Forsaken Dreamscape (Nevermor) (32 page)

To
hear him say that touched her.  She was caught there, looking in his eyes, but
before she could consider the matter deeply, Finn’s voice had interrupted.

“Now
that everyone is reunited, what do you say we get out of here?”

“Not
too early for my taste,” Calico seconded blandly.  Wren wouldn’t disagree.  She
was as ready to leave was they were.

Nix
looked up at the large boy beside Finn.  He smiled shortly at the sight of him,
and Wren was glad to see his recognition as well.  It seemed none of them could
hold a grudge against this gentle giant.

“Good
to see you, Toss,” he said before carrying on.  “Do these tunnels connect with
the mountain caves?”

Toss
nodded positively.  “Aye, farther on,” he said.

“Good,”
said Nix, adjusting his satchel across his back. “Take us that way.”

1

Wren
shielded herself from the cold as the dirt tunnels finally led into the caves. 
She wasn’t sure if her relief of being out of Vork territory was enough to
counter her fear of the unknown ahead, but she kept her focus set on being brave. 
The others were with her.

Toss
had told them that he didn’t venture into the caves often because of the
darkness.  There were many pits and drop-offs.  He’d tried to map them once,
but hadn’t gotten far in the venture.  Even so, he seemed to believe that he
could lead them through to the mountainside.

Wren
could already hear the water trickling in the distance.  She hung near the back
with Nix and Calico as Toss and Finn led the way through, chatting
conversationally.

“Toss,
old boy!  You have no shadow!  Did you lose it again?”

“Oh,
that old thing took off ages ago.  I don’t regret it.  It made me look fat.”

Finn
laughed heartily and Wren smiled.  It was good to see them taking up with each
other again. 
Well, most of them.
  Calico had said nothing since they’d
begun heading back to the surface, and Wren didn’t ask why, somehow feeling it
would be wrong to.  Maybe it was nothing to worry about, but Calico’s silence seemed
resentful.

Wren
looked toward Nix, who watched everything – the floor, the ceiling, the walls –
everything.
  He wouldn’t be caught unawares.  As she walked beside him,
she took his arm to keep herself steady, and he made no response to it.  She
searched her mind for a way to talk him into seeing Rifter.  There must be some
way!  If she paid close attention to everything and found some evidence to
support him–

“Wren…” 
Nix had called for her attention, breaking through her thoughts.  “What is
Rifter doing now?”

She
was surprised by his sudden words.  Hadn’t he asked her this before?

“Were
you telling the truth when you said he didn’t tell you?  It could be
important,” he insisted, not seeming to care how accusatory that sounded.  She
tried not to be insulted.

“He
wouldn’t tell me,” she said firmly.  “That’s the truth.”

Nix
hummed thoughtfully.  She wondered if he believed her.

A
disgusted sigh nearby shook her and Wren snapped back to see Calico brush past
them hurriedly, moving to the front of the group.  Beside her, Nix chuckled.

“What
was that about?” Wren asked.

He
managed to stifle his amusement after a moment, not looking back at her for
whatever unknown reason he kept to himself.

“She
hates me,” he said simply and unfeelingly.

“She
thinks it is your fault that everyone left Rifter, like she said before?”

He
nodded.  “She grew up on stories of the Rifter and his feats – his
powers
. 
To her, he is a near mythical figure with god-like status.  He is the only true
force, and she stands by that.”

“Surely
she can’t find a way to blame everything on
you
,” Wren whispered with
wide eyes.  Unconsciously, her fingers slipped down his arm, searching for his
hand, and he welcomed her fingers into his own.  It was casual; she was hardly
aware she’d done it.

“Everything
with us – Rifter’s loyal Wolf Pack,” he sneered.  “She says he waited so long
to fight because of what
I
did, and he doesn’t have the confidence he
did before because his own are not behind him.  But I guess you’re set out to
fix that, aren’t you?”

His
voice was strange, but she decided not to ask.  She didn’t want to encourage
thoughts of hatred.

Wren
didn’t get the chance to say anything else before she saw that the group ahead
of them had stopped.  She was about to ask why, but then saw it for herself,
releasing Nix’s hand.  The way before them had disappeared beneath an endless
pool of water that swept away from them and faded into the dark.

The
thought of the hideous mermaid resurfaced in her mind, and she shuddered.

“The
cavern’s flooded,” said Finn, glowing eyes peering back at them. “We aren’t
getting through.”

“We
have
to go this way,” Nix insisted, stepping forward.

“I
hope you’re a good swimmer then.”

Wren
moved closer, but made sure to stay behind them.  She could not see as far as
Finn, but she could tell that the cavern was a lake.  The icy water chilled the
room.  Despite the aid of the Tikilin, she shivered.  Nix said they had to go
this way?  He wasn’t going to back down; she’d learned that.  And he was
right.  There was nothing back in that wasteland for them.  She supposed the
best thing to do was start looking for a way across.

“Any
ideas?” she asked, hoping that someone would speak up.  Unfortunately, they all
seemed as lost as she did.

“We
have a bit of ash,” Nix reminded her.  He squeezed the small bag tied to Wren’s
wrist.  “But I don’t imagine there’s enough for all of us.”

“Hey,
wait a minute,” said Finn suddenly, peering out across the water.  He adjusted
the focus on his goggles a bit.  “There’s a raft over there.”

They
all tried to look, but of course he was the only one who could see it through
the dark.

“It
looks kind of old,” he went on. “Maybe something that washed up from the sea.”

What
luck!
 
Wren thought happily.  It was not the best thing they could have hoped for, but
it was something at least.

Nix
held out his hand to her and she looked at him, puzzled a moment before
realizing that he wanted the bag of fairy ash.  She held her arm out and he
untied it from her wrist.

“Use
it,” he told Finn.  “It’s not a lot but it should be enough to make you fly. 
You can go across to get the raft.”

Nix
tossed him the bag.  He caught it aptly as Wren wondered if this was truly
their best option.  Flying was something that had been reserved only for Rifter
in the past.  Whisper had given them blessings to enhance their performance in
battle, but the possession of the ash was forbidden.  Those, however, were
Rifter’s old rules.  They didn’t matter now – had hardly mattered back then.

It
is what we have to do
,
Wren told herself.

“This
is more like it, isn’t it?” Finn said with a crooked grin.  “What sort of
journey would this be without a few blind risks?”

Finn
smiled when he said it, but Wren wondered if he was nervous.  He didn’t
complain, however, dumping the ash into his hand and proceeding to distribute
it all over himself.  Wren had only ever put it on her shoes.  The magic had
made her hover, but she had never flown by herself except in dreams.

Finn
made haste with the dust.  It took him a moment to get going well, since it had
been so long, but soon he had gained the confidence to push himself into the
air.  He kept low, but was maneuvering quite well and disappeared into the
dark.

“How’s
the water look?” Toss called after him.

“As
far as I can tell?  Pretty damn deep.”

His
voice bounced across the walls, making it hard to discern his position. Wren
simply stared out into the nothingness, wondering again if this was the best
plan that they could have come up with.  Finn was out there alone in the
darkness that was only clear through his eyes.  She worried about him, but as
long as he kept talking, she was content.  But if something did go wrong, there
would be no way to help him.  His voice was getting farther away now as he told
them what he saw ahead.

“The
raft is empty.  It doesn’t look like there’s anything on it, and it doesn’t
look like anyone has used it in a long time.  But I can see that the dirt on
this side is giving way to rock.  We should be very close to the mountains
now.”

Wren
wrapped her arms around her body for warmth and assurance.  She promised
herself that he was right, but could not think of much more than how chilly it
was.  She hovered closer to Nix and Toss, attempting to steal a bit of their
warmth, hoping for Finn’s safe return.

2

Finn
felt his feet touch down against the small rocks of the other shore and
breathed a sigh of relief.  His legs felt weak, but he was glad to be on solid
ground again.  It had been a long time since he’d flown – the only time in his
life that he could recall – and Wren had been right about it: flying was not at
all like falling and it was even less like jumping.  Not having a surface to
press off of if he needed it had made him nervous, and he was glad that it was
over now.

Time
to get to work.

He
adjusted his goggles and looked around, preparing to give the report.  His
words fell on their awaiting ears.

“I
can feel air from the back but I can’t see anything.  It’s only more darkness
farther on,” he called.  “But the cave doesn’t end here.  We can go this way.”

“Are
we going to be able to use the raft?” Nix called.

Finn
stepped across the shifting rocks and looked down at the raft bobbing at the
water’s edge.  He was unsure of how it had gotten here, but his guess was that
it had been here for a while.  It was wedged against the bank in the calm water
and nothing was there to disturb its place.  The wood was strong, and not
completely rotten, but he guessed it was only safe to carry a couple across at
a time.

“We
can use it,” he said.  “But only one at a time with me.  I’ll run the trips.”

On
the other side, he could hear Nix directing the others.

“I’ll
go first,” he ordered them. “Then Wren, Calico, and Toss you’ll hold up the
end.”

“Got
it, captain,” Toss agreed.  The girls said nothing.  There was no real need to,
only to do what had to be done.

Finn
made the raft mobile again with his boot and climbed onto it, creating a
disturbance in the still water.

“I’m
bringing it over.”

3

Through
moments of quiet, they waited.  The sound of the water beneath the approaching
raft was soothing, yet it came forth eking out their patience.  There wasn’t
one of them who wasn’t holding his breath for doubts of safety.  No sigh would
escape until they felt confidence at the distant shore beneath their feet.

“Water
still calm?” asked Nix, his voice carrying to the high cavern walls.

Finn’s
voice returned without a smidge of doubt.  He was getting closer.

“Smooth
sailing for now,” he promised.  “This must be some sort of mountain cove where
the water has rushed in underneath.  Maybe the raft just washed in from there.”

“Perhaps,”
said Nix agreeably as Finn finally reached land.

Nix
did not waste time.  He stepped quickly onto the raft and shoved away from the
bank, the two of them making the trip back across the water.  There was no
doubt a need to have this done with quickly.

“You’re
next, Wren,” Toss reminded her, though she hardly needed it.

She
remembered, though as she stood on the edge of the shore listening to the
boat’s disturbance in the calm water, her heart filled with dread.  She feared
stepping foot on the raft, though Finn would be beside her the whole way, and
even if she made it across without trouble, who was to say the others would? 
She had a bad feeling.  Was it because of the water?  Or the darkness?

Or
am I simply paranoid?
 
Either way, there was nothing but to await her turn.

4

The
cavern around them yawned and sighed.  It dripped like an enormous, salivating
monster, and perhaps that was very much what it was.  They had always believed
that the world was alive – that it could feel and connect as well as any of
them.  Perhaps in this corruption, it had become a living nightmare as well,
set on devouring them all.

Wren
felt uncomfortable on the raft.  Every slight movement threw off the balance,
sending it rocking to and fro, making her worried that it would overturn.  Finn
did not seem to mind, but that was not new to Wren.  Most of them were more
surefooted than she was.  She drew her legs up against her and finally he
pulled her back toward the center, closer to him.