by Kailin Gow
“Help you?” scoffed the former Wolf King. “Why, you should be helping other Wolf Fey – and not needing help yourself like a schoolboy in trouble.”
“I tried, Grandfather,” Logan pleaded. “I tried to be the best leader I could be. I couldn’t keep the Wolves out of the War – I tried, but it was impossible. Instead I fought as I thought best.”
“Nonsense!” cried the Wolf. “So many Wolves were killed not because you couldn’t keep the Wolves out, but because you didn’t want to. You loved that mongrel half-breed Breena, and you were willing to risk your people’s lives to save her. And she isn’t even a real Fey, Logan. You knew that deep down, that she was only a human-hybrid. You knew she cannot be your destiny. And yet you still love her. You persist in your delusion that Fate has thrown you two together. You broke your promise to me – your promise that you would marry a Fey woman, bear Fey children, restore the magic of the Wolves…”
“It isn’t like that, Grandfather,” Logan was insisting. “I can’t help who I fall in love with. I cannot choose my mate. My heart chose for me. I’ve known Breena since we were children – she’s my best friend. I loved her long before I made that promise to you. I’ve always loved her.”
“All you are admitting to me,” thundered the voice, “is that you are weak and feeble. Your love for the Queen is a sign of your weakness, a sign that you so stubbornly refuse to become who you were meant to be. You have been infected by the worst disease of all, my grandson – love! No wonder she chose that Winter Prince over you, Logan. You are weak. Weak and unfit to bear the mantle of the Wolf Prince, let alone the Wolf King, let alone the Red Wolf! You are not fit to be even a cub – not with your human weakness slobbering all over the place. You are not fit to be a wolf at all!”
Logan looked down, and Rose could see the tears forming at the corner of his eyes. Rose gaped – how could Logan’s grandfather be so cruel to him? She had heard Logan speak of his grandfather before – of a kind, brave man, who always supported the grandchildren he loved. But this creature was a monster, trying to tear down whatever self-worth Logan had!
And as Logan looked away, trying to regain his composure, the creature morphed into human form.
“Don’t listen, Logan,” Shasta was shouting. “It’s a trap!”
And then Rose spotted the dagger in Logan’s grandfather’s hand.
“No!” Shasta leaped forward, pushing Logan out of the way of the dagger. Instantly the apparition vanished – but another took its place. One that made Shasta’s blue eyes go wide with fear and pain.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” A hard, cold female voice. “Shasta, have you not learned by now – never defy your elders! But you never listened. You never did what you were told. From the beginning – always a disappointment to me. Always my greatest disappointment, Shasta. I had one child. One perfect child. My beloved Kian. So beautiful. So noble. So brave. And then there was you.”
It was Shasta’s mother, the icy Winter Queen. No love shone in her blazing eyes.
“From the start,” the Queen scoffed, “you were a handful. It was bad enough when you betrayed your kingdom for a lowly common Summer Knight, worse still when you broke the laws of honor I lay down by being with him after I had forbidden you to. But then you had to bring forth the Dark Hordes, didn’t you – like the selfish stupid little girl you always were…”
“Mother, I…” Tears were streaming down Shasta’s face.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rose noticed Alistair reaching into his bag. What was he looking for? He winked at her as he procured a bag of white powder.
Truth powder.
Alistair jumped forth, throwing the powder upon one of the shadows. “Speak the truth, demon!” he cried. “Who are you, really?”
The voice coming from the shadows was inhuman, now – ghastly and terrible. “You think that your magic is strong enough to undo this glamour? Think again, Alchemist! This is the magic of the Dark Forces. We hold dominance now. The suns are gone. You are in our kingdom now.”
“Whose kingdom?” Alistair grew louder. “The Wilds of Feyland align themselves with no Kingdom.”
“But who says you are in the Wilds? You are mistaken if you think the Wilds.”
“If we’re not in the Wilds,” Alistair threw more truth powder onto the ghost. “Then where are we? You have no power without a kingdom.”
“On the contrary,” said the voice. “’Tis you who have no power.”
“Why, fiend?”
“Because,” said the voice. “You – and your friends – are in the Kingdom of the Dead.”
Chapter 10
Alistair’s eyes widened. He looked up in shock, his mouth gaping as the full force of the voice’s words hit him. He scrambled back, grabbing a fistful of dark powder from his bag. “They’re ghosts!” he cried, yanking Logan back. “Make a circle with Blackthorn Powder – they won’t be able to cross!” But none of the others seemed to hear him. They were staring, transfixed, at the ghosts that surrounded them – apparitions of Redleaf and the Winter Queen, of Logan’s grandfather. Alistair threw a handful of Blackthorn powder into the shadow’s center, causing it to scatter and vanish, and then ran as quickly as he could to Rose, who was shuddering as she stared down the Redleaf-ghost. Tears were in her eyes, stinging at her eyelashes, and her face was downcast in shame. Rodney, too, had grown pale. They were both looking down, distracted, as if Redleaf’s voice had lulled them into a kind of sleepwalking state. Just enough for them to lose their will to fight. Just enough for them to ignore Redleaf’s ghost raising a sword high above their heads…
“Don’t you dare hurt her!” In an instant Alistair had crossed the room, his sword colliding with the Summer Queen’s own. Sparks flew with a burst of sound from the sword, and immediately Rodney and Rose looked up, snapping back into attention.
“But the Summer Queen…” Rodney’s voice was slow and syrupy, as if he had been drugged. “You can’t defy her. She is our Queen. She has decided to take our lives, to punish us. We cannot resist. It is her right as Queen.”
“That’s no Queen.” Alistair tossed another fistful of Blackthorn powder at Redleaf’s form. “Breena’s your Queen, remember? And Redleaf’s gone – she forgave you. She forgave all of us. Whatever you’re looking at – it’s a spell, nothing more. It’s one of the spirits of the Dark Forces from the Kingdom of the Dead.”
Rose looked up in a haze. Alistair’s voice sounded like it was coming from very far away. What could he want from her? After all, she had nothing to give. No needs, no desires – just to do the Summer Queen’s bidding. Redleaf had been disappointed in her, she thought sleepily – disappointed in her whole family. A family who had raised not one but two traitors – what shame! She had failed them. But she would not fail again, no! The Summer Queen was giving her another chance to prove her loyalty –if she could only accept death willingly, accept it at the Summer Queen’s command…
“No, Rose!” Alistair’s voice echoed once more in her head. “You need to fight it, fight that voice. Fight that image of Redleaf. Fight whatever that thing is saying – it isn’t Redleaf! It’s just trying to trick you.”
Traitor. Failure. Shame. Words that seemed to tighten around her heart and constrict her until she couldn’t breathe. Words that made her want to drop to her knees, to die.
Rodney, too, was shaking his head, trying to listen to Alistair’s voice – trying to cling to his words…
But Redleaf’s voice was so loud, so strong. “A true child of the Summer Kingdom would not deign to listen to the chirping of an upstart from the Autumn Springs. Listen to your Queen, who commands you – ignore the useless babbling of that interloper there. Listen to what your Queen has to say.”
“No…” Rodney whispered, clapping his hands over his ears, trying to shut out the pain, the voices….
“Use your magic, Rose!” Alistair was breathless, now. “Discern the truth. You know that Redleaf was freed – that Kian and Breena were able to
send Redleaf’s ghost to a place of peace. She forgave us all. The real Redleaf was a good woman, deep down. She wanted peace. She would never have relapsed – she would never have done what this ghost is doing now. She’s not a spirit any longer – she’s not among the Dead. That thing you’re listening to is an imposter – one bent on killing you.”
“Fool!” Redleaf bellowed. “You know not what you speak!” At that, she turned to attack Alistair, her sword clashing against his. Imposter or not, she was a brilliant fighter, and Rose saw that she soon got the upper hand.
My Queen, Rose thought proudly, as her legs buckled beneath her.
“Help! Rose!” Alistair was calling to her, his bright eyes staring straight at her. “Help me! Rodney!” He was able to fight her off, but he wouldn’t last against her superior strength much longer. Already the strain in his body made him sway as he fought off each dire blow.
“Help me!” Alistair’s voice was so distant – and yet so close. She heard it as she might hear the cry of a man across a moor – and yet it was so close that it seemed as if he had whispered it in her ear. Poured out into her some sense of warmth – of being wanted, of being needed. Of being loved. All at once she felt a sense of peace, of serenity – blocking out the pain, the self-loathing, those words – Traitor. Failure. Shame.
“Alistair…” Rose whispered. Something within her was sure of it – he was telling the truth. This Queen – these feelings of inadequacy – they were all but illusory.
“It’s true!” Rose stood up to the Queen. “I saw it – I was there. Rodney was there. Redleaf found peace. So what are you doing back – if you really crossed over. Once you’ve gone over, you can’t go back!”
At the sound of his sister’s words, Rodney, too, seemed to awaken from his enchanted stupor. “It’s true!” he cried. “The Summer Queen Redleaf is dead. Whoever you are, you are not worthy of bearing her image.” Instantly his hand was on his sword, and he and Rose were slashing against the shadow of the imposter-Redleaf.
“I think I’ve figured out what they are,” said Alistair, as he began to fight alongside Rose. “The Dark Forces are able to embody our worst fears, our biggest insecurities. Using our loves and our regrets against us. They can pretend to be anyone - living or dead – you just have to remember it’s not real. Don’t let it get to you.”
“Shasta…” Rose whispered in horror. Shasta was at the other end of the room, bowing down before the illusion of her mother, sobbing. She sprang from Alistair’s side, running over to where Shasta wept.
“Forgive me, Mother,” Shasta was saying, as the hard, cold eyes of her phantom mother glared down at her. “I have been a bad daughter. I am not worthy to be a Princess. I am not worthy to be part of the Winter Queen.”
“No!” cried Rose, pulling at Shasta’s hands. “You can’t listen to it. That…that thing is not your mother. It’s not the Winter Queen – it’s an imposter. Your real mother would never say these things to you. It’s just trying to use your guilt, your insecurities, to make you crazy – to stop you from saving Feyland.”
“I’m not worthy of saving Feyland,” Shasta said. “Mother was right. She always knew Kian was the strong one, the one worth paying attention to. I’ve always been a failure. Mother knew best…”
Rose took Shasta into her arms, her eye still trained on the Winter Queen lest she, too, begin an attack. “Listen, Shasta,” she whispered soothingly. “Many people believe in you. I believe in you. Rodney believes in you. And believe me, he doesn’t fall for just any girl – risk his entire kingdom, his whole status in the Summer Court, for just anybody. But he did for you. Because you were worth it to him. Listen, all of us on this quest – we all believe in you, we want you to be part of this quest, to help restore the suns, to fight the sorceress – we need you right now. And we need you to be strong. Now that the battle between Summer and Winter is over – we need to put aside our…differences. We need to work together.”
“I can’t…” Shasta was crying. “I’m not strong enough. Mother knew…”
“She knew what?” Rose said. “That you were strong enough not to need to be coddled? That you were independent enough to be able to find your own way? From what I’ve heard of your mother, she didn’t show how she felt often – but I’m sure she loved you. Maybe she saw in you the young warrior-girl she must have been once.”
“Nonsense,” said Shasta, but her tears were quieter now.
“Why do you think she cared so much about Rodney?” Rose said. “Summer or not – he was an outsider – and I’m sure she thought nobody was good enough for you. Not even someone as special as my brother. Think about it – she never pressured you to marry anyone at all, even for a political marriage. She could have married you to one of the unicorn-born, made it part of an alliance – but she didn’t. Nobody was good enough for you.”
Shasta couldn’t help but laugh through her tears. “It wasn’t all Mother,” she said. “Plenty of proposals I turned down myself, without my mother’s help. But it’s true – she never wanted me to marry…” She sighed and rose, her back erect and regal as she looked the ghost in the eye. “My mother would have chided me for bowing down like this,” she said. “She would have said ‘Answer for your own actions, and do it proudly.’ She wouldn’t have wanted me to bow, even before her. She would have wanted me to fix whatever I’d done – not huddle and cry about it. My mother would have told me to stop carrying on and to get out that door and start fighting for Feyland this second.” She stared down the ghost. “That’s how I know. You aren’t my mother. Who are you?”
Rose threw some of Alistair’s white powder at the creature, and it laughed a terrible laugh. I am your worst nightmare, girl. I am the darkness within you. When you entered the Kingdom of the Dead, tried to dominate the Dark Forces, then it was time for you to discover – you unleashed the darkness within you.
Shasta turned to Breena. “How do we fight this?”
If you kill us, you kill yourselves.
Rose’s mouth gaped open. She knew the spirit wasn’t lying – the powder had seen to that. “They’re just in our heads,” said Rose. “We have to fight them mentally, not physically. Chase them off with our brains, not just our swords.”
“Done,” Shasta glared at the imposter. “Why don’t you go back to whatever hell you came from, you monster? I swear to you, on my mother’s grave, I will bring back glory and honor to my family’s name! And I will not rest until I fight you to the death – and I restore Feyland to what it was in its days of glory. You cannot use my guilt against me, fiend! I use it every day. It gives me the courage and the conviction – and the strength to do this!” She raised her sword high.
“She isn’t alone, either,” Rose snarled, “she has others – we have others. Loyal champions of Feyland. Knights to the Queen. And none of us is scared of you.”
They raised their swords in unison; in unison, their swords pierced straight to the heart of the shadow. “You hold no power over us,” cried Shasta. “Begone.”
The last thing to vanish was the spirit’s eyes – a look of pure venomous hatred that sent chills down Rose’s spine. “You may have won this time…” The voice was fainted now. “But I will visit you again, Shasta. When you are at your lowest. When you cannot fight us off. When your friends forget you. Then, we will return.”
And with a chilling laugh, the spirit vanished completely.
Rose and Shasta turned back to look at Alistair and Rodney, who were still fighting off the shadow of the phantom Redleaf. But the tears in Rodney’s eyes had vanished. He looked strong, now, courageous, determined.
“You need to banish them with your mind!” Rose shouted back to her brother. “Not just with your sword. Tell her she’s banished.”
Rodney looked back at his sister gratefully, his eyes full of love. “I live my life ruled by love,” he shouted at the spirit, “and by all that is good. I followed the path of love, and not of hatred. I will not be ruled by your darkness. Be Gone!” H
e thrust his sword into Redleaf’s heart, and she too vanished.
Alistair rushed to Rose’s side. “Are you hurt?” he asked, taking her hand. She shook her head, but allowed her hand to linger in his.
“This should have been the Wilds,” Rodney said. “We’re not at the Kingdom of the Dead yet.”
“But I don’t understand,” said Rose. “Those were definitely the Dead.”
Rodney nodded. “That means the Dead are escaping their kingdom,” he said. “They’re spilling over into our world – starting to conquer it. Maybe...it’s the suns, I think. Without the suns, there’s no light to hold the darkness back. We’ll have to be careful with our thoughts. They’re being used against us. It looks like the Dark Forces are able to hear them – they fortify them, make them stronger. Then they can manifest our fears into creatures like the ones we’ve just fought…they’re dangerous.”
Rose’s eyes had widened, and her mouth dropped open.
“What is it, Rose?”
