Nevermor (19 page)

“May I ask what
you’re studying?”

“This scope
comes in handy for many things, but currently, I’m trying to have a look at the
sun.  I’ve been attempting to study it for a long time, but I haven’t ever been
able to get a good look at it.  It’s just too bright and too far away.”

“No, I don’t
suppose it is possible to look directly at the sun – though it is usually
impossible to see it at all through the fog back home,” she said, remembering
her own learning experiences from back when she was much younger than he was. 
“Why are you trying to look at it?”

“It fascinates
me,” Sly said. “Rifter has told me that no matter where he goes, through all
the realms he’s crossed, there is one constant: the sun.  How is it that it can
be seen from every point in the universe?  What is the secret of its power?”

Wren was less
interested in his talk of the sun and more in what he had said about Rifter. 
So, what Toss had said was true.  Rifter was
able to pass through all
the realms of the universe with ease.  Just the idea that other realms existed
fascinated her.  She longed to ask Rifter about it.  How could he do this?  Why
was he special?

Sly glanced over
at her as if he expected an answer, but when she just stared at him blankly, he
gave an apologetic smile.        

“I’m boring
you,” he said suddenly, looking back down at the scope.  “That’s common.”

“No, not at
all,” she assured him.  “I was just thinking about what you said.  It really is
unfathomable to think about.  I’ve just been wondering to myself how Rifter can
pass through worlds.  By what I’m used to, it’s hard to imagine much beyond the
streets I saw every day.”

Sly hummed
thoughtfully.  “It’s really best not to be too curious about the Rifter.” 

Wren was
surprised to hear him say that.  He had caught onto her so quickly?

“You seem like
an inquisitive type,” he went on.  “Life here is a bit harder on people like
us, but it gets easier over time – after you learn what not to be too
inquisitive about.”

Was that
supposed to be welcoming?  Wren wasn’t sure how to take it.  She thought it
sounded a little snide.

“That’s a bit
cryptic, isn’t it?” she accused mildly.

“I’ve been here
a long time, Wren,” Sly said, sighing as if he was an old man, burdened by his
age and wisdom.  “I’ve seen a lot of things, and I’m still learning more all
the time, but some subjects just have to be left alone.  I don’t regret any day
of being here, and once you learn a few initial things the hard way, I’m sure
you’ll be perfectly happy too.”

“I don’t like
the hard way.”  She’d had too much of the hard way in her life.  She was ready
for things to be simple and easy.

“Some things can
only be learned the hard way.”  He put the scope to his eye again, but was
quick to take it down, squinting in frustration.

“I don’t
understand what you mean.”

“I’m giving you
advice,” he said plainly.  “There is one rule above all others here, and it
doesn’t have anything to do with the Vow or any tests you might manage to
pass.  The utmost important thing is keeping Rifter happy.  He is like a god in
this place, and we exist here solely for his pleasure.  That includes doing
what he expects us to do, and knowing what
not
to say to him.”

Wren was
stunned.  The words were heavy, but the delivery was sincere, and she wanted to
take him seriously.  Was it true?  Did they really spend their days tiptoeing
around Rifter?  That hadn’t been the impression she’d gotten.

Because they’ve
already learned – except perhaps Nix. 

“What sort of
things
shouldn’t
I say to him then?” she asked.

“For starters,
don’t talk about your past life.  You’ve brought it up twice to me just now,
but don’t do that in front of Rifter.  He intends for us to live in the present
and to forget about what we used to be.”

Had she done
that?  She wasn’t sure.

“Don’t ask him
complicated questions about how he is able to
do
things, like passing
through worlds.  He doesn’t like questions like that because he can’t answer
them.  Don’t ask him about
the others
, and whatever you do, don’t ask
him things that he might not remember – or that he has chosen to forget.”

The
others
? 
Things he might not remember?  Sly was speaking in riddles.

“How will I know
if he may not remember something?”

“When you do it,
you’ll know,” was all he would say.

Sly handed her
the scope as a way of ending their talk on the subject, and Wren accepted.  She
put the lens to her eye and looked up into the air, and though she knew it was
probably a bad idea, she was too curious not to glance toward the sun.  Even
with the tinted lens of the scope, she could only look at it a moment before
having to avert her eyes.  The exponential brightness left a familiar spot in
her vision, even after she had lowered it.

“It’s still too
bright to look at,” she said, handing the scope back to him.  He nodded.

“It’s a peril to
look at and to get close to, and also too powerful to explain,” he said,
lifting the scope to his own eye again.  “Maybe it can never be understood.”

She couldn’t
help thinking that was some kind of message, but she couldn’t figure it out. 
For fear of him thinking she was ignorant, she didn’t ask him to expound upon
it, but she didn’t think that he would anyway.  He kept quiet as his eyes
settled on something through the scope – presumably not the sun.

“Speak of the
devil; he’s back.”

Rifter?

Wren felt her
heart spring up, but when she looked into the sky, she could not see what Sly
saw.  Rifter was too far away.  Still, the boy stood up and offered his hand to
her.

“Come on,” he
said.  “He likes it when we’re waiting for him.”

She allowed him
to help her up, and he guided her down the rocks.  He held her hand as he
helped her down, but she did not feel that same thrill of excitement that she
got when Rifter touched her.  She accepted this as a friendly gesture, but
didn’t read anything into it.

When they got
back to the hideaway, the others came in gradually as well.  Sly had called to
Nix and Toss as they’d gone along, announcing that Rifter was on his way back. 
Finn and the twins were still asleep, but they were roused to be ready for
Rifter’s arrival.  Wren herself was very anxious, but Rifter was not back quite
as swiftly as Sly had led her to believe.  Then again, perhaps the minutes only
seemed like hours because Wren was anticipating it.

When Whisper
zipped through the tunnel as a glowing streak, several of them stood up, and
when Rifter made his appearance, Wren smiled.

Rifter!

She rose
immediately and took a few steps to meet him before she remembered herself. 
She halted just short of throwing her arms around his neck in her gladness to
see him, but she kept herself at bay.  She was happy that he was back, but she
didn’t know him well enough to celebrate in such a way, and she had to remind
herself of that.

“It took you
long enough to get back this time,” Nix taunted.  “Did you get lost?”

“I was going to
come straight back, but I was too busy with your
mother
,” Rifter said
nastily.

The other boys
expressed their surprise with laughter and howling.  Nix didn’t seem to take
offense, as if their fight the night before had been forgotten, and all seemed
to think it was a good time.  Wren thought it was terrible, but she didn’t say
anything.

After that, it
didn’t take Rifter long to focus on her.  He seemed to have forgotten she was
there.  His eyes grew a little wider, but he didn’t apologize for his lewd
joke.

“I see you’re still
in one piece,” he said instead.  He smiled at her and, at that moment – as if
it was brought on by his pleasure – the sun shone in a little brighter and
covered them in warmth and light.

“Hard to find
trouble in one’s sleep, I suppose,” she said meekly.  She couldn’t explain why
she suddenly felt shy in front of him.

“Depends on who
you’re talking to,” he replied.

She was a little
embarrassed when she remembered that it was in her sleep that she had come here
in the first place.  She smiled and lowered her head, trying to get herself
together, but he was quick to try and catch her eye again.

“I thought about
you while I was gone,” he said, and this made her blush as scarlet as Toss had
earlier when she’d spoken to him.  “I made a decision.”

Wren’s smile faltered
and she felt her heart pulse.  He had certainly been thinking about her, but it
was not in the way she had hoped.  He’d made a decision?  It could have been
about anything, but part of her was worried – worried because she was sure it
was about whether she would be allowed to stay.

“About what?”
she asked carefully.

“About you,” he
said, and her chest tightened.  “It doesn’t seem right that you should be given
a harsh test, but yet I can’t just give you a free pass to stay here.”

His expression
changed and he shifted his eyes away from her thoughtfully, as if looking at
her might sway him.  Wren had hoped that her inability to defend herself at the
beach might have slipped his mind, but obviously it had not.  Now he would tell
her that he had no use for someone as feeble as her, and he would send her
away.  It would be just as Nix had said.

Wren was already
preparing her defense – getting ready to beg if she had to – but she managed to
hold her tongue until he told her what his decision actually was.

“It’s unfair for
me to give you the same test that I would give a boy.  You’re not a boy, so I
can’t expect you to offer the same strengths.”

Wren felt
amazing relief at that and was glad he’d realized it without her having to
point it out.  She hadn’t really considered that it would take him as much
effort to figure her out as it would take her to understand him, but perhaps it
was so.

“But the purpose
of bringing in others is to strengthen the group.  If you’re going to be a part
of that, then you must be able to offer something.  That being said, what
can
you do?”

She decided to
forgive him for insulting her this time, for she was too relieved that he was
going to give her another chance to prove herself in some other way.  Still,
his question made her hesitate.

“Well, the only
things I’ve ever really done are clean and cook, sew…” She struggled to think
of something that might be specifically valuable to him, but he stopped her at
that.

“You can cook?”
he asked, seeming interested.  “We all hate cooking – well anything more than
roasting meat on a stick.  It takes too long.  Waste of time.”

“But you like to
eat, I assume,” she said.

“Of course you
know that we do,” he replied with a grin.

“Then you’re in
luck,” she said.  “I don’t mind cooking.  I’m actually fond of it.”

She didn’t want
it to be obvious that she was boasting, but she was confident in her skills. 
Some of her most enjoyable moments in the last few years had been spent in the
kitchen at the Home.  It was an opportunity for peace and quiet, and a chance
to be creative when good ingredients presented.  Along with that, there was
nothing quite so satisfying as having others appreciate something that she’d
created.

“Alright, a
deal,” he proposed.  “We go for a hunt, and you clean up and cook what we bring
back.  If you do a good job, then you’ll have passed the test.”

Wren’s face lit
up, showing her happiness.  That was all?  She had plenty of experience doing
those things, and it beat having to slay a nightmare.

“Yes!” she said
quickly.  “I can do that.”

Rifter seemed
satisfied with her eagerness and nodded as if to seal the agreement.  He put
his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly, drawing the others’ attention, and
they all perked up like dogs being called by their master.

“We hunt?” asked
Finn eagerly.

“We hunt,”
Rifter confirmed.  As Wren had heard them do before, the boys howled like
wolves and made noises of cheer as they began to grab their weapons.  They
rushed about, collecting their belongings, and Wren was a bit unsure of where
she should be to get out of their way.

Rifter nearly
slipped away from her without another word, but she managed to catch him before
he had moved far down the rabbit tunnel.

“Wait, you’re
all going?  Right now?  I’m going to stay here by myself?”

“Sure,” he said,
then gave a short shrug.  “Well, unless you want to come, but I figured you
wouldn’t like that.”

Images of the
night before passed through her mind, and Wren guessed that nothing good could
come from her going along with them.  She didn’t want a repeat of yesterday.

“No, I don’t
think I do.  But when will you be back?”

“We’ll be back
near night.  You should be safe here until then.  If you go outside, don’t go
too far.  No one knows where we live, so just lay low if you think there’s
trouble.”