Forsaken Dreamscape (Nevermor) (37 page)

Finn
took a deep breath, looking straight into her with his luminous eyes.  “I spoke
with Calico last night,” he began.

“Yes?”
she said anxiously.  Finally, was she going to hear it?

“She
probably wouldn’t like me to tell you, but I thought you should know.  She saw
a vision and, it’s got her thinking some bad things – about
you
.”

“Me?” 
Wren was stunned.  Calico had been acting strangely toward her since the
beginning.  Was this something new, or an old vendetta?

“She
said she saw dark clouds rolling over the old Tribal camp.  There was a light
there, and a dark stranger, standing on the hill.  Then, the clouds slowly
covered everything, and it was dark.  Lightning flashed and the stranger was
gone.  And you were standing in his place.  There was fire.”

Wren
listened, but was not sure what he had meant for her to see.

“What
does it mean?”

“She
wouldn’t
say,” he said. “Only that it troubled her.  I’ve thought about
it myself, but haven’t been able to make sense of it.  I don’t know if she even
does.  But the fact that she saw you in the vision seemed to upset her.”

Wren
listened, waiting for him to go on, but he said nothing else for the moment. 
It was just as well.  One thing she had learned was that if she wanted to know
something, she had to ask.  None of them liked to tell her things willingly.

“Does
it bother
you
?” she asked, trying to choose her words carefully. “Do you
trust her dream?  Do you think it’s an omen about meeting Rifter?”

Finn
was silent a moment, staring at the cloth wall of the tent in thought, watching
the shadows pass.

“I’ve
found no reason to let it keep me away,” he said.  “I don’t think we completely
understand everything yet, but I feel that our answers will be there with
Rifter.  Danger or not, my curiosity will not let me turn back.  I must know
the truth about his memories.”

With
that, Wren could agree.

“But
one thing Calico did tell me was that her Tribal settlement isn’t far once we
cross the canyon.  She says they are peaceful.  We can stay the night there and
we can take whatever supplies we need.”

“That’s
good news at least,” she said.  There was a dire lack of good news lately.

“Is
Nix leaving?” Finn asked suddenly.

A
shock ran through her but she calmed when she realized that Finn had not meant
to ask if Nix was leaving
at this moment
.  She considered if Nix
wouldn’t want it to be Finn’s business, but it wouldn’t be too much longer
before he found out anyway.

“I
really don’t know,” she said. “He’s still considering it.  Why do you ask?”

He
raised his head.  “I was just thinking that there isn’t much farther to
travel.  Crossing the canyon with Mach’s help will save us some time – we hope
– but Calico says that the only people living in the plains are of her tribe,
and, well, I was just thinking, if Nix leaves, and maybe we don’t find the
others, there will only be two of us.  Toss and me.  I’m not so sure Rifter
will be pleased with that.”

Wren
was in shock at his words.  Though she didn’t want to, she began to consider it
herself.  Would Rifter be angry with her if all she brought to him were two of
the six?  Perhaps he would.  Would he blame that on her?

She
shook her head to put the thoughts away.  She couldn’t think these things. 
When they got there, Rifter would have to take what she brought.  She couldn’t
disregard the possibility that perhaps Rifter had found the remaining boys on
his own.

“Rifter
will take what he gets,” said Wren, angered by the thought of him refusing
them. “We’re all doing the best we can.  I can’t force others to do what they
don’t want to.”

Finn
nodded with a nervous smile.  “It’s just been so long,” he said, “since we’ve
all seen him, you know.  I’d feel much more confident if I had all the others
with me.”

Wren
smiled, unsure of what to say, but the truth was.  She felt the same way
herself.  She wanted them all with her, to be surrounded by those who were
familiar and dear when she faced the uncertain future.

“Well
you can count on me.  I’ll be there with you, no matter what,” she assured him.

Though
it wasn’t much, it seemed to console Finn for the time.  He smiled gratefully
at her.  Now, if she could only stop the nagging in the back of her own mind,
insisting that she do as Nix had suggested to her.

Don’t
go to meet Rifter.  Stay away.

“So
you’re sure about Mach, are you?” Finn asked.  “It’s really him?”

“I’m
sure of it.  I just don’t know why he doesn’t remember us, or where his brother
Mech is, for that matter.”

“It
seems strange that he doesn’t remember,” Finn reflected, “unless he’s faking
it.  What better way to dodge meeting Rifter than to pretend he never knew him
in the first place.”

Wren
had been thinking that same thing.

“Well!”
Finn said abruptly as a shadow veered too close to the tent.  “I guess it’s
time to get to work then – on the bridge.”

She
looked at him narrowly.  “Are you sure your leg is alright?”

“Of
course it’s fine.  You think a few scratches will stop me?”

Wren
was not so sure.  Before he could think to stop her, she knelt down to the
ground and inspected his bandages, peeling away at the cloth to check out the
damage beneath.  He didn’t try to turn her away from it, and once she had
peeled away the first layer, she was met with a surprise.

He’d
said that a few scratches would not stop him.  Scratches were all that were
left.  His flesh had closed itself overnight.  She looked up at him for an
answer, but could not get the question out.

“I
told you,” he said with a satisfied smile, “I’m a
fast
healer.”

2

The
canyon was deep and jagged, hewn down into the rock where a river had once
been, now reduced to a miniscule stream of water below.  Wren tried not to look
down into it.  It made her feel disoriented.

They
had emerged into the gray daylight from the mountain’s base, but even the
smallest amount of natural light hurt her eyes after being underground for so
long.  Wren squinted against the sun as she peered across the canyon, noting
the distant flat ground which came off the plateau and into the plains.

 
It’s
not far now
, she thought with as much pleasure as nervousness. 
We’re almost
there
.

Wren
tried to remember the time when she had first seen Nevermor as a whole – when
Rifter had taken her up into the clouds and given her a view of it all.  It was
a distant memory now, but she did not dwell on it.  There was plenty to be done
and she intended to do her part.

She
examined the others, who at the very least seemed rested.  She paid closer
attention to Nix, whom she was not sure how to approach after last night’s
events.  She had rejected him, though she hadn’t even realized she’d done it.

Now
he will leave for certain
.

When
he noticed her gaze, he simply stared back at her, but his face gave nothing
away.

“Alright,
here’s the plan,” Mach said, opening up a scroll of paper where he’d made his
calculations.  “I’ve made note of three points to set charges to disengage the
rocks.  If set off at the right time, the chunks should wedge together when
they fall and bridge the way across.  It’ll be right here at this spot.”

“Where
did you get that much gunpowder?” Finn asked, impressed.

“It
was left here by pirates, among other things.  No one ever came back for it, so
I thought I’d help myself.”

“That’s
decent luck.”

“What
if this doesn’t work?” Nix asked, clearly skeptical of the whole thing.

“Then
you’ll have to cross the long way,” Mach said mockingly.  “Any more questions?”

“What
are we supposed to do?” Toss asked.

“You
get to help me move the powder kegs.  They aren’t feather-light, you know.”

He
pointed to the map and indicated the spots in the mountain where the charges
would go, but Wren didn’t give it much attention.  Instead she was looking into
the distance, feeling nervous and yet anxious that it was closer, drawing her
toward the end.

“We’ll
have a bit of an incline to work with, but there are several of us, so I don’t
expect that to be a problem,” Mach said.  “Alright then, the kegs are back at
camp.  Get to it.”

The
others began to shuffle back – Nix at least, scoffed at Mach’s orders, but
still he went.  He did not give Wren special attention as he had before, not
seeming concerned whether or not he left her alone.  That was well enough for
her.  She had her own ideas.

Mach
hesitated, rolling up the scroll where his plans had been marked, and Wren saw
an opportunity to address him directly.  When he turned to follow behind them,
he appeared surprised that she was still there.

“Aren’t
you going with them?” he asked curtly.

“I’d
rather walk with you.”

He
laughed – a huff of annoyance.  “I’m flattered, but you’re not my type.  The
whole ‘sweet and innocent’ guise isn’t really working for me.”

He
tucked the plans in his back pocket and tried to walk past her, but Wren was
determined not to be shut down.

“Are
you certain we don’t know each other?  Doesn’t it seem odd that I know your
name?”

“You
might have heard it somewhere else,” he said, stopping in front of her.  “I
already told you all you need to know,
Wren
.”

“I’m
just trying to get to know you,” she said, trying to be pleasant.

“Like
I said, you’re not my type.”

He
stepped around her, aiming to get away from this conversation, but she had more
to throw at him.

“Are
you sure you don’t have a brother?” she pressed.  “Maybe it’s him that I
remember.”

Mach
sighed, turning his face up toward the sky in exasperation.

“Fine,
if it’ll shut you up, I’ll tell you a story,” he said rapidly, facing her. 
“It’s about a boy who got mixed up with the wrong crowd.  His new friends were
selfish, greedy and violent – and worst of all, they were
paranoid
.  The
boy found himself hiding among his peers, fearing the day that they might find
out his secret, but he had to stay.  He had to be what they were because he
couldn’t go back to his old life.  The new way was all he had.”

Wren
tried to see into the story, to discover what he was really telling her.  He
had already admitted to being among pirates, and she believed that was what he
meant.  She was also under the impression that Mach’s memory was not as blank
as he’d intended for them to believe, but still there was no mention of Mech.

“One
day, the others started to get suspicious,” Mach went on.  “But after months of
the darkness, everyone was starting to look like a backstabber.  They started
to point fingers in the boy’s direction – claimed him to be a traitor.  They
tried to kill him, and in the process of that, he lost part of himself.  After
that, all he could think about was revenge.”

Revenge?
  Wren had her
own feelings about that.  She had never been one to seek out violence, and she
had seen the damage it could do.

“So,
the boy built a living machine, made for destruction.  He wanted revenge, and
eventually one day, he got it.  After that, he went on to live his life alone. 
End of story.”

Wren
knew a thing or two about what that sort of desire could do to a person.  They
had all seen it on Rifter years ago as he’d relentlessly sought the Scourge.

“Did
it make him feel better – this revenge?” she asked, already sure of the answer,
but when he looked at her, she second guessed herself.  There was a vicious
smile on his mouth.

“It
was the most beautiful fucking day of his life.”

Wren
was startled by that.  Mach decided against fleeing for the moment, stepping
closer to her, lowering his face nearer to hers as if to tell her a secret.

“If
you are
Wren
, as you say you are, then I’d be surprised if you weren’t
considering a bit of revenge yourself.  My advice?  Take every piece of it that
you can get.”

“What
do you mean?” 

Mach
seemed to know exactly of what he spoke.  “As the story goes, a certain fairy
wisp did something terrible to you.  She deserves to be punished, right?  And
why shouldn’t she be?  But who’s going to do it if not you?  You deserve that.”

Whisper.
  Wren knew that
she had been wronged by that wisp who hated her.  The last two years of her
life had been torment because of those few moments on the rooftop of Miss
Nora’s Home for Wayward Children, led by the fairy’s spell.

Mach
watched her, observed the gears turning in her mind as she processed what he’d
said, and smiled nastily when he saw that there were no more words in her
mouth.