The Corin Chronicles Volume I: The Light and the Dark (41 page)

“But we have had no rest, my lord.” Mikael relaxed his shoulders. “Perhaps we should get some sleep before venturing any farther.”

The prince turned toward him with a hard stare. “We would be no safer sleeping anywhere in the Dark World than going inside the demon birds’ lair.” He turned back toward the swamp. “Do you not think my body is heavily fatigued? Unfortunately, sleep is not a luxury we have.”

“But my lord,” interrupted Topenga. “We have cleared the great desert. The threat of the Kronos is no more. The dangers ahead will be better faced with sleep and food.”

Ramon gazed toward the swamp for a few seconds before turning around and meeting Topenga’s gaze. Following a nod of his head, Ramon walked to within a few yards of the swamp, where the ground was covered with leaves. Rummaging through his backpack, he handed over the last remnants of dried meat to Mikael and Topenga. The flasks had run almost completely dry of water, but were enough to quench their dry mouths.

“Do you think word has reached your father of what happened in Sabudu?” asked Mikael. He gnawed and tugged with his teeth to tear loose a bite from a strip of the dried meat.

Gently chewing on the last remaining pieces of bread, Ramon continuously gazed into the stars. “Everything we are experiencing here could become legend in time to come,” he said. “I will not consider anything else.” He fixed a gaze on Mikael. “What happened in Sabudu was unfortunate, but we must not concern ourselves with that now.”

“Yes, my lord.” Mikael put a flask to his mouth and sucked down the little bit it contained. He squeezed it with his hands, trying to draw out every remaining drop of water he could.

Having eaten, the three lay down on the leaf-strewn ground and slept.

Five hours passed before Ramon suddenly opened his eyes, instinctively reaching for his sword hilt. The sight of Topenga looking directly at him eased his tension.

“You slept well, my lord,” Topenga said. “We all needed the rest.”

“Did you not sleep?” asked Ramon.

“Only as long as I needed to,” Topenga replied. “I took turns with Mikael to keep guard. There was no threat against us in the night.”

The footsteps of Mikael approaching, fully armed, signaled to Ramon that it was time to resume their journey. Flicking every trace of dirt from his body and hair, he approached the increasingly mysterious swamp.

The mist brought with it an icy chill that crept through to the bones of the determined warriors. The farther they walked, the colder the air around them became. Their every thought focused on the hollow sounds that rang in their ears. Ramon noticed the hands of Mikael trembling as they approached the deep, algae-infested swamp. The water was putrid, filled with rotting plants and gods knew what else. Ramon also noticed a dense-looking vapor just above the surface. He also felt extremely uncomfortable with progressing any farther. He stopped and stood still, just a step ahead of his comrades.

All three warriors looked into the water, watching as large bubbles rose from the depths and burst at the surface, releasing more of the heavy vapor. Occasionally the swamp even spat out objects that landed near them: stones, globs of algae, dead fish and birds.

“We cannot go in there, my prince.” Mikael’s face remained tight. “There must be another way.”

Ramon remained expressionless. “I do not believe there is,” he said. “Every other way is blocked by the mountains. We must go through the village that lies deep inside the hills. Sompua is our only path.”

“But would you risk all by going through this pit of death?” Topenga ran his sword across the water and lifted it close to his face to examine it.

“The blade remains unscathed,” said Ramon. “Perhaps the swamps pose no threat to us.”

“But are you willing to take that risk, my lord?” Mikael refused to stand on the edge with his compatriots.

“We are here at the behest of my father,” said Ramon. “I, like him, can only ask what I require from you. But I cannot force you to do anything you deem unjust.” The prince thrust his sword into the ground and turned around to face Topenga and Mikael. “I will continue on my journey, with or without you. If destiny means for me to continue alone, then it shall be fulfilled.”

Shaking with fear, Mikael walked past Prince Ramon and Topenga toward the edge of the swamp and bent his head low. Confused by the actions of his comrade, the prince shuddered when he saw Mikael throw himself headlong into the swamp.

“Mikael!” he shouted. With his fists clenched, he followed the trail of every ripple, hoping for the reemergence of his friend.

For a long and anxious time, Ramon and Topenga waited under the light of the red moon, and still there was no sign of Mikael. Worried, the prince began to step into the green waters after Mikael, only to be held back by Topenga. The anticipation threatened to drive both men to despair, but then they suddenly saw a glimmer of blue flame in the distance. The light remained faint, but it grew brighter, closer, shooting through the air like fireballs and landing next to their feet and around the areas of the pond that immediately surrounded them.

“What is this?” asked Topenga. “How is this possible?”

Ramon continued to stare into the distance, trying to understand the meaning of the lights that mysteriously flew toward them, but then he noticed the ripples getting larger and larger. The blue light revealed the half-naked body of Mikael swimming back toward them.

“By the gods,” said Topenga. “He is still alive and surrounded by blue flames.”

Onward Mikael swam, his muscular body gliding through the waters. The algae was no hindrance to him, and his right hand held two severed tree branches, each smothered in rippling blue fire. His other hand was submerged just beneath the water but seemed to be carrying a bag of some sort.

Ramon and Topenga could only watch speechlessly as their companion reached the banks. Climbing on shore, Mikael could not contain his excitement. “It is safe, my lord,” he said. “Beneath is an endless supply of fire substance, enough to guide us through the demon bird’s lair. That very same fire substance will keep the creatures of the swamp at bay.”

Cautiously, Topenga walked up to Mikael until their chests nearly touched and ran his palm against his forehead. “Tell me,” he said. “How did you manage to get so deep into the swamps without any harm befalling you, and how did you manage to acquire fire substance?”

Mikael scowled at Topenga for a few seconds, angry at the suspicious nature of his questions. Turning to Ramon, a smile appeared on his face. “It was not without fear that I dove into those waters,” he said. “At first, it felt like my soul was being taken away from me. Like the water was trying to claim me. I struggled at the depths, but I saw something in the distance.”

The prince edged closer to his comrade.

“The glow seemed familiar to me,” Mikael continued. “It seemed like images in my head, but it suddenly appeared all around me, so I swam toward it. The fire substance was all around me, burning, despite the polluted waters. I then saw some loose branches and lit them.” Topenga let out a gigantic sigh and looked into the waters.

“You must believe me, my lord,” Mikael said worriedly.

“Our destiny is laid out in front of us,” Ramon said in a deep voice. “If I choose to do anything but believe, I might as well give in to the death of my beloved planet. As we stand here, by these polluted waters, I can hear her cry, and I will most certainly answer her call.” He looked at his comrades. “Onward we go. The Philosophers await us.”

Forcefully pulling his sword from the ground, he took a burning branch from Mikael and jumped straight into the water. A few moments passed before Topenga joined him.

The temperature deep within the swamp seemed to dip dramatically, and an immediate chill came over Ramon. He shivered as he swam, constantly glancing toward his friends, who seemed to be experiencing the same thing. At the depths of the water lay thousands of sea weeds and an extraordinary number of dead insects, but he did not see any human remains.

The blue flame emitted from the torches kept a number of small skeletal fishes away from them, although their size did not worry the prince much. He swam through the murky green waters, his body slowly adapting to the cold temperature.

The emergence of blue rocks beneath him drew his attention to the vast amount of fire substance. It filled his sight for miles. Glancing back toward Mikael, he smiled broadly, handed Mikael his torch, and continued to the very depths of the swamp, before picking up another branch that had been hidden under some sea weed. He quickly handed it to Topenga upon returning to the surface, reclaiming his torch from Mikael.

With the torch burning brightly in his right hand, Ramon looked toward the shore and caught sight of a large burrow at the foot of a tall cliff. Green vines ran from the ground through a circular opening in the rocks, six feet in the air. A number of dead animals surrounded the entrance, some skeletal. They had almost reached the entrance to the demon birds’ lair, he concluded.

“So what do you think?” asked Topenga. He touched his torch to the flames on Mikael’s, igniting it. “Will we really meet Kalkarats in there?”

“It matters not what awaits us.” Ramon swam toward the demon birds’ lair, his torch unaffected by the rising water. “At this stage, anything is a possibility.”

The swamp continued on, longer than any of them had imagined. The Corin moon shone down, its red glow somewhat masking the greenish hue of the polluted waters. The men’s bodies had almost shut down from the cold by the time the water started to become shallow once again. Unable to control the shaking of their bare upper bodies, the three warriors swam furiously until they lay, finally, on dry land, covered in dead leaves and insects. Quickly, they used their burning branches to light a small fire and sat around it for warmth.

An hour later, with their fire burned down and their bodies dry, the three warriors gathered their weapons and three additional loose branches before continuing toward the demon birds’ lair. The vines covering the entrance were thick and rigid. Looking deep into the darkness of the lair, they could only see a faint gleam from the Corin moon at the other end. The vines appeared to extend all the way to the exit, and though they seemed strong enough to hold several people at the same time, the warriors knew it would still be a risk attempting the climb.

“How far?” Mikael asked.

Topenga shrugged, unable to guess the true height of the climb.

Walking a few yards into the cavern, Prince Ramon struck the vines a few times with his sword, trying to find any potential weaknesses.

“It seems strong enough, my lord,” said Mikael. He edged into the lair and looked up, directly into the pitch darkness. “We know not, however, how far and deep it goes.”

Sensing his friend’s hesitation, Ramon held on to Mikael’s shoulders. “I shall go first,” he said.

“No, my lord,” interrupted Topenga, walking up beside them. “The honor is mine.”

With a nod, Ramon stood aside and watched as Topenga prepared for his ascent into the Kalkarat’s lair. After packing a large amount of fire substance into his bag, he leapt onto the vine while holding his lit branch in his teeth. He grimaced, straining with all his strength to keep steady.

When Topenga had climbed up a few yards, Ramon and Mikael quickly followed, climbing while desperately trying to remain quiet. The higher they climbed into darkness, the less light they could see from the moon. They had to rely solely on Topenga’s torch, and although its light reached far, they still could not see the end of their climb. But at least they had not encountered anything sinister, which gave Ramon hope.

The glimpse of a faint light a few yards above startled Topenga, prompting him to raise a hand in the air for the others behind him to stop. Topenga had thought he saw the light a few times before, but it had barely appeared for more than a second. Now it was a steady glow.

“What is it, Topenga?” asked Ramon.

Topenga hooked his elbow around a vine and held on to the branch with his free hand. “I do not know, my lord,” Topenga replied. “I see something. It is not especially clear but…. Wait, I see another.” Topenga stopped and continued to focus his eyes on the numerous lights that suddenly appeared ahead of him. They seemed like multiple flames, very small in size but burning with fierce intensity. “By the gods,” he said finally. “It is the eyes of the demon birds. They are all around us.”

By the light of Topenga’s torch, the warriors slowly began to make out the shapes of the Kalkarats, which clung to the walls of the cave all around them. The giant birds easily dwarfed the men. Their skin was as dark as the caves, and their wings were coarse and damaged, almost as if worn through in spots. But it was the eyes that brought a fear that none of them could remember feeling previously.

“Are they asleep, my lord?” said Mikael.

Ramon raised his hand for Mikael to be silent. “Do not move, Topenga,” he said, quietly but firmly. “Very slowly, reach up and extinguish your torch.”

Carefully, Topenga stretched out a piece of cloth from his bag and smothered the flame, plunging them into complete darkness. The only light was that of the Kalkarats’ flaming eyes, blinking closed, then open, then closed again. It looked like a field of twinkling red stars.

“By the gods,” Mikael said. “There are hundreds of them. And their eyes, nothing but fire. Why do their eyes continually open and close while they sleep?”

“I do not know,” Ramon said. “But let us not give them a reason to wake. Topenga?”

“Yes, my lord.” Topenga whispered.

“Are you able to lead us on without the light?”

“It will be difficult, but I believe I can.”

“Then proceed, but cautiously. Let us make no more sound until we reach the top.”

Their progress slowed, as they had to take great care to make no noise. Topenga continued to lead, holding completely still at any sort of movement or twitch from the birds. It seemed there would be no end to their climb, until finally the glow from the red moon began to creep into the cave, telling them the exit at the top of the cave was fast approaching. They tried to contain their excitement and relief, but as the hope of reaching the end filled them, their climbing became less coordinated and more careless. And the twitching from the birds became more frequent and acute. Before, they had only moved their wings softly in response to the sounds the warriors had made. Now they began flapping vigorously, and a few times the tips of their wings only narrowly missed striking Topenga’s face.