The Three Feathers - The Magnificent Journey of Joshua Aylong (21 page)

“Grey?” He thought into the darkness.

“I’m here,” the wolf answered. “The next half mile at least we are clear.”

“You went ahead?” Joshua could not deny his concern for the wolf.

“Yes. I still have my nose, remember?”

“And we are glad for it,” Krieg added. “Have you found anything beyond the path?”

“No. It dissolves into an open field of sand and rock. I’m afraid from there we won’t have much to go on. Not much at all.”

There was a moment of silence between them.

“But there is one good thing,” Grey added.

“What’s that?” Joshua asked.

“From now on, it can only get lighter.”

Joshua saw the wolf smiling in his thoughts. Krieg made a noise that sounded much like laughter and Joshua couldn’t help but smile as well. And for a moment there was light in their minds and the darkness that surrounded them didn’t seem so impenetrable. And for a while they walked with certainty of step and with less fear inside their hearts. Twice they almost ran into one of the pillars. It was only the wolf’s sense of what was in front that stopped them. Once Grey reported that they had passed a certain spot before and they realized that they had gone in a circle. They did not speak about this but they knew that they would not be able to keep this up much longer. Traveling in complete darkness through potentially treacherous terrain pulled on their strength and Joshua could feel the horse’s exhaustion beneath him. Grey was always moving ahead, nose to the ground and trying to find a scent of something that could help. But he was approaching the end of his endurance as well.

When Joshua was close to suggesting that they give up, they heard a sound. They couldn’t pinpoint its location at first and went in the wrong direction, moving away from it. Soon they found they could not hear it at all and they had to turn around until the sound came back. After a while it got louder and they could sense where it came from more clearly. They could not contain their relief. It was water. A small trickle, possibly a brook, maybe even the continuation of the stream they had encountered in the mining town. When they reached it they all took a long time to still their thirst. Joshua did not realize how thirsty he was until he had water. For a while they did nothing but drink, taking in the cold, fresh elixir of life.

“We can follow it,” Grey suggested. “At least while it flows on the surface.”

They all agreed and they walked along the stream for what must have been half a day until it was suddenly gone again. It silently disappeared underground and with it, its comfort left them as well. For the last hour before that, Joshua had gotten bits and pieces of strange images. From where he did not know. They were incomplete and most of them were undecipherable. But subsequently one image appeared that was so clear and so strong, Grey and Krieg saw it at the same time: There was a light beam coming from high above. It illuminated a large spider’s web that was spun between two pillars. Wind’s lifeless body was tightened into the web. She was covered in blood from deep cuts all over. Krieg’s first impulse to run toward her—wherever that might be—was only countered by the wolf’s and Joshua’s strong plea not to do so. Finally, the horse gave in.

“We have to be careful about this,” Grey explained. “Obviously this is a trap and designed to create exactly the reaction you just had, Krieg. We don’t know where the images came from. Joshua, do you think they stem from the vulture?”

“I wouldn’t know. The image of Wind wasn’t the only one I got. There were others and they were strange and… otherworldly. Like remnants of dreams someone had. Now that I think of it, I do not believe these are the vulture’s dreams.”

“Why do you think that?” Krieg asked.

“Because they were filled with joy,” Joshua answered.

“Was there anything else you saw?” Grey asked.

Joshua thought for a moment. It took him a while to sift through the chaotic images but there was one partial image he got that now came back to him. It was that of a large body of water that seemed to be on the periphery of the image that showed Wind in the spider web. When he told Krieg and Grey about it they were both quiet for a moment.

“We must guard our thoughts about this,” the horse thought. “We cannot think of this again. It might be the only chance we have to fight the vulture. We have to somehow get her into the water.”

“If there is water, there might still be hope for Wind as well. If we get her into it, she might come back to life.” Krieg’s thoughts spoke of hope—a hope Joshua did not share. He was certain the Pegasus was dead. He kept his thoughts about it as quiet as possible but he knew that some of it must have been leaking out and Krieg probably had a sense of what he was thinking.

“I know your thoughts, Joshua,” Krieg answered. “But I do not share them. I cannot. I dare not. If there is the slightest chance that she lives, I cannot think of her as dead. And I hope you will join me in this for I do not wish to sentence her to death in my thoughts.”

“I’m… sorry, Krieg. I cannot help it. My thoughts will not leave me even though I try to push them away.”

“Do not concern yourself for you have done nothing wrong. But guard your thoughts and guard them well for otherwise we will not stand a chance. Without the water we will have nothing to use against her.”

“Then let us go now,” Grey added. “And let us be swift.”

The others agreed and for the next few hours they walked in silence and as fast as they dared through the blackness of the cave.

* * *

At first, Joshua thought it sounded like a wave. Then it turned into wind rustling through tree tops. Whatever it was, it came closer with immense speed and Joshua could suddenly feel Grey’s coat stand up. They stopped where they were. A low snarl escaped the wolf.

“Brace yourselves!” Grey told them quietly.

The wave washed over them and for a moment it seemed to come from all sides. Then it stopped.

“What was that?” Krieg asked.

“I do not dare to think it, but I know,” the wolf answered.

Joshua heard a low humming sound generated by the scraping of thousands of feet on the rocky ground. The spiders had surrounded them. Joshua sensed their dead eyes peering at them through the dark. They had left a small buffer between themselves and the area where Joshua and the others stood. For a moment nothing happened. The three friends didn’t move; didn’t dare to. But suddenly the spiders, as if lead by an invisible command, moved toward them from their left side. They had no choice but to go in the other direction. When Krieg and Grey started walking, the spiders began to move as well. The sounds their feet made echoed eerily through the vast blackness. Joshua shivered at the thought of being enveloped by countless bodies of large spiders in complete darkness.

While they travelled, Joshua realized that, even though this was an absolutely terrifying experience, he was relieved that at least they didn’t have to worry about where to go anymore. The spiders lead them through the cave, correcting their path here and there by coming closer to one side of them until they adjusted where they were going. Joshua tried to make out what they thought or felt, but there was absolutely nothing there. It was emptiness that surrounded them – emptiness in thought and emotion. It was as if their bodies were propelled solely by the sheer force of the vulture’s command. The souls of the spiders had left their hosts back in the cold of the Refuge. They had long since gone home to their ancestors. Whatever force drove them now, controlled their shells. Nothing more. There was no evil in them. None at all. It became clear to Joshua that, should the vulture fall, the spiders would go with her. Released from her command, they would just disintegrate and simply cease to be.

“I can see light.” The wolf’s thoughts interrupted his own. “Faint, still, and far in the distance, but there.” Joshua hadn’t known how much he dreaded this until Grey’s thoughts reached him. He had longed for the light. After two days in absolute darkness, the light should have been the most welcomed treasure for him. But it brought with it a whole litany of things that Joshua did not want to face—Wind’s fate foremost among them. But another thought slowly made its way into his conscious mind. It was one he had avoided for as long as he could. It had, by now, finally caught up with him. It was the thought of his own death. He did not see much hope in their ability to defeat the vulture. She was just too powerful. Certainly he couldn’t win against her. Krieg was no match against her talons in the air and the wolf had no chance against her even on the ground. And that was without the spiders. It seemed all but hopeless.

But there was, hidden and buried under all the others, another thought and one that demanded at least part of his attention. It was the thought of fighting her. It was the thought, as preposterous as it seemed at the moment, of fighting her with everything they had—with every ability and every ounce of strength that was still left in them. And for the smallest of moments he felt it, felt it rise within him and strengthen his resolve. For a moment he felt the presence of the lioness within him. It was faint and her full strength eluded him. But it was enough for him to straighten himself and to no longer crouch down. It was enough to tell Krieg and the wolf that they would not be defeated and that they would fight until the end and fight for each other and for the life of the Pegasus.

He could sense the others’ silent approval but he could also sense, for a brief moment, a disturbance moving through the spiders. A slight interruption in their rhythm as if whatever had welled up in Joshua had somehow affected them. Was it fear he felt from them? But that couldn’t be. They were dead. There was neither fear nor hatred or any emotion left in them. Was it possible that whatever he had felt inside had somehow been communicated through the spiders to the vulture? Was it her fear he sensed?

“Krieg, I want you to stay calm but I think I can see what’s at the end of the cave.” Grey’s thoughts reached them quietly. And with it came an image that sent a shiver down the horse’s spine. Joshua had to pull on all his strength to keep from letting out a loud crow. They saw Wind. She hung in the web illuminated by a single beam of light coming from somewhere high up in the ceiling. The cuts in her belly and side were dark red. If Joshua had any hope of her being alive before, it was taken from him at that moment. He could not hold on to it. It dissipated like a single spark in the night. What was left was hopelessness. The power the vulture had over them was too strong.

“Shield your thoughts, Joshua,” Grey thought. “She can sense your fear and will give it back to you a thousand fold. You will not be able to fight her if you are held back by fear. We need you.”

Joshua realized that he could see the wolf again. Not fully yet as the darkness was still too thick around them. But he could make out his silhouette and he saw Grey’s eyes clearly when he looked back at him.

“You must reach deep down into yourself, Joshua. You must forget everything you have learned and you must become greater, stronger, and more than you think you are right now. Whatever you have felt inside you, up in the tower of Refuge, you must command it to you and you must hold it and not let go of it. You must command it, Joshua.”

“I must command it,” Joshua answered.

“You must command it!” The wolf’s eyes wouldn’t let go of his and Joshua couldn’t turn away.

“I must command it,” Joshua answered again.

The wolf nodded slightly. Then his eyes released Joshua’s and he turned again toward the light and Wind’s lifeless body that hung in its glowing beam.

22.
B
ATTLE

The light beam extended its glow into the cave and Joshua could now see the spiders that surrounded them. Their numbers were far greater than he originally thought. There were hundreds of them, maybe thousands—their dark bodies partially illuminated by the glowing light. And then, suddenly, they left. The sound of their feet on the ground swelled up for a few moments and then dissipated into the shadows of the cave. And within a few seconds Joshua could not see any of them. They were gone. The quiet that returned left them with nothing but the image of the Pegasus in the web three hundred yards ahead.

It was too much for Krieg. “I must go to her!” He charged forward. Joshua lost his grip and flew off his back, landing next to the wolf on the ground.

“No!” Grey howled, its echo travelling through the massive cave. “She will use everything she knows against you!”

But it was too late. Krieg was already halfway there and he was going fast. His wings were partially extended as if he was about to lift off. The wolf didn’t want to leave Joshua behind so he trotted slowly while Joshua ran and flew part of the way. Then they saw the horse reach the web. Joshua could hear Krieg’s cries as he stood under it looking up at Wind. He went up on his hind legs, but still couldn’t reach her. Joshua felt Krieg’s utter desperation but this did not prepare him for what he felt when he actually stood next to the horse and looked up.

The Pegasus hung about thirty yards above them in a web that was easily one hundred yards wide and as tall. Her wings and part of her body were wrapped in a cocoon that was woven into the web. The red infected wounds stood out in stark contrast to her ivory coat. There was no sign of life in her.

“We have to get her down!” Krieg’s thoughts were frantic with concern about her.

“We can’t, Krieg,” Joshua answered as calmly as possible.

“We have to get her down! She can’t stay up there. We have to do something.”

“There is nothing we can do for her right now,” Grey added as calmly as he could. “Neither of us can even reach the web. Joshua could fly up there but he would get tangled in it and then both of them will be caught.”

“No. I won’t accept that,” the horse answered. “There must be something we can do to help her—”

“And there is…”

The vulture swooped down silently and landed behind them. The wolf turned first. Joshua could sense the desolation he felt the moment Grey’s eyes met hers.