“I hope there’s a larger space on the other side. Oof.” He grunted. “I’d hate for anyone to get stuck behind me.”

  “If you get wedged, I’ll push you through.” Offered Hoxley, turning herself a little to follow through the gap. And just as the witch had promised, a chamber revealed itself a dozen paces in where there was enough room for everyone to lay and take a rest. Ten feet above them, the rock formation opened up to reveal a starry sky. “This is ideal for our needs, Ignatius.” She said “But what about our tracks across the sand? A scout with no eyes could follow those trails we made.”

  “An easy problem to solve when one controls wind to shift the grains and hide the tracks.” he said, a miniature wisp in the shape of a cyclone dancing in his palm. He shot her a sly wink and mounted his broom to fly straight up and away before vanishing over the lip.

  “Well, I think this is a fine spot.” Said Siouxsie. “It’s not a pumpkin patch but it will do in a pinch!”

  “Peempkoo” said a voice beneath her pointed hat.

  “Shoosh, you.” She said without thinking. “On second thought, why don’t you come out and give us some help.” Siouxsie reached under the brim of her hat and produced the orange gel before approaching her brother where he lay. Everyone watched her as she reached into the mass of black clothes in the shape of her twin and pulled out her brothers’ hand. Once she had it, she put Pumpkin into his palm before grabbing him by the wrists and raising his arms in a “V” to the sky. “Tinder and cinder.” She whispered. A puff of smoke choked its way into existence and a fiery plume of fire appeared within the center of the gel before she tucked Robert’s arms back inside. A warm golden light radiated outward to bathe everyone in the chamber. It was lighter than she wanted, so she placed Pumpkin on the ground, held the bristly end of her floating broom a foot off the ground over him and then balanced her hat atop the bristles. The result was a source of light that filled the chamber but didn’t shine upward and outward for anyone outside to see.

  “Thank you, Siouxsie.” Said Prince Damron.

  “Of course, your highness.” She said giving an unpracticed but sincere courtesy. Everyone else shrugged off their packs and took a place around the chamber with their backs against the wall. Altogether, the formation of the rock resembled that of the middle of a blossoming flower. After a few moments, Ignatius returned, appearing at the top of the opening over their heads.

  “Well done, sister.” he said, his voice echoing down into the chamber. “The light isn’t visible from afar. Everyone, find your rest where you can; I’ll take the first watch.”

  “Oh!” Siouxsie said as she remembered her pets. “I should feed my bats!” She raised the fold of her black cloak. “Go eat!” she ordered. In return, a flood of bats came pouring out of her clothes, spiraling upward and out the top of the chamber into the night. Before she could close her cloak, she reached in and produced a small white bat, puckered her lips and made kissing noises as she rubbed its belly with her nose. Cupped hands pitched it high into the air and white wings unfolded to begin flapping, carrying the bats away to join the others. No sooner had she let them go, Siouxsie pulled her knees to her chest and placed a cheek upon them. The look on her face was a mask of sadness.

  “What’s the matter, my dear?” asked Loxo, scooting closer to turn his head sideways. “You look terribly disheveled.”

  “I’m worried about Batthew, my white bat. He hasn’t taken a mate.”

  “That’s your concern?” asked the pirate. “Now?”

  “He’s almost a year and a half old, Loxo! I’m afraid he won’t find one! I love all my bats, but a white bat is very rare and if he doesn’t find a mate then he won’t breed! If he enjoys the company of other male bats I’d love him just as much, but I suppose I was hoping to see his trait passed along a bloodline to create a whole shebang of white ones! Wouldn’t that be spectacular?”

  “Well…yes.” Said Loxo with some confusion. “If one were so inclined to follow the bloodlines of bats, I could see how that might be interesting. Forgive me dear, for all the knowledge and riddles in my head there is very little learned lessons of bats.”

  “It’s very important to me. All the other witches have bats and snakes and spiders and lizards, but I think Batthew is special and I want him to be as happy a bat can be.”

  “Then I think you’re doing all you can do, my sweet.” He pinched her cheek and gave it a wiggle, which finally managed to bring out something of a smile. “I don’t suspect you could do much else.”

  “Perhaps you’re right.” She nodded. Everyone else quickly settled in, reclining upon their packs for comfort or to rest their heads upon as exhaustion settled in like a fog.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Ignatius has asked for the first watch.” Hoxley told the group. “Who would like the second?”

  “I would like the last watch.” Said Atticus. “It takes these old bones a minute or two to warm up in the morning and I’d like the extra time to stretch before we depart.”

  “Very well, the last watch is taken. Who will take the second?”

  “I will.” Said the prince. “I’ll take the second watch.”

  “Very well, thank you, your highness.” She said “Thank you for volunteering. “After the prince I suppose we’ll go around the room, every person pulling a watch before the next. By having more people, the shifts are shorter and everyone will get more sleep. Rest well, I don’t know how fast a pace we’ll be taking tomorrow.” Once everyone looked to her that they understood, Hoxley called Siouxsie over to speak with her.

  “How is Robert doing?” she asked the witch.

  “I believe it’s time to check his wound.” She said, leading the faun over to where Robert hung from the free-floating broom suspending him a foot off the floor. Merely by placing a hand upon the broom and lowering it, Robert’s body flattened to recline on the floor.

  “Mrrrrnnuugghh.” Robert grunted.

  “Have no fear, Robert, it’s me.” Siouxsie whispered. The boy went limp and she went to work unbuckling buttons and sashes until she could inspect the place where the arrow had pierced him. Warm light radiating from the gel lit the area enough that Hoxley could see every part of the skin on Robert’s flank. To her utter shock, the skin had all but healed!

  “Why, there’s hardly a puncture at all.” Hoxley marveled, tracing a finger across the tissue.

  “Witch medicine.” Siouxsie said, prodding at the flesh and muscle. Robert flinched in pain when she reached around the side. “The outside is all but done, but the inside still has much to heal.” Buckles and belts went back to their original configuration before she folded the cloak back. Her hands went to work unbuckling belts under her own clothes. She added them to the meshwork of the hammock to make it bigger before she climbed in next to her twin and levitated the broom once more. “Good night Hoxley.” She said.

  “Good night, Siouxsie.” After she was certain that everyone was settled, Hoxley wedged her way back through the gap to the outside and rounded the boulder until she found a surface that had a grade canted enough to be climbed. With mountain goat like agility her hooves with the lyythium shoes upon them scaled the rock face until she arrived at the top. Ignatius jumped to his feet when she came into view, and he hurried over to offer her a hand for the last few steps. He led her to the space he’d been sitting which was a “U” shaped divot on the ocean side of the rock formation. It was the perfect spot. The Divot was just deep enough to recline against and watch the stars. It was also an ideal spot to watch the line of sight of the horizon in case anyone approached. Peering down through the opening allowed her to see the others as they reclined.

  Ignatius shouldered his broom and took a seat. Hoxley did the same with her spear. It felt natural for her to be at his side and wasn’t shy in attempting to rest her head against his. She tried with his shoulder first, but her horns seemed to jab him in the ear. After resituating herself, she managed to tuck her sizeable right hear behind his head. For the longest time neither moved but seemed content to merely linger in the moment’s respite.

  “I have a fear that we shouldn’t have stopped. We should still be moving.” She said

  “Why do you say that?”

  “The prince’s crown glows with an unnatural power. I believe it’s continually telling Lord Baltus’ men how to find us. It’s like trying to elude hungry wolves with a pound of freshly cooked pigs flesh strapped to one’s backside. We continue to elude them, but never for long. I’m wondering if I’m doing the right thing.”

  “If you’re keeping the crown and prince out of the hands of Lord Baltus, then you are doing the right thing.”

  “But how long can we run? Witches can fly and I can run for hours at a gallop but the humans in the group are either young or old and have no stamina. We can’t run forever, Ignatius.”

  “What are you suggesting?” he asked. “I only see two solutions to the problem; either we find a way to move the others faster or we get rid of the crown so that Lord Baltus can’t track us, if that truly is how he’s doing it. I don’t like the idea of him having control over an entity with arcane powers? I’ve heard of Lord Baltus before all of this, and the word was that he was a drunkard and a drifter living off the influence of his older brother’s reputation. I don’t understand how someone like that could create an alliance with such a monstrosity. There’s something hidden here we can’t see.”

  “Whether we can see these things or not is irrelevant.” Hoxley sighed. “But you’re right there are only two options. I’m not sure the prince will want to part with his birthright.”

  “Then we must make him understand. It’s a crown, it can be replaced. What if before all this happened a large bird swooped into his father’s castle and snatched the crown and flew away with it? Would the kingdom cease to exist? No, they would craft another crown and carry on with their royal duties, whatever those are. If Lord Baltus’ lich is tracking the crown, I say we abandon it until such a time that it can be retrieved. If we can keep swords and arrows off our backs long enough to have time enough to devise a plan, then one might just present itself.”

  “But even then, Ignatius? What are we going to do? Our plan was to travel to the western kingdom and ask the king for help and to borrow his army to bring peace. But his army has vanished! What other forces can we call upon? If Lord Baltus has taken possession of not one but two armies then I fail to see what can be done.”

  “Hoxley the Brave is giving up hope?”

  “Don’t call me that. I’m not giving up hope. If the answer to this riddle exists, I cannot see it.” She paused to look upon the dark horizon, her thoughts racing back and forth between her ears. “If we were to get rid of the crown, where could it be placed where we could retrieve it, but Lord Baltus could not?”

  “That’s a good question. Somewhere very high or very low?”

  “Perhaps a place one can only reach while riding a broom?” she asked. Ignatius nodded agreeably as he considered the proposal.