by Logan Jacobs
“Young lady, it most certainly is,” the dryad admonished. “When I get this serum right, your Hands will be unstoppable. You won’t get tired from using them, their power will be increased, and that’s just the start! The possibilities are endless!”
“Because you’ve never actually proven this theory, that’s why they’re endless,” the elf muttered in response. “HC, are you sure about this?”
I could see that her frustration was growing, but I stood by my choice. The old dryad’s essay was so perfectly laid out that I highly doubted he was wrong. Besides, the possibility of his theory was definitely worth the day or so it would take us to find this plant. I looked around at the four women as they waited for my response.
“I’m sure,” I said firmly.
“Alright.” Danira turned to Limmer, “what are we looking for?”
“This is so exciting!” he squealed as he pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. “Just think, my discovery will help defeat the Phobos! Oh, Hanu is going to be so mad she didn’t figure this out first!”
“Who’s Hanu?” Ariette whispered behind me as we all pressed forward to see what the professor scrawled away.
I shrugged in response. I had no idea who the old man was talking about.
“This is what you’ll need to find,” the professor said as he brandished the paper at me.
I took it gently in my hands and looked down at the crude drawing. It looked a lot like a mushroom with an overly large top, and the professor had roughly shaded in the stem to make it clear that the plant was two different colors.
“We’re looking for a mushroom?” Danira questioned.
“Not just any mushroom!” Limmer gasped dramatically as he leapt on top of the desk and pointed a gnarled finger at the paper. “Ghoul’s Bread!”
“Ghoul’s Bread,” Maaren repeated slowly as she chewed over the words. “Isn’t that the mushroom necromancers use to rob their enemies of their power? The Unseelie use it quite a bit.”
“Uh, yes, that is quite true,” the dryad said calmly and sat back in his chair, “but that’s why it’s so perfect, you see! The genetic code is not dissimilar to a Fae’s. That’s why the spores of the mushroom suck up one’s power, they’re feeding on it! But I can reverse engineer that function and voilà! We will be able to enhance your Hand, instead of sucking it dry.”
“Voilà!” I echoed with a chuckle, which earned me a soft smile from Maaren. “So, where exactly is the Ghoul’s Bread?”
“I’m not totally sure,” the professor responded sheepishly. “I don’t remember enough of my trip there to tell you where it grew, but I’m sure you’ll find it.”
“Right,” I said slowly. “We’ll just search the Plains until we do.”
“Alright, let’s go,” Ariette ordered and turned on her heel to march toward the door.
“Not so fast,” Limmer said, and his voice took on a tone of darkness. The dryad looked at us all with a deep frown and sighed.
“What’s the matter?” Ariette asked. “Is there another plant we need to get?”
“No, no, the Ghoul’s Bread will be fine,” the professor replied as he shook his head, “but I must warn you five. The Nahul Plains can be a very dangerous place, even for the most powerful of Fae.”
“Well, that’s pretty ominous,” Kalista stated as she blinked her wide eyes at the dryad. “Way to give us a pep talk, Professor.”
“But I’m sure you’ll be fine,” he added quickly before he turned and glanced at a paper on his desk. “Oh dear! I was supposed to grade this, wasn’t I? Yes, that’s why there’s a note that says ‘grade me’ on top of it. Oh my, my, my.”
“Thank you for your help, Professor Limmer,” I said as I dipped my head to look the old dryad in his eyes.
“Don’t thank me yet, Milton,” he responded. “Thank me when I help you win this battle.”
“I will,” I promised, but the professor’s attention had already turned back to the paper he was supposed to grade.
“Mr. Dillon, you have terrible handwriting,” Limmer muttered to himself as I led my team out the door.
I paused as the metal door clanged shut behind us and took a deep breath of fresh air. The paper in my hand was rough and wrinkled, and I glanced down at it again and memorized the drawing.
“To the Plains!” Kalista cried out as she marched forward like she was a part of the militia.
The dwarf brought her knees up to her chest and took comically long strides as she headed toward the front of the campus. Her ridiculous motions earned us a few unsure glances from students as she passed.
“To the Plains,” Ariette laughed quietly as she looked at me.
I nodded, and we followed Kalista, Danira, and Maaren back to the van.
Chapter Four
“So, how far away are the Nahul Plains, Kal?” Maaren asked as we all got comfortable in the van.
Kalista revved the engine and took off with a screech as she turned onto the street.
“It’s on the other side of Ohiron Village,” the dwarf called back to us. “Past the east side of Jefferson City and through the village, then we’ll get there. Trust me, you’ll know when you see them. The Plains are full of jagged rocks and dirt. Lots and lots of dirt.”
“I thought plains were supposed to have grass and pretty flowers and be, you know, flat.” Maaren sighed heavily as she wandered over to look in the cabinets.
“Not these plains,” the dwarf responded before she slammed on the brakes and jolted us all forward. “Sorry, red light. Anyhow, we’ll probably be there in five hours, maybe four if I go way over the speed limit.”
“Don’t!” we all shouted in unison. Kal’s driving was already harrowing when she wasn’t going top speed.
“Suit yourself,” the dwarf sighed. “Get comfortable, then. It’s going to be a long drive.”
“So does anyone know much about these plants?” I asked the team as I got comfortable. “I’d hate to go in completely blind.”
“They grow where there’s death,” Maaren said with a shrug. “And they’re connected to the Astral Plane.”
“In a dangerous way?” Danira demanded, one eyebrow quirked up worriedly.
“Uh,” I asked with a finger raised in protest. “Is there any way ‘growing where there’s death’ isn’t a dangerous thing?”
“Of course there is.” Maaren shook her head. “It’s connected in more of a creepy way, that’s all.”
Even with the hunter’s words of comfort, an eerie silence fell over the van. Ariette and Danira both leaned back in their chairs and closed their eyes. Within moments, their breathing evened out and their muscles relaxed before they dozed off.
I was awed and a bit envious at how quickly the two of them could pass out, even with the impending prophecy of doom that hung over our heads.
I wouldn’t be able to sleep, and I already knew it. Instead, I sat down on the floor of the van for optimal stability, and I soon found myself lost in thought as I stared at the mushroom drawing. I was wondering how Storm was doing with Sal and his kids when Maaren sat down next to me.
The hunter crunched away at a granola bar and knocked her knee into my thigh gently. “What are you thinking about?” she asked softly as she offered me the bar for a bite.
I shook my head at the offer then smiled a bit. “Oh, you know, just my prophetic duty to save the world and all,” I joked lightly.
Maaren’s green eyes looked at me intensely for a moment. A small brown crumb hung off her dark blue lip, and I reached a hand out to swipe it away with my thumb. The hunter leaned into my touch with a soft smile on her face.
“It’s okay to be scared, you know,” she whispered.
“That’s what people keep saying,” I replied a little harshly and brought my hands back to my lap. “I’m sorry. That was rude. I’m just a tad on edge, that’s all.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything for a moment. I was hyper-aware of how close we were, and I could almost feel the electricity th
at jumped between us. Her soft fingertips brushed the top of my thigh gently.
“So are you?” she asked and looked up at me again from under thick white lashes. “Scared, I mean.”
“‘Worried’ is probably the more accurate term,” I whispered, “but I’m also a little excited. Is that crazy?”
“Not at all,” she replied. “I feel pretty much the same way.”
“Do you think your brother knew this was going to happen when he gave me his Hand?” I asked abruptly.
The hunter cocked her head and looked at me contemplatively.
“No,” she said finally. “I don’t think he did. I think he just wanted to save everyone, and you were the first person he saw.”
“Thanks,” I chuckled sarcastically.
“That came out wrong,” she responded quickly, but I patted her hand to let her know I wasn’t mad. “I just meant that Oragon saw you were a good man, a savior, and that’s why he gave you his Hand. Everything else is just … ”
“Coincidence?” I finished.
“Fate,” she said with a shake of her white head. “Everything else is just fate.”
“How very spiritual of you,” I teased.
“I mean, we are on a mission all because of a prophecy that half the Fae don’t even believe in,” she shot back with a light shrug. “I kind of have to be at this point.”
“Good point,” I responded.
The hunter crumpled up her granola bar wrapper and tossed it in a trash can before she leaned her head onto my shoulder. We rode in silence for a while, and I allowed the hum of the engine to lull me into a semi-meditative state.
“I need gas,” Kalista called out, and her voice broke me out of my thoughts.
“How … how long have we been driving, Kal?” I asked through a stifled yawn.
“Three hours,” she replied. “Given how fast I was driving, we’ve probably already shaved about twenty minutes off the trip.”
As I looked up, I noticed Maaren had shifted from her position on me to the corner where she could sharpen her double-headed axe easily. Danira and Ariette woke up as Kal pulled off the road, and a few moments later, she turned off the engine before she hopped out of the car.
“Bathroom break,” the dwarf announced as she stuck her head back in the van. “I’m not stopping again until we get there, so speak now or forever hold your pee.”
“Understood,” Ariette chuckled as she stretched out her body. It definitely seemed like a good idea, so we all climbed out of the van and took in our surroundings.
Kal had pulled up to a dusty old gas station along the highway. There was nothing else in sight for miles but red dirt and the occasional tumbleweed that blew around in the light, warm breeze. It was hotter than hell outside, that was for sure. I could already feel the sweat collecting at the base of my neck.
The gas station only had two pumps set extremely close together. The van took up so much space it blocked both pumps, but it wasn’t like it mattered. There was no other soul in the gas station. The little Quickie Stop building itself was covered in a thin layer of red dirt which gave the windows a strangely blurry appearance.
While Kal started refueling the van, I walked across the lot and swung the door open, and a little bell clanged to signal our arrival. I let Ariette, Maaren, and Danira step inside before I shut the door behind us and turned to look for a bathroom sign.
“Oh, hello!” A middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and light brown eyes popped up from behind the counter of the checkout area and greeted us all with a giant smile. “How are you all doing today?”
“Fine, thanks,” Danira replied as she looked around the short shelves filled with packaged food. “Where’s your bathroom?”
“U-umm,” the man stuttered and just stared directly at Danira’s eye patch. She waited impatiently, but he didn’t say anything else.
“The bathroom,” the commander prompted in annoyance.
“Right,” he said. “It’s back in that corner.” He pointed a pale finger toward the back of the store, and we all walked off in that direction.
“Thank you!” Maaren called over her shoulder as we found the little room in the back of the store. There was one grimy toilet with a yellowed sink in the room, and we all took turns.
“That place is so gross,” I complained when I emerged from the dirty little bathroom.
“I guess the Health Department doesn’t come all the way out here for inspections,” Danira lamented when we headed back toward the door.
“At least they had soap in the dispenser.” Maaren shrugged. “I think I washed my hands five times over.”
“I’m going to get a pack of chips,” I announced. “Anybody else want anything?”
The other three shook their heads and then walked back out the main door. The bell clanged as they left, and I surveyed my options of brightly packaged goodies. I was acutely aware of the man’s eyes on me the entire time and glanced up more than once to give him an awkward smile. He didn’t seem too ashamed of how much he blatantly stared at me.
I finally settled on my favorite old-fashioned potato chips and brought them up to the register. The man never took his eyes off me as he rung up the chips, and I pulled out a few bills to pay for my purchase.
“Do I know you?” I finally asked in an attempt to get him to turn away.
“No.” The attendant shook his head. “But you’re him, right? The Racmoth?”
I was so surprised that I didn’t say anything for a moment. I wasn’t even aware humans knew about me, much less believed in the prophecy.
“What makes you say that?” I said carefully.
“This human rights blog I follow has your picture from the troll attacks the other week,” he responded quietly, “and there’s a long write-up on the prophecy about you.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. I wasn’t sure what to say.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to make you think I’m weird,” he chuckled nervously.
Mission failed, buddy.
“Of course not,” I replied. “I’m just curious why you asked me that. It’s--”
“I’m part of this group of humans who believe in equality with the Fae,” he said in nothing more than a whisper.
“Oh, so--”
“We have a few allies in the guild, and having a human so high up and of such importance will do so much for our movement,” he continued as if I hadn’t spoken.
“And you think that--” I tried to get in edgewise.
“Because right now, they just rule over everything,” he hissed with a frown.
I tried again to cut him off. “Well, that’s--”
“And it’s not like we asked for them to come here, you know?” he continued earnestly without even a pause. “It was their fuck up that led to the collision.”
“They are trying--” I said in annoyance, but he just kept going.
“Not the humans.” The clerk didn’t miss a single beat, and I could feel my frustration grow. “We just want it back the way it was.”
I didn’t say anything for a moment since I was worried he’d cut me off again, and his expression suddenly changed to terror.
“Not that the Fae aren’t great,” he stuttered out hastily, “we’re actually big supporters of them, and--”
“Relax,” I said gently as I cut him off instead. “Just don’t go around advertising your allegiances like that. I don’t give a shit, but there are plenty of people out there that do.”
“Of course,” he replied with a vigorous nod. “I won’t tell a soul.”
“Right.” I nodded and grabbed my chips. “Well, have a good day.”
I hurried out of the store to the van. Everyone else was already inside when I climbed in.
“Trouble deciding?” Ariette joked when I shut the door.
“No,” I responded, but my mind was still on the man. “That clerk knew who I was.”
“The humans have allies in the guild,” Danira said matter-of-factly.
&nbs
p; “You knew that?” I asked in surprise. It seemed like that would be a threat to the Fae’s authority.
“Not every Fae likes the power imbalance, you know,” the commander barked before she turned to load bullets into a line of magazines laid out in front of her. “Some of us find it quite cruel and unfair.”
We sat in silence for the rest of the ride. I was lost in thoughts about the man and the things he had said to me. I’d always known the equality the Fae claimed we had was more or less a myth, but I had never heard of a group of humans who fought for that equality. Sure, there were a few big activists, like Mary Ignus, but a group of humans who had their thumb on the pulse of the latest happenings at the guild, that was news to me.
I wondered what it would mean for our equality when I defeated the Phobos. On the one hand, that man had a good point. I was a human who was pretty high up in the Seelie guild, and my stock would rise if we won this battle. On the other hand, the Fae could easily claim I was much more Fae than human since I possessed the Hand of Blood. They could easily say it was my Fae half that caused me to be as successful as I am.
I sighed and looked up toward the ceiling as the thoughts rattled through my brain, and I tried to force myself not to feel too pressured by them. Ariette’s blue eyes caught mine as I looked around, and the expression on her face was inquisitive. I was sure she wanted to know what I thought about, but I just gave her a soft smile and shook my head. As much as I loved and valued the elven warrior, I knew she could never understand the plight of humans.
“Okay, we gotta dump the van here,” Kalista called over her shoulder as she screeched to an abrupt halt.
“Why?” Maaren asked as we all stood. A moment later, she slid the door open.
I looked out to see Kalista had stopped at the edge of a craggy canyon that ran parallel to the road. On the other side of the canyon, huge reddish brown rocks and hills rose up like a barrier. If that was the way we had to go, Kalista was right. There was no way even the Van of Death could get through those hills without doing some serious offroading.
“The Nahul Plains are over those rocks,” the dwarf said as we all climbed out from the van. “Unfortunately, I left my monster truck tires on my other van, so we’re gonna have to go on foot from here.”