Whispers from the Dark

15. Drifting away from you

The everlasting golden path stretched before us. The last time I ran on for so long was when Artemis and I tried to run away from the Hunters. I remember the pain I felt when I found out that Barnabas was gone. Our home burned to the ground. My entire childhood eaten away by the vicious flames of the Hunters. My mother's music box, damaged. A sudden pang of realization hit me. Where was my mother's music box? Last time I had it was when we were still in the Marshes. And the Fiend came in the shape of Ash to take me with him into the Underworld. All our belongings were still there. I had nothing but the clothes on my body and my mother's cloak. The rest left behind to be buried by the Marshes' waters eventually. Tears started to well up in the corners of my eyes. I brushed them angrily away. I could not let my vision be blurred now that I was running on such a small path with the Fiend on my heels. The thought of the Fiend made me run faster. I did not want to end in his power again. But I felt my limbs getting heavy. I was tired and breathing really heavy. My heart pounding lout in my chest. I saw Artemis followed by Ash run in front of me. Ash quickly looked back and our eyes locked for a second. He winked at me and that gave me a little more strength to keep running.

Just when I thought my limbs were going to give out, we saw the end of the golden path. A strange golden arch was hovering in the darkness before us. The Arch existed of weird symbols that reminded me of the drawing from the pentagram that I found in the cave of Malignus. Ash lifted his magical stone and spoke a few demonic words. As if the arch recognised the stone, it started to glow more brightly, and a blurring image of the Marshes appeared. Artemis jumped through the blurry image, disappearing from sight. As did we. I felt the Fiend's fingers brush my arm as I jumped through the portal, landing hart on my stomach on the other side. Ash pulled me up and dragged me along. "Run faster, darling! We're almost there!" I struggled to stay on my feet and heard the loud thumb of the Fiend landing on the ground right behind us. Artemis yelped and started running faster. I had no idea where he got the energy from, but the Fiend's next words feared me enough that my legs found new strength as well. "You cannot run forever! Let the dead arise and swallow you whole!" He started to enchant something that made the hairs on my neck rise. His voice was low and hoarse, almost a whisper. The words I could not understand boomed in my head.

The ground around us started shaking. I looked around me but couldn't find the source that made the ground tremble from fear. We were back in the Marshes of the Fiend. In front of us a river doomed up. Something was drifting in the water. When we got closer I realised it was a boat. A boat to take us away from the Marshes. Maybe even take us to the Anduîn! Ash, still holding onto my hand, looked back at me. His eyes dashed away from me and widened by something he saw behind me, so I turned my head around as well.

From out of the dark portal, demons started to appear. One more fearsome than the other. I saw a vague, demon shaped woman with long talons and black hair. My breath got stuck in my throat. Oh no! Another black widow! Right behind her stepped a fearsome beast with red eyes and large horns. It looked a bit like the beast Malignus turned into. Something else crawled out of the portal. Something on all fours. A human like creature with black and red robes. With a surge of fear, I realised it was a necromancer, but his neck was crooked, and his shoulder blades stuck out like wings. He crawled really fast on all fours, apparently not bothered by his crooked body. They were followed by all kinds of living dead creatures. A few howling wolves, their fur rotten and some had no eyes left in their rotting skull. "A... Ash," my voice trembled from fear. I turned back to him a little too fast and fell over my feet. I landed hard on the ground. The muddy, smelling water of the Marshes drenching me. Ash stopped and tried to pull me out of the mud. I felt myself being sucked down by the green smelling water. "No! Help me!" I screamed to Ash. My voice had never sounded so terrified before. I was trembling and crying and screaming. Trying to get out of the water before those monsters would reach me. Artemis sprinted back and clenched his teeth around my arm. It hurt like hell, his teeth biting into my skin. Blood dripping from the wounds, making small red spots on the green mud. With Artemis' extra strength they managed to pull me out of the mud. I lay there still panting, while Artemis was growling and urging me to stand up. His tail between his legs and his eyes full of panic. I pulled myself up and looked behind me. The demons were coming near us. The Fiend nowhere in sight. "Come on, darling! We're almost there," Ash comforted me. He put one arm under my knees and the other on my back. I slung my arms around his neck and he cradled me like a babe while he started running from the terrifying demons. I saw the water side coming closer. The boat still drifting restlessly on the water, pleading us to come quickly.