Voronica Whitney-Robinson - Sands of the Soul

"It's probably just more moldy food," Tazi reassured her.

Fannah still hesitated. "I can smell that, but there's something else," she said.

"What?" asked Steorf, who had moved to share the step with Tazi.

"I can smell old food and something else. Something like animal waste."

"We can't stop now," Tazi urged.

Steorf moved past Fannah and continued the rest of the way down the stairs, both Tazi and Fannah trailing in his wake. The moment he reached the base of the stairs, a light sprang up. Everyone froze.

Bathed in the weak glow, Tazi could see that the cellar was not very big. Only thirty feet long and twenty feet wide, the room didn't concern Tazi. She had been in bigger traps before. The walls were made up of dark, rough-hewn river rock and constantly seeped moisture. The stones were slick with mold and slime. The smell of decay permeated the entire room. Glancing around quickly, Tazi could see there was no other furniture or staples housed in there, save for the prize for which they had been searching.

A stone archway taller than Steorf and nearly as wide as it was tall nestled in the far corner of the room. Aside from its size, the archway was unremarkable to look at. Tazi was able to see through the opening of the portal and make out the far wall directly behind it.

"That's it," she said, moving to stand beside Steorf. "Let's go."

Steorf put his arm out in front of her.

"No," he said, "Fannah was right. There is something else down here. See?"

He pointed to a bowl near the gate that was overflowing with what looked like food scraps. Tazi could barely make out the dish.

"There's no creature here now," she reasoned. Turning around in a complete circle, she proclaimed, "We're alone. There's nowhere for anyone to hide."

Suddenly, a low growl filled the cellar. The threesome faced the gate in unison in time to see a large, gray creature slink around from behind it. Tazi was amazed and somewhat startled. Since she had been attacked by one long ago, she harbored a deep seated fear of dogs, but this was something more than a simple canine.

Slightly larger than the average mastiff, the dark-furred creature's eyes glowed a deep red. As its lips pulled back in a warning snarl, Tazi could see that its mouth was filled with what looked like an impossible number of teeth. As it swung its massive head from Tazi to Steorf to Tazi again, it clicked its teeth with deliberate slowness.

"But you could see straight through that gate," Tazi said, "and that thing wasn't there a moment ago."

"Gates can twist perception as well as time and distance," Steorf explained. "I'll deal with this."

No sooner did Steorf move forward than the dog-beast sprang from beside the gate. In two quick bounds, the hound, as large as a man, had covered the distance between them.

Steorf raised his arms and spoke a word that Tazi didn't recognize. A crackle of light exploded from his hands toward the animal. Whatever spell he thought was going to happen didn't, though. Undaunted, the beast knocked him flat, tearing a good chunk out of the leather gauntlet Steorf wore. Fortunately for him, he had thrown his hands in front of his face in a reflexive defense. The dog shook the glove mercilessly and circled around for another pass.

"Do something," Tazi screamed, but the burly mage half sat and stared at his own hands as though dumbstruck. "Your sword!" Tazi yelled.

The beast, no longer content to shred Steorf's clothing, leaped once again onto the mage.

Steorf, knocked back onto the ground, grabbed the hound's collar with both hands. He was barely able to keep the snapping jaws from his eyes and was losing ground fast.

Tazi, realizing that Steorf couldn't draw his weapon to defend himself, jumped into action. Shoving Fannah back, she ripped off her travel cloak, wrapped part of it around her left arm, and threw herself at the tangle of fur and friend.

Landing nearly astride the animal, Tazi managed to lock her left arm around the dog's throat and throw part of her cloak over its muzzle with her right hand. Between that and the momentum from her leap, she was able to wrench the beast off of Steorf.

Tazi stole a quick glance at the young mage to see if he was all right. Steorf looked uninjured but still dazed. She wondered just when was the last time he had to rely on his physical abilities but didn't dwell on the thought. She didn't have time for more.

Barely able to contain the snarling monster that was at least twice her weight, Tazi found herself thrown against the wall. The wind was momentarily knocked out of her, and the dog was able to use the opportunity to free its face from the confines of her cloak.

Tazi thrust out her left hand and said the spell word that triggered her emerald ring, but there was no gray shield to protect her and no excruciating pain, as the ring had always demanded.

Tazi found herself staring into the beast's red eyes, eyes that glinted almost as much as its bejeweled collar. She could feel the dog's breath hit her face in short, hot blasts. Her right wrist still bore the scars of a dog attack from many years before, and faced with one of her bogeymen, Tazi began to sink into the mindless terror of childhood. She instinctively crouched against the wall and began crawling backward like a crab. The dog only watched her retreat and stood its ground.

It took only a moment for Tazi to realize that the gray beast wasn't following her. She whipped her head around to search for Steorf. Tazi saw that he had moved backward from the spot where he had been attacked and was crawling around, probably looking for something to use against the dog as a shield. Turning toward the stairs, Tazi could see that Fannah had stayed exactly where she had pushed her. Glancing back at the hound, she confirmed that the animal had not followed her. In fact, the beast was sitting right beside what was left of Tazi's cloak, unperturbed. She backed up a little more.

"Steorf," she cautiously whispered back over her shoulder, "I think the beast only attacks if someone approaches the gate."

The young mage was unsteadily rising to his feet.

"It doesn't matter," he finally responded. "The animal must be impervious to magic. I think that collar protects the canine. There's no way we can defeat it. We'll have to leave and think of another way."

Tazi detected a quake to Steorf's voice, and she was momentarily surprised by his quick defeat. She wondered if he actually meant that there was no way for him to defeat it magically, but part of her wanted to run as well. The most powerful tool she possessed was useless against the hound. A hasty retreat was appealing and seemed logical. She looked over to Fannah, though, and saw the raven-haired woman standing on the bottom step. She appeared serene to Tazi, but very vulnerable. Tazi's mouth tightened, and she stood up.

"No," she answered Steorf, "there is no other way than this. I'm not running away or taking the easy route anymore."

Tazi took a step forward.

As she suspected, as soon as the hound saw her move closer to the gate, the beast was in motion. Tazi could see its powerful muscles bunch in effort as the dog made its attack. With a vicious snarl, the guardian launched itself into the air, much as it had done with Steorf.

Tazi crossed her arms at her waist and drew her Sembian guardblades. Though she knew their enchantments would be useless against the guardian, the rapiers were still good steel. Not many things were impervious to that.

Tazi used the animal's might against itself. She held her right arm sturdy, and even though the dog saw the threat she posed, it was unable to stop its motion. The beast impaled itself onto Tazi's right rapier. She simultaneously swung across with her left blade and partially decapitated the thing. The momentum and size of the animal toppled both of them to the ground.