A Nameless Dark

Chapter 18

Lin walked up the front steps and disappeared into the lake house. After a long moment, the shock of her sudden reappearance wore off enough for the rest of us to follow her inside and gather in the large kitchen. I felt a mixture of relief that she'd returned from her apparently dangerous errand in one piece, and concern at the state she was in. Both washed over me in a single wave, then receded and left in their wake a seething anger and an unexpected compulsion to find whoever or whatever had hurt Lin and make them suffer. It was entirely irrational of course. Lin was able to handle herself much better in a fight than I ever would, and she had far more experience using her power in battle than I did. But that logic did nothing to cool the burning in my chest or clear the red from my vision. I gritted my teeth in fuming silence as I followed the others through the house.

Lin sat on the pinewood kitchen table with her feet on the bench seat while Thaddeus treated her wounds, which were numerous, but not severe. I tried to question her about where she'd been and what had happened to her, but she stopped me with a look that was sharper and more menacing than the gigantic sword she carried around. I pretended to lose my train of thought and looked away.

The Professor laid out a light meal of sandwiches and beer and we ate in silence while Thaddeus worked and Lin stared into space with an expression that was unreadable. Once her injuries were bandaged and our appetites sated, Lin insisted we leave immediately.

No one braved to object.

We gathered a few provisions and left the Compound sometime after midnight, following Lin's directions from Wyoming back down into Colorado. With very few cars on the road that late at night, we made good time, and after four hours of driving we pulled into a rusted out gas station in a town called Twin Lakes, Colorado. From there, we parked the minivan and continued on foot.

Our path took us off the road, venturing into rugged foothills along a poorly marked trail which I doubted had ever been included on any hiking map. Lin had stowed the severed head in a backpack and she carried it on her back like the worlds' most disgusting picnic lunch. It bounced obscenely in front of us as we trekked behind her through a crisp December morning. A conquering sun rose to reclaim the sky at our backs and we made our slow way up into the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains.

The going was rough. None of us were accustomed to climbing at high altitude and we stopped often to catch our breath. As we climbed higher, intermittent patches of snow grew larger and more frequent, hiding treacherous footing in the form of unseen cracks and holes in the trail. Lin seemed to have no problem with the climb. She was clearly impatient to get where we were going, but she kept a slower pace without complaint, catering to those of us who'd spent our entire lives in rural Ohio farm country.

During one lengthy rest, Lin found a seat on a bench-high boulder, and Lara wandered over to sit next to her.

"So, what is it?" Lara asked, pointing a delicate finger at the backpack where it rested on the ground near Lin's feet.

I listened from a few feet away, trying to appear as if I wasn't paying attention. If anyone besides my sister had asked that question, I doubted they would have received any response other than a scathing look. But Lara was Lara, and after a stiff moment of silence, Lin sighed, deflating a bit and resting her elbows on her knees.

"It's called a Mǎmiàn," she said, nudging the backpack irreverently with the toe of her boot. "The ancient Chinese believed these creatures to be guardians of the underworld. In reality, they're servants of The Nameless Dark corrupted by their use of its power."

"Like the Wasted?" Lara asked.

"A little like that, yes. But these monstrosities are far older. The Wasted are weak willed fools who tampered with a power they did na' understand an' became little more than puppets controlled by the Nameless Dark. The Mǎmiàn are necromancers, an' they're far too smart to be subverted so easily."