Falling Ashes (26 page)

‘You can trust me,’ she said. ‘I won’t tell anyone, and I won’t judge you.’

I sighed. ‘I know.’

‘I told you my secret,’ she said. ‘I admitted to killing a man.’

‘Two men,’ I corrected.

‘Yeah, but you saw the last one with your own eyes.’

‘You really want to know?’ I asked.

Fae nodded. ‘We’re friends, right?’

‘Well, I am a little bit afraid of you.’ I was being completely honest, but Fae laughed anyway.

‘Tell me,’ she said softly.

I gulped. I guess it was time to tell Fae how, and why, I had come to this windmill. ‘All right … I’ll tell you everything.’

And so I did. I started at the beginning, from the day Helena was born.

I told Fae how I’d run away from home to the city of Frost Arch where I met Hawthorne, Jack, and Ræven. I explained the trouble I’d gotten myself into with Noah and Elvira Frost.

Fae’s expression became sympathetic as I told her the story of my return home, only to find a destroyed house with no occupants. She couldn’t believe that the Realm could do such a thing. The murderous glint in her eyes returned when I told her of the Realms procedure when dealing with humans.

Next, I explained how we’d broken into the Martinez manor to free the humans, and how Ræven had erased Martinez’s memory with her voice.

‘Then the flyers appeared two months later,’ I explained. ‘So I fled.’

I finished my story at the moment Fae had rescued me and Shadow, by which point she was staring open-mouthed at me.

‘And that’s everything,’ I said, exhaling loudly. ‘That’s why I’m here.’

‘I knew you were hiding,’ said Fae. ‘But I didn’t know the magnitude of it.’

I shrugged. ‘It’s no big deal. I’ve always attracted a lot of trouble.’

Fae shook her head. ‘You shouldn’t be here,’ she said. ‘You don’t belong in these woods.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You shouldn’t hide,’ Fae waved a hand, gesturing to the world around them. ‘You should be
out there
.’

‘Weren’t you listening?’ I said. ‘I have a
ten-thousand gold
bounty over my head.’

‘You can use it to your advantage,’ said Fae. I was about to protest, but Fae held up a hand to silence me. ‘Picture this. Your face is everywhere, right? Men, women, and children have seen your scowling mug plastered across their city for weeks now with the words ‘wanted’ and ‘dangerous’ along with it. Not only are you famous, but you’re also feared.’

‘I don’t think anyone fears me,’ I said, turning crimson.

‘Tell me, would you approach someone the Realm has deemed dangerous?’

‘Well, no, of course not, but-’

‘Exactly!’ Fae said excitedly. ‘The Realm has labeled you leader of the human rebellion in an attempt to frighten you. What they don’t realize is that they have given you a weapon.’

‘Weapon?’ I repeated. ‘What weapon?’

‘They’ve given you
recognition
,’ said Fae, as if it were the most glorious thing in the world. ‘They’ve given you a reputation that you can use to your advantage-’

‘But I’m
not
the leader of the human rebellion,’ I said imploringly. ‘I just wanted to save my sister-’

‘Don’t you get it?’ said Fae, her eyes wide. ‘You’re a fugitive on the run from the law. You’re the rebel the humans have been waiting for.’

‘But I’m not!’

‘That’s how they see it,’ said Fae, folding her arms across her chest. ‘Haven’t you ever heard the expression; any publicity is good publicity? Shoot me if I’m wrong.’

‘I hadn’t really thought of it that way,’ I muttered. ‘Do you really think people are afraid of me?’

‘Those that don’t know you.’ Fae winked.

I thought about what Dagon had said.
‘Why not be guilty of the thing they’re accusing you of?’

‘Why not, indeed,’ I said aloud.

‘Huh?’

‘Why not be guilty of the thing they’re accusing me of?’ I said with a smile.

‘That’s exactly what I’ve been saying!’ said Fae, excitedly. She seemed to revel in the idea of adventure and violence; Fae was the complete opposite of Jack. ‘Which leads me to my next question.’

‘Hmm? What’s that?’ I said, lost in thought.

‘How long do you plan on staying here?’ she asked.

I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. ‘I don’t know. I’d like to leave as soon as possible.’

‘What is stopping you?’

‘Well … I was going to stay here until my leg healed – but then Emilija had the pups, so that put a damper on my plan. I mean, I can’t just leave them.’

‘Can’t you take them with you?’

‘Well, Shadow is far too big to carry now,’ I frowned. ‘And I don’t think he’ll be able to fly.’

‘Why not? Can’t his mother and father fly?’

I nodded. ‘Yes, however, Hawthorne can fly only when I am riding him. We are connected. It sounds strange, I know, but he chose me as his master, therefore connecting us for life.’

‘Why did he choose you to be his master?’ asked Fae.

‘I saved him,’ I said with a smile.

‘What about Emilija?’

‘Well, that’s the tricky part,’ I began, thoughtfully. ‘Emilija
did
have a master, once upon a time. Yet, I think their bond was broken, or perhaps Emilija no longer considered him as her master.’

‘She was freed?’ Fae provided.

I nodded. ‘That’s
my
theory, anyway. When Martinez lost his memories, their minds separated, and Emilija became her own master. Anyway, it appears she is able to fly without a rider as she followed us here.’

‘So you think Shadow will not be able to fly unless he has a master, too?’ asked Fae.

I was about to respond when a flame ignited inside my brain. Suddenly, I understood why Shadow was growing faster than Willow and Rue. The realization struck me so hard that I gasped.

‘What? What is it?’ said Fae, craning her neck to see what I’d gasped at.

‘No, nothing,’ I said, waving a hand dismissively. ‘There’s nothing there. But I just realized something.’

‘Don’t scare me like that,’ she scolded. ‘I didn’t bring my bow with me. So what did you realize?’

‘You saved Shadow,’ I said excitedly.

‘Yes,’ said Fae slowly. ‘I saved you, too.’

‘No, I mean
you
saved Shadow just like
I
saved Hawthorne.’

‘Okay?’

‘After I saved Hawthorne he began to grow at an astonishing rate.’ I explained. ‘Within a month or two, he was the size of a bear.’

‘So?’

‘What if Hawthorne grew
because
he met me? What if meeting his master was the trigger for his size?’

‘So you mean … Shadow … and I?’

I nodded fervently. ‘That would explain why he is so attached to you. It would also explain why Willow and Rue are stuck in adolescence, wouldn’t it? What if they don’t grow at all until they each find their masters?’ Which led me to my next thought; ‘How long had Hawthorne been an adolescent before he’d met me? Months? Years? Had he been forced to live in a tiny, fragile body until his human companion showed up?’

Fae rubbed her temple, apparently struggling with the concept.

‘So you think Shadow has chosen me?’

‘Yes!’ I said, rather ecstatic. ‘And why shouldn’t he? You saved him, after all. And soon, he’ll be big enough to ride!’

‘That is good,’ said Fae, though she didn’t seem too pleased.

‘What’s the matter?’

‘Well, this brings me to why I wanted to talk to you in the first place,’ she said.

‘Yes?’

Fae cleared her throat nervously. ‘I want you to take me to England with you.’

I raised my eyebrows. ‘Really? You want to go with me?’

Fae nodded. ‘Yes. Will you take me? You were planning on going back, right?’

‘Yes, of course,’ I replied. ‘But why?’

Fae lapsed into silence for a few moments before stammering, ‘I-I want to find her. I need to see her.’

‘
Ræven?’ I guessed.

Fae nodded.

‘All right,’ I said. ‘We can find her together.’

At that moment, and for the first time, Fae embraced me in a back-breaking hug that knocked the wind from my lungs. I laughed, patting her on the back lightly. When Fae released me, I rubbed my ribs tenderly.

‘Thank you,’ she breathed.

‘Th-that’s all right,’ I said, patting her on the back gingerly.

‘When will we leave?’ Fae pulled away and looked me in the eye. ‘Today?’

‘
Today
?’ I repeated.

‘Tomorrow?’ she tried.

My eyebrows shot up. ‘Wait a minute. We need to think about this first - plan things, you know?’

‘What is there to plan?’ said Fae. ‘We’ll grab our things and fly-’

I held up my hand to silence Fae. ‘First of all, Shadow is far too small to carry you and much too heavy to be carried by Hawthorne.’

‘I can ride Emilija, right?’

I pursed my lips. ‘I’m not sure she’d like that. We can try, but she’s quite … hesitant, even around me. Secondly, we don’t know where we are even going.’

‘I don’t care,’ said Fae. ‘I just need to go to England. I’ll make my own way once we’re there.’

‘Well … all right then, I guess.’ I planned to find Jack –somehow. It was apparent that he was not going to be able to find me.

‘So, I’ll ride Emilija with Shadow, and you ride Hawthorne with Willow and Rue,’ said Fae.

I rubbed my arm nervously. ‘Are you sure that will work? Shadow is getting kind of heavy.’

Fae flexed her skinny arms. ‘I can handle it.’

‘All right … let’s try it.’

~

An hour later, Fae was sitting on Emilija’s back, urging her to take off into the sky. I’d demanded a practice run before uprooting myself from the windmill.

I watched as Fae tried, and failed, to get Emilija into the sky.

‘Why won’t she go?’ said Fae, digging her heels into the Vulmessian.

I shrugged and couldn’t help but laugh when Emilija decided to sit down, sending Fae tumbling into the grass.

‘Stop laughing,’ she demanded, brushing herself off. ‘Why won’t she fly?’

‘Because she doesn’t want to,’ I said, stroking Hawthorne’s long snout absentmindedly. ‘You aren’t her master.’

Shadow was watching Fae’s progress, or lack thereof, with his bushy tail wagging excitedly. He yapped around Emilija’s ankles, eager to help.

‘Be quiet, Shadow,’ said Fae. ‘I’m trying to concentrate.’

‘There’s no point,’ I said. ‘She won’t fly with you. She won’t even fly with me.’

Giving up, Fae came and stood next to me, Shadow following in her footsteps before twisting himself around her legs, panting happily. She scratched him behind the ears, an expression of deep thought upon her face. Meanwhile, Emilija lay upon the grass, yawning loudly.

‘How can we make this work?’ said Fae.

I shrugged, leaning against Hawthorne’s large frame. ‘I guess we wait until Shadow is big enough. In the meantime … we walk.’

‘We can’t walk to England, Avalon,’ said Fae, condescendingly. ‘It’s across the sea.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘I meant we can walk to the coastline. Perhaps a ferry can take us.’

‘You think a ferry will take five of these creatures on board?’ Fae couldn’t help but smile.

I smiled too. ‘Hey, it’s worth a shot.’

She sighed. ‘I wish Shadow were fully grown, already.’

At that moment, a blinding, white light erupted within our midst, throwing us both backwards. We hit the ground in unison, shielding our eyes against the intense brightness. The force of the light was strong enough to keep us pinned to the ground. It emitted no sound, but was able to silence everything in the surrounding forest. Although it was frightening, my first instinct was not to attack. Somehow, I knew that this light was not threatening.

I could see nothing but white, long after the silent explosion had faded. I blinked rapidly to adjust my vision, and slowly my sight returned. Fae, too, was rubbing her eyes.

Groaning, I got to my feet, staggering slightly. Fae copied, using a tree to balance herself.

‘What the hell … was that?’ I panted. ‘Where did it come from?’

Fae did not answer me, instead she was staring transfixed at something. Slowly, Fae pointed, her hand shaking.

‘What is it?’ I asked, following the direction of her gaze.

It took several seconds for it to hit me; Shadow was enormous.

‘Is that-’ I felt foolish asking the question. ‘It’s not … is it?’

‘It is,’ Fae breathed.

It was Shadow, and he was twice the size of Hawthorne. He stood eight feet tall and was as vast as a small cottage. At a guess, I would say he weighed over two tons. I’d never seen an animal of such epic proportions. The very size of him made me weak at the knees.