The Faye's Keeper: Keepers of Light: Book Two

by Sarah Beth

  ~~~

  She was dressed in leggings, boots, and an oversized navy blue sweater. The color made her hair even brighter, if that was possible, and her eyes seemed impossibly alive that night. Wesley always thought Abby was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. But sometimes, all it took was a different sweater, and he was blown away all over again. And other times, it reminded him she wasn’t fully human. Only a Faye had eyes that vibrant.

  They were sitting in the restaurant, waiting for Kyle and Warren to get there. They had left too early; he had known that. But then Tori had wanted to stop at the little boutique across the street, so early was a good thing. If it wasn’t for Abby pulling her away, Tori probably would’ve looked around for hours.

  “There are my three favorite people!” Turning at Kyle’s voice, Wesley smiled as his brother walked over and clapped a hand on his shoulder, then tossed his arms around a waiting Tori.

  Warren came next, bending down to kiss Abby’s cheek before clapping Wesley’s other shoulder. “Sorry we’re late, the mountain pass is getting a little sketchy. Glad you got up here earlier, Abby. We’re supposed to get more snow overnight.”

  Abby smiled, resting her hand on Wesley’s knee under the table. “I’m happy to be back too. Glad you guys got through okay.”

  Kyle walked around the table to kiss her cheek too, and Wesley was acutely aware of how much he had missed his pack brothers. Not to mention no other man could ever get that close to Abby without losing their heads. But family was family.

  “Eh, Warren is an expert driver in the snow, no need to worry. But man, am I hungry!”

  Tori laughed, re-situating herself at the table. “You’re always hungry.”

  Sitting between Abby and Warren, Kyle winked. “Well, yes. But that’s besides the point.”

  Warren smiled softly at Kyle before looking across the table at Wesley, his smile dimming. “No, Alex?”

  Sighing, Wesley shook his head. “I tried, but no. We got some blueberry muffins from the bakery though, and I’ll order him dinner to go.” Concern crossed Warren’s face, before he nodded.

  Abby

  After dinner, Abby trailed behind the boys towards the front door of the house, when a harsh breeze hit her face. If it wasn’t for Tori at her back, Abby would’ve fallen back a few steps. As it was, she turned away from it, trying to hide her face behind her hood, but something just beyond the piled snow caught her eye.

  Rising from the snow, a small aspen sapling came out of nowhere. It didn’t stop reaching for the sky until it was at her shoulders. Branches sprouted, bright green leaves so out of place in the December cold, sprang forth. When the last leaf uncurled, the whole tree gave a shake in the breeze. Holding her breath, Abby stared at the tree, afraid to move a muscle. She didn’t even look to see if the guys had stopped walking, wondering where she had gone. Tori stood frozen beside her, her eyes locked on the tree. Trees didn’t just grow out of the snow in seconds. Not without a little magical help, anyway.

  Tentatively, Abby reached out a hand. The closest branch was only a few inches away from her outstretched arm. As her fingers brushed the underside of the closest leaf, the branch quivered. Snapping her hand back, Abby glanced to her right.

  The guys stood there, Kyle’s hand resting on the door to the house. They were watching her, concern and confusion etched on all three faces. She could feel Wesley’s concern flow through her — he knew she was afraid. Turning back to the tree, she stood in silence as the leaf she touched changed. It grew to three times its original size and curled in on itself. The bright green color shifted to brown and then beige. In moments, a rolled up scroll sat perched on the end of the branch. A wax seal holding it together.

  Snow crunched as Wesley came towards her. He stood behind her, his hand resting on her shoulder; she could feel the heat of his body through her coat. “That’s the seal of the Faye.” His voice was hushed, as if he was afraid to break whatever magic they had just witnessed.

  She took a step away from him, bringing herself face to branch with the scroll. Up close, she could make out a vast tree with far branching roots, etched into the red wax. With a deep breath, Abby reached out and pulled the scroll from the tree.

  The weight of the paper was barely in her hand before the leaves on the tree yellowed before her eyes. But they didn’t stop there. Yellow turned to brown, and as she watched the leaves fall to the snow covered ground, the tree shrank. Back into the snow from where it came. A strong wind whipped through the yard, taking the brown leaves with it. Within seconds, no evidence of the tree remained. Silence descended on the yard, only the wind whistling through made any sound.

  “What. Was. That?” Abby turned to see Kyle still standing by the door, his hand on the doorknob, knuckles white. His face was full of shock — Abby didn’t exactly blame him.

  Wesley’s hand shifted to her back. Peering over her shoulder, he said. “We should probably go inside.” Nodding her head, Abby looked at the yard one last time. If it wasn’t for the others, who had seen the tree too, she would have thought she imagined it.

  “Alright, I can’t wait anymore. Open it.” Standing across the kitchen island from her, Kyle wrung his hands nervously. Abby couldn’t remember ever seeing the werewolf look so on edge. Even when facing down a warlock, Kyle had seemed unphased.

  The scroll still clasped in her hands, Abby glanced at Wesley beside her. With a one-armed shrug, he said, “Alex’s is on another phone call, he could be awhile. I’m with Kyle. Let’s see what the Faye want.”

  Although a part of her wanted to wait until Alex was there too, she also wasn’t sure she wanted to know what was inside. Turning from the kitchen, Abby focused on Warren, standing by the roaring fireplace. He hadn’t said a word since the tree had appeared. Tori stood to her other side, hands resting on the marble countertop, staring at the scroll. “Warren, what do you think?” Although Abby had full trust in both Wesley and Kyle, the oldest werewolf in the room had earned her respect over the last few months. He had turned into the big brother she had never had. His opinion mattered to her.

  With his arms crossed over his broad chest, Warren turned from the fire and raised a brow. “I think we should wait for Alex.”

  Figuring that would be the response, Abby sighed. “I know. But do you think we should ignore a message from the Faye?”

  Warren chuckled, his arms falling to his sides. “Abigail, the Faye don’t view time the same way we do. We don’t even know if they realize the message hasn’t been opened yet.”

  Looking down at the scroll in her hands, a chill went up her spine. She was fairly certain they knew. Magic was a tricky thing, she knew that much already. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that whoever sent the message would know when it was received.

  Beside her, Wesley sighed. “Warren, you know I agree with you. But I also agree with Abby.” She watched as he ran a hand through his hair. “I think we should open it.”

  All eyes shifted to Warren, who shrugged his shoulders at the attention. “Well, then don’t look at me. I’m not the Alpha.”

  Taking a deep breath, Abby looked up at Wesley’s face. Searching for the comfort of those crystal blue eyes. His lips quirked up in the corners and he nodded his head briefly. Another deep breath and she broke the seal on the scroll with a finger.

  Abigail Reed is requested, by the

  Council of Faye Elders,

  To be at The High Forest come

  The eighteenth day of the twelfth month.

  The wolf may accompany.

  Sincerely,

  Elder Neirdre

  With Wesley reading silently over her shoulder, Abby read the message five times through before reading out loud. The Council wanted to see her. The Faye Council had sent a message directly to her, through magic. And she had exactly three days to travel to The High Forest. She didn’t even know where The High Forest was.

  “Abby—.” Wesley’s hand was on her shoulder again, squeezing gently.

 
Forcing herself to take a deep breath, Abby looked at Kyle, then Warren, and finally Wesley. “What do we do?”

  Wesley tilted his head to the side, one shoulder rising in a shrug. “Well, I doubt it would end well for us if we ignored the Council’s request.”

  Warren moved to the kitchen island, sliding up between Tori and Kyle. The three wolves shared a look, before Warren looked back at Abby and Wesley. “We need to talk to Alex about this. Now.”

  Looking at her friends around her, and trying to take comfort in the weight of Wesley’s hand on her shoulder, Abby read the words once again. Something told her that they had finally figured out where Lord Elazar had disappeared too.

  Chapter Three

  Wesley

  After a full breakfast, Wesley and Abby went over a map one final time with Alex. It would take them the better part of the next three days to arrive at the passage that Alex said would lead them to The High Forest. Alex didn’t say if The High Forest was located in the National Forest or not, or if the passage was some magical portal that led to the home of the Faye. It was possible, Wesley knew, that Alex didn’t have the answer. After all, Alex had never been invited to The High Forest. Wesley wondered why his father knew where the passage was, considering he’d never been there, but didn’t bother asking. Alex had enough on his plate and Wesley didn’t want to bring up old memories. Because if there was anything Wesley knew, it was that the question would undoubtedly bring up something Alex would rather leave forgotten.

  Once they had the route mapped, and Wesley tucked the map into his backpack, they loaded up the SUV. Alex needed to drop them off a couple hours up the mountain — as far as the car could take them. Once they reached the end of the snow-covered road, Alex helped Wesley unload the hiking gear. Both himself and Abby would carry backpacks, with everything they would need inside of them, to live in the forest for the next few days.

  Although Abby said she’d been hiking before, there was a huge difference between hiking a few hours and hiking for days. Add the fifty-pound pack on her back, and Wesley was worried. He knelt down to check her pack straps for the fifth time, so make sure it wouldn’t slip when she put it on. “Give her more credit, son. She’ll be just fine.” Wesley looked up to see Alex smiling down at him. Of course, the old wolf would know how he was feeling.

  He gave a frustrated sigh before standing. He glanced over his shoulder, where Abby had wandered down the path a ways, before running a hand through his hair. “Yeah. Yeah, I know. You’re right.”

  A strong hand clapped him on the shoulder. Alex chuckled, “She’s tough, Wesley. She won’t let a good twenty-mile hike stop her.”

  Wesley grumbled under his breath, before saying more clearly, “You’d think the Faye could send her transport, if they want to meet her so badly.”

  A dry chuckle escaped Alex’s mouth, before he bent down for Abby’s pack. “I highly doubt they care how she arrives, just that she does.”

  Before Wesley could say anything in response, Abby came up behind him. Smiling at Alex, she took the pack from him and allowed him to help her strap it on. Once done, she turned to him and smiled cheerfully, “Ready?”

  Unable to help himself, he chuckled. “I sure hope you can keep that smile going when we’ve been hiking through the mountain for hours.”

  He watched as she adjusted the pack, before smiling up at him again. “Well, only one way to find out.”

  Shutting the hatchback, Alex clapped his hands together. “She’s got a point, my boy. Time to get going.”

  Wesley tossed the pack over his back, strapping it around his middle. He had added a few more things to his pack than Abby’s — he could carry more weight than she could. As Abby gave Alex a quick hug, nodding at his words of caution, Wesley took a deep breath. This wasn’t his first time hiking through the mountains. But it was the first time he was doing it without his pack. Without Alex or Warren to guide him.

  Coming to stand in front of him, Alex put both hands on Wesley’s shoulders. “You know these mountains, you know the dangers they hold. You’re prepared for this, Wesley.”

  Focusing on Alex’s green eyes, a deeper color than Abby’s, with brown flecks throughout, Wesley sighed. “I know.”

  Alex’s hands squeezed his shoulders tightly, before his father took a step away from him. “Once you reach The High Forest, try to send word to us. I’m not sure the pack bond will give me much, with how far you’ll be.”

  Adjusting his pack, Wesley nodded. “We will.” He turned to see Abby already waiting at the trail head, and felt his heart swell at the sight of her. Despite the journey that lay out before her, she looked excited and ready to take on the challenge. Her red waves were tied back in a long braid; the gray hat she wore and the snow blanketing the area, made her hair look brighter than normal. How he ever got so lucky to find his True Mate and for it to be her, he didn’t know.

  “Good luck, my boy. May the spirits protect you.” Wesley focused back on Alex. He could see concern etched in his father’s face, but he was hiding it well. With a sturdy nod, Wesley turned away and headed to meet Abby.

  ~~~

  When the trail turned west, they stopped to put on their snowshoes. They would hike through the wilderness from there on out. Wesley had been watching Abby like a hawk, ever since the view of Alex and the vehicle vanished in the snow.

  She was doing good — so far. Only stumbled a few times when she first tried to walk with the snowshoes on. But she got the hang of them quickly, impressing Wesley, who had taken years to get used to them. There was something about having huge pieces of wood strapped to his feet that made Wesley incredibly clumsy. Wesley would have rather gone without them, but Abby never would’ve been able to walk through the waist deep snow without help. All around them was a blanket of white for as far as the eye could see, only broken up by the green of the evergreens peaking out from under their covers. The mountain got another few inches of snow overnight, causing puffs of powder to billow behind them as they walked.

  Looking away from the trees and towards his Mate, he noted how cute her nose was when it was red. Was she getting cold? That wouldn’t do. Maybe she needed to eat something. Hiking through the mountains always burned a lot of calories — hiking in the winter only upped the ante. Grabbing a protein bar from his jacket pocket, he handed it to Abby. “Here, eat this. We need to take in a lot of calories to make up for what we’re burning.”

  She was breathing deeply, her heart rate a little faster than normal. But she wasn’t out of breath, so he took that as a good sign. Taking the bar without a word, she ripped into it and took a bite.

  He chuckled, “Hungry? I guess I should have gotten one out earlier.”

  She smiled softly, swallowing before saying, “No, not really. But I’m getting tired, so hopefully this will help.” He nodded, before adjusting the hat on her head. It had slid off her ears.

  “Are you getting cold? You’ve got to be careful. You might not realize it, since you’re working so hard.”

  He watched as she eyed his own light coat, no hat or gloves, and rolled her eyes. “I think I’m fine. I’d be more concerned about your own body.” She pulled her hat further down on her head, making him chuckle.

  “Nah, I’m running a good ol’ 101° body temp right about now. I’m nice and toasty.” To punctuate the statement, he raised his arms high above and took a deep breath. She giggled, a sound similar to bird’s song, that caused his heart to beat quicker. As she ate her protein bar, Wesley took out his own and surveyed the surrounding land.

  They were making good time. He had checked the map when they had stopped, and they were heading in the right direction. They would have a good climb in another hour, before they would stop for the night. Alex told them he was fairly certain there was a small cave up the mountain — a perfect place for them to stop for the night. It wasn’t supposed to snow, fortunately, but one could ever be too careful.

  By the time they reached the cave that sat halfway up the worst c
limb of the trip, the sun was setting. And even though she tried to hide it, Abby was shivering. Wesley set up a fire as quickly as he could, situating her by the growing flames, a blanket around her shoulders. Once he was confident that she was warming by the flames, he got a started on their sleeping arrangements for the night. Hoping it would help keep Abby warm, they would sleep in a small tent inside the cave.

  This was the first night they had spent together with no one else around for miles. He was trying very hard not to think about it. He needed to get his head on straight — they were hiking to the home of the Faye because a war was brewing. Focus. It wasn’t like they had done nothing before or slept in the same bed. Although the guest room in Alex’s house had become hers, Abby spent most every night in the basement with him. This was no different.

  Choosing a small section of the cave where the floor was relatively flat, he got started on the tent. The space wasn’t very big — Wesley had seen bigger caves in these mountains. But it was high enough that he could stand up. The ceiling of rock was a good foot above his head. There were stalactites hanging from the expanse above him. He made sure there weren’t any above the tent before he set up.

  Finished with the tent and sleeping bags, Wesley noticed Abby cooking dinner over the fire. They had needed to pack as light as possible, since their gear weighed the heaviest. Freeze-dried food wasn’t his favorite, but it would suffice for a couple of days in the woods. If he was alone, he likely would’ve gone hunting for a few rabbits or small deer. But his little witch didn’t eat animals, so he would make do. Grabbing an extra blanket, he walked up behind her and draped it over her shoulders. “What’s for dinner?”

  Shaking the small copper pot in her hand, Abby chuckled. “Freeze dried veggies, rice and beans.”