by L. M. Abbott
Josh’s eyes glowed brighter than the lanterns. “This is the most stupendous spot on earth.”
A faery with long hair to her waist greeted them with a bow. She was dressed in an outfit similar to Wim’s made from white feathers. A green figurine of a Newfoundland pony adorned the two outer corners of her desk. They sprouted white wings layered with sparkles containing all the colours of the rainbow. They folded inwards, then spread out in rhythmic movements.
“What a weird place,” Seamus muttered.
If the fairies were offended, they didn’t show it. “This is Pella, my sister,” Wim said. “She will take you to the deed.”
Pella smiled, forming a dimple in her right cheek. “I’m delighted to make your acquaintance.” Her voice was similar to her brother’s, but softer, easy to identify as female.
Wim bowed to the children. “I have other duties to attend to.” He walked away, his steps bouncy as if he moved to the rhythm of a tune only he heard.
Seamus whispered in Josh’s ear. “They all talk funny like you.”
“It is my honour to assist you,” Pella said. She opened a drawer and took out a long narrow metal stick rounded at both ends. “Please hurry. The forest must be saved.” She inserted the key into the door next to the desk and stepped aside for the children to go in. “After you.”
They went into a long corridor which sloped downward and seemed to have no end. The howls and whispers in Cailean’s head quieted.
“This is marvellous,” Josh said. “A secret world with all kinds of hidden passages.”
“Make up your mind,” Seamus said. “One minute your frightened to death, the next your babbling like this is candy land.”
Cailean shivered. “I’m cold.”
“My apologizes.” Pella clapped her hands and warm air blew up from the floor. Lanterns suspended from the ceiling brightened the way as they descended deeper and deeper. She turned a corner and Cailean stopped, a silent gasp on her lips. Josh backed into Seamus.
A faery straddled a wooden chair dressed in black feathers. He tapped an iron ring full of long thin keys like the one Pella held against the back of the chair. His feet were bare. Six toes with dirt encrusted around the edges stuck out at odd angles. A blood red patch covered the right eye, the eyebrow missing from the other one. Several clumps of skimpy hair and black spots disfigured one side of his head. A thick scar ran from the eye on down, darkening as it moved across the chin. The creature rammed his fit into the wall. “Do not gawk at me, humans.”
“Razuk,” Pella said softly. “These humans are Neola’s guests. She will be displeased with your behaviour.”
A foot taller than the other fairies, Razuk bowed to the children with a grim expression. “How may I help you?”
Pella indicated the door next to the chair. “They’ve come for the deed.”
Razuk’s features relaxed. “In that case, it will be my pleasure to assist you. I have waited a long time for this day.” The key creaked in the lock. “Come. The deed awaits you.”
They passed into another hallway, and Razuk unlocked a second door containing only a plain wooden trunk in the middle of the room.
“The deed lies within,” Pella said.
The children hurried in, the fairies remained in the hall. Cailean lifted the lid to an empty box. “Pella, you’ve made a mistake. The deed’s not in here.”
Razuk framed the doorway, partially blocking out the smaller faery. “You humans are nothing but dirt under my feet,” he bellowed.
Cailean dropped the lid with a bang. “What’s going on here?”
Razuk spit on the floor. “Good riddance,” he said and slammed the door shut.
“Hey.” Seamus pounded his fists against it. “Let us out.”
Bits of half chewed candy fell out of Josh’s mouth. “We’ll die in here.”
“Take it easy,” Seamus said. “I’ll break the door down.” He rushed forward, his upper body hitting the solid wood. It didn’t even shake from the impact. He leaped at the door, ramming it hard with the soles of both feet. “This thing must be made of steel.”
“Listen,” Cailean said. “I hear voices.” She looked through the small key hole.
Wim stood with his sister, hands folded behind his back. “Is it done?”
Razuk grunted. “It was my pleasure.”
Pella held one of the pony figurines tracing a finger along its wings. “They have been imprisoned as Neola instructed.”
chapter 14
Cailean walked around the room, going from corner to corner constantly glancing at the wooden box. Why had Neola lied about the deed? “There’s only one day left to save my land.”
Josh sat on the floor, his arms wrapped around his knees pulled tight to his chest. “Why did they lock us in here?” He stared ahead, his gaze taking in Cailean as she passed. “Are they going to let us out?” His voice attained a higher pitch with every question. “Don’t they realize my parents expect me home for supper?”
Seamus sat across from him, his legs crossed at the ankles. “In case anyone’s interested, it’s getting darker in here.”
Two of the five ceiling lanterns burned, while a third had a faint glimmer as the wick dissolved. “Ow!” Cailean cried, dabbing away a drop of hot candle wax from her forehead. The third candle flickered out.
Josh’s breathing grew raspy. “They can’t keep us here forever. People will come looking for us.”
Seamus cocked an eyebrow at him. “Who’s going to tell them the fairies have us and then take them to the cave.” He uncrossed his ankles. “Let’s get real. No one really believes in fairies anyway.”
The last candle fluttered and died. Josh struggled to his feet. “I can’t see a thing.”
Cailean stopped pacing. “Maybe there’s another way out.”
Seamus turned on his flashlight and felt around the walls. “Like what? There’s not even a seam where a hidden door could be.”
“Don’t say that,” Josh said. “My supply of candy is low. I’ll starve to death soon.” He followed the light to Seamus. His bag of Bullseyes slipped out of his pocket and several candies spilled out.
“Even lower now,” Seamus said.
A blue light flooded the room. “It’s like in the cave,” Josh said. “Where’s it coming from?”
A rumbling equal to the noise of an iceberg breaking apart sounded. The room rocked and the children clung together holding each other up. A wall separated from the ceiling and cut slowly through the floor with a grinding wine. The rocking stopped and the children stood back watching it sink lower, leaving no trace it had ever been there. A long howl ripped through the air.
“That was a wolf,” Josh said. “But that’s impossible.”
“You think so,” Seamus said, “considering all the weird stuff that’s happened so far.”
Cailean looked at the long, dimly lit stone passageway running downwards at a steep angle. Flames burned from torches hooked to rings on both sides.
“We can’t go in there,” Josh said. “It’s too dangerous.”
Seamus moved away from him. “Speak for yourself. It’s a way out of this oversized closet.”
“That will only lead us underground. We have to go up.”
“I know we have to follow the passageway to find the deed,” Cailean said. “The riddle said to follow the wolf. The howl came from down there.”
Josh tugged on Seamus’s arm. “Tell her. Tell her this is a trick, some sort of trap fabricated by the fairies.”
“Sorry,” Seamus said. “I want out of here. See you when we get home. That’s if you make it.”
“Alright,” Josh groaned. “We’d better make it out of this place alive.”
Their shadows stole along the walls as they walked, short at times, tall and deformed at others. Josh warmed his hands under his armpits. “It’s getting colder.” His voice rebounded down the passageway and back. “We must be really deep underground.”
We’ve been in here for ages, Cailean th
ought, beginning to think they’d made a mistake in leaving the room. They followed a turn into complete darkness.
“Help!” Josh’s cry grew fainter as if he was falling. Cailean grabbed for him and went over a sheer drop. Seamus reached for her and toppled over. Air rushed over Cailean as she tumbled head over feet. Her hair flew out and her scalp prickled like someone jabbed it with a hundred needles.
“We’re all going to die,” Josh whimpered.
Cailean flung out her arms in an attempt to touch her friends. “Josh, are you okay?” No response. “Seamus?” Still no response. She couldn’t see anything. “Answer me.” Cailean tumbled, over and over like she was trapped inside an oversized wooden wheel. “Seamus, Josh. Please talk to me.” She landed on a hard surface face up, slightly winded. Thanks to the green haze she made out images. At first, they were formless lumps, then took on a sort of recognizable shape. The walls were alive with vines, slinking towards her. Someone...or something touched her hand, warm, clammy. She shrunk away. “Who’s there?”
A long thin shadow snaked along the floor. “Seamus, Josh, are you alright?” The silence unnerved her. “Where are you?”
A vine detached from the wall and encircled Cailean’s ankles with such speed it was a blur. The vine wound around her legs, reaching up to her waist, pinning her arms to her sides all the while dragging her along the floor. Her hands dangled free like detached appendages. “Let me go.” The words ended as the vine closed over her mouth.
Howls rang out from every direction. She didn’t know if they were real or inside her head. Maybe all this was a dream. Maybe her mother was still alive, waiting for her to come home.
She came to an abrupt stop, only her eyes and nose exposed. Something shuffled on the hard earth towards her. It had eyes, large black, glaring at her, the outline of a nose, but no mouth, yet hissing noises escaping from it. The creature nudged her. Cailean recoiled. A different sound echoed, farther away. Something whimpered. Who... or what else was stranded here? Another nudge. Louder hisses.
Cailean tried to roll away. The green mist thickened and objects grew clearer. Seamus stared at her, entwined with thick vine in a sitting position. He craned his head towards his back, the movement jerky, frantic. The tip of a metal object protruded out of his jeans pocket. He’d brought along the pocket knife he wasn’t supposed to carry outside the house.
Seamus shimmed closer until he was back to back with Cailean. She lifted out the knife, held it to her side for support and clicked the button to release the blade. Her body rigid from the binds, she clutched the handle with all her strength and hacked away at the thick vine strapping Seamus’s hands together. She summoned all her energy and made four more attempts. The vine broke and the severed ends unwound themselves, slinking across the floor to the wall. Seamus took the knife from Cailean and sliced through the vine around her arms. He gathered up the pieces. “You’re not getting away that easy,” he said and flung them away.
Cailean gulped in a mouthful of air. “Where’s Josh.”
“Over by the wall.” Seamus turned to an empty space. “He was next to me, bound and gagged like us.” Seamus sucked in his breath. “He couldn’t have gone anywhere on his own. Someone took him.” He kicked at a vine hanging down from the wall. It shrank back. “It’s too dark to see anything.”
Cailean spotted a tunnel. “Maybe that’s a way out of here and to find Josh.” They sprinted for it, their steps echoing behind them as they ran downward yet again. One, two, three, four, five, Cailean counted and had gotten to fifty when they came to a much wider area. Two wooden doors faced each other.
“Do you think Josh is behind one of those?” Seamus asked.
“He has to be,” Cailean said and reached for the half moon handle of the door to the left.
“Wait,” Seamus said. “If it’s the wrong one, we might never see Josh again.”
“I know,” Cailean said, turning the handle. “But what choice do we have.” A massive cavern spread out before them. The stench of rotted potatoes permeated the air. Well lit, Cailean couldn’t pinpoint where the light came from. Rocks of all sizes were strewn over wet, black clay. A large pool extended the width of the cavern. Its greyish-brown water looked like it had been used to clean out a septic tank. A narrow stretch of earth separated it from the far wall. A figure lay across it, bundled up like an Egyptian mummy with only the eyes visible.
“Josh,” Cailean and Seamus called as one voice and ran to the water’s edge. Their shoes sunk down to the ankles, squishing and slurping all the way.
Seamus pulled out his knife. “I’ll get you out of that.” A black fish leaped up from the water. One of its whiskers stuck him in the wrist. The skin blistered and reddened. Two more fish dived for him, stinging the upper part of his arm.
Cailean pulled him back. “Are you okay?”
“It hurt like a hot poker.” Seamus looked at Josh. “He needs our help. I can’t let those ugly fish stop me. If only we had a board to put across the water.”
“The whiskered fish would still be able to sting you.”
“Then what can we do?”
Cailean searched the ground for something to help. “Like Gramps always preaches. One problem at a time.”
“The pool’s not too wide. I can jump across. There’s enough room to get a running start.”
“How will you both get back?”
Seamus thought a moment. “Like you said. One problem at a time. Josh’s nose and mouth are covered up. He’ll suffocate if he stays like that much longer.”
“Okay, but be careful.”
Seamus hurried to the back wall and sprinted to the pool. A red and black fish flew out of the water in a direct line for him. The whisker nicked his thumb. Seamus grabbed the fish and flung it away. It landed at Cailean’s feet, the tail flapping in an attempt to return to the pool. She kicked it away.
Seamus touched down on the rock with a soft thud. “Josh’s eyes are closed and he’s not making any noise.” Seamus gripped his knife with both hands and hacked away at the vine. The pieces slithered into the water. Josh lay immobile. Seamus slapped his face. “Open your eyes.” Seamus hit him harder, over and over.
Cailean’s heart skipped a beat. “Seamus, what’s wrong?”
“He won’t wake up.” Seamus’s voice echoed his fear.
“Stop. That doesn’t tickle.” Josh opened his eyes and sat up, staring at the grimy water. “That looks like someone forgot to flush the toilet for a month.” He pinched his nose. “And smells like it too. Tell me we don’t have to swim across that.”
“Nope. The whiskered fish won’t let us.”
Cailean racked her brain for a solution, half listening to Seamus relate the situation to Josh. “Got it,” she called out. “I’ll distract the fish while you two swim across.”
“How?” Seamus asked. “And even if you can there’s no way you’ll get every one.”
Josh stood up, holding onto Seamus for support. “Besides, my joints are stiffer than rusty nails.”
“If either of you have a better suggestion, let’s hear it”
Josh edged closer to the water and chanced a glimpse into it. A red fish flew up and stuck him in the lip. He tried to pull it away, his fingers slipping along the spine. Seamus grabbed a fin and pulled. The whisker stayed in Josh’s lip.
“Leave him alone, you ugly excuse for a fish.” Cailean said and scooped up mud, flinging it as Seamus threw the attacker aside. Her fingers felt like a thousand insects crawled over them. The blob of earth struck the fish, shattering it into minute bits of red rocks.
“Whoa,” Seamus said, his eyes so wide the brows disappeared into this hair.
Josh plucked the whisker from his blistered lip, ballooned out three times its normal size. Spittle seeped onto his chin. “I’ll never eat again.” The words were garbled.
Cailean scooped up more dirt, trying not to think about the sensation on her hands.
Josh gently touched his lip. “It’ll never work. Ther
e must be hundreds of fish.”
Cailean dumped mud into the pool, slipped on the slim and skid along the edge, one hand dipping into the water. A black fish swam for her. The second it came into contact with the mud it evaporated into dust. She pulled her hand from the water. “The mud didn’t wash off! That’s how you’ll get across.”
Seamus caked his bare arms, face and neck with mud. “I bet those dopy fairies didn’t think we were smart enough to figure that out.”
“Your dirty socks smell better,” Josh said, bending down yet didn’t take up any mud. “We don’t know how long this can resist the water.”
Seamus slabbed a blob on Josh’s lip. “Let’s find out.”
Josh dragged a hand over his mouth. “That’s vile. You’re trying to poison me.”
Cailean dumped more mud into the pool, moving as fast as she could. “You’re only a few yards away. You’ll get across in no time.”
Seamus stood at the water’s edge. “Josh, I’ll go first to draw them away, then swim like your life depends on it.” Fish swarmed to the surface. Seamus stayed in front of them, each stroke strong, sure. One fish broke ranks and closed within inches of him. Cailean targeted the attacker and it splintered into pieces by Seamus’s elbow.
Josh splashed in feet first. Fish shot up like rockets all around him. Several grazed him, disintegrating into shreds of stone. Seamus was close to Cailean, the mud on his body almost washed off. Two fish evaporated by Josh’s ear. He closed his eyes against the shower of rocks. By the time he opened them, his mud had begun to thin out.
Cailean’s hands balled into tight fists at her side. “Hurry up, Josh.” A line of fish honed in on Seamus. She threw mud at them. One, two, three evaporated into dust. Five replaced each one. Her arms felt ready to drop off, her aim less and less accurate.
Seamus’s head bobbed up and down as he swam through the fish. One last effort and he hauled himself out of the water.
Josh reached the half way mark. Seamus and Cailean threw mud in his direction. Josh fought through the rocky debris, each stroke slower, more laboured until his head slipped below the water.