The Land of Gods and Beasts

Chapter 9

Esther

"If you want to live, don't make a sound."

My eyes widened as the words were whispered in my ear, heart pounding in my chest. I stared into the glowing green eyes in terror.

"I'm here to help you, whether you believe me or not. But if you make a sound, we are dead. Do you understand?" Mallok's voice was barely audible, voice shaking slightly. I stared at him for a second before I nodded, and he slowly slid his hand from my mouth.

"I need you to slowly sit up and move towards the mouth of the cave, okay?"

I nodded again. Terror was paralyzing my vocal cords, the awful scent of festering carrion flooding my nose. I slowly inched my body upright but froze when I heard it. The sound of nails on rock came from the depths of the back of the cave. Clicking and scratching as though it wanted us to hear it coming. Wanted us shitting ourselves in fear.

If my stomach weren't empty, I very well could've.

"Move, now." Mallok whisper hissed at me.

I sat up the rest of the way, slowly, so carefully.

A gurgled laugh echoed, nails screeching across stone.

My heart pounded so fiercely I was sure the monster could hear it. Mallok gripped my right arm tugging me to my feet, and slowly pulling me backwards. Both of us crept blindly towards the exit, refusing to put our backs to whatever hellish creature was emerging from the darkness. Almost there, moonlight touching my bare feet as we got closer to salvation. My chest eased in relief, a cool breeze from outside shifting my hair.

The cave was suddenly drenched in black, my back slammed against stone, and I looked over my shoulder in horror. The exit to the cave was gone, just simply gone. I looked to Mallok's ashen face; he shook his head in disbelief. Whatever was coming for us had sealed us in, trapped us.

"There once was a golden head, how beautifully it bled, so many tears it shed, before it was gloriously dead."

The voice scraped over every one of my bones, puncturing my ears and freezing every muscle. A horrible tune ripped from a wretched throat, lilting and awful. Goosebumps burst along my flesh as a rancid breath tickled my left ear.

"Glorious darkness cackled in delight, the kingdoms screamed in fright, unable to escape their saviors' blight, they hid their forms from hell's sight."

I trembled as the tip of a claw traced a stinging line down my throat, stopping between my breasts. It pushed deeper and ripped the shirt. The golden mark blazing on my chest dimly illuminating the cave and blood trickling down my chest. I refused to look at it, refused to move as the creature petted my hair. Mallok's hand gripped my arm tighter, his hand cold and shaking.

A wet tongue slithered over my ear, "a sister betrays the other."

A gravelly chuckle, "a god slaughters a mother."

The thing stepped in front of me, bending from its massive height to bring us face to face.

"The war, to end, us all."

The monsters mouth stretched into a dripping jagged smile.

A face that looked as though someone had stretched tanned leather over the skull of a humanoid creature. Vertical slits cut for eyes that held nothing but depthless dark. Branching horns curling crookedly from the top of its head, shredded flesh stringing between its points. The monsters body was no more than skin stretched taught over a massive unproportioned skeleton. Claws as long as my hand hanging from too long fingers, on too long arms.