Chapter 8
The dark haired woman bent over the table and stared intensely into the monitor before her. She saw the flitting image of a female apparition nervously circling the tree, the skeleton of the woman's victim still bound in place where she had left him as the Black Knight commanded. A smile creased her face as she reminisced about the spectacle of the bugs devouring the man's flesh while he screamed helplessly for mercy.
What does this specter want? The way she is acting I get the impression she knew the man in life, but if that were true wouldn't the woman be reacting differently? Either joyous or mournful would have been more likely emotions to witness. Instead, the ghostly woman appears to be frightened. "Don't worry, honey. That beast will never harm anyone again," she cooed menacingly to the screen.
Almost as soon as the ghostly figure had appeared it was gone. She could roughly imagine the apparition running off like a scared little girl, screaming in terror.
Breaking the near silence, the Black Knight's voice boomed through the monitor, rattling everything in the room as the sound bounced off the walls. "Bring me his bones," he commanded. "With them in my possession he won't be able to refuse my will any longer!" A demented howl of laughter echoed throughout the chamber for a moment before the shroud of silence fell over it once more.
The gears inside of her whined in protest as the dark haired woman spun around and retrieved a blanket from the bunkhouse to put the bones into. Her stomping footfalls as she headed outside to collect George's remains created tiny tremors as the floorboards creaked noisily, groaning under her weight.
In a matter of minutes, with the Black Knight's prize securely tucked inside the blanket, the woman was making her way down the long stairway leading to the underground river.
Chapter 9
Galloping through the night, trying to keep up with Amber, Edward's horse was beginning to show signs of fatigue. He tugged lightly on the reins to slow the animal down, much to Katie's dismay.
"Why are we slowing down? We're going to lose Amber!" Katie kicked at the horse's flanks, trying to counter what Edward was doing as the beast carrying Brian on its back went rushing past.
"What sense is there to keep up the breakneck pace Amber's traveling at? The horse is exhausted, Katie! If we keep pushing our luck it will collapse and we'll find ourselves walking again," he snapped.
Deciding it to be pointless to argue with him, Katie crossed her arms in front of her and frowned, sighing heavily. What the hell is his problem lately? Every time I try to make a suggestion he's right there with some snappy remark to counter it! What ever happened to working as a team?
Even though he couldn't see the look on her face in the darkness, Edward could feel Katie's eyes boring a hole in him. He knew he had upset her again because her hands slipped from his body. The silence in the air created so much tension it would likely smother a flame if he tried to produce one long enough to see her expression. "I'm sorry, Katie. I am not trying to start another argument," he apologized softly.
She sighed again, thinking maybe the problem was all in her imagination and that she was probably overreacting and being too hard on him. He did, after all, sound genuinely apologetic. "Me, too. I don't know why I've been so bitchy and on edge the last day or so. I should be happy that we escaped the nightmare on the other side of the portal," Katie confessed.
"You've been through a lot since we've met, Katie. Don't beat yourself up about it. Losing your friends and family has forced you to grow up more quickly, but I would be a fool to think you had a heart made of stone and that it wouldn't affect you."
Hopping down from the horse's back, she patted the flanks of the sweaty animal and looked up at Edward, illuminated by the sliver of moonlight managing to filter through the leaves overhead. "So, what do we do now? I'm sure Jack and Brian didn't notice that we stopped and they're likely still chasing after Amber."
"Well," he began, stepping down from the horse and joining Katie on the ground, "it's going to be a while before our ride is rested enough to continue. Perhaps they will reach the place Amber is leading them to and come back to look for us when they realize we aren't with them." He shrugged his shoulders, hoping it would be the case. "Considering we have no way to follow after them now, I don't really see any other option," he added.
"I could possibly track them if the mechanical horse stepped heavily enough to leave prints behind, but not until daylight," Katie told him, trying to keep the mood positive.
***
Something didn't sound right to Brian. As he tore through the forest on his metallic steed, trying desperately to keep up with Amber, he realized that he could no longer hear the hooves of Edward's horse pounding the earth nearby. It was next to impossible to tell if Jack was still running alongside him, but every now and then they would enter a clearing and the moonlight would temporarily reveal a dark shape keeping pace with him on his left, comforting him in the knowledge he wasn't alone.
Unlike most of the open areas he had encountered so far, this one seemed much more expansive. Brian could see another dark shape on the horizon slightly off to his right which at first he had dismissed as the start of another heavily wooded area. As the hulking shape drew closer, he realized it was a building.
Temporarily mesmerized by the fact there was a building so far from civilization, he didn't notice that Amber was slowing down and almost sped through her luminescent shape when she suddenly stopped near a tree. Her piercing wail of despair was what drew his attention back to her in time to bring the mechanical beast skidding to a halt before crashing into the enormous oak.
"We're too late," Amber moaned, her voice echoing eerily in the night air.
"Too late for what?" Brian asked, confused by the fact they had traveled at great speeds through the darkness, and for what? To see a tree? Was there supposed to be something special about this particular one?
"The body is gone!" she screamed, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. Her glowing form flickered erratically from bright to nearly invisible.
"What body? Did someone die here?" Brian made a quick check of his senses, but nothing was triggering any alarm bells to go off inside of him. There was a vague impression of something evil, but it didn't seem close enough to be a viable threat to any of them.
"The man who killed me was at one time lashed to this tree and his life was taken from him," Amber snapped. "We needed to get here sooner!"
"If he was dead then what's the big rush?"
"I wanted you to bury his corpse and sanctify the grave with a blessing, but now it will be nearly impossible! Without a proper burial his malevolent spirit is free to roam."
Listening as Amber vented her frustrations, Brian tried to think of solutions which might appease her anger. Even if he reverted to his priestly ways and cast aside his new shamanistic abilities for a short time, exorcism didn't really sound all that plausible. Sure, he could perform one if need be, but it wouldn't destroy the spirit. It would only eject the entity from a person or place. Not exactly an ideal situation in his opinion. The evil would merely drift off to another convenient thing to inhabit and Brian didn't feel like chasing after the spirit for the rest of his natural life! He didn't even want to consider how difficult it would be to locate the remains of Amber's killer, adding the fact he would have to reunite the spirit with the bones in order to effectively rid the world of his vile presence.
"Maybe Edward will have a relevant idea, because I can't seem to come up with one to ease your pain," Brian told her. Unaware of exactly how much time had passed on their journey through the night, he turned his head in the direction they had come from and saw a faint light forming on the horizon, indicating that it would be daytime soon. "Once the sun comes up ..." he began to say, turning to face Amber again. Brian sighed in frustration when he saw that she was gone.
***
Early morning sun filtered through the trees, warming her face and waking Katie. Rubbing her eyes and sitting up, she saw Edward stretched
out on the grass beside her. She didn't remember falling to sleep. Reaching over, she shook him gently. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead."
Jumping at her touch, his eyes shot open and he sat up quickly, not realizing where he was at first. Hearing the sound of Katie's laughter, he turned toward her and visibly relaxed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep," he told her with an awkward grin.
"You can't stay awake all the time," she chided. "Even the best of us need a little shuteye once in a while."
Edward chuckled. "That's one way of looking at it."
"I know you are barely coherent right now, but do you have any ideas on how we'll find the others or what our next course of action is?"
Rubbing his face for a moment, Edward gathered his thoughts before answering, "I know we need to go to Elysia so I can talk to my mother and the town elders, but I don't know how to find the others and we shouldn't head south without them. I would hate to leave here to look for them and end up traveling in the wrong direction."
"You have a point. I don't know about you, but I'm famished," she told him, changing the subject. "I'm going to go hunting and try out my new bow."
"Excellent idea!" Edward watched Katie retrieve the bow from their gear, shifting uncomfortably as she bent over to pull the weapon from one of the saddlebags. I've got to get my hormones under control! She's young enough to be my daughter, he berated himself as she straightened and walked off into the woods in search of game. Where is the cold water when you need it? He sighed deeply as Katie disappeared into the foliage.
Glancing to the east, Edward fervently hoped the others would backtrack to find them. He didn't relish the idea of leaving them behind on his journey home, but he also knew time was short. Edward had a really bad feeling in his gut, which tugged at his subconscious telling him something horrible would happen if he waited much longer.
***
After creeping through a thick stand of trees as quietly as she could for the last half an hour, Katie caught sight of a decent sized rabbit poking its head from the underbrush about twenty paces away. Carefully she raised her bow, notched an arrow into the guide and drew back on the string, correcting her aim to allow for the distance between herself and her prey. As she prepared to release the arrow, a sound coming from her right distracted her and caused the projectile to miss its mark.
Cursing the interruption beneath her breath, she scanned the area for the source. A few seconds went by before Katie saw what created the noise. A very large wolf was bounding through the brush, apparently intent on securing the same meal she was after. It snatched the rabbit in its massive jaws moments later and stopped in its tracks, turning its giant head to regard her.
"You can have that one," she murmured softly, lowering the bow to her side to show the animal she wasn't a threat. "Now, go away so I can find one of my own."
The wolf cocked its head at the sound of her voice and locked its menacing eyes on her. Instead of moving away from Katie, it began slowly stalking toward her, blood oozing from its jowls as it bared its fangs with the rabbit clenched tightly between them. Apparently the animal still perceived her as a threat. Great! I've drawn its attention to me! Smooth move, dumbass!
Slowly, Katie tried to back away, keeping her eyes locked on the wolf. She considered yelling for help, but decided against it because it would likely startle the animal and provoke it to attack. Plus, the chance of Edward hearing her and coming to her rescue in time were slim to none.
Snagging her foot in a fallen branch as she backpedaled, Katie fell to the ground, knocking the air from her lungs. The wolf's eyes glittered like tiny flames as it moved rapidly toward her, dropping the dead rabbit in favor of the vulnerable feast lying in front of it.
Stopping a few feet from her, Katie could see the tension in the animal's hindquarters quivering with anticipation as it prepared to leap. A guttural scream for help ripped from her throat as she watched the wolf launch itself into the air. Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to brace herself for the inevitable impact, knowing the animal would likely rip her to shreds before she would have time to react.
Seconds ticked by like a movie playing in slow motion. Every sound assaulted her ears, reverberating as if she were underwater. Hearing a thud before the animal landed on her, which was followed by an angry yelp, she dared to crack open her eyes. Thinking that Edward had somehow managed to get there in time to save her, she turned her head.
It wasn't Edward who saved her; it was another wolf. As she watched, the two beasts began to pace in a circle, snapping and growling at each other as if they both wanted to lay claim to the prize of Katie's flesh.
Regaining her breath, and her wits, she began to crawl backwards in hopes of getting away unnoticed. She hadn't made it more than a few feet before she witnessed the new wolf, which had darker fur than the first, pouncing on the other and pinning it to the ground. In a matter of seconds, the one on top had ripped the throat out of the one beneath it, blood and bits of furry flesh flying through the air as the beast ravaged its prey.
After a few moments, the victor stopped tearing into the other, raised its head to the sky, and let out a long howl. The mournful sound echoed through the stagnant air of the forest for what seemed like much longer than natural. Katie froze in place, hoping the animal would forget about her. Waiting tensely for it to begin feasting on the dead wolf, she listened intently to the ambient sounds around her, hoping to hear Edward stomping through the underbrush at any second.
Instead, the dark-haired wolf turned its gaze upon her as if it had just recalled the juicy morsel it was fighting over. Sniffing the air, it began moving toward her. Are wolves like bears? If I play dead, will it ignore me and pass by? Katie's thoughts raced with panic, knowing if she were to try and make a run for it she would be no match for the speed of the wolf.
Deciding to take her chances, she closed her eyes and lay perfectly still, trying to hold her breath so the animal wouldn't see her chest rising and falling. Inwardly, Katie cringed as she heard the wolf padding closer and closer.
It must have stopped. The forest was completely quiet now, with not even a chirping bird to break the ominous silence. Her lungs were screaming for air and she would have to relent soon. Katie began to feel hot breath on her face and suddenly her panic consumed her. She could no longer hold her breath and she let it out as she gasped for air. For whatever reason, the wolf remained passive and did not attack. Daring to crack one eye open, she peeked to see what the animal was doing, and that's when she felt its warm tongue caress her face. "Jack?" she whispered, opening her eyes fully to see if the wolf responded. It licked her face again, which was answer enough for her.
Chapter 10
After Katie had disappeared into the woods, the warm morning sunshine lulled Edward and caused him to doze off again. Startled awake by a scream in the distance, he sat up quickly and tried to determine which direction it had come from. Looking around, he could see nothing moving other than the gently swaying leaves in the trees, stirred by an almost nonexistent wind. Panic began to set in as he desperately hoped she would cry out again. To his dismay, the plea for help was not repeated.
As Edward sat on the ground feeling helpless, he began to hear the sounds of fighting animals. Snarling, growling noises were coming from the forest, echoing strangely in the morning air like footfalls on the cobblestone roads of Elysia on a foggy day. The only thing he could tell with any measure of certainty was that the animals were somewhere to the south, possibly in the same general area of where Katie had gone hunting.
Making up his mind, he stood and grabbed his staff, which he had leaned against a nearby sapling, and strode cautiously toward the sounds of the fighting. A couple of minutes after he entered the forest, the noises stopped and so did he. Having nothing to guide him now, Edward resumed his prior course at a slower pace.
Even though his foray through the thick foliage had only lasted for fifteen minutes or less, it felt more like hours had slipped by. There were still no signs
of Katie or the beasts he had heard before and he was considering turning back. She's probably already back by the horse and wondering where I've gone off to, he thought, softly sighing through his nostrils as he glanced back in the direction he'd just come from.
"Edward?"
Startled by the sound of her voice, he spun his head back around and saw Katie rushing toward him, a giant black wolf trotting by her side. "Katie! I thought I'd never find you! I heard yelling, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." She laughed as she stopped a few feet from him and bent down, putting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. "Just a scrape or two." Katie smiled, standing up and twirling around slowly with her arms raised, allowing Edward to appraise the damage. "I found Jack," she told him as she stopped spinning to face him, "or rather, he found me."
"Where's Brian?" he asked, looking behind them to see if he was bringing up the rear.
"I haven't seen him," Katie confessed, "and I don't speak wolf, so I can't exactly ask Jack."
Edward couldn't help but laugh at her silly comment as he leaned down and spoke to Jack in a low, confidential tone as if sharing a secret with him. "Can you lead us to Brian?"
Bursting into laughter, Katie watched as Jack began frantically barking as if he were the family dog, trotting about twenty feet from them and turning to see if they were following.
Joining in on Katie's mirth, Edward turned to retrace his steps. "We need to go back for my horse first, Jack," he chuckled. "Then we can go find Brian."
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