Short Stories by Crystal Scherer

The Call Of The Sentry

The Call Of The Sentry

Not sure about this one. All I had was the first half of the first sentence when I started writing. But I wrote it, so here it is - whatever this thing is...

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The desert wind whipped around me as I walked onward, refusing to look back at the collection of camel-hide tents. The cloth wrapped around my hand fluttered loose, and I let it blow away. The light turquoise mark on the back of my hand was finally uncovered after having been hidden for over a year, ever since it had first appeared.

The mark of the Sentry.

I had hidden it so well! But I didn't regret saving my sister from the cobra. It had bit my hand, which had led to our mother frantically unwrapping my "fashion accessory" and discovering the mark.

Cursed.

I frowned at my hand. Tiny red pinpricks marked where the snake had pierced my skin, but the venom had done no damage. The immunity to a snake bite must have something to do with being a Sentry.

Whatever that meant.

All I knew about Sentries came from stories that told of distant figures who had been driven mad by the mark. They ceaselessly haunted the desert, searching for victims. Their hunt cries were occasionally heard in the middle of the night as they cornered some poor victim.

The stories had always made me skeptical. Why search the desert so hard when the tribes were easily seen? Surely the strings of blue and green gems strung around the perimeter of the camp wouldn't keep them out—it hadn't kept me in or out.

But too many people had gone missing from various tribes to attribute to wild animals or other dangers lurking in the desert.

Regardless of the reasons, the tribe had wasted no time in forcing me out with just enough supplies to get to the next oasis.

Kicked out.

Exiled.

I grit my teeth and blinked away tears. I hadn't done anything to deserve this! There were no signs of madness or uncontrollable anger! I'd saved my sister, not attacked her!

And I had to walk away for her sake, lest she be forced out with me.

I couldn't do that to her. She was my sister, my only sibling. Blood ran deep. She'd seen my hand five months ago and kept my secret. The only person I could trust.

The sun beat down on me, but I barely felt it. Another side effect of the mark, although I already knew about that one, having discovered it weeks after the first dot of green had appeared on my hand.

The crunching of sand made me look up. A horse stood in front of me; its coat was a glossy red, and its hooves looked like polished stone. Too perfect. Rumors said Sentries were accompanied by an animal that helped them lure humans into their traps. It watched me expectantly.

I turned my head away and kept walking. I wasn't about to get on that thing. Who knew where it would take me. I planned to stay nearby and protect the tribe from the Sentries if they ventured too close. I had my bow and my dagger, and I knew how to use them.

The horse gave a confused snort and moved in front of me again. I walked by while ignoring it. It followed me for a while—I could hear its hooves on the sand—but it eventually veered to the side and left, disappearing like a heat haze.

I spotted palm trees in the distance when a jackal trotted alongside me with a yip. Not that I could really call it a jackal. It was waist-high, and the shaggy fur along its back was far too glossy. Just like the horse.

I ignored it as well, and it eventually disappeared. I reached the water and filled my water skin before sitting under a palm tree.

Tomorrow, I could venture into the scrublands for food and something to build a shelter. The Sentries were unfortunately common in those areas, and I wasn't sure if they'd count me as one of them or not.

I watched the sun set, and the stars appear overhead. A panicked scream pierced the silence—that had been my sister! I jumped to my feet and took off running. The moonlight couldn't account for how well I could see.

I came over the ridge to see something circling my sister. I pulled my bow off my back and fired several arrows. A silvery glow marked their trail. All three arrows struck the beast in the back, and it dropped to all fours and turned with a guttural snarl.

I slid to a stop as my eyes widened. What was this creature? It vaguely reminded me of a hairless dog the size of a donkey, but its back was covered in quills as long as my dagger. Its stout jaws were filled with far too many curved teeth. The quills on its back rose as it paced toward me.

My sister edged away, her arms wrapped around herself. I had to distract this thing. I grabbed my dagger and drew it. Pale blue light shimmered across the metal like gentle moonlight. The mark on the back of my hand also glowed a faint green.

I stared at them. This had never happened before...

A snarl and the thud of charging feet made my head jerk up. I spun to the side at the last second, barely dodging the creature's claws. My dagger slashed along its side. It roared and twisted on its hind feet, far more nimble than something that size should be.

The whoosh of wings came from above, and a huge great horned owl dove down, clawing at the creature's head with its talons. The creature stumbled back, falling to all fours as the talons sliced through the skin on its head. When it reached up to slash at the owl with its claws, I lunged forward with my dagger.

I skipped back and tried to dodge as the creature charged again. My back hit the sand with a thud that echoed through my lungs. I barely got my hands up in time to punch the underside of the creature's jaw, snapping the teeth shut before they could close around my throat.

My heart raced as I struggled to keep the jaws closed. The whoosh of wings descended again, and moonlight glinted off the black talons as they dug into the creature's head. It reared with a pained roar.

A deep voice echoed through my mind. "Fire an arrow into its eye!"

I grabbed my bow from beside me, which had somehow remained unbroken, and immediately loosed an arrow at the creature towering over me. The silvery arrow struck true, and the creature toppled backward, thrashing.

By the time I got to my feet, it had stilled. Its body began dissipating into an oily-looking smoke. Soon, nothing was left besides tracks and memories.

I glanced back at my sister. She was still safe. I breathed a sigh of relief before looking up at the sound of wings.

The owl—which was as similar to a regular great horned owl as the jackal had been, easily being three times as large and with stunning coloration—landed on a nearby rock and regarded me with piercing yellow eyes. They glowed exactly like my arrows, blade, and mark had.

The deep voice appeared in my head again. "You need more training to be able to fight the shadows."

Without question, I knew the voice had come from the owl. I regarded him dubiously, wary, but remembering how he had helped me. "You'll help me protect people?"

He blinked slowly. "Some humans fall prey to greed and the desire for power or revenge. They prey upon the innocent. Some humans wish to protect, and they fight against the shadows. As long as you fight against the evils that stalk this world, I will assist."

Hadn't that been what I wanted? To protect my sister and the tribe?

I nodded slowly.

Perhaps I had been a Sentry at heart for longer than I had realized.