Blade of the Fae

by R. A. Rock

  About fifteen minutes later, they came out into a clearing, and the air seemed to sizzle around them. Tessa met his eyes.

  Was this it?

  “Perdira,” Tessa called again. Then she waited, an arrow on her bow, ready for anything. “Perdira!”

  Finn didn’t know what he was waiting for.

  A flash of light.

  A boom of thunder.

  A cloud of locusts.

  An old crone.

  But what they found was nothing.

  He sighed, watching as a white owl landed in a tree near them. “I don’t know, Tessa. Maybe she’s not in.”

  She gave Finn an incredulous look. “She is so much a part of this swamp that she can’t leave it anymore,” Tessa told him in a low voice. “She’s in.”

  He shook his head, and that was when he heard it.

  “What’s that?”

  “What’s what?” Tessa asked, then was silent, listening. There was nothing but the uncanny silence of the swamp. Tessa shrugged.

  “I’m sure I heard something,” Finn said.

  “I’m sure you did,” Tessa agreed, though she didn’t seem to have heard anything.

  Then he heard it again. “There it is. Shh.”

  He listened intently and then took off in the direction of the sound.

  “Wait, Finn. It could be a trap.”

  He ignored her. He could hear her splashing along behind him through the thigh-deep puddles. He pushed aside huge swaths of hanging moss and vines. Pausing every once in a while to listen, he honed in on the sound he was following.

  “Someone’s crying,” Tessa said as she caught up to him.

  When they pushed their way into a clearing, they were both completely taken aback to see a girl standing there, maybe six or seven years old. She was thin and looked so fragile that she might break if you knocked her over. The girl had long black hair that seemed to have not been brushed in several days. There were a couple twigs caught in it. Her face, when she raised it to look at them, was white—as though she hadn’t seen the sun in many months.

  “Oh, thank the Stars,” the girl said, her voice small and thin and sweet. She had tears still running down her cheeks. “You’ve come to save me.”

  “What are you doing here?” Finn asked, trying to go to the child. But Tessa put her hand on his arm and stopped him. He frowned at her.

  “I’m from the village. I’m lost.” The child’s accents were clear, and her consonants were crisp. Even her voice seemed frail and vulnerable.

  “Nobody mentioned a lost child when we were in the village,” Tessa said, clearly suspicious.

  “I’ve been gone a long time,” the little girl said, her green eyes welling with tears again. “Please, can you show me the way out?”

  “Sure,” Finn said, and Tessa outright glared at him.

  “How have you survived all this time in the swamp?” she asked the little girl, her voice harsh.

  “I’ve had almost nothing to eat but some berries,” she said, her voice pathetic and sorrowful. She lifted one arm. “Look how thin I’ve become.”

  Tessa still appeared dubious of the girl’s story.

  “Please,” the little girl added. “I just want to go home.”

  Tessa seemed taken aback, and then she relented.

  “We’ll take you out of the swamp and back to the village. But no nonsense.” Tessa narrowed her eyes at the little girl as if she had done something wrong.

  “No, of course not,” the little girl said and dropped into a deep curtsey. “May the Stars shine their light upon you, kind lady.”

  Finn pulled Tessa aside and whispered. “What are you doing? The child’s been lost for some time and clearly needs our help. Don’t make her misery worse by being cruel.”

  Tessa looked at Finn in surprise. “You really think she’s a child?”

  He started back in shock. “You don’t?”

  Tessa shook her head slowly back and forth.

  “Of course not.”

  Finn led the way back out of the swamp. The child followed him, not saying word, and Tessa brought up the rear. She didn’t know what was it about the child that aroused her suspicion, but something about her that made Tessa bristle with something like anger. She watched as the little girl picked her way, barefoot, through the swamp’s rough plants and shivered every time she had to wade through one of the deep puddles. A white owl followed them, flying ahead and then landing, and then flying ahead again. There was something odd about the owl, too. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought it was watching them.

  The girl’s reactions seemed normal and expected, but there was something off.

  “What in the Chasm?” Finn asked, almost to himself.

  “What is it?” Tessa asked, feeling a stab of worry.

  “I’m pretty sure this was the way,” he said, gesturing in front of them.

  “But?”

  “But that tree definitely wasn’t here on our way in.”

  He indicated the enormous trunk of a tree that stood in their way. Of course, they hadn’t passed anything like it when they had entered the swamp.

  “You said you knew the way out,” Tessa said, feeling annoyed but not wanting to get into an argument with him.

  “I did know the way,” Finn said, somewhat irritated himself, which was a bit of a surprise. So far, Tessa hadn’t seen him in any mood but cheerful.

  “Then how do you explain this?” Tessa asked, nodding at the tree.

  “I knew the way out,” Finn insisted. “But the way changed.”

  “Are you suggesting the swamp has…”

  “Shifted. Yes, it definitely has.” Finn got a worried expression on his face.

  “Shadows take me,” Tessa muttered, and the child’s eyes grew round in shock at her swearing.

  “Tessa,” Finn warned her.

  “Oh. Sorry. I meant…” She searched for a more appropriate exclamation. “Stars above.”

  The child nodded, still looking as though Tessa had scorched her ears with her bad language.

  “Forget you heard that, all right?”

  The little girl nodded. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice clear as a silver bell.

  “Nothing, Starshine,” Finn said, crouching down next to her. “We just took a wrong turn. We’ll get out of here soon.”

  The little one frowned. “We’re still lost aren’t we?”

  “No, not lost. We’re just going to retrace our steps and start over.”

  “Oh,” she sighed heavily. “If you insist.”

  “We do,” Tessa said. “This time, I lead us back. I was looking back as we went and memorized several landmarks.”

  “Fine,” Finn said, not looking too pleased that Tessa was taking over.

  They all turned and went back in the other direction. Tessa found two of the landmarks that she remembered, but when she searched for the third, it never came. Instead, they arrived at a relatively dry clearing on somewhat higher ground with a pool in the middle.

  It was about six feet across and seemed not more than three feet deep. The pool had a rocky bottom, and a slight ripple on the water indicated that it was spring fed, with the source coming out of the rocks on the bottom.

  The three of them approached it.

  “Oh, I’m so thirsty,” the little girl said, falling to her knees and drinking eagerly.

  “This wasn’t here before,” Tessa said to Finn.

  “Definitely,” he agreed. “The swamp is shifting on us.”

  They shared a dismayed look. If the swamp was shifting, they might never find Perdira, or they might never find their way out. Or both. Neither sounded good to Tessa.

  The child was busy scooping up water and drinking as though she hadn’t had water in days.

  “Hey, slow down,” Tessa said. “You’ll give yourself a stomach ache.”

  “I’m thirsty, too,” Finn said, also kneeling.

  “We don’t know if the water is good,” Tessa said, holding
back.

  “It’s good,” the little girl said. “I’ve wandered this swamp for some time. And we may not come upon fresh water again for a while.”

  “You don’t want to have to drink that brackish stuff in the swamp,” Finn pointed out. “Goodness knows what sickness lives in that water.”

  “What if it’s enchanted?” Tessa asked, and that made Finn pause with his hands full of water. He let the water fall and seemed more wary. “This is a place of great magical power. And Perdira has complete control over the entire swamp. I wouldn’t put it past her to enchant things, either to prevent people from finding her or…”

  “Or what?” Finn asked, getting to his feet.

  Tessa shrugged. “Or for her own amusement.”

  She stared at the little girl, who was now playing and splashing with her hands in the water.

  “Perdira,” Tessa said, speaking in a normal volume. “Show yourself. Your true self.”

  The little girl stopped playing and looked up at Tessa. Then she turned back to the water and continued her game.

  “What makes you think she’s going to just show herself now, when she didn’t after all your calling before?” Finn asked.

  “She did show herself before,” Tessa said. She raised her voice, fixing her eyes on the child. “Perdira, show us your true self.”

  “What are you talking about?” Finn asked, perplexed. “The only person we’ve met in the swamp is…”

  He stopped speaking and stared at the little girl.

  “We are not to be trifled with,” Tessa said. “We come to ask for a wish.”

  No one appeared.

  Tessa walked over to the girl and took her hand, pulling her up without any gentleness.

  “What is it, lady?” the child asked, startled. “Have I displeased you?”

  “Not displeased exactly,” Tessa said, letting go of the child’s hand once she was on her feet. “But I would like to see you in your true form.”

  The child laughed, an unnerving sound that made gooseflesh come out all over Tessa. The wind began to blow, replacing the still, heavy air of the swamp with a fresh breeze. And the child laughed some more, spinning in a circle. She drew mist to herself and spun so fast that Tessa couldn’t even see her anymore.

  There was a crack of thunder, and the wind stopped.

  The child was gone.

  Tessa gave Finn a rueful look. They were back to square one.

  And night was falling.

  Chapter 10

  “Shadows and Chasm,” Finn swore, glancing around the darkening glade in Perdira’s Mire, where the little girl had disappeared only moments ago. “What happened?”

  “Looks like she disappeared,” Tessa said, seeming more perplexed than upset about this turn of events.

  “You had to call her on her little tricks?”

  “What, are you willing to go traipsing around for hours just to amuse an ancient Faerie who has nothing better to do?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “The owl’s here,” Tessa said. “I think she’s still around.”

  Finn squinted and then scowled fiercely. “The child. Stars and Shadows, she’s in the pool.”

  “What?” Tessa asked, shocked. “Oh, Shadows take me. Was she really a child? And that strange storm knocked her in?”

  They got to the edge of the pool. There was definitely someone at the bottom of it. Finn pulled off his shirt and boots and jumped in, sinking quickly to the bottom. He opened his eyes in the clear water and grabbed the child, pulling her up to the surface of the pool.

  He gasped as his head cleared the surface and opened his eyes. In his arms, he held a woman in her twenties. A beautiful… naked… woman.

  Finn swallowed hard. Her breasts were small but plump like ripe peaches, each topped with a dark purple nipple as round as a berry.

  Her arms and legs were slim, her belly flat and smooth, with skin as white as the full moon. Finn found himself hardening as he looked at those perfect breasts. He couldn’t help himself. It had been a long time since he had held a naked woman in his arms.

  He hadn’t had anyone since Emmy. And it wasn’t that he wanted whoever this was. It was a purely physical reaction to her lovely body.

  “Finn,” Tessa said, glowering at him as he stared at the woman. “Get her out of the water. Is she breathing?”

  He shook his head to rid it of the fog of lust that had come over him, and he climbed out of the pool, carrying the woman in his arms. He laid her on the ground and stood again.

  Tessa’s eyes dropped to his tented trousers and then looked away at the woman.

  “Wait,” she said, frowning.

  “Never mind waiting,” Finn said, desperately thinking of the Skransser sucking his soul in an attempt to banish his ill-timed erection. “What’s wrong with you, Tessa? She needs help.”

  Tessa didn’t seem happy with his words, but she didn’t say anything else.

  The woman coughed and rolled on her side. Water came out of her mouth, and she sucked in a breath.

  “Oh, Stars above,” the gorgeous woman said, and her voice was afraid. Finn had the irrational urge to take her in his arms again. “I almost drowned.”

  Tessa looked at her in disbelief and opened her mouth, but Finn spoke before she could.

  “You almost did, lady. How did you end up in the pool?” He stared into her bright green eyes, feeling a longing to be with her rising up from somewhere deep inside him. If he had her, he would be whole, complete. He could stop running. He would have a home again.

  “I don’t know,” the woman said. “But I’m so cold. Will you hold me and warm me?”

  “Of course,” Finn said, gladly taking her in his arms again, her breasts pressing against his bare chest.

  “What the Chasm?” Tessa muttered. Then she spoke aloud. “Maybe the lady would like your shirt, Finn.”

  He didn’t answer, too busy focusing on how good the woman felt in his arms. It had been too long. His desire was building.

  “Finn,” Tessa repeated, her voice grating like a rusty hinge. “Why don’t you give the lady your shirt?”

  “I… well, maybe. I mean… actually, I think we may need some privacy, Tessa.” A wave of lust washed over him. The woman smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight.

  “Yes, Tessa,” the woman said, straddling Finn and rubbing herself on the rock-hard bulge in his pants. “Leave us for a time.”

  “What?” Tessa asked, and he found her voice as irritating as a squeaky rocking chair. “You aren’t seriously going to lie with this woman, are you, Finn? You just met her. You don’t even know her.”

  Finn’s mind felt hazy, and all he could think of was sinking into the woman’s body over and over.

  “I… I don’t know, Captain of the Guard. Leave us.”

  And it was an order. Finn didn’t know where the authority in his voice was coming from—it was usually Tessa that gave the orders. All he knew was that he needed to take this woman. Now.

  Tessa looked confused and angry, but she left the clearing. Finn breathed a sigh of relief as the woman took his hand and placed it on her breast, which fit nicely in his palm.

  Her lips were cold, but when his tongue slipped into her mouth, it was hot. She was rocking her hips against him, and his desire was a deep longing for oneness, welling up from inside him. He wanted to join with her and lose himself in her body until he finally felt that he was home.

  “Finn,” the woman panted after only a few minutes of kissing and groping. “I need you inside me, Finn.”

  He touched her, and she was wet and slippery for him. Stars forbid, but she was ready, and he wanted nothing more. He pulled down his pants, found her entrance, and lined himself up—his flesh touching hers. Her gasp of pleasure drove him nearly mad, and he moved both hands to her hips, preparing to drive into her. He needed to so much.

  “Finn!” Tessa screamed, suddenly reappearing and breaking the hold the woman had over him. Sh
e grabbed the woman roughly by the shoulders and dragged her back before they could join together. “No. Don’t! It’s her. It’s Perdira. And I just remembered what happens to men who lie with her.”

  Finn groaned deeply, needing to fuck the woman so badly he could taste it.

  “Finn!” Tessa said, coming over to him and slapping him hard in the face. Pain shot through his cheek. He was stunned and felt clarity coming back. Before he could react, she backhanded him hard, and his head whipped around the other way. “Wake up. She’s put a spell on you.”

  Finn shook his head to clear it and hastily pulled up his pants.

  “Had to interfere, didn’t you?” the woman asked, glaring at Tessa. “I was just about to have a really good time with Finn here. We could still have some fun, big boy.”

  Finn felt her magic weaving around him, and he wondered how he hadn’t noticed it the first time. He pulled out one of the blades and sliced through the magic, cutting it the way you would a vine. He sensed it recoil, and the woman’s eyes widened in shock. He returned the blade to its sheath in the Otherworld. Getting to his feet, he pulled on his shirt, still feeling dazed from the spell.

  “Shadows take you, Perdira,” Tessa cursed, pulling Finn to stand beside her. She nocked an arrow to her bow and aimed at the woman. “That’s not the way a lady behaves.”

  “Perdira?” Finn asked, his eyes getting big as he realized what had almost just happened.

  “May you fall in the Chasm of Severance and never be seen again, you witch. You’ve ruined my fun. He was just about to—” Perdira huffed out a breath of frustration. “I haven’t had a man this handsome in a long time.”

  “And you won’t have him,” Tessa said to the ancient Faerie, stepping in front of Finn as if to protect him. “Have you been reduced to tricking men into sleeping with you, using magic?”

  “Perdira?” Finn asked again faintly, feeling a little sick to his stomach.

  “Yes, you almost laid with Perdira,” Tessa said. “She was using a glamour on you. Only the Faeries with the strongest magic can glamour another Faerie, Finn. And if you had taken her, you would have been beset by a craving for her so strong that nothing could ever slake that desire.”