by Garry Spoor
Watching through the cracks in the wall, Kile held her breath. Nilak started sniffing around the place where she’d landed. He was trying to pick up her scent. It wouldn’t take the dog long to track her to the shed. She knew, if she wanted to get out of this, she would have to get creative. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm herself down. This time, she needed to concentrate.
When Nilak finally reached the shed, he pushed open the door with his nose and stuck his head inside, that’s when he got skunked. The dog quickly retreated and started wiping his face on the ground. It was a vain attempt to rid himself of the foul odor and stop the stinging in his eyes.
That should keep him occupied, at least for a while, Kile thought as she waddled out of the shed. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure what to do next. At the moment, Nilak was practically helpless. She could end this, but was this the way? Somehow, it didn’t feel right.
-I… I don’t want to hurt you, but I don’t… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,- she said to the dog while he rolled around on the ground.
-His heart, you must destroy his heart.-
Kile quickly looked around until she found a raven perched on the edge of the old shed roof. It was the first living thing she had seen since coming here, besides Nilak, and she wasn’t too sure about his life status.
-Who are you?- she asked.
-There is no time. You have to find his heart and destroy it. Only then will you stop the Maligar.-
Kile looked at the dog, who was still rolling around on the ground. Did the raven really want her to rip out his heart? She wasn’t sure she could do it.
-North, you will find his heart north of here, but you have to move fast. He will not be deterred for long.-
Oh, that Heart. Well, that made things a little easier.
The raven took off from the shed and headed north. Kile tried to follow, but skunks weren’t designed for long-distance traveling.
-I think I’m finally getting the hang of this,- she said, and a black-hoofed mountain deer raced across the barren landscape.
~~~***~~~
Trying to keep up with the raven, Kile followed it across what was left of the Shia Province. She had no idea who he was or how he knew where to go, but she didn’t care. At the moment, he was the arrow pointing her in the right direction. It wasn’t like anyone else was offering her advice. She now knew she had to find the Heart, and it was somewhere in the center of the Maligar. It made sense now that she thought about it. Destroy the Heart to destroy the Maligar. The Heart was the portal into this world from Fthak’thun. The moment she recovered the Heart from the altar, she knew she’d made a mistake. She should have smashed it when she had the chance, but she lacked the courage. She didn’t have enough faith in herself. She believed what they told her. Although that wasn’t entirely true. She didn’t believe any of it. She was too afraid to speak out. Was she becoming as complacent as Marcus or Heaney? Completing the mission at all costs regardless of the consequences? Simply following orders because someone she thought knew better than she did had told her to? Was that what being a Hunter was now, blind obedience? Duncan had chosen the wrong person to model the new Hunters after. If she had only listened to herself sooner, none of this would have happened. She could almost hear her father’s voice now. “You’re useless, girl.”
There was no time to dwell on the past, especially when it involved her father. The only thing that mattered now was finding and destroying the Heart of Nilak.
As Kile kept an eye on the raven, he kept doubling back, urging her on. She thought the bird was simply impatient until she heard the laughter coming from somewhere behind her. Daring to look back, she saw Nilak had not given up and was quickly gaining on her.
He had taken the form of a large black cat with yellow eyes, the largest cat she had ever seen, far larger than even the cougars of the swamp. He was closing in fast and Kile knew there was no way she could outrun him—forget about fighting him. As a black-hoofed mountain deer, she wouldn’t stand a chance. It didn’t matter, anyway, since fighting was no longer a priority. She had a feeling, even if she did manage to defeat him, he wouldn’t stay defeated for long. No, her primary concern now was finding the Heart, and that meant staying away from him. The question was how. The answer was simple. She scolded herself for being so foolish.
Leaping into the air, Kile left the ground on the wings of a hawk.
-Why didn’t I think of this before?- she said, looking down at the large black cat. Nilak gave up his pursuit and eventually sat down to watch her fly away. It was too easy, she thought.
As a hawk, she could see her surroundings with more clarity, and she did not like what she saw. The damage the Maligar wrought in such a short period of time was extensive. There would be no turning back from this. Forests, farmlands, lakes, and rivers, it spared nothing. She could even make out the decaying remains of small towns. How many people were in its path? How many animals? And what was it all for? The darkness was complete, all the way to the horizon and beyond. She could see no end to it.
-You surprise me, girl,- the raven said as he flew alongside her.
-I can understand now why he fears you.-
-Fears me?-
She found that a little hard to believe since she was the one running away from him.
-Oh, yes. He can’t control you. He can’t get into your head, not like he did with me. I lost my will to him long ago. Only in death was I freed.-
-You’re Ravenshadow, aren’t you?- she asked.
-Ravenshadow died in the wastelands,- he answered.
-I’m sorry. It’s Jonland, isn’t it?-
-What does it matter? I have no name now. Names are meaningless here.-
-It matters to me.-
-Yes, of course. You still have hope, don’t you?-
-So do you, if you’re helping me. You are helping me, right?-
-It would seem that way.-
-Why are you helping me?-
There was a long pause and Kile regretted pushing the conversation. The fact he claimed he was dead made it a little awkward. She tried to take measure of the raven, but she couldn’t read the bird’s expression.
-Redemption,- he finally answered.
A simple, straightforward answer, but somehow, not quite true.
-You’ll forgive me if I find that a little hard to believe.-
-Believe what you want. It makes no difference to me. I only wish to see an end to that abomination that has poisoned my mind for these many years.-
That sounded a little more sincere, and revenge was easier to believe than redemption.
-So, where is the Heart?- she asked.
-Right over there,- the raven said.
Directly over the hills, Kile saw the source of the darkness. A spiraling pillar of night, reaching into the air and spreading across the sky. It was a little hard to miss.
-That’s the Heart?- she asked.
-That’s the Maligar, the madness of Nilak. At its base, you’ll find his Heart.-
Well, that was a bit more comforting. Not much, but a bit more. Kile faced the black spiraling pillar of darkness. The raven said the Heart was at the base, so that was her destination. She would fly into the pillar, find the Heart and destroy it… somehow. It wasn’t the most well-thought-out plan, but every other plan she came up with never worked anyway. All she knew was she had to reach the Heart before it could do any more damage. However, the nearer she got to the pillar, the harder it was to stay on course. The currents were getting stronger and she had to fight them to stay aloft. That’s when she remembered what the albatrosses taught her. Spreading her wings, she gave herself over to the wind and let it carry her around the spire. She must have circled it half a dozen times before she was sucked in. Once inside it was like being trapped in a sliver of night. With the darkness whirling around her, she couldn’t see far, but she didn’t have to. She knew the Heart was near, she sensed its presence. Somewhere below her, it waited. Tipping her wings gently, she slowly descend
ed.
Kile never saw the eagle coming from above. He was as black as the darkness around her. When she realized he was there, it was too late. Pain ran through her as his talons pinned her wings to her side. Being so close to her goal, she got careless, and now she was completely helpless. The more she struggled, the tighter he gripped, until his hold on her was so tight, she could no longer breathe. He was squeezing the life out of her. Everything was starting to get hazy. She was doing what she could to stay awake. If she lost consciousness, it would all be over.
The eagle was not immune to the spiraling winds. He struggled against them as he tried to escape the darkness. It was when he carried Kile higher, to where the currents weren’t as fierce, he was attacked by the raven. The smaller bird came out of nowhere and navigated the winds with ease. He targeted the eagle’s head, forcing the large bird to defend himself. Nilak swerved left, skirting the outer rim of the pillar where the winds were stronger and almost dropped Kile. He grabbed her with one claw and used the other to fend off the raven’s attack. With the release of pressure, Kile could breathe again. Once she regained some sense of awareness, she tried to break free of the eagle’s grip, but his hold on her was still too tight and she could barely move. The raven came at Nilak again, causing the eagle to tuck and dive to escape. This was her best chance, Kile realized, and she pulled up his feet to rake the larger bird’s underbelly with her claws. The eagle screamed and suddenly released her. Now she was falling.
Spreading her wings, Kile tried to stop her rapid descent, but it was no use. She was spiraling out of control. Nilak had messed up her feathers, and they were no longer working the way they should be. With no way to slow down, she tumbled in the wind until the eagle grabbed her again, this time by her right leg. Once again, she was at the mercy of Nilak, only this time she was dangling upside down. The eagle couldn’t secure his grip on her since he could barely hold the raven in his other claw. Flapping madly, Kile pecked at Nilak’s foot. When that didn’t work, she tried something a little more desperate. On the eagle’s downbeat, she stretched out and grabbed the tip of his wing with her beak, then started pulling out feathers with her free claw. With only one wing, he couldn’t fly straight or fly at all. The eagle refused to release the hawk and the hawk refused to release the eagle, so they both plummeted to the earth with the raven along for the ride.
As the ground quickly came up to meet them, Kile tried to change form one last time, but she was finding it difficult to concentrate.
Bird.
Bird.
Bird.
Squirrel.
The impact left her dazed, but she was still alive, and the damage done by the eagle didn’t seem to carry over now that she was a squirrel. She was a bit woozy and not stable on her feet at the moment, but she needed to keep moving. She was on the ground, she was in the pillar, so the Heart couldn’t be far, but neither was Nilak.
Stumbling her way across the landscape, Kile thought about changing into something more practical but decided against it. As a squirrel, it might be harder for Nilak to find her. He was out there, in one form or another. The longer she could stay hidden, the more time she had to find the Heart, although it wasn’t nearly as difficult to find as she thought it would be.
She tripped over it.
It wasn’t exactly hidden; it was simply lying on the ground, half buried in the dirt as if carelessly discarded. A dark purple crystal pulsated before her eyes. It was living up to the whole Heart idea.
Kile took a quick look around but saw no one. She thought the Heart would have been protected because it was the source of the Maligar. Now, it appeared to be nothing more than a piece of unwanted rubbish. What happened to the company? Where was everybody? She expected to meet Boraro or Galan or even Elmac, somebody, but there was no one here. Nothing around the Heart but a few decaying, rather familiar-looking, trees. Really familiar-looking trees. They seemed almost vir like in their appearance.
Cautiously approaching one, she stopped and sniffed at the roots. There was something odd about it. Something that didn’t quite feel right. Something she didn’t want to put her finger on. Its size, its shape, its general appearance, it reminded her a lot of…
-Master Boraro?-
Her old weapons instructor.
Thankfully, the tree didn’t answer.
When she backed away, something else caught her eyes. Buried in the dirt, beside the tree, was a hint of silver. She dusted away as much as she could with her squirrel hands and uncovered the head of a water dragon. The same head that adorned the hilt of Boraro’s sword. Tarnished, it looked as if it had been buried in the earth for ages.
Kile started seeing the other trees a little differently. The one bent over with a single branch extended, almost like it was reaching down for the Heart, could it have been the Mystic Elmac? The taller, thicker tree behind it reminded her of Heaney. A crooked, dark, little one right behind the Boraro tree, it had to be Creech. She counted four trees surrounding the Heart and another three farther away.
As much as she didn’t want to believe what she was thinking, she couldn’t deny the similarities. If these trees were, somehow, the remaining members of the company, they were well beyond her help. She could do nothing for them but avenge them, which meant destroying the Heart. Kile ran over to the pulsating crystal and pulled it from the earth. With all her might she beat on it with her fists, but her little squirrel hands did little in the way of damage. If she wanted to destroy the crystal, she had to be bigger and stronger. Sitting back and closing her eyes, she tried to concentrate. She needed to pick the right form.
The noise came from somewhere around the Boraro tree. It sounded like the muffled scraping of something trying to claw its way out of somewhere. It continued for a while, then fell silent. Kile held her breath and waited, but she didn’t hear it again. Was it possible, she thought as she cautiously approached the tree? Could he still be in there? Somehow trapped in his new form? She stopped a few feet in front of the tree and looked for anything she might have missed.
-Master Boraro?- she called out to the tree, but there was no reply.
Slowly backing away, she heard the scratching again. It was followed by someone quietly laughing.
It didn’t take him nearly as long to catch up to her as she thought.
She only had one question. Where was he? She didn’t have to wait long for the answer. A black honey badger with yellow eyes appeared from behind the Boraro tree. Kile continued to back away as Nilak slowly advanced. She wasn’t too familiar with honey badgers, having only seen a few drawings in Vanessa’s study, but she knew they weren’t to be trifled with.
With the Heart behind her and the badger in front of her, she had to think fast. If she smashed the Heart, she could end the conflict, but there was no way she could do it in her current form. Trying to change was a problem itself. For starters, it took time. She was not as quick as Nilak, who could shed forms with ease. Then, of course, there was her accuracy. The form she wanted was not always the form she got. Running was always a choice, but it wasn’t a solution. If she ran, he would chase her, and where would that get her? She would have to come back to the Heart eventually. Besides, while they were running all around the trees, the Maligar continued to grow.
Kile stared at the honey badger, who remained motionless the whole time. He hadn’t moved since he came out from behind the tree. It was almost as if he wanted her to run, just so he could chase her. Looking back at the crystal, she gauged the distance. It was only about twenty feet away. How fast could a honey badger run? As a squirrel, she could make it in less than a second. She took a step back; the honey badger took a few steps forward. When she stopped, he stopped. He was enjoying this too much. She knew she wouldn’t have much time once she reached the Heart, so she took a deep breath and tried to center herself. It was all a matter of picking the right form and holding on to it until the last minute.
Without warning, Kile turned and ran for the Heart. She reached it just in
time before Nilak caught up to her. Grabbing hold of it, she took the full force of the honey badger when he slammed into her. As the two tumbled down the hill, with the Heart between them, Kile changed form, midbounce, and with one swipe of a grizzly bear’s paw, she sent the honey badger flying
-You have got to be kidding,- she shouted, watching the badger fly over the hill. He was holding on to the Heart when he flew out of sight. Kile chased after him.
When she reached the spot where he’d landed, there was no sign of him. Only a purple pulsating crystal was visible. It lay on the ground, calling her. Kile cautiously approached it. She wasn’t too concerned about a surprise attack. Being a grizzly bear, she hadn’t seen anything in Nilak’s repertoire to give her trouble except for the large cat, and there wasn’t any place for the cat to hide. So, where was Nilak? It was too easy, she thought, but she couldn’t pass up her chance to destroy the Heart.
Raising herself over the crystal, Kile hoped the sheer weight of her body would be enough to crush it. As she came down, the Valgar erupted from the earth beneath her and ripped into her leg. The pain was unbearable as Nilak pulled her off her feet. She struck him in the head several times before he let go. Limping backward and nursing her injured leg, she watched as the black Valgar with the yellow eyes climbed out of the ground.
In a way, she felt betrayed. Valgar were not of the natural world, and for Nilak to choose this form, it was almost like he was cheating.
They faced off over the pulsating crystal. Nilak on one side, Kile on the other. Again, he challenged her. He found pleasure in the hunt, but she couldn’t see what was so entertaining. The longer they played the game, the more damage the Maligar did.
Lunging forward, the bear reached for the crystal, but the Valgar was faster. Biting down on her outstretched arm, he pulled her back, away from the Heart. Kile got a hold of his jaw and tried to pry his mouth open, but Nilak started thrashing around, his teeth ripping into her flesh. Forcing him to the ground, Kile beat on his head with her free paw while trying not to succumb to the pain. When that didn’t work, she grabbed him around the neck, lifted him off his feet, and slammed him into the earth. Only then did he released her.
