Counting Chickens
POP.
CHARMIAN AND the others looked on, eyes wide, as the little spirit stone extracted itself from Chakenapok's spirit stone, shooting from his chest and plinking to the floor. As soon as it did, Chakenapok's eyes rolled back and he slumped to the floor himself as if dead...again. Manabozho, Peepaukawiss, Mudjikawiss, and Chibiabos cut off their attacks, and everyone looked at the dark little stone which had rolled to a stop upon the ground. It sat glinting dully, looking like nothing more than a piece of obsidian; Charmian furrowed her brow.
"Is...is that what I think it is--?" she barely managed to say.
Glooskap nodded grimly and held out his hand, something starting to shimmer in it. "Afraid so...this will likely get a little bit messy."
Everyone's head shot up. "Messy--?" Charmian got out, before the little stone let out a hideous screeching noise, and they all grimaced and stepped back, clapping their hands to their ears. The racket filled the entire cave, setting Charmian's hair on end; she ground her teeth together, it was so horrifically loud, only to hear it shift from a screech into a roar, and abruptly it was as if the cave were filled with a tornado, wind whipping around them and stinging against their skin. Puka fell over and scuttled back toward the tunnel entrance, cowering against the wall; the others shielded their faces while trying to plug their ears at the same time, ducking low to the ground. The only one unaffected was Chakenapok, who still lay unmoving near the far wall. Something furry ran into Charmian's leg and she scooped up Marten and scrunched down beside the wall as well, covering her head and squinting out at Glooskap.
The roar changed into a screaming howl, and only now did she see that the wind was emanating from the spirit stone itself, and even as she watched it shifted into a black swirling funnel which filled up the middle of the room, growing thicker and denser and starting to take on form. Her eyes grew despite the sting of the wind, and she thought she could make out a face in the wind, glowing eyes and pointed ears and a long muzzle filled with jagged teeth and a lolling tongue. She felt her own eyes water.
Malsum--!
She had to blink the sting away.
An awful voice which she couldn't have described even if she'd wanted to--it was like the howl of the wind, and the scream of a hawk, and the grinding of rocks against rocks, and the crash of ocean waves, and more, all at once--filled the air, making her ears sting even more than her eyes. "YOU," it thundered, and the malevolence in it made her shake, squeezing Marten to herself as if to take comfort in him. "YOU ARE THE ONE WHO DID THIS TO ME. I SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE!"
Glooskap wrinkled his nose, holding up one hand to keep his feathers upon his head, still holding the small glow in his other hand. "Well, I didn't really give you that chance, did I? Stupid dog. Far more trouble than you're worth. Would that I could just drop you off at the pound and let them give you the Big Sleep."
The Wolf-image's face contorted. "YOU WILL REGRET THAT YOU EVER KNEW ME," it boomed/howled/grated/thundered, at which Glooskap merely stood up straight and waved his free hand at the air.
"Already done," he said, and flicked two fingers at the air, a farewell gesture. With this movement he brought his other hand forward and flung something at the great black whirlwind with the Wolf face; Charmian gaped when whatever he'd been holding struck it right between the eyes, and the Wolf face seemed to break apart, the awful noise rising and growing even worse than it had been before, which she hadn't even thought would be possible. She put both arms over her head and struggled not to cry out at the horrible shrieking scream of wind, certain that it would pierce her eardrums; she bit her lip hard enough to bleed, Marten wedged against her chest, and prayed for it to be over with fast.
The awful horrible howling noise cut short abruptly with a pained sound like a dog yelping, and tears sprang to her eyes, a muffled noise escaping her throat. The wind stopped, then started again, only whirling in the opposite direction this time; she lifted her head to peek out, and saw Glooskap still standing in the middle of the cave, holding his hand up at the air. The great black funnel was vanishing into it as if being sucked in by a vacuum, and she and the others squatted and watched as it, and the contorted Wolf face still upon it, let out one last terrible howling screaming noise as it quickly disappeared into Glooskap's hand. A second later the last of the black cloud's image had vanished entirely, the howl cutting off along with it, and after a brief pause Glooskap at last lowered his hand.
The silence inside the cave was so sudden that they all rubbed at their ears, now ringing at the lack of noise.
Puka let out a whimper and sank to the floor, gasping for breath; Manabozho and Chibiabos slumped where they stood, and even Mudjikawiss panted, his face pale. Charmian slowly sat up, Thomas and Moon Wolf doing likewise; Marten extricated himself from her grip and dashed forward to climb atop Glooskap's shoulder once more. Glooskap looked at what he was holding in his hand.
Charmian put her hand out and pushed herself to her feet. She took small hesitant steps toward him, glancing at Chakenapok--he was still unconscious--and deciding that he was little to worry about by now. She reached Glooskap and stopped not far from him, peering at the object which he held in his hand. It too looked like a spirit stone, only it was perfectly clear, and the little dark stone rested right in the middle of it like a bug trapped in amber.
Her brow furrowed slightly. "Is...is that..."
Glooskap gave a grim nod. "Yep...that's it, exactly." He pursed his lips. "Wily old mutt, tricking me into thinking his spirit was trapped all along--when it was really somewhere else, spreading all this bad luck!" He snorted. "Good riddance to bad rubbish! Stupid old mutt."
Charmian stared at the strange crystal that he now held. The others all gathered around them, peering down at it as well. "What did you do to it?" she asked, Puka and Manabozho cocking their heads curiously.
Glooskap held the little stone up higher and beamed. "My new security system!" he exclaimed. "Better than anything ever put out by Brinks, might I add! Basically, it's a faux spirit stone. If his spirit stone is already trapped inside a spirit stone, then he can hardly shoot out into someone else again! It's a failsafe plan."
"Are you so sure...?" Manabozho asked skeptically; Marten made a face at him.
"I kind of wonder about that too," Charmian said. "I mean, look how failsafe it was the last time..."
Glooskap huffed again. "Well sheesh! That's what I get for sharing! As it so happens I, unlike certain others, know how to learn from my mistakes." He held the stone between thumb and forefinger. "It can't be broken. It can't be lost. The only way he gets out is if I LET him out--which I'm hardly inclined to do! Malsum will just have to stay in the cave, and this in this stone. He won't ever die, but at least he should be a teeny bit more tractable now."
Charmian's eyes slowly lit up. "Then--you mean, it's over now?" she asked hopefully. "It's really over--? All of it--?"
Glooskap grinned from ear to ear. "I'd like to say so, young lady; and let's all consider this a lesson learned--don't piss off your brothers, eh?" He dropped the stone into a pouch at his waist and cinched it shut. "Now if you don't mind, I do believe I left another fine young lady waiting, and I--"
POP. Charmian blinked, and saw Glooskap do the same--his eyes went wide, and it was only because time seemed to slow down for an instant that she even noticed what else happened in that second, something shooting out of his chest and flying into the air. Before she could turn her head to follow its progress, Glooskap started glowing, and then misted away as if he were made of smoke, Marten hopping down to the ground and fluffing up in a panic. Charmian goggled at where he had just been standing a second before, then turned her head, agonizingly slowly, to look toward the other side of the room.
Chakenapok was getting to his feet, and he lifted his head to meet her eyes, his own as yellow and hideous as ever. A smirk twisted his mouth and he held up his hand, a bright yellow-green spirit stone resting in his palm. Charmian's eyes grew wider and she felt all of the air leave her lungs as he stood and started stepping across the room toward her.
"I suppose I should say thank you, Mainlander," he said.
Charmian had to struggle just to breathe. "Ch...Chakenapok...?" she barely managed to get out.
He tilted his head and smiled. "That's right, Chakenapok. No more Malsum, no more Shell. The genuine article. It's nice to see you again."
Something grasped Charmian's arm, and she again sensed the others standing around her, their own eyes wide and faces stunned. "B...but..." She slowly shook her head. "I...I don't understand...Malsum..."
"Tucked away, in that little crystal your silly friend made."
Her brow furrowed. "But--without him--your power--!"
Chakenapok's smirk twisted again into an ugly grin. "I must admit that when he first sought me out, and offered me this chance at revenge, the thought of being a Shell and using his power was a tempting one," he said, rolling Glooskap's spirit stone around in his palm. "And that Wolf was rather useful, more than once. But it gets a little tiring after a while, always being a Shell. Let us just say that there was a conflict of interest...and I decided to work freelance." His eyes glittered. "As your people would say."
Thomas started to draw Charmian back as Chakenapok came closer. She shook her head more adamantly this time. "He gave you your power!" she exclaimed, stumbling. "Without him you didn't have ANYTHING--!"
He shrugged. "I learn quickly. Like I said, he was useful, but it's impossible to teach an old dog new tricks...and so we had to part ways." His mouth twitched and he stopped. "That was a truly thoughtful plan of yours, Mainlander...getting rid of that Wolf so I no longer have to bother with him. I didn't know how to do it on my own, but you did the job just nicely. I suppose I should thank you for that."
Charmian didn't think her eyes could grow any wider. "You--wanted him gone--?"
Chakenapok shrugged once more, letting Glooskap's spirit stone roll over his knuckles and back into his hand. "He was an annoying leash I wished to be rid of. I simply did not know how. Without him...'life' feels a little bit freer." And with this, he held up his hand, and a bolt of fire shot out. It struck Mudjikawiss straight under the chin, knocking his head back, and he tumbled head over heels before landing with a crash and going limp. The next bolt hit Moon Wolf, and he slammed into the wall, cracking his head and then collapsing to the ground in a muddled heap. The others gawked in disbelief and Charmian clenched her fists, tears shooting up into her eyes.
"What are you doing--?"
"Making my next move," Chakenapok said mildly. "They were the two most powerful remaining." He turned and aimed at Chibiabos next, whose eyes widened, his already pale face going even paler; there was a shuffling skittering noise and Peepaukawiss hurled himself in front of him, holding up his arms, but all that this accomplished was that the firebolt hit him instead, and he slammed into his brother, knocking them both over. When Chibiabos attempted to push himself up, Chakenapok flicked his hand at the air, and fire slashed down over his head, knocking him over again so that he fell across Puka's chest, letting out a breath. Neither of them moved.
Charmian's face screwed up and the tears streamed down. "STOP IT!" she screamed.
He just gave her that same infuriating smile and started walking forward again. "Now why would I do something stupid like that--? This is the ending of the game, is it not? Where we pull out all our best moves--? What sort of a game is it unless we get rid of all the pawns first--?"
Thomas's fingers wrapped around her wrist and he pulled her back again. Charmian stumbled, Manabozho grabbing onto her other arm; Marten hopped upon her shoulder and they all turned, dashing for the tunnel. "Now what sort of move is that?" Chakenapok called out after them in mock exasperation. "Running away? I thought you were in this to WIN, Mainlander--!"
Charmian tugged on her arm to try to free herself, her eyes blinded by tears. "Let me go!!" she yelled.
Thomas held onto her tighter. "We have to get out of here and think of a plan!" he exclaimed. "This isn't working anymore!"
She dug her heels into the ground and tugged harder. "He's got Glooskap's spirit stone!" She finally yanked herself free, shoving Manabozho aside and dashing back toward the cave. "All the OTHERS are in there--!!"
"Charmian--!" they both shouted; she heard their footsteps coming after her, and ran back into the cave, Marten still clinging to her shoulder. She clenched her fists and Chakenapok smirked.
"Ready for that last move, Mainlander?" he asked.
Charmian savagely swept the tears from her eyes and bared her teeth at him. "It isn't OVER yet, ass! I've still got Manabozho!"
"Oh...yes." Chakenapok rolled his eyes. "The weakest of the bunch...rather a pity, that he is in fact my real opponent, and you are just his pawn." He pretended to yawn. "Seeing as you were the more interesting and formidable of the two. I have to hand you that much, Mainlander."
She clenched her fists. "I'll hand you your ASS on a platter, jerk!"
"Now however are you going to do that...?" He held up his hand and she readied herself to block an attack, but all that he did was wave and smirk. She felt a pain in her chest and winced, hunching over slightly. She blinked at the ache and glanced down.
"What's the matter, Mainlander?" Chakenapok asked. "Finding that things have...changed, just a bit?"
She stared at her spirit stone, almost all of it coal black now with jagged streaks of angry red lacing it. Her breath came fast and hard and the stone throbbed and ached with each heartbeat; her eyes blurred again. It looked as if it had been made that way, dark, and the bits of light were what was foreign to it now. She reached up to rub at her eyes again.
"A little difficult to concentrate when your very spirit and self are disappearing before your eyes, isn't it?" Chakenapok added.
She lifted her head and her eyes fixed on his, livid blue focused on malevolent yellow. "I said I would fight you," she hissed. "No matter WHAT you do to me. I still have some left. I don't go back on my word."
Chakenapok let out a noise that might have been a laugh. "You really are an interesting mainlander."
"Charmian!" Thomas's voice came from behind her, and she heard him step up beside her, panting; Manabozho appeared on her right. "You don't have the power to fight him! Remember--? All you'll do is make him stronger!"
"I don't have any other ideas," Charmian said, not taking her eyes from Chakenapok's. "This is the only thing left."
Manabozho clenched his fists. "I can fight him! It's my fight, remember! I'll give it everything I have--!"
Charmian's muscles tensed. "It's not enough!" She glared at him so furiously that he wilted a little and took a step back. "You and your BROTHERS have to defeat him!" she snapped. "You have to wake them up!" She turned back to Chakenapok. "I'll hold him off until then!"
Manabozho looked at her, eyes wide and face pale, but then his face set and he turned toward Mudjikawiss. He started racing toward him, when a firebolt struck him in the back and knocked him over--he fell hard to the ground, feathers sinking. Charmian gawked, then whirled back around. Chakenapok still held up his hand, smirking slightly.
Her fingernails dug into her palms. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR? HE WAS THE LAST PLAYER!!"
Chakenapok blinked at her innocently, then smiled, his yellow eyes glinting into slits. "Was," he echoed, and let out that odd maybe-laughing noise again. "Come to think of it, you are a lot more interesting than he is...I think I should like to play with you first."
Charmian's chest felt like it would burst into flames. "THAT'S NOT IN THE RULES!!"
He flicked his hand. "After you, then I deal with him--as long as he is the last to die! It's perfectly in the rules!" He flung up his other hand then, and Charmian held up her arms, only to feel herself being yanked violently to the side. The wave of fire soared past her and dashed apart against the cave wall; Charmian and Thomas fell to the ground together, Marten rolling into the corner. They lifted their heads to look back and saw Chakenapok shaking his own head as if disappointed.
"I thought you said times had changed, and a little girl could fight for herself," he said.
Charmian tensed, but Thomas pressed his hand against her shoulder; she chattered when she felt the chill seeping through her. "Charmian," he hissed in her face, "it's the same move he tried on the others. You know it! You'd fall for it too--?"
Charmian's eyes welled up. "What else do I do--?"
"Exactly what you said should be done!" He pulled his hand away. "Fight him without fighting him! Keep him busy! Manabozho and the others will come to--you just have to keep him busy until then!"
"Everybody's out," Charmian protested, and her shoulders started to shake.
Thomas furrowed his brow at her, making her take pause. "I'm not," he said.
A little face appeared over his shoulder. "I'm not, too!" Marten exclaimed. His own eyes welled up. "He's got Glooskap's spirit stone! I'll give it everything I've got!"
Charmian chewed hard on her lip, her throat hurting. "Mainlander," Chakenapok said in a singsong voice, making her muscles tense again. "What are you two doing over there...? Nothing improper, I hope--?"
Charmian ground her teeth together; Thomas gave her a look, but she shook her head. "I'm fine!" she hissed under her breath, and he pushed himself up. She slipped out from underneath him and got to her feet, clenching her fists and seeing Thomas and Marten do the same. Her eyes flitted over the others--Mudjikawiss, Manabozho, Puka, Chibiabos, Moon Wolf--then back to Chakenapok, and her teeth felt like they would break.
"First of all, no more coward attacks," she growled, and he chuckled to himself.
"Oh all right...no more sneak attacks. From now on, everything will be upfront." He gestured. "Of course, you have to abide by that rule, too--no more sending your companions after me, like your wabano friend tried to do. Even with as useful as that turned out to be."
Charmian started slowly stepping around the cave. "Maybe you'd like to sum all your plans up before I finish you off. Just like the bad guys do in the movies."
He pursed his lips. "I'm afraid I don't know what a 'movie' is, Mainlander...but you already well know my intent. You did turn out to be a lot more fun than I'd seriously thought you would be--and a very big pain, as well. I honestly would have never thought a girl could be more of a challenge than the mighty Great Rabbit." He waved at Manabozho and snickered.
"He didn't have a thing to do with all that happened to you," Charmian said. "It was all Malsum. He's the one who did it all. I talked to you, and you SAID you were sorry. I find it hard to believe that the person who's sorry for killing his mother would go and kill his BROTHERS so easily!"
Chakenapok rolled his eyes. "You really don't know me very well, do you?" He tossed a fireball at her, as if just as a joke, and she batted it aside. "I've told you a million times. That little event was the Wolf's idea. He came to me, you see, before I had even been born...and stayed after everything else. Mother could hardly be blamed for not being there for me. But everything else on this Island--these are things that are no more worthy to exist than I am. All is fair in this game."
"Stop writing it off as a game!" Charmian snapped. "You and I know that's not what this is about! This whole mess is because you're JEALOUS! Your body--whatever it is--might've grown up, but your BRAIN never did! You're just like a stupid two year old throwing a fit in a sandbox!"
Chakenapok's eyes widened. "Is that Ocryana talking, or you--?"
Her fingernails dug into her palms. "I'M NOT OCRYANA, DAMN IT!"
He tossed another weak fireball at her and it bounced off of her hand. "You're certainly sounding like her. Do you realize that just like your kind, demons talk in their sleep--?" Charmian took in a breath and blinked, startled, and he smiled. "That's right, Mainlander...I know exactly what she thinks of you. All this time you thought she was sleeping so peacefully, when in truth, she is raging and ranting just as you are right now. 'Little girl' this, 'little girl' that...quite amusing to listen to, actually. Her thoughts have kept me company all these years." He tilted his head. "Now where do you think I got the idea to go after you in this manner--? Your Nathali made the mistake of locking your demon away right where she could keep me company. Talk about a lack of foresight, hm?"
"Like she could know YOU would show up and pull a stupid stunt like this," Charmian retorted.
Chakenapok threw a tiny fireball at Marten, who hopped and skipped and batted it away in a panic. "I thought she was supposed to be so wise--? You should really make up your mind, Mainlander." He made a face. "There is anything else you wanted me to blither about?"
Charmian felt her heart thud hard, knowing that her stalling wasn't the most subtle in the world. "What is it you want from Manabozho?" she asked anyway, running out of ideas. "Even if you get your revenge it doesn't make one bit of difference in the long run! All you'll do is ruin everyone else's lives! What do you hope to get out of this? When does it end?"
Chakenapok's brow furrowed as if he thought she were losing her mind. "You believe I think things will suddenly be better once he is dealt with--?" he exclaimed, and started laughing. "How shallow do you think I am! Revenge is never about making sense, Mainlander. I don't expect to gain anything out of all of this. Simply knowing that that Rabbit will be put back in his place will be more than enough for me. And it ends when I say it ends." He held up his hand. "Such as right now. This was fun while it lasted but your stalling is getting dull, Mainlander. Next move."
Charmian gasped and threw up her arms. Fire washed over her; Thomas hurled a gust of icy wind, and it dissipated the fire somewhat, though not completely. Chakenapok jumped into the air and flung both arms out, whips of flame zooming around the room; the three of them jumped as well, trying to avoid them, and Charmian sliced her own hand through the air--"WIND!"--and cut them into pieces. Chakenapok landed and let out a gusty sigh.
"BORING, Mainlander!" He held up his hands and grinned. "What's wrong? Why won't you come after me--?"
"You know as well as I do, dumbass!" Charmian shouted. "I'm hardly going to go GIVING you more power!"
"But I thought you were all about doing everything you could!" He tossed a fireball which flew over her head when she ducked, and she made a rude gesture at him.
"As long as it HELPS! And right now, THIS is what I'm doing!"
He clucked his tongue at her. "When that pretty little spirit stone in your chest is just begging for you to do otherwise--? Come on, Mainlander, why don't you just listen to it, and do what you do best--rant and rage and rail?" He flicked a whip of fire at her and Thomas bounced it off of his arm. "After all, this will hardly be a finishing move unless you give it all you've got!"
Charmian's already frayed temper flared. "I'VE GOT MORE THAN THAT!!"
"Barely." He landed atop a broken stalagmite and crossed his arms. "It's my game, Mainlander, which means I pick the moves. You refuse to attack? Then you forfeit your move. I gave you your chance. That makes it my turn."
"Go ahead!" Charmian challenged. "You can hardly do anything else to me that you haven't tried yet!"
Chakenapok raised an eyebrow. "I can't--?" He uncrossed his arms and rose, starting to float into the air as a reddish glow surrounded him, his eyes flaring. "Then what about this--?"
He held up both hands, and his palms glowed red, then orange, then yellow, all the way to blue. Charmian's eyes grew--she knew that that was about as hot as fire could get, and she had never seen him use blue flames. She steeled herself as he slowly raised his arms as if to form the flames into a fireball--when he abruptly brought his arms down halfway through their arc, slashing them at the air, and sending a wave of blue flame soaring across the room. It came straight at her, until Thomas again shoved her aside and she hit the floor, wincing as a pain bit through her shoulder. Thomas and Marten ducked as the fire flew across the room and struck the opposite wall. Charmian shook her head and glanced up.
"Charmian!" Thomas exclaimed, looking down at her with wide eyes. "Are you all--"
That was all he got to say. From the corner of her eye she saw it--blue fire--coming back now, having bounced off of the wall and formed itself from a wave into a jagged vicious bolt of indigo. Even as she watched it slammed into Thomas's chest, spearing straight through him--his eyes grew even wider, and he fell backwards as if in slow motion again, the flame bursting into pieces around him.
By the time that he hit the floor, his arms and legs going loose and his last breath leaving him, Charmian was already on her feet, a terrible, agonized scream rising in her throat.
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