Ever Shade (14 page)

Her mousey brown hair was pulled back into two thick braids, making her look even younger than her seventeen years. She had let Braelynn fuss over her this morning when she had arrived with her hairbrush in hand, even though she had tried to pull it into a sloppy ponytail. The tight braids Braelynn made for her felt a little chained and like she was headed for school pictures; but she could deal with it since it had made Braelynn feel so useful and motherly.

Soap came and stood before her, his tall figure seemed gigantic to her while she sat scrunched on the ground. His hair was also tied back but in an intricate half braid, leather and beads streaming through it and shimmering under the torchlight. He was looking at her with his bright eyes, so deep in color in the dim light that they seemed to glow with their own light. “Hi ya there kid, you feelin’ alright?” His voice twanged with a made up southern drawl. He winked at her and tipped an imaginary hat to her.

She smiled up at him, not feeling quite as gloomy as before and nodded. He was definitely in a joking mood. “I’m okay. Maybe just a bit tired, not sleeping so well since…” She laid her chin on her pack as she pulled it against herself tighter, closing her eyes.

Soap sat beside her on the ground and sighed as he watched the rest of the group tidying up. He turned toward her with his smile gone and his eyes immensely serious. “Are you having nightmares now?”

She nodded and breathed in a bit. She closed her eyes and leaned her whole head on her pack and arms. Sleep had been seriously interrupted by her anxiety and paranoia during the night. Every creak, every rustle made her eyes fling open and her heart jump from her chest. She had resorted to sitting up in bed with a dagger in hand, just in case. She wondered if she would ever feel safe going to bed again.

“Well, let Braelynn and Sary know. I’m sure one of them can whip you up a dreamless sleep potion. It might help for the first few weeks. We’re leaving in five minutes; did you eat anything this morning?”

“Yes, I ate some toast and fruit. I wasn’t too hungry though.” She opened her eyes and sat up, as she saw Dylan enter the area; his captain’s uniform was gone, replaced with different leather and metal armor. It was probably his traveling armor. His helmet was also gone but his sword was still strapped to his back. His brown tunic was soft under the leather and lacked any kind of ornament at all. Wrist sheaths were strapped securely on his arms and flashed slightly as he moved, revealing silver knives. He also had a sheath strapped to each calf and his belt had pouches and sheaths laced throughout. He was well armed but also carried a small pack strapped to his back. His hair had been cut short, human male short. Shade wondered why he was sporting the cut, especially when he was the only faery man she had met so far that didn’t have long hair.

“I guess this means he is joining us now,” Shade said with her voice lowered. “Soap, why is his hair cut short now? It was so long; did he have to cut it for the journey?”

Soap shook his head and leaned in towards her, his voice just above a whisper.

“No, Shade, fey do it as a sign of mourning. He is probably in mourning for his brother, treating it like a death. It may be because it is a sort of enslavement that he has to be with us. He might just mourn his freedom and former life. Your guess is as good as mine.” He leaned back to his spot and sighed. He jumped up from his sitting position, like he had just floated up, and held out a hand to Shade again, smiling. “May I have this dance, oh ye fair maiden?”

“You know what, you’re such a dork.” She took his hand but gave him a playful whack when he started to dance, swinging her around in a circle. “Stop it already!” Shade smiled again, feeling him radiate warmth too. Somehow she just knew that it was for her benefit that the fey did this. What they gave off in their magic was like happy juice to a moody teenager. It made her feel safe at least, and that’s what she wanted most of all right now.

Dylan was watching them from across the way. His cold blank stare made Shade shiver as her happy mood faded with his icy look. She couldn’t blame him for being mad but it really wasn’t her fault. He was going have to just deal with it.

He started walking towards her and Soap. She held her breath, hoping he wasn’t going to be a pain. Dylan stopped right in front of her, causing her to take a step back as he invaded her space. He seemed to know that it made her nervous to stand near any of the Teleen, even if they were shielded.

“Dylan of the Teleen clan reporting for duty, Miss Shade. What will you have of me today?” He stood still, so close to her, she could feel his warm breath across her cheek. His steel eyes were smoldering at her. She was not sure if it was just his eyes or a twinge of hatred swimming in them.

“Nothing Dylan, I…” She let her voice fall dead and shook her head. It took a moment or two for what she wanted to say to come out right. She straightened and glared right back at him. “I’m not your master, boss or whatever. I didn’t want this. So, do what you want, ok? I really don’t care.” Shade took another step back to dodge around him but stopped herself. “If it is any consolation, this was not my idea. Darren should have manned up and took his punishment; though I do think death is an easy way out. If there is anything I can do to help you unbind us, you just go on and let me know.” She watched him glare at the ground with his jaw set hard. She sighed when he gave her nothing but silence, as she swung her pack onto her back and walked away.

Jack motioned her over as well as all the others. Everyone quickly finished their packing and filed around him. “Okay everyone; we are way behind schedule. Today we anticipate to at least making it to the river lands. We will be near a large iron city, so once we approach, we must be very careful and glamour ourselves to appear more human. We will mostly stay near the rivers and be out of sight but if we are spotted, we might have to do memory charms on any humans that may be nearby. I would like to avoid that, you know how much fun that is,” he said sarcastically.

“Oh, and we have two newcomers on our quest. Everyone welcome Dylan, former Captain of the Teleen.” His arm hung out towards Dylan who stood just outside the circle, his arms crossed and his gaze at the ground. “Also, Miss Sylphi of the Teleen has so graciously volunteered to serve as a tracker. She can help us track down food when our supply runs low around the outside of the Santiran fountains; there are no cities for miles. Please welcome them both with open arms.”

He held his arm out to Sylphi who came over and gave him an aggressive hug, and was clearly invading his space. He stumbled back a bit as he shifted his weight but he did avoid losing his balance. She laughed and smiled, as though it was nothing to volunteer on a treacherous mission.

Shade glared at her. She hadn’t forgotten how she seemed really friendly with Darren the night of the attack. Sylphi caught her glare and smiled sweetly to her, ignoring the look on Shade’s face.
I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her boney, pointy body.

“Everyone should be ready by now. Let’s go!” Ewan’s voice boomed in the cavern, echoing down the ravine. The group all swung packs onto their backs and sheathed last minute weapons. In about a minute they were all crossing the great glass bridge. Shade held her breath as she walked across. Unfortunately, looking down made her stomachache, so she avoided it at all costs. She would be happy never to cross this blasted bridge again.

They journeyed through the same tunnels and large rooms that they had first passed on the way in. Shade felt relief wash over her and flow through her, as she caught sight of the great doors. The doors creaked open and a stream of early morning sun beamed in and grew wider to meet them. Shade upped her pace and laughed when she felt the rush of the cool spring morning air. The sun was warm on her face and the tension she had been feeling seemed to ease up. Somehow, she knew she was not going to miss the Teleen Caverns.

The sand got into everything, it clung to her pants and shoes and gritted against her skin inside her sneakers and socks. She had to stop and empty the dust and gravel out of her shoes quite often, while sitting on the smooth boulders that jumped into their way throughout the path. The advantage of the canyon was that there were a lot of shady areas blocking off the blaring sun and the heat that built with day wearing on. The occasional desert lizard or jackrabbit darted across their paths. They shimmied their bodies into the cracks of earth beneath the stones or bushes. How anything could survive out here for any period of time was mind-boggling. Water was scarce and Shade was giving thanks, she was grateful she had some to enjoy.

The group stopped for a rest under a large overhang of striped red, white, and orange stone. It hovered over them like a massive giant, threatening to fall at any moment. Ewan assured her it would not fall, that it was well anchored in the ground and was more under the ground than above. Shade sat at the edge of its shadow; she wanted to be ready in case she had to bolt and avoid being crushed alive. She opened her pack and pulled out her canteen. She drank quickly, the cool water felt refreshing as it tumbled down her throat. She would have to thank Jack for her canteen, and she was amazed that it refilled itself with the magical water.

She also pulled out a bag of rations and started munching on the nuts, dried jerky meat and flat bread included in the bag. She immediately felt more alert and not so tired. She glanced around them and noticed how the desert seemed to be blending into a more grassy and bushy area. Off in the distance she noticed greenery weaving itself into the barren desert. It grew thicker and thicker the farther away from them. Great pines and coniferous trees shone small but bright in color, speckling the mountainsides. She wondered if they would be heading into that forest before nightfall.

Dylan parked himself at the edge of the shadows too, but not too close to be considered sitting with her. He had his head down and was also stuffing bits of food into his mouth. He spoke with no one in the group at all. If he was angry or sad, it didn’t show; but his antisocial behavior clued her in on what he must be feeling.

It was tempting sitting there to push herself closer to him and try and pry some information out of him. As she studied him he didn’t seem hostile, but he wasn’t exacting welcoming either.

Sary, Braelynn, and Stephen sat together and chatted loudly. They were in good spirits and enjoying the outdoors; it seemed as if they had felt suffocated underground too. They had told Shade they were grounded to the earth, but they drew their powers from the outdoors. The sun, nature, and life was needed for their strength, and not just stone. Maybe they needed the beautiful life outside to fill their powers. Ewan, Than, Soap and Jack were also sitting near each other; mostly being quiet as they chomped on their rations. They chatted amongst themselves and occasionally laughed and nodded with full mouths. Their manners were a bit atrocious but it made Shade giggle to herself. She was enjoying their company and they were beginning to feel like a surrogate family.

Speaking of family, Shade’s thoughts wandered to her mother and siblings. What were they doing just now? Did any of them really even remember her? She wondered how strong the memory charm Ilarial had used on her family had been. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach that she ignored.
It’s going to be okay.
She stopped eating her snacks and closed her eyes thinking about the times they had gone camping when she was younger and her father was still alive.

Camping was a constant distraction from the everyday problems her family had faced. She would share her tent with her younger sister, Anna. She was three years younger than her and most of the time quite a pest. She enjoyed following Shade around like a puppy, which was very annoying. Anna would butt into Shade’s stuff or activities all the time; and she would mess with her Barbie dolls, kick her arrangements over or even resort to just stealing the toy or accessory. Shade hated it at the time but now, she would give anything to have Anna bugging the crap out of her. Maybe she would be sitting with her, sharing food, and drawing in the fine sand with a twig. Anna did have a great big imagination; she would tell Shade the longest stories about her day at school or simply made one up, and always seemed to take hours to tell it just right. She would love to hear an Anna story right now.

She felt the sting of tears in her eyes and looked down before anyone else would notice. She took a bite of jerky and tried to distract her thoughts by concentrating on chewing the tough meat. She felt very alone; though she knew her new friends would not let anything happen to her. She still longed for her best friend Brisa, who could be counted on for a quick joke when things were bad. She pulled her cell phone out of her pack and stared at the reception bars. For one reason or another, they were nonexistent, even out here, above ground.

She felt the tears break their tension on her lids and slide warmly down her cheeks as she stuffed the phone back into the pack. Pulling her knees up to her chin, she nuzzled them with her face, hiding in her skin.

This will not last forever and soon I’ll be home.
She sniffled and pulled a soft washcloth from her pack, wiping her face and clearing her drippy nose. She sighed, stuffing the cloth back into the pack and jumped with a start, realizing Dylan had crouched down and was staring at her with his intense, steel-grey eyes. His face was alert and watching her, as if waiting for some sort of word from her.