Surviving Prophesy: The Immortals

by Frances Howitt

  ‘Julius you’re headed for a big patch of brambles,’ Megan commented a while later and turned her horse aside so his had space to turn. ‘Didn’t you see them?’

  ‘No. It’s almost completely dark,’ Julius said anxiously. ‘Normally I’d have considered it too risky to carry on when I can’t see. But this is how it is for you all the time I suppose,’ he mused, only just appreciating just how much of a disadvantage it was.

  ‘When I’m inside a building, yes. Fortunately, outside I can sense things like dense vegetation. I know we’re gaining on Zacharias now. Please don’t ask me to stop and wait until morning. We have no idea what’s happening to him.’

  ‘We’re with you,’ Julius assured her. ‘With you to guide us we’ll find your man.’

  ‘Thank you, both of you, for risking yourselves. I couldn’t have got this far alone.’

  Abruptly she gasped and halted.

  ‘What is it?’ Schubert and Julius asked in unison.

  ‘Zacharias had stopped but now he’s moving again and fast. That must be the Mistry creature flying to be travelling so fast. They’re coming towards us, no, not quite.’ She turned them and walked slowly until she was sure of the new direction to head in. ‘He’s stopped again. They’re far closer now,’ she told the others and was aware of their mixed relief and trepidation at what they would find. Megan guided them. Travelling across country in the dark was dangerous so they couldn’t travel quickly. The moon only cast useful light in the gaps between the trees and the horses were nervous about their footing too.

  ‘I feel him,’ Megan said simply, halting her horse.

  ‘What can you tell of his situation?’ Schubert asked.

  ‘He’s scared and in pain from the Mistry’s claws, but otherwise I can’t tell. Maybe when I get closer I’ll get a better clue.’

  ‘You need to rest first,’ Schubert told her. ‘We now know he’s alive and close by. We have about an hour before sunrise. We all need to sleep so we’ll have the strength to rescue him.’

  Megan didn’t like it but she knew he was right. She was swaying with weariness. She’d never had so much pressure on her shoulders or had to concentrate for so long without a break. She tried to send Zacharias the knowledge she was coming for him. She hoped that might help him feel less alone. She had no idea whether she’d successfully reached him. She’d never communicated mentally with someone before and Zacharias couldn’t respond that way even if he had heard.

  ‘Tie the horses over there where there’s a little grass. Good. You two need to sleep too. Come closer and I’ll set some safeguards around us so we become invisible.’

  ‘You can do that? Excellent,’ Julius exclaimed having not really felt remotely safe enough to consider sleeping prior to that assurance. Both men lay down either side of Megan so the shield needn’t be large and slept solidly for the allotted hour.

  ‘I can’t believe I actually slept,’ Julius commented glad to see the grey light of dawn around them. ‘Was that your doing, Megan?’

  ‘Of course. None of us wanted to sleep in such an unnerving place, but as Schubert said, we needed to. It really wasn’t long enough,’ she added rubbing at her eyes. ‘But I need to get to Zach.’ Schubert brought her horse, she mounted up again and pressed on.

  5

  ‘We’re close,’ she whispered and dismounted. Passing her reins to Schubert she crept forward. Her companions hastily tied the horses to trees and followed suit. They peered through the bushes and down a steep slope. At the bottom stood the Mistry, his wings partly spread. At his feet Zacharias lay trussed. The Mistry’s attention was fixed on a large black hole in the rock wall close by. The shadow seemed to undulate.

  Megan bit her lip against crying out as a dozen Scritchers came out of the hole. The Mistry beat his wings hissing and the Scritchers retreated but more and more of the damn things were emerging from what must be an extensive cave. The Mistry was at least keeping them off Zacharias. Megan kept hoping the Mistry would pick Zach up and take him away or at least untie his bonds so he could run. It became evident that the creature was waiting for something however.

  ‘Shit, that’s a queen,’ Schubert breathed seeing a new and larger creature emerge. It looked like a cross between a cockroach and a scorpion but almost as big as a hunting dog. The Mistry slowly stepped back from Zacharias, not doing anything now to hinder the hideous insect’s approach.

  Megan could feel both men shaking in horror. If they rushed down there now they’d be overwhelmed in moments and being immortal, they knew their suffering would be prolonged and intensely agonising. The Mistry too would attack them. They could only remain in hiding and watch Zacharias helplessly attempt to wriggle away from the approaching oversized Scritcher queen.

  Zacharias screamed in terror as the queen jumped on him, then it turned to a scream of agony. The queen had a huge barb on her tail like a scorpion and had jabbed him. Zacharias quivered and strained but his movements faltered and his screams stopped.

  ‘She carries paralysing venom in her tail. It doesn’t last long but once she lays her eggs, the eggs themselves excrete the venom so their host cannot escape. It doesn’t prevent the pain though,’ Schubert whispered. ‘It’s truly appalling.’

  The Mistry suddenly flew off. The queen taking charge was evidently what he’d been waiting for. If he’d left earlier, the general Scritchers would have fallen on Zacharias and eaten him. Whereas once the queen had him, none were allowed to bite, except of course, her developing young.

  Julius turned aside and was violently sick. Schubert was holding off by willpower alone.

  ‘This is just not happening to my man; I won’t allow it,’ Megan said furiously. ‘Wait here, both of you. I’ll need you when I get him.’ She paused, staring in horror as hundreds of the damn things streamed out of the cave and converged on Zacharias. They crawled all over him completely hiding him from sight. When he reappeared he was moving, but it wasn’t him; it was the beetles that had crawled under him. They had created a living carpet beneath his body to carry him. Zacharias slid along the ground on his back, limply riding atop the backs of Scritchers. Then he disappeared into the hive.

  Megan looked up, ignoring the fact Schubert was now being violently ill, to scan the sky. The circling Mistry was finally leaving. He had waited to see Zacharias taken into the cave. Sick creature, Megan thought absently. She glanced towards Schubert and Julius and her legs folded. It was one thing to charge down to the rescue in daylight and with air and sky around her. It was quite another to expect either of her companions to venture into the hive of such appalling predators. Scritchers were designed to seek out and kill immortals; they would seek her companions relentlessly once they got wind of them. And without useable magic, they had little defence. She was going to have to go into that cave alone. Surrounded by stone, she was going to be dangerously blind, not to mention completely outnumbered. In truth, she was all Zacharias had by way of help. She would not allow him to suffer any longer than she could possibly help. What she’d just witnessed was appalling enough to give anyone nightmares, but for him the ordeal was only just beginning. She got up, now all the Scritchers had disappeared and found Schubert courageously get up to accompany her.

  ‘No Schubert. Thank you for being prepared to go in there, but I will be safer alone,’ she said grasping his arm. ‘Stay as long as you can. I’ll need you if I get him out. If I fail, then you have my word I will make sure he doesn’t suffer. Remember, that if any do come at you, to cut their heads off. A sword can be turned on their shells and not damage them. Also, if you make one helpless, say by chopping off some legs its fellows will stop to eat him.’

  ‘Megan, this is suicide,’ Schubert said uneasily and glanced at Julius for help.

  ‘Perhaps, but one certainty is that if I don’t at least try he is going to die, trapped in there. You know very well it will take a long time for him to die and it’ll be in agony and fully aware of the horrors surrounding him. I’m sorry, but I can’t walk
away. Don’t ask me to.’

  She heard them swearing in fear and frustration. Their auras swirled in anxiously sick shades of yellow, green and angry orange. She patted Schubert’s powerfully muscled arm aware he hated feeling scared and helpless. She refused to consider the odds stacked against what she was doing. She could feel Zacharias; his terror and pain. Rescuing him was all that was important. She could shield, but she needed to be invisible and scentless to stand any chance. Unfortunately there was only one way to know whether she’d succeeded in the shield’s design she’d just come up with.

  Schubert wordlessly hugged her and watched as with no more ado she clambered down the slope. Marching towards the hive entrance she looked hopelessly small yet there was no question of her determination. Then her figure seemed to shimmer and become opaque. She ducked inside the cave mouth and vanished.

  The cave interior was terrifyingly gruesome. A pile of Scritchers boiled over something bloody near the entrance. They were in a horrific feeding frenzy. Megan was extremely relieved whatever it had been was now dead. That could have been Zach’s fate. The knowledge he still lived bolstered her courage. She had to shake herself free of the morbid sight to concentrate on creating a floating spell. It was not easy to both shield her presence entirely as well as think of a way to fly, but she had to do it. Concentrating on the technicalities of magic rather than the knowledge she was surrounded by deadly bugs was difficult, but she had no choice. She was actually more afraid for Zacharias. She had to hurry; he was helpless and in pain. ‘I’m coming Zach,’ she whispered into his mind hoping she was reaching him.

  Being blind actually helped. She wasn’t reliant on daylight, nor torches to see, so wasn’t terrified of the darkness in the cave. Instead, her odd ability showed her that it was far too dangerous to attempt to walk. The stone floor was hardly visible for the sheer numbers of Scritchers scuttling over it. Fortunately, their very numbers and living presence blanketing the floor helped her delineate the size and shape of the cave. Megan made her shield as light as air aiming to float a couple of feet above their heads, her opaque shield providing visual camouflage whilst also sealing in her scent. Unfortunately for her, the teaming multitude of life in this place made it really difficult to locate Zacharias. Judging by the ongoing signature of life behind rock, she suspected there was another chamber beyond this one, but there was no time to explore. She had to search the main cavern first.

  ‘Where are you, my love?’ she whispered mentally, desperately searching for him. A low groan drew her attention. Drifting to the right of the cave mouth she finally located Zacharias. As she got closer, she realised he’d been placed on a slightly raised area of the cave floor near the wall. As she watched, the queen jabbed him in the thigh eliciting another groan. Megan gasped in horror; the queen was laying an egg into his thigh. He might be paralysed but it was clear he was in agony.

  Trying to work silently and without being noticed, she conjured a second defensive shield to wrap around his body. It was particularly difficult to slip it between his body and the queen’s feet as she stood on him obviously readying herself to lay the next egg. That was not going to happen, Megan vowed.

  ‘Zach my love,’ she whispered into his mind and felt his aura lurch, so he did hear her. ‘I’m here with you. I’ve just managed to get a shield around you. You’re safe. They can’t touch you now,’ she reassured him. ‘I’m going to get you out. Then I’m going to burn this den back to hell. It’ll soon be over,’ she promised.

  Now was the tricky bit. She would have to drop her shield and land to use wizard fire. The spells she’d already been doing had been sapping her strength but were nothing compared to creating a sustained fire spell. She would have to work quickly to amend the combined floating and shield spells to switch to the offensive, or the beetles would overpower her in moments. She floated down beside Zach and knew he now saw her. She felt the relief in his mind he was no longer alone, that she was here to rescue him. However, he was also terrified for her safety and of the chances of them both surviving this.

  She abruptly felt something attacking her and realised it was the queen jabbing at the shield around Zacharias. Fury washed over her at this disgusting beast tormenting Zacharias.

  The queen was the first to die, but she died shrieking. The sound galvanised the swarm to come to the queen’s aid. Megan desperately cast around her, incinerating everything and creating an inferno of burning beetles. Soon the cave filled with toxic black smoke and she could barely breathe. She merged herself inside Zach’s shield and rested for a moment while she considered her options. Being able to touch him, feel his living warmth helped revive her even though he couldn’t move or speak. Getting this shield to float safely above the beetles with a second person inside and when she was already tired took all her determination. She might want to burn them all but getting him to safety was the first priority. Slowly she forced them to move closer and closer to the light. She flinched in shock as a beetle jumped on another and used it as a springboard to launch at her. Fortunately it bounced off her shield and fell. Her mouth dry and heart hammering, she forced her shield to move faster until they’d slipped through and were outside.

  She was utterly relieved to see plant life and know they were out of the cave, but they were still far from safe. Dozens of Scritchers had followed them outside and now she’d landed, were biting and pushing at her shield. It meant she had to expend more energy to repel their efforts.

  ‘Hold on Zach. I’ve got to drop the shield to get rid of these attackers. I promise I’ll help you then.’ She knew there was awareness in him but she had no idea how much.

  Again she gathered her strength, dropped her shield and cast about her with fire. This time she burned every Scritcher she could sense. She was certain there were more inside that might come out at any moment but once the ones already outside had been dealt with, it felt safer.

  ‘Julius, Schubert,’ she called urgently. She could feel them hurrying down but she kept watch on the cave mouth in case any slipped out. ‘Keep guard. I’ve got to get those things out of him,’ she said, collapsing beside him. Zach’s body tensed up again and he let out a groan. Megan could see that the first egg had just hatched inside his flesh and immediately the hatchling began chewing on him. It was the most hideous thing her sight had ever shown her. She was shaking with over exertion but worked a spell attempting to expel the larvae from him. It fought her magical influence tenaciously and because she was weak, it won. So she concentrated on the second one instead, not yet hatched. That came out more readily. Schubert chopped it up with revolted vigour. She then returned her attention to the first one, but again it resisted her attempts to dislodge it. It also didn’t help that Zacharias’ immortal body, in attempting to heal itself had sealed over where the egg had gone in. She considered and tried a different way. This time her magic didn’t try to pull it out like a splinter; the spell transported it cleanly from inside his thigh to open air. They all watched in horror as the larvae attempted to rush back to Zacharias. It bounced off the shield Megan hastily placed in its way. It then turned and went for Schubert.

  Schubert chopped the larvae into hundreds of pieces so great was his revulsion.

  Julius helped Zacharias to his feet, supporting him and half carrying him away.

  ‘Let’s get out of here, there were many more in that cave I didn’t kill,’ Megan said and that seemed to get through to them. Schubert took over supporting a very wobbly but moving Zacharias since he was the strongest, while Julius helped her up the hill. A short distance away but across a stream, they stopped. Megan just had strength to set a light shield around them before she passed out. Zacharias slept too, his body weak from trying to deal with the after effects of the paralysing poison.

  ***

  When Megan woke next, she knew quite a number of hours had passed. She’d done it! She was alive and so too was Zacharias. Scanning his body made her notice she hadn’t come out completely unscathed either. She had a numbe
r of minor but painful bites. Her hands were sore and probably burned. Certainly someone had bandaged them. All that faded from her attention when Zacharias turned and noticed she was awake. He caught her up into his arms and held her tight enough she could barely breathe. She felt the same need to be held however.

  ‘I dreamed you spoke to me and reassured me you were coming,’ he said and noticed her smile. ‘That was real?’

  ‘Yes. I hoped you’d hear me and not give up hope.’

  ‘It helped,’ he whispered into her hair. ‘I’ve never felt so helpless, alone and vulnerable before. I was sure I was about to die.’

  ‘I know. But I wasn’t going to let that happen to you.’ Mortal peril was a completely new experience and he was deeply shaken; they all were.

  ‘Let’s get you up on your horse,’ Julius suggested bringing the animal over.

  ‘We can’t leave yet,’ Megan said.

  ‘Why not? If you’re still too tired to ride we can carry you,’ Schubert added, equally eager to leave.

  ‘I am tired, but that’s not the reason,’ Megan told them.

  ‘What then?’ Julius asked quickly, ‘because I need to get as far from this place as possible.’

  ‘That’s the reason,’ she said. ‘You’re all completely terrified and rightly so of these Scritchers. We should not leave a hive, particularly such a large one, to grow and continue being a menace.’

  ‘Megan, I admire your determination and know you’re right, but you barely made it out of there alive,’ Schubert said anxiously. ‘You really need help to do what you’re suggesting.’ Schubert glanced at both Julius and Zacharias and noticed how aghast they were. ‘Maybe we could find another wizard to come and help?’

  ‘Do you know someone? Do any of you know a local wizard?’ Megan asked. ‘I thought not,’ she answered for them aware of their glum emotions. None of them wanted anything to do with that cave. They also felt guilty a woman would fight when they could not and that they weren’t sure they could aid her. ‘Does anyone have anything to eat?’ she asked to divert them to something mundane and that they could help her with.