“Should I shift? I could lob a few fireballs into the trees and flush them out, if you like.” Kaleb made sure to stand in front of her, so as to shield her from any new arrows.
Minx was tempted by the idea until she recalled where they were. “No, you can't do that! Not here! This is Heilo Lake, Kaleb. We can't burn these ancient woods to the ground...” She turned toward the lake, finding its crystal clear waters perfectly still. The surface of the lake looked like a pane of glass, and she could see the hazy moon reflected on it.
There was something else, too—something she hadn't expected to find.
A solitary figure stood at the very edge of the shore, his feet in the water. Wearing a cloak that was blacker than the night itself, the figure stepped slowly into the lake, wading till he was nearly knee-deep.
Minx's heart nearly burst from her chest. “W-What do you think you're doing?” she demanded, forgetting the threat in the treetops and marching for the shore. “Get out of the water! The Dark Fae are not permitted to be here, and must never enter the waters of the lake!” She nocked her arrow and prepared to fire, hesitating only because she didn't wish to tarnish the waters with death.
The cloaked figure did not turn to meet her furious gaze, only chuckled to himself. “Well,” came the deep, gravelly voice, “it's a good thing I'm not of Zuscha stock, then.” Slowly, the figure raised his hands—green and covered in scales—and lowered his hood, revealing a scaly head burdened with dense black braids. The cloak was then cast off altogether, revealing a muscled physique clad in thin leather armor.
Minx's knees went weak at sight of the figure.
Her worst fear had come to pass.
“T-Torrent?” she called out, her voice wavering. Her vision grew spotty and she could hardly maintain her aim as she drew her bow.
Kaleb strode away from the woods, eyes flaring orange. “So, it's Torrent, is it? Why don't you come out of there? We have a score to settle, you and I.” The dragon shifter balled his fists and walked as far as the shore before Minx took hold of his arm and pulled him back.
“It's too late for all of that,” replied the dark figure. From a sheath on his waist, Torrent pulled a stout dagger. Minx and Kaleb both startled at the sight of it, expecting a fight, but the mage didn't turn to face them; instead, he looked up to the moon and turned the blade on himself. Holding out his left arm, he drew the blade across his scaly forearm with a grunt, resulting in a neat cut. Dark blood poured from the wound in fits and starts into the waters of Heilo Lake.
Minx felt sick to her stomach and in her quaking accidentally fired her bow. The arrow flew chaotically, crashing into the shore and splintering.
“W-What's he doing?” asked Kaleb, baffled by the spectacle. “Why would he—”
Torrent replaced the dagger in his sheath and then turned, sparing the duo a sinister smile. “Tonight,” he announced, “this lake has a new master.”
Chapter 15
The lake began to scream.
It wasn't likely that Kaleb or Torrent could hear the lake's voice—that they could sense its anguish as its waters were tainted by the dark spell-caster's blood. But she could. The same voice that had intruded upon her dreams, that had drifted through her mind even in the daylight, from afar, now howled as though subject to torture. Sickness stole over her, and for the first time in the face of an enemy Minx was too overcome with nausea to fight.
Kaleb bounded forth, rushing onto the shore to drag Torrent from the water. The mage didn't give him the chance, however; with a great upward leap, he exited the water and glided past Kaleb, where he touched down soundlessly on the sand. With a wave of his hand, he psychically thrust the dragon shifter deeper into the lake, and then covered the wound on his forearm with a grin. He strode past the Fae huntress smugly, saying nothing. He didn't have to. He'd won.
Minx, numb and disoriented, tried to fire an arrow as her eyes met Torrent's, but her well-trained hands forgot what they were doing and she couldn't summon the strength to draw the bow. Her vision went spotty before cutting out altogether, and she promptly collapsed. The last thing she heard before she was completely overcome by darkness, aside from Torrent's retreating footsteps, was Kaleb, struggling through the water to reach her.
It was no mere fainting spell. The screaming lake thrust new imagery before her mind's eye, lifting her from the deep darkness she'd stumbled into. Her mind was painted in the hues of a vibrant vision; she saw the land, not as it presently looked, but as it must have appeared many, many years prior. The surrounding lands were overgrown, primordial in their wildness, and as the details were sharpened she could make out individuals dwelling in the fields and exploring the dense forests.
Amidst the pure greenery were both Fae and dragons, walking side-by-side. The iciness that had grown up between the races during recent generations had no quarter here; the scene exuded an almost incredible degree of neighborly warmth. Fae shared their food with dragons; dragons walked arm-in-arm with their Fae friends in the shade. Minx's pulse had been left racing by terror, but now, as she explored this rich vision, her quaking stomach and writhing heart were soothed.
This... This is what things
