Chapter Eighteen

Cierra found herself in the middle of the skeleton troop as they moved forward, Cid squeezing himself as close to Cierra's legs as possible to avoid being stepped on.

Everything around them was blackness and Cierra found herself vaguely wondering when the last time light had touched this place. Her eyes, having adjusted to the lack of light, could make out the uneven cave walls and the path in front of them. If darkness spread and the beings touched by it slowly rotted to nothing or became monsters, then could light save them? She wondered briefly if her power extended to summoning light, but she doubted it.

Overall, the place looked barren. There were no footprints on the ground or signs of any chairs or other creature comforts that Cierra would have expected. The Bringer of Nightmares before had looked humanoid in shape, she had simple assumed it would need to rest. Then again, she thought to herself, did those things that had chased her in the woods all those weeks ago look like they ever sat down? They were probably the only type of beings that would be in this cave.

Cierra shuddered at the thought of encountering those monsters again.

There was a growl somewhere in front of them, and the women stopped. Out of the pitch came three tigers, much like those from Cid's realm. Their skin, which had been rotting when Cierra last encountered the species, was now sown together much like the giant abominations Cierra had just been thinking about. In some areas they still had their original fur, but the rest of their bodies were covered in a stretched leather, dry and hairless.

"How…?" Cierra asked, shocked. She thought the skogkatts had all been killed off by the Bringer of Nightmares; she had not expected to see them here, twisted and deformed.

They pounced without warning, claws extended, jaws aiming instinctively for the throats of their enemies. The women met their attacks with weapons extended. To Cierra's left a skeleton crouched down, extending her sword up and thrusting it into the belly of a tiger that moments before had launched itself into the air to attack. Brown muck like oil rolled down the woman's sword, and the putrid smell of its insides hit Cierra, causing her to gag.

If Cierra had thought the world smelled like rotting meat, then this was where the smell came from.

In front of her, the once-raven haired woman with the spear held off a tiger, much like Cid had been stopped before, but this time another skeleton stabbed the creature at the base of its skull. Its outstretched claws fell to its side, and in one smooth action the woman tossed the body off into the cave.

The right side wasn't as lucky. The tiger had leaped, jumping onto the shoulder of one skeleton, its weight knocking her arm lose. Wasting no time, Cid jumped into action, swiping at his brethren as it jumped down. Cierra froze, the tigers biting at each other right next to her. Before she had time to collect her thoughts she was pushed out of the way, two skeletons taking her spot.

Cid struggled to hold the wild tiger down by the throat as it thrashed against him, claws trying to work their way through his fur. The skeletons around him grabbed the opportunity, stabbing at it until their swords ran brown.

It was as though Cierra's brain turned off, and the stench of long decomposed bodies made her head swim. Before she knew it, she was leaning against the cavern wall, vomiting.

Leif rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort the girl.

"It may not seem like it, but it will get easier." Leif said before turning back to her troop, "Let's regroup and continue."

Cierra spit the excess acid taste from her mouth and wiped her mouth on her shirt, disgusted with herself. When she turned around, she noticed Cid had brown around his mouth and in his fur, while his own blood dripped somewhere from his side. He looked tired, head hanging low, slightly panting. Cierra had forgotten how much smaller he was to a full grown skogkatt, and she rushed to his side, taking his head in her hands.

She felt powerless. What had she done to protect Cid, or any of the other fighters? All she had done was vomit while they handled the dirty work.

Leif watched nearby. "We have to keep moving," she said, keeping her voice low but gentle.

"Hold on," Cierra looked around her, assessing the damage, "I can fix this."

She closed her eyes, picturing the group just moments before the fight. There was a faint glow around her when she opened her eyes, and where there had been blood on Cid's fur and various arm bone strewn around the cave, there was nothing. Cid licking the back of her hand while the women gasped.

"What did you do?" One asked, looking at her arm, astonished.

"Will this fade, like before?" Leif asked, eyes wide.

Cierra shook her head, "I don't think so. I can't fight against things turning into…" She gestured vaguely at the dead creatures around them, "But I think as long as I know what something looked like before, I can change it back to the way it was."

Leif looked thoughtful. "But not even the bones that were on the ground remain?" She shook her head as if clearing it of thoughts. She looked at Cierra, "Can you do that again?"

"Sure, it's not as hard as when I moved us," Cierra nodded at Cid, "before."

Now that she thought about it, her power had never tired her out like the physical movement had.

"Though," she added, "I don't think I can bring back the dead." Cierra remembered the skogkatts that Menace had obliterated before her eyes. She hadn't been able to do anything for them.

Leif nodded before moving to take her position in the front of the pack, "We'll count on you."

Getting back in the center of the group, they moved forward. Under them the ground shook again, and they all jolted forward. The high-pitched howl seemed to be coming from the innermost part of the cave, and now that they heard it near the source, it was starting to sound more like the scream or yell of a creature in pain.

The women shared glances, and a feeling of unease settled into the pit of Cierra's stomach. Whatever they were going toward, she desperately wanted to be moving away from.

Somewhere ahead of them was the sound of a thousand fingers tapping at desk. It was faint at first, but then quickly grew louder. The women stopped, readying their weapons, but nothing revealed itself. Just as it seemed as though the tapping was upon them, it stopped.

Then, unwrapping from the ceiling came centipedes the size of Cierra. Their bodies were tan, with legs that ended in needle sharp points and eyes that were red and beady. Unlike the tigers and abominations, they didn't have skin sewn together., instead having one intricate exoskeleton.

She counted five of the giant insects before a sixth made its way down on top of her. Immediately Cid was on it, while Cierra struggled to try and toss the main body off her. Its legs pierced her arms and she screamed. Cid, trying to take a chunk out of it from the side, shook the centipede in his jaws, green oozing from where his teeth were digging in.

Barely getting free before it stabbed her again, Cierra focused on healing. She pictured herself, healthy and wound free, before focusing on Cid and the other warriors.

It became obvious that their team was losing. The centipedes had mandibles that Cierra somehow hadn't noticed before, being too distracted by their long bodies and legs, and they were fast. Watching them felt like Cierra was going to get whiplash. A woman would strike at a centipede's side, and before she knew it, it would have twisted back and bit through the weapon wielding arm.

For every one soldier Cierra healed, two would take their place.

Leif stood back, taking the scene in. "Ladies!" She held up her sword, "We take them out one by one! Here first," She gestured at the one closest to her, "Aim for the legs, see if we can flip it over!"

Slowly, they worked out a system. Spears and swords would swipe at the legs while Cid bit and twisted at the main body until it flipped over. The Leif would come and slice her sword down the length of the centipede. Behind them, the other centipedes attacked, biting and stabbing at any exposed bone. The shield bearers held them off as much as possible and Cierra healed, putting all her energy into regenerating their bodies as quickly as possible.

By the time it was over Cierra was exhausted, a thin layer of sweat forming on her skin.

The sheer number of soldiers was slowly becoming impossible for Cierra to keep up with.