by Ellis Logan
Chapter 20
I lay down and curled around the comforter. It smelled like Rowan, like allspice and cloves and the fresh lemons. I held it up to my nose, inhaling deeply.
I closed my eyes and started drifting away, only to be jarred wide awake again as the familiar, rough voice echoed through my refuge.
We will find you, Siri. Make it easy on yourself. Join us, or your mother will suffer.
Oh god. Mom.
Join us, and live like a queen.
“No,” I whispered.
Rasping, deviant laughter filled the air, or my head. I couldn’t really tell. I’d felt the voice thrumming throughout every cell of my body, practically blasting apart my head. I almost wondered if it had shaken the leaves off the tree.
So much for sleeping.
Totally awake now, I decided to go through Rowan’s pack and see what he had brought. I grabbed a slice of pizza and started munching while I unzipped the bag.
Sharp cheddar cheese and a pack of Saltines. A couple of apples. No chocolate. I sighed, thinking about my mom. She would never have packed an escape bag without chocolate.
“I miss you, mom,” I whispered. “What are we going to do? I don’t think you trained me enough for this.”
“She did, you know.” My head spun around at this new voice. It sounded suspiciously like the one I’d heard earlier, the one that had whispered that Rowan was Dark.
Small. Wise. A little snarky.
There was, of course, no one there.
No one except me, and the little squirrel who was now sitting in front of me on his haunches, sniffing at one of the apples.
“No one here.” The squirrel huffed and took a nibble of the apple. “Honestly, you’re going to give me a complex.”
“I’m sorry,” I stuttered. “Did you just…are you talking to me?”
“Who else would I be talking to?” He looked up at me with big, glistening eyes.
“But…but…you’re a squirrel.”
“Way to state the obvious, kiddo. Look, it took you long enough to hear me, I gotta say. I thought your fae powers were further along than this, but I’ve been talking to you for days and you never acknowledged me. Thanks for healing me, by the way.”
“Healing you?”
“Yeah kid, I was on my way out after that truck hit me. Saw the big white light, gramma and gramps, the whole deal. Then you picked me up, and they started to fade away. You healed me. Didn’t you know?”
“I figured you were just stunned or something. No, I had no idea.” Just like I didn’t know I could talk to animals.
“Yeah, well you can. Hey now, don’t look so shocked. I can hear your thoughts, too. Animal speak, you know? All us animals can hear thoughts. I gotta say, you humans talk non-stop in your heads. It’s kind of exhausting to listen to. I don’t know how the cats and dogs do it all day, hanging out in your houses. Stupid animals.”
“Um, okay. Well, so, then, why are you here? You know, if I’m so noisy?”
“You saved my life, kid. Squirrel code of honor dictates a year of service now. I’ll be dogging your steps for the next eleven and a half months. Good thing, too, or you’d be stuck with your mom right now with those shades.”
“You know about that? I mean, I know you heard us talking, but do you know anything else?”
“I don’t know where they are keeping her, but I do know that guy you’re hanging out with doesn’t know the whole story. Those Shades, they are bad news. They aren’t trying to guide humanity. They want to control humans. Animals, too. Every time they get near a forest they tear it down or strip mine it. They think the whole planet is theirs for the taking. You think humans are bad? Shades are ten times worse. Most every horrible crime against nature or humanity you can think of, a Shade is behind it.”
“But, Rowan said that Shades preserve the Earth.”
I was so confused.
Who should I believe? Once again, I wished my mom was here.
“Shade faelings are brought into the fold slowly. They’re raised with lies, and then they’re sent away for training and education after they join the Shades when they turn eighteen. That’s where they get mind-warped, and brought over to the Dark side. But believe it Siri, the Shades are bad news.”
He sniffed at the cheese, and I broke him off a small piece.
“Do you want to know why they are really called Shades?” He asked me with a cheek puffed full of cheddar.
I nodded.
“We forest dwellers gave them that name.” He puffed up proudly. “When they broke off from the rest of Aeden, they would meet in the darkest parts of the woods, always hiding their gatherings and plots from the Light warriors. They stuck to the shadows like ghosts, and if they saw any animals spying on them, they would cut them down like angels of death so we couldn’t report back to the Light. That’s why they are Shades. Everything they touch turns dark or dies. And now they’ve cast their net of darkness over the whole world.”
“Cheery,” I said uneasily.
“Look, even if you don’t want to believe me, part of you knows it’s true. Your body knows. I’ve heard your thoughts, how your stomach rolls over every time Rowan or one of his family touch you. That’s not a mating thing. I mean, part of the rush you feel with Rowan is, but the stomach clenching, that nausea – that’s a natural Light reaction to the Dark, even to faelings. It’s your fae senses giving you a warning, Siri.”
“What about Rowan, does he feel it, too?”
“Nah,” the squirrel muttered as he stole a cracker off my lap. “He just feels lighter when he’s around you, more energized. Happier, you know. It’s a natural reaction to the Light. Once Dark go through training, they find the feeling distracting, and are taught to associate joy with weakness.”
I felt deflated. My body had been warning me all along.
“Don’t worry kid, you’ve got me now. I’ll help you learn the ropes. And you can practice your animal speak with me. Not all fae can hear us, you know. We can hear you, and you can usually pick up things empathically from us, but actually hearing us talk? And healing us? You got some special skills, kid.”
“What about this woman Rowan’s taking us to tomorrow? Is she Dark, too?”
“No, he’s right about Vala. Her house is on a special energy spot that’s been sacred to the fae since the beginning of time. She is descended from a long line of Druids that has always maintained neutrality so that they can maintain the energy centers of the earth for the benefit of both humans and fae, and she really is a seer. She should be able to help us.”
I chewed on some more cheese, trying to take it all in. Trying to remain calm, and have some faith in what the talking (talking!) squirrel was telling me.
“Hey, by the way, I do have a name you know. As much as I enjoy being called Talking Squirrel and all.”
I came out of my daze and looked at him, really looked at him.
“Okay, what is it?”
“Mikowa. My friends just call me Miko.”
“Oh yeah, what do your enemies call you?”
“Lunch!” He made a long string of clicks and chitters that I could only assume were the squirrel equivalent of laughter. I chuckled.
“Okay, Miko it is. Anything else I should know before I go see this Vala woman?”
“Your mother is a really strong Light warrior, but that doesn’t explain why the Dark would have openly attacked you both like that. I think something else is going on…I think you’re going to need to be both Tyr-wise and Tyr-brave to figure this out, Siri.”
“Tyr, isn’t he the Viking god of war? Mom mentioned we were descended from him.” There was so much to figure out, I was so new to all this. I wondered if I’d ever get a handle on it all.
“A lot of people remember him now as a god of war. But really, he was one of the greatest leaders of the fae before Odin. He was concerned with justice and honor, setting most of the laws of the land, and anything he said could always be trusted. He was very wise, but he was an incredible wa
rrior, too. When he said he would do something, he did it. He’d never give up. He was dauntless. One time, trying to prove that his council was honorable and meant no harm, he put his hand in a shifter’s mouth, the fae-wolf Fenrir.”
“I remember that story. My mom used to read it to me at bedtime.”
“Yeah, well, the wolf smelled the deceit behind the council’s promises, so despite Tyr’s sincerity he bit off the hand in anger. Many people thought Tyr had been foolhardy to brandish his own honor so carelessly, so there is a saying: are you Tyr-wise or Tyr-brave?” Miko snorted. “As if you can’t be both. Tomorrow, Siri, and in the days that come, you will need to be both.”
Wow. Heavy, I thought.
“Ain’t it though, kid?” Miko quipped. “But you are a fighter. You’re just in a bit of shock now. But look how well you’ve done already. There aren’t many faelings who could escape a trained Dark squad, help or no help.”
“Hmm. Thanks by the way. I couldn’t have gotten away without you.”
“Yeah, I have a feeling my year of service to you is going to be a lot more demanding than I bargained for. But, a debt of life is no small thing. I will stay with you through this, Siri, I swear.”
He solemnly squatted on his haunches before me, and held out his little paw. I put mine out, and we shook on it.
Not so tired anymore, I reached over to the book bins and pulled out a stack of comic books. Wolverine, X-Men, Avengers. A couple manga issues. I lost myself in the colorful graphics and stories for a while, losing track of the time. Eventually, I fell asleep, huddled up with Miko under Rowan’s blankets, comforted by the gentle snoring of the squirrel and the feel of his soft fur in my arms.
