“Naem!” Jak exclaimed. She had to stop this. Naem caught her eyes and Jak could see the faintest shake of his head. A warning to stay out of it.
“Very well, soldier. You’ll assist the cook with cleaning duty for the rest of the trip. And you will continue to train this…girl,” he made the word sound like an insult, “so she doesn’t put the rest of the band at risk. If this happens again, I’ll send the both of you packing. Then we’ll see how you do against a pack of demons alone. Especially if she continues to draw them out like she did.”
“Yes, sir!” Naem looked uncaring, like Kuldain’s punishment was nothing to him. Jak kept looking from Kuldain to Naem, wanting to say something, but knowing she would only make it worse by doing so.
“Dismissed!” Kuldain turned away from Naem to the rest of the onlookers. “Get these bodies in a pile and burn them. Now!”
The rest of the Watchers sprang to action, never once hesitating to obey. All but Naem. He joined Jak, who could feel her knees start to shake as the adrenaline wore off.
He cracked a smile as he approached her. “So, if I’m keeping count, that’s now the third time that I’ve saved you.”
Jak punched his shoulder. She couldn’t handle his quips right now. “You didn’t have to do that for me.”
“Nah, cleaning duty is a minor annoyance. It could have been much worse.”
Jak didn’t ask him how it could have been worse. Instead, they began walking back to the tents.
“So, practice again tomorrow?” he said.
“What? After all this?”
“You heard the commander, I’m supposed to make you less useless.”
Jak knew he was just being playful. Under normal circumstances she would have punched him in the shoulder again. But he was right. She was useless.
Naem seemed to realize that his joke had gone too far. “Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“No, it’s alright. Kuldain was right. If I’m no good to the band, what good am I?”
“Hey, you’ve only been with us for a few weeks. And frankly, no one has progressed as fast as you have in so short a time, not even the other new recruits, like your friends Marek and Estel. But you can’t be expected to be our equal just yet. We have years of training, and we have better br….” He broke off. But Jak knew what he had almost said, ‘we have better brands.’ Yeah, that much was true. Several weeks of training with Naem, and her brand could do nothing to help her. It was her biggest disadvantage. She didn’t even know how to use her Gifter brand. At least then, perhaps she could do something.
A thought occurred to her. Perhaps she could use Alchemy, branding objects like her mother used to do, something she could use in combat. It might give her an edge.
But she didn’t have time to think more on that. The camp was busy with cleaning up the mess of demons. She strode over to where the front line had been, Naem following behind her. It didn’t take long for him to figure out where Jak was going as she sought out the largest group of Watchers standing in a circle.
“Jak, I don’t think…”
She waved him off as she saw it. A body lay on the ground, covered in a thin cloth that hid its face. Jak came close and bent down, lifting the cloth. He was a young man that Jak had not known personally, but she recognized his face.
Tears began to well in Jak’s eyes. More deaths. More failures. Not anymore.
“There’s nothing you could have done,” said Naem. “He did his duty.”
“You saw the way the demons came at me. I don’t know why, but I think they were attracted to me somehow. That means the attack was my fault.”
“You shouldn’t blame yourself for something out of your control.”
“Maybe I’m tired of not having control. Maybe if I had more control, this man would still be alive. My father would still be alive.”
“Maybe,” said Naem. Jak turned to him, not expecting him to agree. “But the world turns with or without our help. Ultimately we have to understand where we can do the most good, and focus on that. That’s why I joined the Watchers. Because…” he trailed off.
Jak paused. She had never heard Naem talk about why he was here, and didn’t want him to stop talking. Curious, she asked, “Did something happen?”
Naem opened his mouth, then closed it again. Jak waited patiently until finally he seemed to reach some internal decision. “I was just a boy when my parents died,” Naem said. “My father was a drunk, he often beat my mother and me. One day he went too far, and my mother didn’t get up. I got away, but he killed himself before anyone could come to take him away.”
“I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” said Jak.
“It was many years ago now. But that was when I learned that I did not have control over the actions of others. But I could control my own, and learn from others’ mistakes. I’ve never touched a drop of alcohol. As soon as I was old enough, I enlisted with the Watchers. Kuldain sponsored my brand, and I’ve been with them ever since. We’ve saved a lot of lives, but we can’t save everyone.”
“How do you deal with the deaths?”
Naem shrugged. “I don’t really. If I let myself think about it too much, it takes me over. And I can’t let that happen. It keeps me from performing at my best, and that can only hurt others more.”
Jak nodded. She understood that much at least. But she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that she could have saved that soldier. She could have done something. At the very least, she could have left the camp and led the demons away.
But that brought up another issue. Why had the demons come for her in the first place? She wasn’t anything special. The only thing that set her apart from the others was her Gifter brand. But she had never heard of other Gifters being sought out by demons. Perhaps Naem was right that she presented a more vulnerable target. But something about that didn’t seem right either. Demons usually weren’t that smart.
He fears you. Her father’s words returned to her. She didn’t know how or why, but something told her those words had something to do with the demons.
She weighed her options. She could leave the camp, but that would only move the problem. If demons were targeting her specifically, then she was a liability no matter where she went. And she wasn’t about ready to sacrifice herself. That would accomplish nothing, the demons would still remain a threat to mankind, and she would no longer exist to do anything about it. So her best option was to continue training with Naem, and hope that the demons didn’t attack again.
She walked back toward her tent, passing Kuldain’s command tent on her way. Naem followed her as his tent was in the same direction.
As she passed the tent, she overheard conversation inside. Kuldain talking to his lieutenants, most likely. But then Jak heard someone say her name. She wasn’t even sure Kuldain remembered her name. She could get in trouble for eavesdropping, but it was still dark. She stopped and inclined her ear toward the tent, trying to listen in.
Naem stopped in confusion. “What are you doing?” he whispered.
Jak thought she heard the mention of ‘Fae’ come from within the tent.
“You go on ahead, I’ll catch up later.”
“You’re not going to try and speak with the Captain, are you? Now is probably not the time.”
“No, nothing like that. I just...I need some time to walk around camp and clear my head.” It was a lame excuse but the only one she could think of in the moment.
Naem shrugged and continued to his tent.
Jak made to look like she was walking in the opposite direction, until she saw Naem turn a corner and go out of sight. Then she tiptoed as close as she could get to the back of Kuldain’s tent without being seen.
She held her breath and listened hard.
8
“I still think you were too hard on the girl.” Skellig’s voice said inside the tent. “You can’t possibly expect her to know everything after a few weeks. Besides, we had no way of knowing the demons would attack lik
e they did.”
“Exactly!” That was Kuldain’s voice. “Demons don’t attack like they did. The last two attacks were some of the biggest we’ve ever seen. The packs are growing larger, and I want to know why. So far, the only connection is that girl.”
“Surely you don’t believe she is a….a….what exactly do you think she is?”
“I don’t know. There have always been rumors of demons who could think like men. The Fae are one such variety.”
Another voice spoke within the tent, one Jak didn’t recognize. “But the Fae aren’t as violent by all reports.”
“Let me tell you a story about these so-called non-violent Fae,” said Kuldain. Disdain dripped from every word. “Before we set out from Skyecliff, I was on assignment exploring north-west, where rumors of a new type of demon was said to have appeared. When I left, I was a Major General of the Watchers, leading an army of ten thousand. Only one person held more authority in the Watcher ranks. And do you know what happened when I returned, Major?”
Major Skellig didn’t say anything for a while. She seemed hesitant to embarrass the Colonel. “Everyone is aware, sir.”
“I came back alone, with only a handful of men I had managed to save. But they had lost their minds, and were as good as dead anyway. The rest died on those plains. I was demoted to the rank of Colonel and confined to Skyecliff for months, until we received this assignment to patrol the foothills. A tedious job.”
“Did the Fae kill your men?”
There was a pause that lasted so long, Jak wondered if Kuldain had heard the question. Then his voice came like gravel.
“Killing would have been a kindness.” Jak leaned in to hear as Kuldain began to elaborate.
“You’ve heard of the Fae in these mountains, Shadow Fae. The Fae my men and I discovered up north—well—they were a different breed.”
“A second classification of Fae?” Major Skellig’s question echoed Jak’s reaction. She had never heard of a second type of Fae, apart from the shadows that invested the mountains. “Or a third classification of demon.” Kuldain corrected. “I’ve long tried to convince my superiors that we’re dealing with a threat far more cunning than your typical mutated human. A threat that can think for itself. But no matter. These Fae were not dark like the Shadow Fae. They were bright, but sickly, like ghosts that lead little children off a cliff or to drown in the river. We arrived at a small mining town up north to stock up on our supplies, but these Bright Fae arrived first, and there was nothing we could do.”
Jak hung onto every word now. This was more information than she had ever heard about the Fae, and a new variety at that. She had all but forgotten Kuldain’s implication that she might also be connected to the Fae.
Kuldain’s voice lowered to a barely-audible growl. “These Fae, they have a way of getting into your head, make you see things. When we arrived, they had already led the villagers into a trap, a nest of demons not far from the mines. None of the villagers survived. We arrived mere hours after it happened, and the Fae were waiting for us. We killed as many as we could, but they got into our heads. Those they didn’t kill were driven mad. I, miraculously, survived with my wits intact. My brand somehow made me immune. I took the few remaining men with me, and we ran.”
“How is it that we haven’t heard about this until now?” Skellig asked. “Such a threat would require our foremost attention. It’s the Watcher’s mission to seek out and eliminate supernatural threats.”
“Once perhaps, no longer.” Kuldain responded. “I reported to High Command but all I received in return were deaf ears and a demotion. Honestly, I think I’m lucky that was all I received. There are worse fates.”
A pause hung in the air while Skellig and the other Watchers in the tent soaked in everything Kuldain had said. Jak’s thoughts were also racing. Just weeks ago she thought the kingdom was a safe place. Of course, she had heard of demon attacks, but those were isolated incidents, nothing on the scale of what Kuldain witnessed, or that Jak herself had witnessed for that matter. Could the Fae really be that dangerous? If so, why hadn't anyone heard of that type of violence? Jak knew she was from a small town, but even they heard of what went on in the world via traveling merchants and Gifters. Their kingdom was not so large that no one knew what happened in its corners. She needed to find out more.
Kuldain’s voice spoke again, breaking Jak away from her thoughts. “Watcher High Command gave me this assignment, to patrol the space between Skyecliff and the Hollow Peaks. You, Major Skellig, and the rest of you, my officers, will serve as further witnesses of the threat we face.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” said Skellig.
“We are now entering Fae territory. As such, we must all be on our guard until we reach Foothold, at the base of the mountains. I was stationed there once, many years ago when the Shadow Fae first emerged. Once there, we’ll take a day or two to rest, after which we will march into the mountains, to find the Fae.”
“And then what?”
“And then we exterminate every last one of them.”
Jak heard some nervous shuffling of feet inside the tent. Skellig voiced the apparent discomfort. “Sir, we’re just a patrol, not an army. We don’t know how many of them we might find. If they are as dangerous as you say, shouldn’t we wait until we have a more sizable force?”
“Under normal circumstances, yes,” Kuldain confirmed. “But these are not normal circumstances. Thankfully, I have it on good authority from my own experience and from eye witnesses at Foothold, that there are not many Fae in these mountains. Few have ever been seen, and the mountains could not possibly sustain so many.”
“But…the legends.”
“Are just that, legends. Stories that grow larger with each retelling. No, you needn’t worry about their numbers. However, you are wise not to underestimate them. These Fae are cunning, they are like shadows. They don’t attack until the perfect moment and possess certain skills of strategy and defense. They are not like the other Fae I encountered up north, what I call the Bright Fae. Not only are these darker in appearance, they will not openly attack you, but they are no less a threat. They will attack when you least expect it, usually at night when the shadows are darkest. I advise you to spread the word to your troops. They must be on their guard.”
“They will be, sir,” said Skellig.
“With any luck, we’ll be able to eliminate one threat, leaving us free to focus on the remaining demons and the northern Fae.”
“Yes sir. And if we can’t find them?”
“We will. They are too bloodthirsty to stay reclusive for long. They will attack as soon as they feel their land is threatened. And we will be waiting for them.”
A rustle of grass broke Jak away from the conversation. In the dimming light, she could see Estel walking in her direction. Had the girl seen Jak eavesdropping?
Despite wanting to listen further, she moved away from the tent as quietly as she could, keeping low so as not to attract attention.
A few moments later, and she reached her tent. As she removed her armor, her thoughts raced over what she had just learned. There were more than one type of Fae, something she had never even thought to consider. Why hadn’t her father ever told her something like that? Had he known, and could there even be more than two?
And what about the fact that they were entering Fae territory? Did that have something to do with the way the demons were behaving strangely, attacking Jak like they wanted to kill her, specifically? Jak couldn’t see how, but she wouldn’t discount any abnormality at this point. So much of what she thought she knew had changed in the last few weeks. She could only hope that the odd demon attack was a one-time thing.
As she lay on her cot in thought, she could feel her muscles stiffening from the fight, on top of her regular training and the march to Foothold. Slowly, she lifted herself from her cot and began massaging her muscles as best she could. Naem had shown her a few techniques, and she wished he were here now, not just because the
man had magical hands when it came to relieving muscle tension. She needed someone to talk to.
A few moments later, and Jak lay back on the cot. Her mind continued racing as she took in the events of the day, and the conversation she overheard. The new information was almost enough to make her forget about Kuldain’s harsh words to her. Everything she learned about the Fae captivated her. So far she had learned that there were more than one type of Fae, and that they had special abilities that might involve more than one brand, or no brand at all. What other secrets might they hold?
Carefully, she drew out her journal and recorded everything she learned that night, creating a new page for the new “Bright Fae” that Kuldain had mentioned and relabeling her first page on the Fae as “Shadow Fae.”
Yet one thought persisted until she finally fell asleep. If the Shadow Fae were as dangerous as Kuldain seemed to think, was there any chance they would help her find her mother?
9
It was still dark outside when Jak awoke. At first, she wasn’t sure what had woken her. No sounds escaped the night and everything seemed calm in the camp. Confused, Jak looked around her tent, disoriented. Something had definitely awoken her. Had it been a sound?
She froze, and a chill ran up her spine. In her tent, not three feet away, was a pair of glowing, green eyes.
Jak swallowed. All she could see were the eyes. When she tried to see what the eyes were attached too, she could see nothing. The night was still dark, but surely she should be able to see something there, right?
Jak didn’t move. She could not tear her gaze away from those green eyes. They held her fast in their hypnotic gaze. Should she be scared? She didn’t feel like it. In many ways, this was similar to that night at the farm, when she had woken to feel a presence in the room. But this did not feel at all the same.
“Who are you?” she finally managed to ask.
The eyes…blinked. With that one motion, Jak thought she could discern the rest of the figure. It was a dark form, darker than the shadows around it. Black hair hung from its head, illuminated just barely by the pale gleam of its eyes. How had she not seen it before?
Out of Shadow: An Epic YA Fantasy Adventure (Roots of Creation Book 1) Page 8