The Elemental Trial

by J. A. Armitage

  I tugged on Orin’s hand to slow myself. “Don't say it,” Orin said, turning and reading the expression on my face.

  “Dulcina’s in trouble! We can’t leave her!”

  Orin shook his head. “The magic from the pearls is running out. Neither of us can breathe underwater now even if we wanted to. They’re going to have to figure it out themselves."

  But I couldn't leave, even though the pain in my lungs was unbearable and my vision was starting to swim. My senses felt hazy, my limbs sluggish. “Just give me a second.” Pulling all my energy into myself I concentrated it into a single spot in the very core of my being, then with as much strength as I had left, I shot the energy out towards the merman that held Dulcina's wrist.

  Unlike Orin and Ario's magic that shot out of them like bolts of lightning, there was nothing to see with my pathetic attempt beyond a slight displacement of water. I couldn't be sure if it was my doing or a swift kick from Dulcina with her tail, but the merman holding her lost his grasp and spiraled away. Dulcina, now free, flipped in the water, pulled off her ring and pushed the button.

  A beam of light shot into the air, breaking the surface of the water. It only took a few seconds for a team of FFR faeries to come plunging into the water like Navy SEALs, shooting stunning spells at the merfolk.

  It was strange—how the frantic movement of the battle transformed in an instant to peaceful floating forms, as if they were frozen in time. In the corner of my eye, I saw the submersible approach us, saw Ben’s chubby cheeks through the glass windows. He was filming the rescue, but when he turned to look at me, I saw him mouth the word “Jacq!” Which was strange, because everything was getting dark. Why? I wondered. Had the sun gone behind a cloud? I realized, too late, what it was. Here, on the sea floor, 100 feet from safety, I’d run out of oxygen. I was going to drown.

  The last glimpse I had was Orin’s stricken face, his dark hair floating in the water.

  I felt a sharp pain to my cheek and the distant sound of Orin screaming my name. All of a sudden, my lungs expanded, and beautiful, wonderful oxygen filled them. My senses cleared, and my eyes fluttered open.

  Ben’s face filled my vision, his blonde curls a halo around him in the water. Ben? What was Ben doing here?

  There was someone pressing their hand over my face, and I struggled against them, but iron hands held me still. I looked around in a panic before I finally realized what it was. Ben and Orin were holding me still while Ben pressed a portable breathing mask attached to a little oxygen tank to my mouth.

  My vision finally cleared, and I nodded. Ben pointed at me and then motioned to take a deep breath before he pointed at Orin and himself. I nodded again, understanding. They needed the mask too.

  I took a deep breath and Ben took the mask away, giving it to Orin. Orin breathed deeply, and Ben kicked to the side, to where his submersible was floating, the glass top open, its cockpit flooded with water. Hopefully, the thing wasn’t totally fried. It didn’t look like it was designed to be opened underwater. Ben had gotten out to save me. I wondered briefly if it meant we had forfeited the race. But I quickly realized I didn’t care. This race had gone sideways days ago. It wasn’t worth dying over. Cass wouldn’t ask that of me.

  “Hold on to the sub,” Ben said silently as Orin passed him back the facemask. My lungs were beginning to burn again but Ben had been holding out longer, so I couldn’t complain. Orin, Ben and I all situated ourselves along one side of the sub, holding onto the edge of the open cockpit. Ben reached in and pushed a button and the engine started chugging, towing us slowly towards shore, and safety.

  Ben handed me back the mask, and I took the opportunity to look up. The FFR staff were completing their rescue, I couldn’t see Ario, Molly, or Dulcina anymore, and I could just glimpse Phillip and one of the faeries being pulled towards the surface, a harness rigged between them. I wondered if the others had made it out safely. I wondered if Ario was alive. The guy was a complete dick, but he didn’t deserve to die as a mermaid shish-kabob.

  In the water around them, a hundred angry frozen merfolk floated, howling and screaming their anger and discontent. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near them when that stunning spell wore off. Which, from the flicking of one mermaid’s tail, it was starting to.

  I passed the mask back to Orin. “Can this thing go any faster?” I asked Ben, pointing at the mass of merfolk.

  He nodded and reached into the cockpit to turn a knob. The sub roared to life, and the three of us held on tight as it shot towards the shimmering barrier that designated the neutral zone. Safety. We were going to make it.

  A trident clanged off the side of the submersible, startling me so much I almost lost my grip. I looked back and saw that a few of the merfolk had broken free of the spell, and were in pursuit. A red-headed male was in the front, his huge chest and neck covered in tattoos. His jagged teeth were bared, and his eyes spelled murder. He held a four-pronged trident with wicked barbs and was hefting it like a javelin.

  A shiver went through me as we passed through the magical barrier. Behind us, the merfolk were coming up short, not willing to breach the border. We had made it. We were safe! I let out a sob of relief, struggling not to take in water. Happy tears mingled with the salt of the sea.

  Ben reached in and turned down the speed, hitting another dial that started taking us up towards the surface. Towards blessed air.

  With my one hand still attached to the sub, I gave Orin an awkward hug, burying my face in his neck. We’d made it. Then I turned to Ben to give him a hug, but froze as he stiffened, his face a mask of shock.

  “What—” I started to ask, but my words fell away as red tinged the water around us. And I saw the four barbs protruding from Ben’s chest.

  26

  “Ben!” I screamed, grabbing his shirt as he released the side of the submersible. We were rapidly ascending now, and the sub burst through the surface of the water, pulling us up with it. I gasped for air as I tried to take in what had happened and my shaky hands fluttered around Ben’s pierced body. He had taken a trident in the back; the wicked barbs had pierced all the way through his body.

  Blood bubbled from his mouth as he tried to speak.

  “Stay still,” I said, my shock so powerful it felt like a physical thing. We had made it. We were safe. Ben wasn’t supposed to get hurt. The camera crews were off-limits...

  “We need to get him to shore,” Orin said.

  “There’s no time!” I screamed. “He’s bleeding out!” I grabbed Orin’s hand and wrenched his ring off his finger and pressed the button before he could object. Nothing happened.

  “Arghhh,” I screamed, the ragged sound ripping from my throat. I threw the ring into the sea with all my might. Fucking cheating sabotaging faerie bastards!

  “Jacq! Hold him.” Orin lunged into the cockpit of the submersible, his front half hanging over into it. He surveyed the knobs and buttons and turned one, and the craft started chugging for shore.

  I cradled Ben’s body with my one arm, the other numb hand clinging to the side of the craft. “It’s okay Ben, we’re going to get you help,” I said.

  He was looking at me with his kind eyes, his lips tinged blue. “Jacq—” he said.

  “You were so brave,” I said, tears streaming down my face. “You saved my life. If you hadn’t gotten me that oxygen, I would have died. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. You’re going to be fine, okay? There are magical doctors here, and they’ll fix you right up.”

  “—can’t feel…my legs,” Ben said. His face was so pale.

  “That’s totally normal,” I said, searching for whatever line of bullshit might bring him comfort right now. “The blood is coagulating around the wound, to stop the bleeding.”

  He let out a rasping laugh before he mouthed one word. “Liar.”

  I felt my feet touch the soft sand of the bottom, and I let go of the submersible, focusing on cradling Ben’s body. The long handle of the trident was still jutting out of
his back, and I didn’t want it to hit the ground and rip his wounds further. “Help me,” I gasped.

  Orin slogged through the chest-deep water and came around to Ben’s other side. “Keep him on his side,” Orin said, and we hauled Ben’s limp body through the crashing surf, onto the beach.

  The scene before us was incongruous. The graceful spires of Elfame stretched up before us, glittering in the brilliant morning sun. In the sprawling streets below, green trees and vines softened the pale stone walls of homes and beachside restaurants. The white sand beach was filled with chattering faeries and FFR staff—I spotted Patricia in a tight white dress interviewing a bedraggled Sophia and Tristam. It was like everything was normal—but everything had changed.

  “Help us!” I screamed as Orin and I lowered Ben onto his side, collapsing into the sand beside him. “We need a doctor!” I knelt down and wiped Ben’s curly hair off his forehead. His eyes were closed, his face white as the grave. No, no, no. “Don’t you leave me, Ben,” I sobbed at him. “You fight. You’re a fighter. Don’t let this place win.”

  A human and a faerie in FFR blue and silver ran across the beach, falling down beside us. “Step back, please,” the human woman said, “let us work.”

  The faerie male, silver-haired and silver-eyed with long canines, took Orin’s place at Ben’s back, and Orin came around, pulling me to my feet, wrapping his arms around me. I leaned into him, soaking up his strength, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Ben. Off his still form. The crimson blood leaking into the soft sand. The glint of the barbs of the trident protruding out where Ben’s generous heart should be.

  “You can save him, right?” I asked. “Get him into surgery? Or—a spell? You can save him!”

  The human was holding her finger to Ben’s neck, feeling his pulse. She shook her head at the other one. “You?” she asked.

  The faerie male passed his hands over Ben’s form, closing his eyes for a moment. Hope blossomed in me. Was he doing a healing spell? But then he opened his eyes and shook his head too. He stood, brushing sand off his knees. Without his support, Ben’s body rolled to the side, propped up like a macabre puppet by the staff of the trident. “I’m sorry. He’s gone.”

  “Save him!” I screamed, throwing myself at the faerie. Orin caught me around the waist, trying to corral my flailing arms. I felt like I was coming unmoored from myself, this place, this person. The only thing that mattered was saving Ben. He hadn’t deserved to die. Whatever the rest of us had done or planned or schemed to be here, Ben had been innocent. They had promised to protect him.

  “Even magic can’t cure death,” the faerie said gently. “His wounds were too severe. If we’d gotten to him the moment he was injured maybe…but as it was, the barbs pierced several of his major organs, including his heart and his lungs. I’m sorry about your friend.”

  “But we pressed the button! To summon you!” I screamed. “And it didn’t work!”

  “That doesn’t make sense,” the human doctor exchanged a confused glance with her companion. “The rings should bring instantaneous aid.”

  “Jacq, come on,” Orin said, trying to calm me. But I didn’t want to be calm. Was I the only one who saw how fucked up this was? They had sabotaged us, just like they had done to Gen and Zee! They were dead, and now, so was Ben!

  Patricia and the producers were approaching, Tristam and Sophia at their side. The cameras were gathering too. Did they have no decency? Filming this poor boy’s death for ratings? I turned to Patricia, savage in my fury. “You promised to keep him safe! And then you threw us in there, to a kingdom you had no control over, with pearls that didn’t even work, and rings that were supposed to save us but weren’t even worth the cheap metal they were made of! You did this! The king did this! They sabotaged us!”

  Patricia went pale, and Tristam stepped forward. “What are you talking about?” he asked.

  “Jacq, calm down,” Orin locked his arms around me, and I struggled against him, wanting nothing more than to slap the fake sorrow off Patricia’s perfect face. She knew exactly what I was talking about! “Don’t say something you’re going to regret,” Orin hissed in my ear. Even quieter—“Don’t jeopardize Cass.” My sister’s name cut through the haze of my fury and grief, bringing me back to myself ever so slightly. We thought the sabotage of Gen and Zee’s ring had something to do with the Brotherhood and whatever work Cass was trying to do. If I accused Patricia publicly, I could clue in the bad guys, whoever the hell they were. Fury bubbled in me. This sucked. The world should know what they had done! But I couldn’t do something that might hurt my sister…

  I lowered my voice, my words coming out strong and fierce. “This disgusts me. You—disgust me.” I pointed at Patricia, at the producers. “Ben’s death is on you. All of you. For putting money and power over human life. I hope Ben’s family sues the shit out of this show, and I hope they win.” With that, my tirade was over. The anger drained from me like water down a drain, leaving nothing but emptiness and aching sorrow. I fell to my knees besides Ben’s body and wept.

  27

  For a full hour, they tried to convince me to leave Ben's side, to head to the palace where the ceremony would begin. Eventually, it was Orin that managed to convince me to go with him, wrapping me in an oversized FFR hoodie. I barely remembered the carriage ride back to the palace where we'd all stood in front of a huge crowd not one week earlier.

  “I can't...” I sobbed onto Orin's shoulder. I didn't finish the sentence. I didn't need to. Orin knew exactly what I was talking about.

  “You don't have to do anything. I won't let them make you.” His warm arms around me and his soothing tones were the only thing that stopped me from completely losing my shit. As it was, I was on a knife’s edge. The FFR staff were at least wise enough to give us our own carriage. If Patricia or Tristam or anyone else, for that matter, had even tried setting foot in here, there would have been carnage. My heart might have been raw, but I was pissed as hell too, and the tears I shed for Ben were red hot. This was supposed to be a TV show, but it had ended up as a free-for-all where death was becoming commonplace, and no one seemed to care as long as the ratings were high.

  In the human world, this whole thing would have been shut down weeks ago. Zee and Genevieve's death would have put an end to the Fantastic Faerie Race. Fantastic my ass! But of course, we weren't on Earth, and we were still lining the pockets of some obnoxious fat cats in Hollywood. When I got home...if I got home, the first thing I was going to do was tell John where he could stick his job. I'd seen what show biz was like and I didn't like it one bit. I needed to get home. Home to my parent's ranch in Montana. I needed to be somewhere where things made sense, and people actually gave a damn about each other. Somewhere where I was needed. Loved.

  It occurred to me that I was already feeling those things, bunched up as I was in Orin's arms. He needed me. He hadn’t told me he loved me, but there was definitely love in every movement he made. The way he held me close to him, the way he stroked my hair, the way he wiped my tears away. If it wasn't for the horrendous weight crushing my chest, I'd probably have never been happier. It was a strange thought, the emotions whirling within me, They were at completely opposite ends of the spectrum, but I felt them both keenly.

  The carriage slowed down, and Orin's protective grip on me tightened.

  When we came to a standstill, and the door opened, thousands of flashes lit up the interior of the carriage. What the ever-loving fuck was happening now?

  “What's that?” I croaked, thinking the worst—fireworks, bombs. My oxygen-deprived mind couldn't process what was happening.

  “Photographers,” Orin hissed in my ear, picking me up. It was just as well that he did. I didn't have the energy to walk.

  “Get out of our way!” I'd never heard Orin sound so angry, and he’d had his moments. I nestled my head into the crook of his neck and squeezed my eyes shut as he carried me through the media. I couldn't see them, but I could hear them all jostling for position, tr
ying to get a better view. I knew what this would look like on TV and I hated it, but at the same time, I didn't care. I just wanted to be on my own...well not quite on my own. I wanted to be with Orin. The noise died away as Orin took us further from the crowds, but a voice stopped him. A voice I recognized.

  “You need to go to the ceremony,” the Faerie king said. “You can't come in here until you do what you signed up for.”

  My blood boiled. “Signed up for?” I said, dropping out of Orin's embrace and facing the king. “I signed up for a TV show, a bit of entertainment for bored housewives to watch on an evening. What I didn't sign up for was a bloodbath. I didn't sign up for watching my friend die. I didn't sign up for any of this shit.” A guard nearby stepped forward, unsheathing his sword, but the king waved him back.

  "Nevertheless, you have to talk to the crowds. The people are here to see you. Whether you want to do it or not is not really my concern, but the price of my hospitality is for you to comply with your obligations. If you don't want to play the game by my rules, I'll gladly have my servants escort you to a portal back to the human world right now, but you'll never be allowed in again while I'm in charge."

  I balled my fists, trying to keep a hold of my temper. The urge to punch him as I had punched his son was overwhelming, but I knew if I did, the guard would come at me again, and this time, he wouldn't stop.

  As much as I didn't want to go on stage and talk to Patricia in front of thousands of people, I wanted to leave Faerwild less. Cass was still here. Giving up meant giving up on Cass.

  Orin pulled me to the side out of earshot of the king. “He’s bluffing. I heard them talking on the beach. Dulcina used her ring, and Ario was badly injured and resigned from the race. They need us if they want there to be a third trial. That’s why they’re going to overlook the fact that we broke the rules.”