by J. C. Lucas
“Thank you, Teagan. You don’t know how much that means to me. One day, I’ll take you up on that.”
We continued to trudge along. The swish of feathers overhead made me look up at the sky where a raven flew in circles, the black of its feathers glistening in the light. Cawing from high above, the raven appeared to be following our movements. Both Hunter and Teagan glanced up and continued on unconcerned, while Emric emitted a low purr as he stopped to peruse the raven.
“What is it, Emric?” I glanced from him to the bird.
“That, my dear, is a good friend. He is here to be our eyes where we cannot see. You might know him as Charlie.” He smirked with a mischievous grin when my eyes went wide.
“But Charlie is a parrot!” I exclaimed, and he bounced his head in a nod.
“Yes, but in this realm, he is a protector and our eyes. You never know when you might need a good pair of eyes, eh? Oh, but some will never say.”
I gazed up at the graceful bird, soaring and swooping as if he were dancing in the sky. “Wow. That’s amazing. I knew he was brilliant, but this blows my mind.” I often glanced up at Charlie as we walked, hoping he continued his peaceful flight, because if he didn’t, then something was wrong.
Emric was a funny character. I stifled a giggle after looking behind me several times only to catch him humming to himself and doing a little hop-skip dance as we meandered through the field. Turning back, I ran smack into Hunters back, my arms immediately going to his shoulders to keep from falling. He barely noticed me crash into him but reached back an arm, steadying me. Teagan was in front of him, his hand running up and down through the air.
“What’s he doing?” I asked Hunter.
“There’s some sort of barrier here. We can’t move forward anymore,” he murmured
I didn't see any kind of barrier or wall, but looking harder, I saw a slight reflection of ourselves in the air. “It's like a mirror!” I exclaimed. “Can you feel a wall?”
Teagan shook his head, turning to look back at us. “No, but there’s an energy there I can feel when I put my hands up to it.” He motioned me forward. “Come here and see if you can feel it too. We need to find a weakness in the energy, and once we do, we can spell a doorway.”
I moved forward to stand beside him, and he showed me where to place my hands. I concentrated hard, hoping to feel this energy he was talking about. “Yeah, I don’t feel a thing, Teagan.” I pouted, slinging my hands down to my sides.
“Try again, but this time, quiet your mind. Try to imagine you’re in a silent room. Block out any noise. Closing your eyes may help,” he encouraged.
So, I tried again. Lifting my hands, I closed my eyes and imagined I was on top of a mountain, and no one else was around. It was beautiful and silent. Slowly, the surrounding sounds dissipated, and a tingle hit my fingertips. It was slight, but it was there. I moved my hands up and down, and the tingle grew. It didn’t hurt but was warm, and there was something there.
“I feel it!” I gasped, elated. When I opened my eyes, both the guys were grinning at me, and Emric sat there looking amused, his tail swishing back and forth while Charlie did figure eights in the sky above us.
“Well, well... Let’s see what you and Teagan can do together now, shall we?” Hunter gestured at the barrier, impatient as always.
Teagan taught me the words to the spell, which was short, and I picked it up after two or three times. “Now, raise your hands just like before, and put them close to mine. We’ll only have a few minutes once we open the door to get through, so everyone will need to hurry.”
“You hear that, Emric?” I smirked at him, and I swear he rolled his eyes at me.
“Okay, let’s do this!” I said, placing my hands close to Teagan’s, and we chanted. The tingle in my fingers grew stronger until it felt like something was pinching them. And then it just stopped, and where our hands had been, a hole in the portal had opened to an entirely different landscape.
We darted through the opening, Charlie the last to swoop through. This place was the opposite of the bright field of flowers. Dark as night, and only one moon illuminated the surrounding landscape. There were mountains in the distance, rising like giants. But around us were rolling hills covered in silver. Reaching down, I expected the silver stuff on the ground to be like glitter but found the texture was cold and damp like snow.
As I dropped it to the ground, snuffling noises came from ahead. Large creatures were roaming the surrounding hills. Straining my eyes, I could see they were like polar bears and just as big. They didn’t see us, and if they did, they didn’t care. They were more interested in the snow. As they walked around, every so often, they’d stick their noses into the cold silver, root around, and then move on to another spot to do the same thing.
Hunter observed them as only a predator could, and once he decided they weren’t a threat, he turned to the rest of us, his hands on his hips and looking every bit the leader. Both guys seemed to take on that role depending on the situation, but I guess that was fitting. Neither one was able to do what the other could, and the strongest one in each position would step up.
“They won’t harm us and have no real interest in us being here. Not unless we threaten them. You probably can’t tell, but they’re foraging for food under the snow.” He motioned toward an area close to us. “See that movement over there?”
Gazing at the spot he had indicated, the snow shifted a little before something popped out of the glittery slush.
“That’s a lizard. They’re everywhere under the snow. That’s what the bears are feeding on,” Hunter stated.
The one we watched chose that moment to skitter out of its hole and further away from us. Its blue body and white eyes shone in the moonlight.
Ugh. Not a fan of reptiles of any kind.
“Can’t we use some spells to magically make ourselves appear on the other side of them?” I joked, but not really. I wasn’t looking forward to our trek across the hills covered with these huge white bears and blue lizards.
“Come on, Andie. Just follow us and we’ll get through this quick.” Teagan smiled at me, holding out his hand. I could always count on him to be calm and collected. Not much seemed to faze him. Hunter, on the other hand, was such a roller coaster of emotions that I never knew where he might land.
Even though I didn’t want to, I grasped his hand, gulping as he pulled me behind him and Hunter as we headed off, walking in between the hills, as far away from the grazing bears as we could. Emric pranced behind us, and Charlie soared overhead. He still hadn’t called a warning, so I relaxed a little. I kept my eyes peeled to the silver snow, ready to run if one of those lizards popped out at me.
In my head, I sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” as we made our way through. The song was fitting because as I glanced up from my feet, stars in the sky came to life, shining bright as they filled the night sky. A few comets streaked by with sparkling green tails. In awe, I stared up at them, my mouth hanging open. They looked so close, almost as if I could reach out and touch them. The stars stretched as far as the eye could see and reminded me of a close-up view of the Milky Way. I never imagined I would view a sight like this, and at that moment, it hit me: I never would have seen these beautiful things had it not been for the circumstances leading up to me being here, and what this journey was about.
“Watch out, Andie. Lizard to your left,” Hunter called from behind me, causing me to jump a foot in the air and scramble away. Hunter cracked up, and I stopped running to turn and look at him. He was still laughing, and there weren’t any lizards where I had been.
“Ughhh! You jerk!” I yelled, frustrated.
Bending down, I grabbed a fistful of the silver snow and packed it tight, reeling back with my arm and lobbing it at him. It hit him smack in the forehead, exploding in a shower of glitter. He stood stunned, with his mouth hanging open. I laughed with glee, happy I actually nailed my target. What was even funnier was the splash of silver that now covered his forehead
and dripped down his face.
Shaking his head, he slung it off, a devious look coming over him. Keeping his eyes on mine, he reached down, grabbing his own handful of snow. I was ready to take off the moment he aimed at me. He reeled back, but instead of throwing it at me, he threw a fast pitch at Teagan, the snowball hitting him square in the chest with a hard thump. I wasn’t expecting that! Emric sighed and ran off, not at all interested in our childish snowball throwing.
“Oh, you’re going to get it now!” Teagan hollered, grabbing two fistfuls of snow and throwing them faster than my eyes could track back at Hunter. One smacked him in the chest, and the other in the shoulder. Before I knew it, we were in an all-out snowball war, running around like loons and laughing our heads off, the lizards forgotten as we played. It was a nice distraction from the mission.
Exhausted, I plopped down in the snow. My suit was waterproof and kept the cold from seeping in, so I didn’t have to worry about freezing to death. Teagan and Hunter, both panting, fell into the snow beside me. I saw Emric on a hill, bouncing around. I didn’t even want to imagine him catching a lizard and eating it. I had no idea where Charlie had flown off to.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I needed that.” Teagan breathed hard, before grabbing some water for us all.
“I agree. We did.” I sighed, downing my water.
“Where did you learn to throw like that, Andie?” Hunter asked me. “You threw that snowball so fast and accurately. Did you play sports?”
I laughed. Me play sports? Yeah, right! “No, I’ve never played sports. I’m the nerdy bookworm. I’ve had no interest in sports.”
“I don’t think anyone should ever use the term ‘nerdy’ for you, Andie.” Teagan laughed. “You’re far from it. Anyway, you don’t have to play sports to have good aim. Some people are just naturally good at throwing. And it probably doesn’t hurt that your powers helped with that throw too. When you think about doing something, they automatically kick in to help aid you. You won’t even be aware of it most of the time.”
“Yeah, definitely not nerdy,” Hunter said, agreeing for once with Teagan. He started to say something else when he was interrupted by loud squawking in the sky above. Charlie! He must have seen something. Jumping up, tense and waiting, we turned our backs to each other, watching every direction. Emric bounded toward us over the hills and slid to a stop beside me on his furry paws.
“Trolls!” He gasped, out of breath from his sprint.
Trolls? Like the toy trolls or the scary under-the-bridge trolls? I laughed a little, and Hunter looked over at me, scowling. “Not the time to be amused, Andie! Get ready. We don’t know what they’ll do.”
A light flickered from behind a hill, and I heard the thumping of feet as they trudged up and over it. How they could make such a loud noise approaching on snow, I had no idea—until I saw the first one as it got closer, flames from their torches illuminating them.
They were nothing at all like I would have imagined. Standing at least nine feet tall, with full, muscular bodies covered in primitive armor. Battleaxes were strapped to their backs, and their skin was dark blue. Some of them had small horns growing out of the middle of their foreheads, while others had longer horns curling around the side of their faces, like a ram. Their skin was pitted, faces full of misshapen features. I counted at least ten of them, more than I thought we could take on, but what choice did we have?
Hunter growled a warning low in his throat, and Teagan held his hands out and at the ready. My heart was beating so loud I couldn’t think straight. I wasn’t too proud to admit I was frightened of what was about to happen. The trolls marched toward us, and when they were about ten feet away, the one in the lead held his fist in the air, and the group immediately came to a stop. There was a commotion coming from the middle of the group, and the leader turned to see what it was. A soldier held a teenage boy, who was kicking and yelling, by the neck. He was trying his best to break the iron grip of the troll holding him prisoner.
“You’re holding someone captive?” Teagan furiously asked. “You must have a death wish.”
“Och, what do you know, you wee bugger? We’ll kill all ya without no trouble!” the leader bellowed, spittle flying from his mouth and dripping onto the snow below him as he pulled his ax from behind his shoulder.
“Andie, get ready,” Teagan whispered from the corner of his mouth. “Remember what I taught you. Think of what you need, and it will happen.”
My insides quaked as I realized the battle was about to begin, and I worried about the outcome. Taking a deep breath, I let it out and chanted, pulling energy to me quietly. As I did, I could hear a slow roar start until it became a thunderous noise, and the trolls surged forward. Hunter shifted before my eyes, and in seconds his suit lay tattered on the ground, his huge wolf form flying, ready to tear into them. Teagan’s hands lit with a faint glow that grew until a ball of fire was dancing between them. He threw it at the troll advancing toward him. As it made contact, the ball of fire obliterated the giant monster into a pile of ash.
I looked away and realized a troll was stalking closer to me. His evil eyes glowed, and a wicked smile stretched across his face. I frantically tried to think of what to do, but my mind was overcome with fear. As he swung his ax up high in the air, all I could think about was getting out of the way.
The next moment, I was behind him, staring at his back as he looked around, searching for me. I had thought of what I wanted, and it had happened, just like Teagan said! In my peripheral vision, I saw him and Hunter engaged in a fierce battle with at least five monsters. My concentration returned to the one in front of me, who had finally realized where I went. Before he could make a move, I pushed my hands out in front of me, picturing the troll becoming a statue. Energy shot from my hands in white light, pushing into him, and I watched in fascination as gray stone wrapped its way from his legs up to his torso. He fought, trying to move, but the stone kept winding up his body until it slid over his face. The last thing I saw before it completely covered him was his eyes wide with fear.
“Well done, Andie.” Emric purred beside me, licking his paw as Charlie cawed, sitting between Emric’s ears. I stared at them both, bewildered, before laughing at the absurdity of all of it.
“Thanks, Emric. Can’t you do anything to help us?” I motioned toward the large group of trolls wearing Hunter and Teagan down. I could see the strain on both of their faces from where I stood, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before they couldn’t handle it anymore.
Approaching the group, I picked out the two trolls closest to me and on the outside of the fray. They were the furthest from the guys, and I whispered a spell, blowing it off the tips of my fingers, watching it slither through the air. When it reached them, it formed the smoky silhouette of a giant snake. Both ends of it wrapped around the two trolls’ necks over and over again until their bodies fell to the ground, dead.
The leader glanced at them and then stared over at me. Looking around the group, I could see that he realized he had lost more soldiers to the three of us than he had expected.
“HALT!” he yelled, his voice booming and echoing off the hills. The fighting stopped as everyone cautiously looked to him. His remaining soldiers awaited orders, and Teagan and Hunter listened, still at the ready to fight should it be a trick.
“Maybe a truce is in order, aye?” he said, scratching his pocked chin with a long nail. “You are stronger than I imagined, and I dinna see how this fight will serve any of us. Shall we bargain?”
“How can we trust you to do what you say? You attacked us for no reason, and you’re holding a boy hostage.” I pointed at the teenager that was still being held, though he seemed far less combative now. He also appeared to be listening intently to what we had to say.
“Och, tha wee laddie is not a hostage, but a bargaining chip we found along our way to ya.” He tapped his head. “We always have a plan fer every outcome, ya see?” He was so sure of himself and that we would follow along w
ith his plans.
“So what bargain do you want then?” I asked, skeptical that anything he came up with would be in our favor.
“Well, I hear ya made an enemy of Freya, but of course ya did. Every powerful creature is an enemy of hers. I’ll hand tha young laddie over to ya if, in return, ya promise to come and help us if we should call on ya.” His eyes gleamed, and he rubbed his hands together.
“And what kind of help would you want from Andie? Forgive me if I have a hard time believing it would be in her best interest to help you. You’re not exactly known for your good deeds,” Teagan sneered.
The leader lifted a hairy eyebrow and scanned his remaining soldiers. “‘Tis true we find it rather fun to dabble in the mischievous, but we make sure to do a good deed now and then. Right, men?” His fellow soldiers all nodded emphatically at his question, and he turned back to us with his arms outstretched. “See? We mean ya no harm, and if we call on the lass, it will only be with tha best intentions. I, Tinock, promise ya.”
Emric wound around my legs, and feathers caressed my hair as Charlie settled onto my shoulder. Hunter had shifted back, and he and Teagan stood close on each side of me. I was surrounded by support.
“Tinock, is it?” Hunter asked.
The leader bowed his head, “Aye.”
“Give us a moment to confer, and we’ll then tell you what we decide,” Hunter stated plainly, watching as the group moved a short distance away. He placed his hand on my shoulder as he looked into my eyes, the worry lingering there. “You don’t have to agree to anything, Andie. I’m sure the boy will be fine. They have no need of him and will eventually tire of dragging him along. I don’t think agreeing to his request will end in anything good.”
Sighing, I looked over at the group of huge warriors. The boy was now on his feet, his eyes pleading in our direction.
“We don’t even know who he is, guys. Maybe he could help us with the rest of our mission. If we left him with the trolls, what if they killed him? I can’t have that on my conscience. It would eat at my soul, always wondering what became of him.”