Chapter 18

“Can you swim?” Allen asked the man at his side. Bad as it might go, Allen was starting to think it was high time they got out on the water.

“Of course I can swim,” Jomo said. “Why? Am I being elected to swim out there as bait? I know you’re a good shot, but fuck that.”

“No, just making sure,” Allen said. “I’m starting to think we need to get in the boat.”

“Didn’t we agree that was a bad idea?” Jomo said. “Because the only way I see that going is poorly. The only boat we have is a piece of shit, no offense to your friend or whoever’s place this is, and I for one don’t plan on stealing a more suitable one. Not to mention the weather; look around you Allen, this is the universe telling you not to go out onto the damn water. I can’t make you stay on dry land with me, but I’m not going out there with it looking like this.”

Jomo was right about the weather, Allen conceded. A storm was brewing and the lake was getting choppier by the second, but that was far less important in Allen’s mind than the dangers of letting this thing get away from them, possibly for good. “I can’t in good conscience leave that thing out there without trying to locate or eliminate it. I’m not expecting you to come with me,” he added. “Though I’ll take all the help I can get.”

“So you’re giving me the option of watching you paddle around until you get eaten or joining you as chum?” Jomo said, an eyebrow in the air. “I know doing nothing feels awful at times like this, but doing something stupid doesn’t help any more than sitting on your hands. I’m sure Margaret is coming up with a plan.”

“I’m glad you’re sure,” Allen began, but suddenly they were not alone.

“Hello Allen Becker,” the Moon Eyed Prince said, appearing halfway between where he and Jomo were standing at the lake’s edge. “Hello Jomo. Margaret Wynters has told me of your dilemma.”

“Can you help?” Allen asked. Best to skip the pleasantries and be as direct as possible with the Prince. Then you just needed to be ready for whatever his little blue mind twisted your words into.

“Is it still here?” the Prince asked.

“We have no idea where it is now,” Jomo said, “but it can't have gotten too far. Should still be in the area.”

“And you have no idea what it might be?” the Prince said, but he was already levitating up and away from them as if he had something in mind regardless of their answer.

“Big water dweller, at least we assume so,” Allen said lamely. “We heard it enter the lake, but that was it.”

“I’ll see what I can find from a higher vantage point,” the Prince said, continuing his upwards ascent. “I will be back once I’ve found the creature. Stay clear of the water's edge. Many creatures from my homeworld hunt in places like this, looking for easy prey. I can help you defeat this thing but I cannot bring back the dead. Wait here for my return and try not to grow impatient.” When he’d finished with his warning, he turned his back to them and the speed with which he rose increased significantly.

Allen and Jomo watched the small figure floating higher and higher until he was not quite out of sight, but certainly far higher than Allen had expected. Once the Prince had found himself a fixed position to scout from, Allen and Jomo took the Prince’s advice and got away from the lake. Returning to the car, they began to gear up.

“Margaret got us all of the proper hunting permits to be out here, so it would be smart to keep our weaponry within the legal limitations of the state,” Jomo said as he exchanged his rifle for a shotgun.

“Probably a good call,” Allen said, though he hated leaving his semi-automatic rifle behind for any reason. It was the weapon he was most familiar with and while he considered himself more than proficient with most firearms, he didn’t like going into a situation like this held back in any way. Pushing these feelings aside, he kept his hunting rifle slung over his shoulder and grabbed a shotgun of his own. “What are the odds that the little guy will kill that thing for us?” he asked as he looked over the shotgun he’d just grabbed from the trunk.

“Very slim,” a hollow voice said from atop the car. Allen jumped slightly as his eyes found the small wooden man standing on the roof, no expression on his face as he waited for them to acclimate to his appearance. “I found the thing you are hunting. It is a dangerous beast to be sure, but not an evil one. I will not exterminate it for you. That is not the way of the Kin. This is your burden I’m afraid.”

“It will kill the innocent if we let it roam free,” Jomo said. “Is that not enough reason to help?”

“Many things in this world will kill if given the chance,” the Prince replied sagely. “Would you like me to cleanse your world of them all? Easier to just stay away from these waters, though I’m coming to understand your kind will not find that an acceptable solution.”

“Probably not, no,” Allen agreed.

“Can you take us to it?” Jomo asked.

“Of course,” the Prince said, nodding again. “I did not say I would not help you, only that I will not kill this creature for you.”

“How far away is it?” Allen asked. “Do we need to take the car or can we walk?”

“Not far,” the Prince said. “Chasing fish a mile or so west of here. When night falls I can illuminate him for you, but until then there is little else I can do.”

“We’ll take what we can get,” Allen said. “Lead the way and just let us know if you see this thing making a go for anyone.”

“Of course. May I sit on your shoulder Allen?” the Prince asked from the roof of the car. “My body was not designed to travel long distances on foot and I have been using my powers quite a bit of late. I must admit I am feeling drained in a way that is unfamiliar to me. It would be a great help to me if you would allow it.”

“Not a problem,” Allen said, slightly amused. So the little guy had never been tired before? An interesting insight into their strange companion.

The Prince dropped lightly onto Allen’s outstretched forearm and clambered easily onto his shoulder, coming to rest with his stubby, peg-like legs dangling over Allen’s chest and his thin arm resting on the nape of Allen’s neck. “Much better,” the Prince said. He was surprisingly light and instead of the warmth Allen had expected, a goosebump inducing cold seemed to radiate through the wooden frame that contained whatever this pale blue light actually was. “That way,” the Prince said, pointing west with his free arm.

“So what have you been up to that’s got you so tired out?” Jomo asked the Prince as the three of them walked down a lakeside trail. It was almost like they were on some sort of bizarre boys’ trip all of a sudden.

“Margaret Wynters tasked me with creating wards for you both and the rest of the team,” the Moon Eyed Prince explained. “They should keep anything like what happened with the A’Sin Adonata from occurring again. At least I hope so. That was a terrible sight.”

“It was,” Allen agreed somberly. He’d been trapped outside during the worst of it, but that experience had been bad enough. It was only then that he’d realized all of his training and expertise might not see him and his people through this. It had been a sobering realization, but over time it was growing into something more akin to a motivator than anything else. He needed to try and look at this as just the newest in a long line of life and death challenges he had faced over his long career. He kept telling himself that he would rise to the occasion, just like he always had, and make sure his people made it through with him or instead of him. He had to.

“You think these wards could help with this thing?” Jomo asked.

“No,” the Prince said, “but you can have yours if you’d like.” He removed two leather cords from around his neck, each with a small crystal hanging from it, and handed one to Jomo and placed the other on Allen for him. Allen merely tolerated this at first, he was never one to wear jewelry for more or less practical reasons, but instantly he felt different. Better even.

“I can feel it,” Allen said, slightly stunned.

“Me too,” Jomo said, smiling as he inspected the crystal now hanging from his neck.

“They are powerful wards,” the Prince said. “They took nearly all of my effort and knowledge to create. Do not lose them or give them away. I can make more, but it is tedious work. I would like to avoid it if possible.”

“Understood,” Allen and Jomo said together.

“We can stop here,” the Prince said. “The beast is just over there.” He was pointing off towards the center of the vast gray lake to their right.

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“Any people around we need to worry about?” Allen asked.

“No,” the Prince responded. “None that can see us from here anyway.”

“So now we just wait?” Jomo asked.

“I guess so,” Allen said, looking at his watch. It would be a few hours until dark and they had nothing with them but guns, ammo, their gear and a small non-human creature. “Tell me more about these wards,” Allen asked as he settled in for a long wait.

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The monstrous bellows had helped jar Morales, Talbot and Jabari back to wakefulness though it didn’t cure them entirely of whatever those things had done to them. All three of them still seemed stiff in the muscles and joints and she could tell each of them was struggling to stand, let alone walk or carry a rifle. Add that to Hughes’ clearly sprained wrist, and it was looking grim for the EDTF field team as yet another enemy seemed to be presenting itself. Olivia was weighing her options as the mass of men behind her struggled to pull themselves together.

“What’s the plan?” Noah asked, coming to stand at her side. “These guys aren’t looking so hot.”

Turning to face him, she said, “As far as I can see, we need to find the damn Raven. I’m not sure backing out is even an option at this point and as you’ve noted we aren’t exactly ready for a full on assault either. We know there are at least two more of these things crawling around these tunnels or up in the rocks and the odds are they’ll find us eventually whether we stay or go.” Another bellow seemed to shake the rocks around them as she finished her bleak assessment. “Problem is, we don’t even know if that feathered bastard is here.”

“Well let’s go find out then,” Noah said. He looked comical with the sub-machine gun in his hands, but he had figured out how to operate it quickly enough and didn’t seem to find it awkward to hold. Still, the two of them were hardly the best choice to head off on their own with who knew what lurking around. “Not like we have any better options.”

“Kevin,” Olivia called over Noah’s shoulder.

“They’re getting there,” Kevin growled back, annoyed as he tried to keep Morales upright.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, resolving to go with Noah’s plan no matter how foolish it might seem to the rest of the group. “Me and Noah are going to find out what’s making that noise. Follow us if you can, but if you think these guys need to get out of here, get them out. We’ll find you if you don’t come after us.”

“Are you sure…” Kevin started, but Olivia cut him off.

“No choice right now. Our best bet is finding the Raven and the source of whatever is making that noise seems like a good place to start. Worst case scenario, me and Noah knock another one of these things off our list.” She wasn’t sure how plausible this last scenario was, but she wasn’t willing to sell her and Noah short quite yet.

“We’ll come when we can,” Hughes said, though he didn’t sound confident about it as he looked at Micah, Hector and Jabari splayed out around him in varying states of pain and discomfort. “Don’t do anything without Ellis’ permission or direction,” he said to Noah. “She’s in charge until I’m back. Following her lead is the best way to get out of this in one piece.”

“Got it,” Noah said, though his tone implied he felt this instruction was unnecessary.

“Be safe,” Kevin said to her, extending a hand.

“You too,” she said, shaking it firmly, before beckoning Noah after her. “You ready for this?” she asked him as they left the others behind.

“You just tell me what you need me to do,” Noah said. “Consider me a second pair of hands.”

Satisfied with that answer, Olivia pressed on towards the source of the noise. The sounds were growing more frequent as they pushed towards the center of the rock formation they’d been trapped in for hours now. The terrain wasn’t easy to manage, but the two of them pressed on regardless, slipping and sliding more than once on the dusty red rock as they followed the bellows onward. Finally they reached one of the tallest, skyward reaching spires that extended out over the center of whatever this place was. Keeping low and moving carefully, they inched up the spire until the incline was just too steep to risk and looked down onto a battle that seemed straight out of the stone age.

They could now see that the center of this massive place was a sandy open-air pit, roughly the size of a skating rink, that likely sat just below the ground level outside, though it was hard to tell from inside the collection of massive rocks. The looming stone spires all around them kept the place half in shadow, and Olivia realized that to get down into the pit they’d need to slide down an almost vertical rock face or descend back into the maze of tunnels below them and try their luck navigating a path from down there. This logistical concern was a real one, but it was pushed to the back of her mind as she watched the four creatures darting around the pit below her.

The Raven was instantly recognizable and unsurprisingly in the thick of things; he seemed to be taunting the gargantuan beast that was making the ruckus that had led her and Noah here, though Olivia did not yet understand why. This creature the Raven was tangling with was massive, far bigger than an American bison, though it shared some similarities. The muscular body and hooved feet were reminiscent of familiar bovine creatures, but the mass of tangled antlers was more akin to an elk’s and the mouth and teeth were both far too large and oddly placed at the front of the headless frame to give the thing a truly cow-like appearance. The thing did not appear to have eyes, but it was charging about, primarily at the Raven, with enough accuracy that it had to have some way of sensing the world around it. Each time the beast charged the Raven, the ebony skinned man would dodge away at the last moment, confusing the creature for an instant and prompting one of those world shaking roars almost without fail.

Perhaps more interesting than this matador-esque display, were the two newcomers that seemed to be helping the Raven take down this enormous beast. One of them was clearly a being similar to the Raven, though Olivia could see she was female even from here. She was skipping about on long, oddly shaped legs and looked to have the same distinct combination of animalistic features and primitive clothing that the Raven sported. Much like the Raven, her head seemed to be covered with some sort of mask, though it was not domed in the same way as his so that her long ears could jut out comfortably from the top. Olivia couldn’t see clearly from here, but she’d bet that thing was burned onto her much the same way the Raven’s was melded onto him. This woman seemed to be working alongside the Raven willingly and each time he left the beast in bewilderment after a quick dodge, this new masked figure would fire numerous small wooden arrows into the beast’s hide from her compact bo.

The third new face was obviously in league with the Raven as well, but he looked far more animalistic than either of his allies and Olivia found that he put her on edge in a way none of the other creatures below her, including the massive antlered monstrosity the other three were trying to kill, did. Werewolf was the term that came to her mind the quickest, though this was not an apt description of this thing. He looked like he was wearing one of those wolfskin headdresses you saw barbarian chiefs or Native American shamans in movies wear, though this was markedly different for a number of reasons. The top half of this thing’s head seemed to be entirely canine, from the short, hyena-like muzzle to the tattered ears and long mane of fur that flowed from the man’s neck, down his spine and all the way to the backs of his canid leg joints. The bottom half of his head, the lower jaw and throat, was more human but still warped to fit his more monstrous anatomical features. The lower jaw extended out to meet the upper muzzle, but the skin remained pale and human looking, not fur covered like the rest of the head, and this more human skin texture and coloration extended down to the chest and stomach, though a thin, but noticeable layer of fur did cover these lower parts of the body. Both the arms and legs seemed far from human and the long, sharp claws that adorned each of his four paw-like hands and feet looked deadly. Currently, this thing was darting around the small, open air space with the other two, but he seemed to be trying to avoid detection, not actively helping the others take down their target.

“Think you can make a clean shot from here?” Noah whispered. “Because I definitely cannot.”

“I wouldn’t be confident, no,” she admitted. She was a fine marksman, but there was a lot of movement down there and she didn’t want to risk turning any potential allies into enemies over one ill-timed shot. “Not sure how we could get much closer without heading back into the tunnels or trying to slide down this thing.”

“Looks like they’ve got some sort of plan at least,” Noah mused from their vantage point above the action. “Might just want to watch things play out and then try to get the Raven’s attention. He’ll have an easier time getting to us then we will getting to him.”

Olivia could think of no better plan than this, so she settled in with Noah and watched the strange dance unfolding below her. The Raven continued to play bullfighter as he got the raging beast’s attention time and again only to dodge away at the last moment. This would prompt a flurry of arrows from the long eared woman and a shout of rage from the beast as he tried to locate his tormentors and then it would begin again. This had to have been going on for close to an hour now, but Olivia thought she could see it starting to work. The antlered creature was growing visibly weary even if it still seemed incredibly dangerous. She didn’t know how much fight was left in this thing, but she doubted it could be much.

As the Raven made yet another successful dodge, the large creature seemed to stumble. It regained its balance quickly, but as it rounded on the Raven for what could have been the hundredth time, it wobbled where it stood, three sets of thick knees clearly on the verge of collapse. This show of weakness was only momentary though and with another booming roar it charged. Olivia felt her breath catch in her throat as the Raven made no move to dodge this latest attack, but that was when she saw the monstrous form of the dog-man make its first offensive move. Lunging towards the charging beast’s flank, the muzzled creature lashed out with powerful claws and tore a huge chunk of flesh from the beast’s side. Bellowing in pain, the charging creature turned to gore its newest attacker, but the Raven and the long eared woman gave it no chance.

Rushing in to help their friend, the Raven and his female counterpart attacked the raging beast from two places at once; the Raven using his short stone blades to slash at the thing’s flanks while the woman launched barbed shafts at an impressive rate into the place where the thing’s head should have been. The blind and bewildered monster seemed torn as it wheeled in place, trying to lash out at all of its attackers at once but in reality giving each of them an opening to do further damage in turn. Soon the beast was bleeding heavily and Olivia saw that the end was near. As it slumped forward onto its two front legs, the muzzled man struck. Slamming into the beast’s side, he knocked it to the ground and began to tear at its underside with claws and fangs alike.

“Jesus,” Noah said. “That’s one way to do it I guess.”

“He’s rooming with you,” Olivia said, trying to make light of what they were watching, but it didn’t exactly work. She’d seen a lot of fucked up things in her short time on this earth, but watching this half-human thing tear their target apart from the inside might take the cake.

“Raven!” a familiar voice cried out from below them.

“Goddammit,” Olivia hissed as Kevin and the three others strode into view. They must have found some way to the center of this place using the tunnels instead of heading for the surface like she and Noah had. “We need to get down there now.” Making sure her safety was on, she began sliding down the steep stone face towards the sand below. One wrong move and she’d be tumbling down towards the sandy pit with nothing but jagged rocks to slow her descent, but that didn’t stop her. Keeping her gaze fixed on the group below, Olivia moved as fast as she could.

Things might be about to go very badly.