Next came the visualization of the brand. She imagined it completely, noting the width of each line, the contours, the exact angles as lines met. Finally, she added one more thing, imagining the symbol waving in the air, like a flame. She opened her eyes as the brand clearly etched itself into the small piece of wood.
And then promptly burst into flame.
Jak hurried and stuffed her blanket on top of the open fire, pouring some water on top to make sure.
Relics, she had really hoped that would work.
She tried again, and then again. Each time, the little twig disintegrated as the entire thing was consumed in flame. Jak did a good job at putting out the flames, but her room was still beginning to fill with light smoke.
On the second to last piece, she took a moment to watch it burn, observing the flames as they danced. Chaotic. Hungry. Then she dowsed it with her wet blanket.
Just one more left.
She wasn’t going to try this again tonight. Her room was already suspiciously smoky. If someone opened the door, she would have a hard time explaining what was going on, and she was beginning to cough. She would need to open the door soon and get some fresh air.
But first, she focused on the small wood chip, running through the process in her mind. This time, she felt like she had a better grasp on the...personality that fire exhibited. Like it had consciousness and a form.
The light from her brand flashed, then faded, the branding done.
Jak winced, waiting for the inevitable eruption.
Nothing happened.
She stared back at the woodchip. A Flamedancer brand was clearly visible there, black lines crisscrossing across the small wooden surface. It did not catch fire.
She whooped! Then instantly covered her mouth, remembering that she wasn’t supposed to be branding on her own. She didn’t want someone to poke their head in.
But she had done it! Her first stable brand. She had a strong desire at that moment to tell someone. That thought brought her spirits back down. Her father was dead, her mother was gone, Gabriel was away, and she had no friends here, and likely wouldn’t have any after today.
For one night, though, she pushed all of that out of her mind. She had accomplished something wonderful, even if there was no one to acknowledge it.
She opened the door to her room just a crack, allowing the smoke to settle and leave. Then she nestled in bed for the night, though it took some time to fall asleep as she kept reading long after the sun went down.
She was barely aware that she had fallen asleep when a knock boomed on her wooden door.
5
“Jak,” a voice sounded came from outside her room. “It’s Gabriel.”
At first, Jak didn’t fully realize what was going on. On another loud bang on her door, she rose and nearly stumbled to open it. She did so just by a crack, she was still in her nightwear after all.
Gabriel met her eyes from the other side. “Oh my, you do look tired. I apologize. But I need you to come with me.”
“Wha’ why?” Jak said through a yawn.
“I’ll explain on the way, but it’s important, Jak. You’ve got ten minutes.”
While it still took a moment for everything to register, Jak was beginning to feel more alert. If Gabriel said something was important, then it must be. And the look on his face would seem to confirm that.
She got dressed as hurriedly as she could, not even sparing time to do more than pat down her hair. It was messy, and she could have used more time to wet it down and use her brush. But Gabriel had said ten minutes, and she didn’t have the time.
Finally, she grabbed her travel cloak and pushed open her door. Gabriel had left, so she went outside to the main courtyard and then into the entrance dome. There Gabriel waited, along with one other. Jak grimaced as she approached. Please, no... not her.
Estel stood next to Gabriel, her typical sneer firmly in place. Jak waited for some sort of snobby remark about her hair. But oddly, Estel said nothing, though she gave Jak an amused look that clearly indicated she thought Jak looked ragged.
Estel, on the other hand, looked like a warrior. She had on her Watcher armor, which was polished and bright, even in the dim light. Her hair was pulled back in a bun. Jak tilted her head looking at her. If Estel shaved her head and added thirty years, she would have looked a lot like General Wilva.
“Good, you’re here,” said Gabriel, not really noticing the looks that Jak and Estel were giving each other. “We have a small walk ahead of us.”
“Where are we going?” Jak couldn’t help but ask. “And why is she here?”
“Estel is the only person besides yourself who is familiar with what happened at Foothold, particularly about the Fae.”
“What about Naem?”
Estel spoke for the first time. “Naem is on a special assignment for the General. He won’t be back for a few days I hear.”
That was probably the most that Estel had ever said to Jak without some snide remark. Odd.
Jak turned back to Gabriel. “So, what do the Fae have to do with this?”
“It’s better to show you, I think.” Gabriel was stroking his thin beard. “Best if we leave now. We can’t take the horses because it’s a bit of rocky terrain. But it’s not too far out of the city.”
‘Not too far’ was not the best estimate. They travelled out through the south gate, which Jak had not been to yet, then kept on the road for some time before Gabriel took a sharp left turn which led them towards the coast. After that, their progress slowed considerably as they did their best to keep from tripping or spraining an ankle on the rocks. Occasionally, there were stretches of earth and grass, but for the most part, they walked along hard, and sometimes sharp, stone.
Estel was unusually nice to Jak. Well, nice compared to how she usually behaved, more like she just wasn’t being horrid. Of course, she had been relatively nice to her on the trip from Foothold. Perhaps Gabriel’s presence had something to do with it. She even asked Jak how things were going at the college, which Jak answered in as few words as possible. Surely Estel had heard about what happened to Jak at the cathedral. The whole city must have heard of that by now. But Estel made no mention of it.
Soon, Jak thought she could smell salt on the wind. By now, the morning was well underway, and the sun shone in their faces.
Gabriel paused for a moment. “We’re almost there. I need to warn you that what you see must be kept between the three of us. And I suppose you can tell your other Watcher friend. But no one else must know what has happened here.”
Jak wet her lips. What could have happened to make Gabriel sound so serious?
Estel voiced Jak’s thoughts. “What exactly are you talking about, sir?”
“Before I show you, I need a verbal yes that you will tell no one, not even your superiors.” That last remark was meant for Estel.
After a moment’s hesitation, Estel nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Gabriel turned to Jak.
“Yes, of course,” she said, feeling the apprehension grow.
“Very well, they’re just over this rise.” Gabriel turned and led them up and over the hill.
On the other side, Jak could make out the ocean. She had only seen it before at a distance when standing near the palace. But now she marveled at how... big it looked. She could see nothing by water in all directions, and if she looked north, she could make out the city of Skyecliff, sitting proudly on the raised peninsula.
But in the opposite direction, just ahead of them, there was a small inlet, and Jak could make out a few tents set up there. A camp. Perhaps this had been where Gabriel was leading them. The tents indicated people. Was there something important that Gabriel wanted them to look at? Something to do with the Fae? Jak began to feel her apprehension change to the excitement.
A man exited a tent as they approached, a young man, probably only a few years older than Jak. “Gabriel, you’re back!” He eyed the two girls. “I thought we agreed to tell as few people as p
ossible.”
“We did, but these two have experience that I believe will prove useful. I trust them both.”
Jak wasn’t sure he should be trusting Estel. The girl was friendlier, and it made Jak uncomfortable. But nevertheless, she was glad to hear that Gabriel trusted her. But trusted her for what? That was the question.
“Girls,” Gabriel continued. “This is Danen, he was the lead on a small excavation we were doing here. Someone found evidence of an ancient structure buried in a cave at the base of this inlet.”
Jak looked and could just make out the cave Gabriel was speaking about. A small stream came out of it and made its way towards the sea. They had seen no sign of a stream or river up until now, so it must come from under the ground.
“You sure you want them to come close... after... what happened?” asked Danen, looking nervous.
“I do not believe there will be any threat,” Gabriel said with a wave of his hand. I have closed the offending item in a magic inhibitor box. It shouldn’t cause us any problems now.”
Magic inhibitor box? Jak had never heard of such a thing. Was that some kind of Relic? And just what had they put in there, and why was it dangerous?
She glanced at Estel, who was shifting her feet nervously. “Uh... professor?” Jak ran a hand through her tangled hair. “What exactly…”
“Don’t worry, child, there is no direct threat to you. I would not have brought you here if it weren’t completely safe.”
Estel relaxed a bit, but Jak still felt nervous. Whatever had happened here, it had Danen on edge. He looked from Estel to Jak, and back at Gabriel.
“Come, I’ll take you to meet them.”
Danen led them down the bank and into the cave itself, but not before lighting a torch and bringing it with them. It was dark, far darker than Jak would have suspected. But once her eyes adjusted to the torchlight, it wasn’t so bad. For a split second, Jak was reminded of the last time she had entered a strange cave. Though there had been no water then, and no torch to light the way. Yet something felt familiar as they walked alongside the small stream. They hadn’t gone far when they reached a small pool. The water here looked deeper, but Jak couldn’t make out much. Danen set his torch down on a raised boulder.
“You can come out. Gabriel’s here, and he’s brought help.”
It took Jak a moment to realize that Danen wasn’t talking to them. There were people in these caves!
A splash in the small pool almost made her jump. To her satisfaction, Estel jumped and hurried away from the edge of the water.
In the torchlight, Jak could see faces in the water. There were at least four of them, and they all swimming in the small underground lake. It had to be freezing in there what were they doing?
Gabriel straightened and spoke. “May I introduce the rest of the expedition. This is Haffi, Pearl, Nigem, and Cerai. They, together with Danen, comprised the entire group sent to study this area and bring back their findings.”
Jak’s brow furrowed. So why were these people swimming? It didn’t make much sense to her.
As if voicing Jak’s doubts, Estel asked, “so what exactly is the problem?” She looked annoyed, probably from being scared by the approaching students.
“Look closer,” Danen offered.
“Here,” said one of the students, Cerai. She looked scared, though of what Jak could not tell. “I’ll show you.”
She leaned away from the edge as if to float on her back, and Jak felt her eyes go wide. She heard a gasp from Estel behind her, who had clearly seen it too.
Sticking out of the water, where Cerai’s legs should have been, was a beautiful and enormous fin. Even in the dim light of the cavern, Jak could make out multiple colors shimmering off the scales. It continued up to Cerai’s hips, where enormous muscles resided where the thighs should have been.
The other students took Cerai’s lead and leaned back to show their tails. All had a similar build, but each one looked unique. At least they all had a different colored shimmer, and the pattern on the tail didn’t match either. It was like looking at four different butterfly wings, each one unique, but each one just as beautiful. Jak found her mouth open in a gaping smile.
“What did you do?” A harsh voice spoke from behind Jak. She turned to see Estel standing there, her back against the stone wall. She looked horrified. Jak turned back to the... affected students.
“We didn’t do anything,” Cerai said. “This just happened to us.”
Estel sniffed in disbelief and was about to say something when Gabriel cut her off. “Let them speak.”
Jak remained silent as Cerai continued. “We were investigating this area. Someone had found a structure a little further in, so we were combing this part for any signs of ancient life. As we were diving, we found what had to be a Relic.”
A Relic! Of course, just like what happened to her mother. They found an original copy of the Annals of Adam, and suddenly they changed to become the Shadow Fae. Had these students found another copy of the book here? Jak found she couldn’t stop herself from asking.
“Was it a book?”
Cerai looked at her, confused. “No, it was just a piece of gold.”
“So how did you know it was a Relic?” Estel asked, arms folded.
“Because parts of it were...suspended in mid-air. It had several rings held within larger rings, but they did not touch, they simply stayed together. They looked like…”
“Ripples.” One of the other students offered, “They looked like ripples on clear water.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what they looked like.” Cerai went on. “Anyway, no sooner had we found the Relic when some of us began to feel a little strange. For one, we had a strong desire to enter the water again. Then we felt pain in our legs. So, we found ourselves in the water and...it hurt, a lot. But after the pain subsided, we tried to leave the water, and... discovered what had happened.”
“That’s incredible,” Jak said in a near whisper. Cerai and the others looked at her strangely, not expecting that response.
“This is Jak,” Gabriel explained. “And the other is Estel. They’ve had business with others who had... similar transformations. Jak, tell them what you told me about the Shadow Fae and their Relic.”
So Jak did so, though she left out the part about her mother being a Shadow Fae like she usually did. But she explained about the Annals of Adam, about how it somehow changed humans into Shadow Fae. She told them about the Bright Fae, and their miraculous transformation, though Jak admitted that there hadn’t been a Relic involved that time, and they didn’t know why. When she finished, everyone was listening intently.
“So that explains why nothing happened to me,” said Danen. “If not everyone was affected by the other Relic, maybe this one only affects certain people as well.”
Jak nodded. “There doesn’t appear to be any logic behind who changes and who doesn’t. But we can be certain that it’s a natural transformation.”
“Assuming all involved are telling the truth.” Estel still had her hands crossed, and she was leaning against the stone wall with an expression Jak did not like.
Jak glared at her. “That’s Kuldain talking. There’s no evidence of any misuse of magic here.”
“Now wait one second!” Cerai’s face flushed in the firelight. “We never did anything…”
“No one is accusing you, Cerai,” Gabriel said in a calming voice. “But... unfortunately some will not believe us on that matter.” He shot a cautious glance at Estel.
“That is why we need to keep this matter quiet,” Danen added. “As you can see, they aren’t exactly mobile outside of the confines of this cave. We could take them to the ocean, but I don’t know how the saltwater could affect their, ah, current condition.”
“But this is natural,” Jak felt her temper rise. “It even said in the Annals of Adam, the original one, that there would be races returning to the Earth, protectors of its elements. It mentions light and darkness, which I guess are the Bri
ght and Shadow Fae, but it also made a list of other elements.” She met Cerai’s gaze. “So I guess you could call yourselves Water Fae, or something like that.”
“Where is the Relic now?” Estel turned to face Gabriel. “I wouldn’t want it affecting anyone else.”
You mean you don’t want to turn into a Fae and have people like you accuse you of witchcraft, Jak thought. But she kept her mouth shut. Eventually, people would come around once this became widespread enough. When a friend and family members joined the Fae, surely there would be less talk of magical sorcery.
“I’ve repressed its magic,” Gabriel replied. “With a Void brand on the box, we’re carrying it in. We’re taking it with us.”
A Void brand? Jak had never heard of such a thing. Apparently, Gabriel still had a lot to teach her.
“Do you really think that’s wise?” Estel regarded Gabriel with a cold stare.
“Of course I do, child, why would I take it with us if I wasn’t sure it was safe?” Gabriel’s tone had an edge on it now, as if to remind Estel who held authority here. Estel got the hint, and said no more, her lips forced into a thin line.
Jak was still interested. “May I see it?”
Gabriel shook his head. “I’m afraid not. For now, it must be kept safe inside the container we’ve prepared.”
Jak felt her shoulders slump but did not argue.
Cerai spoke again. “You’ve already helped us out a lot telling us about the other Fae.”
Jak smiled. “Of course! I almost wish I could have a tail like that.”
“It’s inconvenient,” said another of the students, or Water Fae as Jak was beginning to think of them. “Not a silly girl’s fantasy.”
Cerai glared at the other student, but Jak hung her head. He was right of course. This was a massive change for them, and Jak treated it like nothing. “I’m sorry, I…”
Growing Ripples: An Epic YA Fantasy Adventure (Roots of Creation Book 2) Page 5