by P. G. Thomas
“How did that happen?” he asked, still amazed.
Alron was more concerned that there could be other threats, “We shall talk with the Earth Mothers tomorrow. Mayhap they will know. Right now, we need to get John, Earth Mother, and you to safety—well, at least John and Earth Mother.”
“Blade so sharp, tear it did not,” advised Aaro.
Bor looked through the spindles to the lower landing, “Great was the force, the head still spins.”
The courtyard between the meeting hall and the municipal offices was crowded with Earth Guards and numerous dwarves, making sure that no more threats were present. Zack, the wolf, and Eric had joined them, advising the carriages had made it to the Earth Mother’s house, and that the injured were being treated.
Alron knelt down, “Zack, do you smell any traitors near the Earth Mother’s house?”
The wolf shrugged his shoulders.
“I think the air is polluted with black-clad,” advised Eric, “Too many are dead, which would mask any scents.”
Having seen the devastation that Eric had caused, Lauren was surprised to hear her friend talking and not the sword.
Alron led the rest back to their house, sending the Ironhouse brothers in first, ensuring no threats hid inside. When Aaro called the all clear, John, Mirtza, and Ryan all entered, looking for strong liquids. The Ironhouse brothers returned to the front, safeguarding that no new threats would disrupt the newfound peace. Pacing in front, Lauren noticed the lamps lit in Hoyle’s house, and Alron instantly recognized the look on her face from the town hall meetings.
She marched over to Hoyle’s front door, “Zack, does a traitor’s stench linger here?” Wandering over, the wolf sniffed the front door, nodded his head. She looked to her group, “We’ve been bad neighbors. Eric, please invite us in.”
Alron was nervous, “Earth Mother, what are you be up to?”
“We cannot afford to give protection to those who would harm us. We need to resolve the issue of Hoyle tonight. After we arrest him, we’ll search his place, finding any evidence he has hidden. We’ll put him on trial, using him to prove the threat to the people. Tranquil Fury, please invite us in.” Since it was a command from the Earth Mother, Eric kicked open the door.
Alron tried in vain to make the runaway train called Lauren change tracks, “There are better ways you can accomplish this.”
“No, the heart of the black-clad shadow lives behind this door, and this night it attacked us. What happens if tomorrow or next week they send more? Every day, they send our enemies more information about us. We need to cut the head off the snake.” As Lauren followed Eric into Hoyle’s house, Alron, Zack, the Earth Guards, and Ironhouse brothers crowded in behind them. While it was the largest house in the town, the furnishings were minimal, being more like somebody was renting it.
Hoyle came from the back of the house, screaming at the late night intrusion, “What is the meaning of this?”
“We missed you at the meeting tonight,” replied an angry Lauren.
“I was out of town. I just arrived back a few hours ago. Go ask the guards at the west gate.”
“You were never out of town. You never left the town!”
“So now you spy on me?”
Lauren was tired of wearing a target, “No, we watch all those who are traitors, who conspire with the enemies of the west.”
Zack growled.
Hoyle growled back, “Get that mangy flea bitten beast out of here.”
Smell thick. (“What do you mean?”) One. More than one. Not one. More. (“I don’t understand.”) More. (“Where?”) After circling the room, it moved into the dining hall before heading to the back of the house.
Hoyle was cautiously angry, “Look I do not know what you think you are doing, but you have no right to be here. Take your flea-bitten dog, your gang of thugs, and get out of my place! NOW!”
Zack walked into the office at the west-end of the house, finding elaborate furnishings inside, which greatly contrasted the other rooms. Traitors. The scent was thick where Zack paced along the far wall. The Earth Guard forced Hoyle into the dining hall so that they could keep an eye on Zack. Hoyle was livid, screaming at them to get out of his house, cursing at them.
Behind. (“Hidden door?”) Behind. (“I need hands.”) After Zack went out of focus, a large white polar bear appeared, which began to shred the wall with its four-inch long claws.
“You will pay for that damage and to the front door. This is crazy. I am going to get the watch. Even they will agree you have gone too far.”
Alron thought that something was wrong, he does not react right.
Pulling off a huge section of wall, Zack exposed six black-clad figures inside. Hoyle bolted past the distracted Earth Guards as assassins burst out of the wall. Even though Zack ripped into three before they could pull their weapons, three fled past him, and reacting to the threat immediately, the Earth Guards eliminated them without a second thought. Aaro, Bor, and the Dawnfalcons had Hoyle trapped in the front room.
Lauren entered the front room, “You’re under arrest for conspiracy. Seize him. His property and possessions are forfeited.” She turned her back to leave, “Check the house for other passages and any evidence of conspiracy.”
When several people gasped, Lauren heard the thud, heard the body hit the ground, and heard the blood gurgling out. Turning around, looking at the floor, Alron lay at her feet with a dagger in his neck. From the wound, thick dark ruby-red blood flowed, wrapping around him like a necklace of death. She looked at Hoyle, who had more daggers in hand. As her eyes went wide in shock, Panry threw his sword, and with the force being so great, it buried itself hilt deep into the evil that stood in front of all. Eric or his inner guest, so enraged, rushed forward, bringing the massive sword around from behind, he cleaved Hoyle in two, spraying blood across the room, covering walls and witnesses alike.
Lauren was on her knees, screaming. “Get Gingaar! Get the Earth Mothers! Now! Alron you cannot die on me. I need you.” She was trying to hold in the precious blood, which flowed warmly over her trembling hands.
Ever so quietly, barely a whisper, Alron spoke, “Lauren, it was my pleasure to serve you.” Coughing, a blood bubble formed over his open mouth, breaking when blood gurgled out over his blue lips, “Mother calls. I shall give her your best.” Then Alron went quiet. Bending down, Lauren wrapped herself around him, trying to hold him so tight, that his spirit would be unable to leave.
Walking over and bending down, Panry closed the eyelids of Alron. His words seemed to originate from a glacier, as his frigid anger was both ancient and thick, which resonated in Lauren’s ears. “You have just sent Mother your best.” As Lauren looked at Panry, he picked up Alron, as warm red blood dripped from his dark black hair, sounding like rain drops hitting the floor. Then Panry carried the body of his oldest friend to their house next door.
Lauren looked at Zack, Eric, and the dwarves, “I declare open season on traitors tonight. Arrest them all. When dawn arrives tomorrow, none walk free. Do I make myself clear!”
The dwarves were enraged. As Aaro gathered the Ironhouse brothers, Bor raced to gather the clans, and Zack checked out Hoyle’s house to make sure that no other threats were present. When the dwarves arrived, battle lust glistening in their eyes, they took to the streets, hunting traitors. With Zack leading the pack, Eric smiled as he followed them.
Arriving fifteen minutes later, Arora and Nur saw Alron laid out on the dining room table. Lauren was holding his hand, crying hysterically, hoping her tears would somehow bring warmth back to his cold body, and her grief so great, words she could not speak. Only tears flowed from her, as she hugged the body of her protector. John and Ryan, standing beside her, were uncertain of what to say, as they fought back their own tears, trying to understand what had occurred.
“What happens?” demanded Arora.
“She led us into the snake pit where we cornered the king snake,” began Panry. “Strike back it did. My brother, m
y friend, he does fall.”
“What, I do not understand?” asked Arora, who was unable to believe her eyes or ears.
“Neither do I, Earth Mother. Neither do I.” Then Panry left to watch the front of the house.
“Give me details,” demanded Arora.
Erust repeated the events, wiping away tears as he stared at the cold, unmoving body of Alron.
Arora looked at Nur, “Earth Mother, take Earth Mother to bed and stay with her. Give her berries for sleep.” She looked at the elves, “Is the house next door secured?”
“Zack and Ironhouse have checked it,” replied Erust, “Not any threats were found.”
“Where are they now?”
“Earth Mother sent them into the town. Traitors they search for.”
Arora looked to her Earth Guard, “Send one back to our house, and let them know what happens. This night, we shall stay here.” As Arora took control of the situation, Nur and Gingaar tried to pry Lauren from Alron’s corpse, but she fought them off. Gingaar ran up to Lauren’s room, rummaged through the clutter in the leaf pouch, returning with a small green berry. Taking it, Nur crushed it below Lauren’s right ear, causing her to cry less, making her lightheaded. The two then helped her walk up to her room, putting her to bed, still crying.
*******
Waking the next morning, Lauren hoped it had been a bad dream. Seeing Gingaar sitting in a chair, crying, she knew the nightmare had only begun.
“I have prepared a hot bath for you, Earth Mother,” advised Nur.
“I don’t feel like a bath today.”
“Earth Mother, you need a bath,” began Nur. “It will make you feel better.”
“I don’t want to feel better.”
“Earth Mother. You need a bath… to wash off the blood.”
Looking down at her clothes, much of Alron had spent the night with Lauren. Her dress had been beige, but now it was various colors of red and pink. She looked at her hands, covered in dry, cracked blood, smeared with tears. Nur and Gingaar went to her, helped her out of bed, down the hall and into the tub. They both sat with Lauren as she bathed, helping her to wash the blood from her hair. As Nur assisted Lauren in getting dressed, Gingaar returned to the bedroom, removing all of the bloodied evidence from the night before.
Gingaar and Nur kept her away from the dining room, avoiding where Alron’s cold, stiff body laid, and guided her to the backyard where Arora sat.
Slowly, Lauren regained her composure, “What now?”
“Well, this is new to us. It has been long since an Earth Guard has died. Our community is spread out, and we cannot take him back to his eastern forest. We shall find a quiet place here for him to rest. When this done, we shall take him home.”
“When?” Lauren began to cry again.
“We shall head out tomorrow.”
“I would like to go.”
Arora nodded, “We shall see. Right now you should rest.”
Between gasps of breath, “No, there’s much we still need to do,” Lauren replied
Panry joined them an hour later, “We have drawn straws. One from each Earth Guard shall stay behind to protect her. We have made arrangements for carriages and wagons for our trip. Aaro and Bor will attend with us. They have advised the dwarf clans to watch and protect. We shall leave tomorrow at sunrise.”
Between sobs, Lauren said, “I want to go with you.”
“Not, Earth Mother. You have done enough. You are the reason for his burial. I shall not allow your presence to taint this event. We shall return in four or five days. I shall leave strict instructions with those who will stay to protect you. I strongly suggest you listen to them.”
Lauren started to cry louder.
“Panry, out of here now,” scolded Arora.
As Lauren ran back up to her room, Nur and Gingaar followed.
*******
It was early the next morning when Lauren stirred.
Nur was sitting in the chair beside the bed, “Please, Earth Mother, rest. There is nothing that you can do right now.”
“No, I need to say goodbye before he leaves.” Then Lauren headed out the door. After waking Gingaar, both quickly followed down the stairs, finding her sitting at the dining room table. She was holding Alron’s hand, stroking it, as tears streamed down her face. Whispering a prayer to Mother, she then placed his cold hand back at his side. From her pocket, she pulled out the butterfly brooch that Fodu had given her, pinned it to his shirt, and leaning forward, she kissed his cold forehead, whispered, “Please, don’t hate me, Alron. I’m so sorry.”
Arora and Brook led four elves into the dining room who wrapped Alron in a sheet, and then carried him out to the waiting wagon. As Panry was giving final orders to the Earth Guards and dwarves, Lauren tried to regain her composure, waiting for him to finish. Panry was the second in charge, and her Earth Guard now reported to him.
“I’m so sorry, Panry.”
He remained quiet.
Lauren pushed her grief aside, “Panry, can you fill Alron’s boots?”
There was anger, grief, pain, and so much more in Panry’s eyes and voice, “I cannot, Earth Mother. There is a void in these lands, and it shall forever remain empty. Not any can fill the boots of Alron.”
“Can you protect me?” she asked, holding back her tears.
She could taste the vile in his words, “Earth Mother, I could lock you in dark room, bury it one hundred feet underground and kill all that know of it. Still trouble shall find you.”
Lauren was desperate, as Alron had always provided her with a sense of comfort. First, the Earth Mother, now Alron, she never thought that he could die, “Panry, I need you. Can you not help me?”
“Earth Mother, there are none any that can help you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Alron died a senseless death. If you had advised of what shall happen, he can prepare for such. Made sure that you were safe, and not harm shall injure any. You led the charge but looked neither forward nor back. I do not know if it is Mother that blinds you or some force other, but until you learn to let others help you, you shall bed with fates cruel. We shall fulfill our obligation to you Earth Mother; we shall help, protect, and serve you in any way that we can. Should once again you place yourself in harm’s way, we shall forfeit our own lives to protect you. We are Earth Guard. We shall try our best to keep the moths back from your flames that burn so bright, but Earth Mother, there is only one that can provide the help that you ask for.”
“Who’s that Panry?” asked Lauren as she began to smile.
“It is you.” Then Panry turned, heading to the carriages.
Lauren, crying harder, ran up to her room.
Arora had heard the exchange, “Panry, here now.”
Ignoring the call, he walked past the Earth Mother, taking his seat in the wagon that carried Alron.
Brook took the seat beside him, “Will she be safe?”
“Earth Mother, she has a fine Earth Guard to protect her, and four dwarves who consider her family. They have put out words many, and another six dozen watch over here. I spoke with both thief guilds, telling them it would be a great favor if not harm happens in my absence. Eric and his sword shall be with her. Zack will stay as wolf and watch out for her. Her brother and Ryan will also remain close. Over two hundred watch her.”
“So she is safe then?”
Panry’s words dripped with venom, “No, Earth Mother. I could double or triple her protection, and still she would not be safe. However, it is not her I fear for, as it is for those who watch over her. I just hope that this town still stands when we return.”
*******
After the wagons had departed, Lauren went back downstairs. Zack, the wolf, was curled up in a ball by the front door, and Eric was sitting in the front room, looking at the floor. Sitting down at the table in the backyard, she began to cry, and seeing this from his bedroom window, Ryan went down and sat beside her. She was in so much pain that it also hurt him. Pull
ing her to him, he hugged her, and soon his shirt was wet with her tears. However, it took hours, most of the day, before Lauren had cried so hard, she was finally able to form words.
“Ryan, what have I done? They all hate me.”
“No, they don’t hate you.”
“Alron is dead. I can still smell his blood on my hands.”
“He took an oath to protect you. He died with great honor.”
“I don’t care about honor. He’s dead, dead by my hands.”
“Lauren, you didn’t kill him. Your actions that night were right. They found more traitors because of you. Yes, Alron died, but many more could have. Traitors so close to us, we don’t know what could’ve happened.”
“Panry says that I’m doomed.”
“He’s upset.”
“Nobody will talk to me, and they all shun me.”
“They lost a friend, and they need time to mourn.”
Lauren cried harder, “What about me? I also lost a friend.”
“You also need time to mourn.”
“Is this how you felt after the accident? When Samantha died?”
Ryan had not thought about the accident for a long time. Remembering how everyone had treated him so differently, how he lost so many friends, as everybody thought there was more to the story. With rumors starting, even after the police cleared him, stories still spread.
“What do I do?”
“Right now, you just mourn, let it out. Keeping it in, it’ll only do you harm.”
“I can’t do this anymore. It’s too hard. Others may die. I want to quit. I want out.”
“You’re just upset. The others will come around.”
“I didn’t. After the accident, after we buried Sam, I didn’t come around to you, to say I was sorry for your loss, to hear your side of the story. Why should they? Why will they treat me any differently than the way I treated you? Why?”
Ryan thought of the accident, seeing the image of Samantha’s bloody face; the image that had haunted his dreams for so long. He remembered the lifeless body pulled broken from the wreckage, seeing the fireman throwing the blanket over the unmoving body, smelling the blood on his hands. Ryan began to cry, triggering Lauren to cry harder. It took him an hour to regain his composure, by which time she had cried herself to sleep. Picking her up, he carried her up to her room, placing her on the bed. Sitting in the chair, he watched her, but troubled sleep overtook him an hour later. When the freshly awoken images of the crash came back, he woke to see Samantha lying in the bed, before realizing that it was Lauren. Sweating, crying, he stumbled out of her bedroom and back to his own, muffling his cries with a pillow. Why? Why now?