Empyrean: Return of the Fire Faery

by Twyla Turner

  “Here.” Valen handed me the sacred sword. “It is yours.”

  “But I thought…”

  “It belongs to you. You see, we elves are truth-seers. I told you that you couldn’t have it as a test. It was prophesied long ago that a human girl with hair of fire would come to us needing the sword. But that it could only be given if she is of good character with honesty and integrity.” He smiled down at me. “You have proven that you are that person. Not once did you even consider stealing it and running off in the middle of the night. You have earned it, Imogen.”

  “Wow,” I exclaimed softly as I looked down at the elegantly made sword. “Thank you, Valen.”

  “You’re very welcome.”

  I turned the beautiful sword back and forth, and the light gleamed off of the smooth metal. I felt the same vibrations I’d felt when I nearly touched it that first night. The vibrations got stronger with the sword actually in my hand. The blade started to glow red, and I blinked in shock, but the glow disappeared an instant later. I looked around at everyone at the table, but no one had seemed to notice. I shrugged it off as my wild imagination.

  I looked at Valen curiously for a moment. I wondered if all of his odd behaviors had been an act.

  “So…what about all the crazy flirting you did? Was all that a part of your test?” I leaned in and whispered curiously.

  “Well, I was trying to throw you off a little. And I liked getting a rise out of him.” He gestured towards Rafe with his chin. “Though, I must say, you’d make a phenomenal queen, and I’d be honored to have you as my wife. But perhaps it is not the queen of the elves you were destined to be.” He said quietly and cryptically as he glanced over at Rafe again, though I understood where he was going with his comment.

  “I doubt I’m supposed to be the queen of anybody.” I denied.

  “You will be your own worst enemy if you’re not careful. Stop doubting yourself. Remember what the sword says. ‘Know thyself.'” He reminded me, and I looked down at the engraved words in an ancient language.

  I nodded my head in understanding.

  “Enjoy the rest of the gathering. Then get your rest tonight. Tomorrow will be soon enough for battle.” Valen clasped my hand and squeezed it. “As for me, I’m headed for bed,” he said as his golden eyes looked over at two pretty elf girls that smiled at him seductively.

  “Thanks again, Valen,” I smiled up at him as he stood.

  “You’re very welcome.” He smiled back, before striding over to where the two girls were. They rose from the table and each took an arm he offered to them as they walked out of the dining hall.

  I shook my head at the elf king and then looked down at the sword again. I glanced up at Rafe. He looked from the sword to me and nodded slightly. I assumed the nod was code for ‘you were right.' I looked over at Wakeley, the one who had fought me the most on not stealing the sword. He held up his hands in surrender.

  “Okay. Okay. You were right.” He said sheepishly.

  “And don’t you forget it.” I teased.

  I looked around the room, and the elves looked like they were just getting started on their fun-filled evening. I was exhausted from the week and knew that I could look forward to more in the coming days. I was ready to turn in for the night, but I needed to talk to Rafe first.

  “Would you walk me to my room?” I asked him shyly.

  “Uh. Sure.”

  He stood up and helped pull out my chair for me. He may have been angry, but he still remained a gentleman. We stayed quiet as we crossed the boisterous room. Our arms brushed just slightly as we walked. As if we wanted so badly to hold hands, but didn’t dare. At least I knew I wanted to but was too afraid that he’d pull away.

  Once we got out of earshot from everyone, I took a deep breath and began.

  “Rafe, I…I wanted to apologize for the other day.” I snuck a peek at him and found that he was watching me intently, waiting for me to go on. “I really didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’m new to this world and your customs. And I’m afraid that your soul surge means something different because I’m human. But I do know how I feel, and I care for you…deeply. And no matter what, I-I want to stay…with you.”

  In an instant, I found myself shoved up against my bedroom door. Rafe’s mouth crushed mine and I gasped with the shock of it. His hands clasped my face roughly, but I didn’t care. My fingers found their way into the soft hairs at the nape of his neck. Behind my closed eyelids, I could see the fluctuation of light from his imprints as they rippled and changed erratically.

  He released my lips on a gasp and rested his forehead against mine as he caught his breath. His lips looked extra pink, soft, and kiss-swollen.

  “Are you sure?” He panted.

  “Yes.” I nodded my head against his. “I don’t know how it’ll work, but I want to stay. Are you willing to watch me get old while you remain looking young?” I frowned.

  “We’ll find a way, Immy.” He kissed my lips softly. “Even if I have to find a way to age as fast as a human, I’ll do it.”

  “But that means you’d die a lot sooner,” I said sadly.

  “I don’t care. Maybe I haven’t gotten a chance to prove it yet, but I would die for you.” Rafe said seriously.

  “Don’t-”

  “I would.” He said fiercely, before kissing me senseless again, making me forget everything but this very moment.

  He lightened the kiss and moved to my chin. Then he kissed my jaw. My cheeks. My nose. Eyelids. And forehead.

  “This is so strange,” I said my thoughts out loud.

  “What is?” He drew his eyebrows together in a frown.

  “The way you feel about me. Guys don’t notice me on Earth. Or if they do, they don’t admit it because I’m not the standard of beauty.” I looked up at him sadly. “So I just don’t get it. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

  “I’m not sure what the guys on Earth are seeing, but it’s obvious that the young males on Empyrean like what they see. I’ve wanted to strangle almost every male that looks at you longer than a few seconds. And that would add up to about half of Empyrean, by the way.” He held my face like it was something delicate and fragile. “You are beautiful. In every way.”

  “If you say so.” I looked away from his intense gaze.

  “I know so.” He sighed. “I know you’re self-conscious of your body…and hair…and freckles.” I looked up at him in surprise. “You think I didn’t notice? Trust me, since the moment I met you, I’ve noticed everything about you. Your body is…is hard to resist. And it’s so strong. You annihilated everyone on the training field! That can’t be done with a frail body.” He stopped and looked up at my wild hair. “Your hair is gorgeous and matches your personality perfectly. Wildfire.” He grinned as he touched one wild tendril. “And we’ve already talked about your freckles, so I don’t need to elaborate there. But the thing is, I shouldn’t have to tell you. And some… What do you call it? Douche?” I nodded and grinned. “You don’t need some douche guys to tell you. The only person that needs to tell you every day is the person looking back at you from your reflection. But I’ll still tell you every day, just because.”

  “How is it that you’re so wise to be so young?” I asked him.

  “Who knows? Maybe it’s because I was born brilliant.” He sighed like it was such a hardship.

  “Or born arrogant.” I rolled my eyes.

  “That too.” He smirked before going in to kiss me once more.

  We locked lips for a few more minutes before he pulled away.

  “If I kiss you some more, I’ll ask to come in. And if I come in, I don’t trust myself not to ask for more.” He closed his eyes, clenched his jaw, and breathed harshly through flared nostrils. “So with that, I’ll say goodnight.”

  “Goodnight, Rafe,” I said, though my voice shocked me. It came out all husky and breathy. What was that?!

  “Night, Immy.” He kissed my cheek and walked down the hall to his room.

  I s
ighed deeply and opened my door, ready for bed. Though I had a distinct feeling, it would be a restless night.

  ~~~

  Something didn’t feel right. It felt like someone was in my room with me. My eyes flew open, and only a few inches above my face was a devilish looking creature. I opened my mouth to scream, but it placed a hand over my mouth. I moved to jump out of bed and hands grabbed me at all sides. My head whipped to either side of me, and there were other similar looking creatures holding my arms.

  They had two long horns that sprouted from the tops of their heads and large pointy ears. Their skin was kind of scaly like a lizard. They had giant bat-like wings and clawed hands and feet. And their eyes glowed red.

  My body bucked like crazy, as I tried to get them to release me. But it was no use. They flapped their wings and lifted me out of bed, in nothing but my shirt. I looked over and saw that the large window was open. I knew that if I didn’t fight, they’d take me to God only knew where.

  I went nuts, like a madwoman. They almost dropped me a couple of times. Finally, something hit me in the back of the head, and my vision swam in front of me as pain exploded through my head. Then everything faded to black.

  Chapter 27

  Rafe

  We all gathered to eat breakfast in the early morning hours before we had to leave Älva Mountain to continue our journey. Everyone was accounted for except Immy and Daegan. I knew Daegan was in the stables, but I had no idea what was taking Immy so long.

  A commotion at the entrance to the dining hall drew all of our attention. Daegan burst through the doors, past some rather angry elves that had been standing guard at the door. The large ebony unicorn quickly clopped over to our table. Valen just raised his eyebrows at the large animal. I knew something wasn’t right, and a knot started to form in my gut.

  “Rafe.” Just the one word sounded foreboding. “I can’t hear Imogen. I usually can hear her thinking to herself, but I’ve heard nothing since I woke up. That’s not normal.”

  Before he could even finish, I was up from my seat. The other faeries, Valen, and Sabir also got up, and we all quickly made our way to Immy’s room. I knocked on the door just in case. I prayed that she was still sleeping, and I didn’t want to burst in on her with a group of people while she was dressing or something.

  I waited a few seconds and tried knocking one more time. There was still no sound on the other side. I turned the doorknob and opened the door with dread filling my heart. The sight that greeted me made my heart drop to my stomach and then back up again into my throat.

  Her bed linens were tangled and hanging off of the bed. Several pillows were either strewn about on the bed or on the floor. Other items in the room had been knocked over and broken. And one of the large windows was wide open. Imogen was nowhere in sight.

  “Saffi, can you check the bathroom?” I asked in a strained voice, after running to the window to see if maybe she had fallen. Nothing was there.

  “Of course.” Saffi nodded.

  She ran to the bathroom and a few seconds later she came back. Her eyes were wide and filled with worry as she shook her head reluctantly.

  “No, she’s not there.”

  “Dammit!” I shouted to no one in particular.

  “Who could’ve taken her?” Daegan asked, his voice wobbling slightly.

  “I don’t know.” I ran my hands roughly through my hair. It took all I had not to rip at the strands and then punch something.

  “Well, as terrible or unhelpful as this may sound,” Valen spoke up. “Whoever it was, if they wanted her dead, she’d be dead. They wouldn’t have taken her otherwise. It has to be meant as a warning, statement, or even for a ransom.”

  “What could they possibly want in exchange?” I asked skeptically.

  “Power,” Valen answered matter-of-factly. “To let the sickness spread without interference.”

  I closed my eyes, clenched my jaw, and breathed harshly through my nose, trying to calm myself because I knew Valen was right.

  “What do we do to get her back? Or how do we figure out who has her?” Wakeley asked.

  “Well, I can almost assure you that whoever it was, they headed west towards Myrkur. It’s the only place that makes sense.” Valen reasoned.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.” I nodded.

  “Then we should go now,” Daegan said urgently. “If I know Immy, and if she’s awake she’s smart enough to call out to me in her thoughts. If we head that way, I’m sure the closer I get to her, the better I’ll be able to hear her and find her location.”

  “That’s a perfect idea, Daegan,” I said, already heading for the door. “Let’s go.”

  “I’ll grab her armor and sword and other stuff,” Saffi said as she walked over to the chair that held the items.

  “Thanks, Saffi. I’m not thinking very clearly.” I sighed.

  “It's okay, Rafe.” She said kindly. “We know how much you care about her.”

  I nodded and walked out the door. We all gathered together a few minutes later in the courtyard of the castle. Daegan willingly allowed us to secure a saddle on his back and attach to it a sack filled with Imogen’s belongings. The fact that she didn’t even have her clothes, nearly boiled my blood in anger.

  Sabir and the rest of the army loaded their horses with their weapons and gear. They’d be meeting us in a few days’ time since they couldn’t move as fast as Daegan and us with no rider. Valen had also decided that he didn’t want to miss the action and would be joining his army as well.

  I turned to the elf king. We clasped wrists, shook once, and then pounded our fists on our chests in farewell.

  “Good luck, Rafe. I know you’ll find her, and we’ll see you in a couple of days.” Valen nodded confidently.

  “Thank you, Valen. For everything. And sorry for practically ripping your head off.” I apologized.

  “Of course.” He grinned. “I’m sorry for teasing you. I did it on purpose. You both were driving me crazy with the secret lovey-dovey gazes you kept giving each other. I was just ready for you to get it over with and claim her. So I just gave you a little push in the right direction.” He winked at my incredulous face. “I would have fought for her too if she were mine. Now go. I’ll see you soon, brother.”

  We nodded to each other in understanding. Rae, Saffi, and Wakeley lifted off of the ground, and I followed. Daegan took off down through the village, and we followed along on either side and above him as we headed in the direction of the dark side of Empyrean. Towards my girl. We’ll find you, Immy. I swear it!

  Chapter 28

  Imogen

  My skull throbbed as I came into consciousness. I moaned softly and reached back to feel for the source of my pain. The hair in the back of my head was matted to my scalp. I tried to tug at the matted hair and quickly found out why it was stuck to my skull when a shooting pain radiated through my entire body. I realized that a gash was on the back of my head, and dried blood had clumped my hair together.

  I instantly forgot about the excruciating pain, when I remembered how I got the gash in the first place. Memories of the scariest creatures I’d ever seen flashed through my mind, and my eyes flew open. The light hit my eyes and sent more pain through my brain, and I squinted as they tried to adjust.

  Slowly, I was able to focus on my surroundings. I was outside somewhere. I looked to the sky, and wherever I was, it was at the point in the sky where light ended, and dark began. I had yet to be this close to the dark side since I’d come to Empyrean. I looked around, and all I could see were dead trees. Their gnarled branches looked as if they could reach out and grab me. The ground was covered with dead moss and grass.

  I looked in every direction and didn’t see anyone around. I placed my hand on the ground to sit up gingerly when my hand touched something smooth and hard, yet hollow. I looked down and saw that my hand rested on some animal skull. I jerked my hand back and looked around where I was sitting. I was surrounded by skeletons, and I jumped up frantically.
I spun around and saw that I had been sitting against an enormous dead tree that seemed to be in the middle of a forest of dead trees. This huge tree was apparently the dwelling of some unknown dark creature that I wasn’t so sure I wanted to meet.

  I looked down at myself and saw that I was in nothing but the shirt I’d went to bed in. Not the best circumstances for trying to escape anywhere. But at least I wasn’t tied up or anything. Which seemed odd, if I was being held captive. I held onto the tree I’d been placed against and looked around it to see if I saw anyone. In the distance, I could see figures making their way towards me and could just make out their voices. I knew I didn’t have much time to waste.

  I took off in no particular direction. Rocks, fallen branches, and rough grass tore at my bare feet as I ran. The trees felt like they were closing in on me, trying to grab at my shirt and flesh. I cleared the dead trees and ran a few feet. A scream lodged in my throat as I tried to stop in the middle of a full run. I saw almost too late that the ground suddenly ended. I fell and skidded to a halt on my butt at the edge, my legs dangling over the side.

  I slowly backed up and then laid on my stomach as I peered over the side of the ledge. I snapped my eyes shut as a cry burst from my lips before I could catch it. I threw my hands over my mouth to stop the noise. I opened my eyes again and looked down once more. The forest was hundreds of feet in the air. Below, all I could see were dead trees and grass and what looked like white horses corralled together by the hundreds. Oh no! Unicris.

  I looked to my left and then my right, but I couldn’t see what the forest was attached too. It wasn’t a mountain or cliff face. Then I heard laughter. A creepy cackling sound. I spun around and quickly wished I hadn’t. Standing there were several of the creatures that had kidnapped me. Just above them, perched in the trees were creatures that looked like part lion and part eagle. Their bodies and hind legs were that of a lion with a lion’s tail. But they had the head and wings of an eagle, and their front legs were eagle’s talons. They all stared down at me quietly.