Last Fae

Chapter 24 ~ Exploration

When I stepped through into the strange new world I had no idea where to begin. Walking around the stone wall of the house, I found the front door and peaked inside to find a single-story house with only one room. A dust encrusted window on the far wall was the only other source of light, though it did not allow much in. Even with the dimly lit space it was easy to see the room was bare. Devoid of anything that might have hinted as to where I was and its potential link to the Fae.

I pushed the door closed and turned to face the misty field dotted sparsely with those strange crystal-like trees. It stretched all the way to the horizon in every direction. I spun in a slow circle, hoping for some indication of which way to go. Any sign that the Fae might be here. Or at least that something was here.

Not a single track led away from the house and I wondered how long it had been here. Why was it here at all if it wasn't being used? The air was still around me, not a breath of breeze touched my skin, the layer of mist on the ground was stagnant not a wisp out of place. My sensitive ears didn't pick up a single sound over my own breathing. I hadn't noticed before, I'd been to shocked at the sudden change in my surroundings but as I stood turning slow circles it didn't feel real.

A tingle ran down my spine and I felt the hair on my arms stand to attention. The idea of turning back and telling Kellan something was wrong crossed my mind. A larger, more insistent part of my mind wanted to push the unease aside. The possibility that my family could be here was to great a pull. The hope that I had unwittingly allowed to sink its claws into my heart wouldn't allow me turn back until I had searched every last inch of this eerie land.

I had no idea where to start first so I just started walking, following a straight line away from the front door of the nondescript building. I walked through the mist, my feet sinking into the soft layer of moss on the ground with every stride. The scenery around me didn't seem to change at all as the time ticked by.

The same odd trees with their leaves twinkling in the light. The blinding white sun blazing overhead, though the temperature in the place didn't seem to change. Not a drop of perspiration slipped from my skin despite the fact that I was walking through the direct sunlight. I felt cool, but not cold despite the way my breath fogged the air on every exhale.

At some point I looked up and saw the another grey stone house similar to the one that sat right where the wall of the cell should have been. I sighed in relief. Finally, after what must have been hours of walking, I was getting somewhere. I ran the last few hundred metres, until my hands came to rest on the rough grey stone. I circled the building and my heart stalled in my chest. It wasn't another house. It was the same one. I kicked the wall with as much force as I could muster and regretted it instantly as pain shot up my leg in vicious waves. I groaned and limped my way around to the front of the building. I'd peaked in the door earlier but there'd been no one there and nothing inside to indicate that there ever had been.

But it was the sole recognisable landmark and I was starting to think it might deserve a little bit more attention than I'd given it. I pushed open the old timber door and stepped inside. I traced my fingers across the surface of the wall as I moved to the left. The cool stone sent goose bumps racing up my arms and I smiled at the sensation.

Nothing caught my eye as I paced around the outside edge of the cramped space. When I reached the window I scraped at the layer of grime covering it. Just in case there was something I was missing in the shadowy corners of the room. I couldn't get it off. I scratched and nothing happened. It was as if the dirt had been combined into the glass itself to prevent the light from entering. The idea sounded ridiculous even to my own ears. Who would want to embed dirt in a piece of glass?