The Unmaking (The Last Days of Tian Di, #2)(70)

“You’re the last to wake up,” said Charlie, pointing out the obvious. Charlie looked the way he always did, but in this lovely setting Nell noticed how bedraggled and unwashed Ander was, and she suspected she looked just as bad.

She smiled brilliantly at the Faery, hoping she didn’t actually smell bad. “Hello. I’m Nell.”

“Please eat,” said the Faery, not bothering to introduce himself in return. “Jalo is speaking with his mother. He will come for you when they are finished.”

Needing no further prompting, Nell sat down on one of the divans and tucked into the fruit. There was a plate of what looked like dark bread but when she put it in her mouth it melted to a thick, sweet liquid almost like molasses.

“Where are the dragons?” she asked Swarn.

“They are stabled,” said Swarn. A reluctant smile tugged at the edges of her mouth. “The first dragons of the cliffs of Batt ever to enter the Realm of the Faeries, I’d wager. And I must thank you for saving the injured one. These two insist it was your doing.”

“Oh!” Nell was a little surprised by that, but pleased. “Aye-anytime.”

“There are only two left now,” said Swarn. “They will be the parents of the future generations.”

“Lah, what happened in the marsh?” asked Nell.

Swarn’s face closed. For a moment Nell thought she would not answer and was afraid it had been a terrible thing to ask. Then Swarn said, “Nia blindsided me. I was not ready. I knew I could not defeat her by myself and so I called the dragons to hold her off. They gave me time to escape and seek friends, though I found none. I did not think she had the power to destroy them all. I did not think she would do so. I should have stayed and died with them.”

“You’ll be much more helpful alive,” Charlie pointed out, but Swarn looked away, scowling at their idyllic surroundings.

Nell dropped the subject and looked up at the Faery.

“Is there anywhere we could have a bath?” she asked.

The Faery, who had been listening to their conversation with undisguised fascination, started at being spoken to directly.

“Of course,” he replied. “Jalo instructed me to...yes, you must all bathe.”

“Thank the Ancients!” said Nell. “I’ve been in these same clothes for far too many days in a row now.”

Ander looked ruefully at the grimy pajamas he’d been wearing since Nell had come banging on his door in Holburg.

“I think a bath would suit me, too,” he said. “Wonder if I could get a shave?”

Nell grinned at him, for in a week he had very nearly grown a full beard. Unlike his hair, it was quite grey.

“This way,” said the Faery to Nell and Swarn, pointing. A path of bright pebbles appeared, winding among the trees. The Faery directed Charlie and Ander along another path that appeared as soon as he pointed at the ground. Nell hurried along the path, Swarn following behind her. She could hear running water now. The path led directly to a shining pool hidden by trees that grew close together. At one end of it, a waterfall spilled over a tall, rocky cleft. Moss hung wet and gleaming over the rocks.

“Oh!” cried Nell, enchanted. She stripped off her filthy clothes and leaped into the water. It was pleasantly cool and clear as glass. She stood beneath the waterfall and let the water rush over her, pounding in her ears. When she emerged, blinking the water out of her eyes and laughing, Swarn was sitting in the water, her clothes lying on the bank. Nell was startled to see that her strong brown body was a map of scars. She sat in the water with more dignity than Nell would have imagined a naked person could possess.

“I hope we are right in turning to the Faeries for help,” said Swarn crisply. “Your friend seems sincere enough but I have never trusted Faeries and am loath to do so now. Malferio in particular is slippery, unpredictable.”

“I dinnay see that we have a choice,” said Nell, to which Swarn nodded curt agreement. Nell sat on the bank letting herself dry off. Two silvery white dresses, impossibly soft to the touch, were laid on the ground for them, the sleeves and hems adorned with tiny, fragrant flowers. She stifled a laugh trying to imagine Swarn wearing such a thing. When she was more or less dry, she slipped into the smaller dress. It fit her perfectly.

“Do you think it’s safe to explore a bit?” Nell asked.

Swarn did not answer immediately and when she spoke, it was not to answer Nell’s question. “I am not afraid to die,” she said. “But I fear for Eliza. Even if the Faeries give her sanctuary, I wonder if it is enough. She is so young, her potential still untapped. It grieves me to think –”

“Dinnay think it, then,” said Nell sharply. “Eliza’s going to be fine, aye. We have a plan!”

“Do we?” Swarn asked dryly.

“Yes! The Faeries help us get safely back to Di Shang, you break the Curse on the Mancers, we find Eliza, and then all together we crush Nia! Lah, praps not we. There’s not much I can do. But it’s a good plan, aye.”

Swarn smiled at Nell for the first time with something nearly approaching warmth.

“Eliza loves you dearly,” she said.

“I know,” said Nell. “She’s my best friend.”

The witch slipped under the water and began to swim slow circles around the pool. Nell could hear Charlie and Ander talking in the opposite direction from the clearing and so she ran through the trees to find them. There was a bright glimmer between the trees and then the woods were gone, as if they had never been there at all. Nell stumbled slightly, startled. She was on a bamboo walkway on a lake. The lake shone silver and dazzling butterflies swooped among the waterlilies. The walkway met with several others, criss-crossing the water. White flowers were twined around the bamboo railings. She looked behind her but there was no sign of the mossy wood. The lake was ringed by tall mountains and at the top of the nearest mountain perched a castle with long, delicate spires. Unearthly music echoed across the water.