Chapter 29

It was twice the height of a man and it stood on two legs, a creature of reddish granite, like stone brought to life. Long arms ended in blunt hands like small boulders. Its legs were the thickness of tree trunks. It roared once and then ran into the village. For all its size, it moved fast, running bent over on all fours using its hands to help propel it. It was among the villagers before they could react, while they stood gaping in stunned disbelief. There it paused, the huge head swiveling as if searching for something. A deep gash ran diagonally across its face, taking out one eye and slicing across its mouth. From the depths of the gash came a flickering red glow.

Abruptly the villagers’ paralysis broke and they scattered. It ignored them.

Gerath stood frozen a short way away, her mouth open. The massive head turned towards her. Netra wanted to scream at Gerath to run, but there was no air in her lungs.

“Tender of Xochitl,” it growled, its voice the crunch of stone on stone. “Your god did this to me. I can’t find her, but I found you.” It took a step towards her.

With a small cry, Gerath fell back and held up one hand.

The monster bent and slammed its fists into the ground. The ground shook, so hard that Gerath fell down.

She scrambled to her feet and ran.

For another moment the monster paused, sniffing the air. “You are weak, helpless.” A parody of a smile crossed its shattered face.

“Time to die.”

It ran after her and when it was only two strides from her it leapt into the air and landed full on her.

Gerath only screamed once.

For one long, frightening minute the monster stomped on her remains and howled in mindless rage while Netra looked on, stunned and horrified. When its fury was spent it straightened and looked straight at the pile of boulders where Netra was hiding.

Netra shrank back into the boulders, into a gap between where two of them leaned against each other, her heart pounding. She could no longer see the monster. Surely it couldn’t see her.

The monster sniffed the air. “I smell your Song,” it grumbled. “You can’t hide.”

Netra cowered amongst the rocks, shaking. Raw power radiated from the monster, the force of it palpable, as if a forest fire was closing on her. Every instinct screamed at her to run but when she looked around she realized there was no way out except the way she’d come in.

She was going to die.

“You are weak too,” it said, in its gravel voice. “You have forgotten the power your kind used to hold.” It slammed its fists on the ground, hard enough that the boulder pile shook and several stones came loose and rolled down the hillside. Netra clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out.

“Now you die too.” She could hear its ponderous footsteps as it shambled toward her. It did not hurry, knowing its prey could not escape.

“Please, Mother,” Netra prayed in a whisper. “Please help me.”

As she prayed, she put her hand into her robe and fumbled for the sonkrill that hung around her neck. When her fingers made contact with it, a sudden jolt ran through her, the normal world fell away and she unexpectedly found herself beyond.

The mists of beyond, normally placid, were being whipped furiously, as if a fierce wind was blowing from the monster. Through the mists, Netra could see the monster as it approached. There was no glow of an akirma to mark its presence, only a cold darkness limned in the faintest of red glows.

The stone monster was only a few strides away. She was out of time. Panic rose in her, making it hard to think. She pressed back deeper into the gap.

All at once she had a feeling she was no longer alone. She turned her head. She could just see a glow in the mists off to the side. It seemed to be a four-legged creature. Then she knew what it was.

It was her spirit guide, the rock lion she had encountered during her Songquest.

With the realization of its presence, Netra felt a strange calm come over her. The panic receded and she could once again think clearly.

She looked back at the stone monster and remembered something Brelisha had taught her, about the powers of the old Tenders. By focusing Selfsong in their hands, they were able to take hold of flows of LifeSong, which were otherwise ethereal and couldn’t be touched.

But Netra knew that even if she could manage it, there was no way she was strong enough—nor did she have the training—to channel enough power to even slow the monster down.

It was hopeless. Unless…

A crazy idea occurred to her. Doubtful that it would work, but what choice did she have?

The stone monster reached the boulders. It bent to sniff at the gap where she was hiding. The gap was too small for it to get its body in, so it reached in with one huge hand. Netra squirmed backwards as far as she could go. Its fingers groped blindly mere inches from her face. Its arm withdrew.

Netra stared at her hands, willing her Selfsong to gather there.

Nothing happened.

The monster put its shoulder against one of the boulders and began to push. The boulder shifted. Dust drifted down around Netra.

Panic rose up inside her once again. Netra’s vision wavered and she almost slipped out of beyond.

Focus! she told herself.

With a crunch of stone, the monster pushed the boulder aside, far enough that it could now force its way in.

Netra blocked out the sound, blocked out the terror, focusing on her hands desperately.

They began to glow faintly.

Quickly Netra took hold of the flow of Song that was attached to her akirma. With a jerk, she ripped it away from her.

The effect was immediate. It was as if she jumped into a depthless black pool of freezing water. Light and air were gone. She gasped, utterly bereft, adrift in emptiness.

The monster stopped. It turned its head side to side, sniffing for its prey. “Where are you?” it growled. “Where did you go?”

Netra lay there, knowing she was dying. Cold was seeping into her. The light of life within her was going out. She could feel the severed flow nearby and more than anything she wanted to reach for it.

The monster roared and slammed its fists into the boulders. Chips of stone flew in all directions.

There came a loud, coughing growl from the forest nearby. Even in the midst of her suffering, Netra knew that sound. It was a rock lion.

The monster turned toward the sound.

The rock lion growled again.

The monster struck the boulders one more time, then walked away into the forest.

Netra waited as long as she could, until her Selfsong began to flicker and she knew she was about to die, then she groped for the flow of Song, missed it, caught it, and pressed it to her. Light and air and life returned in a rush.

On her hands and knees she gasped, trying to get a hold of herself. She was trembling violently and blood pounded in her ears.

Staggering upright, she looked one more time at the broken form of Gerath lying down below, then she stumbled down the hill, toward home.

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