by Plum Pascal
I pry away three more planks and set them aside. Then I pull myself up through the gap, feeling my arms struggle against the weight of my own body. Muscles that have not been used in quite some time burn and strain to lift me. Sitting on the floor, I breathe deeply through my nose and watch shadows move beyond the door. Once the kitchen sounds empty, I push open the apothecary closet door and watch as the large gargoyle wars against the great Unseelie army.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Eilish
The Veil
“Theren…” The words leave my mouth as a familiar screech pierces the air. I reach for my dagger and throw Aima to the ground, just as a harpy swoops down to snatch her. She rolls across the dirt and comes to a stop beside a tree. Soldiers hold their formation as archers shoot towards the sky. Aima and I hold our backs against the trunk of an old oak. She twirls her sword and glares at Theren, who stands tall in the center of the clearing.
“I don’t know what has happened to him, but that’s not the man I love.”
“Aima, we can’t focus on Theren now,” I say as I grab her face and force her to look at me. “Those harpies won’t care if we’re Unseelie or not. They’ll attack any and everything in their path,” I say through tightly clenched teeth. “We move as one, just like we practiced. I’ll use my spells to defend you while you attack, and we’ll switch off when the other tires. Keep our heads in the fight and we both might walk away from this.”
Aima pauses. “You sound more and more like a leader every day.”
“I still have a lot to learn.”
“Even so, I’m impressed, Eilish.” She leaps out from behind our cover and I’m on her heels in an instant. Bursts of white light deflect shields, swords, and arrows as Aima fights her way to the center of the clearing. We come back to back. Theren catches sight of us and bellows his rage to the sky. My body quivers as he barrels toward me, the promise of death in his beautiful eyes, while Cambion hurries to take cover from the harpies.
“You did this!” Theren attacks.
I blast him with my power, but he absorbs it within himself before hurling it back at me. “You’re not the first angel I’ve fought!” he screams and his power is impressive, intimidating. “Don’t toy with me, girl. I’ve been winning wars against your kind since the dawn of man.” I barely have time to evade the spell. “Your father knew better than to trifle with things he didn’t understand.”
That catches me. “My father?” I insist as I glare at him. “What do you know of him?”
“He bowed in the end, like all the rest. Abedon thrust his blade through your father as though he were no more than a mortal. Gildlorthoine’s bloodline should have ended that day, but here you are, a beautiful abomination that none of us foresaw.”
“I don’t believe you,” I scoff, maneuvering around a soldier. “You could be full of shit.”
“But, I’m not,” he insists. “And what about your mother?” he chuckles. “You already know she and your sister are no longer alive, but do you know who took their lives?”
“Tell me.”
“Give me Morrigan and I will answer your questions. I’ll even tell you who took your memories. And then I’ll fuck you just like you want me to.” Theren turns suddenly and kicks a harpy in the chest, sending her careening back until she catches herself with her wings. I watch him raise his blade and plunge it through the heart of the beautifully savage creature. Her cries call forth the other harpies, who circle her as Theren retreats slightly. Their power lifts the fallen harpy and with a glow of warm magic, they revive her, healing her wounds and turning on the Unseelie with rampant bloodlust.
Theren comes at me once more, but I jump out of the way. Aima and I keep him in our sights, neither of us willing to meet our end at the tip of his sword. But, before I can stop him, the Unseelie King grabs my arm and I catapult through time...
The world is silent as I stand in the grove. Flecks of snow cling to my armor and dampen my hair. “Hello?” I call out, but only the sound of my voice echoes back to me. The crunch of footfalls in the snow reaches my ears. I spin and reach for my dagger, but it’s gone. I brace myself for death, but it doesn’t come.
Theren.
He stands in front of me, lacking all traces of the cold indifference I saw in him a moment ago.
“Eilish…” the Unseelie King breathes. “What you see isn’t real. Variant and I aren’t in control of ourselves, that much you know, but there’s more. She has found a way to trap us inside our minds while her minions work through us.”
“Why am I here?”
“Because you broke through the spell—or at least cracked the wards that hold me prisoner. I only had a moment to react, but I took a risk in bringing you here… to this dream world.”
“What’s going on, Theren?” I insist.
“Morrigan has an artificer crafting a talisman to hold the life forces she harvested from the fae,” he says quickly. “This talisman will help her find and kill Silvanus.”
“Why does she want to kill Silvanus?”
“So she can get her power back. Silvanus is the last of the gods; his death will shift the Realms further into darkness. I don’t have time to explain the rest; I feel myself growing weaker. However this ends, know that I will try to aid you in any way possible. If you survive, destroy the Threst and find a way to release Variant and me from our prisons.”
The vision shatters.
Aima shakes me with one hand while defending us with the other.
“Eilish! What happened?” she yells at me. I unsheathe my dagger and bury it to the hilt in a harpy’s gut. Unlike Theren’s sword, my dagger absorbs the creature’s soul. She can’t be revived. Aima fights her way back to me and checks me over for injuries.
“What the hell was that?”
“Theren.”
“No shit. What did he do to you?”
“He told me what to do next.” This whole time, we’ve been waiting to figure out the next step in our mission. And, all along, the answer was within our enemy. “And you were right—that’s not Theren.”
###
Baron
The Veil
Shit. I whistle to Kolvar as the harpies fly towards the clearing. The large satyr jumps from the window and plows through Theren’s men with a strength I envy. I climb down from the tree and fight my way back towards Pyre, but I stop at the tree line, watching as Theren seems to battle with himself. He and Eilish cling to one another in some sort of trance until they fall away.
Aima, thankfully, gets the angel to safety while Theren’s men pull him behind their ranks to secure their king. Whatever that was... I hope Eilish isn’t foolish enough to allow it to blind her to our cause. Theren has powerful magic and it would be easy to fall captive to it.
The last thing we need is to end up losing another member of our faction. Cambion’s absence alone has affected us greatly. We can’t afford to lose Eilish, too.
I race toward Pyre. He pulls back on his bowstring, allowing his knuckles to brush his cheek as he aims with eerie precision despite his lack of sight. His bow shimmers like a mirage in the desert. He releases the arrow and it whistles towards its target, striking the archer between the eyes and forcing him to fall from the tree.
“You still approach me with caution even after everything we’ve been through?” Pyre drawls sarcastically. “What is it, my friend?”
“The harpies are attacking and the spirits are sweeping through the lands. I need to help the others or else they’ll be overrun. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I will seal the portals in the area and join the fight as well. If we die today, then we die together.”
I nod to him and dash back down the hill toward the skirmish, slicing through soldiers with poisonous blades. Kolvar bumps his chest into me by accident and I’m nearly knocked on my ass. “Watch it!” I shout.
But the big man just keeps fighting with a smile on his face. Eilish and Aima hold their own and work together. I move to stand next to
them, flanking Eilish with Aima. “Anyone hurt?”
“Just some weird shit with Eilish and Theren, but no one got injured thanks to me,” Aima answers with a big smile.
“What the hell happened between the two of them, anyway?” I ask.
“She won’t talk about it. And I’m not asking. All she said was that Theren isn’t the real Theren. What that means, I don’t know. But I think we’ll find out soon enough.” Aima pulls an axe from the back of a fallen soldier and throws it. The weapon twirls through the air and embeds itself into the chest of another soldier.
Eilish runs to me and quickly kills the elf that attempted to catch me off-guard.
“Baron! I didn’t know where you were!” she says. “I thought you might have been dead.”
“Glad to hear you have so much confidence in my abilities,” I snort as I link my dual-ended daggers with a chain in the midst of the fight. Eilish wipes the sweat from her brow and jumps from Kolvar’s back onto a harpy. The move is bold and reckless, something Dragan most likely taught her. The gargoyle has no consideration for safety whatsoever.
Speaking of Dragan, my eyes flicker over to the cottage as a soldier gets tossed through the window. Shards of broken glass litter the ground and I peer through the darkness of Pyre’s home to see the big brute holding his own against the Unseelie. I’ll have to get Dragan a drink for defending our charge.
Kolvar lifts Aima and launches her at the roof of the cottage. She lands on her feet and tears through the Unseelie archers, covering herself in their blood. When the roof is clear, she returns to us. I give her a clap on the back in appreciation of her aid when something grabs my ankles.
“Fuck!” I snarl, kicking against my attacker. Rolling onto my back, I use all my weight to throw him off-balance before I bash my fist into his face. The Unseelie goes limp and I push him off me in order to stand. My eyes widen when the wave of spirits comes crashing into the Unseelie army within the forest.
“Run!” I yell.
Aima and Eilish look to me as the tortured screams come to a halt. We turn toward the clearing and watch as those still standing in it stop fighting. One by one, those not strong enough to resist the possession morph into hideous beings–monsters. . They attack everything without prejudice.
I suddenly feel myself getting lifted off my feet and I’m carried a few feet before I reach out with my blade and lash at the harpy’s legs. She releases me and I’m thrown towards the cottage. My back hits the wall, and the sound of crunching bones is almost drowned out by my rattling teeth. Eilish runs over and heals me with her power.
I can see how drained she is. “Come on, Baron. The fight is only just beginning.”
Her words cause me to groan as she helps me to my feet. “Yeah, I know. The fucking dragon hasn’t even shown up yet.”
Eilish leaves my side to help Kolvar. The possessed soldiers have inhuman strength, cutting down anyone who stands in their path. Meanwhile, the harpies begin to fight the possessed Unseelie. It’s a bloodbath. My boots squelch on the sodden grass as I run toward the cluster of bodies ramming into one another.
A clap of thunder follows a streak of lightning across the endlessly starry sky, but no clouds are in sight. The swirling galaxies shift above our heads until we’re bathed in darkness and the stars are no more. Rain begins to pour from a black abyss.
The Veil is unhappy.
Puddles cover the ground and I see Pyre moving swiftly through the battlefield, unseen by all except me. When the storm grows stronger, he rises above the fight, floating in the air. He watches carefully, lightning flashing to illuminate his severe expression. His deep chanting rumbles the ground, and I know what he’s preparing for.
The dragon approaches.
TWENTY-NINE
Cambion
The Veil
The dry winter air burns my lungs as I run through the forest, trying to put some distance between me and everything else. I can’t fight with bound arms.
I hear Theren behind me. The rain blurs my vision, but I sense my brother even through the dense storm.
“Where will you run, Cambion?” he taunts. “Where will you go that I won’t find you and make you beg for mercy?”
My heart thunders in my chest, matching the ferocity of the storm above us as my brother gives chase. I heard what Eilish said. I know the Theren who pursues me isn’t the real Theren, or at least not all of him.
A loud roar drowns out the sound of boots splashing through puddles and clashing soldiers, and shivers race down my spine as I turn my eyes to the sky. The great beast of old, a creature of legend and mythos... a dragon.
It blends with the dark sky, obsidian wings slicing through the air with devastating strength and speed. A deafening bang shakes the forest as the beast lands in the clearing. Glowing emerald eyes larger than my head stare through the trees. Soldiers scream and spirits scatter. A voice whispers in my mind: Wynroth.
I stop running, and so does Theren. The dragon inhales deeply, expanding its great chest before it bellows a stream of roiling fire from its mouth, setting the trees aflame. And in the light of the fire, I see him clearly. Bat-like wings flap, fanning the blazing inferno around us and burning the ground asunder. Baron and Kolvar attack in unison, trying to pierce the tough scales of the muscular beast, but its skin is as hard as diamond. Theren grabs me and drags me towards the portal.
Lightning strikes, hitting the dragon, and he turns to a sapphire blue. Fear stops us both in our tracks once more.
“What is that?” my brother gasps.
“An elemental. His name is Wynroth. I thought him dead long ago.”
The dragon rears its head back before bellowing once more, but instead of fire, streaks of lightning send an electric current through the air. In an attempt to get away from the beast, I run as fast as my feet can manage and I throw myself through the portal, landing on the ground just in time to avoid the rush of shocks that charge the air we breathe. Theren collapses behind me.
He stands instantly and reaches for his shard of mirror.
I struggle to roll over, but when I look up, I’m staring into the eyes of my sworn enemy. Variant squats down and slaps my cheek condescendingly.
“You look tired, old friend. I hope you don't mind if I kill all your allies.” His laughter causes me to flinch.
He stands and steps over me toward the portal, but Aima jumps through, knocking him down and crushing something in her hand that closes the portal. Variant shouts and drags her across the ground.
“Do you have any idea what you've done?!”
“Yeah, I do. I stopped your plan. Get used to it. This won't be the last time it happens,” the crazy woman chuckles. She lands a heavy punch against Variant’s jaw. “The Rebel Lords of The Vindication send their regards. I’m sure Dragan would have loved to be here to knock that smug grin off your fucking face.”
Unseelie soldiers descend on Aima with a vengeance. They don’t take kindly to those who kill their brethren, and she just fought against hordes of Unseelie in the name of our cause. Whatever hesitancy I felt in allowing myself to trust Aima, Kolvar, and the others vanishes in that moment.
A biting grip yanks me from the ground, and we’re escorted to the dungeons, where the binds around my wrists are cut. I’m shoved into a cell so hard, I bounce against the stone wall. Aima is just behind me. The soldiers slam the door closed to our cell, leaving us in mostly darkness.
Aima spits blood into the corner and hisses through her teeth. “I hope the others survive fighting against that fucking dragon. I think Kolvar wept with joy”
“Joy?” I repeat.
She nods. “He’s been talking about meeting a dragon since the day I met him. His clan practically worships them.”
“You seem calm about all of this.”
“Don’t let this smile fool you. I’m going to beat your ass as soon as my ribs heal. Sit tight, Cambion,” she says with a smile.
I slide down the wall and sit beside Aima. “Do the others h
ate me?”
“Hate’s a strong word... but you’ll need something a little stronger to describe how Pyre and Dragan feel about you at the moment.” She wipes her sleeve across her mouth and shrugs. “I’ve never seen Pyre so upset. The mirror you took belonged to the woman he gave his soul to save... it was all he had left of her, and in the end... it was the thing that brought destruction to his home.”
“I never wanted this.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that it’s happening and… you’re at fault.”
“So, that’s it? I’m no longer one of you then?” I hang my head and brush the wet strands of hair from my face. “One fucking mistake, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life regretting it. Dragon must be dying to rub my face in it.”
“One mistake?” Aima snorts rudely. “You’re at the center of it all, Cambion! If you hadn’t taken Eilish’s memories, we probably wouldn’t be in this mess to start with. She knew what the threat was before her family was killed. Now, we’re scrambling to make flimsy connections with unfinished prophecies. This is just another mistake on your part, not the only mistake.”
###
Dragan
The Veil
The blaring roar that rattles the cottage draws me to the broken window. I see the dragon that Pyre mentioned, and it’s so much more incredible than he let on. Wings like that could blow an entire village to the ground. No wonder the texts in the library speak of these giants with great respect and awe instead of impassive footnotes like some of the other creatures. Dragons are royal creatures of majestic blood, entities and gods in their own right. To look upon one is considered a great privilege... well, if you're not on the menu.
“Yes!” I shout with pure joy as the dragon sets those Unseelie assholes on fire. My companions are smart enough to actually get the fuck out of the way. Harpies and spirits still fight against the living while Cambion, Theren, and more soldiers retreat to the forest. I know they’re headed to the portal, like a bunch of spineless fucks. I would have stayed and faced the dragon, hands tied or not. Kolvar must be thinking the same way, because he lets out a whoop of excitement, charging head-on toward the great beast.