Horse-Ember was panting heavily when they reached Submersio. Ruth commended Ember’s endurance. She was quite the trooper, having carried not only Ruth, but Sheba and Aunt Kathy on her back. Once finally back in human form, Ember promptly collapsed into the mud.

  They didn’t call the city Submersio for nothing after all.

  The city was still quite devastated from The Butcher’s attack a decade prior. The wet ground and sinking earth made construction difficult. The heavy stone and marble styled buildings the republic preferred ensured a perpetual disaster area. They tried to supplement their usual structures with clay and wooden ones, but the republican pride ensured they never quit trying.

  Ruth never understood why people would live here at all. Clodius told her it was due to the position of the city. The main trade road went right through it, and Submersio was a city that was meant to fall. A deliberate weak spot to absorb enemy armies and bog them down, so the people could escape and the legions could muster.

  Clodius soon after learned the many swear signs that Ruth knew.

  In retrospect, she understood the logic, but it was still quite callous. It didn’t matter, Clodius was a flawed man but had the heart where it counted. Even if the city itself was quite sparse, the main forum was still very crowded. Thankfully, Clodius himself was easy to spot, his purple toga and olive skin stood out. He was flanked by hard-eyed legionnaires.

  Not wasting another moment, Ruth and the others rushed over to him. Clodius was startled and he took a step back, his guards blocking their path. Ruth’s arms were up in earnest. “Clodius! We need to talk, it’s important!” she signed.

  Clodius gestured to his men to stand down and his face softened. “What’s wrong?” he signed.

  “Maelim!” signed Ruth, her gestures sloppy in her franticness.

  Clodius deadened. “Maelim? Where? I thought you said you could handle such matters.”

  “They’re attacking the Golden Wood! A massive army of them.”

  Clodius tilted his head. “How does this affect us?”

  “My mother is there!”

  Clodius paused and he raised his hands slowly. “I’m sorry for you, but the Golden Wood is beyond my jurisdiction.”

  Ruth’s eyes teared up. “Please! They need your help. Aren’t you the Consul of war?”

  Clodius’ eyes narrowed. “I can’t get the authorization to muster legions for such an audacious endeavor, to help Benelim, no less!”

  Aunt Kathy pushed past Ruth. Even though she was speaking orally, she made sure to still sign. “Can’t? Or won’t?”

  Clodius folded his arms. He switched to speaking orally entirely, Ruth was able to read his lips enough. “Why should the blood of my people be split to help the Benelim? When the daemons came, where were the Benelim? When the Horrorlim came and my family was wiped out save for one, where were the Benelim?”

  Ruth frowned. “You of all people should know how important family is then!”

  Clodius rolled his eyes. “You’re missing the point. The Benelim hate us! They view us as heathens and barbarians. They look down on us and when we could use their help, they abandon us! Why shouldn’t we leave the Benelim to their fate?” Clodius pointed a finger. The weary bitterness in his micro expressions made Ruth’s heart sink. “Why do you care about them so much?”

  Ruth met his glare. “They saved me when humans left me to die! Because I was deaf.”

  Clodius' face softened, yet his demeanor remained firm. “I’m sorry that happened to you, and I recognize why they mean so much to you, but I can’t. You simply ask too much.”

  Ruth’s glowing eyes brightened. “Abandoning friends when they need you the most, are you sure you’re not a Benelim?”

  Clodius paused, and the people around them did too. It struck a nerve, although Ruth couldn’t tell if it made them angry or got them to think.

  Before anyone else could speak, chaos erupted suddenly and violently. A panicked crowd of people rushed into the forum, trampling over each other in their desperation. The collective scream was so loud, even Ruth could hear it faintly. Ruth saw Clodius shouting orally, demanding order, but he was knocked to the ground in the confusion.

  Aunt Kathy’s eyes widened. “It’s them! The raiders!” she signed. Ruth could see her curse orally.

  A group of armored Maelim cannoned through the crowd. Their mounts shook the cobblestone with their strength. The giant wolves among them snarled, their tongues hanging out. The massive feline's spotted fur was reddened with dried blood, and their pupils had become slits. With great claws and sharp teeth, these monsters tore through all in their path.

  Their riders relished the bloodshed, their saddles were covered in flayed human and Benelim skin hides, and each had a cluster of severed heads impaled on pikes as trophies. They wielded long lances and hooked blades on chains. Their red and black eyes were manic and vicious. They swung and slashed their blades wildly, painting the street to the forum red with blood.

  The leader of the group was the least monstrous looking. He could have been mistaken for a Benelim, albeit a pale one. His skin was ghostly white with short black hair. His eyes were a yellow-orange, and his armor and gear was uniform and rigid. It was still clearly stolen since the plumed helmet didn’t fit his head properly, and his segmented armor looked tight. Yet to Ruth’s Soulsight, his essence was the blackest by far.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Indeed his eyes had a clarity and focus that none of the others in the warband had. His eyes turned feral when they landed on Aunt Kathy. He licked his lips with a blackened tongue. He shouted a proclamation. His words were slow and thuggish and Ruth could easily read his lips, “I am The Prince, and I’ve come to spill Benelim blood only. Give her to us, and we will leave you be.”

  Ruth grew tense when she saw the lingering plebeians turn to Aunt Kathy. Would Ruth have to fight two enemies at once? Surely humanity had some standards. Clodius stood forward and Ruth held her breath. She couldn’t see his lips since his back was turned, so she waited for Sheba to translate. “You think you can just barrel into our city, slaughtering and pillaging and then start making demands? We might have issues with the Benelim, but we would never make such a deal. Not the least with a wretch who’s already wetted their blade with human blood.”

  Aunt Kathy exhaled, and she looked shocked. She clearly expected Clodius to give her up. Ruth patted her on the back.

  The Prince’s eyes locked with Ruth’s. His eyes narrowed and he pointed at her. “You. I know you. You’re the one who slew The Butcher, the father of my beloved. Lady Iron Arms, we call you. The Godshard who cast spells with her hands.” The Prince drew his swords, long slender things caked with dried blood. He twirled the blades in his hands. “I’ll take your head, too.” He pointed his weapons, and the riders charged.

  The first rider closed in, but Ember was quicker on the draw, whispering a spell and morphing into a spotted feline, which pounced onto the lupine mount, and tackled both of them into the nearby building. The second rider brought down his lance, but Ruth’s hands were already signing a spell, a flaming whip uncoiling from her outstretched hand.

  The red hot coil slashed at the wolf’s neck and front legs. The creature hit the dirt, crushing the rider under him. Yet momentum still drove the limp corpse forward, and Ruth landed onto her back, eyes to the sky. Aunt Kathy helped Ruth to her feet.

  The forum broke down into utter chaos. Scattered plebeians took up arms and rushed haphazardly into the fray. Their crude weapons were no match for the fearsome riders. The Prince swung his blades with grace and speed, and soon a dozen humans lay dead. He was covered in blood and viscera, and he licked the crimson trails from his cheeks.

  A couple of the riders were brought down. The plebeians ganged up on the mounts with their pitchforks and rakes. They toppled over into the mud with loud wet thuds. They dunked the riders below the surface, their combined weight keeping them pinned until they stopped moving.

  Leopard-Ember leapt onto another rider, her jaws clamped on the Maeliem’s neck, spilling blackened blood all over her fur. Aunt Kathy whipped out her bow and each arrow hit home. A precise shot killed a wolf from under a raider, and another sent a rider careening into the mud.

  A half dozen more riders charged Ruth, their monstrous mounts drooling and slobbering at the prospect of bloodshed. Ruth knew which spell to use and she made five signs in quick succession. The sizzling of the air was the only warning the riders had before an inferno enveloped them. Ruth was too close to the blast again, and she careened into the stone wall.

  Her vision blurred, and her head hurt. Sheba was at her side, helping her stand. Relief filled the air as the surviving riders turned to flee, leaving The Prince alone. Ruth could see him shouting at them, and she cracked a grin at his frustrated demeanor.

  Yet The Prince wasn’t done yet. His eyes turned to Clodius, and he whipped his saber toothed cat forward. The consul’s guards rushed to cut him off but The Prince tore through them with ease. Clodius staggered back, eyes wide as the warlord raised his blade.

  An arrow struck the Maelim’s mount in the head, and it tumbled to the ground inelegantly. Clodius turned to see Aunt Kathy, bow in hand, already preparing another arrow. The Prince leapt to his feet, twirling his blades as he charged the Benelim huntress. Aunt Kathy launched another arrow, but The Prince sliced through it with ease. She didn’t have a chance to fire another as The Prince swung his swords in a wide arc.

  In moments, Aunt Kathy’s right arm was sliced clean off, splattering blood and muscular tendons.

  Ruth gasped in horror as Aunt Kathy staggered back and hit the ground. The Prince loomed over her, his eyes wild and manic. With ghoulish relish, he thrust his swords forward. Yet the Maelim stiffened just as the points were about to strike her brown skin. The Prince coughed blood as he noticed Aunt Kathy had thrusted her hunting blade into his black heart. She would have grinned if she wasn’t in so much pain. The Prince fell backward, his lifeless corpse sank into the mud.

  Aunt Kathy’s eyes rolled back into her head, and she passed out. A pool of blood formed underneath her.

  The surviving plebeians cheered, yet Ruth didn’t care. Her eyes were frantic and teary, and she knelt by her aunt’s side. She signed a spell to cauterize the wound. All she could do was wait. It felt like an eternity. Ruth closed her eyes and prayed silently to any God who might listen. Please, not like this! It’s bad enough she didn’t know what happened to Mother, let her not lose her Aunt too.

  Ruth sighed in relief when she saw Aunt Kathy stir. She embraced her, even as Aunt Kathy was still groggily waking up. She glanced at the stub that was left of her right arm, and she teared up, yet she kept a brave face for Ruth. She signed her thanks, the gestures slow, lest she throw herself off balance.

  The two turned to see Clodius getting down on one knee. His confident and grandiose veneer was gone, and his eyes showed humility. He raised his arms to sign, and even though they were sloppy, Ruth could make them out. “I am in your debt. I’d never expect a Benelim to save my life, but once again, I’m proven wrong in the best way.”

  Aunt Kathy spoke orally, and Ruth had to read her lips. “I never expected a human to have such integrity. I thought you would have fed me to the wolves.” Aunt Kathy’s glowing eyes flickered. “I’m sorry. I was wrong to judge you.”

  “As am I,” signed Clodius.

  “Is it true what Ruth said? Do your people have proper armies? Legions?”

  Clodius puffed himself up ever so slightly. “We do. We’ve had to find ways to survive since the Benelim stopped helping us. You might judge us for it, but it’s made us strong.”

  “How little indeed do we Benelim actually know of humanity anymore. Like a sibling who’s been away from home for too long. We’ve only seen the worst, outdated words from centuries prior. Not what you’ve become, not humans at their best.”

  “Maybe we can show them,” signed Ruth. “Will you help us now, Consul?”

  “I will do what I can,” signed Clodius, “But a life debt might not be enough for the senate to authorize such a massive expedition.” Aunt Kathy gestured to the forum full of corpses. Many were Maelim, but so much more were human. Ruth didn’t need to read her lips to get the message. Clodius paused for a moment then nodded. “That might work. Would it be enough?”

  “We have a common foe in the Maelim,” said Aunt Kathy, a smirk on her lips. “Who's to say that they won’t come by again? It’s not even a lie. Those Maelim served the same warlord who’s attacking the Golden Wood. They’re attacking both realms anyway.”

  “Furthermore,” added Ruth. “Think of the glory of showing the Benelim how humans do things now.”

  Clodius returned the grin. “That just might work.”