ELO

by E. A. Cross

  Derren sobbed. "I'm dying, Bree. Ara has nothing left." Ara snapped, arguing. "I can take care of myself, father…" He took a drink of his wine from a gourd that he wore around his chest. He hissed, "No, you can't. You were never taught how to take care of yourself, not in the outside world."

  Ara snapped, "I fish every day. I take care of you."

  Bree spoke quietly and signed, "When your father dies, they will drive you out of the village. You are a sign of bad luck to them. You will be homeless and forced to survive in the city."

  Ara glared at her. "How do you know..."

  Bree said quietly, signing, "If our grandmother had not been the village healer, they would have done the same to me."

  Ara spat, "Your name's a curse, Auntie."

  Derren yelled, "Yours will be to if you don't listen."

  Ara burst into tears. "Daddy, your not going to die..."

  Derren reached for Bree, Bree let him hold her hand. He said, " I went to grandmother's house before my right eye went. I looked around. Everything was burned, but this it was on grandmother's body. She wanted you to have it. It had your name in the back."

  He hacked "Ara, bring her the book."

  Ara got up and left the room. She returned with a dusty tome."It's our genealogy, dating back to the saint we descended from. Take the book Bree, Im sorry for what I did to you." Bree cried, she held the book weeping. She said, "Derren, I want to hate you for how stupid you are, but I can't. I love you." Her voice was broken; she embraced her brother. He wept into her shoulder. "Bree, take my daughter when I die. Raise her to be like you..."

  Bree placed her hands on him, she tried to heal him, but nothing happened. Instead, she began wailing. She said, "Why...why can't I heal you?" Derren said, " Bree… I'm too far gone. I already feel one foot in the grave. I dream of a forest every night. A forest of white deer, isn't that one of the signs grandmother talked about? that my soul was leaving my body..."

  Bree covered her sobbing mouth. Ara watched tears running down her face. Bree said, "Derren, you're too young to die," Derren said, "Bree, we were always done for. I didn't know it, but the slaver machines have been attacking all the villages outside of the cities. They're picking our people off systematically." Bree held him, he said, "just make your peace with me and leave. Take Ara with you."

  Bree stroked his forehead. "I will come back, I swear. I can't take her just yet. Give me a few days, please. I need to prepare a place for her. It's nice, I live in a forest, I have a new family there." Bree dried her brother's face. "Derren, I met a man. I love him more than anything. I promise...I will be back for Ara in a fortnight; we will raise her like our own." Derren cried for his daughter; he cried for Bree and then himself.

  Bree wiped her face, she said, "I forgive you, Derren."

  Derren sobbed dryly into her shirt. He said, " I love you, Bree."

  Bree replied, " I love you too."

  After another hour of sitting with her dying brother, Bree got up. She promised once more to return for Ara. Ara said nothing just looked at her dying father, tears running down her face. Bree left the hut, the villagers watched her. They where confident Bree was a man. Perhaps they thought this strange man had come to buy the girl from her father. They returned to their work, ignoring Bree as she passed through them and back up the hill to where the Spirit of the King waited. Bree followed the King into the darkness. She asked, "I can come back for her, right?" The King said, "Certainly, all realms lead to the forest. Tharin should be able to take you when the time comes." The portal closed behind Bree, she walked in the darkness with the King. She asked, "how do I defeat the darkness..." The King simply said, "You believe in your magic. You believe in your spirit and that I'm there with you, giving you strength." Bree opened her eyes; she was in the catacombs. Tharin coughed, hacking his lungs out. Bree lifted her shirt. The fairy seed was gone, but she felt it inside her, beating as her heart. She also felt a power in her veins, Bree cried. "Thank you." She thanked the fairy queen, she thanked the King for breathing new life into her. She sat up, watching Tharin, who was beginning to regain consciousness. She spoke, signing as green letters hovered over her head. She said, "Tharin, wake up; we have to save the others."

  Chapter 29

  Tharin was finally awake. Bree told him everything, and unsurprisingly, he took it all in stride. He said, "So, the power of the queen is inside you." He touched her chest above her heart. "I can feel it, fascinating. Bree, you have the power of a fae". Bree took a deep breath. Tharin said, "We need to get out of here. You need to use the queen's power to reopen the portal." She muttered, "I don't know how to do that..." Tharin looked at her. He said, "for now, trust your instinct. The fae used their magic instinct before we even start schooling, you must learn what your magic feels like." Bree looked doubtful; she was trembling with nervousness. "Just ask the queen," Tharin said kindly. "She is still alive inside you." Bree held Tharin's hand. She closed her eyes. "Get us out of here, please I must help Faelorn." The world shifted around them, the queen's power pulsed. Bree opened her eyes.

  Bakura and Joltrun startled as Bree and Tharin appeared through a portal. Bree looked around; they were inside the cave. All of the faes were crammed inside; even the white deer had to stand ankle-deep in the spring. The ground was shaking outside, and Bree heard a monsterous roar that made the earth tremble. Tharin flinched, fairies wailed with fear.

  Bree could understand them. She listened to a fairy say, "He's coming for us. The spirit of Uhu'rue is no more" Cael was the first to run up to her. He said, "Bree, Bree… your home." She heard him speak. The woodling climbed up her shoulder. Bree hugged him, bursting into tears. She signed, and the letters changed in shape. Her magical voice changed to that of the fae language. She said, "Cael, I love you so much..." Cael stared at her and the dancing green letters. He spoke; his voice sounded like the whisper of leaves.

  He said, "You speak the language of the fae?" Bree wiped her eyes and signed. She said, "Now, I do."

  Bakura approached her. Elo was too far and surrounded by too many faes to make her way over. Bakura stared in disbelief she said, "Bree, Tharin, how..." Bakura sobbed. Bree wiped her face. "It's the fairy seed. The queen's seedling replaced my heart; she's keeping me alive. " Bree swallowed. Bakura shook her head in amazement. "The miasma has consumed all infected fae, it still in the forest, and any creature that it turned is corrupted." Bree felt a surge inside her; she heard the queen's voice. "We must fight back, and then you and I will defeat Faelorn; we will drive the Evil One from him."

  Bree agreed, determined. She stood center of the cave; she spoke, trusting the queen's voice inside her. She signed and heard the queen's voice in the letters that danced around her. Bree and the queen adressed the refugees. "My fellow fae, we must fight for our home. We must chase-out the darkness; now is not the time for fear. For fear, feeds evil." The fae looked at her, they understood Bree's voice, and they heard the fairy queen speaking. "My fairies, come to me and let us drive the evil one from our home." The fairy's rallied around Bree. Bree left the cave compelled by the queen. An army of fae followed Bree outside of the cavern. Tharin jogged up to her pushing past fairies and large fae that followed. He said,“I haven’t had time to recover. I going to my machine to synchronize with Yavi. That will get it up and running. Then I will do what I can to help with the fight.” Bree watched him sprint to his mechanical dragon that still lay outside of the cave, its jaw extended waiting for its pilot.

  Joltrun stood alone in the field. He accessed his full power, the last piece of the spirit that was alive in him. He knew his chance of surviving or even beating the terrible creature before him was impossible. The creature heading his direction was the size of a mountain. He was all of nature twisted to an awful will. Faelorn was a massive deer skull with glowing eyes, his body shaped like a serpent, his torso was that of a man, the creature was made of vines and rotting bereaved. The beast roared and tossed aside trees, tearing them from the roots. Joltrun stood, transforming
into a buffalo. He taunted, "If you want my spirit, then you will have to pry it from my corpse." The creature hearing him screamed it was the sound of a thousand dead voices. The forest dissolved where it slithered, animals fled and died. Joltrun did not move but stood defiantly.

  Suddenly Bakura was beside him. "Bakura, go back to the spring…" Bakura shook her head. "No, there is still hope. We will all fight, I am with you. If we die, we die protecting our realm, however small it may be" Bakura held out her staff, and the field erupted in golden fire. She transformed and reared, calling a war cry. Fairies swarmed around Bree, and Joltrun stood in amazement. When Bree glanced at him, he saw the fairy queen in her eyes. Fae large and small followed Bree. Brightly colored predators and a single hibistusk that she had read about and only seen in pictures. They all emerged from the cave where they had been hiding. Bree felt fae moving beneath the ground or flying above her.

  Feanu flew overhead, calling to all the other flying fae to fight. Bree recognized Tharin's many flying friends circling above her. Bree armed herself with her bow. Elo spotting her running to her. She cried, "Bree… you're alive. Bakura told me you were dead." The doe had tears in her eyes. She kneeled for Bree to mount her back. She said, "Come on, let's go after Faelorn together; we can save him." Bree mounted, green light surged on her fingertips. Bree murmured in Elo's ear. "We need to get my heart back. Its the source of the miasma. It's inside the coffin." Elo stared at the massive creature that was Faelorn. She said, "But, where is the coffin?" Bree's vision, enhanced by the queen's power, could see a black knot in the beast's chest. "It's there, where his own heart should be, I can feel it with the queen's senses. We need to get his chest close to the ground." Joltrun said gravely, "Bakura and I could maim him, perhaps slice into his lower torso. It would just be temporary, the creature regenerates." Joltrun turned to her, his voice was mournful. "Faelorn is still inside; he's chained to the coffin. He's the vessel for his mother and brother. I can feel it; I'm connected to them. All around him that you see. That is the spirit of Uhu'rue, but it's corrupted. The spirit is possessed by the demon that's working with Faelorn's brother."

  Bree swallowed, her mouth was dry, the hideous creature roared, stepping in their direction. She signed, "I can command the fae, the queen is alive inside me, we can work together. It's best if we all attack together." Bakura tossed her head. She said, "We have no choice; the creature will be upon the spring soon. If we're going to fight, it has to be right now." Bree urgently signed to the army of fae behind her.

  "Alright, knock him down," Bree called the fae. " When he has fallen down attack as one, protect us so that we can get to his heart." Bree riding on Elo's back, let out a cry; it was the queen calling to the fairies. The fairy's swarmed around her, and Elo traveled full speed right for the demonic creature that had once been her friend. Bakura and Joltrun both charged after Bree. They split up, encircling the snakelike body of the corrupted monster. Joltrun changed into a creature that looked unlike a tiger and latched on to one side of Faelorn's flank. Predatory fae followed him, tearing into the same side, climbing atop each other as they attacked the spirit's bloated rotting body. Bakura let out a cry and tossed her antlered head. Fire blossomed on the opposite flank, and flames leaped upward, burning into the beasts hide. The small flying fairies went for the monster's face; the beast screeched to the heavens when they began to tear it apart.

  The monster screamed again and was knocked to the ground. Elo leaped, clamoring up its vines, determined to carry Bree to the spot where the coffin lay. The creature's body gave way, and soon Elo was swimming in a sea of rotting black plants, skeletons, and vines. Elo spoke, " Bree, we have to get to the coffin."

  She climbed a fallen tree that was entangled in the mess of rot. Elo threw herself forward. Bree was knocked off; she clung to Elo's side desperately. Fallen bereaved attempted to grab her and Elo, but the fairy queen's magic burned them when they reached for them. Bree determined to push forward despite sinking in the roots, called to the fairies. A group lifted her off the ground, and Bree was placed by the evil one's exposed chest. Joltrun and the predatory fae attacked the creatures flailing arms, keeping them from Bree and Elo. Bakura sang and summoned chains to hold the beast down.

  The creature roared in distress. Bree slashed with her elfin dagger burning away rot with the purity of the metal. Elo dug with her fore-hooves. They both stood knee-deep in rot, with the fairy queens senses, Bree could feel the heart of the miasma beating. Elo was pulled in, Bree followed her, and the dagger and fairy magic burned away the miasma that tried to swallow them. Before them, inside a cave of rot was the coffin, Faelorn's body was chained to it. He was still half-man, half stag. Black corruption obscured his body.

  The icy-eyed demon mask was on Faelorn's face. The demon screeched when it saw Bree. Bree ignored it; she ran to Faelorn's body and cut the chain of black rot that was wrapped around him. With a screech, the creature inside the coffin thrashed. Bree held on to the coffin as Elo transformed to her human self to grip the coffin as the black rot swallowed them. A terrible voice from inside the coffin spoke. She said, "Kill them rise up, dark god." The possesed spirit of Uhu'rue rose from where the fae had knocked him down. He snapped his chains with a screech. Bree and Elo clung to the coffin. Elo looked out of the hole that she and Bree had carved. The ground was hundreds of feet up. Bakura and the rest of the fae retreated towards the cave, ready to surge again. The creature got up as Joltrun attacked, swiping with his claws and climbing the creature's side. The creature screamed as Joltrun stabbed into its lower torso with his neck vines. He bellowed a challenge. The monster knocked Joltrun free, and he slammed into a tree. Joltrun got up and charged, clawing, thrashing, and biting. The lower serpent-like body coiled around Joltrun. He and the possessed spirit of Uhu'rue wrestled. Joltrun wiggled free and tore into the monste'rs sides. Pinning Joltrun, the creature picked him up with one hand and squeezed. Joltrun bellowed in pain as he was crushed and thrown from the monster.

  As the beast thrashed about, both Elo and Bree held onto the coffin. They were secure in the cave of rot, but the coffin began to shake as the wraith inside began to thrash harder. Elfish runes glowed on the coffin as the creature within attempted to escape. Elo pushed down the lid. The seed in Bree's chest pulsed, and the fairy magic kept the rot away. The queen said, "Your healing magic keeps me safe from the miasma so that my magic can power yours," the queen's voice said, " Bree, you need to shatter that mask." Bree climbed the coffin; the mask stared at her. Its ugly face spoke. "Weak, filthy, piglet, sinner..." Bree ignored it. She smashed it with the back of her blade, the mask cracked, and the corrupt spirit of Uhu'rue thrashed and collapsed again, sweeping them into a black sea. Elo and Bree hung on riding the coffin as the roots that held it liquefied and slid. Something inside the coffin screamed, "No...NO NOOOO,"

  The coffin stopped, slowing its momentum and settled into a mess of rot and dead fae. Fairies swarmed around Bree and Elo, keeping undead fae and bereaved away. Bree smashed her blade repeatedly until the mask broke, and she could make out Faelorn's face. Faelorn's eyes were orange, his body was turning to that of a bereaved.

  Elo called to Bree as the coffin shook and trembled. Something was trying to get out. Elo held the casket down, turning into a deer laying with all of her weight. Bree looked at Faelorn. Already the rot of the monster around them was reforming, re-converging to another body without Faelorn at the center. Bree saw that the black tentacle in Faelorn's mouth was pulling his life from him, along with Uhu'rue's spirit. Bree knew that she only had moments. The queen whispered to her, "You need to believe in your spirit Bree. This is your magic. You saved Elo, you changed her from becoming bereaved; you must do the same for Faelorn. I cannot help you here."

  Bree put her forehead to Faelorn's and believed. Her hands glowed with green lighting as she pressed her energy into him, Bree felt herself fall into the blackest of darkness. Elo watched as her friend disappeared, Faelorn's body shuddered. He lay unconscious next to Elo
on the coffin. The ghoul inside the tomb screamed and thrashed. "Rise evil one, I have given you the spirit of Uhu'rue, devour Faelorn, and the spirit is yours forever." Elo couldn't move; she was keeping the coffin shut. She felt helpless as a serpent-like creature erupted from a mass of black rot. It hissed and stood over her. The coffin lid thrashed, and Elo refused to move. A roaring metal creature rocketed past her. It was Tharin in his mechanical dragon. Elo was forced to watch as the elf fought with the rotting monster who brought his great teeth down on the metal dragon. Tharin's dragon opened its mouth and roared lighting. The spirit of Uhu'rue shuddered and convulsed. Bakura attacked, setting the vines upon the serpents back ablaze. Fairies fought, keeping the creature distracted as Tharin began to use the mechanical dragon mouth to saw into its rotting body. In the chaos of the battle, Elo called to Faelorn. "Come on, Faelorn, wake up" The creature in the coffin slammed on the lid. "NO, NO, I will drink your blood and wear your white hide." Elo slammed the lid shut. "Bite me..." She said miserably, "Bree, I hope you know what you doing." Elo prayed as she fought tooth and nail to keep the ghoul inside her tomb.

  *

  Bree was inside the forest, walking. The woods were rotting, and silent not a fae was in sight. She knew she was inside of Faelorn's mind, she reached with her magic signing for light. Her finger sparked with green light, and Bree pushed foward. She heard sobbing; it was the cry of the bereaved. Bree ran, through the trees, cutting away rotting vines with her dagger. She saw him, Faelorn, his eyes shut tight, black blood leaking from his mouth. She cried signing, "Faelorn….Faelorn..."