The Steward (25 page)

“Yes, you will not have to think about them as hard, and because you’re not thinking as hard, your conditioning isn’t as likely to get in the way. You’re already capable of sensing Fae. That’s one of the most important skills we teach a Steward. Keeping other people away from places they shouldn’t be is much easier when you can sense our presence.”

“How will my conditioning get in the way?”

“Before Gavin taught you to manipulate the Naeshura in the Earth element, why have you never changed stone before?” she asked.

“I didn’t know how?” I guessed.

“Have you ever tried?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Why?”

I understood what she meant. “I’ve never considered it. Until I saw it happen, I thought it was impossible.”

Sara nodded, and it finally began to make sense. My beliefs about how the world was supposed to work, what I’d learned and been taught, would be obstacles, and I understood they might be difficult to overcome, but now I felt something I hadn’t felt before—desire. I wanted to learn to do as much as I could, and more than that, I wanted to
understand
how things worked. Simply to know what should happen was no longer good enough. I felt strong. Alive. I finally understood Spirit.

I wanted to test it and see if I could create a breeze for a few seconds, and instantly I felt it. The sensation sent a chill up my spine, and somehow I
knew
it was my breeze—I created it. A tear spilled onto my cheek. While it blew, I focused on a leaf that lay a few feet from me and directed the air to lift it upward. It darted back and forth spastically on the stone surface before it lifted off the ground. At first it blew just a few inches, but as I concentrated more, it lifted higher. I played with the air around the leaf, and tried to put it on top of a boulder. It was as if I could feel the leaf with numb, invisible fingers—I knew where it was, and I knew I had it, but I couldn’t quite get it to do what I wanted. I fumbled with it a little more but lost control and it fluttered off into the darkness.

“Most impressive,” Gavin said from behind me.

I turned, smiling, and found him returning my smile with his own.

“What else can I learn to do?” I asked, barely containing my excitement. It was so exhilarating that I didn’t think to say hello. I felt like a child at Christmas who came downstairs to find a gift so unexpected and spectacular, so special, that she never could have imagined receiving it.

“It will take practice, but it is possible to learn how to manipulate the Earth element through the air without physical contact,” Sara said.

“Oh, no way.” I couldn’t contain my smile.

“Yes,
way
,” she said, teasing me. “And not all Fae can do it, either. Most Fae are limited to controlling only our alignment element without touch. It’s an exceptionally rare skill among humans, and one I wouldn’t have even mentioned were you not already so far beyond what I expected. I’m beginning to believe that with you, Maggie O’Shea, anything is possible. You have already held the Air stone in place for nearly twenty minutes, and you’ve not even realized you’re doing it.”

I spun back around and saw it, glowing green in the darkened sky, and almost immediately realized I
had
been holding it there. I quickly found the part of my mind that held it, and when I turned it off the stone fell into my hand.

“Yes, it’s true,” Sara said. “You struggled with a leaf, trying to move it with a breeze, while all along you held a stone in place subconsciously. That is a key to your development, Maggie, opening your mind and unlearning the limitations.”

“Well, considering this, I think my mind is pretty open.”

“Oh no, my dear, you are learning to open your mind, but your journey has only begun.”

“She’s right,” Gavin said. “Tell me how you got onto this plateau tonight?”

“I altered the rock face and climbed.”

“Exactly,” he said. His expression was almost apologetic.

“No, but that was great, I found a solution.”

“You found the most limited solution, one driven by your
conditioning
.”

“What?” I was a little perturbed that he wasn’t impressed.

He smiled, his chocolate eyes twinkling despite the dimming light. “Maggie, you thought
how do I get myself up to the plateau—
you never considered bringing the plateau down to you. You could have easily lowered it, stepped on, and then put it back in place.”

When he said it, I felt as if I had just awakened from a nap. I completely understood what they tried to tell me. I was antsy and breathing quickly—I had the strongest desire to do more, to explore my new gift. Being here with Sara, Gavin, and the rest of the Fae was incredible.

“Are there always so many of you on the island?” I asked.

“Not always. This is a special occasion. While many of us are fond of the elemental trials, you’ve become something of an attraction—given your unorthodox solution to the Earth trial,” Sara said.

I felt myself blush. “Are there any Unseelie here?” I asked.

“No, we don’t share the islands at the same time,” Gavin said.

“It would be neither prudent nor wise,” Sara agreed

“Can you tell me why, then, the Unseelie are here at all, and why Chalen is the caretaker for the Weald?”

Sara looked at Gavin, and I could tell they had one of their silent conversations. I’d asked the same question about Chalen and the Unseelie before, and they’d never given me an answer. I tried to listen for some hint of what they communicated to one another. Unfortunately, being inclined to Air didn’t come with powers of telepathy.
If only.

“I think it’s only fair that we explain it,” Gavin said aloud, breaking the silence.

I assumed he was defending me to Sara.

She looked at me and smiled. “Yes, I understand your concerns, but I agree with Gavin and see no reason to wait. She will learn soon enough,” she said as though she were speaking to an audience.

From behind I heard a third voice, a woman’s voice, say, “I agree.”

Even though I heard only two words, the voice had a liquid quality. It was feminine and strong, giving me a sense of comfort and safety. Whomever it belonged to hadn’t chosen to materialize in human form—she was a large white owl. I wondered if it was Ozara.

“You remember when I told you about the conflict between the Unseelie and the Seelie?” Sara asked.

“Yes.”

“The leaders of both clans made a pact between them to end the fighting that threatened all of us. One of the central points of conflict was over what to do with places like this one. You see, both clans shared this place, and dozens of other places like it, for thousands of years before the fighting. The Unseelie claim to those places is as legitimate as ours. We reached peace only after agreeing to mutual access. Part of that accord, as well, was an agreement to a permanent Unseelie presence in the Weald—Chalen represents the Unseelie Clan.”

That knowledge was a stain on the evening, because knowing that he was a representative of the Unseelie made it seem all the more dangerous that he was right up the hill from me and my family. It meant that he probably reported everything about us to his clan—they weren’t some distant nightmare any longer. I’m sure everyone sensed my discomfort—I still hadn’t managed to find a way to block my emotions from them like I could the images in my mind. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Please don’t worry about the Unseelie, Maggie. There are absolute rules in place to protect your family and your friends. You already know one of the most important,” Sara said.

“Stay off the island, right? This island,” I said, laughing a little.

“The Unseelie are not permitted to come to this island during our cycle, and the opposite is true of their cycle. Our cycle begins on the new moon and continues while the moon is waxing—from new moon to full moon the islands are ours. When the moon is waning, from midnight the night of the full moon until midnight of the new moon, they belong to the Unseelie—they have complete jurisdiction.”

“So this pact works? They don’t come here when it’s not their turn?”

“To break a cycle would be an act of aggression and the pact would fail,” she said.

Gavin nodded. “The Steward of the Weald is the only being permitted to come to the island at all times. As long as you accompany them, no harm will fall to your family or friends who come here. That said, it is probably in your best interest to keep everyone off the island unless the need is overwhelming. Likewise, the Unseelie are not permitted inside the cottage or any of the outbuildings near it. They are not permitted inside the garden walls, either.”

I shuddered with a new thought. “When the Unseelie are here, how many of them will there be?”

“There might be none, there could be hundreds—the right to use the islands doesn’t mean they have to use them,” Gavin said.

“So, they are on the Weald, too, except for the places you mentioned,” I asked, looking back at the Eastern shore.

“Yes, the Weald is mutual ground and all of us share it,” Gavin said.

“There are rules, of course, stipulating what forms we’re permitted to take in the Weald—nothing too provocative, if you get my meaning.
Those
forms are strictly reserved for the islands. We also have rules for things like punishing trespassers,” Sara said.

Punishing trespassers? The words were numbing.

“Allow Maggie time to consider everything we have told her before we share more,” the beautiful voice rang again. “And I believe it best not to reveal her ability to detect us with any beyond the Council.”

Of course, that made sense, I thought. The Fae on the promontory, excluding Gavin and Sara, were members of the Council. That also meant that I was correct—the beautiful voice simply had to belong to Ozara. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but I had learned that voicing them was futile. The Fae were more stubborn than I am. When they said enough, the conversation was over.

“Thank you, Ozara,” I said.

“Clever girl, you are most certainly welcome.”

Gavin and Sara took me by the arms. I felt the sensations of my feet lifting from the ground and air rushing past for a few seconds. There wasn’t much light, but I knew they’d taken me off the promontory and back to the boat. They sat me down just as I tried to
feel
how they had moved me. I caught a distant numb sensation before it ended, and I tried to memorize it so I could practice later.

I was aware of other Fae on the ride back to the peninsula and tried not to pay too much attention. Still, I could detect them when we got close enough, so I did my best to act like I didn’t notice. There were Fae in the water that passed the boat, and there were others in the Weald that came close as Gavin and I made our way up the path to the cottage. Most likely, I thought, I’d been surrounded by Fae the entire time I was here, but didn’t know it.

I nonchalantly looked around and focused on plants and trees, trying to get a glimpse, and I wondered if I’d be able to tell the difference between Seelie and Unseelie. A few of them remained in their natural form and I couldn’t see them, but some transformed into birds and mammals. Inside the garden wall there were more—they had to be Seelie.

Some of the legends and myths in the books made more sense to me now. If I had developed a sensitivity to Fae on my own, like some people have, and I had not been told the truth, I’d have probably come to the same conclusions as those authors—well, at least some of the same conclusions. Aunt May was right about that as well—knowing the truth about the Fae, I felt sorry for everyone else.

FOURTEEN

EXPOSURE

Carefully studying the kitchen when she walked in, Mom forced me to eat a bowl of stew and lectured me about training and proper nutrition when she realized I’d skipped dinner. Aunt May sat with us. Swimming in the memories of her anniversary, she told us about James—my great uncle. He had purchased the Chris Crafts, she told us, and spent most of his time motoring around on the lake. He read everything he could get his hands on, filling the small library with rare first editions they’d bought all over the world. With each story, she seemed to drift off as though she were reliving them. Occasionally a smile would cross her face, followed by wetness in her eyes.

It wasn’t until I’d finished eating and mom finally left that Aunt May looked at me over the top of her glasses—her silent way of asking whether I’d passed the trial. When I nodded, she smiled, but seemed troubled.

“Aunt May, what is it? I thought you’d be happy?” I whispered.

Leaning forward, she patted my wrist. “Oh I am, Girlie Girl, I am.”

Her reply didn’t convince me. “You’re worried, too.”

“I’m gonna go lay down, but wouldn’t mind a bit-a company—if ya got the time.”

I nodded.

The scent of lilac filled my nose when I pulled the round-top wood door to her bedroom closed. Two porcelain flower-patterned lamps cast a soft glow on the dark wood ceiling and reflected off the diamond panes of her windows. A gas lamp flickered in the garden. Her breathing, more labored than usual, finally slowed when she settled on the bed. I sat next to her.

“Aunt May, what is it? I know something’s wrong.”

She smiled and put her glasses on the dark wood nightstand. “Got a lot on my mind.”

“I love you and I respect you, but I know when you don’t want to tell me something.”

“Am I that obvious?” She chuckled softly and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“No, I’m just an expert at hiding my emotions. You wear yours like a hat.”

She snorted a laugh that settled into a crooked smile. “S’pose I do. So yer Air inclined as well?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She exhaled slowly, noisily. “It’s prob’ly nothin’, Maggie girl, but I just feel I should … enlighten ya ‘bout a few things.”

In a moment, the tick tock of the big wooden clock on her wall fell silent, as did the rest of the sounds of the night—the katydids and crickets stopped chirping, and the birdsongs went quiet. The faint rasp of her breathing was the only sound remaining in the still room.