“Shade! What’s going on?” Dylan pulled her out of her thoughts. She glanced around to find the rock fading in front of them with a soft rumble around them. The bubble was no longer a bubble but extending into an elongating hall, growing and growing longer into the earth until it reached the top of the soil. Steps formed out of the smooth rock, and sunlight slowly streamed in through dirt and roots dangling down from the forest floor.
The walls had stopped rumbling and the ground stilled. She looked over to Dylan as they now stared down the small corridor to the stairs. She smiled and looked at him as he reached back, grabbing his cloak and her light stone from the ground.
He tossed the stone to her as they walked up the stairs. “Way to go, Shade. See, you just have to believe in yourself.”
“It worked! Ilarial gave me these rune stones that would help me out, when I needed it. I didn’t even do much but wish there to be a way out…wow, it’s amazing Dylan!” They both shouted with glee as they scurried up each step.
The sun bore down on them like a spotlight in their faces. Shade’s eyes cramped in pain as they adjusted to the bright sunlight. She blinked and shaded her eyes with her hands, and looked around them. They were no longer in the river of boulders but at the base of the Santiran mountain range. She pulled herself up and out of the hole in the ground with Dylan just behind her. The ground seemed to swallow up the darkness of the prison as they watched it close behind them. Only grass and leaves lay where the exit used to be. She bent and reached out to touch the patch of grass and dirt. It felt firm and undisturbed. She swallowed, amazed by the whole thing.
“Look, Dylan,” she pointed up the massive wall of mountain. “It’s the Santiran Mountain! We must be so close to the fountains! We’re almost there!” She walked with a little jump in her skip, almost bursting with anticipation. She would find the magic waters of the Santiran fountains, and then she would be that much closer to going home. Home. Going back to her snotty nosed brothers and bratty sister. She missed them so much her heart ached in her chest. She’d be able to hug her mother again. She wanted to run up the mountain and hurry as fast as possible; she could barely contain herself.
Dylan grabbed her arm and tugged hard. She was about to curse him out when he pressed a finger to his lips and tugged at her arm again for her to follow him. Her eyes widened as she strained to hear what he had. She followed him behind a boulder near a dip in the mountains side, almost like someone had taken a scooper and scooped out a bite of the mountain’s base. She wasn’t sure she liked being inside the hollowed stone but whatever Dylan had heard tripped his alarms at full force.
“What is it Dylan?” She whispered as they waited. She was about to ask him again, when she heard it. Murmurs of voices seemed to dance on the rock walls and made her turn her head in all directions to discover which way they were coming from. Maybe this hiding spot was not such a good idea. The voices grew louder and echoed even more, like they were hitting a concaved amplifier.
They waited quietly, barely breathing in fear of discovery. The voices continued to dance around them like they would in crowded arena. She knew they were coming from the side they would have to follow to get to the fountains. She gritted her teeth with impatience, willing the men to move along already.
When the murmurs returned into silence, Dylan peeked over his shoulder at her and nodded his head in the same direction as the voices. The strangers were going where they needed to be. Shade nodded in agreement, but the pit in her stomach flipped with anxiety. She wasn’t sure how many people might be waiting for them around the bend, how many Lonares were guarding the mountain?
They found the path deserted. They were breathing out sighs of relief as they crept out silently up the graveled path. They climbed the rocky path, slipping frequently from the loose dirt. They eased their way up the mountain, the altitude shifting into thinner and cooler air. The views were breathtaking, with emerald green treetops. The forest spread out for miles. The mountains stood tall, like a row of kings standing around the valley and framing the forest with their embrace. Shade took it in and smiled, finding nature beautiful even in her current situation. Again she felt as if she had changed somehow.
A cool breeze caressed them as they ascended. The forest began to grow again as thick as it had below, in the valley. The mountain path turned into a narrow crevice that they slide through one by one. Inside was a plateau cove, green and partly shaded by the mountain. Trees stood in all sizes around the path that led to the other side of the cove’s rock walls, where a carved opening stood in shadow that never reached the sun’s rays.
Shade followed Dylan, taking refuge in the shrubs and tree trunks that kept them hidden from the sight of the two soldiers; they were both standing casually by the door entrance. The men were chatting loudly, never noticing the intrusion. Shade snickered, she was sure the Unseelie queen would not be happy with the help around here. Dylan glared at her, warning her to be quiet.
He studied them and then sank back down to a hidden crouch.
“I only see the two guards. The Santiran fountains are inside that darkened doorway. If we can get through them, we should be all right. It seems that they weren’t expecting us to be here at all.” He paused, furrowing his brow in deep concentration. “Unless, of course, it’s a trap.” He bit on his lip, furrowing his brow in thought.
“How are we going to take on two guards?” She glanced over at the guards, who didn’t even have their helmets on. They were the same height with the same color and length of hair. They had blonde that hit their shoulders. They were tossing jokes back and forth and giving each other friendly pushes and punches. As she looked closely she could see they were identical twins.
Great, double the trouble. How am I going to take on two husky guards? She squatted back down and out of sight and looked at Dylan, and worry spread across her face. “I’m not a fighter, I haven’t learned enough to take on one of these guys. They’re each as huge as a house! They could crush me with a finger!” She took a deep breath, attempting to calm her nerves.
“Shhh, it’s alright, you can distract them and I’ll take them out. They won’t know what hit them.” He smiled and began pulling out his weapons, unsheathing his sword and draping a rope across his chest and shoulders. She watched him prepare, her face contorted in horror.
“You mean I’ll be the bait? Wait a minute, I don’t know, that doesn’t sound very promising. You might as well mark me for death. What do I say? How do I distract those two big buffoons? They don’t look that smart but who needs brains with brawn like that?” She rambled on nervously. She wrung her hands over and over, feeling almost faint with anxiety. She grasped Dylan’s tunic as he started to leave.
“Hey, don’t worry, you got to trust me a little, Shade. I’ve done this before, many times. I was captain of the Teleen guard, remember? One doesn’t become captain by letting their wards get all smashed up.” He nodded. “Calm down, just prance out there and act like some lost little maiden who needs their help. They will fall for it, believe me. Just act dumb, shouldn’t be too hard.” He laughed quietly but stopped when caught the nasty glare she gave him. He turned and started to move, keeping cover in the trees, until Shade no longer could see him.
Shoot, shoot, shoot! She looked again around the tree she was hiding behind and watched the twins, they were still cackling at each other’s jokes. Ok Shade, you know you have to; sometimes we have to do what we don’t want to. Just get it over with already!
She crept over closer to the twins. Peeking at the guards made her stomach twist in a bad way. Taking a deep breath she stood up straight, fixing her hair as best as she could and put her most convincing clueless face that included a broad smile. She then walked straight into their line of sight.
“Um, excuse me boys, but do you know where the nearest town is? I’ve done gone and got myself lost. Would either one of you gentlemen care to show me which way to go?” She batted her eyes at them in the girliest way she could think of. Flippi
ng her hair back, she didn’t figure she looked irresistible but she had figured what the hell, it’s worth a shot.
“Stay put there, miss. Andre, grab her and make sure she ain’t got no weapons.” Draden waved at his brother. They were immediately at full alert and converted into the soldiers they were trained to be. Shade swallowed hard and stiffened but recovered almost immediately, trying to act like it was no big deal.
“Oh come on now, boys, why would a little lass like me be carrying around a weapon? I wouldn’t touch those filthy things if you paid me to. It would ruin my nails.” She curled her fingers into her palm hoping they wouldn’t notice her dingy and short cuticles. She cranked up her smile and flashed her eyes at the approaching guard again, the one named Andre. He crouched by her and signaled her to hold her arms up as he did a quick sweep of her sides and yanked her pack from her backside. She was about to protest but decided that silence would be a sweet choice right now, and safer. She hoped the glamour charm Dylan had waved onto her pack was good enough to hide all her stuff, especially the weapons.
“I don’t see any, Draden. She’s got nothing but makeup, a brush and some clothes in this thing.” He tossed it back to her and she caught it as it whacked her chest. She frowned but slipped it back on, widening another smile across her face, twirling her hair that had dangled from her ponytail and flew about like a wisp halo around her face. She waited observing the other guard, who was squinted his suspicious eyes at her and was frowning.
“What’s your name, girl.” Draden approached her with his sword drawn. Shade held her breath as he came up to her, bending his head down to meet her eye line, with a cold stare of ice blue eyes. His long blond hair was pulled in a loose braid and dangled partially in his face. Up close his face was worn with years of hard fighting, deep lines creased his eyes and mouth and stubble grew sprinkled across his skin. His twin looked just as hard but maybe not as cold. She swallowed and wondered how to answer this big man with a sword pointed right at her. She took a breath, staring back into the warrior’s eyes.
“My name is Alice, Alice Coleman. I’m sorry I must have interrupted something. I’ll just leave then and go along my merry way. I really didn’t want to impose or anything…” Draden pressing his sword to her clavicle cut her off. She stepped back but he grabbed her arm to stop her. She felt a panic rush over her. Where the hell is Dylan?
“I don’t believe you.” He pressed the blade a little more and her skin burned with the tiny cut. She held back a cry and stared back at him, anger spilled across her face as she clenched her lips together.
“I don’t care what you think. I said I’ll be on my way now.” She continued to stare and waited since he did not let up on his grip. He glared back at her and seemed to ponder her face, stamping it into his memory. She wondered if he would actually hurt her or even kill her. She didn’t want to find out but her impatience grew with every second.
She decided to chance another step backwards. Slowly she retreated, but watching him dart his eyes just a moment made her pause. He continued to press the sword into her but did not push it in any further. She stared at his eyes and willed him to drop the sword away. She beckoned with her eyes, like a silent prayer, she felt her magic swirl within her, inside her heart, spinning around like a mirror ball and growing with each moment. She felt it like a breath flowing out of her, up to her wound and down the sword Draden held firmly in his hands.
The moment it touched him, she saw him waver. He looked away, down at the sword and back up to her face. His face fell, eyes widening; fear crept up into his icy stare as his eyes darted from the sword to her and back to his hands and then once again back to her. Finally, he stepped away, relenting, letting his sword slide down until it graced the soil and it hung slack in his hand.
“What did you do? How did you…who are you?” He stepped back, a firm stare met her gaze it was mixed with confusion and suspicion. “Who sent you?”
Shade licked her lips and watched him as he backed away. Andre approached with his sword in hand but halted with a wave from Draden. The dominant brother was obvious to her. She hoped that whatever had just happened would save her.
“Drop your swords or we will not stop. She will churn your insides into pulp and she will not hesitate.” Dylan had two swords in hand and crept up behind the twins cautiously poking them in their backs simultaneously. They both froze, surprise and anger spilled across their faces. Draden stared at Dylan and then back at Shade, seemingly contemplating the situation, probably pondering their chances against them.
Whatever magic had filled him from Shade had got the best of him. He dropped his sword and stood straight, holding his head up and puffing his chest out, in some male attempt of superiority. Andre, followed suit and dropped his, hands flew into the air for surrender.
“Shade, tie them up, and hurry, I don’t know when their replacements could show up.” She hurried over, kicking the dropped swords out of reach and grabbing the spool of rope Dylan handed over to her. She took the slim ropes and walked over to Draden and stared at him. “Ok, tell your brother to turn his back into that tree there and you can back into it too, next to him with arms behind you.”
Draden glared at her with tense lips and hard eyes. She waited patiently, not letting his stare creep into her again or letting any fear slip out. He did what she said and waited as his brother walked over and turned around behind him. Shade smiled and hastily tied the ropes around their wrists. She silently thanked her mom for those scout camp outs where tying knots was a requirement to earn those nifty badges, her mom would also carefully sew into her uniform vest. She still had that vest, hanging neatly in her closet.
Once she had them tied, she directed them to a tree where she wrapped the remainder of the rope around them several times as snug as she could get it without cutting off circulation to their bodies and knotted the ends securely. She looked at the brothers and beamed with satisfaction.
“I know what you are. You’re a changeling. Only changelings can send magic into others to make them weaker. I met one once, he’s dead now. Powerful he was though. You will never be that strong.” Draden sighed and looked down at the ground, pensive and serious. “You look like him though, your father I mean.”
Shade stared at him, her face frozen in surprise.
“What did you say? Who are you talking about?”
Draden snapped his head up and watched her face, smirking.
“What are you smiling at?” She felt anger flush over her face but she tried to contain it, seeing that it pleased him so.
“You don’t know do you? You didn’t even know you were a changeling. How’d you do it then? Wild magic flows through you like a cancer, he had the same powers. I could help you, you know. I knew your father. He was a powerful man. I was his second in command for centuries until he died and that crazy queen took over.” The husky man squirmed in the ropes, grimacing and obviously trying to loosen the ties. Shade smiled; there was no way in hell he could break loose.
Shade turned to look at Dylan. He was standing, his dual swords ready in hand. He was not as sure as she was if the rope would hold. His lips were firm, straight and almost colorless. His eyes furrowed in concentration, contemplating what the soldier had said.
“Don’t listen to them, Shade. He is trying to trick you and delay us. Let’s go to the fountain before someone else shows up.” He brought the swords down, turning and motioning her to follow.
Draden’s eyes widened, seeing the two of them walking away, he fidgeted again and yelled after them. “I swear it’s the truth, girl. I know things you need to know. I was his second in command, your father; he would want you to know these things. Stop!”
Shade turned her head, still following Dylan and glanced back at the brawny warrior. His wild eyes watched her intently, waiting for her to turn back. She shook her head and looked away. She had a strange feeling that the soldier was telling the truth. If not, he was an excellent liar. A part of her wanted to go back and ask the
warrior so many questions but knew it wasn’t the right time.
The doorway to the fountains was laden in shadow. They stepped into the darkness and waited as their eyes adjusted to dim light. She followed Dylan, lighting up her light stone for their path. It was like another cave. Great, thought Shade.
Just as she thought a light shone through another doorway, she realized the hall they were in was like a semi-circle and led to an open courtyard in the shape of a full moon. Here in the middle of the mountains, a brilliant light shone like the sun streaming down above the sharp cliffs that reached to the sky. Shade drew in her breath, amazed at the sight; hidden from any prying eyes was a vast, rich garden. The garden was large and the sound of water trickled and gurgled all around them. The grass was a brilliant glowing green with the most brilliantly colored flowers and vines she had ever seen weaved throughout it. The air was moist and warm here, she felt akin to being in a large greenhouse, like one she had visited in her childhood with her father. It had had an immense glass dome above their heads and held in butterflies and birds of all types too. The warm mist felt much the same and made her want to curl up under a tree and take a nap. It was a piece of untouched land that seemed to be heaven on earth.
Shade and Dylan were standing in awe of the sights. Dylan motioned her forward again and broke her out of her thoughts. She nodded and followed. Near the middle of garden, they came upon what looked like a massive natural fountain, made of rock and crystals of every color, glinting and parting the light into beams of rainbow all around it, making it hard to look at because the jewels shimmered too brightly