by K. C. M.
He swallowed and turned away, staring off into the forest. “Before you met me…what was your dream, Holly?”
She paused at the change in topics and then she tried to joke, “I was a maid. Maids don’t have the luxury of dreaming, Connor.”
“Everyone has dreams.” He replied quietly.
Her hand touched his cheek and she turned him back to her. Her face was grave and serious as she studied him. “What do you dream of?”
“To be free,” He replied in hoarse honesty.
Her lower lip trembled. Anxiety crossed her features and she asked, “From the den?”
His voice was dark as he replied, “From myself.”
She looked confused and scared and he hated himself for it. Gently he pulled her into a hug, hiding her face against his chest. “You should get some rest, Holly. We’re safe for now, but we’ll have to travel quickly again.”
She hesitated and then asked in a whispering voice. “Will you stay with me?”
His arms tightened. “I’ll be right here holding you while you sleep.”
She might have sensed the underlying meaning to his words. She shivered and pressed closer to him.
But she didn’t know, couldn’t understand what it felt like. He had put her life in danger and for what? It had never made sense to bring her with him. It wasn’t logical. He’d always been logical…except for when he’d left the Den. That hadn’t been logical, either. He’d known that leaving meant a life on the run, always being hunted.
But he hadn’t been able to stay.
The seer…
You will find the fey ringed girl. Help her stop them from coming.
It was so obviously about Holly. At least, it was obvious once she’d made the bargain for his life.
Them?
Who would Holly need to stop from coming?
Connor was suddenly so bone wearingly tired.
How long had it been since he slept?
There was a sudden loud snort behind him. Saragon moved up behind him and breathed out another loud breath, this time close enough to grace the assassin’s neck.
“Where did you come from, friend?” He murmured.
The horse moved away and started munching on some grass. When he noticed Connor’s gaze, he raised his head. For the briefest moment, Connor caught a glimpse of the horse’s giant eyes. It glittered with knowledge.
“You always know when I need you,” Connor whispered. “Ever since the night with the seer.”
Strange how it wasn’t until now, when he stopped to think, that he realized that Saragon had only appeared after the seer’s death…
Somehow, all of it, the horse and Holly, the prophecy, Sirus…it all hinged on the seer. What had she known that she hadn’t told him?
He was near sleep already. He couldn’t work it out in his exhausted state. All he could do was ask softly, “Keep watch, my friend?”
The horse blew out a loud, snorting breath.
Connor leaned back against the tree and drifted off, his breathing evening to match Holly’s.
It was in the state of near sleep that he realized something.
Sight.
Sight…sight…the word had terrified him.
Sight…and eyes…
Dreaming…he was dreaming…
The glowing green eyes were gone, consumed by darkness, but even more disturbing was the red…deep, dark red, the color of freshly spilled blood cloaked in shadow.
Sirus.
It was the old tongue word for sight.
Connor woke instantly.
How could he have been so blind?
14 Home
Holly wasn’t sure where Connor was taking her until they’d already reached the forest.
She had kept a careful eye on him over the last week.
He answered questions and even occasionally asked her a question. It was like the battle with Sirus hadn’t happened. It felt strange. Even more than him not acknowledging the battle, was the fact that her own body didn’t bear any marks from the battle. Her leg was fine. She had no bruises or cuts. Sirus had disappeared, taking with him all the evidence and taking away the comfortable companionship that Holly had grown accustomed to with Connor.
Now that she realized they were back in the Magic Forest, though, she had a sinking feeling.
She cornered him that night. Or at least it felt like she had to corner him. Truthfully there were no corners in their campsite and Connor was leaning against a tree while Saragon nibbled on a bit of grass right behind the assassin.
“Why are we going to Myre?”
He cracked an eye open at her. “Why not?”
“You said it would be dangerous for you to go there.”
“And?”
“You promised not to leave me, Connor, but you also said after fighting Sirus that you wished we hadn’t met and that I’d not followed you.” Her voice broke and she hated that. She stiffened her spine and glared at him. “Are you taking me to Myre so you can leave me there?”
He tilted his head, green eyes gleaming. “Would that be so bad?”
“Yes.” She said shortly.
“Why? You told me you have parents there you’re worried about. You also have friends there. Are you so loathe to return to them?”
“I’m not loathe to return to them.” She snapped. “I’m loathe to leave you.”
He paused. “Why?”
She hadn’t really thought about it. She paused and when she spoke, it was with great care. “You asked me once if I had a dream. Ever since I was a girl, I always wanted to go on grand adventures. I guess that’s why I first came with you. Now…we’re more than just traveling companions, aren’t we?” She gazed at him. She knew she was pleading. “Connor, I don’t want to leave you because I’m worried about you. I care what happens to you.”
“How can you care about me when you know I’m not a good person?” He asked quietly. “You would do better to go back to fearing me.”
She shook her head. “You are a good person.”
“I’ve killed people, Holly!” He pushed away from the tree and stood, towering over her. “I was trained to do one thing and it was to kill!”
Frustrated and scared, she stood up, too. She was much shorter and she had to tilt her head back to see his glittering eyes. “Stop letting them define you!”
“I’m a Dark Elf! It’s who I am. I am them!”
She stamped her foot, frustrated. “You’re not, Connor! If you were them, you would have let me die! You would have never come to save me!” He winced as if pained, and she instantly felt bad.
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“I know.” She said quietly, but with sincerity. “Just like I know that you are a good person. Connor…” She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to sort through what she needed to say. “Bad things happen to everyone and we all make mistakes some times. It’s not so much about what happens to us and the mistakes we make, but rather about how we choose to react. Do we give up? Do we stop trying? Or do we pick ourselves up and keep going? That’s what makes a good person. Someone who never stops hoping.”
He turned away and she reached out catching his arm.
“Despite living under the shadow of the Den, you have still managed to become a good person. You wouldn’t have come for me if you weren’t a good person. That’s why I care about you. “
He let out a slow breath. “Myre is a human town where I’m wanted. It’s the last place that the Den will look.”
“Oh.” She thought about and was about to ask him a question, but he turned around.
His arms opened slightly. “Can I…hold you?”
She blinked, startled. Then her cheeks warmed. “Yes,” She mumbled, ducking her head to hide her blush.
His arms went around her slowly, carefully. He cradled her like she was something delicate that could break at any second. She leaned against him, breathing in his familiar scent. He felt warm and real and safe.
“You won’t be too embarrasse
d to introduce me to your friends and family, will you?”
Startled, she glanced up. His eyes were gleaming, his mouth smiling. It was as if nothing had happened to put a wedge between them. She laughed at the absurdity. Her friends and family felt like a different life. It was hard to imagine her life with Connor merging with her life as a normal human girl. “I am afraid your rough edges might shock them a bit.”
She heard his laugh in his chest before it rumbled out into the air. She closed her eyes, content to lean against him and listen to his heartbeat.
It was a bright, sunny day when two travel weary people stood at the edge of the Magic Forest.
Holly was bright eyed and excited. With some help and direction, Connor had led them through the forest to emerge right by her parents land. Across the farm fields, she could see an older, grey haired woman doing the laundry.
“That’s her!” She bounced on the balls of her feet, excited. “That’s my mother!”
Connor smiled at her excitement.
Perhaps, if she hadn’t been so caught up in the moment, she would have noticed the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“Should we just go up to her or should we go around to the front door?” He asked, his eyes watching her carefully.
“Just go up to her!” Holly called over her shoulder, already taking off.
This was it.
For the briefest of seconds, he watched. The sun hit her hair so that there were golden streaks in it. He had the most illogical urge to go after her.
Instead he stepped back into the forest, wrapping shadows around himself. Saragon snorted behind him and Connor tugged shadows around the horse as well. No one would ever see them. Especially, not a human.
Saragon had stayed and traveled with them after the fight with Sirus. Somehow, Connor suspected, the horse wouldn’t be leaving any time soon. For whatever reason, Saragon had decided to cast his lot in with Connor. He would help him fight the darkness that was rising. Perhaps that meant that higher powers were blessing his quest. Or the horse was tired of being summoned last minute to save Connor.
Another snort from Saragon. The horse was probably wondering why they weren’t leaving already. He’d done nothing but cock an ear and roll a great eye at Connor when Connor had intentionally led them in a large circle through the forest.
Connor had guiltily looked away from the horse.
Was it so bad that he wasn’t ready to part from Holly?
It was and he knew it, but he didn’t want to give up his time with her.
Holly was halfway to her mother when she realized that he wasn’t with her.
She froze and turned back.
Even from this distance, there was no doubt that she knew.
She fell to her knees and there was anguish on her face, so intense that Connor could hardly bear to look at her. He turned away. The same anguish was in his own body, ripping his soul apart. He heard her cry out.
“Connor!” The cry sliced through him painfully.
Saragon stepped to him and blew a warm breath on his face. Connor reached out, grasping the great horse’s mane, leaning on him for support.
Then he heard her mother calling out to her.
He forced himself to look.
Holly was still kneeling there, her devastated gaze on the forest, but now her mother was by her. Her mother gathered her close and hugged her.
What he wouldn’t give to hold her…
Supported only by the great horse and his own determination to see this through to the end, Connor turned away.
Across the great distance that he’d put between them, he thought he heard her whisper, “You promised not to leave me.”
Epilogue 1
Holly curled into herself, almost vomiting from the pain in her stomach.
She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped it would end.
Now, now, now.
The voice wouldn’t stop chanting.
Exhausted, she finally gave up and slowly, carefully got out of the bed.
The feeling had grown more and more insistent ever since she’d returned to Myre. With no one there to explain it to her, she would finally seek out the help of the fairy. If only Connor was here…
She found the area near the back of the garden where the mushrooms had grown in an oversized circle. Normally such circles were destroyed, but somehow this one had been missed.
“Please…” She whispered.
“You’ve been ignoring me.”
“What?” Holly glanced up at the little fairy’s frowning face.
“I was calling for you and you were ignoring me.”
“Is that what...is that why I felt so sick?”
The fairy’s nose wrinkled. “I needed to speak to you and I didn’t know your name.”
Now that the awful feeling in her stomach had faded, Holly could think clearly again. Fighting her irritation, she drew a deep breath and settled cross-legged on the ground. “My name’s Holly.” When the fairy just eyed her, Holly pressed. “I’m here now. What was it you wanted?”
Sly eyes turned to her. “Not want, need. What do you know about fairies?”
Holly blew out a long breath. What was it Connor had said about fairies? “Fairies caused the War of Races to start.” She finally said.
The fairy’s image suddenly sharpened and grew fiercely bright. “Insolent!”
Holly backtracked immediately. “I mean that…well, I guess I don’t know very much.”
It took a few air shivering moments for the fairy to calm down. Finally, she sighed. “The war would have happened anyways. The Unseelie court just encouraged it to happen.”
“Are you part of the Seelie Court then?”
“Of course,” The fairy shot her an annoyed look. “I’m the Queen of the Spring Court.”
“Oh.” Holly didn’t comment that there was no way she could have possibly known that.
The fairy’s red hair shifted in a breeze that Holly couldn’t feel. Holly watched it curiously. “Stop that.” The fairy snapped. “I’m talking to you.”
Jolting guiltily, Holly refocused. “Right. What were you saying?”
“I guess I’ll have to start from the beginning. Ever since the world was created, fairies were entrusted to be its guardians.” That sounded familiar. It was the same thing Connor had said. “The races have always fought and when some of the fairies saw the discord among the races, they decided that the other races were undeserving of the gifts that had been given them. Those fairies formed the Unseelie Court with the intention of destroying the weakest races and ruling over the strongest, most deserving races.”
The queen fell silent. Holly studied her, noticing the contemplative, thoughtful look on the queen’s face. She’d seen the same look on Connor before. She waited, confident the queen would continue.
She was right. “The Unseelie Court was very strong. The royals from the seasonal courts formed a council and determined the only way to stop the Unseelie Court was to banish them. Unfortunately, the price for such a banishment was that the seasonal courts would also be stuck in the halfway world.” The queen gestured almost angrily with her hand. Holly kept silent, sensing her frustration. “Fairies don’t die. Not like mortals do. A healthy fairy could theoretically live forever. We’ve been stuck here, far away from our homes, and always we are fighting the Unseelie, keeping them from the gates.”
“The gates?”
“We’re elemental spirits. We need the mortal land and seasons. After the banishment, seven gates were left open so that chosen fairies could return to the world. The seven gates were kept secret for a long time.”
“But now the Unseelie Court knows about them.” Holly guessed, her stomach sinking.
“Yes.”
There was a long silence.
“Will they return?” She asked.
The queen raised her head and Holly was shocked by the sizzling power within her eyes. “I can fight the Unseelies on this side. The problem is that they’ve somehow managed to ac
quire collaborators in your world. I cannot enter the mortal world.”
“So…that’s the reason behind this.” Holly raised her hand with the fairy mark. It felt heavy.
“I can’t fight both sides of this war.”