by Morgan Wylie
“Yes!” Chel hissed between her teeth as she bounced on the balls of her feet.
“We are not so unevenly matched as you had planned, are we, Mother? No, you see, I had learned of your plan—albeit a little too late—but rerouted myself in search of assistance against whatever you might have planned. Now I understand.” Hal paused and when he looked back into his mother’s fierce eyes, he was resolved. “I am no son of yours.”
Out from behind the same tree that Hal had come stepped Arileas, Elder of the Ehsmia, clothed in leathers and armed with a sword and spear. He stared Maleina down. “We meet again, Paladin of Feraánmar.”
If Maleina could turn into a dragon, she would have spit fire. She glared at Arileas, then back to Daegan and her son. “So be it.” She turned, her dress swirling out from her as she vanished. Her leaving, however, set off the Ónarach as they began to move as a unit toward them.
They moved in sync, a freaky entourage of clones. Draped in black cloaks, they each hobbled with the same lame leg. As they got closer, their faces were revealed, their eyes golden glowing orbs in deep-set sockets. Their faces ashen and expressionless.
“Are they zombies?” Chel asked in disgust.
“No, but they are something similar in that they aren’t completely alive, but neither are they dead. Actually, I guess they are kind of like zombies, Chel,” Finn responded thoughtfully.
“I don’t really care what they are, but what they can do! And what do we do?” Kaeleigh replied, revealing her growing fear as they kept getting closer.
“They seem to move kind of slow, can we just out run them?” Metrí asked.
“No. And who are you?” Hal asked with a large grin that was entirely out of place for the situation at hand.
“Metrí. And Halister, was it?”
“Hal will work just fine. You are kind of a little thing to be hanging around with this crazy crew, aren’t you?”
“I can manage.”
“You better watch your mouth, Hal, she could probably take you down,” Chel replied with a hand on her hip as she gave him a big wink.
“Nice to see you too, love.” He returned her wink.
Chel’s expression cooled. “Watch your mouth, palace boy.”
“Focus!” Finn jumped in, shouting.
Daegan had not taken his eyes off the creatures as they watched the immature interaction with interest.
“What do you see, Daegan?” Hal asked, suddenly focused again.
“I can still feel them. It is so chaotic and sticky in their heads. Confusion. Hunger. Bound to obey. Longing... longing for their essence, who they were before.” Daegan’s face held an ounce of sympathy and pain, until it suddenly went pale and then a sickly green. He looked as if he might lose what meal he had last eaten. He shook his head and closed his features off as everyone looked on in horror at his reaction.
“Whoa, that bad, huh?” Chel asked.
Daegan took out the shorter knife he had sheathed at his hip and threw it straight into the heart of the creature leading the pack. He went down immediately.
“I guess so,” Chel commented as the others looked on in pure fascination.
“Holy...” “Oh my...” Metrí and Kaeleigh said at the same time. The lead Ónarach that Daegan so quickly dispatched rose up in a slow-motion reversal of how it just had gone down, unfolding itself.
“That can’t be good,” Hal said flatly. “No, not good at all.”
“You think?”
“Chel, not the time,” Kaeleigh whispered. Chel nodded at her friend. Kaeleigh squeezed her arm; she knew Chel was scared. They both were.
“Archers at the ready,” Arileas commanded. “Take your mark. The rest of you get ready for diversions and chaos.” He looked them each briefly in the eyes. “This fight is not meant to be your last. You will live for tomorrow.” He signaled to his people and everything after that went extremely swiftly.
Arrows soared through the clearing, fired straight and true one after another. The Ónarach were each hit and responded accordingly. They began to move slightly more independently of each other as if being struck over and over severed their ties to each other. Each held a small black dagger that had been unseen beneath their cloaks. Moving freely, they did not swing their daggers but instead waved them at the arrows haphazardly, attempting to block them. Individual winds began to swirl around each creature, causing their cloaks to flap around them. It was an eerie effect, if nothing else. The winds picked up and assisted in blocking the arrows fired at them by changing their directions.
“Remember, at my side,” Daegan whispered fiercely into Kaeleigh’s ear as he prepared to fight off whatever might come at them. She had no intention of going anywhere else at that moment. They all stayed pretty close.
“I have an idea. Kaeleigh, use your magic to light the tips of the arrows as they are released. Everyone else focus your magic on blocking the wind,” Finn said hastily, voice trembling a bit with excitement.
“I don’t know if I can, Finn.”
“I know you can, Kae. Try... Now!” Finn almost shouted at her.
Thinking desperately of fire and picturing their tips igniting as she saw the first of the arrows fly, she was disappointed not to see them burst.
“Try again.”
She took a deep breath and focused again, seeing her magic stirring within her with flames dancing along its edges. Again nothing. Then she felt Daegan sneakily grab hold of her elbow. Where his skin touched hers, there was a crackling energy that she felt entwine with her own. Without thought, she looked to the arrows that were yet flying again and pictured them bursting into flame right as they hit their targets... instant fire.
“Nice,” Metrí said in awe.
They watched as the flames not only pierced the Ónarach, but caused the chaos that they were looking for as they had desperately hoped not to have to fight these creatures without understanding their weak spots. The flames would not kill them, but they did begin to devour their cloaks and send them crashing into one another, trying to find a way to extinguish the flames.
It was at that moment that a large white bird soared overhead releasing a cry that was heard above the disturbance. Immediately following, Arileas turned to a brambling bush that was just on the other side of himself and began to spin his arm in a wide circle chanting something under his breath that most could not hear. But neither Daegan nor Kaeleigh were most. Even though it was undecipherable at the time, Kaeleigh could feel the energy put into it. She could see the colorful magic swirling so fast it was creating an opaque surface.
“It is time! Quickly, through the portal, every one of you. Go.” Arileas spoke loudly enough to be overheard by those he called, but not distracting enough to lure the Ónarach into his domain. That would be catastrophic.
Finn and Ella grabbed Chel and Metrí by the arms and pulled them along as they ran full speed, not hesitating for a second, into the circle of swirling magic. Halister then followed with Daegan, who pulled Kaeleigh along behind him. The archers let loose one last round of arrows, holding the creatures back as they screamed and hissed and made sickly sounds while the flames licked at the hoods of their cloaks near their faces. The archers of the Ehsmia ran into the portal. The last in grabbed Arileas—who had to remain the last in order to hold the portal open—by the arm as he stepped in to ensure that the Elder made it through. Arileas. As soon as they entered the other side, Arileas released the magic of the portal and it collapsed immediately. The Ónarach and the trap set for them remained on the other side.
“Take a deep breath and welcome to Ehsmia,” Arileas said. His ancient eyes twinkled and he spread his arms wide as he proudly introduced them to the land within a land—the land of the hidden people.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Elnye
The Castle in Elnye, the capital of Feraánmar
“Mother, why have you sent spies after my brother?” Rheina casually walked into the throne room where Maleina was standing off to the side, intently
studying a large map of Alandria. The landscape on the page was alive with her dark magic as it rose into an active three-dimensional view of all that was going on.
Maleina raised an eyebrow at her daughter. They appeared to be the only two in the large marble room. The columns that lined walls on both sides were thick and tall, wrapped with vines and greenery. However, even that foliage was beginning to fade in color as much of the city’s did as well. The cream color of the marble should have been more welcoming than it was, but the spidery veins that crept throughout the walls and wound around the pillars pulsed a bright red. Its color reminded Rheina of fresh blood and brought a creepiness over the whole palace. There was plenty of light filtering through the large floor to ceiling windows along one wall, but even that didn’t sweep away the heavy feeling in the room.
“Rheina!” she declared, acting as if her daughter had said nothing. “Where have you been?” She studied Rheina from head to toe, taking in her aggressive posture. “Don’t question me, daughter. You know nothing of what I do or why I do it,” she tsked, waving her finger at Rheina.
“It is not necessary for me to question. I know the answer.” Rheina stood tall and looked at her mother direct with unblinking eyes.
“Do you, child?” Maleina’s eyes narrowed as she walked up to Rheina. She leaned into her daughter’s face with a blaze of conflicted resentment in her eyes. Rheina was not intimidated and completely detached.
“Yes.”
“Suddenly, the air began to change in the throne room. The air was charged with electricity. A breeze swirled around Rheina as her head shot back with her eyes closed. When she brought her head forward again and opened her eyes, they had changed from green to granite gray. Her eyes, now colored with age and wisdom, gleamed when they pierced Maleina with their stare.
Maleina gasped, for a moment caught off guard, then became infuriated.
“How dare you use my daughter to spy on me! Who are you?” she demanded with fierce sparks of anger.
Rheina’s voice took on a different, wispier tone. “It matters not who I am, but that I am here. There is but a little light left inside you, a small hope. If you do not find it, you will not survive what is to come.”
Maleina eyes slightly widened revealing, a warmth that had been there once long ago, struggling to be seen as it was drowned by her overwhelming greed for power. Then her gaze grew narrow again as an evil laugh rose out of her.
“You have come to warn me? Me?” Her laugh became tainted with an edge of danger. “You are right about one thing, it matters not who you are, nor that you are using my daughter. She was proving to be unuseful to me anyway. Much like her brother. I will offer you this though; it’s a promise from the bottom of my heart.” She paused for effect. “You will not survive what is to come.” Maleina laughed again as she returned back to her map.
Rheina simply stood there, quietly staring. The breeze calmed and the charge in the air fell flat. The skies reverted to the lifeless light that filtered in the windows. Her eyes changed back from gray to her natural green. As they changed, a single tear escaped Rheina’s eye.
“I will always love the mother you were to me as a small child. Find yourself, Mother, or you will lose everything.”
Maleina stopped laughing and for a brief moment something akin to regret flashed across her face. She quickly looked away and out the large windows, dismissing her daughter.
“Goodbye, Mother.” Rheina turned and walked away from her mother and out of the throne room.
“You have failed me, daughter! And now you desert me?! Stay out of my way,” Maleina shouted at Rheina as her daughter stormed down the hall.
Quietly, Wren stepped out from the shadows behind their thrones where the doors to their individual chambers were.
“You have managed to push away all our children. Will you rid yourself of me as well?” He let the silence linger for a moment. “You have a chance, my love. A chance to make all this right,” he pleaded with his wife, the woman he had fallen in love with many years ago. “Make this right. I need you, Maleina. I want you to be the woman I have loved all this time. Free and full of passion and joy. Pouring your life into all living things around you! That is the woman this realm needs. That is the woman and friend I need.”
Maleina could not look at Wren as she stared at her map. “I can’t be that woman anymore,” she replied with vehemence. Then her voice quieted. “I am no longer her.”
“That is not true, my love. You are still her.” His voice cracked with emotion.
“No!” Maleina turned toward him.
Maleina grabbed her skirts and stormed passed him to her chamber. “She is gone.”
She left Wren rooted to the floor where he stood, alone and broken.
✧✧✧
Rheina stood at the edge of Guardian Grove, the forest behind Elnye that skirted along the edge of the Gáraldrath Mountains. She knew this was the path she was to take. It was right, but there were still the flutters of nerves in her chest. Compounded on top of the sharp pain and hollow feeling left in her heart from the encounter with her mother, she was raw and on edge. The other voice in her head had been quiet since she came forward in the throne room. For the moments of solitude, Rheina was grateful. She hadn’t had much time, but she packed a few necessities and some food and threw on her traveling cloak, as much for warmth as for shielding her from watchful eyes.
Twilight had fallen in Alandria. The two moons shone bright in the night sky and would guide her path without the assistance of additional light. She was able to sneak out of Elnye, her home, virtually undetected; either that, or no one cared. Rheina hoped it was due to her covert abilities. She took a deep breath, threw her shoulders back, and stepped into the forest and under the protective cover of the canopy of green.
She hadn’t gone more than a few steps into the forest when she saw Valus leaning casually against the trunk of a tree, waiting for her. He was hard to spot in the shadows of the other trees unless you knew to look for him, which she did.
“It’s about time, Rheina-lee.” His voice was calm and casual like his posture, but Rheina knew underneath all that, he could be fierce. He wasn’t a warrior like her brother or Daegan, but he did remind her a little of her Hal. He was comfortable and casual with people like Hal, but Valus used it to hide a sharp edge. He had a dark side and it made Rheina nervous. But what concerned her more was how much it didn’t scare her.
“It’s been awhile. I haven’t seen you since your coming of age party,” he said as he pushed off the tree. The man before her watched her closely. “Are you all right?” His face was pinched with concern.
Rheina nodded, but when her eyes met his she couldn’t contain the sadness hers held. Without needing details, he gathered her protectively in his arms, stroking the back of her head, running his fingers through her hair. Rheina froze, uncomfortable with the sudden affection. She liked Valus, but she wasn’t sure how much yet. This was the first time he had shown so much physical attention to her. He backed up a step and cleared his throat as if he was as surprised at his actions as she. Valus was tall and muscular, but lean. He had intelligent gray eyes with long dark lashes and a head full of wavy golden blond hair. Valus didn’t belong to Alandria, but because of who—or what—he was, he had the ability to come and go as he pleased. Rheina had yet to fully understand him. Now they would have time.
“It appears that it is time for us to go,” he observed, changing the topic.
“It is time. This is my path and I will see it through.” Rheina stood tall and her green eyes met his gray ones with fierce determination.
“Then we need to move quickly, before anyone sees us.” Valus started walking deeper into the grove toward the mountain.
“Valus, will your brother meet us?”
“Yeah, Rys said he’d be there. So he better be. He knows the land better than I do. I try not to spend much time in those parts. It lacks a certain hospitable quality that I seem to look for in a home.” Valu
s winked at her and they kept walking.
There was much Rheina wanted to ask Valus about Exhile. She had never been there and truthfully, hoped she never would. Extreme situations called for extreme action. This was what her visions showed her, and they had not been wrong thus far. So into Exhile she would go, but at least she would not be alone.
“Did you call me ‘Rheina-lee’?” She scrunched up her face when she looked up at him.
Valus shrugged. “You needed a nickname. It just came out. I can keep trying.”
Rheina looked at him thoughtfully. “It might grow on me.” Then she gave him a small smile before refocusing on their journey ahead.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Hal clapped Daegan on the back as he walked past him, looking up at the vast expanse of the amazing space. “It doesn’t get old, does it?”
Kaeleigh looked around in awe. Suddenly, she halted, then bent down to admire the little flowers. Orchids. Her eyes filled with emotion. She breathed their fresh scent deeply then looked up to Hal then back at Daegan. “You have been here before?”
“Once. Recently,” Daegan answered.
“Actually, you have been here a few times before that, young Daegan,” Arileas interjected with mischief in his face.
“You mentioned that last time,” Daegan spoke skeptically.
“You do not yet remember.” Arileas spoke it as fact and not a question, but Daegan shook his head nonetheless. “But you will.”
“We do not have time for riddles, sir,” Finn spoke up from the back. “If you have something that could help us, we would be in your debt.”
“I believe you already are, Master Finnlan.” Arileas winked at him and gestured behind them at the portal they had just arrived in.
“Grandfather, perhaps we can show them around and offer them rest and refreshment. After all that just happened, I am sure they are weary and drained,” Ella spoke sweetly as she looped her arm through the arm of the older Faerie. He was quite aged looking, but there was still a spark of youth and excitement in his eyes.
