The Gods of Garran

by Meredith Skye

  “Is that you, Corey?” she called, but the wind swallowed up her words. The figure kept walking away from the house. Who else could it be? Their house was isolated. Just at the end of Darktree Cemetery. Not a lot of housing developments out this way.

  Where was he going? Lauretta glanced back at the house where her first grade son played in his bedroom, already in his pajamas. Lauretta turned back to the driveway and ran after the dark figure who had already disappeared behind a set of trees as the lane curved out of sight.

  Running to catch up with him, Lauretta sprinted until she could see him again. The coat and hat were definitely the outline of her husband. “Corey!” she yelled again, trying to be heard above the insolent autumn wind. It stirred the rotting leaves and strew them across the dirt driveway. Why didn’t he hear her?

  Twilight hung in the evening sky almost as though frozen there. Nothing moved. The clouds clung to the mountains, covering up most of the last slivers of light. Chasing after her husband, Lauretta felt almost as if time were suspended. No amount of calling got through to her husband, Corey. It was like an invisible barrier separated them.

  But Corey didn’t stop. He reached the Lane and walked down it, oblivious that she followed him. Lauretta stopped and glanced back down the driveway. She shouldn’t leave her son alone. Not that there was any real danger. This small town was a very safe area. There was no fears about the neighborhood. Still, he was a little young to be left alone.

  Lauretta turned and bounded after her husband, determined to catch up with him. Phillip would be all right for a few more minutes.

  The distance between them seemed to get longer and longer no matter how quick she went. Corey must be walking fast. Curse those long legs of his!

  Where could he be going? Or was he just out for a walk? It was unusual for him to leave the house this late without even telling her where he was going.

  With a shock, she realized they had come as far as the entrance to Darktree Cemetery. Suddenly, the dark figured turned and walked into the graveyard. Baffled, Lauretta stopped.

  Was she wrong? Was the man she followed not her husband? What would he be doing going to the old graveyard this time of night?

  It was as if time resumed. All but a vestige of sunlight vanished. The shadows deepened and her eyes fought to adjust to the dark. I’m gonna kill him, she thought, running after him.

  Neatly placed tombstones stood in rows on the patchy lawn. The newer ones towards the front. Farther back, the graveyard became more wild and overgrown. Bushes and trees obscured the back area of the cemetery.

  Now Lauretta felt a slight panic as she ran between the tombstones.

  “Corey, stop!” but she had lost sight of him. She made a dash towards a trail leading into the bushes where she thought she’d seen movement.

  As she fought through the brush, she wished that she’d brought a flashlight.

  The trail came out on a hill with an older section of graves. These were not on a lawn but overgrown with weeds and bushes. A few tombstones stood out above the others. Some she nearly tripped over.

  She was losing the light fast and feared that soon it would be dark. With the sky mostly cloudy, it would be a dark night without moonlight. Up ahead she saw a figure head towards a small mausoleum. He opened the door and entered, disappearing inside.

  Lauretta slowed as she approached it. The circumstances were very odd. It was Halloween night. Could this be a little prank? She couldn’t imagine that Corey would lure her away from home where their son was left alone.

  She hesitated before entering the mausoleum. The place was dark and she stopped, waiting for her eyes to adjust. Then she saw a sliver of light on the other side of the room, where a door had been left ajar. She hurried over to it and quietly pulled it open, expecting something to jump out at her but nothing did.

  “I’m gonna kill him,” she muttered.

  Inside was a room like a crypt. On the left and right walls were stone coffins. And in the middle of the room also. Two small candles lit the stone room, one on each side. No one was here, but on the other side of the room, another door stood open slightly.

  Now Lauretta slowed down. Her heart was beating wildly, warning her against going forward. The whole setting was frightening. The air was tight and musty and acrid-smelling. She fought back the feeling that she didn’t belong in this place--that she should turn back.

  But her husband was in there somewhere and she was determined to find him. Maybe he was in trouble. What could make him enter into such a dangerous and deserted place like this?

  The door on the other side of the room began to close and she ran forward and slipped through it just before it did so. She found herself in an eerie, dark hallway. Her first impression was that the hallway was made of stone, but the shadows were so deep that it was hard to tell. She could make out the outline of the walls and there was a very faint green glow from the floor. Up ahead she heard her husband’s footsteps.

  At one point there was a break in the floor and she stopped, unable to see if it was solid or not, as that part did not glow. She felt a breeze coming from her left, as though there were an opening there. It was bitter cold, almost as though there was a crack in the building here. Yet the outside air wasn't even that cold. Lauretta backed up a few steps and made a running jump and made it to the other side.

  Time seemed to stop again as she ran ahead down the gloomy hallway. Almost she thought that she’d lost Corey and would end up wandering in some strange dungeon but then she came to another door that was just closing. This was a strong wooden door on large hinges, that looked like it could withstand an assault. As she darted through it, she noticed that there was a strong metal portcullis in the ceiling above that could be brought down.

  Were they expecting an assault? Or was this some sort of old medieval fortress beneath Cemetery Hill here in northern Nebraska?

  Lauretta found herself in a hallway intersection. Each hall was about five foot wide. The floor no longer glowed green. Torches on the wall gave light to the hall. Lauretta had no time to consider how that could pass the Nebraska fire codes as she heard the footsteps continue straight ahead of her. She passed the intersection and came to a large wooden set of double doors. She slipped inside.

  There, at the edge of a huge stone room she saw Corey standing stock still about 20 feet in front of her. This round room stretched about 30 feet in diameter, ringed by eight supporting pillars about a third of the way into the room. On each of these was carved ugly, gargoyle-like faces At the center of the room a fire burned high in a ten-foot wide fire pit. The floor was of smooth stone, perhaps marble? Or some other stone she wasn’t familiar with. Torches lit the walls every 10 feet or so.

  Four door led to this room, each of them had a portcullis which was poised for use.

  Above the room, directly above the fire pit, the ceiling was open to the night sky. It struck Lauretta as odd that no stars were visible. Instead, the sky glowed green in a shifting pattern that reminded her of the Aurora Borealis, which she'd seen once.

  "Corey!" she whispered, trying to get his attention without moving further out into this strange, forbidding room.

  In a fluid motion, he turned and looked at Lauretta. His grey eyes were completely black, with no pupils. She gasped. There was no recognition in his eyes. He turned away.

  Then Lauretta saw a man standing on the far side of the fire pit. He was tall with oily skin the color of ash and obsidian. His ears lay further back on his head and were larger and more pointed than human ears. His eyes were a deep orange, as though filled with flames. He was dressed all in black, and wore a black cape, with an orange collar. Near him stood two humanoid creatures. They stood several inches taller than him, albino red eyes and white wrinkly skin. They were armed with spears and wore grey, hooded robes.

  The orange-eyed man beckoned Corey, who walked forward without hesitation.

  "No, Corey!" She whispered, but he took no notice. She hung back, afraid of the other
s, and hid behind one of the pillars.

  The man ignored her husband as Corey came forward and stopped, as though waiting for instructions. The man turned away and gathered some things from a leather bag. Lauretta couldn't see exactly what. Then he walked around the fire pit in the center, chanting as he went, in a strange language. He tossed something in the fire that caused a small explosion, sending the flames high in the air.

  A strange mist rose around the fire pit, pouring out over the floor. The man's chanting rose to an inhuman pitch. Lauretta's vision blurred. She felt as though there was something between her and them. The sound became distorted. She wondered if she should run back to town to get help. But she stood rooted in horror as she watched this scene unfold.

  When the man stopped chanting he motioned for Corey to kneel. Corey did so. The man set his left hand on Corey's shoulder. With the other hand, he plunged a knife into Corey's heart.

  Lauretta screamed but the sound was lost in the tumult of other noises. The scene unfolded as if in slow motion. Corey slumped to the ground, lifeless, as his blood ran on the floor. The man with the orange eyes plunged his hand into Corey's chest and pulled out his heart, setting it in a large urn.

  In a panic, Lauretta left her hiding place behind the pillar, oblivious of all other things. She ran towards Corey. Just at that moment in time, a blinding explosion of light knocked all of them off their feet. The chanting immediately ceased.

  Three beings appeared in the room. In the center stood a woman with a long sword in hand. She had long silver hair, and pale icy skin. Her armor was white and blue and crafted out of a substance that resembled ice. Her eyes were light blue. On either side stood a man and a woman. Each had similarly dressed, with silver hair and pale skin, each armed with a bow and arrows.

  Immediately fighting ensued.

  The wrinkly albino warriors attacked the silver-haired people with spears while the black-caped man fell back and began chanting another spell. The long-haired woman drew her sword and came after the man, eyes flashing with anger. He faltered as she approach and stumbled backwards to avoid her blow.

  Unnoticed, Lauretta crawled forward to Corey’s side. His hand was cold to the touch. His eyes looked up at her vacantly, but once again their natural grey. The whole scene was so unreal, like some freakish nightmare that couldn’t be real. A dream that she could wake up from at any moment. Her heart should be breaking--but her mind still didn't believe this was real. Around her the battle continued, but she sat there by Corey’s side, holding his hand.

  The ice man drew a short sword and took on one of the albino warriors, killing him. The black-caped man retreated.

  A cry from the pit caught Lauretta’s attention. She looked over to the urn and saw what looked like a human baby in it. It had pale skin and pale red albino eyes. The baby cried softly under the sounds of battle. Lauretta took one last look at Corey, and kissed his forehead. Then she grabbed the baby from the urn and ran for the door.

  An explosion nearly knocked her over but she regained her footing and ran. Rubble from the ceiling fell, hitting her on her head. She dodged most of it but still felt blood running down her face.

  With renewed determination, she made it to the door, back down the empty corridor that seemed endless and timeless. Finally she made it back to the crypt. The candles had gone out and the room was dark. She prayed that she could still get out. Slowly she made her way across the room, clutching the crying baby. She made it, only to find the entrance closed.

  “Help!” she screamed in panic. “Let me out!” She pounded on the door before she collected her wits and stopped. Blindly she ran her hand along the edge of the door until she found a latch. Quickly she had the door opened and she ran through it.

  Back in the open air of Nebraska, she stopped and dropped to the ground, sobbing so that her cries drown out those of the small baby she had in her arms.

  Continued in the novel "Magic Spawn" by Meredith Skye.

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