by Bryant Reil
The most interesting part of the journey was the decorations. Many of the houses had pumpkins near the front door with scary faces carved in the sides and lit with candles. Aura and Kyla both liked these, though Aspen was leery of the flames. She was also leery of Lili who kept sparking fire with her fingers. When Lili saw how nervous this made Aspen she only sneered.
One house in particular was wonderfully decorated. There were gravestones on the grass and a bubbling cauldron by the door. There was a tree in the front yard with a man hanging by his neck. Aspen squealed and she and Eunoe ran over to hoist him up so he could breathe, only to discover he was stuffed with straw. Eunoe laughed at this, though Aspen needed a minute to catch her breath. Kyla thought Lili would find the hanging straw man amusing but she only gave a condescending scoff. “Where I come from, we use real bodies to decorate.”
***
Kyle's house was easy to spot once they located the street. There was a group of people walking up to the door. They pushed a button next to the door and it opened and they went inside. There was a number next to the door which Kyla verified using the notes Denzig gave her and they walked up the small flight of stairs. Kyla was nervous but excited. She pressed the button.
Bing-bong.
Aspen clapped. Kyla smiled. She pressed it again.
Bing-bong.
“I love it!”
Bing-bong.
“I'm coming!” shouted an irritated voice from inside. The door whipped open and a man with a cape and fangs opened the door. He looked the girls over before speaking.
“Oh! Hi. I didn't think you were going to make it. Kyla, right?”
“Oh, Kyle! I didn't recognize you in your costume. Yeah. I brought some friends. Hope that's okay?”
“Of course. Come on in! There's some drinks and snacks.” He looked back at the others. “I'm Kyle.”
“Oh...right. Names. Well, that's Saul, Lili, Eunoe, Aspen, Aura.”
Kyle looked at Eunoe with some interest. Kyla frowned. Even with most of her covered she still got all the attention. “Eunoe. Pretty name. Never heard it before.” He looked over at Lili who was sparking flames from her hands which made Kyle as nervous as it did Aspen. “Cool costume but please don't light those in the house. My dad's Sheriff and that doesn't look legal.”
The party was small. Three young men sat on a sofa with small boxes in their hands. The boxes had tails or vines connected to a larger box against the wall. The larger box bore an image of monsters, loud noises, eerie music, and blood. Kyla didn't care for it, though the boys were transfixed. She peered at it carefully, trying to determine if this was a portal with monsters trying to crawl out, a box with monsters crammed inside, or simply a moving picture. Judging by the laughter and commentary from the boys she assumed the latter.
Kyla walked behind the sofa, so as not to obstruct the boys' view of the terrible scene. She noted the scent of moonflowers as she crossed the room, though there were none to be seen. Against the far wall was a girl with long black hair wearing a black dress which hugged her body. It was embroidered and beautiful but looked more like an evening gown than a costume. She looked at Kyla with an unreadable stare.
“Eunoe! Look!” Aspen slapped Eunoe on the shoulder and pointed to a picture on the wall next to the girl. It was a pair of tigers sitting in the snow. Only these tigers were white.
“They're beautiful!” Eunoe walked up and peered at the picture with no acknowledgment of the girl standing next to it.
Eunoe jumped as Kyle approached from behind. “That's a white Bengal tiger. You've never seen one before?”
“No, I didn't know anyone made them in this color!”
Kyle laughed. “Yup, they decided it was this or pink!”
Kyla raised an eyebrow. She had been under the impression humans didn't know how to design animals. They had made a wise decision in choosing white over pink.
“I might make one myself one of these days,” Eunoe said as she stroked the picture with a massive padded paw.
“Good luck with that.”
The bing-bong sounded and Kyle opened the door to let in several more people, including the bear Kyla had bumped into on the street. He saw her and waved but when she approached him to say hello he backed away. As soon as the new crowd entered, shouting and slapping the raised hands of the boys on the couch, the moving picture froze in place and Kyle brought out some colored cylinders. One of the new boys pulled the top of one which released a hissing sound and must have contained some beverage as he started drinking from it.
Kyla, finding herself standing alone, and with Eunoe fawning over the picture of the white tiger, sought Aspen or Aura for company. Aspen had wandered into the next room, which was connected by an open archway, and was opening and closing a large metal box.
“Whatcha doin'?” Kyla asked as she walked up behind Aspen.
Aspen jumped. “Oh! Hi, Kyla. Look, it has a light in it! But when you close the door the light turns off by itself! If you hold it until it's almost closed it gets dark in there.” Aspen suddenly whipped the door open. “Then look! It's on!”
“It's also cold,” Kyla noted. “Good idea for storing food. Maybe we can get one for my mom and dad.”
“Never seen a fridge before?” Two boys were standing in the archway. They must have just come in as Kyla hadn't seen them in the other room. They were apparently dressed as paupers, as their clothing was ripped and wrinkled, and their hair unkempt.
One of the boys looked at Aspen. “I'm Mike. This is Doug. Kyle says you're a friend of his?”
Aspen shook her head. “No. I just met him.”
“She's with me.” Kyla extended her arm, and to her surprise the boy grabbed her hand and shook it up and down. That must be the human manner of greeting.
“Oh! Oh. So you know the girl looking at the tiger picture?”
Kyla's heart sank. “Yes. What about it?”
“Could you introduce us? We tried talking to her but she didn't hear us.”
“She was ignoring you,” Kyla muttered as she walked up to Eunoe. “You've got some fans in the kitchen.”
Eunoe's eyes didn't break from the picture. “Yeah. Great. I think I could make something like this.”
“Eunoe!” Aspen said in sing-song. “We've got some new friends. Please help me talk to them.”
Eunoe sighed.
So did Kyla. “I'll go keep Aura company.”
Aura was grabbing on to a table next to the sofa, and Kyla could see she was starting to lift off the ground.
“Aura!” Kyla hissed. “No flying!”
“I can't help it. I'm becoming entirely uncomfortable. Help me out of this costume. I'd like to go home.” With that a hole burst through the fabric at Aura's left ankle. A blast shot through and she started to rotate with her feet in the air. Kyla rushed over and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her to the ground, and looked around frantically. Luckily no one else noticed. Then another hole burst from her stomach and the two girls drifted into the wall at the back of the room. This time someone did see. The person in the bear costume stood at the hallway entrance staring at them.
“Oh, crab-apples,” Kyla muttered.
Chapter Sixteen
Fear and Loathing
“Up the stairs, first door on the left.” Kyle barely looked at Kyla and Aura as he gestured toward the bathroom. He, along with most of the others in the room, had become entranced by the goings-on of the moving picture box, which Kyla now understood to be some sort of terrible game. She thought this was poor hosting on Kyle's part, yet she was considerably more concerned with Aura who wanted to dissipate through the holes in her costume and fly home. At present Kyla was holding her to the ground so she wouldn't drift around the room.
“Just come upstairs!” Kyla hissed in her ear. “That bear is staring at us. I just want you to get out of sight first!”
Getting up the stairs was a struggle, even with Aura's cooperation, as she was becoming more agitated, and the more upset she bec
ame, the stronger the winds emanated from her body. Parts of her outfit were starting to balloon, and others sent blasts of air through holes that shot papers and trash across the floor. With some effort Kyla pushed Aura through the bathroom door and shut it. Aura immediately diffused out the holes in her costume and reformed as the fabric settled to the ground. She was nearly transparent and the winds from her body sent the costume sweeping in circles on the floor.
“It was so tight in there!” Aura complained. “Like being in a box. I don't think I could manage being a groundling! Solid clothing is so restrictive!”
“Yeah, but if we don't wear it we gotta deal with ticks and nettles.” Kyla had experience with both. “You gonna go home? Or maybe you could just turn invisible and hang out?”
“I need fresh air. I'm going to fly around outside for a bit. See you later.”
Kyla heard a rush as Aura flew under the door. She picked up the skeleton costume, considered trying it on, and finally folded it up with a sigh and tied it around her waist. Now, at least, she was free to rejoin the party and absorb some human culture.
Except there was somebody in the hallway.
The bear stood at the top of the stairs, watching her as she stepped out of the bathroom. It waved but said nothing.
“Hi!” Kyla forced a smile. She didn't like forced smiles and felt her own was recognizably insincere, but she was afraid the person in the costume had seen too much. He had, at least, seen fit to come upstairs to investigate.
Kyla didn't want to draw attention to it. “So... I remember you from the street. Outside. You picked up my map for me. That was you, right?”
The bear nodded but said nothing.
“Yeah. Thanks for that. So are you a friend of Kyle's?” Kyla judged by the bear's height it must be a child inside that costume, and so reconsidered. “Little brother, maybe?”
The bear nodded again. It gestured for her to follow and started down the stairs. Kyla hesitated but it turned around and waved her to follow again.
“Yeah, I'm coming down. Came here to party! Just had to help my friend with her costume.”
Kyla froze for a second. Aura was gone and she had no explanation. Luckily, the bear either didn't notice or didn't care. It led her downstairs behind the couch where something very amazing must have been happening in the game as everyone was shouting and cheering. Eunoe and Aspen were still talking to Kyle's friends in the kitchen. Eunoe saw Kyla and gave a frantic wave for her to join them. Likely she needed rescue from a dreary conversation. Kyla stepped toward the kitchen but the bear beckoned her to follow down the hallway. She gestured a silent apology to Eunoe and followed the bear. Where was he leading her? He had seen her and Aura in the back of the room. Perhaps he wanted to ask about that privately. But why not do so upstairs?
The bear led her through a rear door and into a yard. It was dark, with only a little light emanating from the kitchen window. She could see Eunoe through it, trying to look engaged in her conversation. Aspen, on the other hand, was smiling and laughing.
The bear led Kyla to a small building at the far side of the back yard. He creaked the door open and motioned for her to come inside. Kyla stopped. Something was wrong. Where was he taking her?
“Uh...I'm just going to let Kyle know where I am, ok?”
The bear shook his head frantically and pointed into the shed.
“How old are you?” Kyla asked. He held up seven fingers.
“And you're Kyle's brother?”
He nodded.
“Fine, but I can't see anything in there. You go first.”
He nodded again and stepped into the small building. At first she thought it might be a child's play house, but she could see in the dim light that the walls and shelves were lined with shovels, hammers, and other tools, many of which she didn't recognize. Human inventions. A strange place for a child.
“I guess you're wondering about what you saw in the house. With my friend, you know. I guess it looked like she was floating around. She wasn't, you see. It's just a trick.”
The bear looked at her for a second before speaking. His voice was deep and gruff, for a child.
“I want my stone.”
Dunkin. Kyla opened her mouth in a soundless scream as he grabbed her throat and pushed her against the far wall, pinning her with his body.
“Where is it?” he growled.
“I don't know!” Kyla squeaked. The dwarf's grip tightened.
“You gave it to Elial Ciana. What did he do with it?”
She could no longer speak but shook her head. The dwarf squeezed harder, and her eyes felt like they were going to pop.
“You're going to get me that stone. I know where you live. I know where your family lives. I know where your friends live. If you don't want people to start disappearing, you need to get me that stone. So start thinking. He must have told you something. Did he keep it? Did he give it away?” He released his grip to let her speak.
Kyla shook her head frantically. “I don't know!” she finally sobbed.
Dunkin squeezed tighter. “Then I guess I have no reason to keep you alive.”
Her eyes darted about for something she could use to hit him, but he noticed this and was able to grip both her wrists together in his one free hand. He was amazingly strong. She kicked him to no avail, and just as she was about to give up her struggle she had a flash of inspiration. On the top of a shelf over Dunkin's head was a large object. She couldn't see what it was in the dark, but it had a cord that dangled to the floor. She kicked at it to try and pull the object down on Dunkin's head, but she couldn't get her foot wrapped around it, so she kicked off her shoe, grabbed the cord with her toes, and pulled. The object moved but didn't fall so she tried again. This time she yanked hard and the object fell onto the dwarf's head with a clang, which was followed by a yelp. He let go of Kyla and clutched his head. He recovered quickly but Kyla was already scampering across the yard to the house. As she grabbed the door knob he yanked her back by the waist of her pants and tossed her to the grass, stepping between her and the door. She managed a cry for help which was cut short as he tried to stomp on her. She rolled to the side and ran. There was a tall wooden fence along the side of the yard. Kyla, being light and accustomed to climbing trees, easily scaled it with the dwarf in pursuit. The dwarf struggled to heave himself up, so Kyla stopped to look around the yard in which she now found herself. It was darker even than Kyle's, as the lights in the house were off, and Kyla couldn't see where the gate might be. This pause cost her valuable seconds as Dunkin burst through the wooden fence and lunged at her.
There was a space between the side of the house and the fence. It led to the street. A streetlight shone there and Kyla hoped if she got into the light someone would see her and come to her aid. Dunkin anticipated her move and angled to cut her off, forcing her to run to the other side of the yard. She scurried over the back fence and found herself in a dark lane that stank of garbage. She turned again toward Kyle's house but again Dunkin cut her off, bursting through the fence and snorting like an angry bull. She turned and ran.
She gasped for breath and caressed her throat, which still hurt. She had a strange energy brought by the fear which carried her faster than she had ever run. She tried to call for help but her throat was swollen and she couldn't get much volume. She darted around a corner and saw a house bordered by junipers. Looking back, she couldn't see Dunkin but heard the thud of his footsteps. She crawled on her stomach into the junipers, which scraped at her skin. Now that she wanted to be silent she found she could not. She had to work to breathe, and each time she inhaled it sounded to her as loud as a scream. Dunkin's footsteps trotted past but then stopped and slowly reversed. Then he was silent.
“I know you're around here somewhere,” he growled. Kyla forced her lips together to keep her heavy breaths from bursting out her mouth.
The footsteps moved slowly to the other side of the lane. “Linkin told you we needed that stone,” the dwarf muttered. “You wouldn'
t be in this position if you had listened. Now I have to get my hands dirty.”
There was a sound of clanging metal. Kyla peered past the roots of the junipers to see but couldn't tell exactly where Dunkin was or what he was doing.
“I won't be able to let you live, of course. You must know that. But there's no reason your friends and family need to get involved. If you tell me where the stone is, of course.” There was a shuffle of gravel. “I'll make it a clean kill, and the people you love will keep on living. Long as you come out and tell me what you know.”
Kyla didn't believe him. She didn't think she'd have the courage to confront him if she did. She had never been so terrified. The burst of energy that had carried her here was already wearing off and her body was starting to shake.
“I guess you want to make this hard, then. Fine. I know you're here. Your elf stench is burning my nostrils. It's only a matter of time.”
The faint outline of Dunkin's boots slowly trod in front of her face. Her mind searched in vain for an idea, an escape, but her brain had vacated and left her body drained.
A yelp burst from her lips as something gripped tightly around her left ankle and dragged her back out through the junipers.
“Thought you could hide from me, huh?” Dunkin pinned Kyla to the ground with a knee just below her neck. His breath stank. Kyla squirmed but the powerful dwarf kept her pinned. She tried to scream, to force the last bit of air from her lungs, but a mighty hand clamped over her mouth. The other, she could see in the dim light, picked up a large rock. Kyla clenched her eyes shut and waited for the blow.
There was a wind, sudden and strong. It wasn't enough to move the dwarf but Kyla could feel the rush of dirt over her face and judging by the dwarf's foul exclamation he must have gotten some in his eyes.
“Kyla!” came Aura's voice. Is was barely audible yet urgent and piercing, rushing past with the wind. The wind circled, and swept back again, yet the dwarf didn't loosen his grip. Kyla opened her eyes to see Aura coalesce a few feet away, hovering in the air. The dwarf growled.
