Chapter 21. Into the Renjin's Nest.

A fog was cast over Shawn’s mind, and blackness over his eyes. His throat was dry and dusty and his head ached like a cracked eggshell. He leaned up and coughed, feeling cold stone walls against his hands as he got to his knees. “What happened,” he asked weakly, feeling around the darkness. The blue flame in his eyes was dim, and he couldn’t see much. He found something soft and warm sprawled out on the steps beside him. “Valery?”

Shawn heard muffled voices beyond the walls, then a loud thump, and another thump, then a crack, and grinding. Dust streamed down into Shawn’s eyes from the corner. After he cleared his sight, he saw strands of daylight reaching into the darkness.

“There’s the door,” he heard Dylan’s muffled voice say. “We’ve almost got them. Let’s go again!”

Another grind and snap, then more dust and little rocks came pouring in. When it was finished, the daylight was more like beams than strands–burning in through the stone like flashlights.

Shawn looked down at Valery, her face dimly lit in the darkness. He hauled her up onto his legs and saw that her cheeks were glistening with sweat, but the air inside the staircase was icy cold. Shawn put the back of his hand against her forehead. She was burning. “Valery,” he whispered, shaking her arm. “Wake up.”

Her eyes squeezed together and her lip raised to show her teeth. She seemed to be in pain.

“Valery? Are you okay?” Shawn slapped her softly in the cheek with the back of his hand. “Hey, come on. Time to wake up.”

Valery’s eyes snapped open, and she turned to look at Shawn. There in the blackness of her pupils Shawn could see a dim, green flame, and the sight made his stomach turn. “Where are we?” she asked weakly.

“We’re still in the forest,” Shawn said back. “Molly and Dylan are trying to unbury us.”

Valery leaned up on one arm and reached towards Shawn’s face, stopping just before her fingers found his skin. “You didn’t die.”

“Not yet,” Shawn said with a tired laugh. “But I have one heck of a headache, that's for sure.” He rubbed the back of his head and gave himself a sharp pain. He felt something dry and crusty across his scalp. He looked at his hand and saw dried blood under his fingernails. “Did something hit me?”

“A piece of the roof fell on you,” Valery said, her eyes shimmering with green flame. “I didn’t think you’d survive…” Valery looked up into the light as another corner of the collapsed door broke away, revealing even more light. Blue skies could be seen beyond the rubble.

“How do you feel?” Shawn asked, looking at Vee. “You look sick.”

“Everything’s spinning...and my eyes are blurry.” She held up her hand, watching it shake. “I need to get back to Denengear.”

“We’re a long way from that,” Shawn said, wishing it wasn’t true. He tried to stand and almost fell. He was dizzy.

“Molly!” Valery shouted, using the wall to help herself stand. “Dylan!”

“You’re alive?” Molly shouted back from beyond the stones. “Hold on! We’re almost there!”

Shawn could hear stones clattering and thumping beyond the broken door at the end of the stairs. A few minutes later the rubble went quiet again. Molly’s upside down face poked into the broken corner of the door from above. Her cheeks were stained with mud. “Hey, look what I found.”

“Molly!” Valery called, her voice like honey. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“You too, Vee! We’ve been digging all night. I feel like my fingers are about to fall off.”

“How close are you to getting us out?”

“The stair’s are almost unburied, but the door is still in the way. It’s wedged in there pretty good. I don’t know if we can move it.”

Valery looked at Shawn from the corner of her eye. “Blow it up,” she said.

Molly raised an eyebrow and looked at Shawn. “Think he can?”

“It might collapse the tunnel on top of us,” Shawn said.

“We don’t have the tools to break apart the door,” Molly said. “We’d have to find our way back to Denengear and then return.”

“We’d starve to death by then,” Valery said, looking at Shawn. “We have to try something.”

Shawn swallowed and took a breath. “Okay.”

Molly’s head slid out of view, then she screamed, “Move your ass out of the way! He’s gonna blast it!”

“Yes, Fleabite,” Dylan said.

Shawn put his hands against the door and held his breath. He pushed, and made a glowing burst of energy explode from his hands. The door jolted out and exploded from the staircase, scooping up a layer of shattered debris with it. The remaining boulders and rocks went rocketing out beyond the cliffs and over the ocean, twirling and flipping through the air like gravity had switched itself off.

Shawn fell to his hands and knees as a waterfall of dirt and pebbles rained over his back. Valery grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the stairs, through the curtain of vines and roots. She let him down onto the grass beyond the temple's entrance.

Valery collapsed beside Shawn, her chest rising and falling as if she’d run a thousand miles. “We…made it.”

“Barely,” Molly said, crossing her arms. “What the fuck happened down there? Did you guys find the Crystal?”

Valery put her hand into the pouch on her hip and came back with the Turquoise Crystal in her fingers, holding it up high for Molly and Dylan to see.

“Oh my god,” Molly said, sounding breathless. “You really found it…”

Dylan laughed. “I can’t wait to see the look on Darko and Tonilas’ faces when they see this.”

“Me neither,” Valery said, letting her arm collapse against her chest. She cradled the Crystal in both hands like it was a newborn baby. “But first we have to make it back alive.”

“That’s the easy part,” Dylan said. He reached out and gave Shawn a hand to help him stand. “Good job in there–whatever you did.”

“I’m not so sure if what we did down there was good,” he said back.

“When you’ve had a taste of the power this Crystal is about to grant us, you’ll change your tune.”

“I don’t think I will,” Shawn said, angered by the prediction. He remembered the words of the ghost, an ocean of blood was spilled to secure this peace.

“That’s what they all say,” Molly said. “You’re like us, hero boy. You just don’t know it yet.”

“All I want is the cure,” Shawn said. “Nothing else matters.” He reached down and grabbed Valery’s arm, helping her back to her feet. “Let’s get going. I kept up my end of the deal. It’s time for you to keep yours.”

The glimmer in Valery’s eyes grew dull. “I will,” she said with her breath. She put the Turquoise Crystal into her bag and retrieved the map, unfolding it. “This way,” she said, after staring for a second or two. Valery took the first step and began walking off into the forest, between the tall red trees. Molly followed first, and Dylan waited behind with Shawn, looking him in the eye. “You really have no idea what you’ve just done, do you?”

“I kept my word,” Shawn said, feeling a cold doom rise inside.

Dylan smiled. “Yes you did.” He tipped his head to the side. “Shall we go?”

“Why not,” Shawn replied, turning over his hands. “Let's go see what other horrors are waiting out there.”

“That’s the spirit.” Dylan put out his hand. “After you.”

***

Redwood trees came up out of the swamps along the trail like arteries reaching for the sky, their necks webbed in green hair and moss. The air was thick with mist. Shawn tried to be careful not to step in the wrong place. A pool of red liquid off the side of the path was steaming, and stank like a rotten egg. There were pools of blue and green liquid in the rocks as well. A deer was half in a cyan pool and half out. The half in the green water had dissolved to bone.

“Where are we?” Shawn asked, kicking up red bark with every step. The ferns had thinned out as if the land was poison.

“We’re getting close to the Renjin nests,” Valery said back.

“That’s not what I wanted to hear,” Shawn replied, peering at the forest around them. Yellow light filtered into the forest between the trunks of trees like rivers of gold shining down through a great hall of red pillars, dimmed by the fog. The trees seemed to stretch away for hundreds of miles, far off from what Shawn could see. Birds with wide, leathery wings were sailing through the forest, casting long shadows over the dead branches.

“We’ll be fine if we all stick together,” Valery said, her voice dim and tired.

She lagged back and let Dylan and Molly take the lead, slowing her pace beside Shawn. She had the Crystal in her hands, thumbs pressed against its edge, eyes locked to the green flame. “I can’t get it to work anymore,” Valery whispered.

Shawn turned to see her face, but she avoided his eyes and kept staring at the Turquoise Crystal in her hands. “What do you mean?” Shawn asked in a low voice. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Valery turned to Shawn, her eyes glazed with fear. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Maybe it just takes time,” Shawn suggested, hoping more than believing. “It could still be trying to bond with you or something.”

Valery shook her head, eyes like growing white pools. “It doesn’t work like that...”

“But…you have the fire in your eyes. It matches the Crystal’s color.”

“I know,” Valery said. “When we were in the staircase I saw the light.”

“Then why won’t it work? I don’t get what went wrong.”

She seemed afraid to answer. “Maybe Tonila was right. Maybe I’m not strong enough.”

Shawn looked away, focusing on Molly and Dylan’s back to be sure they weren't listening. “Then help me find a cure and just forget about whatever this is. The Protectors can keep you safe. You don’t need to worry about them or anyone else.”

“There is no protecting people like me. I have to find a way to make this work. I don’t have another choice.”

“You do have a choice, Valery. You'd be helping save people’s lives. Come with me after we have the cure. We can leave Denengear together. Maybe Molly and Dylan can even come.”

“We can’t.” Valery glanced at Shawn as if he’d gone insane. “You’ve been to Market-Town, Shawn. You saw Copper Lanes. There is no one left to save out there.” She shook her head, staring off into the trees as if she could see a graveyard beyond the forest. “No. I can’t.” She looked down at the Turquoise Crystal. “That’s not what I’m meant to do. I have to find a way to make the Crystal work.”

Valery trailed back even further, letting distance grow between her and Shawn. She stared down at the Crystal in her hand, stroking it with her thumbs and whispering to herself.

What is going on? Shawn asked himself, regretting his decision to help her more than ever. She’s not going to let this go. He let a deep sigh out through his nose. The best he could hope for was that she’d never find a way to get it to work. It doesn’t matter, as long as I get the cure she can keep her useless rock. Shawn took a deep breath, trying not to think about it anymore. The Renjin nests were still ahead of them.

***

The storm appeared like an erupting volcano, bursting down waves of drops on the forgotten forest from gray clouds that only grew blacker as the day went on. Dylan followed the path around the trunk of a tree and then froze when he reached the other side. “Now that is impressive.”

“What is it?” Molly shrieked as she ran up beside him. “Woah.” She froze, her eyes scanning across the forest.

Shawn turned to Valery, who was still staring at the Turquoise Crystal, muttering quietly to herself. He went ahead with Molly and Dylan. When he got around the massive redwood tree, his eyes met the sight of something that made the trees around them look like toothpicks.

In a wide clearing down below, where the rocks and mountains formed small corner in the moss and ferns, was the skeleton of a creature as big as a battleship. Each of the ribs were tall enough to be trees themselves, and the skull was so large Shawn thought a bus could have driven down its throat. “It's a Renjin.” The sight drew a chill up Shawn’s spine. He could see Goroth clawing over the gates of Sarratania, blood pouring down the walls.

Valery came up beside him and took her eyes away from the Crystal to look up. “We can take shelter from the rain inside its skeleton.” Vines and green growth had formed a thick blanket over much of the bones.

“Sounds good to me,” Dylan said. “I’m getting sick of all this rain.”

***

The ribs were partially buried in the ground, but it took away none of their imposing height. Shawn reached out and felt the bone, letting his fingers slide down the smooth surface. Some of the ribs were broken and stuck out like ivory spears. The rest bent up high into the misty sky, blocking out most of the rain with their roof of moss and growth. Shawn squeezed between the ribs first, and everyone else followed him inside.

“This would be a good place to make camp tonight if we don’t feel like walking in the rain,” Dylan suggested.

“How much food did we get?” Molly asked.

“Quite a bit,” Dylan said, setting down his backpack. He flipped open the leather flap. “But it’s mostly dried cheese and bread.”

“Fucking dried cheese and bread,” Molly kicked a tooth as long as her leg, making it clatter across the bone cave. “Who did Tonila think she was packing for?”

“What did you expect: roast pheasant and chicken stew?”

“I expect you to shut that hole in your face before I fill it with my boot,” Molly said.

Valery went by them all and looked across the cave, pressing the Turquoise Crystal against her chest. “We need to get a fire going. I’m freezing.”

Molly snapped her foot against the ground and slapped her shoulder. “Right away, Vee. Or should I start calling you Queen Valery?”

Valery let a tiny smile appear across her cheeks. “Just get the fire going. We’ll discuss titles after we make it back to Denengear alive.”

Molly smiled and began rushing around the cave, gathering up any sticks she could find. After a few minutes she had a small campfire built in the far corner near the head of the dead Renjin, where the spine met the base of the skull. Valery came over, still peering at the Turquoise Crystal, and revealed a flint from her bag. She dragged her dagger across the rock and dashed the dry twigs with sparks. After a few flicks, smoke began to rise. Dylan leaned down, cupping his hands around the sticks as he blew into the embers and made the fire grow.

Valery’s face lit up with the orange of the flame. Her eyes sparkled a poisonous green. Shadows climbed the walls of the rib cage, lighting the inside of the skeleton with gold flames. Shawn sat down beside Valery, taking off his coat to let it dry. He put up his hands to feel the heat of the flame, remembering how he could feel Goroth’s fire from what seemed like miles away–that night at the Beacons.

“It doesn’t seem like anything’s alive around here,” Shawn said, his mind drifting into the flames.

Dylan raised an eyebrow at him. “And that seems like a good thing to you? Have you noticed any deer? Squirrels? Prey animals of any kind?”

“I saw birds,” Shawn said back, his voice almost a whisper.

“Birds fly. Renjin don’t.” Dylan smiled, soaking up Shawn’s fear like fuel for a fire. “We’re in the hunting grounds now, Shawn. Except we’re the ones who are being hunted.” He looked at Molly, but she didn’t seem to be getting as much enjoyment from Shawn’s misery as Dylan was. “Ever seen what the small Renjin can do to a man? Let me tell you, it isn’t pretty. First they try to blind you by spitting venom into your eyes. If that fails, they bite you. The venom gets into your blood. You hallucinate; you get dizzy; tired; you fall down. You realize you can no longer move your arms or legs. And that’s when the Renjin start to eat you. You see, they want you alive when they begin their feast. Meat stays fresher that way.”

“The Renjin I killed didn’t spit poison,” Shawn said.

“Oh no, the bigger ones don’t. No, those ones spit flames when they get big enough. Much quicker death–more clean. The smaller ones are the true monsters.”

“How old do you think this one was?” Molly asked, her eyes curling across the mossy spine suspended high above them.

“A few hundred years, at least. If nothing kills them–they never die. A Renjin in the wild just keep growing larger and larger until it’s big enough to level an entire city. That’s how Goroth destroyed Sarratania. But you put an ultimate end to that story, didn’t you, Shawn?”

“Yeah, sure.” Shawn had heard enough of his stories. He looked to Valery for a distraction. Her eyes were still locked to the Crystal. She let out a deep breath and layed down on her back in the dry roots and sticks, holding up the Crystal so she could still see its flame. “I’m going to try to get some rest. You all should do the same.” She cradled the Crystal in both hands and held it beneath her chin, closing her eyes as the green fire glowed across her throat. “It’s a long way home.”

Molly brought up her knees to rest her chin on. Dylan turned away from the fire and stood. “I’m going to gather more wood so the fire doesn’t die.”

Shawn got down to his knees and leaned to his side, resting his head against his hands as he watched the fire crackle and burn. His head was still pounding, but the fire was soothing and made him want to sleep. He could hear the rain roaring outside as the storm grew fierce and the wind began to howl. Thunder rumbled and a crack of lightning lit the dark day. If the Renjin didn’t get them, Agatha’s storms would.

***

Shawn heard crickets chirping as his dreams broke. There was a light rain crackling on the ferns and leaves in the branches above. He could feel the warmth of the sputtering flame in front of him. Then the silence was broken by a loud screech and vicious growl as something heavy tore into the bushes nearby and ripped at flesh. The sound of water splashing against the rocks followed, and Shawn half crawled, half slid, himself away from the wall of ribs. He could see only specks of orange sunlight creeping through the growth, but something was out there moving. A tall dark shadow slowly slid across his sight, feet crunching in the wet bark and leaves, blocking the sunlight as it moved.

Something grabbed Shawn’s arm from behind. He saw Valery sitting beside him, face damp with sweat. She put a finger against her lips and looked back at the shadow. Shawn heard a hungry groan and muffled growl, then a drumbeat of footsteps thumped away from the skeleton, dragging something heavy back into the trees. He looked, but the shadow had gone.

“What the fuck was that,” Molly asked, her voice high and on the verge of hysterics. “Did someone just fucking get eaten?”

“Everyone’s right here, you idiot,” Dylan said.

“What if it was someone else, like maybe someone was following us?” Molly hugged her knees as tears slid down her face.

“Why would someone follow us out here?” Dylan asked, his voice a vicious whisper.

“Shut up! Both of you!” Valery shouted in the loudest whisper she could muster. She crawled to the edge of the bones and looked between the ribs. She then brought a hand up to cover her mouth. “Holy fuck.”

“What?” Shawn rushed to her side. There was a trickling stream of blood in the bark. Shawn followed the stream up behind the rocks to where he saw a puddle of blood so thick it was red only on its shores–the rest of the pool was black. Near the edge of the blood was a dark furred head of a Nightling buck torn completely off its shoulder. One of the legs was still attached, kicking at the bark and rocks with its hoof. The horns were glowing a deep bronze, but the light was fading fast.

Shawn leaned back and looked away. “Oh fuck…”

Valery put her backs against the ribs and took a few breaths. “This is bad.”

“Please don’t say that,” Molly shouted as she tried not to cry.

“Keep your voice down you little fool,” Dylan shouted at her.

“Everyone..stay..calm,” Valery said, lowering her hands. “We’ll make it through this. We just have to keep quiet and follow the map. We’re almost home. The Rims of Denengear are just on the other side of these trees.”

Shawn felt better hearing that. But he wasn’t likely to get the sight of that deer out of his head anytime soon. Something that could rip apart such a large animal that fast had immense strength. “Was that shadow a Renjin?” Shawn asked, his voice shaking. He was still half asleep.

“Nothing else can survive out here,” Dylan responded. “It had to be.”

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Shawn looked at Valery, and so did everyone else. She seemed exhausted. Her cheeks were as pale as moonlight. “Like I said, we’re almost home. But we need to get the fuck out of here before that thing comes back. And leave the supplies. They’ll only slow us down.”

As Molly and Dylan searched through their packs for weapons, Shawn reached for the empty scabbard on his hip and wished he hadn’t lost his sword in the temple. He took it off his belt and threw it down.

Valery tucked the Turquoise Crystal into her hip pouch and tied the end. “Everyone ready? Good–follow me.”

Shawn went up behind Vee, crouching down as he got close. She followed the spine into the mouth of the skeleton, getting down low in the grass as they came outside through the teeth. The rain seemed to have stopped, and the trees were glowing in the orange light of the setting sun as a warm breeze rolled through the area.

“Looks clear,” Valery whispered. She went out slowly, pushing apart grass with her hands. Shawn could feel his heart pounding in his chest, but he suppressed his breathing to slow it. The forest around them was silent. Only crickets and wind dared to make a sound. Shawn kept his eyes open for Renjin as Valery slowly and quietly led everyone up and out of the ravine where the giant skeleton was strewn across the rocks. When they came to the edge of the trees and moved into the thicker bushes, everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

“We should be safer here,” Valery whispered. “But keep your voices down.”

Valery entered the trees with Shawn, Molly and Dylan behind her in a short line. They twisted and curved between the trunks of redwoods so old and tall they seemed like the bones of the men who carved the Earth. The group came to a great field of long grass that swayed and bent in the breeze, drawing up waves of fireflies as they entered.

“Let’s go through here,” Valery said.

Halfway across the field of tall grass and torchbugs, Shawn noticed the ferns along the edge of the trees rustle and shake, and a shadow dashed from trunk to trunk.

“What was that?!” Molly screamed.

“Shut your mouth, it was just the wind,” Dylan whispered back.

“It wasn’t the fucking wind,” she said, grabbing her chin with both hands.

A branch snapped. Shawn looked to his left and saw a dark shape disappear behind the trees. The sun was falling fast, and the shadows were crawling across the world like reaching fingers. “It was just a shadow,” Shawn said, trying to convince himself as much as anyone else. He looked to his right and saw a lizard-like tail swinging as it ducked down into the grass.

“That’s not a shadow!” Molly screamed.

“Move faster! We’re almost home,” Valery said as she began to jog.

They came out of the grass and back into the trees. Shawn kept his head on a swivel. Everytime he heard a sound, the creature who made it disappeared before he could see what it was. But he knew the Renjin were out there. The breaking branches and rustling ferns were closing in as they got deeper into the trees. A hungry breathing and growling could be heard in almost every direction, along with cawing squawks further away. Ferns had grown across the path, and before Shawn or anyone else could understand what was happening, they all were falling, tumbling down into green branches and down a muddy hill.

***

With a roar of breaking leaves and sliding rocks, Valery, Shawn, Molly and Dylan came sliding off the edge of the hill and thumped against the rocks and red clay at the bottom. Shawn cleared mud from his eyes and spit shredded leaves from between his teeth. He met eyes with a cluster of watermelon sized eggs in a heap of branches and dried grass. He looked to his left and saw four more eggs in a similar cluster. And five more on the other side. “Oh fuck…”

“I think I broke my leg,” Molly complained as she rolled over and groaned.

“Get off of me,” Dylan shouted as he pushed Molly off his head.

Shawn turned to look for Valery and found her frantically digging in the mud where she had landed.

“Where is it? Where could it have gone?”

“Where’s what?” Shawn asked.

“My Crystal,” Valery said, sounding as desperate as if she’d lost her own soul. “The Turquoise Crystal. It must have come out of my bag when we fell down the hill.”

Valery grabbed the unlit torch Dylan had been carrying and struck her flint with a dagger, showering the oiled cloth in sparks. It quickly lit up and casted reflections of bright flames across the rocks.

Shawn turned and saw the Turquoise Crystal shimmering in the mud near one of the egg clusters. As he reached down to grab it, one of the eggs jostled as if it was about to hatch. Shawn froze for an instant, then reached down and snatched the Crystal from the mud and held it up, watching the dim, green flame inside burst to life as if oil had been cast across it.

Shawn went to Valery and reached out. “Here it is,” he announced.

She looked up at him from the ground, then slowly leaned over to grab it. As the Crystal passed into her hands, she seemed to notice the size of the flame. “How did you do that?” she asked, her eyebrows pressed together.

Shawn opened his mouth, but before he could answer, a loud shriek cut across the forest above. Everyone looked up, but there was nothing to see. “We need to leave,” Shawn said. “We're in their nest.”

Molly and Dylan seemed to notice the eggs just as Shawn said it. “How many of these fucking things are there?” Molly asked.

“More than one,” Dylan said.

Molly went to the edge of an egg cluster and raised up her boot, screaming as she stomped down on one of the eggs. The shell cracked and spilled out a baby Renjin in a bloody sack, nearly ready to hatch. Molly kicked it out of its nest and made the tiny Renjin smash against the rocks.

“Molly stop!” Valery screamed.

“Fuck these things! We can’t let more of them infest the island.” Molly bent down and picked up one of the eggs, grunting as she raised it above her shoulder and threw it down against the rocks, smashing the egg into bloody bits.

A glob of black sludge slapped against Molly’s neck. She reached up and touched it with her fingers, then smelled it. “What the fuck?”

“Look out!” Valery screamed.

a Renjin sprung out of the foliage with a hissing screech and knocked Molly onto her side with its clawed feet. The Renjin nosed down and bit Molly’s arm below the shoulder as she screamed and coughed, its razor-like teeth cutting to the bone. The Renjin growled like a dog in a rage as it wrestled her from side to side across the ground, using its hands to keep her down.

Shawn threw out his hand and blasted the Renjin with an explosion of golden light, throwing the creature into the rocks. As it squirmed and struggled in the dirt to get back on its feet, Dylan drew his sword and slashed the Renjin across the throat. Blood flung across the nest as it gurgled and coughed, swinging its head wildly in pain. It reached out and slashed at Dylan’s leg with its clawed hand, but Dylan jumped back and fell on his back, out of the Renjin’s reach.

Shawn picked up Dylan’s sword and thrust the blade down the Renjin’s mouth, making the tip come out the back of its head. With a final gurgling groan the Renjin shivered and fell to death, sliding off the point of the sword as the strength fled its bones. Shawn stood there panting and shaking as he saw blood across his arms.

“Oh please, fuck, someone help me!” Molly screamed.

Valery rushed to Molly’s side and got to her knees. Shawn dropped the sword in the dirt and went with her. Molly’s shoulder looked like shredded cloth beneath the scraps of her jacket. Her entire arm was red, and blood was pouring out from dozens of holes and slices.

“You’ll be fine,” Valery said, looking up at Shawn in a panic.

“It fucking hurts so bad… Just make it stop!”

Shawn pulled his belt out of his pants and knelt. “We have to stop the bleeding. Help me tie this around her arm.”

“Oh, please be careful…” Molly moaned, keeping her eyes shut.

Valery wrapped the belt under Molly’s arm and through the loop. Shawn grabbed the end and looked at Molly.

“Take a deep breath, okay,” Shawn said.

“Just do it!” she screamed.

Shawn yanked on the leather tight enough to stop the flowing blood.

“Fuck!!” Molly screamed and cried, trying to roll away from the pain. Shawn tied the end and wrapped the rest of the belt around her arm.

“We have guests!” Dylan called back. “We have to leave now! Get her on her feet!”

Shawn turned and saw a row of golden eyes dashing up and down the edge of the trees at the tops of the muddy cliffs around them, bobbing in and out of the darkness as they screeched and hooted. The Renjin had them surrounded and easily outnumbered.

Molly pushed herself up on one arm. Shawn grabbed her under the shoulder and lifted. “Can you stand?”

“I can fucking walk,” she said, gritting her teeth.

“Well you better get ready to run!” Dylan shouted back. “Go, now!”

A scaly shadow slid down the mud hill, roaring and screeching as it hit the bottom and tumbled against the rocks into the fire light. It quickly scrambled back to its feet and stood high over Shawn to spread its teeth and bellow down at him.

Shawn blasted the creature with an explosion of golden sparks and light, making it fling back against the cliffs. Another Renjin came sliding down the hill and crashed into the first. The two Renjin squirmed in the mud and began to bite and claw at each other, hissing and grunting as they rolled.

“Run!” Shawn shouted. “While they’re distracted!”

Dylan grabbed his sword and led the way through the nest as Valery helped Molly walk. Shawn grabbed the torch and ran after, swinging it around at the eyes on the cliffs above and behind them. “Stay back!” he shouted. “Get away from us! Go away!”

The path narrowed between the canyon of rocks. Shawn could almost reach out and touch both sides. In the glowing light of the fire he saw the razor teeth of a Renjin glinting in the forest above as it raced through the trees to head them off. There seemed to be almost a dozen in pursuit. “We have to go faster!”

The canyon widened, but the path was blocked by a wall of fallen trees. The trunks were too wide to go over, but there seemed to be room underneath.

Dylan stopped and looked under the trees as Shawn approached with the light. “In here,” he shouted, pushing Valery and Molly under first.

“Fuck, my fucking arm is numb,” Molly said as she crouched down and crawled with one hand.

Valery went in after her and helped push green branches out of the way. Shawn went in next, and Dylan last, backing his way under the tree and pushing the branches behind them to block the Renjins’ sight. “I think we lost them for now.”

Shawn breathed a long sigh, and everyone else seemed to do the same. It was more quiet under the trunks of the redwoods, but the wind could be heard sucking in and out of the cracks like the trees were breathing.

“How close are we?” Shawn asked.

“Close,” Valery said back. “I could see the mountains already. We just have to go through the caves and we’re home.”

“I’m never going into a forest with you again. This is fucked!” Molly shouted. “My arm is fucked!” She pushed ahead and under green leaves.

“You should feel lucky that thing didn’t go for the throat,” Dylan said in a quiet rage.

“I’m not going to feel lucky until I make it back to Denengear with both of my arms attached.” Molly stopped crawling. “There’s some branches in the way.” she reached up with her good arm and pushed.

The branches were sharp and white, sticking out in the path like spears. Shawn could hear the wind roaring–deep and rumbling as it drew in…then out…then in again…

Wait, Shawn thought to himself. Those aren’t branches…

Molly shoved with all her weight, then the sharpened sticks broke apart and dashed towards her. The points snapped back together around Molly’s arms. She gasped.

With an ear shredding scream, suddenly Molly was being lifted up into the air, and the trees rose and fell away from the canyon around her, tumbling out of view. Shawn turned his eyes up and saw the lower jaw of a great head lifting into the darkness of the high branches, Molly dangling from the edge of its mouth. A rumbling growl followed the head, then the neck cocked back and swung Molly up into the air. The jaws opened and Molly came down on the Renjin’s tongue. Then the teeth snapped together like a cage and the head danced back, rumbling as it swallowed Molly whole. Shawn could hear Molly’s muffled screams die out as a lump descended the Renjin’s throat to its stomach.

Shawn gasped and crawled back. The great head slowly swung down to him, eyes full of fire. The Renjin growled, making the ground rumble under Shawn’s back like the Earth was quaking.

“Molly!” Valery screamed. “I’ll kill you for that, you bastard!”

The Renjin spread its jaws and roared down at them, creating a whirlwind of rotten breath. One of Molly’s boots sailed up from the back of its throat and tumbled to the ground in front of Shawn and Vee, covered in blood and slime.

“Motherfucker!” Dylan cried out.

Shawn was so scared he could barely move. He tried to raise his arms, but his hands were shaking like leaves in the rain.

Valery screamed, and swung her arms from one side of the forest to the other. A great gust of wind came in and blasted one of the broken trees, throwing it back at the Renjin like a battering ram. The trunk slammed against the Renjin’s jaw, knocking it to the side and off its feet. The great head slammed up against the side of the stone cliffs and created a rockslide of mud and boulders, then slid down and hit the ground at the bottom. The Renjin’s eye opened and closed as it growled and groaned, slowly kicking out its legs as the tail flapped between the cliffs. It seemed dazed from the collision.

“Go!” Valery screamed. “Before it wakes up!” She ran to Shawn and grabbed his arm, hauling him back to his feet with a grunt. “Hurry, Shawn!”

Shawn nodded. Valery rushed by the Renjin’s long clawed arms and under its foot as it lifted its leg, waiting behind the Renjin’s spiked spine. “You have to time it right!” she screamed back.

Dylan ran after her and dove under the leg, yelling in fear as he crawled to the other side. Shawn went next and had to stop as the foot smacked against the ground in front of him. The Renjin leaned back to look at him with its eyes half shut, letting out a tired, groaning roar. The leg lifted and Shawn dove to his chest in the bark, crawling with both elbows as the foot raised over his head and then slammed down behind him, all three clawed toes flat on the ground this time. The Renjin’s tail came swinging at Shawn from ahead. He climbed to his feet and jumped, letting it swing under his feet without touching him.

He turned back and saw the Renjin stumble upright in the moonlight, using the cliff wall to help itself stand. It turned to Shawn and shook its neck, clearing dust and rocks from its back. The rage in the Renjin’s eyes was burning like Goroth’s once did, and it spread its teeth wide to let out a bellowing roar.

“Run Shawn!” Valery screamed from behind.

Shawn saw her standing at the entrance of a giant, hollow log not far away. Dylan was already inside. Shawn ran, trying to ignore what was behind. The forest was dark, but the fire’s reflection from Dylan’s torch shimmered over the ground like a waypoint to follow. Shawn bounced and stumbled over rocks and stumps as he heard the loud thumping feet closing in on him from behind.

“Shawn duck!” Valery screamed.

Shawn fell to his chest and heard teeth snap together over his head. Screaming, Shawn turned back and blasted the Renjin’s face with golden light, knocking its mouth away from him. He quickly turned as the Renjin stumbled and twisted, hissing as it regained focus on him. Shawn turned to his feet and ran, kicking up dirt and bark with every stride. A gust of wind came racing at Shawn from ahead, and a large rock flung over him. He heard the rock shatter against the Renjin’s head as it screamed and fell behind him. As it hit the earth, a tremor rumbled under Shawn’s feet.

Shawn reached the mouth of the log and dashed inside with Valery and Dylan.

“Good job, Shawn,” Valery cried, tears in her eyes. “Come on!” she shouted. “This way!” She went into the hollow tunnel with Dylan just behind her, taking the torch from Shawn. The log had fallen across the elbow of a cliff, leading down to a lower part of the forest, and the descent inside was quite steep.

“Whatever happens,” Dylan said, “whoever survives–just make sure that the Crystal makes it back to Denengear.”

“Forget about the Crystal!” Shawn shouted. “We just lost Molly. We need to focus on surviving, first.”

“Surviving doesn’t matter,” Dylan said. “She’s not what’s important here. None of us are. We can’t lose this power! We might never find it again.”

“Power doesn’t matter if you’re dead!” Shawn said back, amazed he had to explain that to someone.

A growling roar broke the quiet, then a great crash shook the log, making Shawn, Valery and Dylan fall. Shawn watched as the roof of the wood tunnel behind him exploded with shredded wood. A clawed hand came down into the hollow log and reached inside, grasping at the air just in front of Shawn’s feet. Shawn pushed himself back and stood. The hand pulled back up out of the log and a red eye pressed against the hole in the ceiling. The Renjin growled as the fiery pupil landed on Valery and Shawn.

“Go now!” Shawn shouted. He hauled Valery to her feet and shoved her down the log.

The roof ripped open again and the entire head of the Renjin came in from above, biting into the tunnel with a heavy clap, then roaring as it leaned back. Shawn ran through the patch of moonlight beneath the hole and the Renjin snapped down at him, jaws cracking together just behind his head. The Renjin screamed as he got away.

“Go Dylan!” Valery ordered, pushing him to make him hurry.

They continued down the tunnel as the sound of crunching wood crackled overhead after them, and the claws of the Renjin broke through the bark above, making little holes to let moonlight stream in. The log jostled and shook, then a great boom erupted across the forest.

“What’s it doing?” Dylan shouted.

The log twisted violently to the side, throwing everyone to the mossy floor. The tunnel rumbled and cracked, then shook as it fell from the cliffs. Shawn, Valery and Dylan became weightless for an instant, then the log smashed into the ground at the bottom and everyone ricocheted from floor to ceiling and back down as the hollow tree bounced. The log rolled and Shawn twisted up the sides, sliding and tumbling over Valery and Dylan as they went over another hill.

“When is this going to stop?!” Dylan shouted.

The log crashed into something hard and threw everyone up against the wall.

“My head,” Shawn groaned, trying to squint away the pain. He opened his eyes and looked up, out of the end of the log. He could see the Renjin pounding towards them from across the forest, roaring as it ran. “Here it comes again!” Shawn shouted. “Get ready!”

The head of the Renjin rammed into the log, ripping the trunk into two pieces. Valery and Dylan’s part of the tree went sliding off into the forest away from the Renjin as Shawn’s half twisted in the opposite direction. He clung to the moss as the tree twirled across the forest, then crashed into a wall of bones. The sound of dry skeletons clattering over rocks and crashing into dirt filled Shawn’s ears. A huge rib came down and rammed into the log behind him, piercing the wood and sticking into the tunnel like a tooth.

“Holy fucking shit!” Shawn grabbed the torch and crawled outside of the broken tree. He found himself in the ribcage of some other enormous creature, one with a neck as tall as the trees. Shawn was dizzy from the spinning. When he tried to stand, he fell. Then Shawn could hear pounding. He looked back and saw the Renjin sprinting towards him again. It came to the wall of ribs, roaring as it smashed against them, but it wasn’t strong enough to break through, only bend and crack the bones. It put its long arms through the ribs and clawed at the ground in front of Shawn’s feet, but it couldn’t reach. Shawn stood and backed away, putting himself against the wall of the cliff where the enormous creature had died.

There was a wall of dried moss and dead grass caught in the ribcage all across the bones. Shawn flung his torch into the mass and watched the flames spread and smoke begin to rise. The fire crawled across the bones until a ring of fire had formed ahead of Shawn, forming another wall between him and the Renjin.

“Valery!” Shawn called, swinging his arm to clear the smoke as he coughed. “Where are you?”

The Renjin leaned back from the fire, snorting and blowing smoke from its nose as it shook its face. The Renjin hissed and grabbed the ribs between its jaws, grunting and screeching as it pulled back with all its strength, kicking up dunes of mud and bark in the forest floor as flames licked its teeth. The rib snapped with a crack like a gunshot and the Renjin flung the rib away. It screamed at Shawn, then clawed back to the skeleton and began working on the next rib, teeth casting shadows over the cliff walls like a demon was trying to rip its way inside. The firelight danced wildly as the inferno grew up the walls of the bones and into the trees.

Coughing, Shawn looked for a way to escape, but there was nowhere else to go. The cliff wall behind him was practically vertical, and boulders blocked him inside from both other ends of the dead creature’s skeleton. He was trapped inside a cage of bones. “Valery!” he called again. “Where are you? I’m fucking stuck!”

The next rib snapped, and the Renjin tested the bones with a bite, making huge cracks in the next two it meant to break. He looked around the trees and cliffs, but Valery and Dylan were nowhere to be found. Did they abandon me? Shawn wondered. Could Valery really be that selfish? The first thing he thought after that was how stupid it had been to give her the Turquoise Crystal. He should have kept it with him until he knew he was safe, until he had the cure in his hand. Like Molly had said, they were expendable. Especially now that Valery had her hands on the stone.

The next rib cracked and shattered into a mess of pieces on the ground. One of the shards tumbled down near Shawn’s feet. It was like a bone knife. He bent down and picked it up. “Better than nothing,” he said to himself, facing the reality that he likely wasn't going to survive this. “At least I’ll be able to cut up its throat on the way down.”

The Renjin reached in, claws slicing the air in front of Shawn’s nose. He turned his head and closed his eyes as it roared, pouring a wave of hot and putrid breath across him.

“Shawn!” Valery screamed from above. “Don’t move! I have a plan!”

Shawn’s heart jumped to the back of his throat as he heard her voice. He was so happy he thought he was going to cry. “Not like I have a choice!”

The Renjin pulled back out of the ribs and looked up at Valery, screeching up at her and Dylan. It then looked back to Shawn and clutched the last rib that was preventing it from reaching Shawn, tugging with all its weight. Shawn looked up and saw Dylan and Valery push a stick into the edge of a giant boulder.

“Push!” Valery screamed.

The last rib broke, and the Renjin snapped back to Shawn, wrapping its long, clawed fingers around the ribs as it pushed its neck inside the bone cage and through the wall of flames, slithering into the cage like a snake. It hissed and groaned in Shawn’s face as its misshapen teeth slowly spread, making ropes of red saliva stretch and break across its mouth. Shawn could see shreds of Molly’s jacket threaded between its teeth. The throat looked like a tunnel of red flesh, and it was quickly coming towards him.

“Fuck!” Shawn screamed.

“Swallow this, fucker!” Valery screamed.

The boulder crashed off the cliff and fell, sailing through the air above Shawn’s head. It came down and landed on the skeleton’s spine, snapping the ribcage away from the neck and tail. The ribs above the Renjin’s neck came down like a pitchfork and pierced through its back and out the front of its throat.

The Renjin screamed as it jumped back, jaws stuck open from the bones in its neck. It swung its head wildly through the air and clawed at the ribs’ points in the front of its throat. Blood was flying everywhere like a great fountain, painting all the bones and ferns red. The Renjin stepped back and lowered its head to the ground, gurgling and rumbling as it stumbled between the trees. It swung to the side and smashed its head against a tree, breaking a giant gash in the wood. With a great effort, the Renjin closed its jaws, snapping the ribs in its throat. Blood sprayed from its teeth as it roared in pain and looked at Shawn.

The Renjin stumbled and knocked its head against the ground as it tried to tug out the bones with its hands. The rage in the Renjin’s eyes dimmed, and a yawning bellow escaped its throat as it rose up high above the forest and coughed a spray of blood. The massive creature now fell towards Shawn, stretching out over the forest like a massive skyscraper. Shawn realized the head was going to land on him if he didn’t move, so he ran to one side and dove into dirt and burning embers as the Renjin’s head crashed down into the broken ribs behind him, shattering the cage and creating a great boom and plume of rolling dust.

The thunderous explosion slowly died away until the forest became silent once again. The dust settled, and Shawn was left with a view of the Renjin’s half-shut eye wandering around the skeleton. Shawn took a staggering breath and stood. He went towards the Renjin, avoiding the rivers of blood pouring out of its throat. He slowly reached out as the great eye hovered towards him and froze.

Even though it had tried to kill him, Shawn felt like a monster instead of a Protector. They had come into this Renjin’s territory, smashed its eggs and killed its children. All in order to claim a lost Crystal. Shawn pressed his hand against the rough skin on the Renjin’s snout, feeling the cold flesh up close, dragging his fingers over the broken and misshapen teeth. A low rumble echoed out of the Renjin’s chest and the teeth opened slightly, then the giant fell silent. The lids of the great eye slowly slid together. Another of the giant Renjin were dead. Even still, Shawn thought, this one was only half the size of Goroth.

“Are you okay!” Valery screamed down from above.

Shawn turned and looked up at her and Dylan, peering down through the smoke from the black cliffs above, where the boulder had been perched. “I’m fine!” He called up. “Thanks for not leaving me behind!”

“No one gets left behind!” Valery called down at him. “No one!”

Shawn felt foolish for doubting her. Maybe he really could trust Valery more than he was allowing himself to. “How do I get up there?”

“Go around the cliffs!” Dylan called down. “There are vines you can climb.”

Shawn went to the edge of the flames and put up his arms. They were too thick to walk through, so he blasted the fire with a burst of golden energy and wafted out a section of the inferno long enough to allow himself to slip through. Once outside, Shawn followed the tail of the Renjin around the curve of the cliffs to where he saw a wall of green vines hanging down. Shawn grabbed a handful of the veiny roots and tugged on them to be sure it was strong enough to support him.

“Better hurry!” Dylan called. “Looks like our old friends have caught up to us.”

Shawn turned back to the forest and saw a scattered group of shadowy shapes racing down the hill between the giant redwoods, eyes glowing golden in the moonlight. Shawn counted at least a dozen pairs. Shawn grabbed the vines and pulled himself up, hand over hand rising above the flames and corpse of the giant Renjin resting on the forest floor. “Can these things climb?” Shawn asked as he rose.

“We’re about to find out! Hurry!” Dylan called.

When Shawn got to the top, sweaty and exhausted and choking on smoke, Dylan and Valery grabbed his arms, hauling him up and over the edge.

“Good job, Shawn,” Valery said, looking into Shawn’s eyes. She seemed more terrified than he was.

“Thanks for saving me… again.” Shawn said.

“I’m not losing anyone else over this stupid rock!” she screamed.

“That stupid rock is worth more than all our lives combined,” Dylan hissed back, grabbing Valery by the collar of her shirt and shaking her. “You’re the only one of us who can use it. You’re the only one who can ensure that our future becomes more than just a dream. Without that rock, Talmoria is lost.” Dylan threw Valery back down to the ground and glared at her. “Our lives mean nothing compared to that stone. You have a responsibility to control its power.”

Valery twisted her palm and looked at the Crystal glowing in her hand, then back to Dylan without saying a word. Shawn saw in her eyes that she seemed to understand and agree with what Dylan was saying.

“Now get up,” Dylan demanded. “We have to get home. Don’t let Molly’s sacrifice be meaningless.”

Shawn leaned back and looked over the cliff, down the wall of vines. He saw one of the Renjin bite at the vines, then it reached up with its long fingers and grabbed onto the green ropes, clawing its way up the edge like a crocodile. The next Renjin watched and immediately mimicked the action. “They’re climbing the wall!” Shawn shouted.

Dylan went to Valery and helped her stand. He went to Shawn next and pulled him away from the cliffs. “Remember,” he said, looking into Shawn’s eyes. “Whatever it takes–get that Crystal back to Denengear.”

Even without understanding the reasons why, Shawn understood the urgency. Valery and her friends weren’t the villains Shawn had imagined them as before. They’d saved his life, now, multiple times. They were going to give him a cure for the Gray Death. They were his friends, not his enemies, and he wanted to help them if he could. “Okay,” Shawn said back with stiff determination. “Whatever it takes.”

“Thank you,” Dylan said, squeezing Shawn’s shoulder. “Now move!” He pushed Shawn back from the cliffs as a Renjin’s head came peeking up over the top of the rocks. It hissed and growled as it saw them. Dylan ran at the creature and kicked it in the mouth, dislodging the Renjin’s grip on the vines before it fell. Another head popped over the cliffs and Dylan pulled out his sword, slashing through its neck with a swift cut. “GO!” He shouted as another two heads came popping over the cliffs.

Valery turned back to the mountains, where a giant dark cavern had bored into the face of the rocks, and pointed. “There!” she screamed. “That’s the tunnel back to Denengear!”

Shawn looked back and saw Dylan stab one Renjin through the neck, but it tumbled backwards off the cliff and fell, taking the sword out of Dylan’s hands as it went. Dylan danced back as another Renjin reached up over the side and swung at him with its clawed hand, hissing as it slithered up to the top of the rocks.

Dylan ran, pushing Shawn and Valery into stride as he got to them. “Run!” he shouted.