Page 24 of Ensii
“Strange that you call me ensaak and yet guard the palace of my enemy.” Talitha raised her chin.
“We did not know you were alive, my lady,” replied the man with the missing eye. He supported a second figure of unknown age and gender, an armored guard with the right side of their armor mangled by claw marks. “Forgive us, my lady. Even if we had sworn loyalty to the usurper, we…they’re not natural.”
Just how many of those monsters had Nehemian created and what did he want with them?
“We were attacked, my lady,” said another of the guards. “A beast with claws like steel and breath like brimstone.”
“Black,” Talitha answered, “with skin like tar.”
“Yes, my lady. You’ve heard of it?”
“We killed three of them,” Talitha answered flatly. “They were sent for me. You have to destroy the hearts.”
The guard nodded, not seeming to be surprised. “I should have known as much. Anakti fed on hearts and so do these demons.”
Ashek shifted his weight onto the foot closest to her. It was a subtle gesture, but one she caught all the same.
“Anakti is no longer welcome in my city,” Talitha said flatly. “I have allowed this bloodthirsty she-fiend to be worshipped in my streets, temples, and the homes of my people. Yet Her priests and followers have betrayed me and set horrors upon my city. If this is the reward for my hospitality, I will show Her and Her loyalists the reward for my betrayal.”
The lieutenant bowed his head heavily, yet he seemed to be bowing to so much more than that. There was a weariness and a heaviness, a broken surrender. He was a beaten dog showing his throat. “As you say, ensaak.”
Talitha gestured to the beleaguered group behind him. “Are there no other survivors?”
“No, my lady. Not in this portion of the palace. We cordoned off the walls.”
“How many of those monsters were there?”
“Four, we think.”
Kneeling, Zula studied Tatia on the ground. “Tatia was a good soldier and young, much too young.” She looked to the man in front of her. “You are Zeroboam, one of Krispos’s men.”
In truth, Talitha hadn’t recognized him with one eye missing. That was one wound not even Kasrei would be able to mend. Lost or destroyed body parts were beyond the work of even the most skilled magian.
Talitha jerked her head to Zula. “Captain, you were commander of my palace guard. You are now a general. I give your Krispos’s title and all that was his.”
Zula inclined her head. “I thank you, my lady.” Zula’s iron spine had returned, her steely resolve that had gotten her through her days of slavery, captivity, and fighting for her freedom.
“All icons, idols, charms, spells—I don’t care what it is. If it has to do with Anakti, I expect to see it burned and destroyed. Be it solid gold or paper, you will destroy it! Even if it was a family heirloom or the most costly thing you have ever purchased. It makes no difference!”
“Down with Anakti!”
Talitha thought that came from one of the Hudspethites, but she couldn’t be sure. Everyone was strangely similar in this predawn light.
“Down with Anakti!” came the responding cry. Soon the whole of the street and even beyond from the rooftops and alleys, people were screaming for the goddess’s removal.
Talitha listened with a mix of satisfaction and concern. She only hoped they didn’t get carried away in their purification.
“If it was four monsters that did this and four monsters that were killed, the palace should be clear,” Kurzik said, eagerness in his voice.
“Unless my father is making more,” Shaza said flatly. “Which sounds like him. It very much sounds like him.”
At her shoulder, Gilsazi raised his voice. “We came to take the palace. The palace lies open to us. Trap or not, it is one we must walk into eventually.”
Talitha exhaled a long breath. Her general was right.
“So long as we take nothing of the goddess among our army, we will win, Talitha.” Ashek watched her levelly.
“You have so much faith in your prophetess.” The words weren’t spoken maliciously or with any real feeling at all. Talitha was far too tired for it.
