Fey Hearted

by N. E. Conneely

  Silverlight and Rose were alone at breakfast, which was a rare occasion these days, and Rose was surprised to discover that she had missed it. Everblue was delightful, but when he was around, mornings were more animated. She appreciated having a quieter breakfast with Silverlight.

  Pearl had climbed out of her lap and was going after the dried cranberries again. Silverlight was moving things out of the way, and Rose was eyeing the distance between the dragon’s tail and her tea. After a swish set the tea rocking, Rose relocated it to a safer spot.

  “I thought after all the excitement we could do something fun today. Would you like to go to the Elementals’ Field again?”

  Her heart raced, excited. The pond was near the Elementals’ Field, and she didn’t know how to get there on her own. It would be wonderful to look in on her family again. Maybe she’d even catch a glimpse of Rebecca. “Can we?”

  “We can. I asked Father, and he didn’t see a problem.”

  “Do you think we could go to the spot you showed me?” Rose asked softly.

  After studying her, Silverlight said, “If we have enough time.”

  Rose nodded. That was better than she’d hoped for. Not only would she like to see her family again, but a visit to his and his mother’s special place might do Silverlight good, as well. The news about wilds targeting fey hearted had shaken him, and the pond was a place where he had good memories of his mother.

  Rose quickly finished her breakfast, helped clean up, and went to find her boots and jacket. Pearl followed her, flying in circles until Rose was ready to go. When they left, Pearl zoomed out the door, heading in the direction of the Elementals’ Field.

  It was hard for Rose to tell if she was more excited about seeing the elemental fey or the possibility of seeing her family. Either way, the anticipation didn’t make the journey any faster.

  When they made it through the brambles, Rose soaked in the sight of the field with elementals in the distance. The herd of peryton was the closest, and it was down near the trees where the unicorns had been before. Beyond them, she could see the unicorns and another herd of oddly colored deer.

  “Are those deer teal?”

  “Yes.” Silverlight sighed. “Teal deer are a local elemental fey. They’re basically like the deer you know, but they are really good at illusions.”

  “What kind of illusions?”

  “It’s hard to say. I’ve never been sure if they were making themselves invisible or causing my mind to skip over their presence, but they can make themselves hard to see.”

  “I guess they have to compensate since they don’t blend into the forest.”

  As they walked by the peryton, a fawn scrambled over—half flying, half running. It did a lap around them, snorting, bucking, and dancing all over the place before returning to its mother. The stag watched from a distance, and Rose was sure that she’d seen it dip its head to acknowledge them.

  After they passed the peryton, Rose started studying the unicorns. The first thing she noticed was that the yearlings weren’t white but gray. As the herd moved, she caught sight of one wiggly-legged foal that was solid black.

  “How is that unicorn black?” she asked Silverlight. “I thought they were supposed to be white.”

  “Oh, I guess we glossed over unicorns in your studies. They are actually born black and slowly fade to white by about age five. Somewhere around two they start to grow their horn.”

  “That’s not in the stories back home,” she muttered.

  He grinned. “We’ve managed to keep some secrets.”

  As they got closer, Silverlight whistled, and two unicorns separated from the herd and galloped over. A third unicorn followed, her foal cantering along beside her.

  The three adult unicorns were more gray than white, and they slid to a stop inches from where Silverlight stood. The one on the right nudged his shoulder, careful to keep his horn away from Silverlight’s face.

  “It’s good to see you, too, Sterling.” Silverlight scratched around the base of its horn, and the unicorn heaved a sigh and his eyelids drooped.

  The unicorn in front of Rose sighed, turned to look at her, and nudged her shoulder three times.

  “Okay, okay. I’ll give you a scratch, but I don’t know your name.”

  The unicorn snorted, and Rose decided it didn’t think knowing a name was a requirement for scratches. Rose held out her hand, fingers pressed together, and tried not to laugh as the hairs on the unicorn’s nose tickled her palm as it sniffed. It lipped at her and shifted back.

  “That girl is Snowflake,” Silverlight said.

  Rose nodded to him, then turned back to the unicorn. “Hi there, Snowflake. I’m Rose.”

  Snowflake bobbed her head before thrusting her nose against Rose’s hand. Rose laughed and rubbed from the unicorn’s nose to the base of her horn. Up close, Rose could see the horn was a spiral of pale gold and white, and when her fingers brushed against it, she discovered that it was smooth as glass. The hair around the horn, however, was short and bristly.

  The mare with the foal slowed to a walk and wedged between Sterling and Snowflake. The foal, which was still jet-black, wove through her legs, using her as a barrier between it and the people.

  Silverlight gave Sterling one last pat and moved over to the mare, rubbing her behind the ears. “This lovely lady is Pewter. Most of the unicorns are indifferent to the rest of us, but these guys like me. Remember how I told you that I can tell what creatures are feeling?” She nodded. “Well, when these guys let me, I can get hints of their emotions. They wish I came to see them more.”

  “I know it’s too long of a walk to come out every day, but maybe we could come out once a week,” Rose suggested.

  “That could be arranged.” Silverlight gave Pewter a firm pat and turned to Snowflake and Sterling. “You two have gotten enough love. Let Rose say hi to Pewter…and maybe her baby?”

  The mare gave Silverlight a slight nod.

  With a clap of his hands, Silverlight shooed the other two back a couple of steps. He took Rose’s hand and brought her over to the mare. After a cursory sniff, Pewter let Rose rub her cheek. A minute later, she was moving her head away from Rose’s hands and nudging her foal forward.

  Rose followed Silverlight’s lead, offering her hand for the foal to sniff and then gently rubbing her hand down its neck and side. The foal was tense for the first pass, but it relaxed a moment later, having realized that the adults were on to something with getting people to scratch and rub them.

  Rose pulled back a moment before Silverlight stopped rubbing the foal. It looked sad, but Pewter nuzzled her foal and guided him back to the herd. About ten steps away, the foal took off at a canter. Pewter moved up to a trot, staying a healthy distance back. Her wisdom paid off when the foal toppled into a snowdrift.

  “They are amazing,” Rose said.

  “Yes, they are.” Silverlight led them farther into the field. “I worry about them. Lately there haven’t been as many foals. Actually, for my entire life, I’ve heard about how the elemental fey aren’t reproducing. I think the last dragon was born the year before me.”

  “What’s wrong with them?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not sure anyone knows.”

  “Surely someone is looking into it. It doesn’t seem like the fey would let something like that pass without investigation.”

  “True, but they might have a problem discovering the cause since the magic might not be willing to help them determine what was wrong with the creatures who produced it.”

  They were interrupted by a flurry of wingbeats. Silverlight pulled her to the side, hurrying her away. She gave up trying to figure out what was causing the sound to watch where her feet were going since Silverlight seemed determined to keep moving.

  Looking over her shoulder, she finally saw what was making the sound. It had the head of a woman, with black hair cut even with her chin, and large tawny wings coming from her shoulders. With the chest and body of a lion, it had to be
a sphinx.

  Rose tripped over something under the snow, then scrambled to her feet as Silverlight hauled her up by the arm. “Get to the tree!”

  This time she sprinted with him. The barren tree might not be good protection, but it was better than being in the open. Rose couldn’t remember anything in the stories her grandmother told that included the sphinx being a force for good. If memory served, they were prone to eating people.

  When they got to the tree, Silverlight shoved her behind him. He looked around, searching for something, but whatever he was hoping to see wasn’t there. His frown deepened.

  Rose had so many questions, but she couldn’t ask any of them because she was panting too hard.

  “Don’t say anything,” he warned.

  “Is it going to eat me?”

  “No talking at all.” He paused. “Traditionally, if she hunts you down and speaks a riddle, you must answer or die. As long as you don’t talk, we have time to find a better solution. And no swords. We don’t want to start a fight or get close enough to her to use them.”

  “What—”

  “I said no talking.”

  Rose really wished he’d told her what the sphinx was likely to do, because right now, she was a little concerned that she was going to be lunch.

  The sphinx stalked over to them, her head low, wings tucked against her body, and her shoulders prominent. The last time Rose had seen a cat move like that, it was getting ready to pounce on an unsuspecting squirrel.

  The sphinx sat back on her haunches, towering over them. The tree they were using for cover was a sizable old oak, and she was even with the highest branches.

  “Hello, little human.”

  Rose didn’t say anything.

  “Can it talk?” The sphinx darted her eyes between Rose and Silverlight.

  Rose pursed her lips.

  “You warned her,” the sphinx growled. “It will not change what is to come.” She took a deep breath. “Human, you must solve this riddle:

  “I am found at the beginning but not the end,

  then contained in a turn but not in a tune.

  Usually I am found with a space on each side,

  and I am always at the end of beginnings.

  You have not called me this, but what am I known as?

  “There you are,” the sphinx finished.

  Rose was struck by a smell she could only identify as desert and sand. The sphinx was doing magic.

  “Dyna, you’ve been told not to do this,” Silverlight said. “It’s a violation of the pact between the kin and the fey.”

  “It cannot be undone. The human must answer if she wishes to pass.”

  “We’re in a field, Dyna. You’re not guarding anything. Stop this,” he said, his voice pleading, though he was clearly trying to be commanding.

  “Why doesn’t the little human speak? Does she not want to know what she stands to lose?”

  Rose firmly clamped her jaw shut. This sphinx might be literal enough to take anything she said as the answer, and Rose wasn’t planning on dying today.

  If she were any good at riddles, she’d solve the thing just so Dyna would leave them alone. The problem was, Rose had never solved a riddle in her life. Whenever she tried she usually got them really wrong. In the human world, a wrong answer got laughs and friendly teasing, not an invitation to be dinner. Besides, the clues didn’t make sense. What did she mean by beginnings and ends? And what on earth was found with a space on each side?

  “Dyna, I’ll be talking to Father about this.”

  “You shall not pass unless the riddle has been answered.”

  Silverlight looked at Rose. “If we stay here long enough, someone will come looking for us, or the elemental fey will do something.” He motioned to the side.

  Rose reluctantly looked away from the sphinx. The unicorns had gathered together and were watching the goings-on. On the other side, the herd of peryton also focused on the exchange. Their potential allies weren’t as much of a comfort to Rose as they seemed to be to Silverlight. The sphinx was sizable and could fly.

  A small white shape dove out of the sky then, headed for the sphinx’s head. Rose bit her lip to keep from crying out. She was afraid that Pearl was no match for a creature of that size. But the little dragon spat out three fireballs in rapid succession before quickly climbing back into the sky.

  Dyna screamed, and Rose clamped her hands over her ears. Nothing in the stories her grandmother had told mentioned the sphinx having a cry that could shatter glass, but this one sure did. The sphinx pawed at its face. When she looked up, Rose saw that an eyebrow had been burned off and blisters were forming.

  The sphinx glanced around for Pearl, who had already circled around and was coming in again, this time from behind. She released a string of fireballs along Dyna’s back and wings before arrowing back into the sky.

  Dyna screamed again, louder than before, flung herself on her back, and started rolling around.

  After a moment the pained sounds reduced to a manageable level. Rose slowly took her hands off her ears and saw that Silverlight had covered his ears, as well. She was waiting for Silverlight to do something when Dyna stilled. Rose tensed. She’d seen predators do that before, and it was never a good sign for the prey.

  “What do we do?” Rose whispered.

  “Protective barrier.”

  “What?” As soon as she said it, she understood. She smelled lilies, and suddenly, they were in a sphere made of the same slightly off-colored air that Rose had seen Silverlight use to herd the dragons on her first day.

  Silverlight didn’t answer her but seemed to be trying to get more help from the magic. “Carry my words on a brisk breeze. Rose and I need aid in the Elementals’ Field. Dyna has us trapped.”

  Rose felt the wind pick up, and she hoped help would hurry.

  “Remember what I said before,” Silverlight said quietly.

  Rose nodded. They were stuck here until help arrived.

  Dyna stopped rolling and got to her feet. She sniffed the air. “Dragon, you waste your efforts. The human has been riddled. She must answer or forfeit her life. If you continue this senseless assault, I shall eat you.”

  “No you don’t,” Rose bellowed, marching forward. “If you’re that in need of a snack you can come get me, but you won’t hurt Pearl.”

  “Oh, I do love it when the food talks,” Dyna hissed, leaning down to examine Rose. “Do you have an answer?”

  Silverlight jogged forward, bringing the protective sphere with him. He pulled Rose back inside. “She needs more time.”

  Dyna shook her large head. “She answers now, before her little friend can attack again.”

  Rose licked her lips. This wasn’t going to end well. “I don’t have an answer.”

  “I did not hear the human.”

  “I don’t know!” Rose shouted.

  “I was trying to help you, little fey hearted. You do not understand what the magic can do.” Dyna cackled. “No matter. I grow hungry.”

  The sphinx lifted a massive paw and swatted at the barrier. Rose grabbed Silverlight and lunged to the side, taking them to the ground. There was an odor of an old fire, the sphere vanished, and Dyna’s paw passed over their heads.

  Rose scrambled upright, most of her body protesting. Even ground cushioned with snow was hard. She turned to ask Silverlight what they should do, but found him still on the ground, unconscious. “Silverlight?”

  When he didn’t reply, Rose felt around his head. She didn’t find any blood, but there was a hard spot under the snow that felt like a rock. She wished she were better at healing so she could determine the extent of his injuries and help him.

  “Your tricks mean nothing to me.” The sphinx raised her paw again.

  The ground vibrated, but Rose was too busy trying to figure out how to avoid Dyna’s claws to pay any attention. She had to keep Silverlight safe.

  Magic. Magic could help. Rose tried to think of what could slow down the sphinx, but nothin
g came to mind.

  Dyna’s paw flew toward them, but a gray shape slid to a stop between them and the sphinx. Rose recognized Sterling as Snowflake came up beside him. Dyna tried to abort the blow, but it was too late. Sterling’s horn opened up a long gash on the side of her paw. She screamed, and the unicorns flattened their ears.

  “You aid this creature?” Dyna bellowed.

  The two unicorns snorted, and off to the side, Rose could see more unicorns readying an attack. The peryton stag flew over, hovering at eye level with Dyna, as if he was communicating with her.

  “You disgust me,” Dyna said.

  The stag shook his head before flying away. That’s when Rose noticed strange indents in the snow headed toward the sphinx’s rear end. Dyna’s leg buckled, and she screamed as her hindquarters hit the ground. A teal buck appeared, antlers now tipped red. Silverlight was right: they could become invisible. Dyna twisted in the buck’s direction. He turned and sprinted out of range.

  Rose risked taking her eyes off the sphinx to check on Silverlight. He was breathing but didn’t wake up when she shook him.

  “Wake up,” Rose screamed. She needed Silverlight to be all right. He was her best friend. Until Rose could get help, she needed to protect him. But she didn’t know how to stop the sphinx. These elemental fey weren’t big and strong like Ember. Dyna might only be kin, but in comparison, the unicorns, peryton, teal deer, and Pearl were small and fragile.

  Movement to her right attracted her attention. Dyna flexed her wings to fly after the deer, but before she could move, Pearl dove in and peppered her with fireballs, rolling and darting to avoid Dyna’s paw. A look of hatred crossed the sphinx’s face, and Rose knew she had to do something. She formed a picture in her mind, wanting it as she had never wanted anything before. Lock her to the ground so she can’t hurt anyone.

  The sphinx’s shoulders flexed as she tried to spread her wings, but they didn’t move. Rose smelled the desert and sand once more as Dyna concentrated fiercely on freeing herself. The odor was gone as quickly as it had come, and Dyna turned toward her with narrowed eyes.

  “I will eat you.”

  She lashed out with a paw, aiming low, forcing Sterling and Snowflake to dodge to protect their legs. Rose dove behind the tree. There had to be a way out of this. She looked at her sword but quickly dismissed it. Magic had worked once, and it might work again.