Desolace Omnibus Edition

by Lucian Barnes

  After dismounting, Edward and Katie quietly walked toward Amber. Once they were nearly upon her, she turned and floated deeper into the woods. A small structure emerged from the shadows a few moments later, partly illuminated by moonlight. A faint metallic scent hung in the air around the building, and an even stronger stench of decay. After leading them to the side of the shack facing the stream, Amber hesitated near the front door.

  When her ghostly friend had not gone inside, Katie grew more nervous. Gently, she pushed Edward toward the entrance. He cautiously turned the knob and nudged the door inward. Stepping through the archway, he was suddenly immersed in total darkness. From just outside, Katie heard him mumbling something. Moments afterward, a light shone from the aperture. Peering inside, she saw a tiny flame dancing in the palm of Edward's hand. As Katie stepped into the building, she spun around to locate Amber, noticing that she was keeping her distance from the structure as if she were nervous.

  Even with the door standing open, the cloying smell of decay was overpowering. Fighting the urge to puke, Katie moved closer to Edward, whispering, "Do you see anything?"

  "So far, I don't. The place seems abandoned." Moving the dancing flame in his palm in a slow circle, he squinted into the shadows. Spooked by the creepy atmosphere, Katie stifled a scream when she saw a small animal scurry across the floorboards.

  "There seems to be a small room over there," he pointed, "perhaps it is a privy, or closet of some sort." Squinting her eyes, she was just barely able to pick out the shape of a door. Slowly moving closer, Katie following inches behind, Edward cautiously turned the knob and pulled the door open. Hands immediately flew over their mouths as they desperately tried to keep their last meal from coming up. The stench in the first room had been pretty bad, but this area of the building was far worse.

  Holding their breath, they hazarded a look inside the room. Katie tried, unsuccessfully, to keep from screaming. Edward turned his head and vomited. On the floor before them was a human corpse, decayed to the point that it was nearly skeletal. Small, ragged bits of flesh clung to the bones, as if wild animals had been feasting upon the poor soul. Beneath the remains, a dark stain saturated the floorboards. It definitely appeared to be blood, dry for the most part, although a few small spots still glistened with moisture.

  Suddenly, from somewhere outside of the building, they heard a shrill scream. Katie instantly recognized the sound as one belonging to a frightened horse. As she spun to bolt for the door her feet got tangled, sending her sprawling to the floor. After cracking her skull on the boards, waves of dizziness washed over her. Edward bent down, grabbed her arm, and helped her up. Disoriented, Katie emitted a tiny squeak of a scream, which quickly quieted when she realized it wasn't the ghastly corpse, back from the dead, that had latched onto her.

  Stumbling outside, the first thing they noticed was Amber's disappearance. Before either one of them could consider where the ghost had gone, they heard yet another of those awful, wailing, animal screams. Nearly yanking his arm from its socket, Katie tugged Edward toward the sound. Approaching the place where they had left the horse, they spotted Amber's shimmering form nearby. Several sparks of light were flying around the horse, as if the animal was surrounded by giant fireflies. When Edward and Katie got within twenty feet of the horse, the lights abruptly stopped moving. Several pairs of malevolently glowing red eyes glared at them from sleek metal bodies that resembled rats.

  As if the creatures determined by looking at them that the humans posed no threat, they returned to their business in a frenzy of motion, emitting a series of high-pitched mechanical noises. Standing frozen in place, Edward and Katie watched the blur of activity in horror. A small chunk of flying horse flesh hit Edward in the face with a sickening splat, forcing him to recall the shredded remains inside of the hut. Forcing the repulsiveness from his mind, he focused himself on what must be done.

  Anger coursed through his veins like he had never felt before. An expression of lethal concentration spread across his face. Conjuring a spell, he yelled, "Nar!" In a matter of seconds, the once small, dancing flame in the palm of his hand grew, becoming a huge globe of fire that was a foot in circumference, illuminating the entire area in a blaze of light. Somehow sensing that the balance of power had shifted, the mechanical creatures stopped their dissection of the horse and focused their beady eyes on Edward. As one, they leapt toward him. A fraction of a second before the creatures were upon him, Edward turned his palms outward. The enormous ball of flame sped toward them, slamming into their metallic bodies in mid-air. The ensuing explosion of light, like a miniature nuclear warhead detonating, lit everything within a five foot radius on fire and sent the creatures flying through the air like shrapnel.

  Edward studied the area for signs of movement, making absolutely sure the rat-like creatures were either dead or gone. Once he was relatively certain, he stepped forward and moved his hand back and forth above the inferno. Awestruck, Katie watched the once roaring fire turn into a thin pillar flame, flowing into his fingertips. After a few moments it became nothing more than a dancing flare in his open palm. Closing his hand around the tiny flame, it extinguished completely.

  As he approached his horse, Katie followed closely on his heels. The animal lay on the ground in tatters. In several places, bare bone was visible. Its innards were sprawled across the ground, shining wetly in the moonlight. The shredded animal hitched in one last ragged, gasping breath before going still. Bending down, Edward stroked its head affectionately, tears springing to his eyes. "I'm sorry, my friend," he whispered softly to his ravaged comrade.

  Chapter 33

  Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, George glanced up at the route map on the monitor. A single, steadily blinking red light was all he could see. "Am I at the outpost already?" He mumbled the question aloud, hoping for an answer from Morgana. When no response seemed forthcoming, he rose from the chair and stretched.

  After a quick stroll down the hallway, he opened the hatch. "I guess so," he said to himself, seeing the familiar stone stairway across from him. Stepping out of the vessel, George walked over to the staircase and began the long ascent to the outpost.

  When he reached the top, he pushed the heavy door closed. Instantly, the wheel on its surface began to spin. Once the locking mechanism clicked into place, he took a few minutes to check the monitors along the wall. There were no changes in the scenery they displayed, so it seemed that all was in order.

  Turning his attention to the door with the strange, hand-shaped locking device, George placed his palm in the recess. Rotating his hand in the socket as if he were using a doorknob, the panel slid noiselessly to the left.

  When he stepped outside into the dying light of day, the panel whooshed shut behind him. Gazing to his right, George spotted the mechanical monstrosity that was intended to be his transportation. As if it were alive, the metallic steed that resembled a horse turned one of its heads to regard him. Cautiously, he walked over to where it stood. As he climbed onto its back he looked around, tilting his head this way and that, trying to figure out how to control the creature. In his previous experience, he had learned how to ride a normal horse, but he couldn't help wondering how he was supposed to steer something with two heads. There were no reins resting on its neck, and when he tried to kick it softly into motion, George got no response. Frustrated, he consigned himself to the fact that he would probably have to contact the Black Knight to obtain operating instructions. Grasping the pommel of the saddle, he prepared to dismount. The knob moved in his hand, startling him, and the horse simultaneously sidestepped in the same direction. The sudden movement caused him to overbalance and fall to the ground.

  Picking himself up, George brushed the dust off of his clothes. Is it my imagination, or did that pommel just move like a video game joystick? Glancing curiously at the saddle, he saw nothing amiss. Approaching the horse again, he mounted more carefully this time. Once he was seated atop the beast comfortably, he grasped the pommel and lightly p
ushed it forward. The machine instantly responded by moving ahead. Releasing his grip, the bulbous knob sprung back to an upright position and the mechanical creature immediately came to a stop. Testing the controls further, he pushed the pommel lightly to the left and the beast responded by sidestepping in that direction. The simplicity of the controls and his inability to grasp them at first made him laugh. Taking a deep breath he grasped the knob, urging his steed to the south.

  After traveling for an hour through what he had thought to be an endless grassy plain, George came upon a wooded area that stretched to the east and west as far as he could see. Daylight had almost completely faded as the last vestiges of the sun sank below the horizon. Riding into the woods a short ways, it quickly became too dark to see where he was going, so he allowed the pommel to snap upright and dismounted. As he stood next to the strange beast he felt on odd sense of déjà vu. Why does this place seem so familiar? Shaking his head to clear the feeling, his eyebrow crept up his forehead. Is it possible? Could this be the same spot I entered this world from when I thought it was just a dream? Unable to shun the idea, he tried to focus his mind on an alternate explanation for the sensation of familiarity. If this is that place, finding the tree that opens upon Earth could be a blessing. I could capture women from there, much easier than I could here because the landscape is familiar, and no one would be the wiser.

  Even though he preferred the idea of going home to hunt, George was pretty sure that the Black Knight would not approve. Their previous discussions had given him the indication that the entity deemed it to be too dangerous for him to return to Earth, that he should focus on accomplishing his task upon this world only. Regrettably, he decided that the Black Knight was probably right, but if the situation forced his hand he would return to his home as a last resort. After settling his inner debate, George wandered to the edge of the woods. Plopping down in the tall grass, he leaned back and watched the thin, wispy clouds roll past above him, temporarily blotting out the stars overhead.

  Wondering how long it was until moonrise, he laid down and listened to the soft whisper of grass, the blades brushing against each other in the slight breeze. George hoped it wouldn't be long. In order for him to ensure he stayed on course, he needed the light to see where he was going ... not to mention, it would also greatly improve his sense of direction.

  The scent of smoke reached his nostrils as the wind changed course. Sitting up in the darkness, George turned to face the breeze head on. When he determined the wind was sifting through the trees, he surmised that the odor was coming from within the woods themselves, or from somewhere beyond their dark borders. After a few seconds, the breeze died down. The scent still lingered in his nostrils as he plucked a blade of grass and put it in his mouth. Laying back down, he laced his fingers behind his head and chewed thoughtfully.

  Chapter 34

  After saying good-bye to his horse, they had continued to follow Amber on foot, but now the first hint of dawn was creeping into the sky and making it increasingly difficult. Bit by bit, her ghostly form was fading into transparency. Soon, they would lose sight of her completely. For most of the night the bank of the stream had been thickly populated with trees, but they had begun to thin over the last hour and were providing less cover from the rising sun. Following Amber had become nearly impossible. Even when they squinted, they could only make out a mirage-like shimmer ahead of them.

  Resigning themselves to continue on without Amber, Edward stopped and pointed. "It looks like there might be a building ahead."

  Glancing at him nervously, Katie recalled the memory of the last structure they encountered, the images of which were all too fresh in her mind. "I know we should probably check it out, but I'm scared out of my mind just thinking about what we'll find if we do."

  "It's in our path, and I would rather not pass it by and have something unexpected happen later on," Edward retorted.

  "True," Katie admitted with a sigh.

  Moving closer, they determined the structure looked more like a shack than the last building they had encountered. It appeared to be too small to be an actual dwelling, though, despite that fact it seemed to be haphazardly maintained. The garden growing behind the cabin contradicted their belief of the structure being empty.

  When they were fifty feet from the dwelling they paused. "Hello?" Edward called out. "Is anyone there?" Waiting a few tense moments for a response, they got none. Cautiously continuing their approach, they found a door on the stream side of the building. It was flanked by some curiously odd purple flowers that Katie could not identify. Hesitantly, Edward knocked softly on the door. When no reply was forthcoming, he reached for the doorknob.

  The door creaked open as he pushed it inward, and light spilled into the dim interior of the shack. Katie waited anxiously behind Edward, watching as he poked his head. To their right, a wooden rocking chair sat by a fireplace. A large fur, perhaps from a bear, rested on the floor in front of it. In one corner of the room sat a small table, a chair tucked neatly underneath it on one side. Along the back wall on the opposite end of the room was what looked like a wood burning stove.

  Pulling his head back outside, he glanced at Katie. "It's obvious to me that someone lives here, but no one is home at the moment."

  Katie exhaled sharply. "So, there aren't any of those weird critters inside?"

  "As far as I can tell, no," he replied with smile, pulling the door shut. "I suppose we could rest out here for a bit until the owner comes back."

  "Sounds like a good idea to me. I'm exhausted." With a half-hearted laugh, Katie puffed out her cheeks and let out a slow breath.

  Walking to the side of the house, they sat down next to each other in the shade and leaned against the outer wall. "This spot should do for a while, at least until the sun reaches its highest point," Edward stated with satisfaction. It only took a matter of minutes for their exhausted bodies to drift off to sleep.

  A few hours passed before Katie's eyes flew open, suddenly wide awake. The shadow thrown by the house had grown shorter, but that wasn't what jolted her from sleep. A soft, clopping noise was coming from somewhere on the other side of the house. As she glanced in Edward's direction the sound disappeared. Reaching over, Katie shook his shoulder gently. Just as his eyes began to flutter open, something creaked. "I think someone is coming," she whispered.

  Cocking his head slightly, his brows furrowed in concentration, he listened. "I think you're right." Quietly rising to her feet, Katie peered around the corner of the house as she waited for Edward to shake the cobwebs of sleep loose. From the opposite side of the building, a wobbly wooden cart approached, being drawn by what looked like a strange crossbreed of a Shetland pony and an ox. It was stout like the latter, sporting two horns protruding from its head, but otherwise seemed to have the shorter stature of a pony as the rest of its features were more horse-like. A bald, brawny-looking man with a long gray beard ambled beside the beast, leading it with a length of rope. Pausing next to the house, he fed the tether through a metal ring that was embedded in the other wall and knotted it securely. Disappearing from sight, Katie strained to hear. A few seconds passed when she heard a creak, followed moments later by the soft clunk of a door closing.

  As Katie pulled her head back to inform Edward about what she had seen, he startled her. Standing inches from her, he almost expected Katie to hit him for surprising her. Grinning, he whispered softly, "Shall we go around and meet the owner of this fabulous dwelling?"

  Catching her off guard with his silly question, Katie's frown turned into a smile and she nearly burst out laughing. Before it could escape, she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth and waited for the urge to fade. Wiping tears from her cheeks, she whispered, "I think I'm ready now."

  With Katie following close behind, Edward headed toward the front of the shack. Stepping up to the door flanked with the strange purple flowers, he knocked softly. The stout wooden portal swung open, and the bald gentleman gazed upon his visitors with a kindly smi
le. "Can I help you folks?"

  "I hope so, kind sir. We are traveling to the north and wondered if there is a town nearby. We are hoping to acquire supplies for our journey," Edward replied, returning the gentleman's smile.

  "There is indeed," the man admitted. "The city of Haven is about a days walk from here. I just came back from there actually. That is where I go to sell my crops and purchase things that I can't grow." He paused briefly, then began again. "I'm sorry, I seem to have forgotten my manners. Please, come inside." Stepping aside, he gestured for them to enter. "It's so rare for me to have visitors these days. In fact, I believe it has been nearly a year since anyone has dropped by."

  Thanking him for his hospitality, they stepped into the dimly lit room. Even though Edward had checked for anything out of the ordinary when he poked his head inside earlier, Katie cautiously scrutinized the room. "You don't have any problems with rats, do you?"

  Her question seemed to amuse him slightly because he chuckled for a moment. "I do get one or two from time to time," he confessed, "but I would hardly consider them a problem, young lady. I guess it's the farmer's curse to have the occasional critter stop by for a nibble from my garden."

  "Oh, I'm not talking about normal rats, sir. The ones I'm referring to are kind of shiny, like they're made of metal. We encountered some several hours ago at an abandoned building in the woods," Katie stated, hiking a thumb in the direction she thought the hut was in. "They killed our horse."

  The man looked at them with sad eyes. "I'm so sorry for your loss. It's rare in these parts to have such a magnificent beast." After pausing to allow a moment for their grief, he faced Katie. "To answer your question, young lady, I do see the type of critter you speak of from time to time. They don't bother me, so I leave them alone, but I can tell you that they are indeed made of metal. I've seen other such creatures as well. You must be from a distant land if you've never encountered them."