Run To Earth (Power of Four) (42 page)

“This isn’t a hunt,” Kyran said. “Which is why you’re here. We’re only looking for a trail.”

“And if we find it?” Aaron asked.

“Then you stay out of the way while we take care of it,” Kyran replied.

***

As soon as lunch was over, the group assembled at the door. The hunters of Balt and Salvador made a team of forty-eight, including Aaron. Mandara stood to the side, his dark eyes scanning the crowd. He didn’t say a word, just nodded to Skyler, gesturing for him to take over while wearing a tight smile.

“Alright,” Skyler called out, commanding a hush over the rest. “We go out in teams. You must wear your mark and use it to converse with the others.” He held up his own silver spiral pendant. “You all know this, but I have to stress it once again.” His cold blue eyes scanned every individual mage, stopping on Aaron. “L-26 is an open zone. There is no Gate. You cannot under
any
circumstance use your powers.” He said the words slowly and clearly, watching Aaron for confirmation that he understood. “Should the need arise, our guns and blades are our only weapons today. Is that understood?”

“Understood,” everyone chimed.

Aaron turned to look at Kyran. “What if someone acts on reflex?” he asked nervously.

“Then they contribute to the flow of energy that’ll spill out and damage the human realm,” Kyran replied.

Aaron swallowed. “Okay,” he said, nodding to himself. “Hold back the instinct to survive. Can’t be that hard.”

Kyran chuckled. “Relax, Ace. You’ll be fine. I’m going to be right there with you. We all are. Besides, we’re only going to gather more information about the disappearances. There’ll be no need to use our weapons.”

Aaron felt a little better. His hand reached up and he fingered one of the sharp blades strapped across his torso. He could feel the weight of his black and silver pistol resting in its holster at his waist. If he needed them, he had plenty of weapons. Feeling a bit more confident, Aaron followed Kyran out the door.

***

Zone L-26 was accessed via another portal, one set up just past the Gate of Balt. As Aaron blinked the white spots from his vision left by the blinding glow of the portal, he saw his surroundings were little more than vegetation. Tall, leafy plants grew from the moss-covered ground. Incredibly high trees swayed in the wind, their branches full of green, gold and brown leaves. As far as he could see, all that met his eyes were trees, bushes and big, leafy plants.

The Hunters got off their bikes, abandoning them for the time being, and trekked a way through the forest. Aaron walked alongside Kyran, trying not to slip on the mossy ground, or get his foot trapped in the thick vines.

They pushed their way through the forest for at least twenty solid minutes before they reached a clearing. The crowd of Hunters split up into eight groups of six. Aaron was with Kyran, Julian, Andrew and two other Hunters of Balt. They walked in silence, each one busy searching the area for clues that would lead them to the local mages. Aaron couldn’t imagine anyone living here, except for wild animals maybe. They reached a high cliff top and stopped, taking a moment to catch their breaths. The heat, coupled with their heavy attire, only served to make them sticky with perspiration. Aaron pulled at the uncomfortably warm leather belts that were crossed over his chest.

“What now?” Julian asked.

Kyran stood with his hands on his hips, eyes narrowed as he scanned the area. He caught sight of something in the distance and stopped, eyes narrowing further. His expression hardened suddenly. He looked down into the mess of vegetation before looking back up. A look of surprise blanketed his features.

“Did you see that?” he asked.

“See what?” Julian asked.

“The Lurker,” Kyran said.

“Lurker?” Andrew frowned. “Really? Where?”

Kyran looked back at the spot in the distance where he’d been staring. Something flickered in his eyes before he shook his head. “Nothing,” he said quietly. “Forget about it.” He pointed to the ground below them. “We need to get down there. There’s a pathway just here.”

“How’d you notice that?” Julian asked, sounding impressed with Kyran’s sharp eyesight.

“I think we could climb down from here,” Andrew said, moving to the left.

Kyran held out a hand, stopping him. “Wait,” he whispered, staring below.

This time, they all saw what Kyran had. Something had moved behind the bushes. Without a word, Kyran and the others crouched to the ground, hidden from view. Aaron quickly followed their example, pressing his front to the soft grass. He peered over the edge of the cliff to the ground below. The rustling of leaves and bushes got louder, until something emerged from them into Aaron’s view. The breath Aaron wasn’t aware of holding rushed out of him with relief. It was only a man. A filthy-looking man with long, matted hair that reached to his waist. Most of his face was hidden behind a wild beard that trailed to his chest. His exposed arms and torso were caked with dirt. A loincloth was his only clothing. His legs were abnormally long, covered in downy hair – or maybe it was filth, Aaron couldn’t be sure. But it was when Aaron saw the man’s feet that he realised the man was in fact not a man at all. His feet were pointing backwards. Completely backwards. His toenails had grown into claws, which ripped parts of the soft grass out with every step he took. The nails on his hands were just as long and curved, and looked just as sharp.

Kyran cursed. “Abarimons!” he hissed furiously. “Dammit! What are they doing here?”

“Abarimons don’t have a valley near here,” Andrew protested in a whisper.

“They must have,” Julian argued. “Abarimons don’t venture too far from home.”

“They probably set up a valley near here,” Kyran said. “Which is why mages have started going missing.”

“Why’s that?” Aaron asked.

“Abarimons gotta eat,” Kyran replied.

Aaron forced back bile.

“What do we do?” asked one of the other Hunters, a brown-haired girl.

“We call for back-up,” Julian said and reached for his pendant. Holding onto it, Julian began relying his message.

“We need to track it,” Kyran said. “If we can find their valley, we can take out all of them.”

“What?” Andrew asked. “Are you insane? You breathe in the air of an Abarimon’s valley, you’ll never leave it!”

“I know that!” Kyran snapped. “I didn’t say anything about going
into
their valley. We stay outside and take out each one of those back-footed freaks.”

Aaron saw the Abarimon stop near a tree and bend down behind it to pick something up. Aaron never imagined that when the savage-looking beast straightened up it would have a little girl thrown over its shoulder.

Aaron could feel the Hunters around him tense while his own heart jumped horribly at the sight.

“Come on,” Kyran whispered urgently. “We can’t wait. We gotta take him out – now.”

In the blink of an eye, weapons were out and clutched in everyone’s hands. Aaron held on to his pistol and racked back the slide. His gaze was on the girl. She was unconscious, thrown unceremoniously over the Abarimon’s shoulder. She couldn’t be more than nine, maybe ten years old. Andrew held onto his pendant and repeated Julian’s request for back-up.

“
Don’t do anything yet,”
Scott’s voice echoed in all the Hunter’s heads. “
Wait for back-up.
”

“We can’t wait, Scott” Kyran argued. “It’s one Abarimon. We can handle it.” He turned to Andrew. “We take the Abarimon, you get the girl out.”

They pulled themselves up and began sneaking their way closer to the oblivious Abarimon, that was making its way through the forest with its victim. Climbing down the steep hill proved to be a feat in itself, never mind doing it stealthily. A small slip and the brown-haired girl’s foot knocked into a rock, which tumbled down and landed with a thump on the soft ground. The Abarimon froze mid-step.

There was nothing they could do. The Hunters held up their weapons – ready. The Abarimon turned around to face them. Closer to the demon, Aaron could see the face was as creepy as the backwards feet. The Abarimon’s high forehead hung over dark eyes. Its
cheekbones were too prominent, widening the face. The dry lips, just visible through the overgrown hair of its moustache, parted to show a mouthful of sharp, pointed teeth.

A heartbeat later, a single bullet from Julian’s gun was sent towards the Abarimon’s chest. The demon twisted out of the way, dodging the bullet. Its speed was surprising for a being with backward feet. The demon threw the unconscious girl and ran off. Thankfully the mossy ground softened the child’s fall. Andrew and the other two Hunters were by her side in an instant. Aaron followed after Kyran and Julian. The three raced after the Abarimon, firing bullet after bullet at it. But the overgrown bushes and trees blocked their view and soon they had lost sight of the demon. They came to a stop, catching their breath.

“Where’d it go?” Julian asked.

The sound of rushing air made Aaron turn around – just in time to see a branch thicker than Aaron’s leg come hurtling towards them. It hit Julian on the back of his head, throwing him face forward to the ground.

“Julian!” Aaron rushed to him, pulling him onto his back. The boy was knocked out cold.

Kyran raced after the Abarimon, disappearing into the thick forest. Aaron, not sure if he should leave Julian or go to help Kyran, grabbed onto his circle pendant.

“We need help!” he cried. “Julian’s out and it’s just me and Kyran left with the Abarimon.”

“
Don’t worry, Adams,”
Sarah’s soft voice said, flooding his mind. “
We’re coming.
”

Aaron got up and ran after Kyran. He couldn’t leave him alone to face the demon. He followed the sound of the gunshots and raced deeper into the forest, his pistol clutched in his hand. He caught sight of Kyran running down a steep hill and, a little ahead of him, a fleeting glimpse of the back-footed demon as it threw itself off the edge of a cliff.

Kyran came to a skidding stop. Aaron was already running down the hill, the sharp incline making it impossible to stop or slow down. His foot slipped and Aaron yelped as he tumbled forward, rolling down the hill. He knocked into Kyran and both fell over the edge.

They were lucky the fall wasn’t too high. Kyran and Aaron rolled all the way down another hill until they hit the ground. Aaron lay dazed, all his breath knocked out of him.

“Aww, Ace!” Kyran groaned. “Now you’ve done it!”

“What?” Aaron asked breathlessly, picking himself up onto his hands and knees. “What’d I do?”

Several shadows fell over them. Looking up, Aaron found a whole crowd of Abarimons surrounding him and Kyran. It suddenly occurred to Aaron that Kyran had stopped running for a reason other than it being the edge of a cliff.

Aaron glanced at his pistol, lying ten steps away, knocked out of his grip when they had fallen straight into the valley of the Abarimons.

26

The Valley

The itch was driving Aaron crazy. No matter how hard he tried, how much he struggled, he couldn’t loosen the scratchy fibre from around his wrists. All his efforts got him was more pain spiking through his already aching shoulders. He tried turning, as much as he could in his position, but he couldn’t see Kyran, though he knew the other boy was in the same predicament. Both of them had been dragged here by the Abarimons after being relieved of their weapons. The demons had then used what Aaron could only presume was rope made from some natural fibre to bind their wrists tightly behind them, securing them against the trees. Then they had left.

Aaron tried once again to reach up and find the knots. He could just about touch them but he couldn’t tug them open. Aaron groaned in frustration.

“Kyran,” he called. “What you thinking?”

He heard Kyran sigh. “I’m thinking...what do I want for dinner,” Kyran replied.

“What?” Aaron asked frowning.

“For dinner,” Kyran said. “I can’t decide between lamb and beef.”

Aaron strained to look over at Kyran, glaring at him. “I meant, what are you planning for our escape?”

“Oh, that.” Aaron could hear the grin in Kyran’s voice. “We’re not escaping.”

“What?” Aaron asked.

“We’re in their valley,” Kyran replied. “And breathing their enchanted air. For now, anyway.” He paused for a moment. “Which means we can’t leave their valley. No one can leave an Abarimon’s valley once they enter it, except for Abarimons of course.”

Aaron struggled with increased vigour, managing to twist around enough to see Kyran.

“That’s it?” Aaron asked. “We just...stay here?”

“Pretty much,” Kyran replied, looking perfectly calm. “Well, until they get hungry enough. Then
we’re
for dinner.”

“Why aren’t you freaking out?” Aaron exclaimed.

“What’s the point?” Kyran asked. “Besides, I’m too cool to freak.”

“Kyran!” Aaron shouted. “I swear to God, if you don’t help me think of a way to escape, I’ll–”

“Relax, Ace,” Kyran said, with a chuckle. “You’ll give yourself an aneurysm.”

Aaron struggled even harder. The rope was cutting into his skin now but Aaron couldn’t stop. His weapons may have been taken but he still had the silver pendant hanging from his neck. He could hear Scott’s panicked voice calling out his and Kyran’s name in his head. If he could just free his hands, he could hold on to the circle and ask for help and....Aaron paused. Would the Hunters come to help them? Would Scott let them enter the valley of Abarimons?

He stopped struggling. The other Hunters wouldn’t risk themselves by coming into the valley. It would only serve to trap them too. Scott wouldn’t put all his Hunters into danger just to rescue two, would he? Aaron sagged against the tree, falling limp in his restraints.

“Oh good,” Kyran said dryly. “Here they come.”

Looking up, Aaron saw at least fifteen Abarimons heading towards them. Aaron found himself tensing at their feral appearance. Their wild untamed hair hid most of their lower face, leaving their cold black eyes to strike fear in Aaron’s heart. The strange way they walked, with their feet pointing in the opposite direction, made a shiver run down Aaron’s spine.

“Whatever you do, Ace,” Kyran said in an urgent whisper, “don’t stare at their feet.”

“What? Why?” Aaron asked, panicked because that was all he could focus on. “Do your feet turn like theirs if you stare at them?”

“What? No,” Kyran replied. “It’s just impolite to stare.”

Aaron threw him a frustrated look.

The Abarimon at the front came to rest before Aaron. Aaron noted that this one was slightly less dirty-looking than the others. Its hair was just as long and tangled but its chest and arms were clean. Aaron couldn’t help but stare at the backward feet, despite Kyran’s warning.

The Abarimon moved past him, coming to stand in front of Kyran. Even though a part of him was relieved the demon had moved away from him, Aaron felt a new bout of panic for Kyran.

The Abarimon easily dwarfed Kyran’s six-foot frame. The demon leant down, its crooked nose only inches away from Kyran’s face, and took a great big sniff before pulling away. When it smiled, it revealed sharp, pointed teeth.

“Hunter,” it said, its accent heavy and clumsy, giving away its unease with the English language.

Kyran smirked. “The name’s Kyran.”

The Abarimon regarded Kyran before a deep, throaty laugh escaped it. “Hunter,” it growled again. “No come here.”

“It wasn’t intentional,” Kyran replied. “I was sort of pushed into coming.”

The Abarimon leant in, sniffing at Kyran again. It reached out with one of its claws and parted Kyran’s coat. The silver spiral caught the sun’s ray, shining proudly. Kyran tensed as the Abarimon trailed its filthy, curved nail down his chest and looped the chain. With a sharp tug, the Abarimon yanked at the chain, snapping it, and pulled it away. It held it up, as if to show to Kyran what it had done.

“No Hunter more,” it growled and threw the chain aside.

Kyran glared after it as his pendant cut through the air before plopping into the nearby stream. Another Abarimon strode towards Aaron and did the same, snatching the chain from his neck with such vigour that it left long scratches down Aaron’s neck. The Abarimon paused, staring at the fine red lines. Aaron recoiled as much as he could when the Abarimon leant into him, sniffing at his neck, growling low in its throat. Its black as coal eyes glinted with hunger.

“Hey! Easy there,” Kyran called, getting its attention. “You’re gonna ruin your appetite if you keep smelling him like that.”

The Abarimon pulled away from Aaron, turning to look at Kyran with its nostrils flared and teeth bared.

“Don’t you know that smelling your food fills you up?” Kyran asked with a smirk.

The Abarimon standing by him growled and grabbed Kyran’s face with its clawed hand, yanking it back around to face him. The Abarimon said something that sounded like nothing more than guttural groans. The Abarimon’s native tongue wasn’t intelligible but Aaron could tell from the tone alone that it was grunting threats to Kyran. The Abarimon finished by jerking Kyran’s face to the side, leaving small scratches on his cheek. Kyran turned back to the Abarimon with narrowed green eyes but his smirk was still in place.

“I didn’t get any of that,” he said. “But please don’t repeat it. I can’t take any more of your breath.”

For a terrible moment, Aaron was sure the Abarimon was going to lash out, but the demon only growled at him and moved back. It turned and left, the crowd following after it. They disappeared from sight behind the tall trees.

Aaron let out the breath he had been holding, sagging with relief. He turned to look at Kyran.

“Are you mad?” he asked. “Why were you mouthing off to him?”

“Why not?” Kyran asked, tensing, pulling at his hands. “They’re gonna kill us anyway. And it’s not like they can understand everything we say.”

“Yeah, but–” Aaron stopped, his mouth falling open when Kyran pulled his hands forward, freed but with loops of rope still around each wrist. “How’d you do that?” he asked.

“Magic.” Kyran grinned, holding up a small blade.

“Where were you hiding that?” Aaron asked. The Abarimons had been thorough in snatching the weapons from them.

“Always keep at least one blade in the lining of your sleeve,” Kyran instructed, pulling the loops off each wrist before walking over to him.

Aaron felt himself smile. “You had that all along?” he asked. “You couldn’t have told me?”

“And ruin the fun?” Kyran asked before cutting through the rope tying Aaron’s hands. “You have any idea how hilarious you look when panicked?”

The moment the rope parted, Aaron pulled his hands forward, holding back his groan of relief. He reached up with stiff arms to rub at his sore shoulders before turning to face Kyran. “Now what?” he asked, pulling the scratchy loops off his wrists.

“Now we get out of here,” Kyran said.

“You said we couldn’t leave the valley.”

“We can’t,” Kyran confirmed, “unless we take the valley from the Abarimons.”

Aaron nodded. “And how do we do that?”

“Simple,” Kyran replied, meeting Aaron’s eyes. “The valley is ours after we kill all the Abarimons.”

***

Keeping to the shadows, Kyran and Aaron made their way deeper into the forest. When the trees finally thinned to a large clearing, Aaron saw a cluster of small huts. The Abarimons bustled in front of them: some carrying wood, others dragged what looked like the carcasses of wild animals to one side. A few Abarimons scratched and sniffed each other, their claws poking at each other’s flesh. The female Abarimons were just as wild-looking as their male counterparts, with long, straggly hair and clawed nails on their hands and backward feet. They too wore loincloths to protect their modesty and their long hair covered their naked fronts.

Sitting in the middle of the village was a wooden cage – a square monstrosity. Crammed inside were children.

Aaron’s stomach turned so violently it was a miracle he didn’t retch. Around thirty young boys and girls were trapped inside, forced to kneel in the small cage. It wasn’t tall enough for any of them to stand up in. Their tears tracked paths down their dirt-streaked faces; small hands pressed against the wooden bars, begging to be let out. Aaron felt sick.

“My God!” he breathed.

Kyran didn’t say anything, but his eyes had darkened as he stared from one small face to the other.

“They’re mages,” Aaron whispered. “Why don’t they use their powers?” He knew the place was an open zone – an area without a Gate – but surely the instinct to survive would have taken over.

“Take a closer look, Ace,” Kyran said, a slight growl underlined his words.

Aaron didn’t know what he was supposed to be looking for, but after a moment or two of staring from one sobbing child to another, it clicked. The mages, all of them, were children. None of them looked even close to the age of thirteen, when their core would awaken and give them their powers. They were just kids; completely vulnerable and unable to protect themselves.

“Come on,” Kyran said and turned towards the hut that was adjacent to the caged children. “Our weapons must be in there.”

“What makes you say that?” Aaron asked.

“It’s the only decent-looking one, which makes it the chief Abarimon’s hut,” Kyran said. “I swear, if he’s touched my sword with those filthy claws of his I’m gonna split him in two!”

“Focus, Kyran,” Aaron said. “We have bigger problems.” He stared at the caged children. It was one thing to kill all the Abarimons and take their valley so they could escape, but a whole other situation when they had to do it with thirty panicked, sobbing children at risk of getting caught in the crossfire.

Aaron followed behind Kyran, going from one tree to another, hiding behind each. The Abarimons seemed distracted; between scraping the last bits of meat off the carcasses and dragging wood into a large pile, none of them noticed who was moving in the shadows. It took Kyran and Aaron almost eight minutes to time their stealthy, short sprints from one tree to the next. They had almost reached the hut when two Abarimons walked out of it. One was the marginally clean-looking Abarimon – the one who had stood in front of Kyran. The other, Aaron realised, was the demon they had chased into this valley.

“He must be the chief,” Aaron whispered, staring at the slightly cleaner-looking Abarimon.

Kyran didn’t say anything. He simply watched, waiting for the two demons to walk away. Unfortunately, only the chief walked away, leaving the other Abarimon to guard the doorless hut.

“Now what?” Aaron urged.

Kyran gave the hut and the demon pacing before it a final look before gesturing Aaron to follow. Using the cover of the trees and the shadows from the setting sun, both boys made their way to the back of the hut. Leaving Aaron to stay behind, Kyran inched around to one side of the hut. Staying pressed up against the wall, Kyran leant around the edge to see the Abarimon still pacing and growling, staring at the caged children with barely hidden hunger. Kyran shifted from the side of the hut, just enough so the frightened children could see him. Looks of surprise and desperate hope flitted across the faces of the children, alerting the Abarimon. The demon turned to look behind, following the childrens’ stares. It didn’t see anything.

Grunting with suspicion, the Abarimon moved forward, the curved nails of its backward feet scratching against the dry ground as it headed to investigate behind the hut. As soon as the Abarimon turned the corner, Kyran leapt at it. His hands grabbed the Abarimon’s head, his feet on the demon’s chest. Without missing a beat, Kyran twisted his hands and the Abarimon fell to the ground, taking Kyran with it. As the dead demon hit the ground, Kyran simply stepped off. Straightening his coat, Kyran turned to look at the body at his feet. Glancing up, he found Aaron staring at him with horror.

“What?” Kyran asked. “At least it can see its toes now.”

Aaron gaped at him, rapidly turning pale.

“Don’t go squeamish on me, Ace,” Kyran warned and gestured for him to follow.