Chapter 10

They walked in silence for a long time early the next morning as they began hiking. The humans trailed behind as usual and Allister led, walking steadily and without waiver several feet in front of them.
“He’s just as hot from the back.” Kali mumbled, having walked right next to Liona.
Liona only shook her head. “Kali, you’re so weird.”
“Whatever, you know you like it. Besides I think he likes you, he always smiles whenever you say something.”
Liona could feel her face grow warm, and she silently hoped it wasn’t showing. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I mean I know the age difference would be pretty intense. But really, what’s six hundred years?” Kali said, grinning. “He ages well, anyway.”
At this Liona couldn’t help but giggle. Kali gave her a quick wink before falling back to walk next to Adara. Liona had noticed that since their Elf encounter they had become very close. Glancing back she saw that Foster and Jack had begun to walk side by side. Liona smiled to herself, falling back to walk with them.
“For someone who complains about their siblings so much you two seem to get along.”
Foster made a face. “Jack here is nothing like my siblings. He can manipulate fire with his eyes. If Delaney could do that, I’d be worried for my own safety.”
Liona smiled, looking down at the boy. “How are you doing, Jack? Are you sure this is for you?”
The boy nodded. “All of ye might be strange ones, but I know this is where I’m to be.”
“How are you so sure?” Liona asked, her smile fading. “You’re so young, but you really don’t act your age.”
The boy nodded. “I wish I could explain to ye, but I can’t give ye more of an answer then I just know. I’ve always known. I knew ye was comin’, and I knew I had to come.”
“You know another cool trick Jack can do?” Foster asked, smiling. “Do it, Jack.”
The boy smiled back, and before Liona could blink the boy held out his hand to reveal a small glowing fire. Liona couldn’t help but gasp.
“You can hold fire?”
The boy shrugged, closing his hand. “I think I can mess with anythin’ of the earth. Back home I could make the lake water rise and splash Charlie without even movin’. I can make the ground move too.”
“What else can you do?” Liona asked, deeply curious.
The boy thought for a moment. “Sometimes I can see what’s comin’. One time a horse almost ran down Sally, and I saw it. I can also hear what people think when I want to. That’s how I knew my Mum wasn’t my Mum. She found me when I was just a babe, at the edge of the forest.”
“Read thoughts?” Liona said, suddenly struck by an idea. “What-?”
“Nineteen.” The boy said. “Told Sally about it and she did the same thing.”
Liona’s jaw dropped. “Did you know he could do that?”
Foster shook his head. “This kid seriously gets cooler by the minute.”
For the next several hours the humans crowded around Jack to test his mind reading skills. They were beyond intrigued and soon came up with complex guessing games, trying to stump the boy. Jack seemed to like the attention, matching their interest and grinning each time he won the games, which was every time. Yet soon, Liona could feel her stomach begin to protest to the lack of food, and she could tell the rest of her friends had the same thought.
“Will we stop to eat, Allister?” Adara called to him.
The Bastet turned around, and slowly nodded. “Yes, I suppose it is time to eat. Come, there’s a lake close by. Follow me there and I will catch some fish.”
“Yes!” Foster exclaimed. “Normal food!”

* * * * *

When they arrived at the lake Allister decided that they would call it a day and set up camp, even though there were several hours left until sunset. With a wizard on their side, Allister didn’t have to do nearly as much work as he had to before. Jack was able to quickly gather material without even moving, and when Allister went to fish Jack quickly stepped in, parting the edge of the water and making Allister’s job much more simple.
Jack also made the fire much easier, quickly sparking a flame, and soon the group sat happily eating their dinner.
“Where exactly are the tree folk?” Foster asked, picking at his fish with a whittled stick that Allister made in place of a fork.
Allister only shrugged, watching the humans eat. “I am not entirely sure. I know they are very deep in the forest, and we will likely have to travel several days. As to exactly where they are, I have never actually traveled there myself.”
“How will we know that we have found them?” Adara asked.
“That will be the easiest part.” Allister said, looking at her. “The tree folk are not easy to miss. You will see.”
Foster made a face. “So what, they’re tree people or something?”
Allister sighed. “I wonder if Jack can take his voice away.”
“You two are worse than my brothers.” Kali said, shaking her head. “And I have a lot of those.”
Liona smiled. “Let’s just try to have one peaceful night, okay? I’m assuming we’re getting up at the crack of dawn again, so we might as well take advantage of the relaxation time.”
“Yeah, before our drill sergeant here decides we don’t even need to eat.” Foster said, rolling his eyes.
The group fell into a silence as they finished their food, and soon Foster, Kali and Adara turned their attention to Jack, who wandered over to a spot close to camp where he showed them how he could move the ground. Smiling at them, Liona looked over at the lake, admiring the sunset. It was beautiful, with liquid-like pastels in shades of purple and red resting just above the horizon. Slowly, she got up to walk towards the lake, sitting by a deep edge where she could dangle her feet into the chilly water.
“Mind if I join?” Allister asked, sitting beside her, though keeping his distance from the water.
“Of course.” She said, smiling at him. Her smile faded fairly quickly as he smiled back and Liona silently cursed Kali for being right; he was very handsome.
Six hundred and twenty three. She reminded herself. Talk about cradle robbing.
“I think Jack is enjoying the interest.” Allister observed, glancing over at the group who were taking turns standing in a spot that Jack made move.
Liona laughed at the sight of Adara shaking uncontrollably from the ground beneath her and collapsing, giggling hysterically. “I’m glad he’s having some fun. He really is young.”
“He is.” Allister agreed, looking back over at her. “But at least you see how we need him. He really is very important for us, and not just to make fire.”
Liona’s smile faded, and she nodded. “Yes, I think I can see how he would be. What’s the matter, are you enough of a cat you don’t like water?”
He smiled, and she inwardly cringed. “I suppose I prefer to stay dry, yes. Do my cat qualities bother you?”
Liona shook her head. “Why would they? Just being here is the most incredible thing for me, I think there’s very little that could bother me.”
“I wouldn’t speak too soon.” Allister said, his face falling. “So far you have only experienced very little of what this world is capable of. Now that the dark ones are loose, much worse things lie ahead. At times I worry if I am putting all of you in too much danger.”
“Allister,” She asked, looking at him. “I believe you when you say we were meant to be here. Why else would Tweak, Kali and I have come? There has to be a reason.”
He nodded slowly, holding her gaze. “I’m not sure that your friends were meant to come. We did not see them, we only saw you.”
She frowned. “Only me?”
“Only you.” He repeated.
He continued to hold her gaze for a few moments before she turned away to look at the sunset again, trying desperately not to notice how attractive he looked in the fading light. Suddenly without any warning, Liona felt her body being pulled into the water. It took less than a few seconds for her whole body to be submerged, and she fought very hard to get to the surface, but to no avail. She tried not to breath in, remembering that if a human breathed in water they would drown. The water churned around her, and she realized she was being pulled very fast. Opening her eyes, all she could see was darkness, and silver dots began invading the corners of her eyes. Before she could stop it, unconsciousness consumed her.

* * * * *

It was peaceful, the surrender. She was floating in darkness and she had never felt so serene. She could see beautiful colors floating past her like clouds, and she reached for them. She could not reach them, however, and she began to get frustrated. Why couldn’t she touch the colors? They seemed to tease her, floating by just out of her reach.
Soon, she could hear a dull ringing noise all around her. She couldn’t tell where the sound was coming from, but it was getting louder and louder. As the volume increased, the intensity of the sound also increased, and she could feel the sound invade her head.
Abruptly, her eyes flew open. Her sight was blurry, but everything that had happened came back to her in a monsoon of horror.
“Lilly?” She heard someone scream. “Lilly say something!”
She gasped for air, realizing her lungs burned fiercely. Her body was hungry for air, and despite the pain she breathed heavily, taking in every bit of oxygen she could.
“Please, let her breathe for a moment.” A calm voice said. “We cannot push her.”
She blinked several times, trying very hard to clear the blurriness from her eyes. All she could see were dark shapes surrounding her, and she realized she was on the ground. She was also very wet.
“Wh-what happened?” She managed to gasp.
“You almost died!” Adara shrieked “Something pulled you into the water, you almost drowned!”
Slowly her vision cleared and she could see that Allister held her head as the rest of the group crouched beside her with panicked looks on their faces.
“It was a water horse.” Allister said, shaking his head. “Liona, I am so sorry, they’re so fast I almost didn’t catch you before it took you all the way under.”
Foster shook his head. “What was that?”
“They’re a lake creature that will pull beautiful women into the water to drown them.” Allister said. “I can’t believe I was so stupid as to let you put your feet in the water, I knew that the dark ones had been set free I just had no idea they’ve been put into their places again. I didn’t know any would be in the forest.”
Liona squinted at him. “He thought I was a beautiful woman?”
Allister made a face. “Don’t be silly, Liona, of course you are.”
“So anyway.” Foster said, a little forcefully. “No more going in the water, right?”
Allister looked up at Foster. “Well unless you consider yourself a beautiful woman, I’d suggest that Liona, Kali and Adara please stay away from the lake while we’re here.”
“How’d you get me?” Liona asked, trying to sit up.
Allister moved his hands from the side of her face to her shoulders. “Don’t get up just yet, I want you to rest a bit more and then we’ll get you by the fire.”
“But how’d you do it?” She asked, looking up at him. “It was pulling me so fast.”
He paused, looking slightly embarrassed, but Jack answered for him.
“He turned into a giant tiger. Never seen nothin’ like that in my life.”
“I promise I didn’t hurt you.” Allister said quickly. “I only stayed a tiger long enough to get it away from you, and then I changed back.”
Liona looked at him in awe. “You can turn into a tiger? This world only gets better!”
Allister frowned. “Somehow that wasn’t the reaction I was looking for.”
“Okay, children, I think Addie and I can take it from here.” Kali said, reaching for Liona’s hands. “You boys go take a walk while we dry her off.”
“Allister is wet too.” Liona pointed out, letting Kali pull her up.
Kali winked at her. “Trust me, I know that.”
“Don’t worry about me, Liona. My kind doesn’t get hypothermia.” Allister said, smiling at her. “It would be best for us to collect some roots to store for the journey tomorrow anyhow.”
Allister, Foster and Jack soon took off into the forest, and Kali led Liona to the fire.
“I believe we have a cloth from the time you went into the village.” Adara said, walking towards the shelter. “We shall wrap you in that and let your dress dry by the fire.”
Kali nodded. “That’s why I wanted the boys gone.”
Adara and Kali helped Liona take her dress off, which stuck stubbornly to her body. She hadn’t realized just how cold she was until they wrapped her in the cloth like a towel and set her in front of the fire. The warmth pierced her body like pins and needles and she could feel a strange wave of dull pain as it penetrated her body.
“So I’m not going to say I wanted to go through what you did, but I can’t say I’m not a little jealous cat man came to your rescue.” Kali said, grinning at her as she sat beside her.
Liona shook her head, trying to hide a smile. “It wasn’t so bad. I mean I guess it would have been if he hadn’t saved me, but I passed out pretty fast.”
“It was so scary.” Adara said, sitting on her other side. “I saw it happen, one minute you were sitting on the edge, and the very next second you were gone.”
She nodded. “It came so quick I don’t think I would have known what happened.”
“Allister said something, though.” Adara said, frowning a little. “He said the dark ones had been put back into their places. Does that mean there is more out there?”
Liona frowned also. “I don’t know. I mean, I guess so. But Allister seems to know what he’s talking about, I’m sure he’ll keep us safe.”
Adara sighed. “I don’t like not knowing. You two have an excuse; you’re from another world, but me? I grew up here.”
“It’s not your fault.” Kali said, shrugging. “You can’t expect to know something someone didn’t teach you.”
“I suppose.” Adara said.
“Hey, you guys kept my old clothes, right?” Liona asked, looking up from the fire. “Think I could ditch the dress and wear jeans?”
Kali shrugged. “Don’t see why not. I’ll go get them.”

* * * * *

The next day seemed to take centuries as the group once again followed Allister’s lead through the forest. The trees seemed to become thicker and thicker, and the more they traveled the darker their surroundings became. Liona couldn’t help but notice that her body was slowly growing more and more tense as they went, and her storybook senses told her something wasn’t quite right.
A few hours before sundown, Allister and Jack went to work on setting up camp. Foster and Kali went in search of a good spot to set up while Liona and Adara sat down to go through their supplies.
“Is it just me, or do things feel different?” Liona asked, silently counting how many water roots they had left.
Adara nodded. “It does seem to have become much darker and quieter. There is something eerie about a quiet forest.”
Suddenly they heard a loud scream, and looked over to see Kali had fallen to the ground and was pointing at something. Springing up, Adara and Liona ran over to her and it didn’t take long for them to see what had startled her. A tall, dark haired man stood in front of them. His facial features were extremely well proportioned and quite attractive, but his piercing light blue eyes seemed almost demonic in the little light that surrounded them.
“Liona?” The man said, his eyes focusing on her. Suddenly his pupils, which Liona realized had been like slivers before, returned to a human-like shape.
“Zander?” Liona heard Allister say from behind them. “Brother, what brings you here?”
The man looked up at him and smiled. “I am sorry for my sudden entrance. I think I startled your humans.”
“Startled? No, I was just…surprised.” Kali said, pulling herself to her feet. “So, um, who is this, Allister?”
Allister walked up to the man and gave him a friendly hug. “This is my brother, Zander. He is of my kind.”
“Are all your kind this sexy?” Kali mumbled, eyeing the extremely handsome man in front of her.
Liona rolled her eyes. “Seriously.”
“What’s going on?” Foster said, walking up behind them. “I thought I heard someone scream. Who is this?”
“Allister’s brother, his name is Zander.” Adara said, looking over at him.
Foster sighed. “Oh God, not another one. Isn’t one cat man enough?”
“Do not worry, I’m not here to stay.” Zander said, looking back over at Allister. “Varia sent me to warn you that the dark ones are slowly entering the forest. They will soon be just as they were before the Great War. You must watch the humans very carefully.”
Allister nodded, his face falling. “Yes, we ran into a water horse the other day. I nearly lost Liona.”
Zander nodded. “Do you need help, brother? Varia only sent me to warn you, but you do seem to have more humans than you expected. I could stay.”
Allister only smiled. “Just wait until you see who we’ve found on our journey so far. Please, stay the night with us, but come morning we will be able to finish on our own.”
Zander smiled. “I trust you, brother.”
Later that night as they all sat around the fire, Zander told them about the signs around the forest that had alerted them to the dark ones entering.
“We found a poltergeist by the southern orchard.” Zander said, watching with Allister as the humans ate.
“A poltergeist? In the forest?” Allister asked, frowning.
Zander nodded. “Yes, we were surprised also.”
“Poltergeists usually haunt people, right?” Liona asked. “Attach themselves to one person for awhile and then move on?”
Zander smiled. “Yes, that’s right. That’s why finding one in the forest was so surprising. The main dark creatures that roamed in the forest before the Great War were banshee’s, the mountain beasts and occasionally a land basilisk.”
“I had wondered about that.” Allister said, his face strained with concentration. “Kelpies usually live in streams, and don’t usually hide this far out in the forest. I thought that it was strange there was one in that lake.”
Zander nodded in agreement. “You’re more likely to find Sprites in a lake than a water horse.”
“I haven’t seen any Sprites.” Allister said, his face tense with realization. “Or Nymphs. Zander, how did we not see the speed in which they’re taking over?”
But Zander only shook his head. “We cannot see everything, brother. That is why it is important for you to seek the tree elder’s as quickly as possible. You’re only one more day’s hike away, you will be able to find your answers then.”
“What, are we on some sort of soap opera? This eminent doom can’t be as bad as you seem to think.” Foster said, rolling his eyes.
Allister shot an irritated glance at the human boy. “Would you like to try this on your own then, see if you can do better?”
Foster sighed. “No, that’s not what I meant. I meant let’s just not get all doom and gloom here, we’re going to get through this, right?”
Allister and Zander exchanged a weary glance, and Zander shook his head. “I’m afraid we cannot be entirely certain of that. In the mean time, take care of yourselves.”