by Morgan Wylie
“When did you get that marking? Did he do that to you?” Finn asked, pointing across the river at Daegan.
“Hey!” she yelled, confused, and jerked her arm out of his grasp. “What? No, are you kidding? He didn’t do anything to me. It just appeared a few days before we got here... more like it burned its way onto me.”
Finn stood there staring at her wrist, even more confused. “I don’t understand, it shouldn’t look like that,” he mumbled out loud.
“What?” Kaeleigh said, her eyes wide. “Do you know what it is? Daegan seemed confused by it too... Wait! What do you mean, ‘it shouldn’t look like that’?” At his tight-lipped expression she rolled her eyes. “Ugh, another secret, huh?” Kaeleigh said, clearly frustrated. “You know what? Never mind, I’m going across now.”
“Wait. Please, Kaeleigh. Let Chel go first, I’ll try and explain what I can,” Finn said. Kaeleigh looked to Chel, who just shrugged, not caring in which order she went, so Kaeleigh nodded for Chel to go ahead of her.
Finn started to explain something about how markings in Alandria were given when you are born, but usually didn’t appear until after ‘the stage of becoming,’ which had something essentially to do with puberty and the coming of an age of independence. However, Kaeleigh had missed most of what Finn was saying—although important—she didn’t want to miss anything as Chel crossed over to the other side. She put her hand on his arm and wordlessly pointed to Chel in the middle of the bridge being caught up in the foggy mist swirling about her and then quickly dissipating as it revealed... Chel. The Chel she had always been, but vibrantly much more! She wore confidence on a new level; stronger and in control.
Kaeleigh and Finn both stood gawking at their friend as she transformed into someone, aside from the physical changes, that Kaeleigh always knew was deep inside Chel. They were both smiling and Kaeleigh felt her heart bubbling with joy for her friend, her sister. Just as Chel was taking steps to head toward the other end of the bridge, her image faltered.
“What’s happening?” Kaeleigh asked as she gripped Finn’s arm.
“It’s not done... the revealing.”
Kaeleigh couldn’t tell if Finn was worried or just fascinated with the process. Maybe both. Chel’s physical appearance wasn’t actually changing, but her image was suddenly like a holographic picture where one second she was Chel and the next she was... something else entirely. Her image flipped back and forth, rapidly changing between Chel and a beautiful black wolf with white and gold mixed in.
Both Kaeleigh and Finn gasped in amazement as they watched. “She’s a shifter!” Finn whispered in awe. “I mean I knew that, but I didn’t know what she would become... Amazing.” Finn continued talking while Kaeleigh watched also in amazement. “Her parents are too. She should be able to shift into several forms once she learns how, but this wolf apparently is her primary form.”
They could see Chel watching her own image change back and forth, at first fearful and then awed with acceptance of her own transformation of who she really was, or at least who she could be. She walked off the bridge to where Daegan was standing, nodded at him, and smiled. Kaeleigh wished she was there to share this moment with her friend.
Daegan looked back across the river and gave a deep nod to Kaeleigh, gesturing it was her turn on the bridge. She looked to Finn as he walked her to the edge. “Your turn,” he said expectantly with a smile. Apparently watching Chel got him excited about this part of their adventure.
Kaeleigh walked cautiously—one foot in front of the other—toward the center of the bridge. Slight tremors of nervousness raced throughout her body, her heart pumping adrenaline of expectation. Almost to the center, Kaeleigh paused, her breath caught in her throat, her thoughts and emotions suddenly out of control.
What if nothing happens? Maybe I don’t belong here... Oh my god! What if I DO belong here?
Kaeleigh’s chest began to constrict; she felt like she was hyperventilating. Paralyzed where she stood, she stared out at the ominous center of the bridge. It taunted her, dared her to take that next step; see that she would never be anything other than an orphaned girl trying to make it on her own. She looked back at Finn, who looked intently concerned but didn’t come any closer.
“I’m sorry, Kaeleigh,” Finn said remorsefully. “I can’t go across with you, you have to go it alone.”
Kaeleigh looked back to the bridge. She had to face this. It seemed ironic to feel so paralyzed when all she had wanted for so many years was to know who she was and where she belonged. The reality of what she wanted seemed so much heavier than the dream of wanting to know.
“Kaeleigh.” Daegan’s voice, quiet but confident, broke through her fog of doubt. “Kaeleigh, the first step is the hardest, you can do this... you need to do this. Walk to the center, find out who you are.”
Kaeleigh took a deep breath, realizing that she now felt free from the doubt that was paralyzing her, and glanced across the river at Daegan, to see that he seemed to be in an intense discussion with Chel. He couldn’t have just spoken to her. How did she hear him then? Was he in her mind? She shook her head to clear it, stood tall and proud, and marched to the center of the bridge.
Before she even realized she was in the center of the bridge, the mist rose up from the river and swirled vigorously around her, starting at her feet encircling her up to her head. It tickled as it quickly kissed her skin like it was trying to get a read on her. She felt giddy and light, as if she could fly. Just as she thought it, she was lifted from the ground by nothing more than the swirling mist. Holding her arms out palms up, she tilted her head back, abandoning herself to the mist. After all, she had come this far, and she was not about to miss out on all that she could experience. Looking up, she could see sparkling rays of light... and orchids. Orchids began falling from where she couldn’t see, but they caressed her skin as they fell to the ground and encouraged her soul. The mist was moving faster and faster, becoming a tornado of fog. She could feel the magic. It was alive. Her body was tingling all over with small electric pricks. It was all-encompassing.
The breeze began to swirl around her face and caught her off guard, leaving her feeling tight, claustrophobic, and trapped. Pierced with fear, her pulse began to race. This hadn’t happen with the others; no one told her this could happen. Kaeleigh closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Breathing through her nose, she wasn’t getting enough oxygen so she opened her mouth and inhaled, taking the mist deep inside her when she did. She struggled and choked, but was instantly filled with peace when she imagined Daegan touching her hand and remembered the feeling of peace he had given her in their dreams.
As she relaxed, she felt magic weaving within her and around her on the outside. She could literally feel it tugging at what must have been her glamour. The tugging became more insistent. There were sparks flying around her mixed in with the fog. Then a burning sensation started in the soles of her feet and slowly moved up her legs. It was the most intense pain she had ever felt. There was screaming, but she couldn’t see anything outside of the fog mummifying her. The fire that was her legs spread up through her torso and into her head. It burned so hot, she couldn’t take it anymore. Kaeleigh felt her body giving out. Irrationally, she thought perhaps it was what drowning might feel like minus the flesh being torn from her limbs. There it was again... more screaming. And then silence.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Kaeleigh’s eyes fluttered open. I’m dead, aren’t I? Lovely. No, she could feel the hard, cold, and moist planks of the bridge underneath her. She could feel her lungs filling and releasing air. Her heart was beating, albeit a bit slower. She was slumped partially on her side and her stomach. Am I hurt? Clutching her head, Kaeleigh couldn’t remember what had happened. Slowly she lifted her head. Why is everyone yelling? Suddenly her attention was snapped back to the present, flooding her mind with what had happened and where she was.
Gasping, she looked back behind her. Finn was standing on the edge of t
he cliff looking utterly dumbfounded with his jaw open, when seconds before he had been yelling something. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion and muted. Did I lose my hearing? She looked to the opposite end of the bridge. Chel was off to the side of the bridge, pacing with her hands clasped and held up in front of her mouth. Kaeleigh cocked her head, trying to understand Chel’s reaction as she had tears in her eyes. Confused, her gaze slid over to Daegan where he stood at the edge of the bridge, tense in every way imaginable, flexing and releasing his hands over and over like he was getting ready to rush the bridge. All of this did nothing for her nerves or the flutters in her stomach. When he saw her looking at him, his eyes grew large for a brief second, as if surprised, then recovered. He seemed to relax the tiniest bit when she began to stand up.
Kaeleigh felt like all the life had been drained out of her and was slowly seeping back in to every little inch of her body. Getting up, she faltered and fell back to the ground like a newborn foal. Slightly embarrassed that everyone was watching her, she looked at her feet trying to find their way. Out from under her eyelashes, she saw Daegan muttering something but again couldn’t seem to hear anything; she felt like her ears were filled with gauze. He looked angry. Suddenly there was an audible crack, then Daegan was stalking toward her on the bridge. She looked up to find him staring down at her, but then instantly he was down on his haunches right next to her.
“You can’t even seem to do the safest things without getting into trouble, can you?” he said, clearly trying to make light of her lying on the ground in front of him, but there was something else in the tightness of his voice. It took too much effort to try to figure him out so she just let out a little laugh with a sigh. He grabbed her arm as she raised it for him to help her up before he had even asked. Out of the side of his mouth, he couldn’t help the small smile that slipped out.
Finn was yelling something from the other end of the bridge, but Kaeleigh still couldn’t hear him. Confused, she looked from Finn to Daegan just as Daegan glared at him over the back of his shoulder. Daegan had one arm around her waist and the other gripping her hand as he guided her the rest of the way across the bridge. All the tingles that she now associated with him—with his touch—were working their way under her skin, bringing her peace.
“Why can’t I hear them?” Kaeleigh wondered out loud. “I couldn’t hear you when you were over there either,” she said, gesturing with her free hand to the other side of the bridge. “But I did hear you before I got onto the bridge.”
Daegan looked down at her, slightly puzzled, but shrugged. When they were almost to the end, she paused, causing them both to stop. He didn’t even look at her, just waited for her to be ready to keep going as if he could sense she needed a moment. Without looking up at him, she shyly asked, “What do I look like? I mean... do I look any different?”
“You look like you, but you also look different... I guess you do belong here,” he answered with his smirky eyebrow lift that just frustrated her. He shrugged again, knowing that it must irritate her. He seemed to like to watch her lose control of her emotions. “You should probably ask Chel. She’s waiting for you.”
She knew he was changing the subject, which bothered her because well, maybe she looked bad or maybe she was some kind of freak here in this world. However, she was excited to see Chel too, so she let him walk her off the bridge. As soon as she stepped off the bridge, she heard a “pop” in her head and all her hearing was restored, as though she had been in a bubble. Kaeleigh stood for a brief second popping her ears and moving her jaw around, before she was mauled by Chel’s embrace.
Daegan had to interrupt them so that they wouldn’t miss Finn walking, or marching, toward the center of the bridge. He wasn’t even going to stop in the center, but the mist surrounded him and held him in place. Finn’s was the fastest of everyone’s, as if he was somehow able to control the mist to a degree. Or the mist was disinterested in him.
Finn’s transformation was the least affected. He did seem to grow a few inches and he added some muscle; more like an athlete than a moody high school student. His skin seemed to pale a little—not that he was tan to begin with. As with Daegan, he was re-clothed in more realm-appropriate clothes; soft-material pants for easy flexibility, and laced-up boots that oddly looked like a cross between something native and more modern. Ironically, he had on the same T-shirt he had on before but added a chocolate-brown buckskin vest. His hair was still sandy but it was longer, resting just below his ears, and his eyes were a much more intense hazel than before.
As quick as it started, it was over. He continued sauntering off of the bridge, but before he could conceal it, both the girls noticed a marking on his inner bicep that they had never seen before. It was somewhat similar to the newly visible one on Daegan’s forearm. Finn’s marking looked more like a sun with curved arms extending from it and surrounding it. According to the “Nice tat” comment from Chel, she too saw it. Quickly, he pulled his sleeve down, not realizing that it had crept up with the mist blowing around him. His ears were also a bit more pointed and his facial features more defined, but still Finn.
“Finn’s a hottie here in Alandria,” Chel mumbled under breath to Kaeleigh. Finn seemed much too intense to react to Chel’s comment, if he heard it at all. He marched straight over to Kaeleigh.
“Are you all right?” he asked, focused solely on Kaeleigh and running his hands from her shoulders down to her elbows, making sure. When she nodded, he swung his head toward Daegan. “Why did that happen? I’ve never seen that happen before. It was trying to kill her!” He was shouting now.
Wow, he’s intense, Kaeleigh thought, watching the show.
Daegan stepped right up in Finn’s face almost nose to nose, but Finn didn’t back down. “It was not trying to kill her. I wouldn’t have let that happen!” he snapped. “I didn’t even know I could get through the wards or I would have gotten to her sooner,” he added, clearly more for Kaeleigh as he didn’t feel the need to explain anything to Finn.
“Yes, why could you get through the wards?” Finn asked suspiciously.
“I do not know,” Daegan replied, confused as well.
Kaeleigh stepped up right next to them and placed a hand on each of their chests, pushing them apart. Finn gently grabbed her wrist and turned it so Daegan could see the marking on her arm. “What does it mean? It shouldn’t look like this.” The only thing different about her marking after crossing the bridge was its shimmering iridescent quality.
Chel gasped, grabbing Kaeleigh’s opposite wrist and twisting it to show her. “Look! Another one.”
Surprised, Kaeleigh jerked her hand from Chel and her other from Finn, putting them both out in front of her for her own inspection. “Wow,” she breathed out, half in awe and half in shock. Looking up, she sought Daegan’s eyes which were looking somewhat between intensely confused and genuinely concerned. Chel was intently studying the lines and curves, trying to make some sense of it out of her own knowledge. And Finn, wide-eyed and fearful, looked even more pale, if that was possible, and like he might possibly get sick.
“It looks similar to Finn’s but not quite whole,” Chel said finally, after a brief inspection.
“Enough about my wrist!” Kaeleigh frowned, frustrated. “We have a LOT to talk about.” She took a deep breath, suddenly feeling weak as her arms now hung limply at her sides. “I feel like I could sleep for a week. Could we find shelter, Daegan? Please.”
It was the “please” that pulled at his heart. Daegan nodded and instantly turned and started walking. He paused briefly only to turn to Kaeleigh. “Are you able to walk a bit further?”
“I’ll manage,” Kaeleigh said as confidently as she could force out. Hating that she felt weak, she stood up and pulled her shoulders back, determined not to give in to the physical weakness she actually did feel. He nodded, admiring her inner strength.
Finn, Chel, and Kaeleigh all walked together, quietly assessing each other and even the smallest changes that had
taken place. Chel tried to describe to Kaeleigh the few changes that she could see. Her hair was basically the same but a wilder variation of the rich dark umber browns and reds. Her eyes were more defined and feline-like; where they were an unusual green to begin with they now had a golden ring around the vivid green irises. Her ears had grown some and now had a slightly pointed tip. She didn’t feel too much different, although she seemed more balanced and graceful, more fluid in her movements.
Kaeleigh was still weak when she walked but tried not to show it. Chel graciously held onto her arm to help support her while giving the appearance of friendly companionship. Finn remained the most quiet and seemed to be disturbed that this part of him had been revealed. His answers were short and clipped when one of the girls would ask him about his changes or anything about Alandria in general. Eventually, they stopped talking to him directly and whispered among themselves.
Hello? It’s not like too much is different. At least you know what you look like! I need a mirror, Kaeleigh kept thinking. She knew it was vain, but she didn’t really care. She could look like... well, anything. Was she an Elf like Finn? A Faerie? Was she a shifter like Chel? Kaeleigh didn’t think so since she had the pointy ears and Chel didn’t, but she didn’t even know what her other options were in this world. Chel wasn’t much help with descriptions. Ugh! Swear word. Apparently being in this realm of otherness she felt she should watch her language, but sometimes you just needed to say something.
Kaeleigh started slowing down a bit; her breathing seemed to be strained. She couldn’t understand what was causing her to feel this way. Before stepping onto the bridge, she was fine. She thought she was supposed to come off of the bridge stronger and more confident in who she learned she was, except that she wasn’t and all she had were more questions that no one seemed to want to explain to her. Daegan was being his stubborn, closed-off self, and Finn had retreated to some reserved, tortured person that she hadn’t known before—sure, he had always been moody and sulky, but never like this. Kaeleigh wished she could understand both of these very different men that she was with.
