“April, your climbing skills will no doubt prove to be invaluable to us on this part of the journey and it therefore goes without saying that you are selected to accompany me.
“Aaron, we will certainly need your strength, you will climb with us.
“Hazel, your agility and ease in these icy conditions may very well come in useful.
“Aurora, your knowledge of this type of terrain will also be invaluable, please join us.
“Chester, Jazmine, Lettitia, Ezekiel, Pelagia and Warriors, please stay here at the cabin with Tobias and look out for each other.
“We shall also take Francis with us. He can fly ahead and alert us to the position of any caves he may be able to spot from the air.
“Ice, please stay here and help guard the cabin. Your knowledge of this area and its inhabitants may be very valuable in helping to protect both those at the cabin and the forest’s creatures.
“Okay, now that that’s sorted, what are we waiting for? Let’s kit ourselves out with whatever equipment we need and get going!” Zavier ordered.
“Hoooraaah!” yelled Aaron, keen to get on with the next stage of their journey, the locating of Takoda, the final Berthold.
The Halfses made their way to the stabling below the cabin, transformed into their Human form, grabbed their robes and went inside to dress. The Water Warriors did not have the luxury and comfort of water close by at this cabin, as they had had at the last. Unlike the others, they were unable to benefit from the home comforts that the cabin had to offer, so they nominated themselves to stand guard outside. Ice also remained outside the cabin. In her present form, she could not fit inside the cabin anyway, even if she had wanted to.
Fishtail Falls were a series of three connecting waterfalls that descended from the summit of the highest West Fishtail Mountain. The lower falls were free-flowing, raging and powerful. The middle falls were almost completely frozen near the top, but the pure mountain waters emerged as they neared its foot, sliding down the icy shards and eventually flowing freely into a large lake that then spilled over into the lower falls.
Then there were the top falls, also known as Sheer Fear. They were an impressive 3,017 foot slab of sheer, vertical ice, approximately 260 feet wide. The Halfses had heard stories about these mountains and, in particular, stories about the elders that had perished while attempting to cross Sheer Fear in a desperate bid to escape a vicious Nomed attack. Although they knew of the dangers involved in this expedition, none of them imagined for one second that they may be faced with a similar fate. They were all quite confident that they would locate the various caves quite quickly, especially with Francis’s aerial assistance. They all hoped that they would quickly locate Takoda within one of these caves and then they could begin their journey back to the cabin and ultimately back to Maytime Meadow, the home of the Halfses and the whispering willow tree – the Great Prophet that only a few days ago had sent them off on this vital journey.
Chapter 23
Twilight
Zavier and his chosen group began their ascent up the mountainside. The snow was quite compact underfoot and the beginning of their climb was a gentle pleasure. They made their way up a picturesque snowy path which was lined either side by dense, snow-covered pine trees. The forest birds were singing and although they could not be seen, concealed within their wintry wonderland, their beautiful song signalled their presence. Mountain hares hopped blissfully in and out of the surrounding forest, leaving intriguing little footprint patterns in the snow. The snowy pathway began to snake a little and as the group rounded the second bend, they were faced with their first challenge. The forest began to thin and the path ended abruptly and directly in front of them, as far to the left and right as the eye could see, stretched a one hundred foot high wall of rock.
“Francis, do we need to climb this or is there a quicker way around it?” Zavier called up to the hovering dragon.
“No way around for miles. I’m afraid it’s going to be quicker for you guys to climb,” Francis called back.
“Hey, Boogly Eyes. Why don’t you make yourself useful and fly us up there? That would be quicker, surely?” Aaron shouted out sarcastically.
“I’ve only just mastered flying this huge and powerful beast’s body. You know, this huge and powerful body that could easily crush you in one flick of a talon,” Francis smirked, while flicking his talon at Aaron as if he were flicking a bogey. “So I’m afraid I’m not quite ready for passengers yet, unless of course you’d like me to attempt to carry you to the top first, Aaron? But I must warn you, I might just, accidentally of course, drop you from a great height!” Francis grinned and then winked at Aaron.
“Okay, Boogly Eyes, point taken and, er, no thanks. I saw what your fat arse did to Kern after your lack of flying skill caused you to crash-land on top of him.”
“Oh Aaron, that was not lack of skill, it was PURE skill. You see, I purposely landed on Kern. How many Nomeds have you crushed lately?”
Aaron and Francis laughed simultaneously, both knowing full well that Francis hadn’t had any control at all over his crash-landing onto Kern.
“Get climbing, you guys. I’ll scout the area for caves and meet you back here in around fifteen minutes or so,” Francis said.
“Make that five minutes,” April said, grinning from ear to ear.
The rock wall was actually a good place to start their climbing expedition. Despite its scary appearance, it had very little ice or snow covering it due to the fact that it was in direct sunlight and it also had plenty of secure foot and hand holes. April was true to her word and easily managed to scale the wall of rock in less than five minutes. Aurora, in her snow leopard form, was next to make it to the top; she didn’t even have to try. Springing from rock to rock with ease, she scaled the huge wall in seconds. Zavier went ahead of Hazel, and Aaron followed behind Hazel. The gentlemen wanted to ensure that they could assist her should she fall into any difficulty, but there was really no need as Hazel also scaled the rock with ease. Aaron, however, began to struggle. His huge, muscular frame was very strong, yes, but at the same time it was also very, very, heavy and with the added weight of his climbing gear and equipment, Aaron found it very difficult to haul himself up the very last section of rock. Zavier lay flat out on the top of the rocks, held down his hand, gripped Aaron’s forearm and pulled him up to safety.
“Cheers, Zavier,” Aaron said gratefully and then he lay on his back, arms out, gasping to catch his breath.
“We better get Jaz to cut back on your portions of mana-eesh,” April laughed as she bent down and patted Aaron’s stomach.
Aaron wanted to and normally would have responded in a grumpy manner. But lacking even the energy to speak, he just grinned, inhaled deeply and continued to try and catch his breath. Sweat dripped off his forehead and he groaned with pleasure as a cool breeze swept across his face.
“Aww, look everyone, Aaron’s made a snow angel, how sweet,” Francis chuckled from above. It was his beating wings that were fanning cool air onto Aaron’s face as he hovered above him.
Aaron found the strength to stand and as he pushed himself up off of the ground, he grabbed a ball of snow and launched it, hitting Francis right between the eyes.
“Good shot… for a girl!” Francis sniggered and then he flew off quickly to avoid being hit by any further incoming missiles.
“Zavier, there is a cave at the base of another rock face, it’s about two miles northeast of here, close to the middle falls. I’ll fly ahead slowly and lead you there.”
“Great work, Francis. Let’s hope our luck’s in and Takoda is there waiting for us,” Zavier replied.
The group were re-energised with excitement. They were on their way to their first cave and, fingers crossed, they were on their way to Takoda. They looked up at the sky ahead and followed Francis eagerly, but Zavier couldn’t help but notice the change in the air. It had begun to get colder, in the way that the air chills slightly before sundown and sunrise. They realised i
t wouldn’t be long until twilight and then with the darkness would come more danger. The temperature was bearable now but as the sun went down and they ascended the mountain, would they be able to withstand the freezing temperatures and, more worryingly, would they be in for yet another Nomed attack?
Zavier closed his eyes. Please be there, please be there, please be there, he thought to himself over and over and as he reopened his eyes, he saw Francis turning in the air up ahead and noticed that the Hudor Drakos looked different. Francis had turned towards the east in the same way that an aeroplane that was banking would. As Francis’s huge body turned, he dipped his right wing and raised his left wing, exposing his dorsal surface. The sun in the west hit the glass-like scales along his back and illuminated them in an assortment of glowing and beautiful oranges, pinks, purples and blues. This was truly a magnificent sight to see, but Zavier did not feel happy, for as the group continued their ascent, the sun had now begun its descent and soon they would be climbing in darkness. He knew that along with all the beauty a sunset brings, there would soon come all of the dangers of nightfall.
*The Human World*
Chapter 24
Two more sleeps
“How many sleeps until the fancy dress party, Mum?” Grace asked.
“Two, darling.”
“How many people are coming?”
“Oh, I’m not sure, around twenty-five or thirty maybe.”
“Are Nanny and Cranky coming?”
“You bet they are, they love a good fancy dress party.”
“What are they coming as?”
“I don’t know, Grace, they wouldn’t tell me, they said they want to keep their costumes as a surprise for us.”
“Hmm, I bet Cranky comes as something funny, like, maybe an Oompa Loompa or something.”
“Ha, ha, Grace, that would be funny,” Mary laughed and the pair giggled at the thought.
“There you go, Grace, all done, now go and hang it up in your room so that it stays nice for the party,” Mary said, handing Grace her finished fancy dress costume.
“Oh damn!” Mary exclaimed as Grace took the costume from her and she hurried over to the large pot that had just started boiling over on the hob.
“Thanks, Mum.”
Grace clutched the costume hanger and excitedly ran with it to her room, stumbling up the stairs. She hung it on the back of her bedroom door, sat on the end of her bed and looked up at the costume excitedly. Chyna had wondered what all the excitement was about and had run up the stairs with Grace. The little pug was now sitting next to Grace on the bed, frantically wagging her coiled little tail and snorting loudly through her squashed-up nose with excitement.
“Yes I know, Chyna, it’s gonna be loads of fun,” Grace said as she ran her hand down the little pug’s back, stroking her shiny black fur, “And we’re gonna look great together in our costumes, aren’t we? Yes, we are,” she said, kissing Chyna’s head.
“Grace, dinner’s ready,” her mum called up the stairs.
“Okay, Mum… Coming!” Grace replied.
Grace and Chyna jumped off of the bed in unison and raced down the stairs and into the kitchen.
“What’s for dinner, Mum?” Grace asked
“Mum’s winter warmer,” Mary said
“Uuuurrrggghh!” Grace groaned, screwing up her nose and making gagging gestures.
“My thoughts exactly, and there’d better not be any peas in it,” Harry grumbled, from his seat at the table.
“No peas, Harry and anyway, stop moaning and remember, it’s very good for you.”
“Yeah, good for keeping you regular with the amount of veg that you put in it.”
“Whatever. Can you go and get your brother from his room? I’m dishing up now.”
“Yes, Mother dearest,” Harry said sarcastically. As he left the room, he made imitation fart noises with every step that he took, making Grace smile.
The boys took their seats at the table. “Where’s Dad?” Dan asked his mother.
“He’s going to be a bit later today because he’s going to collect our costumes from the hire shop after work.”
“Oh, okay. So have you invited any good-looking ladies to this party, Mother?” Dan asked.
“Well, let’s see, there’s the nurses, the models, the cheerleading squad and oh yeah, the pole dancers from the nightclub in town,” Mary teased.
“Ha, ha, you’re funny, ain’t ya?” Dan smirked.
“Come on now, eat up before it gets cold,” Mary said.
“Mmm… yummy… Mummy’s winter warmer,” Dan said, rolling his eyes as he lifted his spoon containing some of the strange-looking green liquid and a hefty, hearty dumpling.
“It’s good for you!” Mary snapped, knowing that she mustn’t ever confess, especially to Harry, that the green colouring was not a gourmet jus that was used by top chefs, as she had been making it out to be all these years, but was in fact liquidised peas. This was the only way that she had been able to trick Harry into eating them as a child and although he moaned every time he was served this meal, he usually managed to eat it all.
After their evening meal, the boys took themselves off into their room to play video games. Grace and Mary snuggled up on the sofa with the dogs to watch TV while they waited for Evan to return home with his, Mary’s and the boys’ costumes. The moment Evan’s key turned in the front door, Chyna and Womble eagerly sprang from the sofa and raced to greet him.
“Hello, baby girl,” Evan said, smiling at Chyna as if he were cooing at a cute little baby. Then he turned to Womble, who was excitedly pacing around him. “’Ello, thicko,” he said, playfully smacking the bulldog around the chops.
Evan walked into the kitchen and placed his and Mary’s costumes onto the back of one of the kitchen chairs, then he made his way to the lounge.
“Oh hello, lovely wife and lovely daughter of mine,” he said, popping his head around the lounge door.
“Sssshhhh,” Mary and Grace scowled at him, engrossed in an episode of their favourite soap.
“I don’t know how you can watch this rubbish,” Evan grumbled. “What’s for dinner, darling?”
“Winter warmer,” Mary replied. She didn’t take her eyes off of the TV, which meant she didn’t notice her husband and Grace making gagging gestures at each other.
“It’s on the hob, help yourself, I’ll come out when this has finished,” Mary said.
“Okay, great,” Evan replied, pulling another gagging face and winking at Grace.
Evan had just sat down at the kitchen table and placed a large spoonful of dumpling in his mouth when the phone rang.
“Aaarrgghh, phone!” he yelled, with his mouth full.
The phone stopped ringing and Mary appeared at the kitchen door with it pressed against her ear. She placed her hand over the mouthpiece, “It’s your brother, what shall I say?” she whispered screwing up her nose.
“Tell him I’m eating and I’ll give him a call tomorrow.”
“Hi, David, sorry, Evan’s only just got home, he’s eating his dinner and he said that he’ll call you back tomorrow, is that okay? Oh, okay… yep… sure… will do… see you New Year’s Eve then, ‘bye.”
Mary placed the phone down on the table and sat down opposite Evan. “David said not to worry about calling him back tomorrow. He was just ringing to let us know that they will be coming to the party.”
“What, all of them?”
“Yes, all of them.”
“Oh great… they couldn’t find anyone to babysit Henrietta then. Mind you, I’m not surprised that no one wanted to look after the devil child from hell for them.”
“Evan, you really shouldn’t speak about your niece like that.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but that girl is one spoilt rotten and spiteful little brat. How many other ten-year-old kids do you know that have their own en suite beauty room and demand eggs florentine and smoked salmon for breakfast?”
“I know, but she is family and we love her anyway.”
“Do we?” Evan said, rolling his eyes.
Grace was still watching TV in the lounge.
“Grace, come and see my costume,” Evan called out excitedly.
“What is it supposed to be?” asked Grace, looking at the hat, coat, shirt, braces, jeans and boots.
“It’s a nutty boy outfit.”
Grace laughed out loud. “What’s a nutty boy?”
“You know, Madness, one step beyond and all that nutty stuff,” her dad said, while doing the nutty walk and dancing around the kitchen.
“What’s your costume, Mum?”
“It’s a sixties outfit.”
“Oh,” Grace said, looking a bit puzzled and not in the slightest bit impressed. “What about Dan and Harry? They haven’t got costumes,” Grace pointed out.
“Yes, they have. I’ve left theirs in the car because I couldn’t carry them all. You can ask them to come down and get them out of the car for me on your way up to bed,” Evan said, looking at the time.
“Ohhh Dad, do I have to?” Grace groaned.
“Yes, your dad’s right, Grace. Come on, bed! And remember, when you wake up it will only be one more sleep until party time.”
“Woohoo!” Grace whooped as she ran over to kiss her dad goodnight.
The boys were both busy battling against evil demons on the video game that they were playing; Harry swung his sword above his head ready to take out the demon when the bedroom door flung open, scaring the life out of him. “Gotta go and get your costumes out of Dad’s car,” Grace shouted.
“Jesus, Grace, haven’t you heard of knocking?” Dan moaned.
“Well done, Grace, now look what you’ve done,” Harry said, pointing at the TV screen.
Grace looked up at the TV on the wall to see a man lying on the ground, holding his bloodied sword in the air as a bunch of demons huddled over him and fed on his stomach contents. They were holding up his intestines and eating from them as if they were a string of sausages.
“Aaagghhh!” Grace screamed, running out of the room in floods of tears.
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