Everflame: The Complete Series

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Everflame: The Complete Series Page 57

by Dylan Lee Peters


  Shock overwhelmed Densa for the second time and he found himself unable to move as the Tyrant approached him.

  “You are weak, Father. Weak and pathetic.” The Tyrant grabbed Densa by the throat and lifted him off of the ground. “But, regardless of how pathetic you are, I won’t have you meddling in my business until I am ready to unveil my masterpiece to you. You will watch your precious Earth burn, Densa, and then I will kill you, as I have killed the griffin.”

  With one large leap, the Tyrant bounded through the broken hole in the palace wall. All the while, carrying Densa like an uprooted weed. The walls of the palace burned fire-red and the Farsiders cowered in the shrinking shadows as they watched the abuse of their master. They feared the Tyrant so much that they dare not intervene. The Tyrant raced down the staircase at the back of the main chamber, down into the depths of Densa’s palace.

  “What are you doing with me?” uttered Densa, still struggling to free himself.

  “Putting you where you can’t cause any trouble.”

  Densa saw the open gate to the moon’s core, and at once, understood what the Tyrant planned.

  “You can’t close the gate alone,” croaked Densa.

  The Tyrant stopped, just in front of the gate to the moon’s core, and looked deep into the black abyss. He raised Densa up with one arm, so that their faces were merely inches apart. “You have no idea what I am capable of.”

  And with those last words, the Tyrant threw Densa into the darkness and slammed the doors of the gate closed. The Tyrant’s laugh grew quieter as he moved away and horror gripped Densa, leaving him cold to the bone. The Ancients had created the gate, long ago, so that no one of them could open or close it alone. Now that Bahknar and Tenturo were gone, and Densa was trapped on the inside of the core, there was no one who could open the gate other than the Tyrant. Iolana would not be able to do it alone. Densa stood in total blackness, enveloped in loss and shock. Until the Tyrant returned for him, he was trapped inside the core of the moon.

  Chapter 11: Catalyst

  Evercloud stood alone in the forest at the base of Gray Mountain, fully enjoying the fresh air he had been missing. He had just watched as Steven Everheart disappeared into the thick of the forest, his own quest drawing him onward to chase the horizon. Evercloud exhaled the fresh, forest air with a sigh, not surprised by his feeling of jealousy that he was not leaving to resume his own quest.

  I miss the journey, he thought. This is frustrating.

  Evercloud was no closer to finding what Tenturo had called his reason, and Evercloud was growing weary of all the training, conversation and time spent thinking that brought him no closer to his goal.

  I miss action, I miss the mystery, I miss discovery, and I miss… the world.

  And it was in that moment of longing that Evercloud decided to run. He began slowly, stretching his limbs and allowing his muscles to warm as he took long breaths of the forest air. The mountain had become so claustrophobic. Out of the corner of his eye, Evercloud saw a squirrel and decided to chase it. The animal was shocked to see Evercloud match its own speed and agility. Wide-eyed and panicking, the creature climbed the nearest tree it could find, and hid, silently, in the branches. Evercloud laughed to himself, I guess he’s not in the sporting mood.

  Evercloud continued to run. He wasn’t running away, for that was not his intention, but he ran around the base of the mountain, weaving in and out of trees and brush with a speed that he still found surprising and exhilarating. He felt good; he felt better than good. The sun had begun its descent and the breeze grew a bit cooler. Evercloud smiled. Maybe this is my reason, he thought. Maybe I am simply to be the catalyst for action, change. Evercloud liked the thought. It pleased him so much that he imagined he felt better now than he had since arriving on the mountain. He looked into the sky and tried to savor the moment; tried to remember it.

  And then he heard the scream…

  Evercloud stopped his stride with a jerk, slipping on leaves and sliding down to the forest floor. He turned his head in the direction the scream had come from, and then, he heard it again. This time, it was accompanied by a crashing that sounded like the splintering of wood. It was just as Evercloud scrambled to his feet that he saw them, two people running through the forest, being chased by a Farsider. The beast charged, knocking trees over with its massive, horned head. It ran on four legs and had a tail like a whip that slashed at the trees left in its wake.

  Suddenly, yells came from behind Evercloud and he turned to see Eveneye, Riverpaw, Dean, Prudence and the brothers Floyd running toward him.

  “They’re heading for a Farsider trap!” yelled Eveneye. “Stop them!”

  Evercloud knew what he had to do. He quickly strapped his golden claw tightly to his arm and took off running toward the Farsider as fast as his feet would carry him. He weaved in and out of trees with a speed that seemed suicidal and reckless. He disregarded small cuts and scratches as branches and brush tore at his arms and legs. He was almost upon the creature, when it seemed as if the earth in front of him opened up and swallowed both the humans and the Farsider. Evercloud skidded to a stop, kicking up pine needles and dirt, and stared down into the massive, black hole that stretched out before him. Moments later, his father was beside him.

  “Would the fall have killed them?” Evercloud asked with short breath and panic.

  “I-I don’t know,” said the King.

  Evercloud gave one nod to his father and jumped into the black chasm. The drop was farther than he expected and when he hit the ground, he fell, pinning his arm underneath him. He rolled as pain shot through his arm and he feared that he might have broken it. Evercloud staggered to his feet and felt his arm with his hand. The pain quickly ebbed away and he realized that he was unharmed. He looked up, searching for a wall in the darkness, but could find nothing.

  I need light, he thought.

  He extended his arm into the air and flame came forth, resting upon his palm. He waved his arm like a torch into the darkness, and then, he saw them. Down a vast passage stood the black beast, evil, red eyes focused upon its prey. A man stood, brandishing a knife at the beast and placing his body between the Farsider and a woman crouched upon the ground.

  “Help us!” yelled the man as his eyes darted back and forth between the beast and Evercloud. “She is wounded! Help us!”

  The creature roared and lunged at the man and he buried his knife deep into the beast’s black hide. Alas, his defense was futile. The massive fiend, unimpeded, bore his black horn into the man’s torso. The man grunted in pain and dropped his knife. Into the air, the Farsider lifted him, shaking him violently and tossing the man’s limp body against the wall. He did not move from where he landed and the woman screamed as the monster roared and refocused its bloody eyes upon her.

  But the creature would cause no more pain. It was now the Farsider’s turn to suffer defeat. Evercloud flashed by the flank of the creature with a blaze of light. He slashed the beast’s tail and it fell to the ground. The beast screeched in anguish and spun on Evercloud, removing its attention from the woman who was huddled in fear, and fixed its fury upon the man of fire. Fear was something the beast had never known and it charged Evercloud, gnashing its rancorous teeth. The creature lowered its mighty horn, aiming to impale Evercloud as it had the man with the knife, but Evercloud was far too quick. The man leapt into the air before the monster could meet its mark, and the Farsider crashed into the wall. Evercloud fell upon the beast’s head, burying his claw deep within its skull. The creature fell limp and with a moan, began to dissipate into black dust.

  Evercloud walked to the woman huddled on the floor, and helped her to her feet. She limped on one leg and Evercloud could see that she had broken it in the fall. The woman threw her arms around Evercloud and wept freely.

  “He’s dead?” she asked.

  Evercloud turned his head to see the man’s corpse lying in a pool of blood.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered. The woman buried her he
ad in his chest and wept. “We have to get you out of here.” Evercloud lifted the woman into his arms and carried her back to the place where they had first fallen into the trap. A rope had been lowered and someone was yelling down into the hole. Evercloud thought it sounded like Ben. He tied the rope around the woman and called up into the air. “Ben?”

  “Evercloud!” returned Ben. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes,” called Evercloud. “This woman is injured. Pull her up gently.”

  The woman began to rise into the air and she looked down at Evercloud. “Thank you,” she said between sobs. “Thank you.”

  Evercloud nodded and watched her as she continued to rise, far above his head. After a moment, Evercloud returned to the body of the dead man. He lifted his body and carried it to where the rope had been. A minute passed, and again, the rope found its way down the hole. Evercloud secured the man’s body with the rope and called back up to Ben.

  “Pull him up. We can’t leave him here.”

  The rope pulled tight, and as it began to raise the man’s body into the air, something fell from the robe he wore. Evercloud bent down and picked up a piece of rolled parchment. He opened it, but could not see well, so folded it and placed it in the back pocket of his trousers. After a time, the rope again fell into sight. Evercloud yelled into the air.

  “I’m not coming.”

  “What?” yelled Ben.

  “Pull up the rope. I’m not coming.”

  “What are you doing?”

  Evercloud took one deep breath and yelled back into the air. “I’m going to the arena.”

  Chapter 12: Know Me Darkness; Know Me Well

  Evercloud refused to use his powers to light the vast passage that led into the arena at the center of Gray Mountain; the arena that had now become a prison for the Farsiders that had tried to attack the mountain. He wanted the darkness to give him the element of surprise when he entered the arena, and he knew he could see the Farsiders’ red eyes, even in the darkness. In this moment, he basked in the darkness. He let it invade him and saturate him.

  Know me darkness; know me well, for you will never know me again.

  For the first time, Evercloud knew he had found his reason. He knew that he had a purpose in this world. His purpose was what he had wanted all along, but now he believed that it could be more than dreams and wishes. He was to be more than just a catalyst in this world; he would be the means to an end. He now understood why he burned inside to points where he felt like he would explode. It was not because he was full of darkness, as he had feared, but because he was full of light. It was he who would end the darkness. He was the true enemy of evil. So he let the darkness in. He let it surround him. He let it study him and know him. For everything in this world deserves to know its destroyer.

  Know me darkness; know me well, for I am your destroyer.

  Evercloud walked tall through the long passage to the arena. He swung his claw in the blackness and felt strong. He stretched his neck from side to side. The air grew damp and the stench of filth hit him in the face. He was close now, it was about to begin. Evercloud walked onward for another moment before stopping. He could feel a faint draft and realized that he had moved through one of the entrances to the arena. He took a deep breath and then, slowly and quietly, walked forward into the open blackness.

  There were no noises to clue him in, no snorting or shuffling. There were no red eyes, afire with primal rage, as he had anticipated. He counted fifty paces as he walked forward and then stopped. Evercloud took one slow, deep breath, and then, burst forth with flame, lighting the arena like the embers of a burning coal. He could see torches along the arena wall and sent jets of flame to ignite them as fast as he could. In seconds, the arena glowed with light and then he saw them.

  They slowly opened their red eyes, as if waking from a morbid slumber. Their lips curled and the Farsiders snarled and screeched, their bodies shook with excitement and rage, and every last one of them focused their malicious attentions on Evercloud; the man of fire.

  Carefully, the creatures slithered and crept; they stalked and circled their prey slowly. The Farsiders were massive and terrible in the firelight of the torches. As was the way of the Farsiders, fear was the last thing on their minds. They crowed and gurgled with pleasure as they circled Evercloud, dreaming of tearing the flesh from his bones. Evercloud remained calm, turning to meet the eyes of the predators. He waited confidently for the moment that they would attack.

  “Know me darkness; know me well, for I am your destroyer.”

  Cued by Evercloud’s voice, the first Farsider launched himself forward on four legs. The creature’s long, protruding mouth snapped shut, missing Evercloud just slightly, as he dodged to the side. Spinning back upon the beast, Evercloud sliced its back leg and the Farsider toppled over onto its side. Evercloud leapt into the air and came down upon the monster, slicing its throat and ending its tortured life.

  Seeing one of their own succumb to the intruder, the Farsiders howled with rage. Evercloud knew the next attack would be more ferocious and would involve more than one of the beasts. He waited, muscles tensed, eyes unblinking, ready for the assault. When it came, he was ready. They roared and squealed, charging Evercloud in unison. The man jumped as high into the air as he could, and then, succeeded where he had failed so many times before. The claws and jagged teeth of the Farsiders missed his legs as Evercloud soared high into the air of the torch-lit arena. The creatures below crashed into each other, falling to the arena floor.

  Evercloud now had them where he wanted them and turned to the offensive. Spinning in tight circles as he flew, he extended his claw and dove toward the mass of Farsiders, intent on cleaving their heads from their hellish bodies. One Farsider stood high above the others and released a jet of fire toward the diving Evercloud. Unharmed, Evercloud burst through the flame and decapitated the stunned beast, sending its head tumbling to the floor. Evercloud whipped through the air like a tornado of vengeance and fire, ending the life of a third Farsider, then a fourth and then a fifth.

  Trapped and powerless, the Farsiders scattered apart from each other, trying to find an escape, but Evercloud would not be deterred. He dove upon one of the beasts as it tried to run, landing upon its flat, scaly back. The creature bucked under Evercloud’s weight, but he held on long enough to dispatch the black thing with his golden claw. Evercloud rolled to the arena floor as the creature dissipated underneath him, only to find an ambush waiting. Two Farsiders, walking upon two legs, attacked him. Quickly pushing himself up off of the floor, Evercloud thrust his claw into the gut of one of the creatures as it rushed him. He spun and ignited his body with flame, causing the second creature to hesitate in its attack. The pause gave Evercloud the time he needed to rush forward and slash the beast across the chest, causing it to turn to dust in the air.

  Suddenly, something long and thick wrapped itself around Evercloud’s leg and pulled him to the floor. Evercloud slashed with his claw, but could not make contact as the writhing appendage pulled him across the dusty arena. Evercloud looked at the red eyes of the Farsider that held him as it opened its mouth and pulled him closer and closer to its large bulbous head. Then, a great force rent the air and crashed into the beast. The creature bellowed and released its grip upon Evercloud’s legs. He quickly scrambled away from the monster, gasping for air and trying to see what had saved him from the black creature. The Farsider rolled upon the ground, trying to recover from the impact that had knocked it down, and as Evercloud saw what had been the cause he smirked and shook his head.

  “I should have known you wouldn’t leave me alone.”

  “You’re always trying to have all the fun without me,” smiled Riverpaw. “You know, I’m going to start taking it personally.”

  Evercloud rushed over to the struggling Farsider and buried the blades of his claw deep into the beast’s head.

  “He was rather small,” observed Riverpaw, “for a Farsider.”

  “Tenacious though,�
� added Evercloud.

  “So, that’s all of them?”

  “Well, you arrived late. There were more.”

  Riverpaw shrugged his shoulders. “Let’s get out of here. I’m getting chills.”

  “Really, it feels hot in here to me.”

  “Umm, Evercloud.”

  “Very hot and sticky, actually.”

  “Evercloud.”

  “Don’t you feel it? It’s making my skin wet.”

  “Evercloud! Look out!”

  Riverpaw pushed his cousin out of the way just before a giant set of fanged jaws clamped shut, inches from him. The two cousins scurried away and turned to find a terrifying monstrosity lowering its snakelike body down onto the arena floor. One set of red eyes fixed upon Evercloud and Riverpaw, and then a second found them, then a third and a fourth. The serpentine creature was massive and it surveyed the cousins with its four heads, bobbing high above the arena floor. One of the Farsider’s heads shrieked and Evercloud and Riverpaw backed away until they found the wall of the arena.

  “And how do we beat this one?” asked Riverpaw, unsure which head would dart at him first.

  “I don’t know,” said Evercloud, unable to blink his eyes for fear they might never open again. “We need a distraction.”

  “I don’t think we’re going to be able to do that, Evercloud. It has four heads.”

  “I’m aware of the heads, Riverpaw.”

  “Well we can’t distract all of them,” argued Riverpaw.

  “No, but we can–”

  An arrow flew through the air and met the creature in one of its necks. Evercloud and Riverpaw looked up to see Tomas, standing atop the arena wall. He knocked another arrow and sent it flying into the side of one of the Farsider’s heads. The creature flinched, and screeched so high that they thought their eardrums might shatter. Iolana stood next to Tomas on the wall and raised her palms outward. She closed her eyes and three blue orbs began circling around one of the Farsider’s heads. Next to Iolana, Ben Floyd chucked a spear at the beast. He missed his first mark, but grabbed another and again took his mark.

 

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