by DM Fike
During her indecision, the fire shifted. A log fell and snapped, popping loudly as it snapped in two under the intense heat.
The creature jerked its head out of the boat, looking straight at Avalon. It let out a garbled cry, launching itself forward, sprinting on two legs.
Terror gripped Avalon. She screamed and ran into the forest, away from the monster on the beach.
CHAPTER 16
AVALON DASHED HEADFIRST into the forest, vines and branches snapping around her body as she fled the beast that chased her. She heard it cry, its voice muted by the thickness of the foliage. Avalon had no idea where to run, only to keep pushing forward, hoping to stay out of the creature’s path and find a place to hide.
Not far in, she tripped over an exposed tree root, slamming down hard onto a pile of fallen autumn leaves, hands stung by the rocks underneath. Ankle caught by the tree root, she spent precious seconds yanking herself free. Once mobile, she could hear the beast approaching not far behind. As quietly as she could, she rolled herself into a ball at the base of the tree, hugging herself with her arms, attempting to stop the shaking fear that ran throughout her extremities that might alert her pursuer to her presence.
As if sensing her strategy, the monster also stilled. The woods took on an unnatural silence, one devoid of any animal activity, as every living thing in the vicinity paused, wondering how to proceed. Avalon bit her lip to keep from crying out, ears straining for the slightest movement in the total darkness.
Nothing.
Slowly, like a flower unfolding its petals, Avalon inched upward, keeping her movement barely perceptible. She used every ounce of her balance to slide herself upright into a standing position, leaning against the rough bark of the same tree that had tripped her. She tensed for any noise—a rustle, breathing—but none came.
Silence settled around her, unnatural, tense.
The creature lunged out of nowhere, only a few feet away. Gray eyes bore down upon her. It screamed something at the same time she did, throwing up her arms reflexively to defend her face.
She expected pain, blows, some sort of attack. None came, only the screams of her attacker went from nonsensical gibberish to words.
“Avalon! Sadus, Avalon, why… are you always… running from me?”
Avalon recognized that voice. “K-Kay?”
His Covert K uniform lay askance on his chest, crumpled and dirty. His reddened scowl only barely hid his panting, as if he could not gulp air fast enough.
“Of course…it’s me,” he managed. “Who else… would it be?”
Avalon stared at him, trying to reconcile his sudden appearance. “But you were with the Jentry refugees.”
“I had to… come… couldn’t let you…” He staggered on his feet. Avalon grabbed hold of him, his movements heavy. She awkwardly propped his shaky body up against a tree. It was there, faces tilted together, that Avalon put two and two together and realized what it must have taken for Kay to arrive here on the beach.
“You flew all the way from Lumport, chasing us!”
Kay allowed himself to sink somewhat against Avalon. “Couldn’t let you… go…” he gasped.
A rustling in the trees startled them both. Kay reached for the sword at his side and missed. Avalon had her hands full keeping Kay upright and therefore could do nothing but watch as Isolde stumbled onto the scene.
The elf did a double take at Kay. “Sir Marcus?”
And when Kay recognized Isolde and not some other threat, he collapsed, exhausted.
* * *
Avalon and Isolde supported Kay on either side to get him back to the campsite. Once there, sitting next to the fire and draining a canteen of fresh water that Isolde had secured, he breathed in ragged chunks. Avalon sat next to him while Isolde went to refill the empty container. Avalon took a cloth to the ocean and soaked it in the waves. She draped it across his forehead to help him cool.
“Many thanks,” he sighed in relief.
“I would rather you save your thanks and not have you killing yourself,” Avalon muttered. “What were you thinking?”
Kay cast her a withering glance. “Do not blame me for this situation. It is you who fled the camp without consulting me.”
Avalon folded her arm across her chest. If he wanted a fight, he would get one. “I didn’t realize I needed your permission, Sir Marcus. Besides, your best buddy Desert Rose knew where we were going. You seem to value her opinion. She urged us to go without telling you.”
“She was wrong,” Kay growled. “As we both know, her recent judgement has been less than ideal.”
“And what about your judgement? You said so yourself, it was your duty to escort the people of Jentry to Emerged Falls.”
“Aye!” Kay threw up his hands. “With you!”
“You could do it without me! You heard what Vernal said. I’m not particularly welcome back in Emerged Falls.”
“And you didn’t hear all of what Vernal had to say.”
“Because he was under orders not to.”
Kay ignored that statement of fact. “Vernal gave me a full briefing this morn. The dragon’s range has extended considerably. They have decimated several human towns in the region. Covert K knights have already received waves of refugees.” A darkness fell over his face. “Including a batch from Lumport.”
Avalon felt a small surge of hope, remembering the almost grave-like outlines of Lumport’s buildings. “Some of them survived?”
Kay nodded. “More than half the town was able to flee into the woods. They made it to the outpost with supplies shortly before Vernal met up with us.”
A weight lifted off Avalon. “That’s great news! When Isolde and I saw how the earth dragon flattened everything, we feared the worst.”
Kay shocked her by grabbing her by the shoulders. “It’s not great news. Not when only moments later, Desert Rose informed me that you and Isolde had gone in that direction. No weapons, no real fighting skill among you. I didn’t know if the dragon would still be there. I didn’t know if it was already too late. I didn’t—”
“Stop,” Avalon said, “you’re hurting me.”
He immediately let go, but his hands trembled. “I thought you had been buried alive.”
“Oh, Kay,” Avalon whispered, completely chagrined. She could argue with him all day, but that hint of despair in his voice made her heart ache.
He folded his hands together in his lap. “The only thing that saved me from going insane was knowing Isolde had planned to charter a boat. The wreckage of the dock would have been my undoing had I not seen the clear stepping stone bridge that she obviously created in the bay.”
“You knew we had found a boat.”
He shook his head. “Nay, Avalon. I knew you were alive.”
Avalon lay a hand on his shoulder as he stared into the fire. “Then all should have been well. You could have escorted the Jentry caravan to Emerged Falls. You didn’t need to kill yourself flying after us all day.”
“I do not know how else to say this, Avalon,” he said through gritted teeth. “I feel drawn to you, as if fate has pushed us together. It is my responsibility to protect you. I can’t let you wander off into the unknown.”
Avalon let her hand slide off his back, both warmed and confused by his declaration. “But it’s not as simple as that, is it? You also have a duty to Emerged Falls. You have feelings for Desert Rose.”
“Aye,” he admitted with reluctance, “but—”
“No buts! Can’t you see how all of these things are at odds? Emerged Falls may lock me up again. Desert Rose had no qualms killing me before in the name of duty. But I want to live. I want to do what’s right.”
“Are you implying I do not?”
“You’re a Covert K knight!”
“Aye, I am!” Then he lowered his voice. “And yet, here I am. With you.”
Silence descended over them. They stared at each other, bodies barely apart, the fire the only object moving as they considered one another.
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Avalon desperately wished to believe that Kay would stay with her, no matter what. He did have a point that he had chosen time and again to follow her, and yet, his loyalty bound him to Emerged Falls. At some point, he would have to choose one over the other.
She couldn’t bear the pain if he chose Emerged Falls over her.
Avalon thought about issuing an ultimatum but couldn’t. To ask him to give up his knighthood wouldn’t only be asking him to abandon a part of his identity. She would permanently alter the loyalty she admired in him. Forcing a choice would ruin him.
She would not do that to him. She cared for him too much.
“You’re right,” she whispered into his half-pleading, half-angry eyes. “You’re here. I should have told you personally, but I convinced myself it didn’t matter. It obviously does.”
Her soft response set him aback. He must have been expecting an argument because he sputtered without reply.
Avalon tweaked his nose. “That doesn’t mean you or anyone else gets to control me. I will not just blindly follow commands. Not even Emerged Falls can change that.”
It was Kay’s turn to disarm her. “Agreed. You are a person of free will and make your own choices.” He let out a soft chuckle. “At this point, I pity the fool who attempts to change that.”
Isolde returned from the forest with more water. They settled down to eat, agreeing that they would get an early start in the morning. Although tomorrow they would be at Mt. Hornley, with all the anxiety that brought upon Avalon, she felt a certain peace. She could have chalked it up to a full stomach and a cozy fire, but she knew the truth.
Despite the odds, Kay had come for her.
CHAPTER 17
“I HATE SAILING,” Kay moaned.
Avalon rubbed the fairy’s back in consolation as the waves rocked them to and fro. The ocean churned more violently than the previous day. Isolde did her best to maneuver the sails, steadying the pole that controlled the rudder, but their progress down the shoreline slowed considerably. They had been sailing for about a half hour, the yellow haze overtaking the shore, defiling all plants in the forest into black twisted forms of their former vibrant selves.
They had entered the Quawash.
Kay vomited over the side for the third time, his face a pale green. Avalon wasn’t sure how he had any food left in his stomach.
“I’m so sorry, Sir Marcus,” Isolde apologized for the umpteenth time as she navigated a large wave. “The ocean’s bent on rocking us off course. I had hoped we could get to our destination by noon, but at this rate, we may be lucky to reach there by nightfall.”
Kay heaved at this prediction.
“It’s not your fault, Isolde,” Avalon reassured as Kay swallowed in an attempt to control himself. “The wind seems against us today.”
Kay snapped his gaunt face up. “Isolde, do you think I could redirect the wind for you?”
Isolde bit her lip, glancing upward at the sharp flapping sails above her. “Maybe, but these sails aren’t in the best shape. You’d have to be careful not to tear them to shreds.”
Avalon placed a hand on Kay’s shoulder. “And you’re still drained from yesterday. I don’t know how long you could keep up a steady wind.”
“I always feel better when I can help steer the vessel. It will ease the nausea.” Kay sat up as straight as his seasickness would allow, hands extended up toward the sails. “You ready, Isolde?”
She tightened her grip. “Aye!”
The first gust hit the sails so hard, the trio rolled in their seats. Avalon nearly pitched over the side, but she managed to grab the edge of the boat and remain seated. Isolde used her considerable strength to keep her hold on the pole, yelling, “Too much! It’s too much!”
Kay eased up on the wind, face scrunched in concentration as he settled on something steady and forceful but not too strong. After a minute, he found a rate that propelled the vessel forward at a fast clip without sending the sails flapping dangerously. Both Kay and Isolde visibly relaxed but maintained concentration on their task.
Like a tightrope walker finding balance, the boat went from its former choppy rocking to a smoother cut through the water. Kay’s face returned to its normal color.
“We’re moving right along,” Isolde said. “If you can keep it up, we’ll get through the Quawash in no time.”
“How do you feel?” Avalon asked Kay.
“It’s a strain, but I can maintain this for a while.”
The rest of the morning sped by without a hitch. The sun beat down on their little boat, but they kept most of their skin covered with handkerchiefs and clothing. Kay had to take periodic breaks to replenish his magic, but once his face paled with the rocking of the boat, he would resume. As the sun rose to its apex, the yellow haze faded. Scraggly but leafy trees replaced the angular decaying plants of before.
“I see the docks!” Isolde pointed farther down shore. Kay shifted the wind to aim toward their new destination. Once it became clear they would make it to the wooden boardwalk, Kay took to the air, spreading his wings to fly the rest of the distance to shore. He met them on the wooden planks.
Avalon smiled at him as Isolde tied the boats to the moor. “I bet it beats flying the whole way.”
He cocked his head in thought. “It’s a toss-up.”
Isolde examined the mostly empty pier, only one or two other vessels moored in the bay. “Where are all the boats?”
“Maybe they’re out fishing?” Avalon suggested.
Kay instinctively placed his hand on his sword hilt. “We did not worry last time when the docks were empty. We will not make the same mistake again. Keep your guard up.”
On that somber note, Kay headed down the narrow dirt path that led into Forgotten Bend. He would often fly up ahead and scout the area from high above, but he never reported anything peculiar. That didn’t make Avalon feel any less tense as they spotted the first roofs tucked in the forests underneath snowcapped Mt. Hornley.
“I’ll make sure it’s safe first,” Kay said, readying himself to spring upward.
Avalon stopped him with a hand on his wrist. “No, we stick together.”
“I agree,” Isolde interjected before Kay could protest. “You have exerted yourself all morning wielding magic, and besides, our might combined would be more effective than yours alone.”
Kay frowned but did not argue further. They opted to take a side street in, using back passages instead of the main road into town. Not a single residence showed signs of people. No one wandered the streets or lingered outside their homes.
The first major building they approached was the inn. Its two-story brick façade and wraparound porch exuded a homey air until Avalon noticed that someone had barred all the shutters closed. Isolde pulled on the front door to confirm their suspicion. “It’s locked.”
More on edge than ever, Kay directed them through back alleys, venturing to the main road only to take a quick peek at the shops. Each one was closed, not an Aossi walking among the many exotic boutiques. They even peered into the main market square, which had bustled before with merchants showcasing their wares in outdoor display cases. Not a single storefront had an open door, no one roamed the plaza, and the apothecary even had boards nailed to its front windows.
“I don’t understand,” Isolde whispered from behind a broken-down cart. “None of the buildings appear damaged. A dragon couldn’t attack here without some sort of physical evidence. Where did everyone go?”
Kay had his sword drawn and ready. “I don’t know, but we should leave.”
“Wait,” Avalon said. “There’s still one other place I want to check.”
She guided them through the outskirts of town, through a few winding side streets before coming onto an ominous dark alleyway off the market square. The stores back here had been abandoned for some time, dust covering most of their archways. One shop, however, had a crude sign that read “Gremlin Stuff” written in spray paint. Light emitted from the store’s dingy, un
washed windows.
Isolde’s eyes grew wide. “What is this place?”
“It’s the gremlin’s shop. Nobody took me here.” Avalon brightened as she reached for the handle. “Someone might be around!”
Kay slid in between her and the door. “I’ll go first.”
Bells jingled as he entered the shop. Inside, Earth paraphernalia lay in haphazard displays: scarves hanging off human mannequins, drink coasters stacked like a house of cards, and various stuffed animals noosed by their necks and swinging from the rafters. Straddling a ladder, a scraggly gremlin with maroon pompadour hair and star-shaped sunglasses paused in the act of hanging a teddy bear. An LED lantern flickered on the top step.
“Hallo!” he called over his shoulder, slowly turning around. “I didn’t expect anyone to… oh, Avalon!”
“Lint!” Avalon cried.
“Great,” Kay muttered. “Gremlins.” He did sheathe his sword, though.
Lint hopped down onto the stone floor. “Is Nobody with you?”
Dread washed over Avalon. The gremlins didn’t know what happened to Nobody. She had no idea what to say.
Fortunately, Kay stepped in for her. “It’s just the three of us passing through. Where is everyone else in town?”
“They all fled, except for us.”
“Why?” Isolde asked.
Lint snorted. “Are you blind? You been traveling and haven’t seen the dragons? They flew right over Forgotten Bend about a week ago. The whole town went berserk. All the other Aossi packed up and ran like scared kids. I even heard that some kingdoms ordered lockdown within their borders.”
Kay nodded. “It’s true. But why are you here, gremlin?”
Lint broke out into a wide grin. “We gremlins don’t belong to any place in particular. We like Mt. Hornley. It’s quiet here and the dragons didn’t hurt no one. Mutt decided we’d stay here unless that changed.”
Avalon wrung her hands. Mutt was leader of the Gremlins and Nobody’s friend. The whole Gadabout Gremlin tribe must be nearby. “Can you take us to Mutt?”
