Bonded spirits 4, p.4
Bonded Spirits 4, page 4
Wofferd took in a deep breath and released it slowly. “Yes, I suppose you could say it’s grown on me a little. I’ll stick around and make sure it’s still here until you get back. As long as you aren’t over there just getting your rocks off in fairyland.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Is that jealousy I’m sensing?”
Wofferd scoffed and waved me off. “Yeah, yeah. I may be older than you, but I can still get more tail than you on my worst day.”
I pulled Wofferd in for a hug and took the large man off guard. “Thank you, Wofferd. I hope we'll be seeing each other soon. Be safe, and good luck.”
He nodded and gave me a smirk. “You as well. Be ready to kick some ass when you return.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I will be.”
Chapter Five
While everyone at the Vale dutifully attended their assigned tasks, my bonded and I gathered at the Night Willow tree in the center of the Heart.
Jun called out to all the fairies circling the tree high above. “Night Willow fairies, now is the time.” The tree contained several small houses which were connected by a series of ropes and several bridges. Although they could fly, you could often see fairies walking along the bridges to make their way through the thick foliage of the tree. At least a hundred fairies fluttered down and joined us at the bottom of the tree.
A fairy with bright red hair hovered in front of my face for a few seconds before landing on Jun’s shoulder. “So, are you sure you are okay with us staying here in Aurilon?”
Jun smiled and rested her head gently on top of the fairy’s head. “Of course. It’s much too dangerous to return so soon. The magic contained within you and your sisters has not grown strong enough to withstand crossing over again so soon.”
The small fairy craned her neck and looked up at her queen. “What about you? You’ve been here just as long as we have, and I know we can all sense the strands of tainted spirit that have not been cleansed from your body yet.”
Jun nodded. “It’ll be a challenge, even for me. The tainted spirit should actually help me cross into Alphos. It’s very dangerous, but also incredibly strong.”
The fairy nodded and lifted off of the fairy queen’s shoulder. “Please be careful, my queen.”
Jun lifted a hand and held it out for the fairy to land. “If I don’t make it back. Please ensure that you elect a new queen. It’s our duty to protect the Vale and ensure that Aurilon once again returns to the peaceful land we once knew it for.”
“Yes, my queen.” The fairy’s red hair flowed behind her as she lifted from Jun’s hand and joined the other fairies who had gathered at the bottom of the large tree.
I met Jun’s eyes. “I appreciate the sacrifice you’re making to ensure the safety of everyone here. It’s incredibly selfless of you.”
Jun gave me a sad smile and nodded. “Yes, but as I mentioned when I first met you. I knew you were the man that the prophecy spoke of, the man that we could trust, the king who’ll lead Aurilon back to greatness.”
The fairies circled the tree, slow at first but gathering speed as the others joined. Faster and faster they circled until they were all around the base of the trunk. The only discernible thing was a luminescent blur which grew brighter with each second.
My bonded leaned closer. Shah and Cress each pulled their swords out and stepped forward.
Dahlia pointed toward the tree. “Something’s happening, look!”
At the base of the tree, a bright sphere of light seemed to pulse from within the tree. The fairies increased their speed, and the sphere grew in size, at first the size of DeVito, but soon the sphere grew as big and wide as Mitsi.
I closed my eyes and used my Sight skill. I nearly tumbled backwards as I saw into the tree and could clearly make out an entirely unknown land on the opposite side of the sphere, directly inside of the tree. “All right everyone, follow me.” I glanced over at the team I’d put in charge of the manor and Vale and was proud of each of them, and how willing they had been to take on the responsibility.
Shah and Cress each gave their brother a nod. Brazz returned a salute by pounding on his chest armor twice. I glanced down and motioned for DeVito to follow. He looked up at me with disinterested eyes. “Let’s go.” He knew when I was being serious, but like all good English Bulldogs, he didn’t give a shit. “Now,” I said flatly.
DeVito rose from his spot grudgingly, his long tongue hanging out of his mouth as if he’d just ran a lap around the manor. I chuckled and shook my head. “We’re going to get you some exercise while we’re in Alphos.” I looked to my left and right and had each of my bonded at my sides, with my pregnant bonded closest to me, and my newest bonded surrounding us as if they were our bodyguards.
I pulled out James’s silver sword and took one last glance around at everyone at the Vale who had stopped what they were doing to watch what was happening. I called out as I neared the portal. “Stay strong, fight, and rely on each other. We’ll meet again soon.”
With that, I stepped forward through the portal, and everything went black.
I walked forward and could only hear echoes of laughter, of distant conversations. I swore I heard a conversation, or conversations, that I had with my brother, replayed in my head. From the time we were younger until recently when we were on the tower. I could only guess what Cyprian had in store for him. I just hoped he’d survive long enough until I could free him from the dhampir king’s grasp.
I felt as if I were being pressed through a solid sheet of rubber and thought about activating my Charge to make it end faster, but I spotted a bright yellow light ahead of me. I reached out a hand and, as if something grabbed and pulled me through, I found myself on the opposite side. I stood on a soft carpet of teal grass, surrounded by massive trees, much like the one in the Heart of the Vale.
I glanced around, ensuring there wasn’t anything lurking in the shadows before turning my attention back in the direction from where I’d just come from.
Gwen was the first one through after me. She looked at me wide-eyed and smiled as she stepped forward. “That was... an experience.”
I laughed and pulled her close. I noticed her breasts had already grown larger, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before she showed other signs of her pregnancy.
A loud snort came from behind Gwen as DeVito’s fat head came through the unseen portal, followed by the rest of his whiskey keg-shaped body. Gwen bent down to scratch the bulldog behind the ears as, one by one, the rest of my bonded made their way through the portal.
Alysain stepped through the portal, followed by Jun, who was still maintaining her human form. They glanced at each other and with a smile, they both shot high into the air. In seconds, the two of them were soaring high above, stretching their wings to the multicolored sky.
Alysain landed next to me a few seconds later, panting as if she’d just run a marathon. I’d yet to see her this excited since I met her. “It’s just like it said in my book, but so much better! The air is light, and I’m able to fly much faster here. I can’t wait to see what else this place holds in store.”
A second later, a red and gray blur sped past my face and out of sight into the thick undergrowth around the trees. Isobel came bursting out of the bushes a second later, laughing. “I don’t know what it is, but I feel almost as if I’m a child again!”
I glanced around at my bonded and each of them were laughing and giggling as if they’d just taken a sip from the fountain of youth. Even Luna, the most serious of all of my bonded raced through the trees and straight into a river a short distance away, using her lamia form to navigate the rapids as Mitsi danced along the shoreline cheering her on.
Jun landed and her momentum carried her to a stop a short distance in front of me. “I’ve spent so much time here. I didn’t realize how badly I’d actually miss it here.” She turned and pointed toward a path which crossed the river where Luna was still splashing the cyclops. “If we follow this path, it will lead us down into the Valley of Jade. It is where my fairies and I spent hundreds of years living in peace and waiting for the right time to return.”
I walked a short distance up the path before stopping. “What sorts of danger await us as we make our way down this path?”
Jun smiled and fluttered up off the ground. “Dangers? None, in all the time that we lived here we...” Her voice cut off abruptly as she fell to the ground in a heap. She held her stomach and let out a pained cry. “Something’s wrong.” The words barely came out as she winced in agony.
I hurried over to her side and my bonded joined me. “What’s the matter, where’s it hurting?”
Jun rolled over onto her back and stared up at me with wide eyes. “Something has happened here. I feel it within me. The magic that we left behind is faltering.” She rolled onto her side and took several strained breaths. “My power, is draining.”
I met Mitsi’s eyes. “Please carry Jun until we can find a safe place to set up camp. She mentioned an area down this path.” I paused and looked at the others. “I want everyone to stay on guard. We need to move as a group.” I turned and fixed my gaze on Alysain. “I’ll have you scout from the air, but stay within view of the primary group.”
Most of my bonded had trained with each other, where they almost automatically fell into position. Shah and Cress took up defensive positions, and we pushed forward down the path. The excitement of arriving in the new world was quickly replaced by concern for the fairy queen.
Alysain lifted into the sky and circled above. “I can’t see anything from here. The trees are much too thick, although, it looks like there’s a clearing in the distance.”
“Hopefully, that’s the Valley of Jade. Keep an eye out from up there and let me know if you come across anything.” I closed my eyes and peered into the forest beyond the river.
I couldn’t make out anything except for dense foliage in all directions. I held everyone up at the river. “I want you all to stay here until I can ensure it is safe to move forward.” I turned to Isobel and nodded. “I could use your tracking skills. I want to be sure we’ll be safe as we make our way down this path.”
The wolf girl moved forward and nodded, her bushy tail whipped excitedly behind her. “I can definitely help with that. I’m much more in my element out here in the forest than in any magical towers.”
“You and me both.” I gave her a nod and we worked our way down the path, ensuring it was safe about every hundred feet before motioning for the others to follow. I spotted a track along the side of the path as it curved deeper into the forest. “Isobel. Any idea what could’ve made these tracks?”
Isobel stepped forward and crouched in front of me. “From the looks of it, it has to be at least as large as Master Teng.” She paused and placed her hand on the footprint. “Look how big the foot is.”
I crouched by her side, and Jun let out another wail of pain. Beads of sweat marked the fairy queen’s head.
Mitsi called out while we inspected the footprint. “We may need to hurry, she’s burning up.”
I held the back of my hand to Jun’s forehead and I could tell she was running a very high fever. I needed to get her somewhere we could tend to her or she’d be in huge trouble. She was already moving in and out of consciousness.
We continued down the path, moving as quickly as possible, working together as if we’d known each other our entire lives. Eventually, we came to the edge of the forest and a great open expanse appeared in front of us.
Dahlia glanced over at me as we stepped out of the cover of the thick evergreens. “The air here feels different.” She turned on one of her bare feet and dug it into the path. “The land has a different feel as well. Something has happened here recently that has changed the entire makeup of this land.”
I crouched and grabbed a handful of dirt. I let it fall through my grasp slowly. It felt as if it were sand, sapped of all moisture long ago. Luna slithered up next to me and glanced down at my hand. “I feel it too. Something’s drained the spirit from the land, it’s barren.”
Chapter Six
I stood and looked out at the open expanse. We were currently on a high cliff that overlooked a valley below. Several large birdlike creatures soared back and forth below, above the layer of trees covering the bottom of the canyon.
The way the sun, or star similar to the sun here in Alphos, shone on the leaves of the trees made it look like the aspens back home during the fall.
The leaves were a brilliant shade of bright orange and yellow and were hypnotic as they waved in the breeze. In the center of the valley, one tree stood higher than all the others. I knew that had to be the one that Jun had been talking about.
I held my hand to Jun’s head again and bent down by her ear. “Hold on, Bug, I think I see the place you were telling me about. We are going to get you help soon.”
There was no response from Jun, as she remained unconscious. We moved as fast as we could down a rocky path which wound its way toward the bottom of the voluminous canyon. Mitsi had trouble maintaining her footing because of the narrow path, but my bonded took turns to ensure she had support the entire way down.
Once we reached the bottom, I motioned for everyone to move back into position. From the looks of it, an attack had taken place recently.
Broken branches and strewn wood from battered structures littered the entire path leading into the trees. Without our resident Alphos expert, it was hard to know what may have caused the damage. There were no footprints to be found leading into the forest, which was more disconcerting than if there had been.
We continued forward, keeping watch as the light of day faded. As everything grew dark around us, we moved closer together.
Gwen held out an arm and pointed up at the trees. “Look! Up there.”
We all shifted our attention toward the high leafy tops of the trees. After a couple seconds of not being able to see anything, I used my Sight skill. Almost immediately, several figures lit up as if someone had injected them with neon.
I held the others back and stepped forward. I reached out and Isobel placed one of her well-crafted swords in my hand. “Hello, my name’s Logan, and we’re from Aurilon.” I waited several seconds for a response, but the figures moved quietly overhead as if afraid that any sudden movements would make them visible to everyone else.
“We don’t mean any of you harm. One of our group has fallen ill. We could use your help.” I closed my eyes and watched as the figures gathered together toward the top of the trees. After a few seconds, one of the tiny figures lowered down toward the ground. I waited until the light moved closer and gripped my sword tightly. “Will you help us?”
As if someone flipped on a light, several blue, violet, and emerald lights lit all around us. I hadn’t realized how long we’d actually been walking, but apparently it was far enough to make it to the center of the forest, as we stood in front of a massive tree. Its trunk had to be at least three times the size of the tree back at the Vale.
A fairy nearly identical to Jun, but with navy blue hair, appeared before me. “What is your business here?”
“Mitsi, please join me up here?” I asked. Mitsi moved forward with Jun cradled in her arms.
The fairy gasped and shifted her eyes between Jun and me. “What... happened to her?”
“If you’re talking about her size, that’s from a potion, and we’re not sure why it hasn’t worn off yet. That’s not the issue, though. She seemed fine when we crossed through the portal from Aurilon, but then she was in excruciating pain and passed out. She’s been like this nearly our entire trip here.”
“Follow me. I’ll take you to our healer.” She paused and inspected me up and down. “I think our tree will withstand your weight. Please use caution and excuse the mess. Things around here have been unusual lately.”
I had Mitsi place Jun in my arms and I followed the fairy toward the tree. As we approached, a curving staircase appeared that seemed to extend straight out of the trunk.
I turned back to my bonded before stepping onto the bottom stair. “Please stay together and don’t wander off. Shah, Cress, please set up a perimeter. Mitsi, Alysain, please stay on guard.” They nodded and everyone moved into position near the base of the tree.
Gwen hurried over and ran a hand down along my face. “Even though we may be pregnant, we can still protect ourselves.”
I stopped and stared into Gwen’s eyes. “I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that you can defend yourselves. For now, that’s an unnecessary risk that I’m unwilling to take.” I leaned forward and kissed her soft lips. “I want to make sure you conserve as much energy as possible. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”
Gwen pushed her newly engorged breasts up toward my face and gave me a smile. “I’m going to need it?” She leaned forward, closer to my ear, pushing her amazing chest up against my arm. “Please hurry.”
After winding around the tree for what seemed an eternity, we arrived at a large platform. Small huts, big enough for only three or four fairies, stretched in every direction. Most of the small houses had damage in some form or fashion. It looked like something had tried to forcefully remove its occupants.
I peered inside one of the small huts and turned to the fairy. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”
The red-headed fairy landed on my shoulder and glanced down at Jun. “My name is Mia. I’m Jun’s sister.”
I turned my head in Mia’s direction. “Her sister? Why didn’t you say so?”
“I didn’t quite believe you when you arrived, but I can see now that you are telling the truth. I can feel your core, but I needed to get you away from the others to be sure. You have a pure core. Do you know how rare that is?”
