Grace's Quest

by Christopher Purrett

He wiped the remaining blood from Delza’s arm as she winced in pain.

  “I’m sorry, Grace. There just wasn’t enough time to save everyone.” The sound in his voice was heartbreaking. He wasn’t accustomed to failure.

  “LaCroiux has grown much stronger than the last time we faced him,” I stated.

  Mecca turned his attention to me. “We need to check your ribs.” He placed his hands upon my side. A pain shot straight up into my chest knocking the air from my lungs. “It doesn’t feel as though they are broken, Grace.”

  “Badly bruised,” I replied. “Not much better. It will be nearly impossible for me to use my sword.”

  “Or your bow,” Delza spoke as she leaned her head back against the tree behind her, eyes closed.

  “I will have to try. It is far too dangerous in this place for me to walk about unprotected. Even if I just hold my weapon it may keep LaCroiux’s monsters off me long enough to escape.” I said it but wasn’t even confident in those words myself. We were in real danger before our injuries, but now we entered a realm of evil. LaCroiux controlled everything here. We now played on his terms, and by his rules.

  “You two have to rest. You’ll need your strength…or what you can recover before we move on.” Mecca began gathering our weaponry and laying it out before us. “This was all that I could recover from the snow.” Two bows, a dozen arrows, three swords and a small dagger.

  “It will have to do,” I attempted to sound as confident as I could. “We shouldn’t venture out during night here. We will have to wait until daylight to help guide us.”

  “Well, there is one problem.” Mecca began. “I believe that it is day time now. It is slightly warmer, and I have witnessed some rays of light coming into the forest when the trees move with the winds. These branches are unlike anything I’ve ever seen, Grace. They act like a canopy protecting us from the snow and cold harsh winds, yet also block almost all sunlight.”

  “That would explain the dirt blanket,” Delza snarled as she ran her hand along the bare forest floor. “Real comfy!”

  Mecca half-smiled at her weak attempt at humor. There seemed to be a bond growing between them.

  “It beats sleeping in the snow,” I muttered. My clothes were still icy cold from my time beneath the snow. Thankfully, these trees kept the winds at bay. Hopefully, they could help keep Sorcerer LaCroiux’s henchmen off our scent too.

  “Alright you two, get some rest.” Mecca stood up and began walking away.

  “What if the Vampire bats find us?” Delza asked the question that weighed heavily on us all…she was just the courageous one to speak it aloud.

  “Then we fight with whatever strength we have left.” I replied attempting to hide the fear that struggled to escape me.

  I lay on the hard ground trying to rest my aching body. It was difficult to remain still, especially my mind. I kept watching the trees swaying sometimes seeing figures in them. Closing my eyes didn’t help either. Images of LaCroiux hovering over me entered my mind repeatedly. My eyes would snap open again. It was becoming harder to tell dream from reality.

  The next time I opened my eyes I felt different. My pain was numbed. Stretching out I realized that I was no longer an elf…I was again an eagle like when I enter Greenville. I took to the sky and maneuvered up through the trees. It was dark and very cold.

  “Greenville?’ I said in surprise after finding the Whizzenmog house in the distance. I swooped down and perched in the same tree where I had recently watched Whizzy.

  A warm sensation entered my chest as I saw him sleeping in his bed. I watched him through the window for a few moments. It was peaceful…too peaceful.

  “I should check on Rachel,” I extended my wings and prepared to leap from the branch when a strange light appeared in Whizzy’s bedroom.

  The white light spun with flashes of gold growing more intense with each swirl. It grew larger by the second…a flash lit up the room. It stunned my sensitive eyes. When my vision returned, I was frightened by what I saw. Sorcerer LaCroiux stood beside Whizzy’s bed. I tried to get air born, but my body aches had returned. That was when I realized I was no longer an eagle, but myself again grasping the branch.

  LaCroiux turned his gaze upon me. A rumbling laughter exploded through the window, bursting the glass out upon me. The same white light glowed from his mouth and eyes.

  “You can’t protect him, Grace. You can’t even protect yourself!” the sorcerer mocked.

  I watched helplessly as LaCroiux stood up tall, arms raised. Flames began to dance in his palms, a ferocious expression upon his face like that of a Wolverine preparing to pounce on its prey. He fired a ball of flames into Whizzy’s bed. It exploded, shooting flames out the broken window and against my skin. The heat instead felt like a rush of cold air across my body. I began to tumble from the branch. I was falling to my death when suddenly I awoke.

  “WHIZZY!” I screamed.

  “Grace!” Mecca yelled snapping me back from the horrible nightmare and into our real-life horror.

  Mecca helped Delza to her feet.

  My heart was still pounding so hard it hurt my head. I struggled to catch my breath amidst the pain in my badly bruised ribs. I rolled to my side, still unaware of just how much danger we were in. Mecca’s strong arms wrapped around me and lifted me up.

  I whimpered in pain, but held back the urge to scream. Mecca noticed the tears running down my cheeks. Thankfully, he would believe that it was because of the pain in my body and not in my heart after watching Whizzy being destroyed at the hands of our enemy. I had to tell myself it was a dream. I couldn’t have actually been in Greenville. LaCroiux was just torturing me…leading me to believe he had done it.

  I heard the familiar sound of a sword ringing as it was unsheathed. Mecca held his sword pointed directly before him.

  “Think you can fire your bow?” He asked me.

  “I don’t know how accurately.”

  “Well, accuracy is gonna count.”

  For the first time I got to witness our enemies. In the trees were dozens of Vampire bats seething and drooling. Cracking and growling came from the branches. A tree bent forward causing a Vampire bat to flee. Another loud crack exploded into our hideout, followed by a massive meaty fist. The monstrously tall tree snapped in half and crashed to the ground as three Trolls entered.

  “We are in serious trouble!” Delza yelped.

  “Well, at least he didn’t send four Trolls.” Mecca looked at me. “Then we’d be outnumbered,” Mecca sarcastically replied.

  SORCERY

  7

  There was a strange pause from our enemies. They were awaiting something…a command perhaps. The Vampire bats would jump from tree to tree, but remained high above us as though watching a sporting event.

  The Trolls just glared at us, each seemingly choosing its intended target. I found myself sharing eye contact with the apparent leader of the group. Trolls are slow in just about every aspect; their mind, movement and skills; however, in my current condition it was going to be very difficult to take this creature on alone. The Troll’s broad shoulders dipped up and down with each massive breath.

  “What are they waiting for?” Mecca barked. He was gripping his sword so tightly that his knuckles were pure white.

  “Don’t be so eager for this fight.” That was normally my stance before battle, but this particular fight was not in our favor…even if we were healthy.

  “Delza looks jittery,” I said to Mecca

  “Yes, I think we all are jittery just about now,” He replied.

  “What are those bats doing?” Delza nervously asked. She raised her bow toward the tree tops aiming her arrow at multiple targets.

  “Don’t worry about the bats, Delza,” I commanded. “The Trolls will attack first. Those nasty flying beasts are probably here to make certain the dumb Trolls do their jobs.”

  “I don’t wanna be eaten,” Delza cried. “I can’t go out like this.” Blood began to trickle from her nose.


  “What in Mistasia are they waiting for?” Mecca barked again as he stepped forward.

  “No, Mecca wait…don’t,” I reached for his arm, but a sharp pain held me back.

  “What do you wait for?” He yelled at the Trolls. “If this is the end, then let us begin already.”

  The lead Troll leaned forward; its face features shifting into something all too recognizable…the face of Sorcerer LaCroiux.

  “Then we shall begin, little Elf,” The sorcerer sneered.

  I gasped. Mecca retreated, and Delza fired her arrow directly at the lead Troll hitting him in the cheek. LaCroiux’s face was gone. What returned was the ugly features of the Troll, which growled in agony as the arrow pierced its skin. It raised its giant arm back and swung toward her swatting her into the trees behind us. Mecca and I were now left to face these monstrously powerful Trolls outnumbered.

  “NOOOOO!” Mecca screamed with hatred, something very unfamiliar for him even in battle. He raised his sword and dodged a Troll’s attempt to squash him.

  Dirt escaped from the Troll’s hand. Mecca leapt up and disappeared into the cloud of dirt and debris. He emerged running up the mountain of an arm toward the Troll’s head.

  The other two Trolls thundered around their leader and approached me. Panic coursed through my body. I was still too weak to fight them…so I ran into the heart of the forest.

  As I entered the maze of entangled limbs and branches of the Deadly Spray Forest, I heard a great cry of agony followed by a tremendous rumble. The trees shook,