CHAPTER#78

The snow, water and ice had been scary enough, but the sudden deluge of rain and mud had been downright terrifying. The thunderous sound of a massive storm had boomed inside of the alcove, and the three of them had huddled together as the world ended around them. A torrential downpour formed a large waterfall over the opening of their enclosure, water flooding the ground and coming near them. Mike and Zel had crawled as far back against the cave wall as they could, hoping to avoid getting wet. Ratu had woken up just long enough to wrap herself around his torso for warmth, shrinking herself down even farther.

Waves of heat had come with the rain. Steam had filled the cavern at one point, causing Mike to worry if they would be boiled alive. Huddled together, the three of them waited in the dark, wondering when the madness would end. Eventually, a heavy fog rolled in to replace the storm outside. While preferable to the deadly deluge, it was thick enough that they were forced to remain where they were.

The temperature dropped, and they shivered as the fog slowly cooled and condensed into ice. Certain that staying would result in freezing to death, they exited the cave walked toward the edge of the cliff.

The landscape of the mountain had changed drastically. What had once been large drifting slopes of snow were now icy crags that extended in either direction. Trees and boulders had been uprooted, leaving the hillside a ruined mess. If it wasn't muddy, it was frozen, and Mike quickly realized that he needed better footwear the next time he decided to pass through a magical portal.

"We need to go down," he said, looking toward the valley. Through holes in the clouds below, he could see that the forest had been flattened near the base of the mountain. Multiple landslides had been triggered, the scene reminding him of an old National Geographic film of Mount St. Helens after it blew. "We'll freeze up here."

"We need to go up." Zel's lower lip trembled, with just a hint of blue. "We need to go up and go back home."

An ominous cry echoed from above and a shadow passed through the clouds.

"Do you still think that's the best plan? Even with that thing up there?"

Zel nodded.

"Shit." He looked up the hill and then down it. Up looked ten times harder to climb. "You're not telling me something. Now spill."

"Mike, I..." she was interrupted by the sound of hooves on stone. Her eyes looked past his shoulder and went wide, so he turned. At first he thought he saw a group of men come around the corner on horseback, but only because his brain wasn't ready to accept the fact that he was looking at a group of six centaurs. They were soaking wet and wearing hunting leathers, their hooves kicking up clods of dirt. Various feathers hung decoratively from their clothing and they wore bracelets with different colors on them.

"You." The one in the lead leveled his bow at Mike. "Who are you and why are you here?"

"I'm lost." It wasn't the whole story, but it was absolutely true. "I came through a portal up the mountain and was attacked by a woman in white."

If he was hoping for sympathy, he was sorely mistaken. The moment he said portal, several others raised their bows.

"Whoa now, I'm not here to cause any trouble." He put his hands in the air.

The lead centaur spat. "That's what the last human said."

Mike swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. He briefly considered telling them that he was the Caretaker, but the last person he had told it to had tried to blow a hole in his chest and then leveled part of the mountain around him. "Not all humans are the same."

The centaurs laughed as if this was the funniest thing they had ever heard.

Mike smiled, briefly assuming that he had somehow broken the tension, but the bows lifted briefly as if they were going to fire.

"Wait!" Zel stepped in front of him. "We invoke parlay."

The lead centaur frowned. "If we were to fill you with arrows, nobody would know that you invoked parlay."

"The sky mother would." Zel sneered at the lead centaur. "And the moon goddess sees all, even in the brightest day. Unless the herd has forsaken the gods, then divine wrath will fall on you for killing those who abide by tribal laws."

There was intense muttering from the centaurs, and the one in the lead frowned. "You seem to know much about our kind." He looked her up and down, his face turning to disgust when he saw her hooves. "By the moon, you're unfinished. An abomination."

More mutters as they looked at her. Zel's face fell, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Maybe I am." Her voice trembled. "But centaur laws still apply."

"Ugh." He waved a hand and the others put their bows away. "Fine. We will take you to our chief. But should you try to escape..." he drew his line across his neck.

"We understand." Zel hugged Mike's arm against her, and he felt Ratu's body relax. She was sluggish, but apparently paying attention.

He looked at the centaur closest to him. "See if Ara and Hydrus are back in the hunting cave. If not, then we must hope that they found their way to safety down in the Valley."

"It was just us in there," Mike said, but the centaur passing him accidentally hit him in the head with an elbow.

"Oops," he said as sarcastically as possible over his shoulder. The centaur inspected the cave for a couple of seconds and came back out. "They aren't here, Orion."

"Ah shit," Zel muttered, squeezing his arm even tighter.

"Come," Orion commanded. "If you can't keep up, we will tie you to ropes and drag you."

"Well, couldn't you just give us—" Zel pinched Mike's arm so hard he yelped and all of the centaurs were suddenly statues.