The Wittering Way

by Nat Burns

  The Morri looked at me then swiveled his body to look at my seven companions. They huddled together in the next forest clearing, surrounded by tree branches. “I am timeless. What matter time to me?” he said.

  I sighed heavily and held up a forestalling finger to Tsisi when she opened her mouth to speak. “What do you want from us, Morri? What can we give you to ensure our passage?”

  The Morri curled one long finger around his chin and closed his odd, yellow eyes. “Let me see,” he said. His eyes opened. “What do you have?”

  “Ohhh, Father! I am sure they have many lovely things. The Witta always do, don’t they? Do you remember the golden thimble you got me that time? That was Witta, was it not? It’s a lovely golden cup for me. I do love it so.”

  I growled loudly, scaring the Jana back behind her father, then placed my bags on the ground.

  “What do you think, Afton?” I muttered. I knew the candles were of no use to the Morri tribe. They hated prolonged fire and only a select few could create magic fire and then only momentarily. They had no need for help with vision in darkness, relying on the trees and plants to guide them. They had no use for magic potions either as the plants they loved provided whatever they needed.

  Afton connected. Upon his suggestion, I held up the strand of beads. “These are magic,” I told the Morri.

  “Oh, Father, they are lovely, are they not? What would we do with such a strand as this?” She fluttered close and laid one tiny hand around the clasp. “I can feel it, Father. Powerful wit magic.” Her pearly hair, disturbed by the energy, spun about her head.

  The Morri waved the suggestion of the beads away. “I have many, a trunk full,” he said. “Have you nothing else?”

  A sudden thought occurred to me. Janas, though always full of silliness and happiness, sought to feel emotion of all types. If I could but make the Jana feel something, the Morri would be honor bound to accept the gift.

  I stood abruptly. “Very well. I shall give you a story.”

  The Morri eyed me doubtfully. “A story.”

  I dropped to the ground, folded my legs, and pressed my palms to my outstretched knees. “Yes, a story.”

  The Morri sighed and took his seat, tucking his fammie under his forearm.

  I began slowly, watching to see if I could snare Tsisi’s interest. “Artemis, one of the original Milesians, so very, very long ago, was a beautiful goddess of the moon and an extremely gifted protector. Orion, her lover, was a very talented warrior as well and a handsome young man. They foraged together, dined together, and slept peacefully together.

  “Artemis had a twin brother, Apollo, who looked upon their relationship with foreboding and disapproval. He believed Artemis should cling to her oath of never forming her own join without him. Her new relationship with Orion appeared to be moving her farther and farther from him as they excluded him from their time together.

  “Apollo was a god of the sun and would ride his chariot across the sky during the day to give light to the world. One day, as he was driving through the heavens, he looked down and saw Orion swimming in Lake Finlo with just his head visible above the water. Near the shore, he spotted his sister resting, enjoying the warmth of his sun. A plan formed in his mind so he alighted from his chariot to speak with her.

  “After the usual greeting and pleasantries, Apollo brought up Artemis’s skill with the bow...or lack thereof. Now, it was widely known that, although Apollo was the most skilled warrior with a bow and arrow, Artemis was his twin there as well and had proven herself time and again. But now, he raised the claim that although she was quite good, she couldn’t hit everything she aimed at like he could. Naturally indignant and upset, she rose to his challenge and told him to name any target and she would hit it.

  “He pointed to a small dark speck on the lake’s water far out in the distance and repeated his claim that she couldn’t hit it. Scoffing, Artemis strung her bow, not knowing the target was her lover, took quick aim at the tiny object and shot. The arrow flew with deadly accuracy and, of course, hit Orion. Acknowledging her success and her skill with the bow, Apollo then returned to his chariot, pleased with his own success in keeping his sister bound to him.”

  I studied the Jana and noted that her little blue bottom lip quivered with sadness. I was immensely satisfied and continued.

  “Later that day, Orion’s dead body washed ashore. When Artemis saw her own arrow piercing his body, she realized what she had done and was inconsolable in her grief. To make amends, she had him placed in the night sky as a beautiful row of stars, where he might be seen forever and where she might forever see him when she took her nightly flight across the sky in her own chariot.”

  The Jana flitted close and shoved her little face into mine, her cold fingers pressed to my cheeks. “Oh no,” she breathed, her breath smelling of honey and nuts. “Such a sad, sad tale. I know I shall never recover.”

  I watched, mesmerized, as her large green-orbed eyes filled with tears. One eye leaked a tear, but it ran along her blue-skinned cheek and back into her tiny mouth. The other eye welled ever fuller until one tiny tear escaped and fell through the air. I opened my hand and caught the brilliant gem as it fell. It was an amethyst, clear of flaw and a brilliant purple in color.

  I rose and moved to the Morri as the Jana flew up to perch on a branch above us. I could hear her humming as she tried to recapture her natural joy of being.

  I held the gem out to the Morri, knowing he was honor bound to accept his daughter’s tears. Sure enough, he touched my forehead, leaving the mark of safe passage.

  “I never thought you’d resort to such,” he said. He plucked it from my hand and deposited it somewhere in the folds of his robe. He lifted his pipe and I moved away, toward the others. I looked back once, before the forest thickened, and saw him still sitting there, his fammie appearing to dance with the swirling smoke emitting from his pipe.

  Book Eight

  YEWSY MOVED CLOSE to me as we gathered up our path bags and moved farther into the trees.

  “So, what did he say? I saw him give you the blessing. What did you have to give him?”

  She was whispering but her voice was worried. I tried to put her at ease.

  “A Jana gem,” I answered, winking at her.

  She stopped walking so abruptly that Saffron plowed into her.

  “Hey!” Saffron complained. “Why did you stop?”

  Yewsy smiled at her then beckoned the others close. “Cleome made a Jana cry!”

  “You didn’t,” RoseIII declared.

  “Was it a gem, truly?” Memo asked, taking my arm.

  I laughed. “Goddess knows, you are curious. A good trait to possess. Gather and learn then, gather and learn.”

  I connected with Afton and he quickly linked with Walsh, Finner, Higen, Byrne, Maol and Gewwt. The eight of us closed our eyes and the fammies showed us the entire scene. We broke apart then, and I was surprised to see Capel weeping.

  “That really is such a sad story,” she sobbed.

  I pulled her into my embrace. “Oh, sweet Meab. It’s only an old legend. I think it was a Human tale, from long, long ago.”

  “Human. Really?” She had always been fascinated with anything Milesian. “I must remember it,” she said, pulling at her bottom lip. She connected with her fammie, Walsh and I knew she was asking her to remember it for her.

  “They really are gems, then,” Lemon said. He walked slowly forward, easing us along the path. “I’d heard my grandmother speak of such but never thought I’d see it.”

  “I always believed she fabricated it,” his sister Saffron said.

  “Mother says it’s very hard to do, to get a Jana gem,” Yewsy said. She stopped again. “Shh, listen!”

  We paused as one unit. I heard the shuffling sound. Another wood sprite. The Morri paused when he spied us but, seeing my forehead, he just smiled and moved on.

  “This is frightening, this travel,” Memo said. “Will we get to Avapeony soon?”

&n
bsp; “It will take two or three suns,” Talew said. “And we still have to cross Felshea Falls and the Hites.”

  “It didn’t take me that long,” Yewsy replied thoughtfully. “But I only made it to the Greens.”

  “Well, one thing I’m sure of is that we must keep moving. Your joins are missing you already and we don’t know how long we will have to be on Brinc lands before we find my sister,” I said, herding them forward.

  We walked for the rest of the afternoon and evening, only encountering one more disinterested Morri and a host of Jana, who mostly ignored us. As dusk fell and the moon grew into prominence, I scouted out a flat clearing close to Felshea Falls. We would wait until sunlight to make the treacherous crossing. Levitation magic would help but I’d still rather have good light for such an arduous task.

  “Let’s stop here and rest the night,” I said, slinging my two bags to the leaf-strewn ground.

  “This looks a safe place,” RoseIII agreed. He walked the perimeter of the clearing as if making sure. “Talew, you and Lemon gather fallen wood for the fire.” He whirled and eyed the two younger men. “And remember to give thanks. The last thing we need is more Morri trouble during the night.”

  My stomach grumbled and this time I paid attention. I glanced around and found Yewsy smiling at me.

  “You never gave the first thought to food, did you?” she asked.

  I grinned ruefully. “No, I didn’t. I’m sorry. We can gather some nuts, though. It’s been a good season.”

  “No need. While you were at your cottage, I packed some things.” She sat cross-legged on the ground and shook a cloth from her bag. She laid it out then drew out several cloth wrapped parcels.

  “I’ll fetch water,” Saffron volunteered, green eyes bright.

  “RoseIII, will you go with her?” I said. “It’s not safe to go to the water alone.”

  RoseIII approached and handed me his bag. “There’s mead in here,” he said quietly.

  I glanced up at him. “Thank you, RoseIII. It’s very kind of you.”

  He nodded once, imperiously, but his freckled cheeks did pinken at my words of gratitude.

  I sat next to Yewsy, as did Memo and Capel. We unwrapped a feast of apples, shelled walnuts, young, sweet lettuce leaves, nasturtium flowers and a honeycomb oozing into a small crock.

  “If you’d told me, I would have helped you carry this weight,” I said to Yewsy.

  “No bother,” she replied happily.

  “Let’s put half back away,” Memo recommended. “For tomorrow.”

  I nodded, impressed with her forethought. “Yes, let’s do that. We are not sure what the future holds.”

  By the time RoseIII and Saffron returned with cool, fresh water, overflowing a tightly woven basket, Lemon and Talew had laid the fire and had curled shavings for tinder. RoseIII lit it with an old Gobbye incantation and soon we all were seated around a warm, cozy fire. As we ate, Capel, youngest of Song join, lifted her voice.

  Back to the river, back to the sea

  Back to the ocean, one with thee

  Back to my blood, and back through my veins

  Back to my heartbeat, one and the same

  Back to the forest, back to the fields

  Back to the mountains, mother revealed

  Back to my bones, back to my skin

  Back to my spirit, that fire within

  After one refrain from her perfect voice, we joined in and our voices blended as darkness descended around us. Soon another sound penetrated and we quieted.

  “It’s true!” Capel whispered. “They do sing and dance.”

  I thought at first it was the tiny lights bobbing through the trees and the faint humming that had caught her attention, but this was nothing new. Janas often made merry before retiring for the evening. What held her, and eventually all of us spellbound, were the larger bodies visible just through an opening in the trees.

  “It’s over by the falls,” I said. “Water sprites.”

  “Watch them dance,” Yewsy muttered. “It’s bewitching.”

  “They’re singing, too,” Lemon said, elbowing in for a better view. “Listen to them.”

  I was unable to look away and suddenly understood the hushed Human tales of the mer-creatures who so easily stole them away into the water. Watching the sleek, hairless water sprites, the Neisi, even from so far away, I wanted to jump and twist with them. Their lithe, wet figures gleamed in the moonlight as they leapt and frolicked in the falling spray from the high falls. The thump of their bodies hitting the water in the pond below highlighted the rhythm of their ongoing, guttural song. I could not make out the words from this distance but I felt no gentleness from the Neisi. They frightened me.

  “I wonder...” I began.

  “What?” Yewsy asked at my elbow. Brennen patted my shoulder soothingly until Afton pushed him away.

  “Maybe we should move on.”

  “Move on? Why?” Her pale eyes searched my face for answers. Or for fear.

  “We can’t move on,” RoseIII said as he approached. “Basil and Song joins sleep already.”

  I glanced over his shoulder and saw that indeed the three youngest of our troupe had fallen asleep watching the display. Someone, probably Memo, had covered them with a linen wrap to stave off the night’s chill.

  My gray eyes met the sapphire blue of RoseIII’s eyes. He must have read my thoughts there.

  “Talew and I will sleep later,” he said. “You other three sleep first.”

  I nodded and took Yewsy by the arm. I fetched my bags and we walked to Memo. Together we prepared to sleep, all of us huddling close just behind Lemon, Saffron and Capel. My last sight before drifting off, huddled with the other two women under my warm cloak, was RoseIII and Talew silhouetted against the glowing Neisi dancers.

  Book Nine

  I SMELLED IT first, an earthy, fishy smell. I felt the coldness too and knew I would loathe such a frigid existence. Afton trembled beside me so, warily, I opened one eye. It was right above me. We were face to face. I slowly opened both eyes and stared into cold, soulless orbs, surrounded by black, wrinkled flesh.

  “I saw you,” the Neisi said, its voice low and garbled. One of its webbed hands reached for my long, black hair, which it twisted into ringlets around its arm. “You are so very beautiful,” it muttered.

  “Th—thank you,” I managed to squeak out. I still felt the warmth of Yewsy and Memo against my sides but wondered how the Neisi had gotten past our two guardians. I’d heard the elders say that the Neisi moved as water flows.

  It shifted position and its coldness crept farther into me. “I danced for you. Did you see?” it asked, nudging the highly indignant Afton aside.

  What should I say? I didn’t want to encourage its advances, nor did I want to anger it. “No. Will you dance for me now?” I whispered finally.

  “Oh. Oh. Oh, I see the game. You wish me away.”

  It moved back and studied me. “You find me so repulsive then? Because I am not of your kind?”

  “No...it needs to be my decision, is all,” I muttered, taking a surreptitious breath of the fresher air between us.

  “Ahh, a strong wit. Strength is beautiful, too,” it said. Its black eyes disappeared momentarily behind white membranes as it...blinked? A small black tongue appeared between a front gap in a mouthful of small, pointed teeth. It wasn’t repulsive, exactly, yet I found no affinity to this creature.

  “You are a water sprite?” I asked, seeking distraction.

  The Neisi cocked its egg-like head to one side and studied me. “I am. The water obeys my will. I am very powerful. If you join with me, then you, too, can be very powerful.”

  I felt anger tap against the back of my neck. “And why do you believe I’m not already powerful in my own right? I am the daughter of DaisyFir Widdershin of Widdershin join. She is one of the most powerful of wits. She, as peyton, asked for me at Lake Feidlimed so that her join could be strong from her teachings and her legacy. For the past fifteen age
s, she has taught me and I have learned well.”

  Afton began to glow with my anger, and I allowed heat to rise up and seep from me. The Neisi recoiled when it sensed my rising internal fire as I encouraged magic to grow within me. The doubt on its face gave me much satisfaction. The doubt changed rapidly to fear, however, when a thin cord, a vine glowing with restraint magic, slipped over the Neisi’s head and shoulders and bound its arms to its sides.

  The Neisi hissed loudly and tried to turn to see its attacker. The cord came around once more and in its light, I could see RoseIII’s grim face.

  I shoved Memo roughly, awakening her as I scurried out from under the Neisi. She scrambled behind me as RoseIII pulled the creature upright. It was small in stature, yet strong, but the binding cord held well.

  “What shall we do with it?” RoseIII asked.

  I had no idea. “Afton, give me light,” I said as I dug my mother’s grimoire from my bag. Surely there was something addressing Neisi magic in there.

  “No, don’t,” the Neisi whispered hoarsely. “I must go back to my tribe. They will miss me and come looking for me soon. You will let me go!”

  RoseIII shook the Neisi roughly. “Silence, water sprite.”

  Afton glowed brightly at my shoulder, and I placed my palm on the open book. I sought guidance from our foremothers, and my hand turned pages until the right one was found.

  “It says here that a captured Neisi must do our will for one sun only then peacefully return to its people without harming us. If we do not release it at or before that time, the Neisi will die and a curse will follow the wit all her days.”

  The commotion had wakened all the sleepers and they gathered around, gawking at the captive creature. They were a silent lot, surely amazed by their first view of a Neisi, and the Neisi regarded them patiently, slowly blinking. I took the opportunity to study it as well. More frog than Meab, there was yet an elegance to the creature. The skin was smooth, with a soft, leather-like texture. The hands and feet were wide and webbed, yet equipped with malleable claws on the tips. Most disturbing to me were the eyes—deep-set, black and lacking in merriment. And then there was the small, pointy teeth set into a pouty mouth. I shuddered.