Opal Summerfield and The Battle of Fallmoon Gap

by Mark Caldwell Jones

  “Professor, I have a question,” said Opal.

  “Don’t you always, Ms. Summerfield? I would expect nothing less.”

  “Why wasn’t the person responsible for The Battle of Fallmoon Gap brought to justice?”

  “Read, Ms. Summerfield, read! All your answers will be found in that supplement. It is a wonderful bit of writing. You will be enthralled by my analysis. Nevertheless, since you are obviously a bit slow on the uptake, let me assign you a report. Let’s make it due in one week. Please analyze the causes and repercussions of that act of magical terrorism.”

  “Yes sir,” groaned Opal.

  “Two thousand words. No less! Thank you.”

  Dang it. Why did I even open my mouth, she thought.

  “Class dismissed, please vacate the room people. I have a presentation to prepare for the Council. Ms. Summerfield, you as well. Skedaddle,” insisted Fromm.

  She hurried out and unfolded her note. In neat print Eltheon had written:

  Meet me behind the stables after your last class. I have a surprise for you! PS: Wear your Warden uniform. You’ll need the protection!

  74

  The moon spilled over the Hill Goblin’s scroll, and it told Amina exactly what she needed to control the future of the Veil. A starstone dagger, the magic of the Agama Stone, and one of the most beautiful things in all the realms—the Helixflow. The painting on the scroll didn’t do it justice. The good thing was she would see it again. She had already set up a secret apportation tunnel straight to it. Now she just had to prepare.

  She would no longer be a pawn in Wormhold’s league or bow to any other malfeasant. No one would abuse her. No one would control her. No one would direct her future. Everyone that had tried would die.

  She was the most powerful piece on the chessboard now. She would rule like a queen.

  75

  Eltheon was waiting on Opal just like the note promised.

  “I’m glad you came dressed properly,” said Eltheon, staring at Opal’s newly stitched Warden uniform. “Don’t you look official!”

  The green leather outfit clung to her body like a glove, but it was filthy from spelunking with Tirian. He had given her a tour of the main cave system under the cathedral. She saw the Helixflow again, but now she was a muddy mess.

  Her new tunic had a specially designed V-neck slit to allow the Agama Stone to hang unencumbered. It seemed the clothier had caught wind of how the stone kept burning through her blouses.

  “I couldn’t wait to get here,” Opal said. “So what are all these surprises?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know!” Eltheon teased. Eltheon had two horses tied off on the fence. She was finishing saddling the first one. She pulled the cinch strap tight, buckling it in. “How did Forensic Magic go?”

  “Tirian’s great, but it’s hard to get excited about muddy caves, engineering, and all those little toys he has,” Opal said. She began brushing down the other horse.

  “What about Armaments, and Luka, hmmm?”

  “I’m completely hopeless,” Opal trailed off. She threw a saddle blanket across the horse.

  “Kind of like me trying to play the dulcimer. I sound horrible.” Eltheon brought the other saddle over.

  “Yeah, I heard you. You do need a little work,” Opal teased. She cinched the saddle up and climbed on.

  “We’ll rise to the challenge, eventually.”

  “Sure we will.”

  “Anyway, I’m not even sure a Stone Wielder needs a standard-issue weapon.” Eltheon said reassuringly. She mounted her horse and started leading it to the gate.

  “That’s not true. I need all the help I can get if that conjurer is really coming after me,” Opal said. “So, where are we riding to?”

  “Consider this your first official scouting mission. If you follow this Warden’s instructions very carefully, you’re going to have a very memorable adventure.” Eltheon’s excitement was infectious.

  “Now, for the first surprise! I know you can ride, but these horses are not your ordinary farm animals. When this horse heats up, just remember its magic and your Warden clothing will protect you. You ready?”

  “For what?”

  “This, of course,” Eltheon yelled. She kicked her firehorse into a gallop and it exploded into brilliant flame as it took off down the road and out of the main gate.

  Come on! Eltheon’s voice yelled psychically.

  Opal gritted her teeth and spurred her horse. It took off like a shooting star, and in no time, she was riding right beside Eltheon. The flames seemed to burn brighter the faster the horses ran. All Opal could do was laugh.

  The girls rode northwest, away from Fallmoon Gap. About a half-mile in, Eltheon cut over and trotted down a ridge. The trail coiled its way through a holler of purple sweetgum trees and maples. As the riders slowed, the firehorses’ magic dimmed to a light blue flame that rippled along their hide.

  The girls continued under a rocky outcropping and into a small marshy bowl that held runoff from the higher hills. The horses trudged through gypsywort and past stands of burr rush. Eltheon rode closer to Opal’s horse as the animals shuffled through the water and across to a new trail. She pointed out the flames around the horses’ hooves. The magic continued to burn even under water.

  “It’s amazing,” Opal said.

  “Truly! Well, we’re almost there. We have to climb this ridge and stake our firehorses. We’re going to the top,” she explained.

  In the distance, a dome of gray dolomite skimmed the sky. It reflected the late-afternoon sunlight, which brightened the patch of forest they traveled. When they finally made it to the edge of the tree line, Eltheon spoke in a hush.

  “Okay, we need to crawl up on our bellies from here. Stay as low as possible. We don’t want to spook this thing, understand?”

  Opal didn’t understand, and she didn’t know what “this thing” was, but after the firehorse surprise, she was very curious. She followed Eltheon and squirmed toward the ledge.

  Opal and Eltheon pulled their bodies up to the edge of the bluff and carefully peaked over. Below them, a spring fed a sauntering stream that disappeared into a lower vale that was overgrown with black-eyed Susans.

  The spring’s color was a perfect azure, as if the bluest piece of sky had been cut like cloth and dropped near the base of the mountain.

  Once again, Opal was astonished.

  “It’s the Blue Spring!” Eltheon said reverently. “It’s part of a deeper cave system. The minerals in the water and the depth of the spring give it that gorgeous color. It may lead to another fissure in the Veil.”

  “It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “I have. Only one other place,” Eltheon said. “The first night we met, when I looked into your eyes, I thought, the Blue Spring.”

  Opal was shocked by the compliment. She usually felt like a sideshow freak when people mentioned her eyes. They usually only mentioned them in order to point out their flaw—the blue that shouldn’t be there. No one had ever compared them to something beautiful.

  “Ellie, I really don’t know what to say.” Opal was too embarrassed to look at her friend.

  “I know how it is. Sometimes it’s hard to accept being different, believe me. I feel it all the time. I’m not your typical Fallmoon blonde—obviously,” she whispered.

  Opal nudged her affectionately.

  “Well, this is picturesque, but it’s not the surprise. Look over there, in the trees.” Eltheon pointed toward something emerging from the tall pines surrounding the Blue Spring.

  “Is that a horse?” Opal squinted to make out the animal’s features.

  “That is a living legend, an animal only a few people have ever seen. Most of Grigg’s Landing would say it doesn’t even exist,” Eltheon said. “We had a report of a sighting today, and I just crossed my fingers, hoping he would still be here. Wow!”

  “What the heck is it?”

  “It’s the snawfus! It’s one of the most power
ful magical animals in the whole Arcanian Realm.”

  “It looks like a big white deer.”

  This animal was no deer. It was triple the size of a bull elk. It was completely white from antler to hoof. Its rack was enormous, but the animal carried it with great ease, proudly showing it off.

  “Cervus alba arcanus, that is what Professor Jack calls it. Maybe you can get extra credit for this!” whispered Eltheon.

  The snawfus had been grazing along the edge of the spring. It took a few slurps, leapt into the air, and flew effortlessly to the other side of the pond.

  “Oh my gosh!” Eltheon said. “I’ve never seen it do that.”

  “How in the—” Opal said, mouth agape.

  No deer or elk could make that distance. It was an extraordinary feat. The snawfus leapt again, higher than before, its hooves scraping the treetops.

  “No way! That is incredible!” Opal yelled out.

  She immediately caught her mistake and slapped her hand over her mouth, but it was too late. They were exposed. The snawfus whipped its antlered head toward them.

  Eltheon and Opal hunkered down as flat as possible. Opal held her breath, praying that the animal would ignore her outburst.

  Instead, the snawfus leapt into the air again and disappeared in a cluster of trees. The girls were deflated, and Opal felt horrible.

  “Oh, Ellie, I really screwed that up. I’m so sorry,” she said.

  They scanned furiously for the animal and waited several more minutes, but the snawfus was nowhere to be found. Eltheon could not hide her disappointment.

  “Well, at least we saw it. I mean, I don’t know anyone who can claim that. Most people just pass rumors and stories of what others have seen. That was a once in a lifetime experience.”

  They stood up, dusted off, and started back down the trail to their firehorses.

  “How the heck does it move like that? How high can it jump? How old is it?” Opal peppered Eltheon with questions for which her friend had no reply.

  In fact, Eltheon was completely silent. Opal rambled on until she realized she was talking to herself. She turned back to see her friend frozen in place. Eltheon’s eyes were bulging from her head. Opal could see her staring at a spot slightly off the trail.

  The head of the snawfus breached a wall of small trees and vines. It stared in their direction.

  Eltheon looked at Opal. Her eyes were like saucers. Opal froze in her tracks. She wasn’t going to ruin things again.

  Finally, the snawfus stepped into the trail. Opal could feel her heart pounding, her pulse speeding up. She didn’t notice, until Eltheon eyed her with a fractious glance, that the necklace was pulsing yellow light.

  Opal was upset because she couldn’t control the Agama Stone, and now it was going to ruin this encounter with the snawfus. The beast did not seem put off, however. It continued moving closer to Opal and Eltheon. It took step after step, stopping occasionally to smell the air. It tilted its muzzle to the ground and pointed its antlers toward them, but it kept edging forward.

  When the snawfus was within ten yards of the girls, the antlers began to change. At the points of the crown tines, white petals emerged, flowering like a cluster of dogwood blossoms. The magic continued until the entire rack was covered in beautiful ivory-colored flowers.

  Opal glanced at Eltheon—there were tears of joy in her eyes, but she stood like a victim of Medusa, weeping, unmoving. The snawfus walked straight up to Opal, it seemed to be drawn by the citrine-light emitting from the Agama Stone.

  Opal broke her pose cautiously and reached out to the animal, cupping her hand as if to feed it. The snawfus nuzzled in reply and she could feel the slick warmth of its tongue on her fingers. It sent shivers down her back. She began to pet the animal, slowly stroking its forehead from the muzzle to the pedicle of its antlers.

  “Pretty boy, pretty snawfus,” Opal said in her mildest, most comforting tone. “Ellie, come here. I think he wants to be friends.”

  “I’ve never heard of anyone getting this close, Opal. It has to be your necklace.”

  “Or maybe I’m just really great with magical albino deer,” she chuckled.

  “Apparently so. This is extraordinary,” Eltheon gushed.

  Occasionally the animal shook its head, showering the girls with petals from its rack like snow. New blooms emerged immediately.

  “I wish we had something to feed it. What do magical deer eat?”

  “I have absolutely no idea,” Eltheon laughed. “Opal, you are something else. First, the great Stone Wielder of the Agama Stone, now you are Tamer of the Snawfus. Is there no end to your magical abilities?”

  “I wish!” Opal laughed.

  The girls stood with the snawfus for quite awhile, petting it, admiring it, and talking to the animal reassuringly, until, without warning, it leapt again into the dusky sky. It had disappeared, but to their amazement, a trail of magical blue energy remained, floating on the air like smoke.

  76

  As the girls rode back to Fallmoon Gap, Opal noticed her necklace was still glowing. The opal warmed up with little flames of pumpkin-colored light. It felt like a newborn chick had hatched on her chest.

  In the shrubbery along the trail, something was following them. She was sure it was the snawfus, but the animal didn’t show itself.

  “It’s back,” announced Opal.

  Eltheon pulled her reigns. Her horse snorted and gnawed its bit nervously.

  “Yeah, I heard it too.”

  Opal craned her head back and forth trying to catch a glimpse of the flowering antlers. Her stone went blistering hot and the deep rumble of a terrifying growl filled the forest.

  Opal’s firehorse burst into flame and danced in place, wanting to bolt. Eltheon circled the horses together so that they were side by side, facing opposite directions. The terrifying growl died off. Something tore through the forest, coming at them fast.

  Eltheon’s face flooded with fear.

  “Opal, we need to move! NOW! GO, GO, GO!”

  A giant panther exploded from the trees and clawed its way after the girls.

  Eltheon slapped the backside of Opal’s horse and screamed a heeyah. The firehorse jerked into a gallop. Opal could hardly stay in her saddle, as her spooked horse sped off down the trail like an out of control comet.

  On a straightaway, she looked back over her shoulder. Eltheon was right behind her, hunkered down in her saddle and riding fast.

  “Don’t look at me, damn it! Back to the gate! RIDE!” Eltheon screamed.

  Behind Eltheon, the large cat screeched and howled as it skidded around the trail corners. It was gaining on Eltheon quickly.

  Opal knew the panther’s sound too well. It had scared her as a child, waking her up more than once. Hud and Bree had called it an Ozark Howler.

  Hud said panthers were just skinny mountain cats that loved to chase and eat rabbits. This one matched the firehorses in size, however, and its fur was a dingy evergreen. Its eyes seemed to glow like two gold coins shimmering in the sun. It had a set of horns that looked like they had been plucked from two unicorns and pasted onto the cat’s head.

  The howler leapt forward and smacked Eltheon’s firehorse in the flank. The horse skidded and Eltheon lost the arrow she was desperately trying to aim at the panther.

  The girls rode around a corner and Fallmoon Gap came into view. Eltheon managed to get another arrow nocked. She shot it into the sky, and when it peaked, it exploded in a shower of fire. Opal saw the tailings of the sparks die out in streamers of gray smoke. It was a signal for the rest of the Wardens.

  “The trail, Ellie, it’s here!” Opal screamed back.

  The women broke out of the forest onto the main road. They were now side by side, riding hard toward the gate. The panther was gone, but they didn’t slow down.

  Ahead, they could see the gate opened by a half. Several of the Castellans were grouped outside, hailing Eltheon and Opal. They waved wildly and screamed for the girls to ride harder.


  Just as they thought they were going to make it, the howler exploded out of the trees right in front of them. It skidded to a stop, blocking their path, and roared at the girls.

  The panther pounced and flew through the air, but as it stretched out to claw Eltheon and Opal, it was stung by an assault of something very unexpected.

  Arrows? Crystal shards? No!

  A massive swarm of mechanical fireflies the size of sparrows, clicked and exploded around the great cat. The cat twisted away from the girls in pain and hit the ground in an ungraceful thud.

  The fireflies zeroed in on the animal’s face. Sticking and steaming, they attacked the animal furiously. It tried swiping its horns at the little metal insects, but to no avail—they were too quick. Every time the fireflies spun away, their clockwork whirled into another gear, and they spun back for another sting with their sharp glass lances.

  The howler was slow to get up. It tried to swat its attackers away, but they were relentless. Finally, the panther darted back into the cover of the forest, the mechanical insects following after. Opal and Eltheon took that as a cue to escape. They rode toward the gate, zipped in, and the guards locked up behind them.

  Opal dismounted and ran to Eltheon.

  “What in the heck was that?” she yelled.

  She stood with her mouth open, staring back and forth from Eltheon to the guards, hoping someone would explain.

  “A large female wampus cat, also known as an Ozark howler, Ms. Summerfield! A very hungry one, to be exact. Something you and your fellow Warden were not, obviously, prepared for, to say the least,” said a familiar and annoying voice.

  Professor Fromm walked out from the gate tower and into the crowd of Wardens, all of whom were still catching their collective breath.

  “Unusually aggressive though, I must say. That is not the normal behavior of those animals. It’s unheard of for one to chase our ranks with such vigor. It seemed especially desperate to get to the two of you. Really quite unheard of.” Fromm glared suspiciously at the two women.