Alpha wasn’t happyabout his plan at all. Alpha didn’t want him to approach the nymph,believing it to be too dangerous. He had never heard Alpha so vocalabout anything. Alpha definitely seemed to be getting its own pointof view and it was becoming protective like his mother orgrandfather. You shouldn’t do this or that, as it might bedangerous. Of course it was dangerous and it gave him a thrill, buthe was always alert enough not to go too far. Except perhaps whenhe was with Miranda, and then he seemed to lose all fear and commonsense.
He headed for theU-shaped gully, as it seemed to have a track leading into it. Evenif he wasn’t in the correct place he must be close, and perhapssomeone living here would be able to advise him where Snowbelle’splace was located. He had gone no further than a dozen paces whenan owl flew down onto the path in front of him and spoke to himusing mindspeak.
‘Who are you and whatdo you want?’
‘I am Aquitain of TwinTowers, and I’m seeking Miranda. If she’s not around then I’d liketo speak to her mother, Queen Snowbelle.’
‘Miranda is not here atthe moment and I would advise you against proceeding, as you areobviously not a bear and Queen Snowbelle is known to dislikewizards intensely,’ advised the owl.
‘Oh but I am a bear,and I still wish to see Queen Snowbelle.’
‘Then you may find hernear the waterfall at the end of the gully. Remember, you werewarned!’ and the owl flew off down the gully.
‘I wonder if that washer?’ he thought, then continued onwards.
The gully continued onfor about five hundred paces and was about thirty paces at itswidest, with steep rocky sides that would cast a shadow for much ofthe day, keeping it moist and cool on the hot summer days. Thefloor was relatively flat and covered in lush green ankle-highgrass, with a smattering of flowers, small bushes and theoccasional tree. Patches of moss and lichen covered the gully wallsnear the ground and ferns sprouted from cracks and crevices oneither side.
The waterfall was asilvery flashing cascade of sparkling water that made a busy butpleasant pattering sound as it created white foam at the top of alarge bluish pool at the base of the wall at the end of the gully.The overflow from the pool reformed itself further down the gully,near Aquitain, into a gently gurgling crystal-clear stream over abed of small water-worn pebbles. He tasted the water. It wasbeautifully fresh so he drank a good quantity, slaking his thirstand wetting his dry mouth, then continued onwards. It wasabsolutely peaceful until he was halfway to the waterfall, when twopuffs of mist appeared several paces in front of him and turnedinto hideous, nightmarish seeming images.
The bottom half of eachmonster was that of a black bear, but from the waist up each wascovered with dark brownish feathers and had the head of a bird ofprey, with a wicked hooked beak as large as a newman head. Hatredglared from their burning red eyes, which looked totally devoid ofsanity, and they reeked of a foul stench like rotting flesh. As onemoved towards him it uttered a high-pitched hiss, which despoiledthe purity of the gully but warned him to act fast.
It was upon him in notime, slashing wildly at him with long curved claws, butfortunately he managed to dodge backwards. A change came over himthen, as his bear body responded to danger. He felt strong,powerful and very angry. He let out a terrifying growl and launchedat the beast with a ferocious attack, raking it with both claws.The creature wasn’t ready for such an onslaught, and was slasheddeeply across the chest and stomach. Hot steamy blood sprayed outas it let out an agonizing scream, one that was answered from thecreature’s mate a dozen paces away.
Without a care for itswounds the creature dived forward, grasping at Aquitain’s upperbody. The two creatures crashed together with an awesome thump andembraced like giant wrestlers, each trying to topple the other. Thepain from the creature’s wounds gave it unnatural strength andAquitain felt himself go over backwards with the creature on top ofhim. It raked him across the chest and tried to bite into his neckwith its beak. A mighty heave by Aquitain dislodged it momentarily,but as he tried to right himself he was knocked off his feet by thecreature’s mate charging from behind. The odds had changed.
The first creaturequickly pounced on him again, trying to pin him down and bitinginto his shoulder, whilst the second raked him twice across theflank. The pain enraged him. His mind struggled for some semblanceof control. His eyes turned black momentarily, but he refused togive in to the darkness. These things were not holding back.
‘Use your mental powerto even up the fight a little,’ Alpha screamed.
His mind retreated tothe mental tower he had constructed earlier. He could think moreclearly here, but had less control over his body’s actions. He wasfighting more by reflex than direct control. He blocked the painfrom his wounds and sought the power he wished to release, and letit go. His body tingled all over, as his skin thickened andhardened with infused mental energy. It wouldn’t stop all thedamage from these creatures, but it would make it a lot harder forthem to hurt him.
He felt them slashingat him again but this time their claws scraped across his back asif it was made of smooth marble. Their claws left trails on hisskin but hardly penetrated the surface. He rolled and heaved andmanaged to again dislodge the creature on top of him, only to betackled and knocked over again by the
