by J E Mueller
“How can it be done?” I had to know.
Asher’s smirk fell. “There would need to be another sacrifice. I’m not sure what would work in its place. Magical creatures aren’t something that can just be traded on for hopes and dreams.”
“Maybe they can.” I considered it for a moment as I paced. “Dreamers have a lot of magic here.”
“Thanks to the magic already here,” Asher pointed out, but not discouragingly; he seemed curious.
“What if the magic from the Creators is enough for that? What if the magic that naturally builds from Dreamers could be harnessed and put back into the world here? I’m sure at this point many would like to change several things here, like a way to cross peacefully, so why not start changing things at every level?”
“Fantastic. That might be the perfect start if it's possible.” Benz nodded approvingly.
“Now to find the Creators and ask,” Asher agreed, “How many have been found?”
“Emmyth, Dani, Lydia, and we know Marella’s artifact is flying around out here.” I summed up, guessing we’d have to start with the one out here.
“I know exactly what one that is too. We’ve seen a creature carrying something.” Asher let out an exasperated sigh. He scanned the clouds for a moment, causing me to look up and see nothing.
“Well, what is it?” Benz beat me to asking, bringing the conversation back down to the ground.
“Once the Creators were trapped, there was a noticeable shift. We may not have known at the time what happened, but we have seen the aftermath. Creatures still can be taken down the same way, but resurrection times are off, they can grow to bigger sizes, and they do hit back harder. We’ve adjusted accordingly, keeping track of every new thing. The biggest problem is the Nightwings growing enough to actually fly.”
“So, it’s stuck on a Nightwing then?” I asked the obvious.
“Indeed,” Asher admitted, “and to make it worse, it’s big enough to actually pick up someone. We’ve injured it several times, but have not been able to take it down.”
“Of course.” Benz gave a knowing nod. “At least we know it comes over here. We need to bring it down now.”
“We’ll start planning when everyone returns,” Asher agreed. “Let me show you our little safezone so you can rest.”
“Is it really safe? We are technically outside,” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes and no. Nothing is really safe out here but we’ve built fake walls so Creatures can’t find the sleeping,” Asher explained.
Now that was a good idea. Benz was right, they knew what they were doing out here.
Asher led us up the stairs and into the small hut. From the doorway, it really looked more like a shack. There was a small table, so low to the ground you had to sit on the floor, and a few random chairs here and there that had been fixed with vines. Some were more vines than wood chairs. Adaptability was not lacking here.
Asher moved to the far wall and reached up to move a small frame away revealing a switch. He moved further down the wall and repeated the process. After the second switch was flipped, the wall jutted out slightly and he slid it to the left revealing the standard room of beds and beds and beds. Most of them were bunk beds.
The room was dark, the only light coming in from Asher opening the door. The four people I could see didn’t so much as stir in their sleep.
“You’ll be safe here, get some rest,” Asher assured us.
Benz didn’t even hesitate to grab a bed and sleep. I felt less sure. “Let my sister know I’m here please?”
Asher nodded. “I will. I’ll get everyone up to date.”
Accepting that was the best I would get, I headed to sleep.
The room was dark but it wasn’t quiet. I could hear every movement around me. I did manage to fall asleep for a short time, but too soon a group did come up the steps. All their voices swirled into a loud babble and couldn’t tell one apart from the next. Not that it mattered much. I wasn’t even sure how to get the door open again from this side.
The loud hum of conversation from the group quieted down a bit as someone hushed them, and I noticed the people who were sleeping in here started to stir and get up. Thankfully, one slid the door open. I wasn’t sure if my sister was back yet, and thought it would be better to wait and see what was said despite the anxiety that gripped me.
I hoped she made it back and I hoped she was okay.
“Good, that’s about everyone.” Asher smiled, I could barely see him through the crack in the doorway.
“What about the two sleeping?” someone asked.
“Those two are from the main house, and that’s where we’re going to start this meeting off.” Asher instantly dove into Benz’s story. When it came to mentioning me, he skipped over my name and I wondered why. The best guess I could come up with was to keep everyone’s attention, including Melly. Without her knowing I was here, she had no reason to react to anything yet. “So, that brings us here,” Asher concluded.
“So, that’s someone’s sister?” someone asked.
“Indeed, and I know whose, but first things first.” Asher shifted their attention. “We will need a solid plan to bring down that creature. The flying Nightwing has been eluding us for far too long now.”
“For that to work, it’ll help to know the gifts those main house people have,” someone said. “They didn’t come for us to do the work, let’s include them.”
“Very well,” Asher agreed as he slid to the doorway. I could hear Benz shift in his bed and get up while I just sat up. “Benz, can you come here?” Asher turned back to the others. “Melody, come here.”
“What?” she screeched. “My sister?” I could hear her running as I stood up.
I was barely on my feet when she tackled me with a hug, causing me to nearly lose my balance. “How did you even get here?” She sobbed into me as she held me tightly.
I petted her head, unsure exactly how to start. “I’ve been here since the boat accident.”
“I never thought I’d see you awake again.” Her voice was heavily muffled in my shoulder.
My heart ached at her words. “I wouldn’t call this awake, but I’ve been trying,” I reassured her, petting her hair softly. “We just need to free the Creators and that should hopefully break the hold on us.” I wasn’t even confident in that, but at least it was something.
“But why would they trap us here?” Melly asked teary eyes meeting mine.
I had no choice but to explain. “I used to dream of this place a lot, so I think it was natural I ended up here…” I admitted before continuing. “Sadly, I think my refusal to help the demons and angels might be what got you stuck here. They were bitter I ignored them.”
Melly frowned for a moment before it turned into a glare. “Those bastards. They couldn’t even figure out a way to convince you without bringing in emotional manipulation.”
Her word choice surprised me, but she had it down. “Sounds like a bunch of jerky demons for sure.” I fully agreed.
“I’ll stab them if I get a chance.” Melly’s face turned dark and serious. A look I rarely saw.
I couldn’t help but laugh a little, mostly from surprise. “I think we’re all about at that level for sure. Let’s go see what plan we can create that’ll bring us there.”
With a nod, Melly grabbed my hand and pulled me out to the rest of the group.
Asher nodded to us as we rejoined the group and continued what he was saying. “So that brings us up to three archers, several that can throw things reasonable distances, and plenty of swords. Now, how do we bring this flying menace down?”
“Probably bait,” Benz supplied. “It probably won’t really get low to the ground unless it has a reason to.”
“I’d rather not have that thing possibly pick up someone and drop them from above the treetops. We don’t need death here.” Asher crossed his arms. “What else do we have?”
“No, I think he’s right,” Melly chimed in. I hated that she w
as probably right.
“Him being correct or not here doesn’t actually matter. I am not risking someone’s final life here,” Asher replied firmly.
“And I’m not saying to.” Melly straightened. “You explained I am a Dreamer and it’s likely if I do die I’ll just come back a few hours or a day later. As long as my body holds out in the other realm, I’m temporarily immortal.”
“There’s no way to prove that theory.” Asher shot down the suggestion.
Benz and I couldn’t help but laugh causing Asher’s frown to deepen. “Do I even want to know?” He let out a sigh.
“Probably not, but to make a long story very short, I have come back twice,” I reminded him. ”Actually, since I have come back, I should probably be the bait.”
“You’re really not small enough, the creature would more likely go after me.” Melly shrugged.
“Do we even have a way to test your Dreamer status? I don’t think it should be you,” I scoffed, not ready to put Melly in any more danger.
Melly nodded over to someone. “There is, and as much as I appreciate the protective sister thing, we want the best and quickest way to resolve this. You’ll destroy that bat thing right? I'm certain you have some sort of weapon.”
“A bow.” I sighed, reluctant to give in, but she called me out right. Of course I wouldn’t just let the thing get away, but I had no idea how fast it would move or when it would use its ear shattering scream.
Asher grumbled but continued on. “Fine, we’ll do it the dangerous way, but first we’ll set a safety net. I want the area cleared out of potential creatures. We’ll have her set near enough to the forest to hide the ground weapons in bushes and bows in trees.”
“The usual perimeter sweep?” someone asked.
Asher nodded. “Sounds perfect.”
A small group nodded and left the hut, knowing too well what was required of them. I momentarily marveled at the easy and quick teamwork.
“We’re completely in your territory Asher,” Benz said. “I really don’t know how to beat everything here. Can you give me a run down?”
“We have a training manual.” Asher frowned at him. “You house people need to get out more. With the right hit, most things go down like a knife to butter.”
“Yeah, I agree. There is a lot here that could have helped us in the house, but I’ll just have to play catch up for now,” Benz freely admitted.
“I’ll accept that,” Asher agreed, heading into the hidden room and returning with a leatherbound book.
Benz accepted the book and started to flip through it.
“What can I help with?” I asked Asher, not sure what to do with myself.
“Rest, wait. When it starts to get dark soon, we’ll move. It won’t be much longer,” Asher replied as he looked outside.
Melly grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the table. “Tell me what you’ve been up to.”
I wondered if we even had time for that story. Nodding, I sat down with her and started from the beginning. It had been too long since we could talk and I wasn’t going to waste a moment of it.
27
Nightfall came unexpectedly fast and I was unable to finish telling Melly everything that had gone on. I did at least learn her gifts, which was a shield that looked to be made from bedrock and a bow. Her bow was a little different than mine. Despite drawing back one arrow, it would launch three. She had to take into account the surrounding area when shooting smaller targets since the arrows did space out. While I wanted to see it in action, I also did not want to have to see her fight and take on these creatures.
It was inevitable here.
Together as a massive group we walked to the area Asher had in mind. With my vision I could easily see there were in fact no creatures nearby. There wasn’t even anything close enough for me to see at all.
As we walked, someone handed Melly something. She gleefully held up the brass knuckles with spikes on them. “Perfect! Thanks Jolie.”
The girl nodded. “If you do get picked up, a few hits from that should get you back on the ground in time.”
“Hopefully, I won't need them, but thank you.” Melly beamed at Jolie who nodded back, her serious expression never shifting.
“I didn’t know you had normal weapons out here,” I commented.
“This is an artifact,” Melly clarified. “It’ll send a good jolt through whatever I hit as well. A truly wonderful combination.”
Ah, it did make sense that they would also have some artifacts out here as well. How many of those things were there?
“Remi, come with me,” Asher called. “Let’s get you set up in a tree.”
I gave my sister a quick hug before following him to a nearby tree. I saw others climbing the trees not too far away. I knew at least two others were archers and wondered about the gifts of those around me. There just wasn’t enough time to learn what everyone was capable of.
As quickly as I could, I made my way into position. I wasn’t sure how well hidden I really was. The Nightwing could clearly see things, but maybe from above I wouldn’t be noticeable. It would be dark very shortly as well, which probably would make the position perfect.
Summoning my bow, I took note of where exactly Melly was sitting. She kept her body as small of a target as possible making it extra difficult for the Nightwing to get a good grip on her.
Part of me was worried that I was essentially aiming at my sister. Did the others here have a good aim? Benz talked them up very highly, and Asher did seem to know what he was about, but I didn’t know these people. Still, it was probably the best plan to lure that creature to an easy to hit position.
Not to mention I still had that gauntlet of healing.
It struck me that Emmyth was very quiet compared to Lydia.
There’s not much to say when you can’t see anything and you’re going off another’s thoughts. Using others as bait was a very normal thing back when I was with the Black Lillies so this plan is not out of my scope for things.
I had no idea what the Black Lillies were.
Emmyth sighed. They were a group of demon hunters, Blessed by the angels before we really grasped they weren’t much better than their demon counterparts. They took it out on us quickly when we made the connection.
Wait, did that mean they were all once human?
Sort of. Tella was never really fully human. I was though. I don’t really have any Creator abilities. Just some extra gifts I picked up from Tella and Dani. I can die just the same as you, though it may take a bit more at this point to truly end my life.
Interesting.
The talking around me had faded and all I could hear were the normal sounds of the forest. Owls started to wake in the distance as crickets played their familiar melody. Looking carefully around I could only spot a few people. Switching my vision over it was much easier to see everyone and I was surprised there still were no creatures too near.
Too near was the correct term.
A cold breeze blew through sharply causing goosebumps to peck my arms. I hadn’t been outside here in so long, I forgot how cold it could get. Still, I kept my eyes on the distance where I saw several creatures moving this way. One kept to the skies. Hopefully that was the one we were looking for so we could be done with this nonsense.
A whistle, slight and sharp, sounded from below.
I didn’t know what it meant, but from the way they communicated earlier, I could only assume it was to specifically signal something. Being in the dark forest at night regularly had made everyone here get creative with things and I was fairly impressed. I’d have to ask them what it meant after all of this.
The flying creature was easily in sight now, and very obviously the Nightwing. That thing was not going to be out of my memory any time soon. I wondered if I could accidentally damage my hearing in my real realm by taking something like this on more than once in a day. Hopefully not.
There was a series of clicks and odd screeches from the sky and suddenly something drop
ped to the ground from the Nightwings claws. The audible splat and crunching of bones could be heard in the quiet clearing. Melly couldn’t help but turn to see what happened. It looked like it was some small creature. Though now it was too hard to tell what exactly.
“Eww…” Melly let out a grossed cry. It wasn’t too loud, but more than enough for the Nightwing to begin to circle her.
I was beginning to wonder if the Nightwing dropped its meal because it was done or because it saw Melly as a fresh target. Maybe it couldn’t see as well as I had guessed. There was no way I was going to ask in depth about creature anatomy to find out though.
With a loud screech, the ear shattering one I had been expecting, it started to dive down for Melly. Cringing, I took aim, and watched its descent, aiming for where it would be in a moment and fired.
The shot pierced it’s wing, enough to turn it off course, but not to stop. These creatures really had terribly high pain tolerances.
I saw two more arrows, some throwing knives, a dagger, and what looked like wooden stakes shoot at the creature as well, jutting it a bit further off course. Desperate to continue, the Nightwing still tried to pick up Melly, who covered her head as best she could with her arms.
Again, I shot an arrow. The volley from the others, more on time with mine, met their marks. We sent one more before those hidden in the forest made their moves to attack. The creature’s wings were damaged and it had taken several shots to the shoulder and lower neck but still it persisted.
The Nightwing managed to finally get a grip on Melly and raise her up a few feet before she hit it hard, the spiked knuckles sent a jot into the creature just in time for the others in the Watch to reach it.
As I climbed down, I could see it screech again. Something felt off. I turned my vision to the direction it came from and saw a large horde of creatures were coming.