by Anya Bast
It made a lump rise in Elizabeth’s throat. The goblins, having no choice in the matter, had been used like cannon fodder over the years by the Shadow Royal.
The unharmed goblins bounced off the invisible barrier surrounding Gideon and Caoilainn like something out of a cartoon. The barrier was definitely the Summer Queen’s, though her magick wasn’t all that different from Gideon’s.
Normally, the Summer Queen could only wield magick in defense of the Rose Tower. Elizabeth wasn’t sure if this situation counted. But, after all, the Rose Tower was, indeed, at risk. The Summer Queen herself had ensured that.
Thwarted in their efforts to reach their intended targets, the goblins roamed Piefferburg Square, snarling and snapping. No one could envy the Summer Queen and Gideon when they were surrounded by hundreds of slavering goblins thirsting for a taste of their flesh the moment the barrier faltered. The goblins were under direct command of the Shadow Queen—part of the Shadow Guard—they wouldn’t stop until they had destroyed—in this case, consumed—their targets.
Once the king and queen called the sluagh, things would go from worse to hellish for them.
Gideon and the Summer Queen lifted their hands in unison, and another wave of magick rocked the Black Tower. Both she and Niall stumbled back. Plaster rained down from above them, and a crack zigzagged through the living room wall.
She glanced at Niall. “What was that about a barrier protecting the Black Tower, Niall?”
His expression looked grim as his gaze followed the crack in the wall as it snaked up the ceiling. “Maybe it’s the nature of their combined power. It’s the Phaendir out there, after all. That’s not all fae magick.”
Elizabeth turned to her mother. “We need to get out of here.”
“Great idea. Come on,” said Niall, going for the door. “I’ll show you a secret way out of the tower.”
The corridor was a mess of fae who’d remained in the tower after the evacuation order for the children. Now the rest of them were fleeing, and she didn’t blame them. Apparently everyone had received the same message at the same time—Gideon was going to bring this tower down around their ears.
Of course, Elizabeth doubted he’d really go that far. At least, not until he’d secured the Book of Bindings and the bosca fadbh. Even from a distance, she could see that Gideon looked crazed. He wasn’t going to be denied this time.
Elizabeth just wanted to get her mother as far away from this place as fast as she could. Her goal was to get to the Boundary Lands and hope like hell the sprae didn’t follow the rest of the fae if the walls came down. It was her mother’s only chance.
Elizabeth hated relying on luck.
They flowed into the river of fae making their way toward the stairs and elevators, but before they reached the end of the corridor, Niall pulled her and her mother into a shadowed alcove.
“Melia, a friend of mine and a member of the Wild Hunt, was one of the designers of the Black Tower,” Niall explained as he felt around the ceiling of the alcove, looking for something. “She showed me and precious few others all the secret places they built in.”
He found the mechanism he was looking for and triggered it. The back of the alcove slid open and they stepped into blackness, the wall sliding back into place quickly behind them. She couldn’t see anything—not even her hand in front of her face.
Another blast of magick shook the tower, throwing Elizabeth into Niall, who steadied her. “This is not making me feel safe, Niall,” she muttered.
Ignoring her, he murmured, “Illivium kar nium vatch.” A small orb of light appeared before them, illuminating the small room they stood in and a flight of narrow, shadowed stairs leading into the bowels of the tower.
Thea peered down them. “Where do they go?”
“Well,” said Niall, staring down the seemingly never ending flight of stairs, “eventually they lead out of the tower.” He paused. “But they haven’t been used in a while, and it’s a long way down.”
Another blast shook the tower, knocking Thea into the wall and making the whole structure groan ominously. They stared down the pitch-black flight of stairs for a moment in silence, all of them thinking the same thing.
“Okay, let’s do this. Fast,” said Elizabeth, taking her mother’s hand.
Niall insisted on going first, to clear the way for the rest of them and take on unexpected surprises, should there be any. The light of the orb floating in front of them, they headed down into the darkness as fast as they could safely move. It was a long way down. It seemed like they descended forever, every blast on the tower growing worse, making the building sigh and moan, and crumbling bits of quartz and concrete onto their heads.
Finally, just as the magick of the orb began to flicker and go out, they reached a metal door at the end. Niall opened it, and Elizabeth saw they were in the foyer. They slipped through the doorway and Niall closed it behind them. It looked just like the rest of the black quartz wall—no trace of the door remained or any visible way to open it from this side.
They watched from around the corner as fleeing fae rushed through, finding exits. Moments later the area emptied out. Elizabeth started to walk across the foyer, to the main doors that led out onto the street, but Niall raised a hand to stop her. “Something’s not right.”
“Nothing’s right,” she snapped over her shoulder.
“No, I mean, we got down here faster than everyone else. The foyer should be filled with fleeing people right now, but it’s a fucking ghost town in here. They know something we don’t.”
Just then the double doors of the Black Tower burst open and magick flared in the foyer, creating a metallic flavor at the back of her mouth. Thea shrank back against the wall, hiding around the corner, as if trying to make herself small.
Elizabeth fought the urge to shut her eyes. Her feet seemed frozen to the marble floor. “They’re coming in here, aren’t they?”
Niall yanked her around the corner.
Gideon and the Summer Queen strode into the Black Tower side by side, the cadre of cloaked Phaendir bringing up the rear. Gideon wore a dark suit with his brown hair slicked back, and Caoilainn wore a flowing white and gold gown. It looked like a demonic wedding party.
Elizabeth knew she should move, find an exit. She’d seen what their magick could do. May the Fianna rest in pieces. They needed to escape, but she couldn’t make herself budge.
Beside her, Niall seemed to be having the same problem. He muttered more Old Maejian under his breath and Elizabeth heard a little pop of some kind of magick being created around them. She hoped it was an invisibility spell.
The Summer Queen swung her head toward them and narrowed her eyes, catching sight of them. Her pale blond hair was curled and twisted on the top of her head and held in place with a thousand small golden pins. The white and gold gown that swathed her shifted with her movements, making slithering sounds. Diamonds dripped from her earlobes and twinkled from the base of her throat. Even for the Summer Queen, she was dressed to the nines today. Apparently she was certain victory was hers and wanted to look the part.
“You!” she shouted, raising her finger to point at Elizabeth. “You slimy little bitch! Traitor!” She lifted her hand and an immense blast of magick shot toward them.
Elizabeth whirled to shield her mother, but the blast hit a barrier protecting them—Niall’s magick.
Gideon placed a staying hand on the Summer Queen’s forearm. “Now, now, Caoilainn, that part of the story is over with. Don’t waste your strength.”
The Summer Queen lowered her arm, still fuming. The bank of elevators dinged, announcing someone’s arrival. Elizabeth pitied those fleeing fae and the surprise they were about to have.
But instead of random frightened fae, it was the Shadow King and Queen who stepped out of the elevator. Looking regal and completely unafraid, they came to stand face-to-face with the Summer Queen and Gideon.
“Gee,” whispered Niall, “I wish we had some popcorn.”
E
lizabeth took a deep breath, trying not to hyperventilate. “How can you be so flippant about this, Niall?”
“I’m flippant about most everything, Elizabeth.” He looked into her eyes. “Except you.”
Sorrow filled her chest and she eased away from him a little, averting her gaze. How she wished it could be another way. She glanced at her mother, who had narrowed her eyes at her with a disapproving look on her face. It was nice to know that even in the midst of a terrifying situation her mother had an opinion about her love life.
“The book isn’t here, Caoilainn,” said the queen in a low, steady voice.
Goblins from the square began streaming into the foyer. Not the hundreds that had streamed out, but enough to surround Gideon, the Summer Queen, and their creepy entourage.
The Summer Queen smiled. It was odd how angelic she could look with her cherubic lips and clear blue eyes, like a porcelain doll…of evil. “Did you hear that, Gideon? The book isn’t here. That means we can level the Black Tower.”
“Goody,” deadpanned Gideon, his eyes focused on Gabriel’s face as though exploring all the possible ways he could flay skin from muscle and tendon. “So, you’re the head of the Wild Hunt?”
Gabriel lifted his chin, his dark blue eyes flashing. “I am.”
“You’ll be working hard tonight.”
“Maybe.” Gabriel rolled his shoulders. “But who will reap you when you die, Gideon? I hear no one comes for Phaendir the way the Lady comes for the fae. How do you know your God even cares about you?” He paused. “How do you even know he exists, this Labrai?”
Gideon’s entire body went tight. That was, of course, a blow that must hurt a devout man like the archdirector of the Phaendir. Everything Gideon did, he did for Labrai. “I know He exists because I’m standing here, ready to take down the Black Tower stone by stone and then destroy the fae. Labrai has made that so.”
Elizabeth frowned, wondering at the exchange, wondering why the Shadow King and Queen were even bothering to talk to them. Then movement drew her eye and she spotted Aeric O’Malley, the Blacksmith—she recognized him from Faemous—and a dark-haired woman ushering people down a corridor behind them and out a side door.
Ah. The Shadow Royals were buying time, getting the tower completely evacuated.
“Hmmm…that remains to be seen, I guess.” Gabriel looked around the foyer. “After all, the Black Tower is still standing, and the fae are alive and ready to kick your ass. They are, in fact, surrounding you.” He clicked his tongue. “Gotta say, I don’t really see you or your brothers getting out of here alive. The moment your shields go down…” Gabriel grinned then took a mock bite out of the air. “You’ll be lunch.”
“Enough!” roared the Summer Queen. “Hand over the book and we won’t level the tower.”
The temperature in the foyer plummeted. Elizabeth let out a hard and fast puff of breath in surprise and it showed white in the air. “You’re never getting the book, Caoilainn,” said the Shadow Queen in a steady, deadly sounding voice.
The Summer Queen laughed. “You can’t scare me, Aislinn. I was there the day you were born. In my lifetime, that was yesterday.”
“Aislinn,” Gabriel said in a strong, clear voice. “Are you ready?”
“I’m ready,” she answered.
Time seemed to stop for one dark, horrible moment. The air thickened, and for an instant almost all the light was sucked out of the room, leaving long, twisting shadows and incredible cold. Thea took Elizabeth’s hand and squeezed.
“What the hell is happening?” Elizabeth asked Niall in a low voice.
“They’re calling the sluagh.”
A low inhuman screaming began in the distance, growing louder and louder until Elizabeth and Thea were forced to sink to the floor, covering their ears. It was a sound that could shatter bone, sever tendon, make the listener go insane. The screaming faded to whispering that grew softer and softer.
All the noise stopped. It was as if the entire world froze. Universal silence. To Elizabeth, it was even worse than the screaming.
“This is getting out of hand,” Elizabeth whispered shakily to Niall.
She’d barely uttered the sentence when the front doors of the tower burst open and a stream of monstrous gray creatures rushed inside. Elizabeth and her mother pressed up against the wall behind them. The scuttle of sharp curved claws on the floor nearly deafened her.
One of the creatures stopped right in front her, looking her up and down. He—or she—had long, spindly arms and legs that still managed to be sinewy with muscle, a bulbous head, and an insectlike body. Its scaly skin was a sickly gray and it had huge eyes like an alien. Tattered, ripped clothes barely covered its body, and it held a machete in one clawed hand. Its nose was like a skeleton’s, really just two slits in its face. It opened its mouth, revealing long, sharp teeth, and hissed, spattering her with saliva.
TWENTY-TWO
“NIALL,” Elizabeth yelled over the noise. “It’s time to go, don’t you think?”
“They won’t hurt you unless the Shadow Queen commands them.”
She wiped the spittle from her cheek. “Oh, great, that’s very reassuring since the queen is so happy with me these days.”
Niall paused for a moment. “Good point. Let’s go.”
Before they began to edge down the corridor toward the side exit they’d seen Aeric O’Malley sneaking fae out of, Elizabeth took one last look at the scene in the middle of the foyer. Between the roaming, snarling sluagh and goblins that were looking for a way into the bubble around the bad guys, she could see that Gideon and the Summer Queen looked nonplussed. They were still facing off in a battle of wills with the Shadow Royals, who stood calmly in the midst of the chaotic sea of Unseelie creatures. They were speaking, but she couldn’t hear anything over the snarling, snapping, and scuttling of claws on marble.
Suddenly Gideon’s face flushed red with rage and he shot his arm to the side. A huge chunk of the foyer exploded in a shower of black quartz. The tower rocked ominously and Elizabeth wondered how much more it could withstand.
“Time to hurry,” muttered Niall, taking Thea’s hand and beginning to pick up the pace down the corridor.
They found the side door and burst out of it just as another blast of magick rocked the tower. A chunk of quartz plummeted past them from above and crashed into the sidewalk near her. She yelped in surprise, turned her body and shielded her face. Tiny bits of shrapnel peppered her, stinging her skin.
Niall grabbed her hand and ran with both women across the street, where a crowd had gathered.
“You’re lucky you got out when you did,” said a dark-haired man coming up on Niall’s side.
“Is the tower completely evacuated?” asked Niall, staring up at the tower with a look of mixed disbelief and dread on his face. “I’m not sure it can take this kind of pummeling.”
“We think everyone got out.”
“Good. Why aren’t you gone? I thought you were taking Charlotte out of here.”
The dark-haired man’s jaw tightened. “Circumstances changed.”
“Right. She wouldn’t let you, huh?”
“No,” the man practically growled the word.
Niall motioned at Elizabeth. “Elizabeth, this is Kieran Aindréas Cairbre Aimhrea. Kieran, Elizabeth Cely Saintjohn.”
Kieran narrowed his eyes, recognizing her name. “Hello.” It was one of the most unfriendly hellos she’d ever been treated to. She guessed she couldn’t blame him much.
“Where’s the book?” Niall asked him. “I know they got it out of the tower before Boris and Natasha showed up.”
Kieran glanced at her, rubbing his chin. “Yeah, they did. It’s safe.”
“You can trust her, man.”
Kieran snorted. “Please.”
Elizabeth felt her face go red with shame. “No, I get it. No problem. I was on my way out of town, anyway. Come on, Mom.” She looked at Niall. “Good luck with everything.”
“Elizabeth.” He
caught her hand before she could turn away. “Don’t go. Stay with me, at least until this is over.”
She looked up and met his eyes. “This is over, Niall. Completely and totally.” She pulled her hand away from his and walked out of the crowd, into the road to go around the crowd.
“Elizabeth!” Niall called from behind her.
She kept walking, never turned around—even though her heart was breaking.
“You’re making a mistake,” her mother grumbled coming up beside her. “Niall is a good man and he loves you.”
“And I love him back, Mom.” Her voice was choked with tears. She cleared her throat, banishing them.
“I don’t understand the problem.”
“Too much lies between us. Too many bad decisions. Too many regrets.” She glanced at her mother, grief swamping her for a moment. “Too many bad memories.” Or there would be, anyway, very soon.
“I love you, but I won’t be your excuse, Elizabeth.”
She only shook her head in response and kept walking. It wasn’t an excuse, but she couldn’t explain that to her mother. “We’ll go back to the Boundary Lands, find a pocket of sprae. Maybe if you stay there, they won’t leave if the walls—Mom?”
Her mother was not beside her. She stopped and turned, scanning the throng but finding no trace of Thea. “Mom?”
Nothing. She’d disappeared.
“Damn it,” she muttered, heading into the crowd to look for her, panic tightening her throat. She didn’t want her mother to die alone.
Just then another blast of magick, this one stronger than the others, shook the street like a mini earthquake.
“Watch out!” someone yelled, pointing at the top of the tower. The crowd took a collective breath and the noise level grew.
Elizabeth turned, looking up to see a huge chunk of the tower plummeting to the street. Directly under it wandered a young woman looking like she was lost. Elizabeth acted without thinking, realizing that she was closest to the woman since she was in the street.
