They peered out at a huge lizard, and a creature they had never seen before. It had the body, talons, and beak of a bird, the tail of a reptile, and the wings of a bat. It was a little bigger than an owl, and it looked intimidating.
“What’s that?” whispered Steven.
“A cockatrice,” Lorne replied.
The animals took careful steps. They were closest to Theo and Lorne, who were ahead of the rest of the group.
“We can kill them; there are only two,” whispered Theo.
“Only if we have to,” Lorne replied.
The lizard came close to the bushes, and his gaze crossed Lorne’s. The creature took a few steps back, still staring at the bush, then turned and left the forest, followed by the other animal.
“Did they see us?” Theo asked.
“Yes!” Lorne exclaimed. “The lizard knew he would die if he attacked us—there are too many of us—but he will guide the sermerio, and they will be behind us. Let’s get out of here!” He gestured for the others to follow, and they ran.
The leaves and branches scraped their faces; yet, they did not stop. Soon, they realized they were in a clearing.
No! thought Lorne. We are an easy target.
At that moment, 10 sermerios came out from behind the trees and stood before them, each armed with axes and spears, and accompanied by the creatures. The two groups studied each other for a moment. Then, one of the sermerios got something from inside a sack. It was a dark-blue sphere, the size of an orange.
“Run!” cried Azura.
But, the sphere was already rising into the air. It created a blue dome around them all. Suddenly, the blue light faded, and everything went back to normal.
“What was that?!” shouted Habel.
Before anyone could respond, they were being attacked and dodging the spears that flew in their direction.
Steven drew his sword and killed the first sermerio who attacked him, but another was advancing with his ax. The doctor threw himself onto the ground. He was not fast enough. The blade made a deep cut in his right leg, opening the old wound. Once again, he could not stand, and the sword flew out of his grasp.
The sermerio approached. Steven held back the urge to crawl away. He reached for the dagger he kept inside his boot, hoping his enemy would move closer; he wanted him to assume he was deadly injured. The sermerio’s feet were close to his face. Steven stuck the dagger into the sermerio’s foot. A howl of pain echoed, and the sermerio fell to his knees. The doctor removed the dagger and thrust it into the sermerio’s throat.
Richard disarmed one of the sermerios, but the cockatrice disarmed him as well, taking his sword and flying away. Now, they were in the same position. The sermerio made the first assault; his fist sank into Richard’s face. Richard struggled to fight back, but the sermerio was faster; he immobilized Richard’s right arm and almost broke it. Richard lifted his head in time to see another sermerio, coming toward him with an ax in his hand. Richard felt his blood boil; there was nothing he could do.
Suddenly, an arrow pierced the breast of the sermerio who was running at him. The sermerio who held Richard down looked up.
Kyla had shot the arrow.
Richard took advantage of the diversion and nudged the sermerio in the stomach. The sermerio staggered backward, and an arrow flew into his chest.
As Azura shouted, Theo, Lorne, and Hubert took a few steps back. They saw the sphere rise into the air right in front of them, and everything disappeared. There was nothing, just the dry trees around the clearing. They looked, perplexed, at the place where their companions should have been, and then realized that Virginia and Ivy were there, too. Virginia was stupefied by what she had just witnessed.
“What happened?” Hubert asked. “Where are the others?”
No one answered. Lorne took a twig and threw it. As he had imagined, it hit something invisible, and for a fraction of a second, the shape of the dome shone in blue. They caught a gleam of their friends in battle, then everything disappeared again.
“How did you get in here?” Lorne asked Virginia.
“When Azura screamed, Ivy pulled on my cloak, and I stumbled back.”
A dart hit Thomas’ left arm, but he did not pay attention to it. He grabbed his pistol and fired, shooting a sermerio in the head. Almost at the same moment, with the other hand, he drove a dagger into the neck of another sermerio.
Suddenly, he started to feel strange. Everything became blurry. He opened and closed his eyes several times to see if his vision would improve, but it only got worse. Everything around him was spinning. His legs went numb, and he fell to the ground. He thought about moving, but his body did not obey. He was paralyzed.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted a lizard and a sermerio coming towards him. Suddenly, an arrow jammed into the sermerio’s chest. Habel stepped in front of Thomas and shot one arrow after another at the animal.
The battle would have lasted longer, had it not been for Azura. With a single hand movement, she disarmed five sermerios at once and crushed their hearts by closing her hand into a fist.
Kyla’s first impulse was to fly. She lost her balance and went to the ground. She got up right away, not intending to die there. She reached for her bow and killed everything that moved, until she saw Richard in danger and came to his rescue. After that, she shot the cockatrice that was still flying around.
Silence.
They needed a moment to believe they had defeated all of the sermerios.
“Are you all well?” Azura asked.
“We’re still alive… no idea how…” Steven replied from the ground.
Habel called Azura to come look at Thomas.
Azura picked up the dart from the ground and sniffed it. “It is a paralyzing poison. It will pass in a few days, and he’ll be fine.”
“Where are the others?” Richard demanded, holding the arm the sermerio had twisted.
Azura threw a rock in the air, and they saw the luminous dome, and the gleam of their companions from the other side.
“Do you know what it is?” asked Virginia.
“It is an energy dome, similar to the one we used in the forest to hide from the elves. It cannot remain active forever; it must perish on its own. The issue is that I do not know how long we’re talking about,” Lorne replied, his eyes locked on the dome.
“Can we break it?” Virginia asked.
They all sat in silence, thinking about how to break the invisible energy dome. Time passed, and no response appeared. Virginia threw more sticks at the dome, intending to see if those who stayed inside were fine. It had been distressing to witness the battle and not be able to do anything. “Why did they do this?” she asked.
“So that no one would get away,” Lorne replied.
Virginia looked around, but there were no more twigs, so she threw a snowball at the dome, and Theo noticed that some pieces stayed there, seemingly floating in the air. He approached, then glanced down and noticed there was a frozen line a few inches above the ground. It looked like a small step made of ice.
“You can freeze the dome!” Theo told Lorne. “Then, we can break it!”
“It could work. Cover up; it will be cold,” declared the wizard. They covered themselves with blankets, and before long, the air froze.
Slowly, the dome was freezing; they could see its shape. Sometime later, it was all distinguishable. Lorne dropped to his knees. Hubert put a blanket around him and gave him water, while Virginia took her dagger and used the handle to break the dome. With each hit, the dome shimmered, and the two groups could see each other in flashes.
While Azura and Kyla made a tourniquet for Steven’s leg, Habel and Richard searched the dead sermerios to see if they had anything that could be helpful. Richard tried to loosen a bag that was fastened to one of their belts, but the sermerio was not dead yet. His hand grabbed Richard’s shirt and brought him close to his face. White smoke came out of the necklace the sermerio wore.
Habel rushed to help Richa
rd and shot an arrow into the sermerio’s head. Richard stared at the necklace; it was made of a dark metal, with a small sphere in the center.
“Are you all right?” Habel asked, crouching and breathing in the smoke.
Steven was moving towards them, but Azura stopped him. “It’s poison. Do not go near them.”
“Poison! Is it deadly?”
“No… or maybe yes, if you do not control yourself.” She yelled for them to move away, and they crawled closer to her. “You will suffer terribly,” she explained. “I smelled that gas when I tried to escape the prison. As you can see, it is not fatal, but very unpleasant.”
“How... are we... getting out of here?” Richard asked, feeling his throat tighten.
“Look up,” Azura replied. “Lorne is freezing the dome.”
“That’s why it got so cold,” Habel realized. “What do we have to do?”
“Nothing,” Azura replied. “Just wait.”
They sat down together, trying to bear the cold. After a while, they saw a small hole forming in the dome. It grew, until it became big enough for a person to pass through. Azura and Kyla carried Thomas, and they passed him through the opening very carefully, for it was narrow and full of sharp pieces of ice.
One by one, they came out of the dome. Azura explained Habel and Richard’s condition; they would not go far in that state. They both felt the effects of the contamination—pain throughout their bones.
Theo and Steven made two makeshift beds with twigs and blankets. Both poisoners sneezed frantically and found it difficult to breathe. Their bodies were covered with red circles, and they were so itchy that they bled. Hubert held Habel’s hand, and Lorne did the same to Richard, saying it was for their own good. Tears were flowing; they could not scratch the welts, and they still had trouble breathing.
In the height of their despair, they screamed loudly enough to make the birds fly away. Their screams made everyone restless. No matter how cruel it seemed, Virginia suggested, “We have to cover their mouths.”
Feeling guilty, Hubert tore a piece of cloth and stuffed it into Habel’s mouth. It muffled her cries until they could hear only small moans. “I’m sorry,” said Hubert, seeing the tears streaming from her eyes. He also tied her hands, and they did the same to Richard.
Steven sat in a corner and examined his wound. Virginia approached to help. “It seems like this leg does not bring you much luck,” she quipped. She undid the improvised tourniquet and cleaned the blood from his wound.
“What are we going to do?” Steven asked.
“First, we have to get out of here,” she replied.
Meanwhile, Lorne was rummaging around. He needed to find a hiding place fast. If they remained there, then soon, another group would locate them, and that would be the end of them. A few feet away, he spotted a large tree with a magnificent trunk and roots coming out of the earth. On one side of the tree, there was a hole near the root. The wizard went to the spot. He placed his hand on the tree, and the hole opened wider, forming a small cave.
They dragged the sick and injured to the tree and set up camp.
Chapter XX - Dividing the Group
“Where’s the portal?” Steven asked as they ate.
Lorne and Azura exchanged glances, but they were reluctant to answer, so it was Kyla who spoke. “It’s south of town. In the middle of the forest, there is an arch that apparently leads nowhere.”
“So, we will have to go into town to make it to the portal? One more detail you forgot to mention,” said Steven.
“We do not have to pass through the middle of the city to reach the portal,” Lorne explained. “We can go around and …”
“We can travel around the perimeter for a while, but we must travel inside at some point,” interrupted Kyla.
Lorne ignored her. He did not wish to argue with her, so he continued talking with Steven. “Where are you going with this?”
“I just need to understand what we’re doing,” Steven replied. “You have a habit of telling us only half your plans.”
“That’s because he’s trying to save himself and Azura,” Kyla said sharply. “We’re useful, so he lets us tag along.”
Lorne’s disappointment was such that he took some time to grasp what she had said. “Kyla, do not be naive. You are as useful to me as a sword is useful to a dog. I do not understand you; I told you we could all go away if you wanted, and you would be free to do whatever you choose. If I’m that bad, why don’t you leave?”
“You’re being unfair,” Theo agreed with Lorne. “Lorne did everything he promised. We went after him. We would already be dead if it wasn’t for him. I do not know about you, but I know I would have been barbecued by that dragon. Besides, Zauber can track down anyone, so long as he’s seen them once. And he’s seen almost all of us.”
“If so,” Steven replied, “then our chances of making it to the portal are even slimmer. You knew about this?” he asked Lorne.
Lorne snorted. “Of course, I knew! How do you think he found us in the woods? I thought at the right moment, we could split up and mislead them, but I did not plan to have three immobilized party members to carry.”
“Why did you not say so before?” Steven asked.
“Because if someone gets caught, I do not need that person revealing our plans!” Lorne shouted impatiently.
“So, if anyone gets captured, you will not do anything?” Kyla asked.
“What could I do?” Lorne replied, staring at her.
“You thought about sending us as bait while escaping with Azura?” Kyla continued, raising her voice.
Lorne took a deep breath, struggling to retain his composure. “We would have met near the portal.”
After a minute of silence, Steven spoke up. “So, maybe this is the time to split up. Don’t you have any tricks I can use to distract him? He can’t find me, but if he thinks I’m you... they will have time to recover.” He glanced at the sick members of the group.
“What would you do if he found you?” Lorne countered. “We do not need a sacrifice. We want to get out of here alive.”
“We broke into that prison full of guards using disguises and a sleeping bag. You must have something... if he discovers me, I...” Steven did not want to give up, but he did not know what to suggest, and he did not know what he would do if Zauber appeared in front of him. If Lorne gave him goosebumps, then Zauber made him feel like a child scared of the dark.
While they were debating, the others cared for the wounded with attentive ears to hear the conversation. Even so, there was not much to be done. The toxins used by the sermerios faded over time; they could only try to alleviate the agony until then.
For a moment, Steven got lost in thought while looking at them. There was something he did not understand. “Why don’t they use poisons that kill? Wouldn’t that be smarter?”
“They prefer to take prisoners,” Lorne replied. “No one swaps anything for a dead body, but with prisoners, the negotiation changes.”
Lorne sat on a fallen log and delved into his thoughts, pondering Steven’s suggestion. It would be easier to make it to the portal if Zauber did not know who to follow. That was the initial idea, but he needed everyone to be prepared. With Zauber helping the sermerios, they could not hide for too long in any place, and it would be impossible to reach the portal if they remained together. He glanced at Steven, and a touch of admiration arose within him.
“Let’s do as you said,” he declared with little conviction.
All of them turned in amazement, and then spoke at the same time. Some objected that it was foolish; others asked what he would do when Zauber found him. Steven and Lorne stared at each other in silence.
“I’ll go with him!” Virginia’s voice drowned out all the others.
“No!” said Steven. “I’ll travel alone.”
“You do not give me orders. I’ll go. Zauber never met me; I can help you. It’s no use looking at me like that. If you’re leaving, I’m going, too.”
<
br /> “I’ll think of the details,” said Lorne. “Let’s rest while we can.” Lorne turned to Steven to heal his leg, working on it until he felt his strength waning. “You mistreated this leg; I fear it will never be the same.”
“Even when I get back?” Steven asked.
“I’m sorry,” Lorne replied, “but you will limp here and there. That’s how it works.”
Kyla passed a piece of wet cloth over Habel’s wounds, but it did not seem to help. Her gaze was one of despair, and the only thing she could do was weep. “I can take the cloth out of your mouth if you promise not to yell,” said Kyla. It was the first time she had approached her friend after she lost her wings.
Habel nodded and felt slightly better when the cloth was taken out. Kyla gave her water and some fruit, but she declined; her throat hurt and she had to force herself to drink the water.
Theo did the same with Richard, and Virginia wrung water from a wet cloth into Thomas’ mouth. His eyes were open and dry; she knew that, although he was paralyzed, he could still hear. “I’ll close your eyes but do not worry; we won’t leave without you.” She sat down beside him, resting her hand on his; it was the only thing she could think of to give him some comfort.
A waning moon shone high in the sky. They were all seated around the campfire. Habel and Richard were asleep. The others ate dried meat and bread.
After a while, Lorne said, “Zauber can locate people through the vibration that each one of us emanates. This is impossible to disguise. We can do something which will misdirect our vibrations; however, I do not want you to use it on yourselves. You will pass it on to the trees along the way.”
“So, let me get this straight,” Virginia began, “he will feel you and the... thing you’ll make. What if it doesn’t do any good? He may choose to go after you anyway.”
“I’m confident he’ll come after us,” Lorne replied. “What are you going to do will only serve to give us more time, because it will take time for Zauber to discover which is the right vibration. In the meantime, travel to the portal. Azura can describe where there is a secret passage. You will end up near the city, and from there, you will move to the portal. If everything goes smoothly, we’ll meet there; otherwise... you must get away.”
The Fourth World Page 16
