Hideaway

Mairwen furrowed her brow. "What do you mean 'empty'? There is certainly enough water…"

"I mean Wai said she searched, and there are no creatures in the lake at all. No mermaids, no selkies, even the fish who call this home are gone." Alaron pressed his lips together.

"Are they dead?" Eira could think of more than one meaning for the words empty and gone.

Wai spoke quickly, her words rushed and garbled.

"Slow down, Wai! I think I got it. She thinks that they left and are not dead. There are no bodies left behind, and she sensed no blood." Alaron relayed the message.

"Are we sure they aren't in hiding? Did Taran chase them off?" Mairwen had met the Selkies and seen the mermaids.

While the Merfolk now usually called the ocean their home, the selkies still resided along the shore. They had nowhere else to go.

"Wai looked in their usual hiding places. They are not there. They seem to have fled. And since nothing else around here has changed for generations, I think Taran is the most likely culprit." Alaron sighed.

The selkies would have been a wealth of information. As far as the Guardian could tell, nothing happened at the lake without their noticing. It was quite a loss.

"We will have to do this the old fashioned way: scout out the shoreline until we find something suspicious. Wai has given us somewhere to start though. She said that a short distance up the shore, there is an unnatural dugout leading up into the trees." Alaron stopped as Wai began to burble enthusiastically.

The other three watched as the Guardian and Nymph spoke back and forth for a few moments before Alaron switched back into human speak. "I'll ask them. Wai wants to check out where the dugout channel leads. It is bringing water away from the lake..."

Mairwen's eyes went wide. That description alone was enough to convince her that this was the site where Dania must be being held. Her anticipation and anxiety both grew.

"I do not think it is a good idea for you to go and find out where the channel leads, Wai." Renat seemed to share his wife's hesitation.

"If you run into more of those wolves and lizards, they can hurt you and we won't be there to help you." Mairwen looked at the water Nymph.

Although Wai's injury had been closed, she did not seem to be fully recovered. It might have been only the nymph's pride that was hurt now, not her body. But it was hard to tell. Either way, Mairwen did not want her to have an opportunity to repeat that mistake.

Eira rounded off their concerns with one of her own. "If it is Taran and you are spotted, then they will be on alert before we even arrive. It would put us at a grave disadvantage."

"See? That is what I said too. It's too dangerous and the risk is not worth the reward." Alaron turned back to Wai. She shrunk, clearly unhappy but also unable to argue with their logic.

Mairwen curtsied to the watery lady and lowered her head. "If I may, Wai, I have a most important favor to ask of you. It is quite urgent in nature."

Wai's eyes, which seemed on the verge of --tears?, suddenly filled with hope. The nymph was all ears.

"When we left, our father was fighting for Oblivion. He was going to help Duchess Ashleigh, your friend, defend the city from Taran's troops, remember? Well, surely the battle is over, and Father must be heading this way. He would find us much faster if he had a guide to lead him on his way, don't you think?"

Wai nodded. It would indeed speed the process along.

"Could you...would you..." Mairwen paused.

Wai pointed to herself excitedly, lifting her body farther out of the water than any of them had seen her do all day. It was clear that she would be happy to complete such a vital task.

"Thank you, Wai. We owe you more than we could ever repay." The blue eyed woman smiled, very happy to have the magical creature's friendship.

Wai bowed, patted each on the head with her watery hand--much to Renat's dismay-- and faded into the water's flow. Only a small disturbance of water moving faster than the current gave any indication which way the watery lady had gone.

After a momentary pause to watch Wai leave and regroup, the smaller party continued along the coast of the lake. Staying out in the open was a risk, but Alaron continuously scouted ahead to make sure the way was clear before allowing the others to move forward.

At last they reached the spot where Wai had found the trench dug straight out from the lake. It led southward, disappearing into the trees. After making sure no one was around, they took a closer look at the unnatural channel. it was filled with water, but down the middle of it, a thick metal tube ran from somewhere deeper in the lake to somewhere up past the trees.

"What is that?" Eira whispered. She looked at the strange long cylinder.

"It's a pipe of some sort. I saw someone at the University trying to transport water in such a manner. I never did hear what became of that invention. It seems to be yet another mind usurped by Taran." Renat sighed. He was getting very tired of all of the brilliant minds of his age working for the enemy.

"Transporting water is a particularly useful thing if you are trying to use it to make abominations. How far back do you think it goes?" Mairwen traced the pipe into the grasses and then looked at the trees. They were especially thick here, almost like a wall.

"I guess there is only one way to find out. Ladies?" Alaron hated this part the most. He fully expected his sister to put up another fight, but she nodded.

"At least come with us to find a place to hide so that you know where to return." Her mouth was pinched, trying to accept her fate.

The group backed away from the trench and headed into the woods. Just because no one was guarding the area currently did not mean they would leave it alone indefinitely. Taran was too smart to leave his investment unguarded for long.

Sure enough, just as they were clearing the trees, two raspy voices wafted toward them. Alaron peeked back to see two lizards with swords cinched to the sides.

Fortunately they didn't seem to sense or smell the group. They continued to chat idly allowing the four to move into the brush as silently as they could. If the lizards had heard anything, they were not paying attention. For who would ever bother to find them up here?

Far out of the hearing of the two reptiles, the four finally found an indent in the ground below large roots of a tree. It reminded Alaron of the hollow tree trunk that he had been forced inside back when his father was bringing him home. The Guardian wondered if the wood nymphs had made this hideout also.

Mairwen and Eira ducked inside, finding soft spots to rest in the cool earth. Gathering brush and grasses, the males hid any sign of the entrance before bidding the ladies farewell.

"We will be back before nightfall," Renat promised.

"You better or I'll…" Mairwen paused.

Through the grass, she could feel the fierce looks from both her husband and brother.

"You'll what?" They asked in unison.

"Nothing…you better be back." The princess crossed her arms and pouted. One final thought entered her head. "Are you sure you don't want the seeker?"

Alaron shook his head. "A magical fairy necklace wandering through camp would be highly suspicious even if it would help us find Dania more quickly. I'm not even sure if it will work for me."

"If I give it to you, it should. Take it. Please." Mairwen passed the chain through the grasses into her brother's hand. He reluctantly took it and tied it around his neck.

"Thank you, sister. I know it will bring us good luck." Alaron kissed the back of the fairy and tucked it under his cloak.

"I love you." Renat blew his wife a kiss through the leafy barrier.

"I love you too. Be safe!" Mairwen begged.

"We will. Now let us go before it's night and you decide to do something stupid." Alaron grabbed the wolf by the arm and marched them away from the hideaway.

Alaron was pleasantly surprised at how quietly Renat was able to move through the brush even in his massive body. It seemed the wolf part of him had at least given him the ability to move like the predator he resembled.

As they looped around and passed where the trench led into the trees, the pair had to dodge more and more of the abominations which they had come to thwart. They soon found out what the creatures were hiding.

The two men froze at the sight. This was not good.