by CK Dawn
“Prince Trystan,” The Duchess yelled over the now colorful cussing being hurled Avery’s way. “What is the meaning of all this?”
“Get her out of here, Avery,” Trystan demanded, his face flushed with anger.
“All of you be quiet.” Rissa’s voice echoed around the room, stunning them all into silence. Even Alixa stopped her cussing to stare at the Princess in shock. “This is ridiculous. Avery, let her go right now.”
The sword-master obeyed and Alixa yanked her arm to her chest, rubbing at it and glaring Avery’s way.
“Everyone, calm down. This behavior is helping no one. Trystan, Alixa stays. She already knows the big secret and I’m telling you she can be trusted.” Rissa chose to ignore Trystan’s glower and Alixa’s snort of triumph. “Lady Destan, could you please fetch Ciarra. We need to find out if she can help us. And maybe Avery could stock up on our supplies from your kitchens?”
“Of…of course,” the Duchess agreed. “I’ll send someone to find her now.”
“Good.” Rissa nodded her head as the Duchess exited the room. Glancing sideways at her brother, she exhaled in exasperation. “Oh, stop your sulking, Trystan. Someone had to take control of this fiasco.”
“That’s my girl.” Davi threw a dimpled grin her way.
“Oh, stuff it, Davi.”
Thirteen
Alixa cursed under her breath as she stumbled for about the tenth time that day and struggled to keep up with the shadows ahead of her. A swamp. Of course, this Tri-Gard member would be hiding in a damn swamp. Like really? Couldn’t they have found a nice cave in the mountains or a hut on the sunny coast? No. They decided to make their home in a gator infested, breeding ground for disaster.
The murky swampland underfoot wasn’t the only hindrance to their travel. An ever encompassing, white mist clung to them, beading on their skin and soaking their clothing. The mist made it impossible to see more than four feet ahead and even to judge time. They had already been walking for hours and it must have been the middle of the day, yet only a pale imitation of sunlight made its way through the thick canopy of intertwined branches and vine webbing hanging above them. Even the light from the lanterns they carried barely broke the gloom. Alixa had stifled a few screams at what she first believed to be spiders trailing over her arms and cheeks, only to realize it was nothing more harmless than the hanging vines. The absence of light was making her imagination work overtime.
But still, she trudged on. Slogging through the pools of stagnant water and ankle-deep mud flats. Through darkness and damp that seeped through her clothes to leave a constant chill on her skin. The past week traveling outside the flatlands of the marsh had been bad enough. But in here? In here the air that permeated the mist was cold and wet and stank of decay and death. Even the inner swamps of Dreach-Sciene hadn’t escaped the loss of magic.
She questioned her decision more than once as she struggled to lift her mud-laden boots. Why hadn’t she accepted the Duchess’ invitation and stayed behind? She was quite aware of the Prince’s reservations about having her with them. Even after all she’d been through, he still didn’t trust her. And really, she couldn’t quite place her finger on the reason why she wanted to go with them so badly. Maybe it was the guilt at knowing her father was a traitor to the kingdom that these other four were trying so desperately to help.
Maybe it was the shock of having Rissa defend her so emphatically. The other girl truly felt that Alixa was to play a part. Not that Alixa believed in prophecy or intuition, but it was a nice feeling knowing someone actually wanted her around. Or maybe she just liked the idea of rebelling against her father. Maybe after all this time, it was the only revenge she could carry out for her mother. Whatever her reason, she should have known it wouldn’t be easy. Just the way her luck had always gone. Nothing in her life was ever easy.
The inability to see was uncannily eerie, the silence even more so. Alixa had thought the swamp would be full of life, as slimy and gross as that life would be. Frogs croaking, mosquitoes buzzing; anything but this silence and hollowness that felt wrong and added to her unease.
“Are we heading the right way, Ciarra?” Trystan’s voice broke the silence, causing Alixa to jump. “Can you feel the magic?”
“I have no idea, My Prince,” the young woman answered back, her voice timid and unsure. Unlike Alixa who had forced her way along, the young seer had to be dragged every step of the way. She’d practically gone into hysterics when confronted by Lady Destan on the subject of the magic disturbance felt by Lorelai. She hadn’t gone so far as to lie, but she’d cried her way through the whole questioning. Yes, she’d felt the same as Lorelai. Yes, someone on Sona had used magic…and it had terrified her to no end. She knew what it meant to bring attention to it. She knew it would mean people would come looking for her to force her to lead them to the disturbance, and she wanted nothing to do with that. So she hadn’t told anyone, not even the Duchess. Lady Destan had covered her disappointment with Ciarra well enough, but it was there, along with the distress that she would have to order the girl to go with them. The Duchess was loyal to her King and whether or not she wanted Ciarra to go on the quest didn’t matter. It had to be done. The Tri-Gard had to be found. Ciarra had followed her orders without question, but the order did nothing to stop the girl from whimpering the whole time they had been on the move. This crying had annoyed Alixa for days and was most certainly the reason for her sharp tongue right now.
“What do you mean, you have no idea? You’re the special snowflake with the ability to find this person, yes? So do it already.”
“I’m trying,” the girl shot back. “But it’s not that simple. The magic was used just once and the effects are like a ripple in a pond. The more time passes, the wider the ripple becomes so that the originating point becomes harder to find.”
The lantern of the person beside her pointed her way and Alixa squinted at the flaxen haired girl ahead of her. “Take it easy on the poor girl, Alixa.” The smooth tone could only belong to Davi. “She’s trying her best, no doubt. I’m sure it’s not easy being a seer, now is it, darlin’?”
The girl nodded and threw a smile of adoration Davi’s way. “It so isn’t. Thank you for understanding, Sir Davion.”
Oh please. Could the girl be any more nauseatingly sweet? Alixa had had enough of her simpering and fawning over the Toha’s second in command. And why did all women respond to Davi like that? Even Rissa? Oh sure he was handsome enough, with his swarthy looks, but take away the face and the muscles and she was pretty sure all that would be left would be a shallow shell. Honestly, she didn’t see the appeal. He and Trystan couldn’t be any different. She didn’t understand how they even stayed friends; Davi with his flippant nature and Trystan with his straight-laced seriousness.
“In case you haven’t noticed, we don’t exactly have all the time in the world here.” Alixa glared his way. “If it’s this dark during the middle of the day, imagine how dark it will be at night. And I for one don’t want to be traveling in this swamp at night.”
“Why, you scared, my lady?” Davi teased. “Any creature still alive in this swamp will be around during the day as well as the dark. Night time makes no difference.”
“Uh yeah it does, moron. Do you not realize what lives in swamps? Alligators. And alligators are primarily nocturnal. Let me break that down for you. Nocturnal means they like to do their hunting at night.”
Anyone else would probably have taken offense to Alixa’s condescending barb, but not Davi. Instead of being angry or embarrassed, his laughter echoed in the mist. “Really? I wasn’t aware of that.” His white teeth gleamed at her through the haze. “You’re not just a pretty face, are you?”
She smiled sweetly back even though the remark annoyed her to no end. “Unlike you, no.” This only made him laugh even harder. His laughter brought the bobbing lanterns of the others as they doubled back.
“Did we miss something funny?” Rissa asked in annoyance as the other three enter
ed the small circle of light. Alixa knew the irritation grew from jealousy. She hadn’t been the only one to notice Ciarra’s falling over Davi. It must be extremely hard for the Princess watching the man she loved to flirt with anything in a skirt.
“Just a lesson on alligators,” Davi teased, oblivious to Rissa’s jealousy and Trystan’s scowl. “Seems that our Alixa here…”
“Isn’t quite the useless traitor the prince makes her out to be,” Alixa finished for him as Trystan’s grimace turned her way.
“I never said you were useless, Alixa.”
“No, just a traitor and a manipulative witch who set up a whole attack by Dreach-Dhoun soldiers to integrate herself into your group.”
“Until you prove otherwise, I’m entitled to my opinion.” Trystan didn’t wait for Alixa’s outraged response. Instead, he threw a question Davi’s way. “Why have you stopped moving? I didn’t say we were resting up. We keep moving until I say it’s time to stop.” He ignored Davi’s smart-ass salute as he turned to Ciarra. “It’s time you earn your title, seer. Tell us which way we must go.”
“I… I feel we are close, Your Highness.”
“Good,” Davi sighed and flicked his wet hair back out of his eyes. “And hopefully this Tri-Gard has a nice roaring fire we can lounge beside and a keg of ale. Oh, and a leg of lamb roasting over that fire would be appreciated.”
Rissa snorted. “Really, Davi? How can you think about eating at a time like this?”
He threw a dimpled grin her way. “Well, Princess, I could think of other things we could do besides a nice roaring fire, but I’m afraid your brother would not approve.”
“Quiet. All of you.” Avery’s whisper chilled Alixa more than any shout from her would have done. Nothing seemed to bother the woman, which made her unease now all the more terrifying. Her companions obeyed without question, pulling their weapons as the sound that spooked Avery met their ears.
“What is that?” Alixa whispered, grasping her blade tightly as the stealthy slithering mixed with quiet splashing. Something else was moving about in the swamp waters and it wasn’t them.
No one answered. Six sets of eyes tried to pinpoint the intruding sounds that seemed to be all around them. Whether it was numerous ‘others’ moving or just echoes of one, it was hard to tell in the vastness of the mist.
“Don’t move.” Alixa barely heard Trystan’s whisper over the loud thrumming of her pounding heart. She couldn’t move even if she wanted too. The mud mired her down with its sticky grasp and refused to let go.
Alixa’s eyes darted over her shoulder as a splash sounded behind her. Was there a shadow moving in the mist, or were her eyes playing tricks on her? The remains of the splash faded away and an eerie silence fell once again.
Minutes passed as not one of them dared to make a move or even breathe as they strained to hear any more movement. But there was nothing.
“I think whatever it was has passed on….” Trystan’s comment was cut short by Davi’s yell of terror as he was yanked backward and disappeared into the swirling mists.
“Davi!” Rissa screamed as she lunged for the spot where only moments ago he stood, but all that remained was his lantern wobbling on the ground where he dropped it.
“Davion,” Trystan’s voice was filled with panic as he swung his lantern through the mist, trying to catch sight of his friend. Sounds of splashing and scuffling met their ears and Alixa swore she could hear a muffled ‘help’ but of Davi, there was no sign.
“Davi, answer us,” she yelled, holding her blade in front of her and slicing at the fog like it was filled with unseen enemies. A scream fell from her lips as a shadow too small to be Davi, loomed abruptly in the glow of her lantern. She jumped back and held her forearm up over her head in defense as a withered, old man materialized out of the gloom and hurled a heavy stick at her head. She closed her eyes, waiting for the painful moment of contact. Instead, the stick collided with something behind her with a loud thunk.
“No, Guy. Back away.”
Alixa turned on her heel and watched in disbelief as the little man smacked the snout of the long creature practically on top of her. She hadn’t even heard it approach. The alligator opened its mouth, displaying rows of spiked teeth and Alixa’s gut clenched with fear. The man showed no such fear. Instead, he smacked its snout once again.
“Go on with ya, Guy. Stop the snarling. And where’s Gert? What’s she done with the boy?”
The alligator snapped its mouth shut and turned almost casually as it sauntered into the mist.
“Well, what you waiting for, girl?” The odd little man yelled at her. “Bring the light, we can’t lose him.”
“Trystan, this way,” Alixa yelled over her shoulder as she made the split-second decision to follow the stranger. She heard the splashing as the others ran in her direction.
Running at top speed, she almost bowled the little man over as he stopped abruptly in front of her. Skidding to a stop beside him she had to bite back the scream at the sight that met her eyes. The mist wasn’t as thick here, broken in spots by the grove of trees. The gator they’d been pursuing had come to a stop on a little mound of dirt canopied by a snarl of dead branches. It wasn’t alone on its perch. It was joined by a bigger one, and this huge monster was crouching over a huddled shape that was undeniably Davi.
“What the hell is going on?” Trystan demanded over Ciarra’s crying as the rest of the group caught up.
“Davi,” Rissa cried in horror as she too saw what Alixa had seen. Raising her bow she nocked an arrow, but the little man pushed it away from targeting its intended victim.
“Don’t shoot it. You’ll only antagonize it.” His next words were aimed at the gator. “Gertie girl, what are you doing?” The creature actually looked over at the stranger as if knowing it was being spoken to. “You know better than that. People make you ill. Let the boy go and I’ll bring you back a nice fat turtle.”
The creature opened its mouth in a wide yawn, showing the impressive teeth. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve seen those chompers many times. They don’t scare me. Don’t make me use the stick. Let the boy go.”
As if the damn thing understood, it appeared to reluctantly move off of the prone Davi, giving him room to roll over. His movements were sluggish as if he feared moving too fast would cause the creature to pounce.
“If I were you, boy, I’d move quicker and get out of there before she changes her mind.”
Davi didn’t need to be told twice. Alixa exhaled in relief as Davi lunged and rolled down the slight incline. He barely hit the water before he was on his feet and scurrying toward the rest of them, straight into Rissa’s open arms.
“We should go,” the little man said and he stepped into the mist as if he knew exactly where he was headed. When none of the others moved to follow, he turned back with a raised brow. “Or you could all stay here and wait for Gert to decide she’s too hungry to wait for her turtle?”
It was all the incentive they needed. Davi grabbed Rissa’s hand and they all hurried after the odd little man.
“Davi?” Trystan questioned as he sprinted alongside his friend and sister.
“I’m fine, Toha. The thing barely broke skin. It mostly just got my shirt. Although, I’m calling bullshit on your nocturnal gator theory, Alixa.”
Alixa snorted in relieved laughter. Unbelievable. “You’re an idiot, Davi.”
Trystan nodded in agreement before catching up to the stranger and grabbing his arm. “Wait. Stop. We need to talk.”
“We do, Toha. But not here. The swamp has ears.”
“You know who I am?”
The little man finally stopped hurrying to study Trystan in the glow of Avery’s lantern.
“Of course. I know who you are just as I knew you would come.” He furrowed his brow. “Although I didn’t see the part about Gert trying to eat your friend. That part eluded me.”
“Your pets tried to eat me?” Davi questioned weakly as if the whole thing was finally starting to sink
in.
“Oh, dear me, no.” The odd little man gave an even odder laugh, “No, no, no. They aren’t my pets. In fact, I’m surprised Gert even agreed to let you live. Usually, she doesn’t listen to anything I say. But that’s typical of any female I’ve ever encountered. Guess this was your lucky day, boyo. Now let’s get inside before she realizes I lied about the turtle.”
The stranger didn’t have to introduce himself. Unless there was a whole village of people living in the swamp away from civilization, then he was the one they were looking for. The Tri-Gard elder.
The door to his home as he called it was nothing more than a crevasse in a rock formation that rose up from the mist like some hulking monster. If you didn’t know it was there, you’d pass on without notice. It was narrow, so narrow Alixa held her breath as she squeezed her way through. It didn’t take long for a light to appear up ahead and the passage soon gave way to a large opening cut in the middle of the mountain. For someone who supposedly had lived here for so long, the old man didn’t have much in the way of creature comforts. A small cot sat propped against one wall. A mismatched table and chair lined another. A large fire pit in the center of the room served as light and heat for the space, but it was the piles that sat randomly around the room that caught Alixa’s attention. Piles of books, every size, shape, and color imaginable. The books dominated the space, some threatening to fall over they were piled so haphazardly. It made sense. If you were a hermit hiding from the world, what else would you do to pass the time?
“Come in. Come in,” the old man said as he pushed a pile out of the way to make room. “Sorry about the mess. Careful where you step. What did you say?”
His sharp question startled Alixa. She hadn’t heard anyone else speak. To whom was his question directed?
“Of course, they know I’m not used to company anymore. Do they look stupid to you?” The next question was directed to the far wall and Alixa peered into the shadow expecting to see another body, but there was no one there. She glanced uneasily at Trystan whose brow furrowed in puzzlement.