Shieldwolf Dawning (30 page)

"Two…" Shieldwolf Longmane counted down. "Hold fast."

The Watchers drew closer. Phaseshifting out of flux and into solid form, their features were now clearly visible to Samarra. Enormous golden horns glimmered in the afternoon sun. Their large, black wings were clawed at the ends like an archeop's, and their eyes glowed like white in black light. Fear wrapped around Samarra like a cloak of cold, but she knew she had to be brave. Today was a matter of life or death.

"Three!"

The Shieldwolves in the outer circle drew signs in the air and whispered words of power. A diamond shield appeared over and around them as protection from the coming onslaught. Some of the Watchers were not fast enough to stop and crashed headfirst into potent magic, which extinguished them on contact.

The surviving Watchers bared their golden fangs for all to see. Horrible, malevolent shrieks filled the air. Samarra felt her body turn cold and ducked at the sound of an explosion above her. The magical dome was cracking under the force of the Watchers. Within seconds, the shield shattered into a million pieces.

Watchers swooped down and clawed at the troops. Samarra tripped and scrambled to her feet as fireballs and ice bolts zipped through the air. Whirlwinds took shape and imprisoned the Watchers. Staffs swung left and right, right and left. The Shieldwolves vanquished their opponents one by one, but it was no easy fight.

Samarra screamed when a Watcher broke formation and headed straight for her. Its tail whipped her cheek. She dodged, and the creature went flailing headfirst into the ground. The Watcher dragged itself to its feet. Phaseshifting to flux form, its skin swirled like a whirlpool of shadows.

The Watcher lowered its horns and charged at Samarra in a blur of dark smoke, but at the last instant it skidded to a stop and backed away. The Watcher phaseshifted back into solid form and howled as if it was too painful to approach her. More shrieking came from behind her.

Samarra spun around. Two Watchers were headed her way, but the same thing happened. Moments before they reached her, they dropped to their knees and cowered in fear. Samarra took in her surroundings in horror. She was standing unharmed in the midst of a bloody battle as the Shieldwolves around her died fighting.

She searched around frantically for Brin, but she couldn't see him. "Brin!" she yelled, pushing through the area. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him. He had been shoved to the edge of the precipice and was fighting off four Watchers, but he was not strong enough to take them all on. Brin was knocked to the ground, nursing an injured arm as the Watchers moved in to surround him.

"I'm coming!" Samarra called out.

The Watchers circled Brin as he tried to keep them away with his staff. Heat washed over Samarra and she screamed in her loudest voice. She charged at the Watchers while swinging her staff in a wide arc.

When one of the Watchers raised its arm, she went underneath with a sweeping blow that sent the monster staggering. She spun around in a graceful dance and knocked the other one off balance before driving the end of her weapon into its wing. The Watcher steadied itself and pulled her staff out of its body, then snapped it in two. Hate burned in its eyes, but it did not approach her.

Samarra reached into the depths of her spirit and ran headfirst into the Watcher, wrapping her arms around it as she was consumed by blue fire. The monster shrieked seconds before it imploded into nothing but the smell of char. The other Watchers backed away, leaving Brin alone on the edge of the precipice. Samarra helped him to his feet.

"Thank you." He adjusted his broken glasses.

"No time for thanks," she panted, looking around. "We have to hurry."

Although the bulk of the fighting occurred some distance away, there was a group of Watchers blocking Samarra's access to the battlegroup. She was confined to the edge of the precipice with nowhere to go except across the bridge. Three Watchers plunged from the sky and landed beside Brin. Samarra shoved him behind her. As long as he was close to her, she knew he would be safe. She put one foot behind the other and backed away slowly. Perspiration formed on her forehead. She kept her eyes on the Watchers while they focused on Brin.

From the corner of her eye, Samarra could make out a group of Shieldwolves fighting their way to her. Although they were thinning out their enemies, the shamans did not go unharmed. Countless bodies lay on the ground, staring blankly at the sky. Some had been thrown off the precipice. Others were barely alive, using their last reserves of strength to fight off the Watchers. Samarra spotted Shieldwolf Longmane in the thick of it all. He cast a bolt of lightning at a Watcher and turned it into burning coals. He moved onto the next and then the next and repeated his actions as if he had practised them thousands of times.

The Watchers crept to her. Samarra moved further along the bridge. "Something strange is going on down there." Brin pointed at the precipice.

Samarra looked over the railing. The wind carried a faint shriek out of the fluxing void that had opened up below them. As if on cue, the Watchers on the bridge launched themselves into the sky, circled around, and called back to the presence stirring in the dark depths. They shrieked once, then twice.

Samarra lost her footing when a black shape burst out of the void and crashed into the bridge on ascent. The bridge swung wildly from side to side. Samarra held onto the railing to stop herself from falling off.

She looked up to see an enormous black Watcher floating above her. This one was much larger and more sinister than the others. It snarled before it brought down its body onto the bridge, making it even more difficult for Samarra to keep steady. She tried to maintain her footing, but she fell again when the Watcher launched itself into the gap between her and Brin. The other Watchers did not waste time. They snatched Brin by the tail and leaped into the air.

"Run for your life!" Shieldwolf Longmane shouted.

Samarra scrambled to her feet and dashed across the bridge, but she slipped onto her backside when she reached the entrance to the cavern. The giant Watcher blocked her path back across. The smaller Watchers tossed Brin to each other as if he were a rag doll. He lashed out at them, which made them shriek all the more. They tore away his staff before they flung him to the other side of the precipice.

Brin yelped when he hit his head on a rock. His broken body slid down the edge of the cliff. He struggled to find something to hold onto and, at the last minute, wrapped his tail around a dead tree. The Watchers licked their lips in preparation for the kill.

Samarra rushed to her feet in a desperate struggle to help her friend, but she was not fast enough. The giant Watcher smashed its body into the bridge and broke it in two. The wooden planks toppled into the void. Samarra stumbled into the mouth of the cave as a pile of large rocks came barrelling down, sealing off the entrance. Darkness.

Samarra felt around for a way out. She tried to move the rocks, pushing and pulling to shift them, but they were too heavy. It didn't take her long to realize that she was stuck until help arrived. She pressed her ear against the cold limestone to hear what was happening on the other side, but the only thing she could hear was the constant
drip-drop-drip-drop
of water.

The events of the day raced through her mind. She didn't know if Brin was dead or alive. She hoped he was okay, that Shieldwolf Longmane had managed to help him or that he had been able to help himself. Samarra wanted to cry, but didn't dare make a sound. For the first time in her life, she was petrified.

Flux

Samarra huddled in a dark corner, too frightened to move. She counted the beads on her bracelet over and over again to calm down. "Twenty-six, twenty-seven…" Pause. Hiccup. "One, two, three, four…" After a while she was able to settle her nerves for long enough to think straight. She wiped the tears from her eyes and tidied her dreadlocks. With a deep breath, she stood up and began her descent into the darkness in spite of her fear. She was determined to find her brother.

The persistent
drip-drop-drip-drop
of water was eventually overtaken by Samarra's breathing and the echo of her footsteps. Her outstretched hands guided her along a wall of rock. The musty dampness that permeated the air became more pronounced the further she went into the caverns. Samarra squinted at a light in the distance and approached with caution.

The tunnel opened up into a chamber lit by a small shaft high in the western wall, stretching up and up into the tiniest splash of blue sky. Many recesses were carved into the rock walls, and in them were empty wooden chests. Thick stalactites hung from the ceiling like honeycombs, glistening from countless years of dripping mineral-rich water. In a far corner, a small waterfall plunged into a gentle pool. Scattered around the pool were the remains of a village long forgotten. Urns, baskets, ropes, and a range of rusting equipment suggested that this area had once been the centre of a busy community.

Samarra surveyed the area from the top shelf of an intricate system of tunnels that stretched out in all directions. To her immediate right were three tunnels. One of them was so small that she would have to crawl through on her hands and knees. The second tunnel had been sealed off with a large pile of rocks. The third seemed big enough for someone her size. Although there were many more tunnels branching off in different directions from the area below, Samarra suspected she would injure herself if she jumped down and she was not prepared to take such a risk. She headed for the tunnel to her right, hoping it would lead her to Cassian.

As she walked, Samarra asked the Reflection for help. She had never prayed on Gaia; she had never thought she needed to. Even during the worst of times with the Sairfangs, Samarra had known deep inside that the only person or thing she could rely on to get anything done was herself.

The Shieldwolves revered the Reflection and drew their magic from it. Samarra had felt the energy for herself. There was no doubt in her mind of the existence of something much bigger than her, but she couldn't figure out what the Reflection actually was. She had no idea. Could it really help her, or would she have to help herself just like she had on Gaia? Samarra didn't know, and it didn't matter anyway. Talking to the Reflection passed the time if nothing else. Who knew? Her prayers might be answered in the end.

Samarra had been walking for a while when she spotted a dull glow emanating from an archway carved into the wall. She touched the archway, but nothing happened. A Watcher shrieked. Samarra flinched. Faint murmurs rose on the other side of the wall.

Fear for Cassian crossed her mind, but she forced it away. She decided to hide and found the perfect spot behind two stalagmites. Their stony efflorescence was thick enough to keep her hidden from view if anyone or anything happened to pass by. She tucked herself neatly into the tiny space. She would sit and wait for as long as she could, or until she had thought of a good plan.

Hours passed. Still no plan. Samarra was watching the bright beams in the archway change colour when a blood-curdling shriek erupted behind the wall. Her entire body tensed in a panic. The hairs on her arms stood on end.
What if Cass is in there?
She leaped out of her hiding spot and scrambled to the arch, scratching and clawing at the luminous edges until her nails chipped and broke and her fingers started to bleed. Samarra was wild with desperation as she tried to open the door. "I'm coming to help you!"

The arch cracked and creaked and its solid middle slid open. Samarra froze in a mess of emotions. She wanted to know what lay behind the door, but she also worried at the thought of what she might find. The shrieking stopped. Samarra ducked back into her hiding spot moments before the doorway opened fully. She heard footsteps, then an unnerving silence.

Although she tried her best to do otherwise, Samarra couldn't force away the fear consuming her. Shieldwolf Longmane had been right — she had no way of getting Cassian out of here. What was she thinking all this time?

Samarra peaked around a stalagmite. A tall woman stood in the doorway. Ribbons of darkness and light twisted around her body. Her armour hugged her curves like a well-fitted glove.

"Eshgranna," Samarra mouthed.

The woman took off her visor and bowed down low. "Welcome, Samarra," she said in deep, husky tones.

Eshgranna's eyes were like two black holes from which no light could enter or escape. Her blue hair was pulled back in a long braid to reveal the most beautiful gaian face Samarra had ever seen. Samarra sank into the wall when Eshgranna's throaty laugh careened into the rocks. "I have been waiting for you, little one."

Samarra held her breath.

"I know you are close. I can feel you. Your bond to the Reflection is electric."

Eshgranna hummed a lullaby on her way back into the room. "I know what you seek." She lowered her voice. "Join me as your brother has done."

Something in her head went
snap
and Samarra could no longer contain herself. Her emotions crashed into each other and she leaped from her hiding spot, launched onto Eshgranna's back, and tackled the woman to the ground.

"What have you done to Cass?" She pulled Eshgranna's hair. "He's all I have. You better not hurt him. You hear?"

Samarra lost herself with each act of aggression. Blindly, she pummelled the woman underneath her like a punching bag. But the harder Samarra fought, the harder Eshgranna laughed, which angered Samarra all the more. An uncontrollable heat rose in Samarra's core and spread to all parts of her body. Within seconds, she was on fire and had engulfed Eshgranna in blue flames.