by C. J. Abedi
And strangely, I began to sense that we were not the only human occupants of this beautiful land.
It was in my second month on Roanoke Island that I began to feel that I was being watched. Even followed. I often spent part of my days in the forest. I would never go far, and even created my own path so that I could always find my way back home.
I loved the vastness of the forest, and even more, I loved learning and using the many plants that surrounded us. So many of them had healing benefits that were unlike anything we had ever seen in London. The juice from a single leaf could heal a wound, or, if ground properly and added to warm water, cure a cold.
It was on one of these expeditions, after two months on Roanoke Island, that I began to feel that I was not alone. But even more bizarre was that I never felt scared. Not once.
Not even when I spotted him, leaning up against a large tree, simply staring at me. He had the most intense eyes I had ever seen.
Intoxicating.
Familiar.
And strangely safe.
Eyes that were filled with something that I had longed for my entire life but had never known I was missing.
Those precious, beloved eyes were filled with unconditional love.
D
There is a great responsibility that comes with being a King. It’s why the privilege (or the sentence, depending on how you look at it) is ordained to few. To be fair, I had never really cared about this honor. To me, the crown represented nothing more than a burden. A heavy weight. I guessed it was my lack of appreciation that had brought me to this point.
Had I ever shown my worth? Or my gratitude?
I knew the answer to that question. An answer that would forever haunt me.
“You need to focus on the task at hand,” Odin said, interrupting my dark thoughts, clearly aware of the insecurity and panic that was rising within my soul. “You are going up against a great force, a force that is prepared to fight until the end. And yet, despite the many obstacles you are about to face, I believe you are strong and cunning enough to prevail. But there is no place for self-doubt. If you allow that feeling in, for even the briefest of moments, all will be lost.”
He watched as I rummaged through my room, searching for weapons I would need to use to bring Caroline home.
“I understand you always have a need to lecture me, but I have every right to question my actions when I allowed them to take her so easily, not more than a few hours ago.”
“Perhaps I should make this journey with you.”
I stopped and faced him. “That’s not going to happen. This is my fight.”
“You’re asking for a death wish if you don’t regain control over your volatile emotions.”
“Death isn’t such a bad choice. I will not have a life if anything happens to her.”
“And the rest of the Fae will not have a life if anything happens to you,” Odin said softly. “How can you presume to know which life means more?”
“Caroline’s is the only one that matters.”
Odin watched me shrewdly.
“He’s my father. Perhaps somewhere in his cold, dark heart he might acquiesce,” I told him.
“Acquiesce?” Odin actually laughed. “He has an agenda, Devilyn. He battles to protect the laws of the Fae. And the pure bloodline that he believes has been polluted by Caroline’s ancestors.”
“How can he claim to be enforcing laws that he has broken time and time again?”
“You’ve answered your own question. We are not dealing with a sensible being. We are dealing with evil. A mind twisted by Fate itself. Now, you are not thinking rationally.”
“Actually, this is the first time in my life that everything is clear to me.” I looked over at Odin. “I have faced him before and I have prevailed. I’m not afraid. He doesn’t know the machinations of my mind. He thinks he does, which is to my favor. My father doesn’t know how far I am capable of going. My advantage is that I know him. His hatred is so easy for me to read.”
“Not in this form, Devilyn. He is not the same man.”
“He will never change. His thoughts are and have always been singular.”
Odin rose from the chair and closed his eyes. It hurt me to know that I was the cause of his sadness. This man, who had always been a father to me, was only concerned for my well-being. I regretted having been so harsh, but it was the only way.
He took a deep breath and I sensed that he was finally backing down. He walked over and rested his hands on my shoulder. Odin knew me well and knew that this was a battle he would not win. With the clock against us, we had no choice but to press forward.
“If anything happens to you we need to be prepared to send in an army. You cannot withhold information from me.”
“I won’t,” I promised him. “But that’s the beauty of my plan, father. They’re expecting an army, not a lone warrior.”
“You mean a King,” Odin corrected with great force.
“Regardless,” I said firmly. “I know I must go alone.”
I looked away from him and walked over to the windows to stare out on his great land.
“Have you been able to hear them?” Odin asked me.
He was referring to my ability to hear the Dark Fae when they plotted and planned. It was a gift that only a king could have.
“I can’t even hear her anymore, let alone them. Caroline’s inner voice was always so powerful. It always surrounded me. I relied on it.” I took a deep breath. “And now, I hear nothing.”
“There must be a powerful barrier where she is being held.”
If she’s even alive, I thought desperately. I pushed that dark idea out of my mind. No. I would feel her death. Her loss would hit me hard in my soul. That much I knew. I counted on it.
“They are sadistic, Devilyn. You know that. If they wanted her immediate demise they would have simply given her something at the party.” Odin stepped out onto the balcony. “They want you to see every bit of it. Your pain brings your father joy.”
My hands clenched at my side in fury as I tried to gain control over my volatile emotions.
“He is not my father,” I said to Odin. “You are. The only one I’ve ever known.”
Odin smiled at me with love. I knew my words pleased him. But then, they were the truth.
“Come, let’s clear your mind before you leave.” Odin motioned for me to approach.
I gently placed my hands over the rough calloused ones of the All Father and closed my eyes. A huge force worked to compose me, sending a strong energy through my body.
“I may not be physically with you, but I will be with you.” Odin’s voice was soothing. “Calming you, aiding you as you find your way directly to her.”
In a second I was transported in my mind to the Dark Fae forest. It was like a dream and yet, it felt so real. I saw myself walking through the dense land. Heard the rustling of the trees, the sound of birds chirping from above. I saw the sun piercing through the tall branches. The trees moved and took shape into the ancient ones, watching me carefully as I walked into their dark lair. Beams of magik directed at me from all areas in the forest.
And then I saw it: what would undoubtedly be our only source of salvation. Odin’s vision showed me a yew tree. The only place a Fae, Dark or Light, would fear and never think to look.
I knew I was ready.
I knew I would bring her home.
And more importantly, I now knew where they were keeping her.
A calmness overcame me as I realized where she was.
The Black Waters.
I opened my eyes and met Odin’s piercing gaze.
I knew he had seen the same vision as I had.
“That would explain why you don’t feel her,” Odin agreed. “The minerals surrounding the area and those found in the stream are reflective.”
“I can’t believe it took me so long to figure this out. The Black Waters is the only place that make sense.”
“It’s also the most enchanted spot
in the forest,” Odin said with concern. “There is a lot of unearthly activity there, Devilyn. You need to be extra cautious.”
“I know it well.”
It was true. I had studied it at great length, always aware of the many benefits the area’s magik would have in a time of need. Perhaps I had more in common with Alderon than I ever imagined.
It was now or never.
And God help me, I wouldn’t be coming home empty-handed.
C
I balled up the fingers of my left hand, knowing that this was my chance. I wasn’t raised to be weak, and I wouldn’t stand here and let them continue to assault me. Lowering my head, I silently prayed for strength, knowing they would never expect me to fight back. I took in a slow shallow breath.
They continued to mock me.
Pressing on.
Laughing.
So I did the only thing I knew that would at the very least give me the satisfaction I was craving.
I slapped Puck.
Hard.
Right across his smug little face.
He raised his hand against me in fury. I braced myself, knowing pain would soon follow. Only it didn’t come. A powerful force stopped him before he made contact, practically lifting him up in the air with the strength of the impact.
I watched in horror as a dark, smoky form began to take shape. I recognized his face. Or the face that would form every few seconds within the smoke. It was Alderon, a shell of the man he had been. I fell back in fear, onto my knees as he blocked Puck’s fist with magik.
“Stop,” he commanded.
“The Halfling abomination struck me,” Puck replied with resentment. His face was still red from the mark I had left on it. It would heal within seconds, but it didn’t matter to him. The slight was one he would not soon forget.
“She will suffer for it,” Puck screeched.
I had no doubt he wanted me to suffer. For whatever reason this sadistic creature got off on torture. And I was his next victim.
“Our guest has only just arrived. There will be plenty of time for retribution,” Alderon replied as if he was talking to a child.
“How long are we to wait? I want to kill her! I want to watch her bleed,” Puck said as he looked over at me and gave me a chilling smile. “To death.”
There were a few gasps from the Dark Fae that surrounded him.
“The laws—” one said.
Puck looked at the female Fae in disdain.
“Are meant to be broken,” he replied. “Kidnapping her from that horrific human party went against all laws in the Voynich and yet I did it. Fearlessly, I walked in and stole the Light Queen right before her beloved’s eyes.
“What’s more, my beautiful dark family,” Puck went on. “Here I stand. Unharmed. Powerful. As wicked as before. So these rules we’ve followed for centuries, this fear that was engrained in us like an eternal nightmare, are nothing more than a deception from the Fates, only meant to control us all.”
I couldn’t stop the feeling of alarm that came over me. If the Fae grew to fear nothing, not even the consequence of their laws, then there would be no way to stop them from doing anything. The ancient rules were the only thing that had ever kept them in line. They would be free to wreak havoc, and they certainly had the means to do it.
“You are hasty, my dear Puck,” Alderon said as he watched him. “We still must proceed with caution.”
“We have proceeded with caution for over five hundred years since the whore Eleanor Dare seduced a Fae.”
“They loved each other!” I cried out in anger. “How dare you call her that!”
Puck looked at me and laughed, clapping his hands together in delight.
“How dare I, little pathetic human?” he said. “Oh I dare.”
In a second he was in front of me, on his knees, close to my face, whispering against my lips so that only I could hear.
“I am the product of legends.” His voice was low, almost feverish. “Can you hear them chanting my name? Puck! Puck! I am an idol, one that is and shall be worshipped throughout time.”
“Your arrogance and conceit is astounding,” I told him.
Puck cocked his head to the side and smiled. I tried to jerk away as he ran the back of his hand down my cheek. It was evident by his slow perusal that he was clearly intrigued and repulsed by me at the same time.
“I can’t wait to play with you,” he told me. “Oh what fun it will be. To watch the pain etched across your face. The inevitable tears.”
“I will never show you the satisfaction,” I replied fiercely.
“You won’t be able to help yourself,” he whispered. “I am what you humans call an expert in my field.”
He rubbed his cheek against mine.
“Come to think of it, I might even bathe in your blood.”
My heart beat so loudly that I was sure he could hear it.
“You get ahead of yourself, my friend. Your objective will be reached in due time,” Alderon said as Puck got up and moved away from me.
Before I knew it, Alderon’s smoky essence encircled me and I spun around to meet his gaze. I raised my eyes to his, never wavering.
“I do quite enjoy your feisty nature. Quite unexpected for a human. It intrigues me.”
My stomach sank in dread as Puck began to laugh.
“Perhaps it’s time for her to visit our forest and meet some of its many unique inhabitants. It will do her good. Prepare her for what is to come. The Dark Forest always teaches you how to run.”
“It will be a delight to watch,” Puck agreed.
I could only imagine what hideous monsters awaited me. But facing the unknown was a much better option than staying here to be continuously tormented by them. Puck was becoming more and more volatile by the moment. He itched to reach out and hurt me. Craved it. I could feel it on him.
“Do you think I’m scared?” I challenged.
“No, my dear,” Alderon replied. “I don’t think you are at all. But then again, you don’t know what’s out there. Those monsters that you humans write about in your bedtime fairytales, the ones that hide under beds or go bump in the night? They are very real. And we happen to have a forest full of them.”
Alderon moved before me again, hovering inches away. I watched as the smoke undulated around his body, revealing a glimpse of the beautiful Fae that he once was before he reverted back to nothing.
“Did it hurt when you were robbed of your beauty?” I taunted Alderon.
His eyes narrowed in fury.
“Weren’t you the most handsome Fae in all the land?” I went on.
Alderon began to shake with rage. The iridescent smoke that made up his form surrounded my body, blocking my vision, engulfing me in the vapors as I choked on my own breath.
His grisly vaporized face was before me in less than a second.
“You think I do not know your game?” he said viciously. “I will not kill you fast, if that is what you crave. Oh no, my dear. It will be painstakingly slow and arduous, and my dear son will have the front row seat.”
Devilyn.
God, I hadn’t even thought about him since I’d been captured; I’d been consumed with figuring out how I could escape. Devilyn. The party, the stolen kisses, our moments together. It all seemed like it was another time. I love you, I told him silently. I will always love you.
“How touching,” Alderon purred.
I looked up at him in surprise.
“Oh yes, I can hear you sweet one. There are no secrets between us for I can feel every single one of your deepest, darkest thoughts,” he said with a smile. “Devilyn, your heart cries out. Devilyn. Your desperate and pathetic cries. This so-called love for him. You stink of it.”
“You loved once,” I returned bravely.
Alderon’s eyes turned to ice.
“Watch yourself, little girl,” he seethed. “I have half a mind to let Puck do with you as he wills.”
My skin crawled.
“Even your kind has
rules. Despite what Puck says, these rules can’t be broken,” I finally said.
“Our kind?” Alderon laughed. “Do you forget that stolen blood that runs through your veins, dear girl?”
“I am a child of love,” I said. “I have morals, a deep respect for life, a code of conduct that you obviously know nothing about.”
He continued to laugh. “A code? What code is that? You think that you have any right to judge a people you don’t even understand? Even with your questionable bloodline, you think that we would ever allow you to stand before us, let alone among us? We are the Dark Fae. Descendants of the greatest race to ever walk this earth, the Tuatha de Danann. Our power is unsurpassed. Our souls selected and far superior. What were humans chosen for? To destroy everything in their path. Look at your own history. Your humanity is your downfall.”
“No,” I said. “It is my greatest strength.”
He moved away from me like a serpent retreating in the night.
“I’ve had enough fun for now,” Alderon said. “Tomorrow you will face a very challenging obstacle. You may claim to be a Fae, but I’d wager that you wouldn’t know the first thing about surviving the depths of this forest. We’ll see how much respect for life you will have when confronted with your own death. Whose life will be worth more?”
I tried one more time. “Please. Just send me home. I don't know why you’re doing this.”
“You will go home, dear girl. Perhaps not in the same manner in which you arrived, but you will go home.” Alderon smiled at me. “Now stop worrying—you need your rest. I have it on good authority that tomorrow will turn out to be quite a vigorous day.”
“What tremendous joy it will bring,” Puck said in delight.
A great feeling of hopelessness came over me. In a few hours my fate, my future, would be decided, and something told me that I might end up on the losing side. I tried to shake off my fears. Now was not the time to cower; my survival was dependent upon maintaining a clear head.
