by Amy Sumida
So basically, we had a bunch of child abductors in the house. And one lying dragon.
“It's very nice to meet you all,” I gently extricated myself from grindylow tentacles. “Raza, can I speak with you for a moment?”
I pulled him down the hallway and into a spare bedroom.
“Seren, what do you want me to say?” Raza held his hands out to the side. “That Danu came to me and told me to save you? She didn't.”
“Then what happened?”
“Things fell into place,” he shrugged. “And then I felt this urgency to reach you. I heard a single word. That was all,” he stopped and sighed, closing his eyes briefly. “But it still resonates through my soul. I just don't know if it stayed with me because it was Danu's voice or because it was in reference to you.”
“What was the word?” I whispered.
“Deithir,” he whispered back. “It's Old Irish, it means-”
“Hurry,” I laughed and shook my head. “She told you to hurry? That's it?”
“That's an oversimplification of the word,” he went grim. “It means great haste, it's a violent urgency. Coupled with her tone, I instantly knew your life was in danger.”
I stared up at him and realized he was much closer than he should have been. The gold of his eyes seemed to fill the world. I felt the warmth of his hand closing over my bicep, even through the layers I wore, but I didn't drop my gaze or pull away. That feeling was back in my belly and it seemed to have stolen my ability to move.
“There's a bed right behind you if you'd like to make use of it,” Chad offered from the doorway and I jerked away from Raza. “But make it quick please, we're waiting out here.”
“Danu damn it,” I swore and stomped from the room. It was getting so as I couldn't trust myself around Raza. I stormed into the living room and pulled up short. “Son of a bitch!”
“Possibly,” the guy grinned. “But I don't think the old Inuit tales are true. I mean it's just not genetically possibly to interbreed species like that. And besides, I'm a fairy.”
He most certainly was. I'd have called him a werewolf but that would have been incorrect. He was actually an adlet, a type of dog fairy. Adlets weren't shifters, so he couldn't take the form of a dog, he just had dog features. Specifically, he was kinda hairy and half canine... the lower half. Think of a satyr except instead of goat legs, this guy had dog legs. They were about the size of human legs but still obviously canine. This adlet in particular had white fur covering his doggy bottom, which matched the close-cropped hair on his head and the sprinkling of hair over his forearms. His eyes were icy-blue, like a husky's, and they were currently laughing at me.
“I'm so sorry,” I rushed forward to shake his hand. “You startled me. I wasn't expecting to find more fairies out here.”
“No biggie, Princess,” he shook my hand. “The name's Ralph. It's nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Ralph,” I shook his hand.
“This is Ted,” he jerked his thumb back at a man behind him.
The guy looked completely normal; blonde, buff, and beautiful. He had a swimmer's build and a summer tan set off by vibrant green eyes. But when I looked closer, I saw a shimmer over him. Magic was afoot; literally. This guy was using magic to give himself feet. And legs for that matter.
“Ted,” I held out my hand to him.
“Princess Seren,” he nodded as he shook it.
“Aren't merfolk part of the Seelie Court?” I asked him. “I'm surprised to see one of you in this area.”
“Some are Seelie,” he shrugged and gave me a sharp smile. Ted's magic didn't hide his pointed teeth. “I'm just Sea.”
“Clever,” I laughed. “So you're only affiliated with the Court of the Nine Sons?”
“No, Princess,” he grinned again. “I'm my own merman, that's why I live in the Human Realm. I don't want to be beholden to any court.”
“Like Nessa,” I nodded to the water-sidhe. “I understand why she wants to help but why would an unaligned merman want to get involved in this mess?”
“Being without a court doesn't mean I'm without morals,” he shrugged. “I live here and they're stealing from this land, which means they're stealing from me.”
A chorus of muttered agreements circled the room. Even the grindylows squeaked angrily.
“Fair enough,” I said and then something occurred to me. “Excuse me for a moment, Ted,” I went over to the grindylows and knelt down. “How did you hear the Goddess when you live here? She can't reach anyone in this realm.”
“We go back and forth,” one of them swung his body side to side, his tentacles making it look smooth.
“Back and forth,” the rest of them took it up and soon they were sliding side to side in unison.
“Yes, we understand,” Aluki rolled her vicious eyes.
“Through the underwater gate?” I asked in surprise. “How do you make it past the sea monsters?”
“Secret ways,” they answered as one and then giggled.
“That's what I was referring to earlier, Princess,” Chad reminded me. “The grindylows have tunnels only they know about. Tunnels which can get us into the Court of the Nine Sons without anyone seeing us.”
“And you're willing to give up these secrets?” I asked the grindylows.
“Danu said to,” one of them nodded solemnly. “Greater goodness.”
“No, silly,” another one hit the speaker. “It's for the greater goddess.”
“No, no, no,” yet another chimed in. “The great googly goodly.”
“What's that?” another asked.
“I dunno but it must be important cuzza the great being in fronta it.”
“It's for the greater good,” Koko the qalupalik screeched and they all went quiet for about five seconds.
Then they cheered, “Yes, the greater good!”
“Grindylow stew is sounding more and more appetizing,” Raza muttered behind me. I reached back and slapped at him blindly. He grunted and then groaned, “Princess Seren, perhaps aim higher next time.”
I looked over my shoulder and saw the way he was bent and what he was clutching. “Oh!” I made a remorseful face. “I'm so sorry.”
“No matter,” he recovered and cleared his throat. “I shall just have to insist that you minister to my injury.”
“Ha ha,” I rolled my eyes and turned back to face the room. “Is this everyone then?”
“Not at all,” Chad shook his head. “More will be arriving tomorrow and we'll have one last fairy helping us once we get in the water.”
“Okay,” I chewed at my lip as I turned to Raza. “How long do these breathing spells last? I can't believe I didn't think to ask the casters.”
“Generally a week,” Raza shrugged. “You'll feel it when it fades.”
“Oh, good,” I relaxed. “So now we just wait for my Guard.”
“We should be able to intercept them if we head over to Unseelie tomorrow morning,” Chad offered. “For now; who wants some tea?”
A flurry of fairy hands went up.
“Do you have any absinthe?” Effie asked and then giggled with her friends.
“The green fairy for the green fairies,” Chad produced a dark bottle and the qalupaliks went quiet. “I bought some after you mentioned it on your last visit.”
Nessa clucked her tongue at the qalupaliks, “I told you girls you shouldn't tease a dragon.”
“Don't listen to her,” Raza purred in my ear. “I love it when you tease me.”
Chapter Eighteen
Chad had a substantial home with five bedrooms, three upstairs and two on the first floor, but that still wasn't enough for everyone, so some of us had to share. Nessa didn't live too far away, so she'd be driving home later. She offered her spare bedrooms to the qalupaliks and they accepted. She had tried to get Raza to stay with her at first but he had thanked her gallantly before insisting that he wanted to be near Chad's crystal ball in case any of his associates, AKA spies, scried him.
With the qalupaliks taken care of, that left the grindylows, Ted, Ralph, Raza, and me. The grindylows were happy sleeping together in a big pile on the living room floor and Chad automatically got his own bedroom. Ted and Ralph took the other two rooms upstairs while Raza and I took the downstairs bedrooms. It all worked out for now but as soon as Chad's other friends arrived, we'd be doubling up.
After the sleeping arrangements were decided upon, we ended up relaxing around a campfire in the backyard. Right in front of the rath. We roasted marshmallows and drank hot cider while we went over the plan to rescue Uisdean. The true difficulty would be in finding him within the maze of coral. The grindylows were fairly certain they knew which rooms were reserved for royal guests but there were over twenty such rooms and then there was Uisdean's Guard to consider. We couldn't rescue him and leave his men behind. Frankly, I liked them better than I liked my uncle. So that would be eleven fairies total to get out of the Court of the Nine Sons, hopefully without setting off any alarms.
I'd had three marshmallows and four glasses of spiked cider, when the thought struck me that it would be best to rescue my uncle as soon as possible. And, as Chad said, we didn't want a lot of fairies in the rescue party. I'd go of course because we needed someone to convince Uncle Uisdean he was in danger, and the grindylows had to go to show us the way. I'd want Chad to come simply because he's a water dragon and knew the Court but the rest of our group could be left behind to formulate a plan on how to deal with the theft of Alaska's resources. Because even if Uisdean stopped stealing, we'd still have the sea dragons to deal with.
“We could go right now,” I whispered to myself, in the way of drunks everywhere.
“What's that, Princess?” Nessa, who was sharing a log with me and Raza (Raza between us) leaned forward to ask.
“We shouldn't wait to save Uisdean,” I said louder and with more conviction. “We can't take my Guard anyway and if the dragon kings are going to kill my uncle, they'd probably do so sooner rather than later.”
“They'd put on a good show first,” Chad mused from his wicker chair on my right. “They'd want your uncle to be forced to contact King Keir and tell him of your abduction and possible death. Twilight will never declare war on Unseelie if Uisdean doesn't deliver that news.”
“So he's safe?” I was confused... and my face was a little numb but I wasn't sure if that was from the cold or the cider.
“For now,” Chad nodded. “But as soon as he makes that scry, he's done for. Uisdean's death will assure a win for Twilight.”
“The unseelie are strong, they don't need Uisdean to win a war,” Raza said in a low tone.
“I'm sure Choo-choo didn't mean to be insulting,” Nessa laid her hand on Raza's forearm and I ended up staring at it.
Her hand was delicate and pale, like a porcelain doll touching an onyx statue. It looked perfect against his muscled darkness. A flick of my eyes confirmed that their hands weren't the only parts of them which looked good together. Nessa's liquid eyes stared up into Raza's metallic gaze as if he was the only thing she ever wanted to look at. I couldn't see Raza's expression but I doubted he was strong enough to resist a look like that. She was good, I had to hand it to her. Hand... I glanced down at my own working-class hands.
I'd always appreciated their strength, never once caring how they appeared. After I became the Princess of Twilight, my looks became more important. Oh, not to myself but to all the twilight fairies assigned the task of making me pretty. They'd tsked over my nails and callouses, weaving softening spells over the hardened spots where my sword liked to sit, before filing and polishing my nails till they determined no more could be done for them. I had laughed. Hands were for labor not allure.
So why was I suddenly feeling like the lesser woman because I didn't have Nessa's graceful fingers?
“They'll falter without a leader,” Chad defended his position to Raza as I continued to stare at my chubby fingers. “You know as well as I that Dylan is firmly ensconced in the Human Realm. When the unseelie go searching for someone to lead them, either Moire or Bress will step up. Then they'll do everything within their power to keep the news of Uisdean's death from reaching Dylan, so he won't try to claim the throne.”
I sighed and gave up on moping over my man-hands, turning my attention back to the conversation.
“Neither Moire or Bress are fit to lead,” Raza turned away from Nessa to scowl at Chad pensively.
“Yes, I agree,” Chad said gently.
“But won't word spread from the Court of the Nine Sons? It's hard to hide the murder of a king and his entire Guard,” I pointed out. “The unseelie won't be able to control the wagging tongues of the water fey and I doubt my father would attack Unseelie if Uisdean is dead.”
“The dragons will be aware of that,” Raza angled his body towards me, blocking Nessa. “So when they do kill Uisdean, they'll make sure no word of it reaches the surface. Their fairies won't talk if ordered to silence. King Uisdean and his Guard will simply disappear. Even the Unseelie Court won't be certain of his death.”
“I think we should go tonight,” I declared.
The fairies stared at me with wide eyes. The grindylows made uneasy noises.
“Don't you want to make sure we catch your Guard before they get to the beach?” Raza asked in a carefully neutral tone.
“I trust you to see to it,” I answered immediately.
“You do?”
“Yes,” I said firmly. “I know you can be sneaky but you also have a deep sense of honor. You'd never let my Guard get taken by the water dragons just to get Tiernan out of your way.”
“Of course I wouldn't,” he huffed and then smirked. “I should have known you'd sense that about me. This is just more proof of our connection.”
“Raza,” I sighed. “You may think you present a vicious front but your honor is as obvious. You're an old school warrior, anyone can see that.”
Raza looked around the fire and saw a bunch of nodding heads.
“I suppose I must work on my ferocity,” he said softly.
“You don't get it,” I smiled. “You're a scary SOB but you're not a monster.”
“Many would disagree with you on that,” his eyes flashed gold.
“And they would be wrong,” I said firmly.
“Perhaps,” he chuckled. “Or perhaps your affection for me has colored your opinion.”
“Then consider me colored as well,” Nessa laid her lovely hand on Raza's knee. “I see nothing monstrous.”
“Nope, not a monster,” one of the grindylows piped up.
“We know lots of monsters,” another said.
“Monsters don't eat marshmallows,” a third declared.
All of us stared at the grindylows a moment and then looked back to Raza.
“Monsters can enjoy dessert as much as any other fairy,” he scoffed.
“Yes, but it's usually bloody,” Chad chuckled.
“Or bone marrow,” a grindylow said cheerfully and we all groaned.
“So... anyway,” I turned to Chad. “I was thinking just you, me, and the grindylows should go.”
“Princess, I really think we should wait till morning,” Chad said gently. “You need to rest.”
As he said the words, I realized that I was pretty sleepy. And perhaps a little inebriated. Hmmm... not exactly the best combination for storming an underwater coral fortress.
“Alright,” I sighed. “But getting Tiernan to stay behind will be as difficult as it was with Raza.”
“We're assuming that the casters failed in his spell again, remember?” Chad asked with a smile. “He won't be able to go, even should he want to.”
“I can only hope,” I groaned as I got to my feet and swayed a little. “Goodnight everyone, I'll see you in the morning.”
“I'll walk you in,” Raza stood and Nessa's hand fell from his thigh.
“That's not necessary,” I protested but he gave me an angry look so I backed down.
I hadn't been exagge
rating when I called him a scary SOB.
“Goodnight,” he said to the group and offered me his arm.
“You're not coming back out?” Nessa asked with a pout.
“I think I need to get some rest as well,” Raza said gently. “Thank you for your lovely company.”
“My pleasure,” she smiled but I could see the surrender in it.
Nessa was too pretty to keep chasing a man intent on eluding her. She wasn't going to put up with Raza's attitude for much longer. I wanted to give her some kind of sign that she should keep trying, but I was too busy trying to figure out which foot to move first.
Raza shook his arm at me.
I sighed and took it, letting him draw me along the path which led to the backdoor of the house. This door was set into the bottom floor, which may sound like an obvious place for it but Chad's front door was actually placed up at the level of the second floor, reached by a set of stairs. The backdoor opened onto the first floor, where two of the guest rooms and the garage were located. My room was near the front of the house so we had to walk down a short hallway to reach it.
I opened the door and Raza followed me in, shutting it behind us ominously.
“Raza-” I fumbled for the light switch and fell forward into him.
And then we were kissing.
He backed me further into the room while his hands pushed off the thick parka I'd been wearing. His fingers were warm despite the chill outside and they felt like flames against my cold skin. His tongue was equally intense, working a spell on me that had me feeling dizzy. Or maybe that was the cider.
I fell back onto the mattress and Raza came with me, covering me completely. There was this horrible elation in my belly, that sense of victory that comes when you get the man all your friends have been lusting after. It was childish and stupid but with all the alcohol in my system it was also unstoppable. I knew I should be encouraging Raza to pursue Nessa but my heart and hands couldn't bear the thought of letting him go.
