Ever Shade (23 page)

She clicked the door open and walked back into the large room that was the sanctuary for the night. She dropped her clothes into her bag and walked towards the windows. Ursad must have opened them. The soft breeze poured in, lifting the curtains up like floating ribbons. She could hear the murmur of the crowd outside with a random shout or two every now and then. Shade stood just inside the window, afraid to peek outside. The soft gusts of air caressed her cheeks and swept her now loose hair up into a streaming mass, tickling her neck. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling peace in this busy place.

“They wouldn’t understand you. You and I have that in common. No one out there understands. We are different, but that makes us the same,” said Ursad quietly.

She turned and studied Ursad, who was sitting on the couch watching her. They had yet to turn on the lights in the room but his emerald eyes shone like two green beams of light. He stared intently into her face as she watched him, Ursad then stood and walked towards her. She didn’t move even when he came up to her and was face to face.

Shade watched his very human hands reach up and cup her face. She felt the blood rush to her face but couldn’t look away from his piercing eyes. She reached out and stroked the rough bark like skin on his face. Running her fingers over the bridge of his nose and down over the softness of lips that remained. She looked up, studying the very human eyes that were staring back at her. He was a man trapped in a shell that was not his. She could feel the deep resonating hunger and fear that ran through him as they touched. Something like a dread of sadness filled her inside, like she could feel him drowning inside of himself. She felt herself pull away, her face turning from the intensity of him. Immediately she felt like she was waking up from a dream. Groggy and confused she sat on the bed and looked back at him, inquiring with her eyes for answers and was full of suspicion.

“Ursad, are you using magic on me?” She waited, looking at her new companion, hoping to hear something comforting come from his mouth. His head dropped down as his gaze fixed onto the worn floorboards. The grain of wood snarled and wove through every plank like veins of a long lost tree. Ursad backed away and sat back on the couch, his face still and calm.

“I’m sorry, Shade. I couldn’t help it. I thought I could make you stay with me. Back at my place and here too, but I can see that my magic is not strong enough to work against you. Your magic, it pushes against mine so easily. I, I’m so sorry, Shade, I didn’t mean to ever harm you in any way. I hope you believe me. I just can’t be alone again.” His face hung down as his hands came up to cradle it as he sank to the floor.

“Ursad, how could you? What do you mean now and back at your house? What did you do? What have you done?” She watched him, unmoving and dark. When he didn’t respond, she stood over him, holding herself back. “What did you do Ursad? Answer me!” She pulled at his arm and he looked up at her, green tinted tears spilled down his rough cheeks.

“Shade, please don’t be mad. I thought you were just a human. I couldn’t have known that you were part faery! I would have never tried to trap you if I knew that. That’s probably the whole reason it didn’t work.” His fear leaked into his voice.

“What? What didn’t work?” Shade had started to back up now, afraid to know what he would say next.

“When humans enter the land of Faerie, they can be trapped here forever, especially if they eat something, food or drink from a faery. If the faery who gives a human food or a drink wants them to stay, and the human eats what is offered, they belong to that faery forever, or until the faery lets them go. I thought if you ate my enchanted food, you would not be able to leave and stay longer…and I wouldn’t be alone anymore.” He pulled himself up and knelt on the floor before her, grabbing her hand and rubbing his cheek against it. “I swear I would never harm you! You have to believe it, Shade, please don’t go. I just wanted someone to talk to; no one ever looks at me like you do, without disgust, without judgment. I wanted it to stay like that, forever.”

Shade backed away out of his grasp. She pressed against the footboard of the bed and sank to the floor. Her sobs poured out as she curled up into a tight ball, hugging her legs to herself. He crawled towards her but stopped when she held her hand up and he froze.

“Don’t touch me, Ursad.” She sniffled and wiped at her tears on her sleeves. She looked up at him. He was sitting on his knees with his head hanging down, a beaten man. She studied him, looking small and harmless in his hunched over defeat. She sighed and wondered what she was going to do. It seemed it wasn’t going to stop, all the hell she had gone through the past week, and it wasn’t getting any better. At least Ursad hadn’t tried to kill her, but what of his treachery?

What if it had worked and she had become his, sort of, slave? She shivered at the thought and held back her last sob. She felt violated in away and she needed time to think. “Are you done then, trying to mess with me?” She asked after a moment. “Like you said, it doesn’t work right? You can’t keep me here, you don’t own me.” She wiped off more drops of tears, watching him, and waiting for his answer.

Ursad looked up at her, eyes wide with surprise and fear. “Yes, I, I promise, I’m done. I would never try to hurt you, please understand, it was foolish of me to try any magic on you when you have been so kind to me.” He reached into his coat and brought out a soft baby blue handkerchief. He crept towards her and held it out, trying not to get too close.

Shade snatched it from him and watched him jump back, concern and relief both flashing on his face. “You better not try it again. I can feel it every single time. I guess I am part fey after all.” She paused and looked at him. She let out a laugh that made him jump. “It didn’t work. So, it was for nothing and I have nothing to fear from you at all.” She blew her nose and stood up. She studied him as he pulled himself back up onto the couch and sat, staring back at her.

“Tomorrow, we are going to the Santiran Fountains, Ursad. From there, you’re on your own again. Just take me there and we are done. The maps you showed me, they are correct, right?”

He nodded sadly.

“Okay then. I want to get some sleep now. So, good night. ”

He nodded again and pulled a blanket from the arm of the couch and laid on the couch, folding his arm for a pillow.

Shade slid down into the sheets and pulled the pillow around her head. She dug her face into it, wishing she could dig her way into the fluffy feathers of the pillow and fade away into the softness. She reached over and turned the lamp by the bedside off and stared out into the darkness now covering the windows. The soft moonlight shone like a small beacon from the outside world. The curtains danced in the soft warm breeze. She smiled and closed her eyes. It was spring now in Faerie. She could never get used to the weirdness of this place.

Drifting off to sleep she listened to sound of Ursad’s slow and rhythmic breathing, she was cocooned in her warm blankets as she slipped away into her dreams.

“Who’s there?”

“
Shade, It’s us, Duende, Astrid and Elaby. You must hurry! The Lonare Unseelie court moves to stop you. You must get to the fountains tomorrow and retrieve the magic waters quickly!”

“What then? What must I do with it? Where do I go? How do I get back to the Guildrin Caves?”

They smiled at her with their ethereal faces and hair infinitely suspended in midair, like a silent unseen wind that blew just for them.

“
You will know. Dylan is waiting for you, he needs you Shade. You and only you can save him.”

“Dylan? Where is he? How do I find him? Why would he need me?” Shade furrowed her brows at the sisters. They never make much sense.

“
Just follow your path; it will take you straight to him. Remember, when all is dark, you are your own light. Don’t forget, the stones Ilarial gave you; they can make a path where none can be seen.”

Shade looked at them, her face filled with confusion. Their smiles left no traces or hints of what exactly they meant. She shouted out to them but her voice was gone. They shook their heads and smiled, waving hands out in front of her, waiving a goodbye. Shade screamed to them but felt the grey and the darkness around her, and it was suffocating them out of her sight.

*****

S
hade woke with a start, her heart drumming in her chest. Her pillow was stuffed and wadded into a ball under her head. She was sleeping on her stomach and looked around the dark room. The moonlight was dim now, dark grey misted across the room, probably near morning. She sat up on her elbows, looking towards Ursad, fast asleep on the small couch by the wall, gently breathing. She rolled over and sat up, the short rays of dawn mixed with moonlight as the minutes ticked by. Stretching, she stood up and shuffled over to the open window. The streets were quiet, only occasional people with baskets or pushing carts filled with fruit could be seen. The morning market was prepping itself for the needs of many. Shade breathed in and felt a sense of peace filling her with each inhale of air. She turned and grabbed her bag, heading to the bathroom.

When she emerged, the soft sunlight filled the windows. She had showered and brushed her long hair and put it in a ponytail. Her fresh jeans and hoodie were over a t-shirt to keep the morning chill out. She pulled on socks and tied her sneakers. She shoved everything back into her bag and looked at Ursad, still fast asleep on the couch. She sighed and walked towards him. His soft snores told her that he was definitely out. She smiled and shook her head. She was ready to go and he was out like a light. It was hard to be angry with him when he looked like that, but she wasn’t ready to forgive what he did.

She looked at the pile of maps on the small table next to the couch, scooping them up; she placed them also into her pack. Donning her cloak, she headed towards the door but stopped. She turned and watched Ursad sleeping, dead to the world. She left her pack by the door and looked down at Ursad, staring at his rough face and soft eyelids. He seemed peaceful and almost handsome, deep in sleep and dreaming.

She wondered what he saw behind his lids, in a world that was his only. She hated to leave him like this, without a goodbye, but she had to leave. His intentions had not been honest and she could not tolerate that. She sank into her thoughts as she squeezed her eyes shut. She liked him but felt betrayed by his magic…She flung her eyelids open and knew what she had to do. Bending down, she let her lips glide softly over his still very human ones. She stood back and saw that he had not stirred, oblivious. She smiled and stood up, silently wishing him a goodbye. At the door, she swung her pack onto her back, opening the door and shutting it softly behind her. As it clicked, she never looked back again but she had forgiven him after all.

The streets had filled up quickly; she pulled the hood of her long cloak over her face, hiding her hooded sweatshirt and jeans effectively enough. She took a look around and she watched the people scurry by, all never giving her a moment’s glance.
Well, I’m alone again.
She breathed in deeply and walked towards the edge of town, feeling that her newfound determination filled her with purpose.

Shade felt no fear and embraced the anonymity of the crowd, it almost felt like protection; and as their magic swirled around her she drew it in for comfort. She continued to weave around the people and made it to the edge of town. Walking along the road, she followed it until the town fell out of sight and she was now truly alone. The gravel crunched under her feet and the leaves of the trees rustled franticly in the breeze. It was then she pulled out the maps she had taken from Ursad. A feeling of regret washed over her as she thought about the way she left; but when she thought about what he did…No leaving was the only way she could forgive him. If this whole experience taught her one thing, it was forgiving was not the same as forgetting.

It was time to get a move on. Obviously,
this isn’t the kind of place where you make lifelong friends…I’ve got something more important to do anyway.
She smoothed out one of the maps on a flat boulder that was close to her height. She traced her finger along the road that she followed from the town. According to the map, she was heading north towards the mountains. She could see the great mountain peaks just beyond the forest. They seemed to be taunting her, appearing closer than they really were. Sighing heavily, she folded the maps up neatly and placed them into her backpack.

She pulled out an apple and a roll of bread at the same time and started munching her small breakfast as she walked briskly along the road.

The day wore on and she stopped frequently, checking the maps and refueling on the many snacks and drinks, she carried with her. She made sure to put any garbage back into her bag in a trash bag or just bury it. She kept stopping to listen to see if anyone was following her. She had gone many miles on the desolate road before she came across anyone; it was then she’d crouch behind trees or fallen logs, in the tall grasses, of the forest floor until they passed. She wondered if any of them had been Ursad. She highly doubted it since they all were on carriages or small carts that wheeled on by. She thought about him constantly and his unfortunate curse, wondering what his real face looked like. She didn’t like the fact that she had left him alone again, especially when they had agreed to travel together. She shook her head.
He screwed up.
She was not going to have people around her that she couldn’t trust completely. Not now when she was in so much danger.

Glancing around the lonely road, she pulled her pack tighter to her back, it was lonelier still without him. Shade wondered where everyone was. Her thoughts wandered to Sary, Braelynn, Ewan, Stephan, Than, Soap, Jack and Dylan. Somehow, (probably because of the blood bind) she knew Dylan was not returning to Teleen without her. He was out here somewhere, with or without her friends. She hoped she would run into them some time or another. The forest seemed so vast and lonely without them joking beside her, and chatting vibrantly. She missed them terribly.