by Megg Jensen
“Didn’t you just see one today?” he asked pointedly.
“I saw something. Or imagined something. I don’t know. It was just in the back of my mind. Something snapped.” I glanced up at the windows, the light fading with every passing second. The day had sped by and too much had happened. “I think I’m just tired. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in weeks.”
It was true. After discovering I was filled with magic, my life had been an avalanche of chaos. For the first time in a long time, I had a bed, a quiet room, and no one to save.
“Can you show me where I’m staying? We can fight again in the morning. I just need a good night’s sleep.”
“You can sleep here,” Chase said, pointing to his bed.
I shot up. “If you think I’m sleeping with you —”
Chase laughed. “No, I don’t think that. Not at all. You can stay here. I’ll sleep outside so I can protect you.”
“You’re going to sleep out there?” I pointed at the door. I imagined him rolling over and falling off the platform to his death. I wasn’t sure I liked him, but I didn’t want him to die because of me either.
“I’ll be fine.” He paused and cocked his head. His gaze bore into my eyes. “Are you worried about me?” A small smile pushed at the sides of his mouth.
“Hardly.” I looked down at the bed and picked off an imaginary piece of lint.
“I don’t mind. My dad told me he used to do this for my mom. The nobleman’s men were after her, so he slept outside her cottage every night to make sure she was safe.”
“That’s actually really sweet,” I said, in spite of myself. I couldn’t judge his father poorly. I’d never even met the man. “I’ll bet your mom thought that was great.”
A shadow flitted across Chase’s face. “She didn’t know at first, but yeah, I think once she realized how he felt about her, she was okay with it. She doesn’t talk about it much anymore.” He put his hand on the doorknob. “I’ll get out of here so you can sleep.”
“Chase?” I said. He paused and turned back to me. “I just need to say something. You have to know how much I appreciate you helping me reunite Trevin with Mags. I don’t understand a lot of what you’re telling me about these other group of people who are looking for me. I also don’t know what it’s like to grow up having visions of someone. I know you have these...these feelings for me. But you don’t really know me and I’m in love with someone else. What I can really use most right now is a friend.”
“I know that, Lianne, and that’s what you have in me. I told you I’d never do anything you didn’t want. If you want me as a friend, then that’s what you’ll get.” A cloud drifted across the sky and the light of the moon graced his face. He was smiling, but it was bittersweet. “You sleep well, okay? In the morning, I’ll give you some medicine the healer gave to me for your vertigo. Tomorrow I can show you more of the community.”
“Can I leave tomorrow?” I asked.
Chase looked away. “I don’t know. Probably not.”
Then he walked out of the cottage and shut the door.
The next morning, I woke to the smell of bacon cooking. I could almost feel the fat dripping on my tongue and the sweet meat dissolving in my mouth. Without opening my eyes, I reached out for Bryden, wanting to wrap myself in his arms before facing the day, but I hit a wall instead. Cradling my throbbing fist to my chest, I opened my eyes and looked around.
I’d forgotten where I was. One look at the chest, still open with drawings of me scattered about. Chase. The tree house community. That kalli hallucination. I groaned, wishing it was all a bad dream.
A knock on the door reminded me that reality was all too real.
“It’s me. Can I come in?”
Chase. How did he know I’d just woken up? Was he spying on me with his magic or something?
“Yeah,” I said. It was his place, after all. I couldn’t really tell him no.
“How are you feeling this morning?” He walked in, balancing a tray in his hands. The smell of bacon filled the room. I jumped up, grabbed the tray from him, and sat down at the table. Then I noticed there were two plates and two cups.
“I’m okay. Are you joining me for breakfast?”
“Do you mind?”
“Do you already know what I’m going to say?” His little trick of seeing into the future unnerved me.
“It doesn’t work that way,” he said through a mouthful of oatmeal.
“Gross! Can you chew with your mouth closed?”
“You asked me a question. I was just answering it.”
“Fine. Tell me after you swallow.”
Chase smiled, the oatmeal forcing his cheeks to puff out. He looked like a squirrel holding a bunch of nuts in its cheeks. I stifled a laugh into my hand.
“Okay,” he said, his mouth finally clear of food, “I see pictures of things to come. They’re usually one scene, hence all the pictures I’ve drawn of you. It’s not like I sit in bed all day with my eyes closed, watching you. I also don’t choose what I see. It just comes to me.” He shoveled a slice of bacon into his mouth.
“So you didn’t know that I was awake in here?” Maybe I’d been wrong about him after all.
“Oh, I knew because it was suddenly quiet.”
“Quiet?” I took my first bite of the bacon, letting the sweet juice wash through my mouth.
“You snored all night.” Chase winked at me. His lashes fluttered against his cheek.
I put the piece of bacon back on the plate. “I do not snore.”
“You did last night. I considered putting a pillow over my head, but I needed to be able to hear everything. Not like I could have heard anything over that horrible noise anyway.”
“You’re the one who’s horrible,” I said. I pinched a crumb of bacon between my thumb and forefinger and flicked it at him.
Instead of ducking or catching it in his hand, Chase opened his mouth. The bacon bit landed on his tongue as easily if that had been my aim all along.
“Nice catch,” I said.
“I never let a speck of food go to waste,” he said with a wink. I laughed. I had noticed already how solid he was. Most of the men in Fithia were short and stocky. Bryden and Kellan were like my people, tall and thin. Chase was built unlike any man I’d ever known. Not only was he tall, but his muscles seemed to ripple along every inch of his body from his shoulders to his ankles. He must have led quite an active life up until now. I couldn’t imagine that sort of build happened naturally.
“So you said you’d show me around today, right? Then can I leave?” I was anxious to get out of the community and back to Bryden. I wouldn’t pressure Mags to see me if she didn’t want to. Her life had spun out of control and most of it was my fault. If she didn’t want me here, then I had no reason to stay.
“I will show you around right after breakfast. The medicine that helps with vertigo is already in your tea.”
I eyed the cup in front of me. I’d already taken a few sips. “You’re drugging me? Maybe next time tell me first. I don’t appreciate anything being done to me without my knowledge.”
Chase nodded his head. “Understood. Sorry about that. I told you about the meds last night and just assumed it was okay.”
“It is,” I said with a sigh. I took another long drag from the cup so he’d know I meant it. “I just like to know first.”
I looked at him, waiting for him to answer my second question, but Chase continued to shovel food in his mouth. He looked up at me, his eyebrows raised. “What?”
“Then can I leave?”
He finished chewing and swallowed. “No. It’s not safe. They’re still after you.”
“No one is after me, Chase. The Dalagans think I’m some kind of savior and the Fithians are defeated. No one else on this planet is going to care about me. I’m nothing.”
“I think you’ll feel differently by the end of the day,” Chase said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I waited while
he licked the bacon grease off of his fingers. Knowing my own were greasy too, I looked around for a cloth, but didn’t see any on the tray. I discreetly lifted my fingers to my mouth and licked my fingertips. Chase glanced at me and laughed. “I’m so sorry we don’t have cloths. We have to be very conservative with everything we use up here. The opportunity to do laundry doesn’t come often. Necessities change in a place like this.” He then rubbed his hands on his pants to dry them.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” I did, kind of, but I didn’t want to say any more about it. Somehow he always found a way to change the subject. “So, why will I feel differently when we’re done?”
Chase stood up and held out his hand to me. I rubbed my damp fingers on my dress before slipping my hand in his. He led me out the door and into the sun. I braced myself for that sickening dizzy feeling. My stomach clenched along with my fists. I glanced at the trees, and off to the side where makeshift stairs wound up around tree branches. This time I didn’t feel any different than I did on the ground.
“The medicine worked,” I said with a grin. My eyes swept over the tree house community and for the first time I was able to take in the whole scene. The treetops were dotted with suspension bridges leading from our platform to at least twelve others. Each platform held two or three tiny homes, though ours was occupied only by Chase. The brown shingles and cedar siding blended in perfectly with the tree branches and trunks. It almost seemed as if the community hadn’t been built by humans, but had grown along with the trees.
“Where are we going first?” I was anxious to get the tour going as fast as possible. If Chase wasn’t going to tell me how to get down, I’d have to figure that out on my own. Maybe if I pretended to be interested in everything he had to show me, then he wouldn’t realize I was really scouting for an escape.
“Let’s start at the top and work our way down. Follow me up and let me know if you’re getting dizzy at any point.”
I nodded. Chase let go of my hand and walked to the nearest staircase. I hesitated to think of it that way. It certainly wasn’t like any set of stairs I’d walked on in my life. In the castle, the sturdy stairs were carved from stone. Here, they were half-ladder and half-stairs. Swaying lightly with the breeze, they wrapped around the tree trunks. Wooden planks served as risers, connected by a dizzying maze of rope and knots. Railings on the side were also lengths of rope, tied up in intricate patterns.
Cautiously, I stepped on the first one, steadying my hands on the ropes. I didn’t look to the side. Even though the medicine was helping, I wasn’t sure it could do much if I glanced over the edge. Still...I really wanted to know.
“You want to see how high up we are?” Chase asked. I shot him a dirty look. “Don’t worry, I’m not reading your mind. Anyone can tell you’re curious, even if you are afraid. From what I know of you, I think you’d relish the challenge.”
He was right. I really did want to see. “Okay, but don’t let me fall.”
In a flash, Chase’s hands were on my hips, holding me steady. “Go ahead. I’ve got you.”
I leaned over the ropes. The stairway shifted, only slightly, underneath my feet. My hands gripped the ropes tightly as I looked down. Leaves crisscrossed each other, forming a precarious floor. No one could see through it, but no one could step on it. Such a simple veil protected us from the rest of the world. Disappointed, I started to straighten up, but then a patch of brown caught my eye.
I leaned over farther, forgetting I needed someone to anchor me until I felt Chase’s grip tighten. His legs pressed against mine, balancing me. My stomach rested against the ropes as I strained farther over, trying to get a glimpse of the ground below through the tiny parting of the leaves.
“Do you see anything?” Chase asked with labored breath. For such a strong guy, I couldn’t believe he was having that much trouble holding on to me.
“Am I too heavy for you?” I inched a little farther over the rope.
“Of course not.” He wrapped his arms around my waist. With a grunt, he lifted me up off the stairs and over the rope rail. My feet no longer touched the wooden risers.
A huge smile unfurled across my face. The wind ruffled my hair, caressing my face as I wiggled my body farther over. Chase wouldn’t have gone so far to save me if he was waiting to dump me over the railing. I decided to trust in him and his muscles.
I reached out and pushed the leaves out of the way. Below me, the green grass sparkled. A tiny deer bent its neck down to the ground, lapping up the morning dew. It was like peering into a magical world from the mundane. I never would have guessed that as of yesterday, that had been the normal world. It looked so different from above. Upside-down, it felt like the trees anchored themselves in a green sky.
The deer’s ears pricked up and it bounded away.
A strong gust of wind blew through the community and my dress lifted up above my knees. Chase pulled me over the railing. We tumbled down on the stairs, my back pressed firmly into his chest. He clapped a hand over my mouth.
I tried to disentangle myself from him, but his arms, snaked around me, were too strong. Using the only thing I had, I jabbed my elbow into his solar plexus. He flinched, but didn’t relent one inch. His burrowed his face into my hair, his lips brushing my ear.
“Did you feel that gust of wind? Nod if you did,” he whispered.
I nodded.
“That’s the warning signal. Someone’s down there.” He took his hand away from my mouth, but didn’t release me from the embrace. “We have to sit here until they pass through. Another sudden gust of wind will tell us when it’s safe.”
We sat for what seemed like hours. Silent. Still. No one and nothing in the tree house community stirred. It was as if we’d become a ghost town, with Chase and I as the only two residents. A gust wind of blew at us again.
His arms relaxed and I stood up. “Does that happen often?”
Chase’s face darkened. “No, it doesn’t. Not many people come through this part of the woods.”
“I did.”
“You’re different,” Chase said. “I wouldn’t take anything you do and apply it to the general population. Your instincts lead you places most people’s wouldn’t.”
“Are we starting our tour now?” I asked.
“Yes. We need to talk to someone special. It’s about time you meet her.”
Chapter Eight
I followed Chase up the stairs to the highest cottage in the community. I counted one hundred twenty-one steps as we ascended. I hadn’t realized the trees out here were so high. My breath went from smooth to ragged about halfway up, but Chase didn’t seem at all winded so I refused to admit I had trouble keeping up.
We weren’t the only ones headed up. Our twosome turned into a small parade of people, all following Chase higher. I searched the faces, but didn’t see Mags among them. I wanted so badly to find her, but she’d made it clear she couldn’t handle dealing with me now. Maybe if she gave me only a moment, she’d understand I hadn’t meant for Aric to die. I’d done everything I could to get Trevin back to her.
But she didn’t materialize with the crowd.
Chase paused at the top, where the stairs ended in a doorway. No platform to stand on, just one door leading into one tiny cottage.
He raised his voice. “All of you go down. I’ll get answers and bring them back.”
Silently and slowly, the crowd turned and headed back.
“Does everyone always do what you say without question?” I asked Chase.
He knocked on the door and looked at me over his shoulder. “Everyone but you.” The door opened from the inside. Chase held out an arm. “You first.”
I stepped over the threshold, not knowing what, or who, to expect. An old woman hunched over a table, her long gray hair streaming down her back, nearly to the floor. Her hands, long and wrinkled, grasped a shabby wooden box.
“Welcome, child,” she said. “Is the medicine working well for you? Is the vertigo gone?”
�
�It is. I would love to thank the person that made it for me.” I stepped fully into the tiny room. Unlike Chase’s room, this one was filled with light from the sky. Completely open to the elements, this cottage had no roof. Along the wall, dozens of herbs hung upside-down in bunches. “Oh! Did you make the medicine?”
She nodded, her eyes never leaving my face. I studied hers in return. The wrinkles were set so deeply into her face I wondered if she had the muscle tone to smile. “Yes. I made it for you two days ago.”
I glanced over at Chase. I’d only been there since yesterday.
“Chase told me you were coming.” The woman waved her hand in the air. “So, I made it up right away, assuming he’d give it to you when you got here.”
“He didn’t. He waited until this morning.”
The old woman clucked her tongue against her teeth. “Chase, you are just as stubborn as your father. You always think you know what’s best for everyone else. You should be more like your mother and let others decide for themselves.”
“If I would have given her the draught when she arrived, she would have probably found a way off before morning. She can’t leave yet.”
“You know better than most that no matter what you do, life will take care of itself. Stop trying to protect her and let her make her own decisions.”
I waved my hand between the two of them. “Hello? I’m still here. Stop talking about me like I’m not.”
The old woman laughed. Her wrinkles moved out the way to reveal a large, toothy smile. She held out one gnarly hand to me, still clutching the large container in her hand. “I’m Johna, the leader of this tiny little village in the sky. I’ve been here for nearly twenty years. Waiting for you, mostly.”
“Me? Why not just come get me if you’ve been so close? Why wait for me to come to you?”
She laughed again, her guffaw sending shock waves through the room. “Yes, I can just imagine it. Three babies arrive for adoption into the Fithian community as a peace offering. I’m sure they would have let a crazy old woman nobody knew take one of them. No, child, you needed to come to me.”