Stone Queen

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Juliana did the only thing she could think of to force peace. She’d summonsed a presence she felt within the dark bowels of her palace home, an old witch living in the dungeons. But the woman was not a prisoner. Her door was not locked and she carried some of Merrick’s blood with her. It was only a few drops, but Juliana knew the woman’s loyalty by it. Merrick would not have given it to her otherwise.

  The old crone lived under the Unblessed King’s protection. Together, she and the witch hatched a plan to bring the war to an end. In doing so, Juliana hoped they might mend the broken bond between Ean and Merrick. Her son had a right to know of his blessed heritage. After she became stone, something that should have been a resting place and not this strange realm, Merrick would feel her absence and discover what she’d done. The witch was to wait by her statue and give the jeweled dagger to her husband with the simple instructions he would need to free her.

  Juliana ignored the awful spirits, blocking them from her mind as she found small hope in the presence of Merrick’s statuesque body. When he did not free her, she began to wait for Kalen. With the man’s abilities, he’d be able to hear her call if anyone could. Unfortunately, by the time she realized she needed to try, he did not appear at the palace and she knew she would have to leave her home to find him.

  Every time she thought of it, she got sick to her stomach. Never did she think it would take Merrick so long to act. Was she being punished for trying to force his hand? Did Kalen read it in her future and tell him what she would do before she did it? Did he stop their spell and cast her into the stone purgatory as a punishment?

  Like her un-growing belly, her body did not change. She did not need to eat, did not thirst for water. It was as if her life had stopped in a single second. Though, she did discover that she could be hurt. She’d cut her foot once while dancing barefoot in the ashen Black Garden. The wound had healed, but it was a valuable lesson. She might not be living in her rocky existence, but she could die in it.

  As even more time passed, she felt a tingling pull, as if someone called to her. Then, one day, the tingling became a buzzing and she was drawn to a dream-like state, until she couldn’t tell if she was awake or asleep. Merrick was there, filling the physical void. They couldn’t speak, couldn’t communicate, but they could touch. Almost desperately, they clung to each other, making feverish love as if the moment might end. Those rare nights in his arms became her center and she waited endlessly for them to come.

  Pacing the great hall, back and forth, back and forth, desperate for something to happen, she skidded to a stop as she saw Merrick suddenly at his throne, seated behind his set table ready to dine. Angrily, Juliana stalked across the floor and placed her hands on the cool table, yelling, “Rescue us already, you dimwit!”

  Rivershire, Clishmore River Bank, Neutral Territory

  “Let me see the list,” Gorman demanded, leaping for Halton. He knocked the spright over and struggled to grab the rolled parchment from his hand. “I allowed you to carry it here. Now, give it to me. I will represent King Merrick in these dealings.”

  “Allowed me?” Halton snorted derisively. “You allowed me? King Merrick gave this to me and told me to carry it here.” He shook his fist, keeping the missive just out of Gorman’s reach as he dug his heels into the ground to push back.

  Suddenly, a large hoof swept in from the side, propelling the both of them several yards down the bank of the Clishmore River. They hit the water with a thud, still locked together in battle over the parchment. But, instead of sinking beneath the surface, they found a soft haven between the scaled, dark breasts of a mermaid. Instantly, the two sprights stopped struggling, sharing a grin as they looked up into the beautiful face of the swimming temptress.

  “Ah!” The mermaid screeched, flicking the tips of her webbed fingers at them until she managed to get them off.

  The two sprights landed back on shore, rolling in the mud. Gorman bit Halton’s shoulder, causing him to let go of the parchment. Victorious, Gorman struggled to his feet and jumped up and down, causing clumps of mud to fly from his tunic. “I am the parchment keeper. All fall prostrate within the scope of my—umph.”

  Halton regained his treasure as a dazed Gorman recovered from a blow across his jaw. Halton glanced up to see the large troll skulking off, unaware of the spright he just trampled.

  “Why’d you have to hit me so hard?” Gorman pouted, though he didn’t try to take the parchment again.

  Halton again glanced at the troll, hid his smile as he took credit for the blow that was not his and balled his small hand shaking it at Gorman. “I’ll do it again, too, if you’re not careful.”

  Gorman flinched.

  “Aye, methought as much.” Halton puffed out his chest. Unrolling the now crumpled, wet parchment, he shook it. The ink ran, blurred almost beyond reading. “First, we need, ah, we need, um, pig mugwarp.”

  “Pig mugwarp?” Gorman frowned, craning his neck to read without getting too close. “What’s that?”

  “If you don’t know, I’m not going to tell you.”

  “Are you sure it doesn’t say big bugwanp?”

  “We’ll get mugwort,” Halton said.

  “Ah, aye, mugwort.” Gorman nodded. “And marjoram.”

  “Why marjoram? You need a love spell?”

  “It’s pretty and who knows, I might need a love spell once Queen Juliana comes back and makes me a lord.”

  “Aye. Pretty. But she said she’d make me the lord, not you.” Halton glanced up and down the bank, as if trying to decide which way to go.

  “Did not!”

  “Did so!” Halton growled, lifting his fist. Gorman quieted, touching his injured face. “Methinks it would just be easier if King Merrick asked us how to free our queen, instead of trying all these spells that do not work.”

  “Aye, but we cannot tell him anyway. We’re the queen’s sprights, not the king’s.” Gorman sniffed. “And you know these elves. They like to figure such things out for themselves. It’s all sport to them.”

  “Aye, we are most loyal to Queen Juliana of the Unblessed,” Halton’s voice rose to make sure anyone listening could hear him. Both sprights puffed out their chest. His voice became louder with each word. “Besides, methinks King Merrick, our close friend, needs our help in this important matter. He sends us on these quests because we are his most trusted warriors.”

  “Oh, aye,” Gorman agreed. “His bravest knights, to be sure.”

  “More feared than the Berserks!”

  “Aye, and—”

  A cloaked human passed, kicking his feet between them as he walked. The two sprights rolled out of the way, grumbling even as they tried to get off the main pathway leading up from the river.

  Tethered boats rocked in steady thumps against the docks. Some were simple rafts, created from rough-hewn logs tied together to make platforms. Bundled reeds, lashed tight to form a hull, floated next to them. A larger, more elaborate sailboat complete with twenty-four oars towered over the others. Along its sides were the green slashed markings to indicate nobility from the sea colonies.

  The two sprights skipped beside the ancient Clishmore River before finding an easy slope to hop up. The marketplace city of Rivershire stretched before them for miles. Behind them, merfolk swam along the shore. The dark temptress they’d landed on was amongst them. She frowned, pointing at the sprights. Gorman hurried further from the water.

  The marketplace was special, for it was the only place in the entire immortal realm that fell under no one king’s domain. It was neutral territory, often the trading place of black and white magic. Hopefuls came to find apprenticeship in wizardry and magic, blessed and unblessed alike came to trade wares and even the rare demon had been known to come through. Lord Griffen, the elected nobleman, officially controlled it all.

  “A tavern.” Halton pointed toward a wooden building.

  “I do not think the king said anything about ale.” Gorman craned his neck to see the list.

 
Halton snapped it away, not letting him see. “It’s on there twice. Nay, three times.”

  “Well, then.” Gorman rubbed his hands. “Then we better get to drinking!”

  “Aye, to drinking,” Halton agreed, shoving the parchment into his tunic.

  Silver Palace of the Faeries, Kingdom of Feia

  “I don’t know if there is anything more we can do for them, my love.” Queen Tania of the faeries frowned, eyeing the door that led to the three sick faeries—Jolynne, Nyda and Leliah. “This is an illness I have never seen.”

  “Nicholas was possessed by Lucien’s demon when he took them to his bed.” Hugh wrapped his arms around his wife’s waist as she hovered over the floor. He preferred to keep his feet firmly on the ground, reluctantly flying only when she forced him to practice his daily lessons on his faery magic.

  “I should have sensed the demon in him, but your presence distracted me so. I did not realize how much of my attention was taken away with my desire to possess you.” She smiled, little dots of light coming off her wings, letting him know she wanted him—always wanted him. Taller than the other natural born faeries, her face was on level with his as she kept her feet off the floor. She was slender, with delicate white wings threaded with silver veins. The silken locks of her waist-length blonde hair surrounded her body. She kept it parted in the middle, held in place by a crown of diamonds set in silver. The sparkling stones matched the celestial material of her white gown.

  “If anyone could have seen it, I would have. I have known Sir Nicholas since boyhood.” Hugh frowned, again looking at the silver doors. The few times he’d seen the sick faeries had left him cold.

  The doors matched the silver of the palace walls. Ancient faery symbols were etched over the length of the walls and doors, amplifying their power to hide the evil on the other side. The magical barrier kept the royal couple from feeling inside. To do so would only make them sick with the darkness that loomed over the three ill faery women.

  “Nicholas…” Hugh couldn’t say the words, but knew he didn’t have to. The last time he’d seen the man, Nicholas had traded his soul to King Lucien. It was one of Hugh’s greatest regrets. He couldn’t save him.

  “The man you know is no more. You couldn’t do anything. He made his own choices.” Tania touched his cheek. “You are a good man, my love. When it comes to Lucien, everyone makes their own choice. Nicholas bartered his soul. He must have been in great pain, too great for you to fix.”

  “Methought faeries did not think of such things?” He kissed the tip of her nose.

  “We learn.” Tania took a deep breath, looking at the door. “Whatever I felt in Lucien during my time of darkness, I feel it in there. His magic infects them and I fear I cannot save them. Methinks they are dying.”

  “Say the word and I will end their suffering. It may be the humane thing to do.”

  “Nay, that is an order it’s not in me to give. I cannot give up hope.”

  Hugh reached for Tania’s hand, holding it as he pushed the door. It opened easily and he felt his wife steel herself. Being faery born, she was delicate to such things as sickness and death. He’d been born human, only turning when he mated with Tania. As a human earl, he’d seen much battle and death. Evil might churn his stomach, but he could handle it. It was more feeling her distress that bothered him. She was his true weakness.

  “They are gone!” Tania gasped, her eyes wide as she stared toward the direction of the three empty beds. They were in the middle of the circular chamber, lit by a dim light coming through the crystal ceiling. “How?”

  “Look.” Hugh let go of her hand and moved toward the nearest bed. Yellow-tinted faery dust covered it, though all luster was gone, leaving it to resemble ash.

  “Gone,” Tania whispered, still at the door, refusing to enter. “Dead.”

  Hugh backed up from the bed, knowing he would take care of the mess later when she was safely away. It was his duty to protect her from such things. He shut the door, leading her away.

  “William,” she said, her voice still soft. Her body shuddered.

  “Aye, I’ll ask him whenever he deems to arrive.”

  “Nay, William is finally here. I feel him seeking entrance.” Tania’s wings beat harder as she flew toward the hall. Hugh walked fast to keep up with her, but short of full out running, he couldn’t go her pace on foot. Once he turned his focus from the empty chamber of the dead faeries, he felt the faint trace of his brother’s familiar energy in the distance.

  Knowing Tania would show him the way, Hugh glanced around to make sure he was alone before letting his wings flap. He lifted off the floor, speeding down the stairwell with his fingertips gliding along the wall to keep his flight path straight, before landing just out of sight of the main hall.

  “My sister!” William was saying as Hugh entered. The hall was empty as most of the faeries were outside the palace walls mending flowers, talking to the birds and sleeping with the blessed soldiers. William bowed low in Tania’s direction as she fluttered over his head. “You grow more beautiful each time we meet.”

  Hugh hid his smile as Tania blushed and giggled at the compliment. “William, what took you so long?”

  William wrinkled his nose. Wryly, and just to annoy his eldest sibling, he said, “Nice wings, brother.”

  “Aye, hello to you as well,” Hugh drawled. “Now, tell us, where have you been? You’re late. I’ve already been to King Merrick’s. The spell and the potion did not work.”

  William’s face fell and he looked to the side. “The delay was unavoidable, but naught for you to think on. I simply misjudged… But, there is no reason to discuss it. I’m here now.”

  “How is Thomas? Bellemare? The horses? Has something happened?” Hugh watched his brother’s every movement for a sign.

  “Nay, they are all well,” William said. “Prince Ladon is still in your place and none suspect the difference. How could they? They understand nothing of magic. Though, he is not you and never could be, his presence lends a calm to Bellemare. The horses we brought back from King Ean’s encampment have bred well with the Bellemare stallions. The line is strengthening. Crops didn’t do so well, or so our brother says, but none starve and all are content enough. I worry most for Thomas. He is not his cheery self, but that is to be expected, I suppose, with one brother estranged and a sister in stone.”

  “Did the scrolls give a clue as to how to free Juliana?” Hugh asked, a part of him aching to once more be able to see his beloved Bellemare. It stung that someone could be in his place, but Prince Ladon was a good man—being as he was blessed. Thomas could well handle all else. Still, Hugh missed his home.

  “Naught that I haven’t mentioned before. They confirm that if our sister truly did this to herself, the only way to free her will be what she wanted to be done.” William motioned his hands to his sides, the long sleeves of his brown wizard robes swaying back and forth as he turned, stretching his back. “I’ve meditated on the matter and I don’t think a purely magical solution is the key to freeing her. We need to know why she did it and then we might know the how.”

  Hugh’s chest tightened. Tania looked at him in concern, sensing his pain. She started to move toward him, but he gave her a weak smile and signaled that he was all right. “How do we know what she was thinking? I don’t understand anything Juliana’s done since Merrick kidnapped her.”

  “Maybe it is not what she was thinking so much as what she wants.” William sighed.

  Hugh didn’t like the look he gave him. “What do you think she wants?”

  “What has always been the most important thing to our sister?” William glanced at Tania. She stared, wide-eyed, listening. “Family and the children of Bellemare. She went to Merrick because she believed the children were going to be harmed. Now that she carries her own inside her—”

  “She’ll want her family at peace before the child is born,” Tania interrupted. “She’ll want the whole land at peace.”

  “Nay,” William
said. “Juliana is used to war in the mortal realm. She has seen her brothers ride off into battle often. I doubt that she did this for the whole land. Methinks she did it for her family.”

  “She wants me to forgive Merrick.” Hugh’s guilt shimmered through him, dulling his faery magic and making his wings droop. Tania was instantly at his side, rubbing his arms with her small hands, trying to comfort him with her power. “My hatred caused this to happen.”

  William said nothing. He didn’t have to.

  “Are you hungry, William?” Tania asked, suddenly becoming a flurry of movement. Her wings fluttered and she called out to some of her faery ladies. “Lily, come, show William to a chamber. He is travel weary and should be—”

  “Oh, aye,” William broke in, excited. He knew well what it meant to be taken care of by a faery. “Very weary. Extremely weary.”

  A petite blonde fluttered forward, her white wings sparkling like stars against her dark blue dress. She was fair with soft white skin and a rose-tinted complexion. “Mm, I know what ails you, wizard. Come, bring your wand and let me work my magic on you.”

  Hugh watched them leave. A hand slipped over his arm and he looked down at his wife. Her eyes sparkled and little white lights floated around them, like snowflakes falling from her wings.

  “We will not see William in the hall tonight,” Tania said. “And all the faeries are gone to the forest to play.”

  Hugh understood her meaning and couldn’t help the slight smile that crossed his lips as he pulled her into his embrace. He liked holding her. When she was in his arms, he knew she was safe. The euphoria of her embrace wrapped around his senses until all he could feel was her love. Every time she came near, he couldn’t stop touching her. Hugh needed Tania like men needed air and blood.

  When he went too long without her, his heart grew sad and his body weakened. She said it was the faery magic that linked them, but Hugh understood the feeling was buried much deeper. He would have been weak regardless of the magic. His heart beat only for her and his soul existed to be with hers.