by Karen Frost
~*~
The strength of the river's current lessened as it traveled further and further northeast. The children had no way of knowing where it was taking them and could only hope that it was headed in the general direction of Tarah. Still, they trusted that Aldair was right and that it was leading them closer. They did not know what help might come to them at Tarah or how they could possibly find and rescue Mary Jane on their own, but they had to believe that all would be well if only they could reach Tarah or else they would have no hope at all.
Jack and Maude forced themselves to withstand the cold water for as long as they could. To distract themselves, they talked of the things they would do when they went home to their beds on Baker's Row. When Maude finally could bear the cold no longer, her short arms and legs weary from swimming, they pulled themselves to the shore and lay sprawled and wet upon the riverbank. Jack rubbed Maude's small hands between his own to warm them.
“Do you think they followed us?” Maude panted.
Her black hair was plastered against her white forehead and her lips were blue with cold. Her teeth chattered even as she spoke. She tried to wring the water out of her nightshirt, but it still clung to her stubbornly.
“I don't know," Jack said. "I don't think so."
"Jack, will Alcide and Aldair be alright?” Maude asked.
"What?" Jack asked, surprised.
"I said, will Alcide and Aldair be okay?"
Jack frowned briefly.
"I guess. They'll be fine, Maude," he said. “We have to keep moving. We have to reach Tarah by tonight; it's not safe for us to sleep alone in the woods at night without Alcide and Aldair.”
Maude looked troubled, but nodded. Jack nodded as well, trying to look more confident than he felt. He did not know how he would be able protect her now that the beasts were gone, but he knew that he must try, whatever the cost. They had not heard the wargs since they had waded into the river, and so Jack judged it was likely that they had not been able to follow. The two children began walking, but without knowing where Tarah was they did not know if they were heading in the right direction. Still, it was better to move than to sit and do nothing. They walked wearily, too tired to speak. They had gone just under a mile when the sound of a tree branch snapping pierced the silence of the forest. The children immediately stood still and looked around fearfully for the source of the sound, but they could see no movement among the trees.
Jack put his finger to his lips and let go of Maude’s hand, pointing behind them. He crept quietly in that direction, but he could see nothing past the trees closest to him. He thought bitterly of how Devorian seemed to be nothing but an unending forest of trees. He could not identify the cause of the sound, however, and he reluctantly turned back to Maude with a shrug. Although both were uneasy and anxious, they had no choice other than to continue on. A few minutes later, a bird burst out of the treetops and flew away screaming. Maude and Jack again froze, now certain that they were being followed. They listened and looked for any sign that might signal the location of their pursuer, but again found none.
Maude whispered anxiously, “What should we do, Jack?”
“I don't know,” Jack whispered back, “but it can't be the wargs. If it were, they would have attacked by now. If it’s another animal, we could ask it if we’re on the right path toTarah. Let's wait and see what it does.”
Maude nodded and the two stood still as statues for what felt like a lifetime. Only their eyes moved this way and that as they searched between the trees for their pursuer. Each felt a prickle on his or her skin indicating that somewhere nearby a pair of eyes was watching. Then they heard the rustle of leaves to their right and they watched the forest closely to see what would emerge. A long nose appeared, followed by a pair of pale blue eyes, a shaggy gray coat, and a long tail.
“A wolf,” Maude gasped in dismay.
Jack grabbed his sister and pushed her behind him, putting himself between her and the wolf.
“I’ll distract it,” he said, picking up a small, thin stick and holding it in front of him like a sword. “You run away as fast as you can. Don't look back, just run.”
“Excuse me,” the wolf said in a high, polite voice, “I didn’t mean to scare you. I saw you climb out of the river a little while ago and followed to see what you were doing. Oh dear, you're scared. Please, do not worry; I won’t hurt you.”
Jack and Maude looked at the wolf suspiciously. It wagged its tail like a dog, trying to look friendly and safe. It said, "My name is Archipel, and you are?”
“I'm Maude, and this is Jack," Maude said, stepping out from behind her brother. “Archipel, do you know how to get to Tarah?”
“It is to the east, some short distance from here. But the path is dangerous now that the witch’s magic has returned. Please, allow me to accompany you. In times of trouble, it is best not to travel alone.”
Jack was still suspicious of the wolf, but Maude stepped forward boldly and patted him on the head as she might a tame dog. She said to him, “I trust you, Archipel. Come on, Jack.”
“I am glad of your trust. Now let us hurry from here. The darkness,” Archipel said gravely, nodding to the ominously blackening sky, “is rising.”
Jack nodded and dropped his stick, falling into line with Maude behind the gray wolf. Archipel set off at a trot, adopting a pattern of movement in which he wove in and out of trees to scout ahead before circling back to check on the children. Jack and Maude were drained by exhaustion, able only to put one foot in front of the other, but the wolf moved on sprightly, well-rested paws, his ears twitching forward and back as he listened for danger. Through the canopy of leaves above, Jack could just see patches of sky, and what he saw worried him. Enormous black clouds shot through by flashes of green lightening had rolled in swiftly, hiding the sun behind a wall of darkness. With so little light able to escape from the clouds, it seemed as though dusk had fallen, though Jack knew it was barely mid-day.
“Archipel, those aren’t rain clouds, are they?” Jack said uneasily the next time the wolf was near.
Archipel sat and looked up.
“No,” he said grimly, “I think not.”
Suddenly the thick hairs on his back stood straight up and the children could feel a familiar crackling static sensation.
“Danger is near,” Archipel growled in a low voice.
“What is it?” Maude whispered.
“Magic,” Jack replied, squeezing her hand tightly.
“What do we do?” Maude asked urgently.
Her short black hair rose gently away from her face. Jack noted absently that it looked as though Maude were floating under water. Archipel whined softly, his tail tucked tightly between his shivering legs. As they looked before them, a green mist rose from the mossy forest floor and began to coalesce into a human-shaped cloud. As the mist became denser and the shape it was taking more distinct, the three could make out individual details: heavy battle armor, a winged helmet, and at last a man’s blurry face.
"What is…" Jack started to ask.
“Flee!” Archipel yelled as the ghostly figure drew its sword soundlessly from the sheath hanging at its side.
Although the apparition was still transparent enough that the children could see the trees behind it, they nevertheless felt real danger. They turned and began to run away, tripping on roots and rocks and catching their clothing on outstretched tree branches as they ran. A sharp thorn caught Maude on the cheek, leaving a thin line of red blood. She pushed it away with her hands and kept running. Jack looked back over his shoulder as he ran and saw the apparition pursuing them pass effortlessly through the trees and rocks in its path.
“Archipel, what is it?” Jack gasped.
“I don't know," the wolf replied, "but it was said that before she was trapped within the eternal flame, the witch Mirrin had begun to meddle in the dark arts of conjuring the dead. Our foe wears the eagle helmet of the royal Taran army although no Taran soldier has walked these lands in a ce
ntury. Hurry; though it looks insubstantial, I shouldn’t like to think what it might do if it catches us.”
Archipel could have easily outrun both the phantom and the two human children, but he stayed with Jack and Maude, loping by their sides and occasionally looking back at their pursuer. The children ran as fast as their tired legs would carry them, keeping just ahead of the green apparition. The warrior remained hazily transparent, but not its sword, glinted with the unmistakable hardness of steel. Jack knew that they would not be able to run for long. His feet felt like two lead bricks and his chest burned. He had to all but drag Maude to keep her from falling behind. The ghost would catch up to them if they did not reach safety soon. Just when Jack thought Maude could run no further, the forest broke open into a long field and he saw the tall gray walls of a city. He redoubled his efforts.
“Let's go to the city!” He yelled, churning his legs faster.
"It's Tarah," Archipel panted with excitement.
Maude stumbled but did not fall and Archipel ran on before them, barking shrilly like a dog. The ground between the two children and the city shrank quickly. Jack started to believe that they would make it into Tarah, where they might find safety from the ghost. Then he saw the big wooden gate and his hope vanished. The gate was closed. They had come so far and faced such danger, but their quest to reach Tarah was doomed to end outside its massive walls. He turned to face the green warrior, which was now within several feet of him. It raised its long sword with both hands over its head, preparing to cleave its victims in two. And then Jack saw blackness.
