The Unwanted Winter - Volume One of the Saga of the Twelves (71 page)

“
Did you get him some
aspirin from one of the first-aid kits?” queried Anthony. “I think
we even brought a whole grip of Tylenol and Advil from the store.
Jason, didn’t we get some Vicodin or Naproxen from the pharmacy as
well.”

Jason nodded. “Yeah, we
brought Naproxen, but we just gave him some of the Acetaminophen
for now. Hopefully that will help soon.”

“
Ok, good,” was all
Anthony could say, since it was a wait and see sort of situation.
He glanced around the immediate area and saw the rest of the
animals had stayed near the fire, although Garfield was absent
again. Most likely, he was out scouting the surrounding area for
signs of danger. Andrew was at the opposite end of the fire pit,
leaning against one of the logs, his head stretched back against
it, his eyes closed as if he slept. Only the young ones remained
asleep on the stopgap bedding they were using to rest.

“
So,” prompted Anthony,
wanting to do more than just wait for Joaquin’s headache to
dissipate, “what do you all think we should do next?”

Joaquin looked up from his
knees. His eyes were bloodshot, made droopy by the pressure inside
his head.

It was Sophie who spoke
first. “I think we should talk some things over. It seems like you
guys have experienced a little more of the reality of this place
than either Louis or myself.”

All eyes shifted to the
girl on Anthony’s arm.

The animals perked up,
shifting into more erect positions, so they could see the others
better.

Jason and Joaquin
exchanged a quick glance between one another, and then back to the
couple before them.

Andrew lifted his head
upright, staring at all of them through the fire. Even from afar,
Anthony could see that his eyes were nearly as bleary Joaquin’s, as
if he’d been crying. It shocked him, but on second thought, the
idea of crying after all that had happened to them, seemed a more
than plausible act. It was fitting.

“
She’s right,” said
Joaquin, though it seemed to hurt him to talk.

“
Yeah,” acknowledged
Jason, while Kenai sauntered up to the group.

“
I concur,” she said,
almost at the same time.

Mr. Patas and Mugzy moved
closer to the kids as Anthony and Sophie took a seat on the nearest
log.

Sophie was still clutching
Anthony’s hand as if it were some sort of lifeline to sanity for
her. Her tiny grip was strong in his palm. Anthony chanced a look
at her, wondering if she was scared, because she wouldn’t let him
go. There was only an expectant cast about her face, not much else,
which bewildered him.
Why would she keep
holding onto me?

Joaquin stayed put. Jason
remained standing, crossing his arms across his chest, apparently
casual, but was more apprehensive than anything else.

They sat there taking
quick glimpses of one another, saying nothing as if unsure who
should be the first to talk.

Andrew came then and sat
on the opposite side of Sophie from Anthony, wiping his face and
eyes. His face curled into one of his goofy grins etched when he
saw Anthony and the girl holding hands.

Typical,
Drew
, thought Anthony before he cleared
his throat. “Ok, well, I’ll tell you all I know, since it seems
things began to get strange for my sisters and I about a week
ago.”

All of the kids seemed
surprised at the statement. For most of them, strange things had
been occurring for no more than a few days.

Anthony went on, “It
started with what is called a Nixy –.”

“
A Snow Baby, a Flesher,”
interrupted Joaquin, so suddenly even he appeared dumbfounded he’d
spoken aloud.

“
A what?” exclaimed
Anthony.

“
I don’t know,” answered
the hulking boy, shrugging his shoulders. “The words just popped
into my head the moment you said that word… They came out of
nowhere like they weren’t my thoughts at all.”

His answer sent chills up
Anthony’s spine, because he’d experienced that once before as well.
He recalled he hadn’t liked the feeling at all.

Sophie interrupted. “What
is a Nixy?” implored the girl, breaking Anthony’s train of thought
and bringing him back to the present.

He cleared his throat
again, nervous when he really had no reason to be. “A Nixy is… Well
I guess, Joaquin, said it right. It’s a Snow Baby, a creature that
looks very much like a little girl smaller than either one of my
sisters -.”

“
That wears the same
clothes, all the time - a white dress with a blue ribbon tied
around the waist and another one in its hair. They also don’t make
very good friends,” said a small, groggy voice behind
them.

They all turned with a
start only to see Mikalah, standing there rubbing at her eyes with
the two other children in tow just as wobbly and thick-headed with
sleep as she.

Anthony smiled and nodded
at his sister as Mugzy came up quickly. He picked up Elena and took
her back to where he was sitting, placing her in his lap and
scratching her back as delicately as he could manage.

Mikalah, seeing her
brother and Sophie holding hands, came up before the teenage girl
and squirmed her way onto her lap for some reason. This made Sophie
smile broadly, as she let go of Anthony’s hand to hug the little
girl with both arms.

Louis just walked around
the log and sat near Sophie’s feet, yawning so hugely Anthony
thought his head would crack in half.

When everyone had situated
themselves, Anthony continued, not at all bothered by the second
interruption. “So… yes, Mikalah is right on with her description of
the creature. This particular one posed as a third grader and
joined my sister’s class exactly one week ago.” Sophie stared down
at Mikalah, who nodded back, indicating Anthony was correct. “As I
think back on it, it seems to me she was there to keep watch on
them, possibly all of us. We really don’t know. What we do know is
that her name is Inghëldir and she is commanded, or controlled, by
a nasty, wrinkled little dude in a black robe named, Vallüm. I’m
not sure what he is, though. I was never able to eavesdrop his
description of his kind during the brief time I was in his
presence.

“
Anyhow, I did overhear
that this Vallüm must feed his Nixy on a consistent basis or he
will somehow lose control of her. Only god knows what’ll happen if
he does lose control of her, because it seems to me he barely has
control of her even when she is fed. What she eats or how she eats,
we don’t know, and I am speaking for the four of us who have seen
her,” explained Anthony as he pointed out his sisters, Andrew and
himself.

“
I’ve seen her too,” added
Joaquin, clutching his head. “I just didn’t know what I was looking
at, at the time.”

“
You have?” asked
Anthony.

Joaquin nodded, but waved
for him to continue instead of divulging any additional
information.

“
I saw a tiny, squishy guy
in my backyard,” said Louis of a sudden, his eyes alight with
newfound realization. “Is he a bad guy?”

Anthony smiled with a nod.
He liked Louis. He was so forthcoming and genuine. “Yeah, he’s a
bad guy alright. His name is Vallüm. You stay away from him,
ok?”

“
Ok,” agreed Louis,
subdued for a second, before he perked up again just as abruptly as
before. “He smelled funny too!”

The girls
giggled.

Everyone else merely
grinned at the boy. His enthusiasm was a refreshing.

“
Now, this Inghëldir has a
pet,” he began, but was unable to finish.

“
Yeah, some pet alright,”
piped in Andrew, shaking his head, peering down at his
feet.

Anthony sighed, took a
breath and went on. “
This
creature is about the size of Kenai, though not
as long in the body. It is covered entirely in white fur and has
the most terrible eyes you could ever imagine. It follows Inghëldir
orders. She calls it, Jätung.” He paused to stare at those who had
yet to lay eyes upon the fell beast for emphasis. “If any of you
hear that name, you better run to one of our pets - our
Familiars
, as Kodiak
names them - because you will have little chance of escaping Jätung
alive.”

“
It is an Isighünd,
right?” asked Joaquin, rubbing at his head, still in obvious
pain.

“
Yes,” answered Anthony
simply, beginning to wonder what was really going on inside the
other boy’s brain. “Now, there is another creature that only the
four of us and the Fist have seen,” he again pointed out the four
of them, he had specified earlier and the animals, “and there are
others that Jason and Joaquin have seen as well,” he added as an
afterthought, searching his memory. “There is a huge ape-like thing
called a Jötun that stands at least two feet taller than any
basketball player I have ever seen. They are slow, but they are
super-strong. Once they get a hold of you, there is no chance you
will get away. They are just too muscled and gigantic. They have
white hair too, only theirs is kinda splotchy, patched here and
there. They have black, leathery skin that looks much like the skin
of an elephant or a rhino.”

“
There is also a man-like
creature, the sort Jason and Joaquin have seen, as well as us.
These ones are called Swüreg. Jason you told me you thought Sophie
might’ve seen one of them at a distance when she first awoke in
this world. You guys were talking about it at Vons, right?” Both of
the teenagers nodded in assent as Anthony went on. “They aren’t
human, so don’t mistake them for one. They have gray skin that, to
me, appears like wet cement. They also have some really freaky
looking ears. Every time I have seen them, they wearing armor and
have a bunch of medieval kind of weapons – swords, daggers, bows
and arrows, crossbow, etc. I think they are soldiers from the army
commanded by the leader of all of these creatures I have just
mentioned.

“
This leader of theirs is
a real hardass and he can do some wicked shit, so don’t mess around
with him. He goes by the name of Fenris, or at least that’s what I
heard his subordinates called him. Let me tell you, he is not
something you ever want to underestimate, because he is much more
than any Swüreg or Isighünd or Jötun. He is about as tall as your
average man, but he looks very different, because he is a man and a
wolf blended together with long black hair, he wears pulled back
over his head. He has very dark, reddish skin. He carries no weapon
any of us could see, but he possesses something far more dangerous
and unpredictable, which makes him very, very powerful.”

Riveted by Anthony’s
words, Sophie and Louis couldn’t look away.

“
He uses
Magic.”

“
What?” cried Sophie,
looking at Anthony as if he was crazy.

“
You mean real Magic like
in Harry Potter or something like that?” asked Louis excitedly,
gathering his knees underneath him.

“
I know it sounds
ridiculous, but –,” again Anthony was interrupted as Joaquin let
out a squeal of pain, making them all cringe as they glanced his
way.

“
It’s true,” he moaned
through clenched teeth. “He is called Fenris dok Kór, the Hand of
Metohkangmi, the Lord of the Storm. He has been chosen as the first
to corral us - the Twelve - and leads what is known as the Vanguard
or the Host. They are the first of the Great Maelstrom’s troops to
set foot upon the Melded World. This is their name for this
place.

“
Before this, he had been
more commonly known as the Crown Prince of the Vülfen Kur Ambalaj,
the Crown Prince of one of the six royal lines that originate from
his home world. Since his elevation to his current position, he is
now known as merely the Hand. If the Lord of the Storm needs
something done, then the Hand must show results. It doesn’t matter
how difficult or how gruesome this need may be. The Hand is charged
with its immediate and ultimate execution, whatever the
cost.”

He finished.

Only stunned silence
remained.

Jason was looking at
Joaquin as if he had lost his mind.

Anthony squinted at the
large teenage boy through a frown. “Are you all right, Joaquin?” he
prodded, knowing, with greater certainty, there was something going
on with Joaquin. This wasn’t a normal, run-of-the-mill,
headache.

“
I don’t know, these
things just keeping popping up in my mind. I can’t control it. It
feels like my skull is going to burst,” Joaquin mumbled. His lips
were quivering, his face flushed with some internal
exertion.

“
Why is all of this
happening?” pleaded Sophie at no one in particular.

But again, Joaquin
answered. He had no ability to stop himself. “We have been chosen…
This is why the Snow Baby watched over Anthony and his sisters.
This is why they took us from our world and placed in this melded
one. They must do the bidding of the Lord of the Storm. They must
take us before the Yule Throne. We must be present when he casts
his final doom upon the real world. He is the Snowman, the true
evil returned after thousands of years. He comes to reclaim our
world for his own, to forever cast out the Light…”