Healing Ties (Ties, Book 2) | ✓

Chapter 41

The moment Yore heard someone running down the bank in his direction, he was pulled out of a half sleep. By the time Fanner reached him, he was on his feet. He moved in front of Fanner, ready for a fight, but there was no one in pursuit.

"What's wrong?" Yore asked. "Did you see something?"

Duran had approached as well, though he just looked confused.

Fanner nodded.

"What did you see?"

"I — I don't know. I think I might be seeing things."

"I doubt that. What happened, Fanner?"

Fanner took a deep breath in. "Okay, so, I... I've been having these dreams. Last night, right before the humans attacked, I had this dream and there was this person, they looked human and they were wearing really old clothes, and they told me to put my shoes on. Oh, and also there was a panther there as well. In the dream. I don't know why. Anyway, the person said 'they' were coming and to put my shoes on, so when I woke up I thought... I don't know. I didn't think it was real, but I was a little spooked, so I put my shoes on and then right after I heard the horn and the humans were attacking. So. I don't know?"

Yore nodded patiently.

"And then after I got caught by the humans and I escaped I got a few hours of sleep while it was still dark and the same human and the same panther were in my dream, and I was having a nightmare and they changed it for me and the human said that their name was Kit. They said they were real, but... I don't know. The shoe thing could have just been a coincidence?"

"It's possible," Yore acknowledged. "Sometimes coincidences do happen."

"That's what I thought. Maybe it still wasn't real. But then... then when we were walking, and I ran off, it was because I thought I saw the panther. When I saw Cookie I convinced myself it must have just been her, but I don't think so. Or... maybe it was just her, but that's not what I saw. I saw a tail and ears and fur, and Cookie doesn't have any of those. But... neither of you saw anything, did you?"

Duran shook his head.

"No," Yore said. "But you charged down that bank and ran straight into Cookie. One major coincidence is one thing, but two?"

"That's true," Fanner said, seeming to settle a little as he mulled that thought over. "Anyway, then I walked down the creek and I saw Kit just sitting next to the water, their face buried in their hands and their clothes covered in blood and they weren't moving or talking. And then I tried to touch them and they just... disappeared."

"Hey, Yore, are ghosts real?" Duran asked. "If ghosts are real I'm going home right now."

"I asked if they were a ghost in my second dream," Fanner said. "They seemed unclear on whether they were or weren't, or even how many ghosts they would be if they were."

"No, that makes sense," Yore said, and Duran made a distressed face. "Consider how the fae typically create new beings. A lot of the time, they use the dead. If you're a being that was created from someone, or from multiple people, who died, and you have their memories, well. I imagine it's a strange situation to be in and one that's difficult to define along the normal axis of life and death."

"Do you think what I saw was real, then?" Fanner asked

"I think you communicated with a consciousness that exists in some form outside of your own mind," Yore said, choosing his words carefully. "That doesn't mean that what you saw was there in a literal sense, however."

"Do you think it's safe? They seemed nice, but..."

"They don't seem to have acted maliciously," Yore said. "I don't know. Perhaps it's like asking whether I'm safe. Could I kill you? Absolutely, but there's no chance of it. Something that can get inside your head and make you see what it wants you to see is extremely dangerous, but whether or not it means you any harm is a different question entirely."