AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The river was wide and shallow here, barely a trickle of water running through the rocky bed. The manticore stayed close to the bank, his massive claws digging divots into the rocks and sand as he paced back and forth across the stream bed. He turned his head back towards me again and let out another impatient growl.
“I’m coming, Mr. Pushy!” I called out. “Just taking a moment for my legs to rest!”
The beast huffed out another breath, and I pulled myself back onto my feet, shuffling along after him. He could have easily outpaced me or even flown away, but the manticore appeared determined to get me somewhere. When I caught up with the manticore again, he continued up the riverbank until we arrived at an area with pools of water several feet deep dotting the ground in front of us. The tiny orb creatures flew up and around in beautiful swirls, and they blended together to form iridescent patterns of color. They morphed from one shape into another, their spherical bodies becoming birds and fish in midair, then transformed again into flowers and butterflies.
The manticore sat down heavily on his haunches, folding his wings tight against his body, then grunted and nodded his head toward the pools, as if urging me forward. He laid down and groomed his mane, licking his paw and then brushing it through the scruffy fur.
“You’re sending me in there alone?” I asked, decidedly charmed by this gruff, grouchy, and deadly creature.
The manticore blinked back at me deliberately, as if I were the slowest person on the planet. Well, perhaps only the slowest person in faery.
I took another look across the watery area in front of me and decided it would have been better named a bog. I didn’t relish the prospect of wading through the pools, especially not knowing how deep the water was. Something slithered by under the surface of the nearest pool, just out of sight.
Hadn’t Taneisha warned me to stay away from the swamp? But what else could I do with the manticore urging me forward.
“I’m not scared of snakes, mind you, but I’d feel better about it if I could see through that murk. I don’t suppose the big bad kitty wants to carry me across the muddy pools?” I asked, glancing back at the manticore.
He paused in his grooming and sniffed. The beast slowly licked his bright pink tongue over his nose, like he’d scented something tasty. I wondered how Taneisha had ensnared this creature’s will to her desires, and just how firmly that grip might hold.
“Don’t go getting any dinner ideas, shaggy.”
He let out a rumbling purr, and I held up my hand to stop him.
“No, don’t you dare. You’re not chasing me around this bog.” He shook his head, and the ruff on his neck stood up straight. “I’d better get myself to the other side of the water,” I mumbled to myself.
I walked gingerly out onto the watery surface, which was only a little over ankle deep at first. The mud and moss squished under my boots, even as the water magically supported my weight. The thick mud sucked at my shoes with each step, but it didn’t slow me down much. I made it across the first pool when something slithered around my right ankle, pulling me off balance. As I fell forward towards a grassy, reed-filled bank, magic erupted from my hands, quickly stalling my momentum. Whatever force had dampened it before had now diminished, and I could gratefully step up onto the mossy embankment without falling to my knees in the mud.
I pulled my foot free of the mud, shaking off the muddy water and the creature that had latched onto me. I looked down at my boot, expecting to see a snake slithering away. Instead, it was a string of tiny balls of multicolored light. The rope-like creature slid off my boot, sliding silently back into the water.
I summoned a ball of light into my hand to illuminate the water at my feet, hoping to get a better look. As if on cue, more orb creatures emerged from the depths.
“What are you?” I asked the orb creatures, who flitted around me in a swarm. They hummed back at me, their voices blending together into an unintelligible harmony that tickled my brain in the most curious way. I let out a laugh. Of all Taneisha’s quests, this one was the most curious by far. But none of the others had been in faery, a land which welcomed no mortal.
The orb creatures swirled around me, dancing in the air like fireflies on a summer night. Their numbers grew as others joined them from other pools and from the surrounding vegetation. The orb creatures hummed back at me again, flashing from one shape to another faster than I could follow.
“You’re beautiful.” As I spoke the words, they seemed to please them, and they swarmed around my head with their trilling song of delight before darting away across the watery expanse before me. Moments later they returned with even more who joined their ranks in circling around me, giving me an experience in this magical place previously reserved for fae alone.
My mage senses were on high alert here in faery, and my magic hummed under my skin with eager anticipation for something more than just these tiny balls of light. For what? Something more powerful? Something dangerous? Something forbidden? I looked around me, trying to find with my eyes what my magic knew instinctively.
A flicker of movement caught my eye near a pool off to my right. When I turned to look, I saw a man standing there watching me. I froze in place, afraid to move or draw attention to myself. He was tall and slender, with long gray hair hanging loose down his back over a flowing pale silver gown that covered his frame from neck to toe but left his arms bare. His skin was pale ivory, framed by dramatic deep blue markings on his neck and arms that reminded me of tattoos or henna artistry. His eyes were a pale moonstone with yellow flecks that glowed like fire under the sunlight shining down on us both from overhead.
The fae raised his hand toward me as if summoning something out of thin air which he then hurled at me across the watery expanse between us. Silvery lines moved like lightning over the boggy, misty ground, unerringly seeking me out despite their erratic path.
Fear shot through my chest as if expecting the strike. What had I done to earn this fae’s ire? Perhaps my presence in this place had violated some custom? My magic surged within me again as I raised my hands to meet this attack head-on, forming a glowing, green wall of protective energy. I could only hope my shield would hold against the fae’s attack.
Missing Persons
FRANC
“Tell me you didn’t cheat the straw pull,” Caden said, his tone an accusation.
We sat in my Ford Mustang in the parking lot outside of Charmed Brews watching patrons coming and going. It’d been busy enough that we didn’t have a good view to see Sera behind the counter, but it was only a matter of time before we got lucky and spotted Sera inside through the window.
“Okay,” I drawled back at him. “I didn’t cheat the straw poll.”
Caden let out a long sigh. “Dammit man, that’s not playing fair with your brothers.”
“I knew it had to be us looking in on Sera,” I explained, lifting my hands in surrender. “If Liam or Emrys were here, they’d never be able to stop themselves from going to Sera when they saw her.”
