Memorybound

Chapter 16

There was something about Gillian that just put Aaron at ease. "You know, You are not the typical soldier," he told her. They were walking along the shimmer. One of the cities to the south had heard voices coming from it and they were there to investigate, and they were almost there.

"Like you're one to talk. I had never even heard of a man trying to soldier with one gimp hand. No offense."

He smiled. "None taken."

She grinned at him. "You do have to admit, we are a pair. A female soldier and a man with only one good hand have come to save the village from the invading monsters."

He laughed. Something about the way that she made fun of him made him feel accepted. He did wonder about the monsters, though. Derrick hadn't said exactly what was wrong with this little city on the southern edge of the border, only that there was something wrong, and so they rode out to see if there was anything they could do. The captain didn't seem to think that there was anything wrong, that the people of the city were just jumping at shadows.

But Aaron had seen the body of the man who had been attacked. Clearly something was going on. Inside the city, a woman came running up to them.

"The king should have been smarter than to just send two soldiers. One of them isn't even a man," a man called out. Gillian ignored him, focusing on the woman.

"Thank you for coming," she said. "I heard voices the other night. Woke me from my bed. When the sun came up, I was standing in front of the shimmer, pushing at the wall and trying to get through it as if I could walk through stone. In all my years, I have never done than before. You can ask my husband."

It turned out that they didn't need to ask him, because he shouted at them from the porch of a small house. "It's true. She never walked in her sleep before this. The Conrows saw things coming out of the shimmer."

"And where are the Conrows?" Asked Gillian.

The woman ran to the next house over and pounded on the door. Her wiry hair flying out in every direction. She seemed really worked up about this, and he shuddered to think what that must have been like to find yourself trying to walk into the shimmer.

Aaron and Gillian dismounted and held onto the reigns of their horses. A tired looking woman stepped out, a small boy clinging to her skirts. "Milly, I was sleeping. I was up all night with Claude talking about the faces he saw in the shimmer last night. He said the fairies were trying to break free of the shimmer."

"Where is he now?"

"Asleep. He took care of the milking and then collapsed on his bed. I don't think he's feeling right."

"Did he say anything else?" Aaron asked. "Anything else we might need to know." If the man was really seeing fairies in the shimmer, they were going to have massive problems on their hands soon. The shimmer was what held the fairies and all the other magical creatures back. If it was weakening..." he tried not to show any signs of fear.

"I saw them," a little girl said. "I saw the fairies. They were glowing and they looked like tiny naked people with wings. They were pushing and flying on the shimmer, trying to get all the way through."

The girl stood boldly in the circle of people, demanding attention.

"Did any of them get through?" Gillian asked.

She shook her head, making her braids sway on her back. "No, I shouted at them and they went back into the forest where they belong."

He blinked. "You shouted at them?"

"Yup." The girl seemed satisfied that her tale was getting the attention it deserved. "I told them to go back in the forest and leave us alone."

"That was very brave of you," Gillian said. "Just make sure you don't get too close to the shimmer yourself, ok?"