Chapter 51 — Beneath the Veil
Hours had passed since Blue and Rito had seen the ancient creature in the sky.
They had continued walking ever since.
The beauty of the Veil had not disappeared, but the landscape had slowly changed. The endless fields gave way to enormous trees whose branches twisted together high above them, creating natural tunnels of glowing leaves. Strange lights drifted between the trunks like fireflies, while distant creatures called to one another from somewhere beyond the forest.
Blue kept looking around.
"Do you think we're going in circles?"
Rito glanced behind them.
"I don't think so."
"You don't sound very confident."
"I'm not."
Blue laughed quietly.
"At least you're honest."
Rito smiled, but her expression soon became thoughtful.
"I just wish I knew where everyone else ended up."
Blue's smile faded.
"Yeah."
He looked ahead.
"Darius, Mira, Kin…"
His voice became quieter.
"I just hope they're somewhere safe."
Rito looked at him.
"You're worried about Darius?"
"Of course I am."
Blue frowned.
"He's strong, but that doesn't mean this place can't hurt him."
Rito nodded.
"And Mira, Gus, Lirael, and Kin?"
"Same thing."
He sighed.
"Honestly, I'm hoping those five ended up together. If anyone can keep Kin alive in this place, it's probably Mira. And Darius…"
Blue paused.
"Darius would probably spend the entire time complaining while protecting them."
Rito laughed.
"That sounds about right."
A voice suddenly came from somewhere ahead.
"Did you two seriously just get separated from everyone too?"
Blue froze.
Rito turned.
Gus stepped out from between the trees.
Lirael followed behind him.
For several seconds, everyone stared at each other.
Then Blue's face lit up.
"Gus!"
Gus raised a hand.
"Yeah. Still alive."
Rito smiled with relief.
"And Lirael."
Lirael nodded.
"You found each other?"
"By accident," Blue said.
Gus looked around.
"So did we."
Blue looked past them.
"Where's everyone else?"
Gus's expression became more serious.
"We don't know."
The excitement disappeared.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Eventually, Lirael looked toward the darkening forest.
"We should stop moving."
Blue looked at her.
"Stop?"
"Night is coming."
She pointed toward a sheltered area between several enormous roots.
"You don't know what hunts here after the light disappears. We have already traveled enough. If we keep moving blindly, we're more likely to lose each other again."
Blue reluctantly agreed.
"Fine."
They made camp beneath the enormous roots.
There was no proper fire. Lirael explained that drawing attention to themselves wasn't worth the risk, so they relied on glowing plants growing around the roots for light.
For a while, nobody spoke.
They simply sat together.
Four people who had entered the Veil expecting to find a cure had instead been thrown into completely different parts of an unknown world.
Eventually, Gus broke the silence.
"So… what happened to you two?"
Blue looked at Rito.
Rito smiled faintly.
"We saw something beautiful."
Gus raised an eyebrow.
"That doesn't sound like the Veil I've been experiencing."
Blue laughed.
"You have no idea."
They told them about the fields, the peaceful creatures, the floating islands, the rivers that flowed strangely through the landscape.
Then they told them about the creature in the sky.
Lirael became completely still.
"You saw one?"
Blue nodded.
"Yeah. Huge. Wings bigger than anything I've ever seen."
Rito looked at Lirael.
"It looked directly at me."
Lirael stared at her.
Then slowly smiled.
"That explains it."
"Explains what?"
"The Veil."
Rito frowned.
Lirael shifted closer.
"You've noticed how everything reacts differently around you."
Rito nodded.
"Yeah."
"The creatures don't see you the same way they see Blue."
Blue glanced down at the flowers beside him.
"They definitely don't."
Lirael smiled.
"Because you're Fae."
Rito blinked.
"But I'm only half Fae."
"That doesn't matter."
Lirael's voice became gentler.
"Blood matters here. The Veil recognizes Fae blood. Even diluted blood. Even mixed blood. Your connection isn't about how much Fae blood you have."
She placed her hand against the earth.
"It's about what that blood remembers."
Rito stared at the ground.
"So the Veil… knows I'm Fae?"
"It resonates with you."
Lirael looked toward the forest.
"That's why it hasn't reacted to you the way it reacts to Blue."
Blue raised an eyebrow.
"Hey."
She smiled.
"Sorry."
Gus chuckled.
"But what about witches? Hybrids? Vampires?"
Lirael's expression became more serious.
"They're different."
She looked at Gus.
"The Veil doesn't recognize every supernatural creature as belonging to it. Fae are part of its ancient ecosystem. The land, the creatures, the magic… they all respond to Fae blood naturally."
"And everyone else?"
"They're outsiders."
Lirael paused.
"Witches carry magic that comes from outside the Veil's natural balance. Hybrids carry multiple supernatural bloodlines that the Veil doesn't completely recognize. Vampires are even stranger."
Rito looked at her.
" What happened between vampires and the Fae?"
Lirael's expression darkened.
"Nothing let's move on."
She looked into the darkness.
"But it's deeper than hatred. The Veil remembers ancient things. Bloodlines. Wars. Death."
Gus leaned back.
"So the Veil remembers us."
"Yes."
Blue looked at his hands.
"And it doesn't like me."
Lirael looked at him.
"Maybe it doesn't."
Blue smiled.
"Great."
Rito nudged his shoulder.
"You're still alive."
"Barely."
Everyone laughed.
For a moment, the tension disappeared.
Then Lirael became serious again.
"We need to focus on Zak."
The laughter faded.
She drew a rough map in the dirt.
"The cure we're looking for isn't going to be sitting somewhere in the open. There are places in the Veil where ancient plants and creatures possess properties that don't exist outside this world."
Gus leaned forward.
"So how do we find it?"
"We follow the old paths."
Lirael pointed toward the east.
"If we can reach one of the older Fae territories, I may be able to identify what we need."
Blue nodded.
"And then we find everyone."
"Exactly."
Rito looked toward the trees.
"We need to find Darius, Mira, and Kin first."
Blue nodded.
"I just hope they're together."
He stared into the darkness.
"If they are, Darius will keep them alive."
Gus smiled.
"Knowing Darius, he'll probably complain the entire time."
Blue laughed.
"Exactly."
Lirael smiled softly.
For the first time since the storm, they had something resembling a plan.
They would find the others.
They would find the cure.
And they would get back to Zak.
None of them knew that, somewhere else in the Veil, Mira and Kin had already been captured.
None of them knew that Darius had just discovered their trail.
And none of them knew that the Veil had already begun pulling each of them toward something far older than any of them understood.