Fireclaws - Search for the Golden (10 page)

Making a wide loop, I came in tight to a dense thicket of birch, and well-hidden from Kerrik’s view, I shifted from bird to a large chestnut mare. Trotting out from my concealment, I stepped into the stream and the water felt cool and refreshing on my hoofs. I waded slowly up to the wind wizard, my body language remaining as neutral as possible, like I do this kind of thing all the time.

“Well, aren’t you a beauty,” he whispered running his hands from my chest, down the withers and across my back. I trembled slightly, whether it was from the cold water or the unfamiliar sensation of a man’s hands on my body. Oddly, I found I didn’t mind it so much, but I told myself it was the animal form talking. “No tack, huh? So bareback it is, then.” Kerrik spoke calmly and soothingly, as he patted me on the neck and led me over to a taller boulder in the water. Stepping up on the stone, he flung himself across my back with a shuddering groan and hung on, knotting his hands into my long mane.

Ok, this was a new sensation; I had never been ridden before. Crap! I’ve never been a horse before either. While Kerrik wasn’t particularly heavy compared to my own weight in this form, he still had a tendency to put his knees and legs into uncomfortable places. I had always thought saddles were exclusively for the comfort of the horseman, but it appears I was wrong. The weight on my spine was also a little daunting, and I really didn’t relish the thought of running with him merrily bouncing along on top of me either. I now had a major appreciation for what real horses put up with.

Sighing, I walked as steadily as possible out of the stream and headed in the general direction of Daffi’s tree, careful to keep my ears up and attuned to the night sounds. Surprisingly, Kerrik was stonily silent for the first part of the trip, and I considered the real possibility that he had fallen asleep or lapsed into unconsciousness. We traveled like that for hours, with me taking every opportunity to hide our trail as much as possible.

Finally, off in the distance somewhere along our path, the resounding snarl of a hunting night cat split the dark air. Even though I didn’t have the facial muscles for it, I smiled. Rakka does so love small spotted pigs. It’s her version of the dragon twins’ obsession with bacon. Encouraged by the thought of my cat, I sped up and headed directly for the sound, and I instantly felt Kerrik stiffen up and become more alert.

“I hope you are as fast as you look, girl,” he murmured, rubbing his hand alongside my neck nervously. His other hand was still loosely knotted in my mane and I could feel periodic tremors run through his fingers. I realized he still needed food, sleep and probably another dose or two of healing just to get him back into the shape he was when I first met him.

We were within a few hundred yards of Daphne’s glen and passing under some large ash trees when a thick black tail lazily dropped down from the shrouded branches above and brushed across Kerrik’s face.

The action was immediate. Startled, Kerrik cried out and leaned back in panic, still clutching my mane, which slammed me to a halt and backed me up, forcing my front hoofs up in the air. I screamed, a long drawn out horse curse, pedaling without any front traction, fighting desperately to steady myself and not fall over sideways. In some pain, I still took note of an enormous, laughing, and self-satisfied puma lounging placidly on a thick branch directly above us.

I didn’t have time to stop and scold her as the wind wizard had apparently reverted to whatever horrendous horsemanship training he had received in the army and was repeatedly kicking me sharply in the sides. At the same time, he was screaming for me to run…run like the wind! Well, I didn’t do that. Instead, I brought my front feet back down to the earth and bent my neck around to bare my teeth and glare at him.

Naurakka, for her part, soundlessly dropped down out of the tree and proceeded to sinuously circle us, emitting a low, chesty growl. This only made Kerrik redouble his efforts to spur me into action. Finally, he reached back and gave me a resounding slap on the rump.

Ok, that’s it! Not only did that really, really hurt, but I will not have a man touching me so! Rearing back with an angry jerk, I dissolved his grip on my mane and dumped him unceremoniously on his backside on the ground. Immediately, Naurakka got right up into his face and sat down, affixing him with her startling blue eyes. I watched the wizard freeze, his eyes darting back and forth, looking for a way out.

I finished transforming back into my human-appearing body and marched angrily back to where he was planted in the dirt. I’m not sure what shocked him more, the gigantic puma panting just inches from his face, puffs of water vapor caressing his cheeks, or watching me change from a full-sized horse back to a human-appearing girl.

“You have a lot of nerve, Master Bard,” I barked at him, “not only did that hurt, but a gentleman does not touch a lady who is not his wife there!”

“But…but…you were a horse,” he stuttered, his eyes still wide with confusion.

“I’m sure that excuse serves you well in the seedy bars you frequent,” I steamed, “but I am no tavern wench to be manhandled with such brazen familiarity!”

Naurakka stopped her panting and dramatically licked her chops, displaying her long canine teeth, before she glanced back at me imploringly.

“No, Naurakka, you can’t just take a bite or two,” I huffed. “I still promised his sister I would return him to her in one piece.” Scowling, I pointed a finger at the wind mage. “But if you ever touch my bare bottom again without permission, I will serve you up to my Jag’uri on a platter with catnip, understand?”

Kerrik nodded frantically, still attempting to scoot backward away from all the estrogen-fired crazy. Somewhat mollified, I stalked forward and reached down to drag the stunned wizard to his feet. “Now, come on, your sister is nearby and no doubt concerned.”

Kerrik hastily dusted himself off and stumbled after us. “I thought Jag’uri were a myth,” he mumbled. After fifty yards or so, he collected his thoughts enough to speak cautiously. “I meant no disrespect. If you had only told me up front that you were a witch, I would have been more careful…”

“A witch!” I sputtered, rounding on him angrily. Next to me, Naurakka closed her eyes and comically flopped over on the ground, putting her paws up over her ears. “I release you from prison…save your life twice! And rescue your sister from being eaten by hyaenodons, and that is what you think of me? That I am an evil, toadstool-sucking, baby-eating, hag of a witch?”

“Well, I was hoping you were possibly…a good witch?” Kerrik ventured hesitantly.

My Jag’uri moaned piteously and shook her huge head, still covering her ears with her plate-sized paws.

I glared at him, attempting to burn holes through his empty brain. “Oh, so the toadstool-sucking hag part still applies; just not evil, is that what you are saying?”

Kerrik’s face blanched a few shades pastier than he was even with all the blood loss, as he knew he was standing in female quicksand. “Look, you are the last person on this planet I wish to argue with, Ryliss! And, yes, you have been everything you have said to me and my sister, and I owe you a tremendous debt I can never repay. But unless you tell me what I am expected to know, and how to approach our relationship, I am flying blind here so, of course, I’m going to crash and burn regularly!” He stopped, gasping for breath and leaned against a tree for support. “So, My Lady, if you are not a witch…may I please know what you are so that I do not offend you further?”

I thought about it and ruffled the hair on Rakka’s head as she had gotten up and was now rubbing herself on my leg. “Fine…since you have already witnessed me shape change,” I muttered resentfully. “I am a Druid…”

“But Druids are a…”

“Myth?” I completed his sentence for him. “I can assure you, Master Bard, that Druids are very real. Just as Xarparion is real and Sky Raven Fortress is real; in fact, it’s my home.” I watched as Kerrik’s mouth opened and closed several times without saying a word. Finally, he closed it for good and just mutely followed as I turned and started walking the short distance to Daffi’s tree.

Walking alongside me, Naurakka whispered in my mind,
“It is good that you have finally returned. The young cub has not been calm or at peace since you left. The pooka is at wit’s end…which isn’t far to travel for a pooka anyway.”
Rakka chuffed in an approximation of laughter.

I stopped, and kneeling down, looked into her blue eyes.
“Rakka, we will need to stay here for a short while to rest and eat. Will you hunt for us? Afterward, I will need you to patrol the area, especially listening for any baying hounds. We were followed in our escape, and there is something I fear about those hounds…something unnatural.”

The big cat purred reassuringly,
“Fireclaws will bring you an excellent brace of small spotted pigs, my Mother. I know where they are, even though they think to hide from me.”
She smacked her lips and showed some impressive fang before bounding effortlessly off into the trees.

Finally, we reached our destination, Daphne’s poor mistreated tree. I walked up and tapped on the trunk. Again, the air around the truck seemed to shift slightly and Daphne came pouring out, an exasperated look on her face. Seeing me, she wrapped her arms around me, chattering excitedly.

“Oh…thank the Earth Mother you came back! I’m just not cut out for this kind of assignment.” She started crying. “I’m just a pooka. What do I know about comforting anyone?” I held up a hand to cut her off, but she suddenly caught sight of Kerrik hanging back a few steps and gushed, “A MAN!” Forgetting all about me, she ducked under my arms and sprinted forward, literally throwing herself into the wind wizard’s arms. A stunned Kerrik looked down to see the spiky-haired girl wrapped around him like an anaconda. “Kiss me and I’m yours forever!” Daffi pleaded, her eyes closed, lips puckered up, and her face just inches from his.

“Err…ah no.” He winced, prying the nymph/pooka off and gently setting her back on her feet. “I think I’ve gotten into quite enough trouble today already with the opposite sex by not knowing what is going on. Really, I would rather just rest for a moment.”

With a profound cry of despair, Daphne collapsed on the ground and drew her knees up to her face like a small child, sobbing, “What is so wrong with me?”

Why, I’ll never know, perhaps I spent too much time around Alex and too much niceness rubbed off, but I felt somewhat obligated to offer her comfort. I knelt down next to her and drew her in for a hug.

“Daphne, I really think you are trying too hard. You just need to meet the right person.”

“How, Ryliss,” she demanded tearfully. “No one ever comes to this part of the forest; the other nymphs see to that. I could leave, but I have nowhere to go and no one to help me find a better place.”

Crap! The words of the Earth Mother echoed ominously in my brain “Daphne needs a mentor.” And while I actually didn’t work directly for the Earth Mother, she was another of the seemingly endless group of individuals who I owed at least some form of allegiance. A Druid who angered her would find life very bleak until reparations were made.

Sighing, I stroked her head, the pooka’s face still buried sloppily in my shoulder. “Daffi, I would be willing to help you find a new tree. I know of a beautiful, vibrant forest near my home, and there are no nymphs or sylphs, or any other magical creatures, except for a recently planted pixie tree. You might really like it there.” Daphne looked up with eyes filled with hope.

“Really? My very own little forest?”

“Yes, and the pixies are only there for a couple weeks twice a year; otherwise, it would be all yours. There’s even a well-travelled road running through it, so there are always people for you to…umm…meet.”

The pooka jumped to her feet, squealing and hopping up and down. “Thank you! Ryliss, you are the best. I promise I won’t be any trouble at all...when can we leave?”

“Soon, but I have to warn you, I have to complete my mission and figure out what to do with Kerrik and Andi before I can go home.”

The pooka’s eyes suddenly got very wide. “Alfalfa pellets! I forgot about Andi and left her in the tree! She’s going to be even more upset!” With that, Daffi dashed back to the tree and phased back into its interior. A few seconds later she reappeared, gently leading Andea out by the arm. The seer was a mess, she looked cried-out and wan. Her hair was matted, her clothes were torn in places, and her arms looked scratched and bloodied.

“Daphne! What did you do to her?”

“Nothing, mistress!” Daffi said pleadingly. “She did all this to herself! I swear on all that is leafy!”

By this time, Kerrik had perked up. He couldn’t see well in the darkness, but he seemed to recognize his sister, and in a few short steps, he had enveloped her in his arms. The two of them just held each other silently for a couple minutes, not speaking at all. Finally, Kerrik broke the silence.

“Andi, I’m so sorry to keep putting you through all this,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head gently.”

“Kerrik, you don’t seem at all well either…” Andea returned, probing his chest and arms with her slim hands.

“I’m pretty sure I nearly died. If it wasn’t for Ryliss…”

I walked away to give them some privacy and was just in time to intercept Naurakka before she entered the glade. She was dragging two recently dispatched spotted pigs through the underbrush, and their size was even causing the puma some difficulty. The lack of a blood trail told me that she had ended them by breaking their necks, something not easy to do on an animal that basically doesn’t have a neck to speak of. I smiled; for all her bluster, Rakka was very considerate and probably didn’t want to leave a bloody trail behind for flies or other vermin to follow. The big cat spat them out at my feet.

“Two tasty small spotted pigs, my Mother. You need to feed well to keep up your strength. I go on now to guard.”

“Rakka, these are your kills; by rights, you should eat first.”
The black puma sat back on her haunches, licked a paw delicately, and made the chuffing noise which was her form of laughter.”

“I am sated for now, my Mother…there were three little pigs when I found them.”
A last barking cough and she slid soundlessly into the darkness.

Picking up the two hefty pigs by their back feet, I carried them farther into the woods until I found a convenient fallen split log that would serve admirably as a butcher’s table. Removing my bone knife from the sheath inside my boot, I quickly removed the succulent loins from both kills and carefully wrapped them in linden leaves. I placed them on the far end of the log while I contemplated the rest of the still-warm carcasses. Despite my best efforts, my stomach growled viciously and I was reminded I still needed food immediately, or risk being too weak to fight or run.

My Jag’uri form was a twin to Naurakka, with a sizable appetite to match, and I extended my claws into the cool sandy soil as I got my bearings. For a few seconds, I allowed myself to revel in the experience of sensory overload that accompanied becoming a wild creature. I sniffed disparagingly at the wrapped meat I had set aside for the humans and then walked back and tore into the still hefty pig bodies with pent up need. Letting my inner Jag’uri feast, my rational mind chuckled at human preferences for lean muscle tissue. The big cat that I had become would always prefer the rich organ meats: heart, liver, and tongue. In the span of a few minutes, I had ravenously consumed all but the large bones, feet, and skulls. I was lying out on the cool forest moss in the process of a delightful marrow extraction, using my powerful jaws to crack open the bones, when I heard a voice behind me.

“That might be the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen, and I know some trolls.” Daphne smirked, leaning up against a small birch.

With a feline snarl of irritation, I stood up and began the return to my two-legged form. Looking around at the carnage, yeah, it did seem a little extreme to my elf eyes, but I had been famished and I now felt a lot better. Fortunately, when the change is triggered, all blood, dirt, and gore are left behind. So I primly watched where I stepped, and after retrieving the meat wrapped in leaves, headed back to the laurel glade to start a fire.

Approaching Daffi’s tree, I saw Kerrik and Andi sitting morosely on a fallen log, talking quietly. Making some noise so it didn’t seem like I was sneaking up on them, I went about mundane tasks like starting the fire and assembling a framework of green twigs over the fire to hold the food. Pulling out my bag of dimensions, I rooted through it pulling out the clothes and blankets I removed from the farmhouse and some of the potatoes and carrots. The potatoes, I skewered on sticks in the heat. A little later, when I had some actual coals worked up, I would heat rocks and bury the potatoes alongside them to quicken the process. I just passed the carrots over to my companions for immediate consumption and stretched the pork out over the twigs to begin the roasting process.

“If I may ask,” Kerrik said, nervously looking around now that he had the light of the fire to see by, “where is the cat?”

“Rakka is ranging out looking for signs of pursuit.”

“And you can talk to a puma?”

“As a Druid, I can communicate with most animals, but not really talk like humans do. Most of the time, it’s pretty simplistic, but hedgehogs don’t live complicated lives anyway. The same goes for some plants and trees. I found Naurakka in a burning forest; her mother had been killed by goblins. We formed a bond that allows us to know each other’s thoughts, at least from a short distance, and we have been together ever since.” I stopped and looked at Daffi, who had just joined the group, appearing out of the trees. “Daphne, could you take Andi back into your tree and try these clothes on her? The ones she’s wearing are about to fall off her.”

The pooka brightened. “Yes, mistress.” Gently, she led Andea back to the tree, and the two of them disappeared.

“Mistress?” Kerrik asked with a raised eyebrow. “She works for you?”

“It’s a long story, but I’ve only known her for a few hours, as well. What you need to know is that she is very unique, a half dryad and half pooka cross.”

“A pooka? But I thought…”

“Don’t even go there, Kerrik,” I snorted. “You may be a wizard, but your knowledge of magic and magical creatures is atrocious. Just assume from now on that most of what you know is wrong. But while they are away, you should be aware that the dryad side of Daffi will cause her to fall in lust with nearly any humanoid creature with a pulse, with no thought to the consequences. Part of my task will be to try and teach her more self-control, but in the meantime, I beg you to be restrained in your relations with her, she is very fragile.”

Kerrik nodded thoughtfully, looking me in the eye. “I understand, I will attempt to treat her like a sister.” He paused as if deciding to speak further. “I think we’re all fragile in one way or another, even you, Ryliss.”

Averting my eyes, I tended to the fire and the food. “Yes, well…as soon as you’ve both eaten, we need to talk about what to do next.”

The wizard drew himself up stiffly on the log. “Andi and I will be alright. I will get her somewhere safe, and we will build a life together, maybe a small farm somewhere. I can’t ask you to do more for us; you’ve already done so much.”

I sighed inwardly and perched myself next to him on the log. “Look, Kerrik, I’m sorry if I snapped at you earlier, there’s no way you could have known and I overreacted. If possible, I’d like you and Andi to both consider me your friend. That said, Kerrik, you have no horse, no food, no gold, and no weapons to defend yourself. Plus, you have essentially a helpless person to provide for, and you have some dangerous people looking to capture your sister and probably kill you. And to top it all off, you’re really not that good of a wizard. You are both going to need my help.”

“You really don’t believe in pulling any punches, do you, Ryliss?” he said wryly, shaking his head in despair at their situation.

Putting my hand on his shoulder, I replied in what I hoped was a calm, reasonable tone, “All is not so bleak, my friend. I would like to take you and Andea back to Sky Raven with me. The best healers in the world live there, and I’m sure Andi would be welcomed with open arms and accepted as a fellow wizard. There, her talents would be valued far beyond wasting away aimlessly at a table in a farmhouse somewhere. I think the Enchanters there might even be able to create something that would allow her to see again, after a fashion. I wouldn’t want to get either of your hopes up, but I have seen them do wondrous things. Sky Raven is attached to Xarparion so you will even be able to get some training to improve your wizardry.”

“Why?” he interrupted bluntly.

“Why, what?”

“Why would you do all this for us? You barely know us, and all we have been is a burden to you.”

“Two reasons; one, you and Andi have some knowledge crucial to my mission.”

“Whatever a golden is, right?” he cut in.

“Correct. And two, Verledn wants you pretty bad. I believe he is consorting with demons, and that means he’s evil to the core. So keeping Andea out of his hands is not only the morally right thing to do, but it’s also the tactically smart thing, and it serves my King and Queen’s interests.”

“And which King is that?”

“King Alex Martin and Queen Maya of the Nova, rulers of Sky Raven Fortress.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of them. But this Sky Raven place is the fortress that Verledn was always demanding that Andi look for information about, right?”

“Yes, it is the strongest bastion of good on the planet.”

“Well, if it’s as good as you say, that’s where I need to bring Andea. I owe her that much.”

The tree disgorged Andi and Daphne and I waved them over to the fire. The new clothes were slightly big on the seer, but very serviceable.

“Ryliss, we need to talk,” Andea stated bluntly as soon as she got closer to us and was helped down to a seat on the log.

“I know, Andi, but eat first. I need you two to stuff in as much as you can, I’m not sure when you’ll get the next hot meal.” I served the two humans, and like all wizards, they fell on the food like wolves.”

“Aren’t you joining us, Ryliss?” Kerrik asked between chewing and swallowing.

“No…I grabbed a bite in the forest,” I said somewhat defensively. It didn’t help that Daffi was shaking silently in laughter off to the side. “How about you, Daphne, aren’t you hungry?”