Grasping at Smoke
“You’re hesitating.” Aisling put down her basket and went to Katy.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” Katy rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. Sweat made her dress stick to her back, and her arms shook with the effort she’d been expending throughout the day. “What is this for again?”
“You need to be able to retract and expand your power almost instantly at varying strengths. You don’t want to hurt your allies by accident, and you’ll need to be able to incapacitate your enemies simultaneously.” Aisling raised her eyebrows. “That is, if you’re determined not to kill.”
Katy let out a gusty breath. “It’s hard.”
Aisling pointed at the basket on the ground. “Remember, you don’t have to attack your opponent directly. Yes, I’m throwing the weapons, but if you don’t wish to go after me, go after my weapons. Do just enough to make them think twice, and when they hesitate, you strike to render them helpless. Now, let’s try again.” She returned to her spot at the edge of the field and picked up the basket once more. Reaching inside, she called, “Ready?”
Katy nodded, so Aisling began launching the objects into the air. Then she raised her hands, and the wind around them caught the objects and began to swirl.
Several green apples came first, which were easy for Katy to target. She imagined the sundial moving just across their skins, and by the time they landed at her feet, they were little more than dry skins. Unfortunately, apples were not the only objects Aisling was throwing. A rock the size of Katy’s closed fist appeared. Katy nearly missed, as the fading light was making vision difficult, but the second she realized what it was, she was able to push it toward its untimely demise. By the time it landed, there was little to land, only dust that scattered and floated away on the gentle breeze across the golden hills.
“Good!” Aisling grinned and dusted her hands off. “You’re improving. But you have to remember to keep aware of your surroundings. Even more than the weapons, which I’m sure Peter will take care of, you need to be on the lookout for magic.”
“It’s not as hard with the apples and the rocks. I just wish it were as easy with magic.” She shivered. “Lightning storms and wind are a good deal faster and more dangerous than apples and river stones.”
“Still, you’re beginning to discern more quickly what to destroy and what not to.” Aisling started toward her. “Next we’ll—” Her head snapped to the left, and she tilted an ear to the sky.
“What is it?” Katy asked.
“Hm.” Aisling stared thoughtfully at the distant hill. “Unfortunately, I think I need to handle something.” She turned back to Katy. “Before I go, however, I have something I want you to work on while I take care of this.”
They left that part of the field and walked along the edge of the forest until they turned a corner and it opened up to a green meadow. As they walked, Katy had to grudgingly admit that she had enjoyed her training in spite of herself. Though every unfocused moment had been spent thinking of Peter, the sheer number of magical creatures, plants, and objects kept her curious and alert. Though she had yet to see the rainbow stones, blossom moths, or whirl troes Donella had talked about on her first day on the isle, Katy had seen ruby moss, which sparkled red on whatever surface it grew upon except when the sun shone directly on it. She’d also seen waving mushrooms, dark opal lichens, and fire sand. Hawkores screamed from above, large blue birds with the ability to make their cries sound like they were coming from whatever direction they wanted. And there were more. So many more that whenever Katy moved even more than a few feet in another direction, her skin tingled anew.
When she had asked why she saw so much more magic on this part of the isle than in the other seasons, Aisling had snorted.
“The fae like to speak as though they’re mighty warriors of magic, but many have grown so used to human comforts that they dislike other creatures of magic even more than humans do.”
Now as they walked along the edge of the meadow, they came upon four rectangular gardens. Each garden was framed neatly by little fences nearly the height of Katy’s waist and was about twenty feet long. Fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, and squash varieties grew in neat little rows along turned ridges in the soil. Several different kinds of fruit trees grew at the forest’s edge. The whole vicinity had the delicious smell of newly turned earth.
“Here. This is the place,” Aisling said.
“We’re at the edge of Summer!” Katy cried. It was same meadow she had stood above when Donella had wanted her to harness the wind. Only this time, she was on the other side. The meadow was wider than she had first realized, and now that she stood at the bottom rather than on a hill, she could see that Autumn actually touched the edge of the meadow as well.
“Summer grows the food, but Autumn is where it’s ripest for harvest. This border between the two is the best place on the isle for growing food,” Aisling said. “The humans have to often cart the smaller plants in large pots back and forth between spring and summer.”
“Does it work?” Katy asked.
“It’s edible.” Then Aisling smiled. “But it tastes much better over here.”
“This is lovely!” Katy knelt to look closer at the garden. “I had a garden growing up, but it never produced like this!”
“Would you believe that the Third Isle was once the isles’ second largest food producer?” Aisling was staring in the direction she’d been studying earlier.
“I rather hope it’s not now.” Katy dusted off her hands and stood. “Our food supplies have lessened even since I was little.”
“They have everywhere, even here.” Aisling sounded distracted. “I want you to find the threat in my garden and destroy it.”
Katy looked at her and then back at the little garden. “Threat?” If she used her gift here, there would be no garden left.
“They’re called weeds,” Aisling grinned as she called over her shoulder. “On the King’s Isle, everything has a little trace of magic in it. Even the plants and seeds still beneath the soil. Find it all and kill it.”
Katy stood. “Is everything well?”
“Oh yes. Just a nuisance I have to take care of now and then. I’ll be back, and we’ll continue with your lessons from here.” Aisling disappeared into the trees, muttering to herself.
Katy considered flying after her out of curiosity, but then she decided against it. She needed all the practice she could get. So she knelt to the ground once more and glanced around. The garden itself was only about five feet wide, but it had a vast number of vegetables crammed together. Placing her fingers in the soil, she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. The smell of fresh soil was comforting. It brought back memories of the few disastrous times Sir Christopher actually attempted to farm. As a child, Katy had never understood how he not only survived, but remained a wealthy man. Not that she knew much about farming, but even she knew that Sir Christopher was an exceptionally bad farmer. He killed nearly every plant he touched on the few occasions he actually remembered he was supposed to have crops to tend.
But now Katy reached out with her senses and tried to find the weeds. It was difficult. The screaming blood gnats had magic, which made them easy to sense. But even if the weeds had magic as Aisling had said, it wasn’t very much, and locating them in her mind was difficult. Aisling had said at one point that Katy would eventually learn how to find objects with all her senses rather than just her eyes. The first autumn fairy could. But for now, Katy felt as if she were walking in the dark with her hands stretched out in front of her. After a few moments, however, she finally felt something. But it wasn’t the weeds.
Katy looked down to see a large hand latched onto her ankle. She shrieked when she realized a man was reaching through the little white garden fence and was clinging to her leg. Or rather, half a man. His arms were far too long to belong to any human, and though she was looking through the fence, she could see no body below the waist. His eyes were the color of murky p
ond water without a hint of white or black in them, and his face was contorted like that of a madman. He growled, his lips curling back to reveal rotting teeth.
Katy quickly sent a wave of power down her leg to her ankle. But the burst only made the creature angrier, for it growled and its grip tightened.
“Get off!” she screamed as she grabbed his hands with hers and sent another ripple of burning power down. He let out a guttural yell and grabbed her with his other hand. Panicked, Katy tried to fly. But the creature only held on more tightly and began to rise with her, taking that portion of the fence with them. She tried to shake him off of the leg which he held, and kicked him again and again with the other, but it was to no avail. “What do you want?” she shouted.
As if he understood, the man snapped at her leg with his teeth, which came dangerously close to her calf.
Katy sent burst after burst of power, but each burst only seemed to make the creature more agitated. His grunts and shrieks and her screams filled the air as she flew in every direction she knew to try and kick him off.
That the creature had magic, Katy had no doubt. The burning power she was sending through him time and time again would have killed a human or fairy by now. And yet, he still hung on.
You could destroy him, something deep in her mind suggested. Despite her situation, though, Katy immediately balked. Destroying gnats was one thing. But ending the life of a creature that looked eerily human? She wasn’t sure. Even as she was debating, his teeth grew closer. And yet, something in her resisted.
There must be another way, Atharo!
The prayer was out before she’d even realized she had prayed it. And with it a memory triggered by the very same prayer she’d prayed the day before. Grabbing his hands with hers as they continued to hang in the air, she imagined the sundial again. But this time, she focused only on his hands. She could feel the skin on his fingers begin to change, to soften and sag. The creature screamed, but Katy was relieved when she saw that only his hands were aging. He let go with another shriek, but before he had fallen ten feet, a whoosh sounded beneath her and caught him. Katy nearly fainted with relief when she saw Aisling directing the wind with her hands. Then, to Katy’s surprise, Aisling let him fall until she could reach him. Then held him up by the scruff of his neck and began chastising the half-man as though he were a naughty puppy.
“How many times have I told you to stay underground?” She glared at him.
He grunted and held up his hands, and Katy felt a stab of remorse. But Aisling just shook her head.
“You should thank Atharo that she didn’t kill you. Everything you got today, you deserved.”
He grunted and whined, holding his hands out to her.
“No, I’m not going to try and fix them today. I don’t even know if I can. And even if I could, I wouldn’t. Not until you’ve had a few days to think about how you’ve acted.”
Katy watched in shock and the creature began to whimper, and Aisling rolled her eyes then sighed.
“Very well, I’ll put you back. But don’t come out. I’ll find you if I think you’ve learned your lesson.” She held him in her arms, which could have been no easy feat, and turned and began to walk in the direction they’d come from. Katy followed her, still agape as she watched the half-man curl into a little ball and cry.
They walked over the hill, and Aisling continued to admonish the creature until they reached a large hole in the ground, much like an underground cave. To Katy’s shock, when she peeked inside, there were at least a dozen more of the creatures, each looking as human as the last. Some had women’s faces, but they all maintained the flat torsos of the first. The only differences were in heads and sizes. As soon as they saw the creature Aisling carried, they reached out and let out a series of barks and grunts as they grabbed for him. Aisling gently handed him to them, and they pulled him down into the cave with their long, thin arms.
Katy couldn’t help glancing over her shoulder in awe one more time as the creatures began to howl. Aisling raised her hand, and the wind lifted them back up into the air and carried them over the golden field to the gardens.
“What were those things?” Katy asked as the wind set them down gently beside the little rectangular gardens. She shivered again as she recalled the creature’s hard grip on her ankle.
Aisling grimaced. “Men of the Moor. They used to be on every isle, but like most creatures of magic, they were pushed back by fae and human alike until they were only here. To my knowledge, that’s the only pack on the isle. Although…” She made a face. “I must admit I wouldn’t be terribly sorry if they went extinct. I only allow that pack to live here out of respect for Atharo, and sometimes they tempt even me.” She snorted.
“But they’re not…human, are they?” Katy asked.
“Oh isles, no! They’re intelligent enough to understand basic speech and intonation, much like a dog, but that’s about all.”
“What do they do?”
Aisling laughed. “Usually, not much. They prefer to take small meals, generally rodents, and most of those are found in their underground caves. But every once in a while, one gets curious and I have to set them straight.”
“I felt bad about—”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I might be able to help him later, but if not, he’ll just have to remember his foolishness in future times.” She turned back to Katy as they approached the garden. “I’m actually quite impressed. You considered the medium with which he was attacking you rather than directly going after your attacker. That’s not an easy skill.”
Katy sighed. “I didn’t wish to hurt him.”
“No, of course not. But sometimes, Atharo gives us choices, and we have to choose one.”
“It would be nice if he would stop presenting us such awful choices.”
“Now hold it right there.” Aisling stopped and whirled around. She put her hand over Katy’s mouth and put her finger in Katy’s face. “I will not hear of Atharo spoken of like that. By you or anyone else.”
Katy felt her eyes prick as Aisling let go of her face. “I’m just so tired of fighting,” she whispered, staring at the ground. “Every time we seem to find our foot, we slide backward once again.”
“What do you mean?”
Katy crossed her arms across her chest. “Peter and I found one another, but then Tearlach intervened. We defeated Tearlach, but then…this!” Her voice broke on the last word. “And today, I was nearly forced to destroy that…that man—”
“Men of the Moor are not men, Katy.”
“It doesn't matter!” Katy shouted. “I was nearly forced to take the life of something against my will! Again!”
“It attacked you first!”
“I wouldn't have been out here in its homeland to be attacked if it weren't for this infernal wretched destruction inside of me! And for the life of me, I can't understand why!”
“I know.” Aisling took a deep breath and stared at the ground. “I know. It's hard waiting.” Aisling let out a dry chuckle. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve been waiting nearly a thousand years. And believe me, eternal youth isn’t all it’s supposed to be. After several hundred years, it gets monotonous. But if we have any hope of restoring the isles…” She paused and closed her eyes briefly before continuing. “If we have any chance of saving our peoples—both of them—then you must learn to trust Atharo.”
“I pray.” Sometimes.
“Trusting in Atharo doesn’t mean simply asking him for help whenever you have need of him. He’s not a candle that can be lit for warmth then snuffed whenever he’s rendered unnecessary.” She took Katy’s face gently in her hands. “If you’re going to trust him, you’ll need to rely on him completely. For everything. The air you breathe, the words you speak, even the very ground you walk on. It would all crumble away without him. If he’s truly the creator and sustainer of our isles, then everything we have we owe to him.” She let go of Katy and stepped back. “And before you go into battle, you need to choose wheth
er you are going to trust him completely or not at all. Because if you don’t, we're all doomed.”
***
Katy didn’t return with Aisling to her cozy little home that evening. Aisling had begged her to stay for a few more days to learn, but Katy refused.
“I have to make things right with Peter,” she told Aisling. “Then I’ll come back.”
“They’re just waiting for you to return!” Aisling cried, her green eyes wide. “And they’ll use him to get you!”
But still, Katy refused. So when Aisling finally returned home, defeated, Katy remained. She needed time alone, and as soon as she went back to the palace, she knew the time for that would be over. Even her little room in Aisling’s sprawling cavern was too cramped for Katy to sufficiently let herself feel what she had to. So, she wandered the field instead and watched the sky until its blues were gone and had all faded to black.
“It’s the darkness, you know,” she finally said aloud. Her voice sounded brittle, like one wrong word might dash it to pieces. “I can’t understand why you’ve given darkness like this to me…to anyone!” She swallowed, feeling somewhat silly for talking to the sky. But Aisling was right. She needed to address this on her own.
“I thought I understood after Tearlach was gone. But ever since coming here, I’ve caused us nothing but grief and heartache, and every time I think things will get better, they fall to pieces again!” Silent tears streamed down her cheeks, and Katy gritted her teeth. And yet, the night sky stayed as tranquil as ever.
“He said you loved peace! But you’ve made me a soldier with a weapon far too great for any one soul to carry!” Anger mixing with sorrow made her chest hurt. “I loved you! And I thought you loved me! For years I comforted myself at might, falling asleep only because I trusted you to keep me safe in the night. But I didn't realize I didn't need protecting! It was the world that needed protecting from me!” She collapsed in a heap and cried into her knees. “And I just wish I knew why!”
There was no answer from Atharo. But just as Katy was about to turn and head back for Aisling’s, a low moan caught her attention.
The Autumn Fairy of Ages Page 28