Thoughts and memories of what had transpired on that dark Shadow danced about her head. Too many "what ifs". Too many whys. Too much theorizing, she thought as she patted the saddle bags containing her notes. Her minded wandered as she shifted Shadow to make her way to home.
For traveling companions she had her horse, Dunn, the dog, Slate, and an evil tempered mule carrying all that remained of the vintage of LeRoux.
With her mind wandering, it was a while before she noticed how much trouble she was having shifting Shadow. Things were not going as she was willing them. She was being brought somewhere not of her choosing.
As time progresses she lost the Autumn weather and found herself in Winter once more, a snow storm raging about that, with hood raised, had her nearly blinded.
When the storm suddenly passed she found herself somewhere she had no desire to be. She was in a Land that seemed dead. Winter still prevailed here, but it was a Winter so quiet ... like nothing she had ever experienced in her years. Not the quiet of a Land asleep, trees waiting to bloom in Spring and animals in warm burrows slumbering away the chill. No, it was the quiet of a World where everything was dead.
The ground around her was rocky, the soil frozen. The trees were but bent and barren corpses. There was no wind.
Alis dismounted and strung her great bow, readying some hardened arrows.
Picking a direction, she led Dunn and the mule along, Slate ranging ahead and behind as a dog with too much energy in wont to do.
After an hour of walking and attempting to shift Shadow to no avail she came in view of a rocky rise, and immediately she could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up. The wind blew for the first time during her travel here, and bought the scent of carrion to her nostrils.
Putting arrow to bow, Alis ordered Dunn and Slate to stand after she secured the now frightened mule to one of the trees. Then she moved forward to the rocky rise, her senses tingling with the nearness of danger.
When she was a good stone's throw from the rise shapes rose out of the snow drifts. They were taller than she; 7 ft at least, and wide as well. Their scaly skin was white hued and their wide set eyes icy blue. As they rose to full height, she could see that the forelegs were actually long arms that reached to the ground to lend balance and speed to their short powerful legs. Each arm ended in a gleaming steel scythe blade. They clashed these blades together as they roared a challenge in unison, revealing fearsome teeth as well.
"Patience, my pets. Patience. You can have her soon enough," an oddly familiar voice from high on the rise spoke.
Looking up Alis could see a shimmer in the air that grew solid into a roughly human form. Details were impossible to make out as the form was swathed in scintillating bands of color that constantly shifted and played tricks on her eyes.
"Greetings, Alis, Daughter of Deidre," the figure spoke in a friendly tone, "I am sorry that I had to detour you, but I am afraid that any possible use you could be to me is vastly overshadowed by the troubles you could potentially cause. Thus, I need to be rid of you."
"So, you intend to use those things instead of getting your own hands dirty? Why don't you come down here?" Alis asked, stalling for time as she glanced around checking and memorizing the terrain as best she could.
"No, no, Dear Alis; that is not my way, and while it might be entertaining, I just have other, more pressing, matters to attend to. I am sure you won't mind if I pass on the duties of hospitality to my pets, do you?" The figure asked with a laugh.
Then, "Farewell, Alis," as the air shimmered once more and the figure vanished into air leaving behind only the echoes of a laugh. Alis’ arrow passed through the air an instant too late.
With growling cries to each other-some form of communication? - the Beasts charged her full on, their claws clanging off the rocks with a horrible metallic shriek.
One arrow flew and then another from her bow. Both hardened arrows caught the lead Beast in the chest and burst out the back and on into the next Beast. The first dropped, and the second tumbled into the ground.
The rest were on her before she could even set another arrow to the bow. She dropped the bow and braced her feet wide to accept the charge.
The first thundered into her, but she gave not an inch as she grabbed for the arms and wrenched them wide, away from her body. Then lifted and pivoted letting the Beast take the rakes from it's brethren on her flank as she tossed it into the rest.
Falling back she saw that Dunn and Slate were following her commands to stay put, but the mule, driven mad with fear, was pulling loose from the tree and threatening to bolt.
She picked up a boulder and threw it into the face of the nearest Beast, caving its skull in. Then again braced for impact as another charged at her, clawed arms high and wide, the blades glinting oily.
Like a roll of thunder it hit her. She fell back and pulled hard on the arms as she brought her foot up into its abdomen. The things breathe came gusting out from the impact as she continued the tumble and sent the thing flying, over the head of the now free and madly charging mule, into and through the trees 20 feet away.
As she came out of the tumble a Beast was standing over her, blades ready to cut her apart. Alis jumped forward inside the creature's grasp, turned and grabbed an arm which she then twisted around and broke with a quick swipe from her free hand . The Beast howled in pain giving Alis the opportunity to pivot it over and swing it off the ground and into the now encircling pack.
Things looked bad, and even worse as one got through and slashed across her thigh and abdomen. She cried in pain as the cuts burned more than they should.
Dropping the Beast she had been using to keep them at bay , she prepared to try to break out of the encirclement.
At that moment the fear crazed mule, bucking and eyes rolling, crashed into the beasts, bowling a couple over before one of the Beasts ripped its throat out sending it lifeless to the ground, bottles crashing.
Alis had used the distraction to get clear and to bring herself onto better ground, with a thick copse of tress guarding her back. She would not let them encircle her again.
Two of the creatures got free of the confusion and charged her. Alis picked up a boulder once more and smashed the lead creature's skull in with a well aimed throw, and then evaded the charge of the next, punching it in the back. She was rewarded with the audible snap of its spine. She danced away from the dying thrashings of that one, but came around right into the charge of another one.
With a jarring crash she was thrown back into the trees. Her back slamming against a tree with thunderous force. Shrugging off the pain and shock she was able to catch its arms, managing not to be eviscerated, as she rose. However, the thing brought its foot up in a kick that slammed her lower leg into the trunk - Alis felt something break, and then waves of pain.
With a viscous twist of her arms she managed to break both of the creature's arms and then punched repeatedly into its torso, again and again until the ribs gave and it slumped back to the ground.
Seeing the remaining three approaching she moved to a tree nearby that looked sturdy, dragging her bad leg behind her. Taking hold of it and falling to one knee she pulled with all she had. , fighting the nausea of her leg and the poison that she was sure was coursing through her veins from the claw swipe. The tree ripped free of the frozen earth.
Coming to her feet, putting all the weight on her good leg, she swung the tree into the charging beasts. The first she caught in the face, and it went down. The swing at the second caught it in the side, and both bones and tree snapped. The third Beast collided with her, again sending her into the trees ... she could feels ribs give and new pain in the broken leg.
Then it was upon her. One bladed claw came in and hit the trees, becoming stuck, but the second one came down on one shoulder and through it, driving deep into the ground. Then it sought to rip her throat out with bared fangs.
Screaming with pain and fury, Alis brought both arms up and into the thing's mouth. With a wrench she pulled its jaws apart and tore.
The thing shrieked and began thrashing, bringing knees down onto her bruised and broken ribcage.
Alis now pushed bask on the broken jaw ... pushed and pushed ... with all her remaining strength ... until she hard the sharp crack as she broke its neck and it fell limp.
Breathing heavily and painfully, but happy to have survived, Alis pulled the thing's claw out of her shoulder and then rolled the Beast off her.
Getting upright proved to be a battle, one that saw her on her feet and limping towards her horse ... but her vision misted up from the pain, blood loss and venom in her system……
The ground rose up to meet her ... and darkness took her.
| Tuesday, September 30, 1997 |
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