Morning Rising (3 page)

“Excuse me?” Kara tried her best to make it
sound polite, but knew she failed. Sometimes it wasn’t easy to be
polite to someone who locked you in a mud pit.

The man swiveled smoothly to face her. He was
beautiful. He looked barely twenty years old, with thick brown hair
and eyes so dark they were almost black. His smile revealed
straight, white teeth against his tan skin. In his perfectly
tailored suit, he was the picture of young and successful. Perhaps
if there had been even an ounce of true human emotion in his eyes
Kara might have bought it. Instead, his dark eyes were cold and
empty as he studied her.

“How can I be of service?” the man asked. The
kindness in his voice was forced.

“Who are you?” Kara asked coldly. She wasn’t
about to pretend to be anything other than pissed off.

He considered the question before answering.
“Let’s go with Demitar this round, shall we?” he leaned back in the
chair with his hands behind his head and one ankle resting on the
opposite knee.

“How about you go with the truth?” Kara
suggested, as she crossed her arms over her pounding heart. She
felt like Demitar would hear it and know how nervous she was.
Facing him was like staring down a lion. He was dangerous, and he
was trying to decide if she was prey. She needed him to see her as
an equal.

“Young Guardian, how little you remember of
your own roots.” Demitar shook his head with a small smile. He
stood and walked to the front of the desk. His hands moved as he
spoke. “Truth is so fluid. Demitar is as much my real name as a
host of others.”

“Fine,” Kara said, trying hard not to let her
confusion show. “Who the hell are you, Demitar?”

Demitar smiled and leaned against the desk.
“I can’t tell you that. Wouldn’t be fair now would it?”

“Okay, listen,” Kara said. She put her hands
on her hips. “I don’t know what the hell you are playing at here,
or where I am. I can overlook all that though, if you just give me
back my friend and send us home.”

“Your friend? Would that be the girl you call
Dylan?” Demitar still had a half amused smile on his face. “I can’t
give you Morning anymore than I can keep her from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” years of
anger boiled inside Kara, anger at her mom, anger at her mom’s
boyfriend, and anger at the kids at school who ignored and bullied
her. She crossed her arms in front of her, holding it all in.
Instinct told her she needed to keep controlled around Demitar.

“Go with the anger.” Demitar smiled wider. He
leaned forward with his elbows on the desk. Kara tried to control
her emotions. He knew what she was feeling? That meant that he
would also know how afraid she was. She tried to shove the fear
deep inside, too far for him to feel.

Demitar cocked his head, confusion flitting
over his face, before continuing. “I only meant that Morning is
Inbetween now.” He swept his hand, motioning to the view behind
him. “At this moment she belongs to neither of us, as long as she’s
out there somewhere. She should have been here with me years ago,
but her father was smarter than I assumed. It was my mistake.”

“Why should Dylan be here with you?” Kara
narrowed her eyes at the man. However old he was, he was definitely
too old for Dylan.

“Because that was the deal I made with her
father in exchange for his life. Unfortunately, he sent her to the
world you know, that blighted human world.” Demitar’s face pinched,
like he had gotten a whiff of garbage. “Worse than that, he bought
another child to be her Guardian when this time came. That, my
dear, is you.”

“That’s impossible. I’ve known Dylan for less
than a year.” Kara shook her head. The strange world, the even
stranger inhabitants, Kara could take that. But the words coming
out of Demitar’s mouth were beginning to stir something long
repressed in her that she wasn’t ready for.

“You’ve known her your whole life.” Demitar
smiled. “She was the Day King’s daughter; you were only the
daughter of a servant. You were the princess’s only friend. Even at
that age you were in love with her.” He said it with disgust; as if
love was a weakness he didn’t have time for.

Kara’s stomach turned as the memories came
rushing back to her. Nothing in her life was real. She was an
interloper in the world she thought of as her own. Her mom wasn’t
really her mom at all. She could see a glimpse of the faces of her
true fairy parents, her father with his kind eyes and her soft
spoken mother. It was only because her father was the King’s right
hand man that she had been allowed to play with Morning. At five,
she followed Morning all around the castle. At six, they were both
sent to live in the human world.

Chapter 3

Kara inhaled sharply and breathed out
quickly, trying to make room in her head for all the memories
rushing back to her. Her head felt as if it might explode from the
pressure of everything. Then, as suddenly as it had all started, it
was done. She knew more about who she really was, but it wasn’t who
she felt like. She still felt like Kara; shy and fragile. Without
having to be told, she knew many of her memories were still
missing.

“Sila, you remember now,” Demitar said. He
had crossed the room to stand in front of her while her memories
were coming back. As he spoke he stepped close, and the sickeningly
sweet smell of honey drifted over her. “That’s so much better. I’d
hate to kill you without you understanding why.”

“I’m still Kara,” Kara spoke through gritted
teeth. His threat didn’t mean much to her. She was fairly sure she
was safe, at least for the moment. Less than a foot separated them,
but she held her ground, trying not to inhale deeply.

“Yes, I suppose Morning will say the same
thing. It’s so hard to get you changelings to ever truly revert
back to your original forms.” Demitar walked back to his desk,
waving a hand as he spoke. “You always carry the taint of the human
world. No matter though. Kara or Sila, you are still the Guardian,
still the love of her life, blah blah, blah.” He leaned against the
desk, watching her at a distance again, strong arms crossed over
his narrow chest.

His words hit Kara like a shock of cold
water, but her response was immediate. “I’ll keep her from you.”
Kara never felt so strongly about anything in her life.

“I’m sure you’ll try,” Demitar said with a
smile. He shook a piece of dark hair back from his eyes. “She’s
somewhere out there in Inbetween now. As you’ve refused to give her
up willingly, we’ll have to go about this the hard way.” He
steepled his hands in front of him and focused on Kara. “You have
three days to find her and get her to the Day King’s land. If you
fail, she’ll be mine. You’ll be dead.”

“Fine,” Kara said without thought. “I accept
the challenge.” She couldn’t explain it, but she knew those were
the words he was waiting to hear.

“Wonderful,” Demitar said. He leaned over the
desk, reaching for something Kara couldn’t see.

Kara landed only a few feet down and found
herself slipping down a smooth slide. She flinched at first, sure
it was made from iron, but when there was no burning she relaxed,
almost enjoying the ride. Some theme parks could take a few hints
from this place. Unlike most slides that seemed over before they
began, this slide went on forever. Kara was moving so quickly that
she started to wonder just how tall the building was. Finally her
feet hit something that gave way and she shot out into open air.
She fell the last few feet onto the hard concrete of the
street.

The impact knocked the breath out of Kara.
She lay in a daze, staring up at the dark sky where a few eager
stars twinkled faintly, until her senses came back. When she had
caught her breath, Kara sat up slowly and looked around. The alley
she sat in stretched off in both directions to wider, busier
streets. The building she’d just shot out of loomed above her. It
climbed far into the sky without a window in sight. Kara felt dizzy
staring up at it. She thought she had been on the top floor, which
was so far above her that she couldn’t make it out through the low
hanging clouds.

Feeling bruised and scared, Kara pushed
herself to her feet. Two meager street lights illuminated the
alley, giving her the impression that she was alone. She could see
movement on either end of the alley and hear the sounds of a city
full of life around her. There were the normal sounds of music,
cars, and laughter, but also stranger noises as well, animalistic
noises that made her skin crawl as she stood, wondering where to go
next. In Demitar’s office it had all seemed so cut and dry; save
Dylan. She hadn’t thought past that. Now that she was out in the
city, it all seemed hopeless.

Kara didn’t remember everything about her
life from before, but she knew there was something dangerous about
Inbetween. She tried to tell herself it was nothing more than the
normal fear of being alone in a strange place. Still, three days
seemed like too long to stay Inbetween and not nearly long enough
to find Dylan. Kara looked up and down the alley, searching for any
sign that might show her the way. To her right trashcans rattled
together as something skittered behind them.

Kara wanted to run. Instead, she forced
herself to turn in the direction of the noise. She walked softly
down the alley, aware of the crunch of loose gravel on pavement
beneath her feet and the faint rustle of her jeans as she moved.
She knew the creature could hear her. As she moved closer, she
could hear the thing trying to hide itself.

“I can hear you,” Kara called, glad her voice
remained level. Her heart was pounding an uneven rhythm. She half
expected that to come through in her voice. “Come out.”

“I is not to be seen,” said a mournful voice.
Some of Kara’s fear dissipated as she recognized it.

“Glint?” she asked, surprised the creature
would be outside. He seemed to belong to that dank pit below the
tower.

“Yes,” Glint answered, hunkering out from
behind the trash cans. If it weren’t for his wide, white eyes his
gray skin would have blended into the wall. “Glint shouldn’t be
here.” Glint’s wings rustled in agitation, sounding like crumpling
paper. “Not right, not right to help the Guardian.” Glint shook his
head back and forth violently and rustled his wings again.

“Help?” Kara asked with surprise. She’d been
fairly certain neither Glint nor Collicks were on her side. “How
would you help me?”

“Master knows you won’t find the Morning
alone. Thinks he’ll win he does.” Glint looked shyly at the ground,
swaying right to left as he spoke. “Guardian doesn’t remember
Glint, does she?” he asked, tilting his head to look up at her.

“No, I can’t say that I do,” Kara answered,
trying to find any slight memory of the creature. She thought she
would remember such a creepy looking thing.

“Guardian chased away boys when they threw
stones at Glint.” Glint’s features softened a bit at the memory,
his big, bat-like ears relaxed against his head. Kara put a hand to
her mouth; she remembered. She was only four at the time, but the
sight of the older boys throwing stones at the poor little creature
sent her into a tantrum so wild the boys gave up their torment.

She’d run up to the boys, screaming at the
top of her lungs for them to stop. At first they only laughed at
her, but then she picked up a stick. It was thin and light, but it
struck like a whip when she flicked it at the first boy. He yowled
in pain and was the first to run. The others had followed quickly,
her young glare hot on their backs.

“I remember,” Kara said softly. She let her
hand drop to her side, taking a step closer to Glint. “I wanted to
see to your wounds, but you ran off as soon as the boys were gone.”
Glint nodded, bobbing his whole upper body as he did so. A smile
crossed his face. His sharp teeth gleamed white in the streetlight.
There was something friendly about the wide smile, despite the
teeth.

“Glint will help Guardian for that. Glint
will be punished if master knows.” He looked up at the building
behind them. Glint’s eyes grew impossibly wide with fear. He turned
back to Kara and spoke in a quiet rush. “Many will stand with you,
though one turns away. Know truth and lies by the eyes, golden with
sorrow. Enemies run rampant as the Morning is waning, our world
makes her weak.”

It was so far from his usual speech pattern
that Kara knew he must have memorized it. It made no sense to her,
but she recited it to herself. She said the words over and over
again in her head, until she knew she wouldn’t forget. Glint was
risking his life to give her this clue and she wasn’t going to let
it be a waste.

“I still don’t understand.” Kara shook her
head. “Where do I even start to look for Dylan?”

Glint looked pained as he tried to decide
what else he could risk telling her. “Go to Gravity club,” Glint
said. He ran up and pressed a small pouch to her hand, then backed
away. “Take this. Go there.”

Without another word, Glint turned and loped
down the alleyway. He leaped into the night, jumping as high as
Kara’s head before spreading his wings to catch the air. Beating
them furiously, he drifted up into the half darkness. Alone in the
faded light, Kara wondered if she could trust the little thing. She
opened the small pouch to find it filled with small copper coins,
ranging from thick coins the size of quarters, to dime sized
slivers. With no better leads, she started down the alley.

Out on the street, it was impossible for Kara
to ignore that she was far from home. She saw a few humans and
creatures which looked human, but there were also creatures the
human imagination only dreamed of. Giant wolves wound through the
crowd, each almost as tall as Kara. One growled at her when she
walked too close, and she stepped aside quickly. They smelled like
wet dog. She saw an emaciated man walking along on ten spidery
legs. He had four eyes that swirled around, erratically taking in
the sights. He nodded to her as he passed, just the barest hint of
a smile on his face.