Shadow Borne (2 page)

No, I felt my jaw tighten at the
acknowledgment, many of them were little more than petty thugs. Of
course, that in no way meant they weren't dangerous. Nobody knew
the truth of that statement better than I did.

My hand was a caramel colored blur in the
dark night as I loosely gripped an upcoming Oak branch and used my
body's own swift momentum to swing around a tree to my left. A
quick, curving twist of the hips was all that kept me from slamming
into the thick trunks of the trees that were flying past in a
kaleidoscope of shadow.

Occasionally, a break in the thick canopy
overhead would allow a shaft of moonlight to filter down through
the trees. Narrow ribbons of starlight shimmered here and there and
gave the woods a slightly silver tint that was more dramatic near
the top. The light was beautiful but I wasn't worried; I didn't
need it. My night vision was excellent and for that matter, so was
my sense of balance. All nymphs were born in possession of
extraordinary senses and remarkable agility, but constant training
and a fierce determination had strengthened my abilities into
something a little harder and sharper.

I was nearing the end of the road–literally.
The twisted, gnarled trunks of the Three Sisters Tree loomed ahead
and I instinctively braced for dismount, catching the top branches
of a solid looking Oak and tightening my hands around the rough
bark instead of my normal quicksilver catch and release motion. My
body swayed for a moment before regaining equilibrium and I dropped
nimbly to the lower branches and then finally to the hard packed,
leaf strewn ground.

I stared up at the impressive stature and
breathed in the crisp night air around me. Legend has it that this
section of woods was once ruled by three half-sisters. If the
ancient stories could be believed, then all three were very
beautiful, though I wasn't familiar enough with the legend to say
exactly how their specifics of birth had played out.

If memory served then one was a nymph, one
was a warrior, and one...I paused, frowning, and regarded the
twisted old tree thoughtfully. Well, I couldn't recall just what
the third sister had been, although I was sure someone, sometime,
had told me that part of the story.

All I remembered for sure was that the third
sister was different, unusual, whatever she'd been. Unlike the rest
of the trees here, no leaves grew on this one; three trunks twined
together like a knotted braid, but for all that, it didn't appear
dead or fragile. I traced one finger along the massive trunk but
quickly pulled my hand away. Nobody touched this tree. Ever. At
least no one was supposed to. Something about it being bad luck.
But the way I figured it, if one of the trio had been a nymph then
there was a good chance she was a distant ancestor and so she
wouldn't mind, would she?

No, I reasoned, silently pressing my palm
against the surface and feeling a warm, tingly sensation radiate
through my palm to spread outward toward my wrist. She wouldn't
mind. Wherever she was now. All of my senses seemed to go on high
alert in the next moment. I heard the voice at the same instant I
turned away from the tree.

“
Thought I'd find you
here.”

“
Claire.” I grinned,
reached into my pocket, and tossed her a smooth flat stone.
“Here.”

She caught the rock easily with one hand.
“Ooh. What's this?” she breathed a second later when she held it up
to the moonlight for closer inspection.

I joined her on the path and leaned over her
shoulder to point at the stone. “I found it today while I was on
patrol and thought you'd like it for your collection.”

Claire was a fanatic when it came to little
odds and ends, especially rocks and seashells. She never seemed to
get tired of showing off the large shell collection Mark had
mounted into a glass display case, although when I'd asked her how
she'd acquired the wide assortment of shells she had only blushed
and given some vague non-answer about a lake.

“
Aries, this is great.
Seriously. Thank you.”

I smiled back and watched as she clutched
her hand tightly around the stone before carefully depositing it
into a small beaded bag she carried on her left arm. The bag looked
fancy but I knew more often than not it was filled with sand and
dirt.

Claire had been a botanist before coming to
Terlain and it showed. In the months she had been among our land,
she hadn't lost her passion for nature; if anything, her hunger for
knowledge had reached epic proportion. And why not, I reflected,
sparing a glance for the gold veined leaves that swayed above our
heads along the edge of the path. Terlain was beautiful,
extraordinarily so. Even if it was less than safe right now...

My eyes narrowed ever so slightly on
Claire's cut off shorts and tank top. “Where's your knife?”

“
Don't worry.” Her lips
curved briefly and she tapped a fingernail against the fur lined
boots that ended just below her knees and should have looked out of
place with her shorts but didn't.

“
Oh. Right.” I shook my
head. Like Claire would walk around at night
unprotected.

“
Hey, are you okay?” She
glanced at me from beneath the honey colored fringe of bangs that
swept across her forehead. “Did something happen tonight? While you
were on duty?”

“
What? No. No, it was
really quiet tonight.” I pursed my lips and kicked at a pebble on
the path. “I'm just...” I sighed. It wasn't that I couldn't talk to
Claire. She wasn't just by best friend, she was also the closest
thing I had to family. Sure, technically I had a family and of
course I wasn't the only nymph in the world. But Claire...she was
my ride or die, as she liked to say. She got me in a way no one
else had in a long, long time. No, the problem wasn't that I
couldn't trust her enough to open up; the crux of the matter was
that right then I didn't know how. I considered her question for a
moment. Was I okay?

“
Everything is fine. I
mean, nothing happened.” I told her, idly twirling a lock of black
hair around one finger as we walked. “I just don't feel like myself
tonight. You know?”

“
Yeah.” She nodded without
missing a step. “You look a little on edge.”

“
I am.” I admitted. “Just
one of those days, I guess.”

“
Hmm, okay.”

“
Hey.” I said after a
moment. “Are you hungry?”

“
Not really.” She shook
her head. “You?”

"No." We were at the fork in the path, the
one that would either take us to town, or if we took the left fork,
the beach. “Why don't we skip dinner tonight? I'm just not in the
mood to see anyone right now.” And if the way I had snapped at
Aranu earlier was anything to go by, I was sure the random
strangers I could have run into would have thanked me for the
decision.

“
Sure.” She shrugged.
“After the beach, you can come back to the house with me. Marta
cooked a huge pot of chili tonight. We've got plenty
left.”

“
Okay.” I smiled, thoughts
of Marta lightening my mood a little. The older woman wasn't much
of a conversationalist, but she was one hell of a cook.

Loosely packed tan soil gave way to sand the
closer we walked to the beach. Claire whistled some tune I didn't
recognize and didn't really pay attention to anyway. Lost in my own
tangled thoughts, I followed quietly along a foot or so behind
her.

Claire stopped suddenly and, not paying
attention, I almost walked into her rigid back.

“
What is it?” I peered
over her shoulder at the beach beyond but couldn't see any reason
for her apprehension. White sand curved around a large expanse of
lake. Nothing moved on the calm surface of the water, nothing
stirred on the wooded path behind us. “Claire?” I touched her
shoulder.

“
It's dark.” She frowned
and took a step back.

“
So? It's usually dark
when we come here.” I shrugged. “What's the big deal?”

“
The moon.” she explained,
folding slim arms over her chest. “There's always a bright moon
when we come here, but look at the clouds.” She gestured with one
hand. “It's pitch dark out here tonight.”

I spared a brief glance for the sky. Sure
enough, I frowned, the large moon that had filled the forest with
strands of silver earlier was now almost completely obscured by
thick clouds.

“
It wasn't dark like that
a few minutes ago.” Claire murmured thoughtfully.

I'd have to take her word for it, I realized
with mild shock, since I hadn't been paying much attention on the
walk down to the beach. I felt my brows snap together. It wasn't
like me to let my guard down like that.

“
Maybe we should skip the
beach tonight.” Claire was saying. “It doesn't look like we're
going to get any moon bathing done and it's probably too cold to
swim.”

“
As for the clouds, well,
maybe we're in for an overnight storm, but it isn't that cold,” I
argued, not ready to face everyone at the house just yet. “And if
you want light, I can handle that.” I grinned.

Claire finally giggled and allowed herself
to be pulled along the fine pale sand to the water's edge. “I can
barely make out the island from here.” she complained, laughing
breathlessly.

“
The island you say?” I
repeated with an exaggerated accent. “Okay, then.” I grinned, eying
the lake with wicked intent.

“
Oh Aries, no way are
you–"

The splash drowned out the rest of Claire's
words as I dove deep, leaving a trail of white light in my
wake.

I've always been a fast swimmer and tonight
was no exception. Not being able to see where I was going made
little difference. My body glided easily through the onyx lake and
slowly the black water came alive beneath my hands. The dark,
silent island loomed ahead and I swam a quick loop around it,
leaving a circle of bright orbs twinkling and bobbing on the
surface of the water like diamonds. By the time I turned back to
the small shore to wave to Claire, the island's only tree was also
kissed with golden light.

The lake hadn't been all that cold to begin
with but it felt fractionally warmer with all the lights I'd
scattered in our immediate vicinity. Claire had already stripped
down to the two-piece bathing suit she wore beneath her shorts and
tank top. Her boots had been carelessly tossed farther up the beach
along with her bag.

Both items rested haphazardly on the sand. I
added my over-clothing to the pile but laid the dagger I carried
next to her clothing. I wasn't comfortable having it so far up the
beach and if it got a few drops of water on it, well, big deal. It
had seen worse. At least it would be accessible should we happen to
need it.

I danced down the beach to stand beside
Claire at the water's edge; in deference to what I liked to refer
to as Claire's propriety sensibilities, I left my bra and underwear
on. Normally, I wouldn't have even been wearing a bra and if by
some slim chance I had, it certainly wouldn't have been the lacy
aqua confection I currently had on. Still, I had to admit the blue
green color was a lot better than the peach silk she had given me
on my birthday.

Anyway, I reasoned, Claire was right about
one thing. The garments did provide a lot of support, especially
the ones with the thin wire. Although, in my opinion the under wire
bra was just more proof that 'too much of a good thing' existed.
Claire liked the things but I drew the line at them; not only were
they damned uncomfortable but they made my cleavage look
obscene.

Water lapped at my thighs. Idly, I watched
the muscles tighten at the first touch of cool water before pushing
my feet against the sandstone bottom, tucking my head between my
arms, and diving fully into the shimmery glow that was the lake.
The splash just behind me and to the left told me Claire had
followed suit.

I loved to swim; the joy it held for me was
second only to flying. More than anything, I loved to feel free.
Maybe it was because I knew that deep down, in every way that
counted, I wasn't free, would never be free. These days,
obligations were abundant, from my people to the warriors to
civilian villagers.

No, I would never be short of obligations.
And truthfully, most days I wouldn't have wanted to be. Today,
however, was not one of those days. Today I wanted to fly and swim
and scream until I'd worked out the kinks and left them in the
dust.

I reached the island ahead of Claire, so I
pulled myself onto the tiny shore and turned in a full circle to
survey my own handy-work.

"Not too shabby." Claire gasped from behind
me. She grappled with sparse tufts of grass and sand to pull
herself up and out of the water. I leaned down to catch her by the
elbow and pull her the rest of the way onto the small island.

"You're winded. Are you okay?"

"Oh." She placed a hand on her chest and
shook her head while a rueful smile played around the corners of
her mouth. "Yeah, I'm fine. I thought I saw a shark and panicked. I
opened my mouth and swallowed a little water."

"You always think you see a shark." I said,
amused.

"What can I say?" She shrugged. "Old habits
die hard."

"You've never actually come face to face
with a shark." I pointed out.

"Well, no," she agreed readily enough, "but
I've been terrified of the things my entire life." She shuddered
and I barely resisted the urge to do the same.

The sea creatures she described and called
sharks sounded like dreadful creatures–and creepy to boot. She had
told me all about them months ago, late one night over double
chocolate chip cookies and hot tea after we'd spent a day at the
lake. The thing with Claire isn't that she's such a tough customer
as to never be affected by things like stress and fear, it's the
way she squares her shoulders and faces life head on, both good and
bad. She's also pretty much an open book.