Thorn smiled and gave Tracey a grateful hug. “I’ll try,” she promised.
“And look after Stephen,” Tracey ordered. “I don’t want anything to happen to him, either.”
“Neither do I,” Thorn concurred, exchanging a knowing look with her.
“Oh, I see,” Tracey murmured softly. “So that’s how it is, is it?”
“I don’t know yet,” Thorn replied, continuing her staring contest with her sister.
“We’ll talk about this when you come back,” Tracey pledged.
“For sure,” Thorn responded.
“May I ask what you two are talking about?” I wanted to know, totally at sea with their conversation. There were obviously a lot of hidden levels of meaning going on between the two of them, but I hadn’t understood any of it. None of it seemed to pertain to our mission, but it made me a little inquisitive.
“It was nothing,” Thorn assured me. “Are you ready?”
“I guess so,” I said.
Tracey came over and grasped my arm. “Be watchful, Stephen,” she warned, her voice husky. “It’s dangerous out there and I want you to return to me. I’ll be waiting for you.” Then she leaned over to kiss my cheek. Over her shoulder, I saw Thorn frown and then turn her head away. Rather odd behaviour, I fleetingly thought, before surrendering myself to the delicious, but brief, feel of those beautiful lips on my skin. Tracey smiled tremulously at me. “Be safe,” she whispered, before pivoting around to wave encouragingly to Thorn who smiled in return and hoisted her backpack onto her shoulders.
“Let’s go,” Thorn announced abruptly, and then headed for the door. I followed, after a last hand wave at Tracey, who blew me a kiss.
Chapter 17
Thorn and I trudged silently out of the settlement, each of us immersed in our own private thoughts. I was, I’m sorry to say, not thinking so much about the dangers ahead, but more of Tracey’s fleeting kiss. After a while, however, I mentally slapped myself out of my pleasant reverie, and began to concentrate on our mission. I wondered what I hoped to gain from this expedition. Would the goblins attack us? Would they even talk to us? There seemed to be a distinct dearth of information about them, apart from rumor. I hadn’t met a single One who had even met a goblin in reality. Everyone had an opinion, but that opinion was based on what others had said. What were the goblins really like? And, if they had stolen the Crystals, exactly what did they want to do with them? Was it, as Fink had suggested, a prelude to a war? Who would profit from such an obscenity? Well, arms dealers, naturally. Then there was Fink, of course, who was desperate to avenge the death of his parents. Who else? An unworthy thought filtered through my brain. Perhaps the Elders wanted to enforce their authority in a time of crisis? No, I just couldn’t see it. I smiled ironically to myself. They weren’t ‘human’ enough for that. Ah well, this was all useless speculation anyway at this stage. It all depended on what, if anything, we discovered from the goblins. Thorn had become rather quiet, and that seemed so unlike her. I wondered what occupied her thoughts. Probably about her sister, I supposed. Now, that was a classic case of opposites! I still couldn’t believe the fight they’d had. And it appeared to be quite a common occurrence. The memory of a schizophrenic Tracey, cursing and kicking, made me smile. It was last thing I would have expected from her and it exposed an unexpected side to her personality.
- Are you sure you want to hook up with that little wildcat, Chief? I mean, she could very well take a frying pan to your head.
‘I think it makes her all the more exciting, don’t you?’
- Exciting? You mean having to be on your guard twenty four hours a day in case she attacks you? Yes, I can easily see how that would be an exciting way to live. That’s sarcasm, by the way.
‘You know what I mean. At least it wouldn’t be dull. And, of course, she’s absolutely gorgeous. That doesn’t hurt either.’
- Don’t get carried away with just the externals, Chief. You know that’s no basis for a relationship. Well, a long term relationship, anyway.
‘I know, I know. Beauty is only skin deep, and all that sort of stuff. But did you see what she did? She kissed me! Does that mean anything, do you think?’
- I shouldn’t think so. Not to put too fine a point on it, she looks the type to kiss all and sundry at a moment’s notice. I wouldn’t read too much into it, if I was you.
‘Way to burst my bubble. Thank you very much – and that’s sarcasm, too.’
- Hey, that’s what I’m here for, you know. To keep your feet on the ground.
‘So kind.’
- You’re welcome.
Thorn interrupted my internal monologue. “We have to be careful here,” she solemnly cautioned. “The borgulessa territory is just ahead.”
“What’s the plan?” I asked.
“We’ll use any shelter we can find,” Thorn replied. “After that, we’ll have to trust in luck. What’s your plan?”
“I don’t have one yet,” I admitted.
“You don’t?” Thorn exclaimed, hands on hip. “What are we doing here, then?”
“Having a look around,” I informed her, calmly. “We have to examine every avenue. We’ll simply have to play it by ear.”
“Well, that’s comforting news,” Thorn muttered, derisively. “We have no plan, no direction and we don’t know what we’re doing. Does that about sum it up?”
“There’s no need for mockery,” I reprimanded her.” It’s all part of the investigative process.”
“Yeah, right,” Thorn mumbled under her breath. I chose to ignore her.
We travelled for some time, occasionally flying to break the monotony and to speed up the process. I was becoming somewhat more skilful at the flying process, but still found it a little tiring. The scenery appeared somewhat monotonous, comprising mainly, and not surprisingly, of various rock formations. I had been expecting an overabundance of darkness, but the same lights I’d seen in the settlement shone down upon us. Obviously, the whole underground system of caverns had been fitted out with lights at some distant past to guide travellers such as ourselves. Occasionally, we’d come across some startling geographical granite outcrops, magically laced with layers of limestone and marble deposits. Much to Thorn’s annoyance, I’d stop to marvel at these examples of Nature’s extravagant sense of artistry, running a wondering hand over the intertwining colors and textures.
As far as I could judge without a watch, we’d journeyed for at least two hours when I suddenly heard a plaintive cry for help. Thorn immediately drew her sword and looked around cautiously. She glanced at me and put a finger against her lips, ordering me to silence, then crept alertly towards the sound. It came from a large hole in the ground and, peering carefully over the edge, we found a goblin. At least, I assumed it was a goblin. After having recently been exposed to the beautiful and graceful race of ‘fairies’, I found that, although the goblin was impressively muscular, he lacked somewhat in the ‘looks’ department.
“Help me, please,” he pleaded. “I’ve been down here for days and I can’t get out!”
Thorn snorted in disgust. “It’s just a borgulessa,” she dismissively remarked. “Let’s go. We have better things to do.”
“Don’t be so callous!” I scolded. “This is a sentient being who needs our help. For shame, Thorn!”
“You’re not thinking of rescuing it, are you?” she argued, forcefully. “As soon as you get it out of there, it’ll attack us. Let it rot in its hole! It’s what it deserves.”
I stared at Thorn in revulsion. “I’ve never heard such hate,” I exclaimed, shocked to the core. “Thorn, is that what you truly want? If so, I pity you. This is an intelligent creature, with feelings and a family. I’m rescuing this goblin, whether you like it or not. Now, are you going to help me?”
Thorn fidgeted, trying to resolve her conflicting emotions. “Oh, very well!” she snapped, angrily. “If that’s what you want! But don’t blame me when it wants to bite your head off!”
“Tha
t’s my girl!” I praised sardonically, looking around for some sort of a rope. I found a vine which, when lowered down in the hole, was sturdy enough for our goblin friend to climb up out of his rocky imprisonment. When he arrived at the top, brushing himself down, Thorn took a step backwards and half-drew her sword. The goblin looked at her disdainfully and continued to remove the dirt from his person.
“I see the One are as trustful as ever,” he sneered.
“With good cause,” Thorn snarled. “The only good borgulessa is a dead borgulessa.”
“That’s enough, the both of you!” I loudly interjected. “I didn’t come here to witness the start of a war!” I turned to the goblin said, “Introduce yourself, please. My name is Stephen and my companion is Thorn. And your name is ……… ?”
Glaring at Thorn, the goblin announced, “I’m called Forscewnix, but you can call me Nix. Everybody else does.” Then, with great reluctance, looking at me and totally ignoring Thorn, he added, “Thanks for saving me. I’d begun to think that I’d die down there.”
Thorn theatrically waved her hand in front of her face. “I think you may have,” she smirked. “You certainly smell like it.”
“You spend a few days in a pit,” Nix furiously replied, “and see what you smell like, fairy!”
“Don’t call me a fairy!” Thorn screeched, whipping her sword from its sheath.
“Why not?” Nix retorted, grinning evilly. “That’s what you are, isn’t it?”
“No, it isn’t!” Thorn furiously denied, her sword tip a mere hairsbreadth away from Nix’s chest. “We’re the One, and always have been!”
“So you say,” Nix calmly replied, not a muscle twitching. I had to admire his courage as he faced down the onslaught of a raging Thorn. Not many could have done that. Goblin or not, he had nerves of steel.
Chapter 18
“Stop!” I yelled. “Back off, the both of you! Thorn, put up your sword, for heaven’s sake! We not here to begin a killing spree.” With an unwillingness that you could almost bottle, Thorn took a step backwards and lowered her sword.
“That’s better,” I said. “Now let’s discuss the matter like rational beings and less like enraged Tasmanian devils.”
Nix frowned. “Tasmanian devils?” he asked, non-comprehendingly.
“They’re marsupials that become very, very aggressive around mating time. Let’s just say you certainly wouldn’t want to poke one with a stick.”
“Fair enough,” Nix said. “Now that we’ve turned into rational beings, what do you suggest we talk about?”
“How about recipes for barbecued borgulessa?” Thorn suggested.
“Oh, you’re hilarious,” Nix scoffed. “So funny. You should trade your sword for a funny hat and a rotating bowtie.”
Before Thorn could take furious exception, I insinuated myself between the both of them and held my hands up in a peace gesture. “Okay, stop it!” I told them both. “This is getting us nowhere.”
I confronted Nix and said, “You owe us. If we hadn’t come along, you probably would have died in that pit. Are you going to aid us or not? Or is it true, as Thorn here believes, that your race doesn’t have any honor at all?”
“I do have honor,” Nix sullenly answered, “but the point is, does she?”
“I have more honor in my little finger that you have it your whole body,” Thorn heatedly proclaimed. I sighed wearily. Acting as peacemaker between these two was wearing me out.
“You know,” Nix observed shrewdly to me, “you’re not acting like a typical fairy at all. You’re considerate, honorable and trustworthy. Are you sick or something?”
I held my arm out and impeded Thorn’s automatic cantankerous forward step. “It’s a simple explanation,” I told Nix. “I’m not a fairy at all. I’m a human, implanted into this body. I’ve been recruited to find the Power Crystals that have been stolen from the fairy settlement. I’m afraid most of the inhabitants are blaming you. Not you personally, of course, but your race. If we don’t recover them, I’m very much afraid there’s going to end up being a war between your peoples. I’m going to try and stop that at all costs. Will you help me?”
“A human, eh?” Nix mused, peering at me closely. “How very unusual. Well, that explains the difference in attitude between the two of you.”
“Are you going to help or not?” Thorn demanded, grinding her teeth.
“I’ll think about it,” Nix replied, insolently. “What’s in it for me?”
“Your honor,” I reminded him.
“Oh, very well,” he conceded. “I’ll help. I do owe you that much at least.” He pointed a scornful finger at Thorn. “Just keep her away from me.”
“Likewise,” Thorn scowled.
I sighed again. “This is going to be such a fun journey,” I muttered to myself.
Chapter 19
Nix suggested that the best place to find information would back at his village. “I know people who know people,” he said, mysteriously.
“Exactly what is it that you do?” I enquired. “And why were you out here in the wilderness anyway?”
“Well, it’s like this,” Nix coughed in an embarrassed fashion. “I sort of ……… you know, ‘find’ things.”
“You find things?” Thorn asked, derisively. “What sort of things? Other people’s belongings, perhaps?”
“I’m not a thief!” Nix flared. “I find things for people.”
“For example?” I asked, intrigued.
“Okay then,” Nix began, “suppose someone wanted say, a fur coat or something. I’d go out, catch an animal, skin and cure it and then stitch it into a coat.”
“You’re a seamstress?” Thorn laughed, scathingly.
“That’s the end process, yes,” Nix tranquilly agreed. “Can you sew anything, my fairy friend, or are you totally useless at domestic tasks as well?”
Thorn stopped dead in her tracks. “What did you just say?” she demanded, hand on sword. “Repeat that if you dare!”
“Are you deaf as well as stupid?” Nix derided, throwing petrol onto the fire of Thorn’s already blazing antagonism. “I would have thought that I spoke distinctly enough for most normal people to hear.”
“Right, that’s it!” Thorn yelled, pushing me aside. “I’m going to slice him into strips so thin they’ll float away!”
“You’re all talk!” Nix retorted, squaring up to Thorn with clenched fists. “Bring it on, you pathetic excuse for a fairy! Your father was a butterfly and your mother was a moth!”
Screaming in fury, Thorn scrambled over the rocks to get at Nix. Desperately, I flung myself at her and manage to tackle her around the waist and bring her to the ground.
“Let me go!” she shrieked, pounding at me with the hilt of her sword. “I’m going to kill him like the vermin he is!”
“No, you not!” I snapped. “You’re going to sit down and behave like a lady! Or would you rather lose the Crystals forever?”
“He insulted my mother!” Thorn protested, settling down a little, but still trying to find reasons to keep her anger buoyant.
“I know he did,” I agreed, still endeavouring to restrain her wriggling body. I looked balefully up at Nix. “And I’m sure he wants to apologise, doesn’t he?”
“I suppose,” Nix replied, grimacing.
“I’d like something a little more positive than that, if you don’t mind,” I informed him.
“Oh, very well!” he conceded. “I’m sorry, okay? I had no right to say that about your parents. It’s just that I’ve been brought up with all these stories about you fairies – how you’re always taking our land and our money and laughing at us. You think we have no culture! You think we’re animals! But we have families, just like you. I have three younger sisters, and I’d do anything to protect them. Do you think I enjoy traipsing through the wilderness and killing animals? I do it because I need the money to support my family. My father is dead, thanks to an earlier skirmish with a bunch of you fairies, so now I’m the main sourc
e of income to stop us all from starving to death. And when I come home, dead tired from roaming around all day, I go to my second job as a librarian. Yes, we can read! We do have books! We have libraries! And, in any spare time I have left, I compose music. Sometimes I paint. I hope to be an artist one day. So, I’m sorry to shatter your delusion that we’re backward, unthinking beasts, wallowing around in the mud, but we have feelings as sensitive as yours. When my father was killed, I cried for days because someone I loved, the main bastion of my life, had been taken away from me. By you! By you smug, condescending, self-righteous, better-than-everybody-else, uncaring fairies! Is it any wonder that I hate you? No, erase that. I don’t hate you. I pity you! I pity your racial blindness, your arrogance and your narcissism. As hard as it is for you to believe, the whole world doesn’t revolve around you. We all have a part to play and your race is just one cog in the Wheel of Life.”
I was astonished at Nix’s outburst, and Thorn simply lay there, mouth open, as she listened. Finally, after a few stunned moments, she managed to whisper, “I’m sorry, I had no idea you felt this way. I don’t know what to say.”
Nix’s emotions had obviously drained themselves during his monologue, because he then managed a wry grin and said, “Well, that will probably be a first. To stop you from talking is a galactic achievement, I should think.”
Thorn stared at him, then produced a tentative smile. “Yes, isn’t it,” she agreed, still shaken from Nix’s emotional tsunami. She shook off my hands and stood up, still eyeing Nix in wonder. “I’ll need to think about this,” she muttered and wandered off to sit on a nearby rock, head in hands.
“This is probably as good a time as any to have something to eat,” I suggested, looking around.
“I’ll gather some firewood,” Nix volunteered.
We shared our food, with Thorn silently staring into the flames all during the meal. Finally, she lifted her head. “Was your father really killed by a fai…….by one of us?” she asked Nix, woodenly.
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