The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 313

Chapter 313

I smirked at Elder Rinia . Her wry sense of humor was one of the things I really liked about her . While everyone else in the underground town walked around as if every day was one long funeral, the old seer could still find humor despite everything that had happened .

The smirk slowly slid off my face as Elder Rinia fixed me with a piercing, humorless stare .

“Wait, are you being serious?” I asked uncertainly .

“Serious as a...as a...” Elder Rinia trailed off, her mouth open slightly, her eyes rolling up toward the roof of the cave as she grasped for whatever she was trying to say . “Damn, I forgot the phrase—but yes, I am very serious . If you think you’re ready for the dangers of battle, then prove it . The creature that haunts these tunnels is a genuine danger—to me, to you, and everyone else in the colony . Want my wisdom? Well, you’re going to have to earn it, Ellie dear . ”

I again found myself not really sure what to say . Elder Rinia was an enigma; I couldn’t even begin to guess at the reason behind her actions, so I had to assume that hunting down and killing this blight hob was important to the mission in Elenoir somehow .

The image of blue slime spilling out of my mouth and nose came to mind and I tasted peppermint again . Or perhaps Rinia needs some part of the blight hob for her stores?

“Do I need to bring any part of the beast back?” I asked .

Elder Rinia grinned slyly . “Clever girl . Yes, kill the creature and bring me its tongue as proof . ”

I nodded to myself, my heart racing in both excitement and fear . I thought about the battle at the Wall, how the thrill and adrenaline of the fight had clashed with the terror I felt as I watched the horde slaughter our soldiers on the battlefield...

It was always like that, I guessed . Even my brother must have been afraid sometimes, but I knew he’d been eager to fight—and to grow stronger—too .

He said he just wanted to be strong enough to protect his family, but if that was true, why did he sacrifice himself for Tessia?

I wasn’t sure I’d ever understand .

“Now, there are a couple things you should know,” Elder Rinia said, interrupting my thoughts . “The blight hob won’t just stand around and try to fight you, especially not with that giant bear protecting you .

“If it can’t sneak up on you, it’ll try to lead you into a trap . Don’t let it . If you can catch it lying in wait for you and put an arrow in its black little heart before it has a chance to move, that’s your best bet .

“And whatever happens, don’t let the thing breathe on you again . That was the last of my frost snail blubber for who knows how long . ”

“Shouldn’t you know when you’ll get more?” I asked . “Being a seer and all?” Despite my nervousness and my fear, a giddy energy was starting to wash over me, and I couldn’t help the big, silly grin that appeared on my face .

Scowling, Elder Rinia said, “Why, you little—” then rocked herself to her feet and began to shoo me away . I hopped up and, still grinning, let her usher me toward the “door” of her cavern home . “Don’t come back until you’ve learned some respect—and don’t forget that tongue!”

Giggling, I slipped through the crack and out into the dark tunnel . My bond was a big, fuzzy shadow guarding the entrance . He turned his wide head to face me as I approached, and I ran my hand up his snout and between his eyes, giving him a scratch . Boo closed his eyes and huffed in pleasure .

“You ready for some action, big guy?” He grunted, a rumble from deep in his chest that would have been terrifying if he wasn’t my bond . “We’re going hunting . ”

***

We started our hunt by returning back to where we’d encountered the pack of cave rats . Two more of the creatures had already found the bodies and were busily cannibalizing the remains .

We approached in total darkness, the light artifact now hidden within a deep pocket of my loose trousers . I had decided it was safer to move in the dark than to give away our location with the lantern stone, relying instead on my mana-heightened hearing to guide us .

Still, Boo wasn’t exactly stealthy, and the cave rats heard us coming . They puffed themselves up and hissed threateningly, protecting their meal, but they turned and fled when Boo charged them .

When I was sure they were gone, I pulled out the light artifact and held it up . “Boo, see if you can get the blight hob’s scent from the roof . ” I pointed at the rough stone above our heads .

My bond stood on his hind legs, reaching his shiny black nose right up to the tunnel ceiling, and began to sniff around . After only a few seconds, he dropped back to all fours and lowered his wide snout to the floor, continuing his deep sniffing .

I followed as he led us away from the chewed up corpses, moving slowly, his nose pressed to the ground .

After about a minute, Boo stopped and turned to look at me, his intelligent eyes shining green in the dim light of the lantern stone . He huffed, his sides expanding, then shook his shaggy hide like a wet dog .

He had the scent . “Okay, let’s go get him, Boo . ”

My bond grunted, then took off, moving quickly now . I stowed the light artifact again and followed, my bow ready .

The blight hob had covered quite a bit of distance since it had attacked us . We followed its scent for an hour, then two, but we still hadn’t caught sight of it .

The tunnels around our underground town were a winding, criss-crossing maze, and the blight hob moved erratically, doubling back as though it knew we were hunting for it . Based on what Elder Rinia had said, I wondered if the mana beast was paranoid, always creeping around as if something was stalking it .

I was walking just behind Boo, my right shoulder pressed against his left flank, so when he jerked to a stop I knew immediately .

The bear’s entire body went rigid, his tough hide quivering slightly .

I waited, my fingers on the string of my bow, ready to draw in an instant .

From somewhere ahead, my mana-enhanced ears picked up the faint sound of claws scraping across stone . I listened intently, trying to figure out how many there were .

Eight, I thought nervously, wondering how many cave rats my bond could safely fight off . The pack was moving in our direction, but they were slow and unhurried, and they hadn’t picked up on our scent yet .

It sounded like there was a gentle curve in the tunnel maybe fifty or sixty feet ahead . Deciding on a plan, I pressed down on Boo’s back so that he crouched down in front of me, flattening himself against the hard earth so that I could see—and shoot—over him .

Drawing my bow, I conjured a brightly shining mana arrow, squinting against the sudden glare, then fired the arrow down the tunnel, where it lodged into the stone wall . I focused on keeping the arrow in place, its blazing light a beacon in the pitch black dark .

The reaction was immediate . Farther down the tunnel, the pack of cave rats burst into a sprint, racing toward the light . Just before they came into sight, I conjured a second arrow and pushed mana through it, causing the arrow to swell and the air around it to shimmer .

At the same time, I let the brightly glowing arrow that had drawn in the mana beasts fade away, plunging the tunnel ahead into darkness . I listened carefully as the cave rats scrabbled around ahead of us, scratching at the walls and floor of the tunnel as they searched for the source of the light .

The string of my bow thrummed as I took my shot . The bulging, shimmering white arrow left a white trail behind it as it streaked down the tunnel, then exploded in mid-air right in the middle of the pack, sending the cave rats flying .

Boo shook with eagerness, ready to rush down the hall and finish them, but I couldn’t be sure how many cave rats had survived, and I didn’t want to risk my bond getting hurt for no reason .

I focused more mana into my ears and conjured another arrow, and when I heard the scuffling sound of a cave rat trying to pick itself up off the floor, I let the mana arrow fly . I was able to shoot faster than the pack could collect itself, and within moments the cave rats were completely silent .

When we were sure the threat had been dealt with, Boo stood up and humphed grumpily .

“Sorry, Boo . I’m just saving you for the real fight, okay?” My bond grumbled again, and I patted his thick fur . “Let’s make sure we got them all . ”

I followed Boo down the tunnel, then waited as he sniffed at the cave rat corpses, nudging at them with his snout . When one hissed breathlessly, he crunched down on it with his powerful jaws, and though I didn’t see it, I heard the mana beast’s flesh tear and bones break as it gasped out its last breath .

With that out of the way, Boo found the blight hob’s scent again and we moved on .

I hope we find the beast soon, I thought . The journey to Rinnia’s and back should not have taken more than a couple of hours, and I’d already been gone longer than that . My mother would be worried...

It occurred to me at that moment that my mother would be furious if she knew what I was doing . I hadn’t even discussed my participation in the coming mission to Elenoir with her, just said I was going to visit Rinia, then run off with Boo .

She hadn’t even had time to pepper me with questions about the council meeting, which I knew she was curious about, even if she pretended not to want anything to do with the leadership—or survival—of our little colony .

That conversation was going to be hard enough; maybe it was better than she didn’t find out about my solo hunt through the tunnels .

My ears twitched as I heard the tinkling sound of little pebbles bouncing down stone walls .

Too distracted to have been properly paying attention, I jerked my bow up, an arrow forming nocked against the string, and aimed at the ceiling, looking for the shrunken, mangy form in the subtle white glow of my mana .

I didn’t even have time to decide if a shadowy shape protruding down from the roof was actually my prey or just a lump of stone before my left ankle twisted and slipped away from me .

A panicked scream burst out of my mouth as my left leg plunged into an unseen gap in the floor, then was cut short when the stone lip of the hole hit me in the ribs . I scrambled to catch hold of something, trying to use my left arm and right leg to leverage myself in place so I didn’t slide any further down, but the wind had already been knocked out of me and I didn’t have the strength to support myself .

Boo bellowed above me, but when he whirled around to help, he practically stepped on me, then one massive paw smacked against the back of my head, jarring me so that I folded up like a piece of parchment as I slipped farther into the hole .

My body jerked to a stop as my bow caught, braced across the mouth of the hole I’d slipped into to create a sort of handhold . Holding most of my bodyweight with just my left hand on the grip of my bow, I tried to disentangle my right leg, which was bent painfully so that my foot was next to my head .

That, it turns out, was a mistake .

As soon as I shimmied my leg free, my body slipped again, ripping my hand away from the bow and sending me into a tumbling fall down the narrow crack in the stone, bouncing painfully off the walls .

Realizing there was nothing else to do, I coated my entire body in mana and tucked my head into my arms to protect my skull . Moments later, the punishing walls vanished and I crashed noisily onto the stone floor of another tunnel .

Fireflies danced in the dark all around me—or were they stars? Little stars, twinkling like snowflakes...

A worried roar echoed through the tunnels, shaking the stone like an earthquake and jarring me back to reality . I realized with a fresh wave of panic that I wasn’t breathing—that I couldn’t breathe . The fall had knocked the wind out of me and I gasped for air, trying to fill my lungs .

Dust and small stones rained down around me as, somewhere above, my bond dug frantically at the crack connecting the two tunnels . I tried to say something, to make sure he knew I wasn’t dead, but without breath I couldn’t get the words out .

Then I received another shock as I heard the sound of wood rattling against stone: my bow, falling down the hole .

Finally, when I felt like I had the air for it, I yelled croakily for my bond . “Boo! It’s—it’s okay, big guy, I’m okay!” _{ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom}