Warden (Book 2: Lure of the Lamia) (9 page)

Chapter 14

Errol ran at breakneck speed, holding his wand up for light.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
he thought as he crashed through the underbrush, headed for Lover’s Leap.

Jenny and Jason’s comments had suddenly brought to mind his odd conversation with Berry and the words the little man had spoken:
squeeze life…leap at love…

Berry had been giving him clues. But even if the homunculus hadn’t, Errol should have made the connection. The first two killings had indeed taken place near water, but they had also occurred at romantic rendezvous points.

The creature wasn’t killing based on proximity to water. Its actions had something to do with love.

Lover’s Leap was approximately a mile from where he’d been stationed at the well. It was a grassy plateau from which – generations earlier – a young woman had allegedly flung herself after discovering the man she loved was going to marry another. It wasn’t exceptionally high, but still gave a panoramic view of Stanchion – especially the main part of town.

As he got closer to his destination, Errol’s training started to reassert itself. At the speed he was running, he would announce his presence well before he arrived. Even worse, he was depriving himself of the ability to observe his surroundings; the thing might be lying in wait…

He now moved slowly, more deliberately, listening closely. He was at the edge of the tree line, at the point where the ground began sloping steeply up towards the plateau – towards Lover’s Leap.

Errol checked the ground for tracks. Despite its name, Lover’s Leap was not a particularly popular spot – mostly because of the climb up to the plateau. Still, with the Heart Tree and the well closed to them, the area had clearly seen use tonight, as evidenced by at least a dozen footprints.

Then he saw it: the same winding, serpentine trail that he’d seen at the river and the well, going up towards the plateau. Heedless of the danger now, Errol started running.

His legs were burning when he reached the top, but he didn’t stop. The thing’s trail led directly across the plateau towards the edge. Errol looked in that direction, sensing movement. He raised his wand and it lit up like a beacon shining light all across the plateau. And that’s when he saw it.

The creature’s torso and upper body resembled that of a young human female, despite being covered in livid, green scales up to the neck. From the waist down, however, it had the lithe and twisting body of a serpent – at least twelve feet in length and coiled like a spring.

A wickedly clawed hand, held up to shield its eyes from the wand’s light, kept Errol from getting a good look at its face. He did, however, see a shock of wild black hair, a forked tongue gliding in and out of its mouth, and glowing blood-red orbs that served as its eyes.

All in all, it was a frightening image, but one that Errol could finally put a name to after two dead bodies: the killer was a lamia.

Chapter 15

Eyes still shielded, the lamia hissed evilly and a hood flared out behind its head and neck like a cobra. The serpent portion of its body nimbly uncoiled, and Errol was less than surprised to see a body fall bonelessly to the ground from the thing’s embrace. He had been so fascinated by the lamia’s appearance that he hadn’t even noticed that it had found another victim. However, before he could even fully register that the thing had killed again, the lamia – with a speed born of fury or desperation – tore across the plateau towards him with a speed he could barely believe.

He pointed his wand and fired a spark at the monster – and missed! Although headed for him, the monster moved in a winding, serpentine pattern that, when combined with its speed, made it almost impossible to target (as Errol found out when his next two sparks tore up chunks of ground as opposed to the lamia). He gave up on the wand and went for his dagger, but by that time the thing was within striking distance.

Oddly enough, it didn’t attack. Instead, coming in low, it zipped by him. As it went past, however, it did use the end of its tail to slash at Errol’s legs. His feet went flying out from under him, and he hit the ground with a solid thump that knocked the breath out of him as the lamia slithered on down the hill towards the woods.

Errol struggled to his feet, and at the same time he heard shouts and cries of fear from the direction the creature had taken. He struggled to his feet and went charging down the slope after it.

At the base of the plateau he found, as he expected, the mayor and the rest of the posse, who had finally caught up to him. The lamia had sliced through their group with mind-boggling speed, claws slashing at anyone who got in her way. The mayor was bleeding from a cut on the arm, and one of the other men had suffered a vicious swipe across the chest. Errol took only a second to explain the situation, and then – minus a few men to check on the monster’s latest victim – he and the posse were in hot pursuit.

Thankfully, the lamia’s trail – delineated by bent shrubbery and the occasional smear of blood (presumably from its victim) – wasn’t difficult to follow. As expected, it soon led to a nearby tree, which the monster had apparently climbed.

“I guess we’ve lost it again,” Mayor Sterillo said, holding up a torch and looking into the branches of the tree above them.

“Maybe not,” Errol said. “I think I know where it’s headed.”

Before the mayor could say anything else, Errol took off again, obviously expecting the others to follow. He was proven right when, a few minutes thereafter, he picked up the lamia’s trail again. Moreover, he was correct in his assumption of where it was headed: the troupe’s campground.

When they burst from the woods a short time later, Errol – practically out of breath – abruptly came to a halt. So quickly did he dig in his heels that the mayor actually ran into him.

Directly ahead of them was the performance area for the troupe – and scores of people milling about. Errol flopped down to the ground, and sat there, hands on his knees, breathing heavily. Several others in their posse did the same, but Mayor Sterillo – clearly winded, chest heaving – stayed on his feet. It was still a few minutes before he could speak, though, during which time no one said anything.

“Why…why…?” asked the mayor between deep, gasping breaths. “Why…are we…stopping?”

“The tracks,” Errol said, his breathing somewhat back to normal, “lead to the troupe’s camp.”

“Then…then we…need to get…over there.” The mayor took a deep breath. “Before it kills…one of those…people.”

“It won’t kill one of those people,” Errol said. “It
is
one of those people.”

Chapter 16

“A lamia?” asked Miabi incredulously. “Are you sure?”

“Half woman, half snake,” Errol said. “I’m pretty sure.”

There were four of them in Miabi and Anru’s tent: the two leaders of the troupe, Errol, and Mayor Sterillo. After resting for a few minutes, Errol and the mayor had immediately sought out the couple to apprise them of what was going on.

“Still, it’s rather hard to believe,” Anru said.

“What do
you
know about these things?” the mayor asked.

“We run a sideshow,” Miabi answered, “so we have a working knowledge of such creatures. Lamias are reputed to have a fondness for children, purportedly drinking their blood.”

“They are also known for seducing young men,” Errol added. “And in this case, killing them.”

“And you think it’s somewhere in our camp?” Anru asked. “Right now?”

“A lamia can shift its form, becoming a beautiful woman,” Errol explained. “That’s how it seduces young men, gets them alone.”

Anru and Miabi exchanged a skeptical glance as Errol went on. “We thought it was some kind of serpentine monster with an affinity for water, since the first two killings took place at the river and the well. But being near water was just a coincidence. I should have figured it out on my own, but it took Berry giving me clues to make me realize what was happening. The victims were killed in those places because of their romantic reputations. They’re places were couples often meet.”

“So, if I understand you,” Miabi said, “this creature takes the form of a human girl, tricks a boy into meeting her for a romantic rendezvous, then kills him before making its escape up a tree?”

“Almost,” Errol said, “except I think it runs up trees for a different reason. After the second body, we found a scrap of cloth up a tree that it climbed. And tonight, I found similar traces of material on branches and shrubs as we were tracking it.

“It’s not climbing up trees to escape. It’s climbing up trees because that’s where it leaves its clothes when it changes form.”

There was silence for a moment as the others absorbed this.

“You mean, it takes off its clothes,” said the mayor, “hangs them in a tree, changes form, then retrieves them after it kills?”

“Yes,” Errol said. “And all the while we were out there in the woods standing guard, it was right here masquerading as human.”

“Well,” said Miabi, “all I can say is that I’m happy this is our last night here. Stanchion is far too dangerous for a gentle troupe like ours.”

Errol raised an eyebrow. “Leaving? I’m sorry, but your troupe isn’t going anywhere. For all we know, the lamia is one of you. In fact, that’s probably the most likely scenario, since the killings didn’t start until you got here.”

“Our reputation as performers is well-known,” Anru said. “If we left behind a string of bodies everywhere we went, word would get out, and nothing of the kind has happened.”

Errol had to admit the truth of the man’s words, but he still wasn’t ready to let the troupe move on. There was something–

A chorus of shrieks cut through the air, coming from outside. Everyone dashed for the tent’s exit.

The grounds were in complete chaos, to put it mildly. People were running and screaming in absolute terror. The source of the mayhem seemed to be coming from the area of Baro’s knife-throwing booth. All four of them took off in that direction. At the same time, an inhuman roar sounded, making the leaves on nearby trees tremble. It seemed to come from the area they were headed towards.

Getting to the booth was difficult to say the least. The troupe’s patrons were all stampeding like maddened cattle in the opposite direction, and it wasn’t until Errol pulled out his wand, shining bright enough to make the crowd wince, that a path began to clear for them.

Another roar sounded, and even before they got close, Errol saw the problem.

A monstrous, humanoid form stood by Baro’s booth. It was at least nine feet tall, hairless, and appeared to be covered in mud (as well as grass, twigs and rocks). Its huge arms were like tree trunks, and stretched nearly down to the ground. The monster’s short, powerful-looking legs seemed to melt right into the earth. Most frightening was the creature’s face, for instead of eyes it seemed to have two blackened holes.

Errol didn’t have a clue what it was.

In front of the thing stood Baro, a knife in each hand. Behind him, his sister Tilbi cowered on the ground, looking absolutely terrified.

The thing roared again and swung a massive fist at Baro. The knife-thrower ducked the blow and used the opening to slice at his opponent. The monster’s fist struck the knife-throwing booth, turning it into kindling. As to the knife wound Baro inflicted, it stayed open but a moment and then sealed itself shut. The monster never even reacted to the injury.

All of a sudden, the creature lifted a leg. Shockingly, a huge plot of earth in front of it rose correspondingly – including the portion of which Baro was standing. The knife-thrower lost his footing and fell to the ground, landing next to Tilbi. The monster raised its fists, preparing to smash them both.

Still running towards the fight, Errol pointed his wand and fired a spark. It struck the monster on the side of the face, blowing away half its head. Angrily, the creature turned what was left of its face towards him. At the same time, an arrow – lit aflame at the tip – sank into the monster’s chest. Then a second. And a third. The thing barely reacted. A second later, however, flame erupted all over its body.

Enraged, the monster screamed. Like a candle, its body began losing shape, diminishing in size – essentially melting into the ground. It swiftly turned again towards Baro and Tilbi, but they had scrambled back out of the monster’s reach. It screamed again and banged its fists menacingly into the earth, causing the ground around it to tremble as its torso seemed to dissolve into the ground. By the time Errol got close, there was nothing but a flaming puddle of mud that soon burned out.

With the mayor standing next to him, Errol tapped the ground with his foot to make sure the fire was out. Nearby, Miabi – with an arm around a trembling Tilbi – was whispering urgently to Baro, who nodded and then took off.

Errol let out an exasperated sigh. Things were spinning wildly out of control. Not only did he have the lamia to deal with but this second, unexpected monster as well. The night couldn’t have turned out worse if he’d planned it.