Echoes: A Second Skin Novel (Second Skin Book 6)

by M Damon Baker

  Endreí

  Elven Male

  Level - 46

  949,590/951,200

  Health - 350/350 Aura - 840/840 Endurance - 350/350

  The answer was both frustrating and encouraging at the same time. Just a few more kills the previous night would have gotten him there, and he regretted missing yet another opportunity. Still, the road ahead was an uncertain one, likely filled with even more such encounters. Endreí only hoped that he would survive long enough to be able to take advantage of them.

  Kara began their march again after he finished his meal, guiding the way once more in a straight line away from their pursuers. Neither she nor Rissa had varied their track in any way, knowing that it was pointless to try and throw Tási off Endreí’s trail. Any attempt to do so wasn’t only a waste of effort; it would result in their enemies gaining ground as they followed behind in an unerringly straight line. Yet Endreí remembered the lost opportunity of the previous night and stopped to place one more trap before setting off again.

  After casting False Aura on a small rock, Endreí positioned the object in a prominent spot along their path. Then, he placed an Empowered Flame Trap several paces to one side of the stone, and a similarly enhanced Cyclone Trap on the other. With a little bit of luck, the rock he’d cast False Aura on would occupy his enemies’ attention, and they’d overlook the less-obvious Spells he’d cast. It was a variation of the deception he’d used years ago on the Bone Crushers, and Endreí hoped it might meet with similar success.

  Once he’d laid his snares, Endreí took a long look over the scene, his brow furrowing as he burned the image into his mind before setting off yet again. Although it had been some time since he’d placed his first set of traps, he’d received no notification that they’d been triggered. Endreí clung to the faint hope that the lapse only meant they were well ahead of Dreya and Tási, but he also couldn’t ignore the possibility that they’d simply been too good to fall for his ruse. So, as he wandered on following in Kara’s wake, Endreí tried to come up with some more… innovative presents to leave behind for Tási to stumble upon.

  Despite the tediousness of their travels, the rest of the day passed quickly, and as the sun sunk beneath the trees, Kara called a halt when they happened upon a likely campsite for the evening. After setting up his bedroll, Endreí sat down on the thin padding and focused his mind on the memories of their first night fleeing through the wilderness. When he recalled the image of the campsite where he’d placed his initial set of traps, he cast Scry, calling forth the scene in his mind in real-time. All was just as he remembered, with no indications that anyone had disturbed the area since they’d left—the forest floor was still swept clean by the magic of Erase he’d used to obscure their own passing.

  Having confirmed that they were, in fact, far ahead of their pursuers, Endreí allowed himself to relax and settle in for the night. Khael and Runil had volunteered for the first two shifts on watch, while Rissa had taken on the last. With Detect Life still monitoring the area all around them for threats their vision might not observe, Endreí knew he was as safe as he could possibly be out in the untamed wilds. That small bit of reassurance was enough to let him fall asleep quickly for the first time since he’d begun fleeing Dreya’s unrelenting thirst for vengeance.

  Chapter 12

  Although Endreí managed to sleep through the entire night, his slumber was plagued by disturbing dreams and images. In a series of all too vivid scenes, he saw himself beside Tási, holding her in a loving embrace that obviously wasn’t the mere pretense it had been before. He recognized it was the power of her magic that had brought them together, but Endreí didn’t care. All his dream self knew was that he loved her more than anything else—the source of those feelings was simply irrelevant.

  Waking from his nightmares, Endreí shook his head violently, desperate to fling the powerful memories from his mind. Recalling just how real everything had seemed, he suddenly understood what had made it feel that way. Tási had somehow been able to steer his unconscious thoughts towards her in a most compelling way. Not only had he truly felt love for her in his dream state, but the sensation of her bare skin still lingered on his fingertips. The ability to manipulate him so strongly sent a shudder down Endreí’s spine as he recognized its almost inevitable consequences: No one could resist such incredible forces for long. Sooner or later, Tási’s manipulations would generate emotions in him that wouldn’t vanish with the dawn. After that, the only real question was how long it would take for those feelings to cause him to do something… unwise.

  Endreí’s realization extinguished the faint glimmer of hope that had come to him the night before. He’d thought the space between himself and their pursuers had bought him some time, but now even time was his enemy as well. As he felt himself falling into a deep despair, Endreí’s attention was drawn to a bit of movement in the corner of his vision.

  Across the campsite, Rissa was packing up a few of their things in preparation for heading off again. As was always the case, looking at her stirred a slew of emotions in him, including both his deep love and complete sense of awe that she’d chosen to stay by his side even after all he’d put her through. While he stared at Rissa, Endreí felt his desperation beginning to turn into something else—something completely different, and his fists clenched in rage as a deep well of raw anger rose up from within him.

  That fucking bitch was trying to ruin him, and even worse, she was hurting Rissa in the process. Everything Tási had done in her selfish, misguided effort to win him back had only wound up harming the people he cared about. Although her manipulations had first affected Trish and then Kara, it was the pain she continued to inflict on Rissa that caused the fury inside him to burn with an intensity he’d never felt before. As the fires within him raged, Endreí felt the traces of emotion Tási had evoked in him wither away in its heat, and the hopelessness he’d experienced only a moment before was replaced by an all-consuming need for revenge.

  Endreí rose up, grasping that feeling with both hands as he made a quick circuit around the campsite before they left. Then, he cast Empower and began laying a series of traps and deceptions all around the area, masking some with False Aura while carefully placing others beneath rocks and branches. After concealing the traces of Kara’s snares with Camouflage and casting Erase over the entire area, Endreí left the scene behind. As they walked away, he wished for nothing more than to receive a notification that his traps had been triggered and to see Tási’s body lying dead on the ground when he Scried the area.

  Marching beneath the cover of the branches, Endreí wore a mask of barely concealed anger as he focused his thoughts on making Tási pay for what she’d done, and for what she was still doing. For too long, Endreí had allowed himself to simply be the victim of her scheme, believing himself to be helpless in the face of her greater power. While he understood that she was still much stronger than he was, Endreí refused to let that fact determine his course any longer. Rissa deserved far better than a husband with divided loyalties, and even though he knew that Tási’s magic still held a certain sway over him, Endreí wasn’t going to let that serve as an excuse for his inaction any longer.

  “What’s going on?” Rissa’s hand brushed his arm, breaking Endreí from his dark thoughts.

  “I’m tired of Tási fucking with my mind,” he didn’t hesitate to tell her the truth. “I’ve had enough. It’s time for her to die.”

  Although he’d kept his voice low, the venom in Endreí’s words was clear enough to Rissa, and she raised a brow as if to say, It’s about time. Endreí understood her reaction completely. Despite all he’d done, he knew he’d been far too passive in his responses to Tási’s actions. Endreí was about to reply when an icon flashed in his vision, and his Aura pool ticked up, indicating that at least one of the traps he’d laid had been triggered.

  “We need to stop, right now,” Endreí called ahead to Kara, raising his voice as loud as he dared in the dangerous environ
ment.

  “Can it wait?” Kara replied when she made her way closer, clearly exasperated by the seemingly unnecessary delay.

  “What is it? What’s happened, Endreí?” Nate inquired, speaking to him for one of the few times since he’d found out about his… relationship with Kara.

  “I just got a notification,” he tried to dampen his growing sense of anticipation as he spoke. “It’s one of the traps we left behind.”

  No one needed any explanation of what that meant, and Kara quickly ‘suggested’ that Khael and Runil keep watch while Endreí looked things over.

  Oddly, when he reviewed his Aura reserves, Endreí discovered that it wasn’t one of his first traps that had been triggered. Instead, the trap that had gone off was one he’d left in their wake during their second day on the run. Although Endreí hadn’t thought to make any extra effort to remember those locations, he did recall where he’d left that particular trap and immediately cast Scry in an effort to see just how much damage it had caused.

  Endreí closed his eyes, and an image of the distant forest slowly filtered into his mind. The large, multi-trunked form of a towering oak came into view first, the unique landmark that had helped him recall the location so easily. Peering around, Endreí looked towards where he’d placed his Empowered Cyclone Trap, hoping to see Tási’s body staring lifelessly back at him. While his trap had indeed done its job, hers was not one of the corpses lying on the ground.

  The first body that came into view was that of the male dwarf, Khorim. As he glanced past the figure of Broda kneeling by his side, Endreí could see that the whirling blades of his Cyclone Trap had not only repeatedly cut into his flesh but also sliced cleanly through his neck, decapitating the dwarf completely. Endreí didn’t know whether or not Dreya’s band had access to any resurrection magic, but even if they did, the devastating wounds left the dwarf well beyond those limits.

  While Dreya and the rest of her band hovered around the grieving dwarven woman, Endreí turned his remote viewing towards the second body. In contrast to the obvious sense of loss that surrounded Khorim’s death, no one seemed to pay much heed to Nedd’s body as it lay on the ground, surrounded by a slowly expanding pool of thick, red blood. Although he’d been similarly shredded by the sharp edges of the trap, there was nothing Endreí could detect that might prevent Nedd from being restored to life, indicating that Dreya did not possess the magic needed to do so.

  That wasn’t really much of a surprise. Considering just how dangerous their world had become, Endreí and his friends had sought out that magic for themselves over the years. Yet despite their inquiries with nearly every passing traveler, no one had encountered it in any form. He’d hoped Stephanie might receive the talent as she leveled up, but that hadn’t happened either. Regardless of its prevalence in Second Skin, it seemed that particular magic simply hadn’t crossed over to their world.

  Endreí recognized that he still hadn’t totally leveled the playing field, but he felt somewhat reassured that he’d at least managed to even up the numbers. He continued to watch for a while, observing as Venna gently coaxed Broda away from Khorim’s body while the others began to build a funeral pyre for their fallen comrades. As the fires started to consume the bodies, Endreí saw Dreya lean in towards Insleí, the group’s lone remaining Shadow. He couldn’t hear the words that passed between them, but there was no mistaking the utter rage that burned in the depths of the woman’s deep, green eyes as they spoke.

  With his mission accomplished and having seen all he needed, Endreí canceled the Spell and began to return to himself again. But while the far-away scene slowly faded from view, Endreí watched in horror as Tási turned and looked him straight in the eye. Staring directly at him, she shook her head almost imperceptibly while mouthing just two words.

  Bad move.

  Returning to himself, Endreí couldn’t help shivering as he understood what had occurred. Not only had Tási been aware of his presence, but she’d apparently seen him just as clearly as he’d seen her. Yet her warning to him—and he had no doubt that was the purpose behind her silent message—was even more chilling. Whatever Dreya might have intended when she’d begun her pursuit of them no longer mattered; when she caught up with Endreí and his friends, she would show them no mercy.

  “They’re closer than I thought, but we got two of them,” Endreí recovered quickly, hiding his concern from his friends.

  “Which two?” Kara inquired, beating Rissa by barely a heartbeat.

  “One of the big human Warriors and the dwarf, Khorim,” Endreí gave them the answer they weren’t looking for, obviously to both of their disappointment.

  “We have to get moving again,” Kara cast a curious look in his direction as Endreí spoke. She hadn’t missed his not-so-subtle expressions of doubt at the grueling pace she’d set over the last few days.

  “Seems like we struck a blow,” Khael hefted his heavy axe, more amused than concerned. “Maybe they’ll reconsider chasing after us now that we’ve bloodied their noses.”

  “No, Dreya’s even more intent on revenge than she was before,” Endreí felt he had no choice but the reveal the truth. “I don’t know what she’s planning, but she’s definitely not giving up.”

  “What else?” Nate cast a hard stare in Endreí’s direction. “I can tell that you’re holding something back.”

  “I was spotted,” he confessed. “I don’t know how, but Tási sensed my presence there, and she… spoke to me.”

  “What the fuck did she say to you?” Rissa fumed at his disclosure.

  “I was already fading away when it happened,” Endreí sighed, resigned to giving up his last secret. “All she said was ‘bad move,’ before I lost the image.”

  “If killing two of them was a bad move, then I vote we make a few more of those,” Daze laughed in response, with both Khael and Runil quickly echoing her sentiment.

  “You don’t understand,” Endreí tried to explain. “Something’s different; Dreya’s really mad now. The people we killed before were only her soldiers. This time, we murdered one of her friends. She’s never going to let this go.”

  “Fuck that bitch and everyone else that’s with her,” Endreí wasn’t sure which ‘bitch’ Rissa was referring to, Tási or Dreya, but her tone left no doubt in his mind that Rissa’s anger was still hovering on the edge of boiling over. “We’ll just have to stay a few steps ahead and keep leaving traps behind until we kill every last one of them.”

  “Aye, that seems like a good enough plan to me,” Runil agreed.

  If only it were that easy, Endreí managed to not roll his eyes at the overly simplistic scheme. Unfortunately, he had nothing better to offer in response. All Endreí could do was pick himself back up off the ground and follow behind Kara as she resumed leading them forward once again—this time at a noticeably more rapid pace.

  Chapter 13

  Endreí took hold of Rissa’s arm as they walked along beneath the rapidly growing shadows of the late afternoon. Knowing that his first set of snares had failed, Endreí dismissed them, allowing his Aura pool to begin slowly ticking up again before opening his UI. As his vision blurred and the first of the waiting notifications came into view, Endreí allowed Rissa to guide him while he looked over the messages.

  Experience gained – You have gained 3850 XP.

  You have gained a level! – You have earned sufficient experience to advance to level 47.

  You have gained three Attribute points. Two of your points have been automatically assigned to DEX and INT. You may assign the remaining point to any other Attribute as you see fit.

  Understanding that magic, not brawn, would be the key to his survival, Endreí ‘saw fit’ to add his one point to Wisdom, padding his all-important Aura pool. Perhaps it might only allow him to leave behind just one more trap, or cast a final Spell in the seemingly inevitable confrontation that lay ahead of him, but Endreí couldn’t help feeling that he’d need every single edge he could find if he wanted to avoi
d whatever fate Dreya had in store for him.

  Experience gained – You have gained 4125 XP.

  Endreí quickly closed the window once the second XP notification popped up, scanning the forest around him as soon as his sight came back into focus.

  “Go ahead and check yours,” he whispered to Rissa, assuming she had yet to review her own notifications.

  “I didn’t get any,” her soft reply and the slight smile that came with it surprised him. “They were your traps Endreí; none of us took part in creating them.”

  Up until that point, almost everything they’d done had been a group endeavor. From the planning to the… execution of Dreya’s army, they’d done it all together, sharing in the rewards. Yet only he and Kara had been involved in setting the traps and snares they’d left behind, and Endreí wondered if she’d also received a boon from his Cyclone Snare—a thought he very wisely chose to keep to himself.

  Setting aside that notion, he began thinking of some way to make his traps even more deadly. Tási had somehow avoided most of the one’s Endreí had left for her, so he needed to be far more creative if he wanted to slip another one past her defenses. Despite considering the issue for quite some time, Endreí came up with nothing. He’d already tried everything he knew, and if that didn’t work, Endreí was out of options.

  Choosing the Enchanter Specialization had been the key to their survival many times over the years. The weapons and armor he’d created had made the difference in countless fights they’d been forced into. Yet Endreí shook his head slowly as he wondered for the first time if that decision was finally coming back to haunt him. With Dreya intent on killing everyone he cared about, the talent seemed to offer nothing that would stop her.