by C. K. Rieke
“You led me to a mating nest of sandworms, Fewn. Curse you. Curse you!” She held her hands up to her head in pain, as the mages’ spell ripped into her mind, taking her back to her time in Sorock.
‘You’ll never make it out of here,’ she heard her instructor Elan yell out to her. Elan beat her with a long, thin piece of wood. ‘Is that how you’re going to fight when you’re out there on the sands?’ She whipped her again. Lilaci was only just a girl when her training began, and even with a sword in her little hand, she stood no chance against Elan who was in her late teenage years.
Lilaci winced in pain, the roaring memory in her head was designed to beat her down. The memory of her first beatings was made to create a submissive, trainable weapon.
‘You’re nothing now,’ Elan said. ‘You were nothing before you got here. You’re lucky to be here as one of us. This is the ultimate gift to give your gods. You are weak, you are childish. But one day, you’ll thank me for this. One day you’ll understand that the power you’re given here is going to save you. One day, you’ll live, because of this.’
“Elan,” Lilaci said, taking her hands down from her head. “You’re right.” She stood tall, with her shoulders back, looking up at the mess of worms before her, their fangs slashing into the air, reaching out blindly for the source of their pain. “You trained me for this moment. I am the hunter. I am strong. I will not fight my training. I will not fight my past any longer. I will kill all that stand in my path. I was trained by those strongest in Sorock. I was trained personally by the infamous commander Veranor of Voru. I was given the gift of the Sanzoral by the gods themselves. Nothing can keep me from what I want. Nothing!”
With that she put her bow back at her shoulder, grabbed her sword squarely in her hand, with her dagger held in the other, and she rushed forward, lit in the violet light of the Sanzoral, coursing through her. She held all the rage she’d been given since she was taken from her family. She felt the rage and pain of having the only one she’d cared about taken from her. She carried with her the lust for revenge she felt towards the ones who took Kera. “This is for you, Kera!”
The great worms before her in the cave almost reached the ceiling as they squirmed over one another. Their fat, bulbous, pale, translucent bodies glowing from the glowing purple arrows burrowed under their skin. They began to fall from their mating ball they were in, and began to squirm back to the ground, their fangs eager for food, and a thick mucus oozing from their round mouths.
Lilaci ran straight at their mass, they were easily one-hundred times her size each. As she approached she didn’t know what to do but hack and slash and somehow make it to the other side of their nest. Their ball loosened so as they were soon wall to wall, forming a full boundary between Lilaci and the other side of the cave, and possibly an exit.
The purple flames of the Sanzoral glowed brighter as she approached, and the flames danced from her hands to the blade of her sword and dagger. There was no sand around to aid her, but the Sanzoral was there still to ensure she could harness its strength.
As she ran towards the closest worm, it’s dark round head snapped in her direction. Lilaci was caught off guard as she didn’t expect them to notice her with how small she was comparatively. The worm dove its head towards her, its fangs opened out wide, eager to feed. Lilaci leapt to evade the hungry maw of the worm as it crashed down behind her. The thud of its head on the rock shook the ground itself, seemingly awakening the rest of the nest, as they began to shake. With her leap she tucked into a roll and agilely landed on her feet, continuing forward.
She was then at the body of the worm, it lay on the cavern rock, and its body loomed high over her. She slashed into its thin membrane, fat rolling out of it. A putrid odor escaped from its body as it squirmed and writhed. Its head snapped back at her and let out a deep, hissing sound. She cut into it only momentarily, as she sensed the head was about to shot at her again.
I’m not doing enough damage. It would take me a week to cut through one of these, and their weak organs must be buried deep. Their heads look like the only hard part of their bodies, like its covered in thick armor. There are no eyes to gouge, and throat to cut. I’ve got to make it past them. There’s no way I can kill all these things.
The head came crashing in again, exploding into its own body, where she’d cut into it. Lilaci had moved to its tail by the time that happened. She now found she was face to face with the head of another, bigger one. Its fangs snapped twice, causing ripples in the air, readying itself to lunge. She looked into its round mouth, with hundreds of teeth, twitching and feeling for her. Any part of her, her arm, head, anything. Once that maw had a grip, there was no escape.
It dove forward, Lilaci leapt again, this time straight up. The head of the new worm crashed into the other, puncturing its thin-skinned body. Lilaci landed roughly on the top of the worm’s head. She was able to hold onto the top of its head with her fingertips, her sword and dagger still in her hands. She climbed up quickly while the worm still seemed stunned. She sheathed both swords simultaneously and grabbed her bow from her back and pulled an arrow taught, as it burned in the lilac fire. She let it fly deep down into the back of its soft neck. She watched the arrow rip and shred into the center of its body, not appearing to find an organ.
“Damn,” she said as she began to run down the back of the worm as it twisted and turned. Her boots had a difficult time running along the slick membrane. As she was running she pulled back another arrow into her bowstring, lining it up at another worm ahead of her, its head squarely facing her. Then, like being hit by a wall, one of the worm’s tails hit her unexpectedly in the back, sending her flying back towards the ground. She landed violently on the rocks, on the same side she’d fallen onto back when Fewn pushed her from the ledge. She let out a loud cry of pain, that sent many of the worm’s heads— full of sharp teeth— focusing in on her. Lilaci looked around to find that she was surrounded on all sides by the wriggling worms, hungry to feed.
She watched as the worms began to crawl and wriggle over one another again. The sound of their mucus-covered bodies caused her to cringe. Many of them seemed to be focusing on her with their eyeless heads. Two of them began to crawl towards her, their round heads creeping smoothly towards her while their fat, pale bodies moved along the dark rock. Lilaci held her sword out before her, trying to think of how to fight two of them at once. She couldn’t move backward as the worms- as they crawled over one another— were encircling her. She looked back to find the long body of one completing the circle.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
She watched as the worm coming in from her right side began to lift its head, and in awe she saw the worm lift its head to near the top of the cave, it loomed a hundred feet over her head. While she watched the worm begin to sway back and forth, she only noticed the other worm as she was nearly pulled into its mouth. She snapped to as two giant black fangs of the beast nearly grabbed her. It shot at her with an unpredictable speed. With a quick dash, she shot out of its path just enough, that the back of one of its fangs collided into her back, shoving her to the ground, and as she rolled away, she looked up to see the worm towering above her falling down towards her, it’s fangs and claws reaching out to grab her in the darkness.
She got to her feet and began to run, but the worm hovering over her seemed to sense it and followed in the direction she was heading. As she was in the middle of the ring of worms, she couldn’t run far in any direction, so she began to run at the body of the worm lowering its head at her. Lilaci also felt the worm behind her, following her. Are these blind beasts working together?
Just before the towering worm was ready to strike at her, and before the worm behind her lashed forward to eat her, Lilaci jolted forward, running as fast as she could at the body of the tall worm. She slashed out with her sword, cutting into its flesh. It roared in pain and sent its head diving down at her. With a flash of speed, she turned and shot an arrow into
the head of the worm behind her, and it shot forward at her with great force.
The two heads collided with a loud boom, like a wooden shield being smashed against another wooden shield, only with a thunderous force. The boom knocked Lilaci to the ground, again, on her injured side, and she struggled to get back on her feet. You’ve got to stay strong. You can’t let them wear you down. Think of her. You’re her only chance. Get up. Get up! She pushed through the pain, just enough to get to her feet, and she stumbled away from the two worms wriggling in pain.
She looked out at the many other worms encircling her, three of them glowed in a pale violet light, from the arrows she’d plunged into their flesh. I can’t fight them all like this. I don’t have the strength to manage much longer. With their sheer size, it’ll only take one to crush me, and I can feel my body slowing. If only there was sand, even just a handful— I would send it ripping through their bodies like hot— She had an idea. As a worm crept toward her from the right, she grabbed her bow and drew back an arrow, purple flames quickly engulfing it. She put it at a high arc, and sent it flying. It illuminated the top of the cavern, as the worm shot in at her, trying to find a part of her to grab with its many teeth. As she rolled away from its biting mouth, the arrow zipped through its back and lunged itself into its body, leaving a pale purple glow.
She turned and ran back at the side of the worm that she’d just shot, reloading her bow with a fresh arrow, the flames of the Sanzoral flickering along it. She let the arrow fly and it found its way into the body of another, again, leaving the pale glow inside it. The worms began to create a chattering sound with their mouths, almost in rhythm, and they started all at the same time.
What is that? What are they doing? That sound . . . It's deafening.
Lilaci began to lose focus, with the loud chattering, as the worms began to crawl and wriggle in all directions around her. The tail of another worm smashed into her from the back, knocking her to the ground with a tremendous force that nearly knocked the wind from her lungs, and as she gasped for her, she saw that her sword had left her side and skidded across the rock floor. It spun and stopped, before being covered by the body of one of the worms, inching towards her in a bumbling motion. Focus, Lilaci. Hold it together. Don’t let them cloud your mind. Think of Kera. Be strong for her.
As she regained her breath, a feeling of dread shot up from her stomach to her throat. She looked up to see the worms were beginning to close in on her, in a shrinking circle.
“Oh no,” she cried. Their reforming into their mating ball. They’re going to crush me. Now! It has to be now!
She lifted her bow with two arrows, both dancing in purple flames, and let them fly. They sunk into two worm’s bodies as they writhed and hissed. She let another fly into the side of a worm, inching its body closer to her.
“Three,” she said, shooting an arrow into another. The worms crept in closer, shrinking the circle around her. “Two.” She shot another arrow into the body of another. The circle was almost enclosed, crushing her. “One!” She shot an arrow into the body of another.
“Sanzoral. I call on you!” she yelled up into the cavern. Her arms lifted out, high above her head. “Let them feel our fury. Let them feel our wrath! Let them feel the fire that burns deep within us! Let them know that nothing will stand in our way. Sanzoral— Let them burn!”
The pale, violet lights within the worms began to glow brighter. The worms stopped their chattering instantly and began to hiss and roar out. The light grew brighter in their bodies, and the cave itself began to glow. Out of one of them, purple flames ripped through its side, like an inferno had erupted in its insides. The giant worm curled into a ball, but the flames spread, and it fell still to the ground.
Another explosion ripped through another, and then another. The cave was lit beautifully in purple light, bright from the flames. Another fell from the fire burning through it. And as the last worm fell still, Lilaci stood at the center of their burning bodies encircling her. She put her bow on her shoulder and knelt at the center of the blaze. The flames flickering and cracking.
“I bow to your power, Sanzoral. And I thank you for your help in my time of need.” She rose to her feet and walked towards the back of the cave, grabbing her sword from underneath one of the dead worms. She crawled over the lumpy, burning flesh of the worms, but the flames did not burn her. As she neared them, she was engulfed herself. She didn’t feel the fire, but she did feel their power— coursing through her. The Sanzoral was more powerful than simply controlling sand. Lilaci now had the power of magical fire.
“Here I come, Kera.”
Chapter Forty-Five
She had made it to the other side, she was not unscathed however. Her body ached, and she was covered from head to toe in blood, pus and mucus from the mating worms behind her. Along with the physical pain came the mental anguish of not knowing where Kera was and if she was safe. Maybe Fewn has come to her senses. Maybe she’s on her way back her now. She looked around in the mouth of the cave she was entering, with the burning purple flames roaring behind her. Who am I trying to kid? Fewn went to all the trouble to lure me down here, alone again. She’s not coming back. When I find her, I will not be forgiving. This deed I cannot allow to happen again. Fewn— when I find you— it's going to be you and me. I will have my revenge for this.
She wiped the slime from her the best she could. It was the first time she’d removed the red sash from her waist, when she simply wasn’t taking it off to rest for a night. Even then it was neatly folded in a proper manner, and never laid on the sand. It was always to be treated in a manner of pride and dignity. Now Lilaci was using it to remove her stains from the battle with the worms. Her cuts stung like hot venom had entered them. She looked down to her hip and stomach to see the bruises already setting in. She cupped her ribcage to find one or two of them broken. Her shoulder was nearly knocked out of place, and she could hardly use her left hand, the hole from the arrow now fresh again from the fight.
Once her face was mostly clean, and most of the filth wiped from her, she let the red sash fall to the sands. She didn’t do it out of defiance, it was out of exhaustion. It didn’t even cross her mind that only a month ago it would have been impossible for her to allow herself to do that. She let her back rest on the smooth rock behind her and she sank down to sit on the rock beneath her. And as the flames roared and crackled behind her, darkness overwhelmed her. She fought to keep her eyes open, but that only made them want to stay closed that much more. It crossed her mind that she’d be helpless if she fell asleep, but she had no more fight in her then. She only hoped that if something came for her in her vulnerable state, that perhaps the Sanzoral would protect her. It was the only thing she had left.
She opened her eyes, to complete darkness.
Is this it? Am I dead? Did they come while I was asleep? Eating me with their sharp teeth? Or did I pass onto the next realm from the fight? There’s no white light— Am I . . . Am I heading to the Eternal Flames? All those I’ve killed. They weren’t innocent. Not a one of them didn’t deserve to die. I was given the order by— the gods . . .
What was my legacy? What did I leave to the world that was good? I never even made it to the age of twenty— I don’t think so at least. Kera. She was supposed to be the one thing that I did that ended up being good. She was my legacy. But the gods have found fit to send me to the underworld. Perhaps I deserve such a fate. Perhaps . . . This was to be my fate all along. To die alone in the darkness.
Wait— Is that . . . “A light?”
It was the size of a candle’s flame as it bobbed back and forth in the distance. It’s not the color of the Sanzoral. Perhaps I’ve made it to the Great Realm in the Sky. Maybe this is the keeper, coming to bid me welcome.
The small warm flame inched its way closer, and Lilaci noticed that it illuminated the dark walls surrounding it. The walls were smooth and made of dark rock she recognized.
“This isn’t death—” she groaned. “I’
m in the cave still.” She felt dismayed, as the surge of pain returned to her body, and she sighed in pain as she struggled to stand, pushing her way up to her feet with her back against the rock. “Whatever you are, stay back! I’ve still got fight let in me.”
The light continued toward her, and the figure carrying the light began to emerge from the darkness.
“Halt where you are,” she yelled down the figure, who was walking up the cave, then forty paces away. And as the figure grew closer she saw it was a man. A man in with a dark hood covering his head, and a man whose eyes reflected the golden glow of the small torch he carried. As he walked he tended to sway back and forth. “I said halt!” She held up her sword to show in the light of the torch. “I will cut you down if you don’t stop your approach.”
What is a man doing this far down in the cave? Does that mean there’s a way out? Heading further down into the cave?
The man in the dark robes didn’t stop his approach, and Lilaci readied herself in her defensive posture. Truth was, she could barely hold up the weight of her sword, and he left hand seemed useless, as it could hardly hold the weight of her dagger without searing pain down her whole arm. The sight of the black robes reminded her of the mages though, and her hatred of them was the driving force that would let her slay the man once he was close enough.
The man stopped only twelve paces from her, he held up the torch above him as he took up his other hand, touching the front of his hood, and with a smooth motion pulled the hood back behind him to reveal a bald head of dark skin. She sighed a faint sigh of relief that he didn’t carry the red tattoos and pulled back silver hair of the mages.
“What do you want? Who are you?” she asked.
“Lilaci—” the stranger said in a calming, strong voice.