Chapter 6 Dark Encounter
CHAPTER SIX
DARK ENCOUNTER
ADELINE
The world is truly enormous. Having lived all my life in Siris, in the Burrows, I’ve prided myself on my speed and stamina, but I never imagined the time and distance between towns. Never realized how large the plain is.
At least, we have been lucky with the weather. It’s mid-season, and not too warm or cold, and even more importantly, not stormy. The wind coming down from the mountains is cool, though, turning chilly as evening falls, and it’s time to find a place to sleep.
The last town is right up ahead, roofs catching the last light and smoke rising from chimneys, but we won’t make it before the fall of darkness.
Olm has been muttering angrily in my ear all the way, and I’m starting to think I should just bury the book in a hole in the ground, under a bush or something, somewhere nobody will ever find it and be affected by it.
“You wouldn’t,” Olm snaps. “If you try that, I’ll unleash a hungry dragon to eat you alive.”
“A dragon?” I repeat, unimpressed. “Suddenly, you have a bevy of monsters to unleash on me?”
“I’ve always had monsters in me,” Olm says with an annoyed sniff.
“Then why haven’t you done so yet?”
“I’m hoping to change your mind, don’t you see?” he screeches. “I don’t want you dead. I want you to take me to the palace!”
“Or you could kill me with your dragon and get Eiras to take you, as you tried to do before.”
He doesn’t reply to that. I shouldn’t be putting such ideas in his head—if he has a head—but I’m truly curious. He isn’t acting rationally.
He must have realized by now that he can’t influence me, right?
“I don’t believe you have monsters in your pages, Olm.” And on that note, I decide to prod him a little, see how he will react. “Eis, wait up. I decided to bury this book in the ground.”
“What?” Eiras turns around, frowning. “It’s a magical book, Aline. It won’t like that.”
“It doesn’t like me taking it to the Library of Areon, either.”
“Aline, don’t.” Olm sounds breathy. Or out of breath. Hard to tell. His voice seems to be coming from inside my own head, after all. “Don’t do it.”
“Afraid of a little dirt?” I prod him some more.
“I’m warning you. I’ll end you if you bury me.”
“What if I set you on fire?” I muse. “Burn you to ashes?”
“You wouldn’t dare. A storyteller’s daughter knows the value of books, even more so, rare, magical ones.”
“You sound afraid. A magical, dangerous book would laugh in my face.” I open the satchel, take out the book and walk to the side of the road. A thorny bush stands there. “This is a good spot.”
“Aline, what are you doing?” Eiras mutters. “This is a bad idea. Monsters, remember?”
“Your brother is right,” Olm hisses. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Why not?” I demand. “That’s what I don’t understand. Why won’t you hurt me? What are you planning?”
“I only know… I need to get to the palace.” Olm’s voice grows faint. “I can’t remember the rest.”
“Oh, are you playing the sympathy card now? Amnesia, is it? You’re piling it on too thick, Olm.” Placing the book on the ground, I start digging a hole in the soil with my hands. “I’ve had enough of your lies.”
“Stop! Stop right now!” he cries.
“Or what?”
With a booming sound, the book falls open, startling me. The pages turn as if blown by a wind I can’t feel, rustling, murmurs and hissing filling my head.
Oh no, what have I done?
“Eis,” I start, struggling to my feet, my body shaking, my voice rising, “Eis! Let’s go, let’s…” I stumble backward, coming short against my brother.
“What in the hells?” Eiras mutters.
A form is taking shape beside the book, but it’s not a monster. Certainly not a dragon. It’s… a man? It’s a ghostly shape at best, a vague shape of a man dressed in leggings and a tunic.
“Olm?” I whisper.
“In the flesh,” he says. “So to speak.”
“Who are you?”
He lifts a half-transparent hand toward me. “I swear it on all the gods, I don’t know my story. You saw the pages. It’s all a blur.”
“I thought it was blurry to prevent me from reading it. Are you saying it’s because you don’t remember?”
“Aline…” Eiras swears and takes a few steps away, dragging me with him through the thorny bushes. “This can’t be good.”
“You can’t leave the book here. I will send a dragon out,” Olm says stubbornly, his wavering form gliding toward us.
“I do recall a dragon mentioned. But I’d much rather it didn’t come to that, because dragons are hard to control and call back, as you may know, and if I burn both of you to a crisp, then what happens to me? ”
“Fuck,” Eiras mutters, whirling about. “Fuck!”
“Is something the matter here?” a new voice says from behind me. “Can I help?”
Crap. I turn, too, and find myself face-to-face with a tall, blond man standing on the dirt road rolling through the plains. He’s dressed in shabby traveling clothes, a tunic and pants, dusty boots on his feet. His fair hair is pulled back in a braid and his sharply pointed ears betray his nature.
A fae.
“Are you all right?” he asks. “What’s that behind you? Is it a book?”
“I…” I turn back and discover that the misty form of Olm has dissipated, vanishing back into the pages. “Yeah.”
The fae is silent as I pick the book up, stuffing it back into the satchel. Then he gestures ahead. “Are you also heading toward the mountains?”
“Only up to Rizo,” Eiras lies, shooting me a quick glance. “We have family there.”
“The last town on the plain,” the fae mutters. “Well, be that as it may, is it okay if I join your company? They say wildcats are roaming the area. There’s safety in numbers.”
“Wildcats?” I turn to my brother. “Eis, is that true?”
He frowns. “I thought their numbers were controlled by the royal dragon squadrons?”
“Apparently not.” I glance up, where two colorful dragons fly past, heading toward the Central Sea and the Pillar. “I haven’t seen any flying squadrons in a while.”
“Well, my name is Sedrig. Going to meet up with family, too.” The fae gives me a sharp smile. “Need help with that satchel? It looks heavy. Courtesy dictates that I should carry it for you.”
“No, I’m… I’m fine.” I nod at Eiras. “Though we’d be glad of the company, right, Eis? In case of wildcats and bandits?”
My brother looks unconvinced, but he nods back, and we set out once more on our way toward the jagged mountain range cutting into the sky.