by J. S. Malcom
Queen Abarrane’s voice brings the room into focus again as the vision fades. She has her back to me as she watches Vintain, who stands within a deep cave of an alcove that was hidden behind the wall. Within it, a giant sphere spins madly above its pedestal, flickering and pulsating as it shoots out arcs of lightning, each time growing darker at its core. Vintain’s eyes bulge with terror as he stands before this thing he can no longer control, or command back to his will.
I walk slowly toward them as a grin spreads across my face. Not of malice, so much as amusement. In the moments that just passed, while in the presence of the ley line, this room no longer existed. Vintain and his queen were of no concern, and they still aren’t.
“Having a little trouble?”
They spin around at the sound of my voice. Neither say anything. They just stare in disbelief as I keep striding forward. Queen Abarrane is the first to recover. She locks her eyes onto mine and points her finger. I don’t know if she expects to still possess magic, or for me to cower as those in this realm do before her. Neither happens.
“How dare you come here,” she says. “How dare you!”
I slow my approach just a little. “Is that all you’ve got? Because I have to admit, this little mouse is kind of pissed off right now.”
Her mouth drops open, then keeps working like a gulping fish as words escape her. I have no doubt that she’s never once in her life been spoken to that way.
“You will stand away from me,” she says. “You will kneel!”
I cock my head and frown. “Seriously? Yeah, no.”
I barely have to gesture to release a rope of blue light. It lashes out, coils around her and she freezes to become a statue of Queen Abarrane, caught with her mouth gaping open.
Vintain stops his desperate attempts to bring the palace Amulus under control. He backs away from it. “Cassie,” he says. “I can help you control it. I can guide you here. You could live like a—”
“A queen. Right, I know.” I take another step forward. “Hey, Vintain. Remember that thing you said about not wanting to hurt me?”
He stares at me and nods, his jade eyes stricken with fear.
“Just so you know,” I say. “The feeling isn’t mutual.”
I lash out, coil him in blue light and leave him frozen with his eyes pinned wide. I turn and start to walk away, and then look back over my shoulder . “Oh, by the way,” I say. “That was for Lauren Flannery. She was a veil witch, in case you forgot. Fuckwad.”
CHAPTER 25
I suspect what I'll find before I even get back to where Vintain said he left Cade and Julia. As I march through the hallways of the palace, fearless now for the first time in Faerie, I encounter way more confusion than resistance. The hallways have all gone dark, and the few guards who stand up against me go down fast. Most of them don’t bother trying. It doesn’t take a genius to quickly realize that I'm not Seelie, I have magic while they have none, and that I'm not in the mood to be messed with. The smart ones take off running.
Like Revlen said, the Seelie troops have grown weak, poorly trained and entirely reliant on magic. Being left to their own defenses means being close to defenseless. Yes, they have swords but, like most bullies, they lack courage. And the halls having grown suddenly dark, combined with the resumed sounds of battle outside, tells them there may not be much left to defend.
I enter the kitchen to find the head servant red-faced and screaming at the servants who remain, although it appears that half of them are gone. “What do you mean they're gone? Changelings can't just disappear!”
A woman cowers before him, her forehead glistening with sweat. “I swear it’s true, sir. They just suddenly vanished.”
The head servant tries again. “Don’t be ridiculous! Only the High Mage can send them back!”
I walk up next to him and clear my throat. He spins to face me, seeing a prisoner he hasn't abused before. “What the hell do you want?”
“We're under new management,” I say. “You're fired.”
His eyes grow wide with fury. “Fired? You can't fire me, you stupid little—”
I press my palm to his forehead and he freezes mid-word, the veins still bulging in his neck. “Hold that thought,” I say. “By the way, it might be a while.”
I turn to the others, many of whom may have been here for years, possibly since childhood. “You guys are half-bloods, right?”
They nod, men and women of various ages wearing confused expressions. One of them speaks fearfully. “Yes, we are.”
She has graying red hair, brown eyes and deep lines in her face. She makes me think of Ellie, and what she'd have ended up looking like if she'd remained trapped here.
“What about Kim?”
“She is a… was a changeling,” the woman says. “She went when the others did.”
A boy steps out at the back of the group. He can't be more than thirteen. “Does this mean we can leave too? I think I remember the way back to Silvermist.”
I want to say yes, that they should be fine. I honestly think that's the case. Still, to be on the safe side, I say. “Maybe wait here for a few minutes. I have a friend who can help you get back.”
*
I stride down the empty hall where only two doors remain closed. The rest still yawn open, and a sense of peace flows through me at knowing those rooms won’t hold occupants tonight. I go to Julia's door first. The magic holding it is no longer in place, and it opens at my touch. The room is empty, of course, as I knew it would be. There's so much I don't know about fae magic, including how a changeling can be created to begin with, but Vintain’s magic can no longer hold them here. Nor can it maintain the doubles he created in our realm.
I go to the bed where Julia sat blankly staring just last night. I sit upon it, taking in the empty walls she’s faced these past few weeks. Somehow, the bed still holds the warmth of her body. A tear rises to my eye, even as relief washes over me at knowing she’s home again. As are the others who were taken. Of course, no one will believe their story, but there’s nothing I can do. No one would believe me either. And while I can’t help but wonder if Julia will ever forgive me for bringing her into this, I suspect somehow she will. The bond between us runs too deep, and we’ve been through so much together. In many ways, we’re one.
“Hello?”
Cade's voice travels weakly through the wall. He must have heard me in here. His reluctant tone suggests that he's both afraid to ask who it is, and too curious to resist.
I go into the hall and throw his door open. “Hey, Scamper. Why are you sitting in here?”
His eyes widen and his mouth drops open.
“By the way, your door wasn't locked,” I add.
He manages to find his voice. “What the hell?”
“Long story,” I say. “Come on, let's get moving. Some people need your services as a tour guide, and I need to free a fucking dragon.”
CHAPTER 26
I follow stone corridors and stairways as I wind my way deeper beneath the palace. There are no windows or torches to light my way, but that’s hardly a problem. With this much magic now coursing through my veins, it’s barely an effort to light up the halls with a blindingly bright pulsating orb.
Soon, I approach what must be the lowest level. I find no more stairways to descend, and only one long tunnel of a hall. What little air there is smells of mildew, and the stone walls drip with condensation. It’s cold down here, colder than anyplace I’ve been in Faerie, reminding me that I’m deep beneath the ground. My breath comes out in plumes of vapor.
I keep walking as creatures scuttle away from the sudden invasion of light. They look like roaches, except they’re at least a foot long and pale gray, with bulbous milky eyes. Despite their size, they manage to squeeze themselves into fissures in the stone to get out of sight. Above me, massive spider webs stretch across the ceiling. Those are inhabited by equally oversized spiders that curl in upon themselves as they too attempt hiding from the light. Shit, if I didn’t have magic I�
�d run screaming. Even with magic, it takes everything I have to hold it together.
Finally, I see what must be the end of the corridor, and at first I think I've reached a dead end. Then I see the runes etched into the stone. No, it’s not the end I’ve reached. It’s a doorway that only the most powerful magic can open, one presumably serving as a barrier against something massive and strong. An inexplicable anger rises inside me, a rage born of the ley line and passed on to me. I let out a roar of anger and thrust out my hand. The wall explodes inward, chunks of rock shooting through the air as dust billows in the wake of that force. No, I don’t need runes or incantations to open that doorway. I have no intention of closing it again.
I step over rubble into a void so dark that even the light I cast before me seems weak. I pull up more magic, increasing the force ten times at least. I launch forth a blast of light to see that I stand within an immense cavern. One, quite possibly, as old as the realm itself. At the far end, the beast huddles with its wings folded down. Its raised tail flicks at the air as it watches me with golden eyes that glow from within. It keeps its head lowered, and its mouth open to reveal rows of dagger teeth. I should turn and run, I know. The human part of my brain screams for me to do so. But something much deeper calls out to me, a force connected to this world rather than my own. Once again, I hear her voice within me.
Go to her, she says. See what they’ve done.
All the same, my blood runs cold. My heart hammers in my chest, even as I keep walking. Slowly but steadily, I make my approach.
Suddenly, the dragon raises its head high like a snake poised to strike. It tries rising up onto its legs, only to get yanked back down again by the massive chains yoked to its neck. It lets out a tortured cry and I see the cause of its pain. Blood gushes from where inward-pointing collar spikes have plunged through its scales. My eyes rivet to the creature’s neck, which is ringed with scars and lacerations. Despite my terror, my heart breaks at the sight. No living thing should be treated this way. Against all sense, I run forward, thrusting out both hands to obliterate those chains.
Just as quickly, I stumble back again as the beast lurches up to full height. It spreads massive wings, flapping them to raise a storm of dust. Bones skitter across the ground at my feet, from what must have been the dragon’s meals. I brace myself for a plume of fire to be launched my way. My heart pounds as I prepare to either run or defend myself with magic. But it’s not me the dragon cares about. In fact, I’m all but forgotten as it suddenly lurches across the cave.
I gasp at what I see. Within a series of alcoves, smaller dragons are held bound by chains of their own. Each of them cry out, their mouths gaping as they try to extend their necks. Blood runs from their collars too, over that already crusted against their scales. Still, they try to withstand the pain, even though they can’t get close enough to the one they need. They’re held bound, and those recessed openings are too small for their mother to fit her head past.
For the large dragon is their mother, of course. They’ve enchained her babies within her view, while keeping them beyond her reach. No wonder she does their bidding. What choice does she have? I wonder how long it’s been this way. Have the Seelie used magic to keep those dragons from growing? My guess is yes, and in doing so they’ve created a scenario of perpetual torture.
I let out another scream, this time one of fury. I thrust my hands out once more, breaking each and every chain. One by one, the baby dragons fly out into the cavern as the mother rises into the air to guide them. Still, they have nowhere to go, their cries of frustration echoing off the walls.
I march forward beneath them, part of me not even caring what happens to me. I pull up more magic, this time more force than ever before. I direct that power across the cavern to where another stone gate remains locked. That barrier shatters, exploding outward. More light floods in, a light I'm sure the dragons view as being much more magical than that which emanates from me. Because that light, although distant at the far end of a very long tunnel, comes from the sun. Daylight means freedom.
More cries echo as the excited creatures fly toward their escape route. The mother dragon circles above, herding her children out of the chamber. I breathe a sigh of relief as they disappear into the tunnel and finally she follows. Then my heartbeat kicks up a notch, and then another, as the mother spins about within the tunnel. Suddenly, she’s flying back at me and I stand frozen with terror. Instinctively, I call up yet more power, this time to defend myself, even as within me a war wages. Can I possibly strike her down after what I just witnessed? And is the power entrusted to me even enough?
At the last minute, I consider turning to run, but I’ve waited too long. All I can do is hold my ground and decide whether to strike or not. The dragon touches down, and I nearly stagger as the ground rumbles beneath my feet. My hair blows back against the sudden gust of wind. The dragon folds in her wings and starts to advance, closing the distance between us. Her nostrils flare as she sniffs in my scent. She parts her mouth to reveal teeth as tall as me. Then she stops, lowering her head as she studies me with her amber eyes. Her pupils, cat-like slits, slowly widen, draw together, and then widen again.
Finally, she closes her mouth and lowers her head even more. She shuffles forward again. Only then do I realize what I’m experiencing. It seems impossible, but I know it to be true. While she’s afraid of me, after all of the cruelty she’s suffered, she’s much too intelligent not to know what just happened. This gentle beast has risked more hurt to come and thank me.
I take a frightened step forward, and then one more. When she continues to wait, I finally work up the courage to close the gap between us. I reach out, and then gently run my palm against her snout. Slowly, she closes her eyes, even as her tail flicks with impatience to be gone. It’s the last thing I expect, but a tear trickles down my cheek.
“Go,” I say. “Please go.”
The dragon needs no more. She opens her eyes again as she backs away. She keeps her gaze on mine until the distance between us is sufficient for her to turn around. Then she launches forward, one thrust of her legs propelling her halfway toward the tunnel. With just a flap of her wings she’s inside and barreling toward the light beyond. A smile spreads across my face, to be replaced by a grin. An unexpected laugh bubbles up within me and I run toward the tunnel too, using my magic to fly myself forward. When I reach the end, I stand at the opening to a mountainside. I gaze out as wings, both giant and small, flap against the sunlit sky.
CHAPTER 27
The horse I took from the palace gallops toward the front door of the Ferndelm estate, where no guards stand watch now to stop me. I guess the word must be spreading fast. Then again, it's also hard not to notice when suddenly all of the magic stops working. Needless to say, it's not a great time to be a Seelie soldier, and I imagine they’ll soon be the ones trying to escape through the Barrens.
I rein in the horse, hop off and go to the door. No, I don't knock. Instead, I throw it open and walk in. But, hey, I used to work here, right?
The house is silent and seems empty as I cross through the foyer and front rooms, from there past the dining room and into the kitchen. That room is empty too, the hearth black and the lights out. Food remains sitting on the counters and prep tables. For one brief moment, I think that Helen, Lily and Mitch must be gone.
Then I remember what they do in this house when the magic falters. They order their servants downstairs, like children sent to their rooms. I grit my teeth and say it out loud. “They didn’t.”
But I know they did.
I find them downstairs, still in their rooms and afraid to emerge. Naturally, they're confused, curious and scared. They've been down there for hours, having listened as the house above went from uproar to silence. Now, they listen with stunned expressions as I tell them that the Seelie have fallen from power. Then they stare wide-eyed as I tell them about my part in it.
Helen is the first to recover. Although, if anything, her eyes grow wider
. “You possess all of the magic in Faerie?”
I shake my head, trying not to laugh, since at first I thought the same thing. “Not all of it. I suspect that would kill me. I’m just the only one who can use it right now.”
I leave out the part about being juiced up like I never imagined. There’s no need to brag. I also suspect that most of the magic is flowing back into where it’s needed to repair the damage done to the realm.
A gleeful grin spreads across Mitch’s face. “What about Queen Abarrane and Vintain? You just left them that way?”
This time, I can't resist a grin of my own. “Well, it wasn't like I had time to put them in the attic. We can figure out what to do with them later. Maybe we’ll start a museum or something.”
Lily bursts out laughing, covering her mouth as if she’s embarrassed. “I'm sorry, but I would have liked to see that.”
“Don't be sorry,” I say. “I would have taken a picture if I could have.” God, she's so sweet. She actually feels bad about laughing at the fate of those who ruined her life. Which is why I gladly risked my own to save her.
We start walking back down the hall toward the stairs. “What happened here?” I ask. “Where is everyone?”
“Lord Ferndelm left early this morning,” Mitch says. “I was grooming the horses when he ordered me to get his ready. He seemed to be in one hell of a hurry.”
Yeah, I bet. “What about Raakel?” It's impossible for me to say her name without screwing up my face, as if I bit into something sour.
“We're not sure,” Helen says. “She ordered us to take food upstairs to the children, just before we were ordered to our rooms.”
“I heard her tell the guards to get her coach ready,” Lily says.
Helen and I seem to reach the same conclusion simultaneously. Her eyes lock onto mine. “Good heaven,” she says. “Please tell me she didn’t abandon her children.”
For anyone else, it would seem impossible, but we're not talking about anyone else. “Did she get a new nanny?”
