At the Mental Hospital in Switzerland
The portal took Bracken and Kendra to a shrine a few miles from where they needed to be and they flew the rest of the way. They found the building they'd seen online and went inside. It was a nice place. The entry room was small and comfortable and the receptionist behind the desk greeted them.
"Hej, är du besökare eller volontärer?" She asked.
Bracken crossed his arms, one hand reaching into his sleeve to touch his horn and whispering something. "Pardon me?" Bracken asked.
"I asked if you were visiting or volunteering?" The receptionist said in Sylvian, Kendra recognized. Is she a fairy of some sort in disguise? Kendra wondered.
It's an old trick fairies used to play on humans. Bracken said in her mind. It makes it so you can only understand and speak Sylvian.
"We're here to visit my uncle," Kendra said. "He was admitted a while ago, but he changed his name during one of his episodes so we don't know which one he's using now. Can we go inside? I would know him if I saw him."
The receptionist looked suspicious. Kendra concentrated and dug down into her well of magic, careful not to go beneath the layer where her magic ended and the Fairy Queen's supply began. She sent out an aura that wrapped around her and Bracken. It was made of trust, warmth and familiarity. The nurse relaxed and stood up.
"Of course, come with me." the receptionist said, standing up and leading them inside a door she had to swipe a badge over to open. Behind was a set of steps that led to a big room with people sitting down at tables, playing games like cards or chess. Kendra focused on the inner light she had-the one that people said nearly blinded them when they looked at her but she could never see-and made it shine a little brighter. A man in a corner by himself shielded his eyes and winced. That must be the seer, then. The suspicious look on the receptionist's face returned when she saw that he was around her and Bracken's age, at least in appearance. Kendra had said he was her uncle in anticipation of finding an old, wise, sensei-type character. This was a hipster with brown hair and eyes young enough to go to school with her, complete with unreasonably skinny jeans, a band t-shirt and glasses with no lenses.
"He's my mother's younger brother." Kendra said, doubling up on the aura of trust. "Thank you for taking us to him. You can go now."
"Of course." The receptionist said, smiling again.
Kendra dispelled the aura and she and Bracken approached the seer.
"Hey." Kendra said, sitting across from him.
"Hi, Kendra." The seer said.
"You know my name?"
"Yeah. Do you know why your mom decided to name y-" he paused. "Well that's not why you're here."
"Do you know why we're here?" Bracken asked.
"Yes, but I can't tell you where the talismans are." the seer said. "My name's Bryce by the way."
"What? Why?" Kendra exclaimed.
"Well my mom's name was Claryce but my dad kept-" Bryce started.
"No, why can't you tell us where they are?" Kendra clarified.
"Probably in a cemetery some-" Bryce started.
"Not your parents," Bracken said, "the talismans."
"Oh, easy. If I told you, then I'd have to tell any demon that walked through that door." Bryce said.
"Can't you make an exception? Just this once." Kendra asked.
"I'm sorry. Believe me, I want you to keep those talismans out of the hands of anyone who'd use them for evil, I really do. But whatever information I give you I have to give to anyone else who asks. Good, evil, or anywhere between. I can't stop it, it's in my nature."
"But you can give us a nudge in the right direction, right?" Bracken said.
"You should probably write this down." Bryce said with a grin. His eyes turned a silver color. "Find where the shining light is cast back twice. Onto the body that runs but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a head but never weeps. There everything will be made clear."
Bracken had taken out a piece of paper and was writing down what the seer said, careful to get every word right.
Bryce's eyes turned back brown "I really hope you two find those talismans. They really shouldn't be out there waiting for someone to steal them. I mean wh-" He started shaking and his eyes turned silver again, taking on a more harsh glow. His voice changed to that of a woman, whispering hurriedly like she was afraid someone would catch her. "Be wary, young vessel. This task will be the end of the life you know." His eyes and voice returned to normal.
Kendra looked to Bracken. She could see in his face that his brain was working on overdrive, trying to find an answer for what just happened. When she looked back to the seer she asked, "What do you mean by the end of the life I know?"
"Huh?" Bryce asked.
"You said this task will be the end of the life I know. Just now."
"I didn't say that."
On the Abandoned Island
After fixing her hair and healing her leg, Bila had sent a message home to ask her friends to come with her. If whatever dark force she was after could strengthen creatures of darkness it wouldn't be smart to confront it alone. They said they'd find her when she was ready for them so she went on with her initial form of transportation since she needed to wait for her magic to restore itself to full strength. She went to the airport where a friendly billionaire she knew had been nice enough to "lend" her one of his private jets. It was fun watching him beg to go with her but it was starting to feel too easy charming humans. After that it took a little batting her eyelashes to get the pilot to stop questioning why he was using a golden severed hand as a compass. Now, they were getting close. Every fiber of Bila's being was telling her that she didn't belong here, that she should run away and frolic in fields, that she wasn't safe. She grit her teeth and waited until the feeling got stronger. When she had to fight against her magic to keep wings from growing out of her back and flying her away she took a parachute, opened the door and jumped out of the air.
Kendra and Bracken's Perspective
It was getting dark so Kendra and Bracken decided to get something to eat while they mulled over the riddle. Even though Bracken told her not to let the seer's last words "...the end of the life she knows" rattle her something didn't sit right with Kendra. Despite his assurance that it was nothing to worry about there was this strange feeling in her gut that something was wrong. The way the seer's voice and eyes changed was different from his initial message. And he was only supposed to be able to see memories of the past so why would he warn her about the future? And what he called her. "Young vessel." Vessel for what? It was like he became a different person.
"Kendra." Bracken's voice took her out of her rumination. "Did you have an idea what this could mean?"
Kendra looked back at the paper with the riddle written down. "I have no clue," she said. "So it starts of with the shining light being cast back so that must be some kind of reflection or mirror. But a reflection on a body? Well, not a body if it doesn't sleep or walk or talk. What could the second part mean?"
"Let's focus on these." Bracken circled the words body, run, mouth, bed and head.
"Could they be some sort of anagram?" Kendra mused.
"Possibly." Bracken scratched his chin.
The waitress came over and gave Kendra her pink lemonade and Bracken a glass of water. When Kendra went to take a sip she saw the reflection of the moon in her glass and something clicked. "It's a river. It runs, it's a body of water, there's a river bed. It has to be a river."
When Kendra looked back at the reflection of the moon something happened. Like an imaginary hand pushing her forward from behind or a string tugging on her soul. Her eyes locked on the reflection and she saw a flash of light out of the corner of her eye. When she looked away Bracken had his hands on her shoulders. How did he move so fast? And why was it so hard to keep her eyes open? And why was her nose bleeding?
"Look at me." Bracken said.
"What happened?" Kendra asked.
"I don't know. Are you okay?"
"A little tired but..." Kendra looked at the paper on the table. The ink on the paper had rearranged itself into an image: a still river of silver water reflecting the moon in the night sky. "Did I do that."
"I know that place." Bracken said. "Someone or something wants us to go there."
"Who or what would that be?" Kendra asked.
"I think we'll find out when we get here." Bracken touched the paper reverently.
"Where is this place?"
"It's a temple. After my mother defeated the goddess Nox for the first time the village she was born in was destroyed. As a memorial my mother built a temple reserved for all of her creations and asked the goddess of moonlight, Celene, to guard it. That must be where the talismans have been."
"If they're under the temple why didn't the Fairy Queen just tell us from the start?"
"She can't have known."
Kendra stood up. "Do you know how to get there?" Kendra asked, putting the picture in her pocket.
"It's in Greece. We can fly there before the sun rises if we hurry."
Kendra looked around and summoned her wings. Bracken pulled out one of his horns and the air around him started shimmering. As they floated off the ground Kendra looked at the people around her, none of them paying attention to the two of them. How could they when they didn't drink the milk? With Bracken leading her they flew off into the night sky and when her eyes settled on the rising moon she couldn't help the feeling that something was tugging her toward it.