A Turn of Curses

by Melanie Nilles

  A sudden deep squeal startled her from her thoughts. Selina whirled.

  Faldon's rear hooves thudded hard against Dewel's ribs. The red feyquin tucked his tail and raced out of reach, but Faldon stopped a couple strides from where he started, his ears flat back.

  She stared, her pulse pounding in her ears. "Why did you kick him like that?"

  "Our ways are not yours, human!" Despite his angry tone, Faldon held his ears forward.

  Even in her few days with the feyquin, she knew it meant something. Their ways were certainly not like those of humans, but she learned.

  What was she thinking? Why would she want to learn the ways of the feyquin? After healing the king, she would have little time left to live. And these creatures were brutes. Why waste it learning about them?

  Because Faldon is the stranger, and you're attracted to the human side. The truth made her warm under her collar. She scowled at herself for considering such thoughts. Faldon didn't deserve her favor.

  "No, we would never hurt our own kind." She mumbled the words with a sour tone, hoping he overheard.

  He heard, and pinned his ears flat to his neck. "Do not mock me!" After a few seconds, he walked around her.

  She followed him. "Why are you so angry?"

  Faldon said nothing but stood with his head up, ears erect, staring away.

  Steady steps came from behind. Dewel appeared on her left and Meris on her right. Both watched the gray.

  Faldon glanced back once before walking away along the road. When the two others followed, Selina had no choice. She jogged up beside Dewel, who walked with his head low.

  "Are you all right? Can I help?" She'd never done it, but she guessed she could heal the feyquin. Her powers had worked on felipar and a few other animals she practiced on.

  "I'm fine."

  "But he kicked you hard. I heard it. You didn't do anything to him to deserve that."

  "You don't understand our ways." He let out a soft groan.

  "Of course not. If no one tells me anything, how can I?"

  He walked in silence for several steps. She waited for an answer, but none of them said anything. Selina let out her frustration in a huff. "If that's the way you want to be, then no one will ever understand."

  "It hurts to breathe, to explain," Dewel said.

  Anger melted from her, pulling her shoulders down in pity. "Why not let me help?"

  "No...Thank you. Save your strength for your friend."

  "I have plenty of strength for both." She reached out for the bump growing on his side, but he sidled away.

  "No!"

  She shook her head and huffed out her breath. "Have it your way. I won't touch you."

  They walked in silence, until the thunder of hooves alerted her to another feyquin. Faldon stopped, like Dewel and Meris on each side of her. She stood tense like them. One of the others who had chased away her carriage met Faldon, his nostrils flared and sweat over his black neck and chest.

  They spoke in their own language. She hated that.

  "Your friends are safe," Meris said. "Grem stayed behind. He's waiting for us."

  "Why?"

  "It's a courtesy."

  "Courtesy? Now you show some concern?"

  "Faldon said it already—feyquin do not kill. Nor do we intend harm. When harm comes to another because of our actions, we will atone." Irritation rang in Meris's voice.

  "How?" She hoped he said they would leave her alone once she reached her friends and let her continue her journey to the Ivory Palace.

  Meris's ears flattened, but before he could act, Faldon jumped between them. He bared his teeth at Meris. "Enough!"

  Faldon turned to Selina. "You'll be with your friends soon, but they have no carriage for you." Satisfaction lifted his tone at the last part.

  Her eyes narrowed, but he turned away. She knew what he meant to imply, but she wouldn't give up.

  "For one who approved Antorin, I'd think he would want the king healed." She followed Faldon and the black she ruled out as Bastien.

  "It's not so simple."

  She frowned at Dewel. "Why?"

  "Faldon lost everything because of Sorvin's greed. If not for the curse, he would still have the herd. A human caused his suffering." Dewel took a deep breath, his eyes pinching shut for a moment. Selina winced at the groan escaping when he breathed.

  "Long ago, he tried to bring the feyquin together with the human's domain, hoping we could live together in peace. For three generations, he gave his blessings to the new heir of Vastorn, after they proved their hearts. Sorvin failed in every way but demanded the blessing, for the strength of the feyquin's alliance and what that means to the people. As the leader of the feyquin, Faldon refused to endorse the White Prince. His choice was young Kemmon. Sorvin knew that."

  "Faldon, a peacemaker?" They could kick her outright and she wouldn't have believed it. "Wait...Three generations, of the fay Renald family?"

  Dewel looked ahead. "Feyquin don't age as humans."

  "All right, so he's old." The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth in light of her situation. "He should have some wisdom in that thick head." She caught a nasty look from Faldon when he turned his head aside and his ears pinned flat. She didn't care; he deserved to hear what she thought of him.

  "You do well not to insult him," Dewel said.

  "He should consider the same. I don't know why his blessing would mean anything special." She raised her voice and added, "At least he's lived his life."

  Faldon swished his tail, one ear pivoted back while the other remained forward. Without a word, he continued to the town with Bastien slightly behind his lead.

  They were odd creatures, these feyquin. For all their intelligence and power and—she dared not admit for risk of bloating their egos—beauty, they could be intolerable. Strangest to her was that the nobles of this country sought their blessing as proof of their worth.

  Selina reconsidered her earlier outburst in light of this news and felt a hint of pity for Faldon. Had he not shown such a temper towards her or led the band that chased off Doxon, she might have sided with him.

  They reached the town of Willowbrook with its neat lines of houses and shops along dusty streets. She found the only inn without trouble.

  When she entered, Beth's smile lit up from her chair at one of half a dozen rectangular wooden tables. "Selina!"

  Selina bent over and hugged her friend, mindful of Beth's leg propped up on a chair.

  "I'm so glad to see you!" Beth's voice trembled. "We were afraid, but the feyquin said they wouldn't hurt you."

  "They didn't, but they aren't very friendly either, especially Faldon." The last part came out with less derision than she expected of herself. She grabbed a nearby chair, the wood clattering on the floor as she slid it next to Beth's leg and sat down. "I hear you've been injured, thanks to them. Let me have a look."

  Beth pulled up the bottom of her brown and green dress to expose the leg resting across another chair.

  Selina fought back a grimace. Blotches of purple and blue covered the swollen, lower leg. "Try to relax."

  The power flowed from Selina's practiced hands to heal Beth's injury. The glow of the mark on her neck when she used her powers shone from beneath her chin.

  When the glow faded, a healthy color returned to the leg. Selina ignored a few gasps from people around her as she recovered from a brief wave of dizziness.

  With extra care, Beth slid her leg from the chair. She leaned on the table and stood. When she put her weight on the leg, a smile spread across her face. "I...Thank you!"

  Selina gave her friend another hug, glad to see her happy, but mostly glad to see her again. "It's the least I could do. You came this far with me." She stood back and glanced around. Several faces turned away from her when her eyes passed them, but none of them familiar. "Where's Reen?"

  Beth's smile disappeared. "That feyquin, Grem, went with him to search for Doxon. He couldn't wait. I'm sorry, Selina."

  "It'
s not your fault." Now what would she do?

  The answer hit before she could sink into depression. "Soldiers!"

  "What?"

  "I bet the king's soldiers would escort me."

  "Willowbrook's too small. I haven't seen any soldiers."

  "Faldon's sworn he won't let me continue." So much for that idea.

  "Absurd!" Beth sat down again. "I've talked to the people. They said he gave his blessing to Antorin fay Renald. Now he won't let you heal the king? It makes no sense."

  "Exactly my thoughts. That's why we have to get away from him."

  "You're still determined to reach the Ivory Palace?"

  "More than ever." Selina ground the words through her teeth and glanced to the window with its cross-hatched pattern of glass. Dewel stood in view. She still pitied him, but he was feyquin. She couldn't trust any of them, but she could trust Beth to help her.

  Ideas sparked in her mind. Selina grinned and returned her attention to her friend. "I might have a plan."

  * * *

  Beth gave a nod of appraisal in the candlelight of her room. "You look like an old woman. Hunch down a bit more...There."

  "Good. Now, as soon as that farmer's ready, I'll leave with him." Selina pulled the hood over her head and adjusted the cloak that one of the men traded for her robe as a gift for his wife. Though she would miss her fine dress robe, she couldn't risk the feyquin recognizing her.

  "You're sure about this? We could return home and contact one of the others. There are plenty of men bearing the mark. They'd be stronger facing the feyquin. One of them could go to heal Antorin."

  "It would take too long. Besides, I have to do it, Beth, to see it through. I won't let Faldon intimidate me. Just keep the feyquin distracted and believing I'm still here, long enough for me to escape."

  Beth sighed. "All right. Good luck, Selina."

  Selina reached out and embraced Beth. "I'll miss you." She didn't want to leave her friend behind, but she had to go on.

  "Take care of yourself."

  When they parted, Beth wiped her eyes and smiled. "The old farmer should be waiting. His name is Corin Neprol. Good luck."

  Selina flashed her a smile and left the room. She hoped the feyquin didn't recognize her.

  At the bar in the dining area sat a lone figure hunched over a steaming drink, gray hairs peeking from under a brown hat. She saw no one else fitting the description Beth had given her. Take care of yourself, Beth. With a last glance back at the dark doorway through which she entered, she sat down next to the man.

  "Corin Neprol?"

  His sagging cheeks jiggled when he looked up. After a moment, his eyes brightened. "Ah! Yeh must be the one called Selina."

  "Sshh!" She glanced around, but no one jumped out of any hiding to catch her. A ridiculous notion; Faldon wouldn't dare enter a human establishment. Would he? "Not in the open."

  "Fine. Fine. But what name d'ya prefer?"

  "Anything else, if you'll get me out of here without the feyquin following."

  He shrugged. "Can't guarantee no doing but I'll take yeh on. Don' much like leaving at sunset though. It's the missus. She's bound to be afrighted of what's happened to me."

  "In the dark, Faldon's less likely to recognize me." And less likely to catch her, if she was right about his curse.

  "Than we'll be off." He gulped down the last of whatever he drank and slid off the stool. When he wobbled, Selina caught him.

  "Thanks, Miss."

  Her heart caught in her throat for a moment, stuck on the grief of leaving her friends behind. She hoped Reen found his way back all right. He also always called her "Miss".

  "Let's go." She ushered him out into the night, pulling her hood low over her face. A couple feyquin lifted their heads from down the street. Where did Faldon hide?

  She ducked away from them to the wagon. The hooved creature pulling it reminded her, in an odd way, of the feyquin, but it had long ears and two backwards-curved horns on its head, which attached to a short neck topped by a stubby mane. The flat back ended in a narrow tail with a tuft of longer hairs at the end. A naskink, a creature commonly used as a beast of burden, because they were docile and easier to tame than felipar.

  Corin stepped up to the seat and offered Selina a hand. She reached out and took it, holding the hood low over her face with her other hand.

  "Up yeh go, Miss."

  She sat down on the hard seat and fought off the urge to glance back at the feyquin.

  "Ayup-yup!" Corin slapped the reins on the back of the naskink, which let out a low moan into the darkening land. The wagon lurched, and she let go of the cloak and grabbed the side of her seat to keep her balance. Once the creaking wagon moved steadily, she dared to let one hand off the seat to hang onto the cloak.

  They rode in silence into the growing dusk. Stars lit in the heavens above, chasing the last of the sunlight fading behind them.

  "How far will we get tonight?" She raised her voice over the creaking of the wagon.

  "The missus expects me home. Yeh can rest there. We'll take yeh to Dorrinton in the mornin'. Yeh'll find soldiers there. Bigger town. Cap'n Samners'll help yeh along."

  As the moon came up, a light not far from the road—the glow from a window—shone through the trees. So close! The feyquin would never find her, let alone catch her. Selina sighed and let go of her hood.

  "Whoa!"

  The jerk of the wagon stopping made her grip the seat again to keep from bouncing off. She wanted her carriage back.

  "What is it?" She saw nothing in the moonlit gloom of night.

  "Heydy, stranger!" Corin said.

  Her heart skipped a beat and she pulled her hood low to hide her face.

  A shadowy figure detached from the road and moved towards them, his black hair peppered with gray. No. It couldn't be!

  "What's a man doing out this late?" The man came up on her side of the wagon, his eyes glinting in the moonlight with a hardness that chilled her.

  Faldon!

  "Your wife is waiting at home, old man."

  Selina looked to Corin, but his eyes widened with fear.

  "Thank you for bringing the lady to me." A hint of warning edged the man's otherwise welcoming tone.

  "How did you know?" Corin asked.

  Selina bit her lip and restrained herself from slapping the old man.

  The stranger met her eyes with a smile as if she asked the question. "You don't think I didn't expected it? I would be disappointed if you hadn't tried...Selina."

  She yanked the hood off. "I'm not going back! You can tell your friends."

  "That's why I'm here."

  "How—" She shook her head. "No. Leave me." She glanced aside. "Ignore him, Corin. Let's go."

  "Can't, Miss. He's a hold o' Dandy."

  She noticed then the cursed man's hand on the rein. "You!"

  Faldon reached up and grabbed her waist.

  "Let me go!" Selina kicked and pounded, but had no leverage on the narrow seat. "You heathen! You...bastard!"

  He lost his grip and she fell hard to the ground. Tears of frustration welled up as she rolled to get her feet under her.

  His weight tackled her to the ground, face down.

  "Get home, old man!"

  The slap of reins preceded the creak of the wagon into the night.

  Selina struggled against the man's hold. Faldon's hold. She could hate him when she thought of him as the irritating feyquin. His arms tightened around her and she kicked and wiggled. The man either felt nothing or ignored her. "Get off me!"

  When the creak of the wagon vanished into the night, her tears flowed, and she ceased her struggles. Frustration and hopelessness erupted into light sobs.

  Somewhere amid her tears, his hold loosened and his weight shifted from her. She laid still, sniffing. "Why are you doing this? Why won't you let me go?"

  "For Faldon."

  "Selfish, arrogant bastard!" She ground the words through her teeth, wishing she could hurt the feyquin. While
part of her liked him as a man, she wanted to hate him for who he really was.

  The man shoved her aside. "Go then. See how far you get on foot."

  Was he serious? After all this, he would let her go? She didn't care. Selina smoothed her hair and stood, her chin in the air. She brushed the dirt from her clothes and marched away.