Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One) (31 page)

29

Bloodthirsty

I
t looked completely different to the one Oliver had seen before but he knew it had to be a creature of Vale. The vark stood as tall as the trees behind it, rainwater running down its body in rivulets. Its head was shaped almost like a wolf's but its snout was turned up at the end into a pointed nose and numerous fangs hung out of its jaw in a constant snarl.

Its eyes were like shadows with a thin, red slit for pupils that flitted from side to side, taking in its surroundings. Its arms were overly long and hung down to the ground, dragging enormous, curved claws behind it.

Its stance made its chest jut out to show protruding ribs as if the creature was starving to death. Its bottom half reminded Oliver of a giant ape as it stepped forward slowly, trailing its forearms behind it.

The others shouted out in shock. They began backing away towards the cliff in fear. May ran to Oliver's side and the two of them took several steps backwards away from the creature. The vark hadn't seen them yet and was distracted by something behind it. Oliver realised, with a sick feeling, that Larkin and his teammates were screaming.

The creature swung its arms around at them. Its claws ripped trees fully out of the ground and threw them aside to try and reach them. Their screams retreated further into the trees and the vark gave up trying to force its way through the dense foliage, twisting around to face Oliver and his friends instead.

It set its blood-red eyes on them and let out a guttural roar that reverberated through Oliver's ears. All of them stumbled backwards, closer to the cliff edge.

"Is this part of the challenge?" Anna shouted over the thundering wind and rain that whipped about them.

"No!" Oliver shouted at the same time Rogan did. Oliver met his eye and saw that his friend knew what the creature was.

Rogan nodded and hurried towards Quinn, talking close to her ear. Her eyes widened in fright then she nodded and a steely determination crossed her features.

"Keep behind us!" Quinn shouted, the rain making her hair cling to her face.

Oliver, Anna and May took a step back as Quinn and Rogan moved steadily toward the vark, peeling the gloves from their hands and discarding them on the ground.

Rogan raised his arms and fire poured from his hands, searing the vark's arm as it swung towards them. The flames lit the scene with red and orange as it pummelled the vark's body. The creature roared in outrage but the fire didn't seem to be damaging it.

As the vark stepped closer, its claws buried deep into the ground behind it, digging up a mountain of earth as it progressed. It left a trail of black fire in the great gouges it tore through the ground that burned relentlessly despite the rain.

The vark's arms swung forward abruptly and a ball of the black fire hurled through the air towards them. Oliver, May and Anna dove forward onto the ground and Oliver felt wind rush over him as the fireball missed them by inches.

When he looked up, he saw Rogan and Quinn sending a tumult of electricity at the vark, causing it to roar in fury. The vark slowed under the attack but continued to ready another ball of the black fire that was caged in its palm by colossal claws. It swung the fireball and Oliver shouted for everyone to move as he and May dove to the left and Anna went to the right, leaving a large gap between them.

Oliver saw Quinn crumple to the floor in the corner of his eye and began to panic. It was only a matter of time before the vark was on top of them. His heart thumped against his chest as if it were fighting to get out. He leapt to his feet in a mad fury and waved his arms at the creature, luring it away from his friends.

It swivelled its ugly head towards him and locked its dark eyes upon him. Its lips were quivering and drool was pouring out between pointed teeth. It stepped towards him, leaving massive footprints in the wet mud. Oliver's plan was working but he hadn't thought any further ahead and his mind wouldn't kick into gear.

He glanced at Rogan who was running toward them, blasting the vark's head with a stream of lightning that sparked and cracked with blue and silver light. Anna was cradling Quinn on the ground and Oliver thought he could see blood. He ran forward in an attempt to reach them but the vark's clawed foot slammed down between them, blocking his friends from view.

Time seemed to stand still as the creature turned back towards Rogan who had closed the distance between them.

"Wait-!" Oliver tried to warn Rogan as the vark's enormous arm swung backwards and struck Rogan in the chest, sending him flying through the air. He landed hard on his back, unmoving.

"NO!" Oliver roared and ran towards him.

The vark's arm hurtled towards Oliver and he fell to the ground to duck the blow, missing him by centimetres.

He glanced back at May who was at the cliff's edge and saw the soft mud beginning to slide away beneath her.

"WATCH OUT!" Oliver cried to her but the words were lost over the sound of a bellowing roar from the vark.

The rain soaked him to the bone and he watched helplessly as his world fell apart around him.

Instinct kicked in.

He jumped to his feet and dove towards his sister as the beast's claws ripped through the ground he had just vacated.

The vark flung an arm at Oliver, colliding with his chest. The force of it sent him flying through the air. He was unable to breathe until he smashed into the muddy ground.

He slid to the edge of the cliff next to May, her fingernails clawing at the soft ground as she tried to stop herself from falling over the edge that was just feet behind them. Oliver started drifting backwards and dug his nails in to stop himself.

Oliver let go with one hand and reached out desperately towards May as they continued to slide backwards towards the cliff edge. She lifted a hand and her fingers grazed the tips of his.

The vark leered over them and stamped a clawed foot down hard in front of them, just inches away. Oliver felt the earth beneath them slipping and sliding away. He lunged and gripped May's hand and they clambered upwards, fiercely fighting against the disintegrating cliff edge but it was too late.

Oliver gasped but couldn't draw air as the ground disappeared beneath him and in one swift, terrifying moment they tumbled over the cliff.

Oliver lost sight of May as he fell through the canopy of a tree. He shouted out in terror as he fell, the branches ripping at his clothes and tearing at his skin. He hit solid ground again but it was so steep that he couldn't stop falling. He tumbled, feeling rocks bash his body on the descent as he rolled over and over.

He dug his feet in and scrabbled frantically at the soil, clawing for purchase. The ground disappeared once more and he fell at an alarming rate towards the woodland beneath him. He saw flashes of green leaves below and grey clouds above, then his head collided with something hard and darkness swooped in and consumed him.

Oliver's eyes flickered open. He had been out cold but sensed that it hadn't been for more than a minute.

His body was twisted around a tree that was growing at an angle out of the sloping ground. His head felt bruised and his entire body ached. He swung himself around and slid the last few feet to the bottom of the cliff. His hands shook from shock and he spotted cuts and bruises all up his arms where the material from his jumpsuit had torn away.

He slowly took in his surroundings, finding himself submerged in a dense forest but he couldn't see May anywhere.

"MAY? WHERE ARE YOU?" he shouted desperately. He listened as hard as he could. Everything was silent. He no matter how hard he strained his ears, he couldn't hear any noise coming from up on the cliff.

He set his jaw. As soon as he found May he would get help for the others.

The rain was easing now and the
drip drip drip
of it falling through the canopy was the only sound he could hear. He got to his feet and pushed his way through the foliage where the trees were spread further apart.

"May? Are you here?" he tried again, his breathing ragged.

Nothing.

His clothes were soaked through and he shivered in the cold, his heart hammering uncontrollably in his chest.

Then he saw her: a crumpled heap hidden by overhanging leaves. He pulled her out into a clearing and rolled her on to her back.

"You're not dead," he said out loud to try and convince himself. "May?" He shook her gently, then again more firmly.

"Olly?" Her voice was faint but she was alive.

He hugged her to his chest, feeling relief flood him.

"You're okay, we fell over the cliff but you're okay. Can you stand?" Oliver got up and held out a hand to her.

She nodded and stood up on wobbly legs.

"The others. What happened? We have to get back to them," May said in a panic, craning her head to try and see up the cliff through the thick trees.

"I don't know. We need to get help. We can't climb back up, it's too steep," he said, his voice shaking.

"Okay, let's go around." May set off through the trees, stumbling a little as Oliver hurried after her.

They had only been walking for a minute or so before the trees opened up, making the ground easier to navigate. The forest was silent but for their squelching footsteps.

He felt a chill creep up his spine and gripped May's arm to stop her, sensing that something was wrong.

The quiet of the forest was pressing in on him. He heard the
crack
of a twig from behind and spun around to find a man standing there.

Oliver sighed in relief at the sight of Truvian Gold. "Oh thank God," he said, walking towards him. "Did you see what happened? Is everyone okay?"

"It's unlikely," Truvian said calmly.

Oliver frowned at the man's demeanour. "Well, can you show us the way out of here?"

"We need to get help!" May snapped and Truvian's eyes slid to hers.

"I came to see you," Truvian said, keeping his eyes trained on May.

"
What
?" she said, glancing at Oliver in frustration.

Truvian reached inside his leather jacket and retrieved a long, slender knife. Oliver recoiled at the sight of the blade and his instincts told him to run but instead he stepped closer to May.

The knife was unlike anything Oliver had ever seen. It appeared to be comprised of shadowy black and purple smoke, but at the same time looked incredibly sharp. The hilt allowed Truvian's fingers to pass through it for grip.

"W-What are you doing?" May stammered in fear, reaching for Oliver's wrist. Her cold fingers clasped his skin like a vice.

Truvian ran a fingertip along the blunt edge of the blade and gazed at May with an intense, animalistic stare that set Oliver's heart pounding.

"I'd like you to know that I don't
want
to do this. This is so much bigger than you both," Truvian said, his voice like ice.

"What do you mean? What are you going to do?" May asked as her fingernails dug into Oliver's skin.

"I've been sent to kill you, May," Truvian said, taking a step closer.

The words rung in Oliver's ears and his breath halted in his lungs. He and May stepped backwards at once, keeping the distance between Truvian and them. Oliver knew he needed to stall the man, he had to buy them some time to escape but his mind was solely focused on the sharp blade that was pointed in their direction.

"Who sent you?" Oliver blurted, tugging May backwards another few steps.

Truvian smiled, seemingly enjoying his position of power as he took another, slow step toward them. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," Oliver snarled. Part of him expected to hear Rimori's name, he couldn't imagine anyone else that might have a vendetta against them but was thrown by Truvian's answer.

"Your father, William Knight," Truvian said, a smug smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Oliver was frozen rigid as May pulled him backwards once more. His foot caught on a root and his mind kicked into gear as he stumbled, righting himself in a heartbeat.

"He's trying to distract you," May muttered but Oliver was too curious to ignore Truvian's words.

"What do you mean? My father's dead," Oliver said, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

Truvian shook his head and moved closer once more, passing the knife from hand to hand as if deciding which one felt best for when he attacked. "I know him quite well. In fact, he's been helping me plan this little ambush for a while."

"Don't listen to him, he's
lying
," May hissed.

Oliver wanted to face his sister, to look into her eyes and know whether she truly believed her own words. But he couldn't remove his gaze from the blade in case it gave Truvian the opportunity to strike.

"You think I'm lying, of course," Truvian said, raising a single eyebrow.

"Of course you're lying!" May shouted furiously, dragging Oliver backwards another few steps.

Truvian advanced, the smile dropping from his face. He pointed the tip of the knife at May as he spoke. "Keep your mouth
shut
. This is the third time we've tried to kill you, girl. And this time I'm not going to fail."