by Alex Archer
Another breeze washed over her. There was a scent on it that smelled like a rotting corpse. Annja blanched and clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from retching in the silence. She had to get out of there.
But where?
She pressed herself against the side of the tunnel, desperately looking for any kind of nook or cranny she could squeeze into. But all she found were the coarse, thin roots draping down from the walls like a mass of greasy hair.
Some of them were several inches thick, but others seemed as fine as thread.
Annja heard another sound and knew that whatever it was, it was getting closer. Was it Khosadam? Was it coming back to get her and finish the job? Had it already killed Gregor?
Whatever it was, it was coming straight for her.
19
The raspy moan couldn’t have been more than twelve feet away.
Annja closed her eyes, visualizing the sword in front of her. I really need to be able to use this, she thought. If that thing sees me, I’m dead without the blade.
A breeze passed over her, and Annja kept her eyes shut tight and held her breath. Something passed her. Annja heard it continue down the tunnel and then silence returned.
She let out a breath that felt as if she’d been keeping it pent up for hours, careful not to let the whoosh of the exhale make any noise. All around her, the mass of roots draped over her.
Maybe it couldn’t see me, she thought. Maybe its eyes are just as bad in the dark as mine are.
She eased out of the veil of roots and tried to look down the tunnel, but nothing but darkness met her eyes. She looked in the direction she’d been heading. I need to keep moving. Wherever that thing went, I’m going in the opposite direction, she decided. She kept moving down the tunnel, intent on getting to wherever it ended before the creature came back.
Ahead of her, she thought she could see the barest amount of ambient light. The tunnel also started sloping down at an angle. The warm air grew more humid, as well, and the roots coming out of the walls grew more numerous.
At last, the tunnel seemed to end. Annja could make out the dim outline of what appeared to be a door. She pressed her head to the rough-hewn wood and listened.
Someone was on the other side.
Annja looked back down the tunnel. The creature could come back at any moment. She had to get past this door.
A thought occurred to her then. What if it wasn’t just one creature? What if there were two of them? And what if one of them was asleep on the other side of the door?
She frowned. Back down the tunnel she knew for sure there was a creature—whatever it might have been. She didn’t know what lay on the other side of the door.
She decided to find out.
There was no doorknob, so she pushed on the door. It didn’t budge. Then, she felt around the jamb and found a lip of wood she could pull on.
The door opened.
Gray dim light seeped into the tunnel. Annja’s eyes blinked a few times and then adjusted to the light, in spite of how little there was.
She stepped through the doorway.
It was a root cellar by the look of things. Old shelves contained bundles of drying herbs long since petrified and reduced to dust. Whoever owned the cellar hadn’t used it for its original purpose in some time.
The furniture looked old, but used. Two heavy chairs sat by a table made from old planks of wood.
The air smelled of musty dirt and decay, and something else.
Blood.
Annja moved beyond the table, steeling herself for another creature.
Instead, she saw a body lying in a crumpled heap on the floor. Annja knelt and recognized Gregor’s jacket. She nudged him. He moaned.
Her voice was a harsh whisper. “Gregor!”
He shifted slightly, his eyes barely able to open from the crusty blood that caked them. “Annja?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“How did you find me?”
“I found the tunnel the creature took you down. It took me a while to find it, but I did.”
Gregor’s lips were caked with blood, as well. “Lucky for me.”
“What happened to you?”
He tried to smile. “I fought it.”
“Khosadam?”
He nodded and the motion made him groan again.
“Yes. It toyed with me until it got tired and then left.”
Annja looked him over. “Are you all right?”
“I was knocked unconscious.”
“But otherwise?”
Gregor shifted and gritted his teeth. “Nothing feels broken, but the pain is immense.”
“You’ve probably got plenty of bruises.”
“No doubt.”
Annja grinned. “Why did you fight it?”
“I don’t believe in surrendering.” He looked around as Annja helped him sit upright. “Did you kill it?” he asked.
“No.”
“Why not? Where is it?”
“Gone. Back down the tunnel.”
Gregor’s face darkened. “You’re sure?”
“It walked right past me.”
“And didn’t see you?”
“I guess not.”
Gregor nodded. “You’re a lucky woman, Annja Creed. I doubt many others would have been able to save themselves.”
Annja looked around. “Maybe. We’ll see how lucky I am once we get you out of here. Do you have any idea how to get out?”
“When the thing brought me here, it proceeded to beat me up fairly quickly. But I thought I saw another door against the far wall over there by the shelves.”
Annja nodded and went to the wall. Whorls of dust spun into the air as she walked past them, causing her to stifle a sneeze.
“Stay quiet,” Gregor said. “That thing could come back at any time and kill us both.”
Annja shook her head. “I won’t let that happen.”
“You have no gun.”
“You only left me the flashlight,” she complained.
He grinned. “I was a bit preoccupied.”
“I guess so.” Annja turned back to the wall. She ran her hands over it until she got close to the shelves. “I think there’s something here where the shelves connect with the wall.”
“It’s fake?” Gregor asked.
Annja nudged the shelves and saw a bit of space appear. “Yes. The shelves are built to conceal a door,” she said.
Gregor got to his knees and then stood gingerly. “In that case, I suggest we leave.”
Annja pulled on the shelves a bit more. “It’s heavy.”
Gregor appeared by her side and offered one of his hands. “I may not be much help.”
Together they pulled and the doorway slowly opened before them. The dim light from the root cellar illuminated just a bit ahead of them, but there looked to be a smaller tunnel that led to a set of stairs at the far end.
Gregor looked at Annja. “That would appear to be our way out of here. I suggest we take it.”
Annja smiled. “You want to lead—”
Gregor shushed her.
Annja stopped. “What?”
“Listen!”
From the far end of the root cellar, where Annja had entered from the tunnel, they heard a rising moan that filled the darkness and bled into the cellar. Annja looked at Gregor.
He nodded. “It’s coming back. Probably to finish me off.”
Annja ran back to the opening and peered back down the tunnel, listening.
She looked back at Gregor. “It’s coming.”
Another roar sounded.
Gregor’s eyes widened. “It knows you’re here.”
“How?”
“Smell? Who knows? We have to get out of here,” he said.
Annja closed the door to the tunnel and shoved the heavy table in front of it. Then she piled the chairs on top of the table.
From the other side of the door, she could hear the creature coming faster.
“Maybe that will slow it down,” she said, not reall
y believing it.
The creature roared again and crashed into the door. The frame shuddered and budged but seemed to hold.
“Annja!”
She hurried over to Gregor and they slid through the door into the side tunnel. The stairs were about a hundred feet away.
“Come on!” Annja got her arm around Gregor and they limped toward the stairs. Behind them, there was another crash and then silence.
“You think it got through?” Anna asked.
Gregor shook his head. “I don’t know. We’ve got to get the hell out of here now.”
They kept moving. And then Annja heard another crash.
But it wasn’t behind them. It was in front of them.
Gregor stopped. “Annja.”
To Annja’s eyes, it looked as if part of the tunnel swung open about fifty feet in front of them. And then something moved out into the tunnel.
The creature.
“There was another way out!” Annja said.
Gregor grabbed her. “Now what?”
She made the decision in an instant. “Back to the root cellar. It’s our only hope. We can’t fight it in the tunnel.”
They ran back to the cellar, ducking through the doorway. Annja shoved it closed just as Gregor cleared it. “Help me!” she said.
He leaned on it, while Annja tried to see if there was anything else she could use to seal it shut.
But there was nothing.
“I can’t do this,” Gregor said. “I’m spent.”
“Get behind me,” Annja said.
“What?”
“When it comes in,” she said, “stay behind me. Do you understand?”
“Why? You can’t handle that thing alone.”
“Just do what I say. Stay back there and don’t do anything unless I say so.”
“You’re crazy.”
She eyed him. “We’ve got another choice?”
He shook his head.
The creature crashed against the secret door, rattling the shelves. A bit of space appeared between the wall and the shelves.
“It’s coming,” Gregor said.
Annja closed her eyes. The sword hung in front of her. She reached her hands out for the hilt of the sword.
She heard another crash in the root cellar, felt a breeze on her face. She opened her eyes.
The shelves exploded as Khosadam entered the root cellar.
20
The creature stood before her, and Annja’s heart pounded against the inside of her chest like a sledgehammer. The thing stood over six feet tall, its head stooped to avoid the low roof of the root cellar. Annja could see the long cords of muscle snaking their way through its body like suspension cables. Worn leather leggings and a tunic scarcely covered its body, and Annja wondered how it could survive the cold.
On its face, however, was the most startling thing of all—a metallic half mask muzzled the creature’s jaw.
It really was Khosadam.
If Annja couldn’t see the dim outline of breasts beneath the tunic, she might have suspected the creature was a male, it appeared so utterly unfeminine. But she could tell that it might have once appeared more womanly.
Any trace of that was gone.
Khosadam roared and Annja felt the hot breath of fetid air hit her face. It smelled as if the creature had been dining on fermenting garbage.
It regarded Annja for a moment, almost curious that its roar hadn’t caused the intruder to move.
Behind her, Annja could feel anxiety bleeding off Gregor. “Are you sure this is such a good idea?”
She nodded. Khosadam weaved from side to side, like a slow metronome marking its time in hoary breaths. Annja stayed where she was and didn’t move at all. If she did, she knew the creature might attack.
But then again, she suspected the creature would attack her soon enough anyway.
She closed her eyes. The sword hung there.
Khosadam roared.
Annja grabbed the sword and opened her eyes.
She barely had time to duck as a wicked-looking claw slashed through the air where her head had been a split second before. She felt the rush of air tousle her hair as the claw slashed empty space.
Annja stood and held the sword in front of her. Now she felt much better about taking the creature on. The blade gave off a dull bit of light, and Khosadam suddenly backed up when it saw the sword.
Behind her, Gregor gasped. “What on earth—?”
“I’ll explain later,” Annja said.
The creature’s eyes narrowed as it regarded the sword. The appearance of the substantial blade seemed to give it a moment’s pause. Annja nodded. That’s right, she thought, this changes the game. Maybe you don’t want to play now. Maybe you just want to run away and hide. And that’ll be just fine.
Instead, Khosadam squatted lower and raised its claws in front of it. Annja could see the curved, dark black nails that looked as sharp as her own blade. Khosadam clicked them together and Annja realized that the fight was on.
When it moved, Annja could hardly believe it. Khosadam came at her fast, its claws swiping at the air in front of it, trying to back Annja up against the wall.
Annja deflected the first two swipes with her blade, hoping she’d be able to cut the creature’s hands off. But the sword only made contact with the nails, and most surprising, the nails didn’t break under the steel assault.
“Annja!”
She ducked just as another swipe cut through the air. She’d been caught musing when she should have been concentrating on killing Khosadam. While she didn’t want to kill it, Annja was hard-pressed to believe that there was any other way out of this.
Khosadam clearly meant to kill her.
Annja slashed out with her sword. Khosadam ducked away as the blade cut through the air. Then it immediately slashed back at Annja.
Annja pivoted as the claw came down, trying her best to retract the blade and get it back in front of her where it could offer the most protection.
Khosadam retreated again.
It’s very smart, Annja thought. And clearly, it’s used to fighting against skilled opponents.
How would she be able to defeat it?
Khosadam kicked at Annja’s midsection, catching her right in the solar plexus. Annja toppled back, trying to gulp down air as her diaphragm spasmed. She rolled over and came back up with the sword in front of her just as Khosadam cut down at her again. The claws clanged off the sword blade.
Annja frowned. Did the creature have metallic claws? Were they implants or some sort of supernatural wickedness?
She came back up and immediately stabbed straight in at Khosadam’s chest, intent on piercing the tunic and the heart she assumed lay beating beneath it.
But Khosadam jerked itself out of the path of the blade and, as Annja came in, flicked its claw across Annja’s cheek.
Annja cried out as the razor-sharp blades sliced through her skin. She felt the rush of blood down her face and the sting of the cuts.
I’ll need a rabies shot for sure, she thought as she jumped back and away. Those things are definitely not natural.
Khosadam came closer, as if seeing the blood had energized it. Annja could almost feel the glee in the creature as it sniffed the air and let out another roar.
This time, when it cut in, Annja swept the sword blade up at an angle. She felt the blade make contact and then cleave into Khosadam’s left arm. There was a spurt of blood as the sword met flesh and bone.
Khosadam screeched and Annja almost dropped her sword to cover her ears, the sound was so wrenching. But she kept herself from doing so and steeled herself for the counterattack.
Instead, Khosadam reared back and held its wounded arm. Blood continued to jet from the wound. The creature’s breathing seemed harsher now. And the look in its eyes was death.
With its free hand, the creature tore off the muzzle and Annja saw the gaping maw lined with pointed teeth. But they weren’t white. They gleamed in the dim light. Their metallic
points clicked as Khosadam brought the upper and lower rows together in a tight chomp.
What is this thing? Annja wondered. For sure, it’s not supernatural if I was able to hurt it like that. But the metal claws and teeth—it’s like a machine.
Annja drew the sword up and into a different stance. Khosadam roared and leaped right at Annja. Its feet landed first, shoving the flat of the blade into Annja’s chest. Annja fell back, crashing into the table and knocking over the chairs she’d stacked on top of it.
Khosadam came closer. Annja tried to roll but as she did, the creature stomped down on the sword, trapping it underneath Annja’s hand. Annja let go of the blade and completed her roll.
Khosadam leaped on top of her again.
Annja stared up into the metal jaws of the beast. The wounded arm leaked blood all over her, and Annja felt a rush of bile in her throat as she struggled to keep from retching from the horrible stench of Khosadam’s breath.
The weight of the creature seemed impossible to hold at bay. Annja had its arms pushed back at the shoulders, but she could feel the thing leaning in with even more weight. Worst of all, the head and those metal teeth clicked and clacked ever closer to Annja’s face.
Annja brought her legs up and in, trying to get her knees to her chest. She finally did so and then kicked back, launching Khosadam back and off her. It stumbled back, crashing into the wall of the cellar.
Annja made a move, but Khosadam blocked her path. Annja dodged right and Khosadam moved with her, always keeping the good claw out in front.
Khosadam slashed at Annja. She jumped back and away and then came in as Khosadam retracted its claw. Annja was on the outside of Khosadam’s right arm, trying desperately to gain leverage by what she hoped was an elbow joint.
Khosadam’s head spun and took a bite at her head.
“No!” Annja shouted. She jerked her head back and as she did, she lost the leverage she had gained. Khosadam slashed at her and the claws tore into Annja’s jacket, shredding the material, but missing Annja’s flesh by a mere inch or so.
Annja punched at Khosadam’s head and caught the side of its jaw. Instantly her hand exploded in pain. It was like punching an I-beam. Khosadam’s entire jaw seemed forged out of steel.
Annja let her hand go limp by her side. She wouldn’t be able to use it again for much.