These Lying Eyes (30 page)

Mina nodded at Hitch and Poppy, and said, “Let go, Hailey. Just like when we were little.”

“I…” But this time she didn’t argue. She just let go, fell a foot, and was carried across the chasm, eyes squeezed tight. All without a sound.

Hitch and Poppy set her down, the sound of her retching filled the cavern, and Mina said, “You next, Charlie.” Zizi took hold of his wrist, Poppy took his other hand, and Hitch grabbed the back of his coat.

“Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap,” he muttered as he flew. But when he landed, he grabbed Hailey and clutched her.

“You next,” Max said.

“Zizi can get me.”

“Hitch and Poppy will take you.”

Hitch nodded, and in moments, Mina and Max were flying over the abyss that seemed to pull at their ankles.

When they landed, Hailey pulled away from Charlie to hug Mina tight.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, and they all knew she was referring to those years of ignoring Mina. To the lonely times in middle school, the missed birthdays, and all the times she’d belittled Mina.

“It’s ok,” Mina replied, and this time, she thought she meant it.

Chapter 28

“I
feel like Sarah needs me now,” Mina whispered to Zizi. After the darkness of the inner mountain, the moon was a floodlight. There was no question they were in the Haven now. Cascadia was one of the most unpopulated of the magical sanctuaries—full of wilderness, untouched regions, and long lonely stretches. Like the one before them. They were near the top of the mountain, and there were few trees. But after the rock and dirt of the tip of the mountain, the trees began, becoming ever thicker the further down the slope they went.

There had been no clear cutting here. No government forest types with their thinning; no roads that wove through the trees. All was thick branches, wide trunks, and tangled undergrowth. Mina had known, intellectually, that the Cascadia was untouched, but it was a startling to find stars that shone as bright as street lights. Startling, lonely, and a little terrifying.

“I am sure she does need you now.” Zizi said.

“Oh she passed thiz way,” Hitch said. “Even without the spell, I’d know. There are signz of her movement over the game trail that beginz near the treez. Her movementz are obviouz all through here. Through the treez. To the cliff, onto a path down the side of the cliff, I’d never have noticed if she were trying to hide what she waz doing.”

“So, a game trail, climbing down the cliff path, and then what?”

“Well there’z the wolves and cougar on the path. Who knowz what else. And at the bottom of the cliff iz a river.”

“Wolves,” Mina said. She took a deep breath and pressed her hands against her eyes. Could she let her friends follow this path? But…for Sarah—Mina was going to leave it up to them. She knew her path.

Wolves. A cougar. Who knew what else? But they did know this…those animals were pacing, guarding the trail.

Hitch and Max were conferring. Mina didn’t know or care about what though the low rumble of their voices was soothing. Even still, all she cared about was that Zizi’s face was pale. There was a touch of grey to Poppy’s dark chocolate skin. And both sprites wings dropped.

Charlie sat with his eyes closed, pressed against a rock, as if he never planned to move again. Hailey was rubbing her calves, moaning a little as she did.

For Mina it was different. It felt like ants were crawling inside her skin. She had to go. She must go. Her mind still echoed the melody of
Sarah, Sarah, Sarah.
And with each repetition of her sister’s name, Mina’s desperation infused her with a manic energy. It was the anger, she thought. The worry and the fury fueled this chase for her in a way that didn’t work for the others.

“Who has Sarah?” Hailey held her ankles, cheek pressed against her knee, taking long, slow breaths. The moonlight curled around her, and Mina wondered if Hailey were a Fire Witch too.

“I don’t know.” The back of Mina’s head was pressed against a large stone. Her hands were on her knees too, but it was to keep them still. “A bad witch. Maybe someone we know.”

Someone related to us. Would it be Aunt Charlotte at the bottom of that cliff? Uncle Denny? Peter’s Dad, Uncle Rob?

“What’s the plan?” Charlie wrapped his arm around Hailey, and she snuggled into the crook of his neck.

“Did you hear about the wolves? The cougar.”

“Yes,” Hailey’s voice didn’t invite second guessing, and Mina…she didn’t want to second guess; she wanted her friend’s help. Even if it put them in danger, she needed them.

“The plan,” Max said, “Is that we’re going to go get Sarah and bring her back. Hopefully before whoever did this figures out we followed.”

“We’re going against an evil witch?” Charlie asked.

“To save Sarah.” Hailey added.

Mina and Max nodded together.

“Well ok,” Charlie said as if they were planning a surfing trip. He was too nice to say what they were all thinking. They’d be lucky if any of them even survived.

“Whoever has Sarah can’t be that far into this place,” Charlie said, determined it seemed, to find some hope.

“So the animals between us and Sarah,” Hailey said, “that’s bad. But we’re humans right. Top of the food chain.”

Mina nodded.

“They can’t know we didn’t stop her thiz time.” Poppy said. “We might have a leeway before they can get to her.”

“So, we have surprise on our side.” Max stood, pulling Mina up. “Let’s do this thing.”

“The animalz are a wayz down the trail. We head out. We move fast,” Hitch said. “You keep going. We’ll try to keep them off of you.”

He darted ahead. Poppy and Zizi jumped into the air without hesitation, and despite their wan looks, they moved with a barely controlled ferocity.

* * *

As they descended from the top of the mountain, trees started appearing. Even knowing they were going towards those bewitched animals, they felt better. They could feel the wind on their faces; there were stars overhead. And the darkness that almost had fingers was left behind.

The path they were on lead into a deeply forested area, and each step increased Mina’s concern. She was catching glimpses of red eyes. Eyes watching them. Pacing them.

But, they still had no choice but to press onward.

“Do you see that?” Hitch whispered as they took their first steps into the trees. He’d flown ahead again, scouting.

Mina nodded.

“They’re going to attack,” Hitch said. “The path ends at a cliff. The ball of light is heading straight towards it. If you keep to the path, once you’re making your way down the cliff side trail, the animals will have a harder time getting at you.”

Mina pulled fire onto her hands, a glove of flame over each hand. She threw a ball to Poppy, Zizi, and Hitch. They caught her magic, using the barely cultivated link between them to access Mina’s magic.

“Now,” Hitch ordered, “Run. Get to the cliff trail. Move down it fast.”

And then with fire in his hands, he disappeared into the trees, there was a flare of light, a howl, and Mina could see now more for Max had taken hold of her bicep and was pulling her with him down the trail.

Charlie and Hailey were just ahead, running fast. It was too surreal to believe. Running into a pack of bewitched animals, but they were doing it.

“Go!” Hitch shouted.

Mina ran as though she hadn’t been hiking for hours, but a shadow leapt for her. She tripped, went down, and she lost her fire. Claws, teeth gouged her calf. Even with the pain, all she could think was that she was glad it wasn’t the mountain lion. She kicked out, ineffectually, but Max got it with his heavy boot.

Hitch darted back with a thick branch. He tossed it to Max who swung it like a bat, and the shadow yowled and flew into a tree. Mina flipped to push herself up, but Max and Hitch grabbed the back of her jacket, and she was on her feet, moving, before she could even process what had happened. Adrenaline made the wound in her leg more of an itch than the pain she knew she should be feeling.

They ran. All of them. For, cold green eyes and mottled fur paced them. Mina threw a fire ball at it, but it leapt back.

Max staggered. He yelped, and a wolf had his leg. They’d paid so much attention to the animals to the right allowing another to swoop in from behind.

Mina stopped.

“No.” Hitch growled lifting her from the ground while she shouted Max’s name.

Max jabbed his branch into the animal’s side. Mina focused, and the end of the branch lit on fire. There was a growl and a yelp, and it let Max go. As soon as it had, Zizi grabbed the animal by the nape of the neck, flew high, and dropped it.

Max struggled to get up, still holding the burning branch, but Poppy was there. She pulled him up, feet wind milling. She flew him to Mina before letting him down.

Another shadow darted in. Yellow teeth, glowing eyes. Max waved the burning branch at the animal, and it cowered back. The burning limb left trails of light in the darkness, but rather than show the way, the light seemed to succumb to the force of the night, be pulled in by it. As the fire lost the battle against the dark, it was harder to differentiate between the shadows of each other and those of the hunters.

There was a flap of wings, a caw, and Poppy yelped, barely shooting to the side in time. Hitch let go of Mina to go for the bird. Mina followed, running at it, determined to distract it from the sprites. There was a loud screech, claws raked Mina’s shoulder, and she cried out. But even as she did, she focused, setting fire to the tail feathers of the bird just as Max shot a stone at it. The bird dropped on the impact of the rock, and none of them spared it a glance as they wove past its still form.

They made it only steps before running into the backs of Hailey and Charlie. A thick shouldered wolf blocked the path. Bodies bounced of each other as they froze in horror. The wolf, eyes red, growl reverberating blocked the entrance to the cliff path. A second, lankier shadow joined the first, staring them down.

One wolf howled. Hailey gasped. Cries of other animals filled the air. A cat, birds, an owl, and loud, lingering, eerie wolf howl after wolf howl until they were surrounded in cacophony of threatening animal calls.

But it was the last that turned the remnants of their courage to terror.

The low, deep, horrifying roar of a bear. Coming from behind the wolves. On the trail. Horror rushed through Mina. Even if they got past the wolves, they couldn’t take on a
bear.
The wolves herded them back. Towards the cough of the cougar.

Only when they backed away from the trail, the wolves followed them. Blocking the side of the cliff instead. They weren’t going to let Mina and the others go without trying to bury yellow fangs into flesh.

Mina threw a fire ball at the wolf. It leapt lazily over the flame.

The leaner of the wolves darted closer. Charlie kicked at it, pressing Hailey behind him, twisting his arm to hold her against his back. But a shadow of another animal darted in from the side. Max pushed Mina forward, away from it, until the four of them with the sprites huddled together.

The wolves drove them on one side; more animals on the other. Even though the edge of the cliff beckoned, they couldn’t reach it.

“We might be screwed,” Max said, but Mina felt the tickle of his magic as he shot another rock at the animals.

There was a yelp followed by the cough of the cougar. It was closer now.

Adrenaline and nausea mixed as they realized that they were trapped.

“You are going to have to jump.” Zizi said, but as she did the wolves changed the angle of their herding to prevent them from getting to the Cliffside.

“Off the side?” Hailey gasped.

“We can help you,” Zizi answered.

“But there’s only three of you.”

Zizi nodded, flew up, over them, and darted at the wolves from behind. She grabbed a wolf by the back of the neck and flung him into a tree. It yelped, crashed against the trunk, and was still.

Charlie grabbed Hailey.

“Go.” Charlie commanded. Hailey nodded, ran, and leapt, diving into the darkness off the side of the cliff. Zizi darted after her.

Hailey screamed all the way down, and her voice didn’t fade for far too long.

The others ran forward in the opening, stopping at the edge of the cliff. Their eyes met. Two sprites left, three humans. Their heels dug into the ground at the edge of the cliff as another shadow shot towards them. Mina threw a cannon ball of fire at it. Max waved his hand, and stones shot from the ground it.

While they drove it back, the second wolf jumped for Charlie. He tried to stop his fall, but a new wolf joined the fight, leaping at him shoulder. Gravity won and Charlie and the two wolves over the side.

“Crap,” Poppy yelled, and she disappeared after him.

Max and Mina looked at each other. She pulled two soccer balls of fire into her hands. She threw the largest at the animals pressing closer, holding the second close for the next attack.

Max swung his flaming branch, at another raptor she hadn’t even seen come for them. He sent it back into the darkness.

“Go Max!” Mina cried, splitting her fire ball, holding a fire ball in each hand.

“No.” Max said calmly.

He reached forward as if to hug her, but instead, she felt a gentle squeeze on her shoulders followed by firm, determined hands. They pushed her; the ground fell away; the wind rushed past her ears, and she screamed for him, Max!”

Her scream echoed across the top of the cliff, and she just caught site of him turning with his still burning torch to face the bear from one side and the rest of the animals from the other. Hitch grabbed her then. She jerked, but even as Hitch slowed her fall, she heard Max’s scream.

She saw his shape against the sky, highlighted by the flame from the branch. It turned and jumped after her, away from the massive paw of the bear.