Feyland: The Dark Realm

Chapter Twenty-Nine

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 It took the rest of the weekend to find them a bolt hole that wasn’t dangerously deep into the Exe, but far enough that the system would give up looking. Their hiding place was a low-slung building open on two sides, but there was a corner that was dry and out of the wind. Yeah, it was sketchy, and Tam knew it, but he couldn’t find anything better. There was some rank, weird smell coming from further down the block, and at some point rodents had taken over the building, but they were long gone now.

The hardest thing wasn’t getting their stuff there, or rigging up a couple of low-tech alarms - wires and cans filled with rocks - it was getting the Bug to keep his voice down. He was excited about their adventure.

“I want to show Mom our fort when she comes home,” Peter said from his makeshift bedroll, his voice rising. “Do you think she would let us build a fire? Hey, Tam—”

“Sh. It’s time you were asleep.”

“But we’re on holiday, you said so. I don’t have to sleep because I’m not going to school tomorrow. Can we go someplace fun? What about the park with the fountain, or the—”

“Peter, shush. We’ll talk about that tomorrow.” Another marshmallow would shut the Bug up, but it would only be a temporary fix. The sugar would keep him up even later. Tam let out his breath in a low sigh. “I’ll take you someplace fun, but only if you stop talking.”

“Ok.”

His brother lay still for a half-second. He pulled in a breath, like he was about to say something, then stopped - remembering just in time that he was supposed to be quiet. Then he started wiggling again.  His feet swished back and forth under his blankets, moving like wings.

Tam snapped off the thin beam of his flashlight. It was better if they were in complete darkness, anyway. Nothing to give them away. He scooted down in his sleeping-bag, then slipped his hand under his pillow. The cool plas-handle of their longest kitchen knife was comforting against his fingers. Not the best weapon, but at least they weren’t totally unarmed.

Would his sword materialize if he needed it, the way Jennet claimed her staff had? He damned sure hoped so. Even more, he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. They would spend a couple of nights here and the system would let Mom go. They liked keeping families together, didn’t they? She would come back and leave the signal that it was safe, and they would go home.

Sure. Because everything always got better in their lives.

Tam squeezed his eyes shut. No way was he giving in to that hot prickle behind his eyelids. He made his breathing soft, and listened to the Bug’s feet moving quietly back and forth under the covers. Finally the motion got slower and slower, and Peter’s breath deepened into sleep.

The Exe was quiet. Well, quiet as it ever got. Random yelling from somewhere, too far away to worry about. The low rumble of motors and machines, and behind that, the hum of the bigger, better town of Crestview, bypassing the Exe. Going about its business.

Up on the rich people’s hill, Jennet was probably going to bed, thinking she’d see him at school tomorrow. But she wouldn’t. He and his brother had to be invisible for the next couple of days. Tam didn’t even want to turn his tablet on - everyone knew you could be tracked that way. Though at some point he’d have to message Jennet again, tell her not to worry. Too much. He could do that from the middle of the park, right before they left. Yeah, that would work.

He knew she’d worry. He could practically see the frown hovering on her face, pulling her brows together above her blue eyes. She’d tuck a strand of pale hair behind her ear and press her lips together. If he were there, he could touch the softness of her hair, coax her lips back into a smile.

For now she’d just have to wait, and he was sorry for it, but there was nothing else he could do.

 # # #

 A low, shivering noise woke him. Keeping his eyes shut, Tam slid his fingers around the hilt of the knife. He gripped it hard, his whole body taut with listening. Was somebody there? Had their hiding spot been discovered? Nothing had tripped the alarms.

The noise came again, and this time, Tam knew what it was. There was no mistaking that low, mournful call. It turned his bones cold and made his mouth dry up. The eldritch horn of the Wild Hunt. Hell. How could the Hunt be here, in the real world?

He lay absolutely still, trying not to breathe as the sound swept over the Exe - the high yipping of dogs, the pounding of hooves through the night sky, the wild skirl of bagpipes. The sound flowed through the air, filling it with shadows and things unseen. Images flowed, unbidden, into his brain.

A menacing, horned figure silhouetted against pale trees. The impudent grin of a sprite. A woman more beautiful than midnight stars, her eyes dark as sorrow.

Finally, the sounds faded. Tam exhaled, and it felt like the whole Exe breathed out with him. They were safe.

This time.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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