Chapter 119
The air left Chuck's lungs on a low groan and his face was filled with the same confusion as most of the others there.
"What the hell?" Kahlan asked as she stepped towards him, but she was slammed against the wall.
Cam moved to her, but was thrown into one of the rooms, and then Willie was slammed into another wall as whatever was in the box made its way down the hall.
"Bloody hell!" Christian yelled as he snatched a jar off a shelf and darted after it. He caught it before it could get into the elevator, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"What the hell was that?" Rossi asked as he helped Kahlan up.
Before Christian could answer, Cam came out of the room holding his head and looking very confused. "Did we really just get our asses kicked by an invisible force?"
"It's not invisible; pixies just move really fast when they want to," Christian explained as he brought the jar back, and with the way his hands were shaking, they could all tell the thing was still trying to get away.
"Pixie? As in like a fairy?" Kahlan asked as she moved to Chuck who was in the process of trying to breathe again.
Sebastian huffed as he moved and pulled Chuck into a standing position. "Yes, pixies are like fairies, but just because something is small that doesn't mean that it can't hurt you."
Chuck nodded as he straightened out his clothes. "Yeah. Got that."
Christian held the jar up, so they could see what was in it and Kahlan gasped. It was a tiny, greenish-hued humanoid figure with pointy ears and delicate wings, and Kahlan smiled as she studied it. "It's beautiful."
The pixie looked around at all of them, then staggered back a step as its miniature hands flew to its throat, and its face turned red. Kahlan reached for the jar. "Oh my God. Let it out!"
Christian held the jar close to his chest. "I will not! You saw and felt what this thing is capable of!"
"But it can't breathe!" Rossi yelled.
Sebastian sighed. "Yes, it can, it's just trying to trick you by playing on your emotions."
Willie nodded. "Yes, there's enough air in that jar that a pixie could survive a few days at least."
"Pixie?" Nate asked as he made his way into the hall using the doorframe for support. He looked around and then frowned. "What are you doing to Thelsa?" he asked and then went to Christian. "Give her to me!" he demanded as he snatched the jar out of his hands and then held it up to look in it.
The pixie in it was zooming around so quickly that it seemed as if the jar was vibrating, and he cringed. "Thelsa! Calm down! These people are trying to help us!" he yelled, but the jar kept jerking around, and Kahlan was worried that he was going to lose his grip on it.
"Thelsa!" he called again, and when it was obvious that the pixie wasn't paying him any attention, he huffed and stuck the jar under the shirt Cam had given him to wear. He looked at the others and winced. "She never really listens when she's upset." He nodded and licked his lips. "The darkness will calm her down." But the jar was still emitting a high-pitched buzzing sound, and he shrugged. "It'll just take a moment."
Kahlan shot a look to her human friends, and Rossi shook his head.
After a few moments, the sound stilled, and Nate took the jar out from under his shirt. He held it up and waved the others closer. "This is Thelsa, the pixie," he introduced them to her. She was sitting at the bottom of the jar with her knees drawn up, her elbows resting on her knees, and her chin resting on her fists.
Nate rolled his eyes. "She's pouting."
Kahlan had to turn her head away and suck both of her lips into her mouth to keep from laughing.
"Are you going to listen to me now?" Nate asked the tiny creature.
" ."
Chuck frowned and looked at the vampires. "Any of you all speak pixie?"
Willie chuckled. "They speak English, or well, whatever language is prevalent in their region. They just talk really quickly," he explained.
Rossi huffed. "She said she wasn't going to listen to him because he put her in the dark." All eyes turned to him, and he shrugged. "What? One of my ex-wives used to yell like that when she was upset with me."
Christian coughed back a chuckle as Nate looked at the pixie again. "These people are here to help us, Thelsa. They are going to set us free."
"Butthey' 'ttrustthem!"
"I know it's odd that humans and vampires are working together, but we can trust them," he told her. "Look, they took those damn chains off me. They freed me."
She finally lifted her head and looked around at all of them, and he smiled. "They even fed me. They'll feed you, too, if you can behave."
She huffed. "Idon'tneedtobefedbythem!"
Kahlan looked at Rossi, and he smirked. "She says she doesn't need to be fed."
Nate shook his head. "Yes, you do. He starved all of us."
"I'mnotstarving.I'mnotevenhungry."
Sebastian sighed. "If you're not starving, why are you not producing any pixie dust? If you were fine, that jar would be almost full of it with as much jiggling around as you have done."
The little thing looked at him and then wilted.
"If you let us, we can help you just like we did Nate," Cam told her.
She took a deep breath as she looked at all of them again, and then finally nodded. Nate smiled as he unscrewed the lid. "And you better behave cause you know the vampires are faster than you."
Rossi smiled as the pixie flew into the air and hovered about a foot above the jar, and he looked at Nate. "What do pixies eat?"
"Berries," the werewolf told him.
Kahlan looked at the others. "Anyone find any berries in your search?" When all their looks told her they hadn't, she winced.
The little pixie crossed her arms and huffed. "AndyousaidIwouldbefed!"
Chuck frowned. "Wait," he stated as he reached into his thigh pocket and pulled out one of the protein bars. He opened it up and started crumbling it with his fingers and then held out his hand. "They're dried cranberries. You think she'd like them?"
The pixie zoomed to his hand, scooped up one of the berries, and then sat down as she started eating it.
"Yeah, just a little," Kahlan said with a smile. The noises Thelsa was making let them all know she was enjoying it.
Chuck looked at the diminutive thing that looked even smaller in his big hand and smiled, too. "Does this mean you won't kick my ass anymore?"
Thelsa paused and looked up at him, and the berry smeared all over her face made Rossi chuckle. She studied Chuck for a second. "Maybe," she uttered and went back to eating, and they all laughed.
XXXXX
A thundering sound and its accompanied vibrations had Hotch's and Copper's eyes snapping to the odd wall. "Is that them?" Copper whispered.
"I don't know," Hotch answered as he got to his feet, and Copper jumped up, too. Hotch looked at him. "You better wake the others."
Copper nodded and ran to their sleeping companions as Hotch followed him as quickly as he could with his leg still very sore.
They all woke up quickly as the wall started shaking and rising, and they were on their feet by the time Hotch got to them.
As the wall crept up, they all gathered together, and Hotch glanced at them.
"Do you think it's a monster?" Dag asked in a quiet tone.
Hotch licked his lips. I sure hope the hell it's not! He noticed them all drifting in closer to and behind him, and he sighed. And yet, when this started, you all were trying to get as far away from me as you could.
"There are several sets of feet," Lenny told them. The wall was high enough for the gnomes to see under.
"And none look like giant monster feet," Benny added.
Jenny grabbed Lenny's hand. "I think the one in the middle is that red headed guy. Those look like his boots."
"It must be time for us to go back," Hotch tried to reassure them softly.
There was another loud bang and the rising wall rushed to its apex revealing Red, the two skeleton guards, and a new being Hotch hadn't seen before. It was tall, taller than Hotch by a few inches, humanoid, muscular, and had a long lizardesque tail. Hotch wasn't sure if its head was a bull-type skull, or if it was just wearing it. Hotch mentally frowned. Maybe that's what a minotaur really looks like.
The thing was holding two leashes, and they were holding back two black canine beasts that looked like a cross between a Chupacabra and a pit bull. They were growling, chomping, and drooling as they struggled against their collars, and they were both focused on Tucker. Everyone could hear his swallow as he took a step back.
Red moved closer to them. "It's good ye is already on ye feet, gits. Now get ye moving!"
"Where are you taking us?" Hotch asked.
Red giggled as he moved to Hotch. "I would tell ye, but I don't want to spoil the surprise, git." He looked at the four-armed skeleton. "Take the wee gits."
It nodded and moved towards the gnomes. Jenny screamed and grabbed onto Hotch's leg, and he put out a hand to ward off the moving skeleton. "Why are you taking them?"
The leprechaun's eyes glowed red as he took out his whip, got in Hotch's face, and held it up by Hotch's cheek. Hotch didn't have to see it, he could tell before it even got close that it was the cross whip, and he leaned away from it as he turned his head, and Red giggled again. "Did some stook git put you in charge, whanker?"
"No," Hotch uttered as he cringed. The whip wasn't even touching him, but he could feel his skin starting to heat.
"I didn't think so," Red yelled and reached down and snatched Jenny up and tossed her to the skeleton as she hollered.
It caught her and grabbed the other two who were too frightened to move. With his last hand, he reached for Dag's arm.
"No!" Maxin yelled and pulled his son back and stood in front of him. "That's my son!"
Red moved away from Hotch and to the dwarf. "Ye want ye son to go to the fighting pits, git?"
Therry moved closer to her husband and put a supporting hand on his arm. "Where else would he go?" she asked as she teared up.
"I don't care where they want to take me! I want to stay with you!" Dag cried.
Red locked eyes with Maxin. "Choose, git."
Maxin took a deep breath as his eyes moved to Hotch's, and Hotch winced and then looked away from him. He didn't want any part of that decision because he couldn't honestly say what he would choose if his own sons were the ones being decided upon.
"We've stayed together this far, we might as well stay that way," Maxin told the red-headed being.
That made Red's giggle go up a few octaves, and that made Hotch's insides clench. Why would that make you happy, you son of a bitch?
Red looked at the skeleton holding the gnomes and nodded. It turned and carried them away to the right. As all their eyes drifted back to the group, Hotch looked at the ground because the fear he could see on their faces made it hard for him to breathe. I'm so sorry, guys.
"The rest of ye can follow the rumbly fellow with the axe," Red ordered, and the skeleton holding the axe turned and started walking to the left as the thing with the dogs moved in behind the group.
Tucker moved to follow the skeleton first, and then the rest all started after him. Hotch winced as he took a step, and Red grabbed his shoulder. "Ye need 'elp, git?"
Hotch pulled away from him as Copper got in beside him and ducked under his arm. "No," Copper told him as he pulled Hotch closer making him lean on him.
Red's eyes narrowed in anger, and he huffed.
"Come on, Aaron," Copper uttered and then started following the others.
"Real hard chaw alpha, you are! The git can't even walk without 'elp," Red called after them and then giggled.
Copper noticed Hotch's hand ball into a fist, and he shook his head as he grabbed the chain hooked to Hotch's wrist. "He's not worth it, Aaron," he whispered.
Hotch huffed. "This coming from the guy who said that one of us had to survive the maze just so he could give that asshole the finger."
Copper nodded. "We will, eventually."
Hotch looked at him and wished he could be as sure of that as the faun seemed to be.
XXXXX
After getting Thelsa settled with another dried berry, Kahlan and Rossi told the guys about the unicorn. Even the vampires seemed surprised by that, and they all wanted to go see it.
As Christian and Sebastian walked at the rear of the group, Christian leaned in close to his friend's ear. "Unicorns never show themselves to humans."
Sebastian sighed. "I know."
