Aerie's Arc

Chapter 4 of 5

Dusk thickened fast. Aerie stood in the yard with the spiral circle still drawn at their feet and counted the hours left. The helpers would arrive in the dark. They would arrive tired. If there was no bed, no food, no light to guide them, dawn would find them too spent to lift a single stone. Aerie started with the path. They hauled the tall crystal-and-brass arch from the storage lean-to and set it at the gate, lighting a small fire bowl beneath each pillar. The crystal caught the flame and threw it wide. A traveler a mile off would see it. Welcome, the light said. Here. This way. The shelter came next, and Aerie's hands shook at the size of it. Then a small voice piped from the herb rows. A tiny winged figure hovered there, pink hair bright, a glowing bloom cupped in her palms. She spilled pollen onto the canvas bundle and the fabric lifted on its own, panels unfurling pink and pearl. Aerie staked the corners while the fairy sang the ridge pole straight. A long dome tent rose in minutes, soft light pulsing through its sides. "You shouldn't do the kitchen alone either," said a steadier voice. Whisper stepped through the arch, lantern swinging, apron pockets clinking with little jars. She was small and brown-eyed and already rolling up her sleeves. "Eldrin sent me ahead. Said you'd be trying to build a village by yourself." Together they raised the open-air hall beside the dome — a brass lattice shell, crystal panels, a chimney for the stew pot Whisper hung inside it. The fairy strung lights along the rafters. Aerie laid out bowls, blankets, water. By the time hoofbeats and footsteps sounded on the road, three buildings glowed in the yard where an hour ago there had only been dirt. The helpers came through the lit arch one by one. Aerie counted them in, pointed each to a bed, watched them eat and lie down. The last lamp dimmed near midnight. They would wake rested. They would build at dawn. Aerie sat on the threshold of the mess hall and let out a breath they had been holding since the herb shelves emptied. The shelter was ready. Tomorrow the ground would open, and they would need every pair of hands they had just saved.