by Kirah Nyx
Still, they could have been hurt, and Ivy knew it. Injured was a state they couldn’t afford out in the Foundling World.
Penny shook her head and Addie slumped back in the seat. The weariness oozed off of them.
They didn’t want to hear her excuses any more than she wanted to hear their complaints.
“You know what?” Ivy sighed. “Why don’t you two just go back to the Academy? I can do this on my own.”
It was what they wanted. Ivy knew it in her gut.
It was silent in the van. Each of them sat still. Their eyes were unable to meet each other’s’ gazes.
It hurt to say, but it was how Ivy truly felt. She had no intention of holding anyone back.
Coming to the Foundling World was her only choice.
Between the vile Samael and the bloodthirsty Domenic, Ivy had a growing list of people who wanted to make her life miserable.
“No,” Addie finally said. Her cat-like eyes narrowed as she placed her palm on Ivy’s shoulder. “We’re going to help you through this. No matter what it takes.”
Ivy lowered her head. She was thankful that her friends were there to help. Though, she couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with guilt.
“I don’t want the two of you to get hurt. It’s not safe.”
I’m not safe.
Penny sighed, following her tunnelled thoughts. “What do they even want with you?”
The first time in weeks they’d brought up the Shifters hunting her. Mostly, they talked about the threat of home, but not them—Shifters.
The only thing Ivy could do was shake her head.
That was the burning question that haunted her mind. She wanted more than anything to know why Domenic betrayed her. It seemed to be that thought that held her up most— far more than the fear of Shifters wishing to bleed her dry.
“No idea. And until I find out, I want to stay as far away from them as possible.” Ivy twisted around on the seat to glance between them. “Their curse months are over. They’ll be hunting me again. If that’s why you want to leave, I get it...”
Clouds overtook the moonlight and a faint glimmer peeked up from the horizon. Time was ticking.
They couldn’t stay cooped up on the roadside forever.
“We can still make it to the Watcher before sunrise if we’re lucky,” Penny said eventually, and the door to the girls leaving Ivy in this world closed with that one sentence.
Addie breathed in deep, “Then what are we waiting for?”
Ivy felt the tension unfurl in her shoulders.
Penny managed to churn the engine back to life. Smoke billowed out from the front, but it didn’t bother their icy lungs.
She backed the van out from the ditch and turned onto the highway.
This time, Ivy kept her eyes wide open.
She wanted to stay focused. There was no way she’d make another mistake that could harm her friends again.
Because one more, and they could leave her all alone. And as much as she offered them the chance at what they wanted, to leave, Ivy couldn’t bear the thought of their abandonment of her.
She couldn’t go it alone.
5
The sun’s light had just begun to peak up from the horizon as the van crept into the shrouded bayou.
The roads were wet and muddied causing the tires to sink as they drove. The engine roared as the wheels carved their way out of swamp lands and through the untamed roads.
Ivy groaned. “Are you sure anyone still lives out here?” she asked, fighting to speak over the grinding gears.
Penny smiled, “Trust me.”
She had one hand clenched tight on the clutch and another on the wheel while her feet alternated between the gas and break pedal. It was more like she was wrestling a raging bull than driving a vehicle. If there was one thing Ivy could trust, it was Penny’s sheer will to push forward.
Life felt like tires spinning in mud.
At times, it was like one could be trapped forever. But by revving the engines and shifting the clutch, one could escape anything.
Even when everything felt bogged down in one place, there was always the possibility for things to get better.
Hopefully that applies while being hunted down by Shifters.
She rolled her eyes. Ivy was so desperate for comfort she was relating her own situation to some beat-up van.
At least when driving through mud, the goal was clear. What did one do when they were faced with a problem with seemingly no solution other than run and hide?
The further they travelled through the bayou, the darker and more twisted the swamp became. The sky was blocked by thorny vines and withered branches.
Musky fauna stood at the sight of the approaching vehicle.
Addie pointed to blooming red flower. It sat on a grassy mound surrounded by murky water.
“What’s that—”
Penny cut her off, “Don’t get sucked in by anything out here. We’re in Fae territory now.”
The red petals floated in the air, reaching towards the Ivy. They swayed as if they were waving.
Ivy spotted a cabin ahead, shielded by weeping willows.
The black paint on the outer walls was chipped, revealing splintered nooks. Moss and fungi made the busted boards their home.
The back of the house tilted, its foundation sinking into the swamp.
Ivy scrunched her face, eyeing the seemingly abandoned building.
“What do we do if this Watcher is rotting away with the rest of this shack?”
Shaking her head, Penny pulled up to a highpoint in the muddied ground and parked the van.
She turned off the engine and listened to its calming hiss.
Crows circled above them, cawing. The door of the sinking home whipped in the wind. Neither of the girls wished to be the first to exit the vehicle.
Penny exhaled and grabbed onto the handle.
“Ready?”
Addie and Ivy nodded.
They filed out of the van, splashing into the damp soil. Their shoes squished and sunk as they approached the front porch.
They held their noses, blocking out the potent scent bubbling from the water.
When they stepped onto the waterlogged wood of the porch, the front door fell from the hinges.
The girls jumped.
They stalked around the open doorway, predators waiting to pounce.
Ivy barred her fangs. Whatever was lurking in this shack, she was prepared to defend herself against. Her heart raced as she considered the thought of an ambush.
What if the Shifters knew we were coming here?
But her ridiculous thoughts were interrupted by footsteps pounding against the creaking floorboards.
From the darkness emerged an old woman.
Her hair was filled with decaying leaves and branches, her dress torn and muddied.
She broke the silence as she stared at them with mossy soulless eyes.
“Vampires?” There was a spark of interest that ignited her voice, like crackles interrupting a gentle fire.
It wasn’t often that Vampires swept into the Foundling World, so Watchers weren’t visited by them much. Exiles tended to be Fae and rogue Videers. Shifters, too.
“Come on in,” the Fae said as she turned back into the sinking home.
6
The girls sat around a three-legged table.
Between the remains of candle wax and soot, cleanliness didn’t seem to be a priority for the old Watcher.
But they weren’t looking for a bed and breakfast. She was stocked with the things they needed and that was all that mattered.
The woman returned from the pantry, carrying a crate. Her knees buckled as her feet dragged against the ground.
Penny stood, but the Watcher shooed her away.
“I’m stronger than I look,” she said.
Penny sat down and sighed. They were in a hurry.
As endearing as it was to watch an old woman show off her strength, it was taking far longer
than expected.
Between the Fae’s rambling tales and offers of herbal teas, they feared they’d be there until the next morning.
She dropped the box onto the table with a thump.
Then she tossed bottles of sunscreen, blood canisters, and a bound stack of money notes onto the table.
Ivy reached out her hand for the money, but the old woman grabbed her wrist.
“First, a warning.”
Groans rippled over the girls.
They came all this way for supplies, not to be lectured.
Ivy was aware of the dangers surrounding her.
She knew there were Shifters and Vampires alike trying to get their hands on her. What more could some Fae in a swamp tell her?
The sooner they were done here, the sooner they could leave.
“You have the mark of a hunted one.”
Ivy resisted rolling her eyes.
Tell me something I don’t know.
“All of us in the Foundling World can say that about ourselves,” Ivy said with a stony gaze.
The old woman cackled.
She loomed over Ivy; her green eyes glistening at her, digging into her soul.
It was obvious that these supplies wouldn’t come for free. And they wouldn’t be cheap either.
Ivy’s breathing quickened.
“I’ll take my payment now, dears. Three pints of blood.”
Addie rolled up her sleeve and pushed her chair beside Ivy. She held her arm forward, guarding her friend.
“I’ll be the one paying.”
The Watcher’s face scrunched up like a shrivelled grape. She clutched onto Addie’s wrist.
Addie winced as the old woman tossed her arm aside.
The Watcher leaned in towards Ivy. “I want yours.”
Addie got to her feet and Penny reached over the table.
Ivy waved off her friends. This trip, after all, was her decision. She believed it was up to her to give up her blood as payment. Her friends had done so much already.
Ivy held her wrist out to the woman. “Let’s make it quick.”
The woman took a needle from the box along with a clear tube and an empty blood bag.
Ivy hadn’t eaten in days; her veins bulged from her arm.
As the needle poked into her vein, she winced and closed her eyes as red blood flowed through the long tube and into the bag.
After a few pounding beats of blood in her arm, Ivy peeked one eye open. The bag was filled half-way.
“There are some things that escape even from my eyes.” The old woman stared out through the window. “But the leaves speak of danger.”
Addie rolled her eyes. “Do you always talk to plants? Must be lonely out here.”
Penny kicked her foot underneath the table. Despite how weird the Fae customs were, it wasn’t wise to taunt someone who had a needle in their friend’s arm.
But the Watcher paid no mind. She was focused on the bag of blood. Her fingers caressed against the plastic, checking the viscous consistency.
“You haven’t fed lately. Your blood is thin.”
Ivy slumped.
Did this woman only state the obvious?
Ivy struggled to hold back her irritation.
She wanted actual answers, not a constant reminder of everything going wrong.
She wanted to speak up.
If those ‘leaves’ had something to say, she wanted to hear it.
But as she tried to open her mouth, she felt no air in her lungs.
“Are you alright?” Penny asked, leaning over the table.
As soon as Ivy turned her head, nausea hit her.
Her eyelids fluttered. She glanced at the candles on the table.
The flames burned into her retinas.
All she could see was faint glowing shapes.
“Ivy!”
Her body went limp and her eyes shut tight.
What she needed more than anything right now was sleep.
7
An earthy scent filled Ivy’s nostrils. It was spicy like aged cinnamon and sweet like fresh honey. Steam billowed against her cheek.
Ivy stirred, feeling the hot mist tickling her skin.
Green eyes were locked onto hers.
Ivy shuffled away, jabbing her back against the armrest of the chair.
The Watcher grabbed her shoulders and pulled her forward. “Sit up. Drink.”
Warm ceramic pressed against her lips.
The blood burned her tongue, but the taste was brothy like a soup with a dull natural saltiness.
She let the liquid pour down her throat.
It was the first nourishment she had in what felt like months.
Regaining her strength, Ivy ripped the bowl from the woman’s hands.
She chugged the aromatic blood and gasped for air.
When she finished, she stared up at the Watcher, panting.
Then, her eyes darted to the table.
She searched for her friends, but noticed she was alone in the room with the old woman.
Her heart sank.
“Where are they?”
The old woman took the bowl back from Ivy. Her voice was calm, “They’re out on the porch. You slept all night and day. It’s dusk now.”
Ivy held her hand against her forehead. Her brain still pounded in her skull. But she had enough energy to rise to her feet.
This detour through the bayou had gone long enough.
Ivy brushed past the Watcher to the front door. “I take it we’ve paid in full now?” she said. “I doubt I have much blood left to give you.”
The Watcher smiled. “You’re a curious one, Ivy Skylar. I’m beginning to understand the words spoken on the winds.”
With a weary sigh, Ivy walked through the hall and towards the front door.
Winds and leaves and ramblings of Fae.
As she neared the porch, she heard her friends’ whispers.
“How long do you think we’ll have to stay in the Foundling World?” Penny mumbled.
Addie didn’t answer right away.
“I know you want to go home. Just give it time.” She paused to sigh. “Ivy is stressed, but we can convince her to go back in time.”
Ivy gritted her teeth, grinding her fangs together.
They knew how she felt about Samael.
And they knew how dangerous Shifters could be.
But despite everything, they expected her to swallow her fears and return home.
Her boots pounded against the damp wood as she stormed onto the porch.
The two girls whipped their heads around to see Ivy staring them down like a vulture.
“So, which is it? Are you with me or against me?”
Addie spoke first, “We’re doing everything we can to help you. You know that. But you can’t seriously expect to live in the Foundling World forever, can you?”
Ivy crossed her arms. “I can’t live in a world where I’m married to a monster either. I don’t want to be hunted down by Shifters. And...” It hurt to say the next words, “I need to live in a place where people take me seriously, where they actually want me to have control over my own life.”
Penny said, “I know you’re serious. But I don’t think you’re thinking everything through. If we go back, we can talk to your parents and break off the engagement. Running away is just postponing everything. And we’re certainly not any safer out here alone.”
Ivy shook her head, “You think it’s so easy, but I’ve grown up in the elite world. I know they won’t give us a choice. Addie, you know. Tell her!”
But Addie lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Ivy gulped. Her eyes darted between her friends. Their expressions were sullen.
She ran her fingers through her long silver hair and exhaled deeply. Her knees felt heavy as if the weight of the world was pressing down on her.
As she opened her mouth to speak, there was a light tapping in the doorway.
Ivy turned to see the Watcher standing there. In her hands
, she held a crumpled photograph. The edges were tea-stained and frayed.
With her free hand, the old woman beckoned Ivy into the house.
“I need to show you something.”
Without a look back at her friends, Ivy followed the Watcher inside.
*
The old woman took her to a set of stairs.
Before it stood a dusted shelf filled with chipped ceramics, rusted silverware, and picture frames of over-developed photos.
The Watcher pushed the photograph into Ivy’s hands. “Do you recognise this?”
Ivy’s eyes widened.
She knew exactly what the painting was of. The Divine Artefacts.
Sweat built around her neck. It wasn’t the humidity of the swamp that had her feeling uneasy.
The Artefacts weren’t meant to be considered real by anyone. But Ivy believed they existed to her core.
“Where did you get this?” she asked quietly.
“In my dreams,” the old woman said, “nature calls to me. It lures me to this painting. I heard those whispers before you arrived. They weep.”
Ivy stared at her blankly. “It’s the Fae’s job to appeal to nature, and the job of Vampires to steal from nature, remember?”
For a moment, she studied Ivy with narrowed eyes. Then, she snatched the frame and fixed it upright on a mouldy table by the wall.
Ivy sighed.
Cryptic messages niggled at the back of her brain, and her friends’ doubts ate away at the front.
No matter where she turned in that little shack, she faced a problem that wasn’t quite prepared to tackle yet.
Besides, nothing the woman had to say was relevant. Her knowledge of the artefacts was tangled in delusional conversations with plants.
To Ivy, that may as well be no knowledge at all.
Addie and Penny came back inside, their light footfalls barely whispering down the hallway. But Ivy heard them before they even made it through the door.
The air shifted instantly, tense. The rest of their car ride was going to be awkward if things weren’t patched up.
Ivy forced a smile, but it was tired and never reached her eyes.
“Maybe we should get going,” Ivy said, quiet.
Addie smiled back at her and Penny moved up to her side, then patted her shoulder.
It was a stiff gesture.