Forsaken Dreamscape (Nevermor) (51 page)

I
don’t sleep.
 
“And you?” she inquired.

“Who
knows what will happen in the night.  Someone has to be alert.  But I can’t
afford for you to be tired.  None of us can.”

He
was avoiding her.  Why?  Wren rose up, carrying the blanket with her to plant
herself beside him.  He didn’t say anything when she did so, simply examining
his knife before taking to it again with a whet stone.

Wren
needed conversation now, even if it was meaningless, to know that he was there
with her.  She started off on the first thing that came into her mind.

“How
do you think they really feel about all this?” she asked him.

Though
all she truly wanted was his acknowledgment, this was something she had been
thinking of earlier on in the night.  Rifter took the pipe from his mouth,
examining the dottle before dumping it out and then placing the pipe on the
ground.

“I
don’t suppose we’ll truly know until it’s over,” he said with an air of calm
that did not surprise her.  Of course he hadn’t changed, and why should she
have suspected it.  This was what she’d fallen in love with, after all.  All
those times in the beginning when he’d, as Nix, asked her why she loved Rifter,
he was only trying to get her to realize the truth.

Wren
looked away from him and off into the dark distance.  Was the demon there, just
beyond the edge of the shadows, waiting until she fell asleep before it would
kill everyone she loved?  Wren felt many different sorts of anxiety, but there
was something deep in her stomach that felt very strange.  She remembered the
fire that had been put there, and she wondered if perhaps it was flaring up.

“I
can’t stop thinking that something bad is going to happen,” she whispered
without truly knowing it.

“There’s
a war coming,” he said.

“Yes,
I know.”

Rifter
stopped his work, shifting his eye back to her.  “I’m not going to let anything
happen to you, Wren.”

She
looked at him a moment in silence.  It wasn’t hard to believe him; he’d never
let her down before.  Her pause wasn’t for that, but she thought he might say
something else.  He did not, and so it was up to her once again.

“I’m
not only worried about myself, you know.”

He
gave a short nod of understanding.  “I’m going to handle it.”

He
attempted to return to his work, but Wren didn’t allow it.  She stretched her
hand across to his wrist and clenched his arm tightly, stopping him from
sharpening his dagger.

“Rifter,
I need to ask you something.”

He
didn’t respond, and he didn’t have to before she had gone on.

“I
need to know what’s going to happen when this is over,” she said carefully.

He
was distant – quiet as he stared at the blade.  “I’m not sure I can even
consider the future right now.  I’ve cast it off for too long.”

“I
understand that,” she said, and saw surprise in his eye when he finally looked
at her.  “But I need to know at least one thing.  I need to know what’s going
to happen with
Whisper
.”

He
looked at her blankly, and Wren guessed he had not considered Whisper in a long
time either.  The bond that he and the wisp had once shared had been broken
long ago.

“I
haven’t given Whisper any thought,” he admitted.  “I banished her after what
she did, and I considered myself finished with her.”

“I’m
not sure that banishment is good enough,” Wren said.  Her words surprised even
her when she heard the anger in her own voice.

“I–”
he started but wasn’t sure how to finish.  “I don’t know what will happen when
I see her again.  There is a demon to be dealt with first.”

Wren
didn’t say anything to that, and he didn’t ask her for more of her thoughts. 
He turned back to his weapons.

“You
are still angry with me, aren’t you?” she blurted.

All
she could think about was how she had gone on and on about
Rifter’s
plan
to fix the world, and how he had constantly told her that there was no plan at
all.

“It’s
my own fault,” he admitted openly.  “I should have taken precautions against
all this, but I never expected it would happen.”

At
that, she saw him slipping away from her, growing distant again.  He reached
for his sword, aiming to soothe it with oil.

“You
should go lie down,” he told her in his very persuasive – and dismissive – way.

He
put his blindside to her, but Wren was not going to let him escape.

“Rifter,
I don’t sleep,” she said quietly.  “I haven’t slept very well since leaving
here.”

He
did not seem surprised.  No doubt he had observed her.  He had seen the way
she’d simply drifted out of herself.  She put on a brave smile.

“I
knew that I wouldn’t sleep until I was back here again – until I saw you – but
even now it has been difficult.”

He
must have sensed that she wanted a response.  “I never meant for it to happen
this way.”

“You
don’t have to apologize anymore,” she said, looking down to hide the tears that
were forming in her eyes.  He kept quiet until she looked back up at him.

“I’ve
always known I belonged with you, even when you were just a story in my head. 
And even when I thought you were Nix, I wanted to be with you.  I don’t know
what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I can’t bear the thought of never having
another chance to be here with you like this.”

Wren
was relieved to see him come back to her, peering into her eyes.  She saw a
slight desperation there, as if he needed her as well but had been too proud to
ask.

“I
understand that feeling,” he said, putting his arm around her.  He touched her
face, burying his hand in her curls, and she leaned in against his touch.  “But
this won’t be the last moment we have together.”

She
accepted this assurance, and he smiled at her to smooth it on better.  She didn’t
seem to know he was lying.

He
kissed her then, softly and then fiercely, for every lie that he’d told and
every assurance he needed.  His mouth was warm and he tasted of smoke – but he
broke away when one of her salty tears met his lips.

Wren
couldn’t apologize for her tears, but she was crying silently, her eyes
glistening as more droplets threatened to fall.

“Rifter,”
she tried softly.  “Could you hold me a while?  Can we forget about the
violence, just for a bit?”

While
she could not deny that it was important to prepare, there was no way to know how
many hours or days any of them had left, and what was greater than to spend
them in the arms of the one she loved? 

For
her – for once – he gave in.

Without
a word, he stood up and took her in his arms, carrying her into the tent.  She
clung to him until he put her down, holding her close, keeping his silence.  He
kissed her forehead and she curled up into him.  If there was truly any need
for strict awareness of everything around them, Wren had forgotten it.  They
seemed to be the only two in existence, even to his thinking then.  He held her
carefully, protecting her from the bad images and trying not to have his own.

But
she would not stop looking into his eyes.

Wren
touched his face, her fingers tracing his scar, slipping down his neck and
finally along the line of the string that held the whistle.  They gazed at each
other silently, thinking of the past, connecting in all those ways that they
had been unable.  There were no secrets blocking them now, nothing keeping them
apart.

Once,
years ago, they had been wrapped up together in a tent just like this one,
sharing secrets in the dark, but the time had been wrong.  Now, there was no
time for anything else.

They
had both been meant for sleep, but it wasn’t long before they were tangled in
each other’s arms, their mouths pressed, their bodies wanting more.  Their
yearnings had increased with every year that had aged them, and they were no
longer uncertain of how to deal with their desires.

She
memorized the patterns drawn on his body, noted all his scars.  He whispered to
her in a forbidden language, murmuring confessions of love, and though she could
not translate it, she understood the message.  They were meant to be together
now, just as the first day when he had called her to the beach in her dreams,
and not even a lie could force them apart.

Rapture
and beauty – flesh against flesh.

The
expression of their love lasted for a long while beneath the dark sky, and
within the aura of his whispered words and her insistent longing, they became
one in a way that neither of them had known before.

They
laid there afterward, contented despite the pending horrors of the future, wrapped
in each other’s embrace.

Rifter
stayed awake for hours, looking at her to keep this moment imprinted on his mind
forever.  He would not forget.

Wren
slept – finally restful after so long – but she did not dream.

1

“It
is time!” said the Scourge, raising his hands emphatically before his followers
as he finished his speech.  His voice carried far and wide to the group on land
as he spoke from the Bloody Mary’s deck, commanding their attention and loyalty
– with the aid of a fairy’s spell.

“We
must rise against the Rifter and his Wolf Pack, and put a stop to this
corruption once and for all!  May there be no mercy on their souls!”

The
response was immediate.  A cry went up from the horde of gathered pirates as
each one raised his weapon in the air.  There was a smile on the demon’s face,
but no one could see it behind the bandages.  No matter how this turned out, he
would have his way.

Let
there be chaos
.

2

And
so it was thus.  Within the course of the night, the island was fully at war,
and there was not a soul who wasn’t involved.  Even those who had declared
themselves neutral were forced to defend their lives and families against those
who would press them to join one side or the other.  Tribals battled pirates,
masters of Tikilin fended against throngs of fairy wisps, and nightmares fought
against one another just for the sheer, agitated state of the world.  The
creatures of the sea rose up onto the land, and the sky above turned a familiar
shade of amber, flaring with bursts of lightning.

Rifter
could feel the chaos in his bones, and he woke up with an aching sensation
throughout his body.  This was a pain he remembered well, as if by embracing
who he really was, Nevermor had remembered him as its master, reconnecting with
his body and soul.  He could feel the way that the island was tortured.  It was
crying out for him, begging for deliverance.  He could not sleep a moment
longer, even if he’d wanted.

He
turned his head to see that Wren was lying next to him still, sound asleep, and
he could not bear to wake her.  It had been too long since she’d had any real
rest, and he could not deny her that.  Carefully, he managed to rise without
disturbing her, pulling on his clothes as he stepped out into the damp haze of
early morning.

From
his place at the old Tribal encampment, Rifter could hear the first sounds of
war rising with the sun to reach them over the plains.  Echoing sounds of
cannons and destruction came from all directions, though he could see nothing
for miles.

I
should have never let things spin this far out of control
.  But there was
no sense looking into the past.  There was only to fix his mistakes.

Standing
there, rigid and still, Rifter was surprised to feel a presence behind him,
hearing a soft footstep against the dry ground.  When he turned his head, he
saw that it was Calico, staring at him.

He
didn’t want to know what she was thinking about him.  Of all of them, her
feelings about him may have been the worst.  He had lied to her in many
different ways, been purposefully cruel to keep her away, had let her believe
that the one she’d once cared for was still alive.

He
knew he owed her apologizes, but he couldn’t quite muster them.

“Sly’s
been up all night,” she said, coming closer.  “He’s been trying to locate the
demon.”

Rifter
was grateful that she didn’t start off with accusations, and was content to
keep with her subject.

“Any
luck?”

“I
don’t know,” she said, stepping up.  “You’ll have to ask him.”

“Where
is–”  He didn’t get anything else out before Calico had raised her hand and
struck him across the face.  There was a harsh sting left on his skin, but he
didn’t retaliate against her.  He knew he deserved the blow.  He probably
deserved more than that.

“I
have something to say to you,” she started lowly, the heat of rage in her
voice, “and consider yourself lucky that
speaking
is all I will do.  I
still believe in your power, and it is only with your help that Sly can restore
this world.  Because of that, I am glad that you have come back, and suppose I
must forgive your lies.  And maybe you didn’t kill Nix, but you are responsible
for his death, and I will never forgive you for
that
.”