Void Wielder 2 Legacy of Chaos (14 page)

CHAPTER 20

As he entered the woodsy area, Falcon felt eyes watching him. He searched the tress, attempting to lock down the energy readings. He sensed the power all around him. In the trees, the grass beneath his feet, even in the small insects that scurried over a dead log at his side.

“I can’t do it!” he said, throwing his hands up in frustration. “Every time I try I sense the energy all over the place. I can’t lock it down”

Suddenly, Shal-Demetrius and Faith appeared before him in a puff of smoke.

“It’s ok,” said Faith sweetly. “I’m sure you’ll get it soon enough.”

“Um hum.” Demetrius cleared his throat. For a moment, he glared at Faith, as if expecting her to say something else.

“Yes, sir?” asked Faith, her voice low.

“What is it that we spoke about, young holy wielder?” asked Demetrius “You must be more assertive. Don’t baby him. He will never learn that way.”

Faith nodded shyly. “Um…yes. More assertive.” She looked directly at Falcon’s eyes. For a moment, she looked lost, as if unsure of what to do. “Falcon. Um…you must try really, really hard.”

The forest grew quiet. Falcon smirked. She was trying very hard, but being bossy was obviously not her forte.

“
That’s it
?” asked Demetrius, taken aback.

“And do it quickly,” Faith whimpered.

Demetrius brought his hand to his forehead and sighed. “Well. Maybe ordering people around is not for you. Nonetheless, your idea about love is not to be ignored. There is promise there.”

“I don’t know,” Falcon said tentatively. He wasn’t fond of sharing his emotions with anyone. Better to keep them locked inside where they belonged. “Maybe we should find another way.”

Demetrius nodded. “Like what? Should you just always wait for the power to simply
somehow
conveniently come to you in times of need?” Sarcasm dripped from his voice.

“It worked before.” Falcon recalled a few of those times. “When I battled Lao, I managed to keep control of all the basic elements. Then there was this—”

“Stop right there,” said Demetrius. “I'm not interested in occasions where you
magically
got control of your power.” The chaos wielder waved his hands around mockingly. “That’s called dumb luck and adrenaline. What you need is to grasp control of it so that you manage it at will. So time to speak up. What are the strongest emotions of love you have?”

Falcon gulped loudly as he pulled as his collar. “There must be another way.”

“Falcon. Just go with the procedure.” Faith stared at him, fire in her eyes.

“Well, well.” Demetrius nodded. “What do we have here? Finally some spunk from the holy wielder.”

A pained look came over Faith, as if she regretted her words. “I’m sorry, Falcon. I didn’t mean to talk to you that way. I’m just trying to help.”

“Don’t apologize!” cried Demetrius.

“It was you and Aya,” admitted Falcon, his stomach lurching. His friend was obviously trying hard, giving it her all for his training. He, at least, owed her an equal effort as well.

“Me and Aya what?” asked Faith, obviously still confused.

His voice grew shakier. “I was er…thinking of you and Aya when I took control of all the elements. I…I didn’t want to lose you both.”

Faith’s face turned a deep red. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

The only one who seemed to be having the time of their life was Demetrius. He clapped his hands loudly and grinned. “Now we’re getting somewhere. See? Was that so hard?”

Yes
, thought Falcon, still embarrassed.

“Now,” continued Demetrius, “I’m going to take Faith’s hand once again. A soon as I do I will chaos teleport her somewhere in the vicinity. It is your job to pinpoint our energy and teleport to us. Got it?”

“Yes.” Falcon nodded, glad that he wouldn’t have to face Faith a second longer.

The chaos wielder took the hand of the holy wielder. In a puff of smoke, they were gone.

Falcon closed his eyes, focused on Faith and Aya, and returned to his search.

CHAPTER 21

Aya stumbled back, her eyes scanning the reptilian-skinned jaguar. She noticed the yellow, glossy skin and the black spots dotted throughout its body. Judging from the two long fangs at each side of its mouth, and its long, muscular body, she was certain she was dealing with a female chilera. She’d read about them many times in her study books. She had just never thought she would come face to face with one.

The chilera gritted her teeth, exposing an even set of sharp fangs. She brought her upper body down, and pounced.

Aya clicked the stick hanging by her waist. Instantly it extended to become her blue baton. As the chilera neared her, she moved back and brought it down. The baton slammed on the animal’s skull.

The beast craned her neck and took a bite. Aya took another step back and it only tasted air.

Aya steadied her breath as the chilera moved around her. She knew any mistake could mean her life. With a high-pitched growl, it zig-zagged as it dashed toward her.

Aya darted her eyes, ready for any time it might pounce, but instead it staggered back, growling under its breath.

Aya recognized what the chilera was doing. The books made mentioned their tendency to circle their victims, feigning attacks for hours until their prey tired. Then, and only then, would they attack.

We’ll see about that.
Aya unclicked her second baton. She huffed as she released the first baton with all her force. As the chilera moved back to avoid the attack, Aya dashed forward. She came in front of the animal and brought down her remaining weapon. As it moved in for a desperate bite, Aya flipped the baton around and rammed the end into the animal’s expecting mouth. As it staggered back, Aya brought her knuckles directly on the chilera’s neck. The animal crashed to the dirt with a loud yelp.

“See?” said Aya, leaning down and running her hand through the chilera’s smooth skin. “You should stick to eating birds and squirrels. Attacking humans is liable to get you killed.”

The beast moved her fearful eyes toward Aya, as it lay uselessly on the ground.

Aya clicked her batons back into place. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. And I’ll take off the paralysis in a minute.” She patted the chilera’s belly. The roundness of it confirmed her suspicion. “So you’re pregnant. I knew you wouldn’t attack if you weren’t desperate.” She took out a large chunk of dry meat she had hoped to eat later on her travels and set it in front of the animal.

Aya met the chilera’s eyes. “Now listen. No more attacking, got it?” The chilera whimpered. Trusting her instincts, Aya knuckled her fist and pressed on the nerve again.

The beast stood and picked up the chunk of meat. With the slab still in its mouth, it looked one last time at Aya. It lowered its gaze and took off into the forest.

Aya didn’t know if she was crazy, or if talking to Faith had gotten to her, but she could have sworn she saw gratitude in the animal’s eyes.

~~~

A wave of heat washed over Aya as she moved about the forest. Light trickled though the thick branches above. She had been walking for over two weeks now, following the tracks Keira and Loriko had left behind.

She was growing frustrated and worried. Over the past few hours the tracks had grown erratic. They weren’t headed toward the meeting grounds, but away from them. Not only that, but the paw prints had been replaced with long stretches of smoothed ground, as if someone had been dragged.

She followed the zig-zagging tracks a few more hours, wondering how a forest that was covered with so much shade could possibly be this hot and humid.

“Rrrrrrrrr!”

Aya froze in her tracks, certain that that had been an animal roar. Could it be another chilera?

“Rrrrrrrrr!”

No. The jaguar’s roar had a much lower tone. This growl was much more savage. Her hopes spiked.

She waited patiently for it to come again.

“Rrrrrrrrr!”

To the right.

She moved with renewed vigor. Every branch, leaf, and plant that got in her way was quickly tossed aside in her haste.

“Rrrrrrrrr!”

“Kahito Lemuel. Yuri. Kahito!”

Aya tried to make sense of the words being spoken.

“Kahito. Lemruata.”

She grimaced. The language was alien and strange to her. A few steps later she found that that wasn’t the only strange thing.

From her hiding spot behind a bush, Aya noticed a series of palm-leaved huts lined up in a straight line. There were a number of large pots boiling over small flames. Dozens of tan-skinned men, wearing only loincloths, moved about. Most of them had paintings on their faces, chest, and backs. Some had bones pierced through their noses and lips. But what caught Aya’s attention wasn’t the wild-looking men, or the fact that dozens of human bones lay scattered about.

Her eyes instead focused on the two nets hanging at the middle of the camp. Loriko hung in the large net, snarling at the men with wooden spears circling him. Keira hung in the other net. Even from afar, Aya noticed the slight tremble in her lips.

“Lorues Kohitu,” said a man who sat on a chair at the end of the camp. He held a human skull on his hands, which he used to take sips out of. The purple liquid that didn’t make it inside his mouth ran down his jaw and neck. “Lorues Kohito!”

At this last command the men with the spears backed off, leaving Loriko alone.

Aya didn’t understand the words they spoke, but there were two things that she had already surmised. First, the man using the skull as his own personal tumbler was the leader. Second, judging from all the bones and the man’s cup, these people were cannibals. Which meant the next thing on the menu was Keira.

Doesn’t matter. They won’t get to her as long as I’m patient.
She settled down and looked on for what seemed an eternity.

Finally, when the blood red moon had been out for hours, the chief stood from the chair he’d been sitting in all day. He belched loudly, as he tossed a human arm he been taking bites out of to the side. He moved over to Keira, who still had a slight tremble.

“Totuy. Totuy,” said the man, pointing at his blind prisoner and licking his dark lips.

Aya readied herself as the anxiety in her insides grew.
Is he going to kill her now?

But seconds later the chief laughed and trudged over to the largest hut at the end of the camp. Taking a cue from their leader, the other savages went into huts of their own. Only two men remained sitting on a log, keeping watch on their future meal.

Aya’s anxiety subsided a bit. It appeared that Keira was still not on the menu.

Aya waited a few more hours. She had to make sure that the camp was asleep before she made her move. When the moon reached the center of the sky, she decided that it was time.

Crouching, she stepped out of the bushes. Her hunting instincts kicked in as she gingerly moved toward the captives.

One of the guards lay on the ground, snoring loudly. The other sat on the log, his body wobbling as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

Aya came behind him and brought her hands around his neck. She pressed down hard. The Nakatomi lock was near impossible to escape, her perfect form made sure of that.

Seconds later, she set the unconscious man quietly on the ground.

The second man’s eyes snapped open. A quick open-fisted hit to his cranium put him back to sleep.

“What are you doing here?” whispered Keira, seemingly barely noticing Aya.

“Saving you. What else does it look like?”

“B…but how did you escape the jaguar? You couldn’t even wield.”

“With difficulty,” said Aya, pulling out a small dagger. “Though I don’t think this is the time to be discussing that.”

The blind girl remained quiet as Aya worked the rope. A minute later she crashed to the ground.

Aya held her breath, waiting for any sign from inside the huts signifying that they’d been heard. After a minute of silence, Aya moved to the larger net.

She suppressed a sigh of worry as she noticed the deep, bloody cuts on Loriko’s leg and paw.

“It’s fine,” said Keira, noticing Aya’s concern. “Those savages hurt us when they captured us, but my bears are tough. They can run even with injuries like those.”

Aya nodded and went to work on Loriko’s net. Moments later, the rope ripped, sending the heavy animal crashing to the ground. It landed on its injured hind leg.

“Grrrrrrrr!”

“Oh, no,” cried Aya. “We have to get a move on. There is no way they did not hear that.”

The bear struggled to its feet.

Aya took Keira’s hand and helped her up. “Move. Now!”

“There’s a way out this way,” said Keira. She pointed to a barely visible dirt path behind the last hut.

Keira took point. Aya followed behind. Loriko brought up the rear.

The cries of angry men filled the night air as they moved out of the collection of huts.

“They’re coming after us!” said Keira, huffing loudly. “Bridge up ahead. Almost there.”

Aya looked past Keira and to the bear. With every step he took, blood spilled to the dirt below. She could only imagine the pain it was causing to put weight on his injured legs, but despite the gruesome injury, his pace remained constant.

“Keaul. Luterid. Luta!”

Aya turned and her mouth dried. Closing behind her were countless spear-wielding men. They were still a distance away, but at their pace, she was sure they would be on top of them in no time.

“There’s the bridge!” Keira cried.

“Kuaul. Kuaul!” The screams got louder by the second.

Aya and Keira stepped into the wooden bridge. It rocked dangerously as the girls dashed across it.

Aya gulped as she noticed the sheer fall that awaited her if she took a wrong step. Her jaw did not unclench until they had set foot on the other side of the bridge.

“C’mon, Loriko!” cried Keira, at the bear who still stood at the other side of the bridge. “We’re across so you don’t have to worry about putting too much weight on the—”

Loriko turned to them. He held his clawed hand up in the air, swinging it forward and ripping the rope that held the bridge.

“Ahhh…Loriko?” Keira stood motionless, as her voice became a squeak. “What are you doing?”

Loriko stood on his hand legs and roared.

“He’s saving us,” said Aya.

Keira remained in place. “No. I will not leave her to die.”

Now it was Aya who stood in shock.
Loriko is a girl
?

The next few events transpired in seconds.

Loriko rushed the dozen weapon holding silhouettes. From afar, Aya said a silent prayer as the large shadow engulfed half a dozen men. Maybe there was hope for her after all.

A second later Aya’s hope shattered as a silhouette snuck behind Loriko and dug its spear in her back.

“Gota. Gota!”

Aya recognized the voice as that of the chief’s.

Loriko turned and delivered a vicious swing of her paw, sending the chief to the floor. His head landed a foot away from his body.

The reaming savages dug their spears into Loriko, each attack sending a roar of pain through the air.

“My friend!” cried Keira between sobs. She rushed toward the cliff. “Lori!”

Aya jumped and held her back.

Keira struggled to break free. “Let me go. S…she needs me!”

Aya fell to the ground with Keira, refusing to release her. She sadly gazed at Lori, wishing she could help.

Lori beat down the last of her attackers. Then her silhouette stumbled to the ground, releasing a mushroom of dust around her. Half a dozen spears permeated from her back. Lori lifted her head. Her last tired, low whimper moved through the air.

A second later her head crashed, and her movement ceased.