by M. C. Aquila
“No!” James protested instantly, holding up his hands. “No, I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you meant, you goose,” she said, poking him in the arm and grinning. “You meant to insult your poor mother!”
Following him as he scooted away from her down the couch, Kallista poked him still. She poked a ticklish spot under his arm, and he squirmed. In that moment, with his face scrunched up as he laughed without restraint, he looked like the joyful little boy she’d left behind in Neo-London.
“Which of you is the injured one here to see me?” a female voice asked, interrupting them. “I cannot tell.”
A female faery (James whispered in awe that she was some type of Water spirit) had entered the room and was watching them. She had dark skin that shimmered—so faint it could have been a trick of the light—and her blue eyes gleamed. It looked like water reflecting on a wall in the sunlight. Her long white-blond hair fell in many braids down her back.
James instantly stopped laughing, and Kallista sat upright again, holding back a final giggle as she addressed the faery. “My name is Kallista Callaghan,” she said. “I was a nurse in Neo-London, and I have been treating a pain in my hand and arm with these herbs.”
Kallista stood and handed the pouch of herbs to the faery, then continued, “The herbs have been effective, but the pain has… worsened somewhat. My sons have asked me to come here and see what a faery healer makes of it.”
When the faery instructed her to sit down, Kallista did so and stayed still while the faery ran her hand through a number of basic movement tests. None of the exercises produced any pain. Next the faery summoned water from the well in the center of the room and formed it into a disk.
“What, um, are you doing with that?” James asked her.
The Water spirit replied, not looking up, “I am searching for the cause of the pain. If it is from nerves in the body, inflammation, or some other physical cause, the magic will be able to show me. Then I will use Water Magic to heal the infection.”
But when she looked through the disk of water, raising it from Kallista’s hand and up her arm, the faery’s calm features darkened. The disk of water shivered and was about to collapse before the faery dispersed it to mist.
The faery shook her head in frustration. “This is… beyond what I can heal. You have been afflicted by dark magic… Unseelie magic. A curse.” The faery looked at her sharply. “When this pain overwhelms you, do you see visions or hear voices?”
After swallowing hard, Kallista explained in a measured voice, “I thought that… I thought I saw my hand withering. It was like it blackened, and the flesh was gone. In its place was—” She shuddered. “It looked like the claws of a monster.”
And I felt… I sensed Alan. And I knew what was happening to me was happening to him too.
Kallista felt an odd sense of calm wash over her. Clasping her hands together, she listened as the faery told her they could only manage the symptoms of pain rather than treating the cause. However, the faery’s frustration at that paled in comparison to her son’s as he listed off suggestions—had the healer thought of trying to heal the curse or block it with magic or counter it in some way?
“There is nothing more I can do, child,” the faery told him gently. “I can assure her pain is managed. ’Tis likely this is a product of the bargain that made your mother a thrall, in which we have not the power to intervene.”
When the faery sent them off with a few different herbs and flowers unique to the Summer Court, James was oddly quiet as they walked back to their camp. He looked like he felt the same calm determination she did.
“Jal,” she said, “why do you not go spend time with Alvey for a while? I need to speak with Cai.”
“Cai?” James grimaced. “Why do you need to talk to him?”
“Well,” she said patiently, “he has experience with these things. He is cursed as well, remember?”
“Oh. Right.” He nodded, looking contrite. “That, uh, makes sense.”
As James turned to leave to find Alvey, Kallista stopped him and gave him a kiss on his cheek, ignoring how he mumbled in protest. “You know I love you, yes?” she asked, studying his face and smiling. When he nodded in reply, lowering his head, she sent him off with a warning. “No more kissing until you are married! Do you understand?”
Kallista watched him walk away for as long as she could stand to as her vision blurred with tears. Again she was faced with a seemingly impossible choice. She had thought she was making the right choice when she had left her loved ones the last time. And now she had to try to reach Alan before this dark magic consumed him completely.
I have to leave, she thought, the realization bringing her more pain than her curse. I have to leave again… I only hope it won’t hurt Jal further. I hope he will understand this time when I don’t come back a failure.
She found Cai sitting by a fire, and he stood the moment she appeared through the trees. “How did your appointment with the faery healer go?” Cai asked gruffly. Then he started to grumble about faeries and how unhelpful they could be, depending on what questions one asked them.
Ignoring his question, Kallista gathered the little supplies she had into a woven bag she had yesterday traded with a faery to purchase and asked, “Have you seen my scarf—the yellow one with the flowers? I need it.”
“Iain left it here earlier.” Cai handed the scarf to her, meeting her gaze with a question in his eyes.
She quickly and precisely braided locks of her dark hair into twin plaits over her ears to frame her face and then captured the rest of her hair into a bun at the base of her neck. Lastly she adjusted the headscarf tight over her skull and tied the knot, hiding the rest of her hair and leaving the braids visible.
“If only I had a mirror,” she murmured. But regardless of how crooked her braids might be, she felt that she looked like herself again—how she had looked when she’d first left Neo-London that day.
When she turned to finally address Cai, the knight was scratching at his beard absently, looking away from her. “Cai,” she said firmly, “you have not forgotten your promise to me, yes? I need to leave the realm today. Now, if possible.”
She expected the knight to argue with her, to tell her she was mad to leave the realm when war was about to start just outside the barrier. But as she explained what the faery healer had told her of the curse, Cai’s grimace did not lessen, but his posture slackened as he relented.
“You see,” Kallista said, rubbing her cursed hand absently, “I have to go to him now, or I may not have another chance. I could be too late already, but…” She trailed off, her chest aching as she sucked in a breath.
“I may not like this idea—at all—but I swore I would protect you,” Cai said, straightening and placing his hand on the pommel of his sword. “It’s a dangerous idea, but it’s still the right one. Now would be an ideal time to leave, with the Nobles distracted. They wouldn’t like us going out there, being a rogue element in the battlefield—though we should be able to meet the army hours before they arrive.”
Kallista fiddled with a loose thread of her sleeve. “Do you think I should tell my sons where I’m going and why? They deserve to know this time why I’m leaving.”
“You know they’ll try to talk you out of it or try to go with you.”
“I know that, but…” Sighing, she thought of Jal how he’d been earlier that morning, his face all scrunched up as he’d laughed. When she’d left last time, he’d still been a silly, mischievous little boy. She had missed so much of his life, and she did not want to miss any more of it.
“They will have to understand. Iain will at least.”
Nodding, Kallista pushed her thoughts aside. She knew she had to hurry, and there was no time for arguing. “How will we make it past the barrier without the Summer Prince’s magic?”
There was a spark of mischief in the old knight’s blue eyes, and he smiled wryly. Reaching into the pocket of his tattered coat, he produced a glowi
ng peach-orange crystal. “I happen to have a little of the prince’s magic right here,” he said.
Kallista gaped. “Cai, you—! That’s Alvey’s crystal, the one she gave you? This is why you wanted it? You told her you just wanted it for emergencies.”
“This is an emergency, isn’t it? I got some of the prince’s magic from that bonfire the night of the hunt—and it works just fine.”
“So the hole Nikias mentioned in the barrier…” Kallista let out a chuckle, shaking her head. “Perhaps the less I know, the better.”
They stole away through the forest, toward the barrier where they had first entered the realm. Instead of going to the standing stones, Cai led them to a more wooded, shadowed area where they could sneak out unnoticed. When they reached the barrier, which shimmered faintly, Cai held the crystal up to the magic, muttering. “Come on now. That scrawny lad said it was about intent—it worked last time…”
After a moment, flames jumped from the crystal and danced across the surface of the barrier, burning a temporary passage through it large enough for them to squeeze through. Cai went through first to make sure it was clear outside, then waited for Kallista.
When I leave you this time, Kallista thought, closing her eyes in a prayer for her sons, it will have been worth it.
Then, with a final look at the realm, Kallista turned and walked through the barrier. The moment she stepped outside, the flames diminished and snuffed out, and the barrier closed again.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Deirdre was pacing and chewing on her nails as she waited for Titania and Oberon to arrive. She, Lonan, and Iain were a few miles outside the barrier in the middle of the afternoon. The morning fog had remained, growing thicker as the day drew on.
Even though the Seelie scouts told them the army was still miles away, she thought she could feel the ground quaking with their approach. Iain paced nearby, the faery sword on his hilt another reminder of the oncoming army.
This vibration, it must just be magic, she thought with a small, nervous grin. If I’m that connected to the Earth Magic thanks to all we did last night, then that’ll definitely make things easier.
Last night and this morning, Lonan had helped her reach out to Light Magic. It was aloof and distant from her, yet it was as alive as Fire Magic but still far less open. Its distance reminded her of Sybil, which made connecting even harder.
But I’ll need Earth, Wind, and Light Magic to be able to detect the tanks and trucks accurately, she reminded herself. Otherwise I can waste energy trying to destroy them entirely rather than just their tires… or I might wind up disintegrating a soldier. She shuddered, images of when her magic had gotten out of control flashing to mind. No one deserves to die like that.
She persisted in trying to keep her connection with the Light Magic even though concentrating grew harder with each passing second. And if concentrating was difficult now, how hard would it be in the overwhelming presence of the king and queen?
Soon there was a faint shimmer of light as someone left the barrier a few miles behind them, followed by a rush of fog and wind as Titania and Oberon appeared in front of them from the burst of elemental magic. Titania hurried over first, easily bearing Alvey in her wheelchair with one hand.
Deirdre gaped at Alvey, but Lonan cleared his throat and caught her eye before he bowed to the royal pair. She and Iain mirrored him.
“Are you prepared then?” Oberon asked, gesturing to the south. They stood atop a sloped hill, the foggy, rugged landscape below them, where the army and soldiers were veiled in the distance. “As you have chosen this task, you must demonstrate absolute mastery of it. A successful long-range attack will keep you and your allies at a safe distance while executing your strategy with precision and efficiency. As the goal is to limit the damage close to the barrier, you must be finished before our soldiers meet the army. You shall have half an hour.”
Deirdre let out a small laugh of relief, then quickly coughed to disguise it, blushing. She had been dreading an impossible five-minute time limit.
“I’m sure she can surpass that and be done sooner,” Titania said, patting Alvey’s head affectionately. “Especially given what Alvey told us on the way here!”
Alvey turned pink and folded her arms tightly. “I merely spoke the truth, nothing more! ’Tis not as though she has been lazing about and not training.”
“While I was upset at first that Deirdre chose a different task, I am sure we all have high hopes for her.” Titania looked at Lonan. “You share the same sentiment, I expect?”
“I am sure his hopes are merely realistic,” Oberon said, provoking a scowl from his wife.
As Lonan discussed the topic with them, Alvey rolled closer to Deirdre and Iain but kept her distance.
Deirdre stepped over, saying, “I didn’t know you were coming. Is it safe?”
The younger girl sniffed. “Did you not hear the king? You must keep your allies at a safe distance. As long as you pass, I shall be fine.”
“But you didn’t have to come.”
“Do you not want me here?” Alvey’s voice hit the high pitch of a person trying very hard not to sound upset.
“No! I mean, yes!” Deirdre laughed at herself. “I’m glad you could make it even if I’m still a bit worried. But thank you. This means you’re okay with me being here in the realm?”
“I…” Alvey bit her lip. “I know the realm does suit you. I can tell you took to this place more easily in a few days than I have in years.”
“I don’t think so.”
“She’s right though.” Iain hesitated when both Deirdre and Alvey snapped their attention to him, but he continued, “While I was on the hunt, I saw—I guess you could say it was a vision. The amulet showed me you, come into your own with your magic, just like the other faeries on the hunt. It suited you.”
“The amulet did?” Deirdre clasped her hands, remembering the vision she had seen weeks ago through the amulet, when they first met Cai. “Iain, do you have it now?”
“Yes, of course.” He fingered the chain and pulled the amulet out of his shirt.
“Good. I think…” She sucked in her lips, searching for words as she reached out and touched the amulet. “I don’t know why, but I think it’s right that it’s here.”
“It does appear to be good fortune for you,” Alvey commented, sitting up straighter in her chair. “Now, tell me your plan, and hasten, for they should be done talking soon.”
Deirdre gave her an abbreviated version of her plan for the test. Alvey listened attentively, nodding, and eventually suggested that she use the Light Magic to determine where the iron and metal in the bodies of the vehicles were, to help her better see where the tires are in contrast.
“Light Magic, in particular, is especially avoidant of iron. I suppose it is because it is the purest of all magic in a sense. But that is all.” Alvey smiled toward her. “I believe you shall do… all right.”
This was the equivalent of a heap of praise from Alvey, and Deirdre nearly hugged her when Oberon broke in, calling Deirdre’s name.
“Are you prepared?” he asked again. Behind him, Lonan was fidgeting, glancing nervously at the foggy landscape.
Drawing herself up and letting out a shaky breath, she nodded. “I am.”
“Then fulfill the task and do not stop until it is done.”
With Iain beside her, Deirdre stepped to the edge of the hill and leaned down, placing her hand on the ground. Sight was useless, so she shut her eyes and spoke to the Earth Magic first. It led her into the fog, where there was not only the movement of men and machines but also, farther back, enormous creatures, some appearing, walking a few paces, and then disappearing like ghosts.
Unseelie monsters? Her brow furrowed. How are they doing that?
Iain gently squeezed her shoulder, and she refocused on the vehicles grinding into the ground.
The fog was full of the fading afternoon light and Water Magic. An idea sprung to her mind, and with the Water Magi
c, she was able to figure out the shapes being cut through the fog. Soon she could see in her mind’s eye, like silhouetted puppets on an enormous stage, the army approaching.
As Alvey suggested, she next reached out to the Light Magic. At first it did not reply, but she pressed again, asking about the iron in the shapes approaching, especially the ones that moved most heavily on the ground.
“Oh wow,” she whispered, smiling but keeping her eyes shut. Gradually, coaxing the magic forward, the shapes of the vehicles and tanks as the light saw them appeared to her. They were stark as a black-and-white photo with heavy relief, letting her make out exactly where each type of vehicle was and where the iron in their bodies and frames ended and where the tires began.
Thinking back to the hubcap she’d accidentally destroyed in Neo-London, as well as all the training of the past couple of days, she sent out streams of Shadow Magic. To keep them strong, she linked them with other pools of the same magic under rocks, trees, and the earth. She was sweating and starting to get cold, her arms shaking as if she’d been lifting heavy burdens for a long time.
I need to finish this soon. She reached up with one hand and grasped Iain’s, steadying herself and warding off panic.
Her magic rose up like thin black roots from the ground, shooting into the tires of each tank, truck, and vehicle one by one. At first progress was halted as the soldiers searched for signs and causes of flat tires. She could sense their movement but could not precisely see or hear what they were doing as they rushed about.
As she neared the halfway point through the army, something cold shot up through her right arm on the ground. She gasped but forced herself to grip the grass rather than let go. A white spray of ice attacked her magic as it reached up for another tank’s tires. It froze her inside out, her vision darkening. Biting down hard on her lip, she tried to navigate her magic around the frigid spray, sharp and swift as sleet, but it followed her magic no matter where it went.
