Liquid Diamond (25 page)

“
Come on,” growled the Elf as he shoved the Blemmye face first into the rock that Catalyst and himself had lain on while they healed. Hobbling as fast as he could, the Elf followed the footprints left behind by his prey as his pet staggered along trying to follow him.

The Elf had not realized that when he smacked his pet’s face off the rock he lessened his grip on the Blemmye’s mind, as the jarring of its brain shook off some of the effects of the Elf’s mental images of submission.

After hobbling, limping and struggling for a few hours, the Elf reached the Mugwads’ treetop village and with the scent of Natalia’s perfume left on the outside of the door from when she brushed across it going into Pepper’s home, the Elf found the exact spot where they were hidden.

Unable to pry the door open, the Elf had no choice but to climb the outside of the tree, cringing with the pain from his butt, arm, palm, finger and eye wounds. He struggled to reach the top as he left behind a trail of blood that led from the door up wrapping halfway around the tree to the overlook. His pet was more than happy to lick the bloody trail clean, leaving no sign that they were even there, and with each lick of his master’s blood the Blemmye’s hunger for fresh flesh grew.

Spilling over the ledge, the Elf grabbed his pet and threw it across the floor of the overlook. With one more smack of its face into Pepper’s wall, the Blemmye’s brain was jarred again, further lessening the Elf’s grip.

“
Now you just wait here and be quiet,” whispered the Elf, kicking the Blemmye in the face.

As the Elf entered Pepper’s home and quietly sneaked from one room to the next in search of his prey, his anger and hatred exploded when he found Natalia and Catalyst were not there. Running back to the overlook and peering over the edge to see if he could find Natalia and Catalyst somewhere in the crowds below, the Elf snapped and slapped the Blemmye again, knocking more and more sense and less control into it.

With his own frustrations blinding him to anything but revenge, the Elf hadn't noticed the Blemmye growing more and more aggressive towards him.

#

Following Pepper from one shop to the next and point of interest to point of interest, Natalia found it all very exciting. Catalyst had seen most of it before and found it all very humdrum. With the sun beating down so warmly and the gentle breezes blowing through the centre, Pepper found the break in her routine to be refreshing.

As the wind carried the scent of Natalia’s perfume through the air it caught the attention of the Elf and with a few sniffs, the Elf slipped down the stairs and outside, cunningly creeping from one hiding place to the next as he followed the perfume searching for his soon-to-be meals, otherwise known as Natalia and Catalyst.

Having slipped past many Mugwads as he made his way through the centre, the Elf’s stink soon gave him away and he was unaware that anyone had noticed him.

With a whisper here and a whisper there, a voice reached Pepper.

“
Excuse me, excuse me, Pepper, a moment if you would?” asked a voice from out of nowhere.

Turning to look, Pepper saw a very peculiar looking fellow. She walked over to him and the stranger whispered into her ear. With a few whispers back, the peculiar little fellow went hurrying on his way.

“
What's wrong, Pepper?” asked Natalia, seeing the worried look on her face although she tried to hide it.

“
Can we help?” asked Catalyst, his sincerity equalled by his desire to get away from the boring afternoon.

“
Oh no, children, it's just some supply problems, that's all,” replied Pepper keeping a watchful eye out for the Elf now she knew he was around somewhere.

“
Come on, Natalia. Catalyst, let's keep moving –
there's so much more to see and I want to show you the council’s meeting court,” said Pepper. “This will keep us moving,” she thought.

Natalia could only look at Catalyst knowing Pepper was hiding something other than supply problems, but what? And more importantly, why?

Everyone’s entitled to some privacy, Natalia,” whispered Catalyst into her ear, knowing what she was thinking.

Moving with the crowds all that afternoon, Pepper, Natalia and Catalyst found themselves moving back towards Pepper’s home. Knowing the Elf had to be around somewhere, Pepper hurried the two of them along not wanting to be in too thin a crowd just in case Bailey should try and strike. Having plenty of Mugwads around them made Pepper feel more in control.

Having had Natalia and Catalyst in his sights for some time now, Bailey continued to stalk them from the shadows. He was waiting for the perfect moment to grab them or at least one of them to satisfy his rage and hunger, but with many of the Mugwads aware of his presence and his reason for being there, a crowd big enough to fend him off made sure Natalia, Pepper and Catalyst were never alone and made it home safe and sound.

When the three of them were inside Pepper’s home, she closed and locked the door as the crowd slowly went their way, leaving Bailey unaware that they knew about his being there.

Waiting outside Pepper’s home, Bailey sat hidden behind a small bush until he was sure he would be alone with the three of them once he got inside Pepper’s home.

He had left the Blemmye on Pepper’s overlook and its stench hit Natalia and Catalyst right away.

“
Rotten meat,” said Catalyst as he looked at Natalia.

I know...they've been here, but how?” replied Natalia trying to hold down her lunch. As Pepper was not able to hide what she knew any longer, she spoke up.

“
The Elf you told me about –
he's been following us all afternoon,” said Pepper, taking Natalia by the hand.

“
Well his pet has to be around here somewhere,” said Catalyst, looking about Pepper’s home.

“
His pet? What's his pet?” asked Pepper calmly.

“
He has a Blemmye, I would know that stench anywhere,” replied Natalia.

“
Oh dear, nobody mentioned a Blemmye earlier,” said Pepper.

“
If you knew about this before why didn't you tell us?” asked Catalyst.

“
I hoped the crowd that surrounded us all afternoon would have been enough to make the Elf give up and leave, and I felt it was better not to worry you both, after all you were quite safe,” replied Pepper.

With a deep breath and pulling together all her courage, Natalia spoke up.

“
Well we've beaten him before and we'll beat him again,” she said, looking Pepper and Catalyst in the eye.

“
I'm way ahead of you on that, Natalia. I've got a surprise for that Elf should he try and come in here! Now quickly, go upstairs the both of you. You'll be safe on the overlook, said Pepper.

Without hesitation Natalia took Catalyst by the hand and made her way up the stairs to the overlook as quickly as she could.

Believing that Natalia and Catalyst were now safe, Pepper began to light a few lanterns, but only just enough so that who ever came into her home would leave a shadow other than hers.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Natalia started to choke on the stench of the Blemmye. Without knowing it, they had walked right into its presence.

Jumping to its feet, the Blemmye charged them both, pushing Natalia out of its way. Catalyst was thrown into the table and chairs then slammed against the wall as Pepper heard Natalia’s screams for help.

Having heard the commotion from outside the Elf knew that his pet was on the attack and with a running jump and kick fuelled by rage the Elf broke through Pepper’s door and charged her. Hitting Pepper and knocking her to the floor, the Elf ran straight for his prey and punched the Blemmye to the floor because no one but him was going to devour either Natalia or Catalyst, not after all they had done to him.

Grabbing Natalia by the arm, Catalyst raced for the stairs, leaving the Elf and his pet behind.

Having hit the Blemmye just enough times now, the Elf’s control of it had weakened and with the Blemmye now free, it turned on the Elf and attacked its meal, biting the still open wound on the Elf’s arm from when it had bitten him on the killing field. The Blemmye ripped and tore at the flesh and the air around it as it fought with the Elf.

Screaming in awful pain as the Blemmye’s nails scraped across his arm bone, the Elf ripped, tore and gouged the eyes of his pet out. The Mugwads that Pepper had told to hide in her home, just in case, stood and watched while others surrounded Natalia, Catalyst and Pepper to protect them.

As the fight between master and slave continued, the blind Blemmye could only rip and tear away in the direction of the Elf’s noises as it desperately tried to feed its hunger while the Elf waited for just the right moment then grabbed the Blemmye by the arm and ripped it from its body. With one spin the Elf smacked the Blemmye right in the face backing it up to the edge of the overlook. He scooped the Blemmye off its feet, sending it tumbling one hundred and thirty feet to its death.

Looking over the overlook to see where it had landed, the Elf spat down upon it and turned to go after his prey. Meeting with a foot bigger than his head, the Elf himself was sent plummeting over the side to his own death, and hearing the oomph of the Elf landing right on top of his Blemmye, a rather large Mugwad shouted out, “He’s dead!” With a huge sigh of relief, Natalia grabbed Catalyst and kissed him right on the cheek.

Surprised by what she had just done, Natalia put a few steps between herself and Catalyst, hoping he understood why she had kissed him. As Catalyst just stood there gob-smacked, seeing what had just happened and how awkward things had become, Pepper grabbed and kissed both Natalia and Catalyst.

Lying on top of his dead pet, the Elf blinked and blinked again. With no one watching him, not that he cared, the vile, evil wretched old Elf staggered to his feet. Too stunned from the fall to be angry, he picked up the arm he had used to beat his pet to death with and stumbled off into the massive roots of the trees to find shelter while he healed, leaving behind him a trail of both Blemmye and Elf blood.

Everyone that could fit into Pepper’s home was already there and a small dinner party was held for fifty or so Mugwads, one Human and a Krusnik. Pepper made sure to thank everyone for all the help. As the evening wore on she could only dread the mess she would have to clean up the next day as she said good night to her guests.

“
Well, children, that was an exciting day to say the least, wasn't it?” asked Pepper.

“
It had it all. I never felt so alive!” chortled Natalia.

“
I agree it was exciting,” said Catalyst calmly as he tried to make it sound like just another day for him.

Natalia and Pepper burst out laughing at his answer as they looked at one another knowing they were thinking the same thing –
typical boy. Feeling uncomfortable and red faced once again, Catalyst slipped away from the women and quietly made his way to bed.

“
Pepper, how did you do all of this?” asked Natalia.

The stranger I was talking with today told me that there was an evil little Elf creeping around, and since we're on good terms with the Elves, there was only one reason for him to be here –
you and Catalyst. Since I already knew about your problems with him, I knew for sure he was here for you both, so I asked the fellow to gather a few of our friends and go to my home and hide in wait to help us when we got back. All we had to do in the meantime was stay away from here until they could gather, but how that Blemmye escaped their notice is beyond me. Does that answer your question?” replied Pepper.

“
About that, yes. One fellow told me they knew it was up there but they also knew the Elf knew, so they thought it was best just to leave it there. They had no idea you would send us up there knowing they were in the house,” replied Natalia as she sat there looking as though she had more questions.

“
What is it Natalia? If you have something to say just say it,” said Pepper.

“
It's not that I have something to say. It's more like I have more questions about your world,” replied Natalia watching for a look of irritation on Pepper’s face.

“
Ask away,” said Pepper, handing Natalia a cup of tea.

“
Well remember when I was smiling about all those people in my world and how no one believes they see strange creatures? Well now I believe them and I believe that those creatures come from this world and there have to be portals all over the place,” said Natalia sipping her tea.

“
Yes I remember but what's your question?” asked Pepper.

“
The portal your ancestors came through is not the same one that I came through, is it?” asked Natalia.

“
That's right,” replied Pepper.

“
The portal in Svartalfheim, then, have you ever gone back through it?” asked Natalia not sure if she had the right portal.

“
No, because I can't find it. I've looked many times for it but either it’s been moved or just lost in time. If someone did want to take it, it wouldn't have been hard to do. It was only a slab of rock just big enough to walk through. Look, I have some drawings of it. I copied all the books my ancestors wrote about it and their trip here and I copied it detail for detail,” said Pepper getting her books and sitting back down with Natalia.

“
As you can see here it was one huge thin rock and its surface was nothing more than a shimmer. And here on this drawing you can see the hillside and cave where the rock was found on Earth when my ancestors took shelter from the plague. On this one they found themselves after coming into contact with the portal, but try as I might I've never found it,” replied Pepper.