by Lenore, Lani
“As for where we’re headed, I can’t say where the land is going to take us,” Nix said, shifting the rucksack across his shoulders. “I haven’t been beyond the border of the woods in a long time. I don’t know how the world has changed. But if it were the past and we were going in this direction, I’d think it would lead us out near Bleed Neck Bay.”
He’d said that with a calmness she didn’t like.
Bleed Neck Bay… Does that seem familiar?
It came to her then. Years ago, she’d been given several warnings by Rifter and the others, and one thing amongst those was that Bleed Neck Bay was a place she should stay clear of. The name alone was ominous. Nothing good could await her there, but she had never seen the bay herself, only taking it on their word.
“Isn't that where pirates are? Must we go directly through there?” She was surprised at how evenly those words escaped her. Inwardly, the thought of pirates was terrifying. She didn’t have much experience with those vile men, but what little she did have hadn’t been good.
“I haven’t seen it in years myself,” Nix admitted, refusing to slow his pace. “I’m not certain whether or not pirates remain. I suppose we’ll just have to find out.”
There was a hint of pleasure in Nix’s voice when he said it. Wren frowned silently, but soon shook it away for a different matter.
“And considering we can cross it unscathed, we still will not know what is on the other side of it until we get there?” she asked.
“It’s true that the ruins of the Tribal camp weren’t so far from the den in the old days, but things changed quickly. Within only a couple of years, the world began to grow on its own.”
“So it’s become different now?”
“Theoretically, there would be another stretch of woods beyond Bleed Neck that will lead us to the mountains.”
“Mountains?” she found herself repeating.
“Yes.” His voice was very tolerant – surprising to her. “Beyond that is a canyon, and then finally we’ll reach the plains, after which, if we're lucky, we'll find our way to the old Tribal camp.”
“But all of that is only definite if Nevermor hasn’t torn itself apart in places, or shifted?”
“That’s right,” he agreed.
“And what is the good news in all that?" she asked, dejected.
“Well, I suppose we’re in for quite an adventure, aren’t we?” A sly smile crept over his mouth.
There was satisfaction in his voice that made her feel sick. She was not – and had never been – interested in killing pirates or battling creatures. She just wanted to be settled in a nice house, to sew and make meals, to be surrounded by the ones she loved, but different times called for different things, she supposed. She had survived Nevermor once, and she could push herself to do it again.
“There's also a better chance of finding more help if we travel the long way,” Nix was continuing, though she nearly missed it. “That is what you are doing after all, is it not?”
He stopped as he asked her this, turning to face her. His one blue eye traced her features as the other, empty and white, stared in her direction blankly.
“Of course. That is what Rifter asked me to do and I intend to do what I can for him.”
Hearing that, Nix turned from her and walked on. She followed closely behind him, dismissing his strangeness.
“Of course. That is what you promised Rifter,” he began, but let his voice trail off.
Wren thought she caught a hint of the boy she had once known. He had taken many of Rifter’s decisions with a grain of salt, and in ways, perhaps he had been right to question back then, but she could not simply let this one slip.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” he said, flatly, dodging. “Never–”
At the abrupt failing of his words, she looked at him confusedly, finding that his pace was drifting to a halt. He held his arm out to the side, blocking her path until she was forced to stop as well. Nix did not speak, staring out ahead and Wren did not disrupt her own confusion – for a short moment.
“What are we–?”
He silenced her with a motion of his hand. She quieted, yet didn’t hear anything except the crackling branches that had started to burn up above. To her untrained eye, nothing seemed out of place across the ashen landscape.
Wait... As she looked on, she realized that there was something different. Closer to the ground, at the travelers’ own level, a few of the charred trees burned anew. There were marks on the forest floor and tiny embers where the ash had been reignited, singed black. Wren suddenly remembered the smoke smell in her nose. She coughed.
Future inquiries were stifled by her companion’s grip on her arm, pulling her away from what she had seen and not understood, off onto a different path. She wondered through this but had come up with nothing to satisfy herself by the time Nix stopped again. She did not have to ponder it further. Now, she saw it.
Moving slowly through the trees was an enormous creature of three or four times her size. She did not recognize it for what it was at first glance, but eventually it came to her. This beast was a bear, but it was nothing like she had ever seen in picture books. The creature was walking slowly, seemingly calm and docile despite the fact that its coat was on fire.
No, the bear’s fur is not on fire, it is fire! Wren watched the flames rage as they consumed whatever had once clung to the large skeleton. The beast was nothing but fire and bone.
It was only by the insistence of Nix’s hand that her feet were obliged to move after him. The two of them passed through the dead trees slowly and quietly, trying to edge away from the fiery creature, for it blocked their path. What was this beast? A nightmare? Or perhaps it was simply a product of the corruption.
“When I came upon you in the woods earlier, I’d been hunting this,” she heard Nix say quietly, “I’ve been tracking it for days.”
Wren heard his words, but wisely made no reply. She was unable to take her eyes off the thing, and somehow she managed to think that arrows and bullets wouldn’t be any good against such a foe, but she could not bring herself to be concerned for the sake of his sport. She only hoped to get away from this beast.
They did well to avoid the bear’s notice as Nix guided her through the ash – but then the smoke was in Wren’s nose once again. She knew she could not allow herself to cough, yet because of that, she felt the urge even stronger. She stifled the first with her hand, only to choke on her own breath. She could not keep herself quiet then. She coughed aloud because she could not breathe.
Before she was even able to look at Nix apologetically, he had drawn his gun. Without fail, the sound of her cough had caught the massive beast’s attention. It turned its fiery head in their direction, recognizing them as something other than trees. The flaming outline burned into Wren’s eye.
In a motion that she wasn’t ready for, Nix twisted her arm and spun her around, disorienting her.
“Run!” he barked. With little choice, she obeyed, setting herself off on an unknown course. Her feet crushed the ash beneath her into smaller bits that stirred up as fine powder, polluting the air.
Wren knew she had no weapon worth defending herself with. She had the dagger, but it was nothing. What good would it do against a beast that wore fire as fur? Nix'’s footsteps were behind her, but beyond that, she could hear the pounding of much heavier feet coming in her direction. Out of panic and helplessness, she let out a scream. Was she to be chased by monstrous creatures all the way to the ruined Tribal camp?
How could I expect anything different?
The sound of gunshots came from behind her, but she did not turn to see if they had done well. There might have been a bit of hesitance in the bear’s pace, but she couldn’t be sure. What if it fell upon them? No... But how long could they possibly run? Where did the stretch of forest end? No doubt the creature was gaining on them constantly.
“Just keep running! Don’t stop!” she heard Nix urge her.
The insistence was clear enough. It only made her feel an ounce more comfortable to know that Nix was between the beast and her heels.
Wren ran on. She did not stop until suddenly her feet were wet up to her ankles, submerged in water.
She had run several steps into a pond without seeing it, and she had not seen it because the dead surface was covered in a layer of ash. Water! Surely it was the answer! But this was portentous, dirty water. She was hesitant about going in.
Before she had the opportunity to decide for herself, Nix had rushed upon her, grabbed her up by the waist and splashed into the water with her. The temperature of the liquid was neither hot nor cold, but rested in between at a very sick, uncomfortable lukewarm. The pool was not so deep that her feet couldn’t touch the bottom, but her gown was soaked gradually the farther she went, and Nix did not allow her to stop until it was up to her waist.
He kept her steady and she moved closer to him for support in the muck, her heart racing and breath rushing out in pants.
At the edge of the pond, the bear with the flaming pelt paced, angry that its prey had escaped so cleverly, but it was clear that the creature recognized the water as its bane, and did not attempt to join them. Wren only clung to the boy with her, gasping for breath and watching with wide eyes until the bear finally realized that it was thwarted. In the end, it had no choice but to turn away, for it could not reach them.
“Cover your ears!” Nix instructed, and Wren barely had time to do so before Nix raised his gun and fired.
The bullets hit against the bear’s fiery flesh and she heard it roar in protest. She remembered then that Nix had used the fairy ash to coat his bullets. They were able to strike the impossible creature because they were blessed. Eventually, the bear’s fiery bulk fled into the trees until they could no longer see the light of the flames. Still quite rattled, Wren gathered herself enough to speak.
“That was-! A nightmare?”
She stopped when she looked up at Nix’s face. It was his sharp eye that silenced her.
“That,” he started, not nearly as breathless as she was, “was nothing.”
3
It was uncharacteristic of the land to not know the truth about itself, but the corruption had decayed its perception and understanding over time. The island had been feeling something strange for a while, but it could no longer comprehend it. The plants, the rocks, the terrain, and every inhabitant felt a strange ache within – a feeling of dark foreboding. The trees felt it at the tips of their branches and deep within their roots, while the people felt it as dread in their hearts. They all knew some change had happened, but they did not understand.
Some distance away, the boy without eyes opened his mouth, putting to words what all others felt but were unable to interpret.
“She has returned – the missing one. Soon he will reveal his presence.” The boy nodded solemnly to himself. “After such a wait, it begins.”
Prophecy
Listen closely, one will come
a wicked heart, a flaming tongue
a hidden demon, beautiful – contrite
to mask the world in eternal night.
Do not forget the nightmare’s curse:
old friends forgotten; old truths unearthed.
Chapter Nine
1
Nix had cleverly thrown down his bag before guiding Wren into the pond, keeping most of his equipment dry. Once the fiery bear was out of sight, the travelers moved back up onto the bank, ready to set off again.
Wren walked on uncomfortably, her shoes making wet, squishing sounds with every step. She knew she’d had no choice, but she regretted getting wet. Her pale gown was clinging to her legs, hindering her pace. Nix, on the other hand, wore the coat of fur as if it were not weighed down with water. Because of this, she pretended not to notice her own discomfort as she walked behind him.
The pair had passed out of the charred, flaming trees and finally into a stretch of woods that seemed somewhat alive. The air was fresher, but it was quite humid and heavy. Still, the blooming of small flowers at the bases of trees lifted Wren’s heart. Perhaps not all was dead here.
Wren directed her eyes ahead, listening to the sound of their footfalls and remembering the old days when they had once traveled through the forest as a group, laughing and saying whatever they pleased. Much of what had come from their mouths had been crude – though they’d often made her laugh even when she’d not meant to.
Not all of it was terrible.
She looked over at Nix now, walking on his blind side and wondering if she ever remembered seeing him smile in those days.
“May I ask about your eye?” she ventured.
“I got in a fight. I lost.”
That was all he would say on the subject, and she accepted that as having overstepped her bounds.
She turned her attention to the trees, wondering how far they stretched across the island. Rifter had once guided her, teaching her the ways of the world. He’d held her hand, but it was empty now.
“You know,” she started, whether or not Nix was listening, “when I was away, it was always my fear that I would forget this place. I thought my memory of it would fade, like so often happened to Rifter and the rest of you. I tried to hold onto it and look forward to what the world would be like when I came back. Now that I’ve seen it, the old days are all I can think about. I feel that I could never have forgotten them in the first place. All my worries were for nothing.”
Nix didn’t say anything to that, and she didn’t much expect him to. More than anything, she was saying it for her own benefit.
“But it wasn’t just Rifter that I missed. It was all of you. You all took me to the tundra that day Rifter was gone, and I saw the names of the fallen that you’d etched in stone. We played in the snow and talked by the fire. Aside from meeting the Ren, that was a good day. Do you remember that?”
He hesitated, and she looked to his face, hoping that he would give her something back – anything.
“No,” he said finally, and she could not tell if he was lying or simply didn’t want to reminisce.
He doesn’t want to talk to me. I’m still a burden to him. But the talking made her feel better. She did not stop.
“Speaking of old memories, did Whisper let Rifter have his back?”
This seemed to spark his interest.
“We talked about it,” Nix answered. “We decided it would be best if he started fresh. The fewer memories of the Scourge he had, the better. For once, he listened.”
They traveled on, listening to the cries of birds overhead as the only buffer between them, but it didn’t go on long before he chose to revive the conversation, surprising her.
“So why didn’t Rifter stay with you?” he asked once the wind had grown too loud in her ears. “Why wasn’t he willing to face us himself?”
“He said that if you all saw me, you would trust him again,” she answered, then realized that Nix might be able to help her with the mystery behind that. “Why would he say that?”
“That’s in the past, Wren. You know that. Rifter wouldn’t approve of talking about those things.”
He was refusing her – but that didn’t seem to stop his own questions.
“What’s Rifter doing now?” he wanted to know.
“He didn’t tell me,” she confessed. “I assume it must have something to do with his plan to deliver this place.”
Nix hummed thoughtfully, but Wren didn’t like the sound of it.
“Help me understand why you are so hesitant to believe in him,” she said. “What happened to make you this way?”
Nix was silent. She found herself staring up toward his dead eye, waiting for an answer.
“It’s just been a long time, is all,” he said finally, moving forward again.
Wren was ready to give up for now. It was obvious that he wanted her to. She was willing to turn her thoughts to another matter.
“How far do you think we’ll be able to go
today before it’s too dark?” Or too dangerous.
The sky had been gray ever since she had gotten into Nevermor, but she could see now that it was becoming darker as the hours slipped on.
“Thinking of stopping already?” Nix asked, slowing his pace so that she might catch up.
Admittedly, the encounter with the nightmare creature had made her weary. Her companion, however, did not seem at all taxed. It was just another day to him.
“It’s just that I’m not so certain that I can run from pirates if there happen to be any around the bay.”
Nix was silent a moment, considering. “We’re close – if indeed the bay settlement is still there. Let’s just have a look.”
She was stunned at the dullness of his voice, but dismissed her thoughts against him. Perhaps Bleed Neck Bay was completely abandoned. Perhaps, even, there was some structure where they could make a temporary camp. Trying to put away her doubt, Wren followed Nix onward, staying close. After treading on for several minutes, Wren began to hear the sound of waves lapping against a bank.
“Look,” Nix instructed, directing her attention forward. There in the distance were the lights of several torches, ablaze to relieve the dark day. The bay was not empty after all. Wren felt uneasy, thinking of how badly they might be outnumbered by pirates.
“What do you suggest?” she asked, hoping that his answer would be to avoid the pirates at all cost.
“We’ve come this far,” he said. That was all.
Wren looked up, staring at him until he couldn’t ignore her any longer and was forced to gaze back. He wanted to take her past danger once again, even though he knew she was weak? She tried to read his face, but could see no sinister intention. Perhaps it was not a perfectly honest face – certainly a hard-to-read face – but she needed to be able to trust him. He was the only hope she had.
Finally, Wren gave a short nod, allowing him to lead her on toward certain peril.
2
In the midst of the pirate camp, tied to the post of a gallows, there was a lone captive. The girl’s face was wet with saliva and rum, her brown skin spread with bruises. Her dark hair was a mess of tangles; grimy with sweat, blood, and another fluid she would rather not think about. Her body was sore, but nothing felt worse than her legs and the sanctum therein. There was nothing divine about it now.