***
The Guard had assembled by the time we returned to the field. The Millenium fighters scattered amongst them. Turos stood at the front, towering above them and I could see the dragons in the distance. I let out a sigh of relief. So they had agreed to help us.
The dragon handlers were busy strapping on the leather harnesses that would allow multiple people to fly at once. The Millenium civilians were filing up the path towards my house where Mum and Radismus were waiting to lead them to safety. Some of them stayed, their axes and swords clutched in their hands.
I walked over to Turos and nodded my head towards a particularly brawny looking man.
‘That’s the blacksmith,’ Turos said.
‘He’s fighting?’
‘Can’t take away a man’s right to protect his family.’
As if his word had summoned them, a group of men from Eynsford strode towards us over the field. I recognised Rowan, the Publican of The Toasted Toadstool, in the lead.
‘Izzy.’ He nodded his head and then turned towards Rako as he waited for the briefing.
‘Right,’ Rako said. ‘We need to meet up with the rest of the army. And we’re not going to walk. We’re going to fly. Nothing else to say. Saddle up.’ He crossed his arms across his chest as he waited for everyone to obey him.
Aethan appeared by my side and I smiled at him. If only Wilfred were here it would be just like old times. Except Aethan couldn’t remember the old times. I stifled a sigh. Now was not the time to dwell on that.
I climbed up on Emerald’s neck and waited for Grams, Lionel and more of the Border Guard to fill up Emerald’s harness. Aethan climbed up, sitting snugly behind me. I could feel the warmth of his legs running alongside mine.
‘Everyone grab a bridle and grip with your knees.’
Beginners. Emerald’s sigh held resignation.
Lance was the first to take off, but I urged Emerald to catch up with him. He was going to need me to open up the veil. I waved an arm at Turos and saw his grin slip off his face as his eyes flicked to Aethan. I thought he was going to protest, but instead he pulled Lance back, letting Emerald take the lead. I concentrated on the feel of the veil draped over me, hoping I would be able to open it from the air. I had only ever done it a couple of times, but I figured opening a gate from an alternate universe had to be harder than this. For once, I was right.
I grasped the edges of the veil and pulled it back, the vista of Isilvitania spreading out before me. The castle was still, a silent reminder of the people that had gone to do battle with the foe.
‘Is anybody still there?’ I asked.
Aethan leant forwards far enough that his chest pressed against my back. I vetoed the thoughts that began dancing through my mind. Now was not the time to be enjoying the feel of that so much. Especially not with Turos watching like a hawk. I didn’t need the two of them at each other’s throats continuously.
‘No. Mother and her entourage have fled to London.’
‘And…,’ I really didn’t want to say her name, ‘Ebony?’
‘She has insisted she will fight. Which is ludicrous.’ He let out a hard laugh. ‘But she is right in the fact that we need her to be there when the night faeries finally turn up. She has gone ahead with the rest of the Guard and the human and witch army.’
I took a deep breath and dispelled the image of Ebony’s perfection from my mind. I hadn’t looked in a mirror for over twenty-four hours, and during that time I had flown through a storm, fought with other-world Santanas, battled the Vulpines and the goblins, healed dragons, and slept. There was no way what was happening with my head at that moment was pretty.
‘Where is the army?’
‘At the Pass of Bones.’
The Pass of Bones was on the western border of Isilvitania. The Black Mountains and the Mountains of Doom ran together into a V, culminating at the pass. If the goblins had mustered down near the ogres’ land, this would have been the only way they could come. This boded well, as the only thing stopping them from coming around the east side of the mountain ranges was the dark faeries.
I nodded. ‘Perhaps that’s why the dark faeries are taking their time. Because they are making sure they have to come through the pass to get to us.’
‘That’s what Ebony says.’
I wiggled around a little so that I could see the look on his face. I studied his expression and then said, ‘But you’re not so sure.’
He shrugged a shoulder. ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ He was harder than he had been. Losing Orion had made him so. It saddened me and pleased me at the same time. I wished we could remain innocent, but we needed to be strong and hard if we were to have any chance of winning this war.
We didn’t talk through the rest of the flight. I’m not sure what he was thinking about but I was picturing the goblin forces marching towards that pass and wondering how we were going to defeat a man that couldn’t be killed.
***
Two mountain ranges loomed in front of us. The small slice of air that separated them was just visible in the early-dawn light. Fires flickered in the distance, spread out across the land like a sea of twinkling lights. Close enough to The Pass of Bones that we could defend it, yet far enough away that the camp was not immediately vulnerable. A twist in the land meant a rise hid the camp from view from the pass, and our attackers would have a ground disadvantage if we were forced back.
Guards from all around the world had come to join us, their numbers had swelled the ranks of the humans and witches.
‘Rako said the training has been going well.’ My voice was rough from not talking.
‘Yes.’ Aethan cleared his throat. ‘General Tamsonite has taken control.’
‘He’s the head of the witch army, right?’
He nodded his head. ‘And General Robertson is the head of the human army, but Tamsonite has overall command.’
The Border Guard was responsible for just that – guarding the border between the land of the Fae and that of the witches and humans. The English human-witch army was much more extensive, and used mainly in peace keeping amongst the nations.
‘So, no other countries came?’
I felt Aethan move and turned to see him shaking his head.
‘I suspect they’re sitting back to see how this plays out.’
‘Hoping we can handle it?’
‘And possibly thinking about a land grab if we can’t.’
That was a sombre thought. ‘How can they not see that this is a threat to ALL of us?’
‘People see what they want to see.’
I turned to look at him again, squinting suspiciously. Had there been a double meaning in that? The look on his face was pure innocence. I opened my mouth to retaliate, sighed, and then closed it again.
As we flew closer, I could make out the tents; black pyramids in the pre-dawn light. Horses stood picketed at different points, spread throughout the camp with the wagons. No need to put the supplies in one area to make it easier for the enemy to disable us.
Occasionally an ant-sized soldier could be seen, stirring pots over fires as they started the morning ritual of breakfast. Soon the rest of the soldiers would emerge and start to break up the camp. I knew we had an army, but I was gobsmacked by the size of it. Even though we were about to fly over the start of it, it disappeared into the distance.
Shouts echoed up to us and some of the soldiers on the ground began to point. I saw a few lift their bows towards us and pull back to release arrows. They paused, knowing we were too high for their arrows to do us any harm, but soon we would need to land, and then we wouldn’t be so safe.
Whizbang. I hadn’t even considered that they would think we were the enemy.
‘Can you shield us?’
I gave him a look over my shoulder that should have made him burst into flames.
‘Fine.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Get Emerald to tell the others to go high. We’ll land and let HQ know we’re friendlies.’
I opene
d up my mind to Emerald and felt languid satisfaction rolling off her. Apparently last night had been more satisfying for her than it had been for me.
Already done, she said, her voice a smug sing-song.
I turned to watch the other dragons peel off and start circling upwards.
‘There’s the headquarters.’ Aethan pointed past me to a circle of tents larger than the rest.
I wrapped a shield around us as Emerald headed for the tents.
‘Helloooooo,’ Grams hollered from behind me. ‘Helloooo there. Oh, buzznuckle.’
‘Now Bella.’ I could hear Lionel’s voice even at his normal tone. ‘There’s no need for foul language.’
‘But Lionel, that was my favourite balaclava. Oh look. It’s stopped.’
I heard Aethan snort, and looked down to see Gram’s black balaclava sitting on my shield.
‘Let me guess,’ I said to Aethan. ‘She was waving it at the soldiers.’
‘Something like that.’
It only took us another minute to reach our destination. By then the soldiers had realised we had a shield in place and stopped shooting. Now a circle of them had drawn up around the command tents, their swords drawn, shields ready.
I’m almost tempted to fry the tents just to show them how useless that is.
Shhhhhhhh. I admonished Emerald. They’re just doing their jobs.
She huffed out a puff of steam as the wind from her wings caused the flaps of the tents to dance in a flurry. A maelstrom of dirt swirled up into a cloud which hovered over the command post.
Dust swirled and a few tents started to collapse at the down draft we were causing. A man pushed open the flap to the largest tent, his arm held up to shield his face from flying shrapnel.
Emerald landed gracefully and folded her wings back by her sides, amusement at the mayhem she had caused brushed against my mind and I smiled in response.
Aethan leapt nimbly from her back. ‘General Tamsonite,’ he said.
‘Prince Aethan.’ He looked from Aethan to Emerald and back again. ‘I see a lot has happened since we left.’
I slid down to Emerald’s raised front leg. She lowered me gently and I felt that brush of amusement again. I shook my head, hid my smile and walked over to stand next to Aethan.
‘Is this her?’ the General said. He looked me up and down a few times. ‘I thought she’d be more impressive looking. Are you sure she’s up to it?’
I could feel my eyebrows rising up my forehead and I could tell Aethan was fighting a smile which only made me madder.
‘I am sure she will do what needs to be done,’ he said.
General Tamsonite looked back at me and nodded his head. ‘Welcome Isadora Gabrielle. It is good to finally meet you.’
‘Thank you,’ I said.
‘Athol? Is that you?’ Grams pushed past me.
‘Bella?’ General Tamsonite blinked a few times. ‘Bella?’ He said again, his stony face breaking out into a huge grin. I was surprised that cracks didn’t fissure across his cheeks. ‘I thought you were dead.’ He held his arms wide and laughed.
‘Dead smed.’ Grams let out a girly laugh. ‘I didn’t recognise you with that moustache. It’s magnificent.’ She trotted over to General Tamsonite and threw herself into his arms. Her black balaclava was safely tucked into the waist of her camouflage pants. ‘And you’re a General now too.’
It took me a few seconds to realise that the gravelly-rumbling noise that accompanied the hug was Lionel clearing his throat.
‘Oh.’ Grams stepped back, adjusting her uniform into place. Her cheeks held colour that hadn’t been there before. ‘Athol this is Sir Lionel Heartfelt.’
‘Her fiancé.’ Lionel emphasised the word as he held out his hand.
‘Pleased to meet you.’
I suspected by the strained looks on their faces that they were both giving that handshake everything that they had.
‘Aethan. Oh Aethan.’
Even though I hadn’t heard it for a while, I recognised Ebony’s bell-like voice.
She pushed out of the tent next to command, a vision in a pale-blue riding dress. Her dark hair flowed down her back in soft waves. Her sea-green eyes glowed with joy as they fixed on Aethan’s face.
My hand went to my own hair without my permission. I snatched it back down again. I refused to apologise for how I looked. Even if there was still goblin blood in my hair.
She moved with a fae grace I hadn’t inherited as she rushed towards Aethan and threw herself at him. ‘I’ve been so worried. I thought, I thought….’ She dashed the back of her hand across her eyes. ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter what I thought. You’re here now.’
I resisted the urge to blast them with a lightning bolt as she pressed herself against him.
She pulled away and smoothed her riding dress down as if worrying she might have creased it. I couldn’t stop the snort that escaped me. As if she ever looked anything but perfect.
‘Isadora?’ She spun towards me. ‘Oh Darling, you found her.’ She sounded genuinely pleased as she linked her arm through Aethan’s and stared up at him. Her face melted into gooeyness for a second before she released him and stepped towards me, wrapping me in a hug.
Darling? The glare I gave Aethan over her shoulder drove him back a few paces.
Good. He deserved to be scared.
I dropped the glare and pasted a saccharine look on my face, smiling sweetly at her as she released me.
‘Aethan said you might want to paint my nails one day.’ She held her hands out in front of her face. ‘Could you help me with them tonight?’
Aethan took a few more steps back, no doubt getting out of immediate range of my left hook.
‘Ahhh, Ebony,’ Aethan said. ‘Izzy will be too busy for the next few days to paint your nails.’
‘Shame.’ She pushed her bottom lip out. The manoeuvre made her look even more kissable. ‘Oh well. After Daddy gets here to save the day we’ll have plenty of time for things like that.’
It was possible she had gotten even more annoying. I imagined Aethan having to put up with her airy prattle for the rest of his life and this time my smile was genuine.
‘Sir.’ Aethan seemed to be trying to pretend neither of us were there. ‘We have a contingent of dragons circling a few miles from here. We also have the rest of the Guard, some civilian fighters and the dragon riders.’
General Tamsonite considered the unasked question for a few seconds, bushy, black eyebrows drawn together in concentration. ‘They can land on our training ground. It’s about a half mile north of here. Send the soldiers to the supply carts to the south west of the field to get tents and supplies.’
I opened my mind to Emerald.
Did you hear that?
Yes.
A warm tingle that created a blush on my cheeks flowed back to me through our mental link. She was talking to Lance. I la-la’d in my head, trying to ignore the emotion unfurling in my stomach. Even then, I found myself anticipating Turos’s arrival far too much.
A few minutes later the dragons came into view.
‘Won’t the soldiers try and shoot them?’ Grams beat me to the question.
‘Yes, we should prevent that if we can.’ Tamsonite grinned at her and turned to the soldier standing to attention at the entry to his command tent. ‘Roger. Sound the stand-down please.’
Roger saluted, whipped a bugle from his belt, put it to his lips and blew out an ear-piercing trill of notes. It echoed out into the dawn air, and soldiers that were starting to ready their bows immediately relaxed.
Lance led the contingent of dragons, his massive black body sparkling in the first rays of sunshine. My heart surged as I recognised Turos on his neck. Arthur flapped by his side, beating fast to keep up with his father’s lazy strokes.
Emerald let out a rumble of pleasure as she saw her family drawing near. Coming? she asked.
I answered her by turning and trotting towards her. Within a few seconds we were on our way, both of us keen to
catch up with the rest of the dragons – or with one dragon in particular.
Emerald sailed towards the group, leading them to the field General Tamsonite had mentioned. But she didn’t land. She and Lance stayed aloft while the others touched down and then she turned and flew west away from the camp.
Where are we going?
I saw a meadow in the forest a few miles back. It was full of wild flowers.
Pretty.
Pretty secluded.
I liked the sound of that. A lot.
Emerald landed first and I dismounted, standing with my back leaning against her front leg.
Lance landed a few moments later. Turos swung down from Lance’s neck and strode towards me. I smiled up at him, feeling shy for the first time since I’d met him.
He stopped a foot from me, his eyes searching my face. I reached out and took his hand. The callouses on his palm grated deliciously against mine as I rubbed them together. He shivered and pulled me along beside him as we walked to the nearby stand of trees. We didn’t talk, an energy building between us as the shadows of the trees fell over us. He stopped and turned to face me, pushing me gently backward against a tree trunk.
I could feel the heat between our bodies, and was struck with a powerful need to be even closer. To remove the restraints our clothes were causing and to take his body with mine. Instead, I took his hand again, tracing my thumb back and forth over his skin.
‘I didn’t like seeing him that close to you.’ He reached out his free hand and traced my bottom lip with his fingertips. ‘To see him touching you.’
His hand moved to my cheek and down to my neck, his fingers leaving a trail of fire in their wake. I sighed and closed my eyes as they ran along my collar bone.
His fingers moved down my side to my waist and I let go of his other hand so that it could join its twin there. He plucked at the edge of my shirt and then suddenly both of his hands were on the soft skin of my stomach. I sucked in a sharp breath and arched toward him, urging his hands higher. He didn’t disappoint.
Faery Revenge Page 24
