Forsaken Dreamscape (Nevermor) (20 page)

She
nodded, agreeing that she’d had her fill of the heat.  He proceeded to spill
the water over the flames, drenching the ashes and making the smoke rise.  The
blaze extinguished with a hiss.

“She
was more exhausted than you, apparently,” he noted, looking over at Calico, who
at least
appeared
to be sleeping soundly.  Then again, Wren supposed if
the girl had wanted to run off with her again, she would have done it while Nix
was away.

Wren
smiled nervously as she wrapped her arms around her knees, drawing them against
her chest.  She shivered and tiny bumps rose on the flesh of her arms.  Nix
looked at her in amusement.

“Now
you’re cold?” he asked through the foggy darkness.

“Right
after you put the fire out.  Very sorry,” she laughed.

He
sat down beside her on the ground, letting his long legs extend before him,
leaning back against the tree.

“Once
you fall asleep, you won’t notice,” he told her, inhaling from the pipe.

“Oh,
I won’t sleep,” she muttered lowly.  She felt her face flush when he looked
over at her, embarrassed that this had come out of her mouth.  “I mean, this
wood is kind of...  Perhaps the silence is some sort of ruse.”

“Possible,”
Nix agreed.  Wren had been hoping he’d disagree with her.  “This world is
infested with creatures of the dark.”

Smoke
rolled from his mouth.  Wren caught the smell in her nose.  It smelled heady
and sweet – like her father’s house.  That memory seemed worlds away now.

“You
sound ominous, but not too worried,” she said with a questioning look.

“I
like a challenge,” he replied with a smirk.  “Not many can best me, you know.”

That
was quite a statement.  A little smile came to her own mouth.

“What’s
that about?” he wanted to know.

Wren
bit her lip.  Not too much escaped him.

“I’m
sorry.  You just reminded me of Rifter then,” she said.

He
was silent a moment, and Wren realized she had not considered whether or not he
would appreciate the comment.

“Is
that so?” he asked finally, turning his face from her and looking over the
trees.

“I’m
sorry for comparing you to him,” she backtracked suddenly. “Truly, I…”

“It’s
alright,” he interjected, halting her.  “Maybe that was always our problem.  We
were too much alike.”  He paused.  “I suppose as far as
you’re
concerned, it’s a compliment.”

Wren
was astonished at his words.  Nix had never been the kind to admit when he was
wrong.  In that also, he was like Rifter – or perhaps just like any other
member of the male sex.  Had he changed that much?

“No,
you and Rifter are on bad terms,” she apologized.  “I shouldn't have said it.”

“But
you think a lot of him.  Therefore a comparison by you is not a bad thing.”

She
smiled and looked over the remaining embers of the campfire.  Perhaps she was
even blushing.  “I suppose that’s a good way to take it.”

At
that, her mind began to wander.  Where was Rifter now?  What was he doing?  She
missed him, despite how his face had changed.  Perhaps that was why she had
placed Nix in his shoes for that short moment.

“So,
what is so great about him in your eyes?” Nix asked, breaking the silence. 
“I've always wondered what you saw in him, damaged as he was.  You must know
that while he was the best, he was also the worst of us.”

“I–”
Wren began, thinking it would be a simple thing to explain, but she found
herself without words.  Perhaps Rifter was
damaged
in ways, but she had
seen many good qualities in him.  He was brave, honorable, and protective.  He
was compassionate, and though he did not flinch at killing, he knew how to show
mercy.  He had proven that he cared about her more than himself, and that was enough
to erase the bad things.

The
first time that he had kissed her, she had known that she loved him.  She had
wanted to be with him forever – but she wouldn't bore Nix with those details.

“I
don't know that I can explain it,” she said finally.  “I just know that I care
about him, even still.”

“If
only all women were so easy to tame,” Nix mused.  He looked at the sky, but
Wren had the notion that he was speaking of Calico.  On top of that, the
comment managed to insult her.  She was not an animal.

“I
don’t know that I would say it like that,” she said sullenly.

“Do
tell me then: what prompts that sort of love?”

Wren
felt her face grow hot once again.  She might have gone on babbling had she not
felt the need to defend herself in this.

“Well,
he did save my life, you know.  On several occasions.”

“So
he swoops in – in that heroic fashion – and sweeps you off your feet?  That’s
all he was ever good at, you know.”

His
voice trailed off into nothing.  Wren detected the disgust in his voice.  She
didn’t want to demand harshly, but she couldn’t sit unknowing any longer.  She
couldn’t bear his judgment.

“What
makes you
hate
him?” she asked finally, accusingly.  “Did it happen as
Calico said?”

Nix
took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he rested his head against the tree.

“He
changed.  Was it the demon?  Perhaps.  I left because of his strangeness, but I
didn’t
leave with the intention of never coming back.  I guess I figured
this game would end.  But it was not a game.

“I
heard that only a short while after I left, Rifter came looking for me,” he
went on.  “He stayed away from the other boys and looked for me for months, or
so I was told.  He never found me.  After that, he returned to them.  They say
he had changed even more – the
demon
had taken him completely.  The boys
realized that I was right, and one by one, they left.  After that, Rifter
withdrew himself, and most of us thought he was dead.”

“Where
did you hear those things if you never spoke to the other boys again?”

Nix
lifted his pipe and indicated the sleeping Tribal girl.  It was as Wren had
suspected.  They had known one another well.

“Was
there something between the two of you?” Wren asked, perhaps speaking more
boldly than she should have.

“She
and I…  We did carry on a bit.  After I left Rifter, that was over,” he said
without much feeling.  “Later on, a small group of her broken tribe lived in
the woods for a short while.  She found me again, but I didn’t want anything to
do with her or anyone else.  I wanted to be alone.  Still, she advanced, telling
me what I should do and that I should go back to make things right with
Rifter.  If I did, the other boys would follow; we were Nevermor’s only hope –
or something of that sort.  Of course, I didn’t take heed.”

“Why?”

“Anger? 
Hatred?  Confusion?  Who knows?  I’ll open it up for suggestions if you'd
like.”

The
tone of his voice hushed her.  His patience with this was fading.  Wren tried
to think of something less offensive to say, but Nix was not done.

“Do
you know Rifter as well as you think you do?” he asked instead.

Wren
hesitated.  What was he getting at?  Of course she knew Rifter.  She had seen
the darkest part of him.  She had viewed his memories and she had forgiven him
of so many things.  Why not this?

“Yes,”
she said with belief.

“And
the fact that he has a demon inside him does not bother you?”

She
had to admit to herself that it
did
bother her.  She was still uncertain
about it, but she hoped that the demon had nothing to do with this corruption. 
Rifter said it had not, and she believed him – and she would believe him up
until the moment that it was disproved without a shadow of doubt.

“He
says he is in control of it and I believe him.”

I
saw him drink that mermaid’s blood
.  He was not himself, then.  She tried
to push that image away.

Nix
didn’t respond, looking out through the trees and dark, but she knew that his
mind was still working.

“Has
he really changed that much?” she asked, a defensive edge to her voice.

“If
I didn’t think he had, I wouldn’t be talking about it,” he said sternly.

Wren
still hadn’t caught his drift.  Was he trying to prove to her that she couldn’t
trust Rifter?  Even after he saw how insistent she was on helping him?  But Nix
was willing to help her find the other boys.  If he’d thought that it was a bad
idea, he wouldn’t have agreed to it.

Perhaps.

“I
didn’t get the chance to talk to him very much,” she defended.  “It was so
sudden when he brought me here.  I guess I didn’t pay much attention.  It was
just…  After everything I’ve been through…”

Wren
stopped, knowing he didn’t want to hear about her troubles in the other world. 
He glanced at her, but didn’t ask her to go on.  She didn’t.

“Sounds
too much like the
old
Rifter.  I’d say he was gaining your sympathy for
reminding you of what he
was
instead of what he
is
.”

He
was silent a moment, releasing a sigh and a cloud of smoke.  Wren looked toward
him with a wounded expression on her face.

“I
still don’t quite understand why you are so hard on Rifter,” she said.  “I've
always known you to stand against him, but yet you were loyal when he needed
you.  What broke your resolve?”

“We
took the Vow, as did you, and we promised never to change.  But Rifter broke
it. 
Rifter
changed, not us.  I had to set an example for my brothers.”

Wren
leaned her head against the tree in thought after Nix didn’t reopen his eyes. 
How could everyone question Rifter so?  He was only trying to save them.  Did
no one appreciate it?  This pained Wren deeply.  No matter how much she tried
to defend him, so many things kept coming up against Rifter.  Could he really
be…?

She
snapped from her thoughts when she felt a light touch on her arm.  Looking
down, she found Nix’s hand resting gently on her wrist.  The skin of his
fingers was hard with calluses.  She must admit, it had come as a surprise, but
then she had realized he only wanted to check the bandage on her arm where the
mimic had cut her.

“It’s
healing well,” he commented after he had unwound the bandage.  “The salve must
be working.”

“Salve?”

“I
treated the wound while you were sleeping.”

Wren
cast her eyes down at the yellowish residue on her arm and curled her lip in
disgust.

“Don’t
worry,” he said, catching her expression.  “It’s only aloe and squirrel urine.”

Wren
knew the expression she made was ridiculous when he laughed at her.

“Only
joking,” he promised, covering her arm with the bandages again.  She felt
embarrassed, but sighed with relief, resisting her desire to scold him long
enough to appreciate how boyishly handsome he was when he smiled, but he soon
became serious again.

“Wren,”
he started, touching her hand, at which she was jolted.  She looked at him with
full concentration, her blue eyes staring into the one that looked back at
her.  “I want you to listen to me carefully.  I’m telling you this now, because
I may not be around later and you’ll have plenty of time to think about it.

“For
your own sake, don’t take what Rifter says to be the truth, just because he is
Rifter.  Please, don’t take what I say either, or what anyone else tells you. 
You’ve grown as well, even beyond your time here.  You owe it to yourself – and
to us – to think this through and form your own idea.  You may be the only one
who is not blinded by this corruption.”

He
expressed every word carefully, his gaze firm, and she could not help but give
weight to what he said.  He had told her things in the past and, though not all
friendly, they were always the blunt truth.

And
somehow, she could not stop thinking about the warmth of his hand against hers.

“So
you have resigned yourself to leave already, have you?” she forced herself to
ask.

“My
doubts are gathering more and more,” he said, removing his hand.  The warmth
from his skin faded quickly.

“I
suppose I have to respect your choice when the time comes.”

“Yes,”
he nodded, assuring her.  “When my mind is made up, there is nothing anyone can
say that will make me change it.”

She
understood.  If he wanted to leave, she could not help it.  At least she had
tried to convince him.  She hoped, however, that he didn’t decide to leave
before she had figured him out, or at least before she had found more help, but
for now, she yawned.  She couldn’t avoid it; she would have to rest.

Nix
leaned back and put his arm behind his head.

She
was tired, and still unsure, but perhaps things could be dealt with in the
morning.  She let her eyes close as she lay there, resting but not asleep.