The Beginning After The End 08

by Turtle Me

  “Faster, Spear Rider!” I shouted as Spear Rider chased after a plump rodent the size of his torso.

  “What use is your three steps if it takes you so long to recharge!” he retorted with a playful growl just before his body flashed.

  Spear Rider shadow stepped right in the rodent’s path, startling it, but just as he swept his aetheric claws down at our prey, the mole dipped under the snow and resurfaced several yards behind him.

  I let out a howl of laughter as my life partner yelled in frustration.

  We had been chasing after this snow mole for the past hour, hoping to bring it back to the village and have a feast. It was rare to see one of these reclusive beasts, and even more rare to catch one, as they could burrow into the snow faster than even a Shadow Claw could get close. Unlike its brethren, this mole continued to resurface rather than hiding deep in the snow, which had given us a chance.

  “This fearless rodent must be taught not to be so brazen,” Spear Rider hissed as he sprinted after it, with me following close behind.

  “I’ve heard stories about how these beasts are able to feed an entire village twice over because of their ability to make their bodies small or large,” I yelled, excitement pounding at my heart. “Imagine how proud Sleeps-in-Snow will be if we bring one back!”

  Spear Rider looked back with an eager grin. “Perhaps we’ll finally be allowed to train as pathfinders!”

  The thought of being one of the coveted seekers of answers, traveling far beyond the safety of the village hoping to find secrets, made my heart pound even harder.

  Filled with determination, I shadow stepped mid-sprint just behind the plump white rodent. That’s when I noticed that it was chewing on something as it was scurrying.

  My moment of distraction allowed the rodent to dip back into the snow and reappear just off the edge of a ravine.

  A shadow flashed by and I watched as Spear Rider leapt from the ravine’s edge and shadow stepped down into it and out of sight.

  “Spear Rider! Wai—”

  My ears twitched at a sharp, wet thud and a pained grunt from below, just barely audible in the silence of the snowy landscape. Then the gut-wrenching shriek of a Spear Beak’s battle cry resounded across the walls of the ravine.

  My vision swam as the blood rushed up to my head. I shadow stepped to the edge of the ravine where I found a Spear Beak on top of my partner.

  Without hesitation I shadow stepped once more on top of the lanky bird mounted on top of Spear Rider with my claws extended, but something flashed in the corner of my eye.

  Spinning, I brought my claws up in time to block a second Spear Beak’s sharp bill aimed straight for my throat.

  My paws gripped the ground and I slid to a halt just before going off the edge of the shelf of rock, which was high up on the side of the ravine.

  That’s when I noticed the trail of blood that I had made. Two red lines had been drawn in the snow by my own feet, but it wasn’t my blood. Despite the danger I was in, my gaze followed the crimson trail slowly, until I found myself looking at Spear Rider.

  My partner’s pale pelt was red with blood that was still pooling underneath him, his hollow eyes open in shock and pain.

  A howl ripped from my throat as the anguish and grief washed over me like a blizzard, and despite the Creator’s magic drained from my body, I gathered what I had left to sharpen and lengthen my claws.

  That’s when I noticed.

  The Spear Beaks, both dark as a stormy night, blended in with the shadow blanketed over us, and below the second Spear Beak’s talons was the rodent that they had used to lure us in, a thin white string attached to its neck.

  My eyes watered in rage as I shot forward, cursing to myself that I shouldn’t have wasted my third shadow step earlier to catch up to the rodent.

  The Spear Beak that had tried to kill me shuffled forward and met my claws with a barrage of stabs using its beak, forcing me to go on the defensive. I parried and dodged, careful not to slip on the melting snow beneath me, but my focus waned when the other Spear Beak began ripping a strip of flesh off my partner. It took its time swallowing the flesh down, its eyes locked on me, as if taunting me.

  The vile creature, eternal enemy of my people, continued to peck at and tear off pieces of Spear Rider, letting out elated squawks while I struggled to defend myself.

  Abruptly, the memory flashed out, followed by a jumble of other memories, of altercations with the Spear Beaks, of expression of fear, hatred and grief from the Shadow Claw tribe.

  And as quickly as the desire to help bring these two tribes together had come… that desire faded.

  I wasn’t sure if the animosity between the different tribes was a creation of the djinn or the result of eons of competition, war, and strife, but healing such old wounds would be the work of lifetimes, not some afternoon quest for me complete on my way through.

  For the first time, I stumbled after being pulled out of Three Steps’ memories, her emotions still lingering and affecting me.

  The two of us shared a long look, and even without speaking a single word, I knew by Three Steps’ expression that I had overstayed my welcome.

  A palpable tension clung to the air as we arrived back at the village and it was obvious that the gathering of Shadow Claws near the village entrance had something to do with it. Three Steps was scanning through the crowd, clearly concerned.

  It wasn’t until I spotted Caera that I realized what was going on. Her blade was drawn, eyes calm and deadly, but she remained in a neutral pose, unwilling to strike.

  I stepped forward to help her but Three Steps stopped me. She let out a few low mewls and stuck out her paw.

  My gaze shifted between my mentor and Caera before I impatiently accepted her invitation.

  “I don’t wish for a battle, but if you want my aid, I will need to know the whole truth.”

  With our hands pressed together, I sent her the memory of the Shadow Claw ambush, from the moment the first of them burst from the snow and killed Swiftsure, all the way to Caera’s destruction of the bodies and our formulation of the plan to get into their village.

  Throughout the vision, I felt Three Steps flinch away from me, but she never broke the contact, allowing me to complete the sending. I ended by replaying our discovery of the broken portal, the elderly Four Fists giving us their piece, and my conversation with Caera about needing to collect all the portal pieces in order to leave this zone.

  When we broke contact, I tried to get some sense of Three Steps’ feeling, but her feline face was unreadable.

  Damn it. I don’t have time for this.

  I got ready to accept the fact that Three Steps wouldn’t help us, and was about to God Step to Caera’s side when Three Steps flashed past me and appeared between the gathering of her tribe members and Caera.

  Following after her, I stood next to the Alacryan noble, whose expression finally relaxed when she saw me. “You’re here.”

  “Sorry I’m late,” I muttered, my eyes locked on the two familiar Shadow Claws leading the group.

  I could discern Left Tooth’s aggressive growling as his gaze flickered toward me and Caera while even the calm Sleeps-in-Snow let out a wizened rumble. Anger and fear were clear amongst the tribe members, but the reaction of the group changed as Three Steps spoke.

  “It’s hard to assess the situation here without knowing what they’re saying,” Caera said softly. “Do you know what’s going on?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know for certain, but I think the scouts that left earlier may have found signs of our battle with their tribe members.”

  While I didn’t understand her words, Three Steps’ tone was leveled and assertive. As she continued to speak, however, some of the Shadow Claws’ faces contorted into expressions of disbelief.

  Left Tooth in particular became even more enraged, puffing out his chest and regarding me with a look of derision, aether fluctuating erratically around him
.

  The conversation ended with Three Steps swinging her arm in the air and pointing behind her with a growl. She then turned back to us and motioned for us to follow her.

  Caera and I exchanged a wary glance and started to follow my feline mentor toward her hut when a shadow blurred toward us.

  Left Tooth and two of his lackeys darted past my companion and lunged toward me, his jagged aether claws humming balefully.

  My foot snapped out in a front kick but he shadow stepped at the last instant. I was ready for this, my vision swirling with the aetheric paths, feeding me the route that Left Tooth had taken. I drove my elbow back, catching him in the side of the head and knocking him to the ground.

  Caera had managed to block the slashing claws of the second Shadow Claw, and I grabbed a third mid-teleport and slammed him into the ground. Pain exploded from my calf, and I twisted away from Left Tooth’s claws as he darted away.

  Regis! Now would be a great time to be useful, I snapped, only to be met with silence.

  Annoyance grew to anger as Caera struggled to keep the other Shadow Claw at bay without gravely injuring it.

  Left Tooth let out a growl, his claws elongating and contorting the air around them before his form disappeared in yet another shadow step. Just as he appeared in front of me, I God Stepped as well. The haughty Shadow Claw’s head whirled side to side as I stood behind him.

  Sweeping his legs out from under him, I grabbed the side of his head and slammed Left Tooth face first into the snowy ground.

  The Shadow Claw’s arms flailed, his claws scratching desperately at the air, but I held him down firmly, my fingers all but ready to crush his head.

  “Greh!”

  My head spun to see that it was Three Steps who had called my name. Her eyes, filled with anger and sorrow, bore into me as she shook her head.

  It was then that I noticed that a blanket of silence had fallen over the entire village. Not even the soft howl of the wind could be heard as everyone’s attention was solely focused on me.

  “Tch.” I released my hold over Left Tooth and stood up, sweeping my gaze over the tribe members.

  Each one I looked at flinched in fear until my eyes locked onto Three Steps, who was walking toward me.

  Three Steps held out her paw one last time, and I saw a vision of the portal piece. It was in the caves just above the waterfall, hidden in a bed of black sand beneath a glinting, quartz-crusted boulder.

  I stood there dumbly, going over the memory once more just to make sure I wouldn’t forget, when a light nudge snapped me back to my mentor. Three Steps held up her other paw, handing me a hollow ball, slightly smaller than my palm, that rattled at the slightest movement.

  I’d seen the younger children play with similar balls, and Three Steps had shown me a memory in which she taught them how to use it. Rarely, the hardy little trees in the village would grow a fruit large enough to turn into this toy. When the fruit dried, it became incredibly hard and trapped the seed inside. The adults would pull out the stem, leaving a hole just slightly smaller than the seed in the top of the ball, and would cut a thin seam in the side just before the hardening process was complete.

  It was one way in which the kittens learned to manifest their claws, as only by using an aetheric claw could they pull the seed through the hole.

  Prying my gaze away from the toy, which I knew would be crucial for my growth, I looked at Three Steps once more.

  My chest tightened as Three Steps walked past me and picked up Left Tooth without another word. My gaze followed her as she walked off toward her tribe members without once looking back.

  “It’s time to go,” I finally said to Caera, turning my back to my mentor as well.

  Perhaps sensing my mood, the Alacryan noble walked silently by my side as the two of us made our way across the village to the waterfall.

  I struggled to keep myself from looking back. Regret and guilt tore at my insides as I wished nothing more than to thank and say goodbye to the mentor who had shared and taught me so much in the past few days.

  But I knew her duty was to her village, and it would be wrong of me to disparage the trust she had with her tribe members by acting so close to her. Of all the trials in the Relictombs, this zone was the cruelest in the way it tested an ascender.

  I was ready to be finished with it.

  320

  The Wild Things

  I gulped down a mouthful of icy water, letting it wash down my throat before standing back up.

  Beside me, Caera winced as she swallowed down the crystal-clear liquid flowing into the waterfall nearby. I continued to survey our surroundings, careful to make sure Left Tooth or his entourage hadn’t followed us.

  “I don’t think they’ll try and confront us again,” Caera said casually, walking over to me. “It would be obvious to even the children how outmatched they were against you.”

  “You held your own pretty well back there.” I raised my brow, studying the Alacryan noble. “It seems like you’ve actually grown stronger since we arrived in this zone.”

  “It’s such a rare occurrence for you to compliment me, Grey,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “It’s a shame that it had to sound so condescending.”

  “I didn’t mean for it to come out that way,” I responded, suddenly flustered. “My apologies.”

  “Apology accepted.” A faint smile played at the edge of Caera’s pink lips. “Now let’s grab the portal piece before any other trouble shows up. It’s been too peaceful out here and it’s making me anxious.”

  Nodding in agreement, I pointed toward a set of caves formed on the sloping face of the mountain peak. “We’re nearly there.”

  The two of us made our way over to the other side of the wide stream, arriving in front of an obscure crack between two larger caves. Taking the lead, I squeezed through the entrance, which was just barely wide enough for me to fit in sideways.

  “Um, Grey? Care to give me a hand?”

  I turned back to see Caera stuck midway, struggling to dislodge her upper body.

  “You’re lucky Regis isn’t here,” I said with a smirk before pulling her free.

  Even with Three Steps’ memory guiding us in the right direction, it still took the better half of an hour to navigate the winding tunnel, which branched off several times as we went deeper.

  Finally, I found the glittering boulder that signified the final split and started counting twenty-eight short paces before I started digging with my hands.

  Hidden in a layer of black sand was a thin slab of white stone about four inches wide and eight inches long.

  “Only three left,” Caera said with a deep breath.

  I stored the portal piece in my dimension rune. “One step closer.”

  Suddenly, a dull throb radiated from my lower back before echoing off my core, causing me to buckle forward.

  “Grey!”

  “It’s… fine,” I grunted, standing back up. “It’s Regis again. I don’t know what’s happening to him, but it looks like he’s closing in on whatever he’s been trying to do.”

  The “pulses”, which had started just the day before, had grown steadily stronger. Luckily, they were more a bother than anything else, but I really was starting to worry about my snarky companion.

  Snapping out of my thoughts, I turned to Caera who had been staring at me in concern. “Let’s go.”

  The two of us walked silently on the powdery snow, having already traveled quite a few miles from the mountain where we had located the Shadow Claws’ portal piece.

  We were headed roughly in the direction of the Spear Beaks’ village, hoping to obtain their piece of the puzzle and get more information on the last two pieces. As to whether they’d willingly give us this information, I had no qualms with forcing it out of them after experiencing Three Steps’ memories.

  Looking down, I focused on the dried-fruit toy that Three Steps had given me, which I had pulled out to keep me oc
cupied as we walked. While frustrating to no end, I knew that mastering this children’s trinket would be the first step in creating my own aether construct.

  I coalesced aether around my hand once more before digging my index finger into the small opening of the fruit. I started trying to squeeze violet aura through the tip of my finger and into the inside of the fruit. I only served to push the fruit away as a dull purple bulge formed over my finger.

  Focusing as hard as I could on the small opening of the toy, I tried to lengthen and narrow the tip of the aetheric aura surrounding my finger, but I was only able to push it out a fraction of an inch more before it became painful.

  I was reminded of the Aether Cannon ability I had come up with to move through the snow and tried to use that as a basis. Except, once enough aether gathered at a central point, it burst out, taking the toy along with it.

  “Pfft.”

  I turned to see Caera watching me with a smile in her eyes and lips pressed shut from trying to keep from laughing. “Have you grown frustrated with it enough to shoot it out of your own hands?”

  “I didn’t do it on purpose,” I grumbled, jogging a few paces to where the toy had landed. “This toy is just proving to be more of a challenge than I expected.”

  “Shadow Claws spend most of their childhood training with this, and that’s taking into account their innate aptitude for this ability.”

  I picked up the dried fruit and gave it a shake before turning back to Caera. “So?”

  “So…” Caera walked up to me and wrapped her hands over my hand and the toy, gently pushing it down. “You’re not going to get this in the span of a few hours, especially when half of your brain is busy figuring out what to do next.”

  “Did you gain wisdom alongside your horns?” I scoffed.

  “That’s discrimination,” Caera pouted. “And no, I didn’t. People just tend to grow up rather fast when their childhood is difficult.”