CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN: ACHES AND BRUISES

The stone lurched as the creature shifted under the massive stone, it was looking straight at him, challenging Calin to come closer. Just close enough for one more bite.

He tried to shift away, but his aching body couldn’t move. Every muscle in his body was slow to react.

It opened its jaw to bite Calin. But then Tyas leapt forward over the last dislodged gear and chopped hard at its neck. But the scales did not budge at all. Tyas immediately lifted the sword and plunged the tip of his sword down behind the Nighthound’s head.

It didn’t go in.

Sweat dripped downTyas’ face as he dropped his weight onto the handle of the sword with gritted teeth, but still it only managed a couple of centimetres. Tyas growled.

“HELP ME! It’s not working!”

Calin summoned the last vestiges of his strength, trying to get his body to respond. And only barely got himself up off the ground. He stumbled more than anything else to the side of the anxious Tyas. And with a cry of desperation he threw his own weight onto the sword.

Even with it, it looked unsuccessful. Calin and Tyas exchanged worried glances. The scales were like overlapped plate armour!

But Calin summoned every reserve of strength and pressed down. Three seconds passed with nothing happening, so he pushed even harder. Then with a crunch, the tip was forced between two scales and dipped inside. Sickening sounds filled the air as it slipped into the remarkably tough skin and flesh of the creature.

Slowly the red eyes of the Nighthound closed.

Calin’s breaths came in puffs as he stared at the dead thing, not sure if he should believe his eyes.

The atmosphere was tense, but nothing moved. Yet Calin didn’t take his eye of the Nighthound as Tyas pulled with all his strength to dislodge the blade. Veins were popping on the man’s forehead and arms. Luckily it came loose moments later with a few black scales dropping on the floor.

Calin eyed the out of breath Tyas and joined him in panting for breaths. It was certain Tyas was thinking the same thing, they had been lucky. And not just a little bit.

He slowly bent down and picked up the scales. Still, he was astounded by the strength of the natural armour of the creature. But it wasn’t long before Calin’s attention shifted with a grimace. A massive amount of aches suddenly sprung up all over in his body. The creature had taken its toll on him. He shook his right arm to shake the bent gauntlet into a more comfortable position, but it only succeeded slightly.

Tiredly, he motioned for Tyas to take the lead. Calin glanced one last time at the young Nighthound. A shudder ran down his spine. He wouldn’t soon forget this.

The short distance to the door was long as he limped to it. It would lead him outside the old mill-house leaving the dead creature behind.

Even through the pain, Calin was glad, secured in the knowledge that the men from the fort were without a tracking hound.

***

Calin walked outside, each step sent jabs of pain through his tired body. It was like he had not slept for days, even thought it was not true.

With an arm that hung almost limply by his side he snuck after Tyas, or rather attempted to sneak. While struggling to get his body to better respond, Calin spotted the guard that had challenged them, lying still and an amount of blood was on the ground. A shudder ran through him and he stared at Tyas in disbelief.

Just then Tyas slowed down in front of him checking the courtyard for any activity. Calin grabbed the man’s arm. “Did you have to kill him?”

Tyas spun on him, an incredulous look on his face.

“He’s not dead. So relax...” There was anger sparking in his amber eyes before he continued, “I don’t like this. This isn’t the earth you know anymore Calin. This is Sambria, many people here are ruthless. They are survivors living on a continent filled with far too many dangers.”

“So? Just because a lot of people think it is okay to be ruthless, it does not in the least make it okay. Even knowing what you said, won’t take away my free will to choose.” Calin stared intently at Tyas, but finally sighed. This wasn’t the time.

But still, it didn’t change the fact that he was glad that Tyas had spared the man.

As much to keep silent as anything, he nodded a moment later. Tyas inclined his head to the side and said, “Just keep a look out, I’m quickly going to drag him behind the crates.”

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With a wave at the man, Calin walked towards the small wooden structure that separated them from the open courtyard and the gates beyond. The day seemed to get darker beyond the raining clouds, only barely able to make out anything past the far gates. After a few moments he gave up when Tyas tapped his shoulder.

“Let’s go.”

Calin followed tiredly as they ran from house to house.

The rain was getting heavier and an ice cold wind swept along in thick swathes of pouring rain. He drew his cloak tighter around him, but he could only do so much to keep the cold from seeping into his battered muscles. Before long the hard wood of the fence was a welcome milestone. And as he was being pushed through the gap there were voices not far from them. “...how could I leave such idiots alone for even such a small time—”

“...Captain we don’t know how the horse got—”

“...do any of you know how much—”

Thunder cracked in the distance, more than one in succession. The loud booms silenced the voices in intervals.

Calin pushed through to the other side of the tall palisades, concern swept up in him. It won’t be long until the escape would be noted.

“We need to hurry.”

He set off up the muddy hill. The slopes were slippery, but the trees gave them some chance to get up further. He glanced back towards the guard tower on their side, it was still empty.

It was probably the tower of the guard Tyas had fought. Calin didn’t count it as luck. The captain was back and they only had minutes to become scarce.

Upon reaching the top of the hill first, Tyas was already looking back at the fort. Calin forced his legs to make the last few steps up the hill and moved in next to the man. The rain and dark imposing clouds that was residing above them covered Needlewood Village in the valley, as if hiding the chaos of the day.

Tyas mumbled something next to him and he could only make out a sombre, “...goodbye.” from the man.

The concept was strange, Calin didn’t know what it was like to have loved a mother and grew up in a town only to see her die and the town overrun by the very people they were running from. Yet it was certain that it would be a painful experience.

He wanted to say something to console Tyas, but nothing came to mind. It was distracting. Somehow his entire being utterly rebelled against the idea of there being no hope sometimes. He shook his head, waking up a new set of aches in his neck, but with a sigh he finally patted the man on the back.

“There is always hope.”

A moment of silence settled between them.

“Thanks,” Tyas said a few seconds later. “And I know, even though sometimes... sometimes it’s hard to remember.”

He looked one last time over the village that became a fort and turned to follow Tyas who was already heading into the darkening forest.

Then something strange caught his eye. It kept bothering him that it was getting darker and darker, but it was only early afternoon. Calin could hardly make out anything past the first few trees.

Just to make sure he checked the time on his watch, he was surprised to see that it was still hours to go for the evening.

Concern started eating at his tired mind and with great effort he trotted a bit faster in the hard rain to catch up to Tyas. “Hey! Wait for me...why is it getting dark?”

The man kept walking, but Calin could spot the small droop in Tyas’ shoulders. The man didn’t look back as he said, “It’s getting dark because the sun is setting.”

“What?!” Calin exclaimed, “But it’s not even three in the afternoon. It can’t be.”

“Like you can’t possibly have come through a silver gap in the air to a different continent? Besides, the mountains are high enough for it to get dark so soon.” Tyas commented without hesitation. Calin didn’t miss the sarcastic undertone, but he kept his thoughts to himself, though still confused as he said, “Okay...”

It bothered him greatly that night had come so swiftly. The day had barely been nine hours long, if that.

He quietly trotted after Tyas, not happy with what happened so far. He hardly called being on this continent safe.

As he settled into an almost comfortable trot behind the man, a shout pierced the rain in the distance.

Calin looked immediately into the darkness from under his hood, but could see nothing. The day had fled totally and now they were in the dark. The rain obscured everything. All they could do was silently continue on.

His boots were soaking wet as they splashed through the small puddles that were popping up everywhere, and not for the first time he wondered how much further it was. But then Tyas stopped him with a hand.

In front in the dark, a light flickered in and out of existence, but Calin recognized the bright white colour as his own flashlight and said, “It’s probably Jerry, it is a flashlight Tyas.”

“Hurry!” Tyas hissed. Within seconds the man ran towards the light. Calin just groaned, but adjusted his pace after him. It took every ounce of the strength he had left. “What’s wrong?” He shouted after the man, but nothing.

He gritted his teeth through the pain in his legs and ran through the dark. After a while they spotted the figure with the spotlight. It was Jerry.

As Calin approached the area of light, Tyas ran at Jerry, the boy only got out, “You’re okay!—” before Tyas grabbed the flashlight and fumbled with the switch and plunged the area back into darkness.

This only added to the confusion as he stared at the move, but before Calin could ask, Jerry protested. “Hey! What did you that for? Turn it back on, I can’t see a thing.”

Though slightly blinded from the short duration of light, Calin stumbled in next to Tyas, blinking to get his eyes to see again in the dark.

The man looked back anxiously in the direction they had come from. The reason for the scene silently became apparent and he mumbled under his breath.

Jerry, however, was clearly still oblivious, as he tried to wrestle the flashlight from Tyas, but not faring too good, being night blind and all, stumbling over everything. Calin grabbed Jerry by the arm and drew him towards the crevice they had come through in the sheer rock wall, ignoring the pains that sprung up in his arm. After a while, the boy started seeing better in the dark as he found his footing again.

Upon entering a pathway through the mountains, Calin said, “Tyas turned off the light because we need to stay hidden. One of the men from the fort saw us clearly, but he was knocked out...”

Jerry glanced at him as if to ask, you, but Calin shook his head and nodded his head at Tyas.

In the little natural light, Calin patted the rock wall to find the dip that signified the cave, trudging through the mud. He couldn’t help, but look back into the raining night. He was tired of running. His body was done, much like a wounded creature that needed to go tend its wounds. He was short of breath by the time the overhang glided under his hands. He somehow managed to kneel down to get into the cave.

Just as he was about to crawl in, a hand pulled on his shoulder.

“Um, Calin, the girls aren’t happy at the moment, so yeah just a warning.”

It was hard not to cringe as he crawled in towards the firelight.