by Melody Rose
“Is Serriah any help?” I questioned.
“Serriah?” A distasteful expression graced his face. “She… it was very helpful of you to send someone to help, your Majesty. I’m afraid it’s just unfamiliar to so many of the fae to look up to an elf… ask any elf yourself, and they’ll agree. Seelie and Unseelie are more naturally suited to leading. She's doing a fine job, I suppose, for someone whose responsibilities are loosely defined and barely exist.”
I simply nodded. Serriah had expressed to me the relief so many of the fae felt at having someone, anyone to look up to that wasn’t on the council, so it didn’t surprise me that he would admonish her so easily. Their own people heavily distrusted the council members as far as I knew.
“Well,” I began, “is there anyone your people trust?”
“I personally believe that they trust me with all their hearts,” the old Unseelie said with pompous grandeur. “Although most are a bit divided. There are some that favor your… reaper. I’d venture to say most are looking to the General.”
“The General?” Myrcedes questioned. “You banished Kalian.”
“Oh, not him,” Oli repeated his expression of disgust. “No, his replacement. General Bahz. He’s been wonderful at lifting the hearts of the people and voicing their concerns. Some have suggested making him King, but, well, I don’t believe the people would be truly satisfied, and he may not even want the position! It’s a tough job, you know. It should be done by someone truly qualified, truly passionate!”
Myrcedes’ voice drifted into my mind. Let’s begin. I returned a thought in agreement.
“So Oli,” I began, “I’d like to hear just a bit more about the council members. What makes you specifically more qualified than the rest of them individually?”
As he began to ramble off an answer, Myrcedes and I set off on our task. She was to enter his mind and cause a distraction as much as necessary. It didn’t hurt that he was already consumed with his own words, but she would pick and pull at things to make sure he stayed distracted. Meanwhile, I began to dig through his memory. It was almost impossible to do that without the person becoming aware of what was happening on some level, but hopefully, with his self-obsessed story and the assistance of Myrcedes, we could pull it off.
I waded through his memories as they came up, waiting for the perfect moment. He compared one of his fellow council members to all the worst qualities of Minerva, and I smiled and nodded. That was it. Once Minerva had entered his thoughts, even in name only, I could explore other memories that would seem more natural. I climbed through memories of meetings, thoughts of fear and obligation to her, and dreams of taking her place. Through all of it, I followed a string to a memory of her threatening Oli.
“You know not to say anything, right?”
“Y-yes, my Queen,” the pale man quivered as he spoke. “I don’t remember anything…”
“I know you don’t,” she sneered. “But if you do, ever, you will do what you have to do to keep those memories from being found.” As she spoke, she set a gold dagger with foreign writing on the handle on the table between them and slid it across to him. “Understood?”
He stared at the dagger for a long time before finally answering. “Understood.” He took the dagger and pocketed it. It looked familiar, but I couldn’t exactly place where I’d seen this weapon before. It was distinct, with etching on the blade in Seelie-style decoration. I quickly tore my focus from the weapon and onto the rest of his memories. I tried to dig into those memories immediately preceding that conversation, as that must have been when she suppressed them after all, but unfortunately, she was good at that.
The only thing that stood out to me was a single image, not even a full memory, of a small house of human architecture. It was white with a gray roof, had a messy yard with overgrown bushes and children’s toys, and a laundry line on the side of the house where clothes and sheets hung. In this snapshot of a memory, there was a woman at the laundry line. The woman had golden hair and silver eyes - eyes I’d only seen twice before, in the only two people I had ever loved.
This must have been an accident. I dug, but there was nothing outside that second, that image of a memory. Either he had held onto it for a reason, or Minerva had just been reckless and missed a single second when blocking his memory from him.
Suddenly, Oli paused. He had realized the memory had bubbled up in his mind, though he didn’t know why. Guilt began to set into his thoughts and fear at being discovered began to cloud the image. That confirmed it. He was at least partially responsible for this.
What’s happening? Myrcedes’ voice called within my mind. I paused before forwarding the memory as I had seen it to her mind, causing her to stop like Oli had, only for vastly different reasons.
The Unseelie before us stood and cleared his throat. “I’m so sorry to cut things short, but I’m feeling a bit unwell. I’ve been under such stress lately, as I’m sure you can imagine. It was lovely to meet with you, and I hope both of you will drop by once again when you can. No rush, I’m sure you’re very busy! King and Queen of the Underworld and all that.”
Myrcedes stood, and I followed suit, but neither of us made a move to leave. I watched the small woman, trying to discern what she was about to do. Without a second thought, she reached over the shelves on the wall displaying the Unseelie’s trinkets and grabbed the dagger Minerva had given to him - so that was where I’d seen it - and flew at Oli, who wasted no time screaming and falling to the ground in fear. Just before she could harm him, I grabbed the Unseelie, and the two of us fell into darkness.
11
Myrcedes
The dagger hit the wall where Oli had been standing, and I fell against the chair. Shit! I immediately began to search for Daath and prepared to jump to wherever he was. In less than a minute, I was in the basement of the House of Stars. I hadn’t been down here before, as there hadn’t been a reason. The walls were cement, and the whole area was stuffy. I wasn’t really claustrophobic, but this even made me feel uncomfortable. Oli was cowering on the floor, and Daath stood over him.
“Myrcedes-”
“Get out of the way.” I cut him off, taking a step toward the weeping mess of a man, dagger still in hand. Daath stepped in front of me and grabbed my arm. I pushed him and slammed into his shoulder with my free arm. He stumbled backward but recovered quickly enough to catch my wrist while it was still lowered, taking the weapon from my hand. “Daath!”
“Myrcedes, listen to me! I know what you want. It will come. But if we can dig, he could have answers. He could have other names. Don’t you want that?”
I paused, crossing away from Daath and Oli. I leaned my arms against the wall and tried to think. He had a point. I needed more information. I needed to know why he was there, what he did, and who else was involved. But all I could think about was getting revenge… I’d never been a vengeful person before, but I’d never had so strong a reason as I did now to seek vengeance. The energy surrounding our bodies wasn’t visible in the House of Stars, but I could feel my anger emanating from me in waves, nonetheless.
I felt Daath’s hand on my shoulder.
“All is well, little owl,” he said softly. “I don’t plan to deny you what you want, what you deserve. We just need to get the information first. I promise you.”
I took a deep breath and nodded, standing up straight. “Fine. You’re right… I want to know the second you know anything about this. And as soon as he stops having the answers, you’re done with him, and you call me. Got it?”
“P-please,” Oli’s voice broke from the corner of the floor where he cowered. “Have mercy…”
“Mercy?” I turned to him slowly, feeling my rage flare once again. “Mercy? You want me to have mercy? On a man whose spinelessness led to the death of my mother, my father?” I realized I was shouting, but I didn’t exert any energy to calm myself. I felt Daath’s eyes on me, but since I didn’t have a weapon, I was practically harmless. You know, besides the mass of purpl
e fire I could spray from my palms to incinerate someone.
The Unseelie cowered on the floor and held his hands over his head. “No, no! Please! I don’t remember! Whatever I did, I did because she made me, I would never have hurt a fly unless she forced me to!”
“I hope for your sake,” Daath interjected, “you’re telling the truth. Even if you don’t remember it, I’m going to find out what happened.”
I glared in Oli’s direction, struggling to find something to say, but there was no way to express how I felt without building myself up to do something stupid.
“I’m going home.”
“To the castle?” Daath stroked my back gently. “You don’t want to stay-”
“I’m going home to Seattle,” I shook my head. “If I stay here… I’m going to do something I’ll regret.”
The dark-haired giant nodded at me. “I understand, my love.”
I turned to leave and paused to pick up the dagger from where Daath had tossed it. In addition to the etching on the blade, the hilt looked like pure gold and had writing on it. “This is ancient… isn’t it?”
“Hm?” Daath came over to look at it. “How can you tell?”
“The language… it’s similar to Latin,” I mused. “But it’s not quite Latin. It almost seems older.”
I looked up as Daath furrowed his eyebrows. “I didn’t realize you spoke Latin.”
I paused. “I… I don’t. I’ve never really studied it either.”
“Then how did you know…”
“I don’t know,” I muttered. “That’s happened a bit more often the past few months…”
“Well, maybe we’ll find an answer,” he nodded. “I’ll let Syrion know, and perhaps he can help.”
“Fine,” I agreed, pocketing the knife in a belt loop, hoping to study more about it. “I’ll see you soon.” I kissed Daath before shooting one last glance at Oli, the sad Unseelie who hadn’t made a move to do anything but cry since getting here. With that, I took a deep breath and thought of my bedroom in Seattle.
12
Myrcedes
A few days later, I sat on the bench outside my apartment, trying not to drift to sleep. I was more exhausted than I’d been in months. Ever since Daath and I had visited Oli, I’d had nightmares every night. My subconscious had come up with the most hellish routine: I’d have a nightmare about the apocalyptic vision of Earth I’d seen on the Floor of Dreams and wake up from the horrific images. When I finally went back to sleep, I would have nightmares about the guillotine I’d seen in the fae realm. That one was almost more frustrating because I understood even less how to stop it. If my job was on Earth, why had the Floor shown me an image in the world of the fae?
My eyes were drifting open and shut as I leaned on the arm of the bench. I jolted awake when I saw a black cloud, and suddenly Kalian materialized before me. I rubbed my eyes and stifled a yawn.
“Thank you for meeting me,” I said as I stood.
“As you wish,” he nodded. He wore such casual clothes, and it was obvious that wasn’t what he was used to. I was sure this wasn’t the case, but I couldn’t keep from imagining him on a day off when he was still in the army, wearing his golden armor anyway, trying to relax at home, and the image made me smile.
“You look comfortable.”
“I’m not.” He looked down at the jeans and long-sleeved sweater I’d left for him.
“Well, you fit in.” I took a step toward him. He was almost as tall as Daath and Syrion, so he still towered above me. “That’s the important part.”
He nodded, though clearly disgruntled with the situation. “What precisely did you want my help with?”
“I know the reason the world is still chaotic is that Minerva knocked it out of balance. I need to try to fix it. I’m hoping you can help me locate any Seelie magic that may linger here.”
“You think I work as some kind of compass for fae magic?” The tan-skinned blonde raised an eyebrow at me.
I cocked a brow back. “I think I’m unfamiliar with fae magic and need any upper hand I can get. If you can’t help me, let me know.”
Ever since moving into the Moonstone Castle, Kalian’s demeanor hadn’t shifted. When we interacted, there would be an occasional air of friendliness, but usually, it was still cold and bordered on disrespectful. I would wonder what I had done wrong, but I had other things to worry about right now.
“Very well,” he nodded. “Fae magic is distinct. It’s difficult to explain, but it’s quite cold. It leaves discomfort in the air.”
“I’ve got a list of places that still seem to be chaotic in nature. I figured we could start there.”
He shrugged. “Sounds as good a place as any.” As he spoke, he seemed to look down on me more than was necessary. I mean, I knew he was taller than me, but come on.
I simply rolled my eyes and pulled out the list on my phone. The first place was the grocery store, the one I’d been to so often, the one that had been destroyed in the image of the future.
“This is close, so we can walk.” I began heading in that direction. I expected him to walk in line with me, but instead, he followed me like a puppy, or, I guess, like a soldier.
“How familiar are you with Earth?” I asked after a few moments of silence. I needed a distraction from the memory of that vision, walking this exact same route to the same location.
“Barely. I’ve only been a handful of times, never for very long. I was only sent here on rescue missions, like the one for the councilman. Perhaps due to the nature of those experiences, my impression of the world is rather… poor.”
“Well,” I sighed. “You’re not wrong. That’s what I want to fix.”
“Fix the world? How do you plan to do that?”
“Like this, I guess.”
“Fae magic isn’t responsible for all the world’s problems,” he scoffed.
“I know that! But this is a start. Maybe if I can figure out how to resolve things like this, it’ll help me figure out how to help in other places.”
“You don’t feel that’s too optimistic?”
I gritted my teeth. “No, as a matter of fact. I think it’s imperative.”
“What, saving this place? It’ll probably be fine on its own. What’s the worst that could ha-”
“Don’t say that!” I shouted, stopping in my tracks and turning to face him. He looked shocked to hear me so angry. “You have no idea what this world means. We could just as easily have let the fae realm burn itself to the ground, but we’re trying to save it just as I’m trying to save Earth. You have no idea what’s at stake.”
My breath felt heavy from the short speech, and I tried to calm myself down. Kalian looked confused, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say he even looked a little guilty.
“I apologize,” he bowed. “This is your home. I should not be so callous. You’re right.”
I nodded and continued walking in silence. After a moment, I heard him behind me. “There’s no realm as large as Earth, you know.”
I glanced around. “Really?”
“Well, except for the realm of giants, but that’s just relative.” If I didn’t know better, I’d say it sounded like he was smiling.
“How big are giants?” I’d always considered Daath and Syrion to be giants in a way. They were taller than anyone I’d ever met. I hadn’t exactly thought about the existence of giants as I hadn’t seen any walking around yet.
“They average twenty feet, I think?”
“Holy shit!” I turned around to stare at him with wide eyes. “You’re serious? Like, actual twenty-foot giants that exist, and walk around?”
Kalian blinked at my confusion and nodded. “Yes.”
Wow. No wonder they didn’t wander around Earth. It would be like walking around a child’s Lego city. I began walking, but this time I intentionally hesitated a few steps so that I could fall in line with him. I didn’t enjoy leading someone so literally. “So why does every other realm know about magic? Why was Earth le
ft out of the loop?”
He seemed to think for a minute. “A few reasons, I think. I’m not entirely sure, but I always assumed it was to avoid jealousy. While there are lots of creatures that can’t do magic the way a witch could, every other creature besides humans can do something that bends time, space, reality, or something like that, even if it’s only small. Coupled with the fact that Earth is so large, it makes sense that they thought it would be too difficult to keep humans from spreading lies or falsehoods. Since most realms are the size of a kingdom, maybe two, it’s easier to keep each other accountable.”
“Hm…” I wanted to ask Daath and Syrion if they knew more about that since they were older than Kalian. I paused and turned to the building next to us. “We’re here.”
It was such a relief to see it standing tall with people inside, safe and sound. I looked over at the Seelie, and he looked like an alarm bell was sounding in his head.
“There is fae magic here and quite a bit of it.”
“What is it? What is it doing?”
“It’s hard to pinpoint the original purpose as it’s been here so long… but I believe it focused on people, the people in the building. People who are here often…”
My mouth felt dry all of a sudden. “The family that owns the store.”
“That’s likely,” he nodded. “The magic was designed to target individuals and seep from them, so it’s very heavily concentrated on this building now.”