Chapter 60.5

The landscape they’d previously hiked through, a lush jungle with thick, dripping lavender light and a staggering plethora of shrubs, bushes, trees, vines, insects, and small critters, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Tadhgán led them through a shockingly barren forest, one with nothing but tiny clumps of grass on the floor. The only light came from small clusters of glowing spores that fell from above, though whichever plants they originated from Amara couldn’t see. The dim light they provided, itself pale, white, and unnaturally grim, illuminated a series of trees; the only things of note for as far as Amara could see.Calling them trees felt disingenuous, however. They weren’t just large trees, they were titans of wood and bark that had grown to sizes Amara had trouble understanding, and the rest of the nearby forest had seemingly grown to accommodate them. It took twenty minutes of walking to find the far side of the first tree they encountered, and beyond that tree lay an expanse so impossibly large that, even with her demonically enhanced vision, the end was nowhere in sight. It took another half an hour, at least, to find the start of another tree, at which point the entire cycle began anew.

There was no canopy in sight above them, and no hint of any other forms of plant or animal life. It felt as if they’d been shrunk down to the size of ants and were being forced to navigate a world not meant for them.

Here, again, the lack of proper light made the passage of time impossible to track. When doubled with the impossible natural architecture of what Tadhgán called the “Deep Forest,” Amara had to fight just to keep herself focused on the task they’d been given. If nothing else, she was extraordinarily glad that Vee had insisted she come along; her presence made the endless, expansive void of this forest much more tolerable.

Some trees had no roots in sight, leaving them the easy, if visually maddening, task of walking forward in a flat, bland, grassy plane that was impossible to see noticeable progress in crossing. Other trees had roots so massive that they were forced to endure hours, if not days, of strenuous hiking up and down bark-covered hills.

At one point, they found themselves underneath the legs of a colossal, six-legged stag whose legs appeared no different than the nearby trees, other than perhaps being slightly smaller. Its steps shook not just the ground but seemingly the fabric of space itself, and even with a heavy cluster of glowing spores clinging to its body, Amara never saw any sign of its head. Most staggering of all was Tadhgán’s insistence that they’d gotten lucky, as the creature had been mercifully small in comparison to its kin.

In time, the ground began sloping upwards, and they managed to find another boundary that marked the edge of someone’s influence. Much like last time, Tadhgán reminded them all of the stakes of poorly thought-out words, though Amara was certainly not about to forget nearly being trapped beneath a cuddle-crazed cat for the rest of her life.

She very nearly wondered aloud that anything would be better than the maddening void they’d just crossed, but she knew better. After pushing through another thick shroud of flora, they found themselves in another clearing.

It was much brighter than the void they’d left behind, no doubt due to the thin streams of lavender that dripped down from a canopy high above them. To either side of them, the boundary of this place’s influence curved inward, urging them forward to something that initially appeared to be a simple, textured wall. As another drip of light fell from above, Amara instead saw it to be one of the massive trees from earlier, though this one had fallen on its side and somehow been half-buried in the dirt underneath it. Of all the features in this clearing, however, none were more obvious, more beautiful, or more terrifying than the figure floating closer to greet them.

Amara had never seen a faerie before, though she’d obviously heard stories. At the start of this journey, she’d even wondered to herself if it might be possible to mistake a faerie as something, to somehow not know if she were surrounded by the fae folk, but now she knew better.

The very air itself demanded attention as the stranger flew closer. Space seemed to bend with unwavering insistence that Amara appreciate the sight of this faerie, and despite everything she knew, it was impossible not to get lost in the sight of her.

Taller than Ciara, but certainly shorter than everyone else present, Amara guessed this creature to be roughly four and a half feet tall. She had fair, minty-green skin that glimmered in the presence of the myriad droplets of light that circled around her. Her gorgeous hair, short and fashioned into a picture-perfect pixie cut, had orange-yellow roots that gradually shifted to a fierce, bright pink that reminded Amara of hibiscus flowers she’d previously seen back on Earth. On her back were two wings, both of them impossibly thin and see-through just like the wings of a dragonfly. They fluttered and buzzed with adoration as she flew closer, a kindly smile on her face and a twinkle in her opalescent eyes. Her body was somewhat slim, with unnaturally exaggerated curves and a somewhat flat chest, and the more Amara took in the sight of this beauty, the more she desperately wanted to learn more about her.

“Hello! I’m so glad you made your way to my clearing! Oh, it’s been since I had any visitors!” the faerie said.

Tadhgán stepped forward with unusual insistence, cutting in front of Amara as he began reciting his same introduction from earlier. “Good evening, kind friend. I humbly apologize for our intrusion this fine day. We are simply trying to make our way back to my home, and happenstance requires that we pass through this clearing. I humbly ask permission to travel in your domain, and offer you familiarity in exchange for hospitality. You may—”

The faerie waved her hands dismissively. “Oh, no need to be so stiff! I know, I know, very few people need to pass through these parts, but the ones that do are always interesting! If you’re looking for safe passage, I can promise you that no payment or exchange of any kind is necessary to travel here.”

Hairs on the back of Amara’s neck bristled at her friendly demeanor. Everything she said seemed perfect, like she meant no harm at all, but some deep part of Amara sensed something was off.

Thankfully, Tadhgán continued before Amara lost her nerve. “That’s incredibly kind of you, miss. If there’s nothing you need from us, I would simply ask that you point us in the direction of the path out.” He punctuated his request with a simple bow, which Amara and Vee mimicked just to be safe.

“Well, unfortunately, the path out is over this fallen tree!” As the faerie spoke, her words dripped with sorrow that was so practiced it made Amara deeply uncomfortable. “Sometimes it takes to climb over, but that’s okay! I’ll be here the whole time, and we can pass the time by getting to know each other! Why, I’m sure by the time you reach the top, we’ll be the of friends! So close you might not even want to leave by then…” A sickeningly sweet laugh echoed out from her mouth, and her entire body shook with excitement as she finished speaking. For a moment, Amara swore she saw droplets of light suspended on something above her head, but a second look revealed nothing present.

“All we need to do is reach the top?” Vee asked, her voice laced with kindness and formality in an attempt to hide her deep suspicion.

“That’s right! I’d offer to carry you, especially since this poor gentleman appears to be injured, but I’m simply too small to shoulder such a burden…” Tears formed at the edges of her glittering eyes, and Amara forced herself to look away. She hated how drawn to this creature she felt.

Thankfully, Tadhgán seemed to understand Vee’s insinuation. He turned to Amara, lightly grabbed her shoulder, and subtly demanded her attention as if hoping to break the spell. “I think you’d best carry us out of here, yes?”

Staring into Tadhgán’s eyes, Amara finally pieced everything together. This faerie hadn’t demanded they climb out, only that they reach the top. Steeling her resolve, she did everything in her power to avoid looking at the faerie. Instead, she stared at the ground as she turned around, kneeling down to allow Tadhgán to climb on her back. Afterwards, she approached Vee and invited her into her arms. Her angelic girlfriend happily wrapped an arm around her shoulder and jumped into her grasp, giving Amara total freedom over all of their movement.

“My, aren’t you strong!” the faerie whispered, her voice uncomfortably close to Amara’s ear. The temptation to look over, to smile at this beautiful creature, was nearly impossible to resist, but Amara found strength in Vee’s touch.

She bent her knees, connected with her inner fire, and summoned her wings with extreme caution. To be safe, she briefly jumped to toss Tadhgán up, and by the time he landed the hellfire had dispersed. She grit her teeth, set her sights on the heavy bark coating the massive fallen tree in front of her, and jumped.

The presence of the faerie somehow followed her every movement, and despite not saying anything, Amara knew she’d disappointed this creature. Delicate crystals of judgment flew past her horns as she soared up and over the tree, and in the corner of her eye, Amara saw this clearing’s host flying just beside her. She zipped to and fro, her body sending small ripples of whimsy into the space around them, but Amara managed to hold steady.

Minutes later, they landed atop the fallen tree, its thick bark once again buried in soft dirt. Amara set both Vee and Tadhgán down, the three of them sharing in a sense of unseen urgency as they walked towards the exit boundary.

Behind them, her voice just as gleeful and sparkling as ever, the faerie called out. “I’m so happy to have met you! I hope one day we can spend more time together!”

In the seconds before they left the clearing, Amara’s nerves got the better of her, and she briefly turned to look at the faerie one last time. Somehow, she seemed taller now, with slightly more defined musculature. Her smile was as welcoming as ever, but deep behind her opalescent eyes, Amara saw a bone-deep hint of bitterness. Fear washed over her one last time, its grip only shattered by the sudden appearance of Vee’s hand on her own, pulling her through the boundary and away from the fae creature, whose smile was much too big for its face.

On the other side, Amara collapsed to the ground in a panic. Beads of sweat suddenly appeared, and she took heavy, rasping breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. Vee fell to her knees beside her, pulling her into a hug and whispering sweet nothings to try and calm her down.

“She was so happy, so cheerful, so and… and I wanted so badly to give in, to let her look at me like I was her whole world, but the very idea of that terrified me beyond belief. Why?!” Amara cried, pulling Vee close.

“You know,” Tadhgán muttered. “For the same reason people are naturally afraid of the dark. Some deep, instinctual part of you what creatures like that are capable of. I felt it too, and from the look on Vee’s face, so did she, but I suspect you’re exceptionally vulnerable to their wiles. Their existence is foreign to ours in so many ways; magic suffuses them and their desires to a degree impossible to comprehend. Based on how you reacted when we first arrived, when you first heard the song, you likely caught a tiny glimpse of its true self.”

“It’s okay, love, we’re out, we’re free,” Vee whispered, her hands gently petting Amara’s head as they embraced each other.

Much like Ciara, Amara was thrilled to learn that the faerie had no interest in leaving her clearing. It took her much longer than she wanted to shake off the effects of meeting such a creature, but as her senses finally returned to her, no one was more adamant to leave this place behind.

“I’m so tired of this place,” Amara muttered. “How much longer?”

“We’re in luck, actually,” Tadhgán said. “I have a feeling that creature’s domain was bigger than we expected, as I recognize these woods. It shouldn’t be long at this point.”

Ahead of them, the forest looked shockingly mundane. Trees were normal sizes, plants were almost entirely green, and the light drifted through the canopy, while still unusually drippy, had a warmer tone than usual. Amara saw no faeries, no pulsating moss, no rivers made of semi-sentient fish, and she dared to let herself relax.

The next leg of their journey proved to be quite peaceful. The songbirds were calm, the insects less abrasive, and the plant life seemed much less willing to twitch and writhe in their presence. Long stretches of hiking passed by without incident, and in time, Amara even found herself enjoying the peaceful ambience. She walked side by side with Vee as the two of them trailed behind Tadhgán, whose movements were much more animated as he attempted to figure out their precise location. His persistence paid off when, after hours and hours of hiking, he managed to find a familiar game trail that he’d seen before.

He shared every small discovery, every memory of hunts he’d gone on in this area, and frequently went on tangents about his family. He lamented greatly that he couldn’t share his home with Nick, who had so kindly done the same, but his drive to right the wrongs of his actions shone through every word he muttered about their shared friend.

Despite her initial judgment, even Amara found herself warming to him.

Only one moment seemed to shake Tadghán’s mood. Shortly after finding the game trail, the three of them heard a loud cry from somewhere above them. The noise was unusually shrill, and at first Amara assumed it might have come from a large bird. One look at Tadghán’s face proved her wrong, and it only took a second to figure out why. The sound she’d initially heard, she soon realized, was incredibly far away. It was loud enough to send tremors through the ground, shaking Amara to the bone as the noise grew louder and deeper. Whatever this creature was, it was much bigger than Amara had initially thought, but thankfully also much further away.

All three of them froze for a minute straight, eyes glued on the canopy above as they waited for confirmation that it was safe to travel. When the noise failed to repeat itself, Tadghán eventually let out a deep breath, his tense body relaxing before he signalled it was safe to continue.

Several more hours passed in relative silence as they followed the trail, and each step brought more hope to Tadghán. His weary stride grew more animated, a smile crept onto his face, and even the ambient light seemed to change in reflection of his cheery mood. When the moment finally came, Tadhgán announced it not with words, but a powerful howl that defied the limits of a normal humanoid body. He broke out into a light jog, then dove into the boundary around his house with all the eagerness of a dog that had just been promised a long walk in the woods.

Passing through the final boundary was quite different from what Amara had experienced earlier. The plants, vines, and leaves were thinner, light managed to drip through, and instead of many seconds of concentrated pathing, it only took a brief step to hop across and find the other side. There, in a large clearing filled with tanning racks, stacks of lumber, and even a small river, Amara saw a large, cozy cottage. Warm light spilled out from several windows, a plume of friendly smoke puffed out of a tall chimney, and the distant voices of children playing found Amara’s ears.

They’d found Tadhgán’s home.