One is Come

by C. H. MacLean

  Chapter 22

  Feabee's Farm

  While her mother cleaned up their oven, Haylwen helped pack their old Volvo to the brim. As soon as they were done, they set off, despite it being late in the day. In the car, Haylwen was awake with her thoughts as they drove far into the night. They finally stopped at an old, but clean, motel. Haylwen fell into a dreamless sleep immediately, only to be roused what seemed a moment later to stumble through the dawn and slump back in the car. The chill and a crumpled blueberry muffin kept her awake until dawn broke. After that, even the scenery, which had changed from drab chaparral to a riotous forest, could not keep Haylwen’s eyelids up.

  Even before her eyelids closed, Haylwen felt herself rising, floating above the car. She opened her eyes to watch as she floated above the Volvo for a moment before it sped away. I must be dreaming, she thought. Part of her argued anything was possible at this point. She ignored that, along with the nagging thought that it felt too real to be a dream.

  A movement at the side of the road caught her eye. As her attention focused on it, she flew, literally flew, close to investigate. The speed and ease of flight was a marvel, balanced by the fear of her lack of control. She just wanted to look, not touch! She put her feet on the ground, locking herself in place before peering into the bushes more closely. The gloom was difficult to penetrate, and she couldn’t see anything clearly.

  The rumbling of an approaching truck pulled her attention back to the highway behind her. She turned to watch the large black cab and trailer. The truck was neither too fast nor too slow, and despite Haylwen’s attempts at examination, was nondescript. The smell of diesel exhaust lingered after it disappeared. If this is a dream, it is oddly boring, Haylwen thought.

  She turned her attention back to the forest. She immediately noticed two white tree trunks had appeared. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the forest, she saw the tree trunks move toward her. She gasped as she realized they held up a rattlesnake snout. Baskilon! She closed her eyes before she looked into the baskilon’s eyes, and jumped back.

  She fled, uncaring of anything but escape. Scrambling up the slope to the road, she looked over her shoulder to see scores of baskilon erupt from the woods, pouring out. She was in the middle of the freeway before she remembered to look to see if any cars were coming. She tumbled down the far embankment and thought, Fly! Now I want to fly! If I could just stop for a moment I could figure out how to fly. She heard the click and scratching of thousands of claws rushing across pavement and didn’t dare stop. Was there some magic that could help her? She couldn’t think of anything, and swore to herself she would learn.

  She plunged into the brush at the edge of the forest, branches grabbing her clothes and hair. One thorny vine clawed her thigh. With a yelp of pain, she burst through. The dim light kept the undergrowth sparse, but made it difficult to see. Out of breath already, Haylwen tripped and stumbled as fast as she could, deeper into the forest.

  “Haylwen!” A forced whisper from ahead jolted her. “This way!” Instinctively, she veered toward the familiar voice, scrambling over a fallen log. There, behind that large tree, a shadow waved her on. “Come, hurry!”

  She fully recognized the voice as Rivenwake’s, just before she crashed into him. He caught her as the noise of the chasing baskilon approached. He spun, pulling her back into the shadowed side of the tree. Haylwen felt more than saw that the shadow hid a narrow opening in the tree trunk. Rivenwake guided her, pushing her gently, but rapidly, backward— past the rough opening, into the tree, squeezing in quickly after. The space was just big enough for the both of them. Rivenwake faced her, pressed up against her, blocking the opening.

  She tried to slow her breathing, or at least quiet it. The crashing noise of the pursuing baskilon, muffled when she went into the tree, grew louder. The vibration of thousands of baskilon pounding through the forest rumbled her feet. They were just outside, with only Rivenwake’s body between them and her.

  The crashing and pounding went on and on. She couldn’t see a thing. In the dark, she could smell a damp mulch, and Rivenwake. Her head lay flat against his shoulder, one side of her face cool against the inside of the tree, the other warm from his body. He smelled like rain, clean and fresh. One of her hands was on his chest, and she could feel his slow heartbeat and easy breathing. She realized if the baskilon found them, he wouldn’t be able to defend himself at all. He was protecting her, completely.

  Her breathing slowed as the thunder passed by. In a moment, it was so quiet Haylwen could hear Rivenwake’s heartbeat. She strained to sense what was going on outside, but instead, became very aware of Rivenwake, pressed against her. She couldn’t even move her hand from off his chest. Her face grew hot.

  “Wait here,” he whispered, loud in the tiny space. Haylwen felt him move, and her face bathed in cool air. Haylwen peered out, trying to catch a glimpse of Rivenwake. She could only see a tiny slice of forest outlined by the narrow opening. Had all the baskilon really passed them by? She gasped as a shadow brushed across her face. “It’s ok,” Rivenwake said. “They’re gone.” Haylwen sensed more than saw his hand reach in. She grabbed it, letting herself be helped out of the hiding place.

  They stood there, looking around for a moment, hand in hand. The forest was transformed. Low branches were ripped off, bushes trampled, the very ground pounded flat. The destruction was astounding, matched by the absolute silence, the quiet of a graveyard. Haylwen shivered and, without thinking, slid closer to Rivenwake.

  He turned to face her. The dim light cast shadows across his face, adding the depth of mystery to his looks. His light blue eyes were bright, and Haylwen slipped into them like a warm bath. He is so very cute, Haylwen thought, his lips look so soft. Her fantasies of how her first kiss would be resurfaced, merged into vividly imagining Rivenwake kissing her. His eyes softened, moved over her face. He was going to kiss her, and she wanted him to. He very gently pulled her a bit closer, his full lips parting ever so slightly. She felt herself flush again as the trembling thought that this was going to be her first kiss sent her heart pounding. Rivenwake leaned in slowly, his eyes searching hers for a sign that he should stop. Instead, Haylwen felt herself leaning forward, being moved by some internal force.

  His lips were so soft she could barely feel them, except for the surprising warmth. Tingles spread in waves down her spine. She thought, It’s only a dream, feeling a tinge of disappointment, followed by relief. But just as that relief let her fully relax into the kiss, Rivenwake pulled back abruptly.

  His eyes were wide, the whites bright in the dimness. His face was flat in shock. “I’m so sorry,” he said, backing up a step. “I don’t know what happened; I have never done anything like that.”

  Haylwen replied quickly. “It’s ok. It was my first kiss too. It was nice,” she finished with the thought, Even if it was just a dream.

  Rivenwake shook his head. “Don’t you know? Of course not, you are just Awakening to your magic. This,” he said, waving his hand around, “is not a dream! It’s not on the physical plane, but I am still me, and you are still, still…” he switched topics with a shake of his head. “I thought I was just protecting you and your possible destiny, all of us, and our future.” He looked at her, looked deep, eyes widening. “You did this! But you don't know your power, or what I am.” He shook his head again, firmly. “That is no excuse.”

  Haylwen’s thoughts were swirling. Magic! He said magic! Oh, if he knew about magic, could I have a friend that was a magic user too? “Are you a magic user too? Is that why you are in my dream?” Before he could reply, she continued. “Or whatever this is?”

  Rivenwake had taken another step back, and was looking off into the distance, lost in thought. “This is the Overworld,” he said, distractedly. “As it is part of the Upper Plane, you can do anything here, anything can happen.” His eyes refocused on her, his eyes confused. “But that is no excuse! Destiny will, as it will… but then, is this part of that?” He looked away. “I
have to go. I need to think, meditate on my duty to my kind, what is best for all.”

  Haylwen was thoroughly confused. What he wants? His kind? As Rivenwake took a step back, she raised one hand. “When will I see you again?” she blurted.

  “You don’t understand,” he said, “I really shouldn’t… I mean… I can't interfere. I just can’t seem to be able to be normal, do what I know I am supposed to when you are around.” He looked at her, one last long look, and slipped away into the shadows.

  Haylwen stood there, her hand raised toward where he was standing, trying to make sense of everything. This was just a dream; but would a dream-figure know it was a dream? How would I know? Maybe one of the books would talk about it? Her thoughts kept sliding back to the kiss, her first kiss, however unreal it was, and how it felt.

  Lost in thought, it took a moment for her to realize a noise rapidly approached. A vibration in the ground grew quickly stronger. The baskilon were coming back!

  She spun to jump back into her hiding place in the tree, to find the tree was gone. She looked frantically around as the noise grew rapidly louder. Once again, she had no time to try to figure out how to fly, how to do anything. She just started running, whispering, “Rivenwake, help!” She knew, somehow, he wasn’t going to show up. If she just had a moment, she could do anything here, even if it was just a regular dream! She could just turn and blast them. How did Cadarn do that again? Oh, how she wished he were here!

  With that thought, her brother came running out of the forest, just to the side of her. He slowed, briefly surprised at seeing her. Haylwen altered her course, and then they were running side by side. “Baskilon! Thousands of them!” Cadarn barked, between panting breaths.

  “I know!” Haylwen said, already panting herself.

  They ran. Haylwen expected to reach the edge of the forest almost immediately, but it just seemed to go on forever. “We can’t run forever!” she panted.

  At almost the same instant, Cadarn said, “They’re gaining on us!”

  Haylwen said, “Blast them!”

  Cadarn shot her a look sideways. “There’s like, a million!”

  “You can do it! I know you can!” Haylwen panted. She didn’t know how to explain quickly.

  Cadarn skidded to a stop, Haylwen just ahead of him. He turned back to the rapidly approaching pounding, and closed his eyes, still breathing heavily. Haylwen could see the energy gather around Cadarn, shimmering waves of blue. He took a deep breath, and opened his eyes.

  “There!” their mother yelled. “Turn right there!”

  Cadarn’s face crashed in surprise, and the energy vanished. A split second later, Cadarn vanished as well. Haylwen had enough time to see the front of the baskilon army before she blinked, and they vanished.

  The whole scene vanished. She blinked her eyes rapidly, hit by the painfully bright light streaming in through the car windows. The car slowed and turned suddenly, pulling her face away from where it had rested against the cool glass. She tried to hold onto what happened, but the images were fading fast.

  They had left the main highway while Haylwen slept, and were braking and turning off a small paved road. Haylwen could see they were headed for a dirt road leading into the woods, but it looked like it ended just after it left the paved road. As Haylwen looked at the approaching gap, it seemed to be getting larger, the obscuring branches of trees pulling out of the way, the narrow lane smoothing and widening. They turned in, and drove slowly past the opening in the forest. Haylwen shivered as a tingle swept down her body. Cadarn suddenly sat up as well. He looked around, as if expecting to see someone.

  Haylwen turned her attention back to the windows, and looked back to see the lane seemed to entirely close up behind them. She looked ahead, and saw only the start of their cozy, smooth passage. It was like they were standing still, in a special forest glade, or that they were carrying the glade along with them. They rolled along for what was an unknown amount of time. They never had more than their little clearing of view around them, so it was impossible to tell how far they had come. The road, though unpaved, was invariably smooth, and they made almost no noise rolling along. She and Cadarn’s eyes were wide, and no one said a word.

  Then, as suddenly as if they had turned a corner, they drove out of the forest. Haylwen saw the forest actually continued to each side, completely surrounding the large clearing they had entered. Ahead, the dirt road curved up a short grassy hill, to end by a large barn. They slowly drove up to the barn, stopped the car, and got out. There was a large farm house nearby, with several other smaller buildings further away. Haylwen saw movement, what looked to be a deer peeking out at the edge of the forest! She had never seen a deer in real life.

  The door to the main farmhouse squeaked as it opened to emit a woman. Haylwen saw she was about her parents’ age, with crooked, thick glasses that had slipped down to perch on the end of her short nose. Her clothes were an odd combination: a long, flowing skirt with an earth-tone pattern that had Haylwen thinking of autumn leaves, and a dark blue hooded sweatshirt two sizes too big.

  Their father took one step forward, then stopped. The woman stopped about two paces away, and Haylwen felt tense for some reason.

  “Feabee,” her father said.

  “Abrennin,” the woman replied.

  They stared at each other, neither blinking. Haylwen felt something growing in her chest, and felt like shouting, or singing. Cadarn coughed, apparently feeling the same thing. Finally noticing, their mother stepped between Feabee and their father. “Thanks for the invitation,” she said, wrapping the stranger in a prim, but honest, hug.

  The strange woman's eyes lit up, and she responded with a great squeeze. “You can't get in without an invitation!” Her mother returned the squeeze, and then the two women started half-twisting, laughing, and swinging. Haylwen looked at her brother, whose eyes were also wide in wonder. This, their mother?

  Their father cleared his throat, and the two ladies broke their hug, still giggling like young girls.

  “Kids, this is Feabee O'Park. Feabee, this is Cadarn, and this is Haylwen,” their mother said, pointing to each of them in turn.

  “A pleasure to meet you both,” Feabee said. “I’ve seen pictures, but you were just small…. but let's get your things and I'll show you to your rooms.” She smiled brightly at each of them, with an extra touch of sweetness at their father, who turned and walked back to the car.

  She and Cadarn had to share a room. Two small, thin beds were against either wall, with a small wooden table between them. Haylwen quickly unpacked, and in a new habit, touched her left chest quickly, to make sure her wish wand was in place. She twisted her ring, noticing it looked duller.

  Cadarn was still just standing there, looking out the small window.

  “Solbright?” he said.

  “What?” Haylwen asked.

  “Huh?” Cadarn said, blinking. “Oh, I thought I saw...”

  “What?”

  “Oh, I, um, nothing.” He looked around the room, slightly shaking his head. “Not our best, not our worst, huh?” He smiled at Haylwen, then looked at where she had put her suitcase. “Can I put my suitcase under your bed?”

  She said, “Sure,” and scampered out of the room, as Cadarn went back to look out the window again.

  She wandered down the hall, past where her parents were unpacking and whispering. It looked like an argument, but there was no convenient way to eavesdrop. She walked by slowly, but her mother looked up without smiling, so she sped up. She managed not to get lost in the big house and walked out the back screen door.

  Well, she got the door open, but before she could take another step or even close the door, a cat leaped out from under the small staircase and ran up to rub itself against her legs. It was gray with thin white lines along its body, like a tiny black and white tiger. It was purring loudly, and winding its way between her legs so quickly Haylwen was afraid to move for fear of stepping on it or kicking it. Another cat, this o
ne dark brown with patches of black and tan, came around the corner of the house, twining around her legs in the places the other cat wasn't.

  Haylwen bent down and started scratching the gray one behind the ears with her right hand, and the brown one behind the ears with her left hand. They held still for the scratching, so she edged the door closed with her hip. Just when she had it closed, and was going to start down the steps, another cat came up and started rubbing against her legs. This one was striking, with long, silky auburn fur. Haylwen, bent over with a cat at each hand and another rubbing against her legs, giggled at what she must look like.

  “I see you have been cornered.”

  Haylwen straightened up quickly, looking to see Feabee standing near the barn, smiling. She nodded, and looked down to see the three cats, now sitting in a neat row on the step below her, looking up at her.

  Feabee studied the cats. “I haven't seen Airball in days, and I can't remember when Jazzy has sat still for that long. They must really like you.” Haylwen caught her in an odd look before she composed her face again. “The other kids are that way,” Feabee said, waving her hand.

  Haylwen headed off, at the last second remembering to throw a “thank you” at Feabee’s back before heading out. She looked over her shoulder to see the three cats, sitting in a row, watching her leave.