by K M Martinez
It wasn’t.
She had just made it past the last formations when the Malum swooped down from the sky. It grabbed her by her left shoulder, pulled her off her feet, and carried her high into the air. Mel had to drop one of her swords in order to grab on to the talon that was dug into her shoulder. The pain was excruciating, the nail digging straight through skin into muscle, drenching her tunic with blood.
She struck at the claw with her other sword, and the flying beast screeched and let her go. She fell, tumbling, and smacked hard onto the sand. Pain lanced through her shoulder and back.
The Malum landed twenty feet from her, blocking her way, screeching angrily. It was huge, far beyond any Malum she’d seen before, towering several feet over Mel’s head. Mel had no doubt this was the creature that had killed and gorged on the other Malum.
When it spread its terrible, tattered wings, its width took up the entirety of Mel’s vision. Mel tried to rise to her feet, but the fall had stunned her, and her limbs were sluggish. She thought for sure the Malum would attack, but instead it just stood there, staring at her silently, blocking her path, as if daring her to move it.
Gripping her sword, she prepared to attack. But just then two more Malum landed—one behind her, one to her right. These were just as large as the first. To Mel’s left was a tall rock formation. She was boxed in.
The Malum screeched excitedly, wings flapping, and the thing inside Mel began to awaken. A heat spread through her body, giving strength. Her beast relished the thought of being set loose again. But Mel wasn’t ready to give in.
She lowered herself into ready position.
A rumble sounded from above. No, not a rumble—a growl. The Malum stopped their screeching and looked up. On top of the rock formation stood the wolf, its teeth bared, its gold eyes looking hungrily at the three Malum.
Mel took advantage of the distraction. She ran straight at the Malum that blocked her path to the gate. Behind her, she heard the wolf jumping from the rock to engage the other two. Mel brought up her sword, preparing to swing.
The Malum met her charge, wings flat against its body. But Mel slid under its wide, heavy girth while bringing her sword up, cutting through its torso. Black blood sprayed all over her face and chest. Mel tasted its foulness, smelled its rancidness, and she was at once appalled and triumphant.
The Malum screamed in pain, but it didn’t go down. Mel got back to her feet and engaged again. She dodged the demon’s next attack, and stabbed at its core. Her sword cut into it easily, but still did nothing to slow it down.
The Malum slashed at Mel with its talons, snapped at her with its black jaws. Mel had to twist and turn, barely escaping its attacks. Somehow she ended up at its flank, and with one mighty overhead swing, she cut off one of its wings.
The Malum screamed, shrank away from her, and fell to the ground. It took two rattling breaths, blowing sand and dirt, before it collapsed, dead.
Mel spun to face the other two demons. One was already dead, and the wolf was eagerly ripping it to pieces, her snout and maw black from the effort. The second was making to escape, its wings flapping. But the Malum only made it ten feet above the ground before the wolf leapt, snatched it from the air, and brought it to the ground.
The Malum screeched, flapped its wings, and kicked its talons, and finally shook itself free of the wolf.
The two great beasts rose to their feet, circling each other. The wolf was the larger of the two, the more powerful, and the more frightening. Its teeth and face were black with demon blood, and its golden eyes glowed brightly. It was an embodiment of the world of the living, nothing like the dead things Mel had encountered in this world.
The wolf attacked. Its mighty jaws closed on the demon’s thigh and threw the Malum to the ground. The demon’s screech was cut short as the wolf savagely tore off its head.
Then the only sound was the squelch of muscle being ripped apart and eaten.
So you’re the one that killed all those demons, Mel thought.
While the wolf feasted, Mel found her other sword and sheathed it. Then she tested her left shoulder and arm. It was in pain, but it would pass.
She wanted to immediately continue toward the gate, which glowed just a few miles away, but instead she looked back at the wolf.
She decided to wait.
I think I'll be safer if I have you with me.
****
This forest was just as dark as the other. Its trees were dry and gray, its soil without life. There was no path, but Mel followed the thrum in her body, and kept her eyes on the bits of hazy blue glow she caught through the trees.
The wolf remained at her side. Mel tried not to be annoyed at the ease with which the beast ran. Mel was running full-tilt, yet the wolf was trotting along as if at a comfortable jog.
There were still hordes of Malum stalking about, but the wolf proved skilled at avoiding them. At first, Mel didn’t understand that the wolf was trying to guide her, and she ignored its attempts to block her path. As a result, she stumbled directly into a horde of over a hundred Malum feeding on a huge, grotesque beast that moved sluggishly along a dried river bed. The creature gave no sound and put up no fight, but it left a dense, gory slickness in its wake. The Malum crawled on it like ants, cutting open the creature’s flesh, bleeding it. Some were satisfied with feeding on the gore left behind, and it took Mel a second to realize that the gore was actually eggs that slid lazily out of the doomed creature.
Too many, Mel thought. Unless… no. She wasn’t comfortable with the flame in her chest. She didn’t want to stoke that fire. Not now.
She let the wolf lead her away, slowly, into the darkness, away from the Malum and their prize. After that, Mel followed the wolf’s lead dutifully, embarrassed at her foolhardiness.
Still, even with the wolf’s guidance, they ran into Malum from time to time. And each time, the demons met a quick death. The wolf was vicious and powerful, quick and intelligent. More and more, Mel could see the red-haired Ferus behind those gold eyes. So on they went, working together, fighting together, and surviving—getting ever closer to Tenebrae Transeunt.
****
It was close to morning when at last the dried grass and dead ground gave way to live vegetation. The air became easier to breathe, and the heat less oppressive. Soon the foliage was lush, the land green. It had been so long since Mel had seen a living land, that for a moment all she could do was look around in wonder.
They came to a line of old totems, displaying the sigils of all seven clans carved in aged wood. As Mel and the wolf crossed that line, Mel felt a snap of electricity along her limbs.
Beyond the totems was a stream, clean and pure. They followed it a short distance to its source—a natural spring. Mel’s thirst was heavy on her tongue, but she hesitated. Did she dare drink?
The wolf bent its head and drank its fill, then sat back on the green grass and gave Mel a look of such challenge, Mel would’ve felt cowardly to refuse. She took off her veil, leaned down and cupped her hands in the cool water. The first sip was so good, she promptly stuck her head in the stream for more. She drank until her thirst was quenched.
Then she walked back to the stream and began to wash the Malum blood from her face and neck. The wolf gave her a look of derision and wandered off, leaving her alone to her bathing.
Finally, Mel sat down, opened her pack, and took out her last energy bar. She’d been saving it, and now seemed the time to eat. As she chewed, she felt the exhaustion clawing at her bones. Well, that’s the least dangerous thing I’ve had clawing at me in days, she thought. Or maybe it's the most dangerous? Fatigue could get her killed, but she had trained to push past it. No, she wasn’t nearly at her breaking point.
Her eyes ran up Tenebrae Transeunt, glowing a light blue, almost white in the rising sun. So close now, almost a waterfall on top of her. She would get there before nightfall. She’d find Charlotte, free her, and open a gate back to the land of the living.
She was done wit
h this dead place.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Mel felt eyes on her, and turned. Two forms in black stood just outside the line of totems, silent and sentinel. She hadn’t even heard them approach.
Lost Souls.
“Mistress summons you,” one hissed, pulling out a blood-red crystal. He had a bald, mottled head, shot through with black veins. His rust-red eyes roamed over her body.
“You will come,” said the other. His eyes were crimson, and his long dark hair fell over them in thin strands. A scar ran down from the side of his lips to his chin.
“Come,” they both commanded.
The crystal glowed.
Mel didn’t move. Barely breathed. Just looked them straight in the eye.
Come get me.
The Lost Souls shared a look.
“She is not beholden to Mistress,” said the bald one with the crystal.
“We must take her forcefully,” said the one with the scar. He unsheathed a blood-red sword and took a step forward.
“Hold,” said the other. “We cannot pass the barrier.”
The Lost Soul with the scar stopped, looked at the totems in disgust, then raised his red eyes to Mel.
“Do you have honor, Kale?” he asked.
Mel smiled grimly and wondered if all Lost Souls were so stupid.
“Come, fight us,” he said. “Outside your precious sanctuary.”
“Two against one is hardly honorable,” Mel replied.
“Against one who killed one hundred Malum, two is nothing.”
Mel frowned.
“Oh, yes, we saw the remnants of your killing. I would say you are even, no? The Malum killed your friends, and you killed a horde?”
“I was not aware that Lost Souls talk so much shit,” Mel said.
The Lost Soul smiled brokenly, his scar stretching. “We are many, we are bored, and we are hungry. And you are fresh meat.”
“Come, Mordred,” the other said, turning. “Now is not the time.”
Mordred sheathed his sword.
“We’ll meet again, Kale,” he said, and left with the other.
Mel waited, looking for any indication that they were still there, out of sight.
“They’re gone,” said a voice.
Mel attacked with pure instinct, her sword swinging. The parry came quick and strong. Mel’s sword almost flew out of her hand.
“Relax, Mel. It’s just me.”
Mel looked up at Cori O’Shea, dressed in Ferus green and holding a thick gold sword. Her red hair was ablaze in the morning light, and a smile was on her lips. Mel thought she looked pretty good, if a little rough around the edges. Well, I guess shifting into a wolf can be a bit discombobulating.
“Where’d you get the sword?” Mel asked. She avoided the obvious question. She already knew the answer.
Cori pointed. “Right over there. The Originals built a bunker, I think. It’s got a little bit of everything you’d need if you were stranded in Inter Spatium Abyssus with nothing but the skin on your back.”
It was strange having the Ferus here. Mel had known there was a chance that the wolf was Cori—had believed it was Cori—but now, knowing it with certainty… it was a lot to take in.
Cori turned away and gestured for Mel to follow. Mel studied the red-haired woman from behind, her gaze trailing from the braid in her hair, down her back, to her legs and boots. She looked so clean. Mel’s gold tunic was almost completely black with Malum blood—her pants and boots as well. She probably smelled like death.
The wind picked up, and something fluttered at Cori’s waist.
“Your sash is beautiful,” Mel said, almost against her will.
Cori stopped and turned. She stroked the lush silver-and-green sash. An ornate silver thread had been woven to show wolves, moons, and stars. “I wish I could take credit, but it was in the bunker. Along with everything else I’m wearing.” Cori paused. “Would you like to touch it?”
Mel was caught off-guard. She did want to touch it. She had to fist her hands at her sides to keep them still.
“Are you sure?” Mel asked.
“Of course.”
Mel stepped forward and stroked the material. She was a nerd for things like this. Old things, from the Old World. The stories that went along with such things had always fascinated her, and even now, even in this place, at this moment, when she should be concentrating on getting her cousin back, she had to take a moment to appreciate the sash.
It had belonged to a warrior, that much she could tell. Along both edges were short, curved lines in thick silver thread—marks that symbolized kills. There were so many of them.
Mel looked up into Cori’s eyes. They weren’t as disquieting anymore. She had gotten used to those eyes watching her every move for hours.
“Thank you,” she said. She wasn’t just talking about the sash.
Cori nodded. “Do we need to talk? I know it’s probably… strange.”
“No—I mean… yes,” Mel said. “You were a wolf. Now you’re a woman.”
“Yeeees,” Cori said, smiling. “And you killed a hundred Malum by yourself.”
“The Kale beast killed a hundred Malum. That wasn’t me.”
Cori gave Mel a hard look. “The Kale beast is you, Mel. It’s always been you. Just as the wolf is me.”
Mel looked away. Cori could be right. Grandma Mari said the beast was in Mel the whole time. It would make sense. But she wasn't ready to accept that yet.
“Look, let’s put that away for now,” Cori said, sounding uncharacteristically gentle. “I owe you an apology for what I said the other day.” She took a deep breath. When she spoke again, her voice was laced with regret and shame. “I… I didn’t vote for Anton. I’m sorry I implied I did. I would never do that.”
“Then… then why did you say you did?”
“I was angry. I just wanted to press your buttons—like I always do.” Cori blew out a frustrated breath. It was like she hated putting words to her feelings. “I care about you, Mel. I have for a long time. I was just going to tell you when I found out you’d refused to represent your clan, and… there was something about that that offended me to such a degree that I felt unaccepted.” Cori paused. “You see, I… am not human. And there’s a part of me that’s always known that. Just as I knew that you aren’t human. And knowing that, and then seeing you deny who you are… that made me so angry.”
She shook her head. “Oh, Mel. I’ve been so angry at you for so long, always trying to get a rise out of you, trying to get some kind of reaction. Trying to pull out whatever it was I sensed just under the surface, just under your skin. I thought once you felt it, you would embrace it. But nothing fazed you. Nothing ever made you angry. And then the other day…”
“You went too far,” Mel said.
“I went too far,” Cori agreed. “And I’m sorry.”
The apology was genuine. Cori was not a woman to apologize lightly.
Mel no longer felt like holding a grudge. The world had shifted, she needed friends, and this dead place held none but the person standing in front of her. But could they be friends again? They had been once.
After a moment, she held out her hand.
Cori took it immediately.
It was time to embrace a new beginning.
****
There was a bit of awkwardness that could only be caused by two people who had been at odds for so long a time. But there was nothing to do but work through it. The only way out is through, Mel thought.
And so they started talking. About their differences. About Mel’s reasons for not competing. About Mel’s… feelings for Cori. Cori smiled widely at this. And in the end, they came to an understanding.
Cori then led Mel into the ancient bunker and filled her in on what she knew. It turned out Cori had been to Inter Spatium Abyssus several times in her wolf form over the past several years, so she knew the area very well. Her wolf was able to traverse any world both spiritually and physically. That was how
Cori had been able to find out where Mel was when she’d first entered Inter Spatium Caelum all those days ago.
Cori told Mel about her battle with the Mistress, an ancient Lost Soul who was extremely powerful and cunning. The Ferus had narrowly escaped after wounding the Lost Soul in the eye… and eating the eye. She presented this last detail with pride, and Mel almost threw up a little in her mouth. It seemed Cori’s wolf ate just about everything that was dead in Inter Spatium Abyssus. Cori said Mel’s beast was probably the same way, and Mel remembered how the smell of Malum blood would get her heart racing and her mouth watering.
It was strange, their different reactions to their non-human sides. Mel resisted this dark part of herself, whereas Cori had clearly embraced hers. Of course, Cori had always been the type to revel in her baser instincts.
Mel, in turn, told Cori everything about her own time in Inter Spatium Abyssus—including her encounter with the one-eyed Lost Soul who had to be the Mistress. Cori seemed to be impressed that Mel had escaped with her life.
Then conversation turned to Charlotte, and how to rescue her. Cori had some ideas on that front.
“To the left of the gate is a massive building,” she said. “I’ve never been inside, but I’m pretty sure that’s where they’d keep her. It’s one of only two places in this godforsaken piece of shite land that has clan totems. This sanctuary is the other one.”
“How many are we up against?” Mel asked.
“That I don’t know. We won’t know until we get there.”
“What if you went back for help?” Mel asked.
But Cori was already shaking her head. “Opening a gate, even here in the sanctuary, would attract unwanted attention. There are too many here that are hungry for power, and they’ll sense when the gate is opened. By the time I got back, the sanctuary would be surrounded. The only reason they didn’t amass around the gate where we came through was because the Mistress was in the vicinity.”