#forgotten light

Sketched at the bottom of the note was a triangle amulet, with crescents open to the left. Inside the triangle was a circle inside an oval with an ‘x’ through it, bisecting in the center of the circle. Because you have to carve intent into every craft, Kendra had to go look up what the symbol meant in the dictionary he gave her.

The triangle was a curse, and the eye a symbol for blindness. Putting it within a circle, she should be able to direct it only at certain people, namely enemies. Did she want to blind her enemies? On the one hand, it was the same principal as her weakness charm. No harm, unless they intended to harm her first. On the other…

As someone who can count on her hands the number of rooms she’s seen, as someone who is alienating the single relationship she has to get a glimpse of sunlight, and as someone whose most prized possession is a landscape painting of the outside, could she take away someone else’s sight?

Maybe she could limit it to cursing people not to see her. An invisibility charm was a lot less problematic than a blinding curse. Combing through the books didn’t give her any insight on how to limit the blindness. In fact, applying Ronodin’s charm as is to a circular amulet wouldn’t even limit duration. It would blind any enemy that looked at her once, permanently.

It would take good craft and magic application to create, and a single mistake would make the magic run out halfway through the first use of the amulet, leaving a person…partially blinded? Blinded in one eye? Temporarily blinded? It didn’t say, so Kendra had to put a couple of concepts together to make a guess. Magic based on gaze was actually the most magic consuming type of enchantment. That was all it said, so Kendra went looking through her little library for more of an explanation.

She managed to clobber together answers from five different books:

All magic is reactionary, a person must interact with the spell caster or the enchanted object for the magic to be applied. The safest place from magic is away from it. Simply seeing something only activates extremely rare curses and enchantments, usually crafted from Dragon parts, because it just required that much magic. Touch is the most common type of curse conduit, and came in the variations. Presence within an enchanted area or physical contact with the item or caster were the most common. Proximity casting is rare, but technically falls between touch and sight in terms of magic usage. There was also gaseous spells, which technically also operated based on touch, but the enchanted matter expanded, so that’s also deserved a special mention.

Kendra was a limitless supply of magic. If she wore a sight-based curse, well crafted to actually create an effect, it would never run out of juice. It would fully infect others every time. It also couldn’t be used against her to the same potential.

If she made that work, there was no way Ronodin could justify keeping her locked up.

But what if…what if her brother felt like he had to harm her in order to get her to go with him? She could blind him, and not even know it. Is that what old Kendra would have wanted, after giving up her memory for him? No. Temporarily feeling too weak to chase her? Fine. Permanently blinding someone with good intentions? Not fine.

Kendra left the books open and went into the hallway.

“Mendigo?” she asked, and the puppet walked in front of her. “How many hours ago did Ronodin leave?”

Mendigo held up two fingers.

“Did he say words as he left out the front door?” she checked.

Mendigo shook his head. Ha. She knew that he had made that up to keep her from stealing the key.

“You have to follow all my orders, correct?” Kendra checked. And the puppet nodded.

“Are there things I can’t tell you to do?”

Mendigo hesitated, then nodded his head.

“Are the things you won’t do if I tell you impossible because Ronodin ordered you not to do them?”

Head shaking no. She couldn’t ask him about the things he couldn’t do, Mendigo couldn’t handle questions more complicated than yes and no.

“If I gave you a paintbrush, would you be able to write out explanations to longer questions?”

Mendigo shook his head no. Drat. Complicated magic, but not an intelligence behind it.

Could she craft a puppet like Mendigo? Probably not, not unless there was some kind of wood that wanted to become a limberjack. None of her books said anything about creating a little bit of intelligence, enough to answer questions and have memory. But maybe if she got good enough. Though why she’d want another when she already had Mendigo made it a moot question. It was probably impossible anyway.  

“Mendigo, the things I could ask you to do and you wouldn’t,” she asked, “is that because they would be impossible for you to do?”

He nodded, and pointed at the front doorknob. Right, she had told him to open the door, and he couldn’t.

“Would you be able to tell me if Ronodin is the one really giving you orders?” Kendra tried.

More hesitation, then slow nodding.

“Has Ronodin ever given you any orders that you followed?”

More nodding. That didn’t actually tell her much. Ronodin was her secret boyfriend, if she had ever once said ‘Mendigo, do what Ronodin says,’ then the answer to this question would be yes.

“Are you currently following any of Ronodin’s orders?” she said. Vigorous no.

“Right,” Kendra said, feeling a little better. “From now on, you are not to follow anyone’s orders but my own, under any circumstance. Will you be able to follow that order?”

Here came the longest pause. Was it because she was asking him a question about the future? Maybe the enchantment didn’t allow for questions like that.

Slowly, Mendigo nodded his head. That was good.

For the rest of the morning, she settled on making a stronger version of her first amulet, temporary weakening based on intent and proximity. Maybe if she made that good enough, she wouldn’t have to permanently blind someone just to be free.

Ronodin showed up in the late afternoon, but didn’t fully enter the apartment, instead choosing to stand in the doorway.

“I see you didn’t take my suggestion,” Ronodin said, nodding at the newly carved amulet in her hand. She had taken a break to grab a snack from the kitchen, and found him there.

“Is this your way of checking in on me without having to let me out?” Kendra asked, rolling her eyes.

“Well, I ran into a snag when arranging your fake death,” Ronodin explained, “A quick video of you telling the person to help me will fix all my problems. I need to go back out again right away —”

Kendra sighed, “You can come in Ronodin, Mendigo won’t stop you from leaving.” Because it felt like the properly dramatic thing to do, she leaned against the hallway wall and slid down until she was sitting. It took a small adjustment, but her current red dress was stretchy, and she managed to do it modestly.

Ronodin came and slid down beside her, and the door swung shut.

“I’m sorry for acting like a brat,” Kendra said. “it’s not fair, and there’s no excuse, but it’s just so frustrating being locked up like this.”

Ronodin smiled, “Believe me, I know more than you can guess at what that’s like. Think you’re ready to hear why my family hates me?”

Kendra nodded, sitting up straighter.

“Forever ago, I started to question why the Fairy Queen was the ultimate authority on what was good and what was bad in the world. There were five other thrones, and they all play important roles in keeping the world functioning, and they all had different ideas of what was good and right than the Fairy Queen. But mortal wizards sided with her, as did human adventurers, and every kind of mortal agreed: the Fairy kingdom is the brightest light, and we should all strive to their ideals.

“Never mind the naiads and great fairies who kill because mortality is funny. Never mind the imps and the abandoned nipsies. Never mind the philosophies of balance that demand that destruction is just as important as creation to the continuation of the world. Never mind the strength of not picking a side and acting according to your own will and conscious. It sickened me to be part of such an oppressive kingdom that claims the moral right in everything.”

Ronodin drifted into a memory. “What did you do?” Kendra asked, bringing him back.

“I corrupted my horns,” Ronodin said simply, “It took a bit of time and a lot of favors, but I was able to break myself from the Fairy Kingdom. The Queen doesn’t command me anymore. I owe allegiance only to myself, and that’s how I want it to be. Some of those favors contributed to people getting hurt, but I can’t regret it. When I saw you going through something similar, I knew I had to talk to you. And now, here we are.”

“Here we are,” Kendra echoed. Sitting in the depths of some underground labyrinth, fighting over prison keys and the greater good, Kendra with no memory of who she was, and Ronodin fighting the same battles he’s fought his entire life over freedom.

Kendra leaned over and touched Ronodin of her own volition. Nothing romantic, not really, just her head resting on his shoulder. A silent show of support.

She sat up after just a minute, because she liked sincere Ronodin much better than flirty or angry Ronodin. (Flabberghasted Ronodin still held top spot).

“Let’s get that video for you,” Kendra said, then paused. “Wait, no one is going to get hurt when faking my death, right?”

Ronodin shook his head and took out his cell phone, “I promise, no humans are going to be harmed in the faking of your death. I just need some help creating a believable fake body.”

Kendra gave a little smile, “Doesn’t it ruin my fake death if someone knows about it and is helping you set it up?”

“Be very vague,” he advised, “The vaguer the better, so that when we do fake your death, even they will be convinced.”

“Okay then, what should I say?” she asked. “Am I talking to someone specific?”

Ronodin pointed the phone camera at her, “No, I’ll probably need to use it on a couple of people. Just tell the viewer to help me. Don’t mention my name directly, if you can help it. The less they know about who you’re with, the safer you’ll be. Ready…three, two one.”

"Oh, um, hi,” Kendra waved at the camera sheepishly, “I’m not sure who is going to have see this, but this guy is actually helping me. If you could lend him a hand, that would be great and I could get out of here much faster. Thank you!”

Ronodin then changed the view of the camera so that they were both in the picture, and gave a little wave. “Anything for Kendra.” He placed a quick kiss on her cheek and caught the start of her blush before he stopped recording.

“There, that should be convincing enough,” he said, pocketing his phone.

“I assure you, that kiss was unnecessary,” she said, folding her arms, still red.

He grinned back, “And I assure you, my caterpillar, that it was completely necessary. Another one for the road?”

Kendra stood up rather than let him take another kiss. They had had a good moment, she wasn’t going to let him ruin it. He stood up as well.

“I’ll probably arrive back while you’re asleep,” he said. “Can I see how you’re doing with that amulet? You chose another weakening one?”

“I’m not ready to permanently blind my misguided family,” Kendra said, handing over the amulet.

Ronodin nodded, “Well, you’re progressing. A lot more magic took in this one than your first try. It’s well on the way to making fatigue hit anyone who lays a hand on you.”

Kendra frowned, “I was going for proximity, still not enough focus?”

Ronodin nodded, “The applied magic isn’t strong enough, nor is the craftsmanship. You accidentally cut all the way through one broken link, making one of your four chains whole, and you really oversanded the top. Don’t worry, we’ll work on it some more when I get back. This is a skill like any other, it’s going to take time. You’ll get better at this, I promise.”

Kendra nodded, sighing over the flaws he pointed out. “Is ‘have fun’ the wrong response for the task of faking my death?”

“Oh,” he said grinning, “After the stunts you pulled, I’ll be having lots of fun. Don’t go crazy.”

“You’ll be the first to know if I do.”

Mendigo stepped out of the shadow of the doorway as Ronodin approached, “It’s fine Mendigo. Ronodin can come and go as he pleases.” Kendra said.

Mendigo stepped back and Ronodin stepped past and closed the door without a backward glance.

Knowing she lost the fight, Kendra returned to the craft room. She took that feeling, and turned it into the desire to weaken those that would make her lose with every paint brush stroke.

The second medallion was certainly more than just wood and paint when Kendra was done with it. It felt…expectant. Waiting to fulfill its purpose. A spiked trap, waiting to fall. It was kind of exhilarating, knowing what she had created had force and abilities beyond her.

Kendra had wielded magic.

Kendra looked back over the amulet that Ronodin has suggested she make, then ran to one of the books she had referenced that morning about how to build in a command. A dual check, the person had to want to harm her, and she had to want to curse them. She could make that curse.

All it needed was a second circular border with a notch, and Kendra would have to hold it and intend to activate it before it would blind someone. The pattern was more complex than what she had attempted before, but after all her reading, she felt ready. She switched to a block of wood called stiltseia, because the description indicated that it’s flowers alternatively flashed darkness or bright light each time the flowers bloomed. It felt right for this project.

Kendra worked though lunch, snacking on the bread and cheese that populated their kitchen. This time she made sure that if her carving tool was touching wood, she had her magic gathered and turned towards blinding enemies. The emotions feeding this purpose were vengeance, ambition, and desire to lash out. She didn’t have strong vengeance on her own, but Lady Kuychia wrote the book on vengeance, and Kendra had read it. Towards the end of Lady Kuychia’s life, when her husband found out about her shadow charmer abilities, he accused her of being pure evil, stole their children, and put a ‘kill the witch’ order throughout the entire countryside surrounding them. Vicariously, Lady Kuychia’s burning vengeance took shape in the amulet, to permanently blind those that would harm her.

Lady Kuychia had never gotten vengeance herself, if the handwritten note in the back indicating that the conquistadors pillaging the area around her village had hung her, after she kept putting out the fires meant to burn her. They caught her when she had sacrificed herself in a distraction to give her children a chance to run away from the Portuguese raid. Her husband had spat at her on his way out with their children. The children were captured and killed the day after their mother had died by hanging. Those emotions fueled the carving.

Except the outer notched circle. Following instructions, she focused on her need for control. The battle to control her negative emotions took place outside her body for the first time, as she ordered the power of the amulet into the circle, and into where she said they should stay. There were two different types of magic under her hands, the negative emotions of the amulet and the unyielding neutral control being pushed through her tool. Building a wall around the fire pit.

Kendra added a coat of paint right away, it didn’t feel bound tightly enough without it. This time she selected a dark purple paint, phantom tears and harpy blood. She was going by instinct, but tears also came from the eyes, and harpies seemed like the kind of creature more than happy to take out your eye for taking their blood.

It came out a color so deep, it was almost black, but the purple seemed to highlight around the cuts of her design. She hung it on a hook over the fire, next to the one she had made that morning. Three amulets down. No way to safely test them.

Crafting two amulets was exhausting enough that she wanted to take a nap. First, she had to clean up the mess she had made in the library.

Unfortunately, she had to guess at the places she had taken the books from. She had a vague idea of the organization: magic books left of the fire, histories and biographies on the right, and close to the door were the reference books, but without being able to read all the languages, she was mostly guessing.

Kendra scooted a space a little wider to make room for where she thought a book was supposed to go, and a yellowed piece of paper fell from between the spines. Kendra put the book away and picked up the paper.

To the current occupant,

You’re probably like me, someone whose abilities can only be used voluntarily, so they are keeping you locked up here until they can convince you to do what they want. I have no hope for rescue, and I refuse to do what they ask. I expect to die here, but I have hidden notes written in Silvian, and hidden them around the library to pass the time. If there is nothing else to my life, maybe these notes will make the duration easier for the next occupant.

So far I have discovered a single secret tunnel going out of here. Twist the head of the goblin statue and the wall will become permeable. I won’t survive outside this room, but maybe a prisoner better suited for this environment could use it to their advantage.  

Peace,

Maykrill of Anksonling

 Not what she expected to find, but she was wide awake now. It took a little bit of digging, but the goblin statue was directly diagonal behind her favorite reading chair. What kind of prison cell has a tunnel in it?

The tunnel probably didn’t lead outside, there was no way she was that lucky, but ‘anywhere else’ still ranked pretty high on the places she wanted to be.

The statue was a little taller than her palm, and currently being used as a bookend. The goblin made an icky sound when she twisted the head, like she was killing a living thing, and the small stretch of wall between bookcases became hazy. More gas than solid, and while she had to turn sideways to fit, she made it through just fine.

Unfortunately, she could barely see in front of her face. With how good she’s gotten at hiding her light, there was practically nothing. Should she un-dim herself? It would let things know where she was when she probably didn’t want them to, but she was probably already glowing a little anyway.

Kendra reached out and touched a wall, which immediately lit torches filled with the same blue fire that haunted her own apartment. Hiding wasn’t an option. Should she go back? But what was she waiting for?  Ronodin wouldn’t be back for a couple of hours yet, it was mid-afternoon. She might not get a better chance to figure out more about where she was.

If someone asked her what she was doing, she would just head back. And she’d stay out of the dragon invested grotto. A quick check showed that the wall was completely permeable from this side, meaning she wasn’t going to be locked out. Unless the twisted head operated on a timer. But she wouldn’t be able to test that theory without it being too late to do anything about it. Her best bet would be to make the most of this current foray, but if she didn’t leave for long periods of time and she didn’t get locked out, she might be able to keep this secret until they were cleared to leave this place. She grabbed her second amulet on her way towards the tunnel.

So much for Ronodin winning their battle of wills. Ha.

Kendra crept along the corridor, her bare feet quiet along the ground. It sloped downward, and she thought there was a very subtle switchback before it opened another fuzzy wall. Fuzzy on her side, hopefully solid on the opposite side. Stepping closer, she tried to get a good view of the room before she set foot.

The room seemed large, enormous even. It was dimly lit with sporadic torches, the stone darker than in her hallway. A neutral jean blue darkened into marbled navy, made to look even colder by blue flame. Kendra glanced down at her bare feet, and really hoped the ruby necklace actually warmed her up and didn’t just shut off her perception of cold.

There were large structures scattered about the room, and Kendra narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out the nearest one through the wall.

“I know your mother taught you better manners than to skulk when you know people can sense you, Ronodin. Please do leave me be, I’m not telling you anything else, and this constant taunting is rather irritating, even for you.”

Her eyes adjusted as the boy spoke. Because he was a boy, and based on his voice, couldn’t be much older than her, probably Ronodin’s age. She could catch the outline of bars, bent in around a circle, like a bird cage. Almost appropriate, given that this boy’s voice was the most melodic she had ever heard. Beautiful as Ronodin’s, but in a different way. Clearer, somehow.

“Fine, I will simply annoy you in return. I don’t think High Sylvian has ever graced these halls, join in if you remember the words:

 Follow the wind,

The one that blows of honey and rose

A caress, a brush, steady and slow

Follow the wind to Asamelle

  Trail the stream,

Of cerulean and lily pads green

It bubbles laughter and splashes song

Trail the stream to Asamelle

  Chase the light,

It hovers and flickers at the edge of sight

Whiter than ever beheld, brighter than ever-ever lived,”

The boy’s voice cracked here, and the imperfection in the perfect song made her throat grow tight. When he started singing again, it was just a little more raw, and Kendra had to cover her mouth.

“Chase the light to Asamelle

Chase the light home.

  You followed the wind, and trailed the stream,

chased the light, found the dream,

Home, to Asamelle.

  Moonlight blossoms, viridian forest,

Wave to the naiad, dance to the Djini lyre

Unicorns race and run through the mire

You have come home to Asamelle

  Beneath the tiger sky, follow softly,

Pass tree-grown houses, and beds of petals new

The final rise gives way to Heartsworn

The crowning jewel of Asamelle

  There’s so much light, it’s too bright,

Push forward; the sun was brought to house,

The virtuous beings of Asamelle

  An orchestra of birds, winds, and strings

Elf and Phoenix dance with the grace of falling leaves,

Step forward, part of the dance, the moment, the chance

Asamelle sings you home.”

 A tear slid down her cheek. An honest tear, her payment for the song. It was so full of love and longing; it would have been a sin to not be affected.

“Hang on, Ronodin would never have listened to me sing that,” the boy said, “Who are you?”

Kendra fled back to the library. She banged her hip on her way through the secret passage, and curled up in her armchair.

Her heart was thumping, pounding, her face hot. What was wrong with her? She just…all she needed was a moment to calm down and collect herself. That prisoner revealed a lot, she just needed some space and time from his voice to be able to process it.

The prisoner was so sad. How could anyone keep him jailed away like that? Was Asamelle his home? Why did he ever leave? It sounded beautiful, in a way that looks fragile but is more solid than anything else. A sculpture that appears to be made of glass, but is actually of ice or diamond.

And the part she didn’t want to think about: Ronodin is his jailor. He seemed to know Ronodin quite well, well enough think he could tick Ronodin off. And considering Ronodin’s relationship with his home, that song probably would. The boy thought she was Ronodin, there to question him some more. What could Ronodin want with him? How many more of her schemes would Ronodin tolerate until Kendra was in a cage next to the boy?

If she was trapped down there, would he sing for her if she asked?

No. The goal was to get out to the sunlight, not end up another bird in a cage, one much more unpleasant than her current residence. Why was he in a cage? Ronodin was all about freedom, and making sure people had the space to make their choices. He seemed to hate that Kendra was in a cage, Ronodin wouldn’t imprison someone else without reason.

Things weren’t adding up. Should she wait to confront Ronodin about it? Should she go talk to the trapped boy? Kendra thought she could make another trip before Ronodin came back tonight. Who would be more likely to lie? The boy or Ronodin?

Kendra needed facts. Evidence. Mendigo was under her full control. She had a brother named Seth. She chose to give up her memory. Ronodin loved her. She was fairykind and could use magic to make enchanted objects and see in the dark. Everything else she knew came from Ronodin’s story.

Kendra wanted to talk to the boy. And when Ronodin came back, she didn’t know when he’d leave again. This could be her only chance.

The goblin’s head was back to normal, and she broke the neck again. Kendra also took her second amulet, to weaken those who would harm her, not the blinding one. If the boy had the intention of harming her while she was down there, her curse would strike. Possibly. Not that he could do much from inside a birdcage.

The hallway had darkened, but lit once again as she touched the wall. Surer than the first time, Kendra hurried down the secret tunnel to the half-there wall. Once again, Kendra stopped.

“I know you’re there,” the boy called, much softer this time.

Gathering her courage, Kendra passed through the wall, halfway. She spotted an identical goblin statue, this time part of the brace holding up a torch, and went through all the way.

She walked forward, and a light sprung from inside the cage, small and dim, it illuminated the boy.

He was handsome. Unbelievably handsome. Kendra couldn’t remember seeing the cover of a magazine, and only knew that they depicted pretty people. She felt like she wouldn’t ever need to see a magazine; the boy in front of her screamed that kind of impossible perfection. White hair, blue eyes, unblemished pale skin, cupid’s bow lips that had fallen open at the sight of her.

Too late she remembered that she was currently wearing the stretchy red dress, a ruby medallion, a white cursed amulet (luckily that eyesore was tucked under her neckline), and her hideous orange cardigan. Her hair had been brushed and tied back before she started crafting, and she certainly wasn’t wearing the makeup in her bathroom. She felt a thousand times grungier than she had before.

The boy’s face changed, hardening, and he turned to speak to the general space around them, “Nice try Ronodin. I’m not going to lie and say I expected you to send a fake Kendra,” she jumped when he said her name, “but she really needs some work. This one barely glows, much less radiates like the sun. I’m honestly more surprised you let through such a bad copy.”

“Oh, um, Ronodin didn’t send me, I’m kind of here without him knowing, so I’d appreciate it if we could keep this a secret,” Kendra said nervously, tugging at her cardigan, hoping to turn it into something less ridiculous. “And I can shine brighter, but it seems to bother people, so I dim it.”

The boy raised his eyebrows in disbelief, “Kendra could never be dim.”

She unclenched the mental fist halfway, removing part of the block on her light, and immediately things became easier to see. One of the nearby cages started grumbling, so she dimmed it again.

He stared at her, and Kendra blushed and shifted under his gaze.

“Um…, I came to ask you some things,” Kendra tried, eyes drawn to the floor. This was not how she expected this to go. “But mostly, I really liked your song. Is Asamelle your home?” That was not what Kendra meant to ask him about, and blushed. Hopefully he couldn’t see in the dim light the way she could.

“Asamelle was the capital city of the old Fairy Realm,” he said, with disbelief. “Kendra, look at me.”

It clicked in her head, “Oh, you know me, don’t you?” she said, doing as he asked and looking at him. “I’m sorry, but I’m having some trouble remembering you at the moment.”

“And I’m still having trouble believing you’re the real Kendra,” he said. “Not knowing who I am isn’t doing you any favors.”

Kendra shrugged, “Don’t take it personally, I don’t know who anyone is. My oldest memory is turning a key that made me lose my memory. My brother Seth was there, and Ronodin, also an angry guy that claimed to be the King of the Dragons, and a magical dwarf. We were all fighting over a stone and my brother kind of won, I think, then I faked my own kidnapping and brought myself here. I really am sorry I don’t remember you.”

He was shaking his head slowly.  

“There are so many things wrong with what you just said, but I’m still having some trouble believing you’re Kendra and not some Ronodin knock off sent here to torture me,” he said, “Do you mind letting me confirm your story?”

“How?” she asked cautiously.

He held out a hand through the bars, “It’s not bad, just touch my hand, and give me permission to see if you are telling the truth. I can’t see anything you don’t want me to, and you won’t feel a thing.”

Kendra pulled back a little. “I don’t know your name, and I don’t know who or what you are. I’m sorry, I really don’t feel comfortable doing that.” Could all unicorns do what he said? She might be in a lot more trouble with Ronodin than she thought.

“I’m Bracken,” he said, retracting his hand and backing away, “We’ve done this before, if you really are Kendra. I’m a unicorn, and the Fairy Queen herself vouched for me.” His eyes softened, looking over her again, “I’m sorry, whatever is going on, I don’t mean to frighten you. I won’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with, though it will make trusting you a little more difficult. Please don’t be afraid of me.”

Oh, he was kind. Why would Ronodin imprison someone like him? Being a unicorn the same age as Ronodin explained the comments about Ronodin’s mother and the polite dislike. The name Bracken also sounded familiar…

“Oh no,” Kendra said, covering her mouth. It all came together. Bracken was Ronodin’s cousin, the one she was engaged to while secretly seeing Ronodin.

Bracken’s eyebrows raised, “I will admit that’s the first time my name has evoked that reaction. You remember something about me around your mysterious bout of amnesias?”

Kendra wanted to run away again. No wonder Ronodin knew it wasn’t safe for her to leave yet; people from her old life were already tracking her here. Why hadn’t Ronodin told her? Of course, he didn’t tell her, she spent so much time fighting him. Was Ronodin worried she would leave, or demand to leave until she hated him? This was all wrong and not fair, and Kendra didn’t know what to do.

“I’m so sorry for what old me did to you,” Kendra said. “I don’t know why I led you on, I’m sorry.” Kendra put her hand over his, which was suddenly gripping the bars of his cage. “I give you permission to see the truth of my words.”

Bracken closed his eyes, and his forehead creased, “It’s…blank. I can sense your memories for a time, then its just gone. You gave them up, but it is your mind,” he said with disbelief. “You are really Kendra.”

Bracken frowned, “There’s something awful here, dark, but nowhere near strong enough to block your memories. Do you remember any other curses? Or maybe you have a cursed item?”

“Oh, um, I made it today, to protect myself from people who would do me harm? It’s a little new, but it might be what you’re talking about,” Kendra said, pulling out the medallion.

“You did what? Kendra, you don’t make curses. That’s dark magic,” Bracken said, clutching the bars of his cell, “Listen to me closely, whatever you do, stay away from crafting curses. How can you even do that?” Which verified Ronodin’s words. Her crafting had been a secret, he did think she was evil, as was her art. There was just one more thing to check.

“Are you familiar with Mendigo?” Kendra asked.

“Your puppet? Kendra, I feel like you’re not listening to me. Whatever Ronodin said —”

“Does Mendigo only do what I say or not?”

“Well, yes, Mendigo, as I understand it, is keyed into the commands of you and your brother, and whoever you tell him to listen to.” Bracken said. “I don’t see why that’s important. Look, Ronodin is evil, you can’t trust anything he says —”

“What about my family?” Kendra asked, “Do they really imprison dark creatures against their will?”

Bracken’s eyebrows rose, “What? In a manner of speaking they do, because nothing else would have the chance to grow and flourish if we let them out. Demons, the unbound undead, dragons, they would destroy everyone and everything if given a single chance. You helped put so many of them away. They’ve killed your friends and family. It isn’t an unjust prison sentence if that’s what Ronodin told you. They all chose darkness and destruction, or it’s their nature and life sentences over huge tracks of land to roam seem more humane than killing everyone in an effort not to die ourselves. You and your family are the best people I know. Good people. Ronodin is twisting the truth for his own ends if he says differently. You are a good person Kendra, you don’t craft curses. You don’t chose evil, you can’t. It isn’t who you are. Don’t listen to Ronodin’s lies.”

“Ronodin said the exact same thing,” Kendra said sadly, and Bracken went quiet, “Except, he knows something you don’t, something we couldn’t share with either of our families because yours hates him and mine wouldn’t understand. I’ve been enchanting magic objects for a while now. I met up with Ronodin in secret, and fell in love with him. I ordered Mendigo to kidnap me from my home so that we could be together.”

“Wha-no, no, no. That doesn’t make sense,” Bracken said, hurt crashing through those beautiful blue eyes as he drew back. “That can’t be true…I…you let me into your mind a week ago. Please believe me. You met Ronodin for the first time this past week.”

“He’s a little rough,” she defended quietly, looking away, “We’re learning our way around each other again over my memory loss. He hates that we have to stay cooped up, but he knows who I was better than anyone else.”

“That’s a lie,” Bracken insisted, “He doesn’t know anything about you. He doesn’t know that falling rain makes you think of your friend Lena. He doesn’t know that your favorite way to travel through the air is being held by the Dragon Raxtus. He doesn’t know that your cousin Warren would die for you, after seeing you die once already and being unable to stop it. Ronodin knows you less than you know yourself right now. I get that you-you might not be able to believe me right now, but find Seth, find your grandparents, they’ll be scouring the earth for you. They love you so much, and you love them more than anything in return.”

Bracken’s voice was low and sincere. His voice had cracked again, like it had during his song, his tell that the emotion was just too much. So utterly certain he was right. But Kendra didn’t know a Lena or a Raxtus or a Warren. And she couldn’t ask Ronodin about them, because then he would know she went wandering.

Why couldn’t the old Kendra have fallen in love with Bracken instead?

“Why did Ronodin imprison you?” she asked. “Was it…was it because of me? He and Seth mentioned that we were…intended.”

“Oh, um…I mean…That’s not...we’re, um,” Bracken said, flustered. He wasn’t blushing, but unicorn blood was silver, could he blush? Did he sparkle more in the light when blushing? Pooling silver instead of red? “I would have come for you, I swear, but uh, Ronodin got to me first. I’ve been here a week-ish. Hard to tell the days, the guards aren’t regular on feeding us. I’m not sure what he wants to do with me. He was helping overthrow preserves and trying to set dragons on the world to massacre humans, so I was sent to stop him, but he got the jump on me.”

Ronodin would try to negotiate better circumstances for the dragons, and starting them from a place of freedom is something he would do. Keeping Bracken for no reason? That didn’t sound like something he would do. Bracken being sent off to stop his cousin? Bracken looked fit, but she would probably bet on Ronodin in a fight.

What was the truth in all of this? Where was it? Except she knew where it was, locked away with her memories. This was the first time she felt like she needed her memories. Kendra had missed them before, but if what Bracken said was true, then Ronodin was brainwashing her. If what Ronodin said was true, she had purposefully led Bracken to believe the way he did, and she had escaped from the consequences of the harm she caused someone who seemed so honest and sincere. Why couldn’t she just know. Like a normal person.

“Would I give up my memory so my brother wouldn’t have to?” Kendra asked.

His eyes were soft, awkwardness leaving, “In a heartbeat. Seth has suffered much, often by his own folly, much because he was a child in a world too dangerous for someone with his curiosity and kindness. He has trouble knowing who to trust. You supported him, gave him strength, pulled him out of his misery, helped clean up his mistakes, but you wished you could bear some of the burden for him. If given the chance to spare him pain, to keep him from messing up without his memory and creating new guilt, Kendra Sorenson wouldn’t hesitate to give up her memories.”

His hand raised, and she noticed a piece of hair falling in her face, he hesitated just short of her, and then pulled his hand back to the bars.

“Sorenson,” she said, fixing the loose hair on her own, because she’d start crying if she didn’t speak, “Is that my name?”

Bracken nodded, smiling, “Kendra Marie Sorenson. Your first name came from a book your father loved, your middle name is the same as your maternal Grandmother’s middle name.”

“I want to believe you,” Kendra admitted. “But from the things I know for certain, you’re probably a victim of my own lies.”

“You are goodness,” Bracken said simply, “Goodness and light. Ask yourself if what you’re doing feels right, feels good. If it makes you a better person who helps people and creates good things. Don’t listen to Ronodin, don’t craft curses. If you find a moment to escape, take it. Take it and don’t look back. Head to upstate Connecticut, ask for the Sorensons. You’ll find people who can help you.” Bracken tensed, “My jailor is coming, hurry away, don’t stop.”

Kendra rushed to the goblin statue, twisted the head, and hurried back up the hall.

           Seth fell asleep, and woke up to the moon hitting his face, almost blinding. He felt refreshed and awake, not a hint of drowsy. It was rare he woke up like this, normally Kendra was awake first. Seth sat up. Or, he tried too, but sleeping in a hammock made sitting up a test of abdominal muscles. He rolled out of his hammock, took note that Tanu was sleeping across from him, Calvin wrapped up in a handkerchief for a blanket on the windowsill, and Seth quietly made his way out of the hut.

           He wandered until he realized that the whispers of the undead were getting louder. Then he walked with a purpose up spiral stairs and across rope bridges he stopped before a door carved into what had to be the biggest tree in existence. It felt like the Blackwell, though a little less desperate. Instead of suffering pleas, there were questions about directions.

           Left here, and again…or was it right?

           A thousand repetitions of this circle should get me out…

           Does wandering endlessly truly break up the monotony of eternal existence?

           “I see…this is what it means to be a shadow charmer,” Savani’s voice broke his listening, and he saw the woman step onto the platform behind him.

           “Yep, walking around in the middle of the night to figure out where the undead are,” Seth said. “And your excuse?”

           Savani held up a bracelet of three large shells and several smaller shells, “We have three caretaker homes at this preserve, each designed to better weather certain seasons. This is the winter quarter, even though I should have welcomed you in the spring mansion. This bracelet alerts me whenever someone or something approaches one of the prisons at any of the homes, and will transport me to interfere. I assume you were not planning on releasing these entities.”

           “No, just wanted to know where they are,” Seth said, looking back at the door, “They sound different than most of the undead. Like they’re…wandering. They think they are going somewhere.”

           “The spirits here are trapped by a maze, just as much as they are by the barrier,” Savani said. “My people learned how to draw unwanted entities into certain designs, tricking them into wandering those corridors rather than through the village. It is a complicated magic, but one that does not require a wizard if you have the right blood and soul.”

           “So like, at least they get puzzle books with their prison sentence, I approve,” Seth said, “They sound a little less miserable than the undead usually do.”

           “Are you familiar with Djinni?” Savani asked.

           “Genies?” Seth said, the name sounding familiar, “A little. My other Grandma tried to make a deal with one, it got to ask her three questions she had to answer truthfully. When she refused to answer one, the Genie turned her into a chicken.”

           “I lost one of my staff to similar circumstances concerning the Djinni that rests just inside this door. A spirit that wandered here from the mainland; they were not so easily trapped by our mazes, but fell remarkably easily to four walls,” she said, thinking, “My sister, Alma, engaged in the question game, three for three, taking turns, and learned that the sunset pearl had been taken off the preserve before Djinni asked how to unweave spirit mazes and she refused to answer.”

           “They only know about stuff inside the preserve right?” Seth asked.

           “Only when asked can she gain access to her sight, which extends to past and a little into the future,” Savani said. “My sister’s remaining questions that she could not ask were about who took the sunset pearl, and the location of the Weki flute that soothes the triclops.”

           “I can go in and ask her,” Seth volunteered.

           Savani laughed, “I could never ask you to go in with so little preparation!”

           “Seems to me everyone fails at the game because they had too much preparation,” Seth said. “You need to let your non-local idiot walk in with absolutely no preparation. I don’t know anything about this preserve or what might free her. Sure I know some secrets, but nothing that would help her get free. And it’s just information. She can’t ask me to do things for her, right?”

           “The young always risk their lives for so little,” Savani said, shaking her with a quiet laugh. “Even if I were willing to lose another ally to that monster after losing my sister, something I’m sure you understand, none of your protectors would let you go over them.”

           “That’s why we do it here and now,” Seth said, “I’ve negotiated with tougher customers than this. I’ve talked down both the Totem Wall and the Singing Sisters. And I convinced a centaur to let me ride on his back. I’m pretty talented at walking away from these things.”

           “That is impressive,” Savani said, “But even with those dangerous consultations in your past, our situation is not so risky. And wandering towards the most secure prison at night alone does not convince me that you have the discipline to converse with this creature. Any word out of your mouth that is not the answer the answer to her question after you enter her chamber is a lie and gives her freedom to leave. You strike me as the sarcastic sort, and that will get you killed.”

           “Yeah, some of my wraith friends didn’t get my jokes either,” Seth said, remembering Whiner. “I suppose knock-knock jokes are out?”

           “Most definitely,” Savani said, “You are refreshing to speak to. Much like Warren, but less burdened. Does the chill of this dungeon not bother you?”

           “Chill?” Seth asked, looking around, “It’s been ridiculously hot since we got here. It finally feels nice.”

           “The unnatural dread make many fail to converse with the Djinni,” Savani said thoughtfully. “After speaking, I am a bit more inclined to let you try with the Djinni, and hold back my assent almost solely on the rifts I do not wish to cause with the rest of our allies. Should the triclops still haunt us when they awake, I will allow you to present this plan as an option to them.”

           “Sounds like permission to me,” Seth said. He spun and grasped the door handle. In that touch, he found himself on the opposite side of door. Apparently just touching the doorknob was enough to get a mortal inside the prison, though he was willing to bet it would take the caretaker to get out. There was a single door to his right, and beyond that a spiral staircase covered with woven mats of crazy designs. He felt the presence of wraiths and the undead just before him, and it took a bit to figure out that they were trapped inside the mats.

           Then a phantom stumbled up the stairs, and he realized not all of them were trapped in mats. Just to his left was a door with another handle and no hinges.

           Expecting it this time, Seth reached out and grasped the handle.

           “Oh? Two visitors so close together after a century of silence,” the Djinni said. “A baby shadow charmer, no less. I assume you are here to play my riddle game like that last one.”

           The Djinni was surprisingly pretty. Usually Kendra got the pretty ones, and he got the cool ones who were half skeleton half putrid guts. The flowing pink dress threw him for a second. But she had white skin, red eyes, and choppy blue hair. Her skin was smooth, except for the bags under her eyes, and her hair looked like it could use a good washing.

           Seth nodded to the Djinni’s question.

Then he breathed in, and a hand came up over his mouth to stop him from gagging. His eyes left the Djinni  to the ground next to her, covered partially by her cloak. For some reason, when Savani said her sister had been killed by the Djinni, he had never imagined what had happened to her sister’s body. This wasn’t like the zombie farm, or even when Coulter died in his arms. The body was weeks decayed. Skin and organs were liquifying and leeking over the floor, bones starting to jut out on the ribcage and he could only be glad he couldn’t see Savanni’s sister’s face.

           “I have a fondness for little adventurers,” the Djinni said with a rosy smile, watching him watch the body. She even threw in a casual caress of her last victim. “I will recite the rules for you if you nod now.”

           Seth nodded, suddenly regretting everything. He made himself focus on the Djinni.

           “Very well, my rules are simple,” she said, standing up but still leaning against the wall of her prison cell, “You may only speak the answers to my questions and questions of your own. You have as much time as you need to answer. Should you speak else, I may extract a price from you for disturbing me, and as you can see, it includes killing you. Should you speak a lie, I am freed from my prison and will enjoy wrecking the meager protections left to this house on my way out. My sight it limited to this preserve, but it extends to everywhere in this preserve and all the way through the past, and twenty-eight days into the future. You may indicate you are unsatisfied with my answer, but may not ask follow-up questions, I can do the same. Upon being satisfied with my final answer, you will be teleported out of my diminutive abode. Nod if you are ready to begin, little adventurer.”

           Simple rules. Follow the rules, and they can’t touch you. He would just have to think through his answers before speaking. Despite what Kendra says, he can think before talking. At least, that’s what Kendra used to say, and probably wouldn’t take long to say again. Seth nodded and made himself remove his hands and accept the smell. The smell wasn’t worse than the zombie farm, even if the body was.

           “Then I, Skamboli, ask this for my first question: what are the ways out of my confinement that you know about?” she asked.

           Seth thought for a minute, going over each way he thought might work.

           “I only know a few,” Seth said slowly, “if I tell a lie, you are free. I assume that if the caretaker released you, you could go free. I don’t know for sure, but I assume if someone busted down your door from the outside, you would probably be freed. Burned the tree prison down, though you might die that way. And…a trained shadow charmer, not me, could probably unlock your door. People have told me that once I learn control over my powers, I can undo locks, but I don’t know how yet.”

           Skamboli waited, but nothing happened. “Very honest, I approve. Though a wiser adventurer would not volunteer information about their weaknesses. You may ask your first question.”

           Better ask Savani’s questions first. “Who took the sunset pearl?”

           Her red eyes flashed white for a second then went back to red. “The dark unicorn goes by many names, but you know him as Ronodin. He stole the pearl on his first visit to this sanctuary.”

           That was bad and good. Bad, because Ronodin likely put it where he was keeping Kendra, on the Phantom Island, but good because it narrowed their goals and they were already working on getting to the Phantom Isle anyway. Maybe he could use the horn to send a message to Bracken to pick up the pearl on his way out with Kendra?

           Seth nodded at the Djinni, hopefully indicating he was satisfied with her answer. Not looking at the body. She never said he could verbally say if he was satisfied, just dis-satisfied, and didn’t want to risk it. He didn’t want to talk more than he had to.

           “Is there any questions I could ask that you would be unwilling to answer?” Skamboli said. This was the question that left grandma laying eggs for months.

           Again, Seth thought carefully.

           “Plenty of things I wouldn’t want to answer,” Seth decided, “Embarrassing moments, secrets about our plans against the dragons in the upcoming dragon war that I promised not to share, too much information about my friends and family. Secrets that would result in my death if I shared them with you due to other promises I have made. Really don’t want to share that one, it wouldn’t benefit you at all and would end up with me dead. That one is about my dealings with the Singing Sisters, and wouldn’t interest you at all, so please don’t ask that one. But I would share any of it, if you asked, because I need to take the answers to my questions back to my friends.”

           Skamboli waited, then nodded at Seth. Seth hesitated for a moment, because the name of the flute Savani mentioned five minutes ago was already lost from his head. He needed a minute to carefully pick his words.

           “Where is the magic flute that can soothe the currently rampaging triclops?” Seth asked at last.

           Again, her eyes flashed a blinding white.

           “The Weki flute is buried amongst the treasure of the Fairy Queen’s shrine on this island,” Skamboli said.

           Uggh, normally they left the fairy shrine stuff to Kendra, though the Fairy King might let him take something from there. Or maybe getting Fairy Struck Tess to ask would be better. Still, much better news than the flute being lost forever. Seth nodded.

           “What would convince you to free me from my prison, little adventurer?” she asked, sounding tired.

           Seth had not expected that question. What would convince him to free a dangerous being? He took longer to think through his answer to this one than any other. The smell and taste of the last life she had taken all around him, so much worse than the zombie farm.

           “A sincere and binding promise to never hurt another sentient being again,” Seth said, at last, and his eyes finally went back to the body. He saw the swollen, distorted face of Savani’s sister, and knew he wouldn’t ever forget it. “But from everything I know, that is against your very nature and an impossible promise to keep.” He looked away and back at her, “Still, if you were able to convince me you’d do that? I’d do my best to help you. I would do my best to convince Savani that you won’t attack her, help find a nice new lair for you somewhere on this preserve. You could have been a lot meaner, a lot stricter and done more to trip me up, but you didn’t, which makes me like you. I have been double crossed a lot in my life though, so I refuse to free you on anything less than a perfect, binding promise.”

           Skamboli waited, then nodded, a small smile on her lips. Now it was time for the real reason he had jumped into this encounter, the information that would make it all worth it. He thought over his question a couple of times, looking for loopholes or ways to get more information out of it, and asked.

           “Where will my sister Kendra be on the preserve in the next twenty-eight days?”

           Again, her eyes flashed white, though this time they softened slowly back to their red. “The future is not certain, but many futures show Kendra at this preserve in 77 hours and making her way to the sacred pool. She will venture into the domain of a wraith, then leave. It grows hazier, but Kendra will also visit the Bridge Cove, then Baga Lao sometime after that. Leaving Baga Lao, she does not return within the time of my sight.”

           Kendra. Here. Seth almost said something, almost said thank you, then stopped himself with a snap of his jaw. He nodded.

           “That concludes my little game. Congrats, you are the first to pass without retribution in a while. You are right, I cannot promise not to harm in exchange for my freedom. Still, this has been quite entertaining, and in Jighandi even. You have goodness in you, little adventurer, try not to die too quickly on this preserve.”

           Seth was transported out. Savani was standing in the little hallway, arms folded, when he appeared. She grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him towards the exit

           Savani forcibly shoved him out of the prison, where Grandma was waiting for him.

           “So, good news, I wisely used my resources and found out vital information on where Kendra is going to be, as well as the sunset pearl and the flute to stop the triclops” Seth said. “Bad news, I’m going to throw up.”

           Seth rushed to the edge of the platform and started heaving, losing the dinner he had eaten.

           “I understand now what Ruth and Stan warned me when letting you out of my sight,” Grandma Larsen said, putting a hand on his back. “Of all the trouble I was watching out for, you purposefully going to chat up a djinni never even crossed my mind.”

           Tears leaked out of his eyes as he threw up some more. It was horrible, he’d thought that after everything, after regularly conversing with the undead for years, after seeing so many people die, he would never loose his stomach over something like a dead body. But the smell…

           …he gagged some more, even though there was nothing left. He was sticky and gross and the humidity made it feel like the vomit was sticking to him more than he knew it was. Eventually a glass of water was offered, and he used it to rinse his mouth. He nodded his thanks at Savani, and accepted the wet towel as well.

           His breathing evened out and he said, “For Kendra. I did it for Kendra.”

           “Seth, you are part of a team now,” Grandma said, “And you aren’t leading things here like you were back at Wyrmroost. We work together, or not at all. Savani told you she didn’t want you to speak to the Djinni, and you disregarded her. This is her home, hers to protect, and you violated that trust. How is what you did any different than Knox going into the dungeons with Tess to check out the barrel?”

           “Savani said the only reason she didn’t want me to talk to the Djinni was that she worried about setting off everyone’s ‘protect Seth’ sensors,” Seth said, not looking her in the eye, “I thought I figured it out, but you’re right, I didn’t know, I wasn’t ready. It’s what I thought I had to do, and I’m sorry.” Savani’s sister’s body flashed in his mind again, the way Skamboli stroked sagging flesh, and he pressed his face into the towel.

He was stronger and braver than this. He was. He had proved it over and over, and he’d seen people die. He’d seen his sister poison herself into a frothing, empty shell. He’d seen battle wounds from the battle of Zzyzx.

This shouldn’t be worse than that, but it was.

           Grandma sighed and rubbed his back. “What happened? Tell me.”

           “It’s nothing,” Seth said, pulling himself to his feet. “Nothing I haven’t seen before. It just…I wasn’t prepared. I promise I won’t act on my own again.”

           “That is not the answer to my question,” Grandma scolded, standing as well, “I don’t care about how Ruth and Stan let you run about and keep secrets, and I don’t care about what you’ve seen before. We are going to confront a demon for training tomorrow, and you have been unsettled and you have been reckless, so we are going to talk until I trust that you can handle what’s going to happen.”

           “It doesn’t matter if I talk about it or not,” Seth said, “We need to get me trained so I can get to the Phantom Isle, and we need to do it fast. I can handle a demon, I won’t lose it like that again.”

           “Seth, Honey,” Grandma said, and she pulled him into a hug he resisted, “Even those of us who have done dangerous missions on magical preserves our entire lives need people to talk to. People to trust. Time to break down. Mortals aren’t meant for the kind of exposure you and your sister have been through. Special abilities or not. Talk to me.”

           “It’s nothing, I mean it,” Seth said, and his eyes found Savani over Grandma’s shoulders, who had been watching patiently the entire time. “It wasn’t worse than seeing Kendra’s stingbulb kill herself, and I got through that, so I’m okay.”

           “Shadow charmers have a reputation,” Savani said quietly, “Of moving and operating in the dark, with demons who seal their secrets sworn in blood. I would recommend  letting things come to light, if you can. If you are trying to spare me, I think I have guessed what unsettled you. I had hoped this Djinni to favor the clean and quick kill, but we knew the consequences.”

           “I’m sorry,” Seth said, hoping she understood the extent of his apology.

           “Ahh,” Grandma said releasing him, “Death. You have dealt far too much with loved ones and friends dying for your age, and you have dealt much with those long dead, the process in between is…unpleasant, unsettling.”

           “It smelled really bad,” Seth admitted, closing his eyes and seeing the body all over again. “Worse than the zombie farm. I don’t know how I breathed, much less talked. It was just…everywhere in that small cell. I won’t try something like that again, not without a lot more preparation and talking it out with everyone.”

           Savani said nothing for a long moment, “You make raising my own son look easy, Seth Sorenson. I believe your sincere desires, though it will take a while for me to trust your restraint. Gloria, remain by Seth’s side for the remainder of his stay here. He does not understand our magic, and while that saved him from knowing anything that could help the Djinni, it also made him dangerous to the integrity of the Woven Prison.”

           “That is acceptable,” Grandma said.

           Savani sighed, and shook her head, “That being said, the information you gathered is invaluable and I am also in your debt for asking. I was listening at the door and recorded everything. We will work on securing the flute, preparing for Ronodin’s return, and locating the Sunset Pearl. We will have much to discuss when the rest of our companions awake.”

Grandma nodded, “I agree, come Seth. There is still three hours until dawn, and we need what rest we can, even if sleep is gone. You will be sleeping in my room from now on.”

           Seth winced, but it was hardly the worst punishment he could have gotten. Probably better than he should have gotten. The women turned to leave.

           Seth went to the room his Grandmother had been using, to laid down in the second bed, while Grandma Larsen curled up in hers. No more hammock after tonight. He thought he had been past his impulse issues. He had been careful at Wyrmroost to not take unnecessary risks, to consult Kendra in most things, and he had felt good. Like he had learned his lesson and finally grown into someone worth trusting with important stuff.

           Now it felt like he was back to square one. Back to being the dumb kid that captured fairies overnight and trusted demons.

           With the triclops on the other side of the island, they headed out after breakfast to examine the pool and pay Talizar a visit. They were each equipped with a speed potion from Tanu in case the triclops showed up again. The plan was for Seth and Grandma Larsen to go and speak with Talizar while the others went to check out the pool, Tanu along this time with some extra potions from Uma to see if they can figure out the purpose of corrupting the pool. When Seth and Grandma came out, they’d meet them at the pool, and Seth would purify it with the unicorn horn, working on the assumption that it was desecrated for a reason and would hopefully draw Ronodin out again.

Haku warned them of plants and animals as he guided them, but stayed at the pool, telling them about the path the rest of the way up to Talizar’s lair, and warning them that so long as they stayed away from purple beehives, they should be good.

“We’re crazy for doing this, aren’t we?” Seth said, “The last two people who offered to tutor me in shadow charming were Graulus and the Sphinx, and they both have betrayed me and killed people I care about. Maybe Kendra was right, I shouldn’t be talking to any demons.”

“Demons certainly are unsavory company,” Grandma Larsen said, slicing a vine out of their path, “but they are difficult, not impossible to deal with. You are a shadow charmer, and from what I understand, those abilities have helped in the past. You have used your abilities to do good. Demons…well, I won’t say they can be good, because according to how I have defined good and evil over the course of my life, they can’t be good, but they can be used for good purposes.

“The demon Ixyria, for example is known for teaching and tutoring hags and witches. Women seek her out who have been hurt or wronged or powerless, and she helps them. Not because it is the right thing to do, but because she feeds on their misery and hate. The darker the magic those women learn, the more twisted their souls become. Sometimes they learn just enough to get vengeance and move on, and Ixyria doesn’t bother them. She’s in it for the misery, and when you don’t offer that to her, she doesn’t care.”

“I’m not quite sure what the moral of the story is,” Seth said.

“The moral is that you misjudged what Gralus and the Sphinx wanted,” Grandma Larsen said. “There was no way for Kendra’s demon in the fairy realm to contact Talizar, and they offered the same explanation of motives, which suggests a truth to it, but not all the truth. He wants to teach you, and you need to know the full reason why first.”

           “How do I know if he’s telling the truth?” Seth asked.

           “He won’t,” she said. “Not all of it. He’ll tell you something close to it though, something he’s going to pretend to believe. And then you watch Seth, you watch very carefully. Everything he does, everything he teaches you, should align with a goal of his, and if it doesn’t, remember it. Remember it and think about what it is he is truly after. His nature is to destroy, and we are betting that he wants to use you to destroy something else more than he wants to destroy you personally.”

           “Right,” Seth said, “No pressure.”

           She stopped and turned around. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she said, “You’re good Seth. You are a good person, and you are good at thinking on your feet and solving the problems before you with the tools given to you. But you have more tools available, and I know it would kill you if a chance to help Kendra slipped by because you were not able to use all of your abilities. You are going to stay alert and ready, suspicious but teachable, because that is what you want. To help your sister.”

           Blue eyes looked at him and demanded he understand. With her freckled wrinkles and white blonde hair, and her grip was stronger than he remembered from when he was younger. Seth nodded, knowing she was right. She gave his shoulders a final squeeze and let him go.

           Bolstered from the pep talk, they were quiet the last half mile to Talizar’s cave.

           At the cave, Grandma Larsen nodded for him to go forward. “Do you know what you’re going to say?”

           Seth nodded and stopped right at the entrance, “Talizar? Are you there? I’m here to maybe see about that deal you offered. You know, it would have been a lot easier to find you if you’d left your address the last time we chatted.”

           He didn’t hear Grandma sigh like he was expecting her to, so that was a good sign.

           “You and your aged guardian are welcome, Seth,” came the laughing voice of Talizar.

           Seth walked in and found Talizar feasting on some meat at a table, set like he expected company, white wolf head and black robe, just as Seth remembered.

           “You have come to accept my offer?”Talizar asked.

           “Only here for negotiations right now,” Seth said, grabbing a seat. “We can’t come to a deal I can live with, I turn right back around and talk to the others on my recommendation list. Grandma Larsen is here to make sure I don’t fall into any traps. No deal is set until she also gives the okay. I’m sick of being trapped by you guys.”

           “It is unusual for a shadowcharmer to bring his babysitter to negotiations with a demon. Consider that a free lesson. Never expose your weaknesses to a demon, as you have today.”

           “English, please. I’m afraid my Caineness is a bit unpracticed,” Grandma Larsen asked.

           “I was only addressing Seth how he first addressed me, it’s only polite,” he said, and he wasn’t sure what changed, but he knew the language had changed. “He insists that you have a final say on our transactions. Very comedic.”

           “Normally demons wait until their mentees are a little older to be instructed in their secrets,” Grandma Larsen said, sitting down as well, “I am a mentor to him as much as you might be, and I will have a final say in who I share that position with, or we leave right now.”

           “Oh?” Talizar asked, raising an eyebrow, “Seth was so insistent that he would never accept help from a demon again, I can’t imagine he is breaking that oath out of anything but necessity now. I don’t believe you have the option of walking away from this.”

           “Listen to her,” Seth said, “No bargain between us is official without Grandma Larsen’s say so, and we will walk out. You came to me, which means there’s something you want me to get done for you. I’m the only young, mentor-less shadow charmer wandering around as far as our resources show, but I have on good authority that there are several other demons willing to teach me that won’t mind my parental supervision.”

           “They would all mind,” Talizar said mildly, “I will let negotiations progress for now, but we will see whether her influence renders you useless or not. You have already heard my offer, does your grandmother approve?”

           “Not so hasty there,” Seth said, “First, why do you want to mentor me? Big question. What’s in it for you?”

           Talizar smiled, “You learn quickly. Perhaps your mentor is not as useless as she appears at first glance. I wish to see dragons caged, turned into pets, if not hunted to extinction. The bond between brothers does not have meaning to most demons, but my two brothers were born of my pack, and I would see all dragons hanged for their death by fiery breath. This hatred goes back before even this preserve, and it is not pretty or kind as most mortal grudges are. I have slain hundreds of dragons during my time here, and through you I wish to slay more, as well as offer irreparable insult until they crawl back to their holes and die in their shame.”

           Seth thought it over, “I’ve killed dragons before, I’ve also saved some, and some are my allies. I won’t go on a bloodbath for you, but they are usually more arrogant than centaurs and I have no problem insulting them. I’ll kill dragons in self defense, or to get to my goal if they insist on getting in my way, but no bloodbaths. Are our goals in sync enough for you?”

           “For now,” Talizar said. “Out of curiosity, how many have you killed?”

           “Not relevant,” Grandma dismissed, “Seth, don’t offer information at this stage until we’ve made an agreement.”

           Seth didn’t see the harm, it was only Stiletta really that he could claim to have killed. But that was why Grandma was here, to see the things he didn.

           “You heard her. Next question, why are you qualified to teach me how to be a shadow charmer?” Seth asked, “Have you trained other shadow charmers before? Did you kill them? That kind of thing.”

           Grandma looked amused, but the resume reference flew right over Talizar’s head.

           “Most demons could teach you, if you were inclined to learn and they were interested in teaching you. As you demonstrated with Granulas, being a mentor in our world can have some significant drawbacks that many chose to avoid. The powers of a skilled shadowcharmer are well known, and accessing them is similar to how we access our own abilities. You want me, because as long as you are seeking to confine and shame dragons, I have no other reason to betray you.”

           “How long do you see this training going on, because I have a war against the dragons to fight,” Seth asked next. And against the Underking. And against anyone else who has a problem with his family or wants to destroy the world.

           “Of course. I can teach you to use your basic abilities with three weeks of complete focus, and in that time we will also achieve a good idea of where your additional strengths lie. Most shadow charmers can open locks and talk to the undead, but every shadow charmer also has additional abilities based on their individual strengths that require special care to draw out. Those abilities will require additional lessons, we can schedule them for a more convenient time, after you’ve put the wyrms back in their place or in between quests should your natural abilities prove to be particularly useful.”

           “If I’m a really good student, can we have it done in two weeks instead of three?” Seth asked.

           “I suppose, if you are a quick learner.” Talizar said, “Promise to stay for three weeks if that is what it requires, and I promise to release you as soon as you reach the level of competency I spoke about.”

           “Sounds good to me, your thoughts Grandma?” Seth asked, leaning back.

           “What kind of tasks do you intend for Seth to take on in the course of his training?” Grandma Larsen asked.

           “Some abilities require a need in order to activate, so I will be placing him in mortal danger often enough to gain mastery and control. I will teach him about negotiating with the undead and other demons, how to not get taken advantage of and obtain his goals. I wont promise that any dragon that comes across our path is going to be safe, but I wont ask him to kill a mortal. Is that satisfactory?”

           “Woah, I’m not killing anyone unless it’s my only choice,” Seth said. “I’m fourteen!”

           “You’ve killed dragons,” Talizar said, “And they are as sentient as any mortal. I assumed it was a specist argument.”

           “If it comes down to the end of the world or kill a dragon, yeah, I’ll kill a dragon,” Seth said, “But I’m not being trained as your personal exterminator.”

           “We value sentient life, Talizar, part of being a mortal. My grandson is not interested in changing. Keep the deaths to a minimum,” Grandma Larsen bargained. “You are not to work him longer than 12 hours in a 24 hour period.”

           “Acceptable. Do we have a bargain?”

           “For now,” Grandma Larsen said.

           “Pay attention Seth, your grandmother understands,” Talizar said, holding out a hand to shake. Talizar shook his hand and Grandma Larsen’s hand. “I need to collect some training tools. Return after the sun sets and prepare for a long night.”

           “Come on Seth,” Grandma Larsen said, standing up, “We should inform the others of the schedule.”

           “Sounds good, see you tonight Talizar,” Seth said, following her with a wave behind him.

           “Call me Master,” Talizar insisted.

           “No,” Seth and Grandma said at the same time. Talizar’s chuckle followed their shared smile as they left his cave.

           They came out to find Tanu had several vials of potions out, Warren standing guard over him with a sword.

           “Vanessa and Haku are on watch duty,” Warren explained, “They’ll let us know if we have company. I assume it went well since you aren’t dead or cleaning demon blood off your swords.”

           “He was a very reasonable demon,” Grandma said, “A bargain for mutual benefit was struck, and he might even be able to keep it for a while.”

           “Talizar said I’m going to be learning during the night,” Seth added, “Makes sense, considering what I’ll be learning. Should I purify the pool now?”

           “Yes, go ahead,” Tanu said, “I have enough samples. And those diagnostic brews that needed to begin here are currently working. Go ahead Seth.”

           “Purifying sacred pools by day, shadow charming by night,” Seth said, taking out the unicorn horn and touching it to the water. With slow circles they watched the water ripple outwards, turning back from its sludgy gray to a clear blue.

           “Incoming!” Vanessa yelled.

           “We came for what we needed,” Warren said, “Let’s retreat for now.”

           “I don’t know if I can make the hike to camp and be back by nightfall,” Seth said, “I’ll shadow walk and disappear in the shade until it’s time for my lesson.”

           “I promised I would stay with you,” Grandma Larsen said, “We’ll hide together.”

           “We’ll draw the triclops towards the boarders of the sanctuary and away from you guys,” Warren said.

           “Let us hurry towards Vanessa then,” Tanu said, securing the last of his gear. “Remember, the potion only lasts seven minutes.”  

           Warren grinned and uncorked his bottle, “Race ya.”

    Chapter 18: Bracken

           It was taking a lot longer to carve an eyeglass than she expected, the wood she selected was tougher and in a large block compared to the cylinders she had had for the medallions, and it was bigger because she wanted to have a handle. She looked at her misshapen lump and stood up to stretch.

           Kendra had no idea how long she had been swept up in her work, maybe she would demand a watch the next time Ronodin came back.

           Her eyes drifted to the goblin head. If Ronodin kept his word, she wouldn’t know how long it would be before she could talk with Bracken again. Even if she didn’t trust him, she wanted to talk with him again.

           Dimming her light as much as she could, she made herself presentable, left her amulets and hideous cardigan behind and twisted the goblin head. She shouldn’t be doing this, it would probably only hurt Bracken more, but she couldn’t stop herself.

           Coming through the secret passage, she whispered, “Bracken?”

           “Kendra?” he whispered back.

           Nervously, she approached his cage.

           He smiled at her, “I was worried you had been caught by someone. I’m glad you are okay.”

           “It’s a little terrible of me,” she said. “But I was hoping you were still here, even though it’s probably awful for you. Do you know why Ronodin is keeping you here?”

           “Mostly to keep me out of the way,” Bracken said. He sat down on his side of the bars, and Kendra did the same. “I think he’s also trying to do something with my horns, corrupt them or break them. A unicorn’s horn is a wellspring of our magic for different purposes, and basically indestructible because of it. He got my second horn when he jumped me, my fighting horn, but you had my first horn, my purifying horn, and my third horn, my immortality horn, is being used for something else entirely. It would be a trick for him to get that one. Did…did you have a unicorn horn with you when you came here?”

           Kendra shook her head, “I had a bronze glove, a bow without arrows, and some cargo pants and a tee-shirt. Nothing else. Do those mean anything to you?”

           Bracken shook his head, “Aside from the outfit, which is what you wear when you have business somewhere dangerous, I don’t recognize the glove or the bow. I’m guessing you turned over my horn and other magical items to Seth before loosing your memory.”

           “That sounds right,” Kendra said. “It would have been rude of me to runaway with your cousin and keep your horn.”

           Bracken shook his head, “I still don’t know where Ronodin cooked up that idea. You were wary of Ronodin last time we talked, asking me who he was and how to act. All of his lies would be so easily disproven with your memories, or even contract with your real friends and family.”

           “I don’t know. I’m talking with you right now, and I’m confused more than anything,” she admitted, “I’m…I’m crafting an item, to help me understand some books in the library. They are all in languages I don’t understand. It’s not a curse, it’s not going to hurt anyone. I’m just trying to know more. More real things that aren’t from two barely trustworthy and conflicting sources.”

           Kendra glanced up and saw Bracken smiling at her. “What?”

           “That so human of you,” he said, smiling.

           “What do you mean?”

           “It’s just…human,” He explained fondly. “Immortals born to magic, we know life and death and power. We don’t change easily, even when we are still growing. To create, to protect, to nurture beauty, to love, to trust, that is what is right and good. And to destroy, to harm, to hate, to manipulate, to lie, that’s wrong and evil. If you are born a demon, it’s the other way around. If you give up these ideals for greater power as the undead do, you crave to consume life and nothing else.

“It’s only humans that aren’t born knowing what principals to follow. You will sit and study and learn and change and choose, and it’s so human of you. You used to be so tight with your trust, so good and sure of what was good, I forgot a little that you are human, despite your brilliant light.”

           “So a fairy has never created something to help beings understand each other?” she asked, tilting her head, “that seems like a waste to me.”

           “It would,” he said with a smile, “Human.”

           Kendra reached through the bars and poked his knee, “Don’t you forget it.”

           “That being said,” Bracken continued, nudging her hand with his knee, “I’m a little concerned about bias. I can’t imagine the Underking’s library is going to give the Fairy Queendom its fair voice.”

           The Underking’s realm. That’s where they were. She hadn’t put it together, but with everything she had read about the Underking, it made sense. Why she needed the amulet, the lack of light sources, why Lady Kuychia’s portrait was there. It made sense that her family would never expect her to hide out here. She was alive after all.

           “I’m aware of bias,” Kendra scoffed, “One of the two books in a language I could read spent several pages talking about why humans and change were the absolute worst. I lost my memories, not my ability to reason through morality. I can see that creating things is better than destroying them. What I can’t see is the creator and destroyer can’t work in harmony. I can’t see that lying is bad all the time, or that some people don’t deserve to be hated. If I told Ronodin the truth about coming here to talk to you, even though I’m probably hurting you by coming, I would have to stop. And I don’t want to, so lying seems okay. If you are telling the truth, then I should hate Ronodin for kidnapping me, if Ronodin is telling the truth…” she trailed off and looked away.

           “He’s not. I know you, Kendra Sorenson, and you have never lied to me,” Bracken said confident.

           “If Ronodin is telling the truth, then you should hate me,” Kendra finished softly, looking down at the folded hands in her lap.

           “He’s not telling the truth,” Bracken said again, and he seemed to be just so much brighter and more real than anything else she’s seen down here. “You’re being manipulated by him, and I will never hold you accountable for that. It’s like…it’s like my father. Dad, it’s a long story, but he ended up on the wrong side of prison walls after Ronodin betrayed him. The king of the fairies, a unicorn, in a demon prison, amongst demons that had just lost a brutal war against the fairies. Thanks to your help, we got him back, but he’s so worried that he’s tainted from his time in the demon prison. For the fairy realm to function properly in the Balance, it needs to be a realm without the taint of evil, and he keeps insisting that he’s tainted, but he’s not. It was never his fault what happened to him. And when you, Kendra, learn what you can, when you figure everything out and rediscover the person I know you are, it won’t be your fault either.”

           “You really are this honestly good, aren’t you?” she asked. “I feel awful for betraying you, either how Ronodin said I did, or by not remembering you now.”

           “And you have no idea how much I despise my cousin for making you feel that way,” Bracken said.

           Kendra gave a joyless laugh, “That’s the crux of, isn’t it? Is hatred only okay when you feel it? When you are justified in feeling it? I crafted my cursed amulet to protect me from my enemies. Is that bad? If Ronodin is my enemy as you say; that amulet would let me know by making him too weak to hold me.”

           “I…” Kendra looked up to see Bracken’s brow furrowed and lips slightly parted. He wasn’t focused on her at all. Everything was turned inward, “I don’t know.”

           “Now who’s human?” Kendra teased lightly.  

           He shook his head, “Magic tells when reasoning makes you doubt. Curses, dark magic, magic with the intent to harm and no other purpose, it taints you. I have to fight Ronodin, he betrayed me, my family, and he broke his own connection to light magic by tainting his horns instead of trying to wash himself clean. He continues to cause people to die for his own amusement and selfish desires. It is not evil to oppose evil.”

           “I don’t know enough to dispute that,” Kendra said. Though it is the exact line of reasoning Ronodin said Bracken and her family used to justify slavery and excessive imprisonment. That didn’t mean it didn’t have reason. “But…if you are allowed to hate, and kill, and harm some people to protect others, then it isn’t really about destroying or creating, love or hate, is it? It’s about which side you’re on.”

           “You’re wrong,” Bracken told her simply, “but it’s going to take me a while to articulate exactly why. I’ll have a lot of time to think when you leave, and have a better answer for you when you come back. There isn’t much else to do here except stage mental debates on moral philosophy apparently.”

           “Sounds like my life right now, except I get coloring books.” Kendra stood up and stretched.

           “Make anything good?” he asked cautiously. “What are you making?”

           “Well, I tried my hand at sewing,” she said, “That was the orange monstrosity you saw me wear last time. For the record, it was meant to look hideous.”

           Bracken laughed and Kendra’s heart swelled at the sound, her cheeks turning pink, because she really liked to make him laugh.

           “Sewing is not among the skill set you needed to acquire. You’ve done some nice paintings though. Your friend Lena taught you how.”

           “I wish I could remember,” Kendra said longingly, feeling awkward, because she really didn’t know how to feel about the friends she will never remember. “This memory loss means that I can’t picture anything I haven’t seen in the past couple of days. Makes painting a bit difficult.”

           “You’ll see the world again,” Bracken promised, “You are too bright to not live under the sun.”

           “I tried to paint, but got angry and sad and frustrated,” Kendra admitted, watching to see how he reacted. “I worked those emotions through my magic into that painting, my room with prison bars. I wanted everyone who saw that to feel the insanity of being trapped with no way out, to drop to their knees in hopeless agony.”

           “A curse,” he said delicately.

           “A curse,” she agreed, watching him. “It got Ronodin for a minute.”

           Kendra waited for the smile to crack, for the joke. But he just grew more concerned. “Is Ronodin hurting you?”

           She shook her head vigorously, “No! he was just keeping me locked up and I was frustrated. The worst he’s done is spring some surprise kisses on me, but I’ve shut him down and he hasn’t pushed it.”

           If she wasn’t watching closely, she would have missed the way his fist tightened on his knee, then relaxed.

           “I want to hate him,” Bracken said, “I do hate him. But hatred is a viper that poisons you before it poisons your target. I feel happy that you’re keeping him in line, and that you hurt him, but you aren’t someone that hurts even mortal enemies easily. Certainly not just because you are frustrated. I don’t know what to feel. I want to just stab him myself as an agent for the Fairy Queen and stop him from hurting anyone else ever again.”

           “I’m sorry,” Kendra said, not sure what she was apologizing for. For telling him? For causing him pain? For everything, even the things not her fault, because saying sorry is a way to acknowledge someone else’s pain?

           Bracken took a deep breath, “It’s not your fault. I don’t blame you. I blame myself for giving into hatred. You are right, that is wrong of me, no matter how tempting it is. I blame myself for being powerless to help you or anyone else. I can’t even give you all the answers you need because—”

           “Because you don’t have all the answers,” Kendra said gently. “You don’t have to, you know. I don’t think anyone has all the answers, you’re just a teenager after all, just like me. I don’t think even adults have all the answers, not that I remember seeing an adult besides the demon dwarf and the human-looking dragons.”

           “I’ve lived…” Bracken hesitated. “I don’t know what I am. I have lived several mortal lifetimes, but you’re not wrong either. For my species, I’m only considered a little more grown than you are.”

           “You look like a teenager,” Kendra commented, putting aside the several lifetimes thing. She didn’t know how she felt before when they were engaged, but if memories told your age, she’d be a toddler, and she certainly wasn’t. It had to be about development, and his confusion was her own, considering she gave it to him. “You act like a teenager. I get it, if you’re responsible enough to go on solo missions around the world, you’ve probably been responsible a lot of your life before that. But growing up fast doesn’t mean you actually are an adult. It’s okay to get confused, we’re still figuring out the world.”

           “An amnesiac prisoner, and you’re trying to comfort me,” Bracken chuckled, making her smile.

           “Objectively, I’m still in a better position than you. I have coloring books,” Kendra said. “And maybe I’m betraying everything I stood for two weeks ago, but I don’t know, so I don’t feel it, unlike you. I don’t have lifelong ideals I’m wrestling with, just the jumbled up present. And I managed to…uh, nevermind,” she said, blushing and backing away from that thought.

           “No, tell me,” he said, leaning closer. “What did you manage to do? Come on Kendra, you’re the only good thing here right now. I need all the good news I can get.”

           Oh those eyes. If the sky was that color blue, she was right to be working as hard as she can to see it. But was she brave enough to finish the original thought?

           “I managed to cheer up a cute boy. Certainly made my day, especially since I was part of the reason he was sad in the first place.”

           This close she caught a bluish silver pooling in his cheeks as he pulled away. Not looking at her, he said, “You are so much nicer to me this jail sentence and first meeting. Last time it took a while for you to trust me. It wasn’t until the Fairy Queen vouched for me that you started being nicer.”

           Kendra tilted her head, “Ronodin did say that I started off my courtships kinda violently. Did that happen with you?”

           “I wouldn’t say violent—wait, why did he say that?”

           “Oh, umm,” Kendra said, “It’s, uhh, the story will probably confuse you more.”

           “Then I’ll think about it later,” Bracken said, “Even if you’re just meeting me, you came back, I hope that means you’ll consider me a friend. And friends want to know juicy stories.”

           “If you’re sure,” Kendra said, deciding to watch closely, “So Ronodin was telling me about how I staged my own kidnapping, but that really was just too convenient. We were testing out whether Mendigo took orders from me or him, and I was pretty sure it was him, so…look, I didn’t think he would do it, but I told Mendigo to strangle Ronodin.”

           “What?” Bracken’s mouth opened in shock.

           Kendra giggled nervously, “Yeah, so I almost kill him, but told Mendigo to stop before he actually died. He wheezed on the ground for a while. If Ronodin had any control over Mendigo, Mendigo wouldn’t have tried to murder him, and that’s why I have to believe Ronodin. I must have ordered Mendigo to kidnap me, because Ronodin certainly didn’t.”

           “I’m sure there’s some way Ronodin has control over Mendigo, but I see why you think the way you do,” Bracken said, “He really almost died? You almost killed him?”

           Kendra tilted her head, “I thought you hated him and wanted to stab him.”

           “I…” Bracken looked unsure again, but not hurt, “I guess it’s different hearing about it when not consumed with rage. Even though I think I hate him, he’s always seemed…kind of invincible. A constant piece of trouble, with emphasis on the constant.”

           “Maybe because he’s family?” Kendra offered. “I had five minutes with my brother, and even though I don’t have any other memories of him, because of those five minutes, family means something to me. It means I loved him more than my identity, once upon a time. That’s one of the only things I know about myself, so I don’t know what kind of meaning it has for you.”

           “Maybe,” Bracken conceded, “We did play a lot as children. Even back then he seemed invincible. Not afraid of any consequences, always living in the moment. He’s tarnished those memories forever with his actions later, but…I have to think on it.”

           They were quiet for a minute.

“I should get back. I don’t want Ronodin to know I’m visiting you.”

           “No, we don’t want that,” he said, standing up and brushing dirt off. It was kinda weird, but his cell was full of dirt, where everything else outside of her apartment was just straight stone. It was hard to tell that he was dirty because he was so handsome, and just slightly brighter than everything else down here, but looking around that, he was definitely dusty.

           “But before you go, I want to make sure you have a way to defend yourself if you need to,” Bracken said, “Ronodin is the one that taught you how to dim your light, I’ll teach you how to increase it. Everything is dim down here, your normal brilliance will be enough to give anyone pause, but if you want your light to be blinding, you can.”

           “Did you teach me how to do this before?” Kendra asked, standing up as well.

           He shook his head, “You’re young Kendra, and if you’ve learned to use your magic for crafting, you should know that you don’t have to craft items. For most fairies, using magic is intuitive, you just know after experimenting with it all your life, like walking or speaking. By the time I realized you might want instruction, I conferred with Mother and we decided against it.

“We wanted you to be able to choose what you wanted to do with your life without magic affecting it. You have the ability to work your magic into any human creation you put your heart into. Magic items might be useful to you and your mortal friends, and you might have picked that at the expense of your own happiness. If you wanted to be a singer, a gardener, a warrior, a healer, or anything else, you should be able to make that choice, as is the right of any mortal. After you had chosen your path, I would have taught you how to put your magic into it.” His cheeks darkened just a smidge and he looked away from her, “I wanted to watch you love something for its own sake, and then watch the wonder on your face as you turn it magical.”

“Doesn’t seem smart not to let me make an educated decision about that,” Kendra pointed out, her irritation warring with how adorable Bracken was being, “imagine how I would have felt knowing I could have crafted an item that might save my brother, and then not be able to because no one taught me.”

“I guess we didn’t think that one through,” he admitted.

“Still, your hearts were in the right place,” Kendra said, “and given my memory loss, teaching me anything would have been useless anyway. So I forgive you and your mother for not thinking it through.”

His smile was so sincere, her eyes immediately dropped to her feet.

“Now, despite that reasoning, I didn’t really have any reason not to teach you about this,” he said, “It just manifesting your light. Subconsciously, I probably didn’t want you to accidentally blind me when I taught you this. Tell me how Ronodin taught you to dim your light.”

Kendra explained about the candle flickering behind her heart, how she imagines covering the top of it with her hand to contain the light. Bracken nodded the whole time.

“Glad to see he hasn’t forgotten the basics,” Bracken said, “Don’t practice it underground unless you want people to know what you’re doing, but to increase your light, at least without some kind of magical amplifier, I want you to take that light and let it fill you up. Let it coat your skin. Focus on people that you love, focus on your goals overall. The big ones. Figuring out what’s right, protecting your brother. The more you focus on those, the bigger that candle flame will feel, and drown yourself in it. If you do it right, it will increase the manifestation of your usual brilliance. I don’t know how much, you’re already incredibly bright on your own, but enough to do some damage to something that hasn’t seen life or light in an age. Focus it enough and everyone will be able to see it, not just those with eyes to see.”

“So just…imagine setting myself on fire?” Kendra asked dubiously.

Bracken laughed, “Not quite. You pull a thread of your own fire into your hands as you craft, right? Instead of pulling a thread, let that thread travel over your skin. It doesn’t burn you while you hold it, right?”

“Right,” she confirmed. “It just, well to do it, I have to have a purpose, or it doesn’t go anywhere.”

“It’s exactly the same here,” Bracken assured her, “But without a purpose, those feelings of love and strength manifest in pure light. It won’t burn you, it can’t. It’s a part of you.”

“I’ll remember that,” Kendra promised, “But I really have to go now.”

“Stay safe,” Bracken asked as she turned towards the tunnel.