by E. Menozzi
“I’m not one of them. I’m Fae. My mother is the Queen of the Faeries.”
“I thought Godda was Queen of the Faeries.” Her jaw dropped open. “Wait. Is Godda your mother? Is that why Edric wants you? But that would make you hundreds of years old or something…” She glanced away, clearly doing the math in her head.
“It’s not like that. Godda was my aunt. My mother was her second-in-command and took over as queen when Godda disappeared.”
“So that’s what Nigel meant. He said you were Fae royalty.” Her eyes widened. “And you said your mother is sick. If she dies, do you become king or something?”
“No. The title is handed down to the eldest female in the line, my cousin Fiona. I’m just one of the Sworn in her Court. Or, I will be once I take the Oath.”
She pressed the heels of her hands against her temples. “This is insane.”
“Eve, I shouldn’t be telling you any of this. Humans can’t know about our existence. It’s our way. Ever since what happened with Edric and Godda. It’s the only way we’ll be safe.”
She looked thoughtful again. “Edric said you marked me. What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t do anything to you. I wouldn’t hurt you.” Until Evelyn had told me what Edric had said, I hadn’t even known that was possible. I certainly wouldn’t know how to do it on purpose. Perhaps I had somehow managed to mark her on accident. I wished there was someone I could ask about this, but we were on our own, for now.
“Nigel said Edric and his Hunters would kill me if they found out I’m of no use to them, and now you’ve told me that the Fae will kill me just for knowing they exist. Is there any way for me to get out of this alive?”
“I won’t let them hurt you. Edric or Fiona. We’ll find a way to get you out of here. Alive.”
“And what about you?”
“I can take care of myself.”
“With a ball of light? I don’t think that’s going to help. What else can you do? Do you have wings?” She ran her hands over the back of my shirt.
I grinned. “Most Fae don’t have wings. But we do have animal forms.”
“You can turn into an animal?”
I nodded.
“Can you do it now?”
I frowned. The shield I’d created around us was too small to hide me if I transformed. If I made it any bigger, we’d begin to attract attention. Certainly, they were already searching for us.
“Now’s not the best time. It will draw too much attention. Besides, I can’t use my magic in that form.”
“So our only defense is the ball of light?” She raised her eyebrows, clearly unimpressed with my magic.
“I can do more than that.”
“Such as?”
“Well, for starters…” I dropped my human glamour. I’d only been using it for her, anyway. It didn’t work on spirits and demons. Muscles filled out my baggy clothes and the tips of my ears went from round to pointed as I stretched to my full height. Evelyn took a step backward, and I grabbed for her so she wouldn’t slip outside the shield.
“Oh.” She blinked at me. “So that’s what you really look like?”
I nodded. “And I can conjure myself places, but only if I know where I am in relation to where I’m going. I could probably carry you with me, but I’ve never tried, and I don’t know where we are, so that isn’t going to help.”
“All right. What else?” I could tell she was trying not to stare at my ears.
“I can also conjure things away, or to me. But again, only if I know where I am in relation to where the thing is going. So, I can’t get us any weapons, not that they’d do us much good against these spirits and demons.”
“How do you fight a spirit or a demon?”
“Spirits are easier. They can be harmed with iron or salt. But they can only be banished if you destroy the thing that’s holding them in this realm.”
“You mean, like a Horcrux?”
“What’s a Horcrux?”
“You’re really not human, are you? It’s from a book. The bad guy used objects to hide bits of his soul. There were seven.”
“Seven seems a bit…much. I certainly hope Edric hasn’t read this book. I’ve been looking everywhere, and I haven’t been able to find the one that’s holding him here.”
“That’s why you’ve been interested in the artifacts at Lydbury.”
“Yes. I found a dagger and a shield that both showed signs of magic, but neither anchored a life force.”
She nodded, her brow wrinkled in thought. “So, even if we find some iron or salt, we can’t get rid of Edric. What about the demons?”
“You need a special weapon. We don’t have it. Unless they have one lying around here somewhere, which probably wouldn’t be very popular, given the guest list. I think we’ll have to settle for avoiding them.”
“Is that really the best you’ve got?”
“Demons don’t have magic, at least not the same way we do. The Fae, I mean.” I paused to gauge her reaction.
She rolled her eyes at me. “Yes, I knew what you meant. Continue.”
“Right. Well, they can do a bit of glamour.”
“Is that the thing they do to hide those horns of theirs?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“But they couldn’t do that ball of light thing that you did. Is that what you mean?”
“Precisely.” I nodded. “Of course, they can do other things…”
“Mind control?” she asked. She was likely thinking of the enchantment that demon woman cast on me. I felt my face grow warm.
“Yes. It’s more like a strong persuasion to do as they wish. An enchantment that creates a bit of an obsession in the victim.”
“Interesting. How do you know if you’re being enchanted?”
I shrugged. “You don’t, really. At least not until it’s over and you snap out of it. If you snap out of it.” I studied her face closely. “Did Nigel…?”
“No,” she said, cutting me off before I could finish my question. She scrunched her face a bit. “At least, I don’t think he did. I’d know it if he did, right?”
“You would have just blindly obeyed him, thinking it was your idea. Later you might have wondered what you were thinking, or realized you didn’t want to do or say any of those things.” If he’d tried anything, I would make his death a slow and painful one.
“Okay. I don’t think he did that. That’s interesting, isn’t it?”
“Perhaps. Let’s save that for later. I think we have more pressing matters to attend to.”
“Yes, like keeping you away from that red-horned she-devil so she can’t get her claws into you again.”
I smiled. “You almost sound as though you care.” I pulled her close to me.
“Well, you looked like an idiot.”
I scowled at her. “You’re ruining the moment.”
She smiled. “A cute idiot,” she added.
I leaned down and kissed her smiling lips. She wrapped her hands around me, and for a moment, I dared to hope that we’d find a way out. And maybe even a way to be together. But I sensed a shift in the air and began to worry we wouldn’t be able to stay hidden much longer.
“You’re handling all this quite well,” I said.
She shrugged. “Right now, all I care about is getting us out of here. I’ll probably freak out later. If there is a later.” She frowned.
“I promise I’ll get us out of here. But first, we need a plan,” I whispered, my nose still pressed to hers. “Quickly.”
14
I leaned into Liam, my brain sorting through everything he’d told me, everything I’d learned, searching for a solution. Now that I knew the truth about Edric and Godda, I attempted to piece together a plan, but I still had so many questions about this supernatural stuff. Nothing seemed to fit together in any useful order. We needed to escape, but
we didn’t even know where the exits were or how well they would be guarded. I took a step back, away from Liam, and shivered.
“Not very polite, you know,” a voice said. I turned and found myself staring at Nigel. I felt Liam grab for me, but Nigel beat him to it, wrapping his hand around mine and pulling me next to him. He slung an arm over my shoulder and turned to Liam. “Tsk-tsk,” he said. “The two honored guests, off hiding themselves in a corner, sneaking a snog.” He shook his head. “Best come rejoin the party before Edric notices you’ve gone missing.”
“Take your hands off her,” Liam said.
Nigel clucked his tongue. “Ah, but you forget, she’s my date for the evening. Don’t worry, I’ll let your escort know I found you. She was quite upset that you’d run off. I calmed her down a bit.” He looked out over the crowd, then turned back to face Liam. “Here she comes now.”
My muscles tensed, and I searched among the figures in the direction Nigel had been looking. There she was with her dark hair curling around blood-red horns above her beautiful—even while scowling—face. The she-devil looked like she might tear someone’s head off at any moment. I turned to Liam, my eyes wide in fear.
“Run,” I said.
“I’m not leaving without you.”
“Neither of you are going anywhere,” Nigel said. He tightened his arm around me. I squirmed and pushed him away.
Liam looked from me to the demon woman and back again.
“Go,” I said. “You’re no use to us if she gets her claws into you again.”
His eyes went wide. “Claws,” he repeated in an almost inaudible whisper. Then he disappeared.
Nigel gave up trying to keep his arm around me and clasped a firm grip around my wrist instead. He held tight as he spun around, searching the room for Liam. I didn’t bother looking. Instead, I kept my eyes locked on the demon woman as she pushed through the last few groups separating her from where we stood.
“Where’d he go?” she asked.
“He was here a moment ago. Then he disappeared.”
“Don’t let her out of your sight,” she said. She ran her eyes over my body, and I shivered. “He won’t leave without her.”
“Maybe she doesn’t mean as much—” Nigel started to say, but the demon woman cut him off.
“Silence!” she hissed. “We’ve tried this your way and look how well that’s turned out. Enough. I’ll find him. You make sure this one stays with you. You let her go again, and we’ll see how you fare against my pets.”
“Yes, Mother,” Nigel said.
The demon woman was Nigel’s mother? I stared at him as she nodded once and spun on her heel. She stalked away from us, and I turned toward him with raised eyebrows.
“Mother?”
“Upset that I didn’t introduce you properly?”
“That woman is your mother?” I pointed at the swaying figure that was slicing through party guests as she cut a path away from us.
Nigel straightened his tie with his free hand. “I said I was half demon. What did you expect?”
“I guess I just assumed it was your father who was—”
“The demon half?” Nigel raised his eyebrows. “No. My father was a lying, cheating, no-good bastard, but he was only a mortal.”
“She doesn’t look old enough,” I said, staring after the flash of red dress disappearing into the crowd.
“Yes, yes.” Nigel waved his hand. “Your humanity is showing again. Best zip that up before we return to the party.”
“How kind of you to be concerned.” I glared at him.
“Don’t take your frustrations out on me. I’m just trying to show you a good time. And keep you from getting killed by a raging-lunatic spirit. You should be thanking me.”
I tried to yank my wrist out of his grip, but he held fast. “You’re hurting me.”
“Would you prefer I use less conventional methods to keep you at my side for the remainder of the party?” He raised an eyebrow at me, and I remembered what Liam had told me about demon powers.
“No.”
“All right, then. Let’s get back to the party.” He relaxed his grip around my wrist and slid his hand down until it clasped my hand tightly.
“What’s she going to do to Liam?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Make him her slave.”
I watched the party from my perch in one of the balcony boxes above the main floor. I saw Nigel’s exchange with the demon woman, and then I saw her stalk away. I waited until I was certain that Nigel hadn’t tried to enchant Evelyn. I didn’t like the grip he had on her, but I supposed it was better than the alternative. The balcony was mostly deserted, and I’d cloaked myself to remain unseen as I searched for Edric in the crowd below.
I wanted to stay so I could keep my eye on Evelyn and wait for Edric to appear. But I didn’t have much time, and I needed to find a weapon and a way out. Evelyn’s warning reminded me of the tunnel in the hell beast arena. So I decided to take a chance and transport myself back into the dungeons to see if I could find a weapon. If my aunt hadn’t found a way to escape already, maybe she could help. If anyone knew how to get out of here, it would be her. And if I could find her, and get Evelyn to her, they could all escape to safety while I faced Edric.
I pictured the dark corner of the corridor outside the cells and hoped no one would be standing there when I appeared. When I opened my eyes, the chatter and music of the party had disappeared. I pressed myself against the cold stone walls outside the cells where they’d held me and Evelyn and listened to the silence, waiting to make sure I was alone. Then I crept down the hall, feeling with my magic for any others, friendly or unfriendly, who may have remained below. I followed my senses and turned down another corridor, retracing the route I’d taken earlier when I’d been dragged to the arena. The sense of my kin grew stronger as I approached the arena, and I hurried.
“Sorcha,” I whispered into the darkness of the arena. A flash of light at the far side of the arena caught my eye, but I paused first to examine the door. A blast of magic revealed the carvings in the stone archway. Wards. This was the magic that had prevented me from conjuring myself directly out of the arena and would also prevent me from conjuring myself inside from the party. I couldn’t undo another Fae’s magic, so I’d have to take that into account in our escape.
I pushed open the barred door and slipped inside. Then I crept across the room toward the flash of light I’d seen. No beasts remained. Someone must have removed their bodies after the fight. In the dim light, I could just make out a cluster of figures huddled together at the far end of the arena. I ran to them.
“Nephew,” Sorcha said in greeting when I reached her. She took a step toward me and reached out her hand. I saw the flash of gold on her wrist and realized she was wearing Godda’s bracelet. I grasped her hand in both of mine and glanced past her at the two Fae females huddled against the wall in identical tattered white garments. They shivered and stared at me with wide eyes.
“Where are you taking them?” I asked.
“Through there,” she said. She nodded toward the tunnel entrance I had seen earlier.
“Do you know where it leads?” I asked.
“No,” she said. “They kept the beasts back there, and they didn’t bring them through the dungeons. So they must have let them in that way. If they’re conjuring them in through here, then there must be a place where the wards are relaxed.”
“Who created these wards, those keeping us here and the ones cloaking the temple ruins?” In those first moments of joy, when I saw that Sorcha lived, it didn’t occur to me that she might have been the one helping Edric and his Hunters. Even now, I dreaded her response would reveal that my long-lost aunt had acted against her kin, even if it had been against her will.
Her eyes flicked to the prisoners she’d set out to free. Then, in a hushed voice, she said, “Eventually they break. He tortures them for informati
on. Then, when they can take no more, but before he’s exhausted them beyond their ability to conjure, he bargains with them.”
“For protection?”
“For magic that will hide this place, magic that will keep Fae from escaping, anything he thinks will help him. Once they’ve completed their end of the bargain, he kills them. He knows we can’t undo what another has done. He knows the bargains will remain so long as he does. He makes sure of it.”
“He hasn’t used you this way?”
She shook her head.
“Why didn’t you warn them?”
Her blue eyes glared at me. “Don’t you think I’ve tried? You don’t know what he does to them. What he’ll do to you when he finds you. Come with us.” Her hood had fallen back, revealing her golden hair, now loose and cascading around her face. Nearly as ancient as my mother, she still appeared young enough to be my older sister.
I shook my head. “I can’t leave without Eve. I have to go back for her.”
“Our responsibility is to our people.” She looked over her shoulder at the Fae who were waiting for her near the tunnel entrance. “You’d put their lives at risk for the sake of one human?” Of the seven sisters, Sorcha looked the most like Godda. They’d each had different sires, since male Fae could only sire one child, but Godda and Sorcha, the oldest and youngest, had ended up looking nearly identical despite that fact. Sorcha hadn’t said so, but her appearance may have been what had ultimately prevented Edric from killing her.
I wanted to join her, but Evelyn was defenseless and innocent. She deserved a chance to live. “It’s my fault she’s here.”
Sorcha narrowed her eyes at me. “Your feelings for her are getting in the way of your responsibilities. Did you come here to save her? Or to put an end to the Hunt?”
“I can do both.” I’d find a way to destroy Edric before he could harm anyone else, even if it meant my own death.
She shook her head. “You know what you have to do. Most of the guards are at the party, but our absence will be noted soon. We need to go,” she said.
“Go,” I said. “Get them to safety. Find Ari, if you can. Tell her where we are.” I knew she’d tell Ari and the others more than that. She’d tell them about my distraction, and Evelyn would be at Fiona’s mercy if we got out of here alive. But I couldn’t help that now. I needed backup.
