Firestone Key

by Caroline Noe

  Struggling up the rock face, feet slipping and sliding, fingers straining to maintain their grip, Elaine eventually arrived at the desired level. As luck would have it, her eyes came to rest right next to the Key part. Expelling a huge sigh of relief and gaining as firm a foothold as possible, she stared at the piece of metal. Seemingly embedded into the rock, it was shiny, but black and twisted, as though melted into shape. Grasping an edge, she tried to work it free, but the Key would not budge.

  Tipping her head, she called down to Harlin, “How do I get it out?” Unfortunately, vertigo induced a most inconvenient trembling.

  “Tried pulling?” he sang back.

  Elaine closed her eyes and rested her forehead against cool rock, trying to relieve her nausea and irritation. Never thought of that. “Yes of course I’ve tried pulling, you twassock!” she shouted into the wall. “And please stop singing.”

  Unfortunately, the effort of shouting almost lost her the foothold on the rock. Digging her fingers into tiny crevices, she struggled to regain her balance.

  “Be carely!” Harlin screeched in operatic soprano.

  Elaine made herself a promise to make him suffer when she got back to earth, but, for now, she had other concerns. Forcing her eyes to focus, she pulled, pushed and chipped away at the offending Key, producing no results. Frustration was reaching ignition point, when Harlin warbled up to her, “Command it to come out!”

  Elaine was about to declare him insane when it struck her that she was high up in a demonic cave, millennia into the past, trying to retrieve a magical Key. This was hardly a normal situation, so, perhaps, she could try indulging Harlin’s superstition, for once. Temporarily locking sound logic into the cellar of her mind, Elaine took a deep breath and sounded forth.

  “Key! I command you to come out!”

  To her utter astonishment, the metal came away in her hand, almost causing her to topple backwards from her perch.

  “BE CARELY!!!” Harlin practically screamed, in a note so high it could have shattered glass.

  “And for my next trick,” Elaine muttered, although, as the Key was now held between her teeth, it came out as, “Aah hor i ex tick.”

  She began the slow and treacherous climb back to safety, with that infernal singing assaulting her senses for, what felt like, hours. When she reached ground level, Harlin lifted her clean off the wall, crooning “Safely. Ye be safely.”

  She might have enjoyed the brief embrace, but the singing was right next to her ear. Back on solid ground, she slapped a hand over Harlin’s mouth and raised a finger to Drevel. His howling wound down like a dying foghorn.

  Holding up the Key part, she asked, “This it?”

  Harlin hesitated before taking it from her and studying it. “Be it. Part anyroad.”

  “How can that bit of melted metal help you?”

  “Not know how it work,” Harlin admitted, “but seen it crush Firestone when two parts be together.”

  As though in response, a sharp crack echoed through the cave, causing the trio to fall silent. A moment of stillness was broken by an even louder CRACK and it definitely sounded like rock under severe strain. Drevel’s nose pointed bolt upright, making Harlin and Elaine look up. Commencing at the spot where the Key had been removed, a fissure had developed in the rock and was rapidly travelling around the entire cavern with an ominous rumble.

  All three scrambled towards the exit without exchanging a single word. Squeezing through the tunnel, the ground shaking beneath their feet, they emerged to find water pouring through the crumbling cliff face. As the waterfall quaked and splashed, a huge chunk of rock detached from the cliff and plummeted. Elaine heaved Harlin out of the flight path just as the boulder passed by, shaving a layer of skin from his arm. The rock shattered, spraying fragments that peppered the fleeing trio. Drevel howled and launched himself through the curtain of water.

  “Go. Now,” Harlin bellowed at Elaine. “Best not holding onto me.”

  She dived through the waterfall, plunging into the churning river beyond. The sudden coldness of the water snatched the breath from her body, but, kicking hard, she rotated in time to see Harlin stumble into daylight and drop into the river. The deluge poured over the cliff face in torrents while the rock crumbled around it, sending fragments crashing into the current.

  “We have to get out!” Elaine yelled to her struggling friends.

  Drevel doggy paddled to the far bank whilst Elaine and Harlin swam as fast as they were able. With a huge, resonating crack, the cliff fell away in an avalanche, hurling debris down the hillside and into the river.

  Drevel scrambled out of the boulder laden water first, moments before Elaine staggered from the river. Harlin ignored every screaming limb and dragged himself up the bank, aided by Elaine’s arms and Drevel’s teeth. In utterly exhausted relief, they collapsed on the bank and lay still, drenched and panting.

  A rush of emotion assaulted Elaine’s internally fortified wall and completely overwhelmed it. She threw her arms around Harlin and Drevel, fiercely embracing them. Neither objected. Resting her head on Harlin’s shoulder, Elaine murmured, “Pretty.”

  Man and dog followed her gaze. The river now flowed through a newly cut valley and it was glorious.

  * * *

  Gwyneth, Myrrdinus and Frog were only too glad to be out of range of the smell. When the aroma of putrefying snake finally eluded their nostrils, Gwyneth’s first, all too predictable words were, “I be hungry!” By the time she had rustled up dinner, her queasy friends were beginning to recover a little of their appetites. “I thinked ye sickly,” she complained, watching Myrrdinus devour mouthfuls of her precious, flame grilled fish.

  “Fire going out,” Myrrdinus mumbled, his mouth being full.

  Gwyneth stared at the dying fire and back at a disinterested Myrrdinus. Annoyed, but also rather chilled, she went in search of more firewood in a damp forest, leaving her irritating beau inspecting their hard won prize.

  The Key or, at least, this part of it, was a strange item indeed. Twisting and sloping, it curled back on itself in a molten parody of a spiral. All that was known was that it had been discovered at the same time as the infamous Firestone. Legend dictated that it was the only thing capable of limiting the stone’s power. Myrrdinus hoped, with all his heart, that it was true. His future – all their futures - depended on it. Turning it over in his hands, he was surprised to note that it felt warm.

  Gwyneth, meanwhile, was struggling to find dry wood in the sodden undergrowth. Tunnelling under a pile of leaves and damp branches, she eventually managed to locate some and emitted a cry of triumph. Unfortunately, the sound of her voice attracted some unexpected attention.

  “Be here!”

  Hearing voices echoing through the trees, she crawled into the pile of forest debris, camouflaging herself with fallen leaves and dirt. She watched as the area filled with shadowy figures. Whispered voices were coming from all around her hiding place. Gwyneth’s instinct was to abandon safety in order to warn Myrrdinus, but movement might only lead them to him. He had honed instincts of his own. Perhaps he would hear them moving through the undergrowth and take cover. Fighting her own inclination, she stayed where she was.

  Unfortunately for Gwyneth and her beloved, she was wrong. Myrrdinus, engrossed in his examination of the Key, didn’t hear the approach of Gergan, soldiers and two renders until it was too late. Only Frog, being small and naturally camouflaged, managed to obtain safety by plopping into a pool of mud. Myrrdinus, being rather larger, found himself staring at the sharp end of a sword. Tearing the Key from his grasp, Gergan politely thanked him before stamping on his testicles.

  Gwyneth heard him holler in agony, suffering agonies of her own.

  “Bring him,” Gergan told the soldiers. “Food for Baal.”

  The soldiers firmly bound their muscular prisoner, punching him a few times in the face and torso, just for the sport of it. Opposition subdued, they dragged the gasping Myrrdinus past an innocent pile of leaves. Fr
om within, a set of eyes bore witness to the turmoil suffered by their silent owner.

  * * *

  Sodden trousers and tunics dried next to a roaring fire, held up on sticks. Flat out beside the flames lay a gently steaming Drevel, snoring. Clad only in thick shifts, Harlin and Elaine huddled together, covered by a joining of still soaking jackets, working hard not to look at one another. Not sure of what to do with his hands, Harlin had taken to tapping his sword on the ground in an incredibly annoying nervous tic. They had not seen each other undress, having stationed themselves back to back on either side of the fire, but, when a teeth chattering chill set in, they had decided to cuddle together, ‘just for warmth’.

  Elaine couldn’t help but notice Harlin’s deformed leg, the result of the Torturer’s hammer. Harlin followed her gaze.

  “Ye feel it? Hammer?” Harlin asked. “In cave…”

  “Yes,” Elaine answered, in all simplicity. Her nervousness and the memory of their joint suffering caused her to absent-mindedly play with a certain stone necklace, lying hidden beneath the folds of her shift.

  “Sorry,” Harlin said.

  “You feel this?” Elaine asked, tracing her facial scar with her index finger.

  “Aye.” Harlin reached out his unbroken fingers and moved a strand of wet hair away from her scar. “Sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “That yer father be… brute.”

  “Good word. What was your father like?”

  Harlin sighed and looked away; the memory had lost none of its associated pain over the passing years. “Wonderly,” he told her. “Deserved better than me for son. Me mother make yer father look goodly.”

  Elaine laughed. “That bad? Really?”

  “Make Baal seem friendly.”

  Emitting a weird variety of groans and squeaks, slumbering Drevel slowly tipped over onto his back, legs dangling in the air. Elaine and Harlin giggled. The merriment gradually faded away into the flickering firelight, to be replaced by something softer and far more frightening. Carrying decades of shared suffering, a man and a woman slowly found each other’s eyes.

  “How touching, Harlin.”

  Elaine had never heard the voice before, but it carried so much malevolence, in so few words, that she knew it could be none other than the Harpy.

  Elaine and Harlin scrambled to their feet, but four snarling renders already encircled them, edging closer. Drevel awoke with a jolt, growling. Harlin and Drevel tried to surround Elaine between them, placing a barrier between her and the renders.

  The Harpy limped into view, a huge hood hiding her features. Beside her, walking a fine line between bravado and timidity, shuffled Sworder.

  “The cripple has found love, at last,” crooned the Harpy.

  The area filled with soldiers, all pointing arrows directly at the trio. Harlin shuffled a few feet to one side, trying to stand between Elaine and their aim, but there was no way to protect her from the sheer volume of threats.

  “The Harpy, I presume?” Elaine asked. Her voice was steady despite her fear. Harlin was proud of her.

  “Elaine. At last,” the Queen responded. “I’ve waited a long time for you to arrive.”

  The Harpy’s clawed hands pulled back her hood, revealing herself in all her repulsiveness. The woman was old, but it was not age that had ruined her. Malevolence and addiction to magiking had so scarred and withered her features that her face appeared broken, bleeding and rotting. Elaine could not conceal her utter revulsion.

  “Harlin, where are your manners?” the monster continued. “Aren’t you going to introduce me properly, like a good boy?”

  Harlin scowled, announcing, “Elaine, this thing be our Queen.”

  “Oh darling,” the Harpy cackled, “do call me Mummy.”

  Chapter 10

  Elaine’s astonishment at the Queen’s revelation spoke volumes.

  “Ah, so he didn’t tell you,” said the Harpy, a hideous smile distorting her features even more. “He’s like me in so many ways.”

  “Be nought like ye,” Harlin snapped, hatred filling his voice and providing an uncomfortable echo of his mother’s malevolence.

  “Not what your father said, poppet,” the Harpy taunted, “nor Morden, rest his soul. Give mother the Key part.” She held out a clawed hand, only for her son to stare her down. “Now, before I set the renders on your girlfriend.”

  Harlin remained still, but his eyes tracked the positions of the renders and the soldiers. Saliva dripping from open jaws, those renders edged ever closer to the exposed Elaine. Harlin handed the Key part to his mother and watched as she examined it with curiosity.

  “What have you done with Melith?” Elaine blurted out, before Harlin could stop her. She soon realised that she had made a terrible error of judgement.

  “So, you were with Asher and his merry band of peasants,” the Queen responded, triumphantly. “Unfortunate for them. Now, Elaine, the Firestone.”

  The Harpy advanced on Elaine, causing Harlin and Drevel to close ranks in front of her. This action only amused the Queen.

  “What do you think you can do to save her? Relax, all I want is the Firestone.” She stared directly at Elaine. “Hand it over and no-one needs to get hurt, including Asher and his peasants. You can even have fat Melith back.”

  It was Harlin’s turn to stare at Elaine with shock.

  “I don’t have it!” Elaine insisted, seeing the thinly veiled accusation in his eyes. “It’s the truth.”

  The Harpy’s calm façade crumbled in the blink of an eye. She screamed, “Liar!” as her gnarled fingers reached for her enemy. “Give it back!”

  Harlin swiftly raised his sword, holding it in his right hand. Despite having trained himself to utilise whatever grip he could muster, he was unable to prevent visible shaking. Sworder signalled to the soldiers, who raised their bows as one. The renders crept to within biting distance of the fugitive trio.

  There was a tiny whistle of wind, heralding a dull ‘bonk’, as a small rock flew through the air and smacked a render straight in the eye. The beast howled from the stinging pain and shook its head. Another missile was launched into Sworder’s forehead with a crack. Suddenly, a flurry of rocks flew forth from the trees like a hailstorm, peppering the Queen, Sworder and soldiers. Elaine peered over Harlin’s shoulder to see an army of foxes and squirrels, perched high in the trees, lobbing projectiles from a pile at their feet, tiny muscles flexing with the strain.

  The rocks, whilst not life-threatening, were a wonderful distraction and Drevel had been waiting for just such an occurrence. He pounced, sinking his teeth into the Queen’s exposed flank and ripping out a chunk of cloth covered flesh. With blood gushing from the wound, the Harpy shrieked in agony and fell. Arrows rained down indiscriminately as pebble blinded soldiers fired without aiming.

  “Run!” Harlin bellowed at Elaine, terrified that she could be skewered at any moment. Sure enough, an arrow headed straight for her. Harlin’s sword flashed in mid-air and the arrow bounced off the moving metal with a loud clang. Both he and Elaine were utterly stunned that he had managed to achieve that manoeuvre; however, it was his mother who actually saved her from death at the tip of an arrow.

  “Don’t kill her!” the Harpy screeched, clutching her thigh to stem the bleeding. “Kill the dog!”

  “Drevel!” Elaine screamed, sprinting towards her canine friend.

  As he fought to get back to her side, an arrow scraped past Harlin’s right arm, slicing through his shift and scratching the surface of the burn. A render dived at Elaine, its jaws snapping shut inches from her face. Drevel launched himself in front of her, tearing at the beast’s eyes. It immediately turned on the exposed dog and clamped its jaws on Drevel’s side. With no thought to her own safety, Elaine heaved on its tooth laden jaws, struggling to pull them apart.

  Harlin finally arrived at her side and thrust his sword straight through the top of the render’s head, killing it instantly.

  “Go. River,” he hollered a
t Elaine.

  Sprinting into the forest, she kept pace with the wounded Drevel. Harlin yanked his sword out of the render’s corpse and threw himself into the trees, whilst rocks continued to rain down on Sworder and the soldiers.

  When arrows began flying in their direction, the squirrels and foxes decided it was a prudent time to be leaving and scattered in all directions as quickly as they had gathered. Grey Squirrel was the last to leave, pausing long enough to hear the ailing Queen issue an order to Sworder.

  “Must return to the temple. Track them. Kill the dog and my son; I don’t care. But bring me Elaine. She dies, you die.”

  Grey Squirrel bounded away, following the fleeing trio.

  * * *

  Elaine raced towards the fast-flowing river, stealing a glance back at Harlin and Drevel. Her friends were both ailing and the three renders were rapidly gaining on them. Harlin waved her on, yelling for her to dive into the water. She chose to ignore him and ran back to them.

  “Rack, woman,” Harlin swore. “Now what ye doing? Carrying us?”

  “Shut up bitching and run faster,” Elaine hollered at him. “Move. Come on Drevel, you’re almost there.”

  They reached the downward slope to the river bank, but the snarling renders were almost on them. Having experienced more exercise in the past few days than for many years, Harlin’s crushed leg finally gave out beneath him. He tumbled down the steep slope, bounced multiple times and dropped into the river, leaving his sword high and dry on the bank. He surfaced, spluttering, as the swirling current swept him downriver.

  Frantically flailing in an attempt to orientate himself in the water, Harlin watched as Elaine tempered her sprint to stay alongside Drevel. A render pounded towards them, jaws wide open, just as Drevel leapt off an overhanging rock and plummeted into the river. Elaine hurled herself after him. Render jaws closed with an audible snap, shaving a piece of cloth from Elaine’s tatty shift.

  Elaine’s limbs kicked and flailed in the current, turning over and over as though being rinsed in a washing machine. She fought her way back to the surface and grabbed hold of Drevel’s fur as they swept downriver.