“You two wait here,” Herron instructed them, then he flew away.
Ivy was too drained to argue with him or follow him. She settled to the ground at a wooden railing that overlooked the ravine. She leaned heavily against it, thoroughly worn out.
Hope stood next to her but didn’t say anything. She had come to realize over the course of the day that Ivy clearly wanted her nearby, but didn’t want to talk. A couple of times, Hope had wandered off when they rested, or drifted away a little when they were flying and Ivy’s hand shot out to hold Hope’s. So Hope made sure to stay close for Ivy, but kept quiet.
She didn’t know how to help, but seeing Ivy in this state and feeling such concern and helplessness, knowing that she would gladly take any of the burden from Ivy to help her feel better, she knew that she was falling in love. As terrible as everything had been since their rushed departure from The Deep, part of her felt pretty good. Ivy was right. Hope did feel a connection to her.
About fifteen minutes later, Ivy still hadn’t moved or spoken. Hope ached with worry, wanting to help. Herron returned.
“We have our rides arranged for the morning.”
“The morning? Shouldn’t we go now?” Hope asked.
Herron looked at Ivy and shook his head. “We need a solid night’s rest before we can go on. Plus, they don’t have anything available until the morning, anyway,” he added quickly.
Hope narrowed her eyes at Herron. She thought he was lying but decided not to press him.
“We’re all set to stay at the Walkers’ residence. Two rooms. I assume you two want to stay together.” He almost didn’t sound sad about it.
Hope nodded.
Herron took off but Hope called after him, “Let’s just walk, okay?”
Herron touched back down and looked again at Ivy. “Okay.”
“Come on, honey,” Hope said gently, leading Ivy by the hand. Ivy followed. They walked to the residence. It was elegant and well appointed.
Herron said, “I’ll go and get some actual food. Hot would be good. You okay?” he asked Hope.
“We’ll be fine. I’m going to get her in the bath and then we’ll see about eating.”
Herron left and Hope led Ivy to the bathroom. She traced the rune on the heatstone under the copper tub, then worked the pump to fill the tub with water. Ivy didn’t move when Hope undressed her. Then Hope undressed herself and helped Ivy into the bath.
Unable to keep silent any longer, she softly murmured instructions and encouraging words. “There we go. Sit down, now. Good.” She gently lathered Ivy’s wings with soap, then washed them with a wet river sponge. “I’m going to tip your head back now,” Hope said, and she washed Ivy’s hair.
Ivy’s shoulders heaved.
“Oh, Ivy, I’m sorry. Did I get soap in your eyes?” Hope asked.
Ivy tipped her head forward and shook her head. Her shoulders heaved again, and Hope realized she was crying.
“Oh, honey,” Hope cooed, and scooted around to Ivy’s side, pulling Ivy to her chest. Ivy clung to her and wept.
Once she had stopped, she sniffled and said, “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Hope asked.
“Because we’re all naked and in the bath together and I’m a total wreck.”
Hope chuckled. “What do you want me to do?”
Ivy looked Hope in the eyes. “Kiss me?”
Hope leaned in and kissed Ivy, tenderly, softly.
“Like you did in The River,” Ivy said, almost pleading.
Hope wrapped her arms around Ivy and pulled her close. Her tongue snaked past Ivy’s parted lips and she grabbed a handful of Ivy’s thick, wet hair. Hope’s other hand slowly slid down Ivy’s side to the small of her back, then she pulled Ivy’s hips toward her. Hope tried to pull back to adjust her position, but every time she started to move away, Ivy dove in harder, so Hope got her knees under her and then sandwiched Ivy’s knee between both of her own. She pulled her hips in closer again and Ivy groaned as she glided over the slippery skin and hard muscles of Hope’s thigh.
At this point, Hope did manage to pull away slightly, just enough to say, “Are you sure?”
Ivy nodded. “Absolutely. Help me feel good, because I don’t want to feel like this anymore.” She leaned forward to kiss Hope again but Hope ducked out of the way.
“I don’t want to do this right now if it’s just because you need --”
“I love you,” Ivy blurted.
Hope stopped talking and blinked at Ivy. She saw a tear roll off Ivy’s cheek.
“I love you,” Ivy repeated. “And I don’t need anything. Just you. I knew it from the moment I saw you.”
“Me, too,” Hope said. “I did, too.”
“Then tell me. Please?”
Hope flushed. “The last fairy I told…”
Ivy ground her hips against Hope’s thigh again. Her breath was getting heavier. “Please? I’m not him.”
“I know,” Hope said, shifting her hips back and forth sliding each of them across one another’s thighs.
Ivy traced her hands down Hope’s sides, then slid one hand upward, cupping Hope’s breast, and the other hand downward in a line along the center of Hope’s stomach all the down, then stopping. Hope arched her hips but Ivy didn’t get any closer.
“You know I do,” Hope whispered.
Ivy grinned at her.
Hope said, “There it is.”
“What?”
“Your smile, and that twinkle in your eye.” Hope slid both of her hands between Ivy’s thighs. “You know I do. I’m just too afraid to say it.”
“It’s enough,” Ivy said, sliding her knee back and bringing her hand down the rest of the way.
-
Herron returned to the residence with dinner. He heard Ivy and Hope talking in the bathroom.
At least Hope got her talking again, Herron thought. He settled himself on the sofa and picked at the roast he brought for dinner. He heard the water sloshing in the tub, then heard moans and heavy breathing. His head and what was left of his mood dropped. He gathered up some of the food and took it to his room on the other side of the building, knowing his already shattered emotions wouldn’t stand up to hearing Hope and Ivy together again. It was hard when they were camping on their trip back to The Meadows. This time was far worse.
-
The next morning, Herron went into the common room and saw Hope and Ivy both in bathrobes, talking and laughing and sitting close together on the sofa.
“Good morning,” Ivy said.
Hope said, “Morning!”
“Morning,” Herron said. “I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he said to Ivy.
“I guess better. Slightly less terrible and empty inside, maybe? It’s awful, what happened. And trying to stay positive doesn’t make it not awful. But it makes it easier to deal with. And I’m sure it makes it easier for you guys to deal with me. I’m sorry for how I was acting yesterday.”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for,” Herron said. “No one should have to see what we saw, to go through what you went through.”
“Nai wanted me to keep going, to stop Pepper, and that’s what I’m going to do,” Ivy said.
“Good,” Hope said, patting Ivy’s knee. “Thanks for getting food last night,” she added.
Herron nodded. “Is there any left?”
“Of course! And they brought us… some sort of eggs. We scrambled them all up and added in the meat and veggies from dinner. There’s a lot left,” she pointed to the skillet, sitting on a cork pad on a table against the wall.
Herron helped himself, then ate quietly, consciously avoiding looking at his companions. When he was finished, he nodded his appreciation, then collected everyone’s dishes and stacked them on the table next to the skillet. He returned to his room to change and re-pack his gear. When he returned to the common room, Ivy and Hope were gone and the door to their room was closed. Herron groaned in frustration and sat down to wait.
Fifte
en minutes later, they both came out of their room, dressed and ready to go. Herron noticed that Ivy’s cheeks were flushed and Hope kept licking her lips. He rolled his eyes and said, “Come on. We have sparrowhawks waiting for us.”
“Sparrowhawks?” Ivy asked. “What are those?”
“They’re birds of prey and they dive very quickly. They’ll fly us down to the foot of the mountain,” Herron said impatiently. “Let’s go.”
Ivy shared a glance with Hope and shrugged. They left the residence and headed to the aviary. The hawks’ handlers helped Herron, Hope, and Ivy onto their birds and lashed them to their saddles. They made some last minute checks and adjustments to the birds’ tack and to the travelers’ gear, making sure everything was secure. Then each of the handlers led the birds to the planks. The birds shuffled back and forth a little bit, then, on a signal from a handler, all three of them stepped off the planks and plummeted toward the ground.
“Wow!” Ivy screamed as they dove.
Herron chuckled to himself. She always manages to bounce back. How does she do that? He wished he could maintain half as positive and wondrous an outlook as Ivy did. Especially with everything she’s had to go through.
Half an hour later, they had touched down in The Bayou and released the birds.
The Bayou was warm and very humid. Huge clouds of insects were visible all around them, temporarily disrupted by the landing and takeoff of the birds. The ground was mushy and Herron’s boots stuck slightly in the mud when he lifted off to hover above the wet surface. The water around the area where they’d landed looked thick and was bright green from the tiny plants lacing the surface of the water. Trees grew tall out of the water, and there was the constant din of insects singing.
“The entrance to The Caves should be right over here,” said Herron. He flew off toward the mountain.
Hope and Ivy followed behind him. After a few minutes, Ivy heard an odd buzzing that didn’t quite match what she’d been hearing since they arrived. She looked around and didn’t see anything. Then she heard it slightly louder to her right, and she glanced to the right, then above her, and screamed, “Whoa!” She halted abruptly and a huge wasp, bigger than Ivy, dived straight to where she would have been if she hadn’t have stopped.
Hope darted to the side and drew her sword. Herron whirled around and drew his. Hope sliced at the wasp but it was just as agile as she was. They danced around each other in midair, slicing and swooping at each other. Then Herron flew behind to flank it and the wasp descended abruptly. Hope was off-balance from her swing at the insect, and took a moment to right herself, but the wasp buzzed up behind her. It curved its body and struck at her with its long and wickedly sharp stinger. Hope tried to dodge out of the way, but the stinger sunk into her calf.
She screamed in pain and swung at the stinger with her sword. She sliced it off, then dropped like a stone and crashed through the surface of the water. The wasp fled and Ivy dived into the water after Hope. She came back to the surface, took a deep breath, then went under again. Herron hovered over the surface of the water, watching for further threats. After almost two minutes, he was wondering whether he should go in after them, but then Ivy broke the surface again and gasped for breath. She had Hope in her arms. Herron flew down and helped Ivy get Hope out of the water.
Hope coughing and sputtering weakly, coughing up lungfuls of water. She was trying to turn over but she couldn’t.
“I… can’t…. move…” Hope said, weak and through stiff lips.
Herron landed next to her. “It’s the venom from the sting. It’s a paralytic.” He reached into one of the easily accessible pockets of his pack and took out two small glass vials. “The last of Nai’s healing solution.” He handed one to Ivy. “Have her drink this.” Then he kneeled by her calf. He used his knife and cut through her leather pant leg.
Hope shook her head, trying to push Ivy away but not able to. “After,” she moaned. “After.”
“After what?” Ivy asked. “Come on, drink it.”
“No, I get it,” Herron said. “This is really going to hurt.” He found a stick on the ground and eased it between Hope’s teeth. “I don’t know if you can move enough to bite down on it. I’m sorry. On three, okay?”
Hope blinked at him. Tears spilled from her eyes.
“One.” He positioned his hands on the stinger. “Two!” And he yanked it free from her leg.
Unable to open her mouth, her scream was loud but muted through her lips wrapped around the stick. She continued to cry out in pain a few more times after Herron had pulled the stinger free. Ivy removed the stick from her mouth and poured the potion into Hope’s mouth. Hope gurgled on it for a second, then coughed and choked it down. Herron poured half of the remaining vial into the large wound in Hope’s calf. It bubbled and the flesh around the wound faded from bright red to rosy pink. Hope moaned again in pain.
Ivy fed her the other half of the last vial. Hope swallowed it more easily this time, and after a moment, she propped herself up on her elbows and moaned.
“Are you all right?” Ivy asked.
Hope shook her head slowly. She turned her hands palms up and groaned as she flexed her fingers. “I can’t quite move all the way yet. But that helped a lot. I can’t believe I let it get behind me.”
“You were amazing!” Ivy said. “You sliced that stinger off while it was still in your leg! Did it paralyze you that fast? Is that why you fell like that?”
Hope nodded. She struggled into a sitting position and examined her leg, twisting it to the side so she could see the back of her calf. She felt it with her fingers and winced.
“It’ll leave a wicked scar,” Herron said, “but it’ll heal. You really do need to have a healer check this out, though.”
“It’ll go great with the wicked scar I already have, then,” Hope chuckled.
Herron grinned at her. “That’s how you know you’re a proper adventurer.”
“Am I?” Hope asked, then doubled over in a spasm of coughing. Ivy rushed toward her but Hope put her hand up and shook her head. “It’s just from the water. I’m fine. I just need a few minutes before I can get up.”
Ivy kneeled behind Hope and rubbed her shoulders while Hope waited to regain control of her limbs. Finally, Hope staggered to her feet.
“Okay,” she said. “I think I can go now.” She gently lifted off but she flew unsteadily. She shook her head and touched back down.
“It’s not far,” Herron said. “Think you can walk it?”
Hope limped forward, clearly with some difficulty, but nodded. Ivy took Hope’s arm over her shoulder and helped her walk. Hope leaned heavily against Ivy, but they hobbled along. In a while, they saw the mouth of The Caves ahead of them.
They each took a lightstone and they went in.
The cave mouth led into a long, dark tunnel that led deep into the side of the mountain. For a long time, it was pretty level, then it curved to the left and sloped downward. The slope became steeper and steeper as they continued, and they reached a large, open cavern with a river running through the center of it. As they shone their lights around to see how big the cavern was, they saw something on the walls.
Ivy helped Hope over to the nearest wall and they saw that there were ancient cave paintings on the walls. They depicted several hunched-over fairies with wings that looked thick, heavy, and primitive, more like beetle wings than Ivy’s thin, delicate, shiny wings. There were dozens of these fairies drawn around a large fire. There was a brown animal of some sort, much larger than the fairies, and there were several fairies that seemed to be attacking it with spears. As they continued walking along the wall, the drawings gradually changed in style, and Ivy noticed that the fairies in these pictures stood straight. There was a picture of an oval-shaped opening, a door, maybe, and there were fairies passing through it. On the other side of the oval-shaped door, there were several fairies flying around and a gigantic being, looking like a fairy without wings.
“What is this plac
e?” Ivy asked.
“The Oracle said this is where primitive fairies lived, long long ago,” Herron said.
“I wonder if that’s a human,” Hope said. “The stories about them all say they are gigantic and they don’t have wings.”
“Wow,” Ivy said. “This is amazing.” She tripped over something on the ground, causing Hope to put weight uncomfortably on her bad leg. “I’m sorry!”
Hope shook her head, gritting her teeth.
Ivy shone her light at the ground and picked up what she tripped over. It was extremely old and it seemed to be made of bone with a stone point lashed to it. “This must have been one of their tools,” she said. “I wonder what it was for.” She slipped it into her pack.
Hope straightened and said, “I think I can walk.” She limped around a little and nodded. “I’m okay.”
“There’s no way to cross the river without flying,” Herron said. “Think you can make it? Just that much.”
Hope nodded and slowly flew over the river. Ivy and Herron joined her on the other side. They found another tunnel, then proceeded down it. This one curved to the right and sloped downward, and opened into another chamber. There were several alcoves cared into the walls. There were sticks and leaves and some rocks in most of the alcoves.
“Wow. I wonder if this is where they slept. They look almost like bunks,” said Ivy.
Herron shrugged. “Come on, we need to keep moving.”
They exited that chamber through another tunnel and they quickly found themselves in a large chamber. Water poured down the left wall over a bed of green moss, and on the wall opposite them was a tall oval frame with a mirror inside. Three stone steps led to the platform at the base of the mirror. It was at least twice as tall as Ivy. She peered up at it.
“This must be the Bridge,” she said. “How does it work?”
“From what I saw of the pictures, we have to walk through it, like a door.”
“I don’t think it opens,” Ivy said. She flew up to it and reached out.
“Wait!” Hope shouted.
“What?”
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