Over the next four days, I fell into a pattern as we made our way toward the border that would take us out of Evalis and into Kalidar. I would wake up long before my fellow apprentice or our Master, feed Zaiya, and then get dressed before going outside for sword practice with my cousin, Shava. First, Sharai would have me go through some of the key movements of the first dance on my own and explain the motions to Shava. Then, as my spirit guide put my body through the movements of the complete first dance and I attempted to absorb them in both mind and body, she would call out the movements for my cousin, who was wielding a heavy stick for the moment.

Sharai was fairly pleased with the progress of both of us by the fifth morning on the road. The movements, and how they flowed into one another, were becoming more natural to me and she felt that I would soon be able to make my way through the first dance on my own. I thought that this was far too soon since I was still trying to consciously remember every movement, but she pointed out how the muscles of my body were remembering the motions through repetition, even if my mind was taking a little longer. She would not start teaching me the next dance though until I had it committed to the memory of both my body and mind.

Shava was learning a lot slower and was not able to move as fluidly from one motion into another as I was, but she was determined to learn, and Sharai would often tell me how to correct her stance, how she held her weapon, or the motions that she was having difficulty with. I found that this ended up helping me to learn faster as well. By the third day, Hagan and Mara had made my cousin a bow and some arrows more suitable to her size so I was teaching my cousin archery as well as practicing myself.

After practice, Shava and I would wash up before joining the rest of the troupe for breakfast. We would usually be mostly done eating and just talking by the time the non-Fae among us woke up to join us. That time talking, while Daivin, Vesha, and Master Nirlyn ate, helped me to get to know the other people in my troupe better and to start to become comfortable with this new life. I was still surprised, and a bit in awe about how everyone in the troupe supported one another.

They would ask how my studies were going and sometimes Korine or I would talk about the instruments or songs that we were learning to play. Shava would excitedly tell the others about what Sharai and I were teaching her, which had resulted in Hagan making some practice weapons more suitable for her size. First, there were the bow and arrows. As we talked this morning though, I could see that Hagan’s whittling had a large branch he had found almost looking like a sword now, one that looked like it was going to be very similar in shape to Neva’kul.

After breakfast, I would go back to our wagon to feed Zaiya again and pack up anything that was loose for travel. Once we were on the road, most of the rest of the day would be spent practicing playing my instruments and singing with Vesha or Master Nirlyn, learning new songs, doing other tasks that Master Nirlyn assigned, and occasionally taking breaks to care for Zaiya. Then, once darkness fell, I would take over for Vesha in the driver’s seat since I was the one with the best night vision. Vesha had no night vision to speak of and our Master’s was decent, but nowhere near as good as that of a Faerie.

The pace that our caravan was setting was far more rushed than usual for Voyagers as we hurried toward the border, only stopping for long enough to let our people and the kirgens get a night of rest under the protection of a Seeming. Vesha told me that we usually stopped at villages and towns for a day or two to ply our trades and try to make some coin, but we had quickly passed by any that we had encountered so far. News about the Demons and the Church of One had to be taken to the main Guildhall in Derevik as quickly as possible, and I had a feeling that they would try to stop us.

The church had the King of Evalis under their sway and while they might not know what information we had, Master Nirlyn had left the capital with me suddenly and dramatically in front of an official of the church. I had also used magic fairly brazenly. They would be looking for us; I had no doubts about that, and the feeling gnawed at the back of my mind more voraciously with each day that we got closer to the border.

Today was different though. I was tired from lack of sleep, we were camped at the edge of a forest that straddled both Evalis and Kalidar, and our breakfast discussion was longer than usual as we decided what to do. “We could be across the border and in Kalidar by late afternoon if we keep following the road, or there’s the forest path. It’ll take longer but there’s less risk of anyone trying to stop us,” my grandmother said as we were all gathered around the dying embers of the fire.

“Maybe we should try the forest path,” I suggested uncertainly. “I… felt Demons pass by us along the road last night. There was nearly half a dozen of them, I think. They probably did not notice our Seeming since they were right at the edge of my magic sense, but they were moving fast, in the direction of the border.”

“Probably trying to catch up with us before we could cross,” Uncle Bryden suggested with a frown. “When they get there, they’ll probably find out that we haven’t passed through yet. They’ll probably wait for us there, and maybe send some of their numbers to check the forest path as well.”

“We will likely have to take the forest path then,” my grandfather stated with a sour expression. “At least if it comes to a fight, we’ll have an advantage there. There are rumors of Fae in Kaazir Forest though, what does Sharai have to say, Kaelyn? Are the rumors true? And how will they react to us traveling through their territory?”

-Kaazir Forest,- Sharai spoke pensively in my mind. -There is indeed a Fae village; I stopped there on my way into Evalis to go home. They should be warned about the church and the Demons. If you and I meet with them first and can convince them that your troupe is mostly Changelings, they should welcome us as kin.-

I passed that information on to the others and my grandparents both nodded as my grandmother said, “It’s decided then. We’ll take the forest path.” With that, we began to pack up camp and prepared to move out.

It was late in the afternoon, and I was riding up on the driver’s bench with Vesha when I felt a discordant clashing of magic to the southeast of us and let out a sharp whistle to let the other wagons know to stop. There were six distinct sources, four of them felt like they belonged, like they were in harmony with the forest around them, but the other two sources were so dark and malevolent that I had to jump off the bench before the wagon was fully stopped to empty my stomach.

Vesha had barely brought the kirgens to a stop before jumping down from the driver’s bench to place a soothing hand on my back. “Demons… up ahead…” I managed to get out as I tried to spit the taste of vomit from my mouth and pointed in the general direction.

The other wagons had stopped and several of our adult members of the troupe quickly gathered around. It was not long before my grandparents started issuing orders. That was one of the sources of magic faded away, and it was not one of the nasty ones. -We must help them!- Sharai’s frantic voice in my mind pleaded.

I could not help but agree. I did not want to feel another source of nature magic fade and then die out like that. I shot into the sky and toward the sources of magic as fast as my wings would carry me. I was only dimly aware the shouts emanating from behind me as I flew toward the battle ahead of me.

Three figures that I assumed to be Fae were pinned down behind some large rocks with what looked like a Nymph lying dead nearby. Between them and me, there were close to a dozen human men in armor and two other men with dark auras hurling black flames and lightning at them while one tried to counter with spells and her two companions fired arrows. Three humans were either dead or unconscious, but the Fae were outnumbered and the humans all had cold iron weapons, even the two throwing that dark magic around. I could sense the metal on them.

Torr’s balls,” I cursed under my breath as I hovered, assessed the situation, and tried to come up with a plan. These Demons and their lackeys had come prepared to kill Fae, but they had no horses since the thick foliage would make riding them difficult. They probably marched straight here from the border station. I was not sure if it was because they knew about the village in these woods or because they thought that I might be Fae and were here to block the forest path to ensure I did not leave Evalis. Either way, I needed to do something, fast.

“Kaelyn, wait,” Vesha’s voice hissed as she caught up with me.

“But I have to…” I started to answer before she cut me off.

“You have to stay and listen to the plan!” she snapped, trying to keep her voice low. “You’re not on your own anymore; you’re part of a family! We do things together and you have people who care about you and worry when you fly off toward the danger like that! I swear, if we get out of this alive, I’m going to shackle our arms together so you can’t leave m… us like that again.”

She was angry, flustered, and probably one of those who I had worried as well. I felt smaller than I had ever felt in my life for not considering everyone else’s feelings. “What is the plan?” I asked, unable to look her in the eyes as I shook my head. “Th… the others should hold back, they have cold iron weapons, and the only people we have with weapons are Hagan, Mara, and Uncle Bryden.”

That was not entirely true, most Voyagers kept at least a knife on them for protection, and cutting purse strings, but those would do little good against cold iron swords and arrowheads. “As I said, we do things together,” Vesha said, giving me a stern look. It was quickly replaced by a wild grin though as she added, “Who said that Voyagers need weapons to fight? Do you think that you can use your gift to help those three while I wreak some chaos down there? You and I will be the distraction while the others catch up and get ready.”

“Yes,” I agreed, not even having to think it over. I would protect those people. “The biggest threats are the Demons though.”

“The guys throwing around that dark magic, right?” the Dragonkin asked. When I nodded, she smiled. “Let’s fight fire with fire then.”

Without another word, Vesha plummeted downward, hurling a barrage of fireballs from her hands ahead of her, and then dropped herself into the midst of the group. She picked up one of the unscathed soldiers before they realized what was happening and threw him into a trio of his companions. Meanwhile, I was flying down toward the trio behind the rocks already summoning my gift and feeling for the metals around me to deflect any cold iron arrowheads.

I landed behind their cover to join the three living Fae, an Elven man, a Faerie woman, and a Spriggan man. They all showed signs of being hit with cold iron arrowheads, and when they had tried to remove them the heads had snapped off, just as they had with Sharai.

“Hello. I am Kaelyn, and the Dragonkin is Vesha, we thought that you could use some assistance,” I offered grimly as I reached for my bow, only to realize that I had not brought it with me. I sighed and offered, “I will try to get that cold iron out of you, but it is going to hurt.”

I could already see the signs of cold iron poisoning in two of them, though the Spriggan seemed to be the worst off. I had to pull two arrowheads from him, one from his shoulder and the other from his leg. How they had managed to keep fighting them off until now, other than grim determination was beyond me. The Elf had one deep in his thigh that had him screaming as I removed it.

I thought that the Faerie must have been the one casting the spells since she showed only minor signs of cold iron poisoning. One of her wings had been clipped and since the arrow had gone right through, I was hopeful that her wing could be saved by a proper Healer. She also had a nasty wound in her right shoulder and a burn on her left hand. From the knife and the arrowhead lying nearby, I assumed that she had taken a shallow wound to the shoulder and had dug the arrowhead out. -With your help, they have managed to avoid serious cold iron poisoning, they will be ill for a while and probably scar, but they should live,- Sharai informed me as I used scraps of cloth to bandage their wounds.

“Do not move,” I cautioned them as I peeked over the rocks separating me from our adversaries.

Vesha’s fists had burst into flame, and she was pounding on the Demon who had been throwing those black flames, which seemed useless against the Dragonkin. “You call that fire? This is fire!” she yelled as he screamed in pain and tried to put some distance between them.

The soldiers were burned and bloodied from her attacks, and their bows were now useless, meaning that they had to try to attack her with swords. That meant getting close though, and whenever someone did that Vesha blocked it with a scale-covered appendage and then bashed them aside with a wing or a flaming fist. She was like a force of nature, and it was both terrifying and beautiful. Where was the other Demon though?

I focused on my magic sense and I could feel the taint of his magic coming closer. He had used the soldiers as cover while Vesha was fighting his comrade and was coming right for our cover to finish off the Fae. He had a cold smile on his lips as he stepped around the boulder, black lightning already sparking in one hand and a cold iron blade in the other. I already had Neva’kul in hand and thrust toward him as I called upon Joarra’s glyph to gather the mana around me into the blade of my sword and release it.

The blast of destructive magical energy that I unleashed along the path of the thrust tore a furrow into the forest floor and sent my opponent flying even as it eviscerated him. The furrow was close to twice my height in width and ten times that in length. I was suddenly very tired and barely managed to stagger toward the black smoke that hovered where the body of a man had been before I had obliterated it. Gritting my teeth, I summoned a faerie fire, determined to not let it disappear until the Demon’s soul was fully consumed.

Sharai had said that Joarra’s attack was powerful, but I had thought that she might have been overstating it. She also had not warned me about how much it could drain the user, or that it would get that much attention. The Fae were staring at me, Vesha was staring at me as she dropped the other Demon’s flaming corpse to the ground, even the enemy soldiers were staring at me as my pinkish flames consumed the Demon’s soul and I sent a second faerie fire to do the same to the one fleeing the smoldering corpse at Vesha’s feet.

I tried to stand proudly and defiantly, and not to show that I could barely stand, as I turned back to my enemies, put a false grin on my face, and asked, “Who is next?”

Cold iron blades dropped hastily to the ground in surrender and that was when a half dozen kirgens burst out from the trees and mercilessly rammed, stomped, and pulverized our now unarmed enemies. “Just in time,” Vesha said with a tired laugh as her flames went out and she walked toward me through the kirgens that were turning the church’s men into a thin paste. “Kaelyn, how did you…” I was barely aware of the beautiful Dragonkin’s expression changing from wonder to concern as she rushed forward to catch me in her arms and I thought that I saw one of the kirgens shift into Uncle Bryden as I lost consciousness.