Nevermor

by Lani Lenore

  “The Rifter came and took Wren away, just like she said. She is in a better place now, and perhaps she might come back for us too.”

  Some of them, however, were not so pleased that she had gone away – two of them in particular, who had much stronger ties with the missing girl. For everyone else, life went on.

  Henry hated them for it.

  In the dark of the night, Henry was in bed but he was not asleep. He tossed and turned, stared up at the ceiling, but he couldn’t keep himself from looking over at the bed next to his where his sister should have been. Of course she wasn’t there. She hadn’t been there when he’d woken up that morning, and she was still missing.

  Since Wren had been gone, he was unable to feel at ease. Max had also been disturbed. From the moment that he had realized she wasn’t there, the younger boy had not ceased to cry and ask where she had gone to. Miss Nora had tried to pacify him, but she could not be bothered to take the full duty of that on herself. Max had taken to sleeping in Wren’s bed instead of his own, as if that would make her come back.

  “Where’s Wren?” he had bawled. “Why did she leave me?”

  “I don’t know. Go to sleep,” was all Henry could say.

  Henry hadn’t been bothered to console him more than that, even though some of their peers had tried. While the others were busy telling him that Wren had gone away to a magical world, Henry had other things on his mind.

  He might have been the only one aware enough to know it, but Wren would not have just left them like that. She would not have abandoned them without letting them know where she was going, and she certainly wouldn’t have run off without waking them up first.

  Someone took her away.

  He knew this was true. Despite how he could not get along with his sister at times, he knew her conscience would not let her leave them – not unless it was against her will.

  So, Henry waited. He was nestled in the blankets, still in his clothes and even his shoes, waiting for some clue as to where she had gone so that he could go get her – or else he was waiting for the one who had taken her to come back for someone else.

  It seemed strange to him that the other children thought that the Rifter was a hero. He had heard Wren’s story too but, after this had happened, Henry was convinced that Rifter was a monster, much like the boogeyman, who came to those who believed in him and spirited them away. Henry was not afraid to face this beast. In fact, he was ready for it. He’d stolen a knife from the kitchen, which was now tucked underneath his mattress.

  He was not willing to let this boogeyman get away without a fight. Consequences be damned! He was going to get Wren back.

  And then we’re leaving this place. I won’t take no for an answer. Henry had resolved that to himself. This was the end of it. He didn’t know where they would go, but they could not stay here. He just had to stay awake until he got his answers.

  As he lay there, however, the effects of his sleeplessness began to take an effect on him. His eyes began to flutter, and sleep kept trying to steal him away.

  I can’t sleep, he reminded himself, giving his cheek a rough slap. It stung. He was not quite healed yet.

  He managed to stay awake for a while, but his depravation eventually got the better of him. Something was beckoning him through the shroud of darkness, urging him on to the other side with a calm finger…

  When he woke up with a start, he hadn’t known that he’d been asleep, but he knew that there was someone in the room with him.

  The dormitory was black and suffocating. All of the gaslights were out except one, which seemed to be hovering in the darkness, and Henry could just make out someone moving around in the shadows. It wasn’t one of the other children. This one was obviously bigger.

  It’s HIM!

  Henry tried to be inconspicuous as he reached down for the butcher knife that he had tucked away, but it didn’t go quite like he’d planned. The blade slipped from his fingers and he fumbled to catch it before it clattered to the floor. He managed to get control of it before it hit, but he had moved too quickly. The lurker saw him and was gone in a flash, darting out into the hallway without making a sound. Oddly, the light that Henry had seen followed him, and by it, Henry thought that there had been a large bundle over the intruder’s shoulder.

  He got up hurriedly – but did not fail to notice that Max was no longer in the bed beside him.

  Shit!

  Henry shot up and rushed to the door, giving no thought to waking up the others. He bounded out into the hallway, ready to pursue the kidnapper, but he did not have to give chase. In the middle of the hall, illuminated by moonlight that was shining in from the window at the end, was a hooded figure. That small ball of yellow light was looming over the intruder’s head, circling like a halo, but Henry had been right about the bundle that he had seen slung over the prowler’s shoulder. It was unmoving, but it was just his brother’s size.

  You’re not getting away with this, he sent silently to the phantom in his midst. You’re not going to take my family out from under my nose!

  Alone with the intruder who was only a shadow – and much taller than him – he took a few steps forward and held up the knife threateningly, his eyes narrowing in determination.

  “Put him down,” Henry demanded.

  The menace before him was silent for several moments, and he didn’t move a muscle.

  “No, I don’t think I will,” the other replied finally, but he didn’t say anything more than that.

  Rage was already boiling inside Henry, but there was also a hint of fear that made him gulp dryly, like swallowing cotton. He didn’t quite know what he was dealing with, but he was not willing to back down.

  “Where is my sister?” Henry demanded to know. “You took her, didn’t you?”

  This specter known as the Rifter looked down the end of the knife and back up toward the bruised boy who held it. In the light of the orb that was floating near him, Henry could see the older boy’s face. He was smiling haughtily.

  In a flash, the Rifter drew a much lengthier sword from his own belt and met Henry’s knife with it, metal tapping against metal. Henry could feel the pressure against his own thin blade, knowing that it wouldn’t hold up in a fight. He hadn’t quite expected the Rifter to be armed somehow, but what good would running do? He would rather die standing up than live with himself for being a coward.

  He stood there, holding his ground, and the Rifter seemed intrigued. It only took an easy swipe and the knife had flown from Henry’s hand, hitting the wall, clanging to the floor. Though that sent a jolt of fear through him, he did not give up. Henry dove and grasped at it anxiously until he had it back in this hand, and then turned to defend himself – as if it would have helped by that time. The Rifter could have cut him down three times before that.

  Rifter looked down at Henry and tilted his head in consideration, but did not make another move against him.

  “Maybe I was wrong about you,” he said then. “You’re small, but you have spirit. It looks like someone’s already done a number on you, and yet you’re not afraid to stand up to me now. Tell me, how’d you leave the asshole who did that to you?”

  Henry smiled a little at that, even though it stretched his sore lips.

  “He’s missing quite a few fingers,” Henry said with pride, but didn’t mention that he’d had nothing to do with that part of it.

  Rifter gave him another long look and then put his own sword away, no longer seeing Henry as a threat – as if he had in the beginning.

  “Wren mentioned that you were more than you appeared.”

  Henry’s eyes widened at that. “So you do have her!”

  “I do,” he confessed finally, “but I don’t intend to give her back. She belongs with me now.”

  Henry had a good mind to rush forward and attack him right then, but the Rifter’s voice halted him.

  “However…” Henry perked up. “She’s been very insistent about me coming back here for her brothers. So her
e I am to get you.”

  Henry was staggered.

  “Really?” That sounded like Wren, but Henry also had to consider that it might be a trick.

  “I wouldn’t have come back for you otherwise. You didn’t impress me. I guess you’ll have to prove me wrong. Now, are you going to come with me, or are we going to have trouble?”

  Henry wasn’t sure that he had completely changed his mind about the Rifter being a phantom with evil intentions, but Henry knew that he had Wren. That was a start. He would go, and if Rifter took him to hell instead, at least he might have a chance to know what had happened to his sister.

  “I’ll come with you,” Henry agreed, tucking the knife away at his waist. “How do we get there?”

  “You sleep,” the Rifter said, and at this notion, the glowing thing went toward Henry. He tried to swat it away, but his ears were quickly filled with whispers, and though he didn’t understand them, he knew that they were telling him that he should sleep.

  As he drifted off into the blackness, he began to dream that he was weightless, floating. His body lifted into the air as Rifter grabbed his foot to pull him along, and that was the last thing he remembered.

  2

  The Wolf Pack had made it back to their den. As had been suspected by Nix, the Ren did not try to follow them. Somehow, as if by magic, the nightmare seemed to forget that they had ever been there at all. When they were out of sight, it had forgotten what it had been doing and wandered away.

  Wren was so shocked by it all that she couldn’t say anything for a long time, but once she had regained her voice, she began to thank them profusely for saving her life. They all responded with modesty and glad feelings that they were all still alive – except Nix. He had gone to a great effort to help her, and she was surprised by that. When she tried to thank him, he ignored her.

  It was rude, but she let it go.

  Wren had been trying to figure out what Sly had said about the monster tagging her. That seemed to indicate that it had already gotten her scent, like a hound on a rabbit's trail. How could that be? She hadn’t encountered any monsters when she had been on her own. Why did it want her?

  Thinking this, she rubbed the back of her neck where she’d noticed the small scratch. It was itching again.

  When they were settled, she tried to turn her attention from those questions and toward cooking. They'd been out for a while and the boys were hungry. They had saved her life. It was the least she could do for them.

  Wren was able to lose herself in the aroma of the culinary puzzle for a while, but she forgot all about her near-death experience when the bright light of the fairy zipped into the tunnel, signaling that Rifter had returned.

  He’s back! The others were surprised at the way Wren rushed out to meet him, unrestrained, but it was not only Rifter who she hurried out to see. She moved into the corridor that Wisp had come in from, hoping to see what he had brought, and she was filled with joy when she saw that there was another figure walking with Rifter toward the den.

  “Henry!” She couldn’t see his features, but she knew it was her brother.

  “Wren!” Henry cried out, rushing to her. He hugged her for the first time in so long that she had forgotten what it was like, but he had also forgotten to resist contact with her. He was too relieved to see her again – to know that she was safe.

  “You were right,” he said, pulling away. “I’ll admit that I didn’t really believe you at first, but you were right! We’re here, all together just like we wanted.”

  That admission did her heart good. Yes, it was just like they’d wanted.

  Rifter approached them, carrying a sleeping bundle in his arms. He came closer as if to present the child to her, and Wren nudged the boy.

  “Max,” she whispered, giving him a little shake. “Max, wake up.”

  He opened his eyes and caught sight of her there, smiling at him, but he didn’t make a fuss.

  “Am I dreaming?” he asked weakly.

  “No, you’re not dreaming,” she told him. “I’m here.”

  He didn’t say anything else, but gave a little whine and reached for her, hiding his face against her neck. He just held onto her as if she would get away, but she suspected that he would go back to sleep now.

  Over Max's head, she looked toward Rifter with gratitude, and he smiled to see that she was happy, but then looked away as if embarrassed.

  “Here in one piece, just like I promised,” he said, fishing for praise.

  “Thank you,” she said, but that didn’t seem good enough somehow. It wasn’t near enough.

  “Guess they’d better meet the Pack,” Rifter said, stepping ahead.

  “Pack?” Henry asked hesitantly. Neither of them answered him.

  3

  The boys had only just pulled themselves out of a foul humor, and now that they saw what Rifter had brought back with him, their expressions turned sour once again. Wren didn’t give it much attention, talking quietly to Max once he had woken up a bit more, but Rifter noticed their expressions. He saw the way that they all glared – at Henry in particular.

  “Who’s this?” Finn asked. His voice was low and defensive – not at all like how it had been when he'd met Wren.

  “Wren’s brothers. It’s only fair that her family is here if she wants them to be. I didn’t deny the twins that,” Rifter said in his defense, but they all knew that was because he hadn’t known which of them had been the dreamer when he’d gone to snatch them away. They had tricked him by claiming that they shared the same dreams as one person.

  The Pack didn’t argue with him about it as they had with Wren, though if Rifter had brought these two instead of the girl in the beginning, they would have received the same reception as they were getting now, boys or not.

  “Of course there’s no reason why we can’t do what needs to be done with this one,” Nix said suggestively, motioning toward Henry.

  Rifter smiled. “Exactly. Just leave the little one alone, but do what you have to do.”

  “Not a problem.”

  Henry was watching them carefully as he stayed close to Wren, listening to every word. He didn’t ask what they meant, but it was clear on his face that he didn’t like the sound of it. A couple of the boys leaned in together and began to talk secretly, discussing his fate.

  Rifter gave no attention to that. He was watching Wren, glad to see that she was happy, and perhaps that was his only motivation behind what he had done. She was smiling, and he was glad to see that he had put it there on her face.

  “Rifter,” a voice said secretively, and he looked down to see that there was a twin on each side of him. He’d never been able to tell them apart and didn’t much care that he should, so he didn’t know which of them addressed him now.

  “There’s something you should know,” said the other one.

  “Tattling, are you?” Rifter asked jokingly. The twins often dealt in secret information, but they looked very serious now. “What’d they do when I wasn’t looking this time?”

  “Nah, it’s not like that. This is important,” a twin insisted. “Today we were out hunting and we were attacked by that creature, the Ren.”

  Rifter heard this, but he was only interested in one thing.

  “Did you manage to kill it?” he wanted to know. He wasn’t too concerned about what they were telling him, especially since they all seemed to be unharmed.

  “No. We ran,” the other twin admitted. “We only barely escaped it, but there was something very strange about the whole thing. The beast was coming for her.”

  This caught his attention. “For Wren?”

  They nodded. “It was like we couldn’t do anything to distract it. It wanted her specifically.”

  “Sly even thought so,” said one.

  “It was pretty obvious,” said the other.

  Rifter’s face had contorted in anger. He knew what this meant. There were only two reasons why a creature targeted someone. Either Wren had made it angry in some way
before, which just wasn’t possible, or…

  Rifter’s eyes locked on Nix, and the other didn’t see him coming before he had rushed in. He went forward and gripped Nix’s collar roughly in his fist, pressing him against the wall.

  “Did you do this?” he demanded to know.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Nix returned, putting his own hand near Rifter’s throat to guard.

  “The Ren. The twins said it came after her – that it was honed in on her specifically. I’m asking if you made it happen.”

  “Back off!” Nix growled, but Rifter wouldn’t budge.

  “Not until you confess!”

  “Would I draw that thing in when the rest of us were in the way?” Nix demanded. “You know it wasn’t me.”

  Rifter studied Nix’s face, and he had to honestly admit that he believed the boy was telling the truth – but he didn’t say it out loud. He let go of Nix, and he considered that good enough for an apology on his part.

  “How about you then?” he asked, pointing at Finn. “Or one of you?” He looked toward Toss and Sly now, but none of them seemed to understand.

  “We don’t know what you’re talking about, Rifter,” Finn said.

  “The creature, you fucking morons!” he spat. “Which one of you made it seek her?”

  They were all silent – glancing at each other, down at the floor. Wren herself looked bewildered as she stood there with her brothers, who had grown quiet. She had her hand pressed against the young one’s ear to guard against all the curses that were flying, but she didn’t speak out. Still, none of them would take responsibility. Rifter felt the need to clarify it for them.

  “Someone had to lure it! Confess! One of you had to have done it!”

  “We don’t like being accused of something we didn’t do,” Nix told him with a twisted lip. “We put our asses on the line to save her from the thing, if you must know!”