Fae Eyes

by Michelle R. Reid

  I pushed his hands away and struggled to my feet. Maybe I should stay on the ground and make whatever he wanted harder on him. “You were the one who taught me how a slave should act,” I muttered, sulking despite myself. This was serious, and he was treating me like a willful puppy.

  “You would make a very poor slave.” Helios reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a tiny vial.

  I took in a deep breath and stared at it as he dangled it before my face. It was Fae nectar, but unlike anything I’d ever seen before. The Fae nectar available at the market gave a faint green gleam. The liquid in this vial was like a tiny sun, strong and yellow.

  Helios took my hand and placed the vial on my palm. “Have your uncle drink this. It will cure him. But Fae nectar is extremely addictive to humans; never let him have more.”

  I couldn’t take my eyes off the precious object in my hand. As soon as I saw the Fae city, I’d thought everything I’d done was for naught. Yet, here it was in my hand, glowing like a dream.

  “The only Fae nectar that was available at the market where we met was Red Cap nectar. It wouldn’t completely heal Red Cap poison.” Helios tapped the vial in my hands with his finger. “But this will.”

  I looked up with wide eyes, right into his. How did our faces get so close? I could see the little flecks of gold in the depths of his eyes, glowing like fires.

  He was so serious. Maybe even a little sad. Holding my gaze, he took my other hand and slipped something into it.

  My fingers closed over a second vial. Open mouthed, I gaped down at my hand. It was larger than the first one he’d given me. Given the quality of the nectar, there was no denying the smaller one alone would cost was twice the value of my whole farm. “What’s this one for?”

  “It’s for you,” Helios said softly. “Rub it on your legs and feet. It will cleanse away the Red Cap magic.”

  Take away all the pain? After so many years, it didn’t seem possible. I frowned, brows pulling together. “Why? I just need enough for Uncle Albus. You don’t have to give me this.”

  Helios was quiet for a minute. “Did it never occur to you to make me get your money back from the slavers? Or to make me carry you here, walking or flying? Or simply to send me by myself, get the nectar and return it to you? It would have only taken a couple of hours.”

  He smiled down at my shocked face. “No, of course not. It took me a while to accept that you didn’t have an ulterior motive. As scared and hurting as you were, you didn’t want to take the easy way out or shed your troubles on someone else. Even a Fae. I couldn’t believe a human could be that kind.”

  I blushed. “I honestly wasn’t trying to be.”

  He curled my hands around the vials. “That’s what made it so refreshing. My council wants to kill you, but I don’t think there’s enough kindness in the world. Yours is needed. It gives me hope that one day, humans and Fae might get along. Something I didn’t think was possible until yesterday.”

  His hands tightened around mine. “The only reason they want to kill you is because of the Red Cap magic. It seems the Red Caps are unaware of your location right now. If they knew you were here, they could use your life to empower themselves. While the Sun Fae are strong, there are more Red Caps. They could overpower us. The whole balance of these woods, and all the surrounding ones, would be ruined. I imagine it would affect the human world as well.” He paused. “The ritual must begin on a Fool's Day with a child born on a Fool's day, and once started, it can be continued at any time. However, it cannot be restarted. Once you cleanse yourself, you'll never be in danger again.”

  Pressure swelled in my chest, choking my breath and stinging my eyes with tears. Impulsively, I threw my arms around his neck. “Thank you, Helios. You’re the kind one.”

  His arms slowly came around me, and I felt him smile into my hair. For the first time since I left the farm yesterday morning, I felt safe. Something I didn’t think was possible around a Fae. All too soon he pulled back. The regret is his face mirrored mine.

  Helios motioned to the door. “I am needed elsewhere. While the Red Caps are distracted, Luzzu will return you home safely.”

  The door opened and his friend Luzzu walked through it, stone-faced and carrying a Fae Silk cape over one arm.

  All the comfortable feelings I had dried up like a prune. I would have stepped back, but Helios’s hand on my back kept me still.

  Helios took the cape from Luzzu and draped it over me. He gently latched the button over my collarbone and pulled the hood up. “Goodbye, Maira with the Fae eyes.”

  I wasn’t expecting the sudden swell of sadness that washed over me like a cold bucket of water. Who would have thought I’d feel this sad over a Fae? Or that such a nickname would sound wonderful to me. My hands tightened around the vials. “Is this goodbye forever?”

  Glaring, Luzzu stepped forward. He scooped me into his arms, careful to keep the silk between our bodies. I yelled in shock and fear, but he ignored me and jumped into the air.

  I gasped and pressed my precious vials against my pounding heart.

  Luzzu’s bright wings beat hard at the air, and we rose higher between the roof’s branches. In seconds, Helios’s light was blocked by the tree canopy and he was gone.

  Chapter Five

  As painful as walking could be, I’d take it over flying any day—even on days when I could barely move for the pain. Each rise twisted my heart tightly and each fall turned my stomach nauseous. Other than Helios’s promise, I had no assurance that Luzzu wouldn’t just drop me and tell Helios otherwise. From the small peeks I got of his face as the wind flapped my hood, Luzzu wasn’t any happier. The sharp angles of his face were like a sword, cutting the wind that whipped his hair back. Just like Helios’s last night, Luzzu’s fire-filled eyes glowed faintly in the night. I hoped that helped him see.

  All around us was black. My eyes weren’t good enough to see the trees below, and we were going too fast to catch the light of the stars in the sky. It was more than a little unnerving. The only glimmer of hope I had was the light my homestead gave off. It was there, like a beacon of comfort glowing in a lake of fear.

  It filled me with hope that I wasn’t too late. That Uncle Albus was alive and the warm bottle I clutched to my chest would heal him.

  I glanced up at Luzzu again and bit my lips. Then took a deep breath. “Thank you for taking me home,” I said loudly enough to be heard over the wind.

  I must have said it too loud because he winced slightly. He finally looked at me, still frowning. “I follow every command my king gives me, regardless of how absurd.” Even so, there was a spark of curiosity in his eyes despite his harsh look.

  I nodded and looked back at the lights of my home, still wishing it was Helios carrying me. “What was it that Hel—ah, King Helios needed to do so urgently?” The question was out before I realized that I shouldn’t have asked. But since I already had, I finished my thoughts. “What did he mean, while the Red Caps were distracted? Is Helios in danger?”

  Now the look Luzzu gave me was downright puzzled. “I don’t think—”

  There was an odd whistling sound.

  He threw his head back and screamed in pain, his chest trembling against my shoulder.

  What just happened?

  Our forward motion changed to a free fall.

  “Luzzu?” I clung to Luzzu, praying that he would lift us up, but he didn’t. “Luzzu!”

  He moaned like a wounded animal and wrapped his body around me. We dropped into the tree line, branches grabbing at our clothes and smacking our bodies as we fell through, the trees cracking and breaking as we went. The Fae Silk robe I wore prevented any punctures or cuts, but I felt each branch. Every jab caused me to yelp and press my face tighter into Luzzu’s shoulder.

  All too soon, the branches disappeared, their cracking cut off. We fell through the silent air. He yelled again as he hit the ground. I smashed into him, too badly winded to scream. Momentum rolled me off him, and I stopped with my face
pressed against dirt, branches, and leaves, their freshly torn smell filling my senses. I lay there, just breathing in the smell of fresh leaves and tree sap as my mind tried to understand what had just happened. How did we fall?

  My head spun, but I forced my eyes open and sat up. With a gasp, I bent over and buried my face in my hands. What little of the dark forest I could see from Luzzu’s glow was spinning.

  Luzzu!

  I could hear him moaning in agony not far from me. Blinking hard to get my vision back in order, I pushed up to my feet, almost tripping over the Fae Silk cloak. My legs throbbed in pain and threatened to collapse, but I didn’t let it happen until I made it to his side.

  Luzzu was hunched over in the fetal position, his face pressed into his knees as he hissed and moaned. His whole body shivered and his hands clawed at his back.

  There was a hole in his upper left wing the size of a small stone. Tears splintered out from the hole like cracked glass, almost disconnecting the entire wing. A sickly green taint grew around the wound—just like Uncle Albus’s poisoned cut. “What happened?” Please, tell me it wasn’t what I thought it was. We had been above the trees, that should have been too high for them, right?

  He started talking brokenly, but it was in Fae and I couldn’t understand it. The only word I picked out was ‘Red Cap.’

  “Oh.” I breathed in terror and looked around the dark forest. Red Caps shot us out of the sky? They couldn’t be far then. My stomach tightened painfully, and my legs ached sharply enough to make me wince.

  Luzzu moaned again.

  This was bad, as damaged as his wings were now, he’d never be able to fly again. And if they fell off, it would kill him. A Fae’s life-force was connected his wings. I bit my lips, trying to think of a way to help him. What could I do, I was just a human. What did I know about helping Fae?

  But that wasn’t right. I could help him.

  Quickly, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bigger bottle of Fae nectar. I stared at it a second, my fingers tightening around it. This vial was going to take away all the pain I’d suffered for the last seven years. I would probably never have another chance at something like this for the rest of my life. My eyes teared up with the sudden loss of a future without pain. I could selfishly keep it and leave. After all, Luzzu had tried to kill me earlier today. But he was Helios’s friend. And he was dying.

  Luzzu groaned, using his knees to muffle the sound.

  I took a breath and blinked away the tears. I leaned closer to him. He shifted away. Funny, normally I was the one who didn’t want to be touched by a Fae. “I have some—some Fae nectar, Luzzu. But how do I use it?” I looked at the hole in his wing. “Do I pour it on your wing or do you need to drink it?”

  He shifted enough to look at me, then the glowing bottle in my hands. That movement alone must have hurt a lot because he started to pant like a wounded animal. “Wing ... wing.” He gritted his teeth, pressing his face into his knees again. His hands fisted in his cloak, twisting the fabric in his fingers. Flickers of fire played over his knuckles.

  I nodded and took a breath. nectar had amazing healing abilities. Maybe if I pulled the scraps of his wing together and poured the nectar over, it would do the rest. I had to do this right—I only had the one chance. Giving up my bottle was one thing, but I couldn’t lose Uncle Albus’s bottle.

  “Okay.” Carefully I pulled the cork out and set it in the folds of my apron. “I’m going to touch you now, Luzzu. Please—please don’t set me on fire.” I reached out with shaking hands. As carefully as I could, I slid my left hand under his damaged wing. It felt as smooth as glass and as delicate as spun sugar.

  He yelled into his knees.

  I bit my lips and forced my hands not to shake. “I’m sorry. Sorry.” Carefully, I pushed the fragmented pieces together and dripped Fae nectar over the seams.

  “Fine ... fine ... fine,” he moaned.

  It was like nothing I’d seen before. On contact, the nectar fused the pieces of wing together and washed away the green taint. With every second, the tension eased out of Luzzu’s body. With the fractures healed, I took a breath and looked at the gaping hole. How could I fix that? Almost half the vial was gone now, would there be enough? Not sure what else to do, I tipped the Fae nectar and drizzled it over the hole at an angle. With just a sliver left in the bottle, I stopped. At first, nothing happened. Then a thread of Fae wing jumped across the gap like a spider web, then another, then another.

  A sound caught my ear. That scuttling and scattering of many tiny feet through the leaves on the ground. A second later I could hear the high-pitched giggles of excitement. No. No. Red Caps. A piercing shot of pain went from my hip to my toes and I gasped bending over.

  My eyes widened and I couldn’t stop how badly my hands shook. “Oh no,” I breathed.

  Luzzu heard the sounds and looked up. Most of his wing was mended, but there were still gaps that needed to fill in. From the way his sweat-covered face was contorted and his body shivered, I knew he was still hurting. He pushed up with his arms, put a foot under him, and promptly collapsed to his side with a groan.

  My breath came fast and shallow. Every muscle in my body screamed to run, but it wouldn’t do me any good. They could move faster than me. And what would they do to Luzzu if they caught him? He was just taking me home, he shouldn’t have to suffer like this for me.

  “Okay,” I whispered. My hands were shaking so badly it took a couple of tries to get the cork back in the bottle. “Okay,” I said again, trying to calm my frantic nerves. It didn’t work. I reached over and pushed the vial into Luzzu’s hand. There wasn’t a lot left, but maybe he could find it useful.

  He looked at me in surprise as I reached over and picked up a thick branch. It probably wouldn’t do any good, but I needed something to keep the Red Caps at bay. I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated, but I still couldn’t get my breathing to even out.

  “There! There! I see them!” The excited chatter echoed through the woods.

  “It’ll be okay,” I chanted and opened my eyes. “It’ll be okay.” The lie didn’t help.

  Luzzu attempted to stand up again and didn’t get much farther than last time. He grunted and grasped the brush to his left. The wood caught fire and quickly became a wall of flames. With a spent sigh, he flopped back to the ground.

  Even feet away, I could feel the intense heat of the fire. Hopefully it would keep the Red Caps away from that side. That left what was right in front of me. I nodded and stepped to his right side, wood at the ready and shaking like a leaf about to fall.

  Out of the dark, the Red Caps came. Their beady, black eyes reflected green in the light off Luzzu’s flames and their long, thin fingers aimed at me.

  I swung at the first one that reached me. It went flying to the side. The two behind it grabbed my stick and pulled. They were less than half my height, but they still easily yanked me off my feet. I landed on my stomach, fully exposed to them.

  Instantly they swarmed me, tearing at my cloak until the latch broke free. “Magic! Magic! It’s here! It’s here!” Their hot, rotten cabbage breath in my face, choking me, and their teeth clicking together in excitement.

  Shrieking in uncontrollable terror, I thrashed, but there were too many Red Caps. Their hands grabbed me and started to drag me across the ground like ants swarming a ladybug. “No! No!” I clawed at the ground, anything to prevent them from taking me. To prevent them from digging their fingers into my skin again.

  Something hard hit my head, and I blacked out.

  Chapter Six

  When I woke up I was in a short, squat hut. Eerie green light reflected off the walls made out of woven sticks and mud, and the low ceiling made out of woven leaves. Glass balls filled with green Red Cap nectar hung from the ceiling, reflecting flashes of green light as they swayed slowly. The air was filled with a faint hint of smoke, although there was no fire. Outside, muffled yells and squeals filled the night, along with the scuttle and scurrying of s
mall feet on hard ground.

  My head ached so badly I could barely focus on what was going on around me. Blinking, I turned my head. My eyes widened until they hurt and my breathing came in short gasps. I was on rough net stretched over top of a pool of glowing Red Cap nectar. The green liquid bubbled just inches below me, lighting the room and emitting a sickly-sweet scent. My limbs were tied to the net and four posts that supported the net, locking me into place. My clothes were in tatters, leaving me practically bare. Sobbing, I jerked my arms, but only succeeded in burning my wrists against the ropes.

  What was I doing here? Why was I hanging over their nectar?

  Four Red Caps scurried around the room, chattering and yelling at each other so fast I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

  The Red Caps moved frantically about the room, tying herbs together. One Fae ran over to the net and slipped its bunch of herbs between the ropes at my knee. The plants plopped into the nectar. The light from the nectar intensified. Another Red Cap, wearing a thick necklace made of dried leaves, pushed aside a mesh hanging over a short opening in the wall and peered out. A wave of smoke wafted in along with loud, obscure noises.

  My head swam with how fast I was heaving air in and out. What were they doing outside? Was I going to be burned too? How much would they torture me?

  Coughing, the Red Cap with the necklace closed the flap and yelled at the others. As one, the four Red Caps took position at the posts the net was attached to, one at each hand and the other two at my knees where my scars stopped.

  “No! No!” I screamed and jerked harder at the bonds. I knew this position. It was the same as seven years ago. But this time, no one knew where I was. No one was going to help me.

  They reached out and grabbed my limbs with their left hands and raised their right hands in the air, the knife-like nails of their pointed fingers extended. They started to chant in Red Cap, their voices low and cruel. In unison, they lowered their thin hands to my legs and arms, then dug their long, pointed nails into my skin.