Chapter 22
There was no doubting who had made the scream and as Cada Varl rushed to reach the next valley the only thing he could think of was ‘What could make an Helluvan scream?’ It was a wretched sound, the emphasis and meaning of pain and horror.
Instantly as he came over the slope his eyes were drawn to the valley down below. The masked figure that the group had seen just beyond the Garden of the Gods was standing with his hand around the throat of Imbaka, holding her like she was some rodent who had dared entered his house. Cada Varl glanced to Imbaka whose feet were not touching the ground as her eyes seemed hollowed and unaware. Rage and reason worked hand in hand as Cada Varl raced down the slope screaming as loudly as his powerful lungs could produce. He moved quickly with eyes now glowing red as the masked figure slowly looked upon him. The masked figure seemed entirely non-phased by the presence of the Immortal as if he was nothing to be worried about.
As Cada Varl reached him, his sword ready to strike, the masked figure brought his left foot up into the torso of Cada Varl. The blow was as powerful as it was swift sending Cada Varl through the air like he was nothing more than a pebble. Cada Varl’s body literally smashed into the wall of the valley and instantly the earth and rock gave way under the pressure it had been struck by. In an instant Cada Varl was swallowed up as the rock and earth collapsed upon him. Cada Varl could feel the air rush from his body as his mind tried to comprehend what had just happened to him. He could see nothing but a black brought on by the collapse of the valley wall. He was in great pain but that was irrelevant, he couldn’t lie there covered in ruin.
With the aid of the ancient power within him he forced himself to his feet, sending rocks and boulder size pieces of the earth into the air around him. His eyes were drawn back to where he had last seen the masked figure but he was no longer in sight. Cada Varl could see that the underground chamber had been opened, opening the doorway to the darkest of possibilities. But in that moment Cada Varl could have cared less for he could also see Imbaka lying on the ground and deathly still.
The anger Cada Varl had felt quickly evaporated like a raindrop against the wrath of an inferno. He hurried to be at Imbaka’s side but he knew from the mass of blood all around her what had happened. He could see that her insides had been ravaged, pulled out in some horrible display for the entire world to be disturbed by. He knew even before he looked into her eyes that she was dead. Slowly he knelt by her side, an instinctual action as he peered into her eyes. All the strength, power and heart he had always admired about her was now gone, nothing but emptiness remained. Even the autumn brown of her eyes had faded like a beautiful portrait that had decayed over time. The glow of his eyes had long since gone replaced by a look of tremendous sadness mixed with shock. A tear as black as black itself fell from his eyes landing on the ground and forever staining it. Cada Varl paid no attention to the tear in spite of the truth it had been the first he had shed in over 4200 years.