Chapter Nine

  Saraha stared at us from the doorway. Her eyes kept flicking toward me, then back to Finn. She was visibly uncomfortable, but she quickly got over it and asked, “I’m assuming you’re ready to go, then?” I picked up my bag from the floor and nodded. Finn had to go grab his own from the closet. When he returned, he cheerfully responded.

  “All ready! Will we be traveling by horse or stone?” The thought of traveling by stone any more than what we’d already done made my stomach turn. He must’ve sensed my discomfort and laughed at me.

  “Horseback,” The small woman replied, clearly not amused. “It’s about a day’s ride from here. We might have some trouble with mister Blue fellow, though. The humans there don’t take too kindly to fae in their town.” I realized then that she didn’t know exactly what I was, only that I wasn’t human. Finn brushed her concern off with a wave of his hand.

  “Don’t worry about him, he can take care of himself when we get outside the wall.” He assured her, then gestured towards the door. “Well then, let’s be on our way, shall we?” Our female companion blinked a few times before shaking her head slightly and turning to move out. I gave him a questioning look as I passed him, and he shrugged in response. “I mean, it’s true.” He said flatly as he closed the door behind us. We quickly caught up to Sahara and walked a few paces behind her until we reached the gate. I’d not been this close to the wall, I realized. It was massive, probably twelve meters or more high, made from chiseled blackstone bricks. The gate was a wall of its own, standing at the height of an ogre and made of thick iron bars. I wondered if the iron was forged or wrought. I wasn’t sure whether or not the metal affected me, but I knew some fae were heavily afflicted by cold iron. Only way to find out is to do it. Want someone to stab an iron spike through your hand? I swallowed dryly at the thought. Now was not the time to experiment with potential threats, or even think of them for that matter.

  Three men stood in front of the gate, horses at their sides. Sahara immediately went for the sand-colored quarter horse, who tossed its muzzle into her hair affectionately. She whispered something to it while Finn and I were given our horses. Finnegan’s horse was named Lily, he explained to me. I could immediately see why he was drawn to her, she was a pure white beauty that reminded me of his wife. The horse that was left to me was a speckled grey and black. Finn told me his name was Indigo, and that he was a bit of a bullhead.

  “Hello,” I spoke quietly to the beast, “I hope you and I will get along well, friend.” He seemed to snort in response, and I gave him a solid pat on the neck. We all got settled into our mounts, and faced the gate. Chains clanged and metal creaked as the iron bars lifted into the air. Sahara took the lead, and prodded her horse to move forward. Finn and I followed suit, riding in tandem a few strides behind her.

  As soon as we passed through the barrier, I lurched forward in the saddle. The same thing that happened in the field was happening again with my magic. It was like a floodgate had been released, and everything rushed through all at once. It almost made me dizzy, it was so overwhelming. Finn reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. “Steady there, pal. It’s still a long way to go yet, you can’t be having issues already.” I waved him off and took a deep breath. The scents of the world filled my nose, and the fresh air pierced deep into my lungs. When I exhaled, I sighed in pure bliss.

  “One day there was already too long, Finn. I might never go back.” I spoke, only partly joking. Finn chuckled though, and went back to facing the trail ahead. We were on rocky terrain here, the dark outpost behind us stood blatantly obvious among the flat, grey ridge. The ride was silent and broody as we trotted along the ridge. Our horses’ shoes hitting stone was the only sound that echoed after us. It was a smooth trail, following a gorge that I’d assume we’d be crossing at some point. “Why is the Venom’s outpost all the way out here?” I finally asked.

  Finn shrugged. “Seclusion.” He replied simply. “Valen is not exactly the most welcoming to guests at his uber-secret task force’s main quarters.”

  I chuffed at that. “Fair enough.” I responded and we fell back into silence. Our surroundings slowly turned from rocky cliffside into pine forests as we went further East into the land, away from the gorge. “What’s beyond the gorge back there?” I called out to my party. Sahara whipped her head around and glared at me, then looked at Finn with an odd sense of… Unease?

  Finn waited a while before answering,“Not our territory. Kind of a sore subject.” I pursed my lips at that. So I offended her. I realized, although I wasn’t sure why I made her uneasy. I wasn’t very well versed in the history of the country, but I know I should’ve been. Maybe there was something in that history I didn’t know, and that was her reason. That couldn’t be it, though. She was wary of me back at the outpost. I gave up trying to figure it out for now.

  It was about midday when we stopped to give the horses a break. I leaned against a thin pine while Finn sat in the moss at my feet. Sahara continued to stare at us with a slight scowl on her face. Honestly, what is this lady’s problem? I wondered to myself. Maybe it’s the massive stick up her arse, my inner companion obliged. I snorted out loud and startled both of them. “I'm going to get the horses.” Sahara clipped, and went off toward the nearby river where we’d tied the horses to rest.

  “Care to explain?” Finnegan asked when he stood up, “You looked a little lost there for a minute.” I looked down at the ground sheepishly.

  “It’s kind of a long story.”

  “Good thing it’s a long trip.”

  I was about to answer him when a muffled sound caught my attention. I shot to attention and looked in the direction Sahara had gone. “Trouble.” I barked, and grabbed the knife at my waist. Finn’s hand went to the hilt of his own weapon as he followed my lead into the forest. I ducked and weaved through the branches and brambles until I came upon the source of the sound. I stayed back and observed, assessing the threat before going forward.

  Three humanoid figures surrounded Sahara, who was crumpled unceremoniously on the ground. Their skin was jagged and rough, resembling tree bark. There was a mess of vines and leaves where their hair should’ve been. The figures were a head shorter than us and carried makeshift weapons that were more than likely logs at one point that had been fashioned into clubs. Finn burst through the trees and shouted Sahara’s name, but she didn’t move. Dumbass. I growled to myself. No wonder that halfling was complaining about him. I thought back to my research at Shane’s. They’re dryads! Tree nymphs! They’re normally docile. Why are they upset?

  The dryads looked up at Finn, then two of them stepped backwards and merged into the trees. Finn hesitated at the sight of the two figures essentially turning into trees, but quickly focused his attention on the one that remained. Her eyes locked with his as she spoke;

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  “Jatalm emen jatalmes. Lovietemy emen lovietemies.”

  Finn stopped dead in his tracks and lowered the sickle in his hand. He tilted his head to the side, as if listening to her. The dryad repeated her phrase, and extended a hand toward Finn. He stepped forward a few paces, and she caressed his face in her palm.

  I repeated the sentence quietly to myself, trying to remember what it meant. It was of fae origin, but changeling speak and dryad tongue did not run in tandem. A little insight would be nice, I growled in my mind. Jatalm translates to friend. My inner companion offered. Friend of my friends… Okay, halfway there. Lovietemy… Enemy! It means enemy! Friend of my friends, enemy of my enemies… Oh shit.

  “Finnegan.” I revealed myself, stepping out from my hiding spot. “What are you doing?”

  “They don’t mean any harm, Rune. They’re just doing their duties, protecting the forest.” He gazed back at the dryad, who was smiling at him, completely ignoring me. He was standing directly over Sahara’s limp body now, but paid her no mind.

  “Finn, I need you to think about this. They attacked Sahara. She’s manipulating your mind, Finnegan.” I warned carefully. “We need to get out of here.”

  The hairs on the back of my neck went up, and my hand gripped the knife on my waist tightly. I felt the presence of the dryad behind me just before it reached me. When I whipped around to face the tree behind me, her hand was still extended out to grab me. She attempted the same charm spell on me, but I growled back at her; “Ni bheidh oibre ar shi’feer fola.” Won’t work on fae blood.

  She stopped speaking and tilted her head slightly. It seemed as if she wasn’t sure how to react to another fae in their territory. “FINNEGAN.” I barked again, glancing over my shoulder. He had picked up Sahara, and was now walking toward the riverbank. I realized that the dryads saw her as their enemy, and Finn was going to get rid of the threat. I had to get him out of there, before he did something irreversible. How do I get through to him, like, NOW? I wracked my brain for a quick solution. A smack upside the head would do the trick, but his back was to me and I had two more problems of my own in front of me.

  I channeled my magic into the atmosphere and cast an illusion. Specifically, a breeze with the scent of callalily flowers in the wind. I could only hope it worked though, because the dryad in front of me was now angry with me for using my magic against theirs. She swung her makeshift club at me, and it whipped past my ear as I leaned back to narrowly avoid it. I drew my knife and jabbed at her arm as she finished her swing. It knocked against the surface of her arm with a hollow thunk, like I had smacked a log. Barkskin. I muttered a curse under my breath.

  A piercing shriek echoed from behind us, and I hoped to the Goddess that Finn had gotten out of the other nymph’s charm and was defending himself and Sahara. I started walking backwards in the direction of Finn and Sahara when the third dryad resurfaced from a tree to my left. I was surrounded at this point, by fae creatures that were resistant to magic at that.

  They’re resistant to magic, not fire. My subconscious comrade offered. There’s nothing to burn! I retorted. The entire area in the forest was lush, damp greenery. The moss on the ground was too wet from the riverbank. Everything was too green, too fresh. I wouldn’t be able to light any of it. While I was scanning the ground for something to grab, it hit me. Literally. I had missed the nymph to my left swinging her club. It cracked against my ribs with a sickening crunch, and I howled in pain. I managed to grab her club, though. I yanked on it, twisting it out of her grip. My broken ribs screamed in protest, and for a split second I started seeing stars. I grunted out the cantrip for my fire, and the end of the log in my hand roared to life.

  The dryads in front of me shrieked with panic, and I swung the makeshift torch between the two of them. “Leave us, or be the reason this forest burns.” I ordered in Sylvan. Dryads had their own dialect, but I hoped the message got across. It must have, because the angry women shrunk back into the surrounding trees, weeping. The forest was quiet now, save for our heavy breathing, and the steady rush of the river behind me. I didn’t dare take my eyes off of the evergreens in front of me, so I called over my shoulder,

  “Finnegan? Are you with me?”

  Silence. I held my breath and continued walking backwards, never taking my eyes off the trees.

  “Finn?” I attempted again, stifling the concern starting to build.

  There was some movement behind me, and a grunt. I finally gave up my staring contest with the forest to check on the situation behind me. At my feet, Sahara had been placed a little more gently on the mossy ground. Not in the river, that’s a good sign. Beyond her, a pool of dark tree sap was steadily growing. My gaze followed the pool until I finally found him, not far from the riverbank. The dryad that had charmed Finn was dead weight on top of him, her head was at his feet. His sickle was covered in dark, sticky pine sap, and the rest of her corpse was bleeding sap onto him and the forest floor below. She was essentially a man-sized log at this point, and Finn struggled with the dead weight pinning him at an odd angle. I shoved a strong gust of air at him, and the dryad-log tumbled off of him before resting inches away from the river. He took a deep breath and stretched, then cast a grateful look my way. “Rune, I-” I shook my head at him, holding my hand up to tell him to save it. I decided I’d deal with him and whatever happened in his mind later.

  Instead, I crouched next to Sahara, and staked the burning log into the ground beside us. The dryads wouldn’t come within a three–meter radius of the flame, all I had to do was keep it burning. When my knees hit the dark moss, I drew more magic from the forest floor. The winds died, the forest remained deathly silent. I felt the magic pull from every contact point I had with the land, coursing up through my bloodstream. Beautiful. I closed my eyes and savored the feeling. Almost immediately, my right hand glowed with a light-blue hue. I pressed that palm to her forehead and read her aura for signs of life. She was still warm, so the dryads hadn’t killed her. That definitely helped.

  “She’s not dead.” I relayed to Finn, who was now crouched beside us. He watched from her other side with wide eyes. What I didn’t tell him was that I could barely read her aura. It was so faint, so low, that she would have almost been mistaken for dead. They probably convinced her to eat something spellbound. Charmed, just like the other human. The voice inside me was quiet, surprisingly gentle compared to our usual banter. You could try to break it. You have the Blessing. I agreed, and took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure this would work, I hadn’t accessed the ancient magic since leaving Haven. But I’d seen my mother and the Elders do it, and I knew I had it in me. It was the only solution I could think of, given our supplies and abilities. I surged all the magic I could muster into her, and spoke with the echo of generations behind my voice. I commanded in Changeling tongue, in a voice that was barely my own,

  “Free yourself from this place. Arise, and be well.”

  The magic shot from my hand and into her body, turning her skin on her face an eerie shade of blue. The blue glow eventually seeped into her skin and dissipated. I leaned back and braced myself, propped up by my hands at my sides while I watched her. My head was swimming, my body was screaming in agony, but I remained still as we waited. Minutes felt like hours as we both stared at her practically lifeless body on the ground. The moment her chest rose and her eyes shot open, I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I was holding. She was awake. It worked. “Thank the Goddess.” I muttered.

  “You’re awake!” Finn breathed, and leaned down to help her up. His voice sounded far away, as if he was on the other side of the river. My head started pounding, and I put my palm to my temple to try and soothe it. “Uh... Rune? Is everything-” I didn’t hear Finnegan finish. The sparks in my vision turned to black, and I collapsed backwards onto the forest floor.