“Dude, I am not Gumby. I’m not that bendy!” I limped over to the morning fire. Delilah was dividing up the protein bars. She, too, was walking with a hitch.
Bran snorted. “You think this is bad? Wait till we’re riding rough terrain. If we’re riding rough terrain. I suppose it all depends on what the scroll tells you once you find it.” He motioned to a pan on the fire. “I thought to bring coffee, seeing how all of Earthside seems to be addicted to it.”
“Oh, bless you.” I leaned over, wincing, and held out my cup. As he poured my coffee, I noticed he had a mug of the same right next to him. “All of Earthside, huh? And what’s that?”
With a soft laugh, he said, “I didn’t claim to be immune to its effects. Especially given that I’m primarily living over Earthside now.”
As I gingerly lowered myself to sit on one of the logs, Trillian brought me a couple protein bars and a bowl of blueberries. “Here, eat these. I went out and found a scattering of early berries. The men agreed to divide them up between you and Delilah.”
I gratefully took the fresh fruit. The protein bars would help but they weren’t exactly the heartiest of breakfasts and I was thinking about Hanna’s waffles with regret.
The sun was starting to peek through the eastern timber line, scattering its rays through the dense foliage. While it was shaping up into a warm day, the chill in the air was still nippy, and dew covered every branch and leaf. I inhaled deeply, sucking in a lungful of the clean air, and held it for as long as I could before slowly exhaling. The air was bracing and tasted clean, unlike most air over Earthside. There was always an odd flavor that settled at the back of my throat back home, though I was getting used to it.
“How long before we reach the place where we’re thinking the scroll is?” I cupped my coffee mug, warming my hands, again grateful that Bran had good sense to bring it. Better sense than the rest of us, given we’d all forgotten about it.
“I think we’ll be riding till a little past noon. Maybe two o’clock? Three? We have to pass a series of ponds first—the Seven Grottos. I warn you, be cautious. I’ve heard tell that some kelpies have set up home there, and there have been disappearances. My mother has been meaning to check into it, but she gets distracted easily.” His tone slipped, just enough for me to hear the mild vein of contempt behind it.
I knew that Raven Mother treaded lightly around her son. At one point, she had indicated to me that he didn’t listen to her. Most children rebelled against their parents but Bran was unpredictable. Which brought to mind another memory. Bran had been holding something over Morgaine’s head before she died. I had never figured out what that was, but they had been at each other’s throats on our trip to find Myrddin. Mistletoe, the pixie attendant to Feddrah-Dahns—the Prince of the Dahnsburg Unicorns—had also confided in me that, at one time in the past, Bran had wanted Morgaine and she had rebuffed him.
On that trip, we had also learned that Bran was in debt to Beira, the Mistress of Winter and the mother of the Bean Nighe. I had witnessed her threatening him for payment by the Winter Solstice. Given that had passed, he must have found a way to pay her off because he was still standing. They might both be Immortals, but she was far stronger than he was.
“We’ll be careful,” was all I said. I didn’t like bog Fae, in general. The kelpies and will-o’-the-wisps were dangerous and all too happy to lure people to their death, be they human or Fae or anything in between. The Elder Fae who haunted the boggy marshes were far worse. Jenny Greenteeth, the Black Annis, Bog-Mother, all spawned a legacy that turned traveling through marshland into a dangerous journey.
As we saddled up again for the day, I dreaded the coming ride. Or rather, my thighs dreaded it. Trillian helped me back astride the horse and as I patted Annabelle’s head, she whinnied.
“Take it easy on me, would you? I’m a newbie at this.” I fumbled in my pocket for one of the apples I had confiscated and leaned down to hand it to her. She took the fruit, giving a little shake of appreciation. Laughing—my experience with horses was limited and I hadn’t realized how pleasant they could be—I clucked to her and she started forward as I steered her into the train we had formed. I rode behind Trillian, who was behind Bran.
As we passed deeper into Thistlewyd Deep, I began to realize that the entire forest was actually a giant hive-mind. I could feel it on every side of me—above and below, too. It throbbed with activity and as I tuned in, I realized that every being that entered the forest became a part of the whole. We were, too—simply by being here, we had become part of the Deep.
Delilah rode up beside me. The path was wide enough, though it wouldn’t have handled three abreast. She let out a long breath. “Now I understand why Father warned us against this place. We’ve been on some odd journeys before, but I’ve never felt any place quite as…alive…as this woodland. It makes Panther want to come out and play, and it makes Tabby want to run for her life.”
“I understand. I was just thinking about how Thistlewyd Deep is one gigantic organism. We’ve become part of it simply by crossing the borders.” I glanced up at the sun. “We’re halfway to noon, I think—” I stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
“Can you hear that?” I could hear the faintest of voices, riding the wind like distant chimes. Closing my eyes for a moment, I let Annabelle lead the way. But a sudden jerk jolted me out of my thoughts. My eyes flying open, I saw that Delilah had grabbed hold of my reins. Annabelle was stopped in the middle of the path.
“What’s going on?” I glanced around. “Why did you stop me?”
“You were starting to veer off trail, that’s why. I can hear the voices too, they’re calling us.” Delilah shouted to Bran and Trillian, who backtracked. “You said there were kelpies near the Seven Grottoes. Are we near there?”
Bran glanced around, contemplating our surroundings, then nodded. “We are, actually. Just through those two bushes to the right lies the path into the ponds.”
I was about to say something when a loud noise crashed off to our left. Annabelle whinnied in fear, then bolted onto the path toward the Seven Grottoes. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see two large creatures crashing through the forest directly toward our party, and they looked angry, mean, and hungry.
Chapter 11
I GRABBED THE reins, trying to calm Annabelle as we careened through the undergrowth, but she was on a one-way mission to put as much distance between us and those creatures as possible. I gave up trying to stop her and instead focused on holding on for dear life. While I had ridden horses in the past, I had never had any inclination to be a show jumper or any such thing.
Shouts from behind told me that a fight had ensued. I prayed that whatever those things were, they wouldn’t manage to damage anybody in the process. As for me, the last thing I was worried about was getting involved with them. Right now, I’d actually welcome it. Annabelle was careening around rocks and jumping over fallen logs, and I just held tight, trying to gather enough energy to project a calming aura, but it was hard to cast a spell when my main focus was on keeping my seat. I had the feeling if I fell off at this speed, I’d break something—quite possibly my neck. In fact, this was how my mother had died. That sobered me even further.
“Hush, hush, it’s okay.” My words were choppy thanks to the bumps and jolts that accompanied me. Ms. Camille’s Wild Ride, I thought. Toad had nuthin’ on me.
Then, the soft cadence of song hit me again. Oh great, we were nearing the ponds and the kelpies were singing. Annabelle responded, beginning to slow. I tried to ignore the summons. As soon as my horse was trotting instead of galloping full speed, I grabbed out a tissue from my pocket and tore it in two, stuffing the halves into my ears for makeshift earplugs. While it didn’t fully mute the singing, it distorted it enough to where I wasn’t totally entranced. I felt the pull, but was able to force my attention away from it.
I was finally able to gather up my energy. I needed to keep Annabelle from be
ing lured in. Kelpies ate horses, as well as people. While I wasn’t sure of my ability to cast a spell to mute out their singing, there was nothing to do but give it a try. I focused my attention on the area around us.
Kelpie’s song and siren’s lure,
Fade into a general blur.
Silence those who would charm,
Keep them from doing harm.
As the magic shot out from me, every which way, there was a sudden burst of light ahead of us. I shielded my eyes from the flash. Great. What the hell had I done now? I cautiously opened my eyes as the flare faded away and I squinted, trying to see what was going on.
Holy fuck. The entire area ahead of us was one massive blur. I couldn’t quite see the path—couldn’t quite see the ponds that I knew were there. The copse rippled like a distorted wall. What on earth?
Annabelle whinnied, shaking her head as if she was just waking up. I also realized that, except for birdsong and the croaking of frogs, the forest ahead of us was silent. I had muted them, all right. Fade into a general blur. Crap, I had also blurred them too, whatever that meant. I wasn’t sure if the blurriness was an illusion or if I had somehow thrust them into a slightly different reality. As I sat there, cocking my head from one side to another as I puzzled over what had happened, a noise behind me shook me out of my thoughts.
“Camille? Camille?” Smoky was running hard and fast through the trees. He made better time than if he had been on his horse. The hem of his jacket was flying behind him, and I wondered how it managed to avoid being caught on anything. But then again, as one of his dragon attributes, he never got dirty so it made sense that extended to more than cleanliness.
I held up my hand. “Over here.”
“Are you all right?” He skidded to a halt, his duster settling around his legs as he slowed.
“What?” His words sounded muffled until I realized it was due to my makeshift earplugs. I pulled the tissue out of my ears.
“I said, are you all right?”
“Oh, yeah. Annabelle just led me on a wild ride.” I pointed ahead. “What do you see?”
He frowned, squinting. “I’m not sure, but it looks like a blurry… Camille, what did you do?”
“How do you know I did anything?” As silly as it sounded, I was suddenly on the defense. My magic backfired so much that my family assumed any mishap could be attributed to a misplaced spell.
“Do I really have to answer that?” He laughed, but then turned back to the still-blurry glade. “What happened?”
I told him about Annabelle sprinting because of the creatures and how we had raced through the woods till the kelpies began luring us in. “So once she began to calm down, I was able to cast a spell. Which backfired. Maybe. Just a little.”
“You blurred them out? Are they in a different dimension or did you just mangle everybody’s vision?” Smoky headed over to take a look, ducking away from me before I could smack his shoulder for teasing me. As he neared the glade, I realized he was staying perfectly clear against the background.
“You’re not blurry.”
“Good. I don’t want to be.” He reached out. “Tree trunks are still here. I think you just cast a general obstruction spell.”
It was then that I remembered the creatures who had chased me here in the first place. “Wait—what were those beasts and is everybody okay?”
“Everybody is fine. Shade, Delilah, and I managed to take them down. They’re some form of overgrown carnivorous rodent. Gigantic rats.” Smoky was still focused on the trees. “I think we should take a look at the ponds. It’s off our itinerary, but kelpies prey on others.”
I didn’t want to go hunt down the kelpies and I didn’t want to chance having to fight them. But I knew he was right. They were a danger to anybody passing through, and the next group of travelers might not be able to fight them off, let alone know the kelpies were a threat.
“All right. Giant rats, you say?”
“Not exactly but close enough.” He returned to the side of my horse. “Wait here. Put those earplugs back in. I’ll summon the others. They’re only a ten-minute ride—run—away, but I can go through the Ionyc Sea so I’ll be right back, and they’ll follow.” Before I could say a word, he vanished, blinking out of sight.
With a sigh, I replaced my makeshift earplugs, stuffing the tissue inside my ears again. Sighing, I decided that the kelpies were going to pay for this distraction.
SMOKY WAS GOOD to his word. He returned a couple moments later, and told me the others were on the way. I stayed astride Annabelle at his request.
“Where’s your horse?”
“They’re bringing him. I didn’t want to scare the poor beast by bringing him through the Ionyc Sea. It’s hard enough for a horse to handle a dragon rider, but the Ionyc Sea? That would probably give the creature a heart attack.”
We waited for another ten minutes, Smoky relentlessly patrolling the area while he insisted I stay on Annabelle. I liked the horse, but was aching to get off her back. Literally, my legs felt like they were one accidental contraction away from going into spasm.
Finally, I ignored what my dear dragon had ordered and slid off of the saddle in a somewhat less than graceful manner. But at least I was on the ground. The cramps hit the moment I tried to walk over to Smoky’s side. I groaned, bending to place my hands on my knees as I tried to breathe through the wave of charley horses that rippled along my legs.
“Crap. Why didn’t I plan for this and take some time to get in shape. We could have rented horses and built up stamina but no, I didn’t even think about how we might be traveling to find the Maharata-Vashi.” I grumbled on, pretty much a broken record, until we heard voices as the others broke through the foliage, joining us.
Delilah took one look at my face and was off her horse. Although the aches and pains were also hitting her, she was a lot more fit than I was. A lot more fit than I’d ever be. She hurried over to me.
“Camille, are you all right? Smoky told us you’re fine, but I don’t think you are.”
“I’ll be all right once the damned leg cramps settle down. I’m okay, really.” I eased out of the stretch and slowly stood. My legs were still aching but the cramps had eased off. “Damn, though. When we go home, we’re taking riding lessons and keeping it up, just in case.”
She laughed. “I think I’d like that, actually.” Sobering, she turned toward the wood. “Smoky says you made it blur.”
“I made it blur, all right. Spell misfired, but at least it quieted the kelpies down so we can’t hear them now.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.” Delilah contemplated the forest ahead. “If we can’t hear them, they could sneak around and ambush us.”
I pressed my lips together. I hadn’t thought about that. I had meant just to quiet their songs, but what if I had managed to give them a blanket silence spell? That would be just about the way things worked, given my history.
“Maybe you’re right. I guess I should negate the energy.” I wasn’t sure if I could manage that—spell reversals were harder than actually casting the spell in the first place—but I closed my eyes and searched through the repertoire in my head. Finally, I remembered the Reversing spell that I had been taught as a child. I cast it, wording it as cautiously as I could, and stood back, watching as the entire area began to shimmer. The energy cleared, and we were staring at the forest as it should be. But I could hear the kelpies singing again.
I tried to ignore them, stuffing the tissue back in my ears. One look at Chase and I knew he would be in big trouble. “Trillian, you and Shade take Chase back to the path. Get him away and don’t let him answer the call.”
As they led Chase away, I detached my staff from Annabelle’s side and walked over to Smoky. “Let’s go. But be careful. How do kelpies affect dragons?”
“We’re mostly immune to them. But…” He stopped to listen, then shook his head. “There’s something different about these part
icular Fae. I can’t explain it but they sound stronger than their Earthside kin.”
“That’s because they come from the Deep,” Bran said, crossing to our side. “They were probably born in Thistlewyd Deep, and that strengthens their abilities.” His angular jaw was set, his eyes dark and flashing. “If you are serious about taking care of them, then we go on foot, because they can lure our horses in and make a bloody meal off of them. I won’t chance my steed to a painful fate. So, decide, and one way or another, we move. The longer we stand here, the better their chance to lure us into their snare.”
Delilah looked about as overjoyed as I was, but she merely drew her long dagger after she dismounted. Lysanthra, her weapon, was sentient and had occasionally sparked with an unexpected power or two. We all knew there were other abilities locked within the blade, but they would come out in their own time. Rozurial withdrew his magical stun gun, smiling grimly. Venus surprised me by drawing a wicked-looking dagger. It was curved and the curves were sharp, barbed with what looked almost like stingers. Plunge that into anybody’s flesh and it would rip them to hell when you yanked it back.
We were all on our feet, and we tied the horses to trees to prevent them from bolting or running off. I motioned to Bran as he drew his sword. “I guess we’re ready.”
He gave me a nod, and we headed into the thicket that separated us from the ponds.
THE FOREST SUDDENLY seemed to mute except for the piercing notes of a very vocal bird and the steady drone of bumblebees. The undergrowth began to thin as we approached the ponds, and the trees here were tall birch, white bark gleaming under the flickering sun. The temperatures had climbed into the low seventies, and I began to feel slightly off-center. I shook my head as we silently proceeded, trying to snap out of the beckoning daze. It wasn’t the kelpies’ song—the tissue provided a fairly good buffer. But the warmth and the lack of sound and the anticipation created its own form of trance, and I was sliding fast.
Moon Shimmers (Otherworld Book 19) Page 17