by Casey Knight
I was so freaked out I staggered into Corbin. He’d stopped suddenly and seemed to be looking for something. He reached for my hand and pulled me closer to him. We moved down the tunnel back-to-back. Then the unmistakable odor of death covered us like a shroud. My stomach emptied its contents and I struggled to breathe. We weren’t alone. What in the name of God was it? All my senses were on high alert. My bracelet clamped down tight and shone with a fiery white light. A gigantic shadow fell across us and Corbin threw me to the ground. He fell on top of me shielding me with his body. In the next instant, the silence was shattered by the keening of a banshee.
I shoved Corbin off of me and craned my neck to see what had let out such a mournful wail. I whispered a command for my staff to illuminate the area. It was risky because it would highlight us as well. It was a chance I had to take. The light shimmered, showing the spectral figure of a woman and drops of blood dripped from her body. She wailed anew sending shivers down my spine. Then she turned and walked away from us. I looked at her receding back and then to Corbin. He stared in rapt silence. The apparition left a dark trail of bloody gore in her wake. Following her would likely be suicide, but I didn’t see any other choice. These occurrences are never random. She came to us for a reason. If she wanted us dead she could have killed us or at least tried. These kinds of fiends are seldom subtle, which means it had something to show us.
“Have you ever seen anything like that?” I asked.
“No. It is from the spirit realm. It has no blood, no life force.”
“How can you…right. Well, we may as well see what it wants.”
“Lauren, let me go first and before you interrupt, let me finish. I can change forms. I’ll see what we are in for and come back for you. You know I’m right, so don’t be stubborn.”
Then he changed into a bat and flew off into the darkness. I’m sure my mouth flew open, but thankfully there were no witnesses. Unwilling to wait, I sent out my senses to probe the darkness. It seemed like I was alone, nothing. That is when my senses slammed into a wall of bone chilling cold. I recoiled reflexively. I wasn’t fast enough. Letting out a silent scream, I shut down my senses, recoiling in horror. Moaning softly, I fell to the ground and pulled myself into a fetal position. It couldn’t be Traygen. He was not dead. But, how else could I explain the image of his death. Traygen you can’t be dead. I didn’t hear Corbin return but, he shook my shoulder softly.
“Lauren, what is it? Are you all right?”
“I saw Traygen’s death. It can’t be possible.”
“Your right it isn’t. That thing we were following is an animadversion. It is a spirit that reflects back our worst fears. Therefore, you must block all your subconscious fears. It merely reflects back to you your worst fears.”
“How? Who sent it?”
“These things are usually fae. But, any powerful being can summon one, which means we need to get going. It appears something or one knows we are here.”
Corbin hauled me to my feet and I staggered along blindly behind him. He could see in the dark, not me. I must not have been moving fast enough because he stopped, turned, and threw me over his shoulder. Then things really sped up. When we got out of this, I was going to give him a piece of my mind and a little piece was all I could spare. Who in the world did he think he was anyway? Tarzan?
I was working myself up into a righteous anger when he stopped abruptly. A sharp breeze struck my face and it wasn’t from the supersonic pace Corbin had set. He’d stopped. I opened my eyes and we were standing in a large cavern. There was light coming from somewhere across the room. The sound of roaring water prevented any conversation. Then we were on the move again. Corbin shifted me around to cradle me in his arms. What in the hell? The next thing I knew, we were sailing through the air. We were falling. Before, I could comprehend what was happening, we plunged feet first in to ice cold water. The cold water sucked the air from my lungs. I gulped in great mouthfuls of water while I tumbled like a sock in a drier.
I bobbed momentarily to the surface. Spitting and coughing I tried to gulp air, before I got pulled under again. I had been wrenched from Corbin’s grasp when we hit the water. It was lucky for him. When I got my hands on him he’d wish he’d drowned. I needed to get myself out of this mess, before I plotted my revenge. I relaxed and let the water carry me. Splash Mountain had nothing on this raging river.
Pointing my feet so I was moving with the current, I spun jostling and bumping my way further downstream. I waited. Waited for the current to slow and spit me out and eventually it did. I pulled myself over to the embankment and hauled my butt out. I sprawled down next to the water to take inventory. I apparently still had all my limbs. Once my head stopped spinning I sat up and looked around. Where was Corbin? I didn’t see any sign of him. Before I could ponder it further the baying of hounds interrupted my thoughts. I couldn’t see them, but something told me this wasn’t good. What supernatural hell was coming my way now? This was after all the enchanted home of the Red Court. If I had been a witch I could have called up my broom and sped off. Unfortunately, I’m only figuratively one from time to time. Where is a dragon when you needed one? I wish I could just blast their asses. Unfortunately, my magic would act like a GPS monitor and lead them right to me. My guns, grenades and other toys wouldn’t work against the fae. I was beginning to think I was S.O.L.
“Going my way?”
I yelped at the large gray wolf standing beside me.
“Come on Lauren, we need to get out of her before those Hellhounds get here.”
“Corbin?”
“Who else? Now jump on before we are kibble.”
I threw myself up on the back of the large gray wolf. Yes, threw myself. Corbin was now the size of a pony. I clung to his back and the chase was on. This day had brought one exciting, supernatural nightmare after another, a kaleidoscope of horror story creatures all on steroids. What I wanted to know was why the fae would be involved and what they wanted with me. I mean I have admittedly stepped on a few toes in my day. Honestly even I rarely provoke such hostility and enmity. What I knew for certain was that the Red Court knew we were here and they were pulling out all the stops to make sure we didn’t get away. I still didn’t see what the fae stood to gain by helping the Red Court. My guess is that the vampires had something the fae wanted. It must be very valuable for the fae to risk my considerable wrath.
While I was lost in thought Corbin put some distance between us and the Hellhounds. I only had one prior encounter with them and I didn’t want another. Hellhounds were the size of a Great Dane on steroids. They could rip a human apart with their jaws. The thought made me shudder. As usual, I obviously made someone very unhappy, nothing new there.
I could feel Corbin start to slow. I hadn’t been paying any attention to our surroundings. We were moving too fast, a fact my queasy stomach could verify. I slid off Corbin’s back and onto all fours. It took me a minute to clear my head. Corbin morphed back into a vampire. While as gingerly as I could, I rolled over and sat.
“Do you have any idea where we are?”
“My guess is we’re in the mountains north of Dreuss. It is hard to tell at night, but I’m guessing we are a hundred miles or so from our destination.”
“How long do you think it will take us?”
“Lauren, I don’t know for sure. They know we’re coming. We will have to be very careful. In fact I think we should go further north and come in from the opposite direction. Wait. Let me finish. It will take longer, but they won’t expect us from the east.”
I didn’t respond right away. I hated to waste another minute but, Corbin was right. We couldn’t help Traygen if we were caught and killed.
“You’re right. What do you suggest?”
“We need to hide at night and try to move during the day. We will have to watch for spies, but at least the vampires won’t be out.”
“What about you? The only vampires that I know who can be out during the day are Daywalkers.”
/> “Not true or at least not totally. I can be out if I’m covered.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“If you carry me, in a…”
“Very funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be funny, because if I change into a bat you could carry me in a pack or pocket.”
I just stared at Corbin. I could never tell when he was being serious or attempting to be humorous. Before I could decide he spoke again.
“Remember the vampires aren’t the only ones looking for us. The fae are not limited by light or darkness. Whoever is after us is powerful. I’d say Mab or one of her royal lines.”
“I can’t argue that point. It takes a lot of magic to summon the Hellhounds. Not to mention that they will track us until they find us or someone else does. What are you doing?”
“I should think that would be obvious. We still have several hours of daylight and we need to get moving. We’ll continue following the setting sun and then we’ll find cover.”
Corbin changed into a bat and landed lightly on my arm. I jumped despite myself. He fluttered his wings impatiently until I put him in my pack. Well at least he was quiet. I trudged on at a steady pace. The mountains were rocky and sparsely covered. There was little vegetation; so, I stayed off the main track and followed the ridgeline. When I started stumbling in the dark, I knew it was time to find shelter. I opened my pack and set Corbin free. He fluttered up and away and was gone for several minutes. When he returned he had changed back into human form, more or less.
“There is a small grotto worn into the rock about a mile from here. It looks like the spring rains gouged it out of the rock along the river bank. I think it will provide the necessary protection. Shall we?”
I didn’t have the energy to argue. I fell in behind Corbin and we walked in silence to the area he described. He was right as usual. The space was large enough for us to snuggle into yet, the opening was small enough to defend. We didn’t dare light a fire for fear of attracting our pursuers. I was grateful for the close quarters. Although, Corbin didn’t emit any heat, he did block the cold.
A feathery light brush on my cheek startled me and I banged my head in the confined quarters. I squinted against the glare of the early morning sun. My favorite vampire bat impatiently paced on my shoulder. It seemed like Corbin’s leathery little wings had brushed my cheek until I woke with a ready curse on my lips. I think he was enjoying his baby bat persona. Unfortunately for him, I have a poor sense of humor and a long memory.
“All right all ready. I swear when we get to Dreuss I’ll get even. Smile now if you dare, but I’ll have the last laugh my little Chiropteran friend.”
Stuffing Corbin into my pack, I kept heading in the same westerly direction as yesterday. I walked for most of the morning without seeing or hearing a thing. My feet ached and my stomach grumbled until I stopped for lunch. We were higher up in the mountains now. There was even less vegetation. The only cover coming from the boulder and scree strewn mountainside. My muscles ached and I was thirsty. I rationed my water because I was unsure when I’d find more. I’d kill for some real food. Unfortunately, I only had a lump of hard tack. It was better than nothing and I mustered some enthusiasm as I chewed. My hunger and thirst momentarily sated I stretched out and let the sun’s warmth bathe me.
The wind gusted from time to time making a strange whirring noise as it passed through the rocks. The sun on my face and my full stomach almost lulled me to sleep when Corbin started thrashing in my pack. What in the world? I sat up and started to open the pack when my senses shifted to high alert. Instinctively I threw myself to the ground. I whispered the spell that activated my bracelet. Shifting my staff to my right hand I listened. I groped for the pack and opened it to free Corbin. He could decide for himself how to act. I’d give him a fighting chance. We definitely weren’t alone. Someone or something was tracking us. Listening as intently as I could, I strained to hear. It was sometime after mid-day, but I couldn’t be sure. The day was overcast and the cloud cover had gotten lower the higher I climbed. Whatever it was it was getting close. I could feel the ground tremble beneath me. That must have been enough to make Corbin risk exposure. He sped from my pack and off into the air.
I hoped like heck he was checking on our pursuers. Unfortunately, I didn’t know if he could or would survive in this light. I needed to find a better place to fight. This area was too open. I inched back and upwards. If I could get far enough ahead maybe I could trap whatever followed in an avalanche. It was worth a try. Once I was sure I’d moved far enough away to risk making a run for it, I did. I ran as fast as I could up the trail. There was no point in hiding my tracks. Whatever was following already knew I was in the area. The boulders got more plentiful the higher I went. There were signs of recent slide activity, twisted exposed roots, and flattened shrubs. Maybe there were still some boulders that were ready to rock and roll. I scanned the area for anything I could get to roll. Yes. There was a large talus field just above where I stood. I scrambled up and over it. On the far side there were two or three Volkswagen sized boulders. I moved over behind the furthest one. Listening as intently as I could, I waited. Where was Corbin? I sure hoped he was still alive. I needn’t have worried. A cold nose poked my neck. I gasped, rolled over and raised my bracelet. There stood a large gray wolf.
“Damn you, Corbin. You scared the bejesus out of me.”
I swear that wolf looked like it was laughing. Before I could pummel him, he nudged my attention back down the trail. At last, my trackers had shown themselves. There were three fairies from the Winter Court tracking me. At least now I knew for sure that Mab and her minions were involved. She’d have ‘some splainin to do’ when I got my hands on her.
Corbin nudged me and I raised my bracelet. I needed to let them get a little closer before I brought the boulders down on them. Patience was not one of my strong points. My palms were getting sweaty and I had to fight back the urge to over react. Yes, I do occasionally use restraint. Besides I knew I couldn’t kill them this way, only slow them down. When I was relatively sure I could put a ‘hitch in their get along’ I fired. They froze as soon as they felt the energy from my bracelet. They should have run and they might have had a chance to evade the river of rocks. Instead they were propelled by the wall of rock. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t take them long to dig their way out.
Corbin and I turned and raced further up the mountain. We had at least two more hours of daylight. I followed Corbin to the top of the mountain and then we turned and headed southeast. My heart beat a little faster with the realization that we must be getting closer to Dreuss. My mind kept straying to random thoughts of Traygen. Would I finally find him? Was I too late? I couldn’t let my mind go there.
Chapter Fifteen
When it got too dark to see, Corbin started looking for a place for us to hide. We’d moved down out of the mountains into tree covered hills. This made the going easier and gave us more places to hide. I hadn’t spoken with Corbin yet, but my guess is that we were within a day’s walk more or less from Dreuss. Corbin walked out of the trees in front of me. He’d obviously taken the opportunity to change forms.
“Lauren, I think I’ve found a grove of trees that will provide adequate protection. There is a stream running just north of the woods. You will have sufficient water. I’ll let you set up your gear. I’m going to fly back and see if or how closely we’re still being followed. I won’t be long.”
I nodded and he turned and walked off into the woods. It seemed funny to think he was embarrassed to change in front of me. I’d certainly seen worse. I guessed he was trying hard to put me at ease. Whatever, I turned my thoughts back to finding a defendable space. I moved through the trees until I found what I’d been looking for.
The stream eroded a deep path through the rocks. If we camped with our backs to the drop off we would be safe from encroachment below us. The area was populated by large, ancient cedars. Their fragrance filled the tiny space. I moved off further i
nto the woods until I found some low hanging branches. It took me several trips but, I brought the large braches down and wove them into the bottom of the tree.
I made us a lean-to of sorts that would be hard to detect in the dark. Just to be on the safe side, I decorated several nearby trees in the same manner. Then I did my best to erase my presence. I moved further into the forest and crossed and recrossed the stream in several places. Satisfied I’d made us as invisible as possible I moved back to the clearing. I settled in to wait for Corbin’s return. While I waited I pulled out the last of my food stores. All I had left was dried fruit and some jerky. At this rate I was going to look stunning in my wedding dress. I closed my eyes and pictured my dress. It would be an Anne Barge. I could see it in a buttery cream, strapless, with layers…
A noise that didn’t belong snapped me from my reverie. That wasn’t any animal noise I recognized. Mumbling the spell to activate my bracelet I braced myself. My ears strained to hear. Nothing. Yet, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Something or someone was out there. I decided to try and move up into the branches of the tree. Swinging my legs up and over the nearest branch I climbed. The tree was immense and it didn’t make a sound as I moved. The branches were bigger than my thighs. That’s when I heard it again. Whatever it was it was closer. My guess was somewhere behind me. It appeared that my theory about nothing climbing up from the stream was wrong.
Now what? I guess I’d have to wait and see what came for me. I couldn’t out run what I couldn’t see. Or could I? These cedars were so close together I might be able to move between them. The branch nearest me would certainly hold my weight. It could also backfire. I might literally get caught out on a limb. Before I could decide a noise from the opposite side of the tree sent a shiver down my spine. An unwelcome baying announced the Hellhounds were still pursuing us. Now would be a good time for Corbin to return. Until then, I’d keep moving in the branches overhead. Scrambling as quietly as I could, I moved to the next tree without giving myself away. Feeling empowered I made my way to another tree. I should have stopped while I was ahead. A twig snapped directly below me. I could hear a snuffling sound. Whatever was down there had sensed my presence. That is when I felt the tree shake. Oh boy, whatever was down there was coming up.