The Amulet (18 page)

Jocelyn looked thoughtful for a while. She
was trying to find the best way to explain what she wanted to say.
“It is very rare for a fae to have feelings for a human, but if
that should ever happen we tend to be very cautious about it,” she
paused and looked to see how Faedra was digesting the information
so far. Faedra was engrossed, hanging on Jocelyn’s every word.

“Go on,” Faedra encouraged.

“Well, if we were to have feelings for a
human, we would want to know that those feelings were mutual before
we would show our wings.”

Faedra looked at her in obvious
confusion.

“Let me see, how do I explain this?” Jocelyn
continued.

She looked around as if she would get the
inspiration from the trees or the sky. “Ah, yes, I know. In The
World of Men it would be like someone who is rich, having feelings
for someone who is poor. The rich person would want to make sure
that their feelings were reciprocated because of who they really
were and not just because they had lots of money. Therefore, they
might have a tendency to hide that fact until they knew for sure
that the poor person liked them despite of, and not because of, the
fact they were rich.”

“Ah, I think I understand what you are
getting at,” Faedra nodded in response to Jocelyn’s
explanation.

“You see, our wings have a tendency to, how
shall I say, enchant humans.”

Faedra gazed at Jocelyn’s stunning wings
again for the umpteenth time. She had to admit she was having a
hard time taking her eyes off them. They were indeed
enchanting.

“I see what you mean,” she agreed.

She let the information sink in for a moment.
Faedra was one of those people that would get the punch line of a
joke a minute after everyone else had finished laughing at it.
“Hold on a minute,” she searched Jocelyn’s face while she spoke.
“Are you saying that Faen has feelings for me?”

Jocelyn just smiled warmly.

“But you must be wrong on this one. I know
for a fact that he doesn’t,” Faedra stated bluntly, looking at
Faen’s back.

“Are you so sure, Faedra?” Jocelyn asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. He always acts as though it’s
an inconvenience to be lumbered with looking after me,” Faedra
insisted.

“My dear Faedra, my brother has been with you
every step of your life for the past eleven of your years. He has
had the very rare opportunity to spend time with you when you
thought no one was watching. You have been at your most uninhibited
in those times. You, shall we say, have completely enchanted
him.”

“So answer me this then. Why does he act so
detached around me all the time?”

“I cannot answer that, Faedra, but I am sure
he has his reasons.”

Faedra turned her eyes forward to gaze at
Faen who was still several yards ahead of them. She thought for a
while about what Jocelyn had just divulged to her, then shook her
head. No, she must be mistaken.

They rode in silence for a while. Faedra was
in a daydream, still trying to absorb what Jocelyn had told her.
She wasn’t quite sure how long they had been riding in silence, but
was torn from her thoughts by a gasp that came from beside her. She
turned to look at Jocelyn and was shocked to see the look of horror
on her friend’s face.

“What it is, Jocelyn? What’s wrong?” Faedra
asked, but she didn’t need Jocelyn to answer. She could see for
herself what had shocked her friend. “Oh, no, not here, too.”

Her heart sank as she observed that the
forest around them was dying. Some of the trees still had green
leaves, some had leaves that were turning, and some were already
devoid of all foliage. They had walked from summer to winter in
just a few paces. Up ahead of them all the trees were bare, the
grass was brown, and the flowers were wilted and shriveled. The air
didn’t smell sweet anymore either. There was a dank mustiness to it
now, and Faedra could taste its sourness on the back of her throat
as she breathed in.

Up ahead she could see an opening in the
trees. When they eventually reached it, they came to a stop
side-by-side. She gaped open-mouthed once more. They were standing
on the edge of a valley. Laid out below them, and as far as the eye
could see, was brown, dying countryside. There was a city in the
distance. It looked like a good-sized city, with a castle that
stood proudly in the middle. She could sense that this view would
usually have held such radiance that it probably would have taken
her breath away. As it was, she wanted to weep at its lifelessness.
Jocelyn did weep; big fat tears rolled down her cheeks and splashed
onto her dress.

“Oh, Brother, what has happened here?”
Jocelyn asked Faen.

“I do not know, Jocelyn, but I fear the
worst,” he replied stoically.

“The castle, it does not sparkle anymore,”
she cried.

Faedra looked at the castle in the distance.
It did indeed have a lackluster appearance. She could see the
remnants of its grandeur and imagined it sparkling when it was in
its previous condition, but right now everything, including the
castle, looked insipid.

“We fly from here. The horses will find their
way back to Todmus,” Faen announced as he stepped down from his
horse with a grace that was not lost on Faedra.

Faedra took both of her feet out of the
stirrups and jumped down from her horse as she always did back
home. Not the most graceful of dismounts, but the one she had been
taught from her very first riding lesson, and old habits die hard.
Jocelyn lowered herself down with a couple more beats of her wings.
They stood still, hardly daring to breathe as they looked over the
dying valley spread out ahead of them. Before Faedra even had time
to register what ‘we fly from here’ meant to her, there was an arm
wrapped around each of hers and she was being launched off the side
of the valley wall, which up until this point, she hadn’t
considered to be that steep.

“You could at least warn me when you are
going to do stuff like this,” she squeaked as her heart lurched
into her mouth and her stomach did cartwheels.

The wind blew in her face and whipped through
her hair. Jocelyn had hold of one arm and Faen the other, and they
were looking ahead, concentrating hard. She had to admit, it was
the most incredible feeling to be flying outside of a plane. A bit
like being on an amusement park ride without being strapped in. She
couldn’t decide at that point if the queasy feeling in her stomach
was a product of just being launched off the side of a hill, or the
fact that her heart was saddened by the devastation below them.

They were flying low to the ground now and
she could see close up how dead everything looked. The queasy
feeling developed into a definite knot in her stomach, and her
question was answered. Thoughts of the book flew through her mind
almost as quickly as the ground passed beneath her. The realization
that something had happened to the book was quickly taking shape
and that didn’t bode well for anyone in any realm, least of all
hers. Remembering what her mother had said in the letter, that
combining the book and the amulet would give the user the ultimate
power to control not just plant life, but the weather, too.
Whomever had the book made it very clear that they were going to
get their hands on the amulet, too; only that could not be
accomplished unless she were dead.

She closed her eyes and tried to change the
subject that had now taken on an obsessive quality in her brain.
She felt herself being moved and opened her eyes to see that Faen
had taken hold of her. He was carrying her as he did last night
when they had returned to the party. She quickly wrapped her arms
around his neck and gave him a questioning look.

“Jocelyn was growing tired,” he answered.
“She is not used to carrying extra weight when she flies.”

“Sorry, Jocelyn,” Faedra called over her
shoulder.

“There is no need to be, Faedra, I am not as
strong as my brother. I am glad I was able to help him up to that
point,” she said with kindness.

Faedra now understood why they had made part
of the journey on horseback. They had an extra body to carry. She
assumed it would be much like her trying to carry someone a great
distance, and knew for a fact that she wouldn’t have had the
strength to do it for very long, either.

“We don’t have too much further, Ms. Faedra,”
Faen said looking ahead.

Faedra looked in the same direction and could
see the city looming closer in front of them. A huge wall encircled
the city in a protective manner. It looked medieval, but in a much
more beautiful and less rugged way. As they got closer, Faedra
could see another ornate stone archway just like the portal, but
this one was several times bigger. Jocelyn slowed and lowered
herself to the ground just in front of Faen who did the same. He
lowered Faedra to the ground, but her legs instantly collapsed
underneath her. They had turned to jelly, what with the galloping
and the flying, she wasn’t sure how much more her body could take
that day. In a flash, Faen scooped her up before she had a chance
to hit the ground.

“Sorry, Ms. Faedra. I had forgotten the
affect flying with us has on humans,” he said apologetically. “Your
legs should return to normal in just a few minutes.”

They stood in front of the archway for a
moment, almost hesitant to proceed any further and have their
suspicions confirmed. As though, if they didn’t have them
confirmed, everything would go back to how it was. After a moment,
they walked forward. Faen was still carrying Faedra and Jocelyn
stood closely by their side. The three of them a united front
against whatever lay waiting for them on the other side.

Faedra looked up in awe at the underneath of
the archway as she was being carried through it. A beautiful mosaic
of a fairy kneeling down to admire an exotic flower just like the
ones near the portal, adorned the ceiling. They got to the other
side of the arch and stopped. Faedra turned her attention to the
scene unfolding before her. What she imagined after seeing the
mosaic, as once being a peaceful and calming place to live, was in
utter turmoil.

“I think my legs will hold me now,” she
whispered to Faen.

She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she
felt him tremble. This was his home and it was in disarray, it must
be having some effect on him. He lowered her to the ground keeping
a steadying arm under hers until he was sure she was stable enough
to stand on her own.

All three stood side-by-side, just as they
had on the edge of the valley, and watched the chaos unfold before
their eyes. People were running in all directions, panic and
desperation on their faces. Some were crying, some were carrying
small children, some had stopped and were looking around with dazed
expressions. What were once quite obviously areas of lush greenery,
like miniature parks and gardens, were now brown and dying. The
city seemed to be dying from the inside out. A lump developed in
Faedra’s throat. She was determined that if there was any way she
could help restore this majestic place to its former glory, she
would move heaven and earth to do so.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Faen and Jocelyn started walking with an
urgency Faedra could physically feel in the air.

“Elvelynn’s is this way,” he said to her as
they made their way through the panicking inhabitants of the
city.

Faedra stuck out like a sore thumb in her
World of Men clothing, but no one noticed her. They were all too
busy trying to make sense of what was happening to their home.
There were many different kinds of people running around them. She
realized now that not everyone who lived in Azran were what she
considered to be fairies. She also recognized what she thought were
elves, dwarves, a few pixies and a leprechaun or two amongst them.
It wasn’t hard to figure out that these peaceful souls had never
experienced fear or confusion before, and it broke her heart to see
the pain on their faces.

As they made their way through the streets,
the pandemonium started to settle as the residents made their way
into their homes. She looked around to see shutters closing hastily
over windows, and doors being slammed shut. It wasn’t too much
longer before she could see that the three of them were the only
ones left walking down the cobbled lanes. An eerie hush lay over
the city like a blanket, and it caused the fine hairs on the back
of Faedra’s neck to stand to attention.

“It is just around the next corner,” Jocelyn
said, breaking the unearthly silence.

They turned the corner, and out of all the
houses that lined the street, Faedra knew instantly which one
belonged to Elvelynn. It was the only one with a door and windows
that were still wide open and welcoming. It was quite obvious that
the inhabitant was not at home.

“Stay here,” Faen commanded as they
approached.

Jocelyn and Faedra did as he asked, and
watched as he drew his sword and stepped with caution through the
open door. His sword, which he held out in front of him with both
hands, entered first. A moment later he was standing in the
doorway, his sword back in its sheath.

“There is no one here,” he said with
disappointment. “It is safe to enter.”

Jocelyn and Faedra didn’t hesitate, they
walked up to the front door and entered the pretty house. There had
once been a climbing rose framing the front door to welcome guests,
but this was now all shriveled and dry. Once inside, they could see
that a struggle had taken place. Faen was standing beside an
armoire that was intricately carved with Celtic knot work. The
doors were open, and one of them was hanging at an angle on a
single hinge. There was nothing inside.

“I take it that’s where the Book of Anohs
should be,” Faedra whispered, although she wasn’t quite sure why
she was whispering. The atmosphere had such a hushed quality to it
she didn’t dare speak any louder.