I think Dan stopped reading the moment he saw some of my older characters in this....*shrug* oh well.
Chapter 9
In ways the figure standing next to her was similar. The overall body shape was like hers only much shorter, less then five feet tall. However there were differences:
Instead of four claws fingers there were only three. Tail was shorter, about three feet long, which was understandable due to the figure's height. Skin was a yellow green with no variation in color anywhere that she could see. She wore garment that was a combo of a tunic and loincloth to cover her 'feminine' features.
The main difference was the head; the closest she could compare it too was a mudokon's. The snout was more pointed and triangular, with two clear nostrils at the tip; the eyes were distinctly drakkic-like and were regarding her with a curious look, but Dementa could see that this creature had more knowledge and wisdom then what her appearance showed.
"What are you?" Dementa wondered aloud.
The figure grinned, somewhat mischievously, showing briefly a set of sharp carnivorous teeth.
"Wouldn't you like to know...?" she said, a hint of mischievousness in her voice. Then she turned serious, "But what I am is not important right now, lets just say I am something you wouldn't want to get on their bad side..."
Dementa didn't know if it was the seriousness of the creature's voice or something else, but she quickly nodded her head in agreement.
"I am Ishtar." the creature said, "and you are a lucky Drakkic to be alive."
Dementa gave Ishtar a sideways glance.
"Do you mean lucky to be alive as in the Great Slaughter of my people or...more recent." she asked.
"Both." Ishater replied, "From what I know a pure Drakkic has been seen in nearly 300 years and you are lucky to have survived those gun shot wounds as I couldn't heal you magically."
"There's a reason for that..." Dementa said quietly, "For both it looks like..."
Ishtar's brow furrowed slightly and her eyes narrowed slightly, Dementa couldn't tell if it was in annoyance or thought. Her eyes seemed to look right through her and Dementa couldn't help but tremble slightly.
"There is a dark curse on you..." Ishtar said finally, "I didn't notice it before but now I can 'see' it. It explains a few things I was wondering about you. Like that 'harm touch' that gave the others a dickens of a time carrying you back to the village and your usual physic. Who put this curse on you?"
Dementa swallowed thickly.
"A black female mud with weird eyes." she replied, trying hard not to let the memory of that day overwhelm her.
"What was weird about the eyes?" Ishtar pressed.
"They...looked like nothing but transparent black orbs with a white light behind them."
Ishtar's whole demeanor changed. She started pacing with a worried and almost fearful look on her face.
"What's wrong?" Dementa asked, "There's no way you could have known her...it was over 300 years..."
"I do know her." Ishtar interrupted with a growl, making Dementa shut up quick, "That was no mud...that was the Goddess of Suffering, Zilathoga."
Dementa's jaw dropped open.
"Let me guess..." Ishtar continued, "This curse not only causes others pain when they come in physical contact with you...but also keeps you alive...making you virtually immortal."
Dementa nodded mutely, bringing her knees up to her chest.
"Oh yeah...that type of curse fits her perfectly." Ishtar growled again, before muttering in some sort of language Dementa couldn't understand.
"Can you remove the curse?" Dementa asked hopefully. She had asked all sorts of shaman's and other types of magic users to try, only without success. She figured that if she knew the one that put the curse on her she might be able to help her.
"I am not powerful enough." Ishtar said with a shake of her head, "But I might be able to get one of my superiors to help you...however..."
"What?" Dementa asked.
"Before I can submit the 'request' I need to know the story around why it was put on you in the first place. Start from the very beginning."
"You mean...my life story up to the point where I was cursed?"
Ishtar merely nodded.
Dementa sighed deeply, not really wanting to relive her past by telling it, but she had no choice if she wanted to have the curse removed. So she gathered herself and began....
Dementa told Ishtar every thing that went on in her life before she was cursed, to the best of her recollection. About how her father left her mother not long after she was born, swearing that she wasn't his child. About how she was teased and bullied by others because of her very odd coloration. How she had so few 'true' friends to help her get through her mother's unexpected death not long after became a year old. And how a gang of adolescents, who where all children of the royal guard, threatened to accuse her of a crime she didn't comment if she didn't swipe something from a nearby muds hut (though she didn't know until recently that that mud was the Goddess if Suffering, Zilathoga, herself).
Ishtar sat and listened as Dementa told her story, her expression unreadable the whole time. Once Dementa had reached the point where she was cursed, Ishtar signaled her to stop.
"That is enough." Ishtar said calmly.
"Well?" Dementa asked, "Can you help me?"
Ishtar was quiet for a long time, her eyes closed, apparently in deep thought. Then for the first time her expression changed, to one of sorrow and regret. Dementa felt a sickening knot from in her stomach.
"I am afraid I can't..." Ishtar said finally, shaking her head sadly.
"Unfortunately from what you just told me...Zilathoga was in her right to punish you...though a bit extreme."
"Wha...what..." Dementa muttered, not wanting to believe what she just heard. "Wh...why.?"
Ishtar stood up and looked at her straight, a dead serious look on her face.
"One...you were trespassing. Two...you attempted to steal one of her belongings."
"But...I had no choice!" Dementa protested.
"There is always a choice." Ishtar said sternly.
"What not do it and get punished for arson!?" Dementa said jumping up and glaring down at Ishtar, "Get punished for a crime I didn't commit and become even more of an outcast then I already was!? What other choice did I have? Walk up to Zilathoga and say: 'Excuse me miss, but can I burrow one of your items so I can get these jerks off my case?' I seriously doubt she would have let me!"
"Considering your age and other factors, you may not have been mentally able to think of that solution. But you cannot change the choices of the past, you can only do what you can to correct your mistakes afterward."
"What do you think I have been trying to do for over 300 years!?" Dementa screeched as she started pacing the room, "Oh and I bet Zilathoga is just enjoying watching me suffer for all this time, must be a real thrill to her." at that point Dementa fell back into the bed, burying her head in her arms and breaking out into tears. "I just want to be normal again and be happy...but it doesn't look like that will ever happen..." she sobbed, "I just want to end it...but even death is beyond me."
She heard Ishtar sigh and remain quiet a moment.
"It may not seem possible to you now." Ishtar said, softly, "but you will find happiness. You just have to look hard enough."
"What would I look for?" Dementa asked looking up, her face stained with tears.
"That only the fates know..." Ishtar said, "I never got your name by the way..."
"Dementa."
Ishtar raised a brow, "Why do I get the feeling that is not your real name?"
"It's not...I have forgotten what my real one is..."
Ishtar just nodded, "Well Dementa, I will still see if my superiors will help you, but I wouldn't count on it. In the mean time, rest and heal up.
You can stay here in Khufa while I converse with my superiors." Ishtar waved a hand over her muttering something in the same odd language she heard her speak in before. Dementa was just able to breathe a soundless 'thank you' before drifting off into dreamland....
|