The Call of Nys #5 (Waverly Stump and The 7 Realms)

33 - J U D S O N

Warily, Judson put distance between himself and the climbers behind to prevent getting trapped a second time, especially in such a situation.

His eyes stayed ever fixed on the malicious beast. Her giant paws met the ground without noise each time she took gentle steps. It appeared that, over time, she had shed her filthy companions - flies. Her open flesh, though, remained an ever repulsive sight.

"You remember me well, don't you?"

His eyes twitched in an attempt to shut because of the ugly things
that flashed before them for a moment, but he kept them wide open. The slightest distraction could lead to his quick demise.

"Malva!" He acknowledged, more as a way to ease the cooking burden of her name inside his chest than cordiality.

Her chuckle was low and devious. "Even the Empyreals could not erase me from your mind."

"They did not put you there." He corrected. The mere sight of her had ignited far too many unpleasant and tormenting memories in his head; memories he believed had long quenched after his cleansing in the Celestial Mountains.

"No," She agreed. "You did."

"What do you want?"

Every attempt to calm his nerves only resulted in more ribboning and serious unease. The state of discomfort that clothed him from the lioness's presence grew at an alarming rate by the second. He broke into sweat, and his fingers numbed; he saw great fires, heard screams, envisioned corpses in thousands, and smelled smoke. The air started to fill with a stench fouler than the one he already stood in. Fear encroached him just as the vines had previously done, causing his knees to quiver.

Unsurprisingly, Malvarëken was the cause of his terror. She was the personification of Fear and her presence alone had ignited the emotion in him a lot stronger than any living thing could manage.

"You know I never want anything, old friend. Although, what I want mortals can never give."

When she paused, he easily guessed what her next words would be.

"You could've given it!"

They sounded accusatory.

"Not me." He denied, growing a bit testy. "I wanted nothing to do with you. . . or him."

"Yet it was you, out of a thousand others, that proved worthy enough to host him. You carried his throne. You alone possessed the strength to, the will, the advantage. . ." Her paws slapped noisily against the earth. "And what did you do?"

He braced his numb self.

Her voice had taken on a very sharp edge. Malice burned in her eyes as did mad fury. She was twice his size, with keen claws the length of small daggers. Her leaping range was twice that of any Rage or lion, making him doubt he would be able to soar far from her reach in the case of an attack.

"You expelled him!" She roared a few times, clawing at the soil. "You dared to visit the Empyreals; you thwarted my master and reduced me to nothing. I have lost my intended place in all the realms because of you and that piddly mice."

Then, abruptly, she stopped, eyes darting in search for a moment.

"Your quest will fail!" Each word was dragged, like nails against a board, with anger and disdain. "You will die before you reach what you so desperately seek."

Her body began to contract, her growls rattling through the atmosphere like stones during an earthquake.

"I will make sure of that!"

Just as he predicted, he was unable to elude her when she took a gigantic leap.

Malva caught him midair and sunk all ten of her claws into him.