Forsaken Dreamscape (Nevermor) (35 page)

The
pirates, though only a few dozen in number, would pass over the island like the
darkness itself, carrying a cloud of destruction along with them.  More were
waiting to join their ranks, and word would spread quickly as they began to
move across the island.  Their numbers would grow until they had taken it all.

Behind
them, still aboard a ship, there was one man who observed the maelstrom,
gathering power from the violence and evil within the hearts of his followers. 
He did not take part himself, but he did not have to.  It gave him pleasure
enough to see it, and for now that would have to do.  It was not yet time for
him to emerge.

I’ve
waited this long
,
the Scourge thought. 
It’s all falling into place.

If
it had not been for the telltale whisper above, he would have missed the
fairy’s light against the sky.  From beneath his hat, he lifted a glowing eye
to her as she came down to hover before him.

“My,
my, don’t you look lovely,” he said cunningly.  His deep voice was threatening
and sensual all at once.  “What do you have to tell me?”

The
fairy’s whispered reply suited the Scourge immensely.  She had been his willing
spy, watching as the girl, Wren, had traveled across the island, gathering the Wolf
Pack for war.  They were close now – very close – and soon his enemies would be
gathered for the grandest battle Nevermor had ever seen.

The
fairy wisp lighted on his shoulder, quite content in his presence for the
secret deal he had promised her.  Behind his bandages, the Scourge smiled a
wicked smile.

War

A war is coming, it has been said:

The land turns black, the sea to red

Those once lost are found again

As evil thrives on forgotten sin.

To the last man, death march plays on

Madness takes over, come the dawn.

1

There
was darkness in her mind, a heavy cloud, but it was not unfamiliar.  Calico had
seen it many seasons ago and had heard of it long before that.  She, like so
many of her people, understood the island like no others.  The darkness had not
surprised her when it had first spread itself over Nevermor, and this new
vision did not surprise her now.

But
it did rattle her.

She
saw the great shadow that had taken over the land, stretched across the ruins
of a place formerly inhabited by her people.  The once-sacred relics of that
place were tattered and rotten, but there was a figure standing among the
weathered tents.  It was the Rifter, with a demon’s mark on his forehead. 
Lightning flashed and then…

That
girl… 
Wren
was there, standing in his place. 

After
that, time passed over the land like many days.  The plants withered as the sun
slipped away, retreating from this realm that it had once found favor in.  The
sea turned to ice, the world gone cold, and the sun went black, casting Nevermor
in eternal night.

At
the end of her dream, just on the verge of waking up, she heard a voice.

“
Do
not believe everything you see
.”  It was familiar, though she could not
respond to it.  “
Do not be afraid.  This must happen.  We must see it
through
.”

Calico
tried to believe that.  She had been trying to believe it since the beginning.

Opening
her eyes, the huntress looked over at the pale girl sleeping near her, and she
could feel malice churning in her heart.  Calico’s fingers were itching to
reach for her, to end this here and now, but she stayed her hand.  She knew
that this was a choice she could not make, even if it was the right one for all
of them.

But
I cannot sit here either.

Calico
rose up, restless, knowing that she needed to distance herself from Wren – from
her fears of what the future would bring, and pray that she could hold onto her
faith for just a while longer.

2

Wren
was dreaming about Rifter.  They were in a lovely forest scene, dancing in the
air as fairy wisps spun around them, lively and dizzying.  She smiled, dreaming
and
dancing
away the hours of the night, and when she awoke, she found
herself wondering if it had actually happened.

She
came back to herself within the tent, exhausted and yet she was not sure of the
hour.  Within the cave, there was only darkness except what the crystals
allowed, and that wasn’t much.  There was a slight glow emitting from the Tikilin
suit beneath her clothes, however.  Looking toward the mat next to hers, she
saw that Calico was no longer asleep there.  Even though Wren felt drowsy,
though she often did, she guessed that since the other girl was gone, it was
time to rise.

Wren
left the tent but quickly realized her error.  She had not been at rest as long
as she’d thought.  In fact, a few were still awake, not having attempted sleep,
and she was among them now.  There was no hope for rest.

I’ll
check on Finn
,
she resolved.

She
moved out of sight and into the shadows, passing through the maze of shelters. 
Reaching his tent, she grasped the flap to peek inside, expecting to see him
resting there, but the sound of whispers within made her freeze.  There were two
voices talking quietly, sharing secrets that no one else was invited to.  They
were male and female, and she recognized them.

Finn
and Calico.

Wren
stepped back, thinking it wrong to intrude, but could not make herself duck
away.  She listened to their quiet words, waiting for them to finish, until
soon their conversation took a turn for the interesting that she could not get
away from.

“You
got lucky, you know,” Calico said.

“Yeah. 
Good ole Tikilin,” Finn said, his voice still brimmed with discomfort.

Calico
sighed, silent a moment, then lowered her voice down a level.

“So,
what do you think?” she asked. “You saw it, didn’t you?”

The
jesting air left Finn’s voice.  “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I did.”

“It
might be a lie then.”

“Yes,
but it might be true.”

“I
don’t really know how to feel about any of this,” Calico said.  “Don’t say
anything to the others.  Promise?  I want to speak to Sly about it.”

“Okay,”
he agreed. “But something doesn’t feel right about that…”

What
were they talking about?  Rifter?  Wren pressed closer to the tent, trying to
concentrate on the voices that had gotten suddenly lower.  She wanted to know. 
What were none of them telling her?

Catching
movement from the corner of her eye, she saw someone pass, and she caught his
attention as he had caught hers.  Wren snapped up to see Nix, who hesitated
when he saw her near the flap of the tent.  She immediately stood up a bit straighter
as if she hadn’t been acting suspiciously.

“It’s
rude to be eavesdropping, you know,” he said quietly, looking up at her with a
knowing smile.

Wren
stepped away from the tent guiltily and moved toward him.  If she’d been trying
to paint herself as innocent, she failed.

“I
wasn’t eavesdropping,” she lied.

“Well,
that’s generally what one is doing when she has an ear to the wall when others
are talking,” he pointed out for her.  “But I guess I was wrong.  My mistake.”

She
shrugged.  “Well I wouldn’t have to eavesdrop if I could get all of you to tell
me the truth.”

“Are
you pointing that at
me
?”

“Why
are you getting suspicious?” she returned.

He
chuckled a bit, crossing his arms.

“I
know you have doubts about me,” he said.  “I can tell.  But I guess the others
aren’t helping to boost me up.”

Wren
considered.  It was true that some, especially Calico, seemed to be against
him, but that wasn’t her reasoning.  Wren didn’t think badly of him anymore –
couldn’t.  He’d saved her life too many times for that.

“It’s
not about you,” she promised.  “I don’t really know what it is, actually.  I
just have a feeling.  It doesn’t all seem to fit together.  Well no, it’s not
that it
seems
so, it is so!  It doesn’t all fit!”

He
was silent then, glancing over the cavern walls by the light of the surrounding
crystals.  She looked out as well, wondering once again what it was that didn’t
fit.  The stories went together, but it seemed there was a chunk missing
somewhere.  Whether or not anyone knew the truth, she was unsure.

She
thought about the group – each of them so different, so far apart.  She
couldn’t say that she fully understood any of them.  The boys had all changed
too much.  They were different than she remembered from long ago.  But time had
made them older, all of them wiser – even her.

“We
are an odd group, aren’t we?” she said suddenly, veering from any subject they
might have been on before.

“What
do you mean?” he asked.

“There’s
a savage maiden, who has remained secretive and hostile this whole time, then
there’s a very charming boy who nearly died today, whose thoughts are still a
mystery to me.  There’s a rather large boy who looks intimidating, yet is more
open than any of us – seems to have picked up on more as well.  Then there’s
the one who is levelheaded.  He keeps my feet on the ground and makes sure I
don’t fly off in the clouds somewhere.  The strangest thing is that this same
boy used to hate me, and now it’s almost as if–”

“That
was the past,” Nix broke in.  “Things change.  This boy might not be who he
used to be.”

Wren
looked into his eyes, knowing that only one of them was able to look back at
her, but it was blue and intense.

“Maybe
not, but he tells me he’s going to leave me.”

This
made him turn away from her gaze.

“I
don’t understand why you care whether I leave.  It’s because you promised
Rifter, isn’t it?  You’d deliver us to him.”

No. 
It wasn’t that.  There was more to it.  She didn’t want him to leave because he
cared about her.  He protected her, kept her safe and sane, and couldn’t quite
deny that she felt closer to him than anyone in a long time.

“I
don’t see what it matters,” he went on. “As soon as you get there and see
Rifter again, you know you’ll forget that any of the rest of us even exist. 
Don’t try to deny it.”

“But
that isn’t true!” she insisted.

“It
is,” he said, turning his body away from her.  “We both know that.”

Despite
the unlikely sort of friendship they’d developed, his words made her angry.  While
it may have been true that she wanted to see Rifter, that didn’t mean she had
no feeling for the rest of them.  Why was he being cruel to her?  She wanted to
convince him that it wasn’t true, but she wondered if it was even worth the
effort.

“The
past few days have been trying,” she began.  “I’ve been concerned for all of
us.”

“Oh,
you were?” he asked in mock surprise.

“You
really don’t believe me?”

He
sighed, anger forming in his eye.

“I’ve
seen you’re starting to question,” he said. “But not nearly enough.”

“Then
tell me,” she begged. “What do you see that I don’t?”

This
was exactly what she’d had on her mind when she’d been listening to Finn and
Calico through the tent, but somehow felt she would have more luck with him
now.

She
was right.  He shook his head, denying her.

“I
promised I wouldn’t influence you,” he said, turning back to face her.  “That
means I don’t give you my theories.”

Wren
sighed, discouraged.

 “What
do you expect of me, then?” she asked. “You obviously have some idea of that. 
What am I supposed to
do
?”

“It’s
not my place,” he said. “You’re still stuck on him, and that means you don’t
need me.”

She
stared back in disbelief. 
Unreasonable!
  He was that much against
Rifter that he wouldn’t help her unless she denied Rifter and changed her
mind?  Perhaps then he didn’t really care about her as he said – or as much as
she had thought.

This
made her so discouraged that she could not look at him any longer.  If his
annoyance over her loyalty to Rifter was the only thing he could think of, she
had nothing else to say.

Turning,
she stormed off without another word, through the cave and out toward the water. 
She distanced herself, but was not quite surprised to hear his footsteps
following after her.

“Wren,
you know you shouldn’t wander off by yourself.”  At his protest, she was unable
to hold her tongue.