Chapter 34: Thunder and Vengeance

As Violet pushed deeper into the forest, the young trees and bramble gradually gave way to more mature trees whose canopy blocked most of the sunlight, leaving the forest floor the domain of shade-loving plants such as pennywort, hornbeam, sassafras, ferns, and moss. Though it was easier to walk, Violet had to watch where she was going, having tripped over exposed roots twice in quick succession. Overhead, the storm cloud continued its rumblings.

The forest floor began to slope down once more and soon the ground became damp and soggy in places. Luckily, Violet had worn her soft leather boots that, like the cloak, had been thoroughly oiled to make them waterproof. This deep into the forest the air was chilled from lack of sun, though the trees blocked the wind from the cloud.

A deafening crash of thunder followed closely by a flash of lightning that lit up the shadows around her, stopped her in her tracks just as the first drops of rain found their way through the leaves high above. A strong gust of wind buffeted the trees, making them creak and groan in protest.

"This may have not been the best idea after all," she said under her breath, hugging the cloak tightly around her shoulders.

The gaggle of fae that had been following her chose this moment to vanish.

"Thanks for the support!" she called after them.

In response, the rain came down harder. It was time to give up on this folly and head back. If she hurried, she could make it to the village and take shelter at that inn until the storm passed.

Pulling the hood up over her head to shield her from the rain, she gasped as the gem caught her notice. It was clear with just a hint of grey. Wherever it was leading her was nearby. She flinched as thunder crashed again.

Closing her eyes, she breathed in a calming breath and said a prayer to her goddess. She had come this far, and was this close, turning back didn't make sense. She reasoned that she might as well keep going since the storm was already on her. What difference would ten more minutes out in it make? Maybe if she was lucky, the bracelet was leading her to shelter.

After a few more meters, she glimpsed an opening in the forest ahead. Checking the gem, she saw that it was almost completely clear now. Just a little bit more.

The rain was coming down in sheets, obscuring everything around her. The only indication that she had left the forest was that now there was no buffer for the wind. It whipped her cloak about her, almost lifting her feet off the ground. She pushed doggedly ahead, hoping to reach her goal soon.

The next foot she set down didn't meet the soaked ground. It kept going until she was in water up to her shin. She jerked back instinctively, but her other foot slipped in the mud, and she flailed wildly before falling backwards, landing with a grunt on her butt.

She sat there, berating her stupidity, and fuming at the weather. What had she been thinking?

"There's a storm coming, what a lovely day to go on a quest by myself," she muttered, feeling sorry for herself.

Looking down at the bracelet, Violet felt her anger growing. Sabah. This was her fault.

Grabbing the bracelet, she gave it a hard yank to snap the delicate chain. It didn't break. That made her angrier. Fumbling for the clasp in the rain, she fought to free it, but her fingers were wet and cold and couldn't grasp the tiny clasp. Frantically, she clawed at it, just wanting it off, leaving red welts on her pale skin. The more she fought it, the more furious she became. She was just about to scream her frustration to the world when the hairs on her arms stood on end and an odd sensation danced along her skin. Seconds later the sky flashed brightly as a bolt of lightning struck the ground dangerously close to where she lay, followed by a hoarse scream that wasn't hers.

She froze.

In her struggles, she had fallen over onto her side between two clumps of coarse grass. Staying on the ground, she wiggled around until she was laying facing the direction of the scream. Through the rain, she could barely see the body of brackish water she had nearly stumbled into. Maybe six meters across, it stretched to her right as far as she could see. It was the same on the left. It could just be a standing pool of water following the contours of the hills, or it could be a slough that fed the river.

Lying there on the wet ground with the rain pouring, she shivered. The cloak didn't do any good under these conditions. She waited a few breaths and when the person that screamed didn't make an appearance, she started to crawl back away from the water's edge and back into the cover of the forest.

During the next flash of lightning, she caught a movement across the bank and stilled. After several moments, she saw a group of figures emerge from the cover of the forest on the other side of the water. Short and solidly built, she might have mistaken the for dwarves before she had met Vorn. With the overcast sky and rain, she couldn't make out a lot of details about them, but she could see that these creatures were crudely dressed in ragged leather with mismatched armor and carried spiked clubs and crude short swords.

There were seven of them, with two struggling to pull a small cart. As they turned to follow the water, one of the wheels of the cart slid on the soft mud and went into the water's edge, nearly overturning the cart. Only the quick actions of the two pulling and the one following behind kept it upright. Yelling to be heard over the storm, one of the creatures in the lead came back and berated the two pulling. They yelled back, their guttural language coarse and grating on her ears even over the pounding of rain around her. The leader shoved the one closest to the water, knocking him in. The other shoved the leader back. That's when the rest of the group got involved. Before long, all seven were fighting.

Violet started to use the distraction of the fight to creep back into the woods and make her escape, pushing herself backwards away from the edge of the water. Across from her, the combatants jostled the cart and it tipped precariously toward the murky water. As she watched, an object wrapped in a dirty tarp tumbled out of the back and rolled down the bank. None of the enraged creatures noticed it as is disappeared under the water.

Violet had halved the distance between her and the cover of the forest behind her when, once again, the hairs on her arms prickled and she felt that odd electric feeling across her skin. She pressed close to the ground, trying to make herself as small a target as possible.

This time, the lightning struck a tree on the other bank, just a few meters from the creatures. As one, they stopped their fighting and rushed to get the cart out of the water. Yelling and cursing, they got it going again and, giving up on following the water's edge, they hurried back towards the forest for the cover of the trees. The last creature that had been following the cart, paused to peer suspiciously at the pool of water until another lightning strike nearby sent him scurrying after the rest.

Violet held still until she could no longer hear the group, then crawled the rest of the way to the forest on her side. Once under the cover to the trees, she stood and hurried deeper before she stopped to take stock of the situation. Soaked from head to toe and covered with mud down the front of the cloak and her pants, she shivered. She needed to get back to Shadowdale quickly before she caught a chill or worse. Fortunately, the rain seemed to be letting up a bit, but even then, everything in the forest was wet, and she had no way to build a fire even with the skills she had learned from Osvif.

She glared down at the bracelet, still firmly fastened around her wrist despite her efforts to remove it. It was still clear and pulling towards the water.

"No," she told it resolutely. "I'm done with you."

Ignoring its slight pull, she turned away and stomped off.

She only made it a few yards before she slowed, and her shoulders slumped. She looked down at the insistent stone then over her shoulder.

Shaking her head, she muttered, "this is such a bad idea. If I get sick and die, I deserve it."

Back at the edge of the forest, she waited, listening, and watching, to ensure the creatures were truly gone before creeping out from the cover. At the water's edge, she hesitated before plunging in and wading across. The water wasn't deep; midway across it only came up to her thighs. It was also warmer than the surrounding air. She aimed for the spot clearly marked by the cart on the edge then felt around the bottom using her feet. The water was deeper here, over her waist, and muddied from the cart. The stone on the bracelet hung straight down towards the water, so this was obviously what it wanted her to find.

Her left foot bumped into something solid, and she bent down to pick it up. It was heavier than she had anticipated, and she had to duck her head completely under water to be able to reach around the object to lift it. Clutching it to her chest with both arms wrapped around it, she waded back to the other bank and awkwardly heaved it up on the bank before climbing out of the water.

Sitting on the bank next to it, she glanced down at her wrist. The stone on the bracelet was dark once more and hung limply from its bit of chain.

"Alright, let's see what this is," she said as she reached for the cloth covering the object.

"Yes, let's see what you found," a familiar voice cackled.

Violet scrambled to her feet to face the hag.

"How did you find me?" she demanded, clutching the round pendant hidden under her sodden bodice. "You shouldn't be able to track me magically."

Allaysie cackled again. "Stupid girl. I didn't need to track you with magic. I already knew where you were. I just had to wait for you to wander off by yourself and follow you."

"You've been following me all this time?"

"Yes," she grinned, showing her sharp, blacken teeth. "I was going to take you once you left the road, but you were after something." She pointed a long, jagged nail at Violet's wrist where the bracelet hung. "Nice bauble. I can't wait to take it from your cold dead body."

"Good luck with that," Violet spat. "I'm not defenseless anymore."

Allaysie's grin broadened, "good. I like to play with my victims."

With no more warning, the hag launched herself at Violet with a hair-raising screech.

"Èist tairneanach stuadhan!" Violet shouted.

The spell boomed and Allaysie, caught in mid-air, was flung backwards, and crashed into the still water with a splash.

Coming up sputtering and choaking, she glared at Violet.

"I'm going to tear your heart out and eat it!"

Violet didn't bother to answer, choosing to cast another spell instead.

"Èist feachd!"

The force of the spell pushed the hag through the water and back under.

Violet waited for Allaysie to surface, another spell ready. The rain started again as another wave of the storm passed overhead, the thunder rumbling.

When the hag didn't come out of the water, Violet took a tentative step forward. Surely it hadn't been that easy? She strained her eyes to see any movement under the surface, every muscle in her body tensed.

The attack came from her other side, away from where she had been focused. Allaysie exploded from the water like a geyser and was on Violet before she could react. Slashes from the hag's claws ripped through the wet leather of the cloak, leaving ragged scratches along her arm and back. If not for the leather, her skin would have been shredded.

Using the skills Johanne had taught her, she dodged the next swipe of the hag's claws and cast her next spell.

"Èist teine!"

Fire flew from her hand but fizzled as it hit the wet hag.

Allaysie cackled gleefully, "stupid girl."

They circled each other. Allaysie looking for an opening and Violet calculating the best time to use her last spell. She only had four of her most powerful spells memorized and had wasted one already. She had to make this last spell count or Allaysie would have the upper hand.

Allaysie feigned a lunge to her left and, when she took the bait, came at her from the right, scoring two more hits through the leather of the cape. Another hit like that, Violet thought, and the cape's meager protection would be gone.

Violet successfully dodged the next two attacks but was starting to feel the effects of the fight. She had barely escaped the last slash of those claws. The scratches burned on both sides of her body now. She said a prayer to her goddess.

The hag darted towards her; Violet knew she was too slow to avoid her this time. A flash of purple appeared between her and the hag, punctuated by a feline yowl and hissing as Nori wrapped herself around Allaysie's face and dug in with her claws. Allaysie shrieked and clawed at the fae attacking her. Violet used the distraction to put more distance between her and the hag.

Violet felt the familiar tingling along her skin as the hair on her arms stood up.

"Nori!" she yelled, hoping her familiar would hear. "Go now!"

The fae disappeared and Allaysie snarled at her.

"Èist dealanach!" Violet yelled flinging both hands up in front of her.

The force of the lightning blast threw Allaysie backwards just as an answering bolt flashed from the storm, striking the hag just as Violet's spell faded.

Allaysie hit the ground with a wet thud and lay still. Steam rose from her body and the ground around her. Cautiously, Violet stepped closer. The hag's body was scorched black, her eye sockets black and empty. Her lips pulled back in a rictus scream. She was dead. Violet felt a surge of relief.

"Merow?"

Violet plucked Nori out of the air and hugged her close despite her yowl of protest.

"Thank you, Nori," she kissed the top of the fae's head. "I wouldn't have won without your help."

Pushing with her front legs, Nori leaned back in Violet's embrace enough to head but her on the chin.

"Merow," she purred.

"I love you too," Violet whispered into the purple fur.

After a moment, she released her familiar. "Let's see what this was all for."

Together, they went to the object sitting beside the water. Kneeling beside it, Violet unwrapped the wet tarp, exposing it.

Releasing a surprised breath, she said in a stunned voice, "well, I wasn't expecting that."

Nestled in the tarp like a nest, lay a large, shining copper-colored egg.