“He’s a charmer,” Jewel said to Hope.
“For sure.”
“And,” Jewel turned in a half circle to see the rest of the group, “who are your friends?”
“The pixie is Slynn.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Slynn smiled.
“And this is Shae,” Hope gestured to Shae.
“Uh,” Shae blinked and shook her head quickly. “Hi.”
“Hello, Shae,” Jewel said. “Who is your small friend?” She indicated Hawn.
“This is Hawnie! She’s a baby dragon we got when we were on an important quest in the Void!”
“Naturally!” Jewel laughed a tittering, musical laugh.
Hope looked curiously at Shae. Shae blushed but didn’t say anything. Her eyes shifted from Hope back to Jewel.
“So,” Hope began, “are you actually a link-seer?”
“I am,” Jewel said.
“I didn’t know that. All this time and I had no idea,” Hope laughed. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
“After you left,” Jewel said, “everything in The Winter Kingdom became dreadfully boring!”
“Really?”
Jewel shook her head and smiled. “No. I was simply growing rather tired of the cold. You recall that I’m not originally from The Winter Kingdom?”
“I’m not sure I knew that,” Hope shrugged. “Where are you from, then?”
“Here on Spider Island. I first came to The Winter Kingdom on sabbatical years and years ago and I became enchanted with the place. I got to know you and Pepper and Sen and so many of the other fairies there. I was able to practice my art and my poetry, so I stayed for a while. I decided several weeks ago it was time to return home. With realms disappearing, I wanted to be here again. Maybe to see it for the last time. Maybe to be here when it departed. As it turns out, I arrived not long before the pilgrimage was to begin.” Jewel laughed. “And now, as it turns out, you have a pilgrimage ready and waiting for me!”
“Does that mean you’ll help?” David asked.
“Of course. I would be remiss if I wasn’t willing to help my friend.”
Jewel glanced at Shae, who was still staring at her. She locked eyes with Shae and they held their eye contact for long enough that Hope, David, and Slynn noticed and shared a glance. Then suddenly, Jewel smiled, took Shae’s hand and brought it to her lips. She kissed Shae’s knuckles and let go, then whirled gracefully and walked back into the house.
“Come in, please!”
David and Slynn went inside, but Hope held Shae back.
“What’s the matter with you?” Hope asked.
“I don’t know. Nothing, I think.”
“Are you going to fall all over everyone we come across? You can’t try to seduce everyone we ever travel with!” Hope hissed.
“I didn’t seduce you or Slynn or David or Gen, did I?”
Hope smirked. “Okay, no, that’s true.”
“And I don’t know what it is. I don’t have a crush on her or want to have sex with her or anything. She’s just mesmerizing. I don’t even want to touch her. I just want to watch her and listen to her talk. Have you heard the way she talks?”
Hope’s smirk curled into a warm smile. “Yeah. I know what you mean. She does poetry readings, and I would go to them just to hear her. And I hate poetry.”
“So she left Spider Island on a sabbatical and went to The Winter Kingdom. Then one day, after years and years, she just decided that she was cold and came home?”
“Pretty much. Jewel’s sort of a free spirit. Honestly, this doesn’t surprise me one bit.” Hope turned and looked at the sky behind them, then turned back to Shae.
Without warning, Shae suddenly stepped close to Hope and wrapped her arms around her. “I know you’re worried about Gen. She’ll be fine.”
Hope swallowed hard and hugged Shae back. She nodded slightly. “I know. What could possibly happen to her? I’m trying not to worry and be a nervous wreck. I’m trying to just be a normal fairy whose true love is potentially Realms away with a Realmwalker who she’s known longer than me and who has a thing for her.”
“Oh, stop,” Shae chided her. “You know she’d never cheat on you with Herron.”
“No, I know. I was just trying to be funny.”
“Your routine needs some work.”
Hope’s smirk returned. “Yeah, well, your...” She struggled to come up with something.
Shae raised her eyebrows. “That’s what I thought!” She spun on her heel and strode boldly into the house.
Hope harrumphed and followed her, then closed the door behind her.
David was speaking when Hope sat down at the large dining table with her friends. “We don’t know quite what they’re up to, but apparently, it has something to do with Shae’s human’s sister, a young human named Molly. The past-seer says that it’s crucial that we bring a link-seer so that he can gather enough clues to figure out what’s going on.”
“I’ve never worked with a past-seer,” Jewel said.
“They’re so stodgy!” Shae lowered her voice comically to mimic a man speaking and toddled her head back and forth. “Blah blah blah, listen to all of the things that happened. You can’t know the future unless you understand the past. I’m so interesting. Blah blah blah. Oh, Shae,” she continued her imitation, “you just said that. You’d know that if you could see the past.”
Everyone else at the table stared at her.
“What?” Shae asked.
-
Jewel’s house only had two bedrooms, so the girls piled into Jewel’s large bed together, David slept on the floor in the living room, and Slynn slept in the other bed by himself.
Hope lay at the edge of the bed, unable to sleep. She stared out the window at the thin crescent of the moon. She frequently caught herself glancing around and checking the sky behind them. She’ll get here when she gets here, Hope thought.
As she was trying to push thoughts of Gen from her mind, she jumped at motion out the window. Her heart skipped a beat and she sat up, straining to see outside. A large moth glided silently past the window and Hope’s heart sank.
She sighed deeply and lay down again, then instantly sat up. During the time when Hope looked out the window and saw the moth, Shae stole Hope’s pillow. She slept on her side with her arm curled around the pillow. She nuzzled her cheek against it as she slept.
Hope rolled her eyes and got up. She dragged Jewel’s rocking chair nearer to the window, and she sat and rocked while she looked outside.
Hope was startled awake by Shae, who bolted up in bed and screamed. Hope jumped to her feet and flittered over to Shae, who was clutching her chest and panting heavily.
“Shae? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Shae turned toward Hope but stared past her.
“Shae? What’s the matter?”
Shae blinked and caught her breath. Her eyes gradually focused on Hope’s face. “Oh, Hope!” She flung her arms around Hope.
“Bad dream?” Hope asked, petting the back of Shae’s head.
“Gen’s coming.”
Hope pushed Shae off of her and held her by the shoulders. “What?”
“Gen’s coming tomorrow.” Tears spilled from Shae’s eyes.
“Then what’s wrong?”
“She’s naked and covered in blood, and Herron’s not with her. He’s dead.”
Chapter 21
Gen wandered around the sovereign’s estate. For the most part, she knew her way around. Ivy had been here so many times, Gen couldn’t remember. But somehow, she felt lost. She was in her mentor’s house – No, she corrected herself, your house – by herself. Hope had left. Herron was dead. The last traces of Gen’s mother were completely wiped away from Slynn. All the rest of her friends were gone. Gen didn’t know where to go or what to do.
Eventually, she wandered back upstairs, into Nai’s study. She sat down heavily onto the chair and stared out the window.
“Hope,” she said aloud, “I mis
s you.”
She looked down at the desk. The fortune sticks were lined up neatly on the desk, except for the one Gen had dropped earlier. She leaned over to pick it up from the floor and she pushed it tightly against the rest of the sticks. Then she opened the black leather book to a random page.
“I believe that she will overcome everything standing in her way. Her path is both open and blocked. She must be vigorous, but not impatient. She still has some time – a year or two, perhaps – until she needs to be pushed into making her decision. Ivy must have decided by the next Blood Moon.”
Gen ran her finger over the page, feeling the texture of the ink on the paper, and sighed. She turned to the back of the book, then flipped the pages backwards until she found the last entry.
“Genevieve, I know now that The Void encroaches, and that I won’t be able to join you. But I’ll be able to see you one last time, to say my goodbyes and beg your forgiveness. I know that you and I have never actually met, but I’ve been able to keep an eye on you and keep you safe. When the time comes and Ivy offers herself to you, know that you are a remarkable young woman and that you have nothing to feel guilty about.
I have much more to tell you, and I know that eventually, you’ll come back to this book and read it in its entirety. But I also know that now is not that time. Now you are sitting in your castle, lost and afraid. I have several more predictions for you elsewhere in this book, but the one you need right now is this: Spider Island.
Both of the fairies you’re looking for will be there, but you must be quick. There isn’t much time.
Ivy – Genevieve, please know that I tried and tried to change what eventually came to be. It’s always fascinated me, the things we can change and the things we can’t; the things that are destined and the things that are fluid. What came to pass was our destiny.
Your love awaits you, and your task is important. Go quickly.
Love always,
Nai”
Gen reread that final entry and stared blankly at the page for a while. Then she sat up straight, snapped the book closed, and leaped to her feet. She shouldered her pack, reviewed the map on the wall, and ran for the door. The front door and the main gate both closed behind her and she heard both of them lock themselves, keeping the estate safe until the sovereign’s return.
-
The journey to Spider Island was a blur of Realms and borders. Gen didn’t stop in any of the cities or villages. When she needed sleep, she found somewhere remote, slept as briefly as she could, and kept going. Her curiosity about the Realms she passed through was intense, but Gen focused on reaching her destination as quickly as possible.
She played Nai’s words over and over in her head. She wondered who this Molly was – a human, clearly, she thought, but why is she important? Why is her fairy important? Where would we even find her fairy? A feeling of anxiety and a churning doubt rolled continuously through Gen’s stomach as she flew over Realm after Realm.
The closer I get, the more nervous I feel. Shouldn’t that be the other way around?
By the time Gen reached The Great Prairie, she was exhausted. According to the map, this was the last Realm between her and Spider Island. Reluctantly, she landed in the tall, soft prairie grass so she could rest.
The land was almost completely flat and stretched on in all directions for as far as she could see. Miles and miles of tall, golden-green grasses blew in the wind, causing waves to ripple across the landscape. Gen chuckled to herself when she realized that only a few months ago, she did a project on threatened and endangered species of prairie plants in Illinois. Now she was standing in the middle of a prairie so vibrantly alive and healthy that there were patches of grass stalks that towered several stories in the air.
She flattened a small patch of grass as well as she could and settled down to sleep. As her anxiety increased, sleeping became increasingly difficult and she was getting less and less of it whenever she stopped.
She opened her eyes when she felt a hot, moist blast of air blow over her body. A humungous, brown, wooly creature stood above her. It looked a bit like a cross between a dachshund and a buffalo, with a large head, warm, shiny, brown eyes, and a tremendously tall, long body. The creature sniffed her several more times, then blew out another hot gust on her. It nuzzled her with its large, thick snout and Gen laughed.
“Hey, big guy! Hi! How are you?”
She reached up and rubbed its nose with her hands, then she rolled out from underneath it and stood up and stretched. It was dark out and the stars shone brightly in the sky. A pang of loss speared through Gen’s chest when she thought of Herron’s stories about the stars. She sighed and gazed up at them, trying to see if she could identify any of the constellations. She knew they were often different from Realm to Realm, but she thought she could pick out a couple of them that Herron had told her about.
The beast grunted and ripped a big mouthful of grass from the ground and began to chew. Gen patted its side and put her pack on, then she lifted off gently and flew over the prairie. She settled down for another nap not long after the sun came up and then she began the last leg of her journey. Before long, she’d reach Spider Island and catch up with Hope. After she woke up, she skimmed the top of the grass, dodging around grazing beasts every now and then, until she finally reached the border to Spider Island.
The city on the island was unbelievably busy. Gen had never seen a fairy city bustling so frantically, or so many fairies so busy at the same time. She tried to stop a couple of them to ask if they’d seen her friends but they excused themselves and continued to hurry past her. She whirled around and around, trying to find someone, anyone, and finally she slumped against a wall, frustrated and tired. She tipped her head back against the wall and closed her eyes for a moment.
When she straightened and opened her eyes, she noticed a fairy staring at her. Gen cocked her and looked at him. He was of average height and average build. His hair was cut short and streaks of gray shot through his pale green hair. He smiled at her and Gen approached him.
“Your wings,” the fairy said. “Been a lot of interesting wings the past few days. What’s your story, then?”
“My story?” Gen asked. “I’m looking for my friends. Actually, one of them does have interesting wings. He’s, ah, he’s a pixie.”
The fairy nodded. “That explains it. He wasn’t what I expected from a pixie. Very polite.”
“You saw him? Where is he? Where can I find him?”
The other fairy ignored her. “What’s with the other guy? The one with the gray, feathery wings?”
Gen looked blankly at him. “I have no idea. But the pixie, did you see who he was with? Do you know where they went?”
“Are you a pixie?”
Gen shook her head quickly. “No. I’m not. Where are they? I really need to know.”
“Got to catch them before their pilgrimage? I hear you.”
“Pilgrimage? What are you talking about? Where is he? This is really important.”
“I don’t know where they went. North side of town somewhere. Near the restaurant.”
“What restaurant?” Gen asked. “Look, I’m not from here and I need your help! Nobody around here will talk to me!”
“We’re all getting ready to leave,” the fairy said.
“Leave? Why? Where?”
“It’s time for our sabbatical. Yeah. Near the restaurant, The Hollow. Go check near there. Nice talking to you.” The fairy flew away.
“What in the world?” Gen asked herself. She wandered toward the north of the city. The fairies here either ignored her completely or couldn’t stop staring at her wings. Eventually, she found someone willing to give her directions to The Hollow. The restaurant was closed. The sign read, in cheerful handwriting, “See you after sabbatical!”
“What the hell?” Gen kicked a pebble, sending it skittering down the street. “Where the…” She hesitated for a second, “hell is everyone?”
She looked around. She
was in an area that seemed primarily residential. She took a deep breath to steel herself and thought, Guess I have to start pounding on doors, then. Fine.
She ran up to a house and knocked on the door. A pretty fairy, petite with curly blonde hair, answered the door, looking surprised, possibly slightly alarmed.
“Hi,” Gen said, “I’m looking for my friends. A pixie and two fairies. A gorgeous girl with short, short white hair, and another girl with bright red hair about this length,” she waved her hand around her shoulder.
The blonde shrugged helplessly. “Sorry, I haven’t seen them. A pixie, though? Really?”
Gen nodded. “Yeah. Sorry to bother you.” She turned to walk down the stairs, but the other fairy called her back.
“Hey, wait,” she said. “You look like you need some help and I’m done packing. I’ll help you, if you want.”
“Sure!”
“Cool. I’m Honey.”
“Honey?”
Honey nodded.
Gen tried not to let her surprise show on her face. “I’m Gen.”
“Gen?” Honey asked. “That’s a curious name.”
“Uh, thanks.”
Honey and Gen each took a side of the street and knocked on doors. They got through two entire blocks but nobody had seen any of her friends. It was starting to get dark.
“It’s getting late,” Honey said.
“Yeah,” Gen nodded. “Okay, thanks a lot for your help. I really appreciate it.”
“Oh, I wasn’t leaving you. Do you need a place to stay? We can try again in the morning.”
Gen bit her lower lip and nodded. “Yeah. I guess I do.”
“Fabulous!” Honey grabbed Gen’s hand. “Come on! You can stay with me!”
Gen let herself be led back to Honey’s house. It was a small house with a small kitchen, a living room with a small table and a large sofa, a single large closet and one bedroom. She peppered Gen with questions. She asked about her wings, about her friends, why she’d be traveling with a pixie, and how they got separated. Gen did her best to answer all of the questions. Honey made dinner: sautéed fish with some sort of spicy, fruity glaze. The fish had a slightly bitter aftertaste, but it was pretty good.
Sovereign (Realmwalker Book 3) Page 16