by J. L. Madore
I groaned, urging Naith on. My stomach churned. "We'll travel 'til dusk then make camp. What kind of pace can you three manage long-term?"
"The same as you, resting atop your beasts of burden." Galan sheathed his dagger and secured his hair with a leather cord. "And what if we wish no part of this?"
Is he serious? "I'll take it up with Castian the next time we speak, though he gets a little testy when people challenge him."
"Testy?" Lexi snorted. "You'll lose body parts, Highborne."
"Speak to Him?" Galan shook his head. "You must think us beyond gullible to believe you, personally, have the ear of the gods."
I scowled. "No. Not gods. Just Castian."
Galan broke stride to glower and I halted the group. "I am a bard in his service, Galan. My powers come from him."
He scrubbed his palm over his wide harsh smile. "Verily, if this is so, you should be able to offer some proof to that effect."
Whatever. I tilted my gaze to the canopy above. "Castian. It's a tough crowd down here. I'm getting heckled."
One would think that an emissary carrying my seal would be accepted on my word. No?
"I don't believe he means any disrespect." I looked at Galan's cocky scowl. What an ass.
Yet he shows you disrespect, Mir.
"I'm a big girl."
You are generous to a fault.
Images of a story filled my mind. "Really? This is what you want me to use?" When nothing else came, I shrugged and met Galan's hard blue glare. "You sure you want to do this?"
"I am certain."
"Okay." I swung my leg over Naith's haunches and dropped to my feet. "On the night of your birthday celebration two months ago, you returned from dinner at your friend Nyssa's a little drunk and looking forward to getting to bed."
Galan stepped closer, subtle disbelief on his face. "Go on."
"In your room, you found an unexpected present waiting for you in, shall we say . . . an unwrapped and somewhat opened condition."
Galan looked stricken. His ears flushed pink as his hand came up to stop my narration. "Apologies, your point has been made."
Tham's brow rose. "Wait, what was your gift? Carry on, Jade."
With his hand still up Galan looked abashed. "Tham, be done with this. I concede. Indeed, she knows that which cannot be known. Let us continue our travels."
"His gift wasn't a what, Tham, it was a who." I pressed on, enjoying Galan's discomfort more than I should. "So, Galan's little birthday present wasn't to his liking. He and this Yavanna woman had words."
"Yavanna? Unwrapped?" Tham's grin grew ridiculously wide, exposing a dimple on his right cheek. "Sweet Shalana, what did you do?"
Galan dropped his hands and shifted rolled back on his heels. "Fine. If the story must be told I shall do the telling. As you know I will not entertain in my home. My sister sleeps in the adjoining chamber and is a young female of virtue."
"However," Tham interjected, holding his stomach, "Yavanna is quite ambitious."
Galan nodded. "I asked her with a gentlemale's grace to clothe herself and leave. When she refused and proceeded in her advances, I placed her garments into her lap, wrapped her in the coverlet she was sitting upon and tossed the entire bundle out my chamber window."
"Is that what happened to your ganderberry patch?" Tham's mouth gaped open while he shook with laughter. "Your father accused half the young in the village of breaking the stalks."
Aust turned to tie his hair back, hiding his grin.
"I imagine Yavanna was vexed." Tham wiped moisture from his eyes. "What was her retaliation, Galan?"
He glowered at me and clenched his teeth.
Tham turned to me. "Oh, Jade, let us hear the entire tale."
I had to laugh at the sheer enjoyment on Tham's face. "Well, unbeknownst to the two of you, Yavanna followed you to the hot springs the next day and added something to Galan's pants while you were in the water."
"Oh!" Tham choked, sputtering for air. "I remember this. Just after we returned home Galan had the worst case of male—"
"That, however, was not humorous at all," Galan snapped, grimacing as he adjusted himself. "The rash from the Heca oil spread until I could neither sit, nor appear in public without a tunic. Now, may we continue?"
CHAPTER FIVE
By early afternoon the tropical sun had become a broiling force. Even under the canopy of the jungle I was a wilting flower trapped under greenhouse glass. Leather pants were great in battle but less than ideal shrink wrapped to your body. Lifting the length of my hair off my back, I prayed for a breeze. No such luck.
I cursed the Elves. They looked as fresh as they had at the break of dawn. No sweat. No red cheeks. No clothing sticking to their cracks and crevices. Faolan was the only one drooping. Over the past few hours, Aust's wolf had ceased running willy-nilly from one Highborne to another and back again. Now she merely kept pace at Aust's heel, her long pink tongue lolled out to the side.
"I thought Faolan wasn't allowed to join your quest," I said. Aust broke stride utterly nonplussed and it took me a moment to understand his reaction. "Sorry. We saw part of your ceremony in Lexi's vision. That's how we came to find you."
"A vision?" Aust said, clearly unsettled.
"Lexi sees things. At your Ambar Lenn ceremony, you said Faolan had to stay behind."
He nodded, mussing his wolf's thick silver ruff. "Um, yes, that was my understanding. However, my sire seems to have sent her along regardless."
After another long silence, we came to a clearing beside a stream. I dismounted, rubbing my hands down my thighs to adjust the bunching of my leathers. Chatting about nothing in particular Lexi and I pulled at our tank-tops from where they'd shrunk to every curve we possessed. Lexi giggled and tilted her head toward the Elves. They had dropped their gear and were eyeing us from the water's edge.
Growing up around men, warriors in particular, we were neither modest nor self-conscious. Hiding a silent chuckle, I drifted into the forest in the other direction to take care of my more basic needs. When I got back, Lexi was leaning against the flat of a large rock, fanning herself like Cleopatra with a broad, green leaf.
Tham flashed a quirky grin. "I was wondering how it works, ladies . . . the realm, our enchantment, the rest of it?"
Aust and Galan bounded out of the water and up the bank before leaning against the trunks of two wide trees.
"That is a mind-bender," Lexi said, gesturing for Naith and Puff to go get a drink.
I felt around in my backpack for a water bottle and took a swig. Warm. Gross. I chucked it back in. "Since your people were exiled, our world has evolved in some ways and remained essentially unchanged in others. There were periods in time when dragons were slain, witches and wizards were staked and burned and our way of life was threatened by religion and modernization."
"What was the objection?" Aust stepped to the bank where he'd dropped his quiver and peeled off his vest. After rolling up his pant-legs, he escorted all three animals into the shallows of the nearby stream.
"Over time, people stopped believing in pagan gods and many new belief systems took root. The followers of these new religions thought it was blasphemous to believe in fantastical creatures and magical powers. To eliminate the problem, they tried to eliminate everything unique about our realm."
"Verily, they did not succeed." Tham rolled his pants and waded into the water as well. He pulled Faolan's ebony ear and snickered when she snapped at his fingers.
"Many races wanted to live without fear or prejudice," I said. "All the Pantheon leaders Behind the Veil, from all sources of power, established protected areas for their more conspicuous realm members. Castian focused on Centaurs, Elves, Sprights, dragons, griffons, etc. In essence, the Realm of the Fair hasn't changed from the days of your exile. We just live unseen by Mundanes of the Modern Realm.
"Mundanes?" Tham snatched his fingertips back from another crack of Faolan's jaws.
"Non-realm humans. Geographically, the Realm of
the Fair occupies areas on every continent." Perplexed looks met me on all sides. "What you need to know is this. Our lands are enchanted the same way your valley was. When non-realm humans, reach the borders they are transported across to the opposite side. It's such a seamless journey Mundanes don't realize they've made it. They find themselves traveling the same path in the same direction they had been and are none the wiser. At most they get a sense of déjà-vu, like they've been there before."
"And you can access this Modern Realm?" Tham asked.
"Yes. We have Portal Gates which act as doorways between the two realms."
"Is that how you two traveled here?"
"No, we Flashed." I peeled the muscle shirt suctioned to my chest and prayed, yet again, for a breeze. "Certain races have the natural ability to travel from place to place within this realm or the other by simply wishing to do so."
"Do you?"
"No. Castian Flashed us here." I wiped at the sweat beading down from my forehead. "Unfortunately, the Scourge can Flash too and now that your exile is over, they will come."
Back on the trail, I leaned from side to side, stretching my aches. It had been ages since Naith and I took an extended road-trip and I was saddle sore. If only there was a spa with a hot bath and an even hotter masseur in my future. Not bloody likely.
"Those are beautiful," I said, admiring the flights of the arrows jostling in Tham's quiver.
"Gratitude. Galan and I fletched them with golden eagle feathers we collected along the jagged ledge of our southern meadow. We were bloodied retrieving them from the nests, yet pleased with the result." Tham slid a sideways glance at me and his dimple reappeared. "Jade, would you tell us more about your world?"
I pulled my water bottle from my bag and took a long swallow. "Maximus Reign, our adoptive father, is a respected warrior and quite famous in our realm. When the Scourge attacks started, he established a sanctuary on a pristine mountain topped with a castle and called it Haven. Now, there are more than a dozen Haven sites around the world where people of any race can live in peace."
"And what does your Haven offer?"
I listed a dozen things that drew people to Haven, safety, shops, community . . . but Tham seemed most intrigued by The Academy of Affinities.
"It's a training centre," I explained, "for people with gifts from the Fae gods, those studying wizardry or those training to become Talon enforcers. Lexi and I and are instructors and Julian and Bruin, our adoptive brothers, teach when they're available as well."
"Wizardry?" Tham hopped a rock and landed without a sound, his smile fading. "The two of you teach wizardry?" Though his tone was neutral, his eyes narrowed.
"No, not us. I have an affinity for healing, so I teach that and herbology."
Aust tilted his head, pushed off a log and moved his run closer. Tham regained some of his easy swagger and moved closer to my sister. "And you, Lexi? What do you teach?"
"Weapons and attacks." Her tone was casual, but you couldn't miss the way her purple eyes were glittering, I knew she was waiting for the reaction. She never ceased to be amused by the raised eyebrows. "Battle armor, weapon mastery, strategic assaults." She drew her dagger and spun it so the business end pointed at Galan. Batting her eyes, she smiled extra sweet. "And contrary to what some people might think, I am all female."
The clearing where Aust chose to make camp for the night overlooked the valley to the north. Bordered on two sides by forest, it had several large, jutting rocks for defensive positions and a sheer three hundred foot drop at the far end that overlooked the entire valley. I hadn't realized we'd been changing altitude all day. Then again, I'd never been a Girl Scout.
Thank the gods for the soft grasses covering the hard-packed ground in our camping area and for the nearby stream which was running clean and cool.
From the cliff edge Tham pointed to a set of distant peaks, violet against a grey-dusky sky. "That craggy formation is Dragon's Peak, a dormant volcano. It is said to be the entry point our ancestors used to access the valley. I would wager the compendium is somewhere within the belly of that dragon."
I nodded. "Good. Then that's where we'll start."
"With Castian's grace," Galan said, stepping in behind us, "we shall retrieve this compendium and be home within a sennight."
Tham patted Galan's shoulder then jogged to the mound of their belongings. After sifting through the pile, he straightened with three wineskins. "Faolan, come."
Faolan bounded after him, ebony nose to the ground, sniffing the wild grasses as she ran toward the water. Galan gathered sticks and dried palm fronds, cleared an area of debris and then brushed off an area of glittery stone on the ground. He fished around in the leather pouch he wore and came out with something small and dark. Staring at his hand, a secret smile flirted at the corners of his mouth.
"Something funny?" I asked, kneeling beside him to get a better look. The smile disappeared as his hand clamped shut. Ignoring the wave of attitude, I waited, watching the shadows in the forest deepen around us. I smelled the night breeze for any hint of Scourge funk. There was nothing beyond the pungency of moss, earth and the rainforest itself.
Finally, he opened his hand and let me study the non-descript green stone in his palm. "A gift for my Ambar Lenn. A strike-stone in the shape of a frog is said to bring good fortune."
How one could view the lump of stone in his hand and see a frog was beyond even my vivid imagination. Galan's jaw muscles twitched and tightened as he withdrew to his thoughts and refocused on building the fire.
I could have helped him. Flame was something I could control in my sleep. Before I decided if he would find it offensive to be helped by a lowly female, he pulled some Pyro-hocus-pocus and his little flame was glowing like a faerie ring. After adding a mound of dried palm, he coaxed and caressed the tiny wisps of orange until the flame took hold. When he stood to light the torches, I joined Lexi in walking the perimeter.
By the time the light was fading my sister and I knew the ins and outs of the surrounding area and turned Puff and Naith loose beneath a cluster of mango trees. The spot was rank with the super-sweet stench of fruit passed its best-before date. The over-ripened buffet lay scattered and fermenting on the damp ground, just waiting for Puff.
Naith was another story. Reaching into the side-bag of the saddle, I unwrapped and tossed down a lamb joint Cook had sent along for him. While he licked his treat, I loosened the cinch beneath his velvety belly, removed the harnesses and hefted the saddle off his back.
"May I be of aid?" Aust accepted my burden and straddled it over a wide log. "Astounding creatures, your mounts."
Lexi handed him her saddle, which was half the size of mine, and patted Aust's cheek. "I'll leave you to it then." She skipped off to sit in front of the fire with Galan and Tham.
"Apologies. Have I run her off?"
I laughed, shaking my head. "No. Lexi welcomes any opportunity to escape her chores. If it weren't for our housekeeping staff at our Academy, she'd go through life naked and starving. As it is, she lives like a princess."
Aust smiled, drawing closer to my panther. "You are blessed to have siblings."
I nodded. Was my destiny to lose my parents and be raised by Reign? Hanging the saddle blanket over a low branch to air out, I followed Aust's gaze back to my cat. "Would you like to meet Naith? Officially, I mean."
His smile broadened and he bowed. "Indeed, I would."
I clapped my hands and Naith sprang in the air between us. His large bone hung precariously from the corner of his mouth. "Come here, big guy."
As Naith padded over, Aust squared his shoulders and inventoried my feline's black velvet pelt. "He is a powerful beast," he said, his silky voice deep with reverence. "Sinew and bone held in reserve. Yet a cub, he already possesses the strength of a dozen males."
I took the bone and Naith opened his mouth to a slight gape. He curled his upper lip and breathed deep. Aust cocked his head, listening to the breathy chuffing.
"He
's smelling you," I said. "Or tasting your scent would probably be more accurate."
"His sense of smell is in his mouth?" Aust raised his hand, holding the back of it to Naith's muzzle. "Astounding."
"He's referred to as a panther, but is actually a melanistic jaguar. Normally his breed is gold mottled with brown and black spots. Black is rare. When the sun hits his side at just the right angle you can see his spots, hidden in plain sight."
Aust scrubbed Naith's muzzle and bent to look straight into his amber eyes.
I moved to intercede, but Naith didn't bristle. Weird. He always became aggressive when men looked him straight in the eye. It was a dominance thing.
Aust's expression blanked out as subtle energy tingled through my body. The sensation was similar to Lexi's visions channeling. Naith chuffed a contented breath, his shoulder muscles easing, his tail dropping to sway in a lazy arc.
"Aust? What are you doing with Naith?"
He froze and his shoulders sagged. "Apologies. I, uh—"
"No, don't apologize. Do you have an affinity with animals?"
He shot a quick glance over his shoulder. "I speak not of it. In my village, I am considered an aberration."
"What? Why? Affinities are a blessing from the gods."
"Mayhap." He leaned closer and lowered his voice. "My community believes magic is the evil which led to our fall from grace. They see my ability as sorcery lying dormant in my soul." Something flickered across his face, a dark shadow of some painful memory.
Without conscious thought, I raised my hand to his cheek and paused when my palm was about to touch his skin. Meeting his stare with as much encouragement as I could, I bit the bullet. "Aust, may I touch you with my gift? I swear it won't hurt."
After a long moment, he nodded. "This is Fate's Journey after all."
I cupped his cheek. When he met my other hand with his, we laced fingers and his eyes rolled closed. Aust's affinity surged in strands of energy, wide vibrant ribbons of power. The kaleidoscope of colors burst and flickered inside my eyelids like a fireworks finale against a night sky. After who knows how long, I eased out of the connection.