by Shane Cogan
The Nasp is not moving. She crawled out of the boat and tried to stand on the small ledge next to the boat. With the light pointing at the Nasp on the floor, her head collided with the roof. She bent over to get closer to where the light was shining. She shone the light on the Nasp and prodded the small creature with her fingers. His small paws and four legs were still. Yet, his eyes still open and pointed at the entrance in front of him. She looked more closely at his bodily hair. Scorched or burnt by something. The front half of him. How, my little friend? She held a finger under on his neck. A slight beat. She rubbed his head and along his marked back with her hand. The creature gave off a slow low moan. Kassobra shone the light on the wall in front of where the Nasp lay. That is no wall. It must be the meeting point. She shone the light as it illuminated the entire area and stumbled towards the wall. The entrance is small, but there was a light on the other side. Faint. Is that where we are to meet? Kassobra held the side wall, bending down; she shuffled her weight towards the light. She could make out a faint light around the entrance with sparkles of yellow and white. They are breathing in beats. One, two, three, four. Pause. One, two, three, four. Looking around, she shone the light back towards the boat and the Nasp. She saw a trail of liquid on the path. Now I really need his guide. What do I do? Thinking about Samarth, she recalled his last words in the singing forest. I have no choice. She stepped through the entrance, its dark light engulfing her. The light fell from her hand. Kassobra felt her body shake violently, throwing her around and forward. ‘I can’t feel my body. That image. Her eyes, her face. Her entire body!’ she screamed.
C H A P T E R 59
Crystals
Aluum swam towards the structure. The water around her was murky and grey. Like the planet. Deeper and deeper she swam. Is that the light crystal coloured rock? Her strokes were smooth and in tune with her breath. Her mind focused on the task ahead. The objectives were clear. They had given me the instructions, and now I have to carry them out. I am close now to the rock that they had shown her. Her breath was becoming deeper and her heart beat faster. She continued to count since she first plunged into the water from above. The kingfisher had tried to join her and dived, but she had had lost sight of him. He had returned to the surface I am sure, but was that our final eye contact? And under the water? Aluum touched the surface of the crystal rocks. Her heart gaining in beats, she looked around. The visibility is poor, but that looks like steps. She gripped one and pulled herself around. They had said it was close to the natural step’s formation. This has to be it. My chest hurts. Focus on your internal breath.
She reached around for her bag and checked if it was still there. Its edges pricked her fingers. Aluum left it there. She tried a swing manoeuvre and pulled herself around with her two legs. Using her feet, she held onto the rock. Her feet nestled around on its surface above. Its holding me. Smooth on the feet. She watched her hands and arms dangle in front of her. Her heartbeat was one long beat. Hold your breath. Just need the current to slow a little. She rotated her body and grabbed the same stone with support from her feet. Now she could see the entrance. The current was bubbling fast. Air was coming from it. I can’t breathe. I need air. Slightly bent, Aluum pushed back with her knees and with one heave, pushed herself up, letting her feet let go. Push into the current. I might only get one attempt.
She forced herself at the strong current and could just about make out the small entrance. She flung her hands wildly at anything to grab. Her hand held something hard, but it came off as she held on tighter. Aluum went backwards. I am being swept back up by the current. It’s warmer. Her face turning red. She buckled her head sideways. Hold the breath. Close. One, two, three, four. Pause. She flew her right hand around at a faint glimpse of something darker in the water. Her weight stabilised. She grabbed the rock with her other hand and pulled herself up, feeling for each stone as she entered the current. One, two, three, four, pause. Pull. Her face, neck, chest, stomach and then legs and finally her feet went through. How much longer can I hold my breath? Something is keeping my energy strong. She squinted and saw a new shape in the water through the bubbles. Aluum, gripping the side, reached into her bag and grabbed the item. Her fingers fumbled as it slid from her hand and caught it, her mouth slightly opening to inhale the water. She swam towards the gap. It’s so faint and narrow.
This had to be it. I need to find the small hole. Aluum used her hands to feel around its surface. That feels like metal. The current is easing. Focus! She closed her eyes and kicked her feet and arms. I need help, she thought. She felt its edges and guessed it was a small square of sorts. She pulled her left hand to the centre. The outline. She felt it. Ever so small, but it has to be the entry point. No choice, go with your instinct. Aluum pushed two fingers through the hole to feel it. It fits. She could feel a headache kicking into her head and her chest heaving and her lungs pushing towards her head. Now or never. She jammed the item into the small hole. Nothing. She moved it around. Again, using her thumb and finger. Slowly she positioned and moved it around until she felt it slide into place. The bone was in. She pushed on the bone with her thumb and instantly she was sucked through the hole, with the water being sucked back out. It feels dry, yet dark. Can I breathe? She opened her mouth, tasted the odour. Her body split in two, her body heaved over and with her organs prepared to control and take in the air. Her head started to spin and body shook violently. All Aluum could see was darkness as she spun around and around.
******
Wormblack hated the smell. Even my own bad odour is now mixing with the smell in the air. I hate the dark. I hate the water. And I hate small spaces. ‘All my worst fears and phobias are being thrown at me all at once. And I hate my sister even more for making me do all this,’ he mumbled. He hit the water and wall simultaneously. Wormblack took a deep breath and rested. He shone the light ahead. ‘Darkness and more darkness and even more small spaces,’ he said out loud. ‘I’ve been splashing around in the dark for days. Maybe its hours?’ he muttered. Thankfully, there was only one tunnel and one direction, so keep going. Even you cannot get lost. If the small dwarf was right, the secret waterway was the fastest way to Glow Mountain. He felt no one else had used this passageway for a very long time. It smells of decay and moss. From his light, he could see that only slimy moss and foul insects lived down here. Even if I get to the damn mountain, I won’t be able to reach Zirva. But time was running out.
That next impossible task, I will work out if and when I get there. His light shone again and he thought he saw a wall at the end of the tunnel. ‘Could that be the end?’ he said, his tone rising. He scrambled around for the oar. Missing the side of the boat, he hit it and heard the splash. Shining the light, he saw it floating beside the small boat. He reached into the water, but he pulled his hand back fast. ‘What was that creature?’ he screamed out. There was another. He shouted out some random words and reached in again. Splashing his hand about, he felt its wooden outline and pulled it back up. He paddled faster. I need to get out of this tunnel and out of this foul place. He turned the light off and paddled the boat slower. The final wall. The nose of the boat hit something and made a rattling sound. He plunged the oar into the water and pushed. Again, the same noise and a rattle. He pulled the oar up and slung into the boat. He moved his frame around the boat and shuffled to the front. Wormblack shone the light on what he had hit. He could make out a shape. What can that be? Someone or something? The dwarf was misinformed. He climbed out of his boat and crossed into the other one. He checked it with the light. Nothing. No clues to who is here. He jumped from the other boat and landed on the small ledge and looked for what he had been told was stairs. The light found the first step. He removed his boots and tied them around his shoulder. Best barefoot. But who is here? He shone the light around quickly, his mind not focused on anything to look out for, but the steps. He chose the steps and climbed up as the light instrument shone from side to side, covering his hand.
C H A P T E R 60
&n
bsp; ATIS
Her words were ringing in his ears. He felt a sharp bite and teeth being sunk into him. He was too late. He swung his arm with the blade around. Tiuus missed the creature’s neck, as it skimmed its hairs, his mind now fully awake and no longer dreaming. He shook his head and held his side. This was real. I am under attack again. The creature was standing looking at him. Salvia and blood dripping from his mouth. My blood. Drooling in drops from the creature’s mouth as it crept forward again, licking its lips, its teeth on full display. Tiuus could see its skin was a familiar texture. Clear, silver and bristling. Ice. It was bigger than the previous ones. It was must have tracked me from the camp. The alpha male leaped at Tiuus again, but he stepped back as the knife hit its target, but only glanced at the creature’s neck. He grabbed the animal by the neck and pulled it to the ground. Its body mass covering him as they rolled. He felt the ice skin touch his own and his body shook. Only one chance left, as the creature would not rest a second time. Now.
The animal’s face was a head’s width from his own. Its crystal blue eyes focused on the Manith man. Tiuus snapped its neck and plunged the knife into its heart, its final noise a whimper. It collapsed to the ground and he watched as the creature melted into the ground. Only its eyes the final piece still looking at him. Its blue now gone and turning into mud. The evil woman must be close. He grabbed his bag and put his boots on and leapt onto the path. Daylight was beginning to fade around him. I overslept. He ran from the attack and back on to the path, his pace and breathing moving to the noise of his steps.
Tiuus leapt onto the next stone as the summit came into closer view. His ears told him there was total silence around him. His eyes told him that darkness was close. The woman on the top of the summit is waiting for me. I know it. Am I prepared. Is the planet ready? His legs and knees wobbled as his pace slowed and the steps inclined sharply. Loose stones ran under his feet. The path became narrower and less visible. It has not been used for a long time. No animal or Atisian has tracked this part of the final path before. His mind mulled over the imminent plans. My whole journey on this mountain is geared towards finding a solution to the planet’s problems. He remembered Fareth’s final words and his conversation with him. Despite his initial scepticism, he had been convinced. He had told the Manith man that he alone had to solve the problem that was erupted on the planet. Its first crime in 300 years, the return of evil. The angry majority. The strange underworld creatures that were everywhere. Dark energy forces. They all pointed to one person. At the summit, at the top of the world. The highest point on our planet, or what was left of it. Maybe they are all dead below? And now I am here on it - at the top. But something was not right. If this evil darkness at the summit were so powerful…why am I being allowed to reach it, and so easily? That last battle was nothing!!
He looked up and thought he heard a bird screech. Impossible. No such creature could live or fly at such a high altitude. His breath quickened, his legs stiffer and his feet slower. His chest and organs remained firm. The Naiads’ energy, the bees nectar and their lung capacity is in me. I feel the queen of the water now in my veins and with each breath, Lemuria is in me. I feel her strong energy all around me and another strong presence. The same woman from the recurring dream.
He pulled his robe on tighter. It material sunk into his skin. He sensed the light fading fast, its nightfall icy and the wind beginning to bite. He pulled his robe closer and pulled its hood over his head. With the dark all around him and his frame, his eyes the only visible part of his frame. He rounded the top of the last peak and slowed his pace. He slid behind a large tree for cover. Tiuus lay on his stomach and shuffled his way to a clear area. He could just about make out a structure of a small house. It was dark. There were no lights. Nothing. I have to wait until it was totally dark, to see the occupants. He began to sit up and wipe the loose mud from his robe. He turned to face what he thought was an empty space and did not see the blow to his head. He caught a glimpse of the holder of the blow, half woman and half beast, as she slammed the metal object into his head. He heard her low moan: ‘Finally,’ she said.
******
Kassobra’s head was spinning. She looked around to see where she had landed. She remembered the spinning and her body being thrown around in a smaller tunnel that she had travelled on in the boat. She looked for a light to see where she was. There was nothing in her hand anymore. She could hear a strange hissing noise from somewhere around. Her breathing was low and heavy. The darkness prevented me from seeing its source. A light flicked on. She could make out its dim yellowness covering part of the area. Kassobra could make out its circular shape from the light. There was something dark and straight in the centre of the room. But I am not alone. There is another shape. A female. Naked. She was a few steps from the figure, the flickering yellow light catching her light brown skin, her golden hair flowing down her body. Kassobra felt she was in a trance. She tried to speak, but no words came out. ‘You do not have to fear me?’ the woman said. She was standing over the centre piece of the room.
Kassobra walked slowly, each step a few seconds before the next. Her mind calm and focused on the woman. ‘Here. Place your hands here, at its centre. Don’t be afraid. We do not have much time,’ she said looking at Kassobra. ‘What is this time and where am I?’ Kassobra asked the woman. ‘Irrelevant questions. Time is no longer relevant,’ she said. The woman took Kassobra’s hands and placed them on hers and then on the stone. Kassobra could feel its smooth surface. Polished and dark. She could make out that its shape was straight, until it morphed into a fork, with two ends pointing east and west.
Despite the questions, the strange circular room and the woman’s sudden presence, I feel calm. She allowed the woman to run her hands over the stone structure and her hands. They feel oddly warm. ‘First, you must stop your colleague. Wormblack is here to help his sister. He must be stopped!’ the woman said. Kassobra drew her hands back. ‘Wormblack. What is that creature doing here? I knew it. Who are you? What is this place?’ she blurted out. ‘Close your eyes and follow his steps and make him stop. Use your Shamanic blood. Trust me. The blood of your fathers and the future,’ the woman said. Kassobra eyed the woman. Do I know her? I somehow trust her. What is this place? She slowly placed her hands back on the woman’s again. Her hands are getting warmer. Kassobra interweaved her fingers into hers like a chain on the forked stone. She closed her eyes and saw Wormblack instantly, her thoughts on him and not on anyone in the room. Stopping him would be easy. Don’t let your personal feelings get in the way. Kassobra saw him climbing the stone stairway. His light flickering as each step was smaller and smaller. Focus on his feet and the jagged steps. His soles slipped, catching his ankle. She saw him fall and could hear his screams as he fell backwards and down the stairwell. She felt the woman’s touch on her hand and heard her soft words. ‘Come out of it. Return to me,’ the woman said.
‘Tiuus is in trouble. We need to stop Zirva. The planet is in trouble and will be destroyed,’ the woman was saying to Kassobra as she came out her trance. ‘Who is Tiuus and who is Zirva?’ Kassobra asked. ‘And who are you?’ she asked as she pulled her hands back and away from the stone and the woman. She walked back to the wall, noting its circular shape. She looked for a door to get out. I’m trapped in a circle. ‘Atis will be destroyed by the creature known as the Balor. You know this. You have felt his presence, long before you arrived here. Zirva is merely his vessel. She is unimportant,’ the woman said and glided above the surface. She is not real. This is not real. But she is similar to me.
‘You, Tiuus and I are linked. We are the only ones that can stop her,’ the woman said, her hair now no longer flowing as she moved away from the centre stone in the room. Kassobra held her hands to her face and curled them and massaged her forehead. I know what she means. My Shamanic sixth sense and dreams have all been true. Each one. And each time clearer then the last, but not this, whatever this is!! ‘We don’t have much time. We need to hurry. Tiuus, the Manith
man, is with her,’ the woman said. She walked back to the stone centre. Kassobra followed the woman and scanned her exposed skin. She noticed the lines on her face for the first time and the wrinkles on her skin under the yellow light. Its light reflecting the skin’s tone and texture. She moved her hands back to the same place and closed her eyes. ‘We are somehow trapped in this timeline and in this place. My dreams have led me here and your powers have led you here,’ the woman said.
******
Tiuus tried to open his eyes but all he saw was darkness. He felt something covering his face. He remembered the blow to his head and the creature’s face. He shook at its image and tried to move his body. He felt the ropes cutting into the skin on his hands and his feet. He heard a shuffle as the mask came off with a clean move. The half creature and half woman was staring into him. He glanced to his side to see the moving shadows. Strange looking birds were screaming and jumping. A small fire was the only light he could see. The half woman limped over him. He could smell her breath over him. She moved her face closer to him. He tried to scream and move his arms. I cannot move my tongue. What foul creature are you? Its eyes no longer on her face. If she is a she! Its skin morphing between black and white. Lumps under the skin and breathing. Some breaking out and new skin emerging. She has no eyes, yet she moves around me. He moved his eyes away from the shadow over him.
