by Adam Witcher
Isaac sat up on his bedroll and wondered if he was dreaming. The mass formed an oval, and by the time it completed its arc and revealed another world, Isaac was already crying out to his companions.
“Wake up! Now! We’ve got company.”
The others jolted awake.
The hellscape of Tenebromar was even more barren than when he’d seen it last. This stretch had no mountains, no great fissures, instead just a flat, endless expanse of rough dirt. And on that stretch, Scorpius stared back at him, his insectile eyes full of bloodlust. The creature looked manic, eyes red above an unhinged, twisted grin. His barbed tail bobbed in circles above his head, impatiently waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Edwin started screaming. He leaped from his bedroll and ran to cower behind Isaac. Aerin stared into the portal like a calling void, her fingertips tinged with wisps of purple smoke. Rhotha gritted her teeth and summoned her bound battleaxe. The ladies stood on either side of him.
“You!” Scorpius raised a gnarled finger and pointed at Isaac, sending a chill through him. “What have you done to me?” His voice was a desperate hiss.
“Missing your soul, Scorpius?” Isaac said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. “Don’t worry, I only took some of it.”
Instead of responding, Scorpius charged at them. Isaac charged right back. He grabbed his dagger, flipped it around and reached the portal as quickly as he could. By the time he dug the hook into the border, the beast had almost reached them.
“Hold him off!” Isaac cried, yanking the dagger downward.
The only one properly armed, Rhotha said a quick incantation to fortify her armor and strength enchantments, then reeled back and prepared to strike Scorpius struck through the portal with his barbed tail, and she barely managed to prevent it from connecting with Isaac’s neck. She grunted as her phantom steel slammed into the beast’s tail. A surge of blue exploded between the two weapons when they met.
Scorpius dark grey eyes went wide, but he said nothing as he staggered backward. Instead, he bellowed a war cry and charged them again. Aerin summoned her dagger. When axe met tail again, she slashed at the stinger wildly. It descended on Edwin, who had to leap out of the way to prevent his demise. The unarmed elf screamed and cowered backward.
Isaac, using every ounce of strength within him, neared the halfway point of the portal, but Scorpius advanced closer. One of his spindly legs wrapped around a side of the portal, and Isaac stopped his progress to dig into it with Saldana’s dagger. The monster stepped back and cried in pain, but it wasn’t enough. The process was too slow-going, and Scorpius’s building rage left him caring less and less about pain.
To his side, Aerin was completely aglow with purple. She stared at Scorpius, willing her magic to work, but he looked unaffected.
“I’m trying, Isaac! It isn’t working.”
“He’s too powerful,” he grunted. “We just have to get this closed.”
Scorpius took two steps backward and raised his tail above his head. The tip glowed blue. The beast grinned, locking eyes with Isaac.
“Shit, shit. Watch out!” Isaac cried.
Isaac pulled his dagger from the portal and ducked. A blast of blue energy shot through the portal and over his head. He looked behind him in horror, but to his relief, nobody was struck. Scorpius’s energy beam had incinerated a copse of trees. Isaac quickly turned back to the portal and started closing it again. He was nearing three quarters of the way through.
Lowering his head, the monster made no other attempts to attack. He seemed to want to come through, but he hesitated, as if nervous.
Isaac broke out into a cold sweat. Was this it? Was it all over?
He pulled the knife and sheathed it, then grabbed a phantasm gem from his pocket. Quickly, he summoned his bow and aimed for Scorpius’s face, which was now only ten feet away despite existing in another dimension entirely.
He fired. A gleaming blue arrow erupted from his phantom bow and caught Scorpius off guard. It slammed into his face and sent him reeling. Isaac grabbed his knife again and resumed closing the portal. Scorpius stewed in rage.
But then Isaac reached the end of the portal, and it disappeared into the night.
All was then silent and dark. The group looked to one another in bewilderment.
“What in the gods’ names was that?”
“First time seeing Scorpius?” Isaac asked them. “Ugly fucker, isn’t he?”
“How did he know we were here?” Rhotha asked. “How did he open that portal?”
“Good question,” Isaac said. “I guess he felt a piece of his soul disappear.”
“What if he opens another one?” Aerin asked.
They were all silent for a long moment.
“You saw him hesitate, right?” Edwin said. They all looked at him. “Why would he do that?”
“Another good question,” Isaac said. “Gods, maybe we should talk to Saldana again. I don’t know if it’ll help, but it’s worth a shot.”
“He was surprised,” Aerin said. “He had no idea we’d have phantom weapons.”
“I get the feeling that’s the only reason we survived.” Isaac reinvigorated his dagger with a phantasm gem. “But we won’t have that luxury next time.”
Once it was glowing bright blue again, he imagined Saldana’s glorious realm and cut open a new portal. The goddess appeared on the other side, her face contorted with worry.
“Isaac? Oh thank heavens. I sensed something terrible happening.”
He told her everything that had happened, from what he’d learned from the imprisoned elf to the surprise attack.
“I could feel his wrath, Isaac. Feel it like it was my own. He was frightened and desperate.”
“How is that possible?” he asked.
“I believe a connection was forged between the three of us when you took a piece of his soul. He knew where to find you, knew what you’d done. He doesn’t understand how you figured out he spread his soul to those elves, or how you knew to look for phantasm gems. Your retaliation caught him off guard.”
“He hesitated to come through the portal,” Isaac said. “Do you know why he would do that?”
“Perhaps he is not ready to enter our realm,” Saldana said. “Your destruction of the talisman forced him into retaliation early. Next time, if his powers have developed further, you may not be so fortunate.”
“What if he comes back soon?” Rhotha asked.
“I can block your imprint from his detection, but only for a short time. You have to stop him, and soon. I believe he means to enact the final stage of his plan in the coming days. Oh gods, it’s horrible.”
“What does he mean to do?”
“That temple the elf spoke of,” she said. “It was meant to be a temple to me. Since his soul-carrying followers are there, he means to begin the dimensional merging there. And I believe he means to do it soon, very soon. Perhaps even in the coming days. You must stop him, quickly.”
“I still don’t know how! Kill the other four followers, but then what?”
“Do not forget, Scorpius is still a mortal. He may be powerful, but he bleeds like anyone else. I will meditate and see what else I can do to help you. Take care, my enchantment will conceal you from his gaze for a few more days, but you must hurry. Farewell for now.”
The goddess blew him a kiss, then closed her eyes.
“Wait, Saldana!”
“There is nothing else I can do for you now, Isaac, and the enchantment has depleted me. We will speak again soon. I believe in you.”
Saldana closed the portal, and the four were alone in their own dimension again.
Isaac sighed.
“So we go to this town, kill the other four, then hope we’re powerful enough to take him down. Not the greatest plan, but it’s all we’ve got right now.”
“Gods,” Rhotha said. “It’ll feel good to smash in that smug bug face of his.”
“What the hell did I get myself into?” Edwin asked, still cowe
ring.
“It isn’t just you,” Aerin said. “It’s our entire realm. Don’t be such a baby.”
18
The next morning, Isaac awoke to a rustling sound, and when he opened his eyes to investigate, he saw that dawn was on the verge of breaking. The others were still asleep, and the remains of the campfire smoldered lazily. Birdsong surrounded him from nearby trees. He listened closely, trying to hear the sound again.
There it was again, from somewhere behind him. He sat up and turned around, squinting. A rabbit watched him curiously from under a bush, but it glowed a soft purple. Its features looked sharper than those of a typical rabbit, its expression somehow conniving and empty at once. It put a chill through him that he couldn’t explain.
Acting on instinct, he reached into his bag and pulled out the tiniest fragment of phantasm gem he could find, then formed his bow.
The rabbit only watched. When he drew the bow, it tensed up, but still did not move. Looking around to see everyone still sleeping, Isaac launched an arrow.
It landed right beside the rabbit, but it barely seemed to notice. There was only a slight rippling of color through its form. At that, it took off at an impressive speed.
The whizzing arrow was enough to rouse Aerin beside him.
“Isaac, what in the gods’ names are you shooting so early in the morning?” Her voice was thick with sleep.
He explained what he saw, and she jolted to attention quickly.
“Shit,” she said.
“What?”
“When I was a little kid, my father used to summon rabbits like that for me. At the time I thought they were cute. This is his doing.”
“He sent us a rabbit?”
“If Saldana successfully blocked Scorpius from detecting us, it would make sense for my father to send in a familiar to track us down.”
“Familiar?”
She sighed. “Isaac, you really should finish reading the Occultus. I promise it comes in handy.”
“But I have your expertise to guide me!”
“You really should read it,” she said, “but for now, fine, I’ll explain.”
Rhotha and Edwin stirred in their bedrolls at the sound of conversation. The horses whinnied softly too.
“Familiars are dark magic apparitions which can act as eyes and ears for the conjurer. They’re commonly used as spies.”
“If it was an apparition,” Isaac said. “Why could I hear it rustling leaves?”
“Tricky little bastards,” she said, standing up and stretching. “They can alter physical objects, but physical objects can’t alter them. Before you ask, yes, the minute you release an arrow, it becomes a physical object.”
Once Edwin and Rhotha were fully awake, he filled them in on what had happened. Edwin started a campfire and rationed out some beans and vegetables for breakfast.
“Good thing he didn’t send a tiger as a familiar,” Rhotha said. “But I supposed we’d better get moving, eh?”
Edwin shuddered. “Can’t say I want to be here when another one of those portals opens. So what, your father just wanted to know where we were? What good does that do? He must know we’re heading for that temple.”
“He might not have have,” Aerin said. “But he certainly does now. And he’ll know that I’m involved too. We need to make this quick. Let’s get to the temple today.”
“Today?” Isaac scoffed. “It’s a hell of a long way. We’d need to start right now and keep at it all day.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Aerin said. “Eat quickly, let’s get moving.”
Moonlight and Sunfire kept strong paces for several impressive hours before they finally stopped to rest. Isaac was grateful they needed a break. He needed one too. He and Aerin dismounted from Moonlight and stretched their sore legs. Beside them, Rhotha and Edwin relieved Sunfire.
The four of them stood in a wide-open plain that dipped into a valley ahead. Beyond another thick layer of forests, the blue expanse of the White Sea stretched ahead endlessly. And somewhere before it lay Sardonia.
Edwin sat and laid in the grass to rest. Aerin sat cross-legged near him and began to meditate. Isaac was unable to relax. He could almost feel the dark energy coming from that seaside town, like it was right in front of him already. Rhotha paced beside him, apparently also anxious.
He forced himself to eat some dried fruit and nuts, but he wasn’t hungry. Rhotha led the horses to a nearby stream and let them drink.
Then he spotted the rabbit again.
About a hundred yards ahead, the little glowing thing watched him, this time with something resembling a smirk on its tiny face. He felt it taunting him. There was nowhere for it to hide—the tree line didn’t begin for another hundred yards. The more he stared into its little eyes, the more he wanted to chase it down. The urge bypassed his logical mind for reasons he couldn’t explain.
“There it is!” he cried. “C’mon, back on the horses!”
His companions turned to him, confused.
“There what is?” Edwin asked.
Isaac ran to where Rhotha stood beside the horses, and leaped up onto an unsuspecting Moonlight, who grumbled to himself. “The rabbit! Let’s follow it.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Aerin said.
Rhotha mounted Sunfire and rode him next to Isaac.
“Look, if we let that thing go ahead of us, they’re going to know exactly where we are and exactly when we’re going to arrive. If we chase it down now, maybe we can ambush them.”
“Fuck it,” Rhotha said, “Let’s go!”
“Isaac, Rhotha, let’s think about this for—”
“Look, if we can’t catch the thing,” Isaac said. “Then so be it. But we might as well try, right?”
“I’m in,” said Edwin, rising. “Let’s give it a shot.”
Aerin sighed. “Fine.”
They mounted the horses then took off toward the rabbit. Though the horses were still fatigued, their momentary break allowed them to gallop at a full pace for a short while.
Strangely, the rabbit didn’t retreat. Instead, it maintained that little smirk and watched them approach.
By the time Isaac realized his mistake—when something icy cold spread through him—it was too late.
They were halfway to the rabbit when the traps sprung.
Spectral purple ropes jumped from the grass and latched themselves around the horses’ feet, and all four riders went sprawling into the flat grasses. The horses screamed in pain and surprise. The impact against hard ground knocked the wind from Isaac. He tried to roll over and recover but found he couldn’t move. Some unseen force pressed his left cheek into the dirt and held his entire body down. He locked eyes with Edwin, who also lay sprawled on the ground several feet away. He saw the culprit that bound his friend, and presumably him too—more of those glowing purple ropes, shiny and smooth. Like an ethereal vine, it coiled so tightly that his friend seemed to have trouble breathing. Isaac felt his own binds tightening, sending him even further into a panic. The ladies and horses were out of sight, but he heard them all struggling somewhere behind him.
Isaac’s satchel had come loose in the fray, and it now lay between him and Edwin. The latch was undone, and several fragmented pieces of phantasm gems spilled out the side. One of them lay against Edwin’s arm, but he didn’t seem to notice.
From behind Isaac’s head came the sound of soil splitting. Something seemed to be pushing its way out from the ground. One of the ladies screamed, but he wasn’t sure which.
“Edwin,” Isaac managed to grunt. “The gems!”
His friend looked at him in a panic.
“Gems?” he asked weakly. His face had faded to a faint shade of purple.
“By… by your hand. Push them to me.”
Edwin looked to his hand and saw the glimmer of the phantasm gems. His eyes went wide. His arm muscles tensed as he struggled to break free from the grasp of the purple ropes. Though clearly weak, the gems’ proximity seem
ed to give him some unnatural strength.
Finally, Edwin managed to wrap a finger around one of the gems. His entire body jolted. His eyes glowed purple for a moment.
He looked at Isaac. “I remember,” he said, his voice now full of strength.
“What?” Isaac managed.
“I remember what I studied from the Occultus. Oh gods, I remember. It’s all rushing back to me.”
Edwin looked to his hands, and his eyes glowed purple again. The phantasm gem grew brighter and then faded as the energy transferred to Edwin’s body through his arm. Soon his entire body was glowing.
“It was… transfiguration.”
More cries sounded from behind Isaac’s head, a blend of women’s voices and something else entirely—a series of guttural, inhuman shrieks. They sounded vaguely familiar.
The blinding glow faded from Edwin, and when Isaac could see him again, his arms were no longer human. Instead, they were long, flat, and hinged—like those of a praying mantis. They were also razor sharp.
Isaac used his new sword-like appendages to slice through his purple binds and leaped to his feet. He started to make for what was behind Isaac when he cried out to stop him.
“Edwin, cut me free!”
His friend obliged. In moments, he felt the sweet release of his binds, and he rose to his feet.
He turned to see Rhotha, Aerin, Moonlight, and Sunfire still bound on the ground. Surrounding them were four monstrosities, the same variety that had appeared in Barbaros—vicious, hideous, spindly, insectile things. Their segmented carapace looked even more blackly grotesque in the daytime. They snapped their horrible mandibles and shrieked.
A quick scan of their surroundings revealed no portals. Piles of displaced dirt revealed their origins. They’d been underground, waiting to spring their trap. They stood over the women and horses, preparing for the kill.
Isaac dove to his bag and grabbed another piece of phantasm gem. The spectral bow formed in his hand, and he wasted no time. He aimed at the one targeting Aerin—standing over her prepared to bury his mandibles into her flesh—and fired. It screamed as the arrow entered through what passed for its neck.