Age of Souls

by Garrett Stevens

  A gruesome looking creature, smaller than expected, with wrinkled and folded skin all over its body. No hair could be seen, it was like a bag of flesh that came from an extraordinarily fat creature. There was no real face that could be distinguished aside from what looked like two mouths broken by a membrane of flesh in the middle. No eyes or ears could be noticed as it wriggled beneath the axe. Four arms were pushing against the blade that had a brighter orange blood covering them as it clawed at its restraint.

  Each arm had four bone thin fingers that lead into a single serrated claw on the tips. Its three legs and feet were just as wrinkled and saggy as the rest of its body and had smaller versions of the claws on each of its two toes. Small webbed connections could be made out in the struggle between the fingers and feet. It gave off a staccato croaking sound as it struggled, most likely very limited in its vocal range with the flat oval shape of its head.

  “Are you alone out here?” Sara knelt next to the creature and spoke in her always sultry voice.

  Its croaking stopped and then it made three popping sounds.

  “No others in the area sir.” Tanlin and Rittle came out of nowhere with their report.

  “Good. That means this one is on its own, a scout. The Blink would have got any others with it.” Sara poked the creature with the tip of her sword. “The Garden?”

  With her question, the creature stopped fighting against its hold and went eerily still.

  “Daylight. Fades.” The creature mumbled through its mouths, struggling between each word as if it were out of breath. “Hungry. Last. Light. Spiri. Slow.”

  “Kershin.” Sara called out to the last warrior without taking her eyes off the creature.

  “I’m on it.” She responded quickly.

  Kershin took a step back and expanded her wings and sheathed her weapon on her back in line with her spine. Her wingspan was beautiful, the colouring and elegance of the everything drew Gemini in with awe. With a push down of her wings, crushing foliage below them and breaking branches, she shot into the air and pounced from limb to limb up through the canopy and disappeared above.

  A deep slow blood-filled laugh came from the subdued attacker before it grabbed the bottom of the axe and pulled it into itself, cleaving its head from its torso. The bright orange blood poured out onto the jungle floor from both pieces of the corpse.

  “I hate it when they do that.” Marthiel stood back up and looked at Sara with a frown. Sara had a concerned look on her face as she eyed the canopy, waiting for Kershin’s scout report.

  “What in Necrolin’s name is going on?” Gemini could not keep herself quiet any longer. All four winged woman snapped their attention to her as if they had forgotten she was there.

  “It’s a Koad, an underling for something much worse.” Marthiel looked down at the corpse at her feet. “They are more scouts than soldiers, but if they get the chance to strike, they are very formidable. We Spiri are one of their main sources of food, and as you can see, they don’t get to eat very often.”

  Gemini’s eyes went wide when she mentioned who they were. She had never seen a Spiri before, only read about them or told from her father in bedtime stories. They kept true to the angelic persona that was involved with every story.

  “They are invisible to the untrained eye, which is where the Blink comes from. It is a spell that allows an area around a caster to break their ability to hide as they do.” Sara cut into the conversation. “If they get their mouth on you, their venom only takes a few moments before you are paralyzed, and then they can feed.”

  “How to they see or hear? They only have mouths.” Gemini looked down at the severed head with a grimace.

  “Vibrations in the air is all we could come up with.” Tanlin spoke up. “Sort of like a bat’s sonar.”

  “And tiny receptors in their skin.” Rittle added with her fingers poking out from behind her head.

  “Yes, yes. We have not had a chance to dissect one due …”

  Before Sara could finish the corpse at their feet caved in on itself and melted into the ground like it was a burnt log falling into ash.

  “That happens.”

  “It mentioned night fall.” Gemini said.

  “That is when their overlord is able to come out, the sunlight is very deadly to them. We call it a Skkooh. No one has ever seen it and lived so all we know is that it is very fast, very strong, has a lot more of those little guys following it, and has one objective. Us.” Sara looked at the other three with a nervous look.

  Kershin came crashing back down to the ground, bringing leaves and branches with her.

  “Sara, we won’t make it back before nightfall.”

  “Then we must prepare, can we make it to the First Hand?”

  “Yes. It will be tight with the new Mother, but we should.”

  Sara looked at Gemini up and down, making her feel a bit embarrassed with being almost naked in front of them.

  “We will have to be quick if we can get there in time, you need to keep up.” Sara’s orders were met with Gemini nodding. “Then let us move.”

  “Can we just not fly?” Gemini interjected before they could start moving.

  “Can you?” Sara gave her a sideways look.

  Gemini shifted her shoulders trying to gain control of her new wings, only to shake around like a child trying to dance.

  “We have wasted too much time, let’s go.” Sara turned and ran off into the jungle with Kershin quickly chasing after her.

  “Don’t worry about her, she gets moody sometimes. We should get going though, no Spiri out in the open is safe at night, and typically don’t come back if they do.”

  Marthiel gave Gemini a smile before sprinting off to catch up to Sara. Rittle and Tanlin put their hands on Gemini’s shoulder at the same time, gave her a smile and followed the others. Gemini pushed off in pursuit again, struggling to keep up.

  The jungle darkened with every step like a storm was rolling in and blocking the sun. With the surrounding mountain range, the shifting of the sun was easily hidden as it passed by each peak. Gemini was getting tired but the hair on the back of her neck pushed her on with the urgency in Sara’s orders. Before too long, they reached the base of the one of the tepui rises and came to a skidding halt.

  “Tanlin, Rittle, up first.” Sara spoke quickly before scanning the jungle line in the small clearing they stood.

  The clearing did not give much protection or time for defensive tactics with how close the foliage was. If anything, even being invisible were to come at them, they would have little time to react. Gemini watched as the twins leapt from the ground using their wings to push off with in a plume of dust and small debris. Their vertical was very impressive as they bounded between small outcroppings, stopping at the larger stone to throw down a thin rope.

  “Mother.” Sara grabbed the rope and pushed it towards Gemini.

  A crash off in the jungle made everyone snap their attention in horror to the night filled forest. The light of the day had almost fully faded making it hard to see into the trees, it made Gemini feel like she was back in the tunnel cave.

  “Now!” Sara pulled on Gemini’s wing to bring her closer to the rock face and get her climbing.

  Grabbing onto the thin rope, it was soft to the touch and easy to hold onto. A feeling of lightness filled her body which allowed her to lift herself easily, even with one hand, as if she were made of feathers. Quickly getting herself up to the first outcropping by walking up the stone face, the magic of the rope made the climb simple. Another crash of a tree falling, this time a lot closer. Something large was bull rushing toward them.

  “Kershin, Marthiel, go!” Sara yelled.

  Fringe trees collapsed into the small clearing just as all three of them pushed off into the air. The unknown entity’s veil of ashy mist collided with the mesa wall sending a rumble up through the stone making it hard to hold onto the rope. Gemini slipped a bit before catching herself with her feet on the rope. The last three bounded up pa
st her from the outcropping to outcropping, their wings giving them the lift they needed to reach the next. Marthiel stopped just above where Gemini had caught herself.

  “Mother. Hurry!” Marthiel called out.

  The last light of the day quickly faded and the early night now making it difficult to see around the cliff face. Gemini could make out the little Koad creatures scurrying in and out of the mists; shadows running to and fro, waiting for their meal. The massive form of the Skkooh, shrouded in the ash cloud, filled in with the night easily and only a glimpse of a glowing yellow eye appeared from time to time, starring up at her.

  Gemini pulled on the rope, getting herself more comfortable to be able to start the climb again. Marthiel leapt from her perch, wings whirling the air around the rock making Gemini wincing at the dust that followed. Keeping her eyes on the five women at the top of the cliff looking down, she could feel her muscles start to weaken and her pace slow, like the magic of the rope was faltering.

  “Let go.” The voice in her head spoke again, catching her a little off guard.

  She kept climbing, ignoring the voice.

  “Let go, embrace the spirit.” It spoke again.

  “Stop talking, that thing will kill me.” Gemini spoke softly to herself.

  “The Urn. Protect. Let go.”

  Gemini stopped climbing and looked down into the ash below her, the yellow eye fixated on her near the edge of the clearing. Slowly panning up, she could see Sara reaching out with her hand and calling something out that she could not hear. It was as if she were under water and not able to hear anything, the echo of any words quickly fading before they could reach her.

  “Let go.” The androgynous voice ordered.

  “Stop!” Gemini cried out, gripping the rope tighter.

  As she pulled herself closer to the rope, a small wrapped object loosened from inside her pack and fell out. She couldn’t get to it fast enough, barely touching an edge of the cloth, sending the object into a spiral to the misty dirt below. Unwrapping as it twirled towards the earth, the Urn exposed itself to the night air. The large yellow eye of the Skkooh widened in a fright and recoiled a few steps into the trees. All the Koad scattered into the jungle as the relic struck the dirt, croaking as they went.

  Before another thought, Gemini slid down to the ground and landed hard, dropping to a knee. Whipping her black hair up and over her head, her gaze locked onto the hulking creature in front of her. The Skkooh did not move, its single yellow eye piecing through the ashy mists, fixated on the small cup between it and the winged meal it sought.

  “Raptuk duu frishk. Release the strength.” The voice was louder now, the only sounds she could hear now. Gemini slowly lifted herself from the ground, keeping her attention on the darkness before her.

  One step closer.

  The Skkooh flashed its eye at her and then back to the Urn.

  Another step.

  Again, the careful consideration from the beast.

  Another step.

  The croaking noises from the Koad’s in the background stopped completely as she reached the relic. Everything seemed to stop, all movement, all sound. The mists from the Skkooh trickled in their movement making each droplet visible to her. All life and time seemed to slow to a near stop.

  The night collapsed around her like she was engulfed in the conversation with Karthiel again. The small cup relic in hand sent shivers through her body and any small hairs stood on end. Her vision slowly came back into focus; the night was not as dark anymore. Small shimmers of light came out of little reflections in the leaves of the forest, rays of a dark light illuminated things she could not see before. The ash cloud was no longer surrounding the Skkooh, she could see the beast for what it truly was.

  A muscle-bound beast of a figure, almost humanoid that stood within the edge of the jungle. It had no mouth, no ears, no nose; only a single eye that took most of where its head was. Standing close to twice her height, it had no loose skin on it, nothing but muscle filled every inch of its body. No claws or talons could be seen on its two fingered hands or two toed feet. The entire body was lizard like and covered in a wide scale.

  Gemini lifted the cup towards the creature which made it wince in a pain and take a step back. She took a step forward. Another wince from the Skkooh with a step back.

  “Fade to the abyss.” Gemini called out to it.

  Taking a large step forward, she thrust out the relic again. The Skkooh jumped a sizable distance away. With a threatening bend forward and a dreadful glare, it turned to flee. A low toned chortle choired out from all the Koad lost in the foliage and the night fell silent again.

  With a heavy breath Gemini fell to the ground, her wings flooding out beside her as she relaxed. A shiver rivered down her spine as the chill of the night finally slipped to her bare skin. She pursed her lips while she looked down at her very exposed body and the creeping steel that shifted around her body.

  “Mother, quickly. Before they come back.” Sara’s words filled the night that drew her attention over her shoulder. The five women still at the top of the cliff, starring down, wide eyed in disbelief.

  Nodding to herself, Gemini stood and stuffed the cup into her pack before pulling on the straps to close it tighter than before. A wavy saunter over to the rope, Gemini was finding it hard to move her legs, as if she were in a slight trance and all her energy drained. Collapsing against the rock face, she weakly placed a hand on the dangling fabric of the rope.

  “Pull her up.” Sara’s orders could be heard faintly through her exhaustion.

  A crash of one of the Spiri soldiers beside her who quickly tied the rope around her waist. Bent over forward with her limbs dangling down, the fabric from the rope dug into her waist as she was hoisted up. It did not take long for the two of them to get to the top and she was pulled from the edge and into a cozy looking cave.

  “Get a fire started.” Sara’s orders were not questioned, and the twins started rummaging around for kindling.

  Before long, a blaze filled the small outlook, sending crackling warmth and shifting light into the night. Gemini was placed gently next to the fire and curled herself into the fetal position. The rest of the company shuffled around for a few minutes before settling into their own resting positions. Faint conversation muffled their way through the night. The shadows of everyone danced against the back walls with their own stories as if there were never a danger lurking below.

  “Sleep young Mother, there is much to learn.” Marthiel leaned close to Gemini’s face as she spoke and kissed her on the cheek before disappearing off into the haze of the exhaustion.

  Gemini struggled to try and stay awake, fighting against the lack of focus and energy. Trying to watch the fire and listen to anything that the others were talking about. The random luck they had with the Skkooh and Koad, to having to train the new Mother. Her visions haze thickened with every blink before her head filled with sleep and finally succumbed to the night.

  • • •

  Soft pleasurable moans filled the room as Dominic rolled around in his bedding while hugging a thicker feather pillow to the side of his head, in the hopes to drown out the noises. Rolling back and forth in trying to get comfortable, he glared at Chyla from across the room before throwing his pillow at her.

  “We need to get you your own room in the next place, or at least tie you to the bed so you can’t make noise.” Dominic frustratingly voiced his annoyance which was only met with more of Chyla’s moans.

  She could be seen across the room shifting around in the moonlight, illuminating her up like a living silver statue. One of her hands was busy between her legs and the other squeezing her breast. The caring she showed for his lack of sleep was apparent. In a huff, Dominic slipped out of bed with his blanket and stormed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

  “Can’t sleep?” R’nuuk chuckled as he came down the stairs.

  “She has been at it for almost three hours, she has to get tired sooner or later.” Do
minic peered through the corner of his eye at the man sitting in the deep couch.

  “One of Minolin’s fantastic gifts I suppose.” R’nuuk shrugged while he sipped from a tea cup.

  “It gets us into more trouble than you would expect.”

  “With our vagrant, degenerate, and ignorant population these days, I wouldn’t doubt it.” R’nuuk took another sip from his cup.

  Dominic made his way through the piles of books and papers, past small lit candles barely holding on to the large seating area and into the kitchen. Grabbing a small tea cup and poured himself a drink, he stumbled his way back into the seating area to find a place.

  “One day she will figure out how to control it, but for now, be happy that her self-pleasure is satisfying the need of the Dragon child and she is not lusting after something else, something a little more dangerous.” R’nuuk’s fidgeting while he spoke was minimal as he was focusing intently on his tea.

  “What do you mean? Is there not something about being able to squelch her urge for longer durations?” Dominic wrapped himself with his blanket and sipped slowly at the hot liquid in his cup.

  “There are ways, but that would need a little effort from your end.” R’nuuk gave him a sly smile.

  “That won’t happen from me. She prefers the fairer sex anyway.”

  “The tea should help you sleep through her racket.” R’nuuk smiled.

  A knock at the door made the two men stop mid sip and look at each other.

  “Yes?” R’nuuk questioned.

  “Sir, I found it.” A child’s voice came from the other side.

  “Must be Talken back from the little errand I had him do.” R’nuuk stood from his seat with his tea and reached for the door.

  Opening the wooden door, a small boy carrying a satchel over his shoulder appeared in the entry. His features were disheveled and dirty from living on the streets and out in the wilderness for extended periods of time. He never lifted his head or eyes to acknowledge R’nuuk, only held out the small pouch that he pulled from his own satchel.