Feyland: The Dark Realm

Chapter Eighteen

Jennet settled in the sim-chair and glanced over at Tam. Helmet and gloves on, he was leaning forward like a free-faller about to jump.

“Ready?” she asked.

Please, let nothing go wrong. She had the twisting feeling that Feyland was a trap, waiting to spring. They shouldn’t be doing this - but she didn’t have any other options.

“Ready,” he said. His voice was full of anticipation that she couldn’t share.

“All right. See you in there.” She pulled down the visor of her helm and entered the game.

WELCOME TO FEYLAND.

The words scrolled across her vision, flared, then burned down to nothing. She braced herself for the transition, that queasy, whirling golden light that marked full entry into the game.

When the light stopped spinning, she was standing in a ring of pale mushrooms. Tam was beside her, wearing his armor, his sword at his side. The sky was filled with the grey of early twilight, and the dark forest stretched away on all sides. Directly in front of them a thin trail cut through the pines.

He glanced around. “Where are we?”

“The second circle. We unlocked it last time.” Proof, as if she needed it, that she couldn’t go deeper in-game without Tam. “The path should lead to our next quest giver. And don’t forget, each level is more dangerous than the last.”

“Ok. Let’s go.” His silver armor gleamed as he strode out of the ring. She noticed he was careful not to disturb any of the mushrooms.

Taking a firmer grip on her staff, she followed. The silence was thick in the forest, the sound of their footsteps muffled by the layer of pine needles carpeting the path. Grey mist filtered between the trees, making everything dim and hazy.

“Will the sun come out?” Tam asked. “It was a lot lighter the first time we played.”

“Every circle takes us farther into Feyland. In the center, at the court, it’s night all the time.” The memory of her moonlit battle shivered down her spine.

“I thought faeries were ok with daylight. They’re not vampires, are they?”

“It’s the Dark Court.” Even saying the words made her feel cold. There was a sudden ache in her chest, as though the part of herself that belonged to the queen had woken and was tugging at her.

Tam was silent a moment. When he spoke, she could practically hear the thoughts tumbling into place in his head.

“In that old book you lent me, there were two main courts. They weren’t called Dark and Light though.”

“Unseelie and Seelie. We’re in the land of Unseelie. Unfortunately.”

“So why aren’t the Light - er, Seelie - faeries around?” he asked. “Don’t all these guys live in the same world?”

“From what I’ve read, it’s kind of complicated.” She stepped around a bramble bush that tried to snag her skirts. “It’s not that any of them are good or bad, the way we think of it. This isn’t Tinkerbell running around sprinkling pixie dust, you know.”

“Actually, I’ve read that old story. Peter Pan. You know, she wasn’t a very nice little faerie. She tried her best to kill the heroine.”

“Exactly,” Jennet said. “They don’t have the same sort of morals as humans. The dark, the light, it’s all fluid. So the Seelie Court may be involved, or may be content to let the Dark Court go about its business.”