by N. P. Martin
"There’s too damn many!" I shouted to Amelia.
"Keep fighting!" she screamed back as she continued to swipe at the Fae with her sword while blasting magic out of her other hand.
A small Fae creature jumped at my throat and I caught it with both hands (well, hand and stump), holding it away from me as it snapped and snarled with a mouth full of sharp teeth. Then two more similar creatures latched onto both my legs and began to bite me, causing me to scream as I suddenly toppled over. I managed to blast the Fae I was holding away from me, but within seconds I was being attacked from all sides by creatures who may have been small in stature, but who made up for it with aggression and pure blood lust.
As more and more Fae piled on top of me, I thought I was a goner until something happened that made all of the creatures freeze for a split-second and then suddenly start scrambling away from me as they held both hands over their ears as they screamed as if in extreme pain. Confused now, I looked around to see the Fae creatures all lying on the ground now, rolling around with their hands over their ears, in pain from a noise that I plainly couldn’t hear.
When I got to my feet, I saw Amelia a few feet away, who was also looking around in confusion, until we both turned to see the reason why the Fae had suddenly stopped attacking us. There seemed to be a dark figure hovering just in the center of the graveyard. It took me a second, but I soon saw that it was Sorcha. She was the reason the Fae suddenly found themselves disabled. All except Twig, who stood several feet away from Sorcha, seemingly immune to whatever sonic weapon she was using. Twig stared at Sorcha for long moments before he waved his hand and opened up a portal next to him. As soon as he did, the smaller Fae creatures all got up and dashed toward the portal, diving through it like their lives depended on it.
Sorcha then turned her head to look at Twig just before he went through the portal himself. "Tell my mother I’m coming for her," she said.
Chapter 19
When all the Fae had disappeared, there was just the dead ones left, of which there many scattered around the graveyard. But as I watched, one by one the bodies transformed into something like dark smoke that was soon dissipated by the howling wind, until there was nothing left of them.
As Sorcha continued to hover just above the ground with her hands by her side and her hair blowing wildly around her, Amelia and I stood staring at her, as did Monty from his position to the left of her. I could tell that even Amelia, for all her fearlessness, was unnerved by Sorcha’s presence. Looking at the Queen’s daughter, it was difficult to tell what her next move was going to be.
"Thank you," I said as I began to warily move toward her, wincing at the bites on my legs and arms. I was of course well aware that she was partly responsible for everything that happened, but it wasn’t like I was going to call her out on it right now. Not only was she too powerful to mess with, I needed her help to save Dalia, if it wasn’t already too late to do so, which I prayed it wasn’t.
Sorcha raised her head to gaze at me with her dark eyes. "I neither need nor deserve your thanks," she said, her voice still sharp. "I’m doing his for Dalia. I shouldn’t have…" She shook her head as she trailed off.
"Where’s the woman?" I was referring to the woman whom Sorcha was going to murder earlier.
"Gone."
"Gone… as in dead?"
"Gone as in safe."
I breathed sigh of relief. "And the Arc?"
"Destroyed."
"Good." Paused for a moment, unsure of how she’d take my next statement. "I’m going to the Otherworld with you to get Dalia."
She stared at me a moment. "What is Dalia to you?"
"Everything," I said. "She’s my friend."
The fierceness in her eyes left her for a second, replaced by regret it seemed like. "She was my friend once too."
"She didn’t want to leave you behind, you know."
Her fierceness returned. "Yet she did."
"She regrets her decision."
"I’m sure she does now."
"Will you help me save her?"
Sorcha stared at me a moment. "I will, if my mother hasn’t already killed her."
"Let’s hope not."
Monty joined me at that point, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You all right, bro?"
"Thanks to you," I said. "How did you even find me?"
"A simple location spell was all it took. You didn’t think I was going to let you die in this green hell, did you?"
Amelia came and stood by the side of me. "I owed you," she said. "I would’ve had to in order to spend so much time stuck in a car with him."
"You offend me," Monty said, seeming anything but. "I thought we had a bit of craic on the journey."
"He never stops talking," Amelia said, causing me to laugh slightly, feeling so much better now that they were both here.
"Are you all quite finished?" Sorcha was staring darkly at us. "If you have, we should go."
She opened up a portal to the Otherworld then, and the three of us followed her through, uncertain of what awaited us at the other side.
When we emerged from the Thorns, I was fully expecting hordes of Fae waiting on us, but I was surprised when I saw no one, not even any boulders or talking bushes or—
Wait. I did see someone walking down a slope toward us. The Cow Fae. The Riddler.
"Jayzus, what is that?" Monty said. "A bleedin’ cow-man?"
"Something like that," I said. "There’s a lot of weird shit in here."
Sorcha immediately turned to the Cow Fae as if to deal with him, but he suddenly raised his cloven hands as he stopped a few feet away. "Hold your horses there," he said. "It is just I, Brontus. I’m here to deliver a message."
We didn’t need to ask from whom. "Go on," I said.
"Hedrema said to tell you all to turn back now or she will kill the girl, Dalia." He seemed to smile almost apologetically at Sorcha as if to say that he was just the messenger, and not to kill him for it.
Despite this, Sorcha thrust her hand out and used her power to lift the huge Cow Fae off the ground, seeming to choke him at the same time. "If you see her before I do, tell her I’m going to destroy her either way." She then moved her hand down sharply and Brontus all but bounced off the ground with a loud moo.
"What are we going to do?" I said to Sorcha. "Your mother doesn’t mess around, we both know that."
"We don’t have a choice," Sorcha said, already starting to move on. "I’m not leaving here until she’s dead."
As much as it pained me, I knew she was right. If we wanted to save Dalia, we had to carry on and take the chance that Hedrema might not make good on her threat. Though I suspected she wouldn’t, and that she would keep Dalia alive, if only to use as leverage against Sorcha. That’s what I hoped anyway.
As I began to walk past the fallen Brontus, he mooed at me to get my attention, then smiled. "Remember what I said, human? The more you have of it, the less you see…"
"Yeah, ignorance," I said and promptly booted him in his massive balls, causing him to shriek loudly and roll over onto his side as he clutched his sack with both hands.
"I see you’ve made an impression here already," Amelia said.
"In a way," I said.
"You see the size on that thing’s bollocks?" Monty said. "I’d bet he’d be a right hit with the girls around Dublin."
I couldn’t help but laugh, as much to relieve the near unbearable tension that had built up in me than anything else. Even Amelia smiled and shook her head at him.
"You’re an idiot," she said.
"I’ll find that sense of humor of yours yet," he said.
"Wrong time, wrong place."
"There’s no such thing as far as he’s concerned," I said.
"Seriously though," Monty said, falling in beside me, with Amelia on my right. "Are we gonna be able to save Dalia from this Queen doll?"
I merely shook my head and said nothing, before jogging ahead to catch up with Sorcha as we neared the Rotbloom Forest. "Do
you have a plan?" I asked her.
"A plan?" she said barely looking at me. "I’m going to kill her."
"Hedrema?"
"Who else?"
"She’s your mother."
She snorted and shook her head. "Call her what you want, but she isn’t that."
"Then why did you go along with her plan for so long?"
She didn’t answer for a long moment as we entered the forest. Then she said, "I don’t know, and if I did, it would be none of your business."
Fair enough, I thought. I didn’t particularly care anyway, as long as she helped save Dalia.
"Jayzus, look at this place," Monty said as I fell back in beside him again. "It’s mad."
"It’s a strange place all right," I said as I watched a giant oak tree rot completely before my eyes, before shooting back out of the ground again as a tiny sapling, which then proceeded to grow at a rapid rate. Even Amelia seemed captivated by the place, as she stared in wonder while we walked along the pathway.
As enchanting as the surroundings were, however, I knew we would soon be coming up to Hedrema’s castle, a fact that filled me dread for I had no idea of what was going to happen. Hedrema was so unpredictable, as was Sorcha, that anything could and probably would happen. And in the midst of it all, I had to try and get Dalia, as well as Monty and Amelia, back out alive.
Whatever happened, I was certain of one thing: blood would be shed.
The only question was, whose blood?
Chapter 20
When we got to the bridge leading over the moat, we weren’t surprised to see that the huge wooden doors to the castle were closed.
"I guess she doesn’t want company, this Queen doll," Monty said.
"No surprise," I said, wondering now how we were going to get inside, my first instinct being to use magic. I even raised my right hand to do so, but ended up staring at the stump on my wrist in sheer disquietude instead.
"Sorry about the arm, bro," Monty said. "Does it hurt?"
"The pain I can handle. The loss, however…"
"I feel you, bro." He elbowed me good-naturedly. "Between that and the scar on your face, you’re turning into a right warrior."
I shook my head. "I’d rather still be a guitar player. I’m never going to play again." It was all I could do to keep my emotions in check, especially now that I knew that I got played by Hedrema, and that I didn’t necessarily need to get the Hand of Drakkar. I was sure there would’ve been other ways to find Sorcha at the time without having to sacrifice my hand and then bloody murder somebody. I gritted my teeth as I quelled my emotions. All but my anger, which I let course through me unabated.
"Are you all right?" Amelia asked.
I shook my head. "Not really. I just want to get in there, get Dalia, and then get the hell out of this place."
"Let’s go and get her then." Amelia swung her sword like she was ready for action again.
"There’s the wee problem of the door," Monty said.
Amelia nodded at Sorcha then, who was standing in the middle of the bridge facing the massive doors. "I think she is about to take care of that."
As we all watched, Sorcha raised both her hands as if she was gathering up all her power, which she then threw at the doors in one forceful motion. The three of us jumped back when the doors exploded as though a bomb had been hurled at them, the wood splintering into pieces as it came down all around Sorcha, who remained motionless in the center of the bridge.
"Jayzus," Monty breathed. "That’s one way to do it."
Even Amelia looked impressed by Sorcha’s power. "Remind me never to cross her."
With the entry unblocked, Sorcha marched into the castle and the three of us soon followed. Once again, I expected to be greeted by Hedrema’s minions, but there was no sign of anyone. It was as if Hedrema knew there would be no point in sending anyone up against Sorcha. Her daughter’s power was too great, her rage too intense to stand in the way of, for which I was glad because I doubted I would’ve stood much of a chance against Hedrema myself, even with Monty and Amelia with me.
As we made our way through the dark hallways, Monty kept making jokes about how creepy the place was. He was clearly scared by what we were walking into, and I didn’t blame him. The Fae are formidable foes, that being the reason why no one usually messes with them. Except those foolish enough to do so… or those of us who don’t have a choice.
It wasn’t long before we emerged from the hallways and into the throne room. I wasn’t surprised to see Hedrema sat in her huge throne, with Twig standing by her. I was even more surprised to see Dalia floating in the air just in front of Hedrema. Her head was dropped back slightly and her arms and legs hung limply just off the ground. Needless to say, she was completely unconscious. It was all I could do not to go rushing up to her, but I knew if I did that either Twig or Hedrema would probably kill me then and there on the spot. So I took a breath and exercised my restraint.
"Daughter," Hedrema said, seeming unconcerned by Sorcha’s presence, or ours for that matter. "I’ve been expecting you."
Sorcha stood in the middle of the room, several feet away from the throne. "I’m not your daughter," Sorcha all but snarled. "Don’t pretend that I ever was."
Hedrema stared at Sorcha for a moment, then smiled and shook her head. "Okay, I won’t pretend. You were just a mistake, I won’t deny that. But there is still a place for you here… if you want it."
"Mother of the year," Monty whispered to me, though I paid him no attention as I was too busy staring at Sorcha wondering when she was going to lift the curse from Dalia. Then maybe we could leave Hedrema and Sorcha to have at it all they wanted, though I doubted Hedrema was just going to let us walk out of here. One way or another, there was going to be trouble.
"I’m taking my friend and we’re leaving," Sorcha said, extending her hand as if to draw Dalia toward her.
In response, Hedrema extended her own hand, and I noticed with mild horror that she now had the Hand of Drakkar attached to her. "I knew you would do this," she said. "I know every move you’re going to make, thanks to the Hand of Drakkar."
Sorcha seemed to increase her efforts to pull Dalia to her, but Dalia wasn’t moving. "Let her go!"
"Make me," Hedrema said.
"Just let her go," I said, walking toward Sorcha now. "Dalia has nothing to do with this. This is between you and Sorcha."
Hedrema snapped her head around to look at me. "Silence human! No one asked for your worthless opinion. In fact…" She glanced at Twig. "Take care of them."
"Stay where you are, Twig," Sorcha warned.
Twig growled slightly as he came to stand in front of Dalia, his eyes on Sorcha.
"Why do you care about them?" Hedrema demanded to know.
"I don’t," Sorcha replied. "But I’m sick of your despotism." She stepped forward a little. "I’m giving you one chance… mother. Release your hold on Dalia or I’ll—"
"You’ll what, daughter? Kill me?"
"Yes."
Hedrema suddenly stood and banged her staff on the stone floor. "You can certainly try. Just remember that I know your every move before you even make it." She extended her hand then and used her power to raise Dalia up high toward the ceiling, allowing Dalia to stay there as though she were floating in space.
As mother and daughter started to face off, Twig turned his attention to us, saying nothing as he began to slowly move toward us. In response, Amelia stepped forward with her sword and suddenly rushed at Twig with great speed, going in low to try to cut through the trunk of his abdomen. I half expected Twig to sidestep in defense, but instead he just stood there and took the full force of Amelia’s blow. I was as shocked as Amelia was when her sword broke in half upon impact, the top half clanging off the stone floor, the other half held uselessly in Amelia’s hand. Twig seemed to laugh slightly before he swiped at Amelia with his long, twisted arm. Amelia was taken aback by the fact that her sword had broken, so she didn’t move in time to avoid Twig’s blow, which
caught her full force across the chest, sending her flying across the room.
"Amelia!" I shouted, panicking when I noticed she wasn’t moving as she lay on the floor. I wanted to go to her, but Twig was already advancing toward Monty and me, so we both knew we had to do something. Behind Twig, Hedrema and Sorcha were now hurling spheres of energy at one another, and I became even more dismayed when I saw Sorcha take one of those energy blasts to the chest, which sent her flying back on the floor as well, although she got immediately to her feet again.
"I told you," Hedrema said smugly. "I know every move before you make it. Give it up now and I might consider not throwing you back in a prison cell again."
As Sorcha ran forward screaming for her next attack, I turned my attention to Twig just in time to avoid a swipe from that arm of his, which was no doubt like being hit with steel if he was able to withstand the full force of a sword blow. As I ducked under and ran to the side, Monty unleashed a blast of energy that hit Twig on his side. He growled more out of annoyance as he was rocked back only slightly by the force of the attack. Then he shot out his arm toward Monty, an arm which seemed to grow exponentially until it extended right up to Monty and grabbed him by the throat before either of us knew what was happening.
His arm now several feet long as he held Monty in his grip, Twig extended his other arm toward me, which I barely managed to avoid by sliding in behind a stone pillar. Or at least, I thought I avoided it until the arm wrapped itself around the pillar, now holding me there as if I was bound by rope. As much as I struggled, I couldn’t move, especially with my arms pinned by my sides. Then, just as I noticed that Sorcha and Hedrema were spinning around in the air now, with Sorcha attacking furiously and Hedrema easily avoiding those attacks, the arm around me began to pull tighter and tighter until I simply couldn’t breathe anymore. And if I couldn’t breathe, sure as shit Monty couldn’t either. If we didn’t do something, we were both going to die, and soon.