A Circle of Crows (12 page)

Then suddenly, the screaming ceased as a tremor vibrated the chamber and small, loose rocks fell from the stalactites on the ceiling. Everyone in the chamber froze simultaneously and Morgana looked at Colin pleadingly.

All of a sudden, the temperature rose by twenty degrees and the vibrations intensified in harmony to the approaching footfalls.

Hyde thrust his scaly black head into the cave, extended his neck, opened his mouth and bellowed. His large eyes glowed yellow and his stench filled the cave. Coming from the passageway was a murder of crows too numerous to count. They filled the cavern, making it appear dark. The crows began to perch everywhere. Waiting for some sort of sign from the beast, they were all cocking their heads and looking at it with anticipation.

Hyde aimed his head in the direction of the children and took a deep, rattling breath. His eyes rolled back in his head and when they reopened, they blazed scarlet.

"Stay firm, he is going to attack!” bellowed Captain Dennehy.

Two younger guards closer to the dragon panicked and sprinted toward the exit; all valor forgotten, only their self-preservation instinct was intact. Hyde whipped his head in their direction. With his eyes turning black, he shot a firestorm twenty feet across the cave and incinerated them without blinking. The distinct smell of burning flesh filled the cave.

Morgana eyed Colin anxiously as she fought to keep from screaming as did all the children surrounding her.

"Steady...” Colin muttered under his breath, as he positioned himself a few feet from her.

For a brief moment, there was complete silence as everyone turned to view the smoldering corpses. Hyde then turned again and glowered at the group, advancing toward them.

The tumult that ensued was ear-splitting, as everyone began screaming and thrashing again, except for a pitiful few who had entered a stuporous state, perhaps hoping it would end quickly if they were still, or entering another place in their young minds—a safe place.

Colin moved deliberately in front of the children and pulled a carved horn from his belt and blew it mightily. “Now!” he cried to the men behind him.

The ten militia members turned on the guard forces and a battle broke out. Hyde became confused with the unexpected commotion. He lashed his head back and forth and his eyes changed colors furiously as he contemplated who to pursue—his prey, or his would-be attackers.

Christian fought his way through the masses and began to climb the suspended ladder to the overhang. As he began to pull arrows from his quiver, he lit them and began to launch them in the direction of the dragon. Each arrow flew in an arc and embedded between two dense black scales. Hyde shuddered and bellowed in fury.

"You thick utopian simpleton!” roared Captain Dennehy from across the cave. “All our people will perish now! There will be no restraining this monster!"

Colin advanced toward his commanding officer and said calmly, “I will not stand by and watch another innocent life perish as long as I draw breath."

"That will not be long, lad,” spoke Dennehy as he grimly unsheathed his sword.

Inside in the cave, taking her cue from the deafening echoes which reverberated throughout the interior as a diversion, Morgana managed to get the key from her mouth and unlocked her manacles. She quickly reached beside her to restrain Eva, who was fighting uselessly to disentangle herself from the irons, and slipped the key into her locks as well.

Bending down and grabbing Eva's tiny face so their eyes met and she was sure the little girl understood her command, Morgana said, “Run. Run and don't look back. Don't stop for anything."

"Morgana, please come."

"I'll find you, I promise. Go!"

And without hesitation, Morgana began to release the children, yelling at them to flee as soon as their cuffs were open.

Tears streaming down her pale face, Eva turned and bolted toward the passageway through which they had been led into the chamber. She began running flat-out, when she collided with something so hard, her small frame crumpled to the ground with the force of the impact. She turned her face up dazedly and said, “Momma?"

The woman bent down to examine her. Isabella's face registered pain, terror and expectation all in one expression. “No, angel. What's your name?"

"Eva. You look just like my momma. Could you please take me with you?

Rachael arrived behind Bella and interrupted by saying, “Do you know Morgana?"

"Y-Yes,” she stammered, “She's in there, please save her!"

Rachael and Raena shot past the two crouched forms toward the light at the end of the passage.

Hyde clambered toward one of the soldiers and lowered his head. Inhaling deeply, only his eyes flickered, but they remained black. The soldier held up his sword and vainly attempted to defend himself. The massive jaws opened and Hyde crushed the man's body as if it were a kindling stick.

Dropping the body, Hyde then began to swagger toward the children, but was distracted by the flaming arrows that continually assaulted him. His gaze fixed intently on the children and his eyes glowed crimson. Then his jaw went slack as drool began to fall from his open mouth and hit the cave floor; leaving tiny pools of light green fire in his wake.

Colin stood in front of the children and charged at the beast while Christian simultaneously launched an arrow which embedded dangerously close to the beast's eye. Hyde roared in fury and shot a fire blast in Christian's direction.

Colin sliced at the beast's underbelly.

Captain Dennehy stood a few feet from the skirmish, and seeing Colin engaged with the beast, seized his opportunity. He advanced and raised his sword behind Colin's neck, fully intending to plunge his sword deep and sever Colin's spinal cord.

As he made his move, a flaming arrow flew through the air and landed square in Captain Dennehy's larynx and the man dropped to his knees.

Colin raised his eyes to the platform fleetingly to see Christian's nod and ghost of a smile before he began another onslaught of arrows toward Hyde.

"Go, Morgana! We will see to the rest!” As Colin bellowed the command, a soldier took the key from Morgana and continued to free the children. Morgana turned and ran as fast as she could toward the passage to freedom.

Upon reaching the light at the end of the tunnel, Rachael and Raena were drowned in a sea of children, all of whom seemed to be in a fugue state. Fighting their way free of the children, they finally stepped into the light, only to be almost bowled over by ... “Oh dear heaven, my baby girl!” cried Rachael, all danger forgotten. She felt pain and relief and the fog of underlying panic that had clouded her every thought since the day of Morgana's abduction began to lift as her thoughts once again crystallized while words rang in her head with emboldened clarity.

"Thank you, God,” she murmured under her breath, and just as quickly, she was aware of the precarious situation they were in.

Hyde began to comprehend that all but a few of his feast had fled and immediately began to veer toward the passageway in which the remaining children were standing.

Rachael and Raena, acting on the same accord, as they always did, shoved Morgana behind them and drew their swords. Hyde whipped his spiked tail into the cave wall and a landslide of slag came pouring down, blocking the exit.

"Blast, wretched devil,” was uttered behind them as Nathaniel pushed small boulders from around his feet. He had narrowly escaped being buried alive by the slag.

Colin and Christian were both shooting arrows at Hyde's retreating backside in an attempt to divert him from the remaining children.

"The upper level!” Nathaniel commanded and the group fled toward the ladder to the overhang on which Christian was perched.

Hyde's eyes narrowed. He was not about to go without his meal. He advanced toward the overhang as quickly as possible within the onslaught of fire that did not abate.

Bella was partway up the ladder, when Hyde's eyes grew alarmingly large and he began to breathe deeply, evaluating her essence. Slowly, his eyes turned a brilliant shade of emerald. Suddenly, his neck extended; his whole body was trembling and he bellowed furiously. The crows seemed to sense the beast's confusion, and they now began to dive-bomb any human within their reach. Twenty flew at Bella as she dangled precariously on the ladder.

"Bella!” screamed Rae. She flopped to her belly, then reached to grab the back of Bella's shirt and hoisted her onto the overhang. Christian turned his bow to them and began to pick crows off her shot by shot, till Hyde's bellow returned his attention to the larger battle.

The pond below them began to bubble and churn as if alive with acid, then it began to grow misty. Finally, a silver sheen appeared over the top of it.

Rachael grabbed her sisters and pointed below. “It's a portal! It's opening!” Images began to appear in its surface.

"We need to go now!” said Rae, knowing it was a rhetorical statement.

Hyde proceeded to incinerate the ladder and its fragments continued to blaze in front of them.

"
Go!
We will hold them off!” commanded Colin.

"Rachael, you and Morgana go first!” said Rae, pushing her twin and niece to the forefront.

Rachael took her daughter's hand and said, “Are you ready to go home?"

Morgana nodded solemnly. They joined hands, then ran full-out and leaped off the embankment and fell fifteen feet into the bubbling pool ... and were gone.

At this, Hyde took a deep inhalation and exhaled a flaming stream at the pool, which proceeded to shrink in diameter.

Nathaniel took Raena’ s arm and said, “Milady, I will not forget you or your sisters. You need to make haste. The portal is evaporating."

Raena jumped and splashed into the pool, but her head resurfaced as she awaited Bella's descent from above.

Hyde again sprayed flame toward the water and Raena's bobbing head disappeared momentarily, then reemerged. The pool had shrunk again with the blast of fire to Rae's horror, and she yelled, “Bella, come on!"

Isabella pulled Eva to her, hugged her tightly and said, “I'll see you soon."

And then yelling to Rae, she flung the little girl from the cliff, “Rae, give her to Sam, tell him to take care of her..."

"Bella, nooo! Please!” she screamed pleadingly while she grabbed the little girl by the arm as she splashed into the water beside her .

"Rae, I love..."

At that moment, Hyde extended his neck to its full length and shot flame directly toward the pool of water, and they disappeared beneath its shimmery surface.

When the fire ceased and the smoke cleared, all that remained was a sunken area of stone. The portal was gone, and with it, her chance to return home.

Isabella retreated to the rear wall of the cave, where she sat down and hugged her legs to her chest while the tears silently began to fall. She watched as Colin, Christian and Nathaniel battled the scaled evil below as her world began to slide out of view and darkness overtook her.

Part Two

Nine months later

"Time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all..."

The Bible

Chapter 24

Eva ran. She could hear them coming for her now, their wings beating so hard, the sound was deafening as it echoed through the cave's corridor. She chanced a glance over her shoulder and saw a black storm cloud of feathers fast approaching through the narrow passageway. The flock collided with the solid rock mass and ricocheted to the other wall and hit again in their bloodlust.

Eva turned the corner and was face-to-face with the metal bars that held her hostage for more than a year. She began to panic and her breath came in quick, sharp gasps. She was rendered helpless by the panic.

"Morgana!” she screamed. The battering of wings could be heard reverberating on both sides of her head, creating the auditory illusion they were already upon her.

She grabbed the metal bars and began to shake them in hopes that one of the doors would swing open. Then she felt them.

They were swarming all over her, and Eva imagined a beekeeper and how she must resemble one with all these black creatures upon her body.

The sheer weight of them all knocked her to the ground. She gave in and rolled onto her back while praying they would take her quickly. Flashes of Morgana appeared to her now. Morgana swinging the manacle above her head to fight off the crows in the jail cell; Morgana unlocking chains as a fiery beast approached ready to incinerate them; Morgana promising to find her ... A huge black magpie landed on her cheek and was getting ready to pluck out her eye...

"No!” Eva screamed.

Eva awoke and sat up in her bed, drenched in sweat. Her princess bed, as she thought of it. Her aunt had draped white gauze from the four posters and intertwined tiny white fairy lights so she would not be afraid if she awoke from one of her nightmares.

Eva crawled out of her bed and padded down the hall, followed closely by Solomon, who slept at the foot of her bed each night. She reached the master bedroom and pushed the door open slowly, but it still creaked.

Sam sat upright in bed, wide-eyed and alert and without registering Eva's presence, and began to reach for his shotgun.

"Pa?” Eva said quietly, when she realized he wasn't aware she was in the doorway.

Sam turned to her and immediately relaxed. Even after nine months, he still could not get used to the fact that he was now someone's father.

"What's the matter, Eva? Was it a dream again?"

"Yes. Could I sleep with you?"

"Come on."

She walked over to the bed as Sam hoisted her tiny body beside him. She lay down. Wrapping his arms around her, he lay his face upon her head and smelled her wonderful childish scent. She smelled like baby powder and vanilla. He twirled her hair, which was blond and silky, around his outstretched fingers. He was forcibly reminded of his wife—his late wife—as her hair had been very fine as well, and almost the same color.

No, he refused to call her his late wife. He still had hope that she was alive.

Sometimes at night, he could almost feel her presence in the house. He ached for her. It was a pain that he knew would never totally go away if she were truly gone. He looked across the room at Bella's picture on the mantle and thought of how happy they would be, if only she would return.