Act IX

by Alexander Gordon

  “Holy shoot,” Max breathed out. “Are those-”

  “They’re coming, we have to hide,” Lelu fretted before she quickly raced into the cottage.

  “Hey. Hey!” Max called out as he ran after her. “Wait a minute, you can’t come in here! Get out!”

  He raced through the backway and storeroom before coming out into the front sales floor, eyes quickly searching the empty store for the centaur before finding her having stopped in her tracks with a frightful expression on her face as she saw all the weapons and armor set in the shelves.

  “What… what is this place?” she whimpered before turning to see Max grabbing a rounded shield and holding it before him while peeking over it at the centaur.

  “Get out,” Max stressed through his teeth. “Get out… or else… I’ll… I’ll…”

  Lelu stared at him surprise before they heard footsteps running outside around to the front of the building. The two kids quickly ducked down behind tables as the gremlins peered in through the windows with cold glares, both of them surveying the empty shop while they scratched on the windows with their nails.

  “I heard voices in there,” one of them said with smirk. “I think our missing centaur ran inside to hide.”

  “Wait a minute,” the other cautioned before looking over to the sign near the road that read Trixton Pass. “Trixton Pass? Hold it, I remember that name! We need to leave, this is where monster hunters live!”

  “Monster hunters?” the other gremlin exclaimed.

  “Monster… hunters?” Lelu slowly repeated before turning to Max in shock. The boy kept the shield close to him while staying low behind the table, his teeth clenched as he struggled not to scream in fright from gremlins being right outside the window.

  “I’ve heard about monster hunters that come from Trixton Pass!” the gremlin warned. “We need to get the hell out of here! We’re not taking on monster hunters with just the two of us!”

  “But what about that brat who ran away?” the other argued peering back into the room. “We shouldn’t just let her go, especially after we worked so hard to kill her.”

  “If she went in there she’s already dead,” her companion assured as she grabbed the monster and quickly started dragging her away. “We need to get out of here before we’re seen by those hunters! Run!”

  The two monsters quickly took off and silence filled the home, with Lelu holding both hands over her mouth and staring at Max in fright now. After a while Max slowly stood up and looked around, listening carefully for any others that may be suddenly coming out of nowhere, then turned his sights back onto the young centaur who was shaking while sitting down on the floor.

  “You… you’re a monster hunter?” Lelu stuttered before quickly getting onto her feet and backing away from him.

  “You’re darn right I’m a monster hunter!” Max yelled while quickly getting up and holding the shield before him again. “You heard those gremlins, you should never have come here! Now… now you’re going to get it!”

  Lelu’s hooves clacked as she quickly trotted backwards before bumping into the wall with armor plates and helmets rattling in the shelves. The centaur looked around fearfully before seeing the gremlin head that was mounted above the front entrance. She screamed into her hands before dropping down onto her rump and staring with wide eyes at Max who had yet to take a step closer.

  “No, please!” Lelu begged. “Don’t kill me! I’m sorry for coming here!”

  “What are you doing here anyway?” Max loudly demanded. “You got a death wish?”

  “I’m sorry! I was just trying to run away from those monsters! You don’t understand, they destroyed our home, they chased us all across The Outerlands, and… and… and they…”

  “They… what?” Max carefully asked.

  “They killed my mother!” Lelu cried out before breaking down into tears. Max watched as the centaur held her hands over her face and sobbed uncontrollably. “They killed her right outside! They took everything from me! Those horrible demons, I hate them so much! Mother! Mother!”

  The centaur dropped onto her side and cried while tucking her legs in close, all her heartache finally breaking out as she felt her sorrow for losing everything in life hitting all at once like a wave. Max kept behind his shield as he watched the girl crying in agony on the floor, a bewildered look on his face as her voice filled the room. Looking back toward the storeroom from where they came then over to the front window where the gremlins had scratched the glass Max took a moment to let everything that happened sink in. He then looked down to Lelu with a worried frown as the girl continued to cry on the floor and held a hand to his head tiredly.

  “Why couldn’t things remain boring and quiet around here?”

  Chapter 3

  Hidden Feelings

  In the world of Eden sometimes it was difficult to confess one’s feelings towards another. Perhaps shyness would get the better of them, or fear of what the response might be, or maybe even doubt that they could ever be with the one they desired. There could be many reasons why someone would hide their love from the one they wanted. Of course bottling up their emotions for too long wasn’t always possible, especially when being so close to the one they wished to open up towards. Sometimes pent up feelings would find a way to come out and be heard.

  Either calmly with a beautiful declaration of love or violently with an explosion of tears and swears.

  *****

  “WOW!” Cindy loudly exclaimed, her eyes bright with astonishment as she stood inside the home of Daniel and the girls. Taking a few steps in she beheld the living space of the group that was by far larger than what the carriage that it was magically tethered to inside would have her believe.

  “It’s so BIG in here!” she marveled while stepping about in circles. “How is this possible?”

  “This is where we live, Cindy,” Daniel explained as he and the girls stood near the doorway. “This place was magically enchanted to be larger inside by a good friend of ours. What do you think of it?”

  “This is amazing!” Cindy cheered hopping up and down. “I don’t understand how all this could be inside that tiny wagon, but wow!”

  “She appears to like our home,” Doku mused playfully.

  Cindy walked around in loops while seeing the grand hall and the four large archways that led into the various living chambers with a bright smile and cheery laughter, with the group watching curiously as she seemed both stunned and excited about seeing such a place. After a few more steps she tripped over her own foot and dropped face first onto the floor with a loud thump.

  “Oh dear, are you alright?” Doku worried as she rushed over.

  “This place is so amazing!” Cindy hailed as she lifted her head and smiled at the harpy, her face now appearing smeared with her eyes being lopsided.

  “Oh my,” Doku gasped. “Um… are you… okay, dear?”

  “Uh huh!” Cindy said with a big nod. As she stood up her face reformed to look as good as new without so much as a blemish on it. “I’m okay! I fall down a lot, but then I just get back up again, so it’s okay.”

  “I see,” Doku replied with a weak smile. “Glad to hear it, I suppose.”

  Cindy giggled and started running around the large courtroom, her gaze moving from one part of the chamber to another with growing curiosity, before she stopped in front of the grandfather clock and stared at it with interest.

  “Wow, what’s this thing?”

  As she reached out to touch the clock Star suddenly appeared in front of her, frantically batting the sand wraith’s hands away while meowing with what appeared to be heightened anxiety. Cindy just watched Star with a puzzled face as she kept trying to reach out to touch the jinx, seeing the cat constantly swiping and knocking her away with fevered attempts to protect the timepiece behind her.

  “Cindy, wait,” Daniel called out as he and the girls rushed over to them.

  “Star doesn’t want you to touch that,” Luna warned. “She really likes t
hat clock.”

  “That thing belongs to a star?” Cindy exclaimed as she quickly looked around at the ceiling. “Wow, which one of those stars are you talking about? There’s so many up there. Hey, wait a minute, how come there are stars up there, are we outside now?”

  Everyone stopped and stared at the wraith with blank expressions as she looked back and forth from the doorway leading out of the court to up at the ceiling which had painted stars and clouds drifting by with their magical flair.

  “I’m confused, are we inside, or outside right now?” Cindy asked scratching her head.

  “We’re inside right now,” Kroanette answered.

  “But there’s a sky up there,” Cindy said pointing up. “And its night now. But wait, wasn’t it sunny out a few minutes ago? I thought it was sunny outside.”

  “That’s just the ceiling of this room,” Falla replied rolling her eyes. “It just looks like a star filled sky because of magic.”

  “So those stars up there aren’t real?” Cindy wondered.

  “No, they’re just there to make this hall appear more elegant,” Specca explained.

  “But I thought you said that thing belongs to one of those stars,” Cindy confusedly said as she looked back to the timepiece. “If those stars aren’t real then how can that thing belong to any of them?”

  “Her name is Star,” Triska expectantly remarked as she pointed to Star, the jinx watching Cindy with a perplexed look now. “She doesn’t want you touching that clock, it’s important to her.”

  “Why?” Cindy asked.

  “We… don’t really know,” Daniel admitted rubbing the back of his neck.

  “Why?”

  “She hasn’t told us why,” Kroanette answered with a shrug.

  “Why?”

  “She can’t speak like we can,” Doku explained. “She can only meow like a cat. We don’t know much about her to be honest.”

  “Why?”

  “Because jinxes only meow like cats,” Falla tiredly groaned.

  “Why?”

  “Stop asking why to everything!” Triska yelled out.

  Cindy yelped then quickly bolted over to Daniel, clinging to his chest and hiding her face while trembling in fear. Daniel sighed and held the frightened wraith while shaking his head slowly at Triska.

  “She’s just curious, Triska,” he reprimanded. “It’s fine for her to ask questions, how else is she going to learn?”

  “I’m sorry,” Triska wearily said rubbing her face. “I didn’t mean to snap at her like that.”

  “Why is she so loud?” Cindy whined with a worried glance back to Triska. “She’s scary. I don’t like her. She’s mean and she makes fire and she’s really loud.”

  “I’m not loud!” Triska shouted at her. She then looked around to see everyone watching her in silence. “What? I’m just saying I’m not a loud person. And I’m not mean or scary. Am I?”

  “Um…” Specca slowly said before falling quiet.

  Squeak slowly glanced around at the group then looked down while gently tapping her boot on the floor.

  “I don’t want to answer this,” Luna said backing up behind her sister.

  “We shouldn’t have to,” Falla commented with a raised eyebrow at Triska.

  “Triska,” Alyssa dryly spoke up. “You’re frightening a sand wraith. I think that should tell you just how scary you can be.”

  Triska looked around at everyone in disbelief before noticing Kitten standing beside her with a curious eye on the teen.

  ‘Am I really that scary?’

  “You can be a little intimidating,” Kitten answered with a shrug. “I mean you are terrifying a deadly monster right now.”

  Triska slumped down with a groan to that while Daniel gently pat Cindy’s head to help her calm down. After a while the wraith timidly looked up at him with worried eyes as he smiled kindly at her.

  “She can be a little… intimidating at times-”

  “Not you too, Daniel,” Triska quietly whined. “Am I really that abrasive?”

  “But I promise you she’s not mean. She only used fire earlier to stop you from harming the others. She won’t harm you with it now. You’re safe in here, Cindy. We’re not going to hurt you.”

  Cindy sniffled and looked around at everyone before Daniel stepped back and gave a slight bow to her.

  “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Daniel Sorres.”

  “Daniel Sorres?” Cindy repeated.

  “Yes, and these are my mates and close friends,” Daniel said gesturing to the girls around them.

  “My name is Triska Raylight,” Triska said stepping closer with a faint smile. “Sorry if I scared you earlier, I didn’t mean to. I won’t draw my sword if you won’t try to eat us, okay?”

  “You’re not fun, I don’t like you,” Cindy pouted while holding onto Daniel more closely.

  Triska held in her grunt of annoyance while forcing a smile before noticing something that all the girls did. Cindy was showing a stubborn look towards Triska, including sticking her tongue out as a juvenile would, and was also staying close to Daniel. However she wasn’t trying to absorb him, rather she was clinging to his chest like a frightened child who wanted safety.

  “Um,” Alyssa hesitated before stepping forward. “Well, you already know my name, since you were searching for me in the first place.”

  “I was? When?” Cindy asked.

  “What do you mean when? You were looking for me, remember? I’m Alyssa the Wildfire Witch.”

  “You are?” Cindy gasped. She quickly jumped forward and lifted the witch up in the air with a bright smile on her face. “Yay, I found you! Now I can… um… wait…”

  The group watched as Cindy slowly started to remember what happened earlier, with a disappointed frown coming across her as she lowered the witch back down onto the floor.

  “Oh, right,” she sulked. “Ember’s dead. I can’t take you back to her now.”

  “No, you can’t. Sorry about that,” Alyssa said shaking her head.

  “Now you’re worthless to me,” Cindy pouted.

  “Ouch. That hurts,” Alyssa flatly replied.

  Specca cleared her throat and stepped forward, keeping her eyes upward away from the wraith while trying to force a polite and professional tone in her voice.

  “My name is Specca. A… pleasure to meet you.”

  “I remember you,” Cindy remarked while pointing to the nixie with a big smile. “I was going to eat you up earlier.”

  “Yes, I remember that as well,” Specca muttered before stepping back.

  Squeak waved and squeaked something at the wraith, with Cindy just looking at her with a puzzled face.

  “…what?”

  “Her name is Squeak,” Daniel explained. “She can only squeak, she isn’t able to talk with words like we can. She’s waving to say hello to you.”

  “Ohhhh,” Cindy slowly said before waving her arm about in a big greeting fashion. “Hello!”

  Squeak smiled amusedly at the young wraith while Kroanette trotted a little closer to the girl.

  “My name is Kroanette. I’m not… sure what else to say to be honest.”

  “Your boobs are huge!” Cindy exclaimed pointing to the centaur’s bust. “Wow, those are gigantic!”

  “Uh… thank you?” Kroanette replied with a confused smile.

  Cindy moved closer to the centaur and eyed her over before showing a hungry leer and slightly menacing eyes.

  “You’re so big and juicy. Can I eat you up now?”

  “Heavens, no,” Kroanette gasped in dread before trotting back from the girl.

  “Cindy,” Triska sternly mentioned. The wraith jumped with a yelp then glanced back to see the teen slowly shaking her head while patting her sword’s handle. “Remember our deal? I won’t use this if you won’t eat anyone here.”

  “But… but… she’s so big and tasty looking,” Cindy whined with saddened eyes at Kroanette.

  “Cindy. No.”

  �
��Aww, darn,” Cindy moped with a frown. “You’re no fun, Triska. I don’t like you.”

  “Hey, I’m not the bad guy here!” Triska shouted, causing Cindy to quickly leap over and cling to Daniel for protection.

  “Triska, you don’t have to yell at her,” Daniel sighed while once again gently holding the trembling wraith.

  “I wasn’t trying to… but she… arg,” Triska grunted before looking away while crossing her arms in discontent.

  Daniel kindly pet Cindy’s head, the young wraith slowly looking up to him with timid eyes before a small smile came across her face.

  “Do you like it when I do that?” he asked curiously.

  “Uh huh,” Cindy softly answered with a nod. “My mom always patted my head when I did good. I like being a good girl.”

  “I see. That’s good to know,” Daniel mused as he saw the wraith watching him with a bashful smile. He then glanced over to something, with Cindy turning her head to see Pip fluttering near them with a curious smile at the new girl.

  “And this is Pip,” Daniel introduced as Cindy faced the tiny fairy with eyes of wonder.

  “Hello,” Pip said while her wings quickly fluttered behind her.

  “She’s so tiny,” Cindy marveled as she peered closely at the little monster. “How did you get to be that small? Or are you normal sized, and I’m really huge. Wow, did I grow just now?”

  Pip watched with a puzzled expression as Cindy looked down at herself with awe.

  “I’m bigger now! This is awesome! How did this happen?”

  “Wow,” Falla dryly said. “She’s… um…”

  “Not too smart,” Specca finished while slowly shaking her head.

  “You’re not bigger,” Pip said fluttering closer to Cindy’s face. “I’m just smaller. That’s all. You’re still the same size.”

  “I am?” Cindy frowned. “Aww, I thought I grew bigger.”

  “Nope. Sorry, you’re still the same.”

  Cindy looked herself over one more time before turning her sights back onto Pip. Slowly she reached out and held the tiny monster in the palm of her hand while examining her from all angles.

  “You’re so small,” Cindy said before Pip quickly zipped around her in a blue blur. “And so fast. How are you doing that?”