by Alex Temples
Chapter Forty-One
“Brin, we’ve been training for months. Everyone’s getting restless. I think it’s time we all had a little fun.”
I sat at the long table on my third floor, which we now called the drill room, running over lesson plans for the week with Neil. All the keepers were brushing up on their incantations and battle skills.
At Claire’s voice, he lifted his head, eyebrow raised as the taller redhead danced into the room wearing a blue and white dress with cowboy boots. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a knot and she was holding two mugs of tea. She extended one towards me.
I took it gratefully, offering a nod of thanks.
I sighed, leaning back in my chair as I examined my friend. We’d grown close over the past few months, and not just me and Claire, but the whole lot of us. I was even getting along with Neil, a fact that still shocked me.
I slid off my reading glasses and rubbed the bridge of my nose. Claire was right, as usual. There was a growing tension among the group. We’d been so busy building our magical skills, drilling together and focusing our attention on monitoring the dark fae, that we hadn’t made time for any fun.
“Fun, huh? What did you have in mind?” I asked.
Neil snorted and shuffled his charts.
Claire’s eyes swung to the older fae and she gave him a sharp look. “Just because you don’t have any fun, doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t need it now and again.”
I glanced down at the table, not willing to put myself between the two of them. It was no secret that Neil and Claire rubbed each other the wrong way. They were constantly bickering.
I rose carefully.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Neil asked, foiling my attempted escape.
I raised a hand in surrender. “Nowhere, just stretching my legs.”
Claire snorted. “Tell him we need to take a day off, Brin. Nobody has another day of drilling left in them.”
“Do you think Gethin’s men take days off?” Neil spat out, rising from his seat. “You young fools, you don’t see the danger, the impossible odds we already face, having a group of half-trained keepers fighting the darkest of the old ones.”
Claire sneered at him and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. I’d heard all of this before. The first time, I’d been horrified at the cruel words the two exchanged. After hearing the argument several times, I was more amused than anything.
“You old ones think the only way of beating our enemy is to outman them, when we should be focused on outsmarting them.” Claire argued.
“Ha, and you think you’re going to outsmart them?” Neil replied. Claire’s skin flushed pink with rage.
I swallowed, deciding it was time to intervene.
“Perhaps we should all get out of the house for the evening.” I suggested in a conciliatory tone. “It really has been a while since anyone has had a chance to relax, and you keep saying that a relaxed warrior fights more thoughtfully, Neil.”
Neil turned his dark gaze to me, eyeing me suspiciously, but nodding at my words.
“Claire, did you have any ideas?” I asked, smiling, and raising an eyebrow in her direction.
Claire shot a triumphant look across the room at Neil before replying.
“As a matter fact, I do.”
Chapter Forty-Two
“Oh my gosh, the black knight is going to win!” Orielle shouted over the cheers of the crowd. We all turned to watch, as the black knight charged across the arena on his enormous Andalusian.
My eyes lingered on the horse. Her flowing black tail streamed behind her as she galloped in the direction of the other horse and rider.
On the edge of my seat as the two riders neared the center, I yelled out in triumph as the black night broke his lance on the blue knight’s chest.
“Ten bucks, Nick.” I said, holding out my palm triumphantly.
The big German grumbled as he thrust a bill into my hand. I palmed the cash, tucking it in my pocket.
“You ought to learn not to bet against her, mate.” Siddarth said, patting Nick’s shoulder with a chuckle.
“She does have a sixth sense when it comes to horses, eh?” Nick chuckled, throwing a sheepish grin my way.
I smiled, glancing back at the rest of the group. They all looked like they were having a great time. Neil was even eating cotton candy. Part of me wanted to snap a photo as evidence, but I didn’t want to spoil our fun. Instead, I turned to Claire, who was sitting in the row behind me, next to Oren and Sayumi. I caught her eye, smiled and mouthed the words thank you.
She nodded and we turned back to watch the next rider start. I didn’t know how she’d come up with the idea, but she’d found a place with medieval reenactments. The building housed a large arena where performers put on everything from short plays to live jousting with blunted spears. They even served dinner. It reminded me of going to the Renaissance Faire as a youth, complete with enormous smoked turkey legs and women in frilly, laced-up dresses.
Despite his grumbling about missing a night of training, Neil had been immediately drawn in by the spectacle, commenting on several occasions about the lack of accuracy and pointing out what would have been the correct way to aim a joust or the proper garment for a bourgeoise lady.
“Agggh!”
I spun, startled as Neil leapt to his feet, shouting in frustration.
Nia cried out triumphantly and handed him a twenty-dollar bill.
“Oh no, he’s really getting into this.” Claire whispered, her amusement obvious. “Next thing you know, he’ll have us doing jousting drills.”
I threw my head back with laughter. We were going to be okay.
Chapter Forty-Three
An old rectory was the last place you’d expect to find a group of fae preparing for battle. It was an ordinary looking place, a charming old building with two stories, transformed from a rectory into bed and breakfast, by an older couple who hadn’t seemed to mind the sight of our strange group. There was a small restaurant onsite and no other guests this late in the season. The best part of all was the fact that it was only a few miles from Stonehenge, in the Wiltshire countryside.
After months of training, we were all competent in the basics of rune reading, incantations, green magic, defensive spells and basic attacks. We had a week until the winter solstice. A mere week before we’d have to test our skills against the dark fae, in a battle to hold up or tear down the wall between the worlds, and we had a big problem.
Though we knew the ceremony and we were all prepared to fight the dark fae, none of that would mean anything if we couldn’t figure out how to install the keepers. Even without the amulets, which Nia had assured me we didn’t need, we still needed the goddess magic that inhabited Stonehenge to accept the keepers before we could fortify the wall with our magic.
With a sigh of frustration, I stretched in the sun, bending at the waist and dropping into downward dog. I could feel the cold ground through the thinness of my yoga mat. I let it anchor me. Moving through a few sun salutations, I worked my sore muscles one by one. I finished my practice in tree pose, my right foot resting on the inside of my left thigh, hands pressed together in front of me, eyes lightly closed.
“Brin, when did you say Oren will be back?”
Claire had wandered up behind me and I jumped, startled, falling out of position. My eyes popped open and I turned to look at her.
We stood on the grassy hill overlooking the charming whitewashed brick building that was acting as our temporary home. It was cold outside, being December in England, but not unbearably so. I found the crisp air invigorating, as I twisted and stretched on my thin yoga mat. Claire wore an oversized purple sweater and clutched two mugs of steaming tea. She passed one to me.
I murmured a thank you before answering her question.
“Hmm, maybe in a couple days. He said he needed to take care of a few things, but wouldn’t be more specific than that.” I hadn’t pressed him. Though I found it hard to remember som
etimes, Oren was an adult now, and I strived to mind my own business when it came to non- life or death matters.
“Aren’t you at all curious what he could find so pressing this close to the Solstice?”
I shrugged. “Not really. Oren has always needed his moments away. He’ll be back.”
I bent my head over the mug, inhaling the sweet smell of mint with a happy sigh.
Claire examined my face carefully, but seemed to accept my answer. The sun was just beginning to slide below the horizon, sending streaks of deep orange and crimson across the sky. Claire and I turned to watch.
“Do you think everyone is ready?” I asked, sipping my tea.
“Yes, of that I have no doubt.”
I drew in a breath and let it out slowly, nodding. “I’ve never seen a group of strangers come together like this. It’s incredible.”
“It’s meant to be this way.”
I looked at Claire appraisingly.
“Perhaps.”
“You don’t believe in destiny?” Claire asked.
I shifted from one foot to another, considering her question.
“I’m not sure.” I admitted.
“For many generations, our mothers, our grandmothers, our great-grandmothers, have fought this same battle. This duty, it’s in your blood, as much as it’s in mine, as much as it is in Anas’ or Esmas’ or Sayumis’ or Glorias’. Even Nick. They can no more ignore the pull of it, the obligation it delivers upon them, than you can. If that’s not destiny, I don’t know what is.”
I was silent, pondering her words.
“I like to think I control my own destiny.”
Claire laughed. “Don’t we all. Need I remind you, desire and reality don’t always go hand in hand.”
I snorted, tipping back my tea cup and taking a deep drink. The mint tingled in my nose.
“If this is destiny, why shouldn’t it be easy for the stones to accept the new keepers?” My tone was mild but there was a challenge in it.
The side of Claire’s mouth curved. “You have the mind of a scientist, Brin.”
It sounded like a question, so I nodded.
She continued. “You’ve naturally excelled in science since you were a small child, right?”
I nodded again.
“Could you have achieved your level of success had you not gone to university?”
I laughed at the absurdity of it. “Of course not. Even if I were a genius, the academics would never accept the work of someone without the proper initials behind their name.”
Having said it, I felt the trap she’d set for me snap shut.
“Nor will the stones accept the magic of one who has not proven themselves worthy of the cause.” Claire said triumphantly. “No matter their natural predisposition to the magic.”
I gave her a wry look and shook my head, unable to help the smile that played across my lips.
“Touche.”
We stood there watching the orange turn to purple, then blue, as the sun sunk beneath the distant trees. There was an unspoken understanding between us, a sense of a sisterhood I’d long craved. It unsettled me as much as it comforted me. I’d never quite felt a sense of belonging, even among my friends. We were united by the fact that we were somehow too different to fit in with the normal people.
Standing with someone who was different from everyone else, and yet the same as me, was somehow both foreign and gratifying. I sensed she too felt the tenuous bond of friendship slowly developing between us.
We stood there next to one another, staring off into the distance together. Words weren’t necessary. We were both taking a moment to appreciate the simplicity of a sunset and a cup of tea, knowing moments of peace such as this were rare and that we must enjoy them while we could.
Long after the light faded to a dull gray, when my tea was cold and my toes colder, I scooped up my yoga mat, and we made our way towards the warm glow of the bed and breakfast, where the sounds of laughter and clinking dishes could be heard drifting into the cool, December air.
Chapter Forty-Four
I sunk my hands into the sudsy water, scrubbing at a stubborn plate that refused to come clean. The heat of the water warmed my arms and the scent of lemon filled the kitchen.
We had two days until the Solstice and the tension in the house was mounting. To escape the squabbling between Neil, Nia and Tristan, I’d convinced Ms. Fitzgibbons, the innkeeper, that I’d do the dishes, encouraging her to go out to the Christmas market with Mr. Fitzgibbons.
The older woman had fussed over the stack of dishes, making a few half-hearted attempts to argue with me, but ultimately, she’d sighed with appreciation, and scooped up a few shopping bags before disappearing through the elegant French doors to find her husband.
Finally, the piece of egg I’d been working at released itself from the plate and I sighed triumphantly, rising it with cold water and settling it into the drying rack next to the sink.
Sunlight filtered through the window, splashing light across the large country kitchen. The kitchen window overlooked the gardens, which were currently dormant, but I could imagine how beautiful the view must be in the summer when the roses were blooming, twisting up the white trellises.
A light snow had fallen the night before, and it dusted the frozen grass, blanketing the angel statue just outside the window.
A crimson bird landed on the head of one of the statues. I watched it as I set my sponge to work on a coffee mug. The bird walked across the statue, and then hopped to the ground where it left small tracks in the snow before disappearing into a gorse bush.
For a moment, I wondered what it would be like to enjoy this type of peaceful existence day in and day out. Then, rinsing bubbles from the mug before setting it to the side, I shook my head. It was nice to enjoy domestic bliss on occasion, but I knew deep down that a life filled with constant equilibrium, made up of quiet moments was not for me.
As much as I enjoyed the comfortable in and out of a simple life, I thrived on change, on motion, on the pursuit of knowledge. I appreciated conflict because it ensured I was constantly growing and stretching my mind.
“I found her.”
Siddarth’s voice interrupted my blissful silence and I sighed, glancing over my shoulder before drying my hands on a soft green dish towel.
“That didn’t take long.”
“Brin we need to discuss this. The situation is worse than you realize.” Neil said. He was close on Siddarth’s heels, followed by Tristan and Nia.
I sighed. “Exactly how much worse?”
“The problem is not simply a lack of experience among the keepers, Brin. We think we’re missing something else.” Nia said, pausing beside the large center island and resting her arm on it.
I frowned then, waiting for her to continue.
“We’ve never installed Keepers, before. Only Aelwen knows how the entire ceremony works.” She said.
I raised an eyebrow. “But you and Neil, you’re on her council. How could you not know how the ceremony works?” I asked.
Tristan sighed, moving to stand between Siddarth and Neil. The three men towered over Nia, and yet I could clearly see she was the most powerful among them.
“They don’t know because my mother has always been tight-lipped when it comes to the Keepers. She believed in a separation between fae business and mortal business, and knowledge to do with the keepers was kept within a small group.”
I noted the weariness in Tristan’s voice and considered what he’d just said. Aelwen’s choice to keep secrets made sense to me, at the same time it infuriated me. Where the hell is she? She should have known we’d only be able to get so far on our own. I’d thought she would have appeared by now, to offer us the knowledge we were missing. I closed my eyes briefly.
“Who knows? Who is in this small circle?” I asked, directing the question at Tristan.
He glanced out the window before looking at me. “Aiden, Meurig, perhaps Eirian.”
The first two would do
us no good. I’d given up on predicting where Aiden would appear next, and we’d been trying to reach Meurig for days.
“Where the hell is Eirian?”
Neil coughed. “I sent him to Eden to take care of something.”
My eyes shot to the tall fae. “Did it not occur to you this isn’t the best time for us to be down a man?” I asked, my words coming out in a snarl. I cringed even as they left my lips.
Neil’s eyes lit with fire. He stepped towards me until we were nose to nose, or rather, nose to chest, as I was much shorter than him.
“Did you not think that perhaps your precious mortals are not the only ones losing their lives in this battle?” He asked, eyes burning with rage. “My people are dying every day fighting for your puny, little lives, and all you can do is criticize my decision to try and protect them?”
My stomach lurched. I hadn’t thought about how the fae were faring. I knew the dark fae had been launching attacks within Eden, trying to rally support for their cause, but I hadn’t realized the situation had deteriorated into bloodshed. I hadn’t asked and they hadn’t chosen to tell me.
Neil’s lip curled in disgust as he took in my expression.
Tristan, Nia and Siddarth stood silently behind him and I saw the pain reflected in their eyes.
I took a steadying breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“We should have told you.” Nia said, stepping forward and placing a hand on Neil’s shoulder.
He looked like he was about to say something else, but instead, he took a step backwards.
“Is there anything I can do?” I asked, knowing the answer.
Tristan shook his head. “The only thing to be done is to put an end to this tension over the wall. Everyone is living in a state of uncertainty. If they knew the wall was going to be fortified, or if they knew the wall was going to fall, they could make plans, choose sides, move forward. The uncertainty about which direction the winds of change will take us, well…” His voice trailed off.
