The Cypher Wheel

by Alison Pensy

  Faen sat down beside his Custodian and put an arm around her shoulder. Giving it a little rub, he said, “Etyran is right. That was very quick thinking on your part. It could have gotten very nasty.”

  Faedra turned to her Guardian. “Thanks.” Then she turned her attention to the trees lining the meadow. “Well, we know it's in the forest, so I guess we better start walking and hope that some of the lookouts spot us before Arawn's spies do. At least the lookouts know who we are now; they should help us find our way back to the caves.”

  Faen stood up and took hold of Faedra's hand. “We better start walking then.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The group started to make their way across the meadow. Much to everyone's relief, the clouds dispersed and the rain stopped. Silvery light once again spilled from the heavens, illuminating their way. Faedra couldn't help but keep her eyes to the sky after what they encountered the first time in the meadow. She was hoping it was too dark for Arawn to send his spies out, but she wasn't taking any chances and she certainly wouldn't put it past him.

  The familiar tickle of hatred ran down her spine again prompting Faedra to turn her head. As soon as she did, the emotion dissipated. No one was looking at her but she couldn't mistake the emotion, it was too strong. She wrinkled her brows as she turned back.

  “Is something wrong?” Faen asked.

  Faedra hesitated before answering him. Was something wrong? She wasn't quite sure. She had felt something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Faedra looked up at her Guardian. “I'm not sure. Whatever it was, it's gone now.”

  She cast a fleeting glance behind her once more. Etyran was in conversation with Jocelyn and Allora was holding her daughter's hand as they trudged through the wet grass. Allora met Faedra's glance and her lips curved into a smile.

  Faedra couldn't understand why she kept sensing such a strong emotion in a group of friends. It just didn't make sense.

  They reached the forest on the other side of the meadow without incident. There was a collective sigh when they made it under the cover of the trees. Faedra felt the odd residual raindrop, which had made its way through the canopy of leaves, land on face or head. She could hear droplets of water land on the undergrowth around them, breaking the otherwise eerie silence within the forest.

  “I hope we find a path soon,” Jocelyn uttered to no one in particular. “My feet are soaked.”

  Faedra turned and gave the young fairy an incredulous look. “Well, why don't you fly then, silly,” she chuckled.

  Jocelyn smacked her palm to her forehead, something she had learned from living too long amongst humans. “Why did I not think of that?” she said before beating her wings and raising herself from the rain soaked floor of the forest. “That's better,” Jocelyn sighed.

  Faedra raised her eyes to the heavens but kept the grin firmly planted on her face. Maybe her friend was really a blonde in disguise. She had to agree, though, the wet from the grass was starting to seep through her boots, she could feel her feet getting cold and damp. Then Faedra had her own a-ha moment.

  “I wonder,” she mumbled to herself.

  “You wonder what?” Faen whispered.

  Faedra gave him a wry smile before letting out a mewl of pleasure. Faen gave her an odd look, and then followed her line of sight down to the floor. Steam was rising from her boots as they trudged through the undergrowth.

  “My feet were getting wet,” Faedra stated.

  Faen's eyebrows arched and he shook his head, a smile curving his lips.

  “What? I may as well take advantage of what little I can control.” Her words prompted another thought and her face lit up with realization.

  “What now?” Faen asked.

  “I've just realized. I don't have to worry about getting rid of Arawn for Carina.”

  “What do you mean?” Jocelyn said, hovering in front of Faedra, flying backwards so she could face her friend.

  Faedra looked up at the young fairy. “Well, I can't control Savu's power enough to defeat Arawn. We saw what happened when I tried. He just put up some kind of barrier to stop whatever I threw at him. So, that kind of lets me off the hook, doesn't it?”

  Faedra was not happy about being kidnapped in the first place. But being told she had to kill someone was definitely not cutting the mustard. One good deed did come out of this, though. They found Todmus's family and were getting them back to safety. For that, she was thankful. She couldn't wait to see the look on Todmus's face when they took Allora and Skylar home. Although, this was really their home. Todmus was living in exile in Azran. Faedra wondered if he would move back to Drofoz now. Surely not. Not while Arawn was still ruling this land. She hoped they would stay in Azran so she could visit. She didn't fancy having to come back to this place when they finally got to leave; which would be as soon as they got back to the caves and got the co-ordinates to Azran from Carina. Faedra had a feeling Carina wouldn't give them up that easily, though. Carina would probably take some convincing that Faedra couldn't help them defeat Arawn. If that wasn't the case anymore, what use was she to anyone in this realm? Surely Carina would let them go home after this.

  She felt her hand get squeezed and looked up.

  “Penny for them,” Faen said, looking upon the Custodian with a thoughtful expression.

  “Oh, I don't think they're worth a penny,” Faedra mused. She looked up at her Guardian. Fingers of silvery light were pushing their way through the canopy, illuminating the contours of her Guardian's face. He looked beautiful in this light; ethereal grace oozing from his every pore. Did this amazing creature really just ask her to marry him or was that a figment of her imagination? She opened her mouth to ask, but didn't get past the first syllable.

  Faen's expression changed. His smile was replaced with astute seriousness as he stopped abruptly, pulling Faedra to a stop, too. His eyes scanned the area, then he looked at his charge and put his finger to his lips. Faedra felt her heartbeat quicken.

  Jocelyn lowered herself to the ground. She and Etyran herded Allora and Skylar, caging the rescuees between the four friends.

  With her hastening heartbeat, Faedra felt her energy grow, along with the anxious sensation running up her spine. She could feel it coursing through her veins, searing her from the inside. Would she ever get used to the feeling? She doubted it. Would she ever be able to control it? She hoped so.

  Faen drew his sword. With that movement, steam started to rise around them. An eerie mist enveloped the group, cutting down their visibility to near zero. Faen fanned his hand through the vapor barrier unable to get a good view.

  “Is this you?” Faen whispered, pointing at the mist.

  “Sorry,” Faedra replied, somewhat sheepishly. “You do stuff like that,” she waved her hand at his sword, “and my body does stuff like this.” She waved her hand through the mist.

  “Stay here,” Faen whispered the order before taking a step forward. The newly dried leaves crunched under his foot and Faedra cringed. The heat from her body was drying the leaves all around them. Faen beat his wings and hovered just above the ground, fanning the mist around as he did.

  Faedra nodded.

  “What did he mean, 'Are you doing this?'” Allora leaned forward and whispered in Faedra's ear.

  Faedra sighed. “I have no control over the power I absorbed from Savu.”

  “Interesting,” Allora said.

  Faedra gave Allora a sideways glance at her odd response, but said nothing more.

  “There you are!” A familiar voice echoed up ahead breaking the unearthly silence. Faedra moved forward, crunching through the leaves until she pushed through the barrier of mist. She found Faen looking up the leaf-covered embankment at Carina and Anwynn who were sitting on their horses. The horses shone in the tree-filtered moonlight. Their flawless white coats shined with an iridescent quality that was truly mesmerizing. It was surprising they didn't have horns; they could pass for unicorns any day. Faedra could see that the path lay just ahead of where t
hey were standing. Thank goodness, now they would be able to follow the two ovates back to the caves.

  “We were waiting for you on the other side of the forest. What are you doing in here?” Carina questioned, a hint of irritability in her tone.

  “We got in a spot of bother at the castle, so I took a gamble and used the cypher wheel to get us out of there.” Faedra explained.

  Carina raised her eyebrows, then her gaze drifted past Faedra and her face lit up.

  Faedra heard the crunch of leaves behind her, announcing that the other members of the group were appearing through the mist.

  Carina and Anwynn dismounted, leaving their horses standing alone on the path as they made their way down the embankment towards them.

  “Lady Allora, you are safe!” Anwynn cried as she rushed past Faedra and threw her arms around her rescued friend.

  Carina kneeled down in front of Skylar and took the young girl's hands in hers. “Are you alright?” She let go of Skylar's hands and took hold of her petite face, moving it gently from side to side. “Did he hurt you?”

  Skylar dropped her eyes to the ground and shook her head. “He did hurt Mama, though.”

  Carina stood up and looked down at the frightened girl. “Well, we will not let him hurt either of you again.” She turned to Allora. “Where did he hurt you?”

  Allora waved away their concern. “It is true; he used to hurt me to see if I knew anything about Todmus. Of course, I didn't know what happened to my husband, but he wouldn't believe me. But after he got no answers for months on end, he eventually gave up. He hasn't laid a finger on me for a long time.”

  “Well, it is probably not a good idea to stand around here for long; we should make our way back to the caves. You and Skylar may take my horse.” Carina offered. “I will send some lookouts to collect the other horses later.”

  Allora inclined her head as a gesture of thanks.

  Faen and Etyran made their way up the embankment, each finding a branch to hold on to. They reached out with their arms to assist the ladies up the slippery slope to the path that ran above them. One by one the ladies made their way up to the path. Once there, Faen helped Allora onto Carina's horse and then placed Skylar in front of her mother. Carina took the reins and started to lead her horse along with its precious cargo.

  A moment later, the rest of the group was following behind the two ovates on their journey back to the caves. It wouldn't be too much further before they reached their destination. Faedra was looking forward to plopping herself down on a bed and closing her eyes. This day had turned out to be much more eventful than she could have imagined. Was it too much to ask to be able to go out and have some fun without being transported to yet another realm? Would she ever be able to enjoy an ordinary outing without someone needing her to save their world? She could only hope. A yawn escaped and she realized just how exhausted she now felt. Maybe using Savu's power did have a similar effect on her than when she only had her own to worry about. It seemed like she was able to use a lot more of it between 'fuel ups' than before, though.

  Faedra was pulled from her thoughts by the now familiar howling made by the lookouts, signaling they were nearing the caves.

  “I'm looking forward to my bed,” Faedra said to Faen.

  “We are nearly there,” Faen said, giving his Custodian's hand a squeeze.

  “Thank goodness.”

  They came to a stop in front of the sheer rock wall. Carina stepped forward, handing the reins of her horse to Anwynn. After a few mumbled words and a wave of her arm, the rock face shimmered and disappeared.

  The horses disappeared first, carrying their cargo through the archway that led into the caves. Etyran and Jocelyn followed. They were almost out of sight when they stopped and turned.

  “You two coming?” Etyran asked.

  “We will be right behind you,” Faen answered, sensing Faedra's hesitation.

  “Okay, see you in there, then”

  Faedra psyched herself up to walk through the wards again. She wasn't looking forward to the icy cold feeling she would be subjected to as soon as she stepped foot in the tunnel. If she was completely honest with herself, it had more to do with the fact that Carina had told her she felt that way because there must evil inside her. It was something Faedra couldn't come to terms with.

  Faedra took a deep breath and steeled herself.

  “Ready?” Faen asked, clasping her hand, signaling they would do this together.

  Faedra gave him a weak nod before following her Guardian into the tunnel. All the while mumbling, “I'm not evil, I'm not evil,” under her breath as she pushed herself through the wards.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Faedra ran her palms over her face and blinked her eyes a few times, willing herself to stay awake. It wouldn't be long before she could collapse onto the makeshift bed in her little cave room. At this point, she didn't care that it was nowhere near as comfy as her own bed; she just wanted to rest her eyes.

  Faen and Faedra ambled down the tunnel to the main cave, neither in any great hurry to get there, as both were enjoying the peace in the darkness of the tunnel. As they neared the end of the tunnel, Jocelyn's distraught voice bounced off the walls and echoed through the darkness. It was quickly followed by a rabble of other voices joining the foray.

  “Ugh. What now?” Faedra groaned as she and Faen picked up their pace.

  Faedra noticed her ring heating up again, too. She looked down at it to see the symbols glowing in the dark tunnel. This wasn't the first time either, but she'd expected it to heat up when they were in the castle. That place had been full of danger, but here, where it was supposed to be safe, this was not a good sign.

  Faedra was expecting to hear joyful voices and feel joy and happiness at the return of their Lady Allora. Instead, confusion and anxiety plowed into Faedra as she and her Guardian burst through the end of the tunnel. The sight that confronted them made Faedra stop dead in her tracks.

  Etyran was rolling around on the ground growling expletives as he got covered in dust from the floor. He was surrounded by the ovates, Allora, Skylar, and a very anxious looking Jocelyn. More and more onlookers were emerging from their rooms, climbing down ladders to join the spectators huddled around this bizarre turn of events.

  “Etyran, stop it!” Jocelyn cried. “What are you doing?”

  “I knew it!” Etyran growled. “I just knew it!”

  “Knew what?” Faedra asked as she pushed through the crowd, followed closely by Faen.

  When she and her Guardian got to the front of the growing throng of people, Faedra's eyebrows shot up into her forehead. Etyran was covered in dust and struggling on the ground. He got to his knees and with one hand pushed himself up. But instead of straightening, he remained bent over. His other arm was outstretched, his hand nearly touching the ground.

  “Get up!” Etyran demanded.

  Faedra noticed now that she was closer, that Etyran's hand looked like it was holding onto something. An invisible something.

  “Etyran? What's going on?” Faedra demanded to know.

  Etyran gave her a fleeting look. However fleeting it may have been, Faedra could see the pain and confusion in his eyes. His gaze quickly returned to the ground in front of him and turned to a glare.

  “I said. Get. Up!” Etyran pulled back, looking like he was pulling something substantial off the floor.

  Faedra looked up at her Guardian giving him a quick shake of her head and a shrug of her shoulders, silently asking if he knew what was going on. Faen returned her look with a bemused one of his own. They both turned their attention back to the Lightbender who was still acting very strangely in front of the growing crowd of onlookers.

  Etyran took his other hand and held them both close together about waist height in front of him.

  “Get off me, you great oaf!” a female voice cried out.

  Everyone fell silent and all eyes were glued on the dust covered man in the center of the crowd.

  He made a
move as if he were pulling someone closer to his chest so he could whisper in their ear.

  “Do you really think I'm that stupid?” Etyran taunted. His menacing voice reminded Faedra of when he had first introduced himself to her in the forest. A chill ran down her spine.

  Faedra stepped forward until she was standing just in front of Etyran. She held her arm out and tentatively opened her hand, then leaned in a little further, fingers outstretched before her. They touched material a foot before reaching Etyran's chest. Faedra gasped and her fingers stopped in midair. She gave Etyran a questioning look before allowing her fingers to move. She could feel cotton under her skin, then came the feeling of a rapid heartbeat. A fraction of a second later, she was overwhelmed with emotions. Fear, anxiety, tension. The same feelings she had felt at the top of the staircase in Arawn's castle.

  “Who are you?” Etyran's menacing whisper resonated around the three of them.

  “Let go of me, you're hurting me,” the voice sounded defiant. Faedra saw Etyran's big frame jerk a little and his hands close tighter around invisible wrists.

  “Ouch,” the voice squawked in response.

  “Tell me who you are,” Etyran repeated.

  Faen stepped forward to stand beside his charge.

  “I can't. Arawn will kill me if I do,” the voice was still defiant but Faedra could hear a hint of the person's fear seeping into her voice.

  Something distracted Faedra from behind, and she spun her head around. She could feel the now familiar emotion of hatred coming from within the crowd surrounding her. It happened when Arawn’s name was mentioned. She scanned the faces, expecting to see the emotion on Allora’s or Skylar’s faces but they looked passive. Maybe it was one of the ovates. She narrowed her eyes in confusion as none of the faces portrayed the feeling she was sensing. She wondered if her heightened sensitivity to energy would allow her to home in on the person to whom the hatred belonged. She wasn't sure how she would accomplish it, but decided to close her eyes and let her mind float to see what happened. A second later, her eyes flew open and she felt winded. The emotion nearly knocked her backwards. She put her hands to her knees to steady herself.