A Hero in the Dark: 2nd Edition

Chapter 16: Greetings Vishnu

"Why're we stopping?" Crayton asks when Sharma pulls up by a pond and a waterfall against the side of a jagged cliff; it's barely more than forty feet in width.

Sharma points up without looking at any of us; that's when I see it: Someone's up there. It looks like a blue man sitting cross-legged on a rock next to where the water flows, and that's exactly what it is, but he's got an extra pair of arms!

He rises and looks down. I can't tell which of us he's looking at, but eventually, he springs into action. He jumps, executing a perfect dive into the water. He barely even makes a splash! We wait for him to rise for air, but he doesn't.

"This is your first test," Sharma explains. "One of you must face him underwater."

Me, Marina, and Ella glance at each other, and Pixie stares up at me. Even she feels nervous, but I'm not sure if it's me that's shaking or her.

"I'll go, I guess," Marina says at last and steps forward.

"Hold on. I don't think that's a good idea," Adelina intervenes.

"Right. We have no idea what's waiting for you down there," Henri agrees.

"I'll be fine," Marina assures. "I'll be careful. We need to meet this Vishnu person and see if he's Number Eight or not." Then she wades into the water 'till her thighs are hidden beneath the surface. Soon, her entire body is submerged, and the bubbles disappear.

The pond returns to stillness, and the ripples cease.

Minutes pass—three, five, seven, ten. How long is this test supposed to take? How do we know something didn't happen to her? Wait, the charm. John's ankle! I stare at it but nothing changes, and thankfully, when I look back, Marina's out, unscathed, or if she was hurt, healed. "What happened?" I ask.

"She passed," Sharma answers.

"Now what?" Ella wonders.

A roar shrieks from the top of the cliffside where the blue-man creature was. How'd he get up there so fast?! It dives as gracefully as last time but falls into the water with a mighty splash, then rises as a half-man, half-lion thing—with the body of a human and the head of a lion and as many as ten arms. It stares at us, then focuses in on Ella. "Oh. My. God," she says.

"No," Crayton says. "You're not ready for this—it's too much."

"No, it's okay, Papa. I'll be ok. I can do this." I wonder if even she believes that.

Marina joins me at my side as the creature moves towards the girl. Ella steps towards it. She shrinks, and that I find surprising. What is she doing?! How is altering her age supposed to help? She's littler, delicate, half my height, and the creature is menacing, powerful—God-like!

It swings all ten arms at her; she ducks and avoids each one, and suddenly, I understand what her game plan is, but that doesn't make me any less worried. She's more maneuverable than her opposing enemy. They dance around a tree, the monster's fists beating the trunk instead of her, until eventually, the tree starts to tilt. Ella doubles back from it, but it still pursues her.

Marina steps forward, nudges the monstrosity enough like she's pulling an invisible string and Ella rolls out of the falling tree's trajectory. It's only when the God-like creature is underneath the thing that it blinks out of existence. "Ella! That was amazing!" Marina cries. "You okay?"

"What in the hell was that?" Adelina demands.

"That," Sharma replies, "was another test, which she passed. There's one more."

Again, a roar from the cliff, this one the loudest of the others. It leaps and dives, rises again, and—heads straight for me! It's big, tall, menacing—not to mention the big swinging axe in its hand!

John puts an arm out in front of me. "Whoa, that's not fair! She doesn't even have Legacies! She can't defend herself like we can."

I force a shaky breath and put a hand on his shoulder, remembering the events in Spain. "It's ok, John. I'll be fine," I assure him. I have to be.

It storms forward and Pixie bristles, jumping from my arms. I call to her, beg her to be careful, but she's already mid shift. I doubt my old lion ally will be enough to stop this thing, whoever or whatever this creature is, but I can only hope.

It raises the axe high above its head and swings, a swiping motion from its right down to its left. Pixie charges, but the warlord disappears.

"Emily! Watch out!" Ella shouts.

Suddenly, it's behind me. I stutter back, and it swings.

I catch the axe before it hits me, but he's strong, stronger than me. I stare into his eyes—they're forest green—all the while gritting my teeth.

Pixie launches herself at him and attaches to his ankle, and like that, his strength falters and he cries out in a demonic howl. I pull away from him to catch my breath and watch while the two of them brawl. It doesn't take long for him to pin the Chimæra's head into the dirt though. It moves the weapon down onto her throat. No! Not her! I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to her!

I throw myself forward and tear the giant off. He's heavy, and I'm surprised I was able to move him at all. He focuses on me again, smirks even, and I gulp but swallow my nerves down. I won't be as helpless as I was in Spain; I'm going to be stronger. I'll show to the Loric that I can be; so be it if I need to start with a God.

It raises the axe and swings for my head, but I grab his arm and push him back, keep the sharp end as far as I can keep it. He's strong; there's no doubt about it. I duck and weave around him. Pixie, having gotten up, resumes gnawing at his knee, and I kick him in the back of the shin.

Thankfully, he goes down, his breath hot and heavy on my face. I reach for him, grab his axe that's still firmly in his grip, and pull it towards his throat. Now he's in my arms; I prefer it that way. It makes this easier.

His axe scrapes his neck; I can see an open cut. I'm overpowering him, somehow. Somehow, he's growing weak. He breathes against my chest like he's just run a marathon, and as soon as the reality hits me for what I'm about to do, I freeze, and he disappears.

He just... disappears, and I drop the axe before it smashes into my chest. I fall to my butt, expecting him to show up again, but he doesn't. He's nowhere. He's... gone.

"Congratulations," Sharma says, standing at his most calm; he's clapping even! "You have defeated three of Vishnu's avatars: The first was Kurma, a half-man, half-tortoise who churned the ancient ocean so other Gods could regain immortality; the second was Narismha, one of the most powerful incarnations of Vishnu; the last was Parashurama, Vishnu's highest-ranking soldier. Now, we await Lord Vishnu's arrival."

"We're done waiting," Crayton states, jaw set, and fists clenched while John helps me to my feet. "He better show himself and fast."

"Chill, chill, chill," a boy says then, emerging from the high grass. "The Commander was just following my orders. I was being cautious." A blue boy stalks towards us, four arms turned outward as if he's offering his guiding hands. He's smiling, transforming like Pixie does as his skin changes from blue to tan. "I've been waiting a long time to meet you."