1.1 PAWS TO THINK : In which Tikum The Black Dog Kadlum proceeds to steal his own child- A falling out with a manghihiwit happens- And a cat and mouse chase begins
In the islands of ancient Vijayas, where old magic is ripe and fiendish creatures abound, there is a curious saying between the tribespeople. They say, victory does not come easily to the strong, nor to the swift. But often, to the most sly...
"You can't run forever, Tikum Kadlum!" the manghihiwit declared as she stood in the middle of the forest on the island of sorcerers. For a moment, her lean, sharp features looked more pallid as a column of emerald light brighter than the last rays of the dying sun shot-out from her blackened finger in a blinding flash. The ground shook as the solid shaft tore through the underbrush, uprooting everything on its path. The manghihiwit had to steady her footing, giving extra care on what she was holding on her other arm– the one hidden inside her thick robe.
As she caressed it, the air began to ripple as the arcane light from her finger narrowed into a fine needle-thin rod of super-heated beam, felling a tree in half. The robed woman smiled as she extended her arm to steady the spear of luminescent energy, directing it to the opening where her foe awaited. In half a breath, her wicked spell spiraled down towards Tikum the Black Dog Kadlum with deadly speed. But seeing its glare from a distance, the broad-shouldered former timawa leaped away from the spell's point of impact, landing in the gray muck chest first.
"Is that all you can do?" Tikum said. "Is that it, Lady of the Darkest Night?" he spat with disdain. "I expected more from the likes of you."
Amburukay made several gestures with her fingers as she prepared for another arcane assault. "You little arrogant scum!" Her gaze darkened as she scowled. "Oh, we're just getting started. You will feel pain after I'm done with you! That's a promise, Black Dog!"
Seeing her fierce face turn more baleful by the second, Tikum began to doubt that a head-on battle would do him any good. He'd just be hogwash against a great manghihiwit. Sorcerers and witches are simply the kind you don't trifle with, especially the one in front of him. Amburukay was, after all, one of the most craftiest hex-slinger one could ever face, second only to his former master, Sri Kihod, the sorcerer-king himself.
Tikum sighed. His efforts on breaking her resolve seemed naught. The woman was quite determined, but maybe he could salvage something out of this mess. He cursed. Perhaps, she's just too determined for his liking. The seed of doubt germinated and grew inside his heart. Maybe angering her was not the best idea. It certainly wasn't looking like it was the best way to take back what was his from the manghihiwit.
Tikum would've wanted to avoid this kind of altercation against an adept in the arcane arts. Magic always made things less predictable and that always trumped his strength. He'd take on multiple headhunters or even a bagani or two, at least he'd know what to expect with them. Kampilan blades were more welcomed compare to vicious and chaotic hexes. He growled in frustration. Tikum prided himself in thinking on his toes, in problem-solving and seeing patterns. But these magic-wielding people– these buruhisans always throw everything out the window.
He preferred them as allies when it came to a fight. Anyone with a right mind would, buruhisans, after all, held raw power in their hands. He slipped a smile, as a thought cross his mind. That was one of the many reasons why he married one. In this situation, an alliance would have been the lesser evil, but that was before awful choices were made. This was what he had now and he would have to deal with this as soon as possible.
Tikum rolled down a trench to evade her succeeding arcane strike, yelping as pulverized rocks showered all over him. Now, the manghihiwit was truly furious. Her malicious intent was palpable. Tikum breathed out heavily. Has she amassed so much power in such a short time? Did she already fully embrace the dark ancient arts? It seemed like his chances of winning was diminishing by the second, and Tikum wasn't far off in his guesses. But all he could do was try to calm himself down. He slowed his breathing. Panic would do him no good against a buruhisan. Panic rarely went well against magic-users. Or any enemy for that matter. That said, things were still getting out of hand whether he planned on panicking or not. He had to answer back by taking the reins. He had to act fast. But he needed to find the right moment to do it.
After making sure that he still had all his limbs intact, he hesitantly peered at the edge of the ditch wary of the furious witch. He clicked his tongue. He could still change the outcome. He could win this if he could cancel out her advantages. Cutting the distance between them was one way to do it. He eyed her curiously as she stood a span away at the edge of the verdant forest. The manghihiwit paused as she busily attended to the thing hidden behind the thick folds of her robe. Tikum sighed. It was the very same thing that only mattered for the Black Dog. The very thing he was willing to risk his life for.
He took a deep breath. "Think Tikum, think," he said to himself as he bide his time in the hole he was in. But as if on cue, the manghihiwit looked straight at him. Her stare was intense and deliberate as though she already knew what he was about to do.
"Come out, where I can see you!" she shrieked, one hand poised to release an onslaught of dark enchantments.
The Black Dog swallowed a clump on his throat as Amburukay walked out of the tree line, stopping a couple of feet from a jutting sentinel rock made of worn-out limestone. Her long loose cloak, trailed like a shadow behind her, crackling with chaos magic.
"Are you a dog or are you a mouse?" she added, one brow arched, patiently waiting for his reply, knowing all to well that the Black Dog wouldn't like the insult.
Tikum grumbled a curse as he tried his best at ignoring the witch. Instead, he looked for a quick exit as the seed of panic grew more in his heart. He was in a disadvantage here being out in the open, and the little cover he had now would work against him if the witch gained a higher vantage point. The square-jawed, former warrior serf wiped the dirt off his face. He wouldn't have chosen this bald-spot of a place to do his deed. The dark forest around them was a better setting for his ambush. For his traps. He sighed in disappointment. It was simply too late to pray to the devatas or to any deity of Vijayas for a do-over. This was his luck and as always it was in a deep shade of bad.
Tikum caught himself before his thoughts spiraled more towards rock bottom. No, he had to settle with the fate he was dealt with. He reminded himself that this was all for a great purpose. This was for Ukok. But the manghihiwit had other plans, and as per his experience, sorcerers and witches rarely strayed far from the insidious kind. His time with his master Sri Kihod would attest to that. They were not the generous and merciful kind when it came to a fight.
Tikum snapped his head and let out a series of curses as the ground shook with the witch's powerful magic. She was clearly not pulling any punches. And it was both good and bad for Tikum.
"Come out, coward!" she said.
"Really? Name-calling? Oh, how the high could stoop so low," he answered before a peculiar sensation washed all over his body, making his goose-flesh stand. Unearthly evocation magic was present. He felt his stomach constrict. This was not good.
Tikum tried to utter a witty retort, but he was cut off as the manghihiwit continued to weave words of arcane before pelting him with explosive hexes as strong as a shot from a hundred lantaka cannons at his proximity. Some of her spells were too close for comfort, but he assured himself that he was in a decent enough cover to wait it out. For he knew that soon enough, her power would wane. She would be weakened. His gut told him it was a matter of time. But how soon would that be? Tikum hoped he'd live long enough for that to matter.
As the dust and smoke settled from her magic, the manghihiwit spoke again, "Are you afraid? Is the Black Dog of Ananipay a cowering cur?"
No one answered back and an uncomfortable silence occupied the space between them. Only the faint rustling of leaves from the surrounding trees disturbed the quiet. The manghihiwit waited a breath longer, half-expecting Tikum to run into the open– as idiotic cowards do. She repeated her words in a less eloquent manner and cursed when nothing happened.
She spat, shaking her head slowly. "If you have the balls of a bagani, then show yourself! End this, now! Fight and die honorably like the warriors of old. Or better yet, yield! Surrender and bend the knee!"
Tikum raised his head at the edge of the trench. His ears were still buzzing after the bombardment of spells but he was not the kind of person to stay put and let minor provocations go. One may call him, a sensitive soul.
"Ha, I'm not scared of you! And no one should be," he said, scanning the area for openings he could exploit. There were too few and too far to risk it. He decided to continue their repartee, playing the waiting game instead and hoping his adversary would make the first error. "I'm not that stupid, Ambu. You know that–"
"Oh, but you are stupid enough. And that is all that counts."
Before Tikum could say more, a dark spell burst out from the witch's hand, crossing the gap between them in an instant. "Giatay," he cried as the eerie witch-light passed a couple inches short from taking his ear away with it.
The hex struck the dead trunk behind him with a bang, immolating it to ash in seconds.
Tikum shook his head. He didn't even hear her speak the spell out loud. Then, it struck him, Amburukay knew he was trying to time her attacks.
"Hey, that was close! Whispering your hexes? Really? Cheap tricks."
"Learned from the best at bamboozling and betraying people. And I've seen you do pettier things."
"That's not a nice insult."
"They're not supposed to be."
"You're right. If only your insults were as good as your aim," he said, before bolting from his concealment straight out into the open. It was just the right time as Amburukay threw another hex that arched down his cover, levelling the whole area with a thunderous bang.
Tikum threw himself to safety and as he somersaulted and rolled on the dirt, he used his own momentum to stand back up. Even after years of magic weakening in Vijayas, it was clear that Amburukay was still at full-strength. Even stronger, he corrected himself. The devatas still favored her. More accurately, her link to Gadlum still holds true.
"Oh, now you're doing it while I'm speaking?" He caught himself smiling.
Amburukay gave out a short bout of laughter. "The next one will be the last one."
"Yeah sure, Ambu, but it won't be because you've won," he said. "Fat chance!"
Tikum exchanged sharp glares with his foe for a short second before the witch followed suit with another spell. Tikum saw it coming, so he quickly sprinted away from the earth-shattering damage it wrought, expertly avoiding the debris that fell before him. All this, while his heart bounced franticly inside his chest. His breathing was slowly growing deep and labored as he fled for cover to cover. Not a great sign, he thought as he huffed and puffed for air.
"Run fool!" the sorceress said as she saw Tikum dash like a headless chicken, falling a couple of times in the slick ground towards the trees. She pointed her finger at the man, aiming as careful as she can. "Run like a coward!" Bright witch-light traced from her finger and on to the ground where he ran. An explosion quickly followed, throwing him up and then down the ground. She tried to finish him off but the former timawa was quick-footed enough to use the uneven terrain for his cover.
"I ain't no coward," Tikum Kadlum said as he stood up like a spring to snarl at the witch. His mane-like hair plastered on the side of his face, bound by a black putong head-wrap. Timing the spell was what saved him. And the fact that Amburukay's reflexes seemed to be slowing down helped too. But would he be this lucky again?
"Your actions betray the truth!" she said, eyeing him as he ran again from cover to cover. "Keep fleeing and you're only gonna die tired."
"I can do this all day," Tikum said, trying to catch his breath as he circled his enemy using the treeline for cover. "But can you, Ambu? Answer that manghihiwit! Can your magic last that long?"
Tikum paused behind a narra tree. He didn't know if his mind games would work. But the more agitated she was, the more chances of her making a grievous mistake. Tikum was betting on it. He exhaled and paused for a very long second, choosing that right time to turn the situation against the witch.
"Come out, little dog!"
"Sure, you want that?"
"As sure as our master when he disowned you, scum!"
Seeing an opening, Tikum dashed out to flank her just as another wicked spell streaked from the manghihiwit towards him. The hex was straight and true, but like a spine-tailed swift, he dived behind a huge rock, avoiding it at the last second. He growled. That was close, he thought. It surprised him that Amburukay was wiley enough to set that trap in anticipation.
"Oh, you foolish man," the manghihiwit said. "Surrender and stop this nonsense. I can read you as clear as babayin scripts carved on bamboo."
"No fucking way," Tikum said, leaning on the moss-laden boulder, careful not to expose himself. "And I didn't know you can to read. Color me surprised."
He smiled. Things looked worse but he was slowly closing the distance between them without her noticing. The time to attack was near.
"Are you gonna make me wait more? Come and face me, Tikum."
"You can't make me." He peeked out from his cover to judge how far she was. A little more closer, he thought. Her hexes were only good for long ranges. Using it against a foe at a close distance might make it rebound back to the spellcaster and Amburukay would not risk that. Not with someone so important with her.
He recomposed himself. "If you want to stop, just give me what I want and we'll call it even."
The manghihiwit's lips formed into an impish smile as she sprung atop the leaning sentinel rock, overlooking her quarry. Her black cloak covered the top of her weathered perch entirely.
Tikum cursed. It was the perfect place to strike for someone like her, for the thing towered over the canopy of trees around them. She opened the folds of her midnight-colored cloak to reveal the sleeping child coddled on her other arm.
"You'll never taker her away from me you cur. Never!"
The Black Dog gritted his teeth.
"I'd like to prove you wrong before this day ends," he said from his cover, eyeing the little girl on Amburukay's arm. He had to take the child from her. He had to save her from the manghihiwit. "I'll steal her from you! I will take back what is mine."
Amburukay tightened her grip on the four year-old girl on her arm. She'll die first before Tikum could take Ukok from her. Hate warmed her core. No one will ever take Ukok from her again.
"We shall see, scoundrel," she whispered.
The manghihiwit bit her wrist and let a bead of blood crawl down her finger. "I really hope you're ready for this Tikum," she added. "I never thought I would use blood magic again... so soon. And most of all, not against you." She continued to laugh to the point that it turned into a cackle with her whole body trembling and with her eyes wide like an owl's. Knowing that it was out of loathing and mockery made it all the more menacing for Tikum. She was a picture of mania and magic. Never a good combination, always a bad sign. Amburukay paused for a moment, concentrating as she spoke the dark spell all while spinning her finger into a circle and forming a ball of energy as black as a shadow but twice denser.
"Ukok will always be mine, dog!" she said, pointing her fully-formed arcane construct towards the moss-laden boulder where the bronze-skinned man hid. "Try as you may, you will never get her. Destiny has decided. Fate itself deemed it to be, Black Dog!"
Tikum cursed her for the umpteenth time before she unleashed the spell that now resembled an arm-long spike made of black magic and borne out of blacker hate. Amburukay would not simply relent after three years of hounding them. Tikum the Black Dog Kadlum knew that all too well. So, he scrambled out of his cover and ducked his head as the witch unleashed her magic. Her dark sorcery landed behind him and for a heart beat all the sound around them seemed to die in unison, then, the point of impact crackled with magic, leaving the small portion of forest carved and bald as though in a blink of an eye a giant scooped the earth and uprooted the trees with one swipe.
Tikum staggered forward, unstrapping the weapon at his back, a butterfly axe made of pure black steel. He noticed her falter and hesitate. Too bad for her. This was his only window to strike. She was losing her magic faster than expected. Now, was the moment Tikum was waiting for. He held the deadly tool like it was an extension of his own hand and flung it towards his enemy with all his strength, hoping that it would hit its mark. The battle axe whirred in the air, closing the span between them in a split second. It was sure to hit. But the keen manghihiwit caught the weapon by its ivory handle with surprising ease.
"You never learn, dog," she said to Tikum with a smug look on her face.
"Likewise," Tikum replied, a smile edging his own lips.
What Amburukay didn't realize was that a cord of fine leather, just long enough, was tied to the end of the axe's handle and on the other end was Tikum's hilt-less dagger. By the time she finished speaking, the sudden motion of the axe or the lack of it propelled the short steel towards her. She shrieked in pain as the dagger's blade shot like a cobra's bite, giving her pearl white cheek a shallow cut. It that moment, Amburukay eyed Tikum with a most furious glare. There was no magic in her eyes, but Tikum still felt her cold anger as though it was tangible.
"How dare you!" she cried, turning away from Tikum, hand still poised for another strike.
"It's an improvement if you ask me," Tikum said as he avoided a bolt of black lightning from the furious manghihiwit.
"Damn you!" Amburukay hissed, face swathed in sweat and eyes red in anger. "Do you really want me to send you back to the mud permanently, Tikum?"
"Heh... thought you'd like it. Guess, I'm wrong again?"
The manghihiwit wiped the blood on her cheek away with the edge of her robe, face turning paler by the second.
"You'll be in so much pain before this day ends, Tikum Kadlum!" The name exploded from Amburukay's lips with distaste. "Pain worse than Sri Kihod ever had. You'd wish death on yourself. I'll make sure of it!"
Tikum dodged two succeeding coruscant charms from her before she let the butterfly axe in her hand go. It flew in the air like a blur, seeking for a bite. Tikum tried to avoid it, but he wasn't fast enough this time. It grazed his tattooed shoulder, drawing blood.
"Gi-atay," he hissed. Things were going dim for him and a calculated retreat was needed. On his way to the treeline, he grabbed the axe that bit through a dead trunk, avoiding another hex from the witch. "Goddamit," he said as he sprinted on, cradling his wounded arm.
"You can't hide and escape Tikum, not from me. Not anymore," the manghihiwit whispered, her stygian cloak bristling like a black boar's fur as she stood on the cut boulder. The unconscious child on her arms began to wake and mumble, startled by the commotion. With gentle hands she touched the child's cheek, whispering a spell on her ears.
"Shush, little one," Amburukay said. She, then, hummed a lullaby. A haunting tune, short but warm and calming. With that, her gaunt face softened as she gave the youngling a soft kiss. "He'll be back," she added as the child fell asleep, hearing hear voice.
Amburukay smiled with moon-white fangs, eyes glowing brighter than the fading sun behind her. She realized she was being too generous against her mortal foe. It was time to take things more seriously. Amburukay took a deep breath, gaining back her composure. "When he comes... we'll be waiting for him, Ukok. And I will be ready."