by A. M. Hodges
The morning after we stayed in our hotel, we woke up and checked out. When Jeb and Lucah walked across the street and headed into the woods I honestly thought that it was a joke. I just stood there staring at them, waiting for them to turn around any minute and yell "Gotcha!"
They didn't, and we've been walking ever since.
We stop when the sun begins to disappear behind the horizon, and we wake and keep moving as it comes back up again. Lucah takes Miles out to hunt while Jeb and I make camp and light a fire specifically to make the food. Even when there is snow on the ground, we don't need the fire for warmth. I have figured out that my newly Fae body adapts to cold temperatures maybe a little too well, hence the constant sweat.
"Come on," Jeb reaches out his hand to where I'm sitting on a large boulder, "I want to show you something."
Slightly skeptical, I take his hand and he pulls me up to follow him deeper into the woods.
We wander idly through the trees hand-in-hand as I take in everything around us. I smell the pine trees and their sap mixed with the crisp air that indicates a coming snow. My enhanced hearing picks up the skittering sounds of small animals and critters, the songs of the birds, and the faint trickling of a stream. Before long, we arrive at a river. Jeb lets go of my hand, nonchalantly walks to the edge, sits down on the bank, and begins to remove his boots. I cock my brow at him with an unspoken question.
"I figured you'd enjoy washing off the grime of hiking the last three days. If you deny it, I'll throw you in anyways. I'm sorry to tell you my love, but you smell quite awful," he smirks up at me.
I swat his shoulder before sitting down next to him and begin to take off my boots. Both boots remain unzipped on my feet as I get slightly distracted, hungrily watching him undress next to me. He gives me a menacing grin before wading into the water and swimming out to the middle of the river. With shaky hands, I hurriedly rid myself of my armor before going into the water after him. The familiar comfort of it envelops me like a warm blanket.
I dive under the water and am in complete awe at how well that I can see beneath the surface. Every grain of sand and spec of dirt is clearly suspended in front of my eyes, shimmering like a pool full of glitter. I swim towards the center and push to the surface in front of Jeb before wrapping my legs around his waist and locking my hands behind his neck.
He pulls me into a deep kiss before trailing his lips down my neck and across my collar bone. I shiver and he grins at me before repeating the process on the other side. When he finishes, he buries his nose into my hair, inhaling my scent.
"I suppose now would be a horrible time to tell you that this is also a training expedition," his voice vibrates into my neck.
I heave out a sigh, "Of course it is."
Reluctantly, I unwrap myself from him and wait for his instruction.
He turns to the bank opposite from where we left our clothes. With a slow wave of his hand, the earth begins to shake. About thirty feet from the shore, the trees begin to separate as the ground between then drops off to form a small valley.
"I can move the earth, but you can move the water. Water causes erosion. Over time, it slowly chips away at the earth. It is what turns streams into rivers, causes waterfalls, and eventually lakes and bays. About ten miles west from where we are standing there is a bay, I believe your maps call it the Hudson Bay," he gestures to the setting sun now almost complete disappeared behind the horizon.
"And?" I pout because this is at the very bottom of the list of things I want to do right now.
"And," he smirks at my pouting, "you can make these events happen in seconds. You cannot control the land as I can, but you can control the water that erodes it."
I stare at him blankly, unsure of the point that he is trying to make.
He sighs dramatically looking up to the sky, as if he is praying to some higher power for the patience to deal with me," You see the valley that I created," he brings his eyes back down to meet mine with the rhetorical question, "now I want you to force the water to it. Make me a waterfall."
Oooooh. I get it now.
He swims behind me and rests his hands on my shoulders, "Relax and close your eyes. Picture where we are and the valley in front of us, " he coaxes.
I do as he says. Breathing deeply, I close my eyes and bring the picture to the front of my mind and perfect every detail, "Okay."
"Now feel the water all around you. Feel the river and the way it moves. Feel the moisture in the air from the coming snow.
Find your tether to it."
Like I've done hundreds of times before, I tether the water to me forming liquid extensions of my limbs.
"Now, push."
I push both arms in front of me with my palms flexed as if I am telling something to stop. With the motion, the ground begins to shake again. Then, the water begins to move. I hear the roar of the waterfall just as the new current begins to drag us away and I immediately calm the water around us to hold us in place.
"Isn't the valley going to fill up soon?" I wonder.
"Yes, it is. I guess you better hurry," he grins before he disappears beneath the water and reappears at the riverbank and begins donning his armor.
We run at full speed, me pushing the water and him carving out the earth, all the way to Hudson Bay. It only took minutes, but the feeling of it was intoxicating. I never feel my power waning because his is constantly there recharging it. We have never done something like this before.
Working together like this, feeding off each other’s abilities, makes our bond as Tiarkye more prominent. The raw power that Jeb has amassed in his lifetime is almost over whelming. All of this hasn't even made a dent into the depths that his power goes. If I compare it to how many miles it is to travel from one side of the United States to the other, it's like we have traveled half a mile. It's a glimpse into what mine will be in a few hundred years, which is more than a little terrifying.
I wonder if it'll change me. I hope not. I don't want to be hardened by war, numbed by pain, or drunk with power. I just want to remain me.
∞∞∞
When we return to camp, I am exhausted and starving. I scarf down the elk that Miles and Lucah hunted and prepared and then curl up next to the fire and fall into a deep sleep.
I am startled awake by a hand being clamped over my mouth. My eyes spring open to see Jeb crouched above me holding a finger to his lips. I look around and see both Miles and Lucah have shifted into their other forms. The forest is blanketed in a thick mist. Jeb unsheathes his twin swords from his back as he stands. Stealthily, I rise and get into position next to him, our backs facing in to cover the full perimeter around us.
To my right, the snapping of a twig has me drawing my daggers. Jeb scrutinizes the mist, listening to our surroundings.
He stiffens slightly as his head snaps to the side, "On your left!" he barks over his shoulder.
Lucah swings his head to the left and bares his teeth just as a creature comes sprinting at him through the trees. With one swipe of his massive paw, the creature is flung twenty feet and slammed into the trunk of a large pine tree as three more creatures attack Miles.
"Open yourself to me. Now!" Jeb barks without looking at me.
I do as he says and feel the familiarity of the Tiarkye bond flowing between us right as four more creatures come tearing through the trees heading straight for us.
Jeb charges them and I hear an enraged roar come from behind me, causing me to whip around and look at Miles. There's got to be at least twenty more creatures surrounding him and climbing him. Some are trying to dodge his frantically flailing spiked tail while others are attempting to climb him and avoid his already bloody fanged maw. Lucah is surrounded by five more, popping in and out in the mist, stabbing him with makeshift swords and spears.
The mist. They are using it as cover.
Finding my tether, I focus on the mist surrounding us and blanketing the forest. I take in a breath, as deep as I can, and close my eyes. After holding it a few seconds I open my
eyes and let it go, as if I'm blowing out candles on a birthday cake. The mist rapidly billows out of the forest like dust being blown off an old book. When every creature freezes, we see their true numbers. Oh my god. There are hundreds of them.
Small grotesque little creatures. Standing at about three feet tall, they have white translucent skin stretched tightly over muscle and bone and milky sunken eyes. Their feet are clawed, and their hands are sporting three scythe-like talons each. Jagged fangs of all sizes protrude in different directions from their lipless mouths.
Jeb turns his head and winks at me over his shoulder before giving me a particularly malicious and terrifying smile and taking off into the sky. He lands directly in the middle of the small army of creatures, superhero style, sending the ground shooting around him in ripples. Well. That's one way to knock a hundred down.
With a roar from both Miles and Lucah, we follow Jeb into battle.
As I move through the ranks, I fall into a killing calm. Slice, dodge, block, stab, repeat. Blood sprays my face as I cut through creature after creature, but I don't feel it. There is growling, wailing and screeching as my daggers slice through flesh and bone and clang against metal. Small spears are being hurled at me from every direction not giving me a moments rest as I kill my way through.
Still, my strength is not waning.
I am vaguely aware of Miles and Lucah biting off heads and limbs and tossing them through the battlefield, making a rain of body parts and gore. Jeb is having the time of his life apparently. I can't see him, but I can feel him. His adrenaline and blood lust fill me as if it is flowing through my veins, urging my advance. He isn't even a little bit scared. If anything, he seems to be enjoying this.
I slice clean through the neck of another creature and turn around just in time to see Miles snatched up the last one and shake him around like chew toy before throwing him into the trunk of a tree. He sees me roll me eyes at him and gives me what I guess is the wyvern form of a grin.
His eyes abruptly widen at something over my shoulder, letting out warning roar and I turn around to see a creature swiping his talons straight for my head. Just before they connect with my skin his arm stops, and I look down to see a bloody sword protruding from his chest. Black blood gurgles in his throat as he falls dead at my feet.
When I look up, Jeb is strutting towards me with a cocky grin on his face.
"Don't worry my love, I 've got you."
I sigh in relief and turn back to see Miles and Lucah back in their Fae forms. Every inch of them is covered in black gore.
"What in the actual fuck just happened? And what the hell are these?" Miles flings his arms out dramatically towards the dead creatures surrounding us.
Lucah looks equally pissed off and confused standing next to Miles with his arms crossed over his chest.
"I don't know what they are," Jeb studies the creature lying at his feet, "but I can tell you where they came from."
I hear the answer in his thoughts and immediately snap my eyes to his in disbelief, "They are from The Mists."
Chapter 27
We haven't had any more attacks. It’s been three days of being on edge, barely sleeping, and barely eating. Someone always keeps watch while we sleep, and it was never me or Miles. We still stopped at sundown but only long enough for Jeb and Lucah to get three hours of sleep each before we kept moving again.
There are no more spontaneous training exercises or naked swims in the river. Jeb speaks soothing words into my mind when our combined emotions start to get the best of me, but no one dares to speak aloud. Too cautious. The constant anxieties of all four of us is driving me towards insanity. I jump at every snapping branch and scurrying animal. I've tried to block out their emotions but it’s hard when I can't even control my own.
We follow Jeb on a small detour before stopping to rest and drink from a nearby stream.
"We are nearing the portal," Jeb kneels to splash his face with water before turning to me, "It's time to let your wings out now Reyna, you won't need to hide them anymore. Your armor is modified with slits to accommodate them."
I release my wings and fan them out, stretching them as I would my arms and legs after a long nap. All tension slowly leaves my body. This feeling, the feeling of not having to hide who I truly am, is the most exhilarating thing I have felt in my entire life. There are no contacts suffocating and dulling my golden eyes. I don't have to wear my hair down and heavy on my back to cover my ears. My wings don't have to feel confined and cramped inside of my body. I feel free.
Jeb smiles as my bliss travels down our bond and he releases his wings.
"Seems like we have about a mile or two before we meet The Gatekeeper. I'll go collect his payment," Lucah grumbles as he stands from the stream and heads deeper into the woods.
"Payment?" I inquire to Jeb over my shoulder.
"Our lovely Gatekeeper refuses to hunt for his own food," Jeb rolls his eyes, "it’s a miracle he doesn't starve to death. Lazy old bastard."
I find a bolder nearby to sit on and take to sharpening my daggers while Lucah hunts for our payment. Jeb and Miles begin running through training exercises to entertain themselves. It takes two whole minutes before grunts and curses begin to flow out of Miles, forcing me to suppress a chuckle.
My ears pick up the sound of twigs snapping underfoot in the distance and I rush to Jeb and Miles brandishing my daggers. I don't know who or what it is, but I know that it isn't Lucah.
About a minute later, I see something walking towards us in the distance. From here, it looks human in shape and its walking towards us calmly. It doesn't seem threatening but I'm not taking any chances. I glance at Jeb out of the corner of my eye and see him squinting at the figure in the distance before his mouth breaks into a grin.
"It's okay love, put your weapons down."
The figure continues to move closer and I get a better look at her. Her skin is the color of dark chocolate and she looks to be the height of an average human female. That is where her human similarities end. Instead of hair on her head there are long thin branches covered in small leaves, like the branches of a willow tree, falling to her waist.
She is wearing a pale green dress made of silk that falls just above her knees with no shoes, and there are red vines wrapped around her arms and legs like jewelry. There is not a single curve on her, giving her the body of an adolescent girl. She kind of looks like a tree.
"Jebediah! I made my presence known on purpose, now you put those weapons away" her low, raspy voice chides as she comes to a stop in front of us.
I take in her sharp facial features and tiny pointed teeth behind black lips before meeting her ancient, onyx eyes accented with silver irises. She looks like she couldn't be more than ten or eleven until she speaks, and I look into her eyes, they hint at her true age. That is a woman who has seen some shit in her lifetime.
"Bramble!" Jeb yanks her into a hug and beams down at her like a little boy looking at his grandmother, "Did Mother send you?"
"Who else?" she scoffs and swats his chest playfully, "Your mother and sister are going to annoy all of Malatia to death if you don't get home soon. They've been going on about your return for a week now to anyone who will listen."
"Um," I step up next to them and take a quick glance at Jeb in confusion, "I'm sorry. But what are you?"
She lets out a huff and chuckles.
"She is one of the Tree Folk, my love," Jeb laughs as he pulls me into his side, "Bramble has been a part of my family since before I was born. Tree Folk are kind of like nymphs in your mythology. They nurture the plants and the forests and tend to the waters. They keep the balance in nature. She took care of me and my siblings when we were young."
"Tree Folk?" I look between them, clearly still confused.
"There are far more than just the three high races in Malatia, youngling. There is still much you must learn about our world," she holds out her hand to me, "Come now. Let us find Lucah and get the four of you home before Jebediah's mot
her combusts," she winks.
She hooks arms with me, and Jeb and we move towards the forest where Lucah disappeared to hunt earlier. Miles is staring at us incredulously as we walk past him, and I give him a slight shrug of my shoulders.
"You too, handsome," Bramble smirks at him over her shoulder, "let’s get moving."
We run into Lucah on his way back with a doe slung over his shoulders.
"Uh oh, here comes trouble," Bramble nudges me with her elbow playfully.
"Brambs! Hey there beautiful," Lucah places the doe on the ground and jogs in to hug her.
"Whew," she giggles, "you need a bath child. You smell horrid!"
He squeezes her extra tight forcing her face into his chest causing her to grunt and struggle to push him away. She locks arms with Jeb and Lucah and leads them on as Miles collects the doe and we hang back to follow them. About two miles up the path, we approach a large rock formation in a small clearing.
Lucah retrieves the doe from Miles and then walks up and places it at the base of the formation before returning to where we are standing. No one says a word to explain what we're doing; they just stand there waiting expectantly. Just as I am about to ask what we were doing; the formation begins to shake and separate down the middle revealing a swirling veil of colorful light.
There is green and white and pink and purple. It's gorgeous, and it looks somewhat familiar. If I didn't know better, I would swear that someone took the northern lights and suspended them between the rocks.
"It looks just like an Aurora Borealis," Miles marvels.
"That's because it is," Jeb says as Miles and I stare at him incredulously, "The appearance of the northern lights are the only times your world gets even the smallest glimpse into ours. They usually appear when Fae are actively using portals, but they can only be seen in the dark."