“Kartesh.”  Roland figured it out, though Boston was about to say the same thing.

            “Truscas,” Mingus introduced the centaur who bowed royally before the goddess.

            “No need for that,” Kartesh waved him to stand.  “You have my thanks for bringing my friends, but where are the others?  Oh no!”  She said it before Mingus could explain.

            “Prisoners of the dance.”

            “But that will kill them,” Kartesh said, and the centaur smiled for thinking he had been right.  “The dance will go on until the next new moon, and they won’t stop to so much as eat or sleep for the full twenty-eight days.  If they don’t collapse from the strain, they will starve to death.”

            “But what can we do?”  Boston asked the question she asked earlier in the day.

            “I thought his Lordship might help,” Truscas said.

            Kartesh  looked back at the door.  “You were right to bring them here.  He is the only one who can help, but in his present condition.”  She shook her head.  “Listen, there is only one who might help us.  Silenus.  He may have some way of sobering up Saturn.  I don’t know.  All of my remedies are folk remedies of dubious value.  Even Doctor Mishka has nothing to suggest in this time period.”

            “Silenus?”  Roland jumped.

            “What.  Are we supposed to just walk up and ask for his help?”  Mingus asked.

            “Oh, that might not be so easy,” Truscas admitted.

            “Seriously.  I would have to strip Brazil bare to get enough coffee, and then no guarantee he would drink it.”  Kartesh said.  “But I am sure you will work things out.  You must if we hope to save Lockhart and the others.  Meanwhile, I have to go.  It isn’t safe to leave him alone for too long.”  She vanished, and Mingus, Roland and Truscas looked at each other, dumbfounded.  Boston did not know what to look at

###

            Truscas argued hard for his idea and in the end, since the centaur would be doing most of the heavy labor, They thought it only fair to give it a try.  Roland still had his sword, and though it was not designed to be used as an ax, it made it possible to cut through small and young trees.  Turning them into logs, though and lashing them together into walls and a roof was not easy.

            Truscas dragged the trees to the clearing.  They did not want their work seen too near the clearing itself.  Mingus found and used the vines to tie.  It took the rest of the day.  When they were at last satisfied they had pieced together a reasonable bottomless box that would not fall apart the minute it dropped, they propped up one end of the box with the most sturdy sapling they could find.  They had a strong vine tied to the base of that sapling and cleverly hid it under leaves as they stretched it back to their camp.

            “I used to catch rabbits that way when I was young,” Mingus said.

            “Me, too,” Truscas said.  His flanks were full of sweat, and when a centaurs sweats, it is something to see.

            “I think we need better bait than carrots, though.”  Roland was thoughtful as he nibbled on the deer they had for supper.

            “Yes,” Mingus agreed.  “But what kind of bait would be appropriate for a donkey-eared drunkard?”

            “Speaking of which, don’t eat too many of those fermented grapes,” Boston pointed at the cluster in Roland’s hand, though she made a point of looking at all the men.  “You’ll never catch anything if you get drunk yourselves.”

            Roland smiled and set his down.  Truscas swore the grass was sweet enough.  He didn’t need any more grapes.  “Yes, well.”  Mingus frowned and put down the handful he was about to enjoy.

            “Yip-Yip!”  They had heard that all day, and though it gave them all headaches, they never caught sight of the old man until just then when they heard a loud voice.  “Very interesting!”  It came from the clearing with the box, and it echoed like someone was standing beneath the box.

            “Quick!”  Mingus yanked the rope and Roland pulled with him.  They heard a great crashing sound and ran to the clearing.  Truscas, still frozen in mid-chew at the sound of that voice was only a moment behind them.  When Roland and Mingus arrived in the clearing, they saw the box was still standing, being supported by the sapling.  They ran underneath to see if there was some defect in the box or the set-up.  Of course, when Truscas arrived to join them, one of his big back hooves struck the sapling and the thing came down and trapped the three of them on the inside.  Boston did not laugh too hard.

            Someone whistled, and Boston looked to the side.  Silenus was just dancing off into the bushes, wiggling his butt and his ears in rhythm to some unheard music.  The trouble was, when Boston concentrated on the god’s ears, he looked remarkably like Bugs Bunny, but when she took in his belly and remembered the one glimpse of his face that she caught, he looked more like Elmer Fudd.

            Boston yawned, said good night to the boys and went back to the camp.  She found all of her things there, and everyone else’s as well.  She assumed Kartesh must have managed that much, somehow.  She called out for her, but got no answer.  Still.  She put a big log on the fire, got the fairy weave blanket she called her own and curled up beside the light while the men spent the next hour cutting a hole big enough in their box to escape.

            Boston was asleep when the others came back to the camp, hot, tired, cranky and sweating more than ever.

###

            Alexis and Katie danced all through that day and night, except when they ran from one Satyr or another. They were not Nymphs to give their sexual pleasure on a whim, and the Satyrs knew this and did not press themselves, but they had fun now and then chasing the women, and the women dutifully laughed and ran and hid.

            Alexis found the dance of the fauns too complex for her taste.  The dance of the centaurs was too stately and she felt dangerous for her lest she be stepped on.  The dwarfs, on the other hand, simply wiggled and jumped like young children at a rock concert.  My, how they enjoyed themselves.   And Katie danced, often in circles like a prima ballerina.  Alexis guessed Katie had studied ballet when she was young, and then she wondered where these stray thought were coming from.  She wished she could get rid of them.  They were interfering with her enjoyment of the dance.

            Katie simply enjoyed, and all the more when the sun set and the stars came up and the thin sliver of a moon.

            To be sure, Lockhart, Captain Decker and Lincoln did not spend all their time dancing, though they did not sleep or rest and did not eat anything other than grapes.  The Nymphs corralled them early on and made them lay down on the grass so they could feed them the grapes and giggle.  The more drunk the men got, the more the Nymphs giggled.

            Lockhart was nagged from somewhere in the back of his mind that he ought to be doing something.  He did not know what, but it was something.  Unfortunately, he also did not care to think about it.  He looked at Decker and Lincoln occasionally.  At first he remembered something about them.  By the end of the day, he was having trouble remembering their names.  By the following morning, he was surprised that they actually let humans participate in the dance.         

            They entered a valley of the Tiber river and the music cut off as soon as they got far enough down the hill to lose line of sight.  They heard another sound, “Aye-Aye-Yip!” and the elves wondered what it was.  “Yip-Yip!”

            “Silenus,” the old centaur spoke.  “Probably fermenting the grapes even while they are still on the vine.”

            “As long as it is not hypnotic,” Roland used a word the centaur did not understand.  He set Boston on the grass.  She had passed out, and he had been carrying her.  Meanwhile, Mingus approached the centaur.

            “Mingus, my son Roland and Boston,” Mingus introduced everyone.

            “Truscas,” the centaur gave his name.  “And I owe you my thanks, elder elf.  One more dance would have killed this poor old body.”

            “Mine, too.” Mingus agreed, while the Centaur stepped over to Boston.  He looked long and hard before he came to a conclusion.

            “She is human.”

            “Yes,” Roland confirmed as Boston opened her eyes and put a hand to her head.

            “Splitting headache,” she said.

            “I’m just glad you are alright,” Roland said.  Boston sat up slowly.  “Truscas,” Roland gave the Centaur’s name as Boston looked around.

            “Where is the camp?  Where is all of our stuff?  Where are we?”

            “A curious one,” Truscas noted.

            “Yes,” Mingus agreed as Roland explained what happened.

            “But what can we do?”  She wanted to know.

            “Nothing, for the moment,” Mingus answered.  “They are trapped by the dance and the Satyrs and Nymphs that lead the dance are far more powerful than our meager elf magic.  And Pan is a god.  We cannot fight that.”

            “Pan is a lesser god,” the centaur corrected.  “But come, it is still dangerous as long as we remain on this side of the river.”

            The centaur set out and the other fell in behind.  “But father, I don’t know if Boston is strong enough to swim a river,” Roland said.

            “Isola Tiberina sits in the center of the river and the river may be crossed there,” the centaur responded.  With a turn of his head, he added a thought.  “If it is too deep at the ford and she cannot swim, I can carry her.”  Roland thought that might work.

            “What is Isola Tiberina?”  Boston wondered, just before she saw it.  It was an island that split the river in two.

            It was another hour before Truscas brought them to a gigantic hovel in the woods by the river.  He explained nothing until they arrived.  “If your friends are captive of Pan, as are my people, I believe the only way we may set them free is to visit the master of this land.  Am I wrong?  I judge if these other humans are as fragile as Miss Boston, we may need help to save their  lives.”

            Mingus looked down the side of the house.  It appeared to be a single room dwelling.

            Boston looked up at the door.  It was ten times her height, at least.

            Roland defended Boston.  “These humans are far sturdier than many think.  Boston was attacked four days ago and beaten close to death.  You see how well she is recovered already.”

            “I think you have the right idea,” Mingus turned to the centaur.  “By the way, who lives here?”

            Boston found a knocker on the door that she could just reach by standing on her toes.  It was heavy, but it only needed to be struck once.

            “Saturn.”  Truscas got the word out before the sound of the knock rose in volume to prohibit further conversation.  After a moment, they had to cover their ears against the sound.  They, and perhaps the earth began to shake from the vibrations before the sound fell away again and they heard the door handle being turned.

            Boston, Mingus and Roland fully expected to see a giant, but Boston discovered it was quite another thing to actually see one.  Her mouth opened and she tried not to scream.  The giant got on his knees, but finally had to lie down on his stomach and put his chin on the ground to see his visitors eye to eye.  And such big eyes they were!

            “Your pardon,” Mingus tried to speak but he seemed to have trouble forming words.

            “Lord,” Roland managed that much when those eyes fell on him.

            Boston said nothing.  Her mouth would not close.  The giant looked at her most closely and even closed one eye for an extra stare, like he was having trouble focusing.  The centaur he hardly looked at before he smiled.  It was a doofy smile, but everyone breathed.  Then the giant opened his mouth and belched, loud and long.

            Mingus, Roland and Boston were blown back a good ten feet and landed on their butts.  Truscas managed to keep to his four hooves, but he backed up several steps and made a face, having caught the full aroma of that burp. 

            They heard a scraping sound from inside the house and saw a hand come out beside the face.  Saturn tapped the centaur, and the centaur fell to his side.  That way, all four visitors were knocked over like so many tin soldiers.  With a self-satisfied smile, Saturn got up and closed the door.

            “Saturn!”  They heard a woman’s voice inside, complain.  The next thing they knew, they were standing inside the house beside the woman.  Saturn had gone back to sitting at the one chair at the big table, but the woman was not finished speaking.  “These are friends come to visit.  It is impolite to leave them standing outside in the cold.”

            Saturn dropped his smile at the scolding.  He raised a finger and studied it for a second before he spoke.  “It’s not cold out.”  His doofy smile returned, and he reached for the only thing on the table.  It was a primitive bowl full of grapes.  He grabbed a handful and stuffed them in his mouth and chewed, with his mouth open to be sure, grapes, seeds, stems and all.

            “He’s plastered.  Drunk out of his gourd,” Boston whispered.

            “Am I?”  Of course Saturn heard.  “Is that what I am?  Ish that a good thing?  Issshhhh.”  He laughed at himself.

            “Lord,” the woman got Saturn’s attention.  “These fine travelers need a chance to refresh themselves and rest from their travels.  Let me take them to their rooms.  Maybe they need a nap.”

            “A nap!”  Saturn perked up at the word.  “What a wonderful…” He began to snore.   

            The woman snapped her fingers and they all found themselves outside again.  They could still hear the snoring, and heard when it abruptly stopped.  The big voice boomed.  “I got rooms?”  Then the snoring returned.

After 4086 BC in the Italian Peninsula.  Kairos: Kartesh of the Shemsu

Recording…

            “It says here Kartesh was originally from Egypt.”  Lincoln summarized the information from the database as they walked.  “It says she genetically altered the Shemsu people for the sake of the Agdaline, whoever they are, and had her Shemsu people spread around the globe.  It doesn’t explain.  I could look up Shemsu and Agdaline.”

            “No, finish about Kartesh.”

            Lincoln nodded.  “So the gods collectively decided that she needed to be responsible for her work and made her a lesser goddess over the Shemsu.  Then they moved her to Rhodes to protect her from the god Set.”

            “Sounds complicated,” Captain Decker said.

            “Real life usually is,” Alexis countered.

            “Anyway, hey!  It says it was this lifetime that the gods collectively first recognized her as the Kairos and formally invested her with her Little Ones.”

            “Little Ones?”  Lieutenant Harper asked.

            “Us,” Mingus answered.  “This is the life when she became our goddess, or god as the case may be.”

            “But wait,” Lockhart interrupted.  “You just said in this life she was made goddess over the Shemsu people.” 

            Lincoln nodded.  “That, too.  Maybe that is why they made her an actual goddess, lesser goddess anyway.”

            “Sounds complicated,” Captain Decker repeated himself.

            “Real life usually is,” Alexis gave the same response.

            “Hold on,” Boston interrupted.  “I need to stop for a bit.”  She rested several days after her ordeal in Faya’s time, but she was still far from perfectly healed.  Now, she was exhausted and aching everywhere from having walked all day.

            Lockhart looked at the sky and thought they should all stop for the night.  “Make camp,” he said.  “We have a long way to go tomorrow and the next day as well.  No reason to push it.”

            Roland stayed near Boston the whole time with plenty of cursory looks toward his father.  Lockhart, Alexis and Katie thought it was cute.  Lincoln had no opinion.  Captain Decker did not notice.  Whether Mingus noticed or not, no one could say.

            Roland found the hunting good, and came back with a better notion of where they might be.  “North of what will one day be Rome,” he said.  “We spent the day moving through the seven hills and the Tiber river is not far.”

            After that, it was supper and early to bed.  For their supper, Alexis found a real treat.  There were more ripe grapes on the nearby vines than they could possibly eat.  Before bed,  Lockhart went back to two on watch through the night.  Everyone knew the easy days of Faya’s mountain village and sleeping in were over. 

            Roland and Captain Decker took the wee hours.  They would wake Boston and Katie just before dawn, though Roland said he would take Boston’s turn.

            “Suit yourself.”  The Captain did not argue.  He went to one side of the camp while Roland went to the other.  An hour went by and the moon finally rose, the tiniest sliver just past new.

            No wolf, Roland was glad to think when he heard a fascinating sound in the distance.  It sounded a bit like the wind whistling in the trees, but it gradually grew louder and more sustained.    He strained his ears and all at once he realized the whistling was changing pitch and tone.  Someone was making music.

            Roland stood and moved a short way into the woods.  It was definitely music, and like the best music of the little ones, he recognized that it had a magical, hypnotic quality.  As he thought about it, his eyes opened wide.  He spun and ran to the camp, but it was too late.  Lockhart, Decker and Lincoln had abandoned everything in camp and were running off.  Katie Harper paused to change her fairy weave from military style to the sheerest, see-through nightgown that barely came below her hips and otherwise showed her as naked.  Alexis was a bit behind, but danced off with Katie into the woods before Roland could stop her.

            Boston was fighting her stiffness, trying to get up and join them.  She was in pain, and Roland thought the pain might be helping her.  He tackled her.  She fought back.  “Father!”  Roland yelled.   Mingus sat up and shook his head like he was trying hard to clear it.

            “Father!”  The music was getting stronger, coming nearer.

            “Son?”  Mingus appeared to break free of the spell for the moment.  He quickly gauged Roland’s struggle and put his hand to Boston’s forehead.  She passed out as he spoke.  “Quick.  We must get away from here before we get caught up in the dance.  Hurry.”

            It was a struggle to walk, drag and carry Boston between them.  Mingus shook his head several times as they went, and Roland agreed with him, but his mind was occupied with saving Boston.  The music decreased slowly in volume as they added distance.  It was amazing to Roland how one simple set of pipes could carry for so many miles.  But then, it was no longer one simple set of pipes.  Other musicians were joining in.

            Boston woke and struggled for a moment before she realized she was trapped.  She kept her mouth shut and dragged her feet.  Only the pain made her feet move again, and by then she was fascinated by the creatures that were streaming by to join the dance.  She saw fauns, shy goat legged people with small horns that adorned their ruddy faced heads.  The fauns tried to move through the trees, but they could not help but be seen.  She saw dwarfs, or perhaps they were gnomes.  They were quite small, and cute.  Some of the last were the greatest of all.  They were Centaurs, majestic and stately creatures that galloped toward the music.

            The music was faint by then and Boston spoke up.  “I’m fine,” she said calmly.  Mingus and Roland stopped and eyed each other.  They let go and Boston made a dash for it, but the elves were much too fast for her.  They grabbed the arms and lifted her off the ground as they turned her back to the path.

            “Let me go,” she struggled again, but again she soon gave it up.  It hurt too much to struggle.  Then they saw the last of the centaurs.  He was old with gray hair around his hooves and on his head.  He was shaking his head, much like Mingus, and Mingus had a thought.  There was no telling what lay ahead and they could use an ally.

            “You can fight it,” He told the Centaur.  “You can win against it.”  The centaur stopped and looked at them with eyes that said he did not grasp what they were saying.

            “Come with us.  This way.”  Mingus said, and they began to drag Boston further from the music.

            “But –“ the Centaur pointed in the direction the other had galloped.

            “This way.  Short cut,” Mingus lied like an elf.

            The centaur slowly turned and followed.

            The boat floundered a little in the water.  Bruten sat in the back, but he was loathe to set down the amulet in order to paddle.  He was a little afraid to put the amulet around his neck, but in the end he did that in order to keep himself from drifting into the shore.

            As soon as the boat stabilized, Faya came down in slow circles while her friends continued to circle above.  She landed on the bow, out of reach of the paddle.  Bruten stared at the owl and for some reason he did not dare do anything.  When Faya changed back into a woman, Bruten shouted his fear and surprise.

            “The red hair.  I thought.  But you cannot.”  He dropped the paddle and fell to his face.  “Please, mercy.”

            Faya spoke without emotion.  “These Neolithic days are brutal and you have certainly shown your worst.  Now it will end.”

            “Please do not kill me.”  Bruten’s voice shook from his fear.

            Faya simply stretched out her hand and the amulet vacated Bruten’s neck and flew to her.  For some reason, and it may have been an unconscious reaction, Bruten made a grab for the amulet in mid air.  It was too quick for him, but Faya lost all sense of mercy with that.

            Bruten snatched his hand back with equal speed and begged again.  “I am sorry. Please let me live.”  Faya heard no sincerity in the man’s apology.  And she spoke.

            “You were driven out of your own village for raping and killing a young woman.  You did the same in the village where you traded, and while you tried to cover your tracks, you were found out and had to flee for your lives.  Now you have tried the same with my friend.  It is clear to me if you did not learn after the first or second time, you will not learn after the third.  You are a danger to yourself and others and in this age there is only one remedy.”

            Bruten was not exactly listening, he was muttering, “Please, please, please and mercy.”

            Faya raised her voice to unearthly proportions.  “Bokarus!”  The word echoed off the water, sounded through the forests, spread across the plains and bounced off the mountains, and the bokarus responded.  It came in ghost fashion and stared at Faya who called it to come.  “I have need of the boat,” Faya spoke in a normal voice.  “You may have them man to satisfy your hunger and thirst, but then leave my friends alone and stop following them.”

            The Bokarus circled the boat twice and twice few up to Faya’s face  as if considering the proposition.  It said nothing, but Bruten found himself standing and shoved over into the water.  He had no time to scream before his mouth filled with water.

            Faya called to her friends who came down to listen.  “Bears,” She said, and the birds became bears and plopped into the water.  She handed the rope to the lead bear with a word.  You must bring this upriver to the place where I will be waiting.  With that she resumed her owl form and grasped the amulet in her claw.  She took off into the wind and arrived back with Raini and Roland about the same time Boston showed up.

            Faya landed when the unicorn was still keeping its distance and pawing at the ground.  Boston kissed the beast behind the ear and slipped off.  She was not strong enough yet to stand, but she was awake enough to motion that she was alright.

            Faya resumed her female form and smiled for the unicorn, though she knew better than to approach the beast.  It would have nothing to do with her or Raini, being mothers as they were.  The Unicorn did dip one leg as it had back in the days of Keng when it bowed to the goddess, Nagi.  But then it turned and raced off into the distance and disappeared in the dark.

            Roland ran forward, picked Boston’s head off the ground, and held her gently.  She looked up at him and smiled since it did not hurt too much to do that.  He looked ready to cry, but she was really feeling much better.  She was fairly sure her ribs were healed and she no longer had that concussion.  She imagined her nose might be fixed as well, though it felt like she still had the black eyes and plenty of bruises.  Most important, she was no longer bleeding, even if the wounds were not completely healed.

            “I knew you would come,” Boston said through her smile.  Roland said nothing so she nudged him from behind and he bent closer until their lips met.  Faya and Raini just watched and Raini smiled like Boston.

            “There, that’s better,” Raini said.

            “Poor Mingus,” Faya responded.  “And you leave my children alone.”

            Raini looked ready to protest, but changed her mind.  “And mine,” she said.  “There is nothing a child hates worse than having her mother fix her up with someone.”

            “Don’t I know it,” Faya said, and the two women hugged again like sisters and waited for the boat to arrive.  They would need it to get Boston across the river.  Faya had imagined she might carry the girl across in bear form, but she had no way of gauging how badly Boston might still be hurt, and she could not surround the girl with healing power as she carried her the way the unicorn did.

###

            Roland and the Were made a stretcher for Boston and all of them took turns carrying it back up to the mountain village.  When they arrived, Faya found her husband, a big man, telling dirty jokes to Koren, Lockhart, Mingus, Lincoln and Captain Decker – and they were all laughing, and drinking beer.  Alexis and Katie Harper escaped to the children with whom they appeared to be getting along well. 

            They were by the upper wall, the one that divided the village from the plateau and was as much to keep the villagers from infringing on the Highlands as it was to serve as a barrier to the wolves and others.  It was the place where the villagers and the Were sometimes met to discuss matters of mutual concern.  There were two campfires lit that night, and two guards to watch during the wolf moon. 

            “Boston!”  Alexis was the first to notice and jump up to help her friend.  She guided the stretcher to a place between the two fires where Boston could stay warm in the chill spring night and so she could have light to examine her.

            “Alexis.” Faya spoke sternly after she thanked her friends and allowed them to run back up to the plateau.  “You will only check her internal organs and for broken bones or a concussion.  Her cuts and bruises must heal on their own in the old fashioned way.” 

            “Yes, Lady,”  Alexis said, humbly.  Faya’s voice was so commanding at the moment, Alexis hardly knew what else to say.  This was the Kairos speaking, and she had been an elf far longer than she had been a mortal woman.  Also, though not an actual goddess, this was a demi-goddess and more than worthy of respect for her father’s sake.  With that, she got to work and Faya turned to Raini.

            “If I let her, she will drain herself to exhaustion trying to heal every nook and cranny by her art.”

            “I see that,” Raini said.  “She is very full of love, though sometimes it interferes with her good sense.”

            “Very true,” Lincoln nodded to the women and went to kneel beside his wife.

            Raini watched them and sighed.

            Faya turned toward her husband, and the look on her face was not so good.

            “Don’t worry, dear.  Nurse and Bain are both with the children.  I expect by the time we get home, they will just about stop laughing.  You know good old Bain.”  He grinned for her, a real pleading bit of a grin.

            Faya slowly let the smile cross her lips.  “Don’t stay out late,” she said.  “Children.” She clapped.  “Back to the heights and then back to the hunt.”

            The boys jumped up.  “Yea!”  The girls were a bit less enthusiastic.  They were enjoying the adult conversation with Alexis and Katie, especially the fifteen-year-old.  But when Faya returned to redbird form, they followed suit and soon all disappeared in the sky.

            “Well,” Faya’s husband spoke softly.  “She is a keeper, for sure.  I knew that when I first saw her.”

            “How many children have you got, if you don’t mind my asking,” Lockhart was curious.

            “Eight, working on nine”

            “Oh, you poor man,” Mingus commiserated and Captain Decker appeared to agree with him. 

            Roland and Raini came to the river and paused.  “I thought we would catch that werewolf,” Raini said with a quick look around.

            “It must have run a different route.  We were not following the wolf,” Roland said.

            “Yes, but I imagined the wolf would pick up the spoor of the three men and young woman.  I was thinking we might follow the wolf straight to them.”

            “After you, it might have felt safer going after a deer,” Roland said, but he was not really in the conversation.  He was examining the bank of the river and came to a conclusion.  “They have a boat.”

            “I don’t see it across the river,” Raini said as she extended her senses to take in the far side.

            “They may have pulled it up on the bank and covered it with branches and leaves to make it hard to find,” Roland suggested.

            “But that would imply they are intelligent.”

            Roland almost smiled.  “Not intelligent, but clever, perhaps.”

            Raini returned the smile to the elf and then some.  “So when are you going to tell this girl that you love her?”  Roland paused to look at the woman.  “I can’t help it,” she apologized.  “My mother’s blood shows me things about love that others cannot see.”

            Roland bowed his head to the demi-goddess before he responded with a word.  “Never.”

            “Oh, that would not do at all.”  Raini was playing with him now.

            Roland took a second to explain about his sister Alexis and Lincoln and how they ended up so far back in time.  “I could never do that to my father.”

            “Give love a chance,” Raini encouraged.  “Your father is grown and can handle more than you think.”  With that, she raced across the top of the water, hardly getting her feet wet in the process.  After a moment, Roland did the same.

###

            Thag held the boat while Bruten shoved Boston to the shore.  “Grogor.  You and Thag need to cover the boat with branches so it is not seen.”  He shoved Boston and kept shoving her to keep her feet moving up the small hill.  He only paused when he imagined a great splash on the other side of the river.  He looked, but saw nothing in the dark and finally decided he was being paranoid.

            By the time they started down the other side of the little hill, Thag and Grogor had caught up.

            There was a flat rock at the bottom of the hill, something like a stone of sacrifice.  Boston thought she saw some dried blood on the stone.  She also thought that now she would add her blood as well.  She was bleeding from any number of places and feeling weakened because of it.  Bruten made her sit on the rock and hit her several times just because he could.  She became dizzy and fell back.  Her head struck the stone as she fell, but it was no harder than Bruten’s fist.  Boston went unconscious for a time.

            “Now we will take the source of her power,” Bruten said, and they pulled off Boston’s clothes, starting with her top.  Bruten immediately took the amulet from around her neck and stepped into the clear to get a good look at it in the moonlight.  Thag and Grogor finished undressing Boston, and got excited.  Thag only paused and turned away when he thought he heard something.

            “Father.  I want her.  Can I take her, Father?  I want her.  Please father.”  The young man could hardly contain himself.

            “What was that?”  Thag spoke at the same time and took two steps toward the way they had come.

            Bruten ignored them both, his eyes focused on the amulet as if staring at it might suddenly make him understand it.  “Yes, son.”  He spoke without thinking.

            “No, please.  Help me.” Boston said weakly as the young man got close and slapped both hands to her breasts.  Then he appeared to stop.  He turned away before he could do anything else, and Boston could not focus well enough to see what was happening.

            Grogor faced his father, lifted a foot off the ground, a horn stuck right through his middle where it made a big hole in his chest.  “Father,” he managed the word and Bruten looked on in horror as the unicorn tossed Grogor from his horn with a flip of its head.  Grogor crashed into a bush like a rag doll.  No one imagined he was still alive.

            Thag might have done something then, but he was occupied by the snarling, drooling creature that came down the hill.  The unicorn backed up to protect Boston while the werewolf paused to take in the scene.  Thag panicked as the fear took him, and he turned and ran off into the wilderness.  Bruten kept perfectly still and watched.  The werewolf continued to stare at the unicorn for a moment.  Then once again, whether it was by some inner knowledge that it was outmatched or because it saw Thag as easier prey, it ran after the man.  Again, no one imagined that the wolf would not catch the man.

            When the unicorn turned again to look, Bruten was climbing the hill as fast as he could, making for the boat.  The unicorn let the man go and turned to Boston.  It used its horn to toss Boston’s clothes back to her chest.  The fairy weave clothing reformed around Boston’s body.   It covered her in a dress from neck to ankles, and with long sleeves.  She had ballet slippers on her feet, but hardly was aware enough to notice any of it.  Then the unicorn got down on its front legs and Boston slipped off the rock and on to the unicorn’s back.  It started out at a gentle walk, and carried her down along the river bank.  All the while, the virtue of the creature seeped into Boston and began to heal her life as well as her body.

###

            Faya arrived where Raini and Roland were searching and frustrated.  “They had to take her downriver,” Raini said as Faya landed.  “Faya!”  Raini recognized her even in bird form.  Faya quickly transformed back into a woman so she could hug her cousin who was really more like her sister.

            “Boston?”  Roland’s worry came out in the word as he dipped his head in honor of the two deim-goddesses.

            “She is safe.  I have seen her from above.  She will be here shortly, only the one man has escaped in his boat and I must go after him.”

            Roland relaxed and Raini smiled.  “The good elf has pursued her with his whole heart,” she said.  Both Roland and Faya looked at the woman.  Raini apologized again.  “I can’t help it.”

            Faya just smiled, returned to her red owl form and took to the air.

            Bruten leaned over the side of the bank.  “Good, it is still here.  Quick, get in.”  The boat was crude and tied up with some of Bruten’s primitive rope.

            There was a struggle to get Boston into the boat, but two more punches to her face and a punch to her kidneys brought her to her knees, and then she was tossed in.  Boston was sure her nose was broken, and probably a couple of ribs.  She hurt everywhere, but felt better when she did not move at all.  She thought instead how glad she was to have Thag’s hands off of her, even if it was only a temporary condition.

            Bruten sat beside Boston in the middle and he held her rope tight to be sure she had no thoughts of jumping overboard.   Grogor sat in the stern with one paddle.  Thag took the paddle in the bow.  It was not a canoe, but functioned like one, and it took no time to cast off and reach the middle of the softly flowing water.

            Thag had a thought, now that he was unable to exercise his lust.  “But we are at the big bend in the river.  The current will take us closer to the high country and the mountain village before we turn toward the Great Blue River.

            “Yes,” Bruten said with a wicked grin.  “So even if they follow us to the river bank, they will think we crossed over and should waste hours trying to pick up our trail on the other side.  They will never guess we moved downstream, especially since it will take us partly back the way we came.”

            “They don’t know we have a boat,” Grogor understood.

            “But tonight is the wolf moon,” Thag protested.

            “Easy, Thag.  We are not going to the High Country.  We are not going anywhere near the wolves.  We will keep to the river and go to the side away from the wolves when we come to the big bend.”

            Thag shivered.  He found an emotion to replace his lust for the moment.  It was fear.  Clearly, he wanted no part of the wolves.

            “When we pull back to the shore, can I have her, father.  I really like her.  I want her really bad.”  Grogor was obviously not as afraid.

###

            They all heard the howl.  It was answered several times over.  “Here.”  Koren came to a stop.  “We will not have long to wait.”

            “Decker.  Keep your rifle on your shoulder no matter what, is that clear?”  Lockhart was taking no chances.

            “Understood,” The Captain responded, but he made sure his knife was handy all the same.

            Lieutenant Harper talked because she could not stand the wait, and Alexis agreed with her.  “So why is your village protected by such a wall.  Are you at war?”

            “No longer,” Koren said.  “Years ago, some say for a hundred years the whole world was at war.  The gods were at war, you see, and we fought for our gods.”

            “The gods were at war?”  Lincoln asked.  He did not get that far in reading the database.

            “The gods of the Vanir and the Aesgard fought because of the witch no one wanted, the witch they could not get rid of.”

            “Which side were you on?”  Captain Decker asked.

            “We serve Queen Nerthus,” Koren answered.  “Specifically her two grandchildren by Njord, god of the sea, Vry of light and fertility and Vrya of love and war.”

            “Njord, Fry and Freja,”  Lincoln clarified.

            “So you fought for Aesgard?  Weren’t they in Aesgard?”  Lockhart guessed.

            “Not originally,” Lieutenant Harper interjected before Koren could speak.  “Originally, they were of the Vanir.  They went to Aesgard with their father as ambassadors of the peace while Odin picked some pretty poor ambassadors to go to the Vanir.”

            “Yes,” Koren confirmed.  “It was the peace made by Faya, but once we were all at war.  Once we lived in the north.  Faya and I were both conceived there.  We were losing so we ran to this place.  Faya and I were both born here on the same day.  We are birth twins, being born on the same day.  That was forty-six years ago.”

            “I would not have guessed you were that old,: Lockhart said.  Koren smiled.

            “My wife, Raini keeps me young.”

            They heard the howls again.  They were getting closer, but not on them yet.

            “Tell me about Raini.”  Alexis asked to keep the conversation going.  She did not want to think too hard about what was coming.  “How is it that she can run with the elves?”  Elves could race at supernatural speed, like a fairy in flight.  Alexis understood perfectly when Raini said Lockhart and Captain Decker could not keep up.

            “My wife,” Koren said as he turned to Alexis with a broad grin on his face.  “She is the daughter of Vrya, goddess of love and war.  I am the most fortunate of men having her love to wife.”

            “And she is cousin to Faya?”  Lockhart was piecing it together.

            Koren nodded.  “Faya’s father is Vry, god of light and fertility, and even at forty-six years she remains a beauty beyond compare among mortal women.”

            “I don’t know,” Captain Decker said.  “I have seen the Princess.”

            “As have I,” Koren said.  “She is certainly beautiful.  But Faya is a beauty to rival the gods.”

            “Think Innan in human form,” Mingus suggested as the wolves arrived.

            There were seven in the pack, snarling and drooling at the group.  They paused only when they saw Koren in the lead.  Koren held up his hands to be sure he had their attention, and he spoke plainly.  “These are friends of Faya, the Queen.  Please, we must find her.  One of her friends has been taken and is in need of rescue.  Find Faya, please.”

            One wolf barked and bounded into the woods.  One wolf stayed where it was to block the forward progress of the group.  Five wolves stepped forward to sniff the travelers.  They walked around Koren and ignored the elf, but gave the humans the once over.

            “They may smell the fairy weave in your clothes,” Mingus said.  “That may stand in your favor.”

            Lockhart, Captain Decker and Lieutenant Harper stood at attention and kept as still as they could.  Alexis pulled her hands up to her chin, but otherwise practiced calming thoughts as the wolf butted its nose up to her thigh.  Lincoln shut his eyes and gritted his teeth and tried hard to think of anything he could other than being surrounded by wolves.  One growled at Captain Decker, but the Captain wisely made no response.

            It was not a long wait before the wolf came back with five more wolves in tow.  The big one was a red wolf instead of brown, gray or black.  It was covered in red fur, but they did not get a good look because the minute it spied the strangers it transformed from wolf to woman.  That transformation happened very fast, but it looked smooth and painless and was fascinating to watch.

            “Lockhart.”  The woman who was Faya recognized him right away.  “What is the trouble?”

            Lockhart could not answer.  Faya had long, flaming red hair and indeed had a beauty and projected a desirability that was not the goddess Innan but made of the same stuff.  She glowed much stronger than Raini, like she had swallowed a piece of the full moon and it was escaping through her every poor.  She made some effort to tone things down, but by then Mingus stepped up to answer.

            “We met three men when we came into this time and they kindly guided us to your mountain village.  But when we arrived and became occupied at the gate, they grabbed Boston and went back into the wild.  No one noticed for some time as we waited for your cousin Raini to arrive.  By the time we realized Boston was missing, they had an hour or so head start.  Raini and Roland have followed after them.  Master Koren was kind enough to bring us here so we might find you.”

            “Children, show yourselves.”  Faya did not wait to hear anymore.  She clapped her hands and the four wolves that came with her transformed into two beautiful young women and two fine looking young men.  The eldest and youngest were the girls, the eldest being perhaps twenty two, or Boston’s age.  She clearly took after her mother, red hair and all, though not so strong.  They guessed the youngest, who was maybe fifteen took after her father.

            “Children.  You must go with Uncle Koren and escort our friends back to the village.”  Faya turned to the travelers.  “It is not safe for you on the plateau.  The night is still young, but as the night wears on and the moon rises, the blood lust of the wolf will increase and anything that is not of the Were will not be safe.”

            “Mother!”  One of the boys, likely the elder wanted to protest.

            “Go.”  Mother was not going to argue.

            “Scout.”  She turned to the wolf who brought her.  “Fly back to the tower and tell my beast we are seeking the one taken and pray we find her before it is too late.  The rest of you, I ask you to forego the wolf on this one night.  I need the eyes of the owl and the raven in the dark.”  Everyone of the wolves present transformed directly from wolf to bird – and birds that were bigger than any bird ought to be.  One took off for the tower, even as Faya herself became a red owl.  Then her flock headed into the sky to be lost in the darkness as Faya’s eldest daughter spoke.

            “This way,” she said and smiled a most attractive smile.

            “Yes,” Koren said with a look around at the trees.  “I have found it is best to listen to Faya.”

            “Beast?”  Alexis caught the word and wondered about it.

            “Of course,” Lincoln nudged her.  “Beauty always marries the beast.”

            “It’s damn Captain Hog all over again!”  Alexis was upset.  Normally, she never swore.

            “Worse, I would guess,” Mingus said.  “You were relatively safe with Hog.  No telling what they will do to Boston.”

            “Can you get a geo-position?”  Captain Decker asked.

            “No, sir.”  Lieutenant Harper answered.  “No satellites.”

            “I will find her,” Roland insisted.  Captain Decker was already checking his weapons

            Raini came back from wherever she had run decked out in bow and arrows, spear and a long copper knife.  She was dressed in leather reminiscent of the leather Saphira wore.  The man beside her talked quietly. 

            “I am ready,” She said when she arrived.  “This is my husband, Koren.  He will take you to the plateau to find Faya.”

            “I am going to find Boston,” Roland said, and Raini smiled at him

            “I am sure you will, young elf.”

            “I’m coming,” Captain Decker and Lockhart spoke together.

            “No,” Raini turned to them with a firm word.  “You would never keep up.  You are both fine men, I am sure, and Captain, I know you are a true warrior, but we will be moving faster than an ordinary human can follow.  We must if we expect to catch them before the worst happens.”

            “Gentlemen, and ladies,” Koren got their attention, but only for a second.  There was a wind and Raini and Roland we gone.

###

            Boston stopped screaming some time ago.  As soon as they were far enough away from the village, Bruten beat her so badly she became dizzy and imagined she had a concussion.  Her hands were tied behind her back and she was made to walk.  She tried to go limp and refused to go forward, but they just dragged her over rocks and through the bushes.  It was less painful to keep stumbling forward. 

            Thag kept a hand on her rope.  He kept his other hands on her person and touched her everywhere.  He seemed to have a particular fondness for her left breast.  She kicked him, but he just laughed.  Her only respite came when Grogor complained.

            “Thag,” Bruten spoke but did not slacken the pace.  “Wait until we are far enough away.  You will get your turn.”

            “Father,” Grogor also spoke.  “I want to go first.  Can I have the first turn?”

            “We’ll see,” Bruten said.  Thag said nothing.  He just kept fondling her.

###

            Koren explained.  “The highland belongs to the Were people.  The rule is no weapons.  You must keep yours put away.  Whatever happens, do not kill any of the animals.  The Were people are the men, women and animals.  Some of the animals may be children.”

            The others did not exactly understand, so Lincoln spoke up.  “I read about the Were in the database.  They are not exactly human – not from this earth, though no one knows where they originated.  They are shape shifters, able to take on not just the form, but the characteristics of the animals.  If you see a deer or bear or hawk, there is no way of knowing if it is a natural animal or a Were person in that form.”

            “Yes,” Koren said.  “And when the moon is full like it is, they run with the wolves.  It is the strongest of all the animal forms they take and the most possessive of their minds.  They become wolves which is why it is generally the worst possible time to go up to the highland.”

            “The database suggests they may have had some dog-like form on their native world,” Lincoln added.

            Koren shrugged.  “The main thing,” he said.  “Is to keep your weapons put away and no matter what happens, do not injure any of the animals we may meet.  If you do, they will kill us all.”

            With that word, they came to an upper meadow and walked silently in the night under the light of the moon, their ears open for any sound.  Lockhart and Mingus followed Koren.  Lincoln and Alexis took the middle.  Captain Decker and Lieutenant Harper brought up the rear as they had at first back in the days of the twins, Pan and Iris, but this time they kept their rifles safely shouldered.

            They entered a forest on the other side of the meadow and Lockhart had a question.

            “How far is it to the home of the Were?”

            “Half the night,” Koren answered.  “But don’t worry.  The wolves will find us long before then.”

###

            Roland and Raini stopped to check the prints in the soil.  Roland sniffed the air.  Raini glowed a little and let all of her senses range beyond human range.

            “They have been here,” Raini said.

            Roland merely nodded.  He was certain as well, but presently he was looking around his feet.  He saw a light for a brief moment.  It was not a fairy light.  It might have been a glow bug of some kind, but he was sure there was something.

            “What?”  Raini wondered.

            Roland shifted his foot and shifted a leaf with it.  He picked it up.  It was Boston’s wrist communicator left open and glowing in the night.  He examined the wrist strap and Raini made the pronouncement. 

            “Torn from her wrist.  No doubt painfully.”

            Again, Roland merely nodded as he lifted his head.  There was something else nearby.

            “Up!”  Roland shouted and he scrambled up the nearest tree as only an elf can.  The wolf growled and leapt but it was too slow.  Raini also went up, but it was straight up into the air, about six or seven feet where she hovered and the glow around her increased.  Her eyes lit up and a light came from them that was hot as fire.  The wolf’s back was singed and it leapt back into the forest and ran, like it knew when it was overmatched.

            “Faya is much better at that than I am,” Raini said as she floated back to the earth and Roland climbed down. 

            “I thought you did that very well, m’Lady.”  Roland understood that Raini was not a goddess, but she was a half-goddess to be sure and worthy of all respect.

            “But what was that?”

            “A werewolf..  The future kind.  A poor diseased human driven mad by the transformation its body is not designed to make.  It has been following us through several time zones.”

            Raini nodded this time.  “So now we have to find your friend to protect her from more than just three dead men.”

            The leaves stirred as the two figures ran so fast they appeared to vanish.

I don’t want the government sticking its fingers anywhere in the internet pie.

At the same time, as a storyteller, I understand that musicians, movie makers, writers and artists of all kinds should have their work protected and be fairly compensated.  Who will put in that kind of effort, creative sweat, hard – damn hard work for nothing?  Why should anyone produce anything?  So people can just take it for free while they have to continue to shuck corn for some sales and marketing company?

We are rapidly headed toward the day when only a few rich and altruistic people will bother to make music or films or books or anything, and I guarantee that most of what we will get will be crap. 

People should be, indeed they need to be fairly compensated for their work – and it should be their work.  And the people who want everything for free off the internet?  They are worse than thieves.  They are dream killers.

            Bruten, Grogor and Thag had no redeeming qualities whatsoever.  They were rude, uncouth, unclean, stank and were prone to make noises some of which also stank.  Alexis referred to them as Neolithic rednecks.  Boston called that an insult to all true rednecks while the women moved to the other side of the fire, and then some.

            Lockhart, Captain Decker and Lincoln tried to stay on the friendly side of the fire.  Curiously, neither Mingus nor Roland seemed offended by any of it.  “I thought that was normal human behavior,” Mingus said later, and with a straight face.  Roland admitted he put  up some kind of magical shield that protected his eyes, ears and nose from the worst of it.

            The travelers were all inclined to make for their tents early that evening and paused only for a minute when Bruten asked where they were headed come the morning.

            “North, generally.”  Lockhart had already decided to not give out any more information than necessary, and apparently the others came to the same conclusion.

            Bruten nodded, though certainly he had no idea which direction was north, or what north was for that matter.  “You are headed for the fortress people on the side of the mountains.  We are, too.  We know the way.  We will take you.”

            “Boston,” Lockhart called and she glanced at her amulet.  She tried not to make a show of it.  Grogor and Thag sat up straighter when the redhead came close.

            “We are going—“ Boston started to speak, but Bruten interrupted.

            “That way,” Bruten pointed, and he was exactly on target.  “We know the land and the people there.  We will take you.”

            Lockhart was not the only one to wonder what they might expect in return, and it took some courage on his part to say it, but he said, “We can go together.”

            “The red hair knows the way,” Grogor said to his father.

            “Well, of course she knows the way,” Bruten shoved the boy.  Thag laughed and showed off all of his teeth.  Boston thought there might be nine altogether.

            “Well, goodnight,” Lockhart smiled and shoved Boston behind him to scoot her off to her tent.  As he came to his own tent, he found Lincoln, armed and ready.

            “First watch.  Wake you in three hours?”  Lockhart glanced back at the three by the fire and then responded.

            “Watch out for anything in orange.”

            Lincoln nodded.  “And the werewolf, and the bokarus, and the ghouls.”  He wandered back to the fire.

            “The hair is right, but she is too young,”  Bruten was saying.

            “A daughter?”  Thag suggested.

            “Must be,” Grogor said.

            Lincoln shook his head.  It had to be in code.

            No one and nothing bothered the travelers in the night, and the three rednecks slept and snored all night long, hard as it was for the others to hear.  It did have the virtue of keeping the guards awake.

             In the morning, the three goons were anxious to get moving.  Bruten said it was a full day, or two if they did not get moving.  Boston confirmed that they were about seventy-five miles or so from the next gate, so they hurried.

            All through the day, Lincoln and Lieutenant Harper pointed out where the trail their guides followed was better than following the straight line given by the amulet.  When they came to a cliff they would have had to climb and the three guided them a half-mile to a sheltered trail that lead gently up the side.  Captain Decker told the others to shut-up, and at least Lieutenant Harper said, “Yes, sir.”

            The sun was very low in the sky by the time they reached the foot of the mountain.  They stood at the top of a small hill, in an open field where they had a fair view.  Bruten explained as he pointed up the mountainside.

            “You see?  Real mountains.  Not like the hills we have walked through.  They say beyond the mountaintop is a high country, much higher than the land we have been on.  No one goes there.  There are stories.”

            Grogor interrupted.  “The Were people live there.  The stories say they can appear as a bear, and once as an eagle.  They say when the moon turns full they hunt as wolves.”

            “Stories to frighten children,” Bruten interjected.

            “But Bruten,” Thag had something to say.  “Tonight the moon will be full.”

            Bruten slapped the big man on the arm.  “Child,” he said.

            “What is that?”  Alexis wondered.

            “Transylvanian Plateau,” Lincoln answered, but it was not what she was pointing at.

            “A wall of trees,” Roland answered.  “I would say our fort.”

            “Yes,” Bruten smiled and nodded for the elf.  “Your eyes are like the eagle.  That is the way up, blocked by the great wall.  Behind it is much flat land and the village and they say a way to the high country that does not have to climb the mountain peak.”

            “You don’t know?”  Lockhart was suspicious.

            Bruten paused before he answered.  “We trade, skins and such, but only at the village edge.  We have never gone past the wall.”  If it was a lie, it was skillful.

            “We best move if we expect to get there before dark,” Captain Decker said, and they started down the other side of the hill.

            It was dark by the time they arrived, but just twilight dark.  The land was covered with spring and the light stayed long in the sky.  If it had been winter, they never would have made it.  As it was, the men at the gate were hesitant about letting them in.  They told them to go away and come back in the morning.  Lockhart figured he had nothing to lose.

            “We have an important message for Faya and it cannot wait until morning.”  He pulled Roland to the front so they could get a good look at the elf.

            “A message from the gods?”  One of the guards asked.

            “It cannot wait until morning,” Lockhart simply repeated those words and with that they were let in but told to remain by the gate until the elders could come.  So they waited, and sat, and waited some more until Captain Decker made a confession.

            “I wish you brought a deck of cards, too.”

            Then they waited some more until at last they were approached, not by village elders, but by a lone woman, a beauty of the first rank.

            “Faya?”  Alexis said.

            “No.  Hair is all wrong,” Lincoln answered

            “I am –“

            “Wait, wait.  Don’t tell me.”  Lincoln had the database out and announced the woman’s name.  “Raini.  She is Faya’s younger cousin.”  The woman smiled and then several men came up to join her.

            “And you are?”

            “Robert Lockhart, Mam.  Ben and Alexis Lincoln, Captain Decker and Lieutenant Harper.”

            “Military,” the woman interrupted.  “And with weapons I have never seen before.  I can see they are formidable.”

            “Yes, and Roland and Mingus are friends.  Mingus is father to both Roland and Alexis.”

            “Yes, the elves,” Raini said.  Both had removed their hats out of respect for the Lady and though this was no goddess, they all felt she was not far from the designation.  “Welcome to our homes.”

            “And Boston,” Lockhart paused.  “Boston?”  He raised his voice.  “Where has that girl gotten to?”

            “Where are Winken, Blinken and Nod?”  Alexis wondered, referring to their three trail guides.  Katie Harper thought to speak into her wrist communicator.

            “Boston.  Are you there?  Where are you?”

            The answer came back.  “Help!  I’ve been kidnapped.  Bruten and ow!”  The voice cut off.

After 4146BC near the Transylvania Plateau.  Kairos: Faya (Beauty).

Recording…

            The boat came out of the time gate on a broad and slow moving river.  The water was blue and fresh and even the marines were glad to be away from the sea, the salt and the storm.

            “I’m guessing a tributary of the Danube,” Lincoln said.

            “I’m guessing we should pull to shore,” Captain Decker said.  The boat was suddenly creaking and snapping and looked to be rotting beneath their feet.

            “The wood,” Alexis said.  “It aged fifty years in a second.”  She pulled out her wand and magically plugged a leak that appeared in the bottom of the boat.  “Hurry.”

            Lockhart, Lincoln, Roland and the Captain pulled on the oars as hard as they could.  Lockhart drafted a bit deep in his haste and the oar snapped.  They had a spare, but they were at the shore by then.  Unfortunately, the riverbank was a small cliff some six feet high and there did not appear to be an easy way up.

            The boat cracked along a seam. Captain Decker donned his backpack and leapt for the top.  He grabbed on to a tree root where the tree grew close to the water and with some wiggle and struggle, he managed to pull himself up.

            Meanwhile Lockhart, Lincoln and Roland shoved their oars into the soft bank.  They were ten feet downriver from the Captain’s position, but it kept them from drifting further in the current.

            “Catch.”  They heard Captain Decker’s voice though he was out of their line of sight.  A rope fell to the deck even as the boat began to sink.  Alexis scurried up the line, followed by Mingus and Katie Harper.  Boston started to throw all of their backpacks up to the ledge while she got wet up to the knees.

            “Lincoln, go.”  Lockhart said.  He and Roland had the outer oars pressed into the soft mud.  Lincoln in the center was not helping much to hold them in place so he scrambled up the line.

            “Boston, hurry.” Roland said as he and Lockhart struggled to keep the  boat from swinging wildly in the current.

            “Got it all,” Boston announced even as the bottom gave out beneath her feet.  She went straight under the water.

            Roland thought fast and dove after her.  He held on to the rope as he went.  Lockhart lost control of the remains of the craft even as a far more primitive rope came down and he grabbed on for his life.  The boat beneath his feet broke apart, but he hung there for a moment with his eyes on the river.  Roland came up a second later with the rope wrapped around Boston.  She was hacking and gagging from swallowing too much water.  Roland said one thing.

            “Bokarus.”

            Lockhart found himself pulled up and shouted with all his strength.  “Bokarus!”

            Alexis and Mingus quickly hung their heads over the side.  There was not much Mingus could do with his fire against the water, but Alexis grabbed him to draw on his strength as well as her own and had out her elm wand.  She took a shot at Boston and her brother and the rope they clung to began to shorten and pulled them with it.  Then at once, Boston and Roland lifted in the air.  They saw a big hand reach up from the water to grab them, but it missed and the others were quickly able to draw them to the land.

            They all heard the scream.  They saw the Bokarus rise out of the river.  It circled them in its rage and frustration.  The river rose, but the six foot bank was too high to overcome, and with a final scream, the Bokarus flew back beneath the waves.

            Boston got to her knees to cough and spit.  “I’m fine, I’m fine,” she said as Roland hovered over her.  Mingus and Alexis joined them on the grass.  Alexis especially looked drained, like she might have looked after running a marathon.

            “I was afraid we lost you,” Alexis said.

            “The Bokarus had a good hold on her,” Roland nodded.

             “Come, girl,” Mingus helped Boston to her feet and he and Roland walked her a bit before they let her sit down.  “All appears to be in working order,” Mingus concluded.

            Lockhart thanked the three men who helped them.  Bruten was the father and Grogor was the son.  Thag was the big, ugly one with less than a dozen teeth. 

            Captain Decker stood, Lieutenant Harper beside him, and both were rifle ready.  The Captain spoke.  “I thought Thag was a character from the Far Side.”

            “It fits, sir.”

            “Knock it off,” Lockhart said as he judged the position of the sun and checked his watch.  “Make camp.”  They did that, and their three new friends did so as well.  They strung their rope between two trees and made a lean-to to sleep in.  Their eyes got big when Mingus magically started the fire, but not any bigger than watching Roland fawn over Boston.

            Lockhart, Captain Decker and Mingus made the camp when Roland headed out on the hunt.  Katie Harper spent the next hour checking all of their equipment after the salty sea, all that rain, the river water and the final flight through the air.  Meanwhile, Lincoln and Alexis kept watch on their new friends.

            “Red hair,” Bruten pointed to his fellows. 

            “Young.”  Thag said.

            “I heard,” Grogor looked at the older men.  “She looks young.”

            “I heard also,” Bruten agreed.

            Alexis and Lincoln listened, but the conversation sounded like code.

            “And magic.”  Thag pointed toward Alexis.

            “Flying through the air,” Bruten said with a shake of his head.

            “But the Were fly through the air,” Grogor countered.

            “Yes, but they become like the birds of the air to fly.  This one flies without wings.”

            “And the yellow hair woman warrior to watch over her,” Grogor added.

            “And the dark one of death,” Bruten agreed.

            “Very pretty,” Thag interrupted with a look at Alexis.

            “Don’t look at me,” Alexis said.  “I am married.”

            The men gave Lincoln a cursory smile and continued with their conversation.  “The elves care for her, like they say.”  Bruten added.

            “Must be,” Grogor added.

            “Yes,” Thag concluded.

            Lincoln tugged on Alexis’ shoulder.  She looked at him, but he shrugged.  Something did not feel right to him and she trusted his sense about such things, but he would have to verbalize it to truly grasp it – whatever it was.  He groped for the words by asking a question.

            “So, Bruten, what are you three doing out here in the wilderness?”

            “We hunt,” Bruten gave the short answer, but said no more as Roland came back with a deer.  He set the deer down by the fire and went to check on Boston while the three hunters nudged each other.  It was not clear, though, if they were pointing at the deer or at Boston and the elf’s rapt attention to the girl. 

            “Lockhart,” Roland called once Boston assured him that she was just fine.  Lockhart looked up from where Captain Decker and Mingus were doing a hatchet job on the deer.  “I found the Gott-Druk boat about a mile downriver,” Roland said.  Everyone stopped to listen.  “Empty.”