The Lost Witch

  "Monsters behind and lava in front. Great plan Sylphwood."

  "Would you just shut up Martin. I need to think."

  "Ret reet."

  "I know, I know, I see it."

  "What?" Zack said.

  "The vortex."

  "Out there?"

  Carole pointed towards center right of the mountain. "Maybe a mile away."

  "Ground level?"

  "More or less."

  "We can't go out there!" Martin argued.

  "Yes we can! We won't get a another chance at that vortex."

  "And what about the dragons? "

  "The lava is moving very fast," Lilly added.

  "Right, if the dragons don't get us, the volcano will."

  Carole rubbed her forehead. "Martin, all you've done since we got here is bellyache. We're all in the same boat, but you don't see Zack or Lil complaining. "

  "Are you all right, Carole?" Lilly said quietly.

  "How could anybody be alright in this place? Let's go!"

  "Come on Runt." She began sliding down the hill.

  After a few tentative steps, Runt grunted and trotted onto the plain.

  "You three. Get moving!" Carole ordered.

  The heat was almost unbearable. Carole, who'd surreptitiously begun to glide, was finding it difficult to breathe. The anger she'd been battling for hours was threatening burst out of her. It was all she could do to not scream at the others.

  The lava, though it had reached the valley floor, didn't seem to be slowing any. "Pick it up!" she directed.

  "Lava shouldn't be...so fast." Zack huffed. "Ground's level."

  "Heat must be... helping it along," Martin wheezed.

  "Vortex?" Lilly said, breathlessly.

  Carole fought to relax her vision enough to see the swirling tunnel. "Dead ahead. Don't slow down."

  Runt was maintaining a dogged pace, though his skin gleamed and his tongue hung limply out of one side of his mouth. Martin was grabbing at his side, and Lilly's hair was plastered across her face. The lava was fast approaching. If that rolling fire reached the vortex first...

  Carole bit her tongue to keep from screaming. Her friends were doing all they could, and yelling wouldn't help matters. But it was going to be close, really close.

  A prickly sensation gripped her neck. She looked back over her shoulder. A dark mass was soaring over the treetops behind them.

  "Where tunnel?" Zack rasped. "Lava's almost here!"

  As if in answer, a challenging roar echoed across the plain.

  "Drop your gear and run for it!"

  Lilly, Zack and Martin shed their packs and sprinted away. Carole also dropped her rucksack, but instead of joining her friends, she wheeled to face the approaching dragon. When it bellowed again, she brandished her staff like a sword, screamed a challenge, and charged.

  The dragon arrowed towards her like a missile. She waited until the last possible moment before pivoting ninety degrees and dashing away. Flames licked her heels, but the dragon's fire missed its mark, and its claws scraped harmlessly across barren rock.

  Her friends were almost to the vortex. Runt would lead them home.

  The dragon came at Carole again. Once more she charged, knowing that this time she wouldn't be able to dodge its flame. The beast was too big, too fast. In a fit of desperate fury, she swung her staff and screamed.

  A bolt of lightning blasted through the air. Her hands went numb. For a moment, she couldn't see. And then the dragon pulled up, and Carole ducked beneath.

  The dragon spun after her, but its charge was intercepted by a golden blur that came streaking across the plain.

  Little Flamer flashed past the beast, spitting fire directly at its eyes.

  The dragon retaliated with fire and claw, but Little Flamer was already spitting a fiery stream directly into its ear.

  Carole raced towards the vortex as her companions vanished into it, only yards ahead of advancing lava. Without breaking stride, she scooped up her pack and vaulted over the lava.

  For one brief moment she felt as though her body would burst into flame, but then the vortex grabbed hold and sucked her into its cool gray interior.

  The ride was as wild as the last time. She shot out the other end and stumbled onto the ground, utterly exhausted. Scattered around her lay her friends, gasping for breath like beached fish.

  "You made it!" Lilly finally said. "I was so scared, Carole. I thought that dragon..."

  "Not this time," she wheezed. "Thanks to Little Flamer."

  * * *

  - 27 -

  "Unhh, let me sleep." Carole rolled over, trying to ignore the wet, snuffly nose. "Come on Runt, I'm beat." The pig continued licking her face and grunting insistently, until she gave up. "All right already, I'm up." She pushed herself to her knees and stared into total darkness. "Aw Runt, couldn't it have waited 'til morning? I ache from head-to-toe."

  "Reet, rit wriit reeet!" Runt's snorts were hushed.

  "What do you mean?" Adrenaline surged through her body. Instantly, the remaining grogginess was banished from her mind. She whispered, "Are you sure? I didn't feel a thing."

  "Reet!"

  "When?" The enveloping darkness had become menacing. She reached out until her fingers closed firmly around her staff.

  "Reet rit."

  "What about the others?" She extended her free hand, accidentally poking Runt in the snout.

  "Ret!"

  "Sorry." Though he was only inches away, Carole couldn't even make out his shape.

  Close by someone moaned softly.

  "Lil, is that you? What's the matter?"

  "Don't feel well," she mumbled sleepily.

  "I guess she didn't puke this time," Carole said. "That's something, anyway. How'd the boys manage?"

  "Reet ret!"

  "What do you mean they're not here?"

  Runt let out a sigh.

  "They should know better than to wander off alone. Especially after what we've just been through."

  "Rit reet, ret."

  Carole's stomach lurched. "You sure?"

  "Rit."

  She worried her bottom lip. If they'd been left behind that was one thing, but if they were lost somewhere out there? Her stomach twisted half a turn more. "I don't like the feel of this place, at all."

  Runt pressed into her side.

  "Why don't you test the air. Maybe they're not too far off."

  "Reet, reet."

  "Well do it again. Please."

  Runt sniffed and snuffled.

  A wailing cry sounded in the distance.

  "What was that?" Lilly sounded very much awake.

  "Don't know and I don't think we want to know."

  "Carole? Where are you?"

  "Over here."

  "Where? I can't see a thing."

  She snagged Lilly's big toe. "Right here."

  "Ow, not so hard! Where's Zack and Martin?"

  "Haven't a clue. We three made another leap. I'm not sure about the boys. Runt can't smell them."

  A second cry echoed in the dark. Lilly scrambled closer, bumping heads with Carole.

  "Ouch!"

  "Sorry. Was that a werewolf?"

  "Doesn't sound like one. But I think we should find shelter, just in case. Runt?"

  The pig sniffed the air currents again, and this time grunted with satisfaction.

  "Good work. Come on, Lil."

  "But what about the boys?"

  "Us stumbling around in this dark isn't going to help them."

  "Isn't that what we're about to do now?"

  "No, we're stumbling away from whatever's making that noise. If Zack and Martin are out there, they're probably holed up somewhere safe and sound."

  Runt started off, walking slowly and stopping every few feet to sniff the air. Carole, followed the sound, and Lilly, holding tightly to Carole's pack, brought up the rear.

  Since she couldn't see anything anyway, Carole decided to focus on Martin and Zack. If they really were in this realm,
perhaps she could connect with them through a linking. She took a deep breath, reached out with her mind and immediately sensed fear--

  "Rit!" Runt yelped.

  She flinched, immediately losing her connection. "What?"

  "Reet, ret."

  "Just be careful. The last thing we need is for you to trip and break a leg or something."

  Carole was almost certain she'd linked to the boys. She tried again, sensing, reaching--

  "Ow!" Lilly yanked on her pack, jerking her backwards. "Sorry. Stubbed my toe on something."

  "Rit!"

  "Yikes!" Lilly stumbled into Carole.

  "Hold up a second." Carole ran her hands over the ground. It was littered with sharp, stony rubble. "Oh boy. This isn't going to be easy."

  Eventually they made it to softer ground. After a while Carole noticed a pleasant fragrance. "Is that what you're following, Runt? That flowery smell?"

  "Rit," he agreed.

  A little later, she saw a purplish glow ahead.

  Five minutes after that they were standing in a tiny hollow amidst a carpet of lavender hued flowers.

  "Bioluminescence," Lilly said. "I read about it. Plants and animals creating their own light. Like fireflies. Such a wonderful smell."

  Runt thrust his snout amongst the pulsing petals and inhaled deeply. "Ret rit reet!"

  "I agree." Carole ran her fingers over the blooms. "Good job, Runt. At least now we'll be able to see anything trying to sneak up on us." She sat at the edge of the patch. "I don't know about you two, but I'm hungry. Want some oat cakes?"

  A little later Lilly was massaging her toes, Runt was relaxing and she was staring out at the dark. "I think I owe you guys an apology."

  Lilly looked up. "What for?"

  "For the way I acted in that dragon realm. I was... Well, pretty beastly to you guys, especially to Martin."

  "Oh. That's okay, we were all kind of grumpy."

  "No, it was more than that. The place really got to me, right from the moment we landed. And at the end there, I wanted to battle that dragon. I know it sounds crazy, but I was just so angry..."

  "You saved us, Carole. I still can't believe it. You took on that dragon so we could get away. I've never seen anything so brave."

  "Stupid, more like. I took a lot of stupid risks."

  "That worked."

  "This time."

  "The thing is, now you know what these places can do, so you're better prepared."

  "Maybe. Anyway, I just wanted you to know, in case I don't get a chance to tell you later."

  Lilly gave her a hard stare.

  "You two get some rest," Carole said. "I'll take first watch."

  Lilly lay down and instantly fell asleep. Runt also stretched out amongst the flowers, but didn't close his eyes.

  "What's up?"

  "Rit ret."

  "Yeah, this place creeps me out too, though I'm not exactly sure why. I mean besides the fact that it's dark and full of howling things. Still, you'd better get some shuteye, too Runt, because you've got next watch."

  Runt flopped onto his side and soon his breathing was as relaxed and rhythmic as Lilly's.

  To stave off her own fatigue, Carole decided to try to locate the boys again, through another linking. She centered herself, and reached out with her mind, this time allowing it to connect with anything and everything.

  Her first impression was that their flowery glen was actually an oasis of peace in a desert of fear. There were other havens like this one, but all were insignificant when compared to the vastness of their surroundings, a landscape full of dreadful things.

  A landscape upon which Martin and Zack were now wandering.

  Carole could sense tiny dangers circling the boys, and something else, something larger and infinitely more wicked.

  She called out with her mind, trying to warn the boys; to direct them her way. Instead of Martin and Zack, the wickedness became aware of her presence.

  Her eyes snapped open. Had she been dreaming? No, she was certain. Despite her fatigue, she believed what her mind had seen. And she now understood how deadly this dimension was, to all of them.

  But even here where sunlight probably never touches the ground, beauty and light have managed to push the darkness back a little. She ran her fingers through the flowers, breathing in their calming fragrance.

  She had to try again to locate the boys and any vortex she could find, no matter where it went. They had to escape before it was too late. Any place, any other dimension was better than this one.

  She closed her eyes and began to concentrate. From far off, that eerie cry again reached her ears, only this time she understood its meaning.

  The hunt was on.

  * * * *

  "Get down!" Zack grabbed Martin's arm and pulled. "Behind this prickly thing."

  Martin collapsed to the ground and felt his way through the foul smelling thicket. Both he and Zack were panting, breathing into their shirts to muffle the sound, and both were straining their ears for the slightest sound of pursuit.

  Then he heard it. Faint at first, but becoming louder and more distinct. It was an odd shuffling, slapping noise, moving first this way and then that. Always getting closer.

  A loud wailing cry startled him. Whatever was doing the shuffling, burst into hideous cackling and headed off in the direction the cry had come from.

  "Whew!" he said. "They're getting closer all the time. I thought we were goners for sure."

  "Don't I know it. Our only hope is to find another patch of those flowers."

  "Come on, let's get going."

  They wormed out from under the bush. After listening intently, they moved silently off.

  * * * *

  "Go!" Martin and Zack sprang from the shallow depression and tried to walk quickly but stealthily away. The unearthly snuffling grew insistent, almost frantic. Something suddenly broke into a loud, wailing howl.

  "Run for it!"

  They blindly sprinted away at full speed as the darkness exploded into a hideous racket behind them.

  "There!" Martin stumbled over a rock. He pulled heavily on Zack's arm to keep from falling. "Light! Must be flowers."

  They altered course, but the hunters were closing.

  * * * *

  "What should we do?" Carole asked herself as she looked around the glen. "Wait here, where we can see? Make a run for it?" She crouched beside Runt and listened to the growing din. Whatever was making those sounds was definitely excited and definitely moving closer.

  "Time to wake up Lil."

  "Do you think they know we're here?" Lilly said, when Carole had told her the situation.

  "Hard to say, but something's got them real excited."

  They were standing at the edge of the glen peering into the dark, eyes shielded from the flower light.

  "Reeet!"

  "Where? Oh, I see them. Two in the lead and lots more following."

  "Those aren't creatures," Lilly said. "It's Martin and Zack. But look what's chasing them!"

  "Come on Runt, we've got to help!" Raising her staff like a lance, Carole screamed a challenge and glided towards the boys.

  As she closed in on Zack, she heard him cry, "No! We're surrounded."

  "Martin, Zack, this way!"

  "Carole, It's you!" Zack yelled.

  "The flowers!" Martin screamed. "They can't stand the flowers!"

  "Keep going. We'll hold them off!" Carole flashed past.

  Something separated from the dark and barreled towards Martin. She angled over, swinging her staff with all her might. The creature stumbled backwards, letting out a ghastly screech. A second and much larger form closed in from the other side. Runt barked a warning and she darted over in time to give it a solid whack, between the horns. This creature crumpled without a sound. Runt foiled a third attempt on the boys by tripping up a scrawny beast and sending it sprawling.

  A ball of violet light came bobbing through the dark. With a wail of agony, the shadowy pack of hunters br
oke off their attack.

  "Here," Lilly called, "everybody take some." She passed around the flowers she held. "I heard what Martin said," she said by way of explanation. "You too, Runt. Take a bunch in your mouth."

  Runt swung around to receive his flowers. Before he could, something huge and black and scary swooped past. He let out a terrified squeal and vanished into the dark.

  "Runt!" Lilly screamed.

  Carole raced after him. She returned a few moments later, empty-handed. "I couldn't find him. And those things are gone, all of 'em. Just melted away as if they were never even here."

  "We can't abandon Runt."

  "I'm not about to," Carole said with determination, "but we can't run blindly after him. They're probably hoping that's what we'll do. First, we need to know more about what we're up against."

  "You saw them," Martin said. "That was a pack of demons; horns, tails and all."

  * * *

  - 28 -

  As all four of them entered the luminescent hollow the boys collapsed to the ground and readily accepted Lilly's offer of food and water.

  "So what happened?" Carole demanded, barely giving them time to swallow their first mouthful. "There's no time to waste."

  "Not much to tell," Zack choked out. "Woke up and discovered we were alone. Stumbled around in the dark awhile before figuring out we'd fallen into another dimension, and then crashed the demons' party."

  "Party?" Lilly said.

  "We heard sounds," Martin said, "and thought it might be you, so we checked it out."

  "Cautiously," Zack added.

  "Very cautiously," Martin agreed. "When we got close enough we saw it wasn't you guys at all but those demons jumping around a weird bonfire. Strangest fire I've ever seen. The flames were blood red. Anyhow, we were lying on the top of this hill watching them, but somehow they got wind of us and the next thing we're running for our lives."

  "How'd you know about the flowers?"

  "Stumbled through a bunch," Zack said, "and instead of following us, the demons held back and began wailing and screaming as if the light actually hurt. We went out the other side, and after a while they came after us again. But the flower patch gave us enough of a head-start to make it here."