Call of Sunteri (Keepers of the Wellsprings Book 2) (17 page)

Tib

The elves are generous and kind. They bring healers to look at Saesa and Raefe, and they fix them up right there on the platform. The healers are just as impressive as the warriors. Not like the ones in Cerion who wear brown robes all of the time. These are dressed in bright blues, greens and purples. They’re just as tall as Julini and Zevlain and Shoel. Their skin is just as pale. Their hair just as white. One of them, a lady, has colorful feathers tied in her hair and bells that chime as she moves. Saesa loves her. She stares and grins and talks and talks to her about everything.

Raefe gets his own healer. He isn’t as talkative with his, though. He lies back in the chair that has a long end to put his feet up on. My own healer comes to me. Gets me comfortable. Tells me his name is Celorin. Checks my eyes and teeth and nose. Doesn’t touch, just runs his hands above me. He starts at my head and goes all the way to my feet. He stops there at my boots, like there’s something interesting there.

“
This child has lli’luvrie,
” he says to the others, in their language. They all pause.

“Yes. He is paired.”
Shoel comes to stand beside him. He says something else, but Mevyn doesn’t translate it for me.

“What’s lli’luvrie?” I ask. The two elves look at each other.

“It is a special word,” Shoel explains. “The closest meaning it has in your language is…” he looks to Celorin for help.

“Mm…” Celorin taps his lips thoughtfully. “Tether, I believe.”

“Yes, that’s it.” Shoel nods. He looks over his shoulder at the others. Raefe has fallen asleep. Saesa is chatting away with her healer. They’re well distracted. He sits down next to me. “Why have you come here,” he keeps his voice low, “all the way from Sunteri? And why have you brought,” he nods at my boots, “that which you have brought?”

“Tell him we must talk alone. Go with him.”

“We must talk alone,” I say before I can even think. The words are elven. They’re strange to say. I look across at Saesa and Raefe. They’re safe, but I’m uneasy leaving them. This place is too big. We would never find each other if we got separated. Shoel nods and gets up. He gestures for me to follow him. I don’t want to. I try to stay, but my legs slide off the chair and I’m on my feet before I know it.

“I’m not leaving them,” I say firmly. I plant my feet. It makes me feel dizzy but I do it anyway.

Shoel turns. I think he realizes that I’m not talking to him. I cross my arms. Wait for Mevyn. He says nothing. Still, I don’t budge.

“What is it you fear in stepping away for a moment?” Shoel asks gently. It makes me feel childish.

“I don’t want any of us to get lost,” I explain.

“Zevlain.” Shoel says to the remaining White Line. He straightens a little in response. “Wait here with the young ones until we return.”

Zevlain nods. Saesa looks up from her conversation. She starts to get up, but her healer says something and she sits again. I wave to her. Try to tell her it’s all right. I hope I’m right. I still feel uneasy as I walk away from them. I’m starting to resent Mevyn. His orders. His demands. Protecting him while he hides away. But then I remember how he saved me from the roots.

How we were able to help each other through the desert to Zhaghen. We needed each other. We still do. I think of the word Celorin used. Lli’luvrie. Tether. My boots. Think of my reluctance to take them off. Wonder why Mevyn didn’t just tell me what they were, or why I never figured it out on my own. Now that I know, it’s so obvious.

And where does he go? Why does he even need a tether, if Sunteri’s Wellspring is dry and there’s no one left there? I remember the long stretches of time in our recent past when he seemed to be gone. I felt so alone. He went someplace. He left me. But where? Why haven’t I ever wondered about this before? Because he took my memories away? Maybe it has to do with Ceras’lain. I feel different here. Clearer. I’m so absorbed in my thoughts that I bump into Shoel when he pauses at a door. He turns and looks at me over his shoulder. He’s amused.

“Sorry,” I murmur. He nods.

“Please,” he says as he sweeps his hand through the open door. As soon as it closes behind him, Mevyn emerges. He looks paler. Not as gold as before. A little battered looking. Tired, like he’s trying hard. What’s the phrase Nessa uses? Keeping up appearances.

“It is customary,” Shoel starts without any formality, “for a fae to bring himself to our size when visiting Ceras’lain, that we might look each other in the eye.” Suddenly I’m afraid, and I don’t know why. A glance at Mevyn explains it. This is his fear, not mine. “But I see that you are weak, and so I shall not ask it of you.”

“Well, that’s very accommodating of you,” Mevyn’s long hair curls and waves as he speaks. His tone is sarcastic, I think. I stare at him. The gold lines on his skin glow and fade and glow again. I want to ask him things. Lots of things. I want to be like Saesa and think of all the best questions. Instead I sit quietly in a chair, out of the way. I don’t interrupt. I listen. I’m only here because Mevyn wants me to be. I’m not meant to be part of the conversation.

That’s made even clearer when they start speaking in the elf language. Without Mevyn translating, I don’t understand. Saesa says it sounds like a song with no music. Not to me. To me it’s frustrating. Rude, even. I can’t do anything but listen and try to figure out what they’re saying and why they don’t want me to know. They talk for a long time. All I can get from it is Mevyn is hiding things and Shoel is suspicious. Finally, Mevyn turns to me.

“The elf would like to ask you questions. Be honest. I’ll wait elsewhere.” He disappears, leaving me alone with Shoel. He comes closer to me. Sits in a chair close by. Even when he sits, his posture is perfect. Like he’s always on watch. Always alert. I sit straighter, too. It makes me feel stronger. He smiles.

“Tell me, friend,” he says warmly, like he really is a friend, “how do you feel?”

I don’t understand the question. It’s too broad. I’m not sure how he wants me to answer it. Suddenly I wish Mevyn was still here. He’d know. He’d tell me the right thing to say. Shoel tilts his head slightly. Watches me. I feel like he can see my struggle.

“Fine,” I say. It’s a good answer. A safe answer.

“You look well enough.” He drums his slender fingers on the arm of the chair. They don’t look like warrior’s fingers. They’re too smooth. Too elegant. All of him is. “Fed and clean, outside of your battle grime. You throw, I see?” He nods to the knives on my bandolier. They’re all still there. I wonder why he and the other elves didn’t try to take them away.

“I just started.” I think of the battle. Remember how the blades spun and hit more than one mark. How did I do that?

“You’re a fair mark,” he nods. “You felled many of the Wildwood with your faerie fire.” The blue liquid Mevyn told me to use was faerie fire. Interesting.

“Is that what this is about?” I forget to sit straight. I slump back against the cushion. My heart starts to race. I killed a lot of them. Twenty, maybe thirty. “Am I in trouble?”

“We do not take it upon ourselves to dole justice outside our own kind, young one. We leave that to your own conscience. No, you are not in trouble. I speak to you now out of concern for your safety.”

“What do you mean?” My leg starts to bounce nervously. He eyes it. I stop.

“Did you enter into this partnership with Mevyn of your own free will?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I answer slowly, thinking back. “It just sort of happened. We were in trouble. We needed each other to survive.” The question annoys me. It’s not his business.

“Do you wish to remain with him?” He watches me closely. I try to keep my face even while I think about it. I never really considered that, the possibility of going on by myself. It never entered my mind. I wonder why. Did Mevyn keep me from thinking about it? Or was I just happy to go along with him? The idea bothers me. I don’t like it. I don’t like Shoel for asking me such a thing. He has no right.

“Yeah, I do,” I say. “I want to stay with him. We’ve got stuff to do.” I stand up. “I want to go back to Saesa now.”

“Of course. In a moment,” he says, but he doesn’t get up. “Tib, you must understand. I am offering you assistance. I wish to help you. Do you feel safe? Please remember that Mevyn asked you to be honest.”

I scowl and cross my arms. I can’t help it. I’m too uneasy. He’s looking at me. He sees. Sees something I can’t, maybe. The truth is that ever since Mevyn and I teamed up, I’ve done a lot of things I never would have before. Exciting things. Dangerous things. Climbed towers. Burned them. Swam in the ocean, to a ship. Left home forever. These are good things, I tell myself. Adventurous things. These things got me out of there. Away from the dye fields. Helped me start a new life. But then I remember the fear as Dreamwalker attacked me in the pit. The pain as I fell. How I wanted to die. How as soon as I got up again, I was ready to do whatever Mevyn said. He protected me. Saved me. But if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have been there in the first place.

“He gave me things. Friends. Other things.” I finger the soft leather of my new bandolier. Wiggle my toes in my boots. My good, new boots. I thought they were a gift, and they were. The first thing Mevyn gave to me. They were something more, though. Something Mevyn needed more than I did.
A gift is a trick.
I swallow the lump in my throat. “We’re friends,” I say, but I’m more confused now than ever. I hide it well enough, though. Shoel believes me. He gets up.

“Very well,” he says. “We shall bring you to the border of Kythshire tomorrow. From there, you must go alone. We respect our neighbors’ border, but we shall take you as far as we can by cygnet.”

“But Raefe,” I keep my arms crossed. “He doesn’t know we’re going there.”

“I advise you to tell him,” Shoel opens the door. “For Saesa’s safety.”

His words ring in my ears as we walk together back to the platform. Not just the part about Saesa. The other parts, too. I was so sure before. I was on an important quest. I had to do this. It never felt like a choice. But now, with all of Shoel’s questions, I’m doubting it. Doubting Mevyn. Doubting myself.

It doesn’t feel the same as when the Dreamwalker made me think bad things. This is different. It comes from a good place. It feels more like the truth. Or maybe it isn’t. Maybe this
is
the Dreamwalker all over again. This place feels as nice as my vision while I was climbing the rungs, the one that made me fall. Maybe this place is a trick. I stop walking. Reach out. Touch the wall. It feels real, but so did the sunshine. So did the flower petals that brushed my fingers.

“Tib?” Shoel turns. Comes back to me.

“Is this place real?” I ask him. “Are you?”

He puts his hands on my shoulders. Kneels. Looks into my eyes. His are silvery blue. Honest. There’s no magic there. Not like when Mevyn looks at me and everything feels like a spell.

“Yes,” he says firmly. “This place is real.”

“I thought maybe the Dreamwalker…” I trail off. Look away.

“His kind cannot enter here,” Shoel explains. “We are protected, as is all of Ceras’lain. He cannot reach your mind within our borders.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth, and not just part of the illusion?” I look at him again. His honest eyes hold something else now. Pity.

“You don’t,” he sighs. “You have nothing to go on but instinct and your own heart. You must learn to trust both. Trust in yourself, Tib, above all others. Only you know what is best.”

I sit right beside Saesa when we get back. She’s laughing. Happy. I smile, too, but inside I’m still confused. When Mevyn returns to me I don’t feel much better. The elves show us to a room with three beds. They tell us to rest, and that we’ll leave on cygnets in the morning.

Saesa gasps and pulls me around, showing me the view from the balcony, and pointing out the fairies carved into the pillars of the beds. The beds have curtains on them. I never saw that before. They’re soft. So are the mattresses. I climb on and sink into it. When I do, I don’t want to get up again. It feels like a cloud. But I have to. I struggle out of the bed.

“Tomorrow, did you hear? We get to ride the cygnet again. Julini said I can ride with her. I bet we’ll go even higher.” Saesa’s curls bounce as she hops up beside me. Across from her, Raefe has the letter Nessa gave him out. He turns it in his hands.

“Hopefully, this Evelei in Felescue is easy to find,” he says.

“We’re not going to Felescue,” I cross the room to his bed. Lean on the post.

“
Tib, no.”
Mevyn’s voice rushes into my head.
“It’ll be just you, me, and Saesa. Remember?”

“What do you mean?” Raefe asks. He looks up from the letter. I feel Mevyn’s warning, but I ignore it. Shoel was right. If something happens to Mevyn and me, someone needs to be with Saesa.

“You were right, back in the carriage,” I admit. “There’s no uncle in Ceras’lain. We’re going to Kythshire,” I say. “All four of us.”

Raefe looks around. Counts three. Shakes his head.

“Why does everyone keep counting wrong?” he asks. “There’s three of us. You, me, Saesa.”

“No, there are four. Mevyn’s here.” My heart is racing. I remember Shoel’s advice.
Trust in yourself.
It’s easier here. Easier to be myself. To ignore Mevyn’s directions. It feels daring to ignore his anger and his commands.

“Why are you betraying me?
”

“I’m not betraying you. I’m making sure my friends are safe. I’ve trusted you, now you need to trust me, too. Raefe is my friend. He loves his sister. He’s good. He’ll keep our secret.”

“Outside. Now.”

Saesa looks from me to Raefe, who is sitting up in the downy cloud of his mattress, staring at me. I shake my head.

“No more orders,” I say. Raefe’s eyes widen. He looks at Saesa. Mouths something about me being mad. I glare and cross my arms again. My feet start to shuffle away and I will them to stop. “I mean it.” I plant them to the spot. It takes a lot of effort. My head starts to hurt.

“I need to speak to you alone,”
Mevyn says a little more gently, but his will is just as strong as ever.
“Please come onto the balcony.”

“That’s better,” I say. I excuse myself and go outside. I can hear them whispering about me back in the room. It makes me angry that Raefe said I was mad. I’m not. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him after all. I hope Saesa’s defending me. I’m sure she is.

On the balcony, Mevyn is fiery gold and bright. Strong-looking. Not how he was in front of Shoel. It makes me even angrier. My arms are crossed so hard I feel like I’m holding my chest together.

“You have no right,” he flies toward me. Hovers in my face. Our eyes meet briefly, but I look away. “No right to reveal me to anyone. Ever.” He drifts around my head. Tries to catch my gaze. I duck away.

“Stop it.” I know what he wants. To make me forget. All he has to do is look into my eyes. In the past he always asks me first, but I won’t take a chance this time. I won’t even let him look. I won’t even let him try.

“What did that elf say to you?” he demands. “What has changed between us?” He stops trying to catch my eye. He droops onto the railing and stands there. “I need you, Tib. Please.”

“What difference does it make if Raefe knows? You told Shoel. You told Saesa. You let her remember, too.”

“Saesa has been tested. I know she’ll keep me safe now.”

“How?” I ask angrily. “How was she tested? When?”

“The carriage ride,” Mevyn explains. “Even in the face of danger, she didn’t reveal me. She didn’t betray me.”

“That was a test?” I pace. Shake my head. Remember the danger, the fear. The creatures pouring in through the windows. Saesa being stabbed. The storm cloud. The darkness that fell over us. The road littered with dead. “That was you?”

“Oh no, no. That was not me, Tib. It was the Dreamwalker. You heard the elves. He cannot touch us here. No need to be afraid.”

I close my eyes. Press my palms to them. Try to think. He said the same thing in the pit. It was my test, but it was the Dreamwalker.

“Who is it?” I ask. “Who is this Dreamwalker? If not you, then who is he? Why is he so interested in you?”

“Look at me,” Mevyn says soothingly, “and I will tell you. Look at me, so you know that I am telling the truth.”

Reluctantly, I let my hands drop and open my eyes slowly. He’s right there, waiting. He puts a hand on my cheek. The gold swirls dance. Suddenly, I feel foolish. It doesn’t matter who the Dreamwalker is. Not really. All that matters is getting to Kythshire. Getting help to restore the Wellspring. Everything else is unimportant. I feel bad. I shouldn’t have questioned.

“Tib, I’m sorry. I must. I will ask you as I always do, for my protection and your own…”

In the morning, Saesa wakes me. We’re all excited. Ready for adventure. Saesa jumps on Raefe’s bed. Shakes him awake. Hurries him to get dressed. Julini comes to walk us to breakfast. She and Saesa chatter away together. Raefe and I walk more slowly. We’re both still trying to wake up. Nobody says anything about the night before. None of us remembers.

At breakfast, we go over our plans with Shoel. Raefe will deliver Nessa’s letter to Evelei in Felescue. Saesa and I will go with Shoel. Shoel glances at Raefe and then looks at me. He’s disappointed that I didn’t tell Raefe the secret. I’m not sure what the secret was now. It must not have been too important. I just have to go with Shoel. I know that much.