Bloodfeather

Chapter Four

There were three other people coming with us: Jenny, a young Fae whose pale purple wings were small enough to fit nicely under her dress and who to me didn't seem to possess very strong magic; Abraham, who looked as old as Kail and had his green wings being tied down at his back by his companion when we arrived; and Phillip, who had the strongest magic out of the three, though not nearly as much as Marianna had, and looked to be about fifty.

"Your Highness." Jenny said to me when she saw me, bowing low.

"Please don't do that. If we're working together, we're doing it as equals. I'm Avery." I introduced myself.

"So you're the true Queen." Phillip said, looking me over. "I see potential." He commented. I blushed.

"I'm Abe, if we're being informal." Abraham said. He held out his hand and I shook it. He had a firm grip, and I decided I liked him. He had pale blonde hair and green eyes which reminded me painfully of Alise, but his eyes held something Alise's never had: experience. He had lived, and it wouldn't surprise me if he had done a fair amount of travelling throughout his life.

"Hi. So, I'm the new girl here, and have no idea whatsoever what is involved with doing this, so how about someone informs me before I royally screw up?" I said with a smile. Kail rolled his eyes.

"You'll do fine. Probably." He said with a grin. I poked my tongue out at him and he grew serious. "This trip is for food mostly. We'll walk to the farm, the one where we left the horses? There, we'll pick up the jeep and drive into town. We'll split into teams. I'd like you with me, Avery, so Abe and Phillip, you can go with Jenny. We'll meet up after an hour exactly, in the town square. Then we'll all return to the jeep, and head back to camp. Sound simple enough?" he asked me. I nodded and he continued. "There are two rules: no magic, and whatever you do, don't get caught. We don't know what happens after the Alchemists get you, since no one has come back, and Maelene's people would love to get their hands on you."

"Okay. So basically, don't do anything stupid. I can do that." I decided. The plan really was pretty simple.

"Good. Well, what are we waiting for?" Kail asked, and walked away, clearly expecting us to follow.

It had been a long time since I had walked through the forest, three months actually. The forest was where Kail had first found me, when I was being kidnapped by a man wanting to give me to Maelene in order to collect the bounty I had on my head.

I suddenly realized that Maelene probably thought I was still dead. It kind of bothered me. I was the only person who could challenge her, and she didn't even know I was alive. But it gave me an edge. You can't protect form what you don't know, and if you think someone is dead you definitely don't plan to defend yourself from them. She probably thought the only threat to her throne was her daughter.

Her daughter.

My mouth went dry when I thought about Alise. She had given everything for me, but when she had needed me I had run to protect myself. Now she was in a coma, and I may never get the chance to thank her, or tell her just how sorry I was for what I had done.

I blinked back tears and focused on the forest around me. It was hard, but I managed. It was hard for me to feel sad when I was surrounded by my element.

It's beautiful, isn't it?  A voice asked in my head. I smiled, still unsure about having Murphey in my head, but warming to the concept.

It is. I can see the Life running through it. I never thought nature could be more beautiful than I already thought. I told her. I felt her agreement through our bond, but she didn't say anything else. I could still feel her there, and I knew she was watching, just enjoying seeing the world through my eyes.

It's hard to describe what it was like being able to see Life. In a way, it was like seeing everything bathed in a light, glowing from the inside out. But it was also deeper than that, a feeling I felt deep in my bones. I already had a strong connection to nature, being one of the rare few close enough to the element to be able to hear its voice, but this was more. I had woken up in the middle of a war, but walking in the forest made me realise that fighting was worth it if it meant protecting the Life I could now see.

It didn't too long for us to reach the boundaries of the forest, little over half an hour. It worried me that it had only taken that long, it meant that it would be too easy to find us if we weren't too deep within the woods. I said as much to Kail.

"You don't need to worry about that. They dryads are on our side, and they're using their magic to lead anyone who comes into the woods horribly astray. No-one can find our camp, as long as we still have magic on our side." He explained. Once more, I noticed how sad he sounded when he mentioned the dryads. I doubted anyone else could notice it, it was just a slight stress on the word, but it reminded me of how his charge had died when the dryads and Oakmen had been attacked. The dryads had bounced back after the attack, flourishing in the forest, but Kail never had. I wondered how he felt about having so many people in his forest, refugees or not. He had been so alone for so long, and now his identity and his tree were no longer a secret that he could protect. I knew that I wouldn't like it.

"I guess you've gotten everything sorted. Why did you need me again?" I joked. Abe laughed.

"Well, you're a lot prettier than he is." He answered jokingly. I stifled a giggle as Kail glared at Abe. Abe held his hands in front of him in a gesture of peace.

"Hey, you're plenty pretty, Kail. Just not my type." Abe said with a wink. I liked Abe. He was light-hearted and funny, something I was thinking not many people would be in his situation.

We emerged from the forest, and I realised just how bright it was. The forest had a different type of light than the wide open land. It almost seemed to glow from within, with the small amount of sunlight reflecting off every leaf and every water droplet. Outside the forest the sky was open, with few trees blocking the sun's rays. The sun reflected off the bright green grass, grass that shimmered like emerald waves in the wind you couldn't notice in the forest.

"This is where we came out last time." I whispered to myself, mostly. The last time I had emerged the forest was a very different situation. Then I was running away from who I was. Now, I was accepting it and fighting. I was not the same girl as I was then. She was running, she wouldn't sacrifice herself for her friend. The girl I was now felt older, had seen more. She wouldn't run. She wouldn't stand by and let those who depended on her suffer. She'd changed. I was surprised to realise this.

Kail looked at me sideways, and I knew he had caught at least part of my internal dialogue.

"You've changed for the better." He whispered so only I could hear, his soft words drifting on the wind to me. I smiled at him.

"I know."

We walked a few minutes before we came to where Kail had stashed the jeep. It was inside a barn that looked somewhat abandoned. It was a good disguise, and a necessary one, since the jeep looked almost new. I wondered where Kail had gotten it before realizing I really didn't want to know that much. Kail was a thief, and a pretty good one who didn't mind spilling blood. I knew that meeting me wouldn't change who he was.

"Avery, you're up front with me." Kail instructed as he climbed into the vehicle. I nodded my agreement before clambering in less than elegantly behind him. It was impossible for me to get comfortable with my wings being squished behind me. If I hadn't found a way around it, I would have been sitting on some of my larger feathers. Phillip had sighed when he saw my issue before bringing out a rather large sword that I hadn't seen when I was walking with him. He cut two long holes in the back of my seat so I could put my wings through. Jenny sat behind me, since she said she didn't mind having feathers in her face, even feathers she couldn't see.

The drive to town only took a few minutes, which made me wonder why we needed the jeep, when we could have walked. We parked outside a flower shop on the outskirts of town and walked into the city.