The Ethereal Saga - Volume Two - The Abyss of Abaddon

Chapter Thirteen - The Prometheon

"Get in," said Cairn.
They had left the parliament behind and been led by the Vikene around the back toward a stable of a sort. A red and white quadrupedal creature with a long neck and thick trunk-like legs, pulled a carriage covered in what looked like hay and smelled suspiciously like the hay was covering something gross. Alex and the others stumbled into the cage and he forced himself to sit on the stinking hay.
He felt Ophie move gently along his shoulders.
Even killer pythons have noses, he thought. The carriage was pulled by the horse-like creature and they began to move across rarely tread grass. As they were pulled up a hill, they clung tightly to the wooden bars. He watched the town move further away with every gallop they made.
"Faster" Shouted Cairn who rode above the creature. There was a sharp whipping sound and the carriage began to shake and bounce.
Tom pointed in the distance. Alex followed his finger and saw in the distance several other slums dotted around the countryside. As they climbed higher up the steep grassy hill, more came in to view. Before long, when the ground beneath them levelled out and he felt them move across flatter ground, Alex could make out at least thirty or fourty settlements.
"There sure is a lot of them," said Tom.
Michael shrugged, "More of them than there are of us, sure."
Alex turned and spoke to their driver, "How much further?"
Cairn either did not hear him, or elected to ignore him. Alex felt little need to press the issue, although his buttocks was becoming increasingly sore with every bump.
"Hisssss!" Proclaimed Ophie.
Cairn visibly winced atop the creature and turned his head slightly so as to see them in his peripheral vision.
"Not far," he shouted back to them, "Pretty soon we'll be in her domain."
"Why are you helping us?" Alex asked, "After what happened to your friend, I thought..."
"You thought I'd never help in a million years?" interrupted Cairn, "You'd be right. But the council wills it. I will take you to the limits of the Warden's domain."
The sun hovered above the horizon and the picturesque view of calmness helped reassure Alex. They were travelling into a fight, that was for sure. Could his father really destroy it so easily? Or was it all just bravado? He would find out soon enough, he decided. Alex caught Zach's eye, who held his stare for a moment. It was a serious look he knew all too well by now. He wasn't sure if it was the lack of suspension, but he swore he saw Zach tremble ever so slightly before looking away in to the distance.
"It will be night soon," said Tom.
Michael grunted something that sounded like, "So?"
"So we're going to fight a shade, at night?" Tom queried.
Michael shrugged.
Zach twitched and as he did so turned to Michael and shot him a frustrated look, "What's the plan?"
"Same as last time," Michael replied, "Light bomb."
"You can do that?" Alex asked, "Just on demand?"
Michaels confident look faltered for a split second, but he quickly restored his air of arrogance, "Sure. Why not?"
"Why not indeed," Zach repeated under his breath.
They travelled in silence for some ten or fifteen minutes as the last of the daylight drifted away.
Alex looked up at the night sky.
"No stars," he said.
"Why would there be?" Tom asked, "Darkness is beauty as far as these places are concerned."
Any time Alex had hoped to ponder on that thought was quickly cut short by a high pitched whinny sound and an abrupt stop that sent them tumbling out of the carriage.
Cairn shouted back at them as he began to drive his steed away, "Enjoy your stay!"
Tom patted himself down and helped Alex back to his feet, "He's a sarcastic prick, isn't he?"
Alex rubbed mud from his jean shorts and wiped dirt from his now grazed elbows.
"It's cold," said Zach ominously.
"Well yeah," replied Tom, "The sun went down."
"No," said Michael, "can't you feel it?"
Momentarily Tom looked confused. Alex watched as his friend's expression turned in to fear. Tom visibly gulped.
"She's here," said Alex, "She's watching. I've felt this feeling before, at the park. When Lestrat killed James."
It was a unique kind of feeling. A sort-of icy burn that maneuvered inside his bones and travelled through him, out to the now alert hairs on his arms and neck.
"There!" shouted Zach pointing to atop a hill.
Alex turned swiftly to the direction Zach had pointed. He saw nothing except a full moon shining its white light.
"She's fast," said Michael, "Watch your backs."
"Who is she?" asked Tom moving back to back with Alex.
The sound of breaking leaves moved around them in the darkness.
"She's a shade," said Michael, "The darkness is their friend, their blanket."
"I do not have friends," came a whisper so gentle, they could scarcely hear it, let alone tell which direction it came from. The four of them continued circling each other.
"That voice..." Zach said under his breath.
"Hello again soldiers," whispered the shade as Alex turned sharply to just barely see a shadow swiftly move out his peripheral vision.
"If you let us pass," Alex said, "and take us to the henge. You will not be harmed; you have my word."
Zach furrowed his brows and squinted at the moon, "That damn voice."
"Creepy right?" Tom replied.
"Right..."
The footsteps stopped.
"You believe you can harm me?" came the disturbing whisper. Alex again turned a hundred and eighty degrees. This time, he saw the figure standing still atop the same hill as before. She wore a black cloak illuminated by the silver light of the full moon above her. He watched as long, almost skeletal fingers reached from out of the robe up to a hood that hid her head.
Alex felt Zach freeze beside him and watched as his mentor's expression got considerably worse.
"It's her," he whispered to them.
"Are you sure?" asked Michael.
"Who?" asked Tom.
Neither Zack nor Michael responded. Instead they stared intently, chests heaving and hands shaking as the figure removed her hood.
With a face as pale as her hands, a long free-flowing set of fiery coloured hair and piercing blood-red eyes that seemed to glow from even this distance.
The four of them stood dumbfounded as she leant her head back to further illuminate her pale complexion.
A bright red beam shot from her eyes up into the night sky.
"What the hell.." exclaimed Tom.
He took a stumble backwards as he tried to resist the urge to run.
Alex considered the same when the figure did something he didn't expect.
She howled.
"The wolf," Michael muttered.
Zach turned to him with wide fearful eyes, "It's Tetrax."
"Who?!" Tom demanded.
Zach pushed Tom backwards, "You need to run."
"No way man," he pushed back, "I'm with you. Right Alex?"
Alex nodded and tried to respond. He found himself unable to speak suddenly.
Tetrax howled again, echoing through the night and hills.
"Now would be a good time Michael," Zach said urgently.
Michael gritted his teeth, "I'm trying."
A final, blood curdling scream came from the shade. Her cloak exploded in to shadows around her and Tom watched in horror as her neck extended a good three feet. Her arms and legs did the same and quickly sprouted a dirty grey fur all over them.
"She's a god damn werewolf!" Shouted Tom.
She ran at them on all fours, panting and with sharp teeth showing.
Tom shoved Alex aside as Tetrax jumped on to him.
"Get off me, you hairy bitch!" Screamed Tom igniting a flame from his palm. She opened her huge jaws and swiped at him, missing him narrowly as Zach and Michael dived into her. She tucked and rolled out of the attack.
"My fire is useless!" Tom exclaimed.
She moved sideways around the three of them. They moved with her, keeping her eye contact awaiting her to pounce.
"I knew you couldn't do a bloody light bomb on command!" Shouted Zach.
"Try and be a little more optimistic," Michael replied before shooting a white aura out of his hand toward the beast. Once again however, she was too fast and dived to the left before sharply turning back and sprinting at Michael. She succeeded in knocking him backwards and he fell in to the dirt harshly.
About ten feet away, Alex stood frozen in place watching events unfold. He screamed inside at himself to move, to help his friends but he could feel something very wrong. He fell dizzily to his knees and clutched his stomach.
"Alex," Tom shouted, "Alex, get up!"
"I...I can't," Alex replied fitfully.
This was a new kind of pain, he thought. It was like nothing he had ever experienced. But why? He thought. Why now?
Alex watched as the wolf circled her prey, amazingly ignoring him.
He stared at the beast's hungry eyes and bared his teeth back at her.
Why did I just do that? He asked himself.
Zach shot a bolt of electricity from his palm at her side. Tetrax winced and whined in pain. Alex screamed.
Tom turned to his friend again, hearing the shout. He looked back and forth between Tetrax and Alex.
"Oh shit," he said running to his side.
Zach tried to help Michael to his feet but had to jump backward as he was quickly cornered by the creature. Michael kicked out at her from behind but quickly retreated when she turned and snarled at him. Zach fired another bolt of electricity but yelped as the beam was met by a bright red ray shot from Tetrax's eyes.
Tetrax spotted Tom's back turned and sprinted at him at full pace. He tried unsuccessfully to get out of the way but was once again floored by her. Flame ignited around them from Tom's hands.
"Why won't you burn?!" shouted Tom.
Alex swore she made a sound that was something similar to a laugh. She pulled her head back, once again baring her fangs, ready to sink them in to Tom.
"STOP!" screamed Alex.
Drool dripped from her mouth on Tom's face but to their surprise, nothing else happened. Tetrax backed slowly off of Tom who quickly moved aside.
She cocked her head to the left and trotted gently toward Alex.
"I can feel you, can't I?" he asked.
Tetrax approached him and sniffed his hair.
"The pain I'm feeling. It's yours, isn't it?" he continued, holding his nerve.
She stared at him. Alex could sense she wasn't about to hurt him. Not yet anyway. She was, like it or not, currently an animal. And that, Alex realised, meant he could empathise with her the same as the python that currently, and fearfully, resided around his neck.
"Does it hurt like this all the time?" he asked her.
Tetrax groaned slightly and sat down next to him, panting.
Alex reach out his hand slowly and carefully. Tetrax whilst initially apprehensive, sniffed his palm. She seemed satisfied that he was not a threat. Even Ophie seemed to stop squeezing Alex so hard.
"Do you even want to be doing this?"
The wolf closed her eyes and lowered her head.
"I can help with your burden," Alex promised, "I can help take away your pain. I have the power to share your pain. Does that sound helpful?"
Tetrax growled softly.
Alex sensed the calmness within her grow and even allowed himself a smile.
He saw in his peripheral vision that Michael was clenching his fists. Alex briefly wondered what was about to happen but yelled out in horror as he realised what his father was about to do.
"DAD- WAIT NO!"
KRA-KOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
Everything went white. Again. His ears screamed and his eyes blazed white as his senses slowly returned to him.
"NOT AGAIN," shouted Tom, "Jesus CHRIST. You have got to stop flash-banging me!"
As his sight returned, Alex felt his stomach drop. In front of him was Tetrax back to her bipedal, hairless form. She lay there naked looking out at Alex, confused.
"You didn't have to do that!" Alex yelled, "She was in pain! The darkness was forcing her, it was hurting her!"
He reached out to her and held her head.
"I'm sorry," he whispered and knew she knew he was telling the truth. The quintessence gave her that closure.
"The henge," she whispered. She lifted her long fragile fingers and pointed due west, "about three miles."
Alex stroked her hair gently, "Thank you."
"Can you do it?" she asked, "Can you kill it?"
He looked at her, dying in his arms. It occurred to Alex that she could be even more of a victim than he was. How many more of the darkness' followers, or creations, were living a life of permanent pain? Had Lestrat? He felt more unsure than ever in their cause.
"We can," he promised.
She smiled gently, "Then you will avenge us all."
Us all, thought Alex.
Then, much like Lestrat earlier in the year, Alex watched as she dissipated in to dust.
Ophie hissed sadly.
"It wasn't her fault," Alex whispered.
He looked up and stared at his father who returned the gaze emotionally unaffected.
"It wasn't her fault!" he repeated, "She wasn't really a monster."
The wind blew her dust off of his fingers,
"So what does that make us?"