Nevermor (18 page)

Routing the
tunnels wasn’t quite as difficult as she’d thought it might be once Toss had
shown her that each branch was marked with a symbol that was etched into a
block of wood above the doorway.  She did not know what the symbols meant,
though she found it worked best to associate them with animals.  The bear hall
led to the places where they slept, while the rabbit hall was a quick exit back
into the forest.  The fish hall led down deeper into the cave where there was a
fresh spring of water running through.  There was a pool there that flowed over
and ran off deeper into the cavern.  This was more or less their washroom, and
though the water was cold, Wren would be sure to make use of it.

Down the bear
tunnel, each boy had a little alcove set apart to himself.  Toss only
told
her this, because the spaces were all hidden from her by hanging cloths or
skins across the doorways.  He wouldn’t show her the other rooms, but he let
her view his own corner, which was filled with metal blades and unusual
sculptures made from ores.

“Who made all
these?” she asked him, not venturing past the doorway because he hadn’t invited
her.

“I did,” he
replied meekly.  “I act as blacksmith, and I forge many of the weapons and
tools we use.”

Wren was
impressed – perhaps not so much by the weapons, but by the art she saw in front
of her.  He had a creative spirit.

“May I?”

He nodded,
allowing her to go inside and get a closer look.

“Which is your
favorite?” she asked, touching lightly along the edge of one.  The metal
whispered beneath her fingers.

“These are just
to pass the time, and no one appreciates them except me, but I consider my
finest work to be Rifter’s sword.  I melted it down from a unique ore we found
in the mountain.  It was difficult to work with, but it’s practically
unbreakable.”

“Do you let
Rifter have all the best things?” she asked on a whim.

Toss laughed
nervously and scratched his head.  “That’s been the way of it for so long, I
guess it’s just something that we do without thinking.”

Wren considered
that.  She could tell that they all looked up to Rifter, but was it right that
they should surrender the best to him?  Maybe they all gave him gifts from what
they had, eager to impress him.  That was very different from the way she
lived.  In recent years, she had always sacrificed what she had for someone
else.

I wish he was
here.

“Is he usually
gone this long?” she asked, thinking that it had been much too long for her
taste.  She wanted to see him.

“Sometimes
longer than others.  Rifter does what he wants,” Toss said with a shrug.

“Don’t any of
you ever go with him?”

“Oh, Rifter is
the only one who can pass in and out of the world at will.  That’s how he got
his name, because he can cross the rifts between the realms.  The rest of us
can’t do that.  We would have to have a blessing before we could go, or we
would have to be unconscious to pass through the veil.”

“How is that?”

“Sly says it’s
because Rifter made this place.”

That was an
interesting bit of information that snagged her attention immediately.

“Really?”  But
as soon as she showed interest in it, Toss started to back out.

“Well, that’s
his theory.  Sly used to tell us his theories all the time, but I think he gave
up because he says we never listen.”

Hearing this
gave Wren an idea.  Rifter may not have been willing to answer too many
questions, and the others might have been hesitant to do so if they thought
Rifter might not approve, but if Sly was willing to tell them his theories
about the world, perhaps he would share them with her as well.

“Where is Sly
now?” she asked.  “Do you think he’s awake?”

“Probably,” Toss
said, biting the tip of his thumb thoughtfully.  “He usually goes outside and
sits in the trees or something.”

Outside?
  Wren wondered
if it was a good idea to go out by herself.

Then again, the
open air might do me good
.  Getting free of the underground darkness would be
a start.

“Thank you for
showing me around, Toss,” Wren said with a warm smile.  “You’ve been helpful.”

He blushed again
and looked down at his toes, but did not stop her when she sought out the exit
beyond the rabbit door.

There was only a
short corridor, and after stepping up on a few slick boulders, she was able to
hoist herself up from an opening in the rocks there, which was a small cave
mouth.  It really was very simple, and directly afterward she was out in the
daylight.

The trees
blocked the sun’s direct rays, and she looked up into the branches.  Judging by
the sun, she thought that it was already late in the morning.  It was true that
they’d been awake most of the night, but she couldn’t remember the last time
she’d slept so late.  Back at the Home, she was usually up with the sun – or
before it – getting ready for a day of work.  It was so late now that she felt
guilty for it, even though there was no reason for her to.

Reflecting on
her usual morning routine at the orphanage made her think of her brothers again
– and made her feel hungry.  She should have asked Toss for something to eat.

I can wait.

She walked out a
few paces from the entrance, and a movement at the corner of her eye stopped
her.  Not far away, she saw the only one of them that she would have been happy
to avoid.

Nix was there,
having drawn back an arrow – but not in her direction.  In fact, he was not
giving her any mind at all.  He was standing very still, looking down the line
of the arrow and toward the tree knob he had made his target.  She watched him
find his mark, noting how steady he was.  He was practiced – that was certain. 
Likely, he’d had years of training.

He’s older than
he looks.
 
They all were.  If they didn’t age, they’d been frozen like this for years. 
How many?

Having found his
aim, Nix released the arrow.  It went directly where he intended, in the center
of the knob.  Wren was impressed.  She knew she couldn’t begin to do that, but
she didn’t praise him – especially after he looked over at her with disgust. 
He had known she was there from the beginning.

“Did you want to
say something?” he asked in an unfriendly tone.

Her lips
puckered angrily, and she almost stormed away from him without a word, but suddenly
changed her mind.  She resolved not to be shut down by him just because he
didn’t want her there.

“I just wondered
if you knew where Sly was.”  Nix seemed amused that she’d even responded.

“What do you
want Sly for?”

“I just wanted
to ask him a question,” she said smartly, as if it was any of his business.

“Well, I haven’t
seen him.”

He then
proceeded to ignore her, busying himself by setting another arrow against the
bow string.  Wren knew that was her dismissal, yet she couldn’t stand the fact
that he was so cold to her.

Does he not
realize how ridiculous it is for him to hate me?

She should have
left it alone, but instead, she moved closer to him.  Nix tried to focus on his
target while watching her from the corner of his eye, but her lingering presence
proved too much for him.

“Do you mind?”
he asked over his shoulder.  “I’m trying to concentrate.”

“I’m sorry that
you don’t like me,” she said, but they both knew it wasn’t a real apology.  Nix
sighed in irritation and lowered the arrow.

“It really doesn’t
have anything to do with you,” he told her, a sneer in his voice.  “It’s all
about Rifter, and unfortunately, that’s exactly how he likes it.”

Wren did agree
that this seemed to be the way of things.  Rifter was in charge, he did what he
wanted and he didn’t care what anyone else thought about it.

“He is pretty
arrogant, isn’t he?”

“Girls must like
that.”  Nix scoffed and went back to his arrow.  Just like that, they were back
where they’d started.

“I haven’t been
here nearly long enough to have done anything to you,” she reminded him,
unwilling to let it go.  “Why won’t you give me a chance?”

“You had a
chance last night.  You didn’t impress me.”

She stood there
silently, her lips drawing tighter together, and eventually Nix sighed.

“Look, I’ve seen
the weak ones come and go.  To me, that’s all that you are.  You’re another
weak one.  It’s best not to get too close, because you won’t survive for very
long.”

“You expect me
to die?  That’s a horrible thing to say!”  And it was.  The problem was that he
didn’t care how it sounded.  He’d meant it that way.

“I’m
saying
that if you don’t learn to fight your own battles, don’t expect me to.  Maybe
the others will take pity and put themselves in harm’s way for you, but not
me.”

That had done
it.  He’d succeeded in making her angry.

“I never asked
you to!”

“Good.”

“
Fine
.”

Wren stomped
away from him, and just as she’d left, she heard the twang of the arrow as it
shot forward and hit its mark, squarely in the bark of the tree, just as he’d
intended.

2

Wren tried not
to let Nix’s harsh words get her down.  She could not deny that they stung, but
she put them further from her with each step that she and her shadow took away
from him.

Maybe I can’t
fight, but I’m not useless.  I guess I’ll have to prove it to them
.  She just
wasn’t sure how she would do that.  For now, she resolved that she should go on
with the day.

The forest was
different in the daylight.  It wasn’t nearly so ominous now that the darkness
had been relieved.  There were birds twittering happily in the treetops, and
Wren took this as a good indication that it was safe for her to walk about
freely.  In her thin shoes, she passed through the grass and moss, dewy in the
shadow of the morning, observing what she could.

The terrain was
uneven, dipping in places and rising in others.  She wanted to look around at
it all but found herself having to watch her footing to avoid tree roots and
holes.

It is very
peaceful though.  Nothing like back home. 
If she’d been back in the city,
she couldn’t have even hoped to hear the sounds of birds unless it was the coo
and flutter of a dirty pigeon.

She took a deep
breath, filling her lungs with fresh air.  Everything was clear and green and
alive
. 
She could smell a hint of the sweet grass and the sinewy youth of the saplings,
and Wren smiled to herself.

Yes, I could
call this place home
,
she thought.

She imagined
Henry running free through the woods with a smile on his face, and of Max
sleeping in the crook of a tree.  She understood that by bringing them here,
they would become wild boys as well, yet wasn’t that what all boys were at the
core?  She would merely be allowing them to have their freedom.

In that moment,
she began to miss her brothers terribly.  She was certain that they thought she
had abandoned them.  Max was probably sad for her and Henry was likely fuming
so intensely that smoke was rolling out his nostrils, but she would just have
to hope that they would forgive her when she convinced Rifter to bring them
here.  She swore to herself that she would bring it up to him again when he got
back.  She couldn’t afford to waste time.

Wren was on her
way down a steep slope, resisting the way gravity was pulling at her, when she
noticed that there was a hill with a rocky ridge up ahead, and sitting on those
rocks was the one she had been hoping to find.

Sly was there
with his back to her, looking into the sky with the scope she’d seen him with
the night before.  He didn’t seem to notice her, but she watched him, curious. 
He’d look up into the heavens for only a moment, then he’d lower the scope,
make an adjustment, and try again.  She wondered what he was doing, but guessed
the only way she would know was to ask.

Pulling up the
end of her gown a bit so that it would not hinder her, she began up the hill to
meet him.

“What are you
doing?” she called when she had come close enough to ask without having to
yell.

Sly turned to
regard her, and she noticed for the first time that his eyes were a clear gray
that reflected the light.  He did not seem startled by her approach, but yet it
took him a moment to find that secret smile that he usually wore at the corner
of his mouth.

“I’m studying,”
he replied.  “Want to join me?”

She accepted his
invitation and sat beside him on the sun-warmed rocks, avoiding twigs that might
stick through her dress.  Sly used the scope to look up again, but he lowered
it quickly once more.  Since she was closer now, she could see that the scope
was fitted with a second contraption with several dials and another set of
lenses.  It baffled her.