by JD Franx
Lycori glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “All enchantments eventually die from over-use, given enough years. It’ll get us over the bridge, I’m sure.”
Though they hadn’t come across a reason to use the small wooden bow Lycori had brought with her, it gave Kael an idea on how they could both use the ring to get over the fissure. His skill with any bow was even worse than his current skill with magic, so Lycori offered to cross the bridge first, using the ring to remain unseen. The fissure was narrowest two hundred paces east of where they stood. Once on the far side, she would secure the ring to an arrow and shoot it across the thirty foot gap. Considering he had never before shot a bow of any design, he gave her the only advice he could.
“Don’t shoot the arrow into the gorge, okay? I can run pretty fast, but those flying lizard things are probably faster, you know. It’d be a shame to end up as lizard crap after everything those witches did to get me here.” He chuckled, sarcasm and nervousness almost weeping from his pores. Lycori shook her head as she vanished from sight, leaving Kael standing there worrying. Once he was sure that she had crossed without disturbing any of the razorwings, he headed for their meeting spot to the east. She was crouched in a small clearing, waiting for him when he arrived.
The arrow easily cleared the fissure’s gap, though with the ring tied behind the arrowhead it wobbled like a wounded bird the whole way. Tracing his steps back to the rope bridge, Kael slid the ring on his finger and twisted the top like Lycori had done earlier. He watched with wonder as his hand vanished along with the rest of his body. Unable to see himself, a rush of vertigo swamped his senses, he stumbled and fell.
“What the hell?” he muttered. Slowly, he climbed back to his feet. “Very, very weird. Kinda hard to walk when your feet are invisble.” Doing his best to deal with no first person perspective, he quickly ran to cross the bridge, trying to be as quiet as possible.
He was struggling to cross at less than half way over the swaying bridge when the ring began to heat up, prompting him to move faster while still doing his best to limit the noise caused by his off-balanced gait. An attack by razorwings would be disastrous for Lycori, who was waiting east of the bridge without the benefit of being invisible. By the time he reached the far side of the bridge the ring was almost too uncomfortable to wear. The moment Kael hit solid ground he began to sprint for where he’d last seen Lycori. He ran about twenty feet before he forcibly tore the hot ring from his finger in a desperate attempt to avoid being burned. With it off, he ran another ten feet before he slowed, holding the ring in his palm. Lycori was already on her way.
By the time she arrived at his side, the ring was too hot to handle without burning his palm. He flipped it from hand to hand to the sound of sizzling skin.
“The bloody ring,” he hissed. “It’s heating up. It won’t stop.” He continued tossing it back and forth between his burning hands.
“Give it here,” Lycori said, holding her hand out. “It must be reacting with whatever is wrong with your magic.” She smirked, clearly not worried. Without hesitating, he tossed it to her. “Holy mother of the gods. That is hot,” she cursed, blowing on the ring to cool it. Kael watched as she began flipping the ring from hand to hand. “Ah, Kael?” He locked eyes with her, seeing real panic for the second time since they met. “Oh hell, it’s not cooling off. Dammit!” she yelled, dropping it. The grass browned and started smoking almost immediately. The ring throbbed brightly in his esoteric sight, the timed pulse picking up speed with every second. Warning bells started to ring inside his head.
“Run, now!” he growled.
Lycori bolted like a scared rabbit, ten feet away before he took a single step. Kael raced after her as fast as he could push himself. Thirty seconds passed before tremors rocked the earth below their feet. The ring exploded in a cloud of fire and smoke. Dirt and tufts of grass rocketed over fifty feet into the air as they both dove behind a tree and into some bushes, the only cover left in the sparse forest on that side of the fissure.
The shrill, shrieking scream of hundreds of razorwings woken by the explosion echoed from the gorge and rolled over the tops of the twisted and stunted trees as they thundered into the sky. The snap of powerful leathery wings reached their ears as Kael and Lycori huddled down inside the bushes, hoping they wouldn’t be discovered.
Thirty minutes passed and still the razorwings screeched in annoyance as they dove time and again, hunting for the prey that disturbed their daytime rest. As the two watched from the cover of the bushes, Kael had a clear view through the trees, the razorwings tracking them still numbered over fifty. Periodically, two or three scouts would branch off and head farther away from the group, trying to locate what had shook them from their nests. Without reason, one of the scouts banked in their direction, landing on a branch two feet above their heads. Kael and Lycori dared not move, or even breathe, as the creature perched above their heads looked back and forth.
Ten minutes passed and still it refused to move on. At three feet long and about forty pounds in weight, the razorwing was covered in short, matte grey and black scales. The long neck and hooked beak reminded Kael of a vulture. There, the likeness ended, though, as the edges of both wings were covered in little claws. Its feet had two inch long hooked spines at the end of every toe, and its beak was full of overlapping, pointed teeth. When it refused to leave after another ten minutes passed, Kael went to reach for his dagger, but Lycori gently touched his hand and slowly shook her head.
Even so, it was enough for the razorwing to notice. It spread its wings and opened its tooth-filled mouth to warn the others of its find. Without conscious thought, Kael pulled his dagger and rammed it into the bottom of the razorwing’s open jaw, pinning the mouth shut and preventing any sound from escaping. Twisting the blade to the side, he pulled the lizard from the branch. Its claws clung to the tree and he grabbed it by the neck, wrenching it into the bushes with them as it flapped and jerked in the throes of death. Lycori lunged for its wings and forced them to the ground while they held the creature until it stilled, dead. Sighing with relief, she gave Kael a dirty look for his stupidity, but their luck held for a change. None of the other razorwings heard the scuffle. They waited another hour before the rest finally gave up and returned to their nests. Once the creatures had settled, Kael and Lycori quietly moved out deeper into the DeadZone, much more aware than they had been further north.
DEADZONE BARRIER
The heavy mist of the DeadZone swallowed the couple in a matter of minutes, the protective barrier doing exactly what it was designed to do. Once inside, Kael became easily disoriented and confused. Lycori, unaffected, tied herself to him and then removed a pendant from under her clothing. It flared as she pointed south, the periapt on the chain guiding her through the fog.
Hours passed, uneventfully, as Lycori led Kael through the thick mist. Thoroughly out of it, as if dazed beyond all recognition of self, he followed with little complaint and a lot of mumbling. As they neared the far side, his senses slowly returned. “Uh. What the hell was that?” he asked, rubbing his head. The sun shone through the haze that accompanied their arrival to the end of the DeadZone.
“The DeadZone. It’s designed to keep Jasala’s creations from wandering out. It has the same effect on them.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? How come you were all right?”
“I didn’t want to worry you. It would have changed nothing except to make you harder to deal with while under its effects. My kind are not affected. It only works on the living. It’s why I was in the Forsaken Lands, only my kind and the ArchWizard could follow. I have a ring that guided us through the mist. Direction gets muddled in here, even for me. If something ever happens to me, take it, but never wear it on your finger, keep it attached to the chain at all times.” She pulled the chain with the ring on the end from under her travel cloak to show him. “I don’t know why, but if you wear it, it will burn you from the inside out.”
“Okay then, don’t wear the ring. Got
it. Where to now?” Kael asked.
“We must watch as we exit this area. The Elvehn Guard patrol the edges of the DeadZone Barrier. If they see us, they’ll kill us with no questions asked.”
“Nice bunch,” Kael snorted.
“It’s their job. You saw very little of what lives in these lands. I think your power kept them away.” Not sure what to think, Kael instead decided to say nothing, thinking about the shadows he’d felt following them day after day, always just outside the range of his magical sight.
“Kael? Wait a minute?” He nodded, but she’d already stopped and pulled the hood of her travel cloak up on her head and then tied a mask around her face. She also put on a pair of leather gloves. “Once we come completely out of the DeadZone, the sun will probably be out in full. Though we vampyrs don’t live in the dark like some people think, the sun still hurts if we’re directly exposed, and it quickly weakens us physically,” she explained.
“We walked through the night?” he asked. Getting a quick nod, he shrugged. “Will that help? Maybe we should travel during the dark if it’s easier for you,” Kael offered.
She laughed at his concern. “I’ll be fine. Vampyrs have walked Talohna for thousands of years, Kael. As long as none of my flesh is exposed I’ll live. Only direct sunlight can weaken us.” Kael nodded as he waited for her to finish dressing.
With no sign of the Elvehn Guard from TaCeryss upon exiting the DeadZone, they spent another uneventful day travelling to the Northern Forest’s mountain pass. It was one of the most peaceful places Kael had ever seen. Towering mountains thousands of feet high on either side left the pass in the cool shade except for the hour of high noon. He could see all manner of unrecognizable plant and fungus growth in among the rock formations. The black and red granite bedrock path varied from only five or six feet wide in places to upwards of thirty feet in some of the uninhabited bowl-shaped areas of the pass.
After several hours of walking, they came across a narrow bend that emptied into one such bowl-shaped area half the length of a football field and just as wide. This one, however, was not empty. At the far end, a group of almost one hundred individuals were on their knees with their hands behind their heads. The warriors guarding them didn’t seem to be friendly. There were women and children of varying ages with the large group, most of the children were very young, and the women quite old, but Kael had learned fast since his arrival that not everything in Talohna was as it seemed.
With no warning, one of the warriors plunged his sword into the stomach of an unarmed elderly man. He no longer cared who might be in the wrong.
“Whoa!” he cried, “What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know,” Lycori replied, quickly dropping her travel pack and grabbing at Kael’s. “They’re likely bandits, or highwaymen. You’d better be ready to fight, Kael, cause here they come.”
The eight warriors who heard Kael’s cry wasted no time separating into two groups for an attack. The first four stayed to guard the group of people while the others headed straight for Kael and Lycori, their weapons drawn and ready. With over twenty feet between them, Kael attempted the spell that Lycori had taught him one more time, hoping and praying for a different result. As always, the dark lightning materialized, crackling and popping on his lower arms, but sputtered out as the last command word left his mouth. He cursed under his breath and grabbed at his weapons, pulling his sword free, but fumbling with the dagger and almost dropping it. After so many years of having no feeling in his left hand, using it was still awkward.
The approaching highway men didn’t try to talk or negotiate, but instead took up offensive positions. As Lycori and Kael split up to give each other room to fight, two of the approaching enemies went after her, not realizing the threat she posed. The other two headed in Kael’s direction and panic lit up like wildfire inside his belly. Just like he had been for over two weeks, Kael knew he was in way over his head.
With a silent whisper of thanks to Max once again, he hoped his repetitive stick fighting lessons and the recent training with Lycori would keep him alive. The two bandits stepped apart and approached from either side. They attacked simultaneously, hoping to disrupt Kael’s focus. The one to his right lunged with an overhead swing that Kael manged to deflect just in time to see the other attacker swing sideways at his waist. He attacked so fast, Kael just had time to turn his dagger upwards against the backside of his arm. Catching the blow on the dagger saved his life but hammered his wrist, the obsidian dagger offering little protection from the powerful blow. Kael jumped backwards to give himself some room. A groan slipped from between his lips as pain flared through his wrist and up his arm. A concentrated effort kept his blade from falling through numb fingers.
The greatest help came from Lycori as the second man she killed died screaming in agony while she clung to his neck like an overgrown leech, even as he crashed to the dirt. The first of Kael’s attackers let out a piercing yell.
“Vampyr!”
The shrill cry notified his fellow warriors of what they faced. It was a move that cost him his life as the distraction gave Kael time to jerk his sword into the man’s unguarded chest. It wasn’t even a conscious action. Pulling the blade free with a savage twist just as Lycori had taught him, Kael braced himself as the second man attacked with a rage-filled need for revenge. It took complete focus and attention to block or deflect every swing the bandit sent his way. Kael’s wrist sparked with renewed agony from every pounding blow of his enemy’s weapon. His peripheral vision alerted him to the four men guarding the prisoners who were now headed their way in an attempt to help their companions. Lycori stepped forward and cut them off from Kael as both her daggers began to spin and dart. She attacked with a speed and strength enhanced by the fresh blood thundering through her veins from her recent kill. The first man dropped to the ground, riddled with stab wounds, his experience no match for her vampyric speed. Even so, Kael knew that her chances of defeating the other three by herself would be slim.
Having spent a little too long watching her, Kael was forced to duck an attack aimed for his head. As he dove sideways to avoid the follow through attack to his weakened position, Kael heard the man’s sword whistle through the space he had just occupied. He regained his feet and turned in time to block yet another swing from the marauder’s steel sword as again he continued pressing his attacks against Kael’s defence. Twice more Kael was forced to block and it was becoming abundantly clear that he was outclassed in skill against the older swordsman. Desperate and struggling to counter the man’s attacks, he never saw one of the bandits break off his attack from Lycori and sneak up behind him.
Her yell came from near the hostages’ location. “Kael, behind you!” The cry of warning startled him enough that his opponent’s next attack would have slipped past his guard if not for the wide hooked crossguard on his dagger that luckily snagged the bandit’s blade. With barely a conscious thought Kael spun the sword in his other hand to reverse the grip and then drove it backwards with all the power he could manage, at the same time twisting his dagger to turn away the sword hooked against it. The excruciating pain in his wrist made his stomach flip with nausea but he held the sword locked tight.
His own reversed sword crunched into metal armour behind him and slowed for a second before it gave way and slid through. He pulled the sword back, reversing his grip a second time as his dagger hand throbbed from the continued motion of keeping the first bandit’s locked sword away from his vulnerable body. As Kael’s sword came around back into his grip, he swung it straight down with all his strength. The force sent his attacker’s other blade spinning to the ground. Taking a quick breath, Kael stabbed the bandit in the lower chest just under the ribs at the same time as his savagely-throbbing dagger hand finally twisted the man’s sword far enough that it went clattering away into the dirt. Kael ripped his own sword free from the bandit’s dead body and spun. Shifting his feet to increase his power, the blood-laden arc of his sword whistled towards
the man attacking from behind. On his knees from the stab wound that punctured his chain-mail, the second bandit had no defence as Kael’s obsidian sword cleaved through flesh and bone. The bandit’s head flung to the side, still connected by sinew and muscle as bright red arterial spray jetted from the severed neck and splashed across Kael’s face and chest.
Kael stared at the decapitated body for only a second before he turned to help Lycori, his teeth locked together in anger as he panted with rage. Seeing the other three men dead on the ground, he took a full breath for the first time in minutes. Without warning, unforgiving torment ripped through his body as the black vines from his death-flower tore across the top of his chest and shoulders. Desperate for the pain to end, Kael managed a gasp of air as the agony continued, the vines and jagged barbed thorns cored through the skin of his arms all the way down into his fingertips. Exhausted, he dropped to his knees, the rush of battle gone and the pain from the vines vanishing as suddenly as it started.
Gulping air and wheezing from the unforeseen shock, Kael stared at the carnage he had a part in creating. Gagging, he violently threw up on the ground. There was blood and viscera everywhere. The putrid stench caught his nose and overwhelmed him as again his stomach tossed its contents into the sand.
“Oh God,” he mumbled, “not again.” The strong, sour smell of blood, torn intestines, and bowels voided in death caused him to heave with a relentless fervour as tears ran from the corners of his eyes.
Eight lives had been ended by the battle and the smell in the air was proof that every single one died hard. It was the first time in his life such an acrid stench had passed through his nose and nothing could have prepared Kael for it. He desperately hoped to never smell anything like it again, but he knew that in such a violent world it would probably happen, sooner rather than later.
He stood and wiped the vomit from his mouth, staring into space. The raw horror of battle and death was a disturbing experience for someone who didn’t come from such a world. Dying hard seemed to be the norm in Talohna for a lot of people. For someone like Kael, it was extremely hard to accept. The senseless slaughter of so many left a darkness hovering over his soul. The guilt at taking a life once again, even in self-defence, ate at his conscience. It was a feeling he knew well and one, that even after four years, he couldn’t get rid of.