glossy black hair, periwinkle eyes and sensuous body, lured even the most suspicious human into the “Caps” murderous clutches.
When Fruman and Shura charged the field, the Red Caps fled, knowing a poor bargain when they saw one. Redwyn was not so fortunate, however. The hag was almost as entranced with the beautiful, young blond-haired girl as Sara was with her. She envied the girl’s beauty and purity of spirit, and hated herself for being so ugly. With resentment came rage, and Redwyn vowed to make the young beauty dance herself to death.
She chuckled with malicious glee as she saw Sara’s eyes go wide in fear and confusion, and watched the girl’s chest heave in exhaustion. She giggled in anticipation as Sara’s legs trembled with fatigue and laughed so hard as the young woman fell to the ground that she did not even see the giant stone fist descend out of the sky and squash her flat against the ground.
Shura towered over them and spat on the hag’s withered gray corpse. Then she turned to Sara and poked her still form with a large stony finger. Sara did not move. The female giant worried over what to do for the girl, and she turned to her beloved husband for help. Then she grinned, as she spied ten naked and very angry nixies swarm over Fruman’s body, punching, biting and scratching his rocky hide in rage and frustration. Fruman held Nate up in the air with one huge arm and glared at the nixies, plucking them off, one by one, and pitching them, squealing, into the river.
Suddenly the fog dissipated, and so did the hag’s glamour. The beautiful valley was now a barren wasteland of dead and rotting vegetation, and burnt trees. The blue, babbling creek was nothing more than a dried and stagnant current that wound through a rough crevasse of crumbling shale and the desiccated carcasses of dead animals.
The baleful gaze of the sun bleached the blasted land in a sick yellow haze and Muriel ran to where Sara lie, pale and exhausted on the rocky ground. She cursed herself for being caught off guard and cursed Timaron for letting this blight fall upon faery land. The evil was spreading, and the more power the Unseelie gained, the more the magic of the Seelie faeries diminished.
The nymph wondered, fearfully, if she would possess any magic at all by the time they reached Timaron’s court… if they reached his court at all. Muriel removed Sara’s shoes and saw the bruises and bloody cuts caused by Sara’s frantic dance on what she thought was soft grass and flowers, but was actually sharp stones and prickly thorn bushes. Muriel took her Weirding stick and murmured words of comfort to her student as she healed the cuts and bruises on the girl’s feet, legs, hands and arms.
Nate, meanwhile was being firmly scolded by Fang, and surprisingly, young Pollo. The sprite was humiliated by having his sword plucked out of his hands by the pixie pinchers, and now felt less than useless when it came to helping keep the young human witch safe. He glared up at the wet and humiliated young man and yelled, “You cannot let yourself be entranced by the creatures in this land, Nate! Don’t you want to keep Sara safe from harm?”
The dwarven general, Fang, added his opinion as the other dwarves shuffled their feet and glowered, but no one castigated himself as much as Nate did. He had not told anyone, much less Sara, that he was head over heels in love. He had been watching the girl and yearning over her ever since he first met her. Living close by her and training with Sara and Chloe since they came to Sylvan’s village only made his adoration more profound and his longing for her as keen as a knife blade.
When the giant plucked him up out of the water and away from the nixies deadly charms, Nate saw Sara fall to the ground and his heart stopped in fear. Now, as he watched her stir and sit up, he hung his head in shame over his own weakness. Standing tall, Nate acknowledged his guilt and swore to Fang and Pollo
When Fruman and Shura charged the field, the Red Caps fled, knowing a poor bargain when they saw one. Redwyn was not so fortunate, however. The hag was almost as entranced with the beautiful, young blond-haired girl as Sara was with her. She envied the girl’s beauty and purity of spirit, and hated herself for being so ugly. With resentment came rage, and Redwyn vowed to make the young beauty dance herself to death.
She chuckled with malicious glee as she saw Sara’s eyes go wide in fear and confusion, and watched the girl’s chest heave in exhaustion. She giggled in anticipation as Sara’s legs trembled with fatigue and laughed so hard as the young woman fell to the ground that she did not even see the giant stone fist descend out of the sky and squash her flat against the ground.
Shura towered over them and spat on the hag’s withered gray corpse. Then she turned to Sara and poked her still form with a large stony finger. Sara did not move. The female giant worried over what to do for the girl, and she turned to her beloved husband for help. Then she grinned, as she spied ten naked and very angry nixies swarm over Fruman’s body, punching, biting and scratching his rocky hide in rage and frustration. Fruman held Nate up in the air with one huge arm and glared at the nixies, plucking them off, one by one, and pitching them, squealing, into the river.
Suddenly the fog dissipated, and so did the hag’s glamour. The beautiful valley was now a barren wasteland of dead and rotting vegetation, and burnt trees. The blue, babbling creek was nothing more than a dried and stagnant current that wound through a rough crevasse of crumbling shale and the desiccated carcasses of dead animals.
The baleful gaze of the sun bleached the blasted land in a sick yellow haze and Muriel ran to where Sara lie, pale and exhausted on the rocky ground. She cursed herself for being caught off guard and cursed Timaron for letting this blight fall upon faery land. The evil was spreading, and the more power the Unseelie gained, the more the magic of the Seelie faeries diminished.
The nymph wondered, fearfully, if she would possess any magic at all by the time they reached Timaron’s court… if they reached his court at all. Muriel removed Sara’s shoes and saw the bruises and bloody cuts caused by Sara’s frantic dance on what she thought was soft grass and flowers, but was actually sharp stones and prickly thorn bushes. Muriel took her Weirding stick and murmured words of comfort to her student as she healed the cuts and bruises on the girl’s feet, legs, hands and arms.
Nate, meanwhile was being firmly scolded by Fang, and surprisingly, young Pollo. The sprite was humiliated by having his sword plucked out of his hands by the pixie pinchers, and now felt less than useless when it came to helping keep the young human witch safe. He glared up at the wet and humiliated young man and yelled, “You cannot let yourself be entranced by the creatures in this land, Nate! Don’t you want to keep Sara safe from harm?”
The dwarven general, Fang, added his opinion as the other dwarves shuffled their feet and glowered, but no one castigated himself as much as Nate did. He had not told anyone, much less Sara, that he was head over heels in love. He had been watching the girl and yearning over her ever since he first met her. Living close by her and training with Sara and Chloe since they came to Sylvan’s village only made his adoration more profound and his longing for her as keen as a knife blade.
When the giant plucked him up out of the water and away from the nixies deadly charms, Nate saw Sara fall to the ground and his heart stopped in fear. Now, as he watched her stir and sit up, he hung his head in shame over his own weakness. Standing tall, Nate acknowledged his guilt and swore to Fang and Pollo
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