As they climbed the stacked slabs to enter a cavern leading to a chasm on the other side going in the direction they needed to go, he saw something swoop low in the darkness. It wasn’t a bat—it was far too big—but the way it flew reminded him of a bat.
Richard’s blood ran cold when he peered farther into the dark passageway, over the heads of the men, and saw something dark moving on the surface of the rock above their heads. The whole ceiling of the cavern seemed to come alive, the way a cave full of bats was alive. As the things moved, it stirred the air just enough that the gagging stench of guano wafted out of the cavern.
Richard crossed a finger over his lips, signaling the men behind to be as quiet as possible, then urgently gestured for them to go back the way they had come. The men out front, though, turned back and started running out of the cavern, suddenly yelling for everyone to run. Richard didn’t know what they had seen, but by the way these fearless soldiers were running, he was not about to stop them to ask questions. He turned Kahlan around and started back with her.
CHAPTER
60
As the men ran back out of the huge, dark maw of the cavern, something with wings, but at least twice the size of a man, dropped from a high ledge up inside the shadows and swooped down toward a running soldier. The man saw it coming and was able to dive to the ground in time to keep from being ripped open by talons. Richard didn’t know what the thing was, but even in the gloom he was able to see the size of the claws and knew they didn’t want to tangle with it.
As they all ran for a different opening, hoping to find protection and cover, masses of the dark creatures came screaming out of the cavern Richard and the others had only just started to enter. The men all had swords or axes out and took a swing to try to ward the things off whenever they came close enough. A few of the men fired arrows into the billowing dark cloud of creatures streaming out of the cavern. The arrows all found their marks, but it didn’t stop any of the animals.
As dark as it was in the confusing maze of chasms with the walls overhead almost closing all the way together, it was difficult to see individual creatures as they raced by overhead, or tell what they were, other than that they were big and aggressive. As fast as they were moving, they mostly melted together into a long black blur of flapping wings. Richard was sure, though, that once the wary creatures got over their initial caution, they would go into a feeding frenzy.
Yet more of them suddenly appeared, pouring out of dark cracks and openings in the walls the way big black bugs emerged from under rocks and logs.
Richard saw one of the winged creatures over his shoulder drop out of the flowing black cloud to swoop down toward him and Kahlan. He spun at the last moment as it plunged in, aiming for Kahlan with its talons extended, streaking right over the top of Richard’s head. Richard made contact with a powerful swing of his sword as it swept past. The blade slit the length of its belly open, so that it left a trail of guts and blood on the way down. The matte-black creature crashed to the ground just beyond Kahlan. Teeth snapping, legs flailing, its long neck twisting, it writhed in the throes of death.
Yet more of the winged creatures continued to pour out of the cave, like bats appearing at dusk. As the dark, undulating ribbon of flying beasts curved downward, Nicci, between Richard and Kahlan, lifted her hands, as if pushing back at the creatures. Eight or ten of them folded in midair and plummeted, hitting with ground-shaking thuds.
Richard could see dark flesh between the bones of the wings, much like the skin that formed the wings of bats. But the bodies were covered in sooty black scales, rather than fur. Although they shared characteristics with other creatures, they were unlike any animal he had seen before.
“What did you do?” Richard asked as he urged Nicci and Kahlan back, trying to keep them under cover of trees and out of the way.
“I stopped their hearts,” Nicci said. “But I can only do it to a few. There are too many for me to handle. I’m hoping that it will keep the rest of them afraid to come any closer.”
As they ran between the trunks of ash and birch trees, toward the safety of another opening in the wall, some kind of creature yowled. It reminded Richard of the sound made by a big cat, like a mountain lion or cougar. The animal screamed again as they continued to run toward the cover of a cavern.
Kahlan snatched Richard’s sleeve. “Look!” she said as she pointed into another chasm splitting off to their right. Whatever it was, it was back in a narrow canyon, with sections of bridging stone closing it off overhead. Vines and exposed roots hung down the walls. Green bands of small plants and shrubs had taken root in the horizontal joints of layered stone.