Nevermor (38 page)

“No,” Wren
protested quickly.  “I don’t want him to.  He’s perfectly innocent now.  I
don’t want that to change.”

She looked down
at the sleeping boy, stroking his head and that narrow fringe of hair that the
twins had left him with.  She had meant what she’d said in the firmest way. 
She didn’t want him to change – ever.  It would ease her fears if she didn’t
have to worry about him becoming different.  She wanted to preserve what he
was, not watch him turn into something worse.

Rifter
considered it quietly to himself, but finally nodded.

“If that’s what
you want,” he agreed.

She smiled as
she looked down at her brother again, knowing that it was.  She would have her
brothers and herself, unchanged.  She would have love in Rifter and a new
family in the others.  This was what she wanted.  It was
all
she
wanted.  There was no changing her mind now.

2

By the fireside,
Henry was sitting among the others, playing the games with the shadows.  He
hadn’t even noticed that he didn’t have one yesterday, but the others had
pointed out his own shadow to him this morning as if it was something
fascinating.

It was very
unusual to think of the shadow as a separate being, but they had assured him it
was so.  The rest of them acted as though they would be incomplete without
theirs, and in fact the only one who didn’t have one was Nix.  Apparently, even
a shadow was too much company for him.

In the midst of
the game, Henry lifted his head up for a moment to catch a glimpse of Wren
across the circle, sitting next to Rifter.  Henry saw the way she was looking
at him, smiling a little.  He also saw the way that the older boy was looking
back at her.  They liked each other – that was obvious.  Henry had never seen
that look before, but he recognized it, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about
that.  Perhaps jealousy wasn’t the proper word, but he knew he was feeling
defensive.  At the same time, he supposed he didn’t have any right to feel that
way.  The boys had told him that he had to recognize Rifter as his leader and
follow him wholeheartedly.  He might have to give up things to do that
properly.

Henry wasn’t so
sure that he could include Wren in what he was giving up, however.

“You have a lot
of blood to make up for,” Nix said beside him, snapping him out of his trance.

Henry lifted his
head to see that Nix was also looking across the fire in Wren’s direction. 
What did he mean?  What blood?

“Someone has to
bear their load,” he said, nodding toward the girl and the child sleeping
beside her.  “They won’t fight to protect this place, and therefore they aren’t
worthy of it.”

Henry thought
that was just Nix’s opinion on the matter.  “I thought Rifter was going to
forgive it.”

Nix scoffed. 
“That’s not something to be forgiven.  He may exclude them, but someone has to
make up for it.  Someone has to pay that price.  The pit was just the start. 
Are you ready for that?”

Henry didn’t
have to think about it for long.  The answer was clear to him, and it didn’t
have to be complicated.

“I have to, I
guess,” he said with a shrug.  “They’re my family.”

Nix nodded in
understanding, and perhaps a bit of respect.

“That’s a good
attitude,” he commended.

Henry felt proud
at that compliment, but he already knew what his business was.  He considered
the idea that all of these around him now were
also
his family, but they
were different to him.  They had made him prove his worth before they had
accepted him.  They weren’t his kin.  Wren had always been there, even despite
how they didn’t get along at times.  Max was young and deserved to be
protected.  Henry had made these decisions long ago, but perhaps now – here –
was the first time he could do anything toward it.

He would be a
good soldier, even if it meant following Rifter, who he wasn’t quite sure about
yet.  He would protect his family until the end.

There was no
doubt in his mind that it was what he wanted.

3

The lot of them
moved on the next day, traveling through the soggy marsh until, as quickly as
the forest had become the frozen tundra, they came upon a desert.  Wren
marveled at that.  It was so unusual how the island changed so drastically
within a step, as if they were walking through portals.

The sand
stretched out for miles in the distance, and the sun was much hotter here, but
there was a patch of trees farther out.  It was an oasis – unless her eyes were
playing tricks on her.

“That’s where
we’re going,” Rifter said, pointing toward the trees.  “The place where it all
began.”

“What did begin
there, Rifter?” she wanted to know.

“
I
did,”
he said as he led them on.  “It’s the only thing I know for sure about how I
wound up here.  It’s the place where I’ve made all of them take the Vow, and
you will too.”

The Vow!  She
had almost forgotten it – or simply hadn’t guessed that they would go so far to
take it.  But what did he mean that he had
begun
here?  She supposed she
had best be patient to learn it.

It took them a
while longer to get to the oasis, fighting the sand in their shoes, but when
they finally reached it, Wren saw that it was a pleasant circle of trees and a
pool of shallow water that flowed out from some rocks there.  The pool was a
depression in the earth much like a crater, but the water flowed into it, pure
and blue, and flora had sprung up around it, making a beautiful scene.

Once they had
all reached it, some before others, the boys sat down to rest.  They built up a
fire and cooked a meal, and once night had begun to fall, Rifter didn’t want to
wait any longer.

The Pack sat
around in a half-circle near the fire, but the three newcomers were directed to
stand before Rifter in front of the flames.  Wren was excited but nervous, not
knowing what would happen.  Rifter seemed more serious now, formal, as if she
was not the same girl that he had kissed.  It was in the way he looked at her,
very stern as if they had no personal connection at all.

When all was
quiet except the sounds of the night and the crackling of the fire, he began to
speak.

“This is the place
where I first woke up in this world,” he told them.  “From the moment that I
opened my eyes here, I knew that I was home.  I knew that I would always be
here, and so this is the place where I have made every boy take the Vow of the
Never-Ones.  I want you all to feel what I felt – to know that this is home.”

He drew out his
sword and held it, and he looked the three of them over like a general
examining his army.  His expression was hard and Wren could not tell what he
was thinking.  She prayed that this was not going to be a blood ritual, but she
never knew quite what she should expect from Rifter.

He observed them
all, with seemingly no greater regard for one than the other, and then stepped
back.  Finally, his gaze settled on Henry.

“You first,” he
decided.  Henry stepped forward as he had been called, bravely facing whatever
might be asked of him.  Wren only watched, trusting that Rifter wasn’t going to
do anything to hurt him.

Yet his idea of
what is acceptable does seem to be different from mine.

Rifter stared at
Henry for several moments, looking at him with a firm eye, and then he raised
his blade – Wren winced – and he stuck it in the ground near his feet so that
it stood up with the hilt in the air.

“Put your hand
on the sword,” he instructed, and Henry did what he was told, looking at his
new leader resolutely.

“I’ve been told
that you successfully passed the test and that you wore the blood of your first
kill,” Rifter commented.  That was the first Wren had heard of it, but she kept
quiet.  “Does that make you feel strong?  It should.  That blood links you to
us.  With it, you have been accepted, but to truly become one of us, you have
to cast off your old life and all that it was. 
Forget it
.  You have to
devote yourself to me, to this place, to your new brothers.  You must promise
that you will uphold my laws and answer to me as your leader.  You must vow
never to leave.  You will never change, never grow older – never
die
. 
Do you swear to uphold these things?”

“Yes,” Henry
said, and Wren didn’t think she had ever heard him sound so hopeful – so
sincere – in all her life.  Rifter seemed satisfied with his confession.

“By proving
yourself and agreeing to these things, you have begun a new life.  With it, you
have earned a new name.  The others told me of your fight, and so from this day
on, you will be known as
Fang
.  Do you accept this?”

“Yes, I will,”
Henry said with pleasure.  Wren wasn’t so sure that she liked this, but
couldn’t see how it affected her.  She let them have their fun, though if
Rifter tried to rename her, she would protest.  She liked her own name, even if
she did share it with a monster.

The Pack clapped
for Henry, and the boy was glad to accept this mantle.

“Step down.” 

Henry went back
to his place.  Alone again, Rifter looked up and locked onto Wren’s eyes.

“Come on,” he
said.  “Bring the little one with you.”

She took Max’s
hand and brought him forward.  Max went as he was guided, quiet and
well-behaved as if he recognized the formality of the occasion.  Wren thought
it may have only been her imagination.  They stopped in front of Rifter and the
sword, and Wren couldn’t deny that she was shaking nervously as she put her
hand on it.  He looked at her affectionately, however, and it helped to soothe
her fear.

“You have no blood
to prove your worth,” he said to her, “but an exception has been made.  Our
blood is your blood, and the price will be paid for you.  Still, you will be
bound by the same rules, and the little one must be as well.  He’s bound to
you.  Though the two of you may not participate in battle, you must still
uphold the laws, which are whatever I decide them to be.  In agreeing to stay
here, you must promise never to leave.  You may not ever change; ever grow
older.  You will embrace forever.  Do you swear?”

He put his hand
over hers, and as she looked into his eyes, she knew that she was making this
promise for more than just the opportunity to stay here.  She was swearing an
oath to him.  She was promising that she would be with him forever, that she
would not ever leave him.  She was giving her whole self to him – her whole
heart.

It was the
closest thing to a marriage vow that she might ever get.  Within herself, she
knew that she was perfectly alright with it.

“Yes,” she
said.  “I do.”

He smiled at
her, and she knew she had followed the true desire of her heart.

“And you?” he
asked the small boy at her side.  Max nodded fervently, whether or not he
understood what he was agreeing to.

“It’s done
then,” Rifter said with pleasure.  “You three belong with us now.”

Behind him, the
others began to clap.  They came to their feet, cheering and celebrating. 
Rifter lifted his face and howled at the moon, and the rest emulated him,
crying out like a pack of wild dogs.  Wren knew it was a celebration, but she
did not contribute to the raucous din.  She still had her dignity as a woman. 
Henry joined them, however, yelping energetically and Max laughed with glee. 
She only smiled, feeling content.

They had finally
made it to that place across the sea where their lives would be better.  Her
stories hadn’t been lies after all.

The ceremony
gave way to energetic festivities, during which the boys shouted and bayed. 
One of the twins produced a bottle of some strong drink, which Wren refused
when it came her way, but the others were ready for it.

When they took
some of the liquid into their mouths and spat it toward the direction of the
fire, it produced long strings of flame that shot forth like dragon’s breath. 
This kept them all amused for a long time.

She would admit
that she did feel a bit lighter now that she had taken the Vow, as if it had
affected her supernaturally.  She was certain of her future.  Even though she
didn’t know what would happen, she knew that her days would be spent here.  She
knew that she would not get older, and that she would never be ill.  Her
brothers were with her, just as she’d always wished for.  They had escaped
their former troubles.

One of the twins
lifted Max up onto his shoulders and began to dance around, and Wren was
coerced into joining them as they dashed about, turning flips and being as wild
as they dared – letting go.  She laughed with them, feeling completely safe,
fooling herself that there was no threat in the world.

While the others
were running about with fire on their breath, Rifter caught her by the arm and
pulled her toward him, stealing a kiss from her mouth.  She saw the way his
eyes shined as he looked at her, and all the others disappeared.