Abuud: the One-Eyed God (44 page)

The next noise the intruder made was loud enough for all to hear. Everyone remained silent and poised for whatever might come. Suddenly, the approaching intruder started whistling, and Arik cursed under his breath.

"It's Tedi," Arik whispered as he lowered his bow.

With a scowl on his face, Arik raised his bow again. He gauged where Tedi would appear and timed his shot by the sound of the whistling. Arik let fly his arrow, and it streaked across the clearing and slammed into a tree just as Tedi was coming past it. Tedi stopped short with the still vibrating arrow in front of his face. After a second of hesitation, Tedi ducked behind the tree.

"Arik?" called Tedi. "Is that you? It's Tedi."

"I know," Arik called back. "It is time we stopped neglecting our lessons. I heard you approaching five minutes ago."

"Alright," Tedi yelled back. "Can I come out now? Or do you want another shot?"

"Only if you brought coffee with you," laughed Arik.

"Then I am in deep trouble," Tedi laughed as he appeared and pulled Arik's arrow out of the tree. "All I brought was a scow."

"I bought some tea in Barouk coming back from Bin-lu's uncle," offered Wylan. "Sure would feel good to have some."

"Light that fire," chuckled Arik as he rose to greet Tedi.

"I see you haven't lost your aim," complimented Tedi as he handed the arrow to Arik. "I would be real sore if you had."

"Sore indeed," grinned Arik. "I meant it though. We have been sloppy and it must stop. Alex taught us much and yet we are still running around like two fisherboys."

"I agree," nodded Tedi. "Is that you Midge? How did you get here?"

"No place is safe from fairies," grinned Prince Midge. "You interrupted my nap though."

"Prince Midge transported the statue out of the tomb," explained Arik. "It is a strain on him because of its weight. He can only move it a short distance each attempt. I think we shall have a bite to eat and then get off this island. That will give Prince Midge a little more nap time."

"I can use it," bowed Prince Midge as he flew back to his resting spot on the statue.

"That is the first time that I ever heard him say that he needed sleep," chuckled Tedi as he walked with Arik to the campfire.

"The Rangers are waiting for us in Barouk," informed Arik. "Minus Fredrik and plus Master Khatama."

"Sounds like a reunion," smiled Tedi.

Wylan had the tea ready in a few moments, and the boys snacked on the remnants of provisions from their packs. They talked quietly. The most prominent topics were to begin training Wylan and reverting to proper security on the trail. They dallied for half an hour before Tedi held up his hand. Everyone fell silent. As Arik and Wylan scanned the jungle, Tedi held up two fingers, then three, then five.

"More than I can count on one hand," whispered Tedi. "We have trouble."

"Wylan," ordered Arik as he grabbed his bow, "wake up Prince Midge. Tell him to start moving the statue towards the cliff. Stay with him in case he needs help. When he gets the statue onboard, loosen the anchor line until there is no more line to pay out. Then tie it off and shout for us."

Wylan nodded and stole off towards the statue of Abuud.

"Tedi," Arik continued, "this fight is to the death. These are Azmet's men. They are here to get the statue and kill us. We need to hold them off until Prince Midge can get the statue onboard. If you get a target, kill it. Don't wait for them to attack first."

Arik and Tedi tossed dirt on the fire and then split up, Arik going left and Tedi to the right. Prince Midge levitated the statue of Abuud and start moving slowly towards the cliff. Wylan had his sword drawn and walked cautiously backwards with Midge, so he could keep a watch on the campsite.

It was only a few minutes before the first martyr appeared. Arik took a bead on the man and let fly his arrow. The arrow flew true and struck the martyr in the head. He screamed as he fell, and Azmet's men scattered for cover. The scream alerted Tedi to the location of the martyrs and the fact that Arik had decided to fight them before they got a chance to see the statue. Tedi started moving towards Arik's location.

Arik looked out from behind the tree to search for targets and six arrows thudded into the tree. He glanced back to check on Prince Midge's location to see if he could safely fall back, but he determined it was too dangerous to move at that moment.

Tedi approached the action and saw Arik pinned down. He scanned the jungle to determine where the enemy was. He could only see three of them. He pulled an extra arrow out of quiver and then looked behind himself for an escape route. Nodding to himself, Tedi lined up his first shot. As soon as the arrow was released, Tedi nocked another arrow and fired at his second chosen target. He heard two screams as he turned and ran.

Arik heard the screams and the following chatter after Tedi fired his arrows. He knew that Tedi had created a diversion, and Arik took advantage of it. Arik raced back and away from Tedi so that they did not end up too close to each other. For several long moments, silence reigned over the jungle. Arik turned to check on Prince Midge again, but the statue was no longer visible.

The quiet bothered Arik. While he did not want a bunch of martyrs charging at him, he also did not want them regrouping and deciding on a strategy. He chanced a peek around the edge of the tree and saw five martyrs creeping towards Tedi's position. A tremor raced up Arik's spine as he saw what they intended to do. Knowing that there was no way that Tedi could survive their attack, Arik dropped his arrow and fastened his bow to a strap. He grabbed two Lanoirian Stars from his pouch and held one in each hand.

Arik shouted a warning to Tedi and swiftly jumped clear of the tree. As the martyrs noticed Arik, he hurled a star into the face of the closest martyr. He hurriedly selected his next victim and threw a star that hit the martyr in the chest. He had planned to dive to the floor of the jungle after the second star was thrown, but his plan did not succeed. A brilliant flaming projectile soared out of the jungle and slammed into Arik's chest. Arik's body flew backwards and slammed to the ground.

Tedi shouted in rage as he saw the fireball slam into Arik. He leaped into the open and fired at the closest martyr. His arrow slammed into the martyr's chest. The two remaining martyrs had altered their track to attack Arik. Tedi was not in a position to attack them. He ducked behind a tree and grabbed another arrow.

Arik shook his head to clear it. He looked up at the giant jungle canopy and wondered why he was still alive. Pushing the thought aside, Arik leaped to his feet and grabbed his bow. He locked eyes with the mage who had remained hidden during the attack of the martyrs. The mage's eyes grew wide with fear as he gazed at Arik standing upright and apparently unscathed.

"Withdraw!" shouted the mage.

Arik whisked an arrow out of his quiver and nocked it, but the two remaining martyrs and the mage were not to be seen. Arik looked over at his friend and Tedi was gaping at him. Arik nodded his head towards the sea, and Tedi nodded back mechanically. Tedi ran towards the sea and paused at the next large tree. While Tedi provided cover, Arik retreated past Tedi. They continued the retreat until they reach the cliff at the edge of the island.

"That was close," exhaled Arik. "I thought I was dead. I wonder why the mage called for a withdrawal."

"Why should he stay when his spells can't hurt us?" asked Tedi.

"Can't hurt us?" echoed Arik. "Are your crazy? His fireball threw me through the air. It is only by some miracle that I did not die."

"Miracle?" laughed Tedi. "Have you looked at your tunic lately?"

Arik looked down and saw the front of his tunic burned away. The hole was big enough for someone to stick his head through it. He examined the breastplate that had been underneath the tunic, and it showed no damage.

"That is strange," muttered Arik.

"No," corrected Tedi. "That is magic. That breastplate is not normal."

"I guess not," agreed Arik as he turned and looked down at the sea. "Prince Midge is putting the statue of Abuud aboard now. I had planned for you and me to push the scow off. Why don't you start down now? You can cover me when I descend."

Wordlessly, Tedi strapped his bow and climbed over the edge. By the time he got down, Prince Midge had levitated the statue onto the scow and had flown up to Arik.

"Well done, my fairy prince," smiled Arik. "Create an illusion of Tedi and me. I just want to keep them busy until we get the sails up. When you see the sails, retreat to the ship."

"It shall be as you command, Bringer," chirped Prince Midge. "You should take better care of your clothing."

Arik shook his head with a smile and then climbed over the edge and down the cliff. He used his dagger to cut the anchor line and then helped Tedi push the scow off the beach. Tedi raced for the sails, and Arik ran for the tiller. Within moments, the scow was under sail with the statue of Abuud standing between the sails. Arik kept looking back as if expecting the returning martyrs to shoot arrows at them while they escaped, but it never happened. Soon they were out of bow range and Arik relaxed.

The scow was just passing a small offshore island when Arik saw the three small figures gather on the cliff of the Island of Storms. One of them pointed towards the scow. The center one raised his arms and a shiver ran through Arik.

"Prepare for magical attack," Arik shouted.

"How do we do that?" yelled Tedi as the lightning bolt slammed into the scow.

The top of the rear mast erupted in a spray of slivers. The bottom of the mast groaned and leaned to one side. Slowly it continued to fall until it splashed into the sea. The hull of the scow split where the rear mast used to be and both halves were instantly awash. The front mast ripped itself free from the hull and smashed into the sea. Within moments, the ship was sunk, and the three boys were floundering in the water. The statue of Abuud ended up waist deep in water, but still standing up.

"Swim to the statue," yelled Arik as he followed his own advice.

The boys met at the statue and clung to it. Prince Midge hovered overhead.

"I shall levitate you to shore, Bringer," offered the fairy prince.

Arik looked at the Island of Storms and the three figures were gone.

"I cannot believe they did that," scowled Wylan. "I thought once we were away from the island that we would be free. They act as if they don't care if this statue is destroyed or not."

"Not entirely accurate," responded Arik. "The mage knew we were in shallow water. If they could have killed us and dropped the statue in shallow water, they would win. That is why I said to congregate here. He cannot afford any more fancy spells for fear he will hurt the statue. We must stay here until rescued."

"Then we are safe until we figure out how to get out of here," nodded Tedi.

"Not exactly," frowned Arik. "Remember that they have a boat and we don't. I suspect they are on the way to their boat now. They will shoot us with arrows. Prince Midge, I want you to fly to Barouk. Send out three unicorns to retrieve us. You may stay and rest in Barouk, but be swift in getting there. We do not have much time."

"As you command, Bringer," saluted Prince Midge.

Prince Midge darted through the sky. He was extremely tired from moving the statue, but he pressed his speed faster than he had ever flown. By the time he reached Barouk, his energy was spent. He glided down into the campsite of Garth and Kalina. He tried to land on Kaz, but he missed and crashed face first into the sand. Garth saw him crash and rushed to him.

"Prince Midge," Garth said worriedly, "what is the matter? I have never seen you crash before. Not even with a hole in your wing."

"Three unicorns," croaked Prince Midge. "They must hurry to save the Bringer. He hangs on a statue in the water."

"I will go immediately," promised Garth.

"No," insisted Prince Midge as he struggled to speak. "Only the unicorns. They need to ride them."

"I understand," nodded Garth. "Rest. The unicorns are on their way and then we shall tend to you."

Kaz, take Yorra and Frea with you. Rescue the boys from the water. They must be in danger so spare no speed in getting to them. Look for a statue in the water between here and the Island of Storms.

We shall have the Deliverer saved in no time, Alex

The unicorns leaped off of the beach as Garth called for Kalina to warn her that the unicorns might be detected flying and that Prince Midge needed healing. The unicorns spread out in a wide formation as they headed for the Island of Storms. They watched the gentle swells and searched for anything that looked like a statue or the boys. It took them several hours to locate them.

"The unicorns," shouted Wylan. "Look at them. They are beautiful."

"How are we going to get on them?" quizzed Tedi. "I doubt they can regain flight once they are in the water."

"I have had time to think on that," smiled Arik as a cold shiver ran through his body. "I only hope we don't freeze by flying wet. Wylan, you will go first. I will have a unicorn come close to us. You grab the tail tightly. The unicorn will then fly over another unicorn, which you will ride. Don't forget to let go of the Tail when you are seated."

"Are you serious?" asked Wylan. "I am not just going to grab a unicorn's tail."

"I am serious," scowled Arik, "and I don't think this is the time to be squeamish. Just do it."

Kaz, use your tails to lift us high enough to mount another unicorn. Can you do that?

For the Deliverer, we can do anything. I fear Chaco is not among us, but you will have the pleasure of riding the Shamta.

Kaz lowered himself right in front of the boys. His legs were partially submerged, but his tail was close enough to grab. Wylan reached out hesitantly and grabbed the tail with both hands. Kaz lifted off smoothly and hovered over Frea so close that he almost placed Wylan in position. Wylan let go of the tail and dropped a couple of inches. Frea rose higher in the sky, and Kaz returned to the statue.

Tedi was next to be ferried to Yorra so he reached and grabbed Kaz's tail. Kaz rose again and hovered over Yorra. Tedi swiftly mounted Yorra and released the tail. Yorra now glided down to the statue and hovered near the Deliverer. Arik grabbed her tail, and Yorra rose over Kaz. Once Arik was firmly on the back of Kaz, the three unicorns rose and headed north for Barouk.