Spirit Animals_Fall of the Beasts_Immortal Guardians

by Eliot Schrefer

  Four more of the Many appeared, and rather than falling into her customary fighting crouch, Meilin leaped into the air, whipping her quarterstaff in a wide, singing arc, cracking into the neck of one monster and bowling it into the next and the next, so that all three went screaming into the darkness.

  “Good one!” Conor cried.

  “My bond with Jhi …” Meilin said breathlessly, joining Conor at the edge as he stomped on the hands of the Many whenever they appeared. “Something happened. It’s weaker—”

  “I felt it, too,” Conor said. “Then I heard the alarm. There must not have been time to repair the dam.” He grunted as he lifted the hand of a particularly strong creature and flung it over the edge.

  Meilin remembered her remorse over drowning the horde and cursed her own soft heart. “Where’s Takoda?” she asked.

  This wave of attackers finished, Conor managed a wicked grin. “Look below.”

  Jhi and Meilin cautiously leaned over the edge and peered down. There, on a wider ledge directly below theirs, Takoda and Kovo were facing their own batch of the Many. Because their position was lower, they confronted a much larger throng—Conor and Meilin had been fighting only the trickle that made it past the powerful ape. Takoda had mounted Kovo’s back and had his slender arms wrapped around the gorilla’s neck.

  Kovo had his arms held out wide and was turning in low circles, flailing any of the Many that were unfortunate enough to fall within his reach and sending them screaming over the edge. Any time Kovo windmilled his arms, only the ghouls at the far sides of the ledge survived to climb up toward Conor and Meilin. Before her eyes, Meilin saw one of them emerge, only to become a rag toy in Briggan’s powerful teeth.

  “Any sign of Xanthe?” Meilin asked.

  Conor shook his head. “She must be off defending another part of the city.”

  “How do we get out of here?” Meilin asked. When the head of one of the Many appeared over the edge, she brought her quarterstaff down in a fierce overhead blow, knocking the creature senseless. It tumbled away, arms pinwheeling through the air.

  “We’ve got to get down to Takoda’s ledge,” Conor said. “It’s our only hope. The cavern floor is below it. Once we get that far, maybe we can find a passage that will take us away from here. Only problem is this.” Conor held up the climbing rope, which had been severed in the fighting.

  “Wait. What do you mean, ‘away from here’? We can’t abandon Phos Astos—it’s the last standing city in Sadre!”

  “Have you seen the destruction out there? Phos Astos is lost,” Conor said. “If this many attackers are at the edge where we are, there’s no way the Sadreans will hold out at the center. Our dying here won’t help anything.”

  Meilin’s mouth pressed into a scowl. She’d seen war. She’d once witnessed her own city fall to invaders, and had been forced to flee and become a refugee from her home.

  This was worse. It wasn’t occupation; it was annihilation. This strange and wonderful place—this city of light—was about to blink out forever. And there was nothing she could do about it. Her eyes stung with frustration. How had she come to be here? She’d left Greenhaven to help the world rebuild. And now she was only witnessing destruction.

  “It’s thirty feet down to the next ledge,” Meilin said brusquely, wiping her tears away before Conor could see them. “If we jump, we break our legs. We have to scale down the rock face.”

  Conor shook his head. “Kovo managed it, but only just. And he’s an ape. I don’t think we’d have a chance of making it down.”

  Meilin peered over the edge again, thinking. She nodded. “I have a plan. Don’t ask what it is, just watch.”

  “What is—” Conor asked, then stopped with a sheepish look.

  Meilin stepped back from the lip, calling Jhi into passive state as she did. Again, she felt the wrenching pain of her frayed bond whipping through her core. She let one of the Many climb all the way onto the ledge. The moment it was on its feet, it rushed Meilin, yellow fingernails outstretched and mouth bared. The spiral on its forehead throbbed and twisted as Meilin reared her staff back. But rather than strike the monster with its length, she thrust with its tip. The pole struck the creature in its chest and sent it flying backward.

  Meilin followed after, pole-vaulting over the edge with the tumbling monster. She kicked out with both her feet so they hit its chest, and then she was surfing on the tumbling body. The creature’s back worked like a kite in the open air, slowing Meilin’s descent. When it struck the ledge, she rolled free.

  She’d have to leave it to trust that Conor was following the same plan, as the moment she hit the lower ledge Meilin was surrounded by the gnashing teeth and claws of the Many. She managed to get her staff out in time to cuff the chin of a ghastly monster who was about to sink its teeth into her shoulder. It reeled, bowling over two of its companions.

  “Takoda!” Meilin called.

  Takoda didn’t react; he had enough to worry about, struggling to keep himself on Kovo’s shoulders as the gorilla pivoted and swung his meaty arms. Kovo’s technique was still working, keeping a circle of stone floor clear around him, but even he was tiring.

  As she battled, Meilin heard Conor drop to the ledge beside her, followed by a popping sound as Briggan reappeared. She wished she could summon Jhi, but the ledge was too narrow for all their spirit animals.

  “This horde won’t end. We need to drop down as soon as we have an opening!” Meilin cried.

  Kovo didn’t respond—he just stepped quickly to the edge and dropped over into the darkness, taking a surprised and shrieking Takoda with him.

  Meilin and Conor ran up to the lip of the ledge and, after peeking over and seeing there was only a few yards’ drop, stepped over.

  As she landed, Phos Astos came into view. The sight was enough to confirm that the last city of Sadre was definitely lost. The scrambling forms of the Many riddled the giant mushrooms like parasites, attacking whoever they could find. Their pale bodies shone in the pink-green light. More streamed down in the updraft, a torrent of slavering ghouls that cascaded into the city like an unholy waterfall.

  The sight of the devastation took Meilin’s breath away, but Conor was instantly on his feet, running toward the tunnel that led out of the city. Without losing any momentum, he whipped out his ax just in time to take down one of the Many that came too close. Meilin fell into a sprint, right behind Briggan.

  Conor veered to one side, and Meilin realized what he was heading for. At the base of the last mushroom before the cavern wall, Xanthe and Ingailor were locked in combat against a gibbering throng of enemies.

  Back to back, they had bright crystal maces in their hands and were wielding the glowing rocks like dual swords; wherever the shining weapons went, the Many recoiled. Their slices and parries left broad arcs of light in the air. But their enemies were increasing in number, and as they did, they grew more aggressive. The tunnel to the slate plain was soon blocked by a horde of creatures.

  There was a rush of black at the edge of Meilin’s vision as Kovo charged past, his meaty hands and feet impacting the ground with great rumbling thuds that sent tremors through her gut. The gorilla furiously set upon the Many, pounding them from above. Takoda still clung desperately to his back.

  Scrambling after him, Meilin watched helplessly as Xanthe lost her footing and tumbled before the pressing mass of the Many. For an anguished moment she disappeared entirely from view. Then the girl reappeared, struggling against one of the Many who had her scalp in its grasp. It yanked her head back to expose her slender, pale neck.

  “No!” Meilin cried out. But she was too far away to save her new friend.

  Ingailor, however, was not. He threw himself onto the monster, ripping it from Xanthe. But the beast twisted in his grasp, and in the space of one horrifying split-second it had sunk its yellow teeth into his neck. Another took advantage of the opening to pounce, landing on Ingailor’s shoulders. The Sadrean elder fell into the horde and did not come ba
ck up.

  For a horrified second, Xanthe stared at the space where the elder had fallen, her face frozen in utter shock. A monster leaped from the side, long-nailed fingers ready to swipe.

  By then, Kovo and Takoda had arrived. The ape pummeled the creatures approaching Xanthe while Takoda reached down from his vantage point on Kovo’s back. He grabbed the back of Xanthe’s shift and hauled her up in front of him. Meilin streaked to their side and heard Takoda yell to Xanthe: “Where should we go?”

  But the girl was in shock. Her mouth was slack as she stared at the space where Ingailor had so recently stood, now crawling with monsters. It was all she could do to hold on to Takoda’s arms.

  “Head for the exit tunnel!” Meilin yelled while she fended off another attacker. A low roundhouse sent him staggering to the ground. “There’s no other option!”

  Fatigued and struggling under the weight of two riders, Kovo tottered and nearly fell. But he righted himself and lurched toward the tunnel.

  Xanthe managed to find the wits to hold her crystal mace in front of Kovo’s forehead. The glow helped keep their enemies at bay. Conor and Briggan tucked themselves into the open space behind Kovo, and Meilin took up the rear, swiping her quarterstaff at any enemies that got too close.

  Though she couldn’t risk turning her head to see where they were going, Meilin felt the ground slope slightly, and then cool, dank air washed over her flushed cheeks. The glowing lights of Phos Astos narrowed to an oval, then a point as they fought their way deep into the exit tunnel.

  Jabbering with fury, the Many pressed after them, but Meilin could no longer be flanked in the narrow confines. She went on the offensive, bludgeoning any creature that came near. While she fought off their enemies, she heard Xanthe’s voice from somewhere behind her: “There’s a secret rope here. There, tucked into the crevice!”

  Then she heard two rapid pops as Kovo and Briggan disappeared. Someone was climbing nearby. She saw a braided rope enter her vision, even as she sliced her staff at an attacker. “You’ll be the last one up,” Conor called after her. “As soon as there’s an opening, climb this.”

  She heard the rope creak as the others ascended behind her. Then she made a final stand, knocking one attacker into the next hard enough that the two bowled down the one behind. Meilin used the opportunity to grope in the darkness for … the rope! She caught the knotted cable and scrambled upward, her arms burning with exhaustion. Once she’d gone a ways up, she felt a familiar grip on her shoulders as Conor helped her the rest of the way.

  Meilin lay on the tunnel floor, panting, while Conor pulled the rope back up. Then he collapsed next to her. Takoda lay in a similar state of exhaustion on her other side. Meilin turned her head in time to see his tattoo quiver and then disappear. Kovo appeared, sitting on the stone floor. She summoned Jhi, and Conor did the same with Briggan.

  Xanthe had huddled herself against the wall, her head pressed tight against her knees. Jhi ambled over and sat by her side, resting her soft, furry back against Xanthe’s. The panda always knew who was in the most need.

  For a long moment, all they did was catch their breath in the darkness.

  As soon as she could, Meilin sat up and faced Xanthe. She lay a hand on the Sadrean girl’s elbow. “Xanthe? Are you okay?”

  Xanthe tried to nod, but she was shaking too violently. She jerked back and pressed against the rock wall, away from Meilin and Jhi.

  “Are we safe for now?” Meilin asked.

  Xanthe nodded again, though the words that tumbled out of her mouth were: “Phos Astos is gone.”

  “I’m sorry about Ingailor,” Conor said.

  She glared at him. “They’re all dead,” she snapped. “Not just him. My family! All of them! Dead because of those mindless monsters!”

  Conor shrank away, his face blanching even in the shadows.

  Takoda knelt beside Xanthe, and to Meilin’s surprise he took her trembling frame fully in his arms. “I know,” the boy said. “You must be in so much pain. I’m sorry.” His face was full of both yearning sadness and affection.

  Kovo slowly turned so he could no longer see Takoda and Xanthe. His scarlet eyes clouded, and his face twisted with something Meilin was slow to recognize. Kovo looked … jealous. It was an emotion she’d never have expected in the gorilla.

  It seemed like Kovo had surprised himself, too. He breathed heavily for a moment, then sat back on his haunches and very deliberately closed his eyes, hands balled into tight fists at his side.

  “Xanthe,” Meilin said, “we may be safe in this tunnel for now, but I can’t imagine we will be for long. I can hear the Many congregating down there.”

  “Give her a second!” Takoda snapped.

  Meilin recoiled, stung.

  Xanthe pulled out of Takoda’s embrace. “No, Meilin is right. We need to get moving.”

  “The question is where,” Conor said.

  “No, that is not a question,” Xanthe said. Her face was as white as bone, leached of even its faint color.

  “What do you mean?”

  “This tunnel goes south, but it branches soon,” Xanthe said. “There are indeed decisions to be made, but there’s no question of our eventual destination. Our last city is destroyed. My family … We cannot let that be in vain.”

  “The Evertree,” Meilin said. “We have to go to the Evertree.”

  “Yes,” Xanthe said. She determinedly wiped her tears away. “Look.” She pointed to the ceiling of the tunnel. Wide cracks lined it, and within each was the skinny tendril of a root.

  “That couldn’t possibly be …” Meilin said. “The Evertree is miles away.”

  “The roots of the Evertree are far wider than the tree itself,” said Xanthe. “The Evertree is Erdas, and we are it. But these roots, too, are dwindling. Even a few days ago, they filled these crevices. But now they have shrunken—the tree has retracted them, because it’s sick.”

  “We must cure it,” Meilin said.

  “Then we’ll need to destroy the Wyrm,” Xanthe said. “The Wyrm is where the parasites are emerging from. The Wyrm is the scourge sickening the Evertree. If the tree dies, the bonds between humans and spirit animals will disappear entirely—and worse.”

  “Look!” Conor said. “The root!”

  In front of Meilin’s eyes, the root lining the ceiling began to quiver, echoed by an aching throb in Meilin’s spine. Then the quivering intensified, as did the throb. “Oh no, oh no—” Meilin said.

  Then it happened. Like the blast of a horn right in her ear, pain ripped through her, obliterating every other sensation. She buckled under it, and saw through the flashing agony that Takoda and Conor were experiencing the same torment.

  She screamed and curled into a fetal position on the floor. Around her she heard, not just the cries of her friends, but sharp whimpers from Jhi, whining howls from Briggan, and anguished grunts from Kovo. Then, slowly, the pain around Meilin’s spine released. She sat up, drenched in sweat, and looked around her. Briggan’s and Jhi’s eyes were rimmed in fearful white, and Kovo’s face was scrunched down at the pain he’d been through.

  “What just happened to you all?” Xanthe asked quietly.

  Meilin looked into Jhi’s eyes, and it was like staring at a stranger. “Our spirit animal bonds just … frayed,” Meilin panted. “That’s the only way I can describe it.”

  “And look,” Xanthe said, pointing at the crevices in the ceiling. “The Evertree’s roots retracted as the pain came.”

  Meilin heard Kovo snort, then turned to see him sitting before Takoda, signing. The ape made a rumbling sound of complaint.

  “Kovo says he’s noticed it, too,” Takoda said. “He can’t sense my thoughts the way he used to.”

  “I’d call that a good thing,” Conor said, looking suspiciously at the ape. He stood with a grunt and lit a torch. The scant light of the tunnel became a full blaze.

  Meilin risked a look at Kovo. She found he was already watching her, his scarlet eyes gleaming with furio
us intensity. It was hard to know what he was thinking, but one thing was unmistakable: Kovo was under no one’s control. He knew more than any of them about what was happening, and they were all at his mercy.

  With a gruff snort, Kovo turned and headed down the tunnel. Toward Nilo. Toward the Wyrm.

  ROLLAN TUMBLED IN THE DIM LIGHT OF DAWN. HE landed on his hands and knees and screamed as he struggled to escape his mysterious attacker. Essix relied on vision, not smell, so in the dim light she must have been caught as unawares as Rollan. He heard a rush of wind and a surprised shriek as the falcon swooped to his side. As soon as she landed, Essix was back in the air again. Another raptor screamed, and the vise-like clamp on the back of Rollan’s thigh eased.

  He freed himself and whirled in confusion—the sounds of his foes were coming from all directions. Though the mountains still blocked the dawn, a few scraps of light had iced the dewy grasses only a few yards away. That’s where Rollan staggered, knowing he and his friends would have a better chance of defending themselves if they could see who they were fighting.

  Along the way he stumbled into Abeke. She nodded in the direction he was moving, and wordlessly followed. Anda and Tellun were at their side by the time Rollan got to the open grassland.

  A handsome bearded man emerged from the darkness, clad in a black tunic. Even in the predawn light, Rollan could see that there was a spiral on his forehead, where the strange creature writhed beneath the skin.

  “Hello, Rollan and Abeke,” the man said calmly. “It has been some time. Can’t say I’ve missed you.”

  “Zerif!” Abeke said, her bow in hand. “What happened to you?”

  “Something wonderful,” Zerif answered. “Though far beyond your understanding. The Wyrm awakens, and I awaken with it.”

  Rollan noted that the man still carried his oily charm, but Conor had been right: Something was off about Zerif. His eyes were a bit too wild. His smile was a bit too stretched.