Dylan seemed to come back into himself, shaking off whatever was holding him in his thoughts. Gazing at her, he shook his head. “I-I don’t know, Shade. I wish I knew. There are so few who can do what you just did, so very few. Most are just Teleen, but you….” He kept his head shaking back and forth in disbelief. “Amazing,” he whispered and then looked back at her, a smile now hiding the seriousness of his face.
“Do you know what that means, Shade? You could marry a Teleen. You could, without difficulty, find a mate within our court. Being a female, you have no idea how rare you are, and how well you shall be received.”
“What? I don’t want to get married. Well, at least not yet. Where did that come from? I-I’m just a kid; why would I even think of that yet?” She huffed, flustered at his statement. “Dylan, what do you mean there are so few who can do what I did? Do you mean the not getting burned part? Who else besides a Teleen can do that?” She waited and watched his smile fade just as fast as it had come.
“Our race is dying out, Shade. We can only marry another Teleen and very few of us are able to have children. Only another race compatible with us would help strengthen our line. Our clan dies otherwise. The only other races of faeries that would even be compatible with us, strong enough to withstand our powers, are even rarer than the Teleen.”
“Who are these people?” she asked impatiently. The look on his face was definitely disapproving that she’d even asked him.
“Changelings, for one thing, or elementals of fire, such as fire-witches. Finding someone like that is so rare. I have only known of one changeling and one elemental fire-witch ever, and they were paired already.” He paused, narrowing his eyes at her. “Do you know if you are either of those, Shade?”
“Me? No, no way. If I am, I wouldn’t know it. I mean, what’s a changeling and an elemental witch? How would I know which one I am, if I am one of those?”
“Well,” he offered, “a changeling is simple; they’re capable of changing into anything they want to. Human, bear, squirrel, different types of fey, like Teleen, Enlors, which are sprites, or Gidals, which are trolls. Anything really. It’s a rare ability, like I said. An elemental fire-witch is, well, a human mortal witch—in every meaning of the word—but with an affinity to fire. They can control it, wave it around, and send it roaring across a forest. Whatever you can imagine doing with it, they can do it. They can cast spells, charms, curses and things of that nature. There are many kinds of witches, Shade, but rare is it to find elemental witches. They’re special.” His face darkened as his eyes met hers.
“Shade, if my people knew that you could be one of these kind of special individuals, especially since Darren exposed it with his attack, I have to warn you and let you know that upon returning to Teleen, all unmated, unmarried males in my race will be courting you for your attention. You’ll probably be bombarded by them, pushed to choose one of them for a mate.”
“What? Oh no, no, no. They can’t make me do anything. I won’t choose anybody. I won’t be staying there at all. I wouldn’t return there after what happened, and besides, I’m going home.”
Dylan nodded and sighed. “Yes, Shade, of course you will want to go home. But I must warn you: even at home, you will not be left alone. Teleen men are relentless. Our Queen will not stop them, either, not until you choose one of them as your mate. Only then will it be ordered by our Queen to leave you alone. It is vital for the survival of our people. I’m sorry, Shade. At the very least, I had to warn you before that happens.”
Shade let her face screw up in disgust. Marriage was the least of her worries. She wished he hadn’t said a thing about it at all. She turned and slumped down onto her sleeping bag again. She still felt tired and now irritated on top of it all. She stared up at the ceiling, lit up in Dylan’s glow. The whole cave was flickering in the light. There was still no sign of a way out. She pulled the blanket over her head and curled up into a ball.
“Dylan, how are we getting out of this place? I looked everywhere. I don’t even see where I came in! What is this place? I feel claustrophobic, and it’s cold down here.” She closed her eyes and waited.
“It’s a place to forget oneself or forget about someone. It’s either a blessing or a curse, depending how you look at it. This cave is one of the ancient prisons of Faerie. People were left here for years to forget about themselves, wither away or to emerge fresh, with a clean slate. It’s an immortal’s dungeon, or oubliette, Shade. I am surprised you stumbled across one; usually it can trap only immortals.” He paused. She listened to the silence, waiting for him to continue while pondering his words. “It does make me wonder why you are down here. You must be immortal then, to end up in such a place. You could be a powerful changeling for all we know.”
“Who gets people out of these things? Who made them? Was it the Unseelie?” she muttered. She felt her eyes become heavy with sleep, rubbing them as she struggled to stay awake.
“No. As I said, this room could be used as a prison but not always. It can be a safe place, you know, like when you’re being pursued and you need to seek a sanctuary. No one gets people out of these places except for the faery who put you here. In your case, it’s you. You must will it so yourself–to escape, I mean; you must get us out here, Shade.”
She thought of his last words as she drifted off to sleep.
What a bunch of crock.
Chapter Twenty
SHADE WOKE UP in darkness yet again. She heard soft breathing across the room. Was she still in the oubliette? The cool, damp air confirmed her disappointment as she sat up, pulling the blanket down from her head. She felt around for her light stone, which sat cold and dormant in the center of the room where she had left it. Grasping it, she reignited it. Her eyes focused in the dim light as it grew. She watched the bundle that was Dylan softly sleeping. He wasn’t aglow anymore; he must have slipped his glamour back on like a robe before bed.
She set the light stone down again, wondering if she should wake him and also how long she had slept. She didn’t know what day or time it was anymore. It could have been hours or minutes and she wouldn’t even know it down here in the dark, dank bowels of the earth. Her cell phone was long dead, since she hadn’t charged it recently. She leaned against the smooth stone and thought about everything they had spoken about before she’d let sleep win her over… had it been the night or day before?
Shade felt bad for doubting Dylan, but he didn’t make much sense to her half of the time. She was glad that she wasn’t alone down here anymore but pondered the subject of escape. Just will it so? What the heck was that about? Like, tell the stone to open up and let me out kind of thing? Shade thought with frustration. She was pretty sure she hadn’t asked to be placed here, at least not on purpose.
She stood up again and shook her head. Oh, whatever, this entire place doesn’t make any sense. Changelings, witches, faeries and whatever the hell else pops up. She wondered how much of the world she’d grown up in was real at all. It seemed like none of it was; it was just a lie, just a façade that the fey had played on all of humankind. They probably got a good laugh out of it all the time. Oh, what dumb humans they are, can’t figure out that more than half their land isn’t even on their maps because it’s ours. We can do whatever the heck we want, and they don’t know any better. Idiots!
She kicked the wall again, but not hard enough to hurt her foot. It did force her to grunt, though. She thumped her back against the wall, groaning.
“You all right there? The wall isn’t going to kick you back, you know. It didn’t really do anything to you, anyway.” Dylan had his hands behind his head while he remained lying, head up and staring at her, grinning.
“Oh, shut up. How do we get out? We need to get out, like yesterday, Dylan! How do we do it?” She stared at him, huffing out her anger as she marched back to her sleeping bag. She shook it out violently and stuffed it into her bag. Pulling out her canteen, she gulped down the cool drops of water. She tossed her bag to the side as she sank
down to the ground, feeling the tears sting her eyes. Darn it if she was going to give Dylan any more signs of her current breakdown. She just couldn’t take the mortification.
Dylan sighed and stretched out. He stood up and held his hand out to her. “Come on, we gotta go.” He waited as she stared back up at him, tears still pooling in her eyes. She took his hand and stood up, swinging her pack onto her back as she followed him over to the smooth walls of stone. “Now, to leave these prisons, one must believe in impossibility. Lay your hands on the stone and think. Think about the mountains you saw before you got here and the fountains. Wish your way out. Make a road in your head that will lead you to the place you want to go, and it will happen. Make a way for yourself, for us.”
Shade studied his face, feeling a prick of hope mixed with disbelief as he spoke. She licked her lips and did as he told her. Closing her eyes, she wished the stone would open and let her out into the sunlight, into the wilderness she so longed to see again. She prayed and wished as hard as she could, caressing the cool rock and waiting for the stone to do something under her dirty fingers.
Nothing.
Shade opened her eyes and frowned at the rock. She looked over at Dylan and shook her head. “Nothing’s happening, Dylan. What if we’re stuck here forever?” She stared at the curved wall, wanting a way out where there was none. She sucked her breath in. “Wait!” She’d just remembered something and grabbed her pack, rummaging through it frantically. She pulled out the rune stones Ilarial had given her. She held them in her gritty hand and stared at the symbols. How was she supposed to know what she had to do with them? Ilarial said they would help me find my way when there is none, but how? She stared at them and closed her eyes, silently praying for a way out of the oubliette.
“Shade! Something’s happening!” Dylan pulled her out of her thoughts. She glanced around to find the rock fading in front of them with a soft rumble. The bubble was no longer a bubble but extending into an elongated hall. It grew longer into the earth until it reached the top of the soil. Steps formed out of the smooth rock, and sunlight gradually began streaming in through dirt. Roots dangled down from the forest floor.
The walls stopped rumbling, and the ground stilled. She looked over to Dylan as they now stared down the small corridor to the stairs. She smiled and looked at him as he reached back, grabbing his cloak and her light stone from the ground. He tossed the stone to her as they walked up the stairs. “Way to go, Shade. See, you just have to believe in yourself.”
“It worked! Ilarial gave me these rune stones that would help me out when I needed it. I didn’t even do much but wish for there to be a way out. Wow, it’s amazing Dylan!” They both shouted with glee as they scurried up each step.
The sun bore down on them like a spotlight in their faces. Shade’s eyes cramped in pain as they adjusted to the bright sunlight. She blinked and shaded her eyes with her hands, looking about. They were no longer in the river of boulders but at the base of the Santiran mountain range. She pulled herself up and out of the hole in the ground with Dylan just behind her. The ground seemed to swallow up the darkness of the prison as they watched it close. Only grass and leaves lay where the exit used to be. She bent to touch the patch of grass and dirt. It felt firm and undisturbed.
“Look, Dylan!” She pointed up the massive wall of mountain. “It’s the Santiran Mountain! We must be so close to the fountains! We’re almost there!” She walked with a little skip in her step, almost bursting with anticipation. She’d find the magic waters of the Santiran fountains, and then she’d be that much closer to going home.
Home. Going back to her snotty-nosed brothers and bratty sister; she missed them so much her heart ached in her chest. She’d be able to hug her mother again. She wanted to run up the mountain as fast as possible; she could barely contain herself.
Dylan grabbed her arm and tugged hard. She was about to curse him out when he pressed a finger to his lips and pulled again for her to follow him. Her eyes widened as she strained to hear what he heard. She followed him behind a boulder near a dip in the mountain’s side, almost like someone had taken a scooper and scooped out a chunk of the rocky base. She wasn’t sure she liked being inside the hollowed stone, but whatever Dylan had heard had tripped his alarms at full force.
“What is it, Dylan?” Shade whispered. She was about to ask him again, when she heard it. Murmurs of voices seemed to dance off the rock walls and made her turn her head in all directions to discover which way they were coming from. Maybe this hiding spot was not such a good idea. The voices grew louder and echoed even more, like they were hitting a concaved amplifier.
They waited quietly, barely breathing in fear of discovery. The voices continued to dance around them, as they would in a crowded arena. She knew they were coming from the side they would have to follow to get to the fountains. She gritted her teeth with impatience, willing the men to move along already.
When the murmurs faded away, Dylan peeked over his shoulder at her and nodded his head in the same direction as the voices. The strangers were going where they needed to be. Shade nodded in agreement, but the pit in her stomach flipped with anxiety. She wasn’t sure how many people might be waiting for them around the bend. How many Unseelie were guarding the mountain?
They found the path deserted. They were breathing out sighs of relief as they crept out silently up the gravelly path. They climbed the rocky path, slipping frequently from the loose dirt. They eased their way up the mountain, the altitude shifting into thinner and cooler air. The view was breathtaking, with emerald green treetops. The forest spread out for miles. The mountains stood tall, like a row of kings standing around the valley and framing the forest with their embrace. Shade took it in and smiled, finding nature beautiful even in her current situation. Again, she felt as if she’d changed somehow. The woods felt alive all around, as if breathing in the air along with her.
A cool breeze caressed them as they ascended. The forest began to grow again as thick as it had been in the valley below. The mountainous path turned into a narrow crevice as they slid through one by one. Inside was a plateau cove, green and partly shaded by the mountain. Trees stood in all sizes around the path that led to the other side of the cove’s rock walls, where a carved opening stood in a shadow that never reached the sun’s rays.
Shade followed Dylan, taking refuge in the shrubs and tree trunks that kept them hidden from the sight of the two soldiers; they were both standing casually by the entrance. The men were chatting loudly and hadn’t noticed the intrusion. Shade snickered, sure the Unseelie queen would not be happy with the help around here. Dylan glared at her, warning her to be quiet.
He studied them and then sank back down to a hidden crouch. “I only see the two guards. The Santiran fountains are inside that darkened doorway. If we can get through them, we should be all right. It seems that they weren’t expecting us to be here at all.” He paused, furrowing his brow in deep concentration. “Unless, of course, it’s a trap.” He bit on his lip, furrowing his brow again in thought.
“How are we going to take on two guards?” She glanced over at them. They didn’t even have their helmets on. They were the same height with the same color and length of hair, blonde strands that hit their shoulders. They were tossing jokes back and forth and giving each other friendly pushes and punches. As she looked closely, she could see that they were identical twins.
Great, double the trouble. How am I going to take on two husky guards? She squatted back down and out of sight, glancing at Dylan with worry spread across her face. “I’m not a fighter. I haven’t learned enough to take on one of these guys. They’re each as huge as a house! They could crush me with a finger!” She took a deep breath, attempting to calm her nerves.
“Shh, it’s all right; you can distract them, and I’ll take them out. They won’t know what hit them.” He smiled and began pulling out his weapons, unsheathing his sword and draping a rope across his chest and shoulders. She watched him prepare, her face contort
ed in horror.
“You mean I’ll be the bait? Wait a minute. I don’t know; that doesn’t sound very promising. You might as well mark me for death. What do I say? How do I distract those two big buffoons? They don’t look that smart, but who needs brains with brawn like that?” Shade rambled on nervously. She wrung her hands over and over, feeling almost faint with anxiety. She grasped Dylan’s tunic as he started to leave.
“Hey, don’t worry. You have to trust me a little, Shade. I’ve done this before, many times. I was captain of the Teleen Guard, remember? One doesn’t become captain by letting their wards get killed.” He snickered but stopped, catching her daggered look. “Calm down, just prance out there and act like some lost little maiden who needs their help. They will fall for it, believe me. Just act dumb, shouldn’t be too hard.” He laughed quietly but stopped again when she threw another nasty glare at him. He turned and started to move, keeping cover in the trees, until Shade could no longer see him.
Shoot, shoot, shoot! She looked again around the tree she was hiding behind and watched the twins. They were still cackling at each other’s jokes. Okay, Shade, you know you have to; sometimes we have to do what we don’t want to. Just get it over with already!
She crept closer to the twins. Peeking at the guards made her stomach twist in a bad way. Taking a deep breath, she stood up straight, fixing her hair as best as she could. She put her most convincing clueless face on, including a broad smile. She then walked straight into their line of sight.
“Um, excuse me, boys, but do you know where the nearest town is? I’ve done gone and got myself lost. Would either one of you gentlemen care to show me which way to go?” She batted her eyes at them in the girliest way she could think of. Flipping her hair back, she didn’t think she looked irresistible, but she’d figured what the hell, it’s worth a shot.