by F. E. Hubert
they only lit one of the spares to replace it. That had been hours ago and Kim started to wonder when this lamp would flicker and die. The draft led them to a large room. A basin the size of a swimming pool covered half the room. A layer of what looked like ancient, rotted leaves came up to the edge. There was no way to tell how deep it went through the muck, but Kim had the sick feeling it was very deep.
Behind it, steps led up to an altar. In the wall some metres behind that, a narrow shaft led up and out. When the sun reached the right position, it would illuminate the altar and the squat figurine on top of it.
“Looks like it runs for metres, through solid stone,” He tapped a knuckle on the stone next to the shaft. She could barely hear it. The thick stones absorbed the sound into their cold silence. “So, no.”
Kim left him staring up at the slit in the wall. When she stood between the door and the narrow slot in the wall, she could feel the draft caress her skin. She stepped up to the raised platform for a closer look at the statue. From a distance, she thought it was black, but every step she took closer to it, it seemed to change colour. From charcoal, to the green of an avocado peel, to a dark mossy shade that reminded her of the old graveyard near her aunt’s house. And it looked wet. Her lamp reflected on its skin like a sheen of –
Jake grabbed her wrist and pulled her down from the dais with a sharp jerk. He caught her in his arms and looked at her with a stricken look on his face.
“Don’t touch that. Anything could happen, we have no idea wh -”
The look of horror on her face stopped him short. Pushing her behind him, he turned to the door.
“Kim?”
She nodded, still staring at the thing in the doorway.
“We’re going to have to run, get past it.”
She nodded again. Then, realizing that Jake couldn’t see her, she hummed agreement. A raspy sound. She could barely hear it herself, but he understood. Or didn’t care if she agreed.
He walked forward, toward it. He held her hands to force her to walk along behind him. He stopped near the pool’s edge, where two sides came together in a point.
The thing that had been Hadwick last time she saw him, shambled toward them at a deliberate pace. A green light shone in eyes that were brown only yesterday. Cracks marred his skin, oozing liquid. It looked like dead blood. The dry smell came from him in waves, making her gag.
Jake pulled her to the edge, next to him and whispered in her ear.
“When I say go, jump across.”
She saw what he wanted. New-Hadwick walked in a straight line, following the edge of the pool, instead of making the short hop over the corner to where they stood. If he kept going like that, they would be able to jump across the corner of the pool to the other side, getting between him and the entrance.
Looking at the figure that staggered around the corner, she doubted he’d be smart enough to understand that they could step over the pool. His mouth hung open, a thread of yellow mucus dangled from his lower lip.
She looked at the statue behind them. It glowed in the exact same shade of green as new-Hadwick’s eyes.
She heard Jake shout ‘Now!’ like something that happened far away. He let go of her, so that she could jump. Instead, she ran toward the glowing figurine. She had to try. Maybe it would break whatever power it had over Hadwick. If only she could break it. Taking the steps two at a time, she just had time to glance over her shoulder. Jake was only a step behind her. His face desperate. His hand reached out for her, but his touch came too late. Her hand closed on the statue. A green flash filled her vision. The last thing she ever heard was Jake, shouting her name.
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Titles by F.E. Hubert
Tales of Mufroen and Dun
Sword of the Sands
Book of Magic
Sword in the City
Isles of Krake
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Dog’s blade
Swords and Magic (Tales of Mufroen and Dun 1-5)
Land of imagination
Dark Temple
Available soon:
Cosmic justice
