Chapter 15. Everwood X

Chapter 15. Everwood X

My rampant abuse of the vurseng continued. There was simply too much to accomplish and not enough time. My vision started to haze around the edges, and in particularly quiet moments I could hear voices. Small whispers of doubt and anxiety. I would need to sleep before the end, but for the moment, it was a luxury I could not afford.

I set out early in the morning, hauling the massive quantity of sleep agent we gathered and dumped it into the small creek I saw the demon drinking from on that day that now felt like ages ago. My intent was to sideline the monstrosity entirely, though that was a thin hope at best.

The date was set. Tomorrow at dawn. Maya helped me weave rope together into nets and sharpen stakes. We fashioned Maya a stave with a point at the end. I knew nothing about the construction of weapons, but she seemed pleased with the balance of it, spinning it in a practiced arc. We hid all our supplies deep within the Everwood.

From across the river, I gathered the sole patch of priceless laudenshade (the one that just kills you) I saw on that first day when Barion had sent me to the river, and mixed it with a paralytic, coating my blade. My sword wasnt going to do much on its own. It was still barely more than a toothpick, it was the poison I was counting on.

That night, the vurseng finally left my system. I sat on the floor, utterly spent. My head kept nodding forward involuntarily, sleep nearly taking me before I snapped back awake. I ran through it in my mind, over and over again. Was I missing anything? Surely I was missing something?

But the vurseng had taken its toll. It hurt to think. Maya slipped into the room with a tray of tea, nearly dropping it when she saw me.

"Nilend," she hissed, slamming the tray on the floor with a clatter and rushing to my side.

"It's fine." I mumbled drunkenly.

"It is not fine. You told me you had been sleeping."

"Im a liar," I said deliriously, "A dirty liar who lies."

"You need to rest." Her hands lifted at me. I brushed them away.

"What if we forgot something, Maya?" I asked. My voice warbled in my ears. The stress rolled down the back of my neck in prickling, radiating waves. "What if it costs us everything?" My breath came in short gasps, each smaller than the last.

"I am going to touch your mind again." Maya said after a moment of silence. It wasnt a question. "If you do not want this, speak now."

I said nothing. Maya looked into my eyes and her hand glowed. Her hand touched the back of my neck. She breathed out, and I breathed out with her. In, then out again. The ball of stress and panic unraveled slowly, still there, just no longer overwhelming. The glow faded.

"My debt to you grows," I smiled ruefully.

Maya helped me to my feet, guiding me to the bed.

I awoke at the crack of dawn, anxiety and anticipation crawling in my gut. This room, this house, would no longer be my prison after today. I didnt let myself consider the possibility of another reset. This needed to end. My senses all felt sharper and more vibrant. The crisp cool air chilled me and the sounds of the forest called. I strapped on my sword and laced my boots. Mentally, I reminded myself that the poison on my blade would only be good for the next few hours.

Maya waited at the door, fully dressed, her face set and determined. As much as I wanted this over, I could only imagine the feeling for her was a hundredfold.

"Sleep well, Nilend?"

"Thanks to you."

She opened the door and we were off.

First, we strung the chains and snapped the cellar padlock shut. The chains themselves were heavy and frigid to the touch. With any luck, Barion would not realize he had been locked in for a while. We retrieved the stockpile of weapons, then began the second phase: placing all manner of tinder and wood within the entrance of the demons cave. The wood had all been doused in rosewater so it would burn longer without burning out completely. We had chopped much of it over the last few days and piled it high, nearly reaching the top. Maya was confident the thing was nocturnal, and, unless called upon, would remain fast asleep until the late evening. If it worked perfectly and the cave didn't have a back entranceunfortunately there had been no safe way to checkthe fire would work as a barrier, hopefully killing the thing from smoke inhalation. At the very least, the barrier of demon-fire would at least keep it back until we dealt with Barion.

"They are immune to it, but that does not mean they do not fear it." Maya had said. "For them it represents a true death, something that they rarely face."

I lit the kindling aflame. We waited for a few seconds, to see if our actions had immediately roused the demon.

Nothing.

Excellent. That meant the sleeping mixture had done its job.

Was this it? The end of the line, again?

I was terrified, yes. But there was something greater than the fear.

Rage.

The thing was so damn stupid. It could have killed me in one bite, but instead it wanted to drag things out yet again. It was so stupid and petty and vile. The rage flamed up from within me. I grabbed it across its snout with my other hand, and, using the arm still held in its mouth as leverage, coiled my entire body and kicked its remaining eye. Something slimy and wet gave way beneath my foot. It dropped my arm and screamed.

Maya flew. Her pointed stave struck the ground, and she vaulted upwards. Her hands glowed green as she took flight like a valkyrie, the sun emerging from the clouds behind her. Her face twisted into a feral snarl. She landed hard on the demons back, the claws of her hands digging rivets into its translucent skin.

The demons howl modulated upward an octave. I watched in sickened awe, as one by one, the colorful sacs and roping entrails within the demon burst in an explosion of crimson. Within seconds, its translucent body shifted opaque, nothing visible but a deep red tint. It spasmed on its feet, sending Maya tumbling off the side. She landed badly, her ankle twisting, and crumpled with a cry of pain. The demons massive body slammed to the ground, raising a fog of dirt into the air. The surrounding smoke was getting thicker. I staggered to her, fighting through the agony in my chest.

In the distance, the sound of the cellar door was punctuated by the clatter of a chain coming free.

Maya tried to stand twice, before falling to her knees. "I thought we would have more time. I messed up, Cairn," she whispered.

"No. You did everything right."

She was about to try and stand again when I held her back and shook my head.

"But the plan." Maya wept, her voice raw. "The poison is gone."

I patted her on the head, projecting a confidence I didnt feel. "Theres always another plan." But there wasnt, really. Just a hunch and a hope. A hunch Id bet the forest on. A sudden explosion of sound echoed out across the clearing, of iron tearing and chain shattering. My heart pounded. My left arm hung useless. I wrenched my sword from the eye of the demon and returned, pulling my final trick, the last contingency, out of my coata glass vial. I took a rag and dampened it with the tincture, coating my sword with it.

The thing that was once Barion emerged from the smoke. He was taller than before, and seemed to glide rather than walk, lifted by dark tendrils of shadow that elevated him beneath his robe.

"How long has it been since I have been challenged?" He watched me, as if seeing me for the first time. "I owe you an apology, my friend. It seems I underestimated you." Barion turned in a full circle, taking in the chaos and carnage, gaze falling on Maya and the fallen demon.

"You." Barion hissed.

"Leave her be. I did this." I took a step forward.

"Not without help, you didnt." Barion chuckled then, low and menacing. "Live as long as I have, child, and you will find fewer and fewer surprises. They become priceless gems, invaluable glimmers in the darkness that forms the cave of your existence." He smiled without a hint of warmth. "Today, I am surprised indeed. Since you have shown me such a precious gift, I will make you a deal." He had moved closer, though much to my alarm I hadnt actually seen the movement.

Barion reached into his robe and I tensed. He withdrew his hand and tossed something before me. The compass landed face up.

"If you follow that east it will take you back to the road. On my honor, I will not pursue you. All you need to do is leave me the girl. We have accounts to settle, she and I."

"Hes telling the truth, Cairn," Maya said weakly behind me. "Once he gives his word he holds to itits why he rarely does." Then, after a quiet moment. "Whatever he is, hes powerful. I can sense it. You should go. You cant beat him. It wont work."

I closed my eyes then. At the beginning of all of this, I would have taken such an offer in a heartbeat. I hadnt owed her anything back then. The image of Annettes unrecognizably burned body still haunted my every dream. So much had changed between then and now. Maya, pulling me from the darkness. Maya holding me as I cried, the one link tethering me from madness. Maya healing the tormented children in the basement, over and over, undoubtedly knowing how pointless it all was. Maya packing me supplies for my escape and stalling, something that cost her life in the end.

It finally clicked in my mind, the struggle vanquished. Maya was no longer the monster who burned my sister alive. Just as I was no longer the same person who ran, terrified, into the Everwood.

It didnt matter how many times it took.

How much it cost.

I had to do this. I quieted my mind, set my jaw, and opened my eyes.

Barion cocked his head at me. His entire body was overtaken by shadow until only his mouth remained. It spoke, an otherworldly quality overtaking the voice.

"You should have taken my offer.