The Other Side

           On the stroke of midnight, although there were no clocks around, we entered a tranquil, silvery-green forest. Honestly, I had no idea what time it was, but the stroke of midnight is the most dramatic time there is, so, I lied just now.

“Let’s start the scrying spell.” Jinge said. Donal locked the gate again and put away his slingshot. To cast the spell, he spread out the map, and muttered a few words. His map was a weird one-- it had to be in order to show both the Faery world and the human one. When he said whatever he did, a glowing dot appeared, like on a radar. It looked confused for a moment, zipping from here to there, as if it was a lazer pointer and we were cats.

“What is it doing?” Ciaran leaned in to see it. “Did you cast the spell right?”

“Of course I did!” They crowded around the map and blocked my view. I jumped, hearing what was probably just a bird or a rabbit rustling in the bushes. It was probably a pretty forest during the day, but very spooky at the time. There was an ancient stone path in front of us that could barely be seen through the undergrowth.

            “There must be something wrong with the map, then, no one could be--” Donal swore, suddenly, and loudly. “He’s here!”

            Something fell and exploded at our feet, knocking us to the ground. It winded me, and as soon as I was able to breathe again, all my energy was devoted to coughing. Smoke filled my lungs and stung my eyes when I opened them to see the others coughing as well. Someone was laughing.

            Brand was standing in front of us, smiling.  The bright light coming from behind him made him shine eerily like a ghost, lighting up his long, white hair. In his right hand he held a ball of swirling light. He was surrounded by nearly thirty soldiers, all holding swords or crossbows pointed at our throats.

            “Found you!” Brand said, smiling sweetly. “Fire.”

We scrambled to our feet, but were too slow. Too slow. Ciaran helped me up, and we started to run away, but it did no good, like a nightmare. The soldiers released their arrows, but all to one side of our company-- all towards Jinge. My cries were broken by coughs. He was faster than any of us were. He held up his own shield made from thin air, and dodged to the side, towards the trees. I thought he would make it; even Donal’s fire couldn’t really hurt him. An arrow struck his calf as he dodged, and it made him hesitate for a split second.

The ball of light in Brand’s palm became a long spear, and he leapt forward, a half-smile on his lips, and hurled it at the half-goblin.

            I’d never seen anyone get impaled. Not outside of a movie. The tip of the spear stuck out from his back. It went through his shield and through him, the spear made of light easily piercing his dark body.  It must have been made solely for that purpose.

          The soldiers stopped firing. Jinge staggered, as if unsure what had happened. He straightened himself and looked Brand in the eye. Then he looked down again at the spear that was sticking out of his chest.

           He laughed. He laughed as if it was the best joke he had heard in years. Then he fell down on his back, deathly still.

           Donal was frozen where he stood. We all were. Jinge didn’t move.

“Well! Now that he’s taken care of, welcome back!” Brand said, dusting his hand off. “You don’t have to fight me anymore. Surrender now.”

The soldiers now cocked their arrows towards us.

“You...” I heard Donal say. “YOU [insert justifiable insult]--!” He rushed towards Brand in a blind rage. Ciaran let go of my hand. We were only standing a few feet away; he caught up with Donal and grabbed him, and they both disappeared.

            I tripped over my own feet in a clumsy attempt to follow them, and fell to my knees. I was really alone now. After another fit of coughing, I looked up to see Brand was already standing over me, head tilted to one side.

            “Hmm.” he began, his cold eyes glinting. “Two out of four in one night. Not bad.” He held out his hand to me. I staggered up on my own, unsure if I was more angry or scared.

            This only amused him. He turned and touched the ground where Donal and Ciaran had last stood with the toe of his boot. “I was hoping my brother would be more romantic, and try to save you instead. The results would have been more satisfying. Oh well. This is interesting too.” He looked over his shoulder. “I trust you don’t need to be persuaded to come with us as a prisoner?”

I shook my head.

“Good. Stand over here.” I did as he said, and the soldiers lowered their weapons.

“Are we going to leave the body of the half-breed here, sire?” one of the men asked.

“His own kind will deal with his corpse. It seems fitting, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, sire.”

            “We’ll return to the castle now. You keep checking the markers. They’re bound to cross another one soon.” Brand looked down at me with a grin and took my arm. “Let’s go to the castle, shall we, Milady Prisoner?”

           There was a flash of light, which made the trees, the gate, and Jinge’s body fade into nothingness.