Nick: A Winter's Tale

Chapter Seven: The Jaws of Darkness

The beast charged forward, its claws scraping the snow as it went, sending it flying in plumes behind it. Nick was frozen in place, peril forcing him to be still, until he was forced to the ground by Lu'cian, narrowly missing a claw as it swept up towards his face.

The sudden drop snapped Nick out of his trance, and he found he could move once more. He scrambled in the snow, kicking up more flurries as the clawed limbs stomped down around him. Lu'cian slashed at the beast's arm before it could grab at Nick's head.

"Run!" Lu'cian shouted. Nick jumped to his feet just in time to see Lu'cian stab the creature's shoulder, causing it to screech in pain. Nick began to run towards Donner, his legs numb with fear, each step threatening to drop him to the floor once again. Lu'cian slashed at the creature's face, striking it on the underside of its jaw, which gave him enough time to re-embark the sled.

Donner and the Wolf ran even faster than before, speeding through the forest. Nick ducked and dodged as clawed branches flew past at breakneck speed. Nick's breath was sharp in his chest, his heart was pounding so fiercely he could feel it against his skin.

The horrifying sound of the creatures chasing them reach his ears. Claws scraping rock, branches snapping and splintering, and ever present the bone chilling screaming.

Nick glanced a look over his shoulder, and to his immediate horror he noticed not one, but three of the creatures following. One of them was leaving a trail of inky black blood, evidently caused by the gashes that Lu'cian had left in it.

"They're gaining," Nick shouted, his throat straining from how loud and fearful it was.

"We're not going to outrun them!" Ar'gin's voice sounded back. Sure enough, the stomping was only growing louder. Tears were now forming in Nick's eyes, which began to freeze in place, only adding to the discomfort of the moment.

On and on the mounts ran, but the sickly beasts inched ever closer. Nick had no idea where they were now, but thankfully Lu'cian enlightened him.

"Not long now!" he called, "If we make it to the village, there's a protective stave around it. They won't be able to pass through!"

A sliver of hope found its way into Nick. He tensed himself, braced as hard as he could and shouted for Donner to sprint as fast as he could, to which the deer obliged. On and on and on through the snow they churned, but with great sadness they realised the creature's were almost upon them.

"We're not going to make it," said Ar'gin gravely, staring into the orb-like eyes of the beasts. She hesitated for a second, before standing up and turning to face them.

"Ar'gin, no!" Lu'cian called, "We're so close now, we can make it!"

"If we don't do something, we're all going to be mincemeat!" she snapped back. She began to chant in her ancient tongue once more, the tip of he staff beginning to swirl with a glowing green mist. Her voice began to echo around them once more, as though spoken by every tree. The mist glowed more and more, turning a brilliant shade of gold, before it flew like a beam towards the beasts.

Below them, great roots burst forth from the snow, causing chunks of ice and rock to go flying in all directions. Two of the creatures were struck and killed instantly, impaled upon thick wooden thorns that gnarled and twisted around their bodies, but the third was forced towards them by the momentum of the blast, and with one slash of its claws, it cut a gash across Ar'gin's chest.

As she was struck, Ar'gin flew from the back of the sled and rolled into the snow below, staining it a bright red. The beast collected its bearings before attempting to follow, but before it could, a great golden mist rolled in, blocking its path and causing it to crash violently, as Nick and Lu'cian crossed the threshold of the magical stave.

They brought the mounts to a halt, and Lu'cian sprinted back to the edge of the stave, staring bleakly through the mist.

"AR'GIN!" he shouted gravely, watching in vein as the creature took Ar'gin's limp body into its jaws, and carried her back into the darkness. Lu'cian fell to his knees in grief, his eyes wide and hands shaking. Nick slowly approached him, his own fear and sadness rising up like a ball in his throat.

Lu'cian sat in silence, frozen in fear and confusion, and this time it was Nick's turn to break his stupor. He placed a hand gently on his shoulder. With a slight jump Lu'cian looked up at him.

"What do we do?" he asked, "We haven't learned anything."

"You're asking me?" Nick replied "I don't understand anything. What even were those things?"

"Shadorites," Lu'cian replied, "Human souls twisted by the dark power of demons. These ones are the victims of Anha Dah'mia, the same fate which awaits the people in your town if we cannot defeat it."

Nick did not reply. A sense of fear, loss and anger was building inside him. The silence deafened them as they sat in the aftermath of what had happened. Eventually, Nick could no longer bare it. He turned and marched back towards Donner, his head hung low in defeat.

"Nick, where are you going?" Lu'cian asked. Nick said nothing, simply trudging silently through the snow, his feet dragging behind him.

"There's still time," said Lu'cian, "We can still stop the creature!"

"How?" said Nick. He turned again to face Lu'cian, his face sunken with defeat, "What can we do? We went to that witch and what did she give us? Nothing but riddles, which we paid for in blood!"

Lu'cian fell silent. Everything felt wrong. The cold and the darkness that crept in seemed unnaturally chilling.

"I can't stay here," said Nick, "I've brought nothing but ill fortune on you people. I should never have even left my cabin."

"Where will you go?" Lu'cian asked, "Nowhere is safe, Nick, Hilldale will be destroyed."

"Then the least I can do is warn them," Nick replied adamantly, "And if not, then I'd rather die with my family than alone in the woods."

Nick began to climb once more onto the back of Donner, who waited patiently as he did so. For the first time in his life, Nick felt hopeless. His very spirit felt empty, his body growing numb as he became trapped within his own thoughts. His head span with guilt and fear, making him feel dizzy.

"Nick, please," said Lu'cian, clasping his arm, "You cannot go back."

"I have to, Lu'cian," said Nick gravely, "You should return to your family. They'll want to see you. If you start now you might be able to escape before the land becomes overrun."

Lu'cian seemed as though there was something he wanted to say, but whatever it was simply would not come out. Nick began to move Donner to face the direction of town.

"Nick," said Lu'cian weakly, "If you go back there, you will only find misery."

Nick gave one last look over his shoulder. For a moment he hesitated, but the more he thought, the more he doubted how much he could help. He wasn't a warrior, nor the champion of some ancient god. He was a herder and a toymaker, and the inheritor of a business. Perhaps it was time he accepted that.

"I'm sorry Lu'cian," he said gravely, "Goodbye."

With a hearty "on, Donner!", Nick sped away into the forest, vanishing through the brush and leaving Lu'cian behind. The elf had tears in his eyes as he stared at where Nick had vanished. Slowly he turned, and re-embarked his sled. As he slowly returned to the elven village, the night had never felt more cold and more dark.