Hidden Magic (7 page)

Abigail gently patted down the sand around her nest and then tamped it down lightly with her plastron. Then she carefully disturbed the sand around the newly-made nest with her flippers in order to camouflage it, hiding her precious and newly-laid clutch of eggs. She then headed back down the beach to the shoreline. The ocean was calm, almost still, dawn was breaking and the fishing boat was very gently bobbing up and down on the tranquil ocean water, its shape forming a dark silhouette against the beautiful, burnt orange dawn sky. Laying around one hundred eggs was no small feat and Abigail decided to stay in the warm shallows of the calm ocean and feed on the lush green seaweed for a while before returning into the ocean's depths. As she grazed on the weeds, her expressive face wore a smug smile, a smile that was plain and clear for all to see. She would have to wait a couple of months before meeting her offspring, but the mere thought of one hundred tiny green sea turtle hatchlings, making their way down the beach to the ocean that would be their home, filled her heart to bursting with happiness, pride and joy.

As discussed the evening before, Pelagia and his Warriors roared ashore that morning, disturbing the large green sea turtle mama as she grazed.

“Now what d'yall think you're doing, disturbing Mama Abigail's grazing like that? What y'all doing, coming ashore anyhow? What's up?” Abigail asked the Warriors, with her neck and head outstretched. The smile on her face had now been replaced by a frown and a disapproving sucking-in of her cheeks and pursing of her beak. She was not in awe of the elusive beings, she did not care that she had spoken to the Water Warriors in such a rude manner. She had just laid a clutch of one hundred eggs, for goodness' sake, and all she wanted to do now was bathe in the warm shallows and graze. Was that really too much to ask?

Una apologised for the disturbance and then explained that the Warriors were accompanying Zavier and the others on a journey to complete a quest for the Great Prophet and she also explained the urgent reasons for this journey.

“Wha… what about my babies? Will they be safe here?” a very concerned Abigail asked Una.

“Of course they will. We will be returning soon enough and the other inhabitants of Serenity will be looking out for you all,” said Una.

“Well, alrighty then, but y'all hurry on up now. Y'all got an important job to do, best you get on your way and hurry on back now, ya hear me?” said Abigail.

The Halfses, having woken early, had eaten their breakfast, hung up their robes and were now back in their horse form, waiting on the beach. All except for Jazmine, that is. She remained in her Human form so that she could pack the other Halfses with the equipment required for their journey. She placed blankets on each of their backs and then loaded each of them with starfish lanterns, a few food and drink supplies and some Fire Fairy pods. The Fire Fairy pods were very similar-looking to small bird houses and were used as dwellings for the little Fairies. The Fire Fairies used these pods if they needed to travel anywhere that was far away from their poppy homes.

Zavier had been telling the group that they must travel through the east side of the meadow and then make their way on up to the East Cabin in Winter Forest. They still had three more of Liberty's Berthold to gather; Ice, Berthold of Winter Forest and also the Berthold of the East and the West Fishtail Mountains. They already had some equipment at the East Cabin but they would need to take the starfish lanterns for light and the Fire Fairies for warmth and cooking. Before their departure, Zavier asked Chester to quickly tell a few of Serenity's inhabitants about the Warriors' departure and to also ask them to spread the word that they, the inhabitants of Serenity, would all need to look out for each other while Pelagia and the Warriors were gone.

“Be quick though, Chester, we will leave in five minutes, with or without you,” said Zavier.

“Sure thing, boss,” replied Chester and he started to spread the word straight away. First, he flew over to the rocks that surrounded the beach house, where he informed the Little Terns, Itzel and Lani, who in turn flew off across the shoreline to spread the word to the inhabitants at the far south end of the beach. Then Chester flew down to the fishing boat where Mateo was happily leaping in and out of the ocean.

“Weeee-oooo-wittt!” Chester whistled loudly at Mateo. “Will you please be still for just one second?”

“Why are you wasting your time telling me this when I already know what it is you are going to say?” said the cheeky young dolphin. Then he turned and slapped his tail fin on the surface of the water, splashing and drenching Chester, who was perched on the side of the boat. Mateo continued leaping in and out of the ocean, laughing.

“Oh yeah, very mature,” shouted the very wet and very disgruntled little robin, then he shook himself off and flew over to the water's edge to tell Abigail.

“Why are you telling me, fool? Una has already explained everything. Now get going, be gone with you,” she said.

Chester huffed loudly and flew back, returning just in time as the group were about to set off.

“We shall take up the same formation as before,” said Zavier. “Chester, you travel with me up front. Francis, you travel at the rear with Aaron.”

The moody black stallion was about to moan and groan, but was stopped in his tracks by Jazmine who had now transformed into her horse form for the journey. As she knew him so well, she had predicted his disapproval at having to carry Francis, so she gave him a cautionary nip to put him in his place and to remind him of his manners.

“We now have the added support and protection of Pelagia and his Water Warriors; they shall travel at our flanks. This means that we shall be protected from all angles. We will collect some of the Fire Fairies from the beach poppies at the beach's border with the meadow on our way and then commence with the next stage of our journey.

“Are you all well rested and ready?” he asked and the reply was a resounding and confident, “YES!”

They were all most determined to complete the task that they had been set, but as they reached the beach poppy border and filled their pods with Fire Fairies, they were all very quiet and you could even say a little sullen. Serenity Sunrise Beach really was a lovely place that totally lived up to its name; it was truly serene, peaceful and magically calming. They all knew that they were going to face many more challenges and dangers on their journey and that it would be quite some time before they would feel such serenity again.

And so they departed the serene seascape, with the calm ocean waters shimmering behind them in the newly-risen sunlight, heading off to what they knew would be much darker and much more dangerous times.

As the group entered the east side of the meadow, they were instantly greeted by Preble, the jumping meadow mouse. He leapt up and down and in and out of the meadow grass and colourful meadow flowers.

“Hey Zave, I've been waiting here hoping to catch you all as you passed through the meadow!” The little mouse yelled as loud as he could, hoping that the giant shire horse would hear him. But his tiny size meant that even when shouting, he could barely be heard.

“Preble, I cannot hear you,” said Zavier.

“Francis, please can you bring Preble here to me, so that I can hear what it is that he is so frantically trying to tell me,” requested Zavier.

Francis glided off Aaron's back and with one clean swoop, he plucked the little mouse out of the air mid-jump, held him gently in his talons and then perfectly placed him on top of Zavier's head, next to Chester. Preble grabbed hold of Zavier's ear and placed his whole head inside it to speak.

“The Prophet has sent me, things have changed!” Preble declared, with a distinct air of panic in his voice. “The rest of the herd and the dragonflies are doing a grand job of fending off the Nomeds, but the Nomeds are gaining power at a much more accelerated rate than we could ever have anticipated and even more worryingly, they seem to be rapidly growing in number! We have seen at least half a dozen new ones that we have not seen before!” Preble took in a deep breath and continued. “And we have lost at least six of the meadow's inhabitants.”

“Who?” asked Zavier.

“A few of Brinsop's army, Hippo, Cara's young ‘un and the little cygnet Handro, Hansika and Hansraj's daughter.”

Zavier was stunned at this news, but he reassured Preble that the group would quickly find the other Berthold and return them to the Prophet.

“Preble, do you think the herd, the dragonflies and the Fire Fairies will be able to stand strong for a couple more days?” Zavier asked.

“Well, this is the thing,” said Preble. “This is why the Prophet has sent me, and this is what you need to know. We should be fine here in the meadow. We took most of our casualties when a large group of around ten to fifteen Nomeds passed through the meadow the other night. They were on their way to Winter Forest and we haven't seen anything of them since. The Prophet thinks that they are aware that we, the good creatures of Liberty, are up to something and the Prophet also feels that the Nomeds have figured out that you are on a mission to gather together the rest of the Berthold and they are now lying in wait for you somewhere within the forest or mountains. The Prophet has foreseen a battle and within this vision, it's foreseen an area of heavily blood-soaked snow. Zavier, the… the… blood!”

“Oh, for heaven's sake, Preble, spit it out, would you?” Zavier asked impatiently.

“The blood, Zavier, it's yours!” Preble said, then he closed his eyes and hung his head in sorrow.

“Listen up,” Zavier said to the group. “We must proceed with great speed. It is essential that we arrive at the East Cabin, not only before sundown, but also with enough time to prepare ourselves for an imminent attack from the Nomeds. The Nomeds will be hiding somewhere within the forest or even in the mountains, waiting for us. Francis, take Preble back to the Prophet and tell the meadow's inhabitants that I'm very proud of them all and to continue to stand strong until we return. We will rejoin you at the northeast end of the pond.”

A rush of air whooshed pass Zavier's ear as Francis plucked Preble from his head and whisked the little mouse up into the blue sky. Then Francis flew off across the pond with the jumping meadow mouse dangling from his clutches and Preble's squeaky little voice could just be heard calling out, “Good luck, guys, make sure you return safely.”

The group arrived at the northeast end of the pond, a little before Francis returned from dropping off Preble. The Halfses were drinking at the pond's edge while they were waiting for Francis. As they drank, small ripples made their way across the water towards them, and when they lifted their heads to see what had caused the ripples, they saw a swan. It was Hansika, a beautiful white female swan, gliding across the pond towards them, with Cara the rabbit on her back, nestled between her beautiful white, angel-like wings.

Zavier spoke in a warm, compassionate tone and said, “Hansika, Cara, please forgive me. I was unable to protect your young, but please do believe me when I say they are safe in God's arms and he is taking good care of them now. I WILL put a stop to the evil Nomeds, of this you have my word. I shall fight against them and when I do, I shall have honour and respect in my heart for all of those that have lost their lives to this evil.”

“Thank you, Zavier,” said Hansika, “your kind words mean a lot. Please don't blame yourself, there is nothing that you could have done. Continue on your journey with pride and hopefully we can soon put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.”

Then Cara spoke, with tears bulging in the corners of her eyes. “Zavier, you are right. I can take comfort in knowing that Hippo is now safe in God's arms and away from this evil nightmare. Please, for the sake of all that is good, return with the rest of the Berthold swiftly and ensure they listen and do what is required of them by the Great Prophet.”

“Cara, our prayers are with you all and you have my word that I will do everything within my power to restore peace to Liberty,” Zavier promised.

The group was complete once more. Francis had returned from taking Preble to the Prophet, so he perched between Aaron's broad shoulders, grasped his shiny black mane and the group set off towards Winter Forest. Lunging into a powerful gallop, the Halfses were flanked by the immense power and fluidity of the running Water Warriors. The group followed the river that fed into the pond from a northeasterly direction and there in the distance, thick, lush pine trees could be seen and just beyond them lay the vast Winter Forest, the East Cabin and hopefully, close by would be Ice, the forest's Berthold.

Initially, the forest pine trees' rich green foliage blended with the greenery of Maytime Meadow, but as the group immersed themselves only a few trees deeper into the forest, the air temperature dramatically dropped and the trees were no longer a rich, lush green but a brilliant, bright white as they were covered thickly in snow. As the group crunched their way across the thick snow and made their way toward the cabin, Zavier looked down at the pure, white-blanketed ground and recalled what Preble had said to him and he wondered gloomily if, or at what point during this journey, would this beautiful, bright, white winter wonderland become tainted by the deep red colour of his blood.

The East Cabin in Winter Forest was positioned between two babbling brooks that exited from the foot of Winter Forest's frozen lake. As with all of the other Halfses' dwellings within Liberty, the cabin was of timber construction. It was built on stilts and had an area of stabling below the main living quarters. On arrival at the cabin, the Water Warriors assured Zavier that they would be on guard, unseen but still protecting the cabin. Then they disappeared, immersing themselves within the bubbling water of the babbling brooks that lay on either side of the cabin. This water would not maintain their strength or power as the ocean's waters would, but it would provide them with a comfortable resting place and also meant that they were ideally positioned in order to guard the cabin. The Halfses had transformed into their Human form and had dressed themselves appropriately for the colder climate. They had unloaded the food, blankets, Fire Fairy pods and starfish lanterns, placing them in appropriate places, both in and around the cabin. Some of the Fire Fairies danced around the starfish lanterns to stop the water inside from freezing and others were now dancing and igniting the huge open log fire that dominated the centre of the cabin's open-plan living area. Jazmine had begun to prepare a meal of vegetable stew that she would later cook over the fire for that evening's meal. Francis and Chester were perched high on the timber beams that overlooked the seating area below, where the rest of the Halfses were now seated, discussing how they were going to find Ice, the Forest's Berthold and also how they should prepare for that night's impending Nomed attack.

“We only have a few more hours of daylight in which to find Ice. It will be much too dangerous to roam the forest after dark, especially now that we know the Nomeds are hiding somewhere within it, no doubt waiting for us to be at our most vulnerable before they attack. We must act quickly. Ezekiel, Hazel, April and I will begin the search for Ice. The rest of you must start securing the cabin as best you can and work out a watch rota for tonight,” Zavier said.

“I'm coming with you!” Tobias hollered.

“Tobias, I agreed that you could accompany us on this journey but only on the condition that you follow my orders at all times and I order that you stay here where it is safer and you will be more protected. As the youngest of the herd, you still have much to learn, and I advise that you respect the wisdom of your elders,” Zavier replied.

“Oh man, okay then, but it sure sucks being the youngest,” Tobias grumbled, as he bowled his way, with mega adolescent attitude, over to Jazmine in search of some comfort food. He grabbed a muffin out of the food supplies and then slumped back onto the couch to eat it. Aaron gave him a friendly clip round the ear and then walked over to Jazmine and stood with his arms around her waist as she peeled the veggies.

Zavier, Ezekiel, Hazel and April put on their white salopettes, hooded parkas and snow boots.

“Grab your ice skates, guys, we will be quicker if we skate across the lake to the frozen waterfall. This is where Ice can often be found,” Zavier said.

They grabbed their skates and threw them over their shoulders as they left the cabin.

“Keep safe,” Lettitia said.

“Yeah, stay safe and hurry back,” called out Jazmine.

“Will do,” they replied and made their way down the wooden steps and into the thick white snow that carpeted this area of Liberty.

It was only a short distance from the cabin to the lake. They removed their snow boots and put on their ice skates to enable them to cross the lake to the waterfall at the far end at speed. They had very sensibly chosen their Human form for this stage of the journey; galloping horses and frozen lakes almost certainly equalled broken legs. Hazel was as at home on the ice as Lettitia was in the ocean. She was a natural, athletic and graceful skater who glided over the ice with ease. Her rich hazel eyes glowed warmly amidst her pale face that was framed within the fluffy, wispy, white feather trim of her parka hood.

Ezekiel raced past her. “Come on, Haze, show us what you got, girl,” he called out.

Hazel smiled smugly and confidently, then, gracefully and effortlessly, she glided past him at high speed and performed the most perfect salchow jump, blowing him a cheeky kiss as she landed.

Ezekiel laughed. “You go, girl!” he said with a grin, then raced to catch her up.

Zavier and April were very focused on reaching the other side of the lake quickly, although not quite as gracefully as Hazel. With great speed, they powered across the ice and reached the bottom of the frozen waterfall in no time at all. Ice would probably be in the treetops, somewhere within the forest pines that lay close to the waterfall. This meant heading back into the thick snow and so they removed their skates and put their snow boots back on. The waterfall was a magnificent spectacle, a huge curtain of sparkling icicles that hid a maze of magical caves and chambers behind it.

April was a massive adrenaline junky and had they been at the falls on less pressing matters, she would probably by now have been exploring the caves, or climbing the sheer face of the falls. Ezekiel liked to tease her about her tomboy ways and found it quite funny to call her Kung Fu Panda. This was because, with her black and white hair, dark eyes and white snow suit on, she looked remarkably like a panda. Plus, she was also very good at martial arts and as he continued to tease her, she playfully used her kick-boxing moves on him.

“Hey Panda, is that all you got?” he teased, as she repeatedly flicked small kicks to his torso.

“Maybe I should have allowed Tobias to come instead of you two. He probably would have behaved in a more mature manner,” Zavier said authoritatively and the pair stopped instantly, realising it was no time to have fun.

As they headed into the forest, they looked up into the snow-covered treetops, hoping to catch sight of Ice. As they looked up, snowflakes began falling gently onto their faces.

“Shannon, are you there?” Zavier asked.

They all looked closely at the falling snow and among the many flakes, they saw snowflake butterflies that were carrying tiny little Ice Elves. One of these butterfly snowflakes gently floated down from the sky and landed directly onto the tip of Zavier's nose.

“Yes, I'm here,” a small, yet crystal-clear voice answered and there, seated astride the snowflake butterfly, right on the tip of Zavier's nose, was Shannon, Isumataq, leader of the Ice Elves, a being of great wisdom.

The Ice Elves rode on the snowflake butterflies and when a group of these elves and butterflies merged together, they were able to form various objects made of snow and ice. They also had the power to freeze things if they enveloped them en masse. Although minute in size, Shannon was astoundingly beautiful. Her elfin beauty oozed leadership traits and confidence. She was formed purely of ice and had short, elfin-like icicle hair.

“Shannon, are you able to help us? We need to find Ice,” Zavier asked, looking down at her on the tip of his nose, which caused him to become cross-eyed.

“Zavier, open your eyes and see clearly. Ice has been right in front of you ever since you reached this part of the forest,” Shannon replied.

Zavier refocused his gaze from the tip of his nose in order to look ahead and as his eyes gradually readjusted, there, straight ahead of him amidst a snowy-covered pine tree, two yellow eyes opened, revealing her position. It was Ice the Enchanter and Berthold of Winter Forest.

“What are you doing here, Zavier?” asked the snowy owl. “It is not safe for you to be here.”

“I know, we were forewarned of the Nomeds' presence within the forest but we are here on an important quest. The Great Prophet has asked that I collect all of Liberty's Berthold and return to it with them. The Great Prophet has foreseen something that is going to help us in our fight against the Nomeds. The Prophet would not tell me any more, but it did emphasise how important it was that it speak to all of the Berthold together. It also insisted that the Berthold must listen very carefully and must not oppose in any way what the Prophet has foreseen must be done. We have found Francis, Berthold of Bluebell Wood, Pelagia, Berthold of Serenity Sunrise Beach and Ocean and now your good self, but we still have to locate the Berthold of the East and West Fishtail Mountains and only then can we head back to Maytime Meadow. Ice, you should come back to the cabin with us now. We are stronger when we are together and we still have a little time left to prepare for the inevitable attack by the Nomeds before darkness falls. Then, all being well, if we survive the night, we can continue on with our journey tomorrow,” Zavier said.

“Very well,” replied Ice. “Shannon, please could you inform the forest inhabitants,” she asked. “And get as many of them as you possibly can to join with us at the East Cabin before nightfall. Zavier, there is something I need to do before joining you at the cabin. Please could you ask Francis to meet me as soon as possible at the frozen waterfall,” said Ice. “Return to the cabin without me and I shall join you there as soon as I can.” She flapped her powerful wings and took flight, then once again she disappeared as the white of her feathers merged with the snowy white sky.