Memorybound

Chapter 17

Gillian wrenched her arm free of Aaron's grasp and ran deeper into the shimmer. It was hard to see in here, with the wavy lines of magic. He tried to follow, but her form had disappeared almost instantly.

"Gillian, where are you?" He called. He spun in a circle, eyes blinking against the blue and green mist that made up this place. "Gillian!" Had he lost her already? Would he have to go back to Derrick and let him know that Gillian was gone?

"Over here!" Relief flooded through him and then panic as he realized it could be a trick. Would the fairies just let him walk back out of here? He followed the sound of her voice anyway.

Then he could make out her image, kneeling on the ground. There was something on the ground next to her. He blinked but it did nothing to clear his vision. As he got closer he could make out the shape of a body, lying on the ground next to Gillian. Then he realized it was a child. He looked at the mauled body, the pale skin and unseeing eyes. The stomach was torn open, the innards strewn across the ground. He wretched, emptying his stomach onto a nearby bush.

Gillian glanced up. "Are you ok now?"

His stomach was still unsteady, but he nodded. He didn't think he would throw up again. "This is the worst that we've seen. Something in the forest is attacking people and we have no idea what it is or why it can suddenly cross the shimmer."

Gillian stood. "Do we take the body back to the city?"

He shook his head. "We don't know who her parents were and I can't imagine that seeing their child like this..." he trailed off. He could only imagine the grief that a parent might have over losing a child, but seeing your own flesh and blood mauled like this. It was an image that might haunt him forever and. This wasn't his child.

Gillian stood and they made their way out of the shimmer. "I wish we could bury her or something, though."

"No. Every minute that we are in the shimmer is another minute that we are risking our lives. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible."

She smiled at him and he was struck again with just how beautiful she was, but mischief danced in her green eyes. "Are you afraid to be in here?"

"Yes. It's only a matter of time before the fairies come after us and then you'll think you'll be walking out of the forest, but you'll be walking off of a cliff."

"Where are they then?"

She had a point. He had seen the fairies before, when he and Hailey had walked into the forest. "I don't know, but I still don't want to wait for them to find us. I just don't know what we are going to tell the people."

"We tell them the truth, that we will make the captain of the guard aware, but tell everyone to stay away from the shimmer as much as possible. It's a good thing they constructed a wall." She stopped walking and glanced back at him. "Do you think your magic girlfriend would be able to help them?"

"She's not my girlfriend." They walked out of the shimmer, and he was relieved to be on the other side of it. Clouds had gathered and it threatened to rain.

"You just keep telling yourself that if it makes you happy."

He looked at her quizzically.

"What? I've seen the way you two look at each other. There is something there, even if neither one of you is currently admitting it."

"It doesn't matter," he said. She's been so busy lately."

She smirked at that and he was relieved that she didn't taunt him about Hailey anymore. He wished that Hailey would spend any amount of time with him, or sleep. He knew she wasn't taking care of herself and it worried him. He glanced back at the shimmer as he climbed onto his horse. Whatever had attacked that child was bad.