Hungry Heart - Book 5 - Ch. 21 (Patreon)

Chapter One / Chapter Two / Chapter Three / Chapter Four / Chapter Five / Chapter Six / Chapter Seven / Chapter Eight / Chapter Nine / Chapter Ten / Chapter Eleven / Chapter Twelve / Chapter Thirteen / Chapter Fourteen / Chapter Fifteen / Chapter Sixteen / Chapter Seventeen / Chapter Eighteen / Chapter Nineteen / Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One – The Essence of Evil

The pain in his shoulder was unbearable, but Toru raised the arm holding the key with his other hand, fighting against the limits of the humble body he was in. By his side, Duril hurried to hold his arm up, too.

“I can’t be the one to wield the key because I’m not as pure of heart as you are, but I can help, Toru,” his lover said in a heartbeat.

“We all can,” Sogou repeated and braced him slightly from behind. “Mr. Toru, we will support you, no matter how hard it gets.”

Even the old man helped by lifting a torch as high as he could, allowing Toru to see through the glass of the shard. Inside it, Varg was on the ground and another wolfshifter was trying to end his life, a battleax raised, ready to bring it down upon his opponent’s head and split it open.

Something was wrong with the scene in front of his eyes. It was still, like a painting. No one was moving, and the people inside it appeared to have been frozen in a state of tense awareness in Varg’s case, and utter fury in the other’s.

Nonetheless, that didn’t mean that Varg wasn’t in danger. Toru touched the lit end of the stick he was holding against the shard, although it seemed like it had become much, much heavier. He could feel every sinew in his arm stretching and pulling, the bones underneath them threatening to crumble, useless under the force required to support the magical key.

Whereas any other thing couldn’t have passed through the tough surface of the shard, the lit head of the key entered it as easily as if it was sinking into a wall of water. It was easier than he had initially thought it would be, and the difference in tension took him by surprise. He yelped as his arm was yanked forward and then the rest of him followed.

***

Varg studied his attacker, who was still holding the battleax above his head. Why wasn’t he finishing his swing? And why wasn’t he getting out of the way to save his life? It took him a moment to realize that he wasn’t moving, either. He could see everything clearly, but otherwise, he had become like a stone statue, unmoving and uncaring.

Not even their eyes moved. He couldn’t tell whether the other wolf was able to understand the impossible situation they found themselves in.

A sudden whoosh startled him, but he remained just as unmoving as before. Something was drawing near, and Varg didn’t know whether it was friend or foe. The only thing he could continue to do was to stare at the wolf poised to kill him. That glint in his eye, Varg realized only then, was not fueled by hatred. Instead, it was more like fear, one feeding on a particular sort of madness, and Varg felt his pity for this wolf growing.

“Varg,” he heard someone shouting.

“Toru, is that you?” His lips didn’t move, but he knew he must have spoken the words somehow.

The young tiger was descending upon them on a thread of light. He was still in Mako’s body and was holding a stick in his hand. Whether that was supposed to qualify as a weapon or not, it had to be up to Toru. When the stick touched the crown of the wolf’s head, Varg watched in disbelief as his opponent slumped to one side, his battleax falling from his hands, sinking into the ground dangerously close to Varg’s head.

Toru grabbed Varg’s arm and pulled him up, but his body was just as frozen as before.

“Varg, don’t play the statue, because you can tell I’m not laughing,” Toru warned.

He continued to be a statue, but not the same thing could be said about the other wolf.

“Toru, watch out!”

Varg watched in horror as the battleax split Toru’s head straight down the middle, but his terror turned into confusion. Instead of red blood, only light came out of the wound that the battleax had caused. And the weapon continued and went on through, only to leave no trace of its passage behind.

Toru turned toward the wolf attacking him. “Attacking someone from behind is cowardly. I thought wolves weren’t cowards. Maybe silly, but not cowards.”

The wolf growled and launched another attack at Toru. The young tiger stepped out of the way, but Mako’s body was inferior in agility to what Toru’s real shape was capable of. The battleax cut through one of his legs, but, like before, to no avail. Toru laughed, most likely surprised by this incredible advantage he had.

“Give up. It is impossible to hurt me,” Toru boasted.

Varg wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, if only he were capable of anything of the sort. Toru would always be Toru; even under incredible circumstances, he didn’t worry and worked with what was given to him. He was getting cleverer every day, Varg thought.

“We will see,” the wolf grunted and dashed at Toru again. Everywhere his battleax met Toru’s body, it made sparks of light fly, leaving no damage behind.

Toru danced around the wolf and landed behind him during one of the attacks. He used his stick to smack the wolf over the head, and it seemed like such an incredibly soft hit was enough. The wolf stumbled and fell, face first.

“It looks like you must be defeated so I can get my friend back.” Toru jumped on the wolf’s back. “Yield now.”

“I will not yield. You will have to kill me.”

“I don’t kill wolves, even when they seem to be caught in madness like you are,” Toru retorted.

“You have no other choice. It is either you two or me. It will never end otherwise. And I don’t plan on dying.” The wolf pushed Toru off his back, making him lose his balance and fall.

The battleax continued to swing, with Toru ineffectively dodging when possible. Varg was thankful for whatever magic was protecting the young tiger because otherwise the wolf would have cut him into a million pieces.

“It looks like you don’t understand your position,” Toru taunted his attacker by hitting him with his wooden stick again.

Although each blow looked like the attack of a child hitting a strawman, it had the effect of a powerful strike. The wolf grunted and the battleax slipped from his hands. He knelt on the ground, growling like a wounded animal.

Toru was standing before him now. He swung his wooden stick without touching the wolf. “I’m sure Varg wouldn’t like it if I hit you any more, because he likes all wolves, but do not test my patience. I know I have none.”

Varg still didn’t know if Toru could really hear him or if his voice was sounding true only inside his mind. He had to watch as the battle between the two forces grew increasingly bitter. Toru was no longer smiling or taunting the wolf as he could very well see that the other did not plan to give up.

A single hot desire rose inside Varg’s soul. Even if Toru would be in his rights to kill the wolf if the battle continued endlessly, as he seemed to have the power to do due to the incredible strength of the wooden stick he was wielding, he couldn’t allow it to happen. The wolf had to survive; this couldn’t be his end. Varg wouldn’t allow it.

“Why are you so stubborn?” Toru shouted at the wolf. In Mako’s body, he looked no less majestic, even if his moves weren’t the most agile. “This is an evil shard, and you are trapped in it.”

“Lies, it is all lies,” the wolf growled while launching another vicious yet ineffective attack.

Toru no longer bothered to get out of the way. Each of the blows he applied with his wooden stick seemed to cause the wolf enough pain to make him kneel to catch his breath. It was obvious to anyone watching that he wouldn’t be able to hold on like he was forever.

“I don’t know exactly how this magical key works,” Toru said, “but I hope it’s not going to be enough to kill you.” He hit the kneeling shifter over the head, and the wolf dropped to one side, his eyes rolling up in his head.

Toru leaned over him and sniffed him. Varg would have laughed if the situation had been anything less dire than it was. Toru turned and walked over to him. He looked Varg in the eye. “Can you hear me? Can you move a little? I would gladly carry you, but I don’t think that’s going to work, given that I’m still trapped in his puny body.”

“I’m talking, can you not hear me?” Varg asked.

Toru sighed. “Whatever magic this is, it really did a number on you, Varg. If I couldn’t read your eyes, I would’ve wondered if you were still in there.”

So, his voice couldn’t reach Toru. That was another cause for alarm. Above their heads, the sky was turning dark as if the day had tired and wanted to give up early in favor of the night.

“This place is not safe,” Toru said through his teeth while he grabbed Varg by the back of his shirt and began dragging him along. It was clearly a difficult task for him. “Now I only have to use the key and get us out of here.”

And leave the other wolf behind? Varg couldn’t protest, and he knew that Toru was right to think about saving themselves. Still, it wasn’t like Toru to leave someone behind.

“I will then have to return and save that crazy wolf, too,” Toru commented.

Varg wished he could smile, but his face was just as frozen as before. That was Toru all right. No matter how puny the body he had in his possession, it didn’t mean that he would give up. Ever.

They stopped, and Varg fell on his back, looking up at Toru. The young tiger was stabbing the air with his wooden stick. “Now this seemed a lot easier when I got in,” Toru mumbled under his breath with a focused expression on his face. “Hey, magical stick, start working already. It’s getting chilly here.”

Varg only then realized that with the night falling on them, the air had started to turn frigid, as well. For him, it was only a vague sensation, but Toru began to shiver, rubbing one arm with his other hand, holding on to his stick for dear life.

“Let us out,” Toru commanded, but the chattering of his teeth made him sound as if he was pleading to a higher being.

“One must remain,” a thunderous voice boomed from above.

Toru looked up, and Varg did the same, since he couldn’t do anything else anyway. The night sky was the eye of a storm, no stars in sight, no moon. Was the goddess presiding over all the wolves on Eawirith hiding behind those clouds? Varg wanted to beg her for help. Whoever was behind that voice was hiding too.

“I will stay,” Toru replied naturally. “Let Varg out.”

“Why would you hurry to accept your fate? You will be trapped here forever.”

“I don’t think so,” Toru said. “I always defeat you.”

“Do you know who I am?” the voice asked without hiding its owner’s disbelief.

“This is a shard fragment, so you’re Hekastfet,” Toru said calmly. “Now, release my friend. And then confront me to see how true I am to my word.”

Varg felt his skin prickling with apprehension. Toru wasn’t supposed to face the evil called Hekastfet alone. That was his true power, and what made him so different from the other shifters who had been before him. Like that wolf.

“Toru, don’t let me go!” he shouted, but Toru remained deaf to his plea, his eyes set on the stormy sky above.

“Very well, your friend is free,” the voice said slyly.

Varg felt his body becoming as heavy as lead, and he was soon rolling on the ground without any possibility of stopping himself. His head hit something hard and he lost consciousness for a moment. When he opened his eyes, he was in the room with the shard.

“Varg!” someone shouted, and it took him a moment to recognize Duril’s voice. “You’re back! But where is Toru?”

Varg turned his head, wondering at how he had control over his body once more. “He’s still in there. And he is going to have to fight Hekastfet alone.”

***

Varg had to be safe, since he had disappeared from his sight. Toru looked above. “You shouldn’t be a coward. Show yourself so we can fight.”

“I have you where I want you, young tiger. Do you truly believe that the key will help you now? It’s not a weapon.”

“It seemed to work well enough when I fought that wolf,” Toru said with a shrug. “Now, you must come down so that I can defeat you again.”

The cavernous laugh that followed caused an unpleasant jolt in his belly. Maybe he had had one too many drumsticks and shouldn’t have gobbled everything down without chewing properly.

“Only the pure of heart can wield the key made of pure light,” the voice recited. “Let’s see how much the parts of me you have found so far have managed to taint your soul.”

Toru stared at the hand holding the stick. It was the same with the shoulder in which the shard fragments had buried themselves under his skin. His fingers glowed while the stick caught fire. Instead of dropping it, he tightened his grip.

“Even if there is something of you inside me, it doesn’t mean that I am someone else.” The magical key now burned his skin but he wasn’t going to give up. If this was a test meant to prove his worth, he’d live through it, no matter how great the pain.

The flames licked at his elbow now, charring the skin. Toru watched them as they climbed higher. They stopped at the shard fragments, now glowing darkly inside his skin. The pain lessened.

“See?” he shouted at the troubled sky. “I can’t even feel your nasty magic!”

“Are you sure, Toru? The pain you felt only proved the purity of your soul. But what about now? The darkness of my soul brings you solace.”

“You’re lying. This is all happening because I don’t care for your dark power. Face me now!”

The silhouette appearing out of thin air several feet away reminded Toru of a monk. The shrewdness of its eyes was apparent even from that distance.

“Toru,” the silhouette called out, “you must give up the fight. We are the same, you and I.”

“I am nothing like you, and I will prove it to you.”

“How? Your arm is on fire. You don’t even have your tiger. Why should you sacrifice so much and feel so much pain? For the rest of a world who doesn’t even care about you?”

The part about the pain was true. After a short relief it had come back with a vengeance. Toru was aware that salty tears were flowing down his face, and he couldn’t do anything to control them. That was Mako’s body; of course, a young man like him would cry when he was in so much pain.

“This world,” Hekastfet continued while walking slowly toward him, “has done nothing but shun you since the day you were born. And even now, after you brought me down at Scercendusa, what does the world think of you? What do they say? Ah, they make up stories, but they don’t know who you are. A king without a country, a god without believers. That is all you are. I can give you so much more.”

“I don’t care about the world either,” Toru said through clenched teeth. He knelt on one knee as the pain grew too much for him to handle and remain standing. “But I care about my friends, and they live in this world. For them, I’d go to the end of time to finish you off for good.”

“Foolish child,” Hekastfet said with a sigh. “Your friends will be with you where I want to take you. What do you say now?”

“I say that you’re a liar. I’ll never believe you. What do you want from me?”

Hekastfet put one hand on his head. His hand had a vise-like grip that made Toru grunt in pain. It wasn’t impossible for his foe to crush his skull if he continued like this.

“I will tell you in a way that will help you understand me. We are two faces of the same coin. With me by your side, you can rule the world. You’ll be a king, not over just one country, but all. And they will all believe in you and fear you.”

“I don’t need people to fear me,” Toru said even though it was hard for him to talk. “I don’t want them to love me for no reason, either. I’ll always be the same.”

“Very well.” Hekastfet removed his hand. “This shard is my corner of paradise. I make the rules. And now, you will fight the one that has lived here for centuries.”

“Why don’t you kill me?” Toru asked, cradling his wounded arm to his chest. His skin was marked by dying embers, glowing faintly on the charred remains of his arm. There was no response from Hekastfet. “You can’t,” Toru shouted, “you just can’t, right?” He began laughing, the pain engulfing his mind forgotten for the briefest of moments.

“That’s true, but he can.”

Toru fell on his back as the wolf from before rushed toward him, swinging his battleax. The blade cut the air a hair’s breadth from his face.

“He’ll chop you into pieces,” Hekastfet said with delight. “How are you going to return to your friends then?”

***

Duril listened to Varg, his heart growing small. “Do you believe that Hekastfet wanted to get Toru alone?”

“Yes, that is what I believe,” Varg confirmed. “We need to find a way to get inside. We can’t leave him there like this.”

“That was the only key,” Vetor fretted. “Did you perhaps bring it back?” he asked, looking Varg over as if to check.

“Even if Varg did bring it back, we wouldn’t be able to use it,” Duril explained. “But that doesn’t mean that we should wait with our arms crossed for Toru to save himself. That has to be Hekastfet and no one else. And he must have had a plan to lure Toru inside the shard. Vetor, tell us everything that you believe could help us.”

“I don’t understand a thing,” the curator complained, wringing the small hands he had materialized for the sake of looking like an old man. “I’ve always been warned against shifters, and that there should be none down here, and now it looks like the evil residing inside the shard has wanted such a thing all along.” He pulled at the tufts of white hair above his ears. “Or was that the reason? Will the shard now become all powerful? What can we do?”

“Just asking ourselves useless questions will get us nowhere,” Varg said. “We must search for another way. If Toru came here, he must have done so with a purpose. Although I have my doubts about the people of Coinvale, I refuse to believe that they are aware of the pure evil buried underneath their city.”

“Then I must thank you for that, Mr. Varg, because my faith in my fellow citizens of Coinvale has taken quite a hit,” Sogou intervened. “What if we don’t have to go inside but pull Mr. Toru out of there?”

Duril pondered over the young man’s question. “The shard is impenetrable. We cannot smash it into pieces, if that is what you’re thinking.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Sogou said excitedly, “but you said that the key could only be wielded by someone with a pure heart, as the tiny peg told you. We need something pure to combat the darkness of the shard. And what could be purer than…” the young storyteller suspended his discourse for a moment and grinned, “fire?”

Duril looked at Varg and got the same kind of look in return from his friend.

“It’s just an idea,” Sogou backpedaled, “in case we can’t come up with something else.” His enthusiasm was as fragile as a spring breeze.

“You’re not wrong, Misar Sogou,” Varg said promptly. “While I was inside, Toru didn’t even have to fight that wolf who tried to kill me. Whenever the blade of the battleax went through him, it was as if it didn’t hurt him at all. His body just split to let light out. Light as bright as the sun.”

“So should we set the shard on fire?” Duril asked. “But how?”

“Leave it to me,” Vetor announced. “I am the curator of this place, I know very well how to make a fire. I only need some strong arms to help me carry all the logs needed for the endeavor.”

Varg stepped forth right away. “Lead the way, curator. We must hurry.”

Duril tried to follow, but Sogou stopped him. The young storyteller smiled sheepishly. “I have two arms, Mr. Duril. And someone should stay here, in case something changes before we get back.”

Duril patted the young man’s arm. “Thank you for thinking of me.”

There was relief in Sogou’s voice. “No, thank you for not getting mad at me.”

“What would I get mad about?”

“Are you coming, young man?” Varg called out impatiently.

“You’re the hero, Mr. Duril,” Sogou shouted over his shoulder, as he hurried after the others.

TBC

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