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 Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:04 pm
"Why is there no in-between with this place," Crow said in sudden irritation. "It's either ridiculously pretty or scary as hell. What the ******** water sloshed gently below, and she looked down over the rail of the bridge, half-climbing the plinth of one of the statues to get a better look. The light from the water made her squint until she felt nearly blinded, and she turned away with a shrug.
"Let's go, Jeddy," she said.
"I don't like that nickname," Jeddeth said absently, crouched at the foot of the bridge and staring sightlessly at the end, far on the other side.
"What is it?" Julian asked, the first words he'd said since Rabid had pushed him away from her. He looked unaccountably worn out.
"...it's nothing," Jeddeth said, its attention still elsewhere. "Nearly there. Come."
Leading the group onto the bridge, the creature was still distracted, clucking its tongue and murmuring, looking for things it could sense but could not see. It was beginning to rattle Crow's ever-delicate calm, to say the least.
"Jeddeth, what?" she asked it sharply. It said nothing in reply, scooting ahead on all fours, head swinging in serpentine motion. Crow made a sharp 'tsk'.
And beside her, an elegant statue of a woman opened its carved marble eyes, stone bending like flesh as it bent its head down to look at her.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:06 pm
Rabid shrieked and ducked away.
"WOAH!" Liam yelped and shrnak back a bit, staring wide-eyed up at the...thing. What the hell WAS it with this place and cracked-out moving things?!
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:15 pm
Julian turned, vague interest sparking into sudden alarm as he grabbed Crow and pulled her sharply away from the statue. The carven woman regarded them silently, stone eyelids blinking imperiously over blank eyes. Jeddeth gave a startled hiss and loomed over Liam and Rabid, teeth snapping. The stone woman's face shifted into an expression of pain and fear, and she slowly raised her hand to cover her face. Her head bowed, and Jeddeth shrank back, suddenly shamed.
The unexplained breezes that ruffled the surface of the water suddenly grew into a strong wind that screamed through the cavern, carrying voices speaking in a hundred different languages. The light grayed and Crow dared to slink past the now-still statue, looking below. She shrieked.
A mass of cloudy black and gray people stood on the surface of the water, all looking up. Some pointed, some raised their arms as though begging to be lifted from the pit, and they all called out.
Crow staggered back, stumbling against Julian. The voices faded mournfully, and Crow was chilled to the bone as she heard English among them, some cursing her and her brother both by name, some begging forgiveness, and all suddenly fading into terrible silence.
There was a sound of shifting stone, and all the statues held their faces in their hands as though they wept.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:17 pm
Rabid carefully stepped over and touched one. She felt...bad? She was on a suicide mission in the one place she was absolutely terrified of...and she felt bad for statues?
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:26 pm
"Off the bridge," Crow said, voice tightened with panic. "Need to get off now. Off. OFF."
Julian shushed her gently, though he was no less terrified than she. He'd heard Vavvian voices. Two, to be exact. And neither had been particularly pleased with him. Jeddeth shepherded the group off the bridge quickly, casting glances down at the seemingly-peaceful water again. The gray light did not return, and the statues remained still, cast into their mourning poses. As Jeddeth nearly pushed them all off the bridge, it gave a rattled growl of relief.
"That's new," it said warily. Julian balked.
"You mean they don't usually do that?" he asked, incredulous.
"The shades? No. Nahedathal never lets them wander. There are too many now, he can't hold onto them anymore. They're angry, and they're scared. They sensed living things and they reached out in desperation."
Crow turned a color that was perfectly sickly.
"People we've killed are down there, aren't they," she said. Jeddeth hesistated.
"You've never killed anyone," it said carefully, regarding the siblings. "Not once. Ever."
Crow let out a hysterical laugh, remembering Benjamin Wheeler's vindicated face as she shot him in the chest.
"That was never your choice," the creature said insistently, guiding them away from the bridge and down a narrow corridor. "You were never allowed to choose. He forced your hand and made it seem it was you yourself that did it."
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:30 pm
Liam swallowed hard and Rabid hugged himself.
"So...there's..."
"Mmh."
"...nnf."
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:36 pm
The aching desire to see Ben ripped through Crow so suddenly she staggered. The hateful old b*****d had made her kill him. Tears burned down her face and she bit back a scream, stumbling. Every person she'd hurt, the people she'd killed, it was all Nahedathal's fault, his doing. She felt violated to the core, and she stumbled, skidding onto her hands and knees. It was too much. She wanted to hurt him. She wanted to kill him. She wanted to be the monster she'd always thought she was. Instead, she sobbed, mourning for her friend, for her enemies, sick with shame. The sob turned into a low, hysterical laugh, and Julian hoisted her up, cradling her before guiding her on, murmuring in Rijani, coaxing her along like a child.
The corridor opened into another cave, devoid of most of the water's light, and it held a door bound in chains. The stench of iron and salt was so terrible and strong it made the air burn as the siblings breathed, daggers to their throats and lungs and acidic burning washing over their skin.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:53 pm
Liam remembered the whole...thing with the arrow and stood in front of Crow as if to protect her, staring up at the door.
"Um?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:06 pm
Crow clung to Liam, coughing and choking. Her nose had begun to bleed and her eyes teared from the burning stink. Julian, snorting blood of his own and trying to ignore how much it hurt, looked at the towering door hatefully. It stood forbidding and unmoving.
"I'm here," he breathed. The room was silent. "I'm here, you b*****d. I'm HERE!"
The silence remained. Julian grit his teeth, blood spilling from his nose and over his lip. He was aware of the people behind him, the pain and fear and suffering he'd caused, willing or no. Spurred by rage he'd held in check for too long, he smashed his fist into the door. His knuckles split and blistered from the touch of the iron.
"I'M HERE!" he roared. "YOU MISERABLE ********, I'M HERE!"
Jeddeth sat silently, waiting out its masters rage. The last time they had come to this room, Julian had been in chains, and had been forced to kneel like a supplicant before a god as Jeddeth took the Dhev-Anak and cut him, forcing him to bleed out his soul for Nahedathal. It waited, letting its master vent his anger. Again and again he struck the door, leaving blood but no other mark. Every bit of rage, every hateful thought, he vented it, until his crushed hand would allow no more damage and he staggered back, cradling it as it healed.
"Little child all done its temper," a voice said from above.
"Yes yes, all worn out from its tantrum," another tittered.
"What shall we do with these intruders four?"
"Force them back, make them flee, no place for them here."
"Skin the lot, make them bleed."
Crow, holding her sleeve to her nose and leaning on Liam, worn out beyond words, gave no response to the voices other than an annoyed grunt.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:09 pm
Liam wrapped his trembling arms around Crow, certain that this was it. He looked up, searching for the source of the voices. Rabid, however, had been once again reduced to a sniveling ball of tears and sat backed up against a wall.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:25 pm
Crow clung to Liam, pressing her head against his chest and listening to his heartbeat. At least, she thought with some semblance of comfort, she'd get to die with Liam. She supposed that made it okay.
Julian, trembling with fresh rage, looked up. Dozens upon dozens of eyes looked back at him, and sinuous bodies slithered down the walls. His eyes never left them as he went to stand by Rabid, shielding her without a second thought.
"Look at the princeling, one creature said, its mouthless face leering at him.
"All grown up and so very sad," another replied.
"Bring with him the little whore and her friends,"
"b***h! Whore!"
Crow flinched, and clung to Liam tighter. The sinuous creatures loomed, not very tall or menacing. They laughed and whispered and jeered, reptilian eyes flicking over them all. They looked at Jeddeth and some shied away, but most came forward fearlessly.
"Slave," they jeered. "Little echo. Weak as the brat yonder. Worthless pet!"
"Nothing to say?" one of the creatures asked, its head tilting as it regarded Julian. He looked at impassively, still shielding Rabid. The creature laughed and struck him, hand raking across his face. His head snapped to one side and a vivid trail of red was left behind, the wound closing with a wet sound. He turned back to the creature, shaking with rage. It laughed, face suddenly peeling back into three segments and a long tongue lolling out. Julian's brows arched.
The Dhev-Anak sliced through the creature's throat and severed its head from it shoulders before it could blink.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:27 pm
Oh, okay. So it was cool to kill these things. Liam immediately drew a pistol from intangibility and popped off a couple of shots into a couple of creepy, hellish heads, all the time clinging to Crow with his bad arm.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:37 pm
All hell broke loose.
Julian, refusing to leave Rabid, stabbed and slashed as more of the creatures rushed him, howling. Jeddeth gave a metallic shriek and charged, seizing the scimitar Julian had abandoned and wielding it with long-borne ease, smashing skulls and slicing the monsters apart.
Crow, clinging to Liam with dead calm, watched the carnage.
The knots of violence seethed in the chamber, blood splattering as the creatures blindly charged and were cut down, either by the blade or by bullets. They reminded Crow vaguely of lemmings, which amused her for some absurd reason. As one of the creatures came from behind, intent on biting Liam's head off his shoulders, she let go and jabbed her claws deep into its throat, yanking back hard. The throat went with her. Another creature charged. She grabbed hold of its jaw and tore it off, and stamped on its head when it fell screaming. Julian stared, mouth slightly agape.
"Julian," Jeddeth rasped. Julian started, looking wildly at the creature. It pointed at the door urgently. "Just go!"
"It's chained shut!" he retorted, slashing the Dhev-Anak and cutting one of the monsters down midstride.
"Then cut it open, idiot!" the creature half-shouted, sounding very much like Crow in its exasperation. Julian hesitated, looking to Rabid. He shook his head, more intent on keeping her safe. Jeddeth roared with frustration and vaulted over the seething crowd, pushing Julian and warding Rabid itself.
"GO!"
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:41 pm
Liam smiled proudly and continued squeezing off shots, pausing only for a moment to reload as the magazine emptied. Aaah, it'd been so long since he'd been so goddamned ecstatic. So long since he'd seen the Pink Mist! Rabid, however, stayed curled in the fetal position, sobbing hysterically and certain that she was going to die right here and now.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:48 pm
Julian wanted nothing more than to get back to Rabid and protect her, but he was pinned on the opposite side of the room. The Dhev-Anak was slick with blood as he set it to the door and drew a long slash. The metal whispered open like a sigh under the razor point of the blade. Astonished, he set the dagger in deeper and cut again. The door gave way without protest. Staring at the knife in awe, he took one last look at the battleground the chamber had turned into, and had to force himself to go inside.
Crow, still effused with the calm certainty that they were going to die, wandered into the middle of the room and watched as the screaming, seething monsters circled her.
"Shut up," she said quietly, "And leave us alone."
A creature struck out at her, leaving long raking slashes across her belly. Crow staggered back a step, but the calm remained.
"You're not listening," she said, and struck the creature across the face. It flew back and slammed into the wall, body crushed against the stone. Many of the creatures stopped and gawked. The wall was a good twelve feet away, and Crow was very small compared to them.
She smiled.
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