“This is my place,” she says. “Do you like it?” She dips her fingers into the water and a swirl of colorful fish with graceful trailing fins swims up to greet her.
“You can teleport, just like that?” Rian asks. “No payment? No ceremony? No rules?”
Flit sighs and rolls her eyes in my direction. “Azi, we’ll have to teach him to play.”
“I’m not playing any game. I want to know what’s going on.” He pulls at a frond of leaves, inspecting it. I rest a hand on his arm.
“Let me, Rian.” I turn to Flit. “I like your place very much, Flit. It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it.” I nudge Rian. “Now you can ask.” He lets go of the branch and presses his fingers to his forehead, thinking.
“So serious,” Flit whispers to me. “Typical.”
“When we arrived in the forest,” Rian starts slowly, “our friends couldn’t see or hear us. You said it was because we were ‘here’ with you. Where did you mean when you said that?”
“Ooh he’s good, Azi.” She pulls off her tiny boots and digs her bare feet into the carpet of moss with a satisfied smile. “We were in the Half-Realm. The In-between. Not really here or there. But also in both places at once. Here, and there. In between realms. Do you see?”
“Not really,” Rian sighs. “What does it mean? How did we get there? How do we get back?” Flit scowls and looks at me, gesturing to Rian in annoyance.
“One question at a time,” I say. Rian gives me a look of disbelief. “I’m sorry! Those are the rules. You have to choose one. You ask a question, and then Flit asks. The game is over when one of you can’t answer.”
“Alright.” Rian closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “I’ll start at the beginning. How did it happen?”
“Oh,” Flit sighs. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask that so soon. I don’t want the game to end yet, but I don’t have the answer. Mage type teleporting is so different from what we fairies do. Too fussy, too many ingredients and words. Lots of things can go wrong. I expect that’s why it’s done so rarely. Maybe it was the diamond. Or some other spell interfered. I don’t really understand why you all have to complicate things so much. Here, we just think about who we want to see or where we want to go and poof! There we are! I’m hungry. Are you hungry?” She pushes off from the moss, leaving Rian and I alone at the edge of the pool. He stares at the rippling water, and I know his thoughts are racing, formulating his next question. Flit comes back bearing three hollowed out acorns filled with a pink liquid. She passes one to Rian and one to me, and then settles back onto the moss.
“No, thank you. I’m not hungry,” Rian says, tipping the acorn to inspect its contents. “How do we restore ourselves and get back to our realm?”
“I don’t know that, either. You aren’t supposed to be here, really. No people have ever been, as far as the stories tell. I can’t say it isn’t allowed, though. If it wasn’t allowed, you couldn’t have done it.” Flit’s answer sends my thoughts spiraling.
I set my emptied acorn on the moss and draw my knees up to my chest to rest my forehead on them. It’s all too much to take in. Ever since the King’s Quest was declared, I feel as if my life has been spiraling out of control, and just when we arrive at a solution to one problem, we’re presented with another. I’m not sure how much more of it I can take. Rian slides an arm around my shoulders, but it does little to comfort me.
“It’s not all bad, Azi,” Flit says. “Can’t you imagine the possibilities?”
“Not supposed to be here,” Rian murmurs. “Flit, are we in Kythshire?”
“Answer mine first!” She says, slurping at her acorn.
“Can’t I imagine the possibilities?” Rian repeats her question. “I thought it was rhetorical. Alright. No. No, I can’t imagine the possibilities because really I have no idea what you’re talking about. Now, are we in Kythshire?”
“Yep! Do you like it?”
“It’s very nice. But, does that mean we crossed the border?”
“Well, you did and you didn’t...” As Flit rambles on, I don’t hear her. My heart starts to race. We’ve crossed the border to Kythshire. My mother is here. I can break the curse, I can take her place. I can send her home to my father. They can be restored. They can be happy. I remember what Flit said about just thinking of who we want to see and where we want to go and I concentrate as hard as I can.
“Mum. Lisabella.” I whisper, and I find myself suddenly elsewhere. Rian remains beside me with his arms around me, and we sit together in a field of moon-washed wheat that stretches off into the black, craggy mountains on one side and the inviting forest on the other. I push myself to my feet and stand on my toes in order to see over the tall grasses. I see her standing there, her armor glinting silvery-blue in the moonlight, sword in hand, eyes scanning the horizon.
“Mum!” I cry, and take off toward her, leaving Rian behind.
Chapter Seventeen: Faith
Rian shouts after me and I can hear Flit calling my name, too, but I don’t stop. The tall fronds of wheat whip my face. I crash through it to my mother. She’s so close now, so close. I see her armor flash as I reach the edge of the wheat. The blue glow of her sword is right there. Two more steps and I’ll be in her arms. I burst forth from the wheat and she swings with a ferocious battle cry, barely missing me as I dive to the side to dodge the blow.
“No!” Flit shouts as she darts from behind me. My mother lowers her sword and shakes her head.
“That’s a dangerous game, Flit,” she warns. “What are you doing all the way out here? How is my Azi?” The wheat rustles behind me and my mother gestures to the fairy and readies her sword. “Get behind me. They’re coming through one after another tonight.” Flit glances to the wheat and darts in front of my mother, raising her hands.
“No, no, no! It isn’t a cyclone! It’s Rian!” she cries as the wheat parts beside me and Rian appears in the clearing. Mum blinks at the space where the wheat settles again and lowers her sword.
“What do you mean, Flit?” she asks, stepping forward. Her eyes narrow as she squints past Rian, who steps closer to me.
“Oh,” he breathes. “She can’t see us, either.”
“Could you cast a Revealer?” I ask. “Like you did on Flit when she first showed up in my room?”
“Rian and Azi!” Flit answers my mother and giggles as she comes to perch on my shoulder. “They’re here, in the Half-Realm.” Mum edges closer. She reaches out and grazes her gloved hand to just below where Flit is perched, and touches my arm. Her eyes glint with excitement and she pulls her glove off and reaches again. “Go on, Azi. Give her a hug.” I step forward and throw my arms around my mother, and feel her embrace tighten around me. She reaches up and strokes my hair and presses her cheek to mine, mixing our tears together. When she looks down at me, she grins, and I know that she can see me now as clearly as I can see her.
“Oh, my sweeting,” she whispers, and she hugs me again and kisses the top of my head. “I’ve missed you, I’ve been so worried.”
“Mum,” is all I can manage to say as I cling to her, crying. I didn’t realize how much I truly needed to see her until this moment. Now that she’s here, I feel the weight of everything that’s been on my shoulders melt away. The relief of it is so sudden and so glorious that I can’t stop myself from sobbing in her arms.
“You didn’t have to worry,” says Flit, who is now perched on top of my head. “I was doing a good job keeping you informed, wasn’t I? I was looking out for her.”
“Yes, you were, Flit,” Mum sniffs. “Thank you.” She keeps one arm around me and stretches the other one out. “Where’s Rian?” she asks. He steps forward within her reach and the three of us embrace, and I don’t even care that he’s nearly suffocating me against the hard steel of her plate armor. When we finally pull away, she looks him over. Her eyes find the mark on his jaw and she frowns.
Behind us, the thunder rumbles and I turn in time to see a flash of lightning. My mother gives m
e one more squeeze before stepping around us both and drawing her sword. “Get to the tree line,” she says, her eyes fixed on the horizon. Flit squeaks and races to the forest in a rainbow-colored blur. Rian and I exchange glances and follow after as fast as we can. We skid to a stop as we cross onto the mossy forest floor and turn to watch.
The cyclone parts the wheat, taller and more terrifying than it ever was in my dreams. It dwarfs my mother, who stands with her sword ready as her golden hair whips around her face. Flit whimpers behind me, clinging to my neck. Rian grips my hand.
“What is that?” he whispers as my mother swings her sword. It slices the cyclone midway through, but not completely. She swings again as black tendrils stretch out from the dark, swirling form, licking at her arms.
“We call them coil cyclones, or shadow twisters. If we get too close, they’ll swallow us up,” Flit says, cowering behind me. “They happen when the Wellspring is sapped too quickly. When you Mages do too much, too fast, and the coils appear.” She points to the Mage Mark on his neck. Rian reaches up to cover it with his hand, looking guilty. “Then the lightning flashes over the Crag, and the cyclones come swirling. In the dark days, they swallowed nearly everything and everyone up, until there was almost nothing anywhere. It’s been better for a few generations, but lately they’re getting bigger and bigger, and harder to destroy. That’s why we were so glad when Lisabella crossed over.”
“Funny how they don’t teach us about those at the Academy...” He frowns, dropping his hand. “I mean, we know they exist, but I had no idea they were directly caused by our carelessness...” Mum’s sword meets the black twister again and this time it slices it in two, eradicating it. She kneels down and combs through the grass with her hands, but unlike in my dreams, there are no fairies to retrieve.
“It was empty.” I say as my mother comes to my side. We settle on the edge of the forest, next to the trunk of a great pine tree. In the quiet I can hear the sound of merry-making coming from the depths of the woods and I remember the dancing. It tugs at my heart and makes me want to run to it. I look over at Rian, whose head is turned in that direction. He hears it, too.
“Most are,” she says quietly. “The fae rarely come out this far anymore. They’re aware of the danger, and now that I’m here, they don’t need to risk themselves to defend the woods. And the ones on the Crag are clever enough to avoid them.” Her brow knits together as she gazes off at the mountain. “It’s been bad tonight, the worst night since I arrived. Something’s going on out there. Do you see?” She points into the distance.
Just beyond the line of golden treasure I can make out a blemish in the black face of the mountain. Something strange, that I’ve never noticed before. I can’t quite describe it.
“What is it?” I whisper, leaning into Rian. He shakes his head. Flit darts away from us to chase playfully after a passing firefly.
“Dark magic,” Rian scowls. Another cyclone comes, and Mum charges into the wheat again. Lightning strikes the Crag and the thunder is so loud it shakes the ground beneath our feet.
“Is anything going on in Cerion?” Mum asks when she comes back. “Anything oout of the ordinary?”
“Sarabel’s birthday.” I say, thinking of all of the frivolous magic used to decorate the party. I turn to Rian. “Could that have caused it?”
“You didn’t perform, did you Rian?” Mum asks, eyeing his Mark again.
“No,” he replies. “But there were others who did. I tried to argue against it, but it was difficult, being silenced and all. Viala was very convincing. She wanted it to be a big show.”
“Viala,” Mother sighs. “I ought to have known. Gaethon has been suspicious of her for some time. He shouldn’t have joined them to search for me. He needs to be home, watching things there. Flit has been keeping me informed, but it’s difficult to piece things together. I thought there might be a danger and I tried to send word, but it’s difficult to judge things here. By the time I realized the threat, the guild was already on its way here. Even then, for me it was just a suspicion. I only knew for certain that she was plotting tonight, when Flit came to tell me what you saw in the palace, Azi.” I turn to Flit.
“So that’s where you disappeared to,” I say. She nods and floats down to sit on the moss between Mum and me. “His Majesty wants me to quietly put a stop to it. He knows they’re up to something dark, and he asked me to stop them. I don’t understand why he’d ask me, of all people. I don’t know how to even begin...” I trail off as Rian stares at me, wide-eyed.
“Is that what he was talking to you about while you were dancing?” he asks. I nod.
“You need to have more faith in yourself, Azi,” Mum says. “If His Majesty asked for your help, then he must believe it’s within your power.”
“That’s what he said, too,” I sigh. “But how can I stop this?” I look at her. “Do you know about Da? What happened when he crossed the border?” She nods and her eyes fill with sadness as they look away toward the Shadow Crag.
“I tried to tell him to let me go,” Mum says. “but he refused. He didn’t believe I’d ever return to him. He fought it, even though we discussed it before we arrived. I tried to warn him.” She reaches up and pinches the bridge of her nose. “I never meant for him to get hurt.”
“What happened?” I think back to what Flit told me about my father crossing the border. “Flit told me that the guardian forced him to leave.”
“The guardian of the East,” Mum nods. “It did, and I tried to explain to it that he didn’t mean any harm. But the guardians take their duties to protect the borders very seriously. They’re strong, relentless. In some ways, single-minded.” Mum shakes her head as Flit starts to protest. “I’m sorry Flit, but it’s true. Their one obligation is to keep everyone out. They don’t listen to explanations. If you cross with ill intent, if you’re able to without an invitation, you’re punished. Your life is forfeit,” she says, her voice growing thick with anguish. “And your father was so distraught when he followed me through, it was an easy mistake for the guardian to think he meant to force his way. I should have stopped him before he crossed. I could have prevented him from being hurt.” I watch her swallow and turn away. Flit hovers up to her shoulder and strokes her cheek.
“I told you he’s all healed up now except for his mind.” Flit says. “And that’ll come after a while. You can’t even see a bruise anymore.” My mother shakes her head in her grief, and Flit turns to me, scowling. “Why’d you have to go and bring up your father? She’s been so sad, and she was finally just starting to forget. Now she’ll be crying all the time again.” I slide over to my mother and hold her, and she tips her head to rest against my arm.
“I won’t ever forget, Flit.” She sniffs. “I should have made him stay away. I watched the guardian fling him back across the border. I tried to explain but it wouldn’t listen to me.” She’s shaking with tears now, her eyes squeezed shut. “By then it was too late, the damage was done. I looked across and your father was being carted off by Elliot and Donal. I could see them, but they couldn’t see me. I knew he was safe in their hands, and I knew that I had to go on and complete the quest, but when I presented the amulet, I was told it was a forgery. Then they told me how bad the cyclones were getting here, and how much they needed me here in the North, and I couldn’t ignore it. I agreed to help. A part of me had known all along that I would end up having to stay as a Protector.”
“Your name was on the prince’s list. Mine was, too. He was counting you as a treasure to return.”
“It wouldn’t have worked anyway, whether it was me or the necklace. His intentions aren’t pure of heart.” Mum says.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask. “You knew we were both destined for this place but you kept the stories from me.”
“I hoped to spare you,” Mum says. “Hoped I could come and complete the quest and return home, and keep you from all of it. I didn’t want you to feel pressured. I didn’t want to ever lose you to this place.
” she sighs. I think about the afternoon of the quest announcement. How quiet she was at the guild’s table. How apologetic her eyes were.
“You made sure my name wasn’t on the list, didn’t you? You knew it would be here in Kythshire and you had Uncle or someone get me stricken from it.” Fresh tears prick my eyes and I push them away in irritation.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “It was selfish of me. I wasn’t ready for you to face this. If either of us was going to have to stay, I wanted it to be me. You’re so young, with so much of your life still ahead of you. It wasn’t fair to shove you into this fate. I didn’t want it forced on you.” I don’t even know what to say. I simply shake my head. Rian’s hand on my shoulder does little to comfort me and I snap my head toward him.
“And you,” I turn to Rian, my temper rising, “you knew, too. You told Anod that Viala was plotting to get rid of the Protectors. How long have you known? How could you keep this from me?”
“Don’t be angry with Rian,” my mother says softly. “He hasn’t known for long, have you Rian?”
“I only discovered it when I was researching about the curse, following Viala’s trails,” he says. “I’ve known about the Wellspring and the legend of the Protectors. That’s apprentice-level privilege. But it’s forbidden to talk about it, and I didn’t suspect that it was your family until after my trial. And even then, I didn’t want to believe it. I was silenced too, remember? But then when you told me at the ball that you knew about the Wellspring, I couldn’t ignore it anymore. Your dreams, Flit appearing to you, I knew it more than just a coincidence.”
Call of Kythshire (Keepers of the Wellsprings Book 1) Page 20