Enchanting the Fey- The Complete Series

by Rebecca Bosevski

  “The humans are too strong,” came the quiet whisper of Phoneas. “Most are able to keep out any outside influences. Charms and such have little effect on them—not like us, we are ruled by our connections to things, to energy. We rely so heavily on outside influences just to survive.”

  My grandmother’s connection to Shulun had given her strength, power. When she’d moved away from Sayeesies, away from Shulun, she’d lost her connection and it had proved fatal.

  Then, like a lightbulb had been switched on in my mind, I remembered the breakthrough I’d had earlier, in Jax’s arms.

  “Moyeth, can you get me every essence you can find? Tell them I will need them here in ten minutes. They are not to appear until I’m ready. Now you are, well—you know—I’ll have to talk to Jax before we do anything else. Please go quickly, remember every essence you can, I will need them, all of them.”

  Both Moyeth and Phoneas nodded before disappearing. The man across the way looked up at me, fumbled for his book then quickly headed down the cobbled streets, glancing over his shoulder as he went, probably making sure I wasn’t following him. Life in Sayeesies had changed so much, people who had once had fawned and gushed were terrified of the crazy woman who waved the Noxuer around.

  It didn’t make sense for the Dazerarthro to attack the human realm. If every good versus bad movie I had ever seen had taught me anything, it was that evil loves power. The Dazerarthro was going where the power was. It was going to send its full force of beasts to the borders of Sayeesies.

  I rushed inside to tell Jax everything.

  “Jax, I need you,” I cried as I leapt into the room.

  He stood immediately, and to my pleasure he had not yet fully dressed from our earlier encounter. I had forgotten how time passed so slowly when I was speaking with essence. My eyes fell and my smile broadened, but he reached for the sheets, throwing me a cheeky grin.

  “Back so soon, couldn’t get enough of me could you?” Happiness radiated off him in blue, sparkly swirls, circling his body.

  Seeing Jax’s energy, feeling its strength, it willing me to take it, that moment had triggered my breakthrough. I knew how much energy Frey and those like her had. I’d thought if I could somehow use that energy, channel it—the reverse of what someone had been doing to me, I could use that power to fight the Dazerarthro. Though in my original plan, I had the badass super Stalisies Moyeth at my side.

  I told Jax about the beasts that were coming and asked him to sound the alarm so that both Traflier and Max could prepare their Fey to fight. He dressed far too quickly for my liking, and as he began to dash out the door, he slowed to a standstill.

  The room was engulfed in essence.

  Moyeth stood in front with Phoneas and my mother and behind them radiated a blur of light. With so many essences in one place, I could not distinguish between them. Any passer-by would think I held the sun in my room.

  “Mum, we have a lot to do.”

  She smiled, her eyes darting to Jax.

  “Mum, come on!” She winked and refocused. “I will need to get to the cave, the one above Narcita falls. I need you all to meet me there, then when I give the signal, I need you all to pass through me.”

  Moyeth looked at Ma, confused. “What will that do? We pass through people all the time. It does nothing. They don’t even know we’re there.” Moyeth still bore the blame for what was coming, and even Phoneas, whose arm was wrapped tightly around his waist, did nothing to prevent his light from dimming, becoming murky as it slunk around him rather than twirling in excited energy.

  “Snap out of it!” I glared at Moyeth. “I need your energy too, and by the looks of it right now you will not give me much, so forget the past, it is what it is. I need you to remember what you have. Look, you have Phoneas. You are both together, forever. Focus on that.”

  A slight smile crept in to his somber expression and his energy began to return to its brilliant green.

  “And just so you know, you are wrong,” I proclaimed, half tempted to poke out my tongue for good measure. “Every time you pass though someone, their energy ripples slightly. I have been seeing energy since I got here, off and on, and especially in essence; it is extremely powerful. I am going to take your energy, well a little bit from each of you if you are willing, and use it to give me the strength to fight the Dazerarthro.

  My explanation might have needed a few more details, but they looked convinced so I left out my trip to the Outer Reaches, spells, and my ever-growing abundance of Frey’s visions. Ma probably already knew all this, but I doubted the rest bothered keeping tabs on me.

  Ma stepped forwards. “We will help, of course. Just tell us when and we will be there.” The light behind her glowed brighter in agreement.

  “Mum, it will be a bit tricky. I kind of need you all to pass through me at once, in one go, and I need Frey and any other willing Oley to be there too.

  “Who’s Frey?” Moyeth and Phoneas asked.

  I knew that the Oley were not visible to those in essence; they were higher still, it was only my mother and myself that could see them. They could let the others see them if they chose to, though, and for my plan to work, I needed them to.

  “Mum, I need them,” I begged, knowing that Frey could hear me calling.

  I walked around Jax and out the door, the essence light following close behind. The air prickled, became warmer, thicker. Then, in a burst of rainbow light, fifty or more of the most beautiful creatures appeared before us. A loud gasp escaped from the essence cloud as they took in what stood before them.

  “Those of you in essence, I would like you to meet the original fairies, the Oley.” I swept my arm dramatically across the fairy tale scene in front of them. Blues and reds and greens, gold and purple and mauve, every color you could imagine, brighter than the sun, glistening, and swishing in the breeze.

  Frey stepped forward. “We who are here are here to help. It will not be easy to pass at the same time, and not I nor you know exactly what it will do to you, but if it is going to work, we will all have to focus. Giovanya, you will lead us all.” She looked over to my mother who nodded before wafting to stand beside me.

  I went over it all one more time before the Oley and essence vanished and my mother and I headed back inside. I wanted to be in the exact position I had been in when they’d first appeared. I had not told Jax exactly what had happened when I spoke with essence and I did not want to distract him from what it was he needed to do.

  “I am so proud of you,” Mum said, kissing me on the cheek before disappearing.

  Jax, having regained movement, stepped through the doorway, glancing over his shoulder and giving me what could be my last glimpse of those brilliant green eyes, twinkling in the light of Shulun. Then he was gone to sound the alarm, and I took off to the falls.

  It was a short walk to the base of the falls, but a large climb to the cave above it. I kept seeing flashes in my mind, Frey’s visions: Stalisies and Tanzieth preparing for battle. The Tanzieth grabbed batons and crude blades. Few held guns and those that did shook as they loaded the odd projectiles into the chambers. None of them looked ready to fight. The Stalisies took high ground with what looked like bows, while the Tanzieth took various places around Sayeesies, awaiting the battle’s beginning.

  The sound of grunting lifted higher on the winds as the beasts converged on Sayeesies. I peeked over my shoulder.

  Big mistake.

  There were so many, at least fifty. They looked so much bigger when they were running, than when lying headless on a table. Their eyes, red as blood, and the four rows of razor-sharp teeth glistened in the light, which disappeared with each thumping step towards the borderline.

  I turned away to climb faster. Just as I approached the halfway point up the falls, the beasts broke through. A vision flashed across my mind: the first to fall, a young Tanzieth tossed into a wall like a rag doll. He died instantly, his essence rising and disappearing just as fast.

  I climbed another meter, b
ut then another flash: an older boy ran to the first’s lifeless body, swinging a rough long sword towards the beast that now charged at him. The beast didn’t falter, but this boy was quick—he ducked beneath its claws, came up behind it, and pushed the sword through its chest. The beast arched and howled as the blade pulled free, then, spinning around, the boy sliced the monster’s head clean off. Thick black blood sprayed from where its head once sat before the lifeless body sunk to the dirt and the blood turned red.

  Weird.

  I shook off the vision. Though it was great to see a win, it would take so much more. I kept climbing. Another vision: a beast crushed a boy beneath its legs; his bones cracked like a thousand knuckles as he sank to a puddle of flesh and blood.

  I gagged, but kept climbing. The visions of more Tanzieth falling to the claws and teeth of the beasts flooded my mind. I climbed to the sound of their screams but stopped again when the truth of what I was seeing emerged: The Tanzieth were fighting alone.

  The Stalisies were standing back, keeping to higher ground. They fired their bows, but did little else to help the Tanzieth, who defended the Sayeesies border.

  I was having trouble focusing; my vision blurred as tears flooded my eyes. My hand slipped its hold and I scraped my palms against the rock as I slid about a meter and a half down the rock face. My scream was barely a whisper against the cries from below. Blood seeped from my wounds, but determined to reach the top, I regained my foothold and began climbing faster, pushing myself harder than I ever had.

  Flashes of visions continued to sweep over me. In my desire to know what was happening, I had been bringing them instantly into my mind. The beasts thrashed and smashed through everything. Walls crumbled, trees lay ripped from their roots on the blood-soaked ground, and broken Tanzieth bodies littered the landscape.

  By the time I reached the cave, I was sobbing. I stood on the edge, shaking. My heart ached.

  “Mum!” I called out desperately.

  They all appeared and, in an instant, engulfed me in their light. At first, there was nothingness. Whiteness all around. I couldn’t see anything, not even myself.

  Then in the space of white light, she appeared, slowly focusing into view. She was exquisite. She glided closer, as if a soft summer breeze had swept her towards me. Her gown had to be made of clouds; it wrapped around her svelte form and moved over her skin as if dancing, softly swishing as she flitted closer.

  “You are ready,” she said as she reached out for my hand.

  Who are you? Ready for what? What are you doing here? Where are we? But no words would leave my lips. I stood there, unmoving and invisible to even myself. She floated closer, touched my arm, and then took my hand; it was as if someone had wrapped my hand in a tea cozy.

  “It is time for you to go,” she said as she led me through the white space in silence. “This is only the beginning.” After only a few moments, a small dark spot formed in the light. She pointed towards it and let go of my hand. “When the blood lies still and the drums are silenced, you must follow the signs. We will be watching.” Then she drifted away, slowly dissolving into the light of the white space.

  The dark spot began to expand. It grew until it was upon me and then, when only white space sat at my back and the depths of dark lay in front, the white space exploded, its silence replaced by cries of agony and screams of fear.

  I found myself back on the cliff, and I knew my plan had worked: I had gained power from the essence. Without a moment’s hesitation, I leapt and soared. I flew like a true Fey, gliding through the sky towards the battle, hopeful that they had given me more than the ability to fly—I needed the power to win. I was thinking of nothing else but saving the Tanzieth, saving my father and saving Jax. My desire to help them pushed me faster through the air ahead. It didn’t feel unnatural to be flying; it was as easy as breathing. My heart ached for those fighting, and my rage boiled for those who were still standing back.

  I pushed harder ahead, but I hit a figurative wall, and I began falling, tumbling to the ground. I hit the dirt, my ears ringing, momentarily blocking out their screams.

  Dazed and a little light-headed, I managed to get to my feet. Gazing up, I saw something descending gracefully from the sky. If it had been a few days earlier, I would have smiled at the sight, but today my heart only pounded. Drifting down towards me was the body of Moyeth.

  He took his time.

  Arrogant prick.

  When he finally stood in front of me, I could see how little of the Moyeth I knew remained. His eyes were completely blackened out, and his once perfectly tailored suit was in tatters. Part of his shirt clung to his flesh, torn and blackened with something resembling soot. His pants were shredded at the knees, as if they’d been clawed at by one of the beasts, but his legs held no wounds.

  Moyeth’s body stood in front of me, but his soul was absent.

  The Dazerarthro smirked, raising the corner of its mouth. It was the same smile Moyeth had given me the first day we had met—half-smile and cheeky grin. My stomach flipped. But then his smirk turned to a sinister leer. His blackened teeth revealed themselves and the rest of his body mutated before my eyes.

  I leapt at Dazerarthro and found myself flying backwards. He flung me aside as if I were a simple fly buzzing at his ear. I hit a tree, and heard it creak before it swayed and tipped over, breaking in two. It made an enormous thump when it hit the ground.

  This time, the pain seared through my mind, and my heart drummed faster. Leaning on the enormous trunk that now lay dead behind me, I pushed myself up, stepped forward, and pointing my toes, I took to the sky.

  The Dazerarthro followed, soaring towards the heavens. I had but a second to swerve before it would have had me. However, in doing so, I lost my bearings and had to refocus. The split second it took was all the Dazerarthro needed to come at me again. I had only been preparing for him for a few days—heck, a few moments—the Dazerarthro had spent many lifetimes in preparation to win this battle. It knew what it was doing, and it knew how to hurt.

  It slammed the body of Moyeth into me, and I began to tumble to the ground. My head throbbed from the force of the impact and the images of those in pain, still assaulting my mind. The beasts continued ripping Tanzieth apart, clawing at them as if they were lions disemboweling their prey. They had taken a few beasts down, working together to distract, then attack. But when one fell, another took out several of the Tanzieth a moment later.

  The Tanzieth couldn’t win alone. They needed the Stalisies, who could fly. They could have saved so many. My heart raced and sweat beaded off my brow. I shook off the images just in time to prevent my impact with the dirt below.

  Thank fuck I can fly.

  Pushing myself back into the sky, back towards the demon, I caught sight of the fallen tree and dashed towards it. Grabbing a broken branch, I turned, awaiting its return. I needed to incapacitate it, even if for only a moment—a moment of unconsciousness is all it would take for its hold over the beasts to falter, Then, hopefully, they would regain their own minds and retreat. My plan relied heavily on the beasts’ normally peaceful nature.

  The little I had read about the beasts in the history books Grace had given me said that, though some human cultures deemed them monsters with their bear-like bodies and several rows of sharp, glistening teeth, they were never violent. Most stayed in the Fey world, living near rivers that bordered Sayeesies and Baldea. However, some preferred the abundance of fish in the human lakes. The beasts were built for destruction; the Dazerarthro choosing them was proof enough of that. However, they did not have the heart for it.

  I swung at the Dazerarthro. My blow swung true, but it did nothing in the way of incapacitating it. The Dazerarthro barely moved.

  It shouldn’t be this strong in any form.

  I knew of Moyeth’s abilities and some of what the Dazerarthro could do as well, but this kind of strength I was not expecting, this kind of shielding was unheard of, and I was greatly unprepared for it.

 
; It reached for me and I swung again, trying to deflect its grasp. It grabbed the branch from me and crushed it into near powder. Bile rose up to my throat, my stomach first to realize what my mind had yet to: I was going to lose.

  In an act of desperation, I focused on everything I knew or had read about the Dazerarthro.

  All the tales of what the Dazerarthro would bring. The seer’s predictions about how it would come, that I could defeat it. The energy I had seen in Stalisies, Tanzieth, essence, and Oley.

  It was all of those points that gave me the idea for the cliff top. I’d thought taking some of the energy from those in essence would have given me enough power to defeat it. I could still feel their energy swimming inside of me, but it was nothing compared to what I was facing. I had underestimated just how powerful an evil the Dazerarthro was.

  I had to swerve again, and the Dazerarthro barely missed me as it spun round for another go. I took to the clouds, hoping for some shielding while I processed the information inside of me.

  I was missing something. There has to be more. I was sure of it.

  A flicker of a vision came to me and then it was sucked away just as easily. There was something blocking the visions, blocking my mind.

  The Dazerarthro came at me. I tried to swerve, but its foot clipped me, swinging me around. I held my focus and charged at it, flying into it hard and fast, grappling for any place to hold onto. I snatched at its tattered shirt but it shredded away from its deformed chest. I caught a glimpse of its belt, and I latched on from behind, the Dazerarthro trying to swing me off, bucking, and twisting like a bull. I remembered the winter I had decided it was too cold to stay at my apartment and so left on an impromptu holiday to watch the bull riding in San Hose. It was there I’d watched men hold on for dear life while three thousand pound bulls kicked and bucked.

  The Dazerarthro was my bull, and I had to hold on for my life as tight as I could.

  My fingers stung, throbbing as the Dazerarthro spun and kicked. Finally, it got hold of my wrist and locked on like a vice, the cracking of what had to be every bone in my left hand was also the sound of the moment I lost any hold I had.