Ascension Page 13

  The chase continued for the better part of an hour. Laura ran and ran, unwavering in direction or speed. The snake continued just behind her, always a hair’s breadth from catching her but never close enough. That, at least, was a relief – she could not believe that the snake would chase her for so long if it could have already gotten her.

  But Laura was tiring. She could feel the dull ache in her foot from the injury she sustained in the human world. She knew she could not run forever. But what else was there to do? She did not have the power or the size to face the monstrosity behind her.

  The strain she felt on the dream realm also grew. The snake was not a natural formation, and the elder must be drawing enormous amounts of power to keep it present. Creatures like this could be accommodated for short bursts of time, like when they were formed in somebody’s regular nightmare, but an existence for an length like this was difficult for this world to sustain.

  Laura had an abrupt, dangerous thought. Could the snake be an illusion, much like the giant forest had been earlier? But that idea was quickly wiped away as the sound of yet more rocks shattering boomed from behind her. No illusion could destroy its environment that way.

  Laura dared to glance back. And, to her surprise, found the snake a tiny bit farther away than she remembered. Was the beast also tiring? Was the strain of keeping it here starting to wear on the elder? For a moment, she caught the beast’s eyes in hers. They showed only one thing. Hatred.

  Laura turned and continued to run forward. If she didn’t think of something fast, she would be a goner. But what could she do?

  She had to know where the elder was. That way, instead of running in a random direction, she could at least head toward him. Perhaps that way the snake could turn on its master, if it saw that she was not the only prey here. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was all she had.

  But how could she do that? The elder had camouflaged the connection, making it invisible to both him and her. Yet she knew that in the dream realm, there was always a small possibility…

  She felt the connection to him in her mind, imagining it as it should be. Then, drawing on the power of the torrial still in her hand, she willed it to appear. To her immense surprise, it did. Apparently the elder was just as shocked as she was, because she felt a flash of a astonishment along the connection. She held the connection in place, utilizing the control of the torrial, for just the few moments it took her to locate the elder. And she felt another sense of shock as she realized he was right behind her, elevated as if he were somehow riding the snake.

  She looked back. The snake had regained the distance it had earlier lost. But if the elder was back there, it meant she should be able to see him – if she got high enough. She ran forward, angling toward a slanted rock. In two steps she bound onto it and leapt off, lifting herself into the air. She knew the move would let the snake get closer, but she had to do it. While in the air, she turned backwards and looked down. Her jump had elevated herself above the snake, and she could see the entire twisting body all the way to its tail. And, sure enough, about halfway along the snake’s body, she found the elder. He was straddled on in an unusual harness and appeared to be, somehow, controlling the snake. Both his eyes were closed, but his hands worked before him as if handling reins. For the briefest glimmer of a moment, Laura saw three shining, iridescent cords connecting into the elder’s back. Each one of them extended far into the distance, so that Laura could not see their source. But only one of the cords continued on, through the elder, linking his chest to the snake’s head. That cord was what his hands were manipulating.

  Laura landed with a grunt and ran onward. What had she just seen? What were those cords? She didn’t know, but she would bet that they had something to do with how the elder was controlling the snake. An idea formed in her head. It was dangerous, and if she gambled and lost she would pay with her life. But if she did not even try, her life would be forfeit anyway. That made up her mind.

  She needed something sharp. She scanned the ground in front of her, and found it littered only with those peculiar rocks. There was nothing there that could help her.

  The torrial! Perhaps it could help her form what she needed. After all, the elder managed to form the enormous snake. A simple knife or sharp blade should not be particularly difficult. She should even be able to do it without the torrial’s help.

  Just to be safe, however, she drew on the figurine torrial to create what she needed. The first object to appear in her mind was the large knife the pickpocket had threatened her and Logan with. Without any further thought, the knife appeared in her hand. It was larger now, however, and its blade was razor sharp.

  She looked at it for a moment. The circular figurine torrial had attached to it for some reason, forming the top of the hilt. Laura did not know why, but that gave her confidence in what she had to do. The torrial attaching itself to the blade was surely a sign of good fortune. Stranger things have happened here before.

  She kept running. She did not need to turn back to know the snake was on her tail – the terrible sounds it made as it crashed through the earth told her as much. She wished she had had the foresight to run toward the mountain when the snake first came after her. That way, at least, she could have had some sort of terrain advantage against the beast. Cursing her lack of forward thinking, she continued on.

  Even with weapon in hand, her plan was crude at best. She was hoping that she could sever the shining cord that linked the elder to the snake. To cut it with the knife she held. But that meant she had to elevate herself above the level of the beast. And if she so much as stopped to turn once more, the snake would be right on her, crushing her under its immense weight.

  No, Laura needed to do something else. No matter how quick and agile she might be, she could not just turn and leap above the snake. She had too much momentum carrying her the other way.

  She worked her mind desperately. The ache in her foot was growing stronger, and she knew she could not keep running forever. She did not have the endurance for it. Unless she did something now, the snake behind her would catch up, and the elder would have beaten her.

  Suddenly she got an idea. The whole time the snake had been chasing her, she had run in more or less a straight path. But the body of the beast was long. What if she curved in a semi-circle, angling herself backwards so that she would meet the body of the snake? If the circle was tight enough, and the snake wound itself to follow her, she would have the opportunity to use her forward momentum to jump over its body. But she could not veer off too sharply, because then the creature could just snap its head to one side and catch her in its jaws. And she only had one chance to do it. If she missed, or the blade didn’t cut the cord, or something else went wrong, she would be a goner as soon as she landed.

  It was her one chance. Her only opportunity. It was life or death, and Laura wasn’t ready to face her end just yet. She veered left.

  She glanced over her shoulder just in time to notice the snake’s huge head snapping in her direction. She parried out of the way to avoid it. A brief sense of relief washed over her when she realized she was still alive. She had misestimated the snake’s dexterity – it was more agile than she thought. The near miss only added to the adrenaline pumping through her body. Her heart was beating so loudly that she thought it might rip through her chest.

  She put her head down and picked up speed, continuing to curve the same way. The snake was right behind her, but already, she could see a part of its slithering body in her peripherals. She ran and ran, going as fast as her feet would take her, until she saw the enormous scaly bulk of the snake directly in front of her.

  But her curve had not been tight enough. The elder was closer to the snake’s head than where she was headed.

  In a split-second, Laura made the decision to curl in even tighter. It meant she would have absolutely no escape if she failed. But the only way to sever the cord was if she were in front of the elder. If she went for one of the three that stretched behi
nd the elder, she would have no way of guaranteeing she got the right one. And if she missed, the snake would still be alive to take her in the aftermath.

  She went in closer. The snake snapped at her viciously, but again Laura sidestepped the attack. She picked up speed, angling herself toward the portion of the snake’s body in front of the elder. She could see him from where she was, sitting atop that saddle with both eyes closed, his hands continuing to manipulate the now-invisible cord. He was controlling the snake, and Laura would bet anything that he saw though the snake’s eyes. The hatred that shone in those eyes could belong to nobody else.

  Laura ran faster, going in toward the body. She would have to leap at just the right moment to ensure that she came close enough to make the jump and yet not too close to soar over. She had to trust her instincts for that. There could be no other way.

  She ran forward, and jumped. Just at that moment, she heard an enormous roar from behind her, and felt a barrage of dirt and rocks smash against her back. The snake had gone underground just before hitting its own body! This was it. Laura sailed over. When she was right above the snake, she reached down with one arm and slashed violently where she though the now-invisible cord would be. The blade in her hand cut through the air like a hot knife through butter. She felt no resistance. Did she miss? Panic gripped her as she fell toward the ground.

  Another great explosion erupted right before her, sending a new shower of earth and dirt in all directions. Time slowed when Laura saw what was there. The snake’s great head appeared from underground, and it was right where Laura was going to land. The snake opened its jaws wide, and Laura could smell the poisonous venom contained in its mouth. Laura was going to fall right into the enormous mouth. There was no way for her to change direction. There was nothing she could do. She had missed the cord, and the snake was still alive, and now she was going to be killed by the beast.

  Laura knew it was pointless, but still extended her feet out in front of her in a flying kick. It would make no difference, but on some level Laura wanted to go down fighting. The last thing she would do was cower before death.

  Her feet made contact with the tongue. Immediately, the great jaws snapped down on her. They moved so fast that Laura did not have time to react. She felt the rush of wind as they clamped down, about to extinguish her very life…

  The surface she stood on shifted, and suddenly Laura found herself falling downwards, through the snake’s body. She was so disoriented that she didn’t even have time to catch herself as she fell. She landed with a grunt on the hard ground, and looked up in amazement.

  The snake shimmered. Its entire body began to oscillate from transparent to opaque. Gaping holes appeared in its skin, filled with a beaming light, and were closed up again. A cry of terrifying pain echoed from its jaws, but it was not the voice of the snake. It was the cry of the elder. The snake’s body waxed and waned, wavering back and forth unsteadily. Parts folded in on themselves, before coming back at impossible angles. The body thrashed about, but it didn’t have the solidity to affect its surroundings anymore. It went through earth and rock without touching either.

  Then, abruptly, the entire spectacle ceased. The snake collapsed lifelessly onto the ground. Laura watched with amazement as more holes filled with shining light burst forth along its skin. Each one added to the already blinding brightness radiating from the body. The light illuminated the surroundings with the power of a thousand suns, and more and more of those gaping holes appeared, until they completely overpowered the remains of the snake. For half a second, the entire snake was nothing more than an elongated ball of light. And then it collapsed in on itself before winking out with a spectacular flash.

  The flash burned a hole in Laura’s vision. It took a few seconds for her to blink it away. When her eyesight was restored, she found the elder collapsed on the ground not two hundred feet away from her. He looked… older, somehow. More frail. The edges of his hair were now tinged with gray, and there were lines on his face that were not there before. His eyes were closed, but Laura saw his eyelids flicker. He was still alive.

  Yet Laura had defeated the snake. Elation gripped her, but was quickly cut off when the elder stirred. Laura dared not approach – not yet, and not without knowing what had happened to him. It could be another ruse, in his attempt to lure her closer. She would not fall for it again.

  Slowly, the elder picked himself up. As he moved, Laura saw that his body shook weakly. And his movements looked frail. It was as if a portion of the years he had lived had started to catch up with him.

  From his hands and knees, the elder opened his eyes. As soon as he did that, the link to him in Laura’s mind cemented into being. Fear washed over his face temporarily, but was instantly hidden by an unreadable mask. The elder got up and fled.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ~A Terrible Favor~

  Laura watched him go, but did not follow immediately. She felt him trying to shield the connection that linked them together, but she held it in place with help of the torrial. It seemed easy now, compared to the strength she had to use to force it into being before. Cutting off the elder’s connection to the snake seemed to have made him less strong.

  But was she ready to follow him? The episode with the snake proved just how much more experienced he was than her. If she went after him, was she just rushing to some other threat? The whole expedition was pure madness, teetering not far from the edge of a glorified suicide mission. But she had only one thing she could focus on now. Kill the man that was in the dream with her.

  She would have to be more careful this time. Severing one of the three cords that pulsed into the elder had weakened him. And she had seen him after it was done. He looked less of the man she first met. Those cords, whatever they were, seemed to provide a life energy to him that he feasted upon. If she managed to sever the remaining two, would that be enough to kill him?

  But there was another problem, of course. When she saw the cords the first time, they shimmered with a lustrous light. But the next time she looked, they had become completely transparent, rendering themselves invisible to her. They may as well have been gone, and she wouldn’t have known the difference. But, she took the chance and slashed at one. That move saved her life. It was also incredibly dangerous and foolish.

  When she found the elder next time, how could she be sure that the cords would be there? What if they remained transparent? That would put her at a distinct disadvantage. And what were they connected to, so far in the distance?

  Yet, seeing those cords gave her hope. Hope that she win. Laura fixed the image of him riding the snake in her mind. She remembered exactly where the three cords connected to his back were. Even if the two that were left were invisible to her when she caught up to him, she could still slash them if she got close enough.

  She shivered despite herself. Close enough meant within arms-reach of the elder. Her instincts were good, and they warned her of the danger coming so close would entail.

  There was another problem, of course. And that was that the elder now knew that she knew of the cords. If they were as vital to his existence as Laura suspected, he would do everything to keep them safe. It would come down to a battle of the wits, not of pure strength, and the best strategy would win out in the end. But was she smart enough to go head-to-head with someone who’s had the experience of a hundred lifetimes? Of someone who had elevated himself to the very top of an already manipulative, cunning race?

  She had no choice but to try. After all, she was already here. She—

  A sudden shift in the connection interrupted her thoughts. In the blink of an eye, the elder had crossed a great distance. What? How? One second Laura felt him in one place, running from her, and the next, he was dozens of miles farther.

  It was not just that he was using his Vassiz speed. She thought that he had actually manipulated the world around him. Laura felt what he had done through the connection, very faintly, like the delicate taste you imagine exists when you smell
a delectable aroma. He had shifted reality in one direction while going the other. No, that was not quite it – she had done as much when scaling the mountain. It was something stronger, something that moved him over a distance she could not have followed easily.

  She prodded at the connection gently, trying to catch the wisp of a shadow that could clue her in to what he did. It was like trying to figure out a word that was caught on the tip of your tongue. She grasped at it and missed, catching nothing. Frustration boiled up inside of her. She tried again, and missed. It was like catching smoke with her hands. The process was maddening.

  She tried again, and missed. She tried once more, and missed again. A growl sounded in her throat. She tried again, and caught absolutely nothing.

  Then, just when she was about to give up, the process revealed itself to her. And the elegance of it was so simple that Laura felt ashamed she had not thought of it herself.

  The elder did not shift reality in one direction to make the jump. Rather, he folded it in front of him so that one step forward would take him many miles away.

  Laura knew she could do the same. With the torrial’s help, perhaps she could even do it to a greater degree than the elder. It would make the chase much easier.

  Laura stood up, and in that moment, she realized something that gave her immense confidence. The elder was no longer the one chasing after her. She was no longer the one running. Now, here, in the dream, she was the hunter, and the elder was her prey. She had found his weakness, and shown herself equal to even the greatest nightmare that he could muster. She set out after him.

  ~~

  Laura followed as the elder fled. She drew on the torrial and pinched reality together in front of her. Then she stepped through the fold. One step took her many miles away. The elder must have sensed her coming, for he started running with ever greater haste. She felt him folding reality before him, transporting himself over great distances in the blink of an eye. But she was more than his equal for that.