Fire and Ice (21 page)

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If I'd had any idea there would be so many people coming to see me off I would have snuck away in the middle of the night. At the gates to the Wyldwoods of the Elsarian Realm, I stood next to Hawthrin, Julien, and the King, as all of Mythlandria looked on. They gazed at me with such faith in their eyes, I felt suffocated under the pressure of their collective expectations. How was this ever going to work? One of the Mythlandrian guards approached, and behind him was a beautiful white unicorn, it's long wavy mane ruffling in the breeze.

“This is Ulyssius,” the King stated, gesturing to the majestic animal. “He will be your guide while you are on this quest.”

The unicorn lifted his head proudly, shook his silky mane and let out a soft snort.

I swallowed hard in a mix of awe and panic. The black unicorn Adrius rode was impressive, but I'd never expected I'd be riding one myself. “So tell me again what I do when I get there?”

The king's eyes flashed impatience, but he answered in a voice slick with sweetness. “You will find the court of the Seelie Summer Fey. Their queen will undoubtedly be expecting you. From that point on, you will begin your training.”

“Yes, that part I remember.”

Hawthrin patted my shoulder then unrolled a parchment map. It was lit with glowing dots of light which moved slowly across the page. “Remember to stay on the path. Take rest once you reach Tiramont.” He pointed to a leaf shaped symbol on the map. “There is an Elven family there who will welcome you in and lead you to a porthole to the Faery islands. They can only lead you to the borders for now. Until the evil of Noctria has been destroyed, it is not safe for the members of the Elven council to wander the Wyldewoods unprotected. But they will be there to see you into the Seelie Court, and to gift you with their magic of protection.”

“Protection? What, like weapons?”
Oh man, I seriously hope not.
Just the idea made my palms sweat.

“Weapons will not aid you against your greatest enemy, Lorelei. The only thing that can truly bring you harm is yourself. It is one's own self-defeating thoughts and behaviors that are at the hand of every downfall.”

I squinted up at him. “Do you ever speak clearly?”

“Whether you think that you can or that you cannot, you are right.”

“Think I've heard that one before,” I replied.

“Very good.” Hawthrin lowered his gaze. “And now that you know all you need to know, you can relax.” He smiled.

I followed his line of sight to my white-knuckled hand clenching the map. “Right.”
You can do this, Lorelei,
a voice whispered inside my mind. I inhaled a shaky breath and tucked the map into my bag, then surveyed the crowd that had gathered.

The night was illuminated in Mediterranean blue, as though lit from behind, yet not a star graced the sky. The air was crisp with the smell of winter. Twilight had always been my favorite time of day, and in this mystical place, it was even more so. There were faces and beings familiar to me from the ball and many others I'd never met before. But in the sea of faces, one was conspicuously absent. The only one I wanted to see.

Julien came up behind me and put his hand on my back.

“Good luck, Lorelei. May the spirits be with you. And if not,” he shrugged, “then may your death be quick and painless.”

I shot him a lethal sidelong glare. “Wow, thanks.”
Deep breaths
.

“Julien,” I whispered pulling him aside. “Where's Adrius? I thought he'd be here.” Even in spite of our disagreement, I didn't think he'd let that come between us.

He gave a short laugh. “I told you, Princess, when it comes to my brother, it's duty before everything else. Even you.” He winked.

The blare of trumpets filled the air and the gates slowly swung open, before I could change my mind.

Hawthrin stepped up next to me, a grandfatherly smile on his face. He extended his hand to help me onto Ulyssius. Taking all the help I could get, I tried mounting him once more and managed not to slide off the other side.

“Stay on the path. Ulyssius knows the way and how to escape the witch's eye. Trust him. Trust in yourself. Know you can do this, Lorelei. That is the only key to your success.”

I mustered a weak smile. I was going to miss his Zen-like words of wisdom.

And Adrius, who had disappointed me beyond belief with his absence. I hated to admit I'd miss him most of all.

The uninhabited regions of the Nevermore stretched savage and wild… and not just the vegetation. Creatures lurked behind every rock, and even the tiny ones threatened to rip me apart at the slightest perceived provocation. My goal… Don't provoke them. Tucked away in my pack, nestled Hawthrin's magic vials along with the Faery islands map, and other necessary provisions, but that did little to soothe my tattered nerves. Why was I taking this on? No wonder Adrius thought I was insane when I willingly agreed to throw away my life. But I'd made insane choices for sane reasons. Accepting this journey was the only way I could save my loved ones.

The unicorn I rode beyond the safe borders of Mythlandria was an amiable companion, once we reached a truce and he developed a little patience with me. It took about five attempts to mount him and then another three for me to stay on his back… Definitely a city girl at heart. I was doing a pretty good job considering the last and only time I'd been on horseback was when Gran made me ride the ponies at the fair. I was four and wasn't too fond of them then either. Pretty sure the feeling was mutual. But Ulyssius skillfully led me into the Wyldewoods of the Nevermore, letting me hold on tight enough not to fall off and break my neck. A serious possibility, considering unicorns were a lot bigger than horses.

The sky darkened and before long nightfall surrounded us. Up ahead, a candlelight glow flickered. Dismounting, I approached, eyes darting back and forth. I had no idea what to expect, and the potential for danger could lurk anywhere.

Hawthrin instructed me to stop at Tiramont's first dwelling before nightfall, that I'd find many allies on my journey willing to take me in. I wasn't crazy about the idea of just dropping in on strangers in this world, but the thought of a warm bed and a something to eat appealed to my groaning muscles and empty stomach. As near as I could tell, the map indicated I was in the right place, there was nothing else nearby. I inched forward, straying from the path to get closer to the moss-covered house nestled between the trees. Stick to the path and don't ride after nightfall, those were the warnings. This wasn't much of a deviation, I was only a few yards from the course I was told not to leave. Crazy as it sounds, something about this place called to me.

Through the open window I could make out figures, a family of woodland elves, busily preparing an evening meal. Their humble surroundings were nothing like the posh lifestyle of the High Elves. Elyssium
was
a castle, after all. But there was something warm, comforting about this modest place. Like Gran's little seaside cottage, it felt like a real home. They gathered around a large farmhouse table, engaged in conversation and laughter… mom, dad, and three kids. The picture-perfect family.

I stared, lost in thought as a piece of me began to hurt. I'd never admit it to anyone, the part of me that wished for a normal family — both parents at home, sharing meals, stories, and our lives, together under one roof. That was not my childhood. And it would never be. But this display made me long for the only family I had left… my mom. I even missed her insane need to control every aspect of my life. What I wouldn't give right now to hear her tell me off for not doing my vocal runs, or for wearing white after Labor Day. I'd take it all without complaint, just to know she was alive.

The family in the window prepared to dine, and steaming plates of food lined the wooden table. I stepped closer, fuelled by more than hunger. I wanted to be surrounded by something normal, as close to normal as it got in a mythical world, one last time before my fate became obscured.

A small face peered out of the window, directly at me. I quaked and then froze when her questioning gaze met mine. She was ghostly pale, with soft blonde waves framing her round face and large sunken blue eyes. She stared silently through the round pane. I smiled and she continued to watch with childlike curiosity. The wooden front door creaked slowly open, the child still inspecting me intently. My gaze flicked to the door then back to the little Elven girl. A terrifying grin widened across her tiny face, morphing it into something hideous and evil. My eyes blinked then widened as her sunken eyes became black pits, her ashen skin sinking into hollowed cheeks. I wanted to turn and run, but I stayed rooted in place, watching the transformation. A bolt of fear ripped through me when the child's pale face splintered, mutating into a smoky phantom form of a horned monster, defying description. Clapping my hands over my mouth I stifled a scream and backed away.

Violent missiles of red smoke pierced the air and the ground quaked and split open. Before I could blink, the house shuddered and then collapsed, swallowed up by the ground below it in a vat of bubbling lava. Horrified, I sucked in a gasp of smoky air scrambling backward away from the crumbling precipice… but the ground kept falling away, until it me gave way underneath me, collapsing beneath my feet. I screamed, plummeting down into the night and plunging with a splash into frigid water. Water seeped into my nose, and I struggled to get reoriented and fight my way to the surface. When the waves stopped churning, my feet bumped something firm and I realized I could reach the bottom.

It was almost impossible to drag myself to the shore and crawl up the embankment to solid ground with my bruised and semi frozen limbs. For a moment I laid there, coughing and spitting up water, trying to catch my breath.

What was going on? Was the house an illusion… and the people inside? The fall was real enough. The frigid soggy clothes clinging to my skin were evidence. But I couldn't make out anything else in the darkness. Where
was
I?

Panic swelled as I climbed to my feet. I was lost, alone, and without the only guide I'd been given. Opening my pack, I retrieved the map, which amazingly enough was bone dry. Tiny lights flickered on various points, each moving along a broken path. What did they mean? I wanted to smack myself for not getting clearer instruction before leaving. Who goes traipsing off into a strange land without understanding how to read the magical map?

Okay, just stay calm
. I took a deep breath, watching the lights which had begun moving in a jittery pattern across the face of the map. A cold gust of wind took my hair, tossing it around me, forcing me to hold tightly to the parchment. With it came a chilling voice. Something — or someone
—
whispered, “
They're coming
.”

I spun around, looking and listening for the source. But what I heard next sent a blood curdling shiver down my spine. Drumming, wild calls, and maniacal laughter tore through the night, surrounding me. A chorus of howls erupted, growing louder and closer.

“Now what?” I muttered, growing cold with terror. Backing up, I retreated to the water's edge, debating whether to chance surviving the icy current or making a run for it into the blackness of the forest. A hollow screech erupted from the water, making my decision easier. But as I reeled about to run — a black shadow approached me. My breath strangled in my throat, and I squinted into the night, my heart pounded in my ears. I was about to scream when a coiled horn appeared from the darkness, followed by a flowing white mane and a sleek equine body.

“Ulyssius!” I cried almost shedding tears of relief. I raced toward him as the feral cries moved closer. I tried multiple times to climb onto his back, each attempt less successful than the last. The cries grew louder. He whinnied, giving an impatient snort, obviously as irritated with my poor equestrian skills as I was.

A sharp rustling in the bushes next to me was all the coaxing I needed to dissolve my ineptness. With one last leap, I was straddling his back, clutching his mane for dear life, as he shot off through the trees. Branches whipped by, stinging my arms and face, but I was too terrified to notice the pain. Ulyssius flew at light speed, and for a while I thought we had outrun whatever was after us. Then an arrow whizzed past my head. With a scream I ducked down, holding tighter as Ulyssius reared and galloped faster. An explosion of movement burst through the bushes next to us. He took a sudden turn at an abrupt angle and I lost my grip. Careening off his back, I flew to the ground, landing in some sort of net. It wasn't until I tried to break free from the stickiness that I realized it wasn't a net at all… it was a
web
.

I was suspended above the ground in glowing white filaments as fine as fishing line and as sharp as wire. The pounding on the ground beneath me sent me into a fit of thrashing. Pulling and twisting I tried to get free. But the more I struggled, the more stuck I became, and the more the wires sliced into my skin. I couldn't see the swarming creatures gathering under me, but I could smell them. A foul odor I'd smelled before. A mixture of rot and decay blended with a pungent metallic stench too putrid to forget. Through my last encounter with those monsters, I knew the sweet, sickly, cloying smell reminiscent of fresh raw meat came from caps bathed in the blood of their victims… Which meant only one thing. Redcap goblins had me surrounded and I was trapped.

My last ditch attempts at breaking free were diminished by the realization this was the end. This was how I would die. But a split second later, I was cut free, dropping like a weight to the ground. My body hit, knocking the wind from my lungs with a pained grunt. A face, gnarled, pointed, and scarred, came within inches of mine. I held my breath to keep from vomiting. Then forced air into my lungs to keep from passing out.

“It's alive,” it hissed, jabbing me with something sharp. I realized it was his claws. A cackling cheer erupted over the throng, and two more Redcaps came forward to drag me to my feet, while a third ripped away the bag I had on my back.