GAISCE (Call to Arms, Book 3, Part 1 in Baile Series)

Chapter 4 King of the Forest Elves

Isla

I awoke from dreams of a magical Faerie land, with strange creatures leaping amongst the treetops and beasts lurking beneath murky waters. Opening my eyes I was met with colourful flying insects and blades of lush grass, I blinked a few times, at first believing that I was still dreaming.

Devon was already awake, roasting some sort of rabbit with little antlers over a fire.

"What is that?" I cringed at its wrinkled and charred body.

"A Jackalope." He replied in a chirpy tone. "They run rampant through these parts. It wasn't that hard shooting it, they just sit there waiting for death."

I inched closer to the fire, my nose wrinkling further at the strange scent the roasted creature emitted. "What other creatures could you eat here?" I was curious.

Devon shrugged. "Fish, deer-though they are very hard to catch and some birds. But most creatures here would eat you." He smirked at my expression. "We should take this on the road, I need to take you home Cursed Child."

I sent him a look as he whipped out a sharp looking knife from the sheath on the belt at his waist.

"The amount of warnings I had to give you." He muttered to himself as he began slicing the Jackalope.

My memory drew me back to the blood smeared on the church floor. "You are a sly bastard."

He chuckled. "You're not wrong." He began dishing up slices of Jackalope on a large leaf, bigger than both my hands combined. "Here you go, finest cut."

"Thank you." I held the leaf in my hands, studying the slices of Jackalope warily.

"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe. Tastes like chicken even." Devon sunk his teeth into the meat hungrily.

I waited until after he had swallowed before taking a tentative bite. I was pleasantly surprised at how succulent and fresh it tasted, melting in my mouth and true to Devon's words, tasting like chicken.

"Told you." He smirked while I fought back a moan, my stomach grumbling for more. "I know where we can find water, come on." Devon stomped out the fire before slinging his quiver and bow over his shoulder.

"Where did you learn how to use a bow?" I asked while I followed him through the forest, abundant with life and colour in the daytime.

"Self taught." He boasted proudly. "You learn to survive out here."

"Why do you even come out here? Does your sister even know?"

"I come here because it's my home, my parents were from here and I wanted to meet them. And no, my sister doesn't know and I intend to keep it that way."

I mulled over his confession. "Did you find your parents?"

"Yeah." He nodded, his lips drawing into a thin line.

"How did it go?" I pushed further.

"Changelings are cast out for a reason. Most people don't want to be reminded of what led to that." He replied in a somber tone.

"But you still found them, that must mean something."

"Sure." He rounded a large tree. "But it doesn't really change anything."

"But-" I was stopped abruptly by Devon's hand clamping around my mouth. I gave him a sharp look, his eyes wide and scanning our surroundings. I noticed he turned his head ever so slightly, his slightly pointed ears picking up sounds that I couldn't hear.