Last Fae

Chapter 19 ~ Home

I'd wanted to leave as soon as we'd made the decision to go, but Kellan had insisted on getting some rest first. He'd pulled a spare mattress out from under the bed and laid down on it ending all conversation when he started snoring soon after. The soft sound the only noise inside the cabin captured my attention as I laid on the bed my mind pondering the same thought for hours. Was it true?

I must have drifted off to sleep at some point and slept for a few hours. The sun was high in the sky when Kellan shook me awake and walked outside. The warm fresh air was comforting as I contemplated what we were doing and where we were going.

We set off down the narrow road my bare feet following one of the tire tracks, Kellan's followed the other. We walked in a comfortable silence. I pondered the idea of what we would find, the implications of what Kellan was claiming and from his expression he was deep in thought as well.

I had no idea how far it was from here to the village deep in the forest that I had called home for so many years. Would there even still be a road into it? It had been five years since anyone had been there, as far as I knew. The forest would have reclaimed most of it by now surely? "How far is it?" I asked Kellan, almost hesitant to break the silence.

"A fair way. We will have to head back to the pack and pick up a car. I had someone follow us last night and pick up the truck because I thought we would be up here a while. Then we'll try and find the road in, but we'll probably have to walk most of it again. No one has been there in years."

"That's what I thought," I hesitated, "How far is it if we went through the forest, directly." He looked at me then.

"As Wolves?" I nodded and he kept watching me as if expecting me to laugh or take the idea back. I stared back at him. If it was faster I'd shift again. I needed to know and I'd already waited too long.

"A lot faster. Straight down the mountain across the river and a bit deeper into the woods." I started pulling my clothes off and he turned away to do the same, this time I tied them into a neat bundle hoping I'd be able to carry it with me. I shifted, the change so fast that the pain barely registered, and picked up the small bundle. Trotting into the thick trees on the side of the track.

Kellan followed and I let him take the lead, not certain of the direction. Once he was in front he picked up the pace and we raced down the hill weaving between close set trees and jumping over logs with ease. As much as I hated the idea of being a Wolf, even with the new information Kellan had supplied, I loved the feel of running in this form. The feel of the breeze through my fur, the stretch of my muscles with every stride. The confident placement of my feet. My Wolf was built for this. And I could keep it up for hours if I needed to.

We were at the base of the mountain in no time and we moved even faster on the flat ground arriving at the river just minutes later. I stalled to halt when I saw the wide expanse of water separating us from the trees on the other bank. It snaked its way through the forest a wide, lazy stream of crystal clear water. I could see the multitude of rocks beneath the water at the edge I was standing at, but further in it dropped off to a deep black abyss.

Somewhere along its length, deep within its depths, the Sirens lived so there should be nothing to be afraid off, but the dark black centre set my heart pounding. Kellan's grey eyes met mine. Are you okay to cross? I forced my mind to focus on the plan. We had to get to the Fae village and it had been my idea to travel in Wolf form to get there faster. If we wasted time here because I was afraid then the whole endeavour was pointless and we might as well have spent the time driving.

I stepped into the cool water allowing it inch its way up my body. Feeling each step out one by one until I reached forward and there was no bottom left to touch. I pushed my body out into the slow current and started to paddle. My mind pictured hands grabbing me from below, monsters snapping at my paws but only water trickled by.

My heart raced despite the lack of plausible threats and I had to force calm over my mind and push my body to keep paddling. The slow current carried me further downstream as I paddled but Kellan was still by my side so I assumed it wouldn't make too much of a difference to our journey.

When I felt something touch the bottom of my paw I lurched backward, breath huffing in rapid gusts and my eyes searching for the culprit. Kellan was rising from the water step by step and I realised it had been the bottom. I paddled forward again and stretched down until I felt the firm rocks beneath my paw and scrambled to my feet, racing out after him.

My breath came easier once I was out of the water but I inhaled deeply to calm my racing heart. The familiar scent of home filled my nose and I raced towards it. My paws pounded the ground faster than I'd ever run before and it wasn't until the first house on the edge of the village came into view that I stalled remembering what it was I was running to. I felt Kellan come to a stop behind me, he hung back waiting to see what I would do.

My mind flashed back to the last time I'd been here. The morning I'd woken up after the terror. The bodies I'd seen strewn across the village. The blood that had soaked into the ground beneath my feet. The smell of blood. I inhaled and all I could smell was home and I had no idea what to do with that.