by Cadman, Dean
Neala let him almost finish his third dried beef strip before finalizing her plan. “Where did you buy that beef from?” she asked, still resting her head against the tree she was tied to.
“Why, what difference does it make to you?” he asked, still chewing a large chunk of the beef.
“To me? None. I'm not the one eating it. Yesterday when you gave me a strip I didn't think it tasted or smelt quite right. I ate it anyway because I was hungry, but earlier today when I needed to stop in that field, I'm sure I paid the price for eating it. Another full day in a hot saddle bag wouldn't have made it any better to eat, I'm sure,” Neala replied smugly. As she glanced in his direction she saw him sniffing the small piece of beef in his hand, then he casually tossed it over his shoulder into the field behind them. Good! She thought, he's taken the bait. Neala would have been happy at that, but he did something else she hadn't expected. He reached over and took the waterskin, rinsed out his mouth with some of the water, then drank what remained.
He noticed Neala watching him and said, “Maybe you're right, it did smell a little ripe, now that you mention it.”
“It sure did,” Neala agreed, hugely satisfied at how well her plan had worked so far. She rested her head against the tree and closed her eyes, smiling inwardly and looking forward to seeing the fruits of her labour in a few hours' time.
Chapter Ten
Zedd watched the progress of the Vesdari through its own evil eyes. The creature had ignored every opportunity to feed on the few animals it had encountered, obeying Zedd's command to ignore all else, until after the boy was dead. It had stumbled across an ancient pile of dragon bones at one point, still lying in the spot where it had fallen from the sky during the great war, many centuries before. Zedd could see the huge amount of power still contained within the bones of the dragon through the eyes of the Vesdari. He could also sense the immense internal struggle the creature felt at having to leave the dragon remains, and pursue its intended quarry, instead of feeding on the huge amount of power right in front of it. No doubt the creature would remember the location of the dragon bones and return later to devour its power Zedd thought.
After the great war, the few remaining Vesdari that had survived were pursued by his people relentlessly, to be used as powerful pets against the forces of Afaraon, but none survived for long. It quickly became apparent that they were only able to hold a certain amount of power within themselves, before they involuntarily exploded, usually killing their potential masters along with themselves. Scholars surmised that the Vesdari required the rift to be open, so they could channel their stored magic through to the other side, to be used for what, or by what nobody knew. Their appetite to devour magic knew no bounds, and Zedd knew that even if the boy didn't contain enough magic to kill it, the dragon bones certainly would. Either way, after it attacked the boy he would no longer have to worry about the creature.
It was very disorientating to walk and monitor the creature's progress through its own eyes at the same time. Often Zedd would trip over a root, or rock protruding from the ground, making it difficult to maintain complete control of the Vesdari. He decided it would be best to stop and wait until the creature had completed its work, rather than risk losing control of it altogether. It would be easy enough to catch up with an unconscious boy, or a dead one, after the creature had found him, either way it didn't matter to Zedd. He found a large rock and settled down to watch the forthcoming confrontation unfold.
It didn't take long for the creature to pick up on the boy's trail, and once it did, it started moving forward with much greater speed towards its prey. Eventually it arrived at a riverbank and stopped dead. Unwilling, or unable to cross the water, it just paced up and down the riverbank, backwards and forwards, making no effort to cross. Zedd mentally insisted it cross the river, but he was met with complete rejection. The creature knew its prey, and thus its freedom could be found on the opposite bank, but it still resolutely refused to cross. Eventually Zedd convinced the creature to travel further downstream, he instilled an image of a river crossing into its mind, but he could still feel its resistance to crossing the water even that way.
Time seemed to drag as Zedd watched the Vesdari travel downstream looking for a natural crossing point. The river seemed to get even wider and deeper the further it travelled, never once being narrow enough to cross. This was a big problem, the further the creature travelled, the further it would need to come back to pick up the boy's trail again, and all the time the boy was getting further away. Zedd could actually feel the agitation and anger felt by the creature as its prey gained ground, and added to his own, it made him feel even worse.
Several excruciating hours passed before the creature finally managed to find a natural river crossing. Over the millennia the river had cut deep into the base of a rock formation, creating an overhang and changing the river's natural course. It looked like the old riverbed had been refilled with debris through countless flood cycles, linking it up with the rock face and forming a natural bridge over the river. Whatever had created it Zedd didn't care, the important thing was that the creature had found a crossing, and the hunt could now resume unhindered.
“Finally!” Zedd said out-loud to himself. He had remained silent ever since the creature encountered the water barrier, only complaining and cursing to himself quietly during the search for the elusive river crossing. Cole had the good sense to refrain from asking questions during this stressful period, something Zedd was glad about. Although he had gained control of the creature soon after summoning it, it seemed to constantly challenge his ability to keep control of it, especially if Zedd was trying to make it do something it was not happy doing. Now that it was back on the hunt again it seemed to relinquish control to Zedd far easier. It too was also keen to encounter the boy mage it seemed, and sooner rather than later. Its speed seemed to increase considerably, and it arrived at the opposite riverbank to resume its tracking of the boy in less than half the time it had taken to find the river crossing.
Zedd could see the remains of what looked like a fresh meal of fish discarded not far from the riverbank, but he couldn't see any evidence of a camp fire, which he thought was strange, but not important enough to slow the creature's pursuit over. Relentlessly onwards the creature tracked the boy through the thick forest, never slowing down, even when the odd forest animal inadvertently crossed its path.
Then it happened. There, in the distance he could make out the boy running between the trees through the eyes of the creature. Zedd allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction, knowing he would soon claim his prize, and possibly be on his way home to the Empire, and his family. As the Vesdari moved in silently for the kill, Zedd noticed the boy wasn't alone, there was a large man with him. He wore a sword and shield strapped to his back, and moved with the speed and grace of someone much smaller, and lighter than his frame suggested. When the Vesdari was within a few hundred paces of its target, he noticed something even more worrisome. The man's sword started to emit a strange blue light, and as the creature drew closer the glow intensified.
“We have a problem,” Zedd said.
“What kind of problem?” Cole asked, not sure if he really wanted to know or not.
“The boy isn't alone, there's another man with him,”
“I'm sure it's nothing the Vesdari can't handle, if not, us,” Cole replied confidently.
“I'm sure that would be true, if it were just a man, but this one is a Paladin of The Betrayer,” “Oh, I see,” Cole said sounding far less confident this time.
***
Lusam and Renn had been running non-stop without a break since leaving the river earlier that day. There were maybe twenty minutes of daylight left before the sun would dip beyond the horizon, and plunge the forest into darkness once again. Lusam wasn't looking forward to spending yet another night within the forest. It made his skin crawl just thinking about the creatures that may be nearby while he tried to sleep. Renn had assured him that no creature from t
he Netherworld could ever cross Aysha's light, which was produced by his blessed sword, but it still made him uncomfortable, knowing they could at least try.
Even thinking about the creatures made Lusam shiver with cold. Maybe he was just imagining it, but he was sure it just got a lot colder in the last few seconds. Renn had increased his running speed about ten minutes earlier, so Lusam guessed he was looking for a safe spot to spend the night, preferably not completely out in the open, but he still found it hard to keep pace with him this late in the day, and started to lag behind a little. Lusam was just about to call out to Renn, and ask him to slow down a little, when he noticed the soft blue glow of Renn's sword strapped to his back. He realised too late his mistake of ignoring the cold sensation earlier, just as he was struck hard from behind. It felt like a tree trunk had just hit him, but it wasn't physical pain he felt. It was an incredibly strange sensation, as if his very life force was being rapidly drained from his body.
He instinctively raised his magical shield to protect himself, but it had the complete opposite effect. Instead of the shield protecting him, whatever was attacking him seemed to feed even more voraciously on his power reserves, by draining it directly from his shield. He forced his hands under his body and turned over to face whatever creature assailed him. What he saw turned his blood cold. A creature the size of a ten or eleven year old child, with evil black eyes, and covered in shiny black scales stared menacingly down at him. He was pinned to the ground by its two large hands, each finger ending in a wicked looking claw. He tried desperately to push the creature off him, but it seemed to weigh far more than its size suggested it should.
Lusam tried to scream for help, but he no longer controlled his own body. He was certain that if he didn't manage to break physical contact with this creature very soon, it would consume all of his power, and kill him for sure. He concentrated hard on summoning enough power to blast the creature away from him. Once he was sure he could control the power, and not just end up feeding it to the creature instead, he released the blast into the creature's chest. The creature howled as it flew through the air, and impacted hard against a tree with a thud. Lusam gasped as the relentless drain on his power reserves finally ceased.
The creature was stunned for only a moment, before it picked itself up and lunged once again in Lusam's direction. He knew he had to keep the creature from making physical contact with him again, or he may not be able to cast another spell before it fully drained him. He sent another blast at the creature lifting it clean off its feet, and sent it crashing into another tree. The creature howled again, but Lusam was sure it felt no pain, and it was only howling in frustration at not being able to reach him. Lusam's power reserves were almost spent: either the creature would drain him completely, or he would end up draining himself whilst trying to defend against its attacks. Either way he would die.
The creature seemed to sense Lusam's weakness, and started to slowly circle him, ready to make its final attack. First it crouched down on its haunches, preparing to launch itself at Lusam one last time. It flew through the air towards Lusam's throat, wicked clawed hands held out in front of it, ready to tear flesh on contact. The creature moved with blinding speed, but just before it made contact with Lusam a blue flash streaked across his vision.
“Get back! Stay behind me!” Renn shouted. The creature screamed in pain as his sword struck it in the head, and sent it hurtling away. Lusam was on the brink of passing out, his vision starting to blur around the edges. Renn noticed Lusam's unresponsiveness and grabbed him by the shoulder, while still watching the creature's every move. “Stay with me me lad!” Renn said squeezing his shoulder.
“I'm okay, I think,” Lusam replied, shaking his head, trying to remove the haze still affecting his vision. The creature circled them both slowly like a predator, no longer willing to charge in blindly for another attack. The creature was obviously not used to feeling physical pain like it had when Renn's sword struck it, and now it seemed to be biding its time, looking for an opportunity to strike past their defences.
Renn knew at once that this was a Vesdari standing before them, but how was that possible? It was still not quite dark, and no Netherworld creature would ever surface until full dark, not to mention, Vesdari were by their very nature self destructive, they would consume any magic or life-force until they exploded. Something was very wrong here, but he didn't have time to think about that right now. He needed a plan, and fast, before the sun fully set and this creature attracted any others in the vicinity. Renn noticed the creature's attention split between his shield, and Lusam standing behind him. His shield was the only one of its kind known to have survived from the time of the great war, but it contained a huge amount of magic, and that magic may just be enough to kill this creature, before they ran out of daylight.
“Lusam, are you strong enough to create a force-field around both of us?” Renn asked, circling with the creature, keeping himself between it and Lusam.
“I think so, but I'm not sure how long I can hold it for,” Lusam replied.
“I hope you're right, or we will both be dead if you're not,” Renn said. As he circled with the creature, he noticed several large tree roots protruding from the ground, a few of them perfect to wrap an arm through. “Do you see those big tree roots in front of me?” he asked.
“Yes, I see them,” replied Lusam, glancing over his shoulder.
“Good. When we circle back around I want you to link your arm through one of them, leave me space to do the same, and when I tell you, erect the strongest force-field you can around us both, do you understand?” “Okay, I'll try,” Lusam replied, unsure if he had enough power left to accomplish the task. When the roots came into range again he did as Renn asked, and hooked his arm through a sturdy looking root. Renn then did something completely unexpected by Lusam, he stepped back, and allowed the creature an unrestricted line of sight to attack Lusam. It seemed to instantly lose interest in Renn, and focus completely on Lusam, who was now defenceless on the ground, holding onto a large root. Lusam's heart raced in his chest as the creature locked its eyes on him, and lunged straight at him. As the creature grew almost level with Renn, he moved with blinding speed, and skewered the creature, pinning it to the ground with his sword through its leg. The creature howled in pain as his sword glowed incredibly brightly. Renn then unceremoniously jammed his shield between his sword and the creature, creating physical contact between the two.
Renn dived towards Lusam, taking hold of a sturdy root he shouted, “NOW!” Lusam let his power flow, and surrounded them both in the strongest force-field he could muster, only moments before a huge explosion devastated everything within a hundred paces in all direction. The power of the explosion against Lusam's force-field was incredible. It only lasted a split second, but it was enough to drain him to the point of exhaustion. The last thing Lusam saw, was the smouldering remains of countless trees and plants, before he succumbed to the darkness.
***
Chapter Eleven
It was just before dawn when Neala was awoken by the sounds of someone desperately retching nearby. It took her a moment to understand the sound that she was hearing, but when she did, she couldn't help smiling to herself, her plan seemed to have worked perfectly, so far. She remained silent, feigning sleep, and listened to Skelly as he helplessly retched over and over. After what must have been several uncomfortable minutes, Skelly reappeared next to her, and slumped against the tree next to hers with a groan.
“You don't sound too good,” Neala said, instantly regretting her smug tone. Fortunately Skelly didn't seem to notice, or care. Nor did he reply to her comments, but what he did do, made even Neala cringe. He picked up the waterskin, unstopped it, and drank the remaining poisoned water in one. She was sure he would taste the poison, or at least detect the bits of residue in his mouth from the bottom of the waterskin. Neala held her breath for what seemed like an age, but Skelly didn't seem to notice anything wrong with the water, and just tossed the
empty waterskin aside. The previous day, Neala had contemplated putting enough poison in the water to kill Skelly outright, but she knew for sure he would have detected it, and most likely made her drink it as retribution. Maybe later, when the fresh poison took effect, she would get a chance to escape, and make a run for it instead. Skelly didn't move much over the next couple of hours, and by the time it was full daylight the rain started to fall, light at first, then turning heavier as the day wore on.
“Are you awake?” Neala asked.
“Yes. So if you're planning anything, think again,” Skelly replied, trying to sound more in control than he actually felt.
“I wasn't planning anything, but if you keep puking like that, you're going to need plenty of water, and seeing as it's raining, maybe now is a good time to collect it.” Neala said smugly. Skelly thought about it for a few moments before conceding to the fact she was right, he would need plenty of water. He knew the next water source was at least a four or five-hour ride away, and the way he felt right now, it may as well have been four or five days away, because there was no way he could ride a horse in his current condition.
He removed a knife from his belt, and cut the rope that was binding her hands behind her back, but he left her torso tied to the tree, and her feet tied together, then he tossed her the empty waterskin.
“You can collect the water from where you're sitting now,” he said, indicating the numerous trickles of water now falling through the tree canopy all around her. Neala filled the waterskin to about a quarter full, during which time she also carefully, and stealthily cleaned the opening of the waterskin of any residual poison, then she swirled the water around the inside to clean it, and tipped out the possibly contaminated contents. Skelly's attention snapped to her, as she emptied the contents of the waterskin out onto the floor.