by L. M. Abbott
Cailean splattered mud all over her and dived in. The grey water felt greasy against her skin. The swarm of fish gathered around her, exploding one by one, the debris slowing her down. The mud now a faint layer, she swam alongside Josh. Grey saliva bubbled out of his mouth. “The water tastes like rotted sea weed,” he coughed out. Weighed down by the wet clothes and exhaustion she made little progress with him.
Seamus dived in and swam alongside Josh. “You okay?”
Three stings marked Josh’s right cheek which sagged like he’d suffered a stroke. “At least my lip is back to life,” he said between gulps for air.
“Let’s get out of here while we still can,” Cailean panted as she and Seamus pulled Josh to shore. Water sloshed to the floor as they hurried back into the tunnel and through the second door.
Huge trees panned out before them, all black and charred, a leftover reminder of destruction from a forest fire. The sky was black streaked with crimson red. Claps of thunder boomed, lightning flashed. Red hills lined the horizon. A wind, colder than a freezer whipped at their wet clothing. The lightning stopped. The thunder stopped. Shadows moved through thick, brittle bushes. A growl, then another and another. A pair of yellowish-green eyes burned like embers, bearing down on the children. Lightning crashed into a tree. Cailean heard the sizzle seconds before the crack of the damaged wood as it split. Smoke fizzled up from the charred remains, smelling of burned rubber. A white wolf pranced in its wake, teeth bared.
Chapter 15
The white wolf stood still, it’s yellow-green eyes on Cailean. “That’s the one the dark wolf tried to kill. I knew it didn’t die.” The animal lowered its head and limped back into the charred trees.
Another barrage of lightning lit up the land. Wolf after wolf emerged from the trees. Grey, brown, black, combinations of the three colours. All with teeth bared, low growls and hunched backs, they moved towards the children as if sneaking up on prey. The white wolf led the pack, its limp accentuated by the others sleek movements.
The wolves circled around the children, sniffing, snarling. Their dull, mated coats didn’t quiver in the cold wind. The white wolf stood apart, its fur whiter than freshly fallen snow, a beacon of light in a black world. The parade continued to march around the children, crowding closer with every turn. Thunder clapped. Cailean was sure it vibrated into the ground.
Josh clung to his friends. “Th-they’re going to maul us to death. We gotta go back to the door.”
“Too late for that,” Seamus said. “It’s not there anymore.”
Josh went limp. “We’re trapped.”
The lightning ended, rendering the strange land a world of dark shapes and shadows.
Don’t be afraid.
Who said that? Josh and Seamus appeared not to have heard. Cailean willed herself to stay calm. It had to be the wind whistling through trees wasted away to skeletons.
The wolves slowed their pace. Lightning flashed again. Bright. Dark. Bright. Dark. Like someone playing with an invisible light switch. On. Off. On. Off.
Josh’s fingers pinched Cailean’s arm. “They’re hungry,” he said. “And we’re going to be there next meal.” A grey wolf broke from the line and trotted into the trees. Another did the same until all the wolves had filed away, a long line vanishing into the trees with only the white wolf remaining.
Seamus sprang into action. “We gotta find the door and get out of here before they change their minds.”
The white wolf moved forward, its progress laboured when an explosion like a thousand fire crackers rocked the trees. A ring of lightning rained down encircling the animal. Imprisoned, it curled into a ball, its tail and head tucked under the body.
Josh turned to run. “Now’s our chance to escape.”
“No,” Cailean said, walking towards the wolf. “We can’t leave it like that.”
“You can’t remove lightning from the ground,” Seamus said just as one of the bolts fizzed out, then another and another, freeing the animal leaving layers of grey smoke in its wake.
The wolf stood up, its yellow-green eyes piercing, trained on Cailean. There was an odd diamond formation, consisting of blue flecks in the left iris.
Seamus took out his pocket knife, his fingers entwined around the handle. “We can’t stand here like easy targets.”
“Oh my, oh my,” Josh repeated over and over.
The wolf put a paw forward, sharp teeth exposed and continued to advance. It stopped in front of Cailean. Seamus stepped forward, ready to defend his friend when the wolf rubbed its soft fur against Cailean’s leg. It then turned, walked away and paused at the tree line to look back at the children.
Seamus put away the knife. “Why did the stupid animal do that?”
Cailean recited the Weeping Widows riddle out loud. “‘Follow the wolf. The true-blue line. Find the pen amongst the forgotten. In the den of despair.’ It wants us to follow it. We’ll be safe.”
“I know what you’re going to say,” Josh said. “The deed has to be here because the wolves are the forgotten. But what about the true blue line and the den of despair?”
“Look around,” Cailean said. “This place is a perfect description of despair.”
Josh held his head in his hands. “You two are bad for my health.”
In the black forest, broken branches, clinging to trees as if reluctant to let go, swayed in the wind.
Don’t touch the trees.
Cailean faltered.
“What is it?” Seamus asked.
“Nothing.” Cailean ducked under a low-lying branch.
Josh shoved it aside and cried out, shaking his hand in the air. “It burned me.” A red welt seared the full length of his palm. The smell of burned flesh tainted the air. He leered at the wolf. “Why didn’t you warm us?”
“And how was it supposed to do that?” Seamus said.
The white wolf led them further into the forest, many of the trees decayed, many more mere clumps of rotting wood. They trudged over boggy terrain, the air damp and stale. The roar of thunder intensified as they approached dryer land. They travelled in silence for what seemed hours to Cailean, yet she knew it couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes. She could see Josh grow paler with every barrage of lightning. The frog in his throat had multiplied to ten.
Seamus slowed. “What’s making that clicking sound?”
A small, dark brown rodent scurried out from a bush and ran over the toes of Josh’s runners. “W-was that a rat?”
No one answered.
They pressed on, the air becoming denser, harder to breathe and came out of the woods near the hills. The wolf limped along a rocky path to a cave. It was huge, the walls rising up into darkness. Torches glowed at even intervals all the way round. Piles of small bones were scattered along the walls. Clear water flowed from a corner into a small pool in the centre where all the wolves lay in groups. Among them several pups slept close to their mothers. One slept alone, a paw touching where an ear had been bitten away.
A long roll of thunder pounded the air and Cailean covered her ears against the roar, each clap tearing into her head, threatening to bust her eardrums. Then there was absolute silence.
Josh peered at the torches. “Someone had to light those.” He stared around, his eyes wide. “What if they’re still here?”
Cailean produced an apologetic expression. “I can’t explain it but I know we’re safe in here.” She licked her parched lips and went to the pool. “I’m thirsty.”
The white wolf moved with her and drank, its pink tongue lapping the surface. “If I didn’t know any better,” Josh said. “I’d swear it’s showing us the water’s safe to drink.”
Cailean scooped up water with cupped hands and quenched her thirst. “It’s delicious.” She slurped more water. “You guys gotta be dying of thirst too.”
Seamus knelt beside her and dunked his head full in the pool. Josh dipped in a finger and dabbed it on his tongue. “Hmm, tastes fresh.” He slopped a little into his mouth a
nd splashed some on his burn.
Seamus shook his head like a dog to clear water from his face and eyes. “Wolves haven’t been on the island for years. Where did these come from?”
The pup who slept alone whimpered and pawed at the spot where the ear should have been. A two-toned brown adult rose to its feet. Josh watched it walk past him. “Could that be the wolf who attacked the white one outside your house?”
“I doubt it would’ve come here to the white wolf’s territory,” Cailean said when the wolf nuzzled down close to the injured pup.
Water dripped from Seamus’s chin to his chest. “Even a dumb animal wouldn’t come back to a dump like this. Which makes me wonder why the white wolf led us here.” He looked around the cave. “What are we supposed to do now?” None of animals payed any attention to the visitors. “It’s not like one of those are going to tell us.”
“I know it doesn’t make sense,” Cailean said, “but I feel we’re on the right track.”
Josh blew on his burn. “If the deed is down here, where do we look?”
The white wolf growled, ears up and turned to the entrance. As if an alarm bell had gone off, wolves woke, alert, their growls like slow, faraway rumbles of canon blasts. Tails twitched, all eyes directed towards the outside.
Josh trod back and forth like a caged mouse. “Something’s wrong. What are we going to do?”
Cailean spotted a corner where light from the torches didn’t reach. They crouched low, waiting. Her pulse ticked away the seconds.
Razuk stormed in, his face distorted, his eyes slithering around the cave. He carried a long thin steel object resembling a fork. The three prongs crackled with an electrical charge. “Are those nasty human children here?” he roared, and touched the tip of the fork to the white wolf’s tail. The fur singed black, the acrid smell enhanced by the enclosed area. Razuk roared with laughter while the wolf howled in pain.
Cailean bit her lip to prevent a cry. Josh trembled against her back.
Pella stepped out from behind the grotesque faery. “It seems the humans didn’t make it this far.”
Razuk crossed his thick arms across his even thicker chest. “Not so fast. They maybe hiding in here.”
From the corner of her eye Cailean saw the glint of steel and realized Seamus had opened his knife.
Pella moved closer to the pack. “If they did, the starved wolves would have already devoured them. You see for yourself how undernourished they are.”
“Indeed. A pleasant notion.” Razuk gave Pella the fork. “Take the gablaigh for protection. I’ll inform the mirpha about the good news.”
Pella bowed. “Of course. Neola will be anxious to learn of their fate.”
Razuk grinned and left.
Pella walked to the white wolf, the gablaigh extended before her in a threatening gesture. “Where are they?” Her voice carried a musical stone similar to a harmonica.
The wolf turned towards the spot where the children hid.
Josh shuddered.
Cailean’s heart sank. “It betrayed us.”
Seamus muttered something she couldn’t make out.
Pella strode to the children. “Come out where I can see you.” She tapped the gabhlaigh against her thigh. “I don’t like the dark. Come out before it’s too late.”
“Pella’s tiny,” Seamus whispered. “The three of us can overpower her.”
Pella moved forward. “I wouldn’t advise that.”
Cailean came out of the shadows. The white wolf lifted a paw to her. Without thinking, she extended her hand.
“Don’t,” Josh said. “It’ll bite off your fingers.”
Pella went to the entrance and peered outside. “I have to be careful.” Her features hardened. “Razuk tends to lurk, eager to overhear secrets he can use to his advantage. I have to make sure he’s gone.” Her eyes clouded over. “Josh, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to warn you about the trees. Razuk never leaves my side when prisoners are involved.”
A purple insect, no larger than a mosquito pitched on Josh’s burn and stung him. He went ashen and wobbled like he would faint. “Did it poison me?”
Pella hurried to a corner and returned with an orange leaf shaped like a four-leaf clover. “This is a medicine plant.” She punctured the small pouch in the centre with the gablaigh to reveal an orange liquid. “This will cure your burn and keep the insect’s venom from harming you.”
Josh glared at the offered plant. “Why should I believe you?”
“It won’t hurt you, but the venom will if it gets into your blood stream.” The faery offered the pouch again. “Which will happen very soon if you don’t use the medicine plant.”
Josh took the leaf and let one drop trickle onto the insect bite. “It’s icy cold.” The welt began to dissolve into an orange vapour.
“The plant is rare, only growing deep in Casfor’s forest.” Pella looked at the white wolf. “The liquid healed her wounds, but the bone still hurts when she walks.” Her eyelids drooped. “I am ashamed of my people.”
Seamus lightly touched Pella’s arm. “Why are you helping us?”
She shot a quick glance at the entrance. “Razuk will come back if we delay here much longer.”
“Please, Pella,” Cailean said. “Tell me where the deed is?”
“I only know it’s somewhere in the Orga.”
“The what?” Seamus said.
“The golden castle.” The faery stole another look towards the entrance. “I’ll get you into the city. That’s all I dare do for you.”
“Then let’s go,” Seamus said.
“In a moment.” Pella smoothed the orange liquid on the wolf’s tail. “My friend, please forgive Razuk. He has no better sense.” The wolf licked her hand.
Josh reached for the leaf. “I’m taking that with us in case we need it later.”
“I cannot allow that.” Pella laid it on the ground by the white wolf. “Come with me and do exactly as I say.”
chapter 16
Pella stood to the side of the cave entrance, and peeked outside surveying the landscape. The fingers she held against the wall twitched.
“What’s wrong?” Cailean said. “Has Razuk come back”
“The capalls wake up at this time of day,”
Josh’s eyebrows shot up. “What’s a capall?”
Pella dropped her chin onto the back of her fingers in reflection. “Well. It’s a sort of horse with a horn in the centre of its head.”
Seamus nudged Josh. “A unicorn. That’s not so bad.”
“Unicorns don’t exist,” Josh said. “They’re a part of legend, folklore.”
“Guess what?” Seamus said. “The same thing has been said about fairies.”
Pella gave one last sweep of the area. “Time grows short.” She scurried out of the cave.
Josh fidgeted with the buckle of his belt. “Why’s she so nervous about the capalls, and why is she reluctant to tell us much of anything?”
“Good points,” Cailean said. “But right now, Pella’s our only chance to find the deed and get home.”
The fairy stood on a pile of rocks assessing the surroundings. “Please hurry. Razuk will come for me if I delay much longer.”
As they went outside, the wind sprang up, pushing against the children. Cailean jostled against Josh and clung to him while trying to protect herself from the dust and stones lashing at her face.
Pella lifted into the air. Seamus grabbed hold of one foot and pulled her down, keeping a tight grip on her feather boot. “I got you.”
“This won’t last long.” No sooner had Pella spoken than the wind died down. She flattened the rumpled feathers of her outfit. “The wind comes and goes like that on a regular basis.”
Seamus plucked a pebble from the end of Pella’s silky hair. “We’ll never make it back to Casfor the way we came.”
“We’re taking another route.” Pella remained silent while she walked, hunched forward, her eyes going from side to side, looking, listening. “Wait here,�
�� she said when they reached the forest. “I won’t be long.”
“Why can’t we go with you?” Cailean said, annoyance evident in her voice.
“We might run into a capall. You’ll be safer here.”
Cailean stared at the faery. “Do we have a choice?”
Pella stared back. “No, you don’t.” She scooted into the trees before anyone could object.
Josh shoved his hands into his pockets. “She could’ve at least told us why she left.”
Seamus shone the flashlight into the trees. A lightning bolt struck the ground beside him. Shattered twigs and rocks flew at him.
Cailean felt eyes on her and turned to the cave. The white wolf looked at her from the entrance.
Be patient.
Josh walked in circles, glancing from time to time into the trees. “Why’s Pella taking so long? She’s gonna leave us stranded down here.”
The wind whipped up, stronger than before, knocking Josh to the ground on his bottom. Seamus and Cailean struggled to stay upright.
The wind died and Pella came out of the trees, her feather top sprinkled with pink seeds. She carried a black metal disc, paper thin and no bigger than a silver dollar. Her gaze alighted on Josh. “I hid this among plants which are deadly to even a human’s touch.” She took a comb from her pocket. “Move away while I get rid off the seeds.”
One grazed the side of Cailean’s sneaker and a tiny portion of the material bubbled away.
“What’s the disc for?” Seamus asked.
“Come,” Pella said. “You’ll see.”
Cailean experienced a monetary doubt. “Why can’t you tell us?”
“Humans are so impatient.” Pella hurried off again into the trees leaving the three children stupefied by her response. The faery looked over her shoulder. “What are you waiting for?”
Cailean followed, the other two right behind. The wind blasted yet again, unending, overpowering, freezing their breath into mist. Decayed, brittle leaves chipped away at their faces. Seamus tread on a heap of twigs which disintegrated into pieces with a noise sharper than the screech of a hyena.
