James Thatcher sat on Zeb Cartwright's roof, working the last cedar shingle into place. Jamming it up under the one above, he drove in the nails then sat up and tried to work the kink out of his back. The last storm had done plenty of damage -- a few missing shingles and a hole where a branch had gone through. He loved living here but would love it even more not to have trees right over their heads.

The village was nestled under the great canopy of the forest. The trees around the log houses had the lower branches pruned to clear the roofs and to keep children on the ground. The road passing through the village made up the main street, widening at the square where a wide dirt path intersected it. Children played in the square as Zeb fixed the wheel on Olan Weavers's cart. Across the street, a woman with gray streaking her dark-brown hair shucked corn as she kept an eye on the children from a bench on the side of the square. Stopping to warn one of the Pickler boys away from the well, she stood up long enough to make sure the child became involved with another game before she returned to making dinner. At the base of a stout ash on the far side of square, three of the older boys were gathered around a slim brunette, eager for her attention.

Screams from up the road caused the children to stop their game, the woman to snap her head up. James was the first to see the group of people running towards the square. Behind them was a pig-faced giant carrying an immense halberd. The giant swung, chopping holes in roofs with his blade and bashing in doors with the haft of his weapon.

The children screamed and scattered. Zeb left the cart to run in and grab his bow. The giant caught a dark-haired woman in the back. She gurgled out her last cry as the blow threw her to the ground, landing folded in half like one of the girl's rag dolls.

James cried out in horror. His best friend's wife had just been butchered, and now the huge thing was bearing down on his father. Gripping his hammer, he took aim at the creature's head and threw with all his might. It hit the monster on its shoulder; the giant stopped to glare at him, letting the old man escape.

Locking eyes with the giant, James felt his heart seize in panic. He turned and ran over the peak, ready to jump down and lead the thing away from his fellow villagers. He skidded to a stop, mouth open in a silent scream. On the other side of the hut a second giant stood thrusting its weapon at him. Before he could dodge, it impaled him. Lifting him high, it slammed him down through the roof he had spent the day repairing.

Below, Zeb got off two arrows into the giant in the square. Both hit the heavy leather on its chest, but neither penetrated far enough to do any damage. He ducked back inside as it charged with a deep bellow. Together, the giants rammed into the hut, collapsing it.

More giants attacked, kicking in hut walls and killing anyone who could not avoid them. Men and women were speared and thrown aside, those who tripped were stomped on by huge feet. The few men who tried to stand against them were killed without inflicting serious wounds on a single giant.

Two strangers ran into the chaos while terrified villagers fled for their lives. They were dressed in grayish-green shirts and brown shorts, though the woman's shirt was cropped to show her flat stomach. Both wore wide belts around their waists with many pouches attached and carried an oak staff and a curved sword. The ones who saw them cried in relief, quickly pointing behind them.

The black-haired man glanced at his companion. "Odif, we wait for the others?"

Odif sensed at least two more pilgyns besides the one she saw. If they waited for the rest of the team more villagers would die.

"No, we have to keep the pilgyns busy until these people escape," she decided with a flash of her pale gray eyes. "Keep your distance, but get their attention."

Nodding, the man broke off to run behind a row of huts as Odif slowed to deal with the threat before her.

She faced two giants on the main street. Spreading her arms, she concentrated on the tiny lives that filled the forest and called forth insects. Bees, wasps, horseflies -- every kind of flying, stinging insect came to her summons. The giants who were setting themselves to kill her found themselves beset by clouds of bugs, biting and stinging them all over. They pawed at their eyes and ears, trying to kill the hundreds of tiny creatures swarming over them. They staggered towards her.

Backpedaling, she held the insects on the two giants.

"I got two here!" she yelled.

From the alley to her right, the man came running.

"There's another back there," he said. By the look on his face, he was afraid. Fear was only good for flight; to help her stop these pilgyns he needed will and strength.

"Stop him, Leifelm!" she barked.

"How?"

"Grow thorns!"

Digging quickly in a pouch, he threw seeds into the alley then held his arms out, palms down, as he began a chant. Sprouts came up almost immediately. The giant appeared and started through the alley, its weapon raised high, its small pig eyes glowing in triumph. Liefelm's chant began to waver. The carpet of bushes stopped growing only a few inches high.

Odif cast him a worried look. If he didn't remain strong, the thorns would not grow.

"For the love of our Goddess, concentrate!" Even as she yelled at him, she knew fear was consuming him. She foresaw what would happen a second before it did.

Liefelm started backing up; his chant became unintelligible babbling. The giant took one last step and swung down hard. As Liefelm tried to duck away, the large axe blade cleaved through his thigh to bury itself in the ground.

Shifting her attention to the giant about to finish off her apprentice, she thrust her arms out and spoke firmly.

"Pioga flammar!"

Flame shot from her hands in a stream towards the creature, splashing on its face. The coarse hairs on its cheeks caught fire. It screamed and swung wildly, trying to stop the burning. Backing up, it tripped and fell in the alley, taking down pieces of roofing it clutched at.

Odif had been forced to let the insects go in order to stop the third giant. Once again she set her tiny allies on the remaining two as she ran backwards. One giant threw its halberd at her. Odif saw it coming and threw herself to one side. The weapon sailed harmlessly by, but the action disturbed her control. By the time she had regained her feet, the giants were too close to use insects. Her staff lay nearby, but there was no time to retrieve it. Drawing her sword, she got ready to fight.

"Odif, to us!" came a cry from behind her.

Three men ran towards her with a blond woman in brown robes behind them. The man in full plate armor, Scorpio, ran to her, holding his shield up as he motioned for her to get behind him with his sword. The one in the middle wearing hardened leather over his buckskins, Tayan Montara, went at the giants at a dead run, his red hair flying behind him. The third man, Glier, charged with a two-handed grip on his six-foot broadsword. Amber, the woman in robes, knelt to assist a villager who'd lost his arm.

"Disarm him!" Scorpio yelled to Odif as he stepped in front of her to face a giant. It swung down at him hard. Deflecting the blow with his shield, he staggered against a hut. He dropped to the ground as it swung a second time, and the creature missed him to knock a hole in the wall.

Tayan and Glier confronted the other giant. Tayan's blade was a blur of motion as he chopped at the weaponless creature, while Glier landed a blow on the pilgyns' arm that made blood fly.

Odif concentrated on the giant Scorpio was fighting, the insects were still milling about, so she set them to help Scorpio before the pilgyn killed him. They arrived in time to keep the giant from chopping him down before he could get back on his feet to face it.

Dropping its axe, the pilgyn pawed at its face with a squealing cry of anger. Scorpio raised his shield and looked for an opening to strike.

"Use your crossbow!" Odif barked at him. The boy was handsome, but sometimes he wasn't too bright.

A quick glance over at Glier and Tayan showed they were slowly hacking the weaponless giant to the ground. Every time it tried to follow Tayans' quick moves, Glier shifted behind it to deliver a solid blow. It would take a while, but she figured they would finish it.

Watching his pilgyn closely, Scorpio dropped his sword and looped the sling of his crossbow over his head. Loading a bolt, he took aim at the creature's head. His shot landed square in its temple with a loud crack. The pilgyn gave a final squeal as it fell then lay twitching on the ground.

The fight was far from over for Glier and Tayan. Their giant still tried to grab the smaller men and kicked at them. Tayan managed to hamstring one leg, slicing through the tendons on the back of the knee. The pilgyn fell screaming with a crash. Deftly avoiding its flailing, he ran off down the street to where the one with the burnt face was getting up.

"Tayan, no!" Odif yelled. The pilgyn Tayan had downed was still thrashing, looking for something close enough to hit. There was no way around the fight in front of her.

Her mind raced for a way to help Tayan. The giant's face was burnt, but all that had done was anger it. As she summoned up more energy from the forest, Tayan closed on it. He ducked a swing, thrusting his sword out at maximum reach to clip its leg. The giant spun its weapon around; and the butt end slammed into Tayan, pitching him away to land in a heap. He lay motionless as it snarled at him, raising its weapon high to chop him in half.

By some miracle, the giant hesitated, giving Odif time to act. Pulling together all her strength, she shot fire at it again. The flame came out as a long spear, once again landing on its face.

The release of so much energy in such a short time drained her. She was physically able to fight, but her concentration was weakening. The fire worked -- the giant forgot about Tayan as it slapped its face out. The hamstrung giant was struggling up on its good leg to lunge at her. Her sword lay at its feet. She dove instead for her staff, grabbing it as she rolled away from the monster's grasp.

She finished her roll on her feet. The pilgyn's face was open for a shot; she jumped closer and, swinging with all her might, bashed it on its round snout. It had barely recoiled when Scorpio charged up and drove his blade into its heart as Glier chopped down in its exposed neck.

Panting, Scorpio and Glier turned to see the last monster bearing down on them. One eye was charred shut, and it stumbled as it came. All Odif could do was keep it busy as Scorpio and Glier attacked it on the sides. The blind eye marked the creature's doom, for Glier was able to drive in and slash high, opening its throat.

The pilgyn tried to escape, one huge paw attempting to staunch the flood of blood. They didn't pursue, knowing the wound was fatal.

Amber ran towards Odif, her eyes wide as she saw Tayan on the ground. "Is he. . . ?"

The young priestess was talented, but she didn't take stress well. Odif could sense Tayan's life-force from where she stood -- he wasn't the one in immediate danger.

She clapped a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You go look after Tayan, I'm going to try to keep Leifelm from bleeding to death. Go!"

She helped Amber along with a shove then ran to her apprentice.

At sight of the pool of blood and Liefelm's severed leg, her emotions threatened to cloud her consciousness. She had to remain strong, hard and unfeeling, like the mighty oak. To give in to a bout of sickness at the sight or beat him for his weakness would only serve to let him die.

She knelt in the red goo and studied him. The only good thing about the wound was that it had knocked him unconscious, slowing his heart rate. By thinking of the raw end of the stump as just another piece of meat, she was able to fold over a flap of skin and seal the edges before his blood drained out. It used the last of her energy, but she had saved him for now. The rest was bandaging and keeping him warm.

"Will he live?" Scorpio asked.

She didn't need to look up to sense his presence. "He'll live. Go see how Amber is doing with Tayan while I finish up here."

While she got Liefelm bandaged, she surveyed the damage the giants had caused. Wrecked huts and bodies lay strewn about. This was the second group of pilgyns they had found in Longforest. Lord Zodiac was right -- evil was trying to drive them out of the northern end of the forest. Now that she and her friends were here, though, the tables would be turning on those monstrous creations.

Yelling got her attention. She looked over to see Scorpio and Tayan glaring at each other. Apparently, Amber was able to heal him quickly.

"Idiocy -- you know, the thing that makes smart people act stupid," Scorpio yelled as he smacked his helmet.

"You're calling me stupid?" Tayan cried.

"Charging off by yourself is something I would not call smart. You nearly got yourself -- and Odif -- killed. That is not how we fight."

Tayan took a deep breath, letting his voice roll out in a growl. "I was fighting a hundred years before you were born, do you forget that?"

"No, butyou have. If you want to be brave to the point of suicide, go see the Tolinic Knights!" Scorpio yelled with a flail of his arm. "We fight as a team, everyone looks out for each other."

"I know how to fight!"

"Then act like it!"

Scowling, Tayan turned and scooped up his sword. Scorpio wandered in place like he was lost, one hand rubbing his forehead.

"He is still in pain." Amber said, her brown eyes sympathetic.

Scorpio nodded with a sigh. "Go. . . help these villagers. Some of them are still alive."

As the priestess moved off, Odif went up to him. She knew he was having a tough time being leader of their team, and Tayan's behavior wasn't helping him any. Seeing the anguish in his face, she gave him a sad smile.

"You did fine. I have to talk to you about Liefelm, though."

Looking over to the man covered with a blanket, he sighed again. "He's done, isn't he?"

"Even if he had both legs, he'd still be done," Odif explained. "Liefelm panicked. It's my fault, I thought he was ready for battle."

Scorpio couldn't help but look down at her magnificent body. He had never before known a woman who was chiseled in lean muscle, but it looked good on her. Her pear-shaped breasts held her shirt out like a curtain over her trim stomach. It took all his effort to force his eyes up and not start caressing her. In his opinion, the sharp V of her torso and the ripples of muscle on her stomach only enhanced her beauty.

Pulling off a mail glove, Scorpio cupped the side of her neck. Rubbing his thumb tenderly behind her ear, he said, "You had no way of knowing he couldn't take battle. At least he's alive -- he will still be a good Druid."

She ignored the soft words and the loving hand. Now was not the time.

"I heard you talking to Tayan -- he'll come around."

Scorpio gave a half-nod. "I'll send him back with Liefelm, I'm sure Zodiac will give us replacements."

As he took his hand down and put his glove back on, she knitted her brows.

"So you would rather he sit and do nothing? Just let him sit by himself and dwell on it?"

"Keeping him on our team is endangering him. . . and us."

This was the hard part of letting him be in charge. She wanted to tell him they had to keep Tayan; but if she did, it would undermine his authority. A simple trip to get rid of unnatural creatures was becoming more complex as the days went along.

"He'll be all right," she repeated.

"Tayan is not 'all right,'" he told her firmly. "Odif, I like Tayan, too. To be honest, he's my idol. Look at him, though. He barely eats or sleeps; and if he's going to madly charge into battle, how can I trust him?"

Odif sighed and gave him one of her "I know best" looks.

"Right now he needs us. Tayan is an emotional wreck. Other than a few heavy tears at Lucinthia's memorial service he hasn't cried."

She had agreed to let Scorpio lead them but hadn't promised Zodiac anything about not molding his brother's decisions the way she wanted them to go. Laying her hands on his face, she looked at him tenderly.

"If he goes back, he may never recover. We may return to find him at the bottom of a bottle."

When she looked at him like that, she knew there wasn't anything he'd deny her.

Shrugging one shoulder, he blushed. "I guess we can wait and see."

Satisfied for the moment he wasn't going to send Tayan away, Odif looked back the way they had come. The villagers were gathering nervously in the trees just beyond the village. Here and there men held bows, anxiously searching for more pilgyns.

"Some of the people are coming back. I'll get them to help with the huts."

The battle over, Odif could not block out the smell of blood and the anguished cries of villagers as they knelt by the bodies of their loved ones. Holding in her emotions, she began directing frightened people to help dig out those trapped in ruined huts. The killing blow to her control was when she followed the soft sound of a girl crying.

Beside a tree, just outside the line of huts, a young brunette sat holding the body of a boy with her remaining arm. The girl's lips were blue; her skin was as pale as a dead fish. The trail of blood told the story -- she had dragged him here and was desperately clinging to him even as the last of her own life drained away.

Odif dropped to her knees in front of the girl. She wanted to tell the child that she would be reunited with her young man soon, in the gardens of their Goddess. She wanted to give her some comfort as she died. All she could do was end her suffering. Gently, she held the girl by her chin and the back of her head. She kissed the child on her forehead then broke her neck. Only then did she cry for both of them.

The sun was going down by the time they had tended to the wounded and buried the dead. Even though much of the village was in ruins, the villagers insisted their defenders stay to share their food and beds for the night. They ate by one of the standing huts, Scorpio and Odif sitting together as Glier and Amber kept Tayan nestled between them across the fire.

Liefelm sat with his back to the wall of the hut, his one leg stretched out in front of him. He took the tin plate of stew from the village woman with a muffled "Thanks." After a moment of studying his food, he said weakly, "Odif, I let you down." Gazing up at her sadly, he added, "I did not trust in our Goddess."

Odif regarded him for a few seconds. "You did not trust in yourself. The Goddess of Nature has made the power over living things available to you. To wield that power, you must stay strong."

Liefelm shook his head. "All I could think of was that pilgyn coming at me. I failed our Goddess."

She, too, was disappointed at his failure. In practice, he worked the elements of nature like a master. Liefelm was a quick learner; she had seen great potential in him. When it came to large plant life, he commanded it better than she could. No matter how well he was trained, though, he had yet to trust in himself. The moment his skills were pressed, his brains scattered. She sensed that no matter how much more time she spent on him, he would not improve in that area enough to be of any use on the battlefield.

"You are not meant for fighting," she told him. "There are ways to serve our Goddess other than battle. You are a good healer, both physically and spiritually. Few know more about crop grasses or how to process Elonga sap. Being a priest of nature means using your talents our Goddess gave you. You must find out for yourself the limits of those talents."

Glancing down at the stump of his leg, he said, "Walking is no longer one of them."

His self-pity made her angry. The sooner he gathered his wits, the sooner he could grow a new leg. She was tempted to tell him so, but that would do him no good. He had to figure out some things for himself.

"If our Goddess wants you to regain your leg, she will give you a sign. If not then she has determined you will not be needing it," she told him firmly.

Scorpio watched the druid nod and dip the wooden spoon slowly into his stew.

"Like Jo-Jo's regeneration spell?" he asked her.

Turning on him, she scowled at the insult. Unlike druids, wizards had no understanding of the forces they manipulated. Instead of learning why the world worked, they sat in labs experimenting and repeating what others had done.

"No. We hold the power of the land, striving for something greater than personal gain. You know this."

"Yeah, keeping the balance." he replied.

Raising an eyebrow, she said, "You cannot have men without women- "

"And no good without evil, joy without pain, or life without death." he finished.

She thought it was cute the way he said it. Hopefully, one day she could get him to mean it. He was young and full of energy -- she was becoming attached to him. He had the makings of a fine man, once he grew up.

"Exactly," she agreed with a smirk. Leaning closer to him, she cooed, "We've had ourpain for the day. How about some joy after we eat?"

The twinkle in her eye made him flush. He nodded with a grin.

"Stew for dinner, you for dessert?"

Beaming a smile, she gave him a nudge. "Actually, you'll be my dessert."

"I'm all yours."

Sweeping her eyes over him, she licked her lips then gave him a wink.

Across the fire, Tayan got up with his plate.

"Hey, where you going?" Glier asked. Amber looked like she was about to jump up after him.

"I need some time alone," Tayan told her quietly and walked off around the hut.

Glier watched him go then gave a hard look at Scorpio and Odif.

"You two could try being a little more subtle. You aren't helping him any."

Scorpio's face fell. Looking at Odif, he nodded toward where Tayan had gone.

"You know him best. Would it do any good to go talk to him?"

Odif shook her head. "I've tried. When he gets like this, he won't even acknowledge you're there."

Looking to each of them in turn, Amber asked, "I know his wife died in battle, but what happened?"

Taking a deep breath, Odif said, "No one knows what killed her. I met what was left of the caravan at Castle Zodiac. From what I learned from Prince Glenarin, they had been ambushed and were running from vlaks. They fought the vlaks and killed them. She was still alive after the actual battle. They were put to sleep with magic, and when they woke up her head was torn from her body."

Amber clapped a hand to her stomach. "Dear Leighna!" she breathed in horror. "He found her like that?"

Odif shook her head. "Tayan never saw her. By the time he was healed enough to come around she was wrapped up for the funeral. I went with them to Elrad and it was clear they blamed humans for her death, but I couldn't get any details out of them. If it wasn't for the fact that I was. . . " Odif paused for a second to pick a word for her relationship with Tayan. ". . . a close friend of Tayan, they would have sent me away."

Amber shook her head in wonder. "Vlaks are agents of evil. Why would the elves blame humans?"

Odif shrugged. "I don't know. There were humans escorting them, knights and soldiers from Tolina. By the time they reached Castle Zodiac, King Alderlan had sent them back. If they had been there, I'm sure I would have learned something."

"They did not fight to save them?"

"They fought," Glier told her. "And were cut to ribbons. One squire and a few soldiers were all that returned. That was what drew me and Pynlee back here. The attack was too large and too well organized to be bandits. The evil from the plains is spreading."

"Right into Longforest," Odif concurred. "Unnatural creatures like the pilgyns and hoarcs are in our woods. Trelem thinks they're out to exterminate us."

"If what my brother says is true then they're attempting to isolate Elrad from Zayton. Longforest just happens to be in between them," Scorpio told her.

"Preparations for something bigger," Glier added.

Amber frowned. "The largest populations are downriver. Why attack the wilderness?"

"Water runs south. Our biggest fear is that they will poison the river. That will kill without an arrow fired," Odif explained. "The river is the life of Longforest. All the halshaken would die, as would all who drink or eat food taken from the river. Not only druids and wildlife will perish -- Capetown draws most of its water from the Mason River. Countless thousands will die."

"They have to be stopped," Amber stated.

"That's why we're here," Scorpio said then tried to give her a grin to lighten her mood. "But dinner first."

"Then. . . other things," Odif added in a seductive tone.

Copyright © 2003 by K. Allen Cross