by Alison Pensy
“You don’t say,” Faedra retorted sarcastically, and slammed her sword hard into Vivianna’s, forcing the fairy to step back. “Well, considering this is the first time I’ve ever held one, I would hazard a guess that I’m going to be good enough to kick your fairy butt all the way back to Azran.”
Vivianna laughed her cold humorless laugh.
“Why did you kill my mother?” Faedra demanded between the wielding of swords and the clashing of blades. Their swords locked at the hand guard so their faces were mere inches from one another.
“She stumbled upon my redcaps plotting the execution of my plan and was about to enter Azran to tell my father. I could not allow that to happen. I was so close to taking the amulet then, but Faen showed up,” she scowled, “so I have spent the past eleven of your years biding my time until you became of age.” Her silken voice did not fool Faedra, she knew the owner of it was deadly. Vivianna used the hand guard of her sword and pushed hard on Faedra’s, forcing Faedra to stumble backwards.
“But why would you turn on your father and your own people, not to mention my people? Everyone is suffering, Vivianna,” Faedra questioned as she tried desperately to regain her balance and stay upright.
Vivianna eyed Faedra with vicious intent, holding her sword out in front of her ready for another attack.
“Revenge, Custodian, pure and simple.” She came at Faedra faster and more determined than ever. “Let us see what havoc I can wreak when I have control over weather, too.”
Faedra was desperate to know what Vivianna wanted revenge for, but Vivianna’s determination caught her off guard again. Faedra went to make several defensive steps back, but was blocked by something hard in the small of her back. She looked around to see it was the altar stone. Vivianna was on her almost immediately, but Faedra had not managed to adjust her grip on her sword. With the next blow, it was sent flying from her hands. Vivianna raised her sword with malevolence and was about to wield a fatal blow, but Faedra was not ready to die just yet. She had questions that needed answering, and if that fact alone was giving her the determination needed to survive, that was just fine with her.
She was lying half on, half off the altar stone. With a movement of pure adrenaline, she rolled her body over and Vivianna’s sword missed her by mere millimeters, clashing with such a force on the stone beside her, she could feel it vibrate. She slid off the other end of the stone and moved quickly around it, putting it between her and Vivianna, looking around her for her sword as she did. She couldn’t see it. Oh, God, where did it go?
She looked up just in time to see Vivianna fly up on top of the stone and was now standing above her with her sword poised to swipe at Faedra’s head. It was a knee-jerk reaction; Faedra held her hands up and closed her eyes as two balls of blue light thrust themselves forcefully from her palms, knocking both her and Vivianna off their feet with the intensity, but not for long enough. Faedra hadn’t had the time to focus on her energy to make it powerful enough to do much damage.
Vivianna was on her feet again in seconds and was flying towards Faedra who scrabbled backwards on the ground, using her legs and feet to push her backwards with all her might. She scanned the ground around her and could see her sword a few feet out of her reach. Her heart sank; she knew she would not be able to reach it in time.
Her eyes widened as she saw the sword turn and skim along the ground hilt first until it reached her hand. She looked up just in time to see the Valkyrie nearest to her return her spear to her side and look away with an innocent expression on her face. Grabbing her sword, she held it above her head defensively just as Vivianna’s came crashing down with another blow to try and take her head off.
Faedra’s phone rang. She could tell it was her father, she had a specific ring tone for him.
“Oh, crap,” she groaned. Great timing Dad, she thought as she defended against an onslaught of blows from Vivianna. If she didn’t answer her phone he would just call Amy, and she really didn’t want her friend to have to lie for her, if at all possible. She shot another energy ball at Vivianna, knocking her backwards, and grabbed the phone from her pocket.
“Hi, Dad,” she grunted breathlessly, “you kind of caught me at a bad time, can I call you back?”
“Sure, darling, what on earth is all that commotion?”
“Err, we’re playing Dungeons and Dragons on Amy’s video game – Urgh,” she groaned as she shot another energy ball and sent Vivianna reeling backwards again.
“You sound pretty out of breath, hun.”
“Well, it’s one of those remotes you have to use like the real thing. At the moment, I’m having an – argh – swordfight with an – urgh – evil fairy princess, it’s really interactive.”
“Oh, okay, darling, well have fun. I hope you win.”
“Me, too, Dad, me, too.” She rang off and moved her head to one side just in time to dodge another blow that came crashing to the ground. She looked at her phone that she was still clutching and threw it away as she grabbed for her sword . She held her sword with one hand and threw another energy ball with the other, forcing Vivianna back just long enough for Faedra to get to her feet. Then she saw the book, it was still sitting on the end of the altar stone where Vivianna had laid it before they had started their fight. She had to think of a way to get her hands on it, but right now she was being well and truly out-sworded by her opponent, and it was all she could do to keep herself from getting killed.
Use the amulet, Faedra.
“Mum?” Faedra called out, looking all around her. Vivianna stopped for just a second and gave her a questioning glance, then continued with her onslaught.
The amulet, Faedra, use the amulet.
She couldn’t quite believe she was having a Star Wars moment with her mother, but went with it. “How do I use the amulet, Mum?” she cried out into the darkness as she sent another energy ball into Vivianna’s chest to distract her for another few seconds.
Think, Faedra, the book is near. Use your power to use the amulet.
“That’s all I need right now, riddles,” she mumbled under her breath. How on earth could she get hold of the book when she was fighting for her life? Vivianna was not giving her any respite, where did this woman get her energy? Faedra looked around her in the split seconds she had between parries and shooting energy balls. The red eyes of the winged horses shone in the darkness. The Valkyries were sitting motionless, watching intently, but with no movement to imply that they would help again.
Faen and Jocelyn were still wielding their swords valiantly. There were fewer redcaps now, which gave Faedra an idea. It was a long shot, but if Jocelyn could hold off the redcaps and Faen could distract Vivianna, maybe it would give her enough time to figure out how to use the book and the amulet.
“Faen!” she shouted across the circle. Her sword clashed with Vivianna’s sending more sparks flying.
“Yes!” he shouted back.
Vivianna was upon her again. Faedra swung her sword just in time to meet with her opponent’s and averted the loss of a limb.
“Do you think Jocelyn can handle those redcaps by herself for a minute?” Crash - she dodged another blow that struck the altar stone, sending more sparks flying.
There was silence for a moment, except for the clashing of metal on metal.
“I think so,” Jocelyn shouted back.
“Faen, distract this evil fairy for a moment, would you?” Faedra asked and shot an icy glare at Vivianna who just smiled at her vindictively as she came at the Custodian again with her sword.
“It would be my pleasure,” he spoke with deep satisfaction as he flew over and descended upon Vivianna with a clash of his sword, giving her no choice than to give up her onslaught on Faedra.
Vivianna screamed something incoherent at Faedra, who could see the fury in her eyes.
Faedra dropped her sword, dodged past the two of them who were fighting with a vengeance and grabbed the Book of Anohs from the altar. The stone in the amulet blazed to life as she ra
n with the book into the shadow of a monolithic stone.
“How do I do this? Oh, God, what do I do?” she mumbled as she looked over to her two friends who were fighting for their lives. “Well, whatever you do, Faedra,” she told herself, “Do it quickly.” She opened the book, but found that of no help; it was written in a language she couldn’t understand. Then she had an idea. What if she imagined the weather she wanted; would that work? Could it be that easy? She took hold of the amulet, closed her eyes, and concentrated. A moment passed and she could feel cold splashes on her face. She opened her eyes and looked up. Dark clouds had appeared from nowhere and it was suddenly raining - hard. Within seconds, she was drenched through to the skin.
“Ha,” she cried, “it worked.”
“Not… helping…!” Faen grunted over his shoulder between parries with Vivianna.
Faedra closed her eyes again and the rain stopped as abruptly as it had started. “Sorry,” she called out to her now soggy cohorts who she could see slipping on the wet ground. “That was stupid, Faedra,” she cursed at herself.
She glanced over to see how Jocelyn was doing and was horror struck as she watched a redcap sneak up and spear her from behind. Jocelyn gasped and slumped to the ground.
“NO!” Faedra yelled as anger surged through her more blindingly than she’d ever felt it before. Thunder roiled ominously in the air around her; a low growl to begin with that turned rapidly into a noise so vicious the sky sounded like it was being ripped apart.
She could feel her body surging with an energy so powerful it was overwhelming. Faedra held her hands up to the sky, asking for more, accepting every tiny particle the atmosphere could provide her. At that moment, a bolt of lightning struck her in the heart. But instead of it killing her, she absorbed it, molded it; her whole body crackled loudly. Then she realized it was her that was making the noise, not the thunder.
She opened her eyes, which were now glowing with the bright blue-white radiance of the lightening she had absorbed, and threw her hands out in the direction of the redcaps, unleashing every particle of electrical energy she had molded inside of her. Six bolts of lightning flew from her palms hitting each redcap directly in the chest, killing them on contact. They slumped to the ground, also. Faedra fell back against the stone and attempted to steady herself. She could feel her legs weaken beneath her.
Vivianna was momentarily distracted by Faedra’s show of power, enough that Faen had been able to knock the sword from her hand and was now holding his to her throat. He kicked Vivianna’s sword out of reach.
With the last fragment of will that Faedra had left, she stumbled over to where Jocelyn lay unmoving on the wet ground. She sat down beside her and lifted Jocelyn’s head, cradling it in her arms.
“Jocelyn, oh, no. Please, God, not Jocelyn.” Big fat tears rolled down Faedra’s cheeks as she carefully moved a clump of wet hair that was splayed across her friend’s lifeless face. She looked over to Faen in desperation, tears flowing down her face. He was still standing motionless, holding his sword to Vivianna’s throat.
“Oh, Faen,” she cried, “I think she’s dead.”
Faen’s eyes blazed with an anger Faedra had never seen before. He swung his sword high above his head and was just about to wield it with a fatal blow to Vivianna’s neck when Jocelyn coughed. He stopped mid-swing and looked over to where Faedra and Jocelyn were on the ground.
Jocelyn breathed in, an urgent gasp as if coming up for air. She opened her eyes slowly and smiled up at Faedra.
“You’re alive?” Faedra half laughed, half cried, she was so overjoyed.
“They must have missed my heart,” Jocelyn whispered, her voice sounding gravelly.
“She’s alive, Faen!” Faedra called.
Vivianna took advantage of the distraction and flew over Faen’s head to stand behind him on the altar stone. Faen whirled around, but just as he did, she spat some more words that Faedra did not recognize, and something appeared in her hand. At first glance, it looked like a spindly tree branch, but it glittered with sparkling red stones. Vivianna glared at Faen and then over at Faedra; she muttered something else and slammed the staff hard on the stone.
The red stones emitted what looked like whirling red laser lights that within seconds had encircled Vivianna.
She gave Faen a malevolent smile. “Until we meet again, Guardian,” she said smoothly with an incline of her head.
“No,” Faen cried, lunging out with his sword. But Vivianna was gone. His sword came crashing to the stone. Faen shouted something Faedra didn’t understand and from his tone of voice, wasn’t sure she wanted to, either. He sheathed his sword angrily and strode over to where the girls were sitting on the ground. His expression altered in an instant as soon as he reached them, replacing the one of anger with one of compassion.
“Jocelyn,” he cupped her face, his eyes full of concern. “My dear sister, are you alright?”
She smiled at him. “I am fine, Brother, it missed my heart.”
Faen hung his head and heaved a sigh of relief. They looked at the bodies that were strewn all around them.
“Where did Vivianna go?” Faedra asked. “And what was that thing she had?”
“It was the ruby staff,” he replied. “It has the power to transport you in an instant to anywhere in any realm. I have only heard of it, I have never seen it before. It holds dark magic. I do not know how she came by it; I was told it had been destroyed.”
They had been so focused on Jocelyn they hadn’t noticed that the Valkyries had advanced, and were now forming a semi circle around them. Freja moved forward from the line again.
“Well done,” she said to all three, her features devoid of emotion. “Redcaps make excellent warriors.”
All of the maidens held out their spears, lowering them so they were pointing at the bodies on the floor. Faedra watched as the redcaps shimmered and disappeared.
“Our job here is done, Guardian,” Freja continued, “as is yours.”
The horses all backed up in one fluid movement and then turned. They walked through the stones of the circle and disappeared.
Faen scooped his injured sister up off the cold, wet ground. Faedra pushed herself up, which took more effort than she could have imagined, and stumbled over to the book. She leaned over and scooped it up, wrapping her arms around it and held it tight to her chest.
“We need to get this back to Azran,” she croaked.
“Jocelyn, there must be a portal nearby, can you sense one?” Faen asked.
Jocelyn closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated.
“Yes, Brother, there is one at the cathedral we passed, but I do not know where in Azran it will take us,” she replied.
“We will have to take our chances,” he said as he looked at Faedra, and could see her complexion graying and her legs weaken. Jocelyn noticed, too.
“Brother, take Faedra back to the car. I will wait here until you come back.”
Faen looked with concern from his injured sister to his weakening charge.
“Go. I will be fine,” Jocelyn reassured him.
The Guardian laid his sister with care on the altar stone and turned to Faedra.
“Come, young lady, we need to get you some sugar water,” he scooped Faedra up just as her legs gave way. She gave him a weak smile, she had no energy left to do anything else.
He turned back to his sister. “I will be back in a moment.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
After Faedra had replenished her energy levels by drinking nearly every bottle of sugar water she had prepared, she drove them to Salisbury Cathedral. It was an impressive building; the spire towered several hundred feet above them. She had read somewhere once that the weather vane on the top of the spire was the size of a donkey.
“This way,” Jocelyn pointed, and headed off in the direction of where she could sense the portal.
Jocelyn’s body had healed itself in the time it took for them to reach the cathedral, much to her brother and he
r friend’s relief.
Faedra was still holding on tight to the book, and Faen was scanning the area all around them as they followed the younger fairy to the portal. There was no telling where Vivianna could be. It wouldn’t surprise the Guardian if she turned up and tried to take the book away, and he wouldn’t feel comfortable until it was safely back in the castle and under some stronger magical bonds than last time.
Jocelyn came to a sudden stop, and made a sharp turn. “Over there,” she said. She reminded Faedra of a Bloodhound sniffing out a scent. “Here it is,” she stated as she came to a sudden stop on the path. Jocelyn recited an incantation and told Faedra and Faen when the portal was open.
“Get ready with your sword, Jocelyn. We do not know what awaits us on the other side,” Faen instructed cautiously. Jocelyn conjured her sword and Faen drew his from its sheath. He looked down at Faedra and gave her a wry smile. “As for you, my little Kenget, I believe you can hold your own. Energy balls at the ready?”
She smiled back at him, her eyes twinkling from the reflection of the ball of blue light that was now bobbing above her free hand.
“What does Kenget mean?”
He laughed. “It means Warrior.”
Faedra bopped him on the arm with her elbow. “I hardly think so,” she blushed. “Vivianna out-sworded me every step of the way.”
“Faedra, do not underestimate yourself. You had never held a sword before today and survived a fight against one of the best in our realm - Vivianna has been training since she was a child – and you are still alive to tell the tale. To be honest with you, I do not know how you did it,” he looked at her with pride. “I believe you will be a formidable Custodian,” his smile slipped and his eyes saddened. “I think perhaps, you will not need me anymore.”
Panic flashed across Faedra’s face. “You’re not going to leave me, are you?” Her energy ball fizzled out with her question.
He considered her panic-stricken face for a moment and a warm smile curved his lips. “No, Faedra, I will not leave you, unless you wish it. Shall we?” He motioned in the direction of the portal.
