by Patti Larsen
“Think twice, hound,” Venner said, tone very cold, making Shaylee wail in terror. “These bullets could take down even you. And we wouldn’t want the Wild rising over your death, would we?”
I started and the lordling laughed. “You thought to hide their presence from me, Princess? How quaint and terribly misguided. I am well aware why Gwynn ap Nudd came here, and that he sleeps again with his howling horde under the soil of this place.”
I hated Venner knew about the Sidhe hunters in my back yard. It was almost as if that knowledge tainted Shaylee’s true love’s sleep somehow.
“Leave the Wild out of this,” I said. “Not even you would be stupid enough to wake Gwynn again.”
Venner shrugged almost casually, teeth gleaming as he continued to smirk, the expression drawing his left cheek back until he looked ghastly. “We shall see. Once this world is mine, the power of the Sidhe in my hands, nothing will stand against me. Not even the Wild Hunt.”
Galleytrot shook his great head, but in denial, not in answer. “You’re sure your slave could pull the trigger before I could reach you, dark one?”
Spaft laughed, a nasty sound, her lack of amusement clear though she was obviously enjoying herself. “Try it, dog.”
My demon squirmed to try to penetrate Spaft’s shield again, Shaylee batting at her in a mix of fear and desperate hopelessness. I knew an attack wouldn’t work this way. We needed to do it together, as one, something that wouldn’t happen while my demon raged and Shaylee refused to snap out of it.
I really wished the two of them would pull their crap together. Before they got us killed.
“Mom,” Liam raised one hand toward Sonja who refused to look at any of us, her gaze locked on the floor, arms holding herself tightly. “Please, Mom.”
She turned away, despair and grim acceptance on her face. Ms. Spaft laughed again while Venner took a step forward.
“She’s mine first, Keeper’s child,” he said. “Now step away or I’ll order my servant to kill you, no matter my need for you.”
I saw the light of rebellion in Fergus’s eyes, knew he was about to move and tried to stop him, but he was faster than I expected, much faster, while the hum of the Gate interfered with my focus and the two alternate powers inside me acted alone. Shaylee reached for him, her anxiety overwhelming while my demon fumbled to help, only to have his power repel them both as he dove for Venner.
A single gunshot. The tart stench of gunpowder. A muzzle flash, bright green, lighting Spaft’s eyes through her glasses, the evil delight shining there. Liam’s cry. Sonja’s look of horror.
The Unseelie lordling’s horrible laughter.
It seemed to happen in slow motion, though very, very fast at the same time, in bites of motion as if everything was broken into precise shards of fact. I heard Galleytrot’s howl, saw him rush for Fergus who clutched his chest, collapsing slowly. The black dog supported him to the floor, cradled the old man against his body, a steady transfer of green magic passing between them.
Liam collapsed beside his grandfather, tears pouring down his face, while Sonja turned on Spaft and Venner.
“You weren’t to kill him.” Her words came out in a breath, whispered at first. “You swore to me you wouldn’t!” Sonja was screaming now, shaking, as she lashed out at Spaft, trying to take the weapon from her.
Ms. Spaft casually struck Sonja in the temple with the butt of the gun, watched her fly back, impacting the stone wall before sinking to the ground. The black-suited woman then turned the open end of the barrel on me as Venner watched with hungry eyes.
“You’re next, girl,” she said, without a flicker of remorse. “Princess or no Princess, you move or you die.”
I’d known rage. Horrible, encompassing anger taking me over and driving me to do things I’d never thought possible. But the fury in my heart in that moment blew all of my previous bouts with anger away.
Shaylee and my demon felt it too, an almost purity of calm inside my anger stilling the struggle between them. They reached for each other through the haze of blazing fire at the exact moment my witch power pulled them in until I felt my body begin to swell and glow. The look on Ms. Spaft’s face, better, on Venner’s, was something I would treasure the rest of my life. Such fear, shock as they finally understood they had no idea what I really was.
“You fools,” I snarled, amber light tinting my vision as green fire erupted at my feet and blue wound around me in a tornado swirl that sent both the woman in black and the startled lordling back a step, another, as I closed on them. “You’ve tampered with something you can’t control and raised the wrath of powers beyond your abilities to comprehend.” My demon lashed out, spitting and howling, trying to force her way through the green shield shimmering around Spaft. I felt Shaylee reach for my demon, the two meld together in a swirl of mixed power turned suddenly a pale, sparkling lime. The shield collapsed as the pair’s joined forces sliced through it. My family power was ready, air magic crushing the gun in Spaft’s hand. A dose of fire turned it bright and hot. She dropped it with a cry, stumbling back, falling to one knee next to her master as the remains of the Sidhe enhanced weapon smoked on the stone floor.
Venner sagged, his power diminished from the further loss. I reached out with my witch magic and grasped Spaft by the torso in a giant hand of blue fire, lifting her and pinning her against the wall, slamming her with considerable force into the unyielding surface. A trickle of blood ran from her nose, glasses flying away, tight bun undone and hanging in a sad, hard ball from the side of her head.
“What are you?” Venner’s anger grew though I could feel his fear of me in equal measure as I reached for him with my other hand. Shaylee’s desperate fear eased at last, in the face of his. Spaft’s bugging eyes gaped wider as she struggled to free herself, her thin and tenuous hold on the Sidhe magic she had access to no match for the combined power of witch, demon and fairy. Venner’s small amount of magic was almost as ineffective as hers. I encased him in a bubble of energy, the walls of which he flinched from.
“I’m Sydlynn Hayle,” I snarled, “leader of the Hayle Coven and daughter of Haralthazar, Demon Lord of the Seventh Plane, host to Princess Shaylee of the Seelie Court and you, my dear Unseelie Sidhe, are completely screwed.”
Spaft screamed, still struggling. I would have loved to kill her, more than kill her. I know how that sounds. But the need to destroy her utterly was so powerful I had to fight it off, dousing some of my rage until I could think a little straighter.
Venner didn’t fight me. He simply stood and stared, focus unwavering. He was learning, watching, and weighing my power. I had to make sure he didn’t see me crack or waver.
Sonja groaned, lifted her head. Saw me there, in all my combined power and started to laugh. Not the reaction I was expecting. She didn’t look all that happy, but when she turned to look at Spaft and Venner, the spite in her expression was classic.
“This is what you’ve brought us to,” she said. “And I’m glad.” Her eyes met mine, then drifted to Liam. “Honey,” she whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
I’d almost forgotten Fergus. It helped my anger return. Liam looked up from where he sat, holding his grandfather’s head in his lap, and met his mother’s eyes.
“I’ll never forgive you for this,” he said. “Never.”
Sonja shuddered. “I had no idea what I was,” she told him, her desperation returning, but this time because of her need for him to listen. “Not until after you were born. You triggered the power in me. He came for me,” she pointed at Venner, “tried to recruit me. Told me what your father was, your grandfather.” She choked on a sob. “That we couldn’t be a family because you are Seelie and I am dark court.”
“You could have told me.” Liam looked away, grim, angry, and grief-stricken.
“I wanted to,” she said, “so much, Liam. But when I wouldn’t give in, they killed your father.”
Liam’s head bobbed. “I know,” he snapped. “I already know. And you didn�
�t do anything to stop it.”
“I had no choice.” She glared at Venner who actually smiled at her. “Tell him. Tell him the truth!”
The Unseelie lord crossed his arms over his chest, but remained silent. Spaft moaned, the sullen rage on her face enough for me.
Must have been for Liam, too, because he turned his anger on them. “I’ll kill you for this,” he snarled.
“Fool,” Venner said, voice smooth as silk, “I’m immortal.” His eyes turned to me again as Sonja went on.
“I ran,” she said, “with you. To keep you as far away from the Gate as I could. Your grandfather said he could protect you. They tried to kill him too, but the Keeper has his own protections, and they couldn’t reach him.”
“But they caught up with you, didn’t they?” It was all coming together.
Sonja nodded, miserable, not even trying to stand, tears running down her face. “He found me.” She sobbed once, a horrible sound. “Told me he would kill Liam if I didn’t bring him back. Lord Venemeth,” she shook her head, “needed him here when they took the Gate.”
Venner’s smirk didn’t waver.
“But how?” Liam stroked Fergus’s brow. The old man was very pale, breathing shallow though the magic exchange between him and Galleytrot never faded. We had to get him help.
“The Gate protects the Keeper from direct attack,” Sonja said, “but not from the innocuous. The dark one poisoned Fergus slowly, over a matter of weeks, using the very books he loved in the archive to tangle and then smother his memory.”
Sonja cried out suddenly, writhing as green fire lashed out at her. I slammed Spaft against the wall again as Shaylee hunted back to the source without hesitation. Not the hateful woman, though I already knew that, but Venner, even through the shield surrounding him. Shaylee managed to cut off the flow, but it meant dividing our power. I needed her to keep the connection in order for my demon and witch magic to keep working on the Unseelie woman under my control.
Venner took advantage of my moment of weakness, lashing out suddenly with the last of his magic against the barrier I held around him. It collapsed under the pressure, not completely, but enough. With a salute he vanished in a surge of green fire.
Shaylee leaped after him without my prodding, but too late. He was gone. Spaft howled after him before panting her rage at us.
“Tell your precious son the poisoning was your idea, Sonja dear,” Spaft spit at her.
Liam shuddered, looked away.
“They insisted,” she whispered. “And better that than your grandfather ending up dead.” Her voice strengthened as she finally struggled to her feet. “But I’m done,” she said. “You will not have my son for your plans.”
“Why do they need him?” I met the woman’s eyes, saw her determination even through her fear. “Once the Gate is open, it’s open.”
Sonja shuddered, looking around as if expecting another attack. When it didn’t come, she spoke up, more confident, more angry. “The Gate still holds great power,” she said. “And can be used to link to all of the other Gates, bypassing the Keepers. With Liam’s power coming from both Seelie and Unseelie, under Venemeth control, he can own the network and use it against the rulers of both Sidhe courts.”
“So all the power of the Sidhe,” I said, Galleytrot’s suspicions confirmed, “would be under Venner’s control.”
“Yes,” she said. “And more. They gather, the hordes of Sluagh, followers of the Dark Lord.”
Venner tried again from wherever he hid, his magic lashing out to kill her. I felt it, fought it, had to pull some of my attention from Spaft to do it. I knew it was a risk, but I needed the information Sonja could give me and I wasn’t going to get it if she was burning to death in a sheath of Sidhe fire.
“The Dark Lord will devour you whole!” Spaft’s shriek cut the air with lashes of fury. “He will tear you in chunks and send your soul to the everlasting flames!”
Sonja turned to Spaft and made a very rude gesture with her middle finger. “I’m done being a pawn of the Unseelie,” she said before returning her attention to me. “Over a century ago, through a Gate he tried to control but failed to do so, the Unsleelie Lord Venemeth escaped to our world and has been living here, among us, ever since. It’s his dream, his goal to bring down the Gates and rule the earth.”
Shaylee whimpered inside me, writhed in pain, striking out with her power, making even Spaft cringe and cry out in fear.
Venemeth. Shaylee’s soul suffered such torment I felt tears rise and spill over onto my cheeks though her hurt was stronger. Her sister Cydia’s face flickered in my mind, paired with the familiar handsome face of the Unseelie Sidhe. It was he, Venemeth, the one you know as Venner, who tainted my sister, she finally spoke to me, the strength of her emotions feeding our connection. Who pursued me for centuries, manipulated and lied and cheated his way into my parent’s court, used his deceptions and black heart to win over those I thought loved me. She shuddered, pulled back a little, but I held on, refusing to let her go. When I rejected him, he tortured and tormented me in his subtle, devastating way. Sydlynn, you have no idea how terrible his attentions can be! She tried again to pull back, but this time even my demon held her close. When my soul’s suffering ended, when I met and fell in love with Gwynn and made my choice public, he convinced my sister to turn against me. Shaylee wept inside my mind, her spirit shuddering in a mix of fear and loathing. He is the reason for my death.
And you failed to tell me this why? Seemed like important information to know. My demon growled her anger too, but Shaylee felt so broken I held off.
At first I thought him lost to me, she sent. Trapped in the Sidhe realm and out of my reach. She paused. But when I saw him that day, that first time hidden in human form… I was so afraid, I couldn’t act.
You knew all along. I wanted to rip her free of my body and shake her so hard her cute little pointed ears fell off. From the moment we met him, you knew who he was. Damn it, Shaylee, we could have cornered him somewhere and taken care of this long before now.
Her hesitation was painful, her confidence waning by the second. I was a coward, she told me at last. Oh, Sydlynn, forgive me. I have always been so afraid of him. Unable to stand against him and his manipulations. Had I only been stronger in my previous life. Like you. Like both of you. She tentatively touched both me and my demon with her magic, her embarrassment woven through old anxiety so intense I hissed a breath in sympathy. That fear has held me back, until this moment. But I have watched and learned and tried so hard to help you, and for the first time in my existence I feel like I can do what needs to be done. You make me brave, my sisters. Now can I act, knowing I must put an end to him at last.
My demon hummed happily, embraced the two of us.
Fine. Whatever. Idiots. The lovey-dovey connecting stuff would have to wait.
We have other things to worry about right now, I told her.
Yes, she said. But soon, Sydlynn, he will be ours.
My conversation was distracting enough I was too slow to react when Spaft threw her head back against the stone and screamed.
“VENEMETH! Save me, my lord!”
Shaylee struggled to stop the sheets of green flame engulfing first Spaft, then Sonja, but we were too late. Both women vanished in flashes of brilliant emerald.
It wasn’t over yet. I felt Shaylee dive after the power, her fear still there, but her determination far more vibrant. With myself and my demon there beside her, she followed the trail like a hunting eagle down the retreating path as we flew through the haze of power and slammed into the Unseelie lord.
He felt shocked we’d found him again, then amused.
Well done.
Shaylee’s fear dissolved in a sudden wash of anger so powerful I wanted to cheer out loud for her. He recoiled from her as she lashed out in fury, no longer afraid of him. When next we meet, you die.
We all felt him shudder, his own fear as clear as a new day. Shaylee’s spirit surged in triumph, but he cu
t her off with a jolt of his own anger as though she’d crossed a line he hadn’t expected.
When he laughed, there was a blade in it that cut against our combined magic. You have to find me first, Your Highness.
Before we could latch onto him more firmly, he broke the contact. The power snapped like a too-tight cable and I found myself, a moment later, staggering to keep my balance as our power slammed back into my body.
My mind echoed with his last thought.
See you soon.
***
Chapter Thirty Four
“Syd!” Liam’s desperate cry spun me around. I raced to him and fell to my knees, one hand pressed to Fergus’s chest, just below the wound. Shaylee felt around inside, winced at the taint of dark Sidhe magic. My demon snarled, grasped both of us by the scruffs of our power and used the three of us to latch onto the bullet still buried in the old man’s flesh.
It was torture, disgusting, painful and so vile I wanted to pull away, to abandon the attempt, to leave the horrible thing where it was. So much hate and darkness could not exist in one tiny shard of metal, but it did, oh it did, and the cost of removing it was too much.
Until the nasty thing popped free, jerking loose so violently it flew across the room to ping against the stone. I collapsed, panting, my demon howling, Shaylee weeping at the filth staining us from the contact. But it faded, thankfully, washed clean by the slow and steady flow of Galleytrot’s magic and the bond between the other two powers inside me.
The black dog’s magic poured over the old man, but I could tell he still wasn’t responding the way he should. My connection through the earth told me the wound resisted all attempts to heal it.
“The damned Unseelie,” Galleytrot growled, a great strain in his voice. “I can keep him stable, but I’m not sure for how long.”
Fergus’s eyes flickered open, empty of the knowledge we were even there. I could see how far away he was, but when he spoke his voice and message were both loud and clear.
