Liquid Diamond (7 page)

Covering their mouths to mask the sound of their breathing, Natalia and Catalyst kept perfectly still as they waited to make sure they had lost their hunters.

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Staring at each other, their eyes widened as they looked over one another’s shoulders. Natalia looked into the eyes of the Elf and Catalyst was looking into the eyes of the Elf’s pet. This creature had to be the Blemmye. With a surge of adrenaline pumping through their bodies as never before, Catalyst took Natalia by the hand and they ran as fast as they could.

With Natalia and the Blemmye running to his left and the Elf on his right, Catalyst could feel the Elf’s nails graze his arm and tear his skin. He watched the blood from his wound fly past as he pulled Natalia out of the grasp of the Blemmye.

With his blood spattering against the trees and falling on the ground, Catalyst could hear the Blemmye come to a stop and lick up the blood left behind.

This left only the Elf to deal with, so getting out of the chase seemed like a real possibility.

Hearing waterfalls off in the distance, Catalyst knew where they were and headed straight for them, hoping the Elf would be lost in the water.

Now running just a little behind Catalyst and seeing the fitsall Natalia remembered why Krimpet had given them the Atropos Styx.

Reaching into the fitsall as they ran, Natalia pulled out the black jar, and gave it a good shake. Taking the lid off the jar, Natalia pointed it behind them waving it about blindly, hoping to hit the Elf with the moth’s scream just long enough to slow him down for a second or two.

The scream launched a sound wave and Natalia and Catalyst could hear the sound of a back cracking as the Elf hit a tree and the oomph of a body dropping to the ground as the Elf was brought to a stop.

Still running toward the sound of falling water, Catalyst wouldn’t stop until they got there. Natalia was right behind him. At the water’s edge Natalia grabbed Catalyst by the hand and jumped in, swimming as hard as they could until they reached the other side.

“
Well...after...a...run like that…nothing wrong…with...with a quick bath,” gasped Catalyst, being very pleased with himself for having outrun the Elf and the Blemmye.

“
This boy’s nuts,”
thought Natalia as she just nodded in agreement and said nothing, knowing how easily some boys’ egos are shattered.

“
Well since you’re already soaked, Catalyst, why not get that cut cleaned up?” said Natalia, tearing a piece off her sleeve and handing it to him.

Dipping the cloth into the water, Catalyst could see the Elf and Blemmye now standing a few feet back from the shoreline on the other side of the river.

“
Look, Natalia, our friends...they’re back,” said Catalyst pointing across the river.

“
Why are they just standing there? Aw, don’t they look hungry…well eat this!” yelled Natalia, throwing a rock and hitting the Elf right on the head.

“
She’s mad now!” yelled Catalyst at the Elf as he shrugged his shoulders.

With his fists squeezed tight and a look of hatred on his face, the Elf raged inside for not having caught such easy prey. Having better eyesight than Natalia, Catalyst could see the blood the Elf licked off his fingers. It was the blood that came from his arm. He knew this wasn’t over yet. The hunger in the Elf’s eyes was not going to be satisfied by a few drops of blood.

Not wanting to frighten Natalia, Catalyst decided it best not to tell her what he’d thought.

“
Look there, Catalyst – the end of the forest. We’re so close,” said Natalia.

“
Natalia, let’s just rest here for a while,” said Catalyst, hoping the Elf and Blemmye would tire and go and find someone else to eat.

“
What is that thing?” asked Natalia, pointing to their hunters.

“
Which one?” replied Catalyst.

“
That thing with no head,” said Natalia.

“
It’s the first time I’ve seen one, but that’s definitely an Anthropophagi. We call them Blemmyes. They’re evil, they’re dangerous and they’ll eat anything fresh or rotten. They're more cannibal and scavenger than anything else and I’m not going to tell you how they’re born,” replied Catalyst with a look of repulsion on his face.

“
Why not?” asked Natalia.

“
Trust me, Natalia, you’re better off not knowing,” replied Catalyst.

“
So they’ll eat anything?” asked Natalia

“
Yep,” replied Catalyst.

“
Well, I don’t know if you noticed, but that Elf is not on the menu,” said Natalia.

“
The Elves are very good with elixirs. If the creature is simple-minded enough
–
mind control as well. Since the Elf called the Blemmye his pet, one way or the other the Elf is his master,” replied Catalyst.

“
Even in my worst nightmare I have never seen anything so gross. And that stench! I’m still feeling sick from that,” said Natalia.

“
I think it’s the flesh they eat. Not only does it rot in their mouths and pouches but I’m sure it seeps from their skin as well, just like snakes,” replied Catalyst.

“
The Elf Kingdom is out of phase right now and won’t be in phase for another three years. That’s when the Transitional Moon Phase takes place for them. He shouldn’t be able to touch us to have us for dinner,” said Catalyst as he watched the Elf pace back and forth.

“
Well if he’s in your Kingdom, Catalyst, then maybe he has something to do with the crystals being taken,” said Natalia.

Natalia could see Catalyst’s heart drop, followed by the feeling that they would meet this Elf again.

“
Maybe he does have something to do with it, Natalia, but right now we need to find Miss Turr and ask if she was the one that made this key, and if she did, for whom,” said Catalyst.

“
Let’s follow this river downstream and when we’re clear of the trees, we’ll try crossing,” continued Catalyst.

“
Good! I was not looking forward to crossing back over from here,” said Natalia.

The Elf and the Blemmye on the opposite side of the river walked step for step with Natalia and Catalyst. Natalia could see faint movements in the water as the smallest ripples caught her eye. The shadow of what caused the ripples was too deep to see what it was.

“
Ah, Catalyst…I think that thing is following us too,” said Natalia, pointing to the blurred image moving through the water.

“
I’m sure it is,” replied Catalyst without so much as a glance.

“
What’s with this place? Everything is either trying to kidnap us, eat us or stalk us,” asked Natalia.

“
This can be a very dangerous land to be in and we’re far from the safety of the villages, Kingdoms and people, so whatever is out here, I’m sure it’ll find us at some point,” replied Catalyst.

“
Why would anyone send two kids out here on their own? What kind of King do you have, Catalyst?” demanded Natalia, sounding as fed up as Catalyst felt.

“
The kind of King that gave us a chance to save your life and maybe even mine,” replied Catalyst, trying to put a hop back in his step.

“
But I’m sure he knows Mother would kill him if he hurt me and now you too,” continued Catalyst smiling.

“
You know, Natalia, considering who Mother is and what she could do, it’s kind of nice to be treated the same way as you,” said Catalyst, putting a smile on Natalia’s face as he reminded her she wasn’t alone.

As they got closer to the next Basajaunak village, the Elf and his Blemmye faded into the background, taking off through the grass, scurrying ahead of their prey. As the Elf and his pet crept around the outskirts of the village, the stench was noticeable and, with a few sniffs of the air, the old Basajaunak knew who and what was behind him.

“
You may as well come out,” said the old Basajaunak, spitting the stench off his tongue.

“
You owe me and I’m here to collect,” said the Elf, demanding to be repaid for past favours.

“
Well take a look around. Take whatever you want and go,” replied the old Basajaunak.

“
I don’t want any of this, oh no, my old friend, I want something that won’t cost you a thing,” said the Elf.

“
I’m not your friend. What do you want so I can get rid of you and your walking pile of vomit?” said the old Basajaunak.

“
Okay, fair enough. Do this one thing and I’ll consider your debt to me paid in full, agreed?” asked the Elf.

“
Agreed,” replied the old Basajaunak, knowing that no matter what it was, it was a bad deal.

“
There are two children coming this way and when they get here...” whispered the Elf. “Is that clear?”

“
That’s all I have to do?” asked the old Basajaunak.

“
Do that and all your dept is paid,” replied the Elf.

“
Done!” said the Basajaunak.

With the trees left far behind neither Natalia nor Catalyst noticed that the Elf and Blemmye had disappeared.

“
Hey Natalia, look! Do you see that?” asked Catalyst, pointing over the river.

“
See what? There’s nothing there,” replied Natalia.

“
That’s right. Nothing. No Elf, no Blemmye but there is that thing in the water. It’s still following us,” said Catalyst.

“
How are we going to cross now?” asked Natalia with a sigh.

“
All right I’ve got an idea. How’s this? My legs are pretty strong, so you climb up on my back and I’ll jump as high as I can and kick off from the face of that boulder over there. Then we’ll see if we can’t make it to the other side of the river,” said Catalyst.

Natalia laughed as she looked at Catalyst’s scrawny little chicken legs.

“
Well, I can always throw this rock upstream and maybe that thing in the water will go after it. Then we can try swimming across before it comes back,” said Catalyst feeling uncomfortable that Natalia was laughing at him.

“
Now why not just say that first?” asked Natalia, grinning from ear to ear.

“
I didn’t think you would go for it, so I thought if I offered insane first, then crazy might not seem so bad. You know – the lesser of two evils,” replied Catalyst.

“
Well haven’t I just been had! I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” replied Natalia, feeling as silly as she had made Catalyst feel.

With a rock the size and shape of a grapefruit, Catalyst wound up with all he had and threw it as far upstream as he could. It landed with a thump and sent a ripple across the gently moving stream. The shadow that lay underneath moved towards it.

Running as fast as she could, Natalia dived in, leaving Catalyst behind, so she would get him back for making her feel silly.

Diving right in behind her, Catalyst knew he could easily beat her to the other side. He heard a sound in the water and got as close to Natalia as he could. He readied himself to throw her ahead of him should the creature reach them before they reached the shore.

“
Faster Natalia! It’s coming back,” yelled Catalyst.

Hearing the sound, Natalia swam as hard and as fast as she could, knowing Catalyst could easily leave her behind. Reaching the shore, Natalia and Catalyst pulled themselves up and through the mud on to dry ground. The Elf and Blemmye were nowhere to be seen, so they had time to rest.

“
So much for the bath,” said Natalia smiling excitedly and covered in mud.

“
Well you could always jump back in,” gasped Catalyst, as he pointed to the ripples in the water.

“
Maybe we should wait until we get to the next village,” said Natalia, not wanting to go anywhere near the water.

“
Don’t be silly, children,” came a voice from behind them, sending chills up and down their spines.

“
It’s perfectly safe for the two of you. The Elf and Blemmye stopped following you long ago,” continued the voice. Turning around with a look of fear on their faces, Natalia and Catalyst found themselves face to face with a Basajaunak. They hoped he might be from the village they were heading to, so relief set in and wiped away the worry.

“
Ah! Thank God, finally a friendly face,” said Natalia.

“
Well that’s a first – other than from another Basajaunak! Who might you two be?” he asked.

“
I’m Natalia and this is Catalyst, and you, sir? Who are you?” asked Natalia.

“
I’m Domnyar. I live and work in the village just over that hill,” replied Domnyar, pointing over his shoulder.

“
Well come on, let’s get you two down to the river and wash that muck off before you start to stink and end up smelling like that stuff for a week,” continued Domnyar.

“
But that thing in the water,” said Natalia with fear.

“
That thing, as you call it, saved your life twice now by my count,” replied Domnyar.