What was that scent radiating from her? And why did he feel such a strong compulsion to follow it? He started to step around the tree, intending to subdue the couple so he could take his time locating the source of the scent, but remembered just in time that he was riding a human. How could he have forgotten that? It was the scent, he decided. It had to be. His need to find and identify the source of it was almost overwhelming. Unfortunately, he had almost no power at all, and although he knew the body he was riding was more than capable of overpowering the female, he wasn’t sure if it could handle the much larger male. It certainly couldn’t take on both of them.
He was still trying to decide what to do next when the male stood up, said something to the female in a low voice, and then set off at a run back up the path they’d been following through the grove. Luagh waited until he could no longer hear the male’s footsteps, then he stepped around the tree with a wide grin stretching his ride’s face.
“Hello?” the female called. There was no fear in her voice which irritated him until he remembered that, in his current condition, it was best that she not be afraid. Not until he got a lot closer to her, anyway. He had no idea how fast he could make his human move, and wondered why he hadn’t considered that question sooner. He shook his head. It didn’t matter. All that mattered at the moment was that he get close enough to the female to find out what that scent was, and where it was coming from.
“Hello?” he replied, mimicking the female’s tone as he stepped closer. She asked him a question, but the closer he got to her, the more intense the aroma became, making it almost impossible for him to think about anything else.
She spoke again, sharply this time, capturing his attention. “Whoever you are, please go away,” she said. “I already have help coming and I have no desire for company.”
Luagh smiled to himself. Apedra didn’t have voxes or hand vids like he’d seen on other worlds. He didn’t know why, but at the moment he was glad of it. It would be some minutes before her companion reached aid, and then more minutes before he returned. Still, he thought he should try to say something to soothe the female since there was still some distance between them.
He thought for a moment, keeping his step slow so as not to frighten the female as he considered what to say. The problem was, he’d never paid that much attention to what humans said to one another, so nothing came to mind. Suddenly, the woman disappeared from sight. Luagh frowned, then nearly gasped in surprise. His human’s eyes could no longer see her, but once again his Changeling senses proved superior when they detected a surge of power coming from the female. She hadn’t really vanished. She’d simply bent what light there was shining down from the moon and stars so that it no longer revealed her to human eyes.
Power. The small, physically weak human female sitting on the ground just a few steps away from him had power. And he wanted it. He broke into a run without thought, his human’s movements clumsy under his inexperienced control, but fast enough to frighten the woman. She dropped the illusion and struggled to get up, but her injured knee gave way and she fell back to the ground. Luagh came to an awkward stop beside her and looked down, the scent so powerful now that he’d begun to tremble with excitement and need. Now what? he wondered. He tried to think, but the female was babbling on and on about something, her voice growing higher in pitch and louder by the moment, distracting him.
He knelt down on the ground beside her and picked up a fist sized rock, then used it to strike the female hard in the mouth, where all the noise was coming from. He heard a crunching sound, then the female fell wonderfully silent and fell backward into an untidy heap. The luscious scent intensified. He leaned closer to her head and saw blood pouring from her mouth. That’s where the smell was coming from! Her blood!
Luagh sat back on his heels and thought. The female had power. He was far too weak to sense it as he should have been able to, but he’d seen it. The human didn’t have a fraction as much as he needed to be at full strength, but she had more than he’d absorbed from Udari through his human since his arrival. Could the power be in her blood? Was that why it smelled so good to him?
He leaned down toward the woman’s knee, saw the cut flesh and the smears of half dried blood, and inhaled deeply. Yes, the scent was definitely coming from her blood. He’d never been attracted to the scent of human blood before and he’d spilled more than a little of it. Was it simply a trait of the humans on Apedra? Was it caused by an absorption of power from a lifetime of living with the power of Udari surrounding them? Or was it just this one, particular female that smelled so good to him, and it had nothing at all to do with power?
He had an awful lot of questions and no one to turn to for answers. He shrugged. Luckily, there was a way to find his own answers lying right in front of him.
Chapter 7
When Nica opened her eyes the next morning it was to the unexpected sight of the sprites sitting on the empty pillow beside her, their large eyes fixed intently on her face. She started in surprise, then made herself relax. “You’re a bit late, aren’t you?”
“Late?” the blue sprite, Min, asked, her eyes widening to an impossible degree.
“You didn’t meet me here last night, as we agreed.”
“You left early,” Nim said. “We didn’t expect that. By the time we got here, you were already asleep so we’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”
“Oh,” Nica said, then sat up and stretched before glancing at the window. It was just past sunrise, but she felt fully rested. “So, you can’t tell me why you’re following me around, and you can’t tell me who…what was that name? Ayv-Lynn? Who she is. Am I right so far?”
“We’re sorry, Bright Lady,” Min said, her wings drooping. “Eibhleann made us promise and a sprite never breaks a promise.”
“Well, I’m certainly not going to ask you to break a promise,” Nica said. “Aside from your names, what can you tell me?”
“That humans can’t see us,” Nim said brightly.
“Well, I hate to break it to you, but I’m human, and I can see you just fine,” Nica said.
“Yes you are,” Min said, tapping her slightly pointed chin with one blue finger. Then she shrugged, causing her wings to spread slightly behind her. “We don’t understand.”
“Okay,” Nica said, nodding. “Why do you hide if no one else can see you?”
“Just because they can’t see us doesn’t mean they can’t step on us,” Nim said a little crossly. “It hurts a lot to get stepped on. If you got stepped on, you’d hide too I bet.”
“I’m sure I would,” Nica agreed solemnly.
“And there is something else around, besides you, that can see us,” Min said
“What sort of something are you talking about?”
“The Changeling,” Nim whispered loudly. “If it sees us, it will try to step on us. On purpose.”
A sharp spike of pain shot through Nica’s head so fast it was there and gone before she had a chance to react to it. She gasped softly and raised one hand halfway to her head before dropping it back to the bed. “Are you well, Bright Lady?” Min asked, her big eyes full of concern.
“Yes, I’m fine, Min, thank you,” Nica said. “What’s a Changeling?” Just saying the word sent a chill down her spine and made her stomach feel tight.
“Bad,” Nim said, nodding slowly. “Very bad.”
Nica barely refrained from rolling her eyes at that less than helpful answer. “What does a Changeling look like?”
“It hides,” Min said in a hushed voice. “We cannot see it when it hides.”
“Then how do you know there is one?”
“We can smell it,” Nim said.
“But only for a moment,” Min clarified. “When it comes to the surface.”
“To the surface of what?”
Min and Nim looked at each other, then back to her again. “We don’t know if we can tell you that, Bright Lady,” Min said. “We have to ask Eibhleann first.”
“What’s
a bright lady?” Nica asked.
“You are,” Nim said.
“Yeah, I got that,” Nica said, feeling a bit like she was watching a tennis game as the sprites took turns answering her questions. “What does it mean to be a bright lady?”
“We don’t know,” Min replied.
“Okay then, why do you call me Bright Lady?”
“We don’t know if we can tell you that, either,” Nim said. “We will ask Eibhleann that, too.”
Nica sighed, tossed her blankets aside, and got out of bed. “Is there anything else you can tell me?”
“Yes,” Min said. “We have scented the Changeling near you twice.”
“Near me?” Nica asked as she put her bathrobe on and tied the belt. “What does that mean? Who is it?”
“We don’t know,” Nim said.
“You aren’t making any sense,” Nica said with a sigh. She saw Min and Nim exchange looks again, then Min flew toward her and hovered in front of her face, her blue wings a blur behind her.
“There’s a very bad thing called a Changeling,” Min said. “It’s hiding in a human so it can’t be seen, or smelled, unless it comes to the surface and takes control of the human. We have smelled it twice, and both times you were in the same room as it.”
“Do you think it’s hiding in me?” Nica asked.
“Oh no no no!” Min exclaimed. “It cannot be in you!”
“Why not?” Nica asked.
“Because it can only hide within a human with a dark heart,” Nim said, flying up to hover beside Min. “You cannot have a dark heart.”
“Why not?” Nica said. “I mean, I don’t have a dark heart, but how could you know that?”
“Because you are the Bright Lady,” Min said with absolute certainty.
“But you said you didn’t know what it meant to be a Bright Lady,” Nica pointed out.
“We don’t, but we know that,” Nim said, crossing his arms over his chest with a definite air of huffiness.
“Is that why I keep seeing you around?” Nica asked, hiding her smile. “You’re looking for this Changeling?”
“Oh no,” Min said. “If the Changeling sees us, it will step on us and squish us and kill us. Queen Eibhleann warned us to be careful, but we weren’t careful enough. That’s why you saw us.”
“I don’t suppose it’s easy to remember to hide when you’re used to people not being able to see you,” Nica said as she crossed the room and picked up her hairbrush from the top of the dresser. Then she went to the window and stood looking out while she brushed her hair and thought over all that the sprites had told her. The whole thing sounded fantastic, but she believed them. She wasn’t even sure why. She just did.
When she was finished brushing her hair she turned back toward the sprites. “You said that the Changeling has to hide in a human with a dark heart, is that right?”
“Yes, and Queen Eibhleann told us that so it must be true,” Nim replied.
“I have an idea,” Nica said. “But it’s just an idea, you understand. I’ve only just met this person and don’t really know anything about him. But I don’t like him. Something bothers me about him.”
“Ooooh,” Min said, her eyes larger than ever. “Who is it, Bright Lady?”
“I’ll tell you, but only if you promise me two things,” Nica said. Both sprites looked at her warily.
“What are the promises you ask for?” Min asked.
“First, that you don’t do anything to this man unless and until you are absolutely certain he’s the one the Changeling is hiding in. And second, that you’re both very, very careful around him. You’ve already told me this thing will kill you or hurt you, and I don’t want to be responsible for that.” The sprites relaxed and smiled at each other.
“You have our promises Bright Lady,” Min said. “You cannot be responsible for what we choose to do, but we are grateful that you care what happens to us.”
“Yes, you are very kind, Bright Lady,” Nim agreed. “Who is the man you are suspicious of?”
Nica looked from one sprite to the other, and thought of Bree. “His name is Quill Thomas. He’s staying in a hotel here in Cidade, but I don’t know which one. He arrived on Apedra the same day I did.”
“Oh my my!” Nim exclaimed. “That’s the day you first smelled it, Min!”
“Yes, I remember,” Min said, raising her chin indignantly. “I also remember that you didn’t believe me.”
“Come on Min, I said I was sorry,” Nim said, his wings drooping behind him. “You said you were going to forgive me.”
“And I will,” Min said. “Just not today.”
Nica cleared her throat to hide a laugh. “I’ll try to find out what hotel he’s using, but it might take a few days.”
“Thank you, Bright Lady,” Min said.
“Is there anything else you can tell me?”
Min tapped her chin thoughtfully as she considered the question. “We must ask Eibhleann,” she said once again.
“All right,” Nica said. “Let me know if there’s more. Right now I’m going to shower and then go get some breakfast.”
“I feel bad, Nim,” Min said after Nica left the room. “We should have told her more.”
“We can’t, Min,” Nim replied. “Not yet.”
“I’m going to ask Queen Eibhleann to let us tell her more,” Min said. “Let’s go.” She flew to the window and pressed herself against the glass, melding with it, then through it, coming out on the other side. She waited a moment for Nim to join her, then they both spread their wings and shot into the sky, vanishing from sight.
***
Ian stepped out of his rented ground car in front of the estate house at Three Trees and looked around with sad eyes. Three Trees had once produced the highest quality oranges, avocadoes, and felare nuts in three systems. They’d summoned the best prices from the off world exporters, too, but those days were now gone.
The decline in crop yields for every grower on Apedra could be traced back for a little over thirty five years. It had begun slowly. So slowly that it was almost ten years before anyone noticed the change. The deterioration continued, year by year for twenty more years. Then it began to speed up. Five years ago they’d exported less than half as much as in the prior ten years and, as of three years earlier that had fallen to less than a quarter. Now they exported nothing. Everything grown on Apedra was either consumed by Apedrans, or carefully preserved and stored with an eye to the future.
Ian hadn’t exactly lied to Bree when he told her Apedra would support them for another fifteen years. They had, or would have, enough food stockpiled to last that long if everything went according to plan. But the land grew exponentially weaker every year. He doubted that a single weed would grow in Apedran soil in another five to ten years if something drastic didn’t happen soon.
At this time of year the trees should have been thick with leaves and heavy with new fruit as far as the eye could see. Instead, the leaves were too lightly colored and too sparse, the trunks too thin, the branches too few, and the fruit too small. Worse, it appeared that Three Trees had lost a quarter of their trees in the three months since his last visit.
Ian shook his head sadly. Since his particular Sylvan strength was for trees, it hurt something inside of him to be so close to so many that were weak and in need. He rubbed his eyes and cleared his throat at the sound of approaching footsteps, turning around only when he was sure he’d composed himself.
“Good morning, Mr. Blanchard,” he said, hiding his shock at the estate owner’s appearance. The months had wrought almost as much change in the man as it had his orchards. He moved slower, and he’d lost weight. His face was thin and drawn, and his eyes were shadowed. Like his trees, like the land beneath their feet, Blanchard seemed to be fading away.
“Greetings, Sylvan Fadden,” the older man said, stopping a polite distance away and nodding respectfully. “It’s good to see you’ve regained your strength.”
“Thank you, Mr. Blanchard
,” Ian said. “A short rest has done me a lot of good. I hope to accomplish more for you today than I did last time I was here.”
Blanchard’s eyes squinted in the sunlight as he gazed out over his orchards. “Those trees you weren’t able to work on in the spring are all dead now, Sylvan Fadden. Every last one. All I have left is those you did work on.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Blanchard,” Ian said, but the older man shook his head and smiled.
“You misunderstand me, Sylvan,” he said. “I’m thanking you. If not for you and the work you did, at great physical expense to yourself, I wouldn’t have a single tree left. I know I wasn’t very thankful at the time, and for that I apologize.”
Nica's Legacy (Hearts of ICARUS Book 1) Page 15
