Disclaimers: as ever.
Thank you for those reviews. If you're enjoying the story, or have any suggestions, please, please let me know. I really love reviews.
CHAPTER TEN: NATURE RAW IN TOOTH AND CLAW
Nigel hurtled into the forest, slipping and sliding on the increasingly boggy ground, and caring little for the delicate shoots and petals of the wildflowers he trampled under his feet. He ran as if the devil herself was on his trail - or the devil incarnate: Tess. The sight of her alone had nearly felled Nigel with panic, when he'd glanced back over his shoulder to see her leaping out of the van. He hadn't seen Sydney…where was Sydney?
He knew he couldn't keep this place up forever: his breath was increasingly ragged, and the pain of a stitch was beginning to knot his stomach. What's more, his boots were starting to rub. 'Still,' his optimistic side told himself, 'you've got a few more kilometres in you yet, Bailey! Or you need somewhere good to hide…oomph!'
The world swerved upwards as his toe jammed against the wandering root of a tree. Nigel slammed forward onto his hands and knees in the dirt, liquefied mud flying at all angles, and into his clothes, face and hair. He cringed sharply, not just at the shock and the pain in his bruised knees, but at the incriminatingly loud 'squidge' that sounded as he landed. A crow squawked and flew away, his flapping wings resonating louder than a helicopter.
Nigel drooped his head forward a moment, damp hair hanging down over his tightly shut eyes. It was then that he heard the voices: all female, all strangely alluring, they echoed around the woodland in a thousand different hues and tones, falling upon his ears like a dreadful, entrancing music. Each voice called but a single word.
'Nigel!' 'Nigel!' 'Nigel…'
His eyes snapped open. He had to move fast to save himself, but the fall, and the omnipresent cries, had sapped him of his desire to run. Spying a dense rhododendron bush not a metre off, he thanked God for invasive species, and crawled under its unwelcomingly twiggy mass of leaves and branches.
Resting on his haunches, Nigel curled his arms and legs around himself, making his body into as small a parcel as possible. Feeling very much like a hunted rabbit, who was fearfully overhearing the yap of the hounds and the wail of the horn, Nigel listened to the haunting calls: 'Nigel…Nigel….Nigel…!'
A distant cry among the many, however, caught his ears and made his heart lurch. Even without the American accent, he would have known that voice from the rest: Sydney! She was there, in the hunt, as ever.
Nigel was desperate to answer her - but that would give away his whereabouts to everybody else as well! He racked his brains for a method to contact her alone, and ended up vaguely wishing he knew how to hoot like an owl, just as children in mid 20th-century adventure novels always did. But, even if he could, he mused, without foreknowledge of the code, how would Sydney know it was him, not a real owl? He might prove to be very good at owl impressions!
Deciding he must be bordering on the delirious, Nigel expelled a long, shuddering sigh and backed further into the bush. Sydney was the best - she'd find him first.
Nigel's comforting thoughts were shattered by the unmistakable shuffle of movement - of feet? - close at hand. His stomach twisted with fear and anticipation - was it Sydney? Tess? Did they know he was here?
'Sssschwamp!'
As a sound somewhere between a slurp and a tear resounded in his ears, a large clump of the sheltering bush was ripped away. His hiding place partially uncovered, Nigel lifted a disconsolate gaze to his cruel discoverer: the familiar grey, pointed eared, wispy bearded, long-nosed aspect of Stewie!
'Go away!' hissed Nigel, pressing himself back as far as he could into the stabbing branches, and lifting a hand to shield his face as twigs sprung dangerously close to his eyes. 'Bloody pony!'
The pony snorted and whinnied, exhaling with a force akin to an engine letting off steam.
'Ugh!'
Stewie's breath smelt like well-rotted manure. Little perturbed by the smaller creatures' presence, and ignoring his pleas, Stewie took a larger bite than before, and then shuffled backwards with the best part of the front of the bush drooling limply from his chops.
'Great!' squeaked Nigel, 'bloody marvellous!' The hidey-hole was now completely exposed. He took a deep breath, and tried to think calmly about what to do next. 'At least I know where you are now,' he thought grimly, wondering if he'd survive long enough to find out what the key - possibly still inside the beast ahead of him - actually did! His hopes lifted slightly, though, as he realised that the multitudinous cries of his name were now muffled, floating through the air from a greater distance than a few minutes prior.
Stewie turned away, characteristically nonchalant, embroiling himself in the formidable task of swallowing half the forest. Nigel, ever vigilant of the kicking potential of the pony's back legs, crawled forward and rose shakily to his feet.
Thinking positively, he whispered to the pony: 'Now, you just stay here! I'm going to find Sydney…aaaaargh!'
The hand came from nowhere, and seized Nigel by the collar. His wide eyes fell upon the horrific sight of scarlet-lipped Tess, emerging from the undergrowth in front of him. As Reiner executed one of his favourite tricks - thumping Sydney's assistant with his pistol butt - a thudding pain exploded at the back of Nigel's head.
Even as he cursed the pony that had betrayed him, Nigel's world went black…
………………………….
Sydney wove her way through the trees and bushes, feeling clumsy and less deft than usual – her sore ankle was holding up well, but taking the edge off her usual agility and speed.
'Nigel!'
She hollered his name for what seemed like the hundredth time, knowing he would never answer. Nevertheless, she hoped it might orientate him towards her. Nigel's now well-tested stamina would surely mean he could outrun the majority of the girls, whose cries were increasingly falling by the wayside. But what if he'd run in completely the opposite direction? Or had chosen to hide in a bush? He could be anywhere by now… or Tess could have found him first…
'Nigel! Nigel!' Gritting her teeth and refusing to think the worst, Sydney gingerly forged the dirty brown torrent of a little forest stream and continued with the hunt.
Fraught moments flowed into anxious hours, and the sky above her faded from metallic grey into a dirty, cloudy blackness. The distant voices melted to nothingness; all Sydney heard now was the occasional rapid whirring of the wings of a bat, or the scuffle of a night rodent in the undergrowth. Finally halting, she leant back against a tree, her head gratefully resting against the rough bark: 'what now, Sydney?'
As her mind raced, she admitted to herself she was lost, and that Nigel could be miles away, scared and alone, or worse. Her breath hitched in her throat as she realised that the quick flick of a mad woman's blade could end the life that meant so much to her, and that she had only just come to admit - both to him and to her heart - that she could no longer live without.
Just then, her sharp ears detected a distant hail.
'Sydney!'
Silence. The cry came again.
'Professor Fox?'
Sydney's lurching spirits sank. It was a female voice, but a familiar one: Carolyn.
Her mind calculated quickly. Nigel could be anywhere, but the best thing for her to do now would be to reach the barrow by dawn, to prevent any possibility of Tess carrying out her sordid ritual at the sacred site. Carolyn knew the forest better than anyone: she was certainly the best person to help Sydney find what she needed.
Sydney yelled her reply: 'Carolyn! Over here!' She started towards the voice, her determination to save Nigel, for now at least, overcoming the aching dread of his loss.
………………………………………
As Nigel juddered into the realm of semi-consciousness, he became convinced that a plump, hard-hoofed pony was doing a tap dance on the back of his head. From what other source could that pounding pain come? The memory of Tess's laughing lips and peroxide curls then jolted through his body like a spasm. Was that really the last thing he'd seen, or was it all part of the nightmare? But then, why was this bed so rough and hard?
The cold night breeze licked through his hair, although a glowing, heat caressed and warmed one side of his face. A campfire? Clinging to the vague hope that he was lying in a particularly uncomfortable tent, with Sydney by his side, Nigel pried one eye open, and attempted to roll over.
It was then he realised he couldn't move. Something was tied fast amount his middle – a strap? a rope? - it was so dark he couldn't tell. Attempting to move his hands down to investigate proved futile: they were secured tightly to something above his head. Trying to kick demonstrated that his legs were equally hampered. From the firm, but slightly jagged surface that he felt behind his neck, Nigel guessed he was bound to a large, fallen tree trunk.
Suppressing a gasp of horror, Nigel darted his eyes in the direction of a flickering campfire. In the effervescent light, he could see the now partially collapsed dolmen that marked the mouth of the barrow. In front of it, her chin rested in her hand, glowering resolutely into the flames, was Tess. Hovering at her shoulder, and mumbling discontentedly, was Reiner. The German relic hunter was holding a short lead, no longer than that on which one would tether a large dog. On the end of it, drooping his head, was a sleepy looking pony: Stewie.
They were back at the barrow! Although alarm jabbed in his middle as he remembered all too well what Tess intended to do here, Nigel's hope glimmered at the thought that Sydney would surely think to come here by dawn. Moreover, Tess and Reiner did not seem to have noticed he was awake.
Nigel held his breath, not even taking advantage of the narrow parameters of movement that his bonds allowed him. In attempting to not draw attention to himself, he conjectured he might delay the inevitable long enough to be rescued. Squeezing his eyes shut again, Nigel bit back the desire to scream for help and, despite his ardent desire to hear and see nothing more, listened intently.
It soon became evident from his grumbling that Kurt Reiner was not happy. Not only was he fed up with dragging around that 'bloody pony,' he had serious reservations, if not scruples, about the ritual itself.
'I don't see why it has to involve all this…offering,' he barked, his voice disclosing a hint of a whine. 'It won't make the staff worth any more money!'
The reply was husky and ominous, its aggression belying its gentle, West Country accent: 'Power is money - money is power. The ritual will bring me power, and power will bring me more money than can fill Cheddar Gorge!'
'I don't see how,' grumbled Tess's accomplice. 'And I have no desire to flee this country with a murder rap on my head. Besides, Sydney Fox would never…never…'
'So you're scared Sydney Fox would never sleep with you again if you slaughter her sexy little assistant in cold blood? Oh, come on Reiner! There are other women! I don't see what's so special about that Fox woman, anyway. What has she got that I haven't?'
Nigel's blood simultaneously froze and boiled as he heard the terrible plans for his fate confirmed, and his beloved Sydney denigrated. Struggling to master his own emotions, it struck him that here was an opportunity: Reiner was wavering, and he, Nigel, wasn't without bargaining power…
'Don't listen to her, Reiner!' he ventured, his voice croaky with disuse and tiredness. 'Syd's got plenty that she hasn't got, and you know for a fact that if you carry this…this…this thing through, she'll hunt you down and find you, no matter where you hide….both of you…'
His voice, which had swelled in confidence, faded into an almost indiscernible whimper as Tess's face, with its halo of blonde hair, appeared above him. Her crimson grin was as broad as ever.
'Hello, angel,' she murmured, drifting a finger down his cheek. 'I wondered when you were going to join us again…'
Despite everything, Nigel Bailey was too much of a gentleman to spit in her face. He did bare his teeth, however, in a small act of defiance, as she began fondling the soft, damp hair above his forehead.
'Reiner!' he yelled, doing his utmost to ignore her, 'if you help me I'll put in a good word for you with Sydney… I'll even try and persuade her to give you that Incan dagger, the partner of the you took from her in South America! You know the one - they'll be worth a fortune together! More than the silly staff could ever….mph!'
Tess's smile cracked only for a second, while she clamped her hand down over Nigel's mouth.
'Oh, my angel,' she soothed, noting apathetically the terror flashing in her prey's delectable countenance, 'this will pain me much more than you realise. Things could have been so different if you weren't besotted with that awful American, and you weren't so clearly 'the one' that Earth Mother desires…sssh now!'
She slowly withdrew her fingers from his lips. With her other hand, she reached into her robes and pulled out the pearl-handled mediaeval knife, previously stolen and brandished by Henchard.
Nigel's throat was so contracted with fear that his words came out as a pale whisper: 'Um… shouldn't you wait until dawn…. according to all the texts the ritual shouldn't take place until dawn…'
'It's nearly dawn, my angel… your blood will still be warm!'
Nigel pretended, as well as he could, that he didn't hear these words. 'But what about the key? The key is still 'in' the pony! You won't find the staff without that…and then it will all be a waste of time! That would be a shame, wouldn't it?' From somewhere, he mustered a desperate, lop-sided smile.
Tess shrugged: 'the knife can cut through beast as well as man!'
His mortal fear for his own life momentarily diminishing, Nigel's mouth fell open in genuine disgust. He hated that pony, but Stewie didn't deserve to die, any more than he did! 'No! You wouldn't!' he stuttered. 'The Earth Mother, um, gives, not takes life…'
'Yes, I would,' said Tess casually. 'And the Earth Mother does what she sees as best! Man has molded religion to his will, for long enough. Welcome to the 21st-century version of female power, Nigel…' Tess trailed off, turned away, and then a portentous silence was broken by a scraping 'whizzy' noise. Nigel, tugging hopelessly against the ropes, could not smother a whimper of terror as he realised it was the sound of the knife being sharpened.
The awful grating ceased. Cool, clinical fingers unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, and pulled apart the collar, the icy tips fizzing against now overly sensitive skin.
'Please,' whispered Nigel. 'Surely this isn't…necessary…?'
Light from the raised blade flashed in his face. Nigel screwed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the worst…
'No! I don't think this is the best thing to do!' The German-accented words cut through the dreadful atmosphere like a knife through flesh.
Exhaling tremulously, Nigel dared to peep. Reiner had saved him: the rival relic hunter's hand was hand grasped around Tess's wrist, disabling her knife-wielding blow. His trusty pistol was held against her side. Tess's looked like she might explode with fury, but she was stilled for now.
'This is madness!' snorted Reiner. 'No ritual can be worth more than I will get for that pair of daggers…'
Nigel wasn't sure whether to cheer or cry. He wanted to shout 'listen to the man', but his overcharged faculties were no longer in control of his body. He succeeded only in gawping up at him wildly, his heart pounding so madly that the whole log was shaking.
'And I don't want Sydney Fox hunting me down from one side of the Earth to the other,' continued Reiner. 'So I suggest we leave her assistant alive, get the staff, and then get out of here and decide upon the best way to extract the ransom.' The gun in his hand having renewed his confidence, he added: 'I'll still cut you in, 10 percent.'
'10 percent! You've got to be kidding me!'
The force of Tess's screech was so disarming that Reiner never saw the adroit back kick to his groin coming, or the easy slap with which she disposed of the gun.
Nigel, just gathering up his emotions, audibly groaned as Tess dodged Reiner's predictable retaliatory punch and socked him square on the jaw. She then delivered a rather unnecessary flying sidekick, a body blow that left Reiner writhing in the dirt - again.
'No!' Nigel couldn't help his cry. Tess casually picked up the knife, wiped the blade on her sleeve, and turned back towards him.
'No…please….'
Tess just smiled and smiled, as she muttered a barely understandable prayer in the Latin dialect of hell, and raised the knife again…
'Get away from him, you bitch!'
The words blasted out of total darkness. Tess, her senses more overwrought than her steely countenance signified, guessed wrongly from which direction the spinning kick would come. The knife flew from her hand, skittering across the ground, and stuttered to a halt near the fire.
'Syd?' shouted Nigel, his voice cracked with a mixture of hope and disbelief. 'I knew… I knew you'd come!'
Sydney flashed a breathless grin, and she dodged Tess's first retaliatory strike.
'Never doubted me, huh?' she winked at Nigel.
'Never!'
The conversation was cut short when Tess swung into a 360 degree scissor kick. It was a perfectly executed move, and sent Sydney flying backwards towards the bushes.
Sydney flinched at the repeated force placed on her ankle, and barely prevented herself tumbling. Mustering all her wits, she transformed Tess's forceful shove to her own advantage, sweeping around into a soaring kick to the head. Tess ducked, plummeting unexpectedly to the ground, reaching hungrily for the knife
'Girl, you're good,' Syd muttered under her breath, the smallest hint of respect quenched by the fires of hatred. 'But I'm not a one trick pony… maybe there's nothing to chose between us if we both fight like eastern masters, but what if I fight like a western woman?'
Sydney dived on top of Tess, just as she wrapped her fingers around the handle of the blade. Taking a handful of blonde locks, Sydney yanked them hard: Tess's head flew back, her neck wrenching with a crack.
'Two can play that game!' Tess gracelessly elbowed Sydney in the stomach, jettisoning her enemy before Syd's outstretched fingernails reached their target. The now dishevelled barmaid hauled herself up, the knife still in her hand, as Sydney staggered upright. Their eyes locked, dripping with mutual contempt.
'The Earth Mother will have her offering!' Tess's guttural voice echoed around the clearing.
'The Earth Mother likes her men alive!' rejoindered Sydney, rolling her eyes. 'Hell, you've got to be a real freak not to…'
'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh'
They screamed as one, leaping forward and clashing mid air. Landing in a crumpled heap, they rolled across the ground together, a fireball of raw energy and aggression, grappling for control of the knife.
…………………………………………..
Just metres away, Nigel was wriggling impatiently as Carolyn struggled to untie the ropes that bound him to the log. His hands were proving particularly tricky.
'Please hurry!' he hissed. 'Surely all that camping in the swinging Sixties made you good at knots?'
Carolyn, although concentrating hard, nearly choked on her reply: 'I think not, dear! We may have danced barefoot through the flowers, but I always went home to a comfortable bed. Nature is only so inviting… Tess was a Girl Guide, though.'
'I can well believe that,' replied Nigel bitterly. Spotting Sydney and Tess, matching each other blow for blow, he tugged hopefully, at his tethered wrist. 'Hurry!'
'It would help if you stopped squirming, dear…ah!' Carolyn's face lit up as the rope finally unravelled. 'Got it!'
As Nigel rapidly untangled himself, he darted another look across at the combatants. They were back on their feet again, their hair flowing loose and wild. Tess's lips dripped with blood, while Sydney's top was badly ripped, hanging halfway off her shoulder, revealing four nasty scratches, the vicious work of Tess's nails. Her face glowed with a terrible radiance. She was ready from more; ready for whatever it took to save him…
Nigel inhaled sharply: was this the woman he loved, or a creature in her state of grace, nature raw in tooth and claw? Either way, it excited him…
As Tess kicked at Sydney's bad ankle, causing her to cry out, Nigel realised there was no time for impetuous lust. He grabbed the largest log he could lift easily, sprinted into the fray, and swung it with all his might against the back of Tess's head. She crashed down onto her hands and knees, her anguished scream fading into nothingness, as her face splattered into the mud.
'Good work, Nigel!'
As her eyes made his, he saw the animal had fled. Her deep brown orbs projected affection, friendship, love: all pure, all human…all his?
They fell, panting, into each other's arms.
'Sydney, are you okay?'
'Fine… just a scratch.' She pulled away, quickly hitching her top back onto her shoulder. 'What about you?'
'It was close… but I'm all right. Thanks to you…'
He lifted his fingers and brushed her cheek gently, as they lingered for a beautiful moment on the verge of a kiss. 'This seems so strange, so new,' thought Sydney, 'and so natural…'
The jagged words ripped between them: 'I can't believe you're going to kiss your new guy, Sydney! The only reason he's alive is down to me!'
'Oh dear!' Carolyn, who had taken a seat on the log, hoping to enjoy the ensuing romance, had not even noticed Reiner emerging: 'That nasty man's got a gun!'
Sydney and Nigel swivelled to see Reiner, trigger-happy as ever. With his other hand, he was holding up a shiny key. 'Look what I've got, Sydney.'
Sydney's jaw dropped, as she recognised the mediaeval implement that had been scoffed out of Nigel's back: 'Where did you get that?'
'Where do you think?' sneered Reiner. Behind him, glowed the beady eyes of Stewie. The pony had, finally, done his business – for Reiner.
'Heart of darkness!' muttered Nigel. 'I knew that bloody pony was evil.'
'I'm waiting, Sydney!' barked Reiner, brandishing the gun threateningly. 'Tell me what you do with the key?'
Thanks for reading. If you've been enjoying this story, as I said, please, please, please review me. I'm now planning my next stories, and feedback is just so helpful - and also makes me very, very happy! k x