Night Bringer

by Stacey Trombley

  I thought maybe finding a Shadow Fae mate could be my way out of my parents’ schemes, but right now, I can’t even look Kayne in the eye. And who else is there?

  But maybe there’s another way.

  One rite of passage. That’s all I’d need to begin the process and get out from under my parents’ thumb before it’s too late. Before they force me into some privileged life I don’t even want.

  Tonight, maybe I could prove myself in a new way. Prove I’m a real Shadow Fae. I’ll just have to do it without anyone else knowing.

  Chapter Five

  Two hours after my mother and father head to bed, I crawl silently from my soft sheets and slip into the shadows of the night.

  The darkness prickles with magic, eager for someone to use it, call it, wield it. This is what most fae don’t realize— the magic in our surroundings longs to be used. Even those of us who have shallow magical wells can learn to use what’s around us.

  The more we practice, the more we commune with our element, the less magic we need inside of ourselves to do extraordinary things.

  Of course, that only helps so much to support our magically-based infrastructure. I can’t use natural shadows to fuel our estates.

  Magic prickles the back of my neck—a welcome. Sometimes, I marvel that so many fae sleep during the night. Don’t they know night is when our magic comes alive? I love this feeling, drifting through the shadows. No one can touch me, magically gifted or not.

  The shade grass tickles my thighs as I sit on the edge of the meadow, just beneath the willow, watching the group gathering below. My heart pounds eagerly.

  I am so ready to be part of this. To prove myself. To be chosen by these lands that are more home than that cottage I sleep in could ever be. If I could run away and live in the Whisperwood, I would.

  But I’m not allowed to be here officially, not now. Not until my parents approve it, or the elders in my village push for it—which won’t happen any time soon. No one likes to overshadow a parent, even if they think they’re wrong.

  I belong here. I am ready for this. And whether the queen knows I’ve completed it or not, tonight, I will begin my journey.

  I listen closely to what I’m able to. The first instructor is quite soft spoken, making it hard to hear all of the instructions from my spot a few hundred feet away. The second instructor is much clearer.

  The young fae are instructed to find their way to the Cave of Mysteries where they’ll find a riddle. They must solve their riddle and return to the meadow before the sun rises.

  Well, that’s simple enough. I don’t need any more instruction than that, right? I can do this. I can complete the riddle all on my own.

  I can prove them all wrong.

  Just watch me.

  Chapter Six

  I fly through the trees on the outside of our village, passing the meadow gathering only moments before the crowd disperses. I have a very slight head start, but I need it. If I’m caught out here, my chance will be taken before it begins. Then I’ll have proven my parents right, and my father very well could move us away from this place.

  This dark and elusive magic that is so much part of my soul will be lost to me.

  I must succeed tonight. I cannot fail.

  WHISPERS CASCADE OVER my skin, causing goosebumps to rise on my neck. I shiver in delight.

  “Hello,” I whisper in return.

  The murmuring voices bounce through the thick tree cover. I’ve never been to the Whisperwood at night before. Even in the daytime it’s dark with thick tree cover, the leaves’ colors between grey and a deep onyx. Shadow creatures dart around. But now that the sun has set, the darkness is all encompassing.

  I’ve never experienced such a complete absence of light before. It’s like a black sheet as been dropped over my eyes. But my other senses—those are sharp. The wind wisps through the trees, rustling softly. The buzz of creatures I couldn’t name chirp and growl in the background. And the most prominent—the chorus of this wonderful symphony—the shadow sprites whispering voices dart here and there. There are so many, you couldn’t pick out just one voice. The words are indistinguishable, meshing together in a lovely harmony.

  Most fae from other courts assume it’s the trees whispering to each other—hence the name. The Whisperwood. Shadow fae know better. There are creatures here. Creatures you can befriend.

  “Hello,” I whisper again. “Will you help me?”

  Help. One echoes my request back to me, straight into my ear. I jump at their sudden closeness but let it settle. They’ll scare just as easily as I could. Help, it repeats in my other ear.

  “I need the cave of mysteries.”

  Cave. Cave. Cave, the sprite repeats. Help lovely girl.

  A caress whispers over my shoulder, and I shudder. Another up my back. More sprites are approaching me, measuring. Will they find me worthy of their help?

  The hair on my arms stand straight up, but I wait until there is a twisting cyclone of whispering sprites over my whole body. I close my eyes and hold my arms out, embracing their magic, their wisdom.

  I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d live in this place if I could. There are dangers here, I know. But if you can befriend the sprites, you have all the help you’d need.

  Lovely girl, one whispers. Yesss, lovely.

  Our girl.

  Ours. Ours. Ours.

  Mine, I think back. This place is mine. My home. My destiny. My pride. My heart.

  Take her. Caves, they say in unison, and there’s a slight pull in my middle. Deep inside, magic pulls at me, and I follow.

  There are hundreds of sprites swirling around me. Their magic guides me, their voices murmur praise and encouragement. It doesn’t matter that I can’t see a thing. Between my own magic, my hearing, and the sprites help, I am able to move at a quick pace through the forest. I stumble a time or two on a vine or rock, but I never fall.

  Hurry, others are coming.

  I move faster. I don’t know if the other adolescent fae had instructions on where to go, so I’m just going to have to assume they have advantages I don’t.

  My feet move swiftly, almost entirely on instinct. On trust.

  The moon’s rays suddenly bombard me, and I have to hide my eyes for that surprising instant after the tree cover ends. We’ve left the Whisperwood.

  Careful, the shadows whisper, and they press on my left. I blink as I realize the pathway ends sharply on the left side, straight into a steep cliff. Perfect. If I lose my balance this time, I could topple all the way down.

  A deep rumbling grabs my attention down the path behind me. Laughter. The other fae are coming. I have to be the first. I have to get my riddle before they find me.

  I rush forward until I see an opening in the rocky mountain beside me. A cave! I dive toward it, urgency my only clear thought. I have to get there first.

  Wait! The magic of the sprites suddenly abandons me, leaving me cold.

  Not here! they whisper from afar.

  No. No. No. No! NO! they shout at me, leaping and pulling me back in the open. But there is a stirring in my gut. Some thick magic stirs in this cave.

  I stop once I’m inside, a few feet from the opening. A few feet from my escape.

  My chest heaves, breaths coming in quickly. Panic fills me—but I don’t know why.

  I swallow, my stomach churning. I step back.

  A set of red eyes blink before me, and I gasp, a scream lost in my throat.

  A low rumble of laughter causes the cave to tremble. That’s when my panic swells into an intensity that could shatter my fragile body.

  Like a spell broken, I blink and then flee the cave mouth. My heart is pounding wildly, lungs barely able to pull in breaths. The pattering of feet down the pathway reminds me of my quest.

  “Where do I go?” I say through my dry throat.

  The magic of the sprites comforts me and pulls me down the pathway. I can hardly think past the panic still racing through my limbs. But I have to move.
I don’t know what I just saw, or what—saw me. But I still have to complete the rite of passage, or I’ll be shipped off to another court.

  I can’t go somewhere else. This place is MINE.

  Tears well in my eyes as I force my shaking limbs forward. The sprites comfortingly pull me toward another cave. There are shade maples here, peppering the sides of the cliff. Deep blue and purple roses, so dark they look black in the dipping shadows.

  Here. This is the way.

  Be careful, lovely girl.

  I swallow, staring at a new cave mouth. It’s bigger, the pathway well worn. Safe, I think. But my body doesn’t quite believe it.

  For the first time in my life, I find I’m afraid of darkness greeting me. It happened so fast, just moments ago. Something was there in the darkness, watching me. Baiting me.

  Hunting me. My breathing is rapid now, my heart hammering.

  No. I will not give up. I won’t let fear stop me.

  I press forward, allowing the darkness to swallow me whole.

  Chapter Seven

  My teeth chatter as I move forward, following the eager chattering of the sprites. So long as they are not concerned, I suppose I don’t need to be either.

  Something deep in my gut tells me whatever I saw inside that first cave is still there. Lurking. Watching.

  I don’t know what it was. No one has ever warned me of ancient beasts living in these caves, but then again, I wasn’t around for the instructions of this rite.

  I do know that young fae are forbidden from going near the caves on their own. The same can be said of the Whisperwood, but I’ve traveled through the woods with my family. Those pathways are well worn. I’ve seen the black gates on the east trail. I’ve been to the top of the charcoal mountain.

  But I’ve never been closer than a hundred feet from the caves until today, not even with my father.

  We have a heavy amount of respect for the caves, and I assumed some of that was due to concern that youngsters could get lost in the tunnels below. But surely there would be scary bedtime stories about the caves if there were true monsters here, right?

  I swallow and continue forward through the inky black shadows of the cave. The ground is smooth here, the ceiling high and covered in fairy lit stalactites. Blue and green glow softly above. It’s lovely, and the sprites are still upbeat and happy. This must be okay, right?

  The ache in my gut simply won’t let go of that feeling.

  Almost there. I can make it to the wall first. I can get my riddle.

  Caelynn, a deep voice calls, so softly I wonder if I’d imagined it.

  The sprites stop chattering. They grow still. The air around me grows cold.

  Come to me, he says.

  My heart pounds rapidly, and I stop. The presence is powerful, old. Ancient.

  The shadows in the pathway straight ahead tremble, shivering like a mirage. I take a step back, teeth chattering, panic welling in my soul. He’s coming, I think.

  I don’t even know who he is.

  Night Bringer, a sprite whispers to me, terror clear in its tone.

  All the sprites are suddenly yelling at me, screaming through what feels like a haze. Night Bringer, Night Bringer. Night Bringer.

  Run.

  Run. Run. Run. Run. RunrunrunrunrunrunRUNRUNRUN!

  Their flurry surrounds me like a whirlwind.

  Their urgency, panic, and terror press down on me, holding my muscles hostage. The evil power draws closer from the massive pathway before me. Stalking. Prowling. Hunting.

  My vision blurs in that instant, and I look to the left. There is a small cave mouth, a tunnel leading to who knows where covered in cobwebs.

  Run.

  That way. Here, hide!

  I dart into the smaller cave as a myriad of whispering voices bombard me, confusing chaos clawing into my brain.

  No! No, not there!

  Yes, here, hide here!

  Why would some sprites be telling me one thing but others tell me another? Why do the ones telling me to hide not sound scared?

  The moment I pass into the deep darkness of the smaller cave, my muscles jerk, stuck in place like I’ve entered a spider web. My blood runs cold, my breath visible.

  Out in the main cave, I can see the little shadow creatures darting back and forth, panicking. I can’t hear them.

  Then others pass by, young fae—Kayne! — runs by me. He doesn’t see me. None of them do. They can’t hear my screaming.

  The ancient presence approaches from behind me—coming from the very place I was trying to hide. He wasn’t in the main tunnel. He was here all along.

  He tricked me. Trapped me. His voice rumbles out of the darkness, shaking me to my very core.

  “I’ve been waiting for you, Caelynn.”

  Chapter Eight

  I pull my limbs, desperately trying to get free of whatever magic binds me.

  Two adult fae walk by the cave mouth where I’m trapped. I call to them, beg them to save me. Help me.

  I can see them, hear them clearly. But they can’t see me. Can’t hear me.

  “What do you think has the sprites in such a tizzy?”

  “Nothing good,” the female says.

  The dark-haired male nods. “We should keep a close eye out for all the youngsters.”

  “They’re all accounted for?”

  He nods. “We have eight total. Stay at the exit and keep count.”

  “No! There are nine! Don’t leave me!” I scream until my voice is hoarse. Even when the fae are out of my sight, I yell and try everything I can think of to get free of the dark glistening web holding me hostage.

  I can feel the creature behind me, breathing, watching. But he’s not moving. He’s waiting for me to give up.

  I stay there for hours, strung up. My body gives out, but my mind resists. I count the youngsters who run by me. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Three more, and they’ll leave me here. They won’t even know I’m trapped.

  “Help isn’t coming,” a voice tells me. “You are mine now.”

  IT’S HOURS LATER, AFTER all the fae leave and the shadow sprites settle, that my heart resigns itself to hopelessness. Why didn’t they help me?

  “I tricked them as I tricked you, child.” The cave around me trembles as if the ancient voice terrifies even the very rock.

  “What?” I croak.

  “The sprites think you’ve left the caves. They cannot help you.”

  I let out a quiet sob. What did I do? How do I get out of this?

  “Come to me, child.” The echoing voice calls gently. “It’s not as bad as it seems.”

  I realize for the first time, I’m able to move. Not forward but backward. Toward him. I wonder if he cannot reach me here. If I stayed in this spot forever, maybe I’d never have to face him. Whatever he is.

  “Yes, you can remain there for eternity if you’d like. You wouldn’t be the first.”

  “Wh-what?” I stammer. Had he read my mind?

  He chuckles, a sound that rumbles the entire cave and sends a quake of desperation through me. “You have a choice, Caelynn. I desire willing servants, not slaves.”

  “So,” I gasp desperately. “You’ll let me go if say no?”

  He chuckles again, and I wince. Pain shoots through my body like acid dripping. I don’t care what he says, every instinct is telling me that he is evil. I cannot trust him.

  “No, I am not as gracious as that. Your choices are as such: First, you can stay where you are, trapped for eternity. You will be encased in the stone, your soul fueled by the magic in this place. You can see and hear those that pass, but they will never see you. Never hear you. You will not die, but your magic will fuel the caves and the caves will fuel you. Your essence will be a part of this place forever. It’s actually quite poetic for a child such as yourself. You love this place, that much I can feel strongly.”

  I swallow. I don’t want to be trapped here!

  “No? Well, in that case, the second choice is to come to me. Wil
lingly enter into my open jaws. There is treasure here, if you’re brave enough to accept it. I can give you everything you’ve ever desired and more.

  “I will make a bargain with you. If you accept, I will grant you power. Power a child like you couldn’t dream of. I warn you though, once you draw close enough for me to grip you in my magic, you will be trapped in a new way. The only way out is to complete the bargain.”

  My teeth chatter, fear filling me, but I work through every word he’s spoken. Perhaps staying here is the better choice. It could give my parents enough time to notice me missing and come for me. But even if not... it’s better than whatever he wants. It has to be.

  He said there have been others? Trapped in this way? Sealed in the cave for eternity.

  “Where do you think its magic comes from?” The Night Bringer chuckles.

  I gasp, but that doesn’t add up. It comes from the Source Rivers. All magic comes from those seas and its watershed.

  “No, child. Not all. Only some.”

  I swallow.

  “There are more sources than all of that. Creatures who lived before your world was built. We gave the fae their first powers, making them superior to humans. We gave them a world to rule.”

  “And who made you?” I ask him directly.

  He laughs. “Most would call me a god after hearing that story. But not you, little feisty one.”

  “If you are a god, I do not want to be part of the world you created.” I spit at the ground toward him.

  “I am not the first. I am not the true source. You are right about that. But I am rather high on the hierarchy.” His voice is amused. “And I do not lie to you when I say it is from me that many fae have gained the power they used to build the world as it is. The Shadow Court is not the only court to have lost power over time. Thousands of years ago fae, all fae, were stronger than they are now. I could give you a taste of that power. I could give you magic like no one in the Shadow Court has seen in a millennium.

  “You alone could fuel the palace; fuel the lands of the court you adore so deeply. You could give it what it lacks. You could be the hero that saves your court. Pulls it out of the hole it’s been shoved into.”