Dust

XXXII

I don't expect to wake up at all.

I was positive that was the end; I passed out sometime during the fall, and was sure that was the last time I would see light—but, no, my eyes edge themselves open, at first seeing nothing but darkness, until I blink more and catch sight of a lit lantern. Water drips above my head, echoing as it falls in a rhythmic pattern to the ground. There's a pillow at the small of my back, but the rest of me leans up against something cold and jagged. A blanket I don't recognize is tossed across my legs.

I give my eyes a second to adjust before looking around. I don't move much, just flick my eyes around my surroundings—I'm in some sort of rocky cavern, moist and a bit clammy. The lantern at my feet spreads orange-yellow light across the ground, and farther beyond it, against the cave wall opposite me, sits a pile of miscellaneous supplies. In the distance to my left, I can see the cave's opening, the sky painted pink and orange by the sunset.

It's a miracle, I'm thinking, that I'm alive, but I have to go. Whoever it was that took me is obviously very kind, but I have to find the faerie girl and get the items she stole from me. For these reasons, I start to get to my feet, but fall back down with a moan. My head suddenly begins to throb, my legs wobbling underneath me. Maybe I'm not as well as I thought.

"Whoa there, you okay?" comes a voice that somehow...almost sounds familiar. I hear footsteps echoing along with the drips of water, and they seem to quicken in my direction. "You probably should just rest for a minute. You're healing, but it's taking longer."

At first all I see is a shadow, lifting the lantern and coming closer to me. It's not until he's kneeling beside me, one hand bracing against the cave wall, that I can see his face: tousled blond hair, with eyes the color of the lantern he holds shaded by wire-framed spectacles. There's a flush to his cheeks, and to mine as I say, "Oh my God, I know you!"

Shiloh smiles. "Nice to see you again, Gemma."

"Shiloh, I—I have so many things to ask you," I say, not knowing quite where to start. My mouth remains open; it's good to see him. Not in a cell, I mean. He looks better, too, less pale and not as bony. "Like—"

"Hush," Shiloh says, placing a finger to his lips and dropping the lantern from his grip. He sits back, hugging his knees to his chest. The lantern light reflects against his glasses, causing a tiny glare. "First of all, there was something I told you to do if I saw you again. Remember?"

I do. "Shi," I say. "Hello, Shi."

Shiloh smiles again, then gets up, heading over to the supplies I saw earlier. There's mild metal clanking before he returns to me, handing me a stainless steel canteen. It's warm in my palms, and I give Shi an inquiring look. He just gestures to the canteen and tells me, "Drink it. It's tea. You look cold."

I am kind of cold. I begin to screw off the cap of it, the steam hitting me in the face. "Do you not like the name Shiloh, or something?"

"No, it's fine," Shi answers, shrugging. His eyes flit to the sunset for a second, his smile rueful. "My family used to call me Shi, that's all, and now that I no longer have a family, it just makes me feel more like I belong somewhere. It's not something I expect you to get—"

"I don't have to get it." Shi's eyes zip to mine, but I'm too busy sipping my tea to make eye contact with him. I frown down into the canteen, only seeing a flicker of swishing dark liquid through the small mouth of it. "I really am sorry, though, about your family. I mean, it was an accident, wasn't it?"

"Accident, sm'accident," Shi mutters. "Doesn't matter to them. I was let off with a warning, thank God, and tried to go back home, but it was no use. My father slammed the door in my face."