Beastwalker (Pharim War Book 3)

by Gama Ray Martinez

  The trio nodded, and they started following the trail again. It didn’t go directly for the lake. Rather, the path turned back on itself and wound through a circuitous route. A part of Jez wanted to just head to the lake, but he was worried they’d lose the trail. The animals were strangely silent, and according to Galine, there were far fewer than there usually were in this part of the jungle. They’d gone through half a dozen bends in the path before Jez caught the pattern.

  In the middle of their trail was a hole, obviously dug by large paws. Water welled inside, and as soon as Jez touched it, he recognized the power of the lake. The prints of a massive hound showed that Aniel had stopped in front of the pool.

  “I think he’s drinking it.” Jez turned to Galine. “Would that help restore him?”

  “I don’t have the slightest idea. It’s not like this situation comes up very often.”

  “Haven’t you ever drunk from the lake?”

  Galine looked horrified. “No. Never.” He held his hand over the water, though he didn’t touch it. “For all intents and purposes, this is Aniel’s blood. Even ordinary animals know better than to drink it, and no one with intelligence enough to know better would choose to drink.”

  “I didn’t realize it was that special.”

  Galine narrowed his eyes. “It’s the center of Aniel’s power in this valley. Sharim used it to trap and then bind a pharim high lord. How could it not be special? It represents all he is, all the Beastwalkers are.”

  Jez nodded and sank his fingers into the water. Galine hissed but made no move to stop him. Jez closed his eyes and tried to meld his awareness with the water, hoping to find some hint of where Aniel was, but though he could sense the vast power in the water, he could draw no information from it. He was about to say as much when something brushed past his fingers. He pulled back and peered into the water to see a small fish swimming in circles. He withdrew his hand and looked up at Galine.

  “I take it the water from the lake doesn’t normally have fish in it.”

  Galine shook his head. “There’s a river running through this valley that’s fed by glacial runoff. There are fish and other animals living in that one, but on the streams fed by the lake? No.”

  “Well, there’s something living here.”

  Galine blinked and walked up to the pool. He looked over Jez’s shoulder. For a long time, he didn’t say anything as the fish swam in a circle. When he finally did speak, his voice came out as a whisper.

  “That’s not possible.”

  “Lina, can you read its mind?”

  Her jaw dropped a little, and she narrowed her eyes at him. “It’s a fish.”

  “No, I don’t think it is.”

  “What...” She glanced into the pool before meeting his eyes. “A Beastwalker?”

  “Why else would Aniel have come here? I think he might be checking on them.”

  Lina shook her head. “Jez I already told you, I can’t cure a Beastwalker’s mind.”

  “You can tell a fish’s mind from a pharim’s, though.”

  “It’s not that easy. They’re so strange. It hurts my mind.”

  Jez rolled his eyes, and the crystal sword flickered into existence. He allowed himself to wince, and after a second, the weapon vanished. “Oh, if it’s going to hurt, never mind. Goodness knows I always avoid things that are going to hurt.”

  She glared at him. “All right. You don’t have to be so smug about it. I don’t suppose you can catch it.”

  Jez let out a breath. He sank his hand slowly into the water and didn’t move. Galine seemed to be trying not to speak, and after a few moments, he turned away. Osmund chuckled, and Jez grinned at him. For a few minutes, he kept his hand completely still. Something brushed against his fingertips, and his hand surged forward and closed around the fish. He withdrew his hand so quickly water splashed onto Lina’s face. She cried out and when she was done wiping her face, he held the flopping fish in his hand.

  “Where did you learn to do that?”

  Jez grinned. “I’m the son of a fisherman, remember. I’ve spent hours with fish catching them every way there is.” He held the animal out to her. “You should hurry. If this really is a Beastwalker, I wouldn’t want to suffocate it.”

  She reached out slowly and touched it. It flopped and she pulled back. Jez let out a breath and rolled his eyes. He lifted his hand toward her face. “They can’t survive very long outside of water. You really should hurry.”

  “Sorry,” she said and she touched it again. She let out a small squeal but closed her eyes. After a second she opened it again. “It’s a Beastwalker. I don’t know how to fix its mind, but it definitely is one of them.”

  Jez nodded and slipped the fish back into the water. He pursed his lips. “Sharim was able to force me to transform.”

  Galine nodded. “Yes, but he had tapped into Aniel’s power.”

  Jez touched the water’s surface with the tip of his finger. “Isn’t that what this is?”

  “But will restoring its body restore its mind?”

  “It might,” Jez said. “A pharim’s form is essentially whatever they see themselves as. If I can force this Beastwalker back into a humanoid shape, it might force his mind to revert too.”

  Lina looked uncertain. “Jez, you never studied transformation magic. Are you sure you want to try this?”

  “I’m sure we could use a pharim by our side.”

  “You could hurt him,” Galine said.

  “Right now, a hungry bird could hurt him.”

  Galine looked to the sky. His eyes locked on a sparrow that was flitting from branch to branch. The bird didn’t look to be coming in their direction, but it was still big enough to take a bite out of the Beastwalker. Galine nodded.

  “You’re right. Do it.”

  CHAPTER 45

  Once again, Jez sank his power into the water. It resisted him, but with his hands actually inside the pool, he was able to push past it with a little effort. Still, it was like trying to hold onto an eel. If the Beastwalker hadn’t actually been in the water less than a foot from Jez’s hand, he would’ve never been able to find it. Its swimming was erratic as if it could feel Jez’s presence in the water and feared it. Jez surrounded it with his power. It swam deeper, trying to escape, but instinctively, Jez directed the transformation power and seized the pharim.

  Its form was wrong. This Beastwalker was a radiant spirit that had existed since the beginning of time, and now, it had been forced into a body ill-suited to contain its brilliance. Its power rebelled against its form, but that same form was too strong, bolstered by a working he didn’t understand.

  Jez tried to direct the transformation power flowing through him, but it was like trying to redirect a river by standing in it. He thought back to Penar’s words about combining schools of magic. Without being sure exactly how he did it, he melded his aqua magic with the transformation power instilled in the water. Using the ability he was most skilled at, he shaped the power in the water, focusing it into a sharp point. He stabbed at the magic holding the pharim’s form in place, and the shell of the working cracked. Green mist spilled into the water as the fish melted away. Aniel’s power was torn from Jez’s grasp as water exploded out of the pool. When it had settled, a creature that was as much fish as man stood before them.

  It was covered from head to toe in shimmering scales that went from white on its chest and stomach to silver around its head. Its hands and feet were webbed and fins sprouted from its forearms. It had gill slits on its neck, and sea-green eyes were set wide on a face that was longer than it was tall. Its wings were covered in scales and gave the impression that they were better suited to swimming than flying, though Jez had no doubt the pharim could accomplish either. Like the other Beastwalkers Jez had seen, it wore a sword at its waist that looked more like a long claw or horn than a blade of worked steel. Its edge was serrated, and Jez found himself reminded of the teeth of a shark.

  “My lord Beastwalker?” Galine said
.

  The fish man blinked at him and turned to look back at the pool. His exit had emptied it of most of the water, though it was slowly filling again, presumably fed by some underground spring. He stared at the rising water before sighing at Jez.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Galine asked.

  “I think it’s the same thing that was wrong with Aniel. He’s not insane with anger anymore, but his mind hasn’t recovered.”

  “Then, this accomplished nothing.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Jez said. He stepped up to the Beastwalker. “Aniel. Do you know Aniel?”

  The pharim stood up to his full height of nearly seven feet. He looked into the distance and stared for several seconds, completely unmoving. Then he blinked at Jez and started running. For a moment, Jez and the others just looked at each other. Then, they took off.

  Though Galine was obviously trying to run as fast as he could, they kept up with him. The pharim never got very far ahead of them, never disappearing from sight for more than a second or two. It seemed impossible that anything with webbed feet like that could move so fast, but the jungle may as well have been water for all it impeded the Beastwalker. The forest blurred, and Jez found himself feeling light on his feet. He knew he should be out of breath by now, but the run hadn’t tired him at all. He wasn’t even making any special effort to avoid obstructions. He just ran on.

  He was having trouble keeping his thoughts in line. All he could think about was the run. One step at a time. He just needed to do one step at a time. He knew he’d started with companions, but he had no idea where they had gone to. All that existed to him was the Beastwalker running through the mist ahead of him. Suddenly, it leapt ten feet into the air, sailing over a boulder and splashing into the river on the other side. Jez and his companions stopped at the shore and exchanged glances. A quick examination of the river revealed it was fed by Aniel’s lake. Though the water was clear, there were no fish at all, and they saw no sign of the pharim.

  “Well that was...odd,” Osmund said.

  “He’s probably going back to the lake. Either he detected Aniel there or...”

  Galine cut it. “Or he was still more fish than pharim. This was a waste of time. Let’s head back to Aniel’s trail.” He blinked and looked around. “Huh.”

  “What is it?” Jez asked.

  “We’re in a completely different area of the valley. We’ve gone at least five miles.”

  “That’s not possible,” Jez said. “I mean we were only running a few minutes. Maybe you could cover that distance...”

  Galine shook his head. “Not even on the open plains with the wind at my back.”

  Jez thought back to their run. “Did you see the mist too?”

  Lina’s mouth opened a little and she nodded. “I didn’t notice it before, but looking back, yes.” She looked around. “There’s no mist though.”

  “He took us Between.” Osmund nodded, but Lina and Galine looked confused. Jez shook his head. “It would take too long to explain. Basically it’s how pharim can get from place to place quickly. I don’t think we were in there all the way though. We were partially still in the jungle.”

  “I didn’t know they could do that,” Osmund said.

  “Neither did I.” He turned to Galine. “Where exactly are we?”

  “About a mile from the western shore of Aniel’s lake.”

  “And about a hundred yards from my camp,” Welb said as he stepped out of the trees. He focused on Jez and showed his teeth. “I seem to recall exiling you for bringing this disaster on us. Give me one reason I shouldn’t rip your throat out.”

  CHAPTER 46

  Galine stepped in front of Jez. “How many do you have with you, Welb? How many are still sane?”

  Welb growled. “I have enough.”

  “They drove you out of town, didn’t they?”

  Welb’s muscles tensed and for a second, it looked like he was about to jump at Galine. Instead, he snarled.

  “Was that your fault too?”

  “It was the fault of the creature that has invaded our valley. Maybe if you weren’t so caught up in your hatred of humans, we might have been able to stop him.”

  “He is a human!”

  “He’s no more human than any of the tribe, and quite a bit less than most.” Galine narrowed his eyes. “Except you, of course. You alone, of all of us, lack even a shred of humanity.”

  “Your humanity makes you weak. Look what has resulted.”

  Welb’s voice was a barely controlled rage, and Jez half expected to see him foaming at the mouth, but Galine remained completely calm.

  “When did Aniel demand that we rid ourselves of it?” he asked. “Isn’t the purpose of this place to find a balance between the natures the beast and the man?”

  “That nature of man has led to this.”

  “No,” Jez said. “Sharim was a demon from birth. Human nature had no part in this.”

  “Listen to him, Welb,” Penar said as he landed on a nearby branch.

  “You’re even worse than he is. At least he gave up most of his human power.”

  “And yet it’s that human power that has given you what warriors you have. If you so disdain its use, you are free to face this Sharim on your own.”

  “You have no right to oppose me,” Welb said. “I have won the right of challenge.”

  “The right of challenge only applies to those who have chosen to live in the town.” The hawk gave him a piercing glare. “To those who have a more human existence.” Welb curled back his lips and gnashed his teeth, but Penar continued. “The town is gone, and your authority ended with it. Even if it had not, I never made my home there.”

  Welb snarled in Galine’s direction. “He led us to destruction.”

  “If not for his human friends, he would still be mad and so would I. You would be alone.”

  “I will not follow him into battle,” Welb said, staring at Galine.

  “Then follow me,” Jez said as he stepped around Galine and looked up at Welb.

  The wolf man glared down at him. His jaw dropped, and he looked from Galine to Penar and back to Jez. Jez felt the need to back up, but restrained himself and didn’t turn from Welb’s gaze.

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “The others will follow him,” Penar said.

  “A human?”

  “A human that I’ll follow,” Galine said.

  “As will I,” Penar said. “Oppose him if you wish, but you will do so without my support, and likely without the support of those I have restored.”

  Welb glared up into the trees for a minute before storming off into the jungle.

  “So you were able to restore them?” Jez asked once Welb was gone.

  Penar ruffled his feathers, as gesture that Jez was coming to recognize as about equal to shaking your head. “Only a few, and those likely would’ve come out of it in a few days anyway.”

  “How many are there?”

  “Six, not counting Welb.”

  “Only six?”

  Penar’s glare almost seemed to look right through Jez. “Shall we go and investigate your troops?”

  CHAPTER 47

  To Jez’s surprise, Grita was one of those Penar had healed. Even more surprising was the nod of respect she gave Jez. All of the beast men were closer to being humans than animals. The farthest from that was a turtle woman whose shell made her look like an animal that had decided to walk upright. She had a curved beak that reminded Jez of the snapping turtles that he’d sometimes found on the shores of the river near Randak. It would probably be dangerous in a fight. In fact, all of them seemed well suited to combat.

  “It’s not that surprising when you think of it,” Penar said when Jez asked.

  “It’s not?”

  Penar ruffled his feathers. “I don’t have your friend’s gift for restoring the mind, and I could only help those closest to being human. War has always been a human failing. Naturally, any I restore are likely to have an
aspect of that in their personality, and their forms reflect that.”

  “I guess that makes sense,” Jez said, though he only half understood what Penar meant. “Still this isn’t much of an army.” Osmund smirked, and Jez glared at him. “What?”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what you said that time we fought off an army of demons. That didn’t turn out too badly.”

  Jez raised an eyebrow. “You know, the last I heard, Haziel was still repairing the front gate of his castle from when that demon burst through it.”

  Osmund shrugged. “I mean it didn’t turn out too badly for us. We all walked out of there, didn’t we?”

  Jez looked Osmund in the eye for several seconds before the mirth on the other boy faded. Eventually, Osmund took several steps back and inclined his head. “Ok, I guess that was a little difficult wasn’t it?”

  Jez shook his head. “You’re hopeless. Let’s head to Aniel’s lake. Keep an eye out for any other beast men. Lina should be able to help them.”

  There were nods all around and they started walking. The jungle seemed silent as they moved through it, as if the trees themselves were holding their breath and waiting to see what would happen. Jez sank his power into the earth and found the water flowing beneath. This close to the lake, the ground was soaked. It practically hummed with power, even more than he’d felt in Aniel’s presence.

  “They’re in there,” Jez said. The others looked at him and he gestured in the direction they were going. “I think the pharim are all in the lake. The water feels practically alive.”

  “Do you think Sharim knows?” Galine asked.

  “He will as soon as he tries to tap into the lake’s power.” Jez’s eyes went wide. “Oh no.”

  “What is it?” Galine asked.

  “Are we anywhere near the circle we found on the lake shore?”

  “It’s just over that rise. Why?”

  “Sharim’s going to use it.”

  “You destroyed it.”