by Alex Temples
It was freezing cold, the kind of cold that takes a bite out of you. If I’d worked it out right, we were either in Eastern France, or just over the border in Luxembourg. There was no explanation for the unseasonably cold weather, but if I’d learned anything over the past week, it was that where you found fae, none of the rules of nature existed.
I wore tight leather pants, a black satin tunic and a cloak with my favorite blood red lipstick. It was my version of war paint. Every time I saw my reflection, I would be reminded I was out for blood, to even a score. The only thing keeping me moving despite my bone-deep sorrow, was a burning desire to avenge my father and a resolution that Oren wouldn’t suffer the same fate.
I would not sit quietly watching as others were slaughtered. Gethin will pay.
A sharp pain in my hand made me look down. It was only then I realized it was clenched into a fist. There was a hollow feeling where my heart used to be and in it I’d kindled a fire fueled by rage, in the hopes it would sustain me through this battle.
My eyes narrowed as I stared out into the blackness. A twig had cracked. A sound that would have undoubtedly frightened me just mere days ago now thrilled me. The thought of being able to unleash some of my anger into the soft flesh of another human being excited me.
“Brin, if I didn’t know better, I’d worry you were about to bury your dagger in my chest.” Aiden joked as he came back carrying more firewood.
I let out the breath I’d been holding and willed myself to relax.
“Aiden. I was wondering when you would be back. Where’s Tristan?”
Aiden piled the wood he’d collected a few feet away from the fire and turned to place a hand on my shoulder.
His eyes were full of sympathy as he patted me gently on the back. He ignored my question.
“I know you’re hurting right now and this is going to sound like an impossible request, but you need to let go of some of that anger. A little anger gives you strength, but too much and you lose perspective. Your accuracy suffers. You make mistakes when you fight angry.”
My eyes flashed. “He killed my father, Aiden. I’m going to be angry. I don’t have anything else right now. It’s the only thing keeping me going.”
Aiden shook his head. “You have your brother. You have hope.”
I sighed, thinking of Oren. I still had Oren. Now he was my only family. I shook my head, suddenly angry with Aiden for trying to be calm and rational when I was feeling so much pain.
“You don’t understand.” I twisted away from him.
“Don’t I?” Aiden’s voice was a low growl.
“I know what loss is Brin. I know what it’s like to suddenly find out that everything you knew was a lie.”
He moved up behind me and a shiver ran down my spine.
“It’s not the same.” I argued.
His hand slid up my back until it was at the base of my neck. His fingers went into my hair, wrapping it around his hand and pulling my head back so he could look into my eyes.
“Life is full of suffering, Brin. You learn to live through it, or you die trying.”
His eyes smoldered with blue fire as he looked over my face. His voice was hushed, his tone deliberate.
“You fight through the pain. You turn your anger into power, and you destroy those who would threaten your happiness. Once they are ashes at your feet, and only then, you can crumble. Right now, your brother needs you to pull yourself together and prepare for battle.”
How did he do that? I wondered - cut right through me with his words? I closed my eyes, feeling his hand in my hair, his breath on my neck. I pushed back thoughts of my father, the fear I felt thinking of Oren and focused on the reassurance I felt knowing he was fighting alongside me.
I breathed him in. He had an intoxicating effect on me, but he was right. I would fight. I would destroy those who had harmed my family.
I shook my head, attempting to clear it. My father was dead. My brother might be next. I’d be damned if I let myself forget that for a moment. This was no time to waste on my selfish mortal weaknesses.
Aiden seemed to sense my resolve. His posture changed. He bent and kissed the top of my head and then released me. He’d done his job.
Tristan appear over the side of the hill,
He sensed the charge in the air, hesitating. “Should I come back later?”
“No. Aiden was just giving me a pep talk. It was very effective.”
Relieved to hear my voice was sure and steady, I straightened and bent to retrieve my sword.
Tristan nodded. “Great, we can practice some incantations.”
I sighed. “I don’t think I’ll be able to do any of them. I haven’t had any practice.”
Tristan shook his head. “You’ll be fine. I’ve trained worse men than you in shorter periods of time.”
I raised an eyebrow and Tristan cleared his throat.
“That’s not precisely what I meant…Um, what I meant is that you’ll be fine, because you have two of the best teachers in the realm.” He looked hopefully at Aiden for help.
Aiden smiled. “He’s right. We’ll start with something simple – a blocking incantation.”
The two of them spent the next couple hours teaching me how to block energy and direct energy. I seemed to have the blocking down, but wasn’t quite comfortable directing energy.
My hand swooped towards Tristan and I felt a wave of energy leave my palm. It was like pushing against a magnet or throwing an invisible ball.
The energy hit Tristan in the chest, knocking him back a step, and I smiled to myself, pleased with my progress.
Blocking was similar. I held a hand up, willing the energy coming towards me to bounce off my hand.
“I think that is enough practice. At least its’ all we have time for now.” Tristan stated, throwing several more logs on the fire. “In two hours, at dawn, we’ll storm the castle.”
He looked out into the distance, down in the valley where I could just make out the silhouette of the towering castle in the mist.
I bit my lip, cringing at my tell. I always did that when I was nervous.
Instead, I gritted my teeth and focused on my anger. Anger would get me through this battle, but I knew I was going to have to transform that emotion into something more powerful to win the war. These fae were forged of steel. There was no room for weakness, no room for mortal uncertainty. I owed it to my father to be become stronger than I was.
Focusing on that goal, I stared into the distance, studying the fortress we would soon breach.
Gethin and his men were hiding away in a towering beast of a castle nestled in the hills. According to Meurig, it had once been a retreat for the keepers, a place for them to train, out of the watchful eye of mortals.
We had the element of surprise. It was likely Gethin and Evrei would never see us coming.
Likely, but not impossible. I thought. Only the dawn would tell.
Chapter Forty-Three
“There, see the light in the far tower?” Aiden asked.
Tristan and I turned to look. Indeed, there was a tiny light moving past the window.
I nodded.
“They have the tablets and Keepers in that tower. It’s the highest and most defensible point. It’s what I would do.”
Tristan nodded. “I think you’re right.”
Aiden gestured for the two of us to follow him.
We made our way as silently as possible up the cobbled road to the castle, keeping a watchful eye out for scouts.
I trailed behind, unable to shake off the feeling something wasn’t quite right.
We passed under a stone archway at what was once the gatehouse. I marveled at the towering, mossy stone wall.
This wall had once kept out great conquests, prevented invasions from rival armies. If walls could talk, I imagined this one would have quite a lot to say. The whole place felt deserted.
A flash out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, but it wasn’t enough warning for me to
defend against what came next.
A searing pain tore through my shoulder. I struggled to stay on my feet, a cry escaping my lips. Aiden and Tristan shouted and ran toward me.
Too stubborn to fall to my knees, I used all my willpower to spin around and face my assailant. The hawk-eyed man stood before me, twirling the sword he’d just used to slice open my shoulder. The wound was just to get my attention. He could have killed me easily.
I clutched the dirk Tristan had given me, ready to lash out, should my enemy take a step towards me.
Aiden should have been there by now.
“Aiden.” I called, wondering where he was. My question was answered moments later when I heard the ring of metal on metal. My opponent gave me a menacing grin and began moving to my right.
I stepped with him and we spun in an age old battle dance, both tracking each other’s movements. I didn’t have him at a disadvantage this time. He’d seen my hand -to-hand combat skills. His movements were cautious and deliberate.
“We can dance all night, Ms. Yates. Or, you can come with me and we can save a lot of time.”
I raised an eyebrow, giving him a withering stare. “I don’t know who you think you are, but the only way you’re taking me anywhere is unconscious and bleeding.” I spat, sending daggers with my eyes.
He lashed out with his sword.
I leapt to the right, narrowly avoiding, its sharp point.
He sneered and nodded. “Gethin de Grange, Madame, and very well. Don’t say I didn’t provide alternatives.”
He lunged forward and my long dirk met his sword with a force that threatened to shatter my arm.
Summoning all my strength, I willed my energy into my fighting arm and pushed back on his sword. A flood of warmth flowed from my hand to my sword as I pushed him back.
“I don’t need alternatives. This ends here.” I struck his sword hand with my dirk and he cried out in pain. Blood welled up and ran down his arm.
“You bitch.” He snarled, his black eyes full of hatred.
He lunged in anger, catching my right shoulder.
I gasped in pain, twirling out of reach at the same time.
He was on top of me at once. His sword came down towards me in an arc and rather than rolling away, I lunged at him, slamming into his body as his sword hit the ground where I’d been standing.
Startled by my unorthodox move, he hadn’t been gripping his sword tight enough. It stuck in the ground. He grunted clawing at me as we rolled. A large hand twisted in my hair, pulling my head back.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.’ I held my dirk to his belly, giving him a death stare. I tried to ignore the white-hot pain radiating through my head as he yanked on my hair.
“You won’t do it.” His eyes were certain as he stared back at my deathly calm. My resolve wavered. Then, I thought of Oren laying in a hospital bed and realized the man underneath me was responsible for putting him there.
A new wave of anger and hatred washed over me. I slowly pushed down on the dirk, feeling it slice through his leather jacket, through another layer of fabric and finally, soft flesh.
“Aaargh.” His eyes went wide and he screamed in agony as the knife tip cut through his abdomen. That was all the convincing he needed. He let go of my hair. His hands went around the dirk. He thrust it back at me, yelling a string of curse words as he threw me off him.
“Brin!” Aiden shouted, running towards me.
Several men lay on the ground where he had been fighting. Tristan was still fighting the burly man with slanted eyes.
Gethin turned to Aiden with a gleam in his eye. Aiden dropped his sword and sent a pulse of energy toward him, but it was too late. Gethin had vanished into thin air.
My jaw hit the ground. I gaped at where he’d stood just moments before. My eyes shot to Aiden, full of questions. Tristan had defeated his opponent and rushed to join us.
“He shifted.” Aiden said in answer to my silent question, flashing me one of his dazzling smiles.
“This ground is not protected?” Tristan asked, his voice laced with confusion.
“Apparently not.” Aiden replied.
“We need to get inside and find those tablets before they’re taken.” I said.
The two men nodded.
We raced for the gaping stone arch that marked the entry to the castle.
Ducking as we stepped through what must have been a servant’s entrance, we were met by the sight of winding, stone steps. It was dark inside, only a few rays of moonlight filtered through a narrow window above the entrance. I had to squint as I made my way across the roughhewn floors.
Aiden put a finger to his lips.
As we moved quietly upwards, I kept my hand pressed to the wall, to keep from tripping in the pitch-black stairwell.
The sound of clattering and people stomping upstairs reverberated through the floors. We picked up our pace, worried Gethin’s men would escape before we had a chance to get the tablets back.
The light grew brighter and brighter as we moved upward. We came to an oak door at the top of the stairs.
Aiden glanced back at me and Tristan. We both nodded. Without delay, he kicked the door open and we burst into the room.
It was empty. A long oak table surrounded by chairs sat in the center of the room.
“What the hell?” I asked. “Where are they?”
Aiden nodded towards a door at the back of the room. It was swinging slightly.
“I’ll stand guard.” Tristan whispered nodding at us to go ahead.
My stomach twisted as I stared at the door. I had the strangest feeling I’d been here before. Where the hell were we?
I tip-toed closer closer until I was right outside the room. My fingers grazing over the black wrought iron bar running across the aged oak. I gasped at the sensation of being burned and yanked my hand back. Seeing the embedded runes glowing in the dim light, I used my toe to kick the door open.
It swung inward, revealing a woman sitting with her back propped up against the far wall. Her wrists bound were behind her. She had long reddish-brown hair and deep brown eyes. The moment I saw her, I gasped with recognition.
Aiden came up behind me and I moved through the doorway, surveying the otherwise empty room.
“Brin?” He asked. “What’s going on?” His brows furrowed when he saw the woman on the floor. He glanced from her to me and back again. His eyes wide. “Oh.”
There was no way anyone could have missed it. Save the difference in hair color and age, we looked very much alike.
I took a deep breath, willing my heart to slow down before it burst out of my chest. I stepped forward, kneeling in front of the woman until we were eye-level.
“Hello, Mother.”
Chapter Forty-Four
The woman’s eyes lit up as they ran across my face.
“Brinmar.”
Her voice was sweet and gentle, and filled with regret. I heard the longing in it, the plea for forgiveness, the questions. I heard it because I felt the same emotions swirling within. I had a million questions. Anger, sadness and hope battled each other. Unable to choose an emotion, I simply nodded in acknowledgement.
“Someone’s coming.” Tristan shouted from the other room.
Aiden and I exchanged a glance.
“Rosaina, I am Aiden, foster-son of Aelwen of Avalon. We’ve come for the tablets.”
My mother nodded. She looked unsurprised by the news.
“I’ve been waiting for you both. The tablets are behind that wall.”
“Behind the wall?” I glanced to where my mother had gestured and saw nothing but solid brick.
Seeing my confusion, she explained. “It’s an illusion. The brick isn’t there. I know the incantation.” She added.
I looked to Aiden.
He shrugged. “She would know if she was here when they set it. The dark fae like to use illusion.”
The sound of swords clanging sounded from the next room. A bolt of fear shot through me. We we
re so close. We couldn’t fail now. Not if I was to save Oren.
“How? How do I do the incantation?” I asked frantically.
“Cut me loose.”
I glanced down to see her hands were still tied behind her back and quickly reached for my dirk, only to remember it was on the ground outside.
Seeing my dilemma, Aiden jumped forward and quickly cut her ropes.
I cringed at the sight of her arms and wrists, bruised and bleeding. Her captors hadn’t been kind.
She shook free of the ropes and pulled herself to her feet.
We stood face to face staring at one another.
“How I missed you, my daughter.” Without warning, she pulled me to her breast and hugged me tightly. She smelled of Jasmine and Gardenia and I suddenly felt as if I were five years old again, tiny and vulnerable, folded safely in her arms
We had a lot to say to each other, but for now I simply hugged her back. Several loud grunts and bangs sounded from the next room. We had to move. Reluctantly, I stepped out of the embrace, turning toward the wall she’d gestured to.
Rosaina held her hands up parallel to the cold stone. She closed her eyes and began chanting a string of words I now recognized as Ancient Edenese.
The clattering in the next room grew louder and louder and it occurred to me reinforcements had joined the fight. Aiden seemed to sense the same thing and murmured an apology as he left to help Tristan.
As Rosaina chanted the stones grow warmer, the heat radiating off them in waves. She turned to me and gestured for me to raise my hands as well.
I quickly lifted my arms, mimicking her movements.
“Repeat after me, Brinmar. We need the energy of two to unlock the incantation.”
I stood next to the woman who’d abandoned me twenty-five years ago. Here we were, working together as if we’d known each other our whole lives.
Her eyes were fierce, and I saw myself in them. For a moment, we stared at each other again, each not quite believing the other was real. Then, we began chanting. The string of words echoed off the walls around us before moving straight through the stone.
The hum in the air fell silent and a ripple of energy washed over us as the illusion broke. Tucked away in a now visible alcove, the golden tablets shimmered brightly from their cradle.
