Chapter 12
“Miranda!” I heard someone yell as I landed in their arms. The world went completely dark as I lost consciousness.
I quickly opened my eyes as I had only been out for a few minutes. When I looked up, Damon’s blue eyes were staring back at me as he held me in his arms. My father was standing on one side of him and David stood on the other.
“How you feelin’ sweetie?” David said.
“Tired...dizzy...a little sick.”
“Altitude sickness,” he cried. “It’s common up on these mountains.”
“I’m not feeling too well myself,” Nathen cried as he sat down on his bag. His face looked slightly green.
“Alright, we’ll take a short break. Drink plenty of water, and have a snack.” David threw his hunting bag on the ground and said, “The terrain ahead isn’t as steep. We can hike another hour or so, and we’ll camp for the night.”
“Where will we sleep without tents,” I heard Delia whimper as Damon set me on the ground.
“We’ll have to sleep around the fire. Someone will keep watch.” David collapsed on his bag and continued, “ It won’t be comfortable, but we’ll be okay.”
The rest of the group sat on the ground. Everyone looked worn down. After a few minutes of rest, I went to check on Ben. I was worried about his leg. I went to where Ben was sitting and sat down by his side.
“How’s your leg?” I asked.
“It’s fine,” he replied.
“Can I see it?”
“I guess so,” he said sheepishly.
I gently pulled up the bottom of Ben’s snowsuit pant exposing his leg. I grew concerned the moment I saw the wound.
“Ben this doesn’t look good!” I said.
The stitches were still in tact, but the skin around his wound was bright red and swollen, and the gash looked as if it was ready to open.
“David! Come here!” I cried.
David came running to my side, and when he saw the wound, he grunted and said, “That don’t look good.”
“What do we do?” I asked.
“We can wrap it up and I’ll keep going,” Ben said.
“No,” David said sternly, “We can camp here for the night. It’ll be cold, but the snow beasts like to stay down low. I’ll tape it up good tomorrow, and we can try again.”
Ben nodded his head, but he looked upset.
When David walked away, I said, “Ben what’s wrong?”
“I was a vampire for so long,” he said, “I forgot what real pain is like.” He paused and looked upset, “I can’t just drink blood and recover in minutes like I used to. I feel so weak...so pathetic. How will I ever live up to Damon as a father?”
I looked deep into Ben’s eyes and said, “There are many vampires back at the castle. We can turn—”
“No!” Ben said quickly. “I don’t want that. The two of us are physically almost the same age. We can grow old together...just as we always wanted. This is my second chance to have a family...a real life.”
“Then why are you upset? You don’t have to be a tough vampire to be a good father.”
“I know,” Ben said. “It’s just...my son is going to be king of all supernaturals one day. He’s part fairy and part superhuman. For the last eight years Damon raised him. Damon is more like his father...than I am.”
“Ben,” I sighed, “You have nothing to worry about. Benny is the sweetest, kindest, most tenderhearted little boy. He’s just like you. Sure, Damon has experience as a hybrid and being king, but there is so much more to being a parent than that.”
“And what will I do all day? Be a stay at home dad? I used to be a fighter…a hunter.” he grunted.
“That’s a great idea. We can find our nanny, Sydney a different job. You can stay home with the boys. It would be perfect!” I said.
Ben nodded his head. He didn’t seem impressed with being a stay-at-home dad. So I said, “When my mom died, my father gave up everything to stay home with me. My father was the leader of the warriors and the King of Pine Lake. He handed the warriors over to Sophia and Virgo and his rule to Brandon and Maria. He did it by choice.”
“It’s not the same,” Ben said. “Your father did that by choice. Before you turned eighteen, he could take back his rule any time he wanted. Your father is still the toughest man I know...except maybe David. And your father is rich; he owns everything. He can do anything. You don’t understand.”
“That isn’t the point,” I said. “By choice or not, my father was there for me. He never missed a moment of my life. The two of us went on hikes, we went fishing...swimming. He was one of my best friends.” I paused. “While Damon is busy running Sidhe, you can spend time raising the boys, just as my father did with me.”
Ben flashed a tiny smile, but he looked nervous. I knew he was terrified of being a father to the future king, after eight years of being dead.
“You’re going to be a wonderful father!” I said as I wrapped my arms around Ben’s body. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” he replied.
After we rested up, we set up camp and spent a freezing cold night under the stars in the unforgiving terrain. The next day, we agreed Ben’s leg needed another day to heal, and we spent another night on the mountainside. After two miserable nights sleeping on the rough and rocky terrain, we decided we would continue our hike up the mountain.
We were almost to the top of the mountain when we stopped to camp for the night, and the air was already quite thin. Each step towards the peak, the air continued to shrink, making it harder and harder to breath. After two hours of treacherous hiking, everyone was panting from the lack of air, and just as I felt like my lungs would deflate, David announced we had reached the top.
As everyone stood still, gasping for air, we began silently looking around, mesmerized by our surroundings. We could see frozen lakes and creeks and miles of snow covered hills and trees. From the top of the mountain, we could even see the outline of the castle that sat in the distance.
“This is beautiful,” I said softly.
Ben was standing by my side. He reached around and placed his arm around my waist and pulled me in. As the two of us stood silently looking around a to observe the sights, I suddenly felt at peace.
As soon as our group retrieved our son, my life would be near perfect. I had two wonderful parents, several great friends, two beautiful sons, and the two men I loved, vowed to stay by my side. The situation was unconventional, but so was my family. I leaned into Ben tighter, as I never wanted him to leave my side again.
“Can we stay here tonight?” I asked David, “It’s so beautiful.”
“We need to keep moving while the weather is clear,” David grunted.
I nodded my head. David was right; the sooner we marched on, the sooner I would see my son again. We decided to spend an hour at the top of the mountain before beginning our journey back down. When the hour was up, we lined back up, to head down the mountain. Although David still took the front of the line, Delia was tied immediately behind him. For the trip down the mountain, the line would be reversed, with the strongest and heaviest in back.
“It’s going to be slick and steep going down,” David said. “It won’t be easy, but we’ll make it.”
Once we were all tied up, we headed through the trees and down the other side of the mountain. Everything seemed to be going well as the air became easier to breath. The wind grew more bearable as we headed away from the sky.
After three hours of hiking, we were at least three-quarters of the way down the mountain when David said, “We’re almost to the bottom. If y’all are okay with it, I say we keep going and find a cave at the bottom.”
My legs were throbbing in pain, but the thought of a cave to keep away the freezing night air sounded delightful. I nodded my head as the rest of the group agreed.
We hiked on for another half hour, when I realized the sky was beginning to look strange; it was turning to a gray-green. I looked at my watch an
d realized it was still late in the afternoon. The sun wouldn’t be setting for a few more hours.
As we slowly paced on, I continued to occasionally look up at the sky, each time noticing the change in color. As the sky grew darker, it began to resemble the color of an olive. I began to notice some of the others looking around in concern by the strange color of the sky.
Just as the wind picked up, David yelled back, “We need to pick up the pace!”
“What’s going on?” I yelled to the front of the line, just as a gust of wind slammed into our group.
Delia lost her balance and slid on a steep piece of ice. Ben bore down to anchor Emerlee as she grabbed Delia’s rope to slow her fall. Between the heavy wind and the weight of Delia’s fall, Emerlee fell forward, pulling Ben from behind. I grunted as I grabbed hold of the robe to keep Ben stable, just as Emerlee and Delia slammed into David, knocking him to the ground.
The three went sliding forward, only stopping from the rope attached to Ben’s waist.
“Auuuuugh!” Ben cried out, from the force of three bodies pulling against his mid-section.
As Ben grabbed the rope to take pressure off his waist, I stepped forward to help him hold on. Delia, Emerlee and David were trying to stand, but the ice and wind kept throwing them to the ground. Finally David stood up and helped Delia and Emerlee off the ground.
“Is everyone okay?” I heard my dad yell from the back.
“We need to find a cave! Now!” David yelled.
“How will we find one all tied together?” Damon cried.
“We’ll keep going down the mountain. Keep your eyes open, and if anyone sees a cave...or anything we can take cover in, yell out!” David yelled as another gust of wind slammed into our group.
“What’s going on?” I yelled as the wind continued to pick up, and the sky continued growing darker.
“There’s a storm coming in,” David yelled as he stepped forward. “When the sky turns green, trouble is on it’s way.”
“Like a tornado?” I asked, remembering the way the sky turned green when a tornado hit Pine Lake several years back.
“Yeah,” David cried, “But worse. Powerful freezing wind so bad it will tear up your skin, and razor sharp ice.
I gasped, “What if we’re caught in it?”
“We won’t last long sweetheart,” David yelled back. “Cover your faces, put on your glasses. Don’t leave anything exposed,” he said as snow began to pour from the sky.
Our group stopped for only a moment as we all grabbed our snow glasses. I pulled my hood as far over my forehead as it would reach, and I covered everything under my snow glasses with the cloth David had given me. I looked at Ben and saw that he had covered his face with a cloth, but when I looked to Damon, I saw that the bottom of his face was fully exposed.
“Damon you need to cover your face!” I cried.
“I don’t have anything to cover with,” he looked panicked.
Ben reached in his bag and pulled out a cloth. “Here,” he said as he handed the cloth to Damon.
Damon nodded his head.
Once everyone was bundled up, we continued carefully down the mountainside, searching for any type of shelter. The wind was blowing fiercely as the snow poured mercilessly from the sky. The snow began to blow so thick, I could hardly see Ben only inches away, and I could only hear the voices shouting around me.
“We need to find shelter, NOW!” David screamed through the howling of the wind.
“I can’t see!” Delia screamed.
“You’re attached to me. Just keep going,” David cried out.
“Ben!” I cried as I kept my hands on the rope following his lead.
“I’m right in front of you,” he said loudly just as the ice began to fall from the sky.
“Okay everyone,” David yelled, “It’s gonna get really bad. I think there’s a tree to my left. We’ll take cover under the tree and cover with blankets. Everyone hold onto the rope and keep moving slowly. We’ll make it.”
As we slowly paced towards the tree, I felt shards of ice slicing into my snowsuit. Occasionally a piece of ice slammed under my hood, stabbing into my forehead; each time I cried out in pain. As we walked on, I heard the others crying out and screaming in pain from the monstrous ice.
As the wind only grew stronger, the horrifying pieces of ice grew sharper as they slammed into our suits, tearing through the fabric and slicing through our skin. I screamed out in pain as pieces of ice slammed into me from every direction. I tottered around trying to keep balance as the wind blew me around, but I kept hold of the rope, even as ice sliced into my hands.
Suddenly a gust of wind rushed into us, so powerful that it hauled us off the ground. I screamed in fear, as did the others as we flew through the air and slammed back into the ground.
Everyone was screaming and panicking in fear as David’s voice shouted above the wind, “We’re almost to the tree, crawl to the tree.”
I held onto the rope with one hand as I crawled with the other, following Ben’s lead. I could hardly see Ben’s feet as he crawled just in front of me. As we continued to crawl through the blinding snow, suddenly the force of the ice lessened and the snow seemed to thin out. I could see Ben in front of me, and the trunk of the tree suddenly grew visible through the thinning snow.
As our group settled under the tree, David said, “Everyone get out your blankets and huddle together.”
I quickly grabbed my blanket and unzipped my sleeping bag as the others did the same. As we held the blankets over us, I leaned in towards Emerlee with Ben on one side of me and Damon sat on the other. Delia was snuggled between her husband and Damon, and my father leaned into Emerlee from behind her. I felt David crawl behind me and lean against my back. Between the blankets and bundling together as a group, much relief was felt from the storm. As I was finally able to see the others, I realized everyone’s snowsuits were torn up, and they were covered in blood. No one said a word as we huddled together, taking shelter from the storm.
Delia was sobbing, and Emerlee was gasping in pain. Even Nathen and my father looked horrified, but we were all safe and alive. I was trembling in fear as I felt warm blood dripping down my body.
Finally David spoke up, “As soon as the storm slows down, we will find shelter and assess our wounds.”
No one said a word. I could feel Ben trembling next to me as snow and ice continued to beat down around us. I looked over to Damon and saw blood soaking through the cloth on his face. I could only hope the storm would soon come to an end.
Just as I thought we had a moment of peace, the wind picked up, and the tree began to shake. Emerlee screamed, as Delia began to tremble. I wrapped my arms around Emerlee as Ben and Damon wrapped one arm each around me. Our group clung together, to keep from blowing away, but before David could grasp ahold of me, I felt the wind begin to carry him away.
“David!” I screamed as I let go of Emerlee and tried to reach for him. But the wind was too strong, and he went flying from under the tree. “Hold Delia tight!” I screamed as she was still attached to David’s rope, and I was hopeful that the rope would keep him safe. But as we all bore down, all hope was lost when we heard a deadly crack, and David screamed in pain.
“David!” I screamed again.
I tried crawling towards David’s cry, but Ben grabbed me tighter and said, “No!”
“He’s hurt!” I cried.
“Miranda, you can’t go back out there!” Ben said.
“Ben please let go!” I screamed as I tried to shake him away.
I heard David howling again and screaming in pain. I began shaking and trying to fight Ben and Damon off of me, but they only held me tighter. I screamed in fury as I tried to break free.
“Let go!” I screamed, but Damon was much too strong, and I could never escape his grasp.
I shook and screamed as I heard David wailing and screaming in pain.
“We have to do something,” Emerlee said in a horrified tone.
“
If we go out there, we will die!” My father cried.
“He’s going to die,” Emerlee yelled.
“As soon as the storm slows down...we’ll go out there,” Damon said.
As everyone talked I continued to scream out and call David’s name. David was still crying out in pain, but his cries grew weaker.
“David!” I yelled. “Hold on! Just hold on!” I cried.
As David’s groans began to soften, I noticed the pressure from the ice was slowing down, and the howling of the wind began to die.
“The storms slowing down!” I cried, “We need to help David!”
Damon looked at Ben, and Ben nodded his head. The moment Damon let me go, I threw off the blanket, untied the rope around me and crawled from under the tree.
As soon as I emerged from the tree, the sight horrified me. David’s body was lying under a tree only a few steps away. His leg was twisted abnormally as a bone was torn through the skin, and blood was spewing from his wound. David’s pale body was covered in tears and gashes from the ice, and he wasn’t moving as I reached his side.
“David!” I cried out as I shook him. “David! Open your eyes!” I screamed.
The sharp ice was still trickling down from the sky, but I couldn't feel the pain, as fear washed through my body.
“Miranda, are you okay?” I heard Damon as he crawled behind me.
“David, Oh my God. David!” was all I could say.
As soon as Damon reached my side, he placed his fingers inside David’s jacket as he quickly took his pulse.
“He’s alive,” Damon said. “His pulse is weak.”
“We need to heal him!” I screamed.
Damon nodded as we both placed our hands on him and began to chant.
Moments after we began to heal him, David slowly opened his eyes and smiled. “Honey?”
“David! It’s Miranda! Are you feeling okay?” I said as Damon continued to chant.
“Oh honey,” he smiled softly, “I’m coming home to ya.”
“David, what are you talking about?” my heart started to race.
The Portal to Sidhe: Book 2 Page 14
