Where Nightmares Ride

by R A Baxter

  “I get it,” Farley clawed at the ground. “You’re going to name off everyone who died in the explosion. Just get this over with!”

  Another crack echoed through the hills and yellow energy crashed through the hinged joint of the large pedipalp on Farley’s right. The two halves of the claw tumbled in the dirt below two horses and the faint image of a normal human arm appeared at Farley’s right side.

  “That was for my friend, Jasmine, who never would have hurt a fly!”

  “Don’t kid yourself. You’re just like me.” Farley swayed from side to side, unable to stand up. “You’re enjoying this.”

  Abby laughed.

  Jack detected movement to his right, turned and gasped. Damien appeared out of nowhere, thirty yards away, his arms around two men in dark suits on his left and two women in grey pantsuits, to his right. They each held glowing violet staffs and stood frozen for two seconds, until Damien disappeared. The people he left behind positioned themselves a dozen feet apart in a curved line. Damien appeared again in another location, arms around another two women and men, each dressed in suits.

  The tusked knight spotted the arrivals and stared at them for a few seconds before turning back to Abby. At least three other knights had also seen them, but did nothing.

  “This one’s for Sam,” Abby blasted Farley’s other pedipalp which spun from his arm socket and slammed into a tree, sparking and fading into black dissipating dust. “He thought you were his friend! He looked up to you!”

  Four more people appeared with Damien thirty yards beyond the knights on the other side of Farley.

  Clara slid next to Jeb. “Damien’s bringing in people from Intershroud. They’re forming a circle around us.”

  Jeb looked around and his bushy eyebrows rose up. “They won’t interfere with the Rite of Vengeance. That’d mean war with the ghosts. ‘Tis certain ’tain’t good fer ye, though. Ye young’uns best be on yer way. Follow me. I’ll get ye to me haunt.”

  “This is for Drake!” A thunderous crack sounded amidst a burst of light, and another leg flew off Farley’s segmented underbelly. He laid motionless in the dirt, one leg stretched to his left side below a single pincer, still clinging to a scimitar.

  “You call me a coward? How about giving me one fair swing at you?”

  Jack ran to Katie and grabbed her arm. “Lynch is coming. We need to go.”

  Katie yanked her arm away. “I’m not leaving Abby.”

  “They’re surrounding us,” Clara said.

  Another loud crack bathed the treetops in shadows and yellow light. Farley’s last leg flung through the dirt. Two faint human legs appeared, stretching in front of him.

  “That was for the last of us. Angela,” Abby said. “I never liked her. She defended you when you were harassing me. Yet even that didn’t stop you from murdered her in cold blood!”

  Farley laughed. “Do you really think I’m going to start feeling guilty now? Your last attack is for you, right? Let’s get it done.”

  “Oh no. Not yet. This next one’s for all of our families whose lives you destroyed!”

  Farley flung his last scimitar at Abby, but it disintegrated in the same burst of yellow energy that ripped the last appendage from his body. His stump of a tail faded, and his segmented chest shrunk down and flattened until it reformed into the tall wiry limn of Francis Farley, sitting in the dirt and leaning on his left arm. His bruised, hairy chest showed through his tattered black shirt.

  Jeb steered his horse in front of Katie, blocking her view. She glared at him and pushed at his horse.

  “I’s truly sorry, miss. I know ye wants to see this, but yer lives be in peril. Intershroud ain’t here for the ghosts. They be comin’ fer ye. We have to leave, now!”

  Katie turned to Clara, then Jack, then she looked around. Intershroud agents stood in a wide circle, each toting a vertical violet staff in their right hand. Damien appeared, his arms around Curtis Lynch, Fenton Murdock, and Derek. Katie’s shoulders slumped. She nodded and said, “Let’s get out of this nightmare.”

  Katie ran, Jack and Clara darting after her. Jeb rode on their right to block the view of Lynch and his companions. His tactic, however, didn’t work. Every Intershroud agent nodded at Lynch in unison, raised their violet staff a foot high, and jabbed it into the ground. A violet web of laser-thin beams of light crisscrossed the terrain below everyone within the circle, each staff connecting a light beam to each other staff, forming a massive web of purple light.

  Jack’s leg muscles throbbed and weakened. The feeling reminded him of a time long ago when he’d accidentally touched an electric fence.

  Katie and Clara stopped and turned to Jack.

  “What is this?” Clara rubbed her thighs.

  Jeb raised his hands toward two of the agents, then looked at his hands. He tried to turn around, but his horse only whinnied and wouldn’t move a hoof.

  The music of the Rite ceased.

  “Who dares interrupt the Rite of Vengeance?” It was Ezekiel’s voice, but it had lost its strength, now the normal baritone voice of a man.

  Jack turned around and found that the whole scene had changed. The sinewy forms of the Ghost Knights had reverted to the appearance of typical knights riding normal horses. Even the tusks had disappeared from the tusked knight’s helmet. The ghosts jabbed their lances in the air toward Intershroud agents, but nothing happened.

  “Their powers are gone,” Katie said.

  “This is an outrage!” Ezekiel unsheathed his sword and raised it toward Lynch. The other knights followed suit, raising their swords high. The knights, including Jeb, faded a little, allowing Jack to see Lynch and his Intershroud agents in any direction.

  “I’ll skewer you like a pig!” Abby jabbed her lance toward Farley, but no energy came forth. She tried to run at him but couldn’t lift her feet. She screamed.

  Farley pulled himself up, staggering and laughing. “I warned you. Intershroud looks out for its own.”

  “Silence, you imbecile!” All eyes turned to Mr. Lynch. “Intershroud values its relationship with the ghost population!” He faced Ezekiel. “I beg your forgiveness for this interruption to your sacred rite, but it was unavoidable. The inhibitor net was necessary to apprehend these three fugitives. Please, carry on with your business.”

  Farley’s eyed bulged and he glared at Lynch. “What? These ghosts destroyed our camp! I’ve been faithful to you! I’ve brought you dozens of recruits and protected our secrets!”

  “How long did you think we’d tolerate your incompetence?” Lynch nodded to Mr. Murdock, and the man pulled a pulsating violet orb from a pocket in his black suit jacket.

  “The ghosts are entitled to their revenge,” Lynch said. “It’s your sloppiness that lost us our recruitment facility. We cannot allow you to now threaten our alliance with the ghosts.”

  Fenton held his hands forward and released the orb, his fingers stretched toward it. The orb hovered and floated to a point twelve feet above Abby and Farley. A transparent dome flowed out of the orb, encasing the entire Ghost Knight cavalry. Only Jeb and the three Dream Runners remained outside of the dome, along with all Intershroud agents. The glowing violet lines of the inhibitor net stopped at the dome edge and crisscrossed over the top of it.

  The sinuous forms of the Ghost Knights instantly returned, and their horses whinnied and bucked amidst their dark mists, elated to be able to move again. Abby’s lance again glowed with bright yellow energy and she grinned, her eyes bulging in her ecstasy. Then she bent her lance toward Farley’s face.

  He cowered, shaking his head.

  “Any last words?” She laughed. Farley’s mouth opened to speak, but Abby had no intention of letting words come out. She gritted her teeth and squinted at the bright yellow light washing away the features of Farley’s face. She pushed all the power of her being into the energy of that lance. It crackled and brightened until Jack could barely open his eyes to watch. Farley’s body shook and morphed to the color of the beam, then flicker
ed out with a thunderous whump.

  Farley was gone.

  The sheer joy in Abby’s face made Katie’s stomach churn, yet she couldn’t look away. She braced herself, expecting her sister to fade away at any moment.

  “It’s done!” Abby tossed her lance in the dirt. “I did it. He’s gone. He’s finally gone.” She staggered in a circle, like a drunk woman, and laughed.

  Jack looked at Jeb. “How much time does Abby have?”

  Jeb raised an eyebrow. “Ye never know with these long-term ghosts. The memory pouch is already gone from her belt. I suspect she ain’t got long.”

  The earth rumbled, and Katie leaned on Jeb’s horse to regain her balance. The frog, still nestled in Jeb’s hair, turned his head to see what was happening. He shook his head and pressed his face back into Jeb’s hair.

  The grass, rocks, and soil at the feet of the agents of Intershroud churned and heaved upward, broke apart, and made way for something huge emerging at a slow pace from the ground. Tree roots snapped, and stones tumbled away. Intershroud agents rose steadily on top of a gray wall of rough-textured concrete, over ten feet thick. Derek squinted and held one hand to his head and the other forward, palm down. A ten-foot-wide, studded-steel gate punctuated the ascending circular wall below Lynch and Murdock. In less than twenty seconds, a twenty-foot-high enclosure had surrounded the Emend Delegation, Jeb, and the Dream Runners.

  “Release my people!” Ezekiel’s voice thundered. He charged to the edge of the transparent dome and faced Lynch and Murdock. “This outrage shall not go unanswered!”

  Dozens of angry threats resonated from the knights throughout the prison yard. “Infidels!”

  “We’ll wipe Intershroud from the earth!”

  “This is war!”

  “I’ll destroy the lot of ye with me bare hands!”

  The red-eyed knight raised his lance and sent a white blast directly at Lynch, but it fizzled out at the surface of the dome, absorbed by the inhibitor net.

  Jack turned to Jeb. “Where are their imps?”

  Jeb pointed upward. “Ye didn’t notice the fog overhead?”

  The three teenagers looked up. Sure enough, the yellow-gray sky had turned a light gray, with billowing clouds churning slowly, deep within the mists.

  “’Tis the same fog dome they placed over Farley’s camp. ’Tis certain ye noticed it if ye ever dreamed while ye was there. Anyone what enters the fog dome be findin’ themselves exiting a thousand miles away. Tis certain no imp’ll be penetrating that fog.”

  “Please, please, my friends.” Lynch held his open palms out to his sides. “I assure you; we mean you no offense. The ghost population has been our faithful ally for decades. Surely, you know I could’ve wiped out your entire delegation if that were my intention. We ask only that you depart in peace and leave these three children in our care.”

  “We ain’t gonna let ye bring harm to these young’uns,” Jeb said.

  Damien ran to the edge of the wall and looked down at Katie. “We’re not going to hurt you, Katie. I promise. We’ll take good care of you, and Clara.”

  “Lies!” Katie stepped forward and shook her fist at him, ignoring the numbing effect of the inhibitor net below her feet. “I could’ve died in that sleep lab! You knew it and you did nothing! I’ll never trust you again!”

  Damien opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He lowered his head and took three steps backward, stopping near his father, who patted him on the shoulder.

  “There shall be no negotiations,” Ezekiel said. “Release my delegation immediately or deem our treaty with thee nullified.”

  “I understand,” Lynch said. “I wished only to apprehend these children without inciting a battle with your renowned warriors. In good faith, I release you from the inhibitor dome and ask you kindly to depart.”

  Lynch nodded to Derek who then raised his arms and twisted at his waist. Derek’s eyes followed the circle of Intershroud operatives standing at attention along the wall top. Horizontal grey clouds formed out of the atmosphere over their right shoulders, shrunk, and condensed into metal tubes with thick black bands at each end, and a short viewer scope secured to its top. The agents each raised their right hands in time to catch their missile launchers and train them on the Ghost Knights. They raised their violet rods from the concrete ledge in unison, and the glowing violet lines of the inhibitor net flickered out.

  The heavy steel gates creaked and swung open with a loud metallic clunk. Horses bucked and galloped in a circle within the dome. Mr. Murdock reached his right hand toward the violet orb at the apex of the dome and it flew with lightning speed to his open palm.

  The dome evaporated, and the dark, ghostly cavalry charged out the gates.

  “Hold up,” Jeb said, his voice drowned by the whinnying of the angry, spectral stallions. “These young’uns leave with us!” He signaled Katie, Clara, and Jack to follow him.

  Ezekiel nodded his approval to Jeb, then galloped through the metal doors.

  A hand landed on Katie’s shoulder and she turned to find Abby, breathing hard and looking around in jerky motions. She’d abandoned her horse, plainly visible through Abby’s semi-transparent body, trotting alongside Ezekiel.

  “I can guide you to the haunt.” Abby’s voice spoke soft and shakily.

  “We need to hurry before they close the gate.” Katie pushed onward with all her strength but couldn’t walk ten feet without having to weave around a pothole, loose rock, or stray branch. She glanced up and saw four knights waiting beyond the gates, including Ezekiel, the tusked knight, the red-eyed ghost, and the short knight that had taken a liking to Jack.

  Jack arrived to within twenty feet of the opening when a billowing gray curtain began to drop in front of Ezekiel and his companions. The knights charged the gate, but the cloud touched the ground and hid them from view. The gate swung inward and slammed shut with a deafening clunk.

  Katie and Abby caught up with Clara, Jack, and Jeb, all standing before the closed gate, and watched it fade to solid gray concrete. The ground rumbled and the walls moved and scraped, closing in around Jack and his companions until the yard shrunk to a thirty-foot circle. Intershroud operatives teetered and struggled to maintain their balance, many of them falling and waking up, until only eight agents remained, missile launchers still strapped to their shoulders.

  Only Abby and Jeb remained of the Ghost Knights. Jeb shot his arms forward, clenching his broken yellowed teeth. A twenty-foot section of the concrete enclosure softened and waved in and out, and a circular hole broke open in the wall. The opening grew wider, then shrunk again and sealed up. Derek stood with hands stretched out and his face contorted with strain, matching Jeb’s effort to un-shape the stronghold. Five seconds hadn’t passed before Katie could see the wall beyond Jeb and his steed, through his fading body.

  The frog clung to Jeb’s hair, sitting in full view and looking around in alarm. “Cease this silliness!” He slapped Jeb’s ear. “You’re exposing me to danger! Stop this at once!”

  “You’re fading,” Clara ran to Jeb and grabbed his arm. “It’s not worth it.”

  “I’ve a new purpose now that I met ye. I won’t let ye down.”

  Katie started when Damien appeared next to her. He winked at her, and laid one hand on Abby’s shoulder and the other on Jeb’s leg. Damien, Abby, the frog, and Jeb’s horse stood frozen in place for two seconds. Katie jumped toward Abby, but she vanished with the others before Katie could touch her. Only Clara and Jack remained with her in the yard. Movement on the wall caught her attention. Damien had reappeared, standing by his father.

  “Where did you take her?!” Katie clenched her fists.

  Damien shook his head. “She’s fine. For crying out loud, Katie. You know I’d never hurt Abby. She was one of my best friends.”

  “Finally, we can get down to business,” Fenton Murdock said.

  “Patience, my friend,” Lynch grinned. “We mustn’t forget the little gift I procured for our friend, Mr.
Park.”

  Mr. Murdock walked to the far side of the wall, out of view. He returned several seconds later and shoved an old Asian man toward the wall edge, the man’s hands bound tight behind his back and a blue glow emanating from his body. Katie couldn’t imagine why Intershroud would capture such a harmless, humble-looking old man. He wore the simple, loose clothes of a monk, light mesh fabric over a gray band, and a baggy white shirt. Despite his situation, he faced forward bravely, his chin up.

  Jack gasped.

  Jack recognized the old Asian monk instantly. He’d dreamed about him many times before, most recently when the man had attempted to help him fight off the imps. The man stood with his hands bound behind his back, his body rigid and glowing with a pulsating aura of blue light.

  Despair darkened Jack’s thoughts, a mental force connecting the monk’s situation with Jack’s mental state. Marina had said this man was his Shadow, his hero Archetype, the personification of his subconscious mind. He watched his subconscious hero standing there immobilized and defeated, and he knew Marina had been right. It explained the weight crushing down on his mind. Jack’s arms and legs lost their strength, he staggered sideways, and clutched Katie’s shoulder with his hands.

  Katie clamped her arms around him tight, but he slid through them and fell to his knees. He stared down, his neck unwilling to bend. He knew no hope. He couldn’t be saved. He wept comfortless tears.

  Lynch laughed, a crackly, merciless laugh. “I see you recognized your Shadow. We caught him sweeping away your tracks with tree limbs, attempting to throw us off your trail. He’s quite the hero. Must’ve taken out ten of my operatives before they immobilized him.”

  Jack jerked his head up and glared at Lynch. “What’s the point of this? Don’t you people have anything better to dream about?” He grabbed a nearby rock and raised it over his shoulder, but let it drop through his fingers. He didn’t have the strength to throw it.

  “Oh, I most certainly do.” Lynch’s expression grew serious. “That is exactly the point. Intershroud has great need of my services, yet I find myself wasting valuable time dealing with ignorant, short-sighted anarchists like yourself. I don’t care about you. From what I can tell, you’re just an Aspect waiting for his body to die. All I’ve wanted is the assurance that our secrets are safe. The security of the entire world depends on it.”