by Candy Crum
When she reached the bottom, she shot off the end like a rocket, skidding across the sand and rolling a bit as she came to a stop.
She laughed loudly as she untangled herself from the sleeping bag and climbed out. She began to knock all of the sand off of her, even trying to dust it out of her hair, but she knew it was pointless.
“Fun, yeah?” Bast asked.
“Bitch and Bastard! Your way was so much more fun! I want to do it again.” Arryn laughed again as she picked up her sleeping bag and shook the sand out.
She walked over to the twins and placed a flat hand just above her eyes to shield them from the sun. She could see Cathillian looking over the edge.
That was the best fucking thing ever! You have to do it! Send Corrine down first.
She could almost feel his eyeroll from where she stood.
Sending her now. She’s been waiting very impatiently ever since she heard your first scream, he sent back.
Arryn could feel the slight twinge of a headache forming, and she knew it was because she still wasn’t used to the mental magic— especially across the current distance.
A loud scream—followed by an even louder “YEAAAH!”—echoed through the air. Arryn laughed as she listened to Corrine howl and giggle all the way to the bottom. Because she wasn’t as heavy as Arryn, the little girl didn’t have quite the rough landing the druid had, but it was still funny. The rabbit leapt out of her arms and stayed close as the little girl climbed to her feet.
“How did you like that?” Arryn asked her when she was upright.
“Can we please do that again?” Corrine asked.
“Don’t worry, kid,” Cleo said. “When we get to Kemet, you can slide all day long. We have hundreds of those all over. While we’re building, that’s how we get from high up on the pyramids back down to the ground. It’s much easier than climbing or using ladders.”
Corrine’s eyes widened. “I can’t wait!”
“Ah, feck!” Samuel screamed.
Arryn knew Cathillian must have sent him next, and she began laughing hysterically. The rearick cursed all the way to the bottom before getting dumped out onto the sand and rolling several times.
He launched into a tirade of curse words she had never heard while trying to stand and shake his sleeping bag free, and Arryn promptly went weak in the knees and fell scream-laughing to the ground.
“Ah, ye think this is funny, do ye?” he asked.
Arryn could hardly breathe, let alone answer his question. She only nodded as she rolled over to her hands and knees, slowly bringing herself once again to a standing position.
Suddenly Dante shot out the end of the slide, knocking Samuel over again. He landed so hard in the sand, his head dipped down, and his feet went up in the air, earning howling laughter out of everyone.
Arryn heard screaming from on top of the cliff, and she looked up to see Cathillian pointing at Samuel and laughing.
Once again, Samuel struggled to his feet, cursing in what sounded like a different language. He turned to Dante—who seemed to have more decency than the humans—pointed, and grumbled something unintelligible before stomping off.
Dante’s ears twitched, and he moved out of the way just before his mother appeared from the end of the slide. Unlike her cub, she had prepared for the landing. Like the graceful cat she was, she leapt to her feet at the last moment and ran as she hit the sand, gradually slowing to a stop.
Any day now, Arryn urged Cathillian.
She heard loud yelling, then screaming, and then he shot out the end, flipping his long hair back while wearing a broad smile. “Fuck! That was so fun!”
“See? I told you!” Arryn said.
“Uh, guys?” Samuel said.
Arryn sighed, her smile still on her face. “Sam, last time you said that, we ran out of path. What is it—”
She turned to see a large group of people standing on the beach, eyes glowing a beautiful aqua color as they focused their magic directly on the druid and her group.
17
Brann watched from the edge of the water, curious about what might happen. His heart raced, and his mind wasn’t far behind.
The Elders had heard loud shouting through the air vents and, to Brann’s surprise, they rushed to investigate. At first, he had worried it was the people from the storm ship, but then he realized the sounds were coming from on top of the mountain.
He had snuck out after the Elders left and made his way to the edge of the beach, where the land dropped off and the water became very deep. The Elders had hidden themselves to watch, so Brann did the same.
He watched excitedly as two women jumped from the edge and called the sand for a soft landing. He watched them create a massive structure, and looked on as each newcomer slid down, one after the other.
But his real interest lay with the first girl who had come down.
Even from her place at the top of the mountain, he could sense her magic. He had watched her and her friends lower the horses to the ground with vines, and now he could see large cats, bigger than anything he had ever seen, snuggling up next to her.
They have to be druids, he thought to himself.
As he watched, he found himself wondering if they truly were monsters. From where he sat, he could see them laughing and playing, joking with one another. Deep down, he could feel no bad intentions coming from them.
Then again, he could also see swords, bows, battle axes, and knives. They were heavily armed, and each of them had the body of a warrior—even the girl who looked younger than him.
As his distant relatives approached, he could feel their magic beginning to flare up. He was a little more than shocked to see them actually moving forward, instead of fleeing. Perhaps Lorelei had taken his words to heart.
“Who are you, and what do you want?” Lorelei demanded as she stepped forward.
The young woman he had seen slide down first stepped forward, her hands out to her sides in a peaceful manner.
She must be the leader.
“My name is Arryn. I’m not sure who you are, but if you don’t mean us any harm, I can assure you we don’t mean you any.”
“We don’t see a lot of people this way, and there have been a lot of things going on lately. State your business with the Farriage Coast,” Lorelei said sharply.
“We meant to descend the mountain, but not here. We made a wrong turn. We are hunting a group of bandits who have been terrorizing the Arcadian Valley. Yesterday, they attacked innocent children on the mountain. We need to stop them before they hurt anyone else,” the woman said fearlessly.
What? They don’t seem so bad… Brann’s breath caught in his throat as her eyes turned directly on him. From where he sat, he could see the look of amusement on her face as she gave a wink. Somehow, Lorelei didn’t seem to notice.
“Bandits? Are you talking about the storm ship?” Lorelei asked.
He watched the druid turn her attention back to Lorelei. “Storm ship? No. From what we’ve been told, there’s an encampment further down the coast, with hundreds of warriors. They were Arcadian Guard, before the city fell and they were forced out. Now they craft weapons and sell them to the highest bidder.”
Lorelei turned to her brother. “That must be where the storm ship was heading.”
“What storm ship?” the druid woman asked. “Maybe we can help.”
Brann jumped out of the water, rushing forward. Several arms reached out for him when he was noticed, but he managed to dart from every one of them and make his way to the front.
“I saw them. I saw them kill everyone,” he blurted.
The young woman’s eyes stared into his, her face scrunching in what looked like sympathy. “Tell me everything.”
“I was swimming when the ship came, and they called storms to make the ship faster, and their thunder doesn’t sound like normal thunder; it doesn’t feel like a normal storm, and there was something cold and dark about it, and by the time I reached land, they had killed most of my vill
age, including my parents, and I only managed to save my little sister.” He inhaled deeply, having explained it all in a single breath.
“You were very brave to do what you did,” the woman told him. “I guess we were meant to find you; you seem unused to outsiders, and we have never been this far south. If you can trust me, though, we can help you.” The young woman smiled, and Brann found himself lost in her charm.
His heart began to race again as a question touched the tip of his tongue. All he had to do was force it out.
Taking another deep breath, he asked, “Are you druids?”
Arryn smiled and nodded. “I was born in Arcadia, but I was raised in the Dark Forest. The tall, blonde guy behind me is definitely a druid, though.”
“Brann, get back,” Lorelei said, her voice low and full of warning.
Arryn’s head was still tilted downward from talking to Brann. Only her eyes lifted as she studied Lorelei. “We do not mean you harm. I have offered you our assistance.”
Lorelei’s brother spoke, and Brann turned his head to see him step forward. “We’ve heard about your kind. We’ve heard what you people do when innocents cross over your borders. You’re ruthless. Cruel.” He looked down to Brann, his face stern. “Get. Back.”
The boy shook his head. “If she wanted me dead, I already would be.”
“She hasn’t attacked you because she knows she’s outnumbered. That’s the only thing keeping you safe right now,” Lorelei said.
“Not to stir the pot here,” Arryn said. “But what’s keeping him safe is my good heart. Not your numbers. My parents were murdered by a tyrant when I was around his age. I’ve dedicated my life to helping those who are too weak to help themselves. Believe me when I say that being outnumbered is not a threat.”
“How the hell are we supposed to trust that? We’ve heard the stories. We know what you’re capable of. If you were being honest, you wouldn’t have need for all those weapons,” Lorelei spat. Brann saw her eyes begin to glow, but he was too slow to stop her.
Her hands thrust forward, pulling water from the air and wrapping it around the druid’s head.
Brann turned, eyes wide in fear. I believe her. Why can’t they?
Arryn’s eyes flashed black, and the water evaporated almost immediately. With a flick of her wrist, Brann was flung back against a large rock. While it hurt, he knew she had been gentle. His head had somehow been protected—the levitation completely controlled. He couldn’t move; as he watched her entire body flex, creating a blast of wind to knock his entire family to the sand, he understood why.
She hadn’t wanted to hurt him.
The speckling of clouds above them began to darken as the wind whipped around the druid. Her eyes turned green around the irises as she lifted her hands out to her sides. She pulled downward, teasing water from the air and turning it into shards of ice.
Brann’s family gasped, clinging to one another as the druid swung her arms forward and clapped her hands together. The ice sailed through the air, but abruptly stopped before impact. The shards hung, motionless, as Lorelei slowly opened her eyes and risked a look.
“Like I said before. It is my good heart.” The young woman dropped her hands, and the ice immediately melted into water and rained down on his family, as her eyes returned to normal. “You are afraid of us because of things you’ve only been told. Don’t let prejudices and fear control you, or you will prove yourselves no better than those you fight against.”
Brann was finally able to move, and relief flooded through him as he watched his family rise to their feet. He slid down the rock and ran over to Arryn.
“When you called your magic, the sky went dark,” he said. “Can you use magic like they can?”
“Storm magic is very difficult. In the Dark Forest, only a very few can call it: the Chieftain, his daughter Elysia, his grandson Cathillian—that pretty boy right back there—and me. But way, way up north, there is a village of Storm Callers. I don’t know much about them, but I heard once that they were having troubles of their own, with some of the people on the ships being bad,” she answered.
“Sounds like we found one of the bad ships,” Lorelei noted. “Look, I’m sorry. We’re peaceful people; our tribe stays clear of outsiders, but Brann’s wasn’t so lucky, and their fate has put all of us on edge. We’ve realized the time has come to fight.”
“Our tribe believed in being open and kind to everyone, so we built our homes on the beach… Not having a good place to hide was what got everyone killed,” Brann said.
Arryn nodded. “Why don’t we all sit down and talk? We can tell you about ourselves and where we’re from, and you can all tell us more.”
“It kind of sounds like they’re water druids,” Cleo interjected. “Is there any such thing?”
Cathillian shrugged. “I’ve never heard of anything like that, but then again, it wasn’t until recently that I even left the Dark Forest.”
Brann smiled. He had been wondering the same thing ever since he first heard about the druids of the Dark Forest. Now I get to find out.
18
Arryn still felt a bit shaky from the initial meeting of the Daoine people. She knew they were innocent by the story the boy had told, but they weren’t convinced of her innocence. Hurting them had certainly been the last thing she wanted to do, and scaring them had been just below that on the list.
Just before Lorelei had attacked her with water, no doubt hoping to incapacitate her and potentially drown her, Arryn could feel intense fear rolling off of her in waves. It wasn’t anger or malice that had driven Lorelei to attack her. It had only been a knee-jerk reaction in an attempt to save her family.
When Arryn had realized things were about to get bad, she grew worried that the rest of her group would attack in her defense. If that happened, there would be no chance for peace. So she sent out an order.
Stay back.
It wasn’t lost on her just how much using the mental magic had assisted her. Had she yelled that same order, Cathillian and the others might have assumed she was talking to the Daoine. But because she was able to project her thoughts directly, there was no misunderstanding.
She hated to admit it, but she would have to thank Margit for that later.
The little boy showed a deep curiosity in her. More than that, he trusted her. She could feel in her gut that there was something special about him, and it seemed to be what drew him to her.
“Why do you want to help us?” Lorelei asked.
They had spent the previous two hours sitting on the beach and talking. They first discussed what had happened in the Daoine village; Arryn then took the time to explain who they were, where they were from, and why those rumors about druids being dangerous had been spread. To further earn Lorelei’s trust, Arryn explained how they had come to be in their current position.
“There is a very large part of me that can’t just stand by while people suffer. Ever since I was ten, I had big dreams of going back to Arcadia and finding the man responsible for killing my parents and destroying so many other lives. When I finally got there, someone else had already done it. But the city was still far from safe.
“We freed the city from its lingering threats, and since then, it’s been one journey after the next. We headed back to the Dark Forest to save our home, and by that time, Bast and Cleo showed up needing help in their own part of the world, and the bandits had proven themselves to be quite the problem, as well. So once we fought the battle in the Dark Forest, we came searching for the bandits and found you. Once this is all finished, we will go on to Kemet. From there, who knows?” Arryn replied.
“It really has been one shit-show after another, hasn’t it?” Cathillian asked. “I hadn’t thought about it much until you just laid it out like that.”
Arryn laughed. “Yeah, it really has been. But it’s been fun. And look at all the people we’ve helped along the way.”
“I have a question,” Brann ventured.
Arryn turned to face
him, a smile on her face. “Ask away.”
“Can you teach me to be like you? I want to be strong.”
She could see the determination on his face as he spoke, and it warmed her. “You managed to save your little sister in the middle of something I can’t even imagine. As bad as things were when I was a kid, I didn’t see anything compared to what you have,” Arryn replied.
“But I don’t feel like I did much. I’m glad I saved her; I don’t want anyone to think I’m not. But I could’ve done more. I know it,” he said, looking down at the ground.
“Brann, you have to stop blaming yourself,” Lorelei said. “You haven’t stopped saving us since you got here.”
“It’s not enough,” he said.
“It’ll never be enough,” Arryn said. “Trust me, I know. This is what drives me every day. I assume my friends feel the same way, otherwise, I doubt they would be able to stand being around me for very long.”
“How do you handle it? It seems like you go out on adventures every day and make yourself useful,” he observed.
She smiled again. “I just try to do what I can, all the time. My mom taught me magic. Physical magic.” Arryn’s eyes flashed black as she flicked her wrist, and a red and orange fireball formed in her hand. “She was one of the best magicians in Arcadia, and she taught me. I was ten when she died, and I still didn’t know a whole lot.”
Brann’s eyes were bright with the glow of the fire and the excitement of what Arryn had to say. “So how did you become who you are now?”
Arryn closed her fist, and the fire disappeared, her eyes returning to their normal brown. “Practice. I practiced what my mother taught me every single day in the Dark Forest. I wasn’t able to do a whole lot because I was surrounded by nature magic users, but I still perfected the things that she taught me.”
“It wasn’t until she met Samuel that she became serious about learning magic,” Cathillian interjected.
