by Morgan Wylie
“Daegan?” Kaeleigh suddenly said from the edge of the stream right in front of him. He looked up at her, clearly caught off guard at her sudden approach. “If you are all right, shouldn’t we get going before it gets dark? You had mentioned making it to a safe resting spot by tonight.”
Shaking off all emotion, Daegan replied, “Yes, I’m ready. We have a ways yet to cover before nightfall.” He began to stalk past her, but stopped for the briefest moment, unable not to acknowledge her. “I appreciate what you did for me,” he whispered for her ears only as he gently patted his wounded arm where she had bandaged it. It was so fast and subtle that Finn, who was helping Chel up from off the ground under the tree several feet away, didn’t even notice. Within the blink of an eye, Daegan was closed off, unreadable, and unapproachable, walking off and expecting everyone to follow him, which of course they did.
Chapter Twenty-seven
After several hours of walking in awkward silence, they stopped at what seemed to be the edge of the forest. Literally. Rows of the ancient giants towered both to the right and to the left as far as anyone could see, but in front of them was apparently the last row. Slowly walking closer to the edge, Kaeleigh moved ahead of everyone else, curious about what could be beyond the trees. From where the rest of them apprehensively stood, all that could be seen was a foggy mist slowly moving up toward the sky, but nothing could be seen beyond or through the mist.
“There it is,” Daegan said, staring out at the mist in front of them.
Kaeleigh, startled at the sound of his voice—or anyone’s for that matter, as no one had spoken for hours—turned to him. “What is it?”
“You will see as we move past the trees, a bridge that will carry us across to the other side and out of the forest,” Daegan said flatly.
Kaeleigh spared a glance at Finn, who stood staring intensely out into the misty abyss. As he caught her gaze, he sighed and lowered his eyes in deference to her decision but still clenched his fists at his sides. Initially angered, but softening when she felt a flare of electric flutters stir in her chest, she took a deep breath then asked him, “Finn? Thoughts?” She needed her friend and hoped he would accept her meager olive branch.
Surprised, Finn raised questioning eyes with the slightest hint of hope to her. “You’re asking me what I think?” Then much softer he added, “I thought you hated me.”
“Finn, I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. I’m angry and confused, but aside from all the lies, you have been there for me. So yes, I am asking what you are thinking. You have been here before?”
Finn slowly nodded then took a deep breath. “Daegan is correct. The bridge will lead us away from the dense part of the forest and eventually toward the heart of Alandria.” He paused and glanced over to where Daegan was watching their interchange with amusement, which only angered Finn, making him continue more confidently, “What you must know, however, is that the mist has magical properties to reveal. When you cross the bridge, the mist will cloak you and strip all magics used in glamouring. It will leave you defenseless, even if for the briefest moments... and... I must ask you not to cross it.” She won’t listen, but might as well try. Then to Daegan, “There was another way. Why did you bring her this way?”
Daegan gave an indifferent shrug of his shoulder and a sly smile, “I was curious. I thought you all might be as well.”
Kaeleigh spared a curious frown toward Daegan. Considering what Finn said and knowing that it would be revealing not only to her, but also to him and to Chel, she glanced at Daegan, who wore an impatient yet expectant smirk on his face. Kaeleigh glanced back at Chel, who nodded in approval. Even though it would expose her secret, she seemed almost relieved and excited at the mystery. Glancing at Finn, who oddly seemed resigned, she said, “I am sorry, Finn, but I have to know for myself. You and Chel don’t have to come. I wouldn’t ask that of you.”
“I know.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his messed-up hair. “But I had to warn you. And there is no way in hell, or in our case, reincarnated purgatory—if that’s what it comes down to—that I would not go with you!” Finn said sternly.
“After all this, you think we’d miss out on something that could give us answers? You’ve been waiting for this too long, and I want some answers too,” Chel interjected with emotion, to which Kaeleigh just smiled.
Daegan shoved off of the large tree that he was leaning against, looking bored. “Then let us keep moving.” He headed through the final stance of trees and disappeared into the mist. The others scrambled after him trying to not lose him inside the mist, but he took off too fast.
Finn, Chel, and Kaeleigh paused closely together once inside the mist, hoping for their eyes to adjust. “Daegan?” Kaeleigh called out, irritated by his lack of concern.
Finn interjected, “Stay close, I can get us to the bridge.”
Unexpectedly and not sure why she could sense him, Kaeleigh felt Daegan’s presence close and getting closer. Confused and irritated by whatever game he was playing, she blindly reached out and let her senses take control. At the exact moment he was about to pass by her, she reached out and grabbed his forearm, her accuracy surprising both of them. As soon as contact was made, Kaeleigh was given sight to see through the fog. Daegan reacted with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “You are learning quickly,” he whispered.
Kaeleigh glared at him. “Trying to lose us? Or are you testing me?”
Daegan simply shrugged then added, “Seems that if you all hold on to each other, Kaeleigh should be able to pass my sight onto you. She seems to be acting as a conduit.” Then silently he added with a playful smirk, knowing that only Kaeleigh would hear him, “Better hold on tight.”
Kaeleigh responded by digging her nails into his forearm. She felt him resist reacting to her childish demonstration, but uncontrollably he let out the minutest flinch, leaving her satisfied, so she released her grip. The instant she did, he pulled out of her grip, leaving them all blindly groping for their way in the mist. Shouts of “Hey!” and “What’s going on?” were weighted down under the dense precipitation. Before they could all freak out on him, Daegan grabbed Kaeleigh’s hand once again, giving them sight and sending small pricks of electricity shooting through her arm, but the smug look of arrogance and dominance he shot at her sent combating pricks of irritation. Amazing how fast he can spin my emotions! What is he playing at? Unwilling to react to him, Kaeleigh reined in her anger and simply smiled sweetly back at him, willing him to feel her deep-down frustration with him.
Daegan’s eyes lit up with the slightest bit of approval when she realized that she had done exactly what he wanted her to do. Ugh! He was teaching her to temper her emotions, and it only pissed her off more that she had given in to what he wanted... that he had figured out a way to push her buttons, so to speak. To spite him, she let out a single flare of irritated emotion and then pulled it back inside her. She knew he got the message when he paused briefly with the barest look back in her direction, his eyebrow quirked. He gave her hand a quick squeeze, sending those same odd pricks of electricity into her hand. The only word she could think to describe what that one little squeeze made her feel: giddy. She felt a little silly but let a smile escape even though she knew he saw.
There was a buzzing. She gripped Daegan’s hand hard. Images began skimming across her vision from her dreams and flashes.
A faceless stranger holding her hand. Foggy mist. More images. Various races of beings. Buzzing. Cliffs. A battle. Other images: Wedding. Orchids. Again his hand. A ring. Feelings of peace and calm electricity.
Just as fast as they came, they were gone as though they hadn’t happened—except for Daegan peering back at her with confusion in his eyes as if he had just been a bystander to everything she had just seen. Realizing Daegan was gripping her hand harder than needed, she looked down at her smaller feminine hand held inside his tough masculine hand. She noticed something: a ring on his finger that looked exactly like the one on the hand of the stranger in
her dreams. How have I not noticed this before? Eyes wide, she looked at him. “It was you?!” she said both as a question and a declaration.
Daegan looked back at her, completely confused and even a bit rattled, his face pale and chalky. Shaking his head, he replied, “I don’t know what you are talking about, but those images... where did you... how did you...” Frustrated, he took a deep breath to concentrate. “Those were my personal dreams. I do not understand. How did you do that?”
“How did I do that?” Kaeleigh shot back, confused. “First of all, how did you do that? Those were from my visions AND how did you see what I just saw?” When he didn’t respond she continued, “How is it that you were in them? That was before I had ever seen you.”
Before he could shrug it off and shut himself off from her completely, Chel and Finn interrupted, “What is going on with you two?” and “Care to fill us in back here?” respectively as they both moved up beside Kaeleigh, each careful not to let go of each other so they could still see.
At the same time that Kaeleigh said “Yes,” Daegan not surprisingly said “No” to Finn’s question. Kaeleigh turned toward them. “Did either one of you see the vision or whatever it was that I just had?” Both looked at each other then shook their heads.
Daegan gave a sigh of impertinence, directing Kaeleigh’s attention back to the issue at hand. She rolled her eyes and focused back on Daegan. What a buzzkill!
“I don’t know why I saw what you saw. It must have been our physical connection,” he said, looking down at their hands still clasped together and suddenly feeling very awkward at their forced connection to be able to see each other. He pulled away from her and left them without sight, not caring. He needed to regain his composure. Continuing, he said, “That couldn’t have been me in your dreams. And if it was, then why? I didn’t recognize the scenes that flashed as anywhere that I had been before or if they were even of any importance.” Daegan paused, and no one said anything for a minute that seemed to last an eternity. “Let’s analyze this later. We must get across the bridge by dark, which is not far off.” With that, he grabbed Kaeleigh’s wrist, this time careful not to touch more skin than needed for their connection to sight.
The bridge turned out to be closer than she thought it should have been, but then again all seemed lost and far off in the dense mist.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Able to finally see on their own the closer they got to the river, they broke their physical connections, both to Kaeleigh’s relief and for some reason... loss. At the transition where land met water just under the bridge stood a cliff with a thirty-foot drop into raging rapids that crashed on and around large jagged rocks. Kaeleigh, suddenly feeling her stomach drop out from under her as a wave of acrophobia hit her in the gut, took several steps back. She had never been good with heights. Today was definitely no exception.
Finn stepped back beside Kaeleigh. “Ready to cross over into the great unknown?” he said with a wink and a partial smile. She couldn’t help but smile back at him. That had been one of their jokes they would say to each other when they watched cheesy sci-fi movies and referred to the time when the hero or the heroine would cross some barrier between time and space into what should be their greatest moment ever, but oftentimes was their greatest mistake—they should have just been content with their normal lives, then what’s-his/her-name would not have died. After the movie was over, one of them would ask the question and the other would reply as Kaeleigh just did, “Ready as I’ll ever be!”
But before she moved, a sober moment passed between them. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you the truth, Kaeleigh. I wanted to so many times and there are still some things that I can’t tell you until the appointed times, but know that I was always there to protect and guide you—not that you ever really needed it,” Finn said with another wink.
Kaeleigh softened what was about to be another outburst that there were still things he wasn’t telling her, but instead decided to just let it play out; after all, as he said, he was always there. “I’m sorry too, Finn. You have always been there and I will just have to trust in that... in you...right now.”
Chel was lying on her stomach to get a closer and “safer” view over the edge of the cliff, gazing at the rapids below. She saw Finn holding Kaeleigh’s hand, guiding her to the bridge following Daegan, and jumped up to get on the other side of Kaeleigh, wrapping her arm in Kaeleigh’s and giving her a quick squeeze and a smile. She couldn’t help it, she was excited to see what, if anything, would happen to Kaeleigh as they crossed over the bridge. Suddenly, the thought occurred to her that the river might reveal more to them all than just Kaeleigh’s unknowns. She jerked back and paused apprehensively.
Daegan sighed impatiently, once again at their group having to stop because of drama. Kaeleigh gave him a quick glare and the universal “one minute” hand signal. Approaching Chel, she sensed her nervousness and quietly said, “We are in this together, no matter what. It’ll be okay. I’m scared too.” Knowing that would do the trick, Kaeleigh took a step back.
Chel stood up straight and looked at her defiantly. “I am not scared! I just didn’t want you to be outshone by the wondrousness of me that is about to be revealed,” Chel grabbed Kaeleigh’s hand, squeezed it, and pulled her toward the bridge along with her.
Daegan gave Kaeleigh a barely seen little twitch of his mouth as they came up alongside him. Apparently, he approved of how she had handled Chel and for some reason she felt warm fuzzies inside because of it. She quickly squashed the feelings down as she didn’t want him to sense them, but she also didn’t want to want his approval or care what he thought about her... but she was starting to.
Looking out over the bridge and then back at everyone else, Daegan said, “It is a very narrow bridge but it is safe; however, we can only go across one at a time. I will go first to ensure safety on the other side, girls will follow, and Finn, you bring up the rear.” Finn nodded as if expecting and approving Daegan’s direction. Daegan began to head across the bridge but Kaeleigh grabbed his arm and then quickly released it when he turned toward her, obviously irritated.
“What happens once we are on the bridge? Do we need to do anything?” she asked him, then bit her bottom lip nervously.
Daegan stared at her for a moment too long before he seemed to remember she had asked him something. “Once in the middle of the bridge, wait for a second and the mist will perform its magic. You will see...” was all he said before he was in the middle of the bridge.
Awkward was all Kaeleigh could think as a blush crept up her neck to her cheeks. She hoped no one else was watching.
From the edge of the overpass, where everyone else stood waiting, they could see what was happening in the middle of the bridge. Kaeleigh’s anticipation was high as was her anxiety. The idea of everyone being able to see her before she was really able to see for herself who or what she was—if anything—was starting to raise a panic within her. She had always been so private about her life and her feelings. Even though these people standing with her had been her family, she was wishing she was doing this alone in a dark closet or something.
She stayed caught up in her own mental ramblings until she saw the mist begin to swirl around Daegan; then all she could see was him, the real him. Magic indeed! He was not so unlike the appearance he had been portraying before, which must have obviously been some kind of human glamour to not stand out in the mortal realm; because he would have definitely stood out more than he already had.
Still tall, dark, and brooding, but more so. He was even taller than he had been at what she would have estimated at close to six feet, but now perhaps a few inches more. His skin was a bit darker, no, not really darker—richer was a better word to describe it. Dark hair that had often fallen into his face was longer and shaggier. It was intensely darker, almost a midnight black with blue hues filtering through. The features of his face were mostly the same, just more prominent, but with the same intense and piercing gaze that he already
had—a gaze that suddenly found Kaeleigh’s eyes through the mist as if he felt her scrutinizing every inch of him.
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, she felt a blush creep up her face, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of him—or, of course, the magic misting around his strong... ahem. OMG quit looking! He was still lean and muscular, but with a bit more bulk to his build. Warrior and then some! Slightly pointed tips that must have become an addition to his ears jutted up through strands of his black hair. As he turned to continue walking forward, he looked back at her and beckoned her with his hand to follow after him but with his eyes, he dared her to.
Kaeleigh took a deep breath, but just before she stepped onto the bridge, she watched him walk to the other end of the bridge, noticing a dark marking on his opposite arm from the one she had bandaged. It was a marking on the inside of his forearm, simple yet tribal. From the distance she was seeing it, it was circular with markings making up the inside much like a shield. It hadn’t been there before or she was sure she would have noticed it. She wasn’t sure why, but for some reason she couldn’t take her eyes off of it. She found herself holding onto her wrist where she had covered up the marking that had burned its way onto her own wrist not that long ago. His was the same bluish-green color.
Absent-mindedly, she unwrapped the fabric bracelets that she had tied onto her wrists and looked down at her marking, wondering what it meant and where it came from. Kaeleigh had always wanted a tattoo, she had just hoped to have a say in design and placement. Closing her eyes, she hoped that she was about to find out. She took her first step onto the bridge, just to be yanked back by Finn.
