by Kimbra Swain
When he comes, you will know. His songs will fill your kingdom, and his power will be untold. She will want to keep him for her very own. Her words like fresh honey will stick to her lips, enticing him in, but as long as he knows, she cannot win. If she succeeds, you will not know, for his lies will be heard as truth to even your ears. Caution, I beg. Keep him safe. Protect him as your own. For either way, his words will tell the masterpiece of your life. But will the story be the truth or treacherous myth? You have a legacy to protect in the hands of a bard. Bind him to you. Claim him as your own. Do not let him go.
I once had a choice to make. The lies I told caught up with me. A witch made me choose my fate. She would make my lover return my passion but continue to write the lies. Or she would break the curse Anwen placed on me, allowing me to write the truth of those I have sworn to serve, but never again feel her warmth, gazing upon her light or taking her to my body. True or False. I had to choose.
My body sang for I knew I could have her again. To hold her in my arms, to taste the sweetness of her lips, to run my hands through her auburn hair. But the price would be that my mouth would never speak the truth, and my quill would write only lies. My legacy and the great men that I was chosen to immortalize would sink into fable and myth, dismissed and forgotten by the world.
I chose the truth, and you hold it in your hands.
Once again, the book landed in my lap, Levi paced across the room. “He means us!” he said.
“Yes,” I muttered watching him closely. I’d never doubted Levi’s loyalty, but Taliesin warned me from the grave. Unbearable as it might be, she was a fairy. She could manipulate him.
“No, Grace. Don’t you even think it! I’m still yours. I swear it,” he assured me in his frustration.
I shook my head. “I have to bind you to me. It’s probably too late,” I said, dialing my phone.
“Hello,” Dylan said.
“Come home. Now,” I said.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“No time. How long will it take you?” I asked.
“I’ll fly,” he replied.
I stood staring at Levi as I hung up the phone. He shook his head, pulling the hair upon it. “Please stop, Levi. It’s going to be okay.”
“Why did you call him?” he asked.
“Because fairy deals are sealed with a kiss,” I replied. “And no, you won’t be kissing him.”
Levi’s face turned red. It had been a while since I teased him about the kiss, and this moment was so intense that I couldn’t help but lighten the mood. For a moment, I saw the light in his eyes, but it quickly faded.
It was only minutes when a gust of wind shook the trailer, and the call of a raptor pierced the air. Dylan walked into the room ready to strike. I waved my hand at the book.
“Can you read fairy tongue?” I asked.
“No,” he replied.
I read the last passage to him. His eyes flared as he stood watching Levi who had taken a position at the kitchen table away from us. Levi looked pained, and I felt it in my soul. He was unsure of himself.
“How can you know?” Dylan asked.
“Bind him to me. A fairy contract,” I said.
“A kiss,” he said.
“Yes,” I replied.
Dylan stood and drove his fist into the wall. I jumped at the sound of splintering wood and cracking pressboard. Levi shook with fear.
“I will not do it without your permission. If you say no, Levi has to go,” I said. I left out the fact that he put a hole in my perfectly good trailer wall.
“Why?” Levi asked. His voice strained with fear and confusion.
“Because I cannot trust you. My child lives here. I have to protect her. My life, the story of it, lies in your hands,” I said. “If you aren’t sealed to me, there will always be someone to try to turn you from me.”
Levi stood to walk toward me. “No! You stay right there,” Dylan warned.
Levi sunk to his knees. “Please, Dylan. I can’t live as your enemy. We have to know for sure.”
“It’s probably too late. You have been with Riley for months now. You are corrupted already,” Dylan snarled. He turned his attention to me. “I know that if we don’t know the truth now, it will plague you forever. I give you permission to do what you need to do, but Grace, I swear by the ancestors that I am going to beat the life out of him if he has betrayed us.”
“Shit,” Levi muttered.
Tears flowed down my cheeks. Indecision rattled through my brain. I remembered kissing Levi before Dylan and I were together. I knew the attraction between us was real. If I did this to him, it would make me no better than Anwen. She bound Taliesin to her will holding him forever. His love wrapped up in her every whim, but she never returned it. It would be the same for Levi. As his father, he would love only one. The binding would hold his heart to me, never allowing him to love another, and my heart already belonged to Dylan.
“I can’t,” I said.
“Why? No! Grace, please don’t make me leave,” Levi begged.
“Grace?” Dylan questioned.
“It would make me no better than her. He would never love another. He will never be happy,” I said bearing my thoughts to both of them. I refused to allow myself to sink to her level even if it meant letting Levi go even though Taliesin’s warning echoed in my head.
“I don’t care, Grace. It’s already too late for my heart,” Levi said.
“Enough!” Dylan barked. “Don’t say another word. You promised.”
“Promised what?” I asked.
They looked at each other. Dylan’s eyes flared in anger, and Levi’s filled with sadness. The bard turned his face from me. Neither of them spoke, but what I already knew hit me in the face as the reality of the situation sank into me.
“What he told you could be a lie,” I muttered. “A ploy to keep him in this home. He told you that he loved me. That his heart was already bound to mine. That’s why he mopes around here like he lost his best friend. It’s why he’s mad at me all the time.”
Dylan’s jaw tightened, but he kept his eyes locked on Levi. “Was it a lie?”
“I don’t know anything for sure now,” Levi whined.
“I know how to find out. Stay here. Both of you,” I ordered. The command shook the house. Of course, my command landed on Levi and rolled off Dylan. Levi’s servitude held intact, but if he had been cursed by Riley, his words were false.
“Where are you going?” Dylan demanded.
“Make sure he does not leave. I’m going to talk to her,” I said.
“Grace! That’s dangerous!” Dylan warned.
“Time to live dangerously. Besides, Levi is worth it,” I said, grabbing my keys and walking out the door.
Knowing I wasn’t bold enough to do this on my own, I called for back-up. I sat on my bench in the town square next to Jeremiah waiting for Riley to arrive. I’d already set a protective barrier around the park. No one could cross it but her.
“I understand your struggle,” Jeremiah said.
“You couldn’t possibly,” I muttered. “You should have been upfront with me about Levi from the beginning. Did you know about Taliesin’s curse? Did you know who she was?”
“I did. I’m the one who brought her here. Just like Dylan, Levi and you. I followed orders,” he said.
“My father’s orders,” I added.
“Yes,” he muttered.
Her car pulled up across the street, and I watched her get out. She surveyed the square. I was sure that she saw the barrier, but I didn’t care if she did. Riley had to know I would confront her, eventually.
“I’m taking her to father,” I replied.
“What?” he said, as she crossed the barrier. “Wait. No, please don’t, Grace.”
I closed my eyes, pulling the power of my tattoo. The world around us swirled like wet paint mixed with water. When I opened my eyes, we stood inside the stone circle in the forest.
“I’ve always wanted to see this
,” Riley said.
“Welcome to my well,” I greeted her.
“You read the book,” she said.
“I did,” I replied.
“What took you so long?” she smirked.
“I’m too damn trusting,” I replied. “Not anymore.”
She laughed, and the memory of Taliesin’s words came to life around me. The haunting echo of her laugh reverberated around the circle.
“Father!” I called out. Riley stopped laughing.
Day turned to night. Spring turned to winter. And my father appeared upon the stone in brilliant blue light. Jeremiah knelt to honor him. Riley stumbled to her knees.
“My Lord,” she spoke in a whisper.
“I am not your master,” Oberon said. “Why have you brought this wench?”
“She is the Queen of Lies,” I replied. “And I need the truth.”
Father smiled. I felt his pride in my directness. No beating around the bush.
“Have you cursed my Bard?” I asked.
“He was cursed the moment he met you!” she spat.
“Aren’t you precious? Tell me now,” I ordered. The command was powerful, but she had some resistance to it because she was royal. If she didn’t answer me, it would be painful for her, but she could refuse.
“I tried,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Did you fail? Stop fucking around Riley. You swore an oath to me. I own you!” I said lifting my hand. With just a snap, her life would end.
Terror flared in her eyes. “I failed. You already own him. He is yours. His heart, his body, his soul.”
“Why even try?” I demanded.
“Because I failed him so many years ago,” she muttered.
“You want me to believe that you actually loved Taliesin? That you let him die thinking you didn’t? Were you cursed too?” I asked, stepping toward her.
Jeremiah and my father watched silently. They were only here to add to my authority. I didn’t need them to scare her, but I didn’t want to take any chances.
“I didn’t realize it until he was gone. I thought he would be here forever. I thought I’d have my chance. Levi is my redemption,” she said.
“No, Riley. You’ve fucked Levi, but you haven’t loved him. And now we know, he could have never loved you,” I said. “He and I are connected. My truest servant. While you could make his words lies to me, I still feel his being. I feel what you give to him. You bow before me spreading more lies.”
“No, no. I swear, Grace. I swear on my life,” she said.
“You swear what?” I demanded.
“I swear that he is yours,” she said. Lifting her eyes to me I saw defiance instead of contrition. “You would have him bound to you for eternity, yet never love him. Let him go. I begged you to let him go. I will love him as he deserves.”
“She cannot let him go. His powers rest in her authority. Taliesin’s words were magic, because those of us who employed him imbued those powers to him,” Oberon interjected. “If Grace releases him, he will be a bard no more. Just a changeling. Death will come to him as any half-breed, but if he remains the servant of the Queen, then he shall be immortal.”
“Then why did you let him die!?” she screamed at my father.
“He chose to die. You broke him,” Oberon said. “Once he made the choice of truth, my sister, Morgana released his curse. He died knowing that the truth would be known. He died knowing that Gloriana would keep that truth safe.”
“You are no better than Stephanie,” I accused. “The Leanan Sidhe are always the same. Seducers. You take and never give.”
“You're so stuck up that if it rained, you would drown!” she said.
I laughed harder at it than she expected. Her face filled with anxiety and confusion. “I meant it!” she screamed.
“Riley, why don’t you go home to mommy?” I asked.
“She won’t have me,” she muttered.
“Why?” I asked.
“She found out what I did to Taliesin,” she said. “She won’t forgive me. She said I’m just like Stephanie.”
“I wonder how she found out?” I asked looking at my father. He smiled and shrugged.
“So, you think if you make a go at it with my bard, that you can prove yourself to her?” I asked.
“It has nothing to do with mother!” she said.
“Do you love him?” I asked.
She shifted her eyes from me to Jeremiah, then back to me. I knew the truth whether she chose to say it or not. “No,” she said. “But I could give him the things you can’t. Let him go.”
“No,” I replied.
“You, bitch!” she said.
“You have two choices, Riley. I don’t care if you fuck him or not. That will be up to him. But let me be clear. Levi is my servant. My bard. He always will be. You can stay in Shady Grove and remain as my servant or you can pack your bags and high tail it out of here. I don’t give a flying fuck which you decide, but you will decide right now,” I said standing over her.
She trembled for a moment then straightened her back. “I would like to remain under your protection,” she mumbled.
I squatted down before her to look her in the eye. “Who is after you?” I asked.
“Ceridwen,” she said.
“Of course! His mother wants to kill you,” I said. “I’ve already offered my protection. I won’t rescind it, but if she ever comes for you, I’m not sure I can stop her.”
“She won’t cross you,” Oberon spoke up. “Well, that is, if you take my power back.”
“No, thanks, Daddy. You can go,” I said waving my hand at him. I looked over my shoulder at him, and the great Oberon rolled his eyes like a child then evaporated into shining blue dust that settled down into the well.
Jeremiah stood, approaching the kneeling Riley. “She’s offered you more than you deserve,” he said.
“Mother asks about you when I speak to her,” Riley said.
“I don’t want to hear about your mother,” Jeremiah replied.
I lifted my eyebrow at him, and he shook his head. It seems the Sanhedrin had a connection to Rhiannon. I smelled a tragic relationship. Hell, it was like I lived in a bakery full of lovers scorned. The stench was getting annoying.
“What will you do to him?” Riley asked.
“Who Levi?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
“None of your damn business,” I said, as the world swirled around us once more. We stood again in the town square. The barrier prevented any humans from seeing our exit and re-entry. I had learned a few things from my father’s power.
Riley MacKenzie, the former lover of Taliesin the great bard, rose from the ground, straightened her skirt and walked away. I remembered his words as the sun reflected off her hair.
“Blazing fire rippling in the sunlight,” I said. She froze in her tracks. “He loved you so.”
Without responding, I saw her back straighten again in defiance. She walked away with her head held high. Perhaps she was right about me.
“Is she right about me?” I asked Jeremiah.
“Grace, I told you the other day that you could not let him go. Dylan probably hasn’t told you that he wasn’t supposed to come back after the shooting in the town square,” he said.
“He did tell me,” I replied.
“Ah, so he did. Once we found Levi, your father commanded me to bring him to you. Levi was always meant to be your servant. His heart getting tied up in it probably stems from a kiss in a grocery store parking lot,” he said.
“No. It’s from the night he sang to me,” I said. “I felt the power of his soul then. It’s why I told him to sing to Riley at Valentine’s. I had hoped it would change his heart.”
“You knew he loved you,” Jeremiah said.
I sighed because I knew, even now, there was something there between Levi and I that kept him from being completely mine. I suspected that it was an oath he made to Dylan. I was glad he didn’t break it earlier. It might be the
only thing that would keep a part of his heart locked from me. If Morgana could break Taliesin’s curse, then perhaps I could find a witch strong enough to break Levi’s heart bond to me.
Jeremiah cleared his throat. “Grace, what are you thinking?”
“I’ll find a way for Levi to be happy. I won’t be happy until he is,” I said.
Jeremiah grimaced but gave no explanation. “I am your humble servant. Goodnight, Gloriana.”
My father said a lot of things I didn’t understand. I wished we could all just be straightforward and stop beating around the bush.
When I walked back into the trailer, I found two completely drunk fools playing video games. I stared at both of them in disbelief.
“Oh, hey Grace! You were gone so long we decided to play. You want a turn?” Dylan asked.
“No,” I muttered in astonishment.
“Did you have a good time with my ex-girlfriend?” Levi asked.
“Is she your ex-girlfriend?” I asked.
“Oh, hell yeah. I’m not interested in being some second-hand bard,” he said.
“That would make a great title to a song,” Dylan replied.
“Second-hand bard,” Levi repeated. “Yeah! It would be a great song!”
Realizing that I would make no progress with these two for the rest of the day. I decided to cool my jets. “Where is Winnie?” I asked.
“She’s playing with Bramble and Briar,” Dylan said with a wink. If I wasn’t completely frustrated with the both of them, it might have been adorable. “I’m not as thunk as you drink I am.”
“You did not just say that,” I said.
“I got it wrong, didn’t I?” he asked.
“Yeah. You did.” I said as I walked to Winnie’s room. I tapped on the door.
“Come in,” Winnie replied.
I opened the door to a tiny tea party. Two small bottle caps full of milk and a glass of it sat on Winnie’s art table. She sat in the little chair holding a cookie. Rufus laid under the table waiting for any crumb to drop.
