The intuitive side of Igraine wanted nothing more than to run from an object crafted from such bloodshed, but the rational part of her knew she might need the skills it could teach her to fight the apes. She lifted the stone gingerly and cupped it in her hands. She didn't feel any different. As she watched, the stone darkened and crumbled to dust. She blew the dust from her fingers, then grabbed a spear. She could tell it was slightly front-heavy, something she wouldn't have known before. Perhaps the stone had worked?
Moving out into the space of the corridor, she brought the spear up into a fighting stance, ready to attack or defend. Then she went through a series of movements, blocking imaginary incoming blows while dealing out death to those around her. To her surprise, she leapt high into the air to avoid an imaginary low blow before coming down heavily on her ankle. Sweating and breathing like a bellows, she stopped to recover. The fighting knowledge had most certainly come to her from the depths of time, but she would have to be careful not to push her body too hard.
She returned to Jufroda, who jumped up upon seeing her. Igraine had feared to find her dead, but she moved like she hadn't been hurt. Jufroda lifted up her tunic to show all that was left of the grievous wound was a thin white scar. Igraine was shocked to see the woman naked beneath, and even more so when Jufroda grabbed her fingers and placed them on the scar. The golden drink had clearly done its healing work. Jufroda said something that Igraine took for thanks, and in it, Igraine heard the word itix. Witch. Jufroda must think Igraine had cured her with magic, which appeared a reasonable thing to believe in that world. Try as she might, Igraine could not convince her otherwise without a common language.
It was time to sleep, because she was tired to her very bones. They could make a break from the city tomorrow. It might be easier to flee the apes at night, but she feared breaking her neck on the snow out in the darkened forest. As she lay down, Jufroda stood beside her, spear in hand. The woman's vitality and vigilance gave Igraine comfort, and she was soon in a dreamless slumber.
When she awoke, the two women breakfasted on the food from the magic tube. At least Igraine assumed it was breakfast, though it was difficult to tell the time in that windowless corridor. When they were finished they prepared to leave. Tonight was when the stars and moons would align to allow a sacrifice to bring down the volcano on the city once more. Igraine had no intention of being the tool that fate used to bring that to fruition, regardless of what that long-dead empress had wanted. No, she would escape this city of madness and find whatever civilisation this world boasted.
She led Jufroda outside, both keeping careful watch for the apes. They had soon crossed the ruined pavings to the city wall, keeping to the shadows created by the rising sun, but Jufroda would not follow Igraine any further. Unable to communicate why, the two hit an impasse. Igraine considered her options while squatting in the cover of a fallen block of masonry. The forest held dangers she couldn't guess, and she had no food or drink. To her disappointment, the tube had not been portable. It could be a thousand miles to civilisation, and once there she would have no money or way to communicate with the natives. She could hope for nothing better than the life of a beggar. With a grim nod, she indicated she would follow Jufroda back into the city.
As they returned towards the cages where Jufroda's shipmates dangled high in the air, Igraine saw something glittering under a fallen roof tile. She stopped to investigate and found an emerald-encrusted gold necklace, worth a king's ransom, at least back in her world. Perhaps such jewellery was more common in this land. She put it on for safekeeping.
As she stood back up, she saw Jufroda had moved ahead. She also saw a flicker of movement on the building above her. There it was again: a flicker of white fur.
YOU ARE READING
Fate's Tool
FantasiA young Victorian archaeologist finds herself flung into a fantasy world populated only by women, where she must battle for her life to stop an evil high priestess's sorcery from destroying her.