“Why are they helping us?” Rey asked in an accusing tone. “Animir obviously doesn’t trust them.”
“I don’t have an answer for that,” she admitted quietly. “I only know that they are, and Bally needs that help, so we will take it. If it has a price later, I’m willing to pay it for his sake.”
Breathing deeply, Reynard glared at his friend. Leaning against a large rock next to the rippling water, he appeared pale. Still wrapped in his blanket, his stocking cap crooked on his head, he coughed violently before resting back against the stone and closing his eyes. “I hope we make it,” he admitted quietly.
“Aye,” the Mate agreed, refilling his wine bottles and returning them to his pack. “Are we ready to move?”
“Yes,” Ami agreed, “Uscan’s team will see us there.”
Resuming their positions, the group continued as the trees and land changed on the other side of the stream. The woods grew less dense, with plants springing up on the forest floor. Small patches of open ground and meadows broke up the landscape further, and they were on the outskirts of a lush, green, open field as the sun set.
“Welcome to Esterbrook,” Uscan informed her as they trotted forward in the growing darkness.
Before her, gentle hills rolled, with patches of trees and water in between. She could see the lay of the land from their slightly raised position, but no where could she pick out a fire, a building, or anything that resembled a town or community. “Do these nymphs live like the sirens? In a primitive culture without social order or structure?”
“They are as structured as any realm of Eriden. If you seek a city, you should have remained with the elves, for theirs is the grandest of the southern lands. We will take you to the sacred circle, where the nymphs and satyrs congregate, but from there you are on your own,” Uscan replied.
“I understand,” she sighed, tightening her grip on the young man before her. He had grown more relaxed with each mile, and she feared that he would lose consciousness any time. Just get us there, she mentally added, and we’ll do whatever we must to gain their trust and aid.
Esterbrook
A full moon had been rising as the sun sank into the west and hung at about one-quarter of the way across its arc as the pack of wolves trotted into a large clearing. On the ground, concentric circles formed by large white stones glowed in the luminescent cascade. Their steps unhurried, the group converged on the most center ring of the four, which spanned ten feet in diameter.
“Wow,” Rey said quite loudly. “This place is amazing!”
With no living thing in sight, Amicia leaned forward, pressing her body against Baldwin as she did so. “Is this the place, Uscan?”
“Yes,” he replied, coming to a stop and lying on his belly so they could climb down safely.
Sliding off first, Ami turned, expecting to help Bally do the same. Instead, she found him to be unconscious, his eyes closed and his face pale beneath the moonglow. Giving him a firm shake to wake him, he fell backwards instead, languishing over their rescuer’s back. “Shit,” she muttered, fighting gravity to keep him from crashing to the ground. “Piers, I need you!” she screamed.
On the spot, he and Rey rushed forward. The mermaid had been sitting on the fur-covered seat on her own and bounced anxiously around them as the two men each claimed a side, lifting the boy off Uscan, who seemed relaxed and patient as they did so.
“Make a pallet,” the Mate commanded.
Unrolling her bedroll quickly, Animir helped Amicia spread it onto the ground. “I couldn’t wake him,” she explained as she did so, tears swimming in her soft green orbs. “What should we do?”
“Where are the nymphs?” their leader asked, glaring at the elf and then the wolf. When no one responded, he began barking orders. “Fine. Gather some wood, and we will build a fire. I’m going to need something to boil some water in –”
“Here?” Animir cut him off. “This is a sacred place. You can’t stack wood and build a fire where ever you like.”
“The hell I can’t,” Piers shouted, covering Bally with his quilt. “This man is dying, elf. If we don’t do something immediately, our chances of saving him drop to nothing!” A small, feminine hand fell on his shoulder, ending his tirade.
Twisting to face her while still kneeling next to his friend, the Mate held his jaw firm. Before him, standing at about four feet in height, a beautiful young woman with long silver hair smiled down at him. “Yes,” he breathed. “Right,” he agreed to an unspoken observation.
“Forget the fire,” he corrected, his tongue flicking over his lips. “They will bring water and medicine for him. Cover him with another blanket to keep him warm.”
Frowning at his odd behavior, Rey demanded, “What’s going on?”
“She spoke to me,” Piers informed him, unrolling his own pack and smoothing the new cover over his friend. “I could hear her in my thoughts.”
“Hear –” the other man began, then halted, his mind racing. Glancing over at Oldrilin, who smiled at him, he recalled the time he had heard her speaking to him inside his head. “They’re telepathic,” he announced, the connection suddenly clear.
“Oh my God!” Ami gasped. “Cilithrand said she couldn’t read my mind, but in time we could possibly build the connection. I wonder how it works, exactly.”
“Members of the same species are often connected by rights,” Uscan informed them. He had been licking himself calmly but stopped for a stretch as he explained. “Those in the same family have an even greater chance. Mates and close friends can develop the ability over time. Part of the magic of Eriden is the depth of our connections to one another and the world around us.”
Her mouth hanging open, Amicia processed the information. Glancing over at Animir, she could see the lines of worry forming in his forehead. “Dear God,” she breathed.
“Are you going to translate, or do we have to guess what he said?” Rey suggested curtly.
“He said that members of the same species can talk to each other telepathically. Mates, family and friends may also be able to.”
“And what about total strangers?” he pushed, pointing at the nymph who had returned with a wooden cup of healing elixir, followed by a second bearing green leafy material, which she pulled pieces from and applied to Baldwin’s swollen hand.
“Maybe some creatures are better at it than others,” she tacked on, still staring at Bally’s young friend.
Following her gaze, Rey squirmed. “Does that mean this guy could be informing the elves where to find us? How far does it reach?” he demanded, his voice rising as he realized the implications of such a talent.
“I don’t know, Rey!” she snapped, tearing her eyes away and focusing on Bally. They had managed to rouse him, and she knelt beside him to help him sip the liquid, which smelled of some form of warm tea.
Glancing around at the gathering, he could see that their party had been joined by more of the small women, but a couple of males also came with them. Although all of the new additions were near the same height and build, their eyes, hair, and skin held an even wider variety than the mermaids had.
Staring up at the female who tended him, Bally gasped, “I’m delusional. This woman is green!”
“No, Bally,” Piers chuckled as he crouched near the top of his head. Leaning forward to tussle his hair, he tacked on, “These are the nymphs, and so far I see every color of the rainbow here, near enough. More than even the sirens boasted in their fish forms.”
Around them, nymphs and satyrs poured onto the circles. Taking seats or standing, they filled the wide rings made of stone. Their voices light and cheerful, they sounded like song birds, rather than the seductive tones of the siren. Joining their hands, they lined the rings in a swaying, undulating motion as some unseen energy force danced through them.
Rising slowly, Piers could feel the warmth flow through his body, like the buzz of a lightning storm out on the sea. Turning in a slow circle, he took them all in, reaching out to them through
his thoughts. “They’re praying for him,” he whispered. “To mother earth, the wind and the trees. The very fabric of nature as it winds and binds us all.”
“It tingles,” Amicia agreed, standing as well. Taking a few steps, she stood beside him, looking up into his strong features. “Piers,” she called softly, placing her hand in his and giving him a squeeze.
Returning the pressure, he smiled down at her. “Bally’s going to be ok. They have surrounded him with their protection, healing him from the inside out with their power.”
Joining them, Rey shook his head slowly side to side. “This doesn’t feel right. How do we know we can trust them? Trust anyone here?” he asked, staring at Animir.
Biting his lip, the elf couldn’t hear the trio over the sound of the nymphs and their ritual chant, but he knew the look. If he didn’t do something and quick, he would lose his position among them, and Cilithrand would kill him for it. Taking a few wide steps, he walked right up to them.
“Please,” he gasped, placing his hand on his chest, flat against his heart. His mouth opening and closing a few times, he could not form the words.
“How can we trust you?” Ami spoke for the group.
“I brought you to the nymphs,” he replied in a shaky voice.
“The wolves brought us to them,” Rey countered with a heavy scowl.
“But I was,” the elf insisted, stammering. “I help you. I swear on my life, I would never cross you, Lady Amicia.”
Puckering his lips as he removed himself from her grasp with a step back, the Mate shifted his gaze, back and forth between Bally and Animir, sizing up what had occurred from the moment they arrived in Jerranyth. “You should confess, then. Tell us everything, and we will consider not spilling your blood upon this sacred soil.”
Swallowing hard, Animir could see the rage in the older man’s eyes. Knowing he suspected the elves of treachery, he could also see his salvation. “It was our job to make you happy,” he agreed with a deep nod. “To keep you within the walls of our city.”
“That’s why you became friends with Bally,” Rey accused, pointing at him with a stiff digit.
“Yes, he wanted a friend, and so I was assigned to be so. And that is why your siren was spared for you, as it was as you desired. And girls were sent to please you,” he admitted in turn, flicking his gaze over at the first mate. “And you were given fine clothes and a hot bath to soothe you,” he said more quietly to the girl.
“She could read my thoughts,” Amicia gasped. “The whole time, nothing was secret!” The girl’s mind flashed to her desire for those very things when she first planned her trip to the west, and she felt violated that those private desires had been used against her.
“She knows what lies within your heart,” Animir informed them, a tear forming and spilling over onto his pale cheek. “The queen is a powerful witch. To live among her people means to obey her every command. To fail in her wishes holds the most dire of consequences.”
Frowning, Piers suddenly leaned back and growled, “Is it just me, or is he speaking damn near perfect now?”
“Hey, he is,” Rey agreed, placing his hands on his hips.
“It’s not him,” Uscan informed them, striding up to the group and raising his furry chin at their friend, who still lay on the ground. “Your comrade is almost healed.”
“If it’s not him, then how?” Ami asked in surprise, keeping their focus on the elf.
“You stand in one of the most sacred and powerful places in the Kingdom of Eriden,” the wolf replied. “The essence of our world flows through you, and you have been joined to us.”
“Tis true,” a nymph with dark ebony skin agreed, slipping her pudgy hand into Amicia’s. “You are one with us. The spirit of all things lives within you.”
“And we can understand all the creatures of this kingdom, as they can all speak to each other,” Piers filled in, his eyes wide as he looked around again, listening to the voices of the nymphs. “How long will it last?”
“Hard to say,” the girl replied, her teeth a beautiful, bright white when she smiled. “I am Zaendra, maid to the queen Preivia,” she supplied with a small curtsy. “I have been sent to serve you.”
Instantly suspicious, Rey inspected her from the top of her dark puffs of hair to her bare feet, then shook his head slowly. “I just want to go home,” he sighed. “No more ships, no more strange people or customs. Just my parents’ farm, even if I have to work for my older brother all the rest of my life.”
Her face drawn into a heavy frown, Oldrilin slipped her tiny fingers into his. “Rey Daye sad.”
“Aye,” he agreed with a shrug, kneeling down and wrapping her hand completely. “I don’t belong here, Lin. None of us do. I can’t help feeling like the more we see here,” he paused, sighing heavily. “The more we become a part of this place, the less our chances of ever getting away.”
Placing her free hand on his shoulder, she patted him, her head cocked to the side as she studied his clear hazel orbs. Her lip forming a small pout, her chin crinkled as if she would cry.
Realizing his words had hurt her, he pulled her small frame to him into a firm hug. “I’m sorry, Lin. I know things have been turned upside down since we got here, but we will find a way to make things right. We’ll get you back to the sirens and get ourselves home, one way or another. I swear it.”
“Perhaps, but not tonight,” the nymph with silvery-blue hair agreed. “For now, your friend must rest. We will spirit you into our homes among the meadows and forest for a rest,” she informed them, lifting her hand to indicate the edges of their great gathering.
“That will be acceptable,” the Mate agreed. “But, we wish to remain together, if you don’t mind.”
“You do not trust us,” she declared, her eyes narrowing into thin slits as she glared at the elf. “A wise precaution considering the company you keep. I am Preivia, queen of these lands. You have met my maid, Zaendra,” she indicated the girl who still held Ami’s hand. “Our homes are small, but I’m sure we can accommodate you.”
Stumbling to his feet, Baldwin joined them on weak knees. “That was incredible,” he shouted, shoving his hand out for inspection.
Grasping the appendage, Piers exposed the cut he had stitched before they fled the tower, but the threads had been removed. In their place, an ordinary cut remained with no sign of the infection. The wound was not completely gone, but it no longer threatened the boy, and would be mended in a matter of days, if that long. Clicking his tongue, he addressed the queen. “We don’t need much. We’ll sleep in the trees if we have to.”
Smiling up at him, she waved her hand towards a large clump of trees to the east of them. “Then have your pick.”
“Aye,” he agreed, hoisting his pack and calling to the others, “Everyone stick together. I’m with Rey on this one. The sooner we get off this damned rock, the better.”
“We will leave you then,” Uscan called after them.
“You won’t stay with us?” Amicia asked in surprise, raising a hand as if to pet his long snout as he stood before her.
“I’m afraid the Shadowlands awaits, princess,” he growled gently, then said more quietly, “but ever should you need us, you may call to us again.”
“Again?” she breathed, her heart skipping a beat. “I don’t remember calling to you a first time,” she said with a small, anxious laugh.
“But call you did,” he replied sternly. “Please help us to make it,” he mocked her tone, and she could hear her own voice as she had whispered the prayer.
“You heard me,” she gasped.
“Yes, and we came to you. And so we will again if ever you have need of us,” he replied, turning his back to walk away.
Watching him go, Ami pulled on the string that held her merdoe. Freeing it from her shirt, she stared at the shimmering inner side beneath the glow of the full moon. This thing is very powerful, she surmised. More than just a translator, as she had once assumed. Tucking it back inside, she hois
ted her pack, bow, and arrows and ran to catch up to the others as they marched into the line of trees and disappeared.
Blindsided
Seated before her mirror, Lady Cilithrand pulled the braids from her hair. Selecting a large flat brush, she ran it through her long, silky strands. Her mind reaching out, she searched for Animir.
She had done so several times over the last few days and knew that the human they called Baldwin lay near death. However, it would be of little consequence. The girl, Amicia, she thought with a smile. She is the key to achieving my desires.
Continuing to stroke her honey brown locks, the queen frowned at her reflection before her. Animir had been a faithful servant, but it troubled her that she could not reach him at that moment. Rising from her chair, she sauntered across the room, her long gown floating about her as she moved.
Lifting a glittering orb from its resting place on a table, she peered into it. She again smiled at how she had deceived Ami with a similar crystal. The orb of truth, she snickered. Silly girl. She had not realized how gullible mortals could be.
The queen had acquired half a dozen of the small, magical globes, as they were quite common in the Kingdom of Eriden, and virtually every magical family had one. However, they were simple to operate and even easier to manipulate by those who knew how. Inhaling sharply as an image came into focus, she glared at Animir as he lay sleeping beneath the trees with his companions in the glen.
“So, you made it to Esterbrook, but you did not see fit to inform me,” she muttered angrily. “You’ll pay for that.”
“Cilithrand,” a deep voice growled from outside her balcony, interrupting her plotting.
Glancing around at her empty suite, she breathed in deeply through her nose, then pushed the air out through a relaxed jaw to calm herself. Returning the orb to its small pedestal, she smoothed her hair and pursed her lips. Inspecting her appearance in her full-length mirror, she purposely made him wait before presenting herself on the stone extension of her quarters.
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