Talent

  Chapter 13

  Daniel phased in and out of consciousness as he was wheeled by the emergency crew. The gurney rattled and jerked as he fought to open his eyes. He didn’t see Keterlyn now, but knew that she had been taken away with him by the ambulance. The last thing he saw before the blast hit him was her hand grasping his arm, meaning to pull him away. From that point there was simply a mess of snapshot images of fire in the room, scorch marks across the wooden floor, and people hovering in concern as they waited. When the emergency crews arrived, they had bundled him on to the stretcher and he had seen her, seen Keterlyn still unconscious. He felt a hand on his arm and fought to focus. It was a nurse trying to take a pulse, and she was the very last thing he saw before he blanked out again.

  What Daniel couldn’t know was that Keterlyn had been knocked out, had been wheeled away and taken in a separate ambulance. Half way to the hospital though, she had awoken in a start, sent the ambulance screeching to a halt as she caused the electricals to short circuit and had walked away, still stunned by the realization of what had happened. Lormorian had found them, but how? The question pitted her stomach. She had walked away, trying to regain some sense of balance, and fight the rising level of fear that threatened to choke her very being.

  The fact Keterlyn was safe for the meantime, that she had survived the voltage that had spontaneously discharged from the ceiling to strike them – all of this was lost on Daniel. He had closed his eyes finally in the hospital and allowed himself to sink in to a deep state of oblivion, the darkness succumbing his senses.

  Daniel eventually became aware of something. The ground. It was hot and dry, and as he prized open his eyelids, breathing in dust as he did. He coughed in response then realized it wasn’t just dust. There was a vicious smell that assaulted him. It took a minute to determine what it was. Sulphur? Ash? Rot? Or a mixture of them all. He sat trying to figure out where he was, but he couldn’t see much, even as he stood.

  Daniel found himself at the base of a large hill. In the background there were lots of loud noises intermingling that made it sound like yelling and clanging all at once. Seeing no other way out, Daniel decided to climb the hill, but as he did, the ground kept giving way until Daniel was on his hands and knees fighting to gain ground. The ground felt like thickened mud or melted tar, clinging to him as he groped. Several times Daniel thought he might sink into the muck all together, but he managed to pull himself to the top, where he fought to stand and look about him.

  All around there were more such hills, more of the stench and the increasingly unbearable heat. Daniel was just beginning to feel a sense of dread seizing him when he saw that across and down from him there was a woman standing there. He couldn’t make out much by way of detail, but he didn’t care. It was another person who might be able to tell him where he was, or even better how to get out. Daniel slide most of the way down the other side of the hill.

  The sense of everything being surreal struck Daniel as he skidded down the face of the blackened hill. The colours were so rich, the images so epic. This couldn’t be real, he thought to himself, and yet, he couldn’t deny the feel of the tar like dirt on his skin, the foul odour in the air, and the harshness of the air in his lungs as he struggled not to fall.

  Reaching the ground he could see the girl in more detail. She stood with her back to him, and at a guess was around twenty, but it was hard to tell. She was naked, and her long dark hair was matted, and stuck to her back obscuring some of the bloodied gashes that marked her. She shivered and Daniel swallowed hard. He willed her to turn around, but at the same time, he feared what her face might look like, or to see a similar punishment across the front of her. She moved to turn, but that was when Daniel saw a long leash, tethered to her neck jerk. The girl was pulled back into position, her head turned away.

  Following the leash, Daniel saw a tall man dressed in black step from the silhouette of the hill, almost as though he emerged from the earth itself. His features were bold, his stare determined, and emotionally barren. His absolute empty eyes bored in to Daniel, who wanted to look away, but found he could not. His body tensed in readiness to fight, though Daniel suspected he wouldn’t have a chance in Hades of winning. As the man came into full view, the girl shook even more. Daniel knew instinctually who the man was, no question. This was Lormorian.

  Lormorian sneered, the first emotion to wash across his face since Daniel laid eyes on him. Eyes blackening, Lormorian opened his mouth, though no sound came out. Tugging on the leash again, he pulled the girl so she fell at his feet, her hair still handing down across her features. He placed a claw-like hand on her shoulder and tightened his grip, causing this fingers to tear into her flesh, and blood to ooze from the wounds. The girl cried out.

  “Mine.” Came a bellowing roar, though Lormorian’s lips failed to move.

  Finally, the girl turned her head to face Daniel, and he saw it was Keterlyn, but her eyes were as black as Lormorian’s.

  In a fitful start, Daniel sat upright, gasping as fresh air filled his lungs. Disoriented, he realized he was in a hospital bed, the lights out except for a side light over near and armchair where Lily was perched flicking through a magazine. Keterlyn stood behind her, looking nothing like the image he had just left of her.

  “I knew you were faking it.” Lily said with a smart tone to her voice.

  Daniel struggled to get out of bed as Keterlyn approached him. “Relax.” she assured him. “It’s OK. Lie back down.” Keterlyn eased on to the bed next to Daniel as he edged back reluctantly into the bed.

  Daniel’s features reflected the horror of the scene he had just experienced. “I think I saw him.”

  Keterlyn’s face steeled as well. “I know you did.”

  “He had you…” Daniel said as Lily turned her full attention to the conversation, but Keterlyn didn’t let him finish.

  “Do you see now why I can’t risk going back?” Keterlyn whispered. Daniel nodded and Keterlyn entwined her fingers with his.

  Lily, feeling out of the moment sat upright and put the magazine down. “What did I miss, what didn’t I see?”

  Without looking away from Daniel, Keterlyn answered Lily. “Lormorian has discovered a way to find me. To find us.”

  Lily stood at the news. “If he was so close, why hasn’t he come yet?”

  “He wants me to go to him.” Keterlyn divulged.

  Instinctually, Daniel shook his head “We need to get out of here. Regroup.” As he spoke he groaned to inch off the bed again, though Keterlyn did not try and stop him this time. All of them needed to be brought together, without further delay.

  In an empty lecture hall at the college, everyone bar Tempest was gathered. Micala handed out brownies from a brown paper bag to eager hands. It was late, and after the night before, few of them had had a chance to catch up on lost sleep. Just as most of them had been settling in for a long sleep, Lily had called, announcing Daniel’s recovery and rousing them from bed to bring them here.

  “Where is Tempest?” Keterlyn demanded pacing and waving away the double chocolate treat Micala offered her. She couldn’t eat, and frankly, the fact that Daniel ravaged three had her astounded.

  “Mmm – chocolaty goodness” Anise enthused ignoring Keterlyn’s concern. Micala smiled shyly and took a seat.

  “He said he was running late.” Will offered as a noise sounded outside the doors as though a group of people were approaching. Everyone turned their attention to the door quizzically. Loud shushing sounds were heard next along with hushed protests and Tempest backed through the door looking nervous. Several women tried to follow him, though Tempest pushed them back, even forcing one of their arms back through the opening before he managed to close the door and bolt it.

  Trying to regain composure, Tempest smoothed his hair and ignored everyone staring after him as he bounced down the stairs and took a seat next to Micala.

  Eventually Tempest spoke to break the silence and raised eyebrows. “Sorry
about that. I had some problems getting some alone time.”

  Micala offered him the brown paper bag. “What’s with the groupies?”

  Tempest shrugged and gratefully took out a square of the baked goods, stuffing it in his mouth clearly hoping that would be the end of it.

  Zara squinted at him. “They looked infatuated with you.” Tempest automatically looked sheepishly at Keterlyn.

  Keterlyn did not try hard to disguise her anger. “A love spell?” Keterlyn almost stamped her foot in irritation. “Tempest! You irresponsible child!”

  Will stood up in his brother’s defense. “Back off!”

  Molly immediately sided with Keterlyn. “Those things are dangerous.”

  Keterlyn moved on, knowing she would have to help Tempest sooner rather than later in reversing the spell, and wanting to finish up their meeting. She wanted to make sure they understood the gravity of the issue and made plans to keep eachother safe – if that was even possible. “Lormorian seems able to find us now. We need to band together. We need to be able to trust eachother, and we have to put into place a plan to keep ourselves safe.”

  “Keep eachother safe?” Lily tried to clarify.

  “She meant ourselves.” Micala pointed out. “Each to their own at the end of the day – isn’t that right.” Micala gave Keterlyn an accusing look which she didn’t try to object to. She had been clear from the start – she would save herself first. The fact she was briefing everyone, had helped them train, was as unlike her usual MO as it was. In spite of that, Anise, Zara and Rebecca looked anxious, waiting for some kind of protest.

  “We’re in this together.” Daniel spoke up for Keterlyn, who immediately felt a pang of guilt.

  “Why do you think he can find us?” Jake asked, remaining even headed.

  “He blasted me with a lightning bolt. Tends to convince me.” Daniel illustrated.

  “Where were you?” Ashleigh queried. When Daniel stumbled to answer, and tried not to ignore Lily and Molly’s smile, Ashleigh asked again. “When you were hit, where were you, what were you doing? When a few of the others gave her disbelieving looks, surprised that she hadn’t noticed the two’s poorly disguised tryst, she looked confused. “It might help us figure out if there is a common factor.”

  “We were … training. Inside.” Keterlyn answered quickly.

  “You guys are such bad liars.” Abel offered.

  Anise sighed “How cute.”

  “Let’s get back on topic.” Keterlyn directed.

  “The point might be though,” reasoned Zara, “Maybe he found you, not Daniel. Maybe it’s not us, it’s you.”

  There was a hammering on the door that intruded on the awkward silence that followed. Voices called for Tempest.

  “Tempest – go negate your spell, send them on their way and we can focus on what we need to do today – find a way to remove ourselves from Lormorian’s radar.” Keterlyn said as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

  As he rose, Tempest felt the ground start to shake. In a millisecond, everyone felt it, and worry took over the group, some standing, some bracing themselves on the lecture seats as the trembling built. A large crack formed in one of the walls.

  Almost as suddenly as it started, the tremors stopped but Keterlyn knew not to relax. Taking a step towards the staircase, and away from the fissure, she readied an energy charge in her palm.

  From where the wall had been split there was a scurrying, scraping sound. Now everyone stood, eyes glued on the dark aperture.

  From the wall several small, demonic creatures emerged about the size of a Terrier dog, but with four eyes, feet like a chicken, wings like a bat, and covered in a combination of fur and scales. As they emerged, they screeched, revealing one sharp fang which protruded from their jaws and a ridge of smaller, razor sharp teeth behind. The creatures began to scurry up the walls.

  “Run!” Keterlyn called, and everyone headed for the doors.

  “What are they?” Rebecca asked s she took the stairs two at a time.

  “Frionds,” Keterlyn replied. “And if I’m not mistaken, Lemures won’t be far behind.”

  Anise came up behind them, Will hot on her heels. “Lemures?” Anise asked. “Like the fuzzy creatures from Madagascar?” she added hopefully.

  Abel reached the doors first and tried to swing them open, but the locks Tempest had put into place caught. Tempest helped Abel to pull out the locks he had so securely put into place.

  “No – like the disgruntled dead who can temporarily posses recently deceased corpses. That kind of Lemures.” Keterlyn spelt out for them.

  Throwing the doors open, the group were met with a half a dozen dead looking people standing there - Lemures. Freezing in their places, a Friond caught up with them and jumped at Anise who screamed.

  Will grabbed it, throwing it across the room, but not before it managed to bite him, drawing blood.

  Discharging the energy she had summoned, Keterlyn caused the Lemures to fell backwards momentarily, giving Keterlyn and the others a chance to run for the exits.

  Micala, Will and Anise ran one way, while everyone else went the other, Keterlyn following more slowly as she tried to ascertain the scope of what they were up against. Frionds scattered down the hallways after the two separate groups, while the Lemures, hampered by their decaying limbs, scrambled to get to their feet. Once they did manage to stand, they began to run with surreal movements, some leaping and turning as they increased their pace.

  Micala’s group managed to make it to the double doors separating the hall from the next area of the building. Micala willed the doors to open in front of them, and Will and Anise followed her through. It was the cafeteria. Making their way to the emergency exit, Will pushed down on the handle ready to open the door to the outside when Anise stopped him. Nodding her head towards the window, the small group saw Lemures skulking around. Each held their breath as Will slowly released the handle, not wanting to rouse the creatures outside. As Will moved the handle back in to place, they all began to back away. The lock clicked back in to place and the Lemure outside the window’s head snapped around. Will, Anise and Micala all gasped in a breath as the drooling, grey-skinned creature bared its rotted teeth before launching itself at the glass.

  Meanwhile, the others ran down the other corridor. As they made it to the staircase joining the lower level of the building to their floor, Keterlyn halted them. “Running isn’t going to work.” She motioned to the side doors leading to the library. They all moved inside looking for an exit. Molly and Tempest nervously looked over to Keterlyn when they realized there was no way out. “We stand here.” Keterlyn announced.

  Just then a Lemure smashed itself through a window to the left in the library. Tempest, scared by sudden arrival, took off, running down the hall. Abel shouted after him, but he was already gone, So Abel turned back around preparing to deal with the oncoming Lemures, and Frionds.

  Lily stood fast next to Keterlyn. Concentrating, let her eyes slip closed and summoned an illusion of a burning blue flame snaking out from her and around their group. The first of the Frionds to reach them skidded to a halt at the sight of the fire, the ones behind them scattering and squawking in distress, and being trampled on by the advancing Lemures who were undeterred by the fires. Keterlyn in the meantime broke away from the group, laying her hands on the Lemure that had smashed through the glass. As she did, the creature turned and walked into a wall, repeatedly knocking itself on the head as it tried to walk through an opening that was not there.

  Zara held out her arms, making chairs, books and boards from the walls fly forward and into the Lemures, knowing a few off balance. As the remaining Lemures walked across Lily’s illusion, it dissipated, enticing the Frionds back towards them. Gaining confidence, Zara walked forwards still hurling items at the Frionds and Lemures, until two managed to grab her, taking her leg and dragging Zara as she screamed through the open library doors and down the hallway.

  Daniel, Molly
and Keterlyn ran after her, Daniel launching the energy spheres they had been learning the night before. One of the Lemures dragging Zara was struck, and dropped her. Losing the balance, the second Lemure stumbled but kept advancing, fingernails breaking Zara’s skin. Zara twisted to look at him, pointed a finger and started to mutter, only to be cut off be her head hitting a doorway, and rendering her unconscious. Still rushing after their friend, Molly raised her right arm and opened her hand facing towards the ceiling. Molly then wrenched her arm down, pulling her hand into a fist as she did. Part of the ceiling gave way and fell on top of the Lemure crushing him, and burying Zara in the surrounding rubble. Molly, Daniel and Keterlyn started pulling debris from her just as the Frionds reached Jake, Ashleigh, Rebecca and Abel.

  The Frionds might have been small but the sharp claws and single fang that protruded over their jaw made them dangerous enough. One jumped at Jake, who struggled to keep hold of it as it tried to slash and bite at him. Ashleigh moved to help, but one scrambled up her leg, tearing in to the flesh and distracting her. Abel tore at a table leg, pressing down on the top with his foot as he pulled the leg off in time to knock one of the Frionds away from him. Next he swung at one Rebecca had kicked away, holding her long skirt up to free herself to use her heeled boots to smack it in the head.

  More and more Frionds advanced, and though Abel shielded Rebecca from the next two, swinging away as he stood in front of her, he and Ashleigh raised their arms to deflect from their attack, when three exploded, intestines and blood sputtering over Ashleigh. Rebecca peered out from behind Abel.

  “Just, just. Ugh!” Ashleigh was unable to help herself as she picked green tissue from her shoulder.

  “I didn’t know you could do that!” Abel exclaimed, impressed.

  “I didn’t know I could do that!” Ashleigh replied.

  Jake reappeared, similarly covered in Friond guts. “You didn’t – I did.”

  Rebecca Abel and Ashleigh all looked similarly awed. “I hope you don’t hold grudges.” Abel added, as he picked up one of the dead Frionds from the floor and hurled it down the corridor towards the Lemures. The carcass of the Friond collided headfirst with a Lemure and lodged in its head, beak first. The now dead Lemure fell amongst the fleeing Frionds.

  “Nice throw.” Jake commented as a Lemure appeared behind him.

  It reached past Jake, clawing at Rebecca, snagging her shirt. Jake reached out instinctively and touched it’s arm as Ashleigh pulled Rebecca away. Abel was about to hit the thing with his bent table leg, when it let out an ear-piercing shriek. The Lemure shuddered and convulsed under Jake’s touch, collapsing to the floor still twitching, before it finally stilled, smoke rising from it’s corpse.

  Ashleigh gave Jake another astonished look. “Aren’t you full of interesting surprises.”

  Another set of Lemures break through the door behind them, and Ashleigh sets a barrier that they bounce off, scattering around the barrier she created that covers Micala, Jake, Ashleigh and Abel.

  The Lemures continued to walk forward, and while Jake, Abel, Ashleigh and Rebecca stood, Keterlyn arrived behind them, clutched Ashleigh and Abel’s shoulder and transported them away outside. Daniel appeared behind Jake and Rebecca, and followed Keterlyn outside where Zara, was standing next to Molly who was holding her up, and Rebecca lay on the ground having tumbled down, exhausted.

  Will, Micala and Anise arrived around the corner, breathless from running and fighting the Lemures. Rebecca looked up at Will concerned as Anise gathered herself. “They just ended up leaving.” she said between ragged breaths. “We killed a few, but they left.” She continued until she noticed how Rebecca was looking at Will.

  “What is it?” Will asked of Rebecca.

  “Help me up?” Rebecca said, extending an arm towards Will. He took it, but as his skin touched hers, Rebecca knew immediately what it was she had been sensing.

  “Tempest!” Rebecca cried out as she stood “He’s gone...”