Chapter 38
Benny
The night sky burned brightly, a full moon illuminating the ground as they approached a large wooden door that met the path they had lost while wandering through the darkness.
Askold jogged up to the door first and jiggled the handle.
“It’s locked!” Askold huffed, shaking the handle roughly, trying to open it.
Vira and Sephyr flew down and shifted forms.
“There’s nothing we can see on the other side. The coast looks clear,” Vira said as she watched Askold slowly freak out over the door.
“How do we get in?” Benny asked.
Aurora pranced up to Askold and nudged him in the side. He looked down at the little Unipaca and jumped back, his face paling.
“Shit!” he said, looking at the others. “Thought she was about to bite me again.”
Aurora turned around and kicked the door as hard as her little body could, and the door splintered. She kicked it twice more, and it flew off the hinges onto the other side.
Holy shit, Benny thought as he cleared his throat.
“Damn, Askold. Be glad she didn’t use her legs on you earlier,” Benny said, chuckling when he saw Askold’s gaping mouth. He reached into the pack and pulled out another carrot, offering it to Aurora. “Good work.”
Aurora chewed the carrot happily as she waited for them to peer through the opening. Benny took a step forward and looked toward the other side.
A single raised gravel path ran through marshlands, flooded and stagnant.
Bald Cypress trees were adorned with long, stringy moss that hung from their branches and pooled in the water.
The air felt heavy here, smelling of decaying plants and algae.
Benny looked at the water and saw the thick green slime floating in large patches.
“Smells like poop,” Askold said as he gagged beside him.
Sephyr’s piercing eyes scanned the area. “We didn’t see any Jotnar from above. I thought Praxis said there’d be a dead one here, but we didn’t see it. We need to be careful. I’ll fly and watch for movement, and Vira will remain on the ground in case something creeps out of the water.”
Askold muttered something again, but Benny walked through the door and ignored his complaints. He heard the owls hooting and saw a disoriented spoonbill in the distance, its long legs treading through shallow water and tripping, as if confused by the moon’s bright amber glow.
What time was it anyway?
“How far is Tuath?” he asked Vira, watching the water for movement.
“About twenty miles,” she responded.
They kept walking along the narrow trail, where in some sections only two people could walk side by side. Aurora remained at his heel, her feet softly crunching through the gravel.
Benny walked behind Vira. “Do you have any idea how the Jotnar got here in the first place? You’d think with that wall, they’d have come through Umbrea first.”
She quickly glanced over her shoulder at him before turning back and saying, “The gap between Dreadspire Crater and Tuath is crossed by water, but it’s not a long distance. The Jotnar do not climb Mt. Ebenveil.”
Benny recalled the treacherous hike up the mountain to reach the Wisps. Not only was it steep, but it was icy, and at the top… yeah, no wonder they didn’t go that route.
“So they just… swim?” he asked, which earned him a chuckle in response.
“Possibly, but I doubt it. They may be large, but they’re also pretty lazy. I’d wager they had a boat,” she responded.
“Do you guys hear that?” Askold asked from behind. They paused and looked back at him. He stood frozen, his head tilted, listening to the surrounding area.
Benny realized that the owls had silenced, and in their place, a low buzzing sound vibrated through the air.
“Shit,” Vira said, extending her claws.
“What is it?” Benny asked, slowly drawing his sword. He felt the hairs on his neck prickle as he listened to the buzzing sound that was slowly growing louder.
“Mosquitoes,” Vira whispered, glancing up through the trees.
Mosquitoes? Sure, it was a swamp. They were bound to have insects flying around, but Benny hadn’t felt a single bite yet. He lowered his sword.
“Don’t lower that! Be ready!” she hissed at him.
His brows drew together as he looked at her. What the hell was he going to do with a sword and a mosquito?
“Fuck!” Askold shouted as he whipped around. A mosquito, the size of a dog, flew down from the trees and circled around him. It was dark, with white spots that shone brightly in the moonlight, and it had a long proboscis that dripped with clear liquid.
It knocked Askold back, throwing him violently onto the ground. He sprang to his feet and brought his sword down on the bug, releasing green fluid that splattered onto his shirt.
He held his sword up and looked at the slime stuck to the blade and then down at himself. “Yuck! I hate this place, you guys. Let’s find Ojore and never come back.”
“Good job,” Benny praised as he lowered his sword once more.
Aurora nodded her head at Askold as if in approval and trotted over to him, nudging his side. Askold hesitantly patted her fluffy head in return. He looked up at Benny and smiled.
“More will likely come. Stay alert,” Vira said, turning around and starting to walk up the path again.
Benny followed Vira as they wound along the winding trail, while Aurora trotted happily beside Askold. Benny let out a sigh of relief as the owls started hooting again.
The swamps felt endless, and the musky air only thickened the further they walked.
Benny’s legs ached from this trip, and he scolded himself for wearing too heavy clothing as the humid air clung to his skin, causing sweat to bead down his neck.
He had taken off his jacket an hour earlier and now had to hold the damn thing.
Askold wasn’t doing any better behind him, as Benny kept hearing his muttered curses every few minutes.
The owls were increasingly loud and pounding against Benny’s head until suddenly, they stopped.
Everyone froze, and Benny felt his blood run cold as the thrumming sound of buzzing began, growing steadily louder.
Sephyr flew down and shifted forms. “There’s a swarm headed this way!”
“What do we do?” Askold shouted as he drew his sword and frantically looked into the trees. “Which way?”
Sephyr pointed, and the hanging moss began to sway as the wind picked up. “We fight with everything we have.” Her claws extended.
Three mosquitoes blew through the swamp and surrounded Vira. She spun around them and sliced through the air, killing two of them quickly, green entrails splattering all over her.
More burst through and began swarming from above, darkening the already dim sky and watching, as if learning their movements. Benny held onto his sword, feeling it slip through his sweat-slicked hands.
Aurora screamed and kicked in the air as one tried to land on her back. Askold lunged forward and stabbed the insect, piercing it with his blade and pulling it back out with slick slime coating the metal.
The mosquitoes began to pulse in unison, as if angered by their fallen.
And then they descended.
Sephyr and Vira wove through the monstrous bugs, killing them one by one. Benny swung his sword around himself. He tried not only to protect himself but also Aurora.
The tiny Unipaca screamed and kicked her legs wildly, hitting the mosquitoes and producing loud crunching sounds as her feet made contact with them.
Benny struggled to see around himself, as everywhere he looked was blocked by brown, spindly legs with transparent wings. He heard Askold scream, and he wildly turned, striking through the bugs as he pushed himself closer to his friend.
Askold was lying on the ground as a mosquito pierced his chest. Benny heard a loud sucking sound and saw Askold’s red blood sucked into its proboscis. He ran forward and kicked the bug off his chest, causing it to crunch on his boot and fly across the water.
Aurora let out another scream as a bright light blinded everyone, followed by a pulsing sound and a shimmering, high-pitched note.
The mosquitoes stopped attacking and buzzed around them.
Benny glanced at Aurora, whose horn blazed with a metallic blue beam shooting directly into the sky.
The mosquitoes, as if lured by the light, flew into it and burned themselves to dust. Loud zapping and popping sounds erupted around them as grime rained from the sky.
He held his hand over his mouth and nose, trying to protect his lungs from the dirty air.
Benny quickly reached for the jacket he had thrown onto the ground and tossed it over Askold’s face, protecting him from the particles as he writhed in pain. Green gore surrounded them, soaking into the gravel pathway below.
He looked back at Aurora, her bright light shining like a beacon, and saw that she was beginning to grow.
“What’s going on?” he heard Askold gasp from under the jacket.
Benny said breathlessly, “Aurora’s saving us.”
As the last of the insects flew into the light, the buzzing sound stopped, and Aurora’s horn faded.
Benny stared in awe at the fully transformed Unipaca.
She was more than twice the size of a stag, and her horn had grown another few inches in length.
Her chrome, floral patterns now scattered over her thighs.
She was breathtaking.
Askold started trembling violently. Benny pulled the jacket away from his face and noticed it was swelling. Sephyr and Vira quickly approached.
“We have to get him to Tuath before the poison fully sets in,” Vira said.
Aurora neared and nudged her nose into Benny’s side, making a chirping sound from her throat.
Benny glanced at her, momentarily surprised by her altered size and sharper features as she approached. “We need to get Askold to Tuath immediately. Can you carry him?”
Aurora nodded, her molten chrome eyes flicking down at Askold. She hummed and stamped her foot, throwing her head up, as if trying to hurry them up. She knelt to her forelimbs and waited, impatiently huffing through flared nostrils.
Benny, Vira, and Sephyr quickly placed Askold on her back. Aurora stood, and they began to run the rest of the way to Tuath.
Benny only slipped once through the mess they left behind.