by ERIN BEDFORD
I inched closer to get a better look at it. Its arms and legs were as skinny as its torso, which wasn’t much bigger than my pinky. Its fingers were bone thin as were its toes, and its scowling face was as thin as the rest of it. It had long black wiry hair and no clothes or any distinguishing gender parts. Razor-sharp teeth snarled up at me, its big black eyes boring a hole into my face.
I stuck a finger out toward it, and it gnashed its sharp little teeth at me. I jerked my hand back with a girlish “Eep!” causing the winged creature to snicker.
Growling at my own cowardice, my hand shot out as quick as could be and snatched the little shit up. It waved its fists in alarm, its voice a high-pitched noise as it yelled profanities at me in a language I didn’t understand. I brought her, him, whatever it was, up to my face and snarled back.
“I don’t know what your problem is, but you and your little friends…” I glowered at the twittering coming from the branches, little bodies and black shiny eyes becoming visible now that I knew what I was looking for. “Need to knock it the fuck off. I have enough Fae riding my ass. I don’t need you little twigs adding to it.”
I tried to toss the faerie down, but my little speech had pissed it off, and it latched itself onto my hand. I shook it with an impatient growl and then yelped when the little bastard bit me. It smiled up at me with its teeth still locked into my hand.
“Let go, you nasty little faerie!” I grabbed onto its body with my other hand and tried to dislodge it. “Who knows what kind of diseases you have!”
I fell back on my butt when it let go of my hand with a sudden pop. I turned to chastise it for biting me, but the words died on my lips as it licked its chops, smacking them as if I tasted like a double decker chocolate cake with whip cream frosting.
I couldn’t taste that good, could I? I’d never tasted my own blood with much thought before. Chess had said I tasted old when we kissed. It definitely wasn’t chocolate cake worthy. It must have found something it liked because the faerie leapt into the air with a small battle cry.
It would have been cute if it hadn’t been a signal for a whole horde of faeries to come popping out of the surrounding shadows. There had to be at least 100 little brownish-colored creatures, each almost identical to the one who’d bit me, hovering just above their hiding spots. The only distinguishing feature between them was the length of their hair. Some had long hair like the offending nit, while others had short hair. The gender of the creatures was still a mystery.
They watched me with hungry eyes as the first faerie hovered a bit away from where I sat. The horde seemed to be waiting for some kind of sign. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be around when the signal was called.
“Hey, come on now.” I gave a nervous chuckle. “There’s no need for violence.” I searched around me, desperate for some way out of the faerie horde’s focus. Where was a mirror when you needed it? Or a big can of bug spray?
I watched as the one who’d attacked me rattled on in its nonsensical language to the gathering faeries. The rise in its voice and the vigorous gestures of its hands was not foretelling a good ending for me. I had to get out of here before I became as dead as the terrain around me.
While the faerie inspired its fellow Fae, I inched up into a crouched position. My eyes darted to those around me for any telling sign of attack. As the speech reached its crescendo, I took off in a knee-jerking run.
I didn’t look back as the faeries cried out in alarm, or when I heard the rattling of their wings beating together as they chased after me. A few soon caught up to me, pulling on my hair and nipping at any exposed skin they could.
I put my hands up, swatting at them as my legs began to ache from over exertion. Though I hadn’t run far, my body was telling me it was at its limit. I really did need to join a gym. If not to stay in shape, then so situations like this didn’t come up again. Then again, when was I ever going to be chased by a horde of faeries again?
Hopefully, never.
I could feel myself slowing down as more of the faeries crowded around me. They bit and pulled at my arms and legs as they tried to knock me to the ground. The thing that got me, though, wasn’t my exhausted legs or the nasty winged Fae, but a rock. A fucking rock hidden in the shadows.
When I fell, I fell hard. My knees hit the ground in an explosion of pain that rocketed up my back. The moment I was on the ground the horde came upon me. The weight of them kept me from being able to turn over to fight them off. All I could do was curl into a ball and try to protect as much of myself as possible.
Shit. Their teeth hurt. It felt like millions of tiny needles being jabbed into me at the same time, taking bits of me here and there. They were going to kill me and there was nothing I could do about it. No Mop and Trip to talk their way out of it. No Chess to pop in and out again. Not even the UnSeelie Prince to save me.
Hell, I’d have taken Alice or even the shadow man at that point. Some kind of Fae intervention. Anything to make it stop.
Then it hit me.
I was Fae. Well partly. I could make it stop.
I stopped the satyrs, didn’t I? I didn’t even know I was Fae then. I wasn’t a helpless damsel in distress who needed saving. Being part Fae had to mean something, didn’t it? I had to have some kind of power, besides going between worlds. Otherwise, why would the shadows want me to join them?
As I began to believe in myself, in my own ability to save myself, I could feel something rising up in me. The need to save myself. To make the faeries stop. It pressed against my insides trying to get out. It reminded me of the magic in my little fantasy about the prince. It pushed itself to the limits of my essence and then all of a sudden, like a dam breaking, it rushed out of me, tearing a scream from my throat.
Tiny winged Fae were thrown across the dark, hitting the ground and trees with a thud. Though it hurt to do so, the moment the weight let up, I tried to move my body. My eyes peeked out to prepare for a counter attack, but the faerie didn’t try again. The ones who weren’t knocked out kept a wary distance as if afraid of me and my power.
Power. My power. I didn’t know how I made it happen. If it was because I was under duress or because I wanted it to happen, either way I was getting out of here.
I grimaced as I pulled myself to a standing position. The bites were bleeding onto the ground and onto my clothes. I glared into the grey veil, the watching faeries flinched back when my gaze passed over them. Satisfied they wouldn’t attack me again, I began to limp down the path toward the palace.
With the faeries at my back, it didn’t take long to get to the end of the path and the beginning of another hedged maze. I plopped down onto the ground with a groan. Not another obstacle.
I was tired, sore and hurt. I wanted to go home. Lick my wounds. Change clothes at least. Not fight my way through something else. Glancing down at the tiny wounds on my body, I decided to inspect the worst of the damage before trying my hand at the new area.
It wasn’t as bad as I thought. There were mostly just some scratches and shallow bites here and there. Some deeper than others. They must have been trying to taste more than maim. It was good for me, but still a little disconcerting.
Would they come after me again?
I was pulled away from inventorying myself when rustling from the hedges made me tense. No more. There was no way I could endure another fight so soon.
As I prepared myself for another attack, I hoped my new power would come when called, but sagged when a familiar brown and white face popped out from around the corner.
“What have ye done to yerself now?”
20
Painting The Roses Red
I TRIED TO make my face contrite as Mop patched me up, but I didn’t have the energy. Maybe it was the blood loss, or maybe I just didn’t give two shits about what anyone thought anymore. It was probably a little bit of both. I did try to listen to Trip as he told me what happened to them after I was arrested.
“Trip wanted to stay and rescue, Lady, Trip did!�
�� Trip grabbed my arm, causing me to groan as he tried to make me understand. “But Smiling Cat showed up and said we’d get in trouble if the queen caught us too. Said we should leave it all to him, so Trip and Mop went back to the Smiling Cat’s house, though, Mop complained an awful lot, Mop did.”
I gave the opalaught a weak smile and patted him between the ears. “It’s all right. I would have done the same. If you’d gotten caught as well then who would have been there to tell Chess to rescue me?”
“Fat lot of good that did.” Mop growled, shoving his bandages back into a small pouch at his waist. “Look at the state ye be in! Tore to pieces by thems faeries, ye hair’s a complete wreck, and where be that damn cat?” He waved his arms around. “Nowhere. Just like always. Not worth a lick, that’s what he be. I told ye.” He shook his finger at me. “I told ye he couldn’ be trusted.”
I waved him off with a hand as I moved to stand back up. “It wasn’t entirely his fault. He got me out of the Seelie Court, but where he went afterward I don’t know. He never made it through the mirror. The rest…” I gestured at my hair and bandages arms. “Is a series of consequences made from my own decisions. You can’t fault him for that.”
“But the Smiling Cat promised.” Trip’s face became serious, his tail rigid behind him. “And when Fae makes a promise, they have to fulfill it. Smiling Cat did not keep Lady safe like he promised, no Smiling Cat did not.” He shook his head, eyebrows scrunched together at the cat’s betrayal.
“I be tellin’ ye before, when are ye going to learn?” Mop chastised Trip. “His word don’ mean nothin’. That cat doesn’t play by our rules, never has.”
“Because he’s a half-breed, right?” I intercepted.
The brownie raised a curious brow at me. “How’d ye find out bout all that?”
“I haven’t just been getting myself in trouble you know. I’ve figured some things out along the way.” I rolled my eyes, stepping over a root poking out beneath a hedge.
“Oh, yea?” Mop sounded surprised that I had been able to untangle some of the mysteries of the Fae world all on my own.
“You bet. I even got the key from Alice.” I pulled the red ribbon out from between my breasts to show them.
“Shh!” Mop hushed me, glancing around with wide eyes. “Have I taught ye nothing? Don’t say her name!”
“Might as well get over it, because I let her out.” I gave a smug grin and then grimaced when a particularly deep bite began to protest from all my moving around.
“Ye did what?” Mop covered his mouth at the loudness of his voice, once again searching for some unseen eavesdropper. He lowered his voice to a low whisper and hissed, “Why’d ye go and do that fer?”
“Because it was the right thing to do.” I placed my hands on my hips, daring him to argue. “Besides, it was the only way I could get the key from her. Though, dealing with the shadows was not something I had anticipated.”
“The shadows!” Trip cried out, his fur sticking up as his eyes darted around.
“That what happened to ye hair? Ye be makin’ deals with those monsters?” Mop growled at me.
“That was actually a misunderstanding I took care–” Mop grabbed my arm and jerked me back before I went around the next corner. “What?”
“Shh!” He put a finger to his mouth. “Listen.”
I glared down at the brownie but did as he said. I angled my head to hear whatever had caused the pair to clam up. A voice. It was humming a sad and depressing tune, barely heard above the sound of water falling. The mixture of music with the sound of the water caused my mind to flashback to the satyrs.
My pulse began to race and panic flooded my senses. Not again. I couldn’t do it again. I was already going to be in therapy for the rest of my life. I’d break if I had to fight more of them off. I wasn’t strong enough. I needed to get out. I needed to-.
Mop tightened his grip on my arm when I tried to bolt. I glowered down at him, giving a violent jerk on my arm.
“Let go. I need to go. I won’t deal with them again. Not if I can avoid it.”
“Calm down, ye ninny. It’s just the queen. This be her garden we be walkin’ through.” He reminded me, his eyes looking beyond the corner toward the sound of the humming.
“The queen? But we’re in the UnSeelie Court, why would she be over here?” I kept my voice to a dull whisper.
“This is our queen.” Trip’s ears perked up to hear her song.
“The UnSeelie Queen? You mean Ma–” I caught myself before I could say her name. Wouldn’t do to give away too much of what I’d learned. “You mean the prince’s mother?”
Trip nodded his head, his face eager to see his queen.
“Why does she sound so sad?” I was curious to see Mab in person. The tall black beauty I’d seen in my vision. What would cause such a fierce woman to sound as if the love of her life had died?
Mop scoffed, giving me an impatient look over his shoulder. “You’d be upset too if you hadn’t seen your only child in over a century.”
I angled my head to see around the corner, my eyes searching for the face that went with the song. What I found instead was a garden of outstanding beauty. I stifled a gasp as my eyes took in the rows and rows of flowers of all shapes and colors. I recognized only a few, and the rest were ones I’d never even seen before.
I liked flowers as much as the next girl. Though, I’d rather have a book over a bouquet any day, I could appreciate the magnitude of what I was seeing.
The flowers were arranged so they made a circular pattern along a stone path. At the center of the circle was a large marble statue depicting an image of Adam and Eve beneath the Tree of Life, but instead of a serpent hanging down from the tree as in most depictions of the story there was another woman peeking around the base of the trunk.
What was a garden this beautiful doing in the UnSeelie Court? Wasn’t it more of the Seelie Queen’s style? And why did the Tree of Life appear eerily like the tree from my vision?
“Are you going to stand there all night?” A voice from behind the statue asked and then I noticed the humming had stopped.
I glanced down at Trip and Mop for some guidance, who shrugged their shoulders. Well, they were a lot of help. I inched out from behind the hedge and made my way along the garden path.
When I came upon the woman whose voice had called out, I was once again stunned by her beauty. The vision did not do her justice. Her hair cascaded down her back in waves of inky silk, which blended into the black of her gossamer gown. The gown hung off her shoulders, exposing her pale white shoulders to the moonless night. Long fingers held the stem of a white rose, the tips of its petals bled into red.
“I have heard a lot of about you, Katherine.”
I watched as she bent her ear down to the flowers as if listening to their whispers. So this is who the flowers report to. It’s no wonder she knew my name already.
“Not all bad I hope.” I tried to joke, but clamped my mouth shut when she turned her gaze to me. The sadness in her song was gone and had been replaced with a condescending tone.
“You have been a busy, busy little human.” She stepped toward me, taking my chin in her hand to examine me as her son had done. “Breaking so many rules in so little time.”
“But I can–”
“I am talking,” she snapped, cutting me off. The commanding sound caused a chill down my spine. For all her beauty she wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
I clamped my mouth shut at her steely gaze.
“Not signing in. Piggybacking on into our world on someone else’s key. Trampling all over that gruesome talking head’s insides. Causing havoc at the Hatter’s. Even crashing my dear cousin’s precious party.” She gave a dark chuckle. “In short, you have caused quite a stir in the Underground.”
I opened my mouth to apologize and then stopped. I had nothing to apologize for. I never meant to end up in their world, let alone cause so much strife. My initial curiosity had landed me in the Underground
, but since then I had tried my best to play by the rules, ever changing as they may be.
“Do not misunderstand.” Mab smirked at my solemn expression. “I find it all delightful news. My cousin has made life stifling with all of her rules. ‘Do not say this. Do not do that.’” Her voice mimicked the White Queen. “It was high time for a change.”
Her personality flip-flops were giving me whiplash. One moment she was cool and indifferent, the next she was a hot blaze of anger, and then she is happy as a clam. It made me wonder how much of the UnSeelie Prince’s personality was inherited from his mother and how much was because of the spell?
“I’m glad I could cause you some amusement,” I said, eyeing the dark queen for any signs of displeasure.
“The thing that makes your appearance in our world all the more fascinating,” she continued as if I’d never spoke. “Is not the reaction from the Underground, but from that of my son.”
Her gaze misted over at the mention of the UnSeelie Prince. “I myself have not seen or heard from my dear boy, but my flowers.” She caressed the pelts, whom gave a sort of sigh. “They keep me up to date of his comings and goings. They had some interesting words to say about you too.”
“He should have alerted the guard the moment you stepped foot in the Underground, but for some reason he did not.” Her dark blue eyes surveyed me. “Why do you think that is?”
“How should I know?” I shrugged my shoulders.
I had no clue why he would do such a thing. He had no problem threatening Mop and Trip, and while he had threatened me as well, it was more of a playful poking than an actual real threat. The prince was as much a mystery to me as he was to his mother.
“He planted these for her, you know.” Her long red-painted fingers stroked the petals of the roses before her.
“Who did?”
“They were supposed to be a wedding gift, but well.” She sighed, snapping the rose at its stem. “You know how that turned out.”
