Lorik The Defender (The Lorik Trilogy) (29 page)

Stone had led the way down the dark staircase. They were moving slowly, despite their fear for Lorik’s life. Then, they began to hear sounds, but they were indistinct and impossible to make out. They kept moving down the stairs, Stone had his knife out in one hand, the other was on the wall. Vera was behind him, with one hand on Stone’s shoulder, the other one on the wall. Issalyn brought up the rear.

Eventually Stone saw a faint light ahead. It was actually on the opposite side of the spiraling stone staircase from where he and the others were slowly descending. He called out to his friend.

“Lorik? Is that you?”

“Go back!” came the shouted reply.

Stone’s heart leapt knowing that his friend was still alive. If Lorik was fighting, Stone had no doubt who would be victorious.

“Hold on, we’re coming,” Stone shouted again, focusing on moving down the dark steps as quickly as he could.

“No, don’t!” Lorik screamed.

There was a note of panic in Lorik’s voice. A strain of desperation that Stone had never heard before. It made him hesitate, fear clawing at Stone’s resolve.

“We have to help him,” Vera urged.

A massive crack sounded in the pit, echoing off the stone walls. Stone felt the step he was on shudder and the fear of falling paralyzed him. Then came the sound of stone crumbling and falling away.

“Oh, god,” Vera muttered.

“Hold on to something,” Stone told the others.

The stairs trembled again. Then Lorik’s voice rang out in the darkness again.

“The stairs are out. Go back!”

“Look,” Vera said, pinching Stone’s shoulder. “There he is.”

The soft glow across the circular pit seemed to increase and Stone could make out two shadowy forms fighting through a dark opening in the wall.

“Lorik!” Issalyn screamed.

The cry shook Stone into action.

“We’ve got to go back,” he said. “We’re no help to him like this.”

“Are you sure?” Vera asked.

Just then, before Stone could reply, they saw the two shadowy figures topple off the stairs and drop down into the darkness below. Stone leaned forward, feeling as if the darkness was pulling him forward as he tried to see what happened to his friend.

“No!” screamed Issalyn.

“Move!” Stone said. “We’re going back up.”

“Go! Go!” Vera told Issalyn.

Stone heard the other woman sobbing. His heart went out to her, but there was nothing he could do to comfort her. His own heart seemed to be convulsing in his chest, rather than beating, and his mind was astutely rejecting what he’d just seen. Lorik had fallen, he had taken the man he was fighting with him, but they had both fallen into the pit. Stone had no idea how far down the massive, underground cavern went, but the tiny dots of illumination that had been around Lorik had disappeared into the darkness below and there were no sounds of bodies landing.

“Is he gone?” Vera asked, her voice trembling.

“I don’t know,” Stone replied honestly.

“He can’t be,” Vera said.

Issalyn was sobbing. They made their way back up the spiraling stone stairway much faster than they had gone down. In the long hallway where they could see from the high, vine covered windows, they huddled together. Tears were on each of their faces as they dealt with the realization that Lorik was most likely dead.

“What do we do now?” Vera asked.

Stone was pondering the same question. He couldn’t imaging just leaving, not knowing if his friend was truly alive or dead. But their problems were twofold. They needed a source of light and they needed a way to get past the crumbled staircase, if they were to have any chance of finding Lorik.

“He’s... gone...” said Issalyn, between sobs.

“How do you know?” Vera said angrily.

“The pit was deep, too deep to survive.”

“You don’t know that,” Vera snapped. “You don’t know Lorik, he’s special.”

“No one could survive that fall,” Issalyn said.

“Well, we have to know for sure,” Stone said. “We have to find a way down. What’s at the bottom?”

“I was held prisoner at the bottom,” Issalyn explained. “There’s animals down there too.”

“What kind of animals?” Vera asked.

“Pigs, sheep, chickens,” Issalyn explained. “And there are rooms carved into the rock. I don’t know how many, but a lot.”

“We have to get down there,” Stone said.

“How?” Vera asked. “The stairs are out.”

“We need to find out how many stairs were ruined,” Stone said. “We need light.”

“Then we need fire,” Vera said. “We’ll have to go back to our camp.”

“Okay,” Issalyn said. “What are we waiting for?”

“There are gargoyles outside,” Stone said. “They’ll be waiting for us.”

“Maybe not,” Vera said. “If Lorik killed the man he was fighting, maybe the gargoyles have turned back into stone.”

“It’s possible,” Issalyn said. “Lorik was fighting Josston, the man who kidnapped me and Princess Amvyr. He was the leader of the people here.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Stone said.

Vera nodded and Stone swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, then he led them back down the dim hallway. At the entrance to the large, dark room beyond he made a plan.

“I’ll go through the doorway alone. There’s really no need for us all to risk our lives. I’ll go back to the camp and come back with torches.”

“I don’t like you going alone,” Vera said.

“It’s the best option we have,” Stone said. “There’s no sense in risking both our lives.”

“But don’t we have a better chance of success if we stay together. What if you get hurt and need help.”

“I don’t want you risking your life, and the life of our baby for me.”

“We won’t have a life without you,” she said, tears filling her eyes.

“I’m glad you feel that way,” he said calmly. “And you know I won’t do anything stupid, but this is the best way.”

“He’s right,” Issalyn said. “We can stay here, where it’s safe, together.” She put her arm around Vera’s shoulders.

Both Issalyn and Vera were crying. Stone kissed Vera, then walked into the darkness of the larger cavern. He used the small bit of light from the long corridor to navigate. Keeping the light behind him, he moved into the darkness with hands stretched out in front of him. He still had his knife in his right hand, just in case he ran into something unpleasant in the darkness.

The first thing he found was the cold, stone wall. It felt better just having something solid under his hand that he could identify in the darkness. He started shuffling along the wall and soon came to the mass of vines that marked the exit. He moved into the vines, fighting his way forward as they seemed to tear at his clothes and skin. He felt cold, a fear of being lost forever in the darkness seemed to bombard his mind. He was on the verge of panic when he suddenly stepped outside into the bright midday sunlight. He glanced around, his eyes squinting in the sudden change of light. It reminded him of dreams when, with danger all around, he couldn’t keep his eyes open.

He blinked rapidly, trying his best to adjust quickly. There was no sign of the gargoyles around the entrance, at least until Stone looked up. The gargoyles still circled overhead like vultures, waiting for their next meal. He started running.

Stone was a fast man, and he could sprint faster than most for short distances, but it was nearly half a mile out of the valley and back up the steep hill to where their supplies were stashed. Stone guessed that it was a huge mistake to have not thought of bringing supplies for making a fire. He had a small flint rod in his pack, along with some dry straw to help get fires started. He could have carried those supplies in a pouch on his belt and they wouldn’t be in such a mess.

He ran in an erratic pattern. He couldn’t run in any one direction for very long, nor did he want to give away the destination he was trying to reach. The gargoyles had been shown to block his way if they knew where he was going and he couldn’t afford to give them that chance again.

He ran quickly, but well short of a full sprint. He needed to save his greatest speed for the mad dash he would have to make up the hillside. He had to dodge from side to side, the gargoyles were falling faster, sometimes two or three at a time. Stone made it to the edge of the ruins before he had to stop and fight.

Three gargoyles dropped to the ground ten paces in front of him, and when he turned to reverse directions, two more fell. He was almost surrounded, the green skinned beasts were growling and moving faster now, as if the longer they were flesh and blood creatures, the quicker they became.

Stone dashed to the side, hoping to sprint past the lumbering beasts, but the nearest gargoyle launched itself right into the young warrior’s path. Stone reacted instinctively. The gargoyle was standing up, looking like a crane with its fat body perched on the stick like legs. Stone slid feet first, diving right between the gargoyle’s legs. It tried to drop on top of him, which would have crushed Stone, but he brought his trusty knife up as he slid. The heavy blade sliced open a wide gash on the gargoyles backside, and caused the green monster to hop upward to escape the pain.

Green blood doused Stone, but he kept moving, jumping to his feet and continuing his flight toward the hill. He had to swipe the gargoyle’s blood from his eyes and nose, some even got into his mouth, tasting grimy and salty. He spit as he ran, continuing to change directions. He jumped past another falling gargoyle and then ran in a circle on the wide valley between the ruins and the hillside.

Stone’s heart was pounding and he knew he couldn’t keep up his current pace much longer, not to mention actually increasing his speed up the hillside. His legs were burning and sweat was pouring off of him, despite the cold winter air. He decided that he had to make his charge up the hill. Over half of the gargoyles were still on the ground, trying to cut off his escape. He ran through a small gap in the line of green monsters as they tried to surround him again. Then he ran as fast he could. The burst of speed threw off the gargoyles’ strategy for a moment. Stone ran as fast as he could up the steep hill, a stitch searing his abdominal muscles on one side. He had to scramble over a patch of loose rocks and he was bent nearly double, using his hands to stay upright on the steep hill.

One of the gargoyles tried to drop in front of Stone, but the creature bounced on the steep hillside. Stone covered his head as the creature flew over him and then rolled down the hill. Stone hurried forward again only to hear the sound of trees snapping like giant twigs as more of the creatures fell on the hilltop, smashing through the foliage and knocking down trees.

Stone knew he couldn’t move straight to their camp. He would need some time to find his pack and untie it from the tree. If he ran straight to it, the gargoyles would be all over him. He needed to lose them in the forest and then double back to the campsite. He angled his ascent, heading for a dense copse of evergreen trees. Another gargoyle dropped near the top of the hill, but it caused a minor avalanche and slid away from Stone. He raced over the edge of the hill and into the trees at full speed, only to find a steep ravine waiting for him.

Stone fell, headfirst, crashing through the brush and rolling over saplings. When he finally came to a stop he was in a wash, where rainwater flowing down the hills cut a narrow channel through the forest. The sides of the wash were taller than he was and the bottom was filled with freezing cold water. He got to his feet, ignoring the pain from his fall, and ran forward. He splashed through the water, which slowed his progress, but the trees on either side made it hard for the gargoyles to locate him. He kept running forward until one of the flying creatures passed overhead. He knew that once the creature circled back it would drop in the ravine and block his progress. He was just about to scramble up the side of the wash when he realized it was mostly mud and loose stones. He knew it would be a difficult climb. Then he saw a small cave. It was little more than an oblong hole in the muddy side of the wash. Tree roots hung down like deformed spider webs over the cave and Stone doubted that it was much more than a pocket in the muddy ground, but he decided if he could slip into it unseen, he could at least rest before the gargoyles found his hiding place.

He dove into the cave, which was chest high above the water in the wash. He landed on muddy rocks and wiggled inside. The cave was big enough to hide in and he squirmed back away from the opening. He lay still for a moment, his side aching and his chest heaving from his run. He tried to listen for the gargoyles but it took several minutes before he could stop panting and really listen. When he did, he was shocked at what he heard.

Deeper in the cave he heard grunting. At first he thought it was an animal and feared he’d woken a hibernating bear. He knew that bears were notoriously nasty when woken from their winter slumber. But then Stone noticed that the grumbling sounded like words. It reminded Stone of an angry child. The voice was very deep, too deep to be human, but the speech was childish and the words were ill formed, as if the speaker had a lisp or cleft palate.

Stone waited as long as he dared before scrambling back out of the cave. He fell into the cold water at the bottom of the wash and rose dripping and shaking. Then, a gargoyle swooped down, and landed heavily in the narrow confines of the wash. Stone began to slowly back up, but then to his surprise the creature from the cave rolled out and splashed into the wash. It was shorter than Stone, but three times as wide, with massive shoulders, and short arms that were easily as big around as both of Stone’s legs. It wore clothes that were patched together to cover its misshapen body. Only the feet were bare, and the wide feet had at least a dozen small, stubby toes. The head was huge, like a giant pumpkin, the hair wiry and matted with dirt. There was very little neck, and a thick fold of hardened skin hung from just below the hair line almost to the creature’s shoulder blades. It had a belt that was made from sections of rope that were tied together with clumsy looking knots and even had a scabbard hanging from one hip, but there was no sword.