And it was then, when I thought I couldn’t get any lower, that I felt all sound and light sucked from my eyes and ears. The curtains dropped behind me, cascading to the ground in velvety piles. Then sound came roaring back into my ears and the light returned. The curtains trembled, rising.
The Queen stepped out from the velvet and thrust the curtains behind her, chin lifted high. There was no doubt as to her identity; she reeked of power and age, though her face was as young as mine. Delicate blond hair shone on either side of her cheeks, held flat on her head by a beaten gold circlet that bore an eerie resemblance to Luke’s torc. She was one of those beautiful girls that made you despise looking in a mirror, no matter how pleased you’d been with yourself before you’d met her. Then her eyelids flicked open and two ancient eyes stared back at me. I was repulsed; it was as if I’d peeked in a baby carriage and found a snake looking back at me.
Eleanor and Aodhan bowed low, their cheeks touching the stage.
The Queen’s eyes drifted over the scene: my harp, James in the rubble, me standing mere feet away from her.
“Why isn’t she dead yet?” To my surprise, her voice sounded weary, a bit reminiscent of Luke’s—maybe that was how a human body became after one thousand years.
Aodhan grinned at me. “We were just having a bit of sport.”
“There will be more sport when she is dead.” The Queen looked at me and said, disbelieving, “And you are Deirdre? I thought, when I saw you, I would understand why Luke Dillon wouldn’t do as he was told. But you’re—” she shrugged, obviously bemused. “You’re so ordinary.”
The words were so human that they at least gave me the courage to speak. “You were ordinary once yourself.”
The Queen looked at me incredulously. “You compare the value of your life to mine? You’re nothing. And I am everything. Is that why you won’t die? You thought you were worth something? Your story has been written a thousand times, and in every version, you and your lover die.”
She stepped toward me, power seeping from her, and I stumbled back from the sheer drowning force of it. Was it true? Was I living “The Faerie Girl’s Lament”?
Suddenly I felt a tug on my ankle, and a second later my leg was pulled out from under me, so fast that my breath abandoned me. In a blink, I was hanging upside down by an ankle, my iron key hanging precariously below my face. I jerked my hands upward toward the rope, but I was snared securely in the most obvious trap ever.
Aodhan’s laugh carried across the stage and he clapped his hands, ignoring the Queen’s dark expression. He strode over and stood face-to-face with me, his face right side up and mine upside down, the key hanging between us. “I thought you would never step into that.”
He reached up behind my neck, his fingers too hot on my skin, and untied the cloth string that held the key.
No. Crap, no.
I summoned the dark outside, gathering it into me, intending to push it into his face. Anything to keep him away from Luke’s secret.
“No, Deirdre Monaghan,” the Queen said flatly. “I don’t think so.”
And just like that, as soon as she said my name, I went empty inside, like a balloon deflated in an instant.
The key clattered on the floor at Aodhan’s feet. And I just felt limp, drained, captive. So, this was why the faeries kept their names secret.
“May I play with her now?” Aodhan’s words were directed at the Queen, but his eyes never left my face.
“He’s worked quite hard enough for it,” Eleanor suggested.
The Queen made a vague gesture—like a teen’s whatever—and instantly Aodhan was clambering up the side of the stage to cut the snare. My mind raced through possible plans, but my thoughts seemed to slip away like water, pumped out of my brain by my pounding heart.
And then I was falling. I barely had time to wheel my arms out when pain seared through me—the back of my head first, then my left hand. I gasped for breath and consciousness, lying in the same rubble as James. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. And my hand was killing me.
Oh, God. My eyes drifted to my hand and my stomach turned. Driven through the back of my hand was a long nail. The point protruded several inches from my palm, with almost no blood around its base.
“Did you hurt yourself?” Aodhan leapt on top of me, pinning my other arm to the ground, not worrying with the one nailed to the stubby board. He grinned down at me, his eyes bright. His body was too hot, burning me, and his thyme-scented breath invaded my nostrils. I should have been afraid, but all I could think of was how glad I was that Luke wasn’t here to see me, pinned beneath Freckle Freak. The thought pricked tears of shame at the corners of my eyes. “I think I’ll enjoy you quite a bit.”
At his words, James shifted on the rubble near me. His teeth gritted, and his voice was barely audible. “Get off her.”
Aodhan told me, “You’ll have to wait a minute, lovely.” He reached to his waist and unsheathed his knife. “I have to take care of this first.”
Okay. This was enough. As Aodhan lifted his knife, I summoned every bit of physical strength I had and swung my left hand—nail, board, and all—at Freckle Freak’s pretty face. There was no time for him to jerk away, and the nail stabbed into his cheek.
The knife dropped from his hand.
Aodhan wrenched his cheek from the nail and stumbled off of me. Staring at me, he touched the wound with his fingers. It was no worse than the wound on my hand, certainly not enough to kill him, but his eyes told me otherwise.
And then, bursting from the hole the iron had made, a new, green bud surged forth, unfolding into a delicate leaf. And then another, and another still. The fresh growth spread across his cheek, exploding into beautiful white flowers with yellow stamen, and purple daisies with deep black centers, and small, pink bleeding hearts that bobbed as he stumbled back again. In seconds, endless beauty erupted from the filth that was Aodhan, consuming him with life and promise. He fell back, but before he hit the floor, it was only a cascade of flowers that spilled across the stage, making no more sound than a whisper.
I wrenched my hand from the nail and grasped my key. My hand was bloody but had stopped hurting; was that a bad thing? The Queen looked at the pile of flowers that was Freckle Freak and then looked at Eleanor. “The time for sport is over. Bring me Luke Dillon.”
I stopped breathing.
“With pleasure,” Eleanor said, sweeping over the petals as if they meant nothing to her. I crept over to James’ side, crouching protectively between him and the Queen, though who knew what I could do against her if she tried to kill him. She had my name. The power to stop me in my tracks. A small part of me wished that Luke would whirl in and rescue me again, but I didn’t really think it was going to go down like that.
The Queen looked at me, her eyes flitting over the bloody key and over James, behind me. “You aren’t strong enough, you know. Not to kill me. Not to rule Them.”
I cradled my hand in my lap, shoulders hunched, and gazed back at her. “I don’t want to rule Them.”
She shrugged. “Then They will kill you. Haven’t you heard the legends? Don’t you know what happens to cloverhands who cannot control the fey? Eyes gouged out. Paralyzed. Killed.”
Her words rang true, echoing faerie tales from my childhood. But my mind slipped away from her, escaping into a memory of Luke’s—him playing a wild reel in a circle of faeries who bent bows and pounded drums. I recognized Brendan, saw Una’s smile, heard the feral beauty of the tune. It was one of the most beautiful memories I’d gotten from Luke, the only one I’d wished I’d been there for.
“Deirdre,” snapped the Queen, and my attention focused back on her. “You have already given up. Lay down your key and I promise it will be quick.”
I frowned at her. Something in her words reminded me of that breathy voice singing the legend of the other Deirdre—the third Deirdre—in my ear this morning.
But before I could think why it was important, the Queen looked at Eleanor, wh
o had returned to the stage alone. God. Where was Luke? Dead?
Eleanor’s expression was unfathomable. “The Daoine Sidhe are outside, my Queen.” She raised a delicate eyebrow and I could have sworn that she nearly smiled. “They demand an audience.”
The Queen looked surprised, but then scoffed. “The Daoine Sidhe are nothing. They have no power to demand anything.”
“And I told them that, my Queen. But they said the cloverhand saved the life of one of theirs, the tarbh uisge, and that the law demanded she be given a gift in return.”
My eyes darted to the Queen.
Her expression was dark, but she didn’t disagree with Eleanor. “The Sidhe are too weak to come here without being called, even on this night. Who has called them? It is forbidden. Who has called them?”
“I have.”
A shiver ran through me—my body telling me who had spoken before I even turned to look.
“Luke Dillon!” If I had thought the Queen’s expression was dark before, now it was awful to see.
Eleanor stepped aside, letting Luke step up onto the stage. His eyes found me, and I saw pain in them. I couldn’t stop staring at him standing there, his hair bright under the stage lights, his face pale against his black T-shirt, his shoulders square but his eyes defeated.
“Luke Dillon,” the Queen said again. “It is forbidden to call the Daoine Sidhe. Would you see your soul in hell?”
“It’s over,” Luke said, and dropped his dagger onto the stage. It clattered across the shiny floor with ringing finality. “I’m done doing your bidding. Do with me what you will, but I am done.”
The Queen glowed with fury; I saw the setting sun in her eyes. “Gallowglass, you have so much to lose. How can you deny me?”
Though Luke spoke to her, he looked at me as he said, “T mo chr i istigh inti.”
“How can you love her?” screamed the Queen. “She is nothing.”
And then, with Luke’s pale eyes soaking me up, saying sorry, this is all I can do, I remembered—God, I’m a moron!
“I’m not nothing.” I stood up. “I’m not nothing, Deirdre O’Brien.”
The Queen turned her perfect face to me in disbelief.
“That’s your name, isn’t it?” I took a step toward her. I didn’t need her to answer; I could feel the truth of it. I could feel the power it contained. Power over her. Combined with the thundering darkness outside, I felt invincible. I knew I was stronger than she was. It was well past sunset.
I looked at her old snake-eyes, and as I did, I saw one of Luke’s memories behind my own eyes. This Luke, hundreds of years younger but wearing the same face, stood before the queen, his clothing strange. The Queen, too, was unchanged, her eyes already the ancient ones that I saw today.
“I will not love you,” Luke said. “I won’t lie. I will not love you.”
The Queen didn’t look surprised. Instead, she circled him once, her massive dress dragging behind her and catching on his ankle. He stood stock still, silently waiting for her anger. If he was afraid, I couldn’t feel it in the memory. The Queen ran a finger around his biceps where his torc now was, her face calculating, and then she smiled at him. “You will wish that you had.”
Anger pushed me from the memory to the present. I could hurt her. I could let myself remember every cruel thing she’d done to Luke, and I could use the darkness to absolutely destroy her.
I wanted to. I wanted to stomp her and then say something pithy as she curled up and died like a spider.
As if reading my mind—maybe she was—the Queen said, scornfully, “You are still not strong enough to control the fey. You are weak unless it is full dark. But we don’t have to do battle … I can teach you. I can teach you how to find the darkness that hides in the corners of rooms. To harness the night that is caught beneath the tangled branches of a tree. To find the darkness that’s in you all the time. I can make you more than you are.”
As she spoke, I saw the evening unfolding in her eyes, the summer folding flowers along her skin, ever blooming but not consuming her as they had Aodhan. Her hair cascaded in rivers of laughing summer waterfalls, never reaching the stage. Her fingers reached toward me, vines and roots striving for the stage lights through the tips of them.
“No.” I held my hand out toward Luke, and he walked wordlessly over to me, twining my fingers tightly in his. God, his hands were cold. Like he was already dead. “No, I don’t think so. I want to see the Daoine Sidhe.”
The glorious evening retreated into the Queen abruptly. Fury rolled off of her in vicious waves, but she couldn’t refuse—we were two equal pieces circling on the chess board. She turned to Eleanor. “Get Luke Dillon’s soul.”
twenty-one
The parking lot was full of faeries of every shape and size. Bonfires climbed high into the night sky, sending sparks and embers whirling toward the stars. I saw faeries in the shape of birds, their massive beaks stretching three feet away from their bodies, and faeries more striking than the most beautiful models. There were men who looked like they’d been pulled from the water, and tiny faerie children who looked as if they’d been knocked from the sky. Music poured from every corner and everyone was dancing, spinning, singing.
We stood just outside the propped exit door to the auditorium, for all the world like a dysfunctional family. Luke pressed against my arm, his features hawk-like as his gaze flitted around the lot. The Queen stood a few feet away from us, supremely out of place on the dirty asphalt, and looking the more impressive for it.
Thomas Rhymer emerged from the crowd, curls bouncing, and stood before the Queen.
“Good Solstice, my lady.” His voice was solicitous, if not sincere.
“Get away from me, Rhymer. You have chosen your side.” Casually, the Queen lifted a hand, not looking away from the crowd, and Thomas tumbled next to my feet. “I will deal with you and your tongue later.”
Luke held out a hand; Thomas accepted it and pulled himself up. His eyes met mine, but he didn’t say anything as he stepped slightly behind me. Damn, I think I’m getting a retinue.
“I do not see the Daoine Sidhe,” the Queen said to me. “I believe they have forgotten you.”
Perhaps they had. I didn’t know what my move was now.
“Not so quickly,” whispered a voice, equal parts song and chant. Eleanor’s eyes widened as Una slid out from behind her, moving soundlessly.
“You needn’t look so shocked,” Una said. “It was only a pinch.”
“Keep your distance,” the Queen warned, and lifted a hand. “I will snap you in two.”
“Come here!” Brendan’s voice conveyed the worry that was absent in Una’s face. He looked nearly as regal as the Queen, winding his way through the reveling faeries astride a dapple gray horse draped in bells. Bells around the horse’s hooves jangled with each step, and bells hanging from the reins trilled as the horse spooked at a ring of dancing faeries. Behind him, a half dozen more horses pushed their way through the crowd, all dapple grays with coats reflecting the colors around them. All of their bells should have made a cacophony, but instead there was an endless rippling chord of stunning melody. Despite everything, I caught my breath, struck with wonder.
Una spiraled over to where Brendan had stopped, tweaking his mount’s reins to hear the bells again. “Did I not tell you it would be this door? Don’t you look a fool now?” She wiggled her fingers toward the Queen and Eleanor, who stood behind the Queen holding a covered cage. “Behold the peacock and her handler.”
I wasn’t sure whether the Queen or Eleanor was the peacock, but neither of them looked pleased with the comparison.
“Say your bit,” the Queen snarled. “Since you must.”
Luke bowed slightly toward Brendan, as much as he could while still keeping his fingers in mine. “Good Solstice, Brendan. Please hurry. We haven’t much time.”
Brendan nodded back and glanced at the other Daoine Sidhe. They urged their horses forward until they stood in a row of seven, shoulder to shou
lder, the faeries’ bare feet touching the toes of the faerie next to them.
“Deirdre,” Brendan said. “You have saved the tarbh uisge, one of ours, on this night, and that binds us.” He sang,
The bird that flies across the fields
Eats the seeds of the meadow grasses
The seed that falls from the beak yields
More than the meadow’s losses.
I stared at him. He was looking at me expectantly, and I’m sure I was supposed to say something clever.
Thomas leaned in and touched my shoulder. “A life for a life,” he whispered. “It’s a song of balance. They’ll give you a life for the life you saved.”
Oh.
Oh.
In my head, Eleanor was pressing a dirty-pigeon soul into Aodhan’s chest and he was falling to the ground, dead, wearing Luke’s face. But it didn’t have to end that way. I could ask for Luke’s life. I could win his soul back and save him. This wouldn’t be the last time I held his hand. My story would have a happy ending.
“Save his life,” Luke whispered, his lips on my ear. “Hurry. He doesn’t have much time left.”
Guilt rocked through me, pricking immediate tears in my eyes. I didn’t know how I could’ve forgotten James, back on the stage, gasping for life. What kind of a person was I? Of course, I had to save James. What was I thinking? I half turned my head toward Luke, swallowing more tears. “But then—but when—if I—if you get your soul back—”
Luke kissed just in front of my ear, so brief and light that it was almost just his lips forming words. “I know. I know, pretty girl. I knew all along.”
I wanted him so badly it hurt, a dull ache somewhere below my ribs. I wanted to say, “save Luke.” It would be so easy.
It would be so wrong.
I looked at the ground, at every little jagged crevice in the asphalt. If you stared at it long enough, you could see little flecks of some sort of shining rock mixed into its surface. Two glistening drops splatted on the asphalt, and I looked up at Brendan and wiped my cheek.
Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception Page 23
