Chapter 7
Enlightening
Echo was glad she’d been too scared to scream. As the object entered her room and drew closer, she realized it was only a pixie. Overwhelmed with relief, she broke out in giggles. She quickly lit the lamp and turned to greet her guest.
“Lixia, you scared me!” she said. The pixie fluttered in front of her, looking delighted that she’d scared a human. Her green-hued skin sparkled and her wings buzzed so fast Echo could barely see them. She wore a blue, butterfly wing dress that complimented her eyes and white hair. She whistled something in a laughing tone and then zipped over to the pixie house in Echo’s window. The tiny house, a birthday gift from Keebo, was made with innumerable bits of mirror glued to the sides of a soft, silver metal frame. Light and color from Echo’s room danced off of the reflective glass. A mixture of ivy, daisies, and miniature pink roses magically and continually grew along the edges, complimenting the design. Lixia entered her home and sat on the pink pin cushion Echo had placed inside. The pixie turned her head and body in different angles, catching her reflection in the tiny mirrors.
“Conceited as ever!” Echo mumbled. She loved having the pixie come to her room at night; not only did she find the creatures beautiful and fascinating, but they usually came with a few lightning bug friends, giving Echo a bit of a night light.
Echo flopped on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her mind buzzed with a million thoughts, and an empty, lonely feeling stole into her heart when she thought of Brecker. He was changing, just like everything else. Everything was becoming dark, undefined, and scary.
She rolled onto her side and looked at the mess in her room, hoping to distract her thoughts. Her drawings of horses, elves, pixies, and dragons were scattered everywhere. She’d always been fascinated with dragons. The thought of riding astride a powerful, flying creature thrilled her imagination. Plus, she loved the clouds. There was just something about them…
Echo hadn’t done any drawing since she and Brecker started training. She sat up and slid to the floor to study the sketches. Smiling, she looked at some that she’d done a while back that weren’t as good as the newer ones. She held up one of her secret place--a quiet, secluded area near the river nestled between the trees and the valley from where she could listen to the elves sing the sun to sleep. Brecker had showed the spot to her long ago when they were still too small to be bothered by changes or worried over grown-up things. But he’d long since forgotten about that place, and she’d been going there alone for years. Well, not completely alone. Shimmer always seemed to sense when she’d be there and usually joined her. Echo promised herself to visit the place soon. She could use the relaxing solitude to think.
Fatigue finally gripped her. She rubbed her eyes and yawned as she slid back onto her bed. She blew out her lamp and quickly dove into the safety of her downy covers, allowing her soft mattress to surround her in a comforting embrace. She kept her wide eyes just over the top of her covers. A firefly, then another, joined Lixia at her house, sending their glowing light to reflect off of the tiny mirrors and illuminating her room just enough to ease her mind. She shook her head at herself. Some defender I am. Can’t even go from my night stand to my bed without freaking out! She sighed, closed her eyes, and drifted to sleep.
Her dreams were curious. She’d expected visions of creeping shadows and her family fighting. Instead, her dreams carried her to her secret place. Peacefulness surrounded her as she watched the sky’s colors change with the setting sun. A romantic mist meandered off the river and over the ground, swirling mysteriously in front of her. She wanted to touch it.
Reaching out her hand, she felt the cool droplets caress her skin. She suddenly jerked her hand back when she felt something solid. Things grew darker. Her heart pounded in her ears as a ghostly hand reached out from the fog. And then, a man, ruggedly handsome with messy hair and eyes that carried the silver mist, stood before her. She felt a longing to go to him. He reached out to her, his face pleading and sad. She took a tentative step forward. Then, his voice reached her ears as an eerie whisper. “Help me.”
Echo gasped and jolted awake. The whispering voice had woken her as surely as if it had been spoken in reality, right into her ear. Lixia groggily peeked around the edge of her house, squinted at Echo, and then flopped back onto the cushion, fast asleep.
Echo clutched her covers and stared into the semi-lit room. She saw nothing, however, but the vivid face of the man from her dream. She slowly relaxed as her mind traced every detail of his features. I wonder what would’ve happened if I’d reached out and touched his hand? Would he have disappeared? Would he have gently taken her hand, leaned over, and kissed it softly? She giggled at herself for being such a hopeless romantic, then she drifted back to sleep to visions of dancing with a mysterious man in a caressing mist.
“Echo, wake up. Come on, wake up!” Brecker’s whisper cut through a heavy fog in Echo’s brain. It seemed as if she’d just fallen to sleep seconds ago. She groaned as Brecker shook her shoulder. For a moment, she was transported back in time when they were little and Brecker would shake her awake so they could watch the horses or try to catch dew fairies.
“Echo, come on!” Brecker sounded more urgent. Echo opened her eyes a fraction and looked at the blurred form of his face.
“What? It’s not time for training already, is it?” She glanced at the window. No streaks of pre-dawn gray could be seen through the blackness.
“No. I want you to go ride with me.”
“Ride? Now? But it’s dark out!”
Brecker huffed. “You really need to get over this fear of the dark thing. Just come with me. I need someone to talk to, and I have the strongest urge to ride Midnight Sun.”
Echo sat up in her bed and studied the silhouette of her brother’s face. Now that he mentioned it, she felt a strange, sudden longing to be with Shimmer, too. “Okay, okay. Just give me two minutes to change.”
Brecker left the room and Echo dressed in silence. She’d had plenty of practice making no noise the countless mornings she’d readied for defender training.
Echo met Brecker at the usual spot at the foot of the stairs. She was suddenly stung with an adventure bug when her brother’s smile reached her. They didn’t dare to even whisper until they were at least a quarter of a mile from the house. With Brecker next to her and the heightened sense of adventure rushing through her, the darkness felt less threatening. A crescent sliver of moon hung in the sky, providing weak light. It reminded Echo of a hoof print.
They reached the valley and Echo waited for Brecker’s sharp whistle. Midnight Sun and Shimmer stood apart from the herd, their heads raised and their faces toward them as if they were expecting them. Shimmer’s creamy mane and tail contrasted with the surrounding darkness. The horses whinnied at seeing their friends and cantered up to them.
Echo forgot the darkness altogether as she hugged Shimmer’s neck. She buried her face in the unnaturally silky hair and ran her fingers along the horse’s muscular neck; it was so soft, it felt as smooth as a finely polished stone. She savored the sensation, rubbing Shimmer’s hair and messaging her neck.
Echo had always felt close to the horse, but something was different tonight. Thoughts came to her, not so much in words, but in images and sensations. She felt as if nothing separated her from Shimmer, like everything was laid bare and all the secrets and mysteries between human and beast were dissolved. Shimmer nickered and bent her neck back until her soft muzzled touched Echo’s back. She, too, seemed to understand a change between them.
Brecker spoke so softly, Echo almost didn’t hear him. “Echo. Do you feel it? Do you feel something stronger with Shimmer than just a horse and rider connection? Something…”
Brecker’s sentence trailed off as if he couldn’t find the right word to describe what he was experiencing. Echo smiled and responded just as softly, “Something beautiful.”
The experie
nce not only left Echo feeling closer to Shimmer, but a closeness to Brecker that she hadn’t known since she was small. Brecker’s eyes shone and he leaped suddenly onto Midnight Sun’s bare back. “Come on!” he laughed as he said the words. “Let’s ride!”
Echo’s euphoric mood ebbed away. “What? But, what about the bridles and saddles? Shimmer’s training isn’t done, and I’ve never ridden her bareback.”
Brecker shook his head. “After what you just felt, do you really think you’ll need a bridle or saddle?”
Echo looked into Shimmer’s orb of an eye. The horse nickered softly, then gestured with her delicate head toward her back. Echo chuckled. “Well, if you say so!” It seemed as natural as breathing to spring off of the ground and land softly on Shimmer’s back.
Brecker looked at Echo and they beamed wide smiles at each other. In a breath, horses and riders were racing smoothly across the valley at blinding speed. A thrill of danger washed over Echo. Unable to see the ground for the darkness, she felt as if they were soaring through a blackened sky.
Pure joy. It was as if she were running with her own legs, strong, fast, and free of human confinements. Shimmer neighed and shot forward, even faster. The horse’s power and speed were intoxicating. Echo could hear Brecker’s laughter, and she made no attempts to stop her own from trailing on the wind behind her.
The horses ran the entire circle of the valley, never slowing, never tiring. When finally they did return to their starting point, Echo was disappointed. She could’ve ridden that way forever.
The teens rode their horses at a walk for several minutes, allowing their mounts to cool. Neither one of them spoke, but cast smiles at each other, each understanding how the other was feeling.
Small streaks of gray rippled from the horizon. Reluctantly, the teens dismounted. They stood in silence for several minutes more as they watched their horses walk a short distance and then flop to the ground and roll. Echo could feel the wonderful sensation of the soft grass rubbing the sweat from her back--or, she giggled, she could feel it rubbing Shimmer’s back. It was a curious sensation, knowing what her horse was feeling.
Echo sat down just as the horses rose and began to crop the sweet grass with their teeth. Brecker lay down beside her and, together, they watched the dawn gradually dim the lights of the stars.
When Brecker finally spoke, his voice was still soft. “That was amazing. It felt almost like we were flying.”
Echo smiled. “I felt that way, too.” The joy of the ride still poured over her heart.
“I wish everyone could experience that feeling,” Brecker said. “Then there would be no darkness of souls, no shadow dwellers.”
Echo’s joy plummeted at her brother’s words. Why did he have to spoil the moment?
“Echo,” Brecker said and leaned against one elbow so that he could look her in the face. “I’m thinking of leaving home.”
The words felt as if someone had slapped her. Shimmer raised her head and looked at her, then continued to graze with one eye fixed on Echo. “What are you talking about?” Echo asked.
“I’m of age, now, Echo. It’s time for me to be on my own anyway. Besides,” he lay back down and stared at the sky, scowling, “I feel like a prisoner at home anymore. I can’t do anything right. Dad’s always on my case. I feel like he’s choking the life out of me!”
Worry crept like a shadow over their peacefulness. “You know Dad loves you.” That was all she could think to say. She didn’t like where this conversation was going.
Brecker snorted. “He has a funny way of showing it.” He was silent for a moment. Then he sat up and scowled. “I want to help Mavel and Moodey, Echo.”
Echo’s stomach flopped unpleasantly. Though she couldn’t explain why, she had a strong negative feeling about the couple. “Brecker, don’t. You know how dad and Dorian feel about them,” she said, leaving her own feelings out of the equation.
Brecker forced a laugh. “Dad and Dorian! Both of them are more concerned with themselves than anything else.”
“That’s not true, Brecker,” Echo stated firmly.
He ignored her and continued. “They just don’t want to see the danger here. We have to do something now, before it’s too late. And Mavel and Moodey have a solution. They’re ready to take action, same as me.” He stood up and Echo followed, fearful that Brecker was going to take off to Ulway at that very moment and join forces with Mavel and Moodey.
“I don’t know, Brecker,” she said nervously. She wished she could better put her feelings to words.
“I was hoping you, of all people, would understand, Echo. You’re a defender, too. You should want the same thing as I do --protection for the people we love and for all of Shae Vale.”
“I do, but…”
“But you’re too soft.” His sharp words felt like a punch in the gut. Echo swallowed the lump that threatened to form in her throat. She expected Brecker to say more, but was relieved when he walked away instead. He stopped after a few paces and, without turning toward her said, “C’mon. It’s time for training.”