The Last Fairy Tale (27 page)

  “Let’s get going, then!” Jin pushed the boat out into the water using an oar found on the boat’s floor. Bren pushed his boat out after Jin. It wasn’t long before the strong current grabbed the boats and moved them quickly down the river.

 The sun rose higher into the sky as they sailed swiftly down the river. The sunlight was warm and comforting and took the chill out of the water. Aside from the initial frightening burst of speed, Olivia enjoyed the ride. As they sailed further away from the Camicara Mountains, the current became calmer and the boats slowed to a controllable pace.

 “The trees of Whitewood have moved far,” Olivia said as she looked out at the meadow. Even though they had traveled a couple of miles down the river, Whitewood was still beside them.

 “It’s definitely weird,” Locke said. “I’ll feel a lot better when Aeldyn goes back to normal!”

 “Me too,” Olivia agreed. She looked around at the people in the boat with them. Kai-Tu was sitting next to Haunches, his arm propped on the side of the boat. He looked depressed. “Kai-Tu, what exactly is it like to be a kettu? Why do you dislike it?”

 “Huh. Why do you care?” Kai-Tu said, not looking at her. “It’s boring. You wouldn’t be interested.”

 “But I am,” Olivia insisted.

 “I guess it’s a life like any other, except that everyone around you is great at being a kettu.”

 “Well, it’s okay to be different, you know,” Olivia said.  “Where I came from, everyone around me followed the rules so closely that they didn’t even know who they were.”

 Kai-Tu glanced at her, but quickly turned away. “Well…it’s probably not like that,” he said. “Every day I get picked on because I’m not good at camouflage magic and I’m awkward. All I ever hear from my father is, ‘Keep your back straight and your arms tucked in! Don’t be so clumsy! You’ll be chief one day, so I suggest you start acting like a chief!’ Well, I got news for him. I can’t do that stuff, and I don’t want to.”

 “But I think that’s okay,” said Olivia. “What do you like to do?”

 Kai-Tu’s expression changed from one of anger to one of confusion. “Well…nobody ever asks me that,” he said, returning to his usual sour expression.

 “Now is your chance to tell someone, then,” Olivia said, smiling.

 Kai-Tu scratched his head. “Well, I…I dunno…it’s kinda weird for a kettu I guess…”

 “Go ahead, it’s alright,” said Olivia.

 Suddenly, the boat dropped hard. The current was picking up speed again and Jin was having a difficult time controlling the boat. Everyone shouted in surprise. Jin looked back to make sure everyone was alright, and continued to steer the boat as best he could. Bren and the others had managed to sail ahead of them and were picking up speed with every second.

 “Try to slow it down!” Jin shouted toward the other boat, but it was too far away for any of its passengers to hear. He looked ahead in horror when he saw a fork in the river ahead. The path to the right looked calm and narrow, but the path to the left—the one they would be taking—was wide, and the water was raging. “Everyone brace yourselves. This may get rough!”

 The boat began to rock back and forth as they came to the fork. With all his might, Jin steered the boat to the left. Olivia watched nervously as Bren did the same. The river tossed Bren’s boat, which was traveling downhill and gaining more speed. Suddenly, Bren’s boat caught a rock jutting from the center of the river and smashed the front of the boat to pieces, flinging its passengers into the water.

 “No!” Jin screamed. He forced his boat forward with the oar to gain speed. Olivia put a hand to her mouth and tried to stand as she saw Rufus and Holli’s bodies tossed into the air by the river’s waves. Locke grabbed her arm and made her sit. If any of them were caught off balance, they would surely be tossed out of the boat.

 Olivia and the others flew past the rock that had shattered Bren’s boat, and Jin locked his knees as he paddled with all his strength. He switched his stance fluidly with the boat as he steered it from side to side. Just ahead, Olivia saw Grimwitch floating on the surface of the water.

 “There!” she shouted, pointing to Grimwitch. “Help him into our boat!”

 Jin forced the boat over to Grimwitch. With careful footing, Locke rose from his seat and leaned over the side of the boat. He grabbed Grimwitch’s arm and heaved him up as they zoomed past.

 Grimwitch was stunned but okay. He was breathing heavily and shaking, but didn’t appear to be injured.

 “Gauntlet!” Grimwitch cried out. He shivered, looking into to the water. “Gauntlet!”

 “It’s okay, Grimwitch,” Olivia shouted as Locke sat him down next to her. “We’ll find him.” She put her arm around him, trying to keep him warm.

 They continued on, sailing down the river at dangerous speeds. A moment later, Jin pointed to the bank.

 “They seem to have washed up there!” he shouted. “I will steer us over.”

 When they reached the bank, their boat hit hard on the grassy slope. Everyone screamed as they were thrown forward onto the bank. Olivia coughed, moved her wet hair out of her face, and scrambled to her feet to check on the others.

 Bren was coughing and carrying Rufus and Holli out of the river and up the bank. They seemed to be unconscious. He gently laid them on the ground and then collapsed, another fit of coughing taking over. Olivia ran to the bundle of black rags that she knew was Gauntlet. She lifted him and carried him over to the others. He was surprisingly light. Jin, Locke, Kai-Tu, and Haunches hurried over with Locke carrying Grimwitch in his arms.

 “Bren!” Jin shouted, panting. “Are you alright?”

 “Aye…” Bren replied through gurgling coughs. “But I don’t know about these three. Where’s the other spindelum?”

 “He’s here,” Locke said, lifting Grimwitch. “He’s fine. I think he’s just fainted.”

 Olivia fell to her knees and laid Gauntlet beside Rufus and Holli. She put an ear to each of their chests and discovered that they weren’t breathing. She had learned resuscitation in physical education with Mr. Schafer, but she wasn’t sure the procedure would work on these creatures. But she didn’t have any time to wonder or waste, so she tried. She began with Rufus, closing his nose and giving him a small breath.

 “What are you doing?” Kai-Tu shouted.

 “Trying to resuscitate them,” said Olivia, panting. “I don’t know of any other way to save them!”

 “That technique is only good as a last resort. It can be damaging,” Kai-Tu said. “Besides, there’s water in their lungs. They won’t last long that way.” He quickly looked around, scouting the land around them. Then he bolted and was out of sight before anyone had a chance to speak.

 Olivia started to cry, the tears falling on Rufus’s small body. She didn’t know what to do. She suddenly thought of trying to pull the water out of his lungs, like Rufus had pulled the venom out of Jin’s shoulder, but she didn’t know where to begin. She could end up injuring them even more.

“
Cheep
! What happened!” Kili said. “Too fast! Tweet tweet! Couldn’t keep up!”

 “The river currents were too strong and destroyed our boat,” Bren said. “Rufus, Holli, and Gauntlet aren’t lookin’ so good.”

 “Oh, no! Cheep!” Kili twittered. “I will fly ahead and find Thunc. Tweet Tweet!”

 Kai-Tu suddenly returned carrying a handful of herbs. He snatched a bottle from Olivia’s bandolier, uncorked it, and shoved the plants into it.

 “What–” Olivia began.

 “Shh!” hissed Kai-Tu. He closed his eyes, putting his free hand next to the bottle. Before her eyes, Olivia saw the plants in the bottle wilt and water dripping from Kai-Tu’s hand. He quickly uncorked the bottle and removed the dried plants. He then shoved a piece of plant in each of the unconscious creatures’ mouths. Inserting the piece into Gauntlet’s mouth proved more difficult because he had to dodge a pair of fangs.

 After only a few seconds, all three began to cough up water. They sat up and sputtered, spitting out the plant Kai-Tu had placed in their mouths. Rufus coughed his up in his hand and looked down at it. He turned his gaze upward.

 “Who…” he coughed. “Who did this?”

 “Kai-Tu,” Olivia said, stunned that Rufus was awake and talking.

 “Kai…Tu?” Rufus said, closing his eyes. He seemed to be in a daze. “My head…”

 “Rufus?” Holli muttered as she sat up slowly. She stood up, hobbled over to Rufus, and fell on her knees beside him. “Oh, Rufus… I’m so glad you’re alright.”

 “I’ll be distilled!” Rufus exclaimed. “Holli, thank goodness you’re okay! Who else was injured? Did Kai-Tu save us all?”

 “You, Holli, and Gauntlet were unconscious,” said Bren. “Then Olivia tried to save you, but Kai-Tu did some kind of quick work with some odd plant and then you three were back to normal!”

 Everyone looked at Kai-Tu, who was looking down at his feet. Gauntlet stood up and bowed to him, then hurried over to tend to Grimwitch. Rufus smiled at Kai-Tu.

 “Kai-Tu, my boy,” Rufus said. “You are a genius in the making! This is brilliant work!” He jumped up and shook Kai-Tu’s hand vigorously. “Where did you learn these skills? I must know!”

 “Well…I’ve always been interested in remedology,” Kai-Tu said, scratching his head nervously. “But I just learned about the Vorax fern yesterday at the Nocturnal Archives.”

 “That is very impressive, my boy!” Rufus exclaimed. “I shall be happy to teach you more once we’ve returned! What do you say?”

 “Oh…” Kai-Tu was a bit thrown off by the sudden praise. “That’d be great…but you’d have to convince my dad, and that’s not gonna happen.”

 “I’ll be happy to speak with him,” Rufus said. “This is fine work, Kai-Tu. Not just anyone can do what you’ve done.”

 “Thanks,” Kai-Tu said. He looked at the ground for a moment and then back at Rufus and smiled.

* * * * *

 After the group had gathered their strength and dried out their clothes, they ate a quick meal and resumed their journey. Olivia’s sack was waterproof, so her father’s journal hadn’t been harmed. Thunc and Kili had rejoined the group, and the others filled them in on the details of the last few hours.

 As the group passed around the bend of the Weeping River, Olivia saw their destination in the distance. The Lich King’s fortress was a black stain on the beautiful rocky cliff that rose high above the Cerulean Sea. She stopped abruptly, her breathing halted and her heart beating wildly. The time had finally come, but she hadn’t been prepared for her reaction. She was terrified of what lay beyond the fortress walls. As she stood there, her muscles stiff, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She snapped out of her daze and looked over. Locke was standing beside her, looking at her with an understanding but encouraging expression. Olivia closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and relaxed. Locke brought his fist up and pointed his thumb upward. Olivia returned the thumbs-up, smiling appreciatively. Locke helped her catch up to the rest of the group, and they began their ascent to the fortress.

Interlude

 The man suddenly stood up. He sensed something. An unusual group was headed toward New Aeldyn. He floated down from his throne, stroking his pointed goatee, and turned to SAGAX.

 “SAGAX, a group of Unenlightened is headed this way,” he said. “They seem to be coming willingly. Do you think people have finally started to realize that I’m doing a good thing here?” He chuckled.

 “It’s possible,” SAGAX said. “Though, until I learned what curiosity was, my life was a lot like life here. I wouldn’t really want to go back to that.”

 “Shut up!” the man snapped. “I’ve given these people a purpose! I’ve provided them with a life based around structure. Life without rules and order is pointless. It’s chaotic and miserable.”

 “But their lives had rules and some sort of order before,” said SAGAX. “It’s just that you’ve lost touch with it. You see I’ve learned of a force that–”

“
Shut up
!” the man yelled. “I think maybe you’ve been learning a little too much in your spare time! You would be wiped from the face of this planet if you weren’t so useful. I can promise you that.”

 The man turned and floated back to his throne. He sat, bent forward, and placed his head in his hands. He closed his eyes and a vivid memory shot through his mind. His eyes snapped open, and he took in a sharp breath. He shook his head, trying to do away with the memory and the dreaded emotions that came with it, but they were strong and made him shake from within.

 “I’m… all alone,” he mumbled. He looked off in the distance, as if looking for something he had lost long, long ago. “I will find you…” He jerked his head and stared down at the floor, anger spreading across his face. “Why don’t you understand?!” he hissed. He was breathing heavily.

 SAGAX drifted jerkily over to the man. “My apologies, sir. Please forget that I ever said anything.”

 The man came out of the trance, the angry expression still etched in his face. He growled as he looked over at SAGAX. “You better be glad I need you,” he said, then crossed his arms and turned his gaze to the end of the hall toward the entrance. The group of Unenlightened was pressing on toward New Aeldyn and would arrive within a few hours. He wouldn’t have been too intrigued if it weren’t for one surprisingly peculiar member he detected.

 “SAGAX,” said the man. “Go have our military forces stand guard outside New Aeldyn. When the group arrives, instruct them only to allow the girl through. Keep the rest outside the walls. Perhaps I’ll have a use for them later.” He laughed, a wide grin spreading across his face. “I think I may have just found New Aeldyn a queen.”

Chapter Sixteen