Chapter 8
1564 Words
8
I froze and whipped my head about. The voice had seemingly come from nowhere and everywhere. I stumbled back and clutched my arms against my chest as I frantically searched for the source. “W-who said that?”
Eric glared up at the sky. “Stop scaring her.”
It is hardly my fault that she has such little courage.
Eric looked past me and frowned. “That doesn’t mean you have to keep to the shadows.”
I felt a cold chill fall over my back, and slowly turned around. A huge shadow some eight feet tall stretched out from mine and loomed over me. The thing was humanoid, but there were definite monster parts. Its head which was more akin to that of a dog, and its hands stretched into long claws. The legs were thin and bony, almost skeletal in appearance. A pair of piercing yellow eyes stared down at me with interest mixed with disgust.
I yelped and stumbled back into Eric’s arms. My eyes bulged out of my head as I pointed a shaking finger at the creature. “W-what the hell is that thing?”
The creature narrowed its eyes at me. I am not a ‘thing.’
Eric glared up at the creature. “What is she supposed to call you with you looming over her like that?”
The creature scoffed and waved an arm at me. She isn’t supposed to be here. Fate ordained that she died last night.
I felt Eric tighten his grip on me as he helped me to my feet. “I wasn’t going to let her die. Besides, the same could be said of me on a certain other fateful night.”
The creature kept its connection to my legs as it stalked around us. It was strange watching my shadow move like that, like watching a sun dial on fast-forward. And now what will you do with her? She has none of the skills necessary for the burden you have placed on her shoulders. She may be killed again. What little color remained in my face was drained out by his-um, words.
“She can learn as I did,” Eric protested as he followed the creature by turning his head.
The creature stopped in front of us and tilted its snout up in derision. You already possessed those skills, or I would not have chosen you as my champion.
Eric kept his angry eyes on the thing as he used a hand to gesture at the floor. “Then what would you have me do? Leave her here to die?”
The creature stared hard at Eric before it knelt on one knee in front of us. Its bright yellow eyes bore into mine, and I found myself captured by those brilliant orbs. They swirled with emotions so ancient I couldn’t even comprehend most of them. Curiosity stood out, and determination. There was even a bit of kindness that soothed my frayed nerves.
After a long moment the thing loosed a great, resonating sigh. It stood and used one hand to gesture to me as its attention fell back on Eric. Very well. Teach her what you will, but do not forget why you are here.
Eric narrowed his eyes at the thing. “I don’t need your permission to do that.”
The creature chuckled, and a shiver ran down my spine at the sound. Do you not? You know better than anyone the road on which you have placed this human. I only hope you both do not come to regret your ‘kindness’ toward her.
The words echoed over the area as the shadow sank into the floor and morphed itself back into my own shade. That’s when my legs decided to buckle.
“Easy there,” Eric soothed as he half-dragged me over to a nearby bench and set me down. He took a seat beside me as I cupped my face in one trembling hand. “You okay?”
I turned my face toward him and gaped at the man. “Okay? OKAY?” I stabbed a finger at where the shadow creature had sunk into the stones. “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT THING?! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!”
Eric clasped one of my hands in his and sighed. “It’s a… a long story, but to start with I’ll tell that what you saw. That… shadow calls himself Vanar. He’s an ancient god who’s tasked me with guarding a special tree and its roots.”
I gawked at him. “You… you have got to be kidding me.”
The corners of his lips twitched upward. “Would that I were, but it’s true. We’re here to stop those who are trying to destroy those roots.” He swept his eyes over the area and pursed his lips. “One of which is apparently on this island.”
I blinked at him. “‘Apparently?’”
“I’ve traced the root this far, and our enemies, too, apparently believe it’s located somewhere in these rocks.” He reached into his shirt and drew out a round medallion. The center, however, rather than holding some shimmering stone or precious jewel, instead held a small bit of wood. “This is a piece of the tree, and it will glow when I’m near the root.” He frowned down at the face of the medallion. “Unfortunately, it has yet to so much as pulse once since I arrived.”
I clasped my head in my hands. “This is… this is just too insane. I mean, witches and vampires and stuff I could handle, but monsters AND gods?” I dropped my hands into my lap and shook my head. “I can’t believe it. I just can’t.”
Eric smiled at me as he tucked the medallion back into his shirt. “You doubt your own eyes?”
I snorted. “Right now, I’m trying to decide whether this is all a weird dream, or somebody slipped me a mickey.”
“I’m afraid this is very real, and you’re very involved.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Whoa, wait a second. I can barely manage to juggle one vampire’s needs at time. Doing this… this,” I waved my hand at where he’d hidden the medallion, “this tree saving business is beyond me.”
“You could learn to fight, as I did,” he suggested.
I snorted. “Listen, I’ve got a mean backhand when a guy gets a little too easy with me, but when it comes to fighting off things like whatever that was last night, I’m pretty much useless. Besides, don’t you have that god thing to help you? Vanity or whatever his name was?”
Eric’s lips twitched upward. “Vanar. He has his uses, but he’s… limited against what I fought last night.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That doesn’t sound like a very powerful god. Are you sure he isn’t just a shadow with aspirations of godhood?”
That got a nice laugh out of him. “Now that’s a view I haven’t taken of the old dog in a while. Are you sure you won’t join us? You could give us a different way of looking at things.”
I shook my head. “Sorry. I’d only get us all killed.”
Eric lifted his eyes to the air above us where the night had begun its slow enveloping of the sky. A pensive expression appeared on his face before he stood. “Perhaps that’s for the best.”
His words were so laden with disappointment that I felt guilty. “Listen, whatever you, um-” I cast a look around us at the shadows, “whatever you guys are up to, I’m sure you’ll be fine without little old me.”
He nodded but didn’t look convinced. “It’s no problem. Right now, you should get some more rest, and I’m sure Miss Leilah will be worried about you if you’re not there to greet her.”
“Yeah...” I agreed as I took a step away backward away from him. “And good luck with whatever you’re doing. You know, that whole tree protecting thing. You’ll get it done.”
A bittersweet smile slipped onto his lips. “Yes, perhaps I will.” He offered me his hand. “If we cannot be partners, at least let us be companions and allow me to escort you back to your room.”
I cast a look over my shoulder where the thick shadows lay waiting for me. “I need all the help I can get to get out of these gardens.”
Eric gently grasped my hand and guided me toward the archway. “Sometimes I wonder if Basileus didn’t create these gardens to amuse himself with his lost guests.”
A thought struck me, and I dug my heels into the ground, stopping us. Eric half-turned to me with a raised eyebrow, and I gave him a sheepish smile. “Are you sure we’re not sharing a hallucination?”
A soft, true smile slipped onto his lips as he nodded. “Positive.”
I ran a hand through my hair and shook my head. “Damn. Well, let’s get going then.”
- Writer
