The Lori Saga: Escape

Short Fiction Young Adult Science Fiction Fantasy

Hunted by evil, her only escape was to find the light, but her broken wings couldn't carry her to safety.

Why this tiny, suffering pixie was hunted by a monster troll seemed to be a simple urge - he needed to feed off her energy to keep living.

Only a few hours to daylight, when the troll had to sleep to avoid the burning rays of sunlight, or being found by Truth-Seekers and forever imprisoned in stone. After the sun rose, she could heal herself by bathing in sunlight and escape forever.

But why was this troll out of his territory and why was he hunting her? Not just his hunger, that much was certain.

The hungry troll could smell her, was close. And both were frantic to survive.The troll needed food, but she had a secret message to deliver.

And that one message could prevent humans as well as fairies from being enslaved to troll masters after losing the coming war...

Excerpt:

Lori the pixie ran through the forest, because her wings wouldn't carry her anymore. They were broken, useless until they healed.

Broken by Glum-Dun the troll, who continued to hunt her trail. It wasn't her size that mattered, it was how good she tasted, the power within her. That's what he fed on. Sheer power. Trolls wanted power, control. And they were bullies in their own world. If he could make a fast snack of her, he'd get her power in one gulp.

Here, away from other High forces, the fairy was in his element. He knew these dark forests and woods. All her folk were in the glades, the clearings, what humans called pastures. Where the sun shone through.

Eventually, without sunlight, pixies simply fade away to nothing. Forever.

Already she was starting to fade. Too long away from her kind. Too long running and hiding. At least now it was becoming light. Trolls hated light and would themselves hide as tree trunks or dead trees, fallen to the ground or maybe still standing. Light burned their skin and blinded them.

Lori could travel during the night, but she was tired. So very tired. All last night's running had taken its toll on her. She could hardly keep her eyes open. Even with this coming daylight.

For the moment, she had found a hollow tree that was still very alive on the outside. Within it, she climbed up to where a hollow limb had fallen away. There, she could see out and secret her self away from the world of trolls and dangers. If she made no sound, gave no sign, the troll could not smell her as well. Especially in this walnut tree. The reek of walnut made a troll's nose sneeze. Allergies. And so this tree covered her smell that way.

Sure, one sweep of his blade could bring this hollow tree down, shattering worse than a high wind. And often these storms were only cover for trolls and their destruction. But all that energy trolls used to dance and smash through the trees during the storm took its own toll. They would be tired, need to eat.

Trolls ate spirits. That's why trolls wanted pixies. Lori knew the stories of old. How Darkness was separated from Light. How they shared the worlds of humans and animals, living plants and sleeping rock.

Lori felt faint, so faint. And the thumping whumps of Glum-Dun's massive feet and his dull ax striking trees to scare her, all just kept her awake, kept her hidden away from him. But it also meant she was deep in this hollow tree, out of the light, out of the one source of healing power she needed.

Just a little while until daybreak.

If she still had enough energy to move by then, she might survive.