by JD MITCHELL
Jessica looked longingly at the hotel before nodding. “My leg doesn’t hurt, I can make the drive.”
Leanan’s mouth curved into a frown. “You can’t feel your leg?”
“Adrenaline I guess,” Jessica shrugged.
“We should stop so I can look,” Leanan said, her voice laced with concern. “You should be in a lot of pain.”
“I’m blocking her pain receptors,” Red mumbled. “She’s fine.”
Everyone looked at him.
“You’re what?” Jessica asked. Her brow furrowed.
“I needed you to run toward me when you got burned,” Red said. “You were in shock. Then you were driving the car and…” he gestured toward her leg.
Jessica exhaled through her nose and scrutinized her leg. “Whatever; I don’t need the details.”
Ali remembered her own previously broken wrist. “Red, I know I’m not allowed to talk about this, but can’t you fix her leg?”
His lips pressed into a line. “If it was a regular burn, I could. However, dragon burns are different.”
The explanation sounded thin. After all, fire was fire. Ali opened her mouth to express this opinion, but Leigh beat her to the punch.
“You had a mortal injury. Dragons are of the immortal world, those injuries are harder to heal,” Leigh said.
“I don’t understand,” Ali said.
“What I did for you was the human equivalent of a Band-Aid. Jessica needs medical attention I can’t give,” Red said.
“Does that mean Jessica’s injury will get worse?” Ali asked.
Red glanced at Jessica’s leg and grimaced.
“I’m fine,” Jessica said cutting the conversation short. “Just tell me where to drive.”
Leanan pointed out the front window. “Turn right at the next street. We need to find the highway.” Leaning over Red, she reached into the glove box and pulled out a map. “Before we arrive, I should mention my friend Aengus is eccentric.”
Red hung his head. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Do you know him?” Leanan asked.
Red groaned. “Yes.”
Thirteen
The M7 motorway didn’t hold the same charm as the Irish countryside. Granted, the cars were smaller, and she enjoyed the Gaelic and English road signs, but it was still a highway.
As dusk shifted to darkness, Ali noticed Jessica was sweating. Red immediately demanded to drive and kept the pedal to the floor as they flew across the roadways. Ali feared a cop would pull them over for speeding, but they maneuvered the highways without incident. However, Jessica continued to worsen and near the end of the drive she struggled to remain conscious.
When they arrived Leanan jumped out of the car and ran for a door inset in a hill that resembled a hidden bunker. Leanan threw the small wooden door open and entered first, followed by Ali, and Leigh.
The inside was far beyond Ali’s expectations. When she first entered the threshold, she doubted they’d be able to stand, but now she tried to understand the deception used to hide the massive space before her. Expansive slabs of white marble made up every surface of the foyer. Large columns about twenty-five feet in height lined the enormous hallway that extended for what she estimated was a quarter of a mile. Torches lit each column, bathing the interior in a light reminiscent of sunset. Shear blue and black material raced along the ceiling and fireflies danced near the roof, each looking like floating stars. Off in the distance, songbirds chirped. Immediately Ali became aware how filthy she was. The foyer was pristine, and she looked like a dirt clot carried in on the bottom of someone’s shoe.
Leanan called out in a foreign tongue, the words a whimsical plea as though this was the opening act of an opera. Soon the tension would build, and the hero would enter stage left. Ali expected Leanan’s friend Aengus. Instead, a woman with small horns on her forehead and ruby skin emerged. She wore a gray gown which draped around her body. Black hair cascaded down her back and framed her small facial features. Or at least to Ali her facial features seemed small compared to her eyes, which were large and aqua.
Was the person before her real?
The woman spoke in the same whimsical tone as Leanan, eyeing each of them.
“We need help,” Leanan replied in English. “Can you tell Aengus we’re here?”
From behind Ali, Red stumbled into the foyer carrying Jessica like a small child in his arms. Her head rested against his chest, and her injured leg dangled over his arm exposing angry blisters.
The ruby skinned woman took one look at Jessica, then yelled down an empty corridor. While Ali couldn’t decipher the words, she understood the inflection. Jessica needed attention now. Two other women, both a light shade of green with white hair and yellow eyes entered the foyer. They glanced at Jessica, then immediately ushered Red down a side corridor. Their blue dresses were airy and fluttered around them like an ethereal painting as they hurried behind Red, pointing the direction they wanted him to go.
“Wait!” Ali called as she followed.
“You need to stay here,” Leanan said. “The Fae will care for her.”
It was tempting to ignore Leanan, but she stayed put. Red was with Jessica, and they’d already disappeared around a corner.
“You may see her soon,” the ruby woman said. “First you must bathe.”
Stunned by this blunt woman’s comment, Ali scrunched her face, then looked at Leanan.
“What’s a Fae?” Ali asked, thinking it meant a medical professional. She refused to be told what to do while receiving no answers.
“I am Fae.” The Ruby woman touched her chest.
More Fae entered the foyer in a rainbow of skin and clothing. Bright colors overwhelmed Ali as she took in the gathering. The nearest to her was a male with a tan shirt, solid green trousers, orange skin, blue hair, and green eyes. This Fae reminded Ali of a tall oompa-loompa from Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Her eyes darted between the blues, reds, greens, oranges, and yellows in the room.
She eyed their tiny horns. All their horns were similar in color to their respective skin tones, except lighter.
A lavender Fae woman wrapped in a sheer white dress gestured for Ali to follow her. Ali’s eyes widened in surprise. The woman’s nipples were visible through her dress. Stunned she looked away, forgetting her concern over Jessica. Luckily nothing south of the woman’s waist was exposed due to heavy draping of the fabric. Next to her, Leigh’s face flushed as his eyes focused on the ceiling.
“Are you okay?” Ali asked, her lips twisting into an uncomfortable smile. Leigh’s cheeks reddened further. “Oh. Yeah, fine.”
Ali scratched her neck. “Um. Is this… normal?” She asked, searching for the least offensive word she could find.
Leigh exhaled, peeked at the woman’s chest again then looked away. “I don’t know.”
The three of them, Leanan, Leigh, and Ali walked side by side as they made their way down the massive hallways. Ali averted her eyes as much as possible, finding humor in Leigh’s scarlet cheeks.
She wondered how Jessica was doing with these half nude women. Again, she suppressed the sudden urge to chase after Jessica. Red would take care of her. He seemed more concerned with Jessica’s wellbeing than he should.
Red. A topic she’d tackle later. At the moment she faced more pressing concerns surrounding her own modesty. They pulled Ali into a small room with a shower. The lavender Fae woman tried to undress her like she was medieval royalty and tsked when Ali objected. A compromise was reached where Ali undressed and bathed herself, then allowed the Fae women to examine her while covered by a towel. The moment Ali was given a robe–of the non-sheer variety, a needed point of clarification–she demanded an escort to Jessica.
A Fae woman led her down a never-ending maze of hallways. The walk took much longer than Ali had patience. She held her tongue only because these Fae were treating her sister.
When they rounded the final corner, she found Red sitting on an armchair in the hallway. He’d
collapsed onto the blue suede fabric looking haggard and filthy. Cuts of varying sizes covered his arms and neck. It looked as though he picked a fight with a rose bush and lost.
The bruise on his cheek was now a deep purple. He hadn’t bothered to heal it. Guilt reminded her she’d given him the welt when she kneed him in the face.
“Where’s Jessica?” Ali asked.
Red gestured to the closed door with his thumb. “Inside. They kicked me out.”
She grinned. “What’d you do?”
He sat upright and rubbed the palms of his hands over his filthy jeans. “They needed to undress her.”
“Oh,” Ali said thinking back to her encounter with the lavender Fae woman. Red may not be welcome in that room, but they couldn’t keep her out. “I’ll check on Jessica.”
Red stood. “If she’s decent, will you see if I can come in?”
“Sure.” Ali cracked the door enough to slip inside, then paused. “Why haven’t you healed the bruise on your face?”
He touched his cheek, then let his hand drop. “I don’t have the energy.”
Nodding, she closed the door behind her. She’d inquire about healing limitations later.
Two Fae women looked up from bandaging Jessica’s leg. One was lime green, the other orange. The green Fae woman acted as though she was about to shoo Ali from the room, but Jessica stopped her.
“She can stay.”
Ali approached the couch where Jessica rested. “Are you feeling better?”
Jessica nodded, brushing her damp hair out of her face. Color had returned to her cheeks, and she was no longer sweating.
“Did you get to shower alone?” Ali asked smirking.
“They gave you an option?”
Judging by the fluffy robe, it was clear which part of the argument the Fae won, and where Jessica prevailed.
“I put up a stink.” Ali grinned.
“Damn. I should have held out,” Jessica said with a meek smile.
The green Fae woman stared at Jessica with disapproval, then went back to dressing her leg. Ali decided not to challenge this green Fae woman. She had that no-nonsense vibe where she’d beat you with a spoon if you crossed her.
Clearing her throat, she pointed toward the doorway. “Red is loitering in the hallway. Should I let him in?”
“He is?” Jessica looked at the door and fluffed her wet hair. The gesture was useless, her wet hair sagged back against her head. “Sure.”
“Okay then,” Ali said eyeing her. She was happy Jessica turned a corner with Red, but leery where it might go.
The moment Ali opened the door, Red blew past her. His expression fading from concern to relief in seconds.
“How’s the leg?” He asked, stopping a few feet short of where Jessica lay.
Jessica pushed herself onto her elbows. “They’ll have me fixed in a week. That speed gel they put on my leg feels wonderful.”
Red nodded.
“You’re still covered in dirt,” Jessica said looking at him.
He gave her a half-cocked smile and made a show to sniff himself. “Yikes. I guess I need a shower.”
Jessica laughed, but didn’t offer an opinion.
Ali suppressed an eye roll.
The green Fae woman offered a steaming cup to Jessica. “Drink this.”
Jessica held the cup to her lips, then crinkled her nose. “What is this? It smells awful.”
“It’s an herbal tea to help with healing,” the Fae woman said towering over Jessica. By the glare the woman gave Jessica, Ali didn’t have the impression this was a request.
“Yes, but what’s in it?” Jessica pressed.
When the Fae woman frowned, Red walked closer and took a whiff of the stuff. His face contorted into disgust, then he schooled his expression. “It’s fine. You can drink it.”
“Easy for you to say.” Jessica sniffed it again.
Red crossed his arms. “It’s super aloe you big baby. Just drink it.”
Jessica wavered, then held her nose and chugged the glass. The Fae woman took the cup with a satisfied nod as the other Fae woman finished wrapping Jessica’s foot.
“I feel funny,” Jessica said. One of her elbows slipped from under her, and her head slid onto the couch.
Ali rush to Jessica’s side in seconds, her mind consumed with the possibility of poison. “Jessica?”
“Don’t be mad,” Red said. “There’s a sedative in the tea.”
Jessica blinked a few times. “You’re a jerk.”
Red sighed. “I know.”
“Ali, tell him he’s a jerk,” Jessica said as her eyes fogged.
Relieved it wasn’t something sinister, Ali nodded. The struggle for consciousness didn’t last long. Within seconds Jessica’s eyes closed and stayed shut.
Ali frowned. “You could have warned her.”
“Yeah,” he said smiling, “but she wouldn’t have drunk it.”
Jessica dozed, looking relaxed. Ali considered asking for some tea. Sleep wasn’t the most restful as of late. Provided the side effects weren’t crazy, it might be worth it.
“It’ll be entertaining when she wakes up,” Ali said.
Red’s focus shifted away from Jessica. “What do you mean?”
Ali produced the largest grin she could muster. “She’ll murder you for drugging her.”
Red snorted. “That’s certain.”
***
An hour later, after everyone showered, and the Fae moved Jessica to a nearby room, they sat on couches in fluffy bathrobes and listened as their host, Aengus, entertained them.
Aengus was Tuatha de Danann, and Ali found him to be charming. Unlike the Fae who bustled around fetching wine, or healing injuries, Aengus wore a billowy white blouse tucked into tight jeans. His rich brown hair curled at his temples and teased at his deep blue eyes over a devilish smile. If she had to guess, Ali would have pegged his appearance as late twenties. However, this was Leanan’s oldest friend, and recent discoveries suggested she wasn’t a spring chicken.
After Leigh’s previous warning about the Tuatha de Danann, she envisioned them to be akin to a military task force, or no-nonsense creature police. If the typical Tuatha de Danann was stern, then Aengus embodied the polar opposite.
When Aengus first presented himself, Red tried to broach the topic of the Sons of Carman. But Aengus spent quite a bit of energy deflecting the topic until Red dropped the subject. Now, Red and Leigh made faces at each other while Aengus spouted sonnets and played the harp. Ali loved it. Aengus was dramatic in the best ways possible. He sang about wars of the Fae, and romantic affairs between the Tuatha de Danann. In the last hour he’d referred to Ali as ‘pearl,’ ‘his love,’ ‘beauty of the ages,’ and ‘stōr’–which Ali learned from Leigh meant treasure. She didn’t take his proclamations seriously. This seemed to be his usual demeanor since Leanan received the same treatment.
Ali dozed in the low light and warmth of the room. Leanan requested songs of the Tuatha de Danann for Ali’s enjoyment, though Ali couldn’t have cared what he sung about. Aengus’s soft baritone lulled her towards sleep. It wasn’t until Aengus started into a sonnet about famous weapons that she paid attention.
“From hence came the Tuatha De Danann of the Isles north;
Surpassing sages in the druidic arts;
knowledgeable in lore and clandestine craft;
Of four cities Falias, Gorias, Murias, and Findias.
Falias brought forth the Stone of Fal;
It cries beneath kings to take Ireland;
Gorias brought forth the spear of Lugh;
No battle would sustain against it, or against the man who held it;
Findias brought forth the sword of Nuadu;
No being escaped its blade, nor could one resist its call;
Murias brought forth Dagda’s cauldron;
No company ever went away from it unsatisfied.”
Aengus continued to strum the harp cords, but Ali’s attention drifted. Earlier when she asked
if Aengus’s stories were true, he swore ‘on this lady's love’ they were. Now he sang of a spear that didn’t lose battles, a sword that killed foes, a cauldron of an endless supply, and a stone which appointed rulers.
Ali poked Leigh, who was exchanging a bored glance with Red.
“A spear that never loses battles?” She asked.
Leigh sighed and rested his head on his hand, sounding uninterested. “The treasures of the Tuatha de Danann. It’s a tale from when our ancestors ruled Ireland. It’s the magic we learned, and different items used in battle.”
“What about using them now?” Ali asked.
Leigh frowned but considered her question. “Other than the stone, I’m not sure those items exist anymore.”
“What happened to them?”
“The stone is in the great hall of the Tuatha de Danann as a decorative piece. We moved to a parliamentary system hundreds of years ago and no longer have kings.” His nose scrunched. “The other items were probably destroyed.”
“But if the stone is still around, don’t you think the others might be?”
The harp stopped. Aengus regarded them with interest. “The other treasures exist.”
Red rubbed at his eye and shook his head. “Let me guess, they’re stuck in the otherworld with the Tuatha de Danann.”
Aengus smiled. “I’m Tuatha de Danann, and I’m not trapped in the otherworld.”
“Yes, well, you live in your mother’s home,” Red said as though it was obvious.
At Ali’s confusion, Leigh leaned close and whispered. “Aengus tricked his father out of possessing this palace. That’s why he’s not in the otherworld.”
Ali had many questions about Aengus’s trickery, but Leigh pulled away from her.
Red yawned. “The treasures won’t be in the human world.”
Aengus’s gaze shifted to Leanan who was sitting quietly in an oversized armchair. He appeared to consider her, as Leanan’s eyebrows shifted suggestively. An accusation and question hung on the air. Their long commute to Aengus’s home might be more than a search for safety.
“Do you have one of the treasures?” Ali asked Aengus.
