13. Farren
Farren
W e rode for several days, hardly ever stopping for anything longer than the most necessary of breaks. Portlock’s bear was able to move faster than I ever would have thought possible. Could that be because he’s not a pure shifter? Could he be part something other? I tried to put more thought into that idea, but exhaustion was eating away at me as he slowed his full run to more of a trot.
He must have sensed there was some kind of shelter close by as he veered from his current path and carried me deeper into the woods. The closer the trees around us grew, the slower his gait became until he was reduced to a lumbering fast walk. The steady, rocking motion of that, paired with long days of traveling on the bear’s back, lulled me into a light doze as Portlock carried me away.
My eyes refused to move as the sound of the rushing wind roared in my ears. I tried to squeeze my eyes closed tighter as what felt like fur caressed my cheek.
“Five more minutes,” I murmured, not wanting to awaken at all. All of my running around had left me exhausted and now I just wanted to sleep.
A golden flash of light flared and wrapped me in a warm embrace before it ebbed away. That chill proved to be enough that I forced one eye open to see a large map before me.
It was almost identical to the one that had led me to Portlock, but where his circle was, now stood the outline of a bear’s paw. Furthermore, the star over the northeast had the left two spokes shaded in. Yellow in the upper one and green below it.
A flicker of silver caught my eye as I saw a small silver bird fluttering its wings as it hovered on the far end of a line that was connected to the southernmost circle.
The bird’s cry startled me as it flew off the map and into my face. I screamed as I tried to block my face from the talons that tore at me, but at the moment they should have made contact with my skin, they exploded into gusts of wind that wound around me and pulled at my clothes.
When the wind faded, I was once again staring down at the foreboding town, but something had changed. The dark aura had grown even more potent and I saw signs of the darkness that had been stalking me encroaching on the edges.
Something big was coming. But why was I getting this warning? What was I supposed to do with this information? Just as I was mulling over the details revealed to me, a thick, dark tentacle lashed out to wrap around my arm.
I screamed as pain raced up my arm and shot into my chest.
Strong arms wrapped around me as I rocked myself while coddling the injured limb close. As the warmth of Portlock’s embrace settled into me, I took in his rich scent of pine and earth after rain. I reclined into him as my racing heart slowed itself to keep time with his strong and steady beat.
Once I was calmed down enough to let him examine my arm, we both gasped at the bruises that were already blossoming there. When he barely grazed a finger over the darkest of my wounds, I flinched at the pain it caused.
“What could have caused this? What were you dreaming of, my love?” Worry weighed each word as he carefully twisted my arm to get a view of all the injuries.
“Uh, well, it was kinda weird.” How could I describe what I saw without sounding crazy? Even in my own head, it sounded confusing.
“In what way? I vaguely remember that the people who shared lands with my mother would place great reverence in their dreams. Perhaps your dreams are trying to guide you?” he questioned sagely.
I took a steadying breath before I answered him.
“Maps. Maps of North America.” I twisted in his arms so we faced each other. “This was only the second dream like that. The first time was just before we met, and the map held just circles and stars.” I chewed on my lip as I tried to recall my dreams clearly enough to retell them to Portlock.
“In the second one, one of the circles had changed shapes. It was now a bear paw. But that wasn’t the oddest part of the change. The circle that shifted was located over where we met.”
He smiled at the thought that my dreams could have led us to meet. I almost didn’t want to tell him the other part, the one that would steal that look from his face.
“Eventually the maps were replaced with a village. It's unlike any I've seen before. Death, darkness, and even despair had wrapped its claws into every fiber of the town. The shadows hung so heavily over it that I felt it deep in my bones. But something in the first dream called to my spirit, almost begging me to find it.” I swallowed the lump that formed.
“Tonight, the shadows had grown thicker, stronger. They were alive.” I looked him in the eye before continuing. “They were angry. They lashed out at me. When they did, that’s when I woke up.”
My body had started to shake violently and Portlock’s arms tightened around me.
We sat like that for several long minutes as he soothed my nerves.
Morning finally dawned, and I was still wrapped in Portlock’s arms. Drowsily, I mused to myself, his name is getting to be quite a mouthful to keep saying. Perhaps there’s a way I could shorten it.
When he shifted around me, I knew it was time to get up and start moving again.
“Do you happen to have a map on you, Fare?” I was startled by my companion’s question.
“Uh, yeah. Right here.” I laid out the map that I had already marked from my first dream. I closed my eyes for a brief moment to try and recall where I had seen the bird emblem. As I watched my finger trace the map, I felt a force take hold of my hand. It pulled me along until I was roughly halfway between the bear paw and the southern circle. I swallowed hard before continuing. “We are somewhere about here. If we were to continue at our same pace, it should hopefully take us no more than a week, week and a half to get to this circle.”
I glanced up and saw him nodding along as though he was confirming what I had just said.
“It is as you say. The sooner we make haste, the sooner we should arrive. We should leave once you are ready.”