The Awakened World Boxed Set

by William Stacey

  He embraced her instead. "It's good to see you, old friend," he whispered. "I thought you dead."

  "Lot of people think lot of things," she said, pulling back, her hands on his arms as she looked him over. "I'm alive. It'll take more than vamps to put me below ground. Last I heard, chupacabras ate you. Knew it couldn't be true. You always were too stringy."

  A middle-aged man in a dirty combat uniform, General Ramón Gálvez, the commander of the Norteno military forces, joined them. He had short gray hair and about a week's worth of beard.

  "General," Tec said with a nod.

  "Jaguar Knight," the general said, looking down quickly, a defeated look on his once-proud face. "I ... it's good to see you."

  "You did well bringing the army here," Tec told him.

  "Not so well, I'm afraid. Most ... most didn't make it."

  Tec saw the defeated look in the man's eyes and recognized instantly that Gálvez had fought his last battle. That's not so good, Tec thought. There's a fight coming to these people. They'll need a leader, someone who still has confidence.

  This man is broken.

  The last person to join them was Tavi, once again wearing the short brown cape of the Brujas Fantasmas. She rushed forward and hugged Tec, her face lit up with a smile, and then she cast a wary glance at Wyn Renna. Some things never change, he mused. She still hasn't forgiven her for trading places with the real Constance Morgan, for not being human. Tavi looked past Tec, her gaze sweeping over the others. "Where's Angie?"

  A surge of shame coursed through him, and he stared at the ground. "Taken by Lodin. A prisoner in the Hollows."

  Tavi gasped. Then she gripped his face between her hands and forced his head up, making him look her in the eye. "We'll get her back, okay? We'll get her back."

  He nodded quickly, only half believing it, and forced a smile to his lips. "Sure." He turned his attention to the others, where Marshal was speaking to Ephix and the two elven siblings.

  "We'll help however we can," Marshal was saying, "but our resources are already stretched to the breaking point. Your people can't stay here."

  "And they won't," Ephix stated bluntly. "I will take them to the Fresno Enclave. We will look after our own, but any help you can provide ... would be appreciated."

  Leadership is changing her, Tec realized. The old Ephix never would have asked a human for help.

  "Actually," Marshal said, "I was hoping you could help us."

  Ephix's eyes narrowed. "Help you?" The distrust between humans and Fey ran deep. Not so long ago, they had been killing one another. Only the Concord had stopped the fighting.

  "The Aztalan army is coming north," Marshal said. "They're not stopping with the Coronado Enclave. They're going to sweep over the Commonwealth next, and Sanwa City is first in their path. After us, they'll come for you. Help us stop them here."

  "I will not have my Fey fight for you," Ephix said bluntly. "Only weeks ago, your Home Guard attacked our home, murdered my sister."

  Marshal's face paled, and he swayed in place, leaning on his cane. "Not us, not me," he said weakly. "Nathan Case acted on his own. He was even planning on assassinating me. I was wrong about everything. I see that now. I thought Angie Ritter and the Seagraves betrayed us, but they saved my life."

  "Yes, they did," Ephix stated harshly. "And in return, you have chased away your best warriors. Why don’t you hide in your Bunker, lock your people away in safety while the Aztalans scour the wilderness?"

  "There’s neither room nor food for so many," Marshal said. "No, that old vault is no longer an option, only a grave. We’ll fight above ground, protecting everyone."

  "I am sorry," Ephix stated. "I will not lead my people to their deaths in a hopeless fight."

  "Ephix," Tec interrupted. "You might want to reconsider. He's right. Itzpapalotl—and it is the black dragon controlling the Aztalans, not their boy emperor—she’ll come for your people in Fresno. Count on it."

  "We won't be there. I'm taking the Fey far to the north, past what was once Canada. We'll go where no southern army will dare follow, the Arctic Circle. We cannot live among humanity, not anymore."

  He opened his mouth to protest but closed it without a word and sadly nodded. Who was he to tell Ephix how to protect her people? If his master still lived, Quetzalcoatl would have found a way to work things out, but he wasn't Quetzalcoatl.

  He couldn’t even save the woman he loved.

  "I'm sorry for what's happened between our people," Carter said. "I'm sorry that Queen Elenaril is dead," she said to the two elves. "She was a great woman." Her attention went back to Ephix. "Is there nothing we can say to convince you to stand with us? We could sorely use your help."

  "Nothing. We Fey are done with your kind."

  "Not all of us," Wyn Renna said. She looked to Ephix and then Marshal and Carter. "I'm sorry I deceived you. I'm sorry I'm not really Constance Morgan, but I won't leave you in your time of need. I helped build the Brujas Fantasmas. Me—not the real Constance Morgan—me." She stared at Tavi, who met her gaze defiantly. "I'll fight with you."

  "Sister," said Prince Kilyn, placing his hand atop her forearm. "You've done your duty. You've spent more than enough time among these people, so many years. You are going to be the queen now. There's no longer a need for you to—"

  She embraced her brother, hugging him fiercely. "I love you, brother. I give over leadership of our people to you. You will make such a king, but I cannot leave my human brothers and sisters. Not now. Mother would understand even if ... if you do not."

  His face fell, the resignation clear, but he smiled. "I do understand, sister. I do understand honor—and loyalty. Mother is proud of you. Wherever she may be, she watches and smiles."

  "We are honored," Carter said, taking Wyn Renna's hand between hers. "You were always one of us, despite the blood that flows in your veins. Welcome back, Mago Commandante."

  General Gálvez surged forward, and Tec tensed, fearing there would be trouble, but the veteran soldier placed his hand atop Wyn Renna's shoulder and met her eye. "I give over command of what remains of the Norteno forces to you, Mago Commandante. I have failed our people, but you won’t."

  Marshal, to Tec's immense surprise, also nodded. "I had hoped to convince Ephix and her people to fight with us, but I'm grateful for your help. I'm too sick to lead, but I gladly give command of the Home Guard to you, Mago Commandante. I warn you, though, the unit is still reeling from the betrayal of Nathan Case. It's not what it was."

  "It will be enough," Wyn Renna said with confidence. Her gaze went from him to Carter before resting on Tavi's face.

  Tavi inhaled deeply, set her shoulders back, and sighed. "Welcome back, Mago Commandante."

  Hope and confidence surged anew among the assembled leaders. Tec watched them, recognizing the magic the right leader could make—elf or human. Wyn Renna was exactly the person to command the defense of Sanwa City. But even with the Norteno and Home Guard forces combined, they'd never stand against the might of the Aztalan empire. The black dragon would destroy his master's dream of a world shared by Fey and humans.

  He couldn't let that happen.

  He sighed and stepped before Wyn Renna. "I'll help. If you'll have me."

  "I’d never even have tried without you, Jaguar Knight."

  Chapter 24

  Days after Angie woke in Lodin’s tower—for some reason, she couldn’t remember how many—the Fey lord led her through a junglelike copse of trees, vines, and giant purple flowers behind the oak tree on the hill where he had executed the troll chieftain. She had barely seen Lodin since that night. Instead, he had left her in the care of her new handmaiden, Maeve. She had spent the days moving about the surprisingly large fortress and estate grounds. Nothing was off limits to her, but there was one simple rule: she was not to attempt to pass beyond the wall she had seen the centaurs patrolling. Otherwise, she was free to do and go as she chose—and she did, looking for weaknesses or a way to escape.

  So far, she h
ad found nothing.

  She had been sitting in his spacious library, pretending to read a book—one of the few she had found in Old Elvish, a script she could slowly work her way through—when Lodin himself had strolled in, telling her she needed to come with him right now and see something. It wasn’t as if she could say no.

  To be honest, she found herself not wanting to say no.

  For days now, she had been struggling with the implications that he was another source mage. According to Lodin, that meant they were supposed to be together, a matched pair. He even insisted they’d be wed—but only when she wished, which, as far as she was concerned, would be two days after never. Angie thought of Tec, certain that he must be frantic with fear for her. Did she love him, or had it only been infatuation, a result of their shared dragon-bond? She honestly didn’t know, but the longer she spent here, the harder it became to think of Tec.

  And to her surprise, she found herself thinking more and more of the golden-haired Lodin.

  This night, he wore clothing … sort of. Lodin’s concept of clothing consisted of a short lion-skin kilt lined with hardened leather straps and brass studs that swished around his powerful thighs as he walked, his muscular upper body bare, reminding her of Char’s Greek statues. He even smelled wonderful, like berries and man-musk.

  To her immense relief, he had also made certain she had real clothing to wear, not the see-through nymph wisp Maeve had provided earlier. He had even apologized, explaining that satyrs didn’t understand human modesty. Now she wore a dazzlingly beautiful silver and blue silk gown, with long skirts that rustled about her soft velvet slippers. Over her shoulders, she wrapped a short, fur-lined cape. She looked and felt like the queen Lodin kept insisting she was—except of course for Nightfall, which she still wore strapped to her waist. She didn’t care how ridiculous a gown and sword belt looked; she wasn’t going anywhere unarmed.

  She wasn’t a guest, she was a prisoner, and no matter how sexy Lodin was, she needed to remember that.

  A trio of silver-maned centaurs carrying longbows with quivers of arrows slung over their broad shoulders trotted behind them. One of the centaurs also carried Lodin's long-hafted black spear against his chest with near reverence. The spear radiated magic. It was not just a hexed weapon but ancient, powerful magic.

  She no longer felt his Fey charm turning her on like a light switch, and it was possible it hadn't been him at all the other night but another of his subjects, maybe one of the nymphs. Fey magic had a powerful erotic effect on humans. It had been like that with Char, who often hadn’t even realized she was doing it. Nymphs, fairies, and succubus released powerful sex pheromones into the air, driving humans wild. This magic had been the source for so many of the stories in which men and women fell madly in love with Fey at first sight. While most Fey couldn't be bothered with humans, finding them endlessly boring, some, like Char, fed upon their sexual energy, often freely given in return for unimaginable ecstasy, even if it prematurely aged them.

  Nymphs, on the other hand, just loved to screw everything that moved, or screw with everything that moved. Nymphs weren’t evil, just different.

  "Where are you taking me?"

  He smiled over his shoulder, and she felt her heart skip. No man should be that beautiful. He took her hand in a grip that was surprisingly gentle. "A little farther yet, my queen."

  "I don't like it when you call me that. We humans only marry for love."

  "For love?" He stopped abruptly, letting go of her hand to face her. He placed his palms atop her fur-covered shoulders, looming over her, his golden eyes filled with a frightening intensity. "And who are you to tell me what is within my heart, Angela? Listen to my words: I do love you. I have never loved another. I will never love another."

  "I ... you don't even know me."

  "Of course I do. You are the same as I am, the only other who could possibly understand me. We are meant for one another. You just don't see that yet. Will you let me prove my words?"

  "I ..." She faltered under his gaze, feeling like a small child. Even without Fey magic twisting her emotions, supercharging her libido, he was breathtaking. Not handsome, far too perfect to be handsome. Not androgynous; there was nothing effeminate about those muscles and what she had seen between his legs. He might have been prettier than she was, but he was still all man. She thought of Tec and the night they had spent together in Elenaril's palace. That memory gave her the strength. "Show me then."

  He took her hand once more, pulling her along behind him, and she hurried to keep up with his longer strides. "Tell me, Angela, the first time you saw me, when the Mares of Diomedes carried you through my realm, you felt something, yes?"

  "I ... I did, a connection. Like I knew you." And it was true. The feeling had been so strong she had been struck dumb, unable to move.

  "As I told you the other night, like attracts like. We are unique in the universe, you and me. I in the Hollows, you in your own realm, this 'Earth.' But make no mistake, a lion mates only with a lioness, never a deer. And you, Angela, are a lioness. The witch traitors recognized what you were and hid you from me."

  "Char was a mother to me."

  "Chararah Succubus and Ephix Lamia plotted against my rule. Ephix was once a general in my army, her sister Chararah my most loyal druid. They didn't tell you that, did they? The crystal rose talisman that Ephix uses to travel between the realms? It was mine! Ephix stole it. Centuries ago, Ephix and Chararah led a rebellion against me, along with that twisted evil elf queen Elenaril. When the rebellion failed, they hid away in your realm, where they no doubt have been plotting against me ever since. But when the dragons tore away the Fey Sleep, they also stole away the Fey ability to slip as easily between realms." He smiled, his eyes shining. "No doubt they were secretly grateful to the dragons, thinking I could no longer reach them. They thought me helpless, but I wasn't—just uninterested. Until I learned of you."

  His grip on her hand tightened, making her wince, and despite her side-sword, she felt helpless next to this blond giant of a Fey. He could take it from me in a moment, she knew. That’s why he doesn’t care that I have it.

  "We are here," he said, releasing her hand as they entered a clearing, a glen filled with exotic plants, the likes of which she had never imagined possible.

  Giant glowing purple flowers, like lotus, stood taller than her. Orange and green mushrooms a foot tall sat amid thick junglelike ferns. Hundreds of brightly colored butterflies took to the air, each as large as her head. At the far end of the glen, beside a silver statue of a giant birdlike creature, sat a massive pile of broken stones between two crumbling pillars that had once been an archway.

  She had been so captivated by the glen, the archway, and the butterflies that when the statue lifted its head and regarded her, she gasped, stepping back in fear. Lodin placed a steady hand on her shoulder from behind—it was alive!

  "Do not run," Lodin warned.

  The creature rose and approached. Larger than a Kodiak bear, it had the enormous head and foreclaws of an eagle, with small black eyes and a golden beak longer than her arm. Huge feathered wings were folded around its lionlike body and rear legs. Silver and black feathers covered its powerful chest. It stopped just before her, sitting back on its lion legs and regarding her with eyes that seemed far too clever for an animal. It was a griffin, an honest to god griffin. She was equally terrified and excited.

  That was when she saw the thick metal chain attached to an iron collar around its neck. The chain ran to a massive stone boulder, perhaps twenty paces away. A pile of old bones, fur, and rotted meat lay nearby, the stench foul.

  Lodin trailed his fingers over the griffin's feathered head. "Moonwing. This is my queen, Angela. She carries my heart and my trust."

  The griffin cooed, the noise sending a shiver down Angie's spine. Then it moved aside, scuttling out of the way with remarkable agility for such a large creature.

  Lodin faced the pile of broken boulders between the two columns. Now Ang
ie saw that several of the larger pieces of stone were inscribed with runes. Without looking back, Lodin held his hand out behind him, and the centaur carrying his black spear trotted forward, placing the weapon in Lodin's hand. The centaur danced back, his hooves clopping on the soft earth.

  Lodin pointed the spear at the boulders, and Angie felt the flow of powerful magic coursing through the spear. The spearhead glowed with crimson energy. Then the boulders vibrated and rolled along the ground on their own, floating into the air to come together, each broken piece seamlessly fitting together and forming a vast stone archway more than ten feet wide.

  "What is this?" she asked, her skin tingling with occult energy.

  "The Portal Stones of Nevernight," he said softly. "I have been using them to search for you since you disappeared from my realm. Obtaining them cost me dearly, but I'd pay any price to find you." The air in the center of the stone archway began to shimmer. "Like doesn't just attract like, Angela. Like needs like. I need you. I never realized how empty my life was until you passed through it. I understood then the secret Ephix and her sister kept from me—you. I could forgive their attempted rebellion. After all, forcing them to hide away on your dreary world for centuries should have been punishment enough, but I could never forgive them for keeping you from me. Nor should you! They have injured us both."

  They must have known, she realized. Ephix said as much, that Lodin was attracted to my presence, not hers. At the time, I thought she meant the Shade King, but it was me, another source mage. They knew what I was, what Lodin was, and they kept it a secret, making me believe I was weak. Why?

  She drew her shoulders back, watching Lodin's glowing spearhead leave a trail of red energy in the air as he made circles with it before him. "Tell me the truth. What does it really mean to be a source mage?"