"She's gone. It took her." Naatos lunged out and circled, searching for any trace of her.
WroOth snatched one of the sharks in his jaws before it struck Naatos. He spat it out almost at once. "Gone?!"
"How did she do that?" QueQoa shouted. "She was just here."
"Go," AaQar shouted. "We'll handle these." He flung his head back and ululated a long, piercing shriek that was sure to draw any straggling members of the shark pack as well as perhaps a few others.
Naatos raced into the dark forest. Not a trace of her traveled through the ripe and heavy air. Her scent stopped precisely at that point at the foot of the jagged tree. So he formed a broad, ever-expanding circle, searching for something. Anything. The cold electric tinge. Her natural warm scent. The pungent bitterness of the Ki Valo Nakar.
The whistle screeched in his mind. A single blast that at first came from everywhere and then narrowed behind him and to his right.
Away from his brothers.
It had to be her.
He tore over the packed dark soil, over branches and through the narrow spaces allowed by the trees.
No other blasts sounded to tell him where she had gone.
But then her scent reached him. Faint. Directly ahead.
He launched over a trio of startled mosocryptoids. The largest snapped its jaws at him but made no movement to follow.
Spiders and centipedes scrambled up the trees and disappeared into the darkness as he flew through the bleak forest. Anything that got in his way, he cut down.
Faster, faster, faster.
Her scent grew stronger, undercut with that bite of fear and sorcery. Then he saw her.
He stopped short and let the dragon form fall away.
She was there, just standing with her back to him in a large black pool. Trees lined the black waters. The lichens clustered in great clumps on the trunks, giving more light to this desolate place. Motes floated in the air, chilling blue and white like fragments of souls robbed of their consciousness and will.
The dark waters came all the way up to her ankles, still as a mirror. Her placement allowed him to see only her body in the water's reflection. Not her face.
Caution flared through him. Something was wrong.
He sounded the alert on the whistle, summoning his brothers. This was not a matter to be handled alone. Readjusting his grip on his spear, he then stepped closer. "Amelia, are you all right?" His voice was too loud in this quiet place.
She did not move.
"Amelia."
She turned. Her eyes were opaque, shining like moons. Bloody red cuts ran down her cheeks to her jaw, wounds of her own infliction. "You are no longer needed, shifter. Neither you nor your brothers. I am here." Her voice had merged with the heavy timbre of the Ki Valo Nakar. "And I have taken what was promised me."
"Let her return to consciousness now," he growled. His stomach knotted with horror. There was nothing he had that could force this entity to do as he commanded without harming Amelia's physical body. Even then, that would not be enough to shake this wretched being off her now that it had awakened. "That is her body, not yours."
"You should go now while I'm willing to show mercy," it said, sounding quite pleased with itself. It bared her teeth. "Or I'll make you choose between this woman and your brothers. Wouldn't that be fun?"
Naatos adjusted his grip on his spear, rage building within his chest like an aura storm. "She is my veskaro."
"Will you die before you leave her behind?"
"You will die before I leave her behind." The first statement was true as well. He would rather die than leave her here with this thing.
"Are you going to stab me again?" it sneered. Turning it faced him more fully, setting her hands on her waist. "To stop me this time, you'll have to go through your wife. If I had known this was how it would play out, I would have laughed in your face on that day. Twice you've killed me. Now you can't. Except you promised you would. Didn't you, vow breaker?"
"Let her go," he growled. "Let me speak with her."
"She and I are talking. In private. The way we should have long ago if not for your meddling and the others. She'll see reason soon. There is only one way that this will play out, and more the better for her once she relents." It curled her lip at him. "So go away, little boy. We have bigger things to manage than your petty needs."
* * *
Eyes widening, all Amelia could do was stare.
The monster under her bed and in the closet had never been there at all. It had been hiding within her all along. Not some abstract concept. A living breathing monster that ate souls and destroyed whole cities. Her heart warred against the panic, throbbing with exertion and terror. "I do behold. What do you want with me?"
"What I have wanted from the beginning. Did you not see?"
"You were in the cavern with my mother? You murdered those children!" She clenched the bird tighter in her fist. The edges of the memories cut her mind. "It was you! You did this! You wanted them all dead?" Already the memories were hazing again, tangling up into a single mass of sorrow and grief.
It hissed, its eyes narrowing into slits as it drew itself taller still. "Foolish child, do you not know your own experiences? You gave me shelter in darkness."
"I didn't."
"But you did. They were the ones who invited me." It drew closer, hovering over the water. Faint ripples spread out around it in ever expanding circles that never quite reached her. "They lured me there with the promise of a Neyeb healer. One to be committed at birth with the mother's blessing, dedicated to my cause. But we were both deceived.
"Once I bonded to you, they made their truth known. They hollowed out your bones and cut into your mind to rip me away. They murdered the children and poured their lives and strengths into you to make you." It canted its head. "You cannot even begin to understand what they took, Neyeb. Or what they did. Neither of us could stop them. Not even I, ancient as I am. It was a trap. They never intended for you to be my true host but only a metate. A temporary vessel. To crush me into you with all of those strengths. To grind out whatever potential those young souls possessed and what might exist within you and to take me and bind me to their will."
"What did they want with you?"
"A terrifying question when you consider what I am. What I can do. And by extension, what you can do." It slid out, forming a broad circle as it kept its gaze fixed on her.
"And what are you?"
"At the expansion of the Forbidden Arts, I was formed from breath and nightmares. A counter to the curses. Before your mother's mother's mother's mother breathed, I was ancient. Before the Dry Deep was carved and the first Paras were named, I walked. When the first temples of the Tue-Rah were fashioned, I observed. Elonumato shaped me to counter the wickedness and cruelty. And I have accepted you as my host just as you accepted me."
"I didn't accept you."
"You hid me." Its eyes widened as if this proved some great point. "Little fragmented bit of consciousness. You held on. You didn't let go. And you could have so easily. Death waited at your fingertips, but you fought. You fought though you had no reason to fight."
"All right." She cleared her throat. Her family would be coming soon. Then they'd figure out how to get her out of here and deal with this—this thing. She just had to keep a calm head. Unless she thought of a way to deal with it first. "Then I let you go now. Go in peace. I'm sure you have better things to do."
"That's not how it works, dearest. Or do you prefer 'dear heart?' Or 'onion fish?'" It bent dramatically to the side, its neck bent at an unnatural angle.
Every muscle in her body tightened. "None of those from you, you baby-invading parasite."
It narrowed its eyes with her, the bones along its back lifting up. "Show some respect, Neyeb. I do not indulge such indignities."
The flare of anger that rose within her steadied her stance. "You are in my body and in my mind. I do not care what you are. I would rather die than let you control me and use me to e
at people's souls. Do you understand? And I don't know what additional horrors you plan for me or how you plan to top what's been happening, but I don't really care. I've spent the last week or maybe month tripping through my own worst nightmares."
It laughed, the sound dark and unpleasant. "You're dying, little girl. Venom runs through your veins. Venom placed there by your own people as a safety measure in case this didn't work. Growing every time I speak to you and every time you use the powers I offer. Every time you respond to that call. You're on a fast-counting clock now, Neyeb. You will cooperate with me, or I'll leave you to the agony of your people's meddling. And I promise you, it will be very, very painful."
The pain in her leg thundered back into her awareness. It clamped over her muscles and tendons like a vise. Looking down, she saw the veins visible once more, longer and thicker this time, protruding through her skin. Oh, perfect.
Her balance wavered as the edges of her vision fuzzed. The humming intensified. Steadying herself, she realized that she was probably on the verge of losing consciousness again. Her own reflection no longer appeared in the water.
Why didn't she have a reflection?
"You will learn my ways, and you will serve your purpose. Swear to me that you will do all you are told. This bond is one that can only be broken through death."
"And I have told you I'd rather die than be such a tool for destruction. So if that's the only way, so be it."
It narrowed its eyes at her. "The only reason I have not punished you more harshly is because you actually do possess great natural skill. Your instincts are powerful. Indeed, even with all the damage, you are expansive but brittle. And this is a great honor I have bestowed upon you. You should be thanking me."
She cocked her head in response as she folded her arms. Maybe this wasn't smart, but the words bubbled up nonetheless, her head throbbing in time to her leg and her heart. "Thank you, O mighty parasite for infesting my life and tormenting me with the relentless fury of a petulant toddler denied its chocolate milk. Thank you for telling me I can serve you or die. Thank you for making this so clear to stupid little mortal me. Thank you for making my rest a torment and these last weeks a nightmare. Thank you, O incredible giant centipede of death, for everything! Thank you for being a bully and a coward, but most of all, thank you for reminding me that I would truly rather die than ever consume a community of any size. May Elonumato smite me if I ever feast upon even one soul. May I be cut down if I even try to eat another person."
A pulse of pain shot through her head and up her leg. Shaking her head, she pinched the bridge of her nose and then set her arms akimbo. "Was that enough gratitude or did you want me on my knees, you pathetic grave-eating worm?"
The Ki Valo Nakar's eyes narrowed as the bones along its back flicked up almost straight. It coiled back. "You would be wise to reconsider your words. Or I will make you suffer."
She glared right back, then clenched her fists. "Go!" Her voice boomed with far greater strength than she realized, as if some deeper vein of power had been unearthed. "I will have nothing to do with you. You are not welcome here!"
* * *
Naatos adjusted his grip on the spear, his jaw tight as he glared at the Ki Valo Nakar. He had to get her out. But how? "Let her go."
It sighed and paced deeper into the water. The waters rippled. "You know I cannot."
"You are not to be in control of her body."
"She has proved herself unwilling to listen. This is the only way I can converse with her without risking her harming herself or you taking her away. She is a tedious and annoying creature. As she is your veskaro, you cannot possibly understand how infuriating she can be. Love covers over a multitude of annoyances and wrongs."
Not as much as one might think. But no one talked about his wife that way. Still there was something important in there. If it didn't realize how much she aggravated him— He narrowed his gaze. "You can't see all of her memories and thoughts, can you?"
"I am aware of enough," it said with icy enunciation. It lifted her chin. Those moon eyes were far too big. Blood dripped down her cheeks.
Footsteps alerted him to his brothers' arrival. He didn't even have to glance over his shoulder to know that they were spreading out along the pool.
"You should understand this, shifter," it continued. It cast her gaze out over his brothers and pulled a crooked smile. "There is nothing any of you can do to stop this. And there is no reason for you to be even slightly interested any longer. She cannot give you children, vow breaker. Your beloved is barren. And no advanced medicine or healing sands or magic orbs will restore that. There is no life within this womb, and there never will be. I am the only thing her violators could not steal. The Okalu will remedy that. So leave her to me. You should understand this. Your Vawtrian law requires that you receive priority because the locking permits you only one mate. My situation is not so dissimilar though my purpose is far less selfish. My purpose does not involve my own pleasure at all."
"Your claim is invalid. I do not recognize it. Nor did the Council of Neyeb. They bound you."
"And what good did that do except delay me? They thought they could come up with some other plan to subdue me before I broke free. But they are weak. It is as she said, I am the ocean and she is the stone. She cannot resist forever." It hissed a long laugh through her teeth. "Make no mistake, little one. I cannot be suppressed. No chains, magic or mundane, can hold me forever, no threads can forever bind me. I am what I am intended to be, I fulfill the purpose for which I was shaped, and she will do the same. Or else."
"Else what?" Naatos demanded. "You can't kill her."
"Oh, but I can. I don't have to. But I can." It smirked. "She will do as I say, or—" Her body suddenly shook, her eyes widening. An enraged snarl erupted from her mouth as her gaze rolled down. "You would be wise to reconsider your words. Or I will make you suffer."
Another shudder nearly dropped her. She fell back several steps.
Naatos edged closer.
She was conscious in there. Fighting too. Fighting with all her strength. Fight well. Fight hard. Fight it back, veskaro.
"Ah!" it shouted, grabbing at her head. Her hair swung over her face. For a moment she stood there, panting.
Then she lurched to the side and collapsed on her back in the shallow water. A distinctive grey pallor suffused her flesh.
Exposed, the Ki Valo Nakar unfolded. Its luminous eyes widened as it loomed over her. "You little bitch!" it snarled. "You spineless, petty, ungrateful pinchat—" It gnashed its jagged human-like teeth with frustration as the bone spikes on its back flared up. "Do you understand what you've done?"
WroOth laughed on the other side of the pool. "I don't think she cares."
Had she really just done that? Naatos restrained a shocked chuckle as he stared at her motionless body. Had his veskaro really flung her living soul out of her body? So like her.
She'd started a faster countdown, but now they had a way to bargain. Assuming she found her way back. But if anyone could, it was her. Until then, they'd have to keep the Ki Valo Nakar occupied.
87
Caverns Deep
Everything went dark. As Amelia picked herself up, she realized that the pain had gone.
Her posture relaxed as she took in the sensation. Or rather the absence of it. She hadn't realized just how much she hurt, how heavy her limbs were, how stale and slow both blood and breath had become. Her fingers and toes no longer tingled, and her lungs neither burned nor ached. The stiffness had faded too. Her head no longer pounded; her pulse had slowed to a far steadier pace. And the air, well, it smelled damp and cold. Almost fresh.
Really, her body felt light. Too light. Almost as if she floated. Unease rose within her. This wasn't right. She felt good.
Did that mean she was dead?
Even in her own mind, she hadn't escaped the constant agony of Dry Deep. And this—what was this place?
Putting her hands out, she felt the space before her. Her ey
es adjusted slowly.
It was a cavern of some sort. Somehow she could see. More or less. Or perhaps perceive was more accurate. Her sight had changed.
It looked to be made of mostly smooth black stone. Obsidian maybe? Numerous passages ran out from and up in all of the walls. Water dripped somewhere in one of those passages. Perhaps all of them. She turned around slowly.
No sign of the Ki Valo Nakar. No sign of Naatos or any of her family.
What had she done?
Holding her head, she tried to recall. Though her body no longer hurt, many of the memories had tangled again. Already they were merging together into a great mass that wanted to retreat deep into her subconscious.
But she'd been angry. So incredibly angry at the Ki Valo Nakar. She'd tried to push it out. And—now she was here.
She placed her hand on the wall. It started to go through. Startled, she jerked back.
Oh, no, no. So not good.
Had she actually died?
It was somehow less eventful and traumatic than she had expected. And if this was the life beyond, well—she turned slowly. It certainly left a great deal to be desired. Her heart fluttered as the fear intensified.
This couldn't be it.
Footsteps sounded ahead of her. They echoed off the walls. A single person. Steady, confident. But not Naatos. Too slow for WroOth. Too heavy for QueQoa. Too swift for AaQar.
Something in the presence was familiar. Compelling.
She balled up her fists just in case, the stone bird still clasped in her right hand. There had been more than enough bad surprises for one week.
A tall, broad-shouldered man appeared in the passage before her, framed in some dim light whose source she could not spot.
"Leonas?" Her eyes widened as she recognized him. She almost collapsed with relief and shock. Elonumato's ambassador. Now. He was here now? "What—what are you doing here?"
"You just flung your living soul out of your body into the deeper caverns of Dry Deep," Leonas said with a gentle smile. His eyebrows lifted, amused or proud or pleased. She could never quite read him as well as other people. "You're going to need some help finding your way out and getting back into your body. Especially before your time runs out."
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