Although Sara prayed and wept, trying to absorb as much of the bat’s poisonous essence as she could, the sprite’s spirit fled. Even as her stick glowed red with effort, Peat’s skin turned black and his eyes started to glow like banked coals. She sat back on her heels, covering her face with her two hands, shaking with grief.
Suddenly, she heard a growl of rage. Hissaphat shot past her and raked one large paw across Peat’s throat. Three long lines ran red with blood as the cat ended the sprite’s life. Pollo screamed in anguish and denial. Hiss stared at Pollo, his huge, golden eyes dull with sorrow, and said, “You know this is for the best, Pollo. Would you have your brother become a wraith?”
Pollo, who stood weeping with his hands over his face, shook his head. Hissaphat muttered, “I am sorry, sprite,” before turning and running back to join the fight.
Sara turned her attention to William. Although he was not technically injured, his age sucked away his strength and made him a burden the company could ill-afford. She touched her stick to the old man’s heart, and murmured a healing spell of youth and endurance. Muriel had taught her that this sort of healing spell should only be used sparingly as the magic involved was false… a trick, and gave only a dim reflection of real youth and vitality to the afflicted. Sara figured, though, that they would all die in this place if she didn’t do something to help William survive.
Within moments, the old man’s face turned ruddy, and the deep lines etched around his eyes and mouth disappeared. His long, white hair turned brown again and his bent, arthritic legs grew straight and strong. He grinned at Sara and winked before digging in the deep pockets of his cloak and pulling out a rusty, steel sword. Then he ran over to join his companions in the battle.
Chloe had joined forces with the elves and shot arrows into the bats undulating bodies, while Nate, Rondel, Pike and Rowena fought with knives and swords. Hiss howled and leapt cutting, scratching and biting the stinking, black monsters, while Pollo shot his beams of pink light into the slithering shadows and papery wings.
Sara did not know whether she had the ability to use her stick as a weapon. Her lessons with Muriel had ended before she was taught how to use her healing stick to do harm, but she could tell that her side was losing. Looking past her battling companions, Sara saw nothing but bats, hundreds of them and their red-hot eyes. Lifting her stick, she closed her eyes, and thought about how she wanted to kill those evil, grasping fiends. To her amazement, a red beam of light shot out from her stick and landed on four or five monsters that were threatening Nate and Rondel, who fought back-to-back.
The bats exploded. Although they made no sound, many of the other creatures paused for a moment, staring at their fallen companions. Then they turned their hateful gaze on Sara. Gathering en masse, the monsters swarmed past Rondel, Rowena, Nate and Pike. Many fell to the small army’s blades, but still, at least twenty of the fiends streamed straight at Sara who tried, in vain, to muster up her sticks killing energies.
Suddenly, the area was filled with a warm, golden light. A strange, harsh language issued from the mouths of three large, hairy creatures as they swung their fiery torches back and forth. Wherever the torches passed, the bats melted away. They made little noise as they died, but their glowing red eyes dimmed, and their powers dwindled. Soon, the monsters were nothing more than an oozing, stinking puddle on the floor.
A few moments later, the remaining bats ran and flew back from whence they came. Sara stared at the creatures that saved them. They looked like cave dwellers or Neanderthals with large, furry bodies, and heavy brows, long teeth and huge, glowing eyes.
“Sasquatches… ” Rondel whispered in surprise. “Brothers, we thank you for your aid!” Then, the elf and his sister bowed low in respect.
Sara was shocked. Not only by the fact that sasquatches had come out of nowhere and saved the day, or by the fact that sasquatch’s were apparently real and standing before her in the flesh, but by the almost reverential respect the normally arrogant elves displayed. The four sasquatches shuffled their huge feet bashfully and one of them, a handsome one with long dark brown hair and large green eyes, said, “Elves, we were summoned to your aid. Do you know Tirini?”
Rondel frowned and shook his head, “Do you mean the custodian, Triku?”
The Sasquatch shook his shaggy mane. “Triku has gone home to his own world, and his son stands as custodian of this planet now. He has been communicating with Sasquereen, and tells us of the war that Timaron has declared on the human realm. We were sent to aid you on your way.”
Nate, who stood open-mouthed at the Sasquatch’s sudden arrival, said, “What’s your name?” Then he blushed. He should have said thank you, God bless… anything, instead of just quizzing their savior’s on their names, but the Sasquatch grinned.
“My name is Onio… First Son, and these are my friends,” he added, gesturing toward the other bigger, hairier and heavier Sasquatches. “I used to live here, on this planet, but my people and I were saved and taken back to our home world.” His slanted, dark eyebrows drew together in a frown.
“Terrible things are happening in the human lands, you know,” he murmured, staring at Nate and the girls. The humans stared up at him in awe and worry. “We know about the changes time takes here in this world. Tirini estimates that five days have passed since you left your homes, but much has changed in your absence.” Onio’s eyes filled with sorrow.
“My dad…is he okay?” Sara gasped, and Chloe clutched her arm, wondering, no doubt, about how her mother was doing. Nate was silent and grim.
“Yes, so far, your parents remain unharmed, but the same cannot be said for everyone.” The Sasquatch sighed, running a hand through his long, black hair. “The last few days have wrought havoc all over the world. There have been mighty earthquakes, and terrible volcanic eruptions, planet-wide. Dragons have been spotted by the erupting volcanos, and now lay waste to anything, or anyone who comes close to their lairs.”
“The oceans are teeming with Undines, and the mer-folk are at war.” Onio paused and consulted a small leather-bound book he pulled from his breeches. “It seems that all of the faeries are affected by Timaron’s actions,” he continued. Reading aloud from the small book, he recited, “Eurius, Lord of the East and Air, has declared war on Notus, Lord of the South, and Fire. Just as Zephyrus, Lord of the West and Water, does battle with Boreas, Lord of the North and Earth.”
“It seems that many faeries sympathize with Timaron’s actions,” Onio murmured. “They think that mankind is ruining the earth, and thus stealing the Earth mother’s energy, robbing the fae of their magic…”
“They are wrong,” Rondel exclaimed angrily, but a cry of anguish filled the cavern, cutting through their words like a knife. Turning to look, the companions saw that Pike was crouched over the still form of his brother, Molter. Sara ran over to where the little dwarf lay still, already turning black with the vampires repulsive venom.
Tears dripped from her eyes and her heart felt broken in two, as she grabbed her Weirding stick and pointed it at the brave little dwarf who volunteered to take point on this mission and paid the ultimate price for his efforts.
Sara took a deep, cleansing breath and prayed for his swift release. Then, as Pike shouted for her to stop, she let loose a blast of red-hot energy. Molter’s body stiffened and jerked, but within seconds, the red gleam left his eyes, and the black blood that crept through his bloodstream retreated, leaving the dwarf’s body gray with death rather than teeming with poison and the sick desire to infect the living with evil.
Sara sank to her knees in sorrow and fatigue, even as Rondel and Rowena dragged Pike away to the other side of the tunnel. His wails of grief and shouts of rage echoed through the air, and filled her heart with doom.
Chapter 21
Sara and her friends said a prayer and did a quick cremation for their fallen comrades. It was the best they could do under the circumstances. Then, they started walking again toward the Unseelie court. The mood was ver
y dark and very sad. The elves walked in front, talking quietly with the Sasquatches. William, who was starting to show his age again, (as Sara had feared) walked slowly by Nate’s side. Pollo sat on Hissaphat’s back, keeping company with Pike, whose tears had not ceased since the bat’s attack, and the death of his brother, Molter.
Chloe, who stayed close to Sara’s side, murmured, “Sara, I’m sorry, but I didn’t sign up for this…” The little Asian girl’s eyes swam with tears, and she wiped a shaking hand across her dripping nose. Sara nodded in agreement. Suddenly, everything that had happened caught up with her… all the deaths, coming one after the other, the suffering, the insane idea that somehow, she, Sara Giddings, could cure a powerful faery king with her healing powers! It was ridiculous!
She stopped, put her hands over her face and sobbed. Sara tried to stifle her cries, but all the pain, horror and fear she felt came out in a wail of anguish. Chloe stepped close and wrapped her arms around her friend, but Sara was inconsolable. The party stopped and watched the two girls for a moment, while William took advantage of a large, mossy boulder to sit down and rub his aching feet.
Onio frowned and asked, “Elf… the girls are weary. How long has it been since they rested?
Rondel and his sister stared at Sara and Chloe for a moment. Now, it was their turn to blush in shame. Muriel had warned them that human beings were frail. Now that they had a moment to think about it, they realized the little army had not actually made camp for over a day and a half, and had been besieged at every turn. Rondel felt even worse, knowing that the group had walked over fifty miles in the last two days.
“You are right, Onio. It has been long, too long, since the humans were given time to rest and recuperate.” Looking around he asked, “Pike, do you know a safe place to make camp?”
The dwarf had stopped crying when he saw how much pain the young witch felt. He forgot himself, for a moment, when Molter died and sought to place blame. He remembered now, though, that Sara was only a baby witch, and had tried as hard as she could to stop the bats deadly venom from stealing his brother’s life.
Scratching his red beard, he peered down the tunnel. “I admit that these tunnels are not familiar to me. I think we took a wrong turn when we tried to escape the bats, but the air smells clean now, which tells me that there is no corruption here. Let us go to that far wall and make camp.” He nodded decisively and added, “We will be able to see and smell anything that approaches and have an escape route in two different directions, if necessary.”
Onio called out, “Children, we make camp now. Timaron and his court can wait another day for our arrival.” With those words, he walked away into the shadows of the tunnel and made two or three little lantern fires on the walls. The elves followed, and William hobbled after them, sitting down on the floor with a sigh of relief.
Nate’s heart broke when he saw Sara and Chloe lose it in front of everyone. He felt like bawling his head off too, but pride and the heartfelt desire not to appear weak in front of the others had kept him going. Now, however, he felt stretched to the breaking point. He walked over to where his two friends knelt on the ground, and put his arms around both of them.
Sara was mute with grief, but Chloe whispered, “Did you ever read The Hobbit, Nate?”
“Sure… why?” He asked.
Chloe shook her head slightly. “I don’t know… I guess I thought that we were going on “an adventure”. She held her fingers up in quote marks. “If you think about it, not too many people got really hurt in that book… until you started reading the Lord of the Rings, and then…”
She sighed. “It just seemed so cool, you know, to be a part of this… to be here in faery, but now…it’s just scary.” Looking down at Sara, who stared silently at the floor in front of her feet, Chloe added, “… and look at Sara, Nate. Every time she does that healing thing, it makes her sick!”
Nate studied Sara’s face and saw that Chloe was right. The young woman’s complexion was white as a sheet and there were purple smudges of fatigue under her eyes. His throat clenched, and he gritted his teeth in frustration. These people, these… fairies were out of line. They had asked the girl he loved to save the day for them, but didn’t seem to care about her welfare at all. He was sick of the arrogant elves, and tired of trying as hard as he could, only to be stared at with lofty disdain, as though nothing he ever did would measure up to their standards.
Chloe watched Nate’s face and realized that he had it bad for Sara. His blue eyes were soft with worry, and the way he stroked her hair… She cleared her throat and muttered, “Hey, I’m going to go and try to take a nap. Join me, okay? I think Sara could really use the rest.”
Nate nodded silently as Chloe got up and walked toward a small fire the Sasquatches had built. Then he sat down by Sara, and put his arm around her hunched shoulders. “Hey, you need to rest,” he murmured.
Sara closed her eyes and leaned into Nate’s embrace. “I’m no good, Nate,” she whispered, as tears fell down her cheeks. “Muriel was wrong… I see it now.”
Nate said, “Ssh, Sara, that’s not true. I saw what you did to William, and how you saved Chloe’s life after the spider attack. The others… well; I think those bats are just horrible… the worst. Even the elves were trying to run from them. I doubt that Muriel could have done any better.”
“Yeah, a lot of help I was to her!” Sara exclaimed, furiously.
Nate tightened his arms and rocked her, as Sara’s frustrated tears dampened the front of his shirt. Then he whispered, “Sara, when we get back home…”
“If we get back home…” Sara moaned.
Nate smiled and agreed, “If we get back home, will you go out with me?”
Sara stiffened, peering at the young man out of the corner of her eye. “Yeah… I’d like that, Nate.”
He lifted her chin and used the cuff of his shirtsleeve to wipe the tears away from her cheeks. Then, gazing deeply into her eyes, he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was as sweet as a spring morning, and sensuous with the promise of summer’s heat.
Sara’s senses swirled and sang with longing. Nate’s lips were as soft as velvet and rough, too, from the whiskers that grew on his cheeks and chin. He smelled slightly of sweat, wood smoke and grass, but mostly of good, clean boy. Their kiss deepened with passion, and then they heard a throaty cough.
Sara and Nate jumped, and William laughed. “Ah… young love,” he chortled. “I remember the day. But the others want you to come closer to the fire, okay?”
Sara blushed, but Nate jumped to his feet and held a hand out to help her to her feet. He was grinning from ear to ear. “Yeah, Sara,” he said. “You need to get some rest.”
Sara walked with her new boyfriend to where the others huddled around a small fire. Small pieces of meat sizzled over the flames, and the Sasquatches passed some sort of warm, foul smelling tea around. Sara and Chloe wrinkled their noses at the odoriferous brew. The smaller, handsome Sasquatch named, Onio* grinned.
“We understand that the smell of our medicinal tea is unpleasant to humans, but it does help heal wounds and restore vitality. Take a small sip, please, and then sleep for a while. My brothers and I will keep watch.”
Dutifully, the humans sipped the liquid, and then drank water from the skins the elves carried on their belts. They nibbled warm rabbit meat and ate small, wizened apples that William produced from the deep pockets of his long cloak. The whole time, Chloe grinned at Sara like a maniac, causing the young woman to squirm with embarrassment.
Finally, they were all full and warm. Within moments, Sara’s eyes began to droop with fatigue. She lay down on the furs that were spread close to the fire and felt Chloe snuggle up close behind her. She grabbed the girl’s hand, and fell asleep.
She didn’t see how Nate’s eyes followed her every movement or the gentle smile that proclaimed his love for her. He was tired too, and his shoulder still throbbed, but Nate felt energized and knew that once this was all over, he would court Sara prope
rly, and eventually marry her. His eyes closed as he envisioned his future bride and all the things life held in store for them. Then, he too, fell asleep.
Chapter 22
Sara awoke the next morning feeling better than she had since they left Sylvan’s village. Her neck was a little stiff and her right hand ached from clutching her Weirding stick so tightly, but her heart sang with joy and renewed hope. She sat up, blinking in the dim firelight. Onio and his fellow Sasquatches were dozing by the wall, and the elves and Pike, the dwarf, stirred the fires coals to life and sipped hot tea from wooden mugs.
“Good morning, Sara,” Nate whispered. He was sitting up as well, rubbing his eyes and stretching his arms high over his head.
Sara’s heart skipped a beat as she smiled and returned his greeting. When she first met Nate, she thought he was cute, despite the mouth full of metal and the small constellation of pimples that dotted his nose and chin. Mainly, the boy’s warm smile and bright blue eyes won her heart. Now, however, something had changed. His long, glossy brown hair fell in luxuriant waves over strong, sinewy shoulders and any baby fat left on his body had melted away during the rigorous training routine the dwarves set for him. His lips were finely etched and his sky blue eyes gleamed like sapphires between silky, dark brown eyelashes.
Sheesh, he’s gorgeous, Sara thought and looked down for a moment, afraid suddenly, to meet his eyes. Sara knew she was pretty. Her mother was one of the most beautiful women Sara had ever seen, after all, and her dad was a fine-looking man as well, with blonde hair, just turning gray and sea green eyes. Sara wasn’t sure, though, if she was attractive enough to compete with the other girls when, and if, they made it back home. Her blonde hair wasn’t golden, but kind of an indeterminate wheat color and her eyelashes were abundant, but as pale as her hair.
Oh well, she shrugged, this is as good as I get. She grinned as Nate stood up and wandered off to a darkened corner to relieve himself. His jeans hung low on his hips, showing two dimples high on his buttocks and Sara stared as he scratched himself, yawning. Suddenly, Sara heard Chloe sigh.
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