Last Fae

Chapter 12 ~ Enemy Territory

The drive over to Wolf territory seemed to take forever. I couldn't fathom why Kellan would make this trip every day for so many years, just to sit at my bar in silence. He drove the beat up old pick-up, Freya in the passenger seat beside him her head resting on the glass and her fingers tapping an erratic rhythm on her leg.

Tia sat in the back with me, a calm radiating from her that I was starting to think was more magic. The panic that had been building for the first twenty minutes of the car trip had started to waned almost immediately, once she told me to relax. Much as my ears had picked up more sound when she'd told me to listen. I hadn't seen any green tendrils snap from her aura however, so I couldn't be certain.

"Did you do this?" I asked her after silence had reigned too long. She shifted her gaze from the misty trees outside and focused back on me. A smile lit her whole face and she shrugged her little shoulders.

"I just thought it might help. I can stop if you like." I shook my head, I hadn't felt this peaceful since... I wasn't even sure when. Back before the bite probably. The calm made it easier to process the thoughts running through my mind. I could wind their racing back to a slow crawl and examine each one for its credibility.

I didn't know Kellan all that well. But in the years he had been coming into the bar, he had never once tried to hurt me. He had respected my wishes and helped me even when I refused to help him. He was probably one of the only people I trusted, despite the fact that he was not only a Mythic but a Wolf.

"I thought you would be too young to know so much magic," I said, unsure how she would take the question. She laughed, the sound like music dancing through the air.

"I'm not supposed to know them yet. We're only supposed to start our official training once we turn thirteen. But I've been teaching myself. I figured out where mother hides her grimoire." She giggled, "But I only try the basic ones. They'd know if I tried anything that required a lot of energy. And I probably wouldn't be strong enough yet anyway."

"Well, I'll make sure I don't tell anyone how you helped me today then," I whispered to her sliding my eyes around the car, though we both knew that the two Wolves up front had heard the entire conversation. She giggled again and shook her head at me, her thick curls bouncing around her face.

The sound of tires crunching down an unpaved gravel road alerted e to the fact we were getting close. We had turned off the main highway an were weaving our way through thick forest. The monstrous trees lined either side of the narrow track and mist shrouded the path ahead in mystery. The headlights of the truck did nothing to cut through the heavy fog and Tia's magic lost its grip as fear spiked deep in the depths of my soul.

I shouldn't be here, I thought. my hand reaching for the door, for any means of escape. It was locked and that simple fact had my breath coming in ragged gasps that I couldn't control. "Delilah," Kellans calm strong voice reached into the depths of my mind, somehow managing to soothe the fears that were taking control, "Breathe," He murmured. I nodded my head trying to focus on the air entering and leaving my lungs.

"Look at me," he said, once my breathing had become more regular. I forced my eyes up to the rear vision mirror to see his storm grey eyes focused on me, "It's going to be okay." I could only nod, but the words calmed the restless urge to flee that had taken control. I had to trust him.