The Enchantments: Book 4 - The Key of Mulastef

Chapter 7: Informants

"O.K., we're clear." Professor Tweedle said as he twisted the small handle on the engine instantly cutting the noise of the outboard down to a dull rumble. The three had been racing swiftly down the river at speeds that would scare even the greatest speed enthusiast, but the alternative of being trapped by one of those creatures was not something they relished.

Puttering now through the smaller culverts of the river they listened to every strange noise that erupted from the trees surrounding them on both sides. After a bird burst forth from the confines of the trees Marlanda had had enough.

"This is ridiculous; we must be close." She whispered.

The professor lets out a chuckle as he reminded himself of those days taking students on field trips and their anxious bantering. 'Are we there yet?'

"We have to get deeper into the mountains as our hide-out is quite a ways away. Just sit back and keep your senses on high alert, if anyone sees us our cover is tenuous. There is a time for advancing and a time to retreat, today is later. Once we've settled, we can come up with a plan. We won't be able to help anyone if captured." He turned from them to concentrate on the boat which was becoming increasingly more difficult to handle through the subsequent shrinking river size.

"Thank heavens for the moon," Shawn whispered looking up through the canopy of the trees.

Marlanda peered up watching the moon appear and disappear through the branches. The trees she realized gave them great cover from the sides and their shadows cast an eerie visual upon the surface of the water. Many times both she and Shawn thought they saw movement in the brush making them feel very uneasy, but after a while, they decided their paranoia was unfounded realizing adding to the tenseness in the boat was both defeating and needless.

After an hour of twitching movements and wild imaginary figures drifting through their over-active minds, their boat came to a sudden stop jolting the three of them from their seats.

"What the heck was that?" Marlanda whispered harshly pulling herself back to the seat and staring at a gash appearing just above the knot of her knee.

"We hit a tree lodged across the river." The professor stated as he inspected the front of the boat and the fallen tree that inhibited them from traveling farther.

"Hey professor," Shawn interjected as he climbed gingerly on the tree trunk and made his way to the far bank a few yards away. "Take a look at the trunk."

The professor trundled over to Shawn a feeling was starting to come over him, a sensation that something was wrong. He stared at the destroyed log below trying desperately to make sense of what he saw.

"What do you see Shawn?" The professor asked.

"The tree was torn down just above the trunk. That's the strongest part of the tree. It didn't fall because of old age. Look at where it's ripped; it's still green and dripping sap, this was no accident."

Professor Tweedle whipped his head around. With a precision that startled both Shawn and Marlanda, he stood and began peering around the trees just across the far bank.

The two kids began to feel apprehensive as watching the older man look nervously around the area.

"What's the mat...?"

"...RUNNNNNNNN!!!" The professor screamed.

Both Shawn and Marlanda has seen enough in the past years to know when to run, and this was it. The grabbed the professor by the arm and began running along the banks of the river.

What happened next was sudden and devastating, hundreds of portals began to appear along the ridgeline and amongst the trees. The wind erupting from the portal set forth a smell like nothing they had ever sensed before, a mixture of death and the hint of burnt amber flowed down the banks like fog along the river's edge. It whipped around leaves and twigs sending forth a barrage that pelted them like shards of glass.