Chapter 6 The Fey Land

Walking into Katarina's house Sal marveled at how fast she'd cleaned up in one night, the living room was illuminated by candles placed in a chandelier above them, there was a fireplace at the front of the room, it's embers glowing and warming up the house, the sofa and the armchairs were a dull gray and the walls were painted a stark black.

Sal followed Casmir up a flight of stairs, each floor felt strangely empty, like a shelf that used to hold books but was now a skeleton of its original purpose.

"Kat had roommates once", Casmir said as they walked, "I wonder what happened to them"

"They left" Katarina said simply and they continued to walk in silence.

Soon they reached the third floor and it turned out to be Katarina's armory, Sal wondered if all Shaded beings had an armory in their homes and he wondered if he needed to get one himself.

Katarina's armory was just like Casmir's, except it was larger, and had a wide variety of weapons, there were shields and spears, whips and chains, bows and arrows, crossbows, maces, axes, swords, daggers, basically every weapon you can ever think of, even those weird circular disks that Black Panther's girlfriend uses.

"Ah the chakrams", said Casmir, "I dabbled in them for a while you know"

"And failed" Katarina said.

Casmir frowned at her and went to look at some daggers.

"So, who do we find next?" asked Casmir.

Sal took out the scroll and showed them the name.

"Bloomera Nephity" mused Casmir, "sounds like a fey name"

"They all have weird names, I used to know a fey whose name was Crowbar Sekile" said Katarina.

Sal laughed and looked at the name again.

"A fey huh?, could that pose a problem?" asked Sal, he'd read about how manupilative the fey could be, they were beautiful, unnatural and deceptive.

"It depends, the fey are unpredictable creatures, some of them live here in the mortal plane but most of them stay in Fey Land" said Katarina.

"I'm guessing Fey Land isn't on the world map" Sal said.

"Precisely", said Casmir, "it's in another plane of existence, kind of like this one but created for them, the only way to get there is through a portal"

"I could try locating them" Sal offered.

Casmir and Katarina nodded in approval.

"Watch this" Casmir said as Sal closed his eyes and concentrated, he imagined the glyph he'd seen the first time he used magic, the glyph of Finding, an eye without a pupil.

"Bloomera Nephity" whispered Sal.

He waited for the familiar burning of the mark on his chest, the itching of a glyph being traced on his skin.

But nothing happened.

"Uh, is he alright?" whispered Katarina.

"I don't know, his eyes weren't shut that tight the last time he used magic" said Casmir.

"Uh Sal?, you okay?" asked Katarina.

Sal opened his eyes and shook his head.

"It's not working" he said. "They're not here"

"Which means they're in Fey land" said Katarina. "Which means we need a portal"

Sal felt his mark burn and the image of a new glyph burned into his mind, a pattern of lines that spiralled like the lines on a snails shell.

"I think I could conjure a portal" said Sal.

Katarina looked at him, her eyes burning with curiosity.

"Oh you're a mage?" she asked.

"No, but he's something, he just doesn't know what he is yet" said Casmir.

Katarina gave Sal a pitiful look.

"Just pass me a knife so I can carve the glyph" said Sal.

Katarina creased her brows and then turned to Casmir who shot her a deadly glare and gave Sal an apologetic look.

"I don't understand, why are you looking at me like that" Sal asked.

"Are you serious" said Katarina.

Casmir rolled his eyes.

"What she's trying and failing miserably to say is that glyphs aren't supposed to be drawn with knives" said Casmir.

"But I used your dagger back at your apartment" said Sal.

"Yeah well, I didn't have what you needed and you looked like you knew what you were doing so I just let you" said Casmir.

"So what do I need?"

Katarina scoffed.

"Follow me" she said.

Sal wanted to object but she was already heading to another part of the armory, he sighed and followed her pass multiple weapons and into a doorway.

They walked into another room and the magic struck Sal like a slap on the face.

On the left side were multiple charms on the wall, necklaces and bracelets and rings imbued with magical energy, they gleamed with light and pulsed with power, there were even rune stones and potions and papyrus paper with enchantments on them.

On the right side were weird paintbrushes with glowing bristles and long sticks with runes inscribed in them, and then there were pencil-like crystals of different colours, black and blue and red, some were even transparent, like icicles on the inside of a frozen cave.

Katarina walked to one of the transparent pencil-like crystals and picked one up.

"This is a wand, it's what you use to draw glyphs and runes, it can also be a decent weapon if you know how to use it"

Sal took the wand and nodded.

"Thanks" he said.

He turned to walk but stopped as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait" said Kat.

He turned to see that she was taking off the pendant she'd been fiddling with on the front porch.

"What are you doing?" asked Sal.

She took off the necklace and held it out to him.

"Here, take this", said Katarina, "it must not be easy having no idea who you are"

"I know exactly who I am" protested Sal.

Katarina sighed and stepped forward, they were inches away from each other now.

"Do you?" said Katarina.

Sal wanted to reply but kept quiet, he knew that the next thing he would've said would be a lie.

Katarina turned him around and began to place the necklace on his neck, her fingers gently brushed Sal's nape and the feeling of her body so close to his made Sal's heart lurch.

"I know how you feel and I'm sorry for being insensitive, so here, take this as a peace offering" said Katarina as she buckled the necklace and stepped back.

Sal turned and looked at her, she was smirking, her eyes locked on his.

"It's a charm that'll glow when danger is near, it might come in handy one of these days" said Kat.

Sal smiled and touched the pendant.

"Thank you" he said.

She nodded and walked pass him and out of the room.

He followed her and emerged just in time to see Casmir get stabbed with a dagger he'd thrown in the air.

"Shit" cursed Casmir as he pulled the dagger out.

Sal looked at Katarina who was rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"Are you alright?" he asked Casmir.

Casmir nodded with a grin and strapped the bloody dagger to his waist.

"C'mon let's get this over with" said Casmir.

Sal nodded and began to draw the glyph that was in his head.

This glyph was different though, it was the first glyph that didn't require a surface to be drawn, Sal held his wand firmly and imagined the air to be a canvas, he began to draw, letting the magic move through him and out into the wand, the flow of energy felt so natural now, it didn't take long for the glyph to be done, a spiral in the air, the Portal glyph.

As soon as he finished, the space in front of them erupted into light and a shimmering circular doorway of blue light appeared in front of them.

"Woah" said Casmir.

Sal smiled and turned to them.

"Let's go" he said.

Katarina nodded and went in first, then Casmir, and as Sal was about to walk through he felt his hand itching, there was the Portal glyph outlined on his wrist, it stayed for a while and then faded.

Sal shook his head, stuck his wand in his boot and then he walked in.

***

Katarina tumbled out of the portal and unto lush green grass, she rolled and stopped in a crouch facing the portal that shimmered with blue light.

She looked around her, a field of grass stretched out before her, little flowers dotted the field, their petals so delicate that a touch might turn them to dust, above her creatures flew, birds with wings of fire, lions bound up on eagles wings, large scaly dragons with steam billowing from their nostrils, the air was clean and fresh and many pleasant fragrances wafted through her nose, she stood up from the floor and turned around, there was a large expanse of clear water like a trench surrounding what looked like a crystal city, the tallest building being a crystal palace that reflected the light of the purple sky.

Katarina stood speechless as she beheld the beauty before her.

There was no doubt about it, they were here, they were in Fey land.

She heard a loud thud behind her and turned to see Casmir sprawled on the grass, he got up coughing and smoothing grass out of his hair.

"I never liked portalling" he said as he adjusted the knives on his belt.

He raised his eyes and they widened.

"Well would you look at that, those birds are on fire" he said with a smile.

Katarina rolled her eyes at Casmir and turned to the portal just in time to see Sal emerge without a sweat, like he was walking through a door, his hair was whipping wildly across his face, the mark on his chest burning with intense light as it shone through his armour.

As soon as his other foot touched the grass the portal closed behind him.

"Wow" exclaimed Sal. "So this is Fey land"

Katarina admired the look of wonder on his face and the way Sal seemed to take everything in, like he was savoring his experiences and documenting them in his mind so he would never forget, he turned to her and their eyes met.

"What?" he asked.

Katarina shook her head and smirked.

"You should get to work" she said.

Sal nodded and took out his wand from his boot, he then began to draw a glyph on his arm, Kat couldn't believe that Sal wasn't a mage, for someone that claimed to just know about the Other World a few days ago, he was very adept at glyph magic, she couldn't say she trusted him but there was something about him that made her want to.

"Bloomera Nephity" whispered Sal.

Katarina saw as the mark on his chest burned bright and the grass swayed as Sal's magic interacted with the magic of the Fey, then he suddenly gasped and opened his eyes.

Before Katarina could move Casmir was already beside Sal, his eyes filled with concern.

"You okay?" asked Casmir.

Sal nodded and looked at his arm, the glyph he'd drawn was still there, an eye without pupil.

"What glyph is that?" asked Katarina.

"It's a Finding glyph" said Sal. "I used it to find Cas when I needed him"

"Did you find them?" asked Casmir.

Sal looked behind him where the Fey Forests stretched on with tall and beautiful trees.

"You have got to be kidding me" said Casmir.

"Whoever it was didn't respond to my call but they gave me a beacon, they're in the forest" said Sal.

Katarina took a deep breath, the Fey Forests were the most dangerous parts of Fey Land, the plants could cure or kill you, the animals could aid or eat you and the Fey that preferred the solitude and cover of trees and rocks were known to be wildest fey in all of Fey land, practitioners of wild magic.

"If the forest is where we need to go, then that's where we'll go" said Katarina. "Lead the way Sal"

Sal nodded and walked towards the dense forest, then Casmir followed with Katarina by his side, they advanced and soon they were under the canopy of ageless trees.

Katarina urged her senses to stay alert, she'd given her Sensory pendant to Sal and so she relied on her training to get her through the forest.

There was no path to follow so Katarina and Casmir kept avoiding overgrown branches and well hidden rocks, Sal on the other hand seemed unaffected by any of it and kept walking, the forest was filled with little sounds, everything seemed to sing in the Fey, the mossy barks of trees, the glistening surface of fruits, the gentle rustle of leaves, there was something musical about the little streams of sunlight peering through the gaps in the leaves and the smell of earth and rain and nature.

"I've never been to the Fey you know" Casmir said.

Katarina looked at him, his silver eyes were darting everywhere, his hands ready to grab the knives at his side.

"I have once before", said Katarina, "but it was for negotiation, I never even made it to the Capital"

"What were you negotiating?" asked Casmir as he stepped carefully over what looked like a snake covered in feathers instead of scales.

"I needed a way to find you, so I made a few bargains" said Katarina.

Casmir whipped his head and met her eyes with his.

"You did?" he said.

"Yeah, nothing lethal don't worry, I didn't sell my soul or anything" she said.

There was silence, then Casmir spoke up, his voice was empty of humor, his tone heavy with remorse.

"Thank you" he said.

She nodded and looked away from him, her eyes trained on Sal who was smiling as he touched a flower petal, his eyes closed in concentration.

"I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time, it's just that I felt like I didn't matter to the only person that mattered most to me" said Casmir.

"C'mon Cas, you know you have nothing to apologize for, I ran away, I left after asking for your help, that was a horrible thing to do"

"I know I have nothing to apologize for but it feels right, are we good?" asked Casmir.

She nodded and he smiled.

They both looked forward and saw Sal dodge a tree branch without opening his eyes.

"That guy is unbelievable" said Katarina.

Casmir smiled and looked at Sal, there was a weird sort of warmth in his eyes.

"He's definitely something" said Casmir.

Katarina searched her brother's face and there was something in the way he looked at Sal that made her want to ask.

"Do you..."

"Guys!"

They looked at each other and before she knew it Casmir was gone in a split second, Katarina ran after him hoping that nothing had happened to Sal.

She burst out of the trees and found herself in a large circular clearing, the ground was bare and the clearing was empty save for Casmir and Sal who stood in the middle of the clearing, Sal was looking at his wrist in confusion and Casmir was looking around, his eyes alert.

"What happened?" asked Katarina as soon as she got to them.

"The glyph's faded", said Sal, "she's supposed to be here"

"Someone is definitely here" said Casmir.

He drew out two daggers and held them in his hands, his fangs were out and his eyes were changing to red.

"What do you hear Cas?" Katarina asked.

"A lot of footsteps and a lot of weapons" said Cas.

"Fuck" cursed Sal.

Katarina looked at him to know what was wrong, and then she saw that his pendant was pulsing with blue light, he drew Kyrona from his back and held it steadily in front of him which surprised Kat but didn't fluster her, she took out the pins in her hair and they turned into a bow and a quiver of arrows, she swung the quiver over her shoulders and quickly nocked three arrows.

That's when they arrived.

They were Fey, dozens of them jammed into the clearing and rapidly surrounding them, and just as Casmir had said.

They were all armed.

***

Sal watched as the Fey people emerged, they were all so beautiful, some had flower petals as hair and others had skin of different shades and forms, he saw some of them using snake skin as loincloth and fishscales for jewelry, in their hands they held clubs made of spiked wood and swords made of sharpened stone, some didn't even have weapons, their hands were brimming with white light ready to call on the powers of wild magic, and it was at that moment Sal realized these weren't just the Fey.

They were the Wild Fey.

"If they attack don't kill any of them" Kat warned.

"Why not?" asked Casmir.

"Because we're technically trespassing" said Kat.

"So what exactly is the plan?" asked Casmir.

Katarina looked to Sal for a solution.

"The plan is we immobilize them, then we make a run for it" said Sal.

Katarina nodded and so did Casmir, Sal prepared himself, hoping that he knew what he was doing.

The Wild Fey moved forward, some with smiles on their faces, others with resentful scowls, they held their weapons maliciously, their eyes shining with killing intent.

Then there was a deep smooth sound, a single note that made every single person stop in their tracks, Sal looked up in confusion, the sound seemed to be coming from everywhere but he centered his senses, and looked deeper.

He saw a silhouette perched on a branch, hidden among the trees, and before he knew it they were hurtling down to the forest floor, they plummeted and then grabbed unto another branch, flipped like a trapeze artist and grabbed unto another, flipped, did a somersault in the air and landed in front of Sal, the edge of his sword just inches away from their neck.

The person looked up and Sal's guard immediately dropped.

The Wild Fey in front of him was a girl, but she was unlike any of the other Wild Fey, her skin was like tree bark, brown and rough, she had a slender body shape with the right amount of curves, she wasn't as tall as Katarina but she carried the kind of confidence that made standing in front of her feel like standing in front of a mountain, her face was oval, her eyes were milky green as if they were formed from tree sap and her hair was made of long vines and little leaves and flowers, swept to the side and stopping at the top of her shoulders, she wore a singlet vest and camouflage trousers, in her left hand was an ivory tusk made into a horn and on her right hand was a set of silver bangles gleaming under the purple light of the sky.

She smiled a sweet smile and stepped closer, the tip of Sal's sword lightly touching her neck.

"Could you and your comrades lower your weapons" said the wood nymph, she had that accent that the gods had, like she was used to a language older than English.

"Guys", said Sal, "you can calm down"

"You can't be serious" said Katarina.

Sal gave her a look and she lowered her bow, he also heard the sound of metal sliding against leather as Casmir sheathed his daggers.

Sal turned to the fey and whipped his sword into its scabbard.

"I apologize fair one", he said, "my name is Salome and these are my companions Katarina and Casmir, I assure you we mean no harm, we are only in search of someone"

The wood nymph smiled and stepped closer, her eyes searched Sal, her body was so close Sal could almost hear the sound of her heartbeat.

"You have the tongue of the Fey and you have the beauty of the Fey but you're not one of us, you're not one of anything, are you?" said the wood nymph.

Sal didn't know how to answer that but he stepped closer, a close that would have made any other person uncomfortable but somehow made this wood nymph smirk.

"I am afraid I have no idea what you mean fair one"

"You may address me as Bloom" said the wood nymph.

Echoes of shock quivered through Sal as it finally dawned on him.

The person he'd been searching for was standing right in front of him.

"Bloom, as in Bloomera Nephity?" asked Katarina.

The Wild Fey around them gasped and pointed their weapons at Katarina.

"No one addresses me that way and survives to speak it again" said Bloom.

The Wild Fey around them howled in agreement and Sal felt panic and a little bit of anger race through him, he wouldn't let anything happen to Katarina or Casmir.

He leaned into Bloom's ear and whispered with a cold, calm voice filled with threat.

"If they are harmed, I will kill every last one of you"

Sal felt the fear go up Bloom's spine but she hid it with another smile and then leaned into his ear.

"I have no doubt that you will" said Bloom, there was no sarcasm in her voice, just pure, raw truth.

She took several steps back, faced her army and yelled a command.

"Okrivich shentanati" she said, then she looked at Sal, "ju chi kuta"

The Wild Fey stepped back, bowed and melted back into the forest, soon the clearing was as empty as they had met it, not even footprints left to indicate where the Wild Fey had stood minutes ago which confused Sal a little.

He heard Kat let out her breath behind him and he glared at Bloom who was still smiling.

"Come with me" said Bloom.

She waved her hand and a clear path appeared in the forest.

Kat and Casmir looked at Sal for confirmation, he nodded and then they both followed.

Sal walked on behind them glad that at least he was getting somewhere, he'd found Bloomera Nephity, now he could get back to finding the rest.

But as he walked he couldn't get the words that Bloom had spoken to the Wild Fey out of his head, the translation had kicked in like it was his second language and the meaning bothered him.

Okrivich shentanati

Return Home.

Ju chi kuta.

The ghost is here.