by K.L. Bauman
Chapter 4
Inspiration
He was younger than Echo had expected. In fact, he didn’t look much older than she. Ayden’s tousled brown hair danced in the breeze, fanning toward a set of kind, amber colored eyes set in a smooth, handsome face. As he approached the dead sorcerer, he casually pushed his green hooded cloak away from his hip, revealing a sword. His voice was calm and gentle when he spoke. “Please, come with us now. We don’t want to hurt you.”
Echo was just wondering what Ayden meant by “we” when her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. Ayden’s companion was at least three times larger than he with muscles that threatened to burst through tight, dark skin. He stood behind Ayden, crossed his bulging arms, and nodded his bald head toward the dead sorcerer who looked even more like a toothpick than ever.
The sorcerer looked about frantically as a circle of on-lookers formed around him and his adversaries. Seeing no one willing to help, he glared back at the defenders, his pinched face darkening. He murmured something indiscernible and waved his free hand in the air. Echo’s heart jumped as she half expected a curse to fly from the man’s fingertips. The defenders stood calmly, not even twitching at the sorcerer’s crazed movements.
The faces in the surrounding crowd focused on Ayden Green. Echo stood with gleeful tension, waiting to see what would happen next. Ayden spoke again, his voice still calm but a little more stern. “You can stand down, or we can force you to stand down. The choice is yours.”
The dead sorcerer stood frozen for a moment and then slowly raised his sword. He held the jagged weapon in front of him, then yelled and charged. Ayden drew his sword smoothly, barely ruffling his cloak. A gasp rippled through the crowd followed by shouts and cheers as the sorcerer’s weapon crashed into the defender’s sword with a reverberating clang. Ayden spun around, easily pulling himself out of his adversary’s reach.
Echo, though tense at watching a battle, couldn’t keep herself from smiling. This is so exciting! she thought. The sorcerer charged again. Echo unconsciously grabbed her grandfather’s sleeve and held her breath. Ayden made no movement as the sorcerer drew closer and closer. Just before a collision occurred, the young defender swung his sword around. A clank of metal sounded and before anyone could blink, the sorcerer’s blade flew from his hand. In the time it took the weapon to soar through the air and begin its decent, Ayden had sheathed his sword, ripped a rope from his belt, grabbed the stunned sorcerer, forced him to the ground, and bound his hands behind his back. The only sound that followed was the clang of the metal as the rusted blade hit the cobblestones and rattled to a halt. Then a chuckle as deep and rolling as thunder emanated from the larger man as he approached Ayden and patted him on the back. “That was easy,” he said.
Ayden pulled the sorcerer from the ground and shook his head. “Easy for you!” he said. But he, too, smiled as he pulled the sorcerer upright. Echo noted how gentle Ayden was with the man, considering he’d just attempted to kill him. Her heart skipped a beat as Ayden caught her awestruck gaze. Her cheeks heated when he nodded a greeting, and then led his captive away. A cat with smoky fur trotted after the defenders as they left the square.
Echo looked at Dorian with an eyebrow raised. He smiled at her. “I believe the cat is also Ayden Green’s companion. Tell me, what did you think of the battle?” Dorian’s eyes blazed with excitement and curiosity. Echo’s heart still raced as she relived the short battle in her mind.
“That was amazing!” she said breathlessly. “He was so calm and so…in control!”
“It was rather impressive. Made me feel like a kid again, watching that,” Archer said, sharing his granddaughter’s enthusiasm.
Mari was next to speak. “I guess if one must use physical force, that would be the way to do it, wouldn’t it? He did as little damage as possible, but still got the job done.”
“He was okay,” Brecker added. His mannerisms suggested he wasn’t impressed, but his eyes betrayed his true feelings. Echo smirked at him and watched his lips twitch upwards at the corners. However, before he’d allow a full-fledged smile, he turned away.
Echo felt a new sense of hope and determination to work harder with her training. If she really concentrated, maybe someday she’d be as good a defender as Ayden Green. Then, she could help without hurting anyone. Her mind played with the idea as they walked toward the unique gift shop owned by their eccentric friend, Jiggers.
Echo had to let her eyes adjust to the dim interior of “Thing-A-Ma-Jiggers” after exiting the bright streets. She smiled again, still thinking of the defender and looking around at all of Jiggers’ wonderful trinkets. Bird feeders and pixie houses, like one she kept in her bedroom, hung by the dozens from the wooden ceiling; these were made with anything from vines over soft metal, to old bowls and vases, to woven silk. Most were decorated elaborately with real flowers that never seemed to wilt, in spite of the fact they were not attached to any living plant or soil.
Mobiles, made from live butterflies trained to live in a specific pattern, filled the gaps between the feeders and houses. Tea cups, dishes, and silverware, all made from shells, gourds, seed pods, and other natural items were neatly assembled along display tables. Magnifying glasses created with wooden handles and enormous enchanted droplets of water that never lost their form were kept behind a glass display case, along with jewelry and bits of fool’s silver and gold.
The rest of the group made their way into the shop. Four other villagers were there, speaking adamantly to Jiggers about some new jewelry. Four necklaces with round, metal medallions lay on the counter between them. One of the customers asked, “How many more can we get before dusk?”
Jiggers’ white hair, which stuck out from the sides of his round head in wild tufts, pressed his lips together for a moment. He adjusted his circular, wire-rim glasses and blinked his gray eyes thoughtfully at the customers. “I could get as many as a dozen made by tonight, but it will cost extra,” he said. His higher pitched tone suggested the task would be a bit of a strain.
“Fine. We’ll take them!” The customers forked out the extra coins and Jiggers face creased into a dozen soft lines as he smiled. Had she not known the old coot as well as she did, Echo wouldn’t have noticed the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
The customers turned and, at seeing the graceful form of Dorian looming over them, made a hasty retreat. “Ah, friends!” Jiggers said. “So glad they didn’t see you, Dorian, before I made the sale!” He made his round of greetings, then pulled them all to the back room. Echo chuckled. At least three dozen of the supposedly unmade necklaces Jiggers had sold moments ago lay ready and waiting on the work table. She picked one up and examined it. Brecker and Mari followed suit.
“These are… Well they’re pretty, but what’s so special about them?” Echo asked, hoping she hadn’t hurt Jiggers’ feelings. Why were the villagers so desperate to have more?
Jiggers ruffled his hair, did a little jig at the tips of his toes, and then drew his face within inches of Echo’s. She giggled at his boyish expression. “Funny thing about those. I might have mentioned to someone one day that they could perhaps ward off shadow dwellers. Silly bloke took me seriously! Ha!” He slapped his knee and looked about at everyone with glee. “Haven’t been able to keep a one on the shelf since!”
The teens examined the necklaces. A metal medallion dangled from a chain made of some type of soft vine. Each carried a different symbol, etched into the metal. Echo’s portrayed a fairy holding a star in her right hand.
“They don’t really work, do they?” she asked.
“Course not! And I told the bloke that, eventually. But he went running to the streets, telling everyone I had protective amulets in my shop. Who was I to argue? It’s given me a nice bit of profit. Crazy people, they fear true and good magic,” he looked over the tops of his spectacles at Dorian, “but put their trust in nonsense!”
Echo thought of her strange feeling by the riv
er and the image of water wraiths and doons. She had the strong urge to buy one of the necklaces herself. She stared at it, imagining the fairy coming to life and throwing the bright star at a shadow dweller. With her imagination running wild, the strange sensation from the river brushed against her neck again. She squeezed the amulet and then froze, sensing a pair of eyes boring into the back of her head. A faint scent of pine wafted in the air. Echo realized a fraction of a second too late what was happening.
A blond, jagged-haired teen seemingly materialized from the woodwork and grabbed her shoulders. “BOO!” he shouted, causing her to scream and jump.
“KEEBO! Don’t do that!” she yelled and then laughed as she punched him in the shoulder.
Keebo’s cheerful laugh reminded Echo of the sound of spring rain. “Sorry, Echo.” He looked at her with mock seriousness and raised a slanted eyebrow. “What sort of weird name is Echo, anyway…anyway…anyway?” Keebo echoed.
She smiled. It was a long standing joke between them. She couldn’t even remember how it had started, but they’d teased each other about it most of their lives.
“No weirder than Keebo!” she giggled.
Keebo genuinely sobered briefly. “I really do like your name, you know.” He then flashed a mischievous smile and winked at her.
Echo lost all train of thought. His wink had caused some strange emotion inside her. She suddenly noticed how Keebo had grown, though he was still shorter than she, and how his body had filled out. Even though he was human, too, his angular facial features gave him an impish look--beautiful, boy-like, and full of ornery.
Echo shook her head as the others wandered the shop. Keebo led her to a work bench where a strange, black device was neatly disassembled. “Do you know what this is?” he asked, his blue-green eyes twinkling. He scratched at the jagged hair that covered the tops of his ears--something that Echo had noticed he did whenever he was nervous or excited.
“I have no idea,” she answered. It looked like a bunch of junk to her.
“It’s a cam-er-ah from the Other World! Dad says it captures images that can be put on parchment. But they’re forbidden here,” he said in a whisper. His face beamed as he continued. “If images of Shae Vale are captured on one of these, they could be taken to the OW and alert the humans there to our existence. Then, Shae Vale would lose its magic.” He almost seemed keen to the idea.
A camera. That was what her dad had mentioned earlier that morning when she and Brecker were sneaking out. Echo studied the parts, suddenly intrigued. She couldn’t make any sense of it, though.
“Do you think your dad could show us how to work it?” he asked excitedly.
“I thought you just said they were forbidden!”
“We would never take the images to the OW! Besides, I’d love to see this kind of magic. Humans are so fascinating,” he said and then studied the parts.
Echo looked at him strangely. “WE are human, you weirdo.”
Keebo jerked his head toward her, looking momentarily baffled. Then he shrugged. “I meant OW humans. How is Shimmer? Is she getting strong? Is she fast?”
Echo didn’t mind the sudden change of subject. She loved talking to anyone about Shimmer. Keebo’s interest in the horse was a welcomed distraction, and they talked for several minutes.
Dorian eventually interrupted her. “We must go. Your father will need you home soon.”
The teens hugged Archer before he headed back to the inn. Keebo promised Echo he’d come and visit soon, and they made their fare-wells. He winked at her again, causing her to float down the street. She couldn’t help the smile that spread from one ear to the other. Brecker frowned. “What’re you so happy about?”
“Oh noth--” Echo’s sentence cut short as she turned toward her brother, then looked past his shoulder to one of the apple trees at the edge of the street. Her smile slid from her face. A satin-cloaked figure stood facing them, its features lost in the shadow of the hood. Goose bumps prickled Echo’s arms--something was cold and strange about the figure.
“What is it?” Brecker asked.
She looked at him briefly. “That tree! That cloaked man!”
The others followed her gaze. But no one was there.
“Good one, Echo,” Mari giggled. “You really scared me a little!”
“But,” Echo began. The others were already pulling ahead of her, chuckling at what they thought had been a joke.
“I was serious,” Echo said with quiet dismay as fear formed in her stomach like a ball of stone.