by Scott Moore
Mollie was already moving away from him. Malik noticed that while he had flown through the air, crashed into a wall, and narrowly missed being turned into shredded meat; he had never dropped the sword.
“Circle!” Mollie yelled out.
Malik turned to face the beast who was following Mollie around the small hallway. Malik moved behind the creature. He was not going to provide any real support for Mollie. She had too much confidence in him. Malik avoided a couple of bodies from the monster’s earlier escapade and stepped toward the hole in the wall toward the cell.
There was very little room inside the hallway. That meant Mollie and Malik almost ran into each other as they circled. Lucky for them, the beast was having just as much difficulty moving. Malik stepped backward with the help of Mollie and avoided a crashing fist from the monster. Somewhere to the side, Malik heard Embre let out a squeal. He gave a brief glance and saw her standing alone in the corner of the hallway. Malik wondered where Khris had gone. Did he finally lose his nerve and make for the hills? Malik did not get a lot of time to ponder on Khris’ whereabouts. The next swipe took him on the shoulder, and he stumbled back. The blow was only glancing, but the sharp claws took a gash out of his shoulder. The warm sensation of blood tingled over his skin. He was mesmerized by the way the red liquid just seemed to bubble up. Mollie was to him in an instant.
“You have to dodge,” she yelled.
Malik could hear her, but her words barely registered in his mind. All he could think about was the blood coming out of his arm.
“Did you hear me,” Mollie asked, shaking him.
Malik looked away. Oddly enough, the wound did not pain him. After all the pain building inside him over the last few days, this did not hurt at all. Everything did feel very far away though. He knew Mollie was right beside him, but she could have just as easily been a hundred miles away. He could feel her touching him, but he could not register her beside him.
Mollie pushed Malik backward. He stumbled over a fallen mercenary and fell into the cell room. The claw narrowly missed his head. The growl that the monster emitted made more rocks shower from the ceiling. He could not even see the ceiling. He could just make out the occasional jutting spires that were almost like an upside-down castle tower. The spires jutted out of nothing it seemed. Malik focused on them trying to stop his world from spinning. He heard Mollie grunt from somewhere in front of him. He lifted his head to see her. She had landed a blow onto the monster’s leg, but the creature did not bleed out. It gave another roar and a few more pebbles fell onto Malik’s head. He reached up brushing away the dust.
“Get up,” said someone beside him. Malik looked over seeing Khris crouching down next to him. “I have a plan, but I need your help to do it,” he said.
Malik tried to blink away the swimming dots that blotted across his vision. Khris stood up, not helping Malik to his feet. Malik groaned, hiccupped, convinced himself not to vomit onto the cave floor, and then tried pressing himself up. The shoulder wound that had not hurt moments before glared to life with the pressure. He stopped pushing. There was no way he was helping Khris with any plan. There was no way he was going to survive for much longer at all. His time was up, and he just hoped he had done enough to help the others. He knew that he had not, but he still hoped.
Khris was back over him. “Come on,” he said. Khris did not share any sympathy for Malik’s death. Malik could feel the glaring eyes of accusation. Those eyes said how dare you die before saving me. Malik felt Khris pulling on his good arm. Malik’s feet instinctively moved. Malik was no longer in control over his body or mind. “There is a platform just across the room,” Khris started, he pointed with his left hand, while holding Malik steady with his right. “There is a pillar that can be climbed, and it leads to the spires above our heads,” Khris nodded to show the spires that Malik had noticed while on the ground. “If we can get to them, then maybe we can use one to drop onto the monster from above,” he said.
Malik looked up, but not for long because it made him feel dizzy. “I can’t climb,” was all Malik could muster to say.
Khris looked around again, maybe looking for someone else in the room. “Well someone has to climb,” he said.
Malik looked at Khris, “I guess that someone is you,” he said.
Khris shook his head. “I can’t do that,” he pleaded.
It was useless, Malik could not help him. Malik would not be able to climb anything. Khris’ head swiveled back and forth looking for a way out. Then he closed his eyes and Malik thought he saw tears falling down from the corners of Khris’ eyes. It may have just been the blur in Malik’s vision, but he thought he also heard him taking the sobbing breaths of someone who was crying. Malik could not feel sorry for him. Malik was dying. It was hard to feel sorry for someone else when you were dying.
Malik heard Mollie scream from somewhere in the hallway and some of his reality seeped back in. The pain came with it, but mostly he just thought of Mollie’s death. He did feel strongly about that. Even if he was going to die, he did not want Mollie to share that fate.
“Where?” Malik asked.
Khris had not been paying attention to Malik. He was too busy with his own thoughts. When Malik spoke it shocked Khris back to reality.
“Where what?” he asked.
Malik took in a deep breath; this was going to be the last thing he ever did, and he knew it. This was his big moment. “Where is the reachable spire?” Malik asked.
Khris looked relieved that he was being taken off the hook. He went to press on Malik’s shoulder to guide him and for the first time saw the wide gash that the monster had left him. Khris’ face contorted, but he was too excited about not having to climb to mention the severity.
“Just follow me,” he answered.
Malik followed behind Khris as fast as he could manage. He knew that every wasted moment was one closer to Mollie’s death. At the base of the platform Khris showed him the route he would need to make to get to the top. It was going to be nearly impossible with only one arm, but Malik resigned himself to give it his best effort.
“How do we get the monster over,” Malik asked.
Khris picked a few of the rocks from his pocket. “I will urge it toward the spire, and you drop it,” he said.
Malik nodded. He had no idea if this would work or not, but he had to give it his best effort. Not for himself but for Mollie. He only nodded toward Khris and used his good arm to push himself up onto the small lip of the platform.
Even with the small amount of effort exerted, the pain was almost too much to bear. Between Malik and the spire was fifty feet of wall, rock, and ledges. Some of the ledges were only just big enough to place toes into wedges and pull up with the strength of arms. Malik only made it ten feet up before he had to stop, vomit, and then think of nothing but helping Mollie to get back to his feet. He heard the echoes of Mollie grunting. She was still alive, but for how much longer?
Malik pressed forward. His hand slipped on the moving rocks. For a moment he dangled with the tips of his toes dug into the side of the wall and one hand gripping a ledge no bigger than the width of his palm. Malik had no idea how he was able to keep from falling, but after a few precarious moments he regained his balance. Pulling up he grabbed the next handhold and pulled his foot up. With each movement, his body begged him to stop moving. There was no use going on it told him. He wanted to listen to his body and stop, but every time he heard Mollie grunt or scream, he pressed himself onward. There was no telling how many more screams those lungs would have left in them. He just had to go a little further and he would make it.
Malik wished he could wipe the sweat from his forehead. Over halfway up the blood and sweat were mixing on his shirt. His arm was now barely usable, and it was pure luck that the ledges were widening out enough for him to only need his legs and one arm. He took a glance at the spire that was looming over him now. It was about a foot six inches thick at the tip and about seven foot long. It would be like a javel
in once it was released down onto the beast below. It would be a miracle if this worked, Malik thought. He had not spent a moment second guessing Khris and his idea. He had just wanted to save Mollie so much that he jumped on it without reservation. This far up he did not see how he was to chop the rock from its base, or how he was supposed to aim it toward the beast. This would have to be exactly precise and it would take every bit of luck he had ever gained. Malik looked back down toward Khris. Fifty feet seemed less high back on the ground. It still seemed high then, but it seemed manageable. Now he was practically floating in the sky, looking down onto a petrified Khris below.
Khris was waiting for him to get into place. Once he was there Malik knew there would be little time to get things done. He would have to hack at the spire with all his might and use everything he had to get the needle to drop. He pressed onward and moved. He did not do it with any real speed, but slowly he made his way toward his spot.
Bloody, soaked, and tired he finally made it where he was supposed to be. It was a blur to him how he had done it, but there he was perched on top of the world. Looking below, his vision swam and his mind faltered. He pulled the borrowed sword from his back. There was plenty of room next to the spire to plant his feet. His first hit did nothing but reverberate through his body with a shock of pain. His next hit was nothing better, but by his fifth he was chipping away at the rock of the spire. By his fifteenth hit, he was making headway, but his body was promising to stop soon. Khris waved frantically below him. He was yelling to the beast that still fought Mollie in the hall. The beast took several moments, but it finally poked its head into the room.
This was going to work. Malik was going to be able to save Mollie. When the beast walked into the room Malik felt the spire shake. The heavy footfalls of the beast were enough to make even Malik’s teeth rattle this high, or maybe that was just his imagination.
Khris continued to wave, and the beast continued to come nearer to him. Malik took several more swings at the spire, getting it to position. Mollie chased the beast into the room. He hoped she did not ruin the plan for them. He was going to save her, and he had no time for her to put a kink into that.
The monster did not pay attention to Mollie. He was focused on the easier prize of Khris. Khris stayed put for much longer than Malik would have given him credit for. Malik grabbed onto the spire tugging and feeling it give way. With a good kick the spire would fall. The beast stepped into position. Malik reared back and kicked with all his might. The spire did not move. Malik kicked again and again, and the spire shifted. Malik threw the sword at the spire in frustration and the sword and spire both fell toward the ground below. The sword landed with a thud on the ground at the monster’s feet. The actual spire missed the beast by a good five feet. The monster looked up making eye contact with Malik. Malik collapsed to the ground. He had failed. Everyone was going to die, and it did not matter.
The beast roared, but not in anger or fear. It roared the final roar of death. Malik peered over the ledge of the platform and saw that Mollie had sneaked up behind the monster with the diversion and jammed her sword through the back of its neck. The sharp point now protruded from the front of the monster’s neck. The creature looked down. Mollie slid down the creature’s back. Malik would have to ask her how she had climbed the beast so fast, if he lived. The beast did not make it to the ground before its body was gone and Mollie’s sword clanged to the ground. Mollie ran to Khris and then Malik closed his eyes. At least Mollie would live.
Chapter 38
The Old Man’s Cabin
Malik’s body hurt so bad that when he first opened his eyes, he had to strain not to puke. Each passing moment only made the pain settle in. His body felt as if a thousand tiny knives had penetrated his skin. He tried to move his arm up and wipe the gathered sweat from his brow, but something held it into place.
“I wouldn’t bother trying to move too much.”
Malik dared to crack his eyes open. The sunlight pouring in through the window blurred his vision, but he could see the old man from before scooping water into a cup. Malik kept his eyes squinted, watching the man move from the basin to the Malik.
“Try to drink this,” the old man said.
Malik looked at the cup for a few moments. It was going to be a strain for him to grab the cup from the man’s hand. He heard the old man chuckle.
“Come over and help me sit him up,” the old man called to someone just out of sight.
Malik heard footsteps over wooden planks. He then saw Khris standing over him on the opposite side of the old man.
“On the count of three,” the old man said and tucked his hands under Malik’s back. Khris did the same on the other side and they hoisted him to a sitting position. Malik’s body revolted, and he almost had no control over the vomiting that promised to occur. The old man put the water to his lips before he spewed. “Drink,” he said.
Malik’s tongue tested the water. The effort of even opening his mouth made him breathe heavy. The water was cool to his tongue, and he pressed his lips around the edge of the cup and took a small sip. The water washed away the taste of sleep and the dryness. Malik took a bigger drink and then turned his head away.
“Where is Mollie?” he asked.
When Malik opened his eyes that had been the first thought on his mind. He had to know if Mollie had survived the cave.
“She is just outside with Egg,” Khris replied.
Khris had a few scrapes and bruises along his face and neck. Malik figured it was from where the fallen debris from the ceiling had hit him, or maybe one of the many falls he had taken inside the winding paths.
“Embre?” Malik asked.
Khris pointed to the corner of the room. “She is sleeping, but she is unharmed,” he said.
Malik felt relief knowing that everyone had made it. Now he could try to figure out exactly how he had made it back to the land of the living and into the old man’s cabin. How far had they traveled with him being unconscious? How had they moved him?
“You need to continue resting,” the old man told him.
Malik knew he was tired. He was sore. He had no right to even be alive. He looked down toward his shoulder which had been patched up with clean bandages. It still hurt, but it was no longer leaking blood across him.
“Can I see Mollie?” he asked.
He hoped that Khris would go get her for him. Then he could ask her everything he needed to know, but mostly he could put aside his worries.
“After you rest,” the old man said again.
This time the old man pressed him back down into the pillow. Malik’s mind fought the effort, but his body could not resist. Malik’s head hit the pillow and no sooner he was asleep again.
When he awoke the second time in the cabin, he was more orientated. He knew exactly where he was now. He could hear the others in the cabin moving and talking somewhere to his side. The sun had gone down and now only the dark sky looked back at him through the open window. Malik tried to will his body to move again, but it still screamed in agony at even the thought.
“Water,” he said.
The noise that was moments ago filling the room ceased. He heard the scraping of a chair on wood and then he heard the footsteps coming nearer to him. It took them a moment to reach him, but when they did, he felt instant relief flood his body.
Mollie had her hair pulled back in a red tie. Her face was clean, no longer coated in blood, her shirt had been changed and she smelled of a fresh spring day. Malik could not hold back the smile. If he had been capable, he would have reached to embrace her. Mollie’s hand brought a cup of water to his lips. Her other hand hoisted his head and Malik greedily drank from the cup.
“How did we get here?” Malik asked, swallowing the last of the water.
Mollie placed the cup back on the table and sat next to him on the bed.
“We left the cave and we were just here,” she said.
“What do you mean we were just here?” he asked.
> Mollie shrugged. “I don’t know. I was tired. Egg and I climbed to the cliff and carried you down. I am not even sure how I managed or how you did not fall to your death. We took turns dragging you to the entrance of the cave. When we got there, we stepped outside, and the cabin was just there,” she answered.
“What about the relic?” Malik asked.
He did not really care about the relic. All he wanted to do was be done with the stupid request. He wanted to heal and get out of this cabin. They could go back to Opallum and become traveling bards. Mollie was good, and they could make a decent living. Khris and Embre could go where they needed to go, and the old man could keep the stupid box.
“It is here,” Mollie said, looking back into the center of the cabin. “It did something to me in the caves,” she said.
Malik groaned as he shifted his weight to his side. “What do you mean it did something to you?” he asked.
Mollie turned back toward him. “I don’t know, forget I said anything,” she replied.
Malik doubted he would ever be able to forget that she had said something. He could not comment on it, however. His eyes betrayed him, and he fell back into a sleep.
When Malik woke again everything was still and quiet in the cabin. His head was still swimming with pain and he was not certain he was not still dreaming. He could see the old man standing over his dining table. The others he could not see. The old man was leaning over the table and something before him was glowing. Malik had seen that glow before in Mollie’s sword and one other place. Malik racked his brain to remember where else he had seen that glow and after a few foggy moments, he remembered that the relic had grown bright in Egg’s hands. Malik could not see the relic, but he knew it must have been on the table. The old man was doing something with it, but Malik could not tell what. Malik let out an involuntary moan. The old man jumped and turned. The glowing stopped. The old man looked around the cabin and then to Malik. He did not have the kind smile that Malik always saw plastered across his face. The old man’s eyes were dark, darker than any man’s eyes should be, and striped across his face were two white lines.