“It’sokay, Edward. It’s me, Cyrus.”
“Cyrus?”Edward said, “The Sea Zombie!”
Edwardleaped to his feet, hissing like a hell cat. His two long fangs sprang from hisgums and several milky white eyes bulged from beneath his fur. The snow-coloredgiant stepped forward, raising her knife. Cyrus held a hand up in protest.
“Edward,it’s okay,” he said, “We defeated her. She’s lying headless on the floor of thattorture chamber. You did it. You saved us.”
“Wegot her? We beat Rorroh?” Edward asked.
Hisfur began to settle and his fangs slowly receded. Then he closed his many eyes,leaving only the largest two remaining.
“Aspider that talks? Tier asked, “How is this possible?
“Rorroh, the Sea Zombie?” Runa asked, “What lies are these?”
“Theyare no lies,” Fibian said, raising himself onto hismaimed arm, “The boy fought the Warrior Witch and won. He is the saviorprophesied.”
“Iwon’t ask again,” Runa said, taking the knife from the snow colored giant, “Whoare you, and where do you come from?”
“Myname is Cyrus LongBones,” Cyrus said, holding Edwardin one hand, and raising the other in surrender, “These are my friends, Edwardand Fibian. We come from an island far, far away fromhere.”
Cyrustold the creatures everything, from his discovering the Jim Oddfootjournal and learning of the prophecy, to his drinking dragon’s blood andbattling Rorroh. The giants listened to every word insilence.
“Mypeople do not have long to live,” Cyrus continued, “Their only hope is thegiant hune. We’re hoping the yeti can lead us to thishune.”
“TheSea Zombie?” Tier said, wide-eyed.
“Impossible,”Runa said.
“Areyou the yeti?” Fibian asked.
Tiernodded.
“Iam Tier,” she said.
Shegestured to the snow colored giant standing next to her.
“Skoven and I found you shipwrecked west of here.”
Thenshe turned to the old gray creature.
“Andthis is my mother, Runa. She is our leader. For the past three days, she hastended to your wounds. The yeti you see before you are all that are left of ourkingdom.”
“Allthat’s left?” Edward asked, his voice barely a whisper.
Runaturned to Tier. She gave her daughter a look of warning.
Tiercontinued, “Our kind have reigned over these shores for centuries, expandingour wealth of knowledge and envied by many. None were more jealous than thewater klops.”
Edwardshivered in Cyrus’ hand.
“Waterklops?” Edward gasped.
Tiergathered up several cushions near the pit of coals and sat down her toweringframe. Her movements seemed exaggerated by her long body, her loose fatty fleshshifting over thick tendons and cord-like muscles.
“Atfirst, the klops were weak, small like you,” shesaid, “maybe smaller. They would come out of the sea in large numbers,attempting to posture and frighten us off. They were cowardly and easily drivenaway.”
Runacame and stood at her daughter’s side.
“Fora time, they came no more,” Runa said, “Then we began to see black smoke risehigh in the mountains. We sent out a reconnaissance party to find the originsof the fires. They did not return. We sent out a second group. Neither was everheard from again. For a year or so the fires carried on until one night, the klops attacked us in our palace.”
“Thewater klops had changed,” Tier said, “grown larger,more vicious, and for the first time they had a leader. Though their leader wasnot of their kind, the creature was clever. They had weapons and technologiesthe likes of which we had never seen. The klops rainedballs of flame down on our fortress, and cut down our kin with staffs of leadand fire.”
Runatossed a stone into the coals. The rock sparked and snapped amongst the embers.
“Likemany here,” Runa said, “Tier and I were buried under a wall of ice. Some tooktheir children and hid in the forest. Others, too injured to move, the klops slaughtered with poisoned blades. Most were roundedup and taken into the mountains. Any help we could have afforded you went withthem.”
“Idon’t understand?” Cyrus said.
“Theoldest and wisest of our kind was Gammal,” Runaexplained, “If any of our people knew of this hune, itwould have been him, but he was taken with the rest.”
“Whatdo we do now?” Cyrus asked.
“Wehave no choice,” Fibian said, “We must find this Gammal.”
Cyrusswallowed hard.
“You’reright,” he said, “The hune is dying. My village iscrumbling. Rorroh will stop at nothing. There’s noturning back. We have to keep pushing forward.”
Edwardseemed to shrink ever so slightly in Cyrus’ hand.
“Itis suicide,” Runa said, “If two groups of yeti vanished, yeti that knew thesemountains like they knew their own faces, how do you plan to survive?”
“Thesame way we survived the Sea Zombie,” Cyrus replied, pulling his blanket upover his bony shoulders, “We’re tougher than we look.”
“Weare yeti,” Runa said, “We do not believe in prophecy or superstition. We believein what can be weighed and measured. If it were not for Skovenand my daughter, you three would already be dead. Never mind the klops and their leader, you would be hunted by wolves,trolls, and whatever else lurks up in those mountains. You would not last onenight.”
“Theywill if I guide them,” Tier said.
Runaturned on Tier, anger burning in her steady eyes.
“Youwould abandon your people over a fool’s errand?” she asked.
“Theyneed us,” Tier countered, “Our people need us. I’ve told you, we cannot hide downhere forever.”
“AndI’ve told you,” Runa growled, “that is not your decision to make. We need youhere. We do not even know if the others are still alive. And the one that leadsthe klops is a trickster. Who knows what sort ofweapons or traps await you in the mountains?”
“Wemust try,” Tier said, “What if the boy is the savior prophesied? What if this isour chance? We have not seen a klops hunting party inover a year. Hiding like rodents in this cave is no way for yeti to live.”
Runalooked around at her people. Cyrus’ gaze followed. He saw yeti with infants intheir arms, and youngsters, no larger than himself, emerge from the dark, clingingto their mother’s legs. The gravity of the earth above seemed to weigh heavy ontheir furry shoulders.
“Theprophecy also claims that the savior will become an eater of children,” Runasaid, “It says the savior will sacrifice a part of their soul to defeat the SeaZombie. Does that sound like a prophecy you wish to believe? I will
