Self Inflicted Abomination Read online

bedchamber close by.

  I’m not alone in here!

  He sat up and was stunned to see his left arm dangling half attached to his body by a collection of pale threads.

  Drit, forgot about the arm.

  Supporting the partly reattached arm with his other hand, he stood up and investigated the darkness. Two opulent four posted beds surrounded by curtains were the only places the sniffer could be. He poked his head past the curtains of the closest. Crouched against the headboard in a silky red gown was Lord Jakot himself. He stared at Kasus with bulging fearful eyes. He raised a shaking finger and pointed at Kasus.

  “You... you there boy. Fetch the guard, there is kohlinite treachery. I let them bring those beasts right into my home, and now they plot to kill me!” whispered Jakot in terrified tones.

  A little stunned Kasus nodded and withdrew to the bedchamber doorframe. The tapestries on the landing were ablaze, and judging from the blood trails, the khymira had toppled blindly down the stair. He stopped, wondering what to do.

  Should I snap Jakot’s neck right now?

  His left arm was tingling, as if he had fallen asleep on it. He flexed its fingers, and released it to hang on its own, seeing if it would fall off again. It seemed sturdy enough. He wiped away some blood where the stump wound should be, the skin seemed a little off colour, but perfectly intact.

  Simply astounding!

  Looking around the room for inspiration, he found only well carved wooden furnishings and red linen curtains, he noted the tiny glass door leading to a balcony outside.

  I want to fly. I want to be free of this place and not ever return.

  The starlight hawk spirit within him, fed him a constant compulsion to stretch his wings and explore the night skies. Thus far, he had resisted, but right now, an open sky held more appeal than a burning hallway. Most of the keeps occupants would be sleeping heavily after enjoying the festival, but soon there would be guards, servants, nobles, and perhaps demons and kohlinites all investigating the landing outside the wreaked door.

  Gathering curtains, he trailed them through the shattered doorway. Pulling the top from an ornate oil lamp, he splashed its contents over the curtains, and then slid it out into the fires beyond. A serpent of fire wound its way into the room and made a bonfire upon the broken door. Collecting a brass poker from an ornate fireplace, Kasus scooped up burning curtains and flicked them onto the two four-poster beds. Shrieks quickly followed, and Jakot tumbled from his bed, shielding his eyes from the blaze.

  “Guards!” he yelled. “Guards help me!”

  He squinted at Kasus in confusion. Pulling his chamber pot from beneath the bed, he threw its contents at his burning bed. It sizzled but made little difference, the room was filling with smoke. Kasus drew the three crumpled scrolls most precious to him from inside his tunic. Spattered with his blood, flattened, and torn, they were in a sorry state. He dropped them on the fires. Feminine shrieks of distress sounded from the second burning bed. From the hallway, distant shouts reached him; they were trying to find Jakot and his wife. Waving goodbye to Lord Jakot, Kasus pushed open the balcony door. A cold salty wind billowed in, and the fires flickered and grew. Stepping out onto the little balcony, he stretched his arms, and embraced the urge to fly into the night. An odd sensation gripped him. His body felt as if it were the surface of a pond, rippling in the wind. His face pinched, legs twisted, and his back arched. He began to shrink and feel light. The night brightened until it hurt his eyes, the fires seemed to roar behind him.

  Feels so strange, but wonderful.

  He flapped his wings awkwardly, trying to keep his balance. He was so light now that this motion bounced him around the balcony and he nearly fell over. Lord Jakot abruptly backed out of the balcony door, trying to beat out his burning nightgown as he did so. Kasus leapt onto the stone guardrail with a casual flap of his wings. Jakot sat down, exhausted, and coughing, he turned, expecting to see a strangely behaved servant. He gawped at the bird for a moment, then clearly concluded the slave had tumbled off the balcony rather than face the flames inside. Jakot crawled to the railing and looked over hopefully, perhaps thinking to see something soft below and an unscathed slave lad, dashing off to seek help.

  Kasus wanted to laugh, but his short hooked beak was not equipped for such. He stepped from the railing and glided a little unevenly down to the smithy roof below. He fumbled the landing and went beak first into the slate roof, but was otherwise proud of his efforts. The glide had been exhilarating.

  Gazing out to the east, the homebound star was bright and high in the sky. Below it the bearded star was visiting tonight, its bright face flickered, and its proud tail pointed upward. They say it is good luck to see the bearded star as you begin a voyage or journey. Tonight he would literally follow the homebound star back to his former home on the free isles; his mother could still be waiting for him there. He did not know how far a starlight hawk could fly, but he refused to stay another day in the dark cities. Behind him a long terrified scream sounded, it grew closer for a heartbeat, and then stopped abruptly.

  About the Author:

  I live in sunny Perth, Western Australia. I work in security and I.T. I enjoy strategy gaming, martial arts, and sketching. My interests include military history, physics, engineering, comedy, game theory, and etymology. I like to read about unusual settings, and bizarre worlds that are a little outside the regular comfort zone. I like to contemplate the impossible, and wrap my head around the alien and the unorthodox. I primarily write sci-fi or sword and sorcery.

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