by F J Blair
Before that, though, it was time to find somewhere else to hide. She set off towards the cliffs, planning to follow them until she found the stream again. With some food and water in her belly she would be in much better shape to test her rope.
All I need to do is pull down the ladder so I can climb out. Nothing fancier than that. Just climb a tree within sight of the giant rock monster, make my throw while dangling from a branch that can barely support me, then get back down and to the ladder before I end up as breakfast. Easier than baking apples. In the rain. With no cook pot. Or apples.
The stream appeared from out of the trees, and Temperance slowed her pace down to a near crawl. She doubted the lurker would have buried itself so soon again to wait for her, but she honestly didn’t know what to expect from the creature. Better to be ready for any surprises.
Nothing emerged from the ground as she knelt for a drink. Once, a branch behind her cracked and Temperance nearly fell into the water in her panic, but a chittering noise told her it was nothing more than a squirrel angry at her for invading its territory.
Thirst slaked, she set to beating one of the liberated tin cans with a rock. The cans were stubborn, but Temperance had become quite adept at opening them with a brutal efficiency born of hunger and desperation. This one yielded after only a half-dozen strikes, the creamed corn inside of it leaking through a puncture hole. She quickly scooped it up with her fingers before it reached the dirt.
Two cans of creamed corn later, Temperance licked the sticky remnants from her fingers and contemplated her next move. The lurker would likely need to sleep at some point, but unfortunately she didn’t know enough about the creatures to even guess at how long that might be.
She considered her options while inspecting the rope, a rough bit of handiwork if there ever was one. It didn’t feel strong enough to support her, but then again it didn’t need to. Reaching the end, she wrapped it several times around a short branch and tied it off with one of the knots her grandfather had made her practice until she could do them in her sleep.
That done, she started back at the other end of the rope, looking it over for any weaknesses. No sense taking any chances.
She should also climb a few trees, make sure she still had a feel for it after being sick for so long.
Plus, it couldn’t hurt to go look for a few more cans of food, too. No telling how long it would take to get back to Martin’s once she escaped.
Then there was always the matter of finding the missing axe . . . .
Temperance reined herself in just short of starting plans for a winter lodging. You’re stalling. Not like this situation is going to get any better. If that lurker doesn’t catch you in the next day or two, starvation will set in eventually. You can’t count on Martin coming to your rescue here.
That last thought left her bristling with an anger she hadn’t felt in days. Martin, rescue her? After he had been the one to leave her to the mercy of this dang monster? That’s probably just what he was hoping to do, swoop in at the last second and show her how a real Pistol Warlock acted.
No, she needed to get out of this valley and return to Oceanside. Only then could she give that old gunslinger the tongue-lashing he deserved. And if it meant risking almost certain death to do so? Well, that’s a price she’d pay willingly.
Feeling fresh resolve flow through her, Temperance stood and gathered her supplies. The remaining cans went into her blanket sack, the rope coiled around her shoulder. With no more reason to stay, she set off into the woods, following the cliff line towards the remnants of the cabin.
The clearing appeared sooner than she would have liked. Temperance settled her gear inside a tree stump and started circling the wreckage of the cabin—from a reasonable distance, of course. She caught the occasional glimpse of the lurker through the trees. It didn’t move, so it was either occupied with something else or finally asleep. Sadly, with no way to check for certain, she kept moving towards her trap.
Reaching the remains of her noisemaker, Temperance was pleasantly surprised to find the trap hadn’t been utterly obliterated like the last two, as she’d feared. Several branches were salvageable, so it only took a few minutes to reconstruct everything.
After setting the final rock and hearing the expected soft groan, she started retracing her steps to the cliffs. Once there, she settled down next to the stump and waited.
She didn’t have to wait long. Perhaps a minute later the branches of the trap collapsed in on themselves, sending the rocks tumbling down to smash and clatter against each other. The echoes of it reverberated throughout the forest.
The lurker was already spinning about before the sound died away. It lumbered off towards the noise, pincers clicking, breath hissing between its massive jaws.
Temperance was on her feet immediately. She dashed along the cliff line, hopping over chunks of broken rock and the occasional fallen log. Ahead of her she could see the rope ladder just visible at the top of the cliff. Beneath it waved several scrawny pines. She picked the largest of these and started climbing.
When she was halfway up, an angry rumble burst from the forest. Temperance didn’t dare risk slowing down to look, but if she had to guess, the lurker had determined the trap to be another false lead. It would be back in the clearing in a moment. She didn’t think it would notice her up in the branches, not without getting closer, but it certainly would once she returned to the ground. Then it would simply be a matter of which of them was faster.
She heaved herself up further, heart beating faster than a charging stallion. Her fingers closed upon the last bough of the tree, pitch and needles coating her hands and most of her coat sleeves. The whole tree swayed as she balanced herself.
Gotta make this count. Missing and letting the rope fall will let that monster know I’m here just as much as falling out of the tree will.
She squinted at the cliff line. She couldn’t see the rope’s exact position from where she hung, but knew the rough spot it had to be. Assuming she hadn’t gotten her bearings mixed up while dashing over here. Assuming there wasn’t a lip or some other unforeseen obstacle in her way. Assuming—
Stop stalling! The lurker will be back at any moment.
Already she could hear it making its way towards the cabin. It had knocked over most of the trees in the near vicinity during its earlier searches for her, but it still wasn’t exactly the most subtle of creatures. Hopefully its footsteps would cover any noises she might make.
Taking a deep breath, Temperance swung the rope in a circular pattern, using her other hand to hold herself out and slightly away from the tree. The rope became an indistinct blur as it moved faster and faster. Down below came another angry hiss.
GO!
Her rope sailed through the air, and Temperance’s breath turned to ice inside her, lungs freezing solid, guts shattering to icicles as her eyes followed the rope’s slow, inevitable arc. It started to descend, falling, falling, falling downward . . . .
Where it passed from sight somewhere on the clifftop. Temperance’s insides thawed in a flash, and with a burst of glee gave a tug on the rope. It didn’t come apart in her hands, and neither did it slide back over the edge of the cliff, unsuccessful. She pulled harder.
The rope reappeared, bringing the ladder with it. She watched as it tumbled to the ground, the stick on the end of her rope clattering amid the hard dirt at the cliff base, the rest of it tumbling after as she let the other end slip from her fingers. She had no more need of it now. Salvation waited for her at the bottom of the tree.
From over in the clearing came another rumble, and the ground thudded as the lurker approached. Temperance didn’t care.
I’ve done it. I’ve done it! I’m leaving this filthy pile of boulders for good, you couldn’t make me come back here for all the kos in—
With a terrifying crack, the branch she was standing on broke apart. Temperance flailed, letting go of the treetop in her panic. With nothing keeping her in place, she tumbled tip over t
ail.
The ground came rushing at her so fast there wasn’t even time for a scream to escape her throat. Instead Temperance threw her arms in front of her, her mind praying to the Divines that she had never before known or cared about for something, anything, to save her. Death approached with the speed of a landslide . . . .
. . . And just as quickly came to a halt. Temperance blinked and found her face hovering only inches from the dirt. Around her, the fabric of her jacket pressed against the ground, leather quivering with the force of the impact.
Then the leather retracted, drawing back into her coat. Temperance dropped the remaining few inches, face exploding in pain as her nose struck hard-packed dirt, the rest of her too surprised to do anything to stop it.
What . . . what was that? She wondered, spitting leaves and pebbles from her mouth as she sat up. The world spun for a moment, splitting into several mirror images that eventually rejoined to show the ladder dangling from the cliff side perhaps a dozen feet away.
A bellowing hiss from behind spun her about. The lurker had seen her, and was advancing fast, pincers already reaching out to saw her in half.
Temperance glanced back at the rope ladder. No way she would make it before the lurker caught her. With a little whimper, she climbed to her feet.
The lurker was almost upon her, its massive stone body hiding the entire clearing from sight. It reared up, pincers opening wide for the final strike.
Without pausing to think about the insanity of such a plan, Temperance dove. Not backwards, away from danger, but towards it. She hit the ground about halfway down the creature’s body and tucked into a roll, keeping her forward momentum going. The lurker dropped back down onto all of its legs and gave a screech as it realized its prey was no longer there.
Temperance scrambled back and forth as the creature moved, trying to stay beneath it. Giant legs—small on the creature but each one still bigger than her—stabbed at the ground, tearing up clods of forest floor and coming close to impaling her a half-dozen occasions. She rolled and stumbled about, narrowly avoiding death time and again, her energy already beginning to flag. This couldn’t go on much longer.
Giving an angry hiss, the lurker spun about looking for her. One of its pincers caught on the ladder, slicing it in two. The lower half tumbled to the forest floor, the section still hanging from the cliff side far beyond Temperance’s reach. She watched the monster shake one of the wooden steps loose from its pincers, her hopes breaking apart with it.
As the creature hammered the nearby trees, shearing them apart as well, Temperance crawled on her belly towards its tail. The thing looked like a massive stone club, big enough to crush her to death on its own. She held her breath as she passed beneath.
The lurker knocked down the last tree and let out a high-pitched scream. It reared up on its hind legs, tail crashing down towards Temperance. She lunged forward, gap between the tail and ground sealing shut behind her.
Stumbling to her feet, she took off running, pure terror-fueled adrenaline pumping through her. Broken trees snapped and groaned as the lurker spun about. She didn’t need to glance back to know it was giving chase.
Temperance ran past the ruins of the cabin and into the forest beyond, not knowing where she was going, no plan other than to get away from the lurker, to live for as long as possible. From the noises behind her, the likelihood of escape didn’t seem particularly promising.
Dangit, I was so close! Breath wheezed from her in harried bursts. A tree began to fall in front of her, and Temperance managed to just slip underneath before it hit the forest floor. Maybe I ought to just let the lurker eat me. Not like starving is a better death. Both are probably painful, but at least the first one should be quick.
Despite her thoughts, the terror running through Temperance’s blood kept her legs moving forward, although she could already feel them beginning to fail. The lurker was close enough behind her now she could smell its rotten breath with every wheeze of her own. She flinched, expecting its pincers to tear her apart in the next moment, her arms wrapping about herself as she tensed for the inevitable.
With a stomach-clenching jolt, Temperance launched forward. She opened her eyes just in time to see a tree branch hurtling towards her and threw her hands up to knock it away. Instead she sailed past it, the angry hiss of the lurker falling behind her.
Her unexpected flight came to an abrupt and stumbling halt. She looked down, wide-eyed, to see leather once again stretched out towards the ground. Somehow her grandfather’s jacket must have propelled her forward, faster than her own legs could ever have achieved.
Temperance reached a hand down and traced it along a pattern etched into the material. How in the heck—
The crashing behind her grew louder. She turned and saw the lurker trying to squeeze its way past a pair of large pines. The creature heaved, and with a groan one of the trees started to tilt sideways, roots snapping as it pulled from the dirt. Temperance didn’t wait around to watch it fall. She was off running again, all questions about the jacket and her miraculous escape fleeing from her mind.
Up ahead the stream appeared, ending as it slipped beneath the cliffside. Temperance skidded to a halt, staring down at the dark water and the darker cavern beyond. Her mind weighed the odds of survival against those of staying here.
I’m not actually thinking about this, am I? She glanced back, and saw the lurker scuttling towards her, speed building with each second. I’ve got no idea how far it goes, or if it goes anywhere at all. But what other choice have I got?
The lurker was almost to her, egg-rotten breath steaming past its jaws, pincers raised for the kill. Not giving herself any more time to think, Temperance dove headfirst into the stream, the water barely deep enough to pull her along. Behind her came an angry squeal, and then darkness closed over her like a shroud, cutting off light and sound both. The icy water tugged at her, pulling her further into the darkness, death or freedom waiting somewhere up ahead.
Temperance didn’t care which. Death or freedom, at least this ordeal would be over.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
They rode without stopping until gray light appeared in the east, chasing away the night’s chill, a low-hanging fog spreading before it that curled between rocks and smothered the pale grass beneath its embrace.
As the sun rose higher, the land turned to prairie around them. Temperance couldn’t say exactly when they had left the marsh, only that its smell had retreated before sunrise. She was too tired and sore to notice more than that.
Up ahead, William brought his mount to a halt. The beast was the same brown-and-cream as the two horses they had taken last time. The horse gave a snort and a shake of its head as he pulled on the reins, prancing about a moment before at last going still.
“I think we have gone too far north.” The boy squinted into the distance, as if looking for landmarks. “Should we turn and make for the river?”
Temperance shook her head. “No, let’s keep going. I have a new destination in mind.”
“What about Sweetwater? And Messanai?”
“They can wait. First, we need to deal with the trouble brewing behind us.”
“You mean Lucius.” William glanced back and gave a shiver.
“Him plus any of Whittaker’s gang that managed to survive. I’m not foolish enough to think they all perished, even if we hadn’t seen half of them running about near the end. Anyway, it’s time we put an end to this whole business.”
“An end? How?”
“I’ve got a few ideas.” Temperance fingered the necklace at her neck. Finding it absent, she frowned and looked towards William. “You still have the stone I gave you?”
The boy shook his head. “Lucius took it along with your equipment. I think he believed they were enchanted like your coat.”
At his words, sharp pains squeezed at Temperance’s guts. She had managed to put the loss of her grandfather’s jacket out of her mind for as long as she could, but now the memory forced i
ts way to the front. The image of leather scraps burning away to nothing felt like it had been seared into her mind.
This truly is the end for me, then. No more hexbullets, no Astor, no coat. I’m nothing more than a girl with a stolen gun and horse, running from the terrors of the night like every other ordinary citizen.
Well, time to fix at least one of those problems.
“It doesn’t matter,” she told William. “And neither does Sweetwater. We’re heading further north. Where I should have gone in the first place, if my head had been screwed on right from the beginning. It’s the only chance that we’ll survive the next few days, slim as that is.”
“What is north of here?”
“Farms, mostly. A few days beyond that, though, lies the edge of the Silversky Mountains. Hiding somewhere near their base is one of my Grandpa’s cabins. There’s a chance—only a chance, mind you—that he left something behind. Weapons, hopefully. Weapons that might kill an upyr.”
William nodded, but did not appear too confident in that regard. After everything she had seen Lucius shrug off so far, Temperance wasn’t that confident either.
An awkward silence settled between the two of them, the horses cropping contentedly at the prairie grass. Temperance coughed once to clear her throat, then a second time as she gathered her words.
“William, listen, about what I said back in Sweetwater—”
“It is fine, Miss Whiteoak.” The boy refused to meet her gaze.
“No, it isn’t. I was acting selfish, only worried about my own concerns. It’s the way the gunslinger in me operates, always trying to think about the next threat. That’s no excuse, just me explaining how I am. Still, it means that I don’t always consider the people behind the problem. I didn’t think about what this all meant to you.”
Now William did look at her. “Thank you, Temperance. For my own part, I am sorry I did not tell you more about myself from the beginning. Perhaps we would not be in this situation if I had.”