REALM'S END (BOOK OF FEY 1) (12 page)

Briok looked at Gwenth, it was clear to him that she was telling him the truth. “Time is all the events, all the choices taken or not taken and time is malleable. That is the responsibility of our people, to keep the timelines from crossing over each other or intermeshing too much.”

“I no idea what you are talking about, at all,” Gwenth said, shaking her head. She realized nothing in her life had prepared her for thinking like this.

“I know,” Briok said standing and brushing the sand off his skin. His wings lifted him up and he flew over near the wall. “Come here and let me show you,” he said waving a hand at Gwenth. Maybe the cavern can show you better, how time works.”

Gwenth stood up and dusted herself off, and walked the few feet over to stand next to Briok. The cavern wall of crystals began to glow brighter and brighter, each stone changed color until the room glimmered, in a glorious iridescent intensity and then Gwenth felt a pressure in her ears and felt a loud pop.  Suddenly Gwenth was looking at an image of an immense tree, the largest she had ever seen in her life, the leaf covered branches reached way into the heavens, out into a star filled universe and its roots reached clean through the world, and circled around the planet to touch its own lower branches.

“Is that real?” Gwenth’s mouth went dry as she stared at the image glittering before her on the stone wall

“Yes,” Briok his blue black hair bobbing up and down as he shook his head. “That is our Rowan. She is part of our planet and without her we cannot survive, nor do we believe that any of the time streams that exist with in her knowing, would survive or continue either.”

Gwenth stepped closer and peered at the iridescent stones trying to get a closer look to see if that would help her understand what she was seeing. Remembering her last encounter with the stones she stopped just short of placing her hand on the wall, slowly pulling her hand back. “How does the cavern do this?”

“This is how.” Briok reached out and pointed out a tiny brilliant multi-faceted stone. “They project the idea from a Fey’s mind and then it is brought into being here within the rest of the stones. They are like keys that open the way for other stones to understand. They also can translate the language of those within the cavern. That’s why we were able to communicate so easily when you arrived.”

Gwenth looked at the tiny stone; she could see a vibrant purple light flickering within the tiny stone. She reached out her hand ready to touch it.

“Don’t,” Briok reached out quickly to stop Gwenth’s hand. “Only those initiated within the sacred tree, can touch one of the translator stones and live.”

Gwenth pulled her hand out of his grasp. Briok’s skin on his hand felt rough, and scaly, it seemed to grasp at her skin. “Well,” her words came out a little breathy, for while Briok’s touch felt strange, she’d also felt a small electric spark as they’d touched. Gwenth cleared her throat, “I think your information might just be wrong fly boy.”

“What?”

“I was pulled through the wall earlier when I went into the tree and met Lillith and Sephoria, I touched these stones and clearly I’m alive.”

“No that can’t be Gwenth,” Briok shook his head. “Something else must have happened. To use the stones to project an image takes much study, and to use them to travel takes even longer and a great deal of magic. Maybe you dreamt it all.”

Gwenth’s beautiful green eyes flashed angrily as she turned on Briok. “What is it with you anyway?” I said earlier I dreamt it and you said then, it was real, now I say it’s real and you say it’s a dream? What is going on?”

Briok gasped, he felt himself literally shoved backwards as Gwenth’s words hit him. He swiftly engaged his wings to stop himself before he hit the large group of stalagmites that stood behind him. Briok flitted out of her direct line of sight before he felt safe to try and understand what had just happened. How had she done that? How had this seemingly powerless girl used only her voice to force him away from her? “How did you do that,” he asked?

Gwenth stood exactly where she had been before the attack on Briok, but her face normally pale with freckles was blanched ever whiter. “I…I don’t know,” and then she fainted.

“Gwenth,” Briok shouted, as his wings carried him forward. He reached out trying to stop her fall, but Gwenth landed on the sand in a crumpled heap. Briok set down on the sand next to her fallen body; bending over Gwenth he gently reached out and touched her face. Her skin was warm and soft and he could see her eye lids twitching. He could smell a warm clean scent that seemed to cling to her skin, wafting up to his sensitive nose. Briok reached under her with his arms and lifted her warm body, into his strong arms, and flew her over to the resting place. Once there he laid her gently down. He knelt before her, and tried to arrange her limbs for comfort. He smoothed out her red locks, so that he could look at her face. He saw then that Gwenth was beautiful in her own way, not like a female of the Fey, but her features suggested more than he had first realized. He wondered how this young woman with no magic that he was aware of could command her breath that way. None of the Fey he knew could do such things. Were the stones helping her? He reached for the sacred water and poured some out wetting his hand and ran it lightly across her brow. Perhaps, she had not had her own awakening yet? Is that what held her magic back? The flicker of energy that had passed between them had not gone unnoticed by him either, he knew it was rare for an un-awakened fey to care about such things. Clearly there was an attraction but he knew that should not be, nor could it be. He shook his head, trying to pass the image out of his mind, for no matter what attraction came up, his heart was already given to one, it was long ago ordained and he could choose no other.

Gwenth sighed as the water cooled her skin, her eyes remained closed, but Briok could see that she was relaxing from the power of the sacred water. He let her lie quietly, and flew over to the crystalline wall, near where they had stood before. Gwenth had said she had moved through the stones. Could that even be possible? Briok slowly searched the stone wall, for what, he wasn’t sure. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a glint of light. Moving closer, he saw, a red hair, wedged between two stones, just to the right of the translator stone. Carefully, he worked the hair loose from where it was caught and stood staring at it, his eyes large with disbelief. How could it be? This young woman shows up without any knowledge of magic, without any understanding of the Fey, and yet clearly she had gone through the wall, just as she had said. Who was she? Who, had that kind of magical strength, and how could she not know about it? It all seemed mind boggling. He bent over and whispered in her ear, “Come on now Gwenth, wake up.”

Gwenth’s eyes blinked rapidly, and then she opened her eyes. She found she was looking up directly into Briok’s face. Her breath caught, and she felt a warm glow move through her body. Briok’s dark eyes were mesmerizing; she didn’t want to look away, but a sense of awkwardness came over her in nearly the same instance. “What happened,” she asked, her voice shaking?

“You ok?” Briok asked, as he leaned in closer, ready to catch her this time in case she relapsed.

Gwenth self-consciously ran her hands over her face and down her feather covered arms. “Ya, I’m ok, but how did I get here? Wasn’t I standing over by the wall?”

“Ya, you were, but you fainted after you blasted me.” Briok, offered his hand to help Gwenth sit up.

The memory came flooding back and Gwenth began to shake, and felt shock descend over her mind. “How?”

Briok reached out with the water flask, and held it gently to her lips. “Here drink some of this. I think you’re in shock.” He gently guided the flask to make sure the water got in her mouth. “Good, now lean back and let the water work,” he pushed her gently back into the sand. “By the way I was wrong, while you were recovering I found this,” he said holding up a long red hair. “It was wedged between two stones, near the translator stone. I guess you did travel through the stone wall. I’m sorry.”

Gwenth felt the water’s effervescence rushing throughout her body. It seemed to warm and cool her everywhere at the same time. She could hear Briok talking, but the water had her firmly within its trance, or it did till she heard the words, “I’m sorry,” suddenly that snapped her back to her senses. “What wait a minute did you say you were sorry?”

Briok’s exasperation was clearly written on his features. He wondered how this naïve girl could know about magic. “Haven’t you heard a word, I’ve said?”

Gwenth was chagrined. “No, not really, I’m sorry Briok I was just following the bubble trail.” She blushed.

“What bubble trail are you talking about?”

“You know, the water,” she mumbled. “The bubble trail, the water makes, as it moves through your body. Don’t tell me, that the bubble trail isn’t real either! Gwenth hurriedly rose to her feet and stomped off towards the stalagmites.

“Gwenth, stop please! I’m sorry, no of course it’s real and so was your journey through the wall. It’s just that even most Fey can’t feel the water going through their bodies, so it caught me off guard when you said you could.” Briok flew over to where Gwenth was standing with her back to him. Briok reached out and gently touched her shoulder. “Please come back and sit down Gwenth, we have so much to discuss.”

Gwenth turned around and slowly raised her eyes to look up at him through her long lashes. She saw the young fairy man hovering before her, and she smiled when she saw his distraught face. “So you really apologized huh, well since I sort of missed it maybe you could do it again,” her right eye brow arching upward as she smiled up at the Fey.

Briok felt his heart thudding, as he watched Gwenth raise her face toward him, and shine her smile upon him. He was struck by the craziness of the situation. On the one hand she was a naïve child, and on the other hand she was beautiful young woman, even if she wasn’t a Fey. He could feel his cheeks flushing and so he cleared his throat and turned and flew a safe distance, so as not to have to share his emotions with Gwenth. He shrugged; she probably could read his mind anyway.

“Yep,” she said walking back over to where they had created her a little camp.

Briok swung around quickly, “Really?”

Gwenth slowly settled herself into the warm sand. “Yes of course silly. I think it’s only right since I missed the first apology that you do it again. Don’t you?”

Briok nearly fell over when he understood, where she thought the conversation had been going. “Oh sure, I mean, I guess so. Ah well then, I was saying I was wrong. I found proof that you did go through the wall, so I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

Gwenth watched as Briok seemed to stumbling over himself. She had the distinct impression she had missed something important, again.

“I’m still asking myself, how did you push me away with only your voice?”

Gwenth thought a moment and just shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know,” she said waving her hand about the air. “This world, the cavern, your wings, and this task you think I’ve come to do, is just too much for me. I don’t even want to be here and well, it’s all pretty hard to believe and even if I believe this is all happening, it doesn’t mean I understand any of it,” she said, as a tear slid down her cheek.

Briok watched in disbelief. How would this young woman be strong enough to do magic against the elders of the Realm when she cried over everything. It all felt hopeless. His thoughts turned once again to getting her safely away, and letting his world go on waiting.

Gwenth continued crying. “You know what I think? I think this is all just a bad dream and maybe I’m lying in my bed having a nightmare and will wake up soon and go and have tea with my father and step-mother. That’s what I think!” She then began to sob all the harder, for she knew by the pitying look on Briok’s face that that she wasn’t dreaming at all and that made it all the worse.

“Here now, don’t go on so, you’ll deplete your life force with those tears. You’re just in shock at so much change. Even if you don’t save Lillith or our world, I promise to see you home safely if I can, so stop your blubbering now and drink some of the water.”

“I don’t want any more water! Can’t you see that it’s part of the problem? I’m not a hero; I can’t save Lillith or your world. I just want to go home,” she said. She made her way across the sand and lay down, hiding her face behind her arms.

“Ok, well you rest, we don’t have to talk about the cavern anymore or any of it, just try and rest. I will come back tomorrow,” and before she could argue, Briok flew out the mouth of the cave and headed for home.

Gwenth wiped her eyes and watched in surprise as Briok flew off. Rising to her feet she made her way to the door, heeding his caution about stepping outside, she got as close to the entrance as she dared. Gwenth stood close to the wall which was covered in flat crystals and watched as Briok flew along the shore line into the setting sun. Gwenth sighed but after having been inside for so long she was loathe to moving away from the door. Briok had said the Rowan had put a spell on the door so that no one would want to come here, so she felt safe in staying near the door for a little while. The night breeze was cool and the air was fresh and salty. It felt good to breathe the air in. From the cavern entrance, it struck her the view was oddly quite similar to what it would have been from home, but her view was restricted to open beach and the sea below. She darted a look at the opposite side of the cavern entrance, but as it stood farther out in the open, she felt she dare not try to see the harbor from that angle in case she exposed herself to someone’s view.