Another viscous storm was brewing in the sky. Razu and his brothers circled the battlefield (which was parted from the rest of Trelis by some hills) their wings made wind that tossed the elves' hair from down below. The thunder seemed to be coming from their beaks and the clouds sprung up from the atmosphere with their magic.
No one understood how the harpies made storms but it was a sight to behold nonetheless.
Phadia hated their storms but if it helped to confuse their enemies and save her people, she though she might marry Razu after the battle.
The fauns aimed their sling shots and raised their battle axes.
Phadia, Joshua, Yasmin and Francis wore their masks and stood on either side of the line of fauns. The fauns were surprised to see them transform into animals but they kept their eyes on the hills ahead; the place the harpies were making their storm; the place where The Brothers had been spotted.
The Dance was a day and a half away – they wouldn't let anybody ruin it.
It was getting darker. Droplets of rain landed on their shoulders. The harpies' storm was coming to them.
Phadia and Joshua were standing beside eachother. They bared their teeth. They knew what was coming next.
The second the fauns saw one of the monsters' ugly faces rise up over the hills they lunged forward and threw their stones. Some of them caught the rocks in their teeth and spat them out. Others weren't so lucky. The pebbles made dents in their foreheads. As big as they were they weren't immune to the shear velocity of flying stones.
It might sound strange but the elves that had transformed felt a little confident when they saw just how huge their attackers were. Phadia reassured herself that beasts that big couldn't possibly be as nimble as a fox or a wolf.
The ground was getting muddier by the second. No problem for the fauns and their hooves. The elves didn't have to worry either, their tough paws were basically made for unpleasant terrain. I'm not so sure how Francis was doing in his peacock form though.
Carlo didn't have any advantages. He hid underneath the tree branches and tried to block out the sound of The Brothers howls and hisses. He may have gotten them all together to fight but there wasn't much he could do now.
Despite numerous injuries, their attackers were all scrambling up the hill hungry for more. When Phadia saw this, she charged straight at them. She felt a little scared at first but whenever one of them swung his claws at her she always dogged it.
Destiny was right about her fox form being quick.
Yasmin had been hovering over the hills the whole time. Whenever she saw an opening to strike, she would pivot towards The Brothers and claw them in the face or shoulders.
It didn't do a lot of damage, they had extremely thick skin however, it made them hold still long enough for the fauns to launch stones and hit them.
Joshua was much bigger than Phadia in his wolf form. He wasn't as nimble but his bite was stronger. When he saw one of the beasts swing his long lizard-like tail at Phadia he chewed a piece out of it. He howled.
If any one of them got too close several fauns would step up to the beast and swing at it with their battle axes.
Joshua saw this happen to four of them. One beast lost its fowl head when Memphis jumped in the air and plunged his axe down hard. Another lost an arm and a foot and died on his knees. The other two suffered fatal injuries to the chest. The grass was soon covered in dark brown stains.
There were only six Brothers left now.
Phadia, Joshua and Yasmin were fighting well in their animal forms but no matter how much pain The Brothers felt they refused to stop. The rain got heavier; the sky got darker and it became harder to see.
What were the harpies thinking? They were trying to win a battle not have a mud slide. Their fur and feathers were becoming wet and whenever they got pushed aside by the beasts' claws, they got dirtier and dirtier. It was so disorienting but The Brothers didn't seem to be affected. They climbed up the hill and ran closer to the fauns.
They had their own strategy this time. They circled around the line of fauns as fast as possible so they could get them from behind.
Razu saw what they were doing and shrieked. Clearly his rainstorm wasn't enough to confuse them. "Kryo! Help me make lightning."
Kryo joined his brother and the two danced above the heads of the last remaining beasts. Kryo still wasn't as confident as his older brother but his determination made his power break through.
All it took for The Brothers to finally crack; to finally run from the forest; to finally stop attacking the people they once protected; was energy.
A bolt of energy that was so large and so direct and so hot that it burned a hole in the ground.
Three of the remaining six ran over the hills and away from Trelis where they were never harmed by elves or fauns for the rest of their lives. But the other three couldn't get away.
The bolt of lightning that Kryo sent shocked one of them. He was in so much pain he couldn't move. Leaving the fauns ample time to strike him with their axes.
The second and third beasts weren't electrocuted but they weren't spared from the fauns' attacks.
Phadia was gobsmacked when she saw the last three Brothers run past her shrieking and terrified for their lives.
She blinked and rubbed her eyes. Was the rain making her see things?
Joshua threw off his mask and ran toward her in his elven form. "We did it Phadia. We won, we won! We're safe!"
And even though Joshua was crazy she still believed him.
Phadia threw her mask off too and Yasmin transformed beside them.
Despite being the cause of their victory, the harpies didn't join them as they danced in the rain.
Phadia looked up at the sky after their little celebration but by then the harpies had already flown away and there was no rain to dance in.
Before the fauns left the battlefield, the chief of the fauns ordered his soldiers to pick up their weapons and clean them.
Joshua and Yasmin returned to their trees. Phadia went to find Tarli. Even though the battle was over she still thought there might be a use for the arrows he made some day.
Carlo took care of the slaughtered head of one of the beasts that was left lying on the grass. He buried it respectfully underneath a tree.
After an hour had passed the only one left on the hills was Francis. He wasn't exactly useful in a battle in his peacock form. Empress Destiny had named him a defender because of his kindness not for his fighting ability.
He walked past the hills to where the three last Brothers had run to. He followed their footprints for a long time and saw nothing, so he stopped.
Such a shame. If he had only gone further, he would have seen that not all the footprints led outside of Trelis. One pair was leading to a dark cave.
*** ***
Giant luminescent mushrooms that were round like frisbees, lit up the Southern area where The Dance was taking place. The grass looked like it was sparkling. It was the perfect place to have a party.
The fairies and fauns dined on apple pies and berries. The fairies wore silky dresses and the fauns had robes and sashes.
Tarli gave the arrows he carved during the battle to Phadia along with the bow he found.
"Thank you so much," she said. "I'll put them up in a branch. Goblins don't climb trees so they'll be safe there."
Tarli smiled.
Both of them knew that the chances of goblins coming to the party were pretty slim. Phadia was willing to do anything that was safer though.
Carlo was wistfully listening to the sweet music when he saw Phadia walk past him in the corner of his eye. He turned around and saw her tucking away the bow. He ran to her.
"How did you know that those monsters were in the forest? Someone told me that you were at the palace, so how did you find out about them?"
Phadia was still a little shook by Carlo's ghostly appearance bur she was happy to relay the story.
She told him about Francis and what he had seen and how they travelled to the palace with him. She even told him about the night they spent before they got there. Carlo stopped her when she said the word banshee.
"Wait! You heard a banshee?" His mouth still hung open after he said it.
"Yes." Phadia said. "She was terrifying. I hope I never see her again."
"Did... did she look anything like me?"
Phadia didn't know what to tell him. She shook her head and said, "I couldn't see her that well, just her red eyes and hair."
"That's upsetting..."
"Would you like to speak to her or something? Do you know her?"
"Oh, I don't know her. But if you see another banshee, tell me what she looks like. She may be my mother."
Carlo trotted of dejectly, thinking about what Phadia said. "Maybe one day I'll find her myself..." he muttered.
Joshua waited for Carlo to leave before he stepped up. "Would you like to dance?"
Phadia didn't even answer. She just took his by the hand and they danced on the bright grass.
Empress Destiny came on the scene with a flourish behind a procession of pixies followed by her unicorn Calista.
Phadia and Joshua stopped dancing for a moment to see. There was someone standing beside her. A little creature with grey skin and a gold ring its long, pointed ear.
Many of the fairies were curious. Some of them were a little scared. But not for long. Because they knew that if the Empress and her unicorn were standing next to an imp than this imp must not be a threat at all.
Zephyr gazed at everything in wonder. His yellow eyes took everything in and he promised himself he wouldn't let it go. It was a miracle that Destiny let him live in Trelis; inside the palace even. There was so much to see, so much to explore. He ran on all fours toward the glowing mushrooms – a good place to start.
The elves of Trelis continued to dance. They danced in round rings around the glowing mushrooms. Several fauns stood on top of the mushrooms and beat them like drums. A group of dryads strummed harps and blew into flutes. It created a lovely atmosphere; as lovely as a dream. But it also made them completely oblivious to the perimeters of their happy crowd.
The very last Brother that had not been slain – the one that did not leave Trelis – stayed and spied on the fairies until the sun went down. Almost as if he'd left something behind.
He sniffed the air for something until he found it. Zephyr was dawdling near the edge of the area right where he was creeping. He extended an arm towards the imp and snatched him up and carried him in his teeth.
Zephyr's yelp got Phadia's attention immediately. She whipped her head around and glared. Even so, part of her was happy that she had a use for the arrows Tarli made her.
She started running toward the branch she left them. "Where are you going Phadia?" Joshua called.
"Something happened to Zephyr I'm going to check," Phadia said quietly. She didn't want to attract any attention.
It was a simple job and she planned to end it fast without disrupting the others.
She charged in the beast's direction. She could just make out his tail bouncing up and down as he ran. Zephyr was screaming.
She raised her arrow. Her target was getting further and further away. It was now or never. The arrow was released. As it went sailing, she held her breath. She was still afraid but she was focused and determined. She believed that Destiny chose her for a reason. She believed she was a defender.
But the arrow landed right at the heel of the beast's foot and he kept running with Zephyr trembling in his teeth.