Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character contained herein
Sweat poured down Azubuike back. His breath came in ragged gasps. He was fairly certain that the men wouldn't be able to catch up, but father had told him to run and not stop. He stumbled as he misjudged the height of a rock jutting out of the hard packed earth, but managed to catch himself and run on. Two nights had passed since he had set out. He could still hear the screams, and the agony, and the crack of gunfire. He didn't know if anyone else made it out of the village. He had seen several of his friends running also, but he didn't know which direction they had gone. A dark line appeared on the horizon. Azubuike was shocked. He had never made such good time. Last time he had run to the mountains it had taken him over five days. He had just done it in two and a half. Of course on the five day journey he hadn't run during the night. Still, the sight reenergized him and he picked up his pace, albeit only slightly.
The sun had been set for an hour when Azubuike actually reached the mountains. He slowed to a walk, and surveyed his surrounds nervously. Things lived in the mountains. It wouldn't do to get kill by some beast after running for his life for two and a half days. His breathing was still heavy thirty minutes after he had stopped running. He considered taking his father's spear off his back to have it handy, but feared that the unwieldy weapon would just get in the way if it came to close quarters combat. He headed to the cave, but as he neared decided against spending the night inside, just in case the men managed to wring its location out of one of the villagers. The other boys from the village would definitely make their way here, so he needed to stay close to the cave to intercept them.
Azubuike could feel his mind shutting down and his muscles were taxed passed their limit. He needed to find somewhere to sleep, and quick. He scrambled up the mountain for fifteen minutes but still nothing even hinted at shelter. At a particularly steep section, Azubuike had to climb the face of a vertical wall. There appeared to be a ledge at the top, so he decided to risk the climb even though he was practically cross eyed from sleep deprivation. As he neared the top, his hand hold gave way. As Azubuike fell, he thought, This could hurt. He bounced off of something and landed hard. The pain was far away though. Azubuike didn't care anymore. Sleep, he thought, beautiful sleep. As he drifted into the realm of dreams, Azubuike heard heavy wheezing.
The sun was directly overhead when Azubuike woke. He groaned and rolled off of a rock jutting into his back. He was sore all over. The memories of the past few days came rushing into his mind at the same time. He and a group of seven other boy his age were about to set off on a trek to prove that they could handle themselves as men. As they were preparing to leave, they heard the first gunshots. Father had said emphatically that he needed to run, and he never argued with father. As he ducked out the back of the house, he had seen the other boys also running out the back of their houses. And he had run.
When Azubuike opened his eyes, he saw his father's spear laying next to him and beyond that the yearning opening of a cave. Curiously, Azubuike picked up the spear and cautiously started into the cave. The temperature plummeted. His curiosity turned to fear and his joints stiffened up quite suddenly.
"Who dares disturb my domain?" A voice whispered.
A new wave of fear fell on Azubuike but he managed to respond, "It… it is I, Azubuike."
"It speaks," The voice drew out the s and issued terror, but Azubuike didn't give into the fear. A shape moved in the shadows of the cave. Azubuike raised his spear, changing his stance.
"And moves, few can speak in my presence and even less can move." A figure stepped out from behind a boulder. It was still in the shadows but slowly advancing.
"Come no closer," Azubuike's voice wavered.
"Fear not little hero," Still advancing, "I will not harm you."
As the thing's features came into view, Azubuike stumbled back several steps. The creature had roughly the same build as a man, but had short fur covering its chest and shaggy hair below the waist. Hooves adorned its feet and rather than fingers, it had claws similar to that of a hawk, but much more lethal looking. It was powerfully built and, though it was hunched over, a man would have only have come up to its chest.
"What are you?" Azubuike barely managed to whisper.
It laughed, though without humor, "Your people know me. It is why your people send their young men to this mountain. I see you now recognize me for what I am. You are the first without the mask to speak with me."
The mask? It was in the chest that father kept his possessions in, but Azubuike didn't think of it as anything special.
"The mask blocks the magical fear and makes it hard for me to hurt the wearer. The last person I spoke with was your father, I believe."
Azubuike's mind was reeling. He knew that the Dark Ones existed; he would be a fool to believe otherwise, but to actually be speaking with one, and to still be alive. His father had spoken with the Dark One. He couldn't imagine under what circumstances his father would be persuaded to talk to demons. He had always cautioned against anything to do with the Dark Ones.
"Revenge is sweet," The Dark One said, "It focuses your energy, letting you achieve things far greater than you would think possible."
Azubuike was silent. He could feel the truth of what the demon was saying. He had just run for two straight days. Maybe he could find a way to get revenge on the men who destroyed his village.
"I could give you power," The demon whispered conspiratorially, "Power to avenge your father's death."
"You don't know that he's dead," Azubuike said fiercely.
"I have powers you cannot even comprehend," The demon said angrily, then, calmer, "Your village is ancient. The blood of your ancestors still flows strongly in your veins. Power that once belonged to your ancestors is yours for the taking. Don't throw away the chance to become all you were meant to be."
"What do you mean?" He was intrigued, even if he didn't want to admit it.
"Who do you think made the mask?" The Dark One said, "It was one of your fathers, many, many years ago. Not everyone has the makeup to become a Shadow Charmer, but it's in your heritage. You were born to be a shadow charmer, as your father was and his father before him."
"My father was a Shadow Charmer?" Azubuike asked, "What is that?"
"You want revenge? Shadow Charmers can remain unobserved when in the shadows. The fear that would have paralyzed any human is scoffed at by Shadow Charmers. And other things also, opening locked doors, starting fires, and spreading confusion, to name a few."
"But…" Azubuike wanted this, he wanted revenge, "Okay, what do I need to do?"
"Bring me your father's killer and the mask of your ancestors."
A cloud of dust gradually made its way to the mountains. The Dark One's name was Oizee. As Azubuike was preparing himself for the journey back to his village, Oizee had told him that the men were traveling towards the mountains. He had doubted it, but the trail of dust was unmistakable. The men would reach the mountain by nightfall.
Azubuike headed back into the cave, "They will arrive by nightfall."
"As I told you," Oizee stated, "I am limited in my domain, but power such as mine cannot be completely confined." He looked back into the deeper parts of his cave, "I must prepare. When you have the man, bring him up here with you. Otherwise do not disturb me."
"But how, they have automatic weapons."
"And you have stealth and cunning," Oizee paused and looked Azubuike over, "You also have your father's spear and the knife at your waist. Be covert and no harm will befall you."
The sun had set several hours previous. Azubuike managed to avoid detection even though he was just over the ridge from the men's camp. They had arrived just as the sun was setting and after looking at the mountain, had set up camp. A guard was located at the top the ridge, but from his position, Azubuike could tell that he was asleep.
It was time. Ever so slowly Azubuike crept forward. Time seemed to creep even slower than he was. Finally he crested the rise, passing less than ten yards from the sleep sentry. Even though the sentry's back was towards him, Azubuike broke out in a nervous sweat. Finally he crawled behind a rock. His hands were shaking uncontrollably. He tried to regulate his breathing and stop the shaking, but after about ten minutes realized that he could be here all night and decided to keep moving. He was almost to the edge of camp. The fire burned low, barely more than coals. Five men, covered in an assortment of blankets, were spaced around the fire. Their jeeps were parked in the shadows on the other side of the fire, directly across from Azubuike.
For what seemed like the millionth time, Azubuike cursed his bad luck silently. He would have to work his way around the entire camp to reach the vehicles. He was fairly certain the mask was in one of them. Earlier, when the men had been unpacking, he had watched closely for the mask, but had never seen it. Consequently, the reason he believed it to still be in one of the jeeps.
Azubuike picked up the pace a little as he sneaked around the sleeping men. It seemed like he had been out here forever. He looked at the sky to be sure he had plenty of time. It was still before midnight, he could tell by the position of the stars. Still, though, he kept his quickened pace. The rocks biting into his knees were now starting to cut him.
One of the men rolled over and sighed. Azubuike froze. Even though he was in a relatively open position, he knew that movement caught even the sleepiest eyes. But he didn't need to fear, the man was again asleep. Just to be sure, he lay there for several moments longer. It was unnecessary but he didn't want to make any mistakes.
Slower than ever, he again moved around the camp. Finally, after a painstaking amount of time, Azubuike was by the jeeps. Silently, he searched the front, assuming that would be the easiest place to eliminate first. It was. There was nothing of interest in either the passenger or driver side of the first jeep. In the back of the jeep, though, was a chest similar to that of his father's, but the carvings were slightly different. He examined the lock on the front of the chest. It was a rather strange lock, having an extremely long and narrow key hole. As he tried to imagine what the key would look like he came to a startling conclusion. Azubuike pulled his father's spear off his back and slowly inserted the tip into the lock. With a slight click, the top popped up about a quarter of an inch.
Hardly daring to breath, Azubuike lifted the top of the chest. There, resting on cloth from his village was the mask. It was finely carved to resemble a fanged beast. Looking like a cross between a man and a lion. The dark wood was uncharacteristically cool to the touch, making him think that there was more to the mask than met the eye.
Azubuike turned and froze. The sentry at the top of the ridge had woken and was now standing to keep awake. He panicked. What was he going to do now? He would never be able to get to the man who killed his father. But the sentry again sat on the rock and was again soon slumped over in sleep. Azubuike breathed a sigh of relief. Now he had to figure out a way to get his father's killer up to Oizee's cave.
Finally, he just went over to the man and prodded him. As soon as he prodded him, Azubuike raised his spear so it was at the man's throat. The man mumbled something and turned his head but didn't wake up. Really? Azubuike prodded the man several times with his foot before he finally opened his eyes. When the man saw Azubuike and the spear at his throat, he just glared.
"Not a sound," Azubuike whispered, "Get up."
The man's expression turned to pure hatred, but he slowly stood up. He opened his mouth to speak, but Azubuike pushed the spear right up under his chin and the man closed it again.
"Alright, that way," Azubuike whispered, jerking his chin in the direction of the mountain. He was surprised when the man wordlessly turned and moved in the direction of the mountain. He followed closely, his spear held to dissuade any thought of escape. He didn't know why, but the man never even tried to fight back or escape. It took less than ten minutes to reach Oizee's cave. At the mouth of the cave, the man halted.
"Inside," Azubuike said, trying to sound harsh, but he thought it sounded rather feeble. After about ten paces, the man again halted.
Again Azubuike was shocked by the sudden cold but said, "Keep going."
"He cannot move," Oizee stated. Azubuike said nothing but lowered his spear. "He is in the grip of fear that any other of your kind would feel. Fear that is so strong that you cannot move. Fear, that by all rights should have frozen you in place, is now being radiated throughout my domain."
Azubuike didn't really understand how fear could freeze anyone, so he just shrugged and said, "He didn't even try to escape, not once."
"No doubt he wanted to see where you were hiding," Oizee said, "He probably then planned on overpowering you, though he would probably have had a harder time at it than he thought. There is more to you than meets the eye."
Azubuike shyly rubbed his neck; he was unused to praise, "Yea… so what do we do now?"
"You have the mask?" Azubuike nodded, "Say of my own free will, I give Kunbhiti."
"What is Kunbhiti?"
Even before Oizee said it Azubuike knew that it was the mask. Somehow he just knew. The mask seemed to come alive when he said it's name. It even warmed from it previously cool state.
"Azubuike?" Oizee wore a guarded expression. As if he was unsure of what I was going to do.
"Will you give it back to me?"
"It is yours," Oizee stated, "I cannot keep it if you do not wish me to."
"What do you mean it's mine?" Azubuike asked, "I know it was my father's and now that he is gone it has passed to me, but you seem to imply more than you state."
"The magic of the mask is tied to your blood line," Oizee explained, "Others can use the magic, but only with your permission. That is the reason I need you to give me permission to use the mask."
Azubuike's mind seemed to be like molasses, running at half speed. All he could focus on was the mask. "Why didn't you say Kunbhiti?" As he said it, the mask seemed to hum with pleasure. Heat spread from the mask to his hands and up his arms. He realized that the mask was actually beautiful, not the ugly thing he had originally thought.
"Are we to proceed, Azubuike?"
The mention of his name startled him out of his reverie. "Of course," He replied holding out the mask.
Oizee regarded the mask shrewdly, "You have yet to state my previous words."
Azubuike blinked rapidly trying to clear the fog in his mind. "Words…" He trailed off. Remembering anything other than the mask seemed to be difficult. But then he saw his father, he was explaining what he would need to do to complete his trial to become a man. There were loud sounds outside. Father got up with a worried looked and Azubuike stood up too, but didn't move towards the door. His father opened the door. Shot rang out again. Azubuike ran forward as his father crumpled to the ground.
"Run," His father managed to choke out, "To the mountains." Azubuike looked up to see a man striding towards them, the man that was currently standing next to him.
With that, Azubuike's mind cleared, "Of my own free will, I give Kunbhiti."
Oizee snatched the mask before anything else could happen. From seemingly out of nowhere he produced a bowl with what looked like milk. "A drop of your blood, three of your father's killer, and a phoenix feather," Oizee said. As Azubuike took the bowl from his claws, a feather appeared in his palm. "Use your spear to cut his finger and your own."
After setting the bowl on the ground, Azubuike reached over, grabbed the man's hand and pricked the man's finger on the tip of the spear. He then pulled the man over to the bowl and let three drops of the man's blood fall into the bowl. Then he pricked his own finger and let a drop of his blood fall into the bowl. The liquid in the bowl swirled of its own volition. It turned from the milky white to a bright red and then to a dark brown, almost like coffee. Azubuike now took the feather from Oizee and dipped it into the bowl. The feather was sucked up by the liquid, pulling it from Azubuike's grasp. Oizee grabbed the bowl as soon as the phoenix feather disappeared and poured its contents into a small cup. Long after Azubuike thought the cup should have overflowed, the last drop fell from the bowl.
"Drink," Oizee said. Azubuike took the cup, but hesitated. Oizee was chanting, but pretty much ignoring him. Casting his last doubts from his mind, Azubuike drank. The first thing he noticed was the taste. It was putrid, somewhere between decaying flesh and a skunk. Next he noticed that he could understand what Oizee was saying.
"… fire will listen…"
Azubuike almost retched as it felt like he was pouring lava down his throat. It wasn't spicy, it was burning hot. He could feel it burning his tongue. But curiously it suddenly stopped hurting. He could tell it was still burning hot, hot enough to burn bare skin. His musing came to an end as he finished the cup and Oizee stopped chanting.
Azubuike looked at Oizee and Oizee at Azubuike for what seemed like an eternity. Finally Oizee said, "Welcome shadow charmer."
"I don't feel any different."
Oizee chuckled, "Good that means it worked. If it didn't work, you'd be dead."
Azubuike looked at his arms to see if there was anything different about them, there wasn't. "If I feel the same, what changed?"
"You must learn to use your new powers." Oizee stated matter-o-factly, "Babies must learn to crawl and then to walk. You must do the same. Some powers are innate. Stick to the shadows and no one will see you and you know all the languages of the creatures of the night."
Azubuike looked over at the man, now crumpled on the floor, "What happened to him?"
"He died during the ceremony," Oizee said, "I will use his body as an automaton."
"A what?"
"An automaton," Oizee replied, "Like a real life puppet bound to serve me. It won't have a soul but it will move, breath, blood will run in its veins, normal bodily processes will continue to occur, but there will be no mental cognition. I will control every one of its moves."
Azubuike was somewhat repulsed, "Did you have to choose my father's killer?"
"The person who killed your father is in the realm of the dead, this is only his body." Oizee said, "The reason I chose him was only a matter of convenience. But if you were to bring me someone else, tear their soul from their body, and grant me power over them, I would freely accept."
He was now openly disgusted, "No, I guess he will have to do." Then after a short pause, "So are you going to teach me how to use my new powers?"
The Dark One laughed uproariously, "Nothing quite so incongruous. A desert troll and a viviblix will be here on the marrow to train you. My automaton will observe, but that will be the extent of my input."
Azubuike was a little put out by being laughed at so openly, "I was just asking."
"Young shadow charmer," Oizee condescended, "I have little patience for such things. Even the in short conversations we've had thus far have taxed my patience. It would be best if we stop speaking about it."
"Shall I wait for my mentors then?"
"That would be best," Oizee said, picking up the body of the man and taking him further back in the cave, "Bother me no longer."