The Worm That Wasn't

by Mike Maddox

  "Of course, there is always the chance that this thing is just after you, Miss Carleaf," the small woman said. "I mean, if it's following your scent, then you could always go somewhere else."

  "What makes you think it wants me?"

  "Well, you saw it in the well, you say? And then it seems to have followed you to the barracks? So why shouldn't it follow you here? Nothing personal, but perhaps you should go. For the good of everyone."

  One or two of the larger men looked at each other, as if trying to read what the other was thinking. Leah was tall and young, but it wouldn't be too difficult to overpower her.

  Private Shaule flicked the safety catch off his weapon. It made a loud enough click to let everyone know this was not a viable option.

  "Thank you, Shaule. Well, I think that answers that one." Leah said. "Any further suggestions. Sensible ones?" The people in the Inn looked at each other. The small woman shrugged her shoulders; she evidently thought her idea a good one.

  "Right then," Shaule said. "Here's what we'll do. I'll set up a defensive position at one end of the high street, which will allow me to cover all points leading from the barracks to the village. I need volunteers to stake out the well. If that's where the creature is heading, then we might be able to intercept it on the way through, should it manage to get past my blockade. I don't know what weapons you've got here, but I know there's enough poaching going on to mean that at least some of you have something that may bring the creature down. You don't need to be great shots, just don't panic and start blasting off wildly. The creature is fairly large, so if you take your time and choose your target carefully you should be able to get at least one shot off before..." He paused. "Well, if enough of you manage to get one shot at it, then we might do it enough damage to slow it down enough to finish it off. So then, volunteers please?"

  There was a pointed silence.

  "It's like this," a skinny man with lank hair, the local banker, spoke up. "We're probably just going to stay here and wait for the army. I'm sure it's for the best."

  "If the army are coming," said Leah. "That thing could kill the lot of you before they get here. You need to defend yourselves."

  "We'll wait for the army," said the banker, again. "They know what they're doing. No offence to you, mister," he said, to Shaule. "But we'll wait until your friends get here, I think."

  There were murmurs of assent and nods of agreement from the villagers. "We need to defend the town. And we can't do it with just the two of us," said Leah.

  "But it won't be the two of you once the army get here, will it?" said the Mayor.

  "You're not going to help, are you?" said Leah, disdainfully. "You're going to let us sort it out for you, aren't you?"

  "No," said the Mayor. "We're going to wait until professional help arrives. Load of us blundering around with hunting pieces, we're more likely to kill each other by mistake than kill this creature."

  "How can you be so blind?" Leah shouted. "This thing is poisoning us even as we speak! My mother, my own mother is in the hospital. Most of you have friends, loved ones, even people you can't stand, all up there in the hospital. And this thing is to blame! Find it and the Sages can create an antidote. But whatever happens, we can't just stay here and pretend that there is nothing wrong!" Leah looked around the room, desperate for someone other than Shaule to side with her. "Oh, this is hopeless!"

  "We're going nowhere," said the Mayor.

  "A lock in!" said a gleeful voice from the bar "About time too! If the world's ending then I'm not facing it without a drink. Or several drinks, actually." It was Rendolph, a glass in each hand.

  "Rendolph! I didn't see you. You've heard about Gim?" Leah rushed over to him.

  "Oh yes. Good old Gim, stung by a worm and dying in hospital. Hate to say it, but you can see why some people might be a bit reluctant to go off monster hunting with you."

  "What? No, you idiot, that's precisely why we have to go and find it!"

  "So we can all get stung?"

  "No! So we can stop it!"

  "Stop it doing what?"

  "Stop it killing the lot of us."

  The Mayor coughed, meaningfully, and all eyes were on him again. "Yes, well, there we are then. All of us stay here until help arrives. The village has enough food and drink -"

  "Hurray!" shouted Rendolph, raising his glass.

  " - and we should all do the responsible thing and stay here until help arrives."

  Shaule made for the door, shouldering his rifle. "The way I see it, there's one of me with a whole town to cover. Best thing to do is if I get to a high point and try and keep a look out for it. Don't know exactly what I'll do when I find it, mind."

  "Perhaps you might try shooting it," said the banker.

  "Thanks. I obviously hadn't thought of that," Shaule said and, with that comment, he was gone.

  Leah watched the door close with a heavy heart. "Bollocks," she said. "Give me a drink."

  "Castle Central to Patrol, come in please."

  Krillan ran his fingers over his wrist-port. "Captain Krillan speaking. Receiving you Castle central." A picture swam into view. It was Rilston.

  "Captain, we have a security breach on Castle Gate Four. We have reports from Sergeant Wallas that the post is deserted. You are required to head for Gate Nine at once and assess the situation."

  "On my way." Krillan signalled to his patrol. As one, they made their way up the track towards the Castle walls.

  Wallas was running. He had heard a sound from outside, and had carefully peeked around the doorway. To his horror, the worm had uncoiled itself from where it had been hiding in the undergrowth.

  Not wasting a second, Wallas dropped to one knee and loosed a volley of shots at the creature's head. It snarled and spat a foul smelling green spray at him, but Wallas had already rolled to avoid it, cursing his creaking joints as he did so. He heard the sound of slithering behind him, but didn't stop until he reached the safety of a sentry box. Running into it, he turned and hurled a grenade. The creature arched its hideous body and the grenade exploded harmlessly yards away.

  The worm rose to its full height, its tongue licking the air, smelling Wallas over the unfamiliar stench of the phosphor from the grenade.

  Wallas only had one grenade left and only a small amount of ammunition. He reasoned, though, that he didn't have to kill the creature himself. He merely had to stay alive long enough for help to come.

  He held the worm in his sites as it weaved from side to side. He saw its tongue flick back inside its mouth again and ducked back inside the sentry box as it projected another green mist at him.

  As the creature lunged again, Wallas fired off three rounds which smacked into the worm's scaly carapace. It made a hideous screeching noise, dropped and turned to face him, purple foam dripping from its teeth. It reared up over Wallas, who closed his eyes, expecting the end. But instead a loud booming explosion made him look up. The worm had been knocked sideways by a glancing shot from a small cannon. It was the smallest artillery piece currently in use by the Alleshi army, but the largest owned by the militia. Krillan had ordered the men drag it up the hill to the castle, and it was this that had wounded the creature.

  "Fire at will!" shouted Krillan, and at once his men began to loose off rounds at the beast.

  Wallas found a small depression in the ground and threw himself down into it, fearful of being accidentally hit by his comrades. Around him the ground erupted. Wallas held his breath, expecting at any moment to feel his flesh ripped apart.

  "Cease firing!" It was Krillan's voice. "Cease firing."

  Walls opened his eyes, rolled over and brought his weapon up to his shoulder.

  There was no sign of the worm.

  "Where is it?" he yelled to Krillan. "Where's it gone?"

  "I don't know. It was here one moment and now it's gone. It just vanished."

  "It can't have just vanished!"

  "It's no use shouting at me Sergeant, I didn't make it disappear! I'd imagi
ne we're looking at the possibility of a magic user being involved. Someone with the power to move things or people. Bloody wizards, you can't trust them an inch!" Krillan's men formed a loose circle, looking outward for any sign of the creature. "It was here one second and then it just wasn't," said Krillan, pulling a spike from his belt. "We need to track this thing, this spike will let us follow the trail of magical residue. The enchantment that made this thing disappear can be tracked."

  Wallas rolled up his sleeve. "Give it here, Sir."

  Krillan nodded and Wallas plunged the spike into his arm. His whole body stiffened as his eyes opened wide, suddenly seeing the world anew. He turned his back on the Castle. Looking at the residence of the Mage while full of this stuff could send a man mad. Instead he turned his gaze outward, to where they had fought the creature.

  The air was full of magical particles. Tiny pinpricks of raw magic leading away from the Castle, and up towards the horizon. He could see the lines of energy in the sky left there by Holo Ships, the footprints on the ground left by one or two of the men, but of the creature there was no sign.

  "Can't see anything. I'll have to turn round. It might be invisible. It could be hiding behind us."

  Krillan clenched his jaw. "Alright, but be careful. Try not to look at the Castle directly if you can help it. The place is so overloaded with magic it could do you lasting harm while under the influence of this stuff."

  Wallas turned. "I know the risks, sir." There in front of him, he saw the shadow of a worm, the afterimage picked out in bright red glitter, hanging in the air.

  "I found it. It magicked out ten feet away. I should be able to get a trace."

  Wallas walked towards the shimmering outline, that only he could see and cautiously prodding it with his bayonet. He was looking at the after-image of a magical transportation. The creature had transported itself. Turning slowly, he followed the magical path it had taken and saw the glittering trail that led towards the village.

  "It's heading for the village."

  Krillan put a hand on the Sergeant's shoulder.

  "Thank you Sergeant, that'll do."

  "But there's something else. I looked at the Castle. I looked at it full on. The home of the Mage. And I looked at it directly while pumped full of this stuff."

  "We'll make sure you're looked after," said Krillan. "A couple of weeks rest and you'll be fine."

  "No. You really don't understand. You see, I looked at the Castle and I felt nothing...." A tear trickled down Wallas' cheek. "I saw next to nothing. Captain, there's nothing there. There is hardly any magic left in the whole Castle!"

  Krillan went pale, leaning closer to Wallas so as not to be overheard. "What? But how is that possible?"

  "Either the magic has left the Mage, or else..." Wallas paused, trying to take it all in. "Or else the Mage is dead," he whispered.

  "Sir! The village!" called one of the men.

  The air was hazy, swimming. As Krillan looked, a bright line suddenly erupted along the ground in front of him. A thick bead of flame had ignited the grass, trees, everything that might be expected to burn, between him and the village.

  "Heat barrier! He called back. "No one goes near it! Sergeant, contact the Castle, ask them what they're playing at."

  "Whoever did this, it might not be the Castle. Maybe they hope to keep the creature separated from us?" said Wallas.

  "Either way, we need to find out what's going on. Sergeant Wallas, I'll take half the squad and see if there's any way through that heat barrier. You take the rest and head on to the Castle, and see if we can't get some sensible answers to what's going on here."

  The creature blinked into existence at the far end of the village, by the fishmonger's. It flinched, expecting attack. But when none came, it flicked its tongue out and, smelling life, roared in approval. Hearing the noise, the fishmonger's wife opened a window and leaned out. The worm shot forward and thrust its head in through the gap. The last thought the woman had before the darkness took her was that she was glad they had sent the children to the shelter.

  The creature made its way along the street, sniffing its way from house to house, consuming life as it went.

  The village blacksmith heard a noise and, running down the stairs, had the presence of mind to bring a hammer with him, in case it was an intruder. When the creature smashed its way in through the leadlight window in the parlour, he was prepared enough to strike the beast on the snout. He screamed out loud as he did so, repulsed by the hideous sight. The scream was enough for his wife to escape by climbing out onto the foundry roof that backed onto the rear of the house, clutching her two babies.

  Private Shaule heard the scream and ran along the street, his weapon at the ready. He knew he should wait for support before tackling the creature alone, but then he heard the sound of crying children, which made up his mind for him. He kicked at the door of the blacksmith's house, which shrugged off his very best attempts at forced entry. The blacksmith, naturally enough, had the best bolts and locks in the whole village. Running round the back he saw the Blacksmith's wife, holding the babies on the roof of the forge. Through the open window he could see something thrashing about inside the house.

  "Lower them to me. One at a time," said Shaule. "I won't drop them, I promise!"

  "It's too far!" shrieked the woman.

  Shaule looked round the yard, and felt a rush of adrenaline at the sight of the ladder lying near the shed. Picking it up he slammed it against the wall and climbed as fast as he could, his heart racing.

  He emptied his backpack of everything. Medi-kit, rations, every single item he had been drilled into keeping good care of.

  "Here, quick," Shaule said. "They'll be safe." Gently, but with haste, the placed the two screaming children in his backpack, swung it round over his front, and slid down the ladder, burning his hands as he did so.

  "Now!" he called to the blacksmith's wife, "Quickly, come down."

  She hoisted her skirt, and started to climb down the ladder just as the creature loomed over her. Shaule loosed off three shots straight at its face. The babies screamed at the noise, but thankfully the thing ducked away, out of sight. Grabbing the woman's hand, Shaule ran towards the Inn. "My husband's in there!" wailed the woman.

  "I'm sorry," said Shaule. "There's nothing I can do. You need to take care of the children. They need you to be brave. As brave as your husband was."

  Reaching the Inn, Shaule banged on the door with his rifle butt. "Open up!" he yelled. "Open up now!" The door swung open and Shaule pushed the woman with the babies inside before following them in.

  "It's outside," said Shaule, out of breath. "What are we going to do?"

  "Well," said the Mayor, "I think we should -"

  "I wasn't talking to you!" Shaule snapped. "Leah! What do we do?"

  Everyone looked at Leah. Suddenly aware of the weight of so many pairs of eyes, Leah did the only sane thing left to her. She knocked back her drink in one. "Right," she said. "Here's the plan."

  Grefno was back in the Castle library, pouring over his books of spells. He had commandeered every sprite and Pixie he could find to help him. The air was full of tiny creatures as they carried books and scrolls from one level of the bookshelves to the next. The air hung thick with dust from disturbed volumes.

  He had tried to get Niaal to help him, but his friend could not be found.

  His eyes closed, he was viewing pages through the eyes of five separate Pixies as they flicked through five different volumes.

  Worms. Everything about worms he could get his hands on. Their strengths, weaknesses, likes, habits, everything he could find.

  "Grefno! Honoured Sage!" It was his guards, the Chemical Warriors, standing on the floor of the library, far below him. "Honoured Sage, we have an urgent message for you, Sir."

  "I'm busy!" shouted Grefno, his eyes still clenched shut in concentration.

  "Sir! The message is most urgent. It comes from Captain Krillan, of the militia. He insists you respond
to it."

  Grefno leaped up from the leather armchair he had been working from, and hurled himself over the balcony into the air. The sprites caught him at once, snagging his robes in their tiny fingers, as they gently lowered him to the ground where the soldiers were. They looked at him, stunned.

  "Come on then!" shouted Grefno, running towards the door. "We haven't got all day!"

  With worried glances to each other, his guards ran after him.

  Grefno came into the central courtyard at a gallop, nearly knocking over the blue armoured Castle guards that tried to open the door for him. "Where's Krillan?" he shouted.

  A junior officer in immaculate blue uniform pointed to a mirror, hanging in the air. "Managed to get the comms working again, sir. The captain is on this line, and insists he speaks to you and no one else."

  "Right. Everyone out of my way." He brushed the mirror with his finger. "Go ahead, captain." Krillan's face swum into view. His hair was in disarray and there were beads of sweat running down his cheeks.

  "Sage! The worm, it's here! It somehow managed to kill the perimeter guards. Sergeant Wallas followed it here and we managed to scare it off. We're fairly sure it's gone to the village."

  "Is Wallas still with you?" said Grefno, pulling phials and potions from his belt, hidden beneath his robes.

  "He's heading back to the Castle. He took a Reveal Spike and looked at the Castle. Grefno, Wallas said he couldn't see anything."

  Grefno's face went white. "I see..."

  "Is there anyone else you can send to help us?"

  "Yes. Yes, of course. I'll have the another Sage come at once, as soon as I find him. Everyone else is off on bloody stupid expeditions along our borders, gearing up for the war."

  "Fine. Sooner rather than later would be good. Krillan out." With that the screen went blank.

  Grefno turned to face his guards. "Please inform the esteemed Sage Niaal that he is needed as a matter of urgency. The rest of you follow me. We need an audience with the Mage."