Everyone looked at him amazed, his face lit
by Redemption. Olem opened his mouth to say something when he was
interrupted by the rhythmic scuff of one thousand boots. Behind
Dagger appeared, weapons in hand, the Gorgors and Tankars who
survived the fratricidal battle.
Yet many,
too
many. They stopped in
front of them, as if looking forward to the coming massacre and the
just vengeance. Dagger held out his blade in front of their eyes
and they seemed to hesitate. Then he heard the voice of Moak right
behind him, “Son, do not pull the rope. I think it’s high time we
took our leave.”
To this time he could not object. They
hopped on the Cruachans and soared to the portal. They were chased
through the temple of Ktisis by two Gorgors, who managed to get on
their Cruachans in time, preying on them with their poisonous
darts. They went through the portal and were thrown back on the
world Beyond, in an explosion of light waves. Dagger was blinded,
like everyone else. However, that did not stop Cruachans.
Once they emerged into the cave, where they
had initially reunited, the Dracon yelled and stretched out his arm
toward the rift, through which came the light of the sun. Dagger
did not need to be told twice. They came outside, in the open air,
as well as their pursuers. They fled on the trees trying to outrun
them but, when these proved to be worthy opponents, Olem slowed and
let them get near, leaving the reins to Kugar. He jumped to their
closest rival, penetrating his chest and grabbing the Cruachan’s
reins, while the former fell and disappeared among the foliage of
the trees. The Dracon waited for their second pursuer, who did not
back down. They flew toward each other, sword at hand, but at the
last moment Olem reined to gain altitude and flew over the enemy,
crushing his head with a single blow.
When he came back to them, he commented
with aplomb, “Well? What the fuck are you looking at? Moak! Close
that damn hole!”
Dagger led the Guardian to the split from
which they had emerged.
“
Stop here!” Moak snatched a
small metal ball from his belt. When the other Cruachans cries
already echoed beneath the mountain, he threw it inside.
There was a powerful explosion and soon
there was nothing but debris.
“
Have it on foot,
Gorgors!”
They rejoined the others and flew until
sunset, before descending to the ground and camping for the night.
The three Cruachan let themselves be tied to the trees without
rebelling, watching Dagger like docile kittens.
“
It almost seems they like
you,” Olem murmured, skeptical, as he tightened the noose around
the neck of one of the beasts as much as possible, as if to
strangle it.
“
They don’t respect me, it’s
Redemption they revere,” he replied. Since the Dracon said nothing,
he wondered if he knew anything about that blade, or ‘living arm’
as Kugar had named it. Then he let it go. Olem did not seem famous
for his intellectual aptitude.
He looked stealthily at Moak, far too quiet
though he had heard them talking.
They wouldn’t light a fire for obvious
reasons. The two Guardians would not have slept until dawn,
watching over him.
* * * * *
8. The friendly danger
Dagger was awakened at first light of day
by the big hand of Moak, shaking him by the shoulder. He opened his
eyes and looked around; Kugar was already up, tightening a belt
around her waist; Olem was in the same position in which he had
left him. Probably he had not moved a single step from his lookout.
Never beating his eyelashes, never yawning; the Cruachans lay
broken in the dew, beheaded. He walked over and noticed the signs
of their bites on the ropes that kept them tied.
“
They were trying to free
themselves,” Olem explained. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t mind
walking.”
“
Did you kill
them?”
“
They would have betrayed us
as soon as they could hear their comrades’ call.”
“
Gorgors know well where our
portal is, it’s crystal clear,” Moak said. “They will hunt us down
until then. We have a fair advantage, though. Let’s not waste
it!”
They set off when the sun was still rising
above the horizon, covered by a blanket of gray clouds. Olem and
Moak leading the way. Dagger and Kugar behind them.
“
How far is the portal?”
Dagger asked.
“
Not much,” Kugar answered.
“We are gaining height. If we are lucky enough, and if Gorgors
don’t make risky moves, we’ll get there no later than
noon.”
The footprints they were leaving on the
muddy ground were too many and too deep to be erased. Any follower
would not struggle to follow them, but Dagger had the feeling that
the Guardians were already resigned to an inevitable clash. Perhaps
they just hoped to reach the portal before the enemy.
When the sun behind the clouds was at its
maximum height in the sky, a clearing appeared among the trees in
front of them.
Olem stopped. “Noises. Further,” he
whispered, drawing his sword. He walked hunched to the ground and
hid behind a tree, a moment before an arrow hissed in the wind to
stick on the trunk. Moak smiled. He put his hands cupped around his
mouth and let out a long howl. It had to be a sort of signal, for
when Olem came out from behind the tree a second arrow was not
shot.
“
We’ve arrived,” Kugar
said.
To Moak’s signal, another one answered,
somewhere among the branches of the trees. Dagger looked carefully
over their heads, but he noticed the shadowy figure, perfectly
camouflaged, only when it moved to descend. He lost sight of it,
then he heard a rustle of leaves and saw it leap to the ground just
in front of him, completely wrapped in a green and brown patched
cloak, of different shades, as well as the hood that covered his
head except for the cloth grill at eye level. He stretched out his
arm toward Dagger’s face.
Only when he saw its hand emerge from the
sleeve, Dagger realized he was not facing a human being. Its skin
was wrinkled and green, the fingers clawed. It was the hand of a
reptile, at least he thought. He got closer, until it struck his
forehead with a slap, in an almost affectionate way. Then the
strange creature approached the two Guardians. Dagger instinctively
brought a hand to Redemption but, at the gleam of its sparks,
everybody turned to give him a puzzled look. He felt stupid and let
go of the grip with a shrug.
“
I suppose you’ve never seen
a Messhuggah,” the hissing voice of the creature said, with a hint
of derision. “Well, no wonder. There are no Messhuggah on the world
Beyond, unfortunately and fortunately.” He raised his face to look
at Olem. “I was awaiting visits one of these days, from you or from
Gorgors. I think I even saw some of their cursed Cruachans fly over
the forest. I prepared myself for the worst.”
“
The worst is just what
happened, Dracon Araya,” Olem answered. “They attacked the ship on
which we were traveling. The ones you see in front of you are the
only survivors. The only ones, in the whole contingent of Guardians
sent on Melekesh in the search for Skyrgal’s blood.”
The other one watched them in silence,
below the hood. “Still better than I expected,” he added. “The
problem is, how did the Gorgors set foot on this world?”
“
They came through the back
door,” Moak muttered.
“
Moak!” Olem
barked.
However, Araya hissed a laugh. He put his
flaky hand on the Guardian’s forehead, in a gesture of affection
and forgiveness. “Brother Moak is one of the few humans we can have
confidence in,” he said. “That’s why we accepted him as one of us.
We Messhuggah are wary and reserved, but we appreciate his humor,
Dracon Olem. The truth often lies in irony, and from his few words
I think I’ve already figured out a lot about what happened, though
not everything. You will explain the rest with calm. Now come
inside and rest: it’s ill to walk through the Death Pass tired,
hungry… and with the girl’s wound already stinking of infection.”
Araya dropped his gaze on Kugar, who cringed, as if she wanted to
be far from there, in that moment.
That lizard could think damn fast, Dagger
thought.
“
Oh, do you think we didn’t
notice that too?” Moak said, looking in turn at the girl. “You
continuously bring your hand to your chest, you’re slow as you’ve
never been, and you pant like a dog. No Guardian should
ever
hide his wounds to
his companions. It goes for the salvation of everyone!”
“
Stupid girl!” Olem added.
“We need to know who needs to be protected!”
Kugar looked down. “I do not need to be
protected.”
“
Oh, all Guardians need to
be protected,” Araya interjected. “Some, especially from their
stupidity.”
“
We had a clash with two
Tankars, before joining you back,” Kugar explained. “They had the
worst!”
“
It was a miracle, believe
me!” Moak concluded. He was about to continue, but Araya put a hand
on his shoulder, holding a leather bag.
“
Come on, brother Moak,
we’ve all been young,” he said. “And the more someone is young, the
less he’s able to feel the fetid death’s breath on his nape; the
less it’s clear to him that he needs the help of others to avoid
meeting the silent lady too soon. Water is already on the fire; I
was cooking when I heard your arrival. Melt this lizard crap in it.
Judging by the smell that’s torturing my nose, I think we will need
it.”
The Guardian smiled. “The Poison Dracon is
always ready for the worst, right?”
“
More or less. But it will
be better to get set fast. I feel also another smell, approaching.
Smell of rotten eggs.”
“
How many?”
“
A team, not particularly
numerous, but there could be others behind them. They’ll be here
tonight.”
“
We’ll
greet
them here tonight!” Olem
precised. “We’ll face them and we’ll leave no survivor. This will
be a straight message to them.”
They followed Araya in the clearing
surrounded by larches, at the bottom of which they saw a log cabin.
Dagger would never have thought that, in the nearby, the boundary
between the two worlds was hiding.
“
Walk on the trail,” Araya
suggested. “I wouldn’t want to see you skewered by one of the poles
hidden beneath this beautiful green lawn.”
“
The birds stopped singing,”
Olem noticed, looking around. “Tonight we’ll find it hard to get
some sleep.”
“
Don’t think about it. Rest
now. My instinct tells me darker days lay ahead. And, after those,
days even worse. Maybe you can’t feel it, but the smell of his
blood is strong.”
“
I can feel it!” Kugar
protested.
Araya patted on her head. “Oh, I know, I
know you do.”
Dagger realized they were talking about
him. “I can’t do anything about it,” he said. “It’s not like a fart
that you can hold inside!”
The Messhuggah laughed softly. “Yeah, it’s
not like a fart,” he chuckled. “Good answer, my boy.”
They entered the small hut, heated and lit
by a lively fire in the hearth in which a pot of water was boiling.
The furniture was reduced to the essentials: a table, a few chairs
and old copper ladles hanging on the wall. Araya kept ready for
cooking the carcass of some animal, skinned, cut into pieces and
divided neatly on the table covered with blood. He had to get along
well, alone.
Moak emptied the contents of the leather
bag into the pot, a greenish powder with a pungent smell. Kugar
reluctantly pulled herself on the table, pushing away a piece of
the carcass. She uncovered her chest, having now become fiery red.
The infection was galloping hard on her skin, starting from the
long cuts bequeathed by the Tankar.
“
Mighty Angra! Look at
that!” Araya muttered, tamponing the wound with a wet cloth. “Nice
smear cuts they do with their gloves. And what’s this smell, did
someone piss on you?”
“
It’s a
long
story.”
Araya turned to Dagger, then back to Kugar,
and laughed. “Oh, oh, oh! It must really be a long story,” he
commented, amused.
Moak showed up with the pot just removed
from the heat. “I think it’s ready, my Dracon.”
Araya dipped gauze in the hot swill and
blew on it. “This will harm a little, my lady,” he warned, before
dabbing the wound.
Kugar jumped and let out a groan, covered
by Olem’s wild laughter.
“
Burns like fire, huh?” the
man yelled. “Well, remember it’s an honor to be healed by the
lizard Dracon in person! Or in Lizard. Or what!” Then he looked out
of the dirty and opaque window, his eyes moving slowly from right
to left. “Kugar. When you’re done getting your life saved, go below
and arm Dagger as he should be. Adults need to talk about important
matters. Come on, shoo!”
Kugar nodded. When Araya finished
medicating her, she jumped off the table and took Dagger under her
arm, leading him under a trapdoor in the floor. Dagger reluctantly
followed her, since throughout this trip, and his life the worst
things happened underground. The small basement was full of
weaponry. At least a hundred gleaming swords were leaning against
the walls and, in addition to these, bows and polished
shields.
Kugar grabbed a sword, with a handle shaped
like a claw. “Not all the questions in life can be solved with a
knife,” she stated. “Sometimes you need a sword.”