Faytes of the Otherworld: Fayted

“He doesn’t want me coming back.” Dani’s knees were drawn up to her face as she sat huddled near Tam Lyn; today wasn’t any cooler than yesterday, but the adrenaline drop had given her the shakes.

“Who? That Bastion fellow?” Tam Lyn had turned to dab at the congealed blood on Dani’s forehead.

“You heard him; I’m the reason they were there in the first place.” She knew that her ears were highly sensitive, which meant so were Tam Lyn’s.

“I was hoping that you didn’t have that ability.” Tam Lyn looked genuinely upset knowing that she had heard every word. It wasn’t really her fault, but people have to put the blame on someone.

“A blessing and a curse.” Dani shrugged, wincing as Tam Lyn put a little pressure on her wound to scrub all the blood off.

“This is true. But never you mind; you could be the one to save us.” Tam Lyn finished cleaning up her face and pocketed the handkerchief.

“How so?” Dani was confused by his statement; he hadn’t been the only one to say it.

“You don’t see yourself. You don’t see how much power you command when you’re in that headspace, when it’s time to protect. You do realize you just commanded Changelings, right?” Tam Lyn was rifling through one of the bags that Bastion had sent with them that contained food.

“I just wanted them to stop.” Dani felt a bit self-conscious at the Elf’s revelation.

“And stop they did…because you commanded them to. Changelings just don’t listen to anyone, you know. They are created and dispatched by the Spriggan and only obey commands from Spriggan. You’re not Spriggan.” Tam Lyn’s mouth was screwed to the side.

“No, I’m not.” Dani had no idea that they would listen to her let alone that they wouldn’t take commands from anyone that wasn’t Spriggan.

“Then you have some sort of power, Dani. Something that no one else has. You’ll be the one to find the solution to this terrible problem.” Tam Lyn gently pulled her up against him as he sat lax up against the cart side.

Dani was speechless. She said nothing to this, but instead closed her eyes and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

(*)

“Oh.” Dani leapt up as the cart hit a rather large rock in the road. The jerking had woken her from her nap as she careened into Tam Lyn’s lap.

“It’s been bumpy for a bit, but that was a big one.” Tam Lyn laughed as Dani tried to drag herself from atop him. Another hard jolt to the cart bumped her even further into his lap.

“I don’t remember it being this rocky on the way here.” Dani had finally pulled herself upright and carefully crawled to the flap in the canopy before she poked her head through.

“What’s going on out here?” The cart jumped again and Dani had to reach out for Liam’s arm to steady herself.

“Rocky terrain. We’re on the other side of the mountain taking a different route back. I don’t want to run in

to those Spriggan again, not after they came for you.” Liam pulled the arm that Dani held forward to help her out of the bed of the cart and into the seat next to him.

“Thanks.” Liam was starting to grow on her. He wasn’t threatening to her anymore; he understood her now.

“How long was I out?” She readjusted her messy bun and went to smooth her jacket when she realized she wasn’t wearing it.

“A few hours. It’s about four-thirty, so we should get to the Hedgerow by six-fifteen at the latest.” Liam never took his eyes off the road.

“Where’s my jacket?” Dani had gotten off track, trying to figure out where her favourite piece of clothing had gone.

“I haven’t seen it on you since we left the Hedgerow yesterday.” Liam glanced at Dani while she looked around her as if her jacket would appear out of thin air.

“Dammit,” She finally realized where it was.

“What? Did you remember where it is?” Liam turned to glance at her again.

“Yes. I took it off in my rush to get away from Syris.” Dani huffed, dropping her hands heavily into her lap.

“Why did you take it off? And come to think of it, why did you turn your shirt inside out?” Liam pinched at the exposed seam on Dani’s side.

“Most faeries don’t like when things are inside out; it confounds them,” Dani explained, pulling her shirt off and flipping it right side in again. Liam noticed the nasty scar across her torso and hesitated before asking a question.

“You’re wanting to know how I got this?” Dani ran her finger down the pink line on her skin.

“Yes, but you don’t have to tell me.” Liam felt embarrassed that she had noticed him looking at her partially naked body, despite him not saying anything.

“It’s ok. A very bad man tried to hurt me once. It is a reminder that I am stronger than those that wish to hurt me. His actions are part of what keeps me going.” Dani didn’t want to go into detail about the religious man that tried to take her life.

“I’m sorry.” Liam was sincere.

“Don’t be. Like I said, it is part of what keeps me going.” Dani fiddled with the hem of her shirt, wishing that she hadn’t so carelessly tossed her jacket in to the forest.

Wesley and Wren had gone further up ahead; a bend in the road made it difficult to see and they wanted no surprises.

Wren came trotting up from the opposite direction and pulled his horse up alongside the cart.

“There’s something strange up there, Liam. Some sort of cloth draped on the end of the fence.” Wren pointed at the rotting wood planks that spotted the outer side of the road.

“Keep ahead of us and continue scouting. It’s probably nothing, but I won’t put it past them.” Liam snapped the reins and the horses picked up speed.

Dani ducked into the cart for a moment to explain things to Tam Lyn before appearing back at the front. They were just rounding the corner where they could glimpse the cloth that was hanging from the end of the fence.

“My jacket! That’s my jacket!” Dani stood from the bench and pointed at it.

“That’s your jacket?” Liam turned to her in inquiry.

“Yes. That’s—my—jacket.” Dani’s eyes went wide at the realization.

“It’s a trap.” She exhaled. “It’s a trap.” Dani tapped Liam’s shoulder.

He threw up the signal for everybody to halt and Dani jumped down from the cart.

“Where the hell are you going?” Liam leaned out of the wagon and hissed at her.

“I’m going to check it out. Stay here.” She pointed down as if telling him to stay put and agilely sprinted over to the end of the fence right around the bend. She looked around, training her ears to listen for anything that could be hiding in the trees that led down to the ravine or hanging out on the mountainside.

Nothing.

Dani finally came to where her jacket hung and snatched it from the pole, throwing it on quickly.

She still didn’t see anything suspicious, but the only way for her jacket to have gotten here was if one of the Unseelie had found it and planted it as a ruse.

Dani rounded the other side of the bend, leaving herself completely out of sight of Liam and the other men.

“I know you’re out here.” She called out quietly, throwing her hands out to feel for anything that was off. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she could feel the tingling sensation in the air; there was a high concentration of magick in the vicinity. They were close by and she couldn’t let them get the best of her.

(*)

“She went around the bend, Liam. I can’t see her.” Wesley had walked a ways up but had lost sight of Dani completely.

“Then let’s go after her!” Tam Lyn had already come out of the cart and was demanding that they not let her be alone another second and out of their protection.

“We can’t. She said to wait.” Liam gritted his teeth and held his hand up to signal Tam Lyn to keep his voice down.

“They will smell her, Liam. She is irresistible to them. You can’t smell her like I can, like they can. They want her; that’s why that jacket was placed there.” Liam tried to explain quietly while simultaneously listening for anything out of place.

“Do you know of this Syris?” Liam sat still, listening himself.

“I heard that name from the Changeling. The King of Spriggan? I don’t remember anyone that went by that name associated with Spriggan kind.” Tam Lyn shook his head.

“Well, a lot has changed since you’ve been gone.” Liam was curt for whatever reason.

“If they are after her then why in the hell did you let her go ahead?” Tam Lyn didn’t understand his reasoning.

“Because she knows them best. She defeated them once, she defeated their errand boys, and she can best them at their own game one final time.” Liam spoke the truth.

Dani was now about half a quarter of a kilometer around the bend with still no sign of any fae, Spriggan or not.

She had just begun to turn around and head back to the cart with no sign of life when she heard a crunch and a huge snap.

Syris came tumbling off the rock lip above, snarling as he landed atop her. He rolled her into himself and crashed through another length of fence before they began tumbling down the mountainside.

“Did you hear that?” Tam Lyn stood on the bench seat and stretched himself as tall as he could.

“Hear what?” Liam pulled himself forward, still holding the reins.

“We need to go NOW.” Tam Lyn leapt from the cart and began running at such a speed that all Liam could see was his hair whipping behind him. Liam jumped off after and beckoned for the rest to follow on foot.

Dani was in danger and he knew it.

(*)

The world pin-wheeled past Dani in a blur as Syris still gripped her tightly. She thought it would be an endless tumble with the steady decline and quickening speed as they just kept rolling. Dani wondered if was going to lose consciousness before the end of it.

Finally, the ground leveled out and she could feel that they were about to come to a complete stop. As soon as Dani felt them slow, she blasted white hot embers into the chest of Syris, whose gnarled trunk she still gripped.

Syris crowed loudly as Dani heard the pop and hiss of burning wood. She rolled as far from him as she could before pushing herself in to a standing position.

Dani quickly ducked behind a large tree and waited, panting. She tried to survey her surroundings for some path of escape, but it looked as if the plateau they were on dropped off at the sides into the low-lying clouds. She never remembered this part of England looking this way, but maybe it had something to do with the Fae being so close. Their world seemed to be slowly seeping into the mortal realm.

“I can smell you, Halfling child. You’re not quite as safe as you think you are.” Syris bellowed, his husky voice reverberating off the side of the cliff.

Dani could hear her blood pumping through her veins and her heart began to race. There was no way for her to get around him; she’d have to fight him to get away…if she survived.

She took a deep breath, calculating her next actions carefully.

“If you turn around and walk away, I just might not light you aflame,” Dani yelled, not sure that her threat would hold any weight.

“Is the Halfling threatening the King of Spriggan? Do you know who I am? I am SYRIS!” He bellowed. The crows that were lingering down on the plateau burst into the air, cawing obscenities as they went.

“Not a threat at all, apparently.” Dani huffed to herself. She was going to make a run for it; that was Plan B.

“I know where you are; I can smell you.” Syris lingered several meters away from her, sniffing the air with his hollow nostrils.

She planned on spinning around the opposite side of the tree and running as fast as her tiny legs would carry her. As she slid along the backside of the huge willow, long spiny arms reached out from the tallest limbs and enveloped her like creeping vines.

She wasn’t sure what was going on as the elongated limbs of the willow tree had her knotted up, pulling its roots from the moist, mossy Earth as it plowed around to Syris.

“You’re never safe from Spriggan; we are everywhere.” Syris had plates of bark for teeth that curled up when he attempted to smile.

“What do you want with me?” Dani flailed, but the Willow held tight.

“I wanted to kill you. All of my men, all but two, you slaughtered.” Syris sneered, clomping past Dani as he studied her.

“It was in self-defense. You attacked us first! You chased me out of the forest. Don’t blame this on me.” Dani wrenched forward, snapping some of the smaller, more delicate limbs of the Willow. It growled in protest, yanking her back into it.

“You were on our land! But that is irrelevant. I think you could be worth something.” Syris leaned in and sucked Dani’s scent strongly into his nostrils.

“Worth something?” Dani recoiled as Syris went to take another whiff.

“You—you don’t smell like most Halflings.” Syris squinted his eyes, analyzing her.

“What is this Halfling shite you keep talking about?” Dani was bold, but still quite frightened.

“Halflings: half fae, half mortal. You are a Halfling; that much is sure. I can see it in your flawed skin and flat feet.” Syris nudged at Dani’s booted foot.

“Hey! My feet aren’t flat; I just don’t have a very defined arch.” Dani knew it wasn’t the time to get defensive, but she couldn’t help herself.

“But, your smell is unlike any other I have ever had the pleasure of inhaling. You don’t smell like a Halfling with their iron-rich blood and the scent of raindrops on hot dirt. You smell like—like—absolute heaven.” Syris lurched forward and plucked Dani from the snares of the Willow, gripping her arms so tightly at her sides she thought they would break. He locked her in place with one gnarled hand and pulled her head to the side with the other.

Dani let out a scream that echoed through the trees and reverberated off the mountainside.

Tam Lyn slid down the sloping hill with ease; his leather boots skimming the slick Earth.

Liam, Wren, and Wesley tumbled down behind him as they tried to keep their balance on the slippery slope. They had heard Dani’s ear-splitting scream and ran in the direction of the sound, having no idea that the road slanted as harshly as it did.

Tam Lyn skittered out on to the plateau while the trio trailed behind him, just in time to see Syris struggling with Dani. It looked as if he was trying to take a bite out of her throat.

Dani kicked at the tree-like creature; her regular mode of defense would be futile in this situation. Tam Lyn tried to come to her rescue, but the Willow quickly whipped its limbs out and snatched the elf up by his ankle.

Bark scratched and snagged at Dani’s flesh as she tried to tear herself away. She glimpsed Liam and the others in blind uncertainty; clearly not sure what to do in this situation.

Liam finally made the decision to charge, leaving Wren and Wesley clueless in the dust.

Syris had begun to turn Dani’s face towards his own, forgoing the flesh of her neck.

“Stop screaming! I’m not going to eat you! I just want that beautiful essence. The smell is so intoxicating.” Syris gripped Dani by the shoulders and let her feet dangle above the ground.

She paused in her struggle and just stared wide-eyed at the Spriggan. Dani had thought he was going to devour her, but clearly, that was not the case.

“I just can’t get enough of your essence. Your head might pay a pretty price, but your energy is worth so much more to me.” Syris had locked eyes with her. The hollows that held no meat were dark, but deep in the back of his stump-like head was a flame that flickered; the flicker of Fae essence. Spriggan weren’t usually known for their vampiric qualities, but any fae could transfer and absorb other energies if they wished.

And Syris was no exception.

Dani could feel him latch on, connecting to her like someone docking a ship. She could sense her very being begin to tremble beneath her flesh, unwillingly being drawn out of hiding.

It seemed like the Spriggan had been holding her for ages, but it had only been mere seconds. Dani started to slip into darkness as Liam came roaring up behind Syris.

“Dani. Dani?” Don’t let yourself go slipping away. Now is not the time for such things.” Dani could hear the voice somewhere behind her, but she was preoccupied with staring at her own body. Syris was squeezing her limbs tight, holding her chin in his lichen tipped fingers as he sucked the life out of her.

She watched as Liam charged at the creature, a gun in one hand and a short sword in the other. He pulled the trigger in slow motion and Dani saw the bullet exit the barrel and sluggishly make its path towards Syris. She swore she could see the trails from the projectile as it pierced the very air between them.

“Dani! Pay attention! That will all still be there when you get back, but now it is time to listen.” The voice called out again and Dani spun around to see the old wizard standing near where the Willow tree was rooted.

“What? I’m listening.” She still wasn’t used to these moments away from the Earthly realm.

“You don’t have a lot of time if you want to survive. That bullet will reach Syris sooner or later and when it does, his startled reaction on impact will cause him to snap every bone in your body; Spriggan are ridiculously strong, you know.” The wizard explained.

Dani turned over her shoulder to see that the bullet was getting closer. Syris was so wrapped up in her essence he had no idea that a shot had been fired at the sprawling root work that was his back. If his reaction didn’t kill her, the fact that he was draining her of her very life would.

“What am I supposed to do?” Dani was panicking again, this time accompanied by anxious tremors. How long did she have before she was dead?

“You can over-ride him; you have the power to, but you have to unlock it. I’m giving you the knowledge, now you just have to utilize it.” The man bowed his head.

“Fucking riddles—I don’t need fucking riddles!” Dani hated that every time she encountered this man she got a bit more information, but not enough to answer all her questions.

“If he can drain you of energy, you can do the same right back. I can’t tell you how; it’s innate, but you have the ability deep down inside of you along with a whole slew of other talents. You are quite powerful, my dear, you just have to believe in yourself.” The man explained, arching a brow.

“Of course I do.” Dani turned over her shoulder once more to see that the bullet was a mere fraction away from striking Syris, “And how do I stop that bullet—uh, I don’t even know your name?”

“How do you make those little energy bolts? Kinetic energy? Not far off from telekinesis…or you could just go move it. Your spirit isn’t tied down to your body, remember that. And I’m Merlyn, by the way.” The old man winked, pointing back towards her physical body.

Dani crept silently over to where the bullet was still steadily sailing through the air towards its target. She watched as it made little ripples in its wake, slowly moving through time.

Her hand cautiously extended toward the bullet and with a prick of her finger, it veered off its intended course.

Dani’s essence was jerked back to her physical body, the jolt leaving her a little more than disoriented.

Syris was still intently focused on keeping Dani’s attention, but the crack of the bullet as it struck the back of the Willow’s head pulled her from her trance.

The Spriggan instinctively let go of Dani and turned to discover what the noise was, noticing that his willow soldier had been split in two and Tam Lyn lay sprawled beside it.

“Noooo.” Syris howled and turned his attention back to the woman he called Halfling, “Now I’m going to eat you when I’m done sucking every ounce of life from your frail little body.”

This little lapse in focus gave Dani the time to grab Syris by the face in an attempt to return his draining gesture.

Syris snarled, swatting at her out of anger. Her limp body skittered to the mountainside where she came to a crunching halt.

“Dani!” Liam had already made it to Syris and planted his short sword straight between the creature’s shoulder-blades.

It howled in agony as it violently spun around, attempting to extract the blade from its back.

Liam slid over to Dani, scooping her up in his arms as Wesley helped Tam Lyn up and led him back over to Wren.

As Liam hefted Dani past Syris, in her disoriented stupor she vaguely remembered what Merlyn had said about the telekinesis.

Because of her anger and anxiety, it took barely any concentration and with a twitch of her fingers, she tugged the blade from the Spriggan’s back and sent it flying. It landed somewhere near Wren, who scooped it up during their departure.

Syris collapsed after the sword was pulled from him and lay panting on the forest floor, groaning about how this wouldn’t be the last time he and Dani would meet.

“Why did you do that?” Liam’s question was punctuated as he carried Dani up the steep slope with the aid of Tam Lyn.

“Do what?” Dani had her face up against Liam’s shoulder as she peered behind them. She could still see Syris, crawling across the forest floor towards the Willow. He reached out and laid his long spiny fingers on its body and she could have sworn she saw a glimmer of green light pass between the two.

“I saw something. When I grabbed his face for that split second, I saw something. They weren’t always this way, Liam. They just wanted to be left alone to live and we took everything away from them.” A tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. “They aren’t inherently evil; we made them that way.”

Tam Lyn made an odd throaty sound and the rest remained silent.

Dani was blossoming in her faery abilities, and with that came sharp revelations about who she was as a being. She knew that her life would be a constant internal battle between her human side, and the side of the Fae.