Faery Revenge

by Donna Joy Usher

  Men held swords ready. Some were statuesque while others jiggled from foot-to-foot as they tried to allay their nerves. Shields rested on the ground by their legs as they waited.

  The rhythmical beat of the enemy drum increased its pace and the goblins moved from a march to a trot. They picked up their speed, mouths pulled back in snarling smiles, cruel daggers clenched in their fists. A tide of death flowing over the plain to meet us.

  Even though this was a small piece of Santanas’s army, they still covered the breadth of the land and ran one hundred deep. I estimated there were ten thousand of them. My face pulled back in a grin. Excellent. There were plenty for all of us to share.

  The goblins met the might force of the allies a few seconds before we reached the front. A roar went up as the two sides clashed.

  Aethan. Where was Aethan? I scoured the frontline searching for him. In the few seconds that took, Turos and his men closed on the goblins. I was there a second later.

  I pushed Aethan away from my thoughts. The last thing he needed right then was me operating at less than my best. He needed me to be strong. He needed me to be powerful.

  I let out a cry as I leapt into the air, landing on a goblin in the second row. His pointed teeth showed as he opened his mouth to snarl at me, and then his eyes were rolling up as he slumped to the ground. I pulled my sword out of his chest and swiped it across the throat of the goblin closest to him.

  Vulpines inbound. Emerald’s voice blazed in my head and for a fleeting second worries for her, and for Grams and Lionel, and all the dragons, all the Millenium, teased at the edges of my mind control. I pushed them away. I couldn’t let thoughts like that distract me.

  Let me know if you need help.

  I could feel Emerald’s wild exuberance radiating through our bond. She dodged and twisted and turned while she attacked, blowing fire and clawing birds out of the sky with her long talons. I thrust and parried, weaving through the falling bodies of the goblins.

  For a fraction of a second, Turos appeared beside me, a crazy smile lighting his face as he fought. I felt my mouth stretch to match his. More and more Millenium flowed in around us as we fought beside the Guard. We were able to cut off a much larger chunk than the Guard would have first aimed for, leaving the regular army to finish them off while we turned and fought our way at a diagonal back to the side.

  Arrows thudded into the necks of the goblins in front of me and I looked up to see Arthur sail by. Isla stood like a wrathful Goddess on his back, her balance perfect as she fired into the goblins below.

  Arthur.

  Emerald’s shriek made me look back. A trio of eagles flew low and fast, their masters braced, ready to leap. I was sure they wouldn’t make it, that Isla would see them and neutralise their threat with her arrows, but I couldn’t be sure. I thrust my sword into a goblin’s chest, felt the metal bite deep into bone, then I leapt up, using the quivering sword’s handgrip to springboard me into the air. I raised my hands and fired two bolts of force at the back of the eagles. Feathers rained down on the goblins as the two birds exploded into tiny shreds of meat. The Vulpine fell from the sky. The fall wasn’t high enough to kill them, but the angry goblins they hit appeared to finish the job.

  Isla released three arrows into the final bird and it, too, disappeared from view, smacking into the bored, angry goblins waiting their turn to fight.

  We made our way back to the edge of the army, slicing off a triangular piece of foe and then we turned and headed back toward the centre. I recognised some of the Guard I fought beside, but Aethan was nowhere to be seen. Had he fallen in the first clash? Was that possible?

  I concentrated on what I was doing, on the feel of my body moving as I wielded my swords, on the familiar ache of tiring muscles, on the huge, sweat-glistened goblins with their bare chests and their loin cloths and their twisted, jagged daggers. I was like the wind that whirled around them, but instead of cooling their skin, I left death in my wake. Turos and his men raced with me, whirling and striking and tearing and shredding. Where we appeared, goblins fell. We made it back to the middle and continued, searching for our men fighting in from the other side.

  A band of them had been cut off from the rest. They fought back to back, using all their skill as they fended off goblins fuelled with the knowledge of their imminent success. Aethan was amongst them. Sweat rolled off his forehead as he moved with the grace of a master swordsman, but for every enemy he felled, more pressed forward. There was nowhere for him to go, nowhere for him to seek shelter. It was only a matter of time before he was crushed beneath their numbers.

  I let out a shriek of fury.

  ‘Go.’ Turos appeared beside me, holding his hands together in the same way he had when we had fought on the dragons earlier that day.

  I didn’t need to think about it. I sprang up into them, letting him fling me high into the air. I held my hands out to the side in a swan dive before turning a somersault that brought me down on the shoulders of a goblin two back from Aethan. I thrust my swords back into the chests of those immediately behind me and grabbed the head of the one I sat on, relishing the sound of his neck snapping as I wrenched it to the side. I rode him to the ground, retrieved my swords from the already-dead goblins and thrust them up into the backs of the two goblins facing off against Aethan. Then I jumped over them and landed beside Aethan.

  ‘Thought you could do with some help,’ I said.

  ‘You thought right.’ He flashed me a quick smile.

  Incoming.

  I turned my attention from the ground to the sky. Emerald was right. A score of eagles approached us. Their talons extended as they swooped down on the Guard. I imagined a wave of air roiling towards them and unleashed my will in their direction. Air distorted as it rushed back to meet them. Several of them saw the glisten of the wind stream and tried to pull up, but they were too late.

  Beaks snapped and bones cracked as the eagles’ bodies buckled through their necks and onto the invisible wall of air in front of them. And then all the birds behind compounded the effect. Crumpled bodies slid from the sky down the vertical wall.

  I turned back to find Turos fighting toward Aethan. The two men fought like demons, but Aethan moved at a quarter of the pace that Turos did. For every goblin that Aethan downed, four or five fell at Turos’s feet. I smiled as I thought about how desperate he would be for me to teach him the mind trick after the day was over.

  Turos gave me a cheeky grin and a mock salute as he made it to our island of fighters. I noted that some of his men moved to the far side of the Guard, joining their group.

  I could feel my blood racing through my arteries as the blood-lust sang in my veins. I parried and dodged and danced my way through the enemy. Blood dripped down my swords and up my forearms.

  I stopped thinking. I stopped feeling. I saw only the goblins still standing. I laughed as I danced through them, exulting in the feeling of supremacy my skill allowed me. Twice more I struck down Vulpine. Three more times I cut through the enemy to save Aethan’s group.

  Yelling and cursing quietened as men concentrated on the simple act of swinging their swords, of holding their shields high enough to provide cover. The general army rotated out and fresh troops surged forwards. But still the Guard spearhead continued its job of cutting the goblin horde into smaller manageable chunks.

  The sun moved closer to the horizon and there were no more goblins ahead of me. I turned and began to fight my way back, Millenium flanking me, Turos taking my left side. We slashed our way through them until we were facing our own men. Ragged breathing hung heavy in the air as bewildered men looked around for someone to fight. But they were all dead. And then the cheering began. Slowly at first, the voices rough with exertion. Like a wave it spread, back through the army, till every man waved his sword in the air.

  Something soft moved beneath me. I looked down, surprised to find I stood on a goblin’s chest. Their bodies were all around us. Three deep in parts. Back the way we had come, I saw
the bodies of our own men interspersed among those of the enemy, lying wounded or dead on the cold, hard ground.

  I took a deep shuddering breath. Then another. All the time trying to let go of my state of mind. Finally, it shimmered to the sides and everything snapped back into place.

  The cheering died off as quickly as it had begun, leaving the low moans of the wounded reverberating off the hills around us.

  The survivors stood like confused cattle, shaking their heads as they surveyed the damage. It reminded me that most of these men had been the new recruits that Tamsonite was letting cut their teeth.

  Healers moved amongst the battlefield, searching for people they could help. I recognised my best friend’s short, curvaceous shape. She moved more quickly than the other healers, taking the time to turn the heads of those I could tell were dead, even from where I stood.

  Thomas. She was searching for Thomas.

  ‘Thomas.’ I called out without thinking. ‘Thomas.’ My cry echoed down the valley. I moved toward Sabby, cold ice walking down my spine. He had to be here. He had to be alive.

  My search felt selfish when so many around me would never open their eyes again. I pushed that thought aside. He had to be safe. He had to.

  ‘Izzy.’ Turos grabbed my elbow and spun me around, pointing back at his own men.

  Thomas stood with the Millenium, a dazed look on his face. I knew what having that look felt like. He had embraced his centre of peace and was having trouble letting it go.

  ‘He appeared half way through the battle,’ Turos said. ‘Fought like a madman the whole time.’

  Relief flowed into me. Of course I was going to kill him myself for the fright he had just given me, but at least he was alive for now.

  ‘Sabby,’ I yelled. ‘He’s alive.’

  She stopped in the act of bending over another dead soldier and looked toward me. She followed my arm with her eyes and her body sagged with relief. Turos stood beside Thomas, talking slowly to him. He was the best person to help with the problem Thomas was having. The best thing I could do now was to help with the healing.

  The fit men were making their way through the field, picking up the wounded and carrying them back with them. I followed, marvelling over how few of the fallen were our own.

  But it hadn’t been their full force, and if we had kept fighting at that pace for much longer I know we would have started making mistakes. Tamsonite hadn’t put all the army into play, and hopefully the night faeries would get here the next day. But the other side had giants, and lots of them. Plus, they had Galanta, and – I let out a deep sigh and allowed myself to think the next word – Santanas. And our army only had me. It seemed like a pretty bad deal for the allies.

  I pushed that disturbing thought away, instead concentrating on the healing.

  ***

  ‘We need firewood.’

  I let out a sigh and pushed myself up to my feet. I was exhausted from the fighting and the healing but Grams was right. The sun had gone down and it was starting to get cold.

  ‘Tiny help.’

  I braced myself as the big giant placed a hand on the ground and pushed himself up. ‘Stop.’ Isla jumped up and waved an arm at him. ‘We don’t need that big a fire.’

  I smiled as I thought about what sort of wood Tiny would come back with. A couple of trees, roots still intact no doubt.

  ‘You stay here and guard the camp.’ Grams patted him on the side of his leg which she was using as a back rest. ‘It won’t take us long.’

  ‘And then you’ll tell me about Mother?’

  ‘Yes. And then I’ll tell you about your mother.’

  Tiny let out a satisfied rumble and sank back down to the ground. The resulting earthquake had me on my hands and knees again.

  ‘For a faery,’ Turos said as he pulled me up, ‘you have terrible balance.’

  ‘I’m only three quarters faery.’ I dusted my knees off and turned towards the trees. Aethan fell into step beside me before Turos could.

  ‘Where’s Ebony?’ I asked.

  ‘At the rear. It’s safer there.’

  I let out a snort and nodded. We walked in silence towards the edge of the forest.

  ‘We’ll help.’ Grams pushed herself away from Tiny and started to trot beside me. She reached me and sucked in a big breath of air. ‘I gotta work out more.’ She looked back over her shoulder to where Lionel was approaching at a more sedate pace. ‘When this is all over, and you and I get married, I think we should get a gym. And maybe one of those heated pools.’

  ‘I was thinking more a Jacuzzi.’ Lionel’s eyes twinkled as he reached out and pinched Grams on the bottom.

  She giggled as she slapped his hand away. ‘None of that now. I’m a Lieutenant you know.’ But she leant closer and whispered loudly enough that I could hear, ‘I’ve always wanted to skinny dip in a Jacuzzi.’

  I heard Aethan chuckle as Grams darted off into the woods with Lionel in swift pursuit. I was doing my darnedest not to throw up.

  Hrruhrmmmm. Emerald did the dragon equivalent of a throat clearing in my head. Lance and I might take off for a while.

  I groaned. Seriously? Now?

  You never know when it may be your last. I could feel her smiling.

  Go far, far away, I ordered. And shield your thoughts.

  I really didn’t need the complication that she and Lance were about to give me.

  A few moments later Arthur appeared fluttering above our campsite.

  ‘Little dragon. Come sit by me.’ Tiny thumped the ground with one hand and I took a staggered step forwards.

  Isla shot me a meaningful look and then went to greet the hatchling.

  Turos walked to the edge of the trees. He tilted his head to the side, cracked his neck, and then shook his shoulders like a boxer getting ready to fight. The look he gave me could have fried eggs.

  Arthur landed near Tiny and bounced towards him on his hind legs, using his wings to give each move extra momentum. He stretched out his head and sniffed one of Tiny’s feet.

  Tiny let out a delighted laugh as Arthur licked his big toe.

  ‘Shouldn’t you be collecting wood?’ Isla rubbed her arms with her hands. ‘It’s getting cold.’

  It was getting colder. Unseasonably colder. But I wasn’t feeling the cold at the moment. I could feel the fire of lust uncurling in my stomach. I stood with my fists clenched hard enough that my nails were digging into my palms. Aethan swivelled his head between Turos and me and then moved closer. I saw Turos tense, leaning towards us as if he was going to intercede.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Aethan murmured in a low voice.

  I was glad it was almost dark. It hid the bright red of my cheeks. ‘Nothing,’ I said. It was true. Kind of.

  ‘Turos,’ Isla called out. ‘Firewood.’

  ‘Yes Ma’am.’ He turned away from Aethan and me, walking in the opposite direction to us into the woods.

  That was good. I didn’t need to be bumping into him in the growing dark.

  ‘Come on,’ Aethan said.

  He stayed close to me as I gathered wood, working on his own pile. We walked back to where Tiny was sitting and deposited it. He followed me back to the trees.

  When we returned, Grams was resting against Tiny again and Lionel was feeding kindling to a flame. He harrumphed in satisfaction as the fire blossomed, added a few more sticks and then sat back next to Grams. She curled her fingers into his and leant her head against his shoulder. I’m sure, if I’d been able to see her face clearly in the growing darkness, that she would have worn a dreamy look.

  Turos appeared with more wood. His knuckles were white where his fingers gripped the branches. I tried to look away, but as he bent to deposit his, the firelight flickered over his body, and shadows moulded themselves to the edges of his muscles. I licked my lips and took a step towards him. He turned, as if feeling my movement, every muscle in his body tensing as our eyes met.

  ‘Izzy.’ Aethan put his hand on my shoulder. ‘What’s
going on?’

  Isla slid up next to Turos, leaning in close to murmur in his ear. He listened, a wild animal barely in control. And then something she said made him blink. He looked towards her, tilting his head to the side as he listened. Then he nodded once, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I watched as the tension flowed out of his body and when he opened his eyes again they were calm.

  ‘Oh,’ I said. It was all so simple. The answer had been there in front of us the whole time. Of course it would be Isla who worked it out.

  I pushed all thoughts away till I was a centre of calm, and then I turned to Aethan and smiled. ‘Everything is okay.’ I reached out, making sure that my movements were slow as I squeezed his hand.

  ‘Now,’ Grams said once we were all seated around the fire, ‘where to begin?’

  ‘Can we join you?’ Even in the dim light of our fire I could see Sabby’s soft, curvaceous outline. A taller figure, straight and proud, stood strong by her side. The two silhouettes were linked by their hands.

  I felt a knot inside me relax. Sabby and Thomas. My last missing pieces were here.

  ‘Sit.’ I patted the ground on the far side of me and the two of them crossed to stand beside me. ‘Tiny,’ I said. ‘These are my oldest, dearest friends, Sabby and Thomas.’

  Tiny let out a contented rumble. ‘Any friend of Izzy’s is a friend of mine.’

  In the light of the fire I could see Thomas’s eyes widen as he took in the length and breadth of Tiny. ‘It’s our pleasure.’ The words stumbled out of his mouth.

  Sabby sank down beside me and I leant back against Tiny’s leg, enjoying the companionship and the warmth he provided.

  ‘I first met Berdina when she came to the castle with news of unease in the west.’ Gram’s voice rang out in the stillness of our camp.

  Tiny let out a pleased noise at the sound of his mother’s name. He reached into his bag, pulled out a chunk of bread and took a bite out of it.