by Tara Maya, Elle Casey, J L Bryan, Anthea Sharp, Jenna Elizabeth Johnson, Alexia Purdy (epub)
“So you were in love, and she just left? Just like that?”
“Yes. It was a long time ago, and I’d rather not talk about it anymore.”
Shade frowned, scanning the darkening woods. Jack seemed nice enough, and she didn’t want to get on his last nerve, especially not when the woods appeared to be dangerously alive.
Jack came to a sudden stop in front of an enormous oak tree. It looked ancient, like it had lived longer than anything else in the world. He kneeled down, putting away his sword and pulling out a flask, taking a swig.
While Shade looked around and up into the tree, something swatted her calf and she jumped. She scrambled around to get a better look at the forest floor. Fluttering near her, was what appeared to be a small fly. Its wings batted like a hummingbird’s, and a snarled smile emerged from its lips.
Lips? Flies don’t have lips.
She narrowed her eyes at the creature; it had a soft golden glow to its skin and looked like a tiny elf with white cottony hair and long pointy fingers. It also had a malicious smile painted across its face. “Um, hi, how are you? I’m….” Shade didn’t get a chance to finish her words before the wind flew out of her as her arm was jerked back.
“Stop!” Jack snapped, still holding onto her wrist. “Don’t speak to them! The demi-fey aren’t very merciful or nice. They like to play games and mind tricks which can kill you. There’s almost no way to snap out of their enchantments; they can make you dance until your feet are bloody stumps! Weren’t you listening? And, never eat or take anything they give you, you understand? You will belong to them forever!” Jack let go of her arm and angrily turned back to the tree. Shade rubbed her arm, pushing her steamy anger away.
“Endora, philis montie!” He touched one of the tree knots, causing the earth to quiver and move near the roots. They vibrated alive, snaked and moved as they parted, like tentacles. An opening with stone steps revealed itself at the base of the tree. Eventually, the rumbling ceased and the ground remained open.
Shade had to close her mouth, which was hanging open like a flycatcher. She’d never seen anything like this in her life.
“Follow me and stay close. Humans are not usually welcomed here.” Jack stepped down into the darkness, holding onto the small roots sticking out of the crumbly walls, like parts of a banister. Shade followed reluctantly, but silently wished she had never gotten out of bed that morning. As she descended deeper into the void, the grass and trees disappeared from sight.
When they had almost reached the bottom of the staircase, a loud rumble shook the ground, sending dirt trickling down. Her arms instinctively flew up over her head, waiting for a cave-in that never did come. She looked up when the noise died away. The hole in the forest floor had closed above them.
Shade now stood in what appeared to be a hallway made of dirt with smooth stones all around them. Roots dangled from above, and the only light came from lamps hanging on the walls. One by one, each magically flared up. The lamps gave off an eerie flickering glow of dim light.
Jack dusted his shoulders and shook off the dirt. He started walking down the hall. Shade had no choice but to follow while attempting to breathe in and out slowly and deeply, easing her anxiety. The floor was flagstone, nestled into the moist, soft dirt. It was cool in the dark tunnel, but it wasn’t uncomfortable; there was no trace of wind to chill her.
There were many tunnels branching off from the main one. Shade stayed close to Jack, afraid to lose him in the dizzying maze. Dangling roots gripped her hair, like fingers catching her long strands and pulling hard as if they were alive. She used one hand to cover her head to keep it from catching the snarled roots. Her other hand was stretched out to help her balance against the cool, smooth dirt walls. She hoped they would soon get to wherever it was they were going.
There was a soft glowing light up ahead, growing brighter as they inched closer to it. She could hear voices echoing in waves down the hall. The hall abruptly ended and opened into a large, round room. Shade began to realize that the voices were coming from the many bodies fluttering around in the room. Most looked human from what she saw, but others were unlike anything she’d ever seen. Their faces glared at her, an intruder from the world above; somehow, she had a feeling that they didn’t see too many strangers down there.
Shade felt naked under the scrutiny of the dozens of eyes that were scanning her as though she were a freak. She stumbled behind Jack, who seemed oblivious to the commotion around them. He finally stopped when a large troll stepped in front of them, blocking the path.
“Out of the way, Renny, I must see Ilarial immediately,” Jack yelled up to the gruesome beast. “I have some strange news about Vange for her, and I brought someone who needs to see her.” The troll narrowed his eyes and cast his glowing, yellow eyes over Shade. She felt herself shrinking under his glare; he was monstrous, and one of the scariest things she’d ever seen.
“Can’t do that Jack. No strangers allowed without prior approval; you know that. We have to be sure she isn’t a spy; the forest is crawling with them. They could only be so lucky to have you waltz one right into the center of our residence. I have to tie her up now.” The troll pushed past Jack and reached for her. His large hands were hideous and reminded her of moldy green cheese. They looked burly, and if he got a hold of her, she didn’t know how she would break free, even if she tried.
“Jack?” She stepped back as he came closer. “I’m not a spy! Don’t touch me! Jack?” She peered around for him as the troll’s fingers grabbed her arm and squeezed, digging hard into her flesh. The next second, the troll was on the floor staring at the ceiling, blinking in disbelief. Jack had his sword at the troll’s throat and his foot pressed down onto his massive chest.
“I told you, Renny, we must see the oracle Ilarial. I vouch for this girl. She’s no spy. Now stay out of my way, or the next time this blade will slice your throat all the way through.”
Jack pushed off and looked at Shade. She trembled as she let out the breath that had caught in her chest. He motioned for her to follow him and sheathed his sword. She nodded and stepped past the troll, who glared at her with his burning yellow eyes. Turning away, she scurried behind Jack as he continued walking down another corridor off the main room. She didn’t let her gaze deviate from the room until it was out of sight. Shivering, she hugged her arms around herself even though the room wasn’t cold. She was afraid, more than she was willing to admit.
“I apologize for the security around here; we’ve had a lot of break-ins, and Queen Zinara is not pleased. You must understand if I suspected you were a spy, you wouldn’t be standing here with me at all.”
Shade nodded, feeling most unwelcomed.
“Ah, here we are!” Jack stopped at the end of the hall and tapped on a wooden door. It had deep woodland carvings that curved and twisted throughout the ancient wood, smoothed over by time and use.
“Come,” a female voice commanded. Shade hoped she’d be friendlier than the bunch they’d already encountered.
Jack heaved the door open and let Shade go in first, closing it softly behind them. She studied the room; it glittered in the dim candlelight shining from the center of a round wooden table near the floor. There were also several large pillows tossed about the room for seating.
From behind the table, a platinum-haired woman stared at her. She smiled and lifted her arms, motioning for them to sit. Her gown flowed around her like liquid ice, white and sheer. Her hair glistened in the light, and her eyes were like grey shining pearls. The oracle’s eyes brought out the smoothness of her face. Her dark pink lips smiled, and nothing about her seemed old. She looked like an angel without wings, ethereal. Shade tried not to stare, hoping she hadn’t been rude. She settled onto a large blue pillow.
Shade let her eyes wander the small space, noticing several objects on the table before them. There were stones of different colors and markings scattered on the wood. Placed among the stones were some small, bleached animal bones.
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��Please, take my hand.” Reaching out from her long, white robe, Ilarial brought her slender pale hand toward Shade. Shade took the hand, finding it soft and surprisingly warm.
“Um, hello, I’m Shade, Jack brought me here because I….”
“I know who you are and why you’re here, Shade,” Ilarial interrupted. “I’ve been waiting for you a long time. I was hoping that you might run into someone like Jack a little sooner, but this will do. I’m Ilarial, Lady Oracle of the faery tribe of Guildrin.” Her smile made Shade feel warm and suddenly very calm. The woman was full of magic, and it radiated toward her like a warm fire on an icy night.
“I know you’re confused, but I’ve known of your existence for some time. You say you can hear what you call ‘voices’ in your head from time to time?” the Oracle asked kindly.
Shade nodded. She was in awe of Ilarial but couldn’t shake the strangeness of the room’s atmosphere. Was she under a spell? Being in Ilarial’s presence was like being drugged or sedated; it filled her with a sweet and fuzzy feeling.
Ilarial smiled deeply and crow’s feet appeared around her eyes, revealing wisdom and age. Even so, Shade found it impossible to tell just how old she was. Her long hair draped around her shoulders and down her back like a thick, rippled curtain, shining in the dim candlelight.
“The voices in your head are spirit guides. They’re your ancestors trying to help you on your way. It’s difficult to tune into them because you’re not trained, but they mean only to help you. You must not fear them, but let them fill you with their power and knowledge. After all, they’ve led you to find us. You must know now that you’re not all human. You’re one of us; part faery and part human. This is why you can sense magic around you, and it has called you here.”
Shade concentrated on Ilarial’s words, unconvinced. What the heck? Impossible. Shade shook her head. “No. My parents aren’t faeries. My mother is not magical. She’s a modern soccer mom with four kids to feed, and a single mom at that! My father’s dead. He died two years ago, and there’s no way he was a faery!”
Shade was growing agitated. Her father a faery? No, it couldn’t be; he’d been so normal. She could still remember his calm voice reading to her at night before bed and the wrinkles that hugged his eyes when he smiled. Faeries aren’t parents; they don’t die in car accidents like her father had. None of this made any sense.
“I know this may sound impossible,” Ilarial offered softly. “I knew that it would be difficult for you to accept. You’re the oldest in your family, right?” Shade nodded. “Your mother loved a faery once; he charmed her into loving him instantly. She had no choice, really, but that’s how she became pregnant with you. Of course, this faery placed a spell on the man that you call father almost as soon as he knew there would be a child. He wanted to make sure you’d be taken care of, provided for.” She paused, letting the information sink in.
“Your adoptive father fell in love with your mother, married her right away and then you were born. Both were none the wiser.” Ilarial stopped, watching Shade’s reaction.
“My dad was not my real father?” Shade’s voice quivered at the thought. “How would you even know that? Who was this ‘faery’ then? Did he tell you himself? What if you’re lying?” Shade suddenly stood up and looked down at Ilarial, her heart beating hard within her chest. Her breath caught in her throat, causing it to feel tight.
Jack was suddenly standing behind her, took hold of her shoulders and pressed down softly. “Shade, please, sit down. You must listen to her. She knows more than you think.”
Shade took a breath, eyeing Ilarial with suspicion. Sighing, she decided she didn’t have much of a choice. She sank down into the sea of pillows once more, shaking and unsure.
Ilarial was still. She wasn’t angry as Shade expected, but smiling. The same warm feeling flooded over Shade once more, calming her.
“You must know, faeries can’t lie, unless of course they’re not full faery, like yourself. We can enchant, stretch the truth or work a way around it but never a straight out lie. I do hope you believe me. I mean you no harm, child. I only wish to find truth for you.” Ilarial nodded and looked down onto the table before them. She picked up the stones and warmed them in her hands. She then dropped them on the table and watched them roll to their places.
“These stones are quite powerful; they’re mined from the heart of the earth, deep within crevices never seen by man. They’re called seeing stones, and the runes on them foretell futures or sing of the past. For you, I see a great journey you must undertake, a misshapen love with a broken heart, confusion….” She pointed to each stone, first a blue stone, then a pink-red one, and then blackened quartz. The last three were turquoise, purple, and yellow, and they were wedged in a group together. She paused before them, turning her head slightly, as if waiting for them to speak. “Ah, yes, a most special task has fallen to you where your true self shall be revealed.”
Shade stared at Ilarial. Nothing made sense to her—absolutely nothing. The stones glistened and vibrated on the table, almost glowing. Shade felt power radiating from them like a nauseating heat making her slightly dizzy. “What does that all mean?”
“It means that you’ve come here in a time of war within our kind. Our Queen wants a force assembled to retrieve the Santiran Water magic. This power comes from a pool of water, where all elements and creatures are derived. It holds life and death, and summons the powers of the earth. It helps keep the balance between good and evil in our land, and evil will wither against it.
“It is said only the one that belongs to both man and faery can hold this liquid and return it to the great city of Aturine here in Guildrin, where the Queen resides. Only then will we be safe from the Unseelie attacks.” She paused, studying Shade’s face. “The stones tell me that someone must be you, Shade.”
Shade tried to close her mouth, as if the words would taste bad if they reached her lips. Why was she so special? She was just a senior in high school, and she wasn’t even sure if she was going to college. Most days, she couldn’t even decide what to eat for lunch. “No way. Sorry, but, you’ve got the wrong girl. This is nuts. I need to go. It’s getting late.” She chuckled nervously, shaking her head. She turned to look at Jack as she stood up. A frown played about the corners of his mouth.
“Has the Queen called assembly yet?” he asked Ilarial.
“She’s doing so as we speak. I let her know that Shade would be here today. We must go now and listen. Such a historic event is not to be missed. Shade, we must take you there now,” the Oracle beckoned.
Shade was sure she should’ve never gotten out of bed that morning.
Chapter Three
ILARIAL’S MOVEMENTS WERE light and airy, almost as though she were floating. She waved at Shade to follow as Jack opened the wooden door to the hallway. Shade was in too much shock to object; she followed them both down the tunnels, returning to the main room, where Renny had attempted to arrest her. She stood wide-eyed at the scene; it had swelled up with more people, or faeries or whatever the heck everyone was down there.
Ilarial pushed through the crowd, or rather it seemed to part just for her, until they reached a large platform. Here stood several guards and another woman in a great, long, red velvet gown. A tall crystal tiara flashing with diamonds and blood-red rubies rose from her long black hair. She watched them as they approached the raised platform, passing her eyes from Ilarial to Shade. Gleaming green irises bore into Shade like fire burning in pale skin. This woman wasn’t to be trifled with. The air of command and power swirled around her like a cloud. Shade suddenly felt quite tiny.
“Most Seelie queens have light, fair hair,” Ilarial whispered to her. “But Zinara was born with the dark hair of an Unseelie queen and the legendary Ancients. Nonetheless, she won the Seelie crown and paid for it dearly, with flesh and blood. She deserves loyalty, more than any queen ever has.” Shade listened to Ilarial’s short history lesson as she watched the room turn to give the Queen its full attent
ion.
Ilarial bowed to the queen deeply and kissed her hand. “Your majesty. I present to you Shade, a halfling who has joined us today. I have read the stones, and she’s the one I’ve been telling you about. She has finally returned to us and is the one I’ve foreseen for this journey. The magic of Faerie has finally brought her back to us.”
The Queen listened intently, letting her eyes drift over her. Shade felt sick and homesick already. The pressure of all the things they told her bore down like a suffocating pressure that swallowed her up. She was sinking into the depths of a deep dark well, without any hope to escape. She studied the crowd and desperately wanted to fade into it, to run down the tunnels and out of the forest as fast as she could.
“A pleasure to finally meet you, Shade,” Queen Zinara said as she fixed her gaze on her and offered out her hand.
Unsure of what to do, she copied Ilarial’s gestures and kissed the Queen’s hand. She noted Ilarial’s approval and returned her eyes to the stunning Queen as she let go. The Queen turned back to the crowd and the room fell silent.
“I find it difficult to address you today. The evil that surrounds us has threatened our peaceful lives many times as of late. My heart breaks with the death that seeps into our precious earth. I’ve been forced to ask of you the most dangerous of requests.” The Queen’s pensive pause made a ripple of curious whispers ignite. “We must obtain the magic of the Santiran Fountains once more. Our ancestors used this when the earth was once out of balance and evil lurked around every corner. We’ve attempted to fight the Unseelie court, but have failed to hold them back, with terrible losses. I fear our only chance against their vast army, is this magic, and we must undertake a perilous journey to obtain it.”
She paused, sighing and seemingly upset by what she was saying. “Unfortunately, I cannot go myself because being near the fountain would prove fatal for me. The magic of the Santiran Fountains can only be bequeathed unto a halfling, one of both worlds, human and faery. To my great joy, we have finally found her, on this night of all nights. I’m most pleased to introduce Shade.” Her hand outstretched toward Shade and the crowd cheered thunderously.
