Speaker 1: A forest of earth and moon, an Arcane Heart Studio production,
created and written by Eansley Bay.
Speaker 2: Chapter twenty, The cousin. She is gone. One second she
was there, defiant, terrified, beautiful, and the next the air
simply folded around her.
Speaker 1: No.
Speaker 2: I scream, It tears my throat. I lunge for the
spot where she was standing, but there's nothing there, just carpet,
just a lingering scent of a world gone wrong. I stumble,
hitting the floor hard. As reality returns to normal. Where
is she? I wore scrambling up? I notice a face
still in the room, cousin. He is watching me, an
almost amused look on his face. I rushed to him.
Bring her back. A Faye attache barely moves. He certainly
doesn't flinch. Balance has been restored, he says, calmly, bring
her back. I shift fully, this time, claws fangs, the
wolf taking the driver's seat. I launched myself at him.
I had an invisible wall three feet from his face.
I slide to the floor, nothing broken, but my whole
side will be bruised. Do it again, The face says,
he seems excited by my attempts to hurt him. I'm
his own little reality show.
Speaker 1: You tricked her?
Speaker 2: A Fey doesn't reply. He turns to Malcolm. Malcolm is
staring at the spot where Viv disappeared. He looks sick.
What happens to her? Malcolm whispers, she is a guest
of the hollow now. The Fay says, he doesn't elaborate.
What does that even mean? I shout, Meaning in the
hollow is different than meaning here. Your question makes no sense.
The Attache turns to Malcolm. I will need a place
to retire. Malcolm finally returns to his senses. He looks
at the Faye, a cold fury in his eyes. A
place to retire. We are a pleasing sorta. The pack
demands it. We will protect you, assist you, and become
part of your family. The Fay again looks amused at
the possibility. You mean you will spy on us? I
just say the words, too numb to shout anymore. The
Fay ignores me. He is looking at Malcolm. Come with me.
Malcolm finally says, resignation and ignaution dripping from his voice.
I follow, wanting to say something, but not sure what
to say. My whole life suddenly feels so hopeless. I
never realized that my hope was viv It is a
gift that she gave me, and that the fee have
taken away. Be ent her sorchaz room and the cousin
shakes their head. No, he doesn't say anything else. So
Malcolm escorts into the man guest room. No, a little
used living airy in the basement. No, he even takes
him to his own room. This is my master, sweet
Kay and I rarely are invited into the room. It
is father's secret place where he lived his life with mother,
whose death seemed to have disturbed any joy in him.
The wall is stone part of the mountain side, or
is the mountain side part of the house. The Fay
looks intrigued. The house is one with the land. This
room is pleasant to me. My father looks horrified as
he realizes the Fay may take the only connection remaining
with my mother. But then the Fay's eyes light up
and literally glow. What room is that? The cousin's words
are full of wonder. He is pointing through my father's
bathroom and into his walking closet, which is packed with
suits and shirts. That's my closet, Malcolm revise the Fay
walks to it and we follow. He enters and his
hands flow among the hanging clothing. He looks at father.
This reminds me of the trees from the hollow, with
their branches hanging down from above. The cousin lowers himself
to the floor and looks up, extending his hand to
touch the pant legs of suit pants. Yes, this human
forest is my new home. I look at Malcolm, who
simply shakes his head. Fine. I'll have the carpenters block
the entry to the bathroom and build you a door
to the hall. The cousin just ignores him, running his
fingers over my father's clothes. I'd laugh if it weren't
so frightening. I leave my father to manage the cousin.
They are no Sortia. But then again, Sorsia lived with
humans for over a hundred years. Perhaps the cousin will
get there. I leave the house and shift. I need
to let my emotions run free. I look off toward
the hollow, reach up and touch the bond in my chest.
It's still there, but it feels stretched thin, like a
string pulled across an ocean. I will find you, I
whispered to the forest. I don't care about the pact.
I don't care about the deck. I dig my claws
into ground. I will burn their whole world down to
get you back.
Speaker 1: The shadow moves where the light one stood. So then
whispers in the et, the wind did rise. It calls
mind a fleeting Acles signal mark chosen for MMM