Guardian of the Hills

The Loss

I was sitting in Botany class, doing my best to keep from falling asleep. Derek and I had stayed out all night on the island he we made it back to the cottage just in time before my dad woke up. I showered after he left.

How far does this mind thing work? I asked as I reached out to Derek's mind. As long as we're on the same plane of existence, it will work, he said.

Ok, I answered him. Have a good day with my dad.

I was reeling with adrenaline from everything that had happened between us.

The adrenaline had started wearing off after lunch, and the sleepy time fight began. I reached out to Derek again.

How's fishing? I asked him.

We're headed back in now. How are you feeling?

Sleepy. I don't think I can listen to one more thing about spores today.

Well, tonight, I will let you sleep.

That sounds good. I will see you in a couple of hours.

After school, I drove to the docks and met the two of them. My dad had become a legend as of late with the big catches he was bringing in, and Derek had officially been nicknamed on the docks as Horseshoe. I laughed as Dad told me the story about it.

Derek joined us once again for dinner. I loved having him eat at the table with us. It was in the middle of our meal that he linked to me.

I'm about to tell your father something I wanted to tell you last night, but the night was so wonderful I didn't want to ruin it. Please don't freak out. I will talk to you about it in a bit. I love you.

He looked across the table at me with a pleading look. I took a sip of my lemonade and nodded at him.

"Bill, I'm afraid I have to leave tonight. I should be back in a few days. It seems something urgent has come up back home, and I need to attend to it."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" asked my dad.

"No, no, I'm afraid not." I won't be gone, but hopefully a few days. In the meantime, I'm sure Regan will hold down the fort," he said as he looked over at me. I felt like I had been punched in the gut. He was leaving me?

What the f**k, Derek? I mentally screamed at him. His eyebrows went up as he realized that I was very capable of anger. I breathed in deep through my nostrils and took another bite off of my plate. I felt like stabbing him with my fork.

Stay calm he said as he took another bite as well. I didn't think another thought, but I could tell he was still linked to me and could feel my heart race and the anger seething from my pores. I was sure he could feel it as well. I finished my dinner in silence, and as he said his goodbyes to my dad, I started on the dishes.

"Look at me," he said as I turned toward the sink.

Just leave, I said to him in my head.

What? he asked. No goodbye, no explanation? he said.

I know why you're leaving. I said in my head. I just wish you had told me first instead of blindsiding me like that.

I'm sorry, he said.

Just go, Derek. I will see you in a few days.

He turned and left. I could still feel his presence as I went to my room. I had just gotten out of the shower when he was back in my head once more.

I love you, Skeeter. I will see you when I get back, he said, and just like the snap of a finger, the link disappeared. I immediately fell into sobs into my pillow.

I thought my heart was broken when Dade hurt me. It didn't even come close to the anger and hurt I felt when Derek stepped through the portal.

He had said I could sleep, and after crying some time, sleep did take me.

The dreams started almost immediately. I was in a cage. It was dark and damp and smelled of rot wherever I was. There were other cages around me. In them, I could see other females. Some were bruised and bloody, others sobbed in their cages.

"Derek," called out one, and I turned toward her. She was slight of build with long chestnut hair. I stared at her in the dimly lit place we were in. She had her eyes closed and looked like she was meditating, but I could hear her clearly. "Derek, if you can hear me, please come find us," she said. She looked like she was concentrating hard. Finally, she stopped and looked right at me. She looked confused for a minute.

"Who are you?" she asked after a minute.

"I'm Skeeter," I said.

"Derek's human, he found?" she asked, looking more confused than before.

"Where are we?" I asked her without acknowledging that I was something to be found.

"Somewhere Earthside," she answered. "I was captured in Maryland, but I've since found out that we've been moved, so I'm not entirely sure. " I looked around at the surroundings.

"Where did you come from?" she asked. "You weren't with us earlier. It's almost as if you just appeared out of nowhere."

"I feel like I appeared out of nowhere," I said back to her.

"Who brought you here?" I asked.

"Didn't you see them?" she asked as she looked even more puzzled than before.

"No, I just kind of woke up here."

"They were human. Like you," she said as she stared at me like some type of grotesque creature.

"What would humans want with the Fae?" I asked.

"You know what I am?" she asked a shocked expression. "Derek didn't make you forget, did he?"

"He tried. It didn't take. He didn't have my real first name."

She stayed silent, but I could tell she was calculating my responses.

"Do you know why they are taking females?" I asked.

"They are breeding us," she answered. "I've only caught bits and pieces, but from what I gathered of it, someone is combining DNA to create a new race. It seems that those of us who have been captured will either be the donor of the dna or the surrogate that carries it to term. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach and without a warning, I awoke with a start and leaned over my bed and vomited the contents of my dinner all over my floor. I got up and went to the bathroom and washed my face and came back and cleaned the mess up. I felt awful. I decided I didn't want to go back to sleep and I didn't want to go to school either. I looked at the clock it was almost four am. Dad would be getting up soon. I decided to drink some juice and make some coffee. I sat down at the table and sipped my juice. I played the dream over in my head.

Was it real?

It had sure seemed real.

If it was real, who was the girl?

Why had she been calling out for Derek of all people? I felt a slight twinge of irritation at the thought of some random girl calling out for him.

Maybe she wasn't random.

My nausea had started to subside. I had made up my mind. I was taking the day and spending it with my dad. I suddenly felt completely overwhelmed, and I felt the tears spring to my eyes before I could control them. Before I knew it, I had turned into a weepy blithering mess. I didn't even realize when my dad walked in. I just felt him put his arms around me. I stood up and allowed his his to engulf me as I fell apart at the seems.

"I figured it was like that, Skeeter," he said. It caught me off guard, and I was able to stop snob bubbling long enough to look at him.

"What?" I asked.

"You two aren't fooling anybody. I've seen the way the two of you look at each other. He'll be back, and whatever it is that's going on between you, you can sort it out then." I fell back into sobs. There was a small relief in the back of my mind. It soothed a worry I had not even realized I had. Keeping Derek a secret from my dad had been wearing on me, and I hadn't even realized it until it wasn't even really a problem to worry about. I finally cried myself out and wiped my face again and poured my dad's thermos full of coffee.

"I'm playing hooky today," I said finally.

"I was hoping you would say that," he said with a grin. I smiled back at him. I needed to keep myself busy until Derek got back.