Gods of Shadow and Flame

by M. H. Johnson

  Apple shuddered at those words, even as Jess held her sister close.

  “The same way I know that he is the Faerie Queen's consort. I sensed it all, the moment I entered the heart of my maze with my lover by my side.”

  Agda blinked, her lips pressed firmly together in an expression Jess knew all too well signaled irate displeasure

  “You and I need to have a talk, my daughter, about dangerous games that put us all at risk.”

  Apple blinked gazing at her mother in surprise before certain things clicked into place for her, and she grinned. "Oh you didn't, Jess. But you did! I knew it! Your little impromptu lecture, bold as brass, drawing people in, while you led a certain girl who has been missing for months right into the heart of our sacred garden! What a wild thing to do for love, dear sister.”

  Apple sighed, bemused smile in place until she caught sight of her mother's pointed glare, sheepishly grinning in weak apology. "I want all the details later," she whispered to Jess.

  Jess ignored them both, focusing only on her breakfast, not even bothering to respond when her mother gently closed her palm around Jess’s wrist save to slowly look up, eyes locking with her mother’s own. Perhaps there was something in her gaze, Jess wasn’t really sure, but of a sudden her mother turned pale and started to tremble. “Oh Jess, for gods' sake…”

  Jess broke eye contact abruptly.

  “You don’t have anything to worry about. What is done it done, and there is no going back.”

  Her mother’s hiss was all the warning Jess needed. On some level she had sensed it beyond sight or sound, just one step in the terrible dance that she had mastered so well.

  It took very little effort for her to catch her mother’s palm before it slammed against her cheek, though looking up to catch the fury in her mother’s gaze was enough to cool the heat in her blood. She did not bother resisting when her mother yanked her hand free, smacking Jess’s other cheek with a resounding crack.

  Alben's tabard fell to the ground, Jess naked save for the crown of flowers still in her hair and the rings she wore. A precious ring of twined hair given to her by Malek, and one of vine and thorn even now biting into the tender skin of her finger, a link of blood, love, and duty, assuring that no matter what, her lover would return safely home.

  Perhaps her utter vulnerability gave her mother pause.

  Agda heaved, gaze filled with shock and fury both. “By the gods, Jess! What have you done? Tell me what sick games you are dabbling in right now, before your folly ends with all our heads on a pike!”

  They stood frozen in that sad tableau for some moments, Jess' cheek throbbing in time with the ache in her heart, Apple gazing at the pair in horror, Agda looking at her oldest daughter with a curious mixture of regret and fury. "I thought I had trained you better than this, Jessica! What in the seven Hells were you thinking?"

  Jess blinked. “There are far more than seven planes in Hell, Mother. It is a vast and terrible number, one that kisses the infinite even as it crashes into the Void which will claim us all in the end. For when the trumpets of Oblivion denote the final hour, the Catalyst shall embrace the Void at last. Our universe shall be torn asunder as the Death of Stars ruptures the heavens above, and Endless Night reigns once more, space and time itself consumed by the End of All Things.”

  Apple cried and shuddered, covering her ears with shaking palms. Her mother shivered, collapsing into her chair, her gaze one of stark, animal fear. “Angels above, Jessica, what are you even saying?”

  Jess’s smile was bitter, words of darkest prophesy forgotten even as they were uttered. “Yesterday my heart was high with hope, blooming with the possibility of love, breaking away from all that would hold me back, in the arms of one I have dreamed of for endless months.”

  Jess shook her head, throbbing cheek utterly ignored. “Yet in the end, what did I find? The symbol of my own doom, beckoning me with the most divine of intentions, and a noble girl making the bravest of choices, denying me my heart’s love, forever.”

  “Oh gods, Jess, I’m so sorry.” Apple’s words were gentle, heartfelt, the concern of one sister for another. Her mindless terror of but moments ago forgotten as if it had never been. “But Jess, I have to admit, I only know the barest details of your story. What exactly happened, can you tell us?”

  "Yes, Jess," their mother chimed in. "By Justice, tell us exactly what is the nature of this game you are playing. Why was Rulia even here? And do you have any idea of the stakes you play for? Angels above, Jessica! Risking accusations of treason! No doubt the girl and her entourage are counting on you to shelter them, even as we speak. I thought you were better than this!"

  Gazing coldly at her mother, Jess shook her head. "Careful, Mother. Lest in your own fit of pique you reveal cards heretofore hidden to all. Suffice to say she is gone, and though it breaks my heart, I do not think I will be seeing her again."

  Agda grimaced, shaking her head. "Well, if she is gone and will not be returning, that at least saves us one massive problem."

  Apple gazed curiously at their mother. “What are you dancing around, Mother? I can tell there are things you are not saying, and you can hardly blame Jessica for misstepping if we don’t know all the pieces in play.”

  Agda’s gaze made Apple quail. “You, at least, I expect to be able to read between the lines.” She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, choosing her words carefully.

  "As should have been immediately obvious with her family's naming form, to say nothing of her husky build and accent, Rulia is of mountain stock. The very edge of the Dragonspire Range, lands once seized by Velheim until we rightfully retook it in the border wars your father was involved in. The problem, of course, is that loyalty is never a certain thing with northern lords. It seems past intermarriage and ready access to Velheim's trade routes and luxuries has left our northernmost fiefdoms with questionable allegiances. Allegiances that Good King Richard is even now assuring are fierce and true to the rightful rulers of Erovering."

  Jess nodded. “And anyone who shows the least bit of hesitation is unceremoniously put to the sword, along with his family and loyal hirelings, and our good king’s favored lackey of the moment is granted those estates. We all know how this works, Mother. A practice as old as the grave and twice as rotten.”

  Even Apple gasped at the harshness of her sister's words, spoken with an intensity Jess herself had not been expecting. That split second of self-confusion was more than enough time for her mother to crack Jess a mighty blow upon her already bruised cheek, a slightly stunned Jess immediately snapping into fighting mindset, pulling back just before she snapped Agda's arm at the elbow, having twisted her mother around in a heartbeat, brought to terrible reality only by her mother's cry and Apple's shocked scream.

  “Mother.” Jess’s voice was filled with pain and horror at what she had almost done.

  For the first time and, she hoped, the last, her mother started to cry, great heartrending tears. Jess immediately held her close, feeling more horrid than she ever had before in her life.

  “Mother, oh gods Mother, I am so utterly sorry.”

  Her mother hugged her fiercely, surprising both her daughters, leaving them speechless.

  “No, Jess. It is I who am sorry. More the fool for striking you, repeatedly, with no soft blows either, lost in my own fear, my own frustrations! When if I paused to think about your own words for a damn moment I would recall that you chose to let your lover go.”

  Heart aching for the horrid wrong she had almost done to her mother, and the pining ache of forsaking a girl she adored, Jess could no longer hold back her tears. “I had to let her go, Mother. I know that. Even though it broke my heart, I had to let her go.” She held her mother close. “Please forgive me, I am so sorry for almost...”

  “Shush, my dear.” Agda quietly soothed. “For all that I love him with all my heart, I would not dare strike your father, especially in anger. He is trained far too fiercely to respond to any physical attack save with s
avage force, even should he be filled with deathly regret, later.” She flashed her daughter a painful smile. “And you yourself have survived the fierce cauldron of battle, in this world and in realms of Shadow too terrible to imagine. I must always keep that in mind, no matter how much your foolishness tries my patience, or breaks my heart.”

  Jess grimaced, bowing her head, knowing she was incredibly fortunate to have her mother’s forgiveness, and had more than earned the bite beneath her mother’s words.

  "Now first, my dear Jess, one thing we must agree on now, no matter how frustrated you are, no matter what happens." And here her mother's eyes flashed with a fury that was twin to her daughter's, causing Jess to flinch, as sky blue eyes fastened to her own, pinning her in place. "Never, ever, ever! Say a single word against king or Crown. To do so invites death. For you and our family entire."

  Agda grimaced. “Consider your own words. How great a prize would a barony as vast, powerful, and wealthy as our own be? For all the allies we have among the academy’s many students and families, however many lords feel their family owes us an unpayable debt, especially after all we had done battling that vile Franken, saving numerous men from death and a debtor's prison, I assure you that in the end it doesn't matter at all. Among the Council there still lurk serpents that would strike with darkest glee, should the faintest whisper of vulnerability emerge from our quarter.”

  Agda gave a rueful shake of her head. “And there is no assurance that I or our Guild friends can strike them all down in time.”

  Jess’s familiar, eerily quiet, chose that moment to speak. “In regards to that issue, my dear mistress, you may assure your mother that I will give you all the warning that I can, before the snakes can uncoil themselves from their stupor." His grin turned wicked as he rolled himself over. "It has been ages since we last beheaded foul serpents readying themselves to strike, Jess. And by ages, of course I mean a handful of days. Still, I find I'm actually looking forward to them trying something."

  Jess flashed her mother a sad smile even as she hugged Agda tightly. “I apologize, Mother. The words I said, even here in the sanctity of our quarters, were unforgivably cynical and stupid. And you don’t even have to say it, careless habits here could mean my death in the political arena, just as surely as is the case with sloppy weapons training in the field of battle.”

  Jess gently kissed her visibly relieved mother on the forehead. “Oh, Twilight wants you to know he’ll do his best to spot any saboteurs lurking in our midst. He says it’s high time he got to participate in killing snakes in the garden again.”

  Agda blinked, gazing at Jess oddly. “He wishes to assist by killing these men?”

  Jess shook her head firmly. “No. That's the one line he refuses to cross. Dawn suffers, every time he manifests that... coldly, within this realm. But he assures me he’ll let me know who the guilty parties are right away, and then we can kill them ourselves.” Jess flashed a teasing smile even before her mother started to panic, before turning to glance at the apparently empty living room duvet. “Yes, Twilight, I know. Complete bastards, Franken's men, and they had it coming. Still.”

  Agda smiled weakly. “That’s good Jess. Very good. I am grateful as always to have the assistance of such a fine familiar on our behalf. And please, honey? Leave the cleanup to me. You favor the direct approach to such things, and that could be extremely… inconvenient with the noble Houses, no matter how foul they might be. Let's be honest, Jess, had the whirlwind of death your closest friend unleashed upon the courtroom been aimed at anyone save those royal armsmen working under a diabolist, soldiers now spurned even by the king, with Alben himself vouchsafing the rightness of our cause, the repercussions would have been unthinkable.”

  Jess nodded, even as her mother spoke on.

  "Now to the heart of it, my daughter. I would know what counsel Rulia and her companions sought from you, what trouble we must prepare for, should ill winds blow our way."

  Jess locked gazes with her mother. “The most just cause of all, Mother. One that even King Richard could not fault, even should Rulia be everything you secretly fear she is.”

  Agda frowned at that.

  “Rulia and I, the original pair to ascend to Faerie deliberately, both of us having trucked with the queen of that realm, were called upon to serve her once more. Our tears, our blood, our sacrifices were needed to restore the gateways to that Realm of Reverie, all the other gateways having been defiled by Franken's darkest cohorts when still utterly vulnerable, before the rhythm of the seasons had solidified their place in this realm.”

  Jess took a deep, shuddering breath, feeling utterly exhausted. “We did more than repair the gateways by dint of our deeds. We opened the way home for Ulric Trueblood himself. And Mother? Rulia had to be there. I was the catalyst, but she was the key. Only together, with prize claimed and cost accepted, was her own pact with the Faerie Queen kept, the close of her story renewing the bonds between our lands, leaving the gates whole once more.”

  Agda immediately held Jess close, soothing her with a mother's soft murmur of reassurance.

  “I know how infatuated you were with Rulia when you two first met, Jess,” Apple said. “Even now I can see it in your eyes, how very much you want to be with her. But honestly, you probably made one of the smartest decisions in your life. Even if your heart hurts for her now.”

  Apple gave rueful shake of her head. “If only I had been that smart with Kipu! Not that Rulia was anything but a sweet girl to you, but gods above, what if she is dancing to Velheim's tune, despite caring for you? Would you really want to end up a puppet at their court? By Justice Jess, I don’t want anyone to label you a traitor just because some corrupt king wanted to take advantage of your druidic gifts!”

  Agda nodded in agreement. "I might have phrased it the slightest bit differently, but by and large your sister has the right of it, and there is no great crime here that I can see. No matter who she is, she did but fulfill her role to the story laid out for you both by the queen of Faerie, opening the paths between worlds once more, allowing Ulric to come home. I have no doubt King Richard would forgive Rulia's transgressions should she be... intercepted, in light of the enormous service she has performed on behalf of the Crown."

  Agda smiled in satisfaction. “I think that explanation shall serve us quite well, should rumor of Rulia's return ever get out.”

  Apple nodded. “And they were adventuring partners, the pair being at the heart of the story of Jessica's sojourn to Faerie. How could the bards, after all, not love a noble story of adventurers returning once more, at great personal cost, to put a foul wrong to rights?”

  Jess nodded at that even weariness overtook her, soon finding herself comfortably curled within her soft cotton blankets once more.

  She felt a familiar presence by her side. “Well played, Jess. Lumping Rulia claiming a priceless artifact with a prize gained and the return of Ulric, and your mother didn’t suspect a thing. Brilliantly deceptive, yet you uttered not even a lie of omission, so much as mere… overgeneralization.”

  Jess yawned and grinned. “I know.”

  Twilight purred contentedly in her arms as she stroked his lush silky coat, his smile showing his utter contentment with a life full of warmth, luxurious petting, and the finest flaky delicacies heaped upon his silver bowl night after night, as regular as clockwork.

  Soothed by the presence of her oldest friend, Jess gently allowed her senses to sink into the vast arboreal awareness that gently graced near the entirety of Erovering; both ancient, wild forests that had stood since the earliest days of man to carefully tended groves harvested with the utmost care to assure a steady supply of hard and soft woods for the various and sundry necessities and luxuries that were the lifeblood of survival and commerce within her land.

  Deep within their gentle vegetative embrace she sensed her dear Rulia and her loyal companions steadily making their way back to Erovering's border with Velheim, and Jess was pleased to sense the woodland's
protective embrace, knowing her lover would find pines ever ready to shelter her party, trees forever blocking the line of sight of any chance patrol, and caches of nuts and fresh clean springs, for when the needs of the body overrode even the harsh dictates of duty.

  Jess smiled with relief, feeling her heart swell with love for the great woodlands encompassing her nation in its entirety.

  It was true night when Jess awoke from her strange doze, filled with the quiet, powerful serenity of all the ancient groves dotting her beloved homeland.

  Twilight lifted one eyelid to gaze at his master questioningly as she smiled, gazing out the opened windows at the brilliant moon basking in the starry sky.

  “How fares our most interesting group of questers? All is well, I trust.”

  Jess gave a silent nod. "They are well, Twilight. Walking the old ways through primeval wood. Patrols are miles away, and have not an inkling that anyone of note is traveling anywhere near them."

  Twilight nodded solemnly. “All well and good, my Jess. Now perhaps we can speak of things that have been left unsaid all evening.”

  Jess tried to look innocent, yet felt herself blushing beneath her familiar's all too knowing sapphire gaze. She shivered now at the very thought of who and what she had been, not so very long ago. Filled with hungers far from any that would be considered seemly in a noble lady, so frowned upon by any with even a shred of propriety. And yet, once upon a time, she had felt so very, very free. She had reveled in the indescribable rush of pitting her once fierce will and terrible martial prowess against any and all foes. Facing down abominations of living nightmare in the most violent of battles.

  The indescribable rush of consuming the Fallen, body and soul.

  She smiled then, eyes twinkling with a fierce hunger she had all but forgotten. “Walking besides Rulia, just as was the case every time I gaze upon Malek's haunted smile, Morlekai's teasing eyes, I can't help remember what I was, not so very long ago. A fellow Delver, headstrong, like as not drunk on her own power, given to wicked impulse, with the fierce vitality and mad luck needed to survive all the escapades we found ourselves embroiled within.”