Vowed

by N R Tucker

  Within a few minutes, the door opened. Ryan sat up and dropped the necklace in his pocket, prepared to fight. Two fae were tossed on the floor, and the door slammed shut. He jumped down and picked up Lady Faun, the nearest to him, and placed her on the cot. Then he grabbed Lady Dawn and placed her beside her sister. There was only one cot, and it was the only thing in the room that wasn’t covered with iron. “How did they kidnap you from the Farseen?”

  Neither spoke.

  Ryan balled his hands into fists and glared at Dawn. “Don’t tell me you let your sister talk you into bringing her to the Seen to see her boyfriend. You’re smarter than that.” He cut his eyes to Faun, “You both are.”

  “Apparently not.” Dawn sighed.

  “Does anyone know you guys are here?”

  Faun winced, “No. Don’t blame –”

  “No names,” Ryan ordered.

  Faun nodded her understanding. And pointed to Dawn. “Her. It’s my fault.”

  “For you always win our fights? I don’t think so.” Dawn faced Ryan and explained, “I agreed to bring her here. I opened a gate outside of PAC HQ, planning to contact… him.”

  “Oh?” Ryan crossed his arms. “As soon as you approached PAC HQ, all four realms would have contacted your father. Heck, the shifters, wizards, and even the vampires would have contacted him.”

  “We thought of that when we saw the check-in line,” Dawn agreed.

  “Okay, we’re leaving.” Ryan raised his hand to open a gate, but nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing. He raised an eyebrow and turned to throw fire at the door. Nothing. He turned back to his friends, “We’re in trouble.”

  The screen clicked on again. Dave’s elated smile covered his face. “This is much better than I’d hoped. Your magic is completely contained. Now we can run some real tests.”

  Ryan snarled. Hopefully, they would have to open the door to run the tests. Otherwise, they were screwed.

  *****

  “Got ‘em,” Sage’s excited grin turned into a frown, “Nope, gone again.” She pounded the desk with her fist, “Why can’t I contact him?”

  Tempest leaned back in her chair. “Obviously, he’s in some type of enclosure that prevents telepathy, and the seal flickered for a moment. I should have gone after the Sergeant. Playing decoy at PAC HQ did not work.”

  “No. They were waiting for you with iron nets and weapons. You wouldn’t have survived that,” Sage said. Gerbold, Destin, Fred, and Victoria walked in. “Got anything?”

  “It’s more than just a telepathy block.” Victoria nodded to Tempe and plopped down into a chair. “Geoffrey Watson, my old boss, created a shield that no magic can get through. When I left, he must have had a flash drive of my early designs. He built on my rough design to block magic.” She put her elbows on the table and her head in her hands. “It’s all my fault. I thought the design had merit as a secure location where no one would be able to use powers, a safe place to meet. It didn’t occur to me that it could be used to trap preternaturals. I’m a fool.”

  Fred patted her on the back.

  “It’s not new. We have something similar for negotiations during wartime,” Sage admitted.

  “But you didn’t give the knowledge to the AIB, did you?”

  Tempe shook her head. “No, but at the time you thought you were working for your government. You trusted them to do the right thing.”

  “Like I said, I’m a fool.” Victoria cut her eyes to Fred, “How did we end up outside of the shield?”

  Fred looked at Sage, who shrugged. He took that as permission. “To keep the shields permanent we’ve had to make some adjustments. It takes a lot of power to keep them going. Those who can set shields were getting weak from the strain.”

  “So?” Victoria looked between Tempe, Sage, and Fred.

  “So,” Fred cleared his throat. “Most shields only keep people out now. Anyone can leave a shield once they are inside.”

  “And you didn’t think to tell us?” Victoria’s eyes flashed.

  Fred’s expression tightened. “You ran for the shield thinking you couldn’t get through and would be hurt in the attempt. How much sooner would you have left if you had known?”

  She opened and shut her mouth a couple of times, before she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

  “Blaming yourself accomplishes nothing,” Gerbold leaned back and asked Sage, “Were you able to find Ryan?”

  “No.” Sage crossed her arms in front of her.

  Gerbold turned back to Victoria, “That device has to use some serious power. Any chance you can find that power signature?”

  Victoria gave him a look that screamed duh. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

  *****

  Ryan had never felt so helpless. He looked up at the cameras. The screens were blank, but he bet they were recording everything. If the door opened, Ryan could fight his way out, but it appeared the humans weren’t taking chances. Dawn and Faun grew weaker by the hour. They lay together on the cot, but the nearness of the cold iron ate away at their strength. At this rate, he estimated the sisters wouldn’t live another twenty-four hours. At least his watch worked in the room.

  “If you get the chance, take… her… and run.” Faun’s voice was barely a whisper. “It’s my fault we’re here. Save her if you can.”

  “No,” Dawn’s voice was even weaker.

  “I’m getting all of us out of here.” Ryan’s voice was firm, though he had no idea how to make that happen. His hand once again touched the hilt of the Patron’s Sword, the vibration of the sword soothed him. How? He was careful to not look. How could the sword still have the magic to vibrate? Hmm, it was dragon made, and dragons had strong magic, perhaps, like sea serpents, they didn’t fall to cold iron, or maybe nothing could stop a dragon made sword. He looked at the door again. One shot. If it didn’t work, Ryan would be forced to hand over the sword. Still, the AIB would have to open the door to get the sword, and his magic would flow. Win-win from Ryan’s point of view. Looking back at Faun and Dawn there was no choice. Soon the sisters would be too drained to stand. In fact, they might already be too weak.

  “Sit up,” Ryan demanded.

  “Huh?” Both ladies looked at him in confusion.

  “Sit up. I want to see how much strength you have left.”

  The sisters looked at him, and Ryan placed his hand on the sword. They moved to sitting positions without taking their eyes off the sword. Trusting the sisters were ready to jump and run, Ryan turned and faced the door. In one smooth move, he pulled the sword and swung it in a high arc, slicing through the door. Instead of the wood he expected, it was made of some type of fiberglass. As soon as the sword sliced an opening, he felt his magic returning.

  Keeping the sword gripped in his right hand, he used his left to open a gate to Beryl Lane, Tempe’s home. “Go.” Dawn and Faun entered the gate holding each other upright. They had to take a step on the iron mesh before reaching the gate. Both stumbled from the effort but made it through. Ryan created fire and let it consume the room as he followed them.

  The unplanned gate opened in Tempe’s yard. The two ladies of the Southern Realm walked through and immediately passed out. The shifters were immediately on high alert, manning defensive positions in case the humans attacked. Bryce stood over the girls talking into a phone. Truman, Tempe’s human grandson, checked their injuries.

  Ryan walked through and closed the gate.

  “Ryan just arrived,” Bryce said into the phone. He turned the phone on speaker and faced it toward Ryan.

  Assuming Sage or Tempe were on the other end, he said, “Tell the Southern Realm, the ladies Dawn and Faun are here. They were stuck in a room of cold iron for nearly twelve hours and are weak.”

  “Set them up in the house. Jeff and Lea are on the way.”

  Following Tempe’s instructions, Bryce picked up Lady Faun, and Ryan picked up Lady Dawn. They headed for the house with the girls.

  *****

  “Welcome to my
home, Lady Ivy. Your daughters are this way.” Tempe greeted her at the door. At Lady Ivy’s signal, her sentinels remained outside the house. The fae healer accompanied them.

  The fae passed the kitchen bar, where Ryan sat eating a large sub. Ivy paused. “You have once again pleased me, Ryan. Should you ever desire assistance from the Southern Realm, contact me. My patronage is assured.”

  Ryan swallowed and looked up in confusion. Tempe, standing behind Lady Ivy, gave him a get-with-the-program stare. He stood and bowed. “I was privileged to be in a position to be of service.” He wasn’t sure it was the right thing to say, but he heard Ridge make a similar comment once, and it seemed like a proper reply. He raised his eyes to see Lady Ivy smile and Tempe nod her head ever so slightly. Even the healer seemed to think the response was appropriate. The women turned and continued to the recovery room. Crisis averted, Ryan sat down and took another bite of sub. Joey gave him two thumbs up, and they both grinned.

  Lady Ivy and Tempe returned down the hallway. Ryan and Joey were sitting on the couch that gave them a view of the hallway. Both pretended to look at their phones.

  “Joey, inform the sovereign that Lady Ivy will be staying at PAC HQ until tomorrow when the girls will be ready to return home. Healer Shepry will remain here with the ladies Dawn and Faun.”

  “Yes, Lady Tempest.” Joey bowed and left the room.

  After Ivy left, Tempest motioned for Ryan, and he followed her into the office. She opened a safe, one Ryan didn’t know about, and pulled out the translated journal, and tossed it to him. “It occurs to me you haven’t had time to read this. It will give you more information on the sword and its capabilities.” Tempe sat down in her chair and asked, “How did you learn the sword could break through the magic block?”

  “I touched it, wondering why they didn’t take it from me when I was unconscious, and it vibrated.”

  “The humans would not have been able to see it. Unless someone knows you have the sword, and they truly believe you have it, they can’t see it until you wield it. Even if they heard you had a new sword, humans trust their eyes and wouldn’t expect to see it, so they didn’t.”

  “Handy magic, that. It also explains why everyone tried to goad me into unsheathing it.”

  “Yes, well, I’m sure the humans now know you have a magic sword, although I’ll bet they don’t have a clue why it worked.”

  “So, you knew my magic was blocked?”

  “We figured it out, eventually. It seems Geoffrey had a flash drive with some of Victoria’s early designs on it.”

  “We need to get it.”

  “No reason. You can bet Dave Roberts, Sr., has already had the drive backed up to multiple locations.”

  Ryan sighed. He should have thought of that. “I woke up in the magic shielding room, Dave Roberts said a fae had died in that room in less than thirty-six hours. No name, but I found this in the room. Writing looks like ancient fae to me.” He dropped the necklace on the table.

  Tempe picked it up. “Hmm, Central Realm, of Queen Ceridwin’s line.” She pursed her lips and handed the necklace back. “You need to return this to the senior rep of Central Realm at PAC HQ. They deserve to hear your report from your lips. It belonged to Kamden. His father, a healer, is frequently on duty there.”

  “Kamden,” Ryan repeated. That death hit just a little too close to home. They were about the same age. If he hadn’t been there, wearing the Patron’s Sword, the same could have happened to Dawn and Faun. He glanced at Tempe. If she had responded to the bracelet, she would have died in that room. “We have to keep them from building more of these enclosures.”

  “Yes, but for now, you need to contact the Central Realm. My fae sisters and I have a task that cannot wait,” Tempe said.

  Chapter 49

  Ryan approached the Central Realm’s wing of PAC HQ. He stopped before the guards and waited.

  Evin, in the full ambassador gear the fae senior reps wore, moved down the hallway and stopped in front of Ryan. “You have something for the Central Realm?”

  “Yes,” Ryan pulled the necklace out of his pocket and let the pendant dangle. “I regret to inform you this was found in an AIB stronghold, inside a room that blocked magic and was covered with a mesh of cold iron. I was told a fae had died there.”

  Evin reached out, took the necklace, and read the inscription. “The same room that held you, and the ladies Dawn and Faun from the Southern Realm?”

  “The same.” Ryan schooled his features into a mask, but he was surprised that story was already out. He expected it to take a bit longer to make the rounds.

  “Come, I will take you to Healer Iason, Kamden’s father. He will hear your words.” Evin turned and walked into the Central Realm wing.

  The guards parted and bowed, allowing Ryan to follow.

  It was a short walk to the healer’s workspace. He stood over a microscope, reminding Ryan of his own father.

  Healer Iason looked up at Evin and smiled. The smile turned to a frown. The alpha Ryan stood behind Evin. A shifter in the Central Realm wing of PAC HQ was not a good sign. And Ryan was the protégé of Lady Tempest, the shifter assassin.

  Evin nodded to Ryan who held out the necklace and repeated his earlier words.

  Iason sat down on a stool without taking his eyes off Ryan. “Aside from the necklace, have you proof it was my son?”

  “Lady Tempest, Lady Temperance, and Lady Saffron are investigating now.” Ryan looked down at his feet and admitted, “I believe there is a protocol I’m unaware of. When I told Lady Tempest, she called her sisters, and the three of them left immediately. I was sent to inform you what had transpired.”

  “Understandable. They want the guilty found before Mother decides to attack the Seen.”

  “Mother?”

  “Queen Ceridwin.”

  Ryan gulped but didn’t speak. Freakin’ AIB, killing the grandson of a fae queen. He had expected Kamden to be some great-great-great-something, not a close relative.

  Lady Windy rushed into the room. “Envoy Cloud has requested all of you in the control room. He said Ryan, Wielder of the Patron’s Sword, is invited.”

  Before he could respond, Ryan received a text. “Sorry, I must go.” He ran from the Central Realm wing and to the gate platform.

  Liron, of the Northern Realm, greeted him. “Good, you’re here. Lady Tempest is holding a gate open, awaiting you.”

  Ryan nodded. He hopped on the platform and walked out of the gate. Looking around to get his bearings he saw one of the farms he had searched while looking for the Sword of Veracity.

  Saffron pulled him down into the bushes. “Let’s not announce ourselves.”

  “Are you nuts?” He glared at his aunts. “Iron will kill all three of you. You know this is an AIB TAC stronghold, right?”

  “Of course, we know,” Tempe said. “We can’t get near the place. They’ve planted iron throughout this area. It’s a landmine that only kills fae. Kyan is on the north end of the house with Phoenix and Landon. Murdoch is with them. You make sure that the humans are taken into custody, except for Dave Roberts, Sr. He must be turned over to the fae queens, or we’ll have a war on our hands.”

  Ryan’s mouth dropped opened.

  Saffron pushed him toward the house. “Don’t stand there. Go, lead the shifters.”

  Ryan shifted to his wildcat form and ran around the side of the house. As he shifted back to human and approached the men, Ryan reviewed various ways to give Kyan, the oldest male shifter still living, orders.

  “Additional orders?”

  Kyan’s simple question eased Ryan. He should have known his uncle would do everything possible to make this easy for him.

  “Contain the humans, alive if possible. All will eventually be turned over to the humans for their crimes, except for Dave Roberts, Sr. I’ll take him to the fae.”

  “Understood.” Kyan never took his eyes off the farmhouse.

  “Murdoch, how about you make one of those impressive holes in
the side of the house.” Ryan ignored the sword at his waist and pulled his rune baton from his belt and extended it. “We might as well use an entrance they aren’t expecting.”

  Murdoch smirked, pulled his own rune baton, and mumbled a phrase. One section of the wall simply disappeared from the first floor to the second. Phoenix and Ryan shifted to their bird forms and flew through the hole in the second floor. Murdoch and Landon ran in the first floor, throwing spells at whomever they met.

  Ryan shifted as soon as he had floor underneath him, landing hits on two humans who fell to the floor while bullets bounced off his shield. Phoenix turned to shadow, and the shots passed through him only to find a home in the humans he was fighting.

  “Slumber.” Ryan modulated his voice and sent the humans in the room to sleep.

  “You could have done that sooner,” Phoenix groused.

  “Probably,” Ryan agreed. He didn’t bother to explain that he forgot.

  A door opened, and a machine gun peppered the room with bullets. Unfortunately, Ryan’s shield repelled the weapon’s fire, and they careened around the room, killing more humans.

  “You guys should surrender before you kill all of your fellow bigots,” Phoenix yelled over the sound of ammo shooting out of the gun. In response, someone tossed a grenade at the shifters. As with the bullets, it bounced on the shield and returned back to the guy who threw it. He caught it before it exploded in his hands. “Okay, these fools are determined to kill themselves.”

  “Slumber.” This time Ryan yelled the enchantment in the hopes of taking out those humans hidden behind doors.

  Both shifters stood still and listened for sounds, but the only ones were the sounds of fighting on the first floor. Ryan nodded to Phoenix, “Go help the others. I’ll clear this floor.”

  Phoenix took off running. Room by room, Ryan completed his search and grouped the unconscious humans together. It was pitifully easy to fight humans, and Ryan felt like a bully, picking on the weak. The injured were left where they were while he sent a text for a medic.

  He opened the door to the last room he needed to clear. It was empty except for a closet. Not even a window. Thinking it was a storage area, he crossed the room to check the closet. As he opened the closet, he heard the door to the room shut.