by Helen Savore
She pushed herself up.
“Better you saw neither.”
“I could say the same to you.” If she was already upset, he might as well poke at a few suspect areas. “Alexandrea, sometimes I think Moralynn doesn’t have your best interests in mind.”
“Stop it.” She stepped through the open archway leading to the kitchen. “Stop it! Do not draw Moralynn into question.”
Jamie jogged after her. “Drea, wait.”
She put the island between them and slammed her hands against the stone surface. “It was me. I recommended Avalon. We have been arguing about it for months. I pushed her, I convinced her. When she finally listens to me…” Alexandrea leaned away, nearly overbalancing. “It was a disaster.” She coughed and covered her face.
Jamie had never seen Drea like this. She was many things. Cool, but not cold. Calm, but not boring. Funny, with wry smiles. This outburst did not fit.
Once he got his wits together, he snatched a stool. “Here,” he said, sliding it towards her. “You really should sit.”
She didn’t say a word but hopped onto the seat.
He pushed her in to steady her on the lip of the island, grabbed a towel and a second stool for himself. He brought the cloth to her face.
“Drea.”
She shook her head.
“Drea?”
But she still shook.
He sighed. “If you won’t let me, then you should wipe your own face.”
She took the cloth and dabbed her eyes.
“Now,” he said, tapping the island, “admit I was right. You are hurt. Just not physically. Let me help.” He tilted his head, trying to coax her to smile.
She closed her eyes and snorted. Snot dribbled down her face. Her eyes flew open, horrified, and she wiped her nose.
“Don’t you dare take this all on yourself. Did you know there would be hammer dudes?”
She shook her head.
“Did you know Moralynn wasn’t allowed on the island?”
She shook her head again.
Jamie leaned in. He had only wanted to calm her, but now he was a little surprised. “Did you know anything of Moralynn’s previous attempts?”
She winced and shook her head for a third time.
“Drea, you can’t hold yourself responsible for things you don’t know.” He paused. She was so quiet. Where were Drea’s words? “Still, I think it’d be better if I understood more. Can you share what you know?”
“You really want to do this?” The way she looked at him broke Jamie. Her eyes were still sad as they peeked over the rim of her glasses, filled with moisture and something else. Her hand shook as it moved along the counter and found his. “You could step away, right now. I would explain. No one would blame you.”
“Why don’t you constantly think I can’t handle this?” Jamie snapped, but immediately regretted it. No wonder she never wanted to pursue anything, he couldn’t keep his frustration in check.
Jamie took a quick breath, then rotated his hand to cradle hers. He squeezed it. “First to rush in, first to flake out? That’s how you see me? I guess it’s fair to think so, I’ve earned it. But I’m not going to this time.”
He stepped away from the counter, giving her a slight tug.
Her eyes roved, but she stood firm.
“I can’t ignore what I’ve seen. I’m not going to forget about the fae anytime soon, but also… I can’t let you go it alone.”
“Why?”
He dropped her hand and clenched his fist. Was this something he wanted?
Jamie embraced Drea.
She didn’t move. He wasn’t sure if she was breathing. He gently snaked his left hand around her waist and let his right cradle her head. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. He drew her closer.
“I told you out there, in Avalon’s waters, I wouldn’t leave you alone again.”
“I thought I imagined that.” She didn’t pull away, but she didn’t return the embrace either. She stared at him as if her eyes could speak, they still asked that question: Why?
“I want to be with you,” he said. “Not around you, not around the fae and magic—excuse me, Shaping. I would do some of that, now that I know, but…” He paused. How to say this? “I’ve put my life in this, in you. No, in us, for these many months.”
She gazed but did not shift an inch.
“Say something, Drea.”
She blinked. “I never thought…” She closed her mouth, gulping.
“Never thought what? Don’t act like this is your first time with someone. You’ve dated.”
“Dating is one thing, and school was a long time ago.” She moved against him, her hair tugging against his shirt and poking through to his chest underneath. “I never thought I could share this with someone. And then when you fell into it, you… I didn’t think it was right to share the burden.”
“Drea…”
“I’ve had to make certain sacrifices to be Moralynn’s pupil. I’m not oblivious. I know people think I'm an eccentric recluse. I couldn’t be a part of this life when I knew another existed. I couldn’t be distracted.”
Jamie tilted her chin and leaned in closer. “So, I’m distracting?” He cupped her head again, pulling it closer and tilting his own.
“Yes, among other things.” She pushed away, growing the space between them. He shivered in dashed anticipation, but she grabbed his hands. “Jamie, I can’t do this if you’re going to be casual about it.”
He squeezed her hands and swung them. “There is nothing casual about how I’m feeling now.”
“Jamie…” She paused. “Your friendship has somewhat pulled me back to our modern world. If we dated, then stopped, and I lost that… I’m not sure I could stay.”
Jamie pulled their twined hands to his lips. “I said I wasn’t leaving you.” As he spoke he breathed on her hands, trying to tickle her fingers. “I won’t force you, you have to decide. But if you think I’ll ever stop being your friend, you don’t know me as well as you think.”
Though he tried not to betray it, he wasn't completely confident in what she’d say. He'd dwelled on this for too long. Didn’t she see it had to happen? He closed his eyes, bringing her fingers just that last bit closer to brush them with his lips.
Before he could kiss them, one escaped to trace his jaw. Jamie tried to suppress the flare of warmth within himself, hoping he didn’t groan. The finger turned into a hand, bringing his head closer, and their lips met.
Bright, white-gold light blinded him from behind his eyelids. It was like the core of his life shaping, but stronger.
His eyes flew open, and he saw Drea quiver. She had seen it, too.
That wasn’t just a kiss; something had happened. He started to ask, but noticed she was trembling, and not from fear.
She reached out before he could, and they embraced again.
He realized this was not a time for words.
39
Jamie gripped into the dash. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?”
Drea glanced and him, then put her eyes back on the narrow, shaded road. “I don’t think we can all fit on the handlebars of your bike.”
This was no pleasant drive-through-the-country date. Weeks had passed, and with no further repercussions, they resumed the Grail hunt. Moralynn and Drea had some big, fussy discussion on direction back at the Estate, which Jamie only half followed. The result was they were staying more local, so all four piled into Drea’s old car.
He ground his teeth as they whipped around another low stone wall, inches from the car. “Your car, me driving. Don’t play, Drea. I think you’ve scraped the mirrors.”
She patted his leg. “They’re fine, nothing to worry about.”
Adhomai spoke up. “I, for one, worry about this form of transportation.”
Moralynn coughed. “I thought you were enchanted?”
Jamie shifted to look at the back seat and their companions.
Adhomai shrugged against the bland upholst
ery. “The idea of conserving my energy during travel is intriguing. However, when being propelled at such speeds, in narrow spaces, by an unreliable machine…”
“It is not unreliable,” Alexandrea said, defending her car.
Jamie, despite disagreeing, couldn’t help but smile. He was too used to disagreeing with Adhomai. “Accidents do happen occasionally.”
Drea wagged a finger. “You have a greater chance of getting hurt while flying.”
“I doubt that,” Adhomai said.
“Not that kind of flying!”
Moralynn knocked on the window. “It would be difficult to fly through this forest without injury.”
“Not through.” Adhomai drew a circle in the air. “Around. Or over.”
Drea glanced over her shoulder, but Jamie tapped her. She returned her eyes to the road, then spoke. “What about the Waterways?”
Moralynn shook her head. “We should not take too great advantage of Viviane’s hospitality.”
Jamie tapped Drea again before she looked away from the road.
Moralynn continued. “I suspect she wants something more from us.”
Adhomai snorted. “What could that water witch possibly want from us?”
Things seemed to be more tense between Adhomai and Moralynn. That, or Jamie had never noticed it before. To him they always appeared as a united front of the otherworldly.
Sun flooded the car as they came out from beneath the trees.
“You can all settle down,” said Alexandrea. “We’ve made it to Harlech.”
Adhomai continued to grumble about the tightness, but Jamie saw no reason to respond. It was funny how a place could be so similar and so different. Another little town, made up of stone buildings, huddling beneath the protection of castle walls. The difference was his home had no castle. Their home was a valley, and according to Drea, the site of many battles. Yet it was built similarly, of strong quarried stone.
Jamie twitched when they turned into a public car park. “Hey, there’s parking by the castle, why are we here?”
Drea’s eyes sparkled through her glasses. “That castle would not have been here during the golden time.” She nodded and got one from Moralynn as well. “The site, and this town, but not that castle. It’s from the 13th century, built when—”
“The details are of no consequence.” Moralynn stepped out of the car, motioning ahead. “Let us proceed.”
Adhomai followed her.
Jamie suppressed a laugh as the pair dodged parked cars. He caught Drea smiling, too. He took her arm.
“What are you doing?”
Jamie tugged them forward with their linked hands. “Well, we’re posing as tourists today, right?”
“What else do we pose as?” She raised her brow and made a crooked smile.
“I think I should pose as a boy who has not a clue about history but wanted to show this girl how classy he is. So I invited you to this castle today.”
Drea waved her free hand in her face. “But he is such a terrible planner…”
“No, spontaneous!”
“We’re only getting in at the end of the day.”
“But we can’t have just come here for nothing, so I’ll beg to let us stay a little later.”
Drea ducked her head and she smiled and held on tight.
All four walked through the tight roads of town, looking about without speaking. They searched and sensed, not sharing a word. Jamie enjoyed the grasp of Drea’s hand. Through it he had a better sense of her, though he couldn’t tell if it was from magic or caring.
They rounded the last bend leading to the castle and Moralynn stopped. “Perhaps we should go. I do not sense anything.”
Adhomai passed her. “You never sense anything.”
“And we have never found it.”
Adhomai crossed his arms and nodded. “Then we should look farther.”
Drea tapped her brow and pointed to Adhomai. “Is there anything reminiscent of your sights?”
Moralynn rolled her eyes. “Drea, we have mined his visions for months. There is nothing more we can glean.”
“Maybe once he sees the sight, something will trigger a memory.”
Six eyes met Adhomai's. He met each of their gazes and hesitated. Jamie twisted around behind him to see what had caught his attention. The castle after all?
“Perhaps there is something… familiar.” He walked forward. “I cannot say for sure. Hesitating will get us nowhere. Should we not be off?”
Moments later, Jamie and Drea paid their admission and strode across the wooden bridge that spanned the old moat. The castle was in great shape, practically pristine compared to some of the wrecks they had visited. One couple played in an alcove, and a few folk walked along the small stone paths that once were rooms. “There are more people about than I expected.”
Drea flashed him a smile. “Maybe some other people decided to be spontaneous.”
“Or they also thought the road treacherous,” Jamie grumbled under his breath.
He accidentally caught the eye of one of the folks on the central staircase. Jamie gave him a polite nod, hoping to not attract too much attention, but the guy glared at him. Jamie shook his head and glanced at Drea to see if she noticed, but she didn’t seem concerned.
He pushed his chin towards the left. “Let’s get up there for a better look.”
The worn stones somewhat resembling steps were tricky to navigate. Jamie had to suppress the urge to Shape and even them. It would be so much safer, but he suspected people might question the sudden change to the historical site.
Though the top was steadier, they remained careful. The stones cobbling the battlements were smooth, with little weeds poking through. They probably didn’t help too much with traction. On a damp day, he could imagine someone slipping and falling.
Damp day, ha, more like every day.
He peered into the courtyard, noting the height and both Moralynn and Adhomai meandering. Drea rushed to the back edge, looking out towards the sea. The ends of her long hair caught in the wind and shifted round her.
Jamie smiled and joined her. “That is quite a view.” He leaned on the stone, bracing his hands on the wall.
“Imagine how it was.” Drea turned to face him. “The ocean used to be closer, just at the foot of this rock.” She swiveled and pointed. “See? Down there.”
Amid the masses of stone, there appeared to be worked metal. “What is that?”
“It’s the old path, and the gate.”
Jamie’s gaze trailed the remaining rickety stairs, and then back to the base, which was surrounded by the cliff rock. Was it really a gate? There was certainly something there, but it didn’t look to be blocking anything.
“It’s open,” he said.
Drea shook her head. “It shouldn’t be. It’s great it’s still here, but it wouldn’t be safe…”
Something appeared from behind a boulder near the gate. It was furry. And tall. And not an animal.
Jamie’s eyes widened. “What is that man-beast?” It looked like Raebyn when he wasn’t a swirly blue mess. The figure shook a hairy arm.
“It’s a demion. But why here?” She spun and yelled into the courtyard, “Moralynn!”
Jamie grabbed her as she pivoted, making sure she remained steady. As he grasped her, he saw they were no longer alone up top.
“I thought it might be you.”
It was the pale guy who had glared at him. His face fuzzed and his clothes changed until he looked a bit like Adhomai. An elf, but not as tall, and more muscular. He was armored and his cane became a menacing pole. He slapped it to the floor, and the cobbled stones jumped.
Jamie fell, slamming his fists, calming the stone’s dance. They still buzzed, but they weren’t about to pull away and rip apart the wall.
“Jamie?” Drea had managed to stand, grasping the wall’s crenellations.
He wrinkled his brow. “Don’t you dare talk to me about preserving monuments. We take care of these guys first
, and fix things later.”
She put a foot on the wall, poised to jump. “Actually, I was going to check that you were okay with this guy alone.”
Jamie broke into a smile. “I’ll be along in a minute.”
A gust whipped between them and she dashed above the crenellations, gliding out of sight.
Jamie turned his kneel into a squat, and started to rise. He put his hands in the air, wondering if that was a peace sign for the fae, too. “Come on, man. Let’s not do this, at least not here. Despite that exchange, she will kill me if this place gets wrecked.”
The elf rolled the rod between his hands, spinning it. He then threw it up.
Jamie followed its arc into the sky and watched it fall, spinning into the elf’s hand.
“Surrender,” it said.
Jamie stood still, leaving his hands palms forward. “Not really an option. What do you want?”
“I want what you want.”
Jamie couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Did all fae speak in riddles? “I doubt that.”
The elf pointed his rod at Jamie and shoved it at him.
Jamie took a step back, keeping a meter of space between them.
“I want what your master wants.”
“Master? You mean Moralynn? Now that I can believe.” He tried to spot Moralynn in the courtyard. She wasn’t there. Instead it was filling with other fae creatures, surrounding Adhomai and Drea.
The rod poked in his direction, and he backed up again. The elf wasn’t shaping the elements, but did he have to? Jamie was walking away just because of a stick—a tough magic stick. He was being pushed to the edge. “Trust me, this isn’t going to help you. Mistress Phoenix whatever doesn’t care about me.”
The fae shook his rod. “One less Druid is still not a bad thing.”
This time the elf brought the rod in lower. Jamie had nowhere else to go. It hit him in the gut.
He groaned. It didn’t matter that he could make it better later, it hurt now. He doubled over and pushed to the right, pretending to stagger.
The elf slapped the rod down again, but Jamie was already moving. He rolled off the wall and fell into the courtyard. He couldn’t fly like Drea, but he mixed softening the earth to take some of the shock, and quick stimulation in his limbs to temper the fall.
