by Krista Walsh
Jeff glanced towards Jayden. “Not this time?”
Jasmine laughed again. “Oh, I’m not worried about him. Whatever’s got his mind twisted with thundercloud thoughts, he’ll get over it. He’s not the type to brood forever.”
“He lost an arm and an eye, and I didn’t see him wallow even for a day. Is this all about Ariana? If this woman can affect him so badly, what does that say about love?”
Jasmine glanced over her shoulder at Brady. “Tells you how strong a power it is. Maybe enough to see us through all kinds of trouble ahead.”
Jeff thought about Cassie, and how he would move heaven and earth to have her beside him. Maybe Jasmine was right. Human beings were strange creatures.
A sudden wind gusted around them, and Jeff pulled his collar higher up around his neck.
By now, the Keep was well out of sight, with only stretches of farmland on either side of them and a small village up ahead. The snow dulled any sound from the distance, and as far as Jeff was concerned, they could have been the only living people in the territory.
They plodded along in silence for a time, until Jeff’s thoughts were overwhelmed by the grumbling in his stomach. They crept closer to the village, but still not close enough to make him think food was on the way.
As they approached the first cottage, the snow at the horses’ feet rose and swirled in white cyclones. The wind grew stronger and Swish snorted, forced into a diagonal step to keep himself steady on the road.
Around him, Jeff saw the other horses having similar trouble. Venn tugged on Corsa’s reins, and he saw her brace against the force of the air. She was small and light enough that she seemed to be having difficulty staying in the saddle.
It wasn’t natural.
The house on the other side of the road, far on his left, appeared unaffected by the abrupt change in weather. The farmer outside continued to walk to and from the house without disturbance.
“Something’s not right,” he called to Jasmine.
The wind in his ears made it difficult to hear her reply. Finally, she gave up talking and gestured for him to follow her out into the field, closer to the farmstead. The others followed, turning the horses to the left. Off the road, the snow was higher and the pace slower, but the force of the wind grew steadily less until Jeff could feel nothing at all.
“What the hell,” Venn whispered at his side.
They waited in a row in the field, watching across the road as the whirlwind turned sideways, a tornado of snow directed at the cottage. A fork of lightning cut sideways out of nowhere, and a dark circle opened, swirls of light flashing, reaching out like bursts of static electricity. Jeff’s jaw fell open as the hauling force tore the cottage apart, board by board, sucking them into the vacuum of the void. As suddenly as it appeared, the vortex closed in on itself and the cottage was gone.
Chapter Eight
What in the holiest of holy muses just happened?” asked Jeff, his mind empty. Was this what they were up against? How did a person even begin to fight such intangible magic?
The cottage was gone. The snow around it was gone. The ground itself was gone, with nothing but a crater left behind.
“Gods-be-damned,” murmured Jasmine.
Venn’s blue eyes were wide as she looked from the empty space to Jeff. “It’s just like those villagers described it. One second there, and the next poof. Incredible.”
Jeff had tried to imagine the vortex while Jayden described it, but what he’d seen in his head was nothing to reality. The destruction had been so quick, so out of nowhere. There was no way to plan for it, or stop it once it started.
“You say this has been happening all across the country? You only mentioned trees, not houses.”
Jasmine shook her head, her stare glued to the crater. “It’s getting worse. They’re getting bigger. We’ll be hearing more reports soon, I have no doubt. Once or twice in small villages might go unnoticed, but not if it’s getting this bad.”
Jeff looked over his shoulder at the farmer and saw how the man had stopped dead in his tracks, slop bucket slack in his grip. From across the field, he could feel the man’s wonder and horror.
“You’re right about that.”
“Jayden,” Jasmine continued, “I know you’re not in any rush to get to the capital, but—”
“We’ll speed the horses as best we can,” the warrior said, his jaw set. “We need to get to the queen.”
With tentative steps, they urged the horses forward. Jeff felt Swish tremble between his legs, just as shaken by the experience as his rider. He kept his fingers wound into the gelding’s mane, reassured by the beast’s physical presence.
This is real. This is here. That was a fluke.
It had to be. A strange magical fluke.
“Do you see anyone?” he asked Venn.
She cast her sharp eyes around them, but shook her head. “If that was caused by someone nearby, he’s a chameleon.”
“So it could be a spell he cast from a distance?”
Venn rolled her eyes. “I’m a hunter, not an enchantress. What do I know about spells?”
Jeff sent his thoughts back to the Keep. “Maybe I should have tried harder to get Maggie to join us. Maybe she’d have a better idea what we’re dealing with if she saw it in person.”
“It’s irrelevant,” said Jayden. “She’s not here, and we’re not about to go back and get her on the off-chance it happens again. The sooner we get to the palace, the sooner we can learn what the royal archivist knows. And the court enchanter is bound to have a few theories.”
He nudged his horse back to the road, easing him into a trot, and then a canter. The others followed suit, Jeff cursing every time his ass hit the saddle.
The new pace didn’t leave room for conversation, and Jeff’s thoughts went immediately to Cassie. Was she safe from these bizarre magical vortices? Had she heard about them? Most importantly, would she know to avoid them?
He shuddered at the idea of losing her like that. Without even the chance to say goodbye.
The more he brooded, the more he forgot about his discomfort at Swish’s pace, and wished the horse would move faster. Wished he could just fly to the palace and find his answers.
But the road stretched on ahead of them, nothing but wide fields and black dots of cottages in the distance.
***
The vortex and disappearance of the cottage had made Jeff forget about his grumbling stomach, but as the sun followed its westward course across the sky, his body reminded him of what his mind had forgotten.
“How much longer until we stop?” asked Venn, apparently hopping onto Jeff’s brainwaves. Her words were muffled by a yawn. “My ass is getting numb.”
“We’ll be at the Queen’s Head in another hour and we can stop there,” said Jayden, “but tomorrow we start with the sunrise. It won’t be a long break.”
Jeff swallowed a groan. His own ass was past numb. By the time he dismounted, his entire backside would be flat and blistered. He wondered if it wouldn’t be better to push through and ride the three days without stopping. So much easier than convincing himself to start again in the morning.
But he kept all these thoughts to himself, knowing he would be out-voted before he even got to the part about his blistered butt.
When the sign for the Queen’s Head appeared in the distance, the last rays of the sun shone directly upon it, lighting it like a beacon. The mirage in the white desert of cold bleakness. As soon as they approached, it would disappear in a puff of snow. Or it would disappear in a magical vortex, possibly with him inside it.
Sleep suddenly seemed much less appealing.
They reached the inn, and Jeff clung to Swish’s mane long after his feet touched the ground. His legs wobbled beneath him, his thighs screaming with each movement. If he made any more trips across worlds, he would have to consider taking riding lessons in his own. Anything to keep the muscles in shape so he could visit without desperately wanting a litter or palanquin.
“Come
on, Author.” Jayden clapped his hand down on Jeff’s shoulder, and his knees nearly collapsed under him. “We’ll get you a nice bed to stretch out on. I’ll even wait until morning to laugh at you.”
“Your generosity never ceases to amaze.”
“And your sarcasm wounds me. I’m a veritable fount of kindness.”
He punctuated his final word by dropping his pack onto Jeff’s shoulder, and Jeff reciprocated by sticking his foot out in front of the warrior as he passed. Jayden caught himself against the wall before he fell, and laughed as he found his balance.
“I think the only adult I’m travelling with is Brady,” Jasmine said with a sigh.
“You say that now, sister. Wait until we get him in his ale.”
Brady grinned. “I think I’ll pass, but thank you. I’m having enough trouble keeping my mind clear these days. Would hate to get drunk and start breathing fire.”
The words were said in jest, but Jeff saw the worry in both the counsellor’s eyes and Jasmine’s.
“If you do, direct it outside. Maybe get rid of some of this snow and make our trip a little smoother,” said Jayden, choosing to pass over the awkward pause and direct the conversation back onto safer ground.
They escaped the increasing wind—a normal wind, Jeff hoped—into the warmth of the common room, and each of them inhaled the savoury smell of meat and spices.
Approaching the innkeeper, Jayden arranged for three rooms and a meal, and with the sighs of bone-weary travellers, the five fell into their dinner as if they hadn’t seen food in days.
And it’s possible that’s true, Jeff thought as he scooped spoonful after spoonful of venison and carrots into his mouth. He’d fallen into such a hypnotic trance on the road that he could believe they’d ridden farther than they had.
“Seems strange to be enjoying this place from the centre table,” Venn commented between mouthfuls of bread. She used a crust to gesture to a small cubby beneath the stairs, shadowed between lanterns. “I used to spend most of my time in that corner, picking up information from passing strangers. Amazing what people have the stupidity to mention in a public room.”
“Like discussing the best places to eavesdrop on conversations?” Jeff suggested.
Venn stuck out her tongue, showing off pieces of chewed up food.
“What are you, eight?”
“Only if you’re six.”
Jeff blinked. “I don’t even know what that means.”
“You would if you were smart enough to figure it out.”
Jasmine rubbed her temples. “Oh, for the love of the gods, please, stop. How has Cassie managed to put up with you for three months?”
“She’s just as bad,” Venn and Jeff replied together.
But the mention of Cassie pulled Jeff out of his playful mood, and he focused more intently on his stew. By the time he finished, his eyelids were drooping down to his boots and he could think only of getting to sleep.
“Where am I?” he asked.
“With me,” replied Jayden. “Venn gets her own room because I don’t want to hear you two bickering all night.”
Jeff grimaced. “You snore.”
“No worse than you. First door on your right. Bring the bags.”
Jeff obeyed the order without argument, knowing he owed Jayden more than schlepping a few bags. He closed the door, stoked up the fire, and then stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers before collapsing onto the pallet on the floor, leaving the bed to Jayden. He didn’t care that the mattress was lumpy and cold, or that the wind was blowing smoke back down the chimney to give the air in the room an ashy taste. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.
***
He dreamed of snow.
One of those dreams where he knew he was dreaming. Aware that snow shouldn’t fall sideways, especially when there was no wind.
In the distance, he saw smoke and an orange hue to the sky. The reflection of a fire on dark clouds. He headed towards it, following a dirt path, but when he glanced down, his feet weren’t moving. Trying to step backwards, an invisible force kept his momentum the other way.
Fear set in and he turned around, started to run. In classic dream douchebaggery, the faster he pumped his legs, the slower he seemed to move, always pulled back towards the fire.
Then came the smell. Sulphur and ash, making it difficult to breathe. The air grew so warm he felt sweat bead on his face and prickle at his neck. So real. So vivid. So not like a dream.
His fear turned to panic, and he struggled harder to get away from the tug of whatever wanted him to go forwards.
“The Storychanger is needed,” three hushed voices rippled past his ear.
“Change the story, or the world will,”
“End. The ripples will carry,”
“Beyond the veil. Beware the ants,”
“Who fight the change. Beware the locusts. They swarm,”
“And bite and will devour us all.”
As they spoke, the fire came into view. But as Jeff rounded a turn and mounted the subtle incline of the path, it wasn’t Andvell he saw. He recognised the docks and the ships hidden under curtains of heavy smoke.
The air turned hot, hurting him.
This was Old Port burning. His home.
Chapter Nine
Jeff woke with a yell, jerking up from his pallet on the floor, t-shirt soaked and skin still stinging from the heat.
At his outburst, Jayden jumped out of bed, knife in hand. When he saw only Jeff, he released an irritated breath and relaxed his stance.
“So you are alive. I wondered,” he said, as he slid his knife under his pillow and crawled back under the covers. “Didn’t look like you were breathing when I came in.”
“So glad you thought to check,” Jeff replied, still working on catching his breath.
The ribs over his heart ached at the force of the muscles pounding against them. He focused on the low fire in the grate, on the trillion stars he could see out the small window of their room. The clouds had gone, and for its brief moment, the moon had made an appearance.
“I was dreaming,” he said aloud, trying to convince himself.
“So I guessed,” Jayden mumbled, already half-asleep.
Images of the brief episode flooded back to Jeff as the adrenaline wore off, and he pulled his knees to his chest, resting his elbows on them to bury his face in his hands.
Too hot. The force of the snow too strong.
“No,” he said. “It wasn’t a dream. It was the Sisters.”
“Mmhm,” said Jayden.
Jeff didn’t care if his friend wanted to sleep. He had to work out the message.
“They were warning me. Showing me what’s going to happen if I don’t change the story.”
“Writing something new?” The warrior’s slurred words were more coherent, but he still wasn’t following.
“Not literally. At least, I don’t think so. But whatever the problem is, it could affect my world if it goes too far. And someone wants it to go as far as it can. That’s what they told me.”
Now Jayden was fully awake, rousing himself to sit on the edge of the bed. He ran his hand over his hair, stretched with a yawn.
Jeff stared at the twisted scarred wreck that was now Jayden’s right eye. The eyelid permanently closed, the scars typically hidden beneath the patch were not nearly as clean and smooth as the three lines running down his cheek.
“The Sisters came out and said this?” Jayden asked, scratching the stubble on his chin. “How uncharacteristically straightforward of them.”
Jeff pressed his fingers into his eyes, the pressure creating flashes of red against his eyelids that brought back the fire of his dream-like experience.
“They talked about ants and locusts,” he said, “but maybe the dream state made their riddles clearer than usual. They didn’t let me know when or where the ants would attack or the locusts would swarm, but it’s probably safe to bet any minute now.”
Jayden frowned into the fir
e. “I don’t suppose they gave you any idea what exactly we’re dealing with? Attacks, I can manage. It’s what we’re unable to see that causes concern.”
Jeff relived that unseen force pulling him towards Old Port, put it together with the unnatural wind on the road that pushed the horses towards the cottage right before it disappeared.
“It has to be the vortices. If patches of Andvell have started disappearing, the Sisters can’t like that very much. Worried about their precious forest and playground.”
“Watch the bitterness, Author. They might take offense.”
“They’re free to,” Jeff growled. “I don’t mean it kindly. They’ve done nothing but mess up my life from the first time I saw them. For all we know, they’re the ones that caused the vortices to happen, and now they want us to resolve their problems.”
“No matter the reason, it sounds like they’re trying to help us. Look, I can’t say I like them much either, but more often than not their motivations align with ours. It won’t do to alienate them. Now, did they hint at anything happening tonight?”
Feeling put down, Jeff shook his head.
Jayden slapped his knee and lay back on the bed, pulling the covers up to his chin. “Then I’m getting a few more minutes of sleep. I recommend you do the same.”
Within seconds, Jeff heard the man’s bear-like snores, but his own fatigue seemed as far away as Cassie, or the answers to the million questions swirling around in his brain.
Why can’t the Sisters just say what they fucking mean? his thoughts demanded.
He stretched out on his pallet and felt a shiver run through him from neck to toes as his skin finally cooled in the dampness. Burrowing under the blankets, he stared into the fire until sleep came to claim him again.
***
When Jeff woke up the second time, most of the bad taste from the dream was gone, but he still felt the urgency to solve whatever mystery was taking his once-fictional world apart one tree at a time. He imagined what would happen in his world if the vortices crossed over more than they already had. Portals opening up across the province? Across the country? Mass panic, and no way to stop it because the magic that could put an end to it didn’t exist in that world.