Blazing Moon: An Adult Urban Fantasy (The Tynder Crown Chronicles Book 2)

by Wendy Owens

  I have barely slept since we received the message that Nash would be brought up on charges this morning. Charges! The man saved my life, the life of a member of the court and he’s facing charges. Every time I think about it my blood begins to boil.

  As soon as Piper was awake, which of course was helped along by my louder music choice this morning, we were headed to the Palace. I didn't think this out because now I have been waiting all morning for information that seems like it may never arrive.

  I look over just in time to see a blue-skinned elf descending the spiral staircase. “About time!” I snap, relieved to finally get some answers.

  The elf blows past me.

  “You can’t be serious,” I snap, making sure the creature hears my dissatisfaction.

  “Tynder, you have to calm down,” Piper urges.

  “Calm down?” I question. “Calm down? They haven’t told us anything. They have kept him locked up for three days and haven’t told us how they plan to proceed. He saved my life. They can’t—”

  “You shouting and making a scene isn’t going to do anything to help him,” she interjects.

  “I should have never let them take him,” I mutter.

  “If we hadn’t gotten Peter to a healer when we did he would have died,” Piper reminds me. She had a point. Saying he was in bad shape was putting it mildly.

  The slender elven creature turned back in our direction. Without any explanation, she directs us. “You can follow me.”

  “Why isn’t this in the courtroom?” I ask, but don’t receive an answer. We continue down a side hall until we reach a single oversized wooden door.

  The creature steps to the side and motions toward the door. “Through there and at the end of the hall.” She offers nothing else before turning and walking away from us.

  “Gee thanks,” I hiss after her. “Your hospitality is amazing.”

  “Tynder,” Piper says my name in a displeased tone.

  “Oh come on, she was rude,” I defend.

  “Let’s go.”

  With a deep breath, I muster every ounce of restraint I can manage and push open the oversized wooden door. As I enter the long corridor, a hush falls over the crowd that has gathered. With all eyes on me, I freeze and glance at Piper. Whispering beneath my breath, I ask, “What’s going on?”

  Piper peers at the crowd before answering, “If I had to guess they’re here out of curiosity.”

  “What? Why? Nash isn’t on trial or anything.”

  “A Bimtok under disciplinary review for the murder of a councilman—scandal like that will bring them out in droves.”

  “He was protecting me,” I snap in a raised voice.

  “I’m on your side, Tynder.”

  “Sorry. I just don’t understand why we couldn’t even visit him.”

  “They don’t want to risk us getting our stories straight with each other.”

  “What stories? Lord Ardack was a cold blooded killer and Nash put him down. They should throw him a parade if you ask me.”

  “That’s not how these things work.”

  I chew on the inside of my cheek in frustration for a moment while we proceed down the hallway. At the end of the hall, I see several doors and assume Nash must be in the one guarded by two large Heralds who look like they wouldn’t even know what a sense of humor was.

  “I can’t believe the queen refused to see me. She’s the one that wanted Ardack dead.”

  “She can’t openly say that,” Piper reminds me.

  “Because she’s a coward. Maybe Ardack was right about her,” I mutter.

  Piper halts and grabbing my arm she spins me around. “Don’t ever say those words. If someone hears you, they may not understand you’re just blowing off steam, and they will report you.”

  “Maybe I’m not just blowing off steam,” I say yanking my arm away from her, suddenly realizing I am behaving like a petulant child.

  She grips me again, this time firmer and pulls me close, whispering in my ear, “They won’t just kill you, they’ll kill anyone who knows you.”

  She releases me and approaches the door guarded by the Heralds. I stand there, processing her words. She’s right. Queen Boru is so terrified of her throne being challenged she would end that before it ever began. If I was going to figure out who was behind Ardack’s army, I was going to have to figure out how to get what I wanted while working within the system, at least as much as I could and still stomach it.

  I join Piper, and we wait for the Heralds to open the door. As we enter, I’m surprised to see a table at the far end of the room with only two Council members behind it. I quickly recognize them as Lady Peabody and Lord Uthernaught. On either side of them, a Herald stands at attention.

  “What—were they afraid he would jump up and kill them too?” I whisper.

  Piper quickly hushes me by squeezing my arm. To our right sits Nash with a Herald standing directly behind him, his hand perched on a weapon at his waist.

  In front of me is a table with four chairs perched behind it. A balding round man is sitting in one of them. He stands and scurries over to me, shaking my hand in a rapid motion. “Hello, Miss Crown. I’m Harry Tubbwater, and I’m here as a representative for the Union of Bimtoks.”

  Good Lord, even fae have unions, I think to myself while offering the man a hint of a smile.

  I grip his hand, refusing to release it and warn, “You better not screw this up, or you’re dead Harry.” Threatening the man defending Nash probably isn’t the best strategy, but it’s all I can think to do at the moment.

  Nervously, he nods.

  Nash turns his head and smiles at me. Damn it, why does he have to be so chivalrous? We wouldn’t be in this mess had he just let Ardack devour me. Who knows, maybe I could have taken the Alpha with my fire hands thingy, then I would be the one being questioned.

  “Sit,” Lord Uthernaught barks at us from behind the table.

  We quickly do what he says. First Harry, the rep, then Piper and myself on the end nearest Nash.

  “Miss Crown, you’ve been brought here today as part of a formal investigation into the murder of Lord Ardack,” Lady Peabody begins.

  I lean forward and attempt to clarify. “He wasn’t murdered. Nash was just doing his job.”

  “Silence,” Peabody warns in a voice that tells me she doesn’t like me as much as I once thought she did.

  “Gideon Nash has been accused of high treason for murdering Councilman Lord Ardack,” Lord Uthernaught begins. “These are serious allegations. We’re not interested in your opinion of his guilt, we’re only interested in your version of the facts.”

  “Fine,” I sigh. “Shoot. What do ya wanna know?” As soon as the words leave my lips, I feel a sharp elbow to my ribs and Piper gives me the evil eye.

  “Witnesses place you at Grimlore House exactly three days ago and say they witnessed your Bimtok beheading our beloved Alpha. Is that true?” Lord Uthernaught continues.

  “It is, but—”

  “Let the record show that the witness confirms the beheading of Lord Ardack,” Uthernaught shouts to a floating typewriter that seems to be magically keeping a record of the events.

  “Shall we proceed with sentencing then?” he suggests.

  “What? You can’t do that!” I shout, hopping to my feet.

  “Sit down,” Lady Peabody commands. “And you Lord Uthernaught, we will sentence him when I am thoroughly satisfied that all of the questions surrounding the Councilmen’s death have been answered.”

  “You, Crim,” Peabody adds.

  “Yes, M’Lady,” Piper answers.

  “Did you hear any evidence that would suggest that Gideon Nash was justified in his actions?”

  “Justified!” Uthernaught snaps.

  “Let her answer,” the Councilwoman warns.

  “Lord Ardack was trying to hurt Tynder, M’Lady,” Piper answers.

  “So you’re saying that he was attacking Tynder at the time and her life appeared to be in dange
r?” Peabody attempted to clarify.

  “Well, not her life, M’Lady.” I shoot Piper a glance. She shrugs.

  “Excuse me?” Peabody attempts to clarify.

  “He said he couldn’t kill her because the person who put him up to making the army of mongrels had other plans for her.”

  “And who is this other person?” Uthernaught demanded before delivering a scoff at her idea.

  “He never said,” Piper admits.

  “So do you mean his Magistrate's life wasn’t in direct danger?” Peabody repeats.

  Piper tilts her head from side to side, considering the question. “I’m not sure he could have known that. From where he was it probably did look like Tynder was about to be killed.”

  “This is ridiculous,” I erupt at last. “Lord Ardack and Ian Blake were conspiring against the crown and devising an illegal army to do so. It doesn’t matter who they were working for, all that matters is that they committed treason and as such should be put to death. Gideon Nash just saved us a step when it comes to Lord Ardack.”

  “If you speak out of turn again I will have you removed, do you understand?” Peabody warns. I nod in response.

  I feel Nash’s eyes on me, pleading for me to stop, and the heel of Piper’s foot grinding against my big toe.

  “What you fail to understand Miss Crown is that we have a process. If Lord Ardack was suspected of misconduct, the proper action would have been to bring those concerns before the Council,” Peabody informs me.

  “M’Lady I was working under direct orders from the queen.”

  Immediately Peabody and Uthernaught lean in toward one another and begin whispering. I stare at Nash. He looks like he hasn’t eaten anything since he was taken into custody and there is a gash over his eye I am certain wasn’t there the last time I saw him. I will make someone pay for how they’ve treated him.

  “And if the Queen Boru sent you on this mission why were we not made aware of it?” Uthernaught inquires.

  “It was top secret. I’m sure if you ask her she’ll confirm everything I’m saying.” It was more likely she would just tell them to kill me if they asked her such a question.

  “Are you saying Queen Boru ordered you to kill Lord Ardack?” Peabody attempts to clarify.

  “No, not exactly,” I hesitate. “She wanted us to take Lord Ardack into custody so he could be questioned further about the plot against the crown.”

  “Alleged plot,” Uthernaught clarifies. “But now we can’t ask him to confirm your story, can we?”

  “Lord Ardack made it clear he had no intention of coming with us willingly. Mr. Nash did exactly what he had to in that situation to protect Queen Boru,” I explain.

  “And where is your proof?” Peabody inquires.

  “We have several witnesses who are willing to testify that Lord Ardack was using the month of the Blazing Moon and the cover of a nightclub in the meatpacking district to create a shifter army.” Piper chimes in. Of course, Peter saw everything that was happening. He could confirm what Lord Ardack was doing.

  “This is ridiculous!” the Councilmen shouts, slamming his fist onto the counter in front of him. “Lord Ardack was above reproach. We all knew him.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Lady Peabody interjects. “Let her finish.”

  Piper continues, “This army would be so powerful he could control the realm and conquer the throne for his own. Queen Boru had heard rumors of such a plot and called on Tynder to investigate.”

  “And you witnessed this conversation between Queen Boru and Ms. Crown?” Peabody asks.

  “I was there, but not in the room,” I roll my eyes at the fact that Piper can’t even seem to tell a white lie to help us out.

  “You can’t expect us just to take your word for things. If we ask Queen Boru and you’re lying, that’s also treason, and Miss Crown, that would mean your life as well,” Ms. Peabody interjects.

  I shake my head and reveal in a bold voice, “That’s not the only proof we have.”

  Apparently, judging by their expressions the Council members are not prepared for the surprise I have up my sleeve. You would think after dealing with me multiple times they would be used to my flare for theatrics.

  “Well?” Lord Uthernaught presses.

  Piper pulls a small satchel from her hip and hands it to me. I stand, set it on the table, and reach my arm all the way to my shoulder into the small bag of holding, mostly for show than out of necessity. This bag is one of my favorite things Piper carries. She could fit our entire office in there if she wanted to.

  I finally pull a mirror out of the bag. Piper waves her hand over the surface, and I turn it to show the Councilmen proof they can’t argue with.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Lady Piedmont demands.

  “Don’t be afraid,” I assure them. “They won’t hurt you.”

  On the mirror, there is an image of the Queens dungeons. Inside one of the locked cells is a pack of Lycan mongrels.

  “How are they in wolf form?” Peabody asks.

  “Piper and I have spent the last three days rounding up as many Lycan mongrels as we could. It wasn’t easy either, let me tell you. It’s like we said, a Lycan can only shift on a full moon unless he’s an Alpha. There is an exception to this rule. If a human is turned during the blazing moon, they have the ability to shift at any time, just like an Alpha. Either Alphas aren’t as rare as you thought, or these wolves are part of the army that Lord Ardack was building.”

  Lord Uthernaught looks up at the Herald next to him and commands, “I want you to send a legion to that cell right now and destroy those monsters.”

  “What?” I gasp. “You can’t! Any control Lord Ardack had over them was broken when Nash killed him. They deserve a chance; they may still be loyal to Queen Boru.”

  Uthernaught and Peabody whisper back and forth. Peabody looks as though she is pondering something serious before nodding at last. I watch as he tells the Herald something I can’t quite make out. The beast then disappears out the door we came in.

  “They didn’t know what they were doing,” I repeat.

  “Gideon Nash,” Lady Peabody says in a booming voice, and Nash stands in response. “Based on the new evidence that has been brought to our attention, we will be releasing you into the custody of your Magistrate. We will reveal our findings once we can conduct interviews with the additional witnesses to confirm everything we have heard here today is the truth. If we find the facts put forth here today are false in any way you will be detained once again for your actions and tried. Do you understand?”

  “I understand,” he says with a nod.

  “Before you go,” Lady Peabody continues. “You carried out punishment on a Councilmen. A penalty that had not been sanctioned or approved by this board. You are hereby placed on suspension from your Bimtok duties while the investigative committee reviews your conduct to determine if you should be reassigned to a new Royal Magistrate.”

  She stands and leans forward, and, when she does so, a pendant slips from behind her blouse and dangles in front of the room. Waving a finger, she warns me, “And theatrics like this won’t be tolerated in the future. Do you understand, Miss Crown?”

  I nod, but I can’t speak; all I can do is stare at the pendant. She moves to exit the room, along with Lord Uthernaught. That pendant—I know where I’ve seen it. The same symbol was around Ian Blake’s neck the night of the underground rave. But that wasn’t the first place I’d seen it. No, it suddenly comes back to me, that same symbol is on the dagger that killed my grandfather; I’m almost certain of it. A lead … I swallow hard. A lead that directs me straight to another council member, a member of the light fae. I never saw this coming.

  “Are you okay?” Piper asks me.

  “I will be,” I answer, my eyes locked with Lady Peabody until she leaves the room. This is much more than just a battle between the dark fae and the Queen. Lady Peabody’s involvement shows this goes much deeper. The question is, how do I figure o
ut just what I am dealing with and how it all ties back into Joe’s murder.

  Fifteen

  Powers, You Say?

  I’m on one of Joe’s couches looking up at the ceiling. Nash is napping on the one directly across from me. I’d saved the day. I’d kept my Bimtok from facing an executioner himself, so why couldn’t I shake the feeling that something much worse was headed our way?

  The heat from the fireplace was making me sick, or maybe it was this feeling of dread that was turning my stomach. Either way, I needed some fresh air. I stand and walk toward the front door.

  Piper is immediately at attention. “Where are you going?”

  “It’s hot in here,” I answer, stepping out under the night sky. Pressing my back against the brick wall, I slowly slide down it, allowing the night air to wash over me.

  Just as I had feared, the Lycan mongrels Piper and I had rounded up were slaughtered. They didn’t even bother pretending with a trial. The Herald that exited the room on the day they released Nash did exactly as Peabody and Uthernaught directed him. He took a group of armed guards into the cell where I put them and slaughtered them.

  What was I doing? Not all of those mongrels were psychotic killers. I had delivered them straight to their deaths, though. It was likely that more remained on the loose and despite being directed to round up any stragglers I had decided I didn’t want any part of the massacre. In my short time as Magistrate, I already had enough blood on my hands to last a lifetime. I could pretend like what I was doing was right, like all of the Fae I turned over for trial deserved what happened to them, but if I'd learned one thing since becoming a Phoenix, it was that nothing was fair about this system. I couldn’t tell them that of course, only continue to feign ignorance and incompetence when they checked in on my progress.

  I thought I had some power, some control over how I handled things, but it ends up I’m just playing their game. The Council and the Queen set the rules, or maybe it’s someone I don’t even know about.

  I can’t help but wonder how the Queen heard about Lord Ardack’s army in the first place. Did she know who Lord Ardack was working with as well? Did she know whoever it was had taken an interest in me? Maybe that was why she didn’t respond to my pleas when Gideon was facing a trial. Perhaps she secretly was hoping the Council would kill all of us.