by Garry Spoor
Now that she was able to use her own eyes, she could move faster. She followed the source of the light to the other side of the cavern where it seeped through a small hole, about two feet off the ground. When she got closer, she heard voices.
They sounded garbled at first, but the longer she listened, the more she understood. These were not the guttural sounds of the valrik, but the speech of the vir, muffled behind the thick stone. This had to be the remaining members of Perha Squad. Unfortunately, hearing them and reaching them were two different things. Removing her hat, she carefully set it on the ground. Epoh was still clinging to the brim. She placed Vesper beside him before attempting to widen the hole. The rocks came away quite easily, and it didn’t take long before it was large enough for her to crawl through.
“You two wait here, I’ll be right back,” she told them.
Climbing up into the hole, she was able to crawl another ten feet before she hit a dead end. She couldn’t go any further, but she might not have to. Cracks in the wall where giving way to light and she could hear the voices on the other side, although she still couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. She tried pushing against the obstruction, hoping to dislodge it, but it was no use. Searching the areas in front of her, she picked up a small stone and started to tap out a simple rhythm. The voices went silent.
Calling out to them would be a mistake. There was no way of telling if they were alone, or if it was even them. The valrik were known to work with some unsavory characters, and some of those being vir. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much of a choice, she had to make contact if she was ever going to find out. Laying around in a dark hole was not a way to wait out the war.
She tapped the simple rhythm again.
“It came from over here,” she suddenly heard someone whisper.
Whoever it was, was very close, close enough to block out the light. There was movement on the other side, and people began to shift back and forth.
Kile tapped out the rhythm again.
“I heard it that time,” someone yelled.
“Quiet, do you want them to hear us?”
Suddenly all sound on the other side of the wall stopped. Everything went quiet, and then, very softly, she heard a gentle tapping. It was the same simple rhythm she had been using. She repeated it and waited. She heard it again.
After the third time, there was a burst of activity on the other side of the wall, and the sound of fingers digging. The light suddenly got brighter and face appeared before her, framed in the opening hole. It was Private Nasom.
“Hey guys, it’s Kile,” He said in a loud whisper.
Nasom’s face was quickly replaced by Sandson.
“Kile, is that really you? How did you get here?” he asked.
“This really isn’t the time for explanations.” She replied. “We have to get this hole wider.”
“Anurr, Ustar, get over here and give me a hand,” he said.
“Hold up, Sandson,” someone called out.
Sandson’s face disappeared from the opening and there was a lot of movement off to one side of the cavern.
“What’s going on?” Kile asked.
It was a moment before he returned.
“It’s those damn creatures the valrik have,” he whispered. “They’re keeping a close eye on us. I don’t think we’ll be able to get out of here without them hearing it.”
That was something she hadn’t considered. She knew the valrik had more of those reptilian wolves centered in the town, she could feel them when she sought out Burgora, but it never occurred to her they would be used to guard the prisoners. Although, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise, they were quite effective in the crags.
“We’ll have to find a way to slow them down first. Otherwise, they’ll be on us before any of us can get out here,” Sandson added.
There was only one way she could think of, short of killing them, and that would just raise the alarm. It was something she was loathe to do, but it didn’t look as if she had much of a choice. If they weren’t slowed down or stopped completely, they would tear the prisoners apart before they could even enlarge the hole, let alone escape through it. She made contact with them once, back in the crags, when she used her Edge, but the outcome was not, what she would call, successful. She almost lost herself to the shadows which surrounded them. She would have to be more careful this time.
“I’ll slow them down, but you’re going to have to work fast,” she told Sandson.
“What do you have in mind?” he asked.
“It would take too long to explain,” she replied. “Just give me a few minutes, and wait for the right moment.”
“What moment?” he asked.
“If this works, you’ll know,” she said, and started crawling back down the hole. Once she was at the end and was able to stand up again, she retrieved her hat.
“Vesper, I’m going to need your help,” she told the yarrow.
-Help Kile-
Vesper replied, climbing up her arm and sitting on her shoulder.
“This may sound a little weird, but… If I start to lose it, I want you to bite me.”
-Bite Kile?-
“Yes, like you did back in the crags.”
-Don’t want to hurt Kile.-
“Look Vesper, you have to promise me, If I even look as if I’m about to lose it, you have to bite me or stop me or… whatever.”
-If want.-
Vesper replied. She could tell he was reluctant, and she didn’t like putting him in that position, but it was the only thing she could think of. It was not the most ideal way of being brought back from wherever her mind went, but it was effective. The sudden introduction of pain would snap her back. She couldn’t afford to lose herself again. There was not telling what could happen next time.
Choosing a place away from the hole, she sat down, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and fell into her Edge. It didn’t take long before she felt the sticky black strands of the Maligar fill the darkness at the very edge of her senses. She did her best to resist it, but there was a madness lingering in the shadows, and she could hear the distant sound of laughter. She didn’t have the strength, or the time, to find out where it was coming from.
The first bright source of comfort she found was Burgora, at the entrance of the cave, and was happy to see the bear hadn’t eaten Tullner just yet. She even felt the presence of the black- hoofed mountain deer, which were waiting, some twenty yards from the cave’s entrance, but it was the dreaded reptilian wolves she needed to find.
They were outside the mines along with a handful of the valrik, but the valrik didn’t interest her. She barely knew they were there. They had little connection with the natural realm and so appeared only as ghosts to her.
The reptilian wolves, on the other hand, appeared as dark shadows. Not solid enough to have form or shape, they were ever moving, ever shifting, like ink smudges on the landscape. They existed between realms. She reached out to one of the smudges, touching its mind and merging with it. It was a mistake! The darkness was all consuming and she felt herself being dragged down into it. As their minds fused, she could see bits and pieces of its thoughts. It was like flipping back through a book and only reading every other page. The first visions were the most vivid, since those were the freshest, but they were also the worst. She was reliving the demise of Perha Squad through the eyes of the reptilian wolf.
She had seen the encounter through the eyes of the crows which circled the battlefield, and although the sight was horrific, she was detached from it. Now, looking through the eyes of the reptilian wolf, she was a physical part of it. She was engaged in combat with the same men whom she traveled with over the last couple of days. To see them die at her hands was more than she could take. She was losing her identity as the darkness descended and the laughter grew louder.
Just when she thought she couldn’t take anymore, the page turned. She was now surrounded by valrik. They were closing in on the sleeping town of Coopervill
. There was no warning, no reason for the initial attack. They hovered on the edge of town, waiting and watching. What they were waiting for, she did not know, what they were watching, she could not say. She knew only the smell of warm blood, which was plentiful in the town, enough to satisfy even her cravings. A shrill call shattered the silence of the night. It came from somewhere in the north and echoed down the valley. The town was alerted, but not soon enough to save itself. She descended with her pack into the streets as the vir emerged from their stone dwellings. They didn’t stand a chance. Most of them were cut down before they even set foot outside their doors.
A young boy fled from a building with the odd sounding name of Bird and Bay. He ran down the street, barely clothed in his stocking feet, but he wasn’t fast enough. She overtook him just outside the blacksmith’s shop. His name was Toby. Why did she know that?
The night was filled with the screams and cries of the vir. Some tried to make a stand, forming a line across the road. They were outnumbered and ill-equipped. Many of them died in the streets, in the fields, in their homes and in the mines. Those were the lucky ones, hundreds were taken away in chains. It was all over in what felt like a heartbeat.
The pages were flipping again, filling her mind with visions and memories. These were nowhere near as complete. She was traveling through the woods, under the cover of darkness, leading the valrik toward the scent of vir. In the wastelands with her pack, as the armies of the Uhyre were starting to move. Roused from a long slumber, deep in the depth of the earth. Seeing tall temples dedicated to forgotten gods hidden among the dense forests. And now hunting again, but it wasn’t vir, these were the Alva who ran before her. She was floating in a warm viscous black liquid which spoke words she couldn’t understand, but she knew she shouldn’t listen to them. She tried to block them out, tried to sleep. But, there was one voice which kept repeating one word, over and over again, a word she knew.
-Kile.-
Who or what was a Kile? The word sounded familiar. Was it a name? Was she Kile?
She had to know, she had to remember. Who was she? Her name was…
-Kile.-
She grabbed hold of the word and the meaning it held. It was her word, it was her name. It was enough to break the connection, but was it her connection to break? She suddenly snapped back into her own mind and everything started to spin. She doubled over, retching.
-Kile all right?-
Vesper asked, and the sympathy and kindness of this voice seemed to push the darkness away, if only for a moment.
“No Vesper, I’m not all right,” she whispered.
Her whole body was shaking. There was blood on her hands. It was her blood from where Vesper had bit her, several times by the looks of it. Was that what broke the connection. She never felt it. She didn’t even know he did it.
Why did she think that would work? Why did she even do it? Why did she have to see those things? Why did she have to see Toby?
“Hey! Kile, I don’t know what the hell you did, but it sounds like you might have started a war,” Sandson said, crawling out of the narrow tunnel. No sooner did he drop to the ground, then he grabbed one of rocks shoved it into the hole.
Kile looked up to see the cavern was now filled with people watching her. How long had she been in contact with the creature? It felt like mere seconds, and yet she had seen its whole life. She saw its birth and felt its death
“Twine,” she said in a shaky voice as the reason for her being there suddenly came back to her. “Follow the twine and it will lead you back to the exit.”
She waited until a few of them were moving back up the tunnel before she even tried to get to her feet. She felt a bit uneasy and disconnected, but then, she always felt that way after using the Maligar, although, she wasn’t sure if she used it or had it used on her.
“How many more are there?” she asked Sandson.
“I’m the last one. I tried to close the hole, but I don’t know if it will hold.”
“What… what happened?”
“I have no idea,” he said, shaking his head. “We heard noises outside, at first we thought they were coming in, but they sounded as if they were attacking one another. I figured that was the right moment, so we started working on the hole as quietly as possible. Then all hell broke loose. There was screaming and yelling and who knows what. At that moment, silence wasn’t an option. We just tore at the stone as fast as we could, to get the hell out of there. I swear it sounded as if they were tearing each other apart. What did you do?”
“I… I didn’t do anything,” she said.
“Well, whatever you did or didn’t do, we’re still alive, so that’s something.”
They moved back through the tunnel in silence, except for the occasional curse when one of the men bumped his head or stubbed a toe. Kile followed up the rear again, constantly looking over her shoulder and listening to the darkness. She could hear the scratching behind her. It echoed through the stone and she knew those things were only a few loose rocks away from following them. If the Uhyre managed to get through the blocked hole before they reached the entrance, they were all dead. There was no room to fight and no light to fight by. They would be overtaken one by one, starting with her.
Epoh clung to her, giving her the advantage of his sight. Even if it wasn’t true sight, she was still able to get a sense of how far they came and how far they needed to go. When they reached the twine, they moved faster, or as fast as blind men can walk, stumbling their way in the dark. She should have brought lanterns or torches. There was no need for secrecy now.
They were getting closer to the entrance. She could feel the cool night air on her face. She was starting to think they were going to make it, but hope quickly shattered when an unnatural cry echoed through the tunnel behind her. Kile knew they just ran out of time. The Uhyre broke through the tunnel and the reptilian wolves were on their way.
“We have to move now,” she shouted.
She could hear the men trying to pick up the pace, but it was no use. It was difficult to run when they couldn’t see their feet. The ground was beginning to tilt up and they started their accent, but the reptilian wolves were gaining on them.
Whatever they were, they didn’t appear to be hampered by the darkness. They were closing in fast. It wouldn’t be long now, she thought. Turning, she reached for her weapon. The walls were close, the area was tight. This wasn’t the best place for a battle, but if she had any chance of stopping them, even a slim one, she had to take it. Who knows, one dead reptilian wolf may jam up the path enough to slow down the others.
She heard the triumphant yell of freedom as the first soldier exited the cave, followed closely by the inevitable…
“It’s a bear.”
She probably should have warned them about Burgora.
With the exit in sight, the men picked up speed, but the sound of pursuit was growing louder. It was a race to see who would reach the mouth of the tunnel first. She could see them now, or how they appeared in the bat’s vision. The tunnel proved too narrow and their broad stature slowed them down, but it wouldn’t stop them. They crawled over one another, clinging to the walls, even the ceiling, pulling themselves through. Kile stumbled out of the entrance on top of Sandson just as one of the reptilian wolves caught up to her. It came barreling out of the cave and lunged at her, but it never reached her. A large claw caught it in midair, slammed it up against the rocks and threw the broken body down the mountain side.
Kile lay on her back, staring up at the great bear. “Thank you Burgora,” she said.
-You must get moving. Others will follow.-
He told her.
Sure enough, she could already feel their approach, but she was just too exhausted to move.
“Close the tunnel,” she heard Tullner yell.
Hands grabbed her and dragged her from the entrance. Men started hammering at the stone with anything they could get a hold of in a vain attempt to close the opening, but in the end it was Burgor
a who pulled the mountain down.
“Never thought I’d be thanking a grizzly,” she heard one of the men laugh.
“We’re not out of this yet,” some commented.
“What now, sir? Where do we go from here?”
“I’m… I’m not quite sure,” Tullner replied.
She forgot to let him in on certain aspects of the plan.
Without getting up, she pointed over her head. “That way,” she said
Tullner appeared beside her, extending a hand. The last thing she wanted to do was get up, but she did, as he pulled her to her feet.
Epoh took off the moment Kile exited the cave. Bats weren’t very comfortable around vir, but then most animals weren’t. She thanked him and hoped he heard her. Grabbing her hat, she slapped it on the side of her leg to dust it off.
“We have to make for the open fields,” she said, picking up the courier bag from where she left it. Vesper quickly climbed in.
Private Anurr stepped forward. “Why should we listen to you?” he asked. “You’re not in charge. Where’s Sergeant Wargner? Where are the others?”
“We’re all of what’s left of Perha Squad,” Tullner replied. “Renop, Lesh, Browne, Hilnn and Duffy have gone on ahead. We are to meet them at the outpost of Moran.”
“And how are we supposed to get there?” Ustar asked. “I don’t mind a good walk, but we won’t get far with those things on our tail.”
“Hopefully we’ll have a ride,” Kile replied, stepping past him. She started down the hill.
She really wasn’t in the mood to debate the situation. She was queasy, her head was throbbing and she felt as if she just received a bear hug from Burgora, all in all, not the best day.
Most of the men followed her, a few needed to be persuaded. It probably wasn’t because they thought she was right, it was more likely they didn’t have any place else to go.