Realmwalker

by Jonathan Franks

  Jim closed the door and put is hands on the wood-rimmed steering wheel. He ran his fingers counter clockwise down the left side of the wheel, feeling the dented spot left by his mother’s wedding ring. His right hand glided to the gearshift. He looked in the back seat and remembered when his mother would take him and Gen out for drives. He remembered one day when he and Genny had been running around in his yard and his mom came out to see if they needed anything.

  “Let’s take a drive!” Gen suggested.

  “Where do you want to go?”

  “I don’t care,” Gen said. “Nowhere! Anywhere!”

  They drove around with the top down until the sun went down, then the kids gazed up at the stars until they got home.

  Jim looked at the empty passenger seat and imagined Gen sitting with him. In his mind, she was wearing big, fashionable sunglasses. Her hair was tied up with a scarf. She sat crooked in her seat with one shoulder against the door and her fingers tracing circles on the back of Jim’s neck while they drove and drove.

  He sighed and missed his mother. He got out of the car and carefully replaced the cover and went upstairs before his dad got home.

  chapter 24

  Ivy had never been this cold in her life. The Winter Kingdom was certainly beautiful - everything she saw looked mysterious and majestic and magnificent – but she was absolutely freezing. The trees were sheathed in thin coatings of ice, making them sparkle in the sun.

  She’d never seen snow before and it amazed her. The virgin white plains that stretched out before her seemed lonely and desolate, but full of hope and promise. They were flying low and every so often, Ivy would let the tip of her toe skim the surface to create wavy patterns in the snow. Looking behind her, she saw the crisp white horizon broken only by the slight wisps of her wake. Ahead, more evergreens and gray mountains in the distance, peaked with more snow and standing tall and proud.

  Aside from the cold, she absolutely loved it here.

  “Are we going to have to camp out here in the snow?” Ivy asked Herron.

  “No, we’ll reach Frost River Falls in a couple of hours. We can stay at the Walkers’ residence there.”

  “Okay.”

  “You seem awfully quiet. What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing!” Ivy blinked at him in surprise. She’d been taking in the landscape with such concentration that she hadn’t realized she’d been quiet.

  Herron gave her a half smile. “Okay, you just seem a little pensive, I guess.”

  “No, I don’t think so. Just taking it all in. This place is so beautiful, I just want to look at everything! Look at those trees, and the mountains way over there!” She swooped down and grabbed a handful of cold, powdery snow. “And the snow! This place is amazing!”

  Herron’s lips parted into a full, warm smile. “Wait until you see the Frost River. It’s quite beautiful.”

  “Wow, I can’t wait! Every Realm is so different. But this place, I think it has more... Sameness? Maybe? Than the other place we’ve been. I mean, look around, it’s just one big white sheet. But every bit of it is so unique and beautiful. I love it here,” Ivy said.

  “I’m glad you’re having a good time. I’m happy I can show you some places that you enjoy this --” Herron halted suddenly. When he stopped talking, Ivy turned to look at him and froze in alarm. Herron’s eyes were wide, focused on something behind her. “Dive!” He shouted, and swooped toward the ground. “Straight into the snow! Don’t stop!”

  Ivy immediately did as she was told. She dove toward the ground, put her hands above her hand and felt them part the powdery top snow, then she crunched through a thin crust of ice and lodged herself firmly into more tightly-packed snow. She struggled to right herself, then poked her head above the surface.

  “Stay down!” Herron shouted.

  Ivy ducked her head back down just in time to see a sharp black talon rip through the ice above her head. She heard a shrill, piercing cry fading away above her.

  “It’s a snowhawk. They’re tenacious and they don’t like to give up their prey. Stay down!”

  Ivy tried to burrow herself deeper into the snow. Now she was freezing cold and wet and her heart was pounding with fear and adrenaline. “How do we get rid of it?”

  “We wait! Now tuck yourself down and be quiet!”

  Ivy brushed some of the snow on top of herself, trying to hide the light leathery tan of her traveling attire. Her wings were bent at an odd angle behind her and they were starting to ache. She forced herself to stay still. She gulped with fear when the talons ripped at the ice crust again, then she heard it clawing at the snow a little farther away from her.

  The snowhawk’s cry was sounding closer when she heard a faint twang, then the hawk cried out again and she heard it beat its wings. A voice cried out loudly, “Ey! Ey! Ey!” Then another twang and, “Get out of here! Ey! Go!”

  Ivy heard the hawk’s wings flapping grow faint, so she risked poking her head up. She had a hard time catching her breath and her heart was pounding. She stood up in her hidey-hole and let the snow fall off of her. Her mouth hung slightly open in amazement. She saw a fairy approaching her. She held a long bow with an arrow nocked and ready, pointed at the ground. She was wearing loose leather leggings with fur cuffs and soft leather boots, also with fur cuffs that matched. She wore a flying cloak of pure white and her wings came to a delicate peak just above the top of her head. Her hair was also stark white, as white as the cape, as white as the snow around them, and short. The sharp points of her ears poked through, reminding Ivy of the peaks of those mountains she had been admiring. She wore a blade on her belt and a top made of some sort of animal skin, just short enough to leave a strip of the smooth skin of her belly visible. Ivy’s eyes traced it from one side to the other, and lingered on a visible scar on the stranger’s right side.

  She was the most beautiful fairy Ivy had ever seen. When their eyes met, Ivy’s heart felt like it would drop into her stomach. “Hi,” Ivy said, instantly feeling ridiculous.

  The stranger raised a perfectly curved, white eyebrow at her and cocked her head. “Hi, yourself.” She looked Ivy up and down, twice, then turned to glance at Herron, then looked Ivy up and down again. Her eyes paused to meet Ivy’s and they held each other’s gaze. Then the stranger blinked and said, “What are you two doing out here?”

  Herron said, “We’re on our way to Frost River Falls. My name’s Herron. I’m a Walker. My companion, here, is Ivy.”

  Hope didn’t look away from Ivy while Herron spoke. “Ivy. I’m Hope.”

  Ivy smiled broadly at Hope. Hope approached her and offered a hand to help Ivy out of the hole she’d dug herself in the snow. Ivy took it and used her legs to help push her up. Once her wings were free, she flitted the rest of the way up and gently touched down on the ground next to Hope. “Thanks.”

  She brushed more of the snow off of herself, sneaking another glance at Hope’s exposed midriff while she bent over. She straightened and beat her wings to shake the snow off.

  “What are you doing out here?” Ivy asked Hope.

  “I was hunting when I heard you two yelling about the snowhawk. I rushed over as quickly as I could.” She turned to Herron, finally taking a proper look at him. “What brings you to The Winter Kingdom, Walker?”

  “We need to see Sen in Frost River Falls.”

  “Sen?”

  Herron nodded.

  “Okay. Sen doesn’t actually live in Frost River Falls. He has a cabin a bit outside the city.” She looked at Herron dubiously.

  Ivy blurted out. “Could you take us there?” Then she realized she’d spoken very quickly and added, “Please?”

  Ivy saw the corner of Hope’s mouth turn up a little, and Hope said, “Sure. What business do you have with Sen?”

  “Something’s wrong with the Hearts!” Ivy said. “We think somebody took one and destroyed it, and we’re looking for some guidance.”

  Herron glared at Ivy, very deliberately shot his eyes over to Hope,
and then back to Ivy.

  Ivy rolled her eyes. “Look, we can trust her,” Ivy said. Then she wondered to herself why she was so sure that they could trust her. All Ivy knew was that she couldn’t take her eyes off of her and she couldn’t wait for Hope to talk again so she could listen to her voice some more. She was also brimming with hope that Hope would lead them so Ivy might get a fair opportunity to look at her while she followed.

  “The Heart of the Realm? Something’s wrong with it?” Hope asked in alarm. “We should get the town board involved. We have to at least let them know.”

  “We will,” Herron said, “after we talk to Sen. We’ll stay at the Walkers’ residence, which is in town anyway. We’ll talk to Sen and then we can report in and let your board know what’s going on.”

  “Okay,” Hope said. “Follow me, then,” and she took off and slowly headed slightly off from the direction Ivy and Hope had been going before. Once Herron and Ivy were in the air and following, she streaked away and they rushed to catch up. Every so often, Hope would glance over her shoulder to make sure they were still there - or, Ivy wished as strongly as she could wish, to have Hope a steal a look back at Ivy, much like Ivy’s own eyes were soaking up Hope.

  Ivy sped up slightly and flew next to Hope. “You’re a hunter?”

  “I am. You?” Hope peeked at Ivy then grinned, “No, wait, let me guess.” She looked Ivy up and down again. “You’re not a Walker.”

  Ivy shook her head. Hope flew closer to her and took her hand, then looked at her palm, turned her hand over, then looked at her fingers. “Not a miner.”

  Ivy shook her head again and smiled. Hope’s fingers were warm and soft on her skin. She didn’t pull her hand away after Hope stopped looking at it, but after a minute, Hope seemed to realize she was still holding it and let go. Ivy’s heart sank a little.

  “Definitely not a rancher.”

  Ivy laughed and shook her head again. “I’m a --”

  “Ssh, ssh, don’t tell me. I’m really good at this.” They stopped, the three of them hovering together.

  Herron said from behind them, “You’ll never guess.”

  Hope turned and glared at him, then turned back to Ivy. “Never guess. That means you’re something we don’t have much of here. You have a worker’s hands, so you aren’t a librarian or a writer, and you don’t have the air of a storyteller.” Hope flew back a bit and looked Ivy over again.

  Ivy almost closed her eyes in delight. She was enjoying Hope’s scrutiny very much.

  “You do seem like you are a caregiver. You provide for people. You aren’t a hunter, so you are a gatherer. A grower.”

  Ivy clapped with delight. “I’m a farmer!”

  “A farmer. Right. I knew I knew the word. We don’t have farms, exactly, here. We have a few small orchards with trees for the winterberries and iceplums, but we don’t have any fields or proper crops.”

  “Have you ever seen a farm?” Ivy asked.

  “Sure,” said Hope, and they set off again. “I saw farms in The Delta when I used to travel there. But that was a long time ago. We used to trade some of our meat and fur and the wine we make from the iceplums, and we would get their vegetables and some of the luxury kind of things they would make.”

  “That sounds lovely!” Ivy said. “Realms trading their stuff with each other, trading what they can make themselves for what they can’t. What a grand idea.”

  “It’s great when it works,” Herron said. “But those trade deals are really fluid. They start and end all the time, as soon as some merchant on one side or the other starts to think their products are more valuable than the other’s. Most Realms are self-sufficient and aside from the Walkers, not a lot of fairies travel from Realm to Realm, so it isn’t done very often. But like I said, it’s great when it works.”

  Herron and Hope discussed trade and inter-Realm relations for a while and Ivy stopped paying attention. She was back to admiring the scenery, alternating between the breathtaking landscape of The Winter Kingdom and the gorgeous heart-stopping beauty of her guide.

  What is wrong with me? Ivy asked herself. I’m fawning over this fairy like a bunny trying to grab its mate. She’s so beautiful and confident and so sexy when she had that bow out, ready to kill something. Fierce. Ivy looked at Hope again, eyes dreamy. I don’t even know this woman. I like her, though. Something about her seems so familiar.

  A while later, they saw a tendril of smoke, and quickly saw that it was coming from the chimney of a small wooden cabin, walls fashioned from branches and worked to fit tightly together.

  “We’re here,” Hope announced.

  “Thank you,” said Herron. “I appreciate the --”

  “Why don’t you come in with us?” Ivy asked, interrupting Herron. “After all, we do need to get back to the city when we’re done.”

  Hope grinned at her. “Okay.”

  Herron started to object, but Ivy gave him a look. Herron frowned, wondering what that meant, then comprehension registered on his face. He gave her an incredulous look, shot his eyes back toward Hope, then met Ivy’s gaze. He widened his eyes at her, opened his mouth to say something, then closed his mouth and spun around and pounded on the door.

  What in the world is he upset about? Ivy wondered.

  Then a short, wizened-looking fairy opened the door. He was balding and had a half ring of gray hair wrapping back from temple to temple. One eye was cloudy, but the other shone in vivid orange, gleaming with obvious intelligence and wit. He took his visitors in in a glance, then said, “Afternoon, Hope. Who are these two, then?”

  “Herron - a Walker - and Ivy. They are here to see you.”

  Herron nodded quickly and said, “Ambassador Veen and Sovereign Nai both tasked me with speaking to you about The Hearts.”

  Sen frowned. “The Hearts? Well, come in, you three, come in.” He stepped back and welcomed them into his small home. There were stools fashioned from logs and a comfortable looking sofa. He gestured toward the stools for them to sit down, then he sat on the sofa.

  Ivy sat in the stool closest to the fire. She didn’t want to seem like the cold was bothering her, not in front of Hope, but she was freezing and the warmth of the fire felt wonderful. Hope sat next to her and Herron sat closest to Sen. Ivy was practically glowing with delight, but trying to keep cool about it.

  Herron shared the story, along with Veen’s and Nai’s concerns, with Sen. Sen nodded often, occasionally asking questions to clarify some detail. When Herron had finished his report, Sen sat back and crossed his legs.

  “Hmm.”

  “Thoughts?” Herron asked.

  “I’m crafting them. Give me a moment, boy.”

  Ivy saw the tips of Herron’s ears flush slightly, as they did whenever he was mildly embarrassed or irritated, but Herron did give Sen a moment. After a while, Sen stood up.

  “We’re going to have to consult the Oracle.”

  “Like I said,” Herron said, “The Caverns were --”

  “No, no, boy, not him. The sticks, the fortune teller.”

  “The fortune teller? Sticks? What is that?” Herron asked impatiently. “You’re trying to impress us with some trinket?”

  “Not some trinket, my boy. This is a proper, attuned Oracle, and my gift is hearing the secrets that it tells.”

  Herron looked suspiciously at the old fairy.

  Ivy said, “Veen and Nai both trust him. They sent us here. They wouldn’t send us to someone who couldn’t help. Leev even said he would help. I believe him.”

  Herron put his hands up and conceded. Sen went to a shelf and picked up a thin, long, leather wrap. He brought it back to the table and started to unroll it.

  Hope leaned over and whispered, close, into Ivy’s ear, “Has your partner been hoodwinked before or something?”

  Ivy whispered back, “I don’t know. I think he’s just -- Oh, wait. ‘Partner?’ No, we’re not together. I mean not together together.”

  Herron glared back at her and turned back
to Sen.

  Hope made a noise of understanding, a sort of muted “Ah,” noise from the back of her throat, and grinned. She, too, turned to Sen.

  Ivy watched Sen finish unrolling the leather wrap. Inside were a set of beautifully polished wooden rods, each with a number of flat surfaces around them, and symbols carved into each thin face. Sen picked each one of them up, clearly in some sort of order, and gathering them between his palms, he rolled them together, mixing them up, and then he cast them onto the leather mat. He leaned over them, studying them closely, noting the symbols and the sticks’ positions relative to one another.

  “Three, it says. Three in total. Two neighbors under the moonlight will be the next victims.”

  Herron sighed heavily. “This isn’t --”

  “Shush. The Oracle symbols reference an ancient text, and much of it is in language like this. I’ve been reading these my whole life, so I have the texts memorized. I will skip the original language and go straight to my interpretation for you, since patience is something you need to further practice.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Herron. “Please continue.”

  Sen shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Youth.” He cleared his throat. “I need to cast these again, three more times, and then I can share with you my thoughts.”

  He repeated the exercise of picking them up in a particular order and rubbing them together between his palms, then casting them down on the table, taking note of the orientation and the symbols. Then he did this again one more time.

  “The Heart of the Caverns has been destroyed.”

  Hope and Ivy gasped. Herron nodded gravely.

  Sen continued, “He is going to destroy two more Hearts. He can do them both on the next new moon if he chooses adjacent Realms, and I believe he has.” He looked at Ivy, his orange eye fixing on her with a piercing gaze. “I’m afraid, my dear, that The Meadows is in danger. He is going to try to steal The Heart of The Meadows. I don’t know what the other Realm is - the Oracle didn’t provide detail on it. I think that it was able to focus on The Meadows because you were present, my dear.”