Page 24 of I Am the Storm
The dryad moves into the study to sit on a chair in front of the fire, warming her hands briskly. "Very well," she says. "But I might know someone who can help. Another dryad. Kaya." Lily glances away shyly, her cheeks flushing. "Tell her I sent you, and she should be able to take you where you need to go."
That settles it. It is too late to visit Kaya tonight, but we all agree to touch base with her in the morning and see if she will help us. For now, Elijah gets the details from Lily about where to find the dryad, and Liam makes sure Lily gets back to her tree to rest. Which is what we all need at this point.
Rest. Not a tree to sleep in.
* * *
The next morning,I rise early, grab my cloak and bag, and get ready for our trip. I've always wanted to go to England. I just never imagined I would travel there via dryad magic. But it sure beats international flights.
All four brothers come, as I expected, and so the five of us set out in the carriage. Elijah and Derek sit up front, leaving me in the back with Liam and Sebastian. It's a mostly silent drive as we travel through the town and into a densely populated residential area that lasts for miles before we reach a clearing that leads us to a bumpy dirt road and a lot of forest and hills.
I lean back and close my eyes, replaying all of the new information I've learned over the course of the last few days. My mind keeps returning to Cole. To his face. His eyes. His haunting energy.
When the carriage begins to slow after several hours of butt-bruising travel, I peer out the window and gasp. The Dragon's Breath that fills the sky with color seems to have created a wall of furious green fire that emits such heat we can hardly get closer without burning alive. Already sweat is beading on my forehead and dripping into my eyes. The weirdest thing is that at the base of this green wall of fire, everything just… ends. The trees, the grass, the road. It all disappears. As far as the eye can see.
"It's the edge of The Otherworld," Liam says.
"The edge?" I ask, stunned. "Like… there's nothing beyond that wall?"
He nods.
"Does it encase everything, this wall? Like in a circle or something?"
"There is a perimeter to the world," the fire Druid says. "But most of it is unreachable, at the far edge of steep mountains or great bodies of water. This is the most accessible location."
"Huh. So, it's not a globe, like Earth?" I ask. I've seen maps, of course, in the many books I've read, but I never really considered the shape or magnitude of the world. I never considered that it would have an edge. An end.
"This world is much smaller than yours," Liam says. "And no, it's not a globe."
The idea of this makes my mind spin.
The carriage stops, and we all get out and stretch. My body is bruised, tired, and achy, and I wonder at how people in my world traveled like this throughout history. It's back breaking.
We emerge into a magnificent grove of wood. In a large circle, a fair distance from the fiery edge of the world, smaller saplings sway in the hot wind, and in the middle is a tree much larger than Lily's, its snowy white leaves a sharp contrast to the green hue cast by the Dragon's Breath wall.
There's shouting coming from the center of the grove and as we move towards the conflict we see a dryad, skin green and hair red as blood, yelling at two Enforcers dressed in black cloaks, while a cloven-hooved woman holding a baby cowers behind her.
"These are my clients, and they are getting in," the dryad screams, shielding the woman with her own body. The largest center tree seems to respond to her anger, branches rippling with the dryad's words.
"Kaya," the Enforcer closest to her says, holding out a hand. “The new rules dictate creatures must have a valid permit to enter the Otherworld...”
His voice is familiar, as are the tiny horns on his head. He's the same Enforcer who stopped us to search our carriage the night of the fire.
“This is complete crap,” Kaya says. “A dragon egg goes missing and suddenly everyone’s a potential criminal. Unless they have enough money to buy their innocence, of course.”
The Enforcer looks over to the woman with the baby. "I'm sorry, miss, but you'll have to leave the Otherworld and come back with a permit—"
The woman cries, clutching her child to her chest. "Please, sir. I must stay. We're being hunted. We won't survive if you send us back."
The Enforcer steps forward holding a black wooden rod in one hand. He reaches around the dryad to grab the woman with the other hand. "I'm sure you'll find a way."
"And how is she to get a permit, which can only be issued by your department, if she's not here?" Kaya asks.
The second Enforcer pulls Kaya away from the woman, pinning her to her own tree with his wooden rod, and as he does, it zaps with an electric magnet that shocks Kaya, causing her to scream. "That will be enough argument from the likes of you," he says through gritted teeth, his fist balled, and his body poised for a fight.
The woman in question collapses to her knees, pulling out of the first Enforcer's grasp.
She cries, cradling her screaming infant. "No. Please. I beg you. If I can't stay, take my child…" Her pleas are desperate, grasping at the last remnants of hope for her child, if not herself. She holds the baby out like an offering to a cruel god, and the Enforcer pauses, his face troubled as he glances at his partner who doesn't appear nearly as bothered by conscience. He looks back at the woman but avoids eye contact. "I'm sorry, but I have my own young ones, and if I don't follow the rules, then…"