But Nerissa sat down and took off her shoes.
“What are you doing?”
She gave me a crooked smile. “When I was a little girl, I used to go fishing the old-fashioned way. I was pretty good at it, too. Get ready to catch what I send your way.”
She pulled the bandana off of her head, stretching it out between her hands as she eased her way down into the rolling white caps of the river, staying close to the shore. As she balanced, staring at the water, I watched, mesmerized. She was frozen, still as a statue, and then, lightning fast, she swept the bandana into the water, then used it to sling her catch on to the shore. The flipping fish landed by my feet.
Instincts took over. I grabbed the fish by its tail and whacked it a good one against the ground to kill it. Three more times, Nerissa used her makeshift net, and each time, she landed another large silvery fish by my feet. By the time she waded back out of the water, I had gathered up all four of the fish. Each one was at least eighteen inches long, and they looked very much like trout from our world.
“Where on earth did you learn to do that?” I was impressed to say the least.
“I told you, I learned when I was a little girl. I’ve got a number of skills that I’ve never had the chance to show anyone. But muscle memory remembers, and it’s all a matter of focus and concentration.”
She motioned for me to lay the fish on a nearby rock, which had a flat top much like a table. We sat on the ground beside it as she pulled out a knife and began gutting one of the fish. Meanwhile, I used Lysanthra to whittle down the ends of several sticks, and we skewered the cleaned fish on them. By the time we carried them back to the campsite, the guys had built the fire. I wasn’t entirely sure how they had managed it, but the crackling flames were welcome and we arranged the skewers over them to roast the fish in the quickly chilling evening.
As the twilight gloom settled into darkness, overhead the clouds thinned out, showing a layer of stars. It had been a long time since I had seen such a vast array. The light pollution over Earthside was pretty bad. The fish sizzled, the aroma making me aware of how hungry I was.
“You should have seen Nerissa,” I said. “I’ll never go camping without her again.” I still didn’t feel any better about the water. I still felt incredibly drawn toward it, and for someone who was afraid of water, that wasn’t a good thing—or natural. “By the way, watch out for the water Fae. There’s a lot of strong energy here, and I don’t trust it.”
“Not to question your instincts, but are you sure it’s not just your phobia of water speaking?”
While I appreciated Roz’s thought, I shook my head. “No. If it was that, I’d feel more panic. There is an uneasiness to this area, to the river, that makes me feel uncomfortable. I don’t feel like it’s coming directly from the water, like an elemental, but from around the water.” I huddled closer to the flames, eyeing the fish. “How long will it take to cook those?”
Nerissa poked one with a stick. “Probably another fifteen minutes and they’ll be done enough to eat. I wish we had some salt, but they should be good.”
“I’ve never seen anybody catch fish that way before.” The panther in me, along with Tabby, was pretty damned impressed. I loved fish, in all three of my forms, and for once I wished I didn’t have the insane fear of water that I did. If I could bring myself to step into a river, I would be down there, begging Nerissa to teach me how she did it. Then I realized something. She was a werepuma, and yet she didn’t show the same fear that I had.
“Why aren’t you afraid of water like I am?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve ever been afraid of it. I can swim, and I enjoy going out on boats. Did something happen to you when you were little that made you afraid? Or do you think maybe it’s the fact that one of your forms is a domesticated cat? Most housecats don’t care for water.”
“That could be it,” I said, thinking back. Could she be right? Had something from childhood spurred my fear of water? I closed my eyes, running through every trauma that I could remember from childhood.
The neighborhood boys used to tease me by trying to throw me in the water when I was in tabby form, that certainly hadn’t helped, but I vaguely remembered being afraid before then. I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around my knees as I watched the flames lick at the wood. And then, a vague image sprang to mind. I opened my eyes.
I had been two…maybe three, I couldn’t remember which, but I knew that I was extremely young. We had been out on a camping trip and something had happened. Mother was still alive, and Menolly hadn’t been born yet.
I closed my eyes again, seeing the wide field spreading out around us. There had been flowers—beautiful flowers that had beckoned me to come pick them. I had been running through the field, laughing, and then I heard something call my name. I ran over to the nearby river, laughing…and then all of a sudden…
I let out a gasp.
“I remember something. We were on a camping trip, and I was very little. Mother was still alive. I was picking flowers, and I saw one that was so beautiful. It was a bright blue, in a sea of yellow and green alongside the river. It called me by name, and I ran over to it. The next thing I remember, I was being pulled into the water. Something had hold of me and was dragging me under. The flower vanished.” As I spoke, the entire memory opened itself out in my mind.
“What happened? Do you remember?”
I nodded. “I don’t think I’ve ever thought about this before. It felt like seaweed wrapping around my legs and I heard a laugh. I was screaming, and water got in my mouth. Something bit my ankle. The next thing I knew, Camille was yanking on my arms, screaming for help. Mother came running up and she was beating something in the water and hit me on the leg. She hit my leg with a sharp stick. The next thing I remember, I was on the ground, and Mother was pushing water out of my lungs. There was a smell that I remember, like decaying cabbage.”
Trillian stared at me. “A bollywog. A bollywog attacked you. Had to have been.”
“What?” I’d never heard of bollywogs before.
“They’re uncommon, but they live out in the wild in Otherworld, mostly near streams or rivers that run through gladed woodlands. They’re bound to the water, although they can travel a short distance from it. They’re known to take the shape of flowers, or pretty plants, and they lure people in. Once they get you in the water, they use their tendrils and roots to drown you, and then they absorb your nutrients. Bollywogs are deadly, but they’re small and so they usually target small animals and children.”
Something shifted in my stomach as I let out a slow breath. “I can’t believe that I never remembered that. I don’t even know if Camille remembers it. But yes, after that I was terrified of the water. I must have connected the bollywog trying to drown me with the water itself.” I glanced over at the edge of the river, wondering if I could manage to get rid of my phobia now that I knew its origin.
“I don’t know if I would have ever remembered that if we hadn’t come here. And now that I think about it, the nervousness that I’m feeling is directed toward the shore of the river, not the water itself.”
“Then let’s go on the assumption that there’s something here that doesn’t have our best interests in mind. Whether it’s a bollywog or something different doesn’t matter. We just need to stay alert. I suggest we keep watch in pairs. But the fish is done, so let’s eat first.”
Trillian helped Nerissa remove the fish from the fire. Roz found four large maple leaves, big enough to serve as plates, and we each took one of the fish. The meat was succulent and juicy. While it could have used a little salt, the flavor was so fresh that it burst on my tongue, dribbling down my throat, making me feel warm and full. As we finished off our dinner, leaving only the bones that we threw back into the water, I realized that I could have gone for a second fish, but at least my stomach wasn’t yammering at me now.
Trillian and I took the first watch. Roz and Neris
sa settled down on the ground, padding the hard dirt with downed tree branches that the men had brought back when they had found the rocks for the fire. They huddled, back to back for warmth near the fire. Trillian and I moved to the other side so we wouldn’t disturb them with our talk.
“Thank you for coming with me today,” I said, keeping my voice soft. “I’m scared, Trillian. I’m afraid we won’t be able to find Shade, or that we’ll find him and he won’t recognize us. Maybe he won’t want to come back.”
Trillian wrapped his arm around my shoulders in a brotherly way. I rested my head on his shoulder, settling against the log that we had braced our backs against.
“We can’t ever know the future, but somehow I can’t imagine Shade refusing to return to his body. He loves you too much, Delilah. He’s far too loyal to run off and leave you alone.”
His reassurance meant the world to me. I wasn’t sure he was right, but the fact that he was trying to convince me that I had nothing to worry about made me feel better.
“Thanks, I appreciate it. I told you lately what a great brother-in-law you are?”
Trillian laughed. “You didn’t think that way a few years back when I came back into Camille’s life.”
“Don’t remind me. I’m sorry. Menolly and I were pretty rough on you.”
“Camille wasn’t all that easy, when it comes down to it. I just wish…” He trailed off, staring into the darkness.
“Wish what?”
“I wish she could have trusted me all those years before. I wish we hadn’t wasted the years apart. I could never forget her, and she could never forget me. Like it or not, we bound ourselves together with the Ritual of Eleshinar, and nothing can ever undo that. We’re still bound by the tattoos under our skin, you know.”
“She was just afraid that you would marry somebody else and consign her to only being your mistress. After all, your family didn’t like her either.”
“You don’t see my family anywhere around, do you? I would never have done that to her. My race may be known for its promiscuous ways, but let’s face it, Camille’s the one with three husbands. I can handle it, because I’m born to it. Smoky accepts it because he loves her so much. And Morio—Morio is a breed into himself. I’ve never told her this, although I think she already knows, but those years I spent without her? I never once looked at another woman. There was nobody else for me after I met her.”
“You know, telling her that may be the best anniversary gift you could ever give her. After all, your anniversary is coming up next month.” Camille and Trillian had married on October 22. She had married Smoky and Morio near the spring equinox.
“I’ll think about it. So, you found your wedding dress?” Trillian was one of those rare men who actually enjoyed talking about fashion.
“Yeah, it’s beautiful.” A catch in my throat made me stumble over my words. “I just hope I get the chance to wear it.”
“You will, Kitten. You will.” Suddenly, he stiffened, removing his arm as he straightened up. “Do you hear that?”
I froze as a crackle of branches sounded from the forest behind us.
Trillian motioned for me to stay behind him as he slowly rose and reached for his dagger. I eased myself up, drawing Lysanthra. We waited, poised as the breaking of branches continued. And then, before we could wake Nerissa and Roz, the branches parted and a figure staggered out toward us. It was Shade, but his eyes were glowing, and he had his sword out, and he was coming directly at us.
Chapter 9
“DUCK!” TRILLIAN SHOVED me out of the way as Shade staggered toward us, his sword drawn. The crazed look in his eyes told me that he didn’t recognize us, or if he did, something was dreadfully wrong.
“Don’t hurt him!” I yelled as Trillian darted in, his short sword meeting Shade’s.
“I’ll try but I can’t let him hurt me,” Trillian shot back as he deflected the blow. Shade was bigger than Trillian, and far more powerful, and with his next swing he managed to knock Trillian’s blade out of his hand.
“Shade!” I screamed out his name at the top of my lungs, startling all of us, including me.
Roz and Nerissa were scrambling up off the ground, looking confused.
Shade froze, turning to me with a bewildered look on his face. He kept his sword pointed toward Trillian, keeping him at bay.
“Who are you? What do you want?” He sounded genuinely perplexed, but panic was written all over his face and I was afraid he might break again.
“Shade, don’t you recognize me? I’m Delilah, your fiancée.” I started to move toward him, just a step, but when he tensed again, I froze. “We’ve come to take you home. Do you know where you are?”
“They’re after me. I— I—” The bewilderment was turning to panic again. He looked like he was ready to run for it, or run straight toward us with that damn blade. I didn’t recognize the sword; it looked totally unfamiliar to me.
“I don’t know who they are, but please trust us. Give us a chance.” I spoke softly, trying to modulate my voice so that it didn’t set him off. I held up my hands after slowly sheathing Lysanthra. “You see? We won’t hurt you. I put my weapon away.”
“What about him?” Shade pointed to Trillian. “He still has his blade out.”
“We just want to make sure that you don’t attack us. We aren’t here to hurt you. We aren’t here to hurt anybody.” I kept my hands raised so he could see them, wondering what the hell had happened to send him off the deep end like this.
Roz and Nerissa stood near the fire, uncertain of what to do.
“I know what that blade is that he’s carrying,” Trillian said softly.
“What is it?” I asked.
“What are you talking about? You’re talking about me! You think that I can’t fight you. I know it, you think that because I lost my powers, I can’t take care of myself.” The pain in his voice hit me in the gut as the meaning of his words became clear.
Out here, in the Land of Wandering Souls, our worst fears could take on a reality, we had been told. And Shade was afraid that, because he had lost his Stradolan powers, he was only half a man. I had thought he had been weathering it pretty well, but now it was obvious that he had been hiding his fears from me, and probably hiding his fears from himself.
“What’s the blade?” I tried to keep my words very soft, almost monotone so that perhaps he wouldn’t pay attention to what I was actually asking.
Trillian took my clue and spoke lightly. “That’s the blade he was hit with. The soul-stealer blade.”
I worried my lip, wondering just what kind of an effect it would have out here. He was carrying the weapon that had disarmed him and sent him spiraling out here.
“Do you remember what happened?” I asked, speaking to Shade directly. “Do you remember fighting the demons at our home?”
Another look of confusion washed over his face, then there was something—a glimmer of understanding—that vanished as quickly as it appeared.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about! Where am I? I’ve been trying to find my way…” His voice drifted off, and for a moment he froze, looking as though he had wandered into a fugue. I thought about trying to disarm him, but I wasn’t sure how long his disorientation would last.
Trillian, however, didn’t seem to have any such reluctance. Even as I was standing there trying to figure out what to do, he dropped his sword and lunged toward Shade, grabbing the blade out of his hand and tossing it over to Roz, who scrambled to pick it up. He handed it to Nerissa, who quickly backed away from the fracas.
Shade started coming out of the fugue and realized he didn’t have his sword. He let out a roar and I was afraid he might change into his dragon shape, and that could be the end of everything. I did the only thing I could think of that might bring him out of it. I transformed into Tabby, and leapt into his arms. The shift was so quick that it racketed through my body, and I ached in every joint, including my tail, but I th
rew my paws up around his neck and began licking his face, purring as loudly as I could.
Shade closed his mouth and shook his head first once, then again. Then he laughed, like a child who had been given an unexpected treat. Once again, the bewildered look returned, but he wrapped his arms around me, and buried his face in my fur.
He began to cry, tears racing down his cheeks as he nuzzled me. Trillian and Roz slowly approached and guided him over to one of the logs where he sat down, still holding me, still crying. I was purring so loudly that my vocal box hurt, but I kept it up, because it seemed to calm him down and I had the feeling that the tactile nature of my fur under his fingers was spurring on some form of recognition. I licked his face again, lapping away the tears, and then pressed my head against his nose so that I was staring into his eyes.
With Roz and Trillian on guard, and Nerissa keeping the sword away from Shade, we stayed that way for at least another ten minutes.
I slowly reached up with one paw, lightly tapping his face. “Mrow?”
“Kitten?” Shade still sounded confused, but the word felt tentative, as though he were reaching for a memory. I wanted to transform back, but I had the feeling that he would remember me best in this shape. That there was something disarming about my tabby self that made him feel secure.
After another moment, Roz gently cleared his throat. “Do you remember us? You remember Kitten.”
Shade let out a long, shuddering breath. “I seem to feel that I should know you. You feel like a friend.”
“We are friends. We’re all friends. And Delilah—Kitten—is your fiancée. She loves you.”
“Delilah…” And then Shade blinked again, and looked down at me with recognition filling his face. “Delilah? Sweetheart? Are you really here? Or is this just another dream?”