Better the Devil You Know
Chapter 4 – From Bad to Worse
The tunnel was not nearly as difficult to navigate as they had first thought, especially with the aid of the torches Presto had conjured up. There had been a number of twists and turns, so they had not always known for certain which direction they were going, but after about two hours it had come to an end and they had exited the darkness at the other side of the large mountain.
It had been exactly as the druid had described, an open, grassy plain with a pair of smaller mountains visible on the other side. They were all pleased to be back outside again but it did have the drawback of meaning they would be easy to spot as they continued their journey. However, there was no other way to reach the portal so they set off immediately.
Presto found the fast pace set by Hank a bit of a challenge but he understood the reason for it. Although group discussion while in the tunnel had been limited, due mostly to the passageway being fairly narrow, they had all agreed that Sheila had clearly been the wizard's primary target.
After about half an hour walking the Magician and Cavalier began to lag behind and Presto was beginning to think he would need to say something when the Thief intervened; or at least he assumed she had. He had seen her look back in their direction before saying something to Hank and a few seconds later they stopped, allowing them to catch up.
"Time for a break," the Ranger stated as the two of them drew level.
Eric scowled but Presto smiled and spoke quickly, before the Cavalier could say anything that might start an argument.
"Do you want me to try and conjure up some lunch?" he asked breathlessly.
"Good idea," Hank replied but looking a little startled, as though he had not even considered they would need to eat.
"OK, here goes," Presto stated and, after a few seconds pause while he thought of a suitable rhyme, waved his hand over his hat. "We need a rest and something to eat, so lots of pizza as a treat."
For the second time in a row the hat seemed to be behaving itself and he was delighted when it produced two very large steaming hot pizzas. Eric instantly grabbed a slice then sank to the ground and had already taken three or four bites before the rest of them moved. They quickly joined him and a few minutes later they were all sitting in a circle munching pizza.
To begin with they were all quiet but as the food vanished, the conversation increased and they were soon discussing the attack that morning.
"I still don't get why he was only aiming at Sheila?" Diana commented.
"I think it's because of this," the Thief replied, holding out the fruit of Deneia.
"But he thinks it was destroyed," Eric pointed out. "Or did I just imagine that you will pay for destroying the fruit speech from yesterday?"
Sheila visibly paled at being reminded about the wizard's threat the day before.
"We remember," Hank snapped, slipping his arm around her shoulders.
"I don't think the fruit is the reason," Presto said, in what he hoped was a matter of fact tone. "Say he somehow did know Sheila had it. Why would he target her? And why didn't he demand we give it to him?"
There was a pause following his questions and the Magician felt uncomfortable with everyone looking at him.
"I mean…" he began, hating the silence but having no idea of what he was going to say next.
"No, you're right, Presto," the Acrobat cut in. "If he knew Sheila had the fruit she would the last person he would aim at."
"Then why did he aim for me?" the Thief asked miserably.
The Ranger turned his head to look her, unable to answer, and pulled her gently towards him.
"Maybe he just decided at random," the Cavalier suggested.
"Yeah, he'll probably go for someone else next time he shows up," Diana added.
"Even so, I think someone else should carry the fruit of Deneia," Hank stated. "I'll have it."
"No," Sheila replied, giving him a watery smile. "I'll keep it. I think Presto's right; it's not about the fruit."
"Sheila…" Hank started.
"I'll be OK," she assured him. "Besides, if it is about the fruit then we need to stop the wizard from getting it and I'm the one with the cloak."
"OK," he agreed. "But if he does show up again you're to use it and disappear before he can do anything."
She nodded.
"Right, we should get going," Hank said, standing up before helping Sheila to her feet.
There were no arguments to this suggestion and within minutes they started walking.
Presto was glad to be moving again. He would feel far more comfortable when they had crossed the plain. It was too exposed here. The wizard would eventually realise they must have found another way out of the cave and once he did they would be easy to spot from the air.
The Ranger was walking quickly, but not as fast as when they had first left the tunnel, so Presto and Eric were able to keep up with ease. However, despite walking closely together, they did not speak much and a few hours went by with only a few words being said.
-X-
As time passed, the group spread out a little. Hank and Sheila were up front by at least ten metres, with Bobby and Uni being the closest to them. Eric and Presto were once again lagging behind but Diana had joined them, having left the Barbarian chatting happily to the little unicorn, the occasional meah being the only reply he seemed need.
The Magician looked up and was surprised to see how far they had come. The tall mountain was now some distance away and the two smaller mountains, the Twins, were very close, no more than twenty minutes walk.
He turned to the Acrobat to make comment. "We're … Oh no, not now."
"What?" Diana queried as she turned towards him.
"He's back," the Magician yelled, pointing at the wizard zooming down on them.
There was a loud bang and a scream as a beam of red light hit the ground between Hank and Sheila. The Ranger had pushed Sheila to one side seconds before it hit but Presto saw it graze her arm as she fell. A moment later Sheila had vanished, somehow managing to twist around and pull up her hood while she lay on the ground.
"Scatter!" Hank yelled as he ran towards the wizard to begin his counter attack.
Unfortunately, the wizard obviously still intended to make Sheila his target and it looked like he had expected the Thief to disappear as he immediately drew a circle around the spot she had fallen, creating a fiery ring to separate her from the others.
"Sheila," Diana called out.
But it was too late, the Thief would not have had time to scramble to her feet and escape before the circle closed. They all ran towards the circle but Hank, being the closest, reached it first with the others not far behind him.
"Sheila, are you OK?" Hank shouted frantically.
"Yes, I'm fine," she called back.
"Not for long," the wizard rasped, sending a multitude of blasts into the circle in quick succession.
"Sheila?" the Ranger cried, as the firing stopped.
"I'm OK," she murmured, her voice only just loud enough for them to hear.
"Stay cloaked," Hank whispered back. "We'll keep him busy."
The Ranger turned his attention back to the wizard and began firing arrows in retaliation but he blocked them with ease while continuing his own assault on the circle.
"You should not have destroyed the tree," the wizard spat. "Now you must pay the price."
"What do you want?" the Ranger demanded.
"You destroyed my fruit, so I shall destroy her," he laughed, sending more blasts into the circle.
"Stay away from her," Hank yelled, a look of panic flitting across his face.
Presto suddenly spotted a dark figure behind the wizard. "Shadow Demon? What's he doing here?" he wondered allowed.
"Shadow Demon!" Hank repeated.
The Magician tried to read the Ranger's expression, a mixture of shock and comprehension being his best guess. Whatever it was, Shadow Demon's sudden appearance distracted Hank enough for him to temporarily stop firing as he stood for several seconds with an arrow poised and ready before finally letting it fly.
A scream from inside the circle as another series of shots landed made them all spin around to see Sheila lying, visible, just inside the perimeter.
"Sheila!" Hank and Bobby cried in unison.
The sound of cold, cruel laughter sounded from overhead.
"You get to watch her die," the wizard sneered as he raised his hand high above his head.
"Like hell we do," Eric yelled.
The Cavalier leapt forward, his shield already glowing, and ran straight though the barrier before skidding to a halt as he reached the stricken Thief. He threw himself over her and the next blast hit the force field with a bang.
The wizard cried out in rage and began firing repeatedly at Eric and Sheila as the others watched on helplessly. Presto could see the despair on Hank's face and frantically tried to think of something they could do; anything to end the attack and send the wizard packing.
An idea came to him and he whipped the hat off his head, knowing he had to get this right. "We need some help without delay, so create a wormhole to send this guy away."
It was a few seconds before Hank, Diana and Bobby even realised he had done anything, but then the wind started.
"Get down!" Diana yelled, and the four of them, plus Uni, threw themselves on the ground.
The wizard screamed and the Magician raised his head in time to see him and Shadow Demon disappeared into the swirling vortex. The hole then closed behind them. The battle was over.
As they climbed to their feet Eric emerged from the fire circle with Sheila beside him. She looked dirty and scared but otherwise intact and after smiling reassuringly at her brother she immediately moved towards Hank.
The Ranger embraced her but to Presto's surprise he then stepped away.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "It's my fault. I'm the reason he attacked you."
"It's not your fault," she replied.
"He found out how I feel about you," Hank countered. "Last night, by the river, Shadow Demon must have heard us."
"It doesn't matter," the Thief insisted.
"I won't put you in danger," Hank stated. "You aren't safe with me."
"What are you saying?" Sheila asked shakily.
Presto glanced at Diana and Eric, feeling incredibly uncomfortable with what he was hearing and could see they looked equally ill at ease.
"Sheila, I … We can't be together," Hank said. "I'm sorry. It's for the best."
He turned away from her.
"We have a portal to find," he added, his voice cracking slightly.
He started walking but the Thief stood staring after him, looking completely stunned as a single tear ran down her cheek. She wasn't the only one to remain motionless and it was a minute or two before any of them moved.
"Come on, let's go," Diana urged, finally stepping forward and steering Sheila in the right direction.
Bobby and Uni followed closely behind and once again Presto found himself bringing up the rear with Eric, his head spinning, completely shocked by what had just happened. The fight with the wizard, the sudden ending and now this; Hank breaking up with Sheila.
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