Page 19 of Shadows of Air and Earth (Remnant Archives)

B eads of sweat trailed the length of my bare back.

Crouched low in the thick white mist, I studied the moss upon the trees.

Without the sunlight, the sight of stars, or even the prevailing winds, we walked blindly through the stagnant and quiet Saltu.

The silence of the jungle was eerie and damning, like the stillness before a violent storm.

For the past hour, the sense of being watched prickled on my skin, now permanent, the instinct to run like a hunted animal was fierce—but I was no prey.

"We are still going in the right direction," I whispered, feeling Xi and Riley searching for me through the now solid white fog.

"Faerie fantastic," Xi muttered.

A twig snapped in the distance but it may as well have been a bomb exploding, deafening in its aftermath. "Well we just went from fantastic to terrific," I whispered, peering into the mist towards the sound.

"Please tell me that’s just pissing gnomes and not the anthousai," Riley breathed, leaning towards the sound moving around us, his firm chest brushing against my bare shoulder.

Pulling a pair of daggers from my boot, I relished the cool steel clamped in my sweaty hands.

"The fae cannot lie, they are here." I pursed my lips, if we stayed here to fight we would have no chance, not with this dense jungle but if I could get us to a clearing then perhaps we could survive.

"Have any of you ever seen ant pairs run?

" I questioned, staring into the thick fog still tracking the sounds.

I could feel Riley grin despite his alert state radiating through the ties that bound us, "Sorry to disappoint, General, but watching ants is not one of my favorite pastimes.”

Xi snorted softly, "While my partner is quite imperceptive today, I understand your meaning, a tandem run. Total unison."

Riley chuckled roguishly, "You mean a fuck run."

I wiped away the sweat now pebbling on my brow, my chest tight from the thick air clogging my lungs.

"If that analogy helps you," I laughed quietly.

"I've seen you two move, I have no doubt you could do it on your own but now I need to know if you can follow me. My movement, my direction, my coordination. If we are to survive this then we must not get separated and we must work together. No more hesitations, no more doubts, you are committed wholly to me. If you can do that—then nothing will ever stop me from ensuring your survival.”

And for what-ever else the damned future would bring , my mind whispered.

Voices singing soft melodies began to float on the foggy mist, and with it the sweet combined smell of lilac, berries, and roses. Soft titillating giggles joined their seductive song, the delicate tones cutting through the dense air.

"I await your answers."

Riley’s response was immediate, feeling what I already had since the first moment I laid eyes on them. This was more than just a quest, it was the turning point of destiny. "We are with you, General."

"For now," added Xi, hesitation still in her voice.

I winked into the mist towards her. "Good enough for me, I hope you can run and hold your breath."

Facing forward, I launched us deep into the mist, our bindings staying slack, as if I were running alone, and I smiled. We were one, a harmonious extension of myself just like my shadows, racing in tandem away from the sweet song and seductive giggles.

"Duck," I commanded through gritted teeth bowing under a low branch, catching the damp moss in my periphery.

"Right," I breathed. Dodging, I felt them both veer with me.

A wide smile spread across my face despite the grimness of our situation and the song growing stronger around us.

Goddess, I hadn't felt this synchronous with another in so long.

Even then it was just my brother and I that could move this way.

To be this connected to two fae I had just met was surreal, euphoric, a goddess damn blessing and I prayed, oh did I pray as our feet hit the jungle floor together that they would choose to stay with me.

I needed them to stay with me. I could not do this alone. Not anymore. "Jump."

Together we leapt through the white mists and I closed my eyes, enjoying the brief moment of freedom.

Freedom from the constant vigilance of having to watch my back within a treacherous court and the lethal games they played.

All because of two elemental fae, that even now still planned to usurp the very throne I served.

My life was always full of goddess damn ironies.

"Swords," I barked, catching sight of long trailing starburst blooms of blues and pinks. I didn't flinch at the dual hiss of steel at my back, and with daggers already in my hands, we landed softly within a clearing.

Giggles surrounded us, flashes of their flower petal hair weaved in and out of this mist, and I raised my blades the moment their teasing coo’s began.

“Little, little, shadow.”

My blood froze. Recognizing the taunt and the voices.

More laughter, “Little shadow is not so little anymore.”

More melodious chatter, “Little, little, shadow must have missed us.”

“They know you?” snarled Xi.

Clenching my teeth, I peered into the mist following their teasing songs.

“When I was young, I fell into their rings.” Narrowing my eyes, “How many do you count, Ri?” I knew he had been keenly tracking them.

A whisperer of air, his ability to track the smallest of sounds was impeccable—a skill my research informed me of.

"Five," Riley breathed, raising his sword up high.

“Agreed,” I nodded, my daggers mirroring his sword.

"One, two, three, four, five, once I caught a fae alive," cooed a voice behind us, her voice bouncing as if she were skipping at our backs.

Another giggle to our front, "Oh yes, sister, I want to play! Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, then I caught their little friends."

Clapping and chortles echoed, "Yes, yes, let's play. Why did you catch them so," called out another.

"Because I could not let them go."

My eyes darted to my left, just barely making out the slender silhouette of a flower nymph.

A green body, layered silver bark skin upon her face, starburst blooms like that of hyacinth fluttering around wide eyes that were the color of the glowing sun, disappeared into the mist from whence she came.

"Goddess," Xi breathed, bringing her sword to her face. "They are playing with us."

Riley groaned, "To what purpose?"

My lips thinned, scanning the white fog, poised and ready.

I yearned for my shadows to return but even they likely could not penetrate this kind of fog.

It nulled all power… when I had fallen into the rings as a young faeling they could not assist me then and I felt their absence just as keenly now.

More salacious laughter and then a strong humming vibrated the mist, caressing over my skin with a horrifyingly lulling pleasantness that took much for me to resist.

"What did you do with them?" purred another, continuing their taunting song. Her voice whispered against my ear but when I turned towards her she was gone, leaving only a trailing sound of amused giggles.

"Made them dance until their end," they all hissed in unison, stepping out of the mist together like perfectly cultivated flowers in a garden.

An array of pinks and blues, whites and purples, their bodies flowed like willows dancing in the wind.

Green naked skin glistened in the mist, offsetting their petal hair and their encased masked faces of silver bark.

They were beautiful—and by the brilliant sunny glow in their eyes, they were hungry .

"I don't dance without a partner…unless you're asking to be mine, anthousai." I stepped forward, blades still high, the beads of sweat trailing down my naked skin forcing a shiver from me just as much as their lingering, voracious eyes.

I was a distraction, a weapon, and simultaneously, without a tug on our bonds, Riley and Xi fell fluidly in line at my back—the warriors that would wield me.

And like a good blade and shield, I would make sure this was where the anthousai greeted death.

Afterall, Sheol needed more souls to satisfy its god.