Born of Shadows- Complete Series

by J. R. Erickson

  The stairs grew steeper and Faustine braced his hands on the narrowing tunnel walls to maintain balance. The steps ended abruptly and Faustine estimated his depth at more than three hundred feet underground. The water flowing through the bedrock helped him maintain his connection with Galla.

  He continued forward on even ground until he came upon a mass of boulders completely blocking the path before him. Knowing that Demetrius and Max were close behind, he waited.

  ****

  Sebastian plunged through darkness. Even as they fell, he held tight to Lydie, knowing that death might come at any moment. As he waited for the impact, he felt his body slowing and growing lighter. He realized that Oliver was easing their descent.

  Before his body slammed into the mass beneath him, Sebastian smelled the dead. The stench filled his lungs with a scent of metallic rot. His stomach rolled. He felt his body smash into bone and flesh. It gelled beneath him. He and Lydie did not merely land—they sank. The hole that their forms created, closed as the body parts tumbled together. Sebastian held his breath and kicked and clawed out of the jumble of corpses. He felt his mouth and nose fill with blood and bodily fluids and he started to gag.

  Only when his head emerged from the foul pit did he realize that he was howling.

  "Stop," Oliver seethed and clamped a disgustingly slimy hand over his mouth. Sebastian slapped it away. He grabbed Lydie with both hands and trudged through the bodies to solid ground. He deposited her on the earth and fell to his knees, retching uncontrollably.

  He tried to suck in a fresh breath, but the smell overpowered him and he gagged.

  Oliver squatted beside him. He held a clump of dirt to Sebastian's face.

  "Breathe," he said.

  Sebastian leaned into the dirt, half expecting to inhale a clump and choke, but only clean air entered his lungs.

  "Hold your breath," Oliver told him, dropping the dirt and picking up another handful and then another.

  "You're going to have to breathe through your mouth now," Oliver said. "Otherwise, you're going to get sick again."

  Sebastian did as Oliver asked. The thought of inhaling the decayed remains made him nauseous, but he didn't smell it anymore.

  "What the hell is this?" Sebastian asked finally.

  He surveyed the mound of bodies stacked in the underground hole. There were a hundred, at least, in varying levels of decomposition.

  Oliver shook his head and swiped at his watery eyes.

  "I've never seen anything like it."

  They had fallen into an enormous cavern. At least three hundred feet deep, the walls were a honeycomb of tunnels. As they watched, a creature, not unlike the one that pushed them into the pit, crawled out of one of the tunnels, scurried along the wall and entered another tunnel. A high-pitched cackle greeted them from an opening less than fifteen feet above their heads.

  Sebastian scrambled to his feet.

  "We're screwed," he whispered, staring in horror as another of the undead things fell from one of the crevices in the ceiling. It landed with a sickening thud.

  "I'm not sure if it's dead," Oliver said with surprising calm. He watched the bodies wearily, but the creature did not emerge.

  "I think it was already dead," Sebastian replied, accepting that even his worst nightmares had not prepared him for this moment.

  "Faustine," Oliver whispered suddenly. "Faustine is down here."

  "Where?" Sebastian scanned the room, searching the tunnels for Faustine's face.

  "He's in a pathway that has been blocked off. This way, I think." Oliver started to walk the perimeter of the cavern, trying not to step on the dead, but unable to avoid them completely. His eyes kept wandering toward the faces. Some of the bodies were still intact and their faces had not morphed into the ghoulish undead that appeared to be travelling through the underground lair.

  "Stephen," Oliver said startled. The journalist that he and Abby had been searching for lay at the edge of the mass. His glazed eyes stared at nothing, but his mouth was parted in an 'o' of horror as if his last visions had literally scared him to death.

  "What is it?" Sebastian called out quietly.

  Oliver waved him away and put a finger to his lips. He could hear scurrying from one of the tunnels. He continued around the bodies and then a shriek near Sebastian sent him running back.

  One of the fiends leered at them. Its black tongue lashed out from its, once feminine, face. The creature's hair fell in black clumps around her wasted scalp. With talon-like fingers, she scrambled onto the wall and then jumped to the earth below. Sebastian kicked desperately at a rock, trying to unearth it. He snatched it up and bent his knees low.

  Oliver too grabbed a rock and focused on harnessing the powerful energy of the limestone surrounding him.

  The fiend lunged forward, reaching for Sebastian with skeletal fingers. Before Oliver could heave the rock in his own hand, the creature burst into flames. She let out a single, high-pitched squeal and then collapsed, squirming and then growing still.

  "What the..." Sebastian started, but Oliver saw that Lydie had returned to consciousness.

  Though she still laid flat on her back, her eyes were open and her hands, shaking, pointed toward the charred monster at Sebastian's feet.

  Oliver rushed over, awkwardly hugging her with his single good arm. Sebastian joined them.

  "When life gives you lemons, make barbecue," Lydie rasped with a hollow grin.

  Sebastian shook his head and smiled, in spite of himself.

  "Only you could make this shit funny," Sebastian said, sitting down roughly against the wall.

  Lydie reached a hand over to him and patted his foot.

  "Thanks for rescuing me, guys."

  Oliver laughed and didn't bother trying to wipe his tears.

  Lydie struggled up to sitting position and pressed her face into her palms.

  "I think I'm going to puke," she mumbled, and some of the little girl had replaced her hardness. Oliver let her go and she doubled over, throwing up and then dry heaving until she collapsed back onto the ground, her face close to the dirt.

  Oliver rubbed her back.

  "Sebastian, there's a passageway somewhere on the other side of those bodies. It's filled in with rocks. We have to move them. Faustine is on the other side."

  "Faustine." Lydie perked up and Sebastian immediately sprang to his feet at the hopeful sheen in Lydie's eyes.

  "I'm on it," he said.

  He walked around the mound of bodies and found the only tunnel at ground level. It was large, at least ten feet tall, and packed with huge rocks. He grabbed one and pulled. It didn't budge.

  Chapter 34

  Demetrius came upon Faustine and then Max arrived several minutes later. Demetrius, an earth element, had the most power to influence the rocks. He placed his hands on the boulders, feeling their mass and slowly growing in tune with their vibrations.

  "I can move them," he said finally, "but it will take some time."

  "We may not have time," Max whispered, hearing the far-off sounds of heavy footfalls. As an air element, Max was at an additional disadvantage, but he also knew that Lydie lay somewhere inside and he would die to get her out.

  "I will retreat," Faustine said. "Let me be the first line of defense."

  Max began to argue, but Faustine silenced him. "There's no more time."

  As Faustine ran back down the tunnel, Demetrius grew very quiet. He spread himself across the boulders, pressing his forehead, torso and legs against every possible surface. His body began to tremble and then shake.

  ****

  They parked the cars along a wide shoulder and took to the woods by foot. Abby, not fully recovered, and Rod, a non-witch, slowed the group down, adding to the already strained energies. Fear, tension, exhilaration and impatience were, but a few of the waves of emotion passing through all of them collectively.

  As they walked, Galla reported the images from Faustine. Elda, too, had begun to pick up his signals and Julian as well.
When Faustine back-tracked to face the Vepars, Elda's face grew tight with worry. She started to walk faster.

  "We can't all go in," Julian reminded them. "We need reinforcements at the well. I think two should go down here and two should stay above the ground..."

  Abby wanted to go in, but she knew that they would not allow it. Her abdomen continued to throb and a fever had washed over her, causing sweat to stand out along her brow line. Each step radiated up her legs and into her core. A dizzy spell overcame her and she started to fall sideways, but Adora caught her and held her steady.

  "You have to go back to the car," Elda insisted, taking Abby's clammy hands in her own. "I know that you are strong, Abby. But we're going to need you because if anyone gets hurt, your blood is going heal them..."

  Elda had never talked about Abby's blood being healing for other witches. She started to argue, fearing that Elda intended to trick Abby to keep her out of danger. Instead, she grew woozy and nearly fell a second time.

  "It's decided then," Julian agreed. "Abby returns to the car. Rod?"

  "No. I'm sorry, Abby," he pecked her on the cheek. "But I'm going down there."

  Julian turned up his palms in surrender and looked at Adora.

  "I will walk her to the car," Adora said, resigned. "And then I will stay in the trees. If any of those demons come out, they're mine."

  ****

  It took a moment for the nausea to pass, but once Lydie could stand, she hurried with Oliver to the blocked tunnel. They could not tell how far the boulders went in.

  "Fire is not going do us a lot of good, hon," Olive told Lydie. "But it will take care of those dead things when they come in."

  "Great," she said. "Sounds like more fun than a barrel of monkeys."

  Oliver bit his tongue and did not comment on the return of the clichés. He realized that she needed them to make it all less scary and, in truth, he appreciated the humor.

  Sebastian walked to the pile of bodies and, plugging his nose, he reached into the mess. He wrestled two large thigh bones from a mostly decomposed skeleton.

  "It's better than nothing," he told them dryly.

  Oliver returned his attention to the rocks. He could feel Demetrius somewhere on the other side, slowly breaking them down. He chose a different tact. Pulling a surge of energy from the ground beneath him, he grabbed a boulder with invisible hands and inched it away. It stayed put and then, miraculously, it shifted. As he took hold with his mind, it gained momentum and rolled back.

  "Yes," Sebastian whistled behind him.

  "Three o'clock," Oliver shouted, gesturing towards one of the undead, standing in a tunnel above them.

  "That one's been beat with the ugly stick," Lydie said, opening her arms wide and, in a rush, slamming them back together. As her hands connected, a fireball shot from between them. It launched up and struck the hollow-eyed beast. It screamed once as it fell from the hole and landed in the bodies below. Immediately another appeared behind it and then two more tunnels filled with ghoulish faces.

  Oliver returned to the rocks, knowing that help and a way out was close at hand.

  He focused on a low boulder. With all his might, he drew it towards him. It moved, barely, but still it moved. He gritted his teeth and fought with it. His eyes itched and his brain felt ready to explode. Finally, it shot backwards, nearly striking him. The five boulders supported by it, tumbled away. One struck Lydie and she flew forward, landing on her hands and knees, too shocked to cry out.

  "I've got her," Sebastian shouted, running over and helping her to her feet.

  Oliver saw the fiends crawling down the walls. The next boulder, he levitated and, with a force that nearly blew out his right eye, he flung the boulder into the wall, smashing one of the creatures. From the corner of his eye, he saw Lydie blast a feeble bolt of fire towards another of the fiends, but it did not reach.

  "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link," she announced, closing her eyes and trying again.

  She reached the creature but, as it started to burn, another lunged from above her. It struck her shoulder and she pitched to the ground, striking her head.

  Sebastian fell upon it with the bone. He struck it in the face, grimacing as the soft flesh caved in and the teeth broke away. Even after it stopped moving, he continued to strike it.

  Lydie pressed her fingers to her scalp and felt the mash of hair and blood.

  "Ouch," she whimpered, teetering on the verge of a full break-down.

  Sebastian scooped her up and carried her behind one of the large boulders that Oliver had dislodged.

  "Take a breather, little fire goddess," he told her. "I can take care of these guys."

  She nodded grimly, pressing her face into her knees to cry.

  ****

  Faustine became clear like water and melded into the limestone wall. He knew that there were two and that they were not small. Their footfalls sent thundering vibrations up his legs. A human might not have sensed the impact of their movements, but Faustine discerned their every shift. They paused halfway down the stairs and he wondered if the other witches had arrived. Only one continued forward.

  He reached for Galla in his mind and warned her about the Vepar lying in wait. His focus on transparency pulled him away from his telepathic connection and he could not be sure that she received his message.

  As the Vepar came into view, Faustine studied him for recognition. His huge blockish head sat atop an equally thick neck, giving him the appearance of having no neck at all. Black curly hair surrounded his large chapped mouth. His tongue stuck between a gap in his front teeth and his eyes held a looking of cunning determination. He looked dim-witted, but he was not. Tobias was sending in heavy artillery.

  The Vepar stopped and scanned the tunnel. Faustine felt the demon's eyes rove across him and pass by, but they paused. The hesitation was barely perceptible, but Faustine understood that he had been discovered.

  Before the Vepar could rush him, Faustine reached into the body of the dark thing before him. With phantom hands, he seized the Vepar's brain, an organ composed mostly of water.

  The Vepar charged him, smashing him back into the rock wall and knocking the breath from his body. He lost his hold and crumpled to the earth. The Vepar snatched him by the collar of his shirt and flung him into the ceiling. He could not shield himself and reach back into the Vepar's skull. His body struck the earth and he felt the bones in his right shoulder shatter. He glared into the demon's eyes as he hardened the water within the thick skull to ice. The brute's eyes widened and he staggered back, clutching at his head and wailing in agony. Faustine concentrated on the ice. As it hardened, he envisioned it splitting and spider webbing. The demon's eyes began to ooze black blood and he fell forward on his hands and knees. He made a final attempt at Faustine, lunging forward before he buckled to the floor.

  ****

  Julian and Elda went to the well. Though they did not receive Faustine's message of the Vepars below, Julian perceived them before they reached the farm property. He handed Elda a sack of black powder and a steel stake.

  He dropped in first, quickly using the rope to slide down the well. At the lip of the tunnel, before swinging in, he pulled out his own bag of black powder and flung a handful into the opening.

  Julian had created the powder. To it he added ground rosary peas, frankincense and the ashes of a thousand candles burned on the altar of his lost wife Miranda. He then sat with the powder for a hundred nights, invoking the greatest Vepar hunter the world of witches had ever known. The powder affected every Vepar differently, but it never failed to debilitate the demons in some capacity.

  When no sound returned, he swung into the tunnel to wait for Elda. The Vepar rose from a crouch and, even in the far-off darkness, Julian saw the red glow in its eyes. He reached for the bag of powder and started to warn Elda, but the demon moved like thunder. It struck him and drove him back into the well and they fell. Their tangled mass hit the walls and brought a shower of rock with the
m as they twisted in the air. The Vepar sunk its huge jaws into Julian's wrist.

  Elda dropped, focusing on buoyancy, but also speed. She slowed when she heard them splash into the bottom of the well. Pulling the bag of powder from the pocket of her cloak, she grasped a handful and prepared to rain it upon them. Above her, something slid across the well opening casting them into darkness.

  "Just throw it, Elda," Julian screamed from beneath her and she could hear them thrashing in the water.

  She opened the bag and flung it back and forth, praying that it would not hurt Julian as well.

  The Vepar took hold of Julian's neck and thrust him beneath the water. Julian grasped the sharp fingernails digging into his flesh. He couldn't breathe and conjuring a faculty of his power ceased to be possible as spots of white began to dance behind his eyelids.

  Elda pulled energy from the water and called upon the spirit of the sun to cast out the darkness. A brilliant white light illuminated the water and she saw the demon holding Julian beneath the surface, but his grip had loosened. The Vepar's eyes were clenched together and a stream of black foam dripped from the corner of his mouth.

  Julian rose and shoved the beast away. It swayed drunkenly, but did not fall. Julian pulled a dagger from his belt and, using his good arm, he thrust the dagger into the beast's abdomen, driving the blade in and up and until he felt the familiar burst. The Vepar collapsed and a rush of black blood filled the water.

  ****

  Adora tucked Abby into the backseat and stood outside. She walked the perimeter of the car sprinkling salt and grated osha root. She called upon the elements of earth, wind, fire and air to protect the young witch and to conceal her from searching eyes. Abby fell into a feverish sleep.

  She shivered and rolled over, feeling soft fur beneath her cheek. She tried to pull her blanket closer, but someone tugged it away. The blanket lifted and she stared at the naked back of a young woman. The woman pulled the fur throw—it looked like bear—up to her neck. She stood and walked toward the triangle of light coming through the single opening in the enormous leather tent. Abby scanned the tepee that she'd woken in, counting at least three more dozing bodies buried beneath heaps of blankets and furs. The young woman's long black hair caught the sunlight as she walked into the clearing where the previous night's fire still smoldered, leaking out wisps of gray smoke. The woman, Kanti, turned and Abby saw that she was barely more than a child really. A halo of breath stole from her small red mouth and her dark eyes glittered. She lifted a stick from the earth and began to poke the fire, then bent close to it and seemed to coo and whisper until the flames started to grow and dance. She shuffled out of sight and Abby stood and walked to the tent's opening.