Forsaken Dreamscape (Nevermor) (21 page)

I
never sleep
,
she thought again to herself. 
No, not anymore
.

1

Wren
was standing on the roof and a storm was brewing.

The
children were walking in front of her, padding across the rooftop in their
slippers, talking excitedly.  Their enlivened conversation was filled with
speculations of what adventures they might find in Nevermor, but Wren was only
looking forward to seeing Rifter again.  It had been much too long since she
had seen him – too many days and weeks and months.

I
hope he will not think I have changed too much
, she thought. 
Of course she would have stopped aging if she could have.  It was his fault
that he had left her here for two years.

A
warm, glowing light danced before them, enticing their eyes and stirring their
imaginations.  The fairy’s light made them feel comfortable and safe.  Whisper
flew over them, uttering false blessings, and Wren was already thinking happy
thoughts.

Soon,
I will see Rifter again.  He did not forget about me after all.  Now we can be
together and build a new life.

In
the distance, thunder was growling.  The coming storm was making her uneasy. 
It reminded her of the pain and suffering that the gales of Nevermor had
brought on when Rifter dreamed.  She should have recognized the sign.

Swelling
with the prospect of their new life, the children jumped from the roof, full of
images of victorious battle and successful hunts.  They flapped their arms as
if they would soar like birds, but their carefree laughter had soon turned to
screams.

The
event happened quickly.  The orphans crashed into the ground –
limbs twisted,
broken like saplings
– before Wren had come back to herself, just on the
verge of jumping.  She stood there on the edge of the roof, her nightgown
trailing behind her in the air like a ghost, left to watch the massacre that
she was helpless to stop.

Wren’s
dream mirrored her reality, mingled with her memories of the event as it had
happened, but there was one thing that was different.  In her dream, Rifter was
there on the roof, hovering behind her.

“
Rifter?
”
she questioned, drawing his attention back to her.  She could see the anger and
sorrow in his eyes.

“
Don’t
look
,” Rifter persuaded, pulling her face into his shoulder.

“
Why
did this happen?  Why, Rifter?
”

“
I’m
sorry, Wren
.”

“
Why?
”

She
kept asking why, and he kept apologizing – up until the moment that they began
to hear people stirring in the streets below.

“
I
have to go
,” Rifter said immediately.  He tried to pull away, but she would
not free him.

“
No! 
Don’t leave me!
” she begged, clinging to him.  She held her arms around his
neck as lights flickered within the houses and a cacophony of gasps, screams
and murmurs could be heard from below.

“
I
have to go, Wren
,” he insisted.  “
I have to leave you.  We can’t stay
together.  I have to find Whisper and make her pay for what she did
.”

“
Take
me with you!
”

“
I
can’t
.”

Wren
was shaking.  Tears were leaking down her face.  She knew Rifter would hate to
see her cry, but she couldn’t help it.

“
You
can’t just leave me here after this!
”

“
It’s
not the right time
,” Rifter told her. Her sobs came on forcefully, and this
did something to him.  “
But I’ll come back for you.  When it’s safe – when
it’s over – I’ll come back for you
.”

“
And
you won’t forget.  Promise me that you won’t forget!
”

“
I
promise.  I’ll tell you everything then, but you have to let me go
.”

If
you leave, what will hold me up?
She wondered this to herself, but she
took her arms from around his neck and wrapped them around herself instead. The
boy took off into the sky like a rocket, leaving her staring up after him.

Wren
gazed into the sky – it was all she could do to keep herself from looking at
the ground.  She choked on her own tears as the Londoners below began to point
her out on the edge of the roof.

She
could still hear the screams.

2

Wren
opened her eyes, feeling a hint of the phantom tears pressing through.
Somewhere between drifting off and snapping awake, she often saw visions of old
memories which seeped in from the outer edges of forbidden darkness.  These
were the things that haunted her, keeping her awake.

Feeling
that she couldn’t close her eyes again, she pulled herself up from the tree a
bit.  Her neck and back were sore from slumping against the bark, but she
wrapped her arms around herself to protect from the chill that had settled into
the green wood, brought on by a low-hanging fog.

To
her right, Calico was still sleeping soundly, curled upon Nix’s coat.  On the
other side, Nix was resting against the tree near her, his head propped up on
his tattooed arm.  Wren watched him as he breathed peacefully, thinking that
when he was asleep was the only time his eyes weren’t narrowed and his face
wasn’t frowning.  While he slept, he had an expression of contentment.  She
smiled a bit to see him that way, wondering if he was dreaming.

Perhaps
that’s a dangerous practice for any of us.

Feeling
suddenly alone in the silence of the woods, Wren took a deep breath and her
thoughts drifted off to Rifter.  What was he doing as they all sat here?  If he
finished his tasks ahead of schedule, would he come find her?

He
won’t
,
she reminded herself. 
He expects me to come to him.

What
would it be like if Nix decided to stay and meet with Rifter?  Would they fight
again – tear each other to pieces with blunt words and sharp swords?  Would she
finally know the truth?  There were many questions, but she found none were
with answers.

Her
eyes again trailed over to Nix.  Why had he said those things to her before? 
Why did he care if she chose to be in love with Rifter?  It was really none of
his business how she felt or what she wanted.  She owed him no explanations –
even if he had delivered her from danger a few times thus far.  If he didn’t
want to help, he didn’t have to be here, but she dared not say this to his
face.  He really would leave her then, and she didn’t like that thought at all.

Losing
family is hard.  I won’t lose any more of mine.

She
smoothed her long gown over her knees, though the ends were ragged and
stained.  Even so, she made sure all the folds hung straight, for lack of a
better thing to give her attention to.  She pushed herself back against the
tree, wondering if her head would again feel heavy, but it was no use.  She
took a deep breath of the night air and tried, at least, to relax.

This
wood was frightening – perhaps simply for the darkness and the fact that her
companions were asleep – but as she sat there, Wren found that it was far from
silent
. 
All through the night, she swore she could hear strange sounds coming from all
around her.  Neither Nix nor Calico seemed to be disturbed in the slightest,
but Wren was sure she heard something.  There were unusual noises, like
whistling and scratching against the bark of the trees.  Then there had been
the rustling leaves and disturbed branches above.

Now,
Wren could clearly hear a rummaging sound, accompanied by the musical rattle of
metal clinking together.  For a moment, she did not want to believe her own
ears, but was swiftly corrected on the matter as the disturbance continued,
delicately jingling in the darkness.

What
is that?

Turning
her head slowly, with only the hazy moon to shed light, Wren trailed her eyes
over the area, mindful of her movements, until her gaze fell upon a dark
shadow, set apart from the night.

She
froze.  The shadow was thicker than the dark, and she could tell by the way it
moved that it was alive.  This was no mimic – or if it was, it was separated
from its host.  Squinting, she forced her eyes to adjust to it.

Someone
is there
. 
Her lungs seized up.

Straining
her eyes, she began to make decisions about what she was seeing.  This figure
seemed to be covered in thick fur, which led her to believe that it was not
human.  It had glowing yellow eyes and, by that, she was able to see where the
creature’s face was directed.  Several yards away, it was rummaging through a
satchel.

Nix’s
bag.
 
The creature was probably searching for food, but they could not afford to lose
that.

I
should wake him up
,
Wren thought, but she did not know how he would react if she did. 
This is
urgent.  I can’t just sit by.

Seeing
that she had no other choice, she touched his leg lightly and was glad to see
that he was not a heavy sleeper.  Nix woke up swiftly but with little movement,
looking toward her first before she directed his attention where it needed to
be.

His
eye locked on the target, recognizing the threat, and he slowly began to get to
his feet, remaining crouched.  Nix withdrew the dagger that was strapped to his
leg, inching forward as Wren watched, wondering what he would do.

Will
he choose to kill before even knowing what the creature is?
  She didn’t
like the idea of that, but as fate would have it, the situation did not play
out that way.

Nix
was quiet as he moved, but not undetectable.  A crackling footstep caught the
creature’s attention.  The strange shadow snapped its head up, glowing eyes on
them, and Nix went into action, clearing the space between them and thrusting
the dagger forward.

Wren
watched with wide eyes as the creature dodged every swipe that came at it. 
Twisting, ducking and whirling, the mysterious beast did not even raise a claw
to block the dagger or strike at Nix.  Wren stared in amazement, unsure of what
to do with herself.  What manner of beast was this?

The
creature was standing on two legs, and when the hairy figure finally pulled two
swords from within its pelt, Wren realized that what she had thought was an
animal was actually humanoid.

“Leave
me be and no harm will come to you,” the furry creature warned Nix in a
scratchy, masculine voice.

“I
don’t much appreciate you taking my things,” Nix growled in return, knife in
hand as he watched the other, sizing him up.

“That’s
the toll for being in
my
woods,” the creature shot back.

“Like
hell ‘
your
woods’.”

“That’s
the way of this world, mate.  You conquer it; it’s yours.”

“So,
for stopping by, you’ve decided to make sure we pay our dues?”

“That’s
about right,” the man-thing confirmed.  “No one comes here without answering to
me!”

“Well,
I don’t answer to
anyone
,” Nix declared boldly, but Wren wondered if he
saw what she did.

Pairs
of faint lights emerged from the dark woods behind him – sets of glowing eyes. 
As she watched, more appeared, nearly a dozen.  She didn’t know what the
creatures were, but they were all like the first – with thick pelts and were at
least her size, some bigger.  She felt nervousness in her heart and her knees,
in her chattering teeth.  There were three of her company against this group, and
she was no fighter herself.

If
only Rifter were here.

When
the other figures took shape before her, one directed the others with quick
hand motions that Wren did not understand, but he parted the sea of his
followers effectively.  Before Wren could think, the strange tribe rushed into
the area, leaping with incredible speed to take control.

She
felt herself being thrown back against a tree as hands clutched her arms.  Her
head hurt, but she managed to pull her own dagger from its sheath and wave the
sharp blade about in an attempt to ward the strange creatures away.

“Stay
back!” she threatened, but her thrusts only pushed them away momentarily before
they were able to notice the weakness of her wrist.  Soon, they were upon her
again, taking hold of her arms and tying her up quickly with thick bonds that
she could not loosen.

“
Nix!
”
she cried out, but he was fighting his own battle.

Calico
was roused when the figures jerked her up, and as Wren might have expected, the
vicious girl began to fight.  They quickly became wary of her strength and
dealt with her more hesitantly, but eventually the group with glowing eyes managed
to overtake her as well.