Portal (Nina Decker)

by Anna, Vivi

  “Is she in danger?”

  “Only her reputation and modesty. And that girl doesn’t place much value on either.”

  Just a few days ago I would have stormed out of the room. Or I would have grabbed the nearest knife and held it to my mother’s throat. I would have been in a rage about Dani leaving me here with her. But my encounter with Severin had left me emotionally drained. I was utterly spent. I sat down on the four poster bed while my mother paced around.

  “You wanted to talk to me, so talk already,” I said.

  “You should have stayed away. Why did you come here?” she asked me.

  “To get my father back,” I said. “And where is he by the way?”

  “Jason is safe.”

  I laughed bitterly. “With you? Here?”

  “Yes, he is safe with me.”

  “He’s dying because of you!” I yelled.

  My mother fixed me with a firm gaze. “They would have killed him if he’d stayed on Earth.”

  I remembered how all this had started. I had come home from work to find my father unconscious after being attacked by a vicious pixie. A few days later something had come through the pond in our garden, the one I had made by accident when I buried one of my mother’s gifts in the garden. That pond had been a portal to Nightfall. I hadn’t realized how dangerous that was until a pair of hands reached out of the water, grabbed me by the neck and tried to drown me.

  “Who sent the pixie?” I asked.

  “Someone in the palace. I haven’t found out who yet,” she answered.

  “Where is da?”

  “He’s in a brownie village far from here. They’ll never find him.”

  “I want to see him.”

  She laughed. “That’s problematic seeing as you are stuck here in the palace. You want me to take you to him. I’ll just have my father arrange a nice little outing. What do you think he’ll do to Jason?”

  “Why couldn’t you leave us alone?” I demanded. “We were fine without you.”

  That hurt her. I saw her face break. It was the first time I’d ever seen her upset.

  “I know. That’s why I left, they said they’d leave you alone. They said all would be forgiven.”

  She was talking about the treaty she had broken. What Dani said about my father started to nag at me.

  “They said they would leave you and Jason alone if I went back to Nightfall and fulfilled my duties as princess. So I went. And it was the hardest thing I ever did. I never told you the truth and I made Jason promise to never tell you either. Because we both knew you would never be safe if you found out about Nightfall. And now you’re here and in the middle of this cesspool.”

  She made it sound so noble, what she did all those years ago. I wanted to throw it back in her face. But I held back. I was still tired and my mother was more worked up than I had ever seen her before. She was so desperate and troubled. After so many years as a nurse, my instincts went against my nature to harm someone who was clearly suffering. Then I thought about what Dani had told me. I was still angry but I had more questions.

  “Why did you do it?” I asked. I couldn’t think of any other way to put the question.

  My mother understood and she composed herself. “I’ll tell you. I’ve always wanted to tell you.”

  She smoothed out her dress and sat next to me. She tried to hold my hand but I pulled it away.

  “N’Lina you may think you know what it is to grow up in a house without love, but you really don’t,” she said. “You know how my father came to the throne?”

  “He overthrew the king. Though according to Dani no one objected that much,” I answered.

  “Oh there were people who objected quite vigorously. They were the former king’s immediate family including his only daughter, Princess A’Rissa. My father felt he needed to cement his position so he forced Princess A’Rissa to marry him.”

  “Lady Wolfstriker? Your mother?” I asked. I had felt more malice coming from the queen than from anyone else at court. Maybe it wasn’t just directed at me.

  “Yes. She married the man who deposed and killed her father. And she has hated him ever since. He on the other hand never saw her as more than a political tool. That is the house I was born into. That is the family I grew up with, both parents at war with each other.”

  “At least they were both there,” I muttered. The words just slipped out. Even as I said them I regretted them.

  “But they weren’t there,” my mother said. “Neither of them was. I was never a daughter to them. At first my mother doted on me. We did everything together. But that was so I would be her pawn to use against my father. She thought she could hurt him that way. But my father kept me at arm’s length my whole life. He’s never shown me the least bit of affection.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “To protect himself. You can’t be hurt if you don’t care. When my mother realized this she stopped taking an interest in me. And so I was left with no mother or father even though they were both right there and I saw them every day. I swore to myself if I ever had a child of my own, she would know a parent’s love. Then my father said I was to marry Tristan Coldiron.”

  “What did you do?” I asked.

  “At first I thought it might be for the best. After all I’d be away from my family. I knew Linus Coldiron fiercely loved his family. I thought maybe I could be accepted into that family. I was formerly introduced to Tristan at a ball here at the Palace. He was young and dashing. Handsome. We danced and we spoke about the important things, the political things, but we didn’t share much that was personal. By the end of the dance I liked Tristan, I thought I might love him in time. Then before the assembled guests we kissed but I felt nothing.”

  In my head I could picture the scene as she described it. I asked her, “What happened then?”

  “I had one friend at court, D’Aniela’s mother. After the ball we went to Earth and traveled together. According to the treaty I was going to spend half my time there after I was married. At first it was a dreary place that was full of metal and iron. We both got sick just walking around the streets of Chicago and New York. I began to lose all hope of finding any happiness in Nightfall or on Earth. I fell into such a depression I made a vow never to have any children. I wouldn’t submit a child to the kind of life I saw lay out before me.”

  My jaw and stomach clenched at her words, at the despair I heard in them. My mother went on.

  “We sought out the small pockets of fae who were still living on Earth. Some were eccentrics or stubborn fools who had refused to leave ages ago. Others had fled Nightfall for various reasons. Some were turncoats who had fought alongside the wolves. We avoided those fae for obvious reasons. We found a friendly group living in Ireland, in the village of Gailmadoon. They had learned to cope with the human’s modern world and provided us with elixirs and potions that eased our sick bellies. That’s when we met Dani’s father, Seamus Moran. He was an alchemist who was the village apothecary. His potions helped ease our ills. But I was still depressed. That’s also where I met your father.”

  “Da?” I asked. “What was he doing there?”

  “Your father had a lot of pursuits as a young man, the one he was most keen on was paranormal researcher. He’d been looking for faeries his entire life and had wandered into the village convinced he’d found them. The villagers tried to drive him away with various tricks and pranks. They were having a fun time at your father’s expense. I didn’t join in. I thought Jason Decker a handsome man.”

  “He still is,” I cut in.

  “He most certainly still is,” said my mother. She grasped my hand and this time I didn’t pull it back.

  “But I couldn’t think much about him. My life was still closing in on me. I took long lonely walks out on the heather. I wandered about not caring if I got lost. That’s where Jason found me that one day. I was walking through the mists. I must have been crying because he wiped the tears away from my cheek. He asked what was wrong. I to
ld him nothing. He said I was a pretty bad liar. I laughed for the first time in weeks. We talked some more as we wandered the mists together. The conversation wasn’t about anything important but that didn’t matter. With Tristan I talked about the weighty subjects and at the end I felt more distant from him then when I started. With Jason we talked about nonsense and I felt closer to him than any man before or since. At the end he told me I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. As we exited the mists I heard him gasp. It was then I realized that my glamor had worn off. I stood there not in human guise but in my fae form. At first he was excited. But when I begged him to keep my secret he agreed. He’d been searching his whole life for proof of faeries. But when he saw it would hurt me to expose our kind, he swore to keep our secret. Then he kissed me.” She sighed, squeezing my hand tighter.

  “I still remember that kiss after all these years. It was the second most powerful moment of my life, a moment that still shakes me to my core. So that’s why, when the time came, I didn’t return to Nightfall. I went with Jason to Vancouver and became his wife. I knew what falling in love meant, we both did. Not only would it throw two people into chaos but there was danger for Jason. He swore he could hold off becoming fae struck using remedies and spells he’d learned. But we both knew he could only delay the effects for so long. It was a terrible price but in the end it was one we both paid. “

  She gently rubbed my arm.

  “But we’d both pay that price over again.”

  I didn’t know what to believe anymore. All my life A’Lona Wolfstriker had been the heartless faerie who had entrapped my father and left him fae struck and me without a mother. I didn’t want to believe here but deep inside I knew she was telling me the truth.

  “Why did they decide after all this time to come after me and da? What happened here? What changed?” I asked.

  “A number of things. Since the time the treaty has been signed someone at this court has been planning and plotting to break the peace. But there’s more.”

  I braced myself.

  “Simeon the wizard consulted the Great Codex. It’s an ancient tome written in a strange language but it tells the future of the fae. Just a few months ago he told the court he had deciphered a new passage. It says that war will come again. “

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  “The second part of the prophecy states that a changeling child born of the royal house will decide the fate of all.”

  Obviously, the fae wanted to make sure I chose their side.

  Chapter 13

  I stayed in my room after my mother left. I just wanted to sleep and she left me alone. But I didn’t get any rest. I spent the night tossing in my sumptuous bed. If it hadn’t been for my father’s safety I never would have come to Nightfall. My entire world had been turned upside down.

  Sleep came in small doses. When morning came I trudged off in search of some form of breakfast. I took a grateful sip from my container of coffee as I shuffled down the hall.

  I discovered food was served in great hall only on special occasions. I and my ladies in waiting were expected to dine in the small dining room located in our wing. It was small only in comparison to the great hall. The room was bigger than my entire house back in Vancouver.

  That morning I found R’Agan and N’Tasha eating what looked like oatmeal with rose petals. They glanced at me once then returned to their meals. Dani entered soon after.

  “How you holding up?” she asked.

  “I’ll survive,” I said. “What’s good to eat?”

  Dani surveyed our offerings.

  “Well unless you want to sample the flower power diet, we have bread, ale, cold roasted meats, oysters.”

  My face scrunched and my stomach did a few flips.

  “Or you can go with none of the above,” Dani said as she whipped out a pair of toaster pastries.

  “Perfect.” I tore into one of the pastries. It was full of cold red jelly. There were worst things I could have for breakfast but I didn’t care. I washed it down with some cold coffee.

  After R’Agan and N’Tasha left the room Dani whispered, “Severin’s trial is today in the great hall.”

  “What’s going to happen?”

  Dani said, “It’s hard to describe. You’ll have to see it then it will make sense.”

  “Will it be fair?” I asked.

  “As fair a trial as he can expect to receive in Nightfall. Also I have a message from your mother.”

  I tensed a little. “What does she want?”

  “She wants you to stay away. There’s nothing you can do and it will only cause you more harm.”

  I nibbled on the toaster pastry some more. I stung me to think about my last talk with Severin. Sitting in his cell, he’d told me that he’d used me. He told me that he hadn’t really cared about me. I wanted to kill him for that. But a piece of my heart kept crying that it wasn’t true. Maybe Severin was just trying to drive me away so I wouldn’t get hurt. I dearly hoped that was true.

  “Are you going to be there?” Dani asked.

  “I’m not sure,” I said. But I knew I would. No matter what Severin had said to me, I couldn’t have him there alone without any friends. He had protected me in the past. He had come with me to find my father. Whatever else he had done, whatever his motivations, I still owed him at least a show of support.

  Around noon the court assembled in the great hall. Once again new furniture was brought in to suit the occasion. Lord Wolfstriker now sat on the dais alone. Directly before him was a cage and inside was Severin. They had given him a tunic to wear so he wasn’t naked. He kept his head down and didn’t speak or look in my direction. Next to the cage was a large brazier that contained an eerie white flame.

  The hall was packed. Chairs were set up in rows in the hall. And the surrounding gallery was full of fae, brownies, trolls and others. I found a seat reserved for me near the front. I looked around and saw my mother seated next to the queen. The queen stared at me with icy contempt. My mother looked pained to see me there. I sensed she wanted to talk some more but I was still reeling from our last conversation.

  I checked the hall for other familiar faces. Chancellor Dashrael was in the front along with me. None of my ladies in waiting put in an appearance. I spied Linus Coldiron a few rows back as well as the Greatstones. A bell sounded and everyone found their seats. That was when J’Tara strode to the dais looking smart and icy cold in her uniform.

  “Sire and assembled guests we are here to witness the trial and judgment of Severin Saint Morgan, werewolf, who is charged with the crime of leading a hostile action against this realm in violation of our peace treaty.”

  She motioned to the brazier. “This is the Flame of Veritas. In the presence of truth it burns white.” She addressed the fire, “My name is J’Tara. I am captain of the royal guard.”

  The flame continued to burn white.

  “But speak any lie no matter how small and it will turn green. I am a Merlesian tortoise with a polka dot shell and a neck that stretches nearly a mile in length.”

  The brazier’s flame changed to a bright and garish green before it shifted back to a white flame.

  The trial consisted of witnesses coming forward and telling their stories next to the flame. The first was a farmer who was initially the one to notice the werewolf attack.

  “There were about twelve of them in all,” he said. “Most were the smaller variety but they were led by three large ones, alphas they call them.”

  The fire next to him kept burning white.

  Suddenly Severin spoke up “Lord Wolfstriker, may I question the witness?”

  A murmur went up through the crowd.

  “That is your right,” answered the king.

  I wondered what Severin was doing.

  “Could you describe the wolves you saw?” he asked the farmer. “Just the alphas, the leaders.”

  “They were wolves,” said the farmer.

  That got a chuckle from the cr
owd. Severin laughed along. Then suddenly shifted into his wolf form inside the cage. The crowd gasped. Severin snarled within his cage and turned around several times. He was showing off his wolf hide. He was like a classic timber wolf, a mix of white, gray and black fur.

  He changed back to human form just as quickly and stood in the cage naked and fearless.

  “There,” he said. “Did any of the three wolf leaders look like that?”

  The farmer pursed his lips. It looked like he was about to say “yes.” But he cast a sideways glance at the flame of truth.

  “No,” he said. “That beast wasn’t one of them.”

  That caused shouts from the audience. Lord Wolfstriker silenced them by raising his hand.

  “Thank you,” Severin went on. “Could you describe the three wolves you did see?”

  “One was snowy white,” said the farmer.

  “Shana,” Severin said softly. It was more to himself. I just barely overheard.

  “The other was grey with a dark patch over his face.”

  “Tristan,” muttered Severin.

  “The other was pure black.”

  Severin said a name but I couldn’t hear it. I couldn’t read his lips either. But he stood stone silent. He ignored the jeers from the crowd.

  I wanted to shout back or do something. Then the crowd went silent. Linus Coldiron strode towards the cage. He’d taken off his jacket and he thrust it through the bars towards Severin. “Son,” he said. That brought Severin back. He took the coat. Coldiron nodded at the farmer. “He’s got no more questions. You’re done.”

  The farmer muttered a thank you and hurried back to his place.

  The next witness was J’Tara. She told the court how she had heard about the attack and had rallied her guards. She came upon a copse of trees.

  “It was then I saw Severin Saint Morgan. I saw him both in his human form and in his wolf form. When I came upon him he was in human shape. He saw me, transformed into a wolf and escaped before I could pursue him. He had been leaning over two dead bodies by the trees. They were the bodies of Shana Saint Morgan and Tristan Coldiron.”

  The flame next to her burned a consistent white.