‘Wow, this is what the wingmen must feel like all the time,’ Nemo yelled from the top of the cabin. He sat there with his legs crossed and arms wide open as if he was flying. Daniel smiled, half expecting him to yell: “I’m the king of the world”.
Since there was no wind, they had lowered the sails and switched on the engine instead. The yacht raced over the waters with a speed that both delighted and scared Daniel. He could barely believe the power under his hands; Damien had made a great choice indeed.
The sun was dropping towards the sea as Daniel aimed the yacht in its direction. He had no maps to follow, paper or celestial, nor did he know which direction he should head. But keeping the land behind and heading as far away from it seemed as good a direction as any. Sooner or later they were bound to get somewhere.
They lost sight of land as early as noon, leaving behind home with everything and everyone in it that they knew. There was nothing in sight now but open sea. The waters were still relatively calm, a fact that Daniel interpreted as a sign that they were still within Endërland borders. But they shouldn’t be too far from those borders, or so he believed; they had not seen any mermaids for a while now, nor any known sea creatures, of which there were always plenty.
The ocean seemed eerily quiet, and so far, their day had gone on completely uneventful and unpromising. It was as if nothing was ever gonna happen, though Daniel knew better than to believe or even hope that. Night was coming and with it who knew what else. They were no longer home after all, and from here on, anything was game.
Having had enough fun for one day, Nemo got down from where he’d been sitting and took the steering wheel from Daniel, thus giving him a chance to rest. After passing on a few basic instructions, Daniel sat down next to him, his eyes lost on the ever approaching but never reaching horizon before them. The dark was now rapidly enveloping everything but the sky. Though he longed to get to the next dreamworld as soon as possible, Daniel was glad to see the familiar stars and the moon showing up above them. He would not admit this to Nemo, but the unknown scared him more than he liked.
‘What’s on your mind?’ Nemo asked, knowing his friend well enough now to sense the uneasiness that was growing inside of him.
Daniel considered saying “nothing”, but saw no point in it. He was always open with Nemo, at times even more so than he was with Hëna. It’s what best friends do, after all, isn’t it?
‘I’m wondering what we’ll find out there,’ he finally said, without taking his eyes off the sea ahead. ‘I feel like that first day when we met on the beach; everything is a mystery all over again.’
‘Well, that’s not such a bad thing now, is it?’ said Nemo. ‘I mean, look at how things turned out. If you hadn’t taken the courage to save me that day, we wouldn’t be here now, still best friends after all this time. You and Hëna might have never gotten together, the General would have probably taken over the kingdom, and everything would have been lost. You made things right for Endërland back then, Dan; who knows, maybe this new adventure is a chance for you to do the same for some other world.’
‘I hope you’re right, Nemo, I really do. I just can’t shake the feeling that it will not be much of an adventure this time.’
Nemo said nothing in response. He had his own doubts and fears about what they had just set out to do, but he did not feel like voicing them out loud. He was afraid there was nothing his friend could say or do to make them go away, not at this exact moment, anyway. So he chose to ignore them instead. Besides, it was obvious that one of them had to keep the mood light around here, and for now it looked like that would have to be him. He didn’t mind, though; it was a role he’d gotten quite used to around Daniel.
From behind the steering wheel, he saw his friend take out of his pocket a little wooden box with a ribbon on it, and hold it in his hands like it was a very dear thing to him.
‘What do you have there?’ he could not help but ask.
Daniel smiled softly, but did not lift his eyes from the box.
‘It’s Serena's birthday present.’
‘Looks awfully small this time,’ observed Nemo. He knew Daniel liked to spoil his daughter every time they celebrated her birthday.
Daniel chuckled as if to himself.
‘Every summer I’ve made such a big deal out of it, you know, and that was fine when she was little; she enjoyed all the attention and the special treats. For the last few birthdays, though, I’ve had this feeling that it’s all been a bit too much for her, and yet not enough. Do you know what I mean?’
‘Not really,’ Nemo answered, waiting for Daniel to elaborate. There was a touch of melancholy in his friend’s voice.
‘Well, it’s like, I was doing all these things for her, parties and guests and presents and all that, but no matter how much fun she had, it seemed like she wasn’t enjoying it anymore, like she needed something else. Or maybe it was all in my mind, I don’t know; I used to feel like that whenever my dad would do something special for my birthday. So, this time, I decided to do away with all of that and keep it small. I thought I would give her something very dear to me, something I know she would love to have. Only, I never had the chance.’
Here, his voice wavered and he paused, drowned for a moment in his sea of past memories. When he spoke again, his face shone bright and his lips parted, arching upwards to form a big smile.
‘You know, the first night after she was born we kept her in bed between us. I remember she grabbed my little finger with both her hands, the tiny thing that she was, and would not let go for the life of her. I lay down next to her, letting her hold on to her first conquest, and stayed awake all night long, just watching her sleep. It was the most wonderful moment of my entire life, Nemo; I actually think Hëna got pretty jealous that time.’
‘Yeah, your wife does tend to get jealous just a bit too easily,’ Nemo chortled, deciding a bit of laughter was in order. He was never one to feel comfortable in tender moments like this. ‘So, are you gonna tell me what’s in that box, or do I have to wait until my birthday to find out? Apparently I won’t be getting anything else now that you’ve decided to go cheap.’
It was a quickly improvised joke, but it worked. Daniel laughed again.
‘Let’s find Serena first, and then she can tell you herself what it is.’
‘Fine then, keep your secret. But you better hope you’re a light sleeper, ‘cause one way or another, I’m going to take a look inside that box.’
‘And you better hope you’ll be able to grow a tail again, ‘cause if you do that, you’ll end up overboard, without a life jacket.’
‘Hahaha,’ Nemo laughed too. ‘You wouldn’t do that. You’d miss me too much. Besides, who’ll be there to get you out of trouble if you get rid of me?’
‘Huh, I’m more worried about you getting me into trouble, mister King of the Seas. Or have you forgotten all that we had to go through the last time, what with the whole kingdom going into war because of you? I’ve got half a mind to go and change the records in The Endërland Chronicles and name it Nemo's War.’
‘Nemo's War?’ Nemo feigned outrage. ‘I cannot believe you just said that. After everything that I had to go through because of you. Riding around the kingdom on a stupid horse, dodging werewolves and oversized crows, shadows and wolfmen, all the while looking for,’ here he did the double quote sign in the air, ‘the long lost Great Lord. Until one freaking day you’re like: “Oh, by the way guys, I’m the Great Lord we’ve been looking for all this time; sorry I didn’t tell you before.” Nemo's War,’ he repeated as if to himself. ‘Daniel's War is more likely.’
‘Whiny,’ Daniel threw a playful insult at him, unable to keep a straight face.
‘Cheapo,’ Nemo countered, not one to back down.
More laughter followed. They kept on pointing fingers and accusing each other about past misdeeds for a good while after that. Around them the night continued to grow increasingly darker and more menacing. Without them noticing, the heavenly
host proceeded to shift farther away and lose its shine little by little. The moon kept growing smaller the higher it climbed, and the sea even quieter than it usually was. As for the wind, it continued to be stubbornly absent.
At some point, Daniel decided to lay down and rest for a while, while Nemo stayed on the wheel and kept steering. It still felt relatively safe and they did not anticipate to run into any problems anytime soon.
Around midnight Daniel woke up and took over the helm again, giving Nemo the chance to get some sleep himself. The Sea-King was only too happy to shut his eyes for a while and rest; life as a human definitely seemed more arduous to him. He left his friend behind the wheel and went down inside the luxurious cabin to enjoy the comfort of the nice big bed he’d seen there earlier. That would definitely make for better rest than the outside leather couch Daniel had slept on. And rest he did; the bed was indeed warm and cosy, and the smooth gliding of the yacht above water made his sleep even sweeter.
When he finally woke up, feeling well rested and restocked of energy, Nemo was shocked to see that it was still night outside. All around them it was completely dark, apart from whatever light they had on the yacht. There were no stars in the sky and the moon had also disappeared.
‘Did I sleep too long, or not enough?’ he asked. ‘I thought it’d be morning by the time I woke up.’
‘It is morning,’ answered Daniel, ‘or rather, it should be. The moon went down a while back, but the sun never came up. I think we’ve left Endërland now, but I can’t tell if we’re already in the next dreamworld or not. We just have to keep on sailing and hope that we got enough fuel to last us until we reach it. If the wind doesn’t pick up, that’ll be it for us.’
‘How much do we have left?’
‘I don’t know, really. It’s my first boat.’
They swapped places again and Nemo insisted that Daniel should go get some more sleep. Daniel didn’t argue. There wasn’t much else he could do in any case, and he did feel a little tired. So he went down inside the cabin as well and threw himself on the comfy bed. Sleep took him as soon as he shut his eyes, with dreams as always forgetting to visit him in this realm.
Eventually he woke up to complete silence. The engine had stopped and the yacht was not moving, except for the mild rocking of the waves. Clearly they’d finally run out of fuel.
He came out of the cabin to find Nemo dozing off on the leather couch. It was both amazing and curious how much Nemo loved to sleep.
‘Nemo, wake up,’ he shook his friend lightly. Nemo opened his eyes right away.
‘Hey, you’re awake.’
‘Yeah. When did we stop moving? Why didn’t you wake me up?’
‘Oh, it’s been a while. But I figured you wouldn’t be able to do much about it, so I thought I’d let you rest. You looked like you needed it.’
‘Thanks,’ Daniel said, his brain now working overtime to come up with a solution. The options they had, however, were rather limited. Without fuel, they were dependent on the wind to carry them farther. The only other option would be to keep going, using one of the inflatable lifesaving boats they had on board. But as to how far they would be able to go on with it, was anyone’s guess.
They discussed all options together and decided they could afford to wait on the yacht a while longer, hoping the wind would pick up. They raised the sails up, getting everything ready, and then prepared themselves for a long wait. The good news was that they did not need any food or drinks to survive, and for that Daniel was more than thankful. This trip would have been much shorter otherwise. There was no danger from any creatures of the deep either; apart from them, there seemed to be no other lifeforms around. They were completely and utterly alone in the middle of an unknown sea. Eventually, the power on the yacht would also give up and they would end up completely in the dark, with nowhere to go and nothing to do. It was a discomforting thought, but one that Daniel did not give voice to. No good would come from worrying his friend more than he already was.
They lost track of how long they waited like that for something to happen, for their situation to change. But nothing happened and nothing changed. The wind simply refused to blow in any direction, as if there was no air about. And despite doing nothing but rest and sleep whenever they weren’t trying to keep each other entertained or their hopes alive, eventually they both grew exhausted to the point of desperation. It was becoming clearer and clearer that this was a dead zone, and the wind they were hoping for, would never come. Their only chance was to continue on with the on-board inflatable boat and row themselves ahead as far as they could.
Once this was decided they threw the thing overboard along with a pair of small oars, taking only their personal stuff with them, and thus said goodbye to the yacht. Daniel was sad that their time with it was so short, but they had no other choice. Now they would have to take their chances and face the sea and whatever else the Fates threw their way on a small rubber boat, with nothing but a flashlight to help them see in the impenetrable dark.
But at least they were moving, and as long as they were going somewhere, there was a chance that things would change. They were still alive after all, and they had not lost hope.
High up the Northern Mountains, where the castle of the Great Lord stands hidden from the sight of all but those who know where it is, Hëna and Séraphin were about to give up examining its secret tunnels.
‘There’s even more than I remember,’ she said frustrated. ‘We’ve been at it all day and still haven’t searched even a quarter of them. What’s the point of all these tunnels anyway?’
‘I get the feeling it’s to discourage whoever’s looking for the right one,’ Séraphin answered. ‘Come on Hëna, you didn’t really expect it to be that easy, did you?’
‘No, I guess I didn’t,’ Hëna replied, ‘but I can still vent, can’t I?’
‘Hey, vent away,’ Séraphin said, laughing and turning to exit the dead end tunnel they were currently done searching. Hëna followed him, now smiling. She thought of the first time they had been together on a quest, she and Séraphin, and how different he had been back then. Not only had he been as grumpy as a bear running out of honey, but he’d caused quite a lot of trouble for everyone around him, well, mainly Nemo and Daniel. Thank the Great Lord this new Séraphin was definitely much more agreeable and easier to travel with. He had his good uses too; his eyes were extremely sharp and saw far, whether it was night or day, and of course he could fly. His wings had grown even bigger and stronger with time, and not only did they make him look every inch the King of the Skies that he was, but they might come in handy should they need to escape from some sudden danger on the ground. He wouldn’t be able to carry Hëna for long, sure, but hopefully just long enough, if the need arose.
They walked back to the entrance of the tunnel and proceeded to the next one. It had been by pure accident that Hëna had discovered them in the first place. The day she had found Damien chained in one of the dungeons in the castle, she had fallen down a pit where Winter had thrown the remains of his failed experiments. In her haste to get away from that gruesome and horrible place, she had almost missed the small and barely visible hatch on the floor.
She and Nemo had been unable to open it that day and it hadn’t been until much later that Daniel alone had managed to. It must have been one of those things that only the Great Lord could do. When they’d finally climbed down the hatch, they’d come to an endless corridor with hundreds of tunnels, like a massive underground maze. There seemed to be no purpose to them, and as far as they could tell, they led nowhere. So they had abandoned the search at the time.
But now Hëna was back, convinced that the tunnels were built for a reason, and that at least one of them would lead somewhere. She was convinced that the way to the next dreamworld passed through one of these tunnels and there was a chance that Serena had come this very same way. So far though, there had been no sign of her or anyone else being in these parts.
‘Okay, let’s try the n
ext one,’ she said to Séraphin, who had stopped just outside the entrance of the current tunnel.
‘Hold on a moment,’ he said, his thinking cap on. ‘We could spend a hundred seasons searching every single one of them and still find nothing. We need to be a bit wiser about this and try and use our brains for a change.’
‘Well, I don’t know what you’ve been doing until now,’ said Hëna, who didn’t really take offence at his words, ‘but I have been using mine.’ Then after a short pause, she added. ‘And I think you’re right. There must be a better, a quicker way to tell if any of these lead somewhere without having to walk for miles and miles just to reach a dead end.’
‘Maybe there’s a water stream in one of them; water has to get out somewhere, no?’
‘I don’t think that would help us much; these mountains are filled with underground streams of water, even rivers, and they usually lead farther down into the ground. Not to mention the risk of drowning if the waters rose high enough at any point. No, there must be something else. Air is probably a better option; if there’s a current strong enough, it might mean that there’s an opening on the other side. Short of a sign placed at the entrance telling us which is the right tunnel, I think that’s our best bet.’
‘Okay, then we walk in front of every single tunnel and see if we can spot any strong air currents. The torches should help with that. And if this should fail, then we can go back to searching every single one like we were just doing.’
‘Agreed,’ said Hëna and passed her torch to her left hand. With her right she grabbed a jarred stone from the ground and made a visible mark on the side of the entrance of the tunnel they had just checked. ‘So that we know where we left off,’ she said to Séraphin. ‘Don’t wanna be starting back from the beginning.’
‘So, you are using your brain after all,’ the Sky-King teased, earning a not so gentle shove ahead as a reward. He laughed and passed his own torch on to his left hand. He then proceeded to walk farther down the corridor, stepping close to every tunnel entrance that followed. Hëna trailed behind him in much the same manner.
They kept on walking like this in front of every single tunnel, with the end nowhere near in sight. It was such a mystery who had made all of them and what their purpose was. Even Alfie could not tell them anything helpful, and he had been the one to create the castle in the first place. According to him, there was still so much to learn about dreamworlds and how they worked. His only theory was that some things simply came into existence when they were needed, even if you didn’t know it, and that their mystery would be revealed when the time was right. He was sure that there was a reason for the tunnels, he just couldn’t say what.
‘I think I might become a grandfather soon,’ Séraphin broke the silence after a short while, as well as the train of thought Hëna had been following in her mind. It took her a while to get back to the present.
‘You mean Mikael and Talia are expecting?’ she asked.
‘I think so,’ Séraphin answered. ‘I’m not sure, though. Mikael said that he’s got some good news to give us, but what with all the leaving preparations and the handing over the kingdom, he never got around to telling me. Can you imagine me as a grandfather, though?’
‘I still can’t see you as a father,’ Hëna teased and then added. ‘Seriously, though, I’m very happy for Mikael. I imagine it hasn’t been easy for him growing up under the shadow of a great king and living hero, but he’s become such a fine wingman. You couldn’t have left the kingdom in better hands.’
‘I know, I’m very proud of him. I just hope we’ll make it back before the little one comes.’
‘I hardly think this quest will keep us away for four entire seasons, Séraphin. Still, let’s hope for the best.’
Hëna had to stop all of a sudden to avoid running into the wingman, who stood still at the entrance of one of the tunnels, his eyes fixed on his torch. Its flames had begun to dance wildly, pointing at the opening to their left. When Hëna got close enough, her torch began to do the same.
‘There’s definitely an air current going through this one,’ she said. ‘Well, this is the best breakthrough we’ve had in these past two days; it’s worth checking it out.’
‘After you, Lightbringer,’ Séraphin pointed at the tunnel, smiling.
‘Some living hero you are,’ Hëna teased in return, but did not wait to be told twice. She first made another mark on the side wall to her left, different from the first one, so they could find it easily next time. She then stepped inside the tunnel, which was just wide enough and high enough for a single person to walk through without crouching. Séraphin followed behind her.
The first thing they noticed about the tunnel was the lack of humidity compared to every other one they had searched. Sure, there was that smell of wet earth, but the air was not as stale here and it definitely felt fresher. This was a good sign; they must have found the right tunnel. As if by a silent agreement, they both increased their pace and hoped that they wouldn’t have to walk long before their reached the other exit, or at the very least the end of the tunnel.
Unfortunately for them, however, almost half a day passed without a sign that they were getting anywhere near the finish line. The tunnel kept on going and going as if it would never end. But they did not stop. This was still a good sign; none of the other tunnels had gone this far and this could only mean that they were actually getting somewhere. They had no choice but to be patient and persist with their mission. They were bound to get somewhere eventually.
After a number of short breaks to recover some of their energy, they finally decided to rest properly and get some much needed sleep. It had been almost a day since they’d entered the tunnel by their calculations, and there seemed to be no change. So they decided to take turns and sleep, with Séraphin offering to take the first watch.
Hëna agreed. She lay down opposite him and shut her eyes, her thoughts practically racing towards Daniel and Nemo. She wondered what they were doing at this very moment. She hoped they’d had better luck than the two of them so far; wherever they were, it had to be better than this never-ending hole in the ground. But then again, it could be worse; she knew the sea was dangerous and treacherous, and she much preferred to keep her feet safe on dry land.
Juggling thought after thought in her troubled and tired mind, Hëna finally dozed off for a good few hours, allowing her body to regain some of its spent energy. When she woke up, she took over the watch from Séraphin, giving him a chance to sleep next. The wingman wasn’t one to complain, but Hëna knew he was just as tired as she was, if not more. They might as well rest while they could; who knew what they would find farther down the tunnel.
When next they resumed their walk, hours later, it was like they were still at the beginning of the tunnel. The earth below their feet and the walls around them were exactly the same, and they felt like they had not made any progress at all. But they didn’t even consider quitting. The fact that the tunnel seemed to never end was still good news. They might have to walk for many days, or even an entire season, but eventually they knew they would get somewhere.
Sure enough, after a few more short breaks and a good number of burned out torches they noticed the terrain began to gradually change. The earth turned harder and rockier under them, and the tunnel seemed to be going up instead of just straight ahead, as it had until now. And that was the good news. The bad news was that the walls around them began to slowly draw closer, the tunnel shrinking ever smaller the farther ahead they went.
This definitely complicated things. They were soon crawling down on all fours, afraid that if the tunnel continued to shrink like this around them, they would end up getting stuck in the underbelly of the mountain with no way forward or back.
Séraphin was beginning to show signs of claustrophobia, not that he even knew what that was. He had never been fond of tight spaces or underground caverns, but the brave wingman still had some pride left in him and would not fall behind a girl, even
if that girl was another living hero.
The former lightbringer, however, had bested many a man with her bravery in the past, so, falling behind her wouldn’t be much cause for shame. Still, even one as brave and fearless as her would have serious doubts about their current situation. They were at present digging their way through the tunnel, desperately hoping that it would not get any tighter than it already had. They were forced to push their bags in front of them, as the small space would no longer allow carrying them on their backs. By now, they had abandoned the torches, as it was impossible to carry them while pushing themselves and their bags ahead. So they kept crawling in the dark, desperately hoping that all this would come to an end soon, one way or another.
In this manner they kept on crawling for what felt like hours, turning left and right and climbing ever higher, until they finally noticed a faint light ahead of them. Hëna almost screamed from joy. No doubt they were now near the surface and the end of their crawling expedition. They put whatever energy they had left to good use and pushed forward. The farther they climbed, the brighter the light ahead of them shone. And as the air began to feel fresher, their spirits also began to grow lighter.
Eventually, Hëna spotted an exit, an opening right above her, barely big enough for her to squeeze through. She couldn’t wait to see the light of day again, lie on the green grass and rest until her bones ached. With a sense of accomplishment and relief, she pushed through the hole and felt the warm rays of sunshine kiss her cheeks. She knew right then and there that they had left Endërland behind.
She was just about to push herself out on the surface, when a shadow quickly blocked the sunshine above her head. She barely had a chance to look up, when a pair of giant hooks inserted themselves on both her shoulders and forcefully pulled her out of the hole, lifting her away. The shock of being grabbed and the pain of sharp claws digging into her flesh made her scream, the sound drowning out Séraphin’s voice calling after her.
The wingman was frantically struggling to squeeze out of the tunnel, but his wings and larger frame made it much more difficult for him than it had been for her. Eventually though, he managed to get out and set in pursuit of the large predator who was carrying Hëna higher and higher away from him. Séraphin had not used his wings for days now and ended up hurting them considerably while he pulled himself out of the underground tunnel, so he was having a hard time flying fast enough after the giant bird. But that wasn’t the only issue. Having been under the surface of the earth for so long, his eyes had grown used to the dark and he was really struggling to keep them open just now. He had to stop and allow his eyes to adjust to the strong light of day for a moment before he could continue, but he wasn’t about to give up. He would not lose Hëna the first moment they set foot on this new dreamworld.
Ahead of him, seriously bleeding from her shoulders, Hëna now lost conscience and hung limp from the talons of her kidnapper. She remained unconscious for the rest of the flight, as well as a good while after her predator landed on a small turf, halfway up the mountain side. The place looked more like an improvised camping spot, rather than a nest.
The predator circled its pray, analysing it rather too closely, when behind it, Séraphin landed with a thud.
‘Get away from her,’ the wingman commanded, pointing his sharp protracted claws at the creature before him, bleeding wings half spread behind his back. For a moment they both remained silent as they examined their opponent, completely forgetting about Hëna.
Séraphin had seen nothing like this before. The creature standing between him and Hëna seemed to be an eagle, albeit way larger than those of his own world, freakishly large in fact. But that wasn’t the only difference. What stood out more was the fact that the bird did not have just one head, but two of them. Everything else about it was natural enough, from its talons, its wings and body, up until its shoulders, where two necks sprang up instead of one, ending in two heads, both identically looking. And the way it stood on its two legs, it made it look more human than a bird has the right to look.
For his part, the eagle had never seen such a creature as Séraphin before, but then again he had never seen any intelligent creatures other than his own kind, so he was naturally confused to be in the company of two different species right now. One of them must of course be a terg, most likely the one lying down unconscious. But what about this other one? It looked quite similar to the terg, only taller, with long claws and of course wings. He had never heard of tergs with wings before, so what was it?
‘You’re not a terg, are you?’ he asked the creature, hoping it would understand his language.
Séraphin heard the voice coming out of both beaks simultaneously and saw them move as if the creature was speaking, but could not believe his ears.
‘What?’
‘I said, you’re not a terg, are you?’ the eagle repeated his question, louder this time. He tried to add some menace to his tone, but somehow he did not sound too convincing.
‘What’s a terg?’ Séraphin asked, not sure whether being one was a good or a bad thing.
‘That’s a terg,’ the eagle replied, motioning towards Hëna. ‘And you look like it, only you have wings. I’ve never heard of tergs with wings before.’
‘I don’t know what a terg is,’ Séraphin said, ‘but where we come from, she’s a human and I’m a wingman. In our world there’s also a third species that live in the water; they’re called mermaids.’
‘You’re trying to trick me,’ the eagle raised both his heads and centred himself between Séraphin and Hëna in a menacing position. ‘There is no other world and I’ve never heard of such creatures. Now, what are you, if not a terg?’
Séraphin had to think for a moment. It sounded to him like the eagle didn’t actually know what he was talking about.
‘Wait just a moment,’ he said. ‘Have you ever seen a terg before?’
The eagle took one step back and lowered his heads, unsure.
‘No, but my mother’s told me all about them. They are the only other intelligent species living in the world, and they are our sworn enemies. They live underground and only come out at night to attack our clans, kidnap our youngest and kill our animals.’
‘But you’ve never seen one with your own eyes, have you?’ questioned Séraphin.
‘Well, no. Not yet. I mean, I’m still too young, so I’m not allowed to join the patrol squad; but if I can prove to them that I’m ready, I’m sure they will let me.’
‘So, if you have never seen a terg with your own eyes, then how do you know she is one?’
‘Well, what else could it be? It came out of the ground, didn’t it?’
‘In the middle of the day?’ Séraphin almost screamed out of frustration. ‘I thought you said they only come out at night.’
‘Well, maybe it’s a very brave terg. Or it doesn’t mind sunlight and it comes out at daytime to spy on us.’
‘She’s not a terg and neither am I,’ Séraphin was losing his patience. ‘Beyond these mountains there’s a whole other world, our world, and it’s full of cities and villages with people like us. We’ve travelled for days through a hidden tunnel under the mountain to get to your world, looking for one of our own. We are not tergs and we are definitely not your enemies. So please, let me get to my friend; she is hurt and needs my help.’
The eagle did not move an inch. Instead he puffed up his chest even more and lowered his heads towards Séraphin, staring at him intently with his small eyes.
‘I don’t believe you. Tergs are sneaky and liars, all of them, and we should not believe a word they say.’
‘But I’m not a terg; you said it yourself that tergs do not have wings.’
‘Maybe you’re not, but that is definitely a terg, and it’s my prisoner. I will take it to my mother, so that she can see that I am ready to join the patrol.’
Séraphin could see that the eagle, who was clearly a youngling still, would not relent. He decided he needed a new approach.
&
nbsp; ‘Okay, then tell me this. If your mother decides that neither of us is a terg, what will happen to us?’
‘I don’t know,’ the eagle answered, not having thought of that. ‘I guess that depends on whether you’re friends or enemies. If you’re friends, you got nothing to fear, but if you’re enemies, you will be publicly executed. And since you are my prisoners, that will be my duty.’
Séraphin imagined that the eagle must be brimming with pride in this very moment, but of course he couldn’t tell if that were true. Convinced that the two-headed talking bird would never release Hëna, he decided the best thing to do was to let him take both of them to his mother and hope that she had more sense than this overzealous eaglet.
‘Alright then, you can take us both to your mother, but can you please carry my friend on your back? Your talons must have cut deep into her flesh from when you grabbed her earlier; fresh wounds might kill her.’
For the first time the eagle turned and lowered his heads to observe Hëna’s shoulder wounds. There were several sizable punctures on both shoulders, front and back, all of them bleeding severely. Hëna’s clothes were soaked in her blood. Séraphin could swear he saw sadness in the eagle’s eyes.
‘I, I did not mean to hurt her,’ he said, finally dropping the “it”. He then drew back and let Séraphin tend to her. ‘Will she die?’
‘I don’t know,’ answered Séraphin, clearly worried. ‘She’s lost a lot of blood; we’ll need to be quick.’
He took out of his bag a small flask containing Spring Water, which they had taken for just such emergencies, and poured some of it over Hëna’s open wounds. The water washed away some of the blood only temporarily, but other than that it did nothing else.
‘Maybe it doesn’t work in this world,’ Séraphin whispered to himself, then turned to face the eagle. ‘Will your people be able to help her?’
‘I think so,’ the eagle answered, now sounding eager to help. He slouched next to them, spreading one of his wings for them to climb on. ‘Get her on my back and sit behind her so that you can keep her from falling. I can fly faster that way.’
Séraphin did not wait to be told twice. He picked Hëna up and climbed through the eagle’s wing. He then rested Hëna safely on his back, positioning himself behind her. After making sure that they were sitting safely and comfortably, the eagle rose up, stretched both his enormous wings and took flight from the ground as if he were weightless.
It actually felt great to be up in the air again, and despite his worry for Hëna and their present circumstances, Séraphin could not help but smile as the wind blew against his face. He had to tuck his own wings tightly behind his back, so that the air would not pull him away from the eagle and Hëna, but other than that he rather enjoyed the eagle’s maddening speed of flight.
The joy of being up in the air again would not last long, however. They would soon land amongst an entire clan of two-headed giant eagles, and he was growing increasingly anxious as to what fate expected them when they did.
The noises of the waking city streaming through the windows in Freddie’s apartment chased Serena's sleep away. Yawning followed immediately, coupled with the realisation that she was clearly still in the real world. Confusion was next. What was happening? Wasn’t she supposed to have awaken back in her own bed, in the little house by the beach, in Endërland?
The sound of dishes clattering and the smell of food being cooked in the kitchen filtered through the closed door. Freddie was obviously already up. She got out of bed, visited the bathroom first and then joined him.
‘Good morning, sleepy,’ Freddie sounded chipper. ‘How do you feel? Everything ok back home?’
‘I don’t know,’ replied Serena, looking as confused as she felt. ‘I didn’t go back. I just, slept.’
Freddie stopped whatever he was doing and looked at her.
‘You didn’t go back? But, what does this mean?’
‘You’re asking me? I thought you were the expert here?’
‘On Dreamers, perhaps. But I told you, there’s never been someone like you; this is all new to me too.’
Serena sat down on one of the chairs in front of her, exhaling her worry. Her lovely hair was still rather messed up from her sleep, as were her pyjamas. Her eyes were a little puffy. The whole thing, however, made her look simply adorable. Freddie smiled involuntarily.
‘What if I can never go back home? What if I’m stuck here for good?’
He sat down on the chair next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, like one would with a child.
‘Now, let’s not rush into conclusions. There could be a million reasons why you didn’t go back. Maybe you were too tired last night and went into a dreamless sleep. You can’t travel into a dreamworld without being able to dream, after all.’
‘But, I never dream,’ Serena reminded him.
‘Until now. You dreamt yourself into this world, didn’t you?’
‘But what if it was just a one-time thing?’
‘I don’t think it works like that. You either dream, or you don’t. You did it once, I’m sure you’ll be able to do it again. You just have to be patient.’
Serena tried consciously relaxing.
‘I’m sure you’re right; I’m probably overreacting. It’s just that, the thought of never being able to go back home scares me. I know I’ve always wanted to leave Endërland and see the world my dad came from, but now that it’s happening, I’m afraid.’
‘It’s only natural; but you don’t have anything to worry about, yet. And you’re not alone; I’m with you. And don’t forget that your uncle and grandfather also live here.’
‘That’s right,’ Serena got up abruptly, as if she wanted to leave right away. ‘I completely forgot about them. I get to finally meet my granddad, and Sam. When can we go see them?’
‘Whoa, slow down, girl. Let’s have some breakfast first. Speaking of which…’ Freddie suddenly remembered the bacon on the frying pan and rushed to save it, failing miserably. Soon the whole kitchen was filled with smoke, and to make matters worse, the fire alarm went off, waking up even those in the building, who were still in bed. Only after he managed to shut it off and bring everything under control, did Serena remove her palms from her ears.
‘So, what’s for breakfast then?’ she asked, her lips grinning from ear to ear.