Scars of the Earth

by C. S. Moore

  They won’t be able to reverse this; they won’t be able to pretend it didn’t happen. Not without doing something none of them are willing to do. He thought happily.

  He drew in a deep breath letting their individual scents roll into him. He pulled in all of his energy; everything that he was, everything he had in him. And just before releasing it, he thought of Shiphra’s smiling face. With his guard down, all of the Ancients saw what he was doing but it was too late to stop him.

  Bright bursts of energy were flying between Heisle and the arena full of Healers. A thin cord of light linked them to him. Heisle twitched and like a heart monitor light began to slowly beat down the strings. A slow steady pulse of light flew down hundreds of threads.

  Heisle burned the images into the back of his eyelids and sent it down to them. Healers all around the room began to wake up in terror, women and men shouted in surprise and furry. Delia moved forward but Baal stopped her.

  “He is giving all for this spell. I already tried to stop him but it would drain me of my life. There is nothing we can do now.” Heisle arched back unnaturally but managed to stay upright, standing only on the balls of his feet his muscles locking up.

  The beat of light quickened; Finn’s face, Finn’s flesh, Baal’s smirk. With a loud snap, Heisle’s left arm folded up into his shoulder, followed by his right. The beat of light quickened still; Finn’s face, Finn’s flesh, Baal’s smirk.

  Heisle’s mouth tore open wide as if to scream but no sound escaped. His skin dried up and pulled away from his open mouth. And the beat quickened further; Finn’s face, Finn’s flesh, Baal’s smirk.

  Heisle’s once large form began shrinking, bones crumpling as if he were in a trash compacter. He coughed to clear his throat and dust escaped from the place his lips should have been. The pulsing light bounced off of the scrambling crowd breaking all movement into a disjointed slideshow.

  The unfortunate Healer’s in the arena cried as the images bore into their minds and imprinted themselves there. Heisle’s dry tongue inexplicably formed words that rose above the uproar and silenced the stampeding Healers.

  “Shiphra!” He coughed up another cloud of dust that was highlighted by a beam of light. “Shiphra is still out there, and she fled for a reason.” The bright beams of energy ceased to be as Heisle’s broken body slowly shriveled into little more than a leathery ball.

  Hours later the relatively calm, as well as the horribly outraged had abandoned the arena-save two large figures. Draining energies still filled the large space; pain, sadness, and uncertainty. Baal didn’t like being there; it made him feel weak at an incredibly vulnerable time. Delia looked at the ground and laughed at the crumpled raisin-like form of Heisle. Baal didn’t find it amusing in the least.

  “Do you think those Healers will ever forget what we did to one of their own?” He asked. Delia laughed again. “Nope, they never will forget what YOU did to one of their own. And you would probably die trying to take it from their minds, since Heisle gave his to put it there.” She said flatly. Baal threw his sharp arms up in disbelief.

  “Do you think there will be a revolt?” She asked him. Her voice was uncaring, as always.

  “No. Healers make peace, not war.” Baal felt certain of this, but there was a hesitation to his words.

  “Sometimes war brings about peace.” She countered. There was a smile in her voice.

  “Do you truly not care Delia, about what is ahead of you, or about anything?” He spat. He was face to face with her. He remembered how she looked as a Healer. Long flowing golden hair, thin waste, bright smile. Now she was a deformed creature, giant and sharp, like himself. All of her beauty had faded as they gained and retained power, as his had. But he never missed his looks; he would rather have the power.

  “What is ahead, what is behind, it doesn’t matter. I have lived too long to care about anything that happens. But I am glad for the change, a bit of excitement in the centuries of dullness. Did I ever tell you how happy I was when Shiphra fled?” She asked. His anger boiled over and she laughed as she felt his emotional struggle. He quieted his anger and spoke.

  “We are beacons of power mortals know not of. Does duty mean nothing to you?” He asked. Delia smiled a twisted smile, her sharp cheekbones becoming peaks.

  “It use to, but my sense of duty fled years ago, as did yours Baal.” Baal went to speak but had nothing to say. “Duty means nothing to you. It is power, energy, and control that you hold dear. Otherwise you would care as little as I do about Amanda being free. Why is it so important? Because people disagreed with your decree and acted upon it, and it kills you.” She brushed a single long white hair out of her face delicately, as if she cherished the remnants of this reminder of her old appearance. Then she continued.

  “Don’t worry; this is a mere bump in the road. You like ordering and they seem to be okay with following. So really, who cares?” Baal let out a breath that he had been holding for sometime, Delia’s words had soothed his troubled mind. Delia looked back at the strange leather clump that had been Heisle and picked it up from the ground. She tossed Heisle casually back and forth in her gigantic hands like a basketball. She interrupted his calming breath, gleefully taking away the relief she had brought to him.

  “Of course, things are going to be a Hell of a lot bumpier around here if Amanda…” Baal cut her off in a roar of anger as he looked at the ball that was Heisle and understood what she was going to say.

  “Don’t even think it! I forbid you.” With that Delia gently tossed Heisle into Baal’s cold hands and glided away coolly.

  Chapter 8

  Oh please let Madgie be okay. Amanda pleaded internally. Each passing minute without Madgie was accompanied with a new and terrible possibility as to what could have happened to her, compliments of her over-worrisome mind.

  We have been searching for hours with no sign of her…or Carter. She wondered if they had chosen the wrong direction. Maybe they’re on the other side of the hill. Hopefully Cole is having more luck.

  She thought about going back, but something told her that the valley was the right place to look. She had pictured them here so clearly and although she couldn’t see or feel them, she knew that they were somewhere near. She pushed her way blindly through a thick group of bushes and caught her foot up on something hard. With a chorus of breaking branches she fell to the ground.

  Stupid rocks. She thought. Amanda was trying to untangle herself quietly hoping that no one, friend or foe, had heard her fall. She managed to get herself into a kneeling position and began examining her scraped palms, her skin was raised up in an odd looking welt that didn’t seem to have anything to do with the fall. She was trying to understand this new set of marks when she heard a branch snap in front of her. Her head jerked up, pale face glowing in the moonlight.

  I can’t see a thing through all of this damn bamboo. She thought as she narrowed her red eyes squinting into the darkness. The white moon cast an eerie light unto the valley seeming to wash away all color.

  How close was that? Twenty five yards, or less? She asked herself.

  She didn’t move, didn’t breath, straining her ears to hear something. The rustling of bushes, the snapping of a twig, but the only sound she heard was her own heart beat thudding loudly in her ears. She began to relax.

  There’s nothing out there. If I jump at every noise I hear I’ll be too busy jumping to find Madgie. I just haven’t been in the wilderness for a long while. Not since I stopped running… Amanda’s attempt at calming thoughts was interrupted by the barely audible intake of a raspy breath. What the Hell? Is it Carter? No, that didn’t even sound human. She thought staring at where the sound had come from. She imagined two bright spheres glowing like embers three feet from the ground. She couldn’t really see the pair of eyes, but she could feel them seeing her. She felt the scream rise to her throat but choked it back.

  Oh God! The Ancients have found me already. Cole and Madgie risked everything for nothing. She thought
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  She drew up her strength and found she didn’t have much. Her fear was too great and the poison in her veins seemed to thrive on it. She glanced at her outstretched hands and saw the marks begin to darken and spread, feathering out like an ink well spilling on white paper.

  She felt her core lash out at the migrating disease her soul feebly attempting to keep the darkness from overcoming her entire being. The inner fight tore away the last of her strength and she slowly fell to her side collapsing in pain. Amanda’s delicate face impacted the rough unforgiving terrain.

  A trail of black tainted blood poured out of her torn cheek and ran, without pause, into the darkness. She didn’t feel her cheek split open or the sharp rock that had pierced her thigh; she didn’t even feel the rush of air escape her lips in a cry of agony. She could only feel the poison tearing at her being and wishing it would just take her, wishing she could just cease to be.

  Why God? If this is payment for running, I was never running from you. I just couldn’t handle their pain, it was…

  Through the fog of agony and thought Amanda felt, more than heard, a padded footstep. She opened her eyes slowly. Her vision came in and out of focus, bringing her dark blood into clear view then the opening in front of her. She saw the convex trail of blood still flowing, the earth refusing to absorb it. Then the clearing and the movement.

  A tall wisp of bamboo lazily leaned four inches to the right; and her unnatural blood continued on its way.

  Damn it eyes! She cried internally. She tried to refocus on the distant outline of the bamboo grove and a new sound sprang up behind her. A swift chiming like wind through a field of grass, then the noise was in front of her again.

  They’re circling me like vultures. I hope Cole found Madgie and got out of here. The clearing came back into focus and shimmering moonlight danced off of the silver fur of a large wolf. The animal was far too large to be a normal wolf.

  This creature is touched by magic in some way. She thought curiously.

  Amanda could see the power and energy flowing from the beast and she had never witnessed anything like it. She had no strength left in her to fight but her instincts told her to soak up the energy crashing out of the wolf.

  Is that even possible? She wondered at the thought.

  She closed her eyes and breathed the animal’s energy into her body and she was swept away. She felt hair flying around her face and through another’s eyes, witnessed rocky terrain flying underfoot faster than her skinny legs should have allowed. Cool, fresh air was pumping in and out of her lungs cleansing her body and mind.

  Fear rippled away replaced by exhilaration. Her spirit walled the poison back into its damn and her energy returned to her as the pain ebbed. Her hand went to her cheek as the gapping wound that had been there closed up.

  What is this? I haven’t ever felt this way. She thought struggling to find the word that described the feeling and after some thought she knew what it was.

  Freedom, I feel free.

  Her thoughts calmed from a raging river to a clear pool and she was able to deduce that she and the wolf had become one, for a brief moment. She opened her eyes and was surprised that she felt stronger than she had felt in days. She sat up and looked at the wolf, not sure what to make of the creature.

  Did it help her or had she just helped herself by stealing its seemingly endless energy supply. She turned her head sharply as the tell tale sound of moving branches called out in the distance. Immediately the animal’s silver fur stood on end, changing from the silkiest of surfaces to a mountain of quills. Whatever this was, it was no friend to her.

  She let out a shriek, not caring who heard it, as the wolf took on the familiar low crouch of a predator seeking prey. The crazed animal wound its way toward her bearing its teeth as an unearthly growl rattled out of the depths of its belly.

  She sprang to life her still injured thigh slowing her as she attempted to put space between her and the demented wolf. Moving backwards in an awkward crab walk, she scraped her hands on unapologetic rocks that peaked just above the soil. The wolf’s ears twitched up instinctively as more rustling branches made an unnamed presence known.

  Which way should I go, forward and fight. Amanda glanced behind her. Or to uncertainty. She asked herself.

  At the sound of rushing steps less than twenty yards away the wolf called out predatorily. Seeing the spray of saliva rush out as it sounded brought her attention to the animal’s large porcelain teeth. They glistened white in the moonlight. Pure, beautiful, and frightening. She decided on the spot that the unknown was easier to face than what was before her.

  She pushed herself back on to her feet, wobbling a bit before bolting into the thick welcoming cover of the valley floor. She flew over obstacles as fast as she was able. She still felt a presence near. But she was too frightened to search for her hungry pursuer, or keep the torrent of passing branches from striking her face.

  She gathered the courage to glance behind her pushing images of the great silver wolf overcoming her, teeth wide, out of her mind. And there was nothing, nothing but the path of destruction her flight had caused in the undergrowth. She was about to slow when she saw a flash of silver in her peripheral vision.

  Oh crap! She thought doubling her stride.

  The wolf was keeping pace with her, running just to her right. A thin fence of branches and leaves was the only thing separating them. It was darker in the brush like the moonlight had found this place uninteresting and chose to pass it over. The darkness made a chilling scene but more than the dark, the silence frightened her. If she hadn’t seen the unique silver sheen of the wolf passing through the gaps in the limbs, as headlights pass through windows at night, she would never had guessed that the large animal was tearing trough the woods right next to her.

  How does it move so quietly? She wondered. She watched as the wolf’s unbelievably large paw met the earth with barely a sound. That’s impossible!

  She quickly changed her course and veered off to the left, attempting to cut a path with nature’s tangled hands scratching at her flailing arms as she passed. After a few paces she glanced around and saw no sign of the creature, which frightened her more than having it on her heals.

  He’s still here. She thought.

  With no sign of the wolf she started off to find Cole. She tried to return to where they had decided to divide and conquer, but she found herself so turned around she had no idea which direction to point herself in. She needed to find him to know he was alright. As she searched her fear turned every other rock and bush into the shadow of something sinister.

  I am just as ridiculous as Snow White, running around being frightened by trees. She told herself.

  Amanda calmed herself and sat on a large rock. She looked at the dark alcove before her and knew she wasn’t going the right way. She didn’t want to waste any energy, but if she was going to find Cole she would need to seek him out a different way. She concentrated on him, recalling the feeling his presence always had. Light, kind, loving, and simple.

  That was one of the things she enjoyed most about him, simplicity. Most people were so complex with a thousand different strings attached to one truth. Healers especially seemed to overcomplicate things, but Cole didn’t need a thousand strings. If something felt right, it was right. If something felt wrong, it was wrong. If he wanted something he pursued it, no games or charades. Just him.

  As she brought his image to the forefront of her mind a shiver rippled through her body that had nothing to do with attraction. Cole was running swiftly through the valley floor, apparently oblivious to the fact that he was being closely followed. She was seeing Cole through another’s eyes. She had seen through these eyes before, the large cautious eyes of a beast.

  “Cole!” She cried out, not caring if Carter, or the Ancients, or God himself heard her now. She needed to find Cole before the strange predator decided that it was done giving chase and ready for the kill.

  Chapter 9

  A lonely tw
inleaf blossom stood tall, awake, though its brothers had closed into dreams hours earlier. The aforementioned was looking up at the small strip of sky that was so familiar. Its short life span was full of late nights. Unable to rest so enthralled by the flaming specks of light that came out after the day had ended. It would never know how far the sky stretched because the valley walls allowed only this little glimpse. The protection of these walls had provided safety for this little flower to grow strong. Unfortunately the walls didn’t protect the flower this night. As the flower stood, face toward the sky, refusing to succumb to the call of sleep, Amanda crashed through the foliage; her sneaker putting the little star gazer to rest. Permanently.

  “Cole!” She screamed out frantically.

  She heard nothing but her heaving breath. The silence frightened her and she abandoned the little stealth left in her movement. Caution to the wind she flew over the terrain leaping over obstacles and landing lightly. She had never known herself to move in this way. She felt as light as the air moving all around her, and she noticed for the first time that the air was actually moving. She studied it as she ran, completely enthralled and confused.

  The atmosphere was a habitat of its own, teaming with unnoticed lives; pollen, dust, and microscopic creatures twirled within the light breeze.

  This is new, since when do I see micro-organisms floating around me? She thought as she attempted to blink away the scene in front of her. But as she slowly pealed her eyes open, they were still there. Her already large eyes grew wide in shock.

  One more try. She thought shutting her eyes tighter this time, face scrunching in the process.

  “Please be gone, please be gone.” She said.

  The little specks didn’t notice the worry in her eyes as they shot open and beheld the once hidden world still bustling around her, but she noticed them. Amanda reached her hand across the space between her and the nearest speck, her hand ghostly in the night, and touched the tiny thing. As her extended finger made contact she felt the life of the speck, it was a bit of pollen from a flower. And as the specks energy flowed into her she knew she wasn’t crazy.