The Rescue

After detailing all she had seen, Brinn sat on the ground and was handed a well deserved thermos of water. She was utterly spent.

"His name is Jaymes, hm? I have a couple of questions for him when we finally meet." Aurora crossed her arms and tapped her fingers against them, deep in thought.

The description of the boy was very unique. Although the elven princess swore that Jaymes was only human, Aurora wondered if he might not have something…special about him.

'Why else would he be held captive in the middle of nowhere? Something does not add up.'

However her musings would have to wait until the child was freed from his lizard-infested prison.

"Alvar and Reyan will go. You boys know what you should do." The Empress watched as the two males exchanged nods of understanding. "Brinn, could you draw them a map of the interior of the house so they know where to aim?"

The elf's golden face pinched tightly. "Oh no, I am going with them."

"You need to rest. Your magic is all but gone." Aurora was able to push her friend back to sitting with almost no effort.

Magic drew on the body's resources. When that well was exhausted, so was the physical body that housed it.

"The kid knows my name and my voice. I do not want him to think I abandoned him."

"Attached already? That is very unlike you!" Reyan raised one eyebrow. "I don't want to have to carry your useless weight on this mission. You are too tired to be of any good."

"The fairy is right, Brinny. You look very pale." Alvar cupped his wife's chin.

She stared at him angrily then pulled her face away. "Give me five minutes and I will be fine."

Aurora stared at her friend. Alvar was right; Brinn's golden skin was missing its luster.

Yet her eyes were as fierce as ever.

The Empress shrugged. "May as well let her go. Brinn will just follow you and make you take her along if you try to leave her."

"You bet I will!" With that Brinn closed her eyes. "I'll be ready in a moment."

Running over the plan with the others, Aurora made sure that they were all on the same page. Beyond the tree line of the clearing, Aurora, Nurlan, and Zan would wait with Gela to mask their smells.

Reyan, Brinn, and Alvar would swoop in, portal out the boy and come back to the others before the lizard even knew the captive was gone.

"What do we do about the professor?" Reyan asked.

It was a good question.

"Do you think he is working with the wolves?" The Empress asked Brinn. Even though the elf was laying on the grass with her eyes shut, Aurora knew she was listening to every word.

"He seemed too afraid of the lizards to be with them. But if he means to cause trouble we will need to have a contingency plan."

"In other words, you'll play it by ear?" Zan knew improvisation when he heard it.

"My specialty," Alvar rubbed his hands together. "Are we ready?"

Really, Brinn could have used another hour or two of rest, but the trees at the edge of the whispering forest were already making the dull grey light begin to fade.

Looking up at the ghastly canopy, Aurora unconsciously shivered. "We will begin to move into position at the meeting point. Give us a ten minute head start before you begin."

"We will give you fifteen," Brinn promised. She closed her eyes, determined to give herself as much rest in that time as she could.

All too soon, Alvar was shaking her softly to awaken her from her catnap.

"It's time," he whispered.

Groggily, Brinn stood and followed her husband and the fairy. Before long, they had reached the clearing and found their position.

——————

"You seem unfocused, Jaymes," the professor waved his hand in front of the boy's face.

The child had been looking toward the window every other minute. It was strange even for the young man's more distracted moments.

"Sorry, I am paying attention." Jaymes's gaunt cheeks turned slightly more round as he gave an embarrassed smirk. "I just have something on my mind."

The professor closed the book. "They should be bringing us some dinner soon. Maybe this is a good time for a break. What is on your mind, my boy."

The boy's eyes were in between blue and green, each fighting for dominance. The professor knew that expression all too well.

"Don't lie to me. Just tell me. I won't be angry, I promise." The tutor patted the boy's hand on the table.

Jaymes grimaced. "You say that, but I don't think you will be pleased."

His teacher looked over his shoulder to the doorway of the room. No one seemed to be in the house right that moment, but that did not mean it was true. Jaymes took the cue and began to write feverishly on a slip of paper.

He told of hearing a voice and how she said not to leave because others would come to rescue them. The two humans were so engrossed in reading and writing that neither looked up when a pinprick of light floated into the room, surveyed it, and disappeared.

"That is madness, child," the professor said at last. "Quite a daydream you had there. I hope you aren't getting a fever."

The older man reached for the child's forehead, but his hand was batted away. "I'm fine!" Jaymes protested.

All of a sudden, a small shimmer grew into a window-like hole right in front of them. The tutor pushed his pupil behind him against the wall of the small room as the portal took shape. All too quickly, the edges lost their shine and melded into the existing air.

The result looked like a hole in the very fabric of space had been carved into the little room, because, well, it had. Reyan peeked through the chasm and motioned for them to follow.

"Don't just stand there, Come on!" he hissed.

His harsh tone was unwelcoming, even giving Jaymes a moment of hesitation. The professor on the other hand was terrified.

So when the handsome, golden-skinned he-elf pushed through the portal to hurry them along, the old man opened his mouth to cry out for help. Alvar clamped his hand over the elder's mouth and held his finger to his own.

"Don't yell," his wind magic whispered in the tutor's ear. The old man's eyes went wide.

Seeing a gorgeous redheaded elf stroll casually into the room, the boy fled his tutor's protection and into the princess's arms.

"Brinn!" Jayme's said softly. "You look exactly as I imagined. I knew you would come back."

"I am glad I did not disappoint. Come on, now. We need to go before the lizards come." Brinn took Jaymes's hand and gently guided him forward.

But instead, Jaymes stepped backwards and took his tutor's arm. "Come on professor. Hurry!"

The old man stood frozen in place. His mind was trying to catch up with all of what he was seeing. "These...these are the creatures that we were warned about!" He said with wide eyes. "Don't fall for it, Jaymes! They mean to harm us!"

"If you want to die here, fine. That is your business. But we are going to save Jaymes either way." Brinn tugged more firmly on the boy's hand.

"I won't leave without him," the boy said to the elf. Brinn rolled her eyes.

The professor's voice was loud, and Brinn could not let him continue like he was.

"Fine. Plan B." The elven princess nodded to Alvar, who hit the professor across the back of the head.

The old man's eyes rolled toward the back of his skull as they closed. Before he could fall to the ground, the handsome elf scooped the professor up into his arms and hoisted him over one shoulder.

"Problem solved." Brinn winked at the little boy, tilting her head as she viewed his horrified expression. "Would you rather leave him here to die?"

Realizing the alternative, Jaymes shook his head and submitted to the elf's urgings.

"Get along!" Reyan hissed again, sweat streaming down his face. "You want me to use up all my magic waiting on you to take your sweet time?"

Brinn wanted to make a quip about the eternal portal surrounding the old fairy's house, but knew that a special enchantment helped to make that work. The elven princess needed to make sure the fairy didn't use up his resources as well. Two magical creatures without magic would be very problematic indeed.

Brinn nodded Reyan and the first pair entered the portal followed closely by the second.

Well...almost followed.

A horn sounded inside the cabin as a lizard covered in tattoos discovered the escape. Dropping the horn to his side, the monster grabbed hold of Alvar's cloak and yanked him and the professor backwards.

"No!" Brinn cried.

With a sweeping kick behind him, the he-elf was able to trip the leathery creature and free himself. He lunged through the portal just in time for Reyan to scream in pain.

The portal snapped shut with all the members of the party safely in the tree line outside the clearing. "We made it!" Alavar called, relieved.

Reyan screamed again. "Watch out! So did he!"

Behind them, the tattooed lizard snarled as he lifted the horn to sound it once again.