The screams continued until we reached our vehicles. We were near collapse, exhausted from the trek, sweating, and aching. We’d gotten out safely, but we hadn’t found my sister.
I dumped my cargo into the back of my brother’s truck and slammed my hand against the side of it. “Damn!”
“Hey, that’s my truck you’re assaulting.” Craig had just settled Ridley into the rear of the double cab and glared at me before jumping into the driver’s side. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before they send more reinforcements.”
I grumbled but did as he said, sliding into the passenger side and glancing back at our commander.
Craig turned toward Ridley, who was now snoozing softly, exhausted from her injuries. He reached over to check under the wrap over her arm and grimaced. The wound wasn’t deep; it shouldn’t have affected her so much. The orb which hit her must’ve been tainted with poison. This was confirmed by a small, blue spidery mark that was spreading over her arm and onto her shoulder and chest at an alarming rate.
“We need to get to medical headquarters now. Call ahead and request full protocol for faery-induced injuries. I haven’t seen this type of response before. Make sure they meet us at the quarantine entrance. I have a really bad feeling about this.” Craig directed Becca, who’d hopped in next to Ridley, to monitor her progress, and the girl nodded, taking in all he asked her to do while dialing at the same time.
Amy wasn’t the only one in danger. Who knew what else the faeries had added to their armory? If this was what it looked like, all humanity was now at risk.
“We’re in over our heads,” I muttered.
“You’re right,” Craig sighed. “God help us all.”
Chapter Twelve
* * *
Amy
I heard the bombs going off, and my heart stopped.
“What was that?” Atieran asked. He reached out and threaded his fingers though mine. I was too stunned to do anything, and squeezed his hand.
“My team… they must be here,” I whispered, listening to the screeches of fae warriors. It sounded bloody and one-sided. Swallowing, I hoped there weren’t many casualties, but I knew neither side would be spared the suffering of war between our species. The screaming was devastating, grinding into my skin and head like needles sliding through my brain. We both fell to our knees, writhing in agony, for we could feel the pain of the dying through the connection we all shared.
The death of a faery clan member was experienced by all, not just one, and I could feel my skin melting off me even though my own exterior was intact. I moaned with the agony of dozens and dug my fingers into my arms, praying for it to all end.
“What is this?” I asked, breathing hard through the pain.
“My people are dying….” Atieran’s body convulsed, his words strained. His tie to his clan was a lot more established than my own, causing him even more pain than what I was experiencing.
I swore under my breath, grinding my teeth as I attempted to breathe out my words. “It’s an all-out war! Your people and my people are dying… we must hurry. There’s no time to lose. I have to get back and stop this madness.”
I gasped, feeling the release of pain as those who were dying blew out the last of their breaths. The relief was no small comfort. The tears spilled down my cheeks, knowing that so many faeries had suffered. I’d felt every one of their spirits die. A most horrifying thing. I had to break this bond just so I’d never have to feel it again.
Atieran’s body stopped shaking, and we both exhaled into the night air, filling our lungs with the oxygen our bodies demanded. The agony had eased, but I was afraid it meant the faeries were all pretty much dead. The ones who’d fought against my team… people I still could not remember much about. There were no survivors on the side of the fae, but had my team survived? The silence surrounding us was maddening as I cried, silently staring up at the stars in the sky. If only we could be stars high above the hurt and agony of the world, forever suspended in the haven of the sky.
“Atieran?” I called out to him, taking stock of our situation. We still appeared as faeries, to my utter horror, even as far away from the clan as we’d gone. If we did make it to the city, we’d be exterminated on the spot. “Atieran, we can’t go back to the city looking like this. Like fae. They’ll destroy us the moment they see us. They’re tossing iron out on your people and causing us pain while they die. They won’t hesitate to kill us. How do we get in without getting shot at?”
He winced, swallowing down the receding pain like sand. Mine was already subsiding, and I pushed it to the side. It was probably easier for me to do so, for as I crawled to my knees, he was still on his back, breathing hard. I could focus on the agony and shift it away without too much effort. I hadn’t been amongst the fae for long, and it helped.
“What are you saying?”
“How do we look more human? Look at my hands!” I looked at his skin, with its blue-greenish coloring, wondering how to remove the taint. I didn’t want to get stuck that way. I wondered if he would remain like that when we attempted to transition him back to human. If he even survived the procedure.
“One second.” He crawled to his knees and closed his eyes. The absolute pain he’d been sharing with the other fae finally receded as he concentrated. I could no longer feel its residual effects, but something tingled on my skin as he pressed his eyes tightly shut. His magic wove around us, swirling in tiny sparks, sending a warm, syrupy feeling over us both. It crawled over my skin like warm water drenching us until our skin resumed a normal, humanlike color.
I reached up to touch my hair, which no longer felt like the rubbery vines I’d had before. Now long dark brown hair framed my face once more.
“Wow! How did you do that?” I felt giddy with excitement; nothing made me happier than to feel normal again.
“It’s just a glamour. A spell to cover our true nature. Humans can’t see our true selves. We look like humans now, even feel like humans. It seems completely real, even though it’s magic.”
“So, we’re still faeries under this this guise?” I asked, not hiding my disappointment.
“Yes. Very much so.”
My heart sank. The frustration stabbed me in the chest like a dagger, but I nodded and gave him a small smile. It was better than nothing. At least we wouldn’t be killed by any humans or agents we ran into with the glamour on.
“Will it also help against the iron?” I glanced his way. Iron sickness could affect us both.
Atieran shook his head. “It helps a little bit, but eventually it’ll wear the glamour down until it doesn’t work anymore and drains my magic.”
I nodded. I could tell it was helping him. The iron did not affect me as much yet, but I wouldn’t know for sure until we reached the city.
“Okay.”
“It doesn’t keep all the iron off, but it’ll help some, like a thin armor wrapped around us. Just don’t touch any metal, or it’ll most certainly burn right through it. It’s almost like chainmail but of the thinnest kind.”
“Just so you know, it’s better if I speak when we get back to the Agency in Wicked Grove. Let me handle it. I can keep them from separating us.”
Atieran studied me closely, probably assessing whether to continue to trust me or not. I hoped he did. Finally, he nodded, exhaling slowly.
“You do the talking. I’ll stay quiet. Come on, it’s time to go.”
***
The forest resumed its mellow chatter, nocturnal animals taking to their nests or burrows as the daylight creatures emerged for a new day. The thundering booms were no longer audible nor were there any screams within range. Maybe they had stopped; maybe the faeries were all dead. Atieran and I lay on our backs and stared up at the sky. The half-moon shined over the forest, partly illuminating the fading night sky as the dawn grew with its rich glow.
“So, Atieran?”
“Hmm?” He mumbled, his eyes growing heavy.
“Why do you want to become human again? W
hy now?” I asked.
He didn’t look my way but continued staring up at the stars flickering like tiny diamonds in the sky where the sun had yet to reach. He leaned on the crook of his arms folded behind his head as long, leafy green hair splayed out around him. For the moment, he had pulled back the glamour to keep the stores of his magic strong for when we’d need them in the city. I was dismayed to look like a faery again, but I kept it to myself.
Moments passed, and I wondered if he was going to answer me. I turned to make sure he hadn’t fallen asleep. He continued to stare dreamily at the sky. Maybe I had offended him. It was a sensitive subject, I guessed, but I didn’t know.
“I thought about it for years. You know how they tell you that you’ll forget who you are once you’re assimilated and your memories fade forever? You just don’t remember your past life?”
I nodded. My own memories were fading, and time was of the essence if I was to return to my former self with all my memories intact. “Yes.”
“Well, my memories never faded away. I guess I’m an anomaly of sorts. Nobody else can remember their pasts, and no one else can remember what it’s like to be human. Not even my brother, the king. But I can. I remember when I became a faery, and being part of this hive, where we are pushed to do the will of one individual, was always a strain on my head. It just never really felt real to me. More disconnected than anything else. Now that Azariah is king, it’s far more tolerable. He leaves me to my own mind most of the time. He’s not so bad, you know? He lets me do as I like and never punishes me for being different.
“You know, you’re not really part of the hive until all your memories of your human life fade completely and all you hear is the clan. Then you do as you’re told without a fight.”
“So why didn’t it work on you?”
“Well, I’m not sure. I can hear the thoughts of the king and the hive collective, but unlike the others, I’m not compelled to do as I’m told. I’m like you are right now. I do not feel the urge to, and I can sift through my memories as though they were never touched. I don’t know why. The only reason I’m still alive is because they needed more able bodies, even though they bullied me a lot for my oddities, before my brother became king. When he ascended, everybody left me alone for fear of angering him.
“The only advantage of him being king was that the torment stopped. The violence, the torture… it was all over after that. Before, they’d try to do things to me; hurt me, starve me, antagonize me, anything to get me to follow the commands of the previous king. It never worked, and they eventually gave up.”
He sighed. “The only way to protect my brother and myself was to deny that I even had a brother. It wasn’t just to protect me but to protect him. Neither of us mentioned it to anyone. When he became king, that was when we announced that he and I were brothers, and that’s when all the torment stopped. No one wanted to incur his wrath. I’ve been left alone ever since.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
“Yeah. Some people don’t like that I don’t have to follow orders. Some of them whisper that I’m cursed. But I know it’s because my human side never died. I want to go home. I never belonged with the faeries, and they didn’t like that, but there wasn’t much they could do about it.”
I settled back on the soft padding of leaves and mulch we’d gathered for the night. The ground was rather comfortable, with its cushion of rotten leaves crunching beneath my skin. It didn’t bother me as much as I’d thought it would. This faery hide was a lot tougher than I’d expected. As I stared up at the twinkling lights of the stars and watched the gentle sway of the branches while listening to the hum of the forest, I fought sleep, but my eyes became heavy. The night had been long, and the fight was not nearly over.
Atieran had good reasons to return to the human realm, as did I, for I was still human. My brothers’ faces, their laughter, my home, my hobbies, my friends. It was all like a dream now, fading after waking. I wished I was like Atieran, immune to such effects. If I didn’t get home soon, I’d probably forget everything. At least he was helping me. It was all I could ask. For once, I felt a slight twinge of hope blossoming inside as my eyelids grew heavy enough to close and stay that way while the crickets echoed in the distance. They were safe, like us, in a little alcove away from both worlds.
But soon those two worlds would decide what to do about us.
Chapter Thirteen
Craig
I leaned forward, staring at the monitor, glancing now and then toward Ridley and observing her shallow breaths. I’d sat there since we’d returned hours before, immersed in watching her vital signs. The poison had crept up her shoulder and down her arm, closing in on her heart when she’d finally received an experimental antidote. It had saved her life, but the deep bruising from the poison still stained her shoulder and streaked down her arm as a tattooed reminder. None of the doctors were sure it would fade away. She could be forever marred from the attack.
Luckily, she hadn’t awoken to hear the bad news. The faeries were getting bold. Amy was in more danger than I could’ve ever imagined.
“Any improvement?” Jay quietly entered the room and held out a cup of coffee, black with a touch of sugar, just the way I liked it. Taking the cup, I thanked him and shook my head.
“Not yet. The antidote worked, but she hasn’t regained consciousness.”
“The poison in those orbs. It was different than what they coat their arrows with, wasn’t it?”
I nodded.
“Damn. Those bastards are evolving.”
“What if we can’t retrieve Amy?” I muttered. “This is out of control. We can’t beat them if we don’t know what we’re up against.”
“I say exterminate them all.”
I lifted an eyebrow at my brother, turning to face him. “What happened to finding a ‘more humane’ way of approaching them?”
Jay shook his head and slammed back a swallow of his coffee. He took it with a ton of cream and sugar. It kept him wired enough to think through his exhaustion. I was feeling mine clinging to me like a spurned lover.
“Fuck that. These creatures won’t hesitate to kill us all. Look what they did to Ridley with one stupid orb? The antidote is barely working. How do we go against magic like that?”
I shrugged, sipping my coffee quietly. “I don’t know. I just know we need to get back to the forest with more force against the faeries. I just don’t want to catch Amy in the crosshairs.”
“Me neither.” Jay sighed, running his free hand through his brown hair.
“We’re going to have to either go in with major stockpiles of iron and demand for her return after they take major casualties, or…”
“Don’t you say it, man.”
I pressed my lips together. I couldn’t say it. I wouldn’t. Nothing in this world would ever let me give up on my sister. Nothing.
Jay reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “We got this, bro. The answer will come to us. Knowing Amy, she’s probably already figured out a plan to escape.”
“If she can remember anything,” I groaned.
“She’ll remember. How can anyone forget bastards like us?”
I chuckled but stifled it with a choked cough. The persistent beeping of the monitor indicating each of Ridley’s heartbeats continued in the silence, filling the room with more questions than answers.
“You’re right. We should just leave it to Amy. She’s smarter than both of us put together. She’ll be back in Wicked Grove before we can even think up another plan.”
“That’s the spirit!” Jay slapped me on the back, and I threw him a glare. “Sorry.”
“At least Ridley is stable for now. I’m going to take a quick siesta in the sleeping quarters. Would you keep an eye on her for me and wake me in an hour?”
“I’ll give you two.”
“Okay, but don’t forget to wake me. Last time you let me snore all night.”
“You needed it. Nothing was happening.”
I frowned.
“I mean it, Jay.”
“Go for it, man. I promise I’ll shake you out of your nightmares in two hours.”
Satisfied, I got to my feet and threw one last longing glance toward Ridley’s unmoving figure before turning to leave the room and closing the door to the medical suite behind me.
***
Voices echoed, jerking me awake. My head swam, murky from an odd dream. Blinking, I stared up at the smooth grey ceiling of the sleeping quarters, which was situated adjacent to the locker room. I’d taken up residence on one of the bunks used for agents who were on missions and didn’t have time to return home. A lot like now. The only downside was the noise and constant chatter of the rotating shifts of agents.
Currently, the room remained dark and silent, but something had woken me from my slumber.
Amy.
I’d seen her in my dreams, looking very much human and not like the faery she’d been turned into by the faery king the last time I’d seen her. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the remnants of the vision, tugging at its frayed ends, threatening to recede into my mind the more I woke up. I pulled at the dream, trying to make the details clearer. If I didn’t do it now, the scenes would disappear forever. I sensed it was no mere dream; it was part of the precognitive abilities I shared with my siblings.
I’d seen a pit in the ground, dark and cold, with roots dangling down into it. Then the starry sky above the forest canopy. It hung over it like a blanket. I got the feeling of mulchy ground beneath and turned to find someone next to me, sleeping under the night sky. He looked peaceful, hopeful even. I could feel Amy’s thoughts, and she conveyed that she was safe. I didn’t know how she’d done it, but I knew she would be all right.