The chimera snare, p.1
The Chimera Snare, page 1
The Chimera Snare: Fragments
by S & E Black
Copyright © 2024 Clay Urn Publishing LLC. All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information browsing, storage, or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in the United States by Clay Urn Publishing, 2501 Chatham Rd. Suite R, Springfield, IL, 62704
www.clayurnpublishing.com
Cover Art: Adrian Baxter: www.facebook.com/adrianbaxterillustration
ISBN 979-8-9905036-2-5
Content Transparency
Coarse Language, Violence, Gore, Sexual Situations, Sexual Abuse & Implied Sexual Abuse
Music is one of the most important facets of our lives. It kept us going when nothing else could, and fueled our journey with inspiration and energy. Our series is dedicated in part to the people who have inspired us on our creative journey and fueled our passion.
Hails and eternal thanks to the following bands/artists, in alphabetical order:
Abigail Williams, Agalloch, Ahab, Alcest, Altar of Plagues, Amenra, Asbestoscape, Bell Witch, Bella Morte, Bongripper, Caspian, Clouds, Cult Of Luna, Diary of Dreams, Emperor, Enslaved, Esoteric, Evoken, Eye of Solitude, Fen, Frostmoon Eclipse, Funeral, God Is An Astronaut, God Module, Hammock, Heilung, Herbst9, Katatonia, Krohm, Krzysztof Drabikowski’s Batushka, Les Discrets, Leviathan (USA), Light Field Reverie, Lights Out Asia, Lords of the Manor, Lycia, Mephorash, Mogwai, Mono (Japan), Moonlit Sailor, Morgion, Mournful Congregation, My Dying Bride, Nhor, Nine Inch Nails, Orgy, Pelican, Rapture (Finland), Russian Circles, Schammasch, Shape of Despair, Signal Hill, Swallow the Sun, Sylvaine, The Howling Void, This Will Destroy You, Towards Darkness, Un, Unto Ashes, Wolvennest, Wolves in the Throne Room, Wumpscut, Velvet Acid Christ, Zeraphine, Zeromancer.
We would like to send special thanks to our panel of beta readers in alphabetical order:
Aimee Cozza
Donna Reidhaar
Green Neen
Jeanna Snell
Killy Flux
Klara Pelcl
Lady Alchemy
Lauren Barkell
Lauren Lujo @thereaderandthebeast
Lynn Sweetman-Cochran
Sabia
Suzy B
Tara Porphy
Tory Keith
Your feedback has been crucial in the final stages of development and we greatly appreciate the time you spent providing your honest thoughts.
A special thank you Genevieve Baker for your insight and lending help with the blurb.
We would like to express our deepest appreciation to the following folks who supported our Kickstarter project and made it a success. Thank you for believing in the project and in us. Without you, we couldn’t have launched “Fragments” the way we envisioned.
Our backers (in chronological order):
Maša Absec, Amanda Eschmeyer, Bobbi Iszler, The Creative Fund, Trish Schneider, Alexandra Corrsin, Henry Partida, StacieDee, Max & Dayja W., Tom & Virginia Steuber, Fam, Justise B., Life Schneider, Stacey Encinas, Lola Badmus, Chris & Sondra Hutson, Scott Bryant, Rachel Luangphonh, Christina Raiburn, Michael Bower, unpr3d1ctab13, Bianca-Tatjana, Lydia & Shawn, Tracy Dale, Raymond Howard, Amy Hubert, Debbie Sultemeier & Fredericksburg Essentials, Greg Jenkins, Gilberto Vargas, Susie Bryant, Christina Pfaff, Parsley42, PyeLokie4ever, Studio Moonfall, The Petty’s, Courtney Vida, Carly Rios, Stephanie Neitzel, DiMari, Kathy Matysek, Jerald Wegehenkel, Allison Stroud, D. Cesna, Lily G., Liam Victor Sherlock, Pam Billeci, Sharon G. Harris, Jojo & Jeff, Michael Johnson, Jen & Gus, Dennis Bärtschi, Emily, Lani Jenkins.
And, lastly, but definitely not least, we would like to thank Fam
(Klara & Matic Pelcl) for encouraging us to ship this damn thing already.
We love you so fuckin’ much.
Chimera noun
chi·me·ra
/kīˈmirə,kəˈmirə/
The term chimera has come to describe any mythical or fictional creature with parts taken from various animals or to describe anything composed of very disparate parts or perceived as wildly imaginative, implausible, or dazzling.
The sight of a chimera is perceived as an omen of disaster.
Prologue
The Way of Laylanailee
Shiny strands of long black hair whipped over Von’s face as he settled into his dreamwalk. With anxious, dashing eyes, he scanned the bleak landscape surrounding him until the silhouette of a woman in a flowing white nightgown slipped out from behind a thicket of knotted deadwood. Navaryn, whose essence he had relentlessly tracked, clutched the sides of her arms and watched the dense fog roll through petrified tree branches.
As she traipsed ahead, perplexed by the encompassing desolation, Von released a tense, warm breath into the air. Though so close, she felt just as far away as she did since the fateful day she was banished from Celestine. No matter how helpless of an endeavor it seemed, he always returned to her side, determined to free her from the cursed diablerie that bound her.
Von eased his rigid posture and set out in her direction, pondering a new angle of approach that could trigger the reawakening of her mind. His rugged boots crunched over the uneven terrain and filled the air with eager disharmony as he descended a low-rolling hill.
Startled, Navaryn turned towards the racket of tumbling rubble behind her. “Who are you?” she sternly uttered. “And where am I?”
Her inquiries felt like a sword to the gut, even though he knew she wasn’t to blame for her predicament. The gentle smile he wore failed to mask the depth of heartache that bled through his eyes. Strength wasn’t something he typically battled with, but his waning patience and self-doubt persistently tested his fortitude.
Once through the maze of deadwood, he replied, “This is what controls you.”
Confused, she whispered, “This wretched emptiness?”
“Yes. You’ve shown me this very place.”
“Do I … know you?”
Von nodded. Though it was typically difficult to interact with her inside the dreamwalk, their conversation prompted him with an idea of how to part the veil lying over her memories. He lifted his hand towards the sky and evoked the shimmery apparition of a crimson-tinged moon.
“This is Hirunae,” he revealed as her eyes widened. The triad’s crown. Don’t you remember?”
“I-I wish I could. It’s beautiful.”
As she gazed at the looming satellite, Von hoped to find the familiar longing in her eyes. Yet, no matter how lovingly she watched Hirunae trail above her, emptiness sat within her distant, hazel irises.
“It feels like ages since I’ve last watched you admire it. I’ve missed that.”
Embarrassed by his confession, Navaryn looked at him and said, “How do you know me? Tell me who you are.”
Von hesitated. He had answered the same questions in various ways, yet she never remembered.
“Tell me,” she pressed. “Please?”
Frustrated and yearning for an outcome different than all the times before, he took her by the shoulders and proclaimed, “My name is Von. I need you to remember me and what’s surrounding us.”
“How?! I don’t even know who I am.”
Von’s gaze hardened. “You’re Navaryn! You’re a warrior and guardian of Celestine! Come on. You’re stronger than this! You have to fight to remember what happened,” he urged. “It’s the only way I can bring you back.”
His passionate declaration only sowed further confusion. “Bring me back to what?!” she shouted as she tried to wriggle out from his grip.
“To Celestine. To your home!”
“This doesn’t make any sense!”
Von pulled her in close. “You have to remember. I won’t stop until you do. Everything depends on that.” As he proceeded to reveal more details from her forgotten past, his red irises started to glow.
Fearful at first, Navaryn found herself fixated on the strange comfort she felt while looking into his eyes. Her expression relaxed as a soothing, weightless sensation overtook her, a feeling that had eluded her since it all began. Time slowed to a crawl, and Von’s voice dampened until it became inaudible, as if she was submerged underwater. She continued to study his face through his sentimental testimonial and placed her hands upon his cheeks.
Her unexpected gesture, and gentle smile that parted her lips, stopped him in his tracks. As she motioned to speak the thoughts that filled her heart, a vibrant light ignited inside her throat. Glowing, golden pink orbs wisped from her mouth in place of words, blotting out Von’s bewildered face. Suddenly, her feet gave out from under her.
The apparition of Hirunae quickly dissolved as he shifted to catch her. In a near instant, a moment before he took her into his arms, the ground between their feet broke open. A powerful force pulled Navaryn through the rift, and hungry, white light devoured everything ahead of him.
Von dropped to his knees at the escarpment’s crumbling edge, then yelled, “Take my hand!”
Navaryn reached out for him, but she was already out of range. With no way to reverse their distance, she succumbed to her heaving breaths. Tears pooled in her eyes and left her purblind in a coffin of cementing light.
Despite Von’s earnest attempt for a different outcome, the thieving l
Von pulled his abraded hands out from the dirt and bellowed. From fingertip to forearm, his skin blackened with fragments of flashing ebon shards, and his fingernails morphed into thick ridged claws. Without hesitation, he tore ribbons through the obsidian-like formations into flesh and vein, pelting Navaryn with blood as she fell away.
Von’s belting energy continued to surface. Thick and smokey bone broke through the vertebrae along his arched back, spiking high before it coiled towards his ripping, transforming flesh. As he roared, his jaw dislocated and morphed into a new structure that split his lips. Massive clumps of muscle exploded over his frame, and razor-sharp teeth pierced through his gums in both directions. Beads of sweat gathered atop the pulsing veins rising beneath his skin, and four broad, unevenly twisted horns slid out of his head, completing his hideous transformation.
Amidst the ruins of Von’s perceived failure, Navaryn studied his menacing form, kneeling at the cliff above. Focused upon his hauntingly familiar crimson gaze, a disorienting vision overtook her.
Navaryn sauntered down a stone hallway drenched in an amber glow from the rows of tapers that lit the way. She carried a bottle of wine she had picked up before her visit and was smiling at the label, almost entranced by her delight.
“You will never guess what I found at Teagan’s—”
Upon finding the obliterated wooden door to Benson’s study, her jovial gait suddenly stopped. Fragments of broken viridian glass scattered across the stone floor after the bottle fell from her hand. The sweet yet pungent aroma of wine snaked up to her nostrils but did nothing to break her senses from the terrifying sight before her. Standing askew with her mentor’s throat in his grasp was a tall, misshapen beast with crooked horns atop its head, clothed in garments bursting at the seams.
Navaryn took hold of the dagger strapped to her thigh. As she swiftly unsheathed it, the sound of metal slipping past the scabbard caught the beast’s attention. Strands of bubbling saliva dribbled off his long, razor-sharp teeth as he turned his head. Benson’s body went limp under the eerie glow of his red eyes.
Enraged, she charged the beast with her dagger gripped tightly. Anticipating a clumsy, lumbering response was a mistake, as he effortlessly maneuvered through her advances, then backhanded her into the rafters of the three-story library. Winded but still alert, she desperately reached for anything that could break her fall to no avail. Unable to reorient herself for a proper landing, she crashed atop the stone floor with her dagger clanking just outside of her reach. The beast watched her wince and squirm while she collected herself, then gave Benson one last glance before tossing him to the side.
As the beast bolted her way, Navaryn snapped to her senses and scrambled to retrieve her dagger. With clenched teeth and trembling muscles, she darted toward him with a wrenching grimace, swung her blade against his impending fist, and then rolled beneath the remainder of his follow-through. A spray of red flicked onto the floor as she quickly hopped to her feet. While he recoiled, she leaped onto his back and plunged her dagger into his shoulder. The beast blustered and flailed until she eventually lost her footing, yet she refused to dismount until she reclaimed her blade. Before she found the proper leverage on a large clump of writhing muscle at her shins, he reached behind his back, sunk his claws into her thigh, then hurled her into the bookshelf at the far end of the room.
Navaryn readied herself in a defensive stance while Benson struggled to his feet. Grateful he was still alive, she urged him to flee as the beast prepared to charge her once again. The dagger, pointed at the creature in her line of sight, glinted a jagged edge where his blood had crystallized. The peculiar characteristic fascinated Navaryn, though she broke away from her bewilderment in time to catch his approach.
Focused and determined to prevail, she conjured a ball of fire within her palm, then lobbed the augmenting current into his face. As he howled and stumbled backward, Navaryn clasped her dagger above her head and lunged for the pulsing rope-like artery on his neck. Though distracted, he was keen to her intent and swiftly thwarted her downward stab. The pair battled against each other’s leverage and will until Navaryn’s knees buckled under his weight. While pinned to the ground, he tore away her dagger and then pummeled her with his fist and elbow until her welted, bloody face no longer cried out.
Dazed and on the verge of losing consciousness, Navaryn cleared her bloody airways with forceful coughing. Before she could manage a restorative breath, the beast snatched her by the hair and reeled her face into his. Acrid vapor rushed through his teeth and made her puffy, swollen face twist. Relishing her distress, his putrid grin stretched and peeled his blistery cheeks open. Certain he aimed to claim her life, Navaryn’s vision quaked with white as she struggled to break free.
Beneath the ominous silence that befell the room, the beast suddenly released his grip. Puzzled by his unexpected yield but not intending to waste the opportunity, she wriggled out from underneath him and reclaimed her dagger. The overwhelmingly dark, frenzied energy within him soon calmed, and as the uncertain moments passed, the haunting glow retracted back into his irises.
While Navaryn remained locked in thought, a strange, glowing blue smoke slithered along the ground, coiled around the creature’s limbs, and robbed him of control before he could react. As soon as his menacing energy resurfaced, his glowing red eyes reignited.
Navaryn traced the flow of the glowing smoke to find its source, aghast to discover it was pouring out of Benson’s outstretched palms. The conjuration continued to wrap around the rest of the creature’s body, constricting his misshapen limbs and strangling his breath. Panicked, he tried to break free with such feverish exertion that it appeared the veins on his neck would burst. Not long after his glowing eyes found Navaryn again, he gave up the fight and succumbed to his restraints. Immediately, the smoke surged into his body and turned his flesh transparent.
The room quaked as a series of indiscernible markings fell from the ceiling. Brilliant sparks quivered and formed a sizable double circle of light on the ground surrounding the creature. As shadows whipped across the room, Benson called for Navaryn’s retreat. Four ropes of light emerged from the symbol and took hold of the beast’s fading limbs, quartering him to the ground. Following a blinding flash, he was gone. As the glowing smoke dissipated, Navaryn inspected the scorched sigil on the ground left behind by the Snare.
Silence overtook the study again, and Benson ambled over to his desk to rest himself after his demanding conjuration. Navaryn approached him but was quickly reminded of the deep gashes on her thigh as she stumbled. Although the steady flow of blood was concerning, she could not pull her eyes away from the thick crimson that drenched her leg. Entranced by the metallic stench wafting in the air, she pressed into her wound then slid her slick fingers together, detecting sharp particles of the beast’s crystalized blood.
The brilliance of a red halo retracted alongside Navaryn’s turbulent memory. Suspended in weightless white light, she watched the creature’s despondent glowing eyes fade. Inside her radiant durance, Navaryn unlocked her fingers to find her hands bespattered in sparkling red shards. As she gazed upon them, the seed of a deep and painful longing sprouted in its rightful place within her heart. She could feel the incalculable distance between them, and though the task seemed nearly impossible, she knew Von would stop at nothing to reach her once again.
Chapter 1
The Known
Beep, beep, beep, beep …
Rayshell squished a pillow over her head, but the muffled sound seeped through.
Beep, beep, beep, beep …
Grumbling, she turned off the alarm and rolled onto her side. The somniferous warmth trapped within her blankets coerced her eyes to close again.
