Bloody Fairies (Shadow)

by Nina Smith

  She disentangled herself, slid off the bed and brushed herself down. When she tried the door it was open.

  She bolted downstairs and didn’t even stop to say hello to Nikifor, whom she glimpsed in the kitchen. She ran outside, washed her face in the fountain to wake herself up and then ran around the castle to the old fig tree.

  “Clockwork?” She looked up into the branches, but could see nothing.

  Silence.

  She scrambled up the tree, only to have it confirmed he wasn’t there.

  It felt like somebody squeezed her lungs with a big, calloused fist. Hippy searched all of the other trees, but there was no sign of Clockwork. Or Fangs. Her mind sent her nasty pictures of what might have happened to them, trapped out here with Rustam Badora on the hunt while she was hypnotised inside by shiny things.

  Shiny things. Something gleamed under a tree ahead. Hippy swooped on it and dragged Clockwork’s axe out of the long grass. Her knees would no longer hold her up. She collapsed. A big fat tear ran down her nose. She hugged the axe.

  A thin, high-pitched whine threaded through the trees.

  Hippy snapped to attention. “Fangs?” she scrambled to her feet, followed the sound around the side of the castle and ran back into the garden. Nikifor had been busy at some point, because most of the bushes had resumed their fantastical shapes.

  A gleam came from a little clearing between two bushes shaped like rearing winged horses.

  “Fangs! Thank Shadow you’re okay!” Hippy ran toward her.

  Shadows raced over the garden. Before Hippy could get any closer, twelve shiny shapes plummeted from the sky and landed in a circle around Fangs.

  Hippy held her breath. She slowed to a creep. Pierus’s fake fetches clawed at the grass and hissed. Fangs let out a second piteous whine.

  The fake fetches tightened their circle. Then they leaped. Fangs disappeared under a tumble of shiny scales.

  Hippy screamed, bolted forward, raised the axe over her head and swung it into their midst.

  She hit two fetches hard enough to split their scales. They exploded into clouds of foul-smelling gas. Oh Shadow. Hippy retched, but she swung the axe again. With five swipes, she blew up every single fake fetch.

  Then she could hold it back no longer. She dropped to her knees and threw up under a winged horse.

  When her body would let her she stopped, took a deep breath and went to Fangs.

  But there was no more Fangs. There was nothing left except three shiny scales and a wing tip.

  At a time when even a fairy would have been forgiven for crying, Hippy’s eyes were dry. She put the last remnants of Fangs in the pouch Fluffy Ducky had once lived in, picked up the axe and looked at the castle. She’d thought it was so beautiful when she arrived an eternity ago. So had Pierus. And he’d been planning to kill her from the day they met.

  She walked straight to the castle wall and climbed up it. There must have been a hundred beautifully carved fetches on that wall, under each window, over each door. Somebody had crafted them with the same love and care she and Clockwork had given Fangs after rescuing her yesterday.

  She raised the axe over her head and smashed it down on the first carving. Its head flew off, bounced on the wall below and broke. She moved onto the next one.

  Flying chunks of rock. Clang and flash of steel. Broken wings and shattered scales. Nothing existed but her world of destruction halfway up a castle wall. Nikifor had at some point come out and begged her to stop, but he’d quickly given up when she ignored him. Then he’d sat on the fountain wall and watched her frenzy like a man under a spell.

  It was a methodical frenzy. She walked along the castle wall and smashed every carved fetch she could find into tiny little pieces of rubble.

  She was almost done when she heard Pierus calling her from below. He looked terribly small from here, just a gaunt, long-haired figure with a face she wanted to smash. She raised a finger. “Wait. I’m almost done.” Then she turned her attention to the last unsmashed carved fetch, raised the axe and smashed it into tiny little pieces. The rubble clattered on the ground below.

  “Hippy.” Pierus’s voice was stern.

  She let go of the castle wall with her feet, plummeted to the ground and landed evenly in front of Pierus, axe poised across her body. “What?”

  He didn’t look angry, which was disappointing. In fact he looked mildly amused. “What are you doing?”

  “Smashing your fetches. What does it look like I’m doing?”

  “Why?”

  “Your fake fetches tore my little Fangs to pieces.” Hippy’s fury rose and hissed out with the words, but still there were no tears. “So I killed them. Then I smashed up your carvings. I was thinking about your teeth next, to go with your black eyes. Should I warn you, you are now at war with a pregnant Bloody Fairy?” She raised the axe and stepped toward him.

  Pierus stood his ground. “I’d be careful, if I were you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I may be disinclined to prevent Badora from doing further harm to your little friend when he awakes tonight.”

  Hippy froze. “What? What have you done with Clockwork?”

  Pierus closed a hand around the axe and took it from her numb fingers. “Nikifor,” he said, without looking around. He held the axe out.

  Nikifor walked over and took the axe. Hippy met his eyes over Pierus’s shoulder. He gave her a single nod.

  “There. Now we’re all friends again.” Pierus curled his fingers into Hippy’s shoulder a little harder than was necessary. “Come along my dear, and I’ll show you where your little friend is. Nikifor, get rid of that thing. I don’t want her wandering around with any sharp implements.”

  Hippy walked into the castle with her head down. She didn’t want to look at him. Or at the castle. Right now she’d have braved the roses if she had Clockwork with her. She wondered if Pierus remembered any of what he’d told her last night.

  The stairs rose up beneath her feet. Of course they went up all three flights and into the laboratory. Where else would he keep a prisoner?

  “There now.” Pierus settled his arm around her shoulders. “You see? He’s quite happy. As were you for some time last night.”

  Hippy looked up. Clockwork did indeed look quite happy. He stood in the corner near the Apple, just where she remembered being. His eyes were fixed on a glow that was contained inside his cupped hands.

  “Clockwork,” she said.

  He didn’t react.

  “Clockwork!”

  Nothing.

  Pierus grinned. “It’s all down to you, my love. You gave me the idea when you asked how shiny things could possibly harm anyone. There you see the result. I can take you and all your kind prisoner and you will know nothing. In fact you’ll be happier than if you were quite free to run around being destructive like you normally do. Genius, is it not?”

  Hippy moved aside the stained collar of Clockwork’s shirt. On his neck was a gaping wound, a tear crusted over with dried blood that looked as though it had been made by a set of fangs.

  “Oh yes,” Pierus said behind her. “This fairy trap is just a prototype. When I build bigger, better ones, entire tribes will cluster around them, ripe for harvest. My love, I’m going to turn all your people into vampire food.”

  Hippy spun around. “Not if I throw you from the roof of this castle.” Her fist curled and she stormed toward him.

  “Tut, tut.” Pierus shook his finger. “You’re going to behave from now until we wed tomorrow morning. If you don’t, I will make you watch him die.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Hippy felt like Pierus had put his hand through her ribs and torn out her heart. Her fists unclenched. She wondered if she’d just fought the shortest-lived war in history. How could she have ever thought she’d win against the muse king? He had three thousand years of experience at tearing people’s lives apart. He was going to destroy her, just like he’d destroyed Pandora. Her legs wouldn’t hold her anymore.
She collapsed to the ground at his feet and buried her face in her hands.

  There was silence above her. Then Pierus crouched next to her and she felt, of all things, an awkward pat on her shoulder.

  “Come now Fairy,” he said, his voice gentler than it had been. “This is your surrender? This is all it takes?”

  Hippy turned her face away. A huge tear leaked from one eye, ran down her face and splashed on his coat.

  “You’re crying?” There was an edge of exasperation to his voice. “Really, you are the most impossible creature. You know I can’t stand to see you cry. Come on.” He put an arm around her shoulder and drew her to her feet. “Let’s go downstairs. You must be hungry.”

  She wasn’t. She was too upset, but Pierus wouldn’t even allow a backward glance at Clockwork. His hand obscured her view while they left the room. He didn’t let go of her all the way down the stairs. Her numbed brain failed to make sense of his actions altogether. He couldn’t stand to see her cry, but he planned to kill her. The man was completely insane.

  They went into the kitchen and found Nikifor sitting at the table, head resting on his hands. When he saw Pierus enter he jumped as though a bolt of electricity had hit him. “My king?”

  Pierus gave him a smile as pleasant and fake as anything Hippy had ever seen. “Nikifor my boy, don’t look so frightened. The fairy has surrendered. Why don’t you make her a nice cup of tea? She’s rather upset. And me a coffee.”

  Nikifor gave him a blank look. “What’s coffee?”

  “You have coffee?” Hippy asked in surprise.

  Pierus sat her at the table. “I had a supply smuggled in a long time ago, but I only drink it on special occasions.” He disappeared into the pantry.

  Hippy could hear him instructing Nikifor on how to make the coffee and why it should never be given to fairies. She opened the pouches at her belt and went through them. Fang’s scales glittered. A knot developed in her throat. If she choked on her own grief, she’d just be making Pierus’s job all the easier for him.

  Choking. Ishtar.

  She frowned. She’d long since fit all of Ishtar’s gifts into the various pouches she carried. With trembling fingers she went through them. Yes, there it was. Just a tiny little hard ball, to be dropped into any liquid. She hid it inside her hand.

  Water bubbled on the fire behind her. Hippy stayed in her chair while Nikifor prepared drinks and Pierus sat beside her.

  Nikifor looked pale and frightened at being in the same room as Pierus. When he set hot cups down, their eyes met. Hippy gave him a hard stare, hoping desperately he’d understand. She flicked her eyes to Pierus and back.

  Nikifor cleared his throat. “My king-”

  Pierus glanced at him. “What is it?”

  It was all she needed. Hippy dropped the ball into his coffee and snatched her hand back with one quick motion.

  “My king I hope your coffee is to your taste.” Nikifor’s hair fell across his face. The shadows under his eyes made him look like the skeleton in the laboratory.

  “Well surely you can get a simple thing like coffee right.”

  Hippy hid her face in the steam rising from her cup. The heat warmed her fingers. Her eyes widened. That didn’t smell like tea. She took a cautious sip. The coffee slid down her throat like honey. Her brain began to thaw.

  Pierus raised his cup to his lips. Hippy watched him over the rim of her coffee. She took continual tiny sips in case he found out and took it away from her.

  He made a satisfied noise. “Not bad for a first attempt, Nikifor.” He took another mouthful. “There’s a flavour here I don’t recognise, but it’s rather good.”

  Hippy giggled into her coffee. She took a gulp.

  Pierus swallowed another mouthful and turned to Hippy. “What’s so amusing?”

  She shrugged and tipped the rest of her coffee down her throat. Her blood raced.

  Pierus brought the cup to his mouth. Hippy watched with big eyes over the rim of her empty cup. He’d drunk almost the whole thing. Most people only got through half of a drink before it started.

  He rubbed his throat.

  She giggled again.

  Pierus sprayed coffee all over the table. “What have you done?” His breath rasped.

  Hippy gave him her sweetest smile. “I gave you choking powder.”

  Nikifor dropped what he was carrying. Glass smashed on the flagstones.

  Pierus rasped again. His hand went to his throat. He made a sound like a sick bullfrog. “Nikifor,” he rasped. “Help me. No, stop her!”

  Hippy sent her chair flying into the wall. She winked at Nikifor, who was pale and frozen. “Thanks for the coffee,” she said. “You won’t die, Pierus, if you don’t fight it.” Then she bolted.

  She ran up the stairs twice as fast as normal, burst into the laboratory, tore a piece of the curtain and threw it over Clockwork’s hands.

  The glow disappeared. Clockwork looked around, his eyes unfocused.

  Hippy clicked her fingers in front of his face. “Clockwork. Clockwork! Look at me now. We have to go. Fast. Very fast. I like coffee.”

  He focused and looked around the laboratory, then back at his hands, still covered by the curtain. His lips drew back and he gave an angry yell. “Where’s my shiny thing?”

  “It’s a trap,” Hippy said. “It’s not a nice shiny thing.” She jumped up and down on the spot. “Come on, come on, we have to go!”

  This time Clockwork focused on her. Then his hand went to his neck. His fingers explored the wound. “What in Shadow happened?”

  “Pierus made you look at the shiny thing while Rustam Badora drank your blood please can we go?”

  Clockwork dropped the curtain and the fairy trap. Then he jumped up and down on it. Something smashed. He pulled aside the cloth.

  They crowded over what was underneath. A thin plume of smoke rose from the smashed glass and copper wires. Clockwork leaned in and picked up something small and metallic. “It’s a conduit,” he said.

  “What’s that?”

  “It holds electricity.” He turned toward the bright electrical cage. “Stand back.”

  Hippy backed up several paces and kept jumping up and down on the spot. “What are you doing? Can’t we just go? I swear I can outrun the roses. Pierus isn’t going to choke forever.”

  Clockwork looked over his shoulder at her. “Are you okay?”

  “I had coffee.”

  His eyes widened. “Really? Well, just wait a minute. We’re not going without the Apple of Chaos.” He went to the forest person skeleton, considered for a minute, then secured the conduit in the bony fingers. He carried the skeleton to the cage, positioned it, jammed the conduit into the electricity, ran to Hippy and backed away with her fast.

  Sparks flew from the cage. Lightning cracked through the air and poured into the conduit. The skeleton trembled. A couple of sparks shot out of the skull. Then the cage exploded in a brilliant flash of light and clap of thunder.

  Hippy clapped her hands. “Yay! Can we do it again?”

  “No.” Clockwork grabbed the curtain and wrapped it around the skeleton. “But if I’m not mistaken, we can find out how those roses feel about electricity.”

  Hippy searched through the rubble on the floor for the Apple. “Hey,” she said, “How come there’s only this one little bit left?”

  “He must have hidden all the rest already.” Clockwork studied the piece, which was the size of her little finger. “Never mind. It’ll be enough.”

  “Enough for what?” Hippy followed when Clockwork picked up the skeleton and ran for the door.

  “You’ll see.”

  They raced down the stairs. Hippy grabbed the feet of the skeleton to steady it, since it was a good deal taller than either her or Clockwork. “How come we’re taking Bones?”

  “I think the forest people might want him back.”

  They skidded to a halt at the bottom of the stairs. Pierus curled over on himself right in the middle of the floor, retchi
ng, choking, gasping for air. He dragged himself toward the fairies and pointed with a bony finger. He tried to articulate a word, but choked before the first syllable.

  “Choking powder?” Clockwork said.

  “My sister gave it to me. She’s the smartest fairy I know.”

  They edged around him.

  Pierus made a furious hissing noise and struck his fist on the ground.

  They ran for the door, but were once more forced to a halt when Nikifor barred the way.

  Clockwork brandished a fist at him. “Move, Muse!”

  Nikifor looked from one to the other.

  “We’re going now,” Hippy said. “Come with us, Nikifor. You don’t have to serve the muse king anymore.”

  “The roses,” he said.

  “Clockwork has a plan.”

  “It’s not going to work for three of us unless we can get up high,” Clockwork said.

  “The cart.” Nikifor strode into the garden.

  “A cart would work.” Clockwork ran after him.

  Behind them, Pierus was still struggling to articulate. “Bad-” he choked. “Ba-Bad-”

  Only after they had run after Nikifor could they hear his roar as he finally got out the whole word, followed by a prolonged choking fit.

  “Badora!”

  Nikifor went straight to a tumbledown shed at the corner of the garden, where he dragged out the big, clumsy covered cart. He went around the side and unpenned the donkeys.

  Clockwork jumped onto the back of the cart. “Too slow,” he said. “And heavy. We need to get rid of this roof.”

  Nikifor drew his sword and sliced it through the sides of the heavy leather walls. Hippy and Clockwork caught the roof and pushed it into the grass.

  Nikifor went to herd the donkeys out.

  “No!” Clockwork yelled. “Too slow. Hippy help me here.”

  Hippy helped him lift the skeleton onto the cart. Clockwork secured the skeleton in place, standing up, with the halters not needed for the donkeys.

  “What are you planning?” she asked.