Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Auster was furious; she’d locked them out, implied that she was staying because she had to, and there was only one group of people on the Mountain that had the power to force her to stay if she didn’t want to be there.
He’d genuinely thought they were past this. Past her leaping over every sensible answer to land on precisely the wrong conclusion, and the one that was barbed and guaranteed to hurt her the most. It was almost like she enjoyed being in pain. Like she felt incomplete without it.
“Why?” He rounded on Boreus. “I thought we were past this.”
Boreus looked concerned. “There is something more that we aren’t seeing.”
“I know that,” Auster said, frowning. “And I am going to the Highest. They did something to her, and I am going to find out what it is, so I can undo it.”
“I’m going with you.” Boreus looked at the locked door that hid Autumn from them. “She’s not likely to come out until morning.”
They left their home, marching across the slope to the Bastion. The doors were still open, which was odd since they usually closed when the sun started to set. Which was right now. But the doors were open, the Highest still sat in the throne room, for all the world like they were waiting for them.
“What did you do to Autumn?” Auster wasn’t sure who he should be demanding answers from, so he focused his eyes on Light, the most likely to fry him, but also the one that might have the answers he needed.”
“Has she fled?” Love demanded, leaning forward on his throne. “Tell me, East Wind, has she left you?”
“Do you want her to?” Auster rounded on Love. “What did you do to her?”
Love shook his head. “Answer me, East Wind.”
“She didn’t run,” Auster said. “But she’s been strange, almost desperate to show us she loves us, and panicked about time, for some reason.”
“Things were getting better,” Boreus said quietly. “She was calmer until today, and now she’s convinced that we only keep her around because of Eleni. Again. Convinced that we’ll leave her, that we don’t love her.”
“Do you?” Love nodded at Boreus before transferring the weight of his entire attention to Auster. “Do you love Autumn, East Wind?”
“Of course I do.” Auster shot back. “How could I not?”
“Good,” Love nodded. “Now, the more important question, and the one that you forgot before. Have you told her?”
Auster felt himself blanch. “I was going to, and then she argued with me, and I forgot.”
“Go back,” Love raised a hand and pointed towards the doors. “Go back and tell her before she loses herself again.”
“What did you do, Love?” Light looked at the other Highest and narrowed her eyes.
“I will explain it to you, my Highest,” Love nodded. “But first, these need to return home as fast as possible.”
Auster took Boreus by the hand and they fled the Bastion, back across the meadow at the speed of wind, back to the little house on the rise, only to find that they were already too late.
The sun was rising, breakfast was on the table, along with two folded squares of paper. Both of them tear-stained, both folded identically, with no seal, only their names on the paper in her handwriting.
Auster opened her letter, only to be confronted with the words that told him she hadn’t run, that she was seeing to her duties with the mortals, and that she would return as soon as they were seen to.
So what were the tears for? Why would that have made her cry?
He looked up at Boreus, who was reading his letter. “I don’t know what criteria Love is using for her fleeing, but this feels a lot like her running from us.”
“She’ll come back,” Auster said, waving his letter. “She said she would as soon as she’s done.”
“I hope you’re right,” Boreus sighed. “I am perfectly willing to go get her if I have to.”
They waited as the sun climbed the sky, as it set, and then rose again. Until Love walked through the door looking rather less than his usual polished self and flopped down into one of their chairs with a sigh.
“What did you do to her?” Auster demanded. “How can we get around it?”
“The bargain ends in two ways.” He said. “You tell her you love her, or she runs from you.”
“So you did do something.” Auster sat down in the opposite chair. “Tell me where she is and I will go and end this for us both.”
“She’s changing the season,” Love waved a vague hand at the ceiling.
“She said she would come back when she was finished.” Boreus said.
Love chuckled, “how many time streams are there, North Wind?”
“How do we get her back?” Auster demanded.
Love nodded, “wait for her to use a cross point.” He said. “It’s the only way to step across the streams without her having to come home to the Mountain. Or wait until she has nothing left and has to come back.”
“We will make a plan, Highest.” Boreus rose and nodded. “Divide the cross points between us and watch for her.”
“Good,” Love rose and gave them a sideways sort of smile. “You are perhaps correct to be angry, but trust that I did it with the best intent.”
“She did stay,” Auster said haltingly. “You did accomplish that.”
Love left Boreus and Auster to stare at each other.
They divided the cross points between them, watching for any sign of her. Sometimes there would be the slightest flicker, but before they could get to it, it was always gone.
They started taking it in turns, one to watch the cross points, one to rest and feed them both. Days passed, a week, and Auster started to see a pattern in the flickers in the cross points. She was slowing down, whatever she was using to quicken her pace was wearing off.
And then the flickers stopped, there was no motion in the cross points, but there was a thud at the front door. Auster tore his eyes off the cross points and ran for the door, ripping it open, almost separating it from its hinges, only to find Autumn collapsed in a heap outside the door.
There were no wounds that he could find, no injuries, no illness. He was no judge of this, but there was nothing left of her magic. Her aspect, the warm gold and scarlet of fall was nearly shattered.
He cradled her in his arms, turning to head to their bedroom, to remove her sandals and tuck her into bed. She whimpered when he laid her down, trying to cling, even unconscious.
“Hush,” he crooned to her. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Autumn went limp, profoundly asleep in a way that worried him.
“Should we send for someone?” Boreus asked from the doorway. “I don’t know who would help, but there has to be someone that would.”
“We should let the Highest know that she has returned.” Auster said, calm on the outside, even if on the inside he was a shaking mess. “They will send someone to see to her.”
“They sent me,” Day walked into the room, pausing to look down at Autumn. “Ah, I see.” She bent, laying a hand on Autumn’s brow. “She is simply exhausted, and there is very little I can do for that.”