They all looked to Lizzie and she bit her lip. “Alright, I think I have a plan.”
…
Della’s little unicorn was getting tired. It had been a long day of riding around in search of three particular herbs that Tannus simply had to have and of course they were found only in certain areas of Ann wn, none of which were particularly close to the others. The first herb known as contrap was easy enough to find since it was one that she and her mother used to go and pick.
The second herb, dowdry, which smelled a bit like mint, was more difficult to locate in the wild. Goborchind used to trade the minty herb with Pucks, but Della wasn’t really a part of that clan any longer.
She knew where she had to go to pick dowdry, but it was such a long ride that she was forced to rest. She hopped off of her unicorn and began to stretch. After a few vertebras had cracked and popped she reached into her satchel and pulled out a handful of dried berries and nuts. Harlan seemed to like the berries too, so she shared.
Della closed her eyes and thought about her life as it was currently and how far away she was from her family. “Maybe if I could just explain the situation to my clan then perhaps they would take me back. Do you suppose?” she asked her unicorn.
Before Harlan could reply—by way of eating more of her berries—a pair of voices caught Della’s attention. She looked around for some place to hide since the voices were drawing nearer.
“Stay out of sight, Harlan,” she ordered as she scampered up the tree.
Harlan didn’t wait on the owners of the voices to appear around the bend before he ran into the low-lying shrubbery. Unicorns were very private animals and typically only bonded with each other. Della had happened upon Harlan some time ago, and to her surprise the little unicorn took to her. She imagined it felt sorry for her, but she had no way of really knowing.
“…Goborchind don’t know what they’re messing with,” the first voice declared.
“Yeah, we will defend ourselves to the death if need be,” bragged the second.
“You know what wouldn’t surprise me is if Della and that Tannus were siding with them over us.”
The second voice mumbled something in return and Della found herself leaning out further from the security of the trunk to hear.
“Exactly!” agreed the first speaker. “Since she didn’t die the first time, we will definitely have to kill her the next time she’s out roaming around on her own.”
“She’s the cause of all our troubles, ain’t she,” the second speaker concluded.
Della’s heart nearly shattered. Then the branch cracked and broke under the burden of her weight. She didn’t even have the time to spread her cloak and catch the wind; all she could do was hang on to the branch as it plummeted towards the ground. She closed her eyes and felt the bone-rattling impact as she landed right on top of the two speakers. She recognized Simon and Jessup, two fellow Pucks from her clan, even though they were knocked unconscious and bloodied.
Della rose as quickly as she could and noticed a sharp pain in her ankle. She stumbled backwards against the tree that had just dropped her and sat at its base.
“Harlan?” she whispered. “Are you near?”
The little unicorn popped out of the bush with a mouthful of leaves. He walked over to her and stood waiting. Della reached behind her to leverage her body to stand when her hand grazed something sharp. It didn’t cut her but she rubbed her hand anyhow. She moved the shrub’s branches out of the way and found a pure white jagged shard. She had never seen anything quite like it.
A few groans from Simon and Jessup reminded her she had no time to waste. She moved the white oddity into her satchel and pulled her way onto Harlan’s back.
“Go!” she commanded. “Let’s keep this little find between us, eh?”
Harlan offered no argument.
…
“Can you smell their souls, Peigi?” Crannog asked the young woman.
Peigi drew in a deep breath and took in the very distinctive smell of the Dryad’s soul; it was closer than ever before. She found herself getting excited even though she had never seen a Dryad before.
“Yes, I can smell her soul,” Peigi stated matter of factly.
“They will not escape us this night.” Crannog smiled and exposed the tip of his fangs, eager to put them to work.
…
Ruger’s fog began to slowly thin as he and Oscar came to rest a fair distance away from the Nez Canyons. Oscar took a moment to look around and gauge his surroundings, subconsciously adjusting the bracelet on his wrist. He realized he hadn’t studied the bracelet in many years. It was about six inches long, bronze, and covered in Celtic runes. It really was a beautiful piece of art, but Oscar knew it also had great power and that’s what he was relying on when he met up with Bodach.
Ruger barked and growled facing a steep hill, the hair on his back standing straight up.
Oscar peeled his eyes away from the bracelet and glanced up the hill. “Hear something, boy?”
The pair of them began to stalk forward cautiously not really knowing what to expect from Bodach. They climbed the steep hill and labored their way to the top. It only took Oscar a moment to spot Bodach, the Dunters, and his beloved Angie standing near a large canyon. From his vantage point on the hill, Oscar could see the spiderweb of canyons that broke the landscape up like a jigsaw puzzle.
“Angie,” he whispered. “I’m coming to get you.”
Oscar and Ruger started down the hill at a fast clip causing Oscar to have to catch his balance several times. When they hit more level ground they began to pick up the pace and charge in Bodach’s direction. They drew closer and closer until finally Oscar saw the Bogle’s blood-red eyes turn their gaze upon him.
“Protector,” Bodach growled. “I thought you got lost on your way to oblivion.”
“Let her go!” Oscar shouted as he drew even nearer.
His eyes widened when Bodach threw the hems of his cloak aside and revealed his twin blades. The Bogle wrapped his mechanical hand around the hilt and pulled the sword free from its place.
“Now you can watch her die.”
The robotic arm moved fast as the edge zipped towards Angie’s head. Oscar screamed and reached out his right arm and to his surprise an energy sword shot out of the bracelet and intercepted the Bogle’s fatal blow, clanging the twin blade away and causing Bodach to lose his balance and stumble away from her.
“Run, Angie! Run!” Oscar shouted.
Angie tried to run but the Dunters ensnared her legs and took her down, slamming her head into the hard-packed ground. Oscar didn’t know if she was just unconscious or if she was dead. His heart dropped at the thought.
“Now we’re going to peel your lovely flesh!” Zat spouted, pulling a knife from his back belt.
The Dunter straddled Angie’s back and raised his blade, but Ruger barreled into the group of Goblins and knocked them away from her.
Bodach regrouped and started after Angie again, but Oscar stepped in and brought the killer to a stop.
“Fine, you die first,” the Bogle declared.
“Not going to happen,” Oscar said defiantly. “I’ve been without her for too long and nothing is going to keep us apart any longer.”
Bodach retrieved his fallen sword, pulled both blades up, and snarled at Oscar, his mechanical arm pulsating with white energy. “I’m going to make you suffer.”
Bodach spun forward and extended his swords out in an arching trajectory towards Oscar’s head. The elder Protector raised his right arm up and another energy falcata sprang to life in his hands enabling him to block the blow. Sparks flew as the blades collided knocking each combatant back a few steps.
“You’re much more powerful than when we met years ago,” Bodach acknowledged. “All the more satisfaction in killing you.”
Before Oscar could reply, he felt a sharp pain in his right calf muscle. He looked back and saw one of the Dunters holding a short knife that had been driven into his leg. The
little monster wiggled the metal around digging it deeper into Oscar’s flesh. He howled and then swiped his sword back and lopped the Goblin’s arm off. Bodach seized the opportunity to attack once more seeking to pounce on his injured opponent.
The Bogle kicked out his leg and struck Oscar in the chest sending him tumbling into Ruger who was fighting with the two uninjured Dunters. The group rolled to a stop and Oscar got to his knees in time to block another attempt at his head. Again Bodach drove his blades down, but he became locked in a power struggle with Oscar’s energy falcata, neither warrior wanting to relinquish an inch.
“Death will suit you,” Bodach said through gritted teeth. “And then your beloved will follow you into extinction.”
…
Angie’s eyelids began to flutter as she came back into consciousness. She looked around confused as the nightmare of the situation slammed into her. Oscar was caught up in battle with that evil Bodach and Ruger was brawling with the two ugly Goblins.
What can I do?
Then she saw it lying on the ground covered in blood. She crawled over to the six-inch knife and gripped it in her fingers. Oscar and Bodach clanged swords and circled around each other liked prizefighters in a boxing ring. Both were trying to find an advantage and it looked to Angie like Bodach had one. So that’s where the blood came from, she thought as she glanced down at the knife in her hand.
A sudden shriek caught her attention when Ruger finally laid his teeth into one of the Dunter’s necks. It struggled for a moment and then went limp. Ruger tossed the body aside and then charged at the other Dunters, one of which had already lost an arm. They seemed to get wise and ran for their pathetic lives.
Now, it’s three on one!
…
The doors of an eatery in Sarvaloo swung open and everyone froze. Neit and a henchman walked in and stared down the room.
“I’m looking for Babd Catha,” Neit announced.
“I’m Catha,” a lady behind the countertop replied with a puzzled look.
“You are under arrest for crimes against Camulos,” Neit claimed as his crony rushed forward and grabbed Catha by the arm and led her to the door.
“Please, no! I have done nothing wrong!” she exclaimed.
Neit made sure all eyes were on him. “Let this be a lesson to the rest of you that traitorous talk will not go unpunished.”
He exited the eatery to the sounds of silence.
…
“Here we go,” Garnash said with an exhale. Slowly the Gnome King disappeared from sight, shimmering into a perfect camouflage.
“Remember, get the cages open before you go for Faolan. We are going to need that distraction,” Lizzie said.
“Got it,” Garnash acknowledged.
“Be careful out there, Garnash,” Frank said. “These Banshees are dangerous.”
“That’s no joke,” Rohl added.
The cage directly in front of him was jam-packed with Ossorians. Most had lost the will to fight and were content to be in human form. They were a sad-looking group.
Garnash reached the bottom of the cage door and glanced around making sure that he hadn’t been detected. When he was sure that he wasn’t, he began to climb the bars so that he could reach the lock.
A little Gnome magic will do the trick.
He wrapped his legs around the bar propping his body up and holding himself in place, trying to free his hands so that he could activate his abilities. Just as his hands were coming together Garnash felt the power of the Banshee’s cry even before his ears registered the noise. The force of the wail pressed up against his body and slammed him into the hard metal bars until he blacked out and lost his hold and his invisibility. The wailing stopped and his body crashed to the ground in a heap.
Meghan strolled over to Garnash’s body and lifted him up. His head and limbs hung limply in her grasp.
“Well if it isn’t my old Gnome friend,” Meghan said with a laugh. She looked around and settled her eyes on a patch of forest that lined Bane. “I know he didn’t come alone, Brendan. You might as well come out and face oblivion.”
Nothing happened. No one, including Brendan, stepped out into the open. “I guess I’ll just have to suck out his soul and break his little neck.”
“Like hell you will!” Lizzie screeched as she shot out of the tree line, her purple energy bo staff held firmly in her grip. “Put him down and free these people.”
Farron actually began to laugh. “People? You mean these dogs?”
“Why don’t you shut your mouth,” Frank said as he, Aine, and Rohl stepped out to back Lizzie. “The only animals I see here are you and your ugly Goblins.”
“I see we missed one,” Isabel said, pointing at Aine. “We simply must have the entire set, right sisters?”
Meghan laughed and dropped Garnash to the ground. He landed with a thud and was stirred awake. “You should have brought the Protector if you wanted to be taken seriously, because now you have found yourselves in our ire.”
Chapter 13
‘Til Death Do Us Part
Bodach snarled and strained as he sliced at Oscar from the top left expecting the Protector to block the blow, so he tried to sneak the blade in his right hand into Oscar’s midsection, but Oscar was ready. A second falcata appeared in his left hand, and the strike was avoided.
“Hey, Bodach,” Angie called. “Looks like your Dunters left you all alone.”
Bodach spared a brief moment to watch his grunts sprinting in the opposite direction. “Do you think that I need those insignificant imbeciles to kill you?”
Ruger’s growl sounded from off to Oscar’s left and Angie glared at the Bogle with hate-filled eyes. Oscar was panting and tired, but there was no way that he could ever let Bodach go. Oscar had a feeling that the Boogieman would haunt them for the rest of their days, literally.
Oscar adjusted his grip on the energy falcatas. “This ends today, Bodach,” he declared. “Either you walk away from your anger and move on to leave us alone or we’re going to have to kill you.”
“Your choice, handsome,” Angie jabbed, reminding Oscar of where Lizzie had inherited her feistiness.
Bodach threw his head back and laughed. It was a disturbed laugh of a maniacal lunatic and made Oscar’s skin crawl.
“Enough talk. Its time to finish this,” Bodach said, placing the blade from his mechanical arm into its sheath on his hip.
The Bogle’s hand began to rotate, quickly spinning itself into a blur. White energy crackled within the workings of the arm, but never really intensified, remaining a methodical lightning show. The Bogle pointed his whirring hand at Oscar and grinned with his black teeth bared. In the next instance a pulse of energy was shot out of the end of the arm aimed directly for the elder Protector. Oscar raised his falcatas and braced for impact but it never came. Ruger had moved in front of his master and took the brunt of the blast, dropping to the ground like a stone.
“Ruger!” Oscar shouted.
He knelt down and felt his old canine friend before he glared at Bodach. Bodach’s grin remained etched on his thin lips and he took another shot at Oscar. Oscar got the falcatas up in time, but the force of the blast sent him tumbling end over end on the ground.
Bodach turned to face Angie. “Now it’s your turn, my dear.”
He raised his arm up and aimed it at her chest, the grin still playing at his lips. Angie’s breath caught in her chest and she almost forgot that she had the blade in her hand. Just as Bodach’s energy blast was about to jump from his hand she flung the knife directly into the barrel. The metal and the energy met and exploded upon contact. Bodach’s robotic arm was blasted to bits.
“You!” the Bogle screeched as he snatched Angie around the throat with his remaining arm. “I’m going to squeeze the life out you.”
“Hey, Bodach,” Oscar called out. “Thanks for the present, but I don’t want it anymore.”
Oscar pointed both of his falcatas at the Bogle and shot the Bodach’s own energy ba
ck at him. The blasts struck the Bogle in the shoulder and the chest sending him spinning into the air and causing him to lose his hold on Angie. His body landed roughly on the edge of the canyon with his face slamming hard on the ground.
Oscar and Angie approached him cautiously as the Boogieman struggled to push himself up to his knees.
“It’s over, Bodach, but the choice is still yours. Walk away never to search us out again or die.”
Blood dripped from Bodach’s mouth and nose and he glanced up at the humans. He spat out a glob of blood at their feet. “Human dirt can die!”
Bodach lashed out with the blade in his left hand forcing Oscar to block the blow. Shock showed on Bodach’s pale face when Angie side kicked him straight in the jaw, causing him to lose his balance and topple over the rim of the canyon.
Angie and Oscar looked over the edge until they couldn’t see him any longer.
“Do you think he can survive that?” Angie asked.
Oscar shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure, but I know I’m ecstatic that I’ve got you back.”
“Oh, Oscar,” she replied, grabbing his shoulders and initiating their first kiss in a long, long time.
“Can you forgive me for—everything?” Oscar begged, his tears matched her own.
“There’s nothing to forgive. We were both under Conchar’s curse.”
They embraced again, tears mixing on their cheeks.
“I’ve never stopped loving you; even though Conchar, and Bodach for that matter, tried, they could never make me stop,” Oscar declared.
Ruger’s whimper caught their attention and they went to his side.
“Are you okay, boy?” Oscar asked, rubbing the Rottweiler’s head.
Ruger got to his unsteady feet and shook like he had just climbed out of a swimming pool. Oscar smiled and then noticed a pure white shard of something lying on the ground.
“That must have been what was powering Bodach’s arm.” Oscar walked over and picked it up. “Warm to the touch,” he observed. “There’s something familiar about it.”
“Maybe it can come in handy,” Angie offered as she tore the sleeve off of her shirt and wrapped it around Oscar’s injured leg. “But for now, tell me about the kids. Lizzie for one looks like a grown woman!”
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