by Morgan Blade
Stretching the silver chain, she pulled a necklace out from under her cloak. It had a white-gold claw gripping a silver coin stamped with her mother’s face. As Izumi stared at the coin, the image on it opened her eye to stare back. The metal face smiled.
Izumi said, “Mother, bring me home.” Thankfully, the coin didn’t answer back. That would have freaked me out just a little.
After a minute, a blue-white swirl of star-points glittered in the air around us. A wash of light followed that didn’t blind me since my dragon eyes had transparent lids to filter various levels of bright light. As our end of the portal formed, I made myself more presentable by withering the dragon wings off my back, bringing back my human-looking feet, and closing my eyes, letting them become human as well. There was a flutter of gravity around me that reminded me of the Broken Heart Islet for a moment.
I opened my eyes, squinted from the surrounding glow, and picked Reginald up by the collar. He moaned, breathing again. His eyelids fluttered and opened. Coming aware in a sudden rush, he flailed.
I slapped his face. “Behave.”
He stopped struggling. “W-where are we going?”
Izumi passed me, taking several steps that took her out of the light. I followed, dragging Reggie along. Like stepping off the edge of the world, into a new one, the wilds of Fairy were replaced by the sprawling expanse of the throne room. There were black silk tapestries on the walls and the fey guards wore black armbands in honor of their fallen brothers. Kellyn sat on her highbacked throne, on a dais, a black runner from it striped the stone floor, passing under our feet, off to the great double doors that we hadn’t used.
Kellyn smiled with warmth at her daughter, gave me a nod, and turned a glower on Reggie that should have withered his manhood and frozen his blood. I dragged him along and dumped him at the edge of the dais.
“Brought you a not so little present,” I said.
“So, I see.” Her words were frozen mist in the air.
He stared up at her from a huddle on the floor, his entire body trembling. I wondered how he intended to get out in front of his horrific crimes. Maybe, he’d just beg for mercy—like that was possible.
He dropped his head. “Though I expressed it poorly, I acted out of an impulse of true love. I have profaned the beauty that first drove me mad. I can only beg your forgiveness, and perhaps ask for a small measure of understanding.”
Kellyn leaned forward on her throne. She smiled—not in a good way—as her gathered servitors and warriors stared on, just waiting for a command to rip the offender into bloody pieces. When she spoke, it was with sweet, venomless words, her tone a complete lie, the only way a fey could lie since a direct untruth would strip them of their natural magic.
“So, you are saying it is my fault I was repeatedly soiled and bruised, defiled for your beastly pleasure?”
“Talk about a loaded question,” Izumi murmured.
Her soft words drew the queen’s gaze.
I stepped in with a charming smile. “Your majesty, your pregnant daughter has endured much to help me bring this rapist to your royal justice. She is tired and in need of your gracious hospitality—and my inner dragon is starving. Never a safe situation for those around me.”
Golden eyes shone in the back shadows of my mind. Scales rustled. My dragon said: Ask her for a moose or elk. I’ll not be too picky. I’ll roast it myself if I have to.
Reminded that she was going to be a grandmother, some of the hardness left Kellyn’s face. “You are right. I have been remiss.” She gestured toward her chief chamberlain.
He wore a green silk overtunic with matching leggings, and a necklace of gold with a jeweled shield on it: a badge of office. He bowed low to the queen from the side of her throne. “Yes, your majesty? How may I serve?”
She flicked her fingers at Reggie. “Have this filth taken to a dungeon cell, and guard him well. I will not have him take his life in despair, before I can properly crush his spirit. His passing will not be easy. In distant ages, his fate will be lesson enough against raising hand or cock against the Winter Court.”
The Chief Chamberlain bowed once more. “It will be done.” He gestured and suddenly there was a surge of armed volunteers to escort the prisoner away. I had the sudden conviction that old Reggie was going to accidently fall down a flight of stairs, and maybe walk into a door or two, on his way to his cell.
“One thing I should tell you, your majesty.” My words brought her stare back to me. “He’s immortal. You can kill him as often as you like, however you like, and never run out of opportunities to do it again. He’ll never spoil.”
It took a moment for that sink in. Then she smiled, this one the worse yet. “Excellent news. That opens up so many interesting possibilities.” She stood and swept down from the dais. “Court is dismissed until tomorrow. Daughter, bring your husband along to my personal chambers. You can rest there, and be refreshed as you tell me of your recent struggles.” Without looking to see if we followed, she glided out of the throne room, her feet hidden by the flowing excesses of her many-layered gown. She carried her head high, her crown ablaze, a web of silver, studded with diamonds.
Izumi took my arm. We fell in behind her mom, but took our time so we had a little privacy as we walked. Those left behind in the hall burst into excited babble, exchanging comments, wandering away in various directions. I noticed we were respected enough that none of the guards bothered to shadow us. In the not too distant past, I’d have been kept in a locked room myself.
We went up a staircase and along a hall to a new suite of rooms. This was where she’d recently been imprisoned. We entered a sitting room with red and gold tapestries on stone walls. A deep green carpet lay underfoot. The hand-made furniture was all claw-footed. Oak and cherry dominated. There was a metal brazier that stood three feet high. It held a charcoal fire under a fine mesh screen, creating an island of warmth. Surrounding the brazier, four love seats were arranged.
There were other huddles of furniture here and there, books and statues lining the walls, and several crystal chandeliers, the crystals providing their own light. Through an open set of double doors, I saw a luxurious bedroom the equal of anything offered by a fine hotel on Earth. There were closed doors as well, hiding secrets.
Once we entered, the hallway doors shut themselves. Kellyn stood waiting as we approached the well-cushioned loveseats. She opened her arms to Izumi, hugged her, and kissed her cheek. She broke the embrace to give her daughter a searching stare. “How are you doing, my dear?”
Izumi smiled. “Well, now that I’m back with you. How are you? You’ve been seen by the royal healers?”
“Drove me near to distraction with their prodding and prying. I finally had to drive them away to get my thoughts settled.” Kellyn drew Izumi into the square of loveseats, picking one out for them both to settle upon.
Going by the dialog alone, they were mother and daughter. You couldn’t tell that from their appearances. Kellyn looked like a cheerleader in a prom gown, with a youthful voice to match. Nothing about her revealed she was hundreds and hundreds of years old. Izumi didn’t use glamour to present a front. Her beauty was entirely natural. She actually looked like a slightly older sister to her mom.
Ignored, left to my own devices, I took the loveseat opposite them, the brazier squatting between us. Izumi told her story of wandering the caverns at the heart of the Land. For the parts of the story she didn’t know, she glanced at me, letting me fill in. There were things I thought neither of them really needed to know. When I spoke of meeting the fey goddesses, I had both their rapt attention.
“So, I’ve been chosen to gather the ties and heal the Heart of the Land. This might undo the genetic damage the fey have suffered by constantly immersing themselves in stolen magic. The childbirth rate might even return to something normal. It’s all that will keep the fey from dying out.” I spoke carefully, building a case for Kellyn’s support of my upcoming actions. “This mess with Reginald is going to get
lesser lords and ladies thinking that they can upgrade their social position, maybe hijack a court or two. More usurpations are going to be attempted. Before word gets spread too far, and new precautions are made, I think I should harvest the ties first.”
There was nothing friendly about Kellyn’s icy stare. “So, you are going to take my power from me next?”
“Your tie, not your power. Hear me out.” I looked at Izumi. She gave me an encouraging smile and a nod to continue.
But a knock sounded from the hallway doors. One of them opened and servants entered carrying covered baskets. My heightened sense of smell caught the scent of fresh baked bread, cheese, and assorted fruits. They were brought over and left for us, along with several bottles of wine. A small table was cleared off and brought over to us, providing a handy place for the provisions. The servants bowed and hurried away, leaving a mature woman in a white apron and a bronze dress. She held linen napkins and a cluster of drinking cups.
She addressed the queen. “More filling fair is being prepared. It will be bought when ready. Meanwhile, may I have the pleasure of serving you, your majesty?”
“Leave the cups. We can manage on our own. There are affairs of state being discussed. You may go.”
It wasn’t a suggestion.
The lady bowed once more, deeply, and retreated, pulling the hallway door shut behind her as she went.
Kellyn’s gaze returned to rake me once more. “You were saying?”
“First, restoring the ties so that the Heart is formed once more will make one kingdom out of many. Fairy will have a high king and queen, anointed by the Land itself. Izumi and I will make the Dragon’s Eye our capital. We intend to let the various courts continue being held as they are, provided the proper oaths of fealty are sworn. Those refusing to give their allegiance will be dethroned.”
“This assumes you get all of the ties, and no one kills you making the attempts,” Kellyn said. “You expect me to simply hand over my tie to you?”
“Yes. You have an heir. You were going to hand over your throne eventually. The difference now is that your grandson will be your heir, and you will hold Winter Court as his Regent, still in full command. As my queen, Izumi will surrender her claim. Our child will live in Winter Court, under your protection and tutorage—a sign of our confidence in you, so you can be confident in us.”
Kellyn stared at me, then Izumi. “Your terms are surprisingly generous.” I heard a thaw in her voice. “You get my title and tie, and I still run the Winter Court, and acquire my grandson in the process. You are quite correct that he will be safer with me once you have alienated every other kingdom. The other kingdoms may not raise armies against you as they have in the past, but they shall never cease scheming your death, Caine. The Dragon’s Eye shall be thick with creeping assassins for years to come.”
I met her stare, leaning toward her. “Do we have your support?”
“If I say no?” she asked.
“Then, with heavy heart, I will take what is needed. The Land needs this. Your people, too. Soon, if nothing is done, the Land will turn against her children. The Wild Hunt will ride once more. Creatures of darkness and nightmare will be born of twisted magic to purge the kingdoms of life.”
Izumi said, “No one born of the fey can command the loyalty of all as High King. We know each other too well. Out Lords and Ladies will not yield so all can win. They must be forced, united by fear of one much stronger than any fey.”
“Me,” I said.
“You have grown that strong, dragon-half?” Kellyn asked.
“Do you know what my other half is?” I asked.
“Human? Demon perhaps?” Kellyn said.
“My father is full-blooded Villager. Have you heard of them, the warriors of Tartarus, the masters of shadow magic?” I stood and stripped away my parka and shirt, baring my guns, holsters, and harness. So there’d be no misunderstanding, I willed my guns and the machine pistol, to vanish, returning to my Malibu armory. I held out my arms and turned, showing her skin unmarked by most of the magic tatts she knew I’d acquired over the years. Only two of the old ones remained.
Her eyes widened. “What has happened to you. The grimoire patterns are gone that once covered your skin.”
Time for a show.
“I’ve found a way to access the same power more efficiently, an upgrade.”
I concentrated, seeing myself in my mind as if I were using a bi-location spell. I visualized every tatt I used to have, putting them back, etched in lines of dark shadow.
And suddenly, shadow formed all over me like fresh bruises. On my chest was the protective sphere spell. I willed certain changes in the spell, altering its geometry wildly. This caught Kellyn’s attention.
“I can write in new spells as needed, and adapt old ones to new conditions with a thought. I am a living grimoire.”
With another thought, I made myself a clean slate, showing mostly virgin skin once more. “In addition to being the Demon Lord and Hub Lord of L.A., I am companion to the Goddess Selene, and I have been accepted by my grandfather, on my mother’s side, as the royal executioner of the Dragon World.”
I smiled my own scary smile. “And you haven’t even heard about Colt yet.”
Kellyn’s brow furrowed. “A pony?”
“My son through Selene. Think of him as an honorary grandson. If I know Colt, he’ll be popping in any second to join the fun.”
As my words died, a disk of copper-red light swelled open, a super-portal from the Red Moon. A nine-year-old child stepped out of the light. The portal closed behind him. He stood there in a black hoodie with a white skull on it. His copper-red hair needed combing. His burning eyes were the same color. He had a black backpack in hand, and wore faded jeans and green sneakers with pink laces.
“Hi, Dad! I figure you’re going to need me on this one.”
I kept my gaze on Kellyn. “Can you feel the depths of power in him? And he’s still a child.”
Kellyn stared at Colt. “I can, son-in-law. And you may have my tie.”
“It’s already in the backpack,” Colt said. “I picked it up on the way in.”
Colt went over and held out his hand, human style, to the queen.
She looked him over. “Another grandson, eh?” She ignored the hand, running her hand vigorously through his hair. This was followed up with a hug. “He’s cute. Must take after his mother.”
Released, Colt retreated to a safe distance, his face red with embarrassment. Seeing an opportunity for mischief, Izumi pounced on him with a hug of her own. She used a whiny voice, “Hey, don’t forget about me! Your dad neglects me enough. Don’t you start, too!” She also ruffled his hair, leaving it standing up in iced spikes. He looked like a troll doll from the eyebrows up.
Escaping her, Colt came back to me for protection. Which reminded me to rearm myself.
We delayed long enough for the rest of the food to arrive. I slapped some roast boar onto bread and wolfed down four sandwiches, followed by half a bottle of red wine. Refreshed, I kissed Izumi goodbye. “Don’t be concerned; I’ll be gone awhile.”
“Just don’t get killed, or I’ll never forgive you.”
I mentally reached into the ether, across my link to my Malibu armory, and pulled the green agate crown to me. The ringlet of green crystals popped into my hands, scintillating in the light of the chandeliers. I put it on my head. Instantly, I could sense the tie in Colt’s bag, as well as those near and far. These appeared in the back shadows of my mind as a constellation of stars.
My inner dragon looked them over. Pretty. Which do we go after first?
“We’ll swing by the Dragon’s Eye and get my tie next.”
“Good idea,” Colt said. “Someone could steal your tie while you’re out stealing theirs.”
“After that,” I said, “we’ll hit the strongest courts first and work down the list. That way, we’ll get a number of ties before it’s even known we’re gathering them. Maybe we can avoid fighting the harder
battles.”
Kellyn stood to see me off with Colt. “I can see you’ve thought about this task for a while.”
“I’m a greedy dragon at heart. It’s my intention to own everything one day. All of Fairy will be part of my collection. But don’t worry, I take very good care of what’s mine.”
“I will be taking care of my daughter. In a few days, I will send a warning out that you are pillaging ties, that we tried to stop you and failed. I will tell them my tie has been stolen, and that you are now on your own. If we are seen as your victims as well, we may not draw the same ire coming your way.”
I nodded. “A little misdirection never hurts. Take care. We’re off.”
Colt and I moved away from everyone else. He summoned a portal. We stepped into a tunnel of copper-red light and were swept away.
SEVEN
“Out-of-focus dreams are best; others
can’t steal what they can’t see.”
—Caine Deathwalker
Using Colt’s conduit wasn’t the same as a regular magical portal. The usual kind are static tunnels you walk through, connecting distant points of space within the same temporal dimension. Colt’s conduit acted more like a living thing; you went in and were hurled almost violently along by an energy stream that dumped you out the other end at high velocity. I’d traveled with him enough to know this and to catch myself at the other end instead of being turned into a bowling ball.
Coming out of the copper-red disk, my feet skidded across turf, digging furrows in the garden below my treehouse mansion, in the Dragon’s Eye. I stopped without falling on my face, but it wasn’t easy. In contrast, Colt casually stepped out of the disk with no Gee-force at all. His multi-dimensional portal always took it easy on him.
My glance slid across flowerbeds where Iris, pansies, snapdragons, and tiger lilies scented the air. There were also wild crimson roses, petite but beautiful. Nine-foot cherry trees offered sweet fruit. A jet-black throne waited near a splashing marble fountain. Silver vines wrapped the fountain’s basin. Near the throne, several massive roots surfaced to provide extra seating. Padded leather cushions were tossed over these like enormous saddles.
