by Conn, Claudy
Ete paused and smiled sadly before continuing as though looking for a way to find her words. “Their initial discussions are over and to save time Breslyn has allowed me to listen in on the final plans being made.”
“Hey!” Z objected. “Why didn’t Danté let me in on it?”
Ete glared at her, “Because he doesn’t want you to go off…er…”
Z grinned, “Half-cocked, Ete? Is that the word you were looking for?”
“Indeed,” said the beautiful princess with an affectionate smile.
“Is Deimne still with them?” Jazz asked. “He had told us his Queen had called him to her side.”
All eyes turned to her. “You were with Deimne?” Trevor demanded and he didn’t look happy. “You are never to be with him again!”
Jazz was surprised, “Why?”
Ete whispered into Jazz’s ear, “Your mate is jealous because the Sluagh is notorious for taking females for a flight around the world and making love to them in the air.”
Jazz laughed out loud, but Frankie was pulling at Jazz’s hand. She leaned over and said softly, “It is nothing. Trev just doesn’t like me to spend time with other male Fae alone.”
Ete smiled at Frankie. “Ah, I am so pleased Frankie. You have met with Deimne. This is the most wonderful news. It is just what you both need; each other.”
“You knew then?” Jazz asked surprised as she realized that Ete knew Deimne was Frankie’s father.
“Yes, I knew,” Ete answered softly.
“By Danu!” snapped Trevor. “Why should Frankie need the Sluagh? I don’t like it.”
All at once the air began to glow so brightly that Jazz grabbed Frankie and held her tightly as she shielded her eyes. Trevor, who had dropped his hold of Jazz and had stiffened noticeably when Deimne had been mentioned, now took up her waist again and drew her in closer.
The arrival of two Seelie Queens was a remarkable moment.
It was an explosion of soft light, and yet completely infused with a power that could be physically felt as its force flowed in undulating strokes pushing all living beings present, a few steps backwards.
The atmosphere sparkled and pulsated with magic and might so strong that it shook the classic paintings on the walls of Queen Aaibhe’s private parlor. It did, in fact, cause the furniture to wobble.
Both Queens stood regal in their shimmering gowns, but over their lovely faces were masks of sorrow. It was so great that the sadness was felt by everyone present. They were beings of nature and life. War was a devastatingly repugnant outcome.
Breslyn and Danté were close behind both Queens, but Deimne was absent. For a moment no one spoke. Both Breslyn and Danté each stomped across the room and took their mates into their arms.
Aaibhe raised a hand and said, “We are grievously saddened to report that we were unable to stop Pestale from using one of the Portals he had confiscated. It has started.”
“Where—where has it started?” Z asked as she stepped forward and away from Danté. He reached for her and she turned to him, her face drawn in outrage. Jazz watched and understood that the human in Z was crying.
She looked up at Trevor and his gold eyes caressed her. “Oh Trev…”
“We will drive them into the ground. There will be nothing left of them when we are done,” he reassured her.
“The Dark Ones have conducted what we think was a test run.” Aaibhe said quietly. “We are guessing that they released not more than one hundred Unseelie into a crowd in Venice, Italy. It happened so quickly, and even with our combined magic we could not stop the Unseelie monsters as they spread out into the homes and hotels. We were able to dislodge and destroy them when they were together, but so many spread out in different directions. We are told that over one thousand people were tortured and then eaten alive.” Aaibhe looked away, then at Queen Mab before continuing. “We were successful only in the sense that Deimne with Daoine Warriors arrived to stop their progress into the heart of the city. Pestale was also forced to recall his abominations—shifters all.”
Queen Mab added, “Deimne and Daoine Prince Raynor are in Venice now sending the Venice Portal to another dimension.” Queen Mab looked at Aaibhe who then stood up straight and waited for the murmurs to quiet.
“Many of those that fed today will multiply and that is our problem, a very serious problem that we must immediately deal with. Many of the lower castes can only multiply when they feed on humans, and the process takes less than a week. Within the upcoming week in human time, those that fed today will multiply in numbers. Hence, we must contain them by getting to the remaining Portals and removing them before they can be utilized.”
“Oh, dear God,” Jazz thought out loud. She had a vivid picture of men, women, and children unsuccessfully trying to fight off Unseelie monsters. They never knew what hit them. She could only imagine what the news was reporting and the terror people were experiencing. She closed her eyes but the images remained.
“We have no choice but to act quickly. None but our Royals, and only some of our Druids and Fios are capable of the magic that will enable us to diffuse the dolmens and remove them from use,” Aaibhe said grimly.
Queen Mab had lived and ruled for eons. Her regal stature and bearing conveyed a sense of her worldly wisdom and experience. She did not look at anyone in particular, but when she spoke it felt as if she was talking to each individual although she spoke to them as a whole. She said in quiet, sorrowful tones, “It pains me. War; what it will bring and what it will change. It will physically cause all Fae great anguish; particularly the Daoine Fae. We believed after Danu was destroyed that as the highest Seelie caste we would always be above war. We are beings in harmony with nature. War is repugnant to us, but if the Dark Ones overtake the human world they will turn to Tir, and then to Daoine. The numbers of the most beastly lower castes will multiply as they feed. We must stop them at once. As Daoines, beings of nature, we can help in the battles by using nature against them.”
“How?” Trevor asked roughly. “We need an immediate plan.”
“At the moment, Pestale has only one set of monoliths strong enough to allow his collected numbers of evil creatures to pass through. He has those dolmens closeted somewhere within his castle. I felt them when we met with him earlier. He is using Dark Magic as a ward around the perimeter of his stronghold.” Aaibhe scoffed, “As though Mab or I couldn’t penetrate such inadequate magic.”
Mab spoke then. “The dolmens he has are not large or powerful enough to transport all the lower castes he brought with him from the Dark Realm. The other castes are considerable and they can shift anywhere. He has been allowing them to make nightly visits in limited numbers to various cities throughout the human world and feed.”
Aaibhe pyramided her hands “Here are the facts as they stand. Daoine Magic is the highest form of Fae Magic. Seelie Fae Magic is very close in nature. Pestale knows this, but is using a form of Dark Magic we have never encountered before; no doubt stolen from his father in earlier years.” She paused before continuing. “Queen Mab and I believe he is working on a way to lift the dolmens at Stonehenge, the ones I spelled at Killarney, Inverness, Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin and make them his own,” Aaibhe said quietly. “We are asking our Royals with their warriors at their backs to shift immediately to the monoliths and work their brand of magic to shift them to a dimension Queen Mab and I have prepared long ago. A dimension the Dark Ones can not enter. It is riddled with iron and only Queen Mab and myself are immune to its poison. If you are not successful in your efforts to obtain the monoliths the evil creatures will emerge, then we will have no choice but to fight them. Using hand to hand battle and all the powers we have to hold them in check.”
“I like it. If and when we fight them, I don’t just plan to bring them down or keep them in check. I mean to put them in the ground, so there won’t be a next time,” Radzia said looking at Danté who stroked her cheek. She smiled warmly at her massive mate and turned back to the Queens. “Where do y
ou want me and Danté to go, and how many warriors do we take with us?”
“Wait!” Trevor said with a darkling frown. “I haven’t had a chance to speak with you my Queen, but you have to be told. When we were in the Dark Realm, I spoke with the Dark King’s consort, Crystal. Jazmine Decker told me something as she lay dying in her retreat in the Dark Realm. She said you will need Twalla to re-thread the walls of the Dark Realm and contain its evil within. She said it was used by Queen Bridget when the wall was first created. It is the missing ingredient we have lacked all this time.”
Suddenly, the occupants of the room could almost touch the magic that vibrated off both Queens. Jazz was sure the air was actually pulsating with the force of the power emanating from the matriarchs.
“Twalla?” Aaibhe said softly and closed her eyes. “But of course. Bridget used Twalla, which none but a pure royal can touch. Twalla which can be woven by magic to make an invincible wall that can only be cracked by time. That is why we have had problems with the wall. Time.” She frowned and looked at Trevor. “But Twalla was lost to us when Danu was destroyed.”
“Crystal seemed to believe that it was within your grasp. She said you needed to search for it and that only you or a Royal could find it,” Trevor shrugged.
Aaibhe frowned, held her head up and said, “Then by Danu we shall. Crystal has never lied to me. If she gave you such a message then so be it.” She took a moment while everyone quieted and then her voice edged with resignation said, “Nevertheless, in the meantime we must deal with the situation as it stands.”
Aaibhe regarded them thoughtfully, “I am afraid that each of you will be needed at different portals. I am going to have to ask you to separate so that all our powers can be used at maximum efficiency.” She turned to Jazz. “Jazmine, because you are new to this I am sending you with Ete to Inverness. Ete knows where to go and the correct spell needed to transport the dolmens to what Queen Mab and I call the Wasteland. Ete knows Inverness well. She knows where the dolmens stand in the River Liffey.” She turned to Trevor and said, “You my prince, will take fifty of our warriors and go to Edinburgh Castle and remove the invisible dolmens hidden on the castle’s hillside.”
She turned to Breslyn and Danté. “My dear Breslyn, you are for Belfast and Danté you are for Dublin. Radzia, take Nuad and his Royal Trackers and guard the Portal dolmens at your MacDaun.” She sighed heavily. “Chancemont with some of his army covers London at the Bloody Tower and Princess Royce and Morgan LeBlanc are at Stonehenge with the rest of the Milesian army. Queen Mab has already dispatched her Royals and her smaller army to various cities where we have monoliths large enough to be utilized by the Dark Princes.” She sighed heavily, “I know you don’t like being spread out like this, but at the moment we don’t have a choice. Princess Aida and her mate Desmond are already monitoring Killarney, but the three Lakes there make it difficult to do this without help. Shee Willow and her Druid mate Shayne will cover the upper Lake. I can not put our mortal Druids and their mates at risk, so I have asked Maxine and Julian to do no more but keep watch on the MacTalbot dolmens. BJ and Daremont also mortals they will monitor the dolmens on their land.” She sighed heavily, “I believe that covers any and all monoliths large enough to transport an army the size Pestale means to throw at us.” Aaibhe put up her hands, “All of you must be spread out if we are going to be successful.”
Aaibhe looked to Queen Mab she nodded and added her thoughts, “The Daoine Royals are already moving to remove portals and have reported to me that three major portals have been sent to the Wasteland and are now out of reach. We will also be ready with my warriors to join you whenever and wherever needed. You have but to use the mind link to your Queen who is linked to me and my warriors will assist.”
“No,” said Trevor quietly everyone turned and looked in his direction. He had gone rigid after he heard the Queen give orders for Jazz to go off with Ete and his tone now was passionate as he added, “Jazmine Decker goes with me, Ete doesn’t need her.”
“Not this time, my Prince,” said Queen Aaibhe. “Jazmine has special qualities that she needs to explore and Ete, with her Daoine blood, can guide her through her new abilities and keep her safe. They are for Inverness.”
Trevor stood tall as though forgetting he was addressing his queen. “No! she is newly transitioned my Queen.”
“I see,” Aaibhe tilted her head thoughtfully and then sighed heavily. “I understand your concerns my young prince, but we don’t have time for this. Princess Ete is perfectly capable of keeping Jazmine safe. I understand you are newly bonded and as such your emotions are presently outweighing your good sense.” She turned to Jazz who was frowning darkly over Trevor’s outburst. Jazz was in fact, both embarrassed and annoyed by Trevor’s remarks. Did he think her incapable of taking care of herself?
The Queen regarded her quietly and asked, “My dear, do you feel up to the task? It will be most dangerous.”
“I do! I shall go where you feel that I am most needed.” Jazz returned and did not look at Trev as she stood straight and proud.
Trevor took her arm, “I forbid it.”
“You what? Forbid?” He had said the wrong thing to her. “Forbid?” She lost all control. She poked him hard in the chest. She could see the reflection of her anger in his eyes. “You are many things to me, but you do not have the right, now or ever to forbid me anything!” She raised her chin and turned her back to him.
“Enough!” said the Queen. She went silent for a moment and suddenly, the Queen’s voice was in Jazz’s head. She received the Queen’s marching orders. She realized each one was silently being given their mission through mind links.
She turned her head and before Trevor could object again, she squeezed Frankie’s hand and told her to stay with the Queen. She then turned to Ete. Ete who had been stroking Breslyn’s face and whispering private words, gave him one last smile and turned to Jazz and took her hand.
Jazz knew she was walking into a life and death situation. She didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye to Trevor, but she had to nip this control thing in the bud. She had to teach him that he couldn’t order her about. Her heart objected and screamed for her to run to him, but suddenly she knew that if she did he would shift her away. It would be safely out of danger and she couldn’t allow him to do that. She held her profile stern and did not turn to him as she smiled at Ete and said, “Let’s go do this.”
“Do you not wish to bid Trevor…”
“I can’t—I know him too well. He will try and stop me,” Jazz said cutting her off.
Ete eyed her, sighed and said, “Very well then.” And they were off.
At their backs Danté was attempting to calm his younger brother who had reached out at the last moment to stop Jazz from leaving.
“I shall go mad,” Trev said to his older brother. “I can’t bear it. Danté, if anything were to happen to her existence for me would be over. Let me go to her.”
“You have a duty. Do you mean to shirk it?” his brother admonished.
“What of my duty to keep my beloved safe?”
“She is safe with Princess Ete, but you do know that don’t you?” Danté raised his brows once more toward Breslyn obviously looking for help.
Z sighed impatiently over this and kissed Danté soundly before saying, “Nuad and his Trackers are here and we’re off, my love.”
Danté hugged her fiercely. “Enfant, promise me that you will not allow yourself to be hurt.”
“I don’t want to be, so that is an easy promise,” she said as she laughed and then she was gone.
Breslyn obviously relenting, moved over to Trev and nudged him to say, “Not a brilliant move, doing the ‘forbidding thing’.” Breslyn shook his head, “That word, ‘forbid’ will never get you anywhere with a lass like you’ve got. Your mate doesn’t look to me like someone who will take orders easily.” So saying he laughed out loud and then because of Trevor’s miserable expression added, “Don’t worry. She is with my Ete.
No harm will come to either of them.” He added proudly, “None wiser than Ete.”
A moment later the room was empty but for the two Queens and little Frankie who threw herself at Queen Aaibhe and began to sob.
Aaibhe patted Frankie’s back and held her comfortingly. “My Fae child, you are a Daoine. Your father is a great warrior. Trevor and Jazmine are both brilliant and mighty so none will get near any of them. We will defeat the beasts.”
Frankie looked up at her and said, “Aye then, but I want to help.”
“And you shall. You must stay safe so they don’t have to worry about you” Aaibhe dropped a kiss on the child’s forehead.
Frankie agreed to it, but Aaibhe could see the child’s mind was working the matter through. She wasn’t so sure Frankie would stay put for too long. She had to keep her diverted because she had to come into her own slowly and ease into what she was going to be.
Chapter Ten
JAZZ LOOKED UP the avenue that led to the Inverness Castle overlooking the gray water of Inverness River. The red sandstone structure was massive. Once an 11th century defensive stronghold, it had been built to withstand an army and time. She remembered reading that Shakespeare had used this castle as his setting for Macbeth.
Inverness Castle—here she was in Scotland. How long ago was it when she was simply human with human dreams?
She looked around warily. Her eyes were no longer those of a tourist, but of a warrior. Her Fae senses clicked in on what was present and what was not.
Only the grounds of the castle were open to the public. She could see from the bus load of people in the parking lot that there were quite a few who meant to enjoy the extensive landscaped beauty of the castle.
She watched as the tourists disembarked from the bus. They were all chattering and excited to look back into the past and imagine what it was like to live in another time. For a while, she had done that…
Jazz would never have thought that she, a Fios, would be in Scotland fighting a war against a race of monsters, and not only standing beside Fae Royals, but finding herself desperately in love with one. Jazz, Ete, and the warriors were invisible to the humans. It was an odd sensation knowing that she couldn’t be seen. When she was still human, she would have seen past the Féth Fiada and would have been terrified at the sight And now, ha, she was part of that sight--weird. It seemed like not too long ago, she was working as a tour guide for seniors to waste away the summer before she began her job in the fall as a Marine Biologist. She had wondered where that girl had gone, and what happened to her life.
