Shade’s eyes widened at the mention of Sary. She gripped her backpack straps ‘til her knuckles were white and her fingers ached in protest. She fought the urge to scream and pull out her sword to charge the two soldiers with it. She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing again. She shifted on her legs, which were going numb from crouching too long. Shade cringed as she heard the snap of a twig under her sneaker. She held her breath and waited.

“Hey, did you hear that? What was that?”

“It’s probably a squirrel stupid!” the second the solider snapped.

“Shut up moron, someone’s there,” The first solider responded and clearly sounded irritated.

The scratch of metal sliding out of sheath, made Shade swallowed hard and her throat was so tight with nerves that it ached. Oh no.

Now they were whispering, so she couldn’t hear them. She heard their careless footsteps crunch on the bits of wood and dead mulch under their boots. Their steps grew closer as her panic intensified. She heard them come to a stop but they did not speak, waiting for her to betray herself. The wait made her impatient as she decided to risk peeking over the log to get their positions.

She spotted them not too far from her. They were scanning an area to the right of her. Soon they would be near enough to see her. It was then she glanced behind her, into the endless forest for an escape route.

“There she is! Get her!” They grunted as they turned towards her and began sprinting, dodging other logs and debris. Shade’s eyes widened and she bolted, running as fast as she could through tangled branches, twigs and wet leaves.

“Stop! You’re in a lot of trouble! Stop and we won’t kill you!” One of the men called. He did not sound very convincing.

Ya, that’s gonna make me come to a halt. She jumped over boulders and logs, occasionally slipping and sliding as the terrain became uneven and full of dips and hills. She fell to her hands, scraping them on twigs and rocks. She felt no pain but was sure it was going to leave marks. She came to a rock bed where the boulders were smooth and bobbed out and were higher than the others. She hopped on the flattened tops, nearly losing her step as her feet slid over the smooth surfaces. Her arms waved in the air, catching her balance just in time before falling into the crevices.

“Get back here you little… Damn, Reike, my foot’s caught! Get her man!” One soldier was struggling to pull his foot from a crack between two boulders. He waved at his partner to follow her.

Shade glanced back, but was near the end of boulders when she missed her step and slammed against one side of a large stone. She tried to grip the careworn rock but only scraped her hands as she slid down into a large hole between the rocks. She slid and slid, down under the boulders until the hole became a tunnel, sending her slipping down into darkness, and deep underground.

Chapter Eighteen

There was nothing but the dark and silence around her. She was face down in the fine, sandy dirt floor. Sparks twinkled in her vision as she moved, causing her to slow down and breath through the wave of nausea. She must have hit her head when she landed. Moving her arms under her, she pushed herself into a sitting position, or what felt like it because the darkness seemed to cancel out her sense of direction, and this did not help her stomach. She lurched the last bits of her afternoon snack into the black dirt around her.

Yuck, Shade spit onto the ground, trying to expel the remnants of the nasty taste in her mouth. She breathed in deeply and sat up again, balancing herself with her hands in the dirt. She bent over, letting some more blood rush into her throbbing head. Now I need a doctor or something…As the moments passed, the pounding lessened and her stomach settled. She was able to sit straight then and fished through all her pockets for the light stone. She found it in her back pocket of her jeans. She wrapped her hand around it, willing it to life. The soft glow grew with every breath she took. She felt her fear subside just a bit when the light brightened and showed more strength. She held it in the center of her palm and stretched her fingers straight. Like a lantern she held in her hand and carried it with her about the room. The light was dim; but she could see that the room was rounded and made out of stone. Dirt, rocks, and debris littered the floor of the underground cave. She studied the smooth walls all around her. She could not see any exits or cracks in the stone. She looked up at the ceiling where she was sure she had come from. It was sealed and just as smooth as the walls.

What the? How the hell do I get out of here? How the hell did I get in?

Shade once again scanned the room. It was like being inside a very hard bubble. She sighed and placed the stone in front of her in the dirt. Please, just keep glowing. She prayed as she watched the warm yellow light. She smiled, proud that she managed to do some magic, she attempted to stand up and take a better look around. The floating stars in her vision caused her kneel back down and she had to wait until the dizziness and woozy feeling subsided.

After a few moments, Shade felt well enough to stand and was glad she didn’t hit her head on the ceiling. Walking along side of the walls, she felt along the stones that were rougher and grainier than the stones on the ground. The bumps scraped against her already, wounded, and sore hands. After inspecting every inch of the surface that appeared to be no way out. Spinning around with her heart pounding in her chest, she felt claustrophobic and very frustrated. All kicking the stone wall and punching it with her hands gained her was more pain. Her hands were burning as her closed fists irritated her excoriated palms. Shade slumped to the floor, leaning against the cold rock. She hugged her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth until sobs shook her body and her tears soaked her cheeks. Her cries echoed in the cool air. She felt no wind or air but could smell the dampness and mold intermingled within it.

The time ticked by and she didn’t know how long she had rocked herself but it was long enough for her tears to dry up that stained her dirty cheeks, and for her hands to stop throbbing. She pulled off her pack and dug through it for some water, hoping that after that she might be able to think more clearly. Her ravenous chewing on a small snack filled the emptiness for a moment or two. She wished her spirit guides were still with her and giving her advice. She wondered why the attack had caused her to expel them along with Darren. She hugged her arms and felt a chill run down her entire body. She pulled out Dylan’s warm blanket and wrapped it around her until just her eyes were visible from its folds. The warmth provided by the blanket was instant and now her eyes were drooping with drowsiness, and heavy with sleep.

Feeling a little lonely, Shade breathed in the faint scent of Dylan’s skin. She sighed and watched her light stone glow softly in the dark. What now? She pulled out her sleeping bag from her tent set up and laid it on the soft dirt. Laying her pillow down, she felt the exhaustion overwhelm her body and her bones ached from the events of the day. She hadn’t realized how tired she had become after being chased through the forest. She pulled the blanket around herself and drifted away, hoping to find someone, even in her dreams.

*****

“Shade?”

Her eyelids fluttered open as her eyes adjusted to the blue flickering light in the room as it intermittently broke up the darkness. The rock seemed to bounce the light around and had took on the blue color. She blinked again and sat up, confirming that she was still in her stone dungeon. Realizing her light stone wouldn’t be as bright as the light that shone in the cave, she rubbed away the sleep from her eyes and looked around. Who called my name?

“Shade! It is you! I knew you were close but I never thought that you would be here!” A male voice said with relief and eagerness.

She stared at the figure; electricity crackled and flames radiated from him like a torch. She stood up and wavered a moment, eyes wide in disbelief. Dylan! It was Dylan without glamour and aglow in the most amazing blue fire, that swam along his skin and licked the air around him.

“Dylan? What, but, how did you get here? How did you find me?” Her eyes scanned him, waiting for his still familiar face to change into someone else. Her heart leaped with the utmost happiness at the sight of him. She smiled and tried to stand until a sway of dizziness changed her mind.

“I don’t know. I came along an ancient river bed with enormous boulders throughout it. I was compelled to be there. I’d been tracking you for days. I can feel when you have been in a place, almost like I’m experiencing a feeling of déjà vu. It felt so strong there, but I didn’t even know where to look. Suddenly the land seem to open up and suck me down between the boulders and bam, here I am. That’s never happened to me before, definitely a first.” He paused, smiling at her. “Like, I was meant to find you. I can’t even explain it. It’s the weirdest thing ever to fall and be right here with you. No wait don’t get too close, you might get burned.” Shade retracted her hand, just realizing she had been reaching out to him.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

He smiled and nodded. “It’s ok. You know how we look like without the glamour to encase our true bodies. If you were to touch me, I could hurt you…”

Shade pressed her lips together, confusion flashed across her face like a slap. “But Darren touched me when he was unglamoured, like you are now, and I didn’t get burned. I asked Soap and Jack about it and they had no answers for me. It makes me think that I might not be harmed if I touch you.” She looked back up at Dylan.

His face was a mask of shock; and he shook his head. “I don’t know about that Shade. Maybe it was a trick of his. He could do so many things with mirrors that would make you believe things were real, when all they really were bits of illusion. He was a genius at that.” Dylan’s face was grim at the thought of his brother.

“No, I know because he was shocked when I didn’t burn, he said that much. I saw it in his eyes.” Her eyes glazed over with the memory of the malice that stained on Darren’s face. He had filled with so much pleasure when he saw the fear wash over her. She looked at Dylan and almost expected to see Darren standing before her. They were similar in appearance but even as brothers, they didn’t exactly look alike and certainly didn’t behave the same way.

“Well, if you must Shade. I will tone the flames down and then you can touch my skin with just a finger, that way it won’t hurt you that much. Deal?”

She nodded and watched his flames shrink back into just embers glowing across his skin softly. She studied it and watched how his skin looked smooth and untouched under the heat. He watched her as she walked towards him, extending her arm and hand up towards him. They both held their breath as she reached her finger up to his skin and ran it up his arm slow and straight. Dylan was still holding his breath when her soft touch reached him, and in that moment it felt as if time froze.

Nothing… is happening, He felt warm but hot would not be the word she would use. There was no pain, flying ash, or fear. She extended the rest of her fingers out to brush his forearm. His flames extended to full glow and she remained unscathed. She brought her hand back and studied it. Dirt and drying scrapes were smeared across her hand but no burns or soot. She looked at Dylan, who was as stunned as her and watched her with an intensity that suddenly made her aware of his closeness.

“Dylan, why can I touch you? What am I? Why am I protected from the Teleen fires?” She stared at him, awaiting an answer.

Dylan seemed to come back into himself, shaking off whatever was holding him in his thoughts still. Gazing at her, he shook his head. “I-I don’t know, Shade. I wish I knew. There are so few who can do what you just did, so very few. Most are just Teleen, but you…” he kept his head shaking back and forth in disbelief. “Amazing,” he whispered and then looked back at her, a smile now filling up hiding the seriousness of his face.

“Do you know what that means Shade? You could marry a Teleen. You could, without difficulty find a mate within our court. Being a female, you have no idea how rare you are and how well you shall be received…”

“What? I don’t want to get married. Well, at least not yet. Where did that come from? I-I’m just a kid, why would I even think of that yet? Dylan, what do you mean there are a few who can do what I did, like not getting burned? Who else beside the Teleen, Dylan? Who besides Teleen can tolerate your power?” She waited and watched his smile fade just as fast as it had come.

“Our race is dying out, Shade. We can only marry another Teleen and very few of us are able to have children. Only matched pairs with another race that is able to be genetically compatible to us would help strengthen our line. Our power dies otherwise. The only other races of fey that would even be compatible with us and strong enough to withstand our fire are even rarer than the Teleen are.”

“Who are these people? What do you call them? Dylan, please.” She watched him impatiently. The look on his face definitely disapproving that she even asked him.

“Changelings for one thing, elementals of fire, such as fire-witches. Finding someone like that is so rare...I have only known of one changeling and one elemental fire-witch ever, and they were paired already.” He paused and studied her, narrowing his eyes at her. “Do you know if you are either of those, Shade?”

“Me? No, no way. If I am, I wouldn’t know it. I mean, what are a changeling and an elemental witch? How would I know which one I am, if I’m one of those?”

“Well, a changeling is simple; they are capable of changing into anything they want to. Human, bear, squirrel, different types of fey like Teleen, Enlors are sprites or Gidals, which are trolls. Anything, really. It’s a rare ability, like I said. An elemental fire-witch is, well, a human mortal witch–in every meaning of the word, but with an affinity to fire. They can control it, wave it around, and send it roaring across a forest, whatever you can imagine doing with it. They can cast spells, charms, curses and things of that nature. There are many kinds of witches, Shade, but rare is it to find elemental witches, they are special.” He stopped, his face serious and he met her eyes.