Faery Tail

by Deborah McNemar

  "The Lady?” Centauri didn't move but Star had the distinct feeling that the pixie had said something important. “The Lady of the Vale? You've seen her?"

  "Yep. I saw her two days ago, staring off toward the Dell of Anwyn. Then she turned and went back into the Vale.” Foxglove shivered and then shrugged. “I like her eyes."

  "Well, let's see about turning you purple.” Star didn't want to ask Centauri the questions that were buzzing around her brain. Foxglove would likely blab them to every creature he met. She held out her hand and the pixie came to stand in her palm, arms crossed and tapping his foot impatiently. “Do you know how to wish, Foxglove?"

  "Star wish or penny wish?"

  "Heart wish."

  "Maybe.” He cocked his head. “Tell me."

  "You need to think your wish very hard. Hold it in your heart and then give it to me."

  The pixie concentrated hard, his little fists clenched in the effort.

  There was a difference between wants and wishes. Wants could usually be obtained with some effort. Wishes were more ephemeral, impossible dreams. Foxglove's wish rose from him, a soft, barely tangible breath of magic and Star's gift answered. The pixie's wings changed first, darkening to the shade of summer twilight. Then his hair and hose shifted, shimmering like a beetle's back from green to soft lavender. When he opened his eyes, Star saw that even they had become a dark, plum purple.

  Pansy snorted, buzzing past his head like a dive-bombing bumblebee. “Very pretty, Foxglove. Now you'll be easy pickings for the scáth."

  "The Ravens of Anwyn will have to learn to move faster if they want to catch me,” he bragged, strutting around Star's hand, admiring himself. “Besides, they show so much as a feather around here and Eithné will shoot them."

  "Have the Ravens been a problem lately?” Centauri wanted to know.

  "No,” Lily answered solemnly. “The Sylvan ráthu keep a close watch on the borders of the Vale. They won't let anything happen to the Lady."

  "I should hope not.” Centauri rose and held a hand down for Star.

  She took it, feeling a flush rising under her skin. She doubted she would ever be able to touch him again without remembering his kiss, his touch. From the look in his eyes, he was remembering as well.

  "Take care, Foxglove."

  The pixie fixed Centauri with a stern look. “Protect her. She's far too important to risk."

  Star took a playful swipe at Foxglove who tumbled away in surprise. “Protect me? I should kick your little fairy butt all over this meadow for that. Protect me,” she snorted again. “I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself."

  Centauri wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her off the ground. He had shifted again, darn it. Star allowed herself to be settled onto his broad back but scowled fiercely at the now purple pixie.

  Lily darted up to place a kiss on the end of Centauri's nose. She whispered something to him that Star didn't quite catch and then darted away. Pansy tossed them a wild grin and a broad wave and followed. Foxglove, however, wasn't finished.

  "Don't be so bloody minded,” he scolded taking a diving swoop past Star's head. “Let him do what he does best and even Eithné says he's the best."

  "Which might be worth more if I knew who Eithné is,” Star snapped back, swatting at him as he made another dive past her head.

  "She's one of the ráthu that guard the Lady of the Vale,” Centauri explained, freezing Foxglove mid-dive with a stern look.

  "She's the best,” Foxglove boasted. “She can even out shoot Gwernen."

  "I will keep her safe, Foxglove,” Centauri promised gravely. “As safe as she will allow me to."

  He caught Star's hand before she could swat him as well and kissed her fingertips. Star felt her bones melt. Suddenly, she didn't want to hit him. All she wanted was to curl into him and give herself up to the pleasure of his company.

  He was ticklish. Star couldn't stop the goofy grin that crept out. The man had a weakness. He wasn't quite so intimidating anymore. It made him all the more approachable and that the most attractive thing she'd seen in a long time.

  "I'm sorry I tickled you,” she offered as Foxglove took the hint and zipped away.

  Centauri turned slightly to look at her, his dark eyes warm. “I'm not. Princess, you have my permission to try to tickle me any time you like."

  She couldn't look away. Who needed coffee or chocolate? That heated look of his was enough to melt her bones. He was making her feel something she had never felt before—desirable. She had always been odd, useless and unwanted. But Centauri looked at her as if she were actually worth something.

  "I just might do that,” she whispered and was rewarded as the warmth in his gaze turned scorching. She could have sworn she could feel flames licking at her skin.

  A quiver went through him and he took a deep breath, looking away. “We had best get moving, Princess. Hold onto me. I wouldn't want to lose you now."

  Star scooted closer and wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her cheek against the smooth muscles of his back. “It'll be my pleasure,” she murmured under her breath.

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  Chapter Twelve

  "Tell me of the Moon Queen."

  Star tensed at the mention of her mother but forced herself to relax. Centauri didn't seem to notice but cantered steadily onward. The forest was thinner here as the land curved around the Vale of Mists. The deep green bowl of the valley lay to their right, partially concealed by drifts of fog. There was no sign that anyone lived there though she had been assured that the place was teeming with life. The Lady and her sylphs were simply very private people.

  "I don't really like talking about Luna."

  It was the kindest way of putting it without seeming too rabidly paranoid. She snuggled closer, relishing the spicy scent of his warm skin. He had been cantering for hours but he wasn't even sweating.

  "Then tell me of your sisters.” He shrugged. “I admit that I am curious about you and this relationship you have with your family."

  "Relationship? What relationship?” Star couldn't help the bite of sarcasm in her voice. Her family was a step beyond psychotic. Who would want to talk about them?

  "My point exactly.” Under her hands, she felt a chuckle rumble through his chest.

  "Don't expect to understand it when I don't,” Star warned him.

  "I don't want to understand them.” He tossed a quick look over his shoulder at her. “I want to understand you."

  Star pondered her family for a long moment and then sighed. “Cripes, the only way you're ever going to understand the weirdness you call my family is if I start back at the beginning."

  "I have time."

  Star mulled it over, choosing her words carefully. “I told you about the prophecy, the one that said that there would be four compass points and that they would save the world somehow."

  "Yes."

  "Well, Luna decided that the prophecy was talking about her and that she was supposed to have four children to balance the power of the realms. The first man to fall to her charms was a Pookah of the Unseelie court. He gamboled his way through two weeks of a heated affair before Luna caught him with another woman and tossed his pony tail out of her bed. Stella has her mother's beauty and her father's capricious nature.” Star hesitated. “I can't say that she's a bad sister, just that we've never really gotten along. We're too different."

  "I can understand that. Go on."

  "The next was another Unseelie, Lunantisidhe. That irascible old gnome somehow fathered a dark beauty with Luna. But Aster craves power, just like her father—and her mother."

  Star fell into the rhythm of the story, the words coming easier now.

  "But Luna's not without her own weaknesses. She left the Unseelie court and, with Stella and Aster in tow, she stopped to rest beside the sea only to fall victim to a Selkie. He's a handsome man, by all accounts, but the lure of the sea was greater than the lure of Luna's bed. He vanished back into the dept
hs but not before leaving a bit of himself behind.” Star smiled. “Unlike the rest of us, Starla's very solemn and responsible."

  "You like her,” he observed softly as he started up a rocky slope. Star held on tight, hoping she didn't do something stupid like fall off.

  "Starla's easier to get along with the rest of us. I never felt like she was judging me,” she admitted. “She always says you've got to follow your own star. No one can choose it for you."

  Star squeaked as he lunged up the rest of the slope to pause at the top. She eased her grip to look around. Behind them, the broken gray stone fell away to the green tops of the trees and the distant hazy green of the Vale of Mists. Before them, the land continued to rise in fits and spurts of terraced stone and thickening woods of oak and maple. The air was thinner here, the chill biting her lungs.

  "And what of your father?” Centauri continued on, slowing to a walk as they entered the woods.

  "My father?” Star was startled. “You mean, you don't know?"

  "Tell me.” He picked an apple from a small tree that was battling for its share of light and soil and handed it to her.

  "My father is Fíon Caílíocha.” Star waited but he made no sign that he recognized the name. She sighed. “His story is far more interesting than mine."

  "Why not let me be the judge of that?"

  "All right.” Star nibbled at the apple. “My grandfather is Clurichaune, the Keeper of the Seelie wine cellars. He's quite a character from what I've heard. I've never actually met him. Well, as the story goes, one night he found himself alone with a bottle of wine. She was a full-bodied vintage, robust and lovely, and she went straight to his—head. He found himself enamored of her and...” Star hesitated, trying to get the words out of her mouth. “He was there and she was there and I suppose it made sense to the old sot."

  "What did?” Centauri asked when she broke off. “What happened?"

  "Ok. Fine. He did the deed with the wine bottle.” Star tried to hide her embarrassment with a nonchalant shrug but nothing could stop the heat that rose under her skin. “My father sprang from the bottle fully formed, so they say. Some call my father foolishly wise and others wisely foolish. Either way, as the Jester of the Seelie court, he became the most powerful person in that realm. Evidently, he heard of Luna's breeding scheme and bartered for a place in her bed. The rest is history."

  Luna had thought it all a joke and agreed without asking what that price was. Free will. It was the only gift he had bequeathed his child, but it was the one thing guaranteed to drive the imperious queen insane. She could command, demand and threaten. In the end, Star would make her own choices.

  "Four compass points birthed of the moon, four anchors and four charms to prevent dark doom,” he quoted solemnly. “Four daughters, four gifts, to anchor the realms. Why doesn't she just say so? Why this tale of wanting to blend the Realms into one?"

  "I think, in the beginning at least, it kept whoever we're supposed to protect against from guessing what she was up to. But somewhere along the way she started to believe that tale.” Star hesitated and then blurted her greatest fear. “Luna loves power, Centauri. If the realms merge, who will rule them? Do you honestly see her giving up her power? I don't."

  "Neither Finnbara nor Ankou is going to accept that,” Centauri warned. He came to a stop, his body tense between her thighs. He was thinking and, from the look on his face, he didn't like what he was thinking. “And even Luna doesn't want to face Arawn if she tries to take control of Anwyn."

  "But between the Mists of Beginning and the Dell of the Dead, there's a lot of Fae Realm for her to muck around in,” Star pointed out morosely.

  "And you have told no one of this?"

  Star bristled at his tone. “Who would have believed me, Centauri? I'm the idiot child. Remember? Luna did her work well long before I figured any of this out."

  "So, it was Luna who spread those lies."

  Star shifted uncomfortably. “I don't know that for sure. It makes sense, though."

  He eyed her thoughtfully, then, with a shake of his head, he started off again toward the rise of stone within the forest's embrace. “A lot of things are beginning to make sense. I am beginning to think I should never have asked you to come here. I can tell you this, Star,” he went on. “No one in the realms knows what she's up to. The minstrels sing the tales because they enjoy those ridiculing songs. They would sing such things of me if they thought they could get away with it."

  Star felt him bunch and tightened her grip on him. He gave a small leap to land on a flat, white stone. His hooves clicked loudly, ringing back echoes from between the trees.

  "Hold on tight,” he instructed. “And keep your body close to mine with your legs in. The way here is narrow."

  Star did as he told her, tucking her legs close to his body and holding on as tight as she could. Centauri laid a hand over hers, squeezing softly in reassurance.

  And then the stone enclosed them.

  It was a narrow ravine, hardly more than a crack in the mountainside. The high walls and the trees that towered even higher blocked out the sun, casting them into cold shadow. Centauri canted his shoulders sideways to keep from leaving his hide on the rough stone that pressed close around them. The crack of his hooves against stone was louder, banging against her ears.

  They broke free of the stone abruptly and Star found herself completely and absolutely entranced. Centauri stopped just within the encircling arms of the box canyon, letting her look her fill.

  It was green. Not just green, Star thought as she slid from his back, craning her neck in a vain attempt to look in every direction at once.

  She was surrounded by a vast and varied green paradise. Trees rose, thick and lush, some of which she had no names for. There were trees with leaves the size of platters and white flowers the size of her head. Berries cascaded, tangled with wild roses. The air was filled with a rich and luxurious perfume, as wild and clean as the thunder of the falls that echoed from the rock face around her.

  "Oh, Centauri,” she breathed. “How did you find this place?"

  He came up behind her, sliding his hands over her shoulders. “By luck. I've never brought anyone here before."

  Star couldn't remember why she had ever been angry with him. He wanted to share this with her. With her. Her smile was decidedly watery.

  "It's the most beautiful place I've ever seen.” She took his hand and tugged him onward. “Show me."

  And he did. He led the way up the narrow canyon, pointing out details. Star listened in silence, trying to absorb it all. He told her of the wild storms that blew in from the sea, of the silence of winter and the pulse of life when spring raised her flower bedecked head. As he spoke, Star heard his love for this place, his determination to protect it and more. She heard, under his words, his loneliness. So, she held his hand and shared the peace of the day.

  The shade of the trees welcomed them and Centauri picked a few oddly shaped, red fruit for her to taste. She nibbled one hesitantly. The juice was sharp on her tongue, dissolving into a heated sweet that rivaled anything she had known. Not as good as coffee, she decided. That was still her favorite addiction. But it was good.

  The line of trees broke against terraced white stone that ringed the base of the wall. A waterfall sheeted over stone to roar into a deep pool. Star knelt and drank. It was warm and as clear and pure as starlight. She sat, turning to find Centauri watching her with an odd expression on his face.

  "If you would like to bathe, feel free,” he said finally. “I need to find something more substantial to feed you than what you've eaten today and I'm sure you would feel better after a bath."

  "But I don't have any clean clothes or even a comb.” She tugged at her hair ruefully. The pixies had done their best, but her hair was still a mess. “I must look like a biker chick on a bad hair day."

  "Bad hair day?” He shook his head, obviously baffled. “I don't think you could have a bad anything day. Just rinse your clothes and bathe
. You'll find that this close to the Mists of Beginning you won't need a comb.” He stepped back. “Trust me. Bathe and enjoy."

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  Chapter Thirteen

  Star waited until she was sure he was gone before stripping hurriedly. It was such a relief to wiggle her toes! She dunked her clothes in the water, swirling them about to rinse as much of the sweat out as possible before hanging them over a rock to dry. Her socks got an extra dunking and she grimaced, laying them beside her clothes. They would likely be stiff as boards when they dried, but at least they would smell better.

  Then it was her turn. With a shout of pleasure, she dove into the pool. The water enclosed her, the warmth caressing her body with invisible fingers as the waterfall pulsed and swirled through the pool. Star dove deep, running her fingers over the polished stones of the bottom before pushing off for air. She broke the surface, tossing her hair out of her face.

  It felt so good! She dove again and again for the pure joy of the feel of the water gliding over her skin. The waterfall rumbled, stirring the waters and casting misty rainbows over the surface. Star dove closer to the falls, feeling the press of the water growing stronger, pushing her back, and the sparkling dance of magic as it swirled through her.

  The shields Centauri had taught her were amazing. She could feel the barrier around her but she could still touch the magic of the world, feel the pulse of it in her blood. She would always be grateful to him, for that if for nothing else.

  She was tired, pleasantly so, when she finally pulled herself from the water. The sun dipped lower and a faint chill edged the air. She knelt on the stone and watched the afternoon light fade. A light breeze teased her, drifting around her, drying her skin. Star kept her eyes on the patch of blue overhead as it darkened into purple twilight.

  There it was. The first star of the evening crept out of hiding and glimmered pale over the rim of the canyon. Star closed her eyes and cast her wish, just as she did every night. When she looked up again, the star still twinkled above her, joined now by innumerable companions.