of shadow, its clawed arm lashing across her face with lightning speed. Carra sailed through the air, struck a tree trunk and crashed to the ground. Her bones rattled as the wind got knocked out of her. Dull pain washed over her.

Jirgo swung his bolo, the spike stone on either end cutting through the air with a shattering pitch.

“No…” Carra coughed. “Head back… to the village. Warn the others. Protect my son!”

“I cannot leave—

“Go, I can handle the beast myself.”

Carra watched Jirgo turn and dart into the shadows. She felt coarse skin clamp down on her arm. The Hell beast tore her off the ground with a roar and hurled her through the air.

She landed face first, a salty taste filling her mouth. Carra struggled up, noticing the burn mark the creature left on her arm. Her gaze rolled to the ground where she saw it racing toward her again.

Another roar pealed through the night. Carra gasped for air and rolled out of the way, side-stepping the oncoming beast. Leaping to her feet, she attacked from behind, jamming a dagger, drawn from her boot, into the creature’s back.

It howled in agony as black pus spilled. Carra tried to hold on, twisting the dagger, but it threw her off and charged again. She managed to catch the beast in the gut with a well-placed kick and it stumbled back.

Carra searched frantically for her wayward sword as the beast recovered. A splinter of moonlight picked up the blade embedded in the tree she recently collided with. The Hell beast pulled the dagger from its back and shrieked. With that Carra launched herself into the air, and flipped over the creature as it took another swipe.

She landed before the tree and grabbed hold of the sword with both hands but it wouldn’t give. After searching the night sky above, the beast shook off its confusion and turned to Carra. She pulled again and grimaced. “By the Gods!” she cried.

The beast stomped toward her.

“No!” Carra screamed, enraged now. She braced the tree with her foot and yanked once more. The sword ripped free, bark scattered every which way, Carra spun around and swung blindly with all of her strength.

The blade took the beast’s head off with one thrust. Its body twitched, steaming blood sprayed, and arms flailed, as if searching the stump for its head, before falling limp to the ground.

Carra fell to her knees and panted. She looked up at the moon and saw a vision of her son. Please let Jirgo get there first… There was no time to waste. She vanished back into the forest, the shadows embracing her like family.

#

Dawn’s first light shimmered through the trees as Carra exited the forest and ascended Boon Hill overlooking her village. Black smoke billowed into the air causing Carra’s heart to jump and her pace to increase.

The brush trees flanking the first of the huts crackled with flames. Some roofs were ripe with fire as Carra raced into the village proper. Village warrior women instructed their male aides to douse the flames with water from nearby Siren Lake.

Jirgo met Carra in the village center. She noticed the claw marks burnt onto his arms they matched the one on her arm. The lifeless bodies of several warriors caught Carra’s gaze. May the Gods honor the women who protected him. “My son?” were the first words from her trembling lips.

“Ash is in a safe place. An elder got him out of the village with several warriors.”

“What of the Hell beast?”

“We ran it off into the forest.”

“You didn’t kill it?”

“No, we failed you Custodian.” Jirgo lowered his head. His gaze met the ground. “I blame myself. We should have destroyed it but it was too powerful.”

“There is only success or failure. There is no blame. We are all one people. It will return, if I know my sister the way I do.”

“I fear you are right. But Ash can be kept out of the village.”

“No, Bethane will locate him eventually and send her demons. No place is safe now. We must end this. Have the others collect the fallen. We will build a funeral pyre tonight. I will meet with the elder council about Bethane.”

#

Amidst the soft drumbeats, Carra sat cross-legged and waited in the meeting hall. After the drums stopped, two women came into the hall and flanked the entrance, long bows in their hands. They held open the doors, making way for four gray-haired women clad only in animal furs.

The elder council sat in a circle around Carra and each nodded to her with a smile. Carra returned their smiles and waited.

“We admire your campaign to move the village onto a new path,” Seren, the oldest of the four and the village medicine woman said. “We fear however that the village has made a very powerful enemy.”

“It’s not just a new path,” Carra replied. “It’s the right path. The world is changing and we need to change with it. Men may be physically weaker than us but it does not make them subservient and it does not make us wiser.”

Only silence answered her.

“I am Custodian and by divine law only one of my kin can ascend to Custodian. Our outdated tradition tells us it must be a woman. It is time to let go of the old ways. The Gods have decreed I am to have one child. I can have no more. That child is a male and by natural born right he must ascend to Custodian when I am gone. I believe this is the Gods’ will. The village has agreed.”

“Except one,” Seren said.

“My sister, Bethane.”

“It was right to have her banished. Her rage has twisted her magic and bends the natural world to malevolent ends.”

“Her hatred of men knows no bounds,” Carra said, regret waging a war inside her. Was it the right thing? Did I only make things worse? I should have reasoned with her.  “She was cruel to the men. Treating them like animals. She does not want to leave the old ways behind. She would have destroyed us all. I had to send her away. You all agreed there was no other way. Now, she blames all of us for the Gods denying a child of her own.”

“She will never allow your son to ascend to Custodian,” Seren said grimly. The old woman’s smile faded. “Or any man for that matter.”

“I will not allow her to murder a twelve-year-old boy, especially my son. She must be stopped. Bethane grows stronger. She has called upon the Ebon world and summoned the shadows there. We must act now as one. I can no longer do this alone. I need your blessing to unite against her.”

The great hall doors rattled and blew apart. A whirlwind rushed into the hall, forming a misty funnel. The torches lining the walls snuffed out, the roof clattered and the women shuddered.

Laughter echoed through the hall and the funnel vanished, Bethane appearing in its wake. “All of this just for me?”

The guards drew their bows with lightning speed and took aim, Carra grabbed the hilt of her sword but it was Seren who made the first move. The old medicine woman gestured with her right hand and a fireball burst in her palm. She hurled it at Bethane.

A wicked grin twisted on Bethane’s face. She raised both her arms and a pocket of shadows swallowed the soaring fireball. “A valiant attempt, teacher, but I’m afraid I have outgrown you.”

“Be gone, Bethane,” Carra stood and drew her sword. “You are not wanted here.”

“You and the old hags conspire against me again? I see nothing has changed around here.”

“It’s for the good of the village. The good of all–not just the one.”

“The good of the village!” Bethane seethed. “No, you shame our people. Fools! All of you are fools. The men are our servants. They are our breeders, and they can’t even do that right. They are nothing more. You give them this and they will take everything. I will not allow it!”

“It is not for you to allow or deny!” Carra moved closer to her sister. She felt the darkness emanating from her. Their eyes met. Rage burned eternal between them.

“You cannot hide the whelp from me forever,” Bethane said.

“Then forever ends now.” Carra held her sword aloft, poised to strike. Bethane’s eyes glittered in the shallow light. The scent of burning flesh wafted in the air. “Do it,” Carra dared. “You cannot because it is the first law of the magic.”

Bethane’s laughter filled the room. “You never learn, sister. It need not be me. Hark, an army rises soon. Let me leave you a taste of it.” She spread out her fingers and a swarm of eight-legged, charcoal-skinned creatures in the guise of giant spiders crawled out of the floor. The size of dogs, their eyes glowed yellow and fangs dripped with venom.

Carra swung her sword hard and slashed through a curtain of water. Bethane transformed into a puddle, dropped to the floor and slithered out of the hall as her spider demons attacked.

“Elders, away with thee!” Carra cried and the four elders scattered for the doors.

The guards leapt to Carra’s side. The first of them aimed her bow but was quickly attacked. Her arrow shot into the roof as six creatures climbed the length of her body and smothered her, fangs sinking deep into her flesh, her skin smoldering, sparks shooting through the air like fireflies.

Her deafening shrieks made Carra’s blood run cold. Her entire body tingled with gooseflesh as prickly legs scaled her spine. Carra backed forcefully into the nearest wall and smashed the spider on her back until it dropped. Her boot ended its miserable existence.

Other spiders leapt to the attack as Carra used her sword with precision. She hacked legs, split bodies in half, spilled black, smoldering blood all over the hall as her companion nailed the creatures to the walls with her arrows.

Carra hurled herself over packs of the creatures, slashing an arc through them until the last were splattered across the floor. She turned to flee the hall when one of the spiders thought to be vanquished, latched onto her feet. The room spun and the world turned upside down as Carra went down hard.

Multiple legs scurried frantically over her body. White-hot pain seared her skin as she dragged herself to a sitting position. Her head filled with a fog as her sight blurred. She caught glimpses of a shadowy form heading towards her face. In an instant it jumped into the air, coming straight down on—

An arrow pierced the air with a scream, running the creature through. It flopped on the floor in a fury before going still. Carra turned to last guard with gratitude only to watch her succumb to her wounds.

“Damn her to Hell!” Carra screamed, pulled herself to her feet and kicked the nearest creature across the room. Leaning on her sword, she eased her way out of the great hall.

Seren waited outside. She approached Carra and set her hands on her forehead. Strength and peace filled Carra’s body. The pain ravaging her faded. Her head cleared.

“You are right.” Seren took Carra’s hands in her own. “Unite against her. A final stand….before it’s too late…before she consumes us all.”

“I think I know a way,” Carra answered. “Tomorrow, we go to war.”

#

That evening Carra brought the women of the village together and asked them to be brave. Asked them to be strong. She joined them in a war dance around a bonfire, painting their faces and chanting to the Gods to protect them and be merciful to the fallen that would surely come.

In the twilight hours Carra retired to her hut. She listened to her warriors continue their chanting. The sound had a surprisingly calm affect on her.

“Don’t do this,” Jirgo whispered to her as he caressed her hair. “Please. Abandon your plan.”

“You would have me do nothing?”

He had no answer. Instead he laid his head on her chest and closed his eyes. Carra stroked his cheek gently with her fingers. “There has to be another way,” he said.

“I used to pray that there was. Now I understand, this is the only way.”

“You don’t even know where Bethane will be tomorrow. She moves with the wind in the night.”

“She will go to the Shaded Grove. I know my sister. It’s the place with the most energy for her shadow magic. She will attempt to raise her army there.”

“Then I will be at your side tomorrow.”

“No.”

“Carra…it is my wish. How can you refuse…now on the eve of…”

“You must protect Ash. Keep him away from the village. Keep him safe. I do all of this for him.”

“As you wish.”

“In the morning move him to a new location and stay with him.” Carra heard the distance in Jirgo’s voice. His eyes filled with sadness and doubt. Carra sat up and clasped his face in her hands. “I know this weighs heavy on you. I hope that you understand.”

“I understand your love for your son.”

She leaned into him and they kissed. “Return to your hut before someone discovers you.”

He pulled himself reluctantly from her arms and exited the hut. Tears streamed Carra’s cheeks. Her gaze lifted to the stars. Watch over us all. This is our only chance. Curse the dawn.

 

#

When the first rays of the sun glinted off Boon Hill, Carra assembled her warriors in the village center. All were clad in battle armor for the first time in decades. War paint now replaced the ceremonial paint from the night before.

“We know not of what waits out there.” Carra walked up and down the lines of women, fear on their faces but loyalty in their eyes, and gave her final speech. “Whatever it is we will meet it. We will stand united. We will move forward in the world stronger than ever. Be warned, the most depraved beasts serve Bethane. Things of nightmares, fierce and deadly. Show them no fear. For it is fear that feeds them.”

Carra formed battalions of archers and swordswomen, inspecting their weapons before sectioning off one last battalion. She gestured to the aides waiting for her word and they handed out hooded cloaks to the women.

“Assassin’s robes?” A young warrior turned to Carra. “Our people have made no use of these in over fifty years.”

“We must use all of our resources against Bethane,” Carra called, taking one of the cloaks for herself. “She will show no mercy.” She turned away from the women and met Jirgo’s gaze in the distance. Heartache left its mark on him. His eyes were red from weeping. Carra nodded to him and he headed out of the village, into the forest.

Seren made her way through the warriors to Carra. “The Hell beast that nearly burned down the village is still with her. I’ve seen this in my scrying. It’s her guardian now. You will need to deal with it to get to her.”

“Have no doubt,” Carra replied. “I will.”

“Take this.” Seren held out a flask. The contents glittered with bright white light. “I created it to temporarily shatter her shadow walls. The affect won’t last long, but long enough for you to get your assassins in.”

“Thank you, Seren. We would be nothing without you.”

“It is we who would be nothing without you.” Cold silence made the women pause and embrace.

“To battle!” Carra cried as a symphony of war cries echoed around her. They raced out of the village and scurried to the top of Boon Hill.

#

Dusk spread its veil over the forest. Carra and her warriors marched nearly all day until finally reaching the Shaded Grove—an alcove nestled in what seemed the center of the forest.

Its surroundings seemed shaped by mist and illusion, a dense patch of land that lacked substance and hid from view when the light did not shine directly on it.  A few more moments and the Grove would have vanished for the night.

A rumble of thunder stirred above them. Carra knew Bethane was near. Trees twisted and shaped like human bodies swayed in the cold wind that came out of nowhere.

Carra moved deeper into the Grove until Bethane finally came into view. The Hell beast at her side, she lifted her bloodstained arms out of the last deer of the herd she slaughtered, and howled.

It was too late.

Shadows gathered around Bethane and formed into hulking beasts and serpentine abominations, some studded with horns, some with four arms, others with enormous bat wings sprouting from their backs, all with piercing yellow eyes.

Terror griped Carra’s warriors but she strengthened their resolve with courage and confidence. She sent hand signals to her archers and they readied their bows. She called the swordswomen to her side. Flanking her right, the hooded warriors waited command. Carra turned to the one nearest her. “Exchange swords with me,” she whispered.

“Custodian,” the same young warrior who questioned the robes was perplexed. “I am not fit to wield your blade.”

“Fear not, this deed will protect your life,” Carra soothed and the two traded weapons. Carra lifted her right arm.

Half the archers ignited their arrows with flint.

“Now!” Carra cried.

Hundreds of flaming arrows soared into the Grove, striking the towering trees around it, setting them ablaze and illuminating the entire area. Carra clapped her hands and her swordswomen rushed to meet Hell’s army head on.

Claws and steel clashed in a bloody frenzy while war cries and bestial roars formed a deafening cacophony. Charred demons tore and clawed through warriors, scorching tender flesh and cracking bones. Some women were crushed against trees, arms wrenched from sockets, throats ripped out.

The warriors fought valiantly, springing over their slow attackers, sweeping with blades and axes. They chopped cloven hooves–toppling their foes, hacked through pus-filled bodies, ripped wings before the creatures took flight.

Bethane’s eyes glittered yellow as if the forces of Hell itself now possessed her. Her gaze searched the warriors and the thick forest beyond. “Come to face your end head on? I admire your courage and foolishness. Show yourself Carra, I know you’re out there. Don’t worry. I won’t harm a hair on your head. I cannot speak the same for my friends!”

A warrior charged Bethane, sword raised above her head with both hands, but the Hell beast plunged its claw through the warrior’s gut, before she even swung. Her body toppled to the ground.

A pack of demons stomped towards Carra and the rest of her team. Carra gestured again and her archers fired once more. Arrows shot through the air taking down some of the charging demons. The rest of the arrows targeted Bethane’s new guardian but they smashed and splintered against the shadow wall that sprung up around it and Bethane.

“It’s time!” Carra cried as she led her hooded warriors into the fray.

The cloaked battalion slashed its way through the battle until reaching the shadow wall. A wicked laugh erupted from Bethane. “You have resurrected the assassin’s guild? You really must fear me, sister!”

Carra took Seren’s flask in her hand and hurled it at the wall. A shower of light shot over the wall and dissipated it. The assassins rushed in as the archers launched their arrows simultaneously. Bethane’s eyes widened.

The arrows found their mark. The Hell beast roared in agony. It stumbled onto one knee, struggling to stay on its feet. Carra quickly confronted the beast and decapitated it with her blade.

A handful of assassins moved past the wall before it shifted back up, crushing a few unfortunates caught in between. Bethane’s face morphed into a mask of rage. “No matter, I do not need a guardian. Your assassins are no match for me, Carra!” She continued to search the forest.

Two hooded assassins rushed Bethane. She hurled a fireball at one, knocking the assassin off her feet and engulfing her in flames. Bethane pointed to the other and a lightning bolt shot into her, sending her soaring through the air.  “This is it?” Bethane called. “This is your pathetic attempt at stopping me?”

Outside the wall the battle raged. Arrows screamed through the air, the moans of the dying followed. Winged demons took to the air with their victims and blood splattered as the carnage worsened. The warriors were losing their footing.

Carra watched with distress as her people fell. Her face grimaced. She fought back a scream and turned to Bethane, who took aim at another assassin. The time is now. I need to finish this. Forever.

 

Carra raised her sword in both hands and charged full force toward her sister. Bethane turned to see the hooded figure charging at her and gestured. A series of lightning bolts crackled and enveloped Carra. Agony burned through her, a charge filled her mouth, she tasted it on her lips.

At last she felt her body float through the air as if flying on a cloud. Carra hit the ground with a thud. She looked up, her hood falling off to reveal herself to Bethane whose face drained of all color.

 “Carra…” Bethane screamed. “No! It can’t be… I did not…it is a trick!”

“It is no trick, my sister. I… will see you …in the next life.”

Bethane’s flesh withered and her hair turned white. Her face grew gaunt as her wails filled the forest. The ground beneath Bethane bubbled with tendril-like shadows, slithering around her and dragging her beneath it. The last sight was Bethane’s withered hands clawing at the ground before vanishing.

Carra managed a weak smile as the wall around her vanished. The demon army also vanished in mid-battle as if it never existed. Her warriors spotted their fallen Custodian and gathered around her. Their weeping filled the Grove.

“No!” The cry rose above the warriors. Jirgo rushed through them and fell to his knees. Carra managed to take his hand. “This should not have been…should not have been.”

“My son…”

“He is safe.” Jirgo’s tears soaked his face.

“I am at peace with this,” Carra whispered. She was fading away. “Take care of him, Jirgo. He is Custodian now and he will need your guidance.”
“I will do my best and honor you, my Custodian.”

“Do more than your best, Jirgo. You are his father.”

“Carra…” Jirgo’s eyes widened. “I…am…”

“I am sorry I never told you. Yes…he is your son. Watch over him. Protect him. The village needs him now.”

“I will. Until I join you, my Carra.”

The moonlight shimmered between the clouds, setting the Custodian’s body aglow. Jirgo held her tight as shadows departed and the weeping echoed.