by Logan Jacobs
“Well done, Cole!” Revna called out from behind me, and when I turned to look for the wild woman, she was already on another mare’s tail.
I watched with amazement as she used her elk-like creature’s antlers to stab the sprinting animal before it could flee from her, and Revna tossed back her head and laughed with triumph as her bonded animal raised the dead carcass in the air like it was just as proud as she was.
There must have been an entire pack of mares on the loose because when I looked in different directions, the other women were on the hunt for their own kill, and luckily not one of the mares seemed to be heading off-trail. By the time each witch had killed her own animal, the red and white mountain forest was covered with thick patches of splattered blood and bits of flesh and gore.
“Well done,” I said as we all came to a stop. “Everyone managed to snatch their own kill.”
“If we’re going to skin these beings,” Vanessa said before she and Isobel galloped back to me, and she had her own dead animal floating behind her. “We’d better do it now. I don’t like the idea of staying in these woods with fresh blood on the snow.”
“I agree.” Revna nodded before she looked around. “Just about anything could sniff it out and come hunting us.”
“So, let’s do it,” I said in a firm voice. “Let’s skin these fuckers and move on.”
“Does everyone remember the spell I spoke of earlier?” Revna asked as she turned to look at everyone. “The one to skin animals?”
“I don’t believe I was there for that particular conversation,” Vanessa muttered, and I knew it irked her she wasn’t familiar with this spell, “but I could always use another one--”
“No, don’t worry, it’s easy,” Revna said before she hopped off her elk and got down to the dead mare’s level. The wild woman tucked her bow behind her back and then pulled out her wand before she aimed it at the carcass floating behind the professor. “Intus sunt!”
We watched with fascination as the hovering carcass of Vanessa’s kill slowly turned inside out, and its soft brown fur peeled right off its body, as easy as if someone were peeling the skin off a fruit. The bright red and purple muscles gleamed under the winter sun like a crimson river, but the fur was as clean as could be.
“Ah,” Vanessa said before she tossed off her heavy bear hide and exchanged it for the lighter furs. “Thank you, Revna. Now, everyone, stop gawking at me and skin your own animals, for hell’s sake.”
The rest of us copied exactly what Revna did, and by the time I had my new furs, I took a moment to marvel at its beauty and craftsmanship. As I slipped it over my broad shoulders, the new hide felt like the finest garment that only a king would wear. The fur was a light, pristine golden-brown, and it gleamed under the sun as I caressed its soft texture. It was almost inconceivable that it was bloody and filthy just moments ago.
Now that we all had our new furs, Revna charmed the mare meat to preserve it and tucked it into her seemingly endless pockets. Then we set back on the trail and continued quickly up the mountain path. The higher we ventured upward, the colder the air grew. The elk-like creatures were keeping us warmer, though, and with their help, we were climbing faster than we anticipated.
“Let’s stop here for a small break,” Revna said once we reached a cluster of rocks just beyond a tall snowy peak. “We’re making excellent time, and I don’t see why we can’t let the animals take a breather before we reach our next destination.”
“Alright,” Vanessa agreed after a long moment, “but let’s not stay too long. The faster we reach the inner caves, the better.”
“Where will the caves lead to?” Vesta asked as we clambered off our animals, and the familiars all gathered around to take sips of water from the canteen Revna passed along.
“They should lead us to the dragon’s peak,” Revna said before she pointed ahead to the tall tip of the mountain ahead of us. “As I said, we need to be careful once we get closer because of the elves and serpens that dwell there. I believe they live in small villages, and they’re always guarded night and day.”
“What should we be on the lookout for within the caves?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “Call me a pessimist, but I reckon it won’t be a smooth journey.”
“No, you’re right, Cole,” Revna sighed before she took a generous sip of water. “The caves will be filled with ice wendigos. They are creatures without eyesight, and once long ago, they were deemed holy women of the winter realms and snow villages. But if they were caught using dark magic, they were placed under a holy curse and shunned into the caves for all eternity. These filthy beings mostly hunt using sound, and they are stealthy creatures who could rip your throat out in mere seconds.”
“Hmmm, sounds positively lovely,” Akira grunted sarcastically as she petted her familiar Damien along his reptilian head. “Do they have any weaknesses?”
“Not that I know of, and unfortunately, we won’t be able to take the alces inside with us,” Revna sighed. “They are useful to us now, but once we’re in the caves, there will be small nooks and narrow passageways which they will be unable to squeeze through.”
“Will we be able to use light?” I asked. “I’m assuming it will be as dark as night in there.”
“Yes, but I suggest only one of us wields a glowing wand,” the wild woman responded. “The less light and noise we use, the better.”
“Has anyone ever gone through the mountain caves before?” Nyx asked in a concerned voice. “Have any of your people passed through? They must have… right?”
“Yes, but never in a large group like us,” Revna replied as she chewed on her lower lip. “We’ll need to be extra careful, and as I said, we should only speak when we have to.”
“We will be cautious and speak only in necessary whispers,” Vanessa said before she wrapped her new furs tighter around her neck. “If we’re not, we’ll be dead.”
“Yes, Professor,” we answered with solemn nods.
“Good,” Vanessa said before she hopped back onto her creature and stared out toward the dragon’s peak. “Now, I believe we’ve wasted enough time… let’s get to the caves before sunset. We can make camp just outside the mouth and use a barrier to protect us from anything on the inside.”
We clambered onto our newly bonded creatures with our familiars following in tow, and no one said a word. As we marched forward, I could tell by the looks on everyone’s faces that exhaustion was taking a heavy toll, and the bitter cold was not helping matters at all. Even the familiars seemed to be low on spirits, and I wondered when would be the best time to reveal to everyone about what I had in store for Samara. It was gnawing at me like a crow pecks at a rotting corpse, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to say anything once we stepped inside the caves, so I decided then and there to discuss my new plan once we made camp for the night. I could already see the mouth of the cave just ahead of us, and the sun was close to turning a deep shade of blood-red.
They would know soon enough.
But suddenly, my racing thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a vicious and heart-stopping echo. The abrupt and violent noise cracked through the sky like thunder and sent terrible shivers down my spine, and I held my breath as I cautiously looked at the others. No one said a word, and Revna held up her hand to motion for us all to stop in our tracks.
“What was that?” Beatrix asked in a small, petrified voice. “I-It sounded like it came from the dragon’s peak…”
Neither Revna nor Vanessa said a word, but when I glanced up at the peak just above us, I saw clouds of snow and ice washing down the mountain like a ravenous river.
And it was headed right for us.
Cole, avalanche! Alexander screamed in my head. It’s coming at you faster than the wind. Haul ass!
“Let’s fucking move!” I ordered, and then we galloped with all our might toward the cave.
The snow above us was moving fast as we sprung toward the mouth of the deadly stone passage, and my heart hammered in my chest like a b
eating drum as the deluge headed down like a white waterfall. The echoes of the mountain breaking apart nearly made my ears bleed, and sweat trickled down my brow as we rushed toward the caves before we could be swallowed whole by the speeding snow and ice. The pounding snow sounded like the stomping of a cluster of giants, and for a moment, I was worried we weren’t going to make it.
“Keep going!” Revna screamed over the chaos. “Don’t stop! We’re almost there! Just keep moving!”
Blood pumped in my ears, and my palms were slick with sweat as we raced toward the mouth of the cave. By the time we rushed inside the cave, the snowfall had caught up to us, and it quickly barricaded us all inside. Now, we found ourselves inside the cold, wet cavern, filled with ice wendigos and whatever deadly creatures took refuge inside such a chilling domain. Drips of water reverberated inside the cave, and the only other sound I could hear was everyone panting and gasping for breath.
“Well,” Akira whispered once the snow stopped moving, and we all quietly disembarked from our creatures. “Fuck.”
“Looks like we won’t be making camp after all,” Vanessa sighed before she quietly hopped off her elk-like creature, and Isobel gently nuzzled her hand. “We’re going to have to travel through the caves all night. Only a fool would close their eyes in a place like this.”
“Do… do you hear that?” Faye whispered in a small voice. “I-It sounds like laughter.”
We all stopped breathing at once, and when I turned to look at Revna’s face, her face was paler than snow, and her bottom lip trembled.
“Wendigos…” she panted with wide, terrified eyes. “They must have heard the avalanche.”
“And they’re headed right this way,” I finished before I pulled out my wand, and the rest of the women followed my move.
As the sound of the wendigos cackling and howling grew louder, I knew we’d have to fight tooth and nail to get out of this one. Satan only knew how many were about to attack, but I vowed to the darkness that I wouldn’t let anyone be harmed.
Not on my fucking watch.
Chapter 11
“Backs pressed against each other,” I ordered under my breath. “Have your familiars nearby, and keep your eyes open. Remember, these creatures can’t see you, but they can hear and smell you.”
“That’s right,” Revna panted before she notched an arrow in her bow. “We must fight as quietly as possible. I know it sounds challenging, but do your best not to shout or scream.”
Everyone gathered in a circle, and we all had our wands pointed out in front of us. No one said a word as the croaking, shrieking, and cackling grew louder, but I knew fear was in the air. As the seconds painfully ticked by and the cave-dwelling creatures drew closer, I thought I could smell something foul and decaying in the air. It reeked of rotting flesh, mixed with the stench of something sour and long dead. I quickly realized the closer these cries grew, the worse the smell became, and it was growing more and more difficult to breathe.
Then a shrill shriek suddenly echoed through the cave, and it was louder than anything I’d ever heard before. The sound made me want to crouch down in agony, but I knew I had to keep my stance and remain upright and still. Blood pooled down my ears, and my hand shook as the sound resounded a second time, but I refused to falter or cower back.
“Keep a sharp lookout,” I quietly reminded everyone when the sound died. “I can feel one of them lurking nearby…”
I thought I could see a figure moving in the shadows out of the corner of my eye, and when I gently craned my neck, I spotted something wedged in the rocks and crawling like a cockroach in between the cracks.
I didn’t have to ask Revna what the hideous creature was because I already knew.
It was an ice wendigo.
The deadly creature had a long, slim, and bony body, and its back legs were extensive and hunched over at the knee as it crawled. At the end of its fingertips were great black talons, and they looked as sharp and as long as daggers. The beast’s skin was pulled tightly over its bones, and its flesh was sallow and gray. Large, bulging, glassy eyes protruded out of its skull, and its mouth was lipless, bloody, and tattered. When it sneered, only pointed, rotting teeth were exposed, and thick yellow drool seeped from the corners of its mouth as it sniffed the air.
I knew it could smell us, and no matter how quietly we breathed, it only drew closer and closer. It was nearing me in particular, and when it opened its mouth, the scent of its foul breath washed over me like a cloud of poison.
Before it had a chance to shriek and alert the others, I whipped out my blade and stuck it right through its wide mouth. Then I pushed with all my force and made sure the end of my weapon went right through the back of its skull. It gurgled and tried to wriggle away, but I kept my hand on its shoulder as I plunged the dagger further into its flesh.
I quietly slew the filthy creature, but then a heavy rock fell from the ceiling and smashed to the ground nearby. The sound echoed in the cold, empty chamber, and the racket immediately alerted the other wendigos within earshot. They viciously screamed in unison and began charging our way, and that’s when I knew there was no point in staying silent any longer.
“Well, fuck it!” Vanessa shouted before she aimed her wand at an incoming beast. “Use your spells to blast these fuckers into smithereens!”
I’ve got your back, Cole, Alexander said in my head before he charged at the wendigos without an ounce of fear.
“Dissulto!” I yelled as a screeching wendigo rushed right at me with full force, and my spell sent it flying back into the cave. It hit its head hard against the stone wall, and its skull immediately cracked like a melon as blood and gore seeped from the fresh wound. Then another came charging at us, but before it could pounce on Circe, I whipped my wand in its direction. “Volant!”
The skeletal beast quickly soared backward into a cluster of wendigos, and it wailed as the other creatures began ripping it apart from limb to limb. We watched in horror as they devoured their counterpart without hesitation or mercy. They ate it in seconds, and afterward, their attention was back on us.
“Why are these stupid fucks attacking each other?” Akira cried out before she sent another beast flying back into the air.
“They’re vicious, unthinking beings!” Revna yelled back before she shot another arrow at a wendigo who was galloping her way. “All they long for is blood, even if it’s each other’s.”
“This is madness!” Beatrix shrieked before she froze a wendigo in place. “There’s too many of them! Even if we were as silent as the dead, they have our scent now!”
“Just keep firing!” I ordered.
As we shot spell after spell at the stinking creatures, Alexander and Trixie continued to swoop down and did their best to claw out eyes and rip out tongues. Isobel was also tearing throats out, and Silvia wasted no time using her massive bear claws to slash the wendigos’ necks open. Even the elegant Ursula slithered down from Vesta’s neck to wrap her body around one creature’s gullet until the familiar managed to pop the beast’s eyes from its skull.
Even through the damp, chilly air, beads of sweat trickled down my brow as we continued to send powerful incantations their way, but as more and more came crawling through the cracks, I knew Beatrix was right.
There were too many of them.
So, I looked at the rocks surrounding us and thought about bringing them down to crush every wendigo in sight. It would be a tricky move, and we’d need some kind of barrier to prevent us from being smashed, but I knew Vanessa could handle it.
“Professor!” I said, but she didn’t even bother to look at me.
“I’m a little busy here, Cole!” she yelled before she sent a spell flying at a wailing wendigo. “What the hell is it?”
“I need you to create a barrier,” I explained quickly. “I’m going to bring the cave roof down on these fuckers.”
“What?” she gasped. “That could block our path.”
“I’ll be sure not to bring the whole cave
down,” I replied without missing a beat. “Just trust me.”
“Fine,” she answered after a long moment, “but you’d better be quick.”
The professor quickly created the barricade, and once we, the alces, and familiars were all inside its watery domain, I focused on the stone roof above us and willed every rock and pebble to do my unholy bidding. I longed to see them fall down and crush every single one of these motherfuckers, and I asked Satan for the strength to do it.
My heart raced as I focused long and hard on the cavern roof, and thick beads of sweat trickled down my forehead. I gritted my teeth, and my hands shook as I opened my heart to the darkness, but there was something, or rather, someone preventing me from achieving my goal.
Try a little harder, my dear Cole, Samara’s voice cackled in my head. It’s difficult to do once you’ve grown closer to my holy domain.
“Fuck off,” I said through my teeth.
“What?” Vanessa shrieked as she fought to keep the barrier above us. “What did you say, Cole?”
“Nothing,” I said as I tried to focus on the rocks rather than Samara’s taunting voice.
Motus.
The rocks above us shook, but for some reason, they weren’t cascading down or breaking apart like I willed them to do in my mind. I couldn’t understand what the hell was happening, maybe Samara was stopping me somehow, but I had to think of something else quickly.
“Looks like this cave roof isn’t going anywhere,” I said as wendigos bounced off the barrier and tried to penetrate through.
As Vanessa struggled and the women turned to me for guidance, I wracked my brain for a solution. My body was already drained from using spell after spell and attempting to move the rocks, but it was up to me to save everyone, and I refused to give up now.
Use the ancient incantation, Cole, the woman from my dreams suddenly said, and it felt like a blessing to hear her calming voice inside me. Blow their withered minds apart! It’s the only way to kill them, for their hearts stopped beating ages ago. Do it!