The Faerie War

Chapter 9

Nine

Since, as Oliver says, we have no other choice, and after searching their emotions and finding nothing but genuine delight, I decide to trust Oliver and Em. And since everyone in the Order seems to view me as some great guardian of awesomeness—they’re obviously unaware I’ve only recently graduated—this means they also decide to trust Oliver and Em.

The two strangely cheerful guardians lead us to their base in Fireglass Vale, one of three safe locations the Guild Council built centuries ago in case the Guilds were ever attacked and compromised. I have a vague memory of learning about these safe locations in second or third year—not where they were, of course—and thinking they were unnecessary; how could the Guilds ever be compromised? Their protective charms were meant to be impenetrable.

I’m glad now the Council had the foresight to prepare for every eventuality.

At the end of the fifth day, as we journey across endless open fields, Oliver lets Em take the lead and drops behind to speak to me. “I thought I should warn you about something. You won’t find many from your Guild here. The Creepy Hollow Guild was hit first and hardest. Council members from every Guild were there at the time, attending an urgent meeting. There was an explosion in the room where they were assembled. No one made it out alive. Almost everyone else who survived the explosion was captured and brainwashed.”

“Damn.” The good news just keeps coming. “If the Council is gone, what kind of leadership do we have now?”

“A handful of Council members, including me, weren’t at the meeting that night. Once the attack was over and we knew for certain we couldn’t return to the Guilds, two of us deactivated the spells that kept the safe locations locked. We began searching for anyone who hadn’t been influenced by Draven. Anyone we found who was willing and able to fight was sent to Fireglass Vale. Everyone else was sent to either of the other two places. We’re still finding survivors.”

I look away and try to squash the ridiculous hope that Violet is safe and waiting for me at Fireglass Vale. I push away thoughts of my mother and father and my old mentor, Bran. Don’t hope and you won’t be disappointed. Instead, I listen as Oliver tells me how he wound up searching for survivors in Creepy Hollow. He tells me about the beautiful woman from the Creepy Hollow Guild he fell in love with a few months ago. The woman he’s heard nothing from since our world fell apart. The woman named Tora.

At the mention of her name, my chest squeezes tight. Oliver must be talking about Violet’s old mentor; I don’t know any other Tora at the Guild. My stupid heart starts conjuring up ideas of Violet and Tora hiding out somewhere together. Stop it. You know that’s probably not true. So I say nothing to Oliver except that I know Tora but haven’t seen her.

Coral pink and burnt orange mingle in the sky as we descend into a valley. Long grass brushes the tops of our legs. Through trees with leaves turning golden brown, I see a river glittering with the sky’s reflected colors. Draven’s touch clearly hasn’t extended this far.

We reach the river and walk along its edge toward a waterfall. Sheets of water pound the rocks at its base, the spray wetting our faces as we get closer. As Oliver takes his first step onto the slippery rocks, I realize the entrance to the base must be behind the waterfall. Oliver takes a few more careful steps before reaching forward and pushing his hand into the slamming water. Then he pulls it aside as easily as he would a curtain, revealing a gap large enough for us to climb through.

Above the roar of the water, he shouts, “Come on.”

I expect to find myself in a cave behind the waterfall, but instead I walk into a large, high-ceilinged room that reminds me of the main foyer inside the Creepy Hollow Guild. Well, except for the domed ceiling of protective enchantments we had back there. The ceiling I look up at now is flat. Faeries hurry here and there, up and down the large stairway and along the corridors leading off the foyer. Oliver was right when he said I wouldn’t find many people from my own Guild here. I don’t see a single face I recognize—until my gaze alights on one that almost makes up for all the missing faces I long to see.

My father.

He’s down the stairs so fast I barely have time to move. He wraps me in a tight embrace before pulling back and saying, “Ryn, you just disappeared! I’ve tried so many times to contact you. Are you okay? What happened to your face?”

I touch the square bandage that covers the gash on my cheek. “An Unseelie faerie and his knife. It won’t heal.”

Dad frowns. “Dark magic on the blade, maybe. Or a potion. I’m sure someone here can take care of it.”

“Yeah, anyway, that’s not important. Is Calla safe?”

“Yes, she’s at one of the other bases with her mother.”

I hesitate a second before asking, “And Mom?” I’m not sure I want to know.

Dad looks away with a slow shake of his head. “I don’t know. No one has seen her.”

I close my eyes and press the heels of my hands against them. “Just like Violet. She’s also missing.”

Dad places a hand on my shoulder and says, “If they’re alive, we’ll find them. We’ll get them back.”

“Yes,” I murmur. “We’ll get them back.”

I don’t open my eyes. I block everything else out. The chatter around me fades to silence as I stand there, holding fiercely to the promise my father just made. I will it to be true, hoping he means his words as much as I do. Because I do mean them. With all my heart. I will find them.

“Linden! Come on, let’s go.” The brittle cocoon of quiet I managed to wrap myself in shatters.

“I’m sorry, I have to go,” Dad says. “Another search and rescue mission. I could be gone for a week or more, since we can’t use the paths. We now have a herd of pegasi here at the base, but not nearly enough for all of us. The Council’s still working on other means of transportation.”

My brain joins the dots. “You’re working as a guardian again? I thought you were finished with that life.”

“Things change. Our side needs as many guardians as it can get.” He squeezes my shoulder once more before letting go. “I’ll see you soon.”

And then he’s gone, vanishing behind the curtain of water. The bustle of activity continues around me, but I feel as alone as if no one were here. I put my hand in my pocket and feel the warm, soft form of Filigree. As sad as it is to admit, the furry creature is the only thing giving me any kind of comfort right now.