The Huldra Hostility

by Michael Almich

  The nisse turned to go.

  "Tom T! Is Gust alive?"

  The little creature paused and turned only his head back to Shy.

  "Gustavus is, or was, alive. He is a captive of the Unseelie. The forest near the lake is his prison. You cannot save him now, Shylock. Even if you find a way to return the box, it may be too late. Many have arrived. The forces arrayed against us are immense…. Do not go anywhere alone Shylock."

  He was gone so fast that Eddie gasped again. Shy tried to slowly climb onto his hammock, and was promptly dumped on the floor. He needed to talk with the guys. He needed to bring them up to speed regarding the events of the school year, and that Gust might be alive.

  "Just put your stuff on the table. We gotta go to the Hive." Shy said.

  He opened the trapdoor and looked over at Eddie, who hadn't moved.

  "C'mon," Shy said with a heavy sigh, "this is fun."

  He jumped onto the trampoline net, but even the little burst of adrenaline from the drop couldn't erase the guilty feelings Tom T had raised. As Shy moved to the attached platform to wait for Eddie, he began to consider his options.

  ***

  After a few moments Eddie had followed Shy out the trap door of the Raven. The brown-haired boy with the big nose hadn't yelled, or shown any sign of enjoyment from the unique cabin exit. Shy remembered his first time with a smile. Either this Eddie was really bored, really brave, or really shy. Shy had to admit that, last summer, his first few days at Camp Lac Igam had been pretty overwhelming. Eddie had a lot to learn, and accept, before he would feel comfortable here. As he led Eddie across the ropes and bridges to the platform outside the Hive, he began to wonder what this new kid was all about.

  When they arrived at the platform outside the Hive, Shy picked up speed and made the big leap without a second thought. As he scrambled to get out of Eddie's way, he looked back. He saw the top of the boy's head as he leaned over the edge to inspect the forest floor, far below. Eddie looked up at Shy, thinned his lips, took a couple steps back and made the leap. There was no second guessing, no hesitation. As he watched the boy stand up from his landing and look back, Shy thought he detected a quick look of relief pass across Eddie's face. He's trying really hard to be brave, Shy thought to himself.

  Immediately the two had ice cold glasses of lemonade shoved into their hands by Tad. Shy grabbed his favorite hammock. He had forgotten how pleasant it was relaxing in the Hive, with the breeze through the black screens taking just enough of the edge off of the early summer heat and humidity. He stole a glance at Eddie, as Daniel came and sat next to him. The new kid was now standing alone, uncomfortably aware that many of the boys were staring at him.

  "Eddie, here, grab this bean bag," Shy said as he kicked it across the pine planks. It slid over to his feet. He stared at Shy, and then took a seat.

  "What's his deal?" Daniel leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Why the attitude?"

  "I don't think he has one," Shy replied, also in whispered tones, "I just think it is probably a little much, you know? I mean we weren't best friends the first day last summer. He's just getting to know us."

  "The other guys are already talking about him…. They don't like him… think he's stuck up."

  Shy looked at Daniel. It almost sounded to him like Daniel felt that way too. Shy looked around the room and realized that the boys had broken into groups, whispering away like old gossiping grandmas. Shy didn't know Eddie really at all, but he now started to feel sorry for him. He would have to make sure to include him in everything. He would force him to fit in.

  "Well, like I started to say earlier, you have all heard about Gust by now…" Tad interrupted their thoughts and whisperings.

  The boys turned to face him, leaned back on their bags or hammocks, and waited for the expected story. Shy stole a quick glance at Eddie, he was leaning forward intently, expectantly. He must wonder what all of the fuss was about, Shy thought.

  “Remember back at the Camp Games,” Tad began again, “Shy filled in for Daniel in the long distance race. Well, after all the events that Shy had been involved in, Clancy asked Gust to follow the race and make sure all were safe. He did that. What some of you don't know - I am not sure how much Shy told you all - the girl from the Shore cabins that started the race, Helen, was actually the huldra! The same huldra that Shy and Daniel ran into in the woods earlier in the summer. Huldra are shapeshifters, which means they can use their Glamour to take other forms. You know, they can make themselves look like different things. It is the strongest form of Glamour. Shy wasn't able to see through it because it is such powerful Fey magic. Needless to say, the huldra is very dangerous. It seems that it captured Helen and then changed into her form, so it could attack Shy during the race. You see, guys, that box you found - yes, I know about it - is very important to the Fey. The bad guys, the Unseelie, are after it. They want the recipe and they want the magic that the box contains… That reminds me, Shy, where is the box?"

  "Hidden." He shrugged.

  The boys were all staring at him, including Eddie. He had never told them about what had happened during the race. He had planned to email the story to them, but had gotten too busy. Or, maybe he just didn't want to write that much. Either way, he could see in their eyes the betrayal they felt. Sam looked away. It wasn't that he didn't want them to know, it was just that as soon as he had finished the race, they were called up in front of everyone and awarded the trophy, and then it was time to go. The opportunity to tell them what happened just wasn't there. He supposed they wouldn't see it that way, though.

  "Tom T is watching it… protecting it." He said as he turned his thoughts back to Tad. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Eddie squirm forward in his bean bag.

  "Well, I am not positive that will work for the whole summer, but for now, I guess it is the best option we have. So… back to Gust. In trying to keep an eye on the racers, Gust must have come across the battalion of goblins that the huldra had assigned to guard the captive Shore cabin girl, Helen. Helen told us that he jumped from the trees, grabbed her from her captors, killed two goblins and then led them on a wild chase. She described the goblins for us…" A little shiver ran through Tad at this point as he paused. "From what she said, they look like a cross between a cricket, a bat, and a boar. They have black armor, black tusks, and a black personality. She said they harshly spoke some broken English, just a few words, amongst their chittering. It was enough to get their point across. She said they were threatening to eat her… that they talked to her about how she was going to taste. Needless to say, Helen did not come back this summer.”

  "She also told us though, that Gust carried her to a small crevice in the rocky face of a cliff. He told her to squeeze through the crevice as fast as she could and then run down hill. She did, and it led her directly back to us at the finish line of the race. As she made her way through the crevice, she said she heard terrible sounds of battle behind her. It ended with what sounded like screams from Gust.”

  "We tried to look for him, but couldn't find any signs. We figured that the goblins, or the huldra, had covered their tracks with Glamour. Clancy waited a while, but eventually called in the authorities. There was a search, but nothing was ever found. They eventually called him a missing person." Tad paused. "Eventually Clancy found what Meg and I thought was a ransom note, but by the time she had found it, the deadline had passed… Clancy was oblivious to what it was anyway, so we didn’t fill her in… She simply wouldn’t have believed us… She didn’t believe Helen. She thought she was just a girl trying to get attention, someone who was making excuses for losing her event…”

  Tad paused, and took a solemn breath.

  "I miss him… he was kind of a mentor to me…"

  Shy felt his own eyes begin to tear up as he saw Tad's become glassy. The counselor turned away and looked out of the screens into the forest. Shy found that he was twisting Gust's watch on his wrist. Gust isn't dead, he thought to himself.

  Shy
jumped up.

  "Gust isn't dead!"

  At that Tad turned back to the boys. They were all looking at him.

  "Really… he's not dead," he said as he tried to emphasize his words by making eye contact with the other boys.

  "Shy…. We will all miss him, but…"

  "No! Tom T told me. He isn't dead. They captured him and brought him to the other side of the waterfall! The forest," he was yelling now, as he turned to Daniel, imploring him for support. "The forest that recoiled from me when I looked at it…. That's where he is! Tom T said he is still alive...." Shy quieted when he realized that he must sound hysterical.

  "The nisse told you this?" Tad seemed to be considering the new information. "That's funny…. Do you remember the old man that I often run into at the Paul Bunyan General Store? You know, the one that told me the story about Fred and George, and the fossegrimen? I told you that story last summer."

  Shy saw all the other boys were edging forward now; they were becoming interested.

  "I saw that old man again, a week ago," Tad continued. "We had stopped in to the General Store for some supplies. He said that something was going on in the forest. He pulled me aside and said that he had heard a story of a captive in the forest, and a ransom. He wanted to know what I knew about it. I chalked it up to a senile old man, but maybe the ransom still holds… Shy, didn't you say that it seemed like time passed differently on the other side of the waterfall?"

  Shy shrugged, "Dunno… it was day there but it was night here… maybe…"

  "What if time passes differently,” Tad was getting excited now. "What if we could still ransom him? Or, better yet, rescue him? I need to talk to Meg. You all need to head down to dinner. Who will show Eddie how to use the zip line?"

  The other boys looked at each other, but didn't volunteer. Shy couldn't understand what their problem was. He snorted and raised his hand.

  "Good. Shy you are in charge of getting him down there then. Boys, you got about twenty minutes to be down to dinner. Clancy will introduce that goof Moriarty.” He paused, for a second, and then said, “ You didn't hear me say that, and you do NOT repeat it… understood?"

  It was a sign of his excitement that Tad made the mistake of calling Moriarty a name, Shy realized. He looked at the others and saw a sly smile spread across Sawyer's face.

  "Henry? Sawyer?!" Tad pressed.

  Henry just raised his arms like he was surprised Tad mentioned him, while Sawyer smiled at Finn and said, "You betcha!"

  Tad looked suspiciously at the two, but then continued, "She will also announce our Camp Games’ events for this summer. We have some kickin' events, so start thinking about which you would like to do."

  With that he opened the cabinet, and grabbed a zip line bar.

  "Wait Tad… I have more to tell everyone… about some stuff that happened this past year… stuff I learned." Shy said as he stopped the counselor.

  "After supper Shy, we'll talk tonight. OK?" He didn't wait for an answer. He simply hooked up his zip line bar, and launched himself into the forest. As he zipped away, the boys heard him yell, "TWENTY MINUTESSSS!"

  Chapter Four

  "Looks like Shy is our wolf howler"

  As they took their seats in the Lodge, Shy reflected on his opinion of Eddie yet again. The brown-haired boy had simply flared his big nostrils when Shy had shown him how to ride the zip line. If he had any fear of flying through the forest canopy at high speeds, he had buried it deep. He didn't hesitate. Shy felt like the strange boy had quite a bit more than meets the eye buried deep inside, and wasn't about to open up anytime soon.

  Shy had landed after Eddie in the very same clearing where the pixie-like sylphon had saved Shy and Portia from the Huldra last summer. Eddie's facade of confidence dropped away for a minute. He stared in awe as the bars floated back up the hillside, and simply pointed at it, flared his nostrils again, and pulled on his left ear lobe.

  Shy's vision, as it did quite often now, snapped when he looked towards the sylphon. As always when he saw the pixies, he was taken aback by their beauty and gracefulness. He softly described their wings and beautiful soft features to Eddie. Eventually, entranced, he glanced over at the new boy, who was staring back at him, lips pulled back in a sneer that boys learn at a very early age. Shy realized that he was gushing over the beauty of something that Eddie could not even see. Shy had felt his face get warm, and knew that he was blushing.

  As they waited for the others to come down the zip line, Shy looked over the edges of the clearing, reliving the fear he had felt at discovering he and Portia were surrounded by the beetle black goblins, and the huldra. Shy shivered. He wasn't sure why a creature that looked like a cow was so terrifying, but it was. It really was her eyes, he decided. Her eyes held nothing but ice and fear. She was powerful, too. It was more difficult for his vision to snap past her glamour than any other of the fey creatures he had met.

  After a few minutes of staring into the forest, Shy realized that his friends must not be following right away. They were probably sitting up in the Hive, holding court. He imagined them judging Eddie. Shy hoped they could at least give him a chance. He hoped Eddie, who had now wandered off, could give him a chance too. He probably thought Shy was nuts, staring and drooling at beautiful, flying, invisible fairies, and then staring off vacantly into the forest. He knew it would take Eddie a while to become accustomed to the particular creatures and magic that Camp Lac Igam held.

  He set out for the Lodge, from the clearing, at a quick pace. He didn't particularly like being alone in the forest, not considering all that had happened since last year. It was against the rules, and probably for good reason.

  As he moved south along the path, he thought he caught an occasional glimpse of a pointed red hat. When he would do a double take, and look hard, his vision didn't snap, and there was never anything to be found. Still, by the time he reached the Lodge, he was decidedly on edge.

  Eddie has made his own way to the Lodge, which impressed Shy. After trying to make conversation for a few minutes with no luck, Shy ended up sitting at the table in silence.

  Now, as he sat at his spot at the pine table, he watched the other guys file in. He could tell that the boys had indeed decided they didn't like Eddie. They all talked to Shy, but ignored the new boy who was sitting on the end of the table, across from Sam and next to Daniel. In fact, several of them snickered at the boy as he watched - with his nose wrinkled like he smelled something bad - his name get carved on the table in front of him.

  Just then Clancy attempted to talk to them with her megaphone. As usual, the feedback squealed to the point of making them cover their ears. Once she got it working, she welcomed them all, and introduced Moriarty. She said that he was a Professor of Mythology and Folklore at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. He would be researching claims and folklore of the area, while he assisted with activities in the camp. The boys read between the lines… he was Gust's replacement.

  As she was speaking, he stood and made a small wave to the group. He had a broad smile on his face, but it seemed to Shy that the smile did not reach his eyes. Shy simply couldn't help himself. He took an instant dislike to the pony-tailed professor. His hair was streaked with grey, and straggly. Shy guessed it may be pulled back in that manner so as to cover up a bald spot. The hair wasn't the reason for his innate dislike, though. It had something to do with those eyes. They were sky blue, but held no warmth.

  He looked at the expressions on the other Forest cabin campers, and saw that they were having the same reaction. It struck Shy then that he was making up his mind before he even got to know Morrie, as Clancy referred to him. He was doing exactly what the others had done to Eddie. Exactly what he had criticized them for doing. Maybe he needed to give the professor with the wire-rimmed glasses a second chance. He was probably just thinking about him that way because he was Gust's replacement.

  Clancy pulled Shy from his thoughts with the words, "And now for our Camp Games this summer! They will
be held on the last two days of camp, and the championship will be accompanied by a fabulous prize along with getting your names on the Camp Games Trophy." She pointed to the trophy that now stood on the table behind her before continuing. "The events will be as follows: plant identification, hand fishing (or, trout tickling), kayak racing, bird calls, wolf calling, fire starting, animal track identification, and log chopping! Good luck in your training."

  She went on to cover some camp rules, and Shy quickly lost interest. He looked around the table. The boys were discussing the new events. Shy then allowed himself to look over at the Lake cabin table. Most of the girls were gathered around Claire looking at something in her lap. Mad Meg was ignoring them, instead she was talking animatedly with Tad. Shy guessed he knew what they were talking about… they didn't seem to like Morrie either.

  He turned back to the group huddled around Claire. He tried to see what they were looking at. Portia looked up, saw him, and whispered something to the other girls. Claire was so engrossed in what she was doing, that she didn't even look up. Portia, Kennedi, Arya, and Penelope looked up, however, and waved. Shy immediately turned away like he hadn't seen them. He knew that the blush on his face gave away the lie, and it only got worse when he heard them giggle.

  He then looked over the Cave cabin table. He still hadn't seen Crutch. As he strained to see, he rose out of his seat a bit, and felt cold clammy hands push him back down. He turned and saw that Morrie was behind him.

  "You need to stay sitting until we choose you to get up to get your dinner. This table will now be last thanks to this young man," said Morrie's high-pitched voice.

  The other boys stared at him with no response. Even the smart-mouthed Henry was quiet. Morrie surveyed them all and gave an almost imperceptible nod in the direction of Eddie. Shy caught it and was shocked. Did Eddie know him? What was the nod for?

  Evidently several of the other boys also caught the nod. Henry's mouth hung open for a second as he stared at Eddie. The new boy, for his part, ignored Henry's stare, although Shy noted to himself that it was difficult to ignore the wide eyeballs that were magnified by the thick glasses.