Chronos and the Rogue Hunters

by Edward Eck

  “If we’d freed him, then why are we trying to find a new Gleipnir?” questioned Amber.

  “Why indeed?” Kallanir said, then left the room.

  “Well, that went better… and worse… than I had hoped.” Cyrus flopped down on a stone chair only to realize there was no cushioning. “I wasn’t sure what kind of welcome we would get, but no Gleipnir is going to be a problem. And who is this other sorceress?”

  “Don’t be so sure they can’t make another Gleipnir.” Meagan looked out a window toward the audience hall. “Dwarves have never been the most sharing of races. They probably just don’t want to give it to us. At least not without payment of some kind.”

  “For now we wait,” said Cyrus. “This other sorceress has me concerned, but there isn’t much we can do at the moment. We might as well use this time to report in. Meagan, will the mirror communication still work here?”

  “No. Mirror communication and transport only works within the same realm, though I should be able to use my mental link with Nick. But I’ll keep it to a minimum. I expect the dwarves will be listening in.”

  “Can they do that?” questioned Amber.

  “Not on my mental link, but I’m sure they’re listening in on this room somehow.”

  “You don’t trust them?” asked Cyrus.

  “I have my reasons.” Meagan crossed her arms in front of her and walked out onto a balcony to end the conversation.

  Cyrus furrowed his brow. “Then why did you suggest coming here?”

  Meagan sighed as she looked out over the dwarven city. “Lack of options.”

  22 Lost in the Woods

  Taryn lay shivering at the base of a tree in the woods. Her dreams were more nightmares as she woke in a cold sweat. Even awake, the nightmares were still running through her mind. Images of the Wendigo, the pain in her left shoulder from its bite, running through the woods and jumping off a cliff to a river far below… but that wasn’t the worst. She had caught glimpses of the Wendigo’s memories of hunting and killing its prey, of ripping the life out of many different people, but always the hunger, the hunger for the next kill.

  Taryn knew part of the curse was to always be starving. No matter how many people a Wendigo would kill, it was always hungry for the next one. Its hunger would never be sated, a hunger she was now beginning to feel. She tried to resist the urge, to pit her will against the hunger. She had no doubt Qaletaqa would seek to kill her, not because of his mistrust of her, but because she had been bitten. Qaletaqa could not allow the creation of another Wendigo and would be determined to kill her to prevent that from happening. Her only hope was that Alex, Radimir and Sheelin would come to her aid.

  She stood and shivered, her sensitivity to cold growing. There was that spell Alex had taught her for warmth, but she couldn’t think clearly enough anymore to remember it, let alone try casting it. She needed to keep moving and keep alert. Any sign of movement could mean a hunting party or the Wendigo or her friends. She needed to find them, but in the dark and cold of the night, she had gotten herself so turned around she had no idea where she was or where they might be in relation to her.

  Taryn vaguely remembered the river was to the west of the camp where they met Qaletaqa and Alex. She couldn’t hear the rushing water from her current location, but if she could find the river and then head east, she might have a chance. The problem was where to find the blasted river.

  Standing up was challenge enough, but walking was even more difficult and the hunger was growing. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was even paler than normal. She hadn’t gone more than twenty steps before she bent to vomit, then leaned against a tree to steady herself. Her head was swimming and the nausea was getting worse, but she was determined not to let the curse win. She had to find her friends and quickly. She just hoped she wasn’t in the mood for a meal when she found them.

  Looking skyward she spotted the moon above the tree tops. She remembered seeing the moon earlier at camp, but she didn’t know how long she had been out. Thinking was difficult and her memory was foggy. She wondered if this was how Max’s memory was all the time. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she tried to focus on the direction of the moon. Thinking it had been behind her as she dove into the river, she hoped moving toward the moon now would take her back.

  She didn’t know for sure, but she needed to pick a direction and get moving. The nausea welled up in her stomach again, but she fought hard to keep it down. She couldn’t afford to waste time stopping every few yards to vomit. Picking up a broken branch, she started using it as a walking stick to help stabilize her balance.

  After about an hour of stumbling through the woods, she heard the sounds of the river. The discovery quickened her pace, but nausea forced her to slow again. As she neared the edge of the river, she spotted three sets of footprints in the snow. The hunting parties were in groups of three… but so were her friends unless Alex had returned to hunting with Qaletaqa. She knew she needed help to cross the river. Scaling the cliff was not likely to happen in her current condition. Her best bet seemed to be following the tracks in the hope it was her friends.

  She knelt down next to the river and scooped a handful of water into her mouth, trying to relieve her hunger, but the water only served to make her thirstier. Leaning on the walking stick for support, she stood up in disgust that the curse was getting to her. She turned to find the tracks again but a sudden wave of dizziness came over her and she fell to the ground.

  A few seconds later, she sat up, again trying to focus on her breathing to steady her nerves. A long, low howl pierced the silence of the night, alerting her to the terrifying fact the Wendigo was near. If her hearing was worth trusting, the creature was on the same side of the river. Her time was running out. If the creature found her first, it would probably just kill her rather than wait for her transformation and have a second mouth to feed.

  Dizziness or not, nausea or not, she hoisted herself up and tossed her walking stick aside. At a brisk pace she followed the tracks. The sun was starting to rise and she needed to find her friends as quickly as possible. Tired and weak, she was determined not to become that which they were here hunting. She was going to find her friends, kill the Wendigo and return to being normal, she hoped.

  23 The Search for Taryn

  The next morning just outside of Manitoba, Alex, Radimir and Sheelin were on the trail of Taryn who had been bitten by the Wendigo and dragged off. She had apparently escaped the creature, but was also separated from the rest of the hunting parties—parties who were now hunting her too.

  Sheelin’s father, Qaletaqa, had already made his intentions known that he would not risk the creation of another Wendigo. If he had the chance to kill Taryn, Wendigo or not, he would kill her in order to stop the cycle. Their only chance to save Taryn was to destroy the Wendigo before she killed someone herself.

  Radimir took wolf form as he, Alex and Sheelin followed Taryn’s tracks. After a long journey, they found the spot where she had apparently collapsed for the night. They had gotten an early start to beat the other hunting parties and the Wendigo, but now they were tired and in need of a rest. No sooner did they make camp than they heard the cry of the Wendigo. And it was too close for comfort. Sheelin estimated it was only a mile or two away.

  Alex wondered if maybe it wasn’t the original Wendigo, but Taryn newly transformed. If so, they were headed right into danger. Deciding the creature was too close for safety, they chose to eat on the go and keep moving. No sense making themselves sitting ducks for a hungry Wendigo.

  “I’m sure that wasn’t Taryn,” said Sheelin to nobody in particular. “But if she did transform during the night and retained her fire elemental powers, she could be very dangerous.”

  “She’s strong,” replied Alex. “Stronger than any of us. If anyone can resist the curse of the Wendigo, it would be her.” Alex was trying to convince himself as much as the others.

  With danger so close, Radimir shape-shifted into a bear for added fighti
ng strength regardless of who they faced.

  “She’s heading back toward the river,” Sheelan said, pausing to examine the tracks. “But she’s moving slowly and having difficulties.” Sheelin stopped to examine a pile of stale vomit. “She’s also not feeling well. The curse must be getting to her.”

  Alex held up a hand without saying a word. The other two stopped in their tracks and waited to see what had caught his attention. Alex pointed off to the south. Sheelin and Radimir’s eyes followed.

  In the distance, he spotted another hunting party. They were too far away to tell who was in the party, but he was confident it was Sheelin’s father’s group. Only Qaletaqa would have pushed through the night in order to stop Taryn from becoming another Wendigo.

  Sheelin pointed to the tracks, then in the direction Taryn had gone—east, back to the river. With as little noise as possible, they continued to follow the trail. They had a head start, but it wouldn’t take Qaletaqa long to find Taryn’s tracks as well. They needed to move quickly, but silently.

  Sheelin looked skyward. “A storm system is moving in. If a new coat of snow falls, it will make following Taryn’s tracks that much more difficult and obscure visibility. Losing the trail would be bad enough, but with a Wendigo on the loose, it would be dangerous to continue the pursuit much longer.”

  Alex lowered a hand behind him and the snow moved in to cover both their tracks and Taryn’s in the hope of slowing Qaletaqa down a bit.

  In the distance, they could see a ridge line where they might find refuge. In less than an hour, it was as Sheelin had feared. The snow storm was intense. Alex had trouble keeping Radimir and Sheelin in sight. They barely made it to the ridge line in time to find a small outcrop of rock. It wasn’t as good as a cave, but it was the best they could do with such a storm.

  Sheelin started a fire and they huddled under the outcrop as best they could in the hope of waiting out the storm. Alex knew the Wendigo was a creature of cold, and weather like this would not hinder it in the least. He made sure someone was on guard at all times.

  They had been clustered under the rocky protection for less than an hour when Alex spotted a shape moving around in the distance. With poor visibility from the storm, he couldn’t make out who it was. He dared not call out for fear it may be the Wendigo, but it could also be Taryn or one of the others from a hunting party. However, anyone stuck in a blizzard like that wouldn’t last long without protection.

  At last, Alex made the decision to call out to the figure. Sheelin and Radimir prepared for a fight in the event it was not a friendly.

  Raising a burning log from the fire, he called out, “Hello! Over here!” He continued to wave the burning log for another moment, but the figure had disappeared into the storm. The three of them did not lower their guard, but kept still in anticipation of an attack.

  A moment later, three figures were seen making their way toward the firelight. It was Qaletaqa and the two new hunters in his party. He and his hunters looked more like walking snowmen. They dusted themselves off and settled around the fire to warm themselves.

  Sheelin said nothing to her father nor he to her. They were still at odds over how to deal with Taryn and neither was ready to give in. The storm forced them to share this refuge, but not a plan of attack.

  Alex and Radimir welcomed the others cheerfully, though Alex noticed Sheelin and Qaletaqa not saying a word to anyone or each other. He felt it best to leave them be for now. With this many people in the outcrop, it was unlikely the Wendigo would attack, but not impossible as demonstrated by the previous evening.

  After they all had a bite to eat and time to rest and warm up from the storm, Alex made his way over to Qaletaqa. “Your daughter is as stubborn as you.”

  Qaletaqa made no response, but looked over his shoulder to where Sheelin was sitting. “I’m proud of my daughter and angry with her at the same time. She is standing up for what she believes, but at the same time defying my authority. She takes after me a little too much, I’m afraid.”

  Alex could see he wanted to speak with his daughter, but something was preventing him from doing so. “We’re not going anywhere for a while. Go talk to her.”

  “I made excuses for not discussing the future with Sheelin, not finding out what she wanted to do with her life. I always assumed she would follow in my footsteps, but this interest with the battle of good and evil has made me see she is interested in bigger things.”

  Like Qaletaqa, Alex could sense Sheelin was leaving once the hunt was over. With or without Taryn, she was going to join the Circle against the dark sorcerers.

  “She’ll leave with you and Radimir when the hunt is over?” Qaletaqa said. It was both a question and a statement. Clearly he already knew the truth.

  “Yes. She knows she’s needed, and so am I.” Alex saw no reason to lie about their plans. The sooner Qaletaqa could accept the truth, the easier it would be for them both.

  “Have you found any tracks?” asked Qaletaqa.

  Alex hesitated in telling Qaletaqa about Taryn’s tracks heading back to the river. Yet he also knew Qaletaqa could tell if he were lying.

  “Any tracks that might have been out there are snow covered by now,” Alex said truthfully. “It’s hard to say where either of them may be at this point.”

  “Taryn will most likely head for familiar ground.”

  Alex could tell Qaletaqa was trying to reason out where to find their prey, both Taryn and the Wendigo.

  “The creature on the other hand will not be fazed by this storm. It’s still out there hunting for us.”

  “Qaletaqa, I know you consider Taryn a threat at this point,” Alex reasoned, “but the Wendigo is the greater threat. Let us find Taryn. We’ll keep her safe and secure until the Wendigo can be destroyed. Once the beast is gone, she’ll be free of the curse.”

  “And if she’s already turned?”

  “Then it should be her friends that destroy her.”

  Qaletaqa held his gaze for a moment. “Fine. We won’t hunt Taryn for now, only the creature. But if she does turn, she must be destroyed.”

  Alex let out a sigh of relief. “Agreed.”

  A few hours later, the storm subsided and the two groups prepared to exit in search of their targets. Before heading out, Qaletaqa approached Alex, Radimir and Sheelin.

  “My team will head further west. The Wendigo is most likely hunting us as much as we are hunting it. My guess is that Taryn is probably heading east, back to familiar territory.”

  “I agree,” said Sheelin with a furrowed brow. “Does this mean you’ve given up on finding Taryn?”

  “No. It just means that the Wendigo is the higher priority. If we can destroy it, we may be able to save Taryn. It’ll be up to you to find her and keep her from killing until we can find the creature.”

  The slightest smile cracked Sheelin’s face.

  Alex was happy to see Sheelin and her father being more reasonable after some time to think. He was just glad they were in agreement at least for now.

  Qaletaqa and Sheelin gave each other a hug then rejoined their respective groups to head out, this time now comfortable in the knowledge they were no longer competing to find the same person.

  24 The Impossible Items

  After checking in with Gollnick and Vincent back in Baltimore to learn about the dark sorcerer civil war, Cyrus, Amber and Meagan began to think their situation was a lot less stressful. They had been given quarters in the dwarf king’s palace and told to wait. What they weren’t told was how long.

  As Cyrus’ patience wore thin, Kallanir returned with news. “King Brodkir Stonefoot has decided that we are unable to aide you in making a new Gleipnir. Because Fenrir is on Midgard, he is no threat to the other eight realms. The Agardians are gone and we must look to protect ourselves from you and other sorcerers now that someone is indeed releasing creatures from their eternal prisons. I am sorry.”

  “Kallanir,” started Cyrus. “Your last name is Stonefoot just like the king, co
rrect?”

  “He is my father.”

  “Then you must speak to him,” pleaded Cyrus. “We are members of the New Circle on Earth. It’s our job to protect the prisons. We would never intentionally open them.”

  “Then I would say you are doing a poor job.”

  “Just like a dwarf to be narrow minded,” shot Meagan from the balcony door.

  Everyone turned in surprise. Cyrus had never seen her so mad. Meagan was always the calm one who never got excited about anything, but something about this place, or the dwarves in particular, had her fired up.

  “I can understand your frustration,” replied Kallanir. “I do not feel this is a wise decision, but Brodkir is my father and my king. I must do as he commands.”

  “You understand our frustration?” demanded Meagan, but Cyrus held a hand up to stop any more comments.

  “What about this sorceress Brodkir spoke of?” questioned Cyrus. “Where is she?”

  “The king has given her, and you, two choices. Return to Midgard or remain here as our guests for the remainder of your lives. You will be safe here from Fenrir and any other creatures released on Midgard. Alexis Malkin has decided to return to Midgard, but before she does, she has asked to know your decision. It seems she wants to learn if you will be causing any more trouble back on Midgard.”

  As Cyrus opened his mouth to respond, Amber interrupted. “We wish to return to Asgard. Though the Asgardians are gone, Odin still lives. If the dwarves will not help, then maybe he will.”

  “We know Odin of Asgard remains, but he is old and lacks the mental or physical capacity to aide anyone. You are not prisoners, you are free to go. Yet be warned… If you bring any harm to this or any of the other eight realms, you will have an army of dwarves to face. And I assure you we are not weak.”

  The three of them had gathered up their things to leave, when Cyrus turned back to face Kallanir. “You said Brodkir’s decision was unwise.”