A Brother's Bargain

Reunited

When Maize made her way out of the Forest of Midnight she was flaming mad. Literally. Her hands were balls of fire with nothing to throw the flames at. Stagmar, Maize's pegasus, was anxiously flying in circles above the entrance to the forest. When he saw Maize emerge from the entrance, he quickly landed.

"Where is your sister?" Stagmar asked Maize.

"That stupid hag froze her with a nasty trick and  played an even nastier trick  for me to get me to leave her behind, frozen, to find her own way out. How can she get out? It's night. The moon has risen and the sun has set. There is no trace of her anywhere!" Maize exclaimed with frustration and anger in her voice.

"Let us take to the sky and search. Surely she will know to call out to me," Stagmar tried to reassure her.

"Maybe she will just return to The Omega, if she even got out," she said shaking her head in despair. 

Stagmar lowered his front legs to let Maize climb on his back. He knew his master would not be happy, but he was going to circle the Forest of Midnight before returning to their camp and The Omega. It was much too far of a journey for Malaya to make on foot, if she found a way out.

Maize lay her head down on Stagmar's neck and silently cried into his mane. She was convinced she had lost her younger sister. She kept mumbling to herself, "Why did I leave her?" When she raised her head up, Maize noted they were going the wrong way. "Stagmar! We need to get back to the Omega," she commanded. 

 Stagmar kept going, ignoring his master. "Not without your sister," he replied.

One side of the Forest of Midnight was bordered by treacherous mountains, another was a river that fed a waterfall. The rest of the area was open plains and a lush valley leading back to where The Omega awaited their arrival. Stagmar flew over the plains toward the river. It  then he heard a faint voice calling his name. 

"I can hear her," Stagmar said. "Faintly she is calling my name."

"Get to her. She could be hurt. There's no telling what condition we will find her in. Oh! Do hurry Stagmar," Maize focused all her attention on the ground below. She was not losing her sister a second time. It was dark, but the moon led them like a spotlight in the sky.

Stagmar flew at lightning speed following the sound of Malaya's voice. She didn't sound like she was in danger; she just sounded weak. He flew over the plains toward the waterfall. The closer Stagmar got to the waterfall, the louder Malaya's voice grew.

"I can hear her now," Maize said. "Malaya! We hear you! We're coming," she yelled as loud as she was able. "Get lower, Stagmar."

Stagmar dipped down so he was flying barely above the ground. Soon enough, they saw a horse coming toward them in the dark. There was a woman hunched over  faintly calling his name.

"Malaya," Maize yelled. "We're coming for you!"

"Where did she find a horse?" Stagmar inquired.

Maize didn't care where she found a horse; she cared about getting her sister back. "Why does that matter?" she asked Stagmar.

"She came from the Forest of Midnight where she was under a spell. We need to proceed with caution, my Master," Stagmar replied quietly.

Maize didn't think of that. How had her sister found her way out this far away from the forest entrance. "Make haste Stagmar. I will know if something is wrong with my sister. I still have the amethyst necklace. I can heal her," she replied. She acted strong and in control, but her stomach was in knots thinking he might be right.

Stagmar landed and galloped the rest of the way. As they got closer they saw Malaya was riding a horse black as the night sky. Maize had never seen a horse so black. "Stop Stagmar," Maize commanded. "Let her come to us in case you need to get us out of here." 

The closer Malaya got, the more the horse looked like a shadow. The more the horse looked like a shadow, the more Malaya looked like she was floating towards them. The shadow turned to a mist and Malaya was walking. She was only a few feet away when Stagmar started to back up.

"Don't leave me, sister. I'm not under any spell. I got out while the sun and moon were both in the sky. There was a cave behind the waterfall that led out of the forest. I promise you I am myself," Malaya pled.

Maize pulled Stagmar's mane to stop him from moving. She jumped off the pegasus and slowly walked toward her sister. The amethyst around her neck was glowing again. Malaya looked normal in the purple light. "You're really okay?" Maize asked her sister.

"Yes, Maize, I am fine. I am freezing still and quite damp, but I am ok. When you knocked the tiara off my head, I began to thaw and slowly I was able to move. When the hag vanished again, the werewolf approached me and led me out. In thanks, I turned him back into a man. He's very handsome.  His name is Nathaniel; maybe you'll meet him," Malaya explained.

"What about the horse? Where did you get the horse?" Maize asked.

Malaya shook her head. "It wasn't a real horse. I conjured a ride from the dark when I couldn't bare to walk anymore. Please, can we just get out of here. I do not want to be anywhere near this forest ever again."

Maize threw her arms around her sister. "I am so glad you got out. I wanted to come back in for you. I'm so sorry I left you, dear sister. Let's get out of here so we can head home," she said.

Both girls climbed onto Stagmar, Maize behind Malaya in attempt to keep Malaya's damp body warm during the flight back to the camp where Nymph and the Omega were waiting for them.  The flight was not long, but the air was much colder above the clouds. When they got close, Maize hugged Malaya even tighter.

"We made it back," Maize whispered to her sister.

Malaya lifted her head  and looked down. She could see the camp fire's glow as they slowed to land. "I can't believe it," she said, "but we didn't get any answers. We just wasted precious time."

"Wait," Maize replied. "The Hag said if you made it out on your own you would have the knowledge to save the baby."

"You're talking about the hag, Maize. You can't trust anything she says. I thought you knew that," Malaya said quietly.

Stagmar landed beside the fire. The Omega sat proudly beside it with Nymph lying beside him. Another unknown figure sat with them. Maize and Malaya dismounted Stagmar and the pegasus went to lie with his mate.

"I'm glad to see you girls," The Omega boomed. "I knew you would make it back. Did you learn anything?"

"We learned it was a painful waste of time," Malaya groaned, seating herself as close to the fire as she dared.

"Who is this?" Maize asked, pointing to what she now knew was a strawberry beautiful blonde woman in a white hooded robe. The hood was down and the girls could clearly see her face. She looked like Mother.

"This is Quinn," The Omega stated. "Your grandmother."

"I am only here for a moment because it cannot ever be known that I helped you," Quinn began before either girl could react to her presence. "You need to get home as fast as possible. The baby is coming soon, maybe before you arrive. When the child enters this world, you must immediately take her from your mother and send her to another plane. It will take all three of you girls to open a plane Ruby cannot find, but you must work together and make this happen or your new baby sister will be taken from you as payment for a bargain your brother made with a powerful demon. I know this all too well because I, too, made a pact with this demon."

"Alec made a pact with a demon? He's at school with the Druid priests. How did he find a demon?" Maize inquired.

"None of that matters. Just do as I say. I must go before she figures out I am here. Make haste girls. Head home at first light," Quinn replied. "Tell your mother I am sorry." Her words trailed off as she turned into a cloud of smoke and disappeared.

"Do we believe her?" Maize asked, looking at the Omega.

He waited a long minute before he replied, increasing the girl's anxiety over the situation. "Yes. Do as she says. Get some food and go to sleep. You are leaving at first light," he commanded.