PART SIX: GROWING BIGGER

It wasn’t long before Jonathan began to think that maybe Kelviana was right about the newest addition to their little group. Aella was nothing if not energetic. She was like a little whirlwind, constantly moving from one distraction to the next, never lingering for long and always leaving a mess of destruction behind her. It had been about an hour since Kelviana woke up, and after her magic recovered a bit she used some to help speed along her healing. Jonathan passed out some nutrition bars from the bug-out box and they all ate a filling, though less-than-satisfying meal. Aella ate half a bar of her own and was the only one who declared her meal to be delicious. Kelviana ate hers without comment. Tyler had still not returned, and Jonathan began to worry about him a little. Zoe managed to find a hairbrush in the bottom of one of the long-forgotten boxes and combed out the worst of her tangles before offering it to Kelviana which the fey gratefully accepted. Unfortunately, Aella had decided that it would be a fun game to wait until just before Kelviana was done brushing, then zoom in and mess it up all over again.

“I can’t really blame her,” Kelviana said wearily as she tried to brush her hair for the third time. “It’s in a sylph’s nature to be chaotic,” she said with a sigh as she tugged at a stubborn tangle. “They’re wind elementals, after all.”

“What about fey?” asked Zoe, who had sat down cross-legged on the floor to watch the contest between the sylph and fey. “Are you… umm… elemental too?”

Kelviana nodded and finally broke the tangle free. She swatted Aella away as the sylph tried to dart in and undo her victory. “All nymphs are. Fey are forest nymphs – specifically associated with herbs and flowers. Dryads are forest nymphs as well – but you’re associated with trees.”

“Not me,” Zoe grumbled. Kelviana arched an eyebrow but did not respond. “So,” said Zoe, perking back up like she hadn’t said anything. “Do you like, make plants grow and such? Like on TV?”

Kelviana laughed, then coughed. She was recovering far more quickly than Jonathan would have expected, but she still said that it would be at least another day or two before she could fly again. “Hardly. That’s fairy tale fluff. Nature doesn’t need our help. More like it helps us. New fey are born in flower buds, and we get our magic from the forest, but that’s about as deep as our connection goes.”

“Wait,” said Jonathan. “You’re born in a flower? So you don’t like… you know… have babies the normal way?”

“That is the normal way,” said Kelviana. She finally managed to keep Aella away long enough to start braiding her hair. “What? You mean like humans do?” She shuddered. “That’s just gross if you ask me.”

“What about…?” Zoe started to say before trailing off, looking rather uncomfortable.

“Dryads?” asked Kelviana, not unkindly. Zoe nodded, looking away. “Dryads are an odd bunch,” said Kelviana, absently twisting some red hair near the top of her head into an intricate braid. Jonathan always wondered how girls could manage to do that without being able to see what they were doing. He still had to look at his shoelaces when tying his shoes. “There’s about as many ways to make a new dryad as there are trees in the forest. The most common one is the hamadryad. Their life force is tied to a specific tree. They’re born with it, and die with it.”

“I’m not…” Zoe started to say, looking pale.

“No, you’re not one of them,” said Kelviana. “Your ancestor was most likely one of the old dryads, maybe even one of the Meliae. That would explain why your magic is so powerful. They’re true immortals, and some of the strongest nymphs out there. They’ve always been more free-spirited than most of the younger dryads. Most dryads tend to be shy and stick close to the trees, even if they aren’t bound to one in particular. Even us fey rarely see them, and we’re their closest cousins. They never get involved with anything outside the forest. They didn’t even put up a fight when Acrimony started cutting down the forest to make his war machines – though we could hear them mourning their lost sisters.” Kelviana’s face fell at that, and Jonathan felt something clench up in his stomach. “Anyway,” said Kelviana, perking back up slightly and continuing with her braiding. “That was ages ago and the Darkwood clan put a stop to that right quick.” She braided the last bit of her hair and Zoe handed her an elastic hair band. “I do like these things,” she remarked, twisting it into place and then looking up at Zoe. “Want me to do yours?” Zoe shook her head with a frown and Kelviana shrugged. “Anyway, I wonder who your ancestor was,” she mused as she tossed the long braid behind her back and between her wings. “Do you have any ideas?”

Zoe and Jonathan both shook their heads. “You said it was only a generation or two back, right?” asked Jonathan.

“Most likely. Her magic is too strong for it to be any further – OW!” she cried as her head was yanked back. “Stop that, you little menace!” she yelled as she pulled her hair away from Aella’s grasp.

“You guys are boring,” said the sylph with a pout. “And I saw some Stormclouds coming this way. I thought you might want to run away.”

“That was faster than I expected,” said Kelviana, her face suddenly turning grim. “Is Chrysanthemum with them?”

“That dark fey who likes hexes?” asked Aella. Kelviana nodded and tried to stand up. She was still very weak and Jonathan had to steady her with his arm. Her dust was starting to glow enough to see faintly, though, so that was a good sign in his opinion. “Didn’t see her,” said Aella. “Just a few Stormclouds. Oh, and a Tempest.”

Kelviana muttered something under her breath. Jonathan couldn’t quite make it out, but it sounded like another language and made the musical quality of her voice stand out more than usual. “That was pretty,” said Zoe. “What was it?”

“Maybe I’ll tell you when you’re older, kid. Needless to say, if the Tempests are back, then that means the situation is rapidly deteriorating. We need to get back to the Darkwood as soon as possible. I had hoped to keep you all away from the Seelie Court, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Sorry.” She let go of Jonathan’s arm and took a few tentative steps forward, her stride getting stronger and more confident with each step. “On the plus side, I’d say you kids have officially annoyed Acrimony if he’s sending a Tempest after you. Congratulations on joining the big leagues,” she said, looking back at them with a smirk. “Now, we should go get your friend and then get out of here.” She looked out the open garage door and sighed. “I wish he hadn’t taken off like that. You guys do that a lot, you know?”

“His house isn’t far from here,” said Zoe. “That’s where he said he was going.”

“Which way?” Kelviana asked and Zoe pointed to the left. Kelviana turned to Aella. “And where are the Stormclouds?”

Aella zipped over to the right, in the same direction as the bike park. “Over there,” she said. “A few blocks away still. The Tempest is flying around all over the place though. It’s disturbing the clouds.”

“Can you distract it until we get out of the Wastelands?” asked Kelviana. “Annoy it so much that it doesn’t notice us?” Aella giggled and gave an over-exaggerated salute before zipping up into the sky. “Huh,” said Kelviana as she watched the sylph fly off. “Maybe she’ll be useful after all.”

“What’s a Tempest?” asked Jonathan as they began walking towards Tyler’s house.

“Remember the Hurricane?”

“Kinda hard to forget,” said Jonathan as memories of fire and pain crept into his head.

“Picture one with massive teeth, razor-sharp talons, and a wingspan of a city block, then give it a temper that makes a Hurricane look like a teddy bear.”

“And you sent Aella off to face one alone?” asked Zoe, looking horrified.

“Have you ever tried catching the wind?” asked Kelviana. “A sylph is even harder to catch and nearly impossible to kill. They’re ridiculously tough little buggers and their magic is very strong, if somewhat limited in its application. She’ll be fine. It’s us I’m worried about.” She stopped next to a small garden bed filled with little blue flowers. She plucked several and tucked them into the braids on either side of her head. “That’s better,” she said, satisfied, then turned to Zoe. “Want a few?”

Zoe scowled and shook her head. Jonathan repressed a chuckle at the thought of his sister with flowers in her hair. “Not my style, thanks,” she said.

Kelviana shrugged. “To each her own, I guess. You’re really quite pretty though. You should show it off.”

“You’re starting to sound like my mom,” said Zoe with a little huff. “She’s always on my case about my hair or what I’m wearing.”

“Well, you’ve got the grunge look down, that’s for sure,” said Kelviana as she started walking again. “Your mother’s got more dryad in her than you do. Of course she’s gonna want you to look nice. It’s what dryads do. Sylph cause chaos, dryads make stuff pretty, it’s the natural order of things.”

“And what do fey do?” asked Zoe with a pointed look at Kelviana.

“We meddle,” she replied with a grin.

“Shouldn’t we be a bit more concerned about those Stormclouds?” asked Jonathan, looking behind him. He half expected to see one bearing down on them, tendrils stretching out to grab him.

“Your sister and I can handle a couple of Stormclouds, don’t worry about them,” said Kelviana with a dismissive wave. “Though I am a bit concerned about that –” An earsplitting scream pierced the sky above them and they all three ducked instinctively. Jonathan looked up and saw a massive black shadow burst out of the clouds above them. It looked like a dragon, with huge bat-like wings that seemed to cover half the sky and a head with glowing red eyes and a long, pointed snout. The neck was shorter than Jonathan would have expected for a dragon, and its legs looked a bit more like chicken feet than a lizard’s. Its body seemed more solid than a Stormcloud’s but it was still hazy and undefined around the edges, with whisps of smoke trailing behind it as it banked and flew past them far more closely than Jonathan was comfortable with. Its long tail moved and coiled about just like a Stormcloud’s tendrils, nearly hitting the roof of the house they were next to. Its head was snapping back and forth as if trying to snatch something from the sky — something very small and annoying, he figured. “That would be the Tempest,” said Kelviana. Her voice was bright and almost cheerful, but her eyes echoed fear. “And it looks like our little sylph friend is keeping up her end of the bargain. We should get going.”

“That’s a dragon…” said Zoe, her voice trembling.

“It’s a Tempest,” Kelvina corrected, her face turning hard as stone. “Those things are responsible for most of the losses we’ve suffered over the centuries. Acrimony designed them specifically to be good at hunting and killing fey. We call them ‘ring makers,’ and if he’s creating them again it will not win you any fans on the Seelie Court.”

“But that’s not fair,” said Zoe. “None of this is our fault.”

“Fairness and logic rarely have a place at the Seelie Court,” said Kelviana grimly. “They don’t listen to reason. It’s why I gave up my seat on it.” The sky above them suddenly lit up with an orange glow. Jonathan ducked again and looked up. A huge line of fire was coming from the Tempest's mouth as it swept the sky, clearly trying to catch Aella in the flames. Jonathan decided right then that he didn’t care what Kelviana called it. That thing was a dragon. “Let’s move,” she said, a bit more urgently than she had been a few moments earlier. “My shield can’t protect us against tempestfire right now.”

“But what about Aella?” asked Zoe, still watching the last of the fire burn out above them. The Tempest flew off, still snapping its jaws at the air. He probably imagined it, but Jonathan thought he heard a small giggle just before a strong gust of wind blew the Tempest off-course, making it scream in rage.

“Sylph are stupid tough, remember?” Kelviana said as she began walking down the street at a brisk pace. “It’ll take more than a little tempestfire to take one of them out. She’d probably just laugh it off and thank the Tempest for taking the chill out of the air.”

“Sounds like they’d be valuable allies in the fight against Acrimony,” said Jonathan as he scrambled to catch up with her. She was really moving now.

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“Yeah, they would. Problem is, since very little can hurt them and almost nothing that happens in the world directly affects them, everything just becomes a game to them. Aella’s helping us today. Tomorrow?” she shrugged. “Who knows? She might decide that it’s boring and fly off to bug someone else. They’re completely unreliable.”

“That’s too bad,” said Zoe.

“Yeah, it is,” said Kelviana, glancing up at the sky. “It was a lesson we learned early on in the war, at great cost to our side.”

They rounded a corner at the end of the block and stopped dead in their tracks. The entire street ahead of them was blocked with Stormclouds. Jonathan turned to run but froze when he saw another group of Stormclouds filling the street behind them. They were trapped. Kelviana muttered something in her own musical language and drew her sword. At least now Jonathan could tell that it was glowing. The dust around her began to shine brighter, though it was still faint. Zoe’s hands lit up and Jonathan suddenly felt very, very useless.

Kelviana reached up and plucked one of the flowers from her hair. It instantly wilted in her hand and her magic dust flared even brighter. Jonathan stared and Zoe’s eyes widened. “You didn’t think they were only for decoration, did you?” Kelviana asked. “I told you, we get our magic from the forest. I always keep some on me when I’m away. These won’t last long though. Flowers from the Wasteland are weak.” She looked at the blockade of Stormclouds and her face hardened. “Your sister and I will clear a path and hold them off. You run and grab the boy. Make for the edge of town. We’ll catch up.”

“I’m not leaving you,” said Jonathan, steeling himself for the fight. This was going to hurt. Again. And he wasn’t looking forward to it.

“This isn’t up for debate, kid,” said Kelviana. “I’m not questioning your bravery, but you know as well as I do that you’re more of a liability in these fights than a help. Not your fault, but it's true. Now, think rationally and do something that you can do. Get your friend out of the Wastelands safely. I’ll watch your sister. Trust me.”

“Why didn’t you stop me last time?”

“If I remember right, I tried, but I was half-dead and didn’t have much choice. This time I do, now go on.”

Jonathan turned to Zoe hoping to get her support but he immediately saw by the look of pity in her eyes that she agreed with Kelviana. His heart sank into his feet. “Fine,” he mumbled, turning back towards Tyler’s house.

“John…” Zoe started to say.

“Just open a path for me, okay?” he snapped, not turning to look at her. Tears blurred his vision and he angrily blinked them away, forcing himself to focus on his task. The house was still over a block away, and there were at least a hundred Stormclouds between him and it. He crouched down, getting ready to sprint like he never had before.

“Good boy,” Kelviana said gently. The tone of her voice made his heart sink even lower. It sounded like a mother speaking to a little child. Maybe he was just a useless tag-along after all. The army of Stormclouds let out an ear-piercing scream that sent a chill down his spine as they began their charge. He started running.

Instantly Jonathan felt the now familiar sensation of something rushing past him and the wall of Stormclouds before them parted as the smoke creatures were blown screaming with rage in every direction, though only a few of them dissolved away into nothingness. Jonathan didn’t wait to see if the path was clear yet but just kept running, his eyes squinting and focused on nothing but what was immediately in front of him. Green dust flew past him in waves, and he ran through several dark clouds of harmless smoke. The world became nothing but red eyes, green dust, dark smoke, and nightmarish screams of rage all around him. Searing pain slashed his back, but he kept running. Something hot brushed his shoulder, his face, and his legs, but he kept running. A huge black shadow loomed before him, red eyes fixed on him, but he kept running. There was a green flash and the shadow dissolved away into dark mist. He kept running. All he saw, all he remembered, was the look of pity Zoe had given him. All he knew was that – once again – Zoe was the one rescuing him. Once again, they were in trouble because of her and she was the one who was fighting to get them out while he was stuck as a passenger. Along for the ride, but not contributing anything.

And then he was clear. The dark clouds parted before him and the screams died away. He slowed his run and turned and realized that he was already half a block away from the raging battle. A blue flash came from somewhere in the middle of the roiling cloud of dark smoke and a dozen more Stormclouds went flying into the air. Flashes of green and blue lit up the cloud in several places, flickering about like some sort of morbid Halloween dance party. For one mad moment he almost ran back to help, but he knew Kelviana and Zoe were right. All he would do was get himself burned and then have to be rescued by everyone else. This was not a fight he could help with. And he hated it.

With great effort, he turned his back on the fight and scanned the street for Tyler’s house. He did not go there often and had to take a moment to remember which one was his. It turned out that it wasn’t hard to find. It was the one that the Tempest was rushing straight for. Aella appeared next to him looking contrite. “Sorry,” she said. “It lost interest in me as soon as the fighting started.”

“Ty!” he screamed as he began sprinting to Tyler’s house. “Get out of there!” The Tempest opened its mouth and the world around Jonathan seemed to slow down as everything happened all at once. He saw a glow coming from the back of the Tempest’s throat at the same time as Aella dashed out in front of him. Fire erupted from the monster’s mouth, furiously crashing into the roof of Tyler’s house. Aella pushed her hands out in front of her as the house exploded in a deafening eruption of wood and fire as if, somehow, she could stop it all by herself. The houses on either side of Tyler’s splintered into tiny bits and he threw his hands up as a crushing wall of heat and debris rushed towards them. The wave of fire smashed into an invisible wall just in front of Aella and pushed violently past them both. The noise was so loud he couldn’t even hear himself screaming Tyler’s name. The Tempest spread its wings wide and pulled up just before it would have crashed into the now-destroyed house, passing over their heads with what felt like only inches to spare. It beat its wings a few times and the rush of wind threatened to push Jonathan to the ground. Smoke and fire swirled about in its wake and with a few more beats of its great wings the beast was gone again almost as quickly as it had appeared.

“Ty!” Jonathan screamed again, suddenly able to hear himself despite the ringing in his ears. “Tyler!” He forced his legs to start moving and ran as fast as he could over the smoldering remains of the neighborhood. The destruction was unimaginable. Every house on the block had been completely flattened. It reminded him of the photos of warzones he had seen in school textbooks and news websites. If only one breath had caused all this it was no wonder that even Kelviana was afraid of these monsters. How could anyone fight against such power?

Aella flew alongside him, looking worried. “Run away, silly,” she said. “That’s what you should be doing.”

“I need to find my friend first,” he said, his heart pounding. He had to fight the urge not to look back, afraid that he would see the Tempest returning with its massive jaws opening wide again. “Keep a watch for that thing and let me know if it comes back,” said Jonathan as he continued stumbling towards the decimated ruins of Tyler’s house.

Aella saluted and turned away. She returned only a few moments later. “It’s coming back,” she said, pointing at the sky.

A dark shadow covered the ground and Jonathan’s legs failed him once more. He stumbled and fell, his hands and knees slamming into the debris-strewn ground. Something sharp poked him in the palm of his left hand and his right wrist twisted painfully. He fell the rest of the way to the ground, landing hard on his shoulder and rolling to the side. He found himself looking up into the jaws of death. The entire sky above him was filled with nothing but the Tempest and its mouth was open and glowing with fire. Someone shouted his name, but he couldn’t tell who it was. He felt a moment of regret for his frustration with his sister and another pang of regret that he would never have the chance to tell her he was sorry about it.

The Tempest let out an ear-splitting scream and Jonathan closed his eyes against his impending doom. There was a rush of heat and wind and then… nothing. He opened his eyes and saw that the Tempest had flown past him and was focusing its attention a short ways off, towards the edge of the neighborhood where the houses were bigger and more spread out. Green bursts of dust slammed into it from all sides and it let out another scream, whipping its head back and forth as if it didn’t know where it needed to look. It opened its mouth and fire poured from it in waves, blanketing the land all around with flame. A wall of green dust rose from the ground nearby and smothered the flames, extinguishing them instantly. Arrows and spears – all glowing green and far larger than Jonathan would have expected –flew up from the ground, their source obscured from Jonathan’s vision by the surrounding landscape, and rained back down on the beast. Most of them bounced off its side, but some stuck fast, only enraging it even more. It opened its mouth to rain fire once again but this time a blanket of green dust wrapped itself around its muzzle, clamping its jaws shut. The Tempest thrashed against the bond, but it held fast and the monster flew off in a rage as arrows and spears continued to rain down on it.

“John!” Zoe cried, running up to him. She threw herself down and landed on top of him in a heap. “You’re alive!”

“Barely,” he said, coughing. He pushed her aside and sat up. His left palm was bleeding where a sharp splinter of wood had punctured it and his right wrist hurt, but otherwise he seemed to be uninjured. “You won your fight, I take it?”

Zoe nodded. “Kelviana’s really something else, I have to admit. I’d love to see her at full strength. How did you manage to survive that blast?”

“Aella saved me,” he said, looking around. He didn’t see the little sylph anywhere. “Where is she? I didn’t get to say thanks.”

“She flew off to see what was going on over there,” said Kelviana, who had followed Zoe at a more dignified pace. Her hair looked like it needed another brushing and there were no flowers left in it. She pointed to where the commotion that had distracted the Tempest – and saved his life – had come from. “I would definitely say it’s a safe bet that Acrimony’s irritated with you. That Tempest meant business.”

“I thought he wanted us alive…” Jonathan started saying, then he remembered about Tyler. “Tyler!” he cried, jumping up and trying to run towards the remains of the house but Kelviana stopped him with a small wall of blue dust. He wheeled about to yell at her but stopped at the look of sorrow on her face. She slowly shook her head.

“It’s hopeless, kid. Look around. What do you think you’d find? Acrimony only needs one of you, and I think it’s pretty clear he wants your sister. You boys are loose ends that would only complicate matters — which you’ve done a fine job of so far, I gotta admit.”

“But…” Jonathan started to say. He didn’t know what he wanted to say, just that he needed to say something, anything that would make Tyler be okay, but of course that was foolishness, and he knew it. He looked over at Zoe. She was trying to keep a stern face, but there were tears in her eyes as she surveyed the debris. A rustling sound came from behind and Jonathan turned, ready for another fight, but stopped cold when he saw what was approaching.

He instantly recognized it as a centaur — and that shouldn’t have surprised him, yet somehow it did. He was huge — his head stood at least nine feet tall, maybe more — and he was shirtless and extremely well-muscled. His skin was a light brown shade and crisscrossed with scars. He seemed older than most of the people Jonathan had met in the Fey Realm so far, with rough and well-worn skin and a sharp, intense face. His beard was long and braided, as was his gray hair which still had some bits of dark peppered about in it. He had a large, round shield slung across his back, and a shining brass helmet with a large red plume of stiff-looking hair cresting it cradled under one arm. In his other hand he held a massive longbow, and a quiver was slung along one flank of his horse’s body. Only a few arrows remained and Jonathan could clearly see that they were much larger than any arrow he had ever shot at Scout camp.

His horse’s body was covered in thick reddish-brown hair and his hoofs were covered by long, fluffy, white hair that reached the ground. His tail was also white and braided in a similar fashion as his beard and hair. Jonathan was reminded of the working horses he would see on farms, pulling heavy loads. Half a dozen more centaurs came up behind him. They were all men and just as well-muscled as their leader. They wore their hair long and braided their tails, a few had shaved the sides of their heads and wore mohawks while a few others still wore the same sort of helmet their leader carried under his arm. Some of their beards were not long enough to braid yet, though they all had braids down their backs. Their skin came in many different shades that Jonathan could not place with any particular ethnicity and their horse bodies varied just as dramatically. One was speckled like a Mustang, while another was sleek and black like a racing stallion, and yet another was small and nimble-looking with yellow hair. They all looked hard and dangerous, though. Several of them had just as many scars on their bodies as their leader. A few held spears that must have been ten feet long and they all carried longbows and shields with designs on them as varied as their bodies.

“General Kelviana,” the lead centaur said, bowing slightly at the waist. His voice was just as deep and grave as Jonathan expected it would be. Zoe stared, wide-eyed, and her gaze kept drifting down to his lower horse’s half. “I did not expect to find you here, though given the state of affairs, I cannot say I am surprised to find you in the thick of it.”

“I could say the same, Captain Thane,” Kelviana said with a nod of her head. Jonathan looked at her and mouthed, ‘General?’ She smiled, very slightly. “Though your timing was most fortuitous indeed. What brings you to the Wastelands?”

“Fate, it would seem.” He turned his gaze on Jonathan. “Fear not, young Cousin. It was brave of you to try and help your friend despite the Tempest’s presence, but you need not have worried. The human colt is safe. We removed him from the structure before our enemies arrived, though he did not come easily. That one has the heart of a warrior.” He rubbed a small red welt on his shoulder that Jonathan had not noticed before. “The hamadryads are watching over him as we speak.” Jonathan breathed out a huge sigh of relief and beside him Zoe covered her mouth and sobbed with joy. When he saw Tyler next, he would have to hug him, just before he killed him for putting them through all that.

“You have dryads with you?” asked Kelviana with raised eyebrows. “I feel like there’s a story here.”

“Indeed, General,” said Thane with another bow. “I notice you are afoot and seem to have very little magic remaining. I’m certain you have a story of your own. We were sent to retrieve the foals and bring them to the Grove. You are most welcome to join us and recover in peace.”

Kelviana’s eyes narrowed and her posture stiffened slightly. “I’m afraid that will be difficult since I am taking them to the Darkwood.”

“Forgive me, General, but I must insist that they come with me. I am acting on a higher order than the Seelie Court today.”

“My mother would call you a traitor if she heard you say that,” said Kelviana with a slight growl.

“Your mother is of little concern to us, General. We have always followed a higher authority.”

“Daphne has not ruled in the Grove for more than forty years.”

“She does yet again,” said the gruff old centaur. He looked down on Jonathan and Zoe with a level of reverence that surprised Jonathan. “Last night she awoke and now very much desires to meet her grandchildren for the first time.”

END OF PART SIX