Authors: Shauna Granger
“You
are half right,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “They follow me,
yes, because they have no one else to follow. As I’ve traveled through these
lands, I have found those running from the Hunt and the beasts of these lands,
and they have joined me. But I lead no charges. The Hunt has not caught me. I
find no joy, no peace, in hunting.”
“You
carry a spear,” I pointed out.
“If
you were on your own in this world, would you carry a weapon?” he asked,
tilting his head toward me.
“Well,
yeah, I guess. So they have all been caught by the Hunt, they’re part of the
Slaugh now, but you’re not?”
“Yes.”
“Do
they know?”
“Yes,”
he said. “Which is why they keep their distance from me.”
“It
looks like they follow you,” I pressed.
“Because
they have no one else to follow. If one of them got it into his head to lead, he
could and the rest would follow him, leaving me behind. I have magic and power
here, whereas many do not, so they see me as someone powerful. Therefore, I am
someone to follow.”
I
rubbed my temples, closing my eyes and trying to let this all sink in. Gwyn,
thankfully, stayed quiet while I regrouped my thoughts. His news was just a
little more than I could take as exhausted as I was.
With
my eyes still closed, fingers still pressed into my temples, I said, “So,
that’s why you didn’t tell me how to find the edge. You have no idea.”
“Yes.”
I
opened my eyes and saw anger on his face. “How long have you been looking?”
“Forever.”
***
I
walked out of Gwyn’s tent, throwing the flap behind me as if I could slam it
like a door. Gwyn stood stock still as I stormed out, not even his eyes
following me. Balor had jumped up and rushed out after me. I had so many
questions, but I was so angry I couldn’t keep my thoughts straight; all I
wanted to do was run at him and pound my fists into his stolid face until it
broke.
He
owed me nothing, not even the truth, but finding out he had kept such a huge
secret from me made something inside of me snap. I had stayed with this group
for safety and to cover more ground, but Gwyn had been searching for the edge
for years without finding it. For all I knew, we were going in circles. If I
had left nights ago, I might’ve figured out the magic of this place and been
that much closer to the edge.
“All
that time wasted,” I muttered through gritted teeth, making Balor swing his
head toward me. His fuzzy eyebrows raised in question. I found a deserted fire
and fell to the ground to sit by it, Balor flopping down at my side. He nudged
my arm with his large snout, forcing it up until he could tuck his head under
my hand. I scratched behind his ears absentmindedly, which seemed to make him
more than content as he rested his chin on my thigh.
“Can’t
trust any damn faeries,” I grumbled. Balor huffed and whined. “Oh, I’m sorry,
Balor.” I softened my voice for him. “Not you. Faerie hounds are obviously the
exception.” Balor huffed again and I couldn’t help but chuckle, ruffling the
top of his head, but his fur was too short to muss.
I
sat there and took in the fire’s heat, letting the warmth work out some of my tension.
I listened to Balor breathing beside me. Maybe when I left, he would come with
me. Having some company would be nice; especially the company of a massive
hunting dog that could take down a horse.
I
heard footsteps behind me. Assuming Gwyn was coming to make amends, I refused
to look over my shoulder, staring resolutely into the flames. When the small, water
sprite woman came into view beside me, lugging her cauldron, I was startled.
She didn’t look at me; she didn’t even act like she knew I was there. She just
swung her cauldron around, sloshing out some of the water in her effort, and
plopped it into the middle of fire, making the embers swirl up and the wood
splinter. My stomach grumbled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since before the
earlier ride. I hoped she was making some food and would let me have some.
She
threw something like a powder into the caldron, causing a small explosion. The
water within began to steam and bubble. She walked around to stand in front of
me, her heavily lined face set in a permanent scowl. Her pointy fingers were
laced together in front of her as she waited. So many nights it had been me
seeking her out that to have her come find me was strange.
“Yes?”
I finally asked. I didn’t like her just standing there, staring down at me.
“Would
she look?” she asked.
“What?”
I blinked up at her.
“She
said she wanted to look. Here’s the chance; would she look?” she asked again,
and I realized what she was saying.
“Wait,
seriously, you’re gonna show me my home? Finally?” I asked, scrambling to my
feet. Balor huffed loudly, a puff of dust swirling up as he settled his head on
top of his paws.
“If
she looks,” the woman said again, waving one hand toward the caldron. I moved
over to the edge of the fire so that I could look down into the caldron. The
surface of the water looked as clear as a mirror, showing me my own reflection.
“Does
it show whatever I want?” I asked.
“See what you wants to see,” she said, an edge
of annoyance to her voice.
“All
right,” I said, hoping I understood.
“See
what you see,” she said, holding up one pointy finger, “but remember what I
says: You can’t reach thems through the water.”
“I
remember.” I nodded, holding my breath.
“You
may regrets it,” she said, squinting at me, challenging me.
“I
won’t,” I said confidently.
“Meh.”
She waved a hand at me in dismissal. She didn’t believe me, but that was fine.
She didn’t know me. To her, I was just some lost human in the faerie world. I
wouldn’t believe me either if I was her. I bounced impatiently on the balls of
my feet as she watched me. Balor whined like he thought this was a bad idea too,
but I paid him no heed.
“Thinks
about who you wants to see,” she instructed. She waved her hand over the
surface of the water. I watched as the mirrored surface fogged over, rippling
inward and out until it cleared again. My mind reeled as I tried to decide what
I wanted to see, afraid she’d only give me this one chance. Finally I thought
about the night Steven banished me, and that moment took hold of my mind. I
watched as Anthony’s apartment came into focus, and I could see Steven standing
there, talking to Anthony. My pulse thundered in my ears and my throat began to
tighten just as tears welled in my eyes and trickled down my cheeks.
The
noise of the slamming door still echoed in the room, along with my cries for
Steven to stop, cursing him for not hearing me.
“Dude, Steven,
tell me you heard it that time?” Anthony said.
“I did hear
something that time.” Steven reached for the doorknob, starting to unlock it,
but Anthony was there, his hands on top of Steven’s.
“Do not open
that door!” Anthony said. “If you got it to go, then let it stay gone.”
“But…” Steven
started to argue, but his voice trailed off. “Maybe that was a mistake,” he
whispered.
“What?” Anthony
asked, shaking his head at Steven.
“Earlier today,
remember when Jodi and I went into Shay’s room?” Anthony nodded. “Well, we were
talking about Shay and we started to argue and all of a sudden we heard
something and then the light on her desk flickered.” Anthony just stared at him
for a few moments before Steven walked back to the couch.
“So what if a
light flickered in her room?” Anthony asked, following him.
“It’s just a
weird coincidence, you know?” Steven said as he sat on the couch, pulling his
legs up under him and gripping a throw pillow to his chest.
“No, I don’t
know.” Anthony sat on the couch as well, sitting sideways so he could look at
Steven. “How is a light flickering in Shay’s old bedroom and my TV turning a
coincidence?”
“Because your TV
didn’t just turn. It turned on and off and then moved.” Steven glanced sideways
at the offending TV.
“I’m not
following,” Anthony said at little slowly, like he was worried about Steven.
“I think maybe
Shayna’s trying to reach out to me,” Steven said bluntly, clutching the pillow
until his knuckles were white and ducking his head so all I could see were his
too-big, brown eyes peeking over.
“Steven--”
Anthony started to say, but when Steven shook his head at him, he went quiet.
“I know I sound
crazy to you,” Steven said.
“No,” Anthony said
slowly, as if he really did think Steven sounded crazy.
“I know I sound
crazy to you,” Steven repeated, “and if it had just been the lamp, or it had
just been your TV, I wouldn’t think anything of it, but both?” He paused to
shake his head again. “No, both is too much. I mean, your TV moved, Anthony!”
“I know,”
Anthony said, glancing toward the television. “Maybe it was an earthquake?”
“That we didn’t
feel but was strong enough to move the TV?” Steven picked his head up from
behind the pillow.
“Yeah…” Anthony
sighed and pulled his eyes away from the television. “So, what then?”
“I’m not sure,”
Steven said. “I tried to talk to Jodi about it, but she just acted like I was
crazy and walked out.”
“Well, Steven,”
Anthony said gently, placing a hand on his knee, “most people don’t believe in
ghosts and hauntings and things like that.” That made me smirk; Steven hadn’t
felt comfortable telling Anthony our secrets, which I was fine with, but it
looked like the time had come to enlighten him.
“Tread
carefully, Drake,” I said as if he could hear me.
“I, uh,” Steven
stuttered, and I knew he was trying to build up the courage to say the words crowding
in his throat. “I have to tell you something.”
“Okay,” Anthony
replied, taking his hand back and folding them in his lap. I knew if I could
still feel emotions, the air would suddenly be full of static, putting my
nerves on end with anticipation and a little bit of fear.
Steven began, “Jodi
should believe me. See, we – Jodi, Shayna, and I – have always believed in
‘things like that.’”
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” Steven
cleared his throat, “we believe in things like that because we can do magic.”
With the words out of his mouth, hanging in the air between them, Steven froze,
waiting for Anthony’s reaction.
“You can do
magic?” Anthony repeated, tilting his head to the side, making sure he heard
him correctly.
“Yes.” Steven’s
voice was a little surer, as if he took strength from finally saying the words.
Now he couldn’t turn back; now he had to finish. “Shayna was really, really
powerful, more than Jodi and I ever were, but we can all do things. Shayna could
control the Earth.”
“The
Earth
?” Anthony interrupted, his eyes
wide.
“Well, not like
the whole Earth
, but she can control
Earth,” he said as if that explained things. “And Jodi can control Air.”
“And what about
you?”
“I can control
Fire.”
“Fire?”
“Yeah,” Steven
said, “that’s why I’m never cold. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed that.”
“I have
noticed,” Anthony said slowly. He wasn’t freaking out yet, which was good, but
his eyes were still wide and his words slow, so I knew it was only a matter of
time. I was just worried about how badly he’d freak out.
“Okay, look, I
know this sounds crazy--” Steven began again, but Anthony cut him off with a
laugh.
“Oh, thank God!
I was worried you were being serious!” Anthony laid a hand on his chest as he
rocked back.
“Anthony,”
Steven said, stopping Anthony from laughing, “I am being serious.”
“Look, sweetie,”
Anthony said, putting his hand on Steven’s knee again, “you’re upset about
Shay’s death. I get it. You just have to deal with your emotions, you know?”
“Do you have a
candle?” Steven asked, his face hard.
“A candle? Yeah,
uh, why?”
“Get it for me.”
Anthony watched
Steven’s face for a moment before he stood, keeping his eyes on Steven a little
too long. Steven just stared back, arms crossed over his pillow.
“Be careful,
Drake,” I said. “Just don’t scare him.”
Anthony left and
came back with a short, thin, white candle, the kind you keep in a disaster
kit. The wick was still white and coated in wax. He looked confused as he handed
it to Steven, but Steven kept his mouth shut when he took it. Steven inhaled
through his nose, held it for a moment, and then exhaled through his mouth,
blowing at the candle. The wax on the wick melted away before it flamed to
life. Steven’s lips curled into a small, satisfied smile. I think, just for a
moment, he was worried it wouldn’t work since he and Jodi had felt their powers
fading away. But lighting candles with his breath was always something he could
do, even before he met us, and emotions always powered our abilities. Right
now, he was pissed.