Wrath and Ruin Read online

  I clenched my eyes so tightly, they ached from the strain.

  Messipor asked, “Do you understand why we need to escape Law? This is what he does to those he catches. He banishes them to this place.”

  “Get me out of here,” I pleaded with a forced but barely audible voice.

  “What?”

  Louder, “Get me out of here. We need to go.”

  “All right.”

  We trudged and slid down the hill, away from that wretched valley. When we reached the bottom, I fell to my knees, then collapsed face down on the ground. I wept so hard for those helpless people that my lungs and throat hurt.

  Messipor kept a stoic watch over me.

  ***

  My desire to stay ahead of Law redoubled, and I had no difficulty matching Messipor’s pace. Swift as the wind, we traversed a few more hills and came upon what could best be described as a meager camp. Three men were sitting around an ash-filled fire pit in a land with no wood for burning. Their tents amounted to nothing more than rocks leaning against other rocks. They looked a lot like Messipor, with similar clothes, pale skin, and hair as dark as tar.

  They stood up when they heard us approaching.

  Messipor waved to them. “Gentlemen, Law is on our trail. We can’t rest here.”

  I didn’t want to hear that. I was fatigued enough to risk a short rest, in spite of the torture that awaited me if I were caught. While I sprawled on the ground, Messipor’s friends grabbed their satchels and followed him. His years on the run must have trained his body, because he had yet to show any sign of fatigue. I, on the other hand, felt burdened by my own weight and wrung dry. Nonetheless, I rolled to my side after my too-brief moment of recovery, then got up and jogged after them. Fear of being left behind to Law was the only thing pushing me forward.

  The land grew increasingly rugged and no less red or barren. We had yet to find any sign of civilization, and I couldn’t discern any progress. It had been a long time since Messipor and I stopped at the stream. I craved another drink, and if we were as lost as it seemed, then I might drop dead before we located another source of water.

  Messipor seemed to sense my disquiet. He glanced over his shoulder at me and said, “We’re about halfway there.”

  “Halfway to where?”

  “To Pinnacle Mountain. We should find safety there.”

  “Should find safety? Is there any place with more certainty, because I’m not so sure we can hide from that bird-thing Law was riding?”

  “Law’s mount may prove the least of our worries. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, and if he catches us—well, you know.”

  Halfway there? I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad news. We had come so far; there was no way I could maintain our pace and double that distance. But having some measure of progress buoyed my hopes, at least briefly.

  A bloodcurdling noise disemboweled my newfound hope.

  Howls, similar to wolf calls but garbled and more piercing, sounded nearby. The echoes leapt from boulder to boulder and pounced on me. I shivered at the terrifying cacophony, which sounded like multiple creatures calling through one.

  Messipor and the others didn’t speak or look for the source of the noise. They ran, and I did the same.

  Without breaking stride, we hurdled rocks and crevices that would have slowed us while hiking. We sprinted to the edge of the exposed hilltop and threw ourselves down the graveled slope. Sometimes sliding on our feet, sometimes rolling and collecting bruises on every corner of our bodies, we made it to the bottom. Two of the men cast their bags aside. The sprint resumed, but in vain.

  A large, fearsome hound dropped from a precipice and thudded on the ground in front of us. Instead of fur, it had gray, vine-like cords that ran the length of its body. Each vine glowed orange on the inside, like stoked embers, and every one of the creature’s steps left a charred, black paw print on the ground.

  It lowered its head, bared fangs, and uttered a sound both guttural growl and quenched, hissing fire.

  I backed away from the beast’s heat, which threatened to burn my skin. Fortunately for me, I had trailed the group. The creature seized the man in the lead and, in one bite, broke him at his waist. His body bent at a hard angle. Death came too quickly for him to scream, but the sound of shattering bones exploded in my ears. No blood. The wounds instantly cauterized and leaked an odious, black smoke.

  The hound tossed its first kill aside and pursued another of Messipor’s friends as he fled. I wanted to run as well, but an intense heat suddenly scorched my back.

  Stumbling, I turned and faced the open jaws of a second hound.

  It planted its front paws firmly on either side of me. Viscous fire dripped from its fangs and singed the ground between my sprawled legs. I froze, and my cowardice saved me. As the hound sniffed at me, the third of Messipor’s friends ran past and tried to climb a rock wall. The beast pursued him instead, leaving me alone, sweaty, and trembling—but unharmed.

  Messipor fled like the others and dove into a short cave. His pursuer wasn’t the fiery hounds but rather a man in a long, white shirt and red vest. The newcomer’s dark, leathery skin suggested a lifetime under the bright moonlight, and his beard had bleached to an almost-white gold. His eyes were obsidian blades, dark and pointed at Messipor. His movements defied understanding. Gentle steps propelled him forward like a sprinter and crushed rocks into sand beneath his feet.

  Law.

  Law was a tornado. A maelstrom incarnate. He radiated a force that simultaneously propelled me away and yet wrenched me toward him. Every conceivable emotion fired off inside me like fireworks in a box. Joy, dread, longing, satisfaction, comfort, loathing—but mostly fear. All of these roiled within me, heightening to the point of intolerability or ecstasy, then fading and pulsing again.

  I wanted nothing more than to crawl away, to shrink and hide in the smallest crevice possible. However, I couldn’t let my cowering guide be killed. Messipor needed help, so despite my terror, I grabbed a rock and ran at Law.

  Messipor’s cave was scarcely large enough for him to slide in on his belly and hide. Law stood outside the entrance and summoned him by shouting an unfamiliar word. “Elis.” Nothing stirred, so he boomed “Elis” again. This time, the valley shuddered and the hills rolled rocks off their shoulders.

  The cliff giving sanctuary to Messipor groaned and cracked. The land might have split in two if not for Law collapsing to the ground.

  I stood over the man who had been hunting us, bloody rock in my fist. Fresh crimson ran on my already-red-stained hands. Blood pooled in Law’s concave temple and poured over the misshapen socket around his eyes. The fiery hounds, which had been rushing toward me as I ran at Law, vanished into clouds of ash and embers.

  Messipor emerged slowly despite me calling him. He had to look down on Law’s corpse twice before he laughed, and even then he stayed close to the cave. His snicker grew into a loud, boisterous guffaw and accompanying dance.

  After spinning, he took me by the shoulder and said with a broad smile, “I knew it was a good idea to help you. We’re free!”

  I didn’t share his joy. I felt sick in my stomach and chest. The sensation of Law’s skull breaking from my punch still echoed in my arm, and the stench of blood nauseated me.

  “Your friends—I’m sorry they didn’t make it.” The three men lay on the valley floor, their bodies charred and horribly contorted.

  Messipor sobered. “I’m sorry, too, but this is the life we’ve lived for quite some time. You have no idea what it’s been like, or how many people we’ve lost. But you’ve changed all that. We can be free.”

  “What was that word he was calling?” I asked.

  “Elis? My whole name is Elis Messipor. I’d managed to evade Law longer than anyone I’m aware of, and I think it frustrated him. He called me Elis, but my friends call me Messipor, and you’re certainly a friend.”

  I dropped the bloody stone. It rolled and came to rest against Law’s body.

 
“What now?”

  “We continue on as planned. Pinnacle Mountain isn’t far, and it’ll provide a way out of here.”

  A way home, perhaps. Wherever home might be.

  ***

  The land rose and fell for miles, and each time we crested a hill, I saw a distant mountain with a headdress of clouds. It seemed to be withdrawing from us, constantly pulling back to the horizon, because it remained small and distant. When at last Messipor and I climbed a final ridge and saw that only a broad plain separated us from our goal, I knew the end of our journey was near.

  The final walk proved the simplest. The ground was as flat as a tabletop. I continually measured our progress by the growth of Pinnacle Mountain. Though not of staggering height, it presented the highest and steepest climb of our journey. Its slopes tapered to a narrow peak where a light glowed, illuminating the clouds tethered to it. Messipor explained the light was a portal that could take us away to a safer, healthier place.

  When we reached the base of the mountain, I asked for rest and a drink. Messipor agreed. He sat beside me and offered me his canteen, saying he could wait until the journey’s end before getting a drink himself.

  I tried to be careful with it, but in my thirsty haste, I dribbled some of the water down my chin and chest. It tasted even greater than when we visited the crystalline stream. I drank more than intended, filling my belly and emptying the canteen.

  Messipor didn’t seem to mind. He leaned back on his elbows.

  “I hope you regain your strength quickly. The last push will be the hardest.”

  “I’m not too keen on heights,” I admitted as I sized up the climb.

  “Just don’t look down.”

  I glanced back over the terrain we had crossed. Beyond the plains wiped clean of even the smallest loose stones, a crown of hills rippled the horizon. My journey originated somewhere beyond those ridgelines. It had been a long trek, though I couldn’t guess the number of hours—or perhaps days. The perpetual moon made time difficult to judge.

  I ran my fingers through my dusty hair and discovered my scalp still hurt from the unexplained wound, the one I had woken up with. I’d forgotten about the pain while fleeing for my life. I stretched my limbs and tried to relax my body as well as my mind. The land was utterly silent, and I let out a loud sigh to confirm I hadn’t gone deaf.

  While I rested, I realized how hungry I had become. Starving, actually. When had I last eaten?

  “Messipor, do you have any food?”

  “No, but there’ll be plenty beyond the peak.”

  “Okay.”

  Disappointed, I turned my attention to the single hill near Pinnacle Mountain. Caves pockmarked its surface, and it was ringed by conical stone pillars balancing on their narrow tips. I was surprised the stones hadn’t been knocked over by the wind.

  “Oh, no!” Messipor exclaimed. He got up and backpedalled toward the mountain. His dread-filled eyes were fixed on the sky.

  I frantically searched for whatever was frightening him. I expected to spot Law’s massive bird diving toward us, but I saw nothing. “What is it?”

  “The moon!” Messipor cried. His face paled, and his fists were shaking. “Has it moved?”

  I squinted at the moon, but only for a second before I had to look away from its blinding light. It did seem to be listing to the side.

  Messipor ran to me and pulled me up by my shirt. “Dawn is coming,” he said, his voice splintering with panic. “We don’t have much time left before we’re destroyed. Hurry!”

  His hysteria over the coming dawn confused me for a moment. When I recalled his warning about the sun, my own tide of panic and adrenaline surged within me.

  We ran up the mountain until the slope made it impossible. Then we marched with high, labored steps. After that, we climbed with dug-in toes and fingers. The air warmed, and droplets of water began to sweat from the rocks and fall upward toward the sky. Drops of sweat from my body did the same. My tired arms remembered their fatigue from the earlier climb, and the pain rushed back. It was impossible to ignore, even with my desperation screaming at me to hurry.

  The pulsing light at the mountain’s peak beckoned us forward. An even greater motivation loomed in the distance. Not far from where the moon was descending, a foaming, violent sea of clouds galloped toward us on legs of lightning.

  The storm reached us sooner than the strong winds following in its wake. Gusts and rain flogged us without mercy, trying to pry our fingers from the mountain.

  “Elis.” The name boomed like thunder from the clouds. At the sound of the voice, nature ceased her violence and sat quietly with her hands upon her lap. The rain and winds dissipated. Lightning bolts stayed in their holsters. Only the clouds remained, but their stampede halted.

  A familiar figure descended from the clouds. Law glided to a place beneath us on the slope and landed heavily on the ground. The wound I gave him had healed, though a sneering, jagged scar remained beside his eye. He clenched one of his hands into a fist and glared at Messipor.

  “Elis, release him. You have no authority to seize him.”

  Messipor leaned out from the cliff and looked down at Law. “I haven’t seized anyone. We’re free men escaping your tyranny.”

  “Halt your tongue and disperse your deceptions. You cannot destroy any who are beyond your grasp.”

  I moved to a ledge no wider than a hand’s width and set my hip on it, attempting to preserve my remaining strength. I weighed the situation.

  Despite the fearsome presence emanating from Law, a strange gravity drew me toward him. When he turned and looked at me, he seemed a completely different being, as though a mask had peeled away. Law had joy in his eyes, warmth rather than burning. He gazed directly at me, and I saw no fury in him.

  “Child, close your eyes and see.” Law’s voice disarmed me. My urge to escape vanished, and I longed to stay near him.

  Messipor screamed, “Beware his lies! He’s trying to deceive you.”

  Law fumed, and the sky broke with thunder loud enough to deafen me temporarily. The mountain quaked and nearly tossed me off at the sound of his vehement voice.

  “Do not accuse me of being a liar. I am not of your ilk.”

  Close your eyes and see. Law’s words lingered, clinging to me like static. His battle of wills with Messipor seemed to fade into the distance. My mind refocused as if I were coming to from a long deprivation of sleep. I blinked slowly, hiding the world from my sight for a second.

  When I raised my eyelids like a stage curtain, I witnessed a transformed world.

  The clouds evaporated. The broad stone plain flooded and turned into a calm, silver-platter sea. The moon reclined on the western hills while rays from the waiting sun sprouted like flowers to the east. Never could I have imagined anything as white, as resplendent, or as beautiful as those rays. The day was awaiting its moment to bloom, and I suddenly yearned for the night to be over.

  Messipor shouted, “See? The sun is coming. He’s going to destroy us.”

  “Greet the day, child,” Law said. His smile beamed like the sunrise. “You have no reason to fear it. The eye is easily fooled. See with more than the eye and behold the fullness of truth.”

  I heeded Law’s prompting by closing my eyes once more. In the last moment before I blocked out the vanishing moonlight, I noticed something unusual about the small hill below me. The caves on its surface had grown wider and darker, and the stone pillars were biting into the newly flooded sea, clenching against their reflections. The arrangement looked like a skull.

  The ground shifted when I blinked. I fell from my precarious perch on the cliff and, flailing, clutched another projection of stone. My feet dangled in the air.

  After a few moments of shouting, I realized that Pinnacle Mountain was actually a crater, not a mound of stone, and its illusionary glowing peak was a disguised pit of fire. Thick, acrid smoke billowed from its center. If my frail grip on the cliff gave out, I would fall into the pit’s depths.


  Messipor wasn’t leading me up a mountain; he was guiding me into a crater. He clung to the rocks below. His once-friendly eyes darkened, and their pupils narrowed and sharpened into fang-like slits.

  I tried to shout for help, but my stomach seized. After a few convulsions, I vomited water from the crystal stream into the abyss. The clear drink had become black and oily in my gut, and its sweetness had turned bitter.

  The vomited oil turned into a serpent-like shadow on the cliff. Its tail stretched down into the smoky depths of the pit, and its body slithered up the rocks toward me. It bit my shadow by the leg and tugged me with a twist of its head.

  I couldn’t escape. I was glued to my own shadow, and the enemy was using it to pull me. My fingers strained until my knuckles felt ready to snap. The fires below me flared and belched waves of hot air.

  Elis cupped a hand around his mouth and called out, “What did you say about this one being beyond my grasp? He’s guilty of murder. Blood is on his hands even now. He’s not yours.”

  He was right. My quivering, aching fingers, the ones slipping from the rocks, were still stained red. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.”

  The shadow’s weight increased, testing the limit of my strength. Smoke rose on either side of me like the open jaws of a crocodile.

  Law, who was above me in the now-inverted world, hurried down the cliff. “Child, there is a writ in your pocket. Take it out.”

  “I can’t.” The ring finger of my left hand lost its grip. I blindly reached with my toes for a foothold but found none.

  The final threads of my arm strength snapped and gave way.

  Still hanging by one hand, Law lunged for me and grabbed me by the wrist. “You must read the letter.”

  With Law’s help, I managed to sustain a hold on the rocks. The hostile shadow’s grip on my leg lessened, and its color faded from black to gray. My burden eased. I quickly slid my free hand into my pocket and felt a folded piece of paper I’d not noticed before.

  “Read it aloud,” Law said.

  I pulled out the writ. At the snap of my wrist, the paper gave up its folds. “This letter declares the bearer to be innocent of all charges against him. He has been forgiven and released from the bonds of guilt and condemnation.” I looked up at Law. “I don’t understand. I killed someone back in the chasm.”