Fate's Hand (16 page)

“
I think we should go back to the place where you received the hand,” Asher said to Val A few weeks had passed and Val was up and moving once again. His wounds were not completely healed, but getting there. He rolled a rock around in his red hand, feeling the cool stone across his palm.

“
I don’t think the area had anything to do with this, but I don’t have any better ideas.” He looked up to see Rylan and Daria returning from one of their many walks.

“
We will leave tomorrow morning, backtracking the way I came,” Val said to the two, interrupting their talk. Daria frowned and began to reply, but Val cut her off.

“
Yes, sister, I am well enough to travel. My wounds are closed up. If we get in any trouble, I won’t need to lift a finger.” He looked at Rylan and Asher.

Rylan patted his chest, strapped with bottles. “That’s right. With the brothers traveling with you, you need not worry.” Rylan smacked his brother on the back. Val smirked and left to pack up for the trip.

Early the next morning, the four said their goodbyes to the last few people staying in the camp and headed out. They traveled back the way they had come and talked all along the way. Days went by and the group found themselves back on the trails of the Grey Hills. A storm was coming in, so Asher scouted out a cave for them to take shelter. They made camp with a small fire at the mouth of the cave and Daria began to prepare a meal. The dark purple clouds swirled around in the evening sky. Silent flashes from somewhere high above the clouds would light them up. The cave was high enough that the lighting flashes lit up the terrain as if it were mid-day. Several deer and other creatures ran through the small outcrops and bushes. Rylan joined Asher and shared the view.

“
We could use the meat,” Asher said.

Rylan looked at the warm fire and dry cave with longing. Daria smiled up at him from across the fire.

“I hate you,” Rylan whispered to Asher as he unsheathed his dagger and exited the cave.               Val watched Rylan leave, his cloak flapping in the sporadic, violent winds. “Why wouldn’t you just go shoot one with your bow?”

Asher walked back toward the fire and started to remove his pack and weapons. “It’s his turn. Besides, he works well in the dark. It won’t take him long, I’m sure.”

Daria gave a silent smile and watched the oncoming storm as their last bit of meat cooked. Val peered into the darkness of the cave. “You know, I think I actually came into this cave at one point.”

Rylan looked up at the brewing storm as light, stinging drops of rain began to fall. He gave a heavy sigh as he pulled his cowl down. A movement to his left caught his eye
—a juvenile elk cantering through the rocks. The animal disappeared among the terrain and Rylan ran his hands across his bottles, deciding which to use. He smirked as his fingers stopped on a certain vial, and he used his body to shield it from the rain as he uncapped it. He placed the mouth of the bottle against his neck and tilted it slightly. Immediately, he felt the changes surging through his body. He slid up his thick, leather collar as a second shield from the rain and replaced the vial.

The pain was intense, but he had taught himself to tune it out and focus on the sensory changes in the transformation. His knees buckled, but he hissed and tightened his muscles to keep standing. He felt his fingers growing longer as the joints popped and extended. The change was relatively fast, but it took a few minutes to settle into a form. He kept his eyes closed and listened.

He could hear the deep rumble of the storm and small pebbles being blown around the rocky ground. He listened to the wind sweep across the small, thin branches of nearby bushes, and he could hear the elk. He smiled as he heard the creature's labored breathing and its hooves trotting across the stone. He opened his eyes. Even though the sun was setting behind the dark clouds, the area was illuminated. He blinked a few times and focused his new panther eyes. The colors were dulled, but the details of the rocks and trees were almost outlined to highlight each rock and shrub. He looked down at his hands unclenched his fist, stretching his fingers out. His palms were thickly padded and each finger had a long, sharp claw on the end, retractable enough so he could unsheathe his knife without cutting himself.

Satisfied, he took a few practice bounces. His legs were tight and light, and moving felt as easy as if someone was lifting him. He jumped straight up and brought his knees all the way up to his chest with ease. He landed with only a slight muffled sound.

He could feel the claws on his toes scratching the inside of his boots, but he had dealt with this many times before. His boots were custom designed, padded in a way to give him freedom of movement without having to remove them each time he changed. He took quick steps in the direction of his prey, but came to a halt after he felt the pressure in his waist. Smiling, he pulled the back of his pants down slightly and freed his long, furry tail. The tail whipped out from his pants and gave a few playful swings.

He took off on all fours, running silently across the rocks. The elk had run up a game trail, but Rylan used his new form to easily leap from boulder to boulder and make his way almost straight up the rock face. He stopped, crouched in the shadows, and listened once again. He could hear that he was ahead of the animal now, so Rylan unsheathed his dagger, his muscles tense and ready to spring.

Rylan took in his surroundings and immediately noticed a large fissure in the mountain. He looked at the ground and his eyes picked out worn rocks to avoid. He listened and decided he could move out of the rain and get ahead of the elk undetected. Rylan silently slipped across the open ground and over to the edge of the cave. He peered in and, with his keen night vision, made out the layout of the cave. It was short and narrow, and after a few spear lengths, the shaft took a hard turn to the left. Spider webs covered the walls of the cave and grew thicker and larger as they neared the turn. Rylan took a few deep breaths and smelled the rain and animal droppings in the cave.

He waited for several moments but the animal never came. A cool breeze from behind Rylan raised the hairs on the back of his neck. He turned and looked into the cave once again. The older loose spider webs hanging off the cave wall were blowing and being sucked back as the draft changed. An ending somewhere far away on the other side of the cave whistled as a strong wind rushed across its opening. Rylan stared at the webs and imagined the size and number of spiders it took to accomplish such a task. A thunderous clap and the sound of hooves ringing off stone snapped Rylan from his contemplation.

He prepared to ambush the animal as it ran past the cave. He was shocked to find a massive male elk charging into the cave to escape the thunder. Rylan tried to roll out of the way, but the narrow cave gave him little space. The large elk barreled into Rylan and rammed him into the cave wall. Rylan grimaced and took the hit, but was more upset about the sound of glass cracking against the stone. Rylan dropped his knife and grabbed the thick fur of the frantic elk, trying to push it away. The large elk raised up with its front legs as it turned its body, pushing Rylan directly ahead of him once again.

Rylan hunched down and prepared to jump away, but quickly realized he was at the turn of the cave. The walls were much more narrow and the ceiling more short. He looked back at the elk in distress as the creature lowered its head and charged antlers first. The massive antlers nearly filled the space of the narrow shaft. Rylan tried to move farther into the cave, but came face first into thick, sticky webbing. He panicked and tried to push farther in, but the mass of webs held him in place as the elk rammed his antlers into his back. He was slammed through the webs and the ground dropped out from underneath him. In immense pain, Rylan fell freely and tried to reach out to anything solid. He slammed against the far side of the pit and fell the last few feet to the jagged stone floor.

Rylan laid still; everything hurt. At the very least, his right leg was broken. He looked up, focused his eyes, and tried to drown out the ringing in his ears. He stared up the deep shaft as a bright light and a deep rumble filled the cave. In the moment's flash, he saw several holes along the tall shaft just like the one he fell through, each one covered by a thick, white web that lit up like milk glass.

The entire shaft was covered in spider webs.

Rylan panicked and tried to pull his hand out from behind his back. He rolled his body slightly and accomplished the task, but stopped as he felt out with his fingers. He slowly relaxed his muscles and settled his back flat against the sharp stones. Rylan grabbed something from underneath him and brought it before his eyes, only to realize he wasn’t laying on sharp stone, but a massive pile of bones. His chest ached as he breathed.

Ribs must be broken as well. Great,
he thought.

With his free hand, he pawed his belt for the troll blood vial. Another flash of lightning illuminated the shaft. Rylan froze as he saw a large spider silently lowering itself down the string of webs. Rylan held his breath and hoped the massive beast hadn’t seen him. The spider reached the shaft where he had busted through and quietly slipped into the opening. Rylan uncapped the bottle and wiped off the panther blood, then rubbed on the troll blood.

He quickly realized his mistake.

His body was trying to revert back to its human state when he applied the troll blood. The runes lit up immediately, covered in the new blood, trying to alter his form. The mix of transformations and the existing injury were too much, and he felt the floor spinning underneath him. His breath became sporadic as his bones cracked and tried to reform around the breaks. The elk screamed from somewhere in the cave as Rylan lost consciousness.

Rylan woke up with a pounding headache and a spinning world. He tried to take a deep breath, but it felt like there was a massive weight on his chest. He slowly opened his eyes and remembered he was in trouble. His vision was blurred and covered by a layer of webbing. He was a pendulum, dangling upside down and spinning slowly at the top of the cave shaft. Rylan struggled against the webbing, but it didn’t budge. He bent his waist and wiggled, but stopped when he felt the web give, drooping slightly under the weight and movement of his struggle. He forced the web back as he arched his neck and looked down.

Rylan was hanging a bow shot from the broken bones and rock bottom welcoming him at the bottom of the shaft. Trying to settle his breathing down, he looked around gingerly to take stock of his situation. He flexed his hands and felt his senses and quickly realized the troll blood was still on his tattoo. His sharp claws ripped through the first layers of the web.