Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) (77 page)

Reaching the ground cautiously, Seth had not thought of a course of action as to what to do once they had escaped the great pyramid. Having no way to determine in what direction lay Valdadore, he could not in good conscience lead Sara off into the wilderness to become prey to whatever inhabited this part of the world. Expressing his lack of knowledge of their surroundings to Sara they both agreed it best to wait until sunrise before choosing a course to lead them back home. Sara was enthralled with the great structure of the pyramid and wanted to explore more. With a devious little smile upon her lush lips, she convinced Seth to continue investigating the surroundings of the pyramid with her. Reluctantly Seth agreed, although inside he was happy that Sara, despite her physical changes, was the same woman he adored more than any other person. Taking Sara’s hand in his own they began to pick their way amongst the undergrowth around the great structure of the pyramid, both wondering what it was they might discover.

Seth and Sara spent the remaining hours of darkness exploring the area around the pyramid and found that once a small city stood here in the wilderness. Many floors to buildings remained with evidence of toppled walls and foundations, and although plants sprang up from what had once been roads and buildings alike, Seth and Sara imagined that the small city was once both beautiful and prosperous. They even ventured to guess what might have led its people to abandon the city as they explored and talked as if their current situation was nothing out of the ordinary, both of them simply happy to have each other as company. Seth imagined he could live his whole life with no other person in it than Sara. Her mischievousness kept him on his toes, her beauty kept him enthralled, her reasoning inspired him to reflect upon decisions, her laughter lifted his spirits, her voice brought him comfort, and her smile brightened his day. Seth could not imagine life without Sara. He hoped that someday, after they had found their way home, he and Sara could retire to the manor King Valdadore had promised him, and they could live out their days peacefully, perhaps raising a family of their own. After introducing Sara to his father, of course. The thought made Seth smile and Sara, thinking much along the same lines as they wandered among the ruins, returned his smile lovingly.

As day neared Seth watched as one horizon began to brighten as the darkness of the night was chased away by the light of the sun. Knowing now what direction was east, Seth needed only to determine where it was that he and Sara had landed. Unfortunately for Seth, that required returning back to the top of the pyramid to get a better lay of the land and hopefully distinguish some landmark that he might recognize. Leading Sara back to the base of the pyramid Seth explained his intentions, assuring her she could stay below as he climbed up for a better view, but unwilling to leave his side Sara chose to ascend the structure with him once again. As they began to climb the west side of the great pyramid they watched as great winged bats screeched and squawked, careening through the air and eventually gliding out of view atop the pyramid. Sara smiled at Seth knowingly, realizing that these large bats were the very same he had used to save her life.

For more than an hour Seth and Sara grudgingly climbed the dark side of the pyramid, opposite the sunrise, as the sky above them grew brighter and brighter allowing Seth, finally nearing the top, to extinguish his fireball. Helping Sara pick out an easy path to climb, Seth watched as for at least the twelfth time she wiped her eyes, which were now bloodshot, obviously irritated by something they had come into contact with. Seth realized at that moment that his eyes too felt dry and irritated, and wondered what it might have been that they had touched or brushed up against to cause such a reaction. Seth thought about the many plants back home that could cause rashes and irritations as they climbed the last few stairs to once again stand atop the platform upon the pyramid. The sun had crested the horizon in entirety, though standing across from the round stone chamber at the pyramid's pinnacle, Seth and Sara were still in shadow. Taking a moment to stretch, the pair turned to face back the way they had come to view the land surrounding them.

For miles to the west lay a vast, dense forest of the like Seth had only heard about in stories. Here tall trees stood with giant thronged leaves like huge hands and vines hanging precariously from the uppermost branches, or clinging to the trunks and swirling around and around the trees. Fog hugged the floor beneath the trees where brush and bushes filled the voids between them and crisscrossing vines carpeted the floor of the forest as colorful birds winged in and out between the trees in morning calls of varying pitch and volume. Beyond the forest Seth and Sara could see a vast rolling plain that began green and became tan and then brown before appearing green once again at its far side. From this plain vast clouds of dust were swept by the wind and borne upon the air currents to periodically obscure any further details, but the plain itself was of little importance. What lay beyond was what immediately held Seth’s attention, and pointing out what he believed he saw to Sara for confirmation, more miles away than he dared count, there appeared to be a silhouette upon the far horizon. From here it was but a smudge of purple upon a backdrop of like-colored sky, but even so, as the sun rose higher by the moment the smudge grew to distinction and spread from one horizon to the other. Seth and Sara watched as their belief was confirmed.

Beyond the vast forest, and further past the plains and whatever else might lay ahead, a range of mountains loomed in the distance, barely perceptible from this distance. Seth and Sara only knew of one range of mountains this vast. The range ran down the entire eastern border of Valdadore before turning west to create the kingdom’s southern border as well. If these were the Rancor Mountains in the distance, and the sun was behind Seth, then he was on the wrong side of them. If that were true, Seth had no idea what to expect in this foreign land. He knew not if people inhabited these lands, and if they did, what race they might belong to. The dwarves inhabited the mountains themselves, burrowing and tunneling far into the earth to mine metals and gems, but that was as far as his knowledge went. Here, on this side of the Rancor mountains, if indeed these were the same mountains he believed them to be, Seth had never so much as heard tales of what he might find in these lands.

It was apparent to Seth that at one time some race of man lived here; the ruins were proof of that. But why had they left? What type of people were they? Did they still inhabit this region? Though one of his questions might be answered, allowing them to choose a course to find their way home, such an answer made Seth imagine a million new questions to which he had no answers. Though his mind was beyond that of a normal mortal man, without information and understanding even his heightened mental abilities were useless. Knowing not what else to do, Seth decided it best to look around some more, to be sure there was nothing else that might lead him to believe that those mountains in the distance were not what they appeared. Taking Sara’s hand Seth began to lead her around the cylindrical chamber that was the pinnacle of the great pyramid structure when he found what it was that would be his biggest hindrance to getting home.

Stepping from behind the great chamber atop the stone surface of the pyramid Seth emerged into direct sunlight for the first time that morning. Instantly everything went black as his eyes began to burn uncontrollably and pain exploded in his head of the like he could only imagine could happen if his head had been cleaved in two. Freezing in his tracks Seth closed his eyes by instinct in an attempt to relieve the burning and the pain in his head. As soon as his eyes were closed the pain and burning subsided, but that was only an inkling of what was to come. A step behind, Sara emerged into the sunlight and was immediately wracked by unimaginable agony too. Though covered nearly entirely in the armor Seth had created for her, her hands remained exposed as did her head, neck and face having chosen not to wear her helm. As the rays of direct sunlight lit upon her naked flesh instantly her skin blistered, cracked and began to peel, revealing deeper portions of her flesh beneath that began to fester and burn as well. As Sara screamed a bloodcurdling, wretched scream of pain realization dawned on Seth. This was the ultimate sacrifice of saving the woman he loved. Though she had become more with the transformation, gaining strength and speed, as well as agility, so too had she become less. To sustain her body she now thirsted for blood, and to sustain her life she needed to siphon it off others like a leech of the wickedest form. But that seemed miniscule to what Seth realized at that very moment Sara screamed. Akin to the bats Seth had used to save her life, Sara’s body no longer held any immunity to the sun and as such, until he could repair the damage he had done to her, Sara would be forever banished into darkness, unable to withstand the light of day. With a portion of her altered life’s blood coursing through his own veins, Seth had become day blind, not capable of withstanding the sun's effects on his eyes. Reacting of necessity Seth dove back into the shadow of the building pulling Sara with him as she continued to scream in agony. Returning to the relative safety of the shade behind the structure, Seth opened his eyes once again to find his vision restored, though what he saw made him retch upon the stone beneath his feet.

Sara lay upon the stone panting heavily, crying and sobbing from the pain that had ravaged her body. One of her eyes lay destroyed, a thick yellow ooze leaking from the socket where it should have been. Entire chunks of her flesh and scalp had burned away revealing portions of bone and desiccated flesh beneath the surface where once was beautiful flawless skin. Her hair had burned and fallen away in patches leaving more and more flesh exposed to the sun where it too had blistered and cracked. Liquids and pus oozed from uncountable wounds upon her head, face and neck as blood had begun to run, but it also had burned away leaving scabby trails down what remained of her ruined flesh. Her hands were another gruesome wreck entirely. Though one hand, the one Seth had been holding, showed little sign of destruction, the other lay wasted, having nearly burned through completely. All that appeared to remain were bones held aloft by tendon and sinew with bits of charred and blistered flesh clinging here and there like a carcass left to rot in the sun for weeks. The sight was so gruesome Seth sat upon the stone at Sara’s side in shock, unable to act, and though his body threatened to make him retch again, it had nothing to purge as Seth had not eaten in days. Seth could not imagine how Sara survived, but doubted she would be able to live with herself if she were able to see what she had become. Seth sat frozen with Sara’s wrecked body at his side, as the woman he loved struggled to breathe through her destroyed face, sobbing loudly in pain though no tears came to bear witness to her misery.

Borrik and his men fled more than raced the day following the wretched deed they had inflicted upon the human women in the forest. None among the pack that Borrik led was left unashamed or unscarred by their actions. Though it was through instinct they had performed the deed, an instinct to perpetuate the pack, an instinct born of need for survival, their human sides screamed silently of the foulness they had done. It was a deed not to be put aside lightly, one that none would ever live to redeem. Though each of them individually struggled with inner turmoil, the men and women of Borrik’s pack of human wolf hybrids chose not to discuss the event openly. As they raced through the ancient forest eastward towards their master, climbing steadily uphill at a gut wrenching pace, it became clear that the events of the night before would haunt them all forever. As each member of the pack tried in vain to focus their minds on the task of keeping pace through the trees, each one of them, try as they might to relinquish the thoughts, would recall some stray memory of the night before. These memories were horrible, haunting images of women being brutally attacked and ravaged, and each time a recollection surfaced, it was shared with the pack consciousness and every member had to once again relive the event with a new wave of shame and guilt.

Though shamed and disgraced by his actions, Borrik raced headlong through the twisting and winding game trails of the forest wondering at what it was that had set him and his pack off like raging beasts. He imagined that the mushrooms in the grove outside the human settlement might have had something to do with it, or perhaps a particular scent had drawn them. Borrik knew he must find the reason so he could prevent such an occurrence from happening again. Though simply stopping a repeat performance would not be his salvation, he was not sure if he could endure the guilt and remorse multiplied.

Trying to concentrate once again on his surroundings Borrik raced ahead in huge, loping strides leading his troops ever eastward and upward through the ancient forest. As he raced he began to notice subtle changes in the terrain and atmosphere. Where once dense moss had carpeted the floor of the forest, now large rocks and boulders thrust up through the soil like bones of some great beast slain ages ago. Ferns and varying other forms of brush began to sprout here and there and eventually, as they progressed further uphill, the moss receded completely as the brushes and ferns took over the forest floor in entirety. The trees began to thin by midday, and the temperature dropped with each hour along with the previous humidity. Sunlight shone regularly through the canopy above as the trees became more and more sparse the higher the pack climbed.

It was late afternoon, having run all day with no breaks for food or rest, when catching the feline girls' scent once again Borrik broke free from the trees altogether to behold the Rancor Mountains in their path. Sniffing the air Borrik assured himself they needed to continue east, but knowing his men desired food and drink, he ordered a halt and gave orders telepathically to his men to be ready to begin anew within an hour's time.

Sharing their supplies as they had done before, each of the powerful wolf men and women quickly ate their fill and drank until their thirsts were satiated, and any packs emptied of supplies were left behind to rot. Supplies it seemed would not last but one more meal, but before an hour had passed the pack picked up their meager remaining supplies, and within seconds of stowing their wares were back on their feet, ready to leave, when the howling began. Instantly all members of Borrik’s pack lifted their noses to the air and began sniffing vigorously to catch a scent. Here the wind ran parallel to the mountain range swirling and careening around great stones, boulders and mountain tops alike and a scent could be borne upon the wind for miles. Catching the familiar scent of their comrades, Borrik’s own troops began to howl in reply, a great mournful crescendo that echoed and reverberated off the stone and trees around them.

Borrik had sent runners days before to gather up the rest of Lord Seth’s wolf troops and apparently the call was being heeded. Unsure of exactly how far away his comrades were, or how long it might take them to catch up, Borrik decided not to wait to find out. He needed to keep on the feline sisters' trail while it was fresh, for only they knew the location of their master, and Borrik was determined now more than ever that Seth needed him. Beginning anew Borrik began racing off up the mountainside heading once again ever eastbound. He led his men late into the evening as light began to fail, up the rocky terrain at a dangerous pace searching for two things; the sisters' scent and a pass through the mountains.

As the sun diminished over the horizon Borrik crested a rise, his feet scratching and clawing for purchase among the stone surfaces, and feeling a bit of success, as if it were an actual accomplishment, he beheld before him what it was he was seeking. Just as Borrik topped the rise he watched as the pair of feline sisters disappeared into what appeared to be a great crack between two of the immense mountains. From this distance, in the eerie twilight between day and night, the crack appeared but a narrow gouge between the great stone faces of two neighboring mountains, barely wide enough to permit the young girls. However as he and his men neared the pass Borrik realized, even in the now darkened night, that it was his perspective angle and distance that had made it seem so. But as Borrik led his men to the entrance of the pass, he was assaulted on three entirely different levels from three entirely different sources.

Springing from the darkened pass, nearly colliding with the wolf troops, the feline sisters of Seth’s creation bolted from the rocky gorge, springing and pouncing as fast as lightning right past the wolf men towards the forest below. Although as startling as their retreat from the pass was, the girls’ flight was simply the harbinger of the second assault on Borrik. Following the girls, carried by the wind created by their swift passage, was a scent that Borrik recognized. Many days previous, following the battle with the black horde, Borrik and his men had hunted another mountain pass to the south of the kingdom, chasing down and slaughtering their fleeing foes. Among the southern mountains Borrik had found this scent once before but it had been weaker, older, something from days past. Here and now, however, some living being that he had never put a name to was concealed within the pass. The scent warned of something large and carnivorous, but beyond that Borrik had no notion of what to expect within the darkened confines of the mountain. Whatever it was, it had scared the feline sisters into full retreat, and that was but the second thing that assailed Borrik. The third came from within his own mind.

As the cat-like sisters bolted past Borrik carrying with them the smell of some unforeseen danger, images and emotions flashed through Borrik’s mind of the forest below him where it broke from the trees. Dozens of Borrik’s troops had come to join them and were racing this very moment up the same mountainside he and his small pack had just finished climbing. They would arrive within the hour. Borrik was relieved to have reinforcements to help with this unnamed foe, but at the same moment his hopes were dashed as the ground beneath his feet began to shake and tremble, forcing him to bend his knees and lower his center of gravity lest he should lose his footing.

Subliminally Borrik ordered his troops to either side of the opening in the rock wall before them. Borrik was not a military veteran, but a few of the wolf men that called him alpha were. Borrik knew everything his pack knew, witnessed everything his pack witnessed, and experienced everything his pack experienced, and as such he knew more about military strategy than nearly any man alive. Setting up their ambush the wolf troops waited silently, as still as death, melting into the deepest, darkest shadows the giant rock walls afforded. None knew what enemy approached nor how many there might be. As the men waited images flashed across Borrik’s subconscious mind as his troops imagined what might be that approached them from higher up the mountain. Some imagined a great troop of oily-skinned orcs marching through the pass while others imagined it to be some great otherworldly beast that they had only heard of in tales. Borrik doubted all of their imaginings, though he himself dared not consider what this unseen foe might be, instead waiting for the creature to reveal itself.

As the pack waited somewhat anxiously, a new sound lent itself to the approach of whatever enemy it was that came to claim them. Along with the great pounding that shook the ground beneath their feet, now came a raspy, bellowing noise as if air was gushing through the dry leaves of a tree at the end of fall, or perhaps more like waves crashing upon the stones of a beach. As the unseen foe closed the distance through the dark pass, the pounding and rasping grew louder and louder and pebbles and rocks began to rain down on the wolf men from the mountainside above. Borrik could not believe what his senses were telling him. With each moment his body shook more with the approach of this unknown danger. With each pounding step the beast took, Borrik’s body fought to stay upright as if the earth was heaving beneath his feet straining his joints and muscles. However, Borrik would not need to endure the torturous wait much longer.

When the shaking ground and ceaseless booming grew to a nearly unbearable level, Borrik and his men watched as the creature extracted itself from the gorge between the mountains. None dared move without an order from their alpha, and even then some doubted they could bring this monster down. Stepping from the great crevice came a beast unlike anything any of the wolf men had seen before. All had heard tales and descriptions of a giant, but what they saw before them dwarfed any depiction they could have imagined. Easily as tall as five large men, the enormous monster of a beast stomped out of the pass crushing stones beneath its great weight, causing plumes of dust to explode under its feet. It was a formidable creature by any account. Its size was daunting to even the most experienced warrior, but that was only a small portion of what made the giant fearsome. The creature’s limbs were all massively large with bulging muscles and sinew, a requirement for growing to such an immense size. Its four arms, two sprouting from each shoulder, were abnormally long which gave it an ape-like gait and an amazing reach.

Atop the massive body rested a head and face that appeared to have been created for the sole purpose of inspiring fear. The giant lacked any sign of hair over his entire body, and on his head, where hair was expected to grow, lines of thick spikes sprouted from the very bones beneath the flesh trailing down the back of his neck and onto his shoulders. The beast's eyes were more widely set than any other race of man Borrik could recall, and even in the complete absence of light, they seemed to glow with a menacing green luminescence of their own. Beneath the monster's wicked eyes sprouted a nose more like a beak than anything akin to other races of men, and upon the great boney beak was a single nostril where steamy hot air exploded forth each time the beast exhaled. It was this that created the rasping sound the men had used to track the creature’s progress through the mountain pass. Beneath the beak-like nose lay a mouth more foul than anything Borrik had witnessed upon another being, either man or animal. It appeared a great hole in the giant's face, circular in shape and large enough to encompass a man. Within the great hole of a mouth were rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth to which pieces of rotting flesh clung pervading the air with a thick stench of death and decay.

Borrik initially thought to draw the giant off down the mountainside and then race back up and through the pass with his men, but with more of his troops on their way he dared not leave them to face this foe alone. Borrik had two dozen battle-ready men currently with more en route. To him it was not a matter if they could bring the giant down, but more a matter of what the cost of such a battle might be. Whatever the cost, however, the decision was made for Borrik without his consent as the giant, stepping free from the confines of the pass, raised its wicked beak and began to sniff the air vigorously. Swiveling its massive head this way and that, tasting the air for an unfamiliar scent, the giant peered into the shadows with its glowing green eyes and spotted one of Borrik’s men. Rearing backwards, the giant hefted his massive body to its full height, and clenching his four massive hands into fists, he charged the lone wolf man whom his gaze had fallen upon.

With little time to react, Borrik ordered his men to meet the challenge. Fortunately for the single wolf soldier whom the giant charged, his comrades sprang from the shadows barking and growling, giving the giant pause to reassess the situation. Unfortunately for Borrik and his men, however, the giant changed tactics and spun to meet them showing both its unbelievable agility for a being so large, and proof of intelligence. With fists as large as a man the giant began to rain blows down upon the wolf men in its path with all four of its massive arms, sending Borrik’s soldiers scattering in all directions to evade the blows. Each time the giant missed a foe, it drove one of its massive fists into the rocky ground causing the earth to shake beneath the wolf men’s feet, making them struggle to stay standing. Seeing the effect this had upon them, the intelligent giant began steadily beating the ground with two of his fists causing many of the wolf men to stumble or trip and fall. With its two remaining fists the giant continued to bat at the fallen wolf men in an attempt to crush them with his bare hands. The giant managed a few glancing blows with this tactic and sent more than one of Borrik’s troops flying through the air to land with broken limbs or ribs far from their comrades who still struggled to put up a fight. No matter how successful the giant's new tactic was, Borrik saw a flaw in the creature's plan.