It was more like a symphony of flight.
It was now about eight o’clock. The boys had pushed back their plates with sighs of contentment. Their last dinner at camp for this summer had consisted of pan fried trout, which had included those caught in the hand fishing event. Gust had also fried up fresh fish that area fishermen had donated to the camp. They had fresh green beans from local gardens, and garlic mashed potatoes, again fresh from the locals.
The sun would normally set about ten minutes after eight at this time of year. However, now, with the cloudy sky, dusk had already begun to set in. Clancy saw that everyone had finished eating. She instructed them to bus their dishes and then gather outside the Lodge.
As Shy stood around with everyone else, outside the Lodge, he let his mind roam to the event that was about to take place. He had done a decent amount of practicing his wolf howl this summer, and he felt pretty confident. He couldn’t help but wonder if he would get responses from the wolves in the area. It seemed to him that luck would play a part in this event.
Absently, he reached down to his side to confirm that he still had the box in the pocket of his cargo shorts. He had grabbed it before dinner. The boys had decided they would all go together to try calling the Lesidhe on the way back to their cabins after this final event of the day. Tad and Gust had also planned to go along, so Shy felt like he would be pretty safe. Nonetheless, having the box out again, away from the protection of Tom T, made him nervous. He swiveled his head, checking for Glamour. His vision did not stop on any fairy magic, but he did see Gust and Tad, standing together in discussion, looking at Shy.
Again, he felt like there was something going on that he didn’t know about. He started to walk over to them and demand to know what they were discussing, but just then the megaphone’s squeal pulled his attention to Clancy. By the time he looked back they had separated and moved away. Shy reached down for the box again, reassuring himself.
“All right, everyone stay together. Counselors will keep count of their campers, and each group has flashlights to guide their way.” Clancy announced.
The large group moved off to the northwest. Surprisingly, it was on a path that Shy had not been on. He hadn’t realized it was even there. It moved upward rapidly. The ascent was faster than the other paths he had been on. When he asked Tad as they climbed, the counselor informed him that this was a path that Gust had just cleared over the last several days. It led up to the highest point within Camp Lac Igam. There was an exposed dome of bedrock at the top from which they would make their calls. Shy wondered to himself how he had not ever seen this highpoint before.
When he asked Tad, the counselor shrugged and said, “The forest is so thick and overgrown here on the lower slopes, so there were never any paths up. The top isn’t very large, barely big enough to hold all of us. The canopy from our Forest cabins prevents us from seeing it. From the lodge, you can see it if you look carefully, but it appears to look like a part of the rest of the mountainside. If it makes you feel any better, I have never really noticed it either. I dunno Shy… that is all I can think of. I guess we just need to pay better attention…”
Shy realized he really liked exploring places he had never been before, but with the cloudy night sky hiding the full moon, he couldn’t see much. The counselors now moved to surround the group. Gust gave some very stern warnings about staying together. There were steep drop-offs on all sides except the direction from which they came. Shy looked around nervously, imagining he was right on the edge. He could be for all he could see.
Gust called the four competitors to the front, and Shy pushed his way through the group. He wasn’t willing to walk around, even with the counselors watching the edges. He saw Penelope also pushing her way to the front. He knew she was competitive, and she was certainly loud and bossy. She almost rivaled Claire in that respect. Shy began to doubt his preparation. Had he really practiced enough? He had pushed his buddies to raise their performance. What would they say if he didn’t win?
He remembered Tad’s advice as he arrived in front of the group. Inside his head, Shy pictured all his worries being shoved into different boxes. He knew they were there, but for now, he would leave them there and not think about them. Instead, he thought about how Tad had described wolf howling when they first chose their events. He would give it his best shot. Gust said they would go in order of their current score. Thus Penelope would be first, then the Shore cabin girl, Shy, and then the Cave boy. He would have a good idea of what he had to beat.
Gust explained that much like the bird calling, this event would be judged by Clancy, himself, and the four counselors. One would get extra points for any type of a response, meaning wolves howling in answer. The average scores for each contestant would be compared for the final results.
As he looked at Gust, the old white haired man made eye contact and gave him a half a wink. That made Shy feel better. Gust had been so occupied recently, that he just hadn’t had time for Shy. Shy wondered what he had been up to, but couldn’t continue that thought because the event had begun.
Penelope had sucked in a large breath and started to howl. It sounded much like Shy’s howl would be, but higher pitched. As she stretched out the finish, Shy and the entire crowd strained their ears to hear any type of response. At first, Shy heard nothing. Maybe hers was too high pitched, Shy thought. It could be, he decided.
The shore cabin girl was next, but before she began, Shy heard, far off in the distance, the unmistakable wail of the lindworm! Events of earlier in the summer came rushing back to him. When he first howled, the lindworm had attacked. Panicked, Shy looked around. No one else seemed to have heard it.
The Shore cabin girl now started her howl. Again, it was high-pitched and didn’t stretch out as long as Penelope’s. Shy heard no response. He continued to listen, even as the Cave cabin boy moved into place for his turn. Just as the boy started his howl, Shy again thought he heard the wail of the lindworm, but closer than before. He looked at Gust who had turned his head in that direction. Obviously he had heard something too!
With uncharacteristic distractedness, Gust called Shy up.
As he walked up to Gust, he tried to whisper a warning to the old man. He wanted to be sure Gust was aware of the lindworm. Gust only shook his head once, effectively cutting Shy off. The old silver hair seemed more distracted than worried or concerned. He must have something up his sleeve, Shy thought.
Shy turned to face the group of campers, congregated on the top of the hill. He started to tilt his head upward nervously, to howl into the cloud filled Northern Minnesota sky. That is when his vision popped repeatedly.
Instead of seeing the lindworm diving straight at him, he saw sylphon! Many tens of sylphon filled the sky, ringing the open hilltop! Somehow Gust must have convinced them to stand guard. Now Shy understood why Gust had not seemed worried. He turned and looked at the old man, who now gave him another wink and urged him on.
“C’mon Shy!” Henry yelled from the crowd.
Buoyed in spirit, Shy tilted his head upward again, cupped his hands and let fly a massive howl. He stretched it on and on, getting lower as he went. Eventually his voice and breath gave out. He waited. He listened. Far inland he heard it! Several wolves howled in response!
Elated, he stepped aside for the Cave cabin boy’s turn. His body language as he stepped by Shy exuded confidence. He almost strutted. The boy let fly a very impressive howl. It definitely matched Shy’s in length. The entire group held its collective breath.
Seconds ticked by. No response came back.
Shy knew he had done it, he had won this competition!
Gust announced that they would meet back down at the Lodge and have some snacks, and announce the standings. He and the counselors began to herd the kids back down the newly made path.
Shy was congratulated by his buddies; they were loud and boisterous as they rode the wave of victory down the hill. Shy tried to avoid tripping on tree roots and rocks as he was slapped on the back and almost pushed to the bottom. Shy was happy, but something nagged at him, like usual. He couldn’t enjoy the victory completely because he knew there was something he needed to think over, he just couldn’t grasp the elusive thought.
He did know that he was starting to get nervous. It wouldn’t be long and they would come back up this path, he would open the box, and begin to howl. The full moon was still hidden behind a thick veil of clouds, and Shy now knew that just wasn’t going to change.
They piled back into the Lodge, and as he sat down at his spot, he noticed his name, carved into the pine table. That seemed like such a long time ago, now. He looked up front towards Clancy, who was trying to quiet the masses. Again, he caught Gust’s eye, and the old man winked. The wink reminded Shy. He realized what was bugging him. How had Gust arranged for the sylphon to protect the event? Or had he? Maybe they did it on their own, and now that he had the potion, he just realized they were there. That didn’t seem likely to Shy. He hadn’t seen much of Gust, maybe the old man had been working with the fey, recruiting them?
That last thought lingered in Shy’s brain, but he was soon interrupted by the squeal of the megaphone.
Clancy held a piece of paper in her hands and announced, “The Forest cabins have won this event, followed by the Cave cabins in second, Shore in third, and Lake in fourth…”
Shy snuck a peek at Penelope. She was looking daggers at anyone in the room. Her teammates were not making eye contact with her. Shy realized they probably knew how angry the girl would be. As she turned towards the Forest table, Shy quickly looked back up to Clancy.
“…. Sooooo, that puts Lakes at twenty point five, Shore at nineteen, Forest at nineteen, and Cave at sixteen point five.”
Shy was very happy that the race had tightened up. He felt it was very realistic now that they could move into the lead tomorrow.
Tad walked over to the group, and leaned down. In a conspiratorial whisper, he said, “Have some snacks, hang out with everyone for about twenty minutes, and then we will head back up that hill where we just were. We all go together… Gust will meet us.”
With a glance into all their eyes, and a nod, the counselor walked back over to where the other three stood. He made eye contact with Meg, and gave her a slight nod also.
The boys all moved around the room, grabbing handfuls of popcorn and chips. Shy poured himself some kind of drink from a big bowl. Clancy called it punch. He took a sip and pursed his lips. It was sweet, but pretty good. He looked around the room. Eddie, Ralph, and Sam were sitting back at the Forest table. Daniel and Henry were standing by the Lake girls’ table talking with Claire and others. Shy realized it was more like Henry was talking, and everyone else was laughing at him. Shy nonchalantly eased his way over to join the periphery of the group.
It was easy to join in laughing and giggling at Henry’s antics, but Shy had another objective. He wanted to get close to Portia. Maybe, he thought, this would be his opportunity to talk with her. Time was running short; they would be leaving after the final four events tomorrow.
He slowly edged his way until he was almost standing directly behind where she was sitting. He was watching the girls facing them at the table. Arya seemed to be paying particular attention to Shy. He saw Arya try to make eye contact with Portia, and must have succeeded because she looked up at Shy with just her eyes, several times, as if to say, “He’s right behind you.”
Portia must have mouthed something to Arya then, because the other girl nodded and pretended to look away. Shy knew now, that Portia knew he was standing there, yet she didn’t turn around. Was she waiting for him to say something? He didn’t know what to say, or how to start this, especially with all of the others standing right there. He stood frozen; mortified that she would think he didn’t want to talk to her.
Just then, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around instinctively, and there was the brown-eyed Shore cabin girl, Viv. She smiled a cute pixie-like smile. Shy could feel attention from the table and group behind him shift onto him. He felt the red creep up his face, and sweat beads felt like they were forming on his forehead. He instantly pictured Portia twisted in her seat, watching.
Viv, held her smile. She asked Shy in a not so quiet voice if she could get his email address. He was horrified. He just couldn’t make himself say no, or answer rudely to this girl he had never really met before. He felt what he imagined was a collective intake of breath behind him. Time slowed as he considered his response. A split second lasted minutes it seemed to him. He knew in his heart that he couldn’t make himself say no. So, after agonizing, he grabbed the paper she held extended and began to write his email address.
He hadn’t smiled or even answered verbally, yet the response he feared erupted behind him. He felt Portia stand up and push through the crowd the opposite way. Others must have followed her. Shy finished writing and gave the paper back to Viv. As she took it, she made a point of grabbing Shy’s hand, but he was too distracted to notice. She thanked him, but he was already turning around. He didn’t see her squirrel off to her friends where they all giggled their way out of the Lodge.
Daniel and Henry were the only two left standing by Shy.
Henry put his arm around Shy and said, “Well, you sure know how to step in it friend. I had those girls eating out of my hand, but somehow you cleared them out with one fell swoop.” The spectacled boy had one of his famous smirks on his face.
Daniel pushed Henry and said, “Leave him alone.” Then he glared at Henry until the shorter boy held up his hands and backed away. Then Daniel turned to Shy and asked, “How did that happen?”
“Dunno….” Shy said dejectedly. “I just wanted to get a chance to talk to Portia… I almost feel like that Viv is purposely choosing the worst times to make an appearance…”
“Girls do that kind of stuff…”
Before Daniel could try to console his friend, Tad grasped each of their shoulders from behind.
“It’s time,” was all Tad said as he propelled them to the door of the Lodge.
Shy reached down and felt for the box in his cargo pants. Somehow, it seemed to feel heavier every time he carried it.
***
The night was dark, the clouds blocking out the moon as strongly as they had all day. The boys and Tad stood self consciously at the bottom of the hill they hadn’t known about before this evening. Shy was fighting and losing a battle with mosquitoes despite the powerful concentration of DEET he had sprayed all over. He was nervous, and was starting to feel like the mosquitoes could sense it.
All of the boys, even Tad, seemed a bit jumpy as they waited for the old, white-haired, green beret. Knowing the importance of what they were about to try placed added pressure on the group. No one spoke. Shy imagined that things moved in the dense brush around them. Gust had only cleared the pathway; the brush and undergrowth next to the path was thick and heavy. Even if there had been moonlight, they still would not have been able to see what was lurking. Shy imagined goblins, and reds. The latter made him duck down a little and scratch at the scar that had formed on his calf. It seemed like the other boys felt it also.
Suddenly a deep voice boomed from up the path, “Well… what are you all waiting for?”
Gust had arrived from making whatever preparations he had been working on. He located Shy and instructed him to follow up the hill.
Shy looked skyward as they broke from the forest cover onto the open top of the hill. It seemed much wider without the entire group of campers. He was looking at the cloud cover, but what he saw was a veritable army of sylphon in the sky. To call them an army was doing the graceful creatures a disservice. It was more like a symphony of flight, Shy thought. He had always pictured classical music as musical notes floating, dancing, and fighting through the air, continuously emanating from the instruments that created them. The sylphon fit that picture now as they flitted through the air like a mass of hummingbirds.
Shy heard whistles and sharp intakes of breath behind him, as the other boys filed onto the bald dome of the hill. They also saw the swarm of pixie-like creatures. Shy wondered how these delicate looking creatures could protect them all from something like the lindworm with its banana sized talons and scissoring jaw. He knew they were strong, for when they carried him last summer, it had felt effortless; but the lindworm was so large and powerful, it seemed beyond more than they could handle.
Gust took Shy’s attention from their aerial guardians. The old man was watching all directions at once. He focused for a second on Shy and said, “We need to do this fast Shy. The unseelie and that damned huldra may be expecting us to try this. I have some things up my sleeve,” he glanced quickly at the sylphon, “but nonetheless we need to move fast and then get the box back to your cabins where we can better protect it. I suspect that this will be different than the competition we just had… once you open that box, I think whatever power it contains will draw the unseelie…” He grabbed Shy’s chin and tilted his head up so that their eyes met. “Do you understand?” He asked.
Shy nodded, breaking free of Gust’s grip. He reached into his pocket and brought out the small box. The others had ringed around Shy and Gust, with their backs to them. Tad was instructing the boys on what they needed to do. Shy heard the counselor’s grim voice tell the other boys that nothing was to get through their circle. Shy realized how many lives were in danger now. Goblins had spears, reds had arrows, and trolls had brute strength. If any of them showed up, his buddies’ lives would be in danger. Not to mention the lindworm… He already knew that this would draw the attention of the dragon-like creature. Shy couldn’t imagine the sylphon holding it off for long. Gust was right. He needed to hurry.
The problem was, there were no instructions. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. He held the box in his hands, straight out in front of him. Gust glanced at him and immediately began to scan their surroundings and the sky, taking in everything and anything. Shy quickly glanced one more time at his buddies as they scanned the darkness. He noticed that they all held makeshift weapons. From paddles to shovels, they all held something. Eddie looked particularly ominous with the axe balanced in his two handed grip. Shy shuddered and turned back to the box.
Slowly, he opened it…