by A. K. DuBoff
Given Maris’ reaction, it seemed like maybe the criteria for who to extract needed a little refining. Thinking along those lines made me question my own selection, however, so I dismissed the idea. If I was worthy, so was Maris—she just needed to find the part of herself where she could come into her power. Getting upset with her didn’t help either of us. Maybe I could use an attitude adjustment of my own.
With our spat resolved, Kaiden consulted the map overlaid on the front viewport.
“I think this is as close as we’ll be able to get.” He pointed to a patch of solid land just over ten kilometers from the lake.
“We’ll make it work,” I said.
He nodded. “We don’t have another choice.”
14
“Let’s start walking,” I said, hoisting the backpack containing extra supplies onto my shoulders.
We’d loaded a map of our destination onto a handheld device—one of the new additions in the packs Tami prepared for us—and we were facing a challenging journey across narrow strips of land through ten kilometers of bogs. The path reminded me of the kind of circuitous route we’d take through the boulder fields in the hills back home, only this was much longer and had a lot more opportunity for dead ends.
Fortunately, we’d recorded aerial footage on the fly over to our landing site. The image was loaded onto the handheld along with an optimized path through to the edge of the lake where the underwater path led.
Kaiden lifted his own pack. “Everyone have everything? Double check.”
I nodded. “I’m good.”
Maris groaned as she picked up her pack. “Do I really need all of this?”
“We don’t know what we may find out there, and we’ll be a long way from resources,” Toran stated. “Unless you want to potentially find yourself hungry and sleeping on the bare ground, having the contents of that pack on hand is in your best interest.”
“Or, you can stay here in the shuttle by yourself for however long we’re gone,” I muttered.
Maris only flipped her hair out of her face in response.
“I’m ready,” Toran said in response to Kaiden’s original question.
“Okay, then let’s head out.” Kaiden set off along the specified path.
After a quarter of a kilometer, the first signs of the marshlands appeared. The ground softened underfoot, and the air took on a faint aroma of decay. Shallow puddles of water popped up in our path. As we went deeper, the puddles multiplied and merged into waterways.
The solid ground on the path we were following was, in reality, only firm when compared to the standing water around it. Covered in short reedy grass, my boots sunk in at least three centimeters with each step, making for an exhausting slog through the maze of relatively dry pathways. Some areas were six or seven meters wide and the four of us could comfortably walk abreast, but in the other places, the pathway narrowed to a meter and we’d have to hop over to another landmass.
After an hour of walking and jumping, my pack was digging into my shoulders. To distract myself, I kept an eye on the water for any signs of life.
The water was still in most areas, but as we got deeper into the marsh, I started to see the occasional flutter of water out of the corner of my eye. Whenever I turned toward the movement, there was only a telltale ripple on the surface, which could easily have been caused by a gust of wind. The appearances were too random and numerous, though, for me to believe that was the only explanation. Something was out there.
“Hey, have you noticed anything in the water?” I asked when I was certain the sightings weren’t in my imagination.
“Yeah, I’ve been watching that, too,” Kaiden replied. “I can’t tell what it is.”
“Wait, is there something stalking us?” Panic pitched Maris’ tone even higher than normal.
“It’s probably just fish or frogs or something,” I said.
Kaiden nodded. “This water isn’t very deep. It can’t be a large creature.”
I hoped that was true. Frankly, it was impossible to tell how deep the water went. It looked like it would be shallow, given the pattern of dry land, but for each of the larger areas of land, there were twice as many broad patches of open water. It was possible a creature of substantial size was lurking in the depths. My hope was that we were seeing evidence of multiple, smaller animals rather than one, large creature tailing us for the last kilometer.
Given Maris’ predisposition to theatrics, I thought it best to keep that thought to myself. Based on how Toran was keeping a watchful eye on our surroundings, though, I suspected he may have had similar thoughts.
We continued forward in silence.
While traversing one of the narrower land segments, only two meters wide, a distinctive splash sounded to my left. My hand instinctively went to my sword hilt.
“Did you see it?” Kaiden asked.
I shook my head. “No.”
Another splash sounded on my other side and I spun around. This time, I caught the back of a creature with dark, green-brown skin slipping beneath the water. It had to be at least a meter long, based on what little I saw.
I swallowed. “We’re not alone.”
We pivoted to stand back-to-back, with Kaiden and Maris facing one direction and Toran and me the other.
“Looks like you’ll get your first chance to use magic,” Kaiden said to Maris.
“What do I do?”
“My first time, I just thought about what I wanted to happen, and then it did.”
“I don’t want to accidently blow you guys up.”
He chuckled. “That’s not going to happen.”
I drew my sabre from its scabbard. With any luck, we wouldn’t have any more rock-creatures and the blade would do its job.
Something dark broke the surface of the water and lunged for me. I brought up my sword to block the creature from striking my neck, seeing no more than a dark blur hurtling toward me.
My blade sliced into tough flesh, and the creature shrieked. It flopped to the ground at my feet.
Just over a meter long, it had six stubby legs with webbed feet, and the oblong body tapered into a flat tail. Its head was as broad as its shoulders, with jaws the entire width. Dark eyes positioned near the top of its head were covered in an iridescent film. It was gazing up at me with what I took to be a mixture of confusion and bloodlust. The gash from my sword ran for five centimeters along its left shoulder, and it was favoring the nearest leg.
I held my attack, waiting for it to make the next move. If it went on its way, I saw no reason to harm it further.
The marsh monster shrieked again and wrapped its jaws around my right ankle before I even saw it move.
I felt pressure around my leg, but my boots did their job to halt its bite. The marsh monster thrashed and tried to roll.
“You had your chance.” I stabbed my sword into the base of its neck.
The creature gurgled as viscous, dark blood oozed from the wound and trickled from its mouth.
“Good job, Elle,” Toran said next to me.
After twitching for five seconds, the creature fell still.
Two shrieks sounded behind me, and another to my right. Then, a deeper roar chimed in.
My heartrate spiked. “Stars! How many are there?”
“Watch each other’s backs!” Kaiden said. “All right, Maris, stay focused. Anything comes near you, think about what you want to do and do it.”
“Okay,” she acknowledged, a quaver in her voice.
Toran clenched his fists while scanning the dark water for signs of the enemy creatures. “Maybe you scared them off?”
I shook my head. “They’re here. I can feel it.”
No sooner had I spoken than a black form leaped from the water toward Toran. He batted it to the side with one of his powerful fists.
From behind, the crackle of electrical energy filled the air as Kaiden launched his initial assault. “Attack them!” he urged Ma
ris
“I’m trying!” she cried. “I’m thinking about fire, but nothing is happening.”
Another marsh monster leaped from the water toward me, somehow rocketing from the water high enough to snap at my neck. The scent of rotten fish and decaying vegetation assaulted my nose. I elbowed the creature as it approached my face. It flopped to the ground and slipped back into the water before I could attack.
“These things are so quick!” I groaned.
Next to me, Toran tried to smash a creature mid-leap as it charged for his knee, but it recoiled mid-lunged and disappeared into the water in a split second.
Splashes sounded on the other side of the land as Kaiden’s energy balls struck the water.
“They’re dodging,” he said with obvious frustration. “How did you get that first one?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I caught it by surprise?” I replied.
A different marsh monster leaped for me, and I slashed at it with my sword. Like Toran’s experience, the creature somehow pivoted midair and evaded my swing.
“We need to move faster somehow,” Maris said.
A foreign tingling sensation washed over me, and the world took on an orange hue.
The surface of the water broke. One of the creatures emerged, leaping toward me—but, somehow, in slow motion.
I assessed how to make the best intercept strike. When the creature was in range, I plunged my sword into its abdomen and ripped the blade sideways. My movements felt fluid and natural even though my surroundings had slowed to a crawl. The creature slowly dropped to the ground.
Toran was watching the engagement with wide eyes next to me. His own movements appeared to be normal, like mine.
“What ha—” I cut off as a wave of the creatures leaped from the water—seven of them, all charging the two of us.
“Shit! There’s too many of them!” Kaiden exclaimed behind me.
We were surrounded.
I slashed and stabbed my way through the mass of marsh monsters. Their bodies dropped to the ground, dark blood hardly distinguishable from the mud.
Toran punched at the creatures nearest him, while blasts from Kaiden sounded behind me. When all of the creatures had fallen, everything was still. The orange glow faded as quickly as it had emerged.
“What was that?” I asked.
“That was incredible!” Maris exclaimed. “You were moving at super-speed.”
“Really?” Kaiden asked.
“Yeah, your movements were a blur, then everything dropped dead. It must have only been three seconds.”
My mouth fell open. “That last attack only lasted for three seconds?”
Maris shrugged. “Or something. I wasn’t timing it.”
“Did you do this?” Kaiden asked her.
She scoffed. “I was just standing here. All I said was that we needed to move faster.”
The tingling sensation washed over me again as the world tinted orange.
Toran rolled his eyes, and Kaiden’s lips parted with surprise. Maris, however, was shrugging in slow motion.
“Huh.” I nodded with satisfaction.
“So she can speed up our movements,” Kaiden commented. “Haste magic will come in handy.”
“Indeed it will.” Toran looked out over the water. His heavy brow lowered. “Sooner than later.”
I shifted my attention in the direction he was looking and saw a new creature emerge from the water. This one was four times the size of the others, and it looked pissed.
15
The giant marsh monster lumbered toward us—movements that would be a blur in real-time, but were now a slow plod thanks to Maris’ haste magic.
“Is this the thing we need to fight for the artifact?” Toran questioned, his fists raised and poised for a fight.
Kaiden turned around to join our line. He glanced down at his crystal pendant; it wasn’t emitting any light. “No, we’re still too far from the lake island. This is something else.”
“Great.” I adjusted my grip on my sword.
The new marsh monster was nearly four meters long and stood two meters tall at its shoulder. Its broad head and jaws were a meter wide, and tusks poked up from its inky lower lips. As it loped forward, the front two of its six legs cleared the water, revealing sharp nails at the end of its webbed toes.
While it wasn’t a rock titan, the thing was still a formidable foe.
Kaiden made the first move, blasting a ball of electrical energy toward its face. The creature bucked and snorted, but it continued its forward charge.
Toran and I exchanged nods. When the marsh monster was within striking distance, Toran and I simultaneously struck it—my blade stabbing into the side of its neck at the base of the skull and Toran punching it beneath its eyes.
It roared in response, tossing its head back. The creature shifted its weight sideways, aiming its tusks for Toran.
One of the boney points struck him in his left shoulder beneath the pauldron. Toran winced as it made contact, but he took another swing with his right fist.
The punch spurred the creature to buck its head, driving the tusk deeper into Toran’s shoulder. When it dropped its head, the bloodied tusk pulled out from the wound. The creature started to align its head for another gore.
I gripped my sword with both hands and drove it into the underside of the marsh monster’s throat, twisting as I thrust.
It gasped, opening its jaws wide.
I gagged on the stench of rotten fish, holding my breath as I dragged the blade sideways to open the wound. The creature stumbled, and I ripped the blade out, staggering backward.
As soon as I was clear, Kaiden blasted the monster with an electrified orb, followed by a column of flames cast from the end of his staff.
With a shriek a gurgle, the creature collapsed to the ground and was still.
I took a deep breath, laughing a little. “All right, then.”
Toran grunted. “I hope we don’t meet more of those.” He examined his injured left shoulder; blood trickled from the wound.
I quickly flicked my blade clean and then wiped the creature’s remaining blood off my blade using its hide, then sheathed the sword. “Are you okay, Toran?”
“Yeah, it’s minor,” he replied, wincing as he moved.
“We should clean it out and patch you up,” I said.
“This place might not be safe,” Kaiden cautioned.
I looked around at the corpses. “I dunno. If I was one of those things, I think I’d steer clear.”
“Fair point,” he conceded.
The world shifted back to standard color, motion returning to normal.
“Stars, not again!” Maris exclaimed.
Kaiden smiled. “We’ll need to work on your casting for yourself, too.”
She frowned, seeing that Toran was injured. “What happened?”
I gestured to the slain creature. “Battle wound.”
Maris stepped forward. “Maybe I can help.”
Kaiden nodded. “Not sure if healing magic is a thing, but I didn’t think haste magic was, either.”
“I’ll try,” she said. She approached Toran and placed her right hand over his wound while gripping her crystal pendant in her left. Closing her eyes, she continued to take slow, steady breaths.
A soft green glow appeared beneath her hand, glowing and sparkling as ribbons of light traced around Toran’s shoulder. He jumped with surprise when he saw it, then remained still—though his gaze kept darting to the side.
After thirty seconds, the glow faded and Maris opened her eyes. “How was that?”
Toran rotated his shoulder. “The pain is gone.” He dropped his backpack to the ground, then unclipped the front of his armor and the shoulder pauldron to inspect the injury. When he bared his flesh, there was only a faint pink mark of new skin. “Amazing,” he murmured.
Maris beamed. “I did that?”
Kaiden patted her on the back. �
��Well done.”
“Have any other neat tricks?” I asked.
“Let me see if I can do something for the rest of you.” She closed her eyes again.
A wave of renewing energy washed over me—like I’d just slept for six hours and then downed a packet of pure sugar. “All right, yep. That’ll do it!”
Okay, so she’d found her niche on our team.
“Why do I suddenly feel like I could climb a mountain?” Kaiden commented.
Toran nodded. “I could get used to this restorative magic.”
Maris grinned. “I didn’t know this kind of magic existed.”
“I’m not sure it did before us,” Kaiden replied. “Well, at least not since the ancient times when the crystals were created. The magic of the crystals was always a given in our lives, but nothing like casting.”
“The mythology of it has always been there,” I pointed out. “There was never a doubt in my mind when I saw the wand icon that is denoted magic.”
Kaiden nodded. “I guess now we know that those cultural cues came from the ancients—and that magic is very much a real thing.”
“And that the power is more mysterious than we initially realized—the ability to injure but also to heal,” Toran added.
“When you described everything to me before, it was all about fireballs and stuff,” Maris said. “While that’s impressive, and all, it’s not really me. I enjoy helping people, like I said.”
“Hey, I’m all for having a medic on our team,” I said.
She smiled. “You know, I was actually planning to go to school to be a nurse.”
Kaiden chuckled. “Congratulations! You just got fast-tracked to a degree at Magic University. The curriculum is entirely self-taught, but you’re guaranteed to graduate in record time.”
Maris laughed. “I’ll try to be a model student.” She tucked her hair behind her ear while looking him over.
“Well, we should get going!” I said resuming my trek along the path.
“Yeah.” Kaiden cleared his throat. “We’re almost halfway there.”
We picked our way through the narrow strips of land snaking through the swamp. Following the adrenaline rush of the fight, it was nice to walk in relative silence with only the squish of our footsteps.