Oculus

by S. E. Akers

  A poignant feeling washed over me as I trekked deeper into the lush, tranquil forest. This could very well be the last time I ventured into the woodsy & green chamber if I rallied enough strength to banish the creature. Muscles aside, having to send the balegore off to an odious wasteland of death where it fell somewhere in the middle of the monster food-chain was still tough to swallow. Yeah, a beast like that didn’t belong in our world, but the balegore’s temperament was a far cry from the vile and barbaric creatures roaming around over there. It sure felt like I was about to pitch a Labrador into a pit of hungry wolves. The dread I sensed brewing urged me to get it over and done with quick, like ripping off a bandage, before my heart talked me out of it.

  I huffed out a sigh. Things would be so much easier if Talismans were allowed to keep pets. With enough time and plenty of Listerine, I was pretty sure I could domesticate it.

  The balegore was exactly where I figured it would be, sitting in the clearing where Silas always deposited its daily allotment of chickens. One of the things I’d put down on my list was that the creature be given something extra-special as a potential “last meal”, or that he at least upped its rations. Judging from the scene before me, he’d followed them to the letter…and then some. The balegore looked positively stuffed, lying there half-sprawled on the ground with its mitts propped on its belly like an armrest and surrounded by roughly twenty empty cages. A plump turkey gobbling up a storm and running for its life clued me into the menu. With the blindest of grabs, the creature snatched up the flapping ball of feathers and had it chucked down its hole without giving the swell of its gut a merciful second-thought. Seeing it looking so miserable and mindlessly filled sure brought a few my own past Thanksgivings to mind. Now I really needed to get this over with.

  Before it curls up for a nap, I surmised, trying to fight off a contagious yawn.

  My eyes fell to a close as I inhaled a weighty stream of air. I can do this, I told myself. After all, this was my duty—a duty set forth by the Guardians—and it had to be done. No matter how hard or how much it hurts, I reminded. Then after giving my closed lids a firm press like I was stamping a mental decree, I breathed out all of my reservations and marched into the clearing.

  “Today’s the day,” I said, standing firm. “You have to go back.”

  The balegore watched my approach warily, paying particular interest to my shirt. I’d never come in here already looking so battle-worn and broken-in. I’d silently debated changing first, but then I figured, why waste good war-paint? Between it and my unwavering stance, something had its warning bells ringing. Then it turned its gaze from me and panned the empty cages lying all around. The following snort it grumbled out was rather telling as well. It knew how serious I was, this time.

  The creature rose to its feet, still casual-like though more guarded, and then slowly tromped a steady path towards me. With the coolest of heads, I poised myself and waited for its first move. The balegore stopped within a few feet of me, like our dance always began, and then gave me a nudge with its knuckles. Any other time I would start swinging or swat at its paws straightaway, but not today. I stepped backward with the brush of its fingers and then returned to the spot where I was originally standing, twice to be exact. Confusion whirled in the creature’s eyes. It couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t striking back. Then just before it issued its next push, I ushered enough of the power behind my emotions into my muscles, charged towards one of its legs, and pushed against its limb hard enough to flip the creature off its feet and up into the air. The balegore landed flat on its back with a chamber-rocking “BOOM” and without me needing the first helpful bluster of wind. I didn’t have to look at Tanner; I already knew how jaw-dropping impressed I was with myself.

  The balegore rose to its feet, head shaking and raring to serve me with enough painful incentives to keep me from shipping its hide off to The Darklands. I’d never felt so uncomfortably pleased to see a giant drawing back its fists, truly ready to give me its all. Hopefully I hadn’t grown out of britches after that sneaky move. And as much as I needed to show the balegore how much more physically matched I was with it, even bad-asses knew when to stand tall and when to run for cover.

  I raced into the forest and weaved a path through the trees with the balegore in hot pursuit, ripping redwoods and oaks out of the ground left and right. The sights and sounds of their tumultuous crashes compelled me into increasing my speed and turning invisible after it had hurled enough of them my way. It wasn’t long before I came to a familiar grassy clearing, flanked by the rocky cliff I’d scaled my very first time in here. The vibrations shooting under my feet let me know it was closing in fast. Invisible or not, the creature’s keen sense of smell would sniff me out…even in spite of its pungent upper-lip.

  I backed up and waited for the balegore to emerge. It wasn’t long before I spied its mussed up black mane and fibrous muscles thrusting through the leaf-laden blanket of trees. It uprooted two more redwoods with an angry jerk and chucked them down onto the ground with a growl. The booming cadence of “sniffs” and “snorts” the balegore was cranking out carried the backup beat of a thumping rap song they were so steady and strong. I knew the precise moment when it had picked up my scent from the way the jagged streaks fanning from its retinas throbbed with triumph.

  Knowing now that invisible creatures were not-so-naked-to-the-eyes as one would think, I looked down to confirm my suspicions as to why it seemed the balegore was looking dead at me. Low and behold, my feet were mashing down the tall blades of grass. As thick and green as what the clearing was, any way I chose to run gave it the advantage of tracking me. So if I planned on going anywhere, it most assuredly would have to be “up”.

  A gust rocketed me into the air just as soon as the balegore dove towards the spot I was standing in. I steered towards the top of the rocky cliff and eased the current down to a light breeze as I landed. The creature was rising to its feet when I turned around, relentlessly scanning the clearing for any signs of movement. I couldn’t fault its determination or a bit of its fury. I was the one who was kicking it out of its lush and leafy safe haven. It hadn’t been that long ago when I’d resorted to whacking diamonds out of my own hide to prevent something similar from happening to me.

  Our game of hide-and-seek came to an end when I lowered my veil and blew a sharp whistle to hail its attention. The creature ended up boring a deep hole in the ground it had whipped around so fast. I remained exactly as I had been—standing tall with my arms stretched at my sides and muscles flexing strong—unaffected by its heated eyes and the dirt swirling around its clenched frame. By my calculations, I was roughly chest-level with the brawny beast and the feeling running down my spine had me game to get this show on the road.

  Upon the balegore’s charge, I pressed my foot into the ground just shy of the cliff’s edge, bracing for whatever initial strike it served up. The power fueling my muscles needed to be both extra-stout and equally as bold to reinforce how serious I was. So with that affirmed, I pushed a particular frustration to the front of my mind — the little boy at the park that I couldn’t heal. The crush I’d experienced from that one defeat alone was worse than all the losses I’d tallied from battling creatures combined, so it was the perfect kindling for the fire I needed to build. The chance to restore the little boy or anyone else in need of healing might not come around again if I didn’t fully wrap my mind around getting rid of all of these creatures—even the not-so-bad ones—or if one were to eventually send me off to a more final end.

  With my mind now set and fists readied, I keenly watched the creature’s approach in hopes of thwarting whatever pain it was bringing. The balegore cocked its fist and then sent its meaty-mitt raining down on me like the fall of a hammer. My knees locked into a sharp bend once I’d secured my grip on its knuckles. All of my muscles were trembling as I pushed back against the drive of its might, desperate to avoid a thumping. Then a powerful sensation erupted in my legs and eventually coursed a path
straight to the tips of my fingers with the mad rush of a geyser. I pushed the creature’s fist away with a ferocious shove. Then the souped-up feeling in my legs catapulted me into the air where I drove an angry punch straight into the center of the balegore’s neck before it could mount another offensive. The creature stumbled back and toppled to the ground with a couple of gags. I wasn’t far behind it once I’d realized my jump had thrown me too far away to use the cliff as a landing pad.

  I was scrambling to get to my feet when the balegore snatched me up and sent my whirling frame smacking into a massive oak tree. Though after considering the sneaky throat-jab I’d just socked it with, I sort of deserved it.

  I sprang to my feet and stepped back into the clearing. The balegore hung back beside the cliff, simply waiting me out and grunting. Silas had claimed that these creatures could sense my feelings because of the amount of Veil magic the diamond contained, and for an instant I found the reverse to be a possibility. As huffing & puffing mad as what the balegore looked physically, a sensation tore through my heart that clued me into something else: I’d hurt its feelings more than anything. I sniffled in a quick breath, fending off the watery glaze trying to envelop my eyes. Right now, I was truly praying the creature could read me as well as Silas could; then it would know my heart was struggling and why I had to do this.

  The balegore turned and wrapped its hands around another tree. I shifted my focus to the rocky cliff behind it. With the most focused of gazes, I channeled the power fueling my muscles into conjuring a violent gale unlike any I’d ever summoned. Slowly the winds began picking up intensity, battering the cliff and cracking the rocks into trench-like seams. The balegore turned towards the cliff just as a massive chunk of stone broke away and crashed to the ground. Then with a forceful wave of my hand, I guided a gust to scoop up the rock and hurled it into the balegore’s gut. The blow knocked the creature back into the trees, taking a number of them down along with it. Without pausing for a second, I channeled another tempest towards the cliff and drove more of the huge hunks of rock towards the balegore, pounding its frame like the relentless hail of fire from a machine gun. The creature staggered to its feet once all the rocks were gone, still clinging to its determination and steadily tromping a path for me. Quickly, I sought out any uprooted tree I could find and began hurling them at it with a tireless blast of gusts. The creature didn’t falter from its approach, though its advance grew more sluggish with every step. I knew right then it couldn’t take much more as long as my own will held up.

  As soon as I commanded the winds to dwindle, I raced to the creature and with every ounce of strength I claimed started springing off the ground and pounding the daylights out of it. I steadily circled the balegore’s beefy frame, issuing it punch after punch. After several minutes of consistent clobbers, the creature cowered to the ground in a daze. The surrealness of seeing it shielding itself in a silent plea for mercy was far more bitter than sweet, and the hardest part was still yet to come. I was going to have to hit it one more time—sock it with the fiercest punch I’d delivered yet—so I could score a clear shot at its eyes. Sometimes knowing you can do something in your heart and having the heart to carry through with it proved far more sad than satisfying, especially when your mind knows what has to be done. The most ironic twist in all of this had to be the fact that while the balegore was lying there looking for compassion, I was standing here craving its grace even more.

  Needing to end this suffering for both our sakes, I summoned as much force into my muscles as I could and charged towards the creature. Then suddenly, the balegore fell back against a mound of boulders with a slump and collapsed onto the ground. My feet came to an equally abrupt dirt-swirling halt. Slowly, I walked towards the balegore. The stoic look glazing its blood-orange eyes was so touching that the sight of its defeat only compounded the heaviness already weighing in my heart. All of the mighty creature’s fight had been stowed away, and it was willing to let me have my victory. I felt several tears pooling in my own as I reached into my pocket. My hand emerged clutching the diamond I’d carved out in The Darklands, which I immediately laid in the creature’s palm along with a tender squeeze. I thought it might come in handy, especially fending off some of the larger beasts I’d seen roaming around over there. The balegore’s gaze locked on the diamond thoughtfully and then its meaty fingers closed around my gift without delay. I climbed up on the rocks, closer to its troll-doll looking face. Then once the deep breath I’d taken had cleared away enough of my tears, I called for the oculus to open and kept my stare entwined with the creature’s until it had completely vanished from my sight. I was really going to miss it — bad breath and all. My gaze fell on the patch of nothingness while I reflected on the somber and stirring look that had settled in its eyes. The balegore had made peace with where it had to go and by doing so had spared my soul with an act of selflessness, not wanting me to be haunted by my duty…like the most compassionate of human beings.

  I climbed down off the rocks and headed towards the trees, never casting the first look Tanner’s way.

  “What was THAT?” he demanded as I passed him.

  I didn’t think for one second he was inquiring about my skills out there. “Silas helped me with my punches and controlling my wind,” I evaded. Oh, he knew exactly what that stone was and where it had come from; he was more interested in the “when” and “how” — which was moot at this point. Though I did feel the need to let my partner-in-crime waiting out in the hall know that Tanner was closing in fast and with the tireless track of a heat-seeking missile. That was something else I knew—who’d buttered my bread for the past several days. The way I saw it, I owed the house steward enough time to poof himself up some earplugs. Hopefully he would have a pair waiting for me too.

  Silas stepped forward as soon as we hit the hall. “Well by my count that’s two down, and two to go,” he boasted with a gracious smile, trying to snuff out the blaze of Tanner’s glare.

  The Amethyst Talisman glowered at his “faithful” Djinn skeptically. You could almost count the shades of betrayal painting his expression. “Three to go,” Tanner corrected with a grumble.

  The house steward nodded to acknowledge his slip of the tongue humbly and then swiftly turned to me. “Ms. Wallace, I think it’s time you prepare for your next two creatures,” he stressed and then tossed Tanner a sugary grin.

  “I agree,” I said and then beat a brisk path to the staircase.

  “And there is something behind your dressing screen that you might find useful,” Silas added, sounding particularly urgent.

  I raced up to my room hoping that his “something extra” turned out to be code for where I could find four sugilites that were in need of being put back in their places before Tanner got a chance to kick off his investigation. Sure enough, the incriminating purple stones were exactly where Silas had hinted, resting on a table behind the dressing screen. However something else “extra” was back there as well. A sleek navy wetsuit was hanging on one of the panels, complete with a modest belt that featured a pouch on its side. The handy house steward had even bippity-boppity-booed up a pair of matching rubber booties that I spied lying on the floor.

  I held up the wetsuit and read the attached note.

  Though I hadn’t put this down on my list, I could see where it might knock a little nasty off my mission.

  A lingering doubt had me fumbling for the tag. It may have been stamped “Female-Adult-Medium”, but in its current unoccupied state, it stood a better chance of fitting a pre-pubescent twelve-year-old girl instead of my grown-up Size 8 figure.

  I hung it back on the dressing screen, head shaking. I doubt I get the daggone thing past my calves.

  As thoughtful as what the house steward’s gift was, my inevitable tug-of-war battle with a sausage-casing was going to have to wait. I still needed to carve out a few diamonds and then run outside to snag some lightning — after I’d returned all the damning little sugilites back to their exonerating places
of course.

  Just as soon as I’d plucked my third and final diamond out of my arm, I rushed out the door and bounded up the stairs to put the finishing touches on my stones. A crisp breeze greeted me no sooner than I’d stepped outside. There wasn’t a cloud hanging in the sky for miles and the sun kissing my face couldn’t have felt more invigorating. I paused to drink in my surroundings for a moment. Leaves were shimmying on every tree… The grass looked so richly green and dewy… There were so many birds chirping their sweet little melodies it sounded like an orchestra playing, each competing for their instrument to be heard. Everything seemed so beautiful and peaceful. Granted it didn’t come close to the utopia of Caelum that the Guardians sought, but from my perspective, it was quintessentially perfect enough. It was bad enough knowing The Veil got plenty of wear and tear from all our personal indiscretions, but precisely how black would someone’s heart have to be to want to destroy all this? I feared that the soul of The Onyx or any other being whose palate was whet enough to turn our world into a mirror image of The Darklands would inevitably prove far more malicious than any creature that realm could ever spit out.

  I stowed away my worries with a quick shudder and stretched my arm towards the heavens. One of the most glorious and gleaming white bolts I’d ever summoned streaked out of the clear-blueness and then rushed into my awaiting hand. Though frankly after the freakish ones I’d whipped up in Death’s backyard last night, anything other than devil-red and charged with hate was a welcome sight.

  Once all of my bolts had been cast and each of them fed into their own little diamond cocoon, I gave the sparking stones a charmed swirl in my hand and headed back downstairs to prepare for what I hoped would be my next fortuitous expulsion.

  After a lengthy bout of tugging rubber and shoving body parts into their appropriate places, I was finally laying the tracks of the sleek wetsuit’s zipper all the way up to my neck — with the assistance of one hellacious suck of air, I might add. I glanced down at my figure, still amazed that the daggone thing had actually fit. Then a thought crossed my mind.