Ollie MacQuoid and the Journey To Rubius

Chapter Six

His chest was on fire. A deafening whine rang in his ears. A buzz spread through his upper half, making the water feel as if it were burning and freezing his flesh at the same time. He barely noticed his back hit the sand until the lack of oxygen sent a dull, dizzying wave of pain through the broken remnants of his consciousness.

Is this really how I die? He thought dimly, too tired to fight.

Something loud erupted above him on the water's surface, and Ollie felt himself be grabbed from behind and lifted from the water. He almost wished he hadn't been. Consciousness came back to him in a head rush so strong he nearly puked. Water spewed from his nose and mouth in burning mouthfuls. As he spluttered and trembled and tried to recompose himself, something grabbed him by the waist and flew forward, dragging him awkwardly through the waves until the two of them were sailing over the water, barely high enough to keep Ollie's toes from skimming the water. He thrashed in a wild panic, clawing at the arm that held him before he caught sight of a familiar brown wing flapping strongly above the waves. His heart was pounding in his chest. Elora's sobbing from under Alaudidae's other arm was almost completely blocked out by the roaring of the waves and the sound of the fire fading behind them.

"Where are we going?" Elora cried.

"I don't—"Alaudidae's voice suddenly faltered and the three of them lurched to the side, almost sending Ollie into the water. He cried out in pain, shouted a litany of curses into Ollie's ear, but kept on flying, growing faster and faster with every second. Ollie felt something warm and hot trickling down his back, smelling of metal.

The wind was loud in Ollie's ears. All of his senses were dulled with fear and melted into one big cacophony that resonated so loudly he thought his head might explode. It was growing, growing, almost unbearable. Something in him was growing, growing —

Then it was over. With one deafening shriek of the wind, all noise disappeared at once and Ollie went crashing to the ground, tumbling over Elora and Alaudidae before landing, face-down, in a pile of sand. He didn't move. He heard nothing except for the ringing in his ears.

Pushing himself to his knees on shaking hands, Ollie looked around. They were on a beach. It stretched far along the coast; miles upon miles of silky grey sand dotted with low-hanging trees. A thick forest lined the other edge. The boathouse was nowhere to be seen behind them.

Elora, a bit ahead of him, let out a huge gasp and rose unsteadily to her feet, her dress dirty and wet at the hems. She tried to speak, but the only sounds that came out were unintelligible mumbles. She pointed wildly to the ocean, then to the beach, then to the figure collapsed near the water, half-submerged in the rippling waves.

"Alaudidae!" Ollie's breath caught in his throat. He darted over on all fours, ignoring the tingling in his arms and how the frigid water soaked his pants. Alaudidae was curled on his stomach, his wings wrapped around himself protectively. He wasn't moving, and for one horrible moment, Ollie thought he might be dead. He then let out a low, pained moan, and rolled himself laboriously onto his back. One of his hands grasped his shoulder.

Elora wailed, and sent up tufts of grey sand as she scrambled towards the two of them. She reached out her hands and held them out, too afraid to lay them on his flesh.

Ollie noticed the blood first. It oozed thick and dark from between Alaudidae's fingers and grew in a patch at the base of the wrist pressed against his shoulder. Elora's eyes widened. "Your shoulder!" She blurted.

Alaudidae's face was twisted with agony as he removed his hand, revealing the pointed ends of several crystal spears poking out from just beside his armpit, slick and shiny with blood. Elora turned a shade of cottage cheese, and Ollie couldn't imagine that he looked much better. The wound made him fight back the urge to vomit.