by E. D. Baker
They started back on the road sooner than Aislin had expected. This time Kimble didn’t hide her face in the griffin’s feathers. “I almost died, so nothing scares me anymore,” she told everyone.
Kivi rode the fairy horse with his arms wrapped around Lin, and they both looked contented. Deela and the manticore seemed to get along well; there was no question that anyone else would ride him.
“I’m sorry I didn’t notice the kelpi in the lake,” Poppy confessed. “I won’t miss anything this time.” She turned small in a sparkle of fairy dust and flew ahead of the others.
“I think I’ll take a nap,” Aislin announced from the crook of Salianne’s arm.
“That’s a good idea,” said Salianne as she strode down the road. “I always say, sleep when you can ’cause you never know when you’ll get another chance. No, wait. That’s what I say about eating. Well, it’s true both ways. Go to sleep, Aislin. I’ll keep you safe.”
“I’m going to make wreaths out of these dandelions,” said Twinket. “Do you want to help me, Tomas?”
“Uh, no thanks,” Tomas replied. “I think I’ll take a nap, too.”
“That’s too bad,” said Twinket. “You’ll be missing out on a lot of fun.”
The group moved faster now, eager to put the lake and the kelpies behind them. They passed through the forest as quietly as they could, hurrying when they heard something roar in the distance. Poppy came back a few times to tell them what she had spotted—troll footprints, dragon-blasted trees, and long, coarse fur snagged on twigs too high up to be from a normal animal. Each time she told them of something unusual, they hurried past the spot she’d mentioned, hoping to avoid any more trouble.
No one suggested stopping again until night was falling, but by then they had reached the base of the mountain. A breeze had sprung up, cooling the air, so they knew they’d need a fire to keep warm. They chose a spot far enough from the road that anyone passing by couldn’t see the light from the flames. Deela had a way with flint and sticks and soon had a good blaze going. Aislin and Tomas offered to take first watch, having napped for much of the afternoon. After eating the leftovers from their earlier meal, the others lay down close enough to the fire to warm themselves, but far enough that errant sparks wouldn’t burn them. When Salianne lay on her side, her body blocked the breeze from reaching her friends.
Aislin and Tomas sat with their backs to the fire so they could see into the darkened forest around them. Although Tomas started at each new or unfamiliar sound, Aislin focused on what the rocks in the ground could tell her. She learned of the smaller animals that scurried about on their own important errands, and the hungry night-prowlers that hunted them. While the fire drew the curious inhabitants of the forest, it repelled others who would normally pass that way. Aislin didn’t sense anything dangerous.
After a few hours, Twinket and Kimble’s shift began, allowing Aislin and Tomas to lie down near the fire. Neither of the little girls needed much sleep, and they enjoyed staying up to watch the night unfold. Kimble was especially good at seeing in the dark, and was the first to notice the eyes watching them.
“Shh!” she whispered to Twinket. “Don’t look now, but someone is in the trees to our left.”
“Where?” Twinket asked, turning her head to look.
“I just told you not to look!” Kimble said.
“Then you shouldn’t have told me where not to look,” Twinket replied. “I wouldn’t have known to look there and would have looked somewhere else.”
“Shh! There’s more of them now,” whispered Kimble. “I see at least four sets of eyes reflecting the light from the fire. Some are high and some are low. I think we should wake everyone and tell them.”
Twinket got to her feet and started to walk. In a normal voice she said, “I’ll wake everyone on this side and you can wake all the others. We can meet in the middle and—”
“What’s going on?” Salianne asked, sitting up to look around.
Aislin opened her eyes and peered into the darkness. When she didn’t see anything, she reached out with her mind, letting the rocks show her what was near them. There were seven beings out there who didn’t feel right. Although some felt human, even they were a little off. Two or three felt partly like animals, and some were almost entirely animals, but the strangest thing was that they all seemed to be changing. Realizing what they must be, she whispered, “They’re werewolves.”
“Werewolves!” Salianne shouted. “I’ve never seen werewolves before.” She stood up and turned to where the little girls were staring. “I want to catch one and get a good look.”
Now that the giantess was no longer lying down, the breeze whipped the fire, making the flames flare and bend while casting bizarre shapes on the surrounding trees. Although Salianne was fourteen feet tall, the shadow she cast made her seem even bigger. As she lumbered toward the trees, there was a yelp and the crack of twigs as the werewolves ran away.
“They’re gone now,” Aislin told her friends.
Salianne sighed and turned around. “Oh, well,” she said. “Maybe next time.”
When Tomas gave Aislin a questioning look, she shrugged and whispered, “She’s led a very sheltered life and has never ventured beyond a small part of Eliasind. Most of what we’ve seen today is new to her.”
Tomas snorted. “A lot of it is new to me, too.”
It took a while before anyone was able to go back to sleep after that, but nothing came near them again.
Chapter 17
Aislin woke early the next morning. At first she couldn’t remember where she was, but when she looked around and saw her friends, she recalled why they were there. She was considering waking everyone so they could all get an early start when she heard the faintest of sounds and felt the presence of fairies. It wasn’t just a few fairies, either.
“They’re here!” Aislin exclaimed in a voice loud enough to wake everyone but the heaviest sleeper. Grabbing her knapsack that she’d used as a pillow, she ran toward the road.
“Who’s here?” Tomas called after her.
She didn’t answer as she hurried around trees and over fallen branches. Then her mestari were by her side, watching as a double line of mounted fairies rode from the west with the morning sun glinting off their armor. The fairy horses pranced as if proud to be carrying their riders while the tiny fairies who acted as scouts darted here and there as they reported what they had seen.
“This is really eerie,” Tomas whispered to her. “It’s an entire army and they don’t make a sound. Is there a spell on them?”
Aislin shook her head. “No, fairy horses are always like that when they’re in formation. It’s one of the things that makes my grandfather’s army so effective.”
Although the sun was barely up, the light reflecting off the fairies’ armor was bright enough to hurt Aislin’s eyes. She squinted as the army drew closer. King Darinar rode at the front with Captain Larch beside him. Aislin spotted Sycamore riding behind the captain.
When the king saw his granddaughter, he raised his hand and the army came to a halt. “Hello, my dear. I was wondering when I’d find you,” King Darinar said to Aislin. “You shouldn’t have come all this way without me. I hope you didn’t run into any difficulties.”
“Nothing that we couldn’t handle,” Aislin replied.
“And you have your newest companion with you,” he said, and nodded at Salianne. “I worried about you less once Sycamore reported that she had joined your party. He told us about the trolls who attacked you and how Salianne handled them. You were wise to choose her as one of your mestari.”
“We’re very happy to have her,” said Aislin, and flashed a smile at Salianne.
The giantess gazed at the fairy king with her eyes wide and her mouth open. She had never actually met him before, although she had known that he was her friend’s grandfather.
“After you left, we located some other fairies who had dealt with Gorinda. They say she was behind much of the unrest,” s
aid King Darinar. “What’s worse is that she has formed an alliance with the trolls and is controlling them with magic that we haven’t seen in a very long time.”
“When I visited Mount Gora on behalf of King Talus, I found trolls trying to steal dragon’s eggs. They talked about giving them to someone they referred to as ‘her,’ although they never said who she was or why she wanted the eggs. Do you think it might be Gorinda?”
“Quite possibly,” said the king. “If she’s stealing dragons’ eggs, I’d like to know where she’s taking them and what she has planned. We’ve been told that she has a stronghold at the top of the mountain. That’s where we’re going now. I’ll have my fairies watch out for dragons’ eggs while we’re there.”
“I can go with you and see if I can learn anything,” Aislin suggested. “I can learn a lot when I’m in touch with a mountain.”
“No,” her grandfather said, shaking his head. “I don’t want you anywhere near the fighting. From what we’ve heard, we’ll have to face Gorinda’s trolls before we find her. I need to know that you’re safe.”
Aislin and her party drew back as the army rode past. The princess wasn’t expecting Kivi to come up behind her leading the fairy horse. “With your leave, Your Highness, I’ll be going now. My place is with the army,” the pedrasi warrior said. “I’ll come back after the battle to escort you to the palace, but you don’t need me now.”
“I understand,” said Aislin. “Thank you for all you’ve done.”
Aislin’s mestari had gathered around her to watch the rest of the columns ride by when the manticore padded up to the princess. “If you don’t mind, Birdbrain and I would like to go with the king, too. Baibre told us to help however we can, and we think King Darinar needs us more than you do now.”
“Of course, you may go,” said Aislin. “I’m sure the king will appreciate your help.”
“Ree!” screamed the griffin.
“He says he likes you and wants you to stay safe,” the manticore told her.
“I like you both,” Aislin told him. “You need to stay safe, too.”
“Now what would be the fun in that?” the manticore asked, then turned and bounded away.
Deela joined Aislin as the manticore fell in line behind the mounted warriors while the griffin circled over the columns. “Be careful, Snick!” the orc girl called after the manticore.
“Is that his name?” Aislin asked her. “I never heard it before.”
“The griffin had a name, but the manticore didn’t, so I gave him one,” said Deela. “I named him after my cousin. They have the same eyes.”
“If we have to stay here, I’m going to look for werewolf tracks,” said Salianne. “Anyone want to join me?”
“I will,” Lin said.
“I’m going, too,” Kimble announced. “I want to see what you do when you actually catch a werewolf.”
While the trio went off to scour the forest floor for tracks, Aislin and Tomas returned to the campfire to douse the ashes with water. As they were finishing up, they heard a shout and Lin came running back.
“Come see what we found!” Lin cried.
“Did you find werewolf tracks?” asked Tomas.
“No, something even better,” said Lin. “We found Aghamonda’s tracks and they lead right into the mountain!”
“I want to see this,” Aislin said. “If Aghamonda is heading into the mountain, she might be planning to help Gorinda.”
With Lin in the lead, Aislin, Tomas, and the rest of her ladies hurried through the forest, watching for more tracks. They found them in the soil at the base of the scree and again on the slope where Salianne and Kimble were waiting. Although they looked like the footprints of any full-sized fairy, the impression they made in the soil was much deeper. Whoever had walked there weighed a lot more than an ordinary fairy. “I think they’re at least half a day old,” Lin told them. “See over there. They head right into that opening.” The young pedrasi showed them a gap in the side of the mountain that was big enough for two full-sized fairies or one ordinary orc.
“Then that’s where I need to go,” Aislin said, and turned to her companions. “I’m going in, but that doesn’t mean you have to. Salianne, you’ll have to stay out here because you won’t fit. Besides, I need someone to make sure that no one follows us inside. And anyone who is afraid of the dark or confined spaces should stay out here, too. I don’t want someone panicking when we’re in the mountain.”
“Give me a minute and I can make everyone fairy lights,” said Poppy. “Do you have yours with you, Aislin?”
“I don’t,” Aislin replied. “I lost it in Mount Gora.”
While Poppy started forming fairy lights with her hands, Aislin turned to the others.
“You know I’m used to the dark and small spaces,” Lin told her. “I grew up inside Deephold.”
“And I grew up in Mount Gora,” said Kimble. “I’m going in.”
“I’m fine with the dark and small spaces,” said Tomas. “I’m going in.”
“So am I,” Deela told them. “I spent the first ten years of my life inside a mountain without ever seeing the light of day. Why do you think you never see little orcs running around? We’re not allowed outside until we graduate from basic warrior training and can take care of ourselves.”
“Twinket, that leaves you,” Aislin said, turning to the doll. “Would you mind staying out here to keep watch with Salianne? It would help me a lot if you did.”
“Oh no, you’re not tricking me like that. If you’re going in, so am I!” Twinket replied.
“Are you sure?” Aislin asked her. “You told me how much you hate being closed up in anything small like a satchel. If we find ourselves in a tight space or lose our lights for some reason, you might be terrified.”
“I’ll be even more terrified if I have to stay outside not knowing what’s happening to you,” said Twinket. “I’m going in whether you want me there or not!”
Chapter 18
The distant roar of attacking trolls and the cries of their victims made everyone look up. The sound was coming from so high on the mountain that they couldn’t see anything.
“The battle between the fairies and the trolls must have started,” Aislin remarked. “If we can’t help up there, at least we can see what Aghamonda is doing and stop her from joining the battle.”
Poppy handed out the apple-sized fairy lights she had made, giving Salianne one as well. The sunlight was so bright that the glow from the lights seemed pale and wan in comparison. “I saw the way you were looking at the lights. It won’t do you much good until it gets dark, but it’s yours to keep for later,” Poppy told the giant.
“Where’d it go?” Salianne said, unable to find it in her hand.
“It fell down between your fingers,” said Twinket. “Let me get it.”
The giantess set her hand on the ground, letting Twinket climb up. When the doll reached between Salianne’s fingers, her little arms disappeared up to her elbows. “Found it!” she finally said, showing the fairy light to everyone.
“Take care of yourself,” Aislin told Salianne, then turned to the mountain. With Tomas right behind her, the rest of Aislin’s mestari followed single-file through the opening.
They had walked only a few yards when Kimble pushed past Tomas so she could be closer to Aislin. The little spriggan reached up to tug on the hem of Aislin’s tunic. “I can be your scout,” Kimble told her.
“Not until I have an idea of what we might expect,” Aislin replied.
The opening was the start of a long and narrow tunnel. Enough light came in from the outside that they could see for a dozen yards in, but then the tunnel changed direction, cutting off the light. It would have been completely dark if not for the fairy lights that gave off a warm glow and lit up the space around them. Suddenly everyone appreciated Poppy’s fairy lights. They started playing with them, waving their hands to direct the lights back and forth in front of them.
“Please stop that!�
�� Aislin said when Kimble’s light bumped the back of her head the second time and Twinket’s light made swirly patterns before her eyes.
“Don’t you need a light, Poppy?” asked Lin, who was in line right behind the fairy.
“No, I’ll be fine,” Poppy replied. A moment later she turned tiny and rose into the air.
“Ooh!” said Deela when the beating of Poppy’s wings created a soft light. “I never get tired of seeing that.”
“Hold on a minute,” Aislin announced. “Let me find out what we’re getting into.” Placing her hand on the wall, she closed her eyes and reached out with her mind. She could feel the tunnel extend deep into the mountain with other tunnels intersecting it here and there. Although the tunnel they were in seemed safe enough at first, she could sense a deep pit only a few hundred feet ahead, and rocks balanced past that to fall on anyone agile enough to jump over the pit. Extending her search, she found tunnels that were safe for a time, but led to deep ravines or narrowed down to spaces so small that people could get trapped inside.
Twinket and Kimble started fidgeting behind her and the noise began to pull her away from her search. “Shh,” Lin whispered. “She’s busy. You have to be quiet.”
Aislin reached farther out then, searching the mountain for the presence of anything unusual. She located Aghamonda, standing inside a tunnel that didn’t look promising at first. When Aislin felt past the fairy statue, she found a heavy stone door and a descending tunnel behind it. Curious, the princess traced it to a lower level, then another until she reached a level with an enormous cavern. A lake three times the size of the one in Mount Gora took up most of the cavern floor, while cracks in the floor around the lake allowed steam to escape from below. A narrow bridge connected the shore to a stone platform that stood on pillars in the very center of the lake.
Although it wasn’t easy, Aislin tried to get a feeling for what was on the platform. There were trolls there and something she couldn’t quite make out. When she focused, she could almost sense … Suddenly a red-hot light seemed to pierce her mind and she lurched back into herself so fast that she gasped.
