The Emerald Staff

by Alison Pensy

  “Henry, darling.” The smooth voice cut across the room and carried above the music.

  The velvet viciousness of it made Faedra’s blood turn to ice. Even with her back to the owner, she knew exactly to whom it belonged. She sucked in a sharp hiss, and all the color drained from her face. Her eyes widened in sheer terror, and she froze, as if in suspended animation. She had to hold down her body’s instantaneous reaction to heave, as nausea came over her in waves.

  “Fae? You alright?” Amy asked after noticing her friend’s sudden change in demeanor.

  Faen and Jocelyn knew in an instant what the matter was; the young Custodian was most certainly not all right. Faedra’s glass slipped through her fingers. She had lost all feeling in her hands. Faen caught the glass a split second before it could hit the ground and shatter, potentially spraying them all with Coke.

  “Fae, what is it?” Zoë continued, concern on her face.

  Faedra was stock-still, her mind whirling. What was she doing here? How did she know her father? Oh, God, her father. At that thought, the shock and fear turned to outright fury in a single heartbeat, the ice in her blood melted and started to boil instead. How dare she go anywhere near my father. The light bulb in the sconce beside her shattered and sparks rained down on her friends.

  Her friends flinched at the tiny explosion and their eyes widened, a blue light reflected from them back at her. Warm hands encompassed hers and curled her fingers closed. She felt the warm breath in her ear from a whisper she could barely comprehend.

  “Not here, Faedra, not now.”

  She looked up at the face of her Guardian, searched his eyes and saw only compassion and concern there. He still had his hands curled around hers, closing off the ability to use the power she wanted to throw at full force across the room.

  Faen leaned in again, brushing his lips against her ear so only she could hear. “There are too many people who could get hurt.”

  “Whoa, Faedra, where did you get those glowy blue things? I want some.” Amy’s boyfriend blurted, snapping her back to reality.

  What was she thinking? She was standing in a room filled to bursting with family and friends and she had almost discharged her energy without even giving a second thought to the carnage she could have caused. She turned to Amy’s boyfriend and gave him a nervous smile.

  “Uh, will you excuse us?” Faedra said, grasping Faen by the arm and dragging him across the dance floor as far away from the recently arrived party guest as possible.

  “Well, it explains why she persuaded Dad to hold the party here instead of at the house. She wouldn’t be able to get past the wards.” The young redhead hissed as she dragged Faen towards a darkened corner behind the DJ.

  “What the hell is she doing here, Faen?” she asked as she peeked over Faen’s shoulder to make sure her father was still okay. He was chatting with his Halloween family, his face a picture of happiness. He had his hand nestled in the small of the woman’s back, looking like it was quite at home there, and Faedra thought she was going to be sick again. Her stomach was not coping well with the vision unfolding in front of her.

  “I am sure we will find out soon enough,” Faen replied, looking no less disgusted than she herself did. “I doubt she will try anything here, there are too many people and it would bring her too much unwanted attention.”

  “I want her dead, Faen. If she threatens my dad, I’ll kill her myself, scene or no scene.” The bulb above her flickered. Faen looked at it then took his charge’s face in his hands.

  “Faedra, you have to control your power, you could do a lot of damage if you let it get away from you.” His eyes held a strong look of concern. Faedra could feel the tingling sensation of her energy crackling beneath his fingers and she saw the nervousness on his face. She knew he could hardly blame her. The anger that roiled off her in waves was more than justified, but in the same token she could tell he was trying to figure out how to keep this potentially deadly situation under control. There were just too many people here who could get hurt, and she wasn’t one hundred percent sure that she had the power to control the anger held towards the person who had just joined the party. She had to try.

  Faedra held his gaze, her face feeling the comfort and warmth from his hands. She felt at home there. The crackling sensation beneath Faen’s palms ebbed away, and he blew out a sigh of relief.

  “It’s okay, Faen. I think I’ve got a handle on it now.” Faedra whispered, not taking her eyes from her Guardian’s. She took a couple of deep, calming breaths and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to visualize dispersing her coiled up energy throughout her body. It was working, until she opened her eyes again to see her father approaching them with his new girlfriend in tow.

  “Oh, God. Faen they’re coming over. I don’t think I can do this.” Faedra’s voice was a hushed shriek of desperation. She watched her father jauntily lead the woman across the room. She, in stark contrast to him, moved with the sleekness of a panther stalking its prey. Her long black hair shone to perfection with a slash of silver running through it, and not a strand out of place. Her flowing slinky black dress clung to every perfectly formed curve on her body, she made a perfect Morticia. This woman exuded grace and power, couldn’t her father see how dangerous she was?

  “Breathe, Faedra, you have to control your power. I am right here with you.” Her Guardian reached down and took hold of her hand, entwining his fingers with hers, and gave them a reassuring squeeze.

  “But… she killed my mother, and made me watch countless times. How can I possibly be civil to her?”

  Her father and his guest reached them before Faen could answer. All he could do now was provide moral support; his thumb brushed across his charge’s hand in an attempt to soothe her.

  Her father was beaming with joy as he embarked on the introduction he had been eager to make all week long. The woman by his side, the woman he had a loving arm around, gave Faedra a sardonic smile as she leaned into her father’s embrace.

  “Faedra, I would like you to meet Anna,” Henry announced with obvious pride in his voice.

  Faedra couldn’t do it. It was taking every ounce of self-control she possessed from flooring the woman right there with all the energy she contained, and all the energy she could draw from the environment around her. She just could not be nice to this woman.

  “We’ve met.” Faedra replied. Trying to mask her fury behind a blank expression.

  Henry looked a little deflated for a moment but soon recovered.

  “Hello, Anna,” Faedra almost spat the words at her dad’s girlfriend.

  “You two know each other?” Henry asked, trying very hard to brush off the animosity he could feel from his daughter.

  “Let us just say that we have the same interest in a certain book,” Anna replied, her sardonic smile turning to one of pure innocence when she noticed Henry looking between her and his daughter.

  “Oh, is it one I would know?” Henry asked.

  “I don’t think so, Dad.”

  “Ah, one of those girlie vampire books?”

  Faedra raised her eyebrows at her father in surprise, what would he know about girlie vampire books? But her thought was quickly distracted.

  “It is good to see you again, Faedra,” Anna continued, her voice like velvet but with deadly undertones. She held out her hand in a show of politeness for Henry’s sake.

  Faedra looked at the proffered hand like it was covered in cockroaches.

  “Faedra, what on earth has gotten into you? Stop being so rude, I brought you up better than that. Anna is my guest and, as such, you will show her some manners.” Henry chastised his daughter when he realized from the look on Faedra’s face she would rather eat worms than shake his girlfriend’s hand.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “It is alright, Henry, Faedra must have her reasons. I imagine it must be hard for her to see you with another woman after all these years.” Vivianna tried to make her voice sound understanding, and to Henry’s ears it wa
s, but all Faedra could hear was the condescension that she knew was aimed at her.

  The young Custodian narrowed her eyes at her mother’s murderer. If she didn’t get out of here straight away, something bad was going to happen. She could feel herself losing control of her power. Faen had already dropped her hand; she was so electrically charged she’d shocked him. She admired the fact that he didn’t even flinch, knowing the jolt must have hurt.

  “Excuse me, I need some air,” Faedra said as she pushed passed her father and Vivianna, and headed for the exit.

  “Faedra!” Her father’s voice was stern and reprimanding.

  “Not now, Dad.” Without so much as a backwards glance, she tossed her words behind her with as much insolence as she could muster.

  “You better have a bloody good explanation for your behavior, young lady,” Henry responded, quite taken aback by how out of character his daughter was acting.

  Faedra closed her eyes and dipped her head in shame for a split second. She couldn’t remember the last time her father had the cause to be angry with her, and angry enough to swear either. Of course, she could not explain her obvious aversion to his new girlfriend but that was the least of her worries right now. As she picked up the pace to exit the room before she caused irreparable damage to life and property, she could hear her father’s flustered attempt at an apology on her behalf. Snorting in disgust she lifted her head in indignation and kept on going. She would never apologize to that woman even if her life depended on it. Her anger was overwhelming. If she didn’t discharge some of her energy soon she felt like she would explode, she was hanging onto it by the skin of her teeth.

  “Faedra wait, where are you going?” Faen had stayed with her when she left, she could sense him behind her, but he’d had the good sense not to get close enough to touch her. The energy aura that surrounded her was bright blue now. Luckily, only his fae eyes were sensitive enough to see just how much danger everyone in the room was in.

  “I need to get rid of some of this…” she looked around to see if anyone was listening. They weren’t. “Energy.”

  She burst through the back entrance of the pub and into a small courtyard. The cold wind from the storm whipped around her. She welcomed the chill on her face but it did little to calm the pulsing sensation flowing through every cell in her body.

  Faen followed her into the courtyard and closed the door behind him. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the dark, but when they did, she could see they were alone outside. The occupants of the pub could be seen through the windows that lined the back wall, but she doubted they could be seen from inside. Faen stood a few feet away from his Custodian, and Faedra could sense he was still a little nervous of the power she was battling to control.

  “If I can divert my energy away from this hand, can you glamour us?” Faedra asked, holding out her right hand. The warning tingle from her ring was weaker now that they were further away from the danger, but even standing right next to evil, Faedra had hardly noticed the ring’s presence, the force of her own energy had been so great.

  “Yes, but what do you plan to do?”

  “If I don’t unleash some of this energy, I think it will eat me alive. I can’t control it for much longer. There’s a thunder storm, no one will notice a few extra bolts of lightning.”

  Faedra held her hand steady and closed her eyes. She gritted her teeth and concentrated with all her might to push the energy up her hand and above her wrist. When she was sure that she would not shock her Guardian, she opened her eyes and looked at him.

  “It’s okay to touch me now, but please hurry.”

  Faen took a step forward and stretched out his hand towards hers. He touched the tips of his fingers to hers and made them both disappear from any stray human eyes that may be watching.

  “Okay,” he whispered.

  It was not a moment too soon. Faedra reached her left arm above her head and let go of her self-control.

  Several bolts of lightning later Faedra crumpled to the floor, her energy expended. Faen moved closer to help her up. With his warm hands clasping hers, he pulled her up off her knees.

  “Are you alright?”

  Faedra looked into his concerned blue eyes and nodded. He sighed in relief.

  “You had me worried for the first time in twelve years. I have never seen you so… out of control. Are you sure you are alright?”

  Faedra was finding her voice at last. “I’m fine, Faen, but I have to admit I frightened myself. I didn’t know I could wield such a force.”

  Faen continued to search out her feelings through the gaze he lay upon her. He was not convinced, she could tell. She attempted a weak smile to allay his concern.

  “Honestly, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” She touched a reassuring palm to his cheek and he leaned into it.

  Faen planted a kiss to her forehead then moved his hands to surround her and drew his Custodian into a secure embrace, as though she were a lost child that had just been found by her mother. He closed his eyes and laid another kiss on her forehead.

  Faedra soaked up the affection her Guardian was giving. At that moment, the whole world could have disappeared and she wouldn’t have cared. No such luck.

  “Well, well, is this not a cozy scene?”

  Faedra’s ring sent its usual warning tingle through her hand. Her body went rigid in Faen’s embrace.

  “I thought I might find you out here. It would have been a shame if you had blown up this historic establishment.” Vivianna moved out from the shadows where she could be seen by the light pooling outside from the windows. Faedra wondered how long she’d been standing there.

  “What do you want?” Faedra snapped, as she pulled out of Faen’s grasp and turned to face her enemy.

  “You know what I want.” Vivianna’s voice was satiny smooth but no less venomous.

  “I don’t have the book anymore, it is back in Azran being closely guarded. It’s too dangerous for me to be near it, you know that.”

  “My dear Custodian, you know it is not the book I wish to procure from you.”

  “What use is the amulet if you don’t have the book? It’s of no use to you without it.”

  “Now, there is no need to go worrying your pretty little head about such minor details, that is my job.”

  “I will never give you the amulet, I would rather die first.” Faedra cringed at her words even as she said them.

  “Well, of course, you would. That is the only way.”

  Faedra shot an icy glare at the princess standing across from her. She was trying to cover up how stupid she felt about her previous retort.

  “You know what I meant.”

  “Let me make this easy for you, shall I? I will give you one week to make the decision.” The evil glint in Vivianna’s eyes made Faedra’s blood run cold. “You or Henry, it is that simple.”

  “You or Henry, what?” Henry said as he walked out through the back door of the pub.

  Faedra and Vivianna turned their attention to the newcomer.

  “What’s going on, Faedra?” Henry asked, a wary look creeping across his features.

  “Ah, Henry, how nice of you to join us.” Vivianna’s sickly sweet demeanor returned.

  “Dad, please go back inside.”

  “No, Fae I won’t. Will someone please explain to me what is going on out here?” Henry asked, looking from Faedra to Faen to Vivianna, and back again, sensing the frosty standoff between them.

  “Yes, why don’t you tell my father what is going on, Anna, or why don’t you tell him who you really are.”

  “If I am to reveal my true identity, I think it only fair that your father does the same.”

  Henry narrowed his eyes at Vivianna’s sudden change in character.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Faedra shot her father a puzzled look. “Dad?”

  “Oh, Henry, you never told her?” Vivianna’s, oh, so sweet voice would make scratching nails on a chalkboard sound like a symphony.

>   “Tell her what?” He was starting to sound exasperated.

  “Faedra, darling. Henry is not your father.”

  Faedra’s face paled and a look of confusion replaced the one of anger. “What are you talking about? Of course, he’s my father.”

  The young Custodian’s eyes widened in disbelief as she watched her dad close his eyes and hang his head. He didn’t even try to deny it, and blew out a sigh in a show of defeat. When he looked up again an anguished expression clouded his features.

  Faedra went cold, icy prickles of panic ran down her spine. She searched her father’s face but he was avoiding her gaze.

  “Dad? Why aren’t you denying it?” She could barely get the words out, her throat felt like it had closed up.

  “I wanted to tell you. For so long I wanted to tell you, but I’ve always thought of you as my own little girl, and when your mother died, I just couldn’t ever find the words. You’d already lost so much, I didn’t want to risk breaking your heart even more. As you grew up, it got harder to tell you, until eventually the lie became the truth, and I was content to leave it that way.

  You see, your mother was already pregnant with you when we met and she made it sound as if your real father were no longer living. I was happy to take you on as my own daughter. I love you with all my heart, Faedra, that’s not a lie.”

  Henry brought his gaze to meet hers with his last words, and looked her in the eye. Faedra was almost floored by the sorrow and remorse she saw there, and took an involuntary step back.

  They stared at each other in awkward silence; even though it was only for a split second, Faedra felt as if time had stopped. How many times in one year could her world be turned on its axis?

  Vivianna broke the silence with her smooth but deadly voice. Faedra hadn’t noticed the princess conjure the ruby staff but she now had her long slender fingers wrapped around it. She held her other palm out and mumbled something under her breath. A small round object appeared in her hand and Faedra saw her father’s eyes widen in disbelief.