From The Dark

by Tobey Alexander

  Crashing to the floor, Gabe felt the jagged rocks dig into his back as the air rushed from his lungs. Logan wasted no time and stabbed the tip of his sword down towards his father’s shoulder. Rolling away Gabe felt the bite of the sword as the edge of the blade sliced across his shoulder.

  The same fiery pain coursed through his body as it had done when Viktor had scarred his face.

  ‘Fight me!’ Logan spat as he thrust his sword downwards again. ‘This can only end one way.’

  Gabe knew his son well, he knew he would do nothing to back away yet Gabe could not pull himself to fight back. Choosing instead to keep Logan engaged Gabe scrambled across the floor and lifted himself back up.

  Archy’s body was now out of view as the two of them moved across the plateau and along the side of the rows of shacks. The ground remained uneven, and both had to mind their footing as they would plant themselves to parry or thrust to overpower the other.

  ‘Think what you’re doing.’ Gabe pleaded, but the look in Logan’s eyes answered him without words.

  Logan was beyond compromise or reasoning. The fire burned in his eyes, and as the two of them locked swords, Gabe took hold of his son’s wrist.

  Catching his arm in mid-strike Gabe forced Logan’s sword up and over both of their heads. The younger man’s arm shook with exertion as Logan fought to push down against his father’s restraint. Locked nose-to-nose they glared at one another and Gabe could see that Logan would not yield.

  As painful as it was to realise, Gabe knew he would have to disarm his son.

  Gabe gave Logan a sense of achievement and feigned a weakness in his grip. Allowing him to add pressure to his attack Gabe dropped low and dragged Logan down with him. Powered by the weight of his own attack Logan was powerless to resist as Gabe fell down to the floor and kicked out his leg, lifting Logan off the ground as he did.

  Unable to control his own fall Logan felt Gabe’s foot plant itself in his stomach before he was tossed up and over in the air.

  Once again Logan felt a pain in his face as his cheek scraped across the pebbled floor digging into the flesh causing a jolt of pain.

  Words did not form as he landed. Instead all he could muster was a guttural and hateful growl.

  Logan pounced, with every ounce of his strength he hammered down a torrent of attacks at Gabe that the older man only just evaded. Logan’s speed and ferocity surprised Gabe and as the slices and thrusts continued to rain down, Gabe felt the sting of metal against his skin more than once.

  Feeling the trickle of blood down the inside of his arm Gabe staggered backwards and remove himself from Logan’s reach. A quick glance down at his arms showed a series of small jagged cuts across both arms and a steady trickle of blood from some unseen wound on the underside of his right bicep.

  ‘FIGHT ME!’ Logan screamed and pounced forward.

  Gabe had expected as much and prepared himself. As Logan thrust the Shasta out towards him, Gabe steadied himself and readied for the attack. Glancing the edge of the sword aside Gabe pivoted on the spot and threw his elbow around towards the back of Logan’s head.

  The point of his elbow dug into the back of Logan’s neck knocking him off balance.

  Keeping his footing, Logan staggered towards the edge of the crater. No sooner had he turned to face Gabe was his father upon him sending a flurry of punches aimed at Logan’s face.

  The first missed but the second and third landed on his cheek and jaw.

  Logan raised his guard to curb the punches from Gabe. Sensing a gap in his blows, Logan kicked out and felt his shin collide with Gabe’s ribs. Grappling with Gabe, Logan released his grip on his sword which fell clattering to the floor. Propelled backwards by Logan’s tackle Gabe dropped to the floor and dropped his own sword.

  Logan fought to overpower power as they rolled across the plateau, one gaining leverage over the other as they moved. As Logan pinned Gabe to the floor at one point and sent a handful of powerful blows hammering into the side of his head.

  The world spun, and Gabe could taste blood in his mouth. Holding his arms up against his face Gabe felt he was no longer in control as Logan rained blow after blow down on him.

  ‘You let her die for nothing.’ Logan screamed as he pounded at his father’s head.

  Gabe was losing; he could barely focus as another fist slammed into his temple. Logan was nothing more than a blur in his vision.

  Reaching towards his ankle Logan withdrew a sheathed dagger and plunged it into Gabe’s shoulder.

  The pain was insurmountable as the jagged blade tore into flesh and muscle. In an instant Gabe’s vision returned, enhanced by the shock and flow of adrenaline as the knife sank to the hilt in his left side just above his armpit.

  Fearing the worst Gabe grabbed Logan’s hand that still gripped the dagger and held it in place. The look in Logan’s eyes told Gabe his son would not hesitate to pull the knife free and bury it somewhere else with a more catastrophic effect.

  Holding the knife in place Gabe struggled to breathe. With his weight on the weapon, Gabe struggled to draw breath against the flood of pain from the wound.

  ‘What now?’ Gabe coughed.

  In one last attempt to release himself, Gabe used the edge of his hand to hit Logan square in the throat. Logan released the knife and climbed off Gabe clutching at his throat. As Logan’s windpipe went into spasm in reaction to the blow, he clutched at his neck.

  ‘Why...won’t...you...die?’ Logan gasped.

  Taking advantage of his respite Gabe hoisted himself off the floor favouring his left side. Seeing the discarded swords on the floor, Gabe kicked his own far out of reach and picked up Logan’s from its place.

  Still clutching at his throat, eyes wide but able to breathe more Logan watched his father as he stepped to the edge of the plateau and looked down at the bubbling lake of lava.

  ‘You don’t deserve this.’ Gabe declared as he moved to throw the Shasta out across the molten lake.

  ‘Don’t you dare.’ Logan croaked.

  ‘You have no need for it if you’re going to let it live. They made it for one purpose. If you can’t honour that, then you have no need of it.’

  In one swift move, Gabe tossed Logan’s sword out across the crater. Both watched as the metal glinted in the sun as it flew. Gabe heard Logan’s voice screaming as he released the handle and sent the weapon flying.

  ‘NO!’

  Logan was powerless as the sword sailed through the air. As it reached the peak of its flight, the weight of the handle changed its trajectory dragging the handle down first into the churning lava. The handle splashed into the thick lava, it remained upright at first, protruding from the lake as if held by an unseen hand.

  As the sword began to sink into the molten lava, neither of them spoke.

  With the heat of the volcanic rock, the handle melted and as the lava pierced the core of the sword, a spear of electric-blue flame erupted from the tip of the sword. The flame pierced high into the air as the sword sank into the volcano. When the tip disappeared beneath the surface of the magma, the blue flame disappeared.

  No sooner had the flame extinguished did the lava bubble where the sword had disappeared. Without warning, something exploded beneath the surface of the lava lake sending molten rock flying in every direction.

  Both Logan and Gabe ran for the cover of the wooden shelters as droplets of molten rock rained down around them. It was a surprise when they both reached the nearest shack untouched by the drizzle of fiery rain. As they took shelter behind the wooden walls, Logan grabbed his father by the throat.

  ‘You are nothing but my enemy.’ Logan spat as he squeezed Gabe’s throat.

  Gabe did the only thing he could think of to free himself from Logan’s vide-like grasp. To his son’s surprise, Gabe ripped the buried knife from his shoulder and swung it through the air. Seeing what Gabe was doing Logan released his father, but it was too late.

  Gabe buried the knife through the back of Logan’s right hand
and sank it into the wooden wall of the shack trapping Logan’s hand in place. Overcome with pain Logan fell to his knees with his hand pinned in place against the wall.

  Desperate to free himself Logan tugged at the handle but could get no purchase on the dagger as the jagged teeth meshed with the wood.

  ‘I will always have a son,’ Gabe said as he stood over Logan. ‘I may not agree with what he chooses in life, but that will never change the fact you are my blood, you will always be my son. Maybe one day you will come back.’

  Before Logan could offer any reply, Gabe slammed a fist into Logan’s temple. As his body went limp, unconsciousness swallowed Logan.

  Exhausted Gabe stepped away from his son and retrieved his gladius from the floor. Pulling aside the fabric of his top Gabe saw the wound in his shoulder was deep but not bleeding much. Satisfied he would cope, Gabe cast one last sorrowful look towards his son’s unconscious body and turned to face the crater.

  ‘I’m coming Claudia, maybe when this is done, we can bring your brother back.’

  Without another word, Gabe made his way around to the far side of the volcano. He was haunted by a cloud of sadness and dismay at what had happened and what they had forced him to do.

  38

  Belly Of The Mountain

  Claudia allowed Nahem to guide the way and before long there was no sign of the cave opening behind them. There was just enough light within the caves allowing them to make out enough of their surroundings as they moved.

  It was impossible to tell how long they had been walking or how far they had delved into the depths of the mountain. The heat radiating from the walls was just bearable although it compressed the air around them and made it difficult to draw breath. With the extra pressure from the environment, their progress was slow but steady.

  Both felt the angle of the floor change as they continued along their path. There had been no turns or junctions along the way making their route easy to follow. As the trail became steeper, they both noticed the tightness of the air a little more around them.

  ‘It’s hard to breathe.’ Claudia huffed as she tried to see past Nahem.

  ‘I hope it won’t be much further.’

  After another few moments, a dim red light appeared in front. They quickened their pace as the light grew and emerged into a vast open cavern that stretched as wide as a swimming pool below.

  ‘What is this?’ Claudia gasped as she looked around the impressive natural structure.

  Concentric circles scarred the walls stretching from its widest point high above them and down into a narrowing funnel shape below. The same iridescent bubbling lava swirled at the bottom of the funnel of rock. There were various openings and ledges protruding from the circular walls all around.

  ‘It looks like some sort of natural channel for the lava.’ Nahem guessed as she took in the natural wonder of the cavern. ‘It’s amazing.’

  ‘There!’ Claudia interrupted and pointed across to the far side of the cave.

  Almost at the same level on the far side, Claudia saw movement and as the tendrils of steam from the lava below separated, she glimpsed the masked Veks.

  He stood on a broad platform of stone with his back facing towards them. He did not realise they were there and as the steam danced and parted Claudia could see two other figures stood on the platform.

  ‘Nivags, look.’ Claudia pointed.

  The two things standing opposite the Veks were Nivags. Even at this distance, Claudia could make out the separation of mottled flesh and bone. Cut in half from top to bottom one side of the Nivag remained exposed bone devoid of tissue or fabric. The other half was covered in tattered clothing and mottled half-rotten meat, the sight was both hypnotising and disturbing at the same time.

  ‘Come on, over here.’ Nahem moved across towards a narrow ledge that stretched out along the cylindrical wall of the chamber.

  As the molten rock had subsided over the centuries, it had scored a series of concentric circles at various levels all around the walls. Following the natural lines, Nahem realised they could make it all the way around to the far side if they progressed with caution.

  Testing the strength of the narrow ledge of rock it satisfied Nahem it would support her weight and scrambled up.

  ‘Take your time.’ Nahem begged as she looked down at Claudia. ‘It’s wider than you think, but it should get us around there.’

  Sensing the younger woman’s nerves, Nahem did not wait for Claudia to answer and shimmied her way around the wall of the cavern. As Claudia inched around the wall behind Nahem her heart hung in her throat. More than once she cast a glance downwards and regretted it when she did. Yet again the swirling pool of volcanic rock beckoned to her promising nothing but a painful and fiery death. Fixing her attention back to the wall Claudia tried to keep her attention away from the bubbling pool below.

  ‘How much further?’ Claudia gasped as they climbed up to a new level of the ledge.

  ‘We are about half way.’ Nahem answered, knowing Claudia was struggling with the height and movement.

  Nahem kept checking their progress and was sure to make their route around the cavern bring them out higher than the Nivag and Veks. By staying close to the wall and inching higher she not only hoped to remain unseen by the Nivags but also give them the element of surprise.

  So far there had been no sign of the Magdon, whatever was happening on the platform had all three participants engrossed with one another. From her vantage point, Nahem could see the Veks pleading with the two Nivags that remain steadfast and silent in front of him.

  As they moved around Nahem caught sight of the Veks uncoupling the mask from the back of his head. Removing the familiar mask she watched as he placed it on the floor and removed the tight-fitting hood from his head.

  ‘Vincenzo!’ Nahem growled as the leader of the Veks’ face came into view.

  Cursing herself, Nahem hugged the wall and hopped the surrounding sounds had drowned out her voice. When Vincenzo’s attention remained on the Nivags, it relieved her and was about to resume when Claudia’s voice snatched her attention.

  ‘Who is he to you?’

  ‘Viktor’s replacement.’ Nahem snapped, a little quicker than she had intended.

  ‘There’s more to it than that, your eyes are filled with hatred.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter.’

  ‘It does, please.’

  Nahem turned to look at Claudia and realised she had shared little with her companions along their journey together. Everything that had happened had been about Archy and his kin getting here. Not through anything malicious but nobody had asked about Nahem. She was not used to sharing with people. The fact Claudia was asking caught her by surprise.

  ‘Viktor was the one who murdered my grandfather and started all of this. We had heard the Veks had found us and were coming to reclaim Archy’s legacy, he had sent me away to bring it to your father, and in doing so, he signed his own death warrant.’

  ‘But, Vincenzo?’

  ‘He came to us posing as a missionary offering help for the outlying villages and settlements. What he was doing was seeking our tribe and my grandfather the shamen.’ Nahem’s eyes welled with tears. ‘He came to the village, and my grandfather welcomed him in, offered him a home and a place to stay while he delivered medicines to those who needed it.’

  ‘He betrayed his trust.’

  ‘Vincenzo is a very calculating and manipulative man. He can exploit people to his benefit, and once he had learned of the truth of our village, it was him who called in Viktor.’

  ‘That’s terrible.’

  Nahem couldn’t pull herself to answer. She had only found out of Vincenzo’s betrayal when a survivor from her village contacted her. When Viktor had executed her grandfather, Vincenzo had emerged from his tent and revealed himself to the survivors of the attack.

  Ever since that moment, she had longed for the chance to make him pay, as she inched around the vast wall of the cavern she knew she was close
to that opportunity.

  ‘Let’s go.’ Was all Nahem could muster as she continued to move along the ledge.

  As they reached a position above the platform occupied by Vincenzo and the two Nivags they did so unnoticed. Bathed in the light from the glowing lava their shows clung to the wall in front, and their slow, purposeful movements have kept them camouflaged against the dark rock.

  ‘Wait for me to strike.’ Nahem instructed and turned around on the narrow ledge to face outwards.

  ‘No, I want to help.’ Claudia begged but found herself silenced by Nahem’s firm stare. ‘Climb down, and when I need you, then you’ll know.’

  Claudia knew there was no point in arguing. Nahem released both her hands from the wall and once again removed her Flagelli from their mountings on her shoulders. Letting the metal lashes drape down Nahem inhaled and closed her eyes. Steadying her heart rate and controlling her breathing she allowed herself to focus before she attacked.

  In one swift movement, she stepped one foot from the ledge and dropped like a stone to the platform below. Falling, she landed with the grace of a cat on the rocky surface between Vincenzo and the two Nivags. Before any of them could react she spun both the Flagelli around and whipped them both towards the head of the nearest Nivag.

  The unusual creature had no real chance to react as the two cords of twined metal wrapped around its throat. Moving its hand to protect itself the fleshed hand became enveloped in the tails of the Flagelli as it coiled around itself.

  ‘Not this time.’ Nahem boomed as she kicked out towards Vincenzo and yanked the two Flagelli hard back towards her.

  Her kick missed Vincenzo who jumped to the side however the Nivag’s body could not withstand the Flagelli. With the powerful jerk the metal sliced through the rotten flesh and mottled bone with ease severing the creatures head and hand from its body.