Finn continued to grin. She may have been a monster in the past, but Kai’s words echoed in her head. There’s always a choice. No one can force you to be something, if you choose not to be it. She could choose what she wanted to be in the present, just like any other human. In that moment she chose to be a friend, and someone who would keep her promises. No matter what.
It had taken Kai and Anna longer to catch sight of their ship than they had hoped. They were both utterly exhausted from the previous day, making it a necessity to rest frequently along the way.
They had spoken little on their journey, and it was only once they’d pulled their rowboat back out of the bushes, and had dragged it across the sandy beach toward the shoreline, that Anna finally brought up the discussion he’d been dreading.
“You knew all along that Iseult would be here,” she commented as she stepped into the little boat for Kai to push it into the water. “You tricked me.”
His boots were already soaked, and next came his breeches and the edge of his tunic as the boat’s bottom lifted away from the sand. He quickly pulled himself in, than sat sodden and unhappy across from Anna as he took the oars in hand.
“Yes,” he admitted as he began to row. “I traveled with Iseult and Àed to Migris to find Finn. When I ran into Sativola, and he claimed you were his captain, I surmised what you were up to. I had to act quickly, so I left a note to be delivered to Iseult.”
Anna shook her head, tossing her tangled, dirty hair from side to side. “Why would you help him of all people?
Kai sighed. Why, indeed. “It’s what she wanted,” he explained.
Anna narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips in thought. “No, that’s not why you did it. You did it because you’re trying to be something you’re not.”
Kai raised an eyebrow at her. “And you’re not? The Anna I know would have fought the situation till the bitter end, and Finn would be back on this rowboat with us.”
Anna seemed suddenly sad. “I’m not trying to be something I’m not. I’m trying to not be what I am.”
They went over a particularly choppy wave, then landed hard, spraying salt water in their faces.
Kai spat water out of his mouth. “I don’t follow.”
Tears suddenly rimmed Anna’s eyes, or maybe it was just the salt water. “I’m a magic user, Kai,” she said softly enough that he almost didn’t hear her over the sound of the surf. “I can see things that I shouldn’t. I can see all of the other magic users too, but I don’t want any part of it. I just want Finn to use the shroud to remove my curse, then she and Iseult, and you for all I care, can go on your ways.”
Kai fell silent, thinking of Finn and Iseult. They had promised to meet them in Migris, but who knew if they actually would. He had no doubt that Finn would do her best to keep her promise, but of Iseult, he was not sure.
As they crested a gentle wave, another ship came into view past Anna’s. It was small, with a black sail. He had to squint his eyes to see much else, but he was quite sure he saw several people milling about on deck.
“It looks like she’s keeping her promise,” Kai muttered, speaking of Finn.
Anna turned around so quickly that she almost rocked herself out of the boat. Clinging to the edge of her seat, she peered at the distant ship, then turned around, slumping in relief. “We still have to find the shroud,” she said shakily, then lifted her eyes to meet Kai’s gaze, “but this is at least a start.”
Kai nodded, thinking much the same thing. The fact that Finn was on a ship in the distance, and not an ocean away, was a start. A start to what, he did not know. All he knew was that she had become the one thing in life he simply couldn’t let go of. If that meant becoming something he was not, then so be it.
Maarav smiled to himself as he stood near the mast of his ship. He thought he spotted Anna and her companion rowing toward their vessel, thought it was hard to tell in the distance, especially with the sunlight reflecting blindingly off the water. Things hadn’t exactly gone according to plan, but perhaps they’d gone even better. Anna had not outed him as the one who had led her to Finn, and Finn still believed that he was a simple innkeep, as well as Iseult’s brother.
At the thought of his brother, he frowned. His appearance had been the largest deviation from his plan, though it had proven beneficial thus far. Iseult had already made contact with Finn, and had managed to gain her trust, something that he had failed at. Now it was up to him to decide whether his loyalties lay with those who raised him, or with his blood.
He laughed at his own thoughts. His loyalties would lie where they always had. With himself.
Slàine saddled her horse, preparing for the long ride to Migris. Her messengers had returned from the grand city to report that the tree girl had eluded them, and many guards had died in the process. If Slàine could not depend on highly skilled assassins to get the job done, then there was only one person left. Herself.
She was not worried about slipping past the reivers Maarav had spoken of, nor was she worried about An Fiach. She had trained her entire life to embody a mere shadow in the night. Her enemies would only see her the moment she stuck a dagger through their hearts.
The rumors in Migris of cloaked shapes roaming the city streets, leaving rivers of blood in their wake, were about to increase tenfold. She’d been hired to find a certain girl, a girl she thought Maarav and his brother might know something about, and no one would stand in her way.
Àed groaned as he forced the oars upward, only to circle back down into the water, propelling his small boat forward. The salty air stung his sunburned skin, and sweat soaked through his ragged, gray robes. His burlap hat had saved his scalp from the burn he felt on his face, but his long silvery hair was still matted with salt. He scowled at his mule sitting across from him, wishing the heavy creature could contribute to the rowing. His mule looked back at him, thoroughly abashed.
An island had come into sight early that morning, right where it should have been according to Iseult’s maps, yet he could only distantly sense Finn. It worried him. More worrisome still, was the small ship in the distance, moored as close to the island as it could be without running into any sandbars. He took a deep breath, tasting mildly of smoke. He’d been catching whiffs of it since that morning. Now that he was near, he could see smoke trickling up from the treeline of the island. It was a small amount, just enough to be a campfire, or something larger that had long since burned through.
Determination coursing through his tired arms, he lifted the oars and plunged them back downward. Just a few more minutes and he would reach the sandy beach. Perhaps he’d arrived early, and was sensing Finn on a distant boat, or perhaps she was somehow being shielded. Either way, he needed to investigate.
The oars lifted. The oars came down. Sweat stung his eyes. Just a bit more.
His entire body jolted as the bottom of the boat hit sand. His mule creature let out a startled whinny, then clambered to its hooves to leap out of the boat. It splashed down into the shallow water and trotted onto the shore, followed by Àed, who wearily dragged the boat behind him onto the sand. He tried to drag it out of the water entirely, but found he did not have the strength. In fact, he hardly had the strength to stand. Wait. When did he fall down to his knees?
He sighed, knowing he’d pushed himself too far. He was no longer a young man, it seemed. His mule looked down at him, waiting patiently.
“Ye could help me stand!” Àed huffed.
The mule seemed to sigh, then turned its body sideways. Àed was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude that he’d left his mount’s saddle on, as one of the stirrups dangled near his face. He grabbed hold of it, and slowly pulled himself to standing. With a final sigh of exertion, he hoisted himself into the saddle, then hunched forward, the last bit of his energy gone.
His mule stumbled a few times as it began to walk, but seemed no worse for wear after the long journey. There was a distant smell of smoke in the air, though now that Àed was on the island, he could no
longer see the smoke to pinpoint the fire’s location.
Resigned to the fact that he’d have to wander a bit, he rode inland, letting his senses guide him. There was a hint of magic on the island, perhaps the Archtree, though he’d expected it to shine much brighter than it was. Unfortunately, he now sensed nothing else, not even Finn. Had his senses lied to him? Was she nowhere near the island? If Kai had failed in his mission, and if Iseult hadn’t escaped from the ruined city, that might mean that no one was coming to meet him at the Archtree. He might have rowed all of that way for nothing.
He shook his head as he rode, unwilling to give up so easily. If anything, he could find the Archtree, and it could tell him anything he needed to know about Finn, and how to find her.
He rode on for several hours, following the distant shine of magic, that was soon accompanied once more by the faint scent of smoke. Eventually he happened upon the source, which was little more than a charred chunk of ground. In the middle of the black scar, were the smoldering remains of a tree trunk.
He dismounted, still feeling horribly weak, to examine the ashes.
“Hello, old friend,” a voice said from behind him.
Àed straightened abruptly, then hunched over from a sharp pain in his old, weary back. He turned slowly to find the owner of the voice.
The man stood tall and strong, though he was in his later years. His silver hair glistened in the sunlight, matching several days worth of silver stubble. His pale eyes looked white in the midday brightness.
“Travelin’ once together dinnae make us friends,” Àed growled, attempting to hide his surprise. Óengus was perhaps the last person he expected to see in that moment. He’d thought they were done with the man after recovering Finn in Port Ainfean.
Óengus shrugged. “You’re right, and it’s a good thing, because that means I don’t have to feel guilty over what’s about to happen.”
Áed looked around, feeling fear for the first time in a very long time. Óengus was a well-trained killer, and Áed had weakened himself to the point of utter exhaustion.
“Hello father,” a voice slithered from the tree line.
Áed’s heart stopped. He had never expected to hear that voice again.
Keiren stepped into view. The green leaves surrounding her contrasted with her fiery red hair, flowing freely to her waist. Black clothing encased her tall, slender form. Eyes the same color as Áed’s gazed coldly at him.
“Keiren,” he breathed, reaching a hand toward her helplessly, though she was far out of reach.
“This is no heart-warming reunion,” she said icily. “I simply need you out of my way.”
Tears formed in Áed’s eyes. He knew he should run, or try to hide, or something, but his daughter had always been his weakness. That day, so many years before, he’d felt the same. She’d attacked him viciously, and he was powerless against her.
Óengus stood aside as Keiren strode forward. She came to stand directly in front of Áed, towering over him. She reached a long fingered hand forward to caress his face, then he was suddenly overcome with dizziness. Startled, his mule began to prance and whinny from where it stood near the tree line. Agonizing pain shot upward from Àed’s feet to his head, searing through his brain. His body seemed to stretch and contort. He tried to scream, but he no longer had lungs or a mouth.
The tree that was once Áed stretched upward, forming itself from the Archtree’s roots. Its perfect, green leaves unfurled as it reached its full height. Áed was still somehow able to look outward, though he could not move, nor could he speak. His heart stilled as his entire being transitioned into wood pulp and bark.
Keiren looked up at the tree and grinned wickedly. “Sorry father,” she whispered, “but you always were my weakness.”
Note from the Author
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Glossary
A
Àed (ay-add)- a conjurer of some renown, also known as “The Mountebank”
Anders (ahn-durs)- a young, archive scholar.
Arthryn (are-thrin)- alleged Alderman of Sormyr. Seen by few.
B
Bannock- unleavened loaf of bread, often sweetened with honey.
Bladdered- drunk
Boobrie- large, colorful, bird-like Faie that lures travelers away from the path.
Branwen (bran-win)- a young, archive scholar.
C
Cavari- prominent clan of the Dair Leanbh.
Ceàrdaman (see-air-duh-maun)- The Craftspeople, often referred to as Travelers. Believed to be Faie in origin.
À Choille Fala (ah choi-le-uh fall-ah)- The Blood Forest. Either a refuge or prison for the Faie.
Ceilidh (kay-lee)- A festival, often involving dancing and a great deal of whiskey.
D
Dair Leanbh (dare lan-ub)- Oak Child. Proper term for a race of beings with affinity for the earth. Origins unknown.
Dram- a small unit of liquid measure, often referring to whiskey.
Dullahan (doo-la-han)- Headless riders of the Faie. Harbingers of death.
F
Finnur (fin-uh)- member of Clan Cavari.
G
Garenoch (gare-en-och)- small, southern burgh. A well-used travel stop.
Geancanach (gan-can-och)- small, mischievous Faie with craggy skin and bat-like wings. Travel in Packs.
Glen- narrow, secluded valley.
Gray City- See Sormyr
Grogoch (grow-gok)- smelly Faie covered in red hair, roughly the size of a child. Impervious to heat and cold.
Gwrtheryn (gweir-thare-in)- Alderman of Garenoch. Deathly afraid of Faie.
H
Haudin (hah-din)- roughly built homes, often seen in areas of lesser wealth.
I
Iseult (ee-sult)- allegedly the last living member of Uí Neíd.
K
Kai- escort of the Gray Lady.
Keiren (kigh-rin)- daughter of the Mountebank. Whereabouts unknown.
L
Liaden (lee-ay-din)- the Gray Lady.
M
Meirleach (myar-lukh)- word in the old tongue meaning thief.
Merrows- water dwelling Faie capable of taking the shape of sea creatures. Delight in luring humans to watery deaths.
Midden- garbage.
Migris- one of the Great Cities, and also a large trade port.
Muntjac- small deer.
N
Neeps- turnips.
O
Óengus (on-gus)- a notorious bounty hunter.
P
Pooks- also known as Bucca, small Faie with both goat and human features. Nocturnal.
Port Ainfean (ine-feen)- a medium-sized fishing port along the River Cair, a rumored haven for smugglers.
R
Reiver (ree-vur)- borderland raiders.
S
Sand Road- travel road beginning in Felgram and spanning all the way to Migris.
Scunner- an insult referring to someone strongly disliked.
Sgal (skal)- a strong wind.
Sgain Dubh (skee-an-doo)- a small killing knife, carried by roguish characters.
Slàinte (slawn-cha)- a toast to good health.
Sormyr (sore-meer)- one of the Great Cities, also known as the Gray City.
T
Travelers- see Ceàrdaman.
Trow- large Faie resembling trees. Rumored to steal children.
U
Uí Néid (ooh ned)- previously one of the great cities, now nothing more than a ruin.
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Tree of Ages 2 Page 28