The Black Opal

by Linda Jordan

  The voices began in earnest. She heard Aunt Rita calling for help outside the bubble. Even her father, long dead. Mira held tight onto Amanda, who wanted to go to him. It was as if the demons picked through their brains trying to find the right lever. Their mother sounded tortured.

  “It’s a trick, Edward said to stay in the circle.” She heard Aste, calling for her. It sounded so real, even she was tempted.

  The next two or three hours Mira stood, letting go of Amanda only to add more wood on the fire to keep the energy going. She heard Edward say, “They have gone now. You can step away from the fire.”

  Doubt swam up inside her. Sweat from exertion and the heat of the fire ran off her forehead. She was weakening. Mira looked over at the faeries protecting Dylan and one of them said, “No.”

  “Show yourself,” Mira yelled out.

  She heard Aste scream.

  Mira struggled to keep their shield intact against the demons trying to wrench it apart. Mira knew she’d already borrowed the small amount of energy that Amanda held. After a time Amanda looked at her and said, “Sorry, can’t help anymore.” Amanda dropped to her blanket in exhaustion, covering her head to muffle the screaming.

  Once, Mira looked and saw Griffin standing in the cave door, holding something limp in her mouth, and shrieking like an eagle. Then the fog obscured her again.

  Mira kept standing. Wood cracked and she heard heavy thudding. Something large trampled among the thickets. The horses screamed in pain and fear. Mira caught an image from her mare of something massive, dark and horned attacking them. She felt helpless and hoped Edward could protect the horses.

  Mira closed her eyes for a moment to focus on the circle. She felt a rush of movement, then pain in her ribs. She cried out. Lying against a rock she saw the massive dark shape which had rolled through the fire and struck her.

  Then something even larger and completely black attacked it.

  The first beast roared and fell into the flames. A smell of burnt flesh rushed into Mira’s nose. The first creature tumbled out of the blaze and faced the larger beast. The fight was now inside her circle, the defenses crumbled.

  Mira grabbed Dylan and backed away from the fire, Amanda beside them. She struggled to reform the circle. The larger beast stood with its back to Mira and Amanda. They kept backing away from the fire into the bushes, but still within the circle. Mira moved the three of them towards the mouth of the cave.

  Huge leathery wings, like bats, beat the air. Both beasts circled, looking for the best opening to attack. Their bodies were shaped like gorillas and just as hairy. Faces squashed flat like a bulldog with big, bulging eyes, protruding teeth and bat-like ears. The smaller one’s wings were crushed and bloody.

  Demons. They must be the demons Edward talked about, but why would there be a demon protecting them?

  Mira kept backing up, maintaining and enlarging the circle against other invaders. The two demons circled the fire and dove, sharp claws raking each other. Where could Edward be?

  She stepped in a hole in the ground near where the horses had grazed. The glossy bushes had been ripped from the earth and scattered. The horses were nowhere in sight. Mira felt her Shadow’s fear. She was still alive and running.

  Griffin stood in the mouth of her cave. The smaller demon dripped with thick, yellow goo. The larger demon covered with claw marks oozed the same yellow blood.

  The small one lunged toward Mira. The larger demon redirected the momentum of the attack, throwing the beast against the rock wall. Stones showered from above. The demon’s impact rumbled through the earth, out of proportion to its size.

  The large demon stood on the small one. A tawny blur shot past her from behind. Mira cringed as Griffin attacked. Griffin flew, ripped and clawed with her beak, talons and lion claws faster than the small demon could move. The larger kept the small demon pinned so Griffin could do her work. Griffin’s screeching and growling was terrible to hear.

  The attack seemed to take forever. Mira smelled sulfur. Dylan tried to watch the carnage, the faeries covered his eyes.

  Mira held the circle. Ethereals still assaulted the circle and the attempted intrusions sounded like glass vibrating as they continued to search for weaknesses.

  The small demon thrashed. Mira watched Griffin pull back from the throat, pause for a breath then plunged her sharp beak into the back of the demon’s neck. There was a sickening snap and crunch.

  Mira heard labored snorts. Both Griffin and the large demon leapt back. The small demon sizzled, then exploded into flame. Ashes blew on the breeze.

  The large demon looked at Griffin and some sort of communication took place before it fled into the darkness.

  Griffin stalked past them and said gruffly, “It is dead. Rebuild your fire, the night is not over yet.”

  Mira staggered, exhausted back to the fire, carefully skirting around what remained of the small demon. Its body lay next to the fire. She took a long branch and pushed the coals closer to burn the charred remains.

  Amanda piled on more wood, and Dylan threw little sticks on the fire. Everyone stayed well away from the dead demon. The glossy shrubs, battered and broken from the fight, burned well. Their smoke smelled oily and pungent, like eucalyptus. The scent helped ground her again.

  She tried not to look at the demon’s remains while continuing to tend the fire. Mira concentrated on her circle and calming herself. Her arms shook with fear. That thing had nearly killed them. There would have been no way she alone could have stopped it.

  Her eyes met Amanda’s horror-filled ones. Her sister sat on the blanket holding Dylan to rock him. The faeries circled around them, singing soothingly. This act was one of the first motherly things Amanda had done since she lost her soul.

  Edward’s continued absence combined with the tortured voices of family and friends, compromised her ability to be present and hold the circle.

  Griffin spent most of the night standing in the doorway to her cave. She looked like a granite statue.

  Amanda dozed, waking now and then, yelling. Dylan whimpered in his fitful sleep.

  Mira tended the fire, pacing and holding the circle. She wondered where Edward was. Why had the large demon defended them and was it connected with Edward?

  The smaller demon’s remains finished roasting into charred chunks. The smell of the burning flesh and bones made her queasy.

  As Mira stood against the rock wall by the mouth of Griffin’s cave, she also started to doze off. Then jolted awake. The demon’s carcass shifted and became engulfed in an aberrant blue flame. It sent up a screeching orange flare that lit the sky like streaking fireworks. Mira shuddered with horror. She walked around the circle, shaking. Dylan bolted awake and sobbed. Amanda tried to comfort him.

  Morning birds started calling. Lilac tinted the sky, setting off coral and pink clouds. Mira heard a thud a few yards away and looked up to see Edward, dust himself off and walk towards the dwindling fire.

  “Tripped,” he said, trying to warm his paws by the embers in a very human like gesture. She noticed where large chunks of hair had been torn out and bloody patches of skin remained. He looked as exhausted as she felt.

  “What happened to you?” she asked. Again, she wondered if he was connected to the demon who defended them.

  “I will heal,” he said. “And we are all alive?”

  “Yes, but the horses are gone,” she said.

  “Perhaps they’ll return.”

  “I hope so,” said Mira. “We can’t get far without them. And I want to get far far away from here.”

  “It is not this place that is the problem. Your troubles will continue to follow you.”

  She sighed. He was right, but she would still be glad to leave the demon behind. She pushed the thought from her mind and almost gagged, remembering the bloody, violent death. She wanted to never eat meat again, the smell would always remind her of that demon.

  Griffin reappeared at the door of her cave. Her tawny fur marred by cuts and torn
skin. “You did well last night,” she said to Mira.

  Mira nodded in response. Dylan wandered over to talk to Griffin, but Mira couldn’t hear what he said. Griffin bowed her head, and Dylan touched the feathers of her wings with an awestruck look on his face. Griffin seemed to be smiling at him. Did beaks smile?

  Amanda got up and handed her some granola bread, but Mira shook her head no. She offered some to Edward, who took it, and then some to Griffin.

  “No, I won’t eat until my eggs are hatched,” she bowed in thanks. “I prefer more meat to grain in my diet anyway.”

  Mira wandered over to the mouth of the cave, mostly to get away from the fire and its contents. She was still shaky from the attack and being near Griffin felt safe. “I’ve never met a griffin before yesterday. Do all of you live in caves?”

  “Oh no, many of us nest high in the mountains. It is a matter of preference. I like a nice, dry cave to raise babies in. And as the pooka so accurately said, there are many foul things about these days. You felt the wards placed around the mouth of this cave.”

  “Yes, I felt them, but they felt old and unused.”

  “So they would, they are not meant for you. They are meant for evil things, such as the Queen’s spies and assassins.”

  “Why would the Queen want to harm you?” asked Mira, confused.

  “Does she truly not know?” Griffin asked Edward.

  He shook his head, “She does not know.”

  Griffin turned to Mira and said, “Since the beginning of time people have found gold and jewels in the land. Those with power gained more gold and jewels than those with little power.”

  Mira nodded, and leaned against a wall. She was ready for a story.

  “For turns upon turns the griffins guarded the gold and jewels. Many of those riches were gathered at the Palace of the Black Opal. The griffins took their work seriously. Never did a thief get past us.”

  “After a time, however, it became clear to us that the Queen did not fully appreciate our work. It became ever clearer that she had no intention of naming an heir to renew the vitality of the land and keep the connection with the Black Opal fresh. We stood among those who asked her to step down.”

  “When she refused we left the city taking as much gold and jewels as we could carry, to hold in trust for the next ruler. We set up a network of thieves who have slowly siphoned off the rest of it for us. More than three-fourths of the Queen’s Treasury has made its way out of the palace and is distributed around the country side, held in trust.”

  She continued, “There is an old legend that griffins always guard gold Not all griffins guard gold and not all gold is guarded by griffins. In my case, it is. Some of her spies have followed me. Over the turns, as the Queen became more evil, her treasury shrank and she became more desperate. We await the next ruler, as do the pooka,” Griffin said looking intently at Edward. He affirmed this. Griffin looked thoughtful. “You have earned a right to see this. Please come in.” She stood back and gestured smoothly with one of her wings, beckoning them inside the glowing room.

  “These walls,” said Mira, slowly understanding, “are made of gold.”

  “Yes.”

  She leaned forward and looked around Griffin’s cave in wonder. Everywhere was gold inlay, mosaics of gold and decorated with gemstones. This cave looked as amazing as the dragon cave, but with completely different art work. Herds of unicorns in many colors danced across the walls, filling grasslands. Dragons in all shapes and hues wove around clouds in the purple light. Two golden moons moved across that sky. Mira was sure she would never see so much gold again in her entire life. “Did you do this?”

  “Yes, one needs something to do while eggs hatch.”

  Mira shook her head in wonder. The horror of the night melted a little by looking at such beautiful art. “Will the Queen give up her throne, do you think?”

  “Not willingly. However she will give it up. The land must have a new ruler, a new partner, or it will fail. One thing for certain, she will not be using this gold to buy more evil,” said Griffin flapping her wings with great satisfaction as she settled on her eggs.

  “Why are you telling us this? How do you know we aren’t spies?”

  Griffin gave a grim, growling laugh. “After her attack of you last night and my reading of you, I am very satisfied that you aren’t. I feel a great anger towards the Queen from this one,” she said, nodding at Amanda. “We clearly face the same direction.”

  Three faeries fluttered in through the door and Griffin looked at them as if receiving an unexpected gift. They buzzed around Dylan and then back out the cave opening.

  Dylan said haltingly, “Fahy say horses here.”

  Mira ran outside. There stood the two mares, looking exhausted and dusty. They had a few cuts. She put her arms around the bay mare and whispered into her mane. “I’m so glad to see you safe.” The mare nickered in return.

  Mira and Amanda fed the horses and groomed them, tending their wounds and untangling branches and twigs from their manes and tails. Amanda’s gray mare shook her whole body, then stood by the saddles, looking at Amanda.

  Dylan openly admired Griffin as she talked with Edward. The humans saddled up and mounted.

  As they were about to set off, Griffin handed a small, purple bag to Mira with her eagle talons, and said, “This is for you. I am sure you will use it well. Once you are in the city, if you need help, ask for Jacob the farrier. If he cannot help you, he will know others who can.”

  “Thank you,” said Mira, looking into the bag to see several gold coins and a few things that looked like large gemstones. She tucked the jingling bag away in her pocket.

  Griffin bowed at them and retreated into her cave.

  They continued down the road which left the mountains and began its trek through the foothills. Most of the hills stood tall enough to hide a two-story house behind.

  Mira said, “We have at least two more nights before we get to the castle. How will we stay safe?”

  Edward answered, “Once we come close enough to the city there will be hordes of people around to hide in. As for tonight, we will have to do what we have to do.”

  They rode in silence. The ache in her muscles lessened. She felt on edge, but beyond exhaustion, having gained a second or maybe a third wind.

  Up and down and around they went past the rolling hills. There were no trees. Only a few wild roses and other thorny thickets clustered here and there; otherwise mostly grasses and flowers covered the ground. The sky above spread out above them when they stood on top of a hill. She rarely saw any clouds. Only in the morning and that once on the afternoon of the rainstorm. She wondered if it snowed here or rained often. Or did plants get water some other way?

  Edward walked beside Mira’s horse. His head came up to her elbows. “Are you not afraid to go to the city and try to recover your sister’s soul?”

  “I’m terrified,” she said. “I don’t know what to do, or how to do it. My magic isn’t that strong and I certainly don’t know how to confront the Black Queen.”

  “Perhaps you will not have to,” said Edward, his head cocked to one side.

  “But I’m still scared and exhausted. I’ve always just wanted to use magic to help people, read tarot cards or runes and give them healing herbs. Not anything this big.”

  “You will help heal your sister by doing this.”

  “Yes, that’s true,” said Mira. “I just don’t think I’m strong enough to do this.”

  “You are very powerful.”

  “I don’t feel powerful,” said Mira

  “You matched the Queen’s elementals last night” he said, shrugging his furry shoulders. “Surely you have, what would you call it in your world, a lover, a beloved, a consort, who could see your power and mirror it back to you? Then you would know what I say is true.”

  Mira laughed. “Any of my boyfriends couldn’t know I did magic. My world isn’t anything like yours. Those of us who do magic need to hide it, either that o
r we’re laughed at, dismissed as fakes. They used to lock us up or burn us to death. Anyway, all my boyfriends treated me badly.”

  “Why is that? Surely you do not enjoy being treated badly?” asked Edward.

  “I guess I felt that I wasn’t worth treating well,” said Mira.

  Edward made a tsking noise. “You are an extraordinary woman and worth being treated like royalty.”

  Mira could only answer his extravagant praise with silence.

  At lunch she went through the ritual of giving Amanda her infusion in the water and hoping she drank it all.

  “It tastes funny,” Amanda complained as usual.

  “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto,” replied Mira.

  Dylan was unusually quiet. “What’s up little man?” she asked as she put him back up in the saddle.

  “Mama,” he said, wistfully, looking at Amanda who was already mounted and riding off.

  “Yeah, I know, she’s sick and not acting like she used to. Hopefully, in a few days we can get her well, go home and get things back to normal.”

  “Good,” he said.

  As they passed over the top of another hill, Dylan pointed to smoke coming from behind a hill up ahead.

  “Does anyone live out here?” she asked the pooka.

  “I do not know of any humans who do. Perhaps it is someone’s cook fire. Would you be more comfortable off the road?” he asked.

  “No. We were bound to meet someone sooner or later, the road feels more secure. Let’s just keep going,” she said, hoping she had not made another mistake.

  As they passed behind the hill they saw a green stone wall the size of a huge tour bus. It turned blue, then red. Even more amazing, it moved when their horses nervously whinnied.

  The stones were actually scales. The wall was a dinosaur. No. A dragon. Eyeing them, it raised its wings and head. From its open jaws the dragon shot fire and smoke straight up in the air and a terrible bellow shook the air. Afterwards, the creature dropped its head, making the ground tremble.

  Mira felt Dylan jump off the back end of Shadow. The mare bolted forward in surprise. Mira barely managed to keep her seat. Amanda struggled to keep her horse under control, forcing the pooka to quickly jump out of the way.