Chapter 7 #2
Carys nodded and reclined her seat. She could feel her stomach groaning, but she was out of trail mix, and the other food was in the back of the van. She didn’t want to wake Laura and Naida, so she closed her eyes.
“The eels’ll be hunting this time of night.” Wade’s voice boomed in the silent van. “European eels are nocturnal. Fine summer night like this, they’ll be hunting.”
“What do eels eat?” Lachlan asked.
Carys opened her eyes; she was not going to be able to sleep.
“Opportunistic feeders,” Wade said. “They like mudworms.”
She had a vivid picture in her mind. It was not pleasant.
“They eat fishes,” Wade continued. “Crayfish. Slugs.”
“So lots of different things,” Carys said. “That’s fascinating.”
“Oh aye, they’re fascinating creatures, the old Anguilla anguilla.” He looked at Cadell. “That’s what the humans call ’em. They migrate to breed. Kind of like your kind.”
Carys blinked and turned around. “What? Dragons migrate to—”
“That is none of your business,” Cadell said. “Ignore him.”
“Eels swim to the Sargasso Sea.” Wade smiled, clearly enjoying poking the dragon. “But that’s not where the dragons go, do they, old man?”
Carys looked back and saw that Laura’s eyes were open even though she was staying silent.
“No,” Wade continued, “you fly to the fire islands, don’t you? Breed. Hatch your—”
Cadell’s hand shot out and gripped Wade’s throat. “Whatever you think you know of our young, forget it, old one.”
“Hey.” Laura sat up and put a hand on Cadell’s shoulder. “Hey, hey. Everyone calm down.”
Carys felt a burning knot in her chest, and she knew she was feeling Cadell’s simmering rage.
The fae had stolen young dragons only weeks ago, hiding them in fae forts that were only found because the dragon children broke the magical wards with their own blood.
Carys had seen the little ones, some no older than six or seven, their hands and arms bloodied from cutting themselves with sharp rocks in order to rescue the sleeping human children taken with them.
Cadell. Carys spoke in her mind, hoping that he could hear her. Leave him alone.
There was nothing in her mind but a low, angry buzzing sound.
Cadell.
“Old man!” Duncan called out. “We all right back there?”
Despite the dragon’s grip, Wade chuckled. “Aye, be reet, old wyrm. I’ve no desire to harm your kind. I’ve known more than one sea wyrm in my time.”
Cadell took his hand away from Wade’s throat, but the dragon never stopped glaring.
Godrik leaned toward Cadell and muttered something under his breath in Cymric.
“You think I don’t speak that one?” Wade chuckled. “Brightkin, how’s old Angus these days?”
Carys glanced at Duncan, then at the clock.
Ten more minutes to their destination.
“Angus is fine, last I checked. He doesn’t need me holding his hand,” Duncan said.
“Never heard a thing more true.”
Laura yawned loudly from the back seat and made a show of stretching and leaning forward. “Can I ask something? Why is every man we meet in the Shadowlands a giant? No offense, but it makes the van really crowded. And this is a large van.”
Wade, Cadell, Godrik, and Lachlan all turned to look at her.
“I’m just saying,” Laura said. “Shadowlands men back home are normal-sized. Is it the Viking blood or something? Why are you all so tall?”
“Viking was a job, not a people,” Wade said.
Laura pursed her lips and sat back. “But do they like… stretch you or something?” She yawned again. “Just wondering.” She blinked and folded her hands on her lap before she let out a long sigh. “So much testosterone.”
Carys watched Wade move toward a dark, flowing river as they waited in the van. Naida had exited the car with the old man and walked part of the way with him, exchanging words while Wade gestured animatedly and pointed at the water in the distance.
Lachlan sighed. “What are we doing?”
“Waiting for Naida,” Duncan said.
After a few moments, Naida turned and walked back in the car.
“Start the car,” Godrik said. “I want to get far away from that old one.”
“Do you know what he is?” Carys asked.
“I have my suspicions.” Godrik opened the van door and let Naida inside.
She sat in the front-row seat where Wade had been and held up a hand. “Wait.”
She watched the old man through the windows, and Carys decided she’d waited for food long enough. She walked to the back of the van and the small kitchenette. “Anyone want some food?”
“Is there meat?” Cadell asked.
“Not enough for you.” She held up a bag of sliced roast beef. “Want a sandwich?”
Cadell sat back and grumbled, “No.”
“I’ll take one,” Laura said, “if you’re offering.”
“Cool.” Carys set about making two quick sandwiches, then grabbed a bag of pretzels for Duncan and walked back to the front.
Naida was still staring at Wade.
“Why are we still here?” Carys looked at Duncan, then at Naida.
“I don’t know,” Duncan said. “To make sure he… gets to the river safely?”
Naida’s eyes were narrowed, but rain had started to fall, and Carys could barely see anything out of the windows. “Naida?”
“The old one is safe,” Godrik said. “We should go.”
“He’s still walking,” Duncan said. “Where the hell is he going?”
“And he’s walking to nowhere.” Lachlan buckled his seat belt. “Let’s go. Let him go play with his eels.”
Carys leaned toward the window and saw Wade, his head turned to the sky, shouting at the rain. And that wasn’t even the strangest part of the scene.
The river was glowing. Not just sprites and wisps like they’d seen on the Thames. The entire river held an otherworldly greenish-blue glow.
“What the hell?” Laura pressed her face to the window. “Carys, you seeing this?”
“Yes.” She glanced at Cadell. “You feel it?”
Yes. He spoke to her mind. There is strong magic here.
“Is it growing?” Godrik asked. “I feel like the magic is getting stronger.”
“Maybe it’s just the place,” Naida said. “Wade is very strong around rivers and other bodies of water.”
“What is he?” Lachlan asked.
“Not my place to say,” Naida said. “But you can trust him.”
“He’s walking” —Duncan craned his neck— “and he’s turning around. He’s walking back to the car.”
“We should leave,” Cadell said. “Right now.”
Lachlan opened the door, and rain spattered inside the van.
“What are you doing?” Duncan asked. “He’s not getting back inside this—”
“Ey up.” Wade hopped back inside the van, forcing everyone to shift around to make room for the burly and muddy dripping giant. “Eels are fine. We need to go to the Ouse.”
“We’re at the Ouse,” Carys said.
“This is the Great Ouse.” Wade pointed his chin at the river. “We need to go to the other Ouse.”
Laura asked, “How many Ouses are there in this country?”
“Four.” Duncan, Godrik, and Lachlan all spoke at once.
“That’s so many Ouses,” Laura said.
“Yorkshire Ouse,” Wade said. “That’s where we need to go.”
Duncan glared at him. “Why?”
“’Cause my daughter called me, told me we need to go to the Ouse, that’s why.”
Lachlan frowned. “You don’t have a phone.”
“And? She called me, didn’t she?” Wade rolled his eyes as if Lachlan was an idiot.
Duncan turned. “You want us to drive you to Yorkshire? Yorkshire is three hours from here.”
“Aye.” Wade looked around the van. “Good thing ye have this comfortable caravan.”
Duncan looked at the small fae squished between Cadell and Wade. “Naida?”
She sighed. “If Wade says we need to go to the Ouse, we probably need to go to the Ouse.”
“Ye definitely need to go to the Ouse,” Wade said. “Most importantly” —he pointed at Carys— “she needs to go to the Ouse.”
Cadell growled. “Why?”
Wade’s eyes glittered. “Well, ’cause she’s the hero of this story, isn’t she?”