Chapter III –Deathly dust


It was a desert made of stone and dust. No plants, no life, only big rocks and many many many dust. “But … why? This couldn’t be … I felt the place …” Trisha mumbled confused. “Well, now we are here … and surprisingly it is this place which you dreamed off.” Sanix replied with raising his shoulders.
“We should be careful. You said here are living centaurs, mh? Well then we have to be very careful. Do you know where we have to go?” Trisha starred at Sanix and she felt the deep anger in her crawling up. “Do you think I wanted to come here?!” Now Sanix raised an eyebrow.
“Oh come on Trish, why we should be here? Of course you wanted … wait … you didn’t want to?” Trisha growled to him and she gulped down a big cry. “No Sanix I didn’t want to come here … not yet!”
The mage took a grim. “Very well … okay do you although know where we have to go? I don’t want to end in the stomach of a centaur and I think in this place there are not few of them.”
“I try to concentrate but I don’t know if that would work …” Trisha answered and said down on the ground, the eyes closed. She tried to concentrate herself on the area, on the live in her near but there was no feeling, no sign, why it never worked when she wanted that it worked? She opened her eyes and sighed frustrated but then there was something, only for a few seconds.


To the north … follow …


She blinked confused and looked to Sanix. “You have something?” he asked and throwing a stone away. “Yes … we have to go to north … I don’t know what we are exactly searching but there we’ll find it …”
“Do you know that I hate this unknown? I’m looking forward when we are searching something we know from ... like the ring in the temple, you remember?”  Of course Trisha remembered the ring was the reason that they met and helped each other and without the ring they would never love each other. It was the symbol of their gathering and now it was stolen.
Trisha knew what power this ring had, she feared it but she also knew what it meant to Sanix, it was HIS ring and she would do everything to get him back. They walked in direction to the north and all the time Trisha tried to concentrate herself to this strange voice but there wasn’t something.  

The next point to wonder was the fact that is was silent, very silent. Sanix and Trisha awaited an attack by a centaur every second but there was nothing. “Maybe they are still sleeping or such a thing?”
Trisha asked but Sanix raised his shoulder. “Hey, I’m no expert for centaurs, I don’t know. But I’m glad that they are here …” Yeah Trisha was glad too. A fight with such a creature would be very hard without the ring and although they would have no chance against their strength and agility.
If they were sleeping or hunting something else it was the best thing what could happen.


But they didn’t know that Trisha was very right … they hunted something else.


Vale was running, she was running very fast and she was also cursing. She could feel the stamping in the far. It all started very easy, she reached the rocky fields and walked along it.
All the time she had activated her cloak-technology but she forgot one factor, the dryness. In an area like the jungle the suit was brilliant but here in a stone-desert like this there were some factors which disturbed the suit like the heath, the dust and also the sense of those damn centaurs.
She saw one of them walking along the plain and she stood completely without any movement but it could see her, like those devil-like monsters would have a third eye. The centaur was very big, maybe three or four times higher than Vale and she was an obscure mix between horse and a woman. She had completely white hair which felt down on her neck, the eyes were glancing in a red color.
The abdomen was from a horse, four legs with hooves the whole horse-part looked very very strongly.
When this creature had the stomach of a horse it could any very much and Vale know that she was only a snack for such a big creature. As Vale looked up into her face which looked very human-like she knew that she was detected because the centaur smiled to her.

“Speed activating … now!” she cried; from this moment on there were no time for sneaking, she had to run and maybe she was fast enough. She could feel how the suit was boosting her leg-muscles and she could run three times faster than a normal human.
The centaur was surprised and this was a advantage too because she never thought that a human could be as fast as it was now and so she had a few seconds more, but they weren’t enough.
Now she could hear the centaur behind her and she knew that she couldn’t run away from her, so there was only one chance. “Activating blades …” and two knifes went out of her wrist.
That monster wanted to fight? She wouldn’t give up without fighting. She stood at her position, making her smaller than she was and exerted her legs, she knew how she would attack, a single jump and then she would hit the monster right into his eyes.
The centaur came nearer and there were only a few meters with parted the two, Vale concentrated herself for the jump but then the monster took something which wasn’t awaited; instead of grabbing Vale it jumped over her and as it landed it stamped with all her leg powers down on earth.
The ground was shaking and Vale felt on her knees, the mistake she did and maybe her last because after she felt down she could feel the hand which grabbed her hardly. She gulped and led disappear the blades fasten and looked up to the face of the centaur.
Her hold was very strong and Vale couldn’t move but she felt how the centaur stroke her body gently with her thumb and she smiled mother-like down to her but then she held Vale in front of her face and opened her mouth. The view was horrific, many teeth a big tongue and a deep throat which was destined for her.

The centaur moved her into her mouth, let her fell on the soft and slippery tongue and closed her mouth. “Night vision … fast” she shouted and she regretted the commando for a few second.
She could now she the inside of the mouth of the centaur and she could also see the tongue which was moving her around in the mouth, maybe the centaur wanted to taste her first before gulping her down. She could feel all the saliva was covering her body but she couldn’t get in panic, she had to be cool.
“Activating blades!” and a few seconds later the blades came out again. She had only one chance and she had to use it. Vale stood up and tried to stand on the slippery tongue but it was nearby impossible because every time she was moving the centaur was moving her tongue too and she was falling down.
“Okay you wanted it so…  and then she  raised her left hand and hit the knife directly in the tongue.
The effect was a big and painful cry which hurt in her ears but she didn’t stopped. Now the tongue didn’t move around so much and the blade of the right hand was pushing into the roof of her mouth. Now she was wedged in the mouth but she didn’t estimated that the centaur would still have such a power.
She shook her head and Vale had to hold her whole power not to losing her grip and additional to this the tongue tried to move her under the teeth of the monster which wanted to crush her.
But she didn’t give up and tried to stand up, the mouth was sometimes opened when the centaurs screamed of pain and vale would use this. She boosted the pressing of the blades on time and as the mouth was opened again for a painful noise she putted them out and try to jump out but she forgot two things; the tongue was still slippery and the mouth had also still muscles and as the pressing was away the centaur did only one thing; gulping.


From one second to the after she was pressed down into the throat of the centaur and she felt how she was slithering down but she didn’t want to die, not yet and with a last show of strength she stretched out the arms and with them the blade were buried into the flesh right and left from her.
She thought she would be deaf as she heard the loud noise which came through the throat and the fact that the centaur was breathing those much entire air trough it made it more difficult to hold her but she was exactly at the point she wanted. The centaur coughed, gasped and pressed her throat to push Vale down but the blades were now deep in the flesh and her will to survive was bigger than anything. The centaur took everything to gulp her down, she even tried to pull Vale out with her finger but even this wouldn’t work, Vale had to use all her power and all her strength to hold herself and from time to time she could thought she would now fall down into the stomach but she was strong enough.   

It took a while but she could feel it, the trials to put her down into the stomach were getting weaker and after a time they passed away, the gigantic body felt to the ground and there were no life signs. No breath which was pressing her body in every direction, no gulping, no noises, nothing.
Vale waited a few moments after she pulled out the blades of the flesh, she could now stand in the throat because the centaur lay on the ground and so she had only to climb out of the mouth which took some time.
After she stood outside the mouth of the creature she examined it, the eyes were wacky and the view was empty.
“I’m the predator … don’t underestimate me …” She looked down on herself, she was covered with blood, saliva and she smelled … well terrible. To sneak somewhere would be impossible but after she killed a gigantic monster there would be no problem to kill anything else.


Trisha and Sanix walked along the desert since many hours. “Hey Trish, I’m tired … where we are going? Good damn I need some water or something to eat …” Trisha ignored Sanix words because she knew they were near to their goal. She didn’t know why but she felt it.
And really; after a few minutes they saw a cave in the far which was too small for a centaur. They followed the way to the cave and after they arrived they saw her; a woman stood in the entry. She was maybe in the best forty years, she had long and wild brown hair which wasn’t maybe washed since years and she only wore simple clothes, a shirt and a skirt.
Sanix and Trisha came nearer to her, carefully but Trisha knew this woman … it was her voice which she heard in her mind, she was sure. “Welcome, young mages and especially welcome ... young wild mage” she said friendly and looked to Trisha. “You, you have talked to me in my dreams …” the older woman nodded. “
Yes I did. My name is Eleyn and I’m a wild mage, like you. I’ve awaited you … come in.” and she turned into the cave.
Trisha wanted to follow her but Sanix stood on the position. “That’s strange … can we trust her?” Trisha looked to him. “As much as you could trusted me at the temple. “ and with this words she followed her. Sanix sighed and followed her into the cave.

In the middle of the little cave was a campfire, the rest was very rustic; a few covers which were used as a bed, a desk with a book and some death animals which were hanging down from the roof.
“Isn’t this a dangerous place to live?” Sanix asked and Eleyn laughed. “No it isn’t even more dangerous than living in the jungle. The centaurs know me and they know I’m a wild mage, they like me more than other humans and so they often leave me alone.”
Trisha looked amazed as she examined Eleyn. “You said you’ve awaited me … why?”  The older smiled slim. “Because you have to train your abilities. Since I’ve felt you out there I knew you were a wild mage but I also felt that you can’t use your magic very good … and because of this I’ve bring you here. The wild mages are rare in the whole universe and we have to give our knowledge to everybody who has the talent to use the magic of the nature as we are doing.”
Sanix looked beside. “YOU have brought us here?” he sounded a bit angry but a view from Trisha and he was silence. Eleyn nodded. “Yes I’ve brought you here and I want to start with your … wait … there is somebody …outside, she’s coming …” Trisha raised an eyebrow. “Who?” “The thief … the one who stole your ring, young mage …”


Sanix looked to the entry and smiled. “Time for the payoff …”