Leviathan (Fist of Light Series)

by Edgington, Derek

  As I stood stock still like an idiot grappling with nonexistent powers, the pack found the new trigger for their shifts and made their move. Jas shifted into a charging bull, ice exuding out his very pores as he mowed down rows of the horde’s attack. A mountain lion roared a challenge, nipping at the heels of the hulking humanoid that Gallick and Shadow were slowly wearing down. For her part, Mary saved me from an untimely death. I probably would have just stood stupidly and been overrun if she hadn't launched herself over my head and into the oncoming attackers. She swiped and screeched, slashed at the wispy shadows threatening to overwhelm our little party.

  All would have been lost without Kathryne. Even as she learned more and more about myself and the Were, I'd been unable to glean anything but the tiniest fraction of information about her in comparison. But I knew the basics. The Aevum ate magic much like Cusion fed off the energy in souls. This proved to be the most effective weapon we had against the horde. Rather than losing energy upon touching a foot soldier of shadow, Kathryne reversed the process and took that dark power within herself. Then she spewed it out in an arcing blast of energy, tearing whole ranks to shreds.

  Soon, the tide had turned. Even these lifeless and mindless constructs knew when they were hopelessly outmatched. They melded back into the shadowy landscape, dissipating like smoke. I knew they were out there, waiting for another opportunity to strike, but to chase after them was madness. A deep bellow was punctuated by a shockwave of wind and the shifting of rock as the behemoth fell. Twisting around, I watched as Gallick, Mary, and a relentless Shadow finished off their prey.

  If I hadn't been watching closely as an ineffectual observer, I might not have seen what came next. Even as the wispy hide was mauled into harmless pieces and began to dissipate, Gallick's arm thrust into its chest up to the elbow. In an instant, dark energy flowed up his arm and was devoured. Blinking at the speed of it all, I questioned whether what I'd just seen had actually happened. My eyes narrowed, but I said nothing as my friends shifted back and rejoined me. The joy of the hunt still shone in their eyes, but it began to fade as the reality set in. I stuffed down my suspicions of Gallick and sorrow over Simon's death and began to formulate a more pressing question.

  “It looks like those cloaks weren't quite enough,” Zack said, his voice solemn.

  Gallick stared forlornly down at his dark sword, as if it held the key to turning back time and reversing recent events. “I be sorry for exposing you to the harsh plains. Alas, we cannot change the nature of this place with the dark hand of Cusion lording over it. I would not be trying to frighten ye with tales, but death is a constant companion. If ye be unwilling to go on, I would understand. There be good reasons why we rarely venture from the holds. There's death enough to go around without seeking it out.”

  Mary collapsed on the uncaring rock, silent tears streaming down her face. Jas attempted to provide some small comfort, but she retreated from his touch. Kathryne plucked at the folds of her cloak, appearing unable to express her own emotions. Nonetheless, there was an aura of pain around her. She had few to call friends and losing one of them so suddenly wasn't easy. I stared at my hands, as if my own inaction was the root of the problem. If only I'd been able to bring forth my powers, I might've been able to stop this. Zack was silent, still coming to grips with Simon's demise.

  But a hard glint shone in his eyes. “We're dead already. Your master had it right. Sacrifices must be made if we have any hope of defeating this damn monster. If we don't risk it all, there's no way we'll take this thing down.”

  Mary sniffled, but put up a hard front and stood. “His death won't be in vain. No price is too high.”

  “It won't,” Jas seconded the statement.

  Now wasn't the time for weakness, or even the appearance of it. Revenge was a double-edged blade and questionable motivator, but we all latched onto it with growing certainty. Cusion wouldn't be devouring souls and feeding off their energy for much longer. A reckoning was coming.

  I agreed. “If it hadn't done enough already to deserve ganking, this is the last straw. We'll make this thing pay. Now it's personal.”

  “That be a right sight to see. I'll do my best to make it so.” Gallick wiped at one eye.

  Shadow howled, an ominous thing amid the silence that followed. His meaning was clear: he was with us to the end. Hard though it was, we moved on, following Shadow. I felt the growing proximity of my goal, so close I could almost taste it. The shallow wounds on my body only drove me harder.

  I waited for a long time, but eventually couldn't keep the words from my lips. “Jas…” He nodded, as if he had been expecting this. “That wasn't any normal shift, before with the fire, now with ice.”

  “I don't have much control over it,” he admitted. “But the cause can't be from anything else.”

  I agreed. “Jeeves was right. The bond's synergistic effects were kick-started by the metamorphosis. Looks like we're already seeing changes.”

  “At least it hasn't backfired. For now, we can't do much more than take the bonus and run. Figuring out anything else comes second.” He crossed his arms, locking down the conversation.

  Gallick seemed intrigued by the direction this conversation was taking, his massive frame threatening to fall over as he shamelessly eavesdropped.

  “Boys, there'd be one thing that you might want to know,” he mumbled, then spoke more loudly to the entire group. “These powers of yours, they be dangerous. Here, we be all spirit. Any energy you be using is draining your life source. You ain't got a body to rebuild that no more.”

  “So you’re saying shifting will eventually kill us?” Jas exclaimed, not caring whether the creatures around us tracked the sound.

  “Tough,” Zack said. “We don't have any other weapons. It's our only option.”

  “That may be. I just be pointing out the risks. One must be careful to weigh them.” Gallick's eyes shined.

  My mind raced, drawing new conclusions based on this information. I couldn't be sure, but this might change everything. I'd been going about it all the wrong way, trying to barge down a door instead of using the handle.

  I looked down at my hand. “I'm on Gallick's side with this one. Don't take unnecessary risks if you don't have to. We need to conserve our strength for the real enemy. Draining us before we make it to this maze will make us more vulnerable. It's probably exactly what it wants us to do. And playing into the enemy's hands isn't going to do us any good.”

  “Easier said than done,” Kathryne replied. “We can't fight off the hordes with kind words. Best to ration power carefully, but if we hold back too much, we'll end up just as dead.”

  Gallick ran a massive hand across his sweaty face. “It's a hard thing, when ye be stuck in a corner. We best hope that it all plays out to our liking. If not, Cusion ain't going to hesitate finish off what’s left of us.”

  “Then we probably shouldn't wait for another attack. If we run, we can stay ahead of the ones behind us,” Mary asserted.

  “Right,” I agreed. “It's not like we need our beauty sleep. Everyone good to pick up the pace?”

  Steely nods and determined eyes met my question. We dashed off after Shadow, who led us ever onward towards the maze and whatever tribulations awaited us there. Moans of despair followed in our wake, but I paid them no heed. Our course was set, for better or for worse. We would find this maze and destroy this dark and dismal place no matter what stood in our path. What could be worse than dying by increments in this dark purgatory?

  — Chapter 24 —

  Tirelessly we ran, anger and revenge fueling our fervent flight. We didn't rest until we made it, panting and heaving great lungfuls of dead air. Although we weren’t technically able to tire out in the normal sense of the word, the use of energy still took a toll and we still had to breathe.

  “That be it. The maze.” Gallick pointed, but there was no need.

  “Good boy, Shadow,” I said.

  It was a maze, all right. This was no haphazard
piling of stones, though. The obsidian walls stretched indefinitely into the surreal sky. Climbing it wasn’t going to work. There was a sense of depth and size, a scope that was sensed but not seen. Power exuded from its core, a deep thrum that was not unlike a heartbeat. This would lead us to the core of Cusion, the only vulnerable portion of the beast. Unfortunately, I doubted it was as simple as following the right path and not falling into the lava. Shadow might be able to lead us, but there would be protections. After all, its greatest weakness would be the most defended.

  “Can he lead us through?” Jas asked, looking uncertainly at the hound.

  “Better than flipping a coin.” I grinned, looking at the two choices before us.

  Shadow wasn't happy with the lack of faith. A rumbling growl was loosed before the hound darted off down the right corridor. My wind regained, I followed after him down a series of dark causeways. I lost my bearings after the eighth branch, although Shadow was far from uncertain. He never faltered or wavered. A nervous sensation coiled in my stomach, though, as time and time again nothing bad happened. Nothing moved to bar passage; no shiny traps were sprung. It only served to put us all even more on edge than if something had tried to.

  At our next turn, the scenery changed. No longer were we encompassed by black wall on all sides. Brackish water surrounded us, extending out of sight. Liquid sloshed, but the source driving its movement was unknown. Shadow released a growl of warning before dashing off to the other side. Once there, he turned, laid on the ground, and waited.

  We were far more cautious in traversing the length. Maybe it was just another attempt to ramp up our nerves and catch us unawares at another location, but I wasn't willing to take the risk.

  “I've got eyes left,” I said.

  “Right,” Jas added.

  “I'll take the front,” Mary said.

  “Anything thinking about coming up from behind has another thing coming,” Kathryne said.

  “I'll hold the middle and go where needed.” Gallick nodded.

  Slowly but surely, we made our way across the slick pavement, dark water sloshing over our feet. By the time we got to the center, the trap had been sprung and there was nowhere to go but forward. Purple tentacles burst forth from the water, slime coating their length. One slammed home in our midst, putting us all off balance.

  Gallick cried out in pain. “Curses! There be some kind of acid all over these blasted things! Don't let it touch anything ye be wanting to keep.”

  I glanced over to make sure everything was all right and, thankfully, found that no damage had been done. Brackish water hissed and stone was eaten away by the acid's touch. Again, distraction almost proved to be my undoing. Time dragged to a halt as two tentacles arced in from the left, slime spewing off them and splattering across my arms. I could hear skin boiling away from its touch.

  Drawing upon my very essence, the power driving my soul, I played the hunch, holding out hope that it would work. Before, I’d been trying to draw energy normally, from the core of my being. If Jeeves was able to give me more than a one-liner, he would’ve told me how stupid I was. My energy source was my entire essence. Lightning ignited in my hands and a saber flared into existence. The sword hissed and spat, my construct urging me to allow it release.

  “Yes!” I screamed in triumph.

  “Finally doing your fair share.” Jas sported a fighting grin.

  I cleaved the two tentacles into wriggling halves, bringing the sword around before any harm could be done. With growing certainty, I spent more power, fashioning blades of ice for my companions from the brackish water. Thus armed, we were able to fend off the awakened tentacles as they swarmed us. I hacked apart three more lengths of purple tentacles as we ground our way forward. My icy weapons were useful, but they wouldn't last forever.

  “Uh, might be a good idea to get moving.” Jas looked down the length of his blade.

  Zack too watched as the acid began eating its way through his own sword. “We've got a problem,” he grimaced, holding the blade further from his body to keep the acid from touching him.

  “This ain't a battle to stand still for,” Gallick said.

  I hacked another two from the air before conceding the point. “On three we make a break for it.”

  “One,” Jas began.

  “Two,” Zack's voice cracked on the word.

  “Three!” Mary punctuated with a scream.

  In an all-out sprint, we dashed across the remaining distance, no more than a hundred feet. It might as well have been five thousand. A swarm of tentacles burst from the water, each longer and thicker than the last. It was clear that they weren't going to let us escape so easily.

  “Go!” I commanded. “I'll hold them off until you make it.”

  I didn't wait for a response, instead turning to face the swarm as they slowly began to encircle me. There was no rush; they had me dead to rights. Bringing another sword into being, I figured the slight deduction in power wouldn't matter much in the scheme of things. My eyes tracked a questing appendage and I lopped the tip off, a warning.

  Jas burst into the circle, slashing through the mass of tentacles with what remained of his sword. “You fatalistic ass!” he yelled as he bowled me over, grasping the two swords and pulling them from my hands.

  “What the hell are you doing?!” I screamed. “Get out of here!”

  “The show can't go on without you.” He tried at a grin, failed. “Go. I've got this. I'll catch up. GO!”

  I scrambled to my feet, backing away but unwilling to go. “I'm not going to leave you.” The power stirred at my touch, waiting for me to call it into being.

  “Don't.” He shook his head. “You'll need every last drop. Destroy this monstrosity. For me and Simon.”

  Emotion wracked me and tears threatened to spill. “I will.”

  Jas cleaved a tentacle in two, its remains snaking back into the brackish water. “We had a good run. But all things come to an end. Avenge me.” He launched himself at the horde arrayed against him.

  I didn't have it in me to stay behind and make his sacrifice worthless. But neither was I able to watch him die. Tears leaking from the corners of my eyes, I sprinted through the rapidly closing hole of he’d made when he barged through. I couldn't stop myself from looking back as I ran to safety, however. The collective mass sensed most of its prey had escaped. It wouldn't allow the last to do the same. In a concerted effort they struck, burying two unwavering lights beneath acidic slime and coiling purple. Shadow whimpered and licked my hand consolingly, but there was nothing that would fix this sort of pain. I felt my heart shriveling and hardening at the deaths that continued to pile up. It was if anyone who ever got near me ended up hurt, or worse.

  “Jas!” Mary's face was streaked with tears as she tried to bull her way through Zack's restraining embrace and get to Jas.

  “It's too late,” he told her, but the words fell on deaf ears.

  I wanted to do the same. Hell, I wanted to shake my fist at whatever sick god got his jollies from these kinds of things. I wanted to sit down, curl up in a ball, and wait for my death to come knocking. But I didn't do any of those things.

  I placed a comforting hand on Mary's straining form. “He sacrificed himself so that we could have a chance at nailing this thing. He wouldn't have wanted you to throw your lot in with his.”

  “I know.” She wiped angrily at the wet tears streaking down her face. “I know,” she repeated, firm and resolute once more. “It won't be for nothing.” The words were becoming frighteningly common, empty.

  Kathryne seemed similarly affected, but she tried not to show it. It was a part of her character, that showing emotion might be equated to weakness. Maybe, where she was raised, that might have been the case. I wiped away the wet from my eyes and shifted my attention to the road ahead. Kathryne's eyes chased after mine and she nodded. Throughout the entire exchange, Gallick had been largely silent, standing off to one side and doing his best to not get involved.

  “
We be holding the course?” Gallick nodded, as if he had already heard the answer.

  “We keep going.” I stuffed the flaming remnants of my emotion onto the back-burner, to burn down and die for all I cared. “Shadow, let's go boy.”

  The hound leapt forward and began leading us through the maze. As we rounded a corner, I couldn't help chancing a look over my shoulder. Where Jas had been, there wasn’t the slightest clue that we’d ever been through there. The brackish water sloshed silently, ambiguous and nonthreatening, waiting for another victim. I crushed the last remains of my indecision in that instant, promising that I'd do the same to Cusion. There wouldn't be enough of the Leviathan left to scrape into a petri dish and look at under a microscope.

  I put my head down and bulled through another series of convoluted corridors. My eyes traced a side passage as we ghosted by it. Mary started as a wall of flame burst up twenty feet into the air, vibrant red that singed hair even from the safety of the main path. Wincing, I looked down at the welts rising across the exposed areas of my skin. And gulped at the patches of flesh that had been eaten away. Muscle and sinew lay exposed, even the white of bone in one place. Thinking back, it couldn't have been anything other than the acidic slime the tentacles flung. My mind conjured up the agony one would be in if covered in that fluid, but I threw off those thoughts insistently.

  “I'd wager me mother's soul we be passing by dozens of those traps.” Gallick hooked a thumb over his shoulder, indicating the roaring flame that illuminated the corridor in a lurid light before it died down.

  “I sure hope Shadow knows what he's doing,” Zack said.

  “Running into just one of those wouldn't be pretty,” I said. “I've faith he can bring us through. Cusion made a fatal mistake when he built this place. He never considered a portion of himself might turn against him.”