Page 71 of Enchanted in Time
Irmgard galloped up Rupertsberg as fast as she could. The path was steep and still made up of nothing but barren rock. The small, loose stones that were scattered about went tumbling down the mountainside when they were struck by Irmgard’s hooves. To the left and right of the path, the rocky terrain rose higher and higher so that the path leading up the mountain turned into a narrow strip.
“Got ‘em soon!” the forest gnomes squealed. “Must stop ‘em. Jump on its back and grab the woman!”
Hannah clung to Irmgard’s mane with one of her hands as she raised the other to strike. “I’ll throw you all down if you dare jump on Irmgard’s back!”
But the forest gnomes paid no heed. Hannah could sense something pulling at her ankle. She shook her leg and felt some invisible thing fall off. The next moment, one of the forest gnomes landed on the hand she was using to hold on tight. How could these tiny guys jump so high? And run so fast? With her free hand, she immediately bashed the place where she felt his weight, and he let out a loud wail as he tumbled down.
“Faster, Irmgard, faster!”
The unicorn clenched her teeth and galloped on up the mountainside. As she tensed all her muscles, she shimmered brighter and brighter. The forest gnomes that Hannah had felt both on and behind her fell off on their own, as though Irmgard’s magic had driven them off. Her hoofbeats quickened, and the gnomes could no longer follow.
“Wonderful, Irmgard!” Hannah praised her, patting her reassuringly on the neck. “We’re headed in the right direction!”
The earth trembled. A thundering sound echoed throughout the mountains. Was it coming from above? Or below? Hannah huddled closer to the unicorn and peered up and down the mountain but saw nothing.
The rocky substratum quaked, and loose debris slid down the path. “Stay away from the thunder.”Siegfried’s warning suddenly came to mind. “Irmgard, what is that?” Hannah asked.
“Probably one of the mountain trolls.”
“Mountain trolls?” Hannah’s eyes nearly popped right out of her head. How could that be? Why hadn’t the unicorn told her about them sooner? Had she forgotten?
The ground shook. There had to be a cave up ahead because a monster at least three times as tall and five times as wide as Hannah seemed to step out of the middle of the rock. His skin was a greenish color, his clothes were tattered, and his ears were huge. He was holding a giant club in the air and preparing to strike, as if he wanted to whack Hannah and Irmgard down the mountain like a baseball.
Irmgard suddenly hit the brakes. The troll took several more steps out of his cave and planted himself squarely in the middle of the narrow mountain path so that running past him was not an option.
“A troll?” yelled Hannah, who still could not believe it. “How are we supposed to get past him?”
The monster let out a loud roar that revealed a row of rotting teeth. The hair on the back of Hannah’s neck was standing on end, and she hugged the unicorn’s neck even tighter. “Irmgard, how do we deal with this troll?”
“We have to turn back!”
“No, we need the fireflower! Think of Prince Maximilian and the future of your herd! And without the flower, I can’t get back to my kids! I have to get up there!”
Irmgard hesitated as she looked at the troll. He made a hideous face, and when they didn’t shrink back, he stomped toward them, his footsteps thundering as he went.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground trembled. Hannah clung to Irmgard’s neck. “We have to get past him! We simply have to!”
“Hang on tight, Hannah!” the unicorn whispered and bounded ahead. The troll bellowed and raised his club. He spread himself out so far that they couldn’t squeeze between him and the wall of rock. Irmgard was forced to trot back a few steps.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The troll thundered closer.
Irmgard tried the other side. She dashed ahead, but with just two steps to the side, the monster had blocked the way to the left. Irmgard quickly leapt to the right and tried to dart past the troll, who had already raised his club to strike. She raced onward, and the club hit one of her hind hooves. Her hind legs gave way as she neighed in pain. Hannah started to slide down over her tail, but the unicorn struggled to her feet and galloped past the troll, who once more raised his club to strike. This time, the blow came down on the barren rocky ground, and the thunderous crash echoed throughout the mountains as if the troll had let out a bloodcurdling scream. On the misty horizon, the ravens flapped their wings and cawed loudly across the mountainscape as though they were calling someone. Up they flew, where they circled around in the air above Hannah and Irmgard.
“Quick, Irmgard, just a little farther!”
They managed to get a few paces away from the troll, who seemed far too lumbering to chase them. He let out a fierce roar from behind them. Irmgard’s strength was failing, so Hannah immediately jumped off her back. She wanted to look at theinjured hoof, but as soon as she dismounted, the troll began to move again and came thundering up the path.
Without Hannah’s extra weight, Irmgard was able to fight her way forward. Hannah ran alongside her, and the unicorn managed to keep up. The troll was slower. The distance between them increased, but the ravens kept circling around up above, and their loud cawing never ceased, as if they were trying to draw all the forces of the Evil to where they were.
“Keep going, Irmgard, you’re doing great!” Hannah said, praising her. She knew from her kids that praise could awaken unsuspected powers. She looked ahead to where the rockface leveled out on either side of the path. Maybe they were close to the top! “Look! I think we’re almost there!”
“Hannah...” a dark voice murmured in her mind. “Hannah...”
Oh, for God’s sake—it was the voice of the Evil. It was here. It wanted to seduce her again, to lure her to it.
“Hannah, come to me. I will bring you to your children. They’re crying and calling for you. Leon is terribly afraid.”
