Discovery at Nerwolix (40 page)

“Sampson?”

I shake my head. “He’s staying with
Hozfin.”

“The Fychu is not coming?” Ehan raises a
brow.

“No, but an Arizal Dofinike is—our friend
Qippert.”

“It may not be safe for him,” Norhra says to
her brother. “It may be better for him to stay with Hozfin and the
Fychu.”

“If he stays with us, it should be
alright.”

“We should not take any unnecessary
chances,” she turns to me. “When your friend arrives, he will need
to flee immediately back to—”

Qippert, Able and Werzo appear a few yards
down in the middle of a heap of Vermix corpses. I wave and the
three come sprinting over, Able and Werzo looking just as exhausted
as Qippert, who in his true form. He shifts glances between us and
the Nerwos.

“Ehan, Norhra,” he bows slightly. “The Fychu
sends his regards.”

“Please send ours to him,” Norhra mirrors
the gesture, her face growing stern. “But you cannot stay. It is
not safe. The Nerwos will easily mistake you for a Vermix. You must
return to King Hozfin with the Fychu where it is safe.”

“I see…” he quickly glances to Reid and I,
then back at the brother and sister. “He said you may react this
way. I completely understand your hesitations but it is the Fychu’s
wish that I stay. He wants someone with King Thias and on the
battlefield going forward.”

“But he has Fallon,” Reid looks at me.

“Yes,” Qippert nods. “But if anything were
to happen, he wants a safe departure for everyone involved,” he
turns to Ehan and Norhra. “I will assume the form of a human to
avoid confusion.” His green form slowly fades to fleshy tan as the
human façade I’ve seen returns.

The brother and sister nod at one another
and Ehan steps closer. “We were just informing the humans that we
have the Vermix closed off. Nerwos block the south and are
currently pushing the enemy north. The Zingfinolds hold the east
and west, cutting off the escape. Their only advance is to the
northern Hylas where the rest of our forces wait.”

“A choke point?” Qippert’s brows rise.

“At the border separation,” Ehan nods. “Once
they are secure, we will hand them back to you and the
Zingfinolds.”

“Do you think that wise?”

“We do not see why not. Some have already
fled… many have been killed. It will be a smaller force. Easily
contained.”

“But an ally retreat at the end does not
guarantee victory.”

“It is
not
retreat,” Norhra says.
“The king does not wish to be part of this conflict. He only wants
to be involved minimally.”

I toss Able a look and my chest aches. He’s
been at the city this whole time and judging by his exhausted
appearance, it didn’t go any better for them. One of his eyes is
swollen and there is blood splattered all over his full-body black
and brown hide covering. Werzo, standing next to him, doesn’t look
any less affected. I want to get a report of how things went, how
Pratt and Mae are doing and why they’re not here now. Instead, I
keep my feet planted and listen to Qippert’s reply.

“My pardons,” he inhales, “but this
‘conflict’ involves everyone; all three Worlds are affected by
Reuzkimpart’s desire to obtain the Three Gifts. He will not stop;
he will not surrender. If there is a chance to end his quest, we
must to do it now before anyone else need die.”

“We are only instructed to stop the ambush
and corner the assailants,” Ehan frowns. “King Thias wants the
Hylas cleared—that is all. You may do what you wish with the
intruders but the king wants our involvement ended there.”

Qippert nods, glancing from Reid to the
Rogues to me. Finally, he looks back to the brother and sister. “I
see. I will relate this to King Hozfin and the Fychu. Shall we
attend to the Vermix in the north and end this then?”

The fighting is just as bloody.

We were somewhere in the middle of the Hylas
before, but now we’re all the way up here, near the northern most
tip of the mountain. And all I see is red. Broken Dofinikes litter
the grass; patches peeking through limp bodies that lay sprawled
over one another with bits of heads and talons and skin blown off.
Blood soaks into the ground, which is covered in Nerwo-Vermix duels
as orange blasts light the early morning sky. It’s still dark, but
the sun is slowly starting to creep toward the horizon, casting a
bright pink glow over the chaotic scene.

“It is better than I expected,” Qippert
nods.

We’re grouped with the northern forces, our
backs to the rocky part of the mountain and watching as the Nerwos
surround the Vermix army that spills through the valley toward us.
We’re over by Nhazual’s Pass where Tucker and Walker had to go to
complete the second challenge of becoming a Zingfinold tribesman.
It’s also where the Vermix spies originally came looking for the
Gift two days ago.

“I expect their surrender once the sun fully
rises,” Ehan looks to Qippert. “If they are not all dead by
then.”

“Hopefully this can be ended today,” he
inhales. “And there will be peace again in the Three Worlds.”

“Ehan,” a young Nerwo rushes up to him,
blood splattered across his brown wear. “We have them surrounded
but several are fleeing south again. They are relocating to the
shore to come up behind us.”

Ehan looks at Warze a moment, a decision
made. “Take half the southern force and meet them further in the
south. Help the Zingfinolds cut off their retreat. They are to make
no
advance.”

“Yes, Ehan,” he bows, quickly jetting back
through the chaos.

“Mighty Warze,” the Nerwo turns to him, “are
you able to notify the others of this? Have them prepare for the
Vermix return?”

“Zingfinold already know. I secure shore
with others,” he nods. With a look to the rest of us, he races back
across the field, disappearing.

“So they’re not leaving…” Able sighs with an
eye roll. “Why would they? It’s not like we want to end this or
anything.”

“I will let the Fychu know,” Qippert says.
“He may wish to join the others south of Zinnollo.”

“I thought he wanted to stay with Hozfin?” I
frown.

“He does, but if the Vermix are not in full
retreat by this point, he may want to leave the king for a bit and
assist where he is most needed.”

“On the battlefield,” Reid nods.

“Correct,” Qippert says, “although he has
been thoroughly guarding the city when the Vermix attacked it. The
Fychu has been….almost like Zinnollo’s own personal protector. Do
not misunderstand me, Blovid, Vix and I assisted as well—”

“And we did, too!” Werzo says.

“Yes,
all
the Rogues assisted in the
defense, but the Fychu made sure the attack never made it quite so
north and quiet so inland. At this point the city is safe, so he
may wish to lend his assistance in helping end the outside
fight.”

“Unless Reuzkimpart brings in more forces,”
Jace scratches his chin.

“And that could very well happen. If—”

A pack of four Vermix rush forward. Blood
trickles down their torso, their yellow eyes narrowed and focused.
Blasts of orange shoot straight in our direction but before we even
have time to fire back, the group leaps overhead and makes for the
tunnel behind us.

“How do they know?” Ehan shoots his sister a
terrifying look, racing after them. Norhra shakes her head, quickly
following her brother into the darkness. The rest of us take off
after the pair, leaving the open valley behind as we narrow into
the black tunnel.

Reid is swiftly at Ehan’s side. “I thought
you said it was covered?”

“It is—we have the exit blocked on the other
side, but I did not think they even knew about this Pass. I had
hoped we would not have to chase them through here.”

“Can’t they just go
over
the
mountain?” Able pants.

Ehan shakes his head. “The Nerwos are
stationed on top of the mountain and at the other side of Nhazual’s
pass. It is a blockade to keep them from entering King Thias’s
territory. And we only used it as a precaution.”

“Thank God,” Werzo huffs.

The darkness is overwhelming except for the
brightly shining Callix wound around my wrist. And with the early
morning light, only a few rays make it into the bare entrance of
the tunnel, leaving the rest of it to the deep black depths.

“I will seek the others ahead,” Qippert
says, about to jet forward.

“No!” Norhra grabs his wrist before he can
flee. “We will seek them when we have a chance. Right now we must
prevent anymore from entering this pass.”

“But how—” Able’s question gets cut off by
the sound of explosions rippling through the tunnel walls.

We all turn to find a hoard of Vermix
rushing forward, their Traxpires already blasting at us. Ehan and
Norhra race forward, slicing straight into the herd as whelps and
screams cry out, filling the tight passage. A few Vermix jet up the
cavern walls but they’re shot down, crashing to the ground with a
loud smack. Mostly we’re a unified force, firing right into the
thick soup of Dofinikes and trying not to hit the brother and
sister pair.

One Vermix dodges our attempts and leaps
overhead, landing behind us. I think he’s going to start shooting
but doesn’t. Instead, he takes off in the other direction, racing
into the darkness and disappearing. I think about going after him
but Walker grips my wrist. “Forget him.”

We keep firing at the impending Vermix while
Ehan and Norhra slice through their group, effectively disabling
them one by one. Once the brother and sister have worked their way
back toward the tunnel’s opening, they jet out into the early
morning light and for a second, I think a new batch of Vermix are
about to pour through. But the siblings return along with a string
of other Nerwos, keeping to the tunnel’s opening.

Vermix whelps and hisses fill the pass but
Ehan and Norhra glide over them and head for us.

“We have the pass blocked,” Ehan says.
“There should not be anymore able to get through here.”

“That’s good…” Jace glances to the darkness
behind us. “But what about the others that got through?”

Walker wipes his brow with his forearm. “The
other side is blocked, right? So what does it matter?”

“We cannot allow them to
hide
here,”
Norhra says. “If the other side does not confirm they have detained
five Vermix, then they will still be hidden in here somewhere. We
cannot allow any Vermix to remain alive or unfound.”

“So we would have to find them,” Qippert
says.

“Unless the Keeper does.”

“Who?” I ask.

“The Tunnel Keeper,” Ehan says. “The
creature who has lived here for thousands of years. He keeps watch
over the tunnel and all that pass through.”

“He uh… friendly to Nerwos and friends?”
Walker raises a brow.

“No,” Norhra shakes her head. “Not
particularly.”

“Oh.”

“Are we safe?” I ask.

“Momentarily,” she nods. “But we do not use
Nhazual’s Pass. Ever. It is a place from a different time and we
respect that by keeping our distance.”

“So we should be going then?” Able glances
toward the opening just a few yards down.

“No,” Norhra shakes her head. “Five Vermix
are still in here. We will chase them to the other side of the
pass. We cannot let them roam and hide.”

“But they’re trapped,” Werzo says. “There
are Nerwos posted at both entrances and a…a… gate keeper.”

“Tunnel Keeper.”

“Right,” he glances around. “We’ll
eventually find them.”

“We must find them
now
, before they
call others for their assistance.”

“What if we run into the Tunnel Keeper?” I
ask.

“We will address it if he makes himself
known to us. For now, we must locate the Vermix.”

“Just… chase them towards the other side?”
Werzo motions ahead. “Even though they’re probably already
captured?”

“It is the surest way to find out.”

“We could just
go
to the other side
and see,” Able suggests.

“It will be quicker this way. Come,” Norhra
and Ehan take off in a light sprint.

We all look around each other. Are we really
about to head into the bleak blackness with five loose Vermix and a
Tunnel Keeper? We don’t have long to decide because the brother and
sister are already disappearing into the distance and before they
get too far, our group reluctantly heads off after them, my Callix
offering the only bit of light.

We move swiftly, keeping together and it
doesn’t take long to hear muffled hissing sounds. Reid grips my
hand as Ehan and Norhra race forward, straight into the opaque
dark. Another bellow shrieks and then we’re all rushing, Qippert
and the Rogues leading the way until we pass a corner and stumble
upon a soft light painting a wall. But I don’t notice it at first.
All I see is the slain Vermix in the middle of the ground—both
hands severed and a thick gash carved into his neck as a heavy pool
of blood seeps into a puddle by his face. His dull, blank eyes
stare up into the shadowy ceiling with a final look of terror.

“
Christ
,” Jace whispers.

“The Tunnel Keeper…” Ehan whispers. “He has
been here.”

“Maybe we should leave and let
him
take care of the rest,” Werzo winces. “Seems to be getting the job
done.”

“We cannot assume he will find them all,”
Norhra shakes her head. “We must continue on.”

“What if he comes after us? Tries…” Werzo
motions to the dead Vermix.

“We will stop him.”

“Who
is
he?” I continue staring at
the Vermix before looking up to the brother and sister. “You said a
creature…”

“A Nerwo, technically,” Ehan nods, “cast out
thousands of years ago. He sought refuge here,” he gestures around,
“and never left.”

“Why was he cast out?” Tucker asks.