Chapter 17
Harry was the first to hear the rocks fall. At first it was just one or two small pebbles. Nelvil was next to notice them. “Men,” he shouted to the ones ahead of them. “I think we have a situation.” He got the last word out of his mouth as the walls started to cave in behind him. “Run!” Alman and the others turned to see what Nelvil was yelling about and when they saw what was happening, they all started to run. Gavin grabbed Luc and hung on to him as they tried to beat the walls. “The fork is coming up ahead,” Luc shouted out to them. “Well, which way do we go, dwarf?” Gavin said through his teeth. The dwarf was small but he was a heavy one. “I don’t know.” It was the words Alman really didn’t want to hear at this crucial time. They were about to die from walls coming down on them. When they got to the fork in the road, Alman noticed the pictures to the right way continued. The left had nothing on the walls. A spirit of light flashed past them and went to the left. “Left, we have to go left.” Just as Nelvil made it to the left corridor, the rocks filled the entrance. They listened as it carried on through the other passageway until they couldn’t hear it anymore. Hands on knees, both Harry and Alman tried to regain their breath. “What the hell was that about? Gavin shook his head and Jordon was talking to Nelvil. “Let’s hope you picked the right one,” he said as he put Luc back on the ground.” Alman looked past Gavin and watched as the same light flew around. He pointed to show Gavin what made him pick it. “On the walls as we were walking, the pictures on the sides had the fairies in them. Small people that would fit in the hand of a dwarf. This,” he held out his hand, “is what helped us escape today with our lives.” The small fairy stood in the palm of Alman’s hand. A small male fairy. He flew out of Alman’s hand and flew to the front of them, urging them to follow him. Harry was still doing great so they started down the only corridor they had left. The fairy’s light was so powerful that they weren’t walking in the dark.
It was an hour later that they came to a pool of water. It was crystal clear like the one in the clearing. Jordon went to the edge and brought his hand down to the water. He took a drink and then sat back and smiled. It was the same water. He filled their canteens. The passage had been widened to accommodate the pool. Luc looked into the clear water and didn’t see anything. Nevil and Harry took out some food. They had been walking for hours and since they couldn’t figure out whether it was nighttime or daytime, they decided now would be a good time to eat. Alman took a piece of meat from Harry and put it in between two pieces of bread. As he took a bite, he could see the fairy standing on the edge of the pool. He pointed it out to Gavin. “Is he expecting us to go into the pool?” A soon as he said it, the fairy turned and Alman knew that was exactly what he wanted them to do. Once they were done eating, they packed up all their stuff and walked over to where the fairy stood. The fairy turned and flew up and then came back down with so much speed. The circular motion above the pool turned the calm water into a whirlpool. The vortex was so strong that it was pulling them closer and closer to the water. Jordon walked over and jumped in. Gavin and Alman followed Luc with Harry and Nelvil jumping into the water last. They were moving through a tunnel, the water not even hitting them as it swirled around them. Harry went to reach out but the force of the wind kept his hands at his side. Then there was air underneath them and each one fell into another pool of water. Coming up to the surface, all six of them swam over to the side. Climbing out of the pool of water, the fairy stood on the side once more. “Before you send us through another vortex, can we at least catch our breaths?” He looked up from where they fell and watched the water as it stayed suspended above them. He thought they would be able to rest for a minute but just as the thought went through his head, the fairy got up and started again. As soon as the vortex was ready, they each jumped in. This one was longer and as he went through, he could see animal life that lived within the water. These were animals that he had never seen before. Then just as he thought it was over, a white paw came out of the water and swiped at him. Then he noticed what he was looking at. “Cats, white cats. Be careful,” he shouted and hoped that they heard him. As they fell through the air one more time, there was only five splashes. Nelvil had his head in his hands. ”I couldn’t reach him. The paw came out and snatched him right out of the vortex.” Alman walked away. He felt like someone had just kicked him in the stomach. Harry was gone? How could this be? Alman looked up at the water that stayed suspended from the ceiling. He looked at the fairy and asked him, “How do I get him back?” The fairy shook his head. He was gone. Alman was so angry that he had just lost his friend that he didn’t see the glow start from his sword. The fairy took off behind some rocks and Luc’s eyes went wide as well. From the shadows, a large white cat appeared. His eyes the color of the pools they had just emerged from. The white of his coat, the same as snow that would fall when it got cold. The fangs that were showing now were not out of happiness. Gavin, Jordon, and Nelvil prepared to fight the beast but Alman told them to stand back. “This one is mine.” Both man and beast walked in circles, sizing each other up. Blue liquid fell from the fangs of this great beast. As Alman held out the sword, heat radiated from the blade. He recognized the giant paws and knew this must have been the one to take his friend. Someone he had grown up with. The friend that stood by him when things were going rough after his mother died. Harry had always kept his spirits up. He was the only one that Alman could count on and because of this beast before him, he would never see him again. As the cat roared out, so did Alman and they engaged in a battle to the death. The cat’s paw came out and took a swipe across Alman’s chest and the razor sharpness of the claws sliced through his skin without any feeling at all. Alman didn’t even know that he had been wounded. Each swing that Alman took, sliced the cat and blue liquid ran from the wounds. Alman didn’t know how much longer he was going to be able to fight this beast. His arms were getting tired but he knew that if he didn’t kill it, they would all perish. Alman took a huge breath and as the cat clawed through the air at him, he took the opportunity to jump up and landed right on its back. As the cat reared up, Alman took the sword in both hands and brought it down right in the center of its skull. As the sword sunk down to the hilt, a gush of water exploded underneath him and he fell to the ground. The cat was gone. Alman got up and looked at the others. Gavin came over to him but he put his hand up to stop him and walked away. He couldn’t talk to anyone right now. He looked down at his chest and the blood still trickled from the wounds. He was either going to die from them, if they had the same poison that the black cats had, or he would heal. He didn’t know but time would tell. Gavin watched him leave. “Luc, did you know about the white cats?” He looked at Gavin and was at a loss for words. He knew about them. He knew that the white cats lived in these tunnels. The black ones were in the caves in the mountains. The white ones were the ones who tried to take over the tunnels that this ancestors created. Luc looked at the others. “Yes, I knew but when you said that you had killed the cats, I thought you meant the white ones too. I really didn’t even think that they would still be alive.” He looked over to where Alman had walked to. Gavin knew that even if they were prepared to face another set of cats, it still wouldn’t have saved Harry.
Alman couldn’t breathe. He looked up and saw Jordon standing there. “Here, put this on your wounds.” He handed him the canteen and Alman did as he was told. The wounds started to heal right away. He took a drink and the pain receded as soon as he swallowed the cold liquid. “We did the same thing to Harry when we found the wound on him. You had already gone underground.” Alman didn’t know how he would go home to tell Harry’s mother that he lost her only son. He got up and looked at the others. Walking over to them, he put his hand on Gavin’s shoulder. “I suggest that we keep moving. I don’t have much time to get this tree.” They got up and waited for the fairy to start turning the water but he just stood there. “What is wrong with him, Luc?” Luc walked over to the fairy. As they watched, both Lu
c and the fairy seemed to be in an argument. Luc walked back over to Alman and the others. “Apparently, you killed the wrong cat.” Alman put his hands through his hair. “What do you mean I killed the wrong cat?” Luc looked back at the fairy and then back at Alman. “That wasn’t the lead cat. That was just a sentry.” The fairy started to fly upwards and then swirled around the pool above them. “Luc, what the hell is he doing?” It didn’t take long for them all to find out. The vortex got bigger and bigger until Alman and the others saw what was coming through. First one paw and the then the other. Then the rest of the body and the other two paws followed. Gavin and the others pulled their swords. Alman stood in front of everyone else and his sword shone the brightest he had ever seen. The steel seemed to meld into his hands. The eyes looking back at him were like glass. The beast opened its mouth and Alman ran forward, sword raised.