Fire Weaver (Fall of the Fey #1)

Chapter 21

The moment they arrived in town known as Farroway Ferra and Tobi were split up. She tried her best to stay with him but she couldn't fight off the minotaurs that surrounded them. Now she was in a cell that smelled damp and was so cold that it seeped into her bones. She couldn't feel her toes and her calves ached.

She was the only one in the prison so she figured that the five minotaurs came back when they heard word of Ferra and Tobi, the two half-breed trolls in hiding, and the other prisoners were dragged inevitably to the kings castle. Ferra wondered how many people had spent nights in here worrying about what lay ahead of them now that they had been captured.

She rubbed her arms and stared at the pale pink skin. It used to be green. A vibrant, mossy green that shined emerald in the sun and she had long ears that pointed out the sides of her head. She could only remember the big things about herself. She couldn't remember the small things, like whether her mouth turned up or down at the corners or how tall she was. That was the issue with being trapped in skin that wasn't your own, the image of your true self slowly slides away and what you're left with is a fuzzy memory of what you think you used to be. All your features become approximation rather than a surety. It was a silent torture that every creature in this country had endured for years under the rule of the king. It was the price of freedom.

She could hear the stomping of boots above her in the station house and she wished she had her lock picks on her or anything she used when she was in Threston. Ferra stared at the barred door knowing she couldn't do anything even if she pulled the bracelet off of her wrist that kept her in human form.

She wondered if her brother was okay. Tobi was so small and so sweet. He probably didn't even know what was going on. She remembered every time she held him when their mother couldn't. Ferra wanted her brother and she wanted him to be okay and back at home where she knew he would be safe and warm and fed. Mostly Ferra hoped that they minotaurs weren't mistreating him and that, unlike her, he was fed warm food and given privacy to go to the bathroom.

She sat on the metal bed that was bolted to the floor and pulled her knees to her chest, there was nothing she could do now but soon, soon she would be able to get herself and her brother away from the kings men and find a new place to hide. Somewhere without their mother, where they would be safe from everyone.

***

Carmel woke up the next day at dawn. She could see the weak light of the morning sun filtering through the leafs, trying in vain to reach the damp floor of the northern forest. Dresdan was already awake and gone, she wasn't worried because she knew he would be back. Carmel had seen the way he had looked yesterday when she had told him their story, he looked angry and defiant with his chin raised and glittering brown eyes. Faux was lying on his back, his clothes twisted around him with leaves and dirt all through his hair. He looked like he hadn't slept well and when he opened his eyes and stared at her, she could feel the frustration pouring through the air between them.

'I can't do this.' He told her, his voice came out calm without any of the anger he obviously felt.

'What are you going to do?' She asked him because she thought this might happen. Faux had never seemed like the type who enjoyed sleeping outside on the ground.

'At the next town I'm going to set up shop at the local bar and get the news from the town. Collect all the information I can from the people passing though. I was talking to Dresdan after you fell asleep and he said that the next town, Farroway, has a transient population with people always moving through.' Faux said, he ran his hand through his hair and his face tensed into a snarl before he started pulling leaves and sticks out of his hair. She turned away from him so he wouldn't see her smile.