"Marissa. Marissa."
I jolted back, and found Diandre gazing into my eyes.
"You're remembering what happened, aren't you?"
"How could I not?" I growled. "What are you doing here, anyway? Have you come to kill me for your master?"
Diandre sighed. "No, that's not why I'm here. I'm here because I want to help you."
"Help me? Did you just say you want to help me?" I exclaimed, and I fought back the urge to stab him with my sword then and there. "Do you really think I'm that thick, Diandre? There's no way I'm going to fall for that trick. How did you even know that you'd find me here?"
"I know you better than you think." Diandre replied. "I caught wind of how you showed up during one of the attacks, and I knew that you'd try and rescue those children. I had a feeling that you would be poking around here."
"Clever." I snarled sarcastically. "You deserve a round of applause."
Tree branches rustled in the summer breeze in the Colorado woods around us. Beside me, I noticed that something was moving in the underbrush. I stiffened. Was it another sprite here to ambush me? Or was it a faerie hunting for me? I held my breath and the figure stumbled into the clearing. I snorted. It was just Glen.
His autumn colored hair was askew, and his jeans were slightly ripped. I noticed a few leaves stuck to his black jacket.
"Thanks for trying to find me, partner." He said sarcastically. "I would have thought that after I fell out of the sky, you'd be more concerned."
Glen froze when his gaze locked onto Dinadre and me pointing my sword at him. His wings instantly threw open and his oak staff appeared in his hands.
"Who's this guy?" Glen asked, his eyes narrowed as if preparing to fight.
Diandre looked astonished at seeing Glen there.
"The summer prince came with you?" He exclaimed. "You're in real trouble now. The whole Summer Court will be searching for him."
"Technically, Glen blackmailed me into letting him come." I glared. "And Summer Court has already tried hunting us. The proof is right there."
I jabbed my finger at Nanos the assassin, whose body lay slumped in the grass.
Glen whistled.
"Nice shot, partner." He said, indicating the arrow stuck in Nanos' back.
"Actually, I shot him." Diandre corrected him.
Glen glared. "Well, in that case, you could have aimed better."
"OK, we really don't have time for this." I groaned. "We need to save those children instead of wasting time."
"That's fine by me," Glen responded. "I say we tie up sprite boy and get going."
Diandre raised an eyebrow. "You won't be able to find the sprite lair without me, you know."
"We'll take our chances." I told him.
"Why would we even trust you, anyway?" Glen crossed his arms over his chest, gazing skeptically at Diandre. "Even if we did let you come, you'd just betray us and turn us in to your sprite friends."
"You don't know me, summer prince." Diandre growled.
"And she does?" Glen exclaimed, pointing to me.
Diandre gave a small nod.
"Yes," He said softly. "She knows me."
Glen reeled around to face me. "Am I missing something here?"
I let out a huge sigh. I had to tell Glen eventually, it might as well be now.
"Do you remember when it was our second year at the academy?"
"Yeah," Glen replied. "I got an elf girl to kiss me that year."
I rolled my eyes. "That's not important. Diandre went to Winter Academy that year, you dimwit."
Glen stared at Diandre for a long time, and his luminous eyes went wide with recognition.
"You were Marissa's best friend, weren't you? I remember now; you followed her around like a lovesick puppy."
At the words "lovesick puppy", Diandre's eyes seemed to ignite with fire. He opened his mouth to say something, but once I jabbed my sword point closer to him he decided against it.
Glen cocked his head to the side, studying Diandre's back where his wings used to be.
"What happened to you anyway?" He asked him. "How did you end up a sprite?"
"He helped the sprites kill my family." I answered, my words cold and dripping with iciness.
Glen's jaw dropped in horror and shock.
"Marissa, I had no idea that was what they were planning." Diandre said to me, his eyes pleading. "You have to believe me. The reason I agreed to help them in the first place is because-"
"You're a coward?" Glen finished.
I let out a low growl of frustration.
"I don't need to know why you did it, Diandre. I only know that my parents and brother are all dead because of you. Now, it was great catching up, but I've got to help those children."
I reached into my bag and pulled out a length of rope. I don't know why I wasn't just going to kill Diandre, but when I looked at him I could still see that boy deep inside him. Or maybe I had just grown soft. I reached over his shoulder and yanked his quiver of arrows off of him, fastening it around myself instead. I let Diandre keep his bow. Without arrows he was practically defenseless.
"You'll never find them in time." Diandre said softly as I prepared to tie him up to a tree. He didn't even try to fight. "Only a sprite can get passage inside the lair. You'd be killed before you even glimpsed those children."
I frowned, not wanting to believe him. But still...it would be must faster if Diandre showed us the sprite lair. I felt as if I were at war with myself; I knew that I couldn't trust him, but those children needed help. Who knows what The Master could be doing to them at this very moment? Tyler sobbing and screaming as he was being carried into the forest flashed in my memory.
"Besides," Diandre added, a strand of black hair falling into his face. "After what I've done, I owe you."
I clenched my fists, gritting my teeth in irritation. This was the only way.
I shoved the rope back into my bag. Both Diandre and Glen looked equally surprised.
"Uh, what do you think you're doing?" Glen asked.
I squared my shoulders. "As much as it aggravates me, we need Diandre to show us where the sprites are keeping the children. We're already running out of time."
"What?" Glen exclaimed. "Have you gone mad, partner? This guy betrayed your entire family and now he's helping us? You must have hit your head on a log or something."
A weak smile surfaced on Diandre's face. "I'm pretty sure that her head is fine. She just values saving people more than she does her own life."
He slowly stood up, but I kept my sword pointed at his chest the whole time. I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. It's as if Diandre knew the whole time that I would agree to his help. Maybe he still knew me better than I knew myself.
It wasn't a comforting thought.
"If you even think about running or doing anything that I don't like, I'll stab you." I told him venomously.
"I don't doubt it."
"Then lead the way."
The three of us set off through the trees, Diandre in front, me right behind him with my sword, and Glen bringing up the rear.
"I don't like this at all." He muttered. "This guy is going to get us killed."
I ignored him. I was too busy scanning the surrounding area, but all I saw was an endless maze of trees. Their shadows were cast on the ground in long and eerie shapes, and I half expected to see a shadow of a sprite creeping along near us. There was no noise in the woods besides the occasional chirping of crickets, but my spine still tingled with unease.
Diandre turned right past an especially gnarled tree, and I memorized our path through the forest. Diandre walked smoothly over shrubs and tree roots, as if he were simply taking a stroll without a sword pointed at his back.
Finally, the quiet was too much.
"So where is this lair, anyway?" I asked him.
"I'm surprised you hadn't figured it out by now, Marissa." He replied over his shoulder.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Think about the night that town was attacked." He said.
I was tired of mind games, but I did anyway. I replayed everything in my mind. The sprites all came charging out of the trees, but The Master...
"The Master came out of the ground." I whispered.
The back of Diandre's head nodded in confirmation.
"So the sprites' lair is underground?" Glen piped up from behind me.
"Exactly, your highness." Diandre's tone was slightly mocking.
I pursed my lips thoughtfully. That would explain a lot, like how the sprites could move from place to place unseen, and disappear into thin air.
"How far is it from here?" I asked Diandre.
"We're almost there." He replied.
Behind me, I could sense Glen crossing his arms over his chest.
"We could be walking into a trap." He pointed out.
"If I was leading you to a trap, you'd both be dead by now." Diandre said. "Think about it; we've been walking for a while in the middle of the forest in plain sight, but no sprites have attacked you. Wonder why that is?"
"Is it because they're just waiting to ambush us?" Glen suggested with a grumble.
Diandre ignored him.
"It's because all the sprites are down in the lair, not in the woods. We're alone out here, because The Master is finally putting his plan into motion. And every Sprite is there to see it." He shuddered, which made me instantly afraid.
"Diandre," I addressed him uneasily. "What exactly is The Master's plan?"
I could sense the anticipation and anxiety in the air as Glen and I waited for him to answer.
"You need to see it for yourselves to believe it." He responded softly.
Neither Glen or I pressed him any further. The possibilities darted around in my mind, each one more gruesome than the last. My heart hammered.
As we continued on, I tried not to stare at Diandre's back but I found it hard not to. My eyes couldn't leave the scars. If I thought hard enough if I could picture his wings there, fluttering excitedly behind him. Now they were no more than just stumps. My tongue felt thick in my mouth. I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to no longer fly, to never again ride the wind and float through clouds. Honestly, it seemed like hell. My wings twitched nervously, as if they knew that I was imagining a life without them.
We took another few turns in silence until we arrived in a small clearing. Diandre abruptly stopped, and taken by surprise, I lightly bumped into him.
"Why are we stopping?" I asked. I found my grip tightening on my sword as I kept it poised in front of me. The moon faintly illuminated the forest floor, which was covered in fallen leaves.
Diandre's words left him in a breath.
"We're here."
I felt my adrenaline begin to pump through me, pulsing hard beneath my skin. Diandre slowly walked into the middle of the clearing, his white T shirt glowing a stark white in the darkness. I followed him carefully with my sword, but I could tell by his relaxed body language that he wasn't going to run. His hand loosely held his bow. He wasn't going to fight, either.
I watched as Diandre then took his foot and lightly kicked a small, insignificant pile of leaves. They rustled quietly at his touch, drifting away to reveal a strange metallic oval in the ground.
"How quaint," Glen remarked. "The sprites live in a sewer."
Diandre gave Glen a pointed glare as I advanced towards the oval. It was large, large enough for a person to open it and climb downwards. I reached a hand out and touched a small keyhole on its surface.
"Ow!" I hissed quietly, jerking my fingers away. They were red and stinging at the tips.
"I probably should have mentioned that the entrance is made of iron as well." Diandre smiled amusedly.
"Of course it is." I muttered as he reached for a small chain around his neck.
Glen looked suspicious as Diandre pulled out the chain from under his shirt. He showed us a key attached to it.
"I told you that you wouldn't get in without me." Diandre said, and unclasped the chain from his neck. He knelt to the ground and inserted the key into the hole. He twisted it, and with a soft click, the oval cap swung open with ease.
There was a thin ladder inside that led down into infinite darkness. My insides twisted slightly.
"Ladies first." Diandre offered, but when I looked up I realized that he was addressing Glen and not me.
"Real funny, Sprite boy." Glen replied. "But I think that we should dump common courtesy and have you go down there first."
I rolled my eyes.
"You two argue like little toddlers." I remarked, and swung myself into the hole. I sheathed my sword and grasped the rungs of the ladder firmly. I really didn't want to fall. The darkness was yawning and black, and I couldn't even see the bottom from here.
I looked up to find both Glen and Diandre staring down at me.
"Come on!" I urged them. "Unless you're both afraid of the dark."
I began to slowly descend, climbing deeper and deeper into the hole. Diandre and Glen were above me also working their way down. Eventually, the scarce moonlight that filtered through the top faded away into complete darkness.
All I could see were the first two rungs of the ladder below me, but everything else was swallowed in black. I could only hear my breaths mixed with Diandre and Glen's. Besides that was suffocating quiet.
"How far down does this thing go?" Glen finally whispered, breaking the silence.
His voice seemed awfully loud, bouncing off the narrow, circular walls.
I lowered my foot down to the rung below me, but my boot suddenly slipped. It slid off the ladder, and I gasped as I lost my footing completely. My fingers brushed the metal of the ladder as I realized that I was no longer holding on to anything. I was going to fall. A scream clawed at my throat, but the next thing I knew a hand had tightened around my wrist, catching me. I gazed upwards.
Diandre, his face strained, was holding onto me. I found myself gaping at him. He should have let me fall. He should have let me tumble down and hit the bottom. But he didn't. My legs dangled helplessly as Diandre's grip strengthened, grabbing my hand in his.
"By the way," He told me through gritted teeth. "I was supposed to tell you to watch your step."
"You suck at warning people." I replied, and he laughed. I hadn't seen Diandre laugh since that day in the snow three years ago. His whole face lit up.
"Are you OK, partner?" Glen called from a ways above us.
"I'm fine." I replied, swinging back over to the ladder. I slowly let go of Diandre's hand, my fingers sliding away from him. He looked away quickly as I grabbed ahold of the ladder once again, steadying myself.
A few minutes later, the three of us had reached the bottom, and Diandre pushed through an iron door. We found ourselves deep underground in a labyrinth of tunnels. There was barely any light from weak torches mounted on the walls and my eyes took a moment to adjust. I was back on high alert now, studying the tunnels that branched off in every direction. There was still no one here.
"Where are all the sprites, at a picnic?" Glen asked, noticing the absence as well.
"They must be in the throne hall." Diandre replied.
Boom boom, boom boom.
I jumped at the noise that made the entire area vibrate and rumble. Glen was beside me, clutching his oak staff.
"Those sound like...drumbeats." He murmured. I listened again.
Boom boom, boom boom.
Diandre looked grim in the faint lighting.
"It's begun." He whispered.
Chills crept down my spine, and without a second thought I set off towards the sound of the noise. Glen was at my heels, his face set with determination. The ground trembled beneath my feet as the drumbeats grew louder. I followed the noise, sprinting silently through the musty tunnels. The air smelled of earth and mold.
Boom boom, boom boom.
I rounded a corner, but before I could charge forward, Glen grabbed my T-shirt and yanked me backwards.
"What was that for-" I began, but he clamped his hand over my mouth. Silently, Glen pointed around the corner, and I understood. He removed his hand from my mouth and I slowly peered past him at a sprite that I had almost barreled into around the corner. I craned my neck further.The sight made me gasp.
The throne hall, as Diandre had called it, was a cavernous area with stalactite formations hanging from the ceilings. The place was enormous, filled with hundreds, maybe thousands of sprites. They were withering and hissing in masses, all gathered in crowded clumps around a sold throne crafted of iron placed in front of a mirror. Seated in the middle of it all was The Master, his armor glittering. His eyes behind his iron helmet were alight with flaring triumph. His cloak of black velvet pooled on the ground as he surveyed the entire cavern, soaking in all the radiating energy from the sprites.
Diandre was watching the scene with utter disgust. I followed his gaze and understood why.
My eyes traveled to the other side of the cavern where there were dozens of metal cages. Cowering and trembling inside them were the stolen children, many still dressed in their pajamas. My heart wrenched at their eyes that flickered with terror. Their faces were pale and afraid, and they were pressed against the back of their cages, as far away from the onlooking sprites as possible.
Many of the children inside the cages had begun to cry at the sight of the shapeless mass of sprites, and I was overwhelmed at just how many of them there were. The situation nearly crushed me flat. It would take a miracle to save all of them, get them all out of here while trying not to be killed by an entire army.
We were doomed.
The Master slowly rose from is throne, and the drumbeats fell silent. I could feel the weight in the air as thousands of heads and eyes closed in on the man in the shimmering armor. Every ounce of attention was on him now, and the blood-thirsty hisses of the crowds slowly faded into quiet.
"Now," The Master announced, his voice rumbling across the waves of sprites. "Is the moment you have all been waiting for."
Thanks for reading!
Feel free to vote or comment with any feedback. I'd love to hear thoughts or ideas!