Emajen

by Ashley Ledigo

  ‘Your face! It’s a good thing he’s got his back to you!’

  But although he smiled, there was a thoughtful look behind Anthony’s eyes.

  ‘I think we should take turns at keeping watch tonight!’ was all he said.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Their rooms were small but pleasant, with oak beams, wonky floors and in Anthony and Destiny’s room two, comfy four-poster beds. There wasn’t room for anything else apart from a solid old chest of drawers but, as Saddler said, they weren’t planning on staying long.

  It was late by the time they trudged up the creaky wooden staircase. The inn had slowly emptied as they re-lived their experiences of that day, unable to make head or tail of what had happened.

  Saddler wished them a weary good night and then disappeared into his room.

  Destiny flung herself down on the nearest bed. Her head was spinning with weariness and she had to force her eyes to stay open.

  Anthony looked as shattered as she felt, but he stood resolutely by the window and said, ‘I’ll keep first watch. We’ll do two hours each, turn and turn about, okay?’

  ‘Okay.’ The word slurred between Destiny’s lips as she sank immediately into a death-like stupor.

  It seemed only minutes later that Anthony was shaking her awake. Groggily she sat up on the bed, rubbing her eyes; her mouth sandpaper dry. Glancing around, she could see two glasses on the chest of drawers but no water. She decided to have a quick look outside for a bathroom.

  Feeling her way carefully to try to avoid any loud, creaky bits, she opened the door softly and peered out into the corridor. A single, dim light lit the way to a ‘rest room’, mercifully only a few doors down.

  A couple of minutes later, having slaked her thirst and feeling considerably better, Destiny wandered back down the corridor. As she approached the bedroom, she frowned a little, sure that she had pulled the door to behind her. Thinking that Anthony might have woken and wondered where she was, she hurried forward, opening her mouth to reassure him. What met her eyes however caused more of a strangled gurgle to emanate from her vocal chords.

  A figure was bending over Anthony’s bed and its stance was distinctly menacing. At the sound of Destiny’s approach, the figure turned with an evil leer, saliva drooling from its lips. Destiny found her voice and screamed as loudly as her lungs would allow. Instantly, Anthony shot up and they both watched in horror as the intruder’s grin stretched and widened and his whole face began to swell. In front of their eyes the creature’s grin completely disappeared as a grotesque, slavering jaw shot forward. Its eyes shrivelled to piercing pinpoints in its monstrously bloated head and the skull shrank into huge, fleshy shoulders. It had the appearance of some hideous, hairless wolf-bear and, as sabre like talons sprang from its engorged fingertips, it snarled and twisted once more in Anthony’s direction.

  Anthony had slid off the bed and was desperately looking round for something to defend himself with as Saddler came crashing through the doorway. The creature swung around once more just as Saddler lunged, brandishing a large iron poker. He caught the beast a glancing blow on the shoulder and it roared with pain. It swiped a vast, distorted fist at Saddler, knocking the poker clean out of his hand and sending him sprawling. Saddler hit the fireplace and slid down the wall where he lay, quite still.

  Anthony and Destiny stared at each other aghast, but now the enraged creature advanced towards Destiny. Grabbing for the remaining glass, Anthony threw it as hard as he could, knowing he could only hope to distract the brute for a moment. Totally beside itself now, the creature spun and lunged for Anthony. Destiny needed no second chance. With strength born of fear and desperation, she made a grab for the poker and swept it up, her terror for Anthony overriding everything.

  ‘Hit the base of its skull – the base …’ screamed Anthony. The creature leered over him dripping fetid spittle on his face and making him gag.

  Destiny lifted the poker high. She brought it down with a crashing blow right on the very base of the monstrous beast’s skull. The result was electric. And stunning. The creature didn’t even groan; it just slid to the floor with a satisfying thud. Stone dead!

  Destiny’s arms shook from the effort. Saddler had regained consciousness just in time to hear Anthony’s yell and watch the blow fall. With a look of mingled horror and relief, he grabbed them both and pulled them roughly back into the doorway. He ventured back into the room and peered at the prostrate body. Contrary to most horror stories, it hadn’t reverted to human form – he could only assume then that this was its natural state.

  ‘It’s dead all right!’ he said.

  ‘Thanks, Destiny, I owe you one!’ said Anthony shakily.

  ‘I think we owe each other! How did you know that stuff about the base of the skull?’

  ‘I just suddenly remembered we had an osteopath staying at the ranch one time. Somebody asked him how you could kill someone with one blow and he said, “Hit them in the Occipital Atlantal Joint, old fellow!” I’ve never forgotten it!’

  ‘Just as well!’ remarked Saddler. ‘Doesn’t it strike you as a bit odd that no one ‘ere seems to ‘ave ‘eard anything. I think we must ‘ave made quite a racket!’

  ‘Maybe no one else is staying,’ said Destiny.

  ‘Hmm, you’d think the innkeeper would ‘ave ‘eard something though! Anyway, I think it’s ‘igh time we got out of ‘ere. There’s something mighty strange going on and I’m not sure I want to wait and find out what!’

  Destiny hurriedly gathered their things together, while Anthony tried to wash off the sticky spittle that still clung to his face and hair. They tiptoed through the silent building and were just hitching Kaz up to the wagon when Destiny gasped and clapped her hand to her mouth.

  ‘Forgotten something,’ she gabbled, and before they could stop her, she had plunged back into the inn.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  The group were sombre as they plodded through the grey drizzle of the early morning. Even Destiny’s quick thinking in retrieving the map had only briefly lifted their spirits. In their hurry to leave, the map had been left on Saddler’s chest of drawers. Destiny had been brave. Not only had she gone past the room where the creature lay, but had also had the courage to glance in on her way past.

  To her utter horror, the body had gone! As she told the others, it was as if the room hadn’t even been used.

  Now she said, ‘Maybe the blow only stunned it?’

  ‘Nah, it was most definitely dead,’ said Saddler.

  ‘And if it was dead, then that means someone knew about it and cleared up all the evidence!’ said Anthony.

  ‘Well it’s lucky they only had one body to clear up then, and not three!’ Destiny said pointedly. It didn’t help to lighten their mood any.

  Nobody felt much like talking and it was a sad, bedraggled group that rattled forlornly onwards. At one point they stopped for a mug of tea and a snack even though no one really wanted to eat. Even Kaz picked morosely at the grassy verge, just to show willing.

  They plodded on. Saddler mechanically muttered instructions to Kaz each time they came to a junction or a crossroads and then relapsed again into his own thoughts.

  Suddenly, Anthony sat up straight.

  ‘I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’m sure I recognize this spot! And has it occurred to anyone that every time we’ve come to a turning we’ve gone left!’

  ‘So,’ grumbled Destiny. It had been drizzling constantly and she felt as though an entire cloudful of rain had trickled right down her neck and seeped through her skin to the bones beneath. ‘Well,’ said Anthony, with exaggerated patience, ‘if you keep turning left and left and left, where are you going to end up?’

  ‘Back where you started,’ groaned Saddler, suddenly awoken from his reverie.

  Destiny grabbed the map from Saddler’s hands.

  ‘This isn’t a map at all, it’s … it’s a stupid fake!’

  She glared angrily at the paper. To her consternation
, the roads and landmarks began to swirl like miniature leaves caught in a sharp gust of wind. She watched with horror as they formed a face. A familiar face. A beautiful face, with a mouth that twisted into a cruel smile. Her chest tightened. Gasping for breath, she flung the map over the side of the cart and watched in dismay as it burst into flames.

  Immediately, Anthony was at her side. He put his arm round her shoulders in an effort to calm her shaking.

  ‘What was it? What did you see?’

  Trembling, Destiny told them about the face she had seen in the clouds.

  ‘I thought it must be my imagination,’ she stammered through chattering teeth.

  ‘And you saw the same face just now on the map!’ said Saddler.

  It was more of a statement than a question. Destiny nodded glumly.

  With the grim realisation that, yet again, they were hopelessly lost, the group decided their only course of action was to keep going until they found somewhere that they could rest for the night. But as time went on and the shadows lengthened, it became increasingly obvious that there was little if no habitation to be found.

  Saddler attempted to be positive. ‘We’ll ‘ead for those ‘ills over there. At the very least, there’s some clumps of trees that’ll give us some shelter.’

  Kaz did his best to help too. He lifted his head and picked up his pace, so that they trundled along at a brisk walk.

  Destiny however was disconsolate. She couldn’t believe they’d been so easily duped. Before too long, they reached the foot of the hills and the shelter of some trees. Destiny had muttered herself into an exhausted doze, so Anthony and Saddler left her in Kaz’s capable hooves and went to search for possible shelter.

  A brief sojourn brought them about halfway up the nearest slope, which opened out onto a kind of natural, rocky path. Not far along the path were a series of openings in the side of the hill, any of which would provide suitable shelter for a night. They located one with a slight overhang that looked as though it would protect them from the rain and then wended their way back down the hillside to the cart. They found Destiny awake and chatting to Kaz, while she fed him apple treats from a bag.

  The clouds had begun to break up, allowing a surprisingly bright, late sun to push out comforting tendrils of warmth. The water can was bubbling away merrily on the small camping stove and the whole scene cheered Anthony and Saddler tremendously.

  The sun began to dip slowly towards the horizon as they finished their impromptu picnic. Discussion had taken place in a much more positive frame of mind and decisions had been reached. They knew the rough direction they should be travelling in, even if the map had gone, so it was agreed that they would spend the night in the cave that Saddler and Anthony had found and then set off again at first light, northwards; something Saddler’s compass would take care of.

  Kaz, complete with cart, could obviously not be expected to make it through the narrow trees and up the rocky hillside. It was agreed, therefore, that the travellers would only take the most important items of equipment with them and that Kaz, minus cart, would make his way post haste back to the Prof. It should be no problem to enlist the services of one of the larger birds to bring them another copy of the map.

  Only Destiny was uncertain. The thought of sending Kaz back alone filled her with concern. She fussed over him, stroking his nose and asking him repeatedly if he was sure he would be okay. Kaz, loving every minute of such lavish attention, gracefully accepted the titbits she bestowed on him and blew softly down his nose at her.

  ‘Just as well nators can’t be sick!’ Saddler remarked, half amused and half irritated.

  Finally they persuaded Destiny to let Kaz go. It was definitely getting dark and they wanted to make sure they could find their way back to the cave. Destiny had to be content with one last, lingering kiss on his nose before Kaz trotted off into the dimming light.

  The rain, which had abated briefly, began to fall more heavily again just as they were approaching the entrance to the cave. A small fire and a few candles later, and the cave had taken on quite a homely air. They had brought candles at the Prof’s suggestion to save on torch batteries, and their welcome glow helped to radiate a little warmth, as well as dispelling some of the darker shadows.

  They made themselves comfortable and settled down to sleep. Although the rain pounded down endlessly outside, inside they were snug and warm. Even Destiny’s bones seemed to have dried out! They left just a couple of candles burning, knowing that it was wise to preserve supplies.

  It seemed no more than a few minutes later that Destiny was awoken by something. The candles, burnt down to small stubs showed that she must have been asleep for a few hours.

  Unsure what had woken her Destiny lay still, listening intently. Nothing. The cave was silent apart from Saddler’s gentle snores. She was just slipping into a drowsy slumber once more when a noise jerked her rudely awake again.

  The noise, a kind of rustling or scratching, came from the back of the cave. Destiny shifted around in her sleeping bag and strained to pierce the shadows in the dark recesses.

  Her movement alerted Anthony, who had been disturbed by the same noise.

  ‘Did you hear it too?’ he whispered.

  Destiny jumped.

  ‘Sorry!’

  Destiny could almost hear him grinning in the darkness.

  ‘What do you think it is?’ she breathed, not wanting to wake Saddler.

  They both slipped noiselessly out of their sleeping bags and picked up a candle each. Cautiously they advanced into the thick, viscous blackness towards the rear of the cave.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  The cave stretched further back than they had at first anticipated. They moved carefully, anxious not to disturb anything that might have made its home there. Stopping every few steps, they moved their candles around cautiously; searching for signs of whatever it was that had caused the strange scratching sounds.

  After a couple of minutes they reached the back of the cave. There was nothing. Just a solid wall of rock and no signs of anything, animal or otherwise, that might have been making noises there. They looked at each other puzzled.

  ‘Maybe whatever it was heard us coming and ran away,’ whispered Destiny.

  ‘I’m sure we’d have seen or heard something!’

  The candles were on the verge of sputtering out, so they turned to retrace their steps.

  The noise occurred again.

  They both spun around so sharply that the candle flames were immediately snuffed out.

  ‘Damn!’ they both exclaimed at the same time.

  It was then that Destiny noticed something odd. As her eyes became accustomed to the darkness, she could see just the tiniest sliver of light filtering through from somewhere at the back of the cave.

  She touched Anthony’s arm and pointed to it. What they hadn’t seen, couldn’t see by the light of the candles, was that the cave in fact had two backs, the right side overlapping the left. The difference between them was only very slight, creating a gap just big enough for a person to squeeze through. The glow of light was more obvious close to and, by peering through the opening, they could see that the gap widened almost immediately into a reasonable sized passage, that ran straight for a few paces and then bent away sharply to the left.

  Destiny went to wriggle through, but Anthony held her back.

  ‘I’ll go and get Saddler,’ he said firmly.

  ‘But …’

  ‘Think about it. There’ve been some pretty peculiar things happening just lately. How do we know this isn’t just another attempt to stop us finding the Natorqua?’

  The vision of a cruel face flashed into Destiny’s mind. She shuddered.

  ‘Look, I’ll go on my own. We don’t want to risk two of us stumbling around in the dark. I’ll be as quick as I can!’

  ‘Don’t be too long!’ hissed Destiny after Anthony’s dimly retreating figure.

  It can have been no more than three or four minutes later tha
t Destiny heard the sound of approaching footsteps and muted voices, though to her, waiting, it had seemed like an age. Relief flooded through her, only to be immediately extinguished by the fear that maybe it wasn’t them at all. Maybe there had been something waiting when Anthony got back. Something horrible. Maybe it had already silenced Saddler and then Anthony. Maybe now it, or even they, was coming for her! She clapped a hand over her mouth, resisting the urge to scream. Slipping through the cave wall, she hid behind the overlapping rock, heart pounding so loud she was certain anyone within a mile’s radius would hear it.

  ‘Destiny?’ the familiar whisper sent a deep sigh of relief shuddering right through her. She slipped back through the gap and flung herself thankfully at a surprised Saddler.

  ‘Whoa, you’re okay, it’s okay,’ he soothed, patting her on the back in a fatherly fashion that instantly reassured her.

  ‘Sorry!’ she muttered.

  ‘Nothing to worry about! Now what ‘ave you two been up to this time!’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Having established that Saddler was just about able to squeeze through the slit in the cave wall, the group decided that they would retrace their steps, pack up their things and explore the passage further.

  In a way, as Saddler suggested, it might be to their advantage. Possibly, disappearing underground for a short spell might throw whom or whatever it was off their trail.

  Anthony slid through the opening first to retrieve the belongings that Destiny and Saddler passed through. Destiny followed and turned away to suppress a giggle as Saddler sucked in his breath and grunted and wriggled and squeezed his way through. He emerged on the other side with an almost audible ‘pop’, as though the rock had become fed up with him and finally spat him out.

  Saddler dusted himself down and gave Destiny a disgruntled look that told her plainly she still had the trace of a smile on her face. Then he led the way. With silent footfalls, they crept towards the bend in the passage. Saddler peered around it and motioned the others to follow. To their amazement, the passage was now lit at regular intervals by hanging lanterns.