Blue Ridge: Vol. 3 - Escape

by Sophia Gray

  “What do you think I’m thinking?” Warren shrank back from the anger in Foster’s words. “I’m thinking Dain is a hypocritical idiot, and we are no closer to finding Nadia as we were when we entered!” Foster felt a moment of guilt for snapping at Warren, but quickly pushed it aside. Guilt was not going to help. Diana couldn’t take them where they needed to go, because she had no one to stay with the baby. No one knew about the baby. She delivered on her own. It was a miracle she and the baby hadn’t died. The baby would continue to be called the baby because she refused to name him until Dain came and named him himself.

  “Where did that nut say we were to go?” Stefan asked with a grumble. He was becoming increasingly irritated as the day went on. They had stayed with Diana until after breakfast. She had insisted on feeding them before they journeyed on. Stefan tried to refuse, but she had threatened him with a rather large knife saying it was “rude”.

  “We’re supposed to go to the Owl’s house.”

  “Right.” Stefan muttered. “We’re going to ask a bird where we might find a human. Batty as hell, that one.”

  “I think the Owl may be a person, Stefan.”

  “Not a person. A Fae or a dwarf, or maybe it’s some kind of Elf.”

  Warren looked confused. “Aren’t the Fae and Sidhe technically part of the Elfin race?”

  Stefan gave him a hard look. “Who cares?”

  They walked further into the forest, watching for the landmarks Diana had told them about. Fallen logs, a tiny brook, left at the fox den. It was confusing for Foster and impossible for Stefan, but Warren was right at home. The only problem was keeping him focused on the task at hand instead of his trying to touch or look at every animal or plant that they passed.

  “I think this is it.” Warren said and stepped towards a mound about four feet high. He bent low and knocked on the top of it. Something rustled from just under the top of the mound and the entire top opened like the lid of a box.

  “What!” a voice screeched from inside.

  “We wish to see the Owl.”

  A small head poked out from the opening. Initially he was looking in the wrong direction. His head swiveled the other way, and the trio saw a skinny face with huge thick glasses perched on his nose. White hair ringed the bottom part of his head and when he climbed out, he stood about three feet high. He arched his back and stared up at the three of them.

  “Great, a Gnome.” Stefan said aloud.

  “What do you want?” His voice matched his craggy face.

  “We are looking for a human. She may have been brought into the Realm against her will.”

  “Well, I may have seen her.” He said slowly.

  “Did you or didn’t you?” Foster barked.

  The Gnome glared at him. “What will you trade to find out?”

  The three of them looked at each other and back to the gnome. “I have a watch.” Foster said.

  “I’ll take his bracelet.” The gnome said pointing at Stefan. Stefan held up his arm and pointed to the gold chain around his wrist.

  “What? No!”

  The gnome shrugged and began to climb back onto the mound.

  “No, wait!” Foster yelled after him. He turned and looked at Stefan. “Please, Stefan, you can get another one when we get back.”

  Stefan muttered and unclasped the bracelet. “I bought that half off the last time I was in Vegas!” he hissed tossing the bracelet on the ground.

  “We can get another one!” Foster whispered back.

  “Not half off!”

  Foster shot him a look and turned back to the gnome. “You have your prize; now, did you see or hear about a human or not?”

  The Gnome picked up the bracelet and studied it before clasping it around his neck. “A dark haired girl was brought through here yesterday. She was in the charge of Garth and two of the Queen’s soldiers. But she wasn’t a real human.”

  “What do you mean?”

  The gnome eyed them suspiciously. “What else can you trade?”

  “Not a damn thing!” Stefan roared stepping forward and grabbing him by the front of his shirt and bringing him eye level. The gnome’s legs kicked in the empty air, and he tried to claw at Stefan’s hand. “Tell us what you know, or the next person to come by will find pieces of you for at least a mile!”

  The Owl stopped struggling and nodded his head rapidly. Stefan sat him on the ground and motioned for them to lower themselves so they were slightly closer to the gnome’s level.

  “They brought her through yesterday, but the Queen has spies everywhere; she already knew. She waits like a spider to catch them in her web.” He said and clenched his fist for emphasis. “The girl was being carried by Garth. She didn’t look awake.”

  “Was she hurt?” Foster asked, his eyes widening.

  “No, at least she didn’t seem to be, but she wasn’t awake. They took her to the hollowed trees. That’s where the soldiers take prisoners sometimes, you know for questioning or whatever.”

  “Do you know if they are still there?”

  The gnome shook his head rapidly. Rumor is that they passed through the market a few hours ago heading for the castle.”

  “Oh no.” Warren whispered.

  The gnome nodded his head. “Oh no, is exactly right. She won’t like one like her.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean the girl isn’t really human!” The gnome spat. “I tried to tell you that already!”

  “Then what is she?” Foster asked quietly.

  The Owl rolled his eyes in frustration, as if they were dense and couldn’t understand a simple arithmetic problem. “She’s Fae of course!”

  Foster stood slowly. His breath caught in his throat and he shook his head in amazement. “The Queen is a Sidhe. Why wouldn’t she like her?”

  “Have you seen her?”

  “Yes.”

  “There hasn’t been one like her in over eighteen years! She is dark elfin. That makes her powerful.”

  Foster stood and backed away.

  “Foster?” Warren asked. Worry creased his forehead and Stefan looked at him with a frown.

  Foster held up a hand and stood a few feet away. “Just give me a minute.”

  Warren and Stefan talked with the gnome quietly for a few moments. Foster watched through hazy eyes as the little person talked animatedly using hand gestures to help express what he was saying. Stefan stood and came to stand beside Foster.

  “The gnome seems to think that Garth and the soldiers have no idea of what she is. They think she’s human. He also seems to think Nadia won’t even know it if she wasn’t brought up in it. She doesn’t know what’s inside of her does she?”

  Foster shook his head. “She was adopted. She told me that sometimes she knows if someone is telling the truth by staring at them. She said it has something to do with the eyes.”

  “The Queen wants to make sure your grandparents never take the throne again. She has been manipulating both sides for years. It has all been a lie, Foster. They never wanted to change the old ways. She wants a war between the Nephilim and all members of the Fae and Sidhe. Once that is completed she will create a problem so the Sidhe and Fae will war. She wants the entire Realm under her rule.”

  “What does this have to do with Nadia? Correction, Naida.”

  “What’s that?”

  Foster gave Stefan a quick explanation of Nadia’s beginnings.

  “Maybe she is half human? Why else would a Fae take their baby into the human world and leave it?”

  “I don’t know, but we are going to have to get to the castle. For all we know that witch wants Nadia’s blood to drink.”

  The owl gave them instructions on the best way to get to the castle without being detected.

  “But there is no guarantee! Remember, the Queen’s spies are everywhere! Trust no one!”

  They left with more questions than they came with. The forest was alive with sound and movement, but no longer mesmerizing and beautiful. Now it w
as a playground for the Queen’s minions, and every shadow was a spy.

  *****

  Nadia was in a complete panic. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest and sweat was running down the sides of her face.

  “Girl?”

  Nadia stopped her pacing and leaned her head on the bars in front of her.

  “Garth?”

  “Yes, it’s me. Are you hurt?”

  Nadia wasn’t sure how to answer that. “You kidnapped me and were going to hand me over to that horrible woman. Do you really care if I’m hurt?”

  “She played me for a fool, girl, she has played many of us for fools.”

  “You’re hurt, though, aren’t you?”

  He grunted and Nadia could hear him sliding closer to his door as well. “Just a little. My kind heals quickly so there’s no worry.”

  “Garth, the thing that stopped me, it wasn’t a man.” She said in a shaky voice.

  “No, it’s not a man. Not entirely. It was a minotaur.”

  The odor from the dungeon was burning Nadia’s nose. It was a mixture of urine, sweat, and fear. She looked around again and tried to determine how far underground or into the side of the mountain they were. It was impossible to tell. The only light was from a couple of torches secured within the wall. Nadia leaned her head against the metal bars of the door again and let tears slid down her face.

  “You really didn’t know about the Realm, did you?”

  “No. I’m just this ordinary girl trying to go to college part time. That’s where I met Foster. He was in one of my classes.”

  “And you didn’t notice anything odd about him?”

  Nadia felt a flash of anger. “He’s not odd! He’s beautiful and kind and I fell in love with him in less than a day!”

  “Calm down! I only meant, didn’t he seem otherworldly or something?”

  “No he didn’t.”

  “Would it have changed your mind about him if you had of known?”

  Nadia paused and thought about Foster. She thought about his impossibly green eyes and his tall lithe frame walking towards her. She thought about his smile and how she felt like a little girl on Christmas morning every time he looked at her. “No.” Her voice rang out clear and reverberated on the stone walls. “No, it wouldn’t have made a bit of difference.”

  *****

  Foster slinked through the underbrush on the outskirts of the market. They were positioned in a line trying to go as quietly but as quickly as possible. The market was coming to a close for the day by the time they got to that part of the forest, and the lengthening shadows was making Foster nervous. The Queen was known for nighttime revelries, which meant a lot of light, and a lot of people. They weren’t close enough to hear what the merchants were saying as they packed up their wares and prepared to go home. All they could hear was the sound of voices and occasional clatter of something being dropped. Magic was heavy in this part of the Realm and Foster wanted to be out of the area hopefully before full night was upon them. He knew it was a dream. How could they possibly locate Nadia and get her out, in just under two hours?

  The underbrush began to thin and so did the trees as they began to feel the strain in their legs of the ground elevating. Warren stopped and sat on the ground grabbing a stick. “Ok, the gnome said if she is a prisoner in the dungeon, we will have to try and breach the castle from the west side.” He said as he began to draw a rough shape in the ground, imitating the same drawing the gnome had made. “He said there should be a door about here that looks like part of the mountain, just rock and stuff. It’s where the guards empty chamber pots and,” he paused and gave Foster a sympathetic look, “and where remains are thrown for the wolves to dine on.”

  Foster flinched and kept his eyes on the ground. He wished his father was here. They never saw eye to eye, but he had been a warrior, and was a killer in the human world. He would know what to do.

  Stefan reached out a squeezed his shoulder. “Come on; let’s do what needs to be done.”

  They began cautiously picking their way through the trees and occasionally laid face first listening to the ground and watching for movement. Foster had noticed a tiny blue light hovering over their heads since they were in cover behind part of the market. He kept the information to himself because of Stefan. They last thing they needed was him bellowing and crashing through the forest trying to swat a light pixie. As he looked at, he realized it was looking back at him. It flew closer and came within an inch of his face. The little creature was no more than a quarter inch tall with tiny translucent wings. He could barely make out slender legs and arms. Most considered them female, but his mother taught him that they were actually asexual and could be whichever sex they wanted. No one had ever been able to truly study them, and Foster hoped it stayed that way. Large eyes that were out of place on such a tiny head stared back at him. There wasn’t a pupil or iris; there was only a baby blue across the entire eye. It blinked multiple times at him and flew several feet away, stopping, and then flying back. Foster was sure it was frowning this time.

  “What are you doing?” Stefan hissed. “Oh. Great. A pixie.”

  “I think it’s trying to get me to follow it.”

  “Don’t do it! It’s probably a pet to the Queen!”

  The pixie flew closer and rolled its eyes. “No, I think it wants to help.”

  Warren came back and looked at the little creature. He smiled and tried to touch it. It flew away quickly and came back shaking its head at Warren holding up the tiniest finger possible, wagging it back and forth. Warren laughed delightedly. “I’ve just been chastised by a light pixie!”

  A tiny giggle escaped, and it placed both hands over its mouth. Warren looked at Foster and smiled. Stefan on the other hand cursed.

  “Can we go?”

  The pixie flew ahead and the three followed.

  *****

  Nadia had dozed off and was awoken by Garth moaning and calling out for a guard. She stood and began banging the palms of her hands on the bars and yelling too. Footsteps could be heard coming down steps from nearby. A few seconds later, a red faced, angry guard stood before her cell.

  “Silence, you piece of trash! What is all of this noise?”

  “Please, it’s Garth. I think he’s hurt bad!”

  To punctuate her statement Garth moaned loudly from the cell beside her. The guard stepped in front of his cell and put his hands on his hips.

  “Well, what is it?”

  “I need help. I am hurt very badly, please, can I have a doctor?”

  The guard laughed. “A doctor? What do you think this is?”

  “The Queen said not to hurt him too badly! You could be in a lot of trouble if he is!” Nadia said as she wrapped her hands around two bars and peered out at him.

  “I had nothing to do with his injuries! I’m just a guard!”

  Nadia could see fear in his eyes at the mention of being in trouble with the Queen. “Yes, but you are in charge of him here, if he were to die in your care…”

  “Alright!” the guard yelled holding up a hand to silence her. “I’ll take a quick look.”

  She could hear the keys rattle as he removed them from his belt and unlocked the cell door. The sound of chains rattling and the surprised yelp of one of them alarmed Nadia. She could hear scraping and grunting.

  “Nadia, cover your ears and sing or talk to yourself!” Garth called out.

  She did as she was told and her mind began to pull apart as she heard the melodious sound of Garth’s voice, his true voice, start to talk to the guard. She sang louder to herself, but not so loud that she didn’t hear the guard begin to scream. Suddenly there was silence. Nadia was about to call out when she heard the soft rattle of chains, and suddenly Garth was at her cell door unlocking it.

  “Come!” he said sharply. “Others will be here soon, after all that racket!”

  “How will we get out?”

  “Not sure yet.” Garth grabbed her by the hand and pulled her down the dark
ened hallway just in time as several guards came down the stairs. They were at a dead end and Garth pushed her against the wall and tried to flatten himself beside her. The guards were talking rapidly and one was sent to tell the Queen. Two others came down the hallway with torches looking in each empty cell. Nadia was cold with fear and touched Garth’s hand. She willed them to blend with the wall. She prayed silently for a miracle. She kept thinking over and over again: please don’t see us! One of the guards came to the end of the hall and held the torch in front of him. His eyes scanned them and the walls around them before he turned to go the other way. He and the other guards left at a run. She could hear one say, “That’s a bloody shame! I liked ‘ole Clive!”