Media: Rakasha

Music: Sleep is the Enemy

*****

CHAPTER FOUR

Curses slew the air as Cadence tore through the marketplace. She leaped over chickens, narrowly avoided a collision with a cabbage wagon, and trod on more shoes and boots than she could count. Her hair flew behind her, exposing her face to the cruel, biting wind.

She almost ran into a horse. There was no collision, but the shock was enough to seize up her body. The horse reared up on its hind legs. Cadence fell, and she threw her arms before her face, bracing herself for the hoof fall.

It did not come. Cadence cracked open her eyes. The blurry dark shape of a cloaked man came into view, then the sharper details—black cloak, shiny gauntlets, great sword strapped to the belt, bandolier, ringed band on the right shoulder, and a white wolf mask.

The Capital Kesatria from the library.

Cadence scrambled to her feet, mumbling an apology. She fled, praying to the Dewas that he would not follow her. She could feel his eyes on her back as she disappeared into the forest.

The Kesatria must not know she had set the Polong free. If they did, they would torture her and then kill her for the destruction of House Orelik. Cole and her father would be executed alongside her, for the nobility punished by the family.

No, they can execute me, but not Cole, not Papa.

Her heart hammered against her ribs so hard, she feared it might puncture a hole through her chest. Her fingers curled around her rope bracelet, praying for the Dewas' help.

Kastimir, Sunkana, Vadim, Verusha, Dhraros, Rada, Ozanka, Dara, Babik, Wedja, Milus, Kokun.

The Dewas' names were a loud distorted mantra in her head. She repeated them over and over again even as she reached her home, threw the door open and fell onto the ground in a sobbing wreck.

Cole was at work, she thanked the Dewas, or else he would be asking her questions, questions she did not want to answer. She twisted her fingers until she could not feel them, but it did little to stop the shivering.

Unable to walk, she dragged herself toward the bucket of melted snow, thrust her hand into the bucket and brought up the water in heavy splashes. The cold water was like ice shards to her face, but she needed the pain to distract her.

Stupid. Stupid. She banged her forehead against the cabinet. What was she thinking? She shouldn't have trusted the Polong. She knew it, she knew the Polong would try to make her set it free by offering her a chance to heal her father. Her father had warned her about creatures of dark magic, again and again, but she had turned a deaf ear to his advice.

Now look what you've done. You're a murderer.

Cadence tilted back her head, taking in deep, shaky breaths. What would she do now? What would Cole say? He would be upset, that was for sure. Cole would not scream at her, it just wasn't him to shout at people. He would sit down quietly and think. It was like he was retracting into a shell where he tried to convince himself everything was fine. The silence was more deafening than screaming at the top of his voice.

A thought then hit her like an arrow.

Papa! She struggled to her feet, reaching out to the chairs for support.

"Papa!" Cadence burst into her father's room.

Please let him be fine, please!

If the Polong could destroy a mansion, it could most definitely take away her father's life with a snap of its fingers.

Her father stirred. "Shezinka?"

The relief was staggering. Cadence went limp, clutching at the doorframe for support.

Papa is fine, he is still here in the room, no one is going to touch him. Papa is fine.

"Is something wrong?" He raised his head, squinting at Cadence.

Frosts, Cadence swore inwardly. He would be devastated if he knew her deal with the Polong. She tried to come up with an excuse.

"I thought I heard something from your room. It could be a Rakasha or something, you know, these woods."

"These woods have been clear of Rakashas for tens of years," her father said. "The Kesatria have eradicated each and every one of them in this area."

Cadence laughed an awkward laugh. "Well, one cannot be too careful, can it?"

"Cady." Her father tried to get up. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine, Papa," Cadence lied. She was glad of the darkness in the room, for she was having difficulty keeping her face composed.

Before her father had a chance to ask more questions, she quickly closed the door.

Her insides were on fire. She tried to get a drink of water but ended up vomiting outside.

She was a murderer. How many people had survived the Polong's escape? She had never expected a Polong to be so powerful. The stories were wrong.

The thought struck her like lightning.

Books. There must be something in her brother's books that could help her ward off the Polong. She couldn't read, but she would be damned by the Dewas if she didn't at least force the words to sit still.

Cole kept his books in one of the driest parts of the house—on one rickety shelf not too close to the fire. Cadence grabbed volumes after volumes from the shelf and forced herself to read.

Titles. So many letters. Cadence grew dizzy as she tried to read the leaping letters.

T-the One Book. S-s-havara Lands. An E-encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. Beasts and dark creatures.

Papers fluttered. It was all a bunch of words, words that swam and leaped, danced and waddled. She cried out in despair, finally flinging the book across the room where it hit the wall and broke apart. She buried her face in her hands, sobbing.

The front door clicked. She tried to stop herself from crying, but the tears welled up and cascaded down her cheeks in a never ending flow.

"Cady?" Her brother dropped whatever he was holding and rushed to her side. His hands were warm on hers as he gently pried her fingers from her tear-stained face. "What's wrong?"

"I-I-" The words refused to come out.

Cole glanced from the broken book she had thrown across the room to the heap of discarded books.

"Were you trying to read?"

Cadence shook her head. "How do you ward off a Polong?"

Her brother laid a hand on her forehead, eyes filled with worry. "Are you sick?"

She dug her fingers into Cole's shirt. "Tell me how to ward off a Polong."

Cole blinked. "Hang five cloves of garlic at the door and mark a cross on the door with your own blood."

Garlic. They had some stashed somewhere. Her brother followed her into the kitchen and watched her chuck pots and pans out from the cupboards. Still unable to find the bulbs, Cadence gnashed her teeth together in frustration. Where in the Underlands are the garlic?

"Cadence," Cole said. He had almost never called her by her full name. It was always Cady. "You're freaking me out."

She let out a cry of relief when her hands found the smooth, roundish bulbs at the bottom of an old basket. Counting five, she then hunted about for a piece of yarn, all the while with Cole trying to talk to her. Her sewing basket was in her bedroom. She had saved a small spool of yellow yarn to knit a little scarf.

Cadence ran into her bedroom, grabbed the yarn and dashed back out.

"I'm getting very concerned here," he continued saying as Cadence hung the garlic at the door and then headed to find a knife.

Mark an X on the door...

"CADENCE!" Her brother lunged forward and grabbed the knife out of her reach. "You stop whatever you're doing and tell me what is going on! What is this Polong rubbish?"

"You won't understand." Cadence's hands trembled. "Give me the knife or I'll use my teeth."

"Tell me everything."

Cadence stared into her brother's eyes, eyes filled with concern and worry. Would that fade if she told him she set a Polong free? Would he lose his trust in her if she told him she caused the Orelik mansion to explode, killing Dewas knew how many people inside. Innocent people, people who were mostly servants trying to earn a living, like her, like him.

She couldn't risk the trust of her brother. She needed him.

"Someone set a creature free in the mansion." Cadence stared at the ground, ashamed at her own lie. "I-I didn't know what happened, but there was a lot of green smoke. The guards told us all to run, that it was a Polong. I didn't hesitate, I just ran home..."

Her tears choked her, cutting her off from speaking.

Cadence, you lying, lying coward.

Her brother didn't ask her why she was at the Orelik mansion on her day off. Instead, he cupped her face in his hands, wiping the tears away with his thumbs.

"Hey, it's alright. The Polong only deals with the person it had bargained with. You don't need to ward yourself from it. Master Orelik should have never kept the dumb collection under his own roof. It's not your fault."

It's not your fault. Every word struck her like a dagger in her heart. It is utterly and completely my fault!

"Cole." Cadence couldn't look him in the face. Her lies would seep right out. "You don't understand. I-"

The front door of their house blew open. Green smoke billowed into the room, sending them both sprawling backward.

The knife! It had fallen out of her brother's hand and skidded across the room. Cadence scrabbled toward its direction, closed her fingers around its handle and brought it to her free palm. She squeezed her eyes shut and drew a deep line across the middle of her palm. Pain stung, and blood flowed.

Maybe it wasn't too late for her to draw an X on the door. She could still stop the Polong from reaching her father.

However, what stood at the broken doorway wasn't the misty form of the Polong, but a solid creature crouching in the dissipating smoke.

Her brother took in a sharp breath. "Rakasha."

Cadence froze. The throbbing pain of her wound seemed to grow numb. Everything grew fuzzy and slow, all light and energy focused on the snarling beast. She had only seen paintings and illustrations of them in Cole's books, but nothing in the illustrations could come close to the horrifying reality this monster was.

The Rakasha was as large as a crocodile, with green scales like an adder. Its towering horns resembled a mountain goat's, curling behind its tiny ears. Its jaw hung open, revealing several rows of sharp, pointed teeth. Hooked claws protruded from each of its six feet, feet bigger than a water barrel. It had small, vestigial wings which flapped uselessly by its sides, unable to bring it into the sky. The Rakasha also had a barbed tail that split into two at the very end, carving a trail of scratches on the floor.

"Cady," her brother whispered. "Stay very still."

Cadence couldn't even move a muscle even if she wanted to. Her body was in a complete lock down.

Her brother inched his way forward. A deep growl rattled from the Rakasha's throat, and it put one foot forward.

"What are you doing?" Cadence hissed. "Stop!"

Cole stretched out a hand, reaching out to the Rakasha's nose. The Rakasha growled again, bulbous purple eyes fixated on him. Like a person trying to calm down an agitated puppy, Cole approached the Rakasha in a painfully slow manner, small step by small step. She could feel his fear, it exuded from his pores like sweat. Yet, he did not falter.

"Good boy," Cole said. Hope filled his voice. "Good-"

The Rakasha slashed Cole's chest, drawing bright, red blood.

"Cole!" Before Cadence could move, Cole had heaved the Rakasha right off his stomach and flung it out of the house. The monster's body splintered what remained of their front door and crashed into the snow.

Cadence's breath relaxed by just the slightest. She had forgotten her brother was a Warrior.

"Get Papa," Cole said, a hand against his wounds. His breaths were ragged, sweat ran in rivulets down his forehead. "Take the wagon, run to the market as fast as you can. Alert the Kesatria."

What could her brother do apart from dodging and defending himself from the Rakasha? Eventually his Energy would be used up, and the only animal he could transform into was a moth, which was about as useless as trying to tie up the beast with a piece of yarn.

As the growling Rakasha struggled to regain balance, Cole shoved her toward their father's bedroom. "Don't just stand and stare, I can't hold it off forever!"

"I-"

"GO!"

Cadence shot her brother one last fleeting look before she barreled into her father's bedroom.

The man's eyes were wide open with terror. Cadence could tell that he had attempted to get up, for his blankets were crumpled, and his hands were ferociously tight on the bed bars.

"Rakasha." He grasped Cadence's wrist. "Why do I hear Rakasha?"

"Shhh." Cadence threw an arm over her father's shoulder, and another supporting him by the waist as she hoisted him into the wheelchair. Her father had a big stature, for he was once in the army and fought in one of the most devastating wars in Moskava. Lifting him knocked the wind out of her. "We need to leave now."

Her father was now flailing, beating away her hands. "Rakasha," he rasped. "We're all going to die."

There was a loud crash outside, followed by Cole's desperate cry.

"No, we are not," Cadence told her father firmly.

Liar, liar! Her inner voice shouted back at her. You lied to your brother about the Polong, and now you're lying about your fate. You know you're going to die. What is a cripple, a barely trained Varya, and a servant girl against one of the most ferocious creatures in Moskava?

Cadence ignored the voice. "Everything will be alright."

It was more self-reassuring than it was meant for her father. Her father clapped both hands against his ears, shaking his head side to side, his motions so violent Cadence had to use all her energy to stabilize the wheelchair.

Opening the door, she was greeted with the sight of her brother being tossed like a ragdoll to the other side of the room. He crashed into his book rack which broke, tossing its contents all over the floor.

Cole wiped the blood from his mouth. Seeing that Cadence was immobilized, he waved an angry hand at her. Go!

Her brother crawled to his feet, arms shaking, blood still dripping from his lips. He lifted a large piece of the rack and advanced toward the Rakasha.

The monster, however, had its eyes on her father.

"Oi!" Cole waved the wood in its face. "You hungry? Come get a piece of human meat!"

"KAZIMIR!" Their father suddenly yelled, throwing up his arms in despair.

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then, the silence shattered.

A snarl escaped the Rakasha's throat and it leaped. It was a powerful leap that thrust it forward, jumping over Cole's head. The spines on its back scraped against the ceiling, craving a jagged line through the beams which broke apart into sharp splinters. Instinct snapped in, Cadence threw herself against the wheelchair, jerking it forward in a spurt of momentum.

The door, the door!

The Rakasha blocked the door with its tail.

Cadence cursed all monsters and ghosts in the Underlands. She swung back, taking the wheelchair along with her, only to come face to face with the Rakasha.

Her father broke into wild paroxysm, holding his hands up in prayer, not even bothering to defend himself, chanting the Dewas' names over and over again.

"Kastimir, Sunkana, Vadim, Verusha, Dhraros, Rada, Ozanka, Dara, Babik, Wedja, Milus, Kokun. Kastimir, Sunkana, Vadim, Verusha, Dhraros, Rada, Ozanka, Dara, Babik, Wedja, Milus, Kokun. KASTIMIR, SUNKANA, VADIM, VERUSHA, DHAROS, RADA, OZANKA, DARA, BABIK, WEDJA, MILUS, KOKUN!"

CRUNCH.

Cole swung the piece of wood in his hands down in a savage arc, hitting the Rakasha on the back. It snorted before flicking him away with its tail. He screamed, hit his head hard against the wall and slid down, unconscious.

"COLE!"

Cadence tried to find something to defend herself with, but her entire body was frozen in shock. Her father's chants grew louder and louder. The Rakasha was so close, she could feel its hot breath upon her face, blowing back her hair and whipping it across her forehead. It stank of rotten meat and old blood; the smell of a predator.

The Rakasha snapped its head back, growled, extended its claws and swiped at her father.

The blow shattered the wheelchair, throwing her father out and onto the floor. There was a horrible crunch as her father's hip connected with the ground. He yelled out in pain.

"Papa!" Cadence ran to help him, but the Rakasha knocked her aside with its tail. Fiery pain blossomed from her waist as she crumpled.

Her vision swam. Lights winked in and out of her line of sight.

The Rakasha crawled toward her father, tongue clicking, wings flapping, tail flicking.

"I kept my promise," her father whispered. "I kept them safe for eighteen years."

"Papa," Cadence croaked, digging her fingers into the wood, dragging herself across the floor.

Her father closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so selfish."

The Rakasha opened its mouth wide and clamped its powerful jaw around her father's head. Sinew snapped, blood erupted like a fountain.

SNAP. CRUNCH. SNAP. CRUNCH.

If screams could wreck the world, Cadence's scream rose so loud, it became silent. She screamed to a world where she was the only one left to hear, a world where pain was everywhere, and it was everything.

"Papa!" Tears blinded her. "Papa!"

She swung her face toward the Rakasha hunched over her father's headless body. It bared its teeth at her, teeth coated with her father's blood.

The Polong had kept its promise. It promised it would liberate her father from pain.

"You." She snarled. "How dare you."

It was as if time had slowed down. Cadence felt every single particle suspended in the air, felt every vibration of the dust. It enveloped the monster that had killed her father. For a second, she was in the Rakasha's head, seeing everything from its red-tinted point of view. She could feel its insatiable hunger and anger. So much anger. She wasn't sure if it was her or the Rakasha.

Screaming, she lashed out at the Rakasha with the fury burning in her heart.

The Rakasha stumbled, blinking and shaking its head violently.

Die, you stupid creature!

The window exploded. A man leaped through the shattered panes, cloak extending and fluttering behind him. In one fluid motion, the man unsheathed its blade.

The vermilion was blinding in the night, shimmering angrily as though sensing the presence of the enemy. The figure swung