by Amy Sumida
“A dagger whose blade is made of gold, silver, and copper, and has a handle of wood and bone embedded with all of the jewels from the Jewel Kingdoms,” Declan said.
“And a book containing spells used to entrap the Ancients,” Torin added.
“The Ancients?” Alisande whispered. “You mean our gods?”
“Yes,” I confirmed. “Do you have either of those items?”
Alisande looked at the other sylphs and frowned. “We have a book that matches your description, but I'm afraid I can't give it to you. It was entrusted to us long ago with specific instructions to release it only if the Gods should ever threaten our realm again.”
Declan looked my way and nodded; it was time to be less tactful.
“I hope that I won't threaten the realm again,” I said. “But I could if I don't find the dagger. Honestly, you can hold onto the book, but if you know who has the dagger—”
“Queen Elaria, what are you saying?” Alisande interrupted me. “That you are our goddess?”
“I found the orb recently,” I said to her. “Do you know of it?”
“No,” Alisande said. “Nor do I know of this dagger.”
“They must have kept the different guardians in the dark about each other,” Torin murmured.
“In the dark.” I huffed a laugh. “Sorry,” I said to their surprised faces. “It just struck me as funny. But yes; that makes sense. Danyon barely knew what the orb was, much less about the other tools.”
“Tools to imprison the Gods?” Alisande asked. “What about this orb and dagger?”
“The dagger was used to sever Faenestra's soul,” I explained. “And the half of her soul that held her magic was put into the orb which then became the key to Darcraxis' prison.”
“Complicated,” one of the males sylphs said.
“Just like the Sidhe to do something like that,” another added.
“You said that you found the orb,” Alisande prompted me. “Does that mean you released Faenestra?”
“I released half of my soul,” I said. “The other half had been placed into a human and, through reincarnation, eventually became a spellsinger; me.”
“A spellsinger strong enough to save Primeval,” Alisande whispered.
“And strong enough to reclaim the rest of her soul,” another man joined Alisande. I remembered meeting him on our last visit. “You have become whole again, haven't you, Your Majesty?”
“Yes, Trae,” I confirmed. “And if I want to remain Elaria, I need to find the dagger and go back to what I was.”
“I understand.” He nodded. “But Alisande is right; we only have the book; we know nothing of the dagger.”
“We were told that the tools were separated,” Declan said. “One to Sea, one to Sky, and one to Earth. We thought that perhaps the Dryads would have the Earth's tool.”
“I can contact Reyne,” Trae offered. “I'm sure he'll be happy to help you, Queen Elaria.”
“Thank you; that would be appreciated,” I murmured.
“Until he arrives, please join us for some refreshment,” Alisande offered. “You can tell us more about your goddess soul.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“I knew you were special, but I had no idea how special,” Reyne said and then gaped at me.
You and me both, buddy, Kyanite muttered in my mind.
“Do I kneel or bow? I don't know how to greet a goddess,” Reyne stuttered.
The Light rose inside me, and I nearly told him to kneel, but I bit my lip until I was under control again.
“We're friends, Reyne,” I said gently. “You never have to kneel or bow to me.”
Reyne's mossy eyes gleamed as he grinned, and the thick bark covering his body creaked as he leaned forward to hug me.
“I'm relieved,” Reyne said as he pulled away. “I like you just as you are, Queen Elaria. I'd hate to lose you.”
“We would as well,” Torin said. “Reyne, do you know if your people are guarding the dagger?”
“I've never heard of it before today, and I'm one of our leaders,” Reyne said. “You say the Diamond King told you that it was given to the Earth?”
I nodded.
“What if they really gave it to Earth; as in the planet?” Reyne asked.
My jaw dropped as I looked at my consorts. “Do you think that's possible?”
“Back then, humans were just starting to form civilizations,” Declan said. “The Shining Ones did visit Earth, and there were some who even decided to stay. They certainly could have been tasked with protecting the dagger.”
“Does anyone know where these shining ones settled?” I asked.
“Ireland,” Torin said. “That's why Gaelic sounds so much like the Fey language.”
“And why so many stories of our kind originate from there,” Declan added. “If they took the dagger to the Human Realm, it would have been to Ireland.”
“I've never been to Ireland,” Gage said hopefully.
“It's an island like Hawaii,” Torin said. “Just much colder, and its beaches have more rocks than sand.”
“I know some shining ones there,” Declan said. “They may be able to help us.”
“We've been at this for hours,” I pointed out. “Doesn't anyone want to rest first?”
“We'll rest when you're safe,” Torin said.
“It looks as if it's going to be a long day,” I muttered.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
We arrived on a grassy cliff overlooking the Irish sea. I let go of Declan's hand and started to walk down the incline to a nearby road when the wind picked up and it became really frigid. I shivered, but then I realized that the cold breeze was inside me. It spun and spun; sucking energy from my bones until I fell to my knees.
“Elaria!” Declan dropped beside me as the others rushed over.
“Air,” I whispered. “It's starting; I think I'm dying. I... I love you all so much.”
“No! Fight it!” Banning shouted. “Gather your strength and use it to slow down the magic, Elaria.”
“Slow,” I whispered.
That just might work, Kyanite said hopefully.
Ky began to play the creeping, sashay of “Slow Like Honey” by Fiona Apple. A delicate piano fluttered through the heavy strums of a guitar while I whispered about dreams and the way my lover moved through them. My voice was breathy—barely there—but it was enough to call my spellsinger magic to life. Hope flared in my chest as power filled my throat and helped me sing.
It was a sexy, ponderous song, but I used it for its movement, not its meaning. I grasped onto the lyrics and drove them inside me where the whistling wind whipped at my rib cage and lashed at my belly. Picturing the goddess magic thickening and moving with the sticky slowness of honey—clinging and dripping instead of draining me dry—I coerced it to change its very nature and give me a little more time.
The wind began to slow, and my voice strengthened. I sang on; commanding it to bend to my will but hiding the command in sensual words and a grinding melody. Darc was right; seduction worked better than domination. My voice was low—barely heard above the crashing of waves—but it didn't matter. My song seeped into Air as Light turned golden, and before I made it to the second chorus, my magic had calmed and gone dormant.
Kyanite let the music fade away as I stopped singing and tried to catch my breath.
“Are you all right?” Declan asked anxiously.
I nodded. “I think we're good for now.”
“Thank the stones,” Torin whispered.
Yeah, this stone, Kyanite said. Then he added, I'm glad it worked, my love.
Me too.
“We'd best hurry,” Banning said.
“Yes; I think that would be wise,” I agreed.
“Not worried about sleep anymore?” Torin lifted a brow at me.
“No one likes a know-it-all, Torin,” I grumbled as I started down the cliff again. “Come on; I see a car approaching. It's probably Declan's friends.”
Torin c
huckled as he followed me down the hill with the others; including our poor guards who must have been weary but showed no signs of it. The car I'd spotted was actually a very boxy van, and it was indeed carrying Declan's friends. It pulled over before us and came to a bouncing stop.
“Well, look who it is!” A blond man declared in a thick Irish accent as he jumped out of the van. “The red-headed King of that muppet of a stone that can't decide whether to be purple or blue.”
“That's a long title,” I murmured.
“And here's the wanker who couldn't decide whether to be a knight or a human,” Declan shot back.
Then the men laughed and hugged each other.
“Looks like a bromance,” Gage noted.
“I didn't know Declan had friends like that,” Banning added in an amused tone.
“Neither did I,” Torin said as he watched Declan with wide eyes.
“This is this gal you told me about?” The blond asked as he looked over at me.
“This is Queen Elaria of Kyanite,” Declan introduced us. “Elaria, this is Shane, the ex-Count of Emerald.”
“I'm still a Count; they can't take that away from me just because I left,” Shane huffed. “It's not been so long anyway. I don't know why you're acting the maggot.”
“Acting the maggot?” I asked Torin.
“It's Irish slang for being a jerk,” Declan explained. “Shane's assimilated with the local human population.”
“I can speak like a proper shining one if I wish to,” Shane dropped the Irish accent for a single line. “But why would I? It's totally hatchet to speak like the locals.” He shook my hand and said, “Welcome to the Emerald Isle, Your Majesty—or what I like to call; my kingdom. They didn't name it Emerald for nothin'.” Shane winked at me.
“Come on then, you stooks!” A redhead who was more like an orangehead leaned out the van's window and shouted at us. “After we find this feckin' dagger I want to go out on the lash.”
“Are we going to need a translator?” Gage asked Banning.
“It appears so,” Banning said with a chuckle.
“I swear, Ian, if you get langered again tonight, I'm going to batter ya!” Shane shouted back at the redhead, aka Ian. Then he guffawed. “Aw, who the feck am I kiddin'? By morning, I'll be locked out of my tree like a monkey who forgot his keys!”
“That's what I like to hear!” Ian exclaimed.
“I have no idea what I'm hearing,” I muttered.
“They want to go out drinking and get intoxicated after we find the dagger,” Declan translated for me.
“If you two help us find that dagger, I'll buy the drinks,” I promised.
Shane and Ian hooted, and then Shane ran for the van. He opened the front passenger door and waved me in.
“If you're buying, I'll even give you the best seat in the van, Your Majesty,” Shane declared. “Not that I wouldn't have anyway; I have a glad eye for you already.”
“Thank you,” I let him help me up into the van as my consorts and our guards climbed in the back.
“My pleasure, Your Majesty,” Shane bent over my hand to kiss it.
“Glad eye?” I asked Ian as I settled into my seat.
“He's saying he has a crush on you,” Ian explained and rolled his eyes. “Pay him no mind, Queen Elaria; Shane's a himbo.”
“A what now?” I asked Ian with a baffled look.
“You know; a himbo—a male bimbo,” Ian said as he started the van.
“Wouldn't that be a mimbo?” Gage asked.
“Mimbo?” Ian made a horrified face. “That sounds divvy as all feck. It's 'him' and 'bimbo' combined, you see?”
“Okay,” Gage said in a tone that said he didn't see at all.
“You just wish you were handsome enough to be a himbo,” Shane said to Ian.
Ian stepped on the gas before Shane got into his seat and sent him tumbling.
“You fucking gobshite!” Shane cursed as Ian laughed uproariously.
A long day indeed, Kyanite muttered.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ian's family was one of the original shining one families who settled in Ireland, and he had only been to Tír na nÓg a handful of times. He was much more comfortable in his island kingdom and knew every inch of it; including where the Shining Ones hid their treasures. I expected to have to meet with some high ups in a cold castle and ask permission to raid the royal treasure room—as we had in Diamond—but the really valuable stuff wasn't kept in a building.
We drove down a dirt road and then pulled off to the side in what appeared to be a random location in the middle of a field. It wasn't random, and the field had a ward around it that Shane had to employ a charm to get us through. Ian then led us across the field and down a slight slope to a collection of boulders that poked out from beneath a grassy hill. There was a passage between the rocks; looking dark and ominous.
“There be the mound,” Ian said. “The treasures we brought with us—those that aren't meant for public consumption, if you catch my meanin'—are down there. You'll have to get past the guards and from what I've heard they're savage, but crack on and you'll find the dagger with the rest of the loot. Don't take anything else, mind you. Shane vouched for you and got ya permission to take the blade, but that be all. They said if you can make it to the dagger, you can have it.”
“You're not coming with us?” I asked.
“I'm not an eejit.” Ian laughed. “No way; Shane and me will stay right here. We'll just sit on the mound like a couple of culchies and watch your backs.”
“Gee, thanks,” I muttered.
“What will we be facing in there?” Declan asked.
“Feck if I know,” Ian said. “The loot that's been put down there ain't stuff you can enjoy. We're talking cursed vases and death hammers; that sort of thing. Ever since I was a chiseler, my daddy told me to stay the hell away from the treasure mound. That was the one thing I listened to him about.”
“I've heard stories of everything from salamanders to flying swords,” Shane said; a touch more helpfully. “The last man to go in there came out as mad as a box of frogs.”
“That sounds bad,” Gage said. “I don't want to be frog mad.”
“He went insane,” Declan translated again. “Everyone, keep your wits around you; literally and figuratively.”
Declan headed for the opening.
“Ho' there,” Shane said and passed Declan an electric lantern; one of those types that you take camping. “Take this with ya.”
“We can make our own light,” Declan said with a confused frown.
“One of the things I've heard is that the place can do a number on you,” Shane said. “Best not to rely solely on your magic, my friend.”
Declan grimly accepted the lantern with a grateful nod and flipped it on. The dull gleam winked out as he slipped through the cave's opening. I followed him in, and the rest of our party crawled in behind me. Despite Shane's warnings, Torin and several of the guards produced spheres of light. I could have lit the place like it was midday, but the men thought it best for me to leave my goddess magic undisturbed for as long as possible, and I had to agree.
It seemed like an ordinary cave for the first hundred feet—although, surprisingly dry—but then things started to get strange. First, there was an illusion of an insect-infested wall that reminded me of an Indiana Jones movie. Declan recognized it for what it was immediately and simply walked through it. For the rest of us, it was a bit harder. Even knowing that it was an illusion, walking through a wall of bugs—hearing the chittering and clicking of their bodies and tiny legs—was a nightmare. I had to close my eyes to get past it.
Then we hit a patch of darkness that drank the fairy orbs' light like water. As we watched the globes slowly disintegrate, we exchanged grimaces. Declan sighed and lifted the lantern aloft, and we cracked on as Shane suggested. After several more minutes of walking, we came to a sheer drop. Declan held his lantern over it but it was impossible to see the bottom.
&nbs
p; “I'll investigate,” Gage said as he stripped, and then he shifted into his griffin form.
“Take the light,” Declan offered.
Gage grabbed the lantern's handle with his beak and then went to the cliff. His massive claws sent pebbles cascading over the edge as he pushed off, and we heard them skitter down for a bit before the sound faded. Gage transferred the lantern to his claws as he descended; he had doubtless been blinding himself holding it so close to his eyes. We stood at the edge and watched him glide down in a gentle circle; his lion tail twitching warily. He continued to descend for at least five minutes before a rocky bottom came into view. Looking at Gage on the ravine floor was like peering over the roof of a skyscraper; that's how far down it went. Gage investigated the area before he leapt into the air and flew back up to us.
“There's a door down there,” Gage reported as he gave the lantern back to Declan. “Nothing else. I can take everyone down.”
“How many of us can you carry at a time?” Declan asked him.
“Two,” Gage said. “Or one Torin.”
The rest of us chuckled as Torin rolled his eyes.
“Coming from you, that's a bit of the pot calling the kettle black,” Torin huffed.
“Yeah, but I don't have to carry myself,” Gage pointed out.
“Fine, then I'll go first.” Torin climbed aboard the Griffin Express.
Declan handed Torin the lantern, and Gage immediately leapt off the side and dove for the bottom. Now that Gage knew how deep the drop was he could take it faster. Even with his speed, it took a few minutes for him to transport all of us to the bottom. Those of us whom he took down first checked out the door while we waited for the others. It looked solid; made of polished wood—possibly mahogany—with iron fittings. I frowned at it; there were human myths that said iron was poisonous to fairies. It wasn't true. The simple fact was; iron wasn't pretty and Shining Ones liked everything to be as beautiful as possible. Which made its presence here odd.
“I feel a pulse of magic in the door,” Torin said.
