Dylan was staring back at her now. His eyes narrowed, amused as he thought about what she was asking and saying. He licked his lips and looked back over the river. The constant roar seemed to fill the silence between them like an unwanted third wheel. Shade waited impatiently for his answers. She stared at the river while she waited for him talk to her. At least I beat you, she thought knowing she bested the river today and had nothing to prove.
“Well, it has a lot to do with that there are not that many mated pairs in our clan. Women are rarely born to our clan now and those who are paired stay together for life. If you are not paired you are out of luck, well, unless a free Teleen fey woman returns,” he said quietly as if he didn’t think that was possible. “What’s bothering you Shade?” Dylan’s deep voice was more like a harsh whisper. He was even leaning a little towards her to muffle his voice so no one else could hear.
“I don’t know. It’s just, compared to all of you guys, I’m so weak, Even though you say you have vulnerabilities, you are still more powerful than me. I don’t know how to do magic or any kind of fighting. Without you guys here, I would be useless and feeling helpless. Ilarial told me to learn, but how do I learn? I don’t know a thing about fighting or handling a sword or knife.” She sighed. She closed her eyes as she cradled her head on her knees. She thought about what he said about not being paired with a female Teleen. She wondered if he had been paired or not and if he had, where was his mate?
Dylan watched her thoughtfully. He nodded as though agreeing with her. His eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment as he was in deep thought.
Shade wondered what it could be that he was thinking about.
“I must train you then. You are right; you are weak without any kind of protection… if you were to be separated from us, well I don’t want to think about it. You have a sword right?” She nodded; thinking about the beautiful sword in her pack Ilarial had given her. “Great then, we train today. By the way, I was never paired at birth, like some of us are, but our oracle, who is about eight-hundred years old, did tell me a prophecy about it.” He sighed stared out across the river.
“What did she say?”
“She said that I would meet my mate one day, one who had never resided among us, and that my life would change forever, and be filled with great and challenging events, some unfortunate and some amazing.”
“Did you meet her yet?” Shade watched his face, calm and handsome; and she found him intriguing in a way she could not explain, and to think just hours ago he was getting on her last nerve.
Dylan turned towards her and studied her face. He smiled and reached his hand out, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. She felt her heart jump at his touch and her face flare up. “I don’t really know, maybe,” he stood up and looked down at her, smiling slightly. “Once camp is set up tonight, we will work on sword fighting. Be ready!” He grabbed his cup from the ground and dusted his pants off. He walked away then without another word.
“Wh-what? Tonight? Just like that? Dylan?” She stuttered and couldn’t spit out the rest of her words. He was gone and nowhere near her now. She shook her head. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts now and wasn’t listening to her anymore.
He’s so strange and drives me insane!
Shade sighed and stretched her legs out before her; they were burning with deep muscle pain. She massaged her calves and worked out some of the knots that were in her muscles. She wondered if the full fey ever even got sore. Probably not. Sitting there she began to wonder what Dylan was thinking, some of the things he did and said to her confused her. She frowned at the thought of how nervous he made her feel.
She stood up then and took her cup back to Stephen, who seemed to like being the groups cook. He nodded and smiled at her as he washed the dishes. He didn’t actually physically even have to ‘wash’ the dishes, he was just moving his hands over them and she watched them rinse themselves in the river. Now that would be awesome! They should teach me that, so I could use it at home! Shade thought smiling. She turned back toward the group and Jack was talking seriously to Ewan. Maps were spread out before them on a table. Who brought the furniture? Shade thought as she walked to the table and chairs. She still couldn’t get over the bath tents and that she was surrounded by magic.
When she reached the two men it was clear that they were pointing at several spots on the map.
“I think going over Fable’s fair bridge would be a better option, it goes closer to the cliffs of Raenin. We need to go past the cliffs and end up in Solare’s beach. There is a cave road there we can take to the inland forests, around the Santiran lands. If we go down to Maziel’s pass, it will take us longer to make it to the beach and it goes too near Lonares territory.”
Jack’s hand was darting around the map at several points on the unfamiliar land. She studied it while the men stood there thinking. She could see the cities of Portland and San Diego on either side of the great fey territories. There were areas marked off in between that showed the highways and smaller towns. The vast wilderness that belonged to the fey was unbelievable. She traced the river lands with her fingers and found Solares beach on the map. It was shaped like a crescent moon and was not very big at all. Next to it was Craven’s cave road that wound around on the cliffs around the beach and disappeared into a cave. She shuddered at the thought of going into a cave again.
“How do you make it across the cliffs?” Shade asked Ewan and Jack. They turned towards her and smiled.
“You have to walk down the west side of the cliffs or take a long rope bridge across the great river.” Ewan pointed at a line crossing across the largest of the rivers that bisected the cliffs.
Shade cringed because crossing a bridge held together by rope was not much of a comfort either. Caves and unstable bridges, it’s my lucky day. Her throat ached from nerves and it felt as if there were a knot in it. “Really? Ah man, do we have to go on a rope bridge?” She glanced at Jack and Ewan.
They were both grinning.
“You afraid of heights, Shade?” They said at once and laughed at the disgust all over her face.
“No! Of course not! It’s just, they’re so flimsy! It rocks a lot and it just isn’t safe!” She crossed her arms and huffed away when they continued. Jack started coughing trying to hold back his laughter and Ewan slapped him on his back.
When they had stopped snickering, Ewan cleared his throat, his face flushed and his eyes twinkling bright. He motioned for everyone to gather their stuff and fall back into line to leave.
Shade fell in with the group, still grumbling under her breath. She followed everyone out along the bank of the rushing river. She began to wonder just how long it was going to take to get to the Santiran Fountains. It felt like they had been gone forever. Her patience was wearing thin, especially with nature. Seeing the map made her feel even more sullen. The territory they were crossing was enormous and so vast that it seemed they hadn’t really gotten that far. So much had happened already and they were not even close yet.
“Hey, having fun yet?” Soap asked as he hung back from the others and fell in step with her.
She turned towards him giving him a nasty look and didn’t like the fact someone else from the group was making fun of her.
“Ok, Ok, no need to be harsh,” he said losing his usual grin. “I was just wondering something, Shade. And I hope you would answer this for me.”
She sighed and turned back towards Soap. His contagious good mood was already flowing over her and taming her gloomy demeanor. She grinned back, nodding. “What is it?” She slipped on a damp mossy rock in the slick grasses. Soap caught her arm and cradled her with his other one. Her face was so close to his, he could have kissed her. She laughed a bit and thanked him for catching her before he answered, straightening herself up.
“The voices, the ones you say are your spirit guides. Are they still bothering you? What do they say about us?”
Shade took a deep breath and thought about it for a moment. She hadn
’t really heard from her spirit guides since they left the caverns. As a matter of fact, she hadn’t heard the voices at all since awakening from the attack. It had been actually kind of nice not to hear any noise in her head but her own thoughts. She stretched out her mind to find them but no one answered her inner thoughts. Panic swirled inside suddenly, as she felt a kind of emptiness without them. Why have they been silent? Maybe they are gone for good now.
“Honestly, I haven’t had them talk to me since Darren attacked me. It’s funny, my whole life I wish they would just shut up and now–now I miss them.”
“Well, it’s probably just the rivers; they are quite magical you know. They say that the rivers are the roads of dreams. Once you stand by one, the magic is so strong; it can literally turn a fey into a near mortal. We can’t use our magic here, the river won’t have it. That’s the myth anyway. It’s like dead space to our kind, the in between of worlds. I think it might be affecting you too. I literally can’t change around the rivers, just use a simple glamour and charms. It’s strange…”
Shade nodded as they continued down the slippery banks without speaking again for a while. She wondered if Soap wanted to ask her anything else. He seemed utterly more quiet than usual. This would have bothered her more but concentrating on not slipping on another rock or mossy wet patch kept her attention for now. They reached the edge of the bank to another crossing area. She groaned as she watched the front of the group submerge themselves up to their waists in cold river water. The rush of water wasn’t as harsh at the crossings points but she loathed the cold feel of the water. She reached the edge of the bank and watched as Soap strode right on in, without so much as a whimper. Man up already! She sighed and dipped her feet into the ice water, sucking in a breath.
She was near the other side when she heard some shouting. She straightened up to see further up the bank where Ewan, Jack, and Than were wildly shouting at someone, someone she couldn’t see from her position in the river.
“Shade, come on, I think we are being attacked, hurry!” Sary waved at her frantically and held out her other hand out to her. She took it and pulled herself up out of the rushing waters. The chill was there again and her teeth chattered together. She was pretty sure her lips were blue with cold, and she was literally a human Popsicle. Sary kept half turning and pressing her on to follow, practically dragging her along.
Soap had already left his position in front of her to join Jack and the others, who were now taking shelter behind some trees and drawing weapons. Shade found a large tree trunk to hide behind as arrows started sailing by her, buzzing like bees as they flew by. She felt drugged and sluggish from the cold. She had the blanket on but in the cover of the trees and no hot tea to drink this time, she was not recovering as well as before. She huddled against the tree, pulling the blanket around herself tight for warmth and but was still shivering. She peeked around the tree because there was a break in the flying arrows, and whoever was attacking them either ran out or was restocking the weapons.
Jack was yelling at someone. Everyone stood their ground; hiding in their makeshift covers for now. She couldn’t see who or what they were yelling at. She strained to hear anything…and then suddenly she heard it, a voice. The gravely laugh was in the distance but whoever it belong to was not too far away.
“You can’t hide forever, little half-breed. I know she’s with you. Just hand her over and we’ll be on our way.” The voice screeched through the trees.
Who is that? I’ve heard that voice before. She thought as cruel laugh made her cringe. Shade strained a little further to see across the trees and to spot the owner of the voice. Lady Blythe was perched on a branch not too far above Ewan and the others. The Queen of the Dryad’s skeletal, translucent wings were fluttering so fast that Shade could barely see them. If there hadn’t been a slight breeze whirling around her the tiny wings would have gone unnoticed all together. Shade’s heart pounded, she knew just what they wanted but not why.
“We will never give her to you, Blythe! You are far past your borders, you have no rights here, and this is neutral territory. Be gone already!” Jack’s voice was strong and sturdy. He did not seem afraid but definitely was on the side of caution.
“You stupid fool! You dare insult me? I am Queen here. The trees are my domain, no matter where! You give me the halfling and I let you leave alive, otherwise you can all die and I still take the girl. Choose wisely!” Her cruel voice echoed through the air.
Shade didn’t think it was possible but she felt even colder than before. She worked hard to keep her teeth from chattering again. She prayed silently that the old hag of a faery would leave her alone. She didn’t look like a nice faery from the ‘fairy’ stories of her childhood. She looked vicious, dark and ruthless flying up there in the branches. Shade’s heart was racing as she glanced around, trying to think of a way to get away.
“No, Lady Blythe. We cannot do that, it is our oath to protect her and that we will, to the death even.” Jack was holding his sword out; it glinted in the few rays that escaped the canopy of tree leaves above.
“So be it, die then,” she said without feeling. The queen laughed even harder as more arrows began to fly past again.
Shade hid back behind the trunk and looked around for the others. Sary was pulling out daggers and weapons from behind a tree near her. Stephen was already returning arrows to whomever it was that was shooting them. Some screams of pain howled through the trees but she wasn’t sure who it was behind it. Cracking branches and thumps in the bushes made her jump. She pulled out her own short sword and held it tight in her hands. She took a deep breath and stood up, pressing herself to the tree, almost trying to become one with it. If only she could change into a tree, she could hide pretty well then.
The battle spilled around her as Lady Blythe’s warriors pushed back against them. Jack was clanging swords against one tall but slender warrior. He had bulging muscles and pale skin much like Blythe’s and long white hair. All but his eyes were pale; he was almost translucent. His wings were folded and pressed against his back: it was probably for protection as to not get sliced by a sword. He wore thin metal armor that glinted in the streams of light, as he fought. They all looked similar to the queen, and they worked and moved together like a hive of drones.
Shade ran for cover on the edge of the battle and hid behind some large looming trees. The best way I can help everyone is to stay hidden and avoid getting hit. She thought as a part of her wanted to help but sure there was no way she could fight.
The arrows had stopped all together and everyone was on the ground fighting. Even Blythe had joined the fight with her own dual slender swords. She was holding off Than, who was fighting with his daggers; their silver sheen glinting with every movement. She kicked him hard in the stomach and laughed as he flew back onto the ground. Dirt was flying up everywhere, Blythe caught Shade watching her and a sinister smile crept across her face and started towards her. “Little girlie, come here now!” She started marching towards her but ran right into Jack and his swords, losing one of hers in the collision. She blocked him with her remaining sword and began battling his two. The metallic resonance filled the air, as Shade backed away into the shadow of the forest. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard that she could feel the beat vibrating in her throat. She now felt flushed with heat as her blood pumped rapidly throughout her body and her breath was short and quick.
“Shade!” Dylan was now suddenly next to her and tugging at her arm. He lead her deeper into the woods, trying hard not to stumble and fall on the branches and dead shrubbery that scraped at her legs and sliced at her arms.
“Slow down, Dylan! I can’t go that fast!” Her hand slipped from his as she fell to the ground, grinding her knees into the dirt and rock.
Dylan was now occupied swinging his sword against another warrior dryad. As they fought around her, she managed to get to her feet. Mud was streaked across her jeans and hands and so she wiped even more of the mess onto her pants
. It was then she noticed her sword on the ground. She looked back over her shoulder at Dylan; he and his foe were still clanging their swords together. Dylan had a cut along his left forearm that was streaked with blood. She stepped forward bending down to grab her sword. Swearing as she did so as her right knee was on fire. I must have scraped it or bruised it when I fell. She stumbled to another tree and pressed her back to it. She gripped the sword in her hands; the blade and hilt also caked in mud.
Her eyes were stinging with tears; she hadn’t noticed that she had been crying. She swallowed back a sob, as she shook with fear. Breathing deeply, she looked around the large tree trunk and tried to see through the woods for anyone else in the group. She heard screams, yelling and swords smacking but she wasn’t as close to the fighters as she had first thought. She couldn’t hear them clearly anymore and realized she had stumbled away too far. Her heart jumped as morbid thoughts crept in her head. What if they’re hurt or dead? She didn’t even see Dylan anymore but heard the clank of swords.
Shade moved slowly from her spot and crept closer to the voices, using the trees and bushes for cover. She hunched behind them, pressing herself into them, wishing she could blend into them and disappear. She gripped her sword in her hands but felt like she was a child playing pirates. She tried her best to slow her breathing, feeling slightly dizzy from her frantic panting. She stopped behind one thick tree trunk and listened for anything. Suddenly, the fighting seemed to have died down, and the silence was even more frightening than the noise. The leaves rustled above her like a flock of birds, flapping their wings. She could hear a loud roar of rushing water behind her. No animals or birds were singing.
This can’t be good. What now? Where is everyone? She waited for an answer. Her spirit guides were silent. What happened to you guys? She felt suddenly very alone. The forest seemed daunting, dark, and forlorn. She let the tears flow but bit her lip to swallow her sobs. She slid down the trunk and curled herself in the oversized roots that veined the dirt. She curled her legs up under her and hugged them, her sword still dangling loosely from her hands.