Page 118 of Where Darkness Dwells

The kaligorva must be getting close by now. I close my eyes. A strange sense of calm fills me like spiced tea. I breathe deeply, drawing the aroma of decaying things into my lungs.

Wouldn’t it be better to let nature take its course? The cold is already creeping over me, its fingers finding a way inside my skin. Maybe it’s right to let this giant’s grave become mine as well.

But as the clamor of the beast draws nearer, I pick out something else from the aroma. Something so green and fresh I can almost taste it on my tongue.

In the midst of death, there is also life.

A flutter of warmth touches the top of my head, brushes the side of my face. It grows in intensity until every trace of chill has fled and I can see blood red from beneath my eyelids. I open my eyes.

You are not alone.

‘Star’ is the only word that comes to mind when I see the brilliantly burning creature standing guard to my left. I turn toward it and slip my knees under me, adopting an unintentional posture of humility. It towers over me to the height of a man. The glossy fur sways with each pulse of light. A holy fear consumes me as I raise my eyes to behold the sola’s face.

It is wolf-like and long, with pointed fangs peeking out of its solemn muzzle and thick fur around its neck and chest. It bends its awesome head down and sniffs my forehead before anointing me with the penetrating warmth of its smooth tongue, making me doubt I will ever be cold again. A peculiar scent of rain and fire and freshly tilled earth swirls around me.

I could bask in this creature’s presence forever.

A rumbling growl shakes the ground beneath me. The sola’s head turns to face what’s coming. Reluctantly, I tear my eyes away from it and stare into the ténesomni.

Something is odd about this beast of darkness. It does not hesitate when it comes to the barrier between my light and the shadows, but steps through boldly. A scream lodges in my chest as I get a full picture of one of the kaligorven for the first time.

Its face is wild and twisted, with a myriad of sharp teeth and shocks of matted fur sprouting from all directions. The broad snout is marked in places with shiny black skin that looks like scars. The eyes are terrifying, filling my soul with the sensation of being on fire. Two gnarled horns protrude from its skull, making it seem a foot taller than it is. Its body is harder to identify, as it stands upright like a man, but bears no resemblance in any other respect. Shadows shift all over its gargantuan frame, enshrouding it protectively. There is something distinctly rotten and festering about its presence that forces me to breathe through waves of nausea.

It is a thing not quite living, a massive predator raked through a furnace or dragged from an open grave. While the aura from the sola emanates, the presence from this monster oozes.

The wolf-sola steps toward it, and a deep growl makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The chasms of the kaligorva’s eyes lock on to the burning beast, and the air between them crackles.

When they propel themselves at each other, the world stops.

Teeth shear sheets of shadows into threads; claws rip ribbons of radiance into tassels. The air around me begins to rush as cold and hot clash violently. Deafening snarls swirl through my senses.

The two giants are evenly matched, even though the sola’s frame is smaller. I gasp as the kaligorva throws it off its back and crouches to pounce, but the wolf recovers and darts deftly out of the way.

Enraged, the Shrouded lets out a throaty scream and tears wildly at its opponent’s chest. The sola’s luminescence pulses powerfully through its locks of fur, protecting it from what could have been a fatal blow.

The battle rages on for an eternity, until the work of keeping up with it becomes a burden I can no longer bear. I crawl shakily along the trunk of the tree, putting as much distance between myself and this otherworldly tempest as I can.

When my strength is spent, I turn around in time to see the sola make a desperate attack at the kaligorva’s exposed underside. It succeeds in knocking the monster back, and the wolf goes to work, tearing the enemy to pieces. For a moment, it looks as if the fight could be over.

But the Shrouded rallies and bends all four limbs underneath the sola, kicking it off with alarming force. The wolf’s huge body sails to the side and over the stream, hitting a boulder with a sickening thud. The dazzling illumination disappears in an instant.

“No,” I shriek.

A mistake. The kaligorva staggers to full height and turns to face me. A hideous sneer pulls its grizzly muzzle. It moves toward me with heavy, unsteady footsteps.

There . . . is . . . no . . . escape . . .

The voice rattles through my brain like a sickness. The beast does not physically form the words, yet I hear it.

My hands feel around for something, anything with which to protect myself. But there is nothing.

The light around me flickers as my eyes close.

I am not afraid.

As a rush of air swings a wispy lock of hair across my face, a scream that sounds neither like sola nor kaligorva shakes me from my stupor. My eyes spring open, and I can’t make sense of what lies before them.

A shadowed figure crouches between me and the Shrouded, pulling back a long blade that reflects my light and the sparkle of my necklace. With another deafening yell, the form thrusts the blade upward, right into the core of the attacker as it descends upon us.

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