Ever Fire (16 page)

“What of my family, must I leave them exposed? I should be home with them. How do I protect them if Aveta and her armies hunt us down? I get a feeling that Corb will stop at nothing to get to me, even hurt the ones I love.” Shade’s panic replaced the melancholy ripping across her chest as her desperation grew.

“
Yes, Shade. He will go after your family to get to you. Corb will stop at nothing to attain you for the Queen. But you mustn’t worry too much for them. Your mother is taking the correct steps to guard your sister and brothers well. Now that Benton has come into his powers, he will help her. You must not underestimate them. You must finish this, or we are doomed.”

The sister’s voices harmonized into one as they slowly drifted back, out of the circle and into the dark of the forest. Shade called out to them, but they did not answer back. She gulped, hugging her arms around her as a sudden chill passed through. The desolate night seemed to hover around and choke out the air. Shade’s fear grew as she stood alone, making herself close her eyes. She silently prayed to wake up from what was now turning into a nightmare.

*****

BLINKING HER EYES
, Shade glanced around slowly in the grey fog of dawn. The group had remained on the rocky shelters of the Raven Queen’s domain. Sitting up, she glanced around the silent camp. The fire had long since died, but a wisp of smoke floated up from it. Shade turned back in the direction of her grandmother’s house. The thick fog covered the forest and the land beyond, with only sharp points of treetops protruding from the clouds.

She pulled out her blanket; the same one Dylan had given her, tightly around her body. Her breath puffed out in the cool morning air as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She waited for the rest of the group to rouse. Her sleep had been fitful, and the memory of her spirit guide’s words had left her exhausted, as if she had not slept at all.

The moist air clung to her skin and hair as the mass of clouds rose around them. Everything felt wet. She wondered how the Raven Queen Aluse could like it up here. There was nothing but hard rock and wet air. At least it was safe. There were no routes that led to these shelters. They were so high up that the air felt thin and left her out of breath. Her stomach rumbled under the blanket as she remembered she had not eaten in almost a day. She pressed her lips together. She didn’t have much to eat with her, and wondered if the Ravens and Winged-Fey had anything to munch on up here.
They have to eat too, right?
She smiled, feeling less glum as the sun rose over the horizon.

As if Shade’s mind were on display, Queen Aluse came striding out of the entrance to one of the cavern shelters with a plate and cup in hand. She came to sit next to Shade, smiling at her as she placed a heaping plate of fruit, berries, and strips of meat in front of Shade with a cup full of water. Aluse motioned Shade to dig in, scanning the horizon. Her black hair seemed to absorb all the light into it, it was so dark. It touched the ground as she sat with her legs folded Indian style. Her wings also scraped the ground, but remained folded tight to her back in a mass of feathers, all shining an oily black and soft looking. Shade fought the urge to reach out and stroke them, popping a few grapes into her mouth instead and savoring the juices.

“Your grandmother Lana was quite a woman.” Aluse turned towards Shade as she spoke, smiling with eyes that glinted a deep onyx. “She was my dearest and oldest friend. When she was exiled to this valley I moved my flock here to oversee her safety, and to keep her well fed. Aveta stuck her in that bubble and left her for dead after finding out they couldn’t kill her. She was that powerful.” Aluse sighed, turning back to the glowing horizon. The clouds seemed to dissipate with the arrival of the sun. A slight heat began to warm Shade as she let the blanket loosen around her. The Raven Queen did not even seem to feel the cold at all.

“It’s cold isn’t it? I’m sure you feel it more than we do since you’re part human. If it gets cold enough, we’ll feel it too. I’m afraid there are dark and colder days ahead of us Shade. As Aveta grows stronger, her powers of winter and frost grow too. She will bring death and starvation to our kind. We will have to flee south for the first time in millennia.” Her face had gone blank staring out across the valley. The Queen’s own uncertainty leaked out onto Shade, like a mood passing through her. She pulled the blanket back around her as she polished off the plate of food and gulped down the water. That stupid Queen Aveta was ruining Faerie with every move she made.

“It must be nice to be able to fly though.” Shade said, waving towards Aluse’s wings.

Aluse smiled, nodding. “Yes. If not for that, I’m sure my people would succumb to her treachery.” She stretched her arms out and let her wings extended out behind her. Standing up, she looked back down to Shade. “We are with you in your fight Shade. Just let me know if you need anything at all, I mean it. I owe much to Lana, and now this is the only way I can repay her. I’m so privileged to have gotten to meet her granddaughter.”

Shade nodded, smiling up to the beautiful queen. “Thank you. I truly appreciate it.” She said as the Raven Queen gave her a quick nod and turned away towards the shelter caves.

Shade watched as the rest of the Ravens roused, came out of the caverns, and went about busying themselves. They ruffled their feathers and flew out in pairs to go scouting. They were gorgeous, and she envied their ease with flying. She would love to be able to fly. It seemed like it would be a useful ability to have here in Faerie.

Soap finally roused and came to so sit next to Shade, replacing the spot Aluse had abandoned. He smiled as he glanced her way, running his hand through his loose hair. Shade thought he could pass for a model if he wanted a career in the human world. Her thoughts wandered to their kiss back at the Glass Castle and made her wonder if he ever thought about it too. He had stuck with her through her rejection, and yet here he was, still smiling.

“Soap, I’m gonna go home. I have to make sure my family is okay.” She paused, studying his emerald green eyes that stared right back at her. She was pretty sure he would do what she asked, feeling a bit selfish for thinking so. “I would like it if you came with me.” She picked at the blanket as she waited for his reaction.

“Ya, no problem. I told you once, and I still mean it Shade.” His face turned incredibly serious as his eyes flashed with a ring of yellow surrounding his black pupils, embedded in the lush green. “I’ll follow you wherever you may go. I will always be there.” She nodded and pulled her eyes away from his handsome face. She leaned her head on his shoulder as he pulled her closer with his arms around her shoulders. He was radiating warmth, making her feel sad and safe at the same time. Somehow she knew he was telling her the truth.

She gave into his hug, closing her eyes. Her exhaustion swam along her body, making her want to curl back onto her sleeping mat and sleep the day away. She fought it with all her strength and pulled away from Soap as she stretched and stood up. Looking down at Soap, he did not seem surprised at all that she had pulled away. She studied his incredible eyes. They were full of so many unsaid things. Things she was sure she couldn’t deal with right now, but made her want to ask him about. Instead, she turned away and went in search of Camulus, hoping to hitch a teleport ride home.

Chapter Seventeen

ENTERING THE CAVE
, Shade glanced around what seemed like a long cavernous room for Camulus. One of the Raven’s had pointed her in this direction. They had last seen him there. As she scanned the room, the Faery named Bibette came swaying towards her. Her smooth mane of light-brown hair lay like satin on her shoulders, and flowed down her back. Her skin was not pixie green but a golden brown that irradiated a healthy glow. Shade thought that she could pass for a magazine model. Bibette’s yellow-brown eyes glinted with mischief as she smiled inquisitively.

“Lost already hun?” Bibette asked, her eyes curiously watching Shade. “I thought I saw you and that hunk of a Changeling outside. Let me know if you don’t want him anymore. I’d gladly pick up the pieces of him for you.” She licked her lips and winked at Shade, making her frown as her lips pressed into a tight line at the Faery’s words.
She’s just being friendly. Don’t be mean,
Shade thought and bit her tongue.

“Have you seen Camulus?” Shade quietly asked. “Tor said he saw him in here. I need to talk to him. Oh, and thanks for helping save us last night.”

At that, Bibette’s smile deepened. “Sure thing! I did just see him down at the other end. He was stocking supplies in his pack. He’s not so bad himself. If he was a bit more Pixie than Elven, I’d definitely stake my claim there!” She chuckled and twirled away, leaving Shade almost falling over giggling. The Faery was silly and giddy with the new man-meat hanging around. She wondered if they were allowed out of the shelters often or not. She shrugged and headed to the other side of the long cavern.

Camulus was sifting through a pile of weapons and rations. His own weapons had been polished to a shine and were sheathed, waiting in the pile to be re-strapped onto his belt or pack. His green-tinged skin seemed to glow in the sunlight that reflected into the cavern with strategically placed mirrors. His fiery eyes looked up to greet her as he gave her a slight nod. He had been very quiet the last couple months between taking her to her grandmother’s house and back home. His flashing smile and little jokes seemed to have faded away. She wondered what was eating away at him that it had eaten up his humor.

“Hey Camulus, how’s it going?” Shade plopped down on a wooden chair next to the stone shelf that he had splayed his weapons across. Camulus gazed towards her and studied her intensely, giving her a slight smile as he returned to his weapons.

“Okay. How are you Shade? You feel alright after last night?” He glanced back and forth from what he was doing to Shade, observing her for any emotions. She looked up at him and gave her head a slight shake, sighing and staring out towards the sunlit cave entrance.

“Not really. I just can’t help but see my grandmother burning up in that house. It makes me sick. All the power I have, and I couldn’t unbind her and save her.” Shade bore her eyes into the ground, feeling a sting of tears behind them.

Camulus stood still for a moment as he watched her. He shuffled around and came to kneel in front of her, taking her hands into his soft green ones.

“Shade, I know you feel like it’s your fault, but it’s not. Lana was near death, and a Fey her age usually does not die in a fire. She chose to wither, chose to fade right before they came. Shade, I could feel her do it. You should not feel guilty. She died well before the house was set on fire. We are immortal, but we can choose to give up the immortality and die. Most of us don’t. The very old ones sometimes do. Living centuries and watching the ones we love die or get killed chips away at us. It’s a blessing to be able to choose. Can you imagine having to live forever without an end? It would be more of a curse than anything else really.” He sighed and rubbed her hands softly. “Take comfort, Shade. She will be watching over you for sure.”

He smiled as he pushed back the dangling strands of hair from her face. She looked up at his kind face. It was one that had been so blank lately, but was now full of compassion. She nodded as they hugged, holding back the tears that threatened to spill, willing them away.

“Thanks, Camulus. You have no idea how much that helps me. I feel better, really.” She slowly pulled away, grinning and feeling relieved. She continued to watch him as he resumed stuffing his items away. He gave intermittent smiles towards her as he slipped some of them onto his weapons belt, and some into his pack that he finally strapped tightly on. As he finished he turned back to her and held his hand out.

“I get the feeling you might want to return home. When do you want to leave? I’m ready when you are.”

“Yes! I do. But wait. Soap is coming with me. I just want to check up on my family. Where is Andraste? I didn’t ask him yet if he wanted to come along.” Shade said as she took his hand and followed him out of the cavern.

“Andraste has already returned to Prince Lotinar’s castle to join Draden. I took him there last night after we settled in here. Their Legions are readying as we speak for a full on attack on Queen Aveta’s domain. It is still weeks away but must be done.”

They pushed through a group of Raven Fey as they neared the entrance of the cavern. Shade squinted her eyes as the light from the mid-morning sun made her pupils contract in slight pain as she scanned the crowd for Soap. The winged Faeries seemed to have multiplied since this morning. This was obviously the main gathering place. She did not remember seeing that many of them there the night before. She spotted him near the edge of the plateau. His long hair whipping up in the vibrant gust of air that flowed over the edge of the rock, looking stunning as usual. He stared off into the distance as she approached his side.

“Hey Soap, ready to go? I found Camulus to give us a ride.” Shade stopped, realizing how extremely serious Soap’s face had remained while he had not yet looked at her. She followed his gaze to the horizon towards the east. Her eyes widened with surprise, seeing skyscrapers and smog from a nearby human city. She could’ve sworn she had not seen it before, but the fog might’ve concealed it in the early hours. “Is that a city? Which one are we near? I can see the buildings and even some of the cars reflecting the sun! I didn’t know we were so close to one. Can they see us?” She gulped as she waited for Soap to answer. Somehow his still face made her more than apprehensive.