“Things are deteriorating far faster than we'd expected,” said Ceidwad.
“They only approve if we can be gone within the hour,” said Spark. “Are you two right ready for a return journey?”
Ceidwad and Lladdwr nodded in unison. “Let's go,” said Ceidwad as they sprang to their feet and gave their feathers a thorough shake.
Spark drew aside for a farewell with Lipperella, Laora and Edward and the Mob that they knew would end the moment Tors and Kast appeared up the stairs. They had scarcely had hugs all 'round when the pair came bounding out into the open with bags and gear. Spark gave Lipperella an extra squeeze and started off.
“Wait!” cried Edward, running with Laora to catch up. “We want to come with you!”
Spark turned back as Lipperella met his eyes with a nod. “It will be very dangerous,” he said, as he looked up to see her nod once again.
Edward and Laora stood solemnly in front of him with big-eyed nods. “We know, Uncaspark,” said Edward, “but we'll be real careful and do just what you tell us to. I want to see Unacafuzz. I really, really miss him.”
Spark drew in a deep breath between his teeth. “You'll both do exactly as I say, every single time, even if I tell you to fly back home at once?”
Edward and Laora squeezed hands as they exchanged a look, then nodded together.
“All right,” said Spark. “This is by far the most serious thing we've ever done together. I'll hold the pair of you to your word.”
“Thank you, Uncaspark!” cried Edward. He suddenly dashed back to Lipperella and threw his arms around her neck. “I love you, Aunt Lippy.”
Laora immediately did the same, and they were ready. Spark blew a kiss to Lipperella and turned away with the party for the Chokewood Forest.
***
“How do I look, Mother?” said Rose as she anxiously peered again at her reflection in the great oval mirror.
“Absolutely, stunningly beautiful dear. You couldn't possibly be more gorgeous,” said Minuet with a smile of wistful joy. “I think it's almost time. Why don't I just pop out into the garden and see if they are ready for you yet? And isn't it wonderful that we had this one warm, sunny day come along so it could actually be out there as you used to wish when you were little.”
Rose nodded gratefully and heaved a tight-buttoned sigh as Minuet stepped out of sight. “Well yes,” she thought, as the handmaiden came at her train to whisk and fluff and straighten, “except that there are no roses, and that this has grown into a full-blown wedding. The citizens of Niarg had other ideas, but at least they're not making me marry Pea Slinger Pig Boy. But I do get Fuzz. I just wish this would be over.”
She looked up at the sound of determined footfalls in the corridor. A wail of bagpipes sounded, three steps before Minuet appeared round the corner. Minuet smiled radiantly and motioned in grand rhythm with the wedding march for her to come. She took a deep trembling breath, stepped through the doorway, took Hebraun's strong arm and floated down the crunching path to join Fuzz at the great white trellis, laced with naked vines, where he waited with Lukus, Razzmorten, Yann-Ber and Hubba Hubba, who stood at parade attention on Razzmorten's shoulder with her wedding ring clamped tightly in his beak.
Hebraun carefully parked her beside Soraya, Violet and Pebbles and stepped back with watery eyes. The ceremony swept over her like a dream and before she quite grasped it all, she and Fuzz were man and wife and immersed in a pandemonium of well-wishers. She met the joy and sadness in her mother's tearful eyes and felt oddly calmed. She turned to her husband and felt herself ignite with a glow of euphoric joy. This is truly what she had always wanted.
***
“Edward,” cried Mary from amidst the cavern crowded with strange animals. She rushed forth and scooped him up in her arms for a twirling hug. “I didn't expect you to be with the dragons on such a dangerous mission.” She caught Spark's eye with a dubious look.
“Uncaspark isn't very happy about it Mary, but he and Aunt Lippy know how much I been missing Uncafuzz. We're on our way there. And I wanted to see you, too. This is Laora,” he said, pulling her forth. “She's Uncaspark and Aunt Lippy's baby girl. I mean she's as grown up as I am, but she's not even a year old. And they let us come along because we promised and promised to do exactly what he said, especially when we saw smallies...”
“Pleased to meet you, Laora,” said Mary, throwing another doubtful look at Spark.
“And you sure were right,” said Edward. “The woods is really, really full of those little red devils. They're really scary with their awful yellow eyes and their big mouths of snapping teeth.”
Mary sat down, listening, with a smile for Edward and yet another skeptical glance at Spark.
“They were all over the place. Unca Tors and Kast kept burning 'em real good, over and over. Every time they'd come running at us, Uncaspark made us stay in the air until it was over...”
“Air?” said Mary, glancing at Laora. “So you flew on Laora's back?”
“Yea. We watched it all. When the smoke came up from the smallies, they stank like burnt spit and scorched hair. An' Uncaspark was great. He didn't blow out big flames, but he got down on his knees and cutted off hundreds of their heads with his claymore. He was real good. I didn't know he could do that. I wondered why he had it. And Ceidwad and Lladdwr kept picking 'em up and smashing 'em against trees and rocks...”
“You watched all this from the air?”
“Yea, I just said. You wouldn't believe how wonderful it is to fly, Mary. I helped raise Laora, so she was already my best, best, best friend in the world, but after she took me into the air, I've got 'o fly with her forever.”
“I want to hear more Edward, and I'm really glad you're safe,” said Mary, giving him another sound hug. “But now I need to speak with your Uncle Spark and the other dragons for a bit.”
“I'll just show Laora around your cavern and see if there are any animals here I know,” he said with a nod.
“Great idea,” said Mary before quickly turning to Spark, Tors and Kast. “Forgive me, Spark,” she said the moment Edward and Laora were out of hearing. “I was bewildered there for a moment. In spite of the short time I've known him, he's kind of the little man in my life.”
“Oh, I figured you'd get it worked out,” said Spark. “But I do know what you mean. He's quite the beguiling lad. There are moments when he seems like he's ours, too.”
“Hey Sspark!” hollered a voice from the floor.
“Shot 'n' Stop!” cried Spark. “Hero and friend. I had no idea that I'd ever see you again.”
“It'ss been a long time for ssure,” said Shot 'n' Stop, fluidly rising out of his coil from the floor.
“No kidding. Fuzz'll sure be glad to know you've made it.”
“That'ss wonderful. He wass ssimply the besst. How'd he make it? I mean he'ss scertainly not here. Who fixsed hiss sspell? Where iss he?”
“He thinks either Demonica or Spitemorta.”
“Never heard of them.”
“One's Ugleeuh's mother, the other one's her daughter.”
“Then I've sseen 'em both. I even dropped in on them. But I have my regretsses. You know how awkward it iss ssometimess when you drop in on people and can't sstrangle them. They flew under me on Ugleeuh'ss broom handle and I dropped onto the one who lookss jusst like her. You know, the one who took it from her when I wass popping her sstinking eyesses out. Anyway, we all fell out of the air and the other one pointed the handle at me. Well, I ssaw how it all wass and had to sslither away. Sso I failed. It'ss sstill one down and two to go.”
“Well that is unfortunate, but you're still my all time hero. And you're not the only one who's failed to rid the world of 'er so don't feel bad.”
“Well, I scertainly promisse never to sstop trying.”
“I've been having visions of this upcoming war and we don't appear to be the victors, Spark,” said Mary, seeing her moment. “Ceidwad tells me that you're on your way to Niarg, so I wish to travel there with
you and find out for myself what is going on, and along the way I wish to see this cavern full of imperiled souls to the Jutwood Elves.”
Spark nodded gravely. “That's pretty much why we are going to Niarg ourselves. We need to find out if the dragon clan should go through with its exodus to the Black Desert. Though, as far as I know, our only hope still remains tied to the two newborn babes.”
“What two newborn babes?”
“Oh. You wouldn't know. Lukus and Soraya's two. They had twins.”
“Ah yes. That would make them like the first wizard. But that also means a terribly long time for the world to wait. Let's hope we survive until they're grown.”
Spark shrank with a sigh. “What other choice have we?”
Chapter 97
Spitemorta jerked awake and sat up before she even remembered that she was a troll. She was rolling her head around above her shoulders when she realized that someone was pounding on the door.
“How dare you go flying off, leaving me with all those trolls!” screeched Demonica, flinging the blinding light of the wee hours of morning into the room with a whack of the door against the inside wall. “I ought 'o just plain get rid of you!” She stepped in with a livid face, chest heaving.
“My,” whispered Spitemorta with a wince, as she rolled to the edge of the bed like a rumpled flannel elephant. “You...ah, need to calm down, I think...” She pulled a fat tongued swallow into her dry throat and dropped her meaty feet to the floor. “Now Grandmother. I guess you must've had quite a time of it, but I can't imagine doing anything other than what I did. I mean...aren't I supposed to be a goddess? Would a goddess do the herding? Or did you fancy they'd have gotten here on their own if you flew back here with me?”
Demonica was thrown off for a moment by her apparent reasonableness.
“You could've at least discussed it before you vanished!”
“Yea? Well I thought about that one, but wouldn't making plans in front of the trolls would look un-goddess like and make you furious? There was nothing for it but to come straight back. If you needed to take charge of everything, you should've been goddess instead of me.”
Demonica wheeled and stormed out.
“That went well,” said Spitemorta. “Just woke up and stepped right into it. Feels quite good.” She yawned, stretched, slapped her thighs and rose quickly to don her goddess robe of polar bear and ermine furs before going topside into the light of dawn to view her trollish faithful.
She was stunned by what she saw. Demonica had indeed been busy. Trolls crowded to overflowing each of the seven ships of the flotilla. Every beetle-browed pair of eyes was aimed right at her from between cupped hands in the growing light, as she stepped onto the deck. When she raised her arms, all that could be heard in the awed silence were the cries of terns, the lapping of calm water and the languid creaking of rigging.
“I, Fnadi-yaphn welcome you my brave people!” she boomed, as her voice echoed on the cliffs of the bay. “On these boats in the water, you shall go to a new land of plenty to eat! Make yourselves comfortable and know that my winged servant, Demonica, will stay with you until you are eating your fill of Elf flesh! Ntadu va nyr-nifn gnyr-jan ntu afa-joy nyr-fi foro!”
A thundering roar of guttural cheers erupted from the ships as the trolls began stamping the decks. Spitemorta smiled and waved to her multitude. She glanced through the rigging to see Demonica glaring at her. She turned back to her trolls with a shrug and basked in their pounding adoration as she daydreamed of her victorious defeat of Niarg and her destruction of Elves and the dragons.
***
Spark, Lladdwr and Mary astride Ceidwad walked out of the darkness of the Chokewoods onto the rolling grassy downs of Cyclopsia under a light evening sky, leading a procession of enchanted creatures, as Laora swooped down with Edward to join them on the ground.
“You two have stayed aloft a long time since the last smallies,” said Spark, pausing to adjust the position of the claymore strapped to his back.
“That's because we kept looking out over the downs from the woods to see what we could see,” said Laora. “I'm getting awful tired, though.”
“Well, what did you see?”
“Oh, just grass and hills like this,” said Edward.
“Well, did you see any low place with trees? It's clear, so it's going to be cold and we'll want fires, but I doubt if we really want to stay near the Chokewoods for fuel.”
“I think maybe, 'way off...” said Edward.
“Yea,” said Laora, I know there was. But it is 'way off.”
“Let's just wait here until everyone catches up,” said Spark, as he paused for a moment before sitting down with a plump. “Tors is coming out now.”
“Oh, I see Kast,” said Mary on Ceidwad, “so that must be about everyone... Oh!”
“Voof!” boomed Ceidwad, bolting away toward the woods, nearly losing her.
“Vooomph!” added Lladdwr as he wheeled and followed.
“What on earth?” cried Spark.
“There's another diatryma!” shouted Laora.
“I think that's Arwr!” cried Edward. “Let's go see!” Laora was already running.
Edward sprinted to her side, hopped on and at once they were airborne.
Ceidwad and Laddwr flashed the red patches in their wings as they ran below. The diatryma coming toward them did the same.
“It is Arwr!” cried Edward with a whoop.
With a couple more wing flashes apiece, Ceidwad, Lladdwr and Arwr finally drew to a halt before one another and began taking dozens of deep and solemn bows. At last the diatrymas sat together preening each other beside Mary, Spark, Tors, Edward and Laora as the procession of the enchanted creatures swarmed all about and sat.
“Why do you three keep stopping and bowing your heads at each other, Ceidwad?” said Laora as she came and sat beside her.
“This is very emotional for us, sweetheart,” said Ciedwad. “Arwr is our son and we had become convinced that the smallies had eaten him.”
“But why...?”
“We revere certain emotions too deeply for words. At least we don't say them, we gesture them. I should think that each bow would be roughly equivalent to your saying: 'I love you beyond words,' combined with, 'you are irreplaceable to me.'“
“Why on earth didn't you say something to me, Ceidwad?” said Mary, reaching over to smooth her feathers.
“Why should we? Had we said something, he would already have been eaten, and then you would be sad, and we still couldn't bring him back.”
Mary scooted over close and hugged her.
“Pardon me for disturbing things,” said Spark, sitting upright. “but that sun's going down. We're going to need fires. Are we to attempt to go to someplace 'way up ahead to where there might be trees or brush, or do we make fires within sight of the Chokewoods?”
“Why not here?” said Kast.
“Do you reckon smallies ever get out here?” said Spark.
“Hard to say,” said Tors, “but we can keep watch. We'd have to anyway.”
And with that it was decided to move half way to the woods and then have everyone who could fetch wood from the edge of the trees. At last they made a ring of twelve small fires.
Spark sat near one of the fires next to Tors and stared back into the brooding tangle of woods. He shuddered as he thought of how the day had been. “Wheeoo,” he murmured. “Endless, endless close calls. Well, we're out of this peril.”
“Yes, this particular peril,” said Mary, huddled with Ceidwad, Lladdwr and Arwr next to the nearby fire.
“Ssay Torss,” said Shot 'n' Stop from Tors's bag, “thiss ssack iss comfy but it'ss chilly. I'm getting sstiff. Could you be a pal and sset me between Sceidwad and Lladdwr? You've got a marvelouss flame, busster, but they're alwayss sso verry toassty.”
Spark looked at poor little Laora, already sleeping soundly, holding fast to Edward's hand. He pulled out a blanket and spread it over the two of them. “She had to fly more often than
walk,” he thought, “and she's not used to spending that amount of time in the air, particularly with Edward. Every time I thought about sending them home, there came another swarm.”
Mary caught his eye. “Good thing we're spending the night here so Laora can regain her strength, aye?” she said, as though she could read his mind. Maybe she could. It did seem like it once in a while. He'd have to ask. He lay back, listening to the far flung and scarcely chirping crickets and the wind in the grass and in the fire, as he studied the Big Dragon and the Little Dragon by the North Star. “Now what do they call those in
Niarg? Ploughs? Dippers?” He gave a cavernous yawn. Within moments, only the diatrymas remained calmly, stolidly on watch.
***
Larks tinkled far overhead. Spark caught the sun in his eye with a wince as he noticed frost all up and down the fuzz on his blanket. When a soaring hawk sailed into view overhead, he sat up with a lunge, amazed that he had slept so long. He was equally amazed that, except for Mary, he was the only one awake.
“Good morning, Spark,” she said quietly as she straightened the quilt across her legs.
“Have you been on watch long?” he said with a nod, as he squatted beside her.
“Only since there was a glow in the east. I actually slept all night. The poor diatrymas sat up all night so the rest of us could have a good sleep. I'm grateful of course, but I worry about them.”
“They've always demanded far more of themselves than of anyone else,” he said, stretching with an eye watering yawn.
A red and white striped walking stick scuttled out of Tors's bag onto Shot 'n' Stop's head. “You sscurrilouss sscampering nuissansce, Sstripess,” said Shot 'n' Stop thickly. “Here I can sscarscely move yet and you're blithely sscratching and sstamping in my fasce with your offenssive sspidery legsses. I'd ssneeze you to Kingdom Come, but sslow motion ssort of underminess everything.”
Heart of the Staff - Complete Series Page 106