The desert wasteland twisted and blended into the lush forest of emerald green leaves and bushes. The land was riper and more fertile here, almost an artificially vibrant green. No matter which trail they took, Shade could hear rushing water in the distance. It surrounded them like endless background noise. The river lands were strange; there were islands between some rivers where they intersected and weaved together like a tangle of noodles. Then there would be long stretches of land that didn’t run into a river at all. Some of the islands sported bridges, while with others had none, forcing the group to wade through each river carefully. Even with the waterproof charm which Braelynn and Sary had placed on everyone and their items, Shade couldn’t help but feel the cold embrace of the water stealing the warmth from her body. It flowed around her thighs and the icy cold still seeped through her clothes.
She was left stiff from the frigid waters. With the charms, she did not feel wet, but felt quite dry, even though her teeth chattered and her body shook from the chill. It was a relief to emerge from the cold, wet trek through a river. Once out of the water, the sun warmed her immediately. Her stiff, frozen clothes stuck to her, remnants of a watery grave.
After about four of these submersions, she was ready to smack Ewan. Did they really have to walk through all that cold, muddy and swirling water so much? Her love of the outdoors, what little she did have, was washing away with each turbulent wave of river water.
Once they stopped to rest, eat, and do their best to warm up, Shade pulled the warm blanket Dylan had given her from her pack and wrapped it tightly around her body. Turning her head up to the sun, she soaked up its comforting rays. It felt amazing, like hot cocoa warming the core after playing in the snow and getting frostbite on your toes and fingers. She closed her eyes, not wanting to move. She felt frozen down to her inner marrow, and her lips were chapped and surely a sickly shade of blue after spending most of the day in the water.
“Hey, drink some hot tea. It will warm your soul.” Dylan handed her a steaming cup, his own secured in his other hand.
“Thanks, Dylan.” Shade happily accepted it, wrapping her fingers around the warmth of the drink, soothing her stiff joints. She drank it down in a gulp. The hot fluid felt great against her throat, warming her from the inside out. Still huddled in the blanket, she was afraid to break her cozy cocoon if she dared to move.
“Tired of the rapids, huh? They get old really fast, don’t they?” Dylan asked, attempting to sound friendly. “I don’t miss crossing them at all. You would think some idiot would’ve put a bridge or something on every river here by now. But faeries are lazy, you know. They’d rather fly right over these banks any day. Of course we aren’t all able to fly, let alone carry anyone else with us,” he said with a sigh. “So we have to do it the tried and true way, on foot. I think it’s because us faeries don’t like to disturb nature too much, so progress is limited.” He chuckled, shaking his head as he took another large sip of tea.
He was sitting next to her now, their sides slightly touching, she could feel his body heat closing the gap between them. Shade turned to watch him more closely. His unusual, steel-colored eyes glinted in the bright sunlight. The deeper they ventured into the wilderness, the more relaxed he appeared. His face had grown softer and younger in the light of the afternoon. She wondered if nature gave off some kind of natural Xanax to the fey. Everyone seemed more at ease, maybe just a touch tired, but no one was complaining. She guessed that it was better than having a group of grumpy, pissed-off faeries. Who knew what they were all capable of doing if pushed too far?
Dylan’s hair was still short, but growing faster than a human’s hair would. It was dark and shiny, with silver highlights peppered throughout. He had shaved that morning and his skin still shone smooth, with no lines to betray his age. She wondered how old he was, remembering that Ilarial had mentioned how they were immortal. Besides Soap, no one had volunteered to say how old he or she really was.
“Dylan? Can I ask you something?” He turned toward her, eyes wide with surprise. She should probably speak to him softly more often because it was nice to see him shocked.
“Yes, of course. Go for it.” He placed his cup on the dirt in front of him and sat Indian-style, his arms relaxed on his thighs.
“How old are you? How long do faeries live?” She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs, clinging to the blanket and keeping it shut.
“I’m two-hundred and forty-six years old. My brother Darren is only one-hundred and fifteen. We’re immortal, but only to a certain extent. The fey are kind of delicate in a way, more so than humans. We can wither away, if we choose. We barely exist on the little strength that human hearts give us. Imagination and strong belief in us keep us going; your world is fragile when it comes to this matter. It’s almost like a human curse. We are tied to mortals in more ways than one.” Dylan paused. He glanced at Shade but quickly turned back to stare down at his cup as he continued.
“When we wither, we choose to leave this world. Our mother was five-hundred and three when she decided she no longer had it in her to carry on, allowing herself to wither into dust. It only took two days. Just two days and slowly, what was a strong, bold, and amazing woman turned into dust and ash,” he said with a hint of emotion leaking through his cracking voice. “Life is not easy for the fey. The exiles wither faster because of the toxicity of living in or near the iron cities. Smaller faeries go faster, too. We have stronger clans, like the Guildrin Clan, and our enemies, the Unseelie are much stronger than our group of Teleen. Our sized faeries are the closest to humans in appearance. My people, the Teleen, are more fragile, dying off as time goes on. Very slowly, of course. There are not many Teleen born each year, so our numbers have dwindled as some of us die. If the world was stronger, and the magic in Faerie was not so faded, we could be true immortals and live forever.”
“Why is your clan dying? I would think you would be the strongest since humans have a lot of iron in their blood. It would be hard for any fey to live near us or among us, but you guys are fine with it.”
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 the rivers, she thought, knowing she’d bested the icy waters today and had nothing to prove.
“Well, it has a lot to do with there not being many mated pairs in our clan. Teleen females are rarely born to our clan now, and those who are get paired off quickly and stay together for life. If you’re not paired with one, as a male, you are out of luck. That is, unless a free Teleen faery woman shows up out of nowhere,” 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 toward her to muffle his voice so no one else could hear.
“I don’t know. It’s just that 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… helpless.” Shade took a deep breath before continuing. “It’s all so intriguing, but it scares me so much. There are so many things I don’t know. I’m as good as dead out here against other fey.
“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, closing her eyes as she cradled her head on her knees, tears prickling behind her eyelids. She thought back to about what he’d 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 b
e that he was thinking.
“I must train you, then. You’re 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.” He stood, offering her a hand. “Grab your sword; I’ll teach you a move or two.”
Surprised, she took his hand, standing up and fumbling through her pack for the sword. Finding it, she waited, holding it slack in her hand.
“Alright, you need to stand ready; the easiest thing to do is to stand with your feet apart, knees bent. You can put one foot forward a bit. That’s right. You need to keep your body balanced, so you can move any which way during an attack.” He moved to stand next to her, his body facing her side. Reaching out, he adjusted her arms to put both hands on the hilt of the sword, bringing her elbows to a bend. He tugged and pushed at her limbs, making her almost fall over as he adjusted her legs. Coming behind her, he placed his hands on her hips and back, pushing again to make her straighten up her poor posture while still bending her knees. Her thighs screamed in protest.
“You need to relax, I’m not going to bite.” He snickered. Shade frowned but tried to do as he told her. “There. See? Flexed, ready to pounce.”
Shade nodded, feeling nervous at his proximity but excited at learning something about using a sword.
“Now, I want you to do this exercise: step forward, then back, then side to side, holding the sword opposite the direction you head, like a dance, counterbalancing each other, like partners.” His voice was just above a whisper, near her face. It sent a thrill down her spine.
“Wh-what?”
Dylan groaned, motioning to her to give up the sword. She did and watched him as he showed her what he meant. His movements were fluid and well-practiced. She gulped, hoping she could look more like he did and less like a clumsy ogre.
“See? A dance. Practice it.” He handed the sword back and stepped back to give her some room.
“That’s it?” she stammered.
“That’s it.”
Shade felt slightly disappointed but didn’t push him any further. Learning that “dance” would be plenty for now. “Okay, I can do this. Oh, Dylan?”
“Yes?”
“Were you paired off at birth?” She risked a peek at his face as she attempted her first move to the left.
“No, I was never paired at birth. But, our oracle, who’s about eight-hundred years old, did tell me a prophecy about it.” He sighed and stared out across the river.
“What’d she say?”
“She said that I’d meet my mate one day, one who’d never resided among us, and that my life would change forever. It’d be filled with great and challenging events, some unfortunate and some amazing.”
“Really? So, did you meet her yet?” Shade watched his face, calm and handsome. 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 toward her and studied her face, his flashing eyes amused at her questions. Giving her a smile, he reached out, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. Shade felt her heart jump, sending her skin flaring up at his touch. “I don’t really know. Maybe.” He continued to watch her, a sad smile playing across his lips. “Once camp is set up tonight, we will work on more sword fighting. Be ready!” He grabbed his cup from the ground while dusting off his pants. He walked away then without another word, leaving her stunned.
“Wh-what? More tonight? Dylan?” She stuttered and couldn’t spit out the rest of her words. He was gone and nowhere near her now. Shaking her head, she laughed to herself.
He’s so strange and drives me insane! Maybe that’s a good thing.
*****
SHADE STRETCHED HER legs out before her, massaging her calves and working out some of the knots deep under her skin. They had stopped for a rest again after another horrible river crossing. She wondered if the fey ever even got sore. Probably not. She kept wondering what Dylan was thinking, too. Some of the things he did and said confused her. It made her frown at the thought of how nervous he made her feel.
Standing up, she took her teacup back to Stephen, who seemed to like being the group’s cook and occasional dishwasher. He gave her a short nod, smiling as he continued to wash the soiled dishes. He wasn’t actually physically washing them, he was just moving his hands over them, making them rinse themselves in the river.
I need to learn that! That’d be useful back home! Shade thought, turning back toward the group where Jack was talking seriously to Ewan. Maps sat spread out before them on a table. Who brought the furniture? Shade thought as she walked toward them. She still couldn’t get over the bath tent and the constant use of magic here. When she reached the two men, they were pointing at several spots on the map, plotting their journey.
“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’s 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 close to Unseelie territory.” Jack’s hand was darting around the map at several points on the unfamiliar land.
Shade studied it while the men stood there thinking. She could see the cities of Portland and San Diego along one side of the great fey territory. There were areas marked off that showed the highways and smaller human towns. The vast wilderness that belonged to the fey was unbelievable. She traced the river lands with her fingers and found Solare’s Beach on the map. Shaped like a crescent moon, it was not very big at all. It had a small river that emptied into the ocean along one side. Next was Craven’s Cave Road, which wound around the cliffs of the beach and disappeared into a cave. Shade shuddered at the thought of going into another cave again.
“How do we make it across the cliffs?” Shade asked Ewan and Jack. They turned toward her and smiled.
“You have to walk down the west side of the cliffs or take a long rope bridge across this 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. “And another cave?”
“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. Jack started coughing, trying to hold back his laughter while 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 like they hadn’t really gone 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 gave him a nasty look and didn’t like the fact that 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 toward 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 said 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’d left the caverns. As a matter of fact, she hadn’t heard the voices at all since waking up from the attack. It had actually been 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 suddenly swirled inside her as she felt a kind of emptiness without them.
Why have they been silent? Maybe they’re gone for good now.
“Honestly, I haven’t had them talk to me since Darren attacked me. It’s funny, my whole life I wished they would just shut up and now–now I miss them.”
“Well, it’s probably just the rivers; they’re quite magical, you know. They say that the rivers are the roads of dreams. Once you stand by one, the magic is too strong. It can literally turn a fey into a near mortal. We can’t use too much of 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. I can only use a simple glamour and charms. It’s strange….”