Enaya: Solace of Time (31 page)

Norcross fired two shots into the throat of one. The head severed off and fell into a pile of dust. The body did the same. Norcross loaded his pistol, staggered upon the pile, and kicked it as hard as he could, angry at the situation that trespassed upon their goal. If this was the work of Shebris, he was going to be sure to give her and extra shot in the face.

Five more left.

Ashera swayed her staff around her body. Her cape fluttered and spread out like wings and her hair twirled around her as well. She brought her staff from the side, almost like a dance, and a streak of white lightning burst from her staff, decapitating one of the undead soldiers. It fell into a pile of dust from where it once came, and Ashera broke apart her staff, holding the pieces at her waist.

Four more left.

The four stopped moving, frozen in marching position. Norcross threw up a fist and his soldiers halted. The Magical stiffened behind them as the dust from the fallen undead gathered up. Each grain rolled under the armor and lifted it up, shifting into position until the dust became the undead again.

All the ones that had fallen were now standing.

“It’s a curse,” Ashera said. “There is blackness behind this. We can’t fight them any longer. We need to run for it.”

“Very well,” Norcross said. “Go!”

They turned and ran through the black forest hastily. There was a fallen log up ahead and Leo tried to jump it, but he missed and his foot went through it. The ash ate up to his knee. He kept pushing further. He glanced back to see the soldiers were running after him, their rifles slightly pointed at the Magical.

Charis had dashed ahead of everybody, pouncing on all fours. Leo smirked. There was a clearing and a lot of light ahead. The forest was starting to become green again. It was a slightly more pleasing view, considering the circumstances that they were facing. The leafy part of the forest welcomed them and they dashed through it and between the trees, finding comfort in the solace of nature.

There was something up ahead.

A stone structure built into the mountain.

They ran harder, sweating and huffing, then burst out of the forest. They came to a stop. Leo was laughing a sense of relief and Bancroft smiled at him.

“Gotta quit smokin’,” Locklin said as he bent over and rested his hands upon his knees.

Norcross was breathing hard, staring at the structure. “Is this it?”

“I don’t know,” said a soldier.

“Well, best not waste more time. You! Go first,” he said, pointing to Leo.

Leo looked into the gaping hole of a door. “It’s too dark in there.”

Norcross shot the ground beside his feet, and Leo jumped in panic. “Go now, Leo!”

“I don’t want—”

Norcross shot at Leo’s feet again.

Leo gulped and trembled as he placed each foot in front of him up the steps. It seemed to him that the black kept getting blacker. Sweat drenched down his face, sticking to his already dirty head. He wiped the sweat off and felt a clump of something hard in his hair. He pulled at it, only to realize it was a clump of dried dirt. He came to the entrance and looked through. He saw nothing. He placed a foot across the stone and into the darkness and he felt something squash beneath his feet. Leo’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and a sour face overcame him, but he continued through anyway.

Chapter 42

It Starts Here

“Let me help you,” Nile said.

“You’re going to,” Shebris replied. She glanced over to Srinath and Ramiel and nodded. The two elves rushed Nile and grabbed each arm, forcing him down to his knees. They held him there, and Shebris’s left hand became encompassed with mist. The mist swallowed her pale skin, wrapping around her forearm as it extended out into a sword.

“You don’t have to do this.”

She ignored him and placed a cold hand upon his cheek. Srinath and Ramiel released their grip. “Back to Solace of Time we go.”

“Hey!” called a voice.

They turned to the entrance, stunned. Nile was a relieved. Leo peered through the doorway, followed by the others. He was excited to see Nile and he wanted to jump the stairs and greet him with a hug, but Shebris was glaring at him. Leo became encompassed with fear. Nile jumped to his feet at the sight of Leo and Ashera, but Srinath punched his spine and pressed him down back onto his knees. Shebris hissed at them. Leo began down the steps and the others followed them.

“How did you get here?” Nile asked.

“We had help,” Leo replied.

Through the doorway, he saw soldiers and Norcross follow them. Nile gasped in defeat. It would have been too easy if his friends were to show up on their own, surviving the cells in Silvago. But now, Nile realized that there was never an easy way. Life always presented a tougher route, a harder path, a journey that was always unpleasant. The opposite of what he wanted.

Leo stepped onto the wet platform first. The rest followed. Leo pointed his sword to Shebris. “It’s over,” he said with a warrior’s smile.

Shebris reached out and pinched the tip of his blade between her fingers. A black substance spread down his blade, corroding it into orange ash. It fell onto the ground and Leo tossed the handle to the side. It clinked against the rock wall.

“I didn’t need it anyway,” Leo said.

“Enough!” Norcross screamed.

“Oh yes, Norcross,” Shebris said, fueling with malice.

“I’ve carried out my duties,” Norcross alleged. “I want the power I was promised.”

Shebris glided over to him. “I promise, that by the end of today, you will possess all the power in the world.”

“I wouldn’t give it to him, eh,” Locklin said.

Shebris glanced over to Locklin. “And who are you?”

“Well, little lady, ya can call me Locklin Richardson,” he replied.

“Somebody shut him up,” Norcross said in agitation.

One of the soldiers smacked Locklin in the back of the head with a rifle. Locklin fell to his knees and touched his head to see if it was bleeding. He wasn’t. He glared at Norcross for a second to see the room spin, but he could see the smile from him. Locklin’s eyes rolled to the back of his head; he felt like he could see his brain bleed the impact was so hard. He wobbled on his feet for a second and then finally caught his balance on Bancroft.

“Egotistical,” Shebris said, looking at Norcross. She glided over to him and then around him, stopping at his back. She leaned into Norcross’s ear and licked it. He quivered and lowered his weapons. “You desire more than power.”

“Yes,” Norcross replied, hypnotized by her saliva from her tongue.

“Zalmador,” she said, “show yourself.”

Then the walls moved, or it seemed like the walls were moving. From the crevasse between the rock walls, Zalmador slithered out. Leo shivered and ducked between two soldiers. The soldiers aimed at Zalmador as it slithered up around the throne and rested its long head in the seat. It stared at them, flicking out its tongue.

“I hate snakes,” Leo gulped.

“Zalmador is from the memory I showed you,” Shebris said to Nile. His eyes were busy focusing on the large snake. “He has grown with me, and as I withered away with my memories, he became stronger. My fear has fueled his growth.”

“I’m sorry that you’ve been through this,” Nile said, gripping his fist.

“You will be,” Shebris said. She grabbed Nile, ready to take him to Solace of Time, but he punched her in the face.

She howled.

Zalmador slithered quickly toward her. Nile stumbled back, slipped in a puddle, and fell into the water. Zalmador chased after him, slithering into the water as well. Everyone watched with chills shriveling down their spines.

“Nile!” Ashera screamed.

Shebris turned to look at Srinath. Black blood pursed her lips and she spat in her hand. She laughed as she did, looking at the black substance ooze down her fingers and into the cracks of her hand. “Kill them.”

Srinath and Ramiel pulled their swords from their sheaths and glanced to Norcross and his soldiers. The two brothers separated, cutting them off into the middle of the room. This would be so much easier to kill them this way. They were sure of it. They’d done this for generations now—same technique, same swords.

Shebris glided back to her thrown. She picked up the side of her dress and sat down, arching forward with her pale hands on the armrests. Her long fingers scratched against the throne as she watched.

“Fire,” Norcross said.

Then, out of the silence in the cave, bullets ricocheted within the mountain. The brothers dispersed into crows and flew around the room. Their bullets flew between the feathered flock, colliding into the stone structure. The crows swarmed down and pecked at Norcross, their beaks burning his flesh. He screamed and shook them off.

Within the middle of the group, the crows gathered. They became Srinath. The soldiers didn’t notice from firing into the remaining crows. Srinath jammed his sword into a soldier and then kicked him off. Norcross turned to see the body lying on the floor, and as he did, the crows dispersed into the air once more. Norcross fired at the crows, but continued to miss.

Nile was floating down. He could see sunlight through the water at the top of the temple, or whatever it was they were in. Then, eerily, the snake came into the water, jaws opened and swimming toward Nile.

The snake swam faster.

Nile extended his arms out to the side and brought his legs down below him and he kicked off, swimming toward the surface, but the snake was already close to him. Zalmador slid across Nile’s body and curled up around his feet. Nile kicked the head of Zalmador and the snake uncoiled.

Nile saw the tail of Zalmador chase past him. How long is this thing? Nile kicked as hard as he could until he broke the surface. He gasped for air and heard the bullets cling off the walls and smash into the water around him. The crows swarmed around them like locusts.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Zalmador popped its head out of the water. It swam to him, looking like the biggest crocodile on the earth. Its body zigzagged in the water, rippling it as it moved. Nile made a break for the surface, but the snake had started to coil up around his feet. He tried to kick free but the snake never loosened its grip.

Then a bullet ricocheted from the wall and hit Zalmador. A chunk of black leather skin exploded off the side and Zalmador uncoiled. Nile reached the platform and pulled himself up. Ashera ran to him and grabbed his hands, pulling him to the center of the group.

“Stop!” Norcross screamed.

The soldiers released the trigger. Norcross watched as the crows flew around them. There was a sense of confusion as he watched the crows. They sensed the presence of the bullet, the warmth from the chamber after each round had been fired. Norcross had hunted birds before when he was younger, and he once killed a duck from twenty-five yards, but these things were less than ten yards apart. He inserted a clip into his pistol and aimed it a certain crow.

His eye hunted it. The tip of the pistol moved with the wings of the crow. He had it in his sight and he pulled the trigger. The bullet shot from the chamber and drove into the crow. It fell down, hopping, cawing in pain. Norcross smirked. He approached the crow and kicked it. The crow extended its wings and caught the wind as it soared about ten yards and landed, then the other crows joined it becoming Ramiel.

Ramiel was holding his side.

Shebris stood from her throne and watched.

“Fire!” Norcross screamed.

The soldiers riddled bullets into Ramiel. His body flung with each shot, and a black substance leaked from his wounds. Ramiel sniffed the air and could smell his blood. It was a haunting odor, like a rotten corpse. Then, unexpectedly, Ramiel took in his last breath and fell to the ground. His blood drained from his body and into the water.

Shebris screamed.

Nile turned to her.

The other crows became Srinath.

Norcross pointed to Shebris. “Give me Enaya.”

Shebris extended her arms to the side, arched her fingers, and whispered. Ashera could hardly hear what she was saying, but she knew that Shebris was about to use her magic, and from the sound of it, she was strong. She gripped Nile’s hand tighter, feeling the water roll between their hands. Then, from inside, the walls crumbled and exploded outward. Chunks of rock fell to the ground and into the water, splashing it up onto the platform.

“Retreat!” Norcross screamed.

He and his soldiers ran up the steps, but a large boulder fell from the ceiling and caved in the staircase, crumbling into the water. Norcross was stuck. He measured the distance and jumped for it, tossing his pistols through the doorway. He landed on the broken step but it crumbled beneath his feet and he fell, grabbing the edge. He pulled himself up and reached back to help his soldiers get across.

Then it was Charis’s turn. She jumped and landed on the step. Norcross reached for her. She grabbed his hand and as she tried to pull herself up to balance, Norcross kicked her knees out from under her. She fell, hit the steps, and landed in the water.

“We made a deal!” Locklin screamed.

Norcross waved to him. “Not my problem.” He then disappeared into the darkness.

Locklin jumped and slipped, but he caught his balance and pulled himself up. He then turned to help Ashera, then Leo, and Bancroft, but Nile waited. Nile watched as Charis crawled out of the water like a wet cat. She scurried up the steps and made the jump. Another rock came down in front of Nile and smashed into the stairs. It crumbled beneath the water and as he looked down to survey, Zalmador had swum back to the surface.

“Hurry!” Locklin screamed, reaching for Nile.

The crows flew over them and through the tunnel. Nile glanced back to see Shebris lower her arms. Rocks continued to fill the room. Nile glanced back to Locklin and shook his head. He ran back to Shebris. Ashera screamed at him, reaching for him, and Leo pulled her back. Nile grabbed Shebris.

She pushed him off. “What are you doing?”

“You’ve withered away with your memories. I’m not going to let you wither away here. I can help you.”

“It’s too late,” Shebris said, watching as Zalmador slithered up to her.

A large rock fell and crushed the throne. Nile looked up; he could see an opening, revealing the sky and the clouds. He ached to feel the sun. Another rock fell this time, barely missing the last of the stairs. It would be no time before it would happen again and completely obliterate the steps.

“It’s never too late,” Nile said, reaching for her hand.

Shebris glanced to Zalmador and nodded. The snake turned and slithered up the rock wall and into a crevasse, disappearing. It probably led to somewhere outside. Nile shivered when he thought of its size again. Shebris grabbed Nile’s hand and he led her to the steps.

Locklin, Leo, Ashera, and Charis gave him an odd look, but Bancroft smiled. Bancroft reached past Locklin and Shebris glided across the large gaping hole in the stairs. Bancroft grabbed her for good measure and pulled her to him. Shebris glanced back at Nile, reaching for him as well.

Nile jumped, grabbing Locklin and Shebris’s hands. Bancroft reached between the two and grabbed his shirt, pulling him in. They ran toward the entranceway. Nile looked back to see several more rocks and boulders crash below. This temple was dead now.

Norcross and his soldiers were resting outside of the temple, waiting for them to burst out in any second. He and his soldiers would kill them, and then go back for Enaya. But his plan went sour; instead, several crows burst from the darkness and formed Srinath as they flocked down the steps.

The soldiers aimed at Srinath, but he flung his hand and the guns flew from their hands. Srinath stumbled onto the closest soldier and stabbed him with his sword, right through the gut. He then kicked the soldier off and turned to the other one, but he didn’t have to kill this one, instead, Zalmador slithered out from an opening with in the temple.

The snake coiled up and Srinath cut the soldier off from Norcross. Zalmador hissed, then struck forward, jaws open, and grabbed the soldier. It moved its head upward, faced the sky, and swallowed him. Its jaws contracted as it did. Norcross placed his hands on his pistols, but he kept them holstered.

Srinath held his sword at Norcross’s throat. He could hear the others echoing through the tunnel, so he waited. And when he looked, he saw Shebris with them. He lowered his sword and Norcross pulled out his pistols and aimed at him. He fired six shots, three from each gun, into Srinath. Srinath never saw it coming, and he fell down, still clutching his sword.