by Joshua King
It raised its snout again, sniffing and tasting the air in an effort to find me, and suddenly an idea hit me. I focused all of my power toward a pile of leaves that lay between myself and the Murgaht, hoping it would work. Soon, smoke began to pour from it and then flames danced along the tops. Brielle noticed what I was doing and flew to find more branches and leaves to add to the fire. She dropped them on top and I focused another blast of magic, feeling the heat coursing through my veins as liquid fire poured from my fingertips. The pile began to grow flames as high as I was tall and the Murgaht became visibly confused. His nose searched for me beyond the flames and smoke, but it couldn’t find my scent. The smell of the fire was too much, and Brielle began to lay a path between us that ensured he wouldn’t follow.
After what seemed like hours, the Murgaht slowly turned and trotted away, obviously upset at losing out on its snack opportunity, but unwilling to dedicate any more time to finding me. I curled up by the fire to rest for a moment, closing my eyes briefly to allow myself to fully relax. My joints felt like they were seizing up and my head swam. Fear started to build in me again as a voice in the back of my mind whispered that I was getting old. The Underworld needed a younger man. My women deserved a younger, stronger hero. I forced myself to my feet. This wasn’t going to happen. The fear wasn’t going to take over. That’s what it wanted, whatever it was. Whether it was the mountain or the Therian, or something else, I wasn’t going to give it the satisfaction.
“Are you all right?” Brielle asked.
“I have to be,” I told her. “I refuse to be afraid anymore. I’ve already proven myself and I’m better than I’ve ever been. It’s not just about being a vampire and never getting older. It’s what I’ve learned. Every year I’ve lived meant something and I learned from everything before coming here and since I’ve been in the Underworld. I am far better now than when I was actually young.”
A rush of energy and rejuvenation brought me to my feet. Feeling regenerated and freed from the fear, anger, and frustration that had threatened to drag me down, Brielle and I started up the mountain again. Soon we reached the peak. Opening my arms to her, I tried to gather her to me, but she was no sooner pressed to my chest than a thunderous roar made her clutch my shirt and draw in a sharp gasp. Carefully placing her to the side, I took up my sword and stepped in front of her. The sound wouldn’t push me back. I was ready for whatever else the mountain had waiting for me.
16
The thunderous sound echoed around us again, making the ground beneath my feet shake. It felt almost like the earthquakes I’d created, but the shaking was less severe. I knew I hadn’t purposely created the tremor, though I hadn’t realized it when my magic conjured up the first, either. Focusing on the shaking, I tried to make it stop just in case it actually was me making it without recognizing what I was doing. My efforts were met by another blast of sound and I knew for certain that wasn’t my doing.
“What is going on?” I asked. “Is another Murghat coming?”
“I don’t think so,” Brielle said. “We’d be able to smell it by now.”
“Then what is it?”
The question was barely out of my mouth when one of the tall, narrow trees that grew on this higher peak of the mountain bent and then pulled out of the ground. A massive root ball and dirt bursting out of the hole in the ground concealed what was behind it, but there was nothing that could conceal the booming voice I heard next.
“Hayden? Is that you?”
The pelting of dirt against my face had stopped, so I opened my eyes to look.
“Erral?”
I ducked away from a branch that swung far too close to my head as the giant tossed the tree away and came toward me. Each footstep shook the ground, but the wide grin on his face told me he didn’t mean to be intimidating.
“You’re here!” he said happily.
“What are you doing here?”
“I live here.”
“These are the mountains you were going back to when you left the Fae village?” I asked.
He nodded.
“The same ones. I told you it was a bit of a journey away.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“Traveling for him is a little different than traveling for you,” Brielle pointed out. “He can cover a touch more ground than you can.”
“I’m glad to see you,” Erral said. “We were hoping you’d be coming along.”
“We?”
“My family. I told them all about you. Turns out they already knew about you. But they were really grateful for what you did for me.”
“How are you feeling, by the way?” Brielle asked.
Erral turned to look at her. His eyes were soft and affectionate, and I shuddered at the memory of the discs that covered them when I first saw him in the Dark Fae fortress.
“Much better,” he told her.
“The healing should have kept working. Can I look at your injuries?”
The giant lowered himself down to the ground so she could approach him and held out his arms, turning them back and forth like he was looking for the signs of his brutal past.
“There isn’t much left to see,” he said. “I’m looking better than I have in a long time.”
“I’m so glad to hear that,” Brielle told him.
We walked up close and carefully examined his massive body. Despite what he said, there were still reminders of everything he’d been through etched across his skin. The wounds he had sustained during the battle at the fortress were mostly gone, with the only lingering reminders a few faint scars where the deepest gashes had been. As my eyes traveled over his skin, though, I could see the deep ruts and pale stretches of pieced-together skin that tried to cover the places where he had been experimented on and tormented. These were the places where the metal plates and studded armor had been inserted into him, slowly transforming him from a giant to a massive living weapon. The mangling on his hands where Brielle’s power had dug away the brass knuckles would never go away. He would always be able to look down and see the torn, thickened skin.
“Don’t look so sad, Hayden,” Erral said, catching me staring at his hands. “I don’t mind the way they look.”
“But they remind you of what he did to you,” I told him.
He nodded.
“They do. But I’m all right with that. I’m never going to forget what Ryu did to me. That’s not something that’s going to leave my mind just because my body healed. It’s always going to be a part of me. When I see the scars, it reminds me not to let those memories define me. He had my body. He forced me to do what he wanted me to do. But he didn’t have my heart or my spirit. Those he could never take away from me. If he could, he wouldn’t have had to put the discs over my eyes or use his magic to control me. It didn’t matter how long he held me, he wasn’t going to ever have all of me. Even if you had never found me and brought me out of that fortress. Even if I had died in that dungeon. I know Ryu wouldn’t have claimed all of me. There was a time when I didn't think that. I had started to believe he really had taken away everything that was me and had complete control. But I know now that's not true. Being able to see the scars proves to me I was stronger than he ever thought I was, and there was more to me than he could handle. But it's because of you I was able to get out of the fortress and live to come home. I'll never forget that."
"Hayden?"
The voice behind me was so muffled I almost missed it. It called my name again and I realized it was Aurora. She couldn't be calling from where the rest of the group stopped farther down the mountain, which meant they had tried to come after us even though I told them to wait. Considering the noises they must have heard as I fought off the strange creatures the mountain had sent for me, it was reassuring they had started after us and hadn't just waited to see if we had survived.
"Where are they?" Erral asked, looking around as if we had just stashed the rest of the group somewhere among the rocks and trees.
"We left the
m further down the mountain. They can't climb as quickly and easily as I can."
Even as I said it, the memory of the stiffness and pain throughout my body simmered in the back of my mind, forcing me to remember how challenging it was for me to get where I was standing. There were definitely moments I didn't think I'd make it this far.
"Turns out we can't really climb at all," Ashe shouted from the distance where we'd heard Aurora's voice. "A couple of us, who shall remain nameless, have punked out and can't get up any higher."
"I didn't punk out," Bugs said. "It's just I haven't done this much physical activity in a while. If you would have given me some warning before coming for me, I could have started training and got my body in shape. Final View isn't very big, but I could have done some laps around it. All it would have taken is snatching One-Eyed Larry's favorite emotional support sock and he would have chased my ass all over the place."
"One-Eyed Larry?" Jaxxim asked.
"Yep. I don't really know much about his story. He was living in one corner up against the bridge support when I got there. Nice man. A little strange. Temperamental. Territorial. Doesn't talk a lot. Barely ever sleeps. Kind of shifty. Suspicious. Looks at birds funny. But a nice man."
I'd love to hear the personality rundown he'd give me.
"Why does he only have one eye?"
There was a long pause and I could imagine Bugs staring at Jaxxim in that curious, blank way he tended to.
"He doesn't only have one eye."
"Of course, he doesn't."
"He has three."
I looked at Erral, who stared in the direction of the muffled voices with an expression of confusion on his face and I remembered Bugs hadn't been with us when we rescued the giant from the Dark Fae fortress.
"That's Bugs," I said by way of explanation. "He helped us with a little computer problem we had."
Erral nodded like he had no idea what a computer was and wasn't interested in asking for more clarification.
"Do they need help getting up here?"
"They would probably appreciate it."
The giant walked over to the tree he yanked from the ground and picked it up, settling it over his shoulder so he could carry it into the distance. Brielle and I followed him down the mountain several yards until we reached a rocky outcropping I didn't even remember climbing over. Most of the ascent of the mountain was blurred in my mind, taken over by thoughts of the strain and struggle of forcing my body past the limitations that suddenly stood in front of me.
"Everybody watch out. Coming down."
He launched the tree up and tilted it down, so it slid at an angle down the rocks, toward where the rest of the group stood. I lay down on my belly and wiggled over to the edge of the rocks so I could look down and watch them. Bugs gave me a cheerful wave as he stepped behind Aurora. I waved back and peered over at Erral to make sure he was holding the end of the tree securely so it wouldn't slip when they started scrambling their way up. He was on his knees at the end of the tree, his huge hands pressing down on it to keep it squarely in place. I would have rather seen one of the men take to the makeshift stairs first, but I should have known better than to think Aurora would have let anybody else have the fun before her. She stood at the end of the tree with her feet on either side of it and her hands grasping either side as she stared up the length of the trunk. When she had evaluated it long enough, she planted one foot on the tree and started climbing it. Her eyes stayed locked intently on me, keeping her focused as she climbed higher on the narrow support.
As soon as she reached the top, Aurora jumped into my arms. I hugged her tightly and spun her around, kissing her on her mouth and either cheek.
"How are you feeling? Better?" she asked.
"Better, but still tired."
Aurora looked at Erral.
"What did you mean that your family already knew Hayden was coming?"
I hadn't even remembered the giant had said that, but now that Aurora mentioned it, curiosity brought me several steps closer to Erral.
"What did you mean by that? When we found you in the fortress, we had no idea where we were going to go next, much less that we would end up on the mountains with you long after you headed home. How would your family know I was coming before even I did?"
"I'll explain it all, but first we need to get everybody up here."
One by one the rest of the group made their way carefully up the tree to the plateau with us. Ashe was last to come, and by the time she was making her way toward the top, pieces of the bark had been broken away by the people who had gone before her. Her foot hit a loosened piece and she slipped. The sound of her crying out as her body tumbled from the edge of the tree made my heart leap into my throat. In the split second before she fell completely out of sight, Erral jumped forward and grabbed her by her arm. She gasped as her body bounced, then let out a sigh of relief as the giant carefully lifted her up and set her down on the ground beside him.
"All right?" he asked.
She nodded, gulping as she smoothed her hands down her sides like she was both straightening her clothes back out and drying the sweat away from her palms.
"I'm fine. Thanks."
"Damn it, Ashe. You have got to stop with the drama and hurting yourself. That's Jaxxim's job."
Her hands clenched around the front of my shirt as her eyes narrowed, but then she grinned and yanked me close for a hard kiss.
"Now that everyone is here safely, Erral, what did you mean?" Aurora asked.
"Hayden, what made you climb the mountain?" Erral asked.
It didn't seem like an answer to the question, but he had just fished everyone up to the peak with a tree, so I was going to give him some leeway.
"Because I had to," I answered.
"You had to?"
"I know that's not much of an answer, but it's really the best I can do. Malakan's instructions brought us to a portal that let out on the mountain. I thought he was there, and I followed, but it wasn't actually him."
"What was it?"
"A Therian," I told him.
"What did it show?"
"Me as an old man."
I felt like a track on repeat, but I tried not to get frustrated.
"Then what?"
"It went away and I kept climbing."
"Why?"
"Why did I keep climbing?"
"Yes."
"To figure out why Malakan had us come here to the mountain."
"But why climb? You could have looked anywhere or done anything else. Why did you climb the mountain?"
"Because it was there." I knew that wasn't the answer. Glancing over my shoulder at Brielle, I remembered the compulsion to fight against all the forces dragging me down. "The Therian was showing me old because I have always been afraid of getting older. Being young and strong was the only thing that really defined me, and the thought of not having those things anymore was terrifying. I didn't know what it would mean to have a life when my body wasn't like that anymore. No one would look at me the same. No one would respect me. I wouldn't be able to do the things I always have. But that can't hold me back anymore. It's not just that I'm a vampire and won't get any older – in theory. The jury is still kind of out on the whole aging thing because of also heading toward being ArchWarlock, but for right now the general consensus is I'm like any other vampire convert and will stay this age forever. That's not the point, though. The years I lived weren't a bad thing. They sucked. I'm not going to pretend falling flat on my face and slithering around in the scum at the bottom of the barrel was fun for me, but it did teach me. Everything I go through teaches me and changes me, and that's a good thing."
Before Erral could say anything, a hot, searing pain slicing through the skin of my arm made me double over. My hand slapped down over it as I hissed.
"What's wrong?" Bex asked, coming to my side.
Aurora grabbed my hand and pried it away from my arm, revealing a shimmering black band around my forearm. The sun bounced off it for
the few seconds before it faded to a dull mark with a cool, soothing sensation that swept over my skin. She pulled my arm up closer to her face and I saw a smile creep across her lips.
"What?" I asked. "What happened?"
Aurora ran her fingertips over the band now etched into my skin.
"This mark means you successfully passed through the first test of your Sanctification," she told me. "Each time you move through one of the stages planned for you, another of these marks will appear."
My body felt renewed, my strength completely restored. Erral grinned and held his huge arms out.
"Now you come back to my village and celebrate with my family," he said. "They're expecting you."
He started across the mountain and we rushed to keep up with him.
"Why, Erral? Why are they expecting me?"
"You'll find out."
Because exactly what I need is more mysteries in my life.
17
Feeling strong and healthy again gave me a boost of energy, and I found myself hoping the walk to the giant village was going to be long, so I could enjoy not feeling like all my body parts were going to fall off along the way. The rest of my group didn't look as energetic and excited about another long trek, and fortunately for them, the journey was less than an hour before the giant lead us down into a valley filled with buildings crafted out of the sides of the mountain. As we approached, a female giant with a thick braid, the color of straw, that stretched down to the backs of her knees, stepped under an archway that led into the village. Her face lit up when she saw Erral leading us toward her.
"They're here!" she yelled out.
Her voice was young and cheerful, and even though her size would have rivaled Ashe sitting on top of Brielle's shoulders, it occurred to me she was probably young, no older than a teenager. It looked like she was going to head back into the village to collect others, but then her excitement at seeing our group took over and she came running toward us. Erral opened his arms to her, scooping her off the ground in a hug before setting her back on her feet.
