Autumn (47 page)

             
Arabel glanced around immediately to see if she could recognize their location but nothing at all seemed remotely familiar. Directly in front of them, Arabel viewed a series of rambling hills, to their left, a steep embankment, and to the right, a densely forested wooded area. The Gypsy woman scowled at the prisoners.

             
“Get up!” she shouted angrily, pulling an athame from her pocket.

             
Arabel and Jonty got to their feet immediately and Arabel’s pulse quickened as she tried to suss out if this was their moment of escape. The Gypsy woman smiled slowly, as if reading Arabel’s thoughts.

             
“There’s nowhere to run,” she said succinctly and Arabel’s spirits sank.

             
The Gypsy henchmen corralled their two prisoners into line and marched them toward the woods. The Gypsy woman led the way, muttering all the while under her breath, moving her athame as she performed some further dark magic Arabel couldn’t comprehend.

             
“Yola!” one of the Gypsies called suddenly, a tense urgency flavouring his tone.

             
The white haired Gypsy woman did not look at the man and she did not cease her spell. Arabel’s interest peaked sharply at the mention of the woman’s name. Yola? Was this Raoul Porchetto’s mistress, Yolanda Selivant? Arabel wondered.

             
“Yolanda!” the Gypsy called to her again, provoking the woman to finally turn back and fix him with what could only be described as an incredibly evil eye.

             
“You dare disturb me, Silas?” she cried out furiously.

             
“The sky-”
the man began, pointing toward the sky, which had become quite dark.

             
Arabel glanced upward to see what the Gypsy had noticed. And nearly laughed out loud in unmitigated relief. Arabel heard Jonty’s quick intake of breath behind her and her face split into a wide, life-affirming grin.

             
To Arabel’s incredulous delight, the sky was filled with birds, thousands of them - black birds of all types and size! The corvids had come to claim her and Arabel could feel Ira’s presence amongst them, blazing the trail to find her.

             
Uplifted, Arabel forgot her pain, she forgot her hunger, she forgot that she was a prisoner and she called to Ira fiercely within her mind. The sound of the birds became deafening as they crowed and cawed and shrilled and swarmed toward the small group on the ground.

             
“Hurry!” Yolanda cried out vehemently as she broke into a run and the Gypsies prodding Arabel and Jonty did the same.

             
The birds were fast approaching and Arabel saw a light in the distance, mingling in with the trees, a faint, fuzzy white and bluish light she could not identify. Although she was running away from the birds, Arabel knew decisively that her time in captivity was almost completed.

             
Arabel could feel the anger and uncertainty coming off of Yolanda and sh
e knew the woman was unsure of
how to dispel the attacking birds. The white and bluish light became stronger and seemed to be aligned with the corvids and the forest although Arabel had no idea yet what it could possibly be.

             
Arabel could feel Eli within her mind now, and Xavier and Mireille. The energy void must have been broken, she thought in renewed delight. The dark magic of the Dorojenja’s was no longer holding sway and Arabel quickly pulled her athame from her cape pocket. Arabel uttered the protective spells Xavier had taught her as she ran, coating both herself and Jonty in the Gypsy magic.

             
Yolanda grabbed Arabel’s arm, seeking unsuccessfully to pull Arabel’s athame from out of her grip. The two women scuffled briefly but Arabel did not hold back and she slammed her fist into Yolanda’s stomach as hard as she could, given the fact that her wrists were still bound.

             
Yolanda struck at Arabel’s face viciously, her nails scratching harsh welts into Arabel’s cheeks. Yolanda wrapped her hands around Arabel’s neck and squeezed as hard as she could, her nails dug deeply into Arabel’s flesh.

             
Arabel felt no pain; she struck back as hard as she could and the two women fell to the ground, grappling with one another. Dimly, Arabel realized that the Gypsy known as Silas had grabbed her arms and the other was holding Jonty firmly to prevent him from escaping.

             
Yolanda got to her feet slowly, moving away from Arabel, all of a sudden appearing to be quite ancient and tired. Her face seemed bloodless, drained, and for a moment she simply stared at Arabel.

             
“We should have killed your father long before he sired a brat like you,” Yolanda spat out, each word dripping in slick, slithering venom. “His lineage should have been destroyed! You should never have been born!”

             
“Why did you murder my father?” Arabel cried out.

             
Yolanda’s face became harder, crueller. She spoke softly, each word a long-harboured hammer of hatred.

             
“Patrick Spade was a spy!” Yolanda declared vehemently, “And if I would have had my way, he would have suffered far worse than he did! His exploits killed my brother and forced many of us underground, into the hidden tunnels, like rats!”

             
“Yola! We don’t have time for this now,” Silas cried, pulling at Yolanda’s arm. But it was too late.

             
The corvids came at the group at break-neck speed, a veritable curtain of flapping feathers and outstretched talons. The birds formed a wall of blackness and beaks, swarming around Arabel and quickly separating her from the others. Ira was within their ranks and he landed joyously upon Arabel’s shoulder for a much anticipated reunion. But there was no time for more than a quick peck before Arabel and the bird were whisked away.

             
Arabel floated dizzyingly up from the ground, held magnetically in s
ome force-field she did not immediately recognize
. The bluish-white light had reached them and Arabel saw now that it was the magical Ondines.

             
Arabel saw Jonty being lifted into the air as well and her eyes closed as the ancient, haunting chants of the Ondines reached her ears, soothing her. The songs sounded like a lost lullaby and as she was carried higher and higher into the air, Arabel gave herself over completely to the female spectres. Arabel barely noticed that the roles of captivity had been mightily reversed.

             
Now, the trio of evil Dorojenja members left behind were currently pinned to the ground under the weight and the volume of a few thousand of her feathered sentries while she, Arabel, was flying freely to safety in the loving clasp of the Ondines.

             
Arabel flew overtop the trees under the light of the moon and the glowing pulse of the ghostly women. As she peered below at the forest, it was as if Arabel could see the trees breathing, as if she could see their very life-force vibrating. It reminded Arabel of the Gypsy drums, the circadian rhythm. The ancient beat of sentience.

             
Arabel shut her eyes once more. She knew she need do nothing further at this moment and it felt so good to just give herself over to such capable and trustworthy entities, at least for a little while.

             
She slept.

             
Eli saw the birds retreat and he knew from Ira that they had flown to Arabel’s current location. Eli also knew that he could not accompany the corvids to rescue her. He would not be able to reach the destination as they did because he did not fly or possess other such alternate transportation, and they were en route to an area he could not possibly reach in time via horseback to join in. Eli therefore plotted strategy with Zander and Baltis and the others in the woods outside of the cabins and they started their campaign with an energy void take-down of their own.

             
Eli had never manifested an energy void before but Zander was quite talented in this regard and he readily pulled his athame from his pocket and began the work. First, Zander drew a series of lines in the air with his athame and he spoke under his breath, so his words were not audible. The spell was not lengthy and Zander had completed it within a few minutes.

             
In the shimmering air, all gathered could feel the bubble of the void as it lurched into being and was guided magically by Zander to permeate the third cabin, the one where Zander could sense the most gathered activity and pulsing of heartbeats. The bubble of the energy void would disperse slowly and it would eventually encompass the entire local area. It would infect the Dorojenja and incapacitate their communication skills and memory faculties until it had been dispersed by an un-infected party. It was large and it was silver, what could be seen of it; the blossoming void was a mere outline, a glistening, wavering bubble rolling forward against the sky.

             
As Zander had been completing his spell, Eli and his father had taken the opportunity to join minds with Mireille, who had been busy since they’d left dismantling the energy void around Arabel, along with the assistance of Francesca de Lorimar and her mother, Madame de Lorimar. By linking into each others telepathic energies, the Frankel’s and the de Lorimar’s were able to send a strong enough signal to disrupt the pattern of the energy void surrounding Arabel, specifically, and Jonty, incidentally.

             
The void had not wanted to release. Eli had felt a great pressure upon his brain, as if someone was delightedly squeezing him from the inside out, and then, a shaking, as if his head was being rattled wildly by a huge, carnivorous beast. The relief when the void collapsed was tangible and Eli instantly felt Arabel‘s energy once more and was overjoyed. Knowing that Arabel was one step closer to safety released Eli to concentrate and focus his efforts on bringing down the Dorojenja.

             
The five cabins were all occupied and the Gypsies separated into smaller groups to surround each one. They coated the cabins from the outside with energy sealant and readied themselves with their athames and daggers. The horses were tethered a short distance away in accessible ease for escape and the light of the moon shone brightly to aid the group.

             
Eli and Baltis moved stealthily together around the edge of the cabin. Once all of the cabins had been surveyed and the void had fully gelled and taken, the Gypsies would enter and attempt to bind and further incapacitate the Dorojenja members inside. The Gypsies had been instructed in clear detail by Xavier as to which spells to use and how best to engage and sublimate the dark forces. In the distance, as the small group furtively assembled into position, they could hear the birds; the raucous cries and taunting calls of the amassed corvids.

             
And then, suddenly, Eli could feel Arabel‘s messages again. Sweet warmth flowed instantly throughout his veins and Eli was submerged in passionate relief. His bright smile had Baltis answering with a wide grin of his own and acknowledging Arabel’s freedom with a jaunty tilt of his head.

             
An owl hooted overhead and Eli spotted movement in the bushes to the right of their hiding spot. He motioned silently to Baltis and they moved into the shadows of the cabin where it would be better to survey their potential observers. Father and son could both feel the energy void and they moved into it. As participants in the creation of the void they were immune to it and could move freely in or out of it at will, but all others would be trapped. Eli could feel the energy of Zander, the void’s primary creator, and he was satisfied to comprehend that the movement in the bushes had been caused by a small mammal. It gazed into Eli’s eyes for a long moment and then scuttled off into the deepening shadows.

             
A short whistle from Zander brought the Gypsies into the cabins. Inside, Eli viewed food supplies and what looked to be bedding. The cabin appeared to be otherwise deserted, but Eli knew it could not be so. Stealthily, Eli and Baltis entered further into the room. Eli saw a quick, darting movement out of the corner of his eye and he quickly produced a Revelatory Spell to allow his eyes to see that which desired to remain hidden.

             
Seven Dorojenja members crouched in the corner of the room, all dazed with cotton tongues and limp brains. Eli laughed to himself. He brandished his athame at the group and glanced at Baltis, who nodded at him. The two men efficiently bound the seven members of darkness physically with rope and psychically with a Locking Spell. Once the Dorojenja were securely bound, Eli and Baltis left the cabin in search of the other Gypsies.

             
In the third cabin, Eli was pleased to see Zander holding court with a large number of foot soldiers. There had to be at least seventy five in the room, all squished together and magically bound with hemp rope, which Eli knew was impossible to escape from. Not to mention the fact that Zander and his partner had already magically disarmed the foot soldiers and regressed their minds to the age of toddlers. The foot soldiers stood, drooling and dazed, in a messy pool of magic.