REVILED

Meridith stood in the center of Skivret’s throne room with her eyes focused on her feet. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Despite the colorful cloth bathing the room in warm colors, a chill blanketed the room. The tension made her shoulder rise to her ears.

“Care to run that by us again,” Reviled’s mechanical growl sent a shiver down Meridith’s spine. Oria’s snicker grated against her ears, and Meridith shot the woman a dark glare.

Meridith cleared her throat, “The construction site was attacked last night,” she said. It took effort to look Reviled in the eyes, “They did considerable amount of damage. It looks to have set us back a few weeks.”

“Who did this?” Meridith pulled from her belt a red fang tied to a leather cord. Reviled’s growl grew, “So this is revenge,” it said, “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Yeah Red,” Oria said with a smug grin, “It’s pretty stupid not to hire bodyguards for a big project like the tavern, especially in the slums.” Meridith couldn’t help but blush, which caused Oria to laugh louder.

“Be silent!” Reviled’s roar caused both women to flinch. Oria turned pale when Reviled’s gaze fell on her, “We did not ask for your input. Do not speak until we do.” Oria nodded vigorously as she curled in on herself.

“Know you place bitch,” Meridith hissed which returned Reviled’s attention to her.

“You are not exempt from this either,” it said, “Out of everyone here, we expect the most from you. You’re are proxy, which means you have the most freedom to act out, and yet you allowed this to happen.”

“Forgive my failure,” Meridith bowed.

She stood there for the longest time. Her knees trembled and threatened to give out.

“You’re forgiven,” Reviled said in a softer tone. Meridith sighed in relief as she looked up, “Learn from this mistake, understand.”

“Yes master,”

“Come and sit,” Reviled said, “We need to deal with this issue quickly. Time is not on our side.”

“Why the rush?” Mina said looking to each person.

Meridith looked to Reviled and it nodded at her, “Solomon Wise was anointed as a hero,” she said, “He’s drawn the Sword of Touldan, and is back to fighting on the front lines.”

“It’s only a matter of time before he confronts the Wight King,” Reviled said, “If he wins then he’ll make his way back here.”

“And finish you off,” Kogna said with a humorless chuckle, “With us alongside you.”

“Yes,” Reviled said, “Which is why we need to acquire the Tome of Elithis by the end of the year. Any longer and we run the risk of failure.” Silence fell over the room.

“What’s the plan boss?”

“Meridith will continue as planned,” Reviled looked around, “If we can get the tavern built faster, then do it. And don’t forget the guards.” Meridith nodded, “Oria, we want you to find the Red Fangs. They are a thorn we need to deal with.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

Finding the Red Fangs was easier said than done. The gang went into hiding when they were disgraced by Decker. She probed each of her contacts for information, but none could provide her with anything. Now she sat in the gang’s old haunt trying to find any trace.

Oria looked around the filthy room. Many of the tables sat lopsided with chairs that had broken legs roped back together. There were no cushions on any of the wooden benches that lined the walls. The patrons sucked down the filthy ale as they enjoyed the company of the prostitutes. Of course, the whores used the patron’s drunkenness and too much makeup to cover up their obvious flaws. Oria’s mug started sliding to the right and she took another drink before it got too far. This brothel embodied the spirit of the slums.

A little girl around eight walked around the room cleaning up the dirtied tables. Her long brown hair hung over the right side of her face. Her filthy hair barely covered the dark bruises, and her patchwork dress was barely holding together. Oria took a deep drink to chase the memories away.

Oria touched her cheek. She remembered the pain from her mother’s fist. Night after night. She wished her father would save her, but a whore’s child has no father. Oria closed her eyes and remembered the solace she had found in the small closet with moth eaten dresses. Every night she would try to block out her mother’s screams. After a few hours, her mother would tear her out her hiding place to enact the same pain that her clients inflicted on her. The girl’s mother must work here.

“Excuse me, miss,” Oria looked down at the little girl, “A-are you done?” she said pointing to the mug.

Oria chugged the rest of her drink. “Here,” she said as she slipped a silver coin into it.

The girl took the glass and stared in awe at the shiny coin. Her big eyes looked up to Oria. Oria smiled as she placed a finger to her lips, which brought a small smile to the girl. The little girl quickly ran back to the kitchen.

“Can I get another?” Oria called the bartender. The bartender placed another mug in front of her.

A girl, younger than Min, came out from the back. Her movements stiff, and she looked around in fear. Another child submitting to the degenerate lifestyle of a prostitute. Oria understood. It was easier to make money from selling yourself than searching for something better. She remembered when her friend Ada, Teddy’s sister, made her debut. Ada spent the next morning crying her eyes out as the older prostitutes tended to her. Oria didn’t want that, so she decided to try a different path.

However, being a thief isn’t as safe as being a prostitute. She smiled remembering her first theft. She didn’t know who’s purse she stole, but that didn’t matter at the time, getting away did. Thanks to her small frame, Oria ducked under stalls, crawled through tight alleys, and finally hid within an empty crate. She got away with her spoils, or so she thought. She ended up stealing from Taern. He was an enforcer then, but the soon-to-be guild leader took her under his wing and made her into the woman she was today. Oria wiped away the moisture from her eyes and took a deep drink.

“No point thinking about the good days,” Oria said to herself.

Someone wrapped an arm around Oria’s shoulder, “Long time sweetie,” a woman whispered into her ear.

Oria turned and looked at the woman. A fresh scar ran up the left side of her face with an eyepatch over the left eye.

“Remember me?” she said with a venomous smile, “Because I remember you.” Oria felt a sharp pang in her neck.

“What…did you…d-do?” Oria’s eyes felt heavy, and she couldn’t get her thoughts together.

“You’ll know soon enough sweetie,” the woman said gesturing to a group of men in the back, “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

Oria struggled, but whatever drug they gave her won, “Boss…help.” Darkness overtook her.

“W-up.”

Oria groaned. A migraine thundered through her head, and her arms screamed from tension.

“Wake up!”

Pain blossomed throughout Oria’s stomach. Her eyes shot open, and she was immediately blinded by lantern light. She took shallow ragged breaths as her vision cleared. She was in a run-down warehouse, or a shack. It wasn’t a large building. It consisted of a single room with eight wooden beams holding up the rafters and ceilings. The shutter in the roof was partly opened showing the pale starlight. It was the perfect hideout for a small gang, such as the one in front of her.

About twenty people stood around, each wearing a piece of jewelry with a red fang. Most of the Red Fangs were young, children barely into adulthood, but they stared at her with such deep hatred. The worst was the woman with the eyepatch, and a man with a mess up face, it was hard to make out his expression.

“Dammit,” Oria groaned, “Got sloppy.”

“It’s about time you woke up,” the woman said, “We didn’t expect the drug to knock you out for five hours.”

Five hours. Oria shook her head. Then it must be close to midnight. “Well, I’m awake now,” she said. She was sitting on a chair with her hands tied behind her back.

“Do you remember me?” The woman said bending down to look at her.

Oria gave a condescending smile, “Sorry, I don’t waste my time on small fries,” The woman slapped Oria hard. Oria ran her tongue over her split lip, “Still doesn’t ring a bell.”

The woman drew her dagger and held it close to Oria’s left eye, “Perhaps this will help you remember,” she said with a dark smile.

The man with the broken face finally spoke, it sounded like his mouth was full, “Vixen,”

Vixen continued holding the dagger, then slowly pulled it back, “Sorry Calleg,” she said standing up straight, “We’ll continue this later.”

Calleg stared down at her, “Where’s your hideout?”

Oria cocked an eyebrow, “Sorry, what did you say.” Calleg’s fist struck her right cheek. Oria spat on the ground, staining it with her blood, “I can’t understand you accent, asshole.” She said with a smirk.

Calleg struck her again and again. The warm, metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, but the next punch forced her to swallow. Calleg moved from her face and struck her stomach. The air forcefully removed from her lungs. Oria was finally able to breathe when he stopped hitting her.

“Ready to talk?”

Oria coughed up a chuckle, “You really…should…let someone else speak.”

Calleg screamed and pulled Oria up by her hair. She cried out as she was forced to her feet and thrown to the ground. A kick struck Oria in the back and she screamed as two others struck her knees and gut. Oria curled in on herself to try and protect her vitals, but every now and then someone got in a good strike.

The beating felt like it would never end, but it eventually did. Pain seared throughout her body, and each breath burned against her ribs. Oria coughed and her blood-soaked saliva splattered against the wooden floor. She stared at the blood.

What did she expect. In the slums, life was cheap. Why worry about one person’s death when someone else could take their place. A tear leaked from Oria’s eyes. The cold reality hit her harder than any of the other attacks.

Where was that damned monster? It went to great lengths to save Mina, but now it was nowhere to be found. Reviled spoke about cherishing everyone in the gang. We won’t hold ever hold back when one of our own needs us. Those were the monster’s exact words.

Liar.

Oria didn’t feel the kick that rolled her onto her back. She now stared up at the ceiling. Damn, the shutter is closed. She took shallow breaths.

“Where’s your hideout?” Calleg stood over her, “Speak, or I’ll leave you to my boys.”

A shadow moved through the rafters, and a pair of red eyes stared down at her. Oria couldn’t hold back the smile as she spread her legs.

“Help yourself,” Oria said.

“Fine then,” Calleg disappeared from her sight. She could hear him messing with his belt, but she was focused on the monster.

“Boss!” Vixen called out, but she was too late.

Calleg screamed in pain as a skeletal tail pierced through his chest and lifted him off the floor. Reviled used the six skeletal arms to lower itself from the rafters and grabbed Calleg’s head in its hands.

“We didn’t say you could touch her,” The monster growled as it tightened its grip.

Oria groaned as she got to her feet. Calleg tried to pull himself free from Reviled’s grasp, but his pale hands could barely grab the tip of the tail. Reviled brought the leader closer to its face and with a mechanical hiss silenced Calleg’s scream. The late Red Fang leader fell to the floor as Reviled retracted its tongue, and it dropped down with a loud thud. The Red Fangs rushed to the door.

“Open the Fucking door!”

“I can’t, someone locked it from the outside!”

Vixen stared at the monster, unable to move, “Virtues save us.”

Oria grabbed one of Calleg’s daggers, and freed herself. She tackled Vixen, and stabbed the knife into Vixens left eye. Vixen screamed as she tried to push Oria off, but Oria wouldn’t stop. Over and over again she plunged the knife into her face, and when Vixen stopped struggling, Oria drove it in one last time with a violent twist.

Oria rose to her feet, but her legs shook violently, and she fell forward. Thankfully, the monster caught her.

“Took you long enough,” Oria said.

“It took time for us to prepare,” Reviled said picking her up, “Not to mention, this shack is pretty far from a sewer gate.” Reviled turned its gaze to the cowering Red Fangs, “Now to deal with the rest.”

“Wait!” one of the members screamed, “We were just following orders. Please, let us go and you’ll never see us again.”

“Maybe we should spare them boss,” Oria said, “Instead of killing them, let’s recruit them. We’ll need more human members if we really want to fight against Decker.” Oria gave the group a sinister smile.

“Yes, yes, we’ll gladly join your gang!” the Red Fangs nodded furiously.

“Bring us one of those crates,” Reviled ordered. A crate was placed in front of it, and it placed six gold coins on top of it. The Red Fangs stared greedily at the money, “We’ll only accept six of you. The rest of you will be punished.”

“How will the six be chosen?”

Reviled chuckled, “We’ll let you decide.”

The Red Fangs stared at each other in horror as they backed away from each other. Distrust filled their eyes. The first to strike was a large man. He drew his knife and charged for the smallest woman in the group, but another member threw a dagger that struck him in the back. This led to a full-on fight.

“What’s the point of this?” Oria said looking on in interest.

“It’s important for a leader to understand what it means to be loved and feared,” Reviled said, “A leader who is not feared, is not respected, but a leader who is not loved, is no leader at all. Therefore, there must be a balance between benevolence and tyranny.”

“This is your definition of balanced,” Oria said with a chuckle, “Some might call this excessive.”

They continued watching until eight members remained. Two of them were men protecting a small woman against the other five. One of the protectors charged forward but he was quickly struck down. Before the second protector could react, the small woman used her dagger to tear out his throat. The six remaining members stared at each other with blank expressions.

Reviled’s six skeletal arms openly gestured towards the coins, “Come, claim your prize.”

The six members slowly approached. They never took their eyes off the shiny gold coins sitting on the crate. They slowly reached out, but Reviled grabbed each one by their neck. Magic flowed through the skeletal arms, and the members screamed in pain as they were branded with slave crests. Reviled released them, and they all fell to the floor.

“Welcome to the Legion,” Reviled said, “From here on out, you six will report directly to Oria,” It walked to the locked door and kicked it down, “Expect to hear from us soon. And don’t forget your prize.”