Fae Flower

by Michelle R. Reid

  They reached for Mama. “Die, cursed human!”

  With a yell of rage, I swung my sheath as hard as I could at the first one’s head. With a crack, I caught it square in the temple. It stumbled to the side and I kicked it into the fires.

  Aeden thrust his sword through the chest of the second creature and flung it into the fire. He looked up as more Red Caps leapt from the balcony. He lifted his left hand, growing the fire between us the balcony taller and catching all of them in his flames.

  His wings visibly drooped and dimmed. “We need to get out of here.” He looked around. “I think there are more Red Caps in here than there are outside.”

  I followed his gaze, shocked at the hundreds, maybe even thousands of Fae around us. They just kept coming, spilling from the halls, the stairs above, and the front doors. An endless tide of hats the color of dried blood. “We need to get out of here!”

  “Help me,” Mama said. She grabbed one of the king’s arms and pulled it over her shoulder.

  I grabbed the other and helped her lift. For his size, I thought he would be heavier but it was no different than lifting a grown woman. Apparently being a Fae made him light.

  King Helios moaned. His head wobbled to the other side but he still didn’t wake up.

  “Helios?” Mama urged.

  He didn’t respond.

  Aeden rested his hand on his father’s arm and peered into his father’s face. After a second, he gave a satisfied nod then glared over my shoulder, his finger almost absentmindedly brushing my cheek. His fiery gaze swept the Red Caps surrounding us. “I can’t let them defile my home any more. And to let them have access to the nectar pool here, it’s unthinkable. I’d rather see it in cinders.” His brow was set hard over his blazing eyes when he looked back at me. “Be ready to run. Once we get out, run straight south to Lasair. I’ll follow behind and fend them off.” He glanced at Mama. When she nodded, he stepped away from us, until he was right against the fire.

  He closed his eyes and drew in a large breath. Glittering, multicolored magic pooled around his feet and snaked up his legs to his hands. As it collected around his fingers, it changed to a golden red color. His wings began to glow bright, bright as the sun.

  I watched, awed and pained. If I could do that, Aeden wouldn’t be so tired. If I could do that, I could protect the people I loved. But what could I do? Alana said that my magic was plant based, and King Helios called my magic a wild rose. What good would a flower do against thousands of Red Caps?

  Aeden’s eyes snapped open and he slammed his left hand down to the floor. Like a red tide, the magic shot out across the ground from his fingers to the fire around us. It kept going, pulling the fire along with it until the entire room was in flames. Down the halls, up the stairs, Red Caps screamed as they lit on fire.

  “Oh my,” I whispered, sickened despite myself. Heat beat down on us, making it hard to breathe. I had to keep blinking, to keep my eyes from drying out.

  Fire climbed up the walls. At first the ice that coated the trees resisted the fire, but even that couldn’t last forever. Water hissed to the ground as the ice melted off the burning trees. Still the fire grew higher, eating up the arches and treetops above us.

  My mouth parted as pain tinged my heart. This building, from the arched doors to the trees embedded in the walls, to the gorgeous Fae nectar pool under the protection of a holy tree, was a work of art. A living being. Now, it was dying, magic seeping from its walls and fading to gray.

  I looked at Aeden, heart breaking even more. This had been his home. He had a room here, clothing here. I could only imagine how much it hurt to do this. And how exhausting to use so much magic.

  Aeden wobbled as he stood, but he lifted his head high and thrust his hand toward the door. The fire separated, leaving a blackened path through the burning door. “Go!”

  Mama and I ran forward, the king’s feet dragging on the ground between us. Aeden could have gone much faster, but he stayed only a few steps ahead. Mama and I pressed together, making sure we could fit between the fires flanking the pathway out.

  I gasped when my bare feet hit the blackened ground. It wasn’t as hot as coals, but the ground was uncomfortably warm. Like a wooden board left in the summer sun all day. Still I pressed on, trying to run as light as I could so that I didn’t spend too long in one place, despite the weight of the king on my shoulders.

  “Almost there,” I muttered to myself. Almost to the front door. Just ten more feet and the ground wouldn’t be burnt anymore. We’d have to deal with whatever was on the other side, but at least I should be able to stand in place, right?

  King Helios moaned again. “Wha …?” He lifted his head, bumping into Mama’s cheek in the process.

  “Helios!” Mama breathed in relief.

  He tried to get his feet under him, but his boots tangled in the long cloak trailing behind me.

  My shoulder was dragged down under his full weight. My feet slid out from under me. To keep from falling left into the fire, I threw my weight back and to the right.

  We all fell to the ground. I landed on my backside, the King practically on my lap. Mama hissed as her hands caught her weight on the burnt ground. She pushed up to a kneeling position, quick to get her hands off the ground.

  “Are you okay, Kyna?” she asked.

  I nodded. The Fae Silk cloak was still protecting me from the heat. Even from the ground under me.

  King Helios put a hand to his head and sat up. He squinted, confused. “What’s going on? Why is everything on fire?” His eyes landed on Mama and he gasped as if coming to his senses. “Fae Eyes! And Aeden?” He looked farther down the trail, where Aeden was coming to a stop just outside the front door. “And where —?” He turned and looked at me then breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Helios!” Mama breathed and reached for him. “Are you okay? How are you feeling?”

  “Weaker than I need to be right now,” he said quietly.

  “Father!” Sunlight gleamed on Aeden’s hair as he turned, still in the fire tunnel. He took several steps toward us then paused, alarmed by something I couldn’t see.

  A plank of ice-covered wood slammed to the ground over our walkway, smothering the fires on either side. Red Caps spilled in, little feet scurrying over the piece of palace wall they used as a bridge.

  Like rats on food, Red Caps swarmed us. There weren’t nearly as many as before the magical barrier broke. Most of them probably died in the fire. Still there were hundreds of evil Fae, against four of us. Aeden swung his sword, killing several, but even he couldn’t keep up. They climbed on him and tore him down to the ground. Aeden’s fires that covered every inch of the floor went out, leaving only the ones that burned by themselves, eating the trees and walls of the Summer Palace.

  “Aeden!” I gasped and struggled to stand.

  Before I could make it halfway up, the Red Caps were on us. Dozens of tiny hands grabbed me, my arms, my legs, my hair and clothes, all with sharp little nails biting into my skin. I screamed and thrashed, but nothing could make their hands go away.

  Mama screamed beside me, voice shrill with terror. But every Red Cap that touched her screamed too. The instant their hands contacted her skin, golden sparks of magic flashed and burned them. Red Caps with ropes ran forward and looped them around Mama.

  With a yell, King Helios erupted in flames, driving off the Red Caps around him. But seconds later, his flame went out and he drooped to the ground. The Red Caps rushed back in toward him.

  Like ants carrying away their prey, the Red Caps dragged me over the hot ground, toward the entrance.

  “Human! Human!” they chanted and erupted in hysterical, evil giggles.

  I screamed and clawed at the ground, fingers grabbing at anything and everything I could. I had to do something. King Helios and Aeden were too exhausted. Where was Aeden? I couldn’t see or hear him. Please, be alive — I cut off the thought before it could finish.

  “Down with the Sun Fae!” another Red Cap sho
uted.

  No! No! This couldn’t be happening! I had to do something. Anything!

  A shock of pain zipped down my back as they dragged me right over the wooden plank. I grabbed it and clung with all my strength. It had little effect, the plank was dragged along the ground with me, ice breaking off from the plank as it went.

  “Blood! Blood! Blood!” A large group yelled until all of them joined in and yelled it at the top of their shrill lungs.

  This was my fault, all because they wanted my blood and the magic in it. Magic that I didn’t even know how to use. What good was it anyway?

  Aeden gave a strangled scream from somewhere to my right.

  “Aeden!” I called and thrashed harder. Where was he? What were they doing to him? He had done everything he could for me, nearly drained himself of magic entirely. I could at least try to do that for him.

  Dagger-like fingers tried to pry my hands from the damp wood, but I held on even tighter. I glared at the wood and took a breath, imagining the magical cord Alana made between our hands. I imagined that same magic covering my hands now. The thought barely formed when magic shimmered around my fingers, leaching into the wooden board.

  A Red Cap screeched and pulled out a copper knife. His arm arched high, pointing at my hands.

  “Grow!” I yelled with all my might.

  The magic in my hands discharged into the wood.

  Chapter 18

  Instantly, branches erupted from the boards, ramming into the Red Caps and sending them flying. Roots sprang from the bottom of the board, lifting me up as they dug into the ground like hungry worms.

  “Grow!” I yelled again, pouring more magic into the forming tree. I didn’t know how I was doing it, really. But I was going to keep doing it until I died, if that’s what it took. Protect us! I thought hard to the tree growing under me.

  Shoots breached the ground in a line, growing from sprouts to small silver birch trees in seconds. Branches shot out and wrapped around the stunned Red Caps, lifting them in the air as the trees grew bigger by the second.

  With a rumble, the Summer Palace collapsed in on itself. Faint wails of Red Caps still alive inside echoed around us as hot air and ash pressed out across the ground. Everything was gone. Even any evidence of the gorgeous tree and its nectar was gone, burnt to cinders like everything else.

  I gasped and coughed, blinking the soot from my eyes. I was too scared to lift my hands off the wood. What if it stopped my magic? “Mama! Aeden! King Helios!” I called, looking around.

  From the smoldering rubble, trees grew, as if the very wall had come back to life. Countless silver birch trees grew higher and thicker, dragging more and more Red Caps into the air and growing around them. Literally. Shrill screams cut off as bark enclosed over their heads, absorbing the creatures inside. The trees grew in a curved line, like a wall, growing to circle the remaining Red Caps.

  One of the horrible, crowned Red Caps appeared at the base of my living board. He reached out his thin hands and tainted green magic shot out. His magic collided with mine, turning the sparkling color to muck. The trees stopped growing, leaving gaps between them. Red Caps wiggled through them. Instead of running away, they ran at me.

  “No!” I gritted my teeth and concentrated even harder on making the trees grow. But I didn’t even really know what I was doing. I wasn’t strong enough to stop him and I was getting weaker by the second. My breathing was shallow and forced, body starting to ache like I’d just run for miles.

  Someone grunted behind me, and my tree shifted as weight was added to it. I looked over my shoulder, heart jumping with fright.

  Mama panted as she climbed the rest of the way up to my platform. Rope burns marred her neck and hands, but there was a fierce determination in her eyes. And magic swirling in her heart.

  My eyes widened, shocked. How long had she had magic in her like that? Was it there my whole life, but I just couldn’t see it? Like water trapped in a bottle, it circled inside her, unable to release.

  “It’ll be okay, Kyna,” Mama said. Her voice was harsh but sure. She slowly reached out and put a hand on my shoulder.

  Like a dam opening, the magic in her rushed down her arm and into me.

  I gasped, recognizing the wonderful warmth that Mama always gave me. My whole life, every hug, every tender touch she ever gave me felt like this. Warm, calm, and energizing. Magic. I just never knew she was sharing it with me.

  I took a breath, finally tasting freshness in the air. In that moment, the smell of burning flesh and forest was gone. The terror the Red Caps had over me, the fear of what happened to Aeden and King Helios dimmed.

  All that was left was a determination to rid my loved ones of the Red Cap scourge.

  I glared down at the crowned Red Cap. “Be gone!” I yelled, pouring everything I had into the words. “I will never let you hurt me or anyone else again!” Magic pulsed from me, down into the earth.

  And the earth responded. Rainbow-colored magic pooled in the ground under us and spread out, circling the trees. Sprouts sprang from the ground and twisted around the crowned Red Cap. He squealed and thrashed as the branches covered his legs. His chest. Then his face. Then all his noise stopped.

  With a burst of energy, the trees grew faster than ever, reaching and binding together to wall off the Red Caps. Red Caps were no longer running at us, but away, trying to escape from the tree prison that grew faster than they could move.

  From midst the madness, Aeden rose in the air holding King Helios. Or King Helios was holding Aeden. As they flew unevenly through the air, it was hard to tell which it was. They dropped down next to us, collapsing completely with collective moans.

  Aeden gave me a tired smile. “Give them hell for me.” He reached out and put his trembling hand over mine. Instead of his normal blaze of magic, only a small trickle of sparkles drifted down his arm and into my hand. He was exhausted, with barely any magic left, but still he was trying to help.

  King Helios rested his hand next to mine, adding what little magic he had left as well, even though he didn’t look any better than his son.

  Even with all that magic that we collected together, we still weren’t fast enough to catch all the Red Caps. They spilled out of the ten-foot gap in the tree corral, running into the smoke that hung over the ground on the other side of the rubble of the Summer Palace.

  “They’re getting away,” I gasped. Would they come back again? How long were they going to torment me?

  “Wait,” King Helios whispered.

  “There.” Aeden pointed towards the smoke.

  My mouth parted as I stared. That wasn’t smoke that was pouring over the ground. It was mist. Fog that clung to the trees and left frost on the bark.

  The Red Caps skidded to a stop, chattering worriedly in their harsh language.

  The mist flowed over the ground like water. It glided over the debris of the palace, fires winking out one by one. It hit the circle of trees I used to catch the Red Caps in and parted around it, leaving the inside clear. In the middle of that mist, a figure appeared, silvery white and lovely, with diamond-like wings reflecting sunlight.

  Alana lifted a silver scepter in her hand, light flashing off the facets of a blue diamond on the top. Her hair fluttered in the breeze created by her wings. “Save the King!” she yelled, chin high and proud. “Save the Prince!”

  A tiny yellow being on Alana’s shoulder thrust her small hand in the air. “Save my family!” Marabell yelled.

  “Save the King! Save the Prince!” A thunder of voices echoed behind her. Out of the mist, Frost Fae appeared, hundreds of them. They flew at the Red Caps, shooting arrows made of ice and swinging swords that left chunks of ice on the ground in their wake.

  The Red Caps screamed in fright. Some tried to fight back, ganging up to take down a Frost fae, but most ran the other way. Some tried to slip into the Summer Palace rubble, but they weren’t fast enough. Most were shot down while others were simply frozen alive in blocks of ice.

&
nbsp; The only place that seemed to repel the mist coming from the Frost army was the corral of trees made by my magic. Desperate to escape the Frost Fae, Red Caps willingly ran back in.

  “Grow!” I yelled, pouring more magic. But it wasn’t just my magic this time. Mama’s yellow, and Aeden’s and King Helios’s gold mixed with my own golden threads.

  The trees grew thick and fast, forming walls around the Red Caps that ran in to hide from the misty frost. With a soft thud, the wall connected and sealed together on both sides. Red Caps who didn’t make it in clawed at the walls, trying to get in, but they were left to the harsh punishment of the Frost Fae. The Frost army branched out, chasing down any Red Cap that might have gotten away.

  The trees grew higher, their branches pulling toward each other, weaving together to form a dome at the top. With the sound of a door slamming shut, it stopped growing.

  Chapter 19

  I sighed and leaned back, feeling drained. I stared at the prison I’d made. It covered an area almost the size of the ruins of the Summer Palace. Hundreds of Red Caps were inside. I could hear them, howling and begging to get out. But they couldn’t climb, dig, or cut their way out. The only way out was if I let them.

  We were safe. Safe. No more Red Caps, no more slavers trying to kidnap me. It hardly seemed real.

  “Father! Aeden!” Alana landed next to us and threw her arms around her family. “I was so worried!” Her jeweled staff dropped to the ground, but she didn’t seem to even notice.

  “Kyna! Maira!” Marabell landed on my head and clamped her whole body on. “I was so scared! I thought I wouldn’t make it in time!” she wailed.

  “Marabell!” I reached up and carefully covered her body with my hand, feeling her tiny chest shake as she sobbed.

  “Oh, Marabell,” Mama reached over and brushed the Bell Fae’s cheek with a finger. “You did wonderful.”