Fiction: Pixie Problems #1

Cyndi tried not to let out a scream as she stubbed her toe, again. Any stray sound would unravel the whole plan. Get in, get out, take as much as you can carry…quietly.

Cara was struggling with that last part. Every rock, every brush of slime on the walls sent her muttering under her breath. So far the pixies still seemed oblivious to their trespassing.

The cave wound downwards in a gentle slope, which Cyndi’s knees were grateful for. The darkness was absolute, but both women had trained themselves to operate without vision. Or mostly.

A tiny cough made Cyndi spin on her heel. Cara had tried her best to muffle it, but it still echoed in the vast tunnel.

“It’s the damp.” was all Cara could manage before releasing a cough that managed to reverberate off all walls. Both women froze, holding their breath and waiting for the sound of hundreds of wings beating.

Cara dropped her bag and began searching through it as quietly as she could. Cyndi kept her eye on the darkness above them, as though that would help her to hear.

“I can feel the cough coming back. There are lozenges here. I’m gonna risk a light for a sec.”

Before Cyndi could reach out and smack her friend, Cara had her torch lit, its beam radiating throughout the tunnel. They froze as the sight of hundreds of pixies, no taller than a hand came into view. Iridescent wings reflected the light on the huddled mass. Each slept upside down and intertwined with the roots that hung from above. They were like adorable dolls, just with fangs and a taste for adrenaline.

Adrenaline like what was coursing through Cyndi. She swatted at Cara, who turned off the torch. Both began to shuffle, though in opposite directions. They had come too far, or so Cara though. Cyndi was thinking of her Aunt, who had opened a nest of pixies and could no longer see the color purple. They were capable of much worse. Cyndie didn’t think the treasure horde was worth the risk. Cara had gone on ahead.

Cyndi sighed, then stubbed her toe. Hard. She tried to bite off the growl with no success. She saw the outline of Cara frantically waving at her as the glowing eyes of the pixies opened one by one. The cavern was illuminated and the women could see just how huge this colony was. Then the light descended.

The swarm encircled them, biting and spitting as they darted out of reach. Cara pulled a can from her bag and began to spray a putrid cloud around them, which set them shrieking and made them recede a short distance.

“That’s disgusting. Get the bats.”

They each  held a wand with a splayed end, the gemstone center pulsed as they brought it down on the pixies. The swarm returned as they swatted. Each one they hit was rendered unconscious, but still their numbers refused to thin.

The cavern turned warm as a sudden wind came up from below. The shrieking increased and the pixies flew so fast they almost carried Cyndi away with them. Hundreds of wings clicked and the glowing eyes disappeared up the tunnel, leaving the women in the darkness again. Darkness that was getting warmer.

“Cara, I”m leaving. As should you. Now.” Cyndi turned and strode off after the pixies. Cara protested but the bobbing torchlight caught up eventually. Which was good, as Cyndi had no idea how she would have told Cara’s husband she’d been eaten by a dragon.