Layla, p.12
Layla, page 12
He nodded Silvio’s way. The old wizard had been lurking in the willows near the beach, watching the entire incident unfold. Holding his staff upright, ready to wield any magic he may need, Silvio frowned, but with roving eyes half concealed behind his wispy white hair, he surveyed the Xylonites with kind concern. He did not come forward to validate anything Ian had to say.
“So, with that, Abbi, Elisa, and I bid you farewell. Peacefully I hope!”
The Xylonites stared at them and scratched their heads. Others crossed their arms over their chests. A few dropped their clubs and walked up to the beach to the campfire.
Abbi thought she’d burst with joy; she was so happy to see him in the Realm. All her doubts had vanished. He’d get her home; she was sure of it. Ian’s wet jacket shone in the noonday sun. Dirt and mud caked his hair and dusted his face, yet his brown eyes had a glint of hope in them. He looked sturdier and more handsome than ever, even in his ragged state. No longer the teenager she knew in Seattle, Ian was here in his element. The sun had weathered his skin to a copper color. Whatever trials he had been through made him stand taller, stronger. The sword he carried had become a part of him now.
“We have one day to get back. That’s it. We’ve got to go right away.” He took her arm and the three of them walked up the beach to the campfire.
“I’m ready,” Abbi agreed. Indeed, she was more than ready.
“You up for a hike?” Ian asked Elisa.
“Just a minute,” Elisa said. She picked up the shield, dusted the sand off it, looked around, and then strolled casually over to Silvio. Abbi watched as the two conversed—bold Elisa and the grumpy wizard. Curious as to their conversation, it soon dawned on Abbi that Elisa was again asking Silvio for magic. Elisa held the shield up. Once she even put her hand over her heart. Silvio shook his head.
A loud “No, I told you!” resounded across the beach, and finally Silvio turned his back to her. Elisa stomped her foot and when that gesture made no impact, she pivoted around and plodded back to where Abbi and Ian stood.
“Let’s go,” she grumbled.
“He’s a trickster!” came a call from the shore. Abbi ignored the outburst until stones landed at their feet and a rock hit Ian on the arm.
“What?” Ian picked up the rock that had fallen and glared at his assailant. Xylepher, his red hair burning in the sunshine, pointed at him angrily.
“You lied! We’re under attack and you’re the culprit!” The fuming little man waved his hands, signaling for his soldiers. All the little people in camp dropped what they were doing and charged toward the water again.
“Now what?” Abbi asked, trying to make sense of their continual hysteria. “What do you see?”
“There are women in fancy clothes up that way,” Elisa pointed to a reedy bank. “And they have two shiny boats!”
“Layla,” Ian whispered with a grin. “She found me. Thank goodness she survived!”
“Who?”
“Her name’s Layla. I met her in Alcove Forest. She took me in, fed me and brought me halfway here by boat. Giant vultures attacked us. The queen’s puppets, she called them. I saved her from one attack, but an entire kettle came from the north. We both hid, and when the birds left, Layla was gone. I thought she had died, or been carried off to their nest, but it seems she’s quite alive, thank goodness! She must have followed me.”
“Why would she follow you?” Abbi asked.
“She’s a spy. A Taikan,” Silvio, who had been trailing them, interrupted with a growl. He pivoted around and hissed at Ian. “She must be destroyed!”
“No! Don’t touch her! I swear she isn’t a spy. She absconded Taikus!” Ian claimed and grabbed Silvio’s arm. “She offered to take Abbi, Elisa and I back to the Bay.”
Silvio pushed Ian’s hand away. “As a prisoner, maybe! She lies and you’re a fool to believe her.” His wrinkled face furrowed as he gave Ian a cold eye. “Your mission was fulfilled the last time you were here. You expelled the dragon, and that was your purpose. Why did you return? What good do you think you could do by coming back?”
“I—” Ian stuttered. He turned and stared at the assembly running toward the cattails, the boats, and the women who stood near them.
Abbi interrupted. “Ian’s here because of my mistake. I’m the one you should accuse if anyone. Ian’s come to help Elisa and I get back home. That’s it. We don’t plan on staying here or causing any trouble.”
“Trouble! You’ve already brought trouble! You’ve brought it with you!” Silvio nodded toward the intruders.
“No, we didn’t bring any trouble at all! If there’s trouble, it’s because your little people need to grow up!” Elisa argued.
“Silvio, you’re wrong about Layla! Ask her. She’ll tell you!” Ian then turned to Abbi. “This battle isn’t ours. We’re leaving.” He started for the trail and turned back to wait for Abbi.
Silvio stormed off to follow the Xylonites. Elisa watched him.
“Get your things, Abbi,” Ian said. “Elisa, come on, we need to go!”
Elisa, near to tears, turned back, crying. “Abbi, Ian! Look! They aren’t winning the fight!”
“Ian!” Abbi gasped.
The Xylonite men who attacked the Taikans were now frozen solid as statues. As Silvio stormed down the hill, one Taikan woman grabbed his staff and the other tripped him. When he fell, they tackled him and bound him as quickly as a roper hog ties a calf. Silvio’s cries were soon silenced with a gag and two women heaved him—one at his shoulders, the other at his feet—and carried him to their boat. The remaining Xylonites who had not been frozen scattered into the forest where they zipped off in different directions and disappeared into the ferns.
The Taikan women pushed their rigs into deeper water and drifted out to sea. With all that had been going on, Abbi had not seen the ship until it eased around the eastern bluff. Three masts, sails catching the wind; gilded rails glittering in the sun, it waited for the longboats while a team of serpents escorted the armada.
“What do we do?” Elisa asked in a near panic.
Abbi turned to Ian.
“Go home,” Ian replied.
“And just leave the old wizard at their mercy?” Abbi asked, appalled.
“What can I do, Abbi?”
“Save him,” Elisa insisted.
“How can I risk your lives to do something like that? We’ll be lucky if we make it back in time as it is. The trip home will be dangerous.” He squeezed Abbi’s hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
Prisoner
SO HARROWING WERE THE canyons from Bandene Forest to the basin that the three sojourners had little time to converse. Ian led the way, navigating the side of a cliff which bordered the Alcove Valley. The terrain was too rough for deer to have made a trail; Ian pioneered a route over rock so white it seemed to make the afternoon sun burn hotter. Sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled down the side of his face. He plotted a course down a rock-strewn wash, stepping carefully from one stone to the next, sliding on his rear over large boulders that were too awkward to stand on. He rested under the minimal shade of a scrub cedar, peering briefly behind to make sure Abbi and Elisa were following. Catching his breath, he continued.
As he sought a way down the mountain, so too he piloted through his thoughts. Guilt ate at him for leaving the wizard in the hands of the enemy. But his feelings for Layla also tormented him. He couldn’t accept that she had lied, or that she had used him to track down Silvio. He risked his life to save her. She had shown him kindness and the conversations they had shared, or the quiet moment on the hillside following the vulture attack had to have meant something. She had defected from Taikus. That’s what she had said.
Maybe Layla wasn’t among the women who captured Silvio. Maybe Layla was a prisoner herself. His eyes could have deceived him. They all dressed alike. They all had dark skin and thick black hair. They all were beautiful beyond words. Ian wanted to believe Layla’s innocence. Why? Why did her virtue mean so much to him? Had he fallen in love with her?
Admittedly, he’d been deceived in the Realm before.
“Ian, wait up, please,” Abbi called. Lost in his musings, he had allowed Abbi to fall behind. He looked back to see Elisa still maneuvering down a difficult embankment.
“I’m sorry, Abbi.” He retraced his steps, leaping over a creek bed to get back to her. “Let me carry that.” Ian took the shield from Abbi. “I’ll slow down. I didn’t mean to get so far ahead. I’m anxious is all.” Anxious about getting home, yes, but what else?
Abbi helped Elisa over the ridge and set her on the ground. “This terrain is really rough, are you sure this is the best way to go?” Abbi asked.
“It’s not the quickest,” Ian agreed. He looked out over the vista. They had climbed less than halfway down the mountain and there were still rocky gullies and gravelly cliffs below them.
“But I can keep an eye on the coastline for ships, and it’s the most direct route. Besides—” He surveyed the panorama. From here he could see familiar territory—Inlet Bay, the white shores of Elysian Fields, even the snow-covered mountain glowed a faint blue against the evening sky.
“With that view, we won’t get lost! And maybe we can find shellfish for dinner once we arrive in the valley.”
Having such a late start, they had not yet reached the valley when the shadows grew long, and then the sun disappeared behind the hills. Elisa yawned, her feet dragged, and her eyes barely opened.
“Ian, look at her,” Abbi took his arm.
“She’s exhausted. We need rest.”
Elisa wouldn’t be able to travel much farther if they didn’t get to sleep. Still, their time was running out before the portal opening would close—unless he could reschedule the software. There’d been little reception in the Realm even though his phone teased him with faint lines appearing on the Wi-Fi icon from time to time.
“I could use rest as well. Let’s try to squeeze in a nap,” he suggested.
Having found level ground in among the boulders of a steep, dry, creek bed, Ian set the shield down, emptied his coat pocket of his phone and pocketknife, and put them in his pants pocket. He took off his jacket, spread it out in the dirt, and offered it as a bed for Elisa. “I may wake you up well before sunrise,” he warned.
“Is there anything to eat?” Elisa asked, wrapping the sleeves of his coat around her.
Ian sighed and glanced at Abbi.
“We got nothing from the Xylonites, we left in too much of a hurry. Maybe there are berry bushes around here,” Abbi suggested. “I can certainly explore a bit before the sun goes down.”
“I’ll scavenge for food. You two stay here.” Ian handed Abbi his box of matches and the water bottle in his jacket. “I think we’ll be safe enough having a fire.” He took his sword and belt from his waist. “I’ll leave this with you, just in case you need to protect yourselves.”
The sky quickly turned from dusk to dark. Stars glimmered near the horizon. The bank overlooked the sea and the dark shape of land mass protruded against the horizon. The faint light of a tall ship reflected on the waters near to shore. Too close, Ian thought. The Taikans should have sailed away by now.
He hiked carefully along the cliff that was dotted with scrub brush and stunted oak trees. Reaching the beach and climbing back into the dark would take too long and be too dangerous. He wished he had retrieved the flashlight he had abandoned in the dragon’s lair, for he couldn’t see to identify the foliage at his feet. A tree on a ridge below him seemed to be fruit-bearing, but he’d have to maneuver through a rocky slope to get to it. Leaning into the descent, he slid over stones, and grabbed onto overhanging roots to keep his balance. He stumbled to the ledge where a rather spindly pear tree twisted over the edge of a cliff. The tree had borne its fruit already, yet stragglers remained, still hung on to lichen-covered branches too thin for the weight and which could easily break at the next disturbance. Ian recovered the nearest pear, its skin pitted and thick, and bit into it. Juice dripped down his chin. Never had he tasted anything so sweet.
Ian took off his shirt and wrapped as many pears as possible into it, leaving only the produce that hung dangerously over the embankment. He tied the bounty in a neat knapsack and slung it over his shoulder. Ready to navigate up the cliff, he glanced behind him. He did not see anyone scaling the bluff, nor did he hear footsteps, but the ship still moored in the bay below. Assured that he was alone, he scrambled up the rocks, scraping his hands on the jagged terrain as he lifted his body to safety.
Night had fallen, and a fire burned low when Ian returned to the girls and placed his offering on the ground. Elisa jumped up excitedly. “Food! You found food!” she exclaimed and bit into a pear, taking it to her bed.
Abbi held the fruit for a moment before taking a bite, inspecting it reverently. “Who would have thought that in such a peculiar place, under the direst circumstances we’d find fresh juicy fruit like this? Thank you, Ian.” She smiled.
“This is all that poor tree offered.” Ian sat down next to Abbi, and they ate quietly, watching the flames. Elisa soon fell asleep, providing Ian the opportune moment to speak with Abbi alone.
“You need to know that going back will not be easy,” he said.
“Because of the time limit? I think we can make it. We’ll be able to move faster once we reach the bottom of this hill.”
“Time is only one worry.” Ian took a stick, pushed the coals into a neat pile, and placed another piece of wood on top of it. “The dragon we expelled from the Realm lives in the chamber between this world’s portal and our own.”
Abbi’s eyes grew wide. “How did you get through?”
“An act of Providence,” he explained. “Grace, mercy, you name it. I don’t know. I thought I was dead, but Brad played a big part in getting us here.”
“Brad? Brad came with you? Where is he?”
“He’s with the Kaemperns. We argued, despite that, he may have made a wise decision to go for help.”
Ian pulled out his phone and checked the connection. “There’s been a faint signal, but it’s been spotty. If I could get enough reception to access my files, then time wouldn’t be an issue at all. Unfortunately, it’s not cooperating...” He fingered through the controls, hoping for better luck. After another failed attempt, Ian put the phone back into his pants pocket and focused on the flames.
“Is Brad going to meet us in Alcove Forest?”
“The portal isn’t there anymore. The portal is nearer the prairie. A longer walk for us, but an easier route for Brad and the Kaemperns.”
Abbi sat quietly for a bit. A concerned expression obscured her face.
“We’ll make it though. I promise you I will do all things in my power to get you home safely.” He paused for a moment as he watched Abbi. Thoughts of home sparked an additional concern, one that he hadn’t considered since he left. One which Abbi needed to know about.
“Your father suspects something,” Ian said.
“What do you mean?”
“He came over the night you left.”
Abbi’s eyes widened. “He came to your house? What for?”
“He told me he never believed our story about why my father disappeared.”
“What?”
“I think he somehow correlated dad’s disappearance with yours. He told me he knows I know where you were and that I needed to come clean. It was almost a threat. He never talked to me like that before.”
Abbi turned her attention to the fire again. Ian waited for a moment to go on and he shifted to a more comfortable position. “We’re going to have to tell him everything.”
“He won’t believe us,” Abbi said.
“He already doesn’t believe us. He has the police looking for you. If we come back together suddenly, there’s no telling what will happen to me. Kidnapping charges? I don’t know. I don’t suspect it’s going to be anything pretty.”
“Ian, we can’t tell him about the Realm.” She shook her head and snickered. “He won’t believe a word of it. We’ll look foolish.”
“I don’t want to lie to him anymore,” Ian said and dropped the subject. Perhaps they’ll think of a solution before they return. He stoked the fire, pushing the coals into a pile; he laid another scrub-cedar limb on top. Sparks floated into the air as the wood caught the flame.
“I have something to tell you, too...” she confessed.
He waited as Abbi struggled for words. She looked as though she were about to cry.
“What?” he asked softly.
“I almost lost Elisa.”
“What do you mean by lost? Did she wander off?”
“No. She almost drowned. I searched everywhere. I thought she was dead.” Abbi wiped her cheeks and her nose with her sleeve.
Moved by her tears, Ian sat closer to her and put his arm around her as she continued.
“How did that happen?”
“The Xylonites wanted to go by water to the forest. If Elisa and I hadn’t made a raft for them, they would have all gone under. The raft we made was a promising idea, except for the sea serpents that capsized us. It was horrible!”
“You too? We came across the serpents as well. The waters are infested with them.” From where they sat, only a peek of the bay could be seen. Dark as the night, the sea seemed like an empty void in the distance. A chill sped down his spine, and he shivered.
“It’s over now, Abbi. Elisa is fine. I’ll be extra careful going through the portal. I’ll carry her if I must. And you can cover her with that shield.”
She nodded, but her anxious countenance remained.
“Tell me about this woman Layla? What happened? You said you traveled with her, that you saved her life and that you were glad she survived. Yet she attacked the Xylonites and abducted Silvio. I’m confused!”
