by WB McKay
"The sun is close to setting," said Ava, peeking out a window.
"Damn it," I growled. "We're taking too long. Who knows what they could be doing to Owen while we traipse all over Faerie."
Greta took me by the arm and gave me a reassuring smile. "You saved him from himself. You will be able to save him from Faerie."
I nodded. "I appreciate the vote of confidence. May we stay here for the night?"
"Of course," replied Greta. "Zoe, have Tatiana make up the guesthouse."
"I asked her to do that as soon as you confirmed this was Sophie. It should be ready by now."
Greta gave Zoe a proud smile. "Always prepared." She turned back to me. "She'll be an asset for your trip."
"I'm sure she will," I replied.
"I'll show you to the guesthouse," said Zoe, walking out the door.
Phoebe was the first one in the comfortable guesthouse. She ran a hand over the wooden grain of the walls. "This was a beautiful tree." Her voice held reverence. Her tone quickly changed as she hopped on each of the beds and then claimed the one she declared softest. She appeared curious when she said, "It's strange that creatures who can breathe fire are so into wood."
"What, you expect them to only be into glass and metal?" asked Ava.
I took a large and obvious step backward, pulling myself right out of the conversation. I'd already been in this one once today.
Phoebe shrugged. "I'd never given it much thought. Just their magic smells like burnt metal. It seemed fitting."
"You definitely need to get out more," said Ava, walking into our bedroom.
Ava and I would be sharing a room on the other side of the house, though we still had separate beds.
"Is that an invitation?" called Phoebe, sounding a little hopeful.
Ava didn't reply verbally, but from my vantage point, I could see her nose do the bunny twitch. Interesting.
I'd been calling Phoebe and Ava my friends for some time now, but watching them interact, I realized I hadn't done much to treat them as such. As a matter of fact, all I'd done since then is put them in danger. That was something I would have to fix when Owen was safe.
"We should all go out for drinks or something when this is over," I said, so I would have someone else to keep me accountable. The friend thing was still so new to me, I doubted I'd follow through without some urging.
"We totally should!" said Phoebe, popping back out into the living room. "Girl's night!"
Yep, that was done. She wouldn't let it go until we made it happen now. "I call dibs on the shower!" I yelled.
"Don't take too long," said Ava. "I'm hungry and I'd like some hot water too."
"I really hope they have something besides roasted meat," said Phoebe.
Ava scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You're so much older than me. How can you be this naive about dragons?"
"Not all of us had dragons for parents," retorted Phoebe.
I closed the bathroom door and turned on the shower. Thankfully, the sound of the water muffled the noise of their squabbling. Still, while adjusting the temperature, I found myself smiling. It was a strange feeling. I was annoyed with them, but still felt warm inside when I pictured them out there arguing over silly things. "Love," I whispered as the water cascaded over my head. They were weird, annoying, and sometimes a little scary, but I loved them.
The stuff Phoebe had said about us being family had felt a little silly to me in the moment, touching, but silly. The more I thought about it, the more truth I felt to it. It was strange having things I'd never thought possible for myself.
Ava barely waited for me to get out of the bathroom before walking in herself. Phoebe sat on the couch in the living room, her lips set in a pout.
"She's condescending," said Phoebe, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"Yeah, I guess she can be," I replied. "But I love her."
Phoebe's mouth formed into a tiny "o" shape. Confusing me completely, she settled into a pout and turned away from me.
I let out a gust of breath and was about to get in my own fight with Phoebe for being such a child when she was hundreds of years old. Then I thought about how much like a child she could be sometimes and her lack of interaction with me until recently. As far as I knew, dryads were mostly solitary. It made sense that she wouldn't be great at personal relationships. I'd never noticed it before, probably because I naturally assumed everyone was better at it than me.
I sat on the couch next to Phoebe and pulled her hand into my lap. "Hey," I said, and waited the several seconds it took her to look me in the eye. "I love you, too, you know."
"You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"
"You know I can't lie," I replied, giving her hand a squeeze.
Phoebe wrapped her arms around me and crushed me to her chest so hard I wasn't sure I could draw a breath. Somehow, it didn't trigger my claustrophobia. I hugged her back. Her body shook and my shoulder was cool and wet.
I leaned back and brushed her hair out of her face. "Are you crying?"
She couldn't deny it, obviously. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and heaved a sigh. "I've just never had a friend like you before, Sophie."
I was only twenty-four years old and I was already realizing how lonely life could be without friends. How had she made it hundreds of years like that? "Well, I'm glad to be your first." I let out a small laugh and realized my own throat was tight. "Does that mean you'll stop with the pranks?"
"Nope," she replied simply.
"What is that going to take?" I asked.
"You'll figure it out someday."
I shook my head and walked off to finish getting ready. I was pretty sure that I liked the whole friendship thing, but I definitely didn't understand it.
Ava was out of the shower in a couple of minutes and Phoebe even faster than that. Still, both of them looked completely refreshed. I'd have to ask them about that someday. Weren't friends supposed to share beauty and grooming tips? I thought I read that on a magazine cover somewhere.
Our meal was taken at Greta's home. The place was gigantic and built almost entirely out of hardwood. It looked like a top tier ski lodge. If a ski lodge was going for a serious dragon motif. There were carved wooden dragons stretching down the stairs instead of banisters. The foyer was lit by a brass dragon that shot magical flames into the air.
Zoe noticed me marveling at its size and stepped up beside me. "It seems much smaller when you're one of six siblings."
"I can't imagine," I said, earning a grin from the dragon.
"Just picture a tornado that only has a penchant for ruining your favorite things, and you'll be close."
"Ah, so it's like living with a dryad," I replied, giving Phoebe some serious side-eye. She pretended not to hear.
"You live with the dryad?" she asked, her eyes wide.
"Yes. At the moment I'm torn between saying fortunately, or unfortunately."
Zoe patted me on the shoulder. "A dryad allowing you into her home is quite an honor. If she accepts you completely, you'll never have a more fierce guardian. Not even dragons are as protective as a priestess of the Tangled Vine."
"Huh." I scratched my head. "How did you know Phoebe is a high priestess?"
"The staff," she said. "I've worked with dryads on cases before. The Tangled Vine is an impressive organization."
Under a minute, and Zoe had dropped more knowledge about dryads than I'd learned in years of living with Phoebe. It was a wonder to me how much the people of Faerie might know that those of us living on Earth were simply out of touch with. Owen, who loved knowing things, always spoke highly of traveling through Faerie, even being aware of its many dangers. I'd written it off as being due to his arrogance, but I could see why it would appeal to him. A fresh wave of worry for him rushed through me, and the terror was enough that I had to really concentrate to be sure I was keeping my magic in check.
Dinner, despite Phoebe's fears, was full of vegetables, and dessert was a creamy fruit sauce poured o
ver a spongy cake. The food wasn't even the best part of the meal. Greta was in fine storytelling form. She told an embarrassing story about each of her children. Everything from falling asleep on the toilet to getting caught making out in darkened corners. All of her children were well into adulthood, some of them with children of their own and seemed used to her stories, even if they were still mortified. It warmed my heart to know that I was responsible for returning Greta to them. It wasn't hard to see how this would have been a cold place without her warmth.
When the meal was over, Greta took me aside to say her goodbye.
"I'm glad you know my family," said Greta. "When you saved me, it changed their lives, too."
"I can see that," I replied. "You're a great mother."
"They wouldn't always agree with you," she said, narrowing her gaze at her children as they cleared the table.
I laughed, thinking of Belinda and some of the horrible things that I'd felt about her over the years. "Probably, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong."
"I'm glad to be able to repay your debt," said Greta, a little wistfully. "I just wish I were strong enough to do it myself. Zoe may not need me to take care of her any longer, but that doesn't reduce the urge."
"I won't promise that I'll keep her safe. Nothing is guaranteed. I will say that I won't take any unnecessary risks with her life."
Greta gave me a sad smile. "It's her own life. Neither of us get to decide about the risks she takes with it, but I appreciate the sentiment." We watched her family clean up the dining room for a while in silence. She surprised me when she spoke again. "I'd do anything to get my Walter back. Bring your Owen home and don't let him go."
My mind went blank. I wasn't prepared for the emotions that swelled up my throat; I didn't know what to do with them. Greta seemed to understand. She gave my shoulder a squeeze before walking off to check up on one of her many children.
We went back to our guesthouse and I fell into bed the second my clothes were off. It hadn't been a physically exhausting day, but I was tired as hell. It was probably all of the emotion. I missed Owen so much it hurt, but I forced myself to put it aside so I could rest. Going without sleep wouldn't make it easier to get him back. I wished I knew what would.
The Fleece chose that moment to dig into my scalp, a not so subtle reminder that I was wearing more help on top of my head.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The next morning dawned bright and cool. Ava was still sleeping, so I shook her foot on my way to the door. "Good morning, sleepy head. It's time to go rescue your brother."
All I received was a soft squeak in response. It took me a second to decide it was Ava's version of a groan. Ava had joined my team in pursuit of the Fleece, but this trip through Faerie was the first time I remembered ever seeing her as anything other than elegant and graceful. "Hey? You awake?" She squeak-groaned again. "You could do with letting your hair be mussed up like that for a few days. I feel like I'm seeing a whole new side of you."
A terrible cold chill suddenly filled me and I jumped back.
"I appreciate that, Patricia," said Ava.
"I have some very different feelings about you right now, Patricia. Freaking ghosts." The cold chill brushed my arm and I jumped out of the room. Immediately, I caught a whiff of the most delightful smell on Earth, or Faerie as the case may be.
"Phoebe, you delightful dryad. You know coffee is the way to my cold, dead heart." I couldn't remember what it was like not to be a coffee drinker. I did not realize what I'd been missing out on. "I may have to leave Owen and woo you."
The dryad was curled up in the soft cushions of the couch, a mug of coffee wrapped in her red fingers. "This is my first cup, so there's plenty in there for you to destroy your stomach lining with."
She teased me about how much coffee I drank, but she still made me a fresh pot every morning. "Who needs a stomach lining? Does a stomach lining make you alert so that a monster doesn't sneak up on you and eat your head off your shoulders? Nope. I don't think so. That's coffee."
Phoebe's laughter filled the room, drawing another groan from the room I'd shared with Ava. My laugh joined hers, prompting Ava to slam the door shut.
Despite Ava's grumping, she was ready a few minutes later, and we joined Zoe at the bench near the lake where we'd talked the day before. She carried a sword strapped to her hip, further endearing her to me.
"Let's get this fool's errand underway," said Zoe.
I scowled at her. "Fool's errand?"
"Yes," she snapped.
"You seemed happy enough about this idea yesterday when you were begging to come on this adventure."
"That was before I knew what it was."
My eyebrows climbed up my forehead. It shouldn't have surprised me she'd react that way. Fair enough. I'd come this far for help, but if she wasn't committed to the mission, she'd be more of a hindrance. "Do you want out? Because that can happen."
The tension went out of her. "I'll give it everything I have, but the rumors about Oscura are true. Nothing comes back out of the green mist."
"I've heard 'never' and 'impossible' more times than I can count," I said, adjusting the Fleece on top of my head.
Ava shoved past me and speed walked down the path ahead of us. "Sophie tells us there is nothing to worry about, so there must not be," she mumbled. She got louder as she continued. "Yes, Sophie believes she can conquer the impossible with the Fleece on her head. Why would she ever think of all the people who go missing everyday, never to be seen again?" She stopped suddenly on the trail and turned to face the rest of us. "My brother has only reentered my life recently. By the cosmic order, this is a premiere opportunity for the universe to take him away. All we have accomplished so far is traversing the land and meeting fae of differing backgrounds, skills, magic, and levels of ego, who all agree that he is gone. I have grown up with dragons. I have never encountered a more arrogant being. They say they cannot do this." Ava closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "We have nothing that says we can."
"We have motivation," I said, firmly. "We have a reason."
"Lots of people do."
"I am not stopping until I have proof before my own eyes that I should, and I will not let myself imagine what that would look like. I am getting Owen back. That is all the certainty I need. I am not thinking about alternatives. I am fighting doubt with everything I have, because doubt gives you pause, and Owen doesn't have time for that. Owen needs me not to have a doubt. That feels impossible, but I don't care. I have belief. Belief will make me creative. Belief will make me do this. If all I have is a belief in the idea of belief, then that's what I'm going to hold on to, because I will take anything I can get. If you need something more than that, I understand. But I'm doing this."
Ava stared back at me for a long time. I didn't want to avert my eyes, it would have felt like retracting my speech and I was holding my ground, damn it, but I felt naked and alone in the silence.
Finally, Ava pursed her lips and nodded. "The Fleece has changed the way I see you," she said. "I can't tell if this feeling of determination I'm having is from the Fleece or myself."
"Welcome to the club," I told her.
Her nose twitched. "Zoe, would you please lead us to the green mist?" She gestured to the trail behind her. "I honestly have no idea where I'm leading us."
Zoe gave me a fleeting grin and led us down the path that would take us back to the magical image of desert.
It wasn't a long walk. The path was winding, but well traveled. Around every bend was a spectacular view of woods and streams. It was no wonder the dragons had chosen to make this their home and keep it protected.
I saw nothing to indicate the barrier of magic that hid Greta's home. One step I was walking through lush grass, the next I was trudging through beige sand. The heat hit me an instant later, stealing my breath. "What the hell? It's like seven in the morning. How is it this hot here already?"
Ava, as usual, looked unfazed. Her eyes were closed and her face was turned u
p toward the sun. "I think it's nice. It would be better if there were an ocean at the edge of the sand though." This comment was so classically Ava, I immediately felt more relaxed. I don't know what it was in my speech that had settled things with her, but I was glad she was back to herself. Of course, she was wrong. It was hot as dragonfire. There was nothing nice about it.
"I have to agree with Sophie," said Phoebe. "It must be ninety degrees already. This is bonkers."
"Don't worry," said Zoe, making an abrupt turn and pointing us directly away from her home. "The desert is an illusion, remember? This won't last long."
"But yesterday I--"
"You're with me now," said Zoe. "Just come on."
I followed behind her and the landscape began to change almost immediately. A few scrubby plants were at the base of the dune. If I thought about it, I couldn't quite remember seeing them from the top. With each step I took, the air cooled. In no time at all, we were back in a forest. I couldn't remember the transition happening. All I knew was that I was relieved to be out of the blazing desert sun.
I drew the group to a halt and looked around. Zoe caught my eye and grinned. "That was some crazy magic," I said.
"It's impressive," agreed Zoe. "The best I can tell, it only takes about a hundred feet to go from complete desert to forest and no matter how many times you do it, you never realize that it's happening way too quickly. Going the other way it feels like you've been trudging through the desert for hours when it's only been minutes."
Phoebe huffed. "That's probably a lot easier to laugh about when you didn't spend yesterday trudging through it." She looked at me. "We should get one for home."
"You think we just call someone up?" I asked her.
Phoebe shrugged. "You're royalty now. Make it happen."
"I am not royalty!"
"You're wearing a crown," said Phoebe. "Accept it and then make my dreams happen, Sophie."
"Yes, Sophie," Ava chimed in.
"Are we still doing that?" I asked.