Hearts of Tar

Mud Walls

The urge to back away was so strong that Miri had to lock her knees and root her feet to the ground. Her looming tears dried up like a bone-dry desert. Why was the creature in front of her such a bully?

"You're not taking my sister anywhere without me," she said through gritted teeth.

He started in at a quick pace. "Then you better start moving."

She ran after him. Helplessness and annoyance swam in the pit of her stomach. At this rate, she wasn't going to survive these woods or the taelin leading her to...wherever. Worse, he seemed to make everything a game designed to belittle and degrade her. If she and Eve could make it out of these woods alive, she'd gladly see the back of him and set out on her own. She snorted to herself. Yeah, right, as if he'd let them. They were no better than prisoners.

"Why are you so unpleasant?"

His shoulders stiffened just the slightest bit. "You're a human trespassing in our forest. But I'm not being unpleasant. You wouldn't be alive if I was."

He equated saving them with being genial? If she weren't so tired and afraid of prodding him further, she'd laugh. His words were cruel, so how did she respond to them? "Then I'm happy for your magnanimous disposition today."

"You should be."

She didn't protest. Why bother? Only by his grace were they still alive. Whether it stayed that way, she didn't know. However, she wasn't in a hurry to find out. Maybe, once Eve woke, they could escape and get back home. Though that sounded nearly impossible, she couldn't give up hope so easily.

Casting a glance at her sister, she bit her lip. What if Eve didn't wake up, or woke up but wasn't Eve anymore? All genuine worries, but ones that would only be solved in their own time.

Still... She looked at her captor, for that was what he was to her. Given the possible verbal slaughtering he might inflict, was it worthwhile asking questions that concerned Eve? Yes, yes, it was. The words hovered on the edge of her tongue but refused to slide off.

"Out with it," the male all but barked out, staring straight ahead.

Her mouth dropped open. How had he known she was about to ask something? Well, no matter. He'd told her to get on with it, and get on with it she would. "Is there anything you or your people can do if Eve doesn't wake up on her own?"

"If she's deserving of it."

His cold tone left her in no doubt he considered her sister unworthy of such assistance. How could anyone be so heartless? "She's but a child of seven!"

"For now. She'll grow into an adult who's capable of the destruction for which your race is well-known."

That made her stop and think. Sure, humans did fight and have wars, but her village? It was largely a peaceful one. The most disorderly conduct that they saw was drunkenness and some light thievery. "Maybe some are but, by no means, all."

He grunted and shifted Eve until her head lolled over his shoulder and halfway onto his upper back. She swallowed the remark that sprung to her lips. It wouldn't serve her well to anger him.

Right when she'd given up on a reply, he said, "I know the truth of your race. Nothing can convince me otherwise."

She stared at him with narrowed eyes. Great, she saw what she was up against. Bigotry and prejudice. He reminded her of some of the old villagers who were so set in their ways that little could change their mindset. It was like arguing with a mud wall—one which had to either be walked around or smashed to pieces.

What had given him such a jaded view on humanity? Though he wasn't likely to tell her, she still asked. "Why do you say that?"

A muscle in his jaw ticked. "Experience. Vast experience."

She was onto something here. Maybe if she pressed a bit further. "What experience is that?"

He aimed a dark, venomous look her way. "Nothing I want to discuss."

His speed increased. Now, she found herself running outright to keep up. The ache in her shoulder increased. After a few minutes, she'd had enough. "Please, can you slow down?"

A sound of aggravation flew from his mouth. "Humans. So clumsy and slow."

"I've had a long, trying day, so forgive me if I'm now lagging behind." She tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice but failed miserably.

"Let me guess...you're usually able to keep up with most anybody?"

"Well, yes," she said slowly, her mind whirring. How had he— Oh God, he wasn't a mind reader, was he? That was a possibility too terrible to contemplate.

Thankfully, he reined himself in. She took this time to focus on her surroundings, careful to not stare at any one place too long. Who knew what might be lurking behind tree and shadow? She now knew the danger of it and didn't want a repeat performance of the bird episode. Even now, the remembrance of its red eyes caused an icy fist to clench her heart.

That was when she noticed it. The forest was getting lighter, the trees a healthier brown color and the atmosphere considerably airier. A path of some kind of stone formed under their feet and wound through trees that stood ever straighter. That had to mean they were getting closer to civilization, whatever that encompassed.

The leaves of the trees, though... She couldn't stop her sharp intake of breath. They were shades of purple, red, and brown. Autumn might bring some of these colors, but as far as she knew, it was still spring. How was this possible? She shook her head in recrimination. This wasn't a normal woods, and the taelin—what an odd name—were apparently the guardians of it. The one specimen she'd seen so far was just as strange as his forest.

She prayed that his people were a peaceful race. However, if the taelin leading her was any indication, she'd sooner turn a lion into a vegetable eater than cure her captor of his bloodthirsty inclinations. He appeared as wild as his forest and just as ready to bite. If the rest of his people were like him, she and Eve would likely be dead by evening. But why bother to save them at all? His reasons were as unfathomable as the stars in the sky.

Which reminded her, she didn't know his name. It was getting tiresome thinking of him as "the taelin," "the fae," or "her captor." No opportune moment had presented itself for her to enquire, though, so she'd likely have to make one.

She gave an internal sigh. So many questions and no answers. Well, like he said, she did have her eyes. She'd use them, along with her ears, to ferret out what she could.

Though it was probably futile, she started to ask, "Are we nearly there—"

They rounded a bend, and her gaze landed on a sight that froze her in midstep. Trees, massive and healthy, glowed with a luminescence that shouldn't be possible. Leaves of jewel colors glinted in the sunlight pouring through the canopy. Turquoise, purple, green, red, blue—there were so many variations in hue, she couldn't count them all. How could this exist in the middle of a shadowy forest?

The fae's dark, decadent voice sounded next to her ear. "Welcome to Taerin, the home of the taelin. I hope you find it...amendable, for you will never leave it alive."

~~~

Eerin has a way with words, doesn't he?!

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