by Jeff Altabef
Tynchek waved a meaty hand toward Kalhona’s sister, P’mina, clear malice darkening his words. “She comes with us as a gift, witch.”
Two other men stood by the horses. Both wore wolf cloaks of their own, had unruly beards, and calculating eyes. They looked uneasy, as if Santra and the firefoxes scared them.
A thin, sneaky-looking man leered at P’mina while the last of the warriors carried a wicker basket of sweet leaf from the witch’s cabin toward the waiting horses.
All in all, five armed warriors, each with a battleax.
Aaliss swore under her breath. If they were grouped more closely together, she could take down more of them on her own, and rely less upon the others.
P’mina yanked on a chain fastened to her wrists, which looped around a nearby soldier pine. When the chain held, she spat at the thin man who was leering at her, her face red, her hands balled into fists. She shared a family resemblance with Kalhona, but she had a wild look about her that Kalhona lacked, and she was so young—no older than Wilky.
How quickly they grow up outside of Eden.
P’mina had spirit; Aaliss would certainly grant her that much. She would not be taken without a fight, but based upon the enraged expression of the man she had just spat upon, their group seemed to have come just in time.
Aaliss loaded the crossbow, fearing that the girl was in peril. “I’ll take out the big one by the witch. Eamon, you come from the right side by the horses, and Kalhona try to sneak behind the cabin to your sister. They’ll probably come running once they see Eamon and me. When they do, use your darts to take out the thin guy who guards your sister, and then free her. Wilky will stay back by our horses in case we need to make a quick escape.”
“Be careful of the firefoxes,” Eamon whispered. “They’ll attack as sure as sunrise.”
“Great,” muttered Aaliss. “When I fire the bolt, everyone strike. With some luck we’ll surprise them and have the advantage.”
Kalhona shook with fear.
Aaliss grabbed her arm. “You can do this! Just have the poison dart ready when you come around the cabin. They won’t have any idea you’re there. You should be safe and you’ll have a clean shot. Once he goes down, use the axe by his feet to hack away your sister’s chains.”
Kalhona nodded and left, moving slowly in a wide loop toward the back of the cabin, her steps unsteady, and her hands trembling as she clutched her dart gun.
Aaliss hated to rely on others, and had no confidence that Kalhona would take out the man by her sister. She would have to keep an eye on her and help as soon as she could.
Eamon broke her train of thought when he squeezed her hand. “Thanks,” he said, his eyes wide and brilliant.
Aaliss felt her cheeks burn, so she secretly pinched her hand hard to keep her emotions in check. “You would do it for me.”
Eamon tenderly brushed his fingers against her cheek.
She saw every detail of his face: the small patch of stubble on his chin, the dimples his cheeks made at the corner of his lips, even the smooth forehead that was now furrowed with concern. He looked as if he wanted to say something, as if words tried to fight their way from his mouth, but he turned and sprinted off without uttering another word.
She watched him race away, angry for not telling him more. What she would have said, she had no idea, but certainly something.
What if I never talk to him again?
She drove away the negative thought with effort. Negative thoughts were dangerous in a fight; they had a way of coming true.
She turned toward Wilky. “If things don’t work out, you ride back to the Witch’s house.”
He nodded bravely, but he looked as scared as Aaliss felt. Five armed men, an angry witch, and three firefoxes were a lot to take down. She wished she had a better plan, but wishing for a better plan wouldn’t give her one, so she turned back toward the cabin. Her heart hammered as the firefoxes snarled by the witch’s feet.
Aaliss squinted her eyes, steadied the crossbow, and breathed through her nose. Events moved in slow motion as she felt adrenaline flood her body. Her finger rested lightly on the trigger. She aimed for Tynchek’s wide chest right below the three long strands of his beard. She took one last breath, and started to pull the trigger....
One of the firefoxes jumped toward the big man. He swatted the animal away with his arm, and the witch moved in the way.
It was too late for Aaliss to adjust her aim, and she fired the crossbow. The bolt missed Tynchek and struck Santra in the shoulder instead.
The witch staggered backward, but Tynchek still lived.
Eamon dashed from the forest and attacked one of the men by the horses. The sound of metal against metal rang out as the man deflected Eamon’s sword with the blade of his axe.
Aaliss dropped the crossbow and sprinted toward the cabin with her short sword at the ready.
A short, wide-chested warrior spotted her and charged.
She closed the distance in a heartbeat. He swiped his axe at her stomach, and she sidestepped the cut and swung her sword at his barrel-chest.
Quicker than he looked, the man parried the blow with his axe, but he stumbled off-balance.
She spun and slashed him in the neck. The ground splattered red, and he fell at her feet.
Another warrior leaped at her and swung his axe at her side.
She whipped her sword against the blade just in time to block the blow, and spun, raking her blade against the axeman’s unprotected back. He groaned and turned, but she had anticipated that and had already spun to her left and slashed the man’s thigh.
He went down in a heap, clutching his leg.
Breathing heavily, she glanced up just in time to see the spinning edge of a sharp blade fly toward her. With a flick of her wrist, she knocked the blade away with her sword a moment before it would have plunged into her chest.
There’s a sixth warrior!
Sweat stung her eyes as she searched in vain for the knife thrower. He must be hiding at the edge of the clearing, but she couldn’t find him.
Eamon grunted and Aaliss turned toward him. His blade had lodged inside a beefy warrior’s chest. He heaved with both hands, but he could not free it.
Tynchek raced toward Eamon. The monster dwarfed Eamon, a determined grin on his ugly face as he swung his axe at Eamon’s head.
Eamon released his sword and skipped backward, but the blade sliced into his shoulder. Eamon rushed the giant before the beast could ready his axe for another cut, and they went down in a tumble of body parts.
Aaliss tasted bile. She started toward Eamon, but one of the firefoxes launched itself at her throat. She protectively threw up her arm, and the creature bit into her flesh with its powerful vise-like jaws. Pain exploded through her forearm as she flung the beast hard against a tree. A second firefox poised to jump, but she slashed open its side with her sword, and the third ran off with its tail between its legs.
By the time she turned back toward Eamon, he and Tynchek had gotten to their feet and had started grappling.
Tynchek drove an elbow into the side of Eamon’s head, which staggered him backward. Tynchek used the advantage to rush Eamon, and took him down hard on the ground. The big man twisted on top of Eamon.
Tynchek grabbed his battleax from the ground while still on top of Eamon. “You will bleed well.”
Eamon locked both of his hands on the handle, but the behemoth was stronger and had leverage. The axe inched downward; Eamon had only a few moments left.
“Hold on, Eamon, I’m coming!” Aaliss leaped over a large rock and skirted a small maple tree, holding her breath as she ran, but she didn’t see the slick moss. She slipped and toppled head-first onto the dirt and grass.
Tynchek heaved downward, sweat dripping from his beard. The axe’s blade gleamed lethally, inches from Eamon’s face.
Eamon’s arms shook. He had seconds left to live.
Aaliss jumped to her feet, knowing she would never reach him in time, but she had to
try.
Tynchek grimaced... and the axe slowed. He twisted and exposed a poison dart jutting from his neck, but he still pushed, still used his weight and remaining strength. The blade cut Eamon’s cheek when Tynchek lost all his energy and slumped forward.
Eamon managed to push the blade to the side and heave the man off him with a shove.
Aaliss inhaled, surveyed the clearing, and counted dead warriors: she saw the two she had cut down, two bodies by Eamon, and one prone figure by P’mina. Five dead.
Kalhona clanged an axe against P’mina’s chains.
Clank!
Kalhona swung the axe down a second time, another loud clank.
Where’s the sixth warrior?
Wilky had brought the horses toward the cabin.
P’mina shouted a sharp warning and pointed at the edge of the clearing.
Aaliss found the knife thrower. When she saw him, her heart felt as if someone had stabbed it.
The knife thrower hurled a dagger at Wilky. It spun in the air, as if in slow motion.
He’s going to die.
A cold frost swept the clearing.
“Look out!” Aaliss screamed.
Three ghost riders streamed past Wilky and toward the knife thrower. The blade, which surely would have claimed Wilky, disappeared in their slippery light. In a whoosh the riders ran over the knife thrower, and he too vanished.
***
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Chapter 36 – Eamon
Eamon stared with his mouth open at the spot where the knife thrower had just been, and his tongue threatened to roll out and smack the ground.
What in the heavens happened? The killer just disappeared.
He felt a frost in the air and saw the same shadows he’d spotted at the campfire the other night. He remembered what Aaliss had said then—she called the shadows Ghost Riders—but, in truth, he wasn’t totally convinced they were real. She’d also said they didn’t pay attention to the living, but this could be no coincidence.
He locked eyes with Aaliss, and she shrugged. If she knew what had happened and why, she did a good job of faking it.
Kalhona groaned, and he spun to find a knife protruding from her hand, blood flowing from it like a small stream. The knife thrower must have hurled one at her before he disappeared.
P’mina reached for her sister, straining against the chains, but she couldn’t touch her.
Eamon appreciated the girl’s spirit, but if she continued to pull against the chains, she’d only hurt herself. He marched toward her and grabbed the axe. “Let me help.” He swung the blade down hard and freed her with one swing.
When the shackles fell away, P’mina darted to her sister’s side. The knife was still lodged into Kalhona’s palm, her fingers curved and unmoving, blood darkening her hand, wrist, and washing down her arm.
“Oh, Kally, that’s your artist hand.” Tears rained down P’mina’s face. “You should have let the knife hit me. It’s all my fault.”
“You’re my sister. I couldn’t let you die out here in the woods! What would I tell everyone?”
Aaliss and Wilky joined them. Both looked unharmed.
“We need to remove that knife from your hand,” said Aaliss.
Kalhona nodded, her face lit with pain.
The wound would not kill her, but Eamon doubted she’d ever regain full use of her hand again. “I’ll hold her and you pull out the dagger.” He wrapped his arms around Kalhona’s shoulders and held her tight. “On the count of three. One, two—”
Aaliss pulled the knife out and Kalhona screeched.
When Eamon released her, P’mina tried to hug her sister, but Kalhona shrugged her off. “You promised me that you’d behave before the Renewal Feast. Now look what you’ve done.”
“I just wanted to find our mother, and I got lost. I never meant—”
“You never mean for bad things to happen, P’mina, but they have a way of following you around.”
P’mina cringed and looked as if her sister had slapped her.
Aaliss helped Kalhona to her feet. “Let’s clean that wound.” She led them to the stream, where she washed the wound with fresh water.
When she’d finished, Wilky handed P’mina a cloth he had cut from one of the axemen’s shirts.
P’mina wrapped the fabric around her sister’s hand.
Kalhona winced and clutched her hand at her side.
“You should see a healer,” Eamon suggested. “Perhaps the Witch? She’s knowledgeable. If anyone can help you get the use of your hand back, it’ll be her.” He didn’t think the Witch could help, but he realized how important Kahona’s art was to her, and thought just the slight bit of hope would make her feel better.
P’mina’s voice jumped with eagerness. “You met another red witch?”
“Yes, P’mina! She told us where to find you. And no, she wasn’t our mother! We will never see her again. The Dark One probably dragged her to hell by now!”
P’mina looked as if she would cry, but the young girl had nerve and no tears formed in her eyes.
Eamon broke the ensuing awkward silence by introducing himself, Aaliss, and Wilky.
After a moment, P’mina regained her wits and gushed her thanks for their help in freeing her.
Aaliss cleaned his shoulder, wrapped the wound with a cloth, and dotted his face with the water from the stream.
The cut in his shoulder stung, but he had full use of his arm. “How bad is it?”
Aaliss grinned. “Probably won’t scar.”
“Too bad. I’ve heard women like men with scars.”
“Not all women.” She smiled and winked at him.
A jolt zipped through his body. It seemed to start somewhere around his head and burn straight through his body to his toes. He had never felt anything like it before.
She was strong and fearless and smart. She was also sweet, although he was sure she would never admit it, and would probably deck him if he mentioned it. Her eyes burned with an intense light, and he felt giddy when near her, as if he had stumbled upon a secret book that no one else had ever read before—one that would change everything.
How’d Gemma know I’d fall for her so quickly?
Wilky retrieved dried beef and pears from the axemen’s saddlebags, and they ate lunch by the stream. By the time they finished, it was midday, and the sky darkened quickly as a cloud blocked the sun.
The darkness brought thoughts about Dermot, and Eamon’s stomach turned. He sought out P’mina with his eyes.
She sat next to her sister and furtively glanced at Kalhona’s hand every few seconds.
He should have asked about the mushroom by now, but part of him was afraid to ask. The young girl was his only chance at finding the mushroom in time to save Dermot.
He swallowed a lump in his throat. “P’mina, your sister told us that you are knowledgeable about plants.”
“Yes, I studied under Loiana, who was the wisest when it comes to all things that grow from the earth.”
“We need to find a particular mushroom,” said Aaliss “It has a red and yellow stem. We think it grows around here someplace. We don’t have much time. Do you know where we can find it?”
P’mina smiled. “Sure, come with me.”
Eamon did his best not to get his hopes up too high. There must be a dozen mushrooms with that type of stem. Still, his lips turned upward and butterflies swirled in his stomach.
P’mina led them inside Santra’s cabin, and on the way, she made sure to stomp on Santra’s arm. “I saw some among the witch’s stores.” She shuffled through four baskets until she found one full of mushrooms with red and yellow stems. “Are these what you’re looking for?”
Wilky nodded. He took the basket from her, sat cross-legged on the floor, dumped the mushrooms into a neat pile, and studied each one carefully.
Eamon’s heart soared, but he had the sick feeling that Wilky looked oddly disappointed.
***
C
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Chapter 37 – Aaliss
Aaliss wondered what in Eden her brother was looking for.
Wilky placed all the mushrooms neatly back into the basket except for one. He lifted that last one close to his eyes for a careful inspection. It appeared no different from the rest.
For the last hour, he’d examined each mushroom, twirled it in his fingers, and dropped it back into the bin.
Aaliss could see that with each one he rejected, Eamon grew more agitated. He started to huff and bounce his legs, and looked as if he might explode.
After Wilky spun the mushroom around six times, Aaliss finally asked him, “Do you have what you need?”
Wilky glanced at his audience as if he had woken from a dream. “This one will work.”
Eamon exhaled with an audible woosh. “What do you need to do to make the cure?”
Wilky spoke slowly. “Boil the flower and mushroom.”
“What exactly are we creating?” P’mina asked.
“The cure,” Wilky said.
Aaliss sighed. She wasn’t sure it was a great idea to tell P’mina and Kalhona about the cure, but they had fought together, and it was too late now anyway, so she continued for her brother. “I know it sounds crazy, but Wilky has discovered the cure for the Red Death. It combines a flower and this mushroom.”
“It doesn’t sound crazy to me. Plants can cure all types of ailments.” P’mina bounced toward Wilky. “I’ll help you build the fire, so we can create the tonic.”
Kalhona dozed in the corner under the influence of the Sweet Leaf P’mina had given her.
With nothing to do but get in the way, Aaliss pulled Eamon from the cabin to let the two youngsters do their work.
Once outside, Aaliss squinted against the sun’s glare as she surveyed the carnage from their battle. “We might as well clean these axemen of anything valuable or useful while we wait.”
They worked mostly in silence, making two piles: one for weapons and a second for any valuables, such as coins or jewelry.
