Chapter Thirty Eight: The approaching night

Calin jumped at the noise. But when he searched around for what had torn through the pressing silence, he couldn’t find the source. The next moment the sound of swords unsheathing on all the caravans met his ear.

He plucked his own sword out the rest of the way and desperately glanced around.

There was not a word being said in the seconds after the loud crash of the rock. No words were necessary. Looking around at the other caravans drifting silently through that creepy valley, he was met with many gypsies standing on the roofs with swords in their hands. On the carriage directly behind his, stood Tyas and Jerry.

The amber eyed man, to Calin’s surprise, looked like a trapped animal and Jerry was jerking at every movement and noise, clearly Tyas had told the boy there was something to fear.

To his dismay he couldn’t see Evany. He quickly scanned the other caravans, but still couldn’t see her. Anxiety settled in his stomach as he sat back down next to Mictoria.

Calin was protective of Evany, she was his responsibility. He had dragged her into this one-way trip to this continent called Sambria, his reasons were clear, but none of them had expected the curveball that would be thrown at them on that cliff that day.

Gripping the leather strap on his left, he let his gaze settle on the carriage in front. The rudder-man was steering as silently as possible and Calin could see the man sweating while he manoeuvred the carriage with one hand on the helm. The man had a spade ready under his other arm. It almost seemed like the gypsy was cringing each time he had to crank the helm to the other side. It was doing a number on Calin’s already taught nerves.

Then to his utter relief, Evany’s head popped out of the trapdoor on the leading carriage.

He waved at her, but just as her features lit up with elation and she waved back, a noise from the valley’s walls drew his gaze with a snap.

It sounded like a thousand wings thrumming together for a moment, before it disappeared after a series of loud clicking sounds.

The silence that settled back over them, were like the pressure of being deep under water. Every movement on the caravans sounded off like a bell and anxious glances met every noise. Calin couldn’t help but cringe at his own movement as he slowly got onto his knees.

While the caravans moved forward on their silent floating path, shadows started to get longer, consuming the rocks that had basked in the warm rays of the sun just moments before.

Perplexed, Calin looked around for any sign of the settlement of Yera’s Crossing. It was supposed to be close, night was coming. With apprehension he looked towards the sun, only to find that it had started to dip below the edge of the cliffs that governed both sides of the valley.

For a second, there was something on top of the cliff. It reminded him of a hat, but he rubbed his eyes to be sure, but it was gone. Calin looked down to see Mictoria studying the valley floors as she gently worked her reigns and the pedal under her right foot.

He resisted in telling her about the sun and maybe the hat on top of the cliff, but the silence was driving him crazy. At last he couldn’t take it and he whispered, “Mictoria...”

The woman shot him a stern look, but when he pointed up to where the sun had just been, she nodded. He wanted to ask what was going to happen, but held his tongue as she shook her head.

A few seconds passed and the caravan floated around a long open bend. About a kilometre ahead there seemed to be various branches that split the canyon.

The first thing that came to mind to him was that it looked like a delta. The pillars of stone that peaked each island was standing there as mute way givers.

Then from the leading carriage, the older man signalled with his hand in a few twists of his fingers. Calin watched as Mictoria signalled something too. As he looked back the quiet discussion rippled over the rest of the carriages. His curious nature threatened to bubble over. The situation already had him on edge, and not knowing what was going on only made it worse. But he held himself in check.

An instant later Mictoria pressed down on the wood panel at her feet and the caravan accelerated forward at a faster pace. It looked as if the worry on the gypsy woman was slowly ebbing away as the delta came closer.

Out of nowhere, another rock tumbled from the upper part of the cliff. A much larger crash echoed through the entire valley.

This time however Calin was positive that there were people up on the ridge of the valley, but before he could tell Mictoria, a great thrumming of wings started up through the valley.

It got louder and louder sounding like an immense multitude. A loud roar pierced the air and followed immediately with high pitched clicks that came from all directions.

Without seconds to spare, Calin spotted a round thing that moved in the long shadows on the right. He squinted at it and pointed. Kara crawled over and sat down next to him and he whispered, “I swear that rock just moved—” The words had barely left his mouth when the large rock stood up on fat legs, followed by relatively long clawed arms that dropped to hang from the thing’s side.

Both of them gasped at the sight and the creature looked like it was shivering. Loud clicks reverberated from it. It was at that precise moment that a great cry went up through the caravans. “IGRI!!”

A lot of things happened at once. Calin almost fell off the railing when the carriage lurched forward. He clung to the leather straps and barely noticed the thousands of specs that were flung from the running beast’s back into the air.

Desperately trying to find his balance to watch what was happening Calin suddenly was struck on his cloak by something. For a mere instant, he thought it was Kara touching him, but when the girl shrieked next to him his insides jumped.

He shook his body at the clear feeling of small claws gripping the material on his shoulder. It sent adrenalin pumping through his veins as he almost screamed at Kara to tell him what it was, but what followed made his eyes widen.

Over the railing, a small lizard like creature with webbed wings came crawling over the side looking straight at him. It was only when the freakish little thing opened its mouth full of razor like teeth, that Calin swung his sword awkwardly at the winged lizard, batting it from the railing.

Renewed with the image of the creatures, it dawned on him that he had one on his back. Without regard of his balance on the rocking carriage he jumped backwards and landed on his back. A high pitched squeal erupted from under him and he slammed down again. Finally with a crunch it died down.

The moment he sat up, he found chaos all around him.

Mictoria was jerking on the reigns, trying to get the carriage to the delta. But there were hundreds of the lizard like creatures clinging to the adjacent Floating caravans.

The sound of screaming filled the air. Calin spotted the rudder man on the back of the leading carriage desperately trying to get three of the lizard like Igri from his body. To Calin’s horror when the one shook loose, blood poured out of a wound on the man’s exposed shoulder.

Repulsed by the sight, Calin cast desperate glances around him to mark any of the flying terrors.

He couldn’t have looked sooner as two swooped down towards Kara.

Without hesitation, he flung his sword arm up and by some chance managed to clip one out of the air. Immediately he swung at the other one, but missed; only to hear Kara scream as the thing assailed her.

Not wasting a second, Calin jumped at the girl with his free hand and grabbed the snapping lizard by its neck. He dragged it from her side, but the thing took a piece of her shirt with it.

Calin was about to throw it down to stomp it when it flung its elongated neck back and snapped at his hand, cutting a slash open with its teeth; he yelped and tossed it away.

With a swing of his sword after the retreating thing he barely clipped its tail. The screech that followed made him cringe, but he noticed the wounded thing flew back to one of the large round creatures that were running parallel to the side of the carriage in great leaps.

Throughout the relatively wide valley, there were about twenty of the larger creatures and several hundred of the lizards swarming the other caravans.

The small winged lizard which he had wounded landed on the larger creature and to his disgust, crawled into one of the slimy sets of slits on the back of the beast.

A shudder went through Calin at the sight, but he was distracted by another wave of swooping lizards. He shouted for Mictoria and Kara to duck. And they were barely missed. The two women nodded thanks through the chaos; but he didn’t stop and just went on to swing his sword at yet another one of the creatures. Without thinking he shouted.

“What the heck are these things?”

With a brief spell of reprieve from the assault, Calin watched as Mictoria aimed at the delta a hundred meters ahead. He adjusted his footing slightly as the woman shouted.

“It’s the Igri, infamous for attacking larger prey, Nísir. The larger ones are the Igrar. They are their hives. Hold on!—”

Calin barely had a chance to see one of the larger Igrar launch its round body at their caravan. Mictoria pulled heavily on the reigns, sending the carriage lurching to the left. The Igrar barely missed and growled while making loud clicking sounds at its displeasure. Calin watched as it spun around to run after them.

It disappeared behind the edge of their caravan, though there was no time to investigate as he dodged another one of the small lizard like Igri. Fighting was still new to him, but he soon started wishing he had read up about it more over the years.

***

During the assault, he could make out Mictoria shouting something at the other carriages that were around them. He couldn’t make out what she said, but a few words did stand out. “—need to split up! Reach Yera’s Crossing, we’ll find you there—” The rest was a jumbled mess as he continued to try and hack at the terrors that were diving at him.

He finally landed a hit, the Igri that had nipped at him on several places dropped out of the air. He was just catching his breath when a loud scream came from behind.

The caravan unexpectedly dipped low to the ground at some sudden added weight.

What came next lanced into Calin’s soul, when a man shouted, “Help m—” followed by a strangled sound.

Mictoria wailed next to him and shouted desperately, “Christoff! Nísir! You have to help him, please.”

With a grim nod he moved to the back of the careening caravan. He didn’t know what to expect. But to his dismay Kara came too. Without thinking, he pushed her back.

“Watch over Mictoria,” Calin growled. “She is our driver!”

The girl’s mouth was open. Probably with a protest, when she spotted something. She stabbed past Calin’s shoulder and a shriek sounded. The Igri had attempted to assail Calin, and he blew out a breath in shock. He quickly nodded his thanks to Kara who, to his surprise, was already moving to stand guard at Mictoria. It was remarkable to Calin how, through it all, the women with the reigns was still capable aiming their carriage to one of the valleys in the delta like canyon.

Without hesitation Calin jumped through the small hatch to the rudder-man’s post.

Dread filled him as he found the rudder man with half his hip and upper leg in the vicious jaws of one of the Igrar. The man was still alive, hanging over one of the curled tusks of the beast.

But it wouldn’t stay that way for long to Calin’s guess as the creature bit down on the man’s hip, enticing another scream from the rudder man.

Without regard to himself, Calin jumped forward and stabbed at the thing. His sword plunged into the Igrar’s powerful clawed arm. A fast paced row of high pitch clicks followed after a massive roar. The thing swung its wounded arm at him, sending him tumbling back against the wood wall of the carriage with his sword clattering to the side.

To his relief the thing dropped the groaning man to the floor and left the man.

But the relief was short lived as the tusked animal stalked towards him. Each step from its heavy body made the Floating caravan sway. Calin reached for his dropped sword in desperation.

But the Igrar opened its great jaws. Rows of shark like teeth adorned the creature’s mouth in a deadly grin as it jumped at him.