Halfway (Wizards and Faeries) by Stephanie Void Page A

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         “She didn’t?   What kind of mother is that?”
         “We didn’t go to other people’s houses. There were no other people, just her and me.” I kept looking around, trying to find the owner of the voice.
         “No other people?   How sad.   Well, not quite as sad as what happened to my mother.   Hah.   And he thinks I don’t know.”   I heard a soft thump-thump , as if two bare feet landed on the floor after jumping down from a high perch.
         The lightning flashed again. Out of the corner of my vision I saw a pair of eyes, the outline of a head, and a pair of clasped hands. Ormas. I spun to face him, but the room had gone dark again.
    I took a deep breath.   “Ormas, why are you hiding? Afraid you’ve met your match at mind-probing? To be honest, I’d never even done that before. I didn’t know it could be done.”
    I heard the sharp sound as he lit a match. A moment later, his face came into view, holding a candle.
    “Now I’m not hidden.”   His black hair was tied back and eyes looked like dark holes in this light.   His face was strong and angular. “Why aren’t you asleep?”
    “I should ask you that. A few hours ago you had broken ribs.”
    “I know; I couldn’t sleep. I was gone for a long time, and I forgot how to have a good night’s sleep. When you’re afraid for your life, you learn to sleep lightly. So I can’t sleep at all in the rain.”
    “Where did you go?”
    He ignored the question. “You really should return to bed, you know.   Strange things walk the halls at night, even stranger than me. This house was said to be haunted for generations. Come, I’ll guide you back to your bed.”
    “Something’s wrong with me. My head’s bleeding.”
    He held the light closer, peering at my hand. I heard a whispered curse. He spoke. “The bleeding’s stopped now. You must have hurt yourself in your sleep. Perhaps you should cut your fingernails.”
    I frowned.   “I hurt myself? In three separate places on my head? While I was asleep? That’s your explanation?” I held out my hands. “My fingernails are short and well-groomed. No sharp edges. Ormas, something was in my room!”
    He sighed. “All right,” he said, fishing something out of a pocket. “Here.” He held it up. It was a skeleton key. “This is a master key. Use it to lock your door. Like I said, this place was haunted once.”
    Gratefully, I took the key and made my way back to my room. Talking to Ormas had calmed me. His confidence, his intense eyes, his scent like exotic spices, his nice shoulders…
    I shook my head, locking my door behind me. A small voice inside me told me this place was dangerous, but I squelched it. Here lay my only source of help in finding my long-lost brother. And Ormas was here.
    #
    I awoke in the morning to a soft tapping at my door. Unlocking it with the key, I opened the door to find Ormas there.
    He was far better looking in the daylight. His black hair had dried and now bore a nice, inky sheen. He was tall, with olive skin and gray eyes framed with bold, thick eyebrows.
    “Come with me,” he said before I could open my mouth. Taking my hand, he led me through hallways and up staircases. Curious, I did not protest.
    “Where are we going?” I asked, still only partially awake.
    “Look,” he pointed out a window.
    In the distance, I could see the city, glinting under early morning sunlight. Beyond was a forest, entirely dark, and beyond that, just barely visible, was something else above the trees. I squinted, staring. Something else glinted the same way the city had… above the trees.
    “Is that—?”
    “It’s the Order,” he said. “It’s beyond the forest, but you can’t really see it unless you look from a high window. Many of the people in the city don’t even know it’s there. It’s… in the sky.”
    “In the sky ?”
    “It floats partially in the sky. They have their own fleet of ships, too.”
    “Why? How ?”
    “My