Mamelon - Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

“What’s wrong?” Pete just managed to stifle a yell as Sam’s alarm communicated itself quickly enough. By now, both glucks were on their feet and making distressed, snorting sounds. Iggy scurried towards Heron. Pete, too, looked instinctively to Heron for guidance, but his companion remained fast asleep on the ground. Starting to panic, he ran to his friend and shook him hard, “Wake up, Heron, we’re in some kind of danger! Wake up!” he pleaded, almost in tears.

    “We have company,” Sam announced gravely, “There are at least three of them, possibly four. Yes, definitely four.”

      “Krills…?” Pete demanded, wide-eyed and scared, as Heron refused to stir.

      “Not krills…” The gluck cocked an ear and seemed puzzled.

      “Then who, what…?”

     But Sam had no time to form a reply. Shadows leapt out of them. One caught Pete completely off balance and sent him flying. His head caught on a rock as he fell and he lost consciousness. Sam gave a frightened squawk, barely pausing before chasing after the already fleeing Iggy.

     “What the…?” Sam’s warning woke Heron who managed to sit up and struggled to force his weary body into action just as someone jumped on him and grappled him to the ground. Able only to put up a token resistance, he was quickly overcome and lay, exhausted, gazing into the impassive features of his heavily built assailant. Even so, in spite of gasping for breath and moaning in agony, he could appreciate that little of this was actually down to the giant fellow straddling his chest. On the contrary, his attacker had been remarkably gentle. Odder still, was the fact that he hadn’t uttered a sound throughout.

      Pete came round sluggishly. Disoriented at first, events soon came flooding back. He promptly closed his eyes again, tightly, and waited for the rain of blows, rough handling, perhaps even a dagger thrust…

      “Are you alright?” a kindly voice asked. Warily, Pete let one eye fly open.  “Thank Ri you are not dead. I only gave you a little push and you went out like a light! You are alright? I mean, you’re not injured or anything?  It’s a poor show when elves resort to violence, I must say.”

      “Elves…?” Pete opened the other eye and regarded the tall, thin fellow standing over him with disbelief.       

       "You’re an elf?”

      “Indeed, I am,” the  elf smiled, “I am Pers and you must be…”

     “Pete!” a familiar voice shrieked and suddenly Beth was kneeling beside him, hugging and kissing him.       

      Am I glad to see you!” she kept saying over and over.

     “Tell me about it.” Pete wriggled free but neither let go of her hand nor made too much fuss when she hugged him yet again. He looked around, hopefully, bringing a lump to Beth’s throat. “Mick?” he asked tremulously.

      All Beth could do was shake her head and hold him tight. “We were together for a while, and then…” She tried to explain the inexplicable. Guiltily, she found herself thinking about Mulac even as she related to Pete all she knew about Mick. It seemed like a betrayal, and it hurt.  Yet, it was Mulac not Mick stirring feelings in her she could have shared with no one but the surly Nu-gen.

     Irina heard Beth’s cry, as she made her way back, misinterpreted the implications and literally jumped with fright. “What now?” she demanded of the charcoal landscape between clenched teeth. But even as the elf girl raised her eyes despairingly to the night sky, she found time to give silent thanks to Ri that the krills would almost certainly be too drunk to pose an immediate threat had they heard it too.  Taking a deep breath, she proceeded with care, employing the same elven stealth that had served her well as she’d crept up on the krills’ camp. She found a suitable vantage point and peered through the gloom. Heron and the motherworld boy had visitors. She counted, one, two, three, but it was the fourth that brought a lump to her throat.  There was no mistaking a tall, gangling figure. “Pers…!”  Throwing caution to the wind, Irina burst into the clearing like a hare from its cover.

      “Irina!” Brother and sister embraced each other, their joy tangible to everyone who gathered round to share it.  Even Tol looked pleased. Beth could not help but notice as she glanced up at the towering figure while stroking Pete’s coarse red hair. But Tol caught her watching him, and his features promptly reverted to their customary lack of expression. Even so, she fancied a relieved sigh escaped the tight lips and brushed against that part of her mind intent upon establishing a rapport of sorts with Arissa’s giant companion. At the same time, she looked for Arissa, but the object of Pers’ surprise affections had retreated into the shadows.  Beth pursed her lips. How would Irina and Arissa get along, she wondered?  It will be interesting, to say the least, to see how Pers manages a devoted sister on one hand and an apparently adoring admirer on the other. She would keep her thoughts to herself, of course, but still did not quite trust Arissa and wished Irina well.

      “This is Heron,” Pete finally got around to introducing his friend.

      “Hello,” said Beth warmly, “and thank you for looking after Pete.”

      “It has been the other way around lately.” Heron green, andthen froze, staring at the spot where Arissa had emerged from the shadows. “Arissa…?”

      “Yes Heron, it is I.” She came towards the group, hands outstretched and smiling.

      “You know each other?” Beth was suddenly wary of Pete’s companion.

      “She is my sister,” replied Heron evenly, but seemed to have little enthusiasm for a reunion.

       Arissa drew close. “It is good to see you my brother.”

      “And you,” mumbled Heron but did not return her fleeting kiss on the cheek.

      Irina started. There was something about the female that was disturbingly familiar although she could not imagine why. It simply wasn’t possible they had ever met before. So what was it about this Arissa tugging at the strings of memory and sending shivers down her spine?  Of one thing she was certain. This woman was dangerous. As if to deny her every thought, Pers ran to greet her, taking Arissa’s arm with such pride and possessiveness that Irina was completely taken aback.

      “Arissa, this is my beloved sister. Irina, meet my beloved Arissa.”  The two women shook hands, lips smiling while eyeing each other up like a pair of alpha males. Such happiness, to be with the two women I love best in the entire universe!” cried Pers.

      “Ah, my dear Pers…!” Arissa clapped her hands and kissed the elf lightly on the lips.

      Irina could only watch, appalled. She glanced at Bethan, called Beth, who merely shrugged and looked away but not before a telltale flush of embarrassment had crept across her face. You do not trust her either, thought Irina and resolved to get Beth on her own at the first opportunity.

      Apparently oblivious to the cool reception afforded Arissa by her own brother and his dear sister, Pers continued to cluck over her like a mother hen. In the meantime, Heron and Tol had warmed to one another, the giant signing that he could not speak.  Heron did not flinch when Tol put a hand to his forehead, at the same time beckoning Beth closer.

      "This is a good man. He needs our help,” Tol murmured inside Beth’s head. Beth nodded to show she understood.  Heron looked from one to the other questioningly while a bemused Pete looked on.

      “Tol is an excellent physician,” said Arissa, a trifle irritated by the rapport that plainly existed between her servant and the motherworlder, Bethan.

       “Heron was hit by a krill arrow,” Pete piped up loudly. “We were running away. The krills would have caught us, too, if it hadn’t been for Sam and Iggy.” As if on cue, the two glucks wandered into view and had the grace to look sheepish. Pete ran to Sam and flung his arms around the gluck’s neck.

      Pete and I have much to catch up on, Beth mused with mixed feelings. Wonderful though it was to discover Mick’s kid brother alive and well, he stood for everything that was home.  Home... Yet again, she was shocked upon admitting she hadn’t given  her father a thought in ages.  She loved her dad dearly, yet it was to Mulac that her thoughts continued to fly. What is happening to me? Beth asked herself. But she dared not attempt an answer. Instead, she watched Tol rummage in his pack to produce a small phial and something resembling a syringe.

      “It is an antidote for the poison that krills use to tip their arrows,” the gentle giant explained to Beth. She passed this on to the others.

         “How do you know?”  Pete asked and Heron, too, gave her a queer look.    

     “My father is deaf,” she was suddenly inspired to remind him, “We communicate by sign language. The way Tol communicates with his hands is not so very different.” Tol looked up in surprise and gave a slight nod of approval.

        “I didn’t see anything,” Pete insisted.
       “Because you weren’t looking,” Beth forced a smile. Pete opened his mouth as if to say more, Ironically, it was Arissa who came to Beth’s rescue.

       “You can always trust Tol to know what is for the best,” Arissa declared. She glared at Beth. “You can communicate with Tol?”

         “Only very basically,” Beth murmured.

        “I forbid it!” She stamped a pretty foot. “Take care, motherworlder, lest you try Arissa’s patience too far.”

        “I trust Tol,” said Heron, baring his teeth at Arissa in a travesty of a grin that did not fool anyone. Nor did her answering smile convey a flicker of warmth.  There was no need to add that he didn’t trust her one bit. His tone and expression spoke volumes. No one was left in any doubt that brother and sister loathed each other. 

         Arissa turned away and walked off in a huff.

       “This Tol is a strange man, eh, young Pete?” Heron grinned. “First he takes me apart, now he puts me together again!”  He appeared relaxed, but his eyes never left Pete’s face as Tol injected into a vein. For his part, Pete’s cheeky smile signalled encouragement as the freckled face dimpled with a mixture of concern and affection. 

        Beth was impressed. There was a bond between these two that warmed the cockles of her heart. So why, she wondered, do I have the feeling that someone has just walked over my grave? Instinctively, she glanced at Arissa.

      “Arissa is right about one thing. We must be more careful in future,” Tol’s words rang true in Beth’s mind. Clearly, Arissa was no pushover. Nor did she doubt, should Heron’s sister choose to turn nasty, that the consequences could well prove devastating for everyone.  She resisted a temptation to catch the giant’s eye while retaining the strongest sense of a continuing rapport between them. It even crossed her mind that perhaps he could read her every thought, and the very idea gave her goose pimples. But she quickly dismissed the notion as fanciful. She could never have felt so comfortable with Tol had that been the case.

     Purely as a means of communication, the occasional telepathy between herself and Tol was something Beth found herself enjoying, especially as it involved putting one over on Arissa. At the same time, a deeper instinct warned her that it was not so much a gift as a power, and nor one to be taken lightly. Bethan of Mamelon, she suspected, possessed other powers that may yet come into their own. The prospect was daunting. She let her attention wander. It came to rest on the two glucks nearby. Their ungainly appearance raised a chuckle in her throat, providing a welcome distraction.

      “You will feel better very soon,” Tol was signing to Heron.

     Heron seemed to understand, and for an instant Beth experienced a stab of jealousy. Abruptly, she left the group on the pretext of becoming better acquainted with the curious glucks that, in turn, greeted her with enthusiasm.

      “We should go now,” Irina announced. “The krills are drunk. They wouldn’t notice if a herd of oliphants passed by. We can steal some horses too.”

       “I wish I shared your confidence,” said Heron.

       “Then try harder,” Irina retorted.

      “It makes sense Heron,” Pete ventured to say, plainly anxious not to be seen to contradict his friend.

      “I disagree.” Arissa had returned unnoticed. “Krills get drunk all the time, their capacity for tayo is legendary.”

      Heron ignored his sister and instinctively watched Tol’s face as he returned the phial and needle to his pack. The gentle giant nodded, barely perceptibly, without looking up from the task in hand.  Heron turned to Pete and gave the boy a friendly hug. “You win, my friend. What’s good enough for you is good enough for me. We will show those krills, eh?” Pete grinned from ear to ear with delight.

      “Fools…!” Arissa hissed and flounced off again. Pers followed without a word.

      “The elf has little enough to say for himself,” Heron murmured to no one in particular. A sardonic smile brushed his lips, distorting the handsome features.  So, what’s new? Much the same can be said for all who have come under Arissa’s spell, he reflected grimly.

     Pete ran to tell Beth they were going to steal the krills’ horses. The glucks were not amused. “Horses, huh!” snorted Sam, “I’d like to see a horse fly!”  Pete had no time to respond as Beth warned him, categorically, that he would not be stealing anything from anyone.

      “Over my dead body, Pete Wright!” she repeated several times as they made their way back to the others. Pete began to sulk until Heron tossed him a knowing wink and he cheered up.  But Beth had seen it too. “I mean it.” she said. “It’s far too dangerous.”

      “These are dangerous times,” Heron responded Heron gruffly. “Besides,” he added with a grin, “we are a team, Pete and I.  We need horses and we will get horses. The rest of you will go around the krill camp and wait on the other side.”

      “I want to help too,” Irina insisted. “It was my idea, after all.”

     “And a good one if it works,” Heron conceded, “but it will only take two of us.  In this matter, three is one back too many to watch.”

      “But Pete…” protested Beth.

      “Can look after himself,” said Heron not unkindly. “I trust him to look after me also,” he added.

     “You don’t know the half of what Heron and I have been through,” Pete told Beth gravely. He has grown up a lot, she reflected, and felt bound to take what both he and Heron were saying at face value.

      “Okay.” Beth nodded. Pete gave a little whoop and Beth was pleased to see signs of the little brat she fondly recalled from another time, another place…

      “This is madness!” Arissa declared and stamped her foot, “but if you are determined, at least take Tol. He will be useful to you.”

      Heron was sorely tempted. But a sixth sense warned him that Tol would be best employed keeping a close eye on Arissa.  “No,” he said flatly and sensed the giant approved. “Now, Irina, tell us everything you know about the krill camp.” Everyone gathered round, including Arissa.

      Forgetting how she had been rebuffed and delighted to be the centre of attention again, Irina obliged. She forbore, however, to mention the mysterious woman to whom Radik had professed love and devotion. Besides, it was practical detail Heron needed. Moreover, it was so unlikely a tale, there was a good chance she wouldn’t be believed. Even so, restraint did not come easy to Irina and she surprised herself by continuing to keep quiet about the krill leader’s secret liaison.

      Sam and Iggy, too, drew closer. “This is the plan…” Heron was saying.

      “I don’t like the sound of this,” muttered Sam.

      “They do seem to be forgetting that horses have minds of their own,” agreed Iggy.

      “Especially krill horses,” Sam wailed, “as they are so well trained.”

      “But not always so well treated,” Iggy pointed out. “Maybe if you and I had a word with them…”

      “Why should they listen to us?”

      “Why shouldn’t they?” countered Iggy.

      “But, talking to horses…” Sam was disdainful.

      “It’s worth a try, surely? If we leave everything to this lot, Ri only knows what will become of us.  I don’t fancy being roasted for krill steaks even if you do.”

        Sam gulped.

     No one noticed the two glucks wander off. By the time Pete realised that Iggy and Sam were missing, they were well beyond safe calling distance.

      “We can’t leave without them.” Pete was adamant.

     “They will find us when they’re good and ready,” said Heron confidently. “Glucks are incredibly loyal. They would never desert us without good cause. They’ll be back. I’d stake my life on it.”

      “How touching!” Arissa commented acidly, “Let’s hope it won’t come to that.”

      “Ace never came back,” Pete was quick to point out.

      “Give him time,” Beth felt compelled to say. They hadn’t seen the last of the little dog, she was sure of it.    

        "Ace will be back when he’s good and ready, too, you’ll see.”

      “Huh! When did an animal ever count for much when all is said and done?” Arissa could not believe her ears.

       “In Gar we are one big happy family; animals and elves together,” commented Irina. “Is it not so, Pers?”

      “That is true,” agreed Pers, “But this is not Gar. We are in the outside world now and Arissa is a woman of that world. She speaks as she finds, I am sure.” He went to stand beside Arissa who flung Irina a gloating look that turned the elf girl’s stomach.

      “We go now,” said Heron in a commanding tone that brooked no further argument. “Pete, stick with me. You others, follow Irina. Be on your guard at all times and if you must communicate, use signs.  Drunk or no, any krill is a formidable enemy. Never underestimate them.”

      “Isn’t that exactly what you’re asking us to do?” Arissa demanded.

      Heron glared. “Another word from you, my sister, and you will be tied to tree and left behind.” No one doubted he meant it, least of all Arissa.  Her mouth flew open and shut in the same instant. If she desired the last word, she had thought better of it.  Instead, she bit her lip and lapsed into a sullen silence. 

      Irina started and could not suppress a cry. She had been watching Arissa closely. Suddenly, she placed her. This was the krill leader’s lover, no less. She must warn the others, denounce this she-devil before she could betray them. Panic-stricken, she gazed mutely into the sea of faces around her. Beth’s expression conveyed genuine concern. Heron’s, too, and this made her heart skip a beat although she had no time to reflect further on this. Pete looked vaguely irritated. Pers hung his head and refused to look her in the eye. The sardonic curve of Arissa’s lovely mouth matched the snake-like eyes. But it was to Tol’s granite profile that she was irresistibly drawn. The face was like a blank sheet, the mouth but a thin red line. But the eyes…this man’s eyes were alive, for Ri’s sake! And they were sending out warning signals with such a force that she felt physically accosted by it. Say nothing! they told her. At the same time, she had no sense of being threatened. The giant was not, as she had supposed, Arissa’s lackey. He meant well. With grave misgivings, she hung fire. “Sorry everyone, I thought I saw a snake!”

     A general titter helped ease the growing tension. Careful to avoid the giant’s steady gaze, Irina proceeded to lead all but Heron and Pete in the direction of the krill camp, Tol bringing up the rear. Beth glanced back anxiously. “The boy will be safe with Heron,” Tol mutely reassured her. 

      Beth did not look back again. 

To be continued