by Bruce Sentar
“Everyone knows, yet you don’t.” Cherry grinned like she caught me red-handed. “Knowledge.”
“That’s…” Dar realized that would be a very powerful dao. In some ways, that was all-encompassing.
“Yes, it was a celestial dao and one of the reasons that, last I knew, Lilith had become incredibly powerful, continuing to collect a great number of lower dao. She even reigned in a spirit of death, causing lots of problems lately.”
“That must be a terrifying dao.” Dar thought of the valkyrie with ash grey hair that he’d met in the River of Souls.
“Indeed, but I haven’t seen my old friend in some time. I should ask you, have you seen her?”
“Yes, but only briefly. I… think she’s passed on.” He wasn’t quite sure what had happened to her at that river, but he’d gotten the sense that it wasn’t a temporary disappearance.
Cherry shook her head and pushed off Dar’s back. “Then it is a sad day indeed. Not just for me or her, but the world.”
She looked wistful as she stepped back to her tree.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Dar said.
“No, it’s fine. She’d been wanting to die for a very long time. I suspected she would part from this world soon, but it still is painful to hear it confirmed.”
“She fought the devils,” he stated rather than questioned.
“Lilith was a self-appointed champion that kept the devils from devouring the world in their dao path,” Cherry clarified.
But Dar had a question burning in his mind. “If Lilith was so strong, why couldn’t she eliminate all the devils?”
His question made Cherry grin. “Because she did, multiple times. But they always came back, and that’s one reason people believe in the Mo. For what else than gods of destruction would continue to pour devils into Granterra.”
“Huh,” Dar said, pulling the wagon around an outcropping of rocks. They’d been traveling up this hill for a while.
Sasha stepped up next to him. “You two are being quite chatty, learning lots about cherries?”
“Do you want a cherry?” The bubbly dryad was back, and Dar realized he’d have to ask his questions another time. Cherry was unwilling to show herself in front of anyone else, which he had to admit made him feel pretty damn special.
But now it also made more sense; she felt a broader connection to him. With Lilith’s runes on his body, he’d somehow earned at least an inkling of Cherry’s trust.
“Thank you.” Sasha took the sweet treat.
“You having fun with the village girls?” he asked; Sasha seemed happy.
“They like to gossip, and I do too. Which, by the way, more than one of them will happily jump in bed with you. You just have to let me know when to make myself scarce.” Sasha batted her eyes at him, and he’d almost have believed her, but the teasing didn’t make its way into her eyes as she smiled.
He knew she was trying to add a barrier between them by getting him to talk about the other women. But his feelings weren’t for them. Instead, he was growing feelings for the gorgeous witch next to him.
So instead, he shrugged. “I’m not looking for just some fun. I want something more. Had it once, and I want it again.”
“Of course. I’m sure if you knocked one of them up, they’d stick around,” she tested him.
He stopped pulling the cart, grabbing her arm and turning her towards him. “I’m not a commitment-phobe, Sasha. Maybe once, but not anymore. But no, I wouldn’t want to commit a life to them if there wasn’t a spark there. I want more than that.”
He held her gaze as she gulped, staring her down for a moment to make sure she knew he was serious before turning and grabbing the cart, pulling it forward once again.
Lightening the mood, he added, “Besides, just you wait. I’m going to figure out a damn dao.”
Still flustered, Sasha collected herself and shoved a book at him. “Fine. Here. Study while we walk.”
He took it. It was incredibly soft and supple, like she’d spent a lot of time on it and enchanted it thoroughly. Dar opened it up, and inside, each page had a single dao character. “This is impressive.”
“It’s more than impressive. It’s my life’s work. You realize a wizard would kill a whole city to get something like that, right?”
“Thank you, really, Sasha.” He dipped his head and flipped through the book. “Are these all the dao characters you know?”
“Most of the lesser dao,” she said, turning to look ahead of the caravan.
Dar looked too and realized the hill they had been climbing the last several hours was now dropping away to a craggy cliff face. From what he could see, it led down to a lower elevation, a wide river cutting through the valley.
“We’ll follow that stream down river, and then take it all the way to the sea. Bellhaven sits in a bay only a few miles from where the Bell River meets the sea,” Sasha explained.
She was looking off in the direction of Bellhaven, but Dar couldn’t stop watching the sky. Thick, dark clouds boiled in the distance; flashes of light made it clear it was a heavy thunderstorm.
“Think that storm is coming for us?” he asked, standing there trying to gauge their movement.
Sasha held her hat as she investigated the sky with him. “Oh, yeah, I think it might be.”
It would be dangerous if the group tried to keep going through the storm. They were already tired and weak. Slogging through the rain and the mud was only going to lead to injuries or sickness. They needed to find their way down the cliff and get some cover.
As he started evaluating options, murmurs and pointing rose across the travelling group. Others had spotted the storm as well.
Dar tucked the book under his arm and walked ahead, leaving Cherry’s wagon behind. “Count Tint,” he called.
“What is it?” came a groggy shout from one of the wagons.
“There looks like a pretty nasty storm on the horizon.” Dar pointed to the black clouds.
“Shit,” the count cursed as he poked his head out of the wagon. “These cliffs should have some large caves if memory serves. We need you to scout them out and make sure they are clear. We’ll move people in once you are done.”
“Got it.” Dar gave a sharp nod.
Neither of the men had any lost love for each other, but in times like this, you didn’t pick a fight unless you were a complete moron. Survival came first.
Dar immediately set off down the cliff face to check the caves.
“Wait for me,” Sasha said, catching up to him as he picked his way down the cliff.
The rest of the group was heading down a smoother and less direct route, but they were moving quickly.
“Who’s pulling Cherry’s cart?” he asked.
“I got two of the girls to do it,” Sasha replied, breathing heavily as they picked their way down a more direct route.
Dar gave her a strange look for leaving Cherry with total strangers, but it wasn’t like Cherry couldn’t take care of herself. However, why did it feel like Sasha was recruiting more to their group from only among the women in the village?
Rocks slid from under his feet, and he caught himself, leaving his thoughts behind. He needed to focus.
“Great. We need to find and clear out a cave.”
Sasha nodded, slipping down the rocks gracefully, little ribbons branching out from her dress to steady her.
“There’s one.” She pointed to a break in the cliff face.
Dar eyed the landing in front of the cave and shrugged. He wouldn’t make that jump if it had been the old him, but he’d learned his body was far more capable and decided to give it a try. If he could handle getting crushed by a troll, what was the worst thing that could happen if he fell on his ass?
The muscles in his legs coiled up before he launched himself a good ten feet in the air and twenty feet over, landing in front of the cave.
He felt like there should have been some sort of superhero landing with the ground cracking, but there wasn�
��t. However, it didn’t lessen how awesome it felt to have pulled that off.
Sasha, not one to be outdone, made the jump herself, her ribbons fluttering around her like wings to help her glide down.
“Can you fly?” He wondered why she hadn’t before.
“Don’t be absurd.” She landed and all the ribbons disappeared back into her skirt. “It’s more like gliding than anything I’d call flight.”
Dar looked into what they had thought was a cave, but it was just a small divot in the face of the rock. it might have been large enough if it had been just Dar and Sasha looking to weather the storm, but they’d need something much larger for the whole group traveling.
Sighing, Dar turned to scout the nearby area. His enhanced jumping made it much easier to move, as he made quick work of checking out any rock divots he thought might lead to a larger cave.
Eventually, they found one that seemed far deeper than the others, but as they approached, a stench like rotten eggs hit him. “Smells like sulfur.” He wrinkled his nose.
“Not something I want to smell like if we stay here for a few days, but we are running out of options.” Sasha looked back up at the sky.
The dark storm clouds had started to dominate the horizon; it was no minor storm coming.
“Then let’s see what we are dealing with. If you feel dizzy, say something and we’ll head out.” Dar was worried that there might be strange gasses in the cave, but they were out of options.
He crouched low and did his best to creep into the cave and around the bend. He paused at what he saw in front of him. There was a steady orange glow, somewhat like a fire, coming from deep within the cave. Maybe others had built a small campfire?
But it didn’t flicker like fire. It grew and shrank, almost to a rhythm.
Getting closer for a better look, Dar saw something on a platform. There was a mass that was swelling and contracting, giving off a warm light. Multiple sacks pulsed like that, giving the light a strange rhythm.
Soft hands grabbed his arm, and Sasha tugged for him to step back.
Her lips touched his ear, and she whispered. “Hellhounds.”
Dar looked back up, and his eyes traced the shapes on the platform. As his eyes adjusted, he could start to make out the form of multiple canines. Their bellies swelled with each breath and warm light illuminated their bodies with each inhale, like living bellows.
They weren’t as big as the direwolves that had attacked them a few days ago, but Dar would put them at over a hundred pounds each.
His eyes tracked the sleeping beasts and tried to count them each time their stomachs glowed, but it was like trying to count fireflies in the dark. There was maybe a dozen of them or more.
Dar squeezed Sasha’s hand and raised his own, asking her thumbs up or thumbs down. The witch blinked, looking at him confused.
Right, different world.
He mimed a little more and Sasha seemed to get it. She gave him a worried-looking thumbs up.
Guess it would have to do.
Dar slid free his straightened bronze sword from his belt, readying for a fight. Sasha grabbed a stone from the floor and started scratching a rune on it with her wand.
He waited. If she was making another exploding rock, it would be best for him to not be in the middle of it, enhanced body or not.
Sasha finished up and held the stone ready in her hand, looking to Dar for his signal. He nodded sharply, and she tossed the stone into the crowd of hellhounds.
Chapter 9
An explosion lit up the cave in front of him as Dar shielded his eyes, working to adjust to the sudden light. He braced himself, trying to see through the rubble.
Hellhounds stepped forward, lit up by the fire that had ignited debris on the floor into small campfires. They didn’t even seem to notice their singed fur, simply shaking off the dust they had been covered in.
“That didn’t seem very effective,” Dar said.
The monsters’ heads swiveled straight to him and snarled, baring their fangs. Their chests glowed deep orange, filling the cavern with light.
Dar did a quick scan for any additional threats, but all he registered was this pack of snarling hellhounds. So far, they hadn’t been overly aggressive, just growling and trying to scare them away.
“Sorry boys, but we need a cave, and I don’t think you are going to be keen on sharing,” he responded.
At that, the largest hellhound barked at the rest, grabbing a smaller one by the back of its throat and throwing it forward.
Did the alpha of the pack just push one of the betas to prove himself?
The beta of the pack snapped at Dar and started to circle him.
“Keep an eye on the rest of them,” he told Sasha, focusing on the beta that had been thrown before him, which was still a hundred-pound magic dog.
But the hellhounds seemed to have more intelligence than he’d expected. This was either a test for him or the beta in front of him. Probably both.
The hound growled, opening its mouth and puffing out an acrid breath that reeked of sulfur. It blasted Dar with a wave of heat as it reached him, like baking in the desert heat. The hellhound must have put out some serious heat for him to feel it ten feet away.
They moved at the same time, Dar moving forward and slashing with his sword and the hellhound whipping its body to the side before pushing off with its front feet and pouncing for Dar’s neck.
As he dodged the move, he felt the shimmering waves of heat radiating off the beast; it felt like he was standing next to an open oven. He had a feeling he
might lose a hand if he touched it directly, which definitely felt inconvenient when the thing was trying to reach him.
“Sasha, do these things have a dao?”
“They are monsters, descended from an old spirit or demon that changed themselves with a dao. It might seem like a dao, but it is just a hereditary remnant.”
Dar noticed she didn’t have any of her ribbons out, and he remembered how much trouble she’d had with the direwolves. The hellhound’s heat and attack style played very well to Sasha’s weakness. She needed him, and she wasn’t going to be much help.
“Sasha, get out. Go get some of the guards.” Dar paused, thinking about it for a moment longer. “Better yet, bring Cherry.”
“I’m not leaving you here.” She made a stubborn noise, and Dar turned to see her puffing her cheeks.
He felt the heat rather than heard the beast approach, ducking into a roll without looking; it had been stupid to turn away from the hellhound. Sasha was a distraction.
The hellhound slid to a stop, its claws struggling to find purchase on a smooth bit of floor. Dar leapt to his feet and lunged, striking his sword into the hellhound’s ribs. It let out a shout of pain, its chest glowing hot, like coals fresh from a fire.
His sword had only scraped the monster’s chest, but the heat had been too much for Dar. Leaping back, Dar looked at his sword. The tip was a dull red from its contact with the hellhound.
He let out a mental curse; he’d have to approach this carefully. Metal didn’t turn red under a thousand degrees, and in its current state, it would be easy to warp or break it.
Dar shook his head as the hellhound turned back around to focus on him, growling savagely. He focused on the creature, waiting for the next attack. Now that it was wounded, it would be more aggressive; he could work with that.
It lunged, but to his surprise, it wasn’t moving towards him. He followed its movements, realizing the beast was headed straight at Sasha.
The witch’s eyes were wide as she threw her hands up, ribbons streaming out, trying to form a barrier between her and the hellhound to slow it down. But as the ribbons touched the monster, they quickly blackened and crumbled. Sasha was in serious trouble.
Luckily, he had a new advantage; the beast was focused on Sasha and had left him at its back.
Charging forward, Dar ignored the heat and kicked it under its stomach, where it seemed vulnerable, with all his might
. To his and the beast’s surprise, the hellhound became airborne, flying and crashing against the nearby wall. It hit with a deep crunch that made him wince.
Dar continued moving, positioning himself between Sasha and the hound, replaying what had just happened. He was still adjusting to this new body. Apparently, his legs were now good for some serious ass kicking.
The pack of hellhounds barked at the downed hound, almost like they were encouraging it, telling it to get back up. But it didn’t move, laying still on the ground.
“Are you okay, Lug?” Sasha asked, moving up closer behind him.
He didn’t turn, not wanting to give the beasts his back again, but he could feel her nearly pressing up against him. “I think you need to get out of here, Sasha. Next time, when we aren’t fighting something that is going to tear right through your ribbons, you can fight.”
The witch grumbled under her breath, before speaking up, “Fine. I’ll back away, but I’m not leaving.”
“Stubborn woman,” he muttered, swearing he heard her chuckle in response as he took a few more steps forward towards the hounds.
The pack of hellhounds were slowly focusing back on Dar over the downed hound. The growls echoed through the cavern, seeming to grow with every second as some of them leaned forward wanting blood.
A bark from the one that seemed to be the alpha was all it took for them to charge forward.
I guess just the duel with me and the beta wasn’t enough. Either way, he needed to clear this cave for the refugees.
Moving forward, Dar slashed into the pack, making sure to not let any get past him to Sasha. The good part about fighting so many at once was that there were just too many targets for Dar to miss completely, his sword coming out of the swing having hit multiple dogs.
He was by no means an expert with a sword, but he waved it around in front of him with enough enhanced strength to cut into the mass of hellhounds, all the while backing up to not let them get to Sasha.
Hounds fell out of the pack as they tended to their wounds, but the rest pushed forward. They lunged at him as soon as his swing moved past them and provided an opening.
