Mau remained at her side all the while, saying very little. The Faelyr knew where Minx's thoughts really were, what most concerned her, and was careful not to barge into her mind with inane talk that could distract her from the mission at hand.
During an afternoon report, one of the archers informed Minx of a suspicious sighting. “I spied a few warriors—Wuffs, I think—coming in from around the Trading Center. Four or five of them. They looked like a scouting party, but I wasn't sure. I stayed out of sight until they wandered away.”
Minx considered the report for a moment. “Four or five? Were they heavily armed?”
The archer replied, “I saw one bow among them... A few swords, too. That was all I could make out from where I was standing. I didn't want to give my position away.”
Minx turned to the Faelyr. We should strike them down before they get a whiff of our numbers. We're in a bad position—if their scouts report back to Torrent or the hunter that we're scrambling to defend ourselves, they're sure to rush in for an attack despite the weather.
Mau was in agreement. My thoughts exactly. Send two archers with me and I'll bet the three of us can get it done. In the meantime, the rest of you should fan out a little and monitor the surrounding areas—just to make sure they don't get the jump on us.
Oh, did they put you in charge? Minx shot back, a slight grin finding its way onto her lips.
Fine, we'll do as you say, Captain Minx!
Minx singled out a pair of young archers and tasked them with eliminating the enemy scouts. With Mau in tow, this would be a simple task. “I want you to work as fast as you can. Get this done and hasten back here, is that understood? Our ranks are thin. We don't want the enemy to know exactly how thin.”
Mau and the archers promptly embarked on their mission. A second wave of scouts was sent elsewhere to scope out lingering enemy warriors while Minx stealthily returned to Winterlimb. There, she stationed herself in the shade of the towering tree to check up on Kaleb.
In the interim, his suffering had only intensified.
The Elders, still chanting and moving in tandem, were wrenching the energy from Kaleb's body. By some ancient method known only to their kind, they were extracting the dragon shifter's strength, pulling it from his well-formed muscles. No longer was Kaleb content merely to grimace or writhe; he now hissed at their magical workings, shaking from head to toe.
Kaleb was just about the most powerful individual Minx had ever known. In battle, he was a fearsome threat that she herself could not hope to equal, and he had repeatedly wowed her with his feats of brutal strength. That power of his was now being leeched out, and though she'd never doubted his strength or resolve in the past, she couldn't help wondering if he could sustain the ritual for its entire duration. How much more can he take? They've only been going a little while. And even if he does survive it... what will be left of him in the end? They're taking everything from him. Even Kaleb has his limits...
Her subsequent visits to Winterlimb over the course of the afternoon and evening played out in precisely the same way, except that each visit coincided with a greater level of suffering on the subject's part. Minx met with Mau and the returning archers, who'd successfully taken care of the enemy scouts, and even picked off a few nosy Krah who'd wandered too close to the perimeter she was enforcing, but her brief returns to the site of the ritual left her more panicked and queasy than any battle had ever done.
They're killing him, she thought as the sun began dropping out of the sky. He should never have gone through with this. He won't make it... he won't survive. Minx dropped down onto the grass, sidling up beside Mau. She couldn't stand on her own two feet; the world beneath her felt as though it was spinning out of control. There was no way for her to ease his suffering, as interfering with the ritual could have grave consequences. It felt grotesque to sit idly by while the love of her life struggled a short distance away.
Why does it have to be this way? she asked herself—then, thinking better of it, she tried reaching out to the one entity who could actually answer the question. Never before had Minx sought to contact Heilo Lake of her own accord. She wasn't even sure it was possible, not the least because of Torrent's recent tainting of the waters. But as she sat there beside Mau, stifling a sob, she called out to the lake with all her heart, wishing for a reply. Why does it have to be this way? Why a dragon... Why him? Couldn't there have been some other way?
Aside from the sounds of the ritual—Kaleb's constant suffering and the low chants of the Elders—the area was quiet as night set in. Mau began dozing off as Minx struggled against despair, head in her hands. It was then, as if carried by a faint breeze, that the reply finally came to her from far-off.
“The love of your people is the key... This love will win the day.”
The Fae huntress sat bolt upright, working over this enigmatic reply for a long while. What's that supposed to mean? she wondered. This hadn't been the kind of answer she'd been expecting; it was too cryptic. What do you mean that the love of my people is the key? What good does that do me right now? Kaleb is... She sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm down. She was pleased, at least, to have established contact with the lake. Please, tell me more. I don't understand, she continued, in the hopes that the lake would pick up the thread and elaborate.
No reply came, however.
Though she sat listening for a long while and pressed the lake for a better answer several times, she heard nothing more.
Is that all, then? Is that all I have to work with? She nestled up against the sleeping Faelyr, gaze drawn to Kaleb's suffering form. As the energy was ripped from his body, he seemed to fall into a trance of torment. The energies he might have expended in expressing the full extent of his pains were being sapped away with all the rest, leaving him with nothing to give but staggered cries and moans. His entire body convulsed after each utterance; the Elders, having set firmly upon their course, had not ceased their chants since beginning earlier in the day. Though they themselves were not being tortured, the strain of the ritual was apparent in all of them, as well. The ancient Fae panted and wheezed through their work, slumping as they continued in unison.
How long will this go on? she wondered, a fresh wave of tears spilling forth. How many days will he have to endure this? The night was otherwise uneventful; the night-shift scouts had orders to seek her out in the event of trouble, but so far she'd been left undisturbed. There were no crises for her to distract herself with. All she could do was to sit and watch Kaleb in his agony. She couldn't stop things—not now—but she longed to ease his suffering, to bring him comfort in this most troubled hour.
You can't do that, she told herself, overriding her instinct to stand and walk toward Winterlimb. If you disrupt the ritual, it will have been for nothing. She once again buried her head in her hands, blocking out his cries and squeezing her eyes shut. There's nothing to do. You just have to wait for the ritual to end. When it's all over, hopefully... hopefully he'll still be alive...
But she couldn't sit still.
I love my people, she thought to herself. But I love Kaleb, too.
The clouds were churning in the sky and the moon was visible only at turns. She'd spent a good deal of time amongst the trees on the border of Pan, where the conditions had been a good deal more predictable. All day, the vast fields beyond the ruined Trading Center had been home to dust storms, and repeated reports had detailed unexpected snow and hail storms from adjacent regions. Even then, if she looked far into the distance, she could make out bolts of lightning surging through the shield of grey clouds. Minx rose to her feet, a gust of powerful wind coming in from the plains and threatening to topple her. Mau stirred as she set out toward Winterlimb, but did not rise. Had the Faelyr awakened just then, she likely would have tried to stop what was coming.
Minx managed to approach the site of the ritual without the least resistance, and came up on the flanks of the Elders completely unnoticed. It was only Kaleb, whose anguished gaze was cast
here and there in his fits of pain, who caught sight of her as she advanced. At seeing her, his body jerked and his eyes widened. There was no mistaking the joy in his eyes, but neither could she deny that he was alarmed. No matter how pleased Kaleb was to see her just then, his gaze was clearly telegraphing a warning. Stay back, Minx, he seemed to be saying. I wish I could speak to you, be near you... but you have to stay away.
Hours of witnessing his anguish had steeled her resolve, however.
She couldn't just sit and watch him suffer anymore.
With a deep breath, she slipped past the Elders and into the circle. Two of the ancient Fae, dazed for their hours of chanting, looked upon her and gasped. They nearly lost their momentum and tripped up in their recitation of the spell. Minx dashed by them, rushing straight toward old Winterlimb and wrapping her arms around the dragon shifter who'd been leashed there.
There was no telling what would happen. It was possible that her presence within the circle would interrupt the ritual, or that she herself would be destroyed by the magic of the Fae Elders.
No matter the consequences, Minx flew to her love. Better that they spend this moment together, she wagered, than to spend another second apart. Minx combed the hair from his face, finding him half-delirious with pain, and did what she had longed to do since he had first submitted to the ritual.
She pressed her lips to his and held him as tightly as she could.
Chapter 24
Dazed though he was, Kaleb responded to her kiss. Her passion seemed to blot out the immense suffering that had overwhelmed him for so many hours, and when finally she pulled away, he regained his breath and uttered her name. “Minx...?”
She took firm hold of Kaleb, burying her face against his sweat-dappled chest. His body exuded a tremendous heat, as though he had a raging fever. “I couldn't leave you,” she blurted, looking up at him tearfully. “I couldn't just sit and watch...”
Kaleb peered down at her, a smile spreading across his lips. He said nothing, but that he was happy to see her was never in doubt.
It was at that moment, as they stood before one another, staring into each other's eyes, that Minx first noticed it.
The Elders had ceased chanting.
Turning with a start, she looked to the Fae Elders, still standing around Winterlimb, and found that their eyes were on her. They wore expressions of wild shock, and a few—weakened by their hours of spell-craft—fell onto the grass, quivering. Minx attributed this reception to her meddling, figured them upset at her intrusion, but it fast became clear that her presence had merely been the catalyst for the true source of their amazement.
The air all around her was infused with a great warmth, and she watched as both she and Kaleb were dressed in tongues of pale, bluish flame. These flames lasted only a short while before disappearing completely from view. These flames... this energy... what is it? she wondered, recalling a similar sight the prior morning when she'd awakened beside Kaleb.
But that wasn't all. As the blue flame vanished, there was movement overhead. The clouds ceased their churn and the lightning promptly died out. In the thin moonlight that surfaced soon thereafter, Minx caught sight of something incredible—something she'd never expected to see again. Where previously she'd glimpsed the warding spell surrounding the lands of the Fae and had been stunned by its degradation, she now gazed upon a dense psychical barrier glimmering in the light of the newly-risen moon. Gone were the holes and stress marks that had haunted the previous barrier; the spell was solid now, and the efforts of the Elders had apparently been solidified the moment she herself had stepped into the circle.
“The barrier...” she uttered. “Kaleb, the barrier! It's up!” She turned to the Elders, grinning in disbelief. “Do you see it? The barrier has been refreshed! The shields are raised again!”
One of the Elders, rising from the ground, peered about with arched brows. “It appears that the ritual worked... Even the dust storms are dying out!” He spared a toothy smile, kneading at his sore back. “Wonderful! Well done!”
Kaleb loosed a great sigh, still bound to the ancient tree. “I'm glad,” he managed, a bead of sweat rolling off his chin.
Minx went to embrace him again, her heart soaring, but stopped short.
Something was wrong.
“K-Kaleb...” The Fae huntress watched as the ropes around Winterlimb's trunk grew slack. These ropes, which had bound Kaleb to the tree, slipped toward the ground though they had not been loosened. The powerful arms and legs that they had been fastened to began inexplicably to fade from view. “Kaleb?” she cried, reaching out to lay hands on him.
The dragon shifter looked down at his own body, evidently as surprised as she was. With every passing moment, more and more of that muscled body was vanishing from sight. He was dissolving fast, dissipating with every gust of wind as though made of dust. Baffled by what was happening but never one to panic, he spared Minx another warm smile and closed his eyes. “I'm glad it worked. Take care of yourself, Minx...”
The Fae huntress was shaking as she attempted to hold onto him. “Kaleb, don't—!”
In the next instant, he was gone—her arms were empty and the warmth that had radiated from his body could no longer be felt. A tremor coursed through her as she stood before Winterlimb, her fingers wrapped around the limp ropes. Her heart spasmed in her chest and she felt as though she might collapse. Carefully, using the old tree for support, she looked to the Elders behind her, though they could offer no guidance.
“He's... he's vanished...” muttered one of the ancients.
“How can this be?” asked another. “Where did he go?”
The bearded Elder, tottering toward Minx and placing a hand on her trembling shoulder, shook his head. “I've never seen anything like it. The ritual worked. When you stepped into the circle, something changed—accelerated. But now... the dragon has disappeared. I don't understand why this has happened, but I am most thankful for his brave sacrifice. He knew the risks and still helped our people. We are forever in his debt.”
Minx was not mollified by this and pulled away from him. Mau, awakened by the ruckus, wandered over to Winterlimb. What's going on? Is the ritual over? Where's Kaleb?
I... I don't know. And neither do they! I stepped into the ritual with him and suddenly the shields were reinstated. The spell worked, but... Kaleb disappeared. I watched him fade away with my own eyes.
So... He's gone, then? chanced the Faelyr.
Minx shook her head violently. No... No, I refuse to believe it. It was true that she could no longer see him, and that the manner of his disappearance had been profoundly troubling. It would be all too easy to presume him dead—spent by the toll of the ritual. But her heart told her otherwise. I don't know what's happened to him. I can't see him anymore, but... I can still feel him, Mau.
Ordinarily, when separated from Kaleb by great distances, she would feel the stirrings of that mysterious pain in her breast. However, as she stood there, marveling at his disappearance, the pain was absent. In some intangible way—a sense that she couldn't articulate—she could still feel him nearby. Every trace of him was gone, and yet the longer she stood there, the more certain she became that he was lingering somewhere close—somewhere perpetually just out of reach.
I mean it, insisted Minx. I can't explain it, but... It's like he's still standing here, in some way. She pressed a hand to her heart. I feel connected to him, even though I can't see him.
Like a bond? chanced the Faelyr.
Minx nodded.
From the direction of the Trading Center, a handful of Fae warriors came running with news. “Minx!” cried out one of the archers. “The Wuffs and Plurn that were camping on the periphery have gone into a full-blown retreat! Something forced them away! We were anticipating a possible attack tonight—a run-in with their forces—but they were suddenly driven off!”
Her mind was reeling so that she could scarcely process this information. “Please,” she replied, “inform the First of t
his. I... I need a moment...”
“I'm very sorry,” offered one of the Elders. “I know you cared for him deeply.” He patted Minx on the arm and then began gathering the ropes. The others, having completed their work, began shuffling off, bound for Heilo Lake.
Minx was still thunderstruck, unable to understand what was happening. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to survive—to stay with me when the ritual was over. But then... I don't think he's dead. I can still sense him, somehow. How is it possible? Where has he gone?
Gazing tearfully into the distance for signs of her love, she heard a voice calling out to her from afar. “Thank you.”
It was the lake.
Sure that Heilo Lake could give her the answers she sought, she flew at once into a fiery inquisition. What happened to Kaleb? she demanded. Is he all right? Is he alive? I don't understand what's happening here. He was standing beside me one moment, and then he faded into thin air in the next. Please, tell me what's happened. The Elders don't know, either...
Heilo Lake was not in the habit of giving easy answers, and this time was no different. “Thank you. The taint remains, but has been slowed. The barrier now stands, and will protect these lands for some time.”
The lake is still tainted... Minx looked up into the sky. Will it ever be able to recover while Torrent is still out there? And what about Kaleb? Is he really still here in some way, or am I losing my mind?
Once more, the lake remained silent.
Mau sidled up to her, leaning her head against Minx's thigh. I'm sorry, Minx. Kaleb was wonderful—a real hero. I wish things had worked out differently, but he did a great thing for all of us.
The Elders had disappeared into the woods, leaving only the two of them standing beneath Winterlimb. Minx felt a weight in the air, as of someone lingering close-by, but her eyes could find no source for this mysterious presence. She dropped down onto the ground, teeth grit. I don't get it. It wasn't supposed to be like this, Mau. He was supposed to stay—to live! Where has he gone? I think I can still feel him... It's like he's standing right next to me! And yet...
How to Save a Fae (Heir of Dragons Book 2) Page 19