by Talia Jager
Whispers filled the meadow.
“Oleander is going to explain.”
Wait. What? When was this decided?
Kallan nudged me. “Go ahead.”
I swallowed hard and climbed up on the table. My heart raced as I looked out at the very large number of eyes staring at me. I could do this. I had to. They were all looking to me for answers now.
“A dark faery, Satine, wants to take over our land. She is leading an army against us. We need to take a stand against her,” I explained. “Can I count on you to stand with us and fight?”
Alston stepped forward first. “You can count on us, mo Bhanríon.”
I felt the blood rush to my face, but I ignored it and nodded my approval.
“We’ll fight,” Kallan called out.
“We’re with you,” the piskie who had led me astray said in her quiet voice.
“As are we.” Dain stepped forward.
Way in the back, a tree moved, and a low voice said, “The treefolk will help.”
“Thank you so much, everyone.” I smiled, proud of how everyone was coming together.
In the next couple of days, I watched as the faery realm prepared for a battle. The front guards had a map laid out in front of them and were going over possible scenarios. Another group was sword fighting, trying to sharpen their skills. It would have been neat to watch if I wasn’t fearful that many of them would die.
Drake approached me. “Can we talk?”
“Of course. What’s up?”
“I’m not sure I should tell you this. You’re dealing with so much and I don’t want to distract you.”
“What is it, Drake?”
“I saw Sierra. She’s upset and I think she’d be a lot better if she could talk to you.”
“Is she okay?”
“She’s not physically hurt.”
I ran my hand through my hair. What was I supposed to do? Sierra needed me, but so did the whole faery realm. I knew I had to go to her. I had promised.
Sierra was on the swing that hung from the tree in my backyard. I glamoured myself and hurried out of the forest and to her. She looked up when I reached her, but didn’t stand to hug me.
“Hey.” I plopped down in front of her.
“Hey.” Her tone of voice was sad and matched her eyes.
“What’s up?”
She shrugged.
“C’mon, talk to me.”
“You’re not around anymore,” she said with a hint of jealousy.
“I haven’t been gone that long,” I said in defense.
She didn’t respond. She just looked away.
Guilt poured over me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stay away so long. Something bad is happening in the faery realm and I have to help.”
Sierra sighed. “I miss you and Drake and without you guys here, I’m alone. And…well…things aren’t good at home.”
“What’s going on?”
“My dad walked out the other day. He hasn’t been back since…” Tears filled her eyes. “Between them and my sister, I can’t take it anymore. I wish I was eighteen already. I’d be so out of there.”
“I’m sorry things have been bad for you. I’m sorry I haven’t been here for you. I feel awful.” I placed my hands on hers. “I’ll be here as soon as I can.”
“You’re not staying now?” She gulped air.
“I can’t. I have to fix something first.”
“Take me with you,” she pleaded.
Seeing her so sad was killing me. I hated to see her so upset knowing I couldn’t—wouldn’t—do anything about it right now. “I can’t do that either. The situation there is dangerous.”
That did it. She burst into tears. I got up and shimmied next to her on the swing. I put my arm around her and pulled my best friend closer to me. She laid her head on my shoulder and her tears splashed on my other arm.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered again.
It took a few minutes for her to calm down. She looked at me and said, “Don’t leave me here forever.”
“I won’t.”
“Promise me, Rylie. Promise me you’ll find a way for me to come with you.”
“Sierra, I’m trying.”
“Promise me!”
I nodded. “I promise.”
What did I just do?
“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to deal with things at home.”
“And then what, Sierra? You’re going to run away? Kill yourself? What will you do?”
“I don’t know, Ry. I need to get out of there.”
The honesty in her voice scared me. Sierra had always been an upbeat person. She had never talked like this before. To hear her so depressed frightened me. I wasn’t sure what to do, but taking her into the faery realm was not an option.
Sierra fell asleep leaning against me.
“Rylie?” my mom’s voice came from behind me.
“Hey, Mom.”
“You okay? You’ve been gone a while.” She stood in front of me.
“I’m fine. Just dealing with something over there, but Drake came to tell me Sierra was upset.” An idea popped in my mind. “Can you do me a favor?”
“What?”
“Could Sierra stay at the house tonight? I can’t stay and she can’t come with me. Could she? Could you take care of her?”
“Of course,” Mom agreed. “Everything okay with her?”
“Trouble at home and it hasn’t helped that I haven’t been around.”
“You guys have been by each other’s side for years. It must be different for both of you.”
“It is.” I didn’t want to tell my mom what was going on or that it was dangerous. If she knew the faeries were getting ready to go into a battle, she’d freak out.
I knew Drake was waiting just past the tree line. “Drake,” I called.
He ran across the yard to where we were. “Yes?”
“Could you carry her inside? She’s going to spend the night here.”
“Sure. Where to?”
Mom showed him where to lay Sierra down. “She’ll be fine.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I hugged her. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too. You’re being careful?”
“Yes. And Kallan assigned Drake to protect me, so I have a bodyguard now.”
“Thank you, Drake.”
“No trouble, Mrs. McCallister.”
“Where is Kallan?”
“Dealing with issues,” I said. “How’s Dad?”
“Working a lot. Keeps him busy. He’s upset you’ve been gone so much.” She looked sad and I hoped that he wasn’t too busy for her, but that would have to be a talk for another time. I needed to get back.
“I have to go, but I’ll be back soon.”
Mom wrapped her arms around me. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
When she pulled back, I noticed she had tears in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her.
She shrugged. “I guess I’m always afraid one of these times will be the last time I see you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll always be in your life. I promise you that.”
“Okay.” She smiled.
On the walk back to the faery realm, Drake and I talked about what was going on with Sierra. “You promised her something you have no control over,” he said
“Well then, I’ll have to find a way.” Glancing over at him, I said, “I’m really worried about her.”
“Is your head going to be in this battle?”
I stopped in my tracks. “Of course! Is yours?”
“I’m sorry, mo Bhanríon, I shouldn’t question
you.”
Pressing my lips together, I answered, “It’s okay, Drake. You probably should ask that. You can bet that when the battle takes place, it’s all I will be thinking about.”
The area we were passing through was dark and unusually quiet. I heard none of the normal forest sounds. I stooped near a flower that wilted. I reached out to touch it and the flower died in my hands. A horrifying feeling crept into my body and I collapsed on the ground.
“Rylie?” Drake was next to me. “Are you hurt?”
“No…just drained.” My connection to the earth felt threatened. I couldn’t heal it, couldn’t stop whatever it was from happening. I dug my hands into the ground trying to understand more about what was happening, but I got nothing but great sadness in return.
“Can you stand?”
I pushed up, but lost my balance. “Oh.”
Drake caught me and held me steady. “I’ve got you.”
“Why do I feel like this?”
“Your connection to the land. It’s dying…so…”
I gripped Drake. “Will I die if the land dies?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you’ll just feel bad for a while?”
“Or maybe I’ll die if Satine gets her way. We have to get back.”
I hadn’t wanted to bother Kallan, but I needed him. Kallan?
He answered immediately. Yes, my love?
It’s getting worse. I don’t feel so good.
What’s wrong?
I feel drained, tired, sick.
Where are you?
Coming back from the human realm. Sierra needed me.
Get to Azura’s. I’ll meet you there.
Hurry.
Kallan, my mother, aunt, and both grandmothers came running when we stepped into the meadow. Almost immediately I felt my energy return. “I’m okay now,” I told Drake.
“What happened?” Azura asked, her face ashen.
“I suddenly felt sick and drained. We were in neutral land and it was dying.”
“She needs to see the sagart,” Maimeó suggested.
“What’s a sagart?” I asked.
“He’s the oldest, wisest faery, kind of like a priest in the human world,” Azura explained.
“Have I met him?”
“No. He lives alone and only appears for important things, but he would know what’s going on.”
“Let’s go then. Wait. Does he live somewhere that’s going to have me going through a cave or Targore or anything crazy?”
“No. He lives in a tree about ten minutes from here.”
“Oh good!”
Everyone laughed breaking the tension.
There was a staircase winding around the thick tree. We climbed up the stairs to find a two-story house built into and around the tree. I knocked on the wooden door wondering what to expect.
An older man with white hair and gold and silver wings answered the door. He was definitely the oldest faery I had seen. “Oleander!” The sagart took my hand and closed his eyes briefly. “It’s wonderful to meet you. My! You’ve brought many fey along. What can I do for you?”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” I said, then got down to business. “I understand being an Aurorian I have a special connection to the earth. Lately I’ve been feeling like something is off. I believe an evil faery is destroying the land. I need some answers.”
He placed his hand on my back and led me to a sitting area. “Please sit. Tell me how you feel.”
I sat in the cushy white chair and told him about the ripples, the ground shaking, and how I felt drained just now.
“So you were on neutral land and felt drained, but when you crossed over into the light territory, your strength returned.”
“Yes. And the flowers were dying in the neutral land. I tried healing one, but it didn’t work.”
His wings flapped. “The earth wants you to feel what it’s feeling.”
“I guess I’m confused as to what is happening.”
“Long ago, the last Aurorian split the faery stone in half and in doing so created the borders. It was the only way for the realm to survive. The dark weren’t allowed in the light territory and vice versa except by invitation. The neutral lands were also made to let faeries travel to other places without having to pass through each other’s lands. She hid the two halves of the stone. It is rumored that the dark half is in the dark lands and the light half in the light territory.”
“And now Satine has the dark half?” I questioned.
“That would make sense. If she had the dark half of the stone, she would be able to move the dark boundary. Without having the light stone, we can’t keep our borders in place. Both halves are needed. When the stone is whole, it joins the realms together as one.”
“How can Satine do anything if she’s not an Aurorian?”
“The Aurorian isn’t needed to use just half, but only an Aurorian can split or join the stone. When the evil faery moves the border, it causes a ripple effect to happen throughout the realm. Using dark magick she is causing the neutral land to die.”
“So she’s moving the borders until there’s no light territory left?”
“That would be a safe guess.”
“But it’s causing the land to die.”
“Yes.”
“Will only the neutral land die or can our land die as well?” I asked.
“It can die.”
“And then…” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.
“If our realm dies, so will we.”
I sat back. “So it’s possible that if she uses too much dark magick, she will kill all the land and with it all the faeries.”
“Yes.”
My day just kept getting better. I thanked the sagart and left his house. Once outside with Kallan and the others, I said, “We need to get the stone from Satine and stop her.”
“Let’s leave at dawn,” Kallan said.
Back at Azura’s, my family headed inside, Drake went home, and I stayed outside with Kallan. “My head is still spinning from everything.”
“Are you really okay…physically?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to you.”
“I’ll be fine once we take care of Satine.” I yawned.
“You’re tired. Go get some sleep.” He tugged me to him and kissed me goodnight.
I was out the minute my head hit the pillow. The Aurorian stood before me. “You’re here,” I said. “What am I supposed to do?”
“You already know.”
“Please. Help me. I feel like I’m failing our people. They look up to me. I’m supposed to be a great leader. But I’m not. I’m just a kid who doesn’t have a clue.”
The Aurorian smiled. “No. You are a great leader. You’ve done so much already. Have faith in yourself.”
“That’s very kind of you, but…how do I save everyone and everything?”
“The stone is the key.”
“The half that is hidden here?”
“Both halves. To unite the fey, you need to make the stone whole again and place it back in its rightful spot.”
“And where’s that?”
“The Aurorian Temple.”
“The what?” Aurorian temple? That’s the first I’ve heard of that.”
“In a place only you can find.”
“Why does it need to go there?”
“Putting it in the temple is for its protection. It’s only safe there because only an Aurorian can get inside,” the Aurorian explained.
“So I have to get the half stone Satine has and find the half stone that’s hidden here and get it back to this temple?”
“Yes, but the light h
alf of the stone is not in the faery realm.”
“Not in the faery realm? Where is it?” I asked.
“I gave the stones to two faeries I trusted to bring back to their lands and hide. That way I wouldn’t know where they were. Ealdun looked for it. Varwik looked for it. I worried that they would use light faeries to find the light half, threaten them like they did with Lena, so it had to be hidden outside the faery realm.”
“Where?”
“Look for someone named Aurora Leon.”
“What do I say when I find her?”
“You’ll figure it out.”
“Are you sure I’m the right one for this job?”
She smiled. “Absolutely.”
And then she was gone and I was awake.
Chapter Seventeen
I talked to Kallan as I got dressed. Had a vision. I need to go to the human realm to search for the stone.
The human realm?
That’s where it’s hidden.
Wait. What?
I pulled on a pair of jeans. The Aurorian hid it in the human realm to keep it safe. I have to go find it.
I’ll go with you.
You can’t. What about preparing for the battle?
They’ll survive.
They need a leader, Kallan.
I’m going with you, Rylie.
I knew I couldn’t fight him anymore, not that I wanted to. I liked when Kallan was with me. I took the stairs two at a time. Azura was in the kitchen cooking. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a bun. “Everything okay?” she called.
“I am going to find the stone,” I told her.
“Eat something first.”
I sighed, but sat down to please her. She set a plate of fruits and breads in front of me and I gobbled it down. “Thank you.”
We talked for a few minutes before I headed out the door. “Be careful out there.”
“I will.”
I hesitated at the border of the light and neutral land, knowing when I stepped out of the light faery territory I wouldn’t feel so good. Would I have enough energy to get to the other side?