by Taylor Leigh
His scream cut off abruptly.
Reginald glanced down to see a giant spear sticking out from the creature’s chest. The Denizen let out a broken whimper and then fell forward, ramming the weapon further up into his body. He hit the ground hard. Reginald and Arkron glanced to Marus. His eyebrows rose.
The gladiator laughed shakily. ‘What? He was creeping me out.’
Reginald glanced back to the corpse and immediately thought he was going to be sick. Sinsetun’s body heaved, once, twice, the stuff pushing against it from the inside. Arkron pursed her lips. ‘Reginald, give me the ring.’
‘What?’
‘Now!’
Reginald, bewildered, tossed the bloody ring to Arkron and she held it out to the heaving body. The Darkness exploded out of Sinsetun’s back, twisting round in a wild storm, thick and smoky and black and rising up like an enraged cobra. It whipped round the room in a frenzy. Arkron held the ring aloft, shining bright and green. The blackness, spun in a tight cloud, seemed to study the ring for a moment and then barrelled down on them, swallowing Reginald’s vision with nothing but black. Reginald squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he wasn’t conscious for the inevitable agony which would surly hit him with the impact of the dark cloud.
Nothing happened.
He opened his eyes.
Arkron’s hand snapped back as the massive blackness hit the ring, writhing, burrowing into the stone till none remained.
‘W—what happened to it?’ Reginald stammered.
Arkron flipped the ring back over to Reginald without another glance. ‘Creatures of energy can be trapped in objects as well. Didn’t you know that? Where did you think djinns come from?’
Reginald stared down at the ring. It glinted up at him. He couldn’t be sure, but Reginald could have sworn it was glowering at him, cursing with eloquent vigour. He stuffed the small object into his pocket with a shudder.
‘Is it safe in there? Can’t it get out?’
Arkron’s lips tightened. ‘I don’t think it wants to.’
Reginald nodded with a sickening feeling of uncertainty filling him. He wasn’t satisfied with her answer. The Darkness chose the ring. Arkron didn’t force it. For the moment, however, he could do nothing about it. So, with the miserable acceptance that if the thing was planning something, he would discover it eventually, Reginald put it from his mind. But he could have sworn he felt it burning in his pocket with dark, hungry life.
‘This place has a kitchen, right?’ Marus asked, unconcerned. ‘I want a sandwich.’
Chapter Fifty-Three
Elberon burst from the trees with a whinny and slammed his hooves into the ground at the edge of the lake. A bone shaking roar behind them didn’t need to remind Victoria she hadn’t lost her pursuer yet, even though she’d tried to take a route as difficult as possible to follow.
‘The lake!’ she cried. ‘It’s completely frozen!’
Elberon tossed his head nervously. Victoria glanced back over her shoulder. The beast would be upon them any second.
The lake stretched out before them, frozen and covered with a light dusting of snow. She studied it hard. Riding round the lake would take another half hour, and by the way things were going, she doubted Elberon would be able to survive that. The lake was a straight line and Andrew had said it would be possible. Not to mention the fact she highly doubted the beast would follow her. Of course, it was quite possible that the lake was not completely frozen, and if she crossed it now, she and Elberon might break through to their deaths.
The forest shook behind her. She took a deep breath. It was a chance, she decided, she would have to take. Though gutsy and mental, she realised it was exactly something Andrew would do. She urged Elberon out onto the ice, shaking like a leaf. The horse did not seem to be a stranger to crossing the lake when it was frozen, but his ears were swung back completely, making his unease clearly known.
They made it one-third of the way across the lake with no trouble when the Guardian broke free from the trees. She gasped and kicked Elberon into a hastier crossing. She knew the beast spotted her as it let out a frustrated roar. Elberon charged forward, slipping and scrabbling for purchase on the slick surface.
The whole ice shook heavily and Victoria swore violently, glancing over her shoulder. They were half-way across the lake and the Guardian had taken its first step onto the ice. The spores must be messing with its head. Why else would it chance the ice?
The ice shook again and a huge crack raced across the surface, causing the horse to dodge about in fright. Still, Elberon raced onward. The cracks split further with each step the Guardian took and it was coming on fast. With a loud crack! the ice split apart and huge chunks of ice began free-floating in the freezing water, like small islands.
Bad idea, it was such a bad idea. Victoria figured this had to be up there with the stupidest things she’d ever done.
They were almost there; Elberon seemed to realise that and put on a tremendous burst of speed, breathing hard, leaping over cracks. Victoria could hear sounds in the village now. Explosions and shouts. What in the world was going on there?
Elberon jumped an ice floe and Victoria chanced a glance behind her. The beast was close, jagged mouth set in a triumphant grin.
The Guardian took another step and the entire sheet of ice shattered. Elberon toppled into the water with a wild scream and lurched for the snowy shore. The Guardian roared and plunged into the deep. It struggled, head rising above the water like a serpent, shaking water. Shrieking in pain and rage, the beast’s cries drowned behind them.
Elberon reached the beach and shot off like an arrow towards the village. He reached the first of the buildings just as a rocking explosion went off to their right. The horse reared back in alarm, knocking Victoria to the ground. She landed in the snow with a grunt and picked herself up shakily. She couldn’t believe it. She was back!
Victoria ran through the village, slipping on the slushy ground, trying not to see the violence around her.
She could see bodies of Tartans ripped to shreds, blood seeping into the white snow. Buildings were on fire, blazing in the freezing air and pouring smoke through the streets. People were racing by, animals ran, arrows flew, but Victoria was only set on finding one person. The prospect of finding his body in the snow wasn’t something she allowed to enter her mind. He was still alive. Somewhere.
She slid round another corner, shouting his name, and that’s when she finally spotted him.
Andrew was on his hands and knees in front of a Blaiden man. His pale face was tilted upwards towards the giant, one hand, sunk in the snow, was gripping his firearm. He struggled to his feet and Victoria could tell, even at a distance, that he was weak.
The man slammed his fist into Andrew’s face with enough force to knock a man senseless. Andrew hit the wet ground hard, losing his firearm and before he could think of recovering, the Blaiden encircled his neck with one hand and hoisted him high in the air.
Victoria hardly realised she was screaming his name. She picked up a rock and hurled it with all of her might at the giant. It hit the Wolf with no effect. She might as well have thrown a pebble. She saw Andrew’s eyes quickly dart to hers and then away, widening in uncharacteristic surprise. He must have said something scathing, for the Blaiden man roared and hurled Andrew away from him. He hit the wall of a house directly behind him, head cracking against the smooth stone surface. Andrew’s head lolled and he let out a miserable groan.
Victoria was running towards him, unaware of anything else happening round her. She scooped up another rock and sent it sailing at the man. It struck him squarely in the temple and this time she was close enough to leave a mark. The giant whirled round to her, standing tall and bare in the freezing cold. Victoria staggered back. Her eyes flicked to Andrew’s and his gaze went to his pistol, then back up to the Blaiden man. Victoria got the message.
‘You should know better than to attack him,’ she stammered.
The Blaiden man marched forw
ard, slavering. ‘Oh? And why is that?’
Victoria watched Andrew dive through the snow towards his firearm. He pulled it up and sighted it. She stared at the man. ‘Because he doesn’t understand the meaning of mercy.’
The Wolf frowned just as there was a loud bang! and Victoria turned away before she saw what work the bullet had made of the man’s face. Before his body had even fallen to the ground Victoria was moving.
She reached Andrew just as he was staggering to his feet. To Victoria, he looked awful. Not just because of the bruises he had won in his fight, but he was simply exhausted. Dark circles swept under his eyes, dried blood caked under his nose and his face held a pained expression under the normal impatient features. She wouldn’t be surprised if he had something broken.
‘Are you all right?’ she gasped, grabbing him by the arms. She felt something wet and glanced down, her left hand was covered with blood, his, presumably. She added that to her mental tally of his injuries.
‘Fine,’ he said dismissively, pulling away. ‘What the hell are you doing here? You promised to stay at the keep!’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said breathlessly. ‘I couldn’t just sit there! Not with you all here.’
His face, red with cold and bruises, crinkled into one of rage. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.
Two figures slid around the corner at that moment, ending their discussion, slipping in the slush. To her relief, it was Tollin and Thedric. Tollin seemed completely exhilarated, if a little wild. Thedric appeared near the end of his rope, possibly because he was keeping exuberant Tollin as company. One needed a strong constitution to keep up with the likes of him.
‘Victoria!’ Tollin crowed loudly. He dashed forward and enveloped her in a hug enormous for his slight body. ‘You made it to the Blaiden land and back already?’ He stepped back to see her better, hands on her shoulders.
She nodded. ‘Yeah, I did, actually.’
Tollin grinned widely. ‘Brilliant!’
Andrew’s gaze flashed deadly. ‘You told her to go. I should—’
‘No!’ Victoria grabbed him by the arm as he started forward.
Tollin glanced back at her, unperturbed. ‘Have you brought me back a souvenir?’
Victoria licked her lips. ‘Well, sort of.’
A horrible roar rattled the windows of the house behind them. Victoria shut her eyes and moaned. So, the bloody thing hadn’t drowned!
Tollin frowned, thoughtful. ‘Little bigger than I was expecting.’
Victoria feigned surprise. ‘Oh, you just wanted me to bring back some spores?’
Thedric groaned. ‘Oh no, tell me you didn’t!’
‘Wasn’t my fault!’ she cried. ‘It followed me home. It just ate the sporepods and I had to get out of there.’
She could see it now, its huge head towering over the buildings. It lifted its head back and let out another roar. She watched several spears and arrows bounce harmlessly off of its hide. Not good.
‘Well,’ Andrew said. ‘This adds yet another problem to the pile.’
‘I don’t know about that,’ Victoria said slowly.
‘What do you mean?’ Tollin glanced at her questioningly.
Victoria bit her lip. ‘Well, every time we’ve ever seen this thing, it’s never attacked us. I’ve only seen it go after the Blaiden. When I was up there I saw lots of evidence to suggest they were sacrificed to it. I think it senses them as prey, whereas it doesn’t seem to care too much about us.’
‘That could change very quickly,’ Tollin pointed out. ‘After all, it followed you all the way back.’
‘I know,’ Victoria said. ‘But the Blaiden are terrified of it.’
‘You’re suggesting we use it as a weapon?’ Thedric asked. ‘That’s insane!’
‘Or maybe not,’ Tollin said thoughtfully. ‘From what we’ve noticed, for the most part, the Blaiden attack in groups, if we can get that thing to follow them…’
‘Ah,’ Andrew’s eyes shined. ‘That’s a bit wicked, Traveller, for your standards.’
‘What?’ Victoria demanded.
Andrew turned to her, ignoring the pandemonium behind them, and, by the looks of it, momentarily forgetting that he was cross with her. ‘The Blaiden hunt in packs and they’re desperate for blood. If we can gather them all together, for instance, fake a retreat to get them to follow, then we’ll have both them and the Guardian right where we want them.’
‘And where would that be?’ Thedric demanded.
‘The rock quarry,’ Andrew said decisively. ‘It’s where I found the minerals for my gunpowder. It’s a narrow gorge with a small opening and it twists round a bit before ending. If the Blaiden chase us in there, they won’t even know that they’re being boxed in. If we have an escape waiting for us, we could trap them all inside. And with any luck, the Guardian should follow them, if he does have a taste for their flesh, as Victoria seems to think.’
Victoria nodded. ‘You can see for yourself. Just watch, he’s only going after the Blaiden.’
‘Must be the spores,’ Tollin mused. ‘He must be just as addicted as the Blaiden. They smell like the spores, so he craves them.’
Thedric placed his hands over his eyes. ‘This is mental. You realise that, don’t you? And how are they going to stay boxed in? They’ll just turn round and run back out of the quarry once they realise it’s a trap.’
‘No,’ Andrew stated. ‘They won’t. If a few of my bombs were detonated at the mouth of the ravine, it would block the entrance. There would be no escaping.’
‘Risky plan,’ Victoria said. ‘Lots of holes in it.’
‘Well,’ Andrew said. ‘I don’t like it either, but it’s all I’ve got right now. Unless Tollin can come up with something better.’
‘No,’ Tollin muttered darkly. ‘No, I can’t. But, if we do go through with this, you can’t leave them there, you understand me? They have to be offered a chance at surrender, give them a way to escape. You can’t leave them to be killed by that beast.’
Andrew stared at Tollin, not answering.
‘Promise me,’ Tollin growled warningly.
Andrew didn’t move. Victoria nudged him slightly. ‘Fine,’ he said flatly. ‘We’ll do it your way.’ He swept past Tollin with a dangerous look. Victoria gave Tollin a weak smile and then hurried after Andrew.
‘We’ll let the others know about our plan!’ Tollin cried, before being lost from sight. ‘We’ll all need to be in this together!’
Victoria hurried to keep up with Andrew’s quick pace. As usual, he didn’t slow for her and offered no acknowledgement to her accompaniment. Normally she didn’t mind, but after all they’d been through recently, she found it aggravating.
‘Why don’t you want to offer the Blaiden a chance?’ she asked, struggling to keep pace.
Andrew moved down a side street, keeping a sharp eye out. He spoke in a flat, emotionless tone. ‘They’re too much of a danger. In the irrational, animalistic state they’re in, any mercy shown to them will be taken advantage of. Do not be surprised if they attack the second we haul them out of that pit.’
‘So better to just leave them to be killed?’
‘Better than having them turn on us the second our backs are turned. Do you really think that they’ll just give up and that be the end of it? No, especially not when they realise that the spores are gone. If they are truly gone.’
‘All the ones I found the beast devoured. If there are more, they weren’t in the water source.’
‘Wouldn’t be surprised if there are more of them around. It’s a big planet.’
‘There was a Denizen there, Andrew.’
He stopped short and turned to look at her. ‘What?’
‘One of the creatures from my world, the ones that introduced the spores to us. There was one here.’
‘Was? What happened to it? Don’t tell me you killed it. More likely to believe the Blaiden will have a change of heart.’
Victoria shook her head, offended.
‘No, I didn’t kill it. The Guardian…ate it.’
‘Ah,’ Andrew started walking again.
‘Where are we going?’
‘For this project I’m going to need to make a few more bombs. And I need your help! Had enough trouble last time without you. Never here when I need you.’
Victoria jogged up next to him. ‘You need me?’
He looked sideways at her. ‘There’s a first time for everything, Victoria.’
Victoria didn’t know how much help she was to Andrew as she watched him dash about his room, filling two large jars with his strange mixture of minerals. How he had discovered the magic of them, what made them so deadly, was beyond her. His brilliance, along with his curiosity and willingness to try anything, was definitely a contributing factor. It was a miracle, she thought, that he had survived this long, considering his hobbies.
She had measured out amounts of the powder as instructed and was now gripping the edge of one of the vessels while he clamped the lid down.
‘I have a question.’
‘What?’ he asked, annoyed. He’d been working in silence for the majority of the time, except for when he was barking out instructions to her, and Victoria knew how much it irked him to be bothered when he was thinking.
‘Are these things going to work?’
‘Of course.’
‘Then why are you so angry?’
Andrew cracked another candle on the table with brutal force and pulled the wick free. ‘I never said I was angry.’
Victoria studied him for a moment. The plan Andrew had devised was simple enough. Two bombs would be placed on either side of the mouth of the gorge and once the Blaiden and hopefully the Guardian were inside, they would be lit, which would bring down the mouth of the gorge, blocking the exit.