by Sulin Young
“It’s possible,” L-Master Kalum concurred. “She did go missing after the war, and it is logical that she would have kept the pendant with her at all times.”
“Dartkala’s breath, if it really is her, Si Ren Da has just become UWIB’s number one cultural heritage site. Here lies a missing piece of history! Incredible!” said Raimus.
“Furthermore, it shows we’re on the right track and the queen’s hypothesis about the demons and what they’re after is correct. Skra’s pendant really does exist — this is going to throw a spanner into historians’ work everywhere,” said Baneyon.
“Indeed, it will. But before that can happen, we need to rescue the pendant or our historians will be too caught up in recording the events of a new war to write about the last one,” said Quempa.
They all turned sombre after he said that. Baneyon clapped his hands. “Not to worry, I have a plan!”
Quempa groaned. “This better be good.”
“My plans always work, Quempa,” said Baneyon, giving his friend a withering look. “You’ve survived all of them, haven’t you?” Before Quempa could answer, he continued. “For it to work, we have to be extremely well coordinated. No offense to anyone here, but I’ll need the best athletes for this. That would be me, Lady Fless, and L-Master Ana.”
“And what would we be doing that requires us to be athletes?” asked Lady Fless, her eyes narrowing.
“Chillax, Lady Fless. I’ve got this covered.” Baneyon grinned, which made Quempa groan audibly.
“We’re going to astral project into the lair at different times. I’ll go first, grab the pendant, and race up to the next level where you’ll be waiting for me. I’ll pass you the pendant and project out. You then need to make it up to the second level to L-Master Ana. Again, pass her the pendant and project out.”
Baneyon turned to L-Master Ana. “Your job is a little harder, I’m afraid. The dogs will have sensed you by then and will follow your trail of gi. You need to lead the pack to the barrier. When you are close enough to the barrier, you’ll have to attach the pendant to one of the dogs. Make sure it runs through the barrier. Understood?”
L-Master Ana didn’t answer. Her large eyes blinked several times while she gaped, struggling to find the right words.
“Have you completely lost your mind?” barked Lady Fless. “You actually want to encourage the dogs to come after us? And what’s more, you expect Ana to latch the pendant onto one of them? Have you forgotten, we can’t weave around them!”
“That’s not the only thing he’s forgotten,” added Quempa. “Who’s supposed to remove the pendant from the dog if L-Master Ana succeeds?”
“You are,” Baneyon said promptly. Quempa threw him a disbelieving look.
“It makes sense, Quempa. You’re the only one that can fly without using qi. All you have to do is swoop in, grab the pendant, and fly the hell away from there!”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah!”
“And where am I supposed to fly to? I’ll just cruise to Pa Gumpina shall I, since we don’t have a ship anymore!”
“What makes you think I haven’t thought of that?”
“Have you?”
“Of course, I have! You will rendezvous with the rest of us at Mire’s Point.”
Mire’s Point was the third highest point along the stretch of craggy mountains that lay on the southern side of their cave. It wasn’t far, and Quempa would be able to reach it within minutes.
“As soon as we meet up, we’re getting the hell off this planet!”
“How?” Quempa asked flatly.
“Geez Quempa, do I have to spell everything out for you? We’ll be taking the demons’ ship. Kalum and Ferro are in charge of reconnaissance and capture.”
Everyone groaned.
“We’re all going to die,” wailed Raimus.
“Wait a moment, Baneyon,” interjected Quempa, “You overlooked one thing — the demons will not give up their ship so easily. That being said, we could use that to our advantage — we can use the ship to kill the demons.”
“What?” cried everyone.
“Listen carefully as I explain,” continued Quempa. The minutes ticked by and there were gasps of disbelief and heated debate as he explained what he had in mind. Towards the end, the rest of the team was forced to admit that he was right. Quempa’s plan was a dangerous one, but, it had a better outcome than Baneyon’s — if they succeeded in pulling it off.
25
Demons and Imeldors
Baneyon peered out from behind a stalagmite and looked around to make sure the path was clear. He had materialised in the dogs’ lair, which turned out to be an impressively vast cavern that began at the planet’s surface and travelled far underground. Above him, giant stalactites pointed down from the ceiling and he felt as though he was a little worm wriggling about in a fish’s mouth, hoping to not get eaten. He had never been so close to the truth.
The dratkaars, or hell-dogs as Raimus referred to them, were sprawled across the cavern floor, huddled in units of about five or six. They were all sleeping, some even snoring, as they hid from the scorching suns that blistered their planet. Baneyon took extreme care to tread carefully, since the slightest misstep on his part would alert them to his presence. In addition to the fact that they would be really pleased to have him for lunch, they could also nullify his qi. If he came too close to any of them, he would not be able to return to his body. And that would pose another danger because if he stayed away from his body for too long, he would die. Baneyon sent a thought out to the others.
This is taking forever, he grumbled. Where on earth did this woman sleep?
Probably with the dogs, Quempa replied.
What was she? A flea? Baneyon legged it to the next stalagmite and looked ahead. His eyes widened when he saw what awaited him.
Lady Fless, when you said the path led down to another cave, you failed to mention it was a bridge barely three feet wide over a molten river.
Oh did I? It was an innocent reply.
You also left out the part where it’s a kilometre long!
Don’t exaggerate, Baneyon. It’s not more than three hundred metres at the most.
Baneyon growled. With the path clear in front of and behind him, he dashed out from behind the stalagmite. He raced down the path for at least thirty metres before reaching the bridge and running onto it.
Ow, ow, ow. Dartkala, my gaten’s rising!
Ooooo, Baneyon’s teasing us with a dance!
Shut it, Raimus.
Beneath him, the molten river bubbled slowly, releasing toxic fumes that could poison the senses of most creatures and send them tumbling to their deaths. Baneyon ran as fast and as silently as he could. When he eventually reached the end, he breathed a sigh of relief. Ahead of him loomed another cave, and remembering Lady Fless’s directions, he headed straight for it.
Okay, I see the fork up ahead. Taking the right one.
He stumbled in the dark and kicked some rocks loose. They clattered as they rolled, and Baneyon held his breath and remained still, hugging the walls. He waited at least a minute before moving again.
Is everything all right, Baneyon? That was Raimus.
Yeah. I nearly gave myself a heart attack. It’s dark in here.
Baneyon was getting nervous. He felt he must have walked about a hundred metres and he had not yet come across the room Lady Fless had mentioned. He hoped he wasn’t wandering down the wrong cave system.
He was about to ask Lady Fless for help when he noticed a faint glow from up ahead. Creeping forwards cautiously, he found himself inside a decent-sized, hollowed-out room. Purple glow worms clung to the sides of the walls and ceiling, providing enough light for Baneyon to distinguish various objects. There was a bed carved from earth lying against the far side, and he hurried over.
Realising the dratkaars could discover him at any moment, Baneyon knew he had to grab the pendant and leave. But as he stared down at Skra’s skeleton, a feeling of lonelin
ess overcame him. Skra had died here, in this cave on this harsh planet, banished and alone after saving the universe. She must have suffered greatly.
Baneyon, what’s taking you so long? hissed Raimus.
Baneyon pulled himself back from his reverie, and reached for the leather thong around the skeleton’s neck. It snapped easily and Baneyon stared at the pendant. It was no larger than a thumbnail, and looked like a walnut.
“We’ll make it up to you,” he said softly to the skeleton. “To you and the ten who died for us.”
A rock came loose and rolled loudly somewhere outside the room. Baneyon spun around, his heart in his mouth as he thought a dratkaar had found him. There was nothing, only darkness.
Baneyon, get out of there! Raimus was nearly beside himself. He could sense Baneyon’s fear and it was affecting him.
This time, Baneyon listened. The room no longer seemed peaceful, and even the skeleton seemed as though it would come to life. The thought of a three-thousand-year old witch confronting him in the darkness freaked him out, and he ran out the room. Grasped by inexplicable fear, the way back to the bridge seemed longer, and Baneyon saw a hundred paths instead of one. Panic set in.
Raimus! he cried. I’m lost. I can’t see anything! Baneyon tripped on a rock and fell. The noise would have been enough to wake up all the sleeping packs in the cave, or so Baneyon thought. His breathing was ragged, his heart beating wildly.
Keep calm, Baneyon. You’re almost at the bridge. That was Lady Fless. It’s the pendant, it’s affecting your senses.
Baneyon took a few deep breaths and got back to his feet.
A few metres up and towards the right. You’ll be at the bridge. Lady Fless was still guiding him.
Struggling to quell his fear, Baneyon followed her directions, and he could have cried with relief when he finally saw the bridge. Wasting no time, he raced towards it.
He was only half way across the bridge when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He felt the dratkaar before he saw it approaching purposefully, snarling. White eyes glowed in the halo of the molten river, and Baneyon gulped at the sight of its razor sharp teeth.
Hard bone ran down the dratkaar’s head like a helmet, spreading down its neck before thick, metallic scales covered the rest of its body. Its spiked tail swept back and forth, reminding Baneyon of a hedgehog. The dog was at least ten metres away, but Baneyon’s qi was already weakening from its presence.
“Does the nice doggy want a bone?” he cooed nervously. The dratkaar growled and took a step forwards.
Baneyon, get away from it! Your qi is weakening! Because Raimus had been delegated to guard their bodies, he could sense when the connection to their astral bodies weakened.
The pendant began to slip through Baneyon’s hand, and he hurriedly retreated several steps to recover his qi and hold on to it. His movements were an invitation to the dratkaar to attack. It leapt forwards and Baneyon reacted instinctively. He dropped to the ground and rolled off the bridge, grabbing hold of the edge to stop from falling into the river. The dratkaar sailed over him to land on the other side, and Baneyon hastily pulled himself up. Then, wasting no time, he began running.
The dratkaar gave chase. Baneyon prayed that he could at least sprint the whole length of the bridge before running into more dogs. They were already stirring from their alcoves, awakened by the howls of one of their own.
The end of the bridge came into sight, along with a company of ten dratkaars who eyed him like hungry school children. The stench from their breath was foul. Baneyon knew he’d never make it past them.
Pssst! Throw the pendant.
Baneyon looked up and saw Lady Fless clinging to the stalactites above the dratkaars. Surprisingly, the hounds had not noticed her. His mouth fell open.
Throw the pendant you idiot! Then take those slobbering guys back with you.
He came to his senses and flung the pendant, guiding it with what little qi he could spare. The dratkaars raced towards him. Baneyon yelped and turned back, only to stare into the eyes of the first dratkaar that had chased him. It grinned, or at least that’s what Baneyon thought. Without knowing what came over him, Baneyon extended his right arm and shouted in what he hoped was an authoritative voice. “SIT!”
The dratkaar shot him a loathing look and leapt. Baneyon screamed then closed his eyes and counted to three quickly.
“Dartkala’s sake! You scream worse than my grandmother!” complained Raimus, covering his ears.
Baneyon sat up and patted his body all over, thankful to have returned to it safely. He glanced at Lady Fless’s body, which was sitting very still. They were outside, nearly a hundred metres from the lair’s entrance.
“You are lucky she went in early,” said Raimus. “She actually worried for you.”
Baneyon leaned over and dropped a kiss on Lady Fless’s forehead. “Thank you,” he said.
“Sit? Did you think you were at a dog training camp?” L-Master Ana gave him a wry look.
Baneyon squinted in the sunlight and breathed out. “You’d scream too if you found yourself running into that dog’s mouth.” He shuddered. “I hope Lady Fless is okay.”
Lady Fless was not okay. With the pendant in her mouth, she leapt from one stalactite to another, digging her claws into the hardened calcium as she progressed upwards to where L-Master Ana would be waiting. It had taken only one dratkaar to spot her, and then the entire pack was racing after her. To her horror, they began leaping towards the ceiling, coming within reach.
She twisted sharply to avoid projectile spit, grimacing as the stalactite in front of her corroded. It was bad enough they could nullify qi, but the dogs of Si Ren Da could also aim and spit highly corrosive acid from their mouths.
“Uurgh!” A drop of spit touched her side and burned through her astral body. The pendant slipped from her mouth but she bit down in time to catch it.
Lady Fless, are you all right? Raimus was concerned. He could see that the acid had burned through her real body, which was still sitting silently next to him.
Got spat at. Tell Ana to get ready.
She’s already left to meet you.
“Raimus, we need to go,” said Baneyon. “Ferro and Kalum located the ship. The demons left it unguarded.”
Raimus heaved his bulbous body off the ground with surprising speed. “No argument from me on that.” He walked over to the limp form of L-Master Ana and very deftly heaved her over his right shoulder.
Baneyon did the same with Lady Fless, and together they made haste for Mire’s Point.
“Dammit!” growled Lady Fless from inside the cave. With her qi completely disrupted by her injury, she could not cling to the stalactites properly. She slid farther down the calcified protrusions and had to push herself into a somersault to prevent dropping into the dratkaars’ gnashing mouths. Another hundred metres to go — she was almost at the meeting point.
She raced across a stretch of ceiling free from stalactites and found herself coming up to another tunnel. Her heart sank. She would have to drop to the ground and sprint another fifty metres to reach it, giving the dogs the chance to tear her to pieces.
Lady Fless, throw the pendant.
To her surprise, she spotted L-Master Ana emerging from the tunnel’s entrance, using her race’s natural camouflage abilities to blend in with the background. She had seen Lady Fless was in danger so had come out farther than planned to reach her. Relieved and grateful, Lady Fless threw the pendant to Ana. I’ll try and buy you some time, Ana!
Lady Fless dropped to the ground and charged headlong into the oncoming dratkaars. She avoided the first one, somersaulting over it to land on another. She stomped on its the head and ran across the backs of the next few. Before the dratkaars realised what was happening, she had already passed the pack and was sprinting towards the bridge. The dratkaars howled their anger as they turned and charged after her.
L-Master Ana crawled speedily through the tunnel. Lady Fless had done a great job of leadin
g the dratkaars away and she made sure her efforts weren’t wasted. The path ahead was clear and she progressed steadily upwards. A few dratkaars noticed her presence and gave chase, which was exactly what she wanted.
An unexpected explosion rocked the lair and L-Master Ana faced a new threat. The tunnel started to collapse around her, and a rock the size of a bowling ball struck her shoulder, causing her to grunt in pain. There was dust everywhere, and she had no idea if the way ahead was still open.
With a new burst of speed, L-Master Ana stretched her entire body and started to leap like a frog. In this manner, she glided through the tunnel while bearing the brunt of falling rocks. Each leap covered around fifteen metres, and finally she spotted a thin blade of light up ahead. She propelled herself forwards and broke through the gap at the end of the tunnel, landing hard and rolling several times before coming to a stop.
The tunnel caved in behind her, temporarily trapping the dratkaars, but it wouldn’t be long before they appeared again — there were a lot more tunnels in the lair. She rose to her feet and shook off the debris, then flexed her legs in preparation for another leap. She couldn’t move. Through the swirling dust, a hand had fastened around her neck. It lifted her into the air and L-Master Ana gasped in pain, unable to scream as searing heat blistered her skin.
“The fish feels pain,” said a cold voice.
“Oh? I thought it was a frog of some sort,” said another.
“Who cares what they look like?” said someone else. “Does it have the pendant?”
As the dust settled, L-Master Ana found herself staring into the eyes of a demon for the very first time. He towered above her, fair and godly, with flowing locks and perfectly chiselled face. If he hadn’t posed such a danger to her, and if she were to be objective, L-Master Ana would have admitted that she was looking at nature’s perfect warrior.
A pair of elongated incisors flashed wickedly as the demon smiled at her. There were five demons, wearing strange armour that covered sections of their arms, chests, and legs. Forged from a material she did not recognise, the armour seemed to be a living organism that flowed continuously over their bodies.
The demons were bipedal. One could easily have been mistaken for a Pophusian like Baneyon, and they had something else in common — their eyes glowed.