Her head whipped around at the sound of my voice, and I saw a tiny spark of hope peek out from behind her mask of steely defiance. Then she saw the rock that fell into her open hands and saw that I was alone and running towards her and the Umbra.
“No!” She suddenly shrieked. It was the first time I had ever heard her make such a noise. Maybe that was why it sounded so terrifying. “Wes no! He'll kill you! He'll rip you apart for good! Wes don't do this! Stell! Stell! Stell don't let him...”
The monster's massive hand swung down. But Guineve had gone and vanished into tiny motes of light.
“Yessssss,” the night-colored creature hissed as it closed its tiny eyes and clenched its hand. “Finally. A tiny part of her. A tiny part of my little Stell. Oh, I've waited so...what?” It opened its eyes and looked down at its clenched hand. Then it opened its fist, and it realized its hand was empty. “She's not here. Where did she go?” It asked quietly. Then its eyes and mouth stretched, color bursting out. “Where did she go? She's not here! Where did she go? Where is my Stell?”
It turned and looked at me, and suddenly I didn't feel brave anymore. I didn't feel like I did at the party three years ago, when I got between an unconscious girl and three guys who were fully capable of kicking the crap out of me. It didn't feel like when I was standing between four tiny woman and a four-foot tall midget who wanted to murder me for protecting them. The horror of the gaze that Stell and Guineve had been forced to deal with descended upon me, and I felt like I was a puny tiny manling standing where I had no business, trying to protect a host of women far stronger than me from a creature that initially didn't even fear me enough to kill me. It was all I could do not to just roll up in a ball and start crying my eyes out.
“You took her,” The monster's voice boomed out from its throat. The lights in its throat all fluttered about, giving me the impression that they were flaring in agony. “You took my Stell. YOU! TOOK! MY! STELL!”
It took a step forward, on just two legs this time, and as the ground rumbled from its footfall my mind tried to tear itself in half. A tiny part of me was desperately trying to figure out if it should try fleeing, or delay the monster somehow, or even risk striking a blow. But I couldn't do any one of those things because the greater part of my mind was demanding I fall to the floor and start blubbering.
Somehow, though, I took a tiny step backwards.
Maybe Stell would have been proud of that.
“WHERE IS SHE?” the monster roared, and my ears rang in agony. “WHERE DID YOU HIDE MY STELL?”
The tiny, sane part of me got a moment of control, and it used that moment to make me bite the inside of my mouth as hard as I could. The pain and taste of blood was enough to distract the broken part of me for a little longer. Barely.
I took another step backwards, not daring to open my mouth. I had dropped my spear a long time ago, and the club I had grabbed would do even less to this creature. Actually, I realized the whole idea of me trying to strike this thing at all was laughable. So I took another step backwards, because it felt like a slightly less stupid idea.
It is too late for smart ideas, the pain in my cheek hissed. I tried to ignore it and took a fourth step backwards.
“WHO TOLD YOU?” The giant thing growled, so loud it shook the inside of my skull again. “WHO SAID YOU CAN HIDE MY STELL?”
I had to be in reach of that thing's arms, the sane part of me said. The fact that it hadn't attacked me yet was good news. I could probably use that. Wait, no, that was wishful thinking-
Boom.
The monster's giant hand fell forward, landing past me. The grass impacted by the hand disintegrated, and the monster's worm-like claws dug deep wounds into the violated earth. The long thin arm tensed for a moment before it pulled the rest of the massive creature forward.
The Umbra hung its body low as it pulled itself forward, bringing its face down to my level. When it bared its glowing, toothy mouth at me I realized its head was currently half the size of my entire body and that it could be even bigger if it wanted to be. The midnight-black skull tilted at me, eyes twinkling in consideration.
“You're hiding the rest of her too, aren't you?” the creature whispered to me, as trying to get a secret shared. “You know where every tiny piece of my little Stell is and you're hiding her from me. Because you don't know what I'll do to you if you get in my way. You've never seen me before,” it hissed, made all the creepier by the monster's non-threatening tone. “I know that. I know you've never even heard of me. You should have,” it suddenly growled, and the little lights inside it flared like writhing fireflies. “She should have behaved and told everyone about me! So that the other boys would know better! Know she's off-limits,” The lights inside its mouth suddenly dimmed, and it seemed to get itself back under control.
“But she didn't,” the creature whispered, in a horribly soothing tone. “She didn't, so you didn't know. She was an unfaithful little tease, and she tricked you, but it's not your fault. You didn't mean to get in my way, did you? Did you?” Its throat flared again for a moment, and then it mastered itself.
“No,” it continued, still coming terrifyingly close to my face. “You didn't. You couldn't have. You just met me. And now you know better. You know what to tell me now. Tell me where every pretty piece of my little Stell went, and I'll let you go. You don't even have to go get her for me. You can go home and go back to bed. You can even pretend I was a bad dream, like she does when she tries to tease me. Everything will be okay. Everyone will be happy. If you just. Tell me. Where. She. Is.”
The monster punctuated each of its last few words with a glowing hiss, less than three feet from my face.
I didn't have the strength to tell it no. I didn't even have the strength to point out how freaking creepy this thing was, and that it needed to crawl back into whatever toxin-induced nightmare birthed it and leave the rest of us alone for good. But I didn't have the strength.
And I didn't have the strength to think up a good lie, either, that would send it on a false trail away from Stell. That would have been perfect. But any world I sent it to would have at least one Satellite of Stell's, and one of them had her main body right now. What lies I could think up would still give this thing far too much of what it wanted.
I also wanted to back away again. Moving even one step backwards felt like an incredible idea at the moment. Put another few inches of distance between myself, and the Jack O'Lantern from Hell? Sure I'll take that.
But I couldn't find the strength.
I even wanted to do something with my hands. Get them in the way, use them to somehow move backwards, even take a risky swing at the thing's eyes. Any one of those things had to be a better idea than just letting them hang next to my sides.
Still, I couldn't find the strength.
But I wanted to keep my mouth closed, delay the thing from finding my friend for as many moments as I could, no matter how many or few. Every second I stalled gave Stell one more moment to find help, gave Guineve one more moment to recover for her rematch with this thing.
I bit harder onto the corner of my cheek, and when I reached deep down…
I found the strength.
The creature tilted its massive head further, looking at me with its pulsing bright-then-empty eyes and waited a heartbeat for me to answer. Then another. Then another. Then I couldn't get myself to even count anymore.
“You're. Not. Talking,” The monster hissed, torturing the little lights in its throat with every word. “Not. Even. Trying,” It drew the rest of its body closer, so that it could loom over me while still keeping its face close. “You're being useless! Useless on purpose!” The monster suddenly roared, eyes flaring for one bright, horrible moment. “THIEF!”
In another moment a skull-sized hand reached out and grabbed my throat, instantly shutting the door that precious air took to my lungs. The Umbra lifted my entire body into the air effortlessly, the ten-foot arm holding me high above its horrible giant head.
&nbs
p; “You dare?” It screamed, with such force that the nearby mist somehow shuddered. “You dare want her for yourself? In place of me?”
The arm holding me up suddenly slammed straight down into the ground. The earth appeared in front of me for a brief moment, and then with a thud, Avalon's earth and sky swam together for a painfully long time.
“You think you're worthy?” The monster shouted, its face enlarging to fit its angry mouth as it hoisted me back up into the air. I felt my reinforced body shudder from the earlier impact, and I knew Avalon was struggling to help me survive.
Deep down, I also knew it wasn't going to work.
“You think you're better than me? That you deserve to have her instead? Stupid! Stupid!” The Umbra shook me savagely with each insult. “Stupid! Dumb! Ugly little boy! I hate ugly, dumb, boys!”
The hand holding me suddenly whipped around in a long arc. Air whistled behind me as I left its grasp. I saw Avalon turn slowly under me. Rocks and dirt flashed by far below me. If I could stop spinning long enough I could almost pretend I was flying.
But the moment passed, and I crashed back down to the ground.
I landed painfully on top of something I'll never identify, and then I bounced back into the air. I was almost able to see where I was going to land next, but I gave up the chance at the last moment so that I wouldn't land on my neck.
Another painful bounce, and this time I only flew a few feet into the air. I realized I was about to crash into a copse of trees, but before I could do anything about it a limb slammed into my back and I landed again.
Finally, I had stopped moving. I was looking up at the dark and cloudy sky. My limbs all ached, and my spine felt like it was trying not to weep in agony.
Warning, my mind-screen suddenly flared up and said. Vital guard is dangerously low. Mortal injury imminent.
No shit, I wanted to reply. But my mind-screen began to repeat its earlier warning.
Evacuate. Evacuate. Evacuate.
I would have laughed bitterly, but I didn't have the stamina or time for it. Instead I reached out and pulled myself to my feet as fast as I dared.
I had just finished getting my legs under me when I began to hear low booming noises that gradually became louder and closer. I shook off my dizziness and raised my head.
A blurry mass of smog and sharp claws was seconds away from me. I had time to raise the shield I had somehow retained right before several truckloads of force slammed into it. I felt the wooden barrier explode just before I flew through the air again, my poor ruined arm trailing feebly and painfully behind me. I landed much quicker this time, bounced much faster before I came to a full stop.
By now the rest of my body had joined my arm in screaming as loudly as possible at my brain.
Warning! My mind-screen called out. Vital guard exhausted! Critical injuries detected! Mortal injury imminent! Evacu-
“YOU'RE NOT BETTER THAN ME!” A sky-wrenching roar blasted into my ears. “UGLY DUMB BOY!”
I was hosted into the air again. I tried to resist with my remaining good hand, but the creature's arm was like oily steel cable.
“You're not as strong!” the creature continued, blasting bright smelly hate into my face. “You're not as smart! You don't even have as many limbs!”
Its other long hand grasped at one of my legs, and it suddenly pulled on it. I screamed as had a sharp, brief sensation of pain, and then all the feeling in my leg just below the socket went away. But the agony just above my leg remained, and the monster dropped me to the ground right in front of it.
Warning! Mortal injury detected! Evacua-
My mind-screen cut off completely after that.
“See?” It cackled, waving a fleshy new club that rained all over me. “Not as many limbs! Ha-ha! Who's better now, ugly dumb boy?”
Its laughter was an ugly, spitting sound. I don't know how it even made that spitting noise, because it looked like plenty of things tried to leave its mouth but none ever succeeded.
But I knew at the time that I didn't need to think about questions like that anymore. My vital guard was exhausted. I was going to bleed out in a minute or two at the most. And the way my leg had been removed I couldn't even have applied a tourniquet if I had the time or two working hands.
In other words, the back of my mind pointed out, mission accomplished.
I had known I wouldn't have beaten this thing anyway. I just had to delay it for as long as I could. And I was bleeding to death right now while it raged over me.
Therefore, mission accomplished.
“Still got nothing to say?” The Umbra cackled over me. “Come on, ugly dumb boy! Beg! Beg to live!”
I didn't expect to feel so free right then. Yes, the monster leaning over me was still terrifying. But so was the fact that I was bleeding to death. Somehow, the terror of the one completely canceled out the terror of the other somehow. So I laughed. And the thing over me cocked its head.
“Did it break?” It asked itself. “Did the ugly little boy break already?”
“Maybe,” I admitted, still laughing at it. “But I was laughing because I realized I don't know where Stell is anyway. But I know where she will be.”
“What?” The creature said, its eyes lighting up brightly. It dropped its bloody new club, hissing eagerly. “You know? Where is my little Stell? Tell me where! Tell me where my little Stell goes! Cavus will let you live if you give him back his little Stell!”
Huh, I thought. That's right. The thing's name was Cavus.
It wasn't that important right now. I tried remember it later though though.
“Here,” I rasped. “Stell's coming right back here.”
“Here?” the creature sounded confused. “Back to me? But she always hides! She hides from me!”
“Not this time,” I coughed. “Just wait right here. Because she's coming back to kick your ass. You creepy freak,” Another cough as I insulted it.
There. I had done it.
I had resisted to the bitter end.
“Me?” the glowing maw gaped. “Kill me? Stell won't kill me. She can't. Even if she could, she's too afraid of me. No one can scare her like I can. No one can make her feel small like I can. I am her whole world! No matter how much she tries to hide, she knows she's nothing without me! A dumb ugly boy like you would never understand us! Dumb ugly thief!”
The Umbra reached for my unbroken arm.
“Pretending to be brave? Do you think I'll spare you? You think Uncle Cavus will spare you like he spares all the pretty little girls, even the ones that grow up? Do you think I'll spare you too, so you can stay with them? No!” It shrieked.
This time I could hear and see my limb rip right off, and the pain cut right through my apathy. I screamed my throat raw, in spite of the fact that I was already marked a dead man and that all the pain in the world would be gone in two minutes max.
But before those two minutes ended, the gigantic horror took the time to punctuate his every word by clubbing me over the head with my severed arm.
“I don't!”
A snapping noise sounded over my head, and I saw the monster hurled its bloody, broken club away. What was left of me was lifted back into the air.
“She doesn't love you!” the glowing maw screamed at my face. “No one does! No one will ever love you!”
The creature started to slam me back into the ground, head first.
But everything had gone cold and dark long before I ever landed.
Chapter 28: Rise Up and Rage
Vital signs detected, a voice said in my mind. Assessing complete report of Challenger's status. Assessment complete. Providing report now:
Challenger's resurrection was successful. Vital guard and vital functions have returned to optimal state. No complications other than the standard trauma resulting from termination.
Challenger is advised to avoid mortal injuries for at least three days. If at all possible.
That last p
art came out as a sigh somehow.
Challenger has overcome a significant personal Challenge, my mind-screen reported. Challenger has made new growth that will require further examination.
That was right, I reminded myself. Stell had mentioned once that after five Rises a Challenger's growth changed slightly. Further Rises were just a little bit more complicated.
Also, did I get all my limbs back?
A quick check confirmed that I was whole again.
Then another, belated check confirmed that yes, I was alive. And I was back in Avalon.
I had strange, phantom-like pain all over my body. But that pain was lessening, and I was alive, so I chose not to dwell on it. Processing the fact that I had just died wouldn't help me in any way right now. In fact, contemplating my recent death and dismemberment would probably just drive me crazy.
Downfall And Rise (Challenger's Call Book 1) Page 49