Monster Child

Chapter 4

The Doom of Life

I was spinning and spinning through the jade light, round and round until I had no concept of which way was up or down. And then I collided with an unyielding damp stone floor. I was in another corridor with more of the faintly glowing green crystals set in the ceiling. I realised that I could not stop to rest. While I still had a mission, the most important thing now was to find Addie. It seemed certain to me that he could not get by in this dreadful place on his own, despite his accusing me of coddling. I couldn't let him down like I'd let down the poor water brain…

I got unsteadily to my feet and lurched down the corridor, splashing through the puddles of water formed by drops dripping from the ceiling. Tears coursed down my face and I struggled to pull myself together. Now was not the time to be miserable. Now was the time for action. I wiped the tears away from my cheeks and pressed on.

Up ahead I notice a great hulking outline, barely visible in the dim light. My heart skipped a beat. What new horror could this be? I called out, but there was no response. The thing did not move. Perhaps it was deaf mute. I approached it carefully. It was an ugly statue apparently hewn of weathered stone. But how unpleasantly detailed the rough features were – locked in a permanent snarl. And its small eyes were hard and red like rubies. I had never seen a gnoll before, although I knew they were dangerous. I peered closely into its eyes. I could sense it staring back, the rage pent up in it was so intense that I could actually feel it. But it was unmoving. Looking up the corridor I saw other motionless shape just like it. What had happened here?

I crept along the dank stone corridor, careful to make no sound. At the end of the corridor stood a heavy wooden door with a sign on it. The language was that of the trolls and the sign was a warning to knock before entering. I rapped firmly on the door three times.

"Come in, come in, don't dither around," rumbled a gravelly voice. I pushed the door open and was somewhat surprised to see a dry stone room with stone shelves piled high with all kinds of clutter – heavy tomes, bottles, ropes, tools… There was a smell of leather and parchment, which contrasted to the musty dankness of the rest of the castle. An ornate lamp in the corner gave off a steady orange glow. At the centre of the clutter was a troll standing by a roughly carved stone table. He was a burly creature, with rocky grey skin. He had brilliant blue eyes, like twin sapphires. He had something like a headband with a large emerald set in, giving the impression of a third eye. I flattered myself that I knew a lot about trolls, having read all about them. I had been keen to finally meet one. I wanted to make a good impression.

"Good day, Sir," I said giving my best curtsey. I smoothed my hair and wished I had not picked up so much grime, "my name is Karla – from the Dark Forest. Um… who do I have the pleasure of addressing?"

"Three eyes Haag, an excellent merchant of great repute," he replied, "I traded here once and still intend to do so, whatever the Dark Disciples may try. Now don't waste my time – my calling is to trade. First, is there anything you cannot do without."

I swallowed, feeling a lump in my throat. "I've lost my sweetheart in this dreadful place." My voice was quivering. Oh Moon and Stars, had I just said 'sweetheart?' Addie didn't think of me as such, that was clear. I just annoyed him.

"What would a nice young couple be doing in a hole like this?" rumbled Haag. "It is more than flesh and blood can stand to be here."

"We are on a mission to stop the horror that grows in the Throne Room – to destroy the Carcescu-Demon before it can destroy our world."

The troll drummed his heavy fingers on the stone table top with a clinking sound. "That is a worthy cause," he conceded, "and I am not without resources. You saw in the corridor the fate of those avaricious gnolls who thought to rob me. They're immobilised. A reminder that they came from the mountain rock, even though they have strayed from the Earth Mother and instead followed the cruel god of the Savage Earth. I want to help, human girl. But you must first impress. What offering can you make?"

"In the Dark Forest we have a custom…" I said thinking quickly, "we give a tinker four pennies – one of iron, one of copper, one of pewter and one of silver. This is to show respect. I offer you this custom of mine to show that I love children of the Earth Mother as much as I do the Dark Forest." I took out my purse and counted out the four pennies. "And now… please take all my coin to remember me by in case I should have to sacrifice myself. I want a bit of myself to stay with you." I gazed straight into his jewel bright eyes as I said this, but I wasn't really thinking the implications through. I felt sure I could succeed in the mission, but only because I was determined to give it my all and die for the cause if need be. I would have been horrified by the idea of failure or of Addie coming to permanent harm.

Haag gazed back, for a moment it seemed he had been immobilised like the gnolls. "I accept," he rumbled, "I will tell you where there is more help to be had. Follow the passage east to the Mausoleum." He pointed to a wooden door in one of the other walls. An ally is concealed in the great granite block there. But be warned. There is also an enemy there, most dire. One of Carcescu's henchmen, summoned from that benighted world of theirs. He has the power to shrivel your very soul. You cannot attack him using your weapon. You cannot face him for he is fear itself." Here Haag pointed towards a tiny bottle of smokey grey glass on the shelf. "The spark of a dragon's essence lies within."

I took it. "Many thanks, three-eyes Haag. You are an excellent merchant, one who deserves great repute." I put my arms around him and kissed his cheek. He felt cool and hard and strong as stone.

"Go now," he rumbled, his voice unsteady.

"Remember me – always," I told him as I left. I followed a darkened passage that wound down and down. I held my lantern aloft as I went and it cast a pool of light at my feet. The air grew fouler the further down I went. And then I felt a rising sense of dread… The corridor ended and I crept into a vast chamber… There were skulls set into the walls, half buried in cement. Their jaws were all wide open as if roaring silently. Given what I had already seen, motionless skulls shouldn't have unsettled me so, but they did. I clapped a hand to my mouth wanting to scream. By the light of my lantern I saw the floor was strewn with huge bones… and a massive lizardine skull… a dragon! I had studied diagrams of a dragon's bone structure. What had Haag meant about a dragon's essence contained in the little bottle he had given me?

But then I felt a chill to my very bone marrow. A blazing blood red light flared up all around, its glare throwing the shape of the sarcophagi and a huge granite block into sharp relief. Then a dark shadow appeared, sweeping down the rows of coffins. The outline of a large man concealed in black armour, a long black cloak billowing behind him. His hissing voice lanced through my mind: "fool mortal female, you have the impudenccce to dissturb my prayerssss to the dark forccces? Now prepare to facccce your fearss. Disssciple Fear will sssssshow…"

"Fear is not respect," I cried, though my voice came out sounding like a strangled squeak. "If you inspire mortal terror, you cannot merit respect. Those who don't criticise you are afraid, they're not respectful." In those days I really thought I could impress even true fanatics by pointing out the obvious. I was knowledgeable for my age, but not wise.

Fear simply laughed. "I will remove my visssor and your tiny mind will be overthrown." I tensed, clutching the bottle of dragon essence tighter. Dragons! I had loved reading about them. As I recalled this, my mind broke free of the spell of fear in the mausoleum. Now I recalled how a dragon's memories will linger long after a dragon is gone. They communicate by psychic power. So their memories linger in their bones. And when dragons live, extremely evil beings are sources of psychic pain to them.

I had a plan.

"Gazzzzzze into the faccce of Fear!" hissed the Dark Disciple.

"No!" I screamed. I opened the bottle and sprinkled a fine sparkling dust on the dragon skull and then flung myself behind a sarcophagus and shut my eyes tight shut.

At once, the dragon skull twitched and all the bones rattled and clattered as they assembled. I chanced a peek between my fingers and saw Disciple Fear beset by a massive skeletal dragon. It gaped at him threateningly, its jaw wide and teeth sharp as daggers, but it could make no sound. Fear on the other hand roared and hissed as he swiped at the resurrected dragon with a razor sharp blade of obsidian. The dragon lashed forwards, piercing the fiend with its claws and closing its jaws in a vice around his helmet. I covered my eyes again. Fear's hissing roar was cut short. I chanced another peek and saw that the bloody light had gone out. I cautiously lifted my lantern. Fear's armour was now empty, the helmet lying on the ground amid the wreckage of dragon bones. A pulsating light from behind startled me and I turned to see that the huge granite block had been cracked and a brilliant green light shone forth. A smoke was issuing from the cracks. The smoke coalesced to take the shape of a face, sea green and translucent with large, feline eyes."

"You have awakened me, child. Then know this. I am bound to follow you for the span of your life on this plane. Name me and make it so." The voice was strangely high pitched and seemed to echo… Clearly she was an extra-dimensional being of some kind. The hypotheses of other dimensions start simple. There is a suggestion that a cube can be increased in all dimensions to form a Tesseract…

"I'll call you Tess, but try to think of me as a friend first. I'm not superior to you."

Her large translucent eyes blinked. "You are seeking help, are you not?"

"Yes… I've got to find Addie and then stop Carcescu…"

"To ensure the safety of your friend and all things mortal, you must defeat the wizard-fiend that waxes in foul might in the throne room," said Tess, "you need another mighty ally. I can take you to one. Come."

She swirled around me as if in an embrace. I tried to put my arms round her but instead felt myself swirling with no sense of direction until my feet made contact with the ground.

Where was I now? My heart was thumping hard and I was breathing in gasps. I gradually steadied myself and looked around cautiously. This room was not stone. It was coated in metal. A livid yellow-green light blazed from rectangular lamps set in the high ceiling which reflected off the metal surfaces. The air smelled strangely like the soap used on the Grey Isles, only stronger.

Tess hovered beside me. "Disciple Fear was trying to find out how to destroy me. Ironically, he had reason to fear me. I alone can penetrate the magical defences around this laboratory. It contains a doom the Dark Disciples dread – the doom of life. There is an experiment trapped here. Look."

She darted through the air towards what appeared to be a huge glass tank at one end of the laboratory. It was filled with a viscous slime apparently, of the same lurid glowing green as the lighting.

I followed her. Close to, the slime in the tank appeared to have a form… it was writhing and bubbling.

"Here are the fruits of a magical experiment attempted after the defeat of the Fire Demon. The mages in question wished to develop an effective weapon should such a fiend ever arise again. The Carcescu-Demon is too powerful for your weapons to stop, but as he has proclaimed himself a master of death, he can be foiled by life that is unnaturally persistent. The creature in this glass prison has lived for a long time waiting to break free."

"It's sentient and trapped in there? Poor thing." I put my face close to the glass. The slime was clearly compressed and yet now something knocked against the inside of the tank. "Tell me Tess, how would I release it? I'm no mage."

"The glass is not magical. It will break with a blow from your scimitar."

A good plan. Perhaps too obvious for me. I swung my scimitar against the top of the tank and it shattered. At once, the creature oozed out, its slimy bulk glistening in the lamplight. It gave off a strong odour… I will not say what it compared to, my dear. What follows is mindboggling enough. I stepped back as the slime oozed and stretched itself out of the tank, forming a shapeless pool that quivered and slid over the tiles. Then the ooze piled up in a massive, quivering bulk. Two long, thick proboscides extended from the mass. They were reaching further and growing thick and rigid. They were secreting a glutinous white substance…

"That is a substance of life," said Tess, her high voice echoing strangely around the gleaming surfaces of the laboratory. Now I could see the form of the head of the creature arising from the mound. One proboscis extended from it, but there was a mouth as well, gaping wide. The stench of life grew a lot stronger. Two little spheres on the surface above the proboscis seemed to float in the seething flesh as eyes. And those proboscides! One at the head and one at the rear. They were a daunting size.

I was staring transfixed, but Tess' voice broke through my reverie. "To ally with him you must create life together. Help start his seeding. He is the creature with enough concentrated life force to cancel out the death that the Carcescu-Demon will otherwise bring."

I swallowed, my breathing coming quicker. "I-" the seed dribbling out of the experiment's proboscides. I was fascinated. I could not tear my gaze away.

"There is a frame over there, designed for the purpose of coupling," said Tess. I tore my gaze away for a moment and saw Tess was hovering above a curious four legged carved wooden creature, with a huge round head.

In that moment, I knew what I must do. It seemed so obvious then, however strange this might sound. My mission was vital. I had also had a responsibility to look after Addie, whether he wanted me to or not and I had failed. He could even now be … no, I would not think of that awful possibility. I must atone for my failure and storm Carcescu's tower. Bring the fiend down once and for all.

And if this is what I had to do, so be it. Create some life… Oh gods help me, but I was transfixed by the creatures proboscides and could not help but think that the human lovers I had lain with had mere fingerlings of erections by comparison. Desire awoke in me, like a fever.

I stripped naked and held out my equipment and clothing to Tess. "Take them, please."

I clambered into the wooden frame, twisting around until I was properly positioned. My arms extended down into its forelegs, hidden eye slits in its neck allowed me to see out, and my buttocks were pressed hard into the wooden curve of the rump. I could feel a cool draft on my loins. There was an aperture in the wooden frame and my s*x was pressed against it.

Through the eye slits I saw the quivering bulk of the experiment shift and surge across the floor, buffeting the wooden frame which trembled at this onslaught. Then with a heave, the green mass reared up and engulfed the back part of the frame. It creaked – I thought of it suddenly cracking like a dry gourd, dumping me to the ground naked and in full view – but it held.

Anticipation thrilled me as I envisioned the enormous member, the lurid green colour of it, the throbbing glistening length of it.

Then I felt it, probing apart my labia with its tapered tip. I could not breathe. I could not think. My entire being was concentrated in my loins as the experiment shifted, aligned himself.

And thrust. A single hard thrust, impaling me on a shaft that felt as long and wide as a man's forearm. My tissues stretched unbearably, and I screamed, but even as I was reeling from the sudden splitting pain of his intrusion, I was wriggling and pushing back and trying to take more of him, more, all.

The proboscis withdrew almost entirely, and ran deep again. I screamed again, this time less in pain than in affirmation. Never had I been so filled, and if he ripped me asunder in his rutting, I hardly cared.

The great bulk held me pinioned, not that I wished to escape. The framework squeaked and groaned in time with the creature's pounding movements. He went at me hard and fast, a steady fierce rhythm that threatened to crush me, to tear me open, even as I welcomed and relished every plunge of his thick heat into me.

My first climax struck with a force that should have shaken the accursed castle to its very roots. It was as if every single one that had been denied me as I had longed for Addie through those wretched nights had stayed pent up, and were now released.

I lost consciousness from the sheer ecstasy of it, reviving within moments to a second overpowering crash of sensation. My mind left me. Thoughts were nothing. I was in that brief span a creature myself, a supernatural being, an immortal.