by Amy Sumida
As I'd been speaking, a violet glow had seeped from my fingers into Penderson. I had barely spared it a glance, being too intent on getting through to him. But it seemed to steady him and by the time I'd finished speaking, he was staring at me with clear, sane eyes. Penderson nodded and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“You released him from her hold,” Conri whispered. “You reversed the enchantment.”
“From fairy-struck to fairy-un-struck,” Tiernan looked over Penderson carefully and then focused on me. “It appears that a new facet of your star-crossing has revealed itself.”
“Un-crossing,” Conri whispered.
“No!” Cailleach screeched as her silver hammer appeared in her hands It started to glow as she lifted it high and leaped at Penderson.
Extinguisher Ed Teagan launched himself across the bed and knocked Cailleach Bheur back onto the floor. The hammer fell behind her with a thud, its dangerous glow fading. I pulled Penderson back, pushing him behind me as the rest of us rushed forward to restrain the hag. It didn't take long to get her bound with silicone-lined, iron handcuffs and soon she was sitting forlornly on the bed.
Conri kicked the hammer to the side of the room as he snarled, “There's nothing worse than a hag with a hammer.”
“Cailleach Bheur,” I intoned. “I'm arresting you under the charge of conspiring to alter or endanger human government and legislation. You are accused of endangering the life of several humans and of the abduction of Claire Penderson. As an official representative of both Councils, I may offer you leniency in exchange for the location of Mrs. Penderson and the name of your co-conspirator.”
The room went silent, all that could be heard was the ragged breathing of James Penderson as he glared at Cailleach, her true visage finally revealed to him. She hung her head, shoulders drooping, and did something truly unexpected; she cried. It shouldn't have influenced me, I've seen many fairies try to use tears to sway judgment, but this time I felt something.
“Cailleach,” I went forward and touched her shoulder. “I know you were trying to help but you did so as a fairy. You can't understand this world, not completely, as the humans could never understand Fairy. I will speak on your behalf to the Fairy Council if you release Claire and tell me who was helping you.”
“Your word, Princess,” she lifted her one, piercing eye to me. “Give me your word that they will not kill me.”
“I will give you my word that I will do everything within my power to prevent your death. I will make sure you get a fair trial in the High Court,” I offered instead. “Is that good enough for you?”
“Yes,” she sighed. “I think that will have to be good enough.”
Then she told us where to find Claire Penderson.
Chapter Forty-One
As twilight fell on Seattle, Conri and I stepped into the Between and stepped out into the Seelie Court.
We had left Tiernan behind to deal with the Human Council. He would take Cailleach with him and the Extinguishers to San Francisco, where he would answer all of the questions that would surely be coming from the Human Council, before he scried my father and explained it all over again to him. Then Tiernan would transport Cailleach back to Fairy and to the Twilight Court.
I had promised Cailleach that I would do everything I could to prevent her death and my first step was to take her into my custody instead of handing her over into the Fairy Council's. When I returned, I would travel with her to the High Council House and face them beside her. But for now, I had another promise to keep. And so I was in Castle Seelie, where Cailleach had stashed Claire Penderson.
I strode down the shining halls of the Seelie Court with angry, echoing steps. All this time, I'd suspected Uisdean. I'd practically been one-hundred-percent sure that he was the one helping Cailleach. Never had I once considered that an unseelie hag would form an alliance with a seelie sidhe, much less this sidhe in particular. If Cailleach hadn't told me where to find Claire, the human woman would have been trapped in Fairy for the rest of her life because I never would have thought to look for her here.
“Do you even know where we're going?” Conri shot a concerned glance my way.
As a twilight fey, he probably wasn't all that worried about traipsing through the Seelie Court. He would be welcome there as long as he had relatives in attendance and Conri had told me that he'd seen his mother the night of the Seelie Ball. So she was definitely in attendance. But he'd also seen what had happened between me and my grandmother, so I think that had him just a little paranoid. The guy was tough, monstrous tough, and I'm sure he would take on any single opponent without hesitation but facing the entire might of the Seelie Court was another matter entirely.
“No,” I snapped. “But I'm sure she can tell me,” I pointed to an erdluitle who was sitting on a stone bench, playing with a sphere of water. Not a sphere filled with water but water collected magically into the form of a ball.
The seelie fairy gave a start when she saw me and the water ball went sailing up into the air and stayed up there. About the size of a seven-year-old child, she was actually a full grown fairy, with a very mature face. Her little webbed feet poked out from beneath her peony-pink silk dress, dangling over the white bench but not quite reaching the tiled floor.
“Aren't you...?” She pointed a chubby finger at me.
“Yeah, I'm her,” I crouched down in front of her and asked her where I could find Cailleach's cohort.
“He's been cloistering himself within his bedchambers recently,” she shrugged. “He should be there now. Just go straight down this hallway, then left at the end. Follow that all the way to the end and take another left. Then you'll pass two doors before you turn right. From there, go past another four doors and turn left. He has the whole wing.”
“Right,” I went through the long set of instructions mentally and then nodded. “Okay, I think I've got it. Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure, Your Highness,” she beamed at me and the water ball fell back into her hands.
Conri and I rushed through the halls, following the erdluitle's directions, and finally arrived at the wing she described. After a bit of searching though oddly empty suites, we found the fairy himself, sitting in a corner of a ridiculously large and lavish room, reading a book; a human paperback novel with a picture of a woman and a cat on the cover. The word Godhunter was printed across it.
He was so engrossed, he didn't hear us walk in. I padded silently across the baby blue rug, rolling my eyes at the gold sun pattern woven into it. I guess the Seelie Court liked themed designs just as much as Twilight. Cerulean and gold damask drapes were drawn shut over the tall windows, defiantly blocking out the dark. A plethora of fey lights circled the gilded ceiling, adding to the illusion that it was the middle of the day instead of night. The room was filled with bookshelves and carved crystal furniture, padded in the same damask that the drapes were made of. I eyed the elaborate chaise lounge he was draped across before I plopped down beside him and stretched out my legs.
“Hello, Uncle Shane,” I said congenially.
“Seren!” Shane jerked up, dropping the book to the thick carpet.
“Do you know why I'm here?” I asked as Conri came up beside me.
“Um, no,” Shane gave me a nervous smile. “You look a little bedraggled. Would you like some refreshment? I could call for some,” he started to stand but Conri growled and Shane sat back down.
“Uncle Shane,” I sighed and laid a hand on his arm, which was starting to glow. “Trust me, you don't wanna do that,” the glow faded as I went on. “I've been through a lot these last few days and I apologize if I'm a bit short with you but where the fuck is Claire Penderson!?” I shouted the last bit in his face.
“Claire Penderson?” He'd gone even paler than normal but was still trying desperately to keep his composure.
“Why were you helping Cailleach?” I shook my head. “I don't get it. I thought the seelie hated the unseelie?”
“I don't know what you're tal
king about,” Shane tried his best to look innocent.
“Cut out the act,” I rolled my eyes, sat back, and crossed my arms. “It's starting to make sense now. You're the little bird who told her about my magic and my new name. I thought she was talking about that damn crow but it was you, wasn't it? You manipulated her and fed her information so she would trust you. Cailleach thought she was helping the humans but you knew just what would happen, didn't you? She said you had visions of the Human Realm being reborn but if you did see anything, I imagine you saw what I did; complete chaos and destruction. So it was your goal to wipe out the human race. I just don't understand why you would hate humans so much and I can't figure out how or why you would align yourself with an unseelie hag.”
“I don't have to explain myself to you,” Shane's jaw clenched.
“Oh but actually, you do,” I gave him an evil grin. “I'm an Ambassador and what that means for you is that if you don't want to be arrested and brought before the High Court on charges, you had better tell me everything I want to know and then hand over the human woman.”
“You can't charge me with anything,” Shane laughed but it was a anxious laugh. “I'm the Prince of Seelie, the only heir to the throne.”
“And I'm a fairy princess,” I said scathingly. “So what? You aren't immune to the laws. In fact, I don't even have to drag you before the Council, all I'd have to do is star-cross you and make you follow me back.”
“You wouldn't,” he whispered.
“Yeah, you don't know the kind of week she's been having,” Conri shook his head.
“Why, Uncle Shane?” I asked him again.
“Because humans are the true evil!” He shouted, startling me a little. “They are killing the Earth. Do you know how many animals come to us and beg for sanctuary here? Their animals. Beasts they were given dominion over, to protect and care for. They have betrayed the wild things! They kill them! Hunt them to extinction and then cry over it. Oh woe is us, we've killed off another species, what shall we do? Well how about not kill them?!”
“I agree with you but this isn't the way,” I said tonelessly. Frankly, I was getting tired of having this argument. Part of me felt like I was on the wrong side of it.
“They pollute the very air they breathe, Seren,” Shane leaned forward to growl at me. “The water they drink. What kind of fool poisons his own food and water? Something must be done. They must be dealt with. It's time that the humans are made extinct. Once they are gone, we can bring the Earth back to life. Imagine what your old home would be like under fey rule.”
“It's not meant to be under fey rule,” I whispered.
“You think it's better off in the hands of those monsters?” He snarled and then narrowed his eyes on me. “You don't even know, do you? Has Keir never told you how his father died?”
“In battle,” I answered immediately. “One of the wars between the fey and humans.”
“Not where, how,” Shane's voice went low and lethal. “The humans got a hold of his wife, Queen Rhona. They had slaughtered her guard and unhorsed her. They were doing horrible things to her, in the way that men do to women on the battlefield.”
“Enough,” I held up my hand, my voice suddenly rough with unease. “I don't need to hear any more. I get it.”
“No, Niece,” Shane snapped. “You will listen and understand what sort of people you support. Understand why some of us fey can't ever get past our hatred. Those humans had Queen Rhona and they taunted the Dark King with her, cutting pieces from her while they defiled her. King Dhoire went into a blind rage. He called upon all of his magic at once, taking every element into himself.”
“No,” I whispered.
“Your grandfather destroyed all of those men with a single flick of his hand, as well as the hundreds of humans who'd been surrounding those bastards and keeping King Dhoire at bay,” Shane continued mercilessly. “The Unseelie King held out long enough to reach his wife but he was too late. The Queen was already taking her last breaths when the combined elements became too great for him and tore Dhoire's body to pieces. Queen Rhona's last sight was that of her husband's horrifying death but still, we found one piece of him intact; his hand, held tightly in her's.”
“Sweet Goddess,” I swallowed hard and blinked back the tears. “That's horrible. My heart hurts for them and for my father. But, Uncle Shane, I've seen behavior just as monstrous in your court. Beneath our feet, in your dungeons.”
“Not that monstrous,” Shane protested.
“Yes, that monstrous,” Conri growled. “I saw it too. Don't you ever step out of your perfect rooms to see what happens below them? I think you'd reconsider who the monsters are.”
“I understand now,” I touched Shane's hand gently. “I know how much you love my father. His father's death affected you too, didn't it?”
“King Dhoire was a good man,” Shane took a deep breath before continuing. “A good king. I knew him quite well from his visits with my mother. I liked him. He was always kind to me. Like a second father. He didn't deserve to die like that.”
“No one deserves to die like that,” I sighed. “Not even humans. The decimation of an entire race will not make this right. It's not the answer.”
“I believe it is,” Shane fell back into his seat, looking suddenly older and very tired. “But perhaps you're right, maybe it isn't. Either way, it's obvious that this attempt has failed. So take her, the human woman, she's in there,” he waved a hand and a door appeared in the wall to his right. “I was growing bored of her anyway.”
I glared at Shane, even though I knew his attitude was partially contrived, and then nodded to Conri. Conri went to the door and sniffed it before he opened it carefully. I watched his brows lift as he stepped in.
“Ma'am?” I heard him say. “Can you hear me? I'm going to take you home to your husband. Mrs. Penderson?”
A horrible shrieking had me jumping out of my seat and running into the room after Conri. It was a nice room, not a cell in any way. There was a bed, a few chairs, a desk with some papers on it, and a screaming human woman crouched in a corner.
“Claire!” I shouted as I ran over to her. “Claire, my name is Seren and I'm here to help you.”
“Help?” The shrieking faded to a whimper as she stared at me cautiously.
“Don't you want to go home?” I offered.
“I am home,” she said with frightened eyes.
“No, you're not,” I said gently. “You're in the Fairy Realm. You've been abducted, taken away from your family. Stolen from your husband. I can help you get back to him.”
“No!” She started screaming again. “I'm home! I'm home!”
“She's struck,” Conri laid a hand on my shoulder.
“Damn him,” I growled and stomped away from Mrs. Penderson. As soon as Conri and I stepped away, Claire's hysterics faded and she seemed to calm. I felt my hands clenching into fists as I walked back to a smirking Shane. “If you weren't my Uncle, I'd smack you upside the head!”
“I said you could take her,” Shane shrugged.
“Remove the enchantment and I will,” I put my hands on my hips.
“I didn't place it on her,” Shane smiled bigger.
“Um, Your Highness?” Conri interrupted.
“Hold on a sec, Con,” I waved at him but kept my eyes on Shane. “What do you mean; you didn't put it on her?”
“Cailleach struck her, not I,” Shane held out his hands as if there were nothing he could do about it.
“Freakin' Faustian fairies!” I stomped my foot and lavender sparkles erupted around me. Uncle Shane pulled back in his seat, his eyes gone wide. Well, at least that stopped his smiling.
“Honestly, Seren, there's nothing I can do for the woman,” Shane's voice went jittery. “I swear it.”
“Princess?” Conri tried again.
“Not now, Conri!” I snapped and went back to yelling at Shane. “You had better figure something out, Uncle Shane or I'm going to shove my sparkling foot right up yo
ur shiny sidhe ass!”
“Now, Niece,” Shane held up a placating hand.
“You don't know me well enough to use that tone with me,” I snarled.
“Seren!” Conri shouted.
“What?!” I shouted back and turned to face Conri.
“You can undo the magic, remember?” Conri growled in exasperation.
“Oh,” I blinked and then started to chuckle. “Shoot, I totally forgot.” I turned back to Shane and pointed a finger in his face, “You are so lucky.”
“You can't undo a fairy-struck human,” Shane gaped at me. “Only the fairy who cast the enchantment can reverse it.”
“Oh? Is that right?” I tapped my lips thoughtfully with a fingertip. “I guess my magic didn't get the memo,” I walked past him and back into the bedroom. “Okay, Claire,” I held up my hands. “No one's going to take you anywhere you don't want to go.”
“Really?” She didn't look convinced.
“We're going to leave now,” I nodded and held my hand out to her. “It was nice to meet you.”
“Oh, yes, it was nice to meet you too,” she came forward automatically to shake my hand... because that's what people do when they meet.
But when I touched her, I let loose the magic inside me and it seeped into her skin, rooting out the invading enchantment and destroying it. Claire came blinking back to herself and stared at me in shock.
“Where am I?” She asked immediately, her body beginning to shake.
She held a hand to her mouth and then fell to the floor to throw up all over Shane's pristine carpet. I bent beside her and rubbed her back while Conri rushed out. She started to cry and I pulled her back into my lap, stroking her hair soothingly. Conri returned with a cloth and a glass of water. I dipped the cloth into the water and started cleaning her face. She steadied and took it from me, then took the water from Conri.
“You're not supposed to be,” I said to her gently. “Your husband, James, sent me to bring you home. Are you ready to go home now, Claire?”
“Yes,” she took a deep breath and nodded.
