“And I don't need to swim at all,” Thorn proudly pronounced. “I can fly!”
“Show-off!” Nix jealously muttered.
“And I can fly, too,” I added.
“What about me?” Trix demanded. “How am I supposed to get across?”
“Thorn can carry you,” I told her. “Didn't Tracey do that when you are searching for the poison cure?”
“Oh yes,” Trix exhaled in relief. “I’d forgotten about that.”
“Hey, why can’t you fly me over, then?” Nix enquired. “I don't fancy swimming. There could be anything lurking beneath the surface.”
“Neither of us could carry you,” Thorn replied, with sardonic glee. “You’re too fat!”
There was a moment of utter silence. “Too fat?” Nix parroted quietly. “Did you just say ‘too fat’?”
“Maybe,” Thorn replied cautiously, taking a step backwards. “And maybe I didn't. I'm not confirming anything at this stage.”
“Really?” Nix said, closing the widening gap between them. “You can't even remember what you said a few seconds ago?”
“My memory isn't what it used to be,” Thorn admitted, taking another life-saving step backwards. “Besides, there's a possibility that you may have misheard what I said.”
“On the contrary,” Nix told her, “my hearing is perfect. Hunters have to have exceptional sound perception, you know. I could have sworn you used the ‘f’ word.”
“Certainly not,” Thorn vigorously denied, still desperately backing away. “As if I'd ever use the ‘f’ word about such a marvellous friend. Why, the very idea is ludicrous! I mean, just look at you! You’re svelte, lithe and lissom – the epitome of all that's graceful in a borgulessa.”
Everyone was open mouthed at Thorn’s description. The sheer outrageousness of it made everybody laugh, even Nix, and the mock tension was broken.
“You two are crazy,” Trix giggled, holding her hand over her mouth.
“But you’re both great actors,” I complemented. “For a second there, I almost believed you were going to kill each other.”
“Hardly,” Nix grimaced. “I fully recognise that I am rather ……. chunky, but dashingly handsome with it,” he cheekily amended.
“Yeah, right!” Thorn commented.
“Don't start that again,” I cautioned. “We can't stay here all day listening to you two argue.”
Nix undressed, making me somewhat uncomfortable, and then he waded into the water and laboriously began his watery journey. Thorn cradled Trix and took to the air, while I followed with Nix’s clothes. Thorn and I reached the other side of the lake well before our swimming companion who was slightly more than halfway across, making slow but steady progress. The three of us stood at the water's edge, watching. Suddenly, a disturbance in the water occurred behind Nix and, just for a second, I imagined that I saw the tip of a waving tentacle. Thorn must have seen it too, because she immediately flapped her wings and sped towards Nix who still splashed away, blissfully unaware of what was transpiring in his wake. He became shockingly aware of it, however, when a thick, octopus-type limb wound itself around his waist and pulled him under the water.
Thorn, who was directly above him by this time, drew her sword and dived into the water. Trix immediately started forward, knife in hand, but I held her back. “You can't swim, sweetie, remember,” I told her. She growled in frustration, but reluctantly stopped. Mesmerised, we both watched the churning water, waiting for some definitive sign that both Thorn and Nix were safe. Finally, after far too many heart-stopping seconds, our friends erupted, gasping, into the open air. The area around them began darkening with what I presumed to be blood, and I prayed that none of it belonged to them. Cautioning Trix to stay where she was, I flew to where Thorn was splashing around like a water-soaked moth and, taking both her arms, pulled her along the surface to the shore, where she collapsed in a limp heap. Leaving Trix to administer to a half-drowned Thorn, I then flew to Nix and likewise aided his progress through the water.
Chapter 19
When we were all together again, I took stock of the situation. Thorn dripped water from every surface, naturally enough, and her wings were limp and bedraggled but, apart from that, she seemed healthy enough. Nix was still coughing up water, but had no outward injuries apart from the psychological ones of being almost dragged to a watery doom by a sea monster. Trix had scurried around and obtained a few armfuls of combustible material, so we started a fire and huddled around it. Thorn removed her clothes, and Trix obligingly dried them for her in front of the fire. Having a naked Thorn close by caused me acute discomfort because I didn't know where to look. Oh, I knew where I'd like to look, but it wouldn’t have been polite. Damn that shyness of mine!
“That was an incredibly brave thing you did,” Nix said to Thorn. “You risked your life for me. You could have been killed.”
Thorn shrugged modestly. “You'd have done the same for me,” she muttered. “I couldn't just stand by and do nothing.”
“Nevertheless,” Nix continued, “I owe you. You're the most courageous fairy I know. I may tease you a lot but, underneath all that, I'm proud to have you as my friend.”
“Stop it!” Thorn blushed. “You're spoiling your reputation as an uncaring ratbag.”
“Did you just call me a ‘ratbag’?” Nix demanded, with a pretend scowl on his face.
“Do you still have water in your ears or something?” Thorn retaliated, “Or are you going deaf in your old age?”
Nix drew a breath to avenge himself, but then chuckled. “I'll see to you later,” he promised. “Right now I'm still recovering from a near-death experience. Luckily for you,” he added, grinning.
Eventually, Nix recovered and Thorn dried off, so we decided to keep going on our quest. The next obstacle presented itself in the form of a ………. thing. I'd never seen anything quite like it before. It was presumably an animal, but of what species I had no idea. It appeared to be part elephant, part tiger and the rest seemed to be some sort of a water buffalo. All in all, it looked hideous. And savage. As soon as it saw us, it bristled, and angrily lashed its tail. It definitely wasn’t pleased to see us, except perhaps, as dinner. Unfortunately, it blocked the path and we couldn't go around it.
“What the devil is that?” Nix asked in amazement.
“Nothing pleasant, that's for sure,” Thorn replied.
“I think it's going to attack,” I cautioned. “Spread out!” The creature stalked slowly towards us and we fanned out as it came. It stopped, swivelling its head from side to side, trying to decide on an initial target. For some reason, it decided on Trix and, with an ear shattering roar, it bounded towards her. However, instead of running away as common sense dictated, Trix took the unprecedented step of running towards the onrushing beast, making my heart skip a beat. For the life of me, I couldn't work out her rationale. The uglysaurus (christened as a permanent name by me) must have had a similar thought as well, because it slowed its attack in surprise. As Trix came within striking distance, she leapt upwards and, with amazing acrobatic skill, somersaulted over the animal’s back, landing just beside its tail. Trix may not have had wings, but she sure could jump. The creature appeared nonplussed, vainly looking around for its victim. In the meantime, unseen behind it, Trix ran for the shelter of some rocks and hid there.
The uglysaurus renounced its futile search for Trix and determined on Thorn as its next victim. Once again, it was disappointed because she simply flew out of reach. Deciding that discretion would be the better part of valor, I did likewise. The uglysaurus gave both Thorn and myself a disgusted look and fasten its hungry attention on Nix who was still rapidly backing away. I saw Thorn, sword in hand, preparing to launch herself towards the uglysaurus when I heard music. It originated from Trix, coming out into the open and playing her pipes. I could barely hear the music from my position, which was probably just as well, otherwise I might have started to sleepfly. The uglysaurus whipped around and started to gallop towards
Trix, but gradually slowed and swayed until, just a few body lengths from Trix, it collapsed to the ground, snoring like a chainsaw.
Trix continued playing, and motioned us all toward her with a free hand. Thorn and I descended and Nix ran towards us. As we neared Trix she whispered, “Let's get out of here. I don't know how long the music will keep it asleep and I want to be as far away from here as possible when it wakes up.” We all nodded agreement and we started walking briskly on the mysterious path that only our companion could see.
“How did you know your music would affect the uglysaurus?” I asked Trix as she led us along.
“The what?” she questioned.
“That thing back there,” I explained. “I decided to call it an ‘uglysaurus’, for want of a better name.”
Trix stared at me. “You humans are very strange,” she told me.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Nix contributed.
“Or even a quarter of it,” Thorn chipped in. “Humans are the weirdest creatures in creation.”
“Even weirder than the uglysaurus?” I asked with amusement.
“Okay, second weirdest,” Thorn adjusted.
“Anyway, back to my question. Trix, how did you know you could send the uglysaurus to sleep?” I asked.
“I didn't,” she admitted. “I gambled that it would, but I wasn't sure.”
“You could have been killed!” Thorn exclaimed, appalled.
“Yes, but I wasn't,” Trix pointed out. “Anyway, what else could I do? Nix could have ended up as a snack.”
“You're a very, very brave little girl,” I applauded, “and I don't know what we’d do without you.”
Thorn and Nix made similar comments until Trix flushed and squirmed under the load of our admiration.
Chapter 20
With the uglysaurus hopefully well behind us, we trudged on until Trix called a halt.
“Unless everything is just a dream,” she announced, “what we're after should be just ahead.”
“And just what is ahead?” Nix asked with a dash of scepticism.
“Well, if we're lucky,” she answered, “there should be an old building.”
“And inside that building?” Nix persisted. “What are we likely to find?”
Trix shrugged. “Hopefully, the answer to everything,” she murmured. “Otherwise, I'll take this opportunity to apologise to one and all.” We walked a little further, and descended into a rocky canyon and there, in front of us, was a ruined building, looking suspiciously like an old temple.
“So far, so good,” Trix commented, quickening her pace. As we came close to the structure, I could see that it was ancient. Maybe a thousand years old or more. It looked a total ruin, with broken columns scattered everywhere.
“What now?” Thorn asked, looking around curiously.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Trix told her in a disappointed voice. “There was supposed to be an altar and some sort of instructions about where to find the hidden histories.”
“Let's keep looking,” I suggested. “You were certainly right about the building, so the altar is probably about somewhere.” We spread out, searching. Thorn soon drew our attention to a set of stone stairs leading downwards.
“What do you think?” she asked everyone.
“I think it's an even bet that this is what we’re after,” I commented.
“What makes you so sure?” Nix wanted to know.
“Because the stairs are illuminated by the same sort of light we found in the cave,” I pointed out.
“Fair enough,” Nix muttered, as Trix began to descend the stairs.
We followed Trix down into the depths until we arrived at a small room, in the middle of which stood the missing altar. The surroundings were indeed lit by a miniscule version of the cave light. But this light was discernibly different because it displayed a strange blue color and it pulsed, almost like a heartbeat. We stared at it in wonder. It was eerily beautiful but also a little frightening into the bargain. I'd seen the ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ movie some years ago and this light look suspiciously like that. I didn't want to get zapped or anything.
The light changed color into a brilliant green and a group of holographic figures appeared, floating above the altar. Nix, Thorn and Trix jumped back in fright but I stood there, fascinated.
“It's okay,” I calmed my companions, “they're just images. They can't hurt you.” I stepped forward and ran my hand through one of the figures. “See?” I told them. “Incredible technology though. I'm totally impressed. What amazes me is that, if this place is so old, then where did this advanced technology come from?” The images themselves could have been mistaken for duplicates of Trix. They were obviously elves although, with added wings, they could have been Thorn's relatives.
My musings were cut short by a voice in my head. It was a soft, tranquil voice, with a lecturing overtone. I looked around at the others and deduced they were hearing it too, because they were looking at each other in astonishment.
Hear me, the voice began, while I relate the history of everything that has happened from the very beginning. We are the cogdommina. We once roamed the surface of this world, in harmony with all things and all races. But there came a time when the humans begin to fear us and we were forced underground for safety. Here we built ourselves a new life, fashioning the passageways and lights so we could move around undisturbed. Others joined us – the sommubant, the borgulessa and the Ones. For a while all remained well, until the Ones began to resent us. We were few and they were many, and they drove us from our lands and homes, pushing us into the wilderness. This temple is the last of our intact buildings. It is to be hoped that it is left alone. If not, then we can only trust that one day one of our race will restore our pride and retell our past history so all can see that the cogdommina were once proud and free. Beneath this altar is a history of what transpired through the generations. We beg you to take it and make it known to all races that still exist.
The ghostly figures flickered out, and the voice in my mind ceased, leaving a peculiar echoing stillness behind. Nobody moved or made a sound for a minute or two until Trix shook herself and slowly moved over to the back of the altar. She knelt down, uttered a soft “Ah!”, pushed something, and emerged a few seconds later with what looked like a large book. She put it on the altar and we crowded around her to examine it. Fascinatingly, it appeared to be a bound volume of extremely thin, flexible metal pages, inscribed with foreign text.
“This is the ancient, original writing,” Thorn gasped, incredulously. “All our languages are derived from this. This is a treasure beyond price!”
“And it's also going to cause a few tongues to wag as well,” Nix shrewdly observed. “Be prepared to duck a few punches.”
“What do you mean?” Thorn asked.
“Well, from what we've just heard,” Nix drawled, “it appears that your ancestors indulged in what could almost be called a species war when they drove the cogdommina from their homes into the wilderness and turned them into what they are today. A lot of racial guilt there, I should think. Some might not like to resurrect it and face the wrongs of the past.”
Thorn flushed. “You may be right, but the truth must be told at all costs.” She turned to Trix. “I realise this is generations too late, Trix, but, for what it's worth, you have my profound apologies for what happened to your people. But with this artefact, perhaps we can correct a few of the wrongs.”
Trix solemnly nodded her head. “It'll be a start,” she said.
Chapter 21
With Trix protectively cradling the Book of Histories, we eventually made our way back to the settlement where Trix was swarmed upon by an ecstatically squealing Tracey and almost smothered to death in an all-encompassing hug – but actually, not a bad way to die, I thought, as I watched. We related our astounding story to the Council of Elders and handed over the Book as proof. True to Nix's prediction, we were greeted with a generous helping of outrage and disbelief, but the
majority accepted our story. I suppose it would have been hard for the One to accept that the despised cogdommina were actually the founders and architects of their world. It was probably even harder for them to accept that their ancestors had hounded the cogdommina from their original almost godlike status into the band of ragged thieves they were today. As it was, they could find no words of consolation to Trix. They stammered apologies, all the while realising that nothing they said would ever be enough to atone for previous wrongs. Trix cut through the embarrassment by saying that the Past was finished and couldn’t be changed. Everything all revolved around the Future, she said, and looked forward to a harmonious relationship between the two races. It was an inspiring and generous speech on her part and everybody vigorously applauded when she had finished. The Book of Histories was housed, with due pomp and ceremony, in the library, where all could study it at their leisure and we all returned in triumph to Thorn and Tracey's house.
“So, what now?” Thorn asked.
“Well, I have to go,” I answered. “My eight hours as a clone must be nearly up. However, before I depart, I have to once again commend our Trix for her bravery and her resourcefulness.” I blew her a kiss. “Thank you, sweetie, for being who you are. You've bought joy and magic into our lives and enriched our very existence.”
“That was lovely,” Tracey agreed, dabbing at her eyes. “Stephen, you have the soul of a poet. Come back and see us soon as you can.”
“That's a sure bet,” I told her. “Hopefully, there won't be another crisis.”
“With Arugohumna around, there’s always a crisis,” announced the sardonic voice of Nix. “I'm sure she does it just for the attention.”
“You just adore flirting with danger, don't you?” Thorn replied, narrowing her eyes. “Do you have a death wish or something?”
“From you?” Nix snorted, scathingly. “Please! But that's something new I've just learned. I didn't know you’d taken a second job as a comedian.”
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