by Jason Wilcox
With a splat, Tagen felt mud hit his legs as Mauldrin tripped in the darkness. “You okay?”
“I’m fine!” Mauldrin gripped Tagen tighter and pulled himself up. The splattering mud made the odor worsen. “Tell me what we need to do to help Matt.”
“I would suggest killing him,” Laht spoke up to Tagen’s surprise. He wanted to say it himself, but didn’t. There wasn’t much else to say, so Tagen decided to stay out.
“WHAT!” Mauldrin’s voice echoed through the mine.
“Quiet so they don’t hear us.”
“He’s got dark matter in him,” Laht argued. “Look at him, he’s getting worse, and we don’t know what he’s becoming.” Matt’s breathing was labored and raspy and black blisters were developing on his skin.
“Keep moving.” Mauldrin was pushing Tagen from behind. “How much farther?”
“I’m questioning why I listened to you Tagen,” Laht spoke cautiously. “He doesn’t come across as a strong master to me.”
“Master? I’m not anyone’s master,” as Mauldrin spoke, the ground began to dry up as the sludge ended. He could see where the mine joined a small cave.
“Mauldrin,” Tagen began, wanting to change the topic. He sped up, knowing they were getting closer. “I see the cave. We can’t be far, right Laht?”
“I warned you,” Laht hissed, “If I see that you’re wrong in following this guy, I’m leaving.”
“He’s cranky because the guy in your arms used to be one of his friends.” Tagen worried there was going to be a fight. “Mauldrin is what I said he is.”
“I’m not cranky. My name is Caden. If you don’t want to journey with us, leave.”
With a thud, Laht dropped Matt. “This was a mistake. I should’ve stayed with Hermue.” He put his hands up and took a step back. Matt was convulsing on the ground. “If you let me go, I’ll let you go. I’ll pretend you captured me and I escaped, but you have to promise to go far away.”
Mauldrin tried to speak, but Tagen cut him off, “Deal. If we get caught I’ll support your story.” Tagen let out a deep breath. Maybe Laht was right. Mauldrin didn’t seem to be amounting to much. He shook his head, trying to shake off the doubting thoughts. He had seen Mauldrin fight, and he had been incredible.
Taking two more steps backwards, Laht continued to keep his hands up and move slowly. Mauldrin was restless, pulling at Tagen’s arm. Then something happened that Tagen didn’t expect. Matt jumped up from the ground. His eyes blazed red, and he dove on Laht, viciously attacking him. Screams rang out in the tunnel.
“What’s going on?” Mauldrin called out, but Tagen was in shock. Matt made quick work of Laht, ripping him apart.
With a screech, Matt, on all four limbs, turned and looked at them. Tagen wasn’t sure if he was going to attack or if he was rational enough to be loyal to Mauldrin. His body was covered in the black oily substance which was leaking out of him. His eyes blazed red, and his muscles increased in size with every second that went by. Knowing he could attack at any moment, Tagen felt his heart racing and his breathing quicken. It had only taken a moment to tear Laht apart. If he hadn’t had Mauldrin to protect, he would’ve bolted, but not now.
“TAGEN!” Mauldrin barked. Matt shifted and dove into the air, claws outstretched, ready to kill. Tagen threw Mauldrin backwards and dodged Matt’s attack, his claws inches from slashing Tagen’s face.
“Have we been found?” Mauldrin asked as he held to the rock wall.
“Matt’s attacking us,” he yelled as Matt charged again. His muscles grew even larger and his face more distorted. His nose, ears, and lips melted away. With an unexpected force, Matt knocked Tagen to the ground landing on top of him. Claws ripped into Tagen’s arms and chest, stronger than a demon’s strength.
Getting in Tagen’s face, Matt screamed, spit splattering everywhere. The scream was cut off as Mauldrin knocked him off Tagen. It was a lucky hit in the darkness. A scream rang out as Matt dove for Mauldrin, muscles flaring and red eyes ablaze.
“Move,” Tagen yelled, “get out of here. I can’t keep protecting you and fight him.” Knowing he had to keep moving, Tagen jumped to his feet and hit Matt from the side, trying to stop him from getting to Mauldrin. Matt’s skin was sludgy, like a sponge filled with water. Black sticky liquid smeared across Tagen as he put his claws into Matt’s throat. Expecting flesh, Tagen was surprised to find his claws digging into what felt like tar.
Like a dog shaking off water, Matt threw Tagen into the rock wall, and Tagen went into shadow form as Matt turned and screamed. His skin seemed to be alive, moving and black, with no human skin left. His eyelids had receded, revealing blazing red eyes.
Putting one foot back, Tagen prepared as Matt attacked with his hands. Moving quickly he pushed upward, slamming claws into Matt’s chest. Screaming, Tagen pushed hard. Power filled him as he pulled at the soul intertwined with dark matter. Like one shelf collapsing into another, Tagen felt something break in the monster.
In desperation or possibly pain, Matt grabbed Tagen’s shoulders and squeezed. A bright glow began to develop where Tagen’s claws were dug in. Jumping, he slammed his feet into Matt’s chest and pulled harder. Like a sponge being squeezed, the dark matter flowed onto the ground. His muscles slimmed and his grip weakened on Tagen’s shoulders.
With all the power Tagen had, he pulled and something crunched in Matt’s chest and more dark matter ran off. Matt screamed and let go of Tagen. With a blast, dark matter spattered everywhere and Tagen was knocked back against the ground. A small light stayed behind at Tagen’s fingertips. His whole body felt ignited with a warmth he had never felt before.
Thank you. A voice came into Tagen’s mind. Then the light disappeared. The warmth died down and Tagen didn’t move. His hands were still outstretched, while he lay flat on his back. Through the years, he always used his power to destroy souls, never to save one.
Pain drove across the skin that covered his left shoulder and his vision went blurry, then black.
Tagen was in a room that he didn’t recognize. Azgiel was also in the room, pacing in front of him. Two guards stood by the door. He became aware that he was shackled. Looking down, he could see he wasn’t in his dark soul body. He was in a human one.
“I trusted you,” Azgiel spoke as he paced. “I confided in you about things that I only confided with a few others, things that only Triaad would know of.”
One of the guards coughed and Azgiel gave him a stern look.
“There was so much you could’ve done and so many things I needed you for.” His pacing increased as he kept speaking. “I trusted you.” He took a deep breath. “You were my friend.”
Finally, Azgiel stopped in front of him. He stared at the ground for a moment in silence. Letting out a deep breath and rubbing his hands together, he spoke, “I’m washing my hands of you. Triaad can take care of your execution. Put the traitor in a cell for now, and tell Triaad to take care of it.”
Without another word, Azgiel left and the guards came in for Tagen. As they took hold of him, he could see his human arms, but the vision faded fast.
The horrible smell of sulfur filled Tagen’s nose once again. He was confused by what he had just seen, and blinked a couple of times to bring himself back to reality. Silence filled the mine as he stood up and looked over to where he had seen Mauldrin last, but there was no one there. He must’ve left like I asked. He smiled, feeling good that Mauldrin took his advice. Time to go find him.
CHAPTER 10
The wind and sand howled around Bridget as she woke. Raestal’s wings were shaking which was what brought her out of her sleep. The darkness of the night still encased them.
“How long was I asleep?” she asked, her voice a little rough. Her body throbbed and she felt exhausted. The blast that she somehow created back in the city completely wiped her out.
“Maybe a couple of hours,” Raestal’s deep voice helped shake the sleepiness from her and allowed her to focus on her surroundings.
&n
bsp; “You’re shaking.” Reaching up with her hand, she ran her fingers down his large black wings. Unlike their regular rough skin, she found the skin on the wing to be soft and velvety.
“I’m fine.” His wing tightened up slightly as she kept running her fingers down it. “But we should probably get a move on before morning, in case they decide to come after us.”
Even though she didn’t want to leave her shelter, she knew the demon was right. “Yes, you’re right.” She looked up at him with a smile. Her faint glow lit his rough dark face. “Thank you for letting me rest a little.”
Giving a slight smile, the demon stood, and the sand once again blasted against Bridget’s skin. He lowered a hand and helped her up, pulling her in closer to find shelter behind him. Her white gown flapped in the strong wind.
They walked quickly at times, the demon pulled Bridget along to keep her moving. The desert and its horrible storm felt as if it were never going to end as time passed by. Without a way to tell time, she figured they had been walking for almost an hour, heading even farther away from the city.
Finally, Bridget spoke up beginning to feel hopeless, “Do you know how far the desert extends?”
“Last time I was on this planet, no desert existed around the city,” he shifted his direction slightly as he spoke. “But have faith, we have to find something soon.”
Even though Bridget didn’t feel the same hope, she wasn’t going to speak up and worry the demon. Instead, she got a little closer to Raestal. With each step, she felt more discouragement. Seeing nothing but unbridled desert, she was about to tell Raestal they needed to give up for the night when something caught her eye. There was a glow in the distance.
“What is that?” Bridget asked as she pointed in its direction, not sure if she was really seeing it. Her arm and hand shook from fatigue and the words were a struggle.
“I’ve been watching it for a while,” Raestal spoke over the blowing sand. “It’s not moving, so I’m not sure what it is, but I think we best go around it. We don’t need more problems.”
Scrunching her nose, she spoke, “What if its shelter from this terrible storm?”
Being so close, Bridget could feel Raestal’s chest breathe out a big sigh. “There are things on this planet that will kill you in a moment. This planet is not like Myree, there are far more dangerous things here.”
“Wait.” Bridget pushed against Raestal to get him to stop. “What if that’s our only hope of surviving? What if we pass this light and aren’t able to find another thing?”
“Believe me…” Raestal gently pushed her to get her walking again. “We need to keep moving.”
Not wanting to be pushed around, Bridget twisted to push him back, but noticed something which stopped her in her tracks. “There’s another one over there.” She pointed to the right of them where a dimmer glow shone through the storm.
“So it is.” He still pushed her along. “We need to just keep moving.”
Pain throbbed in her feet and lower legs from the combination of walking and the constant sand blowing against her. Stopping sounded incredibly nice. “Raestal...” she started, but quickly stopped. Another light shone in the distance, dimmer than the first two. “I see another.”
“Keep moving,” his tone was becoming irritable. With a push, his large hand pressed against her back.
“Why can’t we at least get closer to one of them, just to see what it is?” Bridget placed a hand on his large muscular arm.
Not even taking a second to look down at her, he spoke gruffly, “No! You don’t understand the nature of this planet. You don’t go walking up to something or someone if you don’t know who or what it is.”
“How are we going to go around them?” she asked as she pointed forward to another one that was beginning to show up straight ahead. “They seem to be everywhere.”
“We’ll figure it out as we get closer.” The sand storm seemed to be letting up slightly as they kept moving forward. Pain from the sand hitting Bridget wasn’t hurting as much, and the wind was calmer.
Even though Bridget wanted to keep arguing, she decided to stop. She could tell she was beginning to upset Raestal, and her fears calmed a little. Where there was light, there had to be some type of shelter, and that was the direction they were heading.
They walked in silence for the next hour or so cautiously avoiding the glowing lights in the sand. Bridget was growing weary, struggling to keep putting each foot in front of the other and fighting to stay alive. She thought the storm would’ve died down a while ago.
With dry cracking lips that were covered in sand, Bridget spoke up, “I don’t think I can go any farther…” As she spoke, her leg gave out and she collapsed to the ground. Not wanting to be weak and a bother to the demon, she tried to push herself back up but found it more difficult than she expected. Pain drove through her muscles as she pushed.
“Come Bridget,” Raestal spoke as he turned and picked her up in his arms. His wings closed, blocking the majority of the sand. The muscular creature was a comfort as she put her head into his chest and allowed her eyes to close.
“Bridget,” Raestal’s voice woke her up. She couldn’t have been asleep for more than half an hour by the looks of the night that surrounded them. Finally, the sandstorm had died to a soft wind. “I think I’ve found us a place to stay for the rest of the night.”
Shifting in his arms, Bridget looked out to see an enormous cliff wall that stood in front of them. In the darkness, she could make out large caves that stretched upwards almost the height of the cliff. Strangely, the openings looked hand carved, but it was too hard to tell in the darkness.
“What is this place?” Bridget asked, her voice raspy.
“I’m not sure,” Raestal spoke, seeming a little distracted as he responded. “But I see where we’re going for the night.” With a jump forward, he moved ahead. At first, Bridget didn’t see anything, but soon a small crack in the cliff side became evident. It was as least twice as tall as they were but only a fraction of the size compared to the other cavernous openings.
“Will we be safe?” She would’ve preferred to take her chances with the lights than going into a cold dark cave.
“I can’t answer that, but I’m assuming that it’s a natural opening, so it should be safe.” He moved with great speed as he spoke, making the small amount of sand that was still blowing hurt her tender skin once again. His speed made short work of the distance and before Bridget knew it, they were at the cave’s entrance. Far to the right stood another glow by the cliff’s wall. The demon didn’t seem worried, so Bridget left it alone. She didn’t have the energy to discuss the light she saw.
Inside the cave, it was almost pitch black, but Raestal seemed to be able to see in the dark and quickly made a spot for her to lie down on a pile of sand. Her body was so fatigued that the bed actually felt amazingly comfortable. The soft sand was cool to the touch and shifted slightly as she stretched. In the distance, dripping could be heard, and even though it sounded good to get a drink, Bridget wasn’t about to find out if it was safe.
Letting out a yawn, Bridget curled up and was ready to fall asleep. A loud thud close by made her jump, bringing her to full alertness. In front of her, she could make out Raestal’s dark figure standing in her dim glow.
“Sorry to wake you,” he spoke while bending down in front of her. “This snake was headed towards you.” As he spoke, he lifted a large snake into the air. It swayed back and forth.
“Do you think there’s more in here?” She tried not to sound alarmed, but the snake in his hand was large. It was almost as long as her and easily as thick as her arms.
“If there are any, I’ll be able to spot them,” after he spoke, he walked off, going deeper into the cave. Feeling a little uneasy, Bridget put her shaky hands to the sandy ground and shifted back into her bed. Letting out a deep breath, she closed her eyes. It was harder this time to get comfortable. She felt on edge not knowing what else was in the darkness. Raestal k
ept making noise, which reverberated through the cave, straining Bridget’s nerves.
Back at her tree house in the woods, she never had to deal with snakes or other creatures, which was making her miss her new home with the Witch. There was safety back there and the creatures that were around kept her safe.
A strange noise came from close by and then a light, which she could see through her glowing eyelids. Feeling cautious, she rolled over and looked down the cave. Raestal was crouched in front of a small fire, skinning the snake with his sword. The glowing green light from his sword brought out interesting colors in the snake. Purple and red designs shimmered.
With his black eyes, he looked over at her. “I’m not keeping you awake am I?”
“No, no,” she politely responded while getting up and walking over to the warmth of the fire. “Where did this come from?”
“I gathered a bunch of old cactuses that had blown into the cave and started it myself,” he answered while pulling the skin off the snake. With his sword across his lap, he sliced inside the snake with the tip of the blade and pulled out the guts.
Feeling appalled, Bridget looked up at Raestal’s face not wanting to see what he was doing. “How did you start it?” She wasn’t sure how a demon would start a fire. She had seen Azgiel and the Witch start them before, but not a demon.
Shifting in his seat and stopping work on the snake, Raestal scrunched his eyebrows. “Um, I guess you might refer to it as magic or power.”
“I didn’t know you could do that…” She almost covered her mouth realizing she sounded ignorant, especially when she had lived amongst them for so long.
“Yes, it’s one of many things that some of us can do.” He smiled, seeming very proud of himself. With a sniff, he went back to work. He put the snake meat on his sword and began cooking it over the fire. Green markings in his sword seemed to glow brighter while they were in the blaze.
“Speaking of power,” he began. “I was impressed with what you did back at the city. How much did the Witch teach you? How much power do you have?”