by Adria Eustis
“Z-z-z-ane! Zane! Wolf! Shifter! Run!”
Her arm was yanked and she'd switched places with Cain. The swoosh of his arrow was so close to her ear it startled her. She took off running, ecstatic at gaining her ability to move once more. It was as if the beast had been taming her with his eye contact.
“Run Nina, run and don't look back!”
But she did look back, just in time to see claws flying and thick black fur darting high through the air. Cain rolled out of the way as the monster hit the ground with a massive pound. Soil shot up some six feet in the air as it landed. The blades of grass cut through her skin as she fled the scene, wanting desperately to help Cain, but knowing full fell there was nothing she could do. Tears ran down her cheeks, her heart shattered into fragments of loss, guilt and shame. She knew then that she was crazy about him. Looking back as her pace slowed, decisions dangling on dying there with him or trying for a chance at life to cling on to what memories she had of him, she saw the great wolf tearing at the flowers with his hefty claws. Petals flailing through the air, silently screaming in pain. Cain was no where to be seen, most likely flat on the floor, already dead. And if that was the case, what use was she to him now? She started to sprint as fast as her legs would take her. Throwing off her backpack, abandoning anything but her two daggers. Jumping through the grasses, angrily throwing it out of her way. She missed him already, she craved his touch, his scent, his lingering eyes. All that was gone now snatched away from her in the jaws of the wolf with the black coat and the flames of hell in its eyes. Nina batted away at her weeping eyes trying to regain full vision.
Huffing and puffing, drenched with sweat, she started up the hill towards the ruined castle, wanting desperately to squeeze into a solid space too large for such an animal.
Nina was overjoyed for a firm grip when her aching feet finally hit the hard surface off old foundations. Ahead an assortment of brown bricks clung together awkwardly forming random squares here and there. She bolted though a tall narrow doorway, only to find that it led to yet more open space. A howl filled her ears, it was much closer than she had prayed for. The thing was so sure of itself it felt the need to announce it's arrival. She ran around a circular tower, panicking at it's lack of openings. Tiny windows, not big enough for even her head were dotted all around it. It was the most intact part of the castle, but it was useless. Ripping ivy from it's walls she looked for a hidden entrance, knees weakening, constantly peering over her shoulder.
Giving up, she headed for a group of stray walls, half fallen but still high above her head. She found herself wedged in a narrow gap, cheeks up close against damp bricks. The only sound was her own pulse pumping loudly in her ears and the trickle of the rain starting back up.
“Arrggghhh!!” She screamed, heart lurching.
The beast's eyes sent a glare of pure evil from the ends of the two walls where she hid. It's head to big to fit through, in came it's paw, claws sharp and long as nails, covered in dirt, reaching for her wildly as she backed farther away. It disappeared for a moment, teeth chattering, she waited, anticipation ripping her apart like a chainsaw. It howled again, a blood-curdling groan, before returning at the opposite end. She screamed again. Thrusting out one of her daggers, the wolf's claw hit it's tip, smashing it to the ground with a reverberating clunk, hurting her wrist as it shuddered free. Nina stared into his amber eyes as he moved back and decided how best to get to his pray.
The farther he backed out, the more she saw of him. Arrows protruded from matted fur. Cain's unique black tear shaped throwing blades stuck deep into thick, muscular animal legs. She'd only seen him get off that first arrow, yet the more she looked, the more feathered tips she saw impaled within the beast. Then it charged forwards, head down, straight into the wall, bricks crumbled loose as it hit with a mighty smack. Nina backed out quickly, took off running with all the strength she had left. Rain cooled her heated body, the wolf followed, but slowly now, as though energy had drained from it. Limping it tried to run but only hobbled.
Behind the castle ruins she saw a group of massive old trees not far ahead, shooting up tall into the sky, thickly standing together, the shadowed ground there covered in fallen leaves. She'd head there, try to hide. Nina leapt over low walls, passed a rusted cannon, hurtled down a steep bank. No, no, no! She lost her balance on the soaking surface. Rolled down the last bit and flung her upper body forwards at the end of the roll, stumbling forwards. The ground was thick with low creeping weeds that tangled around her boots as she went. Every time she looked back the wolf was closer, intent on getting her even though Cain had clearly not gone out without a fight. Laden with arrows and daggers, it hopped on, with one foot never touching the ground.
Tripping over a hidden branch of a long fallen tree she turned her head to the side briefly before picking her self back up and gasped at what she saw.
The fallen tree was hollowed out, rotting and covered in lichen. Nettles formed a curtain over it's opening but peeping through a face looked back at her. Opal's face.
The young elf looked just as surprised to see her. Raising her finger to her lips she returned to her feet, and ran on into the darkened grove.
“Nina no!” Opal screamed at the top of her lungs. So loud she was sure the entire island would be alerted to their presence and seek them out.
“Opal!” Nina stopped and turned around, why on Etath would the girl be so foolish as to come out of her hiding place?
Opal stood in front of the wolf, her back to it, pointing her long thin arm towards Nina.
“Don't go in there!” Opal yelled.
“Behind you!” Nina called back.
Opal turned and upon seeing Zane she dived back into the hollowed out tree with a yelp.
Zane came to a halt, snarling towards Nina, thick globs of saliva dripping from his spiked teeth. With all those wounds she was sure he was bleeding out, but couldn't tell from the darkness of his fur that pricked upwards. Then out of nowhere a blur of colours, reminiscent of Cain's clothing clashed with full force into the side the beast. Zane toppled with some restraint.
A rush of solace, she clutched her hand to her heart.
Cain stood faster than the injured Zane could, faded away into the quickening rain, before appearing once more at the opposite side. Fist balled he launched a punch into the side of his furry cranium, and another and another. The animal so tall even laying on the side came up to Cain's shoulders. Zane's eyes held more anger now, a sudden burst of adrenaline must have entered his bloodstream as the shifter growled loudly, vaporous breath steaming the air around him, and with one big heave he got to his feet. Cain vanished once more, his image seeming to liquefy and then harden into solid clear ice within seconds before turning completely invisible.
“Nina!” Opal called, climbing from the tree and running towards her.
Nina held out her arms, embraced her friend, “Opal, so glad you're alright.”
“The leaves,” Opal said, panting, pointing to the grove behind them, “its a trap, a big hole. Don't go in there.”
Looking back, she could see it now that it was pointed out it was so obvious, and she'd been just inches away from the edge of the pit. Beneath the leaves a mesh wire was just about visible and a dark void stared out from underneath.
Zane charged towards them, moving quicker than ever before. Nina could sense his rage, knew that her surviving this long was infuriating for him. A glorified warrior, losing to an average girl and a shadow-walker he couldn't even see. The beasts paws hit the grass so hard every step left deep holes. She pulled Opal tight, planning to duck or dive which ever way he didn't go when he arrived, and he was arriving fast. So close now she could see his yellowed fangs and irate eyes.
All at once the wolf whimpered, and the deep orange of his eyes turned black as the night sky. He stuck out his front legs, skidding rapidly in the wet muddy grass towards them. Gripping Opal's backpack straps she flung her as far as possible to the left, jumping across with her, just in time
to feel the brush of thick fur against her arm. The girls landed in a heap of sodden soil and plant tissues with the taste of mud on her tongue. Without haste she turned to see if he'd fallen in the big hole. But he knelt there, at the edge of the flowing stockpile of golden and red leaves, as a naked human, back to them.
“My eyes! What have you done to me?!” His voice was filled with horror as he tore at his own face with dirty hands.
His thick torso was slick with mud, and open wounds seeped fresh blood, though the weapons that had pierced his wolf form now lay stained red on the ground around him. At once she thrust Opal off of her and in a state of sheer survival mode, not once thinking about how it could possibly go wrong, she moved behind Zane, lifted her boot into the air and jerked her foot forwards into his back.
But even as a human he was as solid as a rock, grunting he flung himself around, she jumped back and tripped over in the shock. His blackened eyes probed the area, scanning for her, but it was evident he was somehow blind. Just like the gunman in the alley had been.
“I'll kill you, I'll kill you all!” Zane went to stand, but the moment he did, Cain reappeared.
In his hands a hefty tree branch, he swung it over her head, slamming it with a horrid crunch into Zane's throat. Zane choked some indistinct words as he plummeted backwards into the leaves. With a creak the mesh gave way, taking the shifter with it. Relief washed over her as she clambered to the edge and made sure he was gone.
“What's down there?” She asked, wondering if Opal had made the trap.
“Darkness,” Opal said, with a shrug.
Darkness indeed. For it was all she could see. But it unnerved her that she listened for the thud of his landing and it never came. Not even a scream nor a cry came. The three eventually backed away, she half expected him to come leaping back out.
“Let's get as far away from here as possible,” she said.
Cain hand his hands on his knees, breathing deeply, his hair full of what seemed to be snow flakes and his pale skin was flushed pink.
“You okay?” She asked.
“Freezing. That's all. I'll be right in a minute.”
“Not dead. Not yet at least,” Opal said, looking at her own info-pad, “no recap screen, means he's still down there, probably climbing out.”
“Let's go then, my arrows are useless now.” Cain tossed his rickety bow to the ground, kicked a few of the snapped and bent arrows down the hole. He retrieved his throwing daggers and took off back towards the castle. “Come.”
Nina, still trying to come to terms with the fact she was still alive, prodded and poked her arms before finally breaking a smile. “Can't believe we survived that.”
Then she noticed Opal, and the fact that Cain wasn't even bothered about her being there. He could have slit her open, thrown her in the hole with Zane. It went against everything she'd first thought about him, but then so had pretty much all that he'd done since they teamed up. He walked backwards, beckoning them to follow with a nod.
“This is Opal,” she called, taking her friend by the hand and pulling her along after him.
“If you want her along she can come.” Was all he said of the matter.
“Hello,” Opal said with a smile, then she tore her hand free and stepped back and to a stop. “Nina, if you don't mind. I'd rather not go with you.”
“Why not, we stand a much better chance as a three.”
“It's just, I didn't come out here to fight. I just wanted to see the trees up close, they're just like in the books. I like it here.” She motioned back towards the eerie grove.
“You can't stay there, once he gets out he'll tear you to shreds.”
Opal shrugged, slicked her black, rain-soaked hair behind her long thin ears. “I don't mind, as long as he doesn't get you.”
“No Opal, you're coming with us and we're getting out of here.”
“No Nina. I'm not. Don't you understand? There is nothing out there for me. I have no family, no home to get back to. I just want to spend my last days out here, looking closely at everything I always wanted to see.”
Cain coughed as if to hurry them up. “Can you decide quicker, cause we really gotta go.” He nodded in the direction of the castle.
Nina followed his nod, surprised by how steep the hill was that she'd half rolled down. The ruins sat at the top with dark grey clouds above them, and company had arrived. Could they not just for once get the jump on someone?
Three dark figures stood high and mighty, gazing their way, exchanging conversation between them. Before she knew it Opal had gone, Nina searched for the young girl, catching sight of her shoe disappearing back into the hollowed out tree.
“Are you crazy Opal? Get out, come with us.”
“Leave me be!” Opal shot back at her.
Luckily the hiding place was far under the canopy of branches above and out of sight from their onlookers.
“We'll lead them away,” Cain said, picking up to a jog, heading right along the underside of the castle.
With a split second to make a decision, she thought hard and fast. Every one makes their own choices, she was learning to accept that after what happened with Lasiah. Even if she had everything to live for, it didn't mean others did too. She sighed deeply, one foot heading towards Opal, hide in the log, maybe they'd run right by and not see them. Or maybe they'd thrown in a grenade. And if they did get away, then what? Sit in the woods with her till the end of time? No. Opal was a darling, but Eri needed her, Rohn needed her and Cain was staring at her like he was going to run over and carry her away if she didn't hurry up.
“I'm sorry Opal. So sorry.” The words were spoken quietly into the shockingly cold air before she dug her heel into the ground and met up with Cain.
Together they ran, side by side, around the base of the abrupt slope. The three figures didn't appear to be moving, and she couldn't manage a clear enough view of them without falling over to look for ranged weapons.
“This is mad!” She said, “why are we not heading through the trees? We need cover.”
The grove was just to their left, the castle to their right, ahead was more open field, more tall grass for shady shifters to hide in. Great just great. She'd give anything to wake up and it all be a bad dream. She could feel their eyes watching them run. Jaw tight she prepared herself for oncoming pain.
“Take my hand, lead the way.”
“What?”
He outstretched his hand, grasped it in her own. “Lead the way, I'll shade their vision, but it'll take away my own.”
On she went, guiding Cain along, the wind pushing cruelling against her, raindrops making her eyelashes heavy. Even on land she felt as though she was drowning. Heart racing, chest pounding. But even in such a moment, there was something so satisfying about his skin on hers.
Craning her neck to look back, the figures were delightedly smaller now, just black silhouettes next to a wrecked stronghold. They were no longer standing, instead their shapes were twisted, contorted as if panicking hysterically. His magic abilities were foreign, having gotten so used to a world where such a thing was banned. Invisibility, taking away people's sight. It was deliriously attractive. A master of the shadows. Passion burned through her like a sin. She adored his strength, his agility, his wit, intelligence, his blessed gifts, his handsome charms, everything - everything apart from the one thing that had introduced her to him. His brutal murder spree. She was in love with a criminal. A bad boy. But it wasn't like her at all, she tried to fight it but gave up within seconds. Why fight it, when it felt so good?
They came to a stop after some minutes, a side stitch killing her, legs like jelly. Head pounding, she glanced at his face just in time to see his grey irises return to the beautiful blue that she knew. Hands on knees, they set about reclaiming normal breathing.
“Anything you can't do?” She asked.
He only offer her a cheeky smile, heart warming. Oh what she wouldn't do to know everything about him, but she knew that the Oculi that fol
lowed them around was to blame for that. To think that they wouldn't get off the island and she'd never be able to get him to fully answer all the nagging questions was absolutely killing her. Her mind was full of possible answers, perhaps he wanted to set some kind of world record score – collect a mass of weapons and annihilate everybody. But he couldn't speak it because his plan was stealthy. If that was the answer she had already decided she'd get as far away from his as possible and scrub off his scent and touch. Another explanation was that some one had forced him to admit to the crimes back in Nanta, and now he was too afraid to speak about it in case the perpetrator had his family threatened. That one she half wanted to believe in, but was sickened by. Or perchance he was an absolute psycho with a lot of screws missing and was very good at pretending to be normal half the time. The suspense was worse than every horror movie she'd ever watched put together.
“Think they'll come after us still?”
“Unlikely, not many people enjoy their world going dark. But I hope not, I'm all out of energy for voodoo now,” he replied.
“Voodoo. Really. You're so cute.”
He laughed, she liked that he was coming out of his shell, was he warming to her like she was to him?
“I don't know what to call it, never went to one of those Diviner academies, everything I can do I discovered accidentally.”
“Well just as good you didn't, they only tempt people to those schools to brainwash them into joining...” She cut her sentence short, realising her words might cause offence to the watchers and result in some even more insane punishment. But she needn't finish it anyway, he nodded, agreeing. Anyone with a brain knew that the most talented and well taught Diviner's were made to join the Peace Bringers. Years ago before the internet had been made illegal, there were dozens of rebel websites up. Ones detailing accounts from nameless Peace Bringers themselves, letting the world now that they only fought for the king because he threatened the lives of their families if they did not.