The Depths of Darkness

by Laurie Bowler

  “Ahmed,” I said kindly. “How are you? It’s been a long time.”

  “I know,” he grinned suddenly. “I’m fine. I hear you’re a new one to the realm, information is sparse here. But every time a newcomer enters I make sure I get the latest gossip. I remember you when you were learning.”

  “I remember you too,” I replied trying to maintain a certain degree of composure. “Although vaguely. Have you seen anything unusual happening around here?”

  He thought for a few minutes, his eyes watched Luke warily, as he carried on readying himself to strike. I sighed with disagreement at the creatures who faced a sudden uncertain stand off when there was no need, unless Ahmed decided he wanted to fight of course. In that case, I would have no choice but to make sure he didn’t get closer than he needed too.

  “Will you pair please put aside whatever differences you have,” I sighed heavily, “This isn’t the time or the place.”

  “How do you know a scumbag like him?” Luke asked harshly.

  To Ahmed’s delight, he chuckled and shook slightly with hidden contained laughter. The mortal form he’d chosen to take wasn’t his usual form; his was something volatile and passively disagreeable, hideous and unapproachable.

  “Luke,” I said, “just stand up will you please. He won’t hurt us, and I trust him.”

  Luke snorted his dislike at the situation.

  “I see you’ve accumulated your own bodyguard these days,” Ahmed commented delighted by the reaction from Luke. “If you’re looking for Lilly, she passed through a few minutes ago. She went that way into the cave on the other side, although I have no idea what she wants in there. It contains death and isolation.”

  I nodded and moved on, with Luke hanging behind watching Ahmed. His eyes screwed up into tiny slits as he angrily and reluctantly had to agree to my wishes not to harm Ahmed or cause a scene.

  “How do you know him?” he asked in a rough tone.

  “He was exiled for something completely stupid a few years ago. It’s his own fault but I never believed it warranted exiling him here, they could have chosen a better location where he could have learnt how to reign in his power and then return and work for the realm. It just felt like a waste,” I reluctantly admitted. Ahmed’s crimes didn’t warrant his exiled state especially not to this planet; I’d never fully understood the realms decision to banish him entirely to a world like this. Maybe I didn’t understand the crimes he’d committed or the depths of them and what they’d caused on the mortals involved, but his magic and his shape shifting form would have been a new revelation to the realm, one of which we could have used.

  “Are you serious?” his asked his voice rose disbelievingly. “I don’t think you should even begin to talk like that, not with everything he did.”

  I stopped walking to face him, my eyes gentled in my approach.

  “So you know what he did?”

  “Of course,” he choked. “Why wouldn’t I know? I am after all a demon of some kind although the gentler kind compared to that monster.”

  “He’s not that bad,” I defended gently. “And besides there’s been much worse than him.”

  The noise behind us signaled that we were not alone; Luke grabbed me and pulled me into the nearest covering he could find, the bushes to the side of us. He held me close to his side. We both watched the space ahead of us and we saw Lilly appear; she was apparently unharmed from whatever lay ahead inside the cave that Ahmed had pointed us to. She floated harmoniously above the ground, her feet barely touching where she walked. She almost gloated with her accomplishment; she turned her head in our direction without actually seeing us. I shrunk backwards and nearly lost my balance, her eyes had turned entirely black, the pupils covered the whites of her eye balls. It was something the realm had discovered that could happen to a witch once she gave her soul to the evil spells she’d used. Lilly was further gone into the dark world than I’d originally thought, and it scared me. For once in my life I was genuinely worried for a friend. Even though she wasn’t close to me, to a certain extent I felt her pain but I couldn’t understand why. She was by far the most severe case in the history of the realm that I’d ever heard about.

  “Did you see her eyes?” he asked beside me, blinking rapidly as if he too couldn’t believe his eyes.

  “I did,” I sighed heavily. “It's too late for her. All we can do is hope we stop whatever it is she’s up to before anyone else dies.”

  “Well,” he replied, “I’m only here to stop you from dying. Your name is next on the list apparently and I’m not loosing you now.”

  His words were left suspended in the air. The meaning behind them was something that I didn’t care to delve into at this precise moment; there are more important matters that needed my attention. Whatever it was between me and him could wait until a more appropriate moment came along, and only then would I discuss it with another person in tow who could listen and advise me on the best course of action.

  We both waited until she’d turned the final bend in the valley, her airy response to any dangers swamped by her evil and almost demonic state. she was balancing on the precipice of becoming a demon.

  The cave loomed larger than life ahead of us, its mouth looked forbidding as we approached. The scary large moths scattered when we approached, and the moaning and grunting inside made me quake beside Luke, but I pretended to be as brave as possible to prevent him from acting as overly protective that I knew he was capable of.

  Chapter Ten

  Once we were inside, the inhabitants weren’t quite as accepting to our presence as I’d hoped they might be, even though I had no idea what lay ahead of us at the time of entering the cave. The inhabitants puffed clouds of smoke from their nostrils, and they paced the inside of their cave dwelling uneasily. Some of them, which I presumed to be the males of this particular clan, pawed at the ground and rattled the cave. Their echoes of disconcertment rang all around us. It was as I’d expected, whatever Lilly had come in here for, she made sure to ruffle the fur of the beasts before departing. Their snarls of outrage made me stumble slightly. The largest of the breed charged in our direction, halting a few inches from contact with my body before swinging his backside around and charging in the opposite direction. It appeared to be a show of leadership and to test my resilience to their clan.

  This was the first time I’d seen or come face to face with these beasts. They are a rare occurrence, and one that only existed in the outer realms due their inability to accept other worlds and to behave;they could not be tamed. The Meniagier only existed inside the informative books belonging to the realm. They’d become legendary, over a passive amount of time elapsing, for their attacks and suitability to act as guards on behalf of the realm because of their endurance against weather and all manner of attacks. But no one had thus far managed to tame them long enough for them to learn and to become diverse to the needs of other creatures, whom they ate constantly according to reports.

  I stood confronted and found myself backed into a corner of the cave. Luke stood a few feet away from me, his hand still holding onto mine. I could feel the sweat pouring from his skin, the impossibly cold skin of his could still manage to sweat as do most human things. It was something that still managed to shock me.

  The black haired Meniagier beasts swarmed around us, their giant sized bodies locked together with each other. They looked as though they were trying to mimic a chain reaction, to show their comrades they were better than the first. Their unusual appearance was eerily scary, yellowed giant sized teeth that were almost as big as a fully formed human being. They had shabby long black haired fur that reached down to the ground, horns situated on the far side of their heads and another slightly above the tail. Their horns I knew from the review of the information could move at will, bending beyond the imagination.

  Out of all of the creatures living in the forgotten worlds, these were the ones that were the most feared. Gruesome in their attacks, they never attacked singularly but as
a pack, all of them joined together through some spiritual network. Their feeding habits were almost human in the way they were both carnivores and vegetarians. They ate whenever the opportunity presented itself; they weren’t overly fussy about the morsels that filled their giant swelling stomachs.

  “I think we have a slight problem,” Luke commented through tight lips.

  “You think!” I squeaked, loud enough that it tactlessly annoyed the beasts more so than before.

  Their display of brotherhood against intruders was magnetic. The largest beast somersaulted in the air landing easily on his hind feet, bouncing forwards onto his front feet and then noisily snorting and digging trenches with his hooves into the solid cemented ground.

  “I have an idea.” I whispered.

  Out of nowhere a thought occurred.

  I wasn’t sure if Luke heard me, he seemed to be quiet which wasn’t a very normal occurrence with him. The vampire that irritated me and seemed to compel me towards him at the same time, even when I wanted to dislike him, had grown incredibly quiet. The idea came from one of the journals of a realm witch who’d tried to tame the beasts but had met his untimely death in the process. Matace had given me the journal he’d found many centuries ago. He’d been a massive believer in making sure I learnt about the many inhabitants I may or may not come across while I remained an active member of the realm. He’d informed me it would build my knowledge and bring forth any hidden powers that I might posses, but hadn’t founded yet.

  My spell began to manifest itself into a dark shapeless image, conjured to match the size and speed of the Meniagier beasts. Frighteningly it launched itself across the gap towards them in the aim of attack, striking down anything that moved swiftly into its path. It followed my directions and my instructions.

  The dark shaped form met the beast head on, hostility poured into the air, with the spinning shape sickeningly dizzying itself around. The Meniagier roared their disdain and pawed at the ground, while they snorted in an effort to provoke me, the beasts prepared themselves for battle. The susceptibility of the dark shaped evil lord I’d manifested was incredible. A once untrained out of control shadow of death which I’d managed to control, unwittingly held onto me like a plague of death hooked to my back. This was the Meniagier’s only known weakness. One of the many witches who’d tried to tame these beasts had manifested another lord, but had found himself a small morsel of breakfast instead of finishing his investigation. Luckily his notes had made their way back to the right hands within the realm, Matace’s.

  “Way to go Patty,” Luke applauded beside me, clearly pleased with my swift action using all of my powers and the spells that I knew. “Fancy doing the same thing...oh...about eleven more times?”

  “Not really,” I yelled back at him, “manifesting dark lord’s is tiring, you know.”

  He backed himself as far into the corner as he could, and watched wide eyed at the display of fighting between me and the beasts. Their own ferocious snarling stepped up a notch, rearing onto hind legs the largest beast left the safety of numbers of the pack and launched himself towards me. He closed in on me, but the beast missed my position by a few mere inches, and my dark lord launched its own attack. Dispelling the threat to its master into oblivion, shards of light burst into the darkened cave, lighting small shards across the walls that I could hear drip with the dampness of the water inside the cave.

  On closer inspection of the beasts, I thought back to their pictures locked away inside the head quarters, and they did not do true justice to the creatures. Hair hung from them similar to that of a buffalo, their horns sharpened and an array of colours which designated leaders from females and the like.

  The pack shoved aside, and another larger beast stepped forward. I didn’t realise that it was at all possible for anything to be larger than the size of the previously dispelled beast. It stood inches from my face, breathing its stomach wrenching breath all over me. I wanted to gag with the sickness that was threatening to come to the surface. Its breath was disgusting and nothing like the movies where the beast and the heroine seemed to gain an understanding. Their breath was always lovely and fresh. Why did I have to meet a beast that couldn’t be bothered to use toothpaste or mints?

  I dared not breathe or move a single muscle on my face. Luke inched himself towards me, slowly, and was struck backwards by the roar of one of the nearby mates of the beast. He had no choice but to leave me to face him alone. Its close proximity would be easy for the beast to rip my head clean off my shoulders and spit me out if he chose to. Dangerously close, he stood a massive fifteen feet taller than me, easily accomplishing its task of breakfast, the wide girth of its stomach and inset of its teeth were ferociously clear, which wasn’t made clear inside the so called information in the realm, something I would rectify if I got out of here alive!

  Suddenly and sharply his horn began to move edging its way slowly in my direction. Luke managed to reach me finally, and stood behind me, his hand on my lower back where I felt him grip a fistful of my clothing ready to launch me away from the beast if he had to. My hands trembled with the anticipation of whatever he was doing. Its horn moved towards my face, the sharpness of the tip I dreaded in case it sliced through my skin and I swallowed rapidly. Instead it touched me gently and searched my skin. As if sensing my nervousness and disposition, it back away slightly shaking its head, its tongue lolled to the side of its mouth almost comically. I felt like he was trying to reassure me, in his own small way; after all I was the one that entered their world.

  Puffs of cloudy breath left its mouth and nostrils as he continued to search my skin, leaving small indents from the depths of his touch. His eyes flashed unfamiliar messages while gentleness lay beneath the depths and began to rapidly rise to the surface. I saw something like recognition in his eyes that shocked him and his eyes widened.

  Eventually, his tongue flicked out and it slapped a sloppy, uncalled for, wet kiss down my cheek, leaving in its wake a wet trail of saliva. Out the corner of my eye Luke grimaced and coughed to conceal his laughter, while the beast then turned to him and began to pound its own feet in a weird tribal dance. The others followed suit. The pounding caused rocks to loosen from the sides of the cave and plummet to the ground, landing and smashing into tiny fragments on the floor. The loudness was overwhelming and confusing. This was something I’d never envisioned happening to me and the Meniagier.

  “Luke,” I whispered, “step away from me,”

  “What if they hurt you or try to hurt you?” he asked in a whisper as low as the one I’d used, his tone dripped worry and concern, softening my insides towards him again.

  “I don’t think they will,” I replied softly. “I think this is their way of accepting me into their fold. Amazing isn’t it?”

  “Amazing,” he choked. “Dangerous and stupid are a few of the names I’d call it.”

  I smiled softly and turned to him to show I was being brave and by far standing taller in some ways than he was as a vampire. Seeing my reaction he backed away. Simultaneously the noise stopped; silence prevailed around the cave.

  Spiritually I felt myself bonding and making a connection with them. This was a historical moment, and something many had died while trying to accomplish. I reached out my hand and tentatively touched the nose of the beast in front me, trembling and with shaky fingers. I edged my fingers so they sprawled over his fur to cover more ground. The beast eyed my hand warily, his eyes flickering softly and he jumped slightly when I shuffled closer to him. I began to whisper soft words of encouragement, murmuring gently to him while I felt my way around and down the thick length of its neck. Its horn moved aside to allow me access and then gently flicked my hair backwards making me giggle in response.

  “That’s it,” I said softly. “I won’t hurt you. No one will hurt you.”

  His fur felt rough in some places, and sparse between my fingers it wasn’t quite as thick as it looked from the outset, but very thin and long enough to cover the entire bod
y. I threaded my fingers through its mane of hair, feeling the softness, while the beast allowed me to ease myself closer to its body without attacking me. Surprisingly it began to trust me, and showed me its gentle nature that hadn’t been recognised before by the gleam it held in its eyes.

  I was so close to its jaws that I didn’t think that it would have been possible for it to reach down to me and snap me up by my clothes, and throw me onto its back. I clung onto its mane in fright and saw the sickening height to the ground. The Meniagier turned slowly, almost like it was aware of the height between me sitting on its back and the ground. The sheer drop was frightening and I didn’t want to look down, not even to see Luke’s reaction.

  The beast seemed to present me to the rest of its pack, and I watched in fascination as they began to bend and fall to the floor. This was their way, I suppose of showing respect; it felt like I was being honoured but I wasn’t sure why. It was a ritual I never heard of, saved for those that mattered . It was a sign of respect; they were accepting me into their fold as one of their own pack.

  Grinning with the achievement, I was sure my grin would split my cheeks soon. I twisted around to see Luke, who remained statuesque in the corner, without even flinching. His smile was firmly plastered on his face, and I saw him being guarded by another Meniagier, so he was encompassed and unable to move. His aura sent out a message of impatience and boredom. I reacted by poking my tongue out at him, acting like a child who’d just been given a brand new sparkly toy to play with.

  I felt the amazing feeling spread through me quickly, they were accepting me and I couldn’t quite believe it. The smell didn’t bother me anymore and I didn’t feel the need to gag or to hold my mouth like I had done when I’d first entered the cave. It felt like a special bond had just taken place and these amazing but incredibly, severely misconstrued creatures had become a part of me in some weird way.

  Slowly the Meniagier bent in the middle and gently lowered its great hull of a body to the ground to allow me to slip easily to the floor. Luke watched me with his eyes wide and passively interested.