We have to find her soon, I don’t know how long she can go undetected in the human world.
“Madel, do you know where she went? Is she on foot?”
Madel frowned for a moment then her eyes brightened and she jumped up onto the armrest.
“She tried to make a portal. Portal broke the room. Ava ran away, ran there.”
I called out to Jax who had been rummaging through my pantry for a snack. “She found Ava, we have to go.”
Jax abandoned his search and dashed to my side. Madel flittered to my shoulder. As we passed the hall stand on our way out I saw my old door key hanging from the hook and grabbed it. Stepping over my dishevelled belongings, I followed Jax out of my apartment, locking the door behind us and sliding the key into my back pocket. We made our way through the hall, down the stairs, and out the door or my former life once again.
“Will we need the car?” I asked Madel.
“No, Ava is through there.” She pointed at Enmore’s City Park.
“Great, cause nothing bad happens in a park at night.”
“Not in the park,” Madel giggled. “Through it.”
I frowned and covered my face with my hands, making a low growl into them. “How is she through the park?” I asked, peeking out at them through my fingers.
“The entrance to the equillis is in the park,” Jax said, looking to Madel and she nodded her head excitedly. It took me a second to remember what the equillis were.
I removed my hands and looked blankly at Jax. “The doorway to the unicorns is in the park I lived across from for almost a decade, and I had no idea?”
“Umm, yes?” Jax replied his lips upturned at one side and his brows equally crooked.
We crossed the road to head towards the entrance of the park. The street was well lit, but not the park. It was surrounded by high shrubbery and the only easy way in or out was through the several entrances surrounding it.
“This is actually pretty great,” I said happily, to the resounding scowl from Jax. “What? I am serious. Ava is going after the things I need right?”
Jax nodded.
“Well, this time she’s in the right place. We need to see the unicorns, they have two things we need for the cast to close the portal.”
“Then into the park we go.”
We crossed the road and walked along the dull lit path through the park. When we reached a bridge over shallow water Jax pulled my arm to stop me stepping further.
“The equillis are in there,” he said, pointing to the narrow section of space where the water ran between rocks and weeds. Madel leapt off my shoulder onto the rocks.
“So how do we get through?” I asked, then knelt when I saw something glisten in Madel’s light, dripping down one of the rocks. I touched it and it was sticky. I brought it closer to Madel and saw it was something red.
“Blood.”
“Could it be Ava’s?” Jax asked, a tremor in his tone.
“No, this is human,” Madel said, quickly. “No magic in there.”
“Why would a human’s blood be here? Humans can’t enter The equillis plane can they?” Jax offered me the corner of his jacket to wipe my finger on. I rubbed it along the grass, instead.
Madel shook her head. “But they could be taken there by someone like us.”
“You think Ava took a human to the equillis?”
“The unicorns have the power to heal, maybe someone was hurt?” Jax suggested.
A burst of light from the running water stole our attention. In an instant the body appeared. Bloodied and torn open.
“What the hell?” I fell back onto my arse, and Madel tumbled from my shoulder. Jax lunged to catch her but she disappeared into thin air before hitting the ground.
I scooted away from the bloodied body, my hands scraping on the dry gravel. His eyes were wide with fear. Mouth slightly open. He was a young man. My attention moved to the running gear he wore then ran back to his eyes, transfixed by the way they stared wide into the sky. The life gone from him.
“We have to get through to the equillis, how do I open the doorway?”
“Repeat after me,” Jax said, holing out his hand for me to take. Madel appeared back on my shoulder and pulled the strap over her lap.
“Equillis dorlel oprendo.”
“If only you had your magic back, you could do this cast yourself.”
“I don’t mind, Des, really. We knew what we were giving up. Now do you remember what you have to say or do you want me to say it again?”
“I remember,” I said, then I repeated Jax’s words. The water glistened and with a gush of air we were sucked through.
Then we were standing in a field of white flowers. The ones by my feet, crushed and stained with the blood of the boy we had seen return to the human realm. I stared at the blood, remembering my wings and the red that I had seen there for weeks. I finally could look at them without seeing the blood of the fallen staining the edges, but now the visions of that day returned. The pain of those that fell.
I dropped to the ground, Madel fleeing from my shoulder and my magic swelled inside me. I felt it grow faster than it had ever before. Then my magic erupted, transforming my form to my fairy gown and wings.
“Des, are you okay?” Jax asked from somewhere beside me. “You need to get up. They are here.”
I shot my head up. A herd of gleaming white unicorns trotted towards us.
At the centre, the king and queen of equillis. They stood out from the herd behind them. Their heads adorned with gleaming haloes. Their magical crowns. I had read about the unicorns, having been banished from Sayeesies and restricted to their own plane, they tried to fight their way back in. Some escaped to the human realm but were either captured by the Nazieth or killed by humans. I stood just as they reached us.
“Two invasions in one eve, why have you come? Do you bring another dammed to us?” The queen’s voice rang through my head though the unicorn’s mouth did not move. The queen’s eyes bore into mine. I didn’t recoil, I stood taller. They had seen my daughter and had something I needed. I would not yield to them.
“I am looking for a fey called Ava. She’s my daughter and a little unsure of herself, she might be who you are speaking of,” I said strongly, my wings ruffling behind me.
“She has been here yes, but she portalled immediately after the death of the dammed.”
“The dammed?” I asked, looking at the blood on the ground again.
“The human. He was more than half dead before she brought him through, the sight of us took what life was left in him. The fey know not to ask for our aid. She did not.”
“She’s confused.”
“She speaks to herself quite oddly.” The king interrupted.
“Do you know where she went?”
“Why would we tell you if we did?” The queen stepped forwards. “You have more you seek of us, do you not fey?”
“I do, yes. How do you know?”
“The one before you sought something she should not. Do you intend to do the same?”
Ava must know what I need from the unicorns, but she didn’t see the list. How is she finding these fabled?
“My name is Desmoree Sh—”
“You are the great grand-daughter of Traflier! The child of light, who destroyed the darkness?”
“I am.”
“And what is it you seek of us, Desmoree, child of light?”
“Other than you telling me anything you can about where my daughter has gone, I need a feather from your king and from you, Your Highness, I require your horn.”
Brays erupted and Jax squeezed my hand.
“Des you can’t ask for a horn, they only shed them once a century. If you take her horn she will die,” Jax whispered into my ear.
The queen quickly soothed her herd and stepped towards me. “You know I can’t do that.”
“On the contrary, I know that you can. A queen can shed her horn at will, and a horn shed while in full health will hold much more magic th
an one shed in age. Your next horn is already underneath, it won’t kill you.”
“But it will be painful,” the king said, moving to stand beside her.
“If I do this for you, I will ask a high price.”
I spread my wings a little and tilted my head up.
“What is your price?”
“The equillis will be allowed to return to our grounds in Sayeesies. We will never be removed from our homelands again.”
The neighs of the unicorns around them sounded their approval of her price, not that she needed it.
“Jax, why were the equillis banished?” I asked not having read that detail in the books.
He lowered his head. “Traflier couldn’t control them, they would not bend to him as leader. They have their king and queen; they answer only to them. He used his power to send them here.”
I looked back to the queen, staring into her brilliant dark eyes.
“You can go home to Sayeesies whenever you like. I won’t make a deal for something you should not have to bargain for.”
She shook her mane slightly and its feathers moved like waves in subtle seas. “You would send us home, even if we refused your request for a feather and horn?”
I felt Jax stiffen beside me. We needed those items to seal the mouth of hell, and if they didn’t tell me where Ava went I didn’t know what I would do. But I would not trade something that was not mine to withhold, no matter how tempting.
“I would. You can go home, I won’t stop you. I will tell the Nazieth not to stop you.”
“It isn’t that easy,” Jax whispered, and I looked from him to the king and queen confused.
“He’s correct. For us to return home, you will need to open a portal to Sayeesies.”
Great, I can barely hold my fairy form, how the hell am I going to do open a portal?
“I am not sure I can create your portal, though. I came through the main gates of Sayeesies, I haven’t yet been able to create a stable gate myself.”
The queen eyes wrinkled at the sides and appeared to take on a new glow. Nodding to something behind me I turned and grinned at what I saw. Behind a scattering of thin trees stood a stone wall and embedded in its surface was a glistening black onyx gateway.
“This place has its own entrance?” I asked, turning back to the queen. “Why do you need me to open the door if you have a gateway? With your magic, you should be able to open it. I mean now that he’s dead and all.”
“It was sealed by Traflier’s blood, it requires one of his blood to unseal it. This place was formerly farmable land, open for all to come and go. On that day it became only our prison.”
“Not for long,” I said, smiling and striding towards the gleaming gate. I cast the ritual to open the portal to Sayeesies and a resounding cheer of braying unicorns echoed behind me. I stepped through first to ensure the gate was true.
Jax joined me through the portal and the unicorn king and queen followed quickly.
“Desmoree, leader of the fey,” the queen began. “You have brought us home. We will give you the items you seek, but we don’t know much about where your daughter has gone, our magic only allows a peek into the minds of the magically inclined.”
“I will take what I can get.”
“Shall we seal our new alliance with a blood bond, tying your truth to my own for as long as either of us exists?”
Blood hadn’t been used in casts for forever, it was found to not be needed for most spells. But a blood bond? I wondered if it would bind me to the equillis themselves or just to the promise I was making. It doesn’t matter.
“Do I agree to tie my truth to yours? I guess, sure.” I would do what I had to, to put what Traflier did right. “Tell me what to do.”
No one was near the portal, no one was in this area of Sayeesies at all. “Might as well do it right here, or do you want to bring the others in first?”
The queen nodded to her king and he returned through the portal for a moment before trotting back again, but this time followed by the rest of his herd. He appeared to have a conversation with another almost as large as him, then they touched horns before the other one trotted off towards the path that led away from the town.
“If you will,” the queen said, nodding her head to the area beside the gateway.
I stood opposite her and the king came forwards to stand between his queen and I. The queen lowered her head and her horn glistened in silver and white. Light catching on the tiny glass like specks that covered the surface.
“Bring forward your wing,” the king commanded, and I did as he asked.
“My queen will pierce your wing with her horn. Then, once the blood from your wound connects with her, she will begin the forced shedding of her horn. It will be painful for you both and you will need to ensure your wing remains connected to her horn the entire time. When the offering is released, the oath will be bound and you will have your horn, and our trust, as your truth will be bound to our queen. Neither of you shall be able to lie to the other.”
Okay, so that’s what bound to truth means. Well, I don’t intend to lie to the queen of unicorns, so whatever. “Let’s do this.” I nodded and felt Madel inch up my shoulder. In my fairy form she had no strap to keep her secure and she kept slipping down, having to grab my hair as a safety line.
The queen lunged forwards, the tip of her horn ripped through my wing as easily as going through water. I nearly pulled away at the burst of pain that shot through my entire body. I focused on my magic that swelled, willing me to retreat, to heal.
The queen began to pull away, the pain of her shredding beginning. I controlled the end of my wing to twist around the horn, I sent my magic to strengthen my hold. As my wing squeezed tighter, the blood from where her horn still penetrated through gushed further.
“Des, are you okay?” Jax asked from behind me. I gave a curt nod, it was all I could muster. I wanted to close my eyes, but I wouldn’t even blink for fear that if I did take my eyes off the horn and my wing, I could lose complete control of my grip.
Don’t phase back. Don’t phase back. Please, please stay strong, don’t change.
A scream of pain overtook my thoughts, the queen’s voice filling my mind. She cried out as her pain took hold and took another step back. Her horn separated slightly, sliding up over a little of the one below.
We locked eyes. The queen and I. We both stood silent though the pain of our sacrifice. I was doing it not only for Ava, but for the rest of our species.
We both stumbled a little as a wave of agony swept through us. But we kept ourselves linked, kept the bond as her horn slowly slipped over the rebirthed one beneath.
Her eyes bore into mine and I let myself focus on the golden flecks that seemed to move within them.
The horn slipped further and with one last excruciating heave of strength, the queen pulled free. Her rebirthed horn illuminated silver, her blood trickling down the fur of her forehead and joining with the glisten of a tear from her eye.
I fell to my knees and removed the horn from my wing, sending my magic to the wound, but it wouldn’t heal.
The king’s front feet appeared before me. I took Jax’s hand that appeared right on cue at my side and came to stand. The king tilted his head, his feathered mane rustling like a white wave. He lowered his head towards the wound and I brought my wing up to meet him. His feathered mane swept over it and on the return, the wound was gone.
“You make take a single feather,” he said, tilting his head up and closing his eyes. I reached out and plucked one and other than a slight whoosh of air from his nose, he made no sound. A feather obviously less painful than a horn shedding.
“My daughter, what do you know about where she is?” I pressed, placing both the feather and horn into my bag.
The king tilted his head and his eyes narrowed. “Where did they go?”
I phased back and revealed the bag at my side. The king nodded, then backed off, turning to those of his herd waiting on their monarchs. So
me younger ones peeked out from under their mothers, their tiny horns all silver, not yet mature enough to hold the twisted white streak of power.
“As we said, we are allowed a peek into the minds of the magical. Your daughter is magical indeed. But in the short time we conversed, she also spoke to others. They talk in her mind as do we, but they are the voice of the dead. The dead don’t always speak the truth, but it’s those voices she will continue to hear.”
“Where are they sending her?”
“There is one who is different, familiar, kind. It’s that voice who sent her to us, trying to save the damned. But she’s not the loudest, and as is often so, the loudest voice is the one that is followed. Your daughter is back in the human world.”
“Do you know where exactly?”
“The dammed, before he left there was a glimpse of something dark in his memory. A demon tracking his movements, or tracking her. I do not know the kind, it’s a demon not yet seen out of the darkness.”
For peeks they sure do get a heap of information. How am I going to find Ava in the human world? And now there might be demons tracking her?
“Did the demon open the mouth of hell?”
“No, but someone would have to bring the demons through, a new power. A borrowed one. Human.”
“Human?”
“Yes. The uprising of the darkness is the desire of a sect of humans.”
“The coven.”
“I believe if you continue to search for your items, you will in turn find your daughter.”
“There are so many things I need, how do I know which one she will try to go to next?”
“What number were we on your list?”
“You know about my list?” Of course, they glimpsed my mind too. “You were first, actually.”
“And second was?”
“The dwarves. I need to find the dwarves. Thank you.”
Muffled raised voices carried on the wind towards us.
“What is wrong?” The queen’s voice whispered in my mind.
Enchanting the Fey- The Complete Series Page 32
