5.6 DOG EX MACHINA

  "You two!" Jurah called out. "Do it now! Or we'll be done for."

  Hearing this, Tikum and Milong moved with haste, placing their hands above the alibhon leaves that Jurah lighted. The smoke from the incense coiled itself around them and a chill wind rushed on their faces.

  They all bowed in unison as the forest around them shook. Not long after, a mysterious and unnatural force rushed towards them from all directions. They could feel it on their skin, as subtle warmth that washed all the negative emotions inside them like a splash of spring water. Then, Jurah's eyes glowed with an eerie blue hue akin to witch-fire.

  The ati woman spoke, "I call upon thee, Lord of the Old Forest, Guardian of the Hunt, Protector of all beasts! I beseech thee! Aid me in my time of need..." The violent tremor underfoot halted and a white, soul-searing light in the shape of a man came out of the forest.

  Tikum had to close his eyes for fear that he would go blind from the flash that radiated from it. Then, a peculiar sensation enveloped his core. It was as though the dread inside him was slowly disintegrating. Using his hand to shade his eyes, he looked up, careful enough to avoid the gadlumanon a distance away from the mysterious figure made of light. What little he could see astonished him. The figure from the forest was thrice taller than any man he had chance to fight against. And standing so near to it felt so unnerving even to him, a timawa of old, a veteran warrior serf, who has gone through many things. It was a strange experience, being there with a god-spirit, so near to a being as strong as an Old One. Its divine proximity gave a weighty assurance too, that made things feel like all will be well (if Tikum could bottle its essence he was sure it would cure a hang over from drinking the purest and strongest arak liquor in a blink of an eye). He breathe it all in. It wasn't just any devata of Vijayas either. It was an ancient force that had been there long before the Vijayasan's gods set their holy feet on the Great Archipelago's fertile soil.

  Tikum shook his head to shake the feeling off but it didn't help. He knew it by its will. It was strong and yet so natural, so attuned with everything in the forest like all guardian spirits... As it moved, Tikum felt its measured actions and his awe grew, turning to a feeling akin to watching something so sublime. It was as though a dangerous storm turned into a benign wind without losing its great power. It was all there- the pulsing energy that only a god could contain. Questions raced through his mind, how could such a brilliant being anchor itself in the human realm? How could it do it without the use of dark magic? And it wasn't trapped by any means nor was it forced? Jurah murmured a prayer and Tikum realized that it was the ati woman. She was the bridge. He could no longer pretend that he wasn't impressed with her ability. Her actions may have given them the chance they sorely needed.

  Jurah raised her hand and pointed at the writhing gadlumanon and without words the Taglugar approached it. But half-way through, an awful sensation came rushing towards Tikum as he realized something awful had happened. The gadlumanons bindings were growing loose and with a snap the abog net that wrapped itself around the shadow entity disintegrated into wisps of white smoke.

  The god-spirit rushed forward, wrestling down the formless mass of darkness as though it was a boar on a wild hunt it was trying to ground. The squirming gadlumanon wrapped itself on the Taglugar god and the two fought, dealing deathly blows against each other. Every strike from the old god-spirit damaged the shadow entity, burning it with its light, but as soon as a limb was smashed, snapped or cut another one replaced it.

  The Taglugar hoisted the misshapen entity with great effort. Then, Jurah's deity opened its silent mouth and a stream of luminescent energy poured from it. Its full force threw the many-limbed gadlumanon into the air, sending it crashing on a boulder. But the shadow creature shrugged the assault, showing no sign of permanent damage. So, the Taglugar doubled its effort against it, lifting and smashing it on the great trees around them and dragging it down the rugged ground. But something was amiss in their fight.

  Tikum dropped his hand from his face when he realized it. The light from the being as strong as an Old God was fading too quickly.

  "No...not yet," Jurah said, struggling against an invisible force. "You can't abandon me yet!" But things were already clear. Although powerful, the Taglugar god-spirit was wavering. It was slowing down, lumbering almost.

  Somehow Jurah was right in doubting the outcome of Tikum's plan. Her preparations was not enough. She tried to gain a foothold back but she was losing more energy maintaining her binding ties with the spirit. Before she could warn the others the worst happened. Like a jolt of lightning on a clear day the Taglugar deity vanished from thin air and Jurah collapsed, blacking out with it. Tikum pushed himself away as soon as he felt the rushing aura of the gadlumanon shroud him. But it was inescapable.

  Freed from its bounds the darkness wormed itself inside them, digging their long hidden fears and bringing it all up to the surface. Tikum clawed at his throat as he tried to shout but couldn't... Milong was the first to give in. He opened his eyes, thinking that he could at least bring down the gadlumanon with mere grit and courage. He stood up with blade in hand but it was foolish and the gadlumanon saw it a mile away.

  Milong was violently plucked from the ground by one of the gadlumanon's taut limbs. He tried to struggle, slashing his kampilan down the beast but with one stare all his sanity was sucked away from him in an instant. The gadlumanon dropped him down by the nipa's debris, gibbering and shouting.

  Tikum came next. He fought it with his will, but with little to nothing as protection it was as though he was fighting a seasoned bagani weaponless and with his hands tied behind his back. On the verge of being overwhelmed by the sheer force of the gadlumanon, Tikum remembered the golden tikbalang's mane with him. He took it out and raised it just time as the shadow creature entered his mind...

  Piercing through his filmy consciousness, it dove to the depths of his soul and through his deep subconscious, digging through thousands of bubbles that was his recollection. Just to find out his anxieties and fears... his weakness... just to feed off them.

  And ultimately use it to unhinged his feeble sanity.

  Shining like lanterns in the dark cavernous depths, the shadow took hold of one memory, parsing through its secrets and meaning with malicious glee...

  Bright light washed everything as the memory unfolded like a blossoming flower.

  What is your name?

  It was after he took her daughter away from his mother. Bruised and wounded he continued on with the ritual. He chants the words to an old arcane spell.

  The shadow savors the odious irony thick within the memory. It was the same magic her wife taught him, a simple chant coupled with a drink from the essence of the red lilies to erase unwanted memories. It was useful for a spy like him. He poured the drink on her daughter's mouth as she sleeps.

  Tomorrow she would forget her mother.

  The shadow took another bubble of memory. The delicious smell of fear and the idea of rejection filled its nostrils. He wanted to run but he had to show it to her. His very first gift. He was sure she would not like it. He was sure...

  But her eyes lit up the moment he uncovered the black robe. He tells her how rare a wak-wak's fur was. He tells her many things. She smiles back and then they share a loving kiss...

  Another memory opens up, older than the first two.

  He is a young man. It's been days without food... he was so hungry. He shouldn't have stowed away in the ship. He shouldn't have ran away.

  A storm came and then he wakes up with the rest of the crew dead. He cries for his mother but she never answers back. His hate for his father keeps him going. Shipwrecked in the island he wonders of death.

  A man arrives in the shore before he meets the devata of death. He is a manghihiwit. He is powerful. He calls him master. His name is Kihod.

  He is saved from the clutches of Sidapa... But a debt must be paid.

  What is your name? Tell me!

  Satisfied, the shadow caressed another bubble of memory in its grasp. He is running with the baby in tow. He stumbles off the bridge as it burns down.

  Behind him, a town slowly turns to ash as fires engulfed every inch of it. She is angry. He could feel her fury in the air.

  He shakes his head, it was worth it.

  He was, after all, right. It was for his daughter's safety. He keeps on running from her.

  The cat and mouse chase begins...

  The shadow unravels another one... He is just a boy and he is running for his life. His heart beats louder as the tradesman runs after him, leaving his caravan behind for the other thieves to pilfer his goods.

  He pockets the kasikas. He'll be rich with it. He'll be the richest boy in town. But then, he sees his father waiting for him.

  He is not happy as his eyes settle down on the jewelry. He beats him to a pulp. He stops... it was the last straw. The next day he would run from all of this... he would leave Ananipay behind.

  He is nervous.

  He is worried. He waits anxiously. He fears for her life. He fears for their life. He prays for the gods like he has never prayed before. The old mananambal greets him. Time stops as she tells him it's a beautiful girl.

  What is your name!? What is your name!?

  He is a father. He smiles and laughs like an idiot. He is a father...

  Gold light shines like a sun in the depths of his recollection, illuminating the cavern that was his mind. He sees their faces, a loving image of a mother and her daughter. Both of them together, watching him from afar... slowly fading.

  He feels envy. But it is short-lived. He fights against unconsciousness.

  It fights back, but he triumphs against it. It becomes another memory.

  All are just distant memories. All are mere shadows.

  He smiles. He smiles because he knows its name... He mouths it with relish. Makabagting.

  Something squirms inside him. It is wounded. It is hurt. It will flee.

  A familiar warmth from the tikbalang's mane washed all over the darkness as Tikum broke free from the shadow's aura panting. Disoriented and in pain, he crawled upright and stood on unsteady feet. Things, to say the least, were not going well for him. His senses were muddled as if he was in the deepest part of the ocean drowning ever so slightly.

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  "Ukok!" Tikum said, gasping for air and nauseous at the same time. He felt drained.

  The fatigue and the throbbing inside his head also grew to the point where he actually heaved out everything he ate. It left a burning sensation on his throat but the dizziness stopped for a bit. He shook his head, fighting the awful feeling that everything around him was slowly closing in on him. Tikum let out a deafening cry, fighting the nagging strangeness left by the gadlumanon. Then, something strange got his attention.

  He took a step and felt the weird sensation again, this time stronger. It felt like heavy water from a raging falls... falling on his shoulders and down to his back and arms. It was soothing compared to the gadlumanon's malevolent aura that was now slowly dissipating.

  "What the hell?" he said as the heat of the golden tikbalang's mane on his wrist subsided. It was the source... The braided necklace was healing him. He stared at it, studying every strand and fiber. Somehow its powers shielded him from the chaotic aura of the gadlumanon.

  Regaining some semblance of composure, he stared down at Milong as the uripon whispered all his secrets, begging for his help, still under the gadlumanon's malevolent spell. Tikum noticed that his eyes were empty like black mirrors. A sure sign of a hiwit, running its course. Tikum knew he couldn't do anything against the enchantment. So, the Black Dog ignored his pleas and turned to Jurah as she slumped unconscious on the ground.

  They were done for. Tikum could not rely on them now. He hesitated, taking a step away from them. The Black Dog groaned. He knew he had to go because there was still a small chance he could catch up. Surely, he can't help Jurah and Milong now. And they were alive. Ukok needed Tikum more too. But an all-to-famillar tugging sensation pulled at his guts, anchoring him and bending his will with the weight of his conscience. He tried to fight it. He had to...

  "I'm sorry... I'll be back... I swear..." he said, assured that it was justified to abandon them but then he paused, cursing at his new found guilt. "Gi-atay!" After much thought Tikum, with all his strength, dragged the two under a tree. He, then used the tikbalang's mane on them.

  He focused on Jurah and Milong. They earned it. They earned his aid. Not only did they helped him when he was down... Jurah and Milong were becoming closer than mere acquaintances for him. Even if he tried to deny it, they were his friends, now. And this was the decent thing to do. When he saw it fit, he placed the gold braided hairs on his chest and felt its power gradually sooth his aches too, diminishing the weighty feeling inside him.

  "You know... I really should go," he said, more to himself as Jurah and Milong's condition improved. They'll soon regain consciousness, he convinced himself. They'll soon pick themselves up. They'll soon help him, he secretly hoped.

  With his resolve back intact, Tikum stood up, following the trail in front of him with utmost determination in every step. He had urgent things to attend to, but as he made his way out of the forest his mind wandered as the effects of fatigue closed in on him. Ukok was still on the foreground of his thoughts but some of his wild ideas kept disrupting his focus. He thought of them as silly a long time ago. Impractical. But not today. Listlessly, he wondered how much had change in him after his recent encounter with Ambu. He didn't know if the right word was kindness or not. He had doubts if it was even genuine. But at times, it felt good doing it even though it made things harder. He wondered if he could extend this to his enemies... Show this new-found understanding to them. Show this decent way of doing things. Would it change things? Or was it a dead man's last choice as he pursued peace after all the foolishness? After all his actions. After what he did.

  He shook his head in dismay, things were a lot different. It wasn't realistic. Bad decisions were made a long time ago. He could not undo them anymore. There was only little he could change to mitigate the damage he made. But will it be enough? Or was he just too late?

  His thoughts took another turn, Tikum wondered if he deserved it all. All this madness. All this mayhem. All this pain. As he trudged on, he realized the answer. Of course, he did. After all, it was all his decisions. All his actions that lead into this whole mess.

  ***

  Amburukay waited anxiously in the town hall, sitting on the throne that wasn't hers. Impatience was eating her slowly. She sighed. The gadlumanon was taking its time. Time she did not really have. She stared at Karas and Tihol still fast asleep.

  "What dreams are you dreaming, now?" she said but only silence answered her. "You must think of me as selfish and cruel." She looked away. "Offering your lives to that demon and all, but I'm not. I won't let that happen. I won't hand you to that gadlumanon. Let that be my payment to your unwilling services. I do price loyalty far above all. Even if its forcefully taken." She smiled. "When that thing comes for you I shall do my best but I can't promise I will succeed."

  Amburukay raised the black tikbalang's mane wrapped around her wrist. She'd been studying it since she acquired it from the sisters of Raguet when they first met. It was an unfamiliar sort of magic. It was different. It traded raw energy to power. It did not tapped on a particular ambient source like her magic. Instead, the magical mane converted chaos and negative energy to usable power. And now, she saw it work. It was shimmering, giving off a white light as it drained the stain on her hands. It was slow in storing magic inside it but it was very powerful. She smiled again. She wondered how powerful the baylanon was with it. Did she even know its potential?

  Amburukay closed her eyes and pointed the tikbalang's braided mane at the wall in front of her. With a snap of her finger, she released a stream of concussive energy. It struck the wall and like a thousand kampilan blade it cut through the wooden panels with ease. When the debris settled it left behind a perfect circle huge enough to fit two buffaloes in.

  "Come out of there. The next one won't miss you." Amburukay hissed. "I don't want others listening on me when I talk." A rattling sound answered back from the hole on the wall as though mocking her. Amburukay stood up and closed her eyes, remembering what it could be. "I won't warn you again. Do you really want to test me?"

  The rattling sound continued on. "We have what you desire," a voice said from the black hole. Before Amburukay could say anything else the gadlumanon went inside the hall with two child in tow. She turned her head away from it.

  "Set the child aside," Amburukay said, pointing at the far corner of the wall."Go on the other end. Only then, will I give your prize..."

  When the deed was done, Amburukay went straight to her daughter, barely keeping her emotion in check. "Ukok it's me... It's mother. It's me." She embraced the still unconscious child, tears streaming down her face. A cold wind passed through her. "What did you do to my daughter?"

  "I brought her as you commanded. I reunited you two. I did your bidding, Lady of the Darkest Night."

  Something awful clung at Amburukay's mind after hearing those words. "What do you mean 'I'?" Amburukay turned and against her instincts opened her eyes. What she saw stunned her.

  "Do not act as though I'm a stranger," the voice said directly to her mind. "I pulled you out from nothing... shaped you into something you are now. I was the closest family you have before... Well, let's not go over that. Do you not remember me?"

  "You?"

  "Yes... yes... It is I, your master, Sri Kihod," the sorcerer king said, a smile edging at his lips. But it wasn't exactly him. Well, it was the king of the manghihiwits but not his old self. It was Sri Kihod when he was young and strong. And it wasn't an illusion either, Amburukay was sure of it. Somehow it was his master... Somehow he found away back to the Living realm.

  But instead of taking the fight to her traitorous student, Sri Kihod just stood at the far end of the hall robed in living shadows. His eyes sparked with an invitation of violence. As though struck by a paralyzing spell, Amburukay could not move a muscle. She could only watch as he walked closer and closer, the shadows behind him dancing like anemones in an almost hypnotic wave.

  Amburkay stood up with all her will, covering Ukok, shielding her from Sri Kihod. "How did you–"

  Without moving a finger, Sri Kihod struck Amburukay with the living shadow around him. The force threw the manghihiwit off the wall, stunning her for a second. Amburukay tried to stand back but another shadow whipped down her back, sending her bouncing on the floor.

  "Awhile back I was really itching to kill you my pupil." He clicked his tongue. "For years... that was all that kept me from losing my mind in my eternal prison."

  "Well, from the looks of it... that did not really go well for you, master Kihod." Amburukay shook her head as her world tilted.

  "Ha... yes, it wasn't sensible but now I have found new meaning. Now, I know that..." He stared at Ukok. "But I'm here and that is what's important. And I still need to finish something." He stared at her, studying every inch of her. "I must continue the ritual that you thwarted a long... long time ago. I may have the powers of a god, right now..." Sri Kihod eyed his hands, opening and closing his palms, relishing the power that pulsated inside him. "But, it is not enough."

  "You lay a finger on Ukok and you're going home without it."

  "I'm sure you will do what you say... It is one of your better attributes. But still, I'm dissapointed with you, Ambu. Could you not see how great we could've been?" Sri Kihod paused, studying Amburukay's face subtly change. Then he smiled, seeing all the contempt in her eyes. "Magic would be at hand for all of us... Not just me. Not just the few... but all of Vijayas could harness that magic. We could rule everything. We still could. With you by my side, the meaning of conquest would be redefined."

  "No, I'm nobody's lackey. I've never been yours. I came to you... To learn... to be strong. To control what I have. And in exchange, I gave you unquestioning loyalty. But you can't give me the true power I want because you are weak, Sri Kihod. You have always been weak. Do you not see the folly in giving others the power we posses? Do you not see the danger in giving away so much to the unworthy? Just look at yourself and it would be clear why I disagree. Not everyone is prepared to sacrifice themselves to do what must be done. Surely, you know that... And between the both of us, we are already one too many, Sri Kihod."

  The king of manghihiwits grated his teeth. "You're the one who's narrow-minded, my pupil. We could rebuild my kingdom... return to glory..."

  "You already led one kingdom in ruins," she said. "Many of our kind trusted you... and you led them to their deaths. And now, few of us remain, all because of your madness. And glory? What of it? It does not appeal to my vanity." She smiled. "I just want one thing and I'm prepared to sacrifice everything to protect it."

  "Do not tell me that you've become squeamish in my absence, my pupil."

  "Squeamish? Has madness veiled those eyes of yours? You've sacrificed enough of our kind already to get what you want." She glanced at the sisters of Raguet and felt a tinge of guilt. "You almost did it to my daughter... You must understand that your way will never work, my master. As long as I stand."

  "You're the one who is blinded! I guess that's why I have to let you see." He sighed. "Yes, I shall open your ignorant eyes to the light. It's the best way... It's the only way of correcting and punishing your silly notions, Ambu." He shook his head, she was no longer the little girl who did what she was ask of. "Such nonse... Such idiocy... Such misplaced arrogance... all this... All this started because you met that detestable timawa of mine." Sri Kihod took a step and Amburuakay's trap sprung open.

  From the floor, spikes made of black energy protruded, piercing soft flesh and severing tissue. The king of manghihiwit struggled as it held him in place, but no matter what he did the bind held strong.

  As this happened, Amburukay intoned a spell, unleashing hundreds upon hundreds of black burning ravens from her cloak. They flew from her robe, circling around her master and without a word, they began attacking him, diving down and leaving streaks of vaporous fire to burn Sri Kihod...

  "Yeah, I've learned a thing or two from my no-good husband," she said as she rolled to the side and gestured a ward on herself. She then proceeded to cast another baleful enchantment. "It's that you should know when to shut up and when to fight." She smiled. "You blabber about like this will go your way." She threw a stunning spell at Kihod before he could free himself from the spikes, following it up with a spell to anchor him down. "But no. You will fail today, Sri Kihod." With practiced efficiency, she flung a ball of light in Kihod's direction, closing her eyes before it exploded into a blinding flash that turned everything white.

  "Ha, that is nice to hear," Sri Kihod said, shielding himself using the shadows around him from the flash, "all things considered but I'm unimpressed." Then, with one freezing breath he extinguished all her spells. "You know how futile all of this is?"

  She countered with a dark charm, this time a coruscant beam of emerald light streamed from her hands and shot straight to Sri Kihod's face. Before he can dodge or protect himself the beam caught him full on and a spine-tingling cry rose from Sri Kihod's throat.

  Amburukay held her wrist higher, steadying the beam and the only thing her master could do was writhe in pain as the green fire engulf his head. "You overestimate your strength my master. You're against your best pupil. And I have outgrown you, Sri Kihod." She smiled, gaining the upper-hand. But things took a different turn, and her smile faded as soon as it bloomed, for Sri Kihod began laughing.

  "Yes, you are my best pupil, Ambu. But that there... lies your defeat. You are only my pupil."

  "You... how... you can't!"

  Sri Kihod's lips twisted and snarled while his face burned with a green fiery glow. "You sound surprise?"

  Amburukay doubled her efforts, concentrating the spell into a needle point beam of super-heated energy. "Die you demon... Die!"

  But Sri Kihod still stood strong. "Demon? You say it like we've never met before." He smiled at her a most feral smile. "Have I ever done anything to convince you otherwise, my pupil?"

  The moment of surprise caught Amburukay off guard as his master counter-attacked. This time, he threw all his shadow tentacles towards her, sending her crashing pass the throne. Dust and debris spread the moment she landed on the paneled wall, making the wood yawn and creak as the ceiling above gave way.

  "Death, oh death... yes... yes... yes... There are worst things than death my pupil," Sri Kihod said as the fire around him slowly killed itself, revealing the charred flesh that covered his face. He raised his head, inhaling the noxious smell of burnt hair. "Let me introduce one of them to you..."

  Bruises and scrapes covered Amburukay as she crawled out of the collapsed portion of the wall. Gritting her teeth, she snapped back up, raising the black tikbalang's mane on her hand. "You think I'll go down easily?" she said, voice broken, the very sound of defeat itself. It wasn't reassuring hearing how weak she sounded but Amburukay will always be Amburukay.

  She bit her other wrist and beads of blood flowed from it like tears as she concentrated for a spell. "You don't know me enough you son of a bitch–"