Rise of the Irroyn

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I hit the ground rolling. Dirt sprayed into the air in all directions, but the fact that my outfit was totally ruined didn’t bother me nearly as much as the fact that I was in one piece. Either Drew was telling the truth or I was dreaming. I was sincerely hoping for the latter one. The grass was pulled up in a ten foot line from where I have originally landed. The landscaping needed work. Thankfully I was alive.

Drew appeared next to me a few seconds later, softly landing like a cat on his legs. I rolled my eyes. The first training I got and I wasn’t even good at it, go figure. I stood, brushing myself off. Showers of grass and dirt fell to the ground. Oh well, at least I had some camouflage now. Drew waited patiently until I was finished before grabbing my hand and silently gliding around the tower we had just jumped from towards the sea I had seen earlier. The longer we walked, the better I became at mimicking Drew’s movements. Once I even tricked my escort into thinking I had left because I was so quiet, but all he had to do was look down at me and smile, which he did quite often, in fact.

Before we reached the beach, we stumbled upon the forest. He laughed mischievously before sprinting toward the center. He was off like a sprinter, going faster than I thought humanely possible. I started running after him, hoping in vain to catch a glimpse of him through the trees. I did more than that though, running only a few feet behind him, and going faster than any other athlete I had seen. I think I had a personal best in the four hundred meters. I looked down at my feet and was astonished that I couldn’t see them. Drew stopped suddenly, sending me almost headlong into a tree. His arm snaked out and grabbed me about the waist to catch me mere seconds before impact. My eyes widened, that was way too close. I wasn’t going to be looking at my feet anymore.

Before I could even notice that I wasn’t breathing hard after a run like that he pointed to a gazebo hidden behind a huge weeping willow tree. “We’re here,” he said. “Fey trained here for generations, now it’s just a spot for midnight trysts. Don’t worry though, a friend of mine charmed the forest so only we can get in,” he added. Drew was facing the tree, not looking at me. When he did turn his eyes were the most startling color of green. They caught me off guard, and I didn’t say anything as he led me father into the meadow with the gazebo.

The gazebo was bigger than I had expected it to be. It looked to be the size of gym, except it was round instead of the usual rectangle. Steps led up to a set of heavy oak doors covered with runes that I could only imagine the meaning to. Windows could be seen to go all the way around the building. As I later found out, curtains cover them to reduce the heat inside. That was why it looked so much like an open building. The curtains billowed in the sea salt air that still penetrated the dark canopy of the forest, and at that moment I realized why trysts were held here. The whole structure was made of a dark wood, with dancing red curtains and roses planted around the perimeter of the building. Drew caught me staring and sighed.

“It’s beautiful,” I said more to myself than him.

“Good,” he answered, “cause it will be your new home until you can control yourself.” I knew what he really meant, until I could act human again.

“Mind if we go inside?” I asked eagerly, wanting to change the subject and inpatient to continue the tour.

He chuckled nervously, “Be my guest,” and held open the door for me. Inside was vast. Most of the ceiling was vaulted except for a section which looked like a loft. The floor was made of different materials in different parts of the room. Right now I stood on a regular old gym floor. As Drew showed me to the loft we passed over foam mats, and the springy floor gymnasts use. At the far end of the room a ladder hung down next to two sets of double doors.