The Changelings (War of the Fae: Book 1) (32 page)

I turned from the obelisk to face the others.
 
Everyone but Chase was looking at me.
 
I walked over, intending to discuss our plan for waypoint number four, but I was distracted by the look on Chase's face as I drew even with him.
 
He was staring out at the lake, mesmerized.

I shrugged.
 
Who knew what went on in that guy's head?
 
My mom always said that still waters ran deep, so maybe Chase had a lot more things going on than I realized.
 
But if he did, he rarely showed signs of it.
 
He reminded me of a military recruit, just waiting to take orders.
 
I ignored him in favor of making our plan.

"So, what's next?"

We all stood there looking at each other, none of us wanting to be the first one to speak.
 
I think seeing Jared's flag on the waypoint had kind of bummed them out or something.
 

I sighed.
 
It sucked being the only one with their proverbial shit together.
 
"Listen guys, we have some options.
 
We can stop for a while; we can eat; we can stay here for the night; we can keep truckin'.
 
Just tell me what you want to do and I'll do it."

"I'm starved," said Finn, rubbing his belly.

"Yeah, I was starving too after I had a dose of tree-healing," said Becky.

Tony was looking through his bag.
 
"I don't know about you guys, but I really don't have much food left."
 
He pulled out the last meal packet he had – mystery beef – and a half bottle of water.
 
He looked out towards the lake and I could almost see his mind working.
 
We needed more water.
 

Before I could interject with my theories on drinking water from a lake that allegedly had some lady living in it, I was distracted by the look on Tony's face.
 

He opened his mouth and started yelling.
 
"Hey, Chase!
 
Where are you going?!"

I turned in time to see Chase walking towards the edge of the lake.
 
He didn't answer.
 
He just kept moving towards someone standing in the water.
 
Someone wearing a long, white, flowing dress – a lady.

"Fuck balls, it's the bitch in the lake!"
 
I ran towards Chase to intervene.

I saw the woman raise her hand towards him and Chase obediently returned the gesture, continuing forward, his feet now nearly touching the water.
 

I reached his side and nudged him.
 
He didn't look at me; he just took another step forward.
 
"Hey, big guy, where ya goin'? I asked.

No response.

I grabbed hold of his outstretched arm, pulling on it a little, but he just shrugged me off.

I ducked under his arm and stepped in front of him, putting my hands on his chest to stop his forward movement, my feet now in the water.
 
"Just hold up a minute, Chase ... what's your hurry?"

He just kept walking forward, still in some sort of trance, pushing me ahead of him and deeper into the water.
 

"A little help here, guys!" I yelled, straining from the effort of keeping this human bulldozer from drowning himself, which is what I figured the Lady's plan was for him.
 
She was like a siren or something, luring him into her watery lair.
 

Screw that – not on my watch!
 

Becky came running over to help me.
 
She stood in front of Chase too, pushing with all her puny might.

"Where are the others?" I grunted out, my feet slipping further into the water, dredging up some muck on the way.
 
I could feel it going into my Converse sneakers.
 
"This ho-bag is ruining my sneakers.
 
She's gonna pay."

"I don't think the guys are going to be much help," said Becky, mysteriously.
 

I snuck a peek around Chase's arm and was thoroughly alarmed by what I saw.
 
Spike, Finn, and Tony were all staring out at the lake, their eyes glazed over.

"Sonofabitch!"
 
I yelled.
 
How is it that we could take out a pack of ferocious werewolves with a slingshot and a couple of arrows, but a watery bitch floating in the lake was going to kill all my guy friends with a look?
 
This was
totally
fucked up.
 
Guys are so vulnerable sometimes.

I slid down to my knees, taking Chase's legs in my arms.
 
Then I sat down in the muck and wrapped my legs around both of his as best I could, like I used to do to my dad when I was a little kid and he wasn't yet a flaming asshole, trying to keep him from going out the door to work.
 
I had to get in contact with the ground and keep Chase from moving at the same time.

I put my hand down in the water, touching the shore beneath.
 
Green things, help me.
 
Grab my friends.
 
Pull them away from the water.
 
I pictured ivy and vines coming out from the forest and winding themselves around the guys and then dragging them back away from the lake.
 
I left Becky out of the vision, even though she was pretty much zero help at all right now.
 
No need to truss her up along with them.
 
Maybe she'd come in handy later.
 
She still had her knife.

The forest must have felt my urgency along with my instructions.
 
The vines crawled across the ground at a much quicker speed than I would have thought possible.
 
They reached the guys' feet and then traveled upwards, slithering like snakes up their legs and torsos, weaving around themselves and wrapping the guys like mummies as they went.
 
I made sure The Green knew its goal was to hinder and not strangle.
 
It was alarming to think how quickly my plan to protect could turn into a hangman's noose if I wasn't very clear about what I wanted.
 
Now that I thought about it, though, strategizing using images was better than using words.
 
When I thought in language and then matched my images to words, like I did the night I asked The Green to protect Tony and me, I failed to take into account that my specific words don't consider other scenarios.
 
It was fascinating, this whole topic, but I didn't have time right now to mull it over or analyze it further.
 
First, I had to immobilize the guys.
 
Then I had to kick this watery bitch's ass.

There was a thud as Tony's body hit the ground.
 
He was struggling to get up, but his arms were now restrained at his sides; he was tangled in vines from his ankles to his shoulders.
 
A second and third thud vibrated through the ground as Spike and Finn went down.
 
Finn didn't struggle much, but Spike was pissed.
 
He really wanted a piece of that waterlogged ass I guess.
 
Stupid guys.

More vines had made their way to Chase, so I scooted away to let them do their thing.
 
He was covered up to his armpits by the time I got to my feet and they were beginning to make some headway in drawing him back away from the lake and its beckoning resident.
 
I was covered in watery muck from the waist down.
 

"Fuck me, I'm wet everywhere," I said with disgust.
 
I had my head down assessing my soggy clothes, so I didn't see exactly what happened next.
 

"Jayne!" screamed Becky, a violent splashing making its way to my ears.

I looked up and saw the aftermath of my critical planning error.
 
The Lady was close to the shore and had Becky by the hand, pulling her out into the water.
 
The Lady was just floating, but she was floating backwards, dragging a struggling Becky behind her.

Chase was being pulled away from the lake and back towards the forest by the vines.
 
I called out to The Green to come and help Becky, but the vines stopped on the edge of the water, gently bobbing up and down with the rhythm of the waves created by Becky's still fighting form.
 
She was up to her shoulders now, heading out to deeper waters.

"Becky!" I screamed, making to go in after her.
 
The vines, which moments ago had refused to go into the water, suddenly awakened and grabbed me, wrapping their leafy arms around my legs, stopping me from going farther.

I started slapping at them, grabbing them and pulling as hard as I could to get them off.
 
The more I tried to escape, the harder they wrapped themselves around me.
 
More vines came to join the party.
 
Pretty soon I was going to look like one of the guys – a green mummy.

"Let me go!
 
I have to get her!" I sobbed.
 

"Jayne, help me!" Becky screamed in sheer panic.

I had to do something, but apparently swimming after her was a no-go, thanks to my ropey green friends.
 
I tried in that moment not to question their loyalty – they'd never done anything but help me, so I had to believe they were doing that now.

I let them know that I wasn't going to go in the lake, turning to head back to shore.
 
They loosened their hold on me and I ran back to where Finn had fallen, finding his bow and arrows lying next to him on the ground.
 
I picked them up and tried to hold the bow and at the same time, load an arrow.
 
It was much harder to do than it looked.

I looked down at him and considered freeing him from the vines, but his eyes were still glazed over.
 
I couldn't trust that he would help me and not go drown himself.

I sent a mayday message out to The Green, not expecting there to be a plant out there that knew how to shoot bows and arrows, but I didn't know what else to do.
 
I stood on the shore of the lake, tears streaming down my cheeks as I watched Becky's face begin to disappear below the surface of the water, her eyes confirming the fear she felt as she approached her watery death.
 

"Becky!
 
I'm sorry!" I screamed.
 
I hated myself at that moment for being so powerless.

The bow and arrow were jerked from my hand.
 
I started to fight, thinking one of my other friends had escaped and was going to follow Becky in, but it wasn't one of them.
 
It was a small person, not much bigger than Becky herself, dressed in clothes that can only be described as camouflage, even though it wasn't a military variety.
 
His shoes were more like moccasins and made no sound as he stepped one pace away from me.
 
He lifted the weapon and, in one swift motion, notched the shaft in place, drew back the string, and let the arrow fly.

It sang through the air, hitting its intended target, piercing the heart of the Lady of the Lake.
 
She let out a harrowing screech – it sounded like the cry of a thousand desperate, tortured souls.
 
It was horrible.
 
I covered my ears, trying to keep the sound away.
 
I knew without question and without being told that too much of it could drive a person mad – I was already thinking that this world really had started to suck just hearing her screech one time.
 
That was some powerful negativity coming at me.
 
The Lady sunk beneath the surface, her deep crimson blood pouring down her gown and coloring the water around her.
 
She kept her eyes locked on mine, even as the water rose up and covered her head.
 
I saw anger in her eyes, and a silent promise of vengeance.

I anxiously watched the water for signs of Becky.
 
My vines, sensing perhaps that I was again considering a water rescue, slithered up my legs.
 
I absently brushed at them, knowing they were wasting their time because I'd never make it.
 
The Lady was down, but I hadn't actually seen her die.
 
The look on her face had said that she'd like nothing better than to get her clammy hands on me.

The place where Becky had disappeared was calm.
 
A few bubbles rose to the surface, which instantly got my hopes up, but then nothing followed.
 
No waves, no ripples, no more bubbles.
 
No Becky.

"Is she gone?" I asked.
 

The man next to me didn't answer, so I looked at him.
 
He nodded at me in silence.

I dropped my face into my hands and began sobbing.
 
The man pulled me away from the edge, pushing down on my shoulder when I drew near my vine-entangled friends.
 
I lowered myself to the ground, not thinking, just grieving.
 

Becky was gone and it was my fault.
 
I had chosen to help the guys, but left her unprotected and vulnerable.
 
The sobs racked my body. She was only a kid.
 
She was tiny and unable to fend for herself.
 
I should have taken care of her.
 
I should have known better than to leave her out there.
 
I knew if Becky hadn't come out of the lake by now, she was never going to come out.
 

My heart was breaking.
 
I didn't know Becky that well, but I did know that she was a good person.
 
She was always happy, always positive.
 
She was like a girl version of my Tony.
 
That realization made me cry even harder.
 
When had our lives become so fucked up?
 
One day I'm worried about a trip to the principal's office, and next I'm watching a really great kid getting drowned in a lake and my friends being hypnotized into nearly committing suicide.