Isle of the Faeries

Into the Forest

This chapter is a pretty long one but we're in the final stretch now, hope you enjoy!

Breena

      I gasp and go to lunge for it, not exactly sure what I am going to do but feeling as if I have to do something. Kean catches me around the waist and holds me back, "There's nothing you can do," he murmurs in my ear. I fight him for a moment before slumping back against him watching as my whole life goes up in flames.

      He lets go of me and holds the little slip of paper up to the fire light and suddenly it is not blank, it is covered in flaming scrawl. His jaw clenches in anger and he crumples the paper in his fist. "I know where your sister is," he says with barely contained rage.

      I look up at him but his face wavers and swims and I realize my eyes are full of tears. I blink to clear my vision letting them run down my cheeks. Kean's face is sharp and hard almost inhuman in the flickering glow of the firelight. "Where is she?"

      His jaw tightens "She's on one of the islands," he says, "Northern Point Island."

      My stomach drops further, "Why would she be there?"

      "She got mixed up with the wrong Sidhe."

Kean

      Breena's face is pale, pinched and streaked with soot and tears as she looks up at me waiting for an explanation. And she deserves one, she deserves to know why her sister is missing, why her house is currently in flames, why her life is falling apart. She deserves to know it is my fault. But I can't bring myself to tell her, I don't want to see her face when she finds out that I caused this. I am a coward.

      I pull her behind me to Allard's truck. There is nothing we can do for her house and her barn is far enough from the house that it should be alright but we can try to do something for her sister. In fact I'm pretty sure that Ciná won't do anything to her until Breena and I show up; we are going to be walking right into a trap but what else can we do.

      I usher her into the truck and jumped in behind the wheel. She is silent as I explain what I can to her, I figure I should at least tell her a bit about what we're up against before we dive in headfirst. I tell her about Ciná; what he is and what he can do and I tell her what I know about Northern Point Island; which isn't much. The truck bumps and jerks on the dark, dirt road as I head to the north; if I am right there will be a small boat on Pebble cove waiting for us.

      In the glow of the headlights I can see strange elongated shadows of Sidhe running in the high grass but I don't have time to even look into what they are doing.

      We reach the North Cliff in record time. Outside the truck the wind off the water whips viciously battering our cheeks and tangling Breena's curls. "We have to get down to the beach," I tell her.

      She nods, "How do we get down?"

      I motion for her to follow and lead her to the small path carved into the face of the cliff that leads down to Pebble Cove. On a calm summer day the path is dangerous which is part of the reason people rarely visit the cove but on a windy autumn night the path is downright treacherous. But we don't have a choice if we're going to get to her sister. "We have to climb down."

      Her lips press tightly together but she just nods determination etched deep in the lines of her face.

      I start down first. The ledge is narrow and the wind is brutal, the best way to get down without getting blown off the edge is to walk sideways facing the cliff way so you can use it for a hand hold. Breena follows my lead creeping along after me. Progress is slow and exhausting but desperation pushes us to move faster than should be possible and we reach the bottom recklessly fast.