Chapter 49

The Brownie

The arch-spiders returned again and again, but in fewer numbers and, in no time, wee Sammy mastered her magic to repel them. Between that and the Cyclopes’ blades, they were dispensed, but it slowed our progress. I ken others in the tunnel, and listening, but they merely surveilled, so I nae spoke of it. The queen kept a fast pace, but slowed when we tired. I ken the speed, or lack of, vexed her. The passage had seen no use in eons. Layers of brown dust stirred under our feet and coated our sweaty skin until all of us, to my amusement, matched my shade. Little Miss asked about her father again. I reassured her that he was safe and she would see him soon. Crossing my fingers on one hand, I made the sign of the Shakespeare spirit cross with the other as Sammy walked ahead.

It grew dark, but the queen revealed a faerie bauble which lit our way. It must have cost her dear. The fae rarely traded with others and to do so, was risky. Few came out of the bargain ahead--or alive.

In places, the ceiling had collapsed and, even with Sammy’s magic, we had to dig ourselves free. At last, the path sloped upward. We tripped over roots. Strange twigs tugged at our hair and clothes as we stumbled up the uneven floor.

The queen turned to us. “We near the end. Stay silent. I do not know what we will find above.”

We struggled forward. The wee ones tired and were barely moving. The queen’s face creased with worry as she swept Little Miss up and perched her upon her shoulders, then gestured for her daughter to climb upon her waist, piggy-back fashion. She looked at me and held her arms out, but I shook my head. A brownie has her dignity to consider and I am stronger than others ken. Close we were, and I silently tugged the queen’s breeches. I tilted my head upward and quirked my eyebrow. I do not know if brownies live in the Cyclops realm but suspect so, because she ken my meaning and waited as I magicked myself to the surface and blended in seamlessly as my kind was ken to do.

Cyclops astride faced their forces outward, away from their home. It was clear they expected no attack from the rear. Quieter than I thought possible, the undead crept closer and closer behind. They slithered on their bellies, their ribs down so low that clods of dirt, bits of grass, and leaves rucked up and tumbled inside the fleshless ones’ bones. The skin sloughed off in long, wet strips on the ones who had it. The snagging and ripping made bile rise in my throat.

“Behind ye!” I called out. The warriors wheeled round. The undead rose as one, and the battle began. The Cyclops rushed at the necromancer’s horde as the undead rose. Liotte had nae sent the whole of his army, perhaps a tenth, but even that few outnumbered the Cyclops two to one. More numerous? Aye, they were, but most of the undead were unskilled in fighting, and few used any weapons. This group, I was much relieved to see, did nae have undead possessed by demons. Queen Fodjes’s soldiers, so fast they were, they smashed some of the creatures before they got to their feet.

The only ways to stop the fiends, from what I kenned during the battle, is beheading or pulverizing the bones to powder so the fiends could no longer attack. Even then, the skeletal remains would still be animated. Hearing my call, the others came to join me. The queen forced her way across the ground. Vegetation grew over the bespelled opening. She admonished the girls to remain just inside the hidden doorway. With a shout, she drew her blade and joined her people.

I climbed up the small hillock to tend the wee ones. They clung to each other, but with their mouths pinched shut, the sweet dears refused to cry. Standing on the raised ground afforded me with a grand view. The Cyclops fought valiantly, but they soon needed to draw ranks close and fight with the wounded in the center of their life’s circle. Outnumbered, the fiends surrounded them. The necromancer had welded manacles round the undead necks to protect them from beheading. Many were missing limbs from the Cyclops’ ferocious onslaught, but it barely slowed them. One of the evil things dragged its legless body closer and closer to the queen while she fought three others, with a flashing blade in each hand. The skeleton wrapped its hands around the Queen’s ankles and jerked its torso forward. Like a snake, its head darted forward, clamping down its jaw and shredding the queen’s calf with its sharpened teeth. Distracted only for a thrice, it was too long. An undead got beneath her guard. She plunged her sword into its chest, but the horrid thing clung to her wrist. She could nae draw her weapon out. The undead climbed over each other in manic fury to hurt and maim the living.

Half the queen’s army was injured. Two more Cyclops collapsed under the weight of bones and putrid flesh. One corpse clung to the queen’s waist like a macabre sash. Another scaled the bone belt and wrapped rotting fingers around her throat. Queen Fodjes fell.

“No!” Sammy screamed.

The Little Miss’s hands glowed and she slung her magic at the enemy. Did nae hurt them, but drew their attention to us. I held the little Cyclops back. Both her knives were held ready and she fought to get to her mother.

Suddenly, one by one, the green light in the undead horde’s eyes was extinguished, and the army collapsed. The remaining Cyclops took nae chances and anon dispatched the still forms. I did nae understand exactly what happened, but I reckoned someone on Earth kenned how to pull power from Ortharos. Himself would not be pleased.