Descent Into Darkness (Book 2) (8 page)

The Cruxlum stumbled for a moment, and then stood still, his eyes closed and the creature's head in his hands. He took deep breaths, his nostrils catching the scent of both his own life seeping out of his wound, as well as the putridness of the creature's blood. There were erratic sounds of the creature flailing about, diminishing to a small rustling sound as the creature's body began to succumb to death. And over it all, over the pain and the agony, both Ean and the Cruxlum heard the thunderous cheers coming from above and all around them.

"Victory is mine," the Cruxlum thought, finally opening his eyes, pride and joy almost drowning out the pain and the noise for the briefest of moments. "The glory is mine."

As the thought drifted through his mind, the Cruxlum's legs finally gave out and he dropped to his knees. The creature's head tumbled from his grip, bouncing once off the stone floor and then rolling away. Numbness swept through his body, and Ean could feel the blood from the wound flowing down his side. It was then that the Cruxlum looked down at the wound, allowing Ean to see the damage as well.

A large hole, spilling blood, gaped on the right side of his abdomen. The hole was in a place that the Cruxlum knew did not hit any organs, but he pictured himself dying anyway. And yet somehow that knowledge seemed to bring Ean's host peace instead of fear, which was fine because Ean was feeling enough fear for the both of them. The Cruxlum might be ready to accept his own death, but Ean certainly wasn't in the same state of mind. Unfortunately, there seemed to be nothing that he could do.

"Well done! Well done!" The same gravelly voice that Ean had first heard high overhead was now coming from behind him. The voice soured the Crux's sense of pride at his victory.

"A truly spectacular battle, one worthy of my guests. You have served your Master well this day, and for that I will make sure that you live so that you can serve me just as well again."

While hearing that the voice was going to save the Cruxlum's life filled Ean with hope, it was despair that flowed from his host's mind. Despair and rage. With an energy that Ean didn't think the Cruxlum had left in him, he turned and rose in one shaky motion, then lunged in the direction of the speaker.

Before he had even completely turned around, blows struck him from every direction, forcing him back down to his knees. They continued to rain down on him, hitting his head, body, arms, legs, practically anywhere there was a spot to be hit, except on the wound in his side. The Cruxlum had his eyes closed again, which meant that Ean couldn't see where the blows were coming from. And then, just as quickly as they began, they stopped.

"Just because I treat you as a prized possession," the gravelly voice said, "does not mean I will let you get away with demonstrating a lack of respect. You can either be a well-kept slave or you can be a slave that must constantly be put in its place. Either works for me, as both require an equally small amount of effort and time. You decide."

The tensing of the Crux's muscles and grinding of its teeth told Ean exactly what his host was deciding. Inwardly sighing, Ean did what he could to brace his mind as the Crux pushed himself off the ground and lunged blindly in the direction of the voice again.

The pain was worse this time. It felt like a million needles piercing the Crux's skin over and over again. What little energy Ean's host had was drained instantly, and he fell to the ground. Without the energy to even catch himself on his four large hands, the Crux hit his face hard on the ground. He lay there struggling to get up while Ean screamed in his head for the Crux to just stay down. Eventually, the Crux stopped struggling as unconsciousness took him and Ean both.

WHEN EAN WOKE, IT
took him a few moments to remember where he was. It was dark, and he was on the ground, which for a moment made him think he was still in the dream. Or whatever it had been. Reaching out with a gloved, five-fingered hand, Ean felt the fabric of the tent give way slightly to his touch. He was still in the caravan's campsite, not some dank gladiator pit.

Ean wiped sweat from his brow. Whatever he had just experienced, it had affected him physically. He felt sore all over, as if it had been his body that had been receiving those blows. On top of the physical pain, he also felt a pang of guilt over the Crux's situation. To have to live a life like that, forced to fight and suffer for the amusement of something more powerful. If only there was some way to--

"Good, you're awake. I wanted to talk to you about--"

Startled by the unexpected sound, he spun around. His closed fist made contact with an invisible lump. Something bounced off the tent wall with an oompf.

"Zin, I'm so sorry! I just had the worst dream and it made me a little jumpy."

"A little jumpy?" the imp responded with a grunt. "I'm pretty good at dodging the occasional blow you send my way, but you reacted faster than I've ever seen you move... Wait a minute, what did you just say?"

"I said I had a bad dream."

In the darkness of the tent it was hard to make out the imp, although he could sense exactly where he was. He felt Azalea too. She wasn't close by, which made Ean nervous.

"Alright, Ean," the imp said slowly. "I want you to say that just one more time."

"Why are you acting so strange? All I said was..." His mouth froze as he listened to the words coming out of his mouth. They weren't human.

"Ean, you're speaking--"

"The Crux language, I know." And yet knowing didn't help him to switch back into human. "Zin, I don't know what's happening, I can't stop."

"Well, don't look at me. I have no idea how you all of the sudden know a completely new language, or why that's the only one you can speak."

"Zin, I can't go around speaking another race's language, especially one that comes from the Abyss. I'll stand out like..."

He trailed off as he realized he had switched back to the human tongue.

"I think I'm getting it under control." Still human.

"Especially if these words come out in Crux." And they had.

Ean couldn't help but clap his hands together in excitement. At least that horrible dream or whatever it was gave him something positive.

"Glad you're having fun," Zin said, "but can you try to explain what happened? I believe a dream was mentioned?"

"Yes, I dreamed that I was stuck in a Crux's mind. He was in some sort of arena and was forced to fight this ugly looking creature with pinchers and four pointed legs. He won, but then he rebelled and tried to fight his master and was knocked unconscious. That's when I woke up."

The imp had begun to pace as Ean told him his dream and didn't stop once Ean had finished.

"Mmm... mmm..." was all he mumbled for a time as he paced back and forth. Ean watched him move about until a sliver of light started to creep under the gap left by the tent flap.

"Well?" he said, not trying to hide the annoyance in his voice. "What do you think?"

"What you described sounds like a typical show that a Nar'Grim would put on to show off his power and influence."

"Zin, the same thing happened after I summoned the Hound. Do you know what it means?"

"I have no idea what it means." Shrugging, the imp sat down in front of Ean. "Could have something to do with the tattoos on your arm, or it could be you're somehow bonding a bit with the creatures you summon. Or it could be something completely unrelated to both. Who knows? Maybe you're just going crazy."

Ean took a swing at the imp. Zin rolled backward and avoided the blow, smiling a toothy grin back at him.

The imp certainly had given him a lot to think about it. Could his tattoos somehow be bonding him to the creatures he summoned? He hadn't had a dream about Zin yet, but on the same token, the last time he had summoned the imp had been before he had put the tattoo on his body. Did that mean he would eventually dream he was Azalea too?

Shaking his head, Ean tried to put those thoughts away for another time. Just as an experiment, he tried to switch his thinking to Crux. The words came easily and switched back to human just as fast. It was interesting to think in another language and would be useful if he ever did have to summon a Crux again.

A voice from outside cut through the silence. "Time to get up and get out, traveler. The tents are going to be put away, and I've been told you have morning clean up duty. Best get your stuff on a wagon and find a supervisor to get your shovel and assignment. Hurry now."

He had forgotten all about his "job." Azalea was to thank for that, of course. He would have to think of some way to pay her back. Fighting his sore muscles, Ean rose to his feet and gathered up his things, groaning each time he had to bend over. Zin chuckled at Ean's misery before turning invisible and leaving. The imp was probably going to find a good spot to watch Ean shovel animal turds all morning.

Exiting his tent, Ean was surprised to see most of the camp already cleaned up. The man certainly hadn't been joking about the caravan moving out soon. Most of the tents in the middle of the circle were already gone, and many of the wagons had their drivers up and ready to go. He found Wil's wagon easily enough, earning a wave from him and his family as Ean dropped off his things. He was about to climb up and have a quick chat with the man when a hand dropped heavily on his shoulder.

"I assumed you wouldn't seek out anyone to put you to work, so I figured I would have to hunt you down."

Ean did his best not to cringe at the sound of Gaiden's dry voice. The thin man wore an annoyed expression on his face.

"I find it quite interesting," the sour man continued, "that Master Deepdweller would offer you all of this hospitality and you would try to get out of the one duty you were assigned."

"I'm not trying to get out of my duties," Ean tried to keep his tone civil. "I was dropping off my things, as I was instructed, before going to find my assignment."

Gaiden sniffed loudly as he stared at Ean for a time. Clearly the man didn't believe him.

"Very well. Follow me."

The man stalked off, not waiting to see if Ean followed, which Ean did. He wasn't about to shirk away from responsibility. He followed Gaiden until they got to one of the covered wagons. Without a word, Gaiden signaled to a man inside and was tossed a shovel. Pushing the shovel into Ean's chest, Gaiden moved towards the outer ring of wagons, waving Ean to follow. Stopping behind a random wagon, Gaiden spun around to face Ean again.

"Following the order set down by the temples, the roads must be kept clear. You will follow behind this wagon, removing any offal left by the animals in front of you or missed by other shovelers. You are to remove as much of the offal from the road as possible before you fall three wagons behind. Whatever is left you can leave for the shovelers behind you."

Lifting a hand, the sour man jabbed a finger into Ean's chest. "And just so you know, shovelers take it very personally if they feel someone isn't pulling their weight. You leave too much for those behind you, and you might find what you've missed sitting outside your tent in the morning. Or perhaps in it. Understand?"

Removing his finger, Gaiden stalked away without another word. Ean hoped he didn't have to deal with the man every day. Starting tomorrow morning, as soon as he woke, he would seek out the supply wagon, get his shovel and get behind his assigned wagon before Gaiden could even find him. That would show the snotty little man.

Not long after Ean was assigned his wagon they all began to move, the circles of wagons unwinding like a snake and moving back onto the road. Ean's wagons were those in the middle that carried the huge blocks of stones. Ean had no idea who would want to buy such things or how much they would cost. Back home, the inn and Cleff's home were the only buildings made of stones, and those stones were much smaller than the ones on the wagons. Ean hadn't even seen a building in Rensen with stones the size of the ones in the wagon in front of him. Maybe they were easier to transport in larger pieces and would be broken down at their destination?

Ena's thoughts were interrupted as he stepped in a large pile of ox poo. Already? He couldn't believe that they were only a few steps down the road and they were already starting to go. Didn't they go at any point before they left?

Wiping off his boot, he jogged back and started to shovel away what he had stepped in. It took a few trips to carry it all to the side of the road, but he was finished before his second wagon had passed. Jogging back up to the rear of his first wagon, Ean decided it would be best not to get lost in his own thoughts too much.

The rest of the morning was uneventful. Ean's job turned out not to be as bad as he had originally thought. Not counting the smell, it was fairly easy to keep the roads clean. The shovelers in front of him must have been doing an excellent job as Ean never had to shovel more than one pile at a time, and there were long spans where he didn't have to shovel at all. He found the shoveling itself to be a nice little workout, and when he wasn't heaving dung around, he was able to walk along peacefully and enjoy the scenery.

Although there wasn't much to see, the broad expanse of grassy hills were a pleasant change from the dull browns of his village and the almost smothering closeness of the forest. Occasionally he would catch a glimpse of the edge of someone's farmland with its variety of crops as it interrupted the sea of grass that made up most of the area. Very few fields contained the large beanstalks that everyone grew back in Rottwealth. Considering himself an expert in plants, Ean was a bit taken back by the number of plant life he saw growing which he was unable to identify. He would have to remedy that--soon. If he was going to eventually head out on his own and maybe open up his own shop on the side, he would have to make sure he knew about what grew outside of his hometown of Rottwealth.

Azalea was nice enough to grace him with her presence as the sun approached the middle of the sky. She, of course, only came to taunt and tease him, but Ean didn't mind as much as it did give him someone to talk to for a time.

"Well, look at you," she said, standing off ahead of him as the caravan moved past her, "being all helpful and productive. I'm sure everyone throughout the land appreciates your hard work in keeping crap off of their roads."

Ean stayed silent until he reached the spot where she was standing. As soon as he reached her, she fell in at his side, all the while wearing her usual smirk. It always looked a little strange on her human face, as if her cover wasn't used to the expression. After a few steps, Ean decided to acknowledge her.

"At least one of us is doing some actual work. What have you been up to since I left you passed out last night?"

"Oh nothing special, just enjoying a few delicious snacks." She glanced at him, letting out a little laugh as his frown grew. "Oh don't worry. I didn't have any big meals. Plenty going on with this group that I can keep myself stuffed just being around them. Would you like to hear all of the funny things I've learned while being amongst these wonderful people?"

"Not particularly."

"Too bad. I'm going to tell you anyway." She placed an arm around him for a moment, then frowned and pulled it back. She looked confused for a moment but then shook her head and laughed as a pile of feces appeared ahead of them. Waiting patiently, she watched Ean clear the road before continuing.

"Anyway, as I was saying, the first person I came across was a delightful fellow who wanted to keep to himself at first. The smell of guilt wafting off of him was too good to ignore though, so I stayed until I won him over. Turns out he had killed his brother back in the town this caravan is coming from. Over a girl no less! Killed a member of his family out of lust for a girl! Isn't that delightful?"

Ean tried to keep his face as blank as possible. Maybe if he showed a complete lack of interest she would stop. The Yulari continued on anyway.

"Not interesting enough for you? I suppose not, maybe if he had killed the girl too, it would have made for a better story. Well, the next two men I met were a bit friendlier, especially after I let my robe open 'accidentally' and revealed a little leg. Those two stole a great deal of money from the wrong person and have been hiding out with this caravan for over a year. But that's not the most interesting part." She paused, obviously trying to add a little bit of suspense. "Can you guess what is?"