Faire Eve

by Catherine Stovall

  Eldon stood frozen with Eve limp in his arms. Watching Jayno struggle to right himself for his soon to be queen was difficult. Eldon knew the Ki’Lin warrior’s weakness caused him great pain. He felt a surge of pride as he watched the stallion fight to prove his loyalty.

  Jayno took a shaky step forward and his mate aligned her body against his in order to steady him. Eve did not move but her forehead furrowed and her mouth turned downward. Her eyes locked on Jayno’s and Eldon wondered if there was an unheard conversation between the girl and the unicorn.

  Slowly, Jayno made his way across the few feet separating him from Eve and Eldon. Eldon could have cleared the distance in two powerful strides, but protocol caused him to allow his fellow warrior his pride. Jayno stood before them with his sides heaving as Kellan nickered in a worrisome tone.

  Jayno’s muzzle puffed hot air against Eve’s bare arm and he lowered his mighty golden horn to her forehead in an intimate salute. Eve closed her eyes and one small hand came to rest on the unicorn’s muzzle. To Eldon’s surprise, Kellan bent her head and joined her horn to the equation. Eve’s eyes sprung open wide in surprise.

  Eldon could feel the power vibrating through Eve’s body into his own. He felt as if he were caught in an electromagnetic field. The whir and buzz of static popped around them in the air. Eve took a deep breath, her chest swelled and her back arched upward as her head bent back. Eldon almost broke the contact by jerking her away but a voice inside his head stayed him.

  Eve’s inner voice, the intonation of her soul, told him, “I am in no pain.” Her tone was as Bai described. Both sadness and joy blended melodiously within it and he could not dissect one from the other.

  The powerful connection was brief, barely seconds long. When Jayno stumbled, the bond broke. He could not retreat to the place he had lain before so he simply lowered himself down at Eldon’s feet. Kellan knelt once more by his side and nuzzled her head into his. Eldon felt the tears on his face. The moment had touched him deeply and he did not care if his emotion showed.

  Eve began to squirm in Eldon’s arms. “Put me down.” He gripped her tighter, unsure if he were hearing or seeing correctly. “Eldon, I said put me down.”

  Coming to, Eldon sat her down but kept one strong hand on her back to keep her steady. Eve gently stooped down and wrapped her arms around the unicorns’ necks. Her voice was full of gratitude, “Thank you. Oh, thank you so much. You have given so much to me.”

  Eve turned to Eldon, back to her old self, though her body still looked small and weak. Taking his hand in hers, she asked, “Is it time to go?”

  They returned to the diner and the group gathered to celebrate Eve’s miraculous recovery. Elsie watched closely as Eve and Eldon fielded questions about her sudden change of health. She noticed their evasiveness but she also noted the way the two seemed to orbit around each other. Their bodies unconsciously shifted to match each movement and constantly gravitated towards one and another.

  Elsie went to Eve and whispered, “You will come to know these lands because their blood is in your own, you will come to know these people because their blood is in your own, and you will come to know your enemy because his blood is in your own.” Elsie took Eve’s hand and when hers pulled away, a shimmering jade bracelet hung on her wrist.

  She stared down at the bracelet for a moment and heard Elsie’s words echo inside her mind, which suddenly seemed to full of muddled memories. The small coin her mother gave her dangled as a charm in the center of the bracelet. She could not speak to thank the old woman who helped her greatly. Elsie patted Eve’s hand as if to say she understood.

  In the brief moment she touched her, Elsie saw images of the secrets Eve was hiding. When the Ki’Lin had crossed their horns and touched the girl’s flesh, her magic had connected with the unicorns’ and a vision took Eve’s soul to a place no living creature other than the Valkyries knew.

  18

  Elsie watched the vision through Eve’s eyes. The young girl was lost in a twisted and misty place. Wandering through a thick veil of fog and hurt, she could feel the outside world tugging at her to return. She wanted to go back to the sunlight and escape the shadowy place, but she could not find her way. Some unnamed force held her trapped inside the deepest recesses of her mind.

  She felt as if someone were dangling her above the deepest abyss, a treat offered up to an anxious predator. The fear pressed down on her. She wanted her mother and father and she wanted to go home. She longed to be safe in her room without magic or mayhem.

  Eve let herself go into the dense, smoky field that lay before her. A beating drum called to her from the depths of the wasteland. She no longer felt the need to be cautious as she glided closer to the comforting sound. As the beat grew louder, the thick curtain of mist parted. The world before her was strange, even by Evalon standards.

  The sky flickered like a television screen filled with ablue static sky and a barren dirt field stretching out before her. The land seemed to shift constantly as if it were waves of water or sand. Eve was amazed that each step she took fell on solid ground. Her balance wavered because of the vertigo, despite her firm footing.

  Across the dusty landscape, a small shack rested precariously on top of wobbly stilts. Eve had heard of houses raised up from the ground in places like the Louisiana bayou but never in the middle of a field with nothing but endless fog and no water. The rickety building was made of rotted planks of wood with a rusty tin roof. The windows and door were just empty spaces covered with tattered pieces of cloth. The sound of the drum drifted down from the open orifices of the house, making the place even more intriguing and curious.

  Eve went closer. Craning her neck upward, she searched for a set of stairs or a ladder. The drum pounded on. Eve circled the house twice, still searching. The wind blew in a strong gust and the house swayed. The thin wooden poles creaked and bent against the force. Eve cried out and skittered away as fast as she could. She feared the thing might topple down on top of her.

  To her amazement, the house did not fall, the poles did not break, and the drumming continued as if the entire thing had never occurred. Eve cupped her hands near her mouth and shouted, “Hello. Can you hear me?”

  The drumming ceased. Eve suddenly felt afraid. She couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the person inside didn’t want to be disturbed. Planning to disappear back into the swirling grey curtain of safety, Eve backed away with her eyes locked on the house. She could not see behind her and could not tell how far away she was from the haven provided by the dense fog. She tried to move quickly but the rolling earth made walking in reverse extremely difficult. Her heart nearly ceased to beat when an elderly woman pulled the shabby door covering back and peered down at her. Eve’s legs locked into place and she stared straight ahead.

  The woman’s eyes blazed and stared down at Eve with steely suspicion. With their gazes locked, a moment passed. The old woman waved a hand in front of her as if lazily swatting away a fly and Eve nearly fainted at the effect.

  The rickety shack melted away and a grand palace took its place. The woman no longer stood peering out a hole in grey and faded wood. She was no longer a hag covered in multicolored scarves. The dried and dusty field beneath Eve’s feet changed to thick green grass.

  The woman beckoned Eve closer and suddenly, her legs found the ability to carry her. Unable to look away from the changing form before her, Eve barely registered the wide marble stairs leading high up to where the woman stood. The arched windows, set deep within flawless whitewashed walls and tall towers, seemed completely unimportant.

  Eve’s focus fully rested on the woman. The wrinkles in her face smoothed away and the color of her eyes shifted. Her back straightened until she no longer stooped. Her mouth, once hardened by age and suspicion, softened and plumped. Her gray and matted hair smoothed and lengthened until it turned golden and shining.

  Her face continued to lift and change. Eve found herself drawn to the woman’s eyes. They were a deep slate
grey at first, but as Eve drew closer, the color shifted until the blue was vivid. The color seemed vaguely familiar. Something absolutely unmistakable shined out from them.

  “Aibell, is that you?” Eve nearly choked.

  She hadn’t seen Aibell since New York. Eve was delighted to greet her friend once again but her happiness didn’t last. Aibell looked very sad and a bit confused. Eve instantly became concerned for the girl she had briefly known but adored.

  “Aibell, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Eve reached out to embrace the girl.

  “No!” Aibell’s voice rang out of her like a church bell shattering the quiet of a Sunday morning. With less alarm, she continued, “Eve, you mustn’t touch me. Why are you here? What on Earth has happened to bring you to the gateway of Asgaurd?”

  Tears welled up in the young Valkyrie’s eyes and she wrung her hands. Eve didn’t understand why she couldn’t comfort Aibell. She wanted to explain everything that had happened to stop the girl from worrying.

  “It’s okay. I’m fine really. We were in a battle.”

  Before Eve could finish, Aibell’s face grew dark. “A battle? Oh, oh no. This can't happen to you, anyone but you. Why didn’t they protect you? Is Eldon? Is he?”

  “Aibell, really I’m fine. Eldon’s fine. The dragon, Tiritchiq, attacked us. It’s all very foggy but the Ki'Lin helped us. One of the unicorns was injured and I healed him with the dragon’s blood.”

  Eve’s voice faltered as she fought against the haziness in her own mind. “I am not sure what happened after. I got my wings, Aibell. They are wonderful, would you like to see?”

  Aibell fought back the tears. “Eve you must leave here. How did you get here?”

  “I don’t know how I got here or I would go back. I was so tired. I wasn’t feeling well. I fell asleep. Wait, aren’t I dreaming?” Eve suddenly became afraid.

  “No Eve, this is very real and very bad. You are at the gateway to Asgaurd. As a Valkyrie priestess, it is my job to carry the souls of fallen warriors through the gateway and on to the Great Hall of Asgaurd. Only a true warrior who has fallen in battle can answer the beat of the Kilaun. Eve, you have fallen.”

  It took a moment for Eve to understand Aibell’s words. When the truth hit her, it felt as if a ton of bricks had suddenly fallen from the sky to land on top of her head. “Do you mean I’m dead?”

  Aibell didn’t need to answer her. The pure agony in the girl’s blue eyes told Eve all she needed to know. The confirmation of her own death was obvious in the pain on her friend’s face. The disbelief was brief. Terror consumed Eve and the unfairness of the whole thing made her angry.

  Eve shouted, “No! No! I can’t be. I was just with Kellan and Jayno. I’m too young. Everyone is counting on me. I can’t die! I can’t! I will not go to the stupid hall. I won’t let it end this way. I won’t give up!”

  Eve’s golden eyes flared with a fire that woke the Sidhe blood inside her. Taking a deep and ragged breath, Eve threw her head back and screamed. The sound seemed to fill the world around them. Her black velvet wings shot from her back and spread out behind her like a midnight veil. Magic coursed through her in burning waves and her mind raced with words that she could not understand.

  Aibell was no longer the vivacious and carefree girl Eve had met in New York, she had become something more. The cloud of sadness cleared from her eyes and Eve saw redemption in the blue depths. Aibell suddenly understood Eve’s presence in the world between life and death. The Valkyrie’s voice was a deep well, “You have been reborn, Faire Eve, Queen of Evalon. Go and take your throne.”

  Aibell reached one graceful hand out and touched Eve’s chest above her right breast. Eve felt a delicious pain where Aibell’s hand lay. A wicked smile spread across her face as warmth filled her. She stretched her arms out and raised her wings. The whispering voice came to her again.

  Her words were not her own. The primal and ancient verse seeped into her mind and her heart. The secret voice sounded feverish and excited as it gave her the language that she needed to complete what was happening. Her voice shook with power as Eve called out, “Prebudil som od smrti sny a žiť nový“

  She knew their meaning, though she did not understand how. Her words were a spell to lift Tritichiq’s power from her. The touch of the Valakryie priestess' hand, combined with the incantation, was all she needed. As the echo of magic softened, Eve’s voice was hushed as she repeated the words once more in English. “I awake from death’s dream to live anew.”

  Aibell smiled sweetly, more like her old self. “Trig Na nOg calls you home Eve. We will meet again soon.”

  A sound to Eve’s right made her turn. The ground shifted again. The illusion of the barren field returned to hide the palace and the rolling green grounds. In the distance, Eve could see six small dust tornados spinning wildly towards her. She felt no fear, no need to run for cover. The wind picked up and teased her wings, sending a longing for the sky through her.

  Eve leapt down the stairs and walked towards the twisters. She wanted to spin in circles and celebrate the beauty and power they represented. The cyclones danced like performers in an elaborate ballet. They wove, dipped, paused, came together, and separated again in expert choreography. Before she realized what was happening, the tornados surrounded her. The dust was no longer an illusion. The particles burned her eyes and stung her skin.

  Instinctively, Eve folded her wings back inside of her to prevent the force of the winds and harsh elements from tearing them to shreds. She spun to search for Aibell. When her mouth opened to call out to her friend, she choked on the thick grime in the air.

  No longer enchanted, Eve feared that the twisters would rip her apart or she would suffocate. She could find no way out of the circle they formed around her. Her hair whipped at her and her clothing snapped in the wind. An opening appeared and Eve tried to charge. As she tried to dodge the smallest of the tornados, something reached out and touched her.

  Eve jerked but a strong hand locked on to her bicep. Frozen by shock, Eve couldn’t fight against the force. Her eyes had been barely open as she tried to shield herself from the pelting debris but they sprang wide when something appeared inside the spiraling winds. The face of a laughing girl spun towards her as the unseen hand tugged Eve’s arm.

  Eve tried to jerk away but the twisters melded together, closing her within the eye of the storm. The debris died down and the wind went from a fierce whip to teasing tugs. Scrubbing at her eyes, Eve tried to clear her vision. She knew it would only take a slight shift of the winds to toss her through the atmosphere.

  When her blurry eyes could focus, Eve was astounded. From the inside looking out, she could see clearly. The cyclones were fairy girls, expert ballerinas moving in fast forward. She realized they did not injure her because they were helping her.

  Each of them dipped, swirled, leapt, and landed with swanlike grace. The wind did not surround them as it did Eve. Instead, it trailed out from them. Their flowing hair, elegant hands, shapely legs, and swaying hips were the source of the cyclone. They danced faster still as the pounding of their hearts wove into the sound of the vortex, creating the music they moved to.

  Left with no other choice, Eve stood perfectly still. She stared as the allegro ended, one by one, in a final pirouette. Stiff and frozen, the dancers faced Eve. In unison, they bowed deeply and the winds died.

  19

  Elsie trembled as she stared into the golden orbs of Eve’s eyes. “You have been to the Great Hall of Asgaurd? Eve, you saw the sisters and still returned. You do not know what this means, child.”

  Elsie didn’t look frightened but Eve shook visibly. Her voice cracked as her eyes brimmed with tears, “What does it mean, Elsie? I didn’t understand it. I couldn’t tell if I had experienced a vision or a dream. I felt vast power and Aibell was herself, but different.”

  “Child, do not worry. This is all part of your journey. Aibell is where she needs to be and she is well. Do not doubt your visions. Follow your heart an
d your magic. Follow your inner voice.”

  Seeing Eve’s distress, Eldon came to her side. He did not touch Eve when he approached. He merely stood as close as he could. Eve automatically responded to his presence by shifting her weight so that her body leaned towards his. They shared something few others would ever experience and when they woke to the truth, it would overcome them both.

  Elsie looked at them standing together and she knew. She could suddenly see what no one else, not even Eldon and Eve, could see quite yet. Heart’s desire beat within them. In the Upper World, when two people are destined to be together, they called it soul mates. Elsie preferred the term used by Evalon because she believed the heart was often much more powerful than the soul.

  “You must go, my children. Remember, follow your hearts.” Elsie smiled and patted them both to shoo them off to join the others.

  The group bade farewell and the Ki’Lin once again offered themselves as steeds for the warriors, the witch, the boy, and the fairy princess. They sat out for the border of Haven. The twilight hour was only three hours away. Their time was short and there were many miles to cover. They knew they must outrun the dark.

  Eve was acutely aware of the others’ scrutiny as they rode over the rocky road that led to Haven’s gate. She wanted time to think about the vision and about Elsie’s cryptic words. Each time she fell into contemplative silence, someone would find it necessary to talk to her. She knew they were all being vigilant friends, none-the-less, she found it frustrating.

  Eve needed a break after riding, for what seemed an eternity, with Daryn and Jaryn filling her ears with raucous laughter and lurid stories. Spotting a small pond off in the distance, she used her feminine whiles like a pro.