Walking into Katarina's house Sal marveled at how fast she'd cleaned up in one night. The living room was illuminated by candles placed in a chandelier above them, there was a fireplace at the front of the room, it's embers glowing and warming up the house, the sofa and the armchairs were a dull gray and the walls were painted a stark black.
Sal heard Casmir sigh with contentment and turned to see him standing at the foot of the stairs, a glowing cigarette in-between his lips.
"Enjoying yourself?" Sal asked.
"One of the many privileges of being undead" Casmir said as he sent another pale plume of tobacco smoke into the air. "you can never have bad lungs"
"Is that so" Sal said.
"Well it's true" Casmir took another puff, "you should try it sometime"
"Thanks but I'll pass" Sal said.
Katarina emerged from the kitchen at that moment, she completely ignored Casmir but her gaze brushed over Sal for a second, before she walked pass them and went up the flight of stairs.
"Come on" She said. "We should gear up before leaving"
She continued up without turning back, and Sal watched her go until she disappeared.
"Don't mind her" Casmir said as he followed, "she's not as bad as she seems"
"I didn't think so" Sal said still looking at the stairs, "she's just.... different"
Casmir considered this statement with curious eyes, then he shrugged and went up the stairs.
Sal followed, making sure to keep Casmir in his line of sight as they ascended. Each floor felt strangely empty, like a shelf that used to hold books but was now a skeleton of its original purpose.
"Kat had roommates once", Casmir said as they walked, "I wonder what happened to them"
"They left" Katarina said simply, her voice echoed in stairwell. After that no one spoke, the only sound that remained was the crackling of Casmir's cigar and the click of their boots against the floor.
Soon they reached the third and last floor. The entire floor had been turned into an armory, and Sal wondered if all Shaded beings had an armory in their homes. He also wondered if he should have one too.
The room was lit by lamplight, the flickering flames encased in green coloured glass, the weapons gleaming like aurora. It was much like Casmir's armory, save for the circular table in the middle of the room and the fact that it was not only an armory of blades, there were shields and spears, whips and chains, bows and arrows, crossbows and bolts, maces and hammers, axes and flails, even those weird circular disks that Black Panther's girlfriend uses.
"Ah the chakrams". Casmir sighed as he walked to the weapons, his silver eyes reflected the green light as well. "I dabbled in them for a while you know"
"And by dabbled you mean failed" Katarina said.
"No" Casmir mumbled, he moved to a case of daggers and began picking up the jeweled weapons, fascinatedly looking at them. "I mean dabbled"
Katarina rolled her eyes and turned to Sal.
"So, who's next on this list?" She asked.
"Bloomera Nephity" Sal said pulling out the scroll and showing it to Katarina. "The name sounds very unusual, made up even"
"It's a Fey name" Casmir said, he turned his attention from the daggers and looked at Sal. "They all have strange names"
"They're a strange people, the Fey" said Katarina. "They're not mortal but they're not exactly Shaded beings either. They were created by the gods, made to be perfect and eternal like them. Given skills and magic and power that made them like mortals but..... different"
"And now I'm to find one of them and ask them for help?" asked Sal, he'd read poems and books where mortals talked about the Fey and Fey Land, about how manipulative the Fey could be, they were beautiful, unnatural and deceptive.
"The Fey are unpredictable creatures, but despite their cunning nature, they have their charms, this one might be of great help to the hunt" Casmir said.
"But they all live in Fey Land, don't they?" Sal asked.
"Not all of them", said Casmir, he shoved a dagger in his belt and turned completely to focus on Sal. "Some of them prefer the mundanity of the Mortal World but majority reside in Fey Land"
"I'm guessing it's not on the world map?"
Casmir chuckled.
"Precisely" he said.
"It's in another plane of existence, kind of like this one but created for them, the only way to get there is through a portal" said Katarina. "Only mages can open them"
"I could try locating them first" Sal offered. "If I can't find them here then we'll think about interdimensional travel"
Casmir and Katarina nodded in approval.
"Watch this" Casmir said as Sal closed his eyes and concentrated, he imagined the glyph he'd seen the first time he used magic, the Finding glyph, an eye without a pupil.
"Bloomera Nephity" whispered Sal.
He waited for the familiar burning of the mark on his chest, the itching of a glyph being traced on his skin.
But nothing happened.
"Uh, is he alright?" whispered Katarina.
"I don't know, his eyes weren't shut that tight the last time he used magic" said Casmir.
"Uh Sal?, you okay?" asked Katarina.
Sal opened his eyes and shook his head.
"It's not working" he said. "They're not here"
"Which means they're in Fey land" said Katarina. "Which means we need a portal"
Sal almost cursed, then he felt his mark burn of it's own accord. He gasped as a new symbol burned into his mind, a pattern of lines that curved, coming together to form a circular doorway.
"Sal?"
Sal felt two cold hands grab him and shake him back to reality. When everything came into focus Casmir was in front of him, one cold hand on his shoulder, another cold hand cupping his neck.
"Are you alright?" He asked, his eyes peering at Sal with worry.
"I'm fine" Sal said. "I think I could conjure a portal"
"You know a glyph that can do that?" Casmir asked.
Sal nodded.
Casmir's eyes searched his for a moment. Sal wondered what it was he searched for, a lie?, a sign?
Before he could figure it out he let Sal go.
"So you're a mage?" Katarina asked.
Sal turned from Casmir and looked at her. Her eyes burned with curiosity and something else as she watched them.
"I don't know" Sal said. "I'm not sure what I am"
Katarina creased her brows and then turned to Casmir who shot her a deadly glare and gave Sal an apologetic look.
"Are you serious?" she said.
"Do you have to be so distrustful?" Casmir said with an annoyed drawl, it was more of a statement than a question.
"He doesn't even know what he's doing" Katarina said.
"But I am sure of what I can do" Sal cut in. "It's my hunt remember?"
Katarina sighed, her hands folded across her chest.
"I just need something to draw with that's all" Sal said.
She hesitated, and then turned.
"Follow me" she said.
She didn't wait for him to follow, she just continued on to another part of the armory separated by a doorway.
Sal sighed and followed.
They walked into another room and the magic surprised Sal so much it felt like a slap on the face.
On the left side of the room multiple charms were displayed in glass cases, necklaces and bracelets and rings imbued with magical energy. They gleamed with light and pulsed with so much power that they lit up the room on their own. There were shelves lined with rune stones and glowing vials of coloured liquid. Scrolls of papyrus paper lay stacked on another shelf at the end of the room, the enchantments on them exuding their own sort of power.
On the right side were weird paintbrushes with glowing bristles and pencil-like crystals of different colours, black and blue and red, some were even transparent, like icicles on the inside of a frozen cave. Long staffs with runes inscribed in them leaned against the wall, their auras shining golden.
Katarina walked to a glass case and opened it. She picked one of the transparent pencil-like crystals, it's surface shining like a diamond.
"This is a wand, it's made from super heated adamantine, it utilizes magic perfectly so it's easy to draw magical symbols with", she handed it to him, "it can also be a decent weapon if you know how to use it"
Sal took the wand, there were engravings in it and a handle wrapped in leather.
"Thanks" he said.
He turned to walk but stopped as he felt Katarina grab his arm.
"Wait" she said.
He turned and saw that she was taking off the pendant she'd been fiddling with on the front porch.
"What are you doing?" asked Sal.
She took off the necklace and held it out to him.
"Here, take this", said Katarina, "it must not be easy having no idea who you are"
"I know exactly who I am" protested Sal.
Katarina sighed and stepped forward, they were inches away from each other now.
"Do you?"
Sal wanted to reply but kept quiet, he knew that the next thing he would've said would be a lie.
Katarina turned him around and began to place the necklace on his neck, her fingers gently brushed Sal's nape and the feeling of her body, so warm, so close to his, made Sal's heart lurch.
"I know what it feels like to be confused and I'm sorry for being insensitive, so here, take this as a peace offering" said Katarina as she buckled the necklace and stepped back.
Sal turned and looked at her, she was smirking, her eyes locked on his.
"It's a charm that'll glow when danger is near, it might come in handy one of these days" said Kat.
Sal smiled and touched the pendant.
"Thank you" he said.
She nodded and walked pass him and out of the room.
He followed her and emerged just in time to see Casmir get stabbed with a dagger he'd thrown in the air.
"Shit" cursed Casmir as he pulled the dagger out.
Sal looked at Katarina who was rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
"Are you alright?" he asked Casmir.
Casmir nodded with a grin and strapped the bloody dagger to his waist.
"C'mon let's get this over with" said Casmir.
Sal nodded and walked to the center of the room.
He began to draw.
This glyph was different though, it was the first glyph that didn't require a surface to be drawn on. Sal held his wand firmly and imagined the air to be a canvas, he began to draw, letting the magic move through him and out into the wand, the flow of energy felt so natural now, it didn't take long for the glyph to be done, a doorway of curving lines, the Portal glyph.
As soon as he finished, the space in front of them ripped open and light erupted in the room. A shimmering circular doorway appeared, glowing and swirling, sending soft waves of air into the armory.
"Woah" said Casmir.
Sal smiled and turned to them.
"Let's go" he said.
Katarina nodded and went in first, then Casmir, and as Sal was about to walk through he felt his hand itching, there was the Portal glyph outlined on his wrist, it stayed for a while and then faded.
Sal shook his head, stuck his wand in his boot and then he walked in.
***
Katarina tumbled out of the portal and onto lush green grass, she rolled, the world a blur of green and dirt, and then stopped in a crouch facing the portal that shimmered with blue light.
When she stood up and looked around she saw that she was on a field, there were flowers everywhere, their petals so delicate that a touch might turn them to dust. Above her creatures flew, birds with wings of fire, lions bound up on eagles wings, large scaly dragons with steam billowing from their nostrils.
The air was clean and fresh and many pleasant fragrances wafted through her nose, behind her was a large expanse of clear water like a trench surrounding what looked like a crystal city, the tallest building being a crystal palace that reflected the light of the purple sky.
Katarina stood speechless as she beheld the beauty before her.
There was no doubt about it, they were here, they were in Fey land.
She heard a soft thud behind her and turned to see Casmir sprawled on the grass, he got up groaning and smoothing grass out of his hair.
"I never liked portalling" he said as he adjusted the knives on his belt.
He raised his eyes and they widened.
"Well would you look at that, those birds are on fire" he said with a smile.
Katarina rolled her eyes at Casmir and turned to the portal just in time to see Sal emerge without a sweat, like he was walking through a door. His hair was whipping wildly across his face, the mark on his chest burning with intense light as it shone through his armour.
As soon as his other foot touched the grass the portal closed behind him.
"Wow" exclaimed Sal. "So this is Fey Land"
Katarina admired the look of wonder on his face and the way Sal seemed to take everything in, like he was savoring his experiences and documenting them in his mind so he would never forget. He turned to her and their eyes met.
"What?" he asked.
Katarina shook her head and smirked.
"You should get to work" she said.
Sal nodded and took out his wand from his boot, he then began to draw a glyph on his arm. Kat couldn't beleive that Sal wasn't a mage, for someone that claimed to just know about the Other World a few days ago, he was very adept at glyph magic, she couldn't say she trusted him but there was something about him that made her want to.
"Bloomera Nephity" whispered Sal.
Katarina saw as the mark on his chest burned bright and the grass swayed as Sal's magic interacted with the magic of the Fey, then he suddenly gasped and opened his eyes.
Before Katarina could move to find out what was wrong Casmir was already beside Sal, his eyes filled with concern.
"You okay?" asked Casmir.
Sal nodded and looked at his arm, the glyph he'd drawn was still there, an eye without pupil.
"What glyph is that?" asked Katarina.
"It's a Finding glyph" said Sal. "I used it to find Casmir when I needed him"
"Did you find them?" asked Casmir.
Sal looked behind him where the Fey Forests stretched on with tall and beautiful trees.
"Whoever it was didn't respond to my call but they gave me a beacon" he pointed to the Fey Forests, "that's where it leads"
"The Forests?" Casmir said. "That's risky"
Katarina took a deep breath, the Fey Forests were the most dangerous parts of Fey Land, the plants could cure or kill you, the animals could aid or eat you and the Fey that preferred the solitude and cover of trees and rocks were known to be the wildest fey in all of Fey land, practitioners of wild magic.
"What did they say exactly?" Casmir asked.
"Go to the place where nothing blooms" Sal said. "But why the Forests, it's a fucking forest"
"If the Forests is where we need to go, then that's where we'll go" said Katarina. "Lead the way Sal"
Sal nodded and walked towards the dense forest, then Casmir followed with Katarina by his side, soon they were under the canopy of ageless trees.
Katarina urged her senses to stay alert, she'd given her Sensory pendant to Sal and so she relied on her training to get her through the Forests.
There was no path to follow so Katarina made sure to keep close to Casmir and to keep Sal, who walked with his eyes closed, in her line of sight.
She tried not get distract but The Fey Forests had a sort of magic to it. Everything just seemed to sing in Fey Land. The mossy barks of trees, the glistening surface of fruits, the gentle rustle of leaves, there was something musical about the little streams of sunlight peering through the gaps in the leaves and the smell of earth and rain and nature.
"You know I've never been to Fey Land before" Casmir said. "I've only ever heard stories"
Katarina looked at him, his silver eyes were darting everywhere and the purple light gave his pale face a certain sheen that reminded Katarina of violet at the edge of a rainbow, nearly invisible but there, his hands hovered over his weapons belt, ready to grab the knives at his side.
"I have once before", said Katarina, "but it was for negotiation, I never even made it to the Capital"
"What were you negotiating?" asked Casmir as he stepped carefully over what looked like a snake covered in feathers instead of scales.
"I needed a way to find you, so I made a few bargains" said Katarina.
Casmir whipped his head and met her eyes with his.
"Kat"
"Nothing lethal don't worry, I didn't sell my soul or anything" she said.
There was silence, then Casmir spoke up, his voice was empty of humor, his tone heavy with remorse.
"Thank you" he said. "For trying"
She nodded and looked away from him, her eyes trained on Sal who was smiling as he touched a flower petal, his eyes closed in concentration.
"I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time, it's just that I felt like I didn't matter to the only person that mattered most to me" said Casmir.
"Casmir, we both know you have nothing to apologize for, I ran away, I left after asking for your help, that was a horrible thing to do"
"I know I have nothing to apologize for but you are my sister and I am your brother", he frowned, it was a foreign thing to see him frown, "nothing should come between us"
"And nothing ever will, not anymore" she smiled at him, "okay?"
He nodded and they both looked forward and saw Sal dodge a tree branch without opening his eyes.
"He is just incredible" said Katarina.
Casmir smiled and looked at Sal, there was warmth in his eyes.
"He's definitely something" said Casmir.
Katarina searched her brother's face and there was something in the way he looked at Sal that made her want to ask.
"Do you like him?"
Casmir's face turned sharp, his silver eyes dilated.
"I..."
"Guys!"
They looked at each other and before Katarina knew it Casmir was gone in a split second, Katarina ran after him hoping that nothing had happened to Sal.
She burst out of the throng of trees and found herself in a large circular clearing, the ground was oddly bare and the clearing was empty save for Casmir and Sal who stood in the middle of it.
Sal was looking at his wrist in confusion and Casmir was looking around, his eyes alert.
"What happened?" asked Katarina as soon as she got to them.
"The glyph's faded", said Sal, "they're supposed to be here"
"There's definitely someone here" said Casmir.
He drew out two daggers and held them in his hands, his fangs were out and his eyes were changing to red.
"What do you hear Cas?" Katarina asked.
"Footsteps, lots of them" he looked at her, Katarina had forgotten how feral Casmir looked when he was ready to fight, "and just as many weapons"
"Fuck" cursed Sal.
Katarina looked at him to know what was wrong, and then she saw that his pendant was pulsing with blue light, he drew Kyrona from his back and held it steadily in front of him which surprised Kat but didn't fluster her. She took out the pins in her hair and they glittered with light before turning into a bow and a quiver of arrows, she swung the quiver over her shoulders and quickly nocked three arrows.
That's when they arrived.
They were Fey, dozens of them jammed into the clearing and rapidly surrounded them, and just as Casmir had said.
They were all armed.
***
Sal watched as the Fey people emerged, they were all beautifully strange and strangely beautiful.
Some had flower petals as hair and others had skin of different shades and forms, he saw some of them using snake skin as loincloth and fishscales for jewelry, in their hands they held clubs made of spiked wood and swords made of sharpened stone, some didn't even have weapons, their hands were brimming with white light ready to call on the powers of wild magic, and it was at that moment Sal realized these weren't just the Fey.
These were the Wild Fey.
"If they attack don't kill any of them" Katarina warned.
"Why not?" asked Casmir.
"Because we're technically trespassing" said Kat.
The Wild Fey crept forward, they too seemed cautious, their eyes scanning Sal and his friends, like they were prey who could strike back.
"So what exactly is the plan?" Casmir asked.
Katarina looked to Sal for a solution.
"The plan is we immobilize them" Sal answered, his grip tightening around Kyrona, "then we make a run for it"
Katarina nodded and so did Casmir, Sal prepared himself, hoping that he knew what he was doing.
The Wild Fey moved forward, some with smiles on their faces, others with resentful scowls, they held their weapons maliciously, their eyes shining with killing intent.
Then there was a deep smooth sound, a single note that made every single person stop in their tracks. Sal looked up in confusion, the sound seemed to be coming from everywhere but he centered his senses, and looked deeper.
He saw a silhouette perched on a branch, hidden among the trees, and before he knew it they were hurtling down to the forest floor, they moved with the skill of a gymnast, they're arms extending and swinging from branch to branch like trapeze artists. Until they emerged from the throng of trees and landed in front of Sal, the edge of his sword just inches away from their neck.
The person looked up and Sal's guard immediately dropped.
The Wild Fey in front of him was a girl, but she was unlike any of the other Wild Fey.
Her skin was as brown as tree bark, her body slender and athletic, she wasn't as tall as Katarina but she carried the kind of confidence that made standing in front of her feel like standing in front of a mountain. Her face was oval and her eyes were milky green as if they were formed from tree sap. Her hair was the most Fey thing about her, it was all vines, long brown vines with little leaves and flowers growing out of it, it was swept to the side and stopped at her shoulders.
She wore a singlet vest and camouflage trousers, in her left hand was an ivory tusk made into a horn and in her right hand was a long silver whip that shimmered with light and turned into a set of silver bangles on her wrists.
She smiled a sweet smile and stepped closer without fear, the tip of Sal's sword lightly touching her neck.
"I recommend you and your comrades lower your weapons" said the wood nymph, she had that accent that the gods had, like she was used to a language older than English.
"Guys", Sal said, "you can calm down"
"You can't be serious" said Katarina.
Sal gave her a stern look and she lowered her bow with a disapproving sigh, he turned to Casmir who was already sheathing his daggers, the metal slicing sharply against leather.
Sal turned to the Fey and stepped back, then whipped Kyrona back into it's sheath. He didn't fail to notice Bloom flinch as he did.
"I apologize fair one", he said, "my name is Salome and these are my companions Katarina and Casmir, I assure you we mean no harm, we are only in search of someone"
The wood nymph smiled and stepped closer, every single motion screaming a challenge, her eyes searched Sal, her body was so close Sal could almost hear the sound of her heartbeat. Still he stayed motionless, only letting his eyes follow her.
"You have the tongue of the Fey and you have the beauty of the Fey but you're not one of us, you're not one of anything, are you?" said the wood nymph.
Sal didn't know how to answer that but he stepped closer, a close that would have made any other person uncomfortable but somehow made this wood nymph smirk.
"I am afraid I have no idea what you mean fair one"
She chuckled and leaned forward, her warm breath brushed against Sal's cheek.
"You may address me as Bloom" said the wood nymph.
Echoes of shock quivered through Sal as it finally dawned on him.
"Bloom" he repeated, remembering the response he had gotten when he called her name.
Go to the place where nothing blooms.
The person he'd been searching for was standing right in front of him.
"Bloom, as in Bloomera Nephity?" asked Katarina.
The Wild Fey around them gasped and pointed their weapons at Katarina.
"No one addresses me that way and survives to speak it again" said Bloom.
The Wild Fey around them howled in agreement and Sal felt panic and a little bit of anger race through him, he wouldn't let anything happen to Katarina or Casmir.
He leaned into Bloom's ear and whispered with a cold, calm voice filled with threat.
"If they are harmed, even in the slightest way, I will kill every last one of you"
Sal felt the fear go up Bloom's spine but she hid it quickly, skillfully, with another smile and then leaned into his ear.
"I have no doubt that you will" Bloom said, there was no sarcasm in her voice, just pure, raw truth.
She took several steps back, faced her army and yelled a command.
"Okrivich shentanati" she said, then she looked at Sal, her smile even wilder, "ju chi kuta"
The Wild Fey stepped back, bowed and melted back into the forest, soon the clearing was as empty as they had met it, not even footprints left to indicate where the Wild Fey had stood minutes ago.
He heard Kat let out a breath behind him and he glared at Bloom who was still smiling.
"Come with me" Bloom said.
She waved her hand and a clear path appeared in the forest.
Kat and Casmir looked at Sal for confirmation, he nodded and then they both followed.
Sal walked, but as he walked, he couldn't get the words that Bloom had spoken to the Wild Fey out of his head.
The translation had kicked in immediately, like it was his second language, and the meaning bothered him.
Okrivich shentanati
Return Home.
Ju chi kuta.
The ghost is here.