The road must be close, but it’s difficult to gather my bearings in the night. Even with my vision adjusting to the dark and having the red glow of Cerise protrude through the canopy here and there, I can’t see beyond my reach. The twigs and branches constantly jump out at me as I rush past them. I continue at the same pace, regardless. If not, I may never overtake Jay and her captors.
THUD!
“Damn! What in Susy’s name was that?” I mutter, now lying flat on my back. Helios slaps my face with his scratchy tongue. I take a few moments to reclaim my senses and gradually climb back to my feet, noticing a searing pain between my shoulder blades while doing so. With both hands, I slide Life Bringer from my shoulder harness to inspect the dual blades. All is well.
“Damned trees are swinging at me.” Unable to see it, I feel around for the culprit. “It might be time for you to take over, boy,” I say to Helios while rubbing his neck.
I seize Helios’s tail. He turns and nips at me, but I ensure him this isn’t a time for play with a scratch behind the ears and a nudge forward. It’s going to be slow travels from here on, but I’m better off so I don’t encounter any more aggressive tree limbs.
With the slower pace, I doubt my decision. I know the Forest Road is the clearest route to the Crimson Capital and that’s where the Taoiseach resides, so it only makes sense. But this feels wrong. Did I make the right choice? I hope Goose is having better results than I am.
Helios guides me farther than I anticipate without an end in sight to the thick heavy undergrowth. Why aren’t we there yet? Why hasn’t the undergrowth thinned out?
“Helios, halt! Where are you leading us, boy?”
I take a few long, deep breaths and try to get a bearing on where we are and where we need to go. I’ve relied on Helios in the past, and I find it hard to believe he would lead us astray. But we’ve been out here for far too long. Maybe he’s getting too old.
As I scan the surrounding area, there’s one direction which I can see further into the wood than all others. Almost as if there’s a glow. The sun has set, and thunderbugs wouldn’t be that concentrated unless they were contained and magnified. A lantern, perhaps?
“Helios! By my side. Stay close.” I head in the direction of the glow, curious and thankful to see beyond my reach.
“What is that awful smell?” I say with a choking breath. “Helios… You need to lay off the scavenging.” My nose crinkles in a feeble attempt to ward off the smell. Maybe there’s a carcass around here somewhere. It’ll lure unwanted scavengers if it hasn’t already. I better not linger too long.
The glow shines brighter and brighter until I see its origin. It’s a thunder torch. When I pick it up, it’s clear it’s one of Jay’s handmade thunder torches.
My spark of hope burns brighter. Jay is close. And the Forest Road must be nearby. But I’m afraid. Afraid of what this means. Afraid of the horrors that could have caused this.
The stench grows stronger. I loathe to locate the carcass emitting that putrid smell, but I’m compelled to search the area, for Jaymes’s sake.
Helios acquires an excited bounce in his step and trots ahead of me.
“Helios, no! Leave it, Helios. Leave it!” He ignores my command. “Dammit!” I clench my jaw and cover my nose before chasing after him.
I didn’t think it possible, but the smell becomes so repulsive to the point of burning nostrils and a scratchy throat. A watery sensation builds in the back of my throat.
“Hugh! Whugh!” I can’t withhold it. A small amount of grainy liquid bursts out of me.
In my moment of weakness, I dump the thunder torch, and it settles behind the base of a tree. I plant a hand on the tree and find it covered in a thick, wiry fungus.
Helios lets out a snarling growl from his jowls. My ignorance has put me into a difficult situation. This isn’t a tree. It’s the leg of the one thing we’ve been trying so hard to avoid. The one thing that has deemed this place uninhabitable by those smarter than us. It’s a Lost Soul.
I shuffle back from the creature’s leg and, unfortunately, the thunder torch as well. A club-sized fist swings down and brushes my shoulder.
I scramble to my feet, unsheathing Life Bringer, and the Lost Soul is already on me. I attempt to spin out of the way, but my effort is too slow. The creature takes another shot at me, open-palmed with its menacing claws fully extended and ready to gut me.
“Argh!” The pain is intense as the blow to my left shoulder knocks me back, causing me to stumble over a fallen tree.
The faint glow from the thunder torch gives me just enough visual to see I’ve tripped over another Lost Soul, not a tree. But this one is laid out flat on top of…
“Goose!” I blurt out. He is either dead or unconscious. Hopefully the latter.
The strength of the smell dilutes my senses, but I bounce back to my feet with haste, invigorated. The pain in my shoulder is gone. I feel guilty when the thought of using my newfound energy to run away crosses my mind. But the better part of me knows I must stand up to this invalid.
Helios distracts the Lost Soul with a threatening swipe of his equally-sized claws and a fierce growl. Judging by how quick the creature attacked me, Helios is no match for it. Although, the two of us together might succeed.
The Lost Soul is cautious with Helios, as it should be. They dance in a circle, both contemplating their next move like two bull elk staring each other down during rut.
When the Lost Soul’s back faces me, I leap off the second beast lying on the forest floor. While in the air, I swing Life Bringer down toward its neck, both blades sharp as a guillotine and ready to decapitate. But to my surprise, the beast swiftly turns to defend itself. An arm extends high, deflecting one blade, but the other blade catches the hairy limb just right and slices into it at the elbow. The appendage drops, leaving the Lost Soul with a dripping stub.
Helios takes advantage of the diversion and leaps onto its back, claws fully extended. He latches on, sinking his fangs into its neck and tears into the sinew.
The Lost Soul tenses before letting out a shrill wail. Subsequently, it erupts into a fit of rage. It flails one arm and one blood-spraying stub in an attempt to free itself from the overpowering tiger. This is my opportunity. I swing one sword down, slashing across its hairy chest, followed by a simple spin to acquire enough force for the other blade to strike the final blow.
For a moment, I believe my skill with the blades will be enough, but my gracelessness strikes instead. I trip over my own feet and careen toward the berserk beast. It wraps me up with one able arm and a fierce tiger tearing into its neck. And its strength is beyond me still. I cannot escape its grasp. The pain from the foul smell almost outweighs the pain of my ribs being crushed under its fatal squeeze. Life Bringer remains in my grasp, but I cannot move my arms to use it. My only source of survival is nullified. My lungs are collapsing under the pressure as my breaths get shallower. I gasp to fill them with air, but there isn’t any room for them to expand, like the beast has its ungainly claws wrapped around each lung, wringing them out like a soiled washcloth.
Just when I think my last breath has escaped me, the pressure releases, and I ardently fill my lungs with the rotten air surrounding me. Stench-ridden air is better than no air. I grab at my tunic and pull it away from my chest as if it will make room for my lungs to expand. Then, I collapse to the ground.
A moment of gathering my wits passes before I realize the beast has lost the other arm. Without hearing or seeing the cause of this infliction, fear saturates my short-lived moment of elation. The Lost Soul stands motionless. Its insides ooze from its abdomen where there’s a large gash from side to side.
With the weight of Helios on its back, the two fall toward me. Panicked, I raise my blades into the air, but they don’t stop the beast from coming at me. I roll to the side, abandoning the blades, and brace myself as the Lost Soul makes impact. It lies face down on the ground, lifeless, with Helios on its back. The tiger, likely exhausted, rises fr
om the beast and only makes it a few steps before lying back down.
I scramble backward on my elbows and back into a tree when I see three cloaked figures hovering over us. One atop a massive bear larger than the beast they just killed. I cannot see their faces. My muscles tighten. I don’t move. I can’t move.
Without a word, the two figures on foot bind the Lost Souls by their ankles and drag the dense creatures into the night as if they were as light as sacks of feathers. The third stares for a long moment, shifting ever so slightly into a thin ray of Cerise’s crimson light. A pale, pitying face resides within the dark shadow of the cloak. The silence between us terrifies me more than if he were to let out a war cry. I think to reach for Life Bringer, then he disappears into the wood behind the others.
A breath of relief is disrupted by a coughing fit due to the lingering odor.
Then, I remember Goose is lying on the ground. My fear of the anonymous saviors vanishes when I realize my best and only mate needs my help.
“Goose! Goose, what’ve you done?” I cry with hope. “Your over-confident ego has finally caught up to you this time. Goose, are you alive? Goose?”
His tunic is dressed in a crusty dark substance. Dry blood. I rip his tunic open and find it’s not his, thank Susy. I lean over him and place a hand on his cheek. Still warm. There’s life in him yet.
A burning question develops within me. Do I leave him here to continue my search for Jay? He’s alive, and I can come back for him later. But he’s vulnerable. I can’t leave him.
“Helios!” He hasn’t moved. Something’s wrong. Or is he just being lazy again? It’s becoming more apparent he’s been through one too many battles in his life and nears his end. Aside from his age, I know I am to blame. I have required too much of him.
I put Helios’ laziness to the side, and knowing Goose isn’t in any immediate danger, I retrieve the thunder torch. The dim glow is just bright enough to be useful.
Immediately upon shining the light into the wood, I see her. My body goes limp with the horrific visual. I’ve failed her. I want to keel over and die, my insides feeling like a ravenous dogfight. Instead, I hustle to the tree where Jaymes sways back and forth. She hangs upside down, naked, with a vine knotted at her ankles. Her clothes have been ripped off and discarded on the ground below. There is a severe laceration extending from her ankle to her under arm. The flesh is peeled back as if she is wearing a skin suit that hasn’t been fastened all the way.
I collect one of my blades and take one swift hack at the vine. She drops to the ground, and I cringe, wishing I’d been gentler. I place my head against her chest to listen for a heartbeat. Like Goose, life remains within her. Tears of hope fill my eyes, knowing I haven’t failed yet. But her flesh is cold. She’s closer to death than he is.
Her heartbeat has slowed significantly and is out of rhythm. Judging by the crusty crimson coating on her skin, she’s lost a lot of blood. I rub at my brow. I’m not capable of this challenge. I know my limitations. I can heal small wounds, not fatal injuries. Everything I know about the Lahyf and our talents is self-taught. Elder was always pushing me to experiment when we were children, but my curiosity never took me as far as the human anatomy. And the couple seasons I had at the Academy have all been washed away from lack of use. But I must try. I must.
I remove my thin leather gloves that would otherwise form a barrier and place my hands over the largest laceration at her rib cage where her skin is peeled back. I refrain from folding the flayed skin back into place so I can work the deeper tissue first. One less barrier will make a difference. The open wound is sticky with blood secreting from it.
With both hands pressed firmly against her, I close my eyes. An uncontrollable reflex causes me to jolt back as her pain surges through my hands and into my body.
I take a deep breath and return my hands to her abdomen, this time anticipating the pain. I can sense there are no bones or vital organs damaged in this region, only flesh and sinew. Visualizing the deeper cells first, I attempt to heal it from the inside out. Jaymes’s heartbeat accelerates with a steadier rhythm as her pulse flows through me.
It’s no surprise Healers are rigorous about getting rest. Feeling all of her stress and pain is exhausting. I can sense everything her body is experiencing.
Her blood vessels are reattaching, her nerve endings rekindling and her sinew restoring itself as all the suffering pours into my body and my energy retaliates into hers.
Enough of her pain seeps into me to exhaust my ability to continue.
My eyes spring open with high expectations. She remains unconscious. The lacerations covering her body don’t look any better, and she remains cold to the touch. How can that be? The pain…the ethereal feeling of her body revitalizing…how could the wounds remain so deep and so large? Not even the area where I made direct contact appears any different.
What am I missing? I shouldn’t have even attempted. I knew I wasn’t good enough, but still I tried, wasting time and draining my energy. Is it even possible for me to carry her out of here now? What was I thinking?
“Ugh.” A soft moan wheezes from Jaymes and her brow wrinkles.
“Jaymes!” I whisper in return. “Jay! Can you hear me? I’m going to get you out of here, okay? You’re safe. I will fix this, Jay, don’t worry. I will protect you.”
I gather her tattered clothing and shred it into long strips for bandaging her chest. I tear the fabric of my own shirt to use as a bandage for her leg and to wrap around her waist. Decency is imperative when it is your younger sister in a woman’s body.
“Helios, how’s your strength? Can you carry Jay back to the yurt? Home?” Oddly, he still hasn’t moved.
I gently cradle Jaymes in my arms, trying to avoid distressing her wounds any further. I place her on the ground next to Helios.
I nudge him just behind his shoulder blades with an open palm. When I pull away, it’s wet and sticky.
The other half of Life Bringer lies on the ground next to him saturated in blood. A cursed blade. It has had only one other kill since my father gifted me with its protection, and thus far it has only killed those closest to me.
Lost, I look up to the heavens, consumed by the red ambience of Cerise as if Susy showers the world in blood. And I can only wonder why. A Lahyf, a Healer, living in a world saturated with death. What did I do to Susy to deserve this?
Curiosity is on the forefront - the driving force. Fear, a close second. The ugliness that is becoming of these side effects. Men are mutilating their own bodies as they attempt to gain more power over one another.
5 Elder
Eight seasons earlier…
“S
tone! Stone, look what I found! Look what I found!” I caught one. Dozens of species of toads live in the Great Oak Forest, but the fire-bellied toad is the most elusive of the bunch, and I’ve finally snagged one. Stone is going to be so jealous. Stalking this thing has consumed nearly all our free time this summer, and we’ve had a lot of near misses. Until now. “Stone, look what I have!”
The pond is encompassed by a meadow populated with the white flowers and black fruits of yao grass. Its inviting aroma doesn’t quite overpower the stench of the water hole, where the bank is saturated with thick mud and stagnant puddles. I sprint to the side of the pond where Stone has been stalking. He has several traps set around the bank, including a few mini-snares and a couple baited cages. The snares are floating on the surface of the water and tethered to a weight at the bottom of the shallow waters. They work fairly well, but we catch more common toads with them than anything. The cages are hidden among the reeds on the bank of the pond. They’re so well camouflaged in the tall swamp grass that I’ve been fooled by them myself. It’s quite painful to have one of those spring-loaded doors slam down on your forearm.
I continue running around the thick muddy bank. My feet are resistant to escape the mud with each step. Stone is in sight. Almost there.
“Oh no…” My foot fails to break away from
the mud this time, but the rest of my body continues forward, hurling toward the embankment. I clench the fire-bellied toad with both hands, holding it against my chest to prevent it from escaping. Consequently, I allow my face to break my fall with a soggy landing in the mud.
Stone erupts with laughter. “You sure do belong in Farrow with all those little piggies you raise. You’ll never live this one down, Elder. Forty seasons from now and I’ll still be telling this tale. Maybe even singing it alongside the bards.” He continues laughing.
I pop my face out, leaving a defined print in the bank of the pond. It fades as it slowly fills with water. With a heave of my elbows, I lift my body to take a peek. “Thank goodness!” I exhale. The toad remains intact.
“Stone, this is no time for japing—look what I’ve caught!” With much struggle and no help from Stone, I climb to my feet. I’m dripping wet with the murky, foul waters of the pond along with mud caked all over my body. My tan-colored attire is now a darker shade of brown, and my sandy-blond hair has brunette highlights. But I ignore my newly acquired chocolate icing and open my hands just enough to let Stone get a peek. “It’s a fire-bellied toad. Isn’t this amazing? We… I mean, I caught one.”
“Yeah, a dead one. That thing isn’t moving,” Stone replies. “Are you sure you caught it and didn’t pick up some other predator’s leavings?”
“What?” I unfold my hands, and there it is, lifeless and limp, stretched across my palm. My head sinks as the disappointment floods over me. “I promise, I really did catch one. It wasn’t dead when my snare snagged it. It swam to the shore and hopped around frantically trying to get free. I think I broke its leg, but you could’ve mended that. I swear it wasn’t dead. You believe me, right?”
Season of Sacrifice (Blood of Azure Book 1) Page 5