Aliandra: nymph: Book 1 The Nymph chronicles (6 page)

Chapter 13

Ali woke well before dawn and dressed warmly. She went to saddle her steeds and saw Donny as he was hooking on the saddlebags.

"I couldn't sleep. Everything is ready to go" he mumbled.

Ali approached him and pulled his head down to kiss her. They kissed long and slow. "If you stay busy I will be back before you know it. How are you going to deal with it when I have to go to college for years? I don't want you wandering around as miserable as a whipped dog all the time we are apart" said Ali.

"I will deal with it. I do have plenty of business to catch up on that I have been putting off since you came. I will just make sure to see you as often as I can at the campus. It is just that our relationship is so new it hurts to be apart right now. I will miss you, I can't help that. It is what it is" said Donny cryptically. "I will ride with you through the mountain pass in case there are some multipeds still hanging around. I have packed your bow and arrows too."

"Time to mount up" said Ali.

They rode quietly through the forest leading to the pass. Donny trailed Ali's spare steed behind him. Ali reined in her steed. "I want to collect some glow worms in case we need to distract multipeds. There seems to be a population explosion of these little dudes" exclaimed Ali as she dismounted and began shoveling handfuls of glow worms into a sack until it was full. "Done!" and she hung the sack from her pommel before she remounted.

In the middle of the mountain pass Donny pointed out a few multipeds that lay in wait. Ali threw handfuls of glow worms in their direction and as they ate they keeled over and within minutes lay unmoving. At the end of the pass Donny passed the reins of the steed to Ali then circled around to the other side. He leaned in and kissed her firmly and passionately until they were both breathing heavily. "That should keep you warm for the desert ride" he smiled lovingly into her eyes. His hand brushed her nape as he held her gaze and said fiercely "Hurry back to me." Ali was still a little dazed by the kiss as he kicked his steed into a gallop towards the forest.

The return journey back across the desert to Eureka was riddled with potholes and gullies. Ali rode hard, eating on the way without stopping. She changed steeds at intervals so she could continue to ride at a fast clip. At noon she stopped to water the steeds and continued on. By the time she pulled up outside her mortal home she and the steeds were exhausted. The door opened and faces peered out the windows.

"Ali!" shouted her ma. "Ali is home! We expected you later, you made good time. You look so grown up, my darling girl" Ali fell into her mother's waiting arms. Her pa came out and lifted her off the ground in a big bear hug. Chet and Lacy waited their turn to hug their sister.

"I had two good steeds to ride. I got here as quick as I could. We need to telegraph the main lodge and let them know I arrived safely" said Ali.

"I'll put your steeds in the stable. Chet saddle up one of the new steeds and ride into town and send the telegraph" instructed pa.

"On my way, I'll be right back Ali. Save the good stories until I can listen in" insisted Chet.

"Ma and I have made tea. Come in and sit" said Lacy.

"I'm covered in dust and sweat, maybe I should wash off in the barn" said Ali.

"Not a chance. You come inside and Lacy will draw you a bath. How long can you stay?" asked ma.

"Grandma said I can be gone five days at the most and that includes travel time. We have to attend a college interview soon" answered Ali.

"Your pa has taken some time off work to spend with you while you are here" said ma.

"How was the keening?" asked Lacy.

"Much more painful than I imagined. I transformed during the hardest part. I don't really want to talk about it and worry y'all. It is a fact of life for me that I will go through more keenings and I just have to deal with it" said Ali matter-of-factly.

"Have you made friends in the tribe?" asked ma.

"Yes, I have been made a member of their tribe. They have been really nice to me. There are some guys I hang with and they call me their little sister. I also have a boyfriend too. His name is Donny. He works as door security at the Main Street Casino" said Ali shyly.

"Mr. Gorgeous? My little sister is dating a total hunk? I heard he was a player with the ladies" stated Lacy.

"Not now. He will be informing all his ex-ladies that he is out of circulation. At the tribal lodges he is very different there" said Ali.

"Ali, you just be careful around the men folk. Take your time" advised ma.

"Yes, ma'am" smiled Ali.

Over the next few days ma and pa sat back listening contentedly to Ali's stories of the tribal realm and immortals while Lacy and Chet continuously fired questions at her. Ali demonstrated some of the tribal dances to Lacy and ma. The last day her ma arranged an islander feast night for their relatives and the other islanders of Eureka to attend. Lot's of the little girls wore their grass skirts and performed the sinuous island dances while the boys played drums or danced beside them. Ali's ma and sister pulled her up to dance with their female relatives. The night was a replay of many previous feast nights that made it a real homecoming to Ali. Her heart felt full.

The final morning Ali was up well before dawn to saddle her steeds. Ma and pa were up to see her off and make certain she was bundled up warmly.

"Don't forget to telegraph the main lodge to tell them I am returning today" reminded Ali.

"I will do that before I start work in town. No doubt I will be meeting up with your young man soon enough. We will invite him over for dinner if he stays in town" said her pa.

"Yes. That is a good idea. At your next island feast night invite Kitch and Trak too. I think they would enjoy it. Teach them our dances" laughed Ali.

Ali gave her folks a big hug each and mounted up and tied the reins of the trailing steed onto her saddle. "It will be a long while before I can make it back. Donny said he will visit me as often as he can on campus. Kitch will be a student there too. When you invite them over you can pump them for information about my progress. I have a long way to go and I am sure I will have to do extra study to keep up since I am mortal-born. I love y'all." Ali galloped off as her folks watched her figure slowly disappear into the dust.

Ali had got such an early start the multipeds were still active in the dimness. She unpacked the bag with the glow worms and left a trail behind her to distract them. When a large multiped charged, she hurled a handful of glow worms at it. Her steeds were spooked. She hooked the bag of glow worms onto her pommel and slung her bow over her back in readiness for another charge. Ali decided to go more slowly until sunup chased the multipeds back into their burrows. Any dark patches on the landscape she assumed was a multiped and rode around it.

Dawn finally broke over the desert and the multipeds scurried away. Ali picked up the pace and the steeds settled into a steady canter. Ali changed steeds regularly again and didn't stop until the sun was high. She stopped for a short time to water her steeds and she pushed on again. She was making good time and could see the mountain pass when the trailing stead shied at the corpse of a multiped. The steed bolted and soon stepped in a pot hole. The steed hobbled around once it stood up again. Ali rode after it and dismounted quickly to check its legs
. Just lame, not broken
. Ali took the reins and remounted. She figured they would make it in time if they took it slowly. Ali rode with the trailing steed at a walk. She tried increasing the pace to a trot but the steed groaned with pain and limped heavily. Hours passed and the mountain pass was still some distance away. Ali trailed the rest of her cache of glow worms along the ground and hoped for the best as the sun began to set. Ali got out her bow and arrows in readiness.

As the sun began to set, Ali heard galloping hoof beats heading her way. Donny, Trak and Kitch were riding straight at her. As Donny reined in he asked "What is the hold-up, Ali?"

"The trailing steed spooked at a dead multiped and stepped in a pothole. He is lame, so I was bringing him in slowly" she replied.

"Ali, you do not risk your neck for a steed!" shouted Donny.

"He is just upset, Ali. We will all go in together. Donny, just breathe man. Ali is here and safe. Calm down, brother" instructed Kitch.

As they rode towards the pass movement started around them. The steeds got edgier. Trak, Donny and Kitch got their bows and arrows ready. "We just need to get everyone close enough to the pass. There are wells of tar prepared and when they are set alight they keep the multipeds at bay. Trak and Kitch rode wide and began firing arrows at approaching multipeds.

"Ali, ride on ahead to the pass and I will follow with the lame steed" Donny ordered.

"No! I am not leaving you. Don't you dare ask me again" growled Ali.

"We are going to be surrounded very soon and it's getting dark. The place will be crawling with multipeds" he said.

"I get to practise my aim and we have each other's backs, right?" she replied. "I reckon I can shoot an arrow to hit one of those tar wells. They are those big dark spots in the distance, right? I have two fire arrows with me. Got a light?"

Donny pulled out his flint and struck the sparks onto the arrowhead until it caught fire. Ali aimed high from her mounted position, her steed stood steady, and after a full minute she let the arrow loose. They all watched the arrow arc through the air until it struck its target in the distance. The tar caught fire and smoke billowed over the desert. Trak and Kitch got busy firing their arrows at the now visible multipeds in their path. Donny hitched the trailing steed onto his pommel and began firing arrows as they made steady progress through the now scattering multipeds. Ali stood rear guard firing at any multipeds that charged from behind. The tar fire attracted the attention of the braves at the forest encampment and about thirty rode out to assist them.

By the time Donny and Ali made it through the pass they had used up their entire stock of arrows. When Kitch and Trak had run out of arrows they rode in hard. The rest of the braves continued firing arrows at the multipeds as they backed down the pass. At the mouth of the pass that led to the forest entrance a small wall of glow worms were positioned across their path. As the riders entered the forest the multipeds followed and began greedily feeding on the glow worms. In no time the multipeds staggered away to die. Piles of multiped carcasses soon littered the forest floor.

The braves let out cries of triumph as they rode to the encampment. "Ali, it never gets boring around you. We are going to have to measure the distance for that amazing shot. It could be a record" exclaimed Kitch as he laughed uproariously.

"Good shot" said Trak as Donny scowled.

Ali sidled her steed up to Donny's mount. "Donny, I missed you" she whispered. Donny passed the reins of the lame steed to Trak, pulled Ali off her steed and onto his lap. He tossed her steed's reins to Kitch and took off with Ali at a gallop through the forest. When they finally stopped Donny lowered Ali down and jumped to the ground. Donny determinedly approached Ali, intimidation imprinted in his every step. Ali backed up trying not to giggle. "Donny? Honey? I don't actually mean to worry you. You will get used to it. Maybe?"

Nose to nose he said angrily "Stubborn!"

"As. A. MULE!" she shouted.

"Bossy!" he growled.

"Well, DUH! And double DUH!" she returned with equal fervor.

"Willful!" he scowled

"Determined" she retorted.

"Imp" he snarled

"Nymph!" she corrected.

"Brazen!" he grumbled.

"Exactly! That is why you love me, isn't it?" she shot back.

"Yes!" he said as he grabbed her and kissed her wildly until they were both breathless. Eventually they curled up together and calmed down enough to speak.