Chapter 9

Saturday Evening

Near the Skokomish river

Olympic National Forest, Washington

Siofra was beyond exhaustion. Her legs quivered under her torn green leather leggings as she paused for an instant to get her bearings. Her lungs were heaving in great gasps and it was almost beyond her to resume her flight. But she had to. The precious bundle on her back had to survive. She had been running since late afternoon and wasn’t sure how much longer she could go.

She focused her mind past the pain and with a flip to throw her sweaty waist length blond ponytail over her shoulder she picked up the pace once again. If they could just get to the river they might have a chance. It went against all her instincts to run away from the sheltering mountains at her back to the valley where the humans lived, But the hunters were between her and the last shelter she knew.

They had deliberately cut off her retreat. If only she hadn’t had to go so far for food! But her breasts were empty and she knew that Sian was slowly starving to death. Another day and he would be too weak and the sickness would take him. There were too few of the men left to protect them. Too few to watch over her while she gathered what food there was on the mountain in the early spring. Her own dear Culaid had died protecting their small encampment only last year, goddess protect and keep him in the fair fields.

There! She caught a brief glimpse of silvery water reflecting the half moon as it rose over her shoulder. Just a few more minutes. She knew they hated the water. Maybe she could swim her and Sian out to a sandbar or island, or if the water allowed, maybe she could make it to the sanctuary she had heard rumors of. She didn’t know, Her only plan was pure desperation.

Then she heard them again! Their baying changed pitch and cadence and she instinctively knew that they had her pinpointed. They were too close! Her heart nearly burst in despair, She could almost make it! She wanted so badly to just fall to the trail and weep. But then the thought of what would happen to her baby boy ignited a fire in her. The beasts would either shred him to pieces and devour not only his body but his magic and his very soul. They might kill him right away or maybe toy with him for a few hours first. They had even been known to keep one of their prey alive long enough to watch the others as they were tortured for hours. The more terror they created the richer the feed, one of the old men of her clan had once said.

Siofra put on a last burst of speed and as she turned a corner she spotted a wide crack in the rock face the packed dirt trail had been winding around. She could never make the river but maybe here she could defend herself well enough to at least give her time to do what she needed to do to Sian before she herself was slain.

She had barely an instant to remove the baby sling from shoulders and place Sian as far back into the crack as she could. She slid the precious silvered blade from the sheath at the small of her back and as the lead hellhound flew around the corner toward her she wedged herself back against the rock. The instant the gigantic black hound saw her it leapt for her throat.

It was luck, or maybe the goddess’s hand but when she thrust the silvered blade upwards it entered the under jaw of the wide red fanged maw and pierced the beast’s brain killing it instantly. The foot long horn handled blade was nearly torn from her hand as the huge body slammed into her and she nearly wretched as the offal smelling pitch colored fur of the beast covered her. She was able to push the body slightly away as the rest of the pack flowed into the area surrounding the crack. They could get to her but only one at a time. They could also see the silver blade and the death of the first beast made them cautious. These weren’t stupid animals by any means.

This put Siofra in a quandary. She knew there were too many of them and they would kill her within the next few minutes no matter what she did. But goddess! Did she have the strength to do what needed to be done for her precious baby?

Siofra knew that she couldn’t wait any longer. With a shuddering sigh and tears pouring down her dirt and blood spattered face. She turned toward Sian bundled up in the sling. He had been such a good baby. Even now he was silent as he stared up at her with his wide trusting blue eyes. She covered his beautiful face with one hand and sobbed loudly as she drew back her arm for the killing blow.

Suddenly there was a soft voice in her ear and a tingling touch on her forearm.

“Wait.” was all the voice said.

Siofra slowly withdrew her shaking arm. Was that just in her mind or did she hear the voice of the goddess? She turned fully toward the slavering hell hounds. She could tell they had heard something as well but they were still inching closer to her.

Their ears perked up again and this time they reluctantly paused. Then the largest of the hellhounds stepped forward to stare at her with glowing crimson eyes. The beast was so huge that it easily weighed 4 times what she did and even on all fours was much taller than her.

The enormous hound shook his head once then yowled at the others who reluctantly turned back up the trail and trotted away. Before he left as well, the leader stared at her as if to fix the sight and smell of her in his mind.

Siofra knew that if they ever crossed paths again she would not get away a second time.

As the last of the pack cleared away and began their baleful howling once more. Siofra collapsed to the ground. It was all she could do to remain conscious. She had another decision to make now. Did she try to work her way back to her encampment or did she try to cross the river?

She was hours away from the safety of the mountain and very weak. She also had no idea what had caused the hounds to retreat. It could only be a temporary reprieve and they would again be on her in a flash.

She picked up Sian in his sling and staggered her way down to the dark water. In just a few minutes she was staring at the far bank in the moonlight and despairing once again. The river was muddy and swirling and nearly in flood stage from the spring snow melt. And she didn’t even know what was on the other side.

A few of her kind had mentioned a small holy place on a hill just downstream from here. At least there the hell hounds wouldn’t find her for a time and she could rest. She knew they also hated holy places of any kind so she might even be safe there long enough for Sian to get stronger. She didn’t know anything about the humans that lived in that area though. She had only seen a few very far away. She did remember that at one time, long ago, humans and the People had lived in peace together so they can’t all be bad, she thought.

There were no good options so Siofra did what all mothers did, human, fae or wild folk. She made the best choice she could in a very bad situation. A choice she hoped would keep her child alive for another day.

She quickly retrieved some nettle rope from her small pack and began weaving a raft from the driftwood and flotsam cast up on the bank around her. Her hands flew, binding the wood together. So fast and clever were her hands that it would appear to a human that she used magic, she indeed might normally have done so, but she barely had any left after the long chase.

She snugged a last knot tight and stood for a moment trying in vain to see the far dark shore. She was terrified as she said a short prayer to her goddess to protect the child on her back.

She finished her prayer, took a deep breath and squared her small slender shoulders as she pushed the tiny raft out into the churning unknown waters.

Late Saturday evening

Outlaw Demons compound

Near Port Jonesby Washington

Sam could hear their bone chilling cries echoing across the foothills as his demon dogs assembled to his call. They covered miles in minutes. Their ethereal black flashing bodies flew faster over the ground than any earthly hound could as they came to do the bidding of their master.

Soon the clearing of the compound was filled with blood fanged inky shapes. They snarled and snapped at each other, poisonous looking slaver dripping from their maws as they awaited his word.

These beings weren’t quite intelligent as humans measured these things, but they were bound to his will and understood his wishes. When he had been transported to this world he had been amazed that even his pets had been able to accompany him. It was interesting that a bunch of clueless college kids had been able to enact such a powerful spell. But then again, he had come to find out that the primary originator of the spell, Dell, was truly one of the most purely evil humans he had ever encountered.

At first he had been unsure what to do with his hounds. He couldn’t have them feeding in the city streets of Seattle. Even clueless modern mortals would eventually figure out that something was up. The problem sort of solved itself when he was able to track Dell down and discovered that he lived near a very large forested area. And it was even better when he discovered that this large forest area was inhabited by the hellhounds favorite prey, the Fae.

Any type of the Fae would do. It didn’t matter to the hounds. Elves, brownies, trolls, faeries, nymphs, dryads, whatever, they all made great kibble. Running them down and ripping them to shreds kept the hounds in shape and out of trouble. Any magic the Fae had was absorbed by the hounds and made them even more powerful. As an added bonus, the fear they Fae felt as they were torn apart was like a gravy on top of the meal to the hounds. The hounds could feed on mortal humans and animals as well but unless they had a bit of magic in them, they just weren’t preferred meat.

Now to the task at hand. Sam had to figure out where his shipment had gotten off to. He could possibly replace the women if absolutely necessary but what he really needed to know was if someone was on to his plans.

Sam cast around the steel storage container and the shed until he finally located some bloody rags that looked like they had once been part of a young girl’s clothing. As he picked them up he could feel a slight tingle. Dammit! This is what he had been afraid of. Someone or something with power had been here and touched these rags. It was very faint and he had no way of knowing what kind or how much power was involved. He debated rolling up his entire operation and starting anew somewhere else, but this was such a grand opportunity. Finding someone as evil as Dell who was also so perfectly placed would be nearly impossible.

Well, at least he could get some more information before he decided what to do.