Faeswyn [The Maidens of Mocmoran 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Wynette Davis

  “I guess I won’t.”

  “My mother was Calthafaean from Calthafahr in Jahlmerikahl. I’ll never know why the women are called Calthafae and the men are called Calthafoe. Weird. But I get my complexion from her. But she died… Um… She… um…died last year.” Trikyia took a deep breath before she smiled slightly and shrugged. “Well, half of her was Calthafae. Her mother was originally from Mocmoran. You know that all of the Calthafahrians have dark skin, right? My mom was… She was beautiful. But since my dad is half-Mocmoran and half-Drisian, and my mom was half-Calthafahrian…here I am.”

  She sat smiling at him, like the love struck girl she was. Naihr was used to women being attracted to him. In high school, he’d had several girls claiming they were in love with him. He wasn’t oblivious to what he looked like. Most of it was biological genes. Some of it was genetic engineering. His height and his build he knew was because of the so-called “vitamins” his mother took when she was pregnant with him. But the point was, he knew what he looked like, so he understood Trikyia’s crush.

  “Are you sure you don’t have someplace to be?”

  “No, I’m free. Like I said, I just come over here to shoot. Hey, are you married?”

  “No, Trikyia, I’m not married. I hope to be soon, though.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’m very much in love with someone.”

  “Who? Is she pretty? Is she prettier than me?”

  Naihr laughed softly as he thought about Faeswyn. But he also didn’t want to hurt a young girl’s feelings. “I think she’s beautiful. And if a man is in love with a woman, she should know that he believes she is the most beautiful woman in the world.”

  “Oh.” Trikyia seemed to stew over that fact. “So who is she?”

  “Faeswyn,” he said, smiling again as she appeared in his thoughts.

  “Oh,” Trikyia said again. She looked around the room, as if she were studying the décor. “Um… You know she was married before. She had a husband.”

  Naihr nodded. “Yes, I know that.”

  “Well… Um, did you know she had a lover, too? She was a married woman and she had a lover. She told me that herself. Did you know that?” she said, looking at him with superiority.

  “Yes, I know that also.” He had to remind himself that she was a young girl that had a crush on him.

  “It’s because she has big boobs and ass, huh?” Trikyia asked. “The reason you’re in love with her,” she said with emphasis on the word love. “She’s full Mocmoran. My nana says that all Mocmoran women look like that, so she’s nothin’ special. I bet you only think you’re in love with her. She’s vaedra. Do you know what that means?”

  He tried to hide his smile, but nodded to her again. “Yes, I know what it means to be vaedra. And I know that she’s full Mocmoran. And I also know without any doubt that the reason I’m in love with her is not because she has big boobs and ass,” he said. But it sure doesn’t hurt, he thought to himself. “It’s because of her essence. I fell in love with her because of who she is, not what she is, or what she looks like.”

  “You might say that now,” said Trikyia. “But my Uncle Aiolidahr says that Mocmoran women get round and fat as they get older and have babies.” Her eyebrows rose knowingly at him. “So in fifteen years, Faeswyn is going to be fat. I bet you won’t be in love with her then. My Aunt Suaedrah says that men don’t like fat women, and that’s why Mocmoran women only marry Mocmoran men. Cuz they’re all fat.”

  Naihr gazed at the floor. He wanted to throttle the ignorance out of Trikyia, but it wasn’t her fault. It was the fault of those that she was being influenced by. The adults in her life. So he chose his words wisely.

  “Trikyia, let me just say this one more time. I am in love with Faeswyn. Her essence. I plan to dedicate my essence to her, and hopefully she will say she wants to dedicate hers to me. That’s only a formality. If the goddesses see to bless us with children, I will be happier beyond reason. But know this. I don’t give a shit if she gets fat after babies or as she ages. To make this age-appropriate, I will continue to love her with everything I am and show her each and every night. Is that understood?”

  Trikyia nodded slowly. “I wasn’t trying to say anything bad about Faeswyn. I-I like her. She’s a friend of mine.”

  “I know. So how good of a shooter are you with your tracer?” he asked her quickly, changing the subject.

  “Very good. Like I said, my mom showed me how when I was eight. Back then I could barely aim straight. But Nana says that I have a gift with a tracer. With just about any weapon, actually. I can’t practice over there because my dad might show up at any time. He hates violence of any kind, like most Drisians. You want to see? I mean… You can come and watch me practice behind the barn if you want to.”

  “I’d like that. Maybe I can show you some things I know about using a tracer. I was in the royal guard of Teveoch.”

  “Balsthemar! No shit?”

  Naihr started to laugh at hearing Trikyia use a term heard out of the mouths of most teenagers, showing her youth. “Yes.”

  They walked out of the house with Trikyia babbling continually as she tried to keep up with his long strides. She was a sweet girl, even if she still tried to flirt with him over the next hour. But the amazing thing for him was seeing how good she was at shooting. She was much better than many guards, including himself. She could shoot with precision while running, rolling, and jumping over barriers. It seemed to come naturally to her. Something that her mother would be very proud of, because what she’d told her was true. Women needed to know how to handle a gun. Especially of late.

  Chapter Ten

  Faeswyn shrouded Glywyn, Draedon, and Draeis in her glamour, and they all headed out the front door of the shop behind Eielawyn. There were people walking along the street, heading toward the gate. Faeswyn stared wide-eyed at them, and then at Draeis.

  “Shit. Did we leave too late?” she asked.

  “Don’t worry,” Eielawyn said. “I see the gate. There’s only about a dozen people lined up so far. We’ll work our way up. And we’re in luck. There’s only one guard on the gate right now. Let’s hurry this up.”

  Once in line, Eielawyn used her gift on the few people in front of them. They suddenly smiled politely. “We saved your place. Go right ahead,” an older man said to them. That continued until they were standing in front of the guard on duty. He looked up to see them, and then down again at his technical ledger. When he looked up at them again, he smiled.

  “Everything seems to be in order,” said the guard. “The transport shuttle over there will take you into Yaeltaran.”

  They’d all discussed it earlier. There was no time for hugs and kisses. No time to embrace each other with promises to see each other again. They’d said their good-byes at the shop. So Faeswyn stood to the side of the gate with Draeis and Eielawyn, watching Draedon and Glywyn walk to the shuttle. No one seemed to notice that the scraggly man with a beard changed into a tall, muscled man with long, wavy brown hair. Or that the man was holding onto the hand of a mousey, round, young woman, with a considerable overbite, that turned into a beautiful redhead with a round belly. Glywyn stopped before stepping into the shuttle and held her hand up to Faeswyn. Faeswyn held her hand up, as if to touch Glywyn’s, and then turned to sob into Draeis’ chest. And then they were gone.

  “Come on, guys,” said Eielawyn. “Let’s get out of here before they realize what just happened.”

  Back at the shop, Draeis held Faeswyn in his arms as her tears continued to flow. Faeswyn wiped at her face, sniffing loudly. She turned to face Eielawyn. “Thank you… Just, thank you for everything you’ve done for us. You didn’t have to.”

  Eielawyn shook her head. “Yes, I did. We all have to help to insure that child comes into power. It’s foretold, Faeswyn. I would do anything I could to help.” They all nodded. “You two should head out, if you’re going to make it back before night. I’d hate the thought of you out on those roads alone. Hug?”

>   Faeswyn smiled, and walked into Eielawyn’s open arms. “I have a sister in you,” Faeswyn said. Half an hour later, she and Draeis had left Yaesdrah and were headed back to Drisa. She sat snuggled next to him, with his arm around her.

  “So what happens after this?” she asked him.

  Draeis smiled down at her, and then looked back to the road ahead of them. “Well, Naihr and I leave you and head to Balknae,” he said, unable to keep the smile from his lips.

  “You better not.”

  “Never,” he said, gazing at her with emotion. “After I speak with Naihr, I’m hoping we’ll make plans to pledge our essence to you.”

  She playfully hit at him. “You better ask me better than this.”

  “Oh, we will. We’re not going anywhere, baby. I never thought I was the farmer type, but there’s no place I’d like to be more than with you. So you’re going to have to show me how to be a farmer.”

  “Oh, I’m going to have lots of fun showing you and Naihr a lot of things.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and dozed.

  When she woke, it was dark. “What time is it?”

  “About seven,” said Draeis. “We should be pulling into the farm in about an hour.”

  “Well, that didn’t take too long. You want me to take over with the driving?”

  He was about to respond when there was a loud pop, and the car started to swerve over the road. Faeswyn heard herself scream out, but Draeis got control of the car, pulling over to the side of the road.

  “Baby, are you okay?” Draeis asked her breathlessly. He hugged her against his body.

  Faeswyn nodded. “That just scared the shit out of me. What was that?”

  “I think we had a blowout.”

  “Draeis, that’s impossible. I might not know a lot about movers, but I know that the tires are impenetrable. My dad showed me and my sisters how to fix some of the mechanical problems under the front, but he told us that we never had to worry about the tires because they’re made out of Licthofan. They use that stuff on the sides of air transports.”

  Draeis stared out at the darkness, nodding his head. “They are impenetrable. Give me a sec. I’m just going to go and see what happened. Stay here. You hear me?”

  Faeswyn nodded. She watched Draeis get out and walk to the back of the car. She turned to look out of the back window as he walked down the road some. Her heart jumped into her mouth when she saw him running back to the car. He got inside, and quickly locked the doors.

  “What’s wrong? What was it?” she asked him breathlessly.

  “There’s weird-looking spikes in the road. The tires didn’t blow by themselves.”

  It was then that Faeswyn saw the winds pick up outside the window. It was so sudden, she thought she was seeing things at first. But the sudden winds swirled and blew around the car, shaking it with amazing intensity. And then came the overpowering stench. She gasped and put her hand over her nose. But then her eyes widened in horror. She knew what had happened. Draeis seemed to come to the same realization.

  “Shit!” he exclaimed. “Wind witches!”

  Faeswyn nodded, fear showing in her eyes. “In the back. We need to get into the back. They might leave us alone if they can’t get in. Wind witches aren’t the smartest things when it comes to technology. Hopefully they won’t know how to open car doors.”

  They scrambled into the backseat, crouching low in the seats and staying quiet. Draeis held her close as her heart pounded in her chest. She could feel Draeis’ heart also, and she prayed to the goddesses for the witches to leave them. But as the stench became almost unbearable, she knew they wouldn’t be that lucky.

  “Oh, dear,” a soft voice of a woman said out loud. “Is there anyone in there? Do you need some help, my dear?”

  “Maelanthia, look,” another voice said. “The rounds on this machine are broken.”

  “You’re right, Zahnduthia, my sister. Is there anyone inside this contraption? Do you need help?”

  Faeswyn heard laughing from the back of the car. “Maelanthia, Zahnduthia, I can hear them inside. You are in there, aren’t you? We only want to help you. We’re just three old sisters, but we’re willing to help any way we can.”

  Faeswyn knew what the witches were trying to do. What she didn’t know was why they were so far away from where they usually stayed. Wind witches were found on the Thaingrais plains. It was easy for them to catch travelers unaware with their spikes. Then they would “happen” upon them and offer their help. Just three kindly, old women, seeming to fit the image of someone’s grandmother. But Faeswyn knew the stories. Once you got out of your car, their true identities were revealed, and they breathed a heavy dose of their stench into your face, rendering you unconscious. If you were lucky, you would regain consciousness before they had you in their hut. It was possible to escape them before that. They weren’t very smart. They could be tricked quite easily. But if you didn’t regain consciousness, game over.

  “Drothahnia, maybe they didn’t hear us. Should we ask them again?”

  “No. They hear us. And I’m tired of this game!” The voice that had been sweet and gravely, like an older woman’s voice, now turned shrill and shrieking. “Come out!”

  The other two voices turned shrill and tinged with ice as they shrieked and screamed threats. There was a hard thump on the top of the car as one of the witches began to walk on top of it.

  “I know how to get them out.”

  “How sister?”

  “Burn them out.”

  “Yes. Yes, that will work. What will we burn them out with?”

  It was quiet for some time. Draeis stared at her, mouthing that they needed to get out before the witches figured out what to do. Glamouring was out of the question. They’d eat whoever they found in the car. It was at that time that Faeswyn wished she had another gift. The gift of suggestion like Eielawyn had would be useful right then.

  “Fire!” a witch said finally.

  “Yes, fire will burn them out. How do you get fire, Drothahnia?”

  “Sticks!”

  “Yes, sticks will make fire.”

  “No. Not sticks, Zahnduthia. Wood. Wood makes fire.”

  “No. No, not wood. Sticks!”

  “Flames make fire. When need flames!”

  Faeswyn was about to get out of the car if only to correct their ineptitude. “They’re on the right,” she whispered as the witches argued among themselves about what fire was. “If you open the left door slowly, you can be out and run toward the forest.”

  “Not without you. Besides, I don’t know my way to the farm on foot from here. Do you?” Faeswyn nodded. “Then you head out. I’ll try to keep their interest on me.”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “Witches are dangerous, Draeis. They eat people.”

  A look came over his face, and she knew he was remembering what the fairies had done to him. If they didn’t get out of the car before the witches figured out how to burn them out, they would both come face-to-face with terror. She wanted to take that look off of his face.

  “We stay in the car,” she said to him. “Someone will come by. They have to.”

  “And if they figure out how to start a fire? No, Faeswyn.”

  They heard the witches cackling outside. “But what about those?” asked one. “I’ve seen those broken before. We wouldn’t need the flames.”

  “Maelanthia is right. Break the barrier! Break the barrier and we can have them!”

  Faeswyn stared at Draeis. “What the fuck are they talking about, break the barrier? Break what fuckin’ barrier?”

  He never got the chance to answer her as something was hurled through the front passenger window. Glass shattered everywhere as the witches laughed and shrieked outside. Within the next second, an icy, gray hand reached through the window and grabbed hold of Faeswyn’s hair, yanking her head dangerously close to jagged pieces of glass still jutting from the window.

  “Open this contraption, pretty one, or I’ll pull you
through myself!”

  Faeswyn grimaced from the pain of her hair being pulled into the fisted claw of the witch. She looked at Draeis, willing him to stay quiet, but knowing in her heart he wouldn’t.

  “No! Take me!” he said, getting out on the other side of the car.

  “No!” Faeswyn yelled to him as she unlocked the door and was yanked out from the back of the car.

  She looked at the three witches. Her captors. She heard tales about wind witches, but she’d never actually seen them. What she was looking at was three elderly grandmas. They were three plump, middle-aged women that looked as though they would bake you cookies to eat rather than bake you to eat. All of the terrifying images she’d been told about seemed to have been only tales to keep children from talking to strangers. Or so, she thought.

  “No more games!” the witch nearest to her shrieked. It was then that Faeswyn saw the true face of the witch, and her childhood tales of the terrifying images became reality. The witch’s hair turned from the placid gray to ink black, moving on its own wildly around her head. Her skin was a sickly gray, wrinkled and rotted, as if she’d only recently pulled her body from the grave. Faeswyn wanted to scream out loud as she saw the black holes of the witch’s eyes. Small pin-pricks of light were in the centers, and she knew the witch had no soul, no essence. Nothing but evil lived inside of those eyes, and inside the mouth filled with pointed fangs and a long, gray, forked tongue.

  The witch brought that horrifying face within inches of Faeswyn’s, sniffing her like a dog. It was weird that the witch was sniffing her, since Faeswyn couldn’t see anything resembling a nose.

  “I know your scent,” said the witch. “Sweet as honey. Love.” She started to cackle and the others joined her. “You will do. Take the—”

  Faeswyn closed her eyes and glamoured Draeis. The other two witches had taken hold of him by the arms as he’d come to her aid. But they quickly let go of their hold. “Not him, Maelanthia. He’s diseased. Send him away!”