Shade joined her grandmother, who was sitting on the worn steps of the back porch. She had her shawl tossed across her shoulders, and she was staring out into the distant trees and horizon. Lost to whatever passed behind her eyes. Their color was a brilliant, melded, shade of brown that completely passed for human eyes. Her wistful hair floated about her like a halo of silver and white, making Shade wonder what she thought about when her face sank so deeply in concentration, and seemed so lost to this world.

“Are you alright, Lana?” Shade asked. “You seem concerned about something.” Shade placed her lemonade between her feet on one of the wooden steps. White paint peeled up and flaked around them.

Lana sighed and shook her head like she was shaking off a bad dream. Her face lit up as she turned towards Shade.

“My end time is near, and I have yet to show you so much. I have one lesson left to teach you that must be done. The rest I have collected and mapped out for you in an ampoule of memory that I have made, for when I am gone.” Lana said, dangling a glistening glass ampoule, filled with blood-red fluid. “I know you will be able to follow all my instructions and use it all for good. I hope you know how proud of you I am, Shade. I never thought I’d be blessed with such a wonderful grand-daughter, especially having had a wayward son like mine!” She laughed and threw her head back blinking up at the blue and white sky.

“Here,” whispered Lana.

She handed Shade the beautiful glass vial, complete with a twist-on jeweled stopper. The red fluid shined and glinted in the sun. The liquid seemed to glitter in the light, swirling like smoke billowing from a cigarette, and felt heavy in her hand.

“What exactly is this, Grandma?” Shade asked.

“It is all memory, my child. My memories. For when I am gone. Only then do I want you to open it and drink it. It will give you all that remains of me and my powers. My life will be part of yours, and so will my essence. It is the only way I could think of to help you since I have so little time to give you all that I can. It has everything you will need to live as a Fey. I pray that it will help you in your darkest hours.”

“Why do you talk like that Grandma, you are not dying yet! Is there something going on I should know about?” Shade asked.

Lana sighed and looked down at the peeling paint under her loafers. She closed her eyes and shook her head, turning back to Shade, as a glowing fire burned behind her eyes.

“Shade, I don’t know how to explain it I just know there is no more time. Please, just believe me. Swear you will take the memories and learn from them all that you can. Promise me that.” Lana beckoned and waited as Shade agreed. Fear glistened in her eyes as she slipped the ampoule necklace around her neck to rest next to the water vial of Santiran Water. “I have one more lesson for you. One that will change a lot for you.”

Shade gulped and stared at Lana’s wise, old eyes. She nodded, feeling the dread flowing all around them. Unable to shake it off.

“Yes Grandma, I promise. I will learn the best that I can.”

Her grandmother motioned her to the yard. Her arms straight out and her head tilted to the sky. She looked back at her as her arms moved back down. “Child, you must know that you come from a long line of powerful Faery women. Our line is one where only a very select few can change their appearance. We can mimic other Fey, humans, and anything else you come across in this world. I don’t mean glamour. I mean transformation. A change so quick and precise, you could fool a mother to think you are her child, and a child to think you are its mother. Fey of our line can shift and change into anyone you can think of. Anyone you want to look like.” Lana paused, taking in a deep breath as she continued.

“It is magic, but one that is hard to detect. No one can even see it with the na**d eye. No Faery would be able to tell the difference, except you. Do you understand, Shade? We are shape-shifters of the rarest kind. You can do it too, but I must help you unlock this magic from within you. For it is kept so deep inside, even you cannot find and use it without help.”

Lana’s statements made Shade’s jaw drop. She pulled it closed and continued to look at her grandmother while she processed what Lana had just said. Shade nodded, even though it did not make much sense to her.

How is that possible? How could I have such magic inside me and not know it? How?

Lana smiled at Shade, her hand on her shoulder for reassurance. “Now, close your eyes,” Lana instructed. “Breathe in and out. Feel your heart beating. Listen to its rhythm, a deep booming drum. Try to imagine my face. Remember what I look like. Remember each wrinkle, the flow of my hair, my voice, and my fingers. Now, try to create a shroud-like mist around you. Let it tighten along your skin as it morphs your body into mine. Imagine staring at yourself in a mirror and seeing me staring back at you. Feel your heart beat and let it flow with your magic. Now, open your eyes and tell me what you see?”

Shade? What is it, what do you see?

*****

SHADE SNAPPED BACK into the moment, her memory of the lessons with her grandmother fading from her mind. The house was the same, but the wind that flowed about in gusts and made her hair float around her in a halo wasn’t. The weeks spent here had morphed from sunny skies to a darker kind of weather. The air was changing rapidly; they were coming, along with the cold bite of winter. Something was very wrong.

She stood and dashed into the house. Lana! Where did she go?

“Grandma! Where are you?” Shade ran around the staircase to the hall where her grandmother stood. She was frail and looked so much thinner than when they had first met just weeks before. She now looked like she was made of twigs and linen. Shade went to stand in front of her near the old wooden staircase.

“You have to go now, or they will find you here. Go!” Lana motioned her to the door; fear hovering in her multifaceted brown eyes. Lana had warned them that the Unseelie troops would eventually come. It had taken them some time to do so, but it was time now. Shade shook her head, looking behind her to all her friends–Soap, Camulus, and Andraste–who were now up and ready to dash. Weapons were strapped on, and swords were out in defense mode. All of them were waiting for her by the door, keeping a lookout at the front windows.

“You have to come,” Shade said urgently. “We can save you! Please, you have to come now!” The desperation leaked out of her voice like a whimper as she held her frail grandmother’s hand and tugged, but the old woman did not budge. Lana turned to her as tears escaped Shade’s eyes and drained down her cheeks.

“No, Shade. I am too old to run. I cannot withstand those perils anymore. You must leave now. I remain bound to this place, and am imprisoned here forever. I have withered here, but they will never have my soul. I can no longer go anywhere else. I must stay here until I die. You have no idea how happy I am to have met you before my end.” Lana’s face filled with joy as she smiled to her.

Shade shook her head, sobs shaking her body as she protested. “No, you can still change. Change into your younger self, and then you can escape with us. We can do it. We just haven’t tried hard enough. Hurry, please!” Her last words spilled out, pleading without hope. She moved her sword hilt aside and tugged at the zipper on her pack. Something in her bag of tricks had to help her with an unbinding spell. Where is that magic scroll book Ilarial gave me not so long ago?

Lana smiled. A look of calm masked the sadness within. She held her arms out and hugged Shade tight. The embrace was still strong, and her comfort still warmed Shade like a warm cup of tea in winter. “Let me go, Shade. Let me go. It is your time now. The wind is fierce, but I will not be cold. The night grows darker, but I will not be afraid. The Summerlands are closer than ever, and their warmth bleeds into me as we speak. Do not be afraid for I will always be with you. In your heart, and in your mind, my child. Remember the memories, the ampoule I gave you. Drink in the essence when you most need it, and I will not die. I will always live on in you. Remember, I love you.” Lana loosened her embrace and let her go.

Shade walked to the living room where her sobs leaked out, and she sank onto the couch. She cried for all she was losing and all that had been found in her time in Faerie. Soap placed a hand on her shoulder as he moved in front of her. Staring intently into her eyes he told her; without words, of the need to leave. She nodded towards him, and with her last tears dripping off her chin, she got to her feet. Turning towards the door, she gave a nod towards her friends to go. Her face tight and reddened.

Shade joined them as they walked on out, without turning around. Her pack and sword securely on her back. She knew her grandmother was resting in her comfy, overstuffed chair. Shade could just feel it. She could almost see the smile playing across Lana’s face in her mind’s eye as the woman who had taught her more about herself and her magic than anyone else, closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. One that she would never again wake from.

The wind howled and the sky darkened as they made their way into the forest. The group ran down the slope and into the trees that surrounded her grandmother’s prison grounds. Shade kept pace just behind Soap as Camulus yelled for them to get to safer ground and away from the clearing. Her hot tears cooled on her cheeks as she felt the bite of the wind freeze them on her face. Andraste paused in front of them, waiting for the group to catch up as he waved frantically for them to go faster. His arms stopped mid-air as a now horrified look froze across his face in. His eyes reflecting the flickers of orange and yellow fire that now burned behind them.

“Bloody hell. What’s going on now?” He yelled as the rest of the group came to a stop, catching their breaths and turning to see what was happening. Shade bent down, gasping for breath as she let her head tilt towards the house up on the slope. It now stood engulfed in a raging fire. Her eyes widened in sheer horror and disbelief.

“No! Oh please no!” Shade stumbled forward, wanting to run back up the slope to the house. Soap grasped at her arm and pulled hard, embracing her tightly. “Let me go! She’s still up there! Let go!” Shade pulled and tugged with all her strength, but Soap was relentless.

“No, Shade. It would be suicide to return,” Soap whispered to her. “She’s gone now, to the Summerlands where she wanted to be. She’s gone.” His voice cracked in pain as she clawed at his arms. He winced but did not loosen his death grip on her, afraid she would run into the inferno. Shade’s sobs shook them both as she tried to control herself, blinking back the stabbing pain she felt as she watched the fire eating the house away in a tall pillar of embers and flames. The ashes spewed from the cracking wood as it collapsed. The entire forest around the house followed suit as it too caught on fire, withered, and burned. The crashes of debris sent jolts of sickening pain through her.

After a few minutes, Shade became silent and let Soap slowly loosen his grip. He was still afraid to let go completely, just in case she decided to head towards the fiery grave again. It lit the night sky around them, illuminating it like the city lights back home did. He pulled at her to continue. Standing at the edge of the woods, watching the mighty crackle of flames, and the billowing, black, smoke that rose from the wreck was not safe. She dragged her feet along, letting the Changeling pull her for momentum.

Shade felt numb and weak. Her stomach twisted in a knot, and she wished to close her eyes and curl up against a tree forever. The despair clung to her; a deep and suffocating shroud, claiming her into its depths. Squeezing her eyes tightly together, she prayed for nothing but to wake from this infernal nightmare.

Chapter Fourteen

“LOOK!” SOAP YELLED out as he pulled Shade out of her reverie. She followed to where he was pointing. Her eyes widening as she stared at the scene opening before them. Molten lava was now spewing from cracks splitting the ground and spreading across the earth atop the slope.

“What’s going on?” Shade called out in surprise while wiping the last of her tears away. “Where’s that coming from?” It was Shade’s turn to grip onto Soap’s arm, her fear ripping through her. Her hands shook as she glanced at the other warriors, waiting for them to decide what to do, or where to go.

“We got to get out of here, now!” Soap tugged at her again. Shade stumbled forward but turned back to see what had him so shaken up. She gasped as she watched the liquid fire flow faster down the hill towards them. In its wake, hundreds of the vilest ugly-looking creatures she had ever seen emerged. Dark, green-skinned Goblins, Erlkings, and Horned Orcs poured out from behind the blazing inferno of her grandmother’s house. Their red eyes glistened like orbs of blood in the light of the forest fire. Axes, swords, spears, and tri-bladed short swords flashed as they raced down the clearing. Their screams deafening as they echoed across the woods.

“Now, Shade! Move!” Soap’s voice snapped. “Aveta has sent her horde of Sluagh and other dark, unworldly, things to hunt us. We won’t make it out of here if we don’t move now!” They began their ascent down the edge of the tree line, further down the clearing. Shade sprinted. Branches and other shrubbery raked her arms as they reached the end of the clearing, and entered the cover of the forest. Each one of them ran as fast as possible while avoiding falling on their faces. Shade glanced back and began running faster as she glimpsed the vile creatures closing in. She wasn’t sure that they were going to make it.

“Soap!” She called out towards the warrior, hoping he had some sort of solution. Camulus was just ahead of him and was glancing back towards them.

“Camulus, wait! We have to teleport. They’re coming too fast,” Soap said. He came up to where Camulus had paused behind a wall of trees and fallen logs. Camulus gave him a quick nod as he peered around the trees, but then shook his head pulling out his sword and dagger.