by M. D. Massey
“Fuamnach? What the hell does she want with them?”
She laughed, displaying rows of needle-sharp teeth. “Oh, I wish I could keep you alive to witness her plans—but unfortunately, I promised to kill you. If it were up to me, I’d punish you over the course of several decades, but the sorceress and the druid—the real druid—want you out of the way. And, they want that rock inside your head.”
I laughed. “Good luck getting at it.”
“Oh, Fuamnach has her ways. She assures me that all she needs is your head to retrieve Balor’s Eye from wherever it hides. Pity to remove such a pretty face from a lovely young body like yours, but I made a pact. By the way, she mentioned nothing about your body. Perhaps I’ll keep it and animate it for my pleasure.”
She moved her hips seductively and rubbed her groin with her free hand. The incongruence and foulness of it all turned my stomach.
“But I can play with your corpse later. It’s time to end you, druid.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? You’re not even going to offer to let me speak a few final words?”
She laughed humorlessly. “This isn’t television, young man. And you certainly aren’t going to live happily ever after.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” I said.
Her eyes grew wide as Hemi’s whalebone spear tore through her breastbone, splitting it with a sickening crunch and parting those disgusting breasts neatly. She gasped in disbelief and shock as he tore it free. The Rye Mother stumbled to her knees, and the Maori leaned close to whisper in her ear.
“That’s for my kiddos. Say hi to Whiro for me, bitch… I’m told he likes to play with his food.”
He spun his spear in a blindingly fast arc, then struck the Rye Mother’s head from her shoulders.
“Took you long enough.” I ripped a length of shredded t-shirt free with my uninjured hand, wrapping it around the bloody stumps on my other hand and wincing at the pain.
“I didn’t want her to know I was coming, eh? It’s not easy for a fella my size to move quietly, you know.” He punted her severed head across the field and smiled. “The old bitch sure kicked your ass, eh?”
“I wouldn’t say that…”
“Oh, c’mon now—just admit you botched it up.”
“Fine. I admit that I greatly miscalculated.”
“Yeah, you did.” He gave me a hand and pulled me to my feet.
“Hey, I honestly didn’t expect the old bitty to be so tough.” I looked around, searching the battlefield for the rest of our party as an excuse to change the subject. “How’d everyone else do? Any injuries?”
“Meh, Sabine is patching Guts and Crowley up, while Jack does clean up. He decided to jump in after most of the fight was done.” Hemi shivered. “He’s been feeding off their life force or something in his wisp form. Creepy as all hell, that one.”
“The Dagda warned me about him. I’m planning to get him out of the way while we finish what we have to do down here.”
“You won’t hear me complaining,” Hemi replied. “Not after seeing him feed on the wounded fae in those fields.”
“Good to know. Let’s go see what’s inside that farmhouse.”
The “farmhouse” was merely an illusion that hid a rocky hole in the ground that opened into a cave. As we entered the cavern, we were overcome by the smells of piss, shit, and rotting flesh. Beyond the entrance, we found several dozen children, bound in chains or locked inside cells behind iron bars. We searched the cavern thoroughly and found another chamber full of small bones and skulls.
It was all I could do to keep from losing it.
Many of the children were malnourished, and all were traumatized. It took us some time to convince them that we meant them no harm. After that, I spent considerable time handing out food and water that I dug from the depths of my Craneskin Bag, while Hemi and Sabine tended to the injured and comforted them as best they could.
Guts stood guard above with Crowley and Ollie. The wizard had taken one look at the children, then he lowered his head and walked back out of the cave.
After we’d sorted them out somewhat, Sabine pulled me off to the side.
“What do you plan to do with the children, now that you’ve rescued them and killed the Rye Mother?”
“Technically, Hemi killed her.” She scowled, unamused. “Fine, I’ll be serious for a moment. You know me, I always crack jokes when I’m upset. Humor is my sole coping mechanism.”
“You left out sleeping around and killing people,” she replied.
I frowned and nodded. “I deserve that, I suppose. Although it is an unfair characterization.” She began to protest, and I held up a hand to stop her. “Please, I’m just glad you’re speaking with me again. Besides, we have bigger fish to fry than picking up the tattered remains of our friendship.”
“True. So, what do you plan to do?”
I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed. “Well, you know Maeve much better than I do. Think she’d let the kids cross back over?”
Sabine shook her head. “No way. Once she makes an oath, she’s bound. Either you come back with the Treasures, or not at all.”
“I could try to catch her on a technicality. That conversation was between me and her, after all.”
“Won’t work. The children are the only real motivation you had for coming down here. Well, that and killing the Rye Mother and Fuamnach. She’s not going to let them come back to earth until she knows you’ve completed the task she gave you.”
I cradled my injured hand and nodded. “Then we have to tuck them someplace safe until I get the Sword of Nuada and the Stone of Fál. By this time, Fuamnach knows we’re coming—and chances are good she’s with the Dark Druid.”
Sabine frowned. “You think she has the remaining Treasures?”
“Oh, I know she does. Lugh told me she’s been trying to gather them to make her big return to earth. Trust me, if I find her, I’ll find the other Treasures.”
“You’re walking straight into a trap.”
“Obviously.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Stubborn fool. Why do you always have to save everyone?”
“It’s a character flaw—or so I’ve been told.”
She patted me on the cheek, and not gently. “Maybe so, but it’s also part of your charm.” She stood back and crossed her arms. “Alright, what do you need me to do?”
“How’d you know I was going to ask?”
“Because you’re a bit of a chauvinist, even though you don’t mean to be. I know you’re going to try to get rid of me before you face Fuamnach, to keep me out of danger.”
Hemi called over from where he sat with the children. “Busted!”
I ignored him and looked at Sabine. “You’re the only one I trust with this, and it has nothing to do with keeping you away from danger.” Liar. “I need you to take the kids to Lugh’s lands, or the Dagda’s farm if that’s not an option. And I need you to take Jack with you.”
She grabbed a handful of hair on either side of her head, and gave a small scream of frustration. Then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and placed a hand on her forehead.
“I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this. But fine, I’ll do it.”
“Thank you, Sabine.”
She grabbed me by the shirt with surprising force, pulling me in close as she growled in my ear. “But I swear, if you get yourself killed before I get back to you, I’ll find a necromancer to resurrect you so I can kill you again myself.”
She shoved me away and stalked off.
Hemi walked over after she’d gone. “All things considered, I think that went well.”
“Hmph. Hopefully, it’ll keep her occupied while we sneak into Fuamnach’s hidey hole and steal the other Treasures.”
Hemi’s face fell. “You mean we’re not going to confront her after all?”
“Sorry to disappoint, but I just can’t risk it. I need to gather the Treasures and get these kids back to earth. If I get killed facing down
Fuamnach, you guys and the kids will be stuck down here forever.”
“Okay, I can see your logic there.” He scratched his nose with a knuckle. “So, what’s your plan for sneaking past her assassins and guards, and whatever she has guarding the Treasures?”
I pointed toward the cave’s entrance. “We have a ringer, don’t we?”
Hemi crossed his arms and smirked. “That’s if you can trust him. I’m still not convinced that he’s not a Trojan horse.”
“I share your concerns, big guy. But right now, Crowley is the best chance we have of pulling this off. And I’m fairly certain that he hates her and the Dark Druid even more than I do. Plus, he hasn’t let us down yet.”
“Maybe not. But are you going to stake your life on the fact that he won’t in the future?”
I sucked air through my teeth and thought a moment before responding. “Life is a gamble, bro. And it’s time to toss the dice.”
I had to wait half the night—or what seemed to be night to us, since it was always gloomy in the Rye Mother’s fields—before I could shift again and heal my hand. I didn’t sleep much, because it hurt like hell, but once I shifted my regenerative powers kicked in. Soon, I was growing nubs where my fingers had been. A few more cycles of resting and shifting, and I’d be right as rain.
Crowley sent Ollie along with Sabine, Jack, and the kids. They were headed to the Dagda’s place in the summer lands, since it seemed the safest place for them to hide out. Ollie’s presence was as much for their protection as it was intended to keep Jack in line. It said quite a lot that I trusted Crowley more at this point than I did the guide Maeve had sent with me.
Then again, Jack had threatened to eat me once… or so Maeve had said.
The hardest part was convincing the children that Ollie didn’t want to eat them. But after they grew accustomed to his presence, they began fighting over who got to take turns riding on his back. The wyvern thought this was all great fun, and—true to Crowley’s description of his nature—Ollie seemed intent on keeping the kids safe.
This assuaged my fears a bit, but I was still concerned that something might happen to them on their way back to the summer lands.
“Stop worrying, silly. Nothing is going to happen to them while that big lizard’s around.” Sabine had snuck up on me while I was lost in thought, planning and scheming regarding how I was going to pull Lugh’s plan off.
“Can’t help it. They’re my responsibility now, and it feels like I’m shirking it to go after Maeve’s toys.”
She patted my arm gently, then backed away just as quickly. “One thing at a time, Colin. You can’t save everyone all at once.”
“I suppose you’re right.” I paused to glance at the kids as they played with the wyvern. Somehow, one of them had figured out a way to use Ollie’s back as a slide, and they were taking turns climbing up his tail and sliding back down again.
I turned to look at Sabine, and wished I hadn’t allowed Maeve to get her involved. That, of course, had been a carefully calculated ploy on the fae queen’s part. She knew that if Sabine came along, I’d have one more reason to complete my assigned tasks… and without taking unnecessary risks.
“Sabine, just take the kids to the Dagda and stay put, alright? I don’t plan on taking long to deal with Fuamnach, and I’ll probably be done by the time you get to the summer lands.”
She tsked and shook her head. “You just don’t get it, do you? I’m not a china doll that you can just put up on a shelf, to be played with when you feel like it and then put away again. I will care for and look after whoever I want, whenever I want—even if the person I care for refuses to accept that.”
I began to reply, and she placed her fingers over my lips. “Don’t get killed while I’m gone,” she said, before scurrying away to gather the children. I stood where she left me and watched them leave.
“Love is a funny thing,” Crowley said from behind me. “It chooses its victims at random, and holds them captive against their will.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “Wow. Bitter much?”
I could almost feel the sneer hidden beneath his hood. “If you’re implying that I’m jealous of your relationship with Belladonna, one might consider that rubbing salt in an open wound.”
I winced at his words. “Sorry, man. I’m just a little confused right now.”
He chuckled good-naturedly. “Poor Colin McCool. He has beautiful women tripping all over themselves for him, yet he doesn’t know what to do with them.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m a lucky asshole. I get it.” Is Crowley really busting my balls like a regular dude? Go figure.
“Just do me a favor… or do yourself a favor, depending on how you want to look at it. Take care of Belladonna. I made my mistakes with her, but she’s a good person. I’d hate to see her get hurt.”
“Um, are you implying some sort of threat?” I asked. “Because that whole ‘big brother’ thing is kind of lame—especially when it comes from a rival player.”
“No, there’s no threat implied. I just don’t want her to be used. She deserves better.”
“Damned right, she does. Don’t sweat it, man. I have no intentions of dumping Belladonna for Sabine.” I combed my hair with my fingers and sighed as I watched Sabine, Jack, the kids, and that goofy wyvern disappear over a hill in the distance. “It’s just that I care about Sabine, too, and I can’t stand the way things are between us.”
“Well, you can’t have everything you want. That’s kind of a basic fact of life. I’d like to have remained on good terms with Belladonna, but I sabotaged that relationship rather neatly.” He scratched his cheek, exposing his scars for a moment. “What’s done is done. You chose Belladonna over Sabine, and things might never be the same between you two. Maybe you should just accept that and move on.”
“I think I know that, Crowley. But my heart doesn’t want to accept what my head is telling it.”
He clapped a hand on my shoulder. Now things were really getting weird.
“Well, when your heart does finally accept that you fucked up royally… would it be okay if I asked Sabine out?”
I would’ve laughed, if the thought didn’t piss me off so bad. “Too soon, Crowley. Way too soon.”
13
I decided it was best to move quickly and try to sneak into Fuamnach’s place before Sabine had time to catch up to us. My hand still wasn’t one hundred percent, but it was getting there. I’d finish healing along the way.
“Where to, Crowley?”
He pointed back the way we’d come. “The mountains. There’s a pass, and that leads to the winter lands, where darkness rules.”
“Sounds like a right friendly place,” Hemi remarked.
Crowley stared at the mountain range. Black clouds obscured the summits, and lightning flashed in those clouds at intervals, temporarily revealing dark shapes that moved in the mists. “It will be dangerous. My adoptive mother likely knows we’re coming. She will have sent creatures to oppose us. Expect an ambush at any time.”
Guts took a huge bite from his slab of beef jerky, which had dwindled in size since he’d lost his eye. The troll had been eating nonstop in order to help his body heal. He scratched his head while he chewed.
“Wizard, you no have another dragon hidden? Might come in handy, in places forbidden.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t,” Crowley replied. “And, to be honest, I don’t care to take Ollie anywhere near Fuamnach’s palace. She has a tendency to take what is good and twist it into things that are evil. As much as I agree that we could use him for back-up, I do not wish to see Ollie changed into some sinister creature by her magic.”
I flexed the half-grown fingers on my hand and attempted a minor cantrip that fizzled. “Speaking of which, what can we expect to come up against when we raid your mom’s place?”
“There will be giants and other creatures guarding the mountain pass. The Dark Druid is a talented necromancer, so we can expect to see the undead wandering around as a det
errent to trespassers. And she will have assassin squads patrolling the palace itself.”
Hemi held his spear by the butt and stared down its length, before flipping it up and catching it in mid-air. “Sounds like a piece of piss. Nothing to it.”
I wrapped my injured hand in strips of shredded t-shirt while I considered the information Crowley had shared.
“I’d rather avoid as much of that as possible,” I said as I glanced at the wizard. “Every kid has a way to sneak out of their house without letting their parents know about it, so I’m assuming there’s a back way in?”
“There is,” the wizard said. “But it’s guarded by one of my mother’s allies. Within her realm, she is supremely powerful. We’ll need to bargain with her for passage.”
I knelt and fumbled with tying my shoelaces. Since I’d shredded my last pair of combat boots, I was wearing a pair of running shoes I’d found in my Craneskin Bag. “I see. And I suppose you wouldn’t happen to be on good terms with this individual?”
“I don’t think she’s on good terms with anyone. She’s also rather powerful, and not at all someone I’d choose to deal with were there another alternative.”
I finally gave up on my laces and looked at Hemi, who was smiling at my antics. “A little help here, big guy? Otherwise we’re never going to get going.” I sat and stretched out my legs so Hemi could tie my shoes. “Tell me, Crowley—just who is it we’ll have to deal with to sneak into your mom’s house?”
“Peg Powler.”
“The Peg Powler? The one who likes to drown kids and eat them? You seriously want me to negotiate with a monster like that?”
He nodded. “One and the same. She lives in a marshy area behind and beneath Fuamnach’s palace, where she guards the sewer drainage system to keep any of mother’s enemies from sneaking in via those tunnels.”
