Snaffu returned just before sunset. "I found a place!" he whinnied. "Not far from here, but you will have to hurry, there is a storm coming."
Linca looked at the clear, slightly purple sky. "You're talking rubbish!" she scoffed. The nygal flattened his ears and bared his teeth at the sprite.
"Actually, Linca," panted Chihiro, struggling to wade between them, "as far as predicting bad weather goes, I am inclined to believe Snaffu. He is a water spirit, after all." Snaffu snorted and tossed his head and eyed Linca balefully.
"Will you ride me now, mistress?" asked the nygal politely. "I can take you the distance and then come back for the tasty Scotsman."
"You hear that?" said Scott to Rin, who was pulling him out of another sucking mud hole. "Snaffu thinks I'm tasty."
"I would be questioning Snaffu's taste in food," grunted Rin as she pulled at Scott's hand.
The large young man was yanked from the mud with a wet slurp, but Rin had been a little heavy-handed. His momentum carried him forward and he crashed into his rescuer. Rin squeaked and she was knocked backwards into the mud and a large human fell on top of her.
"Ahh! Get off me, you clumsy fool!" she screeched, beating on Scott's back with her fists. Scott was laughing so hard he could not have moved even if he wanted to. Linca rolled her eyes and went to peel her friend off the top of her sister. Scott struggled to his feet with Linca's help, apologising to Rin between chuckles that shook his entire frame. Rin looked down at herself; she was covered in grey mud. It even matted her hair. She kicked her legs in the air and sprang to her feet. Chihiro sighed. No matter how much Rin's lessons had improved her fitness, she knew she would never be that agile.
"You giggle like a drunken air spirit!" snapped Rin, glaring at the still laughing Scott.
Scott tried to straighten his face but Linca had been infected by his laughter. When he stopped, she snorted and burst into her own fit of giggles. This started the poor human off again. Rin's dark eyes regarded them both icily.
"You're cackling like harpies!" she growled. "I should cut your tongues out!"
Chihiro shook her head. She was too tired for this. She patted the water horse's flank and murmured that she would gladly accept a ride. The creature graciously bent down for her and she swung onto its back.
"I can hold you in place," it whinnied kindly.
"Thank you," Chihiro sighed.
"OI!" said Linca, noticing what was going on. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm going to find a place to spend the night," Chihiro said without energy. "You three can continue annoying each other without me. Snafu will come back for Scott." Before there were any protests, the water horse galloped away. Chihiro nearly swallowed her tongue in surprise. The creature was unbelievingly fast; her hair streamed behind her as its hooves ate away at the ground. The creature had been right, she hardly moved at all. Tears began to tumble from her eyes.
"Not again!" she wailed internally. But she could not help herself. The feel of the wind in her face and the strong muscles moving beneath her reminded her strongly of what it was like to ride her white dragon. Would she ever ride the skies with him again? "Of course I will!" she told herself firmly. She let the wind dry her tears from her face. She did not want to show the others her sadness; they were doing enough for her as it was.
The water horse galloped for the best part of an hour, never tiring, never needing to take a break. Finally, Chihiro saw what he had found for them in the last dying rays of sunlight. There was a small hill rising out of the mud. It had willow trees growing on it and it was quite firm. Snaffu slowed to a trot and then a walk. Chihiro slid from him. The horse was covered in foamy sweat and look like he needed a good rub down and a night in a stall with a blanket over him. The nygal must have seen Chihiro's concern.
"I'm alright, mistress," he said with a cheerful horsy grin. "I'm just not used to being so active out of water. I'm not tired." Chihiro patted his side thankfully. The horse snorted, wheeled around and galloped away. She scrambled up the hill. It was quite flat on top. She wished she had her pack with her; she could have started a fire. It was almost completely dark. For the want of anything better to do, she sat with her back to one of the large willows.
She blinked against the darkness. Her hand found its way into her mud-encrusted trousers and her fingers stroked something that felt like silk. She took the braided hair of her mate from her pocket along with the small bottle of water from his river. Even in the low light the hair still flashed with dull green highlights. She stroked it absently as she inspected the vial of water. It was still clear. The river might be suffering, but it was as healthy as it could be under the circumstances. There was a shuffling to her left; to her right, a twig snapped.
Even a few months before, the thought of being alone in the dark with unknown things surrounding her would have terrified Chihiro. Now, after all that had happened, she knew that little else as traumatic as having her mate ripped from her was likely. Whoever it was would have attacked her immediately if they were truly dangerous, or hungry enough to want to eat her.
They would also not be making noise if they did not wish her to know they were there. She slipped the bottle into her pocket and continued to stroke her mate's hair with her right hand. With her left hand, she pulled out her Tac'Tal. The noises stilled immediately. It would be immediately obvious to any denizen of the spirit world that she was protected by a formidably powerful entity. Chihiro felt it was time for introductions; luckily Haku had schooled her well in such things. She could hear his lilting voice echoing in her head.
"Be careful around those outside the bathhouse. Never give your first name; it can give a spirit a modicum of control over you if they know what they are doing. Be polite always and always have your Tac'Tal on display."
"What so they can see I'm owned?" Chihiro remembered saying sarcastically.
"Precisely," he had purred in her ear, pulling her close, running his hands down her back. "They will know my power protects you. Even if I am not there, the spells in my gift will be a force to be reckoned with if they use magic."
"And what if they just try to hit me with blunt instruments?" she had asked, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"If you're polite it won't get to that stage," he chuckled. "Most spirits will take one look at my gift and want to play nice."
"And if they don't?" she had murmured into the soft skin of his neck.
"Then I suggest you run for it," he laughed, unpinning her hair and running his fingers through it.
"Run for it?" she had squeaked stepping back from him. "Some mate you are! I could be in real trouble one day and your advice is for me is 'run away'? Might I remind you that as a human I don't tend to move that fast and-"
He had stopped her tirade with a soft kiss that stole her breath. "Trust me," he said, his green eyes dancing. "Be nice and be anonymous and you will come to no harm under normal circumstances."
"If you say so," she had sighed, not really caring anymore.
"Fool!" Chihiro thought to herself. "I should have pressed him for more information." But neither of them had expected to be alone so soon after their mating. "Except I'm not alone," Chihiro grumbled internally, directing that particular thought to her stomach.
"I come here requiring shelter," she said out loud. "There are more on the way. I require nothing from you, only a place to take refuge from the beasts of the marshland." There were low, barely audible whispers from among the trees. "We don't plan to stay for free, however," said Chihiro, thinking on her feet. "We will share our food with you." There were more low whispers. Chihiro thought she saw a flash of yellow eyes and red fur, but she could have been mistaken as there was so little light.
"Could be fox spirits," she thought.
Fox spirits were well-known pranksters; they liked nothing better than to fool humankind. Most of their tricks were harmless but there were cases of them being deadly. There was more rustling, then there was singing; voices raised in a high, floating melody which seeped into Chihiro's mind. Everything was fine, she might have a heavy heart but she was safe here, she should rest... yes stay here, rest and listen to the song. The Tac' Tal at her neck flared and grew hot. She ignored it; the beautiful song was so soothing.
Chihiro listened and let her eyes slide closed. Nothing mattered, she was safe. There was movement beside her, but it did not matter. A small fury hand tickled her neck, intending to take her Tac' Tal. Why should they not have it? Surely the little foxes of this island deserved such a thing? Smiling, Chihiro waited for the little creatures to take what they wanted. The Tac' Tal had other ideas, however. There was a flash, and the little thieves jumped back with inhuman yelps. Spell broken, Chihiro struggled to her feet.
"How dare you!" she yelled into the gloom. "After everything, I did to be respectful to you!" Mocking laughter echoed from the trees.
"Fine!" snapped Chihiro. "Have it your own way!" She stalked off the island and stood in the sucking mud once more. Shivering, she folded her arms. It started to rain, soaking her hair and running down the back of her neck. The mud around her legs deepened. She tried to move only to discover she was hopelessly stuck. There was more laughter from the island. Chihiro wondered if Snaffu liked fox flesh. She was given the opportunity to find out as she heard rapid hoofbeats in the distance. The Nygel sprayed her with mud as he skidded to a halt.
"Mistress!" he whinnied in surprise.
"Chihiro?" said Scott's voice. She could hardly see his silhouette in the darkness. There was a splashing sound. "OWW!" grumbled the red-headed young man. "I've not been on a horse since the summer. I'm going to be walking like a duck for the next day or so." Chihiro smiled; she was saddle sore herself.
"You'll harden up," whinnied the Nygel with a horsy grin. The spirit shook himself like a dog, showering Scott with water and mud.
"Why are you standing out here?" asked Scott, wiping his face. Chihiro could just see his red hair in the gloom.
"The island has inhabitants," she said. "I think they are fox spirits and they are light-fingered."
"They are no problem mistress," said the nygel, laying his ears flat.
"Before you chase them off..." sighed Chihiro. "Could you pull me out of this mud?"
The nygel obligingly gripped her by the collar and Scott pulled her up by the waist. Chihiro squeaked as her sodden travelling slacks slipped down her legs and remained in the mud. The nygel dropped her and she landed at Scott's feet in her underwear. Chihiro looked up at the dark outline of the young man and burst into tears.
"Hey now!" Scott cried. "No need to cry! All our packs are wrapped in plastic and covered in spells for good measure. You have dry things to change into; just wait for Rin and Linca to get here."
"It's hopeless!" Chihiro cried at the sky. "Why did I think I could do this? I'm just a stupid, insignificant human. What can I possibly do that will make the slightest-"
"Shut up, Chihiro," snapped Scott. He bent down and pulled her to her feet. "You can do this," he said firmly, his face inches from hers. "Do you think I would have come if I thought you would not achieve what you set out to do?"
Chihiro gulped and shivered. This close to him she could feel the heat from his body against her bare legs and smell that strange masculine smell that all men of a certain age seemed to carry. It made her heart pound for her mate and the tears poured from her eyes all the more. She had been warned that this forced separation would be hard, but she never guessed it would be this hard.
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself!" growled Scott.
"Don't speak to Mistress Chihiro that way!" snorted the nygel indignantly. There was more mocking laughter from the island.
"Make yourself useful and do something about them," said Scott to the water horse. "The sooner we get her on to that island, the sooner we can make her comfortable."
The nygel stamped his hooves and clearly was contemplating charging the insolent human.
"Are you forgetting she is pregnant?" asked Scott lightly. "I doubt the father would be very pleased if he ever heard you were neglecting her." Scott's words had the desired effect. The nygel rolled his eyes a little then he galloped onto the small hill. There were high pitched shrieks as the fox spirits ran for their lives. Chihiro closed her eyes, not wanting to listen.
"I'm sure your crisis of confidence will be over as soon as you are dry and fed," sighed Scott, taking her chilled hand and patting it. He frowned as he felt the mating scar under his fingers.
"I was hurt you did not think to invite me to the ceremony," he said suddenly, his voice warm in the darkness. "No matter what I hoped would happen between us, I was your friend. I even got deported from Japan for helping you out."
Chihiro swallowed the lump in her throat. She had been so cruel to him and not realised it at all.
"I'm sorry," she said slowly. "I never intended any of this. I was selfish."
"I know why you were," sighed Scott. "I know what it is like to be so in love that it consumes you."
"You do?" asked Chihiro, curious in spite of herself.
"Yes, I do," said Scott, chuckling at her surprised tone. "But for me, it did not last. I ended up coming to Japan to get away from my memories of her. It's never nice getting dumped and she was my first love so I took it particularly badly. You could say I was on the rebound when I met you."
"Ah," said Chihiro. His instant attraction to her seemed to make much more sense; that, and Linca's forceful matchmaking. She had probably thought she was doing them both a favour.
"But I do believe you will be successful in your mission, Chihiro," said Scott firmly. "Any woman who can bust herself out of a psychiatric hospital can get her mate back easily." Chihiro gave a watery chuckle.
"Besides, if you were just a 'stupid insignificant human,' your dragon would not have chosen you. You owe it to the little dragonlet you're carrying to get him back."
"Dragonlet?" laughed Chihiro.
"It's better than calling it 'it.'" said Scott, the smile evident in his voice.
"All clear!" whinnied the Nygel.
"Come on," said Scott. "I've got enough in my pack to keep us dry. As soon as Linca gets here we can get a fire going. She says she has a gift with it; goes with her temperament I suppose."
The humans waded through the mud and scrambled onto the hill. Scott removed a tarpaulin sheet from his pack and stretched it taut between two trees, using bungee cords. He spread plastic sheeting beneath it and he and Chihiro sat beneath the tarpaulin. The drumming of the rain above her lulled Chihiro into an uneasy doze. The next thing she knew, she was being shaken gently awake.
"Chihiro?" whispered Scott. She opened her eyes. She was sleeping on his shoulder.
"Chihiro, your sisters are here."
Chihiro blinked owlishly. In the rain just outside the shelter, Rin and Linca stood. Rin had her arms folded and her full lips were pulled down at the corners in a disapproving frown. Linca was unsuccessfully covering a huge grin behind her hand. Chihiro knew what she must look like, lying up against Scott with her mud-encrusted bare legs and mud-stained cotton panties on full display.
"Grow up, you two," she croaked. "The mud stole my clothes." Suddenly a thought struck her.
"HAKU'S HAIR!" she gasped. She struggled to her knees.
"You stay still," said Rin, her expression now much more sympathetic. "I'll find it. You can't see in the dark." She unloaded her packs and traipsed away.
"But what if the fox spirits took it?" wailed Chihiro.
"That's unlikely," said Linca, unloading her pack and scraping together soaking wet twigs and leaves with her delicate, pale blue hands. "Horseface has eaten most of them, I think. He's run off into the bog to hunt the last of them." She muttered a spell and the twigs exploded with blue flame. "I don't know where he gets the energy from," she said quietly. "He's covered twice the distance we have today and I'm exhausted."
"Was that a compliment for him?" asked Scott.
"No," replied Linca. "Merely an observation."
The fire grew and expanded, giving off large amounts of heat.
"I demand appreciation," said Linca pompously. "Few spirits of my level can create a spirit fire." Scott and Chihiro looked at each other.
"What's a spirit fire?" they both asked. Linca tutted and tossed her head, making ribbons of soaking white hair stick to her face.
"It's a fire that only needs minimal fuel, produces a lot of heat and water cannot put out."
"That is impressive," said Scott. Linca grinned at him, the blue flames dancing in her white eyes. She busied herself with putting up another shelter, opposite Scott's and Chihiro's. When she was finished she shook the water from her hair and beckoned to Chihiro.
"Come in here with me, Chi. I'll get you dry and dressed." Chihiro shivered as she crawled out into the driving rain again and dashed under Linca's shelter. Linca rummaged in Chihiro's pack and produced a pair of pink bathhouse domestic slacks.
"You can roll them up above the knee to keep them out of the mud," said Linca with a small smile. She gave Chihiro some clean underwear too.
"Turn around, Scott," she called across the small camp. Scott obligingly did, facing the back of his shelter.
"You know it's so dark I can't see you anyway," he said mildly.
Linca laughed and helped Chihiro strip off her wet clothes. Soon she was dressed in a warm shirt and her bathhouse pants. Linca brushed out her matted hair for her and braided it back. Rin returned, even muddier than she had been previously.
"Let it not be said that I don't love you," she said grumpily. She pushed the lock of Haku's hair into Chihiro's hand and the small bottle of river water she had not even realised she had lost.
"Keep them in your underwear or something," instructed Rin. "They are not likely to get lost again that way."
"Thank you so much," said Chihiro in a small voice and stood to hug her sister.
"Get back under there," snapped Rin and pushed Chihiro back under the tarpaulin. "If you catch a cold you'll slow us up."
Crestfallen, Chihiro ducked under the tarpaulin.
"Don't take it personally," said Rin more gently. "You have to look after yourself."
Chihiro considered sticking her tongue out at her sister but her stomach took that moment to growl embarrassingly.
"Good point," said Rin. "What's for food?"
Scott threw a packet at her. Rin caught it and inspected its contents.
"What's this?" she asked. "It looks like shells."
"It's pasta," said Scott. "It's quite good, fills you up."
"Oh, it sounds rather exotic," said Rin slightly sarcastically. "Thank you, Mulvey-san."
"Actually, Rin," interrupted Linca, "that should be Mulvey-sama. Scott is a Lord, you know."
"Stop it Linca," growled Scott.
"You are?" asked Rin, clearly surprised. "You don't look like one." Scott burst out laughing. Rin's attention returned to the packet of pasta. She opened it and gingerly selected a shell. Before anyone could stop her she popped it into her mouth.
"Mmm, crunchy," she said thoughtfully. "But a bit dry." The entire camp exploded with laughter.
Snaffu returned to find a very sulky Rin stirring a pot of boiling pasta over a blue fire. The two humans and Linca were still giggling.
"No food for me," he announced. "I'm stuffed." He collapsed by the fire. Chihiro noted that is belly did indeed look quite distended.
"Glutton," scoffed Linca. Neither Scott nor the spirits seemed to be uncomfortable with the fact the Nygel had eaten the fox spirits. Chihiro felt a little sad, however. They had not hurt her; they had just behaved as it was in their nature to behave. But this was the spirit world and it could be cruel and even bloodthirsty at times. Just like her own world could be. It was just violence seemed far more acceptable here. It was a day to day fact of life. The weak preyed on the strong and that was just the way things were. They ate pasta with a little oil and salt on it. It was filling if not all that tasty. After their meal, the party discussed their situation.
"At this rate, it will take us weeks to get out of the mud," sighed Rin. She was sitting in Scott's shelter and was not that happy about it. She displayed her displeasure by sitting as far away from him as possible.
"Well, does anyone have any ideas on how we can go faster?" asked Scott. The nygel's ears twitched.
"I could carry two, but I would have to rest frequently."
"In which case, we would probably end up going the same speed," muttered Linca. She scratched her head and pulled a face. "If we had a high-level magic-user they could have whipped up a long-distance transportation spell and we would be talking to the nutty old gent who started all this nonsense by now."
"That is hardly helpful, Linca," said Chihiro flatly.
"We will just have to do the best we can," said Scott. "Time may be against us but it can't be helped."
There was a small cough and everyone's eyes turned towards the sound. Chihiro's hand fell to her pack. She could almost feel Haku's sword vibrate with the anticipation of being used. She saw Scott do the same; she knew he had his own blade. Rin was already holding two knives.
"Show yourself!" she demanded.
Something shuffled into the firelight. It was small; very small.
"A child?" whispered Rin.
Chihiro looked at the child; he was a chubby and adorable toddler who looked about two or three years of age. He had a shock of midnight black hair and wide, serious, violet eyes. He was dressed in what looked like fluffy blue pyjamas. It was still raining heavily but the child did not appear to be getting wet.
"Kisho?" said Chihiro uncertainly. The child beamed. He did not have all his teeth in yet, Chihiro noted.
"Auntie," he said with a gurgle.
Rin and Linca immediately bowed.
"Huh?" said Scott, eyeing Rin as if she had gone insane.
"Err, this is the child of the Lord and Lady, Scott," explained Chihiro. "You have already met the mother."
"Oh," said Scott, understanding. Violet eyes fixed on him.
"You have hair like Papa," said the child with approval. Scott seemed to be at a loss for what to say. He found his voice at last.
"I thought he was only a few months old?" he asked Chihiro. "He was born at your mating, wasn't he?"
The child shrugged and wobbled over to Chihiro. He clambered into her lap.
"He is a child of gods," whispered Linca, still facing the ground. "Show some respect!"
Kisho, however, seemed more interested in sucking his thumb and playing with Chihiro's Tac'Tal. The pendant did not react to the child's touch.
"Emm, Kisho," said Chihiro gently. "Why are you here?"
"To see you," said the child around his thumb.
"Does your mother know you are here?" asked Chihiro carefully, hugging the child to her.
"No," replied Kisho. And she does not need to."
"Okay," said Chihiro slowly. She jumped as the child's hand found its way under her shirt and rested on her stomach.
"What are you doing?" asked Chihiro as steadily as she could.
"Oh, poor thing," sighed Kisho. He looked up at Chihiro, his violet eyes sad. "She's worried about you."
"She?" said Chihiro weakly.
"She knows you're sad and she misses her Papa's voice." Before Chihiro could dissolve into tears, Linca sat up and slipped an arm around her shoulders.
"At least we know what colour to paint the nursery now," she said with a small smile. Chihiro shook her head, water filling her eyes.
"Can't do any of that till we get Haku back," she whispered.
"I have a present for you," announced Kisho, now talking to Chihiro's stomach. "I know you get tired from riding."
"I do my best, my Lord," said the nygel. Kisho ignored him.
He closed his striking eyes and grunted with effort. A matt black lump of material appeared in his hands. He held it up for Chihiro's inspection. Rin and Linca gasped.
"Yubaba's flying cloak!" squeaked Linca. "She had that locked in a magically sealed safe; not even Haku could break it open!" Kisho shrugged and grinned.
"It will be easier for her if you fly, auntie. You have a spirit with you who can teach you the art." He pointed at Linca and the sprite bowed again. "Be careful how much you use it," warned the child. "Best if you share it with the other slow human. One day on the horsy, one day in the air. It will speed things up for you all and not tire your baby out."
Chihiro did not know what to say. She settled for simply hugging the child.
"My lord!" said Rin, still with her head bowed. "You are too good to us."
"Just don't tell Mama I was here," said the child. "There are rules; I'm bending them to help auntie Chihiro get uncle Haku back." There was a small pop and Chihiro's arms were empty.
"Well," said Linca. "I guess its flying lessons all round tomorrow."
I have been getting a lot of comments lately from readers old and new. Thank you all so much for reading! It makes my day when people take the time to tell me how they feel about my work. I've been working very hard this last month and I have decided to prepare both my fantasy series and paranormal series for publication. I'm talking to editors and cover artists, it's all exciting but time-consuming. My podcast is also gaining a listeners, which is fantastic!
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