Alantris, Chapter 4
#4 of Alantris
Howl stood there stricken as he fought a wave of nausea and dizziness. The familiar leopard's gold fur was barely recognizable under the smears of blood, but the band that he always wore around his neck made Howl knew it was him. A sheaf of parchment lay next to Fier, and on it was a circle of symbols, what Howl guessed was a seal of protection. It must not have worked.
He inched closer to Fier's body, crouching low and glancing around him in all directions. He moved the lantern he held to light the dark crevasses, afraid the flickering flames would catch on Fier's killer, but the light revealed nothing but cold, grey stone and the tombs of the dead.
He turned back to Fier. The leopard wore a silver robe, and just under the folds lay something that glinted off the light. Howl inspected closer and saw it was a vial of some sort that he wore around his neck.
The crown that lay atop Fier's head tilted, and fell to the floor with a loud clang, causing Howl's fur to bristle all over. The crown rolled into a shadow in the darkness, and Howl went to pick it up. He reached for the cold metal, and when he touched it, a shock went up his arm and up to his head. His vision shook and in an instant Howl found himself no longer in the confines of the dark crypt, but he was looking into a memory.
Howl was on the outskirts of the kingdom, on the banks of a river. The stars above shown bright today. Someone was holding a torch and following the path that lead into the southern forest. Howl wondered where he could be going and followed, just out of sight.
_ "There you are."_
_ _ Howl glanced behind him, arm on his sword. The figure of a white snow leopard, female and clad in leather and steel armor, grazed past him. He must be invisible to them, or they to him.
Fier made a small sign of welcome, nodding his head down and folding back his ears. When he looked up, his eyes were filled with concern.
_ "Pursha, my daughter."_ They embraced.
_ _ The white leopard pulled away. "Father, Bastruf is preparing to head out of the hills. This meeting is very dangerous. I only just managed to avoid detection from one of my lieutenants." She stared into Fier's face with a longing gaze.
_ "I as well. I met up with the duchess of Diastrus just before, and had a hard time escaping from her chattering._
_ "The King wishes to go to war."_
_ "I know. But it cannot happen. I'm afraid of the omens, as they speak of the darkness. The stars bare heavy tonight."_
_ "Did you see Emral? He told me he was seeking someone out in Serenade."_
_ "Yes."_ Fier held out a note. "He gave me this. He was going to speak to the King, but was forced to leave soon after, said he was in haste to reach the mountains in the southeast. I believe he was heading for Durrenthar, and the forked ruin."
_ _ The white leopard sighed in relief. "That is where he should go. With the threat of war and the coming changes I feel in the vein, one of us has to be ready to protect the wings of the North."
_ "I am just about to head back to Serenitir. If the rumors are true, then the crown must be safe."_
_ "I wish I could accompany you father, but as a servant to battle, I am bound to Bastruf. If I see Emral, I will send you a letter. I'm sorry to keep this meeting brief, but the other soldiers will be starting to wonder where I am and come looking."_
_ _ Fier nodded. "It is necessary. Please, stay safe. As you will be beyond the wall, I cannot provide for you. But take this, and if you meet up with Emral, give it to him."
_ _ Fier handed the white leopard a small parcel. Howl felt a twinge emanating behind his eyes as the parcel was passed between them, then it was gone as the white feline pushed it in a leather pouch at her belt.
_ "I must go. Take care my daughter. Let the rumors I hear prove false and let the air grant you her fortune."_
_ "As to you-"_
_ _ A crack of a branch and crunch of leaves announced footsteps in the night.
_ _ The scene changed suddenly. Howl found himself surrounded in darkness. Fier carried a candle, which illuminated the dark around them only slightly. Fier was racing up a stone corridor, which Howl recognized by the engravings as the royal crypt, and he ran with him to keep up. Something was odd about the darkness the crypt held. Tendrils of darkish mist were issuing out of the walls, as if they were breathing in the light and exhaling the dark. Fier clutched at his throat. His fur was smeared in black dust and he was stumbling hurriedly down the stone stairway that descended down to the most important room, the tombs of the previous kings and queens.
_ "The music has faded..."_
_ _ Voices in the shadows. Howl spun wildly as soft whispers issued out of the dark.
_ "It will twist into a terrible cacophony, and one by one..."_
_ _ Fier quickened into a sprint, with Howl struggling to catch up. He pulled something out of his robe, the piece of parchment with the seal on it.
_ "The notes of harmony will silence, and be put to rest..."_
_ "We will rewrite the world..."_
_ The voices were getting louder, more frantic._
_ "You cannot stop the beating of a heart..._
_ "The well has filled. It will be ready to infect the veins soon... "The land will succumb to transcendence..._
_ "Where the rivers meet-"_
_ _ Fier was almost at the room where the tomb of his father when a crack of red appeared in the mist behind him. Out of the red light, a spectral figure followed forth, procuring a set of knives.
_ "Emral will perish, the Order of Mortyar will suffer in chaos, and the presence of the Mortyar will crumble." Athera, the black jackal and Howl's brother, spoke this last phrase, and punctuated it with the force of his knives in the flesh of the golden leopard's back._
_ Howl's vision filled with white light._
_ _ And he opened his eyes to darkness. His lantern had gone out when he dropped it. He was surprised to find himself still standing, and he struggled to keep from stumbling as he regained his balance. He rested his hands on the tomb to steady himself.
He did not have to wander through, touching the bloody ground for the crown, as it was already grasped tight in his grip when he opened his eyes. With the gold metal held tight in his grasp, Howl quickly stumbled down the halls of the crypt, up the stone staircase, and ascended into the light of early morning.
He immediately headed for the forest. He had to get to the Bastruf's army before it reached Diastrus. An evil was growing in the heart of his Kingdom, a war was marching on its flanks, and Howl, the King of the Kingdom of Clarity, was unaware, and afraid, of the coming darkness.