sun.
He clutched his wrist and stared at his finger in open-mouthed horror, wondering what was happening. too frightened to make a sound.
The flesh peeled back completely and dropped away like the useless husk of a gorney nut. The pain was terrible now, a raging agony that burned at the base of what had once been his finger.
Mika stared down at his hand, too shocked to even blink, the horrible pain momentarily forgotten. For something… something was there where his finger had once been. Tears of pain veiled his eyes; he blinked to clear his vision, almost too frightened to look closely.
He moved his hand and felt the pain move up his arm, dissipating slowly. He twitched his fingers, starting with the littlest one and moving up. They all worked. He stopped at the pointer finger and, with a numbed mind, commanded it to bend, to move, to work. Which it did.
Mika gripped his wrist tightly and felt the nausea rise in his throat. He looked away, leaned his head back against the ground, and closed his eyes. His body was covered with cold sweat, and he felt sick. He wanted to look at his hand, to find out what it was that had taken the place of his finger, but he was afraid.
Slowly the nausea passed and the sickness was replaced by a feeling of dread. Mika stared up at the night sky through the broken dome of the old, ruined temple.
He could avoid looking and hope that it, whatever it was, would go away, but somehow he knew that it wouldn't. Sooner or later he would have to look, to see what had happened to his hand.
The feeling of sickness lay heavy in his stomach, but there was nothing to be gained by waiting. He rolled on his back and held his hand up in front of him in a shaft of soft-white moonlight. But not even moonlight could lessen the shock of what he saw.
The nausea rose in his throat unbidden, and he twisted to the side and retched onto the pavement, heaving until his stomach was emptied of all but bitter bile. This it continued to spew out, as though by emptying itself it could somehow purge his mind of the awful vision.
But it was useless. The vision burned bright in his mind, remaining vivid long after he had closed his eyes to it. What had once been his finger was now covered with dark green scales and tipped by a thick, curved, horny talon.
Weakened, he rolled to the far side and cradled his head in the crook of his arm and took in a deep shuddering breath, holding the awful finger as far away from him as possible.
The demon. It had to be the demon. He had said thai if Mika disobeyed him, he would know; that his revenge would be swift. He had dared to think, to merely think that he might do other than obey the demon, and the demon had punished him by replacing one of his fingers with a demon digit.
Suddenly a terrible thought popped into Mika's head. What if he's inside my head somehow and he knows everything I'm thinking? I'd never be able to do anything again without the demon knowing about it! There was a funny prickling at the base of Mika's neck, and then he knew with total and complete certainty that he was right.
Mika didn't think it was possible to become any more depressed than he already was, but in the hours that followed, he managed.
Somewhere in the very darkest hours of the night, Tam crept over and lay at his side, his muzzle stretched across Mika's chest. But that only served to depress Mika more thoroughly, for the bump on the top of the wolfs head had not shrunk but had grown even larger. Further, Tarn's eyes were still crossed and his tongue protruded a good knuckle's length from the end of his mouth, swollen where he had bitten it. Air whistled in and out as he struggled to breath, and he whimpered between every breath. He sounded and looked as bad as Mika.
I can't believe this, Mika thought to himself as he lay there throughout the long night, staring up at the sky and patting Tam on the back with his one good hand. I've been in some tough spots before, but nothing like this.
I'm in trouble with a demon and have to do what he commands even though I don't really understand what it is, or else risk being changed into a demon myself, one digit at a time.
My faithful companion TamTur, fiercest wolf in the Wolf Nomad clan, has crossed eyes, a fat tongue, and a lump the size of a fist on top of his head.
Hornsbuck, my stalwart friend, is wrapped in a blanket of confusion and thinks everyone he meets is his old girlfriend.
The princess has been turned into a wolf and, if I'm lucky, she's run off somewhere. I haven't seen her since the demon appeared. But then I haven't looked.
The only one who seems to have escaped unharmed is RedTail, Hornsbuck's wolf. But he won't obey me; all he cares about is Hornsbuck.
And the horse, amended Mika, mentally adding the gallant and brave roan who had carried him through much danger till they reached this fateful spot. It wasn't his fault that everything had turned out so poorly.
He tried to devise a plan. One that would benefit them all. Somehow he would have to restore Hornsbuck. He didn't want to even contemplate taking such a dangerous journey without someone along to protect his back. He wasn't sure if he could do it, but he would try. At the least, he felt responsible for Hornsbuck, who had been doing his best to get them out of the underground catacombs when he was felled by the umber hulk. What a muddle.
He couldn't even imagine what would happen when they got to Exag. Mika shrugged the question away; it was too far distant to think about. Here and now was the issue.
Lulled by the constant whimper-whine-gasp of the wolf and almost overwhelmed by his problems, Mika dosed his eyes as dawn filled the chamber with pearly fog, and he fell into an exhausted sleep.
CHAPTER 4
Mika awakened, feeling only slightly better than death. It was obvious that Tam felt no better, for his eyes were still crossed, his tongue still swollen, and the bump on top of his head was even larger than before.
Mika groaned as he crawled to his knees and slowly stood up. He felt awful but knew that nothing was to be gained by staying here. Anything would be better than staying. Well, almost anything.
Mika glanced down at his hand, hoping he had imagined the awful occurrence, but the demon finger w*s still there, each circular scale gleaming bright green in the morning light.
He sighed deeply, knowing that there were many dungs to be done. Town. He had to get to town to buy provisions so they could begin the demon's mission.
Mika walked across the temple slowly, grimacing w*h every step as the tender, swollen flesh of his soles grated against the broken pavement. The roan had fatally materialized and seemed glad to see him, having eaten all the weeds and grass within its reach. It whickered happily and, tossing its head up and down, nudged Mika painfully on his burned chest. Mika untied the reins and drew the horse behind him as he made his way toward Hornsbuck.
The big Wolf Nomad sat with his back against the wall of the temple, staring vacantly into mid-air. His green eyes focused on Mika without much interest. 'Lotus Blossom?' he asked querulously, yet without seeming to really expect an answer.
Hornsbuck's huge, ham-sized fists lay idle in his lap. His great, reddish blond, brisdy mane and enormous, full beard hung limp and bedraggled. It seemed to Mika that Hornsbuck's skin had lost its tone; it hung from his bones like the flesh of an old man who had been much heavier in his prime. It seemed that he who had always been so full of the flavor of living had given up and, if left alone, would soon drift off into death.
Mika was alarmed. How could he ever succeed on this devilish journey without Hornsbuck! Forgetting his own problems, he knelt down beside the man and pulled him to his feet. Hornsbuck did not help Mika, nor did he resist. It was like dealing with a child.
RedTail, Hornsbuck's big male wolf, circled nervously, whining softly, seeming to understand that Mika was trying to aid the man he followed. Under normal circumstances, RedTail would never have allowed Mika to touch Hornsbuck. But these were not normal circumstances.
Once he was on his feet, Hornsbuck mounted the roan with Mika's help. RedTail watched anxiously.
