by B. T. Narro
He flattened himself against the ceiling as much as he could, shutting his eyes and giving a silent prayer that his dangling cloak wouldn’t be seen. He felt the dajrik’s massive body move beneath him. Desil felt as helpless as if he were treading water above a whale.
The giant paused right beneath him. Desil’s heart stopped. He’d been caught, surely. He hoped his death would be quick.
The beast shuffled around. Desil opened his eyes and leaned back for an upside down look at the top of its horned head. It swiveled as if the giant was looking for something, perhaps wondering what it had heard. Desil held his breath. He tried to hold in his sweat as well as it ran down from his forehead, but it was no use. A single drop fell onto the dajrik’s hairless scalp. Desil couldn’t move without making sound. Instead, he pressed himself against the ceiling again and prepared for the beast to grab him.
Desil had already gone past the moment where he thought he could hold on the longest, his limbs shaking. He didn’t know how he could fight out of the giant’s grip in this state if it had anywhere near the strength of the large Marros.
The giant grumbled in its powerful voice. “Ma…ree…uh?”
It took another moment to search before bending down. It came back up and walked on, the bucket of water in hand, not Desil.
He couldn’t hold on any longer even if he’d needed to, and fell to the ground. He tried to soften it as much as he could before his feet hit, but every muscle in his body was drained, including his mind. He came down hard, barely with enough strength to roll with his momentum. His hands ached so intensely that it was difficult to tell if he was injured elsewhere.
Never had such a terrifying feeling come over him as wanting to stand but being unable to. It was slow going, but he squirmed over to the edge of the precipice as the dajrik’s footsteps receded. His entire party was waiting below, practically dancing with shock at seeing his face come over the ledge.
They all spoke at once, none loud enough for him to make out what they said. He didn’t have the strength to get down. He could barely get words out to address what seemed to be concern.
“I’m fine. Give me a moment.”
“Enough moments!” Leida scolded. “Come down here now!”
He rolled away from the ledge. His hands bled and shook. His whole body felt to be on fire. But he was alive. A surprising smile played on his lips. A chuckle found its way up from his stomach.
When he could, he made his way down to his waiting party.
“What happened up there?” Leida asked. Her eyes widened when she saw the blood on his hands.
He explained climbing to suspend himself above the dajrik, talking quickly to get to the part of interest. “I saw akorell metal, more than what we’d need, but—”
An elated Basen interrupted before he could finish. “Where is it? Just up there?”
“Yes, but there are many dajriks between us and the metal. They seem to be living on the grass field that’s on the way to the akorell. I don’t see how we can get past them from here, but if we can figure out where we are, we might be able to climb up to the akorell metal from below.”
Basen pointed. “So there’s a ledge up there before a field of grass, where dajriks are living? Past them is more akorell than we need?”
“Yes, and there might be more dajriks or akorell that are out of view,” Desil said. “All I can see is sky and the ocean horizon past the field of dajriks. There could be other ledges below. I doubt any humans have been here before.”
“And survived,” Leida added, worry evident in her tone. “You have to be more careful, Desil, especially if we must separate again.”
“I will.”
“Don’t lie,” Beatrix said with equal concern.
“All right, I really will.”
Leida frowned at him as she took cloth wrapped around a spool from her bag. “Give me your hands,” she said.
Basen spoke while she bandaged Desil’s hands. “If any of you do separate and need to return to the rest of us, I will make a portal to the nearest area where I believe you to be, at sundown each day until you return. I will keep the portal open as long as I can, and as long as it’s clear of others who might wish to come for us. Does everyone understand?”
He looked at Desil specifically, so Desil nodded.
“Good,” Basen said. “Now I need you to take me up there, Desil, so I can figure out how we’re going to get that akorell metal.”
Leida stepped in front of them. “Wait. I want you to promise me something in front of Beatrix, Father.”
He took her hands in his. “We’ll be safe, and we’ll return soon. There’s no need to worry.”
“That’s not what I wanted to hear, though I do appreciate it nonetheless. No, I want you to promise that you will run to us if something goes wrong. Do not make any choice that would result in a sacrifice. Neither here nor in the future.”
Basen looked at Desil with a raised eyebrow. “He’s too young to be sacrificed. I wouldn’t dare.”
Although it sounded mostly like a joke, the psychic said nothing. Leida seemed satisfied enough as Basen let go and got his hands on the precipice.
Desil’s hands stung and his shoulders burned as he climbed up behind Basen.
“Be careful,” Leida urged from below.
Basen climbed quicker as he got the hang of it.
“I used to look down during my climbs,” he said after a sudden stop. “Usually during my first resting point. But at my age, I think I’m just going to stare at this rock in front of my face.”
“A good idea.” It wasn’t that they were deathly high yet, but taking a quick break and not looking down were solid strategies nonetheless. Besides, Desil’s muscles could use as much rest as he could give them.
They took the opportunity to listen for movement above them. The wind whispered, nothing more.
They reached the top with little struggle. Basen offered his hand and helped Desil up. They stayed against the nearest wall on their way to the opening, not that Desil was sure it would help if a dajrik’s head came up from the ledge. His heart trilled at the thought.
“Let me go first,” Basen said. “Stay back and be ready to run in case they see me.”
Basen carefully walked toward the same rock Desil had hid behind to spy. The headmaster crouched low and got himself mostly hidden before extending his neck to the side and turning his head. Desil slowly came up behind until he was able to see the akorell metal without risk of the dajriks spotting him. He handed Basen the spyglass.
“Do you see it?” Desil asked.
“Yes. You were right. More than we need.”
Basen turned the spyglass toward the dajrik’s colony. After several deep sighs, he handed the spyglass back to Desil as he turned around.
“You’re also right that I don’t see a way to the akorell metal without the dajriks seeing us.”
Desil could hear an idea coming from the headmaster’s tone. “But?”
“But I might be able to make a portal to there. The akorell metal has broken down the invisible walls of our world enough already that I feel it’s possible.”
Desil tried to recall the rules of portals he’d heard from Basen the last time they’d spoken about it. An immense amount of bastial energy had to be gathered in the same area over time, which was why a portal could be made anywhere akorell metal had been found. Akorell sucked in bastial energy and held it seemingly forever, or until someone with skill over the energy pulled it out.
“So you can make a portal to anywhere, even if you haven’t stood there?”
“No, but in this case I believe we’re close enough that if I stare at it long enough, I can lock the image in my mind. It would be the only time I’ve done this, though. I had to have been there before so I could visualize the location when I made every other portal. It’s difficult to explain.”
“No need at the moment.” Time was against them.
Desil thought of an issue in the silence that followed
. He hated to disrupt Basen’s concentration, but it needed to be brought up.
“Even if we take a portal there, the noise of removing the akorell metal would alert the dajriks.”
“There’s a chemist who can help us with that. He knows of a toxic mixture that the metal absorbs, which will cause the akorell to melt. It can take hours, and the fumes are toxic. It drips out if the akorell is upside down, but it should work in this case.”
“And the akorell metal will change back to a solid state later?”
“Yes, and retain its ability to absorb bastial energy, but there’s only a short window of time between when the toxic mixture is gone from the akorell metal—causing it to be in a liquid state—and when the metal hardens again. We’ll need to collect it during that time or it will stick to the rock again and need to be chiseled out. This can be done without detection if we begin at nightfall.”
So that meant they would be teleporting to the akorell metal eventually; the next part of the plan was set. Desil convinced himself to trust Leida’s father. He wouldn’t put his own daughter at such risk. Basen would come up with a safe method. Then all that’s left is finding eppil plants and figuring out how to use both together to make an explosion.
Desil couldn’t think of the flying creatures’ mountains and akorell metal without seeing the explosion that killed his father. He lost himself to memories for a moment, both painful and sweet, until something in the sky startled him.
“Marros!”
Basen backed into Desil. “Where?”
“High above the akorell metal. Two of them.”
Basen grumbled something as he spotted them. “Do you see any more?” he asked Desil.
They observed the sky for what could be a deathly threat. Soon they agreed that no, there were just two, but this was still a terrible sign. There was no way for the birds to miss the glowing akorell beneath them.
“Those are probably the two I saw from the top of the Fjallejon Mountains,” Desil said. “I assume they came through the portal you made to get us out of Kanoan and have been searching for akorell metal here.”
“I agree. Now that they’ve found it, more will come. That gives us less time to—”
Basen stopped as they heard a sound like a dajrik grabbing part of the wall in front of them.
Desil and Basen rushed away from the ledge, but it was already too late. Desil heard a hand slap down on the ground behind him.
“Yaru? Aye ree!” Its voice held more interest than anger, sounding a little less deep and powerful, as if belonging to the child dajrik.
Desil risked a backward glance. The dajrik patted the ground in front of it with hands large enough to reach around Desil’s waist. It was the child after all, but it still had a couple feet over Desil. He and Basen watched nervously as the dajrik tried to get them to come to it as if they were dogs.
“Were you close to establishing a portal?” Desil asked Basen.
“Yes. I just need to stare at it for a little while longer. We could attempt to come back later, but I have a feeling this dajrik will either follow us or tell its parents.”
“It seems like he wants to play. I could distract it…” Desil wasn’t sure he liked his own suggestion.
The child dajrik waited patiently as it crouched with its hands open on the ground. It spoke again, its gravelly voice deeper than Kirnich’s. “Ka re kaya. Kaya. Kaya!”
“It doesn’t look particularly fast,” Basen commented. “And I don’t see how the other dajriks could be aware of us unless they come over here as well.”
“So it’s decided then…” It seemed to be the only option, though Desil still had trouble believing that.
“Yes, you distract it as I finish establishing the portal.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Desil walked toward the dajrik, careful not to make any sudden movements that might scare the child. There was no way to know how old it was, but the dajriks generally didn’t appear as intelligent as humans, and this little brute most likely had an underdeveloped mind. Desil would try to use that to his advantage.
The creature rose from a squatting position. It clapped its hands twice with obvious excitement as it let out a grunt. Desil gestured for it to follow him as he started the other way. The child started after him with surprising speed.
Startled, Desil ran a few steps before stopping. He looked over his shoulder with a pretend grin and gestured again for the creature to come. The dajrik hopped two feet at a time but lost its balance and fell forward. Basen skirted around it as it grumbled and got itself up to its knees.
The child looked around as it seemed to be sulking. It hardly had a neck, but now its head had sunk even lower. From this close, Desil could see that it was in fact made of flesh and bone rather than rock. It moved fluidly as it put its arms over its bald head. There was a youthful spirit in its vibrant black eyes. As it opened its mouth to moan in what sounded to be pain, Desil caught sight of a set of gray teeth with two prominent fangs not too sharp, similar to a human’s mouth yet slightly exaggerated.
The dajrik saw Basen behind it as he focused his attention the other way. It stopped its moaning and, with great effort, got itself up to start after Leida’s father.
“Wait, come back. Over here. Hey!”
The dajrik stopped to look back at Desil gesturing and calling for it to come. After a moment, it turned the other way for Basen.
I need a more distracting sound. Desil snorted like a pig. The silly noise turned the dajrik’s head back and pulled open its mouth with wonder. Desil shifted into a string of gibberish full of contrasting tones and idiotic noises. He danced around, flailing his arms, then took a risk by jumping toward the dajrik with two feet just as the creature had done toward him earlier.
This seemed to excite the child as it clapped its hands again. It put its feet together, its stone-like arms wiggling slowly like a sleepy dog’s tail. The hard flesh of its body looked like rock armor stuck to a giant man. Its face was a crudely chiseled expression of concentration onto a block of stone.
The child dajrik hopped like a rabbit and shook the ground as it landed. It swayed, reaching out toward the wall for balance but retracting its hand and finding purchase. It seemed rather proud of itself as its mouth cracked into a grin. Desil’s turn was next, the creature moving its finger in a circle while pointing at him.
Before Desil could jump, the dajrik’s interest shifted to Basen. It ran toward him, the rumble of its feet still not enough to break Basen’s concentration. The dajrik grabbed him by his cloak and pulled, yanking him off his feet.
Basen let out the start of the scream before stopping himself. To Desil’s horror, the dajrik sat down onto Basen’s back. A loud grunt came out from Basen as he tried to squirm free, and Desil attempted to shove the dajrik off him.
“What’s it doing?” Basen asked as he managed to escape, the dajrik still reaching out toward him.
Desil put his hands up against the child’s chest and tried to push it back. The dajrik tried to snatch something around Desil. With a quick look over his shoulder, Desil figured out what it was.
“I think it likes your black cloak. Take it off.”
“I need my cloak! Just keep it away,” Basen ordered. “I’m almost done.”
The child hardly seemed to notice Desil. He pushed the child back with one arm and wiggled his cloak with the other. “Want this?”
The child ignored his cloak, looking into Desil’s eyes instead as it pushed hard, shoving Desil into Basen.
“Desil, get him back however you can!” Basen instructed.
Desil put all of his strength behind his next shove and managed to push the creature back a step. To his relief, the dajrik laughed with a deep chuckle. Desil ran around it, waving his arms to hold its attention. But as the child turned, it lost its balance and stumbled backward. Desil cursed as he saw the scene unfolding. The creature fell into the other wall, slamming its back against it.
For a moment, Desil didn’t think th
e dajrik had been hurt. It stared with its lipless mouth agape as if shocked. Then it let out a wail so loud, the noise shook Desil’s chest.
“Quiet it!” Basen hissed.
Was there even a point anymore? Desil ran to the ledge overlooking the grass field and saw exactly what he’d expected. A couple of the giants were already on their way over, hurried by the child’s deep hollers.
“They’re coming!” Desil told Basen.
“I almost have it.”
Desil ran over and grabbed the child dajrik by its enormous wrist to pull it up. Its wails died down somewhat, matching the level of a loud human baby, still causing a sharp pain to Desil’s ears. He got behind the creature and shoved it toward the ledge. The dajrik’s body was softer than rock, though still harder than human flesh. Desil was sweating from the tremendous effort by the time he finally got the creature into view so its parents could see it wasn’t injured. Desil stayed one step away from putting himself in their sight.
One of the older dajriks called out something that stopped the child’s cries. It turned around as if interested again in Basen, who still seemed to be concentrating so much that he showed no awareness of the grave situation.
“Got it!” Basen announced. “Let’s go—god’s mercy, Desil!”
“I know! Run!”
The child dajrik was reaching for Basen’s cloak again, but Desil softened the ground beneath the creature’s feet. It tripped and fell when it tried to walk and started to wail once more.
By the time he and Basen made it to the other end, Desil could hear the adult dajriks climbing up into the open-ended cave behind him. They shouted something as Basen and Desil got in position to descend the precipice side by side—where they each got a view of the two massive dajriks enraged enough to run past the wailing child.
