by Bryant Reil
“Leave the arrow in!” Eunoe barked. “Wrap a bandage around it. The arrow is plugging the hole.”
Faron winced. “Don’t touch it. It…hurts.”
“It doesn’t matter!” Ceiba laughed. “The poison will kill him shortly.”
“That arrow wasn’t poisoned!” the wolf-man corrected. “I only have one poisoned arrow left and I didn’t want to waste it.”
“Then you should have shot him through the heart!”
The wolf-man scratched the back of his neck with an arrow. “Easy to say when you’re not the one who has to do it.”
Ceiba spat on the ground. “You’re losing your touch.”
“Yeah, well, we all are. I mean, look at you. Mugging a bunch of ladies in the woods.”
Ceiba face soured. “Yes. Reduced to common bandits. Tie them up and take them to camp. We’ll see what sort of ransom we might be able to squeeze out of them.”
***
Carmin watched as the setting sun approached the horizon. The light reflected off the waves in a sort of dance.
“Marik!” She gasped and tugged at Marik’s sleeve as dolphins leaped in the distance.
“We’re here,” he replied.
She turned to see a small blue structure on the sand ahead. The coral walls of the lone hut jutted from a bar of sand where the water ran into the sea. The pebbled roof was accentuated by shadow, giving it an appearance of greater depth than it might in full light. The air was fresh with the scent of brine, though by Hajar’s wrinkled nose, she still wasn’t enjoying it.
“You can wait for us inland, if you like,” Carmin offered. “We won’t be down there too long.”
Hajar shook her head. “I’d like to come, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course. How will we breathe down there, Marik?” Carmin asked, gesturing at the water.
Marik, clearly frustrated, replied with a shrug. Perhaps she shouldn’t judge his behavior too harshly. She had been dead to him for a long time before Sophrosyne brought her back. It wasn’t unreasonable for him to be annoyed at Hajar’s presence. Carmin squeezed his hand.
“We’ll take our own trip after we get back. Anywhere you like. I promise.”
He smiled back but didn’t speak. Rather he looked out at the water. Carmin followed his gaze. He hadn’t mentioned who or what they were waiting for. Maybe he didn’t know. Besides the waves, the seagulls, and the waving of long grass in the breeze, there wasn’t much movement. He let go of her hand and walked around the small coral hut. Hajar followed him, to his visible displeasure.
“No door,” Hajar noted as she came back around. “Are we to wait? Or to smash it open?”
Marik shook his head and finally spoke. “No idea, but I don’t have time to wait. I don’t intend to spend the night here.”
Carmin took his hand again. “It would be romantic, to sleep on the beach.”
“Not with her here.” Marik thrust his chin in Hajar’s direction. “I should set up, just in case. Even if our liaison does arrive soon, it’s probably too late to start swimming.”
He pulled the tent from his bag and wandered onto the grass next to the beach. The sand was full of rocks and covered in seaweed, and not at all as comfortable as Carmin remembered, but the sound of the waves and the sunlight dancing on the water was more blissful than anything from her memory.
She watched as Marik set up camp and thought of helping, but he seemed content. He was trying to make the best of the situation. Hajar, for her part, took a few steps forward, perhaps eager to help, but a tired look from Marik sent her back to sit near Carmin.
Hajar planted her bum in the sand, though her silence lasted only a few seconds. “I’ll keep an eye on it, in case someone pops out,” she decided, and turned to keep her eyes planted on the coral hut.
***
“My family doesn’t have any money, you crab-apple sucking sack of pine nuts!” Kyla screamed through the bars. “I’m an elf. We don’t even care about stupid gold and stuff!”
Ceiba grinned. “Someone must value your life, if not your family. You’re on mighty strange business out here in the jungle. I imagine you’re either an idiot, or someone sent you with a purpose. Mind you, I’m not ruling out the former. And, besides, even if not you, the nymphs and the winged tiger are bound to be worth something.”
“Let us go!” Kyla demanded again. “One of my best friends is a dragon. He’ll burn up the lot of you when he finds us!”
“A dragon? Why didn’t you say so? Dragons are somewhat notorious for their hoards. Give me a name and location, and I can get a message out of here by morning. We can have you on your way before lunch.”
Kyla ground her teeth. “You don’t want to mess with a dragon.”
Eunoe and Aspen were in their own cages, all placed several paces from one another. There was no cage to fit Castor, but he was muzzled and tied to a tree, and his wings fastened to his sides with leather straps. His throaty breaths sounded more angry than afraid. Kyla was a mix of each.
Faron, for unclear reasons, had been left lying on the ground. He sat up slowly and crawled over to the fire, collapsing at its edge. “Mosquitoes are eating me alive,” he complained. “Also, could you put some bandages on my wound? I packed my shirt around it but it’s full of blood.”
Ceiba growled. “We don’t have the supplies to waste on you.”
“There are bandages in my bag,” said Eunoe. “It’s there, near the one who shot you.”
Faron looked up at Ceiba. Ceiba stared back. Faron inched toward Eunoe’s bag. Ceiba watched him. The wolf-man with the bow watched back and forth between the two of them. Kyla expected Ceiba to give the command for Faron to die, but he did not. Rather, he smirked as Faron fished through Eunoe’s bag, pulled out a jar of balm and a roll of bandages, and tended to his wound, not once letting his eyes drift away from Ceiba’s face. Once finished, he inched his way back toward the fire.
“You’re hardy,” Ceiba smiled. “Maybe we can find a use for you. I mean, if you survive the night, and Ori doesn’t decide to eat you behind my back.”
There was a growl of agreement from the trees. Though Kyla couldn’t see, she assumed it to be Ori.
Ceiba turned to address his men. “I’m packing it in for the night. Keep a constant watch on the prisoners. Do not touch them for now! We will get the best ransom we can, and if it doesn’t work out, they’ll be yours to do with as you will.”
The men cheered as he climbed into his wooden hut, which sat on stilts high off the ground. Kyla leaned back against the bars of her cell. They bent a little. Not much, but a little. Well. This was something to consider. She had escaped Mokosh’s clearing and vanquished the god of darkness himself. She wasn’t going to put up with being caged by common ruffians. It would be dark soon. She was a little terrified of running into the jungle alone at night, but her light orb was in her bag, and they hadn’t thought to take her ring. She doubted she could free the others, but she could find help.
Faron clutched his chest and moaned loudly, perhaps for attention. Not that Kyla was going to feel any sympathy for him. Still, the noisy little guy might be worth something in the way of distraction.
Chapter Twelve
Under and Out
The waves lapping against the sand and Marik’s slow breaths were the only sounds in Carmin’s ear as she lay awake.
Carmin had memories of this: the two of them lying next to each other under an open sky, watching the stars and saying nothing. Perhaps she had loved him, once, and could do so again. Love could take time, after all, and despite her memories with him, she felt she was just getting to know him.
There was a yelp, and Carmin sat up to see Hajar waving at them. She had been watching the coral hut with unwavering diligence.
“Carmin! Marik!” She beckoned with a rapid flapping of her hand.
Carmin pulled Marik up, despite some resistance. He looked around as he blinked and wiped the gound from his eyes.
“Finally!” he yawned as he
saw Hajar. He stretched and lumbered toward the hut.
“What is it?” Carmin asked as they approached, though as soon as she asked she noticed the coral walls of the hut dissolving. After half a minute, the walls were gone completely, leaving a roof supported by pillars. Inside was a round pool of water in the sand. The water bobbed up and down, so one moment it was two or three feet below ground level, and then it would bulge and spread water around the edges so that all their feet were drenched.
“The walls sparkled and started to vanish!” Hajar grinned. “There was a swirl of blue magic. New magic.”
“How do you tell the difference between old and new magic?” Marik wondered aloud without breaking his gaze from the rise and fall of the water.
“Old magic uses simple and strong lines. New magic is ornate and delicate.” Hajar backed away from the hole. “Something’s coming!”
They all took a step back as water jetted from the hole. Carmin shielded her eyes from the torrent, though it did nothing to protect her clothes, and she found herself soaked and freezing in the light sea breeze. However, she had little time to concern herself with discomfort as a man with long blue-black hair hoisted himself onto the sand. Rather, the top half was a man. Instead of legs there was a fish-tail connected to his waist. He was muscular and wore no clothing.
Hajar was the first to speak. “My name is Hajar. This is Carmin and Marik. I believe you’re supposed to help us get to the Undine.”
“Call me Thijs. I am to speak with Marik.”
Marik, still brushing the water from his eyes, stepped forward. “I’m Marik. We’ve been sent to the Undine and told to meet someone here for assistance.
Thijs slapped his fish-tail on the sand. “Yes. I received a message that there would be three instead of two.” He waved his hand and a bottle coalesced from the air. It was filled with a purple liquid. He handed it to Marik, and then produced one for each Carmin and Hajar. “Drink these before you descend into the depths. They will allow you to communicate with the denizens of the Undine, for under the water we speak not with our mouths, but our minds. It would be wise to wait until morning, as the moon’s light does not penetrate deep enough to illuminate the Undine, and your weak eyes will not suffice.”
Marik winced. “Great. So, everyone’ll be able to read all my thoughts.” Carmin supposed he was tired of having his mind read all the time by Sophrosyne.
“Worry not,” Thijs assured, “for only those thoughts you transmit with intent will be perceived. None shall delve into your privacies.”
“I like how he talks,” Hajar whispered.
Again Thijs waved his hand three times, and each time a strange device dropped onto the sand. Hajar scooped them up and handed one to each Carmin and Marik. It was a mask that looked like it would fit over the nose and mouth. Hoses extended back from the mask to meet at a small white box.
Thijs dropped his tail back into the water and supported his body with his arms. “The Masks of Andarin will filter the air from the water. You shall be able to breathe in the ocean as if on land. I apologize for the crudeness of the device, but I was forbidden to grant you gills. You are not, it seems, to remain in the Undine forever. Farewell.” With that he dropped himself back into the hole and disappeared.
Hajar fitted the straps of the mask around her head. Carmin grabbed her by the wrist as she started for the water.
“We aren’t leaving until morning.”
“I know,” Hajar replied, her voice low and hollow as she spoke through the mask. “But I want to see if this thing will block the smell.”
***
Kyla kept her eyes focused on Ceiba’s stilted hut where he had stuffed their belongings. The campfire sat in the way, both obstructing her view and preventing her eyes from adjusting to the darkness of the jungle night. Two of the guards had sifted through her things and taken her food and gold, but had left her clothes and, more importantly, her light orb. They had failed to recognize its purpose and assumed it was some childish bauble she had brought along.
She took a deep breath and stretched back against her cage, so the crown of her head was nestled between two of the wooden bars. She couldn’t tell if Eunoe was sleeping. Aspen didn’t sleep, of course, but she was becoming weak as she hadn’t been able to meld with any of the local trees for sustenance. She said their dispositions were ‘too sour’.
Kyla supposed she would have to make this escape alone, and that she needed to be quick to find help before the bandits hurt her friends.
The bars on the cage spread just enough for Kyla’s head to squeeze through, and she found herself caught at the neck. She was preparing to panic when two thoughts caught her mind. First, none of the guards said anything at her head’s exit from the cage. It was possible, then, they weren’t paying much attention. She listened a moment and heard faint voices and soft laughter from the darkness. They had better things to do than stare at a few helpless prisoners all night! And second, Kyla was for once grateful that nature had failed to endow her with much bosom, as she felt she should be able to squeeze between the bars. She just needed a distraction.
Faron, lying on the ground several feet away, began to moan. It sounded more a cry for pity than genuine pain. Kyla felt sorry for the little man, despite his treachery. He was so pathetic.
Kyla held silent a moment, worried the curupira’s plea for attention had attracted the guards’ notice.
“Psst!” Kyla hissed. “You! Faron! Over here. Slowly. And be quiet.”
The moaning escalated for a few seconds before ceasing. Kyla worried that had been his final breath but then noticed him inching along on his back in her direction. It took several minutes, but soon the top of his head was pressed against her cage, his eyes glistening in the torchlight of the guards but the rest of him engulfed in shadow.
“Do you have any more bandages?” he whined. “Maybe a poultice. I could use a good poultice.”
“No. Now listen, I need—"
Faron moaned again.
“Shut up! Fine. Just keep it down. You can use the sleeves of my shirt. But they’re kind of dirty so don’t blame me if you get infected.”
“Too late, anyway.”
Kyla tore the sleeves from her shirt and felt along Faron’s face to his chest until she found the protruding arrow. Faron cringed and yelped as she touched it.
“Hold still.”
“But it hurts!”
“Well, help me out then. You still have your arms.”
Faron eased his fingertips to a loose end of bandage and pulled. He groaned as the fabric shucked away from the festering wound, which Kyla could smell better than she could see. She jerked her head back to look over her shoulder, but if the guards could see what was happening, they didn’t care. Perhaps they assumed no one would be stupid enough to run into the jungle alone at night. Well, they didn’t know Kyla.
Faron twitched as he handed her his bandage, a gruesome sopping mess which she flicked into the brush and wiped her hand on the ground before applying her sleeves in their place. “I think I can squeeze out of here, but I need you to cover for me. Go over there and make a commotion or something.”
There was a moment of silence. “Are you joking?”
“Of course not.”
“I have a piece of an arrow in my chest. It’s infected. I might be dying.”
Kyla pressed her face against the bars and rammed two fingers into Faron’s nostrils. It was a move she used as a child to subdue her little brother Bit when he got out of hand, and it seemed just as effective on Faron.
“Listen to me, you useless sack of crab-apples. You led us here and got us captured. Now these guys are gonna let you die, but I’ll help you if you help me. Got it? ‘Cause if not, I can finish this right now.” She placed her left thumb on the end of the arrow shaft in Faron’s chest. He gasped and grabbed her by the wrist.
“Okay. Easy now. I mean, I could just tell the guards you’re planning to escape.”
Kyla applied a small amo
unt of upward pressure. “Oh, yeah? You could, could you? And then they’ll magically be your friend, is that your plan? You’re gonna die here, or you’re gonna help me. Deal?”
Faron sighed. “Deal.”
***
Aspen tucked her knees up to her chin for warmth. She was too far from the fire to feel much of its heat, but she didn’t mind as she would rather freeze than burn. She was becoming more accustomed to the flames but was still wary of the glowing embers that drifted by her cage. The cold didn’t bother her much anyway, with her hunger being so terrible. She was nearing the point where she might even try some eggs, though the thought of potentially eating a little baby bird made her sick.
Even in the dim light from the distant fire she could see the ground wriggling with life. Perhaps a bug wouldn’t be so bad? She thought this until a long, black worm with hundreds of legs wriggled past, and decided she would much prefer to deal with starvation.
She could sense Eunoe sleeping, and could see Kyla’s cage, though in the darkness couldn’t see what Kyla was doing. Aspen wished she could sleep, for now she wished only to pass the night. She could turn into a tree and burst her cage, but she couldn’t escape without Eunoe. She was bound to the alseid, and if she accidentally wandered too far she would die.
Laughter and lewd chatter burst from the darkness. The one named Ori emerged with a stout orc, who looked to Aspen to be part dwarf. They lumbered to Eunoe’s cage and started smacking it on the top.
“Hey!” the orc shouted. “Hey you! How’d you like to come out for a bit of fun with me and the boys?”
Eunoe didn’t reply, though Aspen could sense that she had woken up.
“Hey!” the orc shouted again, kicking at the bars. “You can sleep tomorrow. Come on, get outta that cage. We got some…we got some…we got some drink for ya.”
Ori peered through the bars, a long, barbed tongue reaching between. “She’s faking, Juak. She’s awake.”
“Well, we’ll just drag her out then.”
