Wynter's End

by K. R. Thompson

  “You wished a favor of us,” the woman said impatiently. A sudden breeze pushed against me, swatting at me as if she’d sent it to show exactly how angry she was. “What is it?”

  I reached up and touched my necklace but decided not to show them the book. “I need the power of a Spriteblood to save the one I love.”

  “You don’t know what you are asking,” she thundered. The sky darkened above us, and the illusion of the beautiful meadow melted away.

  Now I stood on a rocky cliff, my toes inches away from the edge. Lightning struck a small scraggly tree near me with enough force that I found myself toppling forward.

  “Enough,” the man said, and with a wave of his hand, the cliff disappeared. The meadow was back, and I had flopped in the middle of a clump of white daisies.

  I decided it might be in my best interest to just sit there until they figured out what they were going to do next. “There is no other way to save him,” I said, trying to explain. “He is one of the Keepers, and his magic is…or rather was…linked to Wynter’s. The only way to save him now is to become one.” I took a deep breath and looked at them. “You are the only ones who can give me that magic.”

  The woman looked even less happy with me. I could see the storm in her eyes, literally. Lightning flashed behind the blue, making her look downright lethal. “We made the mistake of helping humans once before. We won’t do that again.”

  “Aine, you were the one who changed them. Not me.” The other fairy folded his arms over his chest, unwilling to be blamed.

  “And I won’t make that mistake again,” she retorted, sending me another stinging glare before she disappeared, the air making a sudden popping sound as she left.

  The remaining fairy sighed and shook his head. “You musn’t think harshly of her. She once had a heart for helping humans, and she still does, deep down. You see, fey magic isn’t meant for your kind. Humans are born to be what they are. When magic is given to them, it changes them. It changed the children who came to our cave that day. The four girls transformed into what they called themselves ‘Spriteblood.’ The boy became something else, a shadow that was to be called ‘wendigo.’” He paused, then continued. “Aine had hoped they would keep their human nature by giving them fey magic, but it wasn’t done. All had a taste for blood and flesh, and each of them wreaked havoc on their own kind. Two of the girls remembered who they were and held tightly to their human past. They were able to make their lives among their own kind. The other two reveled in destruction and death.” He shook his head. “The boy was the strongest of them all. He had a dark heart before Aine changed him. Our magic only made it worse.”

  I wrapped my arms around my knees and waited. There was more to this story. I knew it. And while part of me wanted to tell him to hurry—because I didn’t have much time left—I knew I would have to know everything to make this work.

  “When darkness fell that night, he had killed them all, one by one. He took the life of every human he came near, man, woman, and child.” His lips turned down, and the ancient side of his face deepened with the expression. “Our people rarely leave the mountain, but we did that night. Aine wanted to check to see how her good deed had helped the humans. Of the four girls, we found nothing; they had left…but the boy we did find. He was sitting amongst the ruins of his home, covered in the blood of those he’d slaughtered.

  “Aine tried to correct her mistake—to take back her gift of magic—but it was too late. It wasn’t hers to take back any longer. You see, he’d had some sort of magic of his own, and it had mixed with hers, becoming something completely different.” He sighed. “Our magic comes from the earth in the mountain. When we left it, his magic was easily a match for our own. There was nothing to be done.

  “So you see now why Aine does not wish to help humans ever again. One good deed took many lives that night.”

  I did understand. I, too, had magic of my own. My own…and that of four spirit animals. Taking on a mountain fey’s magic too could very likely change me in the same way it had changed Paul. I could very well turn into a monster. It was a risk like none other I’d ever taken before.

  “I’m still willing to try. I can’t let him die… I… I just can’t,” I said quietly. “If you’ll help me, I promise I’ll do anything you ask.”

  His good eye narrowed thoughtfully. “One girl did come back after a short time, the one you call Wynter. We discovered their magic was connected to the mountain, the same as ours. When their power weakened, the only thing that would strengthen it would be to come back to the cave. They all came back at some point, some sooner than others, but they all came. We placed the waterfall inside to keep them from entering our realm again. The boy is the only one who didn’t return, but we’ve felt his presence from time to time and have seen his shadow in the forest.”

  “So, if you help me, I’ll be connected to the mountain too. What will happen if I don’t come back?” I asked.

  He shrugged, and the vines on his shirt changed direction, moving and twisting from left to right. “You may weaken, you may die…” From his tone, I didn’t think he truly would mind either way.

  “Will you help me?” I asked, wanting more than anything to be done and on my way out of here.

  “I am fey,” he replied simply. “Of course I will do it…for a price.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  I’d expected him to ask for my firstborn child or for me to reveal who had told me where to find the mountain fey to begin with. I was surprised neither of them had asked about Efflehurt at all. After all, a Bog Elf isn’t something you encounter every day, and this one had given me directions right to their cave, more or less.

  But no, what he wanted in return for his magic was even stranger than that.

  “A lock of your hair if you please,” he instructed, palm out for payment.

  I gaped at him for a full moment before saying, “Okay, deal—” I paused. “What’s your name?” It felt awkward making this strange arrangement without at least knowing what to call him.

  “Beck,” he replied dryly, hand still out.

  “Nice to meet you, Beck.”

  “I’m sure. Your hair now, please. A deal is a deal, you know.”

  One chunk of hair was certainly small potatoes where Adam was concerned. If he’d asked for all of it, I would have gladly shaved my head and given it to him.

  I patted my jeans pockets, searching for something to cut my hair. All I had were my keys, so I took them out and used the jagged edge of my Jeep key to saw through one of my curls.

  I ended up pulling it out more than cutting, but I finally got it loose and handed it over.

  “Thank you,” he said, fingers curling around the blonde strands before he waved at me. “You can go now.”

  And just like that, I was standing in the cave again, staring at the waterfall, Beck’s voice distant from the other side. “Do remember to come when you are called.”

  When I’m called? What is he talking about?

  “What do you mean?” I yelled, but then I stopped. The waterfall was changing, gradually melding into the back of the cave wall until finally there was nothing left but darkness. Whatever Beck had meant, it was obvious the deal was now done, and I was expected to go on my way.

  I didn’t feel any different at all really. I turned around and started back toward the mouth of the cave, taking care not to smack my shoulder on the side again.

  That’s when I first noticed something had changed. My shoulder didn’t hurt anymore… Nothing hurt. And I wasn’t nearly as tired as I’d been a short while ago.

  Maybe he really had given me magic.

  I noticed then that I could see much easier in the cave. Where I’d had to bumble my way along before, I could easily make out the floor and the walls. I made it easily back to the mouth of the cave and realized it was dark. Again.

  It had taken me at least a full day to do this. Praying I wasn’t too late, I dropped my shields, letting the Pack’s thoughts run
through my head. The first one to reach me was Erik, and surprisingly, his thoughts were the same as they’d been earlier. Adam was still holding on, and the Keepers were all wondering why I hadn’t shown up yet.

  I flexed my shoulder and readied to shift to my crow, which I figured to be the quickest way back to the hospital. I waited for the brush of feathers that signaled I was getting ready to shift.

  It didn’t come. I stood in the moonlight, waiting. I felt the crow deep inside, but for some reason, I couldn’t get it to come out of the depths. It felt like it was stuck somehow.

  I tried my wolf next. I’d run down the mountain. Same thing. The wolf wouldn’t come either…or the coyote…or the bear.

  Beck definitely did something to me, I thought. I don’t know if he gave me his magic, but he certainly managed to break some of my own.

  Finally, I just gave up and ran down the path as quickly as possible. I was more than surprised I didn’t trip over roots and vines in true, clumsy-Nikki fashion. Even in the daylight, I would have surely plowed into the ground more than once, but for some reason, I wasn’t having a bit of trouble now.

  What had taken me forever to go up the mountain, took no time now, and before I knew it, I was back at the curve near the cabin. I was getting ready to speed up and zing around that particular spot, hoping to get through there without attracting another of Wynter’s or her brother’s memories, when I saw something that made me stop.

  A familiar shape stood a few yards in front of me, directly in my path.

  “Chewy!” I said happily, more than relieved to see the huge Sasquatch instead of the shadowy figure of a wendigo.

  I expected to hear a friendly reply of various clicks and snorts. After all, this particular Sasquatch and I had a history. We’d saved each other a couple of times, and I knew he knew me.

  He didn’t answer at all for a few seconds, and when he finally did, it was a long string of threatening hisses and snorts—not at all one of our usual exchanges.

  He took a giant step back and then another. He must not be willing to turn his back toward me. Then he disappeared behind a dense thicket, and I didn’t see or sense him nearby anymore.

  “That was strange,” I murmured to myself. “Maybe he didn’t know who I was. It is dark.” But that didn’t sound reassuring, even to my own ears.

  A feeling of dread washed over me as I started running again. What if no one knew me? Had I really changed that much and couldn’t see it myself?

  Doubts kept gnawing at me the entire way until I made it to the bottom and spotted yet another familiar form, though this one appeared to be searching for me.

  “I kinda thought I’d find you here,” Claire said, sounding relieved when she spotted me. “Can’t say I blame you. I would have done the same thing. Thank heavens finding the highest peak wasn’t exactly rocket science, or I wouldn’t have had a clue where to begin looking.”

  She knows I’m me. Relief washed over me. Maybe everything would be all right yet.

  “You found me. This is going to sound dumb, but how long have I been gone?”

  Her eyes narrowed and then she shrugged. “An hour maybe? Erik was worried and wanted to be sure you were okay. I told him I thought I might know where you’d be.” She paused, then cocked her head to the side as she took in my bloody T-shirt. Thankfully, there was enough of it left that it still managed to qualify as clothing. “You’ve been busy.”

  “You have no idea.”

  She took a slow step forward, eyes locked on me. “You seem…different. I’m still not picking up any shapeshifter magic from you, but there’s something there. Something that feels unlike anything I’ve felt before. You found the mountain fey?”

  I nodded, unsure of what else to say. How much did I want to tell her about my trip up the mountain and what I’d found inside the cave? Finally, I settled on the most important thing. “I think I have what I need to save Adam.”

  “Then let’s go!” She moved to shift, but when I didn’t follow suit, she stopped.

  “I can’t fly,” I explained. “Whatever magic they gave me has stopped the shifter side of me.”

  “Well that sucks.” She grinned. “No worries. You can hitch a ride. Logan is at the hospital with the others, so he isn’t far away. I can pull off his magic.”

  A sparkling mass of magic covered her instantly. When it cleared, I found myself staring into the big blue eyes of an enormous dragon.

  With smoke curling from her nostrils, she leaned her head down and sent a small, warm huff of breath toward me, which I took as an invitation of sorts to crawl up.

  The second I sat down and wrapped my arms around her neck, she launched into the sky.

  Erik was the first person to meet us when we came through the giant double doors of the emergency room. “Where have you been?” he asked, his eyes travelling from my head to my toes, his brain conveying perfectly that he wondered how I had gotten in such a state so quickly.

  When I didn’t answer, he shook his head. “Never mind. I’m glad you’re here. It’s bad, Nikki. Really, really, really bad. The doc says he could go any second. There’s nothing left they can do. They’ve pulled the ventilator and everything off. They’re just…waiting now.” His voice broke on the last part, and he dropped his gaze toward the floor.

  “Do you have a knife on you?” I asked.

  “Huh?” Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t that, but he fumbled in his pocket and came out with a short pocketknife.

  I grabbed it and shoved it in my own pocket, making a quick mental note to carry something similar with me at all times from now on. You never could be sure when you’d need to make a deal with a mountain fey and cut your hair…or attempt a lifesaving maneuver that included cutting part of your body to save the one you loved.

  “I need to see him.”

  Erik took my words entirely the wrong way, sympathy filling his eyes. He gave me a solemn nod and turned to lead me down a long corridor to a room with a closed door.

  He pushed it open, and we went inside. I couldn’t see Adam for all the people surrounding him.

  The sheriff looked up when we came in, and I felt my eyes well with tears at the expression of pure loss on his face. He looked back down at Adam and touched his shoulder before saying, “Let’s let Nikki have a minute, boys.” His voice was gruff, and he wiped one hand across his face, waving the Keepers toward the door with the other.

  The door clicked. They’d left the two of us alone.

  I went to the side of the bed and took his hand. “Adam.”

  He looked worse now than he had before, face swollen beyond recognition now.

  He didn’t respond to my voice in any way. His eyelids didn’t flicker as they had before, and his hand was limp in mine.

  There was only one machine now behind his head, making tiny reassuring marks to measure his heartbeat. Although infrequent, his heart was still beating. He was still with us but only barely.

  I let go of his hand and took the knife out of my pocket, my mind replaying what Wynter had done the night that had connected his magic to her own. At the time, my attention had been locked on Adam and the grief I’d felt at losing him. All I knew was she’d given him part of her. Was it blood? Flesh? I wasn’t sure.

  I opened the knife and sliced into my wrist before I could think of a reason why I shouldn’t. The pain wasn’t instant, more of a dull, surprising ache that caught me off guard. I pulled the knife out and pressed my bleeding wrist to Adam’s mouth, praying the entire time I was doing it right.

  The blood looked strange. Instead of dripping red, it had a blue hue and became mist the instant it welled to the surface.

  Adam’s lips were parted, and as he took a shallow breath, the blue disappeared into his mouth and nose. I felt the immediate pull on my magic, as if it had suddenly dwindled, making me weaker.

  Was that all I needed to do? Did that mean it was working? I took my wrist back, noticing the gouge I’d made had already knitted back togethe
r and was healing.

  Adam took another shallow breath, and I placed my head on the pillow next to his and waited. The next breath came slower than the last.

  “Please…please come back to me,” I whispered. “I can’t go on without you. Please come back to me.”

  He didn’t take another breath. The machine above our heads made a loud, long beep, signaling the end. His heart had stopped.

  I was too late.

  I buried my face in his hair and cried, not caring at all when the door swung open and people ran back into the room, knowing this was the end.

  It’s not the end. It’s not. I wanted to scream when I felt someone put their hand on my back. I can’t let him go. Don’t make me let him go.

  It felt surreal. I’d held him once while he’d died, my brain told me logically. There should be a rule somewhere that said I shouldn’t be saying goodbye again.

  Then the machine began beeping again, and I felt his breath on my neck as he whispered my name. “Nikki… Nikki, I’m here.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  William beeped the horn impatiently. “Hurry it up, or we’ll be late!” he yelled.

  “If you’re ever up our way, come and visit,” Claire said, giving me a huge hug.

  “I will,” I promised. “I don’t know what I would have done without you. Thank you both so much for everything.”

  Logan smiled. “Should you start thinking about college, I’m sure the headmistress would love to have you at Imperium.”

  “I’ll think it over, but everything I need for now is right here.” My gaze went past Logan to Adam, who was sitting on the porch steps a short distance away. His silver eyes were locked onto me, and when he noticed I was looking at him, he gave me a slow smile that warmed me from the inside out.

  Claire laughed, linking her arm with Logan’s. “We know exactly what you mean. When you’re with the ones you love, there’s nowhere on earth you’d rather be.”