torg 02 - The Dark Realm by Douglas Kaufman Page B

through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil..." he shouted, and the banshee flinched. He continued the prayer, each word striking the ghostly creature as if bullets from a sling. He stepped forward, filled with the power of his faith, and the banshee shrank away.
    "In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust," Father Bryce said with conviction and power. "Let me never be ashamed; deliver me in thy righteousness." He saw that the banshee was growing smaller, less substantial. He was doing it! His prayers were being answered! He could stop this monster!
    The plane took that moment to jerk wildly. Bryce lost his balance and hit the cockpit wall with his shoulder. His concentration dissolved with the shooting pain. Before he could clear his head and resume his prayer, the banshee struck. Floating as it was, the rocking plane was no obstacle. It touched Bryce's arm with its ghostly fingers and the priest screamed. Never had he felt such cold! In that touch was his death, and Bryce's faith crumbled only to be replaced with a numbing fear.
    "Back, creature of the night!" a strong voice called out. "Back in the name of Dunad!"
    The touch was gone then, but the cold remained. It raged through his arm and shoulder all the way down to his hand, causing it to hang limply at his side. Bryce opened his eyes to see Tolwyn standing between him and the banshee. She held her sword before her, commanding the monster with the authority of her god, Dunad. She did claim to be a paladin, Bryce thought detachedly, a holy knight. Of course she would have some miracles to call upon. Didn't Lancelot have such
    I lowers in the stories of the Knights of the Round Table? ()h the cold hurt so bad! But Tolwyn and the others needed him. He had to shake off the effects of the banshee's touch.
    "Dunad add power to my sword!" Tolwyn called as ••he swung her blade at the banshee. The power her own faith granted her was limited, however, and the sword passed through the insubstantial form without doing any damage. The banshee screamed then, aiming the full fury of its voice at the paladin. She doubled over, attempting to protect herself from the painful sound. Hut Bryce could see on her face that it hurt her terribly. And the banshee was drifting forward, intent on bringing its death touch to bear on Tolwyn.
    "Here, Chris," Mara said, handing him his cross. "I found it. Hurry. I have to reach the controls and I can't do that with the banshee in the way."
    Bryce took the holy symbol with his good hand and advanced on the ghost. Already he felt the power returning. He shoved the cross into the specter and shouted loudly. "Begone!" With a terrible wail, the banshee collapsed inward and vanished with a popping sound. Bryce looked down at the cross with amazement. He barely noticed Mara leap past him to grab the controls of the descending plane.
    "You handled yourself well, priest," Kurst said from beside him. "If not for you, we would have died like the pilots."
    Bryce nodded weakly. He had much to think about. Was his faith, even after all that had happened, dependent on relics and symbols? Could he only manifest it through a metal cross? And, if that were the case, would he really be able to provide the others with the help they needed in the place they were going?
    As usual, Bryce had no answers for himself. Doubt began to gnaw at his newfound resolve, and he was suddenly very afraid.
     
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    Coyote sat by the window, looking out into the compound of the base. On his lap sat the gray cat with the red collar. It was Tal Tu's pet, but right now the youth needed its companionship more than the edeinos did.
    "You've been through a lot, huh fella?" Coyote asked the cat. It regarded him with big eyes, then rubbed its head against his hand. "I hope they're all right, cat," he whispered. "I wish we were with them."
    Outside, there was suddenly a lot of activity. Coyote glanced around, trying to see what was happening. He notice Major Boot coming toward