by S L Mason
“If you just take the throne you can do what you want with me,” I venture while buying time for my first strike. Crossing over, I step to one side, keeping Silver raised but casual.
“Nope, I want you first,” she sings her reply with another giggle. Then, quick as lightning, she pulls a dagger and tosses it at me.
Tumbling to the side, I roll over still clasping Silver and jump back to my feet, light as a feather.
“It will take more than a butter knife to kill me, Nikki,” I respond while humming the stone-shaped flower buds from the walls and pelting her with them.
She exclaims, “Ouch, you little bitch. What did Nick see in you? I can’t figure out.” Then, stomps at me, each step cracking the flagstone floor. The closer she comes the wider the cracks.
“Red rover, red rover, send Nikki right over,” Nikki says, in a sing-song voice, then raises her sword and flashes to my side while slashing at my head, only to meet Silver as I deflect her first blow.
I flash to the giant doors and push them open a crack. I don’t want to fight her, I just want to win.
“It’s not that easy, Sarah, I’ll be harder to win over than Nick. You can’t fuck me.” Nikki sneers.
Flushing at her accusation, I retort, “If you think Nick could be won you didn’t know him. He wasn’t a prize to win. He was a person!” I scream at her. The door behind me slams shut, and the force pushes me away.
Carried on the thundering sound from the door, come the words. “One at a time.”
Flashing to Nikki’s side, I engage her. Ringing metal cuts the air just before she kicks me in the side. I stumble, toeing up to regain my balance.
Nikki moves in behind me, but I whip around to face her in time to deflect a new line of attack.
“You’re willing to stab me in the back?” I goad her.
“Turnabout is fair play. You and Nick stabbed me in the back, teaming up against me.” Her voice cracks with pain, and anguish colors her aura. The pain of Nick’s loss has unhinged her mind, driving her to blame someone—and that someone is me. “I will never bow to Nick’s killer, never,” She screams.
Bringing Silver up over my head, I slash down at her, telegraphing my move. The rumble in my chest pulls fallen debris from the surrounding room to move around us, limiting our movements.
Nikki bats them away with her hand and a baseball song. Then she sings a nursery rhythm for protection.
She can’t create new magic, I’m stronger than her.
For the first time, I feel I can win without killing her. Under my breath, I whisper, “Submit”.
Her eyes fog and clear, and she shakes her head. “What did you say? Fae tricks don’t work on me,” she says with a sneer.
But it almost had. Aqualis gave me fealty and power over water, but the air is so dry I can barely pull more than a sip from it. I need an upper hand, something other than music.
Nikki launches a new assault, slashing wildly and thrusting at any opening she can find.
I counter every blow she rains on me, but it isn't getting me any closer to that door. I hum a change to Silver, then grab a mid-sized dagger from my waist.
The rocks turning in the air freeze, then coalesce, reforming to resemble the shape of a curvaceous woman, Ignus.
“My sisters have urged me to help you,” Ignus informs the room.
I wasn’t sure who she was addressing and glance from Nikki and back to Ignus.
“Good. Burn her where she stands. I want to hear her scream as her flesh crackles and cooks,” Nikki orders. The rolling color of her eyes makes me dizzy, but it is the cold smile curving her lips that shakes me to the core.
Ignus turns to Nikki. “I wasn’t addressing you, you are ruled by wild.” Then, turning her back on Nikki, she addresses me. “My lady, I have chosen. I swear my fealty to you and the end of wild’s rule. I now put all the power of fire and rock at your disposal.” The room booms with the sound of rocks crashing against rocks as she kneels and crosses her left arm over her chest with crossed fingers while bowing her head.
Heat blows over me a moment before Nikki strikes the side of my head with her foot. I stumble over, and the floor rises up to meet my hands and face.
The crack of stone on stone and a whiff of smoke followed by a screech is all I hear. I turn over in time to see Nikki’s size-8 foot coming down at my head.
Balling my hands into fists and pulling my arms in close before rolling to one side, I open my left hand in readiness to pull a dagger, but instead of a knife, a flame appears.
My forward motion propels my body up into a crouching position. My eyes meet Nikki’s a moment before I rear back and fling the fireball at her.
Nikki’s eyes widen, and she sings a protection bubble as the fire engulfs the surrounding protection field. The fire dissipates around her after pushing her back five feet.
“You think I’m afraid of fire? I was in the lava cavern while you were running free on the surface with my brother.” She leaps at me, and her bubble crashes into me, forcing me back into a wall.
The vibrations from my chest batter at her spell, creating cracks in the wake lines. When the last wake snaps, the full weight of Nikki’s body slams into mine, knocking my head against the hard stone wall.
Nikki’s lips pulled back in a crazed grimace. “Here we are, face to face at last.”
Lifting my right arm, I shove her off- but she grabs my wrist in a vice-like grip and hammers my hand into the stone, forcing me to release Silver and watch as it clatters to the floor.
“You can’t get away now,” Nikki announces. Her eyes, color roll through the earthy shades of the rainbow as she releases an unearthly cackle. Her forehead collides with mine, cracking the back of my skull into the rock again and again.
Blood trickles down my face and into my right eye, burning with coppery salt.
Nikki laughs—her face mirrors mine with a bloody trail. She bares her white teeth and licks the blood hanging on her upper lip, pulling it into her mouth.
“Mmm, I love the taste of my enemy's blood, it is sweet. Didn’t the Huns eat the hearts of their enemies?” She sniggers.
I see my chance. Kneeing her in the groin, I butt my head into her nose. A sickening crunch sounds, along with a piercing scream, and I’m free.
She hunches down, one hand cradling her face as the blue blood pours out of her hand.
I close and open both hands and they fill with fire a moment before I throw them. Repeating the process until she’s surrounded by a ring of fire on the floor.
“Give up, Nikki, and I’ll heal you. Then, I’ll send you back to the surface,” I plead.
“Why would I want to go back there? What for? Nick is dead and so are my parents. I watched them all die. Revenge is all I have left.” She sucks the blood from her fingers and charges through the whirling flames and kicks me in the sternum.
I fall back on my shoulders and use the momentum to kip up and land a one-two punch. She dodges the third and fights back with another kick to my side.
Stumbling, I regain my balance and square off with her again, keeping my fists up to protect my face. She shifts her feet and hips to her left leg and raises her right to kick. I grab her foot and turn it, forcing her to the ground.
The rumble rises in her chest and she sings a nursery rhythm to soften her landing.
I sing the first bar of a Chainsmokers song and she crashes into the wall. The power of the words pour from my mouth.
Nikki sneers, baring blood-covered teeth, and charges me.
Singing the next few bars, I use the magic to smack her down to the floor. Then, it lifts her up and slams her down again. Changing a few words to fit my needs, I thrust her down into a hole created by my song and pull her back out.
Nikki regains her feet, and the music rises in her throat, but I can’t locate the danger. A stone knocks the air from my chest breaking the spell of my song.
I catch my breath in time for Nikki’s impact into my solar plexus, forcing the
air from my chest again. We both crash to the hard floor, rolling over the top of each other.
My insides feel like jelly from the battering, but I can’t give up now. Nikki gains the upper hand, straddling my chest and blocking both arms. With no way to defend my face, I can only watch the fists come at me pummeling my face.
I turn my head to the side, offering my previously damaged side up for the beating, hoping to keep my nose intact.
“That’s right, take it,” Nikki giggles her crazed enjoyment.
Kicking up, I smash my knee into her back, then twist, chucking her to the side. I roll on to my knees as my hand finds the hilt of Silver and I grip if for dear life. I lift the blade in front of me as Nikki runs into the end, burying it all the way to the quillons in her chest.
She coughs blood and her eyes clear as the enchantment of wild bleeds away with her life. “Nick.” She whispers, with a tear before sinking to the floor limp.
Searing heat lights behind my eyes, burning away tears desperate to be freed. Biting my trembling lip, I reach over and close her lifeless eyes.
A necklace falls from her bodice to the floor and the heart-shaped locket snaps open to reveal Nick on one side and Nikki the other. The two halves of the heart are laid open before me.
Screaming in frustration, I hear Nick’s voice ring in my mind pleading to save Nikki. I couldn’t even do that. Nikki’s hair covers part of her face: I push it back, smudging more blood across her face. My lips work back and forth as I swallow back the pain. It’s my fault, I got them both killed. I should have tried to trap her in a protection bubble. Or pushed her through a portal to anywhere. Instead, I fought her… but why? I wanted to kill her for the same reason she wanted to kill me: Nick.
The pressure in my chest grows with my realization—I failed Nick for nothing. Killing Nikki won’t bring Nick back. It was just another dead kid I should have saved.
Wrapping my fingers around the locket, I clasp it to my chest. Slipping the chain over my head, I let the locket rest between my breast. I can never forget; the price has been too high.
The heavy wooden door looms before me. Moving up to my full height, I kick the door open, using the force of my will to slam both sides open and into the walls before pausing to catch my breath.
Oh, I’m so fucked.
CHAPTER 26
The floor is littered with bodies. Twenty of us had started this journey, and I know only one can win, but I wasn't prepared for the carnage on display or the creature seated at the far end in the stone chair. My head aches and itches. The skin around my skull burns.
The walls are lined on one side with high windows, allowing the dim Fae twilight to filter through and illuminate the Fae markings on the creature seated before me. Wooden chairs lay around the space in various positions, along with tables of all sizes. Walls shimmer with the silver of dead wood and crystalline flowers. In the center stands a circle of stacked stones, which appears to be a well. Behind the throne, a mural reaches from the floor to the ceiling, depicting a Queen with a creature similar to the one seated in front of me.
The creature stands up and opens its arms; in one hand he holds a torc, and in the other a snake. The snake turned its head, tasting the air with its forked tongue. It isn't a man, or a beast. Everything about it resembles Fae, and his head holds the most spectacular set of antlers I’ve ever seen, while his lower half is covered in fur. His legs are turned at an angle resembling a stag, only to end in cloven hooves. The only word that comes to mind is Satyr.
He smiles, revealing sharp white teeth, “Have you come to take your seat as Queen?” The leaves covering his upper body flex with the vibrations of his voice. A magical sound wakes out from him, dark and deep as the caves the Fae had hollowed out for a home.
My head tilts back as I take in his height while trying to meet his eyes, but they dart around the room like a wild animal changing color as they go. Even his leaves change from deep green to golden yellow. The room morphs with him, from the calm green to angry reds and cold gray in a constantly changing cycle.
“I'm here to end the Fae’s reign of death. Who are you?” I respond, gritting my teeth and baring them to seem fierce. It’s a cover for the quaking in my bones. He towers over me by more than three feet.
His magic wake surrounds me, black and unruly with the sharp edges of a spear.
“You cannot end death, little one. Death is and will always be. Just as I am and will always be.” His leg lifts, kicking a broken table aside and shattering it against the wall.
Swallowing, I clear my throat. “Who or what are you?” My voice quivers.
“I am known by many names. The Green Man to some, Pan to others, wild, but my true name is Cernunnos. I am King here, and I rule.” His last words came out deep as a dark cavern, hard and cold as the granite he was seated upon. His aura too is cold and black.
Shit.
Janice didn't breathe a word about this guy. What the fuck am I supposed to do now?
Cernunnos let the snake slide from his grasp on to the floor. It coils in on itself, raising its head, then it lets out a hiss and flashes its fiery red eyes.
The snake opens its mouth wide and pulls its forked tongue deep into its gaping maw, fangs dripping with venom. The snake rears back its chest growing before shooting venom across the room. I dive out of the way before it hits me. The venom puddles where I last stood and smoke rises all around it.
The last thing I need is to be melted with acid again. Humming a bubble around the viper, I lock it inside.
“You are twice as clever as your competitors, Changeling.” Cernunnos’ the deep bass of his voice vibrates through to my bones. It carries powerful wakes, to subtly push you to the edge. They burrow into my psyche, twisting in my mind.
The rumble in my chest rises to push it back, but the magic holds me hostage with its power. I can create cracks in the magic but not conquer it.
“Oh, don’t fight, little Changeling, wild will always win. Your human half is so easy to turn. Humanity is naturally wild, they long for it. They were created by it.” He walks around me, sniffing and shifting like a wolf teasing its prey.
He raises a staff with a stone set in the end. It glows a deep vermilion red, its inner light pulsing like a heart. As it comes level with my chest, a wrenching pulls at my heart.
“Yes, little one, let me take the magic from you,” he softly whispers his intention with unexpected tenderness.
The tearing in my rib cage shakes my limbs. My eyes roll around in my head, and I can feel the loss of control beginning to consume me.
Fire shoots from one hand and water from the other; I can’t control my magic. But the magic is defending itself. Wind blasts my hair back from my brow, filling my ears and mouth down into my lungs. It feels as though I might burst with the pressure.
A wispy voice flows over me. “My lady, I swear by the light of Fae and all I am, fealty to you. I give over the power of air to command as you see fit. Use it to push back wild, use it now for the love of Danu and all that is living.” As quickly as Aer had come, she vanishes again and the pressure releases.
Exhaling, I blast Cernunnos against the wall, knocking the staff from his grasp.
“You think the elements can save you? You are nothing more than a Changeling,” Cernunnos breathes out his reply.
“My mother was a Changeling, but I am so much more Fae than I ever was human,” my response booms out, pushing Cernunnos back into the wall.
He jumps clear of my verbal blast zone. An itching vibration issues from his chest and his staff flies to his hand.
“Shall we start again?” Cernunnos raises both eyebrows questioningly.
Humming my protection bubble close to my skin, I free a dagger for my left hand then tighten my grip on Silver.
“Yeah, let’s dance, freak!” I let the rumble begin picking up debris and swirl it like a storm. The storm moves around me, never touching even a hair on my head. Fighting in the chaos is my favorite battleground.<
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Cernunnos rumbles his own protection field. Using his staff, he blasts rocks into dust as they come at him. In a flash, he is by my side and raising his staff for his next attack. I pull the wake lines protecting him apart with a line from a Tom Petty song my mom liked and stab at his torso.
“Two can play at this game, little one,” he roars, then baring the sharp incisors in his mouth. His teeth-rattling vibrations take my shield down and rocks pelt me.
Humming a counter, the rocks change their direction to hammer Cernunnos. Then, I slash at him again, only to meet the stone hardwood of his staff.
He blocks Silver, then whirls the staff around and hits me across the back. Then just as quickly he twirls it back and thrusts the end into my belly, doubling me over.
I stumble down on one knee with the unexpected impact of the blow. Then, rolling to one side, I jump to my feet just outside his reach.
He smiles and entreats me, “You have talent, but not enough to win. Let me take the magic you were never meant to have. I will free you from it.” His voice softens at the end, and charisma oozes from between his lips.
The desire to give in to him blankets me and I falter.
Biting down on my lower lip, I savor the mind-sharpening pain. “Is that how you freed them?” I demand, crouched and ready for the next hit.
“They were too weak to survive. But you are strong, you may yet live.” His reply is heavily laced with charisma, but the wakes no longer affect me.
The bodies on the floor are covered in cuts and slashes. Each has bloody trails coming from their eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Most of the blood can’t grow even one mushroom. The few mushrooms that did grow were small and white, or brown.
None resemble the mushrooms my blood grows, green and purple, and large enough to fill this room or my own forest.
Flashing around the room, I pop from one side to the other, one step ahead of the demon stag. But Cernunnos knows all these tricks. I flash one step below the stone chair, and he appears right in front of me, raising his staff. I flash across the room, popping in and out, but he keeps me from reaching the stone seat with every move.
