The Sorcerer's Ring: Book 05 - A Vow of Glory (7 page)

It was
not as if they had a choice. The current brought them one way, and clearly this
was where they needed to disembark to enter the Empire’s lands.

"Over
here!" O'Connor yelled.

They
rushed to O’Connor’s side of the railing, as he leaned over and pointed down at
the water. There, swimming alongside the ship, was a huge insect, a luminescent
purple, ten feet long, with hundreds of legs. It glowed beneath the waves, then
scurried along the water’s surface; as it did, its thousands of small wings started
buzzing, and it lifted just above the water. Then it went back to gliding along
the surface, then it plunged below. Then it repeated the process all over
again.

As
they watched, it suddenly rose up, higher in the air, to eye level with the
boys, hovering, staring at them with its four large green eyes. It hissed, and
they all jumped back involuntarily, reaching for their swords.

Elden
stepped forward and swung at it. But by the time his sword reached the air, it
was already back in the water.

Thor
and the others went flying, crashing on the deck, as their boat came to a
sudden stop, lodging itself on shore with a jolt.

Thor's
heart beat faster as he looked over the edge: beneath them was a narrow beach made
up of thousands of small jagged rocks, bright purple in color.

Land.
They had made it.

Elden
lead the way to the anchor, and they all hoisted it and dropped it over the
edge. They each climbed down the chain, jumping off it and landing on shore,
Thor handing Krohn to Elden as he went.

Thor
sighed as his feet touched the ground. It felt so good to have land—dry, steady
land—beneath his feet. He would be fine if he never set sail on a ship again.

They
all grabbed the ropes and dragged the boat as far onto shore as they could.

"Do
you think the tides will take it away?" Reece asked, looking up at the
boat.

Thor
looked at it; it seemed secure in the sand.

“Not
with that anchor,” Elden said.

"The
tide won’t take it," O’Connor said. "The question is whether someone else
will.”

Thor
took one long last look at the ship, and realized his friend was right. Even if
they found the sword, they might very well return to an empty shore.

"And
then how will we get back?" Conval asked.

Thor could
not help but feel as if, every step of the way, they were burning their
bridges.

"We
shall find a way," Thor said. “After all, there must be other ships in the
Empire, right?"

Thor
tried to sound authoritative, to reassure his friends. But deep down, he was not
so sure himself. This entire journey was feeling increasingly ominous to him.

As
one, they turned and faced the jungle, staring at it. It was a wall of foliage,
blackness behind it. The animal noises rose up in a cacophony all around them,
so loud that Thor could hardly hear himself think. It felt as if every beast of
the Empire was screaming out to greet them.

Or to
warn them.

*

Thor
and the others hiked side-by-side, warily, each of them on guard, through the
thick, tropical jungle. It was hard for Thor to hear himself think, so persistent
were the screams and cries of the orchestra of insects and animals around him. Yet
when he looked into the blackness of the foliage, he could not spot them.

Krohn
walked at his heels, snarling, the hair standing on his back. Thor had never
seen him so alert. He looked over at his brothers-in-arms, and saw each, like
he, with a hand resting on the hilt of his sword, all of them on-edge, too.

They
had been hiking for hours now, deeper and deeper into the jungle, the air
becoming hotter and thicker, more humid, heavier to breathe. They had followed the
traces of what appeared to once be a trail, a few broken branches hinting at the
path the group of men who had arrived here may have taken. Thor only hoped that
it was the trail of the group who had stolen the sword.

Thor
looked up, in awe of the nature: everything was overgrown to epic proportion,
every leaf as big as Thor. He felt like an insect in a land of giants. He saw
something rustling behind some of the leaves, but couldn’t actually see
anything. He had the ominous feeling that they were being watched.

The
trail before them suddenly ended in a solid wall of foliage. They all stopped
and looked at each other, puzzled.

"But
the trail can't just disappear!" O'Connor said, hopeless.

"It
didn't," Reece said, examining the leaves. "The jungle just grew back
on itself.”

"So
which way now?" Conval asked.

Thor
turned and looked all around, wondering the same thing. In every direction was
just more of the dense foliage, and there seemed to be no way out. Thor was
beginning to have a sinking feeling, and felt increasingly lost.

Then
he had an idea.

“Krohn,"
he said, kneeling down and whispering in Krohn's ear. "Climb that tree.
Look for us. Tell us which way to go.”

Krohn
looked up at him with his soulful eyes, and Thor felt he understood.

Krohn
sprinted for an enormous tree, the trunk as wide as ten men, and without
hesitating pounced on it and clawed his way up. Krohn sprinted straight up then
leapt out onto one of the highest branches. He walked out to its tip and looked
out, his ears standing straight. Thor had always sensed that Krohn understood
him, and now he knew for certain that he did.

Krohn
leaned back and made a strange purring noise in the back of his throat, then
scurried back down the trunk and took off in one direction. The boys exchanged
a curious look, then all turned and followed Krohn, heading off into that part
of the jungle, pushing back the thick leaves so they could walk.

After
a few minutes of following him, Thor was relieved to see the trail pick up
again, the telltale signs of broken branches and foliage showing which way the
group had went. Thor leaned down and patted Krohn, kissing him on the head.

"I
don’t know what we would have done without him," Reece said.

“Nor
do I," Thor responded.

Krohn
purred, satisfied, proud.

As
they continued deeper into the jungle, twisting and turning, they came to a
stretch of new foliage, with flowers all around them, enormous, the size of Thor,
bursting with every color. Other trees had fruits the size of boulders hanging
from the branches.

They
all stopped in wonder as Conval walked over to one of the fruits, glowing red,
and reached up to touch it.

Suddenly,
there came a deep, growling noise.

Conval
backed away and grabbed his sword, and the others all looked at each other
anxiously.

"What
was that?" Conval asked.

"It
came from over there,” Reece said, gesturing to another part of the jungle.

They
all turned and looked. But Thor could see nothing but leaves. Krohn snarled
back at it.

The
noise grew louder, more persistent, and finally, the branches began to rustle.
Thor and the others took a step back, drawing their swords, and they waited,
expecting the worst.

What
stepped forward from the jungle exceeded even Thor's worst expectations. Standing
there before them was an enormous insect, five times Thor’s size, resembling a
praying mantis, with two rear legs, two smaller front legs that dangled in the
air, and long claws at the end of them. Its body was a fluorescent green, covered
in scales, and it had small wings which buzzed and vibrated. It had two eyes at
the top of its head, and a third eye on the tip of its nose. It reached around and
revealed more claws which Thor hadn't seen, hidden under its throat, which
vibrated and snapped.

It
stood there, towering over them, and another claw came out from its stomach, a
long skinny arm, protruding; suddenly, faster than any of them could react, it
reached out and snatched O'Connor, its three claws expanding and wrapping
around his waist. It lifted him high in the air, as if he were a leaf.

O'Connor
swung his sword, but he was nowhere near quick enough. The beast shook him
several times, then suddenly opened its mouth, revealing row after row of sharp
teeth, turned O'Connor sideways, and began to lower him towards it.

O'Connor
shrieked, as an instant and painful death loomed.

Thor
reacted. Without thinking, he placed a stone in his sling, took aim and hurled it
at the beast’s third eye, at the tip of its nose.

It was
a direct strike. The beast shrieked, an awful noise, loud enough to split a
tree, then dropped O'Connor, who fell end over end and landed on the soft
jungle floor with a thump.

The
beast, enraged, then turned its sights on Thor.

Thor
knew that making a stand and fighting this creature would be futile. At least
one of his brothers would get killed, and likely Krohn, too, and it would drain
whatever precious energy they had. He felt that maybe they had intruded on its
territory, and that if they could get out of there quick enough, it might just
leave them be.

"RUN!"
Thor screamed.

They turned
and ran—and the beast began to chase after them.

Thor
could hear the sound of the beast’s nails cutting through the dense foliage
right behind them, slicing through the air and missing his head by a few feet. Shredded
leaves flew up into the air and rained down around him. They all ran as one,
and Thor felt that if they could just gain enough distance, they could find a
way to take shelter. If not, then they would have to make a stand.

But Reece
suddenly slipped beside him, falling over a branch, face-first into the
foliage, and Thor knew he wouldn’t get up in time. Thor stopped beside them, drew
his sword, and stood between him and the beast.

“KEEP
RUNNING!" Thor yelled over his shoulder to the others, as he stood there,
ready to defend Reece.

The
beast lunged for him, shrieking, and swung its claw for Thor's face. Thor
ducked and swung his sword at the same time, and the beast let out a horrific shriek
as Thor chopped off one of its claws. A green fluid sprayed all over Thor, and he
looked up and watched in horror as the beast re-grew its claw just as quickly
as it had lost it. It was as if Thor had never injured it.

Thor
swallowed. This would be an impossible beast to kill. And now he had angered
it.

The
beast swiped down with yet another arm, coming out from somewhere else on its
body, and swiped Thor hard in the ribs, sending him flying and landing in a
clump of trees. The beast then lowered another claw for Thor, and Thor knew he
was in trouble.

Elden,
O'Connor and the twins rushed forward, and as the beast came down with another
claw for Thor, O'Connor fired an arrow into its mouth, lodging in the back of its
throat, making it shriek. Elden took his two-handed ax and brought it down on the
beast’s back, while Conven and Conval each threw a spear, lodging on each side
of its throat. Reece regained his feet and plunged his sword into the beast’s
belly. Thor regained his feet and swung his sword at another of the beast’s
arms, chopping it off. And Krohn joined them, leaping into the air and sinking
his fangs into its throat.

The
beast let out shriek after shriek, as they all did more damage than Thor
thought possible. It was incredible to Thor that it was still standing, its
wings still vibrating. This beast just would not die.

They
all watched in horror as, one at a time, the beast reached over and pulled out
the spears and swords and the axe lodged in it—and as it did, its injuries all
healed before their eyes.

This
beast was undefeatable.

The
beast leaned back and roared, and all of Thor’s Legion brothers looked up in
shock. They had all given it everything they had, and it wouldn’t even dent it.

The
beast prepared to lunge at them again, with its razor sharp jaws and claws, and
Thor realized there was nothing else they could do. They were all going to die.

“OUT
OF THE WAY!" came a sudden scream.

The
voice came from behind Thor, and it sounded like the voice of a boy. Thor
turned to see a small boy, perhaps eleven, run up behind them, carrying what
appeared to be a jug of water. Thor ducked and the boy threw up the water,
splashing it all over the beast's face.

The beast
leaned back and screeched, steam rising from its face, reaching up with its
claws and tearing at its cheek, its eyes, its head. It shrieked again and
again, the noise so loud that Thor had to hold his hands over his ears.

Finally,
the beast turned and darted away, back into the jungle, getting lost in the
foliage.

They
all turned and looked at the boy with a new sense of wonder and appreciation. Dressed
in rags, with longish brown hair and bright-green, intelligent eyes, the boy
was covered in dirt, and he looked, from his bare feet and dirty hands, as if
he lived out here.

Thor
had never been more grateful to anyone.