The Undying God (8 page)

An alarming feeling took hold of him,
one foreign to his brain. He felt something tantamount to dread,
but he didn’t have time to contemplate its significance. Preserving
Nishka’s life was his greatest priority.

Racing past the smoking husks of
igliuhs that surrounded him earlier, he set Nishka down in a small
clearing. With a cloth in his hand, he tried to clean the wound,
but his effort simply wouldn’t suffice. More and more of her blood
spilt onto the grass like red dew.

Arxu retreated from the glen and broke
into a run, looking for anyone to help. The road beckoned him
beyond the flora and he plunged ahead. An unearthly darkness had
gathered in the sky above like a premature night. He knew it was
day but the forest only reflected thick shadows.

As darkness parted before him, his path
became one of confusion and twisted turns. Every step was met with
uncertainty. The likelihood of finding anyone in this obscure
forest was bleak.

Nishka was far behind now in the
secluded wilderness. He almost turned away and ran in the direction
where Nishka was dying.

He caught sight of a distant figure. He
seized the chance and rushed toward the silhouette lurking in the
middle of the road. Arxu stopped in his tracks and regarded the
curious character.

A darkling garbed in cloaks, rags, and
a pointed hat stood silhouetted against the mist. The creature had
distinguishable features about its face, including a small nose,
green skin, and horns. Several sharpened teeth protruded below its
upper lip. Its ears were pointed at the tips, alluding to demonic
ancestry. It was short in stature, no more than four feet tall, the
top of its head level with a grown man’s waist.

The insidious nature of these creatures
was known throughout the land, told in stories to children from
youth. Every boy and girl was versed on their cunning and danger.
Darklings prowled the wilds and forests, creatures whose very
origin was shrouded in mystery. This preternatural being could be
considered more dangerous than most creatures for its ability to
think like a human.

It was swathed in layers upon layers of
decrepit cloaks, and its conical hat was secured by two horns
through the rim. Its large green eyes reflected mischief and
supernatural intelligence.

With that image in his mind, he
approached the darkling and abandoned all caution. Arxu could not
begin to appreciate how truly sinister in appearance the creature
was before him.

Chapter 8

The darkling observed the man
approaching with its uncanny, wide eyes.

“I need help,” Arxu said urgently. For
a moment, the creature didn’t respond.

“Hrioshango’s help?” it croaked. Arxu
immediately noticed the tone of its voice. It was distinguished
with a throaty rasp conjured up from a fiendish soul.

“There is a woman in dire need of aid.
She has been injured by igliuhs. She requires aid
immediately.”

Hrioshango’s eyes roamed deviously
across Arxu’s clothes and the precious stone hanging around his
neck. Most of all, he looked intrigued by the staff in hsi
possession.

“This way!” Arxu said, darting off in
the direction of Nishka. To his surprise, the darkling followed. It
seemed to glide down the dirt road, its legs and feet concealed
beneath its cloaks. It looked like nothing more than a sea of brown
robes stalking the Nightwalker. Yet, its piercing eyes were visible
in the dark.

“Can you heal wounds?” Arxu asked. The
darkling tugged on the collar of its cloak to reveal its face
again.

“Yes, Hrioshango can.”

“Who is Hrioshango?”

“Hrioshango!” the darkling gestured
wildly, waving his arms as if he encompassed amazing
power.

Arxu wondered if he was making the
right decision. Nonetheless, he led Hrioshango to the forest grove.
The darkling looked fascinated by the sight of Nishka. He timidly
approached as though she might spring to life and attack him.
Hrioshango scanned the unconscious woman, inspecting the
damage.

“She will live,” the darkling said. He
regarded the Nightwalker with its customary expression of intrigue
or amusement. “I cannot perform the healing without the necessary
components. I require belladonna and black hellebore or she will
die.”

“Where can I find them?”

“Hrioshango has not traveled through
this forest before. I can only tell you where you might find them.
Belladonna grows in the shade of trees. Black hellebore grows in
the woodlands.” Arxu hesitated to leave Nishka by herself, but he
faced no other choice. She was dying and she would soon be beyond
help if he didn’t do as the darkling bid.

“Do not let the roots of black
hellebore touch your skin,” Hrioshango whispered.

“I shall retrieve them.”

The darkling looked pleased at this,
and he rested on the forest floor. Nishka remained still on the
grass, her head elevated on a rock. Her pink lips contrasted
starkly with skin slowly becoming pale.

Hrioshango glanced at the human woman
and said, “You should find the herbs before nightfall.”

The Nightwalker left the glen without
the faintest idea where to begin his search. He hoped he had not
erred in seeking out the darkling’s aid.

If Arxu could process emotion, he may
have experienced several misgivings as he left Nishka in the care
of the darkling, but he didn’t think the creature was threatening.
Hrioshango was bizarre and confused, if anything at all.

Arxu returned to the grove an hour
later and saw Hrioshango wandering restlessly. The darkling
immediately perked up when he saw the Nightwalker.

“Here are the herbs,” Arxu said.
Hrioshango greedily took the belladonna and black hellebore. Arxu
noted that the darkling didn’t bother to avoid skin contact with
the herbs. Perhaps Hrioshango was immune to the hazards of black
hellebore. Without a word, he extracted a wooden mortar and
pestle.

The darkling crushed the herbs into a
paste, combining the hellebore root with nightshade. Ceremoniously,
he applied some unguent on his neck and wrists. He shut his eyes
and breathed deeply as though meditating upon his next course of
action.

Hrioshango handed Arxu a damp cloth and
hissed, “Absorb the lifeblood.” Arxu gently lifted Nishka beneath
her shoulders and cleaned her wound. Hrioshango held out his hand
and Arxu offered the cloth to him.

The darkling eyed him with
amusement.

“No. Wring the blood into my hand.”
Arxu paused, unsure he had heard the darkling correctly. Without
another moment to consider the strange request, he wrung the cloth
over Hrioshango’s hand, letting blood drip into his palm and
collect in the dark grooves of his lifelines.

Hrioshango dipped two clawed fingers in
the blood and traced graceful runes on Nishka’s left cheek. He
muttered quietly and concentrated on the woman. Arxu could feel a
change in the energy around him. He watched as the color returned
to Nishka’s face, and she breathed easier.

Arxu gently rested his hand on her
head. He was convinced he felt some form of relief. Whatever
emotion this near disaster had provoked, he would soon forget it.
It would fade in time, never to be restored.

* * *

The shroud of fog departed as shadows
reigned across the forest. Twilight descended and a weakened Nishka
opened her eyes. She moaned and Arxu barely heard the soft
sound.

“Nishka, I found someone who healed
you,” he whispered, crawling to her side. She blinked furiously and
gazed at Arxu. The expression on her face spoke volumes of
confusion. “Do you feel pain?”

Across the campsite, the darkling
studied the curious pair.

“I have something that can help her,”
he rasped. Arxu gestured for Hrioshango to administer aid, but not
before meeting his eyes.

“I’m going to gather wood to make a
fire for Nishka. I won’t be gone long.” The Nightwalker turned away
and ventured into the shadows.

Hrioshango carefully approached the
delirious woman. Nishka couldn’t tell who or what Hrioshango was,
so lightheaded was she. She uttered weak sounds but she couldn’t
string any syllables together to form words.

Hrioshango removed a dark glass vial
from his cloak, his spidery fingers prying the top from it. A
colorless substance poured from the vial, shimmering in his palm.
Hrioshango took her right hand and applied the oil.

Nishka gave an involuntary shudder, and
she felt her lungs expand in relief. Her vision gradually
sharpened, every detail leaping out at her. Even the smallest leaf
shivering above came into focus with astonishing
clarity.

The night air became so cold that it
tingled. Nishka’s skin felt numb and her breath came out in short
stabs. It felt as though her body was floating up into the sky and
as she reached the top, she was dissolving into millions of pieces.
The most enchanting euphoria flowed through her limbs, rendering
them limp.

Her body seemed to be hurling through
space, flying into a void from which there was no return. Nishka’s
eyes widened and panic consumed her. She cried out in alarm and
Hrioshango scampered at the sound. His head spun and his eyes
darted back and forth around the forest. His analysis was cut short
as something emerged from the silhouetted trees behind him.
Hrioshango felt the cold steel tip of a staff against his neck.

“Hrioshango not understand! She should
be happy to see Hrioshango!”

“What happened? What did you do?” Arxu
demanded.

“It was supposed to make her fall in
love with me!”

“What was?”

“Hrioshango making her feel
better!”

“What did you—administer?” Arxu
struggled to make sense of the situation. “Why did you believe this
would make her happy?”

“Because it makes Hrioshango extremely
happy! It makes Hrioshango feel like he is in love!” He held up the
vial for Arxu to see. A clear liquid swam inside the glass
container. It glimmered for Arxu’s eyes to see, looking eerie in
the moonlight. He recognized it as “flying potion,” a
hallucinogenic drug used by the deviant to attain a higher state of
being. Its continued use resulted in several brain dysfunctions,
among them, dementia.

He immediately understood why
Hrioshango had tasked him to gather belladonna and black
hellebore—not for Nishka, but to sate this creature’s insatiable
addiction and further his ploy at seduction. Arxu couldn’t forgive
the creature for exposing Nishka to a potentially fatal drug. The
staff tip rested dangerously under his chin.

“Hrioshango thought it make her love
me! Er… more susceptible to his charms. And do crazy things to
him!” Nishka was coherent enough to understand Hrioshango’s
intentions.

“That thing was trying to have sex with
me?!” The darkling retracted as though he had been splashed with
cold water.

“Hrioshango is outraged! Hrioshango is
a chaos magician, not a thing! As for the other part of your
statement… well, Hrioshango cannot deny that.”

“Kill it!” Nishka shrieked and she
darted for her crossbow, grappling in the darkness. “Where is my
crossbow?” Arxu looked at a loss for words. Nishka suddenly
realized they had lost more than just the weapon. “Where is the
cart?” Nishka said, her anxiety rising, and she attempted to
stand.

Hrioshango slowly took a step backward.
He edged away from the humans toward the infinite forest. Only a
few more steps and he could disappear into obscurity. Arxu quickly
turned on him and uttered, “You’re going to help us recover the
crossbow and the cart.”

“No, no—” Hrioshango protested, but
Arxu maneuvered the staff tip closer to his throat. The cold steel
made him recoil nervously. “Hrioshango is a chaos magician,” he
growled.

The implied threat did not sway
Arxu.

“You’re coming with me.”

Chapter 9

Arxu didn’t believe he could trust the
darkling, but it would aid him regardless. If it caused him any
danger, he would kill it without hesitation. He suspected the
creature entertained similar thoughts, and it would retaliate if
allowed the opportunity.

Nishka struggled to her feet, eager to
follow them.

“Nishka, you need to rest,” Arxu
said.

“I can walk. I may not fight, but I
need to make sure we recover the cart.” As Arxu watched her depart,
he suspected the drug revitalized her. Nishka feebly navigated
between the trees, sometimes reaching toward a low branch for
support. Her balance failed once and she fell to her knees with a
grunt.

“Nishka, you should return to the glen
and rest,” Arxu said as he took her arm.

“Do you want to pick me up and carry me
back there? Because I’m not letting those creatures have the cart.”
Arxu could see it was pointless to dissuade her. He offered her his
walking staff. Nishka hesitated, afraid to touch the paranormal
object. Timidly, she reached out and accepted it with a nod of
gratitude.