by Natalie Erin
Their heads all turned to see four thieves lined up on the edge of the cliff. The elves were dark skinned, bulky with muscle and rugged. Their clothes were ragged and their ears were pointed. The only female of the group pointed another arrow and sent it flying. Kia easily ducked and Ionan transformed into a lion, roaring fiercely. The eager looks of the bandits vanished to be replaced with terror and they started down the mountain again, running for their lives. They noticed the one skinny elf’s bag was a dark brown fur, streaked with silver; Kia raced forward and tackled the elf to the wall. When he tried to slip away Keota grabbed him with one hand and easily raised him up off the ground by his shirt.
“Your bag is made out of a unicorn’s pelt,” Kia snarled, her knife at his throat. “Tell us where you got it.”
“Why do you want to know?” the thief wheezed, trying to pry Keota’s hands away.
“That’s none of your business. You tried to kill us,” Keota said and he lifted him higher.
The rouge gasped and said, “Alright! I stole it off an elf who used to hunt unicorns!”
“Used to?” Keota asked.
“He died a long time ago. The fairy that protects the unicorns did him in.”
“And where is this fairy?” Kia asked.
“If you go into the Ice Born Mountains you’ll find a valley there, that’s where the fairy hides them. But you’d be mad to try. If the cold doesn’t kill you first, she will.”
“My father was right,” Kia groaned. “We do have to go through the Ice Borns.”
Keota set him free. Grabbing his neck the elf stumbled down the cliffs to catch up with his companions, taking his bag with him. Ionan turned to the group and said gruffly, “To the Ice Borns we go.”
LOTTIE GASPED with fear as she felt herself flying through the air, knowing what she faced down in the rushing water was death. As she fell, she saw a white streak flash by and before she knew it she had stopped falling.. A pair of strong jaws enveloped her belly. They soared through the air and Lottie was put down on a small cliff as her mother opened her jaws.
“Stay here,” she said. “I’m going to get your brother.” Mama gave her a lick and pushed her to the wall. Then she leapt with what was incredible strength over the humongous gap, back to where Lilja was waiting. Lottie looked up and saw that the fire had progressed to a terrifying speed. It was right behind them, and Lottie understood why her mother had jumped to the other side...there was nowhere else to go. Mama picked up Lilja by his scruff and focused on a ledge that Lottie knew was too high and too far to reach. She called out but stopped in mid-sentence as she watched her mother fly across the edge, landing on all fours and setting Lilja down. Her mother began to make the slippery descent to Lottie. Slipping and stumbling, the wolf grabbed Lottie and began carrying her upwards toward salvation.
Mama was no longer steady and strong. She was growing weaker, and her breathing became ragged. Lottie thought, We’re not going to make it! But she looked back into her mother’s eyes and saw strict determination, refusal to accept their deaths. She put one mighty, bloody white paw on the brink and threw Lottie to her brother.
Lottie looked up and saw her mother scrabbling for a grip. “No!” Lilja cried and ran over to help. But before he could reach her, their mother slipped and she fell right into the raging water below. The last thing Lottie saw when her mother fell was two pairs of eyes, one brown, the other blue.
“Mama!” she screamed, bumping her head on the rocky boulders. Lilja got up and moved close to her, setting his head on her shoulder as she cried.
CHAPTER SIX
A CREATURE CALLED NAGLI
K ia leaned against a tree, scrolls of paper and vials of ink spread out in front of her. She scribbled something on the paper, then crossed it out angrily. “What are you doing?” Keota asked, plopping down next to her.
“I’m trying to write a letter to my father,” she answered. “I need directions once we get to the Ice Borns, and we also need food.”
“No we don’t,” Keota said. “Food is a useless thing right now.”
“Okay, we’ve been over this a thousand times! You may not need food, but I do!” she snapped. “And so do the pups and Snow Drop.”
His face went from complete confusion to utter revelation. “Oh. You guys do have to eat, don’t you?”
“No, we’ve been eating for the fun of it,” she said sarcastically. “Why don’t you go find something to do? I’m a little busy here.”
“What am I going to do? It’s incredibly boring out here,” he said with a sigh.
“Why don’t you go jump out of a tree and try to fly,” Kia hissed. “I really don’t care, as long as you go away. I’m not in the mood for cutesy couple stuff today.”
He looked at her with a hurt expression, then rose to his feet. “Fine.” He sulked away, his arms crossed over his chest.
Kia immediately went back to her writing. When she was finished she tied the letter to a messenger bird, whom she had hired on the road. “Keep the letter safe, okay?” she told him.
“Of course, Princess Kiatana,” he nodded quickly.
“I’ve told you a hundred times, call me Kia, not Kiatana,” she ordered.
“Yes, Princess Kiatana,” he nodded again. Kia groaned and then sent the bird on his way with a wave of her hand, watching as he vanished into the deep blue sky.
MALAKI’S REPLY came back three days later. When the bird arrived Kia was sitting against a tree. She was staring cruelly at Ionan, who sat in his dragon form about twenty feet away. “You know I’m right and you’re wrong,” Kia snapped. “Keota and I are great together.”
“The two of you shall never last,” Ionan growled back, baring his sharp teeth. “I will guarantee that by next week you won’t be able to stand the sight of each other.”
“Isn’t that happening already?” Lottie wondered, who was sitting nearby. Everyone ignored her.
“Okay, whatever you say, lizard breath!” Kia shouted at him.
“Lizard Breath! Why I never…” Ionan began.
“Never what? Had any sense?” Kia cut him off.
“Now listen here…”
“Come on guys, can’t we all just get along?” Keota stepped in between them, his arms raised.
“Why should I ever have to get along with that thing?” Kia said with disgust. “He doesn’t like me, so I don’t like him.”
“Oh, you are very mature, aren’t you,” Ionan replied.
“Like you’re any better,” she said.
“Shut up already!” Keota yelled, finally taking charge. “Kia, the letter from your dad is here!”
“It’s here?” Kia turned to see the falcon sitting on a branch behind her. The falcon cocked his head and she tried to hide her blush. “Oh, I’m so sorry you had to listen to all of this. It must seem so stupid.” She removed the letter from the tube on his back. “Thank you.”
“You are welcome,” the bird replied. “He says your supplies will be here soon. He sent them with a larger animal.”
“Okay, thanks again. You can go now,” Kia nodded, unrolling the letter.
“Goodbye, young princess.” The falcon spread his wings and left.
When the falcon was gone Kia complained, “Why does everyone have to be so formal? Is it that hard to figure out that I prefer to be called Kia over anything else?”
“Maybe they just want to be nice,” Keota suggested with a shrug.
“Or maybe they do it because they know it annoys you and they dislike you as much as I do,” Ionan snarled.
“You are a horrible little thing,” Kia told him.
“You must be blind, for there is nothing little about me,” Ionan said.
“Can you read the letter? I want to know where we’re going already,” Keota asked, stepping in before things could get worse.
Kia looked down at the paper in her hands and began reading it aloud.
“MY DEAREST DAUGHTER:
In my opinion the best way to the Ice Borns is t
o first pass through the Blue Sky Peaks. They are only a short distance from the Ice Borns and will give you some experience passing over smaller mountains. There is one spot where the Blue Sky Peaks actually connect with the Ice Borns. If you travel to the top of the middle Peak, there is a large cave marking the top. Travel around it, and you will find a bridge made of a tree that has linked the two mountain ranges together. The cave is a rather nice place and that is where your supplies will be waiting for you. It was easier to give the wolf a place to go rather than to tell her to wander around until she found you. I love you darling, have fun.
Sincerely, Father.”
“SO WE’RE in the correct location. We just have to make our way through these mountains,” Kia said. She pulled out her map and began to scan the many landmarks.
“Have fun? What does he think this is, a parade?” Ionan said.
“I don’t know. I’ve heard some stories about caves. Their paths often end in death or horrible injury of some kind for travelers,” Lottie threw in.
“What are you talking about? Caves are great!” Keota said.
“You may as well be in a parade,” Ionan mumbled.
“Here it is!” Kia declared, pointing at a spot on her map.
“Well that’s not all that far,” Keota said, examining the map.
“Not far at all,” Kia said, proud of herself. “We can find that cave in no time.”
THE TAKEOVER WAS GOING VERY WELL indeed. None of Kia’s animals stood in Casiff’s way as his army ran through the forest and established complete control. “How strange,” he said to himself. “You think the beasts would try to keep their fairy’s land safe. Why aren’t they fighting back?”
Casiff looked around in worry, trying to spot his lone she-wolf. Casiff knew Caini had lost her pups to a forest fire only a few months ago, so in her grieving state she was more vulnerable to attack. If he hadn’t found her in the river one night, she would’ve died. They had become amazingly close in the past few months, as Caini was the only one who had compassion for him...who actually understood him. He had tried to persuade her to stay behind, but she refused. His blue eyes searched back and forth among the trees.
Then he saw her. His beloved Caini limped through the woods, slowly moving toward him. She wheezed and struggled to catch her breath. As she reached him she fell upon his feet and sat her head onto her paws. “My Caini! What’s wrong?” He fell to his knees beside her. “Who has done this to you?”
“The land has done this to me,” the wolf wheezed. “This land carries the plaque of a million deaths that killed off the humans. We never should have come here.”
“No, it can’t be! I will not let you die Caini! I will keep you safe,” Casiff told his beloved companion.
“It’s already too late for me,” Caini huffed. Those were her last words, and she died in the arms of the fairy that loved her.
“No!” Casiff screamed into the sky. He picked the wolf up and held her above his head. “Why have you done this to me? She was my only true friend in this miserable world! Why?” He fell back to the ground and broke into tears. His only friend lay dead in his arms, her head tilted to one side. He had lost the one thing he had loved. He had lost his Caini.
THE REST of the day passed and Casiff stayed with his friend only long enough to bury her properly. As he mourned his loss, the anger began to well up inside him. He knew who was at fault for this.
Casiff took off through Kia’s land, stomping over flowers and small plants. He found the house easily enough. He banged on the door, stamping his foot impatiently. “I know you’re home, old man!” he yelled. “Malaki, if you don’t let me in right this instant I swear I’ll…”
Just then the door swung open and Kia’s father stared out, wrapping his robe around him. “I’m sorry Casiff, I didn’t hear you,” Malaki apologized, dropping his head slightly. “Come in, come in.”
“I blame you for this, every last bit of it!” Casiff yelled angrily, pointing at the old man as he burst through his door.
“What is it that I’m being blamed for?” Malaki asked, confused. The older man pulled out a chair and gestured to it, utterly baffled that this young fairy was bursting into his house and erupting like a volcano.
“My beautiful Caini is dead!” Casiff said, his anger turning into sadness in a matter of seconds. “She died because of that plague!”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that,” Malaki said, genuinely upset. “She was a good one, wasn’t she? Very useful.”
“It doesn’t matter! She’s dead and it’s all your fault!” Casiff yelled, rising to his feet.
“Casiff, you were the one who wanted her land, not me,” Malaki replied, placing his hands on Casiff’s shoulders and gently pushing him into his seat. “It can all be worked out. Her suffering is over, at least.”
“Don’t you go and try to pull that nonsense on me!” Casiff roared, although he stayed in the chair this time. “I will not have you trying to tell me that she’s happy! She’s dead! And Kia and her dream team is still running around like nothing’s wrong!”
“The dream team?” Malaki asked. “Never mind, just calm down. It’s all right.”
“I can’t stay here listening to you!” he screamed, standing up and overturning the table. “You will not tell me what I should do! I will calm down when I feel I should!” With that he turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
“Oh my, he does have a temper.” Malaki mumbled to himself, beginning to pick up the table and the clutter of things that had been on top. “He really should work at getting rid of that, or else it may come back to bite him.”
IT TOOK the group two days hiking around the mountains to find where the caverns began. “Hey, there they are,” Keota said, looking up. “I bet the cave we’re looking for is in there. We found them!”
“Yes, we finally found them, no thanks to you,” Ionan said grumpily. He sat down and pulled a thorn out of one foot. “Remind me again why we went through that field of bushes?”
“Because it was faster than going around,” Kia snapped. “Two little thorns aren’t that bad, Ionan.”
“When they’re shoved into your foot they are,” Ionan said.
“You lived, didn’t you?” Kia replied.
“Keota, what do you see in her?” Ionan questioned.
“He sees everything he’s ever wanted to because it was meant to be,” Kia told the dragon, making it as gushy as possible so Keota would swoon. It worked. She saw his eyes melt into butter once she stopped speaking.
“Oh, disgusting,” Ionan said, snorting out a bit of flame.
“We can get the other thorn out, Ionan!” Lilja said, and he and his sister started dancing around his feet to try and pull the thorn out.
“No, I would prefer not…ouch!” Ionan let out another flame as Lottie yanked out the thorn, tail wagging.
“Come on you two, let’s climb these mountains already,” Keota said, starting up at the caverns.
“These don’t seem like mountains to me, more like hills,” Kia said with a laugh. The joke was soon on her, however. After an hour the mountain went from a gentle incline to incredibly steep.
“How close are we to the top?” Keota asked, slipping down onto a small ledge.
“I have no idea,” Kia replied from her spot at the front. She lost her footing for a second but quickly regained it with slight difficulty. Snow Drop flew just above the ground, following her fairy faithfully.
“My wings hurt and this ground is too steep for me to get a good grip on,” Snow Drop said. “We had better get there soon or someone’s losing a head!”
“Calm down Snow Drop,” Kia said. “We’ll get there whenever we do. For now, just be patient.”
“Hate to say it, but I told you I didn’t trust going to this cave,” Ionan told her. He walked next to Keota in the form of a mountain goat, not having half as much trouble as the others.
“You never said we shouldn’t climb the mountain,” Kia snapped. �
��Now shut it or you won’t get there in one piece.”
“I don’t feel that I will, with you in the lead,” Ionan replied.
“Ionan,” Keota said impatiently. “We don’t have time for this.”
“Fine. I shall keep quiet.” Ionan gave in, a smirk on his face.
“Thank you,” Kia said shortly. Something, either a rock or a branch, got in the way of her climbing. Kia fell forward onto her face, her whole body slamming into the ground. Instead of getting up, she laid there. “That hurt,” she mumbled.
“Do you want some help up?” Keota asked, offering his hand.
“Actually, I think I’ll stay here, the view of the dirt is just so lovely,” Kia responded.
“Are you sure?” Keota asked blatantly.
“I’m joking!” Kia replied. “Help me up, you idiot!” She grabbed his hand and he lifted her to her feet, not remembering to control his strength so she dangled several inches off the ground. There was a small scrape across her nose but other than that, she was perfectly fine.
“I can’t take this for much longer,” Snow Drop whinnied in frustration. “My wings are going to give out and I’ll blame you!”
“Snow Drop, I just fell on my face. I don’t want to hear it,” Kia said.
Even though the adults were thoroughly miserable the pups, for one, were having a great time.
“Lottie! Lottie! Look what I can do!” Lilja balanced on his back paws and hopped from stone to stone, finally landing on a steep ledge on all fours. He rose back up again and started balancing a rock on his nose, dangerously close to falling. “Ta Dah!”
Lottie cheered and Ionan said, “Lilja! Get down from there!”
“Okay!” Lilja jumped back down and went into a fast slide down the side of the mountain, gathering speed until he crashed into Ionan’s fur.
“Ooh, that looks like fun!” Lottie said in excitement. She ran up a ledge and came sliding down, spinning round and around until she too came slamming into Ionan.