Page 38 of The Beginning (Covert Moon, #1)

After my unsettling dream, where I was sure that I'd not been in the Fae Realm, I wanted nothing more than to put on the security of my King's Guard uniform.

The leather and metal had weight to it, a substance that made me feel protected and grounded.

While only leather, and not heavy armor, it gave a feeling of protection that this cotton clothing did not.

I splashed cold water on my face, trying to wash away the last vestiges of the dream.

My reflection in the small mirror looked haggard, dark circles under my eyes speaking of a sleepless night.

I joined the rest of my Watchers for breakfast and noted that there was an easiness among the men, a joviality that hadn't been there before.

The mood was lighter, conversations flowed more freely, and several men were actually laughing.

Perhaps my repudiation of Gavin and Lady Annaliese had done something for the morale of those who served under me.

Word traveled fast in our little outpost, and apparently my confrontation with them had been well-received.

More than one man clapped me on the back and wished me luck in the Human Realm. Their support felt good, like I was finally earning their respect rather than just their obedience.

I'd not gotten a great sense of Connar outside of our dealings, but he must've been a good man.

The men spoke well of him, and I could sense no underlying bitterness or relief that he was gone.

When someone mentioned his name, it was with fondness and respect.

Perhaps, in time, I would feel the same way about this posting.

I looked around at the faces of the men who were serving with me—my men—really seeing them as allies, and perhaps friends for the first time.

After the meal, Tobias and I readied ourselves for our journey.

He checked his gear with the efficiency of someone who'd done this many times before.

Another one of the Watchers fiddled with small stones that would fit in one's hand.

They were oval and heavy, worn smooth by countless handlings, and they seemed to pulse with their own inner light.

Connar had explained that utilizing the stones helped control the magic that controlled the portals.

The stones were attuned to specific locations, he'd said, like keys that opened doors across the realms. As the stones were activated, the portal began to form.

It started as nothing more than a shimmer in the air, like heat waves rising from summer stone.

It was a bluish, purple, and white spot, and it started out small, in the middle of the room.

For some reason, I hadn't thought the portal would be in a room.

I'd imagined it would be outdoors, under the open sky.

But from a defensive standpoint, it made sense to cast the portal indoors.

One didn't want people disappearing and popping back in somewhere else where they could be seen.

The circle of light grew larger and larger, expanding like ripples on a pond, until it was enough for us to step through. The light was surprisingly warm, and I could feel energy crackling in the air around it. Tobias gestured to me; he'd done this before, and his confidence was reassuring.

"Sir, just step through here, and follow me."

I nodded, trying to project more confidence than I felt.

He took several steps into the light and then disappeared, not gradually but all at once, like he'd been swallowed by the brightness in a blink of an eye.

Taking a deep breath, I did the same. As I did, I felt something tear away from my pocket.

I couldn't go back because I had to go forward.

Something pulled me forward, drawing me inexorably into the light.

I felt as though I were walking through water, though I was able to breathe.

The sensation was disorienting. Colors swirled around me, blues and purples and whites mixing and flowing like liquid light.

My sense of up and down became confused, and for a moment I felt like I was falling, though I couldn't tell in which direction.

Just as I was beginning to get my bearings, the sensation of movement steadied, and I passed through what felt like a membrane. Tobias stood in front of me, solid and real again. He turned around, his expression concerned.

"Sir, are you all right?"

"I am, thank you. That was... interesting," I said, trying to keep the shakiness out of my voice. Putting my hand in my pocket, I realized it was the letter from Wenda that had fallen out. The pocket was completely empty.

I stared at my empty hand, feeling a strange mix of loss and relief.

He chuckled, "It is, at first. You get used to it." Then Tobias looked at me more closely. "Are you all right, sir?"

"I believe I dropped something through the portal," I said, looking up from my hand.

His eyebrows went up. "Oh? I'm sorry, sir. Things get lost in the portal, they do. The magic doesn't always distinguish between what should come through and what shouldn't." He looked down. “I should have warned you. I’m sorry, sir.”

I took a breath and straightened my shoulders. "It's all right. I don't need it." And perhaps I didn't. Perhaps it was better this way.

"What was it?" Tobias asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

“Oh, it was nothing. Nothing at all,” I said, closing the door on the subject. "So this is the Human Realm?" At first, it didn't look all that different from the Fae Realm. There were trees in the distance, and I could see what looked like grass and flowers.

But it felt different. It felt... harsher.

Less alive somehow, like the very air was thinner, less nourishing.

The smells were harsher too. From our secluded outpost, I could smell the forest, flowers, and the sweetness of nature.

The air itself seemed perfumed with life and growth.

I couldn't smell any of that here. Instead, there was a sharp, acrid scent that made my nose wrinkle.

I looked down at my feet to see we were standing on something black and hard.

It was smooth but not natural, clearly made by human hands.

There were bits of paper and other colored things all over this black surface, debris that spoke of carelessness and waste.

When I looked over to my right, I saw a structure, but it could barely be called that.

A large rectangle, with two stories. There was a walkway outside of each story, and I could see a stairway on the end of it.

The whole thing looked temporary, thrown together with little thought for beauty or permanence.

It was purely functional in the most basic, hideous way.

"What is this place? Is this where he should be? "

Tobias nodded. "Yes, sir. He keeps quarters on one of the end sections over there," he nodded, gesturing with his head toward the opposite end of the building.

"Well, let's go see where he is. Hopefully he's just sleeping off the effects of one too many Human taverns." Though even as I said it, I had a sinking feeling that we wouldn't find anything so simple.

We nodded at one another and set off in the direction Tobias indicated.

I was glad he was with me. This building had many doors, each one identical to the next.

Everything glowed red from the tube of light on a strange sign on the far roof.

I would not have been able to find the appropriate door without guidance.

The numbers and markings on each door were in Human script, meaningless symbols to my eyes.

As we got closer to the building, I realized that wasn't entirely true.

While there were markings on each door, markings that I could not understand, it was very clear which door belonged to our Watcher.

There was a spell across the door, shimmering silvery waves in the air.

You just needed to be close to see it, and to have the eyes to recognize magic when you saw it.

The spell looked intact at first glance, but as I studied it more closely, I could see subtle wrongness in its weaving.

"Is that how the spell is supposed to look?" I asked.

Tobias stopped for a moment and studied it, his brow furrowed with concentration.

He was better at reading spell-work than I was, more experienced with the subtle variations that could mean the difference between safety and danger.

Then he said, "Yes, sir, I think so. It doesn't look to have been damaged. "

I sighed, though I wasn't entirely convinced. "What did Connar do when he found that too much drink had been imbibed?" I asked in a dry tone. The spell was intact, or close enough. I imagined we'd find a stinking, slovenly Watcher within, probably still drunk from the night before.

Tobias said thoughtfully, "Well, usually the captain would drag him back to the Fae Realm.

Logan enjoys the Human Realm. It's not easy to be fae in the Human Realm, sir.

The Human Realm acts differently on us. It's similar to how the Fae Realm acts on any of the humans who are wished away.

Everything feels... dulled. Colors aren't as bright, food doesn't taste as rich, magic doesn't flow as smoothly.

I don't know, sir. Maybe that's why he prefers to drink? "

"Well, I would imagine that being stuck out in the middle of nowhere on the edge of two Realms would also be a reason to drink, but none of us have succumbed as of yet.

So I'm not quite sure I'm feeling lots of empathy for the Watcher within.

" I couldn't keep the irritation from my voice.

I had little patience for those who couldn't handle their duties, regardless of the circumstances.

"We'll need to open the door, sir," Tobias said.

Connar had shown me this. I thought about the words carefully before I said them, feeling the weight of responsibility that came with speaking them. The words had power, and power demanded respect.