Falcon Fae

by Terry Spear

  “You know where she is then?” Owen asked, realizing he sounded way too eager.

  “What is the queen offering you for the payment she’s receiving? Her own armies to help you fight your battles? Or just Sigrid’s abilities?” Alton asked.

  “Sigrid’s abilities,” Owen admitted.

  Alton smiled, albeit evilly. He didn’t say anything though, allowing his mate to offer her final words.

  Owen knew this hadn’t gone well at all. He also knew if he’d lied about it, he was certain they would have known.

  “If she never leaves the golden fae territory, she’ll never find a mate among our kind to love. Is that what you want for her?” Owen asked, trying one last ditch effort to convince them he was right in taking her home to her people.

  Kayla smiled. “I would love nothing more than for the falcon fae to find one of her own kind to love.” Then she frowned. “But that’s not why you’re here. Instead, you could get her killed to fight your battles. I don’t know where she is, nor does anyone on my staff.” She turned her attention to Alton.

  Alton shook his head. “Kayla would know where she was before I would since they are best of friends.”

  “Thank you,” Owen said, rising from his chair, his cousins following suit. “We appreciate your candor and the tea and cakes.”

  “We appreciate your honesty in return. If I had thought returning Sigrid to her people would be the best thing for her, I would have willingly helped you, but only if she’d wanted it.”

  “I understand, and you are a good friend to her, when others in the golden fae kingdom are not.”

  Kayla cocked her head. “Where’s Tanya?”

  “She is gone as well.”

  “Was she with Sigrid when you spoke to her?”

  “Yes. And Shane said that they were at the castle to speak with the queen, but then Sigrid said she had urgent business with potions boiling or some such matter and had to leave right away.”

  “You were there seeing the queen at the same time Sigrid was seeking audience with her, I gather,” Kayla said.

  “Yes. I assume she must have realized we were there and why, returned to her cottage, packed up, and left.”

  “She packed?” Kayla asked, looking surprised.

  “Yes. All Tanya’s clothes were gone. Sigrid had protected her place with a barrier so we couldn’t go in to learn the truth, but we suspect they left together.” Owen waited, hoping that news might sway Kayla into revealing something, but she appeared to be surprised enough that he didn’t suspect they were hiding her here.

  “Then she truly doesn’t want to be forced into this. I’m afraid you’ll have to return to your kingdom and fight your own battles.”

  “Thank you.” Owen bowed, and he and his cousins left the dining hall and headed for the front door. Once they were outside, he shook his head at Shane. “If they know where she might have gone, they’re not saying. So where is this cousin of Tanya’s?”

  5

  “I don’t have a bathing suit,” Tanya said to Sigrid, tying her red-golden hair back in a tail, to keep the Gulf breeze from tossing the strands in her eyes. She and Sigrid headed to a six-story hotel covered in mirrored glass that reflected the foam-topped waves and white sand beach.

  It was beautiful and Sigrid thought how nice it would be to have a place permanently on the beach.

  Inside the hotel, chandeliers sparkled above and on the black marble top covering the reception desk, and black tile floors. The reflection from the lights made it appear as if it were part of the fairy realm.

  Using her power of persuasion, Sigrid easily paid for their accommodations. She’d have to be careful if anyone was watching her though. Yes, she could convince several people at once to do her bidding, but it could be hit or miss if some of the people were looking in a different direction when she used her magic.

  “I don’t have a swimsuit either. We can get some clothes at one of the beach shops. Because we’re in the human world, I’d ditch the floral wreath headdress at the room, if I were you.”

  “I thought you said I should wear it because it’s me.”

  “Back home. Not here. Just like my wings don’t allow me to fit in here either.”

  After going to a beach shop, they picked up the usual beachwear: T-shirts, beach towels, hats, sunglasses, bathing suits, flip-flops, and shorts, none of which they wore in the fae kingdom.

  Back at the hotel, Sigrid went all out and got them a deluxe suite with two king-size beds in a separate bedroom, whirlpool tub in the bathroom, and a sitting area and small kitchen with a nice patio deck that offered them the view of the Gulf. Even though they had a kitchen, they wouldn’t eat here. She’d rather have the humans prepare her meals for them—for free.

  They changed into their swimsuits, grabbed their towels, and headed for the beach.

  “Well, I hadn’t thought our day would turn out quite like this,” Tanya said, wearing a pastel blue bikini, and laying out her dolphin beach towel on the white sand. “But, this is really fun.”

  Even though Sigrid had told her to leave the flower wreath at the room, and she did, Tanya always wore it encircling her head, and she didn’t look like herself without it.

  “I agree. I didn’t have any jobs, so I was free anyway.” Sigrid eyed the waves in the Gulf, stirred up by a recent storm. Puddles of water had collected in areas where the incoming tide couldn’t reach and seagulls were flying overhead. Hermit crabs were scampering across the sand and then diving into holes. “I’m going for a swim.”

  “Have fun. I’m getting a tan.” Tanya stretched out on the towel.

  “Or sunburned. We don’t work on tans in our world, so be careful.” Sigrid set her towel next to Tanya and left her hat, sunglasses, and flip-flops, and ran across the hot sand, headed for the water. She splashed into the shallow water, wading into the deeper part until it was up to her neck. Warm, silky, it felt great as she looked out toward the Gulf, a couple of sailboats with orange, blue, green, and white stripes on their sails bouncing up and down in the choppy water as they sailed across the blue-green water.

  Sigrid figured she and Tanya could stay at the hotel for as long as they wanted, but the problem was the falcon fae had messed things up for her royally with the golden fae queen. If Sigrid was going to conduct her business, she’d have to return there. Shoot. She could see the queen confiscating her properties in the meantime, if she didn’t return to do the queen’s bidding. She hadn’t thought of that. Though no one could enter the cottage. She was glad she’d put a protective spell on her place. Normally, she never had to.

  Then Sigrid had another thought. Why not work for the highest bidder? Surely, someone else, another ruler who could afford her and was without a magic user in the realm, could use her talents. She could ally with him or her then.

  “What are you doing trespassing on dark fae territory?” a man suddenly asked behind her, his voice full of authority.

  She whipped around and saw the dark fae queen’s guard dressed in blue and gold in front of her, his face a dark scowl as he stood chest deep in water, though he was invisible to humans. On the beach, two men took hold of Tanya’s arms and vanished.

  Furious with the guard, Sigrid wanted to go after Tanya, but she stood her ground in the warm water. “We’re friends of the dragon shifter fae, who saved the dark fae princess’s life. They are allied with you and we’re allied with them. So, I guess it means we’re allied with you too.”

  “You will have to tell the queen’s advisor what you have told me.”

  Great. Sigrid hoped she and Tanya didn’t end up in a dungeon while waiting to meet with the queen. She had thought her explanation of how everyone was allied with one another would suffice if they ran into trouble.

  She could compel him to forget why he was there and make him fall asleep in the sand, but she needed to find poor Tanya.

  The guard snapped an iron manacle on her wrist. The next thing she knew, she was being hauled toward a castle’s side
entrance, into a hall, and standing before a guard in front of a door that looked suspiciously like a wooden door to the dungeon.

  “Another one, eh,” the guard said, looking over her attire.

  “Yeah. You’d think other fae would get the message. South Padre Island belongs to the dark fae.” The guard unlocked the door, then pulled her down the stairs.

  Dank, it smelled like sweat, mildew, and mold.

  Her eyes adjusted to the low light in the dungeon, and she saw Tanya pacing in a cell. The guard opened her cell door and shoved Sigrid in. Tanya rushed to greet her.

  At least Sigrid had found Tanya, and they were in the same cell. Sigrid was still wearing a wet, shimmering, green, one-piece swimsuit, and Tanya was still wearing the blue bikini. If Sigrid could, she’d wave her hand and dress them in clothes appropriate for—well, the castle, maybe not for a dungeon either.

  Sigrid hugged her. “You’re all right?” Even though Sigrid was all wet, Tanya didn’t seem to mind, and was just glad to see her.

  Tanya hugged her back and then released her. “Yes. Why didn’t you get away? You could have just used your magic.”

  “And leave you to your fate?”

  Tanya frowned at her. “No, you could have rescued me. Now we’re both stuck in the dungeon. Together.”

  “We have the advantage.”

  “You can’t use your magic down here, can you? The walls are filled with iron ore, so even without manacles, we can’t transport.”

  “I can use my magic just about anywhere. And they don’t know it.”

  “Oh, good. Where do you think Owen and his cousins are by now?” Tanya asked.

  Sigrid used magic to remove her manacles and set them on the wooden plank bed. Then she removed Tanya’s. “Most likely checking your cottage to see if we’re there, finding you left too, then maybe traveling to the dragon fae kingdom to learn if Kayla knows where we are. I’m sure Shane will tell Owen how close we are to Kayla too.”

  Tanya rubbed her wrists. “She wouldn’t know where we are anyway.”

  “True. Even if she did, she wouldn’t tell them, unless they lied and said that we’re in peril if we don’t go with them. Or at least that I had to go. And they’d say they had to know at once where we are.”

  “Wouldn’t work. Kayla wouldn’t fall for it.” Tanya peered through the iron cell grate. “Why aren’t we leaving the dungeon?”

  “If I unlock the door and we leave the cell, then I unlock the door to the cells, then what? There’s a guard standing outside the cell door. If we manage to knock him out, then we still have to get outside of the castle walls. No transporting inside the iron ore walls. So, for now, I believe we need to just wait for an audience with the queen. If she doesn’t ask for us by tomorrow morning, we take matters into our own hands. One good thing, Owen will never believe we’ve come here.”

  “Hardly.” Tanya smiled. “Not that I did either.”

  Four hours later, a guard brought food for them, cooked oats and tin cups of water.

  “When do we see the queen?” Sigrid asked.

  “Tomorrow? Next week? A month from now?” The dark fae guard smiled. Then he headed for the door to the cells.

  Not about to put up with this any longer, Sigrid cast a spell commanding him to return to the cell at once. The guard turned around and stalked back to the cell.

  Looking crossly at him, Sigrid folded her arms. “Unlock it.”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  “You will take us to see the queen,” Sigrid ordered as the guard used a large brass key to unlock the cell door with a grinding sound and pulled the door open for them.

  “Are you sure this will work? He’s probably not the person who would normally take us to see the queen,” Tanya said.

  “True. Guard, you will unlock the main door to the cells.”

  “As you wish.” He plodded along the stone floor to the door, then tried to find the right key, jangling them as he searched for the right one, and when he did, he unlocked the door.

  The black-bearded guard at the door glanced at them, then frowned. “What nonsense is this? No one has ordered their release. You were supposed to just take them food and water.”

  “The queen commands—” the guard said.

  “The queen commands nothing of the sort. Her advisor would send word.” He narrowed his eyes at Sigrid and Tanya. “What magic—”

  Sigrid waved her hand at him and the guard abruptly quit speaking. Sigrid told the first guard, “Return to guarding here. If anyone asks, the prisoners are still back in their cell.” She turned to the other one. “Shut and lock the door to the cells, then return to your duty. You’ve fed the prisoners and they’re sleeping in their cell.”

  The one guard stood before the door while the other shut and locked the door.

  “Now what?” Tanya asked Sigrid. “We’re wearing swimsuits.”

  “Unfortunately, I can’t magically change our clothes. And I’m afraid if I flew as a falcon to one of the halls where the lords’ and ladies’ chambers are located in an attempt to steal clothes for us, I’d be seen.”

  They stood next to the door while the other guard took off to wherever he was needed, and the other stood at the door as if they weren’t there.

  “If I tell the guard to get some clothes for us, someone might notice he’s supposed to be at his post, and if he broke into a woman’s chambers, I’m certain his carrying a woman’s clothing would raise too much speculation,” Sigrid said. “I can disguise our fae types, but that won’t help with us hide the fact we’re wearing bathing suits. I doubt the dark fae, who plan to visit South Padre Island, wear their bathing suits from the castle.”

  “Can you make us invisible?” Tanya asked.

  “Only my wings.” Sigrid sighed. “Okay, I’m going to try this, though I don’t know how well it will work, and if any fae come upon the scene and see what I’ve done, they will call out an alarm.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Make everyone in our path fall asleep. The problem would be that anyone entering the area after I use the magic would see all the dark fae bodies lying wherever they collapsed.”

  “And think we murdered them. That won’t work.” Tanya smiled. “We could take the guards’ clothes.”

  Sigrid wrinkled her nose. “You don’t think that two women wearing male guard clothes wouldn’t be noticed?”

  “I’m all out of ideas.” Tanya shrugged.

  “I have to risk shifting into a falcon. If they don’t normally have anything to do with the falcon fae, they probably will think I’m a real falcon that came in through an open window. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

  “What if you get shot?” Tanya sounded horrified at the idea.

  “If they use a regular bow, I can protect myself with an invisible shield. I’ll grab some clothes, change, and return to you.”

  “If they use a crossbow?”

  “I’ll be in trouble, but only if they manage to hit me. I’ll have to risk casting magic then. But I really don’t want to create a war with the dark fae.”

  “Agreed. Be safe.”

  “And you.” Then Sigrid shifted into a falcon and flew to the top of the stairs. She stood at the top landing, looking around at the large common area where courtiers were walking from one place to another, taking care of castle or kingdom business. She had to fly as fast as she could, as high as she could. The ceilings were so vaulted and wooden beams criss-crossed across them that she could land on one and be well out of sight. The problem was reaching one of them without anyone seeing her in flight. Then she could fly from one beam to another until she reached the stairs that she assumed led to the bedchambers.

  The ceilings were lower in the stairwells, so if anyone was walking up or down them, she couldn’t fly high enough that they wouldn’t see her. She just hoped the dark fae weren’t as observant as the falcon fae when she flew to the nearest beam. It was still a long way off, but she was fast.

  She readied
herself mentally and physically, waiting for the best time when not too many people were about, and most had their backs to her. One woman was talking to a little girl and headed more her way. Hopefully, the girl was distracting the woman enough because right now there were fewer people visible, and Sigrid had to take the chance to fly right this moment.

  Sigrid flew to the top of the ceiling in the alcove to the dungeon, where they still couldn’t see her, and then at that height, she flew like a swift arrow to the first of the beams, exposed to the commons area, but she was so high up, who would look up that way and see her?

  She didn’t chance looking down to learn if anyone had observed her. Instead, she concentrated on her destination and flew directly to the first beam. Once she reached it, she settled on top of the massive oak timber, hidden by the shadows of another beam that secured it to the top of the ceiling.

  She waited, listening to hear if anyone was saying anything about the falcon in the castle. No one spoke, but no one was moving across the floor any longer either. And then she saw a few dark fae inching along the floor, trying to see what was on the beam high above, not speaking, afraid to scare it away, she suspected. Blasted!

  Maybe she could try casting a forgetting spell. But if anyone had run off to get an archer, they wouldn’t be affected. She would try to do that, after she got some clothes and came down, pretending to be a dark fae. She just hoped no one would see the clothes and recognize it was their own or someone else’s.

  “Do you see it?” someone whispered, though Sigrid could hear the words spoken with her acute hearing.

  “Up there on that beam,” a woman said.

  “A dove?” someone asked.

  “Falcon,” someone said. “Send word to the queen’s falconer. It might be the queen’s. If it isn’t, maybe he can catch it and train it for her.”

  Oh, just great.

  Sigrid turned and readied herself for the stairwell. If she didn’t get inside a chamber fast enough, she knew a bunch of dark fae would try to chase her down to let the falconer know where she had ended up, so he could capture her.