by Selva, SK
The torch burned brighter, illuminating the dungeons in a glow it had not seen in so long. Samara quickly glanced at a door out of the corner of her eye but dismissed it. Ravanan needed her.
“There is an ancient magic I remember. I don’t know if it will work, but we have no choice,” she said.
“We have to try,” said Ravanan. “The demons will never lay down, and we will return, even if we only start with one.”
Samara bent as low as she could, her old knees aching, as Ravanan reached for her horn. With the last of his magic, he left his message.
“I will leave this with the only person I trust in the human world,” she promised.
Ravanan lay still and unmoving, having given everything in his final two deeds to the land.
“Quickly, go to Poombuhar. Remember my words.”
“I really hope you’re right about all this,” said Samara as she sprinted away.
Ravanan watched her go. “I wish I wasn’t.”
As the flame died down, Veeran knew it had finished its story, having waited decades for the right listener.
“I don’t understand,” he said. “The land was attacking all the clans because of the imbalance of magic?”
“Yes,” said the flame.
“And Ravanan thought that the crawlers were behind all this?”
“We still do not know.”
Crawlers, the banishing of innocent creatures, the demon leader that looked close to death in his cell. It was all too much for Veeran.
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to help,” he said. “There’s nothing special about me. Maybe another demon would have been better. How am I supposed to rally an entire land against an evil we don’t even know? I’m wanted by the dragons anyways. No one will listen to me.”
“You are not alone.”
A spark of hope flashed across Veeran’s eyes.
“There are those that oppose the regime. There are those that were told by their elders that the demon banishment was unfair. They are the ones that are afraid to use their voices. To them, you are a signal of hope. And hope is contagious.”
The very same spark of hope began to glow brighter inside Veeran as he thought of those that supported him. Maybe there were more.
The elements of the land were just as alive as the creatures.
“I need to bring something back to the creature Samara entrusted with Ravanan’s book,” said Veeran suddenly. “Do you have anything?”
As the tall cabinet doors sprang open, Veeran jumped to catch all the pages that flew out, stuffing them into his cloak pocket.
“Take these notes. Ravanan left these for a demon.”
Veeran reached into the cabinet, making sure he had left nothing behind. “I’ll get these to the right place,” he said.
“Thank you, Veeran. I have waited many years for this moment. I had almost burned out, but a strange magic kept me alive.”
“Strange magic? From where?”
“Even I could not say.”
Veeran knew it was time to go. He walked toward the door before suddenly turning back.
“One more question. Those demons that stayed behind in the villages, what made them fight the army?”
A chill went through the room as a deep darkness Veeran had never experienced engulfed them. The lone light from the flame gave one last cry as it suddenly burned out. The little sunlight that crept through the lone window was all Veeran needed to see the shadow crawling up the walls.
CHAPTER 28
***
V eeran had never known fear until that moment. A deep cold was settling into his very bones. He frantically searched for any clues as to what was happening.
He quickly ducked out of the way as the cabinet was thrown against the window, blocking the only sunlight that was providing help.
“What’s happening?” he shouted, his voice trembling.
“Found you!” The sing-song voice sent a shiver down his spine.
Something grabbed at his cloak as Veeran desperately tried to see where the attack was coming from, but there was nothing but darkness. The pull was swift as he was hurled into the wall.
The wind was blown out of his chest as Veeran crashed back down to the floor. His back paining, his eyes tearing, he tried to get up but was pinned down. By what, he did not know.
He coughed again and again, still struggling to get air into his lungs. There was something on his head, crushing his skull.
“Stop!” Veeran croaked meekly.
Miraculously, whatever was holding him down began to loosen its hold, and Veeran took his chance to back up. He hit a wall and looked around, trying to find his attacker, not knowing what he was looking for.
Veeran felt another massive blow to his chest and knew his life was not going to last much longer. There was no way out of this.
Another blow, and Veeran felt himself hit something that wasn’t a wall. He reached up weakly and felt the cabinet. With what little strength he had left, he pushed it away.
“No!”
A small ray of sunlight came into the room, enough to distract whatever was attacking him. Veeran pulled away the old curtain as more sun came to his aid. His eyes could only travel downward as he saw the deep drop to the ground below.
I can’t make that. There’s no way.
“Come here!”
Veeran turned, and what he saw made his heart stop. There was a shadow on the wall in the shape of a face. Its angry eyes narrowed on the demon.
Knowing he had no choice, Veeran jumped out the window.
Poombuhar was alive, just as much as any other village in Ilemuria.. For all these years, it had saved its magic for when its villagers had returned. So long a wait, never giving up hope, and now was the time. The lone demon was in need.
Veeran felt his fall slow as he tumbled softly to the road below. His knees and ankles ached, but he was able to stand.
There was a different energy coursing through his body, something Ilemuria had not shared in decades. The village was one with the returning demon. Veeran looked through the hole he jumped through in time to see a dark figure leering down at him. Before he could escape, it leaped from the window, landing steps from its prey.
If Veeran had ever believed in monsters, this was what he imagined. A tall shadow creature grinned hungrily. Instinct told him to run, but his legs stood frozen.
“The demons have returned,” it said sinisterly.
The shadow’s voice resonated within Veeran’s very soul.
“We have been waiting for so long,” it said. “Your magic is more powerful than any creature of the land. We can work together.”
“Never!” shouted Veeran.
“We are the ancient creatures of the land. It was stolen from us.”
The shadow stepped forward with what Veeran could only think of was its legs. His hooves were still rooted to the earth, making him look a lot braver than he felt.
“NO!” shouted a voice from within the shadow. It grabbed at its own chest.
Veeran recognized the shout.
“Aaryav?”
“RUN!”
Veeran turned and began to run, the sound of his friend’s voice helping him finally move. He looked back at the shadow, watching it struggle with itself before regaining control. It began to chase its prey, having waited too long for this moment.
Veeran rounded a corner and hid behind a stone wall, the silence more frightening than footsteps. He huddled low and grabbed his knees.
“I need more help,” he whispered. “Poombuhar, give me strength.”
“Peek-a-boo!”
The shadow had appeared, inches from Veeran’s face. Before he had time to scream, he felt himself flung into the road, nowhere to hide.
It moved faster than he could keep up. Veeran could feel his body breaking.
“Sadly, I expected more.”
There was disappointment in the shadow’s voice.
“Ravanan needed dozens of us to break him down, and
he still survived. Your magic is nowhere near the strength we would need to break free,” the shadow taunted.
Veeran lay on his back, breathing slowly. The moonlight replaced the sun’s.
“You won’t break free,” said Veeran, sitting up with what little strength he had left.
“Ah, so there is a little bit of fight in you. No matter. I don’t understand why my master needs you at all. Perhaps it would be better just to kill you here.”
“I won’t let you win.”
Veeran had nothing left and knew it. “If you’re going to take me down,” he said, standing up, his legs wobbling, “then bring it.”
“That’s what we want. If only the rest of your clan had that strength.”
“You shut up about my clan!”
“Your clan!” the shadow laughed. “My boy, you have never known another demon. They left here without a fight. They were cowards, and you are the same. My elders possessed the fools that stayed behind so easily. You owe them nothing. And now, I end you.”
The shadow grew with the power of the night, greater and stronger, but Veeran had waited for this. These were the creatures that had taken his grandmother away from her home. These were the creatures that got the demons banished.
The clan may have abandoned Poombuhar, but Poombuhar would never abandon its clan. It had been saving its strength for years, patiently waiting.
Veeran had felt the magic flow when he had jumped from the window, and it had been increasing ever since.
“For you, Poombuhar,” he said.
Fear had powered his fire just days ago, but bravery powered him now. Veeran held up his hands as the flames danced around his fists. The shadow lowered itself to smother its enemy as Veeran reached up and shot the flames into its chest.
A terrifying scream filled Veeran’s ears, but he did not falter. The shadow was writhing in pain, but he did not let go.
“The more you hurt me, the closer your friend gets to death,” it panted furiously.
Veeran knew it was telling the truth. It wanted Veeran to hurt him. He stopped his fire.
I need to separate them.
Veeran charged at the creature, raising his arms. The shadow raised its own hands and grabbed Veeran’s fists. Demon versus shadow in Poombuhar was a battle that could decide the faith of the land, and yet no one knew about it. Pushing harder against their foe, neither budged an inch. Veeran knew his size had him at a disadvantage, but still he thrust.
“You friend’s body lends me his strength. So easily I was able take over,” it said.
“Fight him, Aaryav!”
“No!” shouted the shadow. Veeran could see it start to struggle. “I have been waiting too long for this. This is our land. We will take it back.”
“I won’t let you!”
Suddenly, he felt something grab his hand from within the shadow. Veeran pushed harder. He could feel his fist entering the shadow, disappearing into the darkness. Poombuhar helped him forward.
“Your demon fire magic is all you know,” said the shadow, “but it’s all instinct. Not trained.”
“That may be true, but I trained with the unicorns.”
The surrounding forest began to lend him strength. The village and trees fueled Veeran with energy Poombuhar had not seen in decades.
Veeran held on to the hand that had grasped his own from within the shadow, and he pulled, his arm straining as he saw the familiar white arms emerging from the shadow.
“This cannot be!”
The shadow cried in agony as Veeran continued to pull Aaryav out. Poombuhar and the forest continued to fuel his magic as Veeran reached back and gave one mighty wrench.
He tumbled backward as another body held on to him. They rolled over and over and hit a broken wall. Veeran looked up and saw a barely conscious Aaryav holding on weakly. He was breathing, but only just.
“You have no idea what you just unleashed,” an eerie voice resonated.
“Funny,” said Veeran, rather arrogantly. “I could say the same thing to you.”
The shadow had grown significantly smaller, and Veeran knew it had lost all its strength.
“No matter,” it wheezed. “We don’t need your magic. Without Poombuhar you have no magic. No power. We need someone that can give us what we need.”
Veeran felt drained, using what little strength he had to shield Aaryav.
“What do you mean?”
“You won’t be able to stop us from getting her,” said the shadow. “Samara and Ravanan couldn’t.”
No, thought Veeran. They can’t. “If you lay a hand on Roshna,” he threatened.
“The crawlers will rise again,” it said. “And this time, we will take our land back.”
The shadow disappeared into the night as Veeran held Aaryav's head to his chest, fear gripping at his soul.
*
Aaryav awoke with a start, his mind foggy as he struggled with his unfamiliar surroundings.
A tall, broken building towered over him as he started to sit up, placing a hand on his head to try to stop the pounding. The unicorn tried to focus.
“Veeran!” he shouted suddenly.
Darkness had fallen, and Aaryav was not sure how deep into the night they were. No one answered his desperate call.
“Veeran!” he screamed again.
A low moan, barely audible, came from nearby. Aaryav turned his head swiftly to see a small body shifting not too far away.
“Oh my god, Veeran! Wake up, man!” he shouted, sprinting over to his fallen friend.
He grabbed the demon, begging the land for strength to help wake him. Aaryav was not the best at healing magic, but he knew anything would help.
“Aaryav?” said Veeran groggily.
“It’s me,” he said.
“Are you all right?”
“I am now that you’re awake.”
“What do you remember?”
“Barely anything,” said Aaryav. “I was waiting, like Karnan told me too. I saw some black berries. Not sure if they were there before, might have come out of nowhere. I thought they’d be okay because I was so hungry. Stupid of me, I know. I grabbed one, and suddenly it started to grow, taking over my hand and crawling up my arm. It took me to this village entrance and somehow forced us through it.”
Veeran still lay down, his back on the rocky ground, listening intently to his friend’s story.
“Something was controlling me, I can barely remember. Kept pushing me back. I was only able to fight back when I heard your voice.”
“Good thing you did,” said Veeran. “Otherwise, we’d both be gone.”
He explained everything that had happened and what he had seen in the fire. Aaryav listened, the fear in his eyes growing.
“Samara was right all along. You guys were framed,” he said when Veeran had finished.
“Yeah,” said Veeran. “If you hadn’t reached for my hand or fought back, it would have got us. That must have been what they did to the demons that stayed behind and fought.”
Aaryav shivered. “Is it gone now?”
“No, it said it needed someone with powerful magic. I think it’s going after Roshna.”
This wasn’t what I thought I signed up for when I wanted to be a mentor, thought Aaryav.
“And the fire that told you everything is gone now?”
“The crawler took it out. Wait, hold on!”
Veeran reached into his pocket, desperately searching for something. He let out an audible sigh of relief as he pulled out several papers.
“What are those?” asked Aaryav.
“Notes,” said Veeran. “We need to get these to Karnan.”
Aaryav’s brow furrowed as he watched Veeran tuck each page safely away. He stood up and began to pace, each step helping his mind focus clearer.
“What’s up?” asked Veeran.
“It’s just this doesn’t make sense, man. Where did this crawler come from all of a sudden? If what Ravanan said is true, then we need to find out who they
’re working with. Why now? And if they were able to possess me, then there might be more out there. We need to be more careful.”
The strength Veeran had needed to defeat one crawler was incredible. An army of them would be unthinkable.
“I know Karnan told us to wait here for him, but we can’t. We need to get back and warn Roshna. We need to tell Karnan everything.”
Thankfully, Veeran did not argue.. “And if that crawler is out there, then we can’t send a message. They’ll know. And Karnan thinks they’re being watched.”
And we’ve gone against enough orders; may as well keep going, he thought.
Helping each other up, their ginger pace quickly turned into a trot, time not on their side. Veeran turned back one last time.
“Thank you, Poombuhar,” he said.
Despite everything, the sound of the wind ruffling through the trees gave him hope.
“I will be back.”
They walked through the gate and stepped back into the forest.
“I think the opening ceremonies of the games are tonight. Roshna will be at Kiramam Square,” said Aaryav, assuming the unicorn mirakum. Veeran climbed on.
“Whenever you need a break, just let me know,” he said.
“You rest up. I think this might just be the start of the battle.”
CHAPTER 29
***
T halia could not remember a time where Marutam was so morose. Regardless of how well Roshna had been running their clan for decades, there were always those with short memories that would oppose her. The constant presence of the dragons did not help matters.
She had begun packing. Balaraj had not been back since he left for Kurunji with several of his followers. Luckily for her, he had already approved all the unicorn entries into the Vlatta Potti, rescinding only Aaryav. It would be her third time entering the games in an attempt to win the magic competition. Unsure whether they would be allowed back to Marutam during the games, she made sure to pack everything.
“How are you feeling?” asked Fara.
“Low.”
It had been an arduous time since she had shown her public support of Roshna against Maran. Thalia had received an overwhelming range of encouragement, and it made her forever grateful, but it had come at the cost of losing some she had once considered friends.