The red bolts fell on her friends; her shield did nothing to stop them. Apparently she could deflect water, but not fire. Trees cracked and exploded all around Ali. She felt incredible heat on her head, reached up and discovered the hood of her jacket was on fire. Karl put it out with his hand before it could catch her hair. His handsome face, caught in the glow of the burning trees, looked stunned. Yet he had not collapsed in terror, none of them had. Ali thought that was a miracle in itself.
“We cannot stand here and take this pounding!” he said.
The figures disappeared into the glowing clouds. They were like divebombers, just getting ready for another deadly run. Ali searched for Paddy. He was still behind the rocks, looking none too happy.
“What do they have in their hands?” she shouted at the leprechaun.
“Fire stones!” he shouted.
“Tires?” Cindy asked.
“Not Firestones,” Ali said. “Fire stones.”
“Aye,” Paddy said. “Fairy magic, very powerful.”
“How do they work?” Ali asked.
“Don’t know. Dark fairies don’t tell their secrets. Can you not stop them, Missy?”
“I’m trying,” Ali replied, searching the ground for suitable rocks. The strategy had worked with the trolls. Of course here her targets were smaller and moving fast. She saw a couple of medium-sized rocks and picked them up.
The six dark fairies returned, burning shadows in the fiery night. Ali saw their fire stones start to kindle and took aim. A red bolt exploded the bush near her leg and she let go with the rock. Her arm was a rocket launcher—there was so much power in it.
A perfect shot, the rock hit the center fairy in the head and the creature plunged from the sky and vanished behind the trees. The creature’s partners let out ear-piercing shrieks and wheeled to the sides and disappeared in the clouds.
“They’re running!” Steve exclaimed.
“Don’t think so, laddie,” Paddy said.
The five dark fairies returned, coming at them from several directions. That made it much harder to hide behind the trees. In fact, they couldn’t hide. The red bolts sizzled within inches of their faces. A spark touched Ali’s ear; she felt as if a firefly was trying to sneak in her brain. Her friends cried out—she assumed someone else had been hit. There was too much confusion, too much fire!
Ali let fly her second rock, missed completely. The monsters retreated into the eerie fog. More trees had caught fire. Flaming smoke poured into the evil clouds.
“Who was hit? Was anyone hit?” she demanded.
“They burnt me hat!” Paddy said, disgusted, his charred hat in his hands. “Pa gave me this hat.”
“They’re coming at us from all sides!” Karl said. “Use the backpacks as shields!”
The idea was smart; they each reached for a backpack. Even Cindy had recovered enough to defend herself. But Ali could not hold a backpack and fight at the same time. She was the only offense they had. She would have to risk it, she decided. Bending over, she gathered three more rocks.
The dark fairies would not give up. Again, they came. Again, red bolts fell all around them. This time she got off a good shot. But it only stunned the creature—the fairy did not fall from the sky. For the first time Ali began to feel that their situation was hopeless.
Karl must have figured the same. He pulled her aside as the monsters momentarily flew out of sight. The backpack in his hands was in ruins. It was her’s—all that was left was smoked granola and fried almonds. Even if they survived the night, there would be nothing for breakfast in the morning.
“We have to split up,” he said. “It’s our only chance. You’re the strongest. Take Cindy with you, try to reach Overhang. I told you, the place is easy to defend. I’ll stay here with Paddy and Steve, try to hold them off.”
“With what?” Ali gasped.
“It doesn’t matter! Just go! If we can’t stop them here, then we’ll split up. I’ve let Steve study the map, and Paddy knows these woods better than any of us. Let’s all try to meet at Overhang in one hour.”
Ali was anxious. What he said made sense, but it felt wrong in her gut. Yet she could not think of another plan. “We could all get lost in the woods,” she said.
“It’s better than dying.” He picked a fresh backpack off the ground. She thought it was his. “Take this, take Cindy. Sneak out of here right after their next pass.”
She accepted the backpack. “You have to take care of Steve.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Karl promised.
The dark fairies returned with a vengeance. They came straight down upon them, aiming for their heads. Once again, Ali set aside her pack to get off a shot. But her rock exploded in midair—the creatures had zapped it.
Thankfully, on this run at least, no one got hit. Nodding to the others, Ali picked up the backpack, grabbed Cindy by the arm, and snuck out of camp.
Ali had only a vague idea of where they were going. The map of the mountain was clear in her head, but that was not the same as saying she knew the area. Plus, with the moon gone, it was hard to see. Could fairies see better than humans in the dark? She wished she had asked Paddy before she had left.
Cindy’s shoulder was hurting but she didn’t complain. Ali admired her courage. She held Cindy’s hand as they hurried north. But she dared not use a flashlight, or cross over to the path.
They stumbled through the woods, running into each other as often as they ran into trees. Behind them the light of the fires changed into a haunting red mist as the clouds came between them and their friends. Ali thought she heard someone scream in pain.
The hike was a nightmare. The clouds hugged the woods. The trees were like disembodied spirits that kept blocking their path. Or else they were the spirits, trapped in a bad dream with no exit. Ali kept expecting to run into more dark fairies.
“Do you know where we’re going?” Cindy asked, gasping for breath. In their terror, they had forgotten about the altitude but it had not forgotten about them. Ali felt light-headed from the thin air.
“Sort of,” she said, adding, “The main thing is to keep moving.”
“I’m worried about Steve,” Cindy said.
“Karl and Paddy will take care of him.”
“How do we know the leprechaun didn’t lead the dark fairies to us?”
“Paddy wouldn’t do that,” Ali said. Then she remembered how Paddy had left the camp. And Karl had not been sure how long the leprechaun had been gone.
The drizzle let up some, which was good and bad. A strong rain would have put out the fires. But not having cold water splashing in their faces gave them one less thing to think about. When they could no longer see the fires behind them, they stopped to catch their breaths.
“Why are there good fairies and bad fairies?” Cindy asked.
“Why are there good people and bad people? I don’t know. How’s your shoulder?”
“It’s burned. It hurts like crazy.”
“I have Karl’s pack. He was carrying a first-aid kit. When we reach Overhang, I’ll put something on it.”
Cindy looked around in the dark. “We’re never going to find anything in this mess. We’re probably going to have to wait for the sun.”
Ali had thought the same thing. The idea was not appealing. Dawn had to be at least two hours away, maybe three. Could the dark fairies attack when the sun was up? Paddy would know.
They started off again. They had not gone far, however, when the crazy night caught up with them in an unexpected way. Directly in front of them, through the clouds, the forest glowed a sober red.
“We’ve been hiking in circles!” Cindy cried.
“Maybe,” Ali admitted.
“There’s no maybe about it. We have to turn around.”
“No. Then we’ll be even more lost. If the camp’s in front of us, then we should go to it to get our bearings. I want to check on the guys anyway.”
“What if the guys are gone?” Cindy asked. But what she was r
eally asking was: what if the guys are dead?
Ali sighed. “I don’t know.”
The next few minutes were some of the longest of their lives. They half expected to find the guys lying on the ground, burnt to ash by the dark fairies. But when they reached the edge of the camp, Ali was relieved to see the guys were gone, with no sign of them around.
Yet there was a troll trapped in the center of the fire. He looked like the one Ali had hit the other day on the leg with a rock. Pacing back and forth, trying to escape the flames, the creature limped badly. To her surprise, she saw the troll had her white sweater tied around his neck.
“So that’s where it went!” she exclaimed.
“What?” Cindy asked.
“He has my sweater.”
Cindy squinted. “What does a troll need a sweater for?”
“Like I would know?” Ali added, “I don’t see the guys.”
Cindy hesitated. “Do you think the dark fairies carried them off?”
“They didn’t look big enough to lift a bunch of boys.”
“Spiders are not big but they’re strong for their size.”
“True. But we’re talking about fairies, not insects.”
“What should we do?” Cindy asked.
Ali didn’t answer. She watched uneasily as the fire closed in on the troll. Already sparks were landing on his hairy hide, and his yellow eyes shone with terror. She should have no sympathy for him, she thought. He and his pals had tried to kill her twice and he was, after all, only a troll. Like Paddy said, they were big stupid beasts that ate everything in sight. Still, it was hard to stand by and watch him die. She said as much to Cindy.
“What?” Cindy cried. “You want to save him? He’s a monster!”
“I didn’t say I want to save him. I just said it’s not easy to watch him burn to death.” She added, “Maybe we could save him.”
“I’m not risking my life to save a troll!”
“Then I’ll save him,” Ali said.
“How?”
“I don’t know how.”
“But why?” Cindy asked.
“Because he’s alive! He doesn’t want to die!” Ali added, “He’s like you and me.”
Cindy studied the troll. “He might be like you, but he’s certainly not like me.”
Ali pointed. “Look, I can climb that tree behind him, crawl onto a branch above him. Karl has a rope in his pack. I can drop the rope down and he can climb to safety.”
“Excuse me? That tree is about to catch fire. You get up there and it’ll collapse and you’ll land beside the troll. Then he can enjoy one last glorious meal before he dies.”
Ali stepped forward. “I’ll think of something.”
Cindy grabbed her arm. “Ali, you’ll die!”
She smiled. “Funny, but all of a sudden I’m sure I won’t die. At least not today.”
Ali circled around the camp and the bulk of the fire. The tree she had spoken of was near the rocks Paddy had used for his pillow. But Cindy was right—several of the upper branches were already on fire. It made Ali wonder if she needed a new plan.
Or did she simply need faith? Nemi’s words came back to haunt her.
“When will I face the other tests?”
“Soon.”
“And each test I pass, I gain more power?”
“Yes.”
“What if I fail one?”
“You will die.”
This was the third test, she realized, it had to be, the test of fire. She had to face the fire, she had to show no fear. Well, maybe she could show a little fear. Getting buried alive and thrown in the river had scared the heck out of her, and she had still passed those tests. She believed Nemi, that the situations had been set up by nature. The main thing to do was to save the life of the troll while staying alive.
More branches caught fire above her. Hopeless, that way, she thought, the tree.
Ali stood on the rocks, above the camp. Between her and the troll was a wall of fire. But if she took a running start, and flew through the air, the flames probably wouldn’t hurt her. Then what? Like Cindy said, she could get trapped beside the troll.
The question was: how much did she trust herself?
“In the end I’m the one who has to take the tests,” she said.
Ali choked on the smoke. Her lungs felt full of cinders. She could not stand here all night debating with herself. The troll had a space of ten feet left to survive in. His hide would catch fire any second.
Ali turned, jogged back a few steps, and then ran forward. Her speed carried her off the rock ledge, through the air. Throwing her arms over her face, she closed her eyes as she soared through the flames.
Ali felt the hot singe of the fire wall pass by. Reopening her eyes, she crouched low so she would roll when she hit the ground.
Her landing was far from smooth. Her right hip hit the ground hard, and she rolled too far. She almost ended up in the fire. To her surprise, it was the troll that stopped her.
Lying on the ground, her hair only inches from the flames, she looked up into his frightened eyes and wondered if she should say thank you or let out a scream. He had a powerful grip on her shoulder.
Yet it was the troll who spoke first.
“Fairy?” he asked in a voice that sounded like a man in its deep tone, but which was a hundred percent little boy in its innocence.
“No, I’m a girl.” She added, “I’m here to rescue you.”
The troll helped her up. He pointed to the fire, and then to his arms. “Hurts,” he said sadly, and once again he sounded like a lost little boy with the vocal cords of a giant.
She petted him; he was dirty and smelly. “You poor dear. We’ve got to get you out of here.”
“Fire stop,” he said.
“That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to stop the fire,” she said.
Since she had seen the trapped troll, she had been wondering if she had the wrong idea about her control over the water element. Sure, it had been fun to make an invisible umbrella. But was it possible to pass the test of fire with what she had learned during the test of water?
Rather than stopping the rain from pouring, could she make it pour?
“Maybe I should have tried it out before I got myself trapped,” she wondered aloud. She knew that was not true, though. She had to face the fire like she was, putting everything on the line, including her own life. She said to the troll, “I need to sit for a minute and close my eyes. I’m going to make it rain.”
He nodded anxiously. “Rain hard.”
Good advice, a drizzle wouldn’t save them. The heat from the flames made the camp feel like an oven. Ali pulled off her jacket as she sat down, trying to concentrate. But even behind her closed eyelids, the fire could be seen. Smoke filled her nose and she had to cough. They had seconds left to live. How was she supposed to concentrate?
In that desperate moment, a surprising calm settled over her. The heat of the flames, the smoky air—they all seemed suddenly far away.
The truth hit her like a thunderbolt.
There was no need to invoke her magical powers!
She had already passed the test of fire, she realized, when she had decided to risk her life to save the troll. Already fire was under her control! She could do with it what she wished!
Ali opened her eyes and stood. The troll stared at her, at the sky.
“Not raining,” he said, worried.
She grabbed her jacket and smiled and offered her hand. “I’m going to tell the fire to let us by. Don’t worry, it will obey me.”
He did not hesitate, he took her hand. Her fingers, in his massive grip, felt lost. But he was gentle; he seemed to believe everything she had to say.
Ali turned toward the fire and held out her free hand. “Let us pass!” she snapped.
The miracle happened all of a sudden, the fire parted. The flames could have been alive; it was as if they arched their spines to avoid them. Holding onto the troll’s hand and staring s
traight ahead, Ali stepped over the smoking ground. In a minute they were clear of the fire and standing beside Cindy.
“Does he talk?” Cindy asked, eyeing the troll nervously.
“Yes,” Ali said.
“Is he going to eat us?”
Ali let go of the troll’s hand. “Well?” she asked him.
The troll patted her on top of the head. His palm was bigger than her entire skull. “No hurt,” he said.
“What about me?” Cindy demanded.
The troll licked his dark teeth and Ali saw a hint of green spit.
“Hungry,” he said.
“No,” Ali said. “I saved your life. You’re not to eat me or any of my friends. Do you understand?”
He nodded. “Nice girls. No eat.”
“Some of our friends are boys. No eat them either,” Ali said.
He nodded. “Nice boys. Nice girls.”
Cindy fanned her face. “I don’t know about you, but I’m cooked. Let’s get out of here.”
“Just a second,” Ali said. “I have to save the trees.”
Cindy was exasperated. “Why don’t you save the whole world while you’re at it?”
Ali caught her eye. “That’s what I’m trying to do,” she said evenly.
Cindy stared back, for a moment, perhaps trying to make a point, then lowered her head and said, “How did you walk through that fire anyway? That was a neat trick.”
“I’ll tell you later,” Ali said, walking away. “Give me a minute alone.”
“What if he attacks me?” Cindy called after her.
“How do you know he’s not a she?” Ali called back.
Not far from the flames, she sat to concentrate. Maybe it was not necessary, the sitting, but closing her eyes seemed to help. Again, she felt the heaviness fill her body, and she let the power stretch out above her head. But this time she let it rise up high, above the clouds, into the clear sky where the moon shone throughout the night. For a second she thought she saw the moon, but it might have been her imagination.