far north of Bairnmoor, fell before him. Knives and hatchets and spears felt ineffectual to Childheart, and his energy reserves seemed endless, his strength without limits. The nearly-entire absence of light was to Childheart’s advantage, and the enemy forces never expected—or experienced—so daunting a challenge from a single creature.
At last, his fine coat streaked with blood and sweat, Childheart breached the encirclement and bolted further into the trees and the darkness, leaving those attacking him floundering and stumbling, tripping one over another. And then, minutes later, just when Childheart was about to stop momentarily at the opposite edge of the forest to listen for the enemy behind him, Childheart felt a heavy net dropping onto him from above, the force of its weighted fall sending Childheart to his knees. All was instantly quiet, except for the lame struggles of the unicorn’s head and feet. Soon Childheart felt no longer any energy or any strength, and all was now entirely quiet.
Into this quietness hard as steel Childheart heard the soft stepping of numerous feet, and then a single voice—a familiar voice—not close, but distinct, and unmistakable.
“Bring him to me!” ordered the voice that Childheart thought he recognized, “but, first, tend to his wounds, bathe him, and give him food and drink.” Childheart cried out, attempting to gain the voice’s attention. But it was a weak cry, not heard by the one addressed—or, at least not to be acknowledged by him.
The net, not unlike the one employed by the captors belonging to Ashani (before they became friends) was tightened loosely, only to prevent Childheart’s escape. But escape was now the furthest thing from the unicorn’s mind, and soon, utterly bereft of energy and strength, Childheart—though resistant to the urge to do so—fell asleep.
~two~
“Right here, Beatríz!” Elli screamed again. “Reach for me—grab my hands! Something’s got my feet—it’s pulling me away from you! Agh! Beatríz!”
Just as she was beginning to freeze in panic, Beatríz flailed her arms all about until she found the lantern. She stood and held it out in front of her, swinging it wildly, first in one direction and then abruptly in another.
“Beatríz! Help me! Grab my arms!”
“Elli! I’m coming! I’m coming!” Beatríz yelled back as she pointed the lantern toward the sound of Elli’s voice, discovering at the same time that the dark spot behind her lids had re-appeared and was, in that direction, at its blackest, and the ring around it the most fiery she had yet seen it. “Hold on, Elli! I’m coming—I’m close!” shouted Beatríz, scuttling on her knees and hands in the direction of Elli’s voice, although she had no idea at that point how she was going to save her friend.
“Beatríz!” screeched Elli, in a voice becoming hoarse. Beatríz lunged toward the ground where she thought Elli’s voice was coming from and found one of Elli’s hands. With one hand on the lantern, Beatríz began to pull on Elli with the other; but Elli was continuing to be pulled away. And then, just as Beatríz was about to set down the lantern again and pull on Elli’s hand with both of her own, whatever was dragging Elli released its grip and shrieked, as if complaining of a piercing pain. Elli scooted back while staring toward her feet, and in the light of the Darknessfinder glimpsed the multi-globular “thing” that had clamped down on her feet and was now just slipping back into a wide seam of black liquid barely visible at the edge of the lantern’s beam.
In the lantern’s glare, however, Elli saw the large head of a Blackmouth looming toward her, its black mouth stretched wide and its long ebony teeth virtually all that she could see of its head; black saliva dripped in gleaming profusion from the creature’s black tongue and upper tusks. The Blackmouth was swirling and jabbing its head in anger, as if trying to shake its head from its neck, and was crying out threateningly as it slapped at the sodden peat in front of it; a moment later it began to back away, seemingly blinded by the light.
Elli scooted back some more into Beatríz’s arms, where she fumbled for her knife and pulled it, thrusting the blade into the illuminated area in front of her—but at nothing she could now see. The two girls then scrambled quickly back to the tree, collapsing in exhaustion.
“Elli! What happened?”
“Just now a Blackmouth, Beatríz! One of those creatures Aneht warned us about! But before, what had my foot, I couldn’t say! A blob thing! It came from the water! I just got a glimpse of it! It had to have come up to us while we were both asleep and grabbed hold of my foot, and then started to drag me! I opened my eyes, but the fog was so thick I couldn’t see anything beyond what was right in front of me. And then, when you found my hand, Beatríz, the lantern shined on whatever it was, and it let me go!”
“Oh God, Elli!” Beatríz sighed. “Are you hurt?”
“Just a little—a scrape, I think, and my ankle’s sore—but the sandal probably saved my foot; thank God it was wrapped tightly around my leg; if it had come off, who knows . . . ”
As soon as their breathing had quieted, Elli said, “We should keep going, Beatríz; which way does the lantern want us to go?” Beatríz stood up and held out the Darknessfinder, turning until the spot was at its blackest and the ring of fiery light around it at its brightest.
“This way!” announced Beatríz.
“But Beatríz, that’s pointing in the direction of the Blackmouth!” protested Elli.
“Maybe so, Elli, but it’s the direction the lantern wants us to go!”
“Okay,” said Elli, diffidently, “but be ready to pull back again; you listen for the Blackmouth—I’ll watch for it!”
Having grabbed a drink and returned the water bladders to their satchels, the girls stepped forward hand in hand behind what in the lantern was a small bright light leading the way for Elli, eyes wide open, and a vibrant, black circle for Beatríz, her eyes squeezed closed—as if without concerted effort they would spring open on their own. Like novice gymnasts on a high beam, Elli and Beatríz planted their feet, gingerly, one after the other, Elli continuing to follow Beatríz’s lead, but constantly peering into the broad circle of light cast all about them—and cast all along the edge of the absolute darkness beyond.
Within moments they arrived at the seam of troubled water, black as India ink and nearly eight feet across. Beatríz knew to stop before Elli said anything, hearing the nearness of the water and feeling the ground descending and becoming increasingly saturated. The two girls stood still, listening and watching. Lifting and directing the lantern toward the other side of the water, Beatríz and Elli knew that the Darknessfinder wanted them to cross at that precise point.
“How wide is it, Elli?” said Beatríz, Elli feeling the trembling of her friend’s hand.
“Beatríz, point the lantern along the bank on this side of the water—and then let’s go just a little ways, first in one direction and then maybe in the other—and let’s see what’s there.” Beatríz pulled gently on Elli’s hand as she turned to the right and took several tentative steps.
“Beatríz! Just ahead! The water is much narrower there—and we can just step across! C’mon—just a little further!” Beatríz took another step and halted.
“No, Elli! We can’t!” she pleaded. “The spot has been going away since we started this way, and it’s almost gone now!”
“But Beatríz, where we can easily cross is only about another dozen feet away—I can see it! Clearly!
