Plague of Death

by D. L. Armillei

  Van clutched Ferox by the elbow and pulled him aside. Touching him felt right, although she worried he would find the gesture inappropriate, in no world was it acceptable for a detainee to grab a crown prince.

  Instead of being offended and defensive, he smiled at Van’s touch.

  She felt her heart start to whirl and immediately put a stop to it.

  “Why not use the Coin?” Van asked in a whisper.

  “It’s an incorrect use,” Ferox said.

  “But we won’t be harming anyone.”

  “It’s disrespectful to the power of the Coin,” Ferox said. “We can find our way using our inner resolve. That is the correct action.”

  Van furrowed her brow.

  “There’s time,” Ferox continued with his reasoning. “At least two weeks before the end of the Alignment.”

  But Van didn’t have time to spare. The Quasher lurked in the shadows, impatiently waiting to be set free from its restraints to consume the Anchoress’s light.

  Van shook her head and walked away. There was no reasoning with him. He was as stubborn as a rock breaking water in a stream.

  Daisy laid her hand on Van’s shoulder. “Don’t fret. The forest will guide us where we need to go.”

  Van resisted rolling her eyes and instead grabbed her backpack.

  Prepped and ready, they set out on their journey to the River Shade.

  After about an hour, the trees became denser. The wide dirt road turned into a pathway through the woods.

  “How much longer?” Paley asked.

  “Island not large,” Thyra said. “We get there soon.”

  Ferox held up his hand, a silent gesture to stop to the group.

  A rustling of leaves that sounded like many light feet—paws—came rushing at them from the left.

  “What is it?” Pernilla peered intently into the woods in the direction of the noise.

  A scurry of squirrel-like creatures stampeded past them, dodging around the bottoms of the trees and their feet.

  “Kopidodens,” Thyra said.

  Daisy rested her delicate hand on Kopius’s shoulder. “They’re harmless.”

  “Look at their long fluffy tails.” Paley smiled at the critters.

  “They’re good for food.” Kopius grinned.

  “We’re not in need of food,” Ferox said.

  “Why are they running like that?” Van asked, holding still so none of them would hit her legs as they scooted past.

  “Let them run,” Thyra said. “Kopidodens bad.”

  “I dunno,” Paley said. “They tasted pretty good when we ate them last year.”

  “They change.” Thyra’s large fish-like eyes narrowed.

  The scurry of kopidodens ended, and the group moved on.

  The pathway through the thick woods grew narrower as swampy water edged in on both sides. Van occasionally noticed slithering black snake-like creatures as they revealed themselves on the surface of the murky water. As long as they kept to themselves and stayed off the pathway, she was fine with them.

  Ferox raised his hand to stop the group, again. “Did you hear that?”

  In the stillness of the woods, Van heard it.

  The rattle of chains.

  “What is it?” Paley gripped Van’s elbow.

  They heard chains rattle again. This time closer.

  “Whatever it is,” Brux said in a low voice, “the kopidodens were running away from it.”

  “Thyra?” Ferox raised his brows.

  The chains rattled again.

  “Kluddes.” Thyra opened her abnormally wide eyes even more. “This creature hide in shadows of swamp. Attack innocent travelers. Sound that betrays their approach is rattling of chains. Prepare fight.”

  Van searched the ground for a long, thick branch to use as a weapon.

  “Swords up,” Ferox said.

  Brux, Kopius, Ferox and his men unsheathed their swords.

  “Can we outrun them?” Kopius asked.

  “Faster we walk, faster they follow,” Thyra said. “No one can outrun this creature.”

  The fin on Thyra’s head expanded causing her newsboy cap to fly off. Two fins popped from the sides of her neck, and her hands enlarged and grew webs between the fingers. Her fingernails lengthened into deadly blade-like claws.

  Paley took out her dagger with shaking hands.

  Daisy stood still, looking serene and not making any move to brace for a fight or to retrieve the dagger from her pocket.

  Kopius protectively stepped in front of Daisy.

  “I refuse to fear nature’s creatures,” she said.

  “I fear them.” Kopius kept her close. “Stay behind me.”

  Van twirled her branch and entered into a fighting position.

  They waited for the attack.

  The swampy forest remained silent.

  All Van could hear was her pounding heart.

  Chapter 36

  Suddenly, all around them, skeletal creatures swung from the trees like chimpanzees. They looked like human remains and wore grubby, shredded clothes; were draped in rusty, seaweed coated chains; and their heads, a hairless skull. What seemed like rotting flesh hung from the bones on their bodies as if they were deceased pirates that had risen from their swampy graves. Yet, the creatures were not human.

  One dropped down from a low-hanging branch like a spider attached to its web. In a split-second it snatched one of Ferox’s men. He let out a short yelp as the kludde lifted him into the trees and they disappeared from sight.

  The kluddes had no weapons, other than their elongated skeletal arms and bony clasp. They swooped in and out of the surrounding trees and dropped down on the team. The creatures carefully avoided the team’s blades as well as Thyra’s claws and Van’s baton.

  Paley aimlessly swiped her dagger at the swinging, bouncing creatures. A kludde dived from the trees, wrapped her in its bony grip, and lifted her off the ground.

  Brux leaped over and swung his sword, cutting the stretchy fiber that supported the kludde. Both it and Paley fell to the ground.

  Paley rolled away as Brux used both hands to stab his sword into the creature. The blade went right through the creature’s rib cage and into the dirt with no effect.

  A different kludde clutched Brux from behind and lifted him off the ground.

  Ferox, in one swift move, swiped his blade through the top of kludde’s skull splitting it in half, then ran his sword straight down through the creature’s rib cage along the spine, careful not to hit Brux.

  The kludde collapsed, breaking into pieces.

  Brux crashed to the ground, freed.

  The harder the group fought, the more creatures dropped from the trees. To the point where it seemed to be raining kluddes.

  One dived down to snag Van. She darted out of the way. It dangled in front of her, hanging by its weblike string and reaching its bony clasp for her.

  Van twirled her branch and cracked the kludde’s skull. Each bone detached before her and the creature tumbled to the ground in pieces.

  More and more creatures dropped down.

  “Get away from the trees!” Ferox cried.

  “This way,” Thyra said.

  They dashed through the woods and veered off the dirt pathway. They waded through thigh deep swampy water until it grew wide and the trees spaced farther apart, making it difficult for an air attack by the kluddes.

  They paused; the woods were still.

  Van heard some sighs of relief from her teammates.

  “Not safe,” Thyra said.

  In a flash, a kludde rose from the swamp in front of Van and wrapped its skeletal arms around her.

  She braced, expecting to be hauled into the trees, ready to jab her stick upward and crack the creature’s skull. Instead, the kludde changed tactics and pulled her under the water.

  Van didn’t have to time to catch her breath as the muddy swamp water enveloped her face, rushing into her nostril’s and filling her ears. She released her stick and used he
r hands to try and push the creature off of her.

  The kludde gripped its arms tighter like a boney clamp, crushing both Van and her backpack.

  A coral-colored shape appeared in front of her in the murky water. Thyra! Van was right, the fish woman could breathe underwater.

  Thyra grabbed the kludde by the skull and yanked its head off.

  It released Van.

  She shoved away the skeletal body and scrambled to stand in the thigh-high water, leaving Thyra to battle against another kludde.

  Van broke the surface and gasped for air. Her drenched backpack tugged heavily on her shoulders. Her stick floated on the surface, she grabbed it and scanned the swamp.

  White skulls atop of ribbed torsos bobbed all around them. The creature’s bony arms reached and clasped, trying to snag their prey—to drag Van and the others under the water—to make them corpses in a swampy grave.

  A kludde attacked Pernilla. She jabbed at its skeletal body, hitting its rotting flesh and ragged clothes and missing or nicking its bones. It clutched her, and they both dropped under the surface.

  At the same time, another kludde snatched Daisy. They disappeared underwater.

  Kopius dove in to rescue her.

  Ferox slashed his sword through kludde after kludde. They shattered, collapsing into the water in pieces, but more and more rose in their place. His men were nowhere to be seen.

  Brux reached under the water, searching for something. He hauled Paley to the surface; she still clutched dagger, dripping wet, and looking terrified.

  With determination, Brux twisted and sliced his sword at another attacking kludde.

  Pernilla re-appeared, gripping her blade and looking angry.

  Van twirled her stick and bashed in the skull of an oncoming kludde. Her eyes darted from creature to creature—there were too many—she needed the Coin from Ferox—to connect to her power so she could blast the evil things. “Fero— ”

  A kludde snagged her from behind.

  It pinned her arms down to her sides and pulled her under the water.

  Lying face up, with the kludde underneath her, she saw a sword zip through the murk, narrowly missing her head, but cutting straight through the kludde’s skull.

  A hand grasped her chest and hoisted her to the surface.

  It was Brux.

  Van wiped the water from her face.

  “Duck!” Brux cried.

  Van bent down, and Brux swung his sword at another kludde as it leaped from the water in an attempt to snatch her.

  Van straightened and managed to swing her stick, smashing another kludde’s skull to smithereens before it caught her in its deadly grip.

  She tried to access her blood magic without the Coin but couldn’t remain uninterrupted long enough to connect to her power.

  Brux struggled, looking exhausted, as he helped Van and Paley fight the relentless onslaught of the kluddes. Van could tell the gemstones drained his energy; he wouldn’t last much longer.

  This was one battle they weren’t going to survive.

  Something long, thin, and black slithered past Van. It brushed against the skin on her hand, giving her an electric jolt—an eel! At least, it looked like an Earth World’s eel.

  “Get out of the water!” Van shouted to her teammates. She swiped her stick at another kludde.

  She shook away the heebie-jeebies and the next time an eel swam by, she grabbed it with her free hand. The eel’s electrical current harmlessly ran through her body. She knew nothing about eels or electricity. Yet, her inner Self knew that her Anchoress light protected her from the eel’s strong electrical current.

  Thyra rose to the surface.

  “Get out of the water!” Van yelled. “I know what to do.”

  Thyra joined Van and the others as they made their way to a cluster of nearby, low-lying rocks.

  Van dropped her stick and held the eel in both hands.

  The kluddes continued to pop up and down, in and out of the water, rattling their chains. Van’s teammates slashed their swords and kicked with their feet to keep the creatures from climbing onto the rocks with them.

  Van hastily enacted her plan fearing the kluddes might resume aerial attacks on the team.

  The slippery eel wriggled and squirmed in Van’s grip. She grabbed his head and forced its mouth open. At the same time, she willed herself to connect to her magical bloodline, to the power of the moon, so she could increase the voltage of the electric eel.

  Once sure they were all clear of the water, Van held the eel by the hinge of its jaw, making sure its fangs were prominent and shoved its head under the surface. The eel squirmed and released its electric venom, enhanced by Van’s Anchoress magic.

  The swamp lit up with a golden-orange electric current as if glowing with underwater lights.

  Within seconds a plethora of skulls broke the surface of the water, followed by floating skeletal bodies. The swamp became cluttered with dead kluddes.

  Van heard the chains rattle in the trees again, and dread gripped her. But the sounds drifted farther and farther away. The remaining kluddes were retreating.

  With the threat gone, the team waded through the swamp, except Thyra who swam under the water. They pulled out Ferox’s soldiers.

  Brux, Ferox, Kopius, and Pernilla removed the soldier’s backpacks and laid them on the rocks. Ferox removed their outer shirts and used the clothing to cover his men’s faces.

  “We lost some good people.” Ferox lowered his head as he stood over his deceased men. “Let’s say a few words to help their souls pass into the light. So we can process the loss.”

  “Now’s not the time,” Van said. “We need to keep moving and stay focused.”

  The silence hung heavy.

  Brux went to Van and clasped her hand.

  “You’re not alone. I’ll be with you when and if you have to face the Quasher.”

  Van broke into tears. All the tension she had been holding in came bursting out.

  The entire team—all soaking wet—cradled Van in a group hug.

  “I know it’s hard,” Kopius said, uncharacteristically sincere. “But you have us.”

  “None of us are going to face any challenges alone,” Ferox said. “We’re in this together.”

  “Yeah, one team,” Pernilla said.

  Mortified, Van wriggled free and wiped away her tears. “I’m okay. Let’s do this.” She was fine with a prayer as long as it meant they stopped hugging her. She couldn’t deal with the intense outflow of their emotions.

  The teammates formed a circle, standing in the murky swamp water next to the rocks, surrounded by the skeletal bodies of the dead kluddes. They held hands.

  Brux said a prayer for the deceased’s spirits to have a safe journey as they made their way toward the light and back into the arms of the Creator.

  Then, the team moved on, deeper into the dark swamp.

  Chapter 37

  Despite Ferox having no soldiers left to defend him, everyone still defaulted to his authority, and he continued to lead the team.

  As they waded deeper into the swampy woods, the water began to reach their abdomens.

  “This is gross,” Paley said. “It smells like rotten spinach.”

  Van kept her eyes on the swamp’s surface and the trees, flinching at the tiniest movement or noise.

  “We getting near,” Thyra said.

  “I hope so.” Ferox glanced at Thyra. “We’ll be reaching the sea soon.”

  “It doesn’t make sense,” Brux said. “This island’s not big enough to have a significantly sized river.”

  “In this place?” Van meant the entire Living World. “The River Shade is probably some magical stream that drops into a cave or something.”

  The team heard a splash. All of them paused.

  The slick, gray body of a marine animal broke the surface of the water near them and dipped back under.

  Daisy and Paley gasped.

  The water’s surface grew calm and still.

&
nbsp; “It went away,” Paley said, hopefully.

  “Doubt it.” Kopius moved closer to Daisy.

  “It’s just a harmless fish,” Daisy said. Being the shortest in the group, the swampy water rose to her armpits.

  Van frowned at her. Daisy had been dunked by the kluddes, like everyone else, yet she still looked fresh and beautiful, like a golden flower growing out of a sewer.

  “Swords.” Ferox remained calm as he slowly unsheathed his blade.

  Van anxiously scanned the swamp. There were no sticks around for her to protect herself using Koga-clava. The jackknife she carried would be useless against most creatures. But she had her fists. She moved into a fighting stance; Paley did the same, gripping her dagger.

  They remained alert and ready.

  It felt like an eternity had passed, though, in reality, it must have been only a minute when a bearded man popped his head out of the water. Except he wasn’t entirely a man. He had a human face, but the rest of him was a hefty grey seal.

  “Hello!” He cheerily greeted them, keeping his head and torso above water and waving his fin. The creature wearily gazed at their drawn weapons and said, “I’m a selkie.” As if that explained everything.

  “Selkie friendly.” Thyra retracted her claws.

  “You can call me Sammy,” the selkie said.

  Ferox, Brux, and Kopius cautiously lowered their swords, Pernilla continued to keep her dagger raised.

  “What’s a selkie?” Paley asked, putting her blade away.

  Van recognized the look on Paley’s face. It meant she wanted to adopt him as a pet. Van rested her hand on Paley’s shoulder to keep her from wading over and scratching him behind the ears. Although Van had to admit, he was adorable.

  “Selkie.” Brux narrowed his eyes in contemplation.

  “Male selkies are responsible for storms strong enough to sink ships,” Daisy said. “It’s their way of avenging the hunting of seals.”

  “It true,” Thyra confirmed.

  “What are you doing in the swamp?” Pernilla tucked away her dagger.

  Daisy looked concerned. “The water here is much too shallow for you to swim freely.”

  “I’m looking for my wife.”

  Kopius raised his brow. “In a swamp?”