Game of Survival

by T R Tells

  Clovis nodded with his brows knitted together seriously.

  “Who knows what her path would have been if you saved her. It might have been worse, and I might have never got to see my baby sister. As long as I know that she’s alive, that she has survived, that’s all that matters to me.”

  Clovis looked at her for a moment. He slowly nodded, understanding what she was saying, and seeing how Thea was so much like Dominya in many ways. Even though she had been scared, there was a toughness that he saw in her and now . . . he could see where she got it from.

  “Then, let’s get our loved ones back.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  “Operation Black Snow is a go,” Ezekiel whispered in a joking tone as the old harbor boat carried a small party of those born of magic or close enough to be able to pass through the barrier undetected. The group was Ezekiel, Dominya, Eileen, Lucinda, and Clovis. They’d left the ship just a bit past midnight when the moon waned full. They sat in the boat as it moved through the dark ocean water, shifting and rocking from side to side as it floated along the slightly choppy waters.

  A thick cloud of gray mist started to trail over toward them as it hovered above the water—letting the group know that something was amiss.

  “We’re coming up on the island now, Captain,” Lucinda reported to Clovis, who was looking far out with her expansive vision.

  “Good. Dominya see if you can get in contact with Ansem and Kii now.”

  Dominya nodded, pushing down the sea sickness that the choppy waters had brought on and took a deep breath. It didn’t take long for her eyes to glow amber and in the dark, they looked like a cat’s yellow eyes to the crew.

  We are here.

  It didn’t take long for Kii to respond.

  “We’ll open the barrier for a brief moment, hurry.”

  Dominya returned to the world of the living, nodding to Ezekiel to make them go faster, as Lucinda sped up her rowing.

  For a moment, Dominya looked up and saw a translucent barrier brighten in dim light, like a mirror. Their little boat quietly slipped through the gate and Dominya felt it close behind them.

  When Dominya turned her attention back to the island, her mind’s eye did not perceive the island as it once had. Even from Clovis’ demon eyes, he could honestly see what the Bastion of Amac had been trying to hide. It wasn’t a lush paradise—it was nothing but a dead zone.

  “By the gods,” Ezekiel breathed, looking in awe at the dead trees that scattered around the hills. Even from this distance, they could see the crumbled top of a tower.

  “The rumors were true after all,” Lucinda mumbled.

  Despite Dominya and Clovis not breathing a word, they both had the same thought. They needed to hurry.

  ***

  As the group approached the town, it was immediately evident that something was wrong. The town should have been populated and full of life with an orange light of fire from a hearth had; instead, a continuous blanket of silence. The only light that cast around the town was the bright light of the full moon.

  Dominya walked along the cracked and dry ground that bared no life but a short scrubby yellow grass that seemed to be dying from lack of sunlight. The rows of homes that had appeared to be beautiful and full last time Dominya was here were broken and torn apart as if a vicious storm had ravaged the area. Between the decaying dwellings that had lost more paint than they have kept, the style of the buildings suggested that the town dated back over two centuries. The windows had shattered long ago, as the structures themselves withered away. She saw rotting boards, some broken, others hanging as if they were trying to cover the empty eyes of every abandoned home. The doors hung on the few remaining threads of their hinges and groaned with pain at every sway, making the “town” even more haunting. Weeds and moss covered every surface which had long become a permanent part of the ancient homes.

  “What happened to this place?” Dominya breathed out. She couldn’t help but feel her throat tighten and her eyes burn as she walked along the narrow streets where she was sure parents and their children used to walk and play. The Bastion of Amac had honestly forgotten by history.

  “T-There’s absolutely no one here,” Eileen stuttered. She was hidden in Dominya’s hair, sitting on her shoulder. “It’s like there’s no life here at all.”

  “Thhis place has less charm than a graveyard,” Ezekiel said in intense sadness. He was kicking a stone that rolled haphazardly off to the side. “And at least those are built out of sentimentality and love.”

  “It seems like this place used to be beautiful at one point but was just abandoned.” Lucinda pointed out. She had her hand on her sword hilt, surveying the scene for any danger lurking in the eerie gloom.

  “Let us not get distracted. I can see the monastery up ahead,” Clovis said and jutted his chin toward the tall, broken tower. “Are you still fit to go, Dominya?”

  Dominya looked up at the tower and licked her lips. She wasn’t afraid of much, not when it was her sister involved.

  “I am.”

  There was a brief pause in Dominya’s step, and a flash of a vision passed through her mind’s eye. It was short but she saw the group being dragged into the ground by gangly, shredded skin that popped up from the ground.

  “Clovis, the ground!” Dominya shouted. The words left her lips the moment Clovis stepped onto the ground. He turned just as a hand shot up from the ground.

  Clovis’ eyes widened as he cursed. “Shit!”

  He removed his sword from his back and slammed it into the ground where the earth shattered, and bits of cracked earth jumped in the air.

  This alerted the rest.

  The ground shook briefly before coming to an abrupt stop — the group didn’t move a muscle.

  “Something doesn’t feel right, Captain,” Lucinda whispered. She was the closest to Clovis with her back to his.

  Ezekiel was the farthest in the back, his ax in his quick hands. Dominya stood in the middle, her heart pounding vigorously in her chest so loud that she could hear the blood pumping in her ears.

  “Dominya, don’t move. Ezekiel will get to you when he—”

  The ouroboros mark on the back of Clovis’ neck tingled, and he turned to face Dominya. As if in slow motion he could see the rotten arm of the undead breaching the ground and grabbing Dominya’s arm.

  Dominya was unable to let out a cry for help as she felt the cold, damp hands of the dead gripping her.

  “Dominya!” She heard Clovis yell and made the mistake of looking down where she was being pulled to, taking in the rotten flesh of the emerging undead as its cold hands gripped onto her leg.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw shining silver and saw Clovis’ raging red eyes as he brought his sword down on the undead’s arm.

  “Shit, it’s a trap!” Ezekiel shouted as he sliced off an undead’s head that had crawled up from the ground. A hand reached out to grab his ankle but was shot by a flaming arrow. “Damn it, Lucinda that was almost my foot you took off!”

  “You’re welcome,” Lucinda said, placing her bow back into its sheath and aiming her sword at the chest of undead coming for her. “Captain, there’s more coming. It seems like they were expecting us, or the magic was far too strong for her gods.”

  From a dark cloud in the distance, it looked as if a hoard of bulls were charging toward them.

  Clovis swore. “Eileen, get Dominya to the monastery!”

  “Right!” Eileen shouted, removing herself from Dominya’s hair.

  “Dominya, you—”

  “I can handle myself,” Dominya cut him off. Her eyes were blazing a bright amber and her fists encased in bright white light. Clovis, seeing that she was more than capable, nodded and turned to slice off the head of another zombie heading toward him.

  “Eileen, I’ll shield us as much as I can. You just cast your magic at any undead to make this process quicker,” Dominya instructed the Fae.

  Like the barrier they had seen earlier, the clear li
ght circled Dominya. An electrical current passed through her system just as the force field began to mold a thick layer around her body, projecting out a bubble of protection around her and Eileen.

  Through the oncoming hordes of the undead, Dominya tried to not look at the deceased faces and focused on her objective ahead: her sister.

  ***

  The sounds of Kingsland Guards made Thea sit up. She ran over to the side of the prison door, just as she heard someone shouting, “Intruders on the island, kill them at once!” Thea’s heart leaped with joy. Ansem and Kii had said they had found help and she should be ready when they gave her the signal. She assumed the shouting of the Kingsland Guards was perfect to start her plan.

  She grabbed a rock that she had been sharpening against the shackles that were around her ankles and walked over to the prison doors. She looked left and right, just as she heard footsteps coming her way.

  “Thea, what are you doing?” Hati asked her. She was still oblivious, thanks to the spell that trapped her mind.

  “I’m saving our lives, that’s what.”

  “What? Thea, what are you talking about, if there is someone dangerous out there we have to stay in our rooms!”

  Ansem, Kii, now would be a good time to break their memories free.

  “Kingsland Guards, help! The intruder is in here!” Thea pleaded, making her voice sound pathetic and terrified. It worked and the guard stopped right in front of the door, Thea could hear the keys jingling in his hand, and the sound of the creaking door open.

  Thea moved back just a little behind the door as the guard stepped inside the cell. Thea took one leap, her shackles dangling behind her and she wrapped her arms around the guard’s neck. The guard struggled as he tried to peel her arms from his neck, but Thea held fast. Unfortunately for him, Hel had taught Thea much in this area with much bigger men than him. Briefly, her vision flickered, and she saw her arms covered in blood before her vision returned to normal.

  He ran back into the wall, hoping to knock Thea off. The breath knocked out of Thea, but that didn’t make her let go. She managed to reach the hand that held the sharpened rock and forcefully dug it into the man’s neck. Having done so many times, the man instantly stilled, gurgled, and loosened his grip.

  Thea dropped the body the serrated rock. She sucked a breath and bent down to grab the guard’s keys.

  “It is done, their memories should be back.”

  “What’s going on?” Hati cried out. She was over in a corner, grabbing the side of her head. “W-Why am I in chains?”

  There was the movement of chains in another corner and Thea saw Audalai standing up. “Thea, what just happened?”

  Before she could respond, Thea saw a faint trail of blue dust from the corner of her eye.

  “Woah, what the hell happened here?”

  “Eileen!” Audalai exclaimed with happiness. She went over to the blue haired Fae with a smile on her lips. “If you’re here then that means—”

  “Yep! Clovis is here, but he’s fighting off a horde of undead. I came to make sure you guys get out safely.”

  Thea nodded, thinking that was who Ansem and Kii had sent to save them. She quickly unlocked the shackles from their legs then ran outside of the cell to open the other cell doors where the other women prisoners were. Thea quickly unlocked their shackles from their legs.

  “Everyone who can walk, help others who can’t!” Thea called out to the prisoners, who weakly stood on their feet trying to regain their balance.

  “Where do we go from here, Eileen?” Thea asked when she stepped out from one of the cells doors. “Who knows how long before Nobius or Nathan reaches us.”

  The rest of the women stepped out of their cells one by one.

  “Follow me!”

  ***

  The women ran down the stairs of the monastery steps with Thea in the front and Hati at the end. “The gate is this way!” Eileen shouted.

  Before they could leave any further, a figure stepped out of the shadows.

  “Now, where could my fiancé be going? The wedding isn’t for a few more months. We have lots to plan.” The smile upon his face was not one she had seen before, but then again, everything she had shown was an absolute lie.

  “Nathan, don’t make me kill you.”

  Nathan chuckled, but it quickly began to grow high pitched less mundane and more animal.

  “Oh, I’d like to see you try. Remember, you even said so yourself, you are nothing.” The sharp words made Thea flinch and grit her teeth, failing to hide how much that had hurt her. “Do you remember what happens when there is a full moon in the sky?” Nathan gestured toward the moon, a sinister look on his face, one that promised he would deal the three girls pain greater than they thought possible. The menacing look on his face grew even more disturbing as Nathan’s mouth morphed into a broad, toothy grin that showed off sharp, jagged teeth.

  “You’ll be the first and last to witness my form!”

  Nathan yelled in agonizing pain as he fell to his knees; his front legs and arms bent in reverse as his bones shifted; his body stretched, he made sickening popping and cracking noises. His face contorted as a long muzzle extended out in front of him. Clumps of hair began to form on his skin, and he fell forward on his hands. The cries of anguish turned into a howl as the dark fur continued to sprout on his body and his clothing was ripped to shreds as his muscles tripled in size.

  Nathan had turned into a creature of the night, a Skinwalker.

  His jaw hung open and his tongue lolled out over his fangs. The Skinwalker’s menacing yellow eyes stared at them like they were dinner, and to him they probably were. With stubborn determination clear on her face as she stepped forward, Thea gripped her hands together.

  “I’m not afraid, Nathan, and I won’t let you or your father back me into a corner. You’re wrong about me. I might have felt weak, but there are people out there that need me. There are people out there that I still need! And I won’t let you sully any of those memories with your darkness and negativity!”

  The Skinwalker growled and backed up slightly, realizing Thea wasn’t nearly as weak as she’d let on.

  “I’ve got your back, Thea,” Hati chimed in. There was a faintly glowing orb in her hand.

  “As do I, we can fight this creature together,” Audalai said as vines started to grow from under the barren, stone ground.

  “Don’t forget me!” Eileen exclaimed.

  Thea nodded, not taking her eyes off the monster. The Skinwalker let out a hollow cry and charged at Thea with jaws open wide. “Now!” Thea shouted.

  Hati threw purple orbs at the oncoming Skinwalker, making its movements slower. Audalai lifted her hands and a forest of vines shot from the ground, blocking the Skin walker’s path to them and tangling the beast before he could change direction to avoid it. Audalai focused on the vines balled in her hands, telling them to tighten their hold on the creature. The Skinwalker only howled louder in protest as he tried to rip through them with his serrated teeth.

  Thea’s eyes turned amber and she raised her hands in the air, levitating the Skinwalker off the ground and slamming it into the ceiling, pinning him against the walls then back to the floor. She dropped her hold on the Skinwalker since it was no longer moving—it was either dead or unconscious.

  “We did it!” Eileen shouted, just as a loud crack made the girls look up. Where Thea slammed the Skinwalker into the ceiling, she’d made a large crack. The roof suddenly shattered and fell, Thea covered her head on instinct, expecting to feel the crush of the stone breaking her bones but she felt nothing.

  When she opened her eyes, she saw that there was a dust cloud surrounding them and the rubble scattered on the ground around them, but something had kept it from hitting them.

  As the cloud faded away, Thea noticed that there was a figure standing there. She squinted, trying to see if the person was friend or foe, before a very familiar voice called out, making tears spring to her eyes.

  “Anyo
ne call for a rescue party?”

  “D-Dominya?” Her heart beat wildly, tears streaming down her face. The dust slowly settled, revealing her sister “Dominya!”

  As if Thea was a child again, she ran and sprang into her sister’s arms. Dominya collapsed her body around her sister and the two clung to one another for dear life as if they could disappear right then and there. Thea didn’t realize that the sobs ringing through the room were hers, and when she did, she didn’t care. After eight long, hellish years she had found her sister.

  “Thea, I missed you so much.” Dominya managed to choke out between sobs. She couldn’t contain her sobs any more than Thea could hers, but she didn’t care as she took in her sister’s scent, pressing her face into her hair. She pulled apart some and smiled, wiping Thea’s face. “Thea . . . ”

  Thea sniffed, wiped her cheek and smiled. The two couldn’t find any words to say, but they didn’t need to.

  “I hate to break up this reunion, but we’ve got a horde of undead on our doorstep.” Eileen reminded the sisters, who wiped their eyes and snapped out of their state.

  “Eileen’s right, Clovis sent me to get you three. He should be back at the boat now.”

  Everyone nodded, knowing they would need to hurry. Thea and Dominya held onto each other’s hands. With Hati and Audalai, Eileen, and the rest of the women out of the tower, they ran down the desiccated streets.

  Thea didn’t stop running, her mind on escaping. Suddenly, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, and an arrow appeared in her line of vision. It wasn’t until Dominya shouted, “Thea!” that she fully registered the shaft. Dominya shoved her off to the side and she crashed to the ground, followed by a hollow cry of pain from Dominya.

  Thea instantly sat up and her eyes widened as she saw Dominya sprawled out on the ground, with an arrow sticking out from her side. Blood seeped through her clothes, watering the decayed street.