Bound to the Abyss (31 page)

The Seeker locked eyes with Ean. For a moment, it was a standoff. Then EliZane made a motion across his own neck, like a knife slicing it open and then pointed at Ean. Continuing his stare for one last moment, EliZane wordlessly took off into the woods.

Ean gulped, knowing that he had made a permanent enemy this day.
 

Not satisfied with scaring the man off, the Cruxlum gave chase. It was able to keep up with the Seeker fairly well. The only time it fell behind was when EliZane slipped through an area of particularly dense trees, but that only slowed the beast for an instant. Instead of trying to go around to a spot where it could get through the trees, the Cruxlum simply flexed its arms and swung them out, knocking aside the thicker trees and uprooting the smaller ones. If Ean wanted to, he could easily follow the pair just by following the path of destruction the Cruxlum left.

But Ean had no desire to follow after them, or had any energy to do so for that matter. Between all the blows he had received and the strain of summoning such a large beast, he could barely stand. Jaslen and Bran appeared at his side. They each took an arm and helped him to his feet.

“What was that?” Jaslen whispered, her voice a mixture of exhaustion and excitement. She was looking off in the direction the creature had went, as was Bran.

“It was a Cruxlum,” Ean said hesitantly, the aftereffects of summoning such a large creature still taking a toll on his strength. “A very powerful warrior.”
 

He hadn’t been able to decipher much else from the pictures in the Abysmal Tome about most of the creatures that he had found. In all honesty, he had only known what it was from its inaccurate depiction in the Abysmal Tome and Zin yelling about a four-armed creature.

“What made it so angry?” Bran asked. “It seemed to go from annoyed at being brought here to enraged in a matter of moments.”
 

Bran was still looking in the direction the Seeker and the Cruxlum had gone, but while Jaslen seemed genuinely fascinated by it, Bran looked concerned. He also kept glancing over at the still glowing runes of the summoning circle.
 

“And will it come back for us?”

“No?” Ean tried to keep the question out of his voice but he couldn’t help it. He moved on quickly to the first question Bran had asked. “As for what made it so angry, I have no idea. You were talking to it, Zin. Did you say something to set it off?”

The imp got up slowly and limped over to where the three of them were standing. When he got next to them, he sent a swift kick to Ean’s shin. The spiteful little thing had stuck out the claws on his foot and caught Ean with them as well.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“Always questions, and never even a thank you for saving your life.” The imp’s teeth were bared and his little yellow eyes had narrowed into slits. “For once I would like to be appreciated for everything I do, especially when it involves risking my own neck.”

The pain that the summoning had caused Ean was disappearing, but it was being replaced by guilt. Ean really had taken the imp for granted since the day he had first summoned him. Shaking his head, he realized that he was no better towards Zin then the bullies at home had been towards himself. Of course, Jaslen was also shooting him a disappointed look, her hands on her hips, a clear indication that she was on the verge of giving him a piece of her mind. Well, at least he could try to make things right.

“You’re right, Zin. You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry.” The imp’s eyes widened for a moment but then returned to glaring just as quickly. “I know I take you for granted most of the time,” -- Zin grunted at ‘most’ -- “but I promise I’ll treat you the same as I treat Bran and Jaslen from now on. As an equal.”

That finally got the imp to relax, his eyes softening and a slightly embarrassed look crossing his face. “Yes, well, that would be appreciated. After all, I was the only one to actually do any damage to that skinny fool. That makes me the best warrior out of the four of us.” The nervous little laugh the imp gave let Ean knew things were okay, and his companions joined in with laughs of their own.
 

“Well,” Ean said, feeling slightly better about the situation. “How are you feeling, brave warrior? It looked like the Seeker tossed you pretty far.”

“I’ve had much worse, believe me. One time, down in the Abyss, I got caught by a —” The imp suddenly cut off, his jaw dropping.

“What is it, Zin?” Jaslen asked walking over to him. “Are you alright? No need to act tough around us. If that Seeker really hurt you, you should tell us.”

“Ba … uh … ca …” The imp was making absolutely no sense.

“Seriously, Zin, what is it?” Ean was starting to get worried. The pain from the summoning was almost gone now, but he didn’t think he could summon anything else. He felt tired and drained and had no desire to pull in any more energy from the Abyss.

Still stuttering, the imp pointed at a spot behind Ean. He turned and finally saw what was causing the imp so much shock. There, on the ground, was Ean’s summoning circle, its glow still casting shadows all about the forest. Except now, the glow lessened, grew weak, and then finally disappeared altogether.

Ean’s expression mirrored Zin’s, shock overriding every other emotion he had been feeling. In the few times that Ean had summoned anything, he had either had to break the item he had inscribed the summoning runes on or physically make the runes disappear. Never before had the runes simply vanished on their own, and he had no idea what it meant. As if reading his thoughts, Zin spoke, his words choppy and the shock and fear clear in his voice.

“It’s dead. The Cruxlum is dead.” The imp made it sound as if the moons had suddenly disappeared from the skies above. “The Seeker we fought or those other two Seekers killed a Cruxlum. We need to go.”

Despite sounding as certain as the sun rising in the sky, Ean couldn’t believe what Zin was saying. “There is no way they could have killed a creature like that. The Seeker we faced was clearly a skilled warrior, but his blade didn’t even —”

“For the circle to disappear, it either had to be closed by you or the thing is dead,” Zin said, cutting him off. “Which means those Seekers could be doubling back right this moment. We don’t have time to argue. We have to get out of here now!”

Not waiting for any of them to respond, the imp took off at a run, his little legs moving faster than Ean had ever seen. Bran and Jaslen watched him go for a moment, looked at each other, and then took off after him. Which left Ean standing there for a few moments before he chased after them as well.

What kind of men could kill a creature like the Cruxlum? With the power from the Abyss drained away, coupled with his injuries, Ean found it difficult to run. Keeping up with his friends seemed impossible. Pushed only by his will to survive, he mustered up his last bit of strength and sprinted after them.

Chapter 21

LOSSES AND GAINS

They ran.
 

Ran until the low light of day that penetrated the canopy of the forest began to fade. Then they ran some more. It grew more and more difficult to dodge around trees and over stumps as the day came to a close, but they pushed on. Even when Ean could barely see what was right in front of him, they continued on. They would have kept going all night if Bran hadn’t gotten a foot caught in a loose root. He went down hard, letting out a small yelp of surprise, and by the time Ean and Jaslen got to him, he was gripping his foot.

“I twisted my ankle,” Bran said, a hint of annoyance in his raspy voice. “There is no way I can keep up our pace now.”

“It’s … alright Bran …” Jaslen said, leaning over with her hands on her knees. “I don’t think my lungs can handle much more running, and Ean doesn’t look much better off than I do.”

She flashed Ean a weak smile which took the sting out of the comment, but Ean knew she was right. His sides hurt, his lungs burned, and he could feel a hundred different stings from where low lying branches had smacked his body. Even the boost the energies of the Abyss had given him was starting to wear out. A rest at this point would serve all of them well.

“What are you all doing?” Zin said, appearing from ahead of them. The imp had outpaced all three of them, even with his shorter legs. Looking annoyed, Zin sat down heavily, his breathing coming in quick wheezes. “I don’t know if any amount of distance would keep us safe from those Seeker people.”

Jaslen carefully sat down next to the little imp and gave him a charming smile.

“Then it shouldn’t matter if we stop here, Zin. Bran can’t go any further because of his ankle, and Ean and I were on the verge of collapsing anyway.”

Turning to Ean, she raised an eyebrow. “Do you have anything that would help with a twisted ankle?”

“It will be an easy fix,” he replied, “just a little Nevbane to numb it, some Garone Powder for the swelling, and then a tight wrap to keep it steady, and he’ll be able to put pressure on it by the morning. It will still be sore for a couple of days, but we have plenty of Nevbane and Garone Powder to keep him going.”

Jaslen and Bran nodded in agreement, but Zin looked less than impressed. The imp crossed his arms and let out a frustrated sigh, but kept his mouth closed. Not having a biting comment about the average human’s lack of endurance was rare for the imp, but Ean wasn’t about to question his sudden self restraint.

Helping Bran to his feet, the group stumbled around in the dark until they found a place with enough room to set up camp. They found a clearing of flat dirt free of stones and roots just large enough to fit their small group. Settling in, Jaslen started to help Bran remove his boot from the injured ankle while Ean focused on opening his Pocket and getting their supplies.

“Yes, brilliant idea. Use more energy from the Abyss,” Zin said sarcastically, approaching Ean just as the runes flared to life. “Not only is the light it creates easily visible in this gloomy place, but in case you didn’t notice, the Seekers have a way of tracking that energy. You might as well set all of the trees around us on fire to help lead them to us.”

“I’m just getting out cold food we can eat, medicine for Bran, and a blanket for each of us. We’re smart enough to know better than to start a cooking fire or set up the tents in case we have to leave quickly. And it only takes a few moments now to open and close the Pocket.”

Zin responded with a growl and took a seat a few paces away from the Pocket. Once it was open completely, Ean rooted around for the supplies they would need, then closed the Pocket with a thought.
 

With a thought.

Ean shook his head. He had come so far from the boy who had to sit and painstakingly draw in the runes perfectly for any spell to work. Things were coming to him easier and easier now, which was both exciting and scary. Exciting because he could only imagine what he could do as he learned more spells and summoning runes, scary because that one dream of becoming a monster constantly played itself back in his mind. He would hate to end up injuring his friends, directly or indirectly.

His friends. That word also felt strange to him. Bran and Jaslen had always been nice to him, but in the past he had just seen their actions as coming more from pity than anything else. He never complained back then, of course. Bran significantly decreased the number of times Ean had been bullied and beaten over the years. Jaslen … well, clearly he had feelings for her, so any attention was appreciated, regardless of the reason. But now, after their few weeks of traveling together, he actually felt like they cared about him.
 

Smiling at the thought, Ean grabbed the healing supplies and walked over to his friends. Zin followed along, a look of annoyance still covering his face but remained silent. With Bran’s boot removed, it didn’t take Ean long to fix him up. He covered all around his ankle with Nevbane to numb the pain and Garone Powder for the swelling. Then he finished by wrapping the ankle tight with a cloth, tucking the end back in itself to make sure it stayed on.

“There you go, all fixed up,” Ean said as he leaned back. “Best to keep the boot off until we leave tomorrow. I’ll apply more of the powders and rewrap it before we head out.”

“Thanks, Ean. I appreciate it,” Bran and Jaslen said in unison. They shot each other surprised looks, then burst into laughter. Jaslen’s was rich and full of warmth, and even though it obviously caused Bran’s sore throat some pain, he laughed loudly as well. It only took a few moments for Ean to join in. They needed to laugh with everything that had happened today, and if something as corny as the two of them speaking the same words at the same time brought it about, then so be it. Zin did not join in.

After relieving some of the tension, they sat around quietly, eating some of the dried rations. There wasn’t much conversation as they ate, but everyone seemed to be in a better mood. When they finished eating, they put away their things and got ready to call it a night. Lying about the clearing with full stomachs, it did not take long for all four of the exhausted companions to drift off to sleep.

***

Ean awoke with a start, barely holding in the scream. The nightmare had returned and had seemed more vivid, more real this time around. In it, he had performed countless horrible deeds without the slightest bit of remorse. All he could do in the dream was watch and scream silently in his mind. Ean sat up and shook his head violently, wishing he could shake the dream from his thoughts forever.

Bran and Jaslen were curled up together under a tree while Zin was on his back on a patch of grass, arms and legs spread out in every direction. The imp was snoring. At least everyone else seemed to have gotten a good night’s sleep.

Ean got up. His back was sore, although he couldn’t tell if it was from the night before or from sleeping on the cold earth. Rubbing at his back, he walked off a little ways from where the others were sleeping. He wanted to clear his head. Yesterday had been a blur, but it had also made something painfully clear. With his power growing, he still knew practically nothing about what he could do with it.