Forsaken Dreamscape (Nevermor) (17 page)

The
cove was not expansive, instead consisting of a few rickety buildings
positioned on boardwalks that led out toward the water where ships could be
docked.  Many of the buildings were missing parts of their roofing, all but to
the point of falling in completely.  Some had been patched with sails and other
pieces of ship wreckage just to keep them from falling over.

One
thing she could see clearly was that the settlement was not deserted.

Lanterns
on posts were lighting the paths across the walkways, and smoke rose from a few
of the chimneys.  There were not many men stumbling around the rotten buildings
of Bleed Neck, even though it was nearing noon, but once Wren had gotten
closer, the pirates had slipped from her concern as her worry was transferred
elsewhere.

They
did not have to be within the settlement area to notice the captured Tribal
girl who was plainly displayed in the center of things, tied to a gallows in
the middle of the camp.

What
have they done to her?
  Wren decided that she might not like to know.

“That
poor girl,” she said quietly in a sympathetic tone.

She
and Nix were hiding low, a safe distance away, observing the state of the
place.  She felt terrible toward this, suddenly much too awake to feel her
weariness. 

“I
do believe I know her.”  Nix’s voice chilled her.  “I’m going to take a closer
look.  Stay here.”

She
nodded and watched him creep off silently through the trees, waiting until he
was gone before she ventured to peer back toward the Tribal maiden.  There was
something that seemed familiar about the girl, wasn’t there?  Suddenly a
thought of recognition came over her – accompanied by a wave of jealousy.

I
do believe I know her as well.

A
soft whisper reached her ears, breaking her free of her thoughts.  She turned
to see Nix, summoning her closer.  She made her way, staying as low as she
could, trying to creep as quietly as he had, but her gown brushed the dead
leaves.

“It’s
as I thought,” he told her. “I can see that it’s Calico.”

Calico…
  Wren felt a
sharp pain – the memory of a knife in her back.

Wren
had mixed feelings about this young savage, but had no trouble remembering
her.  She had been a source of trouble and pain; an instant rival.  But despite
the past, Wren’s conscience would not allow her to turn a blind eye.  The Tribal
girl was in trouble.  Times had changed, and by now Wren had certainly learned
that.  She wanted to help.  She did, however, wonder about Nix.

Nix
had his gaze affixed on the bound girl, but Wren could not tell what he was
thinking.  Was there any emotion in his eyes?

“We
can’t just leave her,” she said quietly as if he needed to be swayed.  She knew
it was a bit pointed, but wasn't able to retract it in time.  His singular eye
looked to her rather disappointedly.

“I’m
not that cold-hearted, Wren.”

She
suddenly felt like apologizing, but could not force herself.  “What will we do
then?”

He
shook his head.  “I see several pirates, but they all seem to be either drunk
or unconscious.  Then again, I do have you here.  Can’t risk your safety for
this.”

“But
she is the one in danger!” Wren protested.  “You would put one life over
another so swiftly?”

“You
are much more important to me than she is,” he said, and Wren was shocked to
silence.  What a statement to come from his mouth!

“Any
one of the others would take that into account as well,” he said as if to clear
himself of the declaration.

Though
his words had nearly taken the breath out of her, Wren softened a bit.  She was
ready to do what he instructed.

Nix
spent several moments observing the scene and Wren copied him, taking in what
she might.  A swaying pirate had leaned down and spoken something to Calico,
but he was soon on his way again.  Aside from that man, there were not many
others around, save for a few who were asleep against the buildings for lack of
better lodgings.  Though the way was relatively clear, Wren could not see
herself tiptoeing out into the open, but perhaps Nix would be a better
contender.

He’s
gone into danger before.
  Once, he’d pulled her out of a nightmare’s den. 
She had never known why he had done that either.

She
looked toward him now, seeing what she might learn from his features, and she
saw his face light up suddenly as a notion took hold.

“I
have an idea,” he said finally.

Wren
nodded, awaiting his instruction, but what he told her to do was not quite what
she’d expected.

“Stay
low and wait here.  This might take some time.”

“What
are you going to do?” she asked after him, but his mind was already wrapped around
his plan.

“When
it happens, you’ll know,” he said vaguely, rising up.  “And be ready to
run
if you have to.”

1

Wren
waited for a long time, crouched low in the bushes, wondering when Nix would
return.  She didn’t like being alone, but everything had been quiet around her,
even with the bay so close.  Still, that did not quite excuse him from leaving
her here.

Did
he leave me on purpose?  Where did he go?

As
she waited there, she kept a close eye on Calico, who was very subtly twisting
in her bonds, but with no luck.  Wren watched her, thinking at one moment of
how she despised the Tribal princess and then feeling guilty for it the next.

Time
had passed, yet it had not erased the memory of Calico’s lips on Rifter all
those years ago.  Sitting there, Wren began to feel the heat of jealousy, but
she lowered her head to hold it down.

A
long time has passed since then
, she reminded herself.

Wren
tried to turn her thoughts to other things, but they only returned to Nix. 
What was he planning?  And why was it taking so long?  Around her, the bay was
coming to life.  She could hear voices and see more movement as the pirates
began to amble about.  The longer Nix waited to take action, the more of their
enemies would be stirring.

If
we don’t act soon we’ll lose our chance!

She
turned her head, casting her eyes over the area with a sigh, reminding herself
that she could not risk a rescue on her own.

She
had no sooner told herself to relax when something unusual caught her eye.  The
movement of a dark shape had flicked past, stealing her attention.  There,
displayed against a large rock, she saw something she had not expected to see. 
There was a shadow against the stone, affixed in the daylight, and Wren did not
have to consider before she had recognized it.

The
shadow was her own, yet there was something more: it was a reflection of her
former self, as she had been four years ago when she had left Nevermor.  To see
it was a shock, but Wren was nearly overwhelmed with happiness.  If she could
have rushed over and hugged that shadow, she might have done it, but she did
not forget what it really was.  She did not forget the night that it chose her
– when she had fought with it so savagely, only to lose.

Cautiously,
Wren rose up to approach the mimic, knowing that she should leave it alone, but
she could not quite keep herself away.

It’s
my shadow.  It has my shape.  It needs me.  We need each other!

She
moved closer to the rock, and the shadow of her younger self did not move.  She
searched it for a sign – anything that might indicate that it wanted to come
back and be one with her again – placing her hand against the rock.  Finally,
she got a response.

The
shadow reached up, touching her hand for just a moment, and it changed shape,
reforming to match what she had become.  Wren was able to see how she had
changed four years in just a matter of seconds.  She saw how she had gotten
just slightly taller, how her hair had grown, her curls less voluminous.  She
witnessed how her frame had matured, and finally how her shoulders were drooped
in perpetual despair.

I
didn’t know I had changed so much.

She
tried to somehow make a connection with the shadow, as if to welcome it back to
herself, but the mimic was done with her.  It did not wish to be tied down, and
just after it had assumed her new shape, it dashed away into the trees and was
gone.

Wren
watched it go, helpless to stop it, saddened to think that even her shadow had
deserted her.  It had used her up and banished her from its presence, and Wren
couldn’t help thinking, in that moment, how much this made sense.

2

Through
the trees past the bay, Nix stepped forward at a steady pace.  A clear view of
the forest was before him, and though the fact that it did not burn and smolder
was a change, this served him well now.  He’d come away from Bleed Neck,
distancing himself from Wren as much to protect her as to be sure she did not
hinder him.  What he planned to do was not mere child’s play.

But
Nix was not afraid.

Around
his neck, he wore a short whistle made from the slender bones of a fairy wisp. 
It was light and airy, once used by a Tribal shaman.  Nix was well aware of the
effect it could have on the creatures of the world – and a particularly useful
one against the wisps themselves – though it only played one note.  He often
used it in his hunts.

He
moved along now, back in the direction he and Wren had traveled from, blowing
into the whistle at periodic intervals.  Though the note was silent to his own
ears, he knew others were not so immune, and soon he had heard what he was
after – an exquisite roar of anger from the mouth of a beast, ailing in the
distance.

Nix
smiled to himself.  There was no need to go farther.  His plan would go as he’d
hoped.

Time
to lure it in.

Turning,
he continued to blow into the whistle, increasing his pace to head back.  If
Wren had done as he’d told her, then she should have been untouched in her
hiding spot, but he felt strangely uneasy to have her out of his sight.  Now,
however, she was not the only girl that he had to concern himself with.

He
was uncertain of what his reunion with that fiery huntress would mean, but
helping her had never been a choice.  He supposed he owed her that much.  He’d
make sure she was freed, but that was as far as his dedication went.

Behind
him, he heard another roar – this one much closer.  He needed to be swift.

Whatever
fate befell that settlement after he’d retrieved Calico was none of his
concern. They were only pirates, after all.

Pirates
, he thought
with a sneer, keeping along with a mantra that had been laid down years
before. 
I fucking hate pirates.

3

As
much as Calico struggled against the ropes, the result was much the same as
every other time she had tried.  Her eyes kept turning back to the woods,
hoping to catch another glimpse of whoever had been there, but this was just as
futile as trying to free her hands.  Could it have only been her imagination? 
Her sanity fleeing her?  No, she was sure she had seen something.

The
ropes burned her skin from the twisting, and finally she became tired of the
effort.  She sighed deeply, ceasing struggle.  Her eyes closed in
disappointment and anger – but the sound of shuffling footsteps snapped her
awake.  A jolt of fear and hatred ran down through her, knowing that some of
her captors were ambling by, but she did not raise her eyes to them, keeping
forward as her breath rushed from her nostrils in heavy gusts.

“She
still won’t say nuffn’.  Ye think she really don’t know?” one of them
speculated.

“Why
da fuck ye think she’d talk to ye?  You know ‘ow savage women are.  Vicious
wildcats when they look et ye, but manage to break one, an’ she’ll purr like a
kitten.”

The
stinking pirate knelt down and grabbed her face harshly, forcing her to look at
him.  If Calico had any saliva left in her dry mouth, she would have spat on
him.

“How
much spirit ‘ave ye got left, pretty pony?”

She
didn’t favor him with a response, but the answer was shining through her eyes. 
There was a spark of life and hatred there.  She was not quite gone yet, and
she knew he saw it too.

“Guess
she’ll just sit here til she rots den–”

The
man got no further than that.  From out of nowhere, an arrow pierced his chest.

Calico
was surprised, but she did not worry for what was going on.  The spurt of blood
and instant confusion made her heart race.  She watched the other bandits
stagger back, and even those who had not approached began to shift.  Others
among them noticed that there was some sort of attack underway, but they did
not make it past their confusion.  More arrows came, and one by one, they fell
in their own blood.

The
Tribal girl was well-studied when it came to recognizing projectile weapons,
but these were so intricately placed that she could not tell where they came
from.  From behind her, no doubt, but whether they were to either side or
straight behind, she did not know.  It almost seemed to her that a small army
was shooting arrows from different locations.  Could there have been more than
a few?  She did not care as long as one of those arrows did not find her.

But
she recognized the feathering on the end…

At
a sudden jolt behind her on the pole, Calico felt the ropes loosen.  Her hands
had been freed!  She pulled her arms around quickly, peering at the backside of
the timber to see what had delivered her.  There, buried in the rough wood, was
a hatchet, thrown with perfect accuracy.  It was not a weapon as her people
would have made it, but the shape and weight was similar enough.

My
first love.

Calico
took the weapon into her skillful hands, turning immediately toward the pirates
that had not yet fallen by arrows.  She could have run, but she had not
forgotten those things that they had done to her.  Though weak and dehydrated,
she was resolved – filled with rage.  She would have her revenge on the rest,
and whomever was firing the arrows seemed to understand that.  The projectiles
were providing decent cover.

She
moved, forcing herself across the ground and on toward a rather shaken pirate. 
He fumbled with his gun at the sight of her approach, but he was not swift
enough.  She chopped into his reaching arm, cutting it to the bone.  The man
yelled out in pain and horror, but the sound was stifled as the hatchet hacked
into his neck.

After
the first one fell, a few foolish others attempted to battle her, but she exacted
her rage on them without hesitation.  Her fury intensified as their warm blood
drops splattered her skin, and even after the ones nearest to her had fallen,
she was not quite ready to shut down – but this would not do.  She could not
hope to face them all.

“
Come
on
!”

A
young man was yelling to her from the edge of the camp, waving her on. 
Nix.
 
She hesitated, unsure how she felt about seeing him again, but did not have
time to think about it before a flicker of light in the trees caught her eye. 
She turned in time to see an enormous flaming creature crash into the midst of
the camp.

Calico
was no fool when it came to the wild beasts of Nevermor.  This fiery fiend
looked like a bear to her, but she was not fooled.  It was a
nightmare
. 
She did not know where it had come from but knew she did not have time to
question.  The boardwalks caught fire beneath its feet, and the rickety
buildings flared up as well when it brushed past them.  Something had made this
nightmare angry, but it gave her pleasure to see the pirates leaping out of the
way as the monster raged through.  They shot at it with lead bullets, as if
there was any hope that would work.

Ignorant
bastards…

With
a little smile on her mouth, Calico managed to pick up her feet and rush toward
Nix, embracing her freedom into the wild where she had been raised.  She did
not stop when she reached him but flew past, racing out into the trees as far
as she could before weakness took her over.  She was tired – hungry and thirsty
– but she ran on pure adrenaline before falling to the ground.

Breathless,
she uttered a prayer to whatever good spirits remained over this land, thanking
them for her revenge and her deliverance.  Even if none heard, this calmed her
somewhat, letting her catch her breath.

When
she heard the footsteps behind her, Calico took up her weapon and came to
attention, though she had little hope of being fierce now.

She
was surprised enough to see Nix, but her shock was even greater to see the girl
with him.

This
pale girl – hadn’t she gone away?

The
couple moved closer but, before they were looking Calico in the face, the
one-eyed boy halted himself and made the girl stop as well – as if Calico was
some rabid animal they were approaching.

“Are
you alright?” the girl with the messy yellow curls asked.  She was disheveled
and damp now, but even in this state, she had not changed so much from what
Calico remembered – without even a scar for what she had done to this world! 
The look of the pale girl made her sick.

So
it was true: the girl, Wren, was back in this place, as predicted.  This
changed many things, yes; and Calico knew it.  Nix was with her, and who knew
what
his purpose was.

But
you know what your purpose is
, Calico told herself as she stared
daringly into Nix’s watchful eye. 
Act!

With
not nearly enough thought on the matter, Calico dashed forward and snatched
Wren’s wrist harshly, pulling her deeper into the trees.

1

“Wait!”
Wren cried in protest as she was pulled along, but she could not get herself
free from Calico’s grip.  “Really, this isn’t necessary!”