“Now usually I would do this with a circle and do a cleansing and all sorts of things, but we’re already in kind of a land of the dead, right? So there isn’t anything here to cleanse because I’d be able to see any interfering entities. So we can skip that part. Then we’d usually invoke the four elements, but I’m trying to shift realities here, so I don’t think that’s appropriate. And I can’t call on the angels to help me, so that’s out too.”
Balor huffed then, even dropping his head and shaking it.
“Okay, okay, I’m not used to this. I’m just trying to work it out before I try anything so I don’t waste our time.” Balor lifted his head and quirked an eyebrow at me in a very human gesture. “This isn’t wasting our time, shut up.”
I paced back and forth, repeating nonsensical words as I tried to figure out how to do it. I twisted my hands and pulled my fingers. Without my usual order of things, I really didn’t know how to start.
“So, I guess I just do whatever then, right?” I turned back to face Balor, who just stared at me. “Right, so I need to activate this side,” I said as I walked over to the symbols between the trees. I squatted and pressed my hands to the ground, letting just the tips of my fingers touch the line closest to me, and closed my eyes to concentrate.
“This is for the here and now, anchoring me in this place. This is for the here and now, letting me move from this space,” I whispered the incantation as it came to my mind. I willed the symbols to come to life, fill with magic and power, to answer me. When I opened my eyes, I tried not to be disappointed the symbols were still flat designs in the dirt. I kept my silent belief that it would work.
Back across the river, dripping wet and squatted down in front of the second set of symbols, I placed my hands on the ground and whispered, “This is for the there and how, pulling me to that place. This is for the there and how, letting me move to that space.”
“Sounds as good as anything else I’ve ever come up with,” I said to Balor when I was back at his side. “Now we just have to figure out how to make this happen.”
I turned my back on the symbols for the here and now to face the river. Balor turned with me, his ears pricked up and ready. I touched his fur and prayed he’d stay with me. I imagined I could feel the pulling force of the running water in front of me, imagining that when I activated the spell, a doorway would open for us, letting us step from one reality to the other.
“As I will it, so shall it be!” I cried out. “By the powers of three times three, so smote it be!” I curled my fingers into the scruff of Balor’s neck and pulled him with me as I took off at a run, leaping into the air as I reached the river’s edge. We were airborne for a few heart stopping moments, giving me hope just before we fell in a tangle of limbs and hands and paws, crashing into the water.
Balor twisted and pulled out of my grasp before he got to his feet and trudged to the opposite side of the river. Water rushed off of me as I got to my feet and followed him to the bank.
“Not one word,” I said.
I was trying to wring out some of the excess water from my shirt tails when I noticed my hip quiver, my empty hip quiver. I swore as I spun toward the river, rushing back into it, searching desperately for my lost arrows. My crossbow was still hooked to my belt with one precious arrow knocked in it. Balor barked from the water’s edge as I splashed around, plunging my hands into the water, blindly searching for the arrows, but I only grasped at water and rocks.
My boot slipped on one rock and I fell backward, water splashing up around me as my head went under. I sucked in a breath just before I was submerged. The current pulled me a few yards before I got my bearings and managed to put my heels to the silt and pebbles of the riverbed, slowing me to a stop.
I fought to stand. The water was a hip deep here, and the push and pull of the current kept throwing me off balance. Balor barked again as he bounded down the river, watching me as he ran.
“I’m all right,” I called back to him to stop his barking. I brought my fist down on the water, cursing again. My arrows were definitely lost. I pushed the few loose tendrils of hair out of my face and slogged back to the bank. I checked to make sure the looking glass was still tucked into my belt and my crossbow wasn’t going anywhere as it bounced against my leg. I had to stop getting ahead of myself and start concentrating more; every step I took forward, I did something stupid and slid back two.
I pounded up the riverbank and walked back to the two trees where I’d drawn what was supposed to be a portal. I knelt, feeling the dirt become mud and cake my knees as I studied the symbols I had drawn. I had an invocation pentagram and the symbols for Water and Air along with a symbol for balance and transformation.
“I mean,” I rubbed my neck one handed, “that looks right, so I don’t know what could be missing here.”
Balor’s head snapped up, his red eyes staring off into the distance across the river. I kept my mouth shut as I twisted to look over my shoulder, trying to hear or see whatever had gotten his attention. When he flattened his ears and growled low in his throat, I knew I needed to move. Pushing to my feet slowly and quietly, I took a step toward one of the nearby trees, but then Balor’s head whipped around in the other direction, looking into the trees around us.
“Seriously?” I hissed. I turned to look the same direction, but I still couldn’t see whatever he was waiting for. I pulled my crossbow off of my belt and gripped the handle tightly, lifting it and keeping my finger on the trigger, ready to fire. I turned in a circle, looking for whatever or whoever was trying to sneak up on us. Balor lifted his nose in the air and sniffed, switching back and forth, trying to divine which direction it was coming from. When the ground shook under me as a loud step thumped behind me, there was no question of where it was coming from.
I turned toward the woods behind us, putting the river to my back, and touched Balor, silently telling him which way to turn. I saw treetops moving, birds taking flight as they cried out in distress. Trying to hide in a tree was pointless if the thing was big enough to reach me there. The dirt shifted and tiny pebbles rolled down to be lost in the river with each thundering step this thing took.
“Balor, what is it?” I breathed. My heart thudded in my chest and a lump formed in my throat, making it very difficult to swallow. Balor growled again, his black lips curling up and baring his massive teeth. He took a few steps forward, putting himself in front of me as he squared his shoulders, curling his claws into the ground.
Through the trees, I saw a shadow moving, a shadow big enough to steal what little light there was among the trunks and bushes. I glanced at my little crossbow and knew it wouldn’t do me one damn bit of help. I could smell the sour sulfur of its breath as it sniffed the air just as Balor had done moments ago while I frantically worked to get the arrow out of the chamber, nearly breaking it. I threw the crossbow somewhere behind me and held the arrow by the shaft in a false grip, just as Michael had taught me.
A roar rang out, a strange mixture of bleats and warbles, pitched high enough to make me cringe and desperate to cover my ears. I knew that roar; it had haunted me the entire time I’d been there. Balor howled long and loud in response, accepting the challenge. My stomach turned, and the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood on end.
I nearly screamed when I saw the first scaly, gray foot appear out of the darkness. It was bigger than Balor and the claws that protruded from it where sinister and black, as big around as my forearms.
“Oh no, no, no,” I whispered, shaking my head, desperate to turn and run, but I couldn’t leave Balor like that, not if he was going to stand his ground. “Balor,” I whispered, urging him to come with me, but he only barked, angry and frantic as the rest of the monster emerged.
It was something from my nightmares; not even the Hell Hound had looked so terrifying. It was as tall as the trees, and grey, scaly skin like boiled leather covered it from head to foot. Its red eyes were aflame in the night. Black wings burst from its back, dripping down to
boney points that gleamed in the moonlight. Its dragon-like face was split with a black mouth full of greenish-black teeth. Saliva dripped out as the dark maw opened again, letting a bone jarring roar ring out.
My legs became like hardened cement, refusing to answer my command to move, and I forgot to blink. Balor answered the roar with another howl, his sharp pitch snapping me out of my daze. I rushed to the nearest tree, pressing my body to it, trying to hide every last inch of me. I whispered to Balor to come to me, but if he heard me, then he ignored me. He moved forward, his body crouched lower as he stalked the creature. I peered around the edge of the tree and saw it watching Balor, lowering to all four feet, mimicking the dog. They began to circle each other.
My mouth went dry, and for one moment, I thought I would pass out. I bent my legs and bounced lightly on my feet, making sure the blood was circulating, trying to remember everything Michael taught me about fighting a larger opponent, though I doubted I could hip check that thing. A hysterical laugh burst out of me at that thought. I clapped my hand over my mouth, holding my breath. But it was too late; I heard the whiffling noise it made when it heard me. That massive head turned in my direction.
The ground shook when it changed directions and walked toward me and my hiding place. Balor sprang into its path, snapping his jaw madly, dashing out to bite its ankles before bounding backward again. The monster made a sharp noise of protest but continued determinedly for me. I clung to the tree with one hand, squeezing the arrow shaft with the other, as I watched its progress. When he stood up on his two hind feet, lifting one clawed foot in the air, I counted to three in my head. When he let those massive claws slice through the air, I got to three and made a frantic dash forward.
He struck the tree with such force the branches snapped off and flew, littering the ground with shards of wood and leaves. I ran for the monster, thinking if I was under it, it couldn’t see me. Balor barked in protest, growling at me and attempting to catch me with one quick snap of his jaw, but I danced out his reach and ducked under the belly of the monster. My lungs burned, threatening to rip apart as I tried to breathe quietly through my nose, making my nostrils flare.
The monster whipped its serpentine body back and forth, searching for me, roaring in frustration. I crouched to keep from being knocked over by its undulating belly while staying on my feet so I could scuttle back and forth. Balor kept dashing forward to bite at the creature, ripping chunks of grey flesh from the legs and feet. The sulfur smell grew with each new wound. I swallowed against the bile rising in my throat.
Balor lunged again just as the monster reared his far leg to swat at the huge dog like an annoying little gnat. Balor arced through the air, hitting a tree with a thump and a whimper before he slid to the ground in a heap of fur. I screamed wordlessly, thrusting my hand up, and stabbed at the belly of the beast wildly, puncturing it until my arm was slick with black, slimy blood. When the monster lurched forward, attempting to both get away from me and go after Balor, the tip of my arrow caught on a bit of bone or scale, and he dragged me with him as I refused to let go of my only weapon.
“Balor!” I screamed, loud enough to strain my throat. “Balor, run!” Almost drunkenly, Balor lifted his head, his red eyes dull and blinking, trying to focus on the direction of my voice.
I reached with my empty hand and curled my fingers into the gaping wound my arrow was lodged in. Holding on as tightly as I could, I used the edge of the wound as leverage to thrust my hand and the arrow past the sticking point until I punctured something soft. Blood gushed out of the wound, running down my arms, coating my shirt and chest. The monster screamed in terrible pain and faltered, stumbling and dragging me along the ground.
Balor got to his feet and growled like the Hell Hound in my memory before he launched himself at the monster, his jaws open and teeth gleaming. He latched onto the beast’s neck, his razor teeth sinking into the soft skin. I was so focused on Balor that I didn’t see the clawed foot reaching for me until it was too late. The monster grabbed me and pulled. I let go of the arrow to save my arm just before he flung me away, just as he had done to Balor.
I flew through the air, too shocked to even scream. He threw me so high that I crashed through flimsy tree branches, tiny twigs lashing my face as leaves scattered like fireworks. I grabbed blindly for anything to slow my fall, the skin of my palms burning as the wood tore through them. When I struck the ground, it wasn’t nearly as hard as it could’ve been without those precious branches lashing at my face, but I still hit with more force than I could handle. Something sharp pressed into my back. I braced my foot against the ground and pushed myself to roll over. The looking glass had shattered.
Pieces of black glass littered the ground, dull and flat with a coating of dirt. I reached back and pulled the handle of the looking glass out of my belt. I found one long piece of glass attached, looking very much like a jagged dagger. Balor cried out when he fell again, his teeth ripping through the monster’s neck.
I ran forward, my makeshift dagger in hand, and screamed to get the monster’s attention, but only stabbing its thigh made it turn away from the limping dog. It roared that high pitched keen again when I ripped the dagger out of the meaty thigh, feeling the muscles in my back twitch with the effort after the jarring fall I’d suffered.
“Stay away from him,” I growled. My hands dripped black blood, and my clothing and skin was stained in a macabre mess. The monster whipped its body around and raised up, ready to launch itself at me, but Balor darted forward again, tearing into it, making it whip back around with its mouth open, ready to finish Balor once and for all.
I ran forward, blind panic driving me and the rush of adrenaline beating back the pain in my body. I climbed up the beast’s rear leg, using the curve of hip and knee joints as hand and foot holds until I was on its back. I saw him dipping his head forward, ready to bite down on Balor, and I plunged the broken looking glass into a soft spot next to its spine. The monster screamed, his voice pitching high enough to make me pause as my ears threatened to pop. He reared up on his hind legs, and I had to hold on to the looking glass’s handle just to keep from falling, my feet frantically working to find purchase on its scaly back. With my free hand, I reached up and gripped the edge of his left wing.
My grip wasn’t very strong, and my arms shook with the effort of holding my body weight until the monster finally fell back to all fours. The force of the impact was almost as surprising as any earthquake I’d been in.
“Balor!” I screamed, ripping the looking glass out of the monster’s back and climbing until I secured my feet in the wing joints. “Enough! Run, please!” My throat burned from so much screaming, but I couldn’t watch Balor continuing to get hurt while I tried this ridiculous plan.
Gripping with knees and thighs, making my legs shake with the effort, I held myself in place as I lifted my arms above my head, the handle of my makeshift dagger in my hands. I didn’t even take a second to hold my breath or think; I brought the broken looking glass down with as much strength as I possibly could, buried it in the base of the monster’s spine, and twisted. I pulled the handle sideways, cutting a deep, long slash. My hands sunk into the wound, so I felt the separation of muscle and skin. The cries and roars stopped so suddenly the sound echoed in my head.
Then the world began to shift and fall as the monster lost the ability to hold itself erect. Balor dashed to the side when he realized the monster was collapsing. We hit the ground with such force that the trees shook and leaves fell like rain. I bit my tongue when the shock went through my body, forcing my jaw shut, but that pain was nothing compared to the pain in my arms, legs, and back as the adrenaline rush faded and I was left in shock.
I slid from the back of the dead monster, hitting the ground hard and falling to my knees. I braced my hands on the ground, the dirt coating my hands and fingers still wet with the black blood. I had lost the looking glass in the gaping wound I had opened when I severed the spine, but since it was broken, it wasn’t
much of a loss.
“Balor,” I tried to call out to him, but my voice was a raw whisper. “Balor,” I said again, making myself cough roughly. I was suddenly very worried I was about to throw up. A cold, wet nose pressed into my cheek. My throat swelled as the tears came. We were both alive.
Chapter 19
I had to lean on Balor for help to get to the stream. He was limping badly, but I had to get this vile filth off of me before it made me sick. We both collapsed at the water’s edge. Balor dunked his muzzle in the cold water and drank his fill while I tried to wash my hands and arms by cupping water with one hand to wash the opposite arm. I was tempted to just slide my whole body into the river, but my muscles were already starting to seize. I knew the shock of the cold water would be too much, and I would probably drown. I settled for splashing my face, neck, and chest, desperate to get the blood off of me. My movements were clumsy and slow. By the time I was done, I looked as though I had actually fallen into the river, but I felt marginally better just being clean, even if I was cold and my shirt was still stained with gore.
I scooted over to Balor, wrapped my arms around his neck, and hugged him, just taking a moment to be grateful he’d saved me and lived.
“Let me see what’s wrong,” I said after a while, pulling away. I checked each of his legs, rubbing and gripping each inch, watching for a reaction. Nothing felt broken, and he never complained or fought me as my fingers kneaded his muscles. A knot in my chest loosened, and I could breathe normally again.
“Nothing’s broken then, thank goodness,” I said. Balor dipped his head in agreement. I moved to his ribs and at one point, as I pressed on his side, he whimpered quietly. “A rib, huh? I can’t do much for that. Can you breathe okay?” Balor huffed in answer, making me smile.
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