The Girl and the Ghost
She told the others (the ragged few who remained) to keep moving, to never stop, not until they reached Lock Core. She told them not to worry, that she would find them in the city, and when they met again they would at last be safe.
Emily was beginning to worry she was a liar, and that not only would she never see them again, they wouldn’t be safe . . . none of them would, not ever.
They had made camp in an abandoned farming village on the border of Lock Core. North of them, the mountains rose to the sky, splitting the clouds as they drifted through their snowy white peaks.
Likely, all the city’s inhabitants had fled to the Red Wall; no doubt spurred on by rumors of the battle of Shattered Rock, or the prior devastation of the Outland cities.
When first they arrived, Emily felt comforted upon seeing the quaint, thatched cottages and timber-framed barns. Sitting on a large knoll at the edge of town, a dozen brick and mortar windmills stood sentry against the Red Wall; their canvas covered blades a flurry as the mountain winds plunged through the vale. Even the rows of slate roofed granaries – though empty – were a welcome sight. The town was much larger than her own, yet the sights and smells were so similar to the village of Havenwood in which she was born, she almost felt at home.
Originally, the plan was to stay there for the night, to take advantage of the many empty lodgings that would more than accommodate the remaining refugees of Shattered Rock. They could have pushed on, but everyone was in desperate need of rest, and though they were less than a day from the city, they would need their energy and their wits about them when they arrived. Unfortunately, in the middle of the night, Emily realized there was a reason why the village was abandoned – it wasn’t safe. A ten foot wall of stone with large wooden towers guarded the road to Lock Core, while a picket fence, no taller than Emily’s waist, was the only barrier between the town and the infested Outlands.
‘What is it, Nathalia?’ she questioned her companion, her words delivered in a well-guarded telepathic bond. She pulled her cloak tight to her breast, the autumn wind sending a chill through her heart. ‘What do you see out there?’
Next to her, the body of the golden-haired elf shimmered– or perhaps shivered, Emily thought. A pair of orchid blades flickered in and out of existence in her otherwise empty hands.
“I see death,” she softly whispered, her voice falling on Emily’s ears alone. “Death like me . . . but different, and far stronger. It almost reminds me of . . . Alec, but evil. And unlike him, this being won’t hesitate to kill us or anything else it may encounter, nor will it hesitate to embrace the name ‘Destroyer’.”
Like Alec, Emily pondered, more afraid than ever to face what dwelt in the darkness.
She had grown powerful since the battle of Shattered Rock, but she would still be no match against the power of the Destroyer.
The man leveled an entire city! They had only just recently escaped his swath of destruction, a blast radius that charred the land for miles.
‘Can we defeat him, Nathalia?’
“Perhaps . . .” she said. Her blades vanished as she smiled down at Emily. “If we face him together, all four . . .”
Her smile broadened.
“All five of us.”
Emily dared to take her eyes from the night to catch a glimpse of her other companions. The three of them stood guard at the dilapidated gate of cedar that was supposed to seal off the city’s gravel roadway. But the gate was bent so badly at the hinges, it couldn’t possibly latch shut. They hadn’t even bothered dragging it across the roadway to try, knowing full well it wouldn’t slow down whatever hunted them.
With every breath of wind, the gate shook. The hinges screeched, echoing out into the fields like a dying animal pleading for mercy.
Together . . . she thought, wondering if such a thing was even possible. At the moment, other than the ghostly presence of Nathalia, she never felt more alone. They detest me, why would they ever fight for me?
She glanced at Solo Ki. His thin fingers coiled around the blackened Graelic; the dark staff reflecting the smallest light as if it were made of steel. His cape was even more worn and soiled since they left Shattered Rock, it whipped about his lanky frame -- which was as motionless as a slab of stone. Hate radiated from his grey and white eyes as he gazed into the night.
Sure, he will fight, Emily thought. But only for himself; to satisfy his need for vengeance, and to quiet the never-ending sorrow of his soul, if for only a moment.
His intense scrutiny of the darkness was the first signs of life the One Elf had shown since their journey from Shattered Rock began. Their unknown, powerful enemy had managed to rouse him from what Emily had begun to fear was an eternal slumber. To her surprise, as despondent as he may have seemed, his senses proved to be permanently tuned to danger, for Solo Ki was the first to detect the evil presence, and the first to realize they were being hunted. Initially, Emily failed to realize it. When he began dropping back from the rest of the party, she simply assumed he had finally given up on the Seventh World. She continued onward in dread, fearing that at any moment she would feel an emptiness at her back, and turn to find the One Elf gone. If so, she would have no choice but to turn back to Lock Core and move on without him -- as she did with so many others too physically or mentally weak to continue.
Dertois’ words, and her subsequent decisions, continued to haunt her: “No matter what you do, you cannot save them all. But perhaps with your power you can save their world.”
Along with the mighty warrior, Gunt, she had charged Dertois to guide the survivors to the safety of Lock Core. If they found trouble along the way, the pair would be the only ones able to face it. But, as for the demon hunting them in the dark; neither the giant’s mighty war-pick, nor the blind, old mage’s wisdom would make a bit of a difference. She prayed to the gods, both false and true, that the two of them were at least strong enough to deliver the others to safety.
“To the dead with you. What are you waiting for?” Tetloan cursed, appearing ready to bolt into the darkness at any moment. His remaining hand clenched and unclenched on the cherry wood handle of one of Nathalia’s blades. Licks of blue flame poured from the stump of his missing arm, caressing Nathalia’s other blade.
During their journey to Lock Core, she often noticed Tetloan and the One Elf would wander off from the rest of the group, but she couldn’t figure out why. She would even see massive bursts of mage-flare erupting from their location. Out of curiosity, and concern, she even tried to snoop in on their private meetings, but was stopped short of her goal by a hissing and foul-tongued Galimoto. Because they were so frequently stepping away from the others, she wasn’t originally worried when she realized Tetloan had joined Solo Ki at the village gate, but then she felt it, and ignoring Galimoto’s dirty looks, she joined them. When she found them gripping their weapons, and glaring at the darkness, she instantly knew that – whatever secret meetings they were having before – this was something different.
And the evil she sensed . . . it filled the very darkness, as if the shadows moved by its will.
When first she sensed it, she had to catch herself before instinctually filling her veins with the Oneness. She thought to question the pair, but realized by their intense glares, she would most likely be ignored. Even Galimoto ignored her, and refrained from insulting her in his musical voice.
Whatever hatred Tetloan held for her, Galimoto shared it as well. The two of them shared everything now. They were bound by the Singularity, perhaps deeper than either of them even realized. Beyond Tetloan’s mind, Galimoto didn’t actually exist. But through the Oneness and Tetloan’s will, the creature was given the illusion of life. And because Tetloan was far more powerful than Brice, so too was Galimoto’s presence in reality (unfortunately so).
There was a time she would have counted on Galimoto, despite his wicked temperament. But now the creature was more fiend than friend. Even Emily was no longer spared his cruel words or evil glares.
If it came down to a fight, it was doubtful Galimoto would be of much help, for at the moment, the little red being looked more frightened than angry. His tail wound around Tetloan’s body, his claws digging into the boy’s shoulders. Only occasionally did he poke his beady yellow eyes out from behind the boy’s fiery red head.
And as for Tetloan . . . Even the hate-filled eyes of Solo Ki couldn’t match his glare. He would fight. Of that Emily was certain. He would fight anyone or anything. And he would do it alone. Emily was surprised he hadn’t burst into flames already, to fly off, storming into the darkness.
No. She wasn’t worried about him engaging the enemy, so much as she was worried about keeping him from it.
Emily knew there was only one thing that would bind them together . . . one woman.
‘They’ll fight for you, only you. Appear to them, and they will fight as one.’
The elven ghost turned her eyes to Tetloan, and the pair of thin, orchid blades sheathed at his hips. Her own illusionary weapons ceased to appear.
“If I must . . .”
Her body solidified, and for a moment she stood as she once was – beautiful, golden, glowing and bold. Then she faded to a silhouette, her milky flesh became the dark night.
“Only if I must . . .”
Why won’t you speak to them? Emily wondered, and not for the first time. What was she waiting for?
She wouldn’t ask, not now. Not when such sadness filled those ghostly eyes of grey and white.
They all prepared for the worst as the evil presence neared. None of them spoke. Even the constant ranting of the imp had been replaced by his chattering fangs.
Then . . . as mysteriously as it began . . .
“It’s gone,” Solo Ki murmured, his keen senses once more the first to grasp the situation.
His words broke the silence, and Emily’s fear. She blushed, embarrassed to discover she had unwittingly been holding vast amounts of the Oneness.
She let her fear, and flames, go.
She realized she wasn’t the only one, Tetloan was covered in flames too. However, he wasn’t letting go so easily
At the words of Solo Ki, Tetloan twisted his face into a snarl. His flames rose higher. He leapt forward as if to pursue . . .
The Graelic swept down at his feet, tripping him before he made a single step. He tumbled to the gravel road, his power gone.
Tetloan whipped his head around, directing an even more vicious snarl toward Solo Ki. One look at the disapproval in Solo Ki’s white eyes and the snarl vanished. Emily was certain the two of them were about to turn their hate against each other, then surprisingly, Tetloan turned away in shame.
“Whatever it was, it’s now gone,” Emily said, attempting to take charge of the situation and her hate-filled companions. “I for one don’t wish to wait for its return. If we leave now, by sunset tomorrow we can be at Lock Core. I think it’s more important we tend to the others then risk our lives hunting this thing in the dark.”
“Agreed.”
The brief concession from Solo Ki actually managed to startle her. Before she even had a chance to respond, Solo Ki was already in motion. His long elven legs striding straight to the great Gorian mountain chain.
Tetloan was slow to rise, and paused only briefly to cast a final glare into the night, but then he was right on the One Elf’s heels – Galimoto in tow, of course, making sure he sent Emily a dirty look as he passed her by.
“Thank the gods we didn’t have to face him,” Emily whispered, her words leaving her plump lips in a puff of mist. The others moved on, unconcerned with Emily and whether or not she chose to follow. “There is so much hate in them all, I doubt they would have fought as one. Even for you.”
Her head hanging low, Emily turned back to the village, back to Lock Core, and followed after them.
∞
I pray you’re wrong, child, Nathalia thought, watching as Emily trailed after the others, her shoulders sinking in exhaustion and defeat. If you cannot fight as one, in Lock Core you will all surely die alone.
Next to Nathalia a child appeared, a cherubic, bald-headed elfling.
“The demon lives . . .” the child pondered. “That was not foreseen . . .”
Worry filled the child’s wide white eyes.
“What does it mean?” Nathalia asked.
“It would seem, sister, that nothing is certain . . . neither our fate . . . nor the justice of the Maker.”
Nathalia studied her friends as they traveled into the night. Her eyes looked beyond the village to the city of Lock Core. She looked beyond the darkness, beyond her friends’ earthly path. She saw their timelines as a jumble of possibilities – few of which were good. She longed to show them the true path, but she was only allowed to guide them so far. In the end, their fate would be their own to make.
For the first time since her return, she spoke out loud to the fleeting figures, “Father . . . you have to have faith. Goodness remains, so long as you believe.”
Her elven-ponytail flowed along her back as she shook her head.
Tetloan, find love before all that is left to you is hate. Emily . . .”
Imagined tears spilled from her eyes.
“Don’t give up on them. Heal their hearts, and they will fight for you . . .”
And for the last of her companions, she grinned.
“Galimoto . . . for dead’s sake, be good.”
The four heroes passed through the stone gate, continuing on the road to Lock Core. The pair of ghostly elves watched them leave the city, then they vanished.
The gate to the Outlands continued to shake; its bent hinges, crying out in the night.
For a time, the town was utterly vacant once again . . .
Then another being passed through the Outland gate. His body gaunt. His once elegant stride a slouching limp. His immortal face, sunken and withered as if worn by a million years of suffering. Tucked tightly to his chest, hidden beneath the folds of his cape, a black globe slowly expanded; growing ever closer to breaching the barrier of blue flames that kept it contained.
The elf’s eyes were nearly pure white, and saw little as he passed through the town. Lurching onward, he felt the gravel below his feet and made his way to the capitol city of Lock Core.