“So how did you know Grappin was a demon?”
“We tree spirits know much, and demons, just like all creatures, give off signature vibrations that enable us to see through their disguises and...” Ailith's voice trailed off into silence.
While waiting patiently for her to speak again something scurried across the treetops toward his direction. Jacko knew at once that the creature coming his way was the same being Konafar had encountered. There was nowhere for him to go, so he quickly jumped into the water and hid along the side of the island.
“What's that?” Breen asked as soon as she heard something scurrying high above.
“I knew this was a bad idea. We need to hide; it's that creature from last night.” Konafar barked.
“What about Jacko?” Sun asked.
“I saw him jump into the water.” Breen answered.
“He’ll need our help.”
“If we want to have any chance of helping him, we'll need the element surprise.”
“Why are we so scared? You’ve fought giants before.” Breen asked him.
“Something tells me we should be really wary of this creature.” Konafar said and ran off into the thicker part of the woods. The others followed.
****
The creature stopped directly over the island and then came crashing down on top of the tree with a thud, splintering wooden fragments in every direction. Jacko huddled closer to the island while carefully peering up. From where he was, he saw a very large, cat-like creature with horns that pointed backwards. The dark skinned beast was hairless, except for its big mane and was much more intimidating than Konafar had described it.
The cat remained as still as a statue for several minutes, then it arched its back and let out a horrifying roar that shook the forest. The creature’s terrifying bellow scared Jacko as he drew closer to the island.
“Is that the creature you saw?” Eyes wide, Breen asked.
“That’s it.” Konafar answered.
“We need to do something. Jacko is going to get killed.” Sun said.
“It hasn’t seen him yet, because if it had, he’d be dead.” Tonles added.
“What’s it doing?”
“Just sitting there…wait…it’s moving.” Tonles said.
Slowly, and methodically, the creature sniffed the tree and then moved off of the log and did the same on the ground. Jacko glanced toward the shore, and his heart sank when he didn’t see his companions there. He was terrified, alone, and escape was not an option. So he pushed aside his fears and equipped his finger-knives.
The sound of the creature sniffing drew closer to where he was, and after a few seconds, black and red horns emerged over the edge of the island. Jacko gripped a hanging root for support and was ready to strike the creature’s throat when it appeared. The beast’s head began to form, first the base of its horns, then the ears, and just as its large head was coming into view, it suddenly reared back, howling in pain and fell away from view.
Seconds later, he heard it jump into the pond and tread through the water. Jacko remained motionless until he heard screams coming from the shoreline. Fearing for his companions, he quickly peeled his eyes away looking at the shore. Instead of Sun and the others doing battle with the monster, he saw a group of well-equipped humanoids, covered in fur, engaging the beast.
The humanoids fought as a unit. They moved in, struck the monster and then quickly withdrew, allowing the others to do the same. The tactic confused and frustrated the big cat, but something was wrong with their weapons, because no matter how many wounds they inflicted; they never drew blood.
One of the defenders rammed his spear into the side of the creature, and as he tried to topple the brute, the cat reached out and ripped his head off with a quick swipe of its paw, then leapt onto two more defenders, tearing them apart with claws and teeth. Another humanoid tried to help his fallen comrades and was gored to death.
Jacko knew that if they failed to slay the monster, they would never leave this place alive, so he rushed across the water to help.
Upon seeing Jacko running for the shoreline and knowing what he was about to do; Konafar, Tonles, Sun, and Breen left their concealment to join the fray. When Jacko reached the shore, he took a running leap and jumped onto the cat’s back, grabbing hold of its mane with one hand and stabbing it repeatedly with his finger-knives in the neck and head.
The monster, somewhat surprised by this, thrashed about trying to dislodge this pesky nuisance, but Jacko held fast until the creature jerked forward and threw him off and into the woods beyond.
After Jacko was gone, Breen took aim with the bow and shot the beast in the back. Her arrow, just like the rest of the weapons, failed to hurt the creature. Sun, Tonles, and Konafar engaged the cat. The latter was the first to land a blow to the creature's right leg, but instead of cleaving the limb off, Carnage stopped moving after it bit into its flesh. The creature whipped its head around and hit Konafar with the side of its horns, knocking the big man off balance and into Tonles, sending them both to the ground.
Sun punched the beast several times and was surprised when it had no effect. Another of Breen's arrows hit the creature's neck just as a defender, wearing a patch over his left eye, slammed his obsidian ax into the monster’s torso. His weapon tore through flesh and bone, spraying everyone nearby with blood.
The beast reared back, jerking the weapon away from the bearer’s hands, and howled a deafening scream, causing everyone to cover their ears and fall to their knees. The monster fell to the ground and violently convulsed.
Instead of falling over and dying, like everybody hoped, it grew several times larger. The weapon that was once lodged deeply into its chest was pushed out and fell to the ground. They watched in horror as the wound closed and the beast appeared to be unscathed again.
Several of the defenders rushed the cat, thinking they could now hurt it, but instead were rewarded with quick striking claws that mortally wounded them. Tonles was on his feet again and brought the full force of Ripper down upon the creature’s back, and just like Carnage; it did little to no damage except for getting the creature’s attention.
The monster whipped its body around with speed and agility. It was poised to claw Tonles, when an arrow flew by his head and pierced the creature’s left eye, causing it to scurry backward, howling in pain. The one-eyed defender retrieved his weapon and swung his massive cleaver, hitting the creature's right leg and biting into his flesh and bone, sending the beast toppling away. More defenders closed in, and the cat jumped onto a nearby tree, scurrying upward until it disappeared from sight.
“Leave while you still have a chance.” The one-eyed defender said to Tonles as he scanned the treetops.
Jacko came over holding his head.
“Who are you?” Tonles asked him.
“My name is Din. Now be quiet.” Din listened for several minutes. “Human, take your people and leave. This is not your fight, and your weapons are…”
His words were cut short when the beast jumped out of the trees, landed on another of his kinsman and began tearing him to shreds within seconds. Tonles noticed the creature’s leg was already healed, and he’d grown twice his normal size.
The monster roared with a new-found energy and leapt for Sun with his claws extended. The kung fu artist rolled out of the way and then had to use a series of maneuvers to evade the deadly attacks. Others tried to distract the beast with their weapons, but the cat ignored their feeble stabs and pressed Sun, keeping him on the defensive and driving him backwards until he tripped over a log and fell onto the ground. Konafar and Tonles rushed to his defense, but it was Din’s quick action that saved Sun’s life. He threw his two-handed ax, hitting the creature in the side. The beast yipped in agony and jumped high into one of the trees, disappearing from sight, along with the only weapon that actually hurt it.
“GO! We're finished.” Din said to the humans.
“Come with us?” Tonles pleaded.
“No!”
He snapped in response. “The beast will not stop hunting us until we are dead. You, on the other hand, have a chance to escape because it hasn't tasted your blood yet.”
“It's not in my nature to leave a fight.” Tonles said. Something deep inside of him drove the warrior and his need to help people against impossible odds. Maybe it was the bad taste left in his mouth when he failed to protect his friend from a group of thugs, or perhaps it was his chosen profession. Nevertheless, he wanted to help Din.
“It's pointless for you to die with us today. You do not even know us.” Din sounded defeated.
“You don’t have a chance either with your weapon gone.” Breen told him.
Din smiled. “I still have this.” He unsheathed a long silver stiletto and held it forth. The blade sparkled ever so slightly.
“What if I attack and…” Jacko was saying when the beast swooped down and attacked two more of Din’s people, ripping one to shreds and cleaving off the head of the other.
Din screamed in rage and ran over. He was about to deliver an attack to the creature’s neck, intent on cutting its throat when the beast turned around and gored him in midsection, piercing through his flesh and killing him instantly. With the death of Din, the rest of his countrymen broke off and ran in separate directions. The beast discarded Din’s lifeless body with a twist of his neck, roared at Jacko and the others in warning, and then gave chase after the forest dwellers.
Din's clansmen ran north with the beast following closely behind, while the others ran eastward toward Mirkin. Sun led the group through the twisting, tangled, forest and shouted for them to run faster after they heard dying screams somewhere far away.
Exhaustion started over taking them a few miles later, and they were about to stop and catch their breath when they heard the familiar sound of something scurrying across the treetops.
“RUN!” Sun shouted.
“I’m getting tired of running.” Tonles said, breathing heavily.
“We'll make our stand on the other side of the forest if we have to." Konafar said.
“Look there’s an opening up ahead.” Breen said when she saw a break through the trees and an open field beyond that.
When they were less than twenty feet away from the opening to the field, the beast landed on the ground and gave chase.
After clearing the trees, they turned around one-by-one to face the beast one final time. To their surprise, the creature stopped just inside of the forest and stared at them with hatred in its eyes. It growled and roared, but still didn’t advance. It was as if there was some sort of force field erected and keeping him at bay. After several intense moments, the creature disappeared back inside of the forest.
“How can…that be…?” Breen said huffing and puffing.
“I don’t care, let's get out of here.” Tonles said.
“Let’s head for those trees over there.” Sun said.
They remained silent until they reached the small cluster of trees. After they were situated around the fire, Tonles spoke.
“In all my travels I've never seen a creature immune to weapons.” He simply stated.
“It appears that silver and the ax Din was using hurt the creature.” Sun added.
“But they didn’t kill it either. Did you see that it could heal itself and double its size?” Jacko said.
“Now tell us why you needed to go to the pond? You almost got us all killed.” Konafar said to Jacko, because he was still pretty mad at him.
“I’d like to know as well.” Tonles added.
“The night before I had a strange dream that involved my family and a wood lady named Ailith.”
Konafar was about to say something, but Tonles held up his hand signal to let Jacko finish.
“In my dream she mentioned my friend Torhan and the danger he was in.”
“And that’s what convinced you to go to the pond?” Konafar pressed.
“What convinced me to go to the pond happened after I woke from my dream. I heard a voice with almost the same exact message.”
“Could it have been that creature that lured him down there?” Breen asked.
“No, because when I went to the island the tree actually spoke to me and told me about the danger Torhan was in.”
“The tree had a mouth?” Konafar asked jokingly.
“No, it spoke using telepathy.”
“Next time, involve us right away so we can at least be better prepared.” Tonles said.
Jacko nodded.
“What did the tree say to you?” Breen asked.
“It, or shall I say, she, said he passed through the forest and was being pursued by a demon.”
Tonles raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Demon? Here on earth? That's a child's bedtime story, there are no such things.”
“Maybe so, but if he’s not in Mirkin, then I need to go look for him.”
“Does anyone think that creature could have been the demon she was referring to?" Breen asked.
“I don't think so, because she said that the demon was far more dangerous than the creature we fought.”
“What's strange about this whole ordeal,” said Sun, “was that if the creature always lived in the forest, then why did it take so long to go after Din and his people? And I wonder why it didn't pursue us after we stepped out of the forest. It had to sense that it was more than capable of killing us.”
“Maybe it was bound to the forest somehow.” Breen added.
“Maybe…or possibly it was told never to leave the forest. Therefore, that brings me back to my original thought. When did the creature appear? Din’s people would’ve been killed off a long time ago.”
“I guess there are questions we'll never have the answers to. The good news is that we should be inside of the city walls by tomorrow afternoon.” Tonles said.
“Good. I need a hot bath and a hearty meal.” Konafar said.
When morning arrived, they packed up their belongings and left.
Chapter 18: A Demon’s Right
Two moons after Jacko left the forest; Dybbuk passed through a portal and entered the place known as The Other. He found himself situated inside of a forest near the town of Mirkin. It was nighttime, the darkness did little against his keen sense of sight, and the smell of a nearby campfire didn’t escape his senses either.
His first order of business was to take up the guise of a human and knowing them; he would most likely find some sleeping around the fire. Such easy targets relying on flames for warmth and protection, but on this night, it would lead to their deaths.
Smiling, he followed the aroma until it led him to a group of travelers camping for the evening. He counted four humans total. Three were sleeping in their blankets while one was sitting upright against a tree keeping guard. It was too easy for the demon as he made short work of them, but then again, it always was. Humans had inferior skills, and their weapons didn’t pose any threat at all. The only thing they had going for them was their numbers, but eventually they wouldn’t have that either.
He grabbed the closest corpse and removed his armor while being careful not to damage the material. What came next was savage by human standards as he ripped open the dead man’s chest cavity and took hold of his intestine and tasted the organ. The bitter flavor disgusted him, but it was a necessary evil in order to transform him into an exact copy. When the transformation was completed and he looked exactly like the human, he stood erect and dressed in his armor, then strapped his two-handed sword across his back. He was now ready to embark on his journey to find out what had befallen his pet.
It took him several hours to find the woods where Darkener had entered. He was met by the sweet sound of silence. Birds did not chirp; animals didn’t scurry about, and not even the bugs made a sound. The area felt dead, and that’s the way he liked it.
The further in he traveled, the more he realized that he couldn’t sense his pet’s life force, which was strange and a little disturbing to him. A few hours later, he came upon a place where dead bod
ies decorated the area, all of which were either twisted or ripped to shreds in a horrifying fashion. Their deaths clearly indicated that Darkener had passed by at one time. Still not sensing his presence, he followed the trail of dead toward the south and arrived at a lake.
On an island in the middle of the lake was an uprooted tree laying on its side. A unique essence radiated from the tree, and he knew right away that he’d found the demon bitch. He crossed the lake, climbed onto the plateau and approached the broken and splintered tree.
“Well now. I didn’t expect to find you here.” Dybbuk said.
“Dybbuk, I am sorry.” Ailith’s voice was faint when she answered.
“SORRY!” He spat. “You’ve betrayed me and you’re sorry? The only thing you’re remorseful about is your pending death.” He paused. “Did you really think you could’ve swayed my pawn into doing your bidding? You’re nothing but a fool.”
“Please help me back to our world and I will repent.” She pleaded.
“The only help I will offer you is a quick passing into the abyss. However, I want you to take solace in knowing that your lover, and his underling Tam, are already waiting for you there. Now tell me where my pet is, and I’ll send you on your way quickly.”
Ailith knew that without his help with the passing, she would remain in these woods for many years, and that was a fate worse than the abyss. “He waits for you towards the east.” She said.
Dybbuk unsheathed his sword, produced a small vial, and poured its contents all over the weapon. “Enjoy eternity.” He said and drove the weapon into the trunk, twisting the blade back and forth until the wood split. The liquid did the rest and poisoned the root, cutting off the remaining life force.
A whimper echoed from within the tree and then all went silent.
Dybbuk left the area and headed eastward. Along the way, he encountered more mangled forms of Ailith’s followers and only paused when he saw one, in particular. It was Lord Sim himself. His severed head rested beside what was left of his broken body. By the look on his face, Dybbuk could tell his last moments were ones of excruciating pain.
A Demon's Quest the Beginning of the End the Trilogy Box Set Page 49