Father! We ask for your mercy. I will gladly give my life to you…in return of…”
“ Oh, I will have your life ,” the Elder snarled. It stepped forward, pointing a taloned finger at the native. “ I will have your life, as well as the lives of the rest of your pathetic tribe .”
The Elder roared to his soldiers. “ Ia! Ia! ”
The Dark Ones charged the circle of natives, who barely had time to turn around in an effort to flee before they were set upon.
The Elder leaped on the tribal chief’s back and slammed one clawed fist into the back of his head. The chief’s eyes and brain matter flew out the front of his skull, splashing on the sandy beach with a wet splat before his body spun and hit the ground. The Elder straddled him and sank his teeth into the soft hollow of his throat as his generals chased down the tribe’s remaining members. He bathed in the hot spray of blood, relishing the feel of it against his scales.
The Elder let his rage take over. He was blinded by it. As he let the rage carry him on, his mind went back over millennia, to other times when they’d had to slaughter Naranuans for similar offenses against Dagon. It was one thing to kill most of the tribe, leaving a few behind to repopulate the island; today, the Elder was bent on eliminating the tribe entirely—punishment for them allowing intruders here on this holiest of sites just as the stars were right to summon Dagon.
The Elder stopped mutilating the body of the tribal chief and leaped after the remaining, fleeing humans, joining his generals in the hunt. The rest of the tribe had not gotten very far. Most of them were already dead, lying in pools of blood, their sightless eyes staring up at a star-filled sky. Two of the generals were tugging at either end of a native as the man screamed. The skin of the man’s abdomen stretched, grew taut, then snapped, spilling wet entrails and blood on the beach with a great splash. The generals picked each piece up and began to devour the remains. The smells of blood and death and shit were heavy in the air as the last vestiges of the natives were similarly killed.
The Elder approached one of his generals, who was cornering one of the surviving humans against the edge of the jungle. The survivor was a young man, no older than sixteen. The boy’s face was smeared with ochre, his body nude save for a loincloth fashioned from vines and leaves. His hands were stained red with blood. The boy had given
up being afraid and was trying to show courage. His eyes blazed, his lip curled upward in a snarl. The Elder grinned; in another time he might have let this one live. But not today. After the defilement the tribal chief had shown with this latest invasion, it stopped now.
The Elder grunted at the youngster. “ Prepare to die, boy .”
The boy called back, his intonation of the old language perfect. “ I will see you on the other side of the dimensions, Elder! ”
The Elder paused. Cocked his head at the boy. “ You dare threaten me? ”
The boy pounced on the opportunity. “ I have killed a white man—a scientist. I have joined your kind in the slaughter of the invaders. Wanabi was wrong when he told us not to drive them off. He was too weak. I am not weak, though. I would have killed more but Manabi, my father, one of the nine tribal chiefs, forbid it. He pulled me from the still-warm body of the white man I killed, and took me below ground, to the catacombs, to prevent me from fulfilling your glory. See! ” The boy held out his wrists, which bore raw red marks from being tied up. “ He intended to keep me prisoner .”
“ How did you escape? ”
“ My uncle let me escape .”
“ Where is he? ” The boy gestured at the litter of corpses strewn around them. “ One of your generals killed him, your holiness .”
“ Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you? ”
“ I will help fulfill the ritual of awakening. I would see the glory of the arrival of Dagon. And I will help you track down
“ Oh, I will have your life ,” the Elder snarled. It stepped forward, pointing a taloned finger at the native. “ I will have your life, as well as the lives of the rest of your pathetic tribe .”
The Elder roared to his soldiers. “ Ia! Ia! ”
The Dark Ones charged the circle of natives, who barely had time to turn around in an effort to flee before they were set upon.
The Elder leaped on the tribal chief’s back and slammed one clawed fist into the back of his head. The chief’s eyes and brain matter flew out the front of his skull, splashing on the sandy beach with a wet splat before his body spun and hit the ground. The Elder straddled him and sank his teeth into the soft hollow of his throat as his generals chased down the tribe’s remaining members. He bathed in the hot spray of blood, relishing the feel of it against his scales.
The Elder let his rage take over. He was blinded by it. As he let the rage carry him on, his mind went back over millennia, to other times when they’d had to slaughter Naranuans for similar offenses against Dagon. It was one thing to kill most of the tribe, leaving a few behind to repopulate the island; today, the Elder was bent on eliminating the tribe entirely—punishment for them allowing intruders here on this holiest of sites just as the stars were right to summon Dagon.
The Elder stopped mutilating the body of the tribal chief and leaped after the remaining, fleeing humans, joining his generals in the hunt. The rest of the tribe had not gotten very far. Most of them were already dead, lying in pools of blood, their sightless eyes staring up at a star-filled sky. Two of the generals were tugging at either end of a native as the man screamed. The skin of the man’s abdomen stretched, grew taut, then snapped, spilling wet entrails and blood on the beach with a great splash. The generals picked each piece up and began to devour the remains. The smells of blood and death and shit were heavy in the air as the last vestiges of the natives were similarly killed.
The Elder approached one of his generals, who was cornering one of the surviving humans against the edge of the jungle. The survivor was a young man, no older than sixteen. The boy’s face was smeared with ochre, his body nude save for a loincloth fashioned from vines and leaves. His hands were stained red with blood. The boy had given
up being afraid and was trying to show courage. His eyes blazed, his lip curled upward in a snarl. The Elder grinned; in another time he might have let this one live. But not today. After the defilement the tribal chief had shown with this latest invasion, it stopped now.
The Elder grunted at the youngster. “ Prepare to die, boy .”
The boy called back, his intonation of the old language perfect. “ I will see you on the other side of the dimensions, Elder! ”
The Elder paused. Cocked his head at the boy. “ You dare threaten me? ”
The boy pounced on the opportunity. “ I have killed a white man—a scientist. I have joined your kind in the slaughter of the invaders. Wanabi was wrong when he told us not to drive them off. He was too weak. I am not weak, though. I would have killed more but Manabi, my father, one of the nine tribal chiefs, forbid it. He pulled me from the still-warm body of the white man I killed, and took me below ground, to the catacombs, to prevent me from fulfilling your glory. See! ” The boy held out his wrists, which bore raw red marks from being tied up. “ He intended to keep me prisoner .”
“ How did you escape? ”
“ My uncle let me escape .”
“ Where is he? ” The boy gestured at the litter of corpses strewn around them. “ One of your generals killed him, your holiness .”
“ Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you? ”
“ I will help fulfill the ritual of awakening. I would see the glory of the arrival of Dagon. And I will help you track down
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