by Mac Flynn
I’m a guest, not a captive. I can leave any time.
A quick peek into the darkened hall told me all was clear. I tiptoed out into the passage just like last night and turned around to ease the door shut behind me.
And just like last night there was an unwelcome visitor. “You sure you want to go out?”
I turned to find Gwill floating above the railing. His legs were crossed beneath him, but there was no humor on his shadowed face.
“I’m just going for a walk,” I insisted.
He snorted. “Your lies are getting worse, but I won’t stop you this time.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Why not?”
Gwill folded his arms over his chest and shrugged. “Let’s just say this should be a good lesson to you.” He floated away from the stairs and jerked his head in their direction. “Now go on before I change my mind and call Tristan.”
I pursed my lips, but hurried down the stairs past him. The cool night air did nothing to ease my fast-beating heart as I hurried down the stone path to the road. At the road I paused and half-turned to look toward from where I’d come. The house was dark and still, but the bright stars cast their twinkling forms down on the quiet home.
“Goodbye, Tristan,” I whispered before I hurried down the left-ward part of the road.
15
My feet pounded against the hard-packed dirt that made up the road as I sprinted deeper into the woods. The fresh scent that surrounded Tristan’s home was smothered by a thick odor of rot and dew. The first scent hinted at the great age of the Harlipren and the other the renewal of life that was forever taking place in such an untamed and untouched area. The shadows of the thick branches that hung over me seemed to stretch out and paw at my clothes.
A soft glow flitted in front of my face. I braked hard and ended up falling backward on my rear. The soft glow landed on my knee and through the light I could see the shape of a tiny woman. She was naked, but her features were so soft and smooth that there was nothing indecent about her figure. The creature had green eyes without pupils and matching long green hair, and her skin was a tan color. Her fingers ended in sharp nails, and on her back was a pair of birds wings as white as fresh snow.
She set her hands on my knee and leaned forward to inspect me. “Hello!”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “W-what are you?”
She giggled. “I’m an ellyll, of course!” She flitted around me and landed on my shoulder. The little ellyll grasped some of my hair in her tiny hands and inspected the strands. “What beautiful magic! You must be a powerful athrylis!”
“I-I don’t really know magic,” I admitted as I leaned away from the little creature.
The ellyll floated up and in front of me. “There’s no need for you to be afraid of me, little athrylis. I would never hurt someone with such gentle magic. What’s your name, little Nirion?”
“Nirion?” I repeated as I climbed to my feet and brushed myself off.
The ellyll giggled. “It means ‘gentle.’”
“Oh, well, my name’s really Chris,” I told her as I looked around us. “Um, could you tell me where a thorny tree is?”
She wrinkled her nose. “That old thing? What do you want to go there for?”
“I’m supposed to meet someone there,” I told her.
The ellyll floated around me. “Why don’t you come with me instead? We could have so much fun!”
“I really need to find this tree,” I insisted.
My little fairy friend sighed. “All right.” She pointed to my left and into the woods. “It’s in there a-what do you mortals call it? Yards? A hundred yards?”
I nodded. “That’s the one. Thank you so much.”
She pecked a kiss on the tip of my nose and floated backward away from me. “I hope you don’t find what you’re looking for. Goodbye!” She flitted away and disappeared into the darkness.
The moment I stepped off the path I felt a cold, damp chill sink into my body. My mind kept warning me to turn around before something horrible happened to me, but I forced myself onward. The brush clawed at my clothes and the tree limbs brushed against my face, but I kept to a worn path that looked like animals used it.
A few minutes later the path opened to a small clearing. In the center stood a large, gnarly old tree. The branches sported not only thick leaves, but thorns as long as my fingers. The tree stretched high above its brethren and children, and cast its shadow over where I stood.
I crept toward the tree and looked around for the man. “Hello?” I called out. The only answer was a soft breeze that wafted by me. “Hello?” Again, there was silence.
I reached into my pocket and drew out the square. My finger brushed against the rough surface and a wave of color followed. I gasped as the square expanded and wrapped around my fingers, encasing them in its hard body. The thing duplicated and expanded down my arm to wrap itself around my chest. It was then that I realized the square wasn’t a piece of strange leather but a scale.
Now it was thousands of them, and they were all of one mind to wrap around my body. In a few moments I was completely enveloped in the thick false skin. The scales cut through my clothes and into my skin, forcing blood out of a thousand wounds. I screamed and thrashed, but to no avail. I lost not only the battle, but my balance and toppled onto my side on the ground.
A pair of shoes appeared around the trunk of the tree. I raised my eyes and found myself staring into the grinning face of the man, and yet he was no longer a man. His yellow eyes were narrow slits that glowed in the dim light, and through his unbuttoned shirt I could see his flesh was more scale than skin.
I flailed in the hold of the serpent skin, but still failed to free myself. “Let me go!” I demanded.
He laughed as he strode toward me. “Why would I do that?”
My eyes widened as his body began to transform to match his flesh. His face stretched into the nose and his legs blended together to create a long tail that trailed behind him. He rose up on his tail to tower over me as tall as the lord. His fingers melded into three, and his upper body shed the human skin and revealed a thick mess of scales that completely covered his body.
He grabbed me by my scaled prison and lifted me up so I hung even with his long face. His tongue flicked out and brushed against my cheek. “I can see why that dierth would want you. I can taste the juicy magic coming off of you.”
I shook my head. “You’re wrong! I can’t do magic!”
He chuckled. “Perhaps not, but with time you might have become a decent athrylis. Pity you don’t have that time.”
He lifted me up above his head and opened his wide jaws. I could see down his long throat and saw that the sides of his gullet were covered in long, sharp spikes with barbs on them. The walls of his mouth pulsed with eagerness as he lowered me toward that horrible death.
A shadowy tendril wrapped around his jaws and slammed them together. The creature stumbled back and shook his head, but that didn’t dislodge the shadowy strap. He clawed at the darkness, but his clawed fingers only sank into the body of the tendril.
“That one is not for you,” a voice spoke up.
My eyes widened. I knew that voice! I looked over my shoulder. Standing at the edge of the clearing was Tristan. A shadow stretched out from his feet in our direction.
My captor stumbled back and the tendril retreated back to Tristan. He sneered at my savior. “Why don’t you mind your own business, dierth?” the snake hissed. “Besides, it sickens me to listen to your sweet speeches when you had the same intention as me. You’re much worse than me. You were going to draw out her hope of going home, and what’s more cruel than toying with your food?”
“Whatever my intentions, they aren’t to harm her,” Tristan argued as he stretched out his hand. “Now return her to me.”
The snake chuckled and drew me to his side, though I still hovered above the ground. We now both faced Tristan. “Make me. Show me the true power of a legendary dierth.”
Tri
stan bowed his head and a sly smile appeared on his lips. “Very well.”
Tristan’s shadow sprang outward in all directions, absorbing all others in its wake, including ours. The darkness of the natural shadows was pale compared to the deep black that colored his being. He leaned forward and leathery wings sprouted from his back. His arms which hung limp at his sides stretched downward so they nearly brushed the ground, and his hands distorted into terrible claws that glistened in the starlight.
Even the stars shrank from his appearance. Their light was extinguished by a gathering of clouds that appeared overhead. Their dark bodies matched the shadows around us and the far-off rumble of thunder warned of more than just rain.
Tristan’s form shifted and expanded into a hulking figure of dragon and man. Sharp thorns stretched out of his body in all directions and accentuated his unearthly look. His face elongated into a serpent-like appearance, but with a closer shape to that of a cold, merciless lizard. He raised his head and his golden eyes changed color to glow as red as the fires of hell.
The snake backed up and looked on in horror at the dark world that now belonged to Tristan. He flicked his tongue out and his face wrinkled in disgust. “W-what is this thing that has such a terrible taste?” the snake hissed.
When Tristan spoke his voice was deep and guttural. There was more beast than man in the tone. “You wished to see the true power of a dierth. That will be your last view of the world.”
Tendrils shot out from the darkness beneath us and wrapped around the snake’s long body. My captor screamed and stumbled back. With his concentration broken he dropped me onto the cold, oozing ground. The tendrils wrapped around me, but only to lift me up and draw me to Tristan’s side. Another horrible cry made me look over my shoulder.
The snake writhed and fought against the tendrils, but more shadows wrapped around him like bracing ropes. They covered him in their black bodies and dragged him into the darkness that lay across the ground. The last I saw of him was his clawed hand reaching up to grasp at something, anything to save himself. That, too, disappeared into the shadows, and all was silent. The scales around me fell to the ground and blackened to ash.
My heart was pounding in my chest as I looked back to Tristan. His inhuman eyes still stared at the spot where my captor had vanished. His mouth was slightly agape and a terrible black breath emanated from his jaws.
And yet, I felt no fear. Those terrible eyes were full of such pain that I could only feel pity for the grotesque creature before me.
“Tristan?” I whispered.
It was as though I had slapped him. Tristan whipped his head away from me and shrank down into his own hulking form. “Don’t look at me.”
I shook my head. “I’m not afraid of you. No matter what you look like, I’ll never be-”
“Don’t look at me!” he boomed.
His tendrils exploded upward from the ground like gelatinous columns, separating us by their very creation. The ones that held me, however, softened and slid over me. Their sensual touch was relaxing. Sleep drifted over me and soothed my frayed mind. I closed my eyes and slipped into blissful slumber.
16
Visions of tender touches and sounds of soft moans shaped my dreams. In my fantasies there was always a shadow over me, a familiar creature with blood-red eyes. Like all dreams, mine ended. My eyes fluttered open and I looked around myself. I was back in my bedroom in Tristan’s house.
I sat up and clutched my head. “Was. . .was that a dream?”
“No.”
I whipped my head to my right. Tristan stood in front of the fireplace with his back partially turned to me. His shadow stretched across the floor behind him, and I swore the darkness shifted against the grain of the flickering fire. He looked at the flames with his normal golden-colored eyes.
I grasped the covers and swallowed the uncertainty I felt. “What are you?”
“A dierth,” he reminded me.
“But that. . .those shadows,” I stuttered as I thought back to that strange, twisted form. “Is that what you really look like?”
Tristan raised one of his hands and studied the gloved palm. His words were so soft I wondered if he was talking to himself. “I am a creature of nature, and yet I am the figure of a man.”
“Is that special for dierth?” I asked him.
He dropped his hand to his side and stared ahead at the wall. “Are you not afraid of what you saw?”
“I. . .I just want to know the truth,” I told him.
“The truth. . .” he whispered as he dropped his hand to his side. “The truth is that I exist only in legends, and those legends speak of dierth being nothing more than feral animals with bodies derived from their surroundings.”
“So a dierth from a rocky place would look like a rock?” I guessed.
He nodded. “Yes, and would perhaps have some shape similar in guise to that of a shifter or human, but none of the soul which defines creatures of higher status.”
I tilted my head to one side and studied him. “You don’t think you have a soul, do you?”
A bitter smile slipped onto his lips. “Perhaps I believe I don’t deserve one, but-” he clasped his hands behind him and turned to face me, “-I don’t wish to discuss this tonight. You have had a trying evening, and should get some rest.”
A gust rattled the windows. The storm that had shown itself during the confrontation in the woods had arrived at the house. Rain pelted the windows and a few far-off flashes of lightning warned of greater danger elsewhere.
I drew the covers closer to myself and glanced at the glass. “I really do hate storms. . .”
“And yet you came to the courtyard, when my spell called you,” he reminded me.
I turned and blinked at him. “How’d you know about that?”
“In order to draw you to my world the spell I cast had to be rather specific about its activation,” he admitted. “The one who would be my companion had to overcome any fear they had of the darkness and enter it of their own free will. Unfortunately, such a powerful spell was also bound to cause a disturbance in the surrounding atmosphere, hence the storm.” A thought came to me, and a memory, and I tightened my grip on the covers. He arched an eyebrow. “Is something the matter?”
“The monster. . .was that a part of the test, too?” I asked him.
He blinked at me. “Come again?”
“That tar monster at the portal in my world. Was that one of your tests, too?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “Christine, I have no idea to what you’re referring.”
“When I went to the courtyard that night there was this hideous monster made of black ooze waiting for me,” I revealed.
Tristan stiffened and his expression hardened. “What happened to this creature you saw?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It tried to attack me, and I threw up my arms and except for a few scorch marks on the ground it just disappeared.”
Tristan strode over to the window and looked out on the rear of the house. “I see.”
A horrible thought struck me and my hands that clutched the sheets quivered. “That wasn’t something you made, was it?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Then what did? Why was it there?” I asked him.
“I wish I could give you an answer, but I have none,” he admitted as he half-turned to me. His golden eyes studied me for a moment and his lips parted in speech, but he pressed them shut again. “But you should get some rest. The scales of that creature have bruised much of your body, and even my herbal medicine is not a quick cure-all for such wounds.”
For the first time I looked down at my arms. They were dotted with bruises. I raised one arm to study the fresh skin and saw that I wore a slim nightgown. “But didn’t he cut me?” I wondered.
“Yes. You lost a great deal of blood and shouldn’t strain yourself for a few days,” he warned me
I winced and hung my head. My voice was soft and muffled. “I’m sorry. . .”<
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He stepped up to my bedside. “For what?”
Unbidden tears sprang into my eyes. They dropped onto the rumpled sheets in my lap. “For not telling you what I was doing. For not believing you when you told me that getting back wasn’t going to be easy, or even be very soon. For-” A gentle hand settled atop my head. I looked up and found Tristan smiling down at me.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” he assured me. “Hope is a powerful emotion, and if I had been in your place I no doubt would have done the same.” His fingers glided down my face and he cupped my chin in his hand. The touch was gentle, almost petting. He lifted my eyes to his. “I’m glad you returned.” He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine.
The kiss was chaste, almost hesitant. I leaned into it and a sweet sensual heat flowed down my body. When he pulled away I was left breathless and blushing.
“Goodnight,” he whispered, and left the room.
I fell backwards onto the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. “Wow.”
The rest of the night was spent in a peaceful, dreamless sleep, and I awoke to the bright sun shining in through the windows. I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. A knock came from the other side of the door.
“Chris?” Chloe called to me. “Are you awake?”
“Come in,” I replied.
She opened the door and stepped in with a bright smile. “Good morning. I just wanted to see if you were ready for breakfast.”
I flung aside the covers and jumped out of bed. “I will be after I dress.”
Chloe bit her lower lip. “I’m afraid your clothes were ruined last night, but you’re very welcome to my dress until I can fetch the clothes from Mr. Vaughn later today.”
I grinned at her. “You’re a lifesaver, Chloe.”
Chloe blushed, but her eyes sparkled. She helped me into the dress I’d borrowed the day before and we both stepped out into the hall. Gwill met us at the top of the stairs and floated beside us as we descended.
“So you survived last night,” he teased me as he looked me over. “Nice bruises, by the way.”