The Sewers

Sir Lucan dropped into a flowing river of brown water. It stunk down here, like rotting flesh and urine. He tried holding his breath as he moved through the murkiness, but the smell was overpowering. His stomach roiled, and he fought back a wave of nausea. 

At least it wasn't as bad as the smell of rotting flesh.

Where the hell is she? He wondered, choosing a random tunnel to go down. 

If he didn't find Athena here, the king would…what would he do? Sir Lucan was his strongest soldier. There was no one that could truly threaten his strength. 

Now you're thinking like the witch, he thought with frustration. She was trying to get in his head. He wouldn't let her. 

A raucous clang of metal echoed down the tunnel, and Sir Lucan froze, listening. It had to be her. No one else would be down willingly. 

He stood at a fork in the tunnel. Two options. Going with his gut, he took off down the left tunnel.

*******

Leandis stepped out of the castle walls for the first time in nearly a month. Have I really been holed up that long? 

Galvan and one other knight, Sir Melior, accompanied him through the quiet empty streets. Even with this amount of protection, Leandis felt vulnerable. 

"Where the hell is everyone?" He asked aloud, scanning the streets for any sign of movement. 

Galvan shrugged. "Probably hiding, if I had to guess. I mean who wants to risk getting killed by the strongest man in the city?"

"You think he's the strongest?"

His brother smirked. "Doubt it. In a duel, I could probably take him."

There was a clatter down an alley, and Leandis jumped.

"Calm yourself, my king," Galvan said, his hand still resting on his shortsword. "I'll protect you if anything happens."

"That's ridiculous. My own baby brother. You have to protect me? It should be the opposite," the king said.

"A king doesn't need to know how to fight, physically. He must lead with his words, understand strategy, and form good political relations with the other houses. So far, I'd say you've done well on all fronts. You've never been expected to fight on the front lines of battles, but you still must lead your men to victory."

"Your Grace," Sir Melior interrupted, pointing.

Leandis followed his finger to a tree, which had partially crushed the roof of Bedlam's Tavern.

Toward the back of the bar stood Bryer and his wife, and they seemed to be assessing the damage. 

"What happened here?" Leandis asked, approaching the couple, who kneeled immediately before him. 

"Your knight, Sir Lucan happened, Your Majesty" Bryer said, his face flustered. 

"He was in a hurry," the woman said. "Ran up all flustered."

"Did he say why? Or where he was going?" Galvan asked, suddenly interested. 

He really wants Sir Lucan to be a traitor, huh?

"No, he didn't say. But he went into the sewers, just below the base of that tree," Bedlam's woman said, indicating the destroyed tree. Just beneath it was a large hole that descended into the sewers. 

"Then that is the way we shall go," Leandis said, lowering himself into the hole. "Let's go find my knight."

*******

"You can't do this," Athena said, kneeling in the putrid water. 

The monster stood over her, red eyes unbearingly steady. It remained quiet, though its silence spoke a million words.

Her work was done, for now. She merely had to sit back and watch the destruction.

Yet…for some reason, it hurt. Over the past few days, she'd become the center of attention amongst the people. They worshiped her almost as much as the king. 

And she'd told them lies. Only the things that they'd wished to hear the most. 

Why? Why? Because it had been nice? 

Athena still didn't understand her purpose. Her life had begun on the battlefield outside the Capitol, where Balian had saved her. She couldn't remember a childhood, or a family, or anything before that moment.

And she didn't understand these monsters, and why she felt a connection to them. 

"Just…don't hurt the children," she whispered. It was a stupid request, as she knew the monster wouldn't listen. 

But it hurt to think of them dying. Little, innocent things with their whole lives left to live. She'd seen them playing in the streets, enjoying new foods, and learning the ways of the world. 

Being a child was something she would never get to experience. She hated to take that uniqueness away from anyone.

"Please," she pleaded.

The monster reached out, wrapping an armored glove around her neck. It lifted her from the ground, and she began to choke.

Is this it? Has my time for being useful finally run out?

At that moment, Athena realized she wasn't ready. She'd barely had time to experience the insanity of the world around her. Going out this quickly made it all seem pointless. 

"Drop her," a voice said, echoing down the tunnel.

Athena struggled to turn, remaining unsure of who spoke. She still couldn't breathe, her body fighting a war between consciousness and unconsciousness. 

Then, without warning, the monster threw her forward in the direction of the voice. Her body crashed into the murky water, and her vision went dark.

*******

Sir Lucan snatched the girl up, pushing her against the side of the tunnel. She was unconscious. Maybe dead?

Better not be. She's King Leandis's to kill. 

He turned back to the monster, who now knelt in the sewer water, one hand just underneath the surface.

And before his eyes, the water began to glow a maroon red. 

He'd seen a lot of odd things in his life that went against his belief in the Six, the great gods that controlled the world around them.

Men coming back to life after clearly dying in a battle. Objects moving on their own. Shadows that faced the wrong way and seemed to move distinctly from their counterparts. Even the sword that had materialized in the man's hand today. Athena had done that. 

But how? 

Each of these occurrences threatened to destroy all he'd dedicated his life to. 

Now, what he saw in front of him destroyed his faith in any gods.

Magic can't be real. It can't….

A vapor began to pour off the monster's body, as if it were expending energy. 

Sir Lucan stepped back as lines etched themselves into the water, writing in a language of shapes he'd never seen before. They glowed brighter, and so did the similarly colored eyes beneath the monster's intricately detailed helmet. 

He watched as the monster began to hum, its body pulsing with energy. 

The water began to flow in a circular motion like a whirlpool, the middle opening into another world. 

A red light emanated from the hole, and clawed hands began grasping the outer edges.

All the while, a deep growl filled the tunnel. 

So this is where they come from, Sir Lucan realized.

He gritted his teeth, stepping in front of Athena. This wasn't a good situation. They were multiplying by the second. 

"I don't know if I can take all of you on myself," Sir Lucan said to them as the hole began to close. He pushed through the water, readying his warhammer. 

Ten of them. By the Seventh…this is not looking good.

Each of them now carried a sword, their blades somehow as long as he was tall.

The monster in the very back, who had summoned the monsters, pointed a sword at Sir Lucan. Following the order, silently, they began to push forward.

"Come on! Let's see what you bastards got!" Sir Lucan screamed. 

He'd already killed today. What was a few more?