“Waesucks, Jink, I thought you were dead.”
“Dead?” He smiled. “Of course I’m dead.” He laughed, but the sound held no mirth. “It was you who killed me.”
I flinched. His words were too cruel. It was a truth that would haunt me forever. “You were like a brother to me, Jink. Can you ever forgive me?”
“I have already forgiven you, or I would not be here.”
Those words carved a tiny hole into the darkness that cloaked my heart. “It wasn’t easy to leave you behind,” I told him. “It wasn’t easy … to bury you.”
Jink’s eyes surveyed me, hesitating when they caught sight of the crystal, hot and glowing upon my chest. For a moment, his eyes went white again, but when he raised them back up to meet mine, they were sapphire once more.
“I know that, Fane. And it wasn’t easy for me to come back to you. But I had to. You’re going the wrong direction. You’re heading downhill. You need to be going up.”
“I’m done, Jink. I’m going home.”
“You’re going to let my death be for naught?”
Those were the cruelest of all words. “What else can I do?”
He stood upright. “Follow me.” He turned and headed into the mist.
My stomach grumbled in protest of its emptiness and the mist curled around me, wrapping me in an icy blanket. My head throbbed and my strength was wan, but I pulled myself up and forced Snorts to his feet, for he, too, was weak with hunger and it seemed the hungrier he got the more obstinate he became. Finally, he agreed to move and we followed Jink through the barren wastes, forging a new path up into the everlasting snows. The snow was dirty and hard, the sun peeking through the mist on occasion to scatter dark sparkles upon the banks.
Jink swung his dismembered arm as rhythmically as his whole one as he walked and he showed no signs of tiring. Snorts and I, in our weakened states, were having a hard time keeping up. The scratches on my chest burned, but I kept silent and pushed on with wooden legs, doggedly trailing Jink through the snow and mist. My thoughts were a jumble of roast goose, and bread, and apples, and cheese, and oh, what I wouldn’t give for a noggin of ale to wash it all down with. But the thoughts of real food only made my stomach cry and my head pound and I tried in vain to banish the thoughts. It would do no good to cry hunger, for there was nothing Jink could do about it.
Finally, he stopped. “Dig a cave into this snow bank.” He pointed his half-arm, the bone jutting out like a thick, white finger. “That’ll help you stay warm.”
I was exhausted and would’ve rather had a fire, but I began to dig and Jink started to walk away.
“Where are you going?” Stepping forward, I reached out for him. I didn’t want him to disappear from my life again so soon.
He lurched away and shook his head. “Don’t touch me, Fane. Don’t ever try to touch me.”
“Why?”
“Just dig. Don’t worry. I will be back.” And he vanished into the fog.
My fingers burned from the cold and by the time I’d burrowed a den large enough to house me, they’d lost all feeling. I crawled inside and held them between my legs, trying to warm them and despite my pain, I smiled. Jink was back. He had come back from the dead to help me.
Then, an insidious thought crept forward. What if it wasn’t Jink at all? What if it was really Larque? Had she truly fled when he’d died or had she been somewhere deep inside, hiding—waiting for his soul to depart so that she would have total control of his body? What if she wanted revenge for Seret’s death and had instructed me to dig my own grave just now as she patiently waited for me to crawl inside before she rushed in to cave it in and bury me alive in the snow! What if—
Snorts began to bray and I scrambled out of the snow bank in a panic, coming to stand face-to-face with Jink. We shared equal looks of astonishment.
Then Jink began to laugh. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I only brought you some food.” In his hands he held a reed basket covered by a red, woolen cloth.
His hands. Two hands. Dumbstruck, I stared at them, then looked him up and down. His wounds had vanished.
As if reading my astonishment, he said, “I thought you’d prefer to see me this way.” Setting the basket on the snow before me, he then stepped back and folded his arms across his chest.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He was whole and unscathed. He had brought me food. But, alas, he was still dead.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him as I picked up the basket.
“Quit staring and eat,” he said. “You’ll need your strength.”
I uncovered the basket and gaped at the contents. There were apples and bread, cheese, freshly roast goose, boiled turnips and carrots, and a stein of ale. It was a veritable feast!
“Where did you get this?”
He sat cross-legged in the snow. “Ask me no questions, Fane. Just eat and enjoy.”
I ripped a leg off the goose and shoved it into my mouth before thinking I should offer to share. Jink shook his head. “I’m dead. I don’t need it.”
I gorged myself until my gut ached. It was wonderful. Jink had brought oats for Snorts as well and the ass ate every scrap before curling comfortably into sleep.
“Get a good night’s rest.” Jink rose back to his feet. “We still have a long way to go.” And in the twilight gloom, he faded away.
He came back in the morning dressed in his armor, a fur cloak flung over his broad shoulders, appearing just as he had when we had first left Avar. He handed me a basket of eggs, bread, and honey. I devoured the contents along with the remainder of the goose from the previous night before Jink hailed me to move on.
He led the way in silence, the only noise along the way being the crunch of snow beneath our boots and the perpetual soft snorts from the ass.
The food and the warmth of the snow cave had revived me some, but Jink’s silence was disturbing. Death had changed him. He was the same, but not the same. I longed to hear his real voice—his real laughter. Despite our recent imbroglios, I missed my friend.
I tried to break the dreadful silence. “Where are we going?”
“Why did you come here, Fane?”
“You’re taking me to the gold?” Excitement could not be restrained from my voice.
With a wink he turned and gave a surreptitious smile. “Gold and eternal life,” he chuckled. He raised his arms to the sky and shouted, “Gold and eternal life. It can be yours if you want it badly enough, Fane. It can be yours.”
Was it the cold or Jink’s words that sent the chill down my spine? Somehow, the luster of gold had tarnished in my mind. It had tarnished with Jink’s death. Yes, Jink was dead, yet here he was, leading me to eternal life. Would he be with me forever? “How long will you stay?”
He stopped again and turned. His gaze went from my eyes to my chest, then back to my eyes. “I haven’t much time.” His eyes held an eeriness I couldn’t explain. “We must move on.”
He would leave me then. But when? Bearing the silent burden such knowledge weighed, I tugged at the obstinate ass’s leader and wordlessly, we walked on.
As daylight drew to a close, Jink vanished and I dug another snow den, passing the night surrounded by the eerie silence of Skur, much akin to the eerie silence of Jink, and trembled in the lonely wasteland of darkness.
In the morning, Jink returned with another basket of food and more oats for Snorts.
“What will I do if Ragg comes?” I asked between bites. I had not yet seen a sign of the beast that I could be certain of. “I have no weapons to fight him. Seret’s blood destroyed our swords.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Jink scratched at his beard, saying no more.
“What about Ragg?” I asked again.
He hesitated before answering and there was something in his eyes that revealed he knew more than he told me. “If Ragg comes, you are doomed.”
“Then how can I hide from him, a beast who can disguise himself as the sky?”
Jink shook his head
woefully but remained silent.
I scratched at my chest and winced. My wounds were not healing properly, my chest still red, swollen and purulent. And the sores itched. Oh, how they itched, but when I scratched them they only burned worse. The near constant heat from my talisman only aggravated the pain. None of my powders had helped, my supply now nearly depleted.
“You are in pain?”
Grimacing, I nodded.
“Let me see.”
Cold fingers unfastened my breastplate and I lifted my shirt, the chill air prickling my skin.
“Seret clawed you. Those wounds will not heal.”
I gasped, “Never?”
“There is a way to draw the poison out before it eats its way throughout your entire body. Fire, Fane. You must build a fire and place the hot coals upon the wounds to sear the poison out.”
“Waesucks, Jink. How can I build a fire here? There is nothing but rock and snow.”
“When we get to our destination you will be able to have a fire. Come. We must go. We’ve been making good time.”
I avoided scratching the itch of the inflamed sores and again followed Jink up the desolation of Skur.
When he left me for the night, I proceeded to dig my den and was nearly halfway finished when that uneasy feeling that I was being watched crept over me. I spun about and froze.
Before me, in the glittering snow, sitting astride Snorts, was Larque. The evening breeze wisped her raven hair about her face and shoulders.
“Hail to you, Fane,” she cooed. “I’ve missed you.” She ran her hands sinuously down her breasts and stomach, letting them linger lightly above her quim.
I shivered. I had forgotten how truly enchanting she was.
“Have you missed me, Fane?”
She was dead. I had watched her body go up in smoke. How could she possibly be here? Unless—unless she was merely a spirit, like Jink.
“You’re not real,” I managed to squeak, trying to drive this unwanted vision from my sight.
Her laughter was soft and sweet. “Oh, yes, I am real. I am as real as you are. And now that Seret is gone, I could devote all my passion to you.” Her eyes twinkled mischief as she ran her hands back up to her breasts, caressing herself. “Imagine what fun we could have.”
A very physical part of me sprang to life but the memory of the degradation she had inflicted kept me from moving. “Get off my ass and go away, witch,” I said without much authority. “You’re not welcome here.”
“Fane.” She pouted and slid off Snorts, dropping to her knees. Bringing a finger to her lip, her voice became a dusky whisper. “If you do but one little thing for me, I will be yours forever.”
“I want nothing to do with you,” I stated as forcefully as I could muster. I could not deny that the sight of her excited me, but the thought of her revolted me.
She placed her hands upon her knees, hung her head, and spoke as a repentant child. “Next to Seret, I wanted you most of all. I only wanted to please you.”
A vivid memory of her knee crushing my face into the dirt flashed before my eyes.
“To please me?” I shouted, storming back and forth before my den. “To please me? Is that why you would’ve had Jink kill me? Is that why you tried to force his body into mine against both our wills? In order to please me? Well, I am not pleased! And it would please me now if you’d just go back to Shadowland where you belong and bother me no more.”
She raised her face, tears rolling down her cheeks, but behind those tears I could still see the mischief in her eyes. Her powers of seduction were strong, but not as strong as they’d once been. I forced myself to be stronger and turned away, digging once more.
She continued talking. “I am all alone in the world, Fane. I need companionship. I need the warmth of a man’s touch. I need the sound of a man’s voice. I need to feel a man inside me.”
I did not respond. I knew what it was like to be lonely, but I also recalled that Larque was not a woman. She was an evil being without morals or compassion. She was selfish and cruel and would just as soon eat me as anything.
“Fane,” she called again. “Come to me. Come to me and let me warm you. Come just this once and I will leave and never seek you out again.”
What did she want from me? Why couldn’t she believe I didn’t want her? Scowling, I turned.
She lay wantonly in the snow. “Just once, Fane. Just once. Come play with me and then I’ll be gone.”
The biter didn’t even appear to be cold! How could she be real if she could lie naked in the snow without feeling the cold? How could she possibly think I would consider knocking her? After all she’d put Jink and me through, how could she possibly believe?
“Take off your clothes, Fane. Take off everything, including your crystal, and come to me now. I will keep you warm. I will keep you very, very warm.”
“Waesucks,” I groaned, fighting off my physical urges.
She rose to her knees and gazed at me in anticipation. The setting sun glowed behind and she shone like a golden statue in the mist, undulating to some inner music. “You can take me, Fane. Take me any way you want to.”
Giving a hard swallow, I had to force the word from my throat. “No. Begone, witch.”
A momentary white anger flickered through her eyes. She rose and hissed, “Have it your way then, you blighted little toad.”
“Better a toad than a flesh-eating demon.” I returned to my den and began once more to dig. When I looked back over my shoulder, Larque was gone.
I told Jink of her visit when he returned at daylight. He didn’t seem surprised.
“If you had desired her, I would think no less of you.”
“How could I? After what she did to us? After what she did to you? Have you forgotten your trip to Shadowland? Have you forgotten everything?”
“I have forgotten nothing,” Jink said with a smug smile. “But I have forgiven. Look around you. What do you see?”
I scanned the desolate, misty landscape.
“There is hopelessness here, Fane. There is no beauty. There is no warmth. There is no pleasure. If those things come and lay themselves at your feet, should you deny yourself access? In another day we should reach our destination but our journey is not over yet. Forgive her. Forgive me. And forgive yourself. If she comes again, allow yourself a taste of sweet fruit rarely offered in this wasteland.”
I hadn’t expected this reaction from him and the words sounded foreign to Jink’s mouth. Most certainly death had changed him, and I wasn’t certain I liked it.
“I want nothing to do with her,” I told him. “And should she come again and lay herself at my feet, I will again send her on her way. I cannot forgive her. One cannot forgive pure evil.”
Jink turned away and kept silent, but his crustiness came through loud and clear. I couldn’t understand why my refusal to forgive that wretched witch angered him so.
Suddenly he stopped and turned to glare at me. “If you want to know, I’ll tell you. You fail to take my advice. There are mysteries upon this mountain, Fane, some dangerous and some not. I offer you the wealth of my knowledge and you turn your nose up as if you know it all already. How can one be so naïve and still be so arrogant?”
I stared back stupidly.
Jink scowled. “Your silence led me to realize I should explain my anger to you.”
Still, I just stared. It was as if he were inside my head.
He smiled. “And now that I’ve told you, I feel better. One more day of travel should get us there.”
As foretold, by midday the following day, we approached Skur’s summit. Sunlight ribbons streamed through the mist. Before me was a glittering fortress of ice and snow. Like a watchful black eye, a large cavern gaped in the topmost peak and from the cavern mouth was spewed a great talus slope, like a rough, rocky tongue. The base of the slope was flanked by a pair of huge, frosty manhirs, so tall their peaks were obscured by the crystalline mists. The feet of the monoliths were surrounded, well-guarded by h
undreds of sharp turrets of rainbow ice prisms. Breathless, I was caught between its haunting beauty and bleak dreadfulness.
My shudder came not from the cold. “Waesucks, Jink. What is this place?”
“What you seek is here.” His eyes had become impassioned, momentarily losing their color, appearing as white as the surrounding snow. “This is Ragg’s lair.”
I stared up at the cavern in the peak. It was not what I’d expected. I guess I had imagined a being as legendary as Ragg to live in a castle fortress surrounded by a hoard of horrid guards, not a simple cave atop a craggy peak.
“Where is Ragg?” I asked.
“I know he is not inside.”
“How do you know?”
“Trust me, Fane. Go up there and I’ll find some wood for a fire so we can rid you of Seret’s poison.”
I continued to stare at the cavern. I had to trust him. He would not betray me, would he?
When I turned around, Jink was gone.
I had come this far. The treasure was up there. If I wanted it, I would have to go get it.
“Come on, Snorts,” I said, stepping between the manhirs which formed the gateway to Ragg’s lair and began my ascent, pulling the unwilling animal behind me.
10
Ragg’s Lair
When I reached the mouth of the cave a small fire cackled joyously off to one side. Jink knelt beside it.
“How …?”
Jink smiled. “Ask me no questions. Just come warm yourself.”
I had never been so grateful for a fire and promptly hovered beside it, holding my red hands over the blaze with a less than surreptitious survey of the interior of Ragg’s lair. It was barren and enormous, the farthest recesses being gaping black holes where even the light that flowed in through the howling mouth did not reach. A smell akin to cat urine and rotten tripe permeated the air, but the warmth of the fire gave me the strength to endure the stench.
Jink pointed to the small stack of firewood. “You’ll need to grab three sticks. One to bite down on and one for each hand to grip. Then bare your chest and lie down. This will be painful.”
The Legacy of Skur: Volume One Page 11
