The Dark Rider

CHAPTER Twenty



Alex could hear the sound of her own breathing. Her mouth was still open, the scream that had formed there silenced. Other senses began to return to her. The air was sharp with frost, the ground she was laying on cold and hard against her back. Reluctantly she opened her eyes, half expecting to see a wolf sitting in front of her waiting patiently for her to wake before sinking its teeth into her abdomen and ripping out her bowels while she writhed in helpless agony. Instead she found herself staring into a night sky bright with stars.

She lifted her head slowly, hands pushing against freezing ground as she raised her torso upright. For a moment the throbbing pain in her head returned and she thought she would pass out but then the dizziness wore off and she was able to take in her surroundings. She was in a clearing in a wood, snow reflecting the starlight so that everything glowed faintly. On the clearing’s edge sat trees coated in a thick layer of ice, crystals glistening along petrified branches. The clearing felt strangely familiar. Then it came to her as she noticed the great Oak in the middle. It was the same clearing where she had been with Gwen just a few hours ago when the trees had been alive and the wood full of autumn. Something drastic had happened.

A noise behind her made her turn, the freezing air already beginning to make her shiver. She found herself staring into the cold blue eyes of the man who had rescued her. He was standing a few meters away, the blue jeans and black hoodie he had been wearing in the car replaced by the autumn-colored cloak and lightweight armor she had first seen him in. A long sword and scabbard hung from his belt while a longbow and arrows were strapped across his back. His eyes were masked, his face strangely drawn, holding some emotion she could not fathom. He held her gaze for a few seconds before turning away.

“What the hell just happened?” cried Alex, her body only now reacting to the chase. She began to shake from the shock and from the cold. It was then that she began to notice the bodies. All were covered in ice, their death throes frozen. They littered the clearing, many of them dressed in the clothes of the people she had seen with Gwen, but there were also black corpses, and as she looked closer she could see monster-like creatures, many with fangs and claws, and she recoiled in fear.

In front of her Falk was stepping across the clearing, head bowed as he checked bodies. Eventually he returned to her and she saw rage burning in his eyes. He stood for a moment in front of her and then before she knew what was happening he had roughly grabbed her and pulled her up, a drawn knife suddenly pressing against her cheek. His eyes were inches from hers, locked onto her, and she stared back at him in terror.

“Your brother did all this,” he snarled at her. “Betrayed us and killed all my people. Why should I let you live?”

“Please,” said Alex, her voice trembling. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Falk held the knife against her for what seemed an eternity and then he let go of her and she fell back. As she did so he cried out in rage and stabbed the blade of the knife into the ground.

Alex watched him from where she had fallen, her breath coming in shallow gasps. He remained kneeling, his hand on the hilt of the knife, head bowed to the ground. Alex began to shiver uncontrollably. She tried to shut out the horror of the bodies, denying to herself that they were real.

“You’re cold,” he said eventually in a flat voice.

“No shit,” she replied through chattering teeth as she hugged her knees for warmth.

He looked at her strangely before rising slowly and walking towards her.

“I can help you with that.”

“What do you mean?” she asked suspiciously looking up at him. “A minute ago you were ready to kill me.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, eyes hollow. “If you would let me?” He left the question in the air as he reached a hand out towards her shoulder. She nodded and he touched her, and immediately warmth flooded through her and she stopped shivering. He took his hand away.

“How long does it last?” she asked.

“It depends,” he said. “Maybe a few hours.”

“Okay,” said Alex. “Well, don’t be going too far away then.”

He did not respond and they lapsed into silence. He stood next to her facing the great Oak tree.

Alex watched him from the corner of her vision.

“So, what happens now?” she asked.

Still he did not say anything for a long moment and then he spoke so softly she had to twist around to hear him.

“I can’t get you back.”

It was like the wind being knocked out of her.

“What did you say?”

He turned to her, his face impassive, eyes hiding some internal battle.

“I can’t get you back, Alex. What more do you want me to say?”

“Whoa there, don’t go all silent on me,” she said standing up to confront him. “Can’t get me back where?”

“To your world,” he replied, his words stabbing at her across the frigid air. “There was supposed to be someone else in that room, her name is Nicola, she is the one. I took you there to complete the awakening but she was gone. All I could do then was get you out, I had no other choice.”

“What do you mean?” asked Alex trying to comprehend, “I’ve been here before and went back okay.”

“There are rules that govern us Alex. Only Warders and Warriors can move physically between the worlds. When you came before your body remained in your world, in your time, but I could not leave you to the wolves. I took your body from your world as a last resort, and now I do not know how to get you back.” He turned away, bitterness filling him. “Now Gwen is gone, my friends and all of the forest dwellers are gone. Soon the wolves will have Nicola and she will be gone too. There is nothing more to do.”

“Hey, it can’t be that bad,” said Alex.

“You do not understand,” he shouted turning back to her, his eyes burning with rage. “I have lost the battle, lost everything.”

Alex stared back at him, her heart racing in her chest.

“Why?” she whispered. “Why can’t you do anything?”

He stood before her, head bowed. “He will already know we are here. It is only a matter of time before more Serenti arrive. If they find you they will kill you. I cannot leave you, Alex.”

“What’s inside me that’s so important?” said Alex, her mouth suddenly dry. She tried to find saliva to swallow but there was nothing.

He raised his head, his voice rising with emotion.

“The key to embrace the energy. Thousands of years of knowledge, the lifetimes of all Warders that have passed before. Without this, Nicola will have no control, no ability to link the worlds and without energy the land will die.”

“What is this energy?” asked Alex.

“It is a river of power that flows through all living things. It creates life and sustains it. By embracing energy a Warder embraces the very essence of life itself. It is the most powerful thing you can imagine.”

Alex stared at him, hearing half-remembered words from her past.

“We were attacked and Gwen could not complete the awakening. She had to place the key inside you. Now Nicola has the energy flooding through her but she has no knowledge of it, no control. She is flashing like a beacon for all to see and I cannot do anything to help her.”

“Why not?” said Alex. “What is the problem?”

“There must be physical contact, to transfer something like this. If I leave you to go back, to bring her here, then I can’t protect you.”

“Look,” said Alex pushing herself up. “Why don’t you go off and do your save-Nicola-thing and I’ll wait here and hope none of the bad guys turn up.”

He shook his head.

“The risk is too great. All the time we are here they can track us.” He looked round the clearing as if expecting them to appear any moment. “We should be on the move already.”

He looked back to Alex.

She returned his gaze, her eyes burning with intensity.

“If you bring her back, you know, so I can give her the stuff in my mind.” She paused for a moment, almost too afraid to ask. “Will I survive?”

He dropped his head slightly, masked eyes falling away from her, silence bearing down on her.

“This has never been done before.”

She paused, taking it in, and then exhaled loudly.

“You really know how to screw people up don’t you.”

He stood motionless.

Alex turned away to stare at the frozen tree line.

“So where does my brother fit into all this? I thought he was supposed to be the one being woken up.”

He watched her, so thin and frail looking, yet he had already seen that there was strength there.

“We were betrayed,” he said before sighing. “Look, this is not easy to tell you, Alex.”

She turned to look at him. “Well, you’ve done a pretty good job so far, so why not rack it up.”

He looked away again, unable to meet her stare.

“We believed your brother was the chosen one, the Warder who would take over from Gwen.”

“I know,” Alex interrupted. “I’ve had to listen to it all for the last five years, but I didn’t realize it was going to be real.”

“Can I finish?” he snapped at her.

She held her hands up.

“Sure thing.”

Falk took a deep breath before continuing.

“The energy is tainted. There is a river of darkness, a force of evil. It is the source of power for those who follow the Dark.”

He raised his eyes to meet hers.

“Those like your brother.”

Alex stared at him, her mouth open.

“What the hell are you talking about? Paul is not evil!”

“He was trained in all our arts, told things, shown things, things that should never have been in the hands of the Dark.” He breathed deeply, anger rising within him. “He led them here Alex, led them here to kill us all, to stop the awakening. Look around you,” he raised his arm to sweep around the clearing. “This is all his doing.”

She stepped closer to him, her body shaking.

“What are you saying? That you fed him all these lies and it was just bullshit?”

Falk stepped backwards.

“We were tricked Alex. Somehow Myrkur hid the dark energy within him.”

Alex felt her own anger boiling up inside her.

“So you drag him into your world, fill his head with dreams and ideas, and now when it’s gone wrong you just abandon him?”

“There is nothing I can do,” cried Falk. “He is a pawn of Myrkur, of the Dark. It is out of my hands.”

Alex was incensed. “And you seriously think I am going to hang around and play along with you now after hearing this?”

“Alex, please...” He gave up and began to back away, for he could take this no longer.

“I must search. Look for any survivors, for Serenti.”

He turned and ran towards the Oak, and as he moved away from her his form seemed to blur and then he was gone, and in his place a sleek, dark-colored falcon clawed its way into the sky, sharp wings beating furiously, and then she lost him from view against the inky black of the night sky and he was gone.

Alex looked around in disbelief, anger searing through her. The silence was complete and total, the empty clearing mocking her. For a moment she could not speak, but then her anger got the better of her.

“Yep, just run off and abandon me, you feathered freak,” she shouted to the now empty sky and felt better for it. She looked around again seeing nothing but frozen trees and dark shadows.

“Jesus, what the hell do I do now?” she said out loud, trying to keep from panicking. She pinched herself hard, twice, but she did not wake up.

“This is no dream Alex,” she whispered to herself. “You’re in it, and in it deep.”

She began to walk towards the great Oak for it seemed to promise at least a sense of security.

“I have to keep my head here,” she chided herself quietly. “Not lose it or anything.”

She reached the tree and sat down on the platform under its great frozen branches.

“I’m warm, I’m in no immediate danger so I will wait.”

She rested her back against the solid ice-cloaked bark, grateful that despite whatever he had done and said, at least his warmth spell was working.

“Okay, let’s reason this one out. He’s a man, although right now I guess he’s a bird, but mostly he’s a man, therefore, after his little hissy fit, he will probably feel guilty, especially about abandoning me, so will come back. Then he will tell me he has figured out how to get me back to reality, how to save my brother and this Nicola woman, and therefore the world, and everything will go back to normal.”

She surveyed the clearing, empty of everything except the twisted, frozen bodies. Now that she was alone they began to haunt her for she could deny them no longer. She pushed herself back against the oak wishing she could disappear, that she could hide from the death that surrounded her, yet there was nothing she could do to escape. Suddenly she felt very alone and very scared. Her head felt heavy, the pain having worn off to a dull ache behind her eyes. She massaged her temples wishing it would go away. She looked up again, the branches of white stark against the night sky.

“Paul,” she whispered. “What have you gotten me into?”


*****


The falcon arced powerfully skywards, the land falling away under its frozen blanket of blue white. Above him the stars stretched forever, great bright clusters hanging heavily in the sky. Seeing this he felt his insignificance among the vast canvas of life.

He looked downwards, the freedom of flight cleansing his mind. The ice and snow stretched as far as he could see, its death grip on the forest complete. He reached out with his perception for he had hoped against hope that there would be a sign that some had survived. Now, perched so high on columns of frigid air, he could sense nothing, and blackness held his heart as if in a vice.

He drifted eastwards in wide circles, constantly scanning, constantly searching, but nothing moved, not even a sound could be heard other than the occasional feint ruffling of air across his feathers.

A white shadow pierced the edge of his perception. Instinct flicked his wings, pushing his body into a grueling turn as the outstretched claws of his attacker tore through his tail feathers. He spiraled viscously upwards and then banked hard.

Far below, now almost invisible against the ice, a white cross was turning, arcing back upwards into the sky. Furious now, he pulled in his wings and plummeted downwards, his speed building quickly. The distant shape of white grew larger with every second. The head turned and piercing yellow eyes gripped him. Falk’s talons shot forward, the claw on his heel raking through the frozen air.

The white bird turned, its timing perfect. All Falk saw was a flash of yellow claws, tipped with cruel black scythes. Then Falk was past and he turned hard. The white falcon was bigger. It bore down on him, cutting across the arc of his movement. He flipped onto his back raising his claws. The falcon matched him, their talons locked, and they became one.

The falcons tumbled earthwards, spiraling viscously, their outstretched wings fighting to control the rapid descent. Their minds only knew the instinct to kill, to pull the other to their death. Below them the white arc of the land was growing larger and larger. Dizzyingly it grew until it was everything to them. The land filled everything and opened its embrace to welcome them. Their eyes met, cold, alien blackness encircled by yellow irises. Falk felt the question in his mind.

“Who are you?”

He answered with images of the forest, of Gwen, of the Light. In return he saw ice and snow, the black sky lit by dancing lights. He saw warriors in white, falcons scything through bright blue skies. It was then he knew he was seeing the Kingdom of the Gyr.

With just seconds to impact the two falcons opened their talons. Both birds fell away, thrashing at the air to arrest their descent. Falk flicked his wings wide open, felt his feathers brushing against the ice, and for a second he thought it was too late.

Barely in control, Falk opened his mind to his human form. His outline shimmered and he tumbled to the ground, rolling hard across the ice before his momentum slowed and he found himself kneeling, his breath deep and rapid. Quickly he moved into a defensive crouch, his sword raised. The silent forest stretched around him. Then a movement caught his eye and he saw her through the trees, the other falcon. A woman dressed in white, her cloak made of white feathers that shimmered like ice.

A Gyr.

Warily Falk watched her approach. Although he existed on the fringes of human consciousness, half remembered through superstition and fantasy, the Gyr were buried even deeper. They were bound to the legend of Arachar, the core of tainted magic buried deep underground in the mountains where the Gyr had now lived for fourteen hundred years. No Gyr had left their frozen home in living memory and it was rumored that they had themselves become poisoned by the darkness that they guarded.

For Falk it meant he could not trust her.

The Gyr came to within ten meters of him and then stopped. For a long moment she stared at him, her face unreadable. Then she called to him. Her accent was harsh, yet her voice was melodic and clear.

“Please forgive my attack,” she said. “I have encountered nothing but dark ones since I left the north.”

She gestured to him.

“May I approach?”

Slowly, Falk stood and sheathed his sword yet he did not take his hand from the hilt. He nodded and the woman came towards him. As she moved her cloak seemed to merge with the surrounding forest and he had to blink to clear his vision and keep track of her. She came to within a few paces of him and stopped. Her gaze was curious, yellow eyes regarding him from a face of fierce beauty. Her features were Asiatic, her skin smooth and pale. Long dark hair was tied in a single knot that fell down her back. She moved with an easy grace that spoke of speed, agility, and power.

“I have never seen a Gyr before,” Falk replied softly.

“And I, an Emerald Falcon,” she responded, the hint of a smile brushing her mouth and eyes for an instant before it was gone. It left a hollowness in her gaze that troubled him. Then, before he could react, the Gyr’s hand flashed forward, grabbing his forearm. He tried to back away but her grip was like a vice. She spoke with a desperate urgency.

“The power has weakened. The magic in the north is gone. I came through Vaardal. It is ice as here. Since then all I find are Serenti and dead forests. Tell me, what has happened here?”

“I will tell you what I know when you release me,” Falk growled.

Slowly the intensity in her gaze softened. She looked down at her hand and then relaxed her grip. Looking back up at him she took a step backwards.

“Forgive me,” she said. She bowed her head, staring at the ground in front of him. “My name is Sinn. I am a Seeker. Tell me this falcon of the forest. Where is your Warder?”

Falk’s grip tightened on the hilt of his sword.

“My Warder is dead. She was killed by the Rider.”

Falk heard her sharp, ragged intake of breath.

“So it is true,” she whispered.

“Arachar has been reborn,” Falk affirmed.

“The boy. The one your Warder chose to be her successor.” She raised her eyes to meet his. “It is him isn’t it?”

Slowly Falk nodded, noting the hardness that had come to her gaze.

“It is you who have brought this upon us,” she continued.

Falk felt the danger filling the air between them. Imperceptibly he prepared himself to fight.

“It is Myrkur who has done this,” he said quietly. “To all of us.”

“But it was you who let him in,” she said moving to his left. He watched her, his whole body tensed and ready. “Another question troubles me. Yet it is a question I must ask,” she said as she began to circle him. Falk turned so that he was always facing her.

“Why are you traveling with a human full of the power?”

Falk felt the hairs on the back of his neck tingle as her magic swept across him, examining him.

“That is my business.”

The Gyr closed her eyes inhaling deeply.

“Is it?”

Falk watched her warily.

“Yes.”

“There are many Gyr who would feel differently if they knew.”

“Then perhaps it is best they do not.”

She opened her eyes again.

“You do not trust me?”

“I saw the Key,” said Falk ignoring her question.

The Gyr warrior stopped in her tracks.

“Is this possible?” she whispered in the frigid air. Her pupils had dilated, becoming black pits encircled in a thin line of gold.

“Where did you see it?”

“In the world above. A child had it.”

Her gaze fixed him, filling his vision with black and gold. “Why did you not take it emerald falcon? Why can you not give it to me now?”

“There was no time.”

“No time?” She was in front of him now, her breath crystallizing in the air between them. “No time to save us from him?”

“You do not know the truth of what happened,” he said forcing the words through clenched teeth. “You were not there.”

“Then perhaps you should enlighten me.”

Falk regarded her, knowing that time was running out, that he could not risk fighting her. Realizing he had no choice but to trust her, Falk began his story, from the moment they were ambushed and Gwen killed, to when he took Alex from the world above to escape the wolves. When he had finished she met his stare, her eyes full of sadness. Reaching out she touched his forehead, her fingers tracing a scar above his left eye.

“You have seen many troubles emerald one,” she whispered. Falk’s vision was filled with gold, her eyes drawing him into her.

It was then that he sensed it, for there was nothing else. A faint tremor of energy, a taint of darkness on the edge of perception. Falk blinked. The two warriors looked at each other with recognition on their faces.

“Serenti,” Falk muttered grimly.

“The human?”

Falk stared up into the night sky.

“I have to go.”

With that he turned and ran forward, his body shimmering into the falcon’s shape. He banked sharply and climbed upwards on rapidly beating wings sending his awareness outwards, dread rising, tugging at him for they were coming for Alex, for both of them. Behind him the Gyr was airborne too. She flew next to him, a white shadow in the night. He opened his mind to hers.

The two falcons headed eastwards searching the forest. At first they saw nothing but then a distant movement caught Falk’s eye, and as he focused in he saw a column of black shadows moving quickly like ants through the frozen trees.

The Gyr’s thoughts came to him then.

“There are too many of them. I am a Seeker, emerald one. I must find the Key above all else.”

He turned his head. Already she was moving away and he watched as she spiraled upwards and then turned back west in a long arc. Faintly now he felt her.

“Stay alive, falcon of the forest. I will search for you again.”

He cursed as she disappeared from view, for with the two of them perhaps there had been a chance. Now he was alone again. Grimly he scanned the Serenti column. There were at least a hundred of them heading towards the clearing, towards Alex. Tucking his wings in, he dropped like a stone towards the ground, leveling out just above the treetops. He flew fast and hard and within a few minutes had reached the clearing. He flashed across the open ground while in his mind he embraced his human form and in that instant his body changed and he was running towards her.

“Alex,” he called.

Jumping out of her skin in fright, Alex poked her head out from within the recess of the tree and saw Falk running towards her. She stepped out, mouth already half open to chastise him for leaving her, but when she saw the look on his face she froze.

He stopped in front of her, grabbing the tops of her arms. His eyes burned with an alien intensity.

“Alex, you must listen to me.”

She nodded mutely, suddenly scared.

“There are creatures coming for us. We call them Serenti. They are evil and will kill us if they find us.”

Alex simply stared at him, her mind refusing to accept it.

“If we can outrun them we may be able to lose them. You have to follow me and do anything I say immediately, without question, do you understand?”

She nodded again, for what else could she do?

“I am going to ask everything of you now. We must run, and run fast. Whatever you do, you must keep going.”

He squeezed her arms tightly, trying to use the force of his will to save her.

“Okay,” she said in a half whisper. He released her, taking a step backwards and turning.

“Falk.”

He looked back to her.

“If they catch us,” she faltered and then, swallowing with effort, continued. “I mean kill us, kill me here, in this world...”

He nodded almost imperceptibly.

“Will I die?”

He paused, trying to find the right words to say.

“Let’s hope it does not come to that.”

Her chin sank, her head dropping forwards. Could this really be happening?

He came to her, gripping her arms again.

“Alex.”

She did not respond.

“Alex,” he said again louder.

She raised her head to look at him. She took in the sword and shield on his back, the bow and arrows, the two knives strapped around his legs.

“Where’s the girl brave enough to question me, to make me run away?”

She smiled weakly, half raising her hand.

“That’s more like it,” he said. “We can do this. All we have to do is keep running.”

“Okay,” she said in a small voice.

He squeezed her arm.

“You can do it.”

He turned, taking in the clearing one last time.

“Come on,” he began to head off. “This way.”

They ran down the hill and into the trees, Falk covering their tracks as best he could with magic. As they ran he turned to check on her. After a couple of minutes he saw that she was tiring already and then the first tinges of doubt began to creep into his mind. He knew he could outrun them and, even if he was surrounded, he could escape into the sky, yet the girl did not have that option.

“Faster,” he urged her. “We must be faster.”

She grimaced, knowing that keeping fit had not been a big part of her life, and tried to speed up.

He looked ahead. The land was sloping downwards and would eventually flatten out into an open plain with nowhere to hide. To the left, about a mile away, a series of steep gullies ended against a vertical cliff face. He turned that way, instinct driven by the realization that was now dawning on him, for he knew they could not outrun them, that he could not leave her. His focus narrowed, the culmination of his whole life coming to this now, as a needle narrows to an infinite point. He found a remarkable calmness entering him, now that he knew this was the end, and this surprised and--at the same time--pleased him. He let his mind relax, to embrace the rhythm of constant movement as they threaded their way through the trees.

Alex followed him as he veered off, felt herself tiring but knew she had to keep running. She was breathing hard, legs feeling weak, but she gritted her teeth and concentrated on keeping her balance on the snow and ice and, through this, she did not have to think about anything else and this kept her fear at bay.

Falk could see the land beginning to undulate and soon they were among the first outcrops of rock. He felt the Serenti in his mind, nearer now, a mass of malevolent evil. They were branching out left and right to box them in, to cut off any possible escape.

An unearthly cry sounded out across the air causing Alex to stop and turn, her whole body constricting in fear.

“What the hell was that?” she cried out.

Falk turned back, saw that she had stopped.

“No, Alex,” he shouted. “You must keep running.”

More cries began to permeate the night. Alex looked left and right, her body paralyzed by fear. There, through the trees, like a shadow in her vision, dark shapes were moving towards them. Then she felt something pulling at her arm, and she turned to see Falk, his mouth open as he shouted at her, but it sounded muted. Her brain was speeding up her awareness until everything began to happen in slow motion. She found her balance going, and she had no alternative but to turn and start to run again and, as she did, something whooshed through the air inches from her face, but she did not see what it was for she was stumbling forward, Falk pulling her down into a crouch, and she almost fell past a thick outcrop of rock.

Regaining her balance she looked around again to see the shadows everywhere among the trees, so much closer now. Images burned onto her consciousness as her vision flicked across them. She saw alien eyes flaming with hatred and glee, barred teeth, claws and fangs, metal armor and fearsome-looking weapons, their jagged edges glinting in the moonlight, and she began to scream.

Falk stopped and turned, coming back for her. He pulled her down into a natural passageway between the rocks, placing the hilt of a knife into her hands as he did so.

“Keep going,” he shouted to her, pushing her down the passage. Then he turned, kneeling as he swung his bow from his back and notched an arrow before aiming and firing all in one motion. Up ahead to the left one of the shadows fell, merging into the ground. Six more fell in quick succession as Falk fired, and then he rose up and ran after Alex, the passage twisting and turning as it dropped further down until its rocky sides were above head height.

He ran on, the cries of the Serenti ringing in his ears, and as he turned a corner he found Alex pressed against the side of the passage, her eyes wild with fright, fingers clutching the knife he had given her. Just behind her the passage disappeared into a rocky crevice barely wide enough for one person.

“Does it go anywhere?” he shouted over the clamoring of the Serenti. Dumbstruck, Alex shook her head.

He looked around in desperation before grabbing her arm and pushing her into the darkness.

“Just keep still,” he said to her. “And don’t come out for anything.”

She stared back at him and nodded needing no further encouragement. He pulled back from the narrow opening and then turned around, pulling his shield from around his shoulder and unsheathing his broadsword as he began to move back up the passageway. He stopped a meter past its narrowest point, raising his shield. Levelling his sword, he pointed it back along the passage, his body poised and ready.

Surreally everything seemed to go quiet for a few seconds and then a scrabbling noise of cries and screams began to grow louder as the pursuing Serenti approached. Falk tensed up and then without further warning a mass of flashing teeth, claws, and steel fell against Falk’s shield with a thunderous crash.

Falk fell back until the shield stuck fast between the rocks. Weapons stabbed the air around him as he dropped and hamstrung the leading Serenti with his sword before thrusting upwards into its guts. He then pulled back, his knife whirling in his hand before its blade embedded in the face of a Serenti that had climbed up over the shield. It fell back, taking the blade with it and then, as Alex watched Falk’s battle in wide-eyed horror, a huge shadow dropped between them, for a Serenti had climbed up the side of the rocks and jumped down into the passageway behind him.

The creature was huge, over seven feet high and covered in armor and muscle. As it landed the ground seemed to shake and then it roared, raising a massive club with spikes jutting out of it, to strike Falk’s unprotected back.

Seeing this something snapped inside of Alex and, screaming, she launched herself forward out of her hiding place, the knife clutched in her right hand. As she reached the creature it half turned in surprise but she had already jumped up onto its back and as she steadied herself she sank the blade deep into the side of the Serenti’s neck.

The next seconds seemed to pass forever. Over the Serenti’s shoulder she could see Falk turning, his face registering everything. Screaming with rage, the Serenti thrashed its arms out and Alex felt a sudden blow to her head before her vision was momentarily filled with flashing lights. Then she felt her body being lifted through the air and then battered hard against rock, something cracking in her middle followed by a sharp pain in her side. Then Falk was turning and lunging forward, his sword cutting into the Serenti’s throat, fatally severing arteries and bone, and the body began to crumple to the ground in front of where Alex now lay helplessly on the floor.

As Falk regained his balance his shield gave way behind him, snapping and then shattering into several pieces. With the way no longer blocked, Serenti surged forwards down the narrow confines of the passage. Falk turned, his sword scything round to disembowel the leading Serenti whose inert bulk fell forward, partially blocking the passage. The next Serenti began to clamber over the body, thrusting forward with a jagged-edged spear which Falk sidestepped, before cutting deeply into the Serenti’s shoulder causing it to roar in pain.

Through sheer mass of numbers more Serenti spilled over the body, coming at Falk with flashing teeth and weapons. Falk blocked the first strike, sparks of metal scything down the blade of his sword as the weapon was deflected away. A blade tip raked his thigh sending hot pain lancing upwards. Crying out in rage he blocked down and then thrust forwards raking the Serenti’s bowels in a spray of blood. He pulled back, trying to twist from an incoming spear but it glanced off his head and stunned him, and he felt himself falling, his back jarring against the side of the passage. Above him a fearsome jagged-axe blade scythed downwards through the sky.

Alex tried to focus on Falk but something had gotten in the way, a massive shadow that loomed up suddenly in front of her. She screamed as the Serenti grabbed her ankle and dragged her roughly towards the razor sharp teeth that lined its mouth. Pain lanced up her side as she kicked and struggled for all she was worth but it was useless against the Serenti’s strength, and she found herself picked up by the neck and pulled upwards to face a monster that could only have come from her worst nightmares.

Still screaming, Alex pushed her legs against its chest trying to get away from the gaping, roaring mouth but in a second she felt hot, stinking breath in her face, and as rows of teeth filled her vision something clicked inside her mind and she felt a charge like a thousand volts throbbing through her body. Still struggling, her right hand brushed against something hard and before she could consciously recognize it her fingers had wrapped around the knife’s hilt and pulled it free from an armored belt around the Serenti’s waist. As the Serenti opened its mouth to consume her face, she stabbed down with all the fear, anger and rage that had been coursing through her body, and as she did so her mind unleashed the power that had been locked within it.

A blinding light exploded across the clearing followed by a thunderous rumble that made the ground shake. As the light touched them the Serenti fell to the ground, already dead before they hit the frozen earth. Alex felt herself falling as the Serenti that had attacked her crumpled forwards. The last thing she saw was Falk staring at her, his expression a mixture of incomprehension and fear. She fell next to the now lifeless body of the Serenti that had attacked her, her mind already unconscious before she hit the ground.


*****


Slowly Falk regained his senses. He pushed himself up, shaking his head. He stumbled dizzily, his ears still ringing from the blast that had hit him. All around, the ground was littered with the bodies of dead Serenti and, lying a few feet from him, her face ashen, eyes tightly closed, was Alex.

Crying out Falk ran to her, kneeling by her side. He reached out, placing his hand on her forehead, his awareness expanding into her body. With relief he saw that she was still alive but it quickly turned to dread for something had happened to her mind and it was closed to him. He could still feel the power that Gwen had placed there, but it was as if a circuit had burned out and now it was behind a wall that he could not penetrate. Stomach churning, he pulled his hand away and looked down at her face, now pale and drawn.

“I don’t know what you just did Alex, but you saved us,” he said grimly. He looked around but nothing moved and he could sense nothing for miles around. However, he knew such an outburst of energy would have been like a siren. He had to move.

He placed his hands under her shoulders and back and gently lifted her into his arms. As he stood there surrounded by nothing but frozen forest and the corpses of Serenti he looked up to the empty sky.

“I wish you were here now Gwen, for I need you,” he whispered.