“Dude, I am not Gumby. I’m not that bendy!” I limped over to the morning fire. Delilah was dividing up the protein bars. She, too, was walking with a hitch.
Bran snorted. “You think this is bad? Wait till we’re riding rough terrain. If we’re riding rough terrain. I suppose it all depends on what the scroll tells you once you find it.” He motioned to a pan on the fire. “I thought to bring coffee, seeing how all of Earthside seems to be addicted to it.”
“Oh, bless you.” I leaned over, wincing, and held out my cup. As he poured my coffee, I noticed he had a mug of the same right next to him. “All of Earthside, huh? And what’s that?”
With a soft laugh, he said, “I didn’t claim to be immune to its effects. Especially given that I’m primarily living over Earthside now.”
As I gingerly lowered myself to sit on one of the logs, Trillian brought me a couple protein bars and a bowl of blueberries. “Here, eat these. I went out and found a scattering of early berries. The men agreed to divide them up between you and Delilah.”
I gratefully took the fresh fruit. The protein bars would help but they weren’t exactly the heartiest of breakfasts and I was thinking about Hanna’s waffles with regret.
The sun was starting to peek through the eastern timber line, scattering its rays through the dense foliage. While it was shaping up into a warm day, the chill in the air was still nippy, and dew covered every branch and leaf. I inhaled deeply, sucking in a lungful of the clean air, and held it for as long as I could before slowly exhaling. The air was bracing and tasted clean, unlike most air over Earthside. There was always an odd flavor that settled at the back of my throat back home, though I was getting used to it.
“How long before we reach the place where we’re thinking the scroll is?” I cupped my coffee mug, warming my hands, again grateful that Bran had good sense to bring it. Better sense than the rest of us, given we’d all forgotten about it.
“I think we’ll be riding till a little past noon. Maybe two o’clock? Three? We have to pass a series of ponds first—the Seven Grottos. I warn you, be cautious. I’ve heard tell that some kelpies have set up home there, and there have been disappearances. My mother has been meaning to check into it, but she gets distracted easily.” His tone slipped, just enough for me to hear the mild vein of contempt behind it.
I knew that Raven Mother treaded lightly around her son. At one point, she had indicated to me that he didn’t listen to her. Most children rebelled against their parents but Bran was unpredictable. Which brought to mind another memory. Bran had been holding something over Morgaine’s head before she died. I had never figured out what that was, but they had been at each other’s throats on our trip to find Myrddin. Mistletoe, the pixie attendant to Feddrah-Dahns—the Prince of the Dahnsburg Unicorns—had also confided in me that, at one time in the past, Bran had wanted Morgaine and she had rebuffed him.
On that trip, we had also learned that Bran was in debt to Beira, the Mistress of Winter and the mother of the Bean Nighe. I had witnessed her threatening him for payment by the Winter Solstice. Given that had passed, he must have found a way to pay her off because he was still standing. They might both be Immortals, but she was far stronger than he was.
“We’ll be careful,” was all I said. I didn’t like bog Fae, in general. The kelpies and will-o’-the-wisps were dangerous and all too happy to lure people to their death, be they human or Fae or anything in between. The Elder Fae who haunted the boggy marshes were far worse. Jenny Greenteeth, the Black Annis, Bog-Mother, all spawned a legacy that turned traveling through marshland into a dangerous journey.
As we saddled up again for the day, I dreaded the coming ride. Or rather, my thighs dreaded it. Trillian helped me back astride the horse and as I patted Annabelle’s head, she whinnied.
“Take it easy on me, would you? I’m a newbie at this.” I fumbled in my pocket for one of the apples I had confiscated and leaned down to hand it to her. She took the fruit, giving a little shake of appreciation. Laughing—my experience with horses was limited and I hadn’t realized how pleasant they could be—I clucked to her and she started forward as I steered her into the train we had formed. I rode behind Trillian, who was behind Bran.
As we passed deeper into Thistlewyd Deep, I began to realize that the entire forest was actually a giant hive-mind. I could feel it on every side of me—above and below, too. It throbbed with activity and as I tuned in, I realized that every being that entered the forest became a part of the whole. We were, too—simply by being here, we had become part of the Deep.