Qaletaqa (38 page)

Pulling a thick stick out of my pack, I flung
it out toward the injured creature. The smack of wood on incredibly
thick bone vibrated through the trees. Still the animal raced on.
Trying to break from the path, I darted through the widely spaced
trees. Wiry bushes slapped my legs and pushed the creatures a
little further away. I burst through a thick mess of scrub brush
and realized I had already come to the first trap.

It was as if all of my senses had been
heightened. I swear I could smell the blood on the shirt I had seen
Melody wearing last night, pulling me toward it. What if it really
was Melody’s? The dark stains were brilliant in the sunlight. I
could feel the bike slowing, but I could not focus enough to do
anything about it.

“Wait! Not yet!”

“He’s close enough!”

“Wait.”

I cold shiver ran through me, the waiting
creatures’ words finally breaking the spell. I swerved away just as
they leapt from the fissure in the rocks. One of the pair’s claws
caught my ankle before I raced out of reach. It caught on my pants
leg and jerked me to the side. My right foot hit the ground and was
the only thing that kept me from toppling over.

Shaking away the disturbing need to go back
and check the shirt, I hunched over the bike and picked up speed. I
swerved between tree trunks, missing some by mere inches, but the
four creatures still trailed me close behind. I tried not to look
back at them. They weren’t trying to kill me, only herd me where I
already wanted to go. That thought hardly put me at ease. The
forest blurred around me, but I kept a sharp eye out for the other
traps I knew would be waiting for me.

Minutes, maybe hours, I didn’t know which,
flew by before a glimmer of copper caught my eye. I knew
immediately that it held another trap. Expecting the compulsion to
go and touch it, hold it in my hands, I didn’t try to fight.
Instead I put it to use. The bond guided me as I listened for the
murmuring thoughts of the next set of creatures.

“He’s coming straight for us. The Matwau was
right.”

“He is too weak to resist.”

“Be ready to drop.”

I looked up into the trees. Wolves couldn’t
normally climb trees, but these were no regular wolves. I was
closing fast. The bait was hanging from a tree just ahead on my
left. And right above it was a dark form barely visible through the
thick leaves.

Just a few more seconds.

Slamming on the brakes, I swung the end of
the bike around in a full circle. Dark masses leapt from the trees,
landing exactly where I should have been if I had not stopped. They
hit the ground hard and disoriented. Accelerating around their
tangled limbs, I reached for the token and sped past them. Howls
and snarls erupted behind me, but I barely heard them.

I didn’t think the blood had been Melody’s,
but in that moment there was no doubt this belonged to her. A
twisted chunk of Melody’s auburn hair trailed out of my trembling
grip. The roots tipped the end of the strands, proof that it had
not been carefully cut away. That should have been incredibly
painful. I should have felt it. But I didn’t. How was that
possible? Had she found a way to hide her pain from me?

Another strand of hair, one resting in my
jeans pocket, gave me the answer. Quaile gave me the strand of
Claire’s hair before I left San Juan the first time, saying all
Daniel had to do was touch it and the bond would form. This wasn’t
Melody’s, or the bond between us would have just been forged, and
the Matwau didn’t want that.

The hair had come from someone, though. What
did that mean for the bloody shirt?

So distracted by my own fears and questions,
I failed to see the dark shape leaping from behind a tree in time.
Heat and weight hit me, throwing me from the bike. My breath
blasted out of my body and my vision swirled. I couldn’t move. My
bike however had kept going without me and smashed into a tree. I
heard the crash and groaned, knowing that I would never outdistance
them now. It was time to stand and fight.

Teeth clamping down on my leg made me thrash,
waking me up enough to throw the beast off of me. It flew back and
I scrambled to my feet in preparation for the next attack. They
surprised me by holding back. Then they began forming that all too
familiar circle around me. The four that had been trailing me were
there, along with the two that had just attacked me. One by one the
rest of the creatures joined the circle. Their faces glared back at
me and their teeth dripped with fear and fury, but a small smile
crept onto my mouth.

“We must not let him escape,” one of the
creatures hissed.

My grin widened as I heard those familiar
words.

“The master wants him alive,” another one
said.

“Alive does not mean uninjured,” the one that
I had thrown away from me said. Vengeance shone in its eyes. My
clenched hands ached to give him the chance he wanted, but he was
not the one I needed.

Letting the creatures’ muddled thoughts wash
over me, I listen for the quivering mind of the weakest.

“Number One can finish this child. They don’t
need me. I can’t leave, though. Master will know. He’ll punish me.
Like last time.” He whimpered and shook visibly. “I can’t go
through that again. I can’t take the pain. I’ll just watch. I can
watch and let the others take care of this boy. All they have to do
is subdue him. They can do that without me. I’ll just stand back.
No one will notice. I’ll survive this. I will.”

No, I thought, you won’t. I felt like a wolf
myself as I leapt at him. Surprise flashed in its eyes, but his
well-trained claws still came up. Sweeping them away, I grabbed him
and flung his body into the tree I knew without looking would be
there. I almost laughed when I heard the sickening crunch of its
bones breaking. Almost.

Claire had warned me about that one. Somehow
its bones would knit back together, but I knew I had broken
something else inside of that creature. It would come after me with
death in its eyes. The image followed me as I streaked through the
gap and ran deeper into the forest with howls and snarls trailing
after me.

I remembered running for what seemed like
forever in the vision, but it was hard to tell how that would
translate to real life. Especially after what had just happened.
Sure, everything played out like Bhawana’s vision had said it would
with me throwing the weakest out of the way to make my escape, but
in the dream I had simply walked into the glade and found myself
surrounded. There were no traps in the dream, no fighting before my
escape. The differences haunted me just as much as the howls of my
pursuers.

I looked up to catch sight of the sun between
the trees. There could only be about an hour left before sundown.
The desert had to be close. I had no idea what it would mean for me
if I didn’t get there before the sun set. Pushing myself even
harder, I searched the landscape in front of me for signs of the
empty sands.

The creatures were slowly inching up on me,
less than ten feet away when I finally saw the bright patches of
sand peeking between the trees. I knew the wave of heat would come.
I prepared myself, not wanting to stumble at the shock like I did
in the vision. Or was there some reason that I should? I
wondered.

There was no time for an answer. As I burst
into the lingering summer heat, I stayed on my feet, barely, and
darted into the middle of the small valley. Strange sensations
washed over me immediately, some familiar and one that was
completely foreign. Stronger than anything was Melody’s presence.
That, more than the heat, threatened to send me to my knees.
Desperation, fear, joy, longing, anger, and concern made the bond
turn from smooth threads wrapped around me to jagged barbed wire.
My breath heaved in and out at the strangling pull.

Keeping my eyes down, I savored the feel of
the other presence. Evilness and pure hatred pulsed out from his
body. It seemed to float right through me, poisoning every part of
me. My body begged me to cleanse it of the foul feeling. I pushed
it away and focused on the one sensation I had no name for.

Power. That was the only way to describe it.
It settled over the valley, thick and heavy. My fingers curled
inward as if they could grasp it and bend it to serve me instead of
the Matwau. This had to be the residue of what it took to bring him
into this world. I marveled at the strength it still bore.
Thousands of years later the power still felt so cloying that it
could have been only yesterday this monster had been born.

I could feel it, but I wanted nothing to do
with it. I was no creation of the dark gods. The Matwau had so many
strengths already. How was I ever supposed to win against this? It
didn’t matter, I told myself. Somehow I would do it. I had to.

Gathering my strength and determination, I
looked up. I meant to stare down the Matwau, but instead my eyes
were drawn to Melody. Our eyes met and I felt my heart convulse.
She stood defiant and terrified at the Matwau’s side. But even that
gave way when we looked into each other’s souls.

There she was, the embodiment of everything I
wanted. How could I have chosen her in the first place if she
wasn’t? Unable to break my gaze away, I took a halting step
forward. And my knee buckled. My palms landed in the searing sand,
but my foot was more of a concern. I had stepped in a hole. Why was
there a hole here?

Taking in the rest of the valley, I saw holes
everywhere. Heaps of sand were scattered around the floor. The pock
marked terrain seemed so strange. Melody had told me about the
problem with the prairie dogs, but this wasn’t right. The vision
showed me fighting across the flat desert floor, not hopping over
holes and sand piles. This wasn’t right.

I scrambled and called out for the
troublesome animals, for any animals, but not a single one
responded. I hadn’t thought the Matwau would really be able to get
rid of them all. One more of my gods-given abilities had been
nullified. The realization twisted my gut.

I stumbled back up to my feet as the Matwau’s
creatures entered the valley and formed another vicious ring around
me. I already knew one of the twelve would be missing, but until
now I had not realized how that would affect things. There had been
twelve in the vision. It wasn’t right. Bhawana had seen all twelve.
Too many little details had already changed. Her vision was my
guide, the one thing that had convinced me I could protect Claire
and still win.

Glancing back up at Melody, despair entered
my heart. What if Claire was right?

34: Ungodly Life

The Matwau’s crazed laughter brought me out
of my stupor. Melody cringed at his side. Hatred flashed across her
pale face at his vileness. The Matwau’s hand snapped out and
grabbed her arm, twisting painfully. Screaming in agony, Melody
fell to her knees. The laughter escalated and filled the valley
before abruptly cutting off as he met my furious gaze.

“At last we meet again, but for the final
time,” the Matwau said. His face was full of confidence and pride.
“I have waited for you for a long time, Uriah. For centuries I have
feared your birth. Now that you stand before me, I can laugh with
pity for your fate.”

“I have come to fulfill my purpose, Matwau,”
I said. The words seemed stiff on my tongue, but I had to say them.
With all the other bits of the vision that were not as they should
be, I was clinging to the ones I could keep in place. I needed any
small assurance I could find at this point.

“As have I,” he sneered, “but only one of us
will be successful.”

“It will not be you,” I said. I felt my fist
tighten, my body tense in anticipation of the battle. But what
next? I had watched myself make a mad rush through the circle in
the vision, but I had no idea whether or not I was successful in
real life. Blindly attacking was foolish in any situation. I felt
trapped by the vision. If it changed too much, would Melody
die?

Another excruciating scream made my decision
for me.

The bond propelled me through the sand. The
depraved leader of the creatures snarled and met my advance. Claws
sprang from his paws and slashed out at me. Whatever other powers I
had, my skin was still a thin as it ever was. I spun to the side to
avoid the sting, but pain lanced down my thigh and I found myself
on the ground.

I tried to get back up, but the weight of
every creature jumping on me held me down. Maniacal laughter mixed
with Melody’s screams raged above the growling. Terror and panic
ripped a feral scream from my lips as well. Everything my father
and Ahiga had taught me was hovering in the back of my mind. I
seized it and felt my body respond.

Hands, feet, and every part of me lashed out
at them. Some gave up early and simply cowered in defeat among the
heaps of sand. The others fought with all their strength. Whether
they were simply releasing centuries of pent up anger at their
vicious master on me, or they really wished to kill me for their
own satisfaction, I didn’t know. It didn’t matter in the end. One
by one I threw the creatures back. Claws and teeth met my body more
than once as I beat and strangled the ungodly life out of each of
the creatures until the last one stood facing me.

The leader of the pack, the one filled with
the greatest sense of vengeance and evil bared its teeth at me with
a snarl. I returned his viciousness in kind. Angry thoughts raced
through its mind as its haunches tensed in preparation. I grinned
and took them all in, preparing myself for it’s attack. It leapt at
me and I jumped aside. It came at me again, but I knew what it was
thinking.

Again and again I evaded its claws and teeth.
I had tried to do the same earlier, but facing eleven of them at
the same time had made it nearly impossible to sort out any of
their thoughts. This leader had held back, thinking to take me
alone, but that was quickly proving to be a major flaw in its plan.
In between dodging I made my own attacks, throwing my fists into
its sides. Early in the fight I realized that the fiery touch I
could use against the Matwau had no bearing on these creatures.
That didn’t mean I was helpless. Even twisted by evil, they were
still vulnerable to regular physical attacks.