The Circle Line (18 page)

Who knew what they would find there? What point in history? Would it be in ruins already? As Sam stood, lost in thought, he became aware of a faint clanging noise somewhere behind him. As he listened he realised that he had been hearing it for a few moments. He looked around him. The others were still debating where to start looking but as he looked past them he could see the rope and wood ladders hanging over the side of the ship had begun to tremble as if in a strong breeze. The wooden rungs were clanging softly against the grey steel of the hull. It took a moment to realise that there was no wind here to disturb the rope lines. In horror his eyes travelled up the ropes and up and up. Grey bodies were swarming over the side of the ship, inching down the ladders, head first like insects.

Sam shouted and pointed. The others turned to look. The wendigo had found them again but this time there were hundreds. Their nest had been disturbed and they poured out like spiders. Their chittering voices began to sound.

Tarak Everune hugged his knees. He sat on a small pile of wet, dank hay that served as his bed in the small dark cell. Above him a single shaft of sunlight came in through a barred window illuminating a patch of stone above his head. But little light filtered down into the dark square of dirty floor. Flies buzzed around a wooden bucket in one corner of the room. They were all that moved. Not even rats bothered to cross his cell. There was certainly no food to be found here. He had sucked every last drop of the cold grey porridge that had been slopped into a bowl hours or perhaps days ago.

He kept his head down. His forehead resting on his knees, his lank bedraggled hair hanging in a dirty curtain around his face. He wiggled his cold bare toes but the movement brought no warmth and only made him feel even more weary.

He heard footsteps approach but he did not move even when the small hatch in the door was slid back. He knew someone was now watching him. He schooled his expression and looked up, through his grimy locks.

‘How are you enjoying your stay?’ asked Ferus with a laugh.

Tarak allowed his voice to waver. ‘Please, let me go. I've told you everything I know. I promise.’

‘Oh I know you have. You are a Secret Keeper no more. We shall have to think of a new title for you. Abject Coward. Traitor. There are so many to choose from.’

‘Please, let me go.’ Tarak hung his head again.

‘No.’ said Ferus. ‘I like having you here. You might be useful yet. You might encourage others to my door.’

Tarak heard the small window clang shut and Ferus' footsteps receded into the distance. He kept his head down. You could never tell whether someone was still watching. He had taken an enormous risk. It all came down to Kya. He just had to wait and hope that she succeeded. He just had to hope that the rescue would come and come soon or he would be too weak to fight. Too weak to reveal the greatest secret of all.

Weewalk, Sam and Kya moved at the same time throwing energy upwards towards the advancing wendigo. There was no need to hold back. They threw burst after burst of presence at them and some fell screaming onto the sharp teeth of the cavern below.  Sam and Kya were able to hurl others sideways or up causing those wendigo still coming to scream in rage. But for every one they hurled away to fall broken onto the rocks, another three took its place.

Hadan called to Sam. ‘Try the lamp.’

It took Sam a moment to realise what he meant. Hadan had opened the lamp so that the flame was visible. Sam tried to catch it as Vallalar had shown him all that time ago at the Mermaid Tavern but still he could not grip it. He tried again and again. Still he could not hold the flame. The wendigo edged closer.

Kya screamed at him ‘I can't hold them off by myself.’

Weewalk and Kya were doing what they could but it clearly wasn’t going to be enough. Glancing round quickly Sam could see that Weewalk was trying to do something to dislodge the ladders, but without success.

Sam tried the flame again. Still nothing.

Hadan grabbed Sam by the shoulder and looked him in the eyes. ‘I believe in you. I know you can do it. Focus.’

Sam tried again and this time, unbelievably, the flame flicked out towards him. For a moment it was a couple of inches longer than it should have been.

Sam tried again, and this time he wrenched it free from the wick and felt his mind take a hold of it. Once he held it there was no stopping him. He stretched it into a rope and whipped it in a fiery line at the advancing wendigo. Any that it touched were immediately burned but their fury only increased.

Sam lay the thin line of fire down across the floor between his companions and the advancing creatures using his mind to hold it in place. It smouldered on the wet floor. Sam steadied himself and took a deep breath. He leaned back and then threw his arms and his mind forward. An inferno sprang from the fiery string. A wall of flame lit the entire cavern so that every pointed tooth cast a thousand long shadows. The fire rolled up the side of the ship, hissing away the water and searing away the wendigo in a single blast of power like a volcanic eruption. Sam felt their bodies blast away like dried leaves in a furnace.

After the wave of fire had gone he blinked in the sudden darkness. Sam noticed that a tiny flame still flickered on a piece of hanging rope and he carefully plucked it away with his presence and drew it through the air to float back into Hadan's lamp.

He looked back at his companions. They were all fixed to the spot dumbstruck. If any wendigo remained they were hiding back inside the belly of the Cyclops.

Sam could feel the line more clearly now.

‘This way,’ he said and walked past a line of blackened and charred rock and gore towards another corner of the cave. ‘They won't bother us again.’

Sam stood before the portal. This line would take them to the place called Montauk. There they would find another line which would complete their journey to Mu, where they would try to find a way to rescue Tarak, the Secret Keeper. With the information he held they might be able to think of some way to fight Ferus and the Riven King's oppression. Standing here now it all seemed too difficult. They had already gone through so much and had got nowhere yet. But what else could he do?

Although Sam stood there, suddenly doubtful, it was Hadan who voiced his concerns.

‘I don’t know why but I've got a bad feeling about this one.’

Behind them the Cyclops creaked and planged as the metal cooled again from the fiery blast that had rolled over it.

‘Come on.’ said Kya, ‘We need to save Tarak.’ She opened the portal and they stepped through.

Jak watched them pop out of existence one by one. The lamp went with them plunging that part of the cave into darkness but he could still see in the blackness that enveloped him. As his eyes adjusted he could see that parts of the big grey ship still glowed a dull red from the heat of the blast sent out by the boy. No wonder Ferus wanted him dead. Someone as powerful as that could pose some real threat to the Riven King's rule. People would rally to him. It was only Jak's own malevolence and show of loyalty that had stopped him from being hunted by the ruler of the Rivenrok Complex. This boy was interesting. Very interesting. He had presence but could not always control it or will it forth. It was time to carry out the task that Ferus had set him. Jak clicked his long metallic fingernails together and strode to the line. He stepped through.

Immediately Sam was aware that this line felt considerably different. Normally the passage through the ethereal pathways was smooth but this one shook and bucked like it wanted to spit him out. He landed with a crash that knocked the wind from him, rather than the usual gentle realisation that ground was forming beneath his feet. He panicked for a moment when he realised that he couldn't see. He tried to open his eyes but found that he had already opened them. He called out to the others and Weewalk answered.

‘It's okay. We're all here I think. My vision's clearing.’

‘What's going on?’ called Sam, as his vision turned from black to a blurry dark grey.

‘These paths are different remember? These are manmade. Experiments by scientists trying to render objects invisible. It would seem they are not as smooth as the lines created by the God, Pyxidis.’

Sam rose and tried to stare into the room, his vision still very hazy. He saw movement. Something appeared before him and he had a sudden vague impression of a demonic face with glowing eyes, but a split second later, it was gone and as he blinked Kya's face swam into focus and he couldn't understand what he had seen as her pretty face appeared before him, a smile on her lips.

‘I saw something strange for a moment there.’ said Sam softly.

‘This whole place is pretty strange.’ she said.

Sam turned and looked around the room. They were in a long laboratory of some sort, long enough that its ends dwindled into shadow and could not be seen. Lights were only illuminated above their heads and Sam guessed that they were on some kind of motion sensor. He realised too that the walls were curved giving the appearance of being inside a very large doughnut. Blank television screens filled one large section of wall nearby and more hung from the ceiling. Big, chunky, old-fashioned computers took up much of the space under the bare concrete roof. The walls were painted white and were plain. There were no windows and, turning, Sam realised that he could see no door. No conventional door anyway. A dozen or more metallic archways were visible in the part of the room that Sam could see, set out around him at irregular intervals, each looking like some strange alien shrine. Within each of these Sam could feel a line buzzing with power so that if he opened his mind the room felt like the inside of a wasp nest.

‘I never guessed they might have made this many.’ said Weewalk in awe. ‘No wonder the project eventually collapsed. There's no way they should be able to hold this many lines open. Can you feel the power?’

‘How do we know which one will take us to Mu?’ asked Sam.

‘It's a good question.’ came a high-pitched maniacal voice from the edge of the part of the room that was lit. ‘I don’t expect you'll ever find it.’

Sam turned in horror as a man strode into view. Not a man, a thing. He had red eyes which glowed beneath a metallic mask that covered the top part of his face. He wore a long black cloak on top of what looked like tight white leather body armour. He clicked his fingers as he stepped into view and Sam could see long metallic claws that caught the light as he moved.

There was a sharp intake of breath from Hadan. ‘Spring-heeled Jak.’ he said.

Jak merely grinned and kept his eyes upon Sam.

As the figure stepped under the bright lights, Sam noticed that Jak was flickering, almost hazy. A faint chime, like the sound of a line came from him. Suddenly Sam realised why. A thousand tiny pieces of metal floated around Jak, spinning so quickly they looked like floating orbs. Jak raised his arms slightly and gave a short laugh. The metal ceased its spin and the hum fell silent. His arms dropped and a storm of metal flew at Sam, a blast of jagged death, impossible to dodge. Instinctively, Sam threw his arms across his face and fell to his knees as the world turned white.

Chapter Fifteen

When Sam opened his eyes again Jak was staring at him angrily, his fiery eyes narrowed in hate. Sam chanced a quick glance over his shoulder where the pieces of sharp metal were embedded in the wall behind him. A perfect circle in the middle was clear. He had instinctively, with his eyes shut, grabbed each piece and thrown it past him.

Then everyone moved at once. Sam, Kya, Weewalk and Hadan dashed towards Jak but he pushed away from the floor with presence, arms outstretched and flew over their heads, brushing the ceiling with his cloak. He threw an arm sideways towards one of the metallic archways and a line opened. To Sam's horror Murian beasts began to enter the long laboratory.  First came the fast wolf-like garoul, then a huge nandi, then another bigger than the first, then a flock of ropen.

‘We have to get out of here.’ shouted Kya as she dodged a garoul that leapt for her throat. She used her presence to push off the wall. She twisted as she flew and slashed at it with her knife.

‘We can't.’ shouted back Sam who leapt over a nandi. ‘We have to stop this Jak here. He'll only follow us.’

Weewalk had his back to the wall as a nandi towered over him. ‘Sam, you and Hadan try to stop Jak. Kya and I will try to hold off the rest and shut that line.’

Sam focused his presence on a garoul, holding it mid-air with his mind. He threw it at Jak who laughed and dodged allowing the garoul to smash through one of the television screens after which it fell to the floor and did not rise again.

For every one of the monsters that was flung to break against the wall or stabbed through by Hadan or Kya's knife another seemed to take its place and, through the melee, roared the nandi like angry rabid bears, relentless, using massive claws to slash their way through the throng not caring whether they eviscerated human, kobold or animal. More beasts entered every now and then almost as if they had been caged just the other side of the line and were finding a pathway through.

The battle raged as Sam and Hadan tried to edge closer to Jak. In the fight Sam found new respect for Hadan. Despite his lack of presence he fought with a skill and determination that Sam had only guessed at before. He ducked and dived, swirled and all the time flicked out with his knife, slicing ropen from the air and causing the garoul to fall back in panic.

Sam was able to use his mind to pick up and smash their enemies to the ground or wall. He found that was the most effective. But he was also able to use the tricks that Vallalar and Odhar had shown him during his training. He leapt and pushed himself from floor, wall and ceiling so that he flew around the room. He was a pinball in a machine, cannoning off surfaces and smashing through foes, but never landing in one place for longer than a moment.

He and Hadan made progress until they came to where Jak stood, apart from the battle, arms crossed, a smile on his face. Motion sensor lights clicked on above them as they moved towards him. Then they had cleared the path and he was before them. Sam could hear Weewalk and Kya fighting the snarling beasts some distance behind them but ahead stood only Jak. Sam pushed off the wall behind him moving his arms towards Jak, ready to lift him and dash him against a wall. But Jak uncrossed his arms, almost lazily, and suddenly Sam felt as though he had slammed into a brick wall. He was held in mid-air. From the corner of his eye. He could see Hadan similarly immobile. He tried to push away from the ceiling to get back to the floor but he only dropped a foot before Jak held him again.

‘Oh, you want to get down do you? Fine.’

Sam's arms flailed as Jak swung him down through the air to crash into the concrete floor. He felt his head connect with the ground and ricochet off. He must have lost consciousness for a moment for when he opened his eyes Jak was closer and Hadan was lying next to him, pinned to the floor as he was.

Sam tried to move and felt something sharp inside his chest complain. His head felt like it had been hit with a sledgehammer and his whole body ached despite the adrenaline that flowed though him. He felt a trickle of blood run down his forehead, and then it met his eye causing him to blink as it stung his vision.

‘I had hoped you would be a better fight.’ said Jak.

Sam tried to move but could not. Again and again he pushed with all his might at the concrete floor beneath him trying to rise, but Jak held him firmly.

As he struggled he began to feel the pressure increase, a terrible force that threatened to crush him, to break every bone in his body. His entire frame seemed to scream in protest. Blood began to run from his nose.

Then Hadan stirred next to him on the floor, a dull moan escaped his lips and the pressure on Sam's body lessened, although he was still held immobile.

‘Ah yes, Hadan. Well, we have no need for you any more.’

Jak strode over to Hadan and bent so that his mouth was near Hadan's ear as if he was imparting a secret, yet he spoke loud enough for Sam to hear.

‘You see that doorway over there?’ A metallic claw indicated one of the archways, a line hummed within it. ‘Well, that particular line was certain death for the idiotic men that opened it. You see it leads to a point on the ocean floor, hundreds of metres beneath the surface. Anyone who went through found themselves immediately drowning in dark cold water, destined to become bones on the sea bed for ever, once the fish had eaten the jelly from their eyes and picked the flesh from their carcass.’

Jak straightened again and walked towards the portal. Hadan slid along behind him leaving a smear of blood on the smooth grey floor, pulled on an invisible string of presence.

‘Would you like to see it Hadan? Must be a nasty way to die.’

Jak stepped to one side and rested an arm on the edge of the archway as Hadan continued to slide towards it. Sam could see Hadan’s face. There was no fear there. Hadan looked him in the eye and smiled and nodded. Sam could only guess at the force of will that had allowed him that small gesture against the terrible power of Jak's control.

At that smile Sam felt some emotion inside him snap. He pushed and pushed against Jak's hold and shakily his arm moved. It felt like he was trying to lift a mountain but he managed to bring up an arm.

Jak's attention was still on Hadan who was almost at the entrance to the door. The line hummed.

‘Nooooooo!’ screamed Sam. ‘Arggggghhhh!’ He blindly sent as big a blast of presence as he could at the moment Hadan reached the door. There was a huge crash as the metallic archway collapsed. The force of Sam's push sent objects flying away, lights flickered on further into the room as debris span under the sensors, and the concrete wall cracked and popped. But when Sam looked up, and the dust cleared, Hadan was gone. Sam could see a number of archways lay in ruins but the young man who had fought so bravely beside him had been pushed through the portal and was gone.

Jak, who had been staggered by the blast, turned his full attention back to Sam.

‘Nice try, but too late.’ he said. His jaw clenched and Sam felt the incredible pressure return as Jak brought his full force to bear.

Sam felt anger burn white inside of him. And he felt the entire room. He felt the power of the lines buzzing all around him. The power of the lines. As he felt some of the smaller bones in his hands and feet begin to break and more blood flow from his nose Sam found new strength in his anger at Hadan's death. The power of the lines.

He gritted his teeth and began to push.

Kya caught the odd glimpse of the ongoing battle with Jak away down the room but every time she tried to get a proper look she had to parry another attack. Sometimes it seemed as though there was a wall of claws determined to bar her view. She quickly gave up; she had to concentrate on her own fight. The only attention she was able to spare was every now and then when she saw a ropen or garoul head in that direction. These she grabbed and pulled back towards her, anxious to keep them away from the real danger that Sam and Hadan were facing, even thought it meant more danger to her.

Weewalk fought beside her bravely. Despite his size and stocky build he was quick and deft and fought in a way that was clever and made best use of his skills. He had nowhere near as much power as Kya but he was just as effective, lifting small objects and driving them at the beasts that attacked them.

At one point he was able to get enough space to open a line and Kya was able to shove a dozen ropen through the portal before it closed again. This allowed them the luxury of not continuously having to watch for airborne attacks from the sharp beaks and talons of the ropen.

The garoul were fearsome and relentless. It was no wonder that the legend of the werewolf had generated such fear throughout the history of this world, thought Kya. They were vicious and agile, constantly snarling and biting and more intelligent than a true wolf. Their weakness was that they did not have the sense to co-ordinate their attacks and often snapped at each other when they got in the way. This allowed Kya some freedom to push and jump between them and deal with one or two at a time. She raked her sharp knife across bellies and snouts; she severed paws and sprayed red blood across floor and walls.

More difficult were the nandi. Their size made them much more formidable. Only three had entered at Jak's command but that was enough. Under their mangy fur dense muscle bunched as they sprang surprisingly quickly through the chaos. Kya's knife seemed to have little effect. Most of the time she was not even able to get close enough to attack them and for a while she concentrated on keeping her distance and trying to whittle down the number of garoul whilst, at the same time,  keeping an eye on the brave kobold who fought beside her. Several times the intense training she had received from Tarak Everune saved her life, her reactions honed to a point where she almost saw attacks before they came and was able to dance through a mad lunge from a nandi or push and twist in the air, allowing her body to flow through narrow spaces as claws and teeth flashed around her.

But, she was not invincible and after what seemed like an hour of fighting, although it had likely only been a few minutes, she felt herself beginning to tire. Hot tight lines across her back told her that she had been raked by claws at some point, although she could not remember when.

She looked across to Weewalk and was again impressed by his determination and courage as he faced a nandi, one of his arms hanging limp. He moved quickly to once side, diving onto the floor with a grunt as a huge fist sailed past him. Broken glass, thrown by Weewalk's presence, flew at the nandi's eyes and it backed away, clawing at its face with a roar.

In a rage it began attacking the first thing it encountered, another nandi. Blinded, it lashed out at the other beast and the two became involved in their own battle, smashing through desks and chairs as they fought like mad dogs. Both were quickly bleeding heavily and soon enough only one could still walk. It limped away to nurse its wounds and Kya and Weewalk were happy to let it go.

Still lying on the floor, Sam thought he felt Jak's hold on him weaken. Was it weakening or did it just have less hold over him? He put one shaking arm out towards a line which still hummed in its metallic arch. He felt the power flood into his body and the arch exploded in a cloud of dust and debris like a smashed neon bulb. The line winked out. He pressed his other hand to his chest and he sensed his broken ribs. Concentrating for a moment he moved them so they no longer caused him as much pain.

Then, with more effort than he had ever expended in his life, he forced himself first to his knees and then he finally stood and faced Jak. Jak still had his arms stretched towards Sam, desperately trying to regain control over him, but Sam was no longer overly troubled by it. He allowed his anger at Hadan's death to fill him like a fire. He limped forwards a step then flung an arm toward another portal. Again he drew on its power and it exploded. He stood a little straighter. Again and again he absorbed the power of the lines as the doorways smashed around him.

Fear was now etched into the part of Jak's face which was visible under his mask. Sam focused his presence and plucked a television screen from the ceiling and threw it hard. He felt Jak try to push it back when it was halfway between them but Sam gave it a flick and it smashed through Jak's defences, crashing into his head and causing him to stagger. Sam drew on more power. More doors evaporated into dust.

Jak gathered himself and directed one last enormous strike at Sam. Everything in the room was pushed before the blast. Broken furniture and lumps of concrete and glass flew at Sam enveloping him in a storm of dust and debris. When it had rushed past him and the billowing grey dust had drifted away. Sam stood. Untouched. Immobile.

‘You killed my friend.’ he said through gritted teeth.

‘And I would again’, said Jak. ‘I'm the greatest assassin that ever lived.’ But there was doubt in his high-pitched cackle.

‘No,’ said Sam, shaking his head. ‘You’re no more than one of those beasts you allowed here.’ With that he extended a hand towards Jak and lifted him. He swung his hand and Jak flew screaming past Sam and down the long laboratory where he crashed into the nandi that towered over Kya and Weewalk threatening to crush them beneath its huge paws. The nandi recovered quickly, catching Jak in its teeth.

Sam turned then and saw the devastation behind him. Jak struggled against the teeth of the nandi. Sam raised his arms and a portal, as yet untouched, opened behind the beast and its struggling prey. Sam gave a nod to Kya, who quickly pulled Weewalk close, then he drew back his shoulders and pushed with every ounce of his power.