Firestorm

by William Stacey

  "Where are you taking me?"

  He smiled over his shoulder, and she felt her heart skip. No man should be that beautiful. He took her hand in a grip that was surprisingly gentle. "A little farther yet, my queen."

  "I don't like it when you call me that. We humans only marry for love."

  "For love?" He stopped abruptly, letting go of her hand to face her. He placed his palms atop her fur-covered shoulders, looming over her, his golden eyes filled with a frightening intensity. "And who are you to tell me what is within my heart, Angela? Listen to my words: I do love you. I have never loved another. I will never love another."

  "I ... you don't even know me."

  "Of course I do. You are the same as I am, the only other who could possibly understand me. We are meant for one another. You just don't see that yet. Will you let me prove my words?"

  "I ..." She faltered under his gaze, feeling like a small child. Even without Fey magic twisting her emotions, supercharging her libido, he was breathtaking. Not handsome, far too perfect to be handsome. Not androgynous; there was nothing effeminate about those muscles and what she had seen between his legs. He might have been prettier than she was, but he was still all man. She thought of Tec and the night they had spent together in Elenaril's palace. That memory gave her the strength. "Show me then."

  He took her hand once more, pulling her along behind him, and she hurried to keep up with his longer strides. "Tell me, Angela, the first time you saw me, when the Mares of Diomedes carried you through my realm, you felt something, yes?"

  "I ... I did, a connection. Like I knew you." And it was true. The feeling had been so strong she had been struck dumb, unable to move.

  "As I told you the other night, like attracts like. We are unique in the universe, you and me. I in the Hollows, you in your own realm, this 'Earth.' But make no mistake, a lion mates only with a lioness, never a deer. And you, Angela, are a lioness. The witch traitors recognized what you were and hid you from me."

  "Char was a mother to me."

  "Chararah Succubus and Ephix Lamia plotted against my rule. Ephix was once a general in my army, her sister Chararah my most loyal druid. They didn't tell you that, did they? The crystal rose talisman that Ephix uses to travel between the realms? It was mine! Ephix stole it. Centuries ago, Ephix and Chararah led a rebellion against me, along with that twisted evil elf queen Elenaril. When the rebellion failed, they hid away in your realm, where they no doubt have been plotting against me ever since. But when the dragons tore away the Fey Sleep, they also stole away the Fey ability to slip as easily between realms." He smiled, his eyes shining. "No doubt they were secretly grateful to the dragons, thinking I could no longer reach them. They thought me helpless, but I wasn't—just uninterested. Until I learned of you."

  His grip on her hand tightened, making her wince, and despite her side-sword, she felt helpless next to this blond giant of a Fey. He could take it from me in a moment, she knew. That’s why he doesn’t care that I have it.

  "We are here," he said, releasing her hand as they entered a clearing, a glen filled with exotic plants, the likes of which she had never imagined possible.

  Giant glowing purple flowers, like lotus, stood taller than her. Orange and green mushrooms a foot tall sat amid thick junglelike ferns. Hundreds of brightly colored butterflies took to the air, each as large as her head. At the far end of the glen, beside a silver statue of a giant birdlike creature, sat a massive pile of broken stones between two crumbling pillars that had once been an archway.

  She had been so captivated by the glen, the archway, and the butterflies that when the statue lifted its head and regarded her, she gasped, stepping back in fear. Lodin placed a steady hand on her shoulder from behind—it was alive!

  "Do not run," Lodin warned.

  The creature rose and approached. Larger than a Kodiak bear, it had the enormous head and foreclaws of an eagle, with small black eyes and a golden beak longer than her arm. Huge feathered wings were folded around its lionlike body and rear legs. Silver and black feathers covered its powerful chest. It stopped just before her, sitting back on its lion legs and regarding her with eyes that seemed far too clever for an animal. It was a griffin, an honest to god griffin. She was equally terrified and excited.

  That was when she saw the thick metal chain attached to an iron collar around its neck. The chain ran to a massive stone boulder, perhaps twenty paces away. A pile of old bones, fur, and rotted meat lay nearby, the stench foul.

  Lodin trailed his fingers over the griffin's feathered head. "Moonwing. This is my queen, Angela. She carries my heart and my trust."

  The griffin cooed, the noise sending a shiver down Angie's spine. Then it moved aside, scuttling out of the way with remarkable agility for such a large creature.

  Lodin faced the pile of broken boulders between the two columns. Now Angie saw that several of the larger pieces of stone were inscribed with runes. Without looking back, Lodin held his hand out behind him, and the centaur carrying his black spear trotted forward, placing the weapon in Lodin's hand. The centaur danced back, his hooves clopping on the soft earth.

  Lodin pointed the spear at the boulders, and Angie felt the flow of powerful magic coursing through the spear. The spearhead glowed with crimson energy. Then the boulders vibrated and rolled along the ground on their own, floating into the air to come together, each broken piece seamlessly fitting together and forming a vast stone archway more than ten feet wide.

  "What is this?" she asked, her skin tingling with occult energy.

  "The Portal Stones of Nevernight," he said softly. "I have been using them to search for you since you disappeared from my realm. Obtaining them cost me dearly, but I'd pay any price to find you." The air in the center of the stone archway began to shimmer. "Like doesn't just attract like, Angela. Like needs like. I need you. I never realized how empty my life was until you passed through it. I understood then the secret Ephix and her sister kept from me—you. I could forgive their attempted rebellion. After all, forcing them to hide away on your dreary world for centuries should have been punishment enough, but I could never forgive them for keeping you from me. Nor should you! They have injured us both."

  They must have known, she realized. Ephix said as much, that Lodin was attracted to my presence, not hers. At the time, I thought she meant the Shade King, but it was me, another source mage. They knew what I was, what Lodin was, and they kept it a secret, making me believe I was weak. Why?

  She drew her shoulders back, watching Lodin's glowing spearhead leave a trail of red energy in the air as he made circles with it before him. "Tell me the truth. What does it really mean to be a source mage?"

  "Mean?" he asked in confusion. The red trails in the air began to drift forward, like smoke rings, moving toward the stone portal. "It means you are as a star among dust, Angela. You were born for greatness. It means you take what you need from others, take everything."

  Now she could see an image form through the archway ... a pine forest. He's opening another gateway home, just like Ephix did. She stepped closer, her skin charged with the magical energy in the air. "That's my world."

  "The Portal Stones of Nevernight have many uses. Those with the power can create pathways to other realms, can even reach out and touch the minds of others through the portals. I used the stones to influence your own kind to seek you out for me, but I have also used the stones to learn about you, to discover the secrets Chararah and Ephix have hidden from you. I know you better than anyone now. I know everything about you."

  "If you're so powerful, why didn't you come in person?"

  "Because I cannot leave this realm, Angela. I am tied to it. I must work through others. Fortunately, your world is filled with weak-minded souls eager to betray their own for knowledge and power. I gave them a taste of this power, even brought a few here to teach them how to wield magic. In return, they looked for you."

  "You're talking of the Ferals," she said in sudden understanding. "They tried to c
apture me once."

  "And failed." His voice was filled with contempt.

  He lowered his spear, and fog drifted over the forest through the archway, fog so thick and dark it obscured everything. Tec was on the other side of that portal, she knew.

  "You need to let me go," she whispered.

  He faced her, his spearpoint now lowered to the ground. Where it touched the grass, smoke rose, curled around the gleaming red metal. "I will never let you go."

  "I don't belong here."

  "This is the only place you belong."

  Her emotions surged, and she screamed at him. "Damn you! Why show me my home if you won't let me go?"

  "Because you have to see the depths of the lies they have told you," he roared, dropping his spear to the ground and advancing on her, his eyes flashing. She took a step back, half drawing Nightfall from its sheath before he caught her wrist in a grip so hard that she feared he'd grind her bones. She cried out and released Nightfall's hilt, her fingers numb. "You dare draw a weapon against your lord? I have allowed too much."

  He grabbed her by the sword belt and yanked her toward him. She was helpless against him. In moments, he untied her sword belt and pulled it free, discarding it behind him contemptuously. She felt the heat of his anger radiating from him but glared up at him, refusing to back down. No matter what came next, she'd face it with courage.

  "Go to hell."

  "They lie to you, yet I’m the villain?" He sighed, dragging her over to the archway and setting her solidly before the fog-shrouded opening.

  "What—"

  "I'm sorry, Angela," he whispered, his hands on her shoulders holding her in place. He leaned in and placed his lips near her ear. "Nothing hurts more than the truth."

  The fog parted.

  Chapter 25

  As the fog dissipated, Angie saw a clearing she knew well, near Char’s home in the ruins of Fresno. Standing in front of the woods was Char and Ephix, as well as dozens of Fey, all armed and armored, with the bright sunlight flashing from spear points and sword blades.

  "What is this?" Angie whispered in confusion. She had watched Char die.

  Lodin kept his grip on her shoulders, holding her in place from behind. "The past. Watch."

  The woods behind Char were filled with other Fey, all armed. Char wore plate and chain mail armor with her hexed rapier strapped to her waist, her bat wings quivering with excitement. Ephix wore her human form, a young plain woman with long brown hair, wearing only a simple toga, but in moments, Ephix could become a monster more terrible than any armored Fey. The other Fey—elves, trolls, hobgoblins, water hags, even fairies—glared at the human soldiers across the clearing.

  The soldiers, dozens of them clumped together, wore camouflaged clothing, with load-bearing vests, helmets, and body armor. They carried assault rifles but kept the barrels pointing at the ground, not at the Fey. A half dozen HMM-V vehicles sat behind the soldiers.

  One of the soldiers stepped out from the others and removed his Kevlar helmet, handing it to an aide. It was Duncan Marshal, she realized, but younger, much younger. He was still bald, his head shining in the sunlight, but his posture was strong, his shoulders wide. He walked out into the clearing with another of his men, both unarmed.

  Char and Ephix stepped forward to meet them. The four faced one another in the center of the clearing. The view through the portal, controlled by Lodin’s magic, followed them, coming to a stop only feet away.

  "Char?" Angie reached forward, her heart aching at the sight of her adopted mother.

  She was too far away to touch, and Lodin's grip on her shoulders tightened. "The ghosts of the past cannot hear you," he whispered. "Chararah Succubus has gone to the underworlds. What you see now, what you hear now, is only a memory—although it can still cut like a sword."

  "I'm here, man," Char said to Marshal in a voice that communicated her desire to be anywhere else. "What do you wish?"

  "An end to the fighting," Marshal answered.

  Ephix snorted. "Fighting you began."

  Marshal's eyes narrowed, but he kept his calm. "Who started what doesn't matter anymore, if it ever did. There's been more than enough blood spilled, human and Fey. There's no point to it. There are so few of us left."

  "We've only fought to defend ourselves," Char answered coldly. "You've killed far more of your own kind than we ever could. I've seen the fields filled with the dead, vast stinking corpse mounds that stretch forever. A thousand years from now, the ground will still be damp with the blood you've spilled. Your cities burn, your machinery lies dormant, your nations evaporate like smoke … as well as any trace of kindness." She shook her head. "Your kind knows only death."

  "We're rebuilding. We want peace."

  "Peace." Char laughed. "Your words are ash. Why should we believe anything you say?"

  "Because the dragon sent us."

  Now Char and Ephix stiffened. Char glanced at Ephix, a hint of worry in her eyes. "It's true then? He's awake?"

  Ephix ground her teeth, her limbs trembling with anger. "First they break the Fey Sleep, forcing us from the Hollows, exposing us to humans, and now they wish to order us about like thralls. It is too much, I say. Too much."

  "What does that one care if we slaughter one another?" Char asked.

  "He's always cared," Marshal said sadly. "He warned us of the Awakening, helped us prepare for it. Now he's helping us rebuild."

  Char snorted. "In whose image? Be careful, man. Never bargain with a dragon."

  "He wants peace between humanity and Fey—a Concord he called it."

  "A Concord?" Ephix's voice rose, her dark eyes shining. "After what his kind did to us, he'd—"

  Without looking, Char placed her palm atop Ephix's forearm, and the lamia looked away angrily. "Tell us, man, what does the great Quetzalcoatl wish?"

  Quetzalcoatl? The dragon, Tec's master, had been the true architect of the Concord, not Marshal, never Marshal. It was as if the ground had opened beneath Angie’s feet. What else had she been wrong about?

  "You take this land, the remains of Fresno, as your own. Your people live here. You keep to yourselves, and we'll do the same in our protected zone to the south." His gaze snapped to Ephix, and this time Angie saw fear flash in his eyes. He knows what she is. "The ... attacks on humans have to stop. No more ... feeding."

  "We must feed to live, man," Ephix said scornfully. "Sooner ask yourself to stop breathing."

  "Then you prey on others, not my people, no one within the protected zone. There will be walled settlements soon. These are to be left alone."

  "Go on," Char said. "What are you holding back? Why are you really here?"

  Marshal hesitated, drew in a long breath, and then turned and made a "come on" motion with his arm. The door to one of the HMM-Vs opened, and a young woman climbed out. She wore the same camouflaged uniform as the soldiers but was unarmed and wore a white cross on an armband, a medic. She helped a child out of the vehicle, a brown-haired girl of perhaps five years of age. The medic, wearing long rubber gloves, took the girl's hand and led her forward to join Marshal, stopping right behind him. The girl, Angie saw, was small for her age, her eyes vacant, as if she were drugged.

  A shock of recognition coursed through Angie.

  The child was her.

  This ... this wasn't possible. She had been ten when she had accompanied Nathan to Char's school. Nathan had been fourteen. They had been the first of Char's human students, followed soon after by other children who had displayed the ability to wield magic. Dozens of them.

  "I don't understand," Angie said. "What ... how?"

  "Watch and learn the truth, Angela," Lodin whispered.

  Char stared at the child, her eyes softening. "What is this? Why bring one of your—" Char gasped, stepping back a pace. "A source mage? How?"

  Ephix hissed, placing herself in front of Char, her eyes all black, her limbs beginning to lengthen, grow fur, her fingertips becoming claws. "You dare? Keep that abomination away!"


  The soldiers and Fey watching stiffened in alarm. Rifle barrels and spears rose.

  Marshal placed himself between the young Angie and Ephix, his palms up defensively. "Please, she's not dangerous. Only if you make skin-to-skin contact, and only sometimes. Only when she loses control."

  "Oh, make no mistake," Ephix said with venom. "That thing is dangerous all the time. We know all too well what she is and what she is capable of. Never again. Not here, not on this world too."

  Char put a hand on Ephix's shoulder and gently drew her back, whispering into her ear. From the anger rippling through Ephix's face, it took all her will, but she acquiesced, her limbs transforming back into a human woman's once more. Char stepped closer to the child, watching her as if she were a coiled snake. The girl slid behind the nurse, her arms around her leg.

  "It's been a thousand years since this world has seen another source mage," Char said in wonder. "And here we are, with the Fey Sleep broken less than a year, a source mage appears. Amidst all this death and destruction, a new star rises. Will she burn us all, I wonder?"

  Marshal swallowed nervously and cleared his throat. "The dragon told us you could help her, teach her to control the magic."

  "Perhaps," Char said evenly, considering the child. "But such power needs to be restrained somehow—at least until she learns control. If she can ever learn to control such a thing. We only know of one other source mage, and he never even tried to master his gift … or his greed."

  "Sister, no," hissed Ephix. "This is not another of your stray animals. She might destroy us both. Worse, what if he learns of her?"

  "He cannot come here," Char answered. "This world is denied to him." She slipped forward, her gaze locked on the child's face, and she smiled, allowing her wings to expand.

  The child—her—stared at the wings in wonder. "Are you an angel?" she asked in a timid voice, speaking for the first time.

  "An angel?" Char shook her head. "Hardly." Then before anyone could stop her, she removed her armored glove, let it fall to the grass, and caressed the child's face with her fingertips. Everyone held their breath, including the adult Angie. Nothing happened, not even when the child reached up and touched Char’s hand with her fingers.