“I think I got one of them,” a man shouted.
Adrenaline poured through him when a bright light flashed in his direction. He crouched down and blindly felt behind him. There was a wide crack in the rock. He slid into it just as the light flashed by him again, illuminating the darkness.
Right inside the entrance there was a hollowed out area. He ducked into it, crouching to keep from hitting his head. The sound of heavy footsteps came closer. He reached down and pulled a knife from his boot.
“Anything yet, Harron?” a man asked.
“No. I could have sworn I hit the creature. Help me find it,” Harron replied.
Tamblin flattened his body as far as he could in the narrow gap. A light slowly flashed over the rock. Light danced across the opening, giving him a better view of the cave. It was deeper than he’d expected, going back several feet before widening.
He inhaled a swift breath when the light focused on the crevice where he was hiding. A dirty hand, almost as wide as he was tall, appeared. Tamblin tightened his grip on the knife in his hand.
His breathing grew shallow when long, thick fingers felt around the interior. As long as the man didn’t curl his fingers, he should be safe. The man cursed when a jagged piece of rock along the ceiling sliced his flesh. The man would have been able to remove his hand again if he hadn’t twisted it.
“What’s wrong?” the other man asked.
“My hand’s stuck,” Harron growled.
“Well, you should have known better than to stick it in there. There’s no telling what kind of poisonous creatures might live in the rocks,” the other man said with a snicker of amusement.
“Shut up and help me pull my arm out,” Harron snapped.
Tamblin lifted an arm to protect his head from falling debris as Harron yanked his arm free. He listened to the two men mutter to each other. Only when the light moved away did he lean his head back and take a deep, calming breath. He stiffly climbed out of his hiding place and stood.
He was taking a step forward when he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. He jerked back with a muttered oath, then a soft chuckle of relief slipped from him when Batty peered in the crevice opening at him. The wily creature wiggled until he was through the crack.
“Come, let me look at your wound,” he softly instructed.
Remorse filled Tamblin when Batty limped by him to the back of the cave. He followed. He ran his hand along Batty’s side to the buckle of the saddle and quickly removed it along with the harness.
Feeling inside the saddlebag, he pulled out a small expanding staff. With a twist, the red gem on the end began to glow. In the light, he could see the dark streak of blood along the bat’s side.
He propped the staff up against the wall and reached inside the bag once more, pulling out a small medical kit. He cleaned the wound, whispering soothing words when Batty squeaked in pain. The medicine numbed the area and would prevent infection.
“Thank you, my young friend. If not for you, I would never have seen those men,” he confessed.
Batty nudged Tamblin with his head. Compassion filled him when Batty’s eyes drooped with fatigue. They both needed some rest. It would be light in a few hours. Although that would make it easier for him to see, it would restrict Batty—and make it more dangerous to travel by air.
He looked up at the ceiling and back down at Batty. “Get some rest,” he ordered.
Batty nodded and pushed off the floor of the cavern. He watched the bat gracefully twist in the air and clutch the ceiling with his feet, hanging upside down. In seconds, Batty had wrapped his wings around his body and was sound asleep.
Tamblin returned the items to the bag, sheathed his knife, and walked to the entrance of the cave. He stood there for some time, silently scanning the area. In the distance, he could see the poachers’ lights moving away. Depression hit him hard.
“How will we ever win against such odds?” he wondered out loud.
Tia had said that Arosa could help them—but how? Even if she had an army, it would be no match against the poachers and their machines. A shudder ran through him when he remembered the size of the man’s hand. One squeeze and the poacher could crush him. He didn’t want to think of the damage the man could do to someone as delicate as Arosa.
He looked back into the cave. If he continued on, he might make it to the forest before the end of the day. His decision made, he returned to the back of the cave. He packed a smaller bag with a few essentials and pulled the strap over his head.
Batty’s squeak caused him to look up. Large brown and gold eyes gaze down at him with an accusing expression. A wave of remorse swept through him. It was obvious Batty thought he was abandoning him.
“I will continue on. Find me when nightfall comes again. I want you healthy and well-rested,” he gently instructed, picking up the staff.
Batty wiggled his nose and blinked in response before nodding and covering his head with his wing again. With his guilt slightly eased, Tamblin tightened the strap to the bag on his back and strode back to the opening. He took a deep breath and began descending the rock face. He still had a long, treacherous journey ahead of him.
Arosa solidified on the edge of the rock shelf in front of a dark cave. Her symbiot connection with the young bat had guided her to his location. Behind her, the sun was rising above the horizon.
“Tamblin,” she called, stepping up to the cave’s entrance. She lifted a hand and a golden light filtered from it into the opening. “Tamblin, are you hurt?” she anxiously asked, hurrying forward.
She stopped when she saw the saddle. She peered up at the ceiling. Batty unfurled his wings, yawned, and looked down at her with sleepy eyes.
“Batty, where is Tamblin?” she asked in an urgent tone.
She floated up to the bat and caressed his head with a gentle hand. Her breath caught when she sensed Batty’s pain. The bat looked at her with sad eyes.
“Show me,” she coaxed.
Batty lifted his left wing, showing her a long burn, blistered and red, on his side. She ran her hand along the wound. The flesh sealed and fine, dark brown hair grew as she caressed the damaged area. She murmured soothing words when the small bat trembled.
“Where is Tamblin?” she asked.
“I will continue on. Find me when nightfall comes again. I want you healthy and well-rested.” Tamblin’s deep voice echoed through her mind.
“No!” she cried, look back toward the crevice opening.
Twirling, she floated out of the cavern. Power flowed through her as her fear for Tamblin grew. She reached out, connecting with every living being—both plant and animal. A vision of Tamblin appeared. He was running, and she noticed the lines under the ground moving behind him—sandworms.
She burst forward and in a matter of seconds, she located him. The ground under his feet rose, sending him flying. He hit the ground and rolled, coming up onto his feet with a long staff in his hand. He swung around as three sandworms broke through the surface and surrounded him.
She opened her arms, shifting into the Wood Fairy Queen, and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. She lifted him off the ground as two of the sandworms struck, flying up to the top of a mushroom, and released him. Turning in midair, she swept her hands outward. The sandworms’ bodies rippled as they began to change. Their bodies became stems, and their open mouths turned into dark red flowers with yellow and orange centers.