(Hope)
Uncegila
Uncegila was a mighty water snake in Native American (Lakota) mythology. She polluted rivers and subsequently flooded the land with salt water so nothing could grow. According to myth, twins that hit the only fragile spot on her body eventually killed her.
The mud was everywhere—her hair was a knotted, tangled mess and her skin was itchy from where it still clung to her in dry patches.
Even worse, her magic still felt stifled—she needed to find somewhere to wash off, and quickly.
"Do you think there's a water source around here?" she asked him.
"Maybe," he answered with a shrug. He had been acting strangely since he had saved her from the pit. One minute he was being a sarcastic ass and the next he was freezing her out.
His moods were giving her whiplash.
"I'm going to do a water locator spell," she said.
He nodded in acknowledgement, leaning against a nearby tree. "How long will it take?" he asked.
"Not long, I just need to concentrate for a minute," she said as she sat herself cross legged on the forest floor. She steadied her breathing and closed her eyes.
She reached out with her magic, envisioning the element of water.
Flowing, purifying, clear…
It wasn't working—normally, she could connect with the elements around her easily, finding water shouldn't have been a difficult task.
Hope couldn't tell if it was the mud still blocking her magic or if it was the strangeness of Malivore itself.
Still, connecting with the elements shouldn't require much energy at all, even if her powers were being dampened.
"I don't know what's wrong," she said. "Normally, I can connect with the elements easily—it's one of the first things we learn in school."
"Along with how to manipulate people?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.
Well, at least he's back to his sarcastic self.
"I need something to focus my energy," she said. "I don't know if it's this muck making me weak, or if this dimension is too foreign to connect with."
He crouched beside her, holding out a hand. "Here," he said.
She eyed him wearily, "What exactly are you offering?" she asked.
"Whatever you need," he said quietly. "If you need my energy, take it. If you need my blood you can take that too. I'm connected to this place in ways you aren't—maybe I can help."
Now this was unexpected. She wasn't sure what to make of his offer. He had given her nothing but a bad attitude since they arrived… And yet, he had still saved her life… twice.
"Why the sudden willingness to help?" she asked.
"I'd like to wash my suit," he said.
"You're joking."
"Not at all, it was a very expensive suit," he said straight-faced.
"Nice to know Triad pays its goons well," she replied, rolling her eyes.
His jaw clenched—he grabbed a nearby rock and dragged its edge across his palm. He held it out again, a small trickle of blood running down his wrist. The color was darker than regular human blood, it was closer to rust than scarlet… it seemed thicker too.
"Let's make a deal, I help on your quest to find Malivore, and you let me go free." His eyes were intently focused on hers.
"You'll help me destroy him?" she asked, skeptical.
"No. I'll help you get to him, nothing more," he said, his hand still suspended between them.
She didn't trust him.
Plus, she didn't want to risk touching him again—the strange feelings it stirred up seemed to intensify after each incident.
However, if he was offering her some of his blood, she may be able to track Malivore. Whether he realized that implication, she wasn't sure.
Was it worth the risk?
She already suspected that Malivore was lurking among the strange rock formations, but the cliffs were massive. It could take days, or weeks, to search them.
Time was not something she had to spare.
"Okay," she said hesitantly, placing her hand in his. His skin was warm against hers and quickly began to grow hotter.
Here we go again.
His eyes shone with excitement when they met hers—she realized he had wanted this to happen. If he expected to get something out of this, then so did she.
Focus.
Hope closed her eyes and focused on water...
Her mind was rapidly flooded with images; she felt her spirit extend beyond her body, floating light and free towards the sound of water—there. She saw a river not far to their west, the water called to her.
Suddenly, she wasn't alone—she could feel Clarke's presence with her, but she couldn't see him. His was like fuel for her magic, she could feel his presence stoking her power.
Against her better judgement, she opened herself up to his energy—it was warm and electric and…wonderful.
"Aducté do mi volum ix ti de... Where is Malivore?"
The question echoed through their connection—suddenly, images of water were replaced with new images, terrifying images.
She saw rocks, dark and foreboding, drenched in blood. She saw cells of iron and heard the wailing of souls. Among the cliffs she saw a distinctive stone entrance marked by towering pillars. The location called out to her like a beacon. A pair of glowing eyes peered out of the darkness.
Found you.
Then there was blackness. Utter darkness. She felt Clarke's spirit recoil—suddenly his terror was all she felt. It was suffocating her—she couldn't breathe.
"Clarke!" she yelled through the connection, she could feel him pulling away from her and she was suddenly terrified of being left alone.
Abruptly, she felt herself slam back into her physical body. Clarke had pulled his hand back from hers and was giving her an unreadable look.
"Clarke…" she began.
"Find what you were looking for?" he asked, absently rubbing his injured hand.
"I did, your blood…it helped me locate Malivore," she said hesitantly. Did he have the same vision?
"I know," he said. "I was there—I was with you."
"I felt you," she said. She had sensed his terror like it was her own—it was like when she had touched his shoulder and felt emptiness.
"Are you…angry?" she asked.
"No," he said simply.
"When you said you were afraid of your father—"
"Let's go find that river," he said, cutting her off.
"Okay, but you remember that I'm the perfect person to understand family drama, right?" she asked.
The more she could get him to open up about his father, the better chance she had at discovering Malivore's weaknesses.
He gave her a strange look—it was somewhere between longing and sadness.
"You've already used me to find my father's location, isn't that enough for now?" he asked.
He actually looked miserable—her heart tightened with guilt.
"Yes," she said.
For now.
It didn't take them long to reach the river; she was actually surprised they had made it without any further incidents. In fact, the woods were quiet—disturbingly so.
She and Clarke didn't talk as they walked—he seemed lost in thought and it didn't feel right to disturb him.
Their strange connection was indeed getting worse…why else would she be feeling empathy for him?
The trees began to thin out and she caught her first glimpse of the water—it was dark and slow moving. She could tell that it must be very deep; it resembled ink bleeding through the landscape.
"I'm going to go wash off," she said inclining her head downstream. "Stay within shouting distance."
He nodded in response as he turned and made his way in the opposite direction.
She waited until she was sure he was completely out of sight before stripping down to her underwear. Her clothes were plastered to her skin like paper mache, making it a challenge just to get undressed.
First things first.
She put a toe in the water and shivered, it wasn't unbearably cold, but it wasn't exactly pleasant either. She waded her way into the water, stopping at her waist—she didn't dare go in any deeper. As it was, the current was already winding its way around her legs, beckoning her to surrender to its pull.
She was still amazed that this entire dimension existed at all. There were forests, rivers, and even colossal cliffs all contained within the consciousness of a supernatural being. An evil supernatural being, but still.
Clarke seemed to be just as surprised as she was—which wasn't exactly comforting. If he didn't understand what was happening here, and he was Malivore's son, how was she supposed to figure things out?
She wished Landon was with her. She had spent so many years keeping people out that she was surprised to find how much she missed having someone to talk to.
Still, having Clarke here was better than being alone. He did save her life. He certainly wasn't easy to talk to like Landon, but he was charismatic in his own way—well, interesting to say the least.
And their strange connection was helping her to break down his defenses. He may not be as evil as she initially thought…
Ugh, this was getting too complicated.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before dunking her head under the water. She pulled her fingers through her hair, trying to work out the snarls. As the water washed away the mud, she felt her magic strengthening—it was the most content she felt since arriving here.
She let herself enjoy the moment; it wasn't often that she could just let herself breathe. She let her magic fill her up—she felt safe, she felt powerful again.
Suddenly, she felt something brush against her leg—she broke the surface with a gasp, but she couldn't see anything in the dark, murky water.
She reluctantly waded back to the bank.
Okay, wash these clothes and get out of here.
She hurriedly dunked her clothes in the water, briskly rubbing the fabric to loosen the dried-on mud. She noticed something moving in the center of the river, but she couldn't distinguish any details—whatever it was, it was large and moving upstream.
Suddenly, it arched its back out of the water—it was scaled like a snake with sharp fins cutting through the surface of the water.
Oh God, Clarke.
She grabbed her clothes and chased the dark shadow as it glided through the water. It was moving quickly in the direction Clarke had been heading.
"Clarke!" she yelled, doing her best to run with her shoes and clothes tucked under one arm. She stumbled over a rock and fell to her knees, cutting them open. They stung sharply as she brushed off the embedded dirt and grit.
"Damn it!" she shouted, hastily grabbing her dropped belongings and breaking back into a sprint.
"There's something in the water!" she screamed once she finally had him in eyesight.
He was up to his waist in the river, his wet clothes hung from a nearby tree. "Get out of the water!" she shouted.
She could only imagine how she looked, soaking wet in her underwear screaming like a madwoman.
He gave her a look of surprise, his eyes growing wide at the sight of her.
"GET OUT!" she yelled at him, voice cracking.
Thankfully, he finally heeded her warning and began to wade out of the water.
At least he still had his boxers on.
Just as he reached the bank, a massive serpent's tail lashed out of the deep, knocking him back into the water.
"Arghh!" Clarke gave out a strangled cry, as the creature dragged him beneath the surface.
"Clarke!" she shouted as she ran helplessly towards the water's edge.
What the hell was that?!
The creature suddenly broke the surface again—this time with Agent Clarke in its jaws. It was a massive water serpent with reflective scales and dark, shining eyes.
How could something that massive hide in a river? She guessed this wasn't any normal river.
"Glace, solidatur. Glace, solidatur..." Hope chanted, focusing on freezing the water around the creature.
It was working, the serpent struggled to move as the water around it froze, locking it into place and preventing it from disappearing back under the surface.
"Hope! I know what monster this is!" Clarke called desperately. "I helped put it here—it's called the Uncegila!"
The great snake let out a terrifying roaring sound as it turned its attention to Hope—the movement almost caused Clarke to fall to the frozen surface below, but the creature caught him mid-fall.
"How do I kill it?" she asked, watching in horror as Clarke twisted desperately in the creature's jaws—he was dangling by his arm now, which was currently bent at an extremely unnatural angle.
"Not easily," Clarke responded through clenched teeth. "It's impervious to magic—you have to attack it physically."
Great, because she felt totally prepared to fight a giant water monster in her bra and panties.
The ice was cracking from the creature's frantic thrashing—she had to act fast.
"There's a spot near its throat—it's the only place its vulnerable!" he shouted down to her.
Suddenly, the creature flung Clarke to the bank with a whip of its giant head. He flew from the creature's mouth with incredible force and slammed into a nearby tree—he landed limp and quiet on the ground.
Hope's heart leapt to her throat— she swore she could feel his pain, the back of her skull burst with white-hot pain.
She ran to his side and found his neck was broken—she knew from a lifetime spent with immortal creatures that he would be out for a while before he would resurrect.
She was alone now.
If she couldn't use magic, there was no way she would be able to fight a creature this size on her own.
Unless…
She swiftly pulled off her family pendant and placed it around Clarke's neck.
"Take care of this for me," she said.
Turning around, she saw that the creature had finished breaking through the ice and was poised to strike.
She tucked her body in and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding its curved fangs.
Yeah, well she had fangs too.
She let the change come over her—fast and violent
Allowing herself to shift into her wolf form was highly personal and she was glad that Clarke wasn't conscious to witness it.
Unfortunately, she had no other choice—if physical strength is what she needed to defeat this beast, then it was time to release the wolf.
This creature was going to regret ever challenging her.
She felt her skin ripple as her muscles stretched under her skin; she felt her ears lengthen and fur spread across her body. Her tongue met razor sharp canines and her tail twitched in anticipation behind her.
With a howl, the transformation was complete—she barred her fangs and let out a guttural snarl.
Time to hunt.