by H. D. Gordon
Rolling her eyes, Aria took the lead again and moved ahead of him. “Not much further, but if your old bones need a rest, we can take a break.”
“Thanks, but my ‘old bones’ are just fine.” He swatted at another fly. “My skin, on the other hand, is being eaten alive by these Gods forsaken insects.”
Digging into the small black backpack slung over her shoulders, Aria pulled out a spray bottle and handed it over to Charlie. “Here, spray this on your arms. It helps to keep them away.”
Charlie took the bottle with narrowed eyes. “Why didn’t you give this to me earlier?”
Aria looked too genuinely surprised by the question to be mad at. She shrugged. “You didn’t ask for it, and you’re not the only one with a lot on your mind. Guess I wasn’t thinking about it.”
“Did you put some on?”
“No.”
“Then why aren’t they biting you?”
Another shrug. “I’m half Fae. Nature’s kinda like my homegirl.”
Charlie wasn’t at all sure what a ‘homegirl’ was, but he supposed he got the gist. “That must be nice,” he commented, bathing himself in the bug spray, which smelled terrible and felt grossly sticky on his skin. But it was a price worth paying if it would cause the biting to stop.
“Yes,” Aria said. “It’s great.” Her tone was too even to be sure if this was serious or sarcasm. She pushed through some low hanging branches and stood at the edge of a small creek, the water bubbling peacefully through the trees, lending a moist smell to the green air.
“Here we are,” she said.
Charlie stepped up beside her, seeing nothing but more dense forest, more green and brown, and the shallow creek. “Okay, now what?”
Aria turned to him, and there was no question now that she was deadly serious. “Now, you promise to listen to everything I tell you to do before I take you in. I mean everything. The Fae Territory, especially the Fae Forest, is alive in a way that you can’t possibly understand. Every part of it is intimately connected, is one. I can shield us from the Fae Queen’s detection, but only if you listen to everything I say. Got it?”
Charlie nodded. He didn’t have to trust the Halfling girl to know she wasn’t lying about this. Those agonizing hours he’d spent wrapped in that torturous vine on the floor of the Fae Forest had shown him this truth. It was as though the entire place was just an extension of Tristell, and she had commanded the very roots, branches, and leaves that made up the Forest. She spoke, and the trees listened. Charlie would bet that vice versa was also true.
“Alright,” he said. “You got my word.”
Aria studied him for a moment, as if to gage the truth in his words. “Good,” she said at last. “First, you’ll need to follow my movements exactly, move right behind me, keeping a hand on me at all times. You must not break contact. Also, don’t speak at all. Don’t even whisper. In fact, try not to breathe too loudly. The key is to not let the Forest know you’re there. With my Fae blood, it’ll accept me as part of it, but you, not so much.”
Charlie’s eyebrows were raised slightly. This was going to be harder than he’d thought, and he’d known difficult was an understatement. “That it?”
Aria grinned, her pretty face lighting up. “Just about.”
“So you don’t want to share with me at all your real reason for wantin’ to do this? You don’t think I should know why you’re really helpin’ me?”
For a moment, Charlie was sure the girl wasn’t going to answer, but then she sighed and pushed her hair out of her face, a subconscious action he was beginning to recognize as a habit of hers.
“The part of me that’s Fae is from my mother, who’s full Faevian,” Aria answered. “She’s always lived in the Fae world, and a month ago, she went missing.”
Charlie said nothing to this, only waited for the girl to continue.
Again, she sighed. “My superiors assure me ‘the matter’ will be resolved.” She laughed without humor. “All these years serving them and that’s what they call my mother going missing—a ‘matter’.”
“What do you think happened to her?”
The look on her face was grim. “That’s what I’m here to find out.”
“That it?”
“That’s it.” She held out her hand. “You ready?”
“If we get close enough to my brother, I’m takin’ him out,” Charlie said. He didn’t want to mislead the girl. He was well aware that his intentions could get them in trouble, could end very badly for them both.
“You gonna be able to do that?” she asked, ignoring the implications, apparently ready to risk it all as well. “Kill your own brother?”
Charlie had to swallow twice before he could answer, had to think of Surah in order to steel himself. He nodded. “I don’t really have a choice, Aria,” he said, and it was the most honest thing he could have told her.
Aria reached out and took his hand, gripping it firmly with her warm fingers. She gave him a smile that was both ready and resolved. “Then we understand each other perfectly, Charlie,” she replied, and pulled him forward through an invisible curtain, an access point between worlds.
And toward whatever fate the Fae Forest had in store for them.
***
The air in front of them shimmered, and a jolt of electric energy passed through him. It was not nearly as disorienting as teleporting, but it made for a strange effect. After passing through whatever invisible barrier had been separating Fae Territory from the human world, the pinelands melted away and were replaced by the Fae Forest.
An involuntary shiver worked its way up Charlie’s spine as he took in the smells, the sounds, the pastel-colored trees and light pink fog that hovered over the ground. Vines very much like the one that had tortured him here less than a day ago climbed up every surface, making for a gnarled, tangled labyrinth, a sea of otherworldly vegetation.
Whereas Sorcerer Territory resembled the human world geographically, (the biggest difference being Magic in place of technology) the Fae land was unique to itself. There was no place in all the realms like it, no other Territory that carried its unique forms of life. This was no doubt thanks to the Fae that called it home, as their connection with the biosphere was deeper and more intimate than any other creature that walked the Earth. It was like something out of a dream.
Or in Charlie’s case, a nightmare. His heart kicked up in pace and he swallowed past a lump that had risen in his throat.
Aria turned her head, her hand still holding his, and put a finger to her lips, reminding him to stay close and silent. She held her body crouched low, and moved with an ease particular to the Fae race. Charlie mimicked her movements, half expecting the very branches of the peculiar trees to reach out and grab a hold of him.
Get your mind right, he told himself, and concentrated on the task at hand with more effort than he preferred.
Moving through the Fae Forest with Aria was a totally different experience than it had been when he’d been here before. Before, the life that was this place had seemed to pause, to watch him the way a guard dog watches a passerby who ventures too close, with half-hooded eyes and slightly bared teeth. The Forest had a feeling to it, and as an outsider that feeling was maleficent, threatening, imposing.
Now, with Aria by his side, shielding him with her Fae blood, or whatever it was she was doing, the experience was entirely different. The Forest clearly accepted the Halfling girl, opened its arms to her without a thought. It was pleasant, smelled of clean air that maintained a comfortable temperature. The pink fog floating along the Forest floor was no longer a menacing entity, as it had been when Charlie had been held captive amidst it. Now, it simply swirled around his boots, parted as he passed.
The hair on his arms stood on end. He knew how deceiving appearances could be.
As they passed through the forest, Fae children darted among the trees, zipping past them and shaking free puffy leaves and rustling the undergrowth. They swung from the canopies, leapt from branch
to branch not unlike monkeys in the human world. They balanced above, their clawed feet clutching perches and slanted eyes blinking rapidly as they stared out from all around.
As he had been the first time he’d encountered the Fae children, he was struck with a sense of sadness for them. However this mess his brother had brokered between the Fae and the Sorcerers turned out, the ones most affected would be the children, on both sides of the battle line. Charlie knew this because he had been but a child when war had torn his life apart. So his heart hurt most of all for the wee ones, and a newfound rage filled him toward his brother. Michael had suffered right beside Charlie as a child. How could be responsible for such terrible things?
Because Michael was no longer Charlie’s brother. He was Black Heart now. Charlie held tight to these thoughts as the question Aria had posed to him earlier played through his head.
You gonna be able to do that? Kill your own brother?
Aria came to a sudden halt in front of him, and he had to break free of his troubling thoughts quickly to keep from running into her. Her small hand tightened around his, and the girl stooped lower to the ground, the pink fog and undergrowth swallowing her up. Charlie followed her example, his senses going on high alert.
There were voices coming from ahead. Two of them, and the hair on the back of Charlie’s neck stood on end as he realized he recognized the voices. One belonged to his brother, the other to Tristell the Fae Queen.
Aria sank lower still, sidling over to a nearby tree with a thick bush growing at its base. She lay flat on her belly, disappearing completely into the pink fog, waving her free hand at Charlie, who followed suit.
A cold sweat broke out over his brow as the bare skin of his arms met the Forest floor. The last time he’d lain on the ground in the Fae Forest, he’d been tortured, wracked with agony for hours that had lasted lifetimes. Suddenly, he felt foolish for coming here, for thinking he had a chance at accomplishing what he’d set out to do.
He shoved this fear away. He was here now, and his life was not the only one on the line. Charlie had to try. If he could put a stop to his brother here and now, maybe he could end this thing before entire Territories were devastated.
His brother’s voice boomed loud enough for Aria and Charlie to make out his words, jerking Charlie from his thoughts once again.
“How could he have escaped?” Black Heart thundered, and his voice was so dark and full of rage that Charlie swore he felt the earth shudder under his chest.
A high-pitched, gratingly familiar voice screeched back, “What is Michael accusing me of? He thinks I killed his precious brother? Yes! That’s what he thinks! That I killed his precious Charlie-Boy while he was away!” The way she said the nickname practically dripped distain. “I told Michael, I left the brother right here!”
There was a grunt of anger followed by a whooshing sound, like something moving quickly through the air, and then another whoosh as something flared bright up ahead, near where the voices were coming from.
Tristell let out a screech that almost made Charlie drop hold of Aria’s hand to cover his ears. Luckily, Aria held tight, turning her head and shooting him a look that said he’d almost blown their cover. She’d told him they needed to maintain contact so she could keep his presence hidden from the forest.
This cacophony was followed by silence. Aria crept forward slowly, pulling Charlie along with her. They were less than ten yards away now. Charlie held his breath, straining his ears to listen. He felt very exposed in such a position, but he supposed he had no other choice now but to trust the Halfling girl. If he could get a little closer, he might be able to surprise attack his brother, take him out before he had a chance to know what hit him.
Michael was stronger with the Magic, had honed his used of Dark Magic over the years, but Charlie was a stronger physical fighter. The element of surprise was key here, as was making sure he didn’t hesitate.
A sigh. “I’m sorry, my heart,” Michael said. “But if you didn’t free him from the vine, who did? One of the children?”
“The children would do no such thing… No, it had to be someone else.”
“It had to be someone Fae.”
A moment of silence. Then: “Yes, it must’ve been, but none of my people would betray me!”
“Oh no?” Michael asked, a playfulness in his tone now that made Charlie’s gut clench in revulsion. “You’ve made no enemies?”
“I’ve made plenty. Just not any who’d dare challenge me.”
Aria’s hand tightened around Charlie’s, almost tight enough to hurt, and he watched as her free hand slid a small iron blade from her boot.
Black Heart said, “You sound mighty sure of yourself, dear heart, but the fact remains, someone with Fae blood set my brother free or took him, vine and all. The Forest would not have allowed it otherwise.”
Aria was inching closer still, and Charlie followed right beside her, the conversation growing louder with each inch, their distance decreasing while their heartbeats increased.
A third voice broke into the conversation, one unfamiliar to Charlie, and male. “Your majesty,” said the unidentified speaker, “pardon my interruption.”
Charlie and Aria couldn’t see very well from where they were, but whatever silent exchange took place made the new speaker’s voice pick up in haste. Charlie surmised this newcomer must be one of the Fae Warriors, one of Tristell’s personal guard, and he was right.
“There’s been word that Dagon visited Sorcerer Territory,” said the guard. “But no word of his return to the Underworld.”
There was a moment of thick silence as Charlie absorbed this new information along with the Fae Queen and Black Heart. A cold sweat broke over his brow, the air suddenly harsher in his lungs. His heart sank in his chest, which was still pressed against the floor of the Forest. Dagon had visited Sorcerer Territory. Surah had threatened to remove his head and tongue if he did so. The Dark Lord had threatened to rape Surah. Charlie cursed the heavens that he was away from the woman he loved. Gods only knew what the hell was happening to her right now.
His eyes narrowed and his hands clenched into fists, squeezing Aria’s hand too tightly without intending to. A hot, terrible hatred swirled in him toward the Fae Queen and Black Heart, for putting all of this into play.
He had to trust Surah could handle whatever was coming at her right now. He had his own affairs to settle first.
They were only twenty feet away now, and Charlie wondered at how they were going unseen. A look at Aria told him that the girl had camouflaged them with whatever Halfling Magic she possessed, and they blended into the forest to near perfection.
“Why would Dagon have moved ahead of us?” Black Heart snapped. “We were supposed to attack together.”
“Perhaps the little Sorceress Queen provoked him,” Tristell answered with a titter. “Perhaps Dagon has already killed her, and the throne waits open. This news is not necessarily bad news.”
It was clear the Fae Queen was excited by this turn of events, the intensity in her high voice picking up a touch. Charlie had not been aware a female could repulse him as much as this crazy bitch.
“Only a fool would underestimate Surah Stormsong,” Black Heart said, his voice as dark as his soul. “Especially when she has possession of the Black Stone.”
A cooing sound that was simultaneously birdlike and insect-like issued from the Fae Queen. “Michael said using too much Black Magic could crush a soul,” she trilled. “The amount of Black Magic to kill a Dark Lord? Do you think the little Sorceress Queen could stand that?”
There was a moment of silence as everyone listening considered this. Charlie could feel his heart beating in his throat. Up until this moment, he had not given the Fae Queen the credit due her for her cleverness. She really had set the game board up so that it would take a miracle to beat her in the final matches. In order for everything to turn out all right, the love of Charlie Redmine’s life not only had to defeat a Dark Sorcerer and a crazy Fae wi
th an army at her disposal, but a Dark Lord and his denizens as well.
And if Surah managed to do all that, she would still need to overcome the Black Magic that would have had to grip her in order for her to have even gotten that far. She would have to defeat those opposing her, and then defeat her own worst nature.
That last part alone was more than most people would be capable of.
“The time to move is here,” said the Fae Queen, breaking into the avalanche of thoughts tumbling through Charlie’s head. “Take this and lead my Warriors into battle, I will open a portal from the Underworld and unleash the Dark Lord’s Demons. The plan is still intact!” There was a rapid clapping sound and her voice reached a level of excitement usually reserved for small children on their birthdays.
Charlie shot up to his feet, knowing if he didn’t make his move and take out his brother now, he may never get another chance. His blood felt afire with adrenaline as he dropped Aria’s hand and broke cover. His brother’s back was to him, and his muscles pumped, carrying him forward, breaking through Aria’s attempted restraint, knife clutched tight in his hand.
Black Heart was kissing the Fae Queen, but her eyes were open, and they remained unalarmed as she watched Charlie approach his brother from behind. Black Heart finished his kiss and teleported out of there just seconds before Charlie could reach him, none the wiser that his brother had nearly plunged a knife into his back.
Charlie howled with rage as the hand holding the blade swiped open air. Tristell used her powerful wings to flutter back from him several feet, a wicked grin on her face.
“Ah, there you are, Michael’s brother,” she said. “We thought we’d lost you. Do tell me how you came to be free of that vine. I’m absolutely dying to know.”
“I came here to kill him,” Charlie answered, his voice flat, blade still held tight in his fist. “But I’ll settle with killin’ you first.”
From the trees, a dozen Fae Warriors emerged, spears in hand, surrounding Charlie and Tristell in the clearing. They began to tighten their circle, and Charlie came to the slow yet sudden realization that he’d completely botched this mission.
