Page 120 of Starside
He is nearly as tall as the trees. His fingers, reaching toward me, are made of curved blades, in a sparkling metal I’ve never seen before. They clash together in a pitch that makes my head scream. His mouth is lipless, opening slightly, to reveal several rows of fangs. His eyes are just guttered holes, with dancing silver flecks, like punched-out pockets of night. He wears the mist as a cape, without a hood, so I can see his entire smooth skull.
When he speaks, it is directly into my mind, the voice cutting through it like a knife.
Curious little creature stumbles into the mist …
My scream is a whisper as I fold forward, gasping with pain. Every syllable scrapes through my head.
With trembling arms, I manage to lift my sword again.
That only makes the creature smile, a fang-filled expression that sends fear spiking through my blood. He could rip out my throat with those teeth. Instead, he rips into my mind again.
What a pretty sword. Just like the one I hide.
I gasp from the pain. He steps closer, his foot peeking through the mist. It is just gnarled, twisted bone.
Have you come to steal from me?
“No,” I breathe, the word hardly making any sound at all as I try to steady my mind, try to think my way out of this. Try to remember what the immortal said about these creatures.
The book said ancient beings make barters. If only I had anything to trade. Anything of value other than this sword, which I cannot part with.
My weapon is powerful. I struggle to stand as I lift it higher, to maybe have a fighting chance—
The being starts to laugh. The sound claws through my brain, scratching the inside of my skull, and I squeeze my eyes shut, my lips parting with another soundless scream.
That blade would break against my bone. I am older than the dawn of this world—alive before it even had a name. He stops himself, and I gasp for breath. Or … perhaps it wouldn’t. Are you willing to take that risk?
He’s in my head. It’s not just his voice. I can feel him strumming through my thoughts with those metallic fingers, like he’s flipping through pages of a book. I can sense how easily he could shred my mind to pieces with blade-like precision, without even needing to try.
How much can he see? How much does he already know? How much did he look while I was asleep?
“Get out of my head,” I rasp. No use in considering ways to kill him. Not when he’s hearing every one of my thoughts.
You’re the one who entered my mists, girl. Did you not know what you would find?
I wouldn’t have, if it hadn’t been my only option. Though now I consider that I would far rather have faced the three immortal warriors than this being.
He circles me. His smile grows even larger, the bone fissuring.
Are you afraid? Disgusted?
I lift my chin, even as something deep and old in my brain is telling me to kneel and beg for mercy. “No.”
He laughs again, and I double over, shoulder pressed to my ear in a fruitless attempt to block out the noise, but it’s impossible. It’s coming from inside my head. There’s no outrunning it.
I can feel your emotions, girl. I can steal them, like sucking marrow from bone. I can drain you until you are just a husk, more bones to add to my forest. More blood to feed my soil. I’ve spent centuries tending to my domain. These are my woods, and I am its Gardener.
My brain swirls. I gasp. It’s like he’s turning my mind inside out like a pack, shaking out its contents.
Interesting. Your shade of fear … is perplexing. You are afraid … but not for yourself. Not really. You’re afraid for your journey. How curious …
He pauses. A new constellation of silver flecks flicker in those dark eyes before guttering out.
Such sorrow. I have only felt such bottomless despair once before. Just now, actually …
His vise on my mind tightens, and I nearly pass out from the pressure. My eyes feel like they’re going to burst. I can feel him sinking his claws into me, prying me open like a stubborn clam …
Until all at once, he’s ripped out of my head, and I fall forward, onto my palms. My heart beats wildly. I’m panting, gasping for air.
