The Lost Soul

Chapter 18

"I... I think it's communicating with us," whispered Zalea, tiptoeing out from behind the huge boulder and bowed her head in response. 

"No Zalea, No!" yelled Jack, "If that's what I think it is, it's dangerous." 

"But it seems friendly," she whispered, approaching the strange looking winged creature with her arm outstretched. 

Jack rushed to her side and yanked her away from the beast until they both hid behind the boulder. 

"Why did you do that? It looks friendly." 

"But we don't know that... and it looks suspiciously like a... like a....." he stuttered. 

"Like a what?" she asked. 

"Like a Pterodactyl. But that's impossible. They're extinct. They haven't been around for millions of years."  

"In your world," corrected Zalea. 

"Well, there is that, I suppose. I just wish I knew more about your world," he added, peering round to see the winged creature still standing in the same position. 

"It's still there." 

"Then let me approach it," she replied, pulling away from his grip and attempting to walk up to it. "See? It's quite all right," she said as it gently nuzzled at her hand. 

Amazed, Jack followed, watching the faery giggle as the creature repeatedly licked her face. 

"I see you found company, Oprah" said a voice out of nowhere. 

Jack leapt to his right and scoured the area to identify where the voice had come from. Looking upwards, he saw a man on top of a ledge some 40 metres or so above them. The two watched in awe while he scaled down the side of the jagged cliff with absolute ease, his strong arms taking his full weight as he took the final few metres in a jump, landing firmly on his feet. 

The winged creature hopped away from Zalea and headed towards the man, who patted it softly on the head with a smile. Both turned to face the strangers. 

"I would ask 'friend or foe' but I can see perfectly well I have nothing to worry about. Oprah here is a good judge of character," he said smiling, approaching them with his hand outstretched. 

"I'm Nickolaus Pryce, please... call me Nick," he said as Jack took his hand and shook vigorously. 

"Jack Tulugaq and this is my friend, Zalea." 

"It's really good to meet you Jack and Zalea," he said, eyeing up the beautiful pair of lilac wings that jutted from her upper back. 

"I am a faery from the Moharth forest," she offered. 

"Ah yes, of course. I've never spent much time within Moharth, Oprah here prefers to be out in the open. But I have heard of your kind. But you," he said turning towards Jack, "are not from around here. That I can tell... quite easily," he smiled, revealing a set of perfectly aligned teeth that were a little stained. "Let me guess... you're from the States? Or Canada, perhaps?" 

Jack's eye lit up at the mention of his home, "But how... how did you know?" 

"Because I, too, am from the States," he said with a wink, before adding, "How long have you been here?" 

Jack's mind went into overdrive imagining how this man could finally help him get home. "Honestly, I don't know. I was trapped for some time before I was rescued by Zalea and her people. We've been travelling a few days now." 

"And where are you heading?" he asked as Oprah nuzzled the ground between them. 

"To the Nephilim caves," answered Zalea. 

"Woah there. Are you crazy?" he asked. 

"Possibly," replied Jack, "but we believe it's the only way to get home. How long have you been here?" 

"Believe me, you don't want to know." 

But when Jack continued to look at him with raised eyebrows, Nick's expression changed to one of sadness and he shrugged his shoulders, 

"Maybe 15... 16... years." 

Jack gasped, he felt winded and took a step backwards as if he'd been punched in the stomach. 

Nick stepped forward, thinking he might have to catch him if he fell but dropped his arms to his side when Jack steadied his balance. 

"Perhaps we ought to go and sit down and have something to drink?" said Zalea as the two men nodded in agreement.

"...and then when I woke up, I found myself here. Well, I found myself in those awful caves you're so desperate to find." 

"But weren't you chained up?" asked Zalea, picking at the strange looking bumpy brown fruit Nick had given them to eat. 

"No, but I did see others were in chains," he choked, "I saw those beasts, the Nephilim, taunting them. I don't know how I got there but I sure as hell wasn't going to stick around." 

"So you managed to escape?" asked Jack eagerly. 

"In a manner of speaking. I hid within those caves for days on end, trying to figure out what to do, I couldn't find a way out, it was like a never ending maze of caves. Eventually I stumbled upon a river running through them. I knew I'd die if I didn't get out, so I threw myself in and hoped to God it would lead to safety. I swam for as long as I could under the water. And just when I thought I was going to drown, something miraculous happened. An angel appeared and breathed for me. Then she held onto me and we swam beneath those caves until eventually we were free. She let me go and I swam to the surface. When I turned back to her, she was gone," he said in awe. 

"It was one of the mermaids," said Jack. 

"Have you seen them?" he asked. 

Nodding, Zalea answered for him, "One of them attacked us and then her sister saved us." 

"Why would one attack you?" 

"Apparently she was harmed by the Nephilim so now she fears for her life every time someone goes into the water." 

"That's... understandable, I guess. But tell, me, what happened to you? And why do you think the Nephilim caves will help you find your way home?" 

"Well, that's kind of a long story...."