by D. M. Almond
CHAPTER 5
They had been running for three solid hours with no break. Logan’s lungs burned raw and his legs ached, but he felt that he could go a couple more hours yet before needing to stop for a short rest. The mad dash through their cabin had gathered enough supplies to make a quick break for the road. Logan had changed his tattered clothing, throwing on a loose-fitting tunic held down by brown suspenders that kept his plain-looking, baggy breeches up. He strapped his father’s old revolver to his waist and holstered the laser rifle Elder Morgana had given him over a shoulder. He regretted not owning any gloves but changed into his knee–high, saddle-leather hiking boots, so at least his feet would be somewhat protected.
Corbin had not changed his clothing but focused his time gathering dried meats and leftover crusty bread Morgana had baked earlier in the week. He divvied the rations up into backpacks for both of them with other basic supplies.
So far, the run had been easy going, and they were making steady progress. Logan could only hope they were moving swift enough to keep ahead of the skex. Corbin had told him of the sight he had seen from his hunting expedition and Logan had no wish to cross paths with even a fraction of that swarm.
Unfortunately, the pass ahead demanded they be overly cautious, and that meant slowing down. Up until now, they had been running through a narrow crevice in the flat rock floor which marked an old trade route to the capitol of Fal. Ahead they could see the end of the path, where the rock abruptly disappeared, dipping down twenty feet or so and marking the beginning of a series of chasms where the land was ripped apart during a great quake from the time of Logan’s infancy. It was the reason no one used this road anymore, even though it was the fastest route to the capitol. The council’s highwaymen had built a new road on a more reliable pathway, but that would take too long to travel, and they sorely needed to buy any time they could if they wanted to get to Fal in time to warn of the incoming threat.
Corbin skidded to an abrupt halt so fast that Logan almost ran right over him. Leaning on his spear to steady himself, Corbin gazed over the cliff’s edge, deep down into the ravine.
“How far do you think you can jump?” Corbin asked him, tapping his thigh with the spear’s hilt.
Logan tried to gauge the distance across the narrow chasm. “I’ll make it across just fine,” he replied, though the sight made him feel uneasy. “Worry about yourself, big boy.”
Corbin grumbled, annoyed at his brother’s need to be trivial. “Well, I’m not sure I can,” he said, surprising Logan.
“Wow, finally something the pride of the village can’t do?” Logan jested, regretting it when he noticed Corbin’s pained expression. He felt like an idiot for not noticing the anguish Corbin was holding back over Morgana’s death. Logan decided to ease off him a bit. “Relax, you’ve got this. Look,” he said, framing the ravine with his fingers held like a square, “it’s no further across than the Witch’s Elbow back home.”
Corbin looked where his brother was referring to, picturing the river bend they used to hop across when they were children.
“Ready?” Logan asked. “Watch and learn…oh, and follow.”
Logan took a couple steps back to get a running start and leapt right over the narrow chasm, landing deftly on the other side. He turned to beckon his brother, reassuring him it was no problem.
Corbin backed up farther than Logan had, then sprang forward, using his spear at the last second to pole vault across the distance with ease. He landed past Logan, wearing a weak smile, though his eyes never lost the look of deep anguish.
They moved from one jutting rocky outcrop to another, leaping across large gaps and small, scaling tall inclines and rugged stones. From rock face to the lips of stalagmite walls and back, the brothers rappelled in rapid succession until they were pulling themselves up onto the opposite bank of the shattered expanse. They skirted the perimeter for a short distance and came back to the old trade route.
Logan gave one final look over his shoulder and a shiver ran down his spine. He was secretly relieved to be past the dangerous area. The thought of what might be at the bottom of those shadowy ravines, should they have slipped any step of the way, disturbed him more than a little.
“Come on, Logan, we have to hurry!” Corbin called back, darting up the path.
Oh sure, now that I’ve talked him through moving across the chasm, he gets cocky again, Logan thought. If there was one thing he never liked, it was being bossed around. Corbin may have grown up in the villagers’ eyes, but to Logan he was still just the little brat that had followed him around, pestering him all the time. If anyone was giving orders on this journey, it was going to be him, something he meant to establish quickly. “Keep your voice down, you grub-headed fool,” Logan hissed, already caught up to his brother. “Or are you trying to bring every cougar in the area down on us?”
Corbin looked confused. “There aren’t any cougars around these parts, are there? I thought they only stalked the jungles in Malbec.”
Logan did not miss a beat as he clapped the back of his brother’s head. “Don’t get smart with me; you know exactly what I meant.”
Corbin glowered but did nothing to counter the discipline, silently rubbing his neck while running.
“Either way, you shouldn’t be yelling like that around here,” Logan said, hopping over the thick root of a tree which had grown across the broken path. “Big shot hunter like yourself should know how exposed we are right now.”
Corbin rolled his eyes at the petty insult. If Logan had a problem being told to catch up, maybe he should stop being lazy and causing trouble all the time. Corbin was not about to apologize for assuming his brother would lag behind or let Logan make him feel bad for becoming a master of his discipline.
“We should stop for a short rest while we can,” Corbin said.
Logan nodded, spying an area ahead where a goodly sized fallen stalagmite blocked their way. Without any hesitation and still running at full speed, they both jumped up and quickly scaled the obstacle.
“This is as good a place as any,” Logan said as they came down the other side. He eyed the dry sticks littering the area and reached into his pack to pull out some flint.
“We will not need a fire tonight,” Corbin said, pointing at the flint. “Don’t want to attract any undue attention, eh? Plus, we won’t even be here long enough to warrant the work.”
Logan plopped down, leaning against the outcropping of large stones that formed a perfect cozy nook. Ahead of them, the path continued through a dense copse of trees that would stretch on for about an hour, according to the map Gunter had given them. It was a slightly more unpredictable trek then they had been traveling, so the decision to stop and rest for a bit was wise. They would need all their wits about them to keep from falling into a predator’s trap in those woods. Even with the Crystal only at half brilliance, this area was dangerous, the Crystal’s light exposing them to any hungry beast around. However, the forest was even worse, its canopy blotting out most of the Crystal’s light. They could only be grateful for the small amount of light they had left. Soon the Culhada would be in full swing and the land would be as dark as the dangerous ravines they had passed.
Logan laid his small food pack on top of the nearest rock, which came up to just under his head. It was always a good idea to keep food off the ground, otherwise something might scurry away with it while they rested. He leaned back against the smooth rock face, which was strangely warm and comforting, and crossed his arms over his chest.
Logan considered his brother for a moment, while Corbin unpacked his things, laying them neatly in a triangle formation in preparation for prayer. His mind wandered to before they left Riverbell, when Corbin had spent a few minutes talking with Elise in private. He did not hear their full conversation but understood enough to know Elise was telling his little brother not to worry about her and to hurry back. Corbin knelt and bowed his forehead to the soil, facing in the direction of the Gre
at Crystal.
“Why do you waste your time with that nonsense?” Logan asked with a snort.
Corbin scowled at his brother. “You should show respect to our All-Father, Logan. Even you are not above his radiance, no matter how much you laugh at the world he has provided us.”
His words rolled off Logan like water over stone. He couldn’t care less about worshipping idols and wasting time with rituals. Where was this Baetylus when his mother was killed? Where was the All-Father earlier today when their village was torn asunder?
“Whatever you say, little guy. Just don’t expect me to come over there bowing to the Crystal in the dirt with you.” Logan rolled his eyes before sinking into his own thoughts, which quickly dwelled on their destination. Long had he dreamed of visiting the capitol city, wanting badly to see the intrigue of civilized society. The great palaces filled with lords and ladies in Fal had kept him awake many a night in wonder when he was a child.
Something funny occurred to him, and he was about to tease his prostrate brother again, when a sharp prick stabbed the back of his left hand.
For a moment, Logan did not understand the sensation.
The rock behind him rumbled, rearing up to reveal the head of a giant land snail, or rather the rock itself was the gastropod’s protective shell!
Logan cursed himself for a fool, digging his heels into the dirt as the snail began trying to reel him in. It roared and contracted the long, tongue-like radula, its rows of small teeth gripping his hand, which was only two feet away from its slavering maw.
With his free hand already gripping his knife, Logan stabbed at the extended radula to no avail. The teeth covering the tongue-like appendage oozed thick saliva that acted as a rock-hard coating to stop its prey from breaking free.
The giant snail had encountered prey like this before and it knew just how to handle them. It flexed the radula and roared again, bucking to swing Logan to the side, against the real boulders. As his body bounced off the hard surface, he went limp, the knife flying out of reach while he fought to regain his senses. The hungry snail took that opportunity to reel him in closer.
Corbin watched in horror as the sneaky creature attacked his brother. Flipping his spear over his shoulder, he ran into the fray. Snapping like a turtle, he lunged with the tip of the spear. The snail used Logan’s body to attack Corbin and he had to shift his stance, rolling sideways before jumping back to his feet.
In one fluid move, he used the spear to pole vault straight up into the air. The monster snail let out a high-pitched roar as Corbin came down, slicing his weapon through the thick, meaty middle of its grasping tongue. White juices oozed forth in a stream of sour-smelling blood across the dirt. The snail retracted the remnants of the appendage with a high-pitched mewling.
Logan let out a yelp as the beast’s severed tongue loosened around his wrist, the teeth popping free to reveal a swollen hand riddled with cuts. Flipping over onto his back, he lay propped on one elbow, clutching his right wrist.
Corbin stood as a barrier between his older brother and the giant snail, protectively holding his spear at length to keep the beast at bay. The hungry gastropod backed ever so slightly away, never taking its eyestalks off Corbin’s swaying movements. Another snail roared in the distance, up the rocky slope, responding to its sister’s cry.
“We better get out of here before the bastard’s friends come for dinner,” Logan groaned, pulling himself to his feet despite the waves of pain in his hand. He knew if there were two in the area there were sure to be many more.
While Corbin kept the beast hard pressed, stinging its soft flesh with his spear and dodging a lunge, Logan quickly gathered up his knife from the dirt.
“Corbin, we have to go now!” Logan hoarsely insisted, fighting the racking pain in his knuckles to pull Corbin by the shoulder toward the edge of forest.
“Perhaps I should finish this one first?” Corbin asked, threatening the creature as he stalked in to stab again.
Logan tried to shout a warning, but there was no time, and he found himself tackling Corbin to the side. The land snails had a sneaky defense if anyone came close enough, shooting highly toxic saliva from their mouth that, if it made contact, would melt their prey’s flesh into the edible liquid they preferred feasting upon. It was a defense Logan had seen once before and never wished to again.
His body hit Corbin with enough force to send them both flying out of the way just in time, and he flicked his wrist toward the land snail. The gastropod’s mewling turned to a death rattle, as his knife burrowed deeply into its face, just between the eyestalks.
The brothers lay there for a moment, thinking on what had just happened, or nearly could have happened, while watching the giant land snail quiver in its death throes, futilely trying to retreat inside its shell. Again, the roar came from up the rocky slope, but this time a much closer answer rang out behind them, just down the side of the cliffs into the valley.
“I believe that was our last warning!” Logan scrambled to his feet as Corbin quickly gathered their packs, and they fled into the forest.
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