Banished To Earth Book Two, Souls Adrift, (23)

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    They all raced upstairs, leaving the little stranger sitting on the couch.

 

    “Look”, Beth yelled, pointing at the open balcony window.

  

    “Don’t see no butterfly.” Said Trudy.

 

   “Just the window.” Said Davin.

 

    “The pods.” Pry declared. “Something was alive within them.”

 

    “I told you.” Silhouette declared. “I did. Not so funny now, is it!”

 

   Davin smiled at her. “You really love Nikki, don’t you?”

 

   “Well, duh! I told her to keep that thing safe. I didn’t know. I never thought…”

 

   “No Sil, this is good. Now we know where to look.”

 

    Tucker walked over to the French doors and was just about to close them when Beth stopped him.”

 

    “If she left this way, maybe she’ll come back this way. But I’m not waiting for that.”

 

    He nodded and whipped open a portal. A moment later, they stepped onto the field about two hundred feet from the oak. Tucker did not want to trigger another burst of blue energy.

 

    As they drew near, they heard humming, no, two hummings. It sounded like a bumblebee grand prix.

 

   Earlier, while they ferreted out the truth from the ‘child’ Thorn’s patience with Nikki was quickly running out.

 

  Her screams for her Mommie made his entire body quake. “Stop it, child!”

 

 She heard him yell, but his fairy words were gibberish in her ears. “I’m going to put an end to this right now. Come here, child!” He flung himself at her, a golden dart with death on its tip.

 

   She dodged; her wings instinctively reacted. Ironically, Eloween’s muscle memory was serving Nikki quite well. Spinning and diving, looping and weaving through the tangled maze of leaf and bough, the race was on.

 

   Though she could not understand a word Thorn said, his murderous intent rang in her ears like a fire alarm.

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   Zipping and winding up and down, zigging up then zooming around, Thorn slashed his crooked talon-like fingers at the child.   

 

   She ducked and screamed “Mommie, Mommie, Mommie,” until Beth stepped under the boughs. “Mommie, Mommie,” buzzed in her ears.

 

    “Nikki,” she yelled up into the shadowy green labyrinth.

 

    Nikki heard her and swooped down. Thorn’s meat hook fingers were merely inches away from the child when Nikki flew into Beth’s long brown hair.

 

Thorn, however, was not deterred by the giant. He flew in after her. Fool that he was.

 

    She knew the first fairy was Nikki. She instinctively cupped her hand over her head, over Nikki. The child was safe. Thorn not so much.

 

  Tangled and lost amidst Beth’s beautiful light brown tresses. He tumbled and rolled, desperate to free himself, but he only entangled himself so deeply in her hair that he could not move.

 

     Motherly rage inflamed Beth. She knew what had to happen next. She combed the fingers of her free hand through her hair until his wriggling tiny body bumped against them. They clasped. They clenched. He died.

 

   Ever so gently, she combed the tiny creature from her hair. Gingerly pulled strands of hair away until it was finally free, curled up in the palm of her right hand. It jerked and quivered and spoke gibberish.

 

    Suddenly, the entire tree began to vibrate. Its roots undulated beneath their feet so much so that they struggled to stand. Then, a deafening chorus of loud pops made their ears ring, as every pod burst open.

 

   Eloween screamed when she saw that she was standing in Thorn's slimy remains.“Thorn!” She wailed when she saw what had happened, just as she knew who caused it. Beth watched the tiny creature fly up and disappear into the great oak's bowels, obviously, no longer Nikki.

    Beth wiped Thorn from her hand on her jeans. The fairy-stained jeans would soon meet their end in Trudy’s fireplace.  

 

   A golden cloud of fairies pulsated over their heads. The sweet scent of chocolate filled the air. A gift to their giant benefactors, though they didn’t know it at the time.

 

    Pry whipped open a portal, she and Beth hopped in, then hopped out, landing two feet from the couch, two feet from Nikki.