The Call for Finis: Lust Ch 2 Excerpt

Chapter 2

The Preparation

Willka stood before a dark stone tunnel located deep
within Dispessore Forest, a fair distance to the south of the city of
Lumen Magnum. His brows furrowed as he recalled the stories
his mother would tell him before they were parted, of a forest home where she lived
before being stolen as a child. There was no way to know if this was truly the home
she spoke of, but of all the forests within the borders of Marlela, it was the closest
to the city. If any place had a high probability of being the home she had spoken of,
this was it. With no way to know what became of his mother, those stories were all
he had left to remember her by. The magical totems of her people had to be here.
A chill shot up his spine. The night air was cold, but thanks to Valdina, he
felt the warmth of a summer’s day across his skin. She channeled the flames of
Infernos, the demon realm, throughout his body to chase away the chill.
He raised a hand to the side of his head above his long, pointed ears, running
his palm across the recently sheared, dark brown bristles of his hair. The hair on
the rest of his head fell long to his shoulders and was brushed to the side. It felt odd
but was somewhat refreshing. This hairstyle originally belonged to another, his
now deceased lover. The physical trait they now shared gave Willka some comfort,
though he wore it just a little differently, parting it to the opposite side. It felt as
if a part of his beloved was still with him in some small way, reminding him of
the vengeance he would soon wreak on those responsible for what happened. He
struggled to force his nerves to settle and began forward into the tunnel, his bare
feet digging lightly into the soft earth with every step.
Coming to terms with the events of his life, death, and reawakening would
have been too much to bear were it not for the fury driving him to continue
forward. Everything had been taken from him. His last moments seared into his
mind forever, haunting his thoughts every time his eyes shut, clawing at the back
of his mind. Then there was the fact he had been brought back, the feeling of his
wounds closing just as excruciating as when he had received them.
Valdina’s very existence horrified him. Her love of punishing the wicked
was only matched by the care she showed him while he was recuperating after his
awakening, somehow making her all the more terrifying.
On the journey here he had come across a small band of rogues. He had
not seen them approach. Their footsteps were quiet and thanks to the clouded
night sky, he could only see the short distance in front of him. The men descended
quickly and tried to rob him. Finding he had not a single coin to his name, that’s
when it happened. Willka could see the men’s sins as clear as a candlelight in the
darkness. As Valdina emerged they tried to flee, but their attempt at escape was
in vain. They were dead the moment she saw their sins, but they did not know it
yet. Her wicked laughter rolled across the plains. The strange thing was not that
she reveled in her duty as a demon, but that when she returned and found Willka
frightened, she comforted him as a mother would a frightened child.
Shaking the memory away, Willka rolled his shoulders back and forth. It had
been a week or so since his reawakening, but his body did not yet feel familiar.
Willka looked down at his hand, curling his fingers inward and then opening them
up, again and again. Valdina had told him that the body he reawakened in was his
own, and yet, it did not feel like it.
It is yours, my dear Willka. Valdina answered in his mind. Coming back from
the dead is not something everyone gets to do. It’s unnatural to your kind, a gift only
meant for a few. It won’t be easy, but you’ll eventually grow accustomed to it. Valdina’s
words were sweet as they washed through his mind, reminiscent of a clamoring of
voices from that of a small child to an elderly woman all speaking in perfect unison.
It was usually rather unnerving, but at this moment, it felt somehow oddly tender.
“If you say so.”
Shush, my dear, I hear voices ahead.
As Willka drew close to the end of the tunnel, he glimpsed the glow of a huge
fire. His heart raced nervously within his chest. Willka cautiously peered around
the end of the tunnel to search for a place to hide and spotted a sizable boulder
just to the right and scurried to it. Kneeling low, he peeked over the boulder.
The chamber was enormous with a dome shaped ceiling. A large campfire blazed
brightly at the center while smoke billowed upward and out through a circular
opening at the ceiling’s peak. Around the flames were nearly two dozen elves
kneeling atop colorful intricate tapestries, arguing in another language. Listening,
Willka recognized a few words here and there as Elvish, a language he had not
heard since being separated from his mother. Brought up in slavery, he had not
been permitted to learn the language of his ancestors. Willka’s hands tightened
into fists, his knuckles turning white.
Relax, my dear Willka. Valdina’s words came as a seductive whisper in his
mind, making his spine crawl.
I’ll relax when Lumen Magnum is nothing but rubble, he bit back, but
instantly regretted doing so as she did not deserve his ire.
She knowingly giggled in reply. Once we’ve retrieved the totems so that you
may protect yourself, we’ll set off for Lumen Magnum. As we agreed, the Finis will
see to the sinners and thus, you will have what you truly need. Valdina fell quiet
for a moment, her cryptic words lingering in Willka’s mind before she continued.
Now, to the task at hand. Ten of the elves are chieftains. The ones behind them are
their protectors. Valdina suddenly went quiet, which caused his brows to twitch
nervously. After a moment, she broke her silence. I can translate for you, if you’d
like.
You could translate what they’re saying this whole time? Why didn’t you do so
already!? Willka’s teeth ground in frustration.
She replied playfully, I was just waiting for you to ask my dear.
He let out a soft groan, his head fell forward to rest against the boulder’s cold
surface. Valdina, can you please translate what they’re saying?
Of course, my darling. One moment, some of them are quite agitated with a
few of the chieftains present.
Willka quickly raised his gaze to the elves, intently listening to Valdina’s
translation.
You see that large elf at the top of the circle?
Looking to the side of the campfire, he spotted a muscular elf decorated with
many feathers about his headdress, neck, and hair.
He and the one beside him are dismissing the others’ concerns, arguing they
should forget about the enslaved elves currently held in Lumen Magnum, and to
abandon those who have been recently captured.
WHAT!? Willka’s eyes narrowed with anger. Many of the elves’ bodies
suddenly shrouded over in hues of various colors, catching him by surprise. He
had accidentally triggered Valdina’s gift of second sight, an ability that allowed him
to see the souls of others who have committed great sin.
They’re suggesting strengthening their borders to protect themselves from
Lumen Magnum. The large one is glowing brightly in yellow, meaning Greed has
overtaken him. I’m guessing he’s made a deal with the human city. She sighed,
boredom clear on her tone. He wouldn’t be the first to sell his people to make his own
life more comfortable.
Willka’s eyebrows twitched in aggravation.
A chief to the far side of the circle stood in outrage. She was somewhat taller
than Willka and had an athletic build. The feathered chief, however, dismissively
waved her away.
She just accused the feathered muscly one of being deplorable for his willingness
to abandon their kin. Many agree with her, but the chief to his side retorted that they
simply don’t have the means to face off with the likes of Lumen Magnum. Hmph, I
suppose I understand their hesitance, but if they play it smart, they have a chance of
success. Valdina snickered sinisterly.
“I’ve had enough of listening to cowards.” Willka growled.
The chieftains startled, hearing the unfamiliar voice. They looked warily in
Willka’s direction as he stood and stepped out from behind the boulder, careful to
remain mostly hidden in the shadows.
“It must be easy for you to sit idly by, here in the safety of your forest while
those monsters in Lumen Magnum abuse those elves unfortunate enough to have
been caught, hauled off and forgotten. Toyed with. Used. Punished for petty
grievances.” Able to now see all in attendance, Willka scanned the room and several
more began to glow. Two yellows, an orange, a gray, a purple, and two reds. “Killed
for sport. Many have never even known what it is to live like you do, instead born
into bondage. You turn your heads without even considering what they live with
on a daily basis. Those of you comfortable with that, well, today you get what you
deserve.”
Clear enough for you Valdina? Willka mentally asked.
“Oh, this suits me just fine.” She laughed hungrily as worry began to spread
through the elven congregation, her laughter echoing in the chamber. Her hands
emerged from Willka’s shadow and slammed down at either side of his feet. He felt
her presence rise and loom behind him. “The greedy ones are some of my favorites,”
Valdina moaned as the strange chatter of her children surrounded them both.
With a flick of her ebony, stone crusted wrist, her children pounced on the
elves. Those lucky enough to be spared in the initial attack went for their weapons
but were too slow. The waist-high, deep blue and ebony spiders shot out bundles
of sticky webbing, trapping the elves inside. They tried desperately to push their
way free, but their efforts were in vain. The spiders dragged the captured elves to
the back of the cave. Some of the captives hung from the ceiling while others were
piled on the floor. A few disappeared into the darkness, to a different corner of the
cave, kicking and screaming all the way.
Willka walked forward to the dancing flames of the fire pit. He stared down
at the large fire before him, watching it sway left and right, his mind traveling
to memories of his beloved. They had laid on the floor together beneath a thin
blanket, bathed in the warm light of the torch hanging from a wall nearby. His
partner’s golden blond hair shimmered, the sweat covering his golden-brown
skin glistening, and his amber brown eyes twinkled against the firelight. A pang
of longing swelled within his chest, thinking of the night they shared his cot for
the first time. Anguish washed over him in waves, an unbearable ache spreading
throughout his body and down his limbs, causing his body to tremble. A deep
frown formed on his face.
A loud thud startled Willka. He glanced up as Valdina’s eight ebony legs
stabbed into the earth, one after the other, stopping beside him. A dense, black
exoskeleton covered her entire lower half and partially spread up her humanoid
torso, resembling a corset. It also spread from her hands, up just past her elbows
and gradually gave way to the pale, bluish skin covering her shoulders, neck, and
face.
Her four, glowing aquamarine eyes blazed with hunger as her children
brought the muscular, feathered elf to her. The elf chief tried to fight them off, but
the web binding was too much for him.
“Oh my, he looks so scrumptious.” She wrapped her clawed, ebony fingers
around his thick throat, and lifted him as though he were as light as a flower petal.
Higher and higher he rose as she straightened to her full height, the chieftain’s
feet dangling just above Willka’s head. She licked her azure lips in anticipation. As
her mouth opened, two sharp fangs emerged, seemingly growing larger as her maw
widened. Her bright blue skin stretched tight.
The elf chief screamed out as he stared wide eyed into the abyss. Terror was
clear on every fiber of his being. The yellow hue of his soul shrouding his body,
slowly ignited and was enveloped in a fiery storm of crimson and orange.
His heart sank into his chest at the sight. As her mouth stretched with
seemingly no end in sight, her fangs sank deep into the chief’s skin. Willka looked
away, trying to ignore the horrible slurping sounds he was sure he would not soon
forget.
Glancing to his left, he counted nine spiders crawling toward him, clutching
bags between their chelicerae. Their bodies bounced up and down in excitement.
He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow in intrigue. Willka knelt and hovered his
hand under one of the bags. Just as he did, the spider dropped it onto his palm,
clapping its chelicerae.
Willka placed the bag on the floor, making sure it was visible in the firelight.
Opening it, he found many tiny wooden figures within. His heart jumped with
triumph at the sight. “This is it, the totems my mother spoke of!”
He jolted as a loud thud sounded behind him. Willka turned and saw the
body of the feathered chief lying on the ground before Valdina, now shriveled
and gray. A horrified look was frozen on its now darkened face. Willka’s stomach
churned.
Valdina smeared the blood over her mouth, savoring every moment as she ran
her tongue over her now crimson painted lips. “I love wrath but trust me when I say
greed holds a special place in my heart.” She moaned a satisfied hum and hungrily
eyed a group of tied up elves nearby. “Now, where’s the other one?” Valdina quickly
scurried over to the other elves whose souls were awash with sin, piled in a different
corner of the cave. Her white hair, both loose strands and braids, fluttered behind
her. A few of her children followed.
Willka’s eyes glanced down to the body of the elf she had devoured moments
before. His thoughts drifted to his beloved, wondering if his once beautiful being
now had more in common with the corpse before him. His jaw muscles slowly
clenched, vowing that the human slavers would pay for what they did to Willka
and his beloved. His eyes blurred as he fought back tears, taking a tight breath.
Willka then noticed a bag hanging from the corpse’s waist.
He quickly looked away, the carnage bringing back memories of his death,
and that of his lover. Taking a moment to calm his nerves, Willka glanced at the
spiders before him, their many eyes staring back at him, seeming almost as if they
were watching with curiosity.
“Ca-Can one of you bring me his totem bag?”
The spider who handed him the bag lifted its body up, clapped its chelicerae
eagerly, and scurried to the body in compliance. The other spiders left their bags
by his feet. He thanked them and turned to the fire, dumping the totems onto the
earth to examine them.
Each totem’s appearance was unique, representing a lost loved one. Sifting
through the pile, he eyed the symbols etched into them, some on their bases and
others on their backs.
Soon, the spider returned from the shriveled elf with the totem bag held high
and placed it at Willka’s feet.
A group of bound elves, those free of sin and spared from Valdina’s devouring,
yelled at him in their language. He glanced at them with squinted eyes, noticing
their rising agitation, unsure if their anger was solely due to the havoc he and the
demons had wrought or if it was something more.
He looked back to the pile of totems, recalling something his mother once
said. These elves see the totems as sacred items, meant to be treated with respect
as one would their own family. Dumping them discourteously on the ground
likely provoked their increased agitation. Although he felt a little guilt for how he
was mistreating the totems, he did not have time to be tender. Willka renewed his
search through the totems, ignoring the elves’ vitriol.
Totem after totem, he studied the symbols carved into them, each symbol
differed from the last, but none were familiar to him. “Damn, what did Mother
say again?”
Revealing another totem’s base, this one marked with a triangle embedded
within a circle and a diamond at its center. “This looks familiar. Is this the symbol?”
Willka buried his face into a hand, thinking carefully on his mother’s words.
“The square with a circle within and another square is . . . earth, I think. A diamond
with a circle was wind, or maybe it was the triangle whose points pierced the circle .
. . Or was that water? Damn.”
He returned to the triangle with a diamond within. “If so, that means this
one should be fire.” Willka gripped the totem resembling a female elf, picturing
a small flame in his mind, and hoping the totem would respond. Then a strange
warmth crawled its way through his fingers and up his arm. His heart raced, his
hand trembling lightly. “Yes, this is it.”
Grabbing one of the empty bags, Willka stuffed every totem with the fire
symbol into it, leaving the rest. The other totems as he understood them were
powerful in their own rights but fire, destructive and chaotic, would suit his needs.
He would not need precision for fire. It would spread and destroy all in its path
until there was nothing left to burn. It was the perfect weapon to bring ruin to the
city that harmed him. Tying the bag to his worn leather belt, he made his way back
to the tunnel. “Time to go.”
“Alright, come children, where we’re going there will be plenty for you all to
devour.”
The pitter patter of their many legs filled the tunnel with a soft hum. Making
his way through the tunnel, the hum slowly softened as the demons disappeared
into his shadow, passing back into the realm of Infernos, leaving only the thump of
his footsteps, and the distant cries of the bound elves remaining in the cave.
The smell of oak and damp moss filled his senses as he stepped out of the
tunnel. The moonlight struggled to breach the canopy of the trees above. He
breathed in the earthy scent of the forest, finding a momentary pleasure in the
calm.
“These people should consider themselves lucky. No chains, no leather
leashes, and not a stone cell in sight.”
Soon, no one will ever have to worry about such woes as you’ve endured, Valdina
responded softly.
Willka flinched at the comment, finding it unsettling that such sincere,
heartfelt concern existed within the same being who delighted in devouring
sinners. He took a deep breath and exhaled. With luck, Valdina, we will slip out
unnoticed, as easily as we came in. I think I’ve had enough death for one night.
The sound of rushed footsteps suddenly drew close from behind. He
stopped and looked back into the tunnel. The female chieftain who had protested
against the feathered elf, appeared with labored breaths. Her braided black hair
was disheveled and now hung over one side of her olive-skinned face. Worry shone
in her amber brown eyes.
He stared at her, bewildered, wondering just how she was able to break free
of the spider’s webs.
She must have a finely forged dagger to have broken free, Valdina remarked.
Poor thing was probably working at it since my little ones bound her and the others.
I like her.
Willka glanced down to the elven chief’s outstretched arms and saw a fresh
set of clothes in her hands, looking similar to her garb. A beige buckskin shawl and
moccasins with simple white and blue stitching going across them, white top and
beige trousers, a blue sash, and a leather belt.
“Only attacked bad chieftains. Here, take,” the woman said in broken
Anglicus, the common tongue of the humans and their slaves.
His eyes narrowed, a bit wary of her intention.
She took a step closer. “Take. You like us. Like me. Want to help. Take,
please.” Her posture softened.
His lips trembled lightly. “But I don’t know if I’m even one of you. My
mother, she . . . she was taken when she was very young, before I was born. She
didn’t even remem—”
“Does not matter. You know totems. You us.” She pushed the clothes to his
chest, forcing him to take them, and gently patted the buckskin shawl.
Willka clutched the bundle of clothes, keeping his eyes fixed on hers, baffled
by her insistence. He then glanced down at the clean clothes in his arms and then
back at her, wondering just how she came to learn Anglicus. “How—”
“Another time. Here.” She slid the strap of her satchel off her shoulder and
handed it to him.
He tucked the clothes under one arm and accepted the satchel. Looking
inside, he found a large buffalo bladder, probably filled with water, a piece of thin
meat sticking out of one of several parfleches, and the totems he had left behind.
“Wait, I don’t—”
“You do. Healing totems will help.” She pointed to his dirt ridden feet,
looking rather worse for wear. “Other totems for . . . vengeance.”
Take her kindness, Willka. The nights are cold, and your feet could use the
protection. Valdina encouraged.
He looked at his torn and sullied slave clothes, and his blood burned. Placing
the gifts on the ground, he began to disrobe so that he could change into his new
clothes. When he glanced up at the elven chief, he saw a small smile break on her
face. With a bow of her head, she turned away, allowing him privacy.
Slipping on the clothing, belt, and sash, and next the moccasin boots, he took
the straps, and tied them about his shins and ankles so that the fitting was snug.
Willka then reached into the bag he had stuffed the fire totems into and took one
out. Pointing it down to his slave outfit, he thought long and hard on his mother’s
words: Ask the spirits within for aid, and with the right totem in hand, they may
answer. Light a fire, heal a scratch, quench your thirst, whatever you need. Just ask.
He took a deep breath and focused his thoughts on the old clothes—Burn.
The wooden totem of what looked to be a wolf glowed faintly orange. A
spark flashed and quickly flew out wildly. As the spark touched the tattered fabric,
his old clothes burst into flames. The fire danced wildly and consumed the linens.
He watched as the last remnant of his time as a slave was burned away. Watching
the pile of cloth reduced to ash, he felt the weight of his burdens lessen slightly.
“What’s your name?” Willka asked softly.
She was quiet for a moment, watching the clothes burn. “Meztli. Chief of . .
. this forest. You?”
“Willka.” He stood and dropped the totem back into the small bag. Stuffing
the bag into the satchel with the other totems, he slipped it over his shoulder, and
began to walk away.
“Come back.”
Hearing this Willka stopped, confused, and looked over his shoulder.
“After task done, come back. I take care of you. Promise.” She crossed her
hands over her chest and bowed her head.
He stared at her for a long moment. The sentiment touched his heart, but
the comforting thought was quickly chased away by the uncertainty of an after.
“We’ll see.

Chapter 2 End

Thank you all so much for reading Chapter 2 of The Call for Finis: Lust. If you have any questions about my story then please feel free to ask. Thank you all so much for reading and please have a wonderful day.