Standing in the hall, Gaelyn remembered her uncle ruling from the Chair of Trees, the Elm Queen’s throne. Like the Summer Court, which she only visited the once as a child when they went to collect Ian to come live in Elm, the walls here were verdant with greenery. Vines grew, intertwining in the branches of many great elm trees. The room had elms for walls and moss as a floor. It smelled of life and fury … Gaelyn looked around in shock. Fury? Death. War.
“I’ve returned Ian,” a silky voice like water lazily wandering in a small brook came from the throne dais. Her hand brushing the intertwined vines that formed the arms of the throne, Summer Queen stood to one side of it. A smile that was never relaxed or friendly barely stretched her too perfect face. Her hair moved in waves of Summer Queenly green, winding and knotting, unknotting and curling in a new pattern.
“Monad, eh?” Summer stepped off the dais. Behind her Ian stood, his eyebrows lifted. Gaelyn couldn’t decide if he was trying to warn her or if he was puzzled.
Gaelyn shot a glance at Monad. The unicorn’s mouth stretched in what Gaelyn thought was a grin. “You’re working with Monad?” Gaelyn asked Summer.
Summer laughed. “I suspect the unicorn would like me to, wouldn’t you?”
Monad stepped forward. “I can offer you Elm. Surely the Summer Queen deserves a new Court?” She ducked her horn in what could be interpreted as a bow.
Gaelyn knew Summer was nearly unparalleled in all the Fae Courts in her avarice. If the Fae Queen joined with Monad, Gaelyn was in more trouble than she could handle.
Summer chuckled. “My sister brought me an interesting tidbit of knowledge. You’ve been very busy hunting down a certain Dr’gon Fang. Do I feel its presence? Are you offering to share The Fang?”
Monad hesitated.
Summer went on. “You threatened the life of my son. You should pay dearly for that.” She strolled forward until she was only feet from Monad. Then she laughed. “But I gave him away to Elm years and years ago. Why should I care?”
“Exactly!” Monad said. “The Fang will give us unmatched power.”
“Us?” Summer said. “I recall the history. The Fang was secreted to protect the Dr’gons, but more importantly to wait for a Fae wizard to make its full powers come back to life. I rather think the ‘Us’ you need is you and Elm. Why would I not prefer that the ‘Us’ be Gaelyn and I?”
“I have the Fang, not Gaelyn,” Monad jabbered a little too quickly. It almost felt that for once the unicorn was a little afraid. Gaelyn wondered what she feared. Summer? Why? “Now that I have her here in Elm Hall the Prophecy is almost fulfilled. I hold The Fang; I’ll take the Elm’s power. I will control the Fang. No one else.” But there was something in the unicorn’s voice that was not as sure as her words were. Monad was either lying or leaving something out. And Summer might well know what it was.
“Let us say you are right. How would you take those powers?” Summer paced past Monad, giving Gaelyn a haughty look. “Elm’s Queen is not impressive, is she? Maybe you have a way to force her to give up her power? To work for you? I don’t see it.” She paced back past Monad, and doubled back again, her back once again to the throne and Ian. Monad watched her closely.
Summer smiled and glanced behind. “I would think she’d be more likely to give everything to me since I have her childhood friend, my son.” Summer turned and pointed to Ian, who had not moved.
“Your Majesty.” Gaelyn nodded to Summer. “Monad is a liar. She betrayed the Fae once before. She is no friend to us.”
Summer walked back to the dais. She faced her son, then she turned around. “Monad, you are still a fool. You used the Jinn’s tight family bonds to persuade them to attack Elm Court and to lure Gaelyn to you. Clever. But Fae have tight bonds too. I may have sent my son away, but he is my son. You threatened him!” Her voice roared out like a sudden summer flood. “No unicorn threatens mine.” She took a deep breath, a sigh. “I wager you are worse than a liar, Monad. We will destroy you.”
Monad kicked the Fae she held, shoving the woman at the Queen. The hostage flew through the air as if she was a fragile leaf instead of a nearly six-foot tall Fae. This was so unexpected that Summer did not have time to react. The Fae slammed into her, nearly knocking her over. She shoved her away, sending the Fae to the floor on his face.
Summer laughed. “That is the best you have? To offer me one Fae?”
Monad held up the Dr’gon’s Fang, which chose that moment to shine all its rainbow colors.
Gaelyn swallowed a gasp. No use trying to convince Monad that the Fang would not work.
Monad tossed the Fang in the air and caught it as Summer watched its arc. So fast it seemed she had not moved, Monad stood next to the Summer Queen. “Ally with me, or I will … use the Death in the Fang on your son. See how it responds to me. It is mine. You are right to think I lie. I seek to take not just Elm’s power, and I will succeed. Maybe I don’t need you.”
Summer snorted. “I don’t feel your power over the Fang. Perhaps the sparkling Fang is a mirage you’ve created. Perhaps you still have rituals to perform on Gaelyn to claim The Fang’s power, and you fear my interference.”
Monad shrugged, then ducked and thrust the Fang into the Fae she had thrown. The guard shrieked staring down at the crystal fang piercing the exact center of his chest. The wound was fatal. The sound of his pain tore at Gaelyn’s heart. She fisted her hands knowing that without Hazel or Silkkie she couldn’t heal the Fang’s wound fast enough to save the guard. No matter what Monad thought, Great and Mighty had said the Fang needed both a Fae wizard and a Dr’gon. Gaelyn knew now, to the bottom of her heart, that she and Hazel were that pair.
“Do you two really want to argue with me?” Monad asked. She motioned with her horn for Summer to stand away from the Elm Court throne. “Now, I think it would be best if I take this Court and yours.”
“Think you can do it?” Winter’s ice-hard voice growled out. Summer’s sister walked from behind the Elm throne.
Summer and Ian whirled around to watch the Winter Queen. Gaelyn’s stomach clenched. Winter was twice as ruthless as her sister.
“I know I can. I’ll take all your Courts.” Monad held the Fang out in one paw. “Remember. I not only have the artifact with a greater power than either of you ever hoped to have, but the key to making it work.” She nodded at Gaelyn.
Summer and Winter both looked at Gaelyn. Winter asked, “You would count on our niece to give you power over us?” The almost caring tone to her voice made Gaelyn’s skin crawl, but at the same time she hoped that maybe the sister Queens would support her.
Monad laughed. “I think anyone would give me power over you two. You have murdered, stolen, and cheated. You make me look like an angel.” Her voice fell to a fake whisper. “You even sent your spy to the Dr’gon Realms. When your spy was almost caught, you called her back and hid her. What will you do to Jeschen for returning to help Cl’rnce instead of remaining hidden? Are these the actions of loving sister queens?” Her voice held as much venom as sarcasm.
The Hall was silent. Summer did not move. Winter lifted an eyebrow. Gaelyn thought Monad had just confirmed that Jeschen was the spy, but how was that possible? Fae could not cross the planes without a separate magickal source.
Fear that the Queens had always intended to betray her made Gaelyn ask, “Why would you send a spy? Is Monad right? Are you after the Fang for yourselves?”
Hazel stared at the spot where Gaelyn had stooped and vanished. Looking back at Cl’rnce and Great and Mighty, Hazel asked, “So, will you stay here, or will you come help save my Wizard Partner?” It seemed so normal to say the words. None of her fury at Gaelyn’s secrets crept in. Whatever lies Gaelyn had told, it didn’t matter. Besides if Great and Mighty’s translation of the scroll was accurate, Gaelyn was meant to be Hazel’s ally and help. Hazel couldn’t let the friend she’d always trusted be slaughtered by the unicorn, no matter what. And together they would save Hazel’s drive-me-crazy brother.
Cl’rnce snorted. “That was not really a question. More like a Hazel order. And I feel pretty okay, by the way. Good enough to do this.” He dragged air into his lungs and then spit out a flame that caused the dirt at Hazel’s feet to glow. It was encouraging, but Hazel heard the wheezing in his chest. He was still in so much danger.
“That’s new.” Great and Mighty hurried to the shining dust. “What did you do?” She held up a hand. “Don’t tell me. Let me guess.”
“No!” Hazel yelled. “There is no time for the pair of you and your Look-What-I-Can-Do games. Say it in short specific sentences. What does the glowing dirt mean?” She glared at Great and Mighty who shrugged.
“No clue,” Cl’rnce said.
“As always, clueless,” Hazel snapped.
“I know,” Jeschen said. “I am Fae after all, with a touch of Jinn, and I know both magicks. So I know.” She waited, her eyes skipping from Hazel to Great and Mighty to Cl’rnce.
“Go on,” Hazel said trying to leach the irritation out of her voice. She was certain the part about Jeschen being part Jinn was important. After a moment’s quick thought, she knew why. It explained how Jeschen could travel from the Fae plane to the Dr’gon realms.
They already had Silkkie for that, but Hazel couldn’t see her. Typical that when Hazel needed the cranky Silkkie, she wasn’t around. It was hard to entirely trust either Jeschen or Silkkie. But Silkkie would protect Gaelyn, and for some reason Jeschen seemed to want to help Cl’rnce. The two together could be a sure way to get to Gaelyn and Cl’rnce. Amazingly the two people she thought were her enemies might turn out to be the way to save Gaelyn, the Fang, and Cl’rnce.
Right now, she would trust the Jinn who wasn’t hiding somewhere.
Clearing her throat, Jeschen said, “We can use the glowing dust to track Gaelyn. I hate to say this, but I can sense that Cl’rnce is sicker than he lets on. I am particularly good at sensing health in other creatures.” She paused for a second. “I know this will sound like I’m making it up, but along with his more fragile health, his eyes are fixed on the glowing trail. I am pretty sure he now has that rare ability to track a moving trail. Kind of like he can sniff out any food crumbs left behind even if they bounce from plane to plane or from place to place.” A small smile lifted the corners of her mouth, making her look even more like someone’s nice old grannie.
“Okay, but tell me why you are here. I’m pretty sure you didn’t poison Cl’rnce. I think you tried to save him. So, you aren’t an assassin. But, you are Fae, even if you are part Jinn. The Fae were banned from the Dr’gon Realms. Why did you come if it wasn’t to harm the Primus? And make it fast,” Hazel said.
Jeschen hung her head again. “I’m a spy. The Summer Queen sent me to find Gaelyn.”
Clenching her paws so she didn’t do something very rash, Hazel asked with gritted teeth, “Spying! Why are you spying on Gaelyn?” So many possibilities flew through her head. Jeschen could be checking up on Gaelyn to make sure she still served the Fae.
“The Summer Queen is very fond of spying and dedicated to knowing everything that goes on around her, and … her son. Not through me, but she learned that the unicorn was renewing her war on the Dr’gons. Her curiosity sent me to find out if Monad had managed to get to the Dr’gon Realms. When I told her Gaelyn was there, she sent me back to keep an eye on her. The Fae part of me sensed Silkkie with Gaelyn, even though Silkkie was hidden from all other Jinn. I kept an eye on both of them and found a place for myself in the kitchen. Those Dr’gons, wizards, and knights: they’re pretty special. I hadn’t seen Monad, but I suspected she had been around, so I looked all over, even in that Do Not Enter tower. I didn’t know until too late that Cl’rnce had been poisoned … I had to help, even if Summer Queen had never said I could.” She shrugged.
Hazel decided. There was no time to ask more questions. Jeschen’s eyes seemed to beg her to believe. Since Silkkie was probably protecting Gaelyn when she spoke so poorly about Jeschen, Hazel would take the chance and trust Jeschen. “Let’s get going. What do we do? Sniff the dirt like Gaelyn did?” She grabbed a fistful of glowing soil.
“We could, but the faster option would be for each of us to be sprinkled with it.” Jeschen took a deep breath. “I’m going with you. As both Fae and Jinn, I can help. I will help.”
Hazel nodded. She scooped more dirt and dumped a portion in each hand or paw. When each of the four of them had a bit of the shining dirt, Hazel said, “Now what?”
Great and Mighty said, “I know. A basic transportation spell, with the dirt as the pointer.” She chanted, “Take us to the dirt’s home,” three times before Jeschen could say a word.
Hazel had a bad feeling, but the chant happened too fast to stop. As usual.
When nothing seemed different, Hazel sighed. Maybe this was for the best, because she couldn’t get rid of the feeling they really needed Jeschen to take them across planes. Great and Mighty tried hard, but she still bumbled many spells.
“We’re here,” Jeschen said.
Hazel looked harder. It still looked like they were in the Greater Haven garden.
“Well, about time,” a snarky small voice said. “Where have you slackers been?” Silkkie strutted over to the others and sniffed. “Oh, good idea. Dr’gon-fired dust. That won’t attract Monad in a snap.” She rolled her cat eyes in that irritating know-it-all way she had. “Honestly, I should never have left you.”
“Where is Gaelyn?” Hazel asked, then realized she had not asked the right question. “How did you get here? I thought we left you in …” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Silkkie. Was it before Gaelyn had left? She stared at the thick greenery around them. It was so dense it was like a wall of leaves and vines. It seemed familiar, though hopefully not Haven garden familiar. “Are we in Elm Court?” she asked hoping they had transported correctly after all.
As she spoke, their surroundings blurred and the wall of green seemed to thin. She could make out individual plants at last. Towering above them she recognized the ancient trees of the forest that circled the Fae in Elm. Hazel breathed a little easier since Great and Mighty’s spell had worked for once.
“What are you doing here?” Jeschen asked the little cat-Jinn.
“Complicated. I came ahead of you to find help.” Silkkie looked like she was a hero.
Dr’gon-fast, Hazel swooped her up. “What are you up to? Help? There’s no one here. And where is Gaelyn?”
“Elm Hall with Monad,” Silkkie said. “The help we need, the rest of the Elm Fae army stands around you right now. They can see you, but you can’t see them. Gaelyn protected them with invisibility when Monad took Gaelyn to the Court Hall. I think Gaelyn is counting on her Fae army to join her.”
Hazel wasn’t interested in long explanations of what had happened. She simply wanted to get to Gaelyn and capture Monad, to do whatever it took to make Gaelyn and Cl’rnce safe again.
“The unicorn can see you even now,” a voice said from close to Hazel. “We are sure our Queen wants us to follow undetected. We were about to do that when you appeared.”
“So, we go to the Court and get the stupid unicorn,” Cl’rnce said.
Great and Mighty stretched out a hand and pulled it back as if she’d touched something Hazel couldn’t see. “I can cast an invisibility spell on the rest of us. The problem is that I can’t be sure once I do it that we’ll be able to see the Fae, or they’ll see us. That could make things complicated.”
“I agree,” Hazel said. “Skip making us invisible; I don’t want to chance the Fae army not being able to see us.”
“Follow us, then,” the invisible Fae said.
Hazel rolled her eyes, but Silkkie piped up. “I can see them. Gaelyn must have left that for me. Follow me and them.”
“Fae?” Hazel asked. “We can’t see you, so please speak from time to time so I am sure Silkkie has you in sight.”
“Don’t trust me?” Silkkie asked. “I’m hurt.”
“No, you aren’t,”
a voice came from beside Hazel. She did not turn, thinking it was one of the invisible Fae guard. But a hand tapped her purple and pink spotted arm. She looked over. “Ian?”
“I’ve come back to bring Gaelyn the army she needs.”
“Help them out,” Silkkie said. “I’m leaving.” She disappeared.
Winter mashed her lips together and glared at Gaelyn. Summer shook her head; neither of them answered Gaelyn about why they would send a spy. After a moment their eyes locked on Monad. Gaelyn looked to Ian for an answer, but he no longer stood behind his mother. Where had he gone?
Monad paced, batting the Dr’gon’s Fang into the air with her horn and catching it in her teeth. For a second, she would look every inch an animal; then, although she retained the pearly skin and unicorn face, the next moment her body would be Fae-like. Looking like a horse-faced Morgu, she stood on two feet, hands flexing long fingers. The changes back and forth were dizzying.
She paused in front of Gaelyn but faced Winter, the more vicious and warlike sister. “Even Elm can’t trust you, can she? I don’t think you’d make such a good ally. I don’t need spies. I don’t need anyone.”
The Queens remained silent. Gaelyn wondered if Monad had missed Ian. She did not act as if she noticed his absence. Had he gone back to bring the Fae army to help? Had Summer sent him, or did he leave on his own?
Monad started to turn back to Gaelyn when a terrible explosion at the back of Elm Hall sent shredded leaves and branches jetting toward Gaelyn, Monad, and the Queens. The Queens’ hands shot up in protective shields. Gaelyn and Monad ducked.
“I, Jeima, pledged to the most high of all Jinn tribes, am here to kill the Elm Queen who kidnapped our Sister Silkkie!” A tall Jinn stomped, causing a quaking in the hall that shook more leaves off the vines and trees, and then he roared. Gaelyn recognized him. He was the Jinn who had tried to kill her before, the one left behind when Hazel brought Gaelyn and the ball of captured Jinn to the Dr’gon Realms. Behind him a dark ball spun into fragments. It was the ball of Jinn she had imprisoned. He’d freed the Jinn from the iron pot in the Dr’gon Realms. She threw up a hand to try to keep the imprisoned Jinn from escaping.
Dragon Bonded: A Bumblespells Novel Page 16
