Immortal (5 page)

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“Well, I guess I assumed you had traveled the forest more than a time or two, as you claim your assistance is so very important to my survival.”

“I am a beast tamer, Staysia.” Gabriel said proudly.

“Well how do you plan on making it out of the village? The dark ladies are sure to find you to be perfect prey. In fact, if I were to have traveled alone, I would have been of no regard to the dark ladies. I would’ve passed through with no ado.”

“Let me ask you something, Staysia.” Gabriel stopped and looked into Staysia’s eyes. “Do you believe what I tell you? Do you believe me when I tell you that I have nothing to do with what happened to your parents?”

“I do not know yet. I just do not know.”

“Then I shall prove it to you.”

“You shall, or you shan’t. We shall see.”

The Village

The serenity of the forest subsided as the road dipped and the trees became void of life. These trees were called Dragon’s Claw trees. Instead of leaves growing from the twigs, there were what looked like dragon claws. They had sharp, pointed buds that weren’t meant to bloom, no matter the season.

The trio rode under the trees; the trees that darkened the forest a great deal. They rode closer together now. Gabriel and Staysia kept their heads up, and their eyes looked left and right, and over their shoulders. Isis and the horse stumbled upon stones that were on the road. The buggy wiggled and jiggled, causing Jasper to come off of his seat when it hit the bigger stones.

“Did you see that?” Staysia rode up closer beside Gabriel and looked off into the darkness in terror.

“No, what did you see?”

“I don’t know. It was there!” Staysia pointed into the darkness.

“I don’t like this so much. I don’t think I should’ve come.” Jasper turned his buggy around, without Staysia and Gabriel noticing.

“Another one! Look!” Staysia screamed in horror.

“Yes I do see them now. They’re shadows, they won’t hurt you,” Gabriel said nonchalantly.

“Shadows? Are you sure they won’t hurt us?” Staysia asked as she watched three more of the dark figures run and hide behind the trees, where they’d peek around and stare with their large, round, glowing eyes.

“Where is Jasper?” Gabriel swung his head around quickly to where Jasper had been before.

“Jasper!” Staysia called.

“There. There. There. There.” The voices of the shadows engaged and echoed throughout the forest, as they pointed down the road at Jasper riding away inside his buggy.

Gabriel looked down at the creeper. “That’s a shame,” he sighed.

“What’s a shame?” Staysia asked him.

“It is a shame that the creeper didn’t follow him.”

“Why is that a shame?”

“Because it means that the creeper does not see Jasper as his master yet.”

“Shall we go get Jasper?”

“Of course!”

The two of them rode side by side through the dark forest to persuade their small friend to continue the journey with them.

“Why don’t you two just leave me alone? I am not cut out for this, and I have changed my mind. I just want to go home!” Jasper grumbled.

“What about Em?” Gabriel asked him.

“Who’s Em?” Staysia asked.

Gabriel put his finger over his lips to shush her.

Jasper spoke. “Em is nothing but a dream of mine; a dream that will never come true. What would she want with me?” he said, hopelessly.

“Em is who he shall wed!
If
and only
if
he rides with us. If he does not, he will return to his old life; his hopeless life with no one to love and no dreams to fulfill. He will never have the strength to tame a beast. He will continue to . . .”

“Fine! I will go with you!” Jasper whirled his buggy around so quick that it flipped over on top of him.

“Oh no!” Staysia slid down Isis and dropped to the ground quickly. She hurried over to the overturned buggy, and began to push on it to flip it over. Gabriel joined her. “Are you okay? You poor thing!” She showed much concern when she spoke to Jasper.

“If you all weren’t so persistent I would be a whole lot better!” Jasper proclaimed.

Staysia put her hand over a cut on his head. “Does it hurt?” she asked.

“Well, it certainly doesn’t feel nice!” he told her.

Gabriel slowly spread a smile across his face when he said, “Well, look at you. You really do care, don’t you?”

“Keep quiet, Gabriel! This doesn’t mean I trust
you
!” she replied.

“No, but you are a sweet girl.” He licked his lips briefly and smiled at her.

“Of course I am.” She put her head down. “I wish to trust you Gabriel, I do. I wish to know you.”

J
asper threw his hands in the air. “Did everyone forget about me?”

“No we didn’t forget about you, Jasper. I will get you something to put on that cut of yours,” Staysia told him.

“Allow me!” Gabriel said as he walked into the forest.

“We will be right here where you left us!” Jasper called.

“So Jasper, tell me about Em, if you don’t mind,” Staysia said.

“Emerald is the one I adore. She is the only one I will ever love. We went our separate ways as we were thrown out of town. But we were never, you know, in love. I only loved
her.
”

“She probably did and you didn’t know it. She probably did and still does. Love is a timeless treasure.”

“Is it a timeless treasure to
you
?” He rubbed his chin and squint his eyes at her. “If it is such a timeless treasure, why don’t you go after him?”

“Who?”

“Who? You know who! Why, Gabriel of course.”

Staysia giggled. “Gabriel? Why would I go after Gabriel?”

“Because you love him, and you knew it the first time you ever set your eyes on him.”

“That is absurd!”

“Is it now? Well, if that is so absurd, then maybe I will just go home after all.” He looked down, but peeked at her with one eye.

She fidgeted and looked around the forest. When she opened her mouth to speak, Jasper grinned.

“How do you know so much about love?” she asked him.

“Aha! You do love him, I knew it!”

Staysia looked around the forest again and held her finger over her lips. “Hush!”

“Don’t worry he cannot hear me!” He leaned in close to her and whispered, “But you
do
love him!”

Staysia shook her head. “I do not know him, Jasper.” She frowned.

“He is good, Staysia. He will show you that he is good.”

“We will have to see about that. Now hush, here he comes.” Staysia said as she held her finger over her lips.

Gabriel returned holding an Aloe Vera plant. He smiled and said, “I got it! Looky what I have here.” He kneeled down beside Jasper and began to rub the aloe Vera on his wound.

 
“Ouch! Would you stop?” Jasper snorted.

 
“You really need to toughen up, Jasper.
You really need to toughen up
. There you are!”

“Grr,” Jasper grumbled.

After that, Gabriel swiped his finger across a Dragon Claw tree and rubbed the sap on Jasper’s wound. “This will stop the bleeding,” he said.

“Aha! dragon’s blood, that’ll stop the bleeding in no time,” Staysia said.

“Is everyone ready to hit the road?” Gabriel asked with his hands on his hips, and his back slightly arched in a half-stretch. Staysia noticed his gorgeous smile again, and stared just for a moment before answering.

“I am ready when you are!”

Gabriel turned the buggy over upright and tapped the seat with his hand. Jasper boarded the buggy. Gabriel mounted his horse and Staysia mounted Isis. The shadows watched them as they rode through the dark forest. They moved from tree to tree and whispered.

The forest wasn’t quiet although the trio didn’t speak. There were many animals that shuffled here and there. There were the sounds of shrieking, growling and grumbling, ka-kawing, and more stirring.

Jasper looked right and left, wide-eyed, as he held the reigns tight in his hands. Staysia made her way carefully through the darkness. Gabriel rode ahead of the others. He kept a close eye on their surroundings and slowed them down in moments of caution.

The trees became fewer and a small village became visible in the distance. Gabriel came to a halt and pointed at the village. Staysia and Jasper stopped behind him and waited for him to speak.

“It’s the village,” he said, almost in a whisper.

“The Village of Darkness?” Jasper asked carefully.

“No, the Village of the Dark Ladies.” Gabriel corrected him.

“Oh no!” Jasper’s voice shook.

“You’ll be fine, Jasper,” Staysia assured him.

“That’s easy for you to say!” Jasper replied.

Gabriel took a deep breath and waved them forward.

They made their entrance into the village. It wasn’t as dark now that the trees had thinned, and they could not only hear but see the dark ladies peering out of the windows of their huts.

There was a rustling in the bushes. The trio came to a halt. A woman jumped out in front of them with her arms spread out on each side.

“Hee! Hee! Hee!” she cackled. “What brings you to the village of the fair ladies? Have you brought the skin of a fairy or hair of a baby’s? Will I let you enter into the village? Well—maybe—” She had the voice of an old woman. It was raspy and cruel.

Her burgundy hair was tied in a bun at the back of her head. One of her hands was curled in front of her chest. Her nails were long and gray. She wore a dark blue dress with a pocket on one breast. The pocket had the head of a dead rat hanging out the top of it. Her black boots were scuffed and torn. She was a homely woman. Her teeth were yellow and brown. Her nose was long and pointed. Her eyes were small and beady.

She stood hunched over, holding a cane in one hand. She smelled of death. She poked Staysia with her cane and squint her eyes at her. “You! Get off of your malodorous unicorn and come here. I don’t want to hurt you my dear!”

“Me?” Staysia put her hand in the middle of her chest and looked at Gabriel.

“What do you want with her?” Gabriel asked the witch.

She swung her head and looked Gabriel in his eyes. “That is for me to decide! I need something from her if it is through my village you wish to ride.”

“We have traveled together. We wish not to part.” Gabriel told her.

“Is that so?” said the witch. “Well, that is fine by me. I only need her for a moment’s time you see.” She stuck her cane into the ground. “We won’t leave this spot, she and me!”

Staysia slowly slid off of Isis and stood beside her.

“Come closer my precious! Step aside from your unicorn and share with me just a bit of your essence,” the witch said as she beckoned her nearer with a curled finger.

Staysia left Isis’s side and stood nearer the witch. The witch turned her back and hovered over a small pot that she held in her hands. She slowly turned and told Staysia to look inside.

Staysia could see her reflection through the liquid that was inside the pot. The witch threw her head back and cackled loudly throughout the forest.

“What have you done?” Gabriel asked.

“What have I done? I wouldn’t want to say so and spoil the fun. Go on through the village now, son.” She pointed to the other side of the village and smiled.

“I’m not afraid of you!” Staysia told her before mounting Isis. The witch cackled again even louder.

Staysia and Jasper stayed behind and let Gabriel go ahead of them. Staysia was behind the both of them when she felt someone jump on Isis behind her. She felt a hand wrap around her mouth. She moved her eyes to the side but couldn’t see who it was behind her. Whoever it was turned Isis around and headed back inside the darkness of the forest.

When they had gone inside a good distance the hand was removed from her mouth and she began to scream, but she was unheard. She looked behind her to find it was the witch that had taken her deep into the forest.

“Get off of my unicorn!” Staysia demanded. “Get away from me!” she screamed.

“You may scream all you want. The man and the troll will not find you, no matter how much they may hunt,” said the witch. “Now, get on the ground where you will not be found.”

Staysia was amazed at the witch’s might as she pulled her off of Isis and threw her into a shallow but large hole in the ground. Staysia tried to get up, but there was an invisible force that kept pulling her to the ground. The witch pet Isis’s mane and smiled wickedly at the unicorn.