by H. M. Gooden
Mai knew her chance to observe was over. It was time to fight. She dove towards the creature before it had a chance to get any closer to her. Using her strong tail, she caught the creature around its midsection and squeezed as hard as she could while she roared with rage. Her anger overwhelmed her, swelling up until she felt her vision blur into whiteness and then fade completely.
When she opened her eyes, she was horrified. There in her grip was a broken, unmoving body. She dropped it and moved back in stunned disbelief. She hadn't even been threatened before she'd acted. It may have meant her no harm, but her anger at seeing Jake imprisoned had overwhelmed her usual conciliatory nature and caused her to attack first. She gasped in the water at her actions before moving toward Jake, still in shock at what she'd done.
Jake remained unmoving, oblivious to what had transpired. He seemed to be in a trance of some kind, but Mai was relieved to see his chest moving. Thankful they could both breathe underwater, she quickly snapped the cord holding him. She carried him gently, gripping his smaller human frame in her claws as she rose to the surface with her precious cargo.
Looking around as she surfaced, Mai realized that they'd been in a small pond just off the main river that was enclosed by trees and rocks. She dragged Jake's limp body out of the water and shifted back into her human form to better assess him. She bent over him to listen for signs of breathing, relieved when she heard air moving easily back and forth from his mouth. Looking around for landmarks, she saw their bags on the other side of the river and sighed. She needed dry clothes and Jake needed help. Debating whether or not to get their stuff and come back, or take Jake back to the other side, she decided to take him with her. She didn't want him out of her sight until she knew what had happened and whether or not there were any other threats close by.
Quickly, she relocated them and changed her clothing, looking around warily. She had no idea what to do now. He was still unconscious, or under a spell, and she didn't know how to snap him out of it. Worry rattled her nerves. What if she hadn't killed that creature? What if there were more of them? She didn't even know what that creature had been. She was so far out of her comfort zone at the moment that she felt paralyzed by her lack of knowledge. The hot sting of tears pricked her eyes but she swiped at them angrily. She didn't have time to indulge, not now.
Jake coughed and moaned slightly. Mai turned back to him with hope, her heart rising when she saw his eyes flutter open. She knelt down close to his face again.
"Jake, are you okay? What happened? What was that thing?"
Mai touched his cold cheek worriedly and he weakly grabbed at her hand, squeezing it lightly before giving her a half-smile. She'd never been so happy to see such a pitiful smile before and Mai felt the tight knot of worry loosen in her chest.
"Hey, babe. That was something, hey?"
Mai waited for an explanation, but he just laid his head back down on the ground and closed his eyes again. Frustrated, Mai looked around, checking the perimeter again to make sure nothing was sneaking up on them before she gently shook his shoulder.
"Jake, wake up. It's important. Are we safe? Is there more of those...things?"
Jake opened his eyes again, looking a little more awake this time, and struggled to sit up.
"Sorry, I'm just so tired right now." He punctuated his reply with a yawn. "I'm pretty sure we just met a nyk. I don't know very much about them, but from what I remember, I'm pretty sure they like to work solo."
Jake managed to sit up and Mai was glad to see that he seemed to be more awake now. He'd propped his body up, using his elbows to support his weight on his knees. Mai handed him some water which he accepted gratefully and guzzled.
"I don't know what happened. One minute I was just about done, you know," Jake replied, blushing. “I was coming back to see if you were ready to leave, then the next minute I kind of went foggy and it was like I was in a dream under water. I remember feeling calm, almost as if I was floating, and I think I saw you under there too, but that's it, except for the face."
Jake paused to shudder at the memory.
"I remember hearing about the nyk, sometimes called nokken, back when I was a kid. I'd always thought that it was just a story to keep us out of strange lakes and stuff, something our parents told us to keep us nearby when we were out swimming." Jake laughed dryly. "But I guess not."
He stopped talking to look at her curiously. "How did you get me away from it? They have the ability to hypnotize people, which I'm guessing is what they did to me."
Mai's cheeks slowly darkened and she looked away from him in shame.
"I lost my temper. I've brought dishonour to myself. I grabbed the creature in rage even before it attacked me and I squeezed it as hard as I could. I felt something in it crack. I was so surprised and horrified at my loss of control that I left it on the floor of the pond and took you away, bringing you up to the surface."
Mai looked up, feeling that same prick of tears but not wanting to let them fall and compound her shame.
"I don't know if it's alive or dead. I just couldn't bear that it had taken you away from me. I feel awful. I'm not sure if you can forgive me, or look at me the same way now. I'm a murderer."
Mai continued to look at her hands, feeling sorrow for her actions. She didn't know this creature. She'd acted on emotion against something that looked frightening and had taken a loved one. That wasn't the kind of person she was and she was ashamed of her instinctive reaction. What if it hadn't really been evil? Even when she'd been fighting Dub and the other soulless creatures that had been evil, she'd never felt this loss of control, had never killed from a place of anger. She felt sick.
Jake reached over and pulled her into his arms, causing them to both topple over onto the ground. He wasn't strong enough to hold her up yet, but he cradled her in his arms as they lay there, looking her straight in the eye as he spoke.
"Mai, you were amazing. You saved my life. The nyk doesn't let go of its victims, and in the stories I've heard, most are never seen again. I don't know if you killed it or not, but it was most definitely evil and you have absolutely nothing to apologize for. I'm not sure if I feel strong enough to keep walking yet, but I want to move a little further away from the water right now. I know I said they usually work alone, but I don't want to chance it."
Jake struggled to sit up after giving her another hug, so Mai had to help him stand once they'd managed to achieve a sitting position. He swayed a little, and looked paler than usual, but after a few moments she saw him become steadier.
"I think I'm okay now, as long as we walk slowly."
Mai looked doubtfully up at him and he scowled at her.
"I'm fine," he insisted.
Mai shrugged and picked up her bag.
"Are you good enough to carry your bag, or do you want me to do that for awhile?"
Jake took his bag a little churlishly from her, but after a few seconds, she saw his shoulders relax and he shot her a rueful grin.
"Sorry. Apparently, having my manliness questioned makes me cranky. I'm feeling better now, really. Let's just take it easy for a bit. Hopefully we can make it to the caves before nightfall."
They walked slower than normal for the first hour as they picked their way further from the river they'd been following. Neither was completely certain that Mai had actually killed the nyk and they didn't want to stay close enough to find out. This meant that the landscape became even more rocky as they ranged further from the river and the terrain became more difficult and hilly. At one point, they were walking up and down large hills that reminded Mai of the areas they'd hiked in back home, with the main exception being far fewer trees.
As the sky began to darken, they came to the area of caves that Jake had wanted to reach by nightfall. He'd regained his energy throughout the day and Mai had relaxed as he returned to his usual self. They'd decided that he'd most likely been under a spell of some sort and that it had faded with time and distance away from the nyk.
M
ai hadn't liked how weak and dazed he'd been, even more than she hadn't liked her violent reaction to something that had scared her. Hopefully, neither event would happen again. But if she was honest with herself, she knew that she'd always go on the defensive if she felt a loved one was in danger, no matter what the fallout. She wasn't sure how she felt about that new understanding, but it changed her feelings about her identity, knowing she had that side to herself.
Jake approached the entrance of a small, darkened depression in the rock wall, looking in cautiously. Mai could see his shoulders sink back to their normal relaxed position and knew that he'd found a safe harbour for them.
He confirmed her thought almost immediately.
"Let's stay here tonight. From what the men in the village said, I think the place where the trolls are supposed to be is only a few hours away. This is a small cave, with no other opening except this one, so we know there isn't anything lurking in here. We should be safe to rest here for a few hours and then move when the light comes back at dawn. Trolls don't like being out in the day, so we'll stand a better chance at catching them by surprise and beating them if we wait."
Mai nodded, but hesitated. "What about the kids? Shouldn't we keep moving?"
Jake's brown furrowed. "Maybe, but it's not a good idea to keep moving out here with darkness falling. Even if we don't come upon anything that wants to kill and eat us, the land itself is dangerous. We could easily get hurt or fall into a crevice and be trapped. It's better to wait until dawn and hope that nothing happens to them until then. We've got to be able to get them back to town and that means keeping ourselves safe too."
Mai sighed, knowing he was right.
"Okay. Should we make a fire or something?"
Jake shook his head. "No. It would draw attention. Plus, it's a small cave and it'll get too smoky in here, possibly even give us carbon monoxide poisoning. We can sleep in dragon form for comfort, warmth, and to discourage any interest from anyone or anything that may be passing in the night."
Jake gave her a smile. "Even a troll would think twice about bothering a sleeping dragon."
Mai snorted. Jake in human form wasn't the easiest to wake up in the morning some days, and in dragon form, he could literally bite someone's head off if he got angry.
"Sure, that sounds good."
Mai put her backpack against the back wall of the cave and let the familiar tingling in her body erupt, turning into the long serpentine form that felt so natural now. She cautiously turned her larger form around in a large circle, assessing the cave for any large rocks before she settled into a curled up ball like a large, scaly kitten. Jake followed suit, putting his stuff along the opposite wall and changing into his dragon form and curling around her. They nuzzled for a few moments, enjoying the shared warmth of their bodies before closing their eyes and falling into exhausted slumber.
CHAPTER 11 A TERRITORIAL DISPUTE
Morning dawned crisply over the rocks. Mai woke to gentle light falling into the cave, highlighting the grey walls and floor of their overnight lodgings. She looked beside her and felt her heart slow with relief when she saw Jake, still sleeping. As always, she loved watching him sleep, but today she was just happy to see him there, after the events of the day before.
Nudging his jaw with her snout, she pushed against him. He growled lightly in his sleep until she nipped him then licked his small injury better. His golden, slit-like pupil became visible under a half-open lid and she saw his eye dilate with the light. He rolled onto his back, leaving his belly exposed for her and she took advantage of the weakness, nipping along his neck playfully. He let out a louder growl before he rolled, putting her underneath his larger body and nipping her back.
She smiled with childlike glee. "Good morning, my love."
Even in dragon form, he was the most attractive person she'd ever met and she could feel her temperature climbing. Remembering that they were on a mission, and thinking of the missing children cooled her down, and her smile faded.
Jake noticed and nuzzled her nose gently with his own.
"Good morning, love."
He spoke gently before turning his back, transforming back into the sturdy golden man she'd first fallen in love with. She watched his firm backside longingly for a second before shaking her head and standing up, feeling her own skin tingle and shift as she changed. Pulling on her clothes from the previous day, with the addition of clean socks and underwear, Mai dressed quickly and was ready at the same time as Jake.
They ate the plain food Jake had packed the day before, more than enough to fill their empty stomach for the day's walk. Jake pulled out his map, showing Mai a drawing that one of the town elders had made. It appeared that they merely had to cross the next range of low mountains beside the sea before they reached their goal. Mai knew it couldn't be as easy as the drawing implied. Once she looked out the entry of the cave, she groaned. The sky was grey and it looked like rain would be their companion for the day.
They packed up and left, and after checking the map one more time, they headed north to the sea. The weather quickly became wilder as the wind picked up strength. Mai began to have trouble seeing, needing to squeeze her eyes shut multiple times when the wind whipped up dust from the rocky ground. As they drew closer to the sea, the sky turned black and whitecaps were visible as far as they could see. A fierce howling rose above the sound of the crashing waves and Mai turned a wide-eyed gaze to Jake.
He scanned the surface of the water.
"I don't know what that sound is. It sounds like someone screaming," he said.
Suddenly, a glowing shape appeared on the water, rowing what looked like a small boat with two oars. The tall, gaunt figure had the shape of a hooded man, and Mai felt the sensation of ice rise up along the back of her neck, as she recalled the dreadful image of a prior foe. The figure looked like Dub, the dark soul-stealer that she'd first met when he'd turned her into stone over a hundred years earlier, and Mai took an involuntary step back from the water. Jake placed a calming hand on her back.
Mai shook her head repeatedly. "No. It's not possible. It can't be. Cat killed him, we saw it happen!"
Mai wasn't comforted by Jake's touch for the first time she could remember, but he tried to rub her shoulder reassuringly.
"Shh, shhhh min livs kjærlighet. It's not him. I know of this one. He's native to these parts. He's dangerous, but not unbeatable."
Mai looked at him, curiosity replacing some of her fear, and waited for him to continue.
Jake cleared his throat. "I've only heard about them in passing, but I believe it's a draugr. It's still very dangerous, but we're safe right now, since we aren't actually on the water."
"What do you mean?" Mai asked, doubtful that it was completely safe, given the unearthly appearance of the creature in the rowboat.
"I mean it generally attacks sailors, which we aren't. And even if we were on the water, we can both breathe under it, so the creature can't drown us the way it usually does with its victims."
Jake paused, wrinkling his nose in thought.
"I'm actually not sure why it likes to drown people. I never heard that part of the story. Basically, it's another old wive's tale I used to hear as a kid that I thought was just to get us to come back to the house if it started raining and became stormy. You know, 'the draugr'll get you if you don't come in out of the rain,' that kind of thing."
Jake mimed his mom scolding him and Mai's lips quirked, amused by the image of a small Jake racing into the house to avoid a monster. She'd always been scared of being hit by lightning, so a bogeyman wouldn't have been needed to get her to go inside.
"So you think we're fine to stay here?" Mai asked, her voice lifting in hope.
"Should be, but let's not take any chances. We should keep on moving. I really don't want to have to try to beat a water demon with our water powers. I don't think we'd have much of an advantage."
Nodding, Mai sped up her steps and they quickly moved further away from the water and c
loser to the mountains.
Unfortunately, Jake had been wrong when he'd thought the draugr only went for sailors. Even though they'd sped up, the rowboat continued to advance on them. Mai looked back over her shoulder a few minutes after they'd started to move inland. With mounting fear, she saw that he was now close enough for her to make out his features. The draugr appeared human, but with skin so grey in colour and so wrinkled that she imagined it was what a man who'd been underwater for several weeks would look like. His hair was stringy and matted against his face and his eyes were hollowed out holes. Mai thought she could see a skull looking back at her, but turned away before she could get a closer look. Her stomach wasn't up for the challenge.
"Jake, look!" she hissed, yanking on his arm as he continued to walk, not looking back. "It's getting closer and I think it sees us. I think it's coming after us. What do we do?"
Jake reluctantly turned his head to look, obviously feeling the same as Mai did when it came to examining the face of underwater death.
"I don't know. I never heard what one does to avoid a draugr, except staying inside during storms."
Mai shook her head with exasperation. He wasn't being very helpful, so she quickly scanned their surroundings. They were getting closer to the mountains, but were still on a long, rocky beach too close to the draugr, who seemed to be gaining on them. There wasn't any cover to hide behind, barring the mountains, and it was moving way faster than they were, so it wasn't looking good for their chances at getting to a hiding place within the mountains first. That meant that they'd have to fight if it came after them, Mai realized with dread.
While she'd used her powers to fight soul-suckers in the past, Mai knew she wasn't the strongest fighter. She'd usually been heavily supported by Cat's fire or Vanessa's hurricane-force gales. She could drown a victim, use water to surround them, or even use her dragon strength, and had even accidentally eaten someone once, but that didn't seem to be enough to deal with another creature comfortable with her water element.