“You’ll have to teach me to sew.” Leon grinned.
“I have a lot of things to teach you, Leon, but we can add sewing to the list as well.”
Kyra’s brothers graciously accepted his apology for any insult he may have caused to their family honor, though they did rib him that it took a visit from their sister to set him straight! Even then, he could see joy in their eyes at the prospect of a small slice of happiness for their baby sister.
Not one person commented on their age or their limited acquaintance, and though there were pressing matters at hand, everyone was eager to heap congratulations on the young couple. At the lighthearted acceptance everyone gave them, it dawned on Leon that life could be preciously short in Fayden. Joy was to be taken where and when it could be found.
It wasn’t until Leon was marching forward, alone, toward the elaborate building housing the Ageless Fae delegation, that the events of the past few hours were fully able to sink in on him. He had lost a childhood friend, but he was gaining a lifetime companion.
I’m going to be married!
But not just to anyone, he was going to be married to the hottest, toughest, most wonderful woman he had ever met!
He had to give himself a mental kick in the pants as he climbed the building’s stairway entrance.
You only get to marry Kyra if you survive the next hour of negotiations, Romeo. Get your game face on and stop drooling on yourself!
Chapter 27
Two women escorted Leon into his meeting. The building that housed the Fae didn’t seem large from outside. The rooms had to extend out underground. The passages they traveled felt like a maze. He would likely need their help finding the way out and that made him nervous.
His escorts were beautiful and unsettling. They moved with fluid grace and soft gestures, but he saw them for the predators they were and kept a healthy distance as he followed.
Small sconces lit the halls, but the lights were few and far between. He did his best to keep his eyes open for familiar landmarks, constantly surveying his surroundings for danger as they led him down dark corridors.
Every so often, mad laughter of some unmistakably Fae individual broke the silence. The cackling would echo through walls and around corners. He didn’t know if it was intentional or not, but it creeped him out just the same. In fact, the whole ambiance rekindled painful reminders from the night of the Wild Hunt. Each wicked laugh added to the goosebumps climbing up his arms.
At last, the women came to a large leather doorway. They stopped, stepped to opposite sides of the hall, and without a word, simultaneously reached out and pulled back leather flaps to open an entry before him. They gave him coy smiles as he took a cautious step forward.
The room was large. At some point, it was likely a banquet hall. Yet all its former glory was stripped bare, save for a small party in its center. A cluster of people sat in a semi-circle, lounging on large pillows. A few of them were playing some type of reed-pipe instruments that played rhythmic, if not melodious, chords. Leon headed their direction.
As he drew close, he couldn’t help but notice a dark look from a youthful face staring him down. The man’s smile was plastered on while his eyes were etched in insolent disdain. His arms were folded behind his head and his legs were crossed out in front of him. A beautiful servant stooped down behind him to refill a cup resting on a short table at his side.
All the people around him were laughing and joking. Some were kissing. They all appeared intoxicated. Not him though. He didn’t seem to notice anything going on around him. He just continued to stare. Even when Leon stopped ten feet shy of the party, no one appeared to take notice of his presence except the angry young man.
A commanding feminine voice spoke up from the opposite side of the room, “This celebration ended hours ago! Everyone out. I have business to discuss.”
The response was an explosion of pillows and bodies as cavorting couples scrambled to their feet and scurried for exits. The young man didn’t twitch. He stayed where he was, eyes still locked on Leon.
When the room was clear the woman who had spoken walked out into the torchlight. She looked to be older than the Fae he had so far met, maybe in her late twenties. While every Fae person Leon had seen in Fayden seemed to dress in one shade of green or another, she was dressed in black, from the top of her head to the bottom of her boots. Everything about her screamed dangerous, though outwardly, she looked to be the incarnation of sensual charm.
“You too, Dirk. I want to speak with this young man before I make my decision, and I don’t need you here, distracting us both with your pathetic attempts to sway my thoughts.” It didn’t take much for Leon to figure out which direction Dirk would be trying to sway the woman.
Dirk lifted his chin to the woman, and a scour cut through his fake smile. His words were venom served cold. “Or I could simply order you to do as I command…Auntie Shay.”
She snorted. “You forget your place, little big man! I’m in charge here and despite the humiliation of your capture, I alone deigned to free you. I wonder now, should I send you back?”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic!”
She squinted down at him and drew a long sword from a sheath at her back, it chimed like a bell when it was free, “You dare speak to me this way? In front of a foreigner? I’m not one of your playthings to fawn at your commands or shirk at your indignation.” She paused to take a few practice swings. Each movement was lithe and efficient. “I know a thousand ways to end you while leaving none the wiser…but I’m not a monster.” She stopped swinging and stepped in close behind him, laying the flat of the blade against his ear. “No, Dirk, I’ll just carve one or two of your more important pieces off and send you to the healer in the morning! Now…GET…OUT!”
Dirk’s dark features turned pale. He scrambled to his feet, knocking his cup over in the process. Humiliated, he stormed out of the room.
The woman studied Leon until he was gone and just the two of them were left. She tilted her head and smiled at him.
“Good start. Had you laughed, I would have laid you open from chin to trousers, treasure be damned.”
Leon swallowed.
This lady don’t play around!
She shouted a command to the far wall. A table and two chairs were carried in and set down before them. Two cups of some strong-smelling drink were brought out, as well as a bowl of fresh fruit.
“My name is Shay Softfoot, and you, I assume, are Leon?” He nodded, and she smiled back at him like they were already friends. “Right. Care for some refreshments, Leon?” Sheathing her sword, she plopped down at the table. Then without waiting for him to join her, she grabbed a large purple fruit from the bowl and took a bite. A tangy, spicy smell filled the air around them.
Leon cautiously sat next to her. He didn’t reach for any food or drink.
“Nice-sized bandit bird. Make sure he doesn’t shit on my floor.” Juice ran down her chin, but she didn’t seem to mind. She took another bite and swallowed. “So, what is this treasure you claim you have recovered for us?”
“Where is Reed?”
“Reed? Oh, you mean one of the Bladed Fae we got as a bonus from the slavers?”
“Yes.” She knew exactly who he was there for, she was just toying with him.
“He’s safe, for now.”
“Can I see him?”
She leered at him. “You show me the stone, and I'll show you your friend.” She leaned forward expectantly, finally deciding to wipe her chin.
Leon looked her in the eye and reached into his vest. He pulled out one of the amber stones, wrapped in a cloth, and set it on the table. He hadn’t wanted it coming loose and touching his skin when he reached in to hand it over.
She leaned forward to get a better look, unfolding the fine linen wrap with a surgeon’s touch. Once the stone came free, it rolled out onto the table, its amber light seemed brighter than normal. Her expression panned, but she recovered quickly, attempting to hide her
surprise.
“Tsk-tsk, Leon, you are full of surprises! Want to tell me how you came across this trinket?”
“I found it, same as fifteen others like it.”
She leaned back in her chair and whistled under her breath. “Don’t play with me boy, I was curious before, now I’m starting to get annoyed. I have a lot to do tonight but I certainly don’t have time to haggle over this. No outsider could have taken fifteen of these and lived to tell the tale!”
Leon’s curiosity got the better of him. “What is it?”
“No, no, let’s stick with my first question. How did you get it?”
“I’m not lying! I found them in one of the convergence tents after I managed to escape both the Wild Hunt and the slavers. I think it belonged to some prince who was in attendance. I heard them announce him, but I never saw him!”
Shay leaned forward. Her features shifted as her eyes took on a purple glow. Her ears grew dark and pointy as their tips curved back. “Care to bet your life on that Leon?” Her voice was still silky smooth, just a smidge huskier.
“What do you mean? I’m telling you the truth!”
“Then take my hand. My power is unique, but it doesn’t work on Bladed people unless they let down the barrier it provides. Give me your hand and allow me to search your memory from that night. I will only search that night. You can push me out if I stray, but I need to confirm what you say.”
“You can do that?”
She reached forward,. “Come on, this won’t hurt, much.”
He thought her soft laughter was perhaps the most normal thing about her as he extended his arm and put his hand in hers. What happened next jolted him. His vision went dark, and Shay’s voice was in his head.
Leon, I need you to think about the night of the Wild Hunt.
Then he was there, or rather, they were there. He could feel her presence with him, though he could only see what he experienced that night.
He cried out in his mind, “Not this! Go to the next day! The next morning.”
The scene flashed forward. He was in the process of arranging Olwena next to the griffin in their communal grave.
She picked up the pace, skipping over details in fast forward until he stepped into the large tent. The whole scene played out once more, exactly how he remembered. After he opened the chest and found the curious treasures, the connection was severed.
His vision swam, and he doubled over coughing. Westley screeched and jostled for better purchase on his shoulder. Shay cursed and sprang to her feet. She screamed for her guards, then ordered them to find Dirk and bring him to her.
# # #
Leon could barely think straight for sometime after Shay released him. All the horrible memories from that night and following morning were amplified. They bubbled up to the top of his mind where they remained present, circulating over and over again. It was like she managed to dig up all the hurt and pain and leave it exposed, right where it was most hurtful.
Shay didn’t seem to notice his distress as her anger continued to boil over for a time.
Once she regained her composure, she turned to him again. “Thank you, Leon. That was very helpful to me. It has clarified a great many questions I’ve carried for a good long while.”
She sat down next to him once more. A knowing smile was plastered on her face.
“I’ll make you a deal. I trade in secrets. I’ll give you your friend and the two other Bladed Fae we received today in exchange for a small secret from you.”
"What about the chest?"
"I'll obviously be taking that as well."
"What secret?”
“Tell me about your mother?
“My mother? I-I don’t remember.”
“Nonsense, I know her tribe just from looking in your head. The maternal bloodline leaves more of a mark on a person’s mind than anyone suspects. Now tell me her name!”
“No, I mean, I literally don’t remember. I can’t recall anything prior to the age of six. I have no recollection of her.”
“Fascinating!" She tapped her nails on the table, "She’s Fae, you know that, don’t you?”
“No, I don’t know that. What makes you think that?”
“I just know, when you play around in people’s heads as often as me, you tend to recognize these things. Like I said, her bloodline left a strong stamp on the configuration of your mind. Had she not been Fae, my job just now would have been much more challenging. I want to know more though,” she then snapped her fingers, “I’ll sweeten this for you Leon. Let me poke around up there,” she pointed to his head. “back to the point where your memories stop. If they stop for me as well, no harm done. Either way, I’ll give you your people when it’s over.”
Leon’s head was still spinning from her first foray through his mind as he did his best to fully consider what she offered. “You will let them go either way?”
“Yes, I give you my word as regent to the queen!”
“Then let them go now, and you have a deal.”
She laughed. “I would have asked the same! Done.”
She gave an order, and a moment later, three men were marched past them, one of them was Reed. He was gagged but his eyes bulged when he spotted Leon.
Leon sent a silent pulse of instruction using his Blade, and Westley took off. The owl swooped across the room, landing on Reed’s shoulder, causing him to flinch in pain. He wasn't wearing any extra leather on his shoulder.
It hissed at the guards around them, and they left him alone. They were all led away but Leon maintained a tiny connection with Westley. He could somehow tell when the bird left the building and cleared the street to where Sved and his men waited. He sighed with relief when he realized his mission was accomplished.
Shay finished her second fruit snack and licked her fingers. “Have you had enough of a break? Come on, I really do have a lot to do, but this is just too interesting to pass up.”
Leon gritted his teeth and reached forward.
Immediately, she plunged in, taking him back to his earliest memories. Back to the day when he met Gus, back to where he first opened his eyes in a forest and took off running. Shay pushed and the vision went back still further to the darkness that was with him even before his eyes opened.
Pressure mounted in his mind. It grew painful. His head felt like it might explode at any moment. It was unbearable. He strained against it, begging for a release that wouldn’t come, yet he didn’t push her out. He had waited too long for answers. He held tight to that single thought and suffered through the pain.
Then, there was a pop! Fuzzy visions flowed backward at hyper-speed. Shay slowed them down, then played them forward. Until she found a place just before the darkness descended. She stopped and played things forward in real-time.
Leon could see daylight, but it was cold out. He was hauled along through a snow-covered forest by a woman with braided black hair.
A very large, muscular man ran at their side. He was draped in heavy furs. In his hands, he carried a longbow, and in his belt, he wore a Blade. His curly blond beard was frosted over, but he opened his mouth wide and shouted encouragement at the woman. Their pace increased.
Leon could see more than a dozen dark-headed men, dressed in Fae clothing, pursuing them through the trees behind.
A rock struck the woman's pack on her back, and she stumbled. The man scooped her up without breaking stride and raced on, encouraging Leon to race on, ahead of them both until he called a halt.
“Airrene, I’ll hold them off. Get the portal open!”
The woman stepped around Leon and tore a Blade from the sheath at her hip. The was something familiar about what she was doing. When his child's eyes looked up, he saw why. A tree towered above them all. The woman cut her hand to wet the bark, then carved a portal into a Royal Tree!
The man continued his fight in the background. Leon’s young head turned back to the man while the woman worked. He saw him drop his bow when he was swarmed by several other men, a
ll at once. There was no way he could stand against them. Yet the big man prevailed. When the struggle ended, dead and dying men lay heaped in piles around him.
He turned back and yelled something at the woman. At that precise moment, a rock struck him in the temple. The woman screamed and pushed Leon behind her.
Leon’s small head peeked around the woman’s side. Another tall woman in white fur with hair as black as night came stalking out of the woods to stop in front of the big man who lay unconscious in the snow. Leon heard the woman, Airrene, pleading with the new woman, calling her by name.
The woman just laughed. She drew a sword and plunged it into the man’s chest in one fluid motion. Leon’s young voice broke as he screamed, “Father!”
Airrene turned to him. Her beautiful face was stricken with terror and grief. She reached out with a gloved hand, holding an amber-colored glowing rock, and touched his forehead. He clenched up, unable to move. The rock's touch did something to his mind, but as he fell, and before her hand left his head, she spoke to him, “Run little Waldman, run!” Behind her, Leon could see a sword rising.
He was still frozen from her touch, but the momentum of her push carried him back into a dark void, and it all went black once more.
Shay fell out of her chair and wretched. Tears came streaming down her face. She had disintegrated into a complete wreck.
Leon, though numbed by the tragedy, didn’t feel the same pain as before. In fact, his mind felt whole for the first time in his life. Yes, he had seen his parents’ deaths, but he had also seen their sacrifice. He had seen the love they had for each other and for him. Despite the grief those recaptured memories brought to bear, he considered himself gifted with a tiny glimpse of the family he might have had with them.
Then another realization dawned on him as subtle as a sack of bricks. He had always secretly wished to know what it was like to be raised in a normal family, with normal parents, who loved him in a way that blood loves blood, but the love his memory revealed in that long past snippet of time differed so very little from the love and security Gus provided that his heart burst with appreciation for both his adopted family and his birth parents. He hadn’t been denied a taste of something everyone else consumed, something especially reserved for those whose parents shared their blood, he had been given a double portion.
A Choice of Blades: The Blade Remnant, Book One Page 34