Lex stumbled to his feet.
Around him, the villagers scattered back toward the gates. “Witchcraft!” they shouted. “Demons!”
“You!” one of them yelled, spinning toward Lex. “You’re doing this.”
Lex was as confused as the rest of them. The dark thing inside him had fled and the only thing Lex knew was that this wasn’t him. He watched, stunned, as more vines burst up by the dozens around and between all the men. The vines grew as fast as a man could move from standing to sitting. They quickly surpassed Lex’s own height and continued shooting upward, a forest of vines reaching toward the night sky.
A villager ran toward one of the vines, swinging a sword at it.
My sword, Lex realized.
As the man struck the vine, it curled back and wrapped itself around the man, cocooning him. Then it continued to shoot upward, carrying his screaming form with it.
Lex gaped.
“Help me!” Lytira yelled, breaking Lex’s distraction. She knelt beside Acarius’s body, her arms beneath his shoulders. Acarius’ head bobbed like a rag doll’s.
Lex rushed toward her to help, only to realize his hands were still tied. He turned, showing Lytira.
She lowered Acarius back to the ground and pulled a knife from her waist – the pocket had blended into her fitted leather tunic so that Lex hadn’t even noticed it – and moved around behind Lex.
His hands popped free as a length of rope fell to the ground. Lex pulled his hands forward, rubbing his sore wrists in relief.
Lytira moved back to Acarius and slid her hands back under his armpits. Lex grabbed Acarius’ feet and followed her lead as they carried Acarius down the path toward the camp.
“Here.” She nodded to the side of the path, beside a tent on the outer ring of the camp. They lowered Acarius and Lytira knelt beside him, examining his head and face.
“Is he– “ Lex started to say, but stopped.
A few feet away from them, in the middle of the camp, stood a little girl no more than eight years old. Her face was turned upward to the sky, her eyes closed, her arms raised. The light of the campfire behind her cast a long shadow in front of her that seemed to dance as the flames flickered. And spreading from the girl across the ground, racing outward then dipping in and out of the earth at various places, were vines. Dozens of vines. They were coming from her.
Lytira looked up at Lex, then followed his gaze toward the girl. She jumped to her feet. “Naya!” she shouted. “I had no idea this was– you have to get inside!”
The girl tipped her face down and blinked at Lytira. “I had to help you,” she said. “Did it help?” She paused, her eyes scanning Lytira’s face. Her mouth quivered. “Are you angry?” The vines shooting outward from her slowed to a crawl.
“Oh, little one, no,” Lytira said, moving toward the girl. “And yes, it helped. But it’s not safe. You have to hide. And you know we–”
Behind them, someone shouted. “There! It’s the girl!”
Lex spun around. The villagers from Dalton and Alta were rushing toward them.
“Naya, run!” Lytira screamed. She moved into the center of the path, putting herself between the girl and the villagers.
The girl dropped her arms and took off into the camp, leaving a ring of now-motionless vines feeding up from the ground where she’d been standing.
Lex had a lot of questions, but now was the time to fight. He planted himself next to Lytira. “I don’t have my sword,” he said, remembering he’d last seen it in the hands of the man the vine had taken.
Lytira shook her head. “You don’t need it. I’ve seen you kill dozens with no more than a thought.”
“You– what?” Lex gaped at her.
“Just trust your instincts,” she said. She glanced over at Acarius. He was still unconscious, but hidden by shadows on the side of the path.
“I don’t have instincts!” Lex shouted. “I have no clue what I’m doing. I’m not even sure who I am!”
The men were almost upon them.
“You’re a warrior,” she said. “And no matter what Baram thinks, I have to be what I need to be.”
The men crashed into them.
Lex hit the ground hard, pain bursting through his head. He lost sight of Lytira in the scuffle, but he could hear yells of alarm from the villagers just out of his range of sight. She must be fighting, he thought. He struggled to fight, too, but the villagers took no chances with him – he was held down by more hands than he could count, men on all sides.
“We’ve got you this time,” someone murmured in his ear.
The dark thing in Lex awoke. It was there, right there, in the pit of his stomach, coiling like a snake prepared to strike. He squeezed his eyes shut and reached for it. His mind closed around it. He yanked.
It burst free, and Lex plunged into icy shadow.
Lex blinked and pushed himself upright. The men weren’t holding him anymore. What happened? The last he remembered, he–
He stopped. Bodies littered the ground, shadows from the firelight flickering across them. Were they all… No. Not dead. Some were groaning now, or moving a little.
Lex jumped to his feet.
Lytira darted up, a smear of blood across her forehead. Lex wasn’t sure if it was hers or someone else’s. “What happened?” he asked her.
“No time,” she snapped, grabbing his arm. “Run.” She pushed him toward the tents.
Lex stumbled and turned. “I don’t want to–”
A sound of wings cut through the darkness.
“Run!” Lytira said again. She pulled him toward the tents on the far side of the camp and shoved him into the shadows beyond the glow of the campfire. Then she spun, taking off down the dirt path again.
Lex turned, his eyes adjusting to the darkness beyond the fire’s glow, and found he was not alone. A crowd of people stood staring out toward the fire, men and women and children of all ages, like silent sentries in the shadows. Just beside Lex stood Naya. “Sulanashum,” she whispered, and gave him a small nod.
Sulanashum. The word tickled something deep in memory. Lex turned to her. “What did you–”
“Shhh!” Someone behind him hissed. “They come!”
A dark shadow appeared in the sky over the camp, hovering high above the light of the fire. The flames gushed and flickered beneath heavy gusts as rapid wing beats filled the air. No, Lex realized, as the rhythm of the beats shifted into clarity. The beats were slow and steady… they only sounded fast because there were more than one set of wings beating. Many more. Lex swallowed.
Dark shapes moved along the ground behind the tents. Was it more of the enemy? If so, they would soon be surrounded. Lex turned to alert the people behind him, but then the firelight flickered on metal among the shadows between the tents, and for a moment a shape was illuminated – Acarius and his sword. He slipped between the last of the tents and made his way to where the others were standing. When he spotted Lex, he moved toward him. “Ready for another fight?” he whispered, taking his spot beside Lex.
Lex felt a weight lift he hadn’t known he was carrying. Acarius was okay. And if he was part of the moving shadows, then the other shapes were probably Lytira and the other Alowens.
Lex was right. Soon Lytira, Baram, and the others materialized from the shadows beyond the tents. They all looked exhausted and many of them were bloody and dirty and bruised. But they were all okay.
Lex suddenly wondered about all the villagers lying in the shadows on the other side of the camp. Were they waking now? Would they be preparing to attack? If they attacked at the same time as whatever was hovering above them, this could be bad. Very bad.
Lex turned to Acarius to ask if he knew what was above them, but there was no need. Dark shapes thudded to the ground around the fire, wings fluttering like giant locusts.
Aiacs. Five of them.
Lex’s heart jolted as one of them stepped in front of the others, holding Am
elia in its scaly, claw-handed arms.
She was unconscious, and the creature set her down on the dirt beside the fire, then moved back to join the rest. The Aiacs all stood just out of the glow of firelight, staring toward the shadows where Lex and the others were. They had placed Amelia in the center of the camp like an offering.
Lex glanced at Acarius but his eyes were fixed forward, watching. There was a tangible tension in the air, as though they were all waiting for something.
Lex stood as still as possible, because everyone around him was and it seemed the thing to do. But if the Aiacs attacked, what then? He had fought off an Aiac before, and with Lytira and Acarius' help he was sure they could take all five, but what about the Alowens? There were children here, babies – why weren’t the parents taking them to safety?
Beside him, Lytira shifted, reminding him again of a predator tensing to leap.
One Aiac glanced at the others and then stepped forward. As it came into the firelight, it seemed to be… shrinking? Lex shook his head. It must be a trick of the lighting. But no. It was shrinking, its arms drawing inward, claws disappearing, lizard-body shortening and thickening and wings shriveling back toward its spine. Its scaled skin morphed into human flesh and its reptilian face contorted until it was no longer an Aiac creature, but a man.
Lex’s blood turned cold. It wasn’t just a man. It was the man – shock of black hair, pale skin, right down to the crisp white tunic which had materialized as the creature transformed – only without the pluming bloodstain from when Lex had last seen it. It was the man he’d killed at Dalton.
CHAPTER 11
The man stepped forward. “Your demon seems to have incapacitated my farmers,” he stated into the night. “I propose a trade.” He stopped behind Amelia’s crumpled form and nudged her with his boot. “A daughter of power for your demon. It seems more than fair.”
Having that thing so close to Amelia made Lex’s hair stand on end. He tensed, fighting the urge to run for her. He was fast; he might be able to get to her–
The pressure of a hand on his shoulder made him turn. “Not yet,” Acarius whispered. “Hold.”
Hold, Lex told himself. Acarius clearly had a plan. He wouldn’t let the creatures harm Amelia… would he?
“Your demon,” the man said again, “or the girl dies.” He pressed his boot against Amelia’s throat.
She moaned, but did not wake. Lex felt a wave of relief at the confirmation that Amelia was alive. But if they didn’t do something, she might not be for long.
Lex took a step forward, but a tiny hand grabbed his arm.
“Sulanashum, don’t go,” Naya’s plea was hushed but urgent. She tipped her wide eyes up to him. “They will kill you!”
“He’s not going, little one,” Lytira whispered. She cut her eyes over to Lex. “He is staying here with us.”
Lex was beginning to tire of everyone telling him what he was and wasn’t going to do, but he trusted Acarius and he supposed he trusted Lytira. If they said to wait, he would wait… for now. He stepped back and Naya relaxed, letting go of his arm.
The Aiac man stared toward them, and Lex had the feeling the man had no problem seeing them through the darkness. “You have five minutes to decide, or she dies,” the man said. He stepped back toward the other Aiacs, slipping into shadow.
“How should we proceed, Rahmanasha Lytira?” Baram whispered.
Lytira snapped her head toward him. “I thought you had a plan,” she hissed.
“I did,” he said, “but this is something new. This many Aiacs would tear through our people in minutes. But so far they aren’t attacking. Perhaps we can use this.”
“Why don’t you ask your precious clan leaders? Where are they in this fight?” Lytira growled.
Baram lifted his hands. “They’re just trying to keep everyone safe, and so am I. You know that. You know me. You know I would never–”
“Never harm us? Never leave us exposed to an enemy, trapped outside the gates?” Her whisper rasped through the darkness.
Baram reached a hand toward her then seemed to think better of it, and let his hand fall. “Those were only villagers. I had no idea they’d be bringing Aiacs. And you had your horse-rancher with you,” he murmured. “Is he not strong enough to protect you?”
Lex felt Acarius tense beside him.
“Hey!" Acarius growled.
“Can we focus on saving Amelia?” Lex hissed. “We’re wasting time! Whatever baggage you all have to work out can wait until later.”
Baram turned toward him. “You know nothing of what you’ve caused,” he growled. “How dare you–”
“Exactly.” Lex’s whisper was thick. “I know nothing. I have absolutely no idea what’s even going on. If someone could explain any of this to me, then maybe I’d stop ‘causing’ all these things people seem to think I’m ‘causing!’”
“Easy,” Acarius whispered, placing his hand on Lex’s shoulder. Acarius turned to Lytira. “He’s right, you know.”
“We don’t have time to provide Lex a full historical breakdown of the entire world of Arameth,” Lytira hissed. “In case you didn’t notice, we’re about to be attacked!”
“Just tell me something that will help any of this make even a little sense. The Aiacs–” Lex nodded toward the shadows where the Aiacs stood. “You told me they were demon creatures, but you never said anything about them being shapeshifting lizard people. I mean… they’re human? And I killed that thing back at Dalton. How is it still alive? And more importantly, how do we keep it from killing Amelia?”
Baram turned to him. “Aiacs are demon creatures,” he growled, his voice quivering. “They are an abomination.”
“So I’ve heard,” Lex answered.
Acarius shook his head. “You don’t fully understand what that means, Lex. The Aiacs used to be Sephram.”
“Sephram?”
“My people,” said Lytira. She looked to Baram. “Our people. Some of them were even family once, until Ardis stripped their souls away and turned them into those.”
Lex stared at her. “So these Aiacs are your family?"
“No,” she said. “Maybe. We do not know. Once they turn, they all look like the one you killed. They no longer look like the Sephram they once were. And the one before you is not the one you killed. It is simply another. There are many of them, and they all look the same… but they are not immortal. Nor invincible. They bleed like any other men.”
That’s good news, thought Lex. “Why do they want me?” he asked.
“Because you are Sulanashum,” Naya’s small voice cut in.
“Hush!” A woman placed her hand over Naya’s mouth and drew her back into the crowd.
Lex looked between Acarius and Lytira. “Sulanashum?”
Acarius sighed. “Years ago, Marcus was sent to protect me, because the Ancients received a prophecy that I would be the one to save Arameth from the destruction Ardis had brought upon it.” He let out a bitter laugh. “They were wrong. Marcus died and Ardis’ reign holds as strong as ever. The world itself is collapsing. Your ‘ground tsunami,’ as you called it, is just one example.” His whisper grew more urgent. “It’s happening everywhere. But it wasn’t until you showed up that I–”
“Make your choice!” A voice cut through the darkness. The Aiac stood beside the fire again. He leaned down and grabbed Amelia as though she were weightless, holding her limp body by the throat with one arm. He shoved her toward the fire, and her hair dangled just out of the reach of the flames. “You are out of time.”
"That's enough," Lex said. He moved forward.
Lytira grabbed his arm.
“We cannot let him go,” Lytira whispered to Acarius. “Perhaps if we moved–”
Lex couldn’t wait for them to figure out their plans. He wrenched free of her grip and stepped forward, into the light. “I’m here,” he said. “Put Amelia down, away from the fire.”
The Aiac sneered. “I c
an feel the power wakening in her this moment,” he said. “She must feel strongly for you, to stir from such a deep sleep at the sound of your voice. Interesting. Perhaps I should rescind my bargain.”
Lex felt his heart speed at the Aiac’s statement, but he couldn’t process it right then. He pushed it aside for later. Right now, he had to figure out how to get Amelia and himself out of this without getting everyone killed.
Lex thought of Naya, of all the families standing in the shadows, of Lytira and Acarius, whom he’d come to view friends. He had brought this upon them – unknowingly, but still he had brought these creatures here. And Amelia…
He took another step forward. “Take me,” he said.
The Aiac raised an eyebrow. He tightened his fingers around Amelia’s throat.
The dark thing whispered inside Lex, shifting within his reach.
Between the tents, shadows slipped. Acarius and Lytira and the others were on the move.
“Let everyone else go," Lex called out.
“You will come willingly?” the Aiac hissed.
“No,” Lex said. “I will not.” He shoved his thoughts inward and grasped the darkness–
“Watch out!” a small voice yelled.
A shadow dropped from the sky, slamming into Lex and breaking his hold on the darkness within. A sixth Aiac, Lex realized as it wrestled him to the ground.
“Not thissss time, demonnn,” it hissed.
The other Aiacs scurried forward from the shadows, ringing around Lex.
“No!” a shrill scream cut through the night as Naya rushed outward, into the firelight. She threw up her hands and vines burst from the earth in all directions.
Lex locked his arms around the Aiac atop him to keep it from reaching Naya, but the other Aiacs were there in a breath. One leapt forward, slashing the small girl’s torso open with one smooth swipe of a clawed hand.
The Edge of Nothing_The Lex Chronicles_Book 1 Page 16
