Saved!
"It's really high time we got lunch!" Mrs. Beaver said when the sun above them told her that it was noontime.
"But we must keep on!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed, "We don't have time for lunch!"
"Everyone has time for lunch," Mrs. Beaver sniffed; she opened her sack and looked in it for a while, "where is that ham?"
She stood up again, paws on hips, "I remember now!" she turned to Peter, "I put it in your sack!"
Peter put his sack on the snow in front of her obligingly and she pulled out a perfectly enormous ham.
"No wonder that sack was so heavy!" Peter laughed.
Mrs. Beaver found the bread plate and the bread knife and carved generous helpings for everyone off the ham.
~o*o~
Treve saw a hawk descend, it was Jafa.
Martin stretched out his hand and Jafa landed on his wrist.
"Have you seen anything?" Equus asked.
"Yes!" Jafa gasped, attempting to get back his breath, "Saw them, four children, two beavers, heading towards Dancing Lawn."
"What are we waiting for?" Martin exclaimed, "Let's go!"
The three centaurs leapt forward and disappeared into the trees.
Treve streaked forward, he would have to keep up with them.
When they broke out of the woods again the two other hawks circled and landed and reported that they had seen them too. They settled down to a walk and Treve crept behind them, hoping to stay concealed behind snow banks.
Treve was very tired and he lagged farther and farther behind.
~o*o~
It was something that none of them, except perhaps the hawks had ever experienced. It was something unheard of, ethereal, wild, beautiful…it was Narnia.
Even lying dead as she was, under fathoms of snow, there was something almost sacred about her. The trees shivered even though there was no wind, the snow seemed to sparkle more than it had in Archanland. The whole land itself sighed as if with pain.
The three centaurs were in the hilly part of Narnia and they were very high up. As they continued downward, they came out of the trees and the land fell away in front of them in breath taking magnificence. They stood still, looking in wonder at the scene.
The land flew down to acres of farmland, wild forests, jagged mountains and the great river, now frozen in its foaming course. They could barely see the great woods around Cair Paravel herself and beyond the woods was the sea, a great sheet of gleaming blue…then the utter east.
Finally Martin broke the exhilarated silence.
"We must press on friends," he said in a hushed voice, "or else we will never reach them in time."
~o*o~
Treve woke with a start. He was lying in a snow bank and the sun was almost overhead. He didn't have an idea when he fell asleep, he wasn't even sure if it was the same day.
In complete panic, he started to his feet and stared around him. The centaurs were gone, not even their tracks showed which direction they went.
Fear sized Treve and he started forward and a gallop. He was alone, alone in a strange country. There were wolves here, a witch…the very thought put a shiver down his spine.
Treve was too scared to even know where he was going.
~o*o~
Night began to fall when the centaurs reached the woods again. The hawks had reported that they had seen them nearing dancing lawn.
"If we keep going this way, we will probably come across them," Ergo said.
"It's funny," Elah interrupted, "I saw a young red fox streaking past those trees over there, it looked a lot like little Treve."
"Couldn't be," Flavis said, "we sent him back almost as soon as we got here. And anyway, he would have to run pretty fast to get there before us."
"Let's keep going or else we won't get there at all," Martin reminded him.
"Oh come off it Martin," Equus laughed, "You look as gloomy as a grave!"
"I am," Martin said, "if we don't get there then they'll be their graves and all of Narnia's hope will be gone."
~o*o~
Treve was twisting though the trees when he heard savage voices.
"Don't you know the meaning of stop, Loki?" a voice snarled, "Listen!"
Then followed three quick yips.
"That's the signal," the same voice snarled again, "repeat it."
Treve crept forward, one paw at a time until he came to the edge of a small clearing. The rank smell of skunk permeated the air. Standing or lying in a circle were ten wolfs. In the center of the circle stood a hideous black wolf and laying at his feet was a young, rather skinny gray wolf.
From what Treve could gather, he was a new recruit and had responded incorrectly to a certain signal.
"Please sir," Loki quavered, "what's the signal for draw back? And charge?"
The black wolf laughed, "draw back is a yip a howl and a bark, though the secret police never use it, we never draw back. You ought to know charge already."
Suddenly a crackling of ice came from behind Treve and he pressed himself into the snow. Two wolves whipped within a hair's breadth of him and never saw him.
They plowed their way through the circle of wolves to the black one.
"Sir, we have located the humans," one of them said.
"Very good Fenris," the black wolf through back his head and howled.
All the wolves leapt to their feet except the young one.
"You ought to know that fool!" the black wolf barked to Loki, "Charge!"
~o*o~
"Peter," Susan called from the back of the procession, "it's high time we stopped to rest, Lucy's nearly dropping."
They had just entered a clearing.
"I think it's high time we stopped for the night," Mrs. Beaver exclaimed.
Peter turned and looked around. It was dark now, the moon was full and silver and Lucy was almost asleep on her feet, they all were.
"I could give you another piggy back ride Lu," Peter said, but his back ached at the thought of carrying her again.
"No," Lucy sank into the snow, "I just want to go to sleep!"
Peter looked at the faces of the others, they were all tired.
"We must stop here," Susan said.
"All right," Peter said after a moment, "but we can't go to sleep, it's far too cold. We might freeze to death."
"We must have a fire." Susan said.
"No!" Peter exclaimed, "they'll see it!"
"They'd find us anyway, Peter," Susan said. "Edmund's freezing. We all are."
Peter looked down at them all, Shard, who hadn't slept the night before, was almost as tired as Lucy. His little brother Edmund, so thin and slight. He got cold easily, and yet he kept going and going. Susan, who's face was drawn from worry, weary from the burden of watching over them, and thinking, like himself, about what would come next. It was hard to tell what the beavers were thinking, but Peter could see by their drooping shoulders that they were exhausted. Peter wished with all his heart that he could infuse them with some of his own energy and strength.
"All right," he said, "we'll make a fire."
The others breathed a sigh of relief.
Mrs. Beaver handed out more ham for supper, then everyone settled down in the snow around the fire and almost instantly fell asleep. Peter alone stood, looking down at them. Then he sat with his back to a tree, drew his sword and convinced himself to stay awake. Someone had to; the wolves could be back anytime.
~o*o~
The three centaurs and three hawks reached the Dancing Lawn.
"Now the trick is to find them," Flavis said, glancing around the dark clearing, "they could be anywhere."
"Split up and look for them," Martin paused, listening, then they all heard it. The wild baying of wolves…and something else, something to make them shiver, "I like not the sound of it. There is some devilry afoot here, perhaps even werewolves. We must find the children."
They ranged around the edge of the woods and Jafa, who had the sharpest eyes, was the first to see the children and the beavers, around a dark hole in the ice that had been the fire.
They stood, looking down at them.
"Chibb was right," Martin said looking down at Lucy with her head on Shard's shoulder, "they are children."
"Poor kids," Flavis said, "they must be completely worn out."
"Look at his sword," Martin leaned over and looked at Rhindon, drawn in Peter's hand, "it is of the finest steel."
"I've never seen a sword like it," Flavis said, "The other boy has one too."
The bay of wolves split the air, nearer now, and a moment more and the harsh form of Maugrim flitted across the moonlit snow towards them with his pack following.
"Quick!" Equus said, "Here they are!"
"Wake up!" Flavis yelled. He grabbed Lucy, who, to him, seemed the most vulnerable and threw her up on Martin's back before she was even awake.
~o*o~
Lucy shrieked.
For a moment she was suspended in mid air, then she landed with a thump on something warm and solid.
"What!" she gasped and opened her eyes, at first she thought she was sitting behind a man on horse until it occurred to her that the man was attached to the horse.
She was on a centaur?
A centaur?
That's ridiculous!
Ridiculous.
Martin spun around and unsheathed his great claymore, Lucy grabbed at his sword sheath that was strapped on his back as she started to slip off.
"Get on quick!" Martin yelled to Susan, who was looking rather dazedly up at him. A moment later Martin had picked up Susan and put her on Flavis's back.
Peter and Edmund were on Equus, and Flavis had picked up the beavers, one under each arm and was dealing the wolves powerful kicks with his hind legs while Susan, white faced, clung to his sword sheath.
There seemed to be a sea of wolves, dark, flashing towards them, then feinting to the side so it seemed one could never quite hit them.
Every now and then Lucy could see a flash of white as Shard tangled with a wolf. He had the advantage because most of them thought he was a friend through instinct. They didn't remember that he was a renegade until they were dying on the snow.
Quite suddenly, they all heard a sound that made their blood run cold. It was long and low, a wailing of heartbreak and sorrow. Then immediately there followed a high shriek that held so long that their ears felt pierced through.
"What is it?" Susan gasped.
"She's sent out the werewolves," Flavis replied shortly, beheading a wolf, "She must have lost all hope of getting you back alive."
Martin twisted violently as he wielded his claymore and Lucy found herself slipping more off his smooth back. She clutched at his sheath, but the next moment she fell off sideways onto the snow.
Lucy struggled to her feet and stood unsteadily for a moment. A wolf pealed away from the pack and streaked towards here. Fear bolted down Lucy's spine like an electric shock and she ran as she never ran before. She reached the nearest tree and turned to face the wolf, her back the trunk.
Susan was the only one who had seen Lucy fall. She slid off Flavis and she ran towards Lucy and the wolf, unsheathing her dagger. Lucy was struggling with her bow, somehow it had gotten caught in the sheath and refused to come loose.
Susan reached them, stumbled, than clambered to her feet again. She reached out and grabbed the wolf by the scruff of its neck as it launched itself at Lucy and stabbed. She watched it roll back, dead on the snow, its crimson life blood draining from it.
Susan's eyes met Lucy's, Lucy was too horrified to cry. Susan chocked, dropped on her knees on the snow and hugged Lucy close.
The next moment, Susan and Lucy found themselves seated again on the centaurs, holding on for dear life as they dashed and plunged after the wolves.
It was then that the werewolves came.
Peter saw them first, and watched with horror as three creatures, shimmering green, darted out of the dark woods. They were not wolves, at least not quite. Their forelegs were longer then their hind legs and their chests were broad, more like a bulldog's then a wolf. Their eyes seemed to glow like live coals and from their foaming mouths came that wild eerie howl that made the travelers blood run cold.
The next moment something small and red streaked though the woods next to Susan and Lucy, then disappeared again.
Then a sharp yip, followed by a howl and a bark split the air. The signal for retreat.
The ordinary wolves obeyed without a sound and disappeared into the woods like sand through a sieve.
"Wait fools!" Maugrim roared, "I didn't say to retreat!"
Martin's sword swept downwards towards Maugrim, but the big wolf leapt aside and he too disappeared into the woods. The werewolves remained, creeping noiselessly towards the travelers, spectral as hellhounds. No word controlled them, only the witch's and hers only just.
Equus lunged forward his head high, his eyes blazing, "In the name of Aslan!" he called, his voice ringing, "return to your maker!"
The werewolves came to a halt for a moment, fixing the travelers with their glowing eyes, bright as mirrors. Then they turned and melted back into the forest. The travelers could see them still, flickering through the trees, wraithlike spirits, then they vanished entirely.
"What were they?" Lucy managed at last.
"Werewolves," Martin said shortly, "It is said that their bite makes you go mad gradually until you are a raving lunatic and would kill anyone who would come near you."
Lucy shivered.
"I'm sorry," Martin said quickly, "I should not have said it."
"What did you mean by their 'maker'?" Peter asked Equus hesitantly.
"The witch," Equus replied, "She makes them. All the wolves in her command lose their minds and turn into werewolves gradually. They are very dangerous and she only uses them in most dire need."
"It is very true," Shard said, "Maugrim himself is on the verge of turning into one."
"We tarry here too long," Martin exclaimed, "They will all return before long. We must hurry to Archanland as quickly as possible."
"What?" Flavis's voice rose to a high pitch and they all turned to see him spin around holding a small red fox by the tail, "no you're not getting away that easily!" he set the fox down again.
The little fox cowered before Flavis.
"I told you to go back!" Flavis cried, "Where you'd be safe! Your parents probably think we've murdered you by now!"
The fox plastered himself on the ground, "I only wanted to help find them," he whispered.
"I'm sorry Treve," Flavis said more gently, "I didn't mean to yell at you. After all you saved us from a pretty ticklish situation. Where did you get those signals from?"
"I overheard them talking about it," Treve explained, "I tried to get here first once the scouts came in, but I couldn't run as fast as them."
Martin stamped his hoof, "We must go!"
"Wait!" Peter said, "I'd like to know first who you are and why you're here?"
"Sir, I'm sorry we did not begin with that," Flavis said, smiling, "I am Flavis, the Narnian historian. This is Martin the general of the Narnian army and this is Equus, the prophet of Narnia. And these are Ergo, Elah and Jafa. We are Narnians currently residing in Archanland, we came to rescue you. Chibb got through."
"Good old Chibb," Peter said, "Thank you very much; we would have been in a bit of a stew if you hadn't shown up."
"As I was saying," Martin cut in, "those brutes will be all back in a minute, we must continue on!" he paused, then glanced back at Lucy, "I apologize for loosing you. It was ill done of me."
"Oh, it's quite all right," Lucy said and suppressed a yawn, "We dealt with it."
For the first time, Treve saw Martin smile.
"Oh, Shard!" Susan exclaimed, "You're hurt."
"Just a scratch milady," Shard said licking the gash on his leg, "I've gotten far worse before."
"I'll put some of my cordial on it," Susan said, beginning to uncork the bottle.
"No," Shard said, "It's far too precious to waste on me."
"We should get going before they come back," Martin interrupted, pawing impatiently at the snow, "Come! Shard's right milady, It's merely a scratch."
They started.
The moon was very high now and the woods soon thinned and gave way to more white plains, silver in the flooding moonlight. As they walked, to help everyone stay awake, Peter told all that had befallen them in their journey and before. When he finished, Flavis told their tale.
Shard who slipped along in their shadows, followed up as rearguard. He kept glancing back at the dark shade of the now distant trees. He felt as if they were being followed, and not by wolves.
A/N: This is the second to last chapter!