A Storm in the Desert: Dragonlinked Chronicles Voume 3 (43 page)

The alley opened on a street. It looked like a residential area, which made sense. The creature was looking for people, after all. Aeron clenched his jaw. Where was the gods-cursed thing? Looking the direction where he knew it was, where he felt it, he saw nothing but a row of buildings across the street. It must have made its way behind them.

Aeron stepped out of the alley and made for another between two buildings on the other side. As he crossed the street, a villager emerged from one of the buildings and stared at him. The man nodded a greeting, and Aeron returned it with a small smile, before continuing into the dark space between the buildings. As he walked along the narrow back street, he listened behind, in case the villager decided to follow the person skulking about in alleys. Luckily, he reached the end of the passage with no one following. He turned left at the intersection of back streets, the direction he sensed the nahual, and continued his search.

Have you found it yet?

No, love, not yet. But it’s close.

Closer than he’d thought, actually. The thing was right there.

Aeron pressed himself against the wall, in the shadows. The alley intersected another just ahead and continued beyond for about twenty feet before coming to a dead end. The nahual was walking back and forth in the short alley, staring at the wall before it.

Found it. The thing looks like it is sensing someone in a building.

Do not let it go in! It will try to kill whoever is inside.

I know, dear-heart.

Aeron took a slow breath and readied his spell. In less than a second, the barrier was in place.

The nahual’s head whipped around in his direction. It must have sensed the magic as the spell completed.

No matter. Aeron smiled. It was much too late for the evil beast.

A pulse of magic and sharp pain in his chest wiped the smirk from his face.

Aeron!

I’m fine, dear-heart. I’ve put the barrier in place. It’s just trying to fight me. It doesn’t know the battle is already over.

He countered the spell, which seemed to anger the nahual. It took a step toward him and bumped into the barrier. The sorcerous wall flared briefly. The beast’s immediate jump backward, probably an instinctive move, caused it to slam into the barrier behind, eliciting another faint flash of light.

The nahual let out a hiss. It ran its hands all around, claws scraping along the barrier, and found the magical wall completely surrounded it. Turning, the beast stared at Aeron and reached up, causing another brief pulse of light.

Aeron stared back at the thing.

That’s right, you piece of garbage, you’re trapped.

It was time to find a villager or two. Glancing up at the stars to get his directions, Aeron took the right branch of the intersection. He wanted to head toward the closer Manis patrol. He ran for the exit. As he burst onto the street, Aeron collided with a young woman.

Grabbing her arm so she wouldn’t fall, he said, “I’m so sorry!”

“What is wrong with you?” She yanked herself free of his hand. “Running about with no care.”

Aeron turned his expression of apology into one of fear. He could use this accident. “There is a beast in the alley!” He turned to the dark back-street. “I think it is one of those creatures that has been attacking people.”

“What?” Her anger turned to horror. “A nahual? Here?”

“Nahual, yes, that is what they call them. I–I panicked and ran. But if you’ll stay here, keep watch, I will go get a better look.”

“No! Are you mad? Don’t go back there!”

Aeron frowned. “I have to. My mother was killed by one of those things. If this is indeed a nahual . . .” He turned to her. “Stay here. If a manis patrol comes through, tell them where the beast is. I’m going for a closer look.”

She looked upset, but nodded.

Aeron took a breath, acting as if he were girding himself—he had to act the part, after all—and strode into the alley. Once a little ways in, he picked up the pace. At the intersection, he paused and glanced at the nahual.

It hissed at him and opened its maw. A pulse of magic came from it less than a second before the glamour landed, plunging Aeron into a well of false serenity.

He blinked and shook his head.

Aeron! Do not be fooled!

Anaya was yelling. Why? It was a pretty night, there was no reason for yelling.

You must counter the spell.

The spell?

He blinked again and saw. There were ribbons of color surrounding him, throbbing. The Glamour. He had to get rid of it.

Fighting against the lazy lethargy, Aeron wove the counter-spell. Vibrating bands of color swirled around him, thrumming in time to the pulse of magic. They moved into position between the bands of the nahual’s spell, tightened, and then tore the beast’s enchantment apart.

The veil of terrible tranquility lifted from his mind like mist clearing in a breeze. He took a breath.

The nahual hissed again.

With a grimace, Aeron glanced at the thing. It could only lash out with sorcery, trapped as it was in the barrier wall. He turned away from the beast, to the left, and walked back into the alley through which he’d first chased it. Once a couple of dozen feet in, he cast Meturato’s Gloom on himself, and tucked into a shallow corner between two homes. This side of the alley was in complete shadow, would give him a view of the nahual, and allowed him to be far from where the manisi would fight the beast.

In the near silence of the night, the whistle blasts were loud. Aeron repeated the alarm pattern, a long blow followed by a short, four times. He slipped the whistle, hanging from a cord around his neck, back under the robe and waited.

Can you tell if the patrol heard the alarm?

The group on the other side of the village has turned around. They are moving faster.

Good, they must have heard it. What of the other group?

They do not appear to have heard. They continue to approach at the same speed.

Alright. But be careful, dear-heart. If you think they’ve spotted you, just fly off. No one knows who I am, so I’ll be fine. I can meet up with you later.

She didn’t immediately reply.

Anaya? Did you hear me?

I did.

Okay.

Now for the wait. As soon as a manis entered the intersection, he’d remove the barriers. The nahual would have nowhere to go, then. He would remain, though, to watch and make sure they dispatched the thing.

It wasn’t a long wait.

“Manisi! Over here!” The young woman was unwittingly playing her part. “The nahual is down this alley! Hurry!”

Blood pounded in Aeron’s ears. Excitement and nerves played havoc with his belly. He took a long, slow breath to try to calm himself.

Ahead, two men ran into the intersection and looked around. Manisi.

Aeron began removing the barrier. Just as it fell, a woman joined the men, another manis. All three turned his direction.

Damn!

Aeron pressed his back into the corner. They’d sensed him removing the spell.

The nahual let out a savage hiss and leapt for one of the manisi.

“Look out!” The woman swung her bo around and missed.

The nahual slashed at the man. He backed up enough to save his life, but the claws still landed a blow on his chest. Letting out a grunt, he fell to the ground, dark stains on his uniform.

Not wasting any time, the nahual swung at the woman.

She got her bo up in time, but as she took a step back, a pile of refuse, crates or boxes, tripped her. She landed in an ungainly pile. Only one manis remained to block the nahual’s escape.

The bleeding manis blew the nahual alarm again while the one still standing stared at the creature. The woman wasn’t moving.

Barbs and blades!

What is it?

These people, these manisi, are terrible. Two are already injured. The nahual is going to get away.

Aeron felt a pulse of magic from the intersection. Who’d cast the spell? He removed Gloom and gripped his bo tightly.

Aeron, do not do this.

The nahual glanced down at the ground, or perhaps its feet.

I have to. They’re going to get even more hurt if I don’t.
He ran toward the manisi and began weaving two glows in the dead end for better light. He would try not to use much magic if he could avoid it. The less questions they had about him the better.

As he completed the glow spells, another magic pulse came from ahead. Light filled the short passage and the nahual’s arms slapped against its side. One of the manisi must be using bind to try to tie up the thing.

The man looked up at the two orbs of light, then behind. He saw Aeron. His eyes went to Aeron’s bo. Lifting his own weapon, the man said, “Who are you?” He turned so he could see both the nahual and Aeron.

As Aeron stepped into the intersection, the nahual hissed. A pulse of magic came from the thing and it leapt. Aeron side-slid and brought the bo down on the passing nahual. The beast twisted in mid-jump to avoid it, but the bo still clipped the thing’s head. It tumbled to the ground, arms still bound to its side.

“Never mind me, bind its legs again!” Aeron turned to the man sitting on the ground. “Both of you!”

As the men stared at him, the nahual once more got to its feet and jumped for Aeron.

“Hurry!”

The end of his yell shifted, the sound of his voice getting lower, as everything slowed.

The nahual, already in the downward part of its jump, stared at him with hatred in its eyes. The fearsome mouth was open wide, revealing its massive teeth. A few strands of saliva stretched, glistening, between its upper and lower jaws. Those jaws would close on his throat if Aeron didn’t move.

To the side, the men were looking at the nahual as it slowly arced toward Aeron. The woman still lay on the ground, unmoving.

He blinked and looked at the nahual. It was less than three feet from him now, eyes burning with hate. Aeron lifted up his bo in a defensive stance and slid to the right.

All moved in slow motion—his arm as it moved up, his body as it moved to the side, the others, nahual and manisi, as they performed their own actions.

Aeron overshot the nahual a bit. He’d intended to block the beast at its chest, but the bo was moving higher, in front of the thing’s face, its mouth.

The nahual clamped its jaws on the bo. As Aeron continued to slide, the weight of the nahual, mouth clamped to the wooden staff, wrenched at his arm.

With a snap, the odd slow passage of time ended and everything sped up.

Aeron grunted as he was whipped around by the bo. His feet, still sliding, shot to the right and out from under him.

“Shit!” He let go of the weapon and spun his body. A grunt escaped his lips when he hit the ground on his side.

The nahual slammed into the ground and let out a whine. The staff bounced and rolled a few feet, a large tooth embedded near the end.

Aeron? What is happening?

I’m fine, dear-heart. I think we have the nahual tied up.

Aeron tugged his robe down and sat up. The slide spell had dragged him a few feet before it completed, pulling the accursed robe up under his arms.

“Keep that thing bound,” he said, pointing at the nahual. “It can counter your spells, so be prepared to reapply the bindings.”

Two more manisi ran in the alley.

“Where in Yrdra’s hells have you been?” The injured man stared at the two latecomers.

“Sorry,” the younger-looking of the two said. “Some of the alleys here have no exits.”

“Check on Chassah. She’s not moving.”

The two went to the woman’s side.

“And you.” He stared at Aeron. “Who are you? You fight like us, but you are not manisi.”

“I’m nobody. I just heard the whistle, heard the fighting, and came to see if I could help.”

“Heard the whistle, eh?” The man’s eyes flicked to the robe and then back up.

“Keep it face down until you kill it. If it can’t see you, it can’t cast spells on you.”

“We’re not killing this one.”

“What?” Aeron stared at him. “Why not? These things are deadly. This one nearly killed us.”

“They want a live one to study.”

Aeron’s anger must have been plain, because the man chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry. It will be killed when they are done with it.”

“Well, cover its head with something while you transport it. You don’t want it casting spells on you.”

The woman woke up, but was groggy. She must have hit her head on something when she fell. “What happened?”

Aeron, this group, they seem to know I am here.

What?
Aeron stood.
How do you know?

They are approaching the thicket and spreading out.

Go! Fly now! Do not let them catch you.

What about you?

“What is your name?”