Chapter 4
Lightning sparked and for an
instant the room flared white without shadows.
Frita sat her post with her sword pressed against her knee and her arms
holding it rigid and ready. Her dark
eyes glared at the child. She listened
to her, watching her sleep. She
listened to the storm rage outside. She
listened to the manor and it's creeks and moans against Hauge's howling wind.
It had been hours of calming and
soothing the child to get her even to hold down hot broth with out heaving it
back up. It took even longer to get the
child to rest. Even after Lady Fantista
gave the child a command to make her sleep, she still moaned and tossed in
nightmare. Lord Frito and Lady Fantista
sat by her side until she finally drifted to sleep. Frita remained on guard, watching the child.
Lightning flashed white again and
the child suddenly sat bolt upright in the bed. Her eyes blinded by the white light, she sat blinking to see as
her chest heaved in pain. Frita slipped
quickly across the room, laying her sword on the floor by her feet and took the
child in her arms. Imitating her
mother, she soothed and cooed to the child.
Gasping as the tears rolled
quickly on her face, the child reached out and grabbed on to Frita with all her
might. Sobbing, coughing, she tried to
speak through her pain, but her words stumbled in her throat. "A beast!" She cried,
"A beast under the bed!"
She finally blurted out, burying her face into Frita's shoulder.
Frita felt awkward. She had no concept of what to do, what to say
to the poor suffering child.
"There is no beast under the bed." Frita tried to use her voice like her mother would, but it
cracked awkwardly and didn't help at all.
The child swallowed hard and
gasped again. "His name is
Thumber! He is coming after me!" Her fingers dug harder into Frita's back as
if she was never going to let go. Frita
wanted to call for her mother, but she knew it would only upset the girl more. She gripped the girl's arms and pulled her
away far enough to look her in the eyes.
The child used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears as Frita
glared at her. "There is no beast
in this house." Frita said firmly. "You are safe here." Frita's words drove into the girl as the
child held back her fear. "You had
a dream, child." She brushed the
child's black hair from her wet face.
"A dream can not hurt you."
Frita's words were clear and somber.
The little girl's lips bent
downward as she tried to be brave.
"bbu But..."
"But no." Frita tried a soothing voice like her mother
again. "There is nothing under the
bed." Frita could see the child's
terror on her face. Frita held the
child's tiny hand and leaned over the bed.
Lifting the tick, she went to look under. The little child gripped the shoulder of Frita's shirt. Frita took both of the girl's hand in one,
and caressed the girl's face.
"There is nothing there."
She whispered. "I will show
you." Frita again bent over and
the tiny child held her breath and watched her.
The lightning flashed and the
thunder roared as Frita was jerked from the bed, her hand grasped the sheet and
dragged it with her as she disappeared under the bed.
The little girl sat paralyzed
with her eyes glaring wide, exposed to the thunderous storm that raged outside
her window. Trying to scream out, her
breath rasped in and out of her throat as her voice tried desperately to catch
it.
The child screamed louder than
the howling wind, louder than the storm, louder than Okshiru's fury.
The door flung open as Lady
Fantista darted in, her elvish eyes burned silver in the dark, piercing the
shadow to show the girl on her knees, her body lifting and forcing herself to
scream. Lady Fantista swept to the bed,
her arms swept out to comfort the girl.
"NO!" The girl screamed, "He will get
you!" The tiny girl shoved at her,
pushing her away. Lady Fantista gripped
the fighting child into her arms and swept her from the bed into her
grasp. The girl screamed into
Fantista's shoulder, "He will get
you! He will get you!"
Frito stepped out of the
shadow. His face drawn, he scowled as
he entered the room, tying his robe's belt.
The tiny child's voice cracked in a horse whisper as she could no longer
scream. "He's under the bed! He's under the bed!" Fantista denied this idea. Cooing to the child that it was a dream, the
child wailed at her with angry fists.
Frito looked at the bed, and saw the hand-and-a-half sword lying by
it. He charged at the bed, shoving it
across the room, sliding against the stone floor.
There was nothing there.
He dropped to his knees, his
fingers slid across the rock testing it's surface. Like a hot coal he found it, sucking into the stone like a
vortex. Lightning flashed and exposed
the black blood bleeding out of the floor.
Magic!
He probed into it, using his
arcane skills to identify it, but it was too late. He could feel it slip from his fingers, like dry sand in an
hourglass.
And it was gone.