Chapter Fourteen
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Iona had hardly looked at Liam, since they’d returned. The whole time he’d been catching the others up on their run in with Andrew and Walter, their unsuccessful persuasion and the history they’d learned. Iona had kept quiet. It was difficult to tell if she was still shaken up by Andrew’s threat, or if it had been his own confusing promise to her back in the truck. They’d been so close, he could have kissed her.
He’d wanted to kiss her.
It had been so long since he’d been with anyone. At least a year, maybe more. Between work and life, he rarely found the time to date. No wonder the impulse had been so strong, when he saw the first pretty face he’d met in ages. It was dangerous, and he once again reminded himself that she was not human.
He was leaving.
For days now he’d felt the unease growing within him, torn between all the people he’d made promises to, terrified to let anyone down. The house would be sold, and his life in Seattle would go on as it had. Iona was strong, and kind, and beautiful, but she wasn’t human, and nothing would change that about her. Even if he wanted to stay, there was nothing for him out in those forests, no career to pursue, no future .
It was dangerous, though, to look deeply into her eyes, to be stirred by the wisdom and ferocity there. To look for an excuse to stay.
He reminded himself that as they walked. With Iona sapped of her strength, the group had to visit her kin on foot—a fact Liam was thankful for. Apparently, they only needed to walk a short ways past her maple to meet her friends where they gathered in the evenings. So they’d set out, carrying with them two twelve-packs of Rainier beer, and a lantern to guide the way.
At least it had stopped raining, and Iona promised shelter when they made it to their destination.
Liam was buzzing with nervous energy, both from the run in with Andrew, and the prospect of meeting more of Iona’s kind. It was obvious, from the way she spoke about them they were important to her, not just as other Acernae, but as friends.
“Do they know we’re coming?” Liam asked as they trudged along.
“Ah, no,” she confessed, but didn’t seem overly concerned. “But I’ll smooth things over when we get there.”
Eventually they came upon a building. At least, it looked like it had once been a building, made up of crumbling wood, and stone. Dim light spilled out from the open doorway, and voices from within echoed out into the night. Liam swallowed and prepared to enter, as Iona lead the way.
She ushered them through the doorway, and the interior of the space was not at all what Liam had been expecting. It was cozy, with a wood stove burning in the center of the room, and a mismatched collection of old furniture that looked worn but comfortable. Great care had been taken to make the space feel homey, and despite it’s shabby exterior, they had done quite a good job.
Then his eyes shifted to take in the other figures in the room. They were gathered closely around a wooden table, that seemed to be carved from the ground itself, a small pile of wooden dice in the center of it. As Iona had told him in the previous days, they all looked striking and unique in their own ways. Here, in their natural states, they ranged from looking rather human to looking very distinctly not. They fell silent as Liam and his human friends trickled in .
“What is this, Iona?” A taller, slender man said. His skin was pale green, a few shades lighter than his hair, but what drew Liam’s attention was the antler-like horns. And his expression which looked… unhappy.
“Eli,” Iona addressed him, her voice honeyed, “I have brought my new friends along. But don’t worry, they’ve brought gifts to win your favor.” She gestured back at them, and Zev came forward placing the beer down a healthy distance from the table. “And, an idea to share with you all. To help with our little logging problem.”
One of the Acernae that sat around the table lit up with a mischievous grin. Their features were a blend of masculine and feminine, a wide frame with a soft face. With dark skin and short, shaggy brown hair, there was little that marked them as other, like Iona or Eli.
“Iona, you shouldn’t have,” they said, but it was obvious from their crinkled expression the words were empty, and they reached out to grab a beer from the pack.
“See, Vall will accept the offering,” Iona said smugly, tilting her chin upwards.
The third at the table, a woman with the same green-tinted colorings as Eli, eyed them sharply. “You thought it wise to bring them here?”
The meaning of her words was clear—this was their safe place, their home. And Liam and the others were invading it. Nervous energy flooded through him, and he wondered if it had been a mistake to come here, his fingers finding their way to his already frazzled hair. He looked back to Zev, who only shrugged, seeming less bothered than Liam felt.
“They have proven themselves trustworthy and have come to ask for your assistance. I believe we have a plan that can drive the loggers out for good, but I am not strong enough to do it alone,” Iona told them. Then her eyebrows knit together, and Liam realized that she did indeed look exhausted. The day had taken a toll on her, and he was not the only one to notice.
Eventually, Eli relented, and strode over to the beer, grabbing one for himself and the woman, who Liam assumed to be Orla—the mischievous one, who’d helped deliver the tea earlier that day. Liam offered her a smile, though it was clear she was reluctant to trust them from the withering look he received in return.
“At least you thought to bribe us. But we have supported you this far, I see no reason not to trust your judgment now. Though you do look like shit, sister. Tell me you have not outdone yourself today,” Eli told her, with a gentle affection in his voice.
Iona blushed at the truth in his assumption, but puffed her chest out defiantly. Something tightened in Liam’s stomach at the sight.
“I have only done what I could to keep this valley safe. If you want to prevent me from overexerting myself again tomorrow, then you will lend your aid to my cause.”
“Iona.” Orla rolled her eyes. “Of course we will. Now tell us of your plans.”
“Yes, come join us,” Eli told Liam and the others. With a surge of magic, the table before them expanded, so they could all sit around it, each with a beer in hand.
They listened as Zev explained the plan.
The Acernae would gather before sunrise, and, using their magic, they would call up the roots from beneath the earth, urging them to worm their way into the machines’ motors and joints, rendering them useless. Zev, whose knowledge of logging machinery surprised Liam, described in detail the places where the roots could reach to deal the most lasting damage. The gathered Acernae listened raptly, asking questions here and there to make sure they understood the plan. As the plan evolved, Liam watched their excitement grow, and it was clear they were just as eager as Iona was to expel the thieves, if less willing to act on it.
As the night wore on, and the business of strategy had been concluded, the group grew much more comfortable with one another. Even Orla, who’d been the most skeptical of them softened after a while. It certainly helped that much of the beer was gone, and it seemed Iona had been right to suggest it—it was a type of luxury they didn’t have often, and enjoyed just as much as anyone else.
It struck Liam again how normal they acted. Even though they looked different, it was nothing like how he imagined sentient magical guardians of a forest might be. He’d expected aloof but wise sages, brimming with ancient power—but the Acernae before him didn’t seem all that different from himself and his friends. They played dice games, drank beer, and laughed with each other.
Orla was braiding Annie’s long hair in an intricate pattern, weaving flowers into it that seemed to spring from nowhere. They giggled intermittently, but their words were lost to the din of the room.
Meanwhile Vall and Iona demonstrated their ability to change their appearance. Vall suddenly grew long and flowing hair, their bone structure becoming more feminine. Zev watched, a mixture of awe and longing in their expression.
Liam had sat down on an old but surprisingly comfortable couch, and watched the group. The long day had taken it’s toll, and he was suddenly exhausted. Eli sat down beside him.
“Iona seems quite smitten by you,” Eli said. There was no indication from his tone how the words were meant to be taken, it was a simple observation.
Liam felt his face go hot. “Ah,” he said lamely. “I’m not that special.”
Eli looked him over, a slight crook in his brow as he did so. Liam felt the impulse to lean away from the studious look, but stayed put.
“I don’t think that’s true at all. There is much about you that is special, though you do seem unaware.” Eli spoke as if it were a matter of fact. There was the unhelpful and aloof sage wisdom Liam had been missing. Then it evaporated, and Eli chuckled, standing to leave with a hard pat on Liam’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough, I think.”
Liam pondered what Eli had said. His whole life, he’d felt remarkably not special. From the moment he’d set foot in school, away from the safety of his forest and his trees he knew there was nothing special about him at all.
The fact had been ground into him over years of suffering at the hands of his peers, who never missed an opportunity to remind him how little he had, how weak he was.
Perhaps that was why he felt so strongly that someone should stand up to Andrew and his henchmen.
Their encounter at the gas station reminded him so vividly of the bullies who’d tormented him all those years ago, unpunished by the system and free to wreak whatever havoc they so chose. Not that Liam had a backbone—when facing off against Andrew, he had crumbled as he had his entire life.
He was a coward, and he knew it.
A presence in the doorway interrupted his downward spiral.
She held herself stiff and regal. Liam knew immediately that she was Acernae, and that she was ancient. Not that she looked it—her pale skin was just as youthful as the rest of them, but there was a knowing look in her eyes. There was little about this one that looked human.
“These are the human’s you’ve become so fond of, Iona.” Her voice rang out across the room as it fell silent. “Since you’ve been spending so much time with these ones, I decided to come and meet them for myself.”
Iona dropped her eyes to the ground as if caught. Glancing at the sheepish Acernae, Liam figured that she must be someone important to instill such obedience.
“I am Tove,” she told the humans among them. Her gaze swept across the room, beginning with Annie and Zev, then finally landing on Liam.
As their eyes met, something flickered in hers, and her head tilted to one side. “You,” she said. “Stand.”
Liam swallowed hard, feeling the steely cold eyes pierce through him. He did as instructed, pushing down his unease.
But Tove’s face had softened, her eyebrows lifting with something that might have been surprise. At once, her coldness evaporated. “You look just like him,” she whispered, so low that Liam doubted anyone else would hear it.
“Who?”
“Someone I once knew.”
Liam waited for more, but nothing else came.
Tove straightened, fixing her features in place once more and turning to face the room. She cast a sharp look at Iona, then spoke to the group again.
“Do not put yourselves in harm’s way,” she said simply. Then she vanished.
***
The room was quiet for a long moment after Tove left, and Iona tried to still herself. They hadn’t been admonished by her, not really. In fact, it was difficult to read how Tove had felt meeting their human friends. Iona had braced herself for a stern warning, maybe the expulsion of the humans from their forest, if she’d been in a particularly nasty mood—but she hadn’t expected that . Iona looked to Vall, who met her eyes with a similarly confused look, but shrugged.
“What the hell was that about?” Zev’s voice was loud in the quiet room.
Orla laughed uncomfortably. “I really don’t know.”
With Tove’s strange arrival and even stranger departure, the spell on the room had broken, and Iona knew it was time for them to act. It had been dark for some time, but it was getting late, and she was hesitant to keep the humans too much longer, since they needed rest. Liam was already yawning, and the bags under his eyes had deepened since they’d arrived. Though Iona felt similarly exhausted, she had more work to do.
She drifted over to Liam, who still looked rattled.
“Who was that?” he asked.
“Tove is among the oldest of our kind in this valley. She’s been here longer than any of us, and that time has made her… rather cold. Though she did seem to take a particular interest in you,” Iona answered, and eyed Liam again.
What had Tove seen in him?
Liam pursed his lips, and Iona felt her breath hitch. They’d scarcely spoken for the past few hours. Iona had needed the space to sort out her feelings, reeling as she was from the moment they shared. When they were together, she felt things she thought herself incapable of feeling. Always, though, those feelings had been tempered by the understanding that he would not remain in this valley forever. Soon, they would put their plan into action, and the problem would be dealt with.
Then there was the even deeper truth that he would not remain on this earth as long as she would, that his frail human life would come to end far sooner than hers. The Acernae were not immortal, in the true sense of the word, but their life was tied to the maple they were born of, which could last many hundreds of years in the safety of the valley. Iona herself was quite young, her long life stretched out before her—she would outlive him by centuries .
Not that it should have bothered her. She hardly knew him. The years he’d spent at the foot of her tree had long since passed, and the man who stood before her was a near stranger.
No, any errant feelings she had needed to be tucked away.
“What’s wrong?” Liam asked.
She looked up at him, startled. There was an urgency in his expression, a genuine care for her. He had drifted closer to her. She sucked in a breath and stepped away.
“Nothing is wrong. But you are tired and must sleep. We will take care of the rest this evening.” She stared at her feet to avoid meeting his gaze. “Will you be leaving, then?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Things are kinda wrapped up back at the house, and it’s a long drive. I’ll leave tomorrow morning.”
“This is goodbye, I suppose,” she said softly, the words turning her insides to ice. She let that coldness leech into her face, her voice. Best not to get too attached.
He frowned, but did not push her. “Okay,” he finally said. “Be careful.”
Liam lingered for another moment, looking like he wanted to say more, but when she did not encourage it he turned back to his friends. Iona did not look at him again, as the humans gathered their things and trudged back the way they came.
***
The Acernae stepped out into the cold night, preparing to execute their plans. Eli lingered at Iona’s side, extending an arm to her.
“I will take you there. You should save your strength.”
Iona nodded, willing to swallow her pride and acknowledge how tired she was. It was wise, she knew, to save what little power she had to ensure their sabotage of the logging equipment went smoothly. She looped her arm around his, grateful too for the comfort it brought her—now that they were putting their plan into action, she couldn’t help the nerves that fluttered in her stomach.
Eli pulled her along through the forest, and they stepped through a few yards behind where the others had materialized. She moved to follow them, but Eli held fast to her arm.
“Should we discuss what’s going on between you and the boy?” he asked, a sly if paternalistic smile on his lips .
Iona bowed her head, to prevent him from seeing the way her face contorted. “There is no need.” Her voice came out little more than a whisper.
“But surely you’ve noticed, what he is?”
Her eyes snapped back up to him, but that was answer enough, and Eli gave her a knowing look, the smile returning to his lips.
“Of course not, especially since he does not seem to know himself. Regardless, he appears to have a good heart.” Eli said the words as if to himself, and then walked away, leaving Iona brimming with questions. When he noticed she’d not followed, he called back to her. “Shall we?”
Her lips pressed into a frown. She did know there was something different about Liam, but hadn’t been able to put her finger on what. Eli seemed to have known immediately. But the time for questions was passed, and she focused instead on the task before her.
By sunrise, Liam would be gone and the truth of him would no longer matter.
Vall’s hand stretched out into the night, and a flurry of firelights drifted up above them, illuminating the wretched scene. Around them, the carnage of the fallen trees stretched out into the darkness beyond, the machines ghostly and towering above them. It made Iona shiver, though her warmth had returned from the time spent inside. That warmth was stoked too by her thoughts of the man from the gas station, who so cruelly threatened Liam with a wicked glint in his eye. The embodiment of men who took what they felt entitled to, unbothered by the consequences. At least her time with Liam had proven to Iona that not all humans were so evil.
Iona approached and took her spot between Vall and Orla. Collectively, they breathed deeply, gathering magic about them. It would be a large expenditure, Iona knew, and not one that they took lightly. It was certainly more power than she’d ever needed to channel, in her time in the valley. Then, at her signal, they each dug their fingers into the earth, feeling the power of the roots below.
As Iona had done before, she called out to them, and they answered. Across the clearing, roots shot up into the air, curling and writhing until they connected with the cold metal machines. She felt their recoil, the impulse to scatter from it, but she did not relinquish control, and pushed the roots farther towards the heart of the great metal beasts. Her senses were flooded by the rapid growth. She felt along the machine’s edge as if the roots were her own fingers, feeling for the cracks Zev had told them to find. Slowly, the roots pried open the spaces between the sheets of metal that housed the beast’s innards. Once inside, the roots wrapped tightly around that heart, and she pulled her hands into a fist, the roots responding in kind. They tightened, constricting the soft metal until it bent, crumpling into itself. Sharp edges tore into the roots, but the wood was strong, and the pain was minimal.
Acerbic oil splattered out like blood, pooling in the tracks left by the machines when they crawled across the trampled undergrowth. It would likely harm the plants below, but it was a small price to pay for the destruction of the machinery.
The others had been similarly successful, rending the equipment useless, like they’d planned. A spark of triumph flared in Iona’s chest, but it was snuffed out by the fading darkness around her.
She struggled to maintain her grip on the roots, to pull them tighter, but dark splotches clouded her vision, her head spinning with exertion. The soil beneath her rose up, and she felt gentle hands catching her as she slipped from consciousness.