Chapter 21

Chapter 21 Wake the nightmare to slay… 

 The creature snarled in defiance as Cameron hacked off another of its serpentine heads. Four more slithered through the air bashing up against his shield. Finding his opening, Cameron stabbed the creature through its belly, the remaining heads hissed, while its taloned forefeet scrabbled at his blade. Black blood oozed from the wound as the creature fell still on the cold floor of the deserted corridor. Breathing heavily Cameron swung the black blood from his sword. Hearing slow clapping from behind him he turned in aggravation. Opius leaned nonchalantly against the doorframe, a bemused smile curving his lips. “Well done indeed, mine friend.” Opius exclaimed, “Where come thou to learn such art?” Cameron cursed as the answer came unbidden to mind and the scenery around them blurred. The two of them were no longer standing in the deserted corridor but were now in the courtyard of the barracks at Kalm. The monster was gone, as were Cameron’s sword and shield, replaced by a wooden training sword. Skiff, Don, Chelry, and Esma stood to their right, all younger versions of their current selves. Cameron glanced down at himself and judged his age to be roughly in his teen years. Esma leapt for Opius swinging her training sword in an over handed arc. The sword passed right through him with a slight sizzling sound, his image blurring slightly as it regained its shape, the smile never faltering. Cameron knew it was hopeless to attack Opius directly, he’d learned that right after he had met the man. After the Chaos had whispered in Cameron’s ear the world had gone hazy. Once his vision had returned to normal he had found himself alone, in a room full of mirrors. These mirrors weren’t normal, younger versions of Cameron stared back at him passively from the reflective surfaces. They ranged from five to last year, all wearing different outfits he had owned in the past. “Well, well, my friend.” Opius’ voice drifted to Cameron out of the gloom beyond the mirrors, “What dark secrets dost thou hold?” Cameron smirked with a confidence he really didn’t feel, “Why don’t you come out of the shadows and I’ll tell ya.” “Is that so?” Opius whispered in his ear. Cameron swung for his face with his right elbow, catching nothing but air, spinning around with the force of it. Opius’ laugh echoed around him, taunting him. Cameron clenched his fists and glared into the gloom beyond the mirrors. “Where’s everyone else?” Cameron demanded of the shadows, “What have you done with them?” Opius shimmered into existence a few feet in front of Cameron, “Is it everyone the lonely bird chirps for, or a certain dark haired beauty?” Kailah materialized out of thin air to Cameron’s right, “Cameron!” “Kai!” Cameron called her name as she disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. Opius laughed like a hyena, “Oh but he doth pine for the sweet thing.” “Bring her back!” Cameron lunged for him. As his hands closed around the front of Opius’ robes there was a sizzling sound and Cameron’s hands passed right through him. The elf just smiled maniacally at him as Cameron swung a fist through his face, to no avail. “What do you want?” Cameron reined in his rage. Opius’ smile faded, replaced with a thoughtful expression as he tilted his head to the side and tapped his chin with his pointer finger. Cameron watched as Opius seemed to have a debate with himself in the privacy of his own head, his eyebrows furrowing and lifting as ideas were presented and dismissed in turn. After about a minute of the internal debate, Cameron sighed, “What is your mission?” “Oh, that?” Opius smiled brightly, “That’s quite simple, I already asked you, where’s the Paradigm Tablet?” “Um, if you're looking for it here, the one who’d know the answer to that, your Sword skewered.” Cameron folded his arms, “Guess you’re out of luck, buddy.” To Cameron’s surprise Opius shrugged indifferently, “Gan will find it, whilest I play with you lovelies.” Opius disappeared again, leaving Cameron facing the mirror with a ten year old version of himself staring back. The shadows beyond the mirror refused to give up their secrets no matter how long Cameron glared at them. He tried to move forward out of the ring of mirrors but they followed, staying exactly the same distance away from him, no matter if he walked or ran. “So, what’s this game we’re playing?” Cameron asked the shadows as the mirrors slowly began rotating around him. All that answered him was the sound of wind as the mirrors spun faster and faster. Cameron had to squint his eyes from the power of the wind. The mirrors stopped abruptly, leaving a deafening silence in their wake. Cameron blinked rapidly, his eyes dry from the wind. He glanced around looking for Opius, but there was no sign of the eccentric elf. Sighing in agravation Cameron's gaze was caught by the one in the mirror. It was one he had many years ago, when Shalia was still alive. It was full of peace, mixed with a dash of annoyance; Shalia had that affect on people. The air shifted and blurred, catching Cameron off guard. Shaliah stood by him smiling her special smile she had when she found something amusing. "Hi, Cammy." Her voice was exactly as he remembered it from all those years ago. Cameron stared, dumbfounded, "This isn't possible." His voice came out as a strangled whisper, Shaliah tilted her head to the side, her blonde hair falling over her shoulder. She took a step forward, reaching out with her hand. Cameron instinctlively shied away from her. "Cameron, what's wrong?" Shalia asked perturbed, "You're acting like I’m a monster." As she approached again Cameron retreated shaking his head, "No, you're dead, you died four years ago!" Shaliah stopped her advancing, her hand still out stretched. A puzzled look crossed her face as she lowered her hand. Suddenly she snapped her fingers, "That’s right. I should look like this then." Suddenly her skin began to decay, chunks of it falling away completely, revealing the bone beneath. Her eyes became unfocused as her right cheek dissolved back and down her neck, revealing her jaw. She stood there skeletally grinning at him. He stepped back in horror, bile rising in his throat at her stench. "This is all your fault, you know." Shaliah whispered softly, like a mother talking to a child, "If you had been faster, I wouldn't have had to die, but no you failed me, Cammy, you failed me." Tears began to roll down Cameron's cheeks, "I’m sorry." "SORRY?! You think sorry will fix this?" Shaliah spread her arms wide; when she did the right one fell off, "Great, now look at this! Why'd I have to die, why couldn't it have been you?" She bent down muttering to herself in aggravation, grabbing her arm and trying to put it back on. When she let it go it fell to the ground again. Beyond his understanding of why, Cameron began to laugh while Shalia scooped up her arm again and glared at him. "You think this is funny?" She demanded waving her arm at him, "Here I am falling to pieces and you're laughing?" Cameron tried to reign in his laughter, "Sorry, guess we're both falling to pieces." "That was a lame joke, Cammy." Shalia leveled a disdainful glare at him, "Very lame." She smacked him with her spare arm giving him a smile, "You look good, though." "Man, I've missed you." Cameron whispered to his late Caster, "You have no idea." Shaliah tapped her chin with the fingers of her disembodied arm, "Come to think of it..." Her voice trailed off as the scenery once again blurred around them. When the world came back into focus, the two of them were standing in a field. Vibrant red wild flowers grew in clusters all around them, daring the world to challenge their beauty. "That's starting to get annoying," Cameron looked around at the peaceful landscape, "where are we?" Shaliah ignored him as she squatted down, starring intently at a flower. Cameron watched his decaying Caster with a sorrowful expression. Slowly the sound of battle drew both their attention. Glancing at Shaliah Cameron started walking toward the sound. Shaliah watched him slowly climb the rise in the land, her face expressionless. As Cameron crested the hill he groaned, he knew exactly where and when he was. There was a flash of light and he found himself in the midst of the battle. His mind reeled, his body was flooded with adrenaline, his armor soaked in sweat, his senses assaulted by the cries of the wounded and dying, the smell of blood and bile. His heightened senses warned him of an attack from behind, he spun deflecting the over handed swing with his sword and stabbed the enemy soldier through a slit in his armor. The man gurgled in pain, slumping to the ground as Cameron withdrew his sword. Another quickly took the place of the fallen, Cameron hit the man’s thrust down and to the side with his shield using his momentum to continue in a spin away from him. As Cameron spun he decapitated the enemy showering blood across the already crimson ground. Quickly he jumped and rolled to his right just as the spot he had been standing in burst into flame. Looking around wildly Cameron spotted the enemy Caster just as she shot a fireball at him. He blocked the attack with his shield, burning embers and sparks showering over and around him, immediately after the attack he took off in a zig zag toward her. She abandoned her next attack in favor of fleeing from the on coming assault. She didn't have the chance as she ran straight into another soldier’s blade. As the Caster fell, disintegrating into ash, the unknown soldier lifted his visor to reveal the face of Skiff. “Cameron, what the hell is going on!?” Sighing in relief Cameron hurried to Skiff’s side, “It's good to see a real face. Have you come across any of the others?" “No, I haven't.” Skiff replied, “I've been stuck in a room full of mirrors…” Cameron nodded, “Sounds familiar.” “Cameron,” Skiff’s voice was low, cautious, “is this the battle I think it is?” Rain started to fall heavily on the battlefield; try as it might it didn't drown out the sounds of the dying. Cameron’s shoulders slumped, the small grim hope he was wrong fled with the rain. Skiff cursed under his breath then blocked an attack from the right as Cameron blocked one from the left. “Don should be here somewhere,” Cameron shouted over his shoulder to Skiff, “he’s not going to be happy about this.” Skiff didn't reply as he killed another enemy, the rain falling off his armor in mini waterfalls, mixing the blood and dirt beneath their boots into treacherous footing. The battle raged on, soldiers slipping and sliding in the muck, the more agile of them turning the terrain to their advantage. Cameron fought, giving his attention to the enemies at hand but keeping the events of the past that were currently unfolding around him in the back of his mind. Skiff and Cameron stayed together in the battle, helping their comrades as best they could, slowly becoming outnumbered. No matter if Cameron blocked an attack that slayed a fellow soldier in the past, the same soldier still died some other way. Slowly the remaining soldiers became encircled by the enemy. Skiff grimaced as he and Cameron simultaniously turned to their right knowing what was coming. “I call bull-crap; he’s supposed to be long dead.” Don glared at them from where he knelt by the enemy commander, “What the hell is going on!?” The enemy commander ignored Don as if he hadn’t spoken at all, “Throw down your swords, you are outnumberd and surrounded.” “Naw really?” Cameron rolled his eyes, “Are you ok, Don?” Don glared at him, “Do I look ok to you? One second I’m in a room of mirrors, the next that elf b*****d pops in, says ‘What ho, guvna, can’t have you being lapsidasical.’ The next I’m in a battle we barely survived three years ago getting my butt handed to me. So no, no I’m not!” Cameron and Skiff along with all the other soldiers on the battledfield stared in dumbstruck silence at Don’s tiraid. As Don steamed in rage, the rain falling around them, the enemy commander took a tentative step away from him, cleared his throat and continued his monolog. “Yeah, sounds about right.” Skiff sighed, “So what is he, ‘cause he visited me as well.” The rain fell in heavy drops, drowning out most of the enemy’s words, soaking them all to the bone. With the rain came a chill and Cameron inwardly groaned, Don groaned outwardly, and loudly at that, with a few choice words thrown in. Ice began to form on the ground at their feet as a figure walked toward them from outside the circle of enemies. “Don, we’ll get to you as soon as possible I promise.” Cameron spoke quickly as the ice krept across the ground, “I still remember exactly where the healer was that day, so just hold on, alright?!” Don sighed and nodded his head, “This sucks.” The enemy commander finished his monolog smiled malevolently and stabbed Don through the collar bone. Even if one remembers how much something hurts it still doesn’t prepare one to take the pain. Don cried out as the commander wrenched his sword from his body. As his blood arced off the commander’s sword, Don fell forward curling his body to keep his wound protected as best he could. Cameron braced himself to run straight for Don as the ice thickened on the ground. Skiff ready beside him, he knew in the bak of his mind what was coming next, and heaven help him if he wasn’t going to get it right this time.