Beyond the Roselands

Chapter 8

   I leapt up and smiled brightly. "You did?"

   She nodded. "Yes. Faerys are known for being extremely arrogant and cocky. They barely know this weakness themselves because they think it's so safe. Faerys will die at the mere touch of a black rose petal."

   I paused. "A black rose? Where do you find a black rose?"

   She chuckled and gestured me to the hallway. "Come with me."

   I followed her and she led me down to the back of the house where I hadn't gone. It was a small screened in porch that held the majority of the plants which had grown to extreme size.  Fenced off from the rest of the plants was a solid black rose. It's petals gleamed like beetle wings and it had a blood red stem and leaves.

   She smiled and touched it tenderly. It actually moved with her hands despite her transparent qualities. "Black roses of this kind can only be spawned by extreme amounts of black magic. Therefore they respond to magic as well. Because I was killed by Faery magic, my spirit became restless and I wander this house simply tending to this poor little rose that never seemed to have a purpose. It's a good thing they're magic because I couldn't lift a watering can to water it. It doesn't need water or sun and as far as I know they won't wither when you cut it from its roots. The roots, once severed from the plants, turned a sort of goldish color and can be used as unbelievable healing potions that can heal any ailment and even revive a recently deceased person."

   I admired the little plant and touched it. Once it touched my fingers, it suddenly twitched and its petals seemed to stroke my hand. "What the…?"

   The woman laughed and glanced at me. "It likes you. Black roses are said to have a spirit unlike any other. As if a human were living in it."

   I smiled and stroked its stem and leaves which were warm and soft to the touch. Unlike everything else in this house, it seemed to absorb magic instead of give it off. "Does it absorb magic?"

   "Yes. Good observation. It acts as a sort of sponge to magic. Once magic goes in, it can't be released unless used for a good purpose. Such as the death of a Faery."

   I nodded and then sighed. "I suppose I have to take this. I hate taking it he  peoples things, but I really need this." "No no no! Please take it an  get me the revenge I so desperately need. Actually. May I please tag along with you. I won't be a bother. It's just been ages since I've actually gotten to speak to someone who didn't run in fear or try to attack me. That and I want apologize to Sprite for everything."

   I nodded and licked up the rose. "Sure thing. But van I get your name?"

   She laughed and flew around me quickly. "It's Emera. And yours?"

   "Zeek. And against prior belief I'm not full Zytrey. I'm a Zytrey human hybrid."

   She nodded and we made our way out of the house. Suddenly a realization dawned on me. "Wait! Avery complained that me sleeping with Sprite was what he despised. Why would he force you to sell her to men like that?"

   Emera spun around and shook her head. "No. He believed that conceiving with Sprite was wrong. Every time a man would sleep with her, Avery wiuld always send a spell from a distance and automatically cleanse her. When you conceived with her, his guard was down and he didn't get to do it in time."

   I nodded and sighed. "I see."

   Before we could go at further, we heard a yell from the woods surrounding us. "Hey! It's the beast who killed Mason!"

   I gasped and looked around, spotting a herd of angry villagers coming after me. I held tightly to the rose and bow in my hands and leapt into the air, the quiver of arrows on my back as well. Emera followed me upwards into the sky and smiled brightly. "It's been forever since I've been out of that house. I didn't dare with all the villagers. I didn't want to worry anyone that a ghost lived near them."

   I shook my head angrily. "I'm sick of these people. They greeted me with arrows and hatred and I killed one because he was making fun of Sprite and how she'd been forced into all that mess and just…"

   I had to pause and hover in place for a moment, clasping my hands over my head. "I never counted on this happening."

   A tear slid from my eye and dropped before I could catch it. I gasped and looked down. It had landed on a tree far below. How could I tell? The small red glow from where it came from.