“No, stops orb-controller!” pleaded Spike. “No other way for Henry-host. He know how to do what is how. Stop being so boss!” The strange metal creature stamped its front paws into the ground. “Help you we do, talk in host world, break rules.”
The orbs seemed startled. A strange look passed between them and the manifested Dhu. Henry ignored them. He had a job to do. It was obvious at this point that his orb was clueless and he was going to die if he just stood around with his thumb up his spiritual ass. What’s more, it sounded like Tony would also die after he did.
Henry would not allow that, not without a fight.
He warily took a half step to close a bit of the distance with the shadow creature while all the Dhu and orbs were giving each other cloak and dagger looks. The disturbing, unnatural thing was only a few paces away now. It looked vaguely humanoid, but was made of dripping tar, screaming faces, and bubbling darkness.
Henry gingerly reached out with his mind. The closer he stretched towards the shadow thing, the colder he felt inside. Then he made contact.
Darkness.
The world went sideways.
His soul was upside down.
Flash. His fingers clawed out his eyes, trailing viscera down his face.
Flash. He sat in a field with a headless rabbit on his lap.
Flash. He crawled into the open carcass of a large animal.
Flash. He floated in a vat of blood.
Flash. He swallowed glass.
Flash. He sat on a kitten, its bones breaking under his weight.
Henry pushed back hard. It felt like his soul was drowning in garbage quicksand. He was under attack, so he reacted how he always did while being attacked. He fought back.
Flash. He held a human heart in his hand, a chunk missing and a chunk in his mouth.
Henry rallied, defending and counter-attacking. He couldn’t think normally, but fought anyway, creating a return image of a childhood memory. He held a baby bird in his hand, a helpless animal that his elementary school class had saved and nursed back to health.
Flash. He existed in a world of pain, pulling ropy trails of intestines out of his own stomach.
Henry returned an image of himself holding his sister’s hand during the birth of his nephew, being there for her despite their mutual dislike of each other. She was family, and she had needed support. Her boyfriend had left her, but Henry refused to leave his sister to give birth all alone.
Flash. He threw an infant off the top of a tall building, watching it all the way down.
Henry was starting to get angry. He still couldn’t properly form thoughts, but he pushed back even harder with the sound of the first song he could actually remember his mother singing to him.
Flash. He was pouring acid on emaciated, naked people, their weak voices pleading with him, writhing in a pit before their mouths and eyes were filled with chemicals.
Henry was definitely angry now. His counterattack was the memory of his first kiss, exchanged behind the bleachers in high school with Darlene Fletcher.
The back and forth seemed to continue for eternity. Henry was bombarded with increasingly disturbing images, eventually including sounds, smells, and even other sensations. He fought back with increasingly important moments from his life, moments when he was happy to be alive or proud of he was, of who he’d become. He dredged up moments that made him Henry Sato and flung them at his adversary. The attacks strove to destroy him, so Henry kept rebuilding himself, strengthening himself through memories, weakening his attacker with love and honor.
He could feel that whatever it was, it was getting weaker.
Finally, Henry’s world of pain, torment, and exhaustion cleared. He was hovering in the sky with a confused looking Aodh, both orbs, and the two Dhu animals. The orbs were looking at him strangely, but the Dhu didn’t react at all other than Spike giving a doggy grin, tongue lolling out.
Henry’s orb cleared his throat, and said, “Alrighty, neighbor, you aren’t out of the woods yet, but you have a chance to live now. I’m surprised but very, very happy. Aodh will be safe now. However, we didn’t have many options of where to guide your bodies. Without the Dhu actively helping, you might have even ended up in an ocean. That would have been bad.”
The tall man with the tie and sweater vest waved, and their entire group began floating to the ground. Henry noticed that time seemed to be standing still, evidenced by a leaf on the wind hanging motionless in the air. It was just as well, because he spied a few monsters prowling around the forest they were now in. He knew he should have an opinion about everything that was going on, but he was just too exhausted.
He felt like he might have literally just gotten into a boxing match with hell. Either way, he wouldn’t do it again. Not for anyone or anything, at least not willingly. If he lived, his nightmares were going to have nightmares for the rest of his life. The things Henry had seen would make Freddy piss himself.
Mr. Neighborhood guided the entire group into a cave, the opening set into a cliff before a little clearing. At the rear of the cave, Henry noticed his body next to Tony’s lying on the ground. His body’s cheeks looked sunken, his skin an unhealthy pallor. Even in the frozen moment, he could tell that his physical body was sweating terribly, his eyes scrunched in unconscious pain.
Great, he thought. He forced himself to notice everything, forced himself to think.
“We cannot keep time frozen much longer,” said Mr. Neighborhood. “As it is, we are not actually doing anything other than allowing your consciousness to communicate with us between moments. However, if we maintain this any longer, your brains and spirits will break from the strain. You actually both should be dead many times over. I am not aware of anything like this ever happening before.”
The golden bird on Aodh’s shoulder somehow looked extremely smug.
“We will make a log,” Gellab said. “We must note all the circumstances. Henry’s extra, unassigned Dhu, you and I working together, the Dhu working together, the two men being sent to the Dhu World, the inclusion of death magic that was actually composed of malevolent Dhu, the fact your host is Terran…”
“Yes, of course,” responded Henry’s orb. “Henry, do you need anything else? I would prefer you continue not to die since my existence would end too, but based on the monsters we saw outside, our odds don’t look good. They might have smelled your physical bodies.
“You will not be able to protect yourself for quite a while. I do not know what will happen with you, your sickness, or the death Dhu that are still attacking you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not dead yet,” growled Henry. He snapped, “Tony! Stop gawking and look alive! You have a job to do, kid. I’m going to tell you exactly what to do right now before we get thrown back into our own bodies!”
Aodh nodded, wide-eyed and terrified. The boy obviously had no clue what was going on, but despite his obvious terror, his gaze met Henry’s and he listened intently. Tony’s a good kid, Henry thought with some pride. I hope we get out of this so I can tell him so in the flesh.
Defensive Posture
Aodh woke up with a start, panicking for a moment when his lungs seemed to have forgotten how to function. Eventually, he coughed and looked around himself in confusion, fumbling in the dim light. When his hand found the rough wall of the cave, everything came rushing back to him. The orbs, the Dhu, all of it was strange, terrifying, and wondrous. However, his memories of the time before he returned to his body, and Henry’s instructions sobered him immediately.
He had a job to do.
Aodh gulped and felt around in the dim light for Henry. When he found the man’s boot, he put his fingers on his bare ankle. Henry was way too warm, but he was alive. For now. The orbs and Dhu had made it clear that Henry might still die.
Either way, if Aodh didn’t protect their cave, they would both die. He’d seen all the monsters closing in outside. He didn’t have much time.
The former farm boy scurried to the mouth of the cave, followin
g Henry’s directions. As plans went, it wasn’t great, but Aodh agreed it was the best they had. At least, he couldn’t think of anything better. His breathing picked up as he exited the mouth of the cave. There was absolute silence in the woods; the pre-winter air nipped his cheeks as he completed his tasks.
He felt eyes on him, and shivered. He really didn’t have much time. He thought he saw movement in the trees and thought his eyes might be playing tricks on him. He didn’t want to imagine the monsters were already lurking, waiting to surge together in one giant feeding frenzy.
Unfortunately, that was probably exactly what was happening.
Aodh scurried back into the cave, not daring to waste time looking over his shoulder. His eyes had begun adjusting to the dim light, so he had a slightly easier time picking up rocks and stacking them in a pile about fifteen feet into the cave. He worked furiously, but still felt the seconds ticking by. He suddenly panicked as he realized he’d left his staff near Henry’s still body, but ruefully realized it wouldn’t help him much.
The monsters he and Henry had seen in the surrounding forest had been feline, lithe and deadly, sporting long claws, spikes along their spines, and lizard tails. Aodh had heard of them. Called Scaly Spiny Naked Tailed Fierce Cat Demons, or spiny cats for short, they were far more deadly than the horned demon wolves near Mirana.
Aodh gulped. He wasn’t sure he’d even be able to get a hit on one of the monsters, much less fight off a whole pack of them.
The young man got lucky. His impromptu wall was almost complete by the time the cave opening began to teem with stalking, stealthy monsters. Aodh suppressed a yelp and darted back into the rear of the cave, dragging Henry with him. He really wasn’t sure what would happen next, and he wanted to get himself and his employer as far away as possible.
After a few more moments, when Aodh thought the cautious monsters were a few feet further into the cave, Aodh held his pointer finger with one hand and concentrated. He used bloodfire magic to light a scrap of paper on top of the wall he’d built. The sudden flash of light in the dim cave made him gasp in fright; the monsters were already to the wall! He couldn’t count how many there were; they were so densely packed.
The felinoid creatures’ slitted eyes dilated and the monsters recoiled, pressing tightly together near the mouth of the cave. Aodh realized he wouldn’t get a better chance for the next phase of Henry’s crazy plan. He grasped his pointer finger again and concentrated. The bronze grenade he’d placed at the mouth of the cave detonated with a muffled whumpf, the shock wave washing against the bodies of the monsters clustered around it.
The spiny cats that weren’t immediately killed were slammed against the cave walls - some were even thrown against Aodh’s hastily constructed wall of rocks. Aodh quickly prepared himself to use one of the last two remaining grenades he’d had on him and managed to place, but what happened next was beyond any outcome he’d imagined.
The teen gulped and watched in sick fascination as the closest monster, sprawled over the rock wall, glaring at him over its twisted, broken front leg. The creature hissed and showed its fangs as it began moving forward, dripping blood from multiple places. Aodh began the mental trigger for the next grenade, but halted when the monster’s eyes flew open in shock, howling in fear and rage.
Aodh eyes tracked up and saw another monster on top of the injured spiny cat, its claws and jaws ripping into the injured creature. He watched in sick fascination as the entire cave entrance turned into a massive melee of flashing fangs and claws. The tiny bloodfire flame at the top of the impromptu wall provided just enough illumination to see a handful of uninjured creatures overcome their damaged brethren before dragging them out of the cave.
Some of the feasting began before the weakened monsters were dead. Aodh felt sick and wanted to turn away. The sounds were horrible, but he stayed resolute and watched. He wasn’t brave, but he knew what it looked like. The young man tried to image what Henry or Jason would do. He wasn’t brave, but maybe he could pretend he was enough to save his life and Henry’s.
Eventually, the last of the monsters and broken bodies were out of the cave. The sounds coming from outside were truly horrible. Aodh hoped the grenade had done its job and the creatures would think twice about coming inside the cave again.
He carefully watched the entrance of the cave, but given some respite, he began to fish around in his little pack. He had some extra bloodfire papers – the sort he usually kept in a pocket - some basic adventuring gear, the new gear he’d gotten in Pilk before the huge battle with the undead monsters, a fire making tool and a light tool. The magic torch ran on magic stones and he couldn’t waste it.
Aodh checked what other gear he had that might help, and hissed in frustration. He had had plenty of useful items in his real pack, but that was back in the Battlewagon. All he had left in his little satchel was an extra shirt and some rags. He also had his staff that he’d retrieved, and of course the dagger he’d found.
Thinking of the dagger, he drew it from the sheath at the rear of his belt and examined it in the dim light. He’d always wondered about finding it, and his orb telling him that she’d made it possible for him to find the blade rung true. Aodh’s cheeks colored as he remembered the beautiful woman’s skimpy outfit and he shook his head to dispel Henry’s amusement. He had more pressing things to worry about.
The young man re-sheathed his dagger and stared once more at the mouth of the cave. He’d already placed a number of bloodfire papers around his little wall, and he would be able to light them one at a time, barely casting enough light to see by.
Sitting on a handy, natural rock shelf in the cave, Aodh leaned on his staff and settled in to watch over the feverish Henry. The teen knew he was no hero, but he would guard his injured friend and sell his life dearly if it came to it. He refused to let down the quirky man who’d been the first to really believe in him other than the late Henry...even if the powerful ‘Bonded did call him, ‘Tony’.
Tony. Aodh really didn’t like that name.
***
Aodh wasn’t sure how much time had passed. The horrible noises and the snarling the followed from outside the cave had stopped long ago. He was pretty sure almost a day had passed, but he was so tired he wasn’t entirely sure. He vaguely remembered that he hadn’t had to light any blood fire paper when it had gotten brighter outside at one point, which had been lucky.
He was running out of light.
His last option would be using the magic light torch he had in his pack, but he really didn’t want to waste power. The tool’s magic stone wouldn’t last forever, and Aodh didn’t have any extras.
As he watched, despite his sleep-addled brain, he began to feel hunted. He tried to remember what he’d heard of spiny cat monsters. They were vicious, vindictive, smart, and patient. With a sinking feeling, Aodh realized the remaining, living monsters were probably wary of his tricks and were waiting him out.
He and Henry both had water bottles, but only Henry’s had anything in it, and Aodh had been dribbling water into the other man’s mouth. The unconscious man felt like he was burning up, and strange tendrils, lines of darkness, extended from his throat. They were spreading.
Aodh tried desperately to decide what to do. He needed some sort of security so he could focus on Henry. He needed some water too, but there was no way he could leave the dubious protection of the cave. Most of all, he needed to act on the next phase of Henry’s plan. He needed to eliminate more of the spiny cat monsters.
The young man did his best to consider his next course of action. It wasn’t easy to think straight. He was tired, so very, very tired. Aodh glanced around the cave that had become both his refuge and his prison once more.
Night had fallen outside the cave, and his eyes had adjusted to the deeper shadows some time ago. He knew every rock, every crevice between himself and the mouth of the cave at this point. He knew the cave extended behind him, but he didn’t dare explore. The spiny cats could take advantage of h
is distraction. He had no doubt they were watching him.
Aodh just had to hope that nothing nasty lived deeper in the cave, or at least nothing that was curious enough to pay them a visit.
Either way, he had to deal with more of the spiny cats before he blew the entrance of the cave. That had been the last step of Henry’s plan. However, Aodh agreed that he had to eliminate more of the beasts before he did that or they would just dig them out.
He sat and pondered the problem until finally, his sleep-deprived brain happened upon a plan. He was so used to thinking he wasn’t a real orb-Bonded that he had partially forgotten his strange, dream-like journey among the orb controllers and Dhu with Henry. Now Aodh knew for sure he was ‘Bonded, and he knew what he could do.
The young man slowly stood, his mind made up on his next course of action. He knew he should be terrified but he was just too tired. His plan relied heavily on the use of his newfound power and he hoped it would work.
Slowly at first, but quickly gathering speed and volume, Aodh beat on the wall of the cave with his staff and began screaming. At first, he shouted nonsense, but his frustration and fatigue began adding words to his noise. “Come eat me!” he shouted. “I’m here, you stupid monsters! I’m a new adventurer! What are you afraid of? Cowardly cats!”
At first, nothing happened. Aodh grew more frustrated and just shouted louder. He also began wishing that all his commotion would anger the monsters outside the cave. As he pushed effort into hoping, he began to feel a curious sensation he’d never noticed before, almost like a pulling…tension straight into the sky, like some of his weight was being lifted. The sensation was unlike anything he’d ever felt before.
A few moments later, he could only conclude that his power had worked as several lean, feline shapes charged into the cave, teeth bared and eyes wide.
The monsters were fast.
Aodh screamed and dove to the ground, triggering his second to last grenade. The weapon had been buried towards the top of the rock wall he’d assembled, and the explosion threw jagged bits of stone everywhere. The monsters nearest the explosion were riddled with wounds and crumpled to a heap. The lit bloodfire paper’s light was snuffed out by the violence of the grenade’s reaction. Aodh felt the ground begin to tremble before he felt a sharp pain above his eye. His face met the ground and the world went dark.
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