She used some of the other wood to build a small tent around the burning branch. Within moments, a healthy fire began to keep out the chill. Jak knelt as close as she dared, feeling the warmth flow through her. Now she could eat some of the snow and still stay warm. She did so, feeling the relief as the cold water trickled down her throat. She still shivered as she consumed the snow, but the fire made all the difference. She spent the next few hours gathering wood, eating snow, and keeping close to the fire.
Now, it was time to find something to eat. Surely something lived this far into the mountains? She couldn’t survive on tree bark. Perhaps she could find a rabbit hole or some edible plants.
It was almost night time, and she’d need food soon. Jak found a long stick, placed the end in the fire, and waited. Several minutes later she took the stick and began rubbing the tip against a rock. Soon the ash fell away and Jak was left with a pointed stick, sharpened by the rock. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but it might help her catch something.
After adding more wood to the fire, she began to search the immediate area. There wasn’t much there. With some effort, Jak managed to climb an incline and peer onto the other side. In the light of dusk she had to squint, but she eventually spotted a small animal in the distance, a rabbit from the looks of it.
Unfortunately, catching the rabbit with nothing but a sharp stick was no small task. Jak kept herself warm simply from the exertion. At one point, she returned to her camp so the fire didn’t go out. But after several hours of persistence, she eventually managed to follow the animal into its hole. From there, it didn’t take too long to corner and kill the small animal.
Jak cheered. Her relief was palpable. Finally, she had caught something! Maybe she would live after all.
She arrived back at her makeshift camp just in time to add more wood to the fire. She used her sharp stick to skin and skewer the rabbit, silently thanking her father for teaching her how to do these things. At the time, she had been repulsed by the sight of a skinned animal. Now, she had never seen a more beautiful sight.
After roasting the rabbit, and smelling the sweet savor of cooked meat, she could feel her stomach growl from going more than a day without food. When at last the animal was thoroughly cooked, she tore off a piece and ate.
Truly, nothing had ever tasted so good.
Jak settled back down to finish the rabbit, eating every morsel she could glean off of its bones. She was quite proud of herself actually. Not only had she caught and cooked a meal in the wild, but she had formed her first brand, albeit a faulty one. Perhaps she could survive long enough to return to the Watchers.
What had made the difference that caused the brand to work? Jak wasn’t sure. At first she thought it was simply her conviction, her determination. But that wasn’t quite it. She had felt equally motivated while strapped to the back of the demon, more so even.
Her final thought before casting the brand had been, ‘I am not a failure.’ Maybe the brand depended on positive thoughts? But no, she had tried that before. She scanned through her mental process before activating her brand. Perhaps it was the hope she had felt, the thought that everything might work out in the end, that she was capable. In her mind, that truth had radiated within her. Truth. Perhaps that had something to do with it.
She would have to test her theories later.
As the worst of the hunger left, exhaustion decided to have its turn with her. All of that effort to survive was draining, and the warmth of the fire felt so soothing.
It didn’t take long for her to doze off as the fire slowly began to die.
Jak awoke with a start. It was completely dark now. How long had she been asleep? An hour, two? Judging by the fact that she could see no glow in the west, she must have been asleep for longer. And she was still exhausted, so what had awakened her so suddenly?
A growl from the shadows suddenly told her exactly why she was awake. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she could vaguely make out the faint gleam of eyes watching her. Those eyes were neither human nor demon nor Fae. Jak swallowed. All of this, everything she had been through, only to be eaten by wolves.
Jak stood as the beasts circled her, and the fire had died to the embers. Her makeshift spear was all she had. But as the wolves circled around her, she realized that the stick would not be enough to hold them all back.
"Stay back,” she said, realizing immediately that it would do no good. So she braced herself, waiting for the attack to begin. Within seconds, the bravest of the wolves decided to take its chance. It lunged at Jak, and she swung her stick to meet it. The pointy end found its mark. The wolf let out a howl as a sharp stick pierced its furry skin. But it was not dead yet, and Jak was barely able to extract the stick before another wolf pounced on her.
Her mind scrambled for options, but reflexes took over as the other wolf aimed for her throat. The beast barreled into her, and she fell to the snow-ridden ground. Using all the strength she had, she held the beast at bay with her stick. But it was all she could do. Desperately, she looked around for other options but could find none.
A familiar buzzing sound flew through the air. Each of the wolves let out a soft yelp, before each of them, together, fell to the earth. The beast atop Jak also fell, and she had to take a moment to push it off of her.
Whatever had just happened, it was the same rescuers that had saved her from the demons earlier. She could see the same, small poison dart buried in the fur of each wolf.
She was not going to let them get away this time.
"Hello!" she exclaimed. “I know you're here, I know you're trying to help me."
This time she saw something. In the darkness, she saw two pairs of glowing green eyes. She recognized those eyes. They were the same as the creature that had visited her in her tent just before the demons dragged her away.
They were Fae.
"Please help me," Jak said. "I need food and a place to rest.” She swallowed, remembering the other reason why she wanted to talk to the Fae. Was now a good time? Well, she couldn’t think of a better time, not when the Fae could possibly disappear at the moment’s notice. She licked her lips. “I'm trying to find my mother."
The Fae said nothing in response. One seemed to look at the other, their green eyes meeting before turning back to look at her.
Then one turned away, walked a few steps, and turned back to look at her. Were they telling her to follow? Jak voiced her question out loud. "You want me to come with you?"
She thought she saw the barest nod of the eyes, seeming to confirm her question. Okay then, what did she have to lose? It was follow the Fae or get eaten by wolves. Not exactly a hard choice to make.
So she followed, watching as the green eyes moved on then turned back to look at her. As the sun began to rise in the east, she could barely make out the shadowy forms of the Fae. From what she could tell, they looked human in shape, but their skin and clothing were dark, darker than anything she had ever seen, which blended in with their dark hair.
Where were they leading her? She wished she knew, but they wouldn’t answer. Well, she didn’t have much choice. Hopefully it wasn’t anywhere dangerous. She could still remember those stories of Fae leading away young children. Yet, whatever she had heard, whatever Kuldain had said, these Fae didn’t feel like a threat. Some might be scared of them, and they did look a bit intimidating. But Jak had a gut feeling, spurred by what her father had said of the Fae, that she was perfectly safe. Besides, they had plenty of opportunities to kill her, but none had made the move. And if they meant harm to her, why save her, twice?
What might have been an hour or so later, they arrived at a large cave. Both pairs of eyes turned to look at her, and they parted, as if inviting her to go inside. Jak swallowed, she was sure there was nothing to fear from these people, but that didn't mean she was fearless, especially when confronted with a dark, shadow-filled cave. But what could be in there? More Fae? Or maybe even…but no, she shouldn’t get her hopes up that her mother was in there.
That would be far too convenient. Her mother had been lost for years. She only came here to ask if the Fae knew where she had gone. And yet, perhaps the answer lay in this scary-looking cave. Swallowing, she took her first steps towards the scary blackness.
She took a few more steps, then a few more. She looked behind, but couldn’t see the two Fae anymore. So she turned ahead, and kept walking, reaching her hands in front of her as the light dimmed from behind.
It seemed unnaturally dark inside this cave, even with the sun lighting its entrance. For all she could tell, there was no light behind her, even though she could turn around and see the sunlight, it seemed to fall away as she progressed through the cave.
Should she call out? Did the Fae realize that she had no way of navigating through the darkness? Perhaps they had some way of seeing in the dark, and maybe they thought she did too.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the approaching eyes of several Fae. It wasn't until she was able to make out parts of the cave with the light from their eyes, that she realized that she was surrounded.
Only moments later, she felt cold hands grabbing her arms and face. One hand closed around her mouth so she could say nothing, and she felt herself lifted up.
She wanted to scream, but the hand on her mouth muffled her attempt. Had she been wrong about the Fae all along? Unable to do anything, she let them carry her deeper and deeper into the darkness.
12
Jak could no longer tell whether she had been in the cave for minutes or hours. The hands of the Shadow Fae continued to drag her down into ever-increasing darkness. All sense of time was lost.
“Where are you taking me?” Jak asked for the thousandth time, or at least what felt like the thousandth time. “Are you taking me to see my mother?” Was it her imagination, or did the Fae run faster at the mention of her mother?
Suddenly, they rounded a corner and stopped. With surprising gentility, Jak was set down onto a cold stone floor. Jak could see absolutely nothing, even with the pale green light of the Fae’s eyes. But then those too disappeared, and Jak was left to her own thoughts, which was not what she needed right now.
What were the Fae going to do now? Had she been wrong to trust them? What about food and water? And where was she anyway? Slowly, she began to feel around, trying to find anything that might help her. It wasn’t long before she found metal bars, outlining the edges of a cell. Jak swallowed. So she was a prisoner.
A faint rustling came from outside the cell, and Jak heard the clear sound of a metal door opening. Even in the darkness, Jak could tell that she was not alone. Someone had come to talk to her, or maybe that was wishful thinking. She still had no idea what these creatures wanted.
“Who are you?” A voice broke through the darkness, a female voice.
“H-hello? My name is Jak, who are you?”
“Jak.” The speaker tested the name on her tongue. Jak couldn’t tell if she was one of the Fae or not. Whoever she was, she did not seem to have the same green eyes, because Jak could see no evidence of any light coming from the speaker. All was pitch blackness.
“I don’t want to cause any trouble. I’m only here because demons dragged me into the mountains in the first place. I was just trying to survive.”
“Why would the demons drag you into the mountains?” said the voice.
“How should I know,” said Jak. “I’ve never heard of demons acting that way. They either attack or leave you alone.”
The speaker seemed to think on that for a moment, saying nothing. Who was this woman? A fellow prisoner, or something else?
“Do you know why I’m here? Why did the Fae choose to drag me down here?”
A pause, and then, “So you know who they are?”
“Well they’re obviously not demons, or at least not demons in the traditional sense. I don’t know much about Shadow Fae, but everything I have heard would seem to match up. What do you know about them? How long have you been here with them?”
“I have been here a long time,” said the voice. “I know them well.”
Jak’s eyes squinted, looking again for any indication that the speaker had green eyes. Why would she have spent so much time with the Fae if she wasn’t one of them? “If you know them, can you tell me why I’m here?”
“The Fae have been watching you since before you came to the mountains. You have shown… unique qualities, and they don’t understand. They want to understand. You say you came looking for your mother?”
Jak hesitated. “Well yes, I mean I was just looking for information about her. And I didn’t expect to be up here in the mountains so soon, but I traveled with the Watchers so that I might find her. My father told me to find her.”
“What is your father’s name?” Her voice was calm, but the question was urgent.
“His name was Rael.” Jak waited for a response. She was not disappointed. The speaker took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
“And where is he now?” she said.
Jak felt the pain well up inside her again. “I’m afraid he’s dead.”
The speaker let out a gasp, or something between a gasp and sob. A sneaking suspicion began to creep into Jak’s mind. Did she dare hope? “You knew my father?” she asked.
“Yes,” the speaker said, with sorry in her voice. “I knew him, a long time ago.”
Jak swallowed and felt her eyes start to glisten. She had to know for sure. “You haven’t told me your name yet. I’ve told you mine.”
She felt the other hesitate. “I’m not sure you would like it if I told you who I am.”
“Why would that make a difference?” Jak asked.
“Things are far more complicated than you realize.”
Jak felt a stab of annoyance. “For once, I wish people would stop treating me like a little girl. Whatever it is, I can handle it. I’ve already survived three demon attacks, weeks of exhaustive training, living with a brand that I wish I could take back, the loss of my...father.” Her voice cracked at the mention of her father. She didn’t even realize she had been holding her emotions in, but they all came at her in a wave. Tears began to flow freely.
“My child,” the woman’s voice also seemed touched with emotion. “My name is Karlona.”
Jak let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding in. Karlona. Her mother.
“Mother!” was all she could say. Desperately, she reached out into the darkness, trying to find the speaker, touch her, hold her, and be held by her. For a moment, she found nothing, and she almost panicked. She could feel her breathing coming in short bursts. Where was her mother? She needed to hold her!
But then, her mother found her.
Arms folded around Jak in a sweet embrace. Feeling her emotions come to a head, Jak began to sob. She had done it, she had found her mother. Karlona held her tight as Jak continued to shed tears of joy, mixed with tears of loss and relief. It was minutes before either of them spoke again.
Finally, the moment began to wear off, and questions jumped to the front of Jak’s mind. But one question in particular, stood out in her mind. “Why did you leave?”
Her mother let out a long breath and held Jak tighter. She had clearly known this was coming. “I’m sorry, Jak, I would never have left you and your father if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.”
“Why was it necessary?” Jak didn’t doubt her mother’s words, not exactly. But she couldn’t think of an acceptable reason why any mother would leave her child alone for sixteen years.
“Not long before you were born, I went on an expedition with some fellow scholars. We were trying to find a Pillar of Eternity.”
Jak leaned in, intrigued. She had heard of the Pillars of Eternity, supposedly the most powerful of the Holy Relics.
“We were a group of scholars, though I was the only one who lived outside of Skyecliff. They recruited me as one of the foremost experts in alchemy.”
Jak got excited. She always wondered where she got her scholarly side from. It certainly was
n’t her father. “I’m a scholar too!” she exclaimed. “At least, I’m going to be. I’ve learned everything I can about brands.”
Jak couldn’t see her mother smile, but she thought she could feel the approval coming from her embrace. “That’s wonderful, child,” she said.
“So did you find one? A Pillar of Eternity I mean.”
“No, not exactly. We found something else. I was able to use some personal Relics that I had made to track nearby sources of power. We had heard rumors of something buried in these mountains, near Foothold where your father was stationed.”
Jak almost interrupted again. She had no idea that her father had lived at Foothold, the very place where the Watchers had been traveling. She wondered idly if they were there now. Was Naem enjoying a hot bath and an actual bed?
Karlona continued, “It wasn’t long before we caught the trace of something with powerful magic. Far more powerful than any Relic I’ve seen before. We thought it must have been a Pillar of Eternity.”
“But it wasn’t?” Jak asked.
“No, it was a book.”
Jak paused, confused. She had never heard of a Holy Relic in the form of a book. She supposed it was possible, but…
“It was an original copy of the Annals of Adam.”
Jak slipped from her mother’s embrace and she had to catch herself on the cold stone floor.
“An original copy?” she repeated. The Annals of Adam were the most sacred text they had, but all original copies had been lost. She had heard that Skyecliff carried some of the oldest versions, dating back several centuries, but even they were not originals.
“Yes, hidden in the caves here for hundreds of years. It was a discovery beyond our wildest dreams. Second only to finding a Pillar of Eternity, nothing could have surpassed this.”
Jak felt more questions arise. Something still didn’t make sense.
“So why didn’t you bring it back? Did the Fae keep you here? And what does this have to do with your leaving?”
Out of Shadow: An Epic YA Fantasy Adventure (Roots of Creation Book 1) Page 10