Sage Elvan studied Milen’s face, “Did you report the hijackings and the deaths of the drivers and guards to any local officials?”
“No. They were on our private property. They wouldn’t have done anything.” Milen agreed that in the morning, he would show them where the bodies had been found.
When Sage Elvan asked whether the men had taken any pictures of the bodies or at those locations, Kudon’s face took on a disgusted look. “Why in the world would we do that?”
“To document what happened.”
Kudon snapped, “That’s ridiculous! Who would want to look at them?”
“We would have. Perhaps there was something to identify them. Would you show us tomorrow where you found the bodies?”
“I thought you were leaving.”
“We were, but I’ve changed my mind,” Sage Elvan nodded. “If you want this to stop, we need to find the perpetrators.” Kudon agreed to lead them to the site.
“Your property runs several kilometers along the river. Are there caves along the river to the east, too?” Jal asked.
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“Someone may be hiding in one of them, waiting for an opportunity to seize a transport.”
“It’s a lot of territory to search,” Kita spoke up.
“We don’t have time to mess with a search!” Kudon argued.
“We could help. There’s no school, Dad,” Luka offered.
“No! You’re needed here! We need to do maintenance. One of the drills broke.”
That night, Jal emptied its backpack. It found a bag of dried food, fire-starting rocks, and a hunting knife. There were tiny packets in a pocket for flower seeds, and small bags to collect plants. There was no rope for climbing, no weapon except the wand, and nothing in which to cook. But the cape was there, hidden in the pocket at the very bottom. Jal made sure both communication devices were attached to its shirt, and both tablets were in the pack.
The following morning, Kudon led Sage Elvan and Jal to the places where the guards and transport drivers had been found. The two looked around briefly and Jal marked the spots on a map. At the third site, Kudon pointed north and told them how to get to the caves along the river and where the property ended. “We eat at mid-day and at dusk. If you’re not back, please use your communication devices, so we know you’re okay.”
Jal and Sage Elvan returned to the three sites they’d been shown. During a thorough search of each area, they found large sheets of blackened metal, chunks of blue rock, and piles of light pink dust. “What do you think these are?”
“I have no idea.” Jal took out two small bags and put some of the rocks and dust into two of them. Jal noticed long tufts of brown hair, and bagged some of those too. “Sage Elvan,” Jal called out. “I found unusual footprints.” Together they studied them, and Sage Elvan took pictures. “These look human, left and right feet with no foot coverings. Four toes.”
The two went in and out of caves along the river for several hours, until they came to the marking where they’d been the day before. Jal climbed the rocks to look if there was anything unusual around, but came down disappointed. They walked back to the entrance to the property. When the sun was overhead, Jal offered Sage Elvan some jerked bokan, and they stopped to rest and get a drink.
“
How are you going to drink? Do you have a cup?” Jal showed it how to cup its hands and drink. Sage Elvan thought this was ridiculous, but did it anyway.
They began again to go along the river looking for more caves. After the first one, Jal stepped out of the cave, and then backed into it. “Shh! I saw something moving!” A few minutes later, Jal ventured out again. There was nothing in sight.
They went in and out of a second and third cave, and at the fourth one stopped. In front of it there were charred sticks, as if someone had built a fire. “It’s cold. I wonder if someone lives here.” Once inside, they found two huge piles of hair. Jal took a small clump and shoved it into its belt pocket.
“Look, an opening to the next cave,” Sage Elvan whispered. Jal followed it soundlessly. As they peered over the rocks into the next cave, they saw movement. “It’s a bear,” Sage Elvan murmured. “Best if left alone.” They retreated to the entrance, and slowly went out.
There was a loud shriek, and an animal appeared in front of them. It was no bear! It was about two meters tall, covered with fur, but it had no head!
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
The creature shrieked again, and waved its hand at them. A green streak shot through the air. “Duck!” Jal yanked Sage Elvan to the ground.
“What is it?”
“Never mind that! Let’s get out of here!” Jal jumped up and pulled Sage Elvan back to its feet.
“But we don’t want to hurt it!”
“That doesn’t matter! It wants to hurt us! Maybe kill us!”
As they raced along the riverbank, the headless creature followed them. It lumbered along, shooting at them intermittently. Jal yanked the wand out of its belt and turned.
“Bliksem!”
A lightening bolt went through the air and hit the creature’s leg! It wavered and shrieked. It began to pick up speed.
“Run, Jan! Run! Bliksem!” The second try missed completely. On the third and fourth shots Jal hit the creature in the chest. It stopped, and the two glanced back.
“Let’s go back and talk to it,” Sage Elvan proposed.
“Let’s not and say we did!”
The creature stood blinking. It waved its hand in front of its chest and didn’t move.
“You stunned it,” Sage Elvan murmured.
“Look at that!” Jal said quietly. “It’s got eyes on its chest!” The two kept looking behind themselves as they slowed.
“I see a nose! Is that a mouth about where our umbilicuses are?”
The creature let out an ear-splitting howl, but didn’t move. It sat down on the ground, screaming and covering its eyes.
“I believe you blinded it,” Sage Elvan observed as they peered out from behind a tree. “Do you think we could get some pictures?”
“Are you serious?”
“Turn around!” Jal stood in front of Sage Elvan while it fished the tablet out of Jal’s backpack. The camera clicked several times before Jal saw motion behind the creature.
“There’s another one!” Jal whispered. “We need to run!”
Sage Elvan took two more pictures and slid the tablet into the pack. “Go!”
The two raced along the riverbank and turned onto the track back to the Badem’s mine. They could hear leaves and twigs crunch, but couldn’t see anything. At the entrance to the mine, they tried to open the door. It wouldn’t budge.
Jal turned around and saw motion in the trees. “Do something!” Jal whispered. “It’s coming!
Terrified, Sage Elvan pounded on the door. It dug its wand out of its belt, while Jal hit and kicked the door. It suddenly opened, and Jal fell over the threshold. Sage Elvan turned and pointed its wand. “Bliksem!”
Sage Elvan pushed Jal into the entry way and slammed the door shut behind them. “Can we lock it?” Jal said to Luka.
“Yes. Everyone else is here.” He slid the lock into place. “What was that all about?”
The two stood gasping for air. “Give us a minute.”
Kita saw them, and welcomed them back in. “Come and sit. Tell us what you were doing.”
“We need a minute to catch our breath. The two inhaled. “We could use a drink of water.” She went off to the cooking area.
Jal went to its cot and set the backpack on the floor. Sage Elvan came and stood behind it. “Don’t mention the rocks we found,” it muttered. “Let me do the talking.” Jal nodded.
They joined the others in the sitting area. Sage Elvan looked at each of the adults. “You didn’t tell us that you had other people living on your property.”
“Other people?” They looked at one another. “There are no humans for several kilometers.”
“There are hooved animals,” Kudon remarked. “Cougars and all kinds of birds.”
Milen stared at Sage Elvan, “There are no people that we are aware of.”
“We have bears,” Maja said quietly. “They’re about as tall as Dad when they stand on their hind legs.”
“That was not a bear,” Sage Elvan said firmly. Choosing its words deliberately, it described what had happened. Jal sat blinking, still stunned.
The others shook their heads in disbelief. “No way! We’ve never seen anything like that!”
“Jal? Where’s the tablet?”
Jal handed it to Sage Elvan, who flicked through the pictures. “Here’s the best shot.” They passed the tablet around the circle.
“What is it?”
“I’m not certain I want to know,” Milen said slowly. “I can see a green line. It comes from its hands?”
“We don’t know.”
“Did you find anything that indicates who is making trouble for us?”
“No. We’ve run out of time,” Sage Elvan explained that it had other obligations. “We’ll return home in the morning.”
The rest of the evening passed without incident, and Jal lay in its cot that night, thinking about everything that had happened since they arrived. When snoring filled the sleeping area, Jal slid the invisible cloak and a tiny high-powered flashlight from under its pillow. Jal crept out of bed, put the cape on, and made its way to one of the tunnels.
Jal stepped silently toward the hum of the drills that Milen had shown them. At the entrance to the cavern, it paused and flicked the light back and forth. Jal took a small plastic bag from its pocket, scooped some fine residue into the bag and sealed it. Down the hall, in another drilling area, Jal repeated its efforts. It had multiple samples from various locations when it heard the clomp of heavy workboots.
“Oh, no!” Panic-stricken, Jal pulled the cloak over itself and moved away from the machines and the door. Praying that it was covered fully by the cloak, it froze in a crouched position. Jal could see the light of Kudon’s flashlight play across the area where the machine was drilling. Satisfied with what he saw, Kudon went out the entrance to another cavern. Jal stood listening as Kudon went from machine to machine and back down the passageway to the sleeping area.
Jal crept down the hall, running its hand along the rocky surface to guide itself in the dark. It stopped. The texture here was different. Soft pieces of rock fell into its hand, and one fell on the floor. Jal held its breath as Kudon’s steps faded and a cot squeaked. It stepped forward again and slipped into the sleeping room and turned its flashlight on.
“Who’s there?” Kudon’s voice echoed in the chamber. Kudon’s flashlight was aimed at its face.
“It’s me, Jal. I’m going to the toilet. I’m sorry for waking you.” Jal let the cloak drop to the floor.
“You’re headed the wrong way, boy. Turn around and go right.”
“Thank you. Goodnight.” Jal silently picked up the cloak and went into the tiny bathroom. It closed the door behind itself, and pulled the plastic bags from its sleeve. It put the soft rock into another bag and sealed it before using the toilet. Jal washed its hands to remove any residue and went back toward its cot.
Once there, Jal tucked the bags into the bottom pocket of its backpack, stuffed the cloak in on top of it, and carefully placed its uniform on top. The cot creaked as Jal slid back onto it and drew a long breath.
Jal struggled to go to sleep. It didn’t dare to hum the tune for meditating; it might wake someone. Finally, it slept, but its dreams were filled with bears and headless monsters.