by R. J. Batla
I knew that voice. I just didn’t know where from.
Royn said, “Look, you can let us pass –”
The cloaked figure grabbed his stomach in laughter. “Pass? That creature with you shouldn’t even be allowed to exist, and you want a pass? There will be none given, you –”
“Everyone, once they’re trapped, you need to get out of here,” Arp said.
“– the nerve of those insolent fools, sending you on this –”
“No, Arp,” Celeste said. “You can’t –”
“No time and it’s our only chance,” Arp countered.
“– you’ve managed to survive even this attack. Forced me to use these West Side monstrosities that I despise to get to you. But now it is time to die, Morsenube user. You and your friends!”
Arp Bardwell stepped across the now almost-depleted moat and raised his hands. Power rolled off him in waves, and the water responded. It leapt to him, almost like a robe, as he started running at the dragon and the man. What was he doing?
The man dropped into a crouch, fists burning with fire, and the dragon screamed.
“All Water Senturians, get that water to him now!” Royn said.
We obeyed, forcing all the water I’d transitioned to flow around the Helion.
“Ice Burial!” Arp screamed just as he reached the duo; the man attacking with fire and the dragon reaching down to snap at the Helion with his jaws.
But he never got the chance. At his shouted command, all the water around our attackers leapt up in one huge sheet, coating the dragon, the man, and Arp, and in less than a blink, it froze solid. Not just ice solid, but stone solid – artic cold and a foot thick.
Resonating out from Arp, the ice built until everything was buried in a five-story block of solid ice.
“Good…luck…my…friends…” we heard in our ears. Then silence.
“NO!” I screamed, still killing the attackers. The few that remained anyway, the few our friend hadn’t…by…
“We have to disinfect it first,” I heard Leona say, and I turned in time to see her hands turning purple. Katy was already at work, and with Gilmer out, I was the only other healer.
“Jay, concentrate on Sonora,” Royn said, pulling me around. “There’s nothing we can do for Arp right now, but we can save her. Move it, soldier!”
She had a nasty goose egg on her temple, but better out than in. I gathered my energy, collecting it in my hands, and started to work, feeling through the wound. No fractures or broken bones, but there was a slight bruising.
“She has a concussion,” I said. “I can bring her around, but she’s not going to be doing well for at least a couple days.”
“Wait before you do, Jay,” Marlin said. “Anything else wrong with Sonora?” After a quick re-scan I shook my head. “Then you’d better help the other two.”
Josey was pale. Very pale. So light purple, she was almost white. “What do you two need?” I asked, hands glowing.
“Power,” Katy said. Leona just grunted, both of them covered in sweat, moving their hands almost faster than I could see, creating a blur over Josey.
Oh, man, she was hurt bad. This had better work.
“You got it,” I said, grasping them both on the neck, their only exposed skin. I reached inside, pulled the energy out, converting it to healing, and poured as much into Leona and Katy as I could muster. You had to have skin-to-skin contact for an energy transfer. Just before the power got from my arm to their necks, Josey stopped breathing.
“No!” Leona said, right when my energy touched hers, and with the sudden power surge, a grunt from both Katy and Leona, and a pulse of energy, Josey opened her eyes and gasped, jerking to a sitting position.
A cheer broke out from the group as Morgan caught Josey before she hit the ground, and helped her sit up. Katy and Leona went limp and passed out, exhausted. Marlin and Celeste caught them before they hit the ground too.
“Did someone hit me in the head? Where’d all these…what did…where…what the hell happened? What’d I miss?” we heard behind us.
Everyone turned to find Gilmer rubbing his head. He grinned.
A war horn sounded.
Our heads whipped around again.
“Another platoon?” Euless asked. “How were they able to get reinforcements so fast?”
“Doesn’t matter how – they got them. Get the injured ready to move,” Royn replied with a shake of his head, pointing at our disabled comrades. “Carry them if we have to, but we can’t win this in a straight-up fight. We’ve got to move.”
“They’re too fast, Royn,” Euless countered. “Even without the extra load, we couldn’t outrun them!”
“I know, Euless, I know. But we don’t have a choice. We have to try,” Royn said. “We can’t let Arp’s sacrifice be in vain. Troup, I need an assessment.”
Troup stomped the ground and talked with Royn as the rest of us picked a person to carry. I got Leona, Anton got Katy, Euless picked up Sonora, and Marlin got Josey. Gilmer managed to stand, nodding that he was ready.
“Why can’t we just wait till it thaws, or chip him out of there?” Anton said. “I can see him, clear as day, right there. The ice is so clear; it’s like he’s just standing still.”
“There’s a reason they call that technique Ice Burial, Anton,” Marlin said, bowing his head. “When you use it, you use all of your life’s energy, and you die with it. That was a brave sacrifice he made so we can continue to live.”
“Let’s move,” Royn said.
We ran as fast as we could while being gentle with our charges. We jumped logs, dodged trees, tried to get away, but the horns kept getting closer. And closer. And closer.
“Half mile, Royn,” Troup huffed, dancing around trees.
“We don’t have a half mile,” Euless said, an arrow embedding itself in a tree just in front of his face.
“Morgan, smoke screen,” Royn said.
The Phoenix jumped up and stood on Celeste’s shoulders, drawing her staff, facing behind. Celeste didn’t even slow, bracing Morgan as she ran. White hot fire burst in steady streams from her staff, engulfing everything behind us, trees erupting into flames, grass puffing into ash almost instantly, providing both cover and a defensive line.
It almost didn’t matter. They were right on top of us. Arrows and spears whizzed through the air, miraculously missing us as Morgan’s screen took effect. Slowly we gained precious ground.
But it didn’t last long. Shouts and groans sounded all around. They were getting closer again. Crap, crap, crap!
“Stop!” Troup said, so we slammed to a halt – right before we fell off a cliff.
“What are you waiting for?” Royn said. “Jump!”
Apparently if all my friends did it, I would too.
Chapter 52
“A report, Master Malstrak,” the goblin said, entering his tent in the middle of all his forces, laying the piece of paper down gently in front of his master and then scooting away quickly.
Malstrak took a sip of wine, then spit it out as he read the words.
Jayton Baird’s team was attacked by a dragon. A dragon! Who in the world had enough control over a dragon to get it to attack a little fourteen-person team? And why would they do it? Apparently it didn’t matter, as most of them had escaped and were now headed toward the Bowl, just ahead of another large force of creatures.
Who would dare to interfere in his plans? The lords? No, they were ambitious, but they weren’t stupid. They wouldn’t directly intervene.
He quickly scanned the paper again. Plus this said it was ogres, orcs, werewolves, and the like. The Lords of the West Side only controlled men.
Those groups of monsters wouldn’t band together to attack something. If it had been only one type of creature, then maybe, but such a mix was definitely an assembled army.
The reason had to be to stop Jayton Baird, but why? Malstrak had already told everyone to let the boy pass, let him get to the Bowl, so what the –
�
��Rygul!” he shouted.
A few seconds later, a Skeptor entered his tent and bent to one knee. “You called, Master?”
“I just received the most disturbing report. Apparently someone is trying to kill my young friend who I need to be alive at the moment. I need you to head south, find him, and make sure he makes it to the Bowl. Understand?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Good. Don’t fail me, Rygul. People have been failing me lately, and I must say, I do not like it.”
Chapter 53
Well we didn’t die.
We managed to hit every tree on the way down.
But we didn’t die.
Just before we hit the ground, we were caught by some kind of vine net. Too convenient – it had to be there for this specific purpose. How someone would think of installing this in advance was beyond me, but they also didn’t pay me to think.
“Are they gone?” Royn whispered, looking at the Dwarf.
“For now,” Troup replied, “but I don’t think they bought the whole ‘plunge to our death’ thing.”
“Agreed. Let’s get going. We need to put as much distance between us and our pursuers as we can,” Royn said, and set out in front. We worked to heal everyone as much as possible as we moved until finally everyone could walk except for Josey. Of course it was our best healer who was hurt the worst. Royn kept an uneasily lax pace, with frequent glances behind us.
Camping that night and healing even more, we got underway the next day with a little more spunk. By that time, even Josey was moving again, albeit in pain.
Then about lunch, we heard the horns again. “Son of a…” Anton swore. “Do they ever give up?”
Picking up the pace, we heard horns to our left, pushing us away from the mountains. A little later, we heard them to our right. Then behind us again.
“We’re being herded,” I said.
No sooner had it been said, we ran, at top speed, into a swamp. And the light faded. Quickly.
“Everyone, grab a hand before we’re lost!” Marlin shouted, and we all linked up. “Who has a free hand?”
“Me!” two people answered.
“Say your name,” Gilmer said, the darkness deepening even more.
No moon, no starts, no sun, no nothing. Just blackness so deep you could feel it pressing on you, coming on so fast we barely had time to react.
“Leona,” the person holding my right hand said.
“Anton,” said someone further to my left.
“Good enough, that means everyone else has at least two people. Anyone have any ideas?” Royn asked.
“Gilmer, grab my waist,” Morgan said. I heard some type of movement, but little else. “Fire is no good – gives no light at all.”
“Energy either,” Euless says.
“And I can’t see anything with the Fire Eyes,” I said, shutting them down. “Whatever it is, it’s not natural – someone is toying with us. Is this another trap?”
The silence was answer enough. Of course it was. It was an awful lonely feeling standing in the complete darkness, holding two people’s hands, but not otherwise being able to sense them. Or anything else.
“Something touched my leg,” Josey says, a little panic in her voice. “Something slimy…”
“Oh God, me too,” Anton said from the back.
“Leona, move!” Royn shouted.
“Where? I can’t see!”
“No one can, and it doesn’t matter, just move! If we stay here we’re dead!”
“But what if I lead us –”
“Move!”
Her hand jerked mine, and I did the same to the next in line – Celeste, I thought – until we were all walking, a little awkwardly, but moving steadily. It could have been an hour, could have been ten minutes, I didn’t know. The damn dark just got you lost in time and space. It pressed on you like a blanket. It left you open like you were falling. Eyes open or closed, it was the same. People tripped at irregular intervals on the uneven ground as we wandered through the unknown.
After another immeasurable amount of time, there was a sniffle in front of me.
Leona.
I started to move my hand, and she grabbed it tighter, maybe afraid I was letting go as I heard a slight intake of air.
“Let me follow your arm,” I whispered, just loud enough where she and maybe Celeste could hear. Leona obliged, slowing slightly while I felt my way up her arm, then her shoulder, until my arm was around her shoulders, and we walked side by side. She shook like a leaf.
Bending down, I whispered in her ear. “What’s wrong?”
She managed to choke out a whisper, somehow holding back sobs. “I…don’t…know…what…I’m…doing. We could be going off a cliff, we could be walking into a pit, I…don’t…know!” She punctuated each word with a quick breath. She would hyperventilate if she kept this up. She was lost – she felt helpless. I could see why, but…
“Can you use your Guide power?”
“It…won’t…work. I’ve been trying and it –” She sniffled again.
I squeezed her and I suddenly remembered something. Last time I was very hungry, very tired, and not really knowing what was going on, I got some advice. And I found my heart.
“Leona,” I whispered, “you can do this.”
“No, I can’t.” She was almost bawling now, and I felt tears fall on my hand.
“Yes, you can. I know you can. I believe in you. You’re the strongest, kindest, most selfless person I know. You made the light shine in my darkness when the Morsenube tried to take over. This isn’t any harder than that. Follow your heart. And I’ll follow it as well. I’ll be right here. Nothing will happen to you. You can do this.”
She sniffled again. “H-How do you know?”
“Because,” I said, coming to a decision. “When I got my weapons, an angel told me to follow my heart, to let it be my guide when all was dark. And here we are. All is dark. And my heart is with you. I found it. So lead on.” I dropped back to hold her hand, waiting. I heard one more sniffle. Then a deep breath. Two more steps and my hand jerked to the left forcefully.
“What’s going –” someone started.
“Shhh,” Celeste and I both said at the same time.
My hand jerked to the right. Then back left then…up? OK. Up a steep incline, and then down again. Left again. Left again. Right. Leona was getting more confident.
“We’re getting close,” she whispered. “I think.” Up again, up more, then it leveled out.
“Get ready,” Leona said, and suddenly we were falling. Falling!
We landed in a heap of arms, legs, and weapons, on top of some spongy material, and light! And then cheers.
“Way to go Leona!”
“Great job!”
“How’d you do it?”
“I thought we were goners!”
“I had a little help along the way,” she said, and glanced at me before we all turned and continued on the now-lighted path. We were back heading in the right direction.
Celeste came up beside me. “What was that about?”
“What do you mean?”
“Those were some very direct words ya spoke there, lad. Did ya really know what ya were saying? Did ya mean it like it sounded? Did the guide really tell you that?”
“Yes, I meant every word I said,” I replied, now wondering what I said wrong. I didn’t think when I spoke before; I just said what was in my head. In my heart.
“Be careful where your words lead ya, lad. That had a profound effect on her. I could feel it. Something changed between ya two. Just make sure ya’re ready for it.”
With that, she left me to my own thoughts.
Chapter 54
After a long night where we all slept too much, we were back on the road again – Royn leading, Leona and I right behind – when we came upon the entrance to a canyon. Royn stopped so suddenly that we nearly ran into him.
“Royn –” Leona said.
“I know, but that’s the path! This was
n’t supposed to be here!”
“What’s up, why’d we stop?” Marlin said, as he was the last to come up to us. “Oh…never mind.”
Now when I say canyon, that really didn’t describe it. This was a dead place. Dead trees. Spines sticking out everywhere. Skeletons of poor creatures that ventured into the desolation and didn’t make it out again. Rotten flesh, sulfur, and gas filled our nostrils. To add to that, some eerie fog settled in the lower places.
“We can’t go in there,” Gilmer said. “It’s suicide!”
There was a roar from behind us.
“Crap. It’s made its move,” Royn said.
“What has?” everyone asked.
“We don’t know,” Leona and Royn said together, as the thing roared again behind us, closer this time. “But if we don’t go into the valley, it’s going to be on us.”
“Which I think is the point,” Josey said, still looking pale from her injuries, yet pulling her own and refusing help.
“What do we do?” Euless asked. “Fight or flee into that?”
It roared again, and we all moved. Flee it was.
Sound went away as soon as we stepped over the threshold of the canyon, and an eerie silence set in, pressing on my eardrums. Our feet crunched on the bones of what I assumed were once rodents, making an awful racket. But the sound didn’t carry.
“Guys, remember in the twenty-third Psalm where they talk about the valley of the shadow of death?” Troup said.
“Yeah?” Leona said.
“Well, I believe we’ve found it.”
Gulp.
“Weapons, I believe, would be advised,” Marlin said.
The sound of emerging weapons momentarily interrupted the crunch of feet on bones. That noise didn’t carry either. Easing forward, each step full of anticipation, each step closer to what had to be coming. Something was here. Something bad. And it was watching. Subconsciously, everyone drew in power, readying for the attack. Hairs on the back of my neck stood up, every nerve on fire.
Yet on we walked. Cautiously. Moving along at a snail’s pace, we finally made the middle of the dark valley.
“Something’s here,” Leona whispered, flashing her shield into existence, buzzing with energy. “It…they…are just ahead. Waiting.”
