True North

by S.M. Winter

lot of people killed,” he began walking again, a hand on his neck pushing at the tension that resided there. “We were lucky last night. You distract me. Badly.”

  “Is that why you’ve been avoiding my touch?” I asked.

  “Partly,” he nodded and I followed him. “There’s something else I need to show you.”

  We walked for a while under the trees that somehow grew straight up despite the winds constant battery. Eventually we came to a waterfall at the base of the mountain surrounded by a boiling pit of lava, like a mote. It now made sense why the hot springs existed. Abruptly he turned to me.

  “Find your center,” he said. “You need to feel the island with your element.”

  There was that phrase again. I frowned but did as he asked, closing my eyes and silencing the worry that clouded my thoughts, I breathed deep and reached out to my element. I could feel the air around me move and sway. As I breathed deeper my element filled me and seemed to be eager to help.

  “Good,” I heard Alexandar say. “Now pretend your element is an extension of you. Reach out with it and feel your environment.”

  I swept out my arms and it felt like they stretched on for acres. I felt the leaves on the trees, the pine needles on the ground, the bark of exposed roots. Everywhere the air touched, I touched. I felt the steam rise around the water and the deepest part of the cave. I gasped and opened my eyes.

  Alexandar nodded.

  “They live here?” I asked.

  “There are more. Keep looking. This is a chance for you to stretch your wings and see that your Elemental scope is near limitless.”

  I reached out across the island and found all sorts of creatures. I could see them in my mind’s eye by their touch. There was one I came across that I just had to see. I opened my eyes and began hiking up the mountain. It was hard work but I knew it would be worth it. I now knew that unicorns weren’t the only mythological creatures residing here.

  Alexandar followed me up the side of the mountain. By the time I reached the top the sun was directly above us and the air was so thin I could barely catch my breath. Sweat coated my skin and I was exhausted. But the sight there was worth all of the trouble. I dropped to the ground, giddy. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched them play.

  The small creatures played an odd game of hide and go seek. They ranged in size from the palm of my hand to the length of a common house cat. Their body types varied drastically and they all had beautifully colored wings. These were the faeries I’d expected when I’d heard the word. The field in which they played glowed in the morning light. The grass was calf length but could hide them easily, so they would pop out and startle each other. Their giggles were infectious. I found myself laughing aloud at their antics.

  One particularly overweight faerie, about the size of a large and happy house cat, struggled to fly. I could only guess at the sex of the creature, but he had the look of a male. He would run lightly on the ground, more quickly than expected for his size, and when another faerie would pop out of the grass he would squeal in delight and hug them. Then he would let them go and the game would start again. There was no judgement with their faeries, they played regardless of size, shape or demeanor.

  After a while, my laughter drew the large one over to me. He was curious at first, then he crawled right into my lap and gave me a hug. Tears stung my eyes. No judgement from the faeries. When he stood, he tugged on my hair to pull my face closer to him and whispered in my ear. It was completely incompressible babble, but he was so proud of himself he clapped his hands and gave me a wet smacking kiss on my cheek. I smiled at him as he ran back to his friends.

  We hiked in silence back down the mountain. I could feel that Alexandar wanted to ask me something but I ignored it until we were near the bottom. I was tired mentally from the experiences I’d had today, and physically from everything else. I just wanted to get some rest.

  “What were those called?” I asked Alexandar after a long time.

  “They are the Sylphs,” he responded.

  The silence continued.

  “What did he say to you?” Alexandar finally spit it out when we reached the bottom.

  “The Sylph?” I stopped in my tracks, confused. “I couldn’t understand him.”

  “No,” Alexandar gritted his teeth. “The gypsy.”

  “The man from the bar?” I asked. “How do you know he was a gypsy?”

  “Trust me,” he said. “I know. What did he say to you?”

  “Well,” I cleared my throat. “He said that he would be joining us soon.”

  “That’s all?” Alexandar’s brows furrowed. I could feel him trying to read my expression.

  “What else would there be?” I asked avoiding the truth. I wasn’t sure why I was compelled to lie. I wanted to tell him about the vow of marriage but I was trying not to take it seriously myself. Something told me that telling him right now would be a bad idea. “Don’t they prefer Travelyr?”

  “I could care less what they prefer,” Alexandar spat and continued walking. “Did he give you a timeline?”

  “Just ‘soon’,” I hurried after him. “What’s your problem with gypsies?”

  “It’s not important,” he waved a hand.

  “Aren’t you worried what this means?” I asked.

  “Soon doesn’t necessarily mean immediate,” he sighed and stopped. “I’m sorry that I’ve been so distant. I had a very bad experience with Travelyrs in the past.”

  Alexandar seemed to have a difficult time getting the word out.

  “Seeing him talk to you brought up some bad memories, ones I don’t want to get into right now,” he cut me off before I could ask again then took my hand. “We live with death every day. I can’t bother wasting time being upset about things that don’t matter. You matter to me.”

  My heart squeezed. I mattered.

  “You matter to me too,” I took his other hand and put it up to my cheek, feeling the calluses.

  We stayed like that for a while, taking comfort in each other’s closeness. Finally we went back to the island port hole to the underside. As we neared the entrance something glittered and caught my eye. I frowned and bent over to pick it up. It was a compact disc case with a note written on it.

  No time like the present, bring the sword and follow the instructions on the disc.

  There were coordinates listed on the disc below the message. I looked at Alexandar and we exchanged looks of dread.

  We found Chauncy and Valerie in the War Room.

  “You’re just in time,” Chauncy looked up. “We think we may have found a way to create new weapons, but you’re not gonna like it.”

  “No time,” Alexandar said as we walked in. “We’ve got a problem.”

  “What happened?” Valerie held her breath as abject horror played across her face. “Is it the Warren?”

  “No,” I gave her a reassuring smile. “At least, I don’t think so. We’ll have to see.”

  I nodded at Alexandar, who popped the Compact Disc into a portable player sitting on a shelf.

  “Tabitha,” my adoptive mother’s voice played through the speakers and the dread near strangled me. “They are telling me that you’re my only hope. I find that hard to believe, but there you go. Though they also say that you are the reason they are holding your father and I. That I can believe. I tried telling them that you won’t care. That you’re the most disrespectful daughter in the history of families, but they seem to think that you will come save us. They told me that they tried to get to our grandsons and now I realize why you hid them. Good for you.”

  What sounded like a slapping sound and a gasp came from the speakers.

  “If you don’t come get us I understand,” she spit something out and it sounded like it skittered across a table. “But they say they won’t stop looking for the boys and that they will kill us unless you come to them. I’m sorry.”

  The apology came out as a choked sob before there was another slapping sound. The speakers cracked, si
gnaling the end. I sighed when everyone turned to me after it ended.

  “Were there directions?” Valerie asked.

  I held up the jewel case.

  “You all don’t have to come with me,” I smiled at them. “I have to get them out of there.”

  “You think that little of us?” Chauncy’s voice was dangerously quiet. “You think that we would abandon you so easily?”

  “Someone could die,” the gypsy’s dark, intense eyes swam in front of my own and his unintentional warning floated through my brain.

  “We take that risk every time we leave the Sanctuary,” he said quietly. “This is no different.”

  Valerie stepped to Chauncy and took his hand.

  “We’re in,” Valerie smiled at Chauncy.

  I looked at Alexandar and I almost dreaded his answer.

  “You should already know what my answer is,” he grinned at me.

  I did know, which is why I was upset. I didn’t want to lose him so soon after meeting him. My heart tripped a beat. It was obvious to me, with the information I now had, that he would be the one to die tonight. What other reason would the man from the club think that he would marry me, unless Alexandar wasn’t in the picture?

  I tried to return his smile but a heavy feeling settled into my stomach.

  “Well,” Chauncy smiled at me. “Time to suit up.”

  “Suiting up” seemed to just be putting shoes on really. I never consciously realized, but no one wore shoes here. It was much more comfortable but now shoes seemed to be constraining. Chauncy brought me the sword and I strapped it on. The others