Elves of Olympus: Chapter Ten and Epilogue

     Tiyana, Allan jr., Matthew, and Olympus sat on a bench waiting for their parents to arrive. Well, the teenagers sat on the bench. Olympus sat on Tiyana's feet which were now thoroughly asleep. Malcolm paced the front hall of his house. The three teens were being held for ransom and both Abby and Allan had received notices of this development.   

    Abby was the first to arrive so Malcolm met with her first. She agreed to Malcolm's terms quite quickly and Matthew was released, but he asked his mom to wait till the other two were released. 

    Allan was a little bit later, but to Malcolm it was worth the wait. 

    Tiyana watched her Father arrive and Malcolm dropped the book he was holding. Both men stared at each other in shock for a full minute before Malcolm spoke.

    "Allan?" He asked in a hesitant voice. Allan remained quiet but smiled. 

    "Allan!" Malcolm exclaimed in an excited voice. He ran over and pulled Allan into a hug. 

    "I've missed you so much." Malcolm said.

    "I've missed you too." Allan replied getting down on his knees so that Malcolm could look down into his son's face, for Allan was Malcolm's oldest son which made Malcolm Tiyana and Allan jr.'s grandfather though they didn't know that at the moment. 

    It was at this point that Malcolm started to cry. 

    After a very long slightly awkward moment, Malcolm let go of Allan and Allan stood up. Tiyana moved Olympus off her feet and stood up as well. She cleared her throat and Allan looked her way. He motioned her, and Allan jr., over. She walked over there. Olympus followed and sat on Allan's feet this time. 

    "Father," Allan said. "I want you to meet Tiyana. She's my daughter." Malcolm smiled. 

    "We've met." Malcolm said.

    "By that he means Allan and I followed him around for about a day." Tiyana said. "Olympus followed you too." She stroked the bison's head and Olympus drooled on the floor. 

    "Now I know who the bison is." Allan said. "Just so you know, the other animals are trying to rebel." 

    "I thought I told Andy how to feed them though." Tiyana said.

    "He's not currently home though." Allan said.*

    "You'll need to explain that later." Tiyana said. 

    "I will." Allan said.

    The group of six, this was counting Abby and Matthew who apparently were related to Tiyana's family as well, arrived in the parking lot of the Hoh Rainforest. Allan led the way to the little hidden village far away from any trails. Kyra was sitting on the back steps looking utterly perplexed, worried, and slightly mad. Allan let Tiyana go first so that Kyra would maybe not go fetch Calliope, the family bread monster who was happily chewing on Allan's sword at this time. 

    Allan introduced Kyra to both Malcolm and Abby and then reunited his brother Andrew with their long lost Father and introduced him to Abby. Akaia was home from her world tour and was cuddling Jeff the monkey who was a complete surprise to Allan and Kyra who didn't know about Jeff because Tiyana had been caring for him. 

    Mr. Fluffers and Lady Fluffy, Allan and Kyra's Pomeranians, had also found their way to the little village with their five puppies. 

    Tiyana smiled. It certainly felt like home with all the chaos that Jeff and Olympus, who was happily trying to eat Kyra's hair, had brought. 

    "Home, crazy home." Tiyana thought.

Epilogue

    Trevor McCallister sat behind his new desk. He was now in charge of the project the Malcolm had started. He, Trevor, was going to destroy the Elves and help his older brother, Travis, get his revenge. And the thing was, Trevor knew exactly where to start.

The End

*This will be explained in a later book currently called Rock of Glass Canyon.

Elves of Olympus: Chapter Nine

     Tiyana woke gasping for breath. Allan jr. and Olympus both stood over her. 

    "Did you pull me out?" Tiyana asked her younger cousin.

    "No." Allan jr. replied. "Your bison did." Tiyana grinned and hugged Olympus. The bison returned her affection with much drooling and a light head-butt.  

    "I've found Him by the way." Allan jr. said.

    "You did?" Tiyana asked startling a slobbery bison calf who was snacking on her hair. 

    "Yes." Allan jr. replied. "He has a meeting today and I was thinking maybe if you could get close to the door, then you could listen to his conversation."

    "Good idea." Tiyana said jumping up. "I'm cold and wet though."

    "You'll dry." Allan jr. said. "C'mon!" He started running in the direction of Sequim. Tiyana ran after him. 

    They arrived in good time and Allan jr. directed Tiyana in the direction of the building that the meeting was to take place in. Tiyana entered the building and wished Andy was with her. 

    She starting listening at all the doors until she found what she was looking for. There were two men behind the door she was crouching by. The man she had been searching for was behind the door. He was talking about the rainforest and a demolition date. This was obviously the end of the meeting though.

    "Good," said one man. "I don't want to keep you too long." 

    "I appreciate the thought." The man who wanted to destroy the rainforest said. 

    The door opened and Tiyana hid behind a convenient giant plant. The man who exited had mostly gray hair but you could tell that it had been red at one point. He was average height for a human and was walking with a purpose. Tiyana followed him to find out where he was going.  Allan jr. joined her as did Olympus, who had acquired bison hiccups. 

    The man stopped at a car, opened the door on the driver's side, and received a phone call from some unknown accomplice. The man answered the phone.

    'What do you want, Ernest?" The man asked. Tiyana and Allan jr. forced a reluctant hiccuping bison into the back of the car.

    "You have him, but he's actually hanging off a cliff with Trevor McCallister's sharks hanging out below?" The man said. Tiyana and Allan jr. joined Olympus. Tiyana shut the door and blocked out the rest  of the conversation. 

    Eventually, the man got in the car and drove off with all three stowaways.

    The man parked the car in a parking lot at a location that Tiyana had not known about. The man got out as did the three stowaways. The man met up with three other men who showed him to the edge of a cliff some ways up the trail at a place called the Viewpoint. 

    Tiyana watched one of the men, a tallish man with brown hair, pull Matthew up onto solid ground again.

    "Ah, yes," the man said. "The boy. Matthew isn't it?"

    "Yes." Matthew gasped out. He was breathing hard from his stay over the side of the cliff.

    "Nice name." The man said.

    "Thank you?" Matthew said unsure of what the man was getting too. "What do you want?"

    "We want to know" Another of the men growled. He was short with gray hair and a prominent scar on his arm. "Why two teenagers and a bison have been following Malcolm."  

    

Elves of Olympus: Chapter Eight

    Kyra kicked the legs of her chair loudly so as to annoy everyone in the room. Allan managed to stop her with a light quick kick on her shin. She kicked him back and sulked in her chair for about eighteen minutes before starting to kick the legs of her chair again. 

    Part of Kyra's personality included her tendency to annoy people when she was bored. And right now, Kyra was stuck in a meeting. Henceforth, She was very bored. Bored enough to start throwing things. Specifically at Allan who had the power to stop the meeting. She threw jellybeans at him. Kyra at first threw one about once a minute. Then she threw two. Then seven. Then twelve. Then a handful consisting of thirty-seven jellybeans. All licorice flavor. They were a shared dislike of Kyra and Allan's along with dwarves, McCallister, and Kyra's tendencies during meetings. 

    The thirty-seven jellybeans all hit Allan which meant Kyra received another light kick under the table. This was not the first tactic Kyra had tried during the meeting. She had kicked her chair and Allan, sharpened a knife quite loudly, stuck the knife in the wall behind her, and fallen asleep. Allan's only response was a light kick which was becoming very painful. Somehow, Allan had kicked the exact same spot every time and Kyra was certain there would be a bruise there by the time the meeting was over.

    Sparrow, the leader of the Tonga tribe, continued reading quicker now.

    The door opened. Softball trotted over to Allan and pawed his pant leg. She then tried to jump into his lap. Allan returned the kitten to the floor. Softball tried Kyra who let the kitten get up into her lap. In fact, Kyra started petting the kitten in such a way that Softball started purring. Loudly. 

    "Can I draw on the blackboard?" Kyra whispered to Allan. 

    "No." Allan whispered back.

    "Can I draw on the blackboard?" Kyra repeated.

    "No." Allan said again. "Please don't ask again." Kyra frowned.

    "May I pretty please draw on the blackboard?" Kyra tried to make herself look like she had only innocent intentions, which of course she didn't. 

    "Fine." Allan said. Kyra slipped out of her seat and carried Softball over to the blackboard.

    Kyra stared at the board trying to decide whether to fulfill her plan or to draw bored faces all over the blackboard. She went with fulfilling her plan. So she set Softball on the blackboard on the board and left the room. 

    Softball wanted to get down of course. But she didn't know how. So she dug her claws into the blackboard and ended up sliding down it, her claws leaving long scratches behind. 

    Elves have very sensitive hearing so all of them were soon huddled under the table, hands over their ears. All that is except for Allan. Being half human may have had something to do with it, but whatever the reason, he just in his seat, head in his hands. 

    Softball dropped to the floor with a thump.

    Once the catastrophe was over, Allan retrieved the cat and opened the door. Sure enough, Kyra was right outside the door trying, and failing, to look innocent.

    "Would you care to explain?" He asked while handing Kyra the freaked out kitten. "And you're telling Tiyana why her cat is freaked out." Kyra only grinned and ran off to find Alicia. Allan returned to the meeting house. 

    Once the meeting was over, Allan decided to take a long walk. Normally, Tiyana would've accompanied him, but she was who knows where trying to save the forest with her cousin and a human boy from a town that was probably very small. Allan sighed and sat down on a fallen tree. He missed Tiyana. There was no doubt about it. Besides, her animals were out of control, as was Akaia's monkey Jeff but that's a different story, and Tiyana was the only one who knew what they would need.

    Allan sat on the fallen tree until a messenger came across him and handed him a note. Allan read the note and made a quick decision based off of a time stamp in the corner. His only regret was that Kyra wouldn't be happy when he got back. 

Elves of Olympus: Chapter Seven

    Malcolm groaned. Business was boring. Sure he now owned six of the National Parks and yes, he was well on his way to getting revenge, but nothing would get his family back and that was the only thing he wanted in the whole world. He chewed his fingernails, like he had when he was a boy, thinking of that fateful day. His wife, two sons, and daughter had been killed by Elves. So, Malcolm had vowed that unless he was reunited with his dead family, he would work to destroy the Elves of Earth and every single other world. 

    He threw a book at the door of his office. This alerted his 

    "Do you need anything, Sir?" Wilson asked. 

    "No Wilson," Malcolm said. "You can return to your post." Wilson nodded and shut the office door. 

    Malcolm went back over the list of things he had to do. Visit lawyer, hire demolition expert, hire architect, choose demolition date, design apartment buildings. It was a lot. But it would work. He would get his revenge on those cruel Elves. For now, he had meetings to attend to. Like the one with his lawyer in half an hour. So Malcolm grabbed his cloak, he didn't own a coat so he used a cloak from the happy days, threw it over his shoulders, and left his house. He got into his car and drove into Sequim to see his lawyer. 

    After the trip to see his lawyer, Malcolm had an appointment with Pete R. Maxwell. Pete was the best demolitioner in the city. It helped that he was the only one in Sequim.

    After that meeting, Malcolm went to see Pete's brother, Will. Will was the best, and only, architect in Sequim. 

    The meetings went very smoothly and Malcolm was pleased with the outcome. The demolition date was July 23rd. August 24th was the day for construction to begin. His plans for revenge had finally begun. 

Elves of Olympus: Chapter Six

    Matthew climbed out of his car. He was in the Cape Flattery parking lot and it was crowded. How in the world was he supposed to find the "boss" if he didn't even know what the "boss" looked like? Matthew didn't know anything about this guy other than the fact that he wanted to get rid of the Elves and he knew where they were and how he would get rid of them.

    Another car pulled up next to Matthew's. Out stepped a man about four and a half feet tall with graying hair, gray eyes, and what looked to be either a permanent frown or a permanent sneer. 

    "Trevor," the second man said. "Why are we here?"

    "I've told you, Ernest," Trevor said in a deep gravelly voice. "We're looking for clues to help my brother in his revenge quest and we're helping the boss out."

    "Why did I let myself get pulled into his revenge quest in the first place?" Ernest said mainly to himself. "I have a life of my own now. I don't need to help him get revenge. Where is he anyway?"

    "Last I heard," Trevor said. "Travis was hunting down members of the old rebellion that defeated the emperor. He was on the tail of the explosive one for a time but his main target is the one he referred to as Cethiya."

    "Oh," Ernest said as though he was finally putting two and two together and getting four. "Him. Makes sense. The two are mortal enemies. McCallister would most certainly be hunting him down."

    "I've asked you to call him Travis instead of our last name." Trevor said. "Also, why are they mortal enemies? I thought they worked together."

    "They did for a little bit." Ernest said. "I've heard that a blond Elf and a sense of right and wrong got in the way."

    "Elves are tricky creatures." Trevor said. "Especially that one. I've heard of her before. What does Cethiya mean?"

    "It's Elvish for hope I think." Ernest said.

    "What would you do if you could get your hands on the Elf right now?" Trevor asked.

    "Nothing." Ernest said. "I have given up that life. I don't even know what I'm doing here."

    "I'd say hold her for ransom." Trevor said.

    "Your brother would kill her." Ernest said. 

    "Yeah." Trevor said. "I actually think things through unlike Travis. Besides, I'm not my brother. He is." Trevor pointed at a man coming closer. Matthew noticed that the newcomer looked a lot like Trevor only with more scars--the most prominent of which was a scar on his arm that could be seen because the man wore a sleeveless shirt--less hair, and he was half a foot shorter. 

    "Travis!" Trevor exclaimed happily if someone evil can actually be happy.

    "Trevor," Travis grunted. "And Ernest. Didn't expect to see you here."

    "Hello to you too, McCallister." Ernest greeted his old ally. "How have you been?"

    "Bored." Travis said. "I haven't managed to get my hands on Cethiya yet. But I will find him if it's the last thing I do. Since he turned on us, I've just wanted to finish him off."

"I understand." Ernest said. "Now remind me what the new boss wants us to do so I can get it done and go home."

    "Find the boy and get rid of him." Trevor said. "The boy's messing in something he should have left well alone."

    "What about the girl?" Ernest asked.

    "The boss wants her alive." Trevor said.

    "Well let's go." Travis said grinning evilly. The three men walked off down the trail. Matthew stared after them. Clearly, they were not from Earth. Matthew decided to follow them, making sure to keep a good distance behind them.

    The men reached the end of the trail and climbed up to the viewpoint. Matthew went around to the side of the viewpoint and listened.

    All of a sudden, he was pushed from behind. He lost his footing and fell off the cliff. He managed to grab on to a handy rock ledge but he was left hanging with no way to get back up.

    That's when the sharks arrived. 

Elves of Olympus: Chapter Five

    Tiyana hissed angrily. Not only were she and Allan jr. lost and hadn't found anything, but Matthew had called to report that he was following a lead. Sure Matthew was nice but Tiyana hated the fact that she had been passed up by a human of all creatures. She did forget to reckon with the fact that she was 3/4 human. 

    Allan jr. looked up.

    "What's made you angry, Tiyana?" He asked. Tiyana frowned.

    "Tiyana," Allan jr. said. "What's wrong?"

    "Matthew's on to something." She said. "And we haven't found anything."

    "We could always head to where Matthew's going and catch up with him." Allan jr. said.

    "Why didn't I think of that?" Tiyana thought. Out loud she said, "What would we do without you?"

    "Actually," Allan jr. said. "We should split up. I'll check out the city and you go find Matthew." 

    "Sure." Tiyana said. "You take the cell phone. I'll have Matthew call you when I get there." 

    "Deal." Allan jr. said.

    Right as Tiyana was about to go, Matthew called again.

    "Here." Allan jr. tossed the phone to Tiyana. She caught it and answered it.

    "Hello?" She said.

    "Hey." Came Matthew's voice through the device.

    "I'm headed your way, so this had better be good." Tiyana said. 

    "Good." Matthew said. "I admit, I could use the help. Are both of you coming?"

    "No," Tiyana said."Allan is staying here."

    "Okay." Matthew said.

    "What do you need?" Tiyana asked.

    "I have a warning." Matthew said. "A bison and her calf broke out of the Olympic Game Farm and are on the loose. Be careful and keep an eye out for them." 

    "Okay." Tiyana said. "See you in a few hours."

    "Alright." Matthew said. He hung up. 

    "Here." Tiyana tossed Allan jr. the phone. He caught it.

    "See you later." Allan jr. said.

    "Yeah." Tiyana said. "Let Matthew know if you find something and Matthew will fill me in when I find him." She smiled.

    Tiyana turned and left her cousin to check out Sequim by himself.

    Tiyana had been walking for a little while when she came upon a man with a metal device of some kind. (Matthew had shown her a picture of it and had called it a gun.) The man was smiling. He was tall, though not as tall as Tiyana, with short blond hair, blue eyes, and something that Matthew had called glasses. 

    "Where ya goin'?" He asked.

    "None of your business." Tiyana said.

    "What's your name?" He asked. "Folks arounds here calls me Destructive Alvin."

    "Also none of your business." Tiyana said.

    "Just as a heads up," The man said. "There's a dead bison up the road. I shot it meself. I'm just goin' to get some help to moves it. Wanna come?" 

    "No," Tiyana said. "Good day sir." And with that she left Destructive Alvin behind. 

    Sure enough, a couple miles down the road, Tiyana came upon a dead bison. It was huge. It was six feet tall at the shoulders, somewhere in between nine and ten feet long, and was female. It was the female bison Matthew had warned her about. But where was the calf Matthew had mentioned?

    A sound caught Tiyana's attention. Off to the side, in the woods, a bison calf was snorting and snuffling looking for its mother who was lying dead a few feet away. 

    "Come here little guy," Tiyana called to the bison calf. "Come here."

    Now everyone knows that fairies are good with animals. This is more or less a lie. Elves are good with animals. Fairies are good with mythical creatures like Pegasi, Unicorns, and Muskrats. Elves are good with creatures that do live on Earth like wolves, deer, grizzly bears, dragons, and bison.

    "Come here you stubborn little Earthling creature." Tiyana said. The bison lay down. Tiyana sighed and walked over to it. (Bad example.)

    "Get up," Tiyana said trying to push the calf back up. Finally, she succeeded. But it wasn't because she was pushing the calf. There was a wolf nearby. And not just any wolf. It was the wolf that Tiyana had shot to rescue Softball. (Again, bad example.) Obviously, the wolf recognized her. The wolf advanced slowly forcing Tiyana to back up until she was up against a tree. The bison cowered next to her.

    The wolf had a slight limp because it wouldn't put its front left leg down. Part of an arrow shaft was still stuck in the left shoulder area. It growled and Tiyana threw her arms around the calf, shutting her eyes tight. 

    Suddenly, a shot rang out. Tiyana opened her eyes and saw the wolf lying down in front of her. Off to the side stood Destructive Alvin, smoking gun in hand.

    "I suggest ye gets outa here," He said. "Now go okay?" Tiyana nodded and stood up. The calf followed her back onto the road.

    Eventually, Tiyana named the bison calf Olympus because of the largest mountain in Olympic National Park. 

    They cut through the forest away from the road to travel by a river. That is, until Tiyana was pushed from behind. She fell into the freezing cold water. Everything went black. 

Elves of Olympus: Chapter Four Part Two

    They stood in silence. No one dared to be the first to leave the safety of the wooded clearing. Finally, Matthew came up with a better idea then walking all the way back to his house.

    "Tiyana," He said. "Do you know where the Ranger Station is?" 

    "Yes," She answered. "Why?"

    "I have an idea," Matthew said. "But you need to get us to the Ranger Station." Tiyana nodded.

    Once they made it to the Ranger Station, and Tiyana had arranged her hair to hide the fact that she was an Elf, Matthew called his mom, Abby, and asked her to come pick him up.

    She arrived and was quite relieved to see Matthew. When she caught sight of the two redheads behind him, she became confused. Matthew saw the confused look and hurriedly explained.

    "This is Tiyana and her cousin Allan." He said. "They need to go to Port Angeles and I said they could come with us."

    "Fine with me." Abby said. "All three of you pile in the back." She pointed to a white pickup truck. "I have some important papers and boxes in the passenger seat." The three teenagers climbed into the back and Allan sat in between his cousin and Matthew. 

    They had only been on the road for twenty minutes when the questions came. It was a new record for Abby who had, in the past, only made it through thirteen minutes without asking at least one question.

    "So," Abby said. "Where are you two from?" The question was directed at Tiyana and Allan.

    "Ty-" Allan tried to speak but Tiyana clamped her hand over his mouth. He licked her hand and she pulled it back hurriedly.

    "What?" Abby asked. "I didn't catch that."

    "Tiyana is from around here," Allan said. "And I'm from, uh....."

    "Richland." Matthew whispered.

    "Yeah." Allan said. "That's right. Richland."

    "Oh!" Abby said. "You're from Richland? You must have been tired after that drive. Was it pretty?"

    "Yeah." Allan said. "Let's go with that." Tiyana elbowed him slightly but Abby didn't seem to notice. She had turned her attention back on her son.

    "Why have you been missing for a couple days, Matthew?" Abby asked. "I was worried when you didn't call me." Matthew looked at the ground. He knew that Abby would think he was crazy if he told her why he hadn't shown up Monday evening. Who would believe that he had been held captive by a creature out of the Lord of the Rings? 

    "Okay." Abby said. "Now then. Wold you both like to join us for dinner?" This last sentence was directed at Tiyana and Allan.

    "Sure!" Tiyana said. "We would love too."

    "Great!" Abby said. They rode in silence for a little while until Matthew saw the road exit for Forks.

    "Are any of you hungry?" Abby asked. "I thought we'd stop if any of you want anything."

    "Sure." Matthew said. Both redheads nodded.

    "What do you want?" Abby asked. "I'll let you get anything you want." 

    "Are there jellybeans?" Tiyana asked.

    "Of course!" Abby said. "I've never been to a gas station that didn't have jellybeans."

    "We'll have jellybeans." Tiyana said gesturing to her and Allan.

    "Cheese filled pretzels." Matthew said.

    "Okay." Abby said. She parked at a gas station and went in.

    "Where is this Richland?" Tiyana asked as soon as Abby was out of earshot. Matthew reached around the passenger seat and into the glove compartment. He pulled out a map of Washington state and returned to his seat. Matthew unfolded the map and pointed to the name Tri-Cities in the South Eastern section of Washington. 

    "This is Richland." Matthew said. "It's about an eight hour drive from Port Angeles. Also, it's a desert. It gets up to triple digits for degrees in the summer."

    "I meant to ask you earlier," Tiyana said, "But what's a drive?"

    "We've been on a drive since we left the Ranger Station." Matthew told her. 

    "Oh." Tiyana said. Tiyana and Allan continued asking questions and Matthew answered them until Abby returned.

    "Here you go." She handed Allan and Tiyana four bags of jellybeans each and Matthew four bags of cheese filled pretzels. Matthew could tell that the Elf and her cousin really liked jellybeans. Make that basically loved jellybeans.

       They drove in silence while the three teenagers were content to just munch on snacks. Eventually, Abby had to rebreak the silence.

    "Do you guys do any sports or physical activities?" Abby asked.

    "I climb trees, my Father's helping me with my swordsmanship, and my Mother's helping me perfect my archery." Tiyana said. 

    "That's nice," Abby said. "Matthew plays soccer so he does a lot of running and kicking." Matthew could feel himself blushing.

    "What do you think of the peninsula so far?" Abby asked Allan.

    "I like it." He answered.

    Abby pulled into the driveway and parked the truck in front of Matthew's house.

    "We're here!" Abby exclaimed. "Come on in!" The teenagers did. They were soon sitting around a table with steaming bowls of butternut squash soup. 

    "This is amazing!" Tiyana said.

    "It's just the standard recipe." Abby said blushing slightly at the praise.

    "It's better than anything my mother makes." Tiyana said. "She once thought that the abbreviation of tablespoon stood for cup." The Elf smiled at the thought.

    Dessert was also great. (It was just ice cream). Afterwards, when Abby was singing to herself in the kitchen while she washed the dishes, the three teenagers huddled around the table and Matthew pulled out a map.

    "I'll look around the National Park," Matthew whispered. "Could you guys check out Sequim and the surrounding area?"

    "Yeah." Allan said. Tiyana shrugged.

    "Okay." Matthew said. "We'll start bright and early in the morning."

    "Agreed." Tiyana said. "Just one problem. How will we know if you find something out or vice versa?"

    "I don't know." Matthew said thoughtfully. "I mean, we could always choose a time and place to meet at. Or we could get you cell phone. That would always work." 

    "A what?" Tiyana asked. 

    "A cell phone." Matthew said. "We should have an old one around here somewhere." He started rummaging in a box. Eventually, he found what he was looking for.

    The teenagers spent the rest of the evening with the cell phone. Matthew taught the two redheads how to use it so that they could keep in touch.

    Thursday morning dawned dull and rainy. Still, the plans continued.

    Around eleven, Matthew arrived at the Hoh Rainforest. He decided to see what he could find on the trails. Specifically the loop from which he had first seen Tiyana.

    Matthew had been on the trail for fifteen minutes when he heard what he was looking for. Two men off to the side were talking in hushed voices. 

    "Okay." Man number one said. "That sounds good." He had a gravelly voice that sounded like it belonged to a bad guy. 

    "Where are we going to meet the boss?" Man number two said. He had a smoother voice that didn't sound human.

    "A place called Cape Flattery." Gravelly voice said. "Do you know where that is?"

    "No." Unhuman voice said.

    "You are worthless." Gravelly voice said. "C'mon."

    Matthew turned around quickly and ran back to his car. He was soon on his way to Cape Flattery.

Elves of Olympus: Chapter Four Part One

    Matthew couldn't believe his luck. Tuesday night had come along with the feeling that he wasn't going to escape. Then around midnight, the girl he had seen had cut him loose! He stared at the girl in surprise.

    "You are going to take me to the man who wants to tear down my home." She said calmly and quietly.

    "Poor girl." Matthew thought. "She must think I know him."

    "Um," He started.

    "Tiyana." The girl said.

    "Well um, Tiyana," Matthew said. "I don't know where he is though. Or who he is." He waited for Tiyana to pin him to the wall. She didn't. She did something much worse.

    "Then we're going to find him." She said. "Together." Matthew swallowed hard.

    They walked through the house quietly until they ran into a boy of about fourteen with red hair and blue eyes. Tiyana was carrying a lantern so Matthew could see where he was going.

    "Where do you think you're going?" The boy asked. Tiyana frowned.

    "Allan," She said. "Please move. We're going to save the forest from being torn down." The boy didn't budge.

    "I'm coming too." He said.

    "Fine." Tiyana said. Matthew must've looked confused because Tiyana quickly explained.

    "My stubborn fourteen year old cousin, Allan." She said. "He was named after my father just like my brother Andrew was named after his father." Matthew nodded. 

    "He was going to come anyways." Tiyana said.

    "We should probably go if we want to get out of here by dawn." Matthew said. Tiyana looked confused but took the lead.

    Tiyana led the boys through parts of the forest you don't see while hiking. Matthew took all of it in so he could tell his dad next time they saw each other.

    "What's dawn?" Tiyana asked once they were away from the village. Matthew stared at her in amazement. In all his life, he had never met anyone who didn't know what dawn was. Knowing what dawn is was instinctive, like knowing when your mom is making something delicious in the kitchen.

    "Dawn is the time of day when the sun rises." Matthew said. "When the sky starts to get light." She frowned.

    "We call it New Sun." She said. "'Cause it's the start of a new day."

    "Weird," Matthew said.

    When the sun poked through the dense leaf covering, Matthew got a better look at the two cousins. Tiyana was dressed in brown pants and a short sleeve green shirt. She wore a dappled green cloak and wore thin shoes that were more like slippers then real shoes. Her long red hair was down except for the front two locks on either side which were held back by a piece of green fabric. She was also an Elf.

    Allan had red hair and blue eyes like his cousin. He was dressed in a dark green long sleeve shirt and black pants. He wasn't quite as tall as Tiyana either.

    The three of them made it to the edge of the forest. The boys ran out into the open air but Tiyana stayed leave the safety of the trees.

    "What's wrong?" Matthew asked.

    "As long as I've been on Earth," She said, "I've never left the forest." 

    "As long as I've been on Earth. What did that mean?" Matthew thought.

    The Elf looked behind her once more before stepping out into the sunlight. She smiled. Now that they were all in the open, Matthew noted the fact that he was clearly the palest of the three.

    "We should split up." Allan suggested. "We'll cover more ground that way."

    "If that's the case," Matthew said. "Then we'll have need to plan where we're going to go. Let's go to Port Angeles and make a plan."

    "Where's that?" Tiyana asked.

    "It's eighty-one miles from the Ranger Station or a two and a half hour drive." Matthew answered. "It will take it even longer on foot. I do have my driver's license though. If we can get back to Port Angeles then I can borrow my mom's car and take the longest route." 

    "But for now we walk?" Allan asked.

    "For now we walk." Matthew said dejectedly. They stood in silence. No one dared to be the first to leave the safety of the wooded clearing. Finally, Matthew came up with a better idea then walking all the way back to his house.

    "Tiyana," He said. "Do you know where the Ranger Station is?"

Elves of Olympus: Chapter Three

    Tiyana sat on her bed, sniffling slightly with Mr. Snuffles her venomless rattlesnake draped over her shoulders. It was Tuneday morning and she had not slept well wondering what was going to happen to her.

    About an hour before high sun, Allan came into the room and sat down next to her on the bed. He put his arm around her and Tiyana burst into tears crying into his shoulder for the next fifteen minutes.

    When she finally stopped crying, Tiyana looked at her father and asked the one question on her mind.

    "What's going to happen to me?" She asked.

    "Nothing actually," Allan replied. Tiyana stared at him. 

    "Why not?" She asked.

    "Well, because we now have some much needed very important information." Allan looked at her. "Apparently, someone has bought our rainforest and plans to tear it down and build stuff in its place." He hesitated. "I probably shouldn't have told you that. Ky's not going to be happy." He looked at the ground. "Someone wants to see you." Tiyana looked down just in time to see her rescued four month old cat, Softball jump into her lap, disturbing Mr. Snuffles. Tiyana smiled and stroked the little kitten.

    Tiyana remembered finding Softball about three months earlier. Allan had taken her hunting for Elk, which was plentiful in the forest. They had been out for several hours, and had still not found anything, when Tiyana had heard little meows coming from behind a fallen tree. She had leapt onto the trunk of the cedar and had seen a black kitten with white paws and a white muzzle with a little pink nose. It was being circled by a wolf. Tiyana had shot the wolf using her bow, sending the gray beast slinking off into the forest. Tiyana had then made her way to the kitten and had picked it up. The small bundle of fur was very soft. Tiyana had named it Softball for that reason. 

    Softball hadn't changed much. She was still black with white paws, a white muzzle, and a little pink nose. The only thing different was that she now wore a blue collar that Tiyana had hand-made for the kitten.

    Looking down at the four month old now, Tiyana made a mental note to make a new collar to replace the old blue one.

    Allan smiled and stroked the kitten's head. Softball purred contentedly.

    "Your Aunt and Uncle arrived this morning, a little later than they had originally planned." Allan said.

    "Oh, right!" Tiyana exclaimed jumping up and disturbing a now irritated Softball.

    Allan's brother Andrew and Andrew's wife Alicia were the most frequent visitors from Tyro. According to Tiyana and her brothers, they were two of the most interesting. The other was Kyra's cousin Sierra who was known as Auntie Sierra or the one who blew stuff up. 

    Andrew looked exactly like his older brother. He was tall, with flaming red hair and blue eyes. The only differences were height, Allan was taller, and Allan's eyes were a little more mischievous. 

    Alicia was the shortest in the room at the moment. She had long hair that was yellow at the top and progressed to a beautiful red color at the end. She also had bright blue eyes.

    "Hi Aunt Alicia," Tiyana said hugging Alicia. "And Uncle Andrew." Andrew pulled her into a hug.

    "When did you get so tall?" He asked.

    "When I found out you were coming to visit." Tiyana answered. Andrew grinned.

    "You're so much like your father." He said. "With lots of your mother's personality." He added looking at Kyra. Kyra punched him lightly in the shoulder. Mr. Snuffles prodded Tiyana's foot. She picked up her snake and Kyra retreated to behind Allan.

    "So," Kyra said. "What's new in S'moresville since you were last here?"

    "Oh nothing much," Alicia said. "Sierra blew up Mira's house. Mira started, and finished, a fight with one dwarf and seventeen other people.. Lyssam discovered an old armory full of swords. Lucy explored more of the forest. Kyren shot a bullseye. Tokyo babysat. And we finished off the bread you gave us several months ago." She turned to Allan. "Why you let her cook is beyond me." 

    "She's a work in progress." Allan said. It was his turn to be punched in the shoulder by Kyra. 

    "I'm going to find the others." Tiyana said. And so she left the room to find her brothers and five cousins.

    The rest of the day went smoothly.

    That night, Tiyana followed Kyra into the boys' room. Kyra made sure both boys were completely ready for bed. Andrew and Kyren had expected this so there was not much to do.

    "Goodnight boys." Kyra said.

    "Goodnight, Mother." Andrew said.

    "Goodnight." Kyren said. Kyra and Tiyana left the room.

    "Goodnight Mother." Tiyana said.

    "Goodnight, Tiya." Kyra said.

    Tiyana couldn't sleep that night. She kept thinking about the human boy, Matthew, trapped in the room downstairs. Allan had requestioned him again earlier that day and had found out his name. Eventually, Tiyana decided to do the one thing that would put her mind at ease.

    Windday dawned bright and clear. Kyra shook Allan awake.

    "What?" He asked. "Is it another bread monster?"

    "No." Kyra replied. "The human boy is gone."

    "Oh." Allan said. "Well, if he tells anyone, they'll think he's crazy."

    "Tiyana's gone too." Kyra said.