by Garry Spoor
23
There was no need for secrecy. There wasn’t enough time. Already Kile could sense the rising malice of the Maligar growing in the east. As it gained in strength, she could feel the natural world crying out in pain. Umingoth flew low over the cities and the provinces of the realm. He was not even trying to hide this time. He likely didn’t care who saw him. For him, this was his last voyage, his last chance at glory. It was one of those moments that would be talked about for ages. Men would sit in the pub over a pint of ale and reminisce about where they were when the last dragon flew over the city.
They covered the miles in a matter of minutes. First Denal, then Callor, then Azintar, and finally into the province of Shia. Kile had come home again, but not in the manner she expected.
It wasn’t difficult to find the Maligar. A thing she had only seen in her insanity-induced visions had now manifested itself into her reality. It was as if the dark of night was slowly leaking into the light of day. A shadowy form with shapes, like a mass of black maggots crawling across the landscape, devouring everything in their path. It was spreading out, from a central point and slowly covering the province of Shia. Kile could almost hear it laughing as it took pleasure in the destruction it caused.
Although she had no idea how to stop it, she knew where she had to go. Into the heart of the beast, into the center of the chaos. She wasn’t sure how she knew this or what she would do when she got there. All she knew was she didn’t have much time, and Umingoth must have known it as well. The dragon didn’t hesitate and lined himself up with the growing Maligar.
As they flew toward the shadow’s edge, where the darkness met the outside world, flashing lights were visible along the perimeter. At first, Kile thought it was some reaction caused by the land slowly decaying at the touch of the corruption, but when they got closer, she saw something more heartening. Standing before the spreading darkness were mystics, dressed in robes of different colors. They must have emptied the Tower, since there were hundreds of them, surrounding the Maligar, trying to keep it contained. Kile wasn’t sure how successful they were, or whether the magic was doing any good, but at least they were trying.
-Hold on.- Umingoth yelled before he suddenly banked right.
The Maligar was aware of their arrival as it lashed out with sticky black tendrils that erupted from the chaos. The dragon almost became entangled and broke off his approach. Circling back around, he came in higher this time, hovering over the darkness, just out of its reach.
“Now what?” Kile asked. “I don’t think those mystics can keep it contained for much longer.”
-We do what we came here to do,- Umingoth answered.
She could feel the tension building in the dragon. “What are you planning?”
-Hold on tight, Orceen. I’m going to get you in there, but then I’m afraid… you’re on your own.-
“Umingoth, no,” she called out, but it was too late. He had already started his final run. Straight toward the center of the madness.
The old dragon was quick, but not nearly quick enough. As he dove down toward the darkness, the darkness reached out for him. Vomiting a column of fire, he burned a path as he flew between the outstretched tendrils of the Maligar. Kile took cover below the dragon’s head, shielding herself from the flames. She could feel the intense heat wash over her as Umingoth flew through the firestorm. Closing her eyes, she braced herself but was nearly thrown when he was violently pulled off course. She was barely holding on with one hand as the dragon spun out of control. Turning into himself, Umingoth tried to burn off the tendril that latched onto his wing, but before he could, a second one wrapped itself around his neck, pulling his head back. The dragon was defenseless. Kile held on tight while they were pulled down into the darkness.
~~~***~~~
There was no impact, no crash, no sudden stop at the end, she was simply back on the ground when she opened her eyes. It was only when she tried to get up, she realized something wasn’t right.
-Dammit, I’m a rabbit again,- Kile said, looking down at small white paws where her hands should be. This was getting old fast, she thought while sitting back on her haunches. Well, at least she was still in one piece, but what about Umingoth? She looked around for the dragon, but there was no sign of him. Surely he wouldn’t have abandoned her, not now, not after coming all this way. He wouldn’t leave her here—wherever here was.
Nothing looked even remotely familiar.
The landscape was barren, the earth cracked and dried. Twisted remains of decayed trees spotted the hillside and the skies were black. Had she somehow fallen into Fthak’thun, or was this what was left of Shia?
-Umingoth,- she called out to the dragon, but she didn’t expect a reply. She could no longer feel his presence. Even the green-hued vision she’d shared with him was gone. He did what he promised to do, and that was to get her to the Maligar. For him, there was nothing after that. He’d tried to tell her, but she wouldn’t listen, didn’t want to believe it. The last of the class A open scripts was now closed.
As much as Kile wanted to mourn his passing, there wasn’t time. Already the Maligar was creeping across the province of Shia. The mystics wouldn’t be able to stop it. Only she could. Unfortunately, there was one small nagging detail that still plagued her. She had absolutely no idea what to do. She hoped to arrive in time to stop Boraro, Galan, Elmac, or whoever it was who released it before they released it. She never considered she would have to stop the Maligar itself.
Kile started hopping.
If there was one thing she learned about Fthak’thun, it was never a good idea to stay in one place for too long.
How was one small rabbit supposed to defeat something that could turn nature against itself and could change the very fabric of reality? How could she stop something that created a wasteland out of lush green forest or distorted a dream world? She had no idea, and she had no one to turn to. For the first time in her life, she was alone.
Kile paused for a moment to get her bearings. She didn’t expect to find a signpost with a large arrow pointing her in the right direction, but there had to be something out of place, something that would tell her where to go. Sadly, all she saw was death and decay. If this was the Shia Province, she’d already failed. With no destination in mind, she headed for the hills. From up there, she could see farther and maybe get a better idea of what she was dealing with. Who knows, she might even find that arrow.
As she made her way to higher ground, her progress was slow. The hills seemed to move farther away with every passing moment. Her small size and awkward means of locomotion weren’t cutting it. Hopping was no way to travel. She tried picking up speed, but the bobbing motion made it difficult to move in a straight line, and she kept veering off course. How do rabbits do it, she wondered? Slow and steady, that was her only choice. She would get there, eventually. She had to keep moving, but time was not on her side.
After a few moments of maintaining a steady pace and keeping a relatively straight line, her rabbit ears picked up a sound that sent a chill down her rabbit spine. The distant howl of a wolf. There was no way there were any friendly wolves in this place, and she already knew what she would find if she let it catch up to her. Quickly scanning the horizon, she tried to figure out which direction it was coming from, but it was no use. At first, it sounded as if it was behind her, but when she started moving again, the howling came from somewhere in front of her. She kept changing direction, but no matter which way she went, she kept moving toward it. She tried sniffing at the air, but it didn’t help. She couldn’t see it, she couldn’t smell it. All she could do was hear it, which made it rather difficult to find.
Since this one wolf was surrounding her, she had no other choice but to follow her original course and hope for the best. Turning her attention back to the hills, she started to run, or hop in as straight a line as she could. It seemed to be working since the howling wasn’t getting any louder, and in fact, sounded as if she was leaving it behind. Unt
il she nearly ran into its open mouth.
The sudden appearance of the wolf, directly in her path, caused her to pull up sharp. Kile rolled over backward as he snapped at her. She was sure she lost a bit of fluff from her tail before regaining her footing. When she did, she found herself staring into the yellow eyes of the black wolf, the same wolf she had confronted in the pit on Shenataesi, the same wolf she had seen in her dreams.
He laughed.
She ran.
A destination meant nothing if she wasn’t around to reach it.
She’d played this game with him before, and it didn’t end well, but that was all in her head, or was it? She was finding it difficult to distinguish between her reality and her dreams. The last time it was the light of the tree that drove it away, but since there were no glowing trees around, she was on her own. Kile tried to put as much distance between her and the wolf, but it seemed as if he was right behind her all the time until he kept appearing in front of her.
He was running her in circles, toying with her—there was no other explanation. She couldn’t keep this up for much longer. She needed a place to stop and catch her breath, but the environment didn’t leave her many options. That’s when she spotted it, something in the distance. At first, she thought it was a natural formation, a huge rock of some description, but as she got closer, she realized it was an old farmhouse. Although it could offer sanctuary, it also confirmed her fears. She wasn’t in Fthak’thun.
There was no time to dwell on where she was or what reality she was in. All she knew was she had to reach the house before the wolf reached her. As it was, he tried to cut her off by moving in front of her again. If she changed direction now, she might never get back to the house. Abandoning her zigzagging course, she headed straight for him. When he lowered his head and opened his mouth in anticipation, she jumped on his snout, and sprang over his back, landing hard in the dust behind him. It didn’t take long to get her feet back under her, and when he turned around, she was halfway to her goal.
As fast as she could run, the wolf could run faster. There was no way she would make it to the front door before he caught up to her, and so a change of plans was in order. She turned her attention to the hedges. The old clumps of shrubbery were pretty far gone, and there weren’t any leaves, so it couldn’t provide any cover, but the dense bramble might offer her some protection. Closing her eyes and bracing herself, she ran in without slowing down. The pain of the dead branches, as they cut into her side, was a small price to pay. She only stopped when she knew she was far enough in. There was enough room for a rabbit, not so much for a wolf. Kile watched as he circled the perimeter, trying to reach her. She might have been safe, but she was also trapped.
-Who are you?- she asked, but she already knew the answer. -You’re Nilak, aren’t you?-
The wolf only laughed.
-Wonderful, and it would appear you’re still quite mad.-
Nilak continued to circle the hedge, trying to find an easy way in, but the bramble kept him at bay. Kile was sure, once he lost his patience, a few dead branches wouldn’t be much of an obstacle. She turned with him, keeping him in sight, maintaining her distance, but always looking for an opening. He was going to try something. She didn’t know what, but she wanted to be ready when he did.
-I want to help you. Let me help you,- she pleaded with him, but it didn’t appear he wanted or needed her help.
The wolf circled two more times before he stopped. Kile braced herself. The house was off to the left. The door was wide open. If she could make it inside, it should offer her better protection, maybe even a place to hide. Unfortunately, the wolf seemed to know what she was planning. He looked over his shoulder at the house and back at her. It was almost like he was daring her to make a run for it. Kile didn’t budge. The wolf grinned, if wolves could grin, and his body twitched. He slowly backed away and fell to the ground, shaking. This was unexpected. Kile carefully moved to the edge of the shrub. This was either her best chance of getting away, or it was a trap. She wouldn’t put it past Nilak to use her humanity against her. The open door was so inviting. Could she make it before he recovered? There was only one way to find out. Kile cautiously hopped out from under the hedge and was about to make a run for it, when the wolf twitched again. His legs grew shorter, his nose, smaller, his tail, longer. He was changing from a wolf into a fox. A fox that would be small enough to get under the branches.
Kile quickly dove back under the hedge as the fox leaped to its feet and lunged for her. She kicked him in the head as she scrambled backward, trying to get through the dense bramble, struggling to make her way to the opposite side. Once she reached the edge, she was back in the open and had put some ground between them before she realized she wasn’t being chased. The fox was caught in the bramble. As he struggled to untangle himself, Kile doubled back and ran for the open door of the farmhouse. Leaping over the threshold, she slid across the kitchen floor and into the side of a cabinet. Not one of her best entrances. Shaking off the impact, she quickly looked around for a place to hide. It wouldn’t take the fox long to free himself.
The kitchen was not unlike the one she grew up in, with its polished stone floors and wooden countertops. There was even a circular table, similar to the one her mother used to use to prep the evening meals on. An archway led into the dining room; another led into the sitting room. Except for the orientation, she might as well be back home.
The old house offered her many places to hide, but hiding from a fox wouldn’t be easy. They had a keen sense of smell. It wouldn’t take him long to sniff her out. Then what was she supposed to do, hide someplace else? She couldn’t keep running. If she was going to find the secret of the Maligar, she would have to take on Nilak, but not as a rabbit. It was simply a matter of concentrating. She had to pick the right animal. Something stronger, something faster.
When the fox entered the farmhouse, he was greeted by… a yarrow.
Not quite what she had in mind.
Nilak wasn’t playing anymore. His time spent tangled up in the hedge seemed to dampen his disposition. As he slowly moved across the floor, he gradually changed from a fox into a cat. As a yellow-eyed black cat, he stalked the yarrow.
Kile knew battling a cat as a yarrow wasn’t such a good idea, so she ran. A narrow hole between the baseboard and a cabinet offered her the only escape route. She barely pulled her tail inside before the cat pounced. Nilak started scratching at the hole, trying to widen it. When that didn’t work, he reached in with one claw. Kile pressed herself up against the back of the hole as the cat wildly swiped at the air. After a few tries with no success, he pulled out his paw and peeked inside, his sickly yellow eye filling the only exit.
An examination of her new surroundings proved it was no better than the hedge. If anything, it was worse, there was only one opening and it was occupied by the cat. If Vesper taught her anything, it was there was always another hole, always another way out. It was all a matter of seeing things through a yarrow’s point of view. During their connections, he showed her many such exits. Now she had to find one on her own.
The ceiling was low, the floor was dirty, and the area was dark, but not completely dark. There was a small shaft of light filling the far corner. It came from a narrow opening, leading up through the base of the cabinet. Kile tried to get closer, but when she moved, the cat’s eye disappeared from the exit and was replaced by his slashing claw.
There was no way around it, she thought as she pressed her back against the wall. She would have to give the cat something else to occupy his time. When no other ideas coming to mind, she bit him.
The sound Nilak made was neither animal nor vir when he yanked his wounded paw back. Kile scurried over to the far corner and tried to squeeze out through the newly discover opening, but it wasn’t big enough. With no other tools available, she gnawed at the wood. She couldn’t say anything good about the taste, but at least she could widen the hole enough to squeeze through. From there, she quietly navigated
through a series of pots and plates, climbing up higher through the cabinet, where she found an open draw. Making her way out onto the countertop, she silently approached the edge and looked down at where Nilak was crouched on the floor. The cat was still guarding the hole. For the moment, she had the element of surprise.
Backing away from the edge, she closed her eyes and concentrated. What do cats fear? Well, everyone knew that: dogs. This was her best chance to end this. Running to the edge of the countertop, she jumped off and changed form in midfall.
A small sand-colored fox landed on Nilak’s back. The cat screeched, whirled around and batted it across the kitchen floor. Kile hit the far wall and scrambled back to her feet a bit dazed.
Not quite the dog she had in mind. She was trying for a Shinar Mastiff or even a Callor hound, something like the one Nilak turned into. So much for the element of surprise. The chase was back on.
The large black dog with yellow eyes chased the fox throughout the house, knocking over chairs, tables, and anything else that got in their way. No matter where Kile tried to go, Nilak was right behind her. He wasn’t giving her a chance to hide or change this time. The only thing she could do to keep ahead of him and to keep him off balance was to make quick direction changes. The dog’s larger size made it difficult for him to compensate, but it didn’t take him long before he caught up to her. The main problem was, he never tired. Sadly, she couldn’t say the same.
It was on their third lap through the house, Kile spotted the slightly open window with barely enough space for her to fit through. She had to time it right. Miss it, and she wouldn’t have another chance. As she came through the sitting room again, she slid under the coffee table, and Nilak ran through it. The table was upended, the contents sent flying. In his haste, he never saw her change direction. She was up over the sofa and through the open window before he could react.
Kile hit the ground running. She was outside again, which didn’t offer her as many places to hide, but she couldn’t keep hiding forever. She would have to make a stand, eventually. Crossing the yard, she headed for an old toolshed that leaned slightly to the left. She barely made it inside before the dog came around the house.
