by Terry Spear
“But we have rested no more than a few seconds—”
“Five hours have passed.” Viator pointed to the sun’s lofty location in the blue sky. “I must accomplish my task.”
Eloria stood, then brushed the sands from her gowns.
“I had the most disturbing dream, Eloria. You won’t be safe with me, I fear.”
“You said I would not be safe while Lars, crown prince of the river elves, wishes to use me for his own dark purposes, should he take me back to Darkland Forest.”
“Aye, that’s what I said.”
Viator strode to the water’s edge. He stretched his wings, then rose toward his destination. She studied the rocks. They were barren again.
She folded her arms as Viator swooped down in a pass over the rocks to see the matter.
Before another wave crashed upon the coral-covered rocks, Viator settled down briefly, then reached into the sea. Eloria held her breath.
“What is he doing?” Balen walked up beside her.
She shuddered and glanced over at him. “I didn’t hear your approach.”
“You were sort of concentrating on the prince.”
“I’m not sure what he’s doing.” She turned her attention back to Viator.
Viator lifted his wings just before a wave smashed into the rocks. Balen sighed deeply. “He mustn’t get his wings wet...not if he wants to fly again.”
“And he can’t swim.” She walked into the water. The tips of the waves tugged gently at her feet as the water rolled in and out.
“No, winged elves can’t swim. It wouldn’t matter anyway. If he were to slip into the water, the mermaid would take him into the deep and drown him.”
Viator circled around the rock, then landed again. He reached into the water and this time his back muscles tightened as he strained to pull something from it.
Eloria frowned. “What in the world is he doing?”
Balen shook his head. “He’s concentrating on the task so hard, he isn’t paying attention to the waves.”
Eloria tugged at Balen’s arm. “Shouldn’t you aid him?”
“He will have a fit. He threatened to take away my title the last time when I helped him to get the top off the flask to cleanse our water. And me, a duke’s son. He’s bound and determined to earn a whole credit this time toward making his wings transparent. Except to do so, he cannot have anyone’s help.”
Viator jumped from the rock, barely missing the water’s wrath. Eloria shook her head. “It’s too dangerous. You have to help him.”
“I cannot, Eloria. You don’t understand how important it is for us to come of age. A man has got to do what a man has got to do.”
“So do more quests, but aid your prince, now!”
Balen studied Viator’s struggles, then nodded. “I will blame my interference on you. After all, half a quest completed, gives me an edge over the prince still.”
With wings outstretched, Balen lifted into the air, then flew to where Viator circled once more.
She smiled as Viator motioned to the beach. Balen returned the hand movements as he pointed his finger at her. She waved at the two men. The glow of her necklace caught her eye. The winged elves watched it too. Then the mermaid suddenly popped her head out of the kelp drifting over the top of the water. Floating near the rocks, her green gaze fixed on the elves.
Viator spoke to Balen again, but he just shook his head and pointed at the water next to the rocks. The two dropped to the coral and pulled at the fishnet tangled at the water’s edge.
“I can’t believe you have disobeyed me.” Viator yanked some of the net free. He grabbed Balen’s arm and they rose before the wave splashed them. “I could have done this on my own.”
“Eloria begged me to aid you, sire. What could I do? With tears streaking down those ivory cheeks of hers...you know I never could bear seeing a girl cry.”
Viator flapped his wings as he watched Eloria. “She was crying?”
“I guess she kind of likes you.”
Glancing down at the water, Viator saw the mermaid floating some distance out. “She’s back.”
“Yes, well, if she reaches for her rock, we must abandon this quest of yours for the time being.”
“We have half of the net up already.” Viator took a deep breath as Balen raised a brow. “Well, nearly half. Come on, the seawater has pulled away.”
They walked on the slippery coral, then yanked at the net with a coordinated effort. More of the net pulled free and the elves smiled. “Easy as...”
Balen grabbed the prince’s arm, and they both rose off the rock as the waves pounded it. “Maybe not so easy as all that.”
They observed the mermaid drifting closer to the coral. “We won’t finish this task for you, oh mermaid, if you crawl up on your rock home.” Viator’s voice was dark with warning as he folded his arms.
They watched the mermaid as she glanced back at the shore. The elves turned to see Eloria wading knee-deep in the water. Her emerald glowed steadily now in the sunlight. Viator frowned. “What is she doing?”
“Trying to distract the mermaid, I think.”
“Come on.” Viator landed on the rock again and tugged at the woven ropes.
Balen pointed toward the horizon. “Look at the strange green mist rising on the water’s surface.”
Viator glanced up at it, then shook his head. “Hurry, help me.”
The two concentrated so hard on the task before them they didn’t see the mermaid grasp the edge of the coral. Eloria’s voice cried out to them. Blocking the sound of the mermaid’s song, the elves also blocked Eloria’s voice as her words were shouted from so far away. They heard only their heartbeats pounding hard as they struggled with the net and the sound of the water swelling for an encore performance.
Viator turned to see the mermaid’s hand outstretched, reaching for his ankle. Before she grabbed hold, she turned her head in the direction of the shore. Viator and Balen lifted off the rock. They turned as Eloria swam into the surf.
“She can swim.” Balen rubbed his smooth chin.
“Not for long.” Viator watched the mermaid slip back into the sea. “We can’t reach her either. Swimming too close to the water, we would be drowned in the waves ourselves.” He grabbed Balen’s arm. “Come, we must finish our task.”
“But, Eloria—”
“Hurry, I hadn’t planned to drown the mermaid, only to help her in her quest, but to stop her from reaching Eloria...if I must drown the sea creature, then...well, the net is our only hope.”
Balen tugged with Viator with all his might. “I suppose we won’t earn a credit with our effort then.”
“Half a credit,” Viator reminded him.
“Half a credit then.”
“No, and since you have some fondness for the human girl now too, rescuing her won’t give you any credit either.”
“Well, at least the one time, it did.”
With a last tug, they pulled the net free only to be swallowed up in the green mist. “Keep hold of the net,” Viator shouted.
“I can’t see a thing! I can’t even see the water!”
“Eloria!” Viator shouted.
“Eloria!” Balen repeated as if he were an echo.
Then the mist receded slowly toward the horizon. Viator pointed at the figure of the mermaid floundering in the water. Her eyes focused on the mist.
“Sire, should we drop the net on her?”
“Eloria’s gone.” Viator flew with the net to the shore, then dropped it on the sand. “She’s gone when I vowed to keep her safe.”
Balen dropped his end of the net, then studied Viator’s wings. “They’re another half-a-credit transparent, sire.”
Viator walked to the water’s edge. The mist slipped back across the sea. Squinting his eyes, he surveyed the horizon, then frowned. “There’s an island of green out there. I saw it when we first set sight on the shores of this land.”
Balen shuffled his feet, then grabbed his blanket and shook th
e sand loose. Viator turned to watch him. “Next, quest, sire? Even if we don’t get credit?”
Viator’s eyes drifted back to the island speck in the distance. “She has to be there, Balen. She just has to be there.”
“The king won’t be happy that you have lost your heart to the human girl, Your Majesty. She is the one our soothsayers have spoken of...she will conquer our realm.” He hurried to hand Viator his packed bag. “Will we go?”
“They say the island only appears once every sixty-six years. I have seen my great, grandfather’s diary about this place. Not good...and no telling how long the island has been floating on the sea. Once its time is up, it just vanishes.”
“How long does it appear for?”
“No one knows.”
“Then, if we don’t make this trip quickly—”
“We could all just vanish forever.”
Viator slipped his pack onto his back and unfolded his wings, his heart pounding with concern. “We take her to the shadow elves after this. The path we must follow is way too dangerous for the likes of a human girl.”
He and Balen flew off for the island.
“She will be upset—”
“Better upset and alive then...” Viator shook his head as he took a deep breath. He couldn’t think of the other consequences of their actions. “You say she cried when she was concerned for my safety? I have never seen a human cry. What were her tears like? Are they like elven girls’?”
“Sire, the island grows close. I fear the gray specks in the sky may be...”
“Griffins!”
17
“Uh, hello!” Eloria hollered from the window of the tower. She leaned out of the windowsill to feel the rock facing covered in green moss. The plants tickled her fingers as she studied the rough stone surface. Indents...footholds? Seventy-feet below, water dashed upon the jagged rocks ringing the tower. “It appears to be a corner tower of a castle at the water’s edge.” She stared at the green mist sifting over the rocks in spurts.
Taking a deep breath, she studied the green-velvet dress covering her slight figure. She ran her hand over the fabric of her sleeve watching as the threads turned dark. Turning her attention to the bedchamber, she observed the room cloaked entirely in green from the bed curtains and bedspread to the marble floors and walls. She pounded on the door. “Hey! Is anyone out there?”
For the seventh time, she twisted the doorknob...and found it still locked. “I know, I know, I’ve already tried that before, but...” She collapsed on a soft-cushioned, green-velvet chair. Rubbing her temple, she closed her eyes. She envisioned Viator’s face as his brow knit deeply in the green mist. She saw the net he carried with Balen as they hovered in the fog. She was glad they had accomplished their task.
She sighed deeply, then stood up from the chair. “Can you free me from this tower now? Will you even be able to find me?” She turned to study the room again. Who had pulled her from the sea and where was she now?
She struck the door with her fist and the walls echoed the banging throughout the hall outside her room. “Hello!” She stormed across the floor and stared out the window at the drop from the tower. “Way too long a drop...but, perhaps if I were to tie the bed curtains, drop them out the window, then climb the rest of the way down the tower using the footholds in the stone...it might work.”
She hurried back to the bed and ripped the bed curtains from their frame. Heart pounding, she hurried to knot the fabric together. She tied the end of the curtain to the bed, then pulled the rest to the window. Leaning over the windowsill, she watched as the fabric cascaded to thirty feet above the ground. She could try to use her magic for the rest of the drop. It would have to do. She took a deep breath and climbed into the window frame. With her fingers clutching the curtain with a fierce grip, she began her descent.
Halfway down, a griffin pursuing food, screeched nearby. Then the sound of ripping fabric made her grab hold of the next windowsill she could reach in a hurry. “Whoever you are, you make lousy, flimsy bed curtains.” She climbed into the window with the greatest of difficulty as her long skirts hampered her movements.
Once inside the room, she ran for the door. The doorknob turned before her fingers touched it. She ducked into a tiny room she assumed was a wardrobe as the clothes hung about her. Peering out of the dark closet, she watched a cloaked figure search through a drawer in a chest. Green bony fingers picked through the contents, then closed the drawer. The hooded face turned in her direction, but Eloria could only see shadows. She drew back into the garments. The creature turned and headed out of the room. The door clicked shut. Eloria finally took a breath.
She glanced down to see her emerald glowing brightly. “Shoot, you could have gotten me caught!” The screeching cry of the griffin neared the window. She grabbed a cloak from the closet, then pulled it over her shoulders. Raising the hood, she peered out of the room.
A shadow drew into the chamber, then frantic wings flapped at the air. Suddenly, too figures burst into the room. “That was close!” Balen shook his head as he folded his wings. He turned to see Viator staring at the cloaked figure.
Balen unsheathed his sword.
“Viator.” Eloria’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Eloria!” Viator ran toward her, but she reached him first. With a crushing grip, she hugged him. He pushed aside her hood and turned his head slightly to see the tears on her cheeks.
“You’re not of age.” Balen shuffled in place. “You can’t touch a woman like that, Your Majesty.” He pointed at the prince’s wings. “You’re not of age.”
Viator brushed away Eloria’s tears and kissed her forehead. He held her close briefly, then turned to Balen as they felt a rumbling under foot. “We must leave at once. I fear the island is descending into the sea.”
They looked over at the window where the shadow of the griffin was joined by another. “They won’t let us leave this place through yonder window, sire.”
Viator hurried for the door, then stopped as bells rang out in the castle. “Warning bells...do you think? Maybe someone saw us?”
“Or perhaps they have discovered my escape.”
He stared at Eloria. “Your escape?”
“I was six stories higher, a few minutes ago.”
He shook his head. “I should have known these people wouldn’t hang curtains out of their windows for decorations.”
Viator pulled the door open, but hearing footsteps running down the hall, he closed the door tight.
“Here, sire.” Balen pulled up a rug revealing a trapdoor.
“Leading to where?” Viator stared at the slatted door.
Balen studied the door as he pressed his ear against it. “Do you hear the voices calling out?”
Viator glanced at Eloria and frowned to see her emerald glowing brightly. “All right, we’ll check it out, but perhaps you should stay here, Eloria.”
“Not on your life.” She motioned for Balen to open the door.
Balen opened it and pulled his wand from his pouch. He lighted their way as he held his sword at the ready. Eloria followed next as she gripped the railing along the narrow staircase. Bringing up the rear, Viator closed the door with a clunk behind him, then unsheathed his sword.
“What voices did you hear?” Eloria whispered.
“Cries for help.”
“I didn’t hear anything.”
“Shhh.”
“Over here!” a voice said in the dark.
“Here,” another said a little farther away.
Eloria gasped to see the elves in chains locked in a cell. A winged elf wrestled with his manacles to one side. The other’s wingless features made Eloria say under her breath, “A river elf.”
Viator slashed away at the chain locking the cell door in place as Eloria spied a mermaid in a tank a few feet away. “I’ll get her,” Balen said, as he sheathed his sword. “How will we leave the island in time though?”
“Through there.” The winged elf motioned his head
toward a door as Viator struck the chain binding the manacles.
He hurried to free the river elf and Eloria ran to the door and opened it. Light from outside streamed inside. She squinted her eyes in the bright sunlight.
“Sire, if you take the river elf, I’ve got the mermaid, our cousin here can carry Eloria...”
The winged elf hurried after Eloria. “We must make haste. The island is sinking into the sea.”
They lost their balance as the island grumbled and shook. Viator reached for Eloria’s hand and darted into the open. Spying griffins nearby searching for food as their gray bodies cast shadows across the landscape, Viator leaned over and said to Eloria, “Get on.”
“But you won’t earn a credit if you rescue me, though I’m still puzzled as to why. I can ride on the other...”
“Eloria, the griffins are headed this way. They’ve surely picked up our scent. Quit arguing with me and get on.”
She climbed onto his back as the river elf climbed onto the other winged elf’s. Before she could take a deep breath, Viator and the other lifted in the air and swung over the sea to join Balen. He lowered himself to the sea as close as he could get without getting his wings wet from the choppiness of the water. He released the mermaid, and she splashed back into the sea. Eloria frowned to see the mermaid surface. Her sweet luring voice soon filled the air.
Viator’s voice was harsh when he spoke to Eloria. “Why must you be so stubborn?”
“Me stubborn?” She shook her head. “I only thought you might earn another credit...”
“You should have carried the river elf, sire,” Balen said.
Viator wrinkled his brow as Balen showed off his wings. Eloria squirmed as she leaned over Viator’s shoulder.
“Sit up, Eloria,” Viator warned. “What in the world are you doing?”
She swung her leg over his back and held onto his backpack as she dangled precariously over the water.
“Eloria!” Balen hollered as Viator reached his hand back to grab her. His fingers touched her waist, but he couldn’t reach her arm.
“Hold on, Eloria!” Viator attempted to fly higher out of the range of the taunting melody of the mermaid.