Aerenden: The Child Returns (Ærenden) (20 page)

“Find
the child.”

The
command came from nowhere and Meaghan startled again, surprised by the sudden
noise, but not frightened by it. Although Cal’s voice sounded distorted within
the element, she recognized it, and she heard the panic in it.

“Who?”
she asked, directing her question toward the flames.

“No
time. He’s in danger. Find him.”

Sparks
showered across the ground again, singeing a pile of dried leaves and lighting
it. Meaghan ran to the budding blaze. Using the blanket, she beat out the
flames before they could spread. When she turned back to the fire, it had
returned to normal, and she knew Cal had left. She scanned the forest, confused
by what he had said, but found nothing that would lead her to the child he had
mentioned.

Dropping
the blanket to the ground, she frowned down at the scorched grass. Deep brown
and black scarring trailed at her feet, pointing toward the woods. Pointing in
the shape of a distinguishable arrow. Her heart raced with the realization
and she followed it, brushing past Nick as he reentered the clearing.

Cal’s
command spurred her onward. She ignored Nick’s voice calling her and the sound
of his feet rustling the ground as he chased her. She ignored fallen tree limbs
as they battered her legs and the occasional rock that kicked her ankle. She
ignored it all except the need to find the child, and the rancid smell drifting
toward her. She knew even before she reached the tree line that Mardróch would
greet her, and she knew they would have the child. This time the monsters had
not come for her.

When
the field came into view, she confirmed her suspicions. A young boy no more
than four or five stood in the open, spotlighted by the increasing sun. A
gentle breeze lifted a few strands of blonde hair from his head, and tears
streaked down his face, but otherwise, he did not move as he remained captive
to two Mardróch. They circled him, not attacking, and Meaghan realized they
toyed with him.  As one monster broke eye contact, the other came into
view. The young child had only seconds to move, enough time to shift a foot
forward before he became victim to another set of red eyes. They tortured him
with the hope of an impossible escape. The cruel enjoyment the Mardróch gained
from their game came across to Meaghan as rotting peat, a putrid odor with a
sweet undercurrent that forced her to control her gag reflex.

She
approached the edge of the field, speeding up to bolster her courage. She did
not have a plan, but hoped one would come to her in time. A dozen steps from
clearing the trees, a solid force hit her from behind, tackling her to the
ground. She rolled with her attacker until he landed on top of her, pinning her
wrists with his hands and her lower body with his legs. She glared up at him.

“Let
me go,” she commanded, struggling against his grip.

“Keep
your voice down,” Nick hissed in response. “They’ll hear you.”

“I
intended for them to see me in another minute,” she countered, though she
whispered in deference to his request. “I have to save the boy.”

“He’s
as good as dead,” Nick said. “You can’t save him. You’ll only get killed in the
process.”

“I
won’t.” She struggled harder against him, thrashing though he tightened his
grip in response. “Cal was in the fire. He said—”

“I
don’t give a damn what Cal said,” Nick shot back, his breath short and his eyes
hard with anger. “You’re my responsibility and I won’t let you go out
there.”

“I
have to.”

“Not
a chance.”

Meaghan’s
wrists hurt from his grip and she stopped struggling. He relaxed his hold,
though he kept her pinned.

“So
you’ll let him die?” she asked. “How can you be so cruel?”

“I’m
sorry,” he said and she turned her head from him. “Please, Meg, you have to understand—”

“No,
I don’t.” Her eyes met his again, the anger in them matching the venom in her voice.
“I don’t and I won’t.”

Taking
advantage of his relaxed grip, she made one last attempt at breaking free,
resorting to a move she had learned years before in a self-defense course.
Planting her feet on the ground, she bent her legs and arched her back upward,
throwing him off balance and off her. At the same time, she jerked her arms
down, forcing him to break his grip. As he struggled to his feet, she jumped to
hers, and fled.

She
doubled her pace as she ran, tearing past the remainder of the trees and across
the open field toward the boy.

“Get
away from him!” she screamed at the monsters.

Surprised
by the attack, the Mardróch turned to look at her, breaking their eye contact
with the boy. He ran from them, toward Meaghan, and the Mardróch followed. The
boy reached her before the Mardróch and she dropped to the ground, scooping him
into her arms. The monsters flanked her and the boy buried his head in her shoulder
to prevent eye contact with the creatures. Meaghan did not have time to avert
her eyes. She stared into their red orbs, surprised to find the color in them
swirling, a continuous liquid rather than the solid irises she expected. Her
breath caught in her throat and for a moment, she froze.

The
odor or rotting flesh overwhelmed her senses, searing her nose. Instinct forced
her to inhale to clear it from her airways and she smiled with the realization
Nick’s theory had been correct. The Mardróch’s power had no effect on
her.  She stood, lifting the boy into her arms.

A
hiss of surprise erupted from one of the creatures. “The immune one,” he spoke,
his voice a guttural mix of road gravel and raspy breath. “We’ve been looking
for you. There’s a prize for your death.” He let out a rattling noise that
sounded like screws bouncing in a tin can. Laughter, Meaghan realized, and her
blood chilled. “Run,” the creature croaked. “It will make for a better story.”

He
raised his hands. Blue lightning arced from fingertip to fingertip and Meaghan
tightened her grip on the boy, backing away as she looked for a way out. Nick
stood a dozen yards from them, unseen by the Mardróch, though he remained
frozen as if hypnotized by their power. His face was white and she thought she
saw the glint of tears in his eyes. He no longer blocked her. His fear rolled
over her, followed by a deep grief that squeezed her heart. She hardened her
heart against it, knowing as he did that he could not help her, and kept
scanning the field. Nothing offered hope. The trees behind her seemed too far,
but they were her only chance. She turned toward them as a flash of lightning
blew apart the ground beside her. She felt heat singe her skin and swallowed,
controlling her panic as she ran.

Another
bolt landed behind her, and then a third and fourth fell to her right. Two more
hit at once, missing her to the left as she swerved. The attack came quicker
and closer and she feared Nick’s warning had been right. Her ill-planned rescue
attempt would get them all killed. She swallowed the bile in her throat and
pushed her legs harder.

“I’m
scared,” the boy in her arms whimpered. “Make them stop.”

“I
can’t,” she responded between gasps. “I’m sorry.”

“They’re
mean,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut and burying his head into her neck.
“Mean creatures with red eyes,” he whispered. “You’re not nice. Freeze and
die.”

A
loud crack echoed behind them followed by an eerie silence. Meaghan could no
longer sense Nick’s emotions and sorrow washed over her as she feared the worst.
She stifled the fear, determined still to save the boy, and continued running.
Reaching the trees, she ducked under the canopy, certain the Mardróch could not
be far behind, then listened for their pursuit. Only the sound of her own
footfalls met her ears. No lightning skirted them. The earth no longer exploded
at her heels. The sounds of chase had ceased.

She
struggled against her instinct of flight and stopped, turning to look at the
field. Less than thirty feet away, two statues stood where only grass had been
before, each sculpted with the features of a Mardróch. Nick stood beside them.
He traced the stone with his fingers before knocking on one of the creature’s
heads.

The
boy wriggled in her arms and she let him go. He ran to the statues, using the
bent arm of one of them to climb up its side, and then swung around to sit on
its shoulders. Giggling, he covered the statues’ eyes, leaving his hands there
before looking up at Meaghan.

Understanding
passed between them, and then a grin of pride slowly spread across the boy’s
face.

“T
HIS IS
amazing.”

Meaghan
scanned the stone figures in front of her, finding it impossible to disagree
with Nick’s assessment. The chiseled statues captured every tiny detail, right
down to the thin threads of webbing covering the creatures’ open mouths. Even
the agony contoured on their faces appeared lifelike. Not life
like
, she
realized with a shudder. It was life standing before her. Life turned to stone,
frozen in death, and the agony had been real.

Freeze
and die
. The words echoed in her
head and she turned her eyes from the Mardróch, feeling sick.

The
boy stretched from his perch on the monster’s shoulders, reaching his arms
toward Nick and Nick lifted him off the statue, then set him on the ground. He
circled the statue, trailing his hand along the stone.

“I’ve
never seen this before,” Nick said. “I don’t think there’s a power that can do
this. Even the people who can turn things into stone have to be touching the
object for their power to work. This isn’t possible.”

“Obviously
it is,” Meaghan responded, stopping the boy as he passed. She lifted him into
her arms. He squirmed, but settled when she tightened her grip. “What do we do
with him?”

“Find
his parents,” Nick answered. “But we’ll have to wait for nightfall. It’s not
safe for you to be out in the open during the day, especially if there are
Mardróch around.”

“You
don’t need to be concerned with my safety,” she replied as she turned from him.
“We’ll take him back to the camp for now, and then we’ll figure out what to
do.”

Before
Nick could respond, she walked away from him. He trailed her until they arrived
at the campsite. The fire had reduced the wood to embers and he went to it to
build it up again. She set the boy down on the blanket. Digging through the
backpack for something to distract him, she found only her mother’s amulet. It
did not seem like the best toy, but it was all she had. She sat down next to
the boy and showed it to him.

“That’s
pretty,” he said.

“It
is,” she agreed. “It used to belong to my mother and now it belongs to me. Do you
want to hold it?”

He
took it from her. Flipping it in his hands, he traced his fingers along the
front, over the glass, and then smiled up at her.

“What’s
your name?” she asked him.

“Aldin,”
he answered. “What’s yours?”

“Meaghan,”
she responded and then pointed to Nick. “That’s Nick.”

“Nice
to meet you,” the boy responded, his manners automatic, though his eyes
remained glued to the amulet. “Mata has pretty things like this, but they
aren’t this big. Dat makes them.”

“Mata
and Dat?”

“His
mother and father,” Nick said, sitting down beside them. Aldin turned the
necklace over in his palm before Nick took hold of his left hand. The boy
looked up, startled by the intrusion, but giggled when Nick pushed the sleeve
of his sweater halfway up his forearm.

“That
tickles,” he said, and then tried to pull his sweater back down when Nick
inched it up further. “Stop,” he protested.

Nick
held firm. “In a minute, buddy,” he said, keeping his voice soft. He met the
boy’s eyes and smiled. “I only want to see your mark.”

“I
can’t,” Aldin said. “Mata said I can’t show it to anyone.”

“It’s
okay. You don’t have to,” Nick said and pulled the sweater back down, letting
go of his arm. “Are you hungry?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll
make breakfast then. Stay here and we’ll eat soon.”

The
boy nodded and returned his attention to the amulet. Nick stood. Crossing the
clearing, he picked up a pile of thick green branches, then brought them to the
fire and tucked them into the dirt under the flames, shifting them so that
their ends remained exposed.

He
looked up at Meaghan. His face remained impassive, but a strong wave of concern
washed over her, contrasting his calm demeanor. She realized he had dropped his
guard on purpose to let her know they needed to talk, but she did not care. She
refocused her attention on Aldin, and Nick’s concern changed to irritation.

Aldin
found a small protrusion on the back of the amulet and fidgeted with it,
grinning when his prodding opened a thin metal door. He poked his finger into
the opening and Meaghan snatched the amulet from him, surprise causing her to
take it too fast. She pinched his finger in the hinge in the process.

“Hey!”
he protested, puffing out his lip. “That hurt.”