The Hammer - Cor Series Book I

Tsarek was only gone a moment before he was back and laying something heavy on Corvan’s stomach. “Here is your hammer and piece of your shirt. I have put out the light to hide you from the buraks while I am gone. Try to watch for them,” he said before scampering off.

Watch? Corvan could see only the white orbs. If the man-eating creatures arrived while Tsarek was gone, he would be defenseless.

A rock rolled down the slope, and Corvan’s heart skipped a beat. He bit his lip and forced back a coughing fit. The boulder was still balanced overhead. He had to move out of the way, but when he tried to sit up, the searing pain from his broken collarbone pushed him back down.

Raising his good arm, he wrapped his hand around the smooth handle of the hammer. His mind cleared with a renewed sense of hope. The hammer could heal cuts; would its power fix a broken bone? He had to try.

Drawing the injured arm over his stomach, he winced as bone grated against bone. Gingerly, he traced the path of the collarbone with his finger. Yes, there was the broken spot. The bones were back in alignment.

As he stroked the handle along his shoulder, the pain eased. He lifted his arm, and the ugly sound of bone on bone washed over him in waves of pain. Tears welled up. The hammer could not heal him. He wiped his eyes until the handle was slick with his tears.

“Stop it,” he whispered. “Crying will solve nothing. You must take care of your arm a different way.” Blinking away the tears, he focused on flow of the hammer’s words in his hands. It had not fixed his arm, but it had healed his eyes. The white orbs were gone. He could see clearly again.

A pebble rolled down the slope. Slowly turning his head, he saw Tsarek picking his way down, the bulky pack balanced on his back. Corvan waited for the lizard to join him.

Tsarek stopped a foot away and leaned forward as if listening intently.

“What are you doing?”

The lizard jumped straight up, and the weight of the pack dropped him onto his back against the slope. He looked like an upside-down turtle, legs and head churning in circles, trying to grab an advantage from the air. When he managed to get back to his feet he whispered, “I could not see you in the dark, and with the pack on I could not smell you, so I did not know you were there.”

“But can’t you see me now?”

The lizard seemed to look right past him. “Are you making one of your jokes?”

Corvan looked down the cavern. Even without the fire stick on, he could still see, in a murky sort of way. The far end of the tunnel faded to blackness, but he could make out the end, where it turned the corner. He squinted into the gloom. Something was moving slowly in the shadows down there.

“Tsarek, what does a burak look like?”

“They are hard to see. They take on the appearance of the rocks in which they live.”

“What do they do?”

“They guard the far reaches of the Cor. Sometimes settlement workers try to escape to the outer edges of the Cor. The buraks prevent them.”

“How?”

“They are meat eaters, Kalian.”

“How big are they?”

“They are very large. They have a poor sense of sight, but they hear quite well.”

Corvan swallowed. “I think one is guarding the way into this cavern.”

“How do you know? With the fire stick out, I can’t see anything.”

“I can see it,” Corvan whispered. “The hammer healed my eyes.” He gripped the handle tightly. “There’s a large creature down by the far end.”

Tsarek stepped in the general direction of the entrance and stood in silence. “You are correct, sir,” he said softly. “I can hear something, and there is a faint rotten smell of burak in the air. Can you see only one?”

A strong odor coming up from below reminded Corvan of when his father butchered chickens. “Yes. Just one moving back and forth.”

“It is waiting for its partner. They hunt in pairs. They have heard our noise and have come to satisfy their hunger.”

“Can we get past this one before the other one arrives?”

“We could try. But when they sense a wounded animal, they move very fast.” He stepped back to Corvan. “Let’s get a little closer and see if we can find a way around it.”

Corvan bent forward and groaned. “I can’t carry the pack with my broken collarbone.”

“I could drag it for you, sir, but we need to move quickly and quietly if we are to escape.”

A low, rumbling grew to a grating shriek that echoed through the chamber.

“It is too late now,” Tsarek whispered. “Its partner has arrived, and the hunt will soon begin. I think you must wait here and be very still while I draw them away.”

“But you can’t see them,” Corvan said quietly.

“No, but I can smell them and hear them. You cannot move fast enough to get away, but if I can sneak past them, they will pursue me instead. They do not know there are two of us here and they will not let a sure meal run away.” Tsarek touched Corvan’s leg. “As soon as they are gone, get away as quickly as you can.”

“What if you get caught? I need you to guide me,” Corvan urged. “I will wait for you here instead.”

Tsarek shook his head. “If you wait here they will find you. You must leave and if I do catch up to you right away, just keep going down, always down. When you reach Kadir City, head for the large courtyard full of steps but do not go to the palace on the right side. You don’t want to meet the chief of the watchers. You must go to the temple on the other side.”

“How do I know which one is the temple?” Corvan said. “And who do I ask for?”

“The temple is the only dwelling in the entire city with a pointed roof.” Tsarek made his claws into a sharp point over his head. “Ask for the High Priest or one of his children, Tyreth and Tarran. If you can’t find them look for anyone in the green cloaks that only the priests wear. Never talk to the red cloaks, they are from the palace.

A shriek shattered the air and Corvan grabbed Tsarek’s paw. “What if they catch you?”

Tsarek pulled his paw free. “It does not matter what happens to me. You must escape and save the Kate.” He touched Corvan’s hand. “I did not want to worry you, sir, but the Kate is not of the Cor.”

Anxiety knotted Corvan’s stomach. “What does that mean?”

The lizard ducked his head. “She cannot live long under the light of the lumiens. If you do not find her soon, she will fall into a deep sleep.”

“And . . .?”

“She will never wake up. But if he finds her while she is still alive, her fate will be worse than death.”

Corvan wanted to ask what could be worse than death, but rumbling growl echoed off the walls. Tearing his gaze away from Tsarek, he peered back down to the floor of the cavern below.

Movement caught the corner of his eye. One burak stood high on the slope to his right. He looked back down. The other one must be hiding among the boulders on the floor.

A small form darted between a gap in the boulders, and then Tsarek, crying out in pain as he fell, tumbled down into an open space on the floor.

Corvan sat up straighter, and a deep grunt pulled his gaze to the right. The hunting burak was close enough that he could make out the bulbous eyes on its flat, angular head. It stared at the cavern floor; its head cocked to one side. A series of clicks came from its partner below, and its head bobbed up and down. A wide mouth opened to reveal twin rows of jagged teeth.

The creature’s throat bulged out like a bullfrog’s as it emitted a series of gulps and clicks. Corvan looked to the floor of the cavern. Tsarek was on his feet, moving slowly but dragging one leg.

As Corvan watched in horror, a huge rock behind the lizard shifted slightly. It was not a rock. It was the other burak. Tsarek was heading directly into a trap.

Corvan took a step forward. A pebble broke free under his foot. The burak to his right turned to face him, its flat face swinging from side to side.

Corvan froze. If he moved, the burak would know he was there, but if he didn’t, Tsarek would die. The beast stared sightlessly into the dark until a cry from the cavern below grabbed its attention.

Tsarek was dragging an injured leg behind him as he floundered about on the rocky floor. He stopped and held both paws over his mouth as if trying not to cry out in pain. Turning his head in Corvan’s direction and raised his claws over his head, touching them together.

A dark shape loomed up behind him. For a fleeting second Corvan saw the outline of the lizard, and then he was gone.

A moment passed in eerie silence. Then a slow, rhythmic throbbing sounded out. The large shadow on the floor rose on its hind legs and danced in a slow circle, pounding its feet on the ground.

The burak on the slope rumbled a response and slid through the gravel toward the floor, responding to its partner with loud grating shrieks. The dancing creature below turned toward Corvan.

From its clenched jaws hung Tsarek’s lifeless body.